Imphal, Jan 7 (IANS): Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on his maiden visit after assuming office, visited Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts on Tuesday and during his interaction with various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) appealed to the leaders to work collaboratively with the administration in peace-building efforts.
A Raj Bhavan official said that the Governor also visited various relief camps in Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts and interacted with displaced people, who have been staying in the relief camps since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May 2023.
“The Governor patiently heard the problems faced by the displaced people and assured to extend support to them,” the official said.
Bhalla inaugurated a newly-constructed IT Centre at Churachandpur College and interacted with the students of there.
The Governor held an important meeting at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Churachandpur, where he interacted with various CSOs.
“The Governor appealed to the leaders of the CSOs to work collaboratively with the administration in peace-building efforts,” the official stated.
Later, he visited the Sadhbhavna Mandap Relief Camp in Churachandpur and interacted with the displaced people and distributed relief materials there.
On his way back to Imphal, the Governor visited the Chingnu Thangjing Guest House Relief Camp at Moirang in Bishnupur District and interacted with the inmates and distributed relief materials.
Bhalla, after assuming the gubernatorial charge of Manipur on January 3, held a meeting with the top security officials the next day and reviewed the law and order situation of the troubled state.
The Governor directed the state Director General of Police Rajiv Singh to prioritise the safety and security of the people and urged officers from the Army and paramilitary forces to extend their fullest cooperation to the administration in maintaining law and order in the state.
Bhalla, a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, as the top official of the Ministry of Home Affairs for a long time, has vast experience in dealing with the various crisis situations in the northeastern region.
He was the Union Home Secretary when the ethnic violence between the majority Meitei and minority Koki-Zo community began in Manipur on May 3, 2023.
During the 20-month-long ethnic violence, over 250 men and women of both communities were killed, over 1,000 were injured and more than 60,000 people were displaced from their homes and villages.