Imphal, Feb 6 (NationPress) Daily activities in Manipur’s Churachandpur district faced significant disruption on Friday as numerous tribal groups enforced a complete shutdown in the Kuki-Zo populated hill region. This action was taken to voice their dissent against the involvement of MLAs from their community in the state's government formation, according to officials.

Rallies were staged on Friday in Tengnoupal and various other hilly districts, addressing the same concerns. A police official in Imphal reported that protesters, armed with sticks, halted traffic in segments of the Churachandpur district headquarters town.

All government and private offices, markets, banks, and educational institutions remained closed, with vehicles off the streets.

The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), Joint Forum of Seven (JF7), along with several other Kuki-Zo tribal groups, initiated the 24-hour total shutdown in the Churachandpur district headquarters.

Heightened tension persisted in the area, prompting the deployment of a large contingent of additional security forces throughout the district and other hill regions.

The KSO and KWOHR also conducted a mass protest rally on Friday afternoon opposing the involvement of Kuki-Zo MLAs in the government’s formation.

On Thursday, clashes erupted between protesters and security forces at Tuibong Bazaar and forest gate areas, resulting in a baton charge and tear gas being deployed by security personnel to disperse the crowd.

At least five individuals sustained injuries during the confrontations with security forces.

A police official in Imphal disclosed that mostly young demonstrators set fire to piles of discarded items and burned tires while chanting slogans against Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, a BJP MLA from the Kuki-Zo community.

The situation escalated as central and state security forces tried to disperse the crowd. Initially, the mob outnumbered the security personnel and engaged in heavy stone-pelting, which led to the authorities executing a baton charge to regain control.

Additional security forces were later sent to the conflict zones to avert further violence. Intermittent confrontations persisted until 3 a.m. on Friday morning. The atmosphere remains extremely tense, with high-ranking security officials dispatched to the site to oversee efforts to restore order, the official added.

Tensions have been brewing in Churachandpur district since Wednesday evening (February 4) following Nemcha Kipgen's virtual oath as Deputy Chief Minister from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi.

Kipgen is the only woman in Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh's ministry, which took office on Wednesday. Three of the ten MLAs from the Kuki-Zo community—Nemcha Kipgen, L.M. Khaute, and Ngursanglur Sanate—have participated in the government formation process.

Among the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs, seven, including Kipgen, Khaute, and Sanate, are affiliated with the BJP, while the remaining three are associated with local Kuki-Zo organizations.

Kipgen, Khaute, and Sanate attended the seventh session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly virtually on Thursday.

Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh addressed the assembly session, with the Chief Minister emphasizing that restoring peace and normalcy in the violence-affected state is a shared responsibility of all parties, including elected representatives.

The Governor reiterated that maintaining law and order is the government's top priority as efforts to restore normalcy and ensure public safety continue throughout the state.

Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the leading body of the Kuki-Zo tribal community, announced a social boycott of all Kuki-Zo MLAs involved in the formation of the Manipur government.