62 students from violence-hit Manipur brought back to UP

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh(UP) government has brought back 62 students of the state from violence-hit Manipur till Tuesday and they are being brought home safely, according to an official release.

Amid rising tensions in the northeastern state, the Yogi Adityanath government has stepped up efforts to bring back stranded residents of Uttar Pradesh(UP) from Manipur.
“On the direction of the Chief Minister, the Uttar Pradesh(UP) 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 stranded students and their families in Manipur. Additionally, the Manipur government is also helping students reach the airports safely on the request of the Uttar Pradesh(UP) government.
Relief Commissioner Prabhu Narain Singh said that the students have reached Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport through different routes. From there they are being sent to their destinations by Volvo buses. He said some of them reached Delhi airport directly from Manipur, while others were brought to Delhi via Guwahati and Kolkata.
According to the release, the helpline launched by the state government received information about 136 students from Uttar Pradesh stranded in Manipur. They include 52 students of IIT Manipur, 47 students of NIT Imphal, 30 students of Sports University, two students of Medical College, three students of Central Agricultural University and two other students.
As many as 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.
Violent clashes erupted in the northeastern state after tribal solidarity marches were held in 10 hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meti community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, resulting in death more than 54 people.
Meiteis constitute about 53% of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. The tribals – Nagas and Kukis – constitute another 40 percent of the population and live in the hilly districts.

The clashes preceded tensions over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had sparked a series of small-scale protests since February this year.