The primary focus of a meeting held between Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh and a conglomerate of leading civil society organisations and Meira Paibis (women torch-bearers) on Tuesday was ensuring farmers return to their fields so the ongoing paddy season is not wasted.

The meeting was held in Imphal as part of the chief minister’s peace outreach with a delegation of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (Cocomi). At the meeting, the Cocomi suggested that all confidence-building measures for farmers be taken so that they return to their respective villages and start farming before it is too late.

Rice is a staple food of Manipur. The state produces an estimated 6,43,300mt of rice annually in 90 per cent of its cropped area.

“However, our rice production is sufficient for only eight months. The four-month shortfall is made up from outside the state. We have already lost a month of the paddy cultivation season and just a month remains,” Cocomi assistant coordinator Longjam Ratankumar Singh told The Telegraph.

“Therefore, we mooted at the meeting with the chief minister to discuss measures on restoring peace so that farmers can return to the field at the earliest,” he said.

The chief minister assured at the meeting, which lasted for over two hours, that there will be an adequate deployment of state police and central forces in the peripheral areas along the valley and hills where the situation remains tense even though things have calmed down in the past two days, Ratankumar said.