The International Meetei Forum (IMF) has expressed deep concerned about what it described as an "influx of Burmese immigrants" into Manipur reported the Hueiyen News Service on 31 May.
"There is a need to pick out and identify all illegal 'foreigners in the State," IMF advisor Dr Manoranjan said at a press meet at Epuroiba Laishang in Langol on Saturday.
Manipur Human Rights Commission's former member and IMF president RK Rajendra was also present at the press meeting.
Dr Manoranjan said the large number of Myanmar immigrants has posed a serious threat to the indigenous population of the State and its natural environment.
He called on the State Government to take appropriate steps at the earliest to check it.
"50 percent of these Myanmarese people are in Manipur. They are cutting down trees in forests in many parts of the State for carrying out cultivation for survival. Such activities have posed a serious threat to the environment," he claimed.
Dr Rajendra cautioned that this phenomenon is a challenging problem that will become worse every passing day in the absence of timely intervention by the Government.