Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, November 25 2010:
Residents in Manipur's Chandel district today observed a district-wide agitation against the Manipur government's move to lodge en-masse surrendered cadres of a group of Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) - Lallumba faction in the battalion headquarter of 8th Manipur Rifles.
Manipur government constructed a rehabilitation camp at 8th Manipur Rifles Campus at Leikun village of Chandel at a cost of Rs 15 lakh specially for lodging the surrendered cadres who are undergoing three month spiritual and vocational training at Pune since their en-masse surrender in August of this year under a tripartite agreement between Centre, state government and the group.
A total of 128 militants with 108 arms had surrendered under the tripartite agreement.
The government move to lodge the surrendered militants at Leikun has been strongly opposed by residents of the surrounding area who expressed fear that the peace and tranquility of the villagers might be disturbed.
Decrying to government's unbending attitude to their demands, the villagers, under the banner of a JAC against the sheltering of KCP (Lalumba faction), formed recently, imposed a 24-hour Chandel district bandh effective from 6 am of this morning till 6 am of tomorrow.
Due to the bandh normal passage of all kinds of vehicles along the Imphal-Moreh section of the NH-39 was disturbed on Thursday.
Reports said that vehicles heading towards Imphal from Moreh were forced to be stranded midway at various places.
Supporters and members of the JAC blocked the highway by piling up stones and logs.
They also burnt debris and wood in the middle of the road, officials reports said.