Defying the ongoing eviction drive, residents of Leimakhongmapal under Lamlai constituency in Imphal East once again came out in protest today, demanding that the government either provide them with an alternative settlement or allow them to continue living on their ancestral land.
Villagers alleged that government machinery had begun clearing land within their settlement area, ignoring their long history of habitation.
“We have lived here for over a hundred years. Our elders still remember when the Imphal–Ukhrul road was first cut in the 1960s. This land has always been ours,” said a village elder.
Holding placards that read “Give Us an Alternative, Not Eviction” and “This Is Our Ancestral Land,” the protesters declared that they would not move unless the government offered a concrete resettlement plan.
“We are not illegal settlers. We are people of this soil. If the government truly wants development, let it not come by uprooting the living,” said one protester, adding that many elderly villagers, some over a hundred years old, still live along the same stretch now marked for clearance.
The residents recounted that the area, once known for the old Imphal–Ukhrul road, has been home to their families for generations and remains central to their livelihood and identity.
