Centre to provide air connectivity for Manipur’s hill areas as tribals fear travel to Imphal airport

The Centre has promised to operationalise air services from the hill districts of Manipur to allow connectivity with the rest of the country, as tribal groups refuse to travel to Imphal airport fearing for their safety. 

The Centre has promised to operationalise air services from the hill districts of Manipur to allow connectivity with the rest of the country, as tribal groups refuse to travel to Imphal airport fearing for their safety. 

Home Minister Amit Shah “assured that supply of essential items in hill areas and helicopter services for emergency needs in Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi will be ensured”, a Home Ministry statement said.

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On Wednesday, Mr. Shah visited Kangpokpi and Moreh on the Manipur-Myanmar border, where he met civil society groups and reviewed the security situation. On the third day of his visit to Manipur, the Minister also visited relief camps in Kangpokpi and Imphal, housing Kuki and Meitei communities displaced by the ethnic violence that erupted in the State from May 3.

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“Convened a meeting with civil society organisations in Kangpokpi, Manipur. They are keen to actively participate with the government in reviving harmony among communities in Manipur,” Mr. Shah said in a tweet.

According to Thangboi Lhungdim of the Kuki Students Organisation in Moreh, Mr. Shah assured them of helicopter services plying from Churachandpur to Aizawl and Guwahati in the neighbouring States of Mizoram and Assam.