1675 new villages/settlements occupied by illegal immigrants from Myanmar, says Manipur CM

Imphal: The Manipur government has detected a total of 1675 villages/settlements occupied by illegal immigrants from Myanmar and other countries in the six hill districts bordering Myanmar during the period from 2006 to 2021.

The infiltration of illegal Myanmar nationals into Manipur spiked after the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, according to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

In his Facebook post that contains videos mapping with coordinates and detailing the rise in the number of villages in the border areas, Singh shared with the caption, “Please see and think about the seriousness of illegal immigrants in Manipur from neighboring Myanmar and other countries.”

The post also claims that the illegal immigrants settled mostly in the hill districts of Churachandpur, Kamjong, Pherzawl, Chandel, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi. Manipur shares a 398 km border with Myanmar.

The number of villages/settlements mapped with coordinates is a total of 1675.

They are Churachandpur-655, Kangpokpi-515, Chandel- 282, Tengnoupal-112, Pherzawl-47 and Kamjong 64.

The post further claims that the Myanmar nationals who infiltrated the state have settled in reserved and protected forest areas after clearing vast tracts of trees and natural vegetation posing a grave threat to the environment and natural resources.