Manipur CM urges people to stop calling for bandhs, blockades

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh appealed to all sections of society to refrain from calling bandhs or blockades and adopt other democratic forms of agitation, highlighting the hardship they cause to daily wagers and students.

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Sunday appealed to all sections of society in the state to refrain from calling bandhs or blockades to air their grievances, saying such actions sometimes lead to unwanted violent incidents, and urged them to adopt other forms of democratic agitation instead.

Speaking to the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) before leaving for New Delhi, the Chief Minister said the Manipur and Union governments were committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people of the state. Therefore, calling a bandh will not serve any purpose and will instead create more hardship for the people, he said.

According to the release, Khemchand Singh appreciated the role played by the leaders of 14 civil society organisations and the delegation of MLAs who recently campaigned in New Delhi for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state by meeting central leaders and officials. Their campaign has yielded a positive response in New Delhi, he said.

'Daily wagers, vendors and students are main sufferers'

The Chief Minister said that during a bandh, daily wage earners and students are among the main sufferers.

He said women vegetable vendors also suffer as they earn their livelihood by selling farm products daily, and any disruption in their work causes immense hardship to their families.

He said students also suffer as their normal academic atmosphere gets disrupted by bandhs.

Saying that students are the future pillars of society, he appealed to all stakeholders not to disrupt the academic calendar in the state.

CM Warns Agitators, Heads to Delhi For Talks

The Chief Minister also warned that stringent action would be taken against agitators who break the law while attempting to create a chaotic situation.

Khemchand Singh said he was travelling to New Delhi to meet top central leaders and discuss various ongoing issues of the state.

He also said that after more than three years, road transport service between Imphal, Dimapur and Guwahati had resumed without any trouble. The Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati bus service would ease the burden on poor people who had to pay costly airfares from Imphal to Guwahati, he said. (ANI)

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