IDPs, Cocomi rally towards Lok Bhavan, press for rehabilitation

Imphal: Hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from relief camps in and around Imphal, along with members of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (Cocomi), marched a rally towards Lok Bhavan on Monday, demanding immediate resettlement and rehabilitation of families uprooted by the prolonged violence in the state.Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who returned to Imphal on Monday afternoon from Delhi, was met with the protests by IDPs and Cocomi upon his arrival. While going to Lok Bhavan from the airport, the governor’s carcade was forced to travel on the wrong side of the road as protesters assembled on the other side of the road at Takhel Leikai area in Imphal West district since noon.In response to earlier assurances by Manipur authorities to resettle IDPs by Dec, Cocomi and IDPs had submitted series of memoranda every day from Dec 1 to 30 last month to governor and chief secretary.Alleging an indifferent approach by authorities in resettling the IDPs, Cocomi and representatives of IDPs had announced to take out the rally till Lok Bhavan to directly seek a response from the authorities.A large number of security personnel were deployed at key locations since the morning in anticipation of the protests. As the rally drew closer to the Lok Bhavan, a large number of security personnel intercepted the protesters at Keishampat Junction, barely 100 metres from the Lok Bhavan.

A delegation of 11 members comprising six IDP representatives and five members from Cocomi were allowed to meet Governor Bhalla, chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, and home commissioner N Ashok Kumar around 3:30 pm.Speaking to the media after the meeting, Cocomi convenor Khuraijam Athouba said issues raised in the memoranda submitted in December were revisited during Monday’s meeting with authorities.He said the govt must remain accountable and responsive to public grievances in a democratic system, adding that the delegation questioned the authorities over the lack of response to several memoranda submitted in recent weeks.“The authorities assured us that a formal written reply addressing all points raised earlier would be issued by Tuesday. We will wait for the response and see if it is satisfactory for the people. We will decide our future course of action accordingly,” he said.On the contentious issue of ‘buffer zones’, Kuraijam said the governor categorically told the delegation that no officially recognised buffer zone exists within the same administrative setup, and that such narratives are being forcefully propagated.Cocomi demanded this clarification be issued officially to prevent public confusion and fear, to which the governor reportedly agreed.