Farmers’ stand-off near Manipur’s ethnic buffer zone | India News

Representative picture (Photo: PTI)

GUWAHATI: Kuki and Meitei villagers clashed on Sunday alongside the boundary of Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts in Manipur after a standoff between farmers from each communities over ploughing rights at a foothill village.Three to 5 folks suffered minor accidents throughout the skirmish near Sadu Lampak, an space straddling an unofficial buffer between Meitei-majority Imphal valley and Kuki-Zo tribal hills. Security forces intervened.According to Manipur police, a Meitei farmer from Leitanpokpi arrived with a tractor to plough a paddy subject in Sadu Lampak, near a Kuki-majority space. “Some nearby Kuki villagers came and objected, saying the paddy field did not belong to him. Some Meitei villagers too reached the site,” the police mentioned in an announcement.Meitei farmers mentioned they’d obtained permission from authorities to domesticate the land, which had remained uncultivated because the ethnic unrest. With the paddy sowing season approaching and violence subsiding below President’s Rule since February, the farmers determined to return. Videos of Sunday’s conflict circulated extensively on-line. Manipur police urged the general public to not fall for rumours.Over the previous two years, a number of farmers have been killed whereas working in fields near unstable boundary zones. Ethnic violence since May 2023 has killed greater than 250 and displaced over 60,000 folks within the state.