A truck damaged by members of the Transporters Council of Manipur lies overturned in Imphal on Saturday.
Imphal, Jun 21 : Not a single supply truck or inter-state bus left Manipur for Nagaland or Assam along the Imphal-Dimapur highway today though the All Naga Students Association, Manipur suspended its economic blockade on the two highways in the state from 4pm yesterday.
Five loaded trucks, which were stranded at Dimapur, did reach here along the highway today but two of them were damaged by Manipur transporters at Sekmai in Imphal West district for violating their decision of not plying along the highway.
The transporters reiterated that they would not use the highway until the Centre, the Nagaland government, the Manipur government and civil society groups gave written assurances that bus operators and truckers would not be harassed on the route and no blockade or bandh would be called on it in future.
“The Centre, the Nagaland government, the Manipur government and NGOs should give us written assurances that there would not be any harassment of transporters, collection of illegal taxes and bandh or blockade along the Imphal-Dimapur highway,” Ng. Haridas, the general secretary of Transporters and Drivers’ Council, said.
He alleged that the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) collected a huge amount of money as illegal tax on trucks and buses and drivers were beaten up or vehicles damaged for not paying up.
The transporters also alleged that the Dimapur Naga Students Union had taken Rs 5,000 from each of the five trucks that left Dimapur today. The trucks carried letters from the union saying the vehicles were carrying fertilisers for farmers of Kalapahar in Senapati district and should not be disturbed.
Before the blockade, about 450 trucks, buses and tankers used to ply along the Imphal-Dimapur highway (NH-39) every day. Today, bus ticket counters put up notices declaring that there was no inter-state service along the route.
Though there was no inter-state bus and truck service along the highway, taxis resumed services between Imphal and Dimapur and buses plied normally from here to the Naga-dominated hill district of Senapati, including Mao Gate, the entry point into Manipur from Nagaland on NH 39.
The transporters appealed to all to use the Imphal-Jiribam highway (NH 53) instead of the Imphal-Dimapur highway. “The government should create godowns at Jiribam, complete the railway line construction and also improve the condition of the Imphal-Jiribam road,” Haridas said.
More than 200 trucks carrying goods, fuel and LPG reached here today along the Imphal-Jiribam highway. More than 200 trucks are still stranded on this highway following landslides at several points in Tamenglong district.
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