Structures erected to greet Modi pulled down in Manipur’s Churachandpur

Miscreants on Thursday (September 11, 2025) pulled down decorative structures erected along the road to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Manipur’s Kuki-majority Churachandpur district on September 13.

Groups of men, armed with sticks, went on the rampage around 7.45 p.m. at two places near the helipad where the Prime Minister is scheduled to land during his first visit to the State after ethnic clashes between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities broke out in May 2023.

Mr. Modi’s convoy from the helipad and back will pass through the road where the incidents occurred.

District officials could not be reached for comment, but locals said the police had a brief confrontation with the miscreants before they left the two places.

Viral videos on the incidents showed some miscreants setting some of the demolished structures on fire. In one of the videos, a policeman was seen standing as a mute spectator as the miscreants went about pulling the roadside structures down.

The sites of the incidents are about 2 km from the Peace Ground in Churachandpur, where Mr. Modi is scheduled to speak. After the programme in Churachandpur, he will fly to the State’s capital, Imphal, where he will address a gathering at the Kangla Fort.

Earlier, Kuki-Zo organisations such as the Kuki Inpi Manipur and the Imphal Hmar Displaced Committee welcomed the Prime Minister’s “long overdue” visit, but opposed the inclusion of a dance programme in the official function.

“Our mourning is not yet over, our tears are not yet dried, our wounds are not yet healed. We cannot dance with joy,” the organisations said in separate statements.