Evicted residents air woes to PM, threaten stir
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 08 2012:
Demanding alternative residential arrangement for the 14 families evicted from Lamphelpat area last year, JAC against the Illegal Eviction of Yaipha Leikai has threatened to launch intense agitation against the Government of Manipur in case the sincere proposal do not evoke positive response.
Apart from JAC president T Gunadhor and member Maibam Nganbi Leima, Coordination of Democratic Right Organisation (CDRO) representative Dr N Malem made the declarations at a news conference at Manipur Press Club today.
The CDRO, comprising different like-minded organisations of Manipur as well as in other parts of the country, is informed to have highlighted plight of the evicted families to the Prime Minister in the form of a memorandum reportedly submitted yesterday.
Dr Malem conveyed that the memorandum decried indifferent attitude of the Government of Manipur to the prolonged suffering of the evicted families.
Justifying the demand for an alternative place for the displaced families to reside, he said that the Organisation's representation strongly opposed the State Government's policy of evicting the indigenous people from their homes in the name of developmental activities contrary to absence of an effective mechanism to check continuous influx of migrant workers as well as illegal immigrants into Manipur.
The memorandum urged the Prime Minister to prevail upon the Government of Manipur for ensuring alternative rehabilitation arrangement for the eviction-affected people; revoke the eviction order that had resulted in suffering of the displaced people; immediate halt to eviction process that amounts to harassing or cause inconveniences to the marginalised section of the society; and to ensure that free, prior and informed consent of all the people are taken before initiating development activities.
Speaking at the joint media briefing, Gunadhor, Nganbi Leima and Dr Malem pointed out that the comprehensive drainage scheme for Lamphelpat has already been completed without affecting the homestead land of the eviction victims of Lamphel Yaipha Leikai.
Contrary to the Government contending that eviction was inevitable for the drainage construction the said project had no relevance to the eviction drive, they maintained while demanding that either the eviction victims be allowed to reconstruct houses at their original homestead land or an alternative site be provided to them at the earliest.
Failure to understand suffering of the victims and initiate immediate remedial measures would compel the JAC to launch intense agitation with the support of NGOs, they cautioned.
The trio also condemned the manner in which the eviction drive was carried out in haste with the assertion that following an eviction order by the Government on June 3, 2011 the eviction notice was spotted pasted on an electric pole on June 5, which was followed by police teams and machines to dismantle the houses showing up on June 6 and executing the eviction drive.
The Government's action amounted to inhumane conduct, they expressed.
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