People Suffer While Politics Dominates in Blockade Affected Manipur

After deliberating at a recently held national executive meeting in Delhi to strategize for the 5 poll bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur, BJP National President, Amit Shah said the saffron party would make Manipur, a bandh, blockade and corruption free state if voted to power in the state.

- Sunzu Bachspatimayum

This comes at a time when the border state is reeling under the crippling indefinite economic blockade, creating acute shortage of essential commodities, fuel and lifesaving drugs in the landlocked state.

Manipur has been cut-off from the rest of the country with its lifeline national highways - NH 2 (Nagaland-Manipur) and NH 37 (Assam-Manipur) - blocked by activists of United Naga Council, UNC, since November 1st, protesting against the state government’s plan of creating new districts by bifurcating, what they called, ‘ancestral Naga areas’.

“Due to this economic blockade, prices of essential commodities have shot up so much so that we are finding it very hard to afford. A kg of potatoes is now costing Rs 40/- whereas onion comes at Rs 60/- per kg”, reveals Akshar, a Manipuri Muslim who came to shop for groceries in Manipur’s famed women’s market.

LPG cylinders and fuel are amongst the worst hit. A cylinder of LPG cost Rs 1800/-, and a litre of petrol come at Rs 150/in the black market. Roshini Sharma, a pharmacist in Imphal informed that even availability of lifesaving medicines is severely impacted. “We’re badly hit by this economic blockade by the UNC. 40 % of the medicines are not available in the market.”