Imphal, Aug. 23: Educational institutions in the Sadar Hills of Manipur were forcibly shut down today by members of the organisation that has been campaigning for the subdivision to be upgraded to the status of a revenue district.

The Sadar Hills District Demand Committee warned the government of an “intense agitation” if it continued to dilly-dally on the issue.

The committee forcibly shut down all government offices in the Sadar Hills on August 19 for an indefinite period. Educational institutions will remain closed till Saturday.

The committee has also called a 48-hour bandh in the Sadar Hills from Sunday.

“It is a do-or-die movement this time. We will not call off our agitation until the government takes concrete steps to upgrade Sadar Hills to a revenue district,” the information secretary of the committee, Lunthang Haokip, said.

Sadar Hills, a Kuki-dominated area, is a subdivision of Senapati district. The demand to upgrade Sadar Hills to a district was first raised in 1974. The erstwhile Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh government did decide to upgrade Sadar Hills to a district, but the plan was dropped after a boundary dispute cropped up.

A delegation of the committee met chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh recently to remind him of the pending demand. Ibobi Singh reportedly appealed to the delegation not to resort to any agitation, which it immediately rejected.

Haokip said the decision to resume the agitation was taken by the committee after consulting all organisations representing the Kuki community. The committee has asked all from Sadar Hills-based candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the forthcoming panchayat elections to withdraw their candidature.

“We have asked the candidates who have already filed their nomination papers to withdraw their candidature or be held responsible for any untoward incident,” Haokip said.

Panchayat elections are slated for September 19.

Sadar Hills has an Autonomous District Council for administration of tribal-inhabited areas and three panchayat parishads — Motbung, Kangpokpi and Saikul.

Superintendent of police Nishitkumar Ujwal said security had been beefed up to prevent any untoward incident in the Kuki-dominated pockets of Senapati district.

He said the police were rounding up activists of the committee who locked up offices and educational institutions.