Essential commodities have not reached Kukis, says Kuki CSO

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jun 23: A Kuki civil society organisation has said that essential commodities have not been reaching Kuki people since several days back.
Speaking to The Sangai Express over telephone, a key leader of a Kuki CSO  said that it is the responsibility of the Government to see that essential commodities reach every section of people in proportionate quantities.
However, essential commodities provided by the Government have not been reaching Kuki people and the people are no longer expecting these commodities to ever reach them.
People in the hill areas, generally, lead a very hard life. It is the responsibility  of the Government to see that all essential commodities reach every community  in equal measures, the CSO leader said.
In the midst of the existing conflict situation, essential commodities are available to one community while the  same commodities have been kept out of reach of another community. This will only widen the communal divide, he said.
The Kuki CSOs said that nowadays not a single Kuki family gets any essential commodity provided by the Government.
A memorandum has been submitted to the Chief Minister and the DGP with an appeal to ensure that essential commodities provided by the Government reach Kuki people.
The Kuki people also took out a mass rally and submitted a similar memorandum with the same appeal to the Prime Minister through the district administration, Kangpokpi but all these efforts have yielded no result so far, the CSO leader said.
The appeal has gone unheeded. The State Government is not able to take any effective step to deliver essential commodities to the Kuki people.
The ultimatums submitted to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister and the DGP have expired, he said.
“We have been observing how the State Government will respond to the appeal and the unfolding situation. But now we have lost hope of any meaningful action from the State Government’, he said.
He added, “Even if the Government does not provide essential commodities to the Kuki people, we will never die of starvation. We have enough resources in the hills; we have rice, vegetables and everything. We can survive by eating these products.
But it is not right to keep essential commodities off one community while other communities have access to all the commodities.”
Expressing hope that the conflict situation which erupted on May 3, 2023 and is continuing till date may cool down gradually and the communities may reconcile with each other one day, the Kuki CSO leader asserted that the State Government must work out a solution which will address the grievances of every community equally.
Expressing surprise over the State Government’s failure to resolve the crisis, the Kuki CSO leader hinted at possible involvement of some political leaders in the crisis.