Source: The Sangai Express / Manipur Info Centre
New Delhi, January 20 2009:
Having felt that the State of Manipur has been under alarming situation of violence, the Gandhi Peace Foundation has come out with a determination for bringing a solution so that Manipur can take part in the issues of development, reports MIC from New Delhi.
To discuss the issues exclusively for Manipur, the Gandhi Peace Foundation is organizing a seminar-cum-workshop on the subject-'Peace is Essential for Development' on February 7 from 10 am to 5.30 pm at the Conference Hall of the Gandhi Peace Foundation at 221-223, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg here.
The Secretary of the Foundation Surendra Kumar said, "We are well aware that Manipur has been a victim of violence and the situation needs immediate rectification.
The violence has seriously affected all aspects of life, the society, the State and its overall progress.
Peace is a pre-requisite for the development and civil society can play a very vital role in establishing peace.
Believing in peace which is indispensable medium to foster development, the Foundation has taken initiative to organize a seminar where people of Manipur from different walks of life could discuss about the issues of peace and development in the State" .
He underlined, "The fast pace of development of today's globalizing world is of no use to Manipur, if the people of the State cannot participate and take advantage of the development process".
The seminar will be a platform for different voices to express their views and ideas on different aspects of the problem.
The deliberations of the workshop will also help in formulating strategy for strengthening the peace process in the region and thereby facilitating all round development.
The proposed issues for the seminar-cum-workshop area) How violence has affected education system, health facilities, trade and commerce, tourism, developmental works including infrastructure development and economic progress?; b) States which are peaceful have shown all-round progress and are taking advantage of opportunities in India.; c) Potential of development in Manipur and people's participation in its planning and implementation;and c) Formulating strategies of mechanism to establish peace in the State with people's support.
"The objective of this seminar is to understand and appreciate the different views expressed by the participants on these crucial and important issues and this will also be an opportunity for to chalk out direction for future", Surendra added.