Women protest at the gates of Kangla Fort in Imphal on Sunday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Imphal, Sept. 7: An order from the chief minister’s office to relocate 150 families of India Reserve Battalion living inside the Kangla Fort prompted 50 women, some carrying toddlers on their back, to block the main entrance of the fort for five hours today, seeking a rethink.

The wives of IRB personnel posted at the fort found no better way to press the government to review its decision to evict them.

The order to vacate Kangla Fort came as part of security measures taken up by the administration following the grenade attack on the office-cum-official residence of chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh by rebels of the Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak.

After the attack, all roads leading to or passing through Babupara VIP colony where the chief minister’s office complex is located were closed at night for the public.

Only a road divides the chief minister’s complex and the fort. Police suspected that the grenade was thrown from a vehicle from the southern fringe of Kangla Fort.

The fort has three entry points. While the northern gate is used for exit, the western and southern gates are used as entry points for civilians.

After the attack the southern gate was closed to civilians.

Unwilling to take any risk, Ibobi Singh, who is also the home minister, directed the under secretary, home, Th. Amal Kumar Singh, to ask the director-general of police, Yumnam Joykumar Singh, to vacate all families from the fort immediately.

Kangla is home to 150 personnel and some 146 families since 1996.

Angered by the sudden “eviction” notice, the wives of several IRB personnel closed the gate after a meeting by a delegation of the families with Ibobi Singh this morning failed to evoke any positive response.

The families have demanded that if the order cannot be revoked, the government should at least make an alternative arrangement for their stay.

“We met the chief minister this morning and explained to him that this (eviction) would cause immense inconveniences not only to our children, but also our husbands. Our children are studying in Imphal schools. If we go back to our homes in other parts of the state, how will our children attend school?” asked one of the women.

IRB personnel came out of their posts during the protest but made little attempts to disperse the women.

No police personnel were deployed either, though several people who came to visit the fort were turned away.

The protesters finally dispersed after the commandant of the 1st IRB, P. Dhiren Singh, promised to look into their problems.