Cutting short 240 hours general strike : The net ban continues
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 11, 2025 -

Just as Imphal was slowly recovering from the devastation caused by the flood, another blow landed on the people-this time caused by the 240 hours or 10 days total shutdown called by the Arambai Tenggol.

The supposed to be 240 hours shutdown was cut short after it completed 48 hours in a case of good sense kicking in after acknowledging the immense suffering foisted on the people.

'Arambai Tenggol bu mingchat thinaba, maithinaba amadi lanna uhannaba khudong chaba louba, achumba khongjang ashibu miyamda serannana unaba hotnaduna micham miyamgi gari mei thaba, Ian thum mang takhanba .....

asina maram oiraga hairiba general strike ashi komthokhibani, adubu democratic oiba mawong da makha tana Ashem Kanan bu hek thadoktribamakhei makhal makha kayagi khongjang sing changsinkhigani haina leibak meeyamda khanghanjari',
and as enunciated by the AT here, anti-social elements-hooligans of the first order-who came out on the roads and streets had hijacked the general strike during the 48 hours it was in force.

It is encouraging to note that AT has been candid enough to admit that anti-social hooligans had hijacked the real reason for calling the general strike and the extreme inconvenience people had to face during the 48 hours general strike can be known by those very people who had to step out due to compelling reasons such as taking the sick to the doctor, the health workers who had to move out to attend to the sick and at times even the dying at the hospitals, the water tankers, the journalists who had to move around to collect news and return home in the dead of the night etc.

The list can be long but it is encouraging to see that AT has acknowledged the suffering of the common people and how anti-social elements had crept in to paint the general strike in a totally wrong way, especially after the Sun set.

This is about the general strike and how did the Government respond to the situation? Other than putting in more men on the roads to clear the obstacles and patrol the roads in the night, internet was suspended and even as this commentary is being penned down, there is no information on when the net ban would be lifted.

The Sangai Express has lost count of the number of times that internet service has been suspended since the evening of May 3, 2023, a sort of a reminder that Manipur is still a long way off from coming anywhere near what is universally understood as normalcy.

This is also a stark reminder that the Government has not been able to look much further than snapping net connectivity of the people.

This is June and lined up are a number of competitive examinations such as UGC NET, NEET PG and myriad of other exams conducted by SSC etc and online coaching classes, online reading material etc are all dependent on the internet.

It should also not be forgotten that in line with the call for cashless transactions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UPI payment is the preferred mode for quite a large number of people.

A number of students from Manipur now study in other parts of the country and sending them their monthly money is largely done through bank transfer and this is where net connectivity becomes indispensable.

If the Government is under the impression that net ban is the answer then Manipur would have surely started walking the road to normalcy, given the number of times internet has been suspended since the evening of May 3, 2023.

This where the Government would need to think out of the box.