From red zone to safe homecoming: How MLA Heikham Dingo helped IDPs return in Manipur

Amid the headlines dominated by protests and delays, one leader has been working silently and steadfastly behind the scenes. In one of the hardest-hit "red zones," the Sekmai Assembly Constituency MLA and former Cabinet Minister Heikham Dingo Singh has focused on security-first returns, personal initiatives like funding barracks for personnel, livelihood support, and community rebuilding, quietly enabling families in several villages to return home and restoring a measure of hope where fear once prevailed.
In the backdrop of ongoing efforts to reinstall a popular government in Manipur, as President's Rule nears its one-year mark, peace remains the critical bargaining chip. This peace hinges fundamentally on the safe, dignified, and sustainable resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The resettlement of IDPs to their homes remains one of the state's most pressing and challenging humanitarian issues. Thousands continue to live in relief camps, grappling with uncertainty, while statewide efforts face criticism for lacking clear timelines and facing security hurdles, as highlighted by groups like COCOMI and recent rallies demanding urgent action.
The safe return of these IDPs requires security to watch and protect them. Without providing security, IDPs will remain in chaos, and their life will always be under tension and psychological fear. MLA Heikham Dingo has built barracks for the personnel from his own pocket.
He has emerged as a quiet but remarkably effective leader in managing the IDPs and normalizing the red zones to a safe one, which led to the recent announcement that the National Sports University in Koutruk (under Sekmai AC) will be permanently functional on the campus within six months.
Sekmai AC, with its diverse blend of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Nepalis, Meiteis, and other communities, represents Manipur's multi-ethnic, secular fabric at its best and its vulnerability at its worst. From the outset of the violence on May 3, 2023, the area from Phayeng via Kadangband to Koutruk and Leimakhong became a volatile frontline.
The relentless gunfights almost every other day, drone bombings, and devastating casualties among innocent Meitei civilians were the news in the last two years. Entire villages were abandoned as homes burned, livelihoods vanished, and thousands fled to relief camps, living in perpetual anxiety.
However, amid statewide frustrations, where IDP resettlement remains slow, phased, and often contested, with groups like COCOMI criticising vague timelines and inadequate government responses, Sekmai has seen measurable success.
More than six villages have welcomed residents back, including Tairenpokpi, Phayeng (partially), Kangchup, Singda Kadangband, Kadangband Sabal, Koutruk, and Senjam Chirang. Preparations are also underway for Leimakhong, leaving only a handful of villages pending full return.
This progress is remarkable in a state where IDP returns elsewhere often trigger fresh tensions or are halted by precautionary measures from authorities.
The numbers tell a story of scale and challenge. Prior to targeted efforts in early 2026, resettlement involved 2,231 IDPs from 633 families, with 172 houses partially damaged and 4,612 instances of wear and tear from prolonged vacancy. In the active phase, 1,038 IDPs from 277 households are being addressed, 195 homes fully destroyed or burnt, 82 partially damaged.
This is no small feat in a conflict where attempts to return elsewhere have sparked clashes with security forces, protests, or forced retreats due to fresh violence, as seen in areas like Torbung, Phougakchao Ikhai, and border zones.
The success mantra of Heikham Dingo's approach is security, the absolute prerequisite for any safe homecoming. He recognised early that without visible protection, returns would invite renewed chaos and deepen psychological trauma.
In a striking display of personal commitment, he funded the construction of barracks for security personnel from his own pocket, ensuring personnel had adequate facilities in this resource-strapped frontline. He has advocated relentlessly for multiple security outposts stretching from Tairenpokpi to Kanglatongbi, with priority on establishing one at Kangchup.
During a key visit to Kangchup Chingkhong Relief Camp in April 2025, he personally assessed conditions, listened to grievances (including cases of names wrongly removed from relief lists), expressed solidarity, and committed to submitting formal proposals to authorities immediately.
His ongoing coordination with the Imphal West Deputy Commissioner has translated these efforts into administrative support, helping consolidate relative calm. This security foundation has enabled broader rehabilitation. MLA Dingo extended shelter not just to Sekmai's IDPs but also to those from neighboring Kangpokpi district, housing them in pre-fabricated complexes like Mandop Yumpham Relief Camp at ISTT, Khurkhul, and various foothill camps under his constituency.
