Two premier colleges of Manipur burnt down

Imphal, Oct 21 (UNI) Dhanamanjuri College (DM) and Imphal College in the city were burnt down last night by miscreants suspected to be students.

Students here were on a stir demanding regular classes which was disrupted due to the termination of 466 part time lecturers by the State Government.

Police said the fire was not accidental. It first broke out at Imphal College and later at the DM College.

A few students have been rounded up for interrogation.

The fire started at about 1900 hrs at the administrative block of Imphal College. The fire spread fast as the structure of the College was mostly made of wood, police said.

The fire brigade managed to take out about Rs 70,000 from the cashier's room which was put in a locker. The exact loss was yet to be estimated but it would run into lakhs, police added.

All the documents kept at the principal's office was destroyed.

Dhanamanjuri College also faced similar fate as the dministrative building and the principal's office were completely burnt.

The adhoc teachers, who were terminated by the State Government said they would continue the stir demanding cancellation of the termination orders.

They said they had been working for 15 years and could not go anywhere else to look for another job.

P Bhorot, Commissioner, Education last evening issued an order to cancel the termination order of 112 part time lecturers.

Officials said they had fulfilled the UGC norms for appointment of lecturers.

The Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) had already notified for fresh appointment of lecturers to fill up the vacant posts.

Meanwhile, the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) has expressed shock and condemned the incident.

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