NSCN (IM) Chief Th. Muivah on Wednesday arrived in Manipur’s Ukhrul district to visit his native village, Somdal, for the first time in more than five decades.

Thousands of Naga men and women, dressed in traditional attire, gathered at Ukhrul district headquarters to give a grand welcome to the veteran leader. The 90-year-old Muivah, who has been the principal negotiator in the Naga peace talks with the Centre since the NSCN (IM) signed a ceasefire agreement in 1997, is expected to stay in Somdal for about a week before departing for Dimapur on October 29.

Ahead of his arrival, locals carried out a cleanliness drive and erected hoardings and wall paintings featuring prominent Naga leaders across Ukhrul town.