Delhi: Assembly pays tributes to those killed in Manipur violence, Nuh clashes

The Delhi Assembly on Wednesday paid tributes to those killed in the ethnic violence in Manipur and communal clashes in Haryana's Nuh, and prayed for restoration of peace in the strife-torn northeastern state.

A two-day session of the Delhi Assembly commenced here on Wednesday, the first after the enactment of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act 2023 on the control of services in the national capital.

The session began with paying tributes to those killed in the Balasore train accident, five soldiers killed in a terror attack in Poonch, security personnel killed in Chhattisgarh, loss of human lives and property due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and people killed and injured in Manipur and Nuh.

The Balasore accident involved three trains -- Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a stationary goods train.

The accident took place near the Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district of Odisha in which 293 people were killed.

Manipur has been witnessing widespread ethnic clashes between majority Meitei and tribal Kuki communities since May 3 and so far over 150 people have been killed.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that erupted in Nuh after a procession of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was attacked by mobs on July 31 and spread to adjoining areas, including Gurugram.

The House also paid tributes to Bindeshwar Pathak, a pioneer in building public toilets. He died of a cardiac arrest on Tuesday soon after unfurling the national flag.

Pathak came to be known as the "Toilet Man of India" long before the Swachch Bharat Mission made toilets a part of the public discourse.

A two-minute silence was observed in remembrance of those killed in the above mentioned incidents.