Too little, too late has hardly ever had a more cruel ring to it.

Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh on Tuesday apologised to the people of his state for the ongoing strife and urged all communities to “forgive and forget past mistakes” and coexist peacefully.

Addressing reporters at the chief minister’s bungalow in Imphal, Singh hoped that peace would be restored in 2025 and asserted that dialogue and discussions were the only way to restore normality.

The ongoing conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos has killed at least 260 people and displaced over 60,000. Massive deployment of central forces has failed to prevent flare-ups between the two communities, so riven that the valley is out of bounds for the Kukis while the Meiteis cannot enter the hills.

BJP leader Singh, who has been chief ministersince 2017, said: “The entire year has been very unfortunate.... I want to say sorry to the people of the state for what’s happening till today, since last May 3 (2023). Many people lost their lovedones. Many people left their homes. I really regret it. I would like to apologise...”

He added: “But now, after seeing the last three-four months’ progress towards peace, I hope... that normalcy and peace will be restored in the state in 2025.

“I want to tell all communities of the state that whatever happened has happened. We have to forgive and forget the past mistakes and we have to start a new life (for) a peaceful Manipur, a prosperous Manipur living with all the recognised 34-35 tribes together. We should live together too in the future.”

Responding to a media query, Singh said that ofall the looted weapons, 2,112 arms had been recovered and 2,511 explosives seizedalong with 35,000 rounds of ammunition.

Over 6,000 arms and around six lakh ammunition were looted frompolice stations/armouriesby mobs after the conflict erupted.

Singh said 625 people had been arrested and 12,247 FIRs registered so far.

Claiming “good progress” in tackling law-and-order issues, the chief minister praised the Centre for providing “enough” security personnel and funds to buildhomes for the displacedfamilies.

Singh also announced a hike in dearness allowance (DA) for government employees to 39 per cent from 32 per cent with effect from January 1 and the introduction of additional flights for a year on the Imphal-Guwahati, Imphal-Calcutta and Imphal-Dimapur routes from January.

“The ticket price willbe kept under ₹5,000 and the government will bear theexcess amount if the priceexceeds the stated amount,” he said.

He also announced the launch of Aadhaar-linked birth registration in three districts of the state soon.

Highway blockade

The last day of the year saw the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) declare an indefinite economic blockade of NH2 from 4pm following the government’s inability to meet its demand for the withdrawal of central forces from Saibol in Kuki-Zo majority Kangpokpi district.

Earlier in the day, several Kuki-Zo women were injured during a protest demanding the removal of the armed forces. Security forces used tear gas to disperse the protesters, leaving at least three critically injured, reports from Kangpokpi said.