Manipur CM urges Centre to fence undisputed stretch of Indo-Myanmar border

Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh has urged the Central government to fence the undisputed stretch of Indo-Myanmar border to control illegal immigration apart from human, arms and drug trafficking.

Biren was speaking in Shillong on Saturday at the 69th plenary of North Eastern Council (NEC), chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah, said officials in Imphal. The meeting was attended by the governors and chief ministers of all the northeast states and MDoNER (ministry of development of north eastern region) minister Dr Jitendra Singh and other Union ministers.

Expressing his heartfelt thankfulness to the Union home minister for his prompt assistance in controlling the fierce wildfire at Dzuko seen recently, Biren also requested Shah to introduce a special scheme to provide poppy growers with alternative livelihood options besides approval for the Ordinance on Psychotropic Substances Amendment, which had already been forwarded to the President by the governor of Manipur.

Pressing for an early completion of Jiribam-Tupul railway project and development of its main station at Imphal, he also sought assistance from the Centre in developing the Indian National Army Memorial Complex at Moirang in Manipur as a world-class memorial site on the land being acquired for expansion of the present complex.

Urging to extend the Hill Area Development Programme to the remaining eight hill districts of the state, the CM also requested for Centre’s intervention in facilitating necessary World Bank funding for Integrated Sewerage System, Loktak Lake Eco-Tourism and the rejuvenation of Lamphelpat water body.

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He also sought approval for the proposal to expand the potential areas under horticulture, submitted to DoNER ministry, for the development of value chain systems and integrated farming in shifting cultivation areas. He also requested an approval to ₹126 crore five year plan for development of Bamboo in Manipur.

Later CM Biren Singh also visited the ancient royal property at Shillong Rajbari and made a first-hand assessment of the controversy surrounding it, as per a press release.