Farmers who live in villages in the foothills in crisis-hit Manipur say they are unable to harvest thousands of hectares of paddy cultivation due to threat of firing from the hills. Many farmers have been killed and injured while tending to their crops in the past nine months. Till March 2023, Manipur had 2.28 lakh hectares of paddy cultivation, of which the hills had 1.07 lakh hectares and the valley had 1.20 lakh hectares, according to Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Farmers couldn't use 5,127 hectares - or 4 per cent of the total paddy cultivation area - due to the violence. The Centre gave a relief package of Rs 38.60 crore, the Agriculture Ministry told parliament on December 8, 2023.
