Kuki militants keep farmers away from paddy fields
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 13 2023:
With Kuki militants lurking in the vicinity, several hectares of paddy fields lie uncultivated in Imphal East district.
For fear of attacks by Kuki militants, Meitei farmers of Ikou, Sadu Yengkhuman, Pukhao, Dolaithabi, Leitanpokpi Awang Leikai (Mairenpat) and Nongshum are staying away from paddy fields even though it is the height of paddy cultivation season.
It is said that a number of heavily armed Kuki militants have been occupying the surrounding areas of these paddy fields.
While several hectares of paddy fields lie uncultivated, Kuki people have started paddy cultivation in some fields.One Koijam Sarat of Ikou told The Sangai Express that in the course of the violent crisis which erupted on May 3, Kuki militants and their supporters came down to Ikou, opened indiscriminate fire and burnt down all the houses.
Since then, the hapless people are unable to return to their village, he said.
Sarat said that 90 per cent of the villagers of Ikou, Sadu Yengkhuman, Pukhao and Dolaithabi are farmers or agricultural workers.
As Kuki militants are moving around and camping very close to the paddy fields belonging to these Meitei villages, the villagers are unable to go to their fields and start paddy cultivation, he said.
The Meitei people of these villages have been suffering untold misery after their houses and all household properties were set ablaze by Kuki militants and reduced to ashes.
Multiplying their woes, the villagers have lost all hope of cultivating paddy this season on account of the presence of Kuki militants in the vicinity of their paddy fields, Sarat said.
Villagers of Ikou, Sadu Yengkhuman, Leitanpokpi Awang Leikai and Dolaithabi have formed a committee christened Impact Committee of Victim Villagers and the committee has already appealed to the Governor, the Chief Minister, Security Advisor to the Government of Manipur and the Chief Secretary to deploy adequate security forces including State forces in their area so that they could return to their villages and start agricultural activities.
Apart from taking away around 200 livestock of Ikou including pigs, cattle and goats, the Kuki militants caught all the fishes of some fish farms.
Moreover, Kuki people have started cultivating paddy after selecting some prime paddy fields belonging to the Meitei people, said some other villagers.
More than 250 Meitei houses were burnt down by Kuki militants and their supporters at Ikou, Sadu Yengkhuman, Dolaithabi, Leitanpokpi and Sadu Tampak.
Subsequently, most of the people of these villages are still taking shelter at relief camps and places of their relatives.
One S Tiken of Nongshum which came under heavy attack from Kuki militants some days back said that Kuki militants are still in control of some paddy fields of Nongshum.
Notably, Nongshum village is located close to Khamenlok.
Moreover, many paddy fields of Nongshum still don't have adequate water for paddy cultivation.
Nonetheless, a rivulet flows nearby and water can be pumped from the rivulet to the paddy fields, Tiken said.
He then appealed to the Government and Agriculture Department to take up all necessary measures so that Nongshum villagers can cultivate paddy successfully.
There are several hectares of paddy fields at Nongshum, Pukhao, Ikou and Dolaithabi, and paddy produced from these areas are usually supplied to a large section of the State's population, Tiken said.
He warned that Manipur would face shortage of rice if paddy cultivation cannot be done in these areas on account of the ongoing crisis.