Manipur government steps up efforts to facilitate IDPs’ return home and extends financial assistance through welfare schemes.
IMPHAL — The Manipur government has been making concerted efforts to facilitate the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their respective homes since the formation of the new government on February 4 this year.
Disclosing this, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said the government had held several rounds of talks with representatives of various civil society organisations to bridge the trust deficit that had emerged following the crisis.
The Chief Minister was speaking at a programme held in Imphal on Monday as part of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, where benefits worth INR 2,19,25,000 were distributed to eligible labour card holders, particularly IDPs, under the Special Scheme for Financial Assistance for Education of Children Staying in Relief Camps and other schemes of the Manipur Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (MBOCWWB).
Khemchand said staying in relief camps was not comfortable and that being unable to return home was deeply disheartening.
He stated that the crisis had caused immense suffering to innocent people in both the hills and valley.
Highlighting the positive response to the resumption of bus services along the Imphal-Guwahati route via Dimapur, the Chief Minister said the service had eased the burden on students studying outside the state and sportspersons travelling for tournaments, particularly in view of the high cost of air travel. He said around 450 to 500 passengers were using the public transport service daily.
Khemchand said IDPs had fled their homes with nothing and that the government was making efforts to meet their basic needs through various welfare schemes.
He said around 2,531 IDPs were receiving assistance through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and urged those yet to be registered to approach the concerned authorities to avail themselves of the assistance.
On Mission Pathshala, he said the government was making every effort to ensure that its benefits reached IDP students across the state.
He added that frequent meetings were being held with IDP representatives to address their grievances.
Rajya Sabha MP A Sharda Devi said extending assistance and support to needy people remained the government’s foremost priority.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of empowering weaker sections of society, she said various welfare schemes were being implemented at the grassroots level to benefit those in need.
She also lauded Chief Minister Khemchand for his decision to travel by road to Jiribam district, describing it as a step taken in the interest of the people of Manipur.
During the programme, 2,531 beneficiaries received around INR 1,42,05,000 under the Special Scheme for Financial Assistance for Education of Children Staying in Relief Camps. Eight beneficiaries received around INR 19 lakh under the Immediate Assistance in Case of Accident (Accidental Death) scheme, while 194 beneficiaries received around INR 58.20 lakh under the Natural Death Benefit Scheme.