Displaced people in Manipur take to vegetable cultivation to battle stress, frustration

Imphal: Many people displaced by ethnic conflict in Manipur have taken to vegetable cultivation as stress-buster amid hardships endured due to the strife and life away from their homes.

At Sajiwa in Imphal East district, which has one of the largest pre-fabricated housing complexes for internally displaced people (IDP), the inmates are cultivating seasonal vegetables on arable land adjacent to the facility.

"Almost all of us were farmers engaged in rice and vegetable cultivation in our native villages before violence broke out. Now, we are trying to survive by taking up any available jobs. But many of us don't even get that."

"As sitting idle is out of option, we approached the local authorities and requested them to allow us to cultivate and they gave the approval," L Deva, who was a resident of Sadu Yengkhuman village in Imphal East district, told PTI.

Deva is now joyous as the tomatoes he had grown are ripening.

"We started cultivation just three-four months back. We procured some seeds from the horticulture department and some of us purchased fertilisers with the little money we have. The arable lands have been divided into blocks among the inmates so that we can grow vegetables for our own consumption," he said.

"Engaging in cultivation is rewarding for us and helps us to divert our minds from the hardships, at least temporarily," he said.

Around 150 inmates are growing tomatoes, cabbage and potatoes.

"We feel a sense of accomplishment even though quantities produced are meagre. It's not about the quantity but the physical activity and community participation that gives us joy. We are also growing local vegetables which we cannot purchase regularly from markets," he said.

Another Internally displaced person, K Kumar, said life is tough as he has to live in congested conditions at the prefabricated house he has been allotted but at least, he gets to live with his family.

"I am not fully content and will never be until I return to my native place and start all over again. But as of now, I am trying to find happiness in the little things we are doing, including cultivation," Kumar, who lived in Ekou village in Imphal East district before the conflict, said.

Reflecting on his family's life at relief camps before being allotted the prefabricated house at Sajiwa, he said, "The room where we live in now is very small but we have a kitchen for ourselves. At least we are in better condition than when we were staying in relief camps." "We now pray for returning home. At present, we are not being allowed to return to our native village. When we tried going there, security forces deployed there did not allow us to proceed, saying the area is still a 'red zone'," he said.

Nearly 700 people are staying at around 200 prefabricated houses at Sajiwa.

Woman inmate S Ranita, who lives in the complex with her husband and two children, echoed Kumar, saying that cultivation is a community participation that allows them to share their joys and pains together.

"Searching for livelihood is quite challenging. My husband is a driver by profession. We are trying to run our family with whatever he makes. Cultivation is more of a community participation where we gather and share our joys and pains together. It eases our hardships, at least for a while. My greatest worry now is the future of my children," Ranita, also a native of Ekou village, said.

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic conflict between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis in Manipur since May 3, 2023.