Imphal:
Manipur has been cut off from the rest of the country for more than 60 days now. This is a result of a protest by the Kuki tribe who are demanding a separate district but a part of that area includes what the Nagas have been demanding.
So, a blockade and counter blockade by the two tribes has virtually choked Manipur.
Prices of essential commodities have shot up two to three times. Cooking gas is selling at about Rs 1700 per cylinder and petrol is at Rs 100 a litre in the grey market.
According to officials here, the Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) began an indefinite road blockade agitation August 1 for upgrading Sadar Hills sub-division in the Naga-dominated Senapati district in northern Manipur into a full-fledged district.
The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of Nagas in Manipur, has also been organising intermittent protests in all Naga-inhabited areas in northern Manipur, demanding that these areas should not be carved out without their consent.
Official sources said the agitators, who have blocked NH-53 and NH-39 in Senapati district since August 1, burnt down the vehicles at Kangpokpi yesterday which has also resulted in an abnormal hike in the prices of most commodities.
The agitators had previously set fire to at least 18 more vehicles on the highways.
Manipur depends on supplies from outside and trucks carrying essentials and other goods from the rest of India use the national highways (NH-53 and NH-39) passing through Nagaland and Assam.
The official said the blockades have created a severe shortage of essential commodities, including diesel and petrol. People have to wait in long queues in front of petrol pumps, sometimes for an entire day, to buy a few litres of fuel.
Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh met union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi recently and discussed the situation.
Official sources said the state Cabinet headed by Mr Singh had met four to five times in the past one-and-a-half months, but no conclusive decision could be taken on the Sadar Hills issue, which has remained unresolved since 1982.
(With agency inputs)