Video: Displaced Families In Violence-Hit Manipur Move Into Newly Built Housing Complex

The Manipur government has accommodated 120 families displaced by the ethnic violence in a proper housing complex in Langol, a hillock north of the state capital Imphal.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh in a post on X said the 120 families comprised some 460 people, who had to leave their homes in Moreh, Churachandpur, and Phoubakchao.

"The newly constructed alternative housing complex at the National Games Village, Langol is now home to a total of 120 families, comprising 460 individuals, from Moreh, Churachandpur, and Phoubakchao. Our government remains committed to supporting the rehabilitation and well-being of every displaced family," Mr Singh said.

"As a part of our ongoing efforts to support and rehabilitate the displaced families, the IDPs
have begun moving into the newly constructed alternative housing complex at the National Games Village, Langol," the Chief Minister said in another post on X, referring to internally displaced people, or IDPs.

The border trading town Moreh which is a stone's throw from Myanmar and the hill district Churachandpur in southern Manipur - both dominated by the Kuki tribes - apart from the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley, were some of the worst-affected places when ethnic attacks began in May 2023.

On Wednesday, the Chief Minister had announced over 7,600 temporary houses would be built for the internally displaced people, who have been living on school and college campuses since May last year. The Centre has approved the construction work, he added.

Of the over 7,600 houses, the highest i.e. 1,813 houses would be built in Kangpokpi district, followed by 1,331 in Churachandpur, 1,217 in Kakching, 1,015 in Bishnupur, 594 in Imphal East, 880 in Tengnoupal, 511 in Chandel, 225 in Imphal West and 74 in Kamjong, the Chief Minister said.

Mr Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for the Centre's support to carry out projects in Manipur.

Mr Rijiju has announced a world-class football field in Manipur - considered a sports powerhouse - at an estimated cost of Rs 220 crore.

The Kuki tribes and the Meiteis have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes have killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Nearly two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups that have signed a ceasefire with the Centre and the state government, their groups such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), and Kuki MLAs have been demanding the same thing - a separate administration. The demand for a separate administration has brought all of them on the same stage.