Civil society groups visit Tengnoupal villages in peace outreach

A group of civil society organisations visited several Maring villages in Manipur's Tengnoupal district on Sunday as part of a campaign they have called "Campaign for Peaceful Coexistence", The Sangai Express reported.

The team was drawn from the National Identity Protection Council (NIPCO), the Manipur Peace and Integrity (MAPI) Council, the United People's Front (UPF), the Coalition Against Drugs & Alcohol (CADA) and the All Manipur Progressive Farmer Association (AMPFA). The villages they listed were Thamlai, Wabaching, Heinoukhong, Parengtong, Thabi Keithel and Gonaitong, all under Machi police station.

A call to live together

Speaking to reporters, NIPCO president Oinam Premjit said Manipur would be stronger only if people in the hill and valley districts chose to live together in peace and worked jointly for change. He said many hill villages were struggling with poor roads and other infrastructure and with a shortage of teachers.

He pointed to a wooden bridge over the Heikon River that residents of Thamlai, Wabaching and Heinoukhong use regularly. The span has been in a poor state for a long time and is no longer fit for vehicles, he said, and he asked the government to repair it quickly.

A school run by villagers

DM Tungcha, a resident of Parengtong, said the upper primary school in his village had been kept going by local people because there were no government teachers. The school once had a single teacher, who was later transferred; the Education Department has not sent a replacement, he said. Educated villagers have been taking classes since then. He added that many students had moved to other schools because of the situation, and he asked the government to step in.

The visit was also attended by UPF president Nongthombam Rupachandra, CADA president Hijam Priyokumar, MAPI Council president K.C. Romio and AMPFA general secretary Naosekpam Singhajit.

The Sangai Express report did not record a response from the district administration or the Education Department. NEInsider has not independently verified the condition of the Heikon River bridge or the staffing of the Parengtong school, and will update this story if officials comment.

Outreach of this kind has been rare since ethnic violence began in May 2023 and split many hill and valley communities. Sunday's visit does not by itself change that picture, but the specific complaints about the bridge and the school are the sort of everyday gaps that residents say have widened during the conflict.