Chidambaram visits ZRO camp, ends tour
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, December 15 2010: After having taken stock of the internal security situation and laden with memoranda the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram left Imphal for New Delhi concluding his two-day visit in the state.

Before concluding his visit the Home Minister held a series of meetings apart from visiting a designated camp of the Zomi Re-unification Organisation in Muvanlai in Churachandpur district, the Khuga Dam and the Loktak Lake.

Chief Minister O Ibobi accompanied the Home Minister in his visit to the said places.

The VIPs were airlifted to the sites by a helicopter of the Indian Air Force.

During an interaction with the Home Minister, leaders of the ZRO expressed gratitude to the Home Minister for personally visiting the designated camp.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram being received at ZRO camp Pics: NNN

A statement of the ZRO released after the visit of the Home Minister and Chief Minister, expressed gratefulness to the Government of India, particularly the Union Home Minister for his exceptional efforts to understand the political aspirations of the Zomi and other tribes in Manipur.

"His personal visit at Camp Muvanlai with the Chief Minister and other Central and state officials, is historic in more ways than one.

He came to us with an open heart, sat, and discussed the political aspirations of the Zomi and other tribes in Manipur, for over forty minutes," the statement said.

It also claimed that the proposition made by the organisation was found to be realistic and pragmatic for which he assured to take up the matter at the Prime Minister's level.

The Home Minister urged the organisation to cooperate with the government in building peace and development.

His (Home Minister's) candid suggestion to 'forget past mistakes and move forward' is, in fact, the corner stone for all peace loving people of the state, they said in the statement reiterating that the minister's physical presence at Camp Muvanlai raised new hopes and aspirations for a glorious future ahead.

He has painted an indelible page in the history of Zomi and other tribes of Manipur.

This momentous visit demonstrates that the time has come to put reason above emotion, and wild dreams over pragmatic approach for a collective survival.

At the Khuga multi-purpose dam he inspected the progress work of its various components after its inaugural on November 12, Chidambaram also met with other leaders of Kuki based civil organisations.

Before leaving Imphal for New Delhi, the Home Minister met with members of the Senior Citizens for Society (SCS) at the Raj Bhavan for about five minutes.

The Society also submitted a memorandum to the Home Minister.

Earlier, he held a separate meeting with members of a delegation of Naga civil based organisations propped up by the United Naga Council (UNC) .

Sources say that during the meeting, the Naga delegation hankered on the tripartite talks between the Manipur government, India government and the UNC on December 3 .