New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government was hopeful of bringing the situation under control in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur. Addressing reporters in New Delhi on the issue, the minister said the government had started ‘fencing the root cause of the problem,’ which is the India-Myanmar border, adding that the work along 30km stretch had already been completed.
“We have successfully deployed CRPF at strategic locations. To stop the infiltration, we have nullified the agreement between India and Myanmar which allowed the movement of the people, and now entry into India is allowed only by visa,” he said.
Following a military coup in Myanmar in 2021, thousands of civilians and hundreds of troops had reportedly fled to the Indian northeastern states. In this part of India, people from both the countries share ethnic and familial ties. This has been a cause of worry for New Delhi because of risk of communal tensions spreading to the country.
According to reports, Indian government had also blamed the porous border for abetting the tense situation in Manipur, abutting Myanmar. A civil war-like situation between two ethnic groups has been going on in Manipur since last year. One of these groups shares lineage with Myanmar’s Chin tribe.
The Home Minister said recently violence hit Manipur for three days. However, he claimed that there were no major incidents in the last three months.
“We are in talks with both the local tribes. Because this is racial violence, there cannot be any solution until there is a dialogue between them… We are speaking to the Kuki groups and the Meitei groups… We have created a roadmap to solve the issue…” he said in an interview to ANI.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the situation in Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "… We have started the fencing of the root cause of the problem, the India-Myanmar border…30 km of the fencing has been completed. The central government has approved a budget to fence the whole… pic.twitter.com/fWujeg4OUB
— ANI (@ANI) September 17, 2024
Violent incidents in the Manipur valley surged since September 1, according to reports. The situation became increasingly perilous as attacks involving drones and rockets allegedly targetted residential areas.