The Manipur government on Friday lifted the temporary ban on internet services in five districts. The ban was imposed for five days on September 10 and was supposed to be restored on September 15.
The suspension, however, has been lifted on a “conditional” basis. A notification by Commissioner (Home) N. Ashok Kumar stated, “The state government has made a considered decision to lift the suspension in the case of broadband service (ILL and FTTH) conditionally in a liberalised manner, subject to fulfillment of terms and conditions.”
It further specified, “Connection will be through static IP and the subscriber concerned shall not accept any other connection other than the allowed for the time being.” Additionally, it said, “No wifi/hotspots shall be allowed from any of the routers,” and that blocking of social media and VPNs at the local level shall be enforced by the subscriber.
Ban on mobile data services will not be lifted owing to the risk of the spread of disinformation via social media that could potentially lead to more unrest in the state.
Internet in Manipur was suspended earlier this week nearly after a year when services were restored in the northeastern state.
The situation in Manipur is on a slump once again after the state witnessed one of its most widespread violence between the two ethnic groups, Meitei and Kuki tribes.
Meanwhile, the government has also imposed an indefinite curfew in the districts of Imphal East and Imphal West.
On Thursday, the Northeast Students’ Organisation, in a letter, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on the situation in Manipur and visit the restive areas of the state.
“We urge the Hon’ble PM to break his silence and visit Manipur to assess the ground situation personally and provide security to the civilian population of both communities, especially women and children who are the most vulnerable in this type of conflict. The people of Manipur need to see that their suffering is acknowledged and that concrete actions are being taken to resolve the conflict,” the students’ body said.
With inputs from agencies
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