Manipur in the last one week, everything drys up, the government of manipur never move until and unless the people suffered. What kind of a government is this? Are they the government of the people or by the people or for the people?  (Admin, Zolengthe)

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~ Hueiyen Editorials

The economic blockade organised by the Senapati District Student’s Association (SDSA) on the National High way-39 has started giving a painful and destructive impact on the people’s lives in Manipur. There is already acute shortage of many things including the essential commodities and petroleum products in the state. The price of essential items required in daily life such as rice, edible oil, onion, garlic, dal, etc has gone up at the main markets in Imphal. Diesel, petrol, kerosene and LPG outlets have remained closed for over a week now , which means that these products are not available at the authorized pumps and agencies. Availability of these petroleum products in the black market at much higher price is a different but usual story. Whatever commodity on earth is not available in Manipur’s black market? Compounding the woes of the public during these days of economic blockade, the employees of the state’s Department of Food and Civil Supply have also joined the cease-work strike launched by the JAC of AMTUC and AMGEO demanding implementation of 6th Pay Commission’s recommendations. This has led to total inactivity of the FCS Department, and along with it the Public Distribution System (PDS) has also come to a complete halt forcing thousands of poor people to face extra burden of paying double the price of essential commodities at the market.

Apart from forcing the people to face a lot of hardships in getting supply of essential commodities, the drivers and handymen of the trucks and tankers, who are on the job of transporting various goods and petroleum products from Assam to Manipur, have also been compelled to face dangers involving the question of life or death. Some drivers and handymen have already sustained serious injuries when blockade supporters stoned and attacked the trucks with catapults. Windshield glasses of a number of lorries had been smashed. In fact broken pieces of glass are seen scattered all over the NH-39 from Mao to Senapati dist HQ areas all the way. At least a truck had met with an accident when blockade supporters threw stones at the front windshield of the vehicle last week, and another truck carrying dry fish had been set on fire when some blockade supporters threw a burning petrol bomb on it just two days back. Besides, the drivers of the goods trucks are facing immense trouble of finding food to survive on the national highways in Nagaland where they are stranded.

The facts surrounding the economic blockade launched by the SDSA are that the Manipur sector of the NH-39 from Mao to Senapati or Kangpokpi has remained in the worst ever condition for years together without repairing and black-topping. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which has taken charge of the highway had not made any worthwhile progress in the improvement works of the NH-39 in Manipur for almost three decades. The SDSA and other students organizations and CSOs of Senapati district had launched protest agitations every now and then, bandh or economic blockade being the most effective mode of protest, against the Government of Manipur demanding immediate improvement of the highway from Mao to Senapati. A number of Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between the protesting organizations and the government. Years have passed, but the condition of the highway deteriorated. Hence the series of bandhs or economic blockades, including the present one. Yet the state cabinet had taken a decision to take back the charge of improvement and maintenance of the Manipur sector of the NH-39, and PWD had already got down to business starting work on improvement and blacktopping of the highway. But this obviously has not pleased the protesting SDSA, which has now started demanding return of the charge of maintenance of the highway to the BRO. This volte-face on part of the SDSA came about after they started the economic blockade. The SDSA knows fully well that the BRO had not done anything during the past 30 years. That is why the state PWD took over the task . Now the PWD has begun improvement and black-topping work, which has been completed over a stretch of some miles. But the SDSA went ahead with the blockade and even went to the extent of burning a truck apart from attacking every running truck. This is not certainly a democratic protest agitation launched by a legally established student organization. There’s more to their open agenda. The economic blockade is turning out to be more of provocation to the entire people of Manipur, not only to the state government, than a protest agitation. It’s time all concerned put heads together and brought an amicable settlement immediately.

Source: Hueiyen Lanpao

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