Imphal, July 24: The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System is checking outsiders entering Manipur without proper documents as part of its campaign to put pressure on the state government to expedite the passing of a bill that can protect the indigenous people from influx.
Volunteers of the joint committee, with the help of the local residents, started scanning outsiders entering Manipur in buses, trucks, taxies and other vehicles without valid documents at Sekmai since Thursday.
Located at a distance of 14km from Imphal along National Highway 2 (Imphal-Dimapur highway), Sekmai is the entry point to Imphal.
"We stop vehicles, check documents of those entering Imphal. Those coming without documents are handed over to Sekmai police station, while those with valid documents are allowed to proceed towards Imphal," Sh. Ajit, the assistant convener, publicity and media affairs, of the joint committee said.
The police also verified those without valid documents and they were turned back.
More than 400 outsiders without documents were turned back till today.
"We started this form of campaign on Thursday and continued today. We will continue to check outsiders' entry without documents at Sekmai for some more days. We appeal to passenger and truck services not to bring in outsiders without valid documents," Ajit said.
Nearly 100 volunteers check the Imphal-bound vehicles daily from 5am till 11am, the hours during which most of the passengers and trucks coming from outside the state enter Imphal.
Volunteers of the joint committee are also planning to open a similar checkgate at Jiribam, nearly 122km from Imphal, soon. Jiribam is the entry gate to Manipur along National Highway 37 (Imphal-Silchar road).
The joint committee, a conglomerate of citizens' groups, has been campaigning for effective legislation to protect the interests of the indigenous people of the state.
The committee's campaign to prevent outsiders from entering Manipur without valid documents comes at a time when the Okram Ibobi Singh government is working on a bill that can replace Protection of Manipur People Bill 2015, which was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee in May this year.
Responding to the committee's campaign for ILP, the state Assembly passed the protection bill, along with the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill and Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill on August 31 last year.
The Centre is now examining the other two bills.
The Ibobi Singh government is planning to introduce a new bill in the next Assembly session, which is likely to be held in late August or September. After an all-party meet earlier this month discussed the draft bill, the Ibobi Singh government is seeking the opinions of constitutional experts to ensure that this time the bill gets presidential assent.
