Amid stiff opposition, Sangai Fest preparation begins in earnest

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 8: Even as the call to suspend the Sangai Festival has intensified, preparations for the festival at the Hapta Kangjeibung venue have begun in full swing.
Construction of rigid pavement on Palace Compound Road, ground levelling work, installation of tents are being carried out and the Bhagyachandra Open Air Theatre is being renovated and revamped.
The Manipur Sangai Festival--an annual State level festival held from November 21 to 30--was halted after the May 3, 2023 conflict broke out. The festival is due to make a comeback later this month.
The State's plan to organise the festival, meanwhile, has been met with stiff opposition with internally displaced persons (IDPs) staying in relief camps and civil society organisations (CSOs) urging the Governor to cancel it.
The IDPs and CSOs including the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) have urged the State not to organise the festival until there is complete normalcy and the internally displaced persons are allowed to return to their original villages and homes and resettled.
Significantly, the IDPs--people who have been displaced by the Manipur conflict--have come out strongly against the State's plan to celebrate the festival while they (IDPs) are suffering in relief camps.
While the call to cancel the festival has intensified, the main venue of the Sangai Festival--Hapta Kangjeibung is being prepared.
Grass-cutting and ground levelling works are almost complete and several tent houses have been hired by the Manipur Industrial Development Corporation Limited (MANIDCO) to install stalls.
The work to install stalls has begun.
Further, the construction of rigid pavement on the Place Compound Road has been completed.
The Bhagyachandra Open Air Theatre (BOAT) which will host varieties of programmes is also being revamped and decorated.
This paper couldn't establish which departments are handling the works at the scheduled venues.
Officials of the Public Works Department refused to comment when contacted.
Sources said the Government meanwhile has not taken any steps to consult or hold talks with the civil bodies and IDPs who have intensified the call to cancel the festival.
The violent Manipur conflict broke out on May 3, 2023 at the adjoining area between Bishnupur and Churachandpur during a rally organised by the All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM).
The conflict which has not been resolved has killed more then 250 persons including security forces' personnel, burnt hundreds of houses and displaced thousands of people.
State highways remain inaccessible to the people of the valley since the conflict broke out in 2023.