Womenfolk of Sagang block road to stop security forces

Our Correspondent
BISHNUPUR, Nov 14: In a bid to foil the plan of stationing Central Security forces at PY College campus in Sagang under Kumbi Police Station, a large number of womenfolk belonging to Meitei, Kom and Meitei Pandal community blocked the road from Sagang till Wangoo Parking since yesterday night.
The womenfolk blocked the road to prevent the entry of Central Security forces in the area claiming that the presence of security forces is not needed in the peaceful area of Sagang which has remained unaffected by the communal conflict.
A team of media persons who went to the area to gather more information today found womenfolk blocking the vehicles of Central security forces at the three-way junction of Sagang.
In connection with the issue, representatives of Command & Control Committee and Meira Paibis went to meet Bishnupur DC, SP and other Government higher authority officials however no amicable solution was brought.
In view of the above, the womenfolk declared that they will not retreat until and unless the security forces leave the area.
Upon receiving news of the tense situation, a team of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) led by its convenor Jeetendra Ningomba visited Sagang and took stock of the situation.
Speaking at the sidelines, Kom community Meira Paibi leader, Ingellei Kom who also met the higher authority Government officials expressed that, 'The deployment of Central Security forces in the area will disrupt the harmonial coexistence of different communities in Sagang'.
Asserting that all the communities in Sagang are peacefully coexisting and there are no reports of communal violence in the area, she appealed to the Government and all concerned to deploy the Central Security forces in other sensitive areas affected by the conflict instead of Sagang.
In connection with the issue, social activist Jaya Khangembam stated that the residents of Sagang are against the plan of deployment of Central security forces in their peaceful area.
If the Government is intended in quelling the violence which have created turmoil in the State, the security forces should be deployed in hilly regions where tension runs high, she maintained.
In view of the prevailing situation, a large number of State forces under the aegis of SDPO Moirang and SDPO Bishnupur have been deployed to prevent unwanted outcomes.