48-hr shutdown freezes Kangpokpi; Kuki-Zo communities resist govt's transport order

Imphal, Dec 5: The 48-hour “total shutdown” called by civil society organisations of Sadar Hills hit Kangpokpi district hard on Wednesday as business establishments kept their shutters down throughout the day.

Imposed from midnight on Tuesday in response to the state government’s decision to resume public transport services on the Imphal-Kangpokpi-Senapati and Imphal-Bishnupur-Churachandpur routes, the shutdown sparked resistance from residents opposing the move.

Hundreds of women from the Kuki-Zo community gathered at Gamgiphai—a strategically located village on the fringe between Kangpokpi and Imphal West—to prevent the resumption of public transport. Schools and general vehicular movement, however, were exempted from the shutdown's ambit.

Ng. Lun Kipgen, spokesperson for the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), while reflecting on the situation in Manipur, deemed the government’s directive as “partisan and baseless”.

He recalled that the government's order, issued from Imphal, mandates free vehicular movement from Imphal to Dimapur—a route the Kuki-Zo community never obstructed.

Lambasting the directive as a “deliberate attempt to vilify the Kuki-Zo community” and undermine their struggle for separate administration, Kipgen accused the Chief Minister of persistently attempting to derail the Kuki-Zo movement.

"In his fourth desperate attempt, the Chief Minister has sought to impose vilified and unfounded ideas upon us, further exacerbating the divide,” he said.

Reaffirming their defiance, CoTU categorically rejected any orders emanating