The Tribal Youth Council Manipur (TYCM), Central Headquarters, has raised strong concern after discovering that the Tribal Girls’ Hostel at Old Lambulane, Imphal, constructed and run by the Tribal Affairs & Hills Department for the welfare of tribal girl students, has been fully occupied by para-military forces, leaving no space for students.
A team led by Thangmeingam Awungshi, Secretary (Student & Education Affairs), TYCM-CHQ, inspected the hostel today at 2 pm in the presence of media persons. The council remarked that the very purpose of the hostel had been rendered meaningless, terming the occupation as an outright suppression of the rights of tribal students.
The TYCM pointed out that many tribal girl students from remote areas are now compelled to stay in rented houses in Imphal, where their parents, already struggling to sustain their families through paddy cultivation, have to bear the added financial burden of accommodation.
The council has urged the State Government to immediately vacate the para-military forces from the hostel and ensure its smooth functioning in the larger interest of tribal students.
