6th Kharam students' conference kicks off
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 20 2015: The sixth quadrennial Kharam students' conference cum cultural meet 2015 kick started today at Laikot Kharam village in Senapati district.

The village is located about 27 kms from Imphal along the Imphal-Ukhrul road.

Deputy CM Gaikhangam attended the opening day of the four-day cultural extravaganza cum students' conference as the chief guest while Kh Biren, MLA, Lamlai A/C was the functional president.

With the aim of preserving the rich cultural heritage and tradition of their ancestors, the Kharam students' conference is held after every four year.

A Kharam tribesman speaking at the occasion said that being a minority ethnic community, the Kharam tribe has found themselves struggling amidst majority communities of the State on all fronts.

6th Kharam students' conference kicks off

Speaking at the function, Gaikhangam said that the Kharam tribe of Manipur has a very close affinity with the kings of Manipur in the past.

Even though the tribe is among the minority communities, they need not be disheartened as the Government is there to help each and every section of the society.

He encouraged the Kharam people to work sincerely and efficiently and maintain their loyalty to the State.

He also urged them to be honest to themselves.

Manipur has rich cultural heritages and the Kharam community has its own part in it, Gaikhangam said while urging the people to work for the preservation of their culture and traditions.

Though different religious beliefs have distanced the people and created a wide gap among the different communities of the State, different communities of the State can be brought together through social integration, the Dy CM said.

Meanwhile, the chief of Laikot Kharam village submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Chief Minister regarding the problems faced by the village.

The memorandum stated that the Laikot Kharam village has no proper supply of drinking water and the village has been recently de-recognised by the officials concerned.

The memorandum urged the Government to reinstate the status of a recognised village.

Replying to the memorandum submitted by the villagers, Gaikhangam said, "Approval of recognition of as many as 200 villages has been made by the authority concerned at official level, and it never reached the Minister concerned and the Government" .

He further said that he would consult with the Chief Minister and the authorities concerned to append recognition to genuine villages that were de-recognised.

Further more, he said that the hill dwellers of Manipur should conserve the wealth given by mother nature.

He said, "To earn a few thousand rupees, we destroy trees worth crores of rupees.

As such, we should stop cutting down trees and preserve nature at our very best level" .

Functional president Kh Biren said that the visit of the Deputy CM to the Kharam village is very important as it shows that the leaders are there for the people.

Kharam community needs to be developed in certain fields and this can be done only when the people work hard with the support from the Government.

Organising such a conference for students would help the Kharam community to intermingle with the educated masses and would certainly help each other.

The 6th conference include sports events like football, volleyball, badminton, tug of war, long-jump, javelin throw, race and shot-put.

And in cultural activities folk song, dance and music competition along with debate, quiz and extempore speech are included.

Three Kharam villages are participating in the said event.