All-Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur (ATSUM) members have closed government offices and banks in the hill areas in protest against the state government’s failure to announce the schedule for the election to the Autonomous District Council (ADC).
The Moreh unit of the Kuki Students’ Organization (KSO), supporting the ATSUM agitation, took to the streets at the border town and shut different offices, including the range forest office, TOI reported.
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They also downed shutters of various banks.
A poster reading “office closed by ATSUM in protest against the delay of ADC election” was also pasted on the office walls.
ATSUM activists further shut down different offices at Senapati district headquarters, the newspaper reported.
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Disappointed with the government’s alleged indifference towards the charter of demands made over the ADC polls, ATSUM had resolved to resume various forms of agitations from Monday.
The ATSUM said the tribal people of the state under its banner have been relentlessly striving for timely installation of the ADC, which is the basic democratic institution in the hills, for the last six to seven months.
As per ATSUM’s stir programmes, there would be two-day picketing of government offices in all hill districts from Monday, a mass rally on Thursday to be followed by different forms of agitations.
The state cabinet on March 27 (this year) resolved to conduct the ADC elections in the hill districts, including the newly set up districts of Kamjong, Tengnoupal, Pherzawal and Noney, for which required steps will be taken up by the authorities concerned.
The election was scheduled to be held in June last year but it was postponed for 6 months by Manipur government on the recommendations passed by the Hill Areas Committee (HAC).