A team from Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) headed by its chairperson UB Saha visited several areas in Chandel district on Saturday to inspect the status of human rights with regards to the ongoing crisis.
During the visit, the team met with several CSOs, student bodies, village authorities and local representatives at the conference hall of DC Chandel district.
UB Saha highlighted that around 375 human rights cases were still unresolved when he took the office at MHRC.
“Around 245 cases have been disposed of from the older cases. On top of that, we have received around 240 new cases, of which around 230 have been disposed of,” he said.
Meanwhile, he emphasised the need for Nagas to become mediators in the ongoing conflict and put a stop to the conflict. The two communities are on edge and other neutral communities should strive to maintain peace by intervening to stop the violence, he added.
He stated that Manipur would lag behind in development and human rights implementation if the violence continues. He maintained demarcating people based on caste, creed and religion would result in degradation of the state’s unique culture.
“We should put our differences aside and strive to maintain tranquillity in Manipur.
Demarcating people based on ethnic lines will put individual safety at stake,” he said.
He pointed out that the Manipur Human Rights Commission was an institution to uphold humanity in the society. “We should remember that in order to uphold such principles we should implement and abide by the Rule of Law,” he added.
During the visit at the district headquarters, the chairperson further interacted with the Naga CSO leaders.
During the interaction, the leader raised several grievances and highlighted that the Naga people in Chandel district were reeling under pressure due to the ongoing conflict.
One David Boyes pointed out that several officials were absent at their respective offices due to the crisis. This has seriously impeded the daily activities of the locals and also the lack of specialised doctors at the district hospital is causing tremendous stress on the people, he said.
He further noted the deplorable condition of the education sector in the district and also added that the failure to properly implement water projects in the district had left the people high and dry.
After the interaction programme, the MHRC chairperson also inspected the local police station and further visited Chāmdil Khullel Village where he interacted with the village chief and the villagers.
During his interaction, the chairperson personally took notes of several villagers who were yet to receive benefits of several government schemes.
The chairperson instructed the deputy commissioner to look into the matter swiftly and update him on the progress in the coming weeks. Members of MHRC along with top officials of Chandel police and district administration also took part in the visit.
Later, the MHRC team also interacted with members of All Sora Clubs Co-ordinating Committee, Sora.
