IMPHAL, June 13: Local residents of Bijoypur (Kuraopokpi) village in Thoubal district staged a sit in protest against the eviction of the villagers for setting up of Industrial Estate & Timber Park under Department of Commerce and Industries, Government of Manipur, today.
The sit in protest was organised following the issuance of eviction order by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kakching, Th Charanjeet Singh.
The order has instructed voluntary removal of the encroaching structures on or before 4:30 pm of June 13, failing which all such structures will be removed on June 14, 2014.
While holding placards which read “Save our village”, “Save our agricultural land”, “Save Manipur”, the protestors unitedly resorted to sloganeering against the acquisition of homestead land for setting up of Industrial Estate and Timber Park.
Speaking to the media on the sideline of the sit in protest, a woman protester said that the concerned authority came to their village yesterday without prior notification and suddenly issued an eviction order to vacate their homes by June 13.
She also questioned that how can the villagers vacate their houses in such short notice as they don’t have an alternative place to stay.
If the government wants us to vacate the homestead, it should provide the villagers an alternative place to live in, she added.
Meanwhile, during a meeting held today in connection with the eviction order, the villagers of Bijoypur (Kuraopokpi) village resolved not to allow setting up of Industrial Estate and Timber Park in the village.
And the villagers also consensually declared not to abide the eviction order issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate to vacate by June 14 as the villagers have no knowledge of land demarcation for setting up of the Timber Park.