Manipur violence: Centre announces compensation package of Rs 10 lakh for those killed in ethnic clashes

The Government of India and the state government of Manipur have agreed to compensate people who perished during the ethnic strife in Manipur with Rs 10 lakh. 

A job will also be granted to a member of the family of those who perished in the unrest. 
Officials stated that the compensation cash will be shared equally by the centre and the state. 

After a meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister N Biren Singh late Monday night, the decision was made. According to officials, the decision to reveal a compensation package was taken during that meeting. 

Officials also stated that it has been agreed to set up specific phone lines that will be used to refute rumour-mongering, which has hampered the task of calming down the situation and bringing peace to the volatile state. 

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Shah's meeting also agreed that necessary supplies like fuel, LPG petrol, rice and other food products will be made accessible in huge numbers in order to keep costs down. 

Amit Shah, who arrived in Imphal on Monday night with Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Kumar Deka, will hold a series of meetings with political and civil society leaders from both the Meitei and Kuki communities and will visit Churachandpur, the site of some of the worst rioting earlier this month, on Tuesday. 

Ethnic confrontations erupted in Manipur on May 3 following a 'Tribal Solidarity March' in the hill regions to oppose the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.  

Since then, there have been waves of unrest, with the most recent round of skirmishes killing at least five people on Sunday. The eviction of Kuki people from the reserve forest area had sparked a succession of minor protests before the violence. Meiteis make up around 53% of Manipur's population and dwell mostly in the Imphal Valley. 

Tribal Nagas and Kukis make up another 40 per cent of the population and live in the hill districts. To restore normality in the northeastern state, 140 columns of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles, totalling over 10,000 soldiers, as well as those from other paramilitary forces, had to be deployed.