• HSLC, HSSLC students bear the brunt of violence
• NBSE change examination centre for nearly 200 students
Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 10
At least 1200 people, including a number of students preparing for the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) examination, have been displaced from Kiphire, Pungro and Shamator in the aftermath of the February 6 murder of a young couple at Shamator area in Tuensang district.
In the outrageous shooting incident, a husband-wife couple identified as Alemba and Naro, travelling in a Bolero from Shamator towards Kiphire were gunned down by unidentified assailants. The incident triggered a chain reaction of violence in Kiphire and Shamator towns as mobs went on rampage.
An official source said at least 1200 people who fled Kiphire following the Sunday shooting incident have taken shelter in Pungro sub-division. The people were escorted by the Kiphire district administration, police and security forces till Pungro jurisdiction. Those who fled to the jungle as violence erupted had to be tracked down by the police and escorted to safety.
From Pungro, around 35 people have fled to Kiphire area, sources said. From Shamator town, more than 30 household have either fled to Tuensang or Shamator village, it is also learnt. Many of the homes of the fleeing people have been burnt down by irate mobs, sources said.
ADC Pungro said the displaced people from Kiphire have been provided shelter in different homes in the small town after making emergency arrangements. “With the limited resources at our disposal, we are providing whatever assistance we have within our power,” the ADC informed.
He also said different NGOs in Pungro town have been assisting the district administration in providing amenities.
Students preparing to appear for the HSLC and HSSLC examination were the hardest hit with their career on the line. At least 150 students readying for the examination which was scheduled to begin from February 9 and 10 onwards have taken shelter in Pungro.
The district administration official said the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) taking note of the situation, made arrangement for the students to change their centre so they can appear for the examination in Pungro.
However, providing alternative for the exam centre isn’t the only cause for concern. The trauma and stress caused by the incident to the students would have far reaching effect on them. Parents were also faced with turmoil on whether to risk taking their children to appear for the examination.
Further, with no study materials, the students faced a bleak prospect even if they sat for the exam. The district administration at Pungro where most of the displaced students were sheltered provided a Xerox machine to print study materials.
Similarly, in Shamator village, around 14 students who fled with their families from Shamator town were escorted to Kiphire by police so that they can appear their examination there. They reached in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Eight (8) students who were traumatized by the February 6 incident and the violence that followed declined to travel to Kiphire to appear for their examination, a students’ union official informed. The hapless students, for no fault of their own, would have to sit for another year in the same class.
