IDPs protest
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 30 2025:
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) taking refuge at Langol Game Village Zone III and IV staged a sit in protest today against an eviction notice reportedly served to displaced families from Moreh.
Poignant placards held during the demonstration bore inscriptions such as 'We are also human beings', 'Don't use force to evict us', 'We're victims of the crisis', and 'Provide alternatives before asking us to leave' .
Speaking to the media, Yensembam Sanatombi, an IDP from Moreh, said that they had fled to Myanmar during the crisis that began on May 3, 2023, and later returned to Manipur, taking refuge at their current location.
She said that they have been taking refuge in Government quarters at Langol Game Village after finding no space in other relief camps with the help of local clubs and women.
Saying that the IDPs had met former Chief Minister N Biren Singh and he permitted them to stay in the quarters, she added that the authorities recently handed a notice to them to vacate the Government quarters by June 1, 2025.With her home and belongings destroyed in the conflict, Sanatombi questioned the Government's plan for displaced families like hers without alternative housing.
Emphasizing that they are occupying the quarters out of necessity, not choice, she urged the authorities to resettle them in their birthplace, Moreh, if eviction is unavoidable.
She appealed to the authorities to let them stay in the current quarters until a safe return to Moreh is possible.