Farmers' safety stressed
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 03 2023:
The onslaught of Kuki militants has affected all sections of people but it is the farmers and fishers who face the major brunt, said the Irabot Foundation Manipur (IFM) .
Addressing the media at Manipur Press Club today, IFM president Kh Gopen said that they condemn the attack on farmers in the strongest terms.
Continuing that nearly 5000 hectare of paddy fields have been identified as sensitive areas by the Government due to the onslaught of Kuki militants, he asked the Government to utilise adequate security force in foothills and periphery areas of the valley districts so as to protect lives and properties and pursue farm works.
He further stated that the size of paddy fields which have been abandoned due to the threat of Kuki militants is about 10,000 hectare as many other fields in Bishnupur, Imphal West, Imphal East, Kakching etc were excluded from the list of sensitive areas.
Saying that the State has been facing a deficit of nearly 2 lakh tonnes of rice annually, Gopen claimed that the State will witness an additional shortage of rice in terms of thousands of metric tonnes of rice in Manipur even if every person consumes 660 gram of rice a day due to the violence.
He cautioned that Manipur will rely heavily on other States for food if there is no prompt action from the Government.
There may be a food crisis, he said and appealed to the Government to take up appropriate actions to resume agricultural works.