Livelihood revival has been equally prioritised, where he launched Self-Help Groups (SHGs), provided direct financial contributions for small self-businesses (such as selling vegetables and fruits), and coordinated skill training with relevant government departments.
Moreover, in collaboration with the Director of Industries and Imphal West DC, he arranged for loom distributions to IDP families, creating sustainable income sources. Meetings with KCC, bank officials, PMEGP, and schemes like PM Mudra Yojana have opened pathways to loans.
The MLA has also proposed establishing an Ayush Dispensary in the Kangchup area, a facility that would directly address the pressing medical needs of both local residents.
The fruits of this normalization are evident beyond returns. The National Sports University has announced its shift to the permanent campus at Koutruk in Sekmai AC by August 2026. Major infrastructure, including administrative and academic blocks, hostels, and sports facilities, is already complete.
The current temporary campus, serving 338 students, has been hampered by space shortages and limited labs, delaying specialised courses. The relocation promises advanced sports laboratories, a High Performance Centre, and new MSc programs in areas like Sports Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, Sports Performance Analysis, and Strength & Conditioning.
This institutional milestone, boosting education, research, youth development, and regional pride, is possible only because peace has taken root in the area, largely due to Dingo Singh's efforts.
Electorally, people's trust in Heikham Dingo Singh's leadership manifests strikingly in the 2024 Lok Sabha election results. In the Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency, the NDA garnered 8,820 votes in Sekmai AC, while the INC candidate secured 7,669 votes. This represents a solid margin of over 1,150 votes in a constituency that had been one of the worst-affected "red zones," with thousands displaced, villages ravaged, and normal life disrupted for nearly a year leading up to the polls in April 2024.
By contrast, the majority of BJP MLA constituencies saw a drastic underperformance in several other Imphal urban assembly segments widely regarded as relatively "safe zones" and far less exposed to the frontline violence, drone attacks, prolonged gunfights, or mass displacement that plagued constituencies like Sekmai and Kumbi.
This stark divergence exposes how localized leadership, visible results, and hands-on engagement can decisively influence electoral outcomes, even within the same broader Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency.
Take Uripok AC, a central Imphal urban seat benefiting from stronger civic amenities and zero displacement issues. In the 2022 Assembly election, BJP's Khwairakpam Raghumani Singh secured a convincing victory with 8,335 votes (roughly 36% share in a fragmented, multi-cornered contest). Yet, by the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA tally in the segment collapsed to just 3,415 votes, while the INC candidate surged ahead with 10,471 out of around 25,727 polled overall, a sharp reversal that signals clear voter dissatisfaction despite the area's relative stability and lack of acute conflict impact.
Similarly, in Keishamthong AC, another core urban Imphal segment with limited direct ravages from the ethnic clashes, Independent candidate Sapam Nishikant Singh (who had aligned with BJP post-2022) topped the 2022 Assembly race with 8,874 votes. But in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, NDA votes dwindled to a mere 2,802, against INC's strong 10,064 out of about 27,536 total, a dismal drop that reflects eroded support in a constituency where expectations from the ruling alliance were high, yet unmet.
The pattern holds in Singjamei AC as well, a densely populated urban valley seat with virtually no exposure to the worst of the violence. Former Cabinet Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had claimed victory in 2022 with 8,709 votes. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, NDA support fell sharply to 3,937 votes, while INC pulled ahead with 9,368 out of roughly 20,734 polled.
These comparisons are particularly telling. While these "safe" urban segments, shielded by their central locations and spared the brunt of ethnic clashes, witnessed dramatic NDA vote collapses, conflict-battered Sekmai under Heikham Dingo Singh bucked the trend entirely.
Sekmai AC under Heikham Dingo Singh stands out as a compelling model of effective, localized leadership. His security-first strategy, personal sacrifices, direct community involvement, and holistic focus on returns, livelihoods, and well-being have enabled meaningful progress where many areas remain stalled.
In fact, he is showing a practical example of how dedicated grassroots action can contribute to healing and stability in Manipur.