Convenor of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) Farmer Wing, Konthoujam Thoiba on Thursday said that farmers have become tensed as agricultural lands located at red zone have become barren land due to the ongoing crisis and that the government has not taken any steps with regards to the issue.
In connection with the issue and to discuss the strategies to ensure that farmers can plant their crops, COCOMI Farmer Wing is inviting all farmer organisations to participate in the discussion which is scheduled to take place at the Manipur Press Club, Major Khul in Imphal on May 29 at 11 am, Thoiba told the media at the committee’s office located at Lamphel in Imphal West.
He said that due to the ongoing crisis which erupted on May 3 last year, many agricultural lands have been barren as they are located in the red zone. Last year many farmers were not even able to cultivate their land as they were located at the red zones or adjacent to it.
Since the violence erupted, the Chin-Kuki Narco Terrorists have been threatening the farmers not to enter the agricultural land in the red zone. And with the coming of the crop season, the farmers are apprehensive that they will face the same issue this year too, he added.
And even as security forces were deployed to secure the farmers, Kuki militants continued to attack the farmers working in the field, he said.
Thoiba said during the meeting will discuss the strategies for working at their respective agricultural fields and to press the state agricultural department to provide necessary assistance in time so that farmers can cultivate their fields.
