India, May 20 -- A media team en route to cover the opening ceremony of the 5th Shirui Lily Festival in Manipur was forced to return after personnel of the MAHAR Regiment and Border Security Force (BSF) allegedly blocked their bus at Gwaltabi in Imphal East district.

The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, the day when the five-day festival is scheduled to commence in Ukhrul district. The festival is being held for the first time since ethnic violence erupted in the state in May 2023.

On May 8, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla chaired the second organising committee meeting for the festival at Raj Bhavan in Imphal, where key issues including budget allocation, scheduling, security, transport logistics, crowd management, accommodatio...