Subhechcha Ganguly 
The army and Assam Rifles have deployed 135 columns to carry out dominance of sensitive and periphery regions in an effort to alleviate the situation.General Manoj Pande, the head of the army, departed for Manipur on Saturday on a two-day official visit to assess the situation there. The north-eastern state has been plagued by ethnic violence and instability for more than three weeks, according to officials familiar with the situation.Following a tribal solidarity march staged in the hill areas to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) classification, violent skirmishes erupted in Manipur on May 3.
According to the officials, the army and Assam Rifles have deployed 135 columns to carry out dominance of crucial and periphery regions in an effort to alleviate the situation. A column has roughly 100 people in it.The army stated in a statement that the army chief will travel to several places where he will meet with the local formation commanders and troops and get a firsthand picture of the situation on the ground.On Sunday, Pande will meet with the governor, Anusuiya Uikey, the chief minister, N Biren Singh, and the chief security advisor “to discuss and deliberate over the current situation and future trajectory to restore normalcy at the earliest,” according to the announcement.
On May 3, clashes broke out in Churachandpur during a solidarity march by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) opposing a proposal for ST status to the state’s predominately Meitei minority.Thousands of people were displaced as a result of the violence that swiftly swept the ethnically divided northeastern state as they fled burning homes and towns.More than 30,000 people were rendered homeless, over 30,000 people were killed, and over 200 people were injured.
