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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally visited violence-hit Manipur on Saturday (September 13), more than two years after the state’s ethnic conflict erupted in May 2023. His itinerary covered both Churachandpur and Imphal, where he appealed to the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities to “end violence” and look toward “development”.

The prime minister laid the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore in the predominantly Kuki-Zo Churachandpur, claiming they would “better the lives of the people of Manipur and those living in the hills”.

Modi also highlighted a Rs 22,000 crore investment in the Jiribam-Imphal railway line, asserting that after 2014 – when he became prime minister – his ‘focus has been to work on Manipur’s connectivity’.

However, The Wire has learnt that Manipur’s only railway station of Khongsang has remained non-operational for passengers since the outbreak of the conflict. For over two years, no civilian has........

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