1. Manipur government lifts a seven-month mobile internet ban, except in border areas of some districts.
2. The ban was initially lifted on September 23 but reinstated on September 26 for law and order concerns.
3. Recent decision due to reported improvement in law and order and acknowledgement of public inconvenience.
Imphal, Dec 03: The Manipur government has decided to lift the seven-month-long ban on mobile internet services in the state, with exceptions in border areas of some districts.
The ban, in place since May 3, was initially lifted on September 23 but reinstated on September 26 to prevent the use of social media for transmitting images, hate speech, and hate video messages, which posed a threat to law and order.
The recent decision to relax the suspension comes as the law-and-order situation reportedly improved, and the long-duration suspension inconvenienced the general public.
The suspension will be lifted across the state, excluding mobile towers serving a 2 km radius along adjoining areas between specific districts.
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These districts, including Churachandpur and Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Kakching, Kangpokpi and Imphal West, Kangpokpi and Imphal East, Kangpokpi and Thoubal, and Tengnoupal and Kakching, have witnessed significant violence, gunfights, arson, and abductions over the past seven months.
The ethnic clashes primarily involved the Meitei and Kuki tribal communities, resulting in 182 lives lost and over 50,000 people displaced.
The decision to lift the suspension comes four days after the signing of a peace agreement between the Centre and the Manipur government with the United National Liberation Force (UNLF), the oldest militant outfit in the state. The agreement aims to address the longstanding issues and conflicts in the region
