IMPHAL: The Churachandpur district of Manipur which has been witnessing severe protests over the last few days, has finally seen some peace with people going out for their daily tasks on Sunday. The district administration has also mentioned that the situation had returned to normalcy after two days.
The district had seen violent protests against the steps taken by the state government towards the survey of reserve forest areas and the wetlands of the state. The local tribal population had carried out the protests citing that these steps were taken towards hampering their rights on the lands as well as their traditions and religious beliefs.
According to the ground reports, the region is slowly returning to normalcy with the reopening of markets and people visiting churches on Sunday. Traffic movement has also been restored with the district administration keeping a strict vigil on the situation.
After the protesting tribal groups and the local administration came to an understanding, the region has not seen any protests. However, the ban on mobile internet services continues in the New Lamka and Churachandpur regions.
The protests started with a group wrecking complete damage to a venue of a public meeting on Thursday ahead of the chief minister’s scheduled visit to the same on Friday. And on Friday, the protesters set fire to the office of the Range Forest Officer in Tuibong. It followed a clash between the state police and the protesters and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum of the state of Manipur called for an 8-hour shutdown of the region.
A meeting was carried out on Saturday, which saw the presence of the district administration of Churachandpur, the members of the civil society organisations and the director general of police in Manipur. While the security forces were decided to be withdrawn, the organisations ensured that there will be no blockades or mob violence.
Also Watch: