Imphal (Manipur): The central and Manipur state government have decided to give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to those who died during the ethnic conflict in Manipur, officials said Tuesday. A member of the family of those who died in the rioting will also be provided a job. The compensation amount will be equally borne by the centre and the state, officials added.
The decision was taken at a meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief minister N Biren Singh, on Monday late at night. The decision to announce a compensation package was taken at that meeting, officials said. Officials said it has also been decided to set up dedicated telephone lines which will be used to dispel rumour mongering which has largely affected the process to calm down the situation and bring peace to the troubled state.
Shah's meeting also decided to ensure that essential items such as petrol, LPG gas, rice and other food products will be made available in large quantities to cool down prices. The home minister who flew into Imphal Monday night is accompanied by the Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Kumar Deka.
Amit Shah will hold a series of meetings with political and civil society leaders from both the Meitei and Kuki communities and visit Churachandpur, the site of some of the worst rioting earlier this month, on Tuesday. Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Since then there have been waves of unrest including the latest round of clashes which saw at least 5 dead on Sunday. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley.
Tribals Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts. Around 140 columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles, comprising over 10,000 personnel, besides those from other paramilitary forces, had to be deployed to bring back normalcy in the northeastern state. (PTI)
