Imphal, January 06: With financial assistance from the Ministry of home Affairs (MHA), Govt of India, the Imphal and Sajiwa jails will be spruced up while requisite processes have been taken up to re-activate the defunct police stations in the State, according to a Police Hqs source.

With most of the district headquarters jails rendered useless resulting in congestion of Imphal Central jail and Sajiwa Jail, the MHA has released Rs 3 crore to improve the conditions of these two prisons, informed the source adding that renovation/repairing works will begin very soon.

To accommodate the ever increasing number of detainees as a consequence of law and order problems besetting Manipur, plans are also on to increase the capacity of Sajiwa Jail.

To give maximum effect to the ongoing counter insurgency operations launched by the Indian Army at various remote areas of Manipur, the State Government is preparing necessary procedures to review the defunct police stations which were abandoned earlier fearing strikes from militants.

In consonance with the Government process and in view of the Indian Army making substantial in road into the militant strong hold at Sajik Tampak, police stations at Waikhong and Sugnu in Thoubal district and at Chakpikarong of Chandel district have been activated, said the source.

On priority basis, police stations spread across Churachandpur district will be revived, said the source while adding that with the exception of the district headquarters police station, all other police stations in the district had to be abandoned since the last many months for technical reason.

Other police stations on the government list of revival include Chandel district�s Molcham, Khoupum; Nungba, Noney and Tamei of Tamenglong as well as Kasom Khullen, Phungyar and Jessami in Ukhrul district.

In addition to concerted efforts to sanitise the militant infested National Highway No 53, the State authority had also intimated to the Centre for provision/deployment of three battalion of Central forces to protect the highway and curb anti-social activities along the route, disclosed the source.

The source expressed confidence that the Central Government will reciprocate positively to the State�s proposal, as flushing out the militants from the NH-53 areas had become necessary to ensure smooth progress of the Jiribam-Toupul rail tracks.

With the Rs 12 crores released by the MHA for police modernisation for 2003-04, the State Government is keen to address the problems besetting the technical aspects as well as lack of man power, it added.

The source further informed that modern gadgets for the police wireless department, forensic science equipments, Maruti Gypsies, 407 Mini trucks and machinery for computerisation of all the district headquarters police stations have arrived.

For the 2004-05 session the State has also urged the Centre to release an additional fund of Rs 20 crore for utilisation in law and order maintenance which is yet to be released by the Central Govt, it said while speculating that the Centre might be waiting for submission of utilisation certificates for the previous fundings.

The MHA has also been apprised to allocate fund for computerisation of 12 other police stations, it added.

On the stationing of IV IRB recruits current undergoing training regimes, the source contemplated the battalion might be based at Senapati district and that recruitment process are on for enrolment of personnel for the proposed V and VI IRB battalions.

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