The 100-day-old blockade of the National Highways of Manipur has been lifted. The United Naga Council (UNC) called off the blockade of highways just ahead of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan’s scheduled visit on 3rd December.
Manipur Blockade
To counter the highway blockade imposed on 31st July by the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee(SHDDC) which demands that the area dominated by the Kuki tribe be formed into a separate district, the UNC imposed its parallel blockade on 21st August.
The blockade of NH 39 and NH 53 simply throttled the trade channels of Manipur resulted in the most acute scarcity of essential goods and resulted in untold hardship to the people of Manipur; as usual, the common man has been the worst hit.
SHDDC lifted its blockade on the 92nd day after the state government agreed to their demands. The UNC has now withdrawn the blockade after the assurances from P.C.Chidambaram, the Union Minister for Home Affairs.
But the three-day-long general strike called by the militant outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (MC) – to protest the death of one of its cadre in an allegedly fake encounter – continues to affect the movement of vehicles in Manipur.
Hepuni Mao, Officer in Charge of Senapati Police station, 60 km north of Imphal, said: “Neither the passengers nor the goods trucks from outside the state came due to bandh.”
The general strike by the militant group Kangleipak Communist Party (MC) protesting the recent killing of one of it’s cadre in an alleged fake encounter, effecting from 10am of Monday has partially affected normal life as most passenger vehicles including inter-state and inter district vehicles remained off the roads.
Will the agitators in various parts of the country ever learn to respect the rights and needs of the innocent public?
Tags: india Manipur Blockade
