Imphal, November 7: Following several organisations’ calls to cancel this year’s Sangai Festival, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity has urged the government today to allocate funds meant for the festival to help Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) still struggling due to the ongoing ethnic crisis.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), in a press conference held at its office in Lamphelpat on Friday, said that diverting the festival’s budget towards IDP welfare would be a more humane and responsible decision at a time when thousands remain displaced.
COCOMI co-convenor Yumkhaibam Surjitkumar Khuman said the situation of IDPs continues to be grim since violence erupted on May 3, 2023. “Many people from Moreh, Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and other areas have been living in relief camps under dire conditions. The government’s aid through Direct Benefit Transfer has been inconsistent, and many received only partial assistance,” he stated.
He criticised the government for prioritising celebrations over humanitarian needs, urging it to ensure fair relief distribution and focus on rehabilitation measures instead.
The Sangai Festival, named after the state’s endangered brow-antlered deer, is Manipur’s biggest annual tourism event. It has been celebrated since 2010, usually held for ten days from November 21 to 30. However, it was suspended for the past two years due to the state’s turmoil.
Meanwhile, three prominent women’s organisations – the All Manipur Women’s Social Reformation and Development Samaj (Nupi Samaj), Ereipak Enaat Chanura Loinasillon Apunba Lup (EECHAL), and the All Manipur Tammi Chingmi Apunba Lup have also opposed the state government’s plan to resume the festival this year.
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Their leaders on Thursday at Manipur Press Club, Imphal, said it was inappropriate to host a celebratory event when thousands of families are still living in relief camps, highways remain insecure, and normal life has not yet returned.
The MAPI Council and United People’s Front (UPF) have also appealed to the government to cancel the event, saying that holding the festival amid such suffering “amounts to ignoring the pain and tears of thousands affected by the ongoing crisis.”
(Newmai News Network)