Guwahati:
The powerful Kuki group has once again imposed an indefinite economic blockade on Imphal Valley. The Kangpokpi-based tribal organisation, Committee on Tribal Unity Sadar Hills Or CoTu, started the blockade in Manipur today.
CoTU said it had decided to impose the blockade indefinitely along National Highway-2 and 37 due to the alleged indifferent attitude of the concerned authority in maintaining law and order in the inhabited areas of Kuki-Zo.
NH 2 connects Imphal with Dimapur in Nagaland and NH 37 connects Imphal with Assam’s Silchar. Both highways are vital for Manipur to maintain surface communication with the rest of the country via Nagaland and Assam.
Volunteers were seen monitoring the movement of vehicles along the highway and checking if any of them were carrying essential items.
CoTU instructed its volunteers to strictly enforce the economic blockade at various locations along both highways.
It was also stated that the committee has advocated for a meaningful resolution on various aspects, but “our demands have been consistently ignored”.
“The apparent status of the state indicates the total failure of the constitutional apparatus propagated by fascist and insane state rulers,” the report said.
It also stated that the commission is steadfast in its pursuit of justice and that any form of systematic subjugation by the Kuki-Zo people will be firmly tackled.
The committee has also prepared a roaster to monitor the movement of essential vehicles along the highway.
Earlier last month, the tribal organization threatened an indefinite shutdown in the district if the Center failed to immediately release all the people arrested by the central agencies.
The NH 2 had been blocked several times since the violence started on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
When Home Minister Amit Shah visited Manipur in late May, he had requested groups like CoTU to lift the blockade, and they had complied.