Kamjong: The Minister of State (MoS) Defence, Sanjay Seth, on Thursday held a meeting with frontal organisations in the Kamjong district and discussed various local issues, including education, health, and the border area development programme.
The Union Minister, on his maiden two-day visit to the border district of Manipur, arrived at the Kamjong district headquarters on Wednesday and held a closed-door meeting with district-level officers and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the district.
On Thursday, the minister held a meeting with representatives of the frontal organisations of the Kamjong district, including Tangkhul Naga Zingsho (East) Longphang, Tangkhul Naga Aze (South) Longphang, Zingsho Katamnao Long and Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long.
Taking to X, Union Minister Seth said, “Met representatives of major civil society organizations (CSO) in the border district Kamjong (Manipur). Local issues and proper development of the area were discussed. There was an exchange of views with positivity. Matters like education, health, livelihood and border area welfare were discussed.”
The minister also inspected the District Hospital, Kamjong (Manipur) and interacted with doctors and staff to understand the plight faced by the medical staff as well as the local populace in availing the healthcare facility in the lone hospital in the border district.
Doctors and staff drew my attention to the need for help in bridging the minimum gaps required for daily routine care and services. I took information from the officials about the health services and other topics available in the district hospital, the minister said.
Minister Seth also visited the Higher Secondary School, one of the oldest government schools in the district, operating since 1970, and interacted with students and teachers.
“The visit to Kamjong district of Manipur is important in many ways including its development, improvement in educational and health services, self-employment, etc,” the minister added.
Meanwhile, according to AS Nathan, chairman of the Tangkhul Naga Zingsho Longphang, an apex customary body in the region, during the formal meeting, the CSOs representing the Tangkhul people residing along the Indo-Myanmar border have expressed their collective objection to scrapping of Free Movement Regime (FMR) and border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border.
Kamjong district, one of the remotest districts of Manipur , shares about 120 km long international border with Myanmar.
In a memorandum submitted to MoS Defence Sanjay Seth, the CSOs argued that the present boundary demarcation and fencing plan arbitrarily divided families and communities, disregarding traditional land ownership and customary land use practices. The FMR has helped maintain familial ties and communal bondsand its removal, coupled with fencing, threatens to sever ancestral and cultural connections that have existed across generations.
The visiting minister was also urged to remove Assam Rifles checkposts and barricades from two locations: 8 Assam Rifles, located in the heart of Kamjong town, which creates a sense of fear rather than reassurance among the public, and the 40 Assam Rifles barricade at Gamnoum in Shingcha village.
This barricade, according to Nathan, is placed amidst a residential zone, causing daily hardships to the villagers. The Assam Rifles, tasked primarily with guarding the international border, need not maintain such checkposts within peaceful settlements, especially where no active threat is observed, he added.
Also Read: Hostel for Northeast students, but no rooms for them: The Barak Hostel in JNU