Uttar Pradesh Government Brought Back 62 Students From Violence-Torn Manipur

The Uttar Pradesh government has brought back 62 students of the state from violence-hit Manipur till Tuesday and they are being safely taken to their homes, according to an official release.

Amid heightened tension in the northeastern state, the Yogi Adityanath government has stepped up efforts to bring back the stranded natives of Uttar Pradesh from Manipur.

“On the instructions of the chief minister, the Uttar Pradesh government has brought 62 students from Manipur till May 9,” the release said.     

The BJP-led state government has also set up a 24×7 control room to help the students stranded in Manipur and their families. Additionally, at the request of the Uttar Pradesh government, the Manipur government is also helping the students reach airports safely.

Relief Commissioner Prabhu Narain Singh said the students have reached Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport by different routes. From there, they are sent to their destinations by Volvo buses.

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Some of them reached the Delhi airport directly from Manipur, while others were brought to Delhi via Guwahati and Kolkata, he said. 

According to the release, information about 136 Uttar Pradesh students stuck in Manipur was received on the helpline started by the state government. These include 52 students of IIT Manipur, 47 students of NIT Imphal, 30 students of Sports University, two students of Medical College, three students from Central Agricultural University, and two other students.

Of these, a maximum of 17 students are from Lucknow, 13 from Prayagraj, 10 from Kanpur Nagar, eight from Ghaziabad, six from Varanasi, eight from Ghazipur, and four each from Noida and Ambedkar Nagar, it added.

Violent clashes broke out in the northeastern state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in 10 hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, leading to the deaths of at least 54 people.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals – Nagas and Kukis – constitute another 40 per cent of the population and live in the hill districts.

The clashes were preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land which had led to a series of smaller agitations since February this year.