The Nepali-speaking people in the north-eastern state of Manipur, India that has witnessed ethnic violence, are said to be safe. The state is 970 kilometers away from Kakadbhitta, Jhapa.
The violence has flared up over reservation quotas between Kuki-Zomi tribal and Meiteis, causing terrors among local people, and prompting the administration to deploy the Army and impose curfews in many cities.
All Nepali-speaking Indian people are safe here, said SK Bishwokarma of Imphal city in Manipur over the telephone. “Curfew has been imposed round the clock. Security personnel are patrolling. None of our Nepali-speaking brothers and sisters has stepped out of the home. No information has come by about violence taking place in the settlement of Nepali-speaking people,” he said.
Manipur has a population of around 50,000 Nepali-speaking people, he said. Most of them are engaged in agriculture while some are in business and government jobs.
Traffic operating between the bordering Panitanki and Imphal has come to a halt, said a transport entrepreneur Sushil Pradhan, who sells vehicle tickets for the Kakadbhitta-Manipur route. Transportation for the route takes place twice a week, he said.
There are settlements of Nepali-speaking people at Charhajare, Kangaltumbi, Sekmai, and Imphal in Manipur.
They had not received any information about Nepali-speaking people being in trouble due to the violence, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Dipak Bharati, who is posted at the Area Police Office in Kakadbhitta.
“We have regularly conducted a security check at transit. We have not received any information about Nepali-speaking people being in difficulty in Manipur. Our contact with the Indian security force is established regularly. They also share information with us if anything happens in India,” he said.
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