Imphal, Dec 28 : After months of prolonged ethnic violence, Manipur has shown signs of a gradual return to normalcy following the promulgation of President's Rule nearly 11 months ago.

The Northeastern state has been under President's Rule since February 13, four days after N. Biren Singh resigned as the Chief Minister. Since then, no major violent incident has been reported, indicating an improvement in the law and order situation.

In a bid to promote peace and development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manipur on September 13 and unveiled 31 development projects worth about Rs 8,500 crore.

From the Peace Ground in the tribal-inhabited Churachandpur district, the Prime Minister laid foundation stones for 19 projects worth Rs 7,300 crore and stressed that peace is essential for development.

On the same day (September 13), from the historic Kangla Fort in Imphal, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated 17 infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,200 crore, asserting that a 'Viksit Bharat' would be strengthened by a 'Viksit Manipur'.

The Prime Minister described violence in Manipur as unfortunate, given the state's rich historical traditions of fighting injustice, and called for united efforts to restore peace, prosperity and development, noting that Manipur had witnessed accelerated development over the past 11 years.

Within three months of the Prime Minister's visit, President Droupadi Murmu undertook a two-day visit to Manipur on December 11 and 12.

During President Murmu's visit, she participated in the 86th Nupi Lal Day observance in Imphal and laid foundation stones as well as inaugurated several development projects in Imphal and in the Naga tribal-inhabited Senapati district.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribals, welcomed the Prime Minister as well as the President's visit.

President Murmu also witnessed a polo exhibition match at the historic Imphal Polo Ground (Mapal Kangjeibung), regarded as one of the oldest polo grounds in the world, underlining the Centre's focus on cultural heritage and development in the region.

On December 12, she visited the Senapati district, addressed a public gathering, and inaugurated and laid foundation stones for various projects.

The recovery and surrender of a large cache of arms and ammunition has been a significant development during the President's Rule.

Till March 6, around 1,000 looted and illegally held weapons, including sophisticated arms, along with large quantities of ammunition, were returned to security forces following appeals by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

Officials estimate that more than 6,000 arms and lakhs of rounds of ammunition were looted from police stations and outposts during the violence that erupted on May 3, 2023.

Before former Chief Minister Biren Singh's resignation, 3,422 firearms were voluntarily surrendered.

Since the imposition of President's Rule, more than 3,000 arms, mostly sophisticated, and more than 22,000 rounds of ammunition have been surrendered or recovered by joint security forces so far.

Between June 14 and July 28 alone, more than 870 arms and 12,820 rounds of ammunition were recovered from both valley and hill districts.

Joint teams of Manipur Police, Commando, Army, Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) continued their search and counter-insurgency operations both in the valley and mountainous regions.

A senior police official said that the Army, Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Manipur Police, in separate joint operations, have destroyed more than 1,000 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur's mountainous districts in November and December, effectively foiling an attempt to manufacture opium worth several crores.

The illegal poppy cultivation was destroyed mostly in Manipur's six mountainous districts -- Kangpokpi, Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Chandel, Tengnoupal and Senapati.

The police official said that 1,000 acres of destroyed illegal poppy cultivation had the potential to yield around 9,000 kg of opium, worth several hundred crores of rupees.

A Defence Spokesman said the intensive operation against the unlawful poppy farming was conducted under challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions, and the crackdown highlights the unwavering efforts of Assam Rifles and other forces to curb illicit narcotics cultivation and dismantle the financial networks that fuel insurgency and other anti-national activities.

Manipur Director General of Police Rajiv Singh said that the "reduction of weaponisation of society" is crucial for restoring peace, stressing that dialogue between communities would further help normalise the situation.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs held a series of meetings with civil society organisations, including the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) and the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex bodies of the Meitei community and Kuki-Zo tribal communities, respectively, to address the crisis.

A significant step was the signing of a tripartite agreement on September 4 in New Delhi between the Centre, the state government and Kuki-Zo armed groups under Suspension of Operations (SoO).

Manipur Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel said the government's priority remains the restoration of peace and normalcy, adding that the September 4 agreement would be implemented in letter and spirit, including steps such as reopening the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2), a key lifeline of the state.

The Centre has also virtually rejected demands for the creation of a separate Union Territory with a legislature for the Kuki-Zo community.

Nearly all organisations of Kuki-Zo tribals and the apex body Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), 10 tribals MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Zo community since the ethnic violence broke out have been demanding a separate administration or a Union Territory for the tribals in Manipur.

To revive public life and boost confidence, the state government after two-year break resumed major cultural and sporting events, including the Shirui Lily Festival (May 20-24) in Ukhrul district, 10-day long (November 21 to 30) 'Sangai Tourism Festival', five-day long 'Sangai Film Festival' (November 24-28) and 134th edition of Durand Cup tournament, Asia's oldest football tournament, from July 30.

National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah visited his birthplace at Somdal village in Manipur's Ukhrul district for the first time in 50 years.

During his week-long stay in Manipur, nonagenarian Naga leader Muivah, also the Ato Kilonser (Prime Minister) of the NSCN-IM, visited the Naga tribal-dominated Senapati district and addressed a public gathering.

Former Chief Minister Biren Singh has said that the law and order situation in Manipur has improved under President's Rule. Political activity has also intensified, with BJP MLAs holding meetings with Central leaders in New Delhi, even as the opposition Congress criticised the move, calling it a â??crash courseâ?? amid the ongoing crisis.

Biren Singh, who, along with other 33 MLAs, recently went to Delhi on the invitation of the BJP Central leaders, said that they discussed various issues of Manipur during the meeting on December 14.

Manipur BJP President Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi also attended the crucial meeting, where two senior Union BJP leaders -- National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh and the party's Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra were present.

Manipur Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh, in a post on X, said: "Instead of restoring law and order in Manipur, the BJP has reduced its MLAs to students, attending crash courses in Delhi on how to justify administrative failures back home."

The non-tribal Meiteis account for around 53 per cent of Manipur's about 3.2 million population and live mostly in the valley regions, while the tribal Nagas, Kuki, Zo and Hmar constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts, which cover around 90 per cent of the geographical areas of Manipur.

The ethnic violence, which began on May 3, 2023, left over 260 people dead, around 1,500 injured, and more than 70,000 displaced.

More than 300 relief camps continue to shelter nearly 59,000 displaced people across the valley and hill districts.

Despite lingering challenges, officials and political leaders agree that Manipur is slowly moving towards stability, with sustained efforts underway to restore peace, rebuild trust and revive development in the violence-hit state.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujitchakrabortyne@gmail.com)

/IANS