TN CM directs officials to rescue Tamils stranded in violence-hit Manipur

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday directed the officials to rescue the Tamils stranded in the violence-hit Manipur.Five students, who wanted to return to their home state would be brought tonight, the government said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday directed the officials to rescue the Tamils stranded in the violence-hit Manipur.

Five students, who wanted to return to their home state would be brought tonight, the government said. The students from Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi, Tiruvallur, and Cuddalore districts who expressed their desire to return to Tamil Nadu would be brought home through the Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils department.

''Due to the extraordinary situation in Manipur, a large number of people, including the Tamils living there, are trapped in an unsafe situation. On May 5, the Chief Minister had directed the officers of the Rehabilitation Department to take appropriate steps to rescue them,'' an official release here said.

Accordingly, contact was established with the students from Tamil Nadu. Five expressed their desire to return home and arrangements have been made to fly them to Chennai, the release said.

Students studying in various medical colleges said they were safe in their college hostels and that they did not want to return home as they were preparing for their exams.

The Chief Minister told the officials to provide all necessary assistance including water and food to the affected, in collaboration with the State government there and representatives of the Tamil Sangam.

The contact was being established with the Tamils living in Manipur for several years and steps would be taken to ensure their protection, the release said. However, the situation across Manipur is improving with no fresh reports of any untoward incident, while curfew has been relaxed in all the 11 districts where it was clamped, officials said on Tuesday. Violent clashes broke out between tribals and people belonging to the majority Meitei community in Manipur on last Wednesday, displacing thousands of people. The clashes erupted after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in 10 hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside mostly in the hill districts.

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