Since violence has been present in Manipur for more than two months, the state’s business community is in shambles, and economic activity has all but ceased.
Several business owners in the state stated on Monday that, regardless of the neighbourhoods, the violence that started on May 3 has had an impact on all demographic groups and their economic operations.
Corporate executives who have just returned to Manipur after extended spells working for multinational corporations outside the Northeast are now second-guessing their choice to spend time and money there.
“The effect has been enormous. Almost everyone has been impacted, regardless of the communities. Life was quite routine up until May 3. We have been making progress over the past few years. While we were recovering from the COVID-19 impact, businesses were thriving and people were making progress in their daily lives.
“After that, there were ethnic confrontations. Today, both our lifestyles and the way individuals conduct business have changed. Yaikhomba Ningthemcha, the founder of Addble Solutions Pvt Ltd, told PTI that it had actually sent them back quite a few years.
He stated that the business community was feeling the effects and that the industry was suffering.
In addition to all regular transactions ceasing, internet-dependent enterprises have also come to a halt. The internet is necessary for us to repay our loans. The public is unable to pay us. GST filing has been impacted because we can’t submit it on time due to a lack of internet, according to Ningthemcha.
Ningthemcha spent more than 15 years working for a multinational corporation in Bengaluru before moving back to his hometown in 2018 to launch his own business. A cloud-based IT company called Addble Solutions offers B2B digital commerce solutions to businesses.
“When the pandemic arrived, we were stepping up in 2019–20. After COVID-19, we provided support to numerous retail and F&B establishments in Manipur. We joined the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) first from the Northeast.
“We are now debating if returning to Manipur to launch a business was the right move. Our goal was to make things better and bring in the good. I returned because of that,” he stated.
Stockbroker N Sundeep Meitei from Sangaithel village in Imphal West district claimed that commerce had entirely collapsed.
“There is no internet and there is no transportation. How would we be able to send the money without the internet? Infrastructure cannot be developed without transportation. Thus, there has been no advancement, he explained.
Sundeep claimed that the violent fights and distrust between the communities have harmed industries for a very long time and are also having an impact on ordinary people’s lives.
“Those who are hospitalised, including elderly and young patients, do not receive payment. Their medical care is impacted. This is an extremely distressing circumstance. I’m not just referring to one community. Although I am a Meitei, the violence in Manipur is impacting all communities, he remarked.
After a “Tribal Solidarity March” was held throughout the hill districts on May 3 to oppose the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, fighting broke out in Manipur. More than 100 people have already passed away, another hundred have been injured, and thousands more are finding refuge in rescue camps.
The majority of Meiteis, who make up around 53% of Manipur’s population, reside in the Imphal Valley. Another 40% of the population is made up of tribal Nagas and Kukis, who live in the hill districts.
