Violent protests rocked Imphal East district on Thursday as demonstrators demanding cancellation of the ongoing Sangai Tourism Festival clashed with security forces near Khurai Lamlong Bazar, a key route leading to the main venue. The agitation, spearheaded by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) and supported by thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), began as a total shutdown across the Imphal Valley and escalated when protesters allegedly pelted stones at police personnel.
Security forces responded by reportedly firing multiple rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, triggering panic in the crowded market area. Several protesters sustained minor injuries, though no serious casualties were officially reported till late evening. The shutdown paralysed normal life in Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur and Kakching districts, with markets, shops, schools and public transport remaining closed throughout the day.
COCOMI, a prominent Meitei organisation, had called for the “cease-work” strike to protest what it termed the “insensitive” decision to hold Manipur’s biggest cultural and tourism extravaganza while over 60,000 people remain displaced due to the ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023.
IDPs living in overcrowded relief camps in valley areas joined the protest in large numbers, arguing that the high-profile event would send a false message of peace to the country and the world, thereby reducing pressure on both the state and central governments to expedite rehabilitation and initiate dialogue between the warring Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
The ethnic conflict, now in its third year, has claimed over 260 lives and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the divide. Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February after the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Despite repeated promises, rehabilitation remains slow, compensation is delayed for many, and basic amenities in most relief camps continue to be inadequate. Authorities claimed adequate security arrangements had been made and relief measures were being provided regularly to camp inmates.
However, the recent clashes and the near-total shutdown across the valley underscored the widening gap between official claims and public anguish. Protest leaders warned of intensified agitation in the coming days, including more blockades and sit-in demonstrations, until the government engages in serious talks on rehabilitation and rolls out concrete relief measures.
