The gate to the Kangla

Imphal, Nov. 29: After securing the keys of the historical Kangla Fort, the state government has again shut the gates of Manipur?s ancient seat of power to undertake development activities.

The fort was thrown open to visitors for three days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh handed over the keys to chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh on November 20.

?A management board has been constituted with the chief minister as chairperson. The development activities will begin in a few days after the first meeting of the board, constituted under an ordinance issued the day the Kangla was back in the hands of the people, its rightful owners,? an official said.

As the first move, the government closed down a restaurant at the western gate run by a private party for 25 years. The owner paid a monthly rent of Rs 11,000 to the Assam Rifles. The agreement between the owner and the Assam Rifles is valid till December, but the government has asked the owner to close shop, as it is no longer in the hands of the paramilitary force.

Official sources said the government has plans to evict the United Committee, Manipur, an NGO that took an active role in the agitation against the extension of the NSCN (I-M) ceasefire to Manipur. The office of the NGO is at Kekrupat, the northeastern side of the fort outside the Assam Rifles campus. Officials said the area is part of the Kangla land, where the bodies of those who died during the ceasefire were cremated. According to government plans, the fort will be thrown open to the public after the completion of the proposed development projects.

?Proper rules and regulations for entry and timing will be framed and only then will visitors be allowed inside. An entry fee will be collected at the gate, but the amount has not been fixed,? the official said. The chief minister has made it clear that the fort will be developed as a historical as well as a religious site. The gates were also closed because free entry creates law and order problems.

On the first day, 10 drug addicts were rounded up inside the Kangla, while robbers attempted to loot fort property at night a few days back, officials said.

The Assam Rifles have almost completed shifting their property out of the fort.