Railways urged to step in as road blockade leads to acute shortages in Manipur

In a letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Singh stated that the bandh had curtailed the movement of private and commercial vehicles, bringing about acute shortages of essential commodities like petrol, diesel and cooking gas across the state. “You are aware that National Highways 2 and 53 are arteries for the supply of essential goods to Manipur. They are Manipur’s lifeline. NH 2, entering Manipur from Nagaland, is the preferred route for transporters. However, for the past one week, NH 2 has been blocked by the Nagaland-based organisation,” the minister of state wrote.

On January 27, the first-ever freight train reached the Rani Gaidinliu railway station in Tamenglong district. Another train arrived from there at the Khongsang station on Monday, covering a distance of 56 km. The stretch is a part of the Jiribam-Imphal broad-gauge project, which is being constructed at an estimated cost of over Rs 14,000 crore by the Northeast Frontier Railway connecting the town on the Assam border with the Manipur capital.

The SAPO demands the state government remove a security outpost set up at Kezoltsa. The Nagaland-based group claims the border outpost is on the ancestral land of the Angami tribe. Manipur says it is within state territory.

RK Mohen, general manager of the Indian Oil Corporation, said there was no need to panic. He said that around 200 tankers with petroleum products arrived along the Imphal-Jiribam road, NH 37, on Tuesday. This is in addition to the existing stock that will last for seven days, he added.