Call off shutdown against new districts: Manipur govt to Naga apex body

Manipur government urges United Naga Council to cancel 48-hour shutdown over creation of seven districts.

GUWAHATI

The Manipur government has asked the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the State’s Naga communities, to withdraw its proposed 48-hour shutdown from the midnight of October 3 against the “arbitrary” creation of seven districts less than a decade ago.

The Congress government headed by Okram Ibobi Singh created these districts on December 8, 2016.

In a letter to the UNC’s president on September 30, Manipur’s Home Commissioner-Secretary N. Ashok Kumar said the Centre has agreed to resume the tripartite talks and has nominated A.K. Mishra, the advisor (North East) to represent the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The tripartite talks involve the Centre, the Manipur government, and the UNC.

“...I am to request you to withdraw the proposed agitations and to extend cooperation to the steps initiated by the Central and the State Government and avoid any kind of unwanted event,” he wrote.

The UNC stated on Monday that it had set a deadline to roll back the creation of the seven districts – Jiribam, Kakching, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Pherzawl, and Tengnoupal. These were carved out of the Imphal East, Thoubal, Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, and Chandel districts respectively.