Imphal, October 16: Villagers of Namching area under Senapati Dist will oppose and fight till the end if the State Govt tries to set up a firing range of the Assam Rifles at Namching, said Mahakabui village authority Secretary Chaoba Kamei.

Interacting with media persons at Mahakabui village today, Chaoba Kamei lamented that a high level team led by the Chief Minister had visited Namching and surveyed the area for constructing a firing range of the Assam Rifles on September 26 without giving any prior information to the concerned villagers.

Informing that the State Govt is yet to compensate the villagers of Namching area till today for the 209 acres of land provided to the Assam Rifles, he stated that a case is still pending at the Guwahati High Court.

Maintaining that the Chief Minister and the former village chief Alemba should bear the responsibility for any untoward incidents that may occur while protesting against the construction of the firing range, he said that the Chief Minister has not given any assurance till today despite holding many rounds of talks with him.

He also stated that the firing range of the Assam Rifles, if constructed at the proposed site, would lead to starvation of the villagers as the proposed site mainly consists of paddy fields and other agricultural lands.

The villagers and club members who also interacted with the mediapersons today appealed to the authorities concerned to abstain from constructing any kind of firing range at Namching area.

It may be noted here that a public meeting of the villagers of Namching area was held on October 5 at Namching deliberating on the Govt's proposed construction.

The village members present at the meeting resolved to strongly oppose any plans of the Govt with regard to the construction of the firing range in the area.

Namching Youth Club Advisor Dimchuilung Gangmei who also interacted with the mediapersons contended that the Namching area belongs to only the villagers of the area and no other authority has any right over the area.

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