Imphal: More than 200 Naga households have been displaced after dozens of houses across eight villages in Manipur’s Noney, Tamenglong and Kangpokpi districts were razed, according to a memorandum submitted to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on October 1.
The memorandum, submitted by the Former & Senior Leaders’ Forum of Zeliangrong Civil Organisations (FSLFZCOs), said residents had fled targeted frontier settlements, including Sempat Naga, Gaidunluang and Chamripeu, fearing further attacks.
The forum cited escalating tensions between Naga and Kuki communities, including recent incidents in Kamjong district in which civilians were killed. It urged the government to formally recognise the displaced Zeliangrong families as internally displaced persons (IDPs) and extend standard relief benefits.
The FSLFZCOs also identified border villages including Konsaram and Chawangkining as vulnerable and called for immediate deployment of security personnel.
The forum separately sought the Governor’s intervention to secure National Highway 37, the Imphal-Jiribam corridor. It proposed security escorts for public vehicles six days a week, with daily staging points at Keithelmanbi and Tupul Bazar, or an 11-hour daily security presence along the highway.
The memorandum cited a 1994 ambush during the Kuki-Naga conflict, in which an insurgent attack on a passenger bus killed 40 civilians, as the basis for its demand for strengthened security along the highway.
The forum also called for formal reorganisation to address inter-district boundary disputes, which it said were at the root of continuing land conflicts between the Naga and Kuki communities.