Imphal, Aug 30 (PTI) Ahead of a 24-hour shutdown over NRC demand, Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Sunday urged people not to observe bandhs or road blockades as a form of protest, and asserted that such demonstrations do not resolve issues and will only create hardship for people, particularly daily-wage earners and students.
Singh also said these modes of protest sometimes lead to violence.
His comment comes before the 24-hour bandh called by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) from midnight on August 31 to press the demand for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) ahead of the census exercise in the state.
The chief minister, who left for New Delhi during the day, said his government and the Centre are committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people of the state.
“Calling a bandh will not serve any purpose and will instead create more hardship for the people. During a bandh, the main sufferers are daily wage earners and students,” Singh said in a statement issued by the state government.
The chief minister said women vegetable sellers suffer a lot during a bandh as they earn their livelihood by selling their farm produce daily, and any disruption in their work causes immense hardship to their families.
He also said students suffer a lot as their normal academic atmosphere gets disrupted by bandhs.
Singh cautioned against attempts to create a chaotic situation and asserted that stringent action would be taken against law violators.
The chief minister appreciated the role played by leaders of the 14 civil society organisations and a delegation of MLAs, who recently campaigned in New Delhi and met central leaders and officials to press demand for the implementation of NRC in the state.
“Their campaign has yielded a positive response,” Singh said.
The chief minister said he was travelling to New Delhi to meet top central leaders and discuss various ongoing issues of the state.
After more than three years, the road transport services connecting Imphal, Dimapur, and Guwahati have resumed without any trouble, he said.
“The Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati bus services will surely ease the burden of people who had to buy costly air tickets to travel from Imphal to Guwahati,” he added.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups in the state since May 2023. PTI CORR BDC
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