Imphal, January 10 2009: CLOSURE OF traffic on popular Governor's road located on the western side of Raj Bhavan Imphal evoked protest from the shop keepers of the route today.

Intensifying security measures around Raj Bhavan in the wake of grenade attack on December 21 last year, police has imposed banned on entry of all kinds of vehicles and pedestrians along the route from every 4 pm.

This came into effect from Thursday last.

This imposition of banned on the movement of people on the road,with the order of the SP as stated by the police personnel on duty,has caused certain inconvenience to the passer-bys and shop keepers as well on the stretch of the road.

Around 200 shop keepers of the area in an emergency meeting held here on Saturday protested and condemned the move to block traffic besides forcing them to close down the shutters.

"There's no problem when we opened our shops this morning,but they (police) forced us to close our shops as the clock struck 4 in the afternoon since Thursday", a shop keeper opined.

There's no official comment from the state authority as yet.

It may be worth mentioning here that since the evening of December 21 last year,the day of grenade attack,one lane of the road (NH 150) located to the southern side of the Raj Bhavan from where the grenades were suspected to have been lobbed, have been closed by police every night.

As part of the security measures,government is also considering the shifting of the offices of state central library,treasury and social welfare-all located bordering Raj Bhavan Imphal.

Notably,it also reportedly decided that no multi-storeyed building should be constructed in the surrounding area of the Raj Bhavan and that no door/window should face the Raj Bhavan.

In a move to avoid further grenade attack at the state's chief minister O Ibobi's official bunglow complex,the office of directorate of information and public relations was also forced to shift to Manipur State Road Transport Corporation complex at Moirangkhom oil pump in Imphal on January 8.Manipur based outfits have attacked CM's bunglow thrice by throwing explosive like grenades in the last couple of years.

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