Imphal, December 29: For formation of Manipur Levy 2008 to undertake a "historic march of Manipur diaspora", the Barak Valley Adventure Academy will be set up in Bon Tarapur, Cachar in January next year.

The name of Manipur Levy is closely associated with the history of Manipur as it was this same Levy which assembled at Barak valley under Gambhir and Narsingh and marched on to Manipur to liberate the kingdom from the invading Burmese soldiers at the fag end of Seven Years' Devastation period (1819-26).After a gap of about 200 years, the unarmed Manipur Levy 2008 will be constituted together with the Manipuris now settling in Assam and Tripura.

The Levy will set out on foot for Kangla from Cachar through Jiribam on December 16 next year.

Speaking to reporters today, chairman of the Bir Tikendrajit Anniversary Celebration Committee and managing trustee of the Tikendrajit Memorial Trust RK Ranendrajit said that after arriving at Kangla, the Manipur Levy 2008 which will be constituted by about 1000 volunteers, will participate in the 175th death anniversary of Gambhir Singh on January 9, 2009.To undertake the historic march, the Barak Valley Adventure Academy will be established on January 16 next year, he said.

Moreover, with technical assistance from the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association (MMTA) and financial support from the Tikendrajit Anniversary Celebration Committee, about 500 volunteers of the Manipur Levy 2008 will be trained in 10 different courses of adventure sports, Ranendrajit informed.

The historic march is also aimed at launching a sports and cultural movement among the Manipuri diasporas and to consolidate the process of nation building, he said.

Efforts are also being made to enable the Manipur Levy 2008 execute a certain symbolic work, Ranendrajit added.

As a part of the year long 150th birth anniversary function of Tikendrajit, programmes of "The Voice of People on Manipur Issues" were held for journalists, medical professionals, lawyers, sports persons, bureaucrats etc.

The latest programme was a symposium on "How to bring peace and development in Manipur" held at Manipur University recently in collaboration with Manipur University Students' Union.

Not long back, a Barak valley expedition and a public discussion programme were also held under the "Voice of the People on Manipuri Diaspora" programme at Silchar.

Similar programmes for law enforcers, entrepreneurs, farmers and workers will be held in the coming year.

Before the press meet, the 151st birth anniversary of Bir Tikendrajit was celebrated today at Bir Tikendrajit Memorial complex located at Lamshang.

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