JIRIBAM, June 8: Representatives of All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) namely Micah Kamei, information and publicity secretary, and Mung Guite, finance committee along with media persons has inspected the railway construction site along National Highway 37 today. No one was found working at the construction site during the inspection.
ATSUM had appealed to cease NF Railway construction works from Jiribam to Imphal under the National Project in the entire tribal areas of Manipur with effect from midnight of June 7, 2013.
It may be recalled that ATSUM while pressing the state government to fulfil its various demands had launched a 38 days long intense agitation under the code name ROTO since May 4 last. It is under ROTO that it has started to deter the construction works of the railway line.
The ATSUM’s charter of demands were about education, health, separate State Commission for ST under Article 338-A of the Indian Constitution, adherence to ST reservation norms as per the latest roster, effective governance of the hills, unbiased promotion in government services i.e. both centre and state services, tribal rights on land and natural resources, protest against deletion of Additional English in lieu of MIL, and appointment of tribal woman as chairperson of Manipur Women Commission.