Kohima: At least 553 persons, including residents of Nagaland, Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar, were evacuated from violence-hit Manipur on Wednesday and brought to Kohima in a joint operation conducted by the state government, Assam Rifles, and Nagaland Police.
SDO Kohima Sadar, Chonpenthung Ezung, who was part of the rescue team informed that a total of 241 men and 312 women were evacuated from Imphal, Thoubal, Churachandpur, Sisipur, parts of Chandel district, and other areas. Of the total evacuees, 263 are reportedly from the Konyak Naga tribe, most of whom were working in plywood manufacturing units.
Unlike the first “Operation Kohima calling” evacuation that happened on Sunday, which saw a huge number of students, the officer informed that most returnees this time were people employed in various sectors in Manipur.
Evacuation was made after distress calls were received from the state helpline numbers and the state government coordinated with the AR who conducted the evacuation even in areas where the state police could not enter.
“This time, we also brought returnees from outside Nagaland. Since it was a rescue effort, as well on humanitarian ground, on behalf of the state government, since they will be passing Kohima and Dimapur, and this is the only road for them to come. So, we brought them along with us,” he said.
15 buses and six light vehicles were requisitioned by the state government to evacuate persons including senior citizens, pregnant mothers, and so on.
Inspector General of Assam Rifles (IGAR) North, Vikas Lakhera, informed that the second phase of ‘Operation Kohima Calling’ was headed by Commandant of 1 Assam Rifle, Colonel Umesh Sati, SDO Kohima, and DSP Traffic Kohima Henthai Phom.
Lakhera informed that there will be no further mass evacuation as most people in distress has been evacuated. If further distress calls are received, he said that necessary action will be taken but as of this writing, it was informed that no distress calls were received.
He hoped that the situation would return to normalcy and people who had left their jobs would be able to join their workplaces.
Pupai Konyak who worked at a plywood factory in Thoubal recounted how he was informed about the situation through an elder brother. Moments after the call, he said that the next thing that happened was moving to the Assam Rifles call following which they were evacuated.
Even as the situation normalises in Manipur, he said that he has decided not to go back. Like him, 21 year old Neangmei Konyak who worked at another plywood factory said that she has no plans to return even as the situation returns to normalcy.
“We used to earn about Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000 a month. Our proprietors assured us of our safety and asked us to stay back but we wanted to go home. They said that we can go back after the situation improves but our government has taken much initiative to bring us back, I don’t want to go back later on also,” she told EastMojo.
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Sanjay Verma (21), a construction worker from West Bengal informed that attempts to reach their state government failed and so when he and his friends learned about the evacuation process made by the Nagaland government through other stranded persons at the Assam Rifles camp, they decided to get onboard.
Verma and about 30 other workers who joined the bus from Manipur will be heading to Dimapur after which they will return to their respective states.
Also Read | UP govt brings back 62 students from violence-hit Manipur