Present situation in Manipur could have been avoided: CM N Biren Singh

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday said that the present situation in the state could have been avoided had there been no problem of narcotics and illegal immigrantsSingh said that he will resign if the government measures against the use of drugs and its campaigns against the influx of unauthorised immigrants to contain the situation in the state are found to be unconstitutionalThe chief minister who was speaking at a programme held on the 190th death anniversary of Manipuri ruler Maharaja Gambhir Singh said out of the states 30 lakh population 15 lakh youths are addictsThe war on drugs was declared by the state government to save the present and future generations If there were no drugs no poppy cultivation and no illegal immigration the present situation would not have occurredOut of a population of just 30 lakhs in the state 15 lakhs of youth are affected by drugs The state gets less rainfall due to deforestation for poppy cultivation and water bodies have dried up he saidSingh continued What exactly was the fault and unconstitutional act of the Manipur government which led to the attacks and burning houses of ordinary people If there was anything that was unconstitutional in the government act against drugs and campaign against the influx of illegal immigrants I will immediately resign I have to protect and implement the Constitution which is my responsibilityHe claimed that none had previously discussed the current situation with the people of the state and issues of the impact of drugs environmental and ecological imbalances due to widespread deforestation for poppy cultivation population and demographic imbalances were long unrealised However today it is crystal clear how much trouble the state is inHe advised holding of seminars and symposiums to discuss social issues and history of the stateIn Manipur around 15496 acres are under poppy cultivation according to official figure The state has 398 km of international border with Myanmar much of which is unfenced and porous More than 2000 illegal immigrants were identified in 2023The state is being rocked by ethnic violence since May 3 last year when a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei communitys demand for ST status More than 180 people have been killed and several hundreds injured in itThe chief minister later posted on X that Maharaja Gambhir Singh protected Manipur by launching a war against Burmese invaders Due to his sacrifices our generation continues to flourish today with dignity and pride Let us draw inspiration from his courage amp patriotism and work towards further protecting the nation he wroteThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever