Normal life in Manipur valley was affected for the second consecutive day on January 21 as the 48-hour bandh imposed by a joint action committee (JAC) in protest against the recent killing of Takhellambam Manoranjan Singh, a village guard continued.
No untoward incident related to the bandh was reported on the day. The bandh commenced from January 20 at 5 am and concluded on January 22 at 5 am.
Bandh supporters in large numbers continued to block roads at various places in the twin capital districts of Imphal West and Imphal East and other valley districts endorsing the demands raised by the JAC.
Major markets across the state capital and its outskirts remained closed with only pharmacies opening. Similar situations were reported from other valley districts.
Business activities in the state’s business hubs like Paona Bazar, Thangal Bazar, MG Avenue, Khoyathong Road, and Ema Keithel (all-women-run markets) paralyzed for the second consecutive day.
Transportation services, including interstate, inter-district, and inter-localities routes, experienced a complete suspension, barring a few private vehicles on the roads.
A sharp reduction in the traffic volume was witnessed on the streets of the city with only a few private and essential service vehicles on the roads.
Almost all the commercial vehicles including passenger service vehicles stayed off the roads. Petrol pumps also remained down their shutters for the second consecutive day owing to the strike.
Meanwhile, endorsing the demands raised by the JAC, protesters came out on the roads in their respective areas and chanted slogans.
The JAC enforced the strike after the demands it had raised in a memorandum they submitted to the chief minister recently were not addressed by the government even after the 24-hour deadline it had set.
The JAC demanded the Manipur chief minister to take over the chairmanship of the Unified Command and scrap the tripartite suspension of operation (SoO) pact with the militant groups.
It further demanded that the central government must end its “divide and rule policy” in Manipur and implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) immediately.
It also insisted that N Biren Singh should resign from the post of chief minister if his government is unable to face the attacks of the “Kuki narco-terrorists” and also withdrawal of “ineffective” central security forces from the state and giving additional power to the state security forces.
While claiming that the village guard was killed while protecting the state, the JAC demanded adequate compensation to the bereaved family, the same as the government provided to a security personnel who died in the line of duty.
