Haryana govt to evacuate 16 students from violence-hit Manipur

Chandigarh: The Haryana government Monday said it has made arrangements to evacuate 16 students of the state stranded in the violence-hit Manipur.

Following instructions from Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, officials have commenced efforts to bring back the students to Haryana at the earliest, an official statement said.

The statement quoted the Chief Secretary of Manipur as saying that all the students from Haryana are safe.

According to information received so far, five students of Haryana are pursuing education at NIT-Manipur, eight at IIIT-Manipur, and three at NSU-Manipur, the government said, adding, it is considering flying these students to Delhi via Kolkata.

Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on Wednesday after tribals organised a demonstration in the ten hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The clashes displaced around 23,000 people and led to the deaths of at least 54 people.