Will bring back all stranded Tripura students from violence-hit Manipur soon: CM

AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday announced that all students from the state, who are stranded in violence-hit Manipur, will be brought back by a special flight at the earliest. The announcement came hours after the chief minister held a meeting with parents of students stuck in the trouble-torn state.

The meeting was held in the CM’s official residence in the presence of Chief Secretary J K Sinha and Director General of Police Amitabh Ranjan. "In continuation of the sincere efforts to help the students of Tripura studying in Manipur, a special team has been sent by the government to the trouble-torn state for coordinating and bringing back students," Saha said in a Facebook post.

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“Besides, necessary arrangements have been made to bring them back by a flight at the earliest," he said. Saha also talked to his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh during the day to know the latest situation there. Over 200 students of Tripura, who are studying in Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and Central Agriculture University in Manipur, are stranded due to an ethnic flare-up there since Wednesday.

In continuation of the sincere efforts to help the students of Tripura studying in Manipur, a special team has been sent by the Govt of Tripura to Manipur for coordinating & bringing back Tripura's students.

Besides, necessary arrangements have been made to bring them back by…

— Prof.(Dr.) Manik Saha (@DrManikSaha2) May 6, 2023

Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition Animesh Debbarma sought the chief minister's intervention to bring back all the stranded students of Tripura from violence-hit Manipur. "Students of Tripura are facing safety and security threats in Manipur, and in some hostels, food scarcity is also reported due to disruption in the supply chain. I heard that there is no air ticket available on the Agartala-Imphal route till May 10. This is a serious problem," he said.

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Debbarma also said, “If air tickets are not available, the state government should talk to airlines to make necessary arrangements to bring back all the students. I hope the chief minister will take proper steps." Violent clashes broke out between tribals and people belonging to the majority Meitei community in Manipur on Wednesday, displacing thousands of people.

The clashes broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the ten hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside mostly in the hill districts.