manipur-cm-meets-idps-in-jiribam-calls-for-peace

Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Wednesday visited violence-hit Jiribam district and met internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Meitei and Hmar communities, stressing reconciliation and the need for lasting peace in a region scarred by ethnic strife since May 2023.

On his first visit outside Imphal since taking oath last week, Singh described Jiribam as “the most important place in Manipur” with the potential to emerge as a business hub, provided peace is restored.

“For Jiribam to become a business hub, peace is essential,” he said. “Whatever happened has happened. It was a nightmare. We should move on with thoughts of living peacefully.”

The Chief Minister first visited a relief camp at Jiribam Higher Secondary School, where he interacted with Meitei IDPs. He later travelled to Mongbung Meitei village and urged members of both communities to begin engaging with one another to bridge the prevailing trust deficit.

Also read: Arson, firing in Ukhrul; Internet suspended for five days

He assured displaced families that their concerns were being addressed by the district administration and that houses under construction for them were expected to be completed by March. Singh noted that resettlement efforts had begun during the President’s Rule in the state and reiterated his government’s commitment to rehabilitation.

“Since I took oath as the chief minister last week, my trip to Jiribam is the first outside Imphal,” he said, underlining the symbolic importance of the visit.

Earlier in the day, Singh met IDPs from the Hmar community, including relatives of Zosangkim, a 31-year-old Hmar woman who was killed in November 2024 amid the violence in Jiribam. Calling for calm, he said, “We need to find out why we are not able to come together. First of all, we are all human beings, then we are Indians. We need to think about our younger generation and must keep ourselves calm.”

He also appealed to local clubs, Meira Paibis, journalists and civil society groups to share responsibility in restoring normalcy.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands displaced in the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur in May 2023.