From goods laden trucks to passenger buses : Turning into an ugly reality
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 10 2017 -

From goods laden trucks to passenger vehicles. This is how the ongoing economic blockade has morphed.

So from targeting goods laden trucks it turned to passenger vehicles, particularly in the counter-economic blockade imposed at different sections of the valley area and it exploded in all its ugliness on December 18 last year when a good number of passenger vehicles were set ablaze along the Imphal-Ukhrul road and the belongings of many passengers were burnt and destroyed.

The seeds of the December 18 incident were sown a long time back when the United Naga Council began the indefinite economic blockade from midnight of October 31.

And before the ugly incident of December 18, there were incidents of vehicles being targeted at Khumbong in the valley area in the course of the counter economic blockade.

The indefinite economic blockade from midnight of October 31 gave way to the December 18 incident and in a clear case of tit for tat, another passenger bus which used to ply between Imphal and Senapati district headquarters was torched at Taphou Naga village by suspected blockade supporters.

The result is there for all to see today.

No passenger buses now ply between Imphal and Senapati or rather no passenger buses now ply on NH-2 and this means that land route has been snapped beyond Kangpokpi district headquarters from Imphal towards the north leading to Dimapur.

This in effect means that today there are no buses operating on the Imphal to Guwahati route and all passengers have to either take the flight to proceed to Guwahati or go via Jiribam.

This is about National Highway 2 or the land route from Imphal to Dimapur and then to Guwahati.

On the other hand, after the December 18 incident, all passenger buses have ceased operating on the Imphal-Ukhrul route.

The arrangements made so far is, all passenger buses heading towards Imphal from Ukhrul stop at Yaingangpokpi and passengers take diesel autos and other vehicles to proceed towards Imphal.

And when passengers have to proceed to Ukhrul district headquarters, the other towns located along the Imphal-Ukhrul road, they have to go till Yaingangpokpi by diesel autos or other smaller vehicles and then take the bus from there for their onward journey.

How have things come to such a pass, is the question that everyone should raise now.

With the UNC not showing any inclination to lift the economic blockade, no one wants to take a chance and take the routes which have been noted here.

There may be other routes too which follow the same script.

So what is the Centre and the State Government contemplating to do ?

As things have unfolded, it is easier to raise this question for there have been no satisfactory answer till date.

The most that the people have seen is the war of words between the Congress Government here and the BJP led Government at the Centre and this amounts to multiplying the tragedy.