IMPHAL, April 11 - Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today raised the issue of racial slurs and unnecessary harassment being faced by the people of the North East amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, in different parts of the country. Biren Singh took up the matter in the video conference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers of all States, according to a press release issued by the Chief Minister�s Secretariat here.
Pointing out that around 30,000 people from Manipur alone are stuck in different parts of the country due to the current lockdown, the Chief Minister rued that several residents of the North East are facing different types of harassment. Informing that a list of Manipuri students and people with their current addresses is being forwarded to the States where they are put up, Biren Singh urged the Chief Ministers of the States concerned to look after them.
Requesting the Prime Minister to direct the States to stop harassment of people from the North East, the Chief Minister also called for arrangements to bring back the people of Manipur.
He stated that the Manipur Government is taking care of safety and other requirements of people from other States stranded in Manipur.
On the State�s preparedness to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief Minister said that 3,200 beds have been kept ready for quarantine. One dedicated block each with 50 beds has been earmarked in the JNIMS and the RIMS hospitals for COVID-19 patients. More ventilators have been installed in both the hospitals, he added. Permission is being sought from the Indian Council of Medical Research to allow testing for COVID-19 in selected private diagnostic centres to increase the number of testing facilities.
Stating that Manipur shares a 398-km porous border with Myanmar, the Chief Minister said that the State Government has erected temporary fencing along the border to block illegal entry.
