Team News Riveting
Imphal, July 29
A delegation of 21 Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition bloc INDIA reached here on Saturday to assess the ground situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur.
The members will visit different relief camps to meet victims of the clashes that broke in the northeastern state on May 3. The MPs reached Imphal by a commercial flight from Delhi.
After their arrival here, the delegation went to Churachandpur, where fresh violence has taken place, to meet victims from the Kuki community in the relief camps.
“From Imphal, they went by a chopper to Churachandpur due to security issues,” the state officials said. As only one helicopter was available, the members of the delegation were divided into two teams and the chopper took two sorties to ferry them,” they added.
The team comprising Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and others, reached Churachandpur first and visited the relief camp set up at the Boys’ Hostel of Churachandpur College.
Another team, comprising Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi and others visited a relief camp at Don Bosco School in Churachandpur. After returning to Imphal, the team led by Chowdhury went to another relief camp at Moirang College in Bishnupur district by road to meet victims from the Meitei community.
“On Sunday morning, the delegation will meet Governor Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhawan to discuss the situation and possible measures to bring peace in Manipur at the earliest,” a senior Congress leader said.
“We have come here to meet victims of ethnic clashes, not to do any politics,” Chowdhury told reporters. He said here on Saturday that the ethnic conflict in Manipur was sullying India’s image and all parties must try and find a peaceful solution to end it.
