Education Dept. employees protest extortion by rebels in Manipur

pur), Aug 30 (ANIEducation department employees here have objected to the growing extortion demands of rebels in the state.

Imphal (Manipur), Aug 30 : Education department employees here have objected to the growing extortion demands of rebels in the state.

"They are making monetary demands, and because of this, we cannot sit peacefully and dispense our duties well," said a staff of the Director of Education.

All traders, truck drivers and even government employees are reportedly forking out a fraction of their earnings to various rebel groups in most of the insurgency-hit seven states of the northeast, and Manipur is said to be the worst affected.

"We will be nowhere if such pressure continues again and again. We have no alternatives, except to sit in protest. We are sitting in a democratic way," said one employee.

There are around 15 rebel groups operating in Manipur, which borders Myanmar.bout 10,000 people have been killed in over three decades of violence.

In a poll conducted last year, nearly 90 percent of the people in Manipur condemned extortion by insurgents, and almost 50 percent said they were willing to relocate to escape the menace.

Most considered extortion to be a major roadblock to development.

Recently, drug companies had stopped supplies to Manipur following extortion demands by a rebel group.

ANI