Manipur: MHA Boosts Police Canteens in Manipur, Opens Stores to Public Amid Ethnic Conflict

IMPHAL: In an effort to smoothen out the current supply crunch, the MHA has asked the CAPFs to strengthen police canteen operations and open up the services for the common man. The move is aimed at arresting the worst disruptions in the supply of day-to-day commodities in the state, which has been hit by ethnic conflict since last May.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently announced that 16 more police canteens will open, raising the count of the stores to more than 36. These canteens, which have specifically been made for the personnel of CAPFs such as CRPF, BSF, CISF, among many others, will now be open to the public also. As per this scheme by Shah, the natives could, above all, vend the necessities at an inexpensive rate especially in case of violence-hitting valley and hill.

Sources in MHA have confirmed that police canteens will now be restocked regularly to meet the increased demand from the local population. More manpower will also be deployed to these stores, as it expects a rise in customers. One such canteen, managed by CISF, was inaugurated at Imphal airport on Tuesday. More such canteens are going to be opened in violence-affected regions across the state.

The CAPF police canteens are run by the Kendriya Police Kalyan Board, selling everything from groceries to consumer durables much like an ordinary supermarket. Generally a security personnelonly preserve, it offers 50 percent concession of GST on products. Benefits that were restricted to security personnel alone have now been opened up for the public, when they are fighting two battles-wars against the enemy at one level and a war against inflation on the other.

Presently, the three forces- CRPF, BSF, and CISF-are working along with Manipur Police to maintain the network of canteens in urban and rural areas. Eight new stores will be made in the valley with the other eight being in the hills.

It's something the government has mulled over to increase access to police canteens as part of moves toward restoring normalcy in the state, where more than 220 people have been killed in clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities. With the simmering tensions yet to yield anything in the way of turning things around, affordable goods can bring comfort to affected residents.

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