Imphal, Feb. 5 : Protesters hit the streets of the Manipur capital today, staging rallies and sit-ins with demands on a wide range of issues.
These included pay hike, punishment to the perpe-trators of crimes against women and withdrawal of monetary demands by militant groups.
Police had a tough time managing traffic and ensuring security.
After stopping work for 20 days, the state government employees took to the streets today mounting pressure on the Okram Ibobi Singh government to implement the pay scales fixed by the Sixth Pay Commission.
In Imphal West, thousands of employees marched from the office complex of deputy commissioner Radhakanta Singh at Lamphel and assembled at Thangmeiband Athletics ground where they iterated their demand for payment of enhanced pay.
In another corner of the city more than a hundred women took to the street, demanding crimes against women be stopped.
The women were dema-nding punishment to the murderers of four women who were killed during this year.
Four women, including a widow and her teenaged daughter and a housewife, had been killed in three different cases in Imphal West since January.
The police arrested three persons accused in two of the cases.
Autorickshaw owners and drivers staged a sit-in at Mantripukhri on the outskirts of the city protest- ing monetary demands made by four different militant groups.
“Four militant groups made monetary demands ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 3,000 annually. We do not have the money to pay them. Even if we have we could not do so because the police would be after us. In this situation we do not have any alternative but make appeals to the groups to withdraw the demands,” an autorickshaw driver said.