Ibobi plea on Assam feud

Manipur CM requests Gogoi to provide security to Zeme Nagas

Security call Imphal, July 9 : In a renewed appeal, chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh today urged Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi to provide adequate security to the Zeliangrong tribe and take steps to end the ethnic unrest in North Cachar Hills as it directly affected Manipur. “I have already requested the Assam chief minister to provide adequate security to Zeliangrong Nagas in NC Hills and will contact him again,” he told the Assembly. Manipur chief secretary D.S. Poonia made the same appeal to his Assam counterpart P.C. Sharma. Ibobi Singh had made the first appeal in March after a large number of Zemes, a sub-tribe of Zeliangrong, fled their homes in NC Hills after being targeted by Dimasa militants and took shelter in Tousem sub-division of Manipur’s Tamenglong district, which is adjacent to NC Hills. At least 800 displaced people, mostly women and children, took shelter in three relief camps in Tousem and some others reached the Tamenglong district headquarters after the first influx in March. Ibobi Singh said his government was planning to give jobs to the displaced adults under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in addition to humanitarian aid. “I have asked the chief secretary to submit a report on whether giving jobs to the homeless under the centrally sponsored job scheme would be feasible,” he added. The chief minister said the influx had affected the economy and law and order in Tousem. The sub-division is one of the most backward areas of Manipur and is currently reeling under the impact of bamboo flowering. Two Naga legislators, Morung Makunga and Awangbou Newmai, representing Tamei constituency, had earlier raised the issue of refugees. They said the poor villagers of Tousem, who already lived a hand-to-mouth existence, were now shouldering an additional burden. They also sought adequate protection for the Zeliangrongs in NC Hills. The Ibobi Singh government has sanctioned Rs 3.64 lakh for providing relief material to the refugees. The chief minister said the health department would post three more doctors at Tousem primary health centre to take care of the refugees. Responding to another question, Ibobi Singh said all unauthorised constructions, including churches and offices of NGOs, inside government quarters and institutions would be evicted.