Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 02 2009:
Despite the the standing government orders that no quarter allotted to any employee of the state government may be demolished and reconstructed or reformed in any manner, partially or fully, government quarters located at Langol and Lamphel areas had been reconstructed or reformed to make way for as many as 20 churches.
At least 11 churches are at present located at PWD quarters in Lamphel areas.
The churches had been constructed at the PWD quarters since almost 10 years ago.
Though construction of a few of them had stopped for some time, now the construction has been completed and the churches have become popular place of worship for tribal and Meetei Christians.
On investigations by the Hueiyen Lanpao, it has been found that there are totally 461 government quarters within the areas of PWD Lamphel Sub-Division-IV.
Eleven quarters among them had been turned into churches.
The churches within the Sub-Division are located�one at Type-II A-Block, one at Type-II B-Block, three at Type-II C-Block, one at Type-IV A-Block, four at Type-III H-Block and one at Crash Programme Block.
The total number of the churches is 11 .
The churches belong to Tangkhul, Paite, Hmar and Meetei Christians.
Besides, there are many other churches belonging to different ethnic groups at the PWD quarters at Langol.
Prayer service had begun at some of the churches.
Regarding construction of the churches at the PWD quarters, an official of the department told this newspaper that the government has not allotted the land, where the churches have been constructed, to any person or private organisation.
Now also it is being notified that the land where churches had been constructed belongs to the government quarters.
However, a cabinet source revealed to this newspaper that the decisions arrived at yesterday's cabinet meeting did not include the question of eviction of the churches from the PWD quarters in Lamphel areas.