Mobile Internet and data services, including VSAT and VPN services, in strife-hit Manipur were extended for two more days in nine districts on Saturday to check anti-social elements from fanning the unrest
in the state.
The districts where mobile Internet services, first banned on November 16 in the wake of the Jiribam killings, will remain suspended “in public interests” are Bishnupur, Thoubal, Imphal West, Imphal East, Kakching, Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Jiribam and Pherzawl. However, the ban on broadband services was lifted on November 19 considering the adverse impact on education and health facilities besides those depending on online businesses and transactions.
The state administration continued to relax curfew hours from 5am to 12noon in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal and Kakching districts to allow the public to buy essentials.
Protests in the state continue against the abduction and subsequent killings of the six relief camp inmates from Borobekra in Jiribam district. Saturday, once again, saw several protests against the ongoing unrest.
One such sit-in protest was held in Imphal by representative organisations of professionals and academics against the unrest, the immediate trigger being the November 11 kidnapping and subsequent killing of the six relief camp inmates whose bodies were recovered from the Barak river in Assam between
November 17 and 19.
The protesters urged the authorities to reassert their control to end the conflict.
The killings had triggered widespread protests against the Centre and state government for not being able to contain or resolve the conflict which has claimed 258 lives and displaced over 60,000 till now. Houses of at least 13 MLAs were targeted during the protest on November 16. At least 32 people were arrested for vandalism on November 16, the police said on Friday.
The Centre has sanctioned 90 additional companies of central para-military forces in the wake of the fresh flare-up, taking the total number of CAPF companies in the state to 288. The additional forces are to be deployed in vulnerable areas over the next few days.
