Our Correspondent
IMPHAL,March 12
All Manipur Minority Students Union(AMMSU) has called 48 hours general strike from March 12 midnight in protest against Wednesday's bomb blast in busy Imphal market.
The powerful bomb blast near a tea stall at the temporary women market shed of Imphal town on Wednesday claims three lives including a student from Kshetri Bengoon locality in Manipur's Imphal East district,besides injuring 20 others(including four ladies).
President of the AMMSU Sayed Nawaj Khan made an announcement in connection with the general strike during a press conference at the Manipur Press club in Imphal this afternoon.The ongoing examinations, essential services in the state will be exempted from the purview of the general strike, he added.AMMSU leader also demanded immediate booking of the culprits involved in the blast within 48 hours.Other demands of the students unionh include installation of a statue in memory of late Md Salman who is a student of Modern College, Rs 5 lakhs ex-gratia for dead persons and necessary compensation amount for the injured ones. He also demanded action against Imphal city Police station authority for their alleged lack of alertness. "Otherwise we will launch various forms of agitation if the government fails to do so,"he warned.
Meanwhile speaking volumes of condemnation against yesterday’s bomb blast in the heart Imphal town besides demanding a safety environment in the city, all the women folk of Khwairamband Keithel, main market site in Imphal, on Thursday staged a vast sit-in near Shamu Makhong below the state’s only fly-over bridge.
The women protestors speaking to media on the sideline of the sit in, informed that they are ready to submit a memorandum to chief minister and home minister of the state to immediately activate the CCTV cameras by replacing the existing ones.
Braving the Lamta sun, almost all the women vendors of nupi keithel(women’s market), Asia’s the largest women run market, in Imphal took part in the sit in by holding banners that read 'Dont make Ema keithel, a keithel for Bomb'; 'It's a keithel for Impoverish people not an attacking place'; 'Let the people live, don't Kill the people'.
L Mema, a protestor who identified herself as secretary of Manipur Keithel Nupi Marup, said, "The frequent blast in zero mile area which is a high security zone, shows a huge lapse in the state’s security system". She added that they will considered yesterday’s incident as a state designed one if the state government and home department could not trace or delineate the incident properly. Another protestor added that such blast in the busy market sites is not the first time. Five persons including three policemen were injured during February 18 blast at masjid road in Imphal.The women protestor also denounced the state home minister’s remark on the widows and drug users as transporter of bombs.
Out of the total 22 injured persons in yesterday’s blast, 14 of them are vegetable sellers and marketers, another protester narrated. She also asked why the CCTV cameras installed in market sites failed to operate for so long after its installation. Accusing the home department and Chief Minister, She alleged that the people's security have been compromised by installing defected low-cost equipment to get profits.
Pertaining with the today's sit-in, business community of market areas refrained themselves from doing any business transaction. Many business establishments and shops in Thangal Bazaar close down the shutters since morning and the markets areas wore a deserted look.
