11 Districts Lifted Curfew As Manipur Recovers; 60 Killed, 30,000 Displaced

In the hit areas, 128 columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles kept doing flag marches and kept an eye on things from the air around the clock.

Manipur is a state in the northeastern part of India. On Wednesday, the curfew was lifted in 11 districts, including Imphal West, Bishnupur, Churachandpur, and Jiribam, for six hours starting at 5 a.m. Officials said that no new violence had been reported, so the curfew was lifted.

At least 60 people have died, and more than 30,000 people have lost their homes. Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Ranjan Singh said that 26,000 people were moved to safer places outside their districts, while 4,000 people stayed in rescue camps closer to their homes.

128 columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles kept up flag marches in the damaged areas and used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to keep an eye on things around the clock.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Defence PRO said, “The Indian Army and Assam Rifles have significantly re-engineered the security architecture and put in a lot of resources in Manipur, especially in light of the current security situation, where normalcy has started to become visible and people are now going back to their homes and reunited with their loved ones.”

“The Indian Army is doing everything it can to keep an eye on places not only in the back country but also along the border between India and Myanmar. “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with specific missions, MI 17 and Cheetah helicopters of the Indian Air Force and Army, and many foot patrols and flag marches are being used to regain the trust of the people on the ground,” the report said.

After a “Tribal Solidarity March” was held in the 10 hill districts of the northeastern state on May 3 to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, fights broke out.

Before the fights, there was tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from forest land that was set aside as a reserve. This had led to a number of smaller protests.

Meiteis make up about 53% of the people who live in Manipur. Most of them live in the Imphal Valley. The Nagas and Kukis, who are tribal people, make up another 40% of the population and live in the hill areas.

The army also told people not to believe “malicious attempts to disturb harmony through manipulated interpretation or misrepresentation of facts,” because “enemy elements may try again to spread malicious, unverified content.”

“As Manipur slowly becomes a place where everyone can live in peace and quiet, bad people may try again to spread harmful information that hasn’t been checked. “The Indian Army and Assam Rifles are still committed to getting everything back to normal as soon as possible, and they are asking everyone to ignore any attempts to cause trouble in the area by misrepresenting facts or twisting their meaning,” the statement said.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Monday that the racial violence that has been going on in the northeastern state for the past few days has killed 60 people, hurt 231, and burned down 1,700 homes and places of worship.