Manipur ethnic clashes: Over 14000 school children displaced due to ongoing situation

Over 14000 school children were displaced due to the ongoing situation in Manipur caused by ethnic violence, according to the figure of the education ministry. In the latest incident of violence in Manipur, two abandoned houses belonging to a particular community were set on fire by unidentified people in Manipur’s Imphal West district early on Wednesday, an official said. The official said that fire tenders were rushed to the spot in the Langol area and the blaze was doused, he said, adding that no injuries were reported in the incident. The incident took place during a time gap between the change of guards in the area, he said. The houses were being guarded by army personnel since those were abandoned by the residents and CRPF personnel were to take over the security of the houses, the official said. The miscreants torched the houses as the army personnel were moving out and the CRPF personnel were moving in, he said. More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundred were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts. With inputs from PTI.