Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh on Tuesday announced affordable air services through Alliance Air, with fares capped at Rs 5,000. He stated that subsidies would be provided for passengers if airfares exceed this limit. The air service will operate twice a week on the Imphal-Guwahati, Imphal-Kolkata, and Imphal-Dimapur routes.
The chief minister expressed regret to the people of the state for the violence that has been occurring since last year and appealed to all sections of people to forgive and forget the past while striving for peace and harmony in the upcoming New Year.
"Manipur has been grappling with the issue of population influx, both internally and externally. The government continues its efforts to identify illegal migrants entering the state without the required Inner Line Permit. Regarding illegal immigrants, the biometric registration process is ongoing,” he said.
To address illegal population influx, Aadhaar-linked birth registration will be introduced starting January 2025. In the first phase, this initiative will be implemented in three districts and launched on January 15 next year, the chief minister said. Birth registration will be made mandatory, and updates will be required every five years. "This initiative was taken after discovering a 420% population increase in electoral roll in some districts of Manipur,” he said.
Efforts to restore normalcy have included resettling 2,058 displaced families in their original homes across Imphal West, Imphal East, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur. To enhance security, 17 additional companies of security personnel have been deployed along NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) and 18 along NH-37 (Imphal-Silchar via Jiribam).
Since the violence began on May 3, 2023, over 3,000 of approximately 6,000 looted arms have been recovered, 625 individuals arrested, and 12,247 FIRs registered. Central forces deployed in vulnerable zones have contributed to a reduction in firing incidents in peripheral areas.
The Chief Minister also announced security upgrades, including the acquisition of 40 bulletproof vehicles, sniper rifles, mini machine guns, and mine-protected vehicles. Special combat training will be provided to 1,000 Indian Reserve Battalion personnel under former Colonel Sanjenbam Nectar.
In the education sector, the government will reward dedicated teachers with double annual increments in salaries. Additionally, the Dearness Allowance (DA) for state employees will be increased from 32% to 39%.