Impact of Manipur's Current Condition on Assam: Remarks by CM Sarma
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Guwahati/Imphal, Dec 1 (NationPress) Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma remarked on Sunday that the current circumstances in neighboring Manipur will undoubtedly influence the state of Assam.
The Chief Minister expressed that he believes the scenario in Manipur will certainly have some ramifications on Assam, and thus, "we have deployed additional police forces in the Barak Valley (southern Assam) regions to ensure that no disturbances spill over into Assam."
While addressing the media during the inauguration of a sub-divisional court in Cachar district, Sarma noted that since Assam shares inter-state borders with Manipur, the events occurring in the neighboring state will undoubtedly have some ancillary impact on Assam.
"To mitigate the aftereffects, we have stationed additional police personnel along the inter-state border between Manipur and Barak Valley to ensure that nothing encroaches upon Assam," stated the Chief Minister.
Assam’s Cachar (130.60 km) and Dima Hasao (73.5 km) districts share borders with Manipur, which has been marred by ethnic violence.
Cachar's Superintendent of Police Numal Mahatta has been diligently monitoring the inter-state border security protocols with routine inspections.
"Considering the ongoing law and order situation in Jiribam district of Manipur, stringent security measures have been implemented to avert unauthorized entries from Manipur into Cachar and to prevent any potential sabotage that could take advantage of the unrest in Jiribam. Enhanced security protocols have also been established in the riverine regions bordering Manipur, including the Jiri and Barak rivers," the official informed the media.
Mahatta conveyed that Assam’s Chief Minister and Director General of Police G.P. Singh has instructed the Cachar police to take decisive action against any attempts to disrupt peace in the district.
"We are dedicated to protecting Cachar from the ongoing turmoil in Manipur," he affirmed.
Despite being largely unaffected by the 18-month-long ethnic conflict in most of Manipur, the mixed-population area of Jiribam experienced a surge of violence following the murder of 59-year-old farmer Soibam Saratkumar Singh on June 6 this year.
The violence in Jiribam in June resulted in approximately 1,500 individuals from both the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities seeking refuge in the homes of relatives and friends across two villages in Cachar district.
Although the majority of the refugees have since returned to Jiribam, a few hundred Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal members still reside with their relatives in Cachar.
