Manipur is setting up 34 police outposts along international border: N Biren Singh

Imphal, Feb 24: Setting up of a total of 34 police outposts in the border area are in full swing, and some are almost completed with approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs to check infiltration from neighbouring countries.

This was disclosed by the state chief minister N Biren Singh while replying to a question by opposition congress MLA Kangujam Ranjit Singh on the fourth day of the ongoing budget session of the 12th assembly in Imphal on Friday.

Manipur shares 398 km long international border with Myanmar.

Responding to Ranjit's direct question, Biren Singh, who is in charge of the home department, informed the house that altogether 393 Myanmar nationals were apprehended in the state from January 1, 2012 till date.

Of them, 1 was deported, 107 were in judicial custody, 105 in detention centres and 180 were released on bail.

Highlighting the various measures taken up by the State Government to check and curb the illegal migration to the state, the chief minister said that biometric surveillance, house to house Aadhaar verification have been taken up in some areas of the five districts of the state to check the infiltrations to the state.

On February 5 this year, Manipur police arrested 10 Myanmar nationals during search operations in Churachandpur district which borders Myanmar for illegally entering and taking shelter in Manipur.

Among the arrested Myanmar nationals six of them were women while four are men. Most of them are from Monywa.

Regarding a question on irrigation of paddy fields by congress MLA K Ranjit Singh, Chief Minister Biren Singh replied that irrigation facilities are provided in 46,512 hectares of agricultural land by Minor Irrigation and Water Resource Departments. He continued that ground water extraction through tube wells, rain water harvesting and construction of check dams at the foothills are being taken up to provide continued irrigation facilities.

Responding to another question by opposition member Th Lokeshwar Singh on Land registration, Biren who is the leader of the House stated that a cabinet sub-committee verified the land buyers whether they are indigenous people of Manipur. He asserted that strict rules are in place to protect the state’s land from outsiders.