Imphal : As the Central government has granted permission to the Manipur government, operation of the first helicopter service from the Churachandpur district headquarters – the epicenter of the ethnic violence in Manipur has started from Wednesday, official sources said.

On the first day of its operation, a total of 16 passengers flew from Churachandpur to Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram on Wednesday. This is the first passenger helicopter drive from Churachandpur to Aizawl after the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), an organization of the Kuki-Zo community, had demanded the new helicopter routes.

To fulfill the demands of the ITLF, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reportedly approved the operation of helicopter services from two places in Manipur to neighboring states – Nagaland and Mizoram. The new routes are Churachandpur-Aizawl and Kangpokpi/Senapati-Dimapur.

The helicopter services are a long-felt need of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities against the backdrop of the ongoing ethnic violence between the Kuki tribals and Meiteis that cost over 160 lives so far. Besides, it will help to improve connectivity between the affected areas and the rest of the state/neighboring states. At present the passenger helicopter services are already available from Imphal to Churachandpur and Jiribam in Manipur.