Imphal, December 28: Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has stated that the State Government has not taken any concrete decision to close down the office of the Manipur Information Centre at New Delhi.

The Special Resident Commissioner of Manipur Bhavan has been given the charge of looking after the duties of the Information Officer due to lack of manpower after the officer retired from service.

The Chief Minister was speaking to mediapersons at the occasion of releasing the calendar and diaries of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) for the year 2006 in his office chamber.

'It is only a temporary arrangement and the Government would soon be taking up all the necessary measures for smooth functioning of the Manipur Information Centre at New Delhi', the Chief Minister said.

Replying to a question on the much-awaited Ministry reshuffling, the Chief Minister quipped 'just wait for sometime'.

Answering a query on the operation launched by the Army at Jiribam, Works Minister Th Debendra, who was also present at the occasion, said the Government has started deploying police forces in the area while drawing the attention of the Chief Minister for sending more police force.

Chief Minister noted deployment of more than two companies of security forces would be required at Jiribam not just for the purpose of counter-insurgency operation, but also for the task of land acquisition for laying the railway track of the proposed Rail route from Jiribam to Tupul as 14 to 15 kms of the survey work has been completed.

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