PM Modi To Launch Projects Worth Rs 8,500 Crore In Manipur On Sept. 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Manipur on Sept. 13 for the first time since ethnic clashes erupted in the state last year, killing more than 250 people and displacing around 50,000.

According to reports, the United Naga Council (UNC) has temporarily called off its week-long economic blockade along National Highway-2, the main supply route through Naga-dominated areas. The protest, sparked by what the group described as the “unilateral abrogation” of the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime, was reportedly suspended after Manipur’s chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel assured that the Centre would hold talks with all stakeholders before moving ahead with border fencing plans.

PM Modi’s visit will reportedly focus on the Meitei-majority Imphal valley and the Kuki heartland of Churachandpur. These two regions were at the centre of ethnic violence that broke out in May 2023 in the northeastern state between the predominant Meitei community and the tribal Kuki-Zo communities.

The Prime Minister is expected to launch or inaugurate infrastructure and welfare projects valued at nearly Rs 8,500 crore. According to reports, these include initiatives worth over Rs 7,300 crore in Churachandpur and projects worth Rs 1,200 crore in Imphal’s Kangla. The projects reportedly include a working women’s hostel, a super-speciality healthcare facility covering five hill districts, the Manipur Infotech Development Project to create jobs for youth and new Eklavya model residential schools for tribal students. The PM-DevINE programme is also likely to feature in the announcements.

Billboards across Imphal bearing the slogan 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Manipur' signal the government’s intent to project development as a unifying theme.

Authorities have reportedly issued strict traffic and public safety advisories ahead of PM Modi's visit. The Manipur Traffic Control Police is set to enforce restrictions along the prime minister’s route from Sept. 12. In Churachandpur, local officials have urged residents not to bring children under 12 years of age to the venue of the PM’s rally.