Title - Agitating tribal students stop rail project in Manipur

IMPHAL: Supporters of the agitating All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (Atsum) have stopped the construction of the ongoing Jiribam-Imphal rail line in pursuit of its various demands.Besides setting up of the Manipur State Commission for Scheduled Tribes and B Ed centres in the hill districts, Atsum is demanding appointment of adequate teaching and non-teaching staff in all educational institutions with better infrastructure, all-round development and effective governance in the hills.Atsum had threatened to close down all central projects in the hills from Sunday midnight if their demands are not met. Volunteers of the forum moved to the project site a few days back and threatened officials concerned to stop construction activities, sources said, adding that all activities at the sites in Tamenglong district have been stopped since the stir came into effect.There have been no reports of any damage to machineries of the rail project, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2004.Railway officials recently assured that the ongoing project connecting Manipur's Jiribam subdivision, bordering Assam and Tupul in Tamenglong district near Imphal, will be completed by 2015. Construction of the Imphal-Tupul line, another section of the project, will be completed in the next four years, they added.

"Unless the government complies with our demands, we will continue with our agitation," said Atsum speaker Majabung Gangmei, while lamenting that the government is keeping mum about taking a positive step towards fulfilling their demands.

"We will wait and watch the state government's response for a few days and if they still continue to ignore our demands, we will take other steps after convening a meeting," warned Gangmei.

The apex tribal students' body had called a 24-hour general strike in pursuit of its demands, which ended on January 19. Four vehicles were damaged during the stir by supporters.

The second phase of Atsum's stir comes at a time when the state government has begun the process of recruiting 2000 police constables to meet the insufficient strength of cops in the hills and to guard the ongoing railway and Loktak downstream projects in the state.

On the other hand, the Sadar Hills Chiefs' Association has announced a 48-hour bandh in the Sadar Hills area of Senapati district from Thursday morning in pursuit of its demand to implement MGNREGA project as per the standing central rules and guidelines. National Highway 2 (Imphal and Dimapur route), the key supply line of land-locked Manipur, passes through the Kuki-dominated Sadar Hills.