Children in Manipur relief camps grow up without homes
Nearly 60,000 internally displaced people continue to live in relief camps across Manipur, according to a senior government official.
Nearly 60,000 internally displaced people continue to live in relief camps across Manipur, a senior government official told PTI, according to reports by The Tribune and Deccan Chronicle.
The displacement follows ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023, forcing families to flee their homes. Many children have been born into these temporary shelters, which include converted college classrooms and prefabricated cabins.
At the Akampat relief camp in Imphal, located on the Ideal Girls' College premises, classrooms have been turned into living quarters. While the premises once held around 400 displaced families, the number has decreased to about 120 after others were moved to a housing complex facility.
In Imphal West, residents in prefabricated cabins say the structures become unbearably hot during the summer. In the Sekmai assembly constituency, a relative of a resident, Moirangthem Rabi, alleged that the local BJP MLA, Heikham Dingo Singh, has visited the camp barely three times.
One displaced family in the Akampat camp, Loitongbam Romita and Laishram John, lost their house and shop in Moreh during the conflict. They currently depend on government assistance of Rs 3,000 per person per month and have not received compensation for their lost property.