As many as 47 Konyak women aged between 28-30 years, who were working at a private mill in Manipur, were stranded due to the ongoing conflict.
When contacted by Eastern Mirror, one of the women identified as Alih Konyak said out of the 47, only 41 would be leaving Manipur as the other six were not willing to take the risk of going through the conflict area, till the time of filing this report.
Konyak said they work at Victoria Vaneer Mill located at Yairipok Yambem in Manipur and live in the staff rooms provided by the company.
She said they were taking the risk of leaving their work place in the midst of the violence. They are either paid weekly or monthly as per their choice, and the mill owner assured to pay the pending salaries for those leaving the workplace, Konyak informed.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Most of the women have been working at the mill only for a few months while some for three years, she said.
On Sunday afternoon, Alih Konyak had said they would be leaving the mill as the Assam Rifles would be picking them up and taken to a camp till an alternative is found to reach home.
‘However, we will be leaving our workplace at our own risk as we were told that although our safety will be taken care of, the situation cannot be predicted. Because of this, some of my friends are not willing to take the risk and leave the place at the moment,’ she informed.
She added that the group had earlier missed a rescue attempt as they were ‘not prepared and the transportation left in a hurry’.
Meanwhile, a Konyak Students’ Union official told this newspaper that through the initiative of Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Paiwang Konyak, transportation will be provided to bring back the 47 stranded women in Manipur. The transportation is expected to leave Kohima on Monday (May 8).