Govt talking to Meitei, Kuki communities for ‘permanent’ peace in Manipur: Shah

New Delhi, Sept 17 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday said the government is talking to both the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur to ensure lasting peace and has begun fencing the country’s border with Myanmar to check infiltration.

Addressing a press conference on the achievements of the 100 days of the Modi 3.0 government, Shah said barring three days of violence last week, the overall situation in Manipur has been calm and the government has been working to restore peace in the restive Northeastern state.

“We are talking to both the communities for maintaining peace. We are also preparing a roadmap for a permanent peace in Manipur,” he said.

The home minister said fencing of 30 km of the international border with Myanmar has been completed while funds have been approved for a total of 1,500 km and the work will start soon.

He said that the government has already scrapped the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without any documents.

“Now people will be able to enter each other’s territory only with a visa,” he said. The 1,643 km long India-Myanmar border, which passes through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, had the FMR. It was implemented in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy.

Ethnic violence has been going on in Manipur since May 3 last year after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence.