Manipur violence: Last batch of stranded Tripura students come back home, 239 airlifted

The last batch of Tripura students stranded in strife-torn Manipur returned home on Monday, an official said. Sixteen students landed at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here along with the Tripura government team sent for evacuating the stranded residents of the state.

With this, a total of 239 students from Tripura have been evacuated from Manipur in five batches, he said. Meanwhile, airfares to all routes connecting Agartala have skyrocketed due to the ethnic flareup in Manipur.

An office-bearer of a private agency said airfares between Imphal and Agartala, which hovered at Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500, have increased to Rs 9,000-Rs 10,000. Airfares from Agartala to Guwahati and Kolkata have also increased from around Rs 2,700-Rs 3,500 to over Rs 10,000.

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Moreover, there is no ticket available on the Kolkata-Agartala route for the next two days, he said. The reason behind the exorbitant increase in rates is due to people leaving Manipur in panic, he added.

Ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on Wednesday after tribals organised a demonstration in the ten hill districts of the state to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The clashes displaced around 23,000 people and resulted in the deaths of at least 54 people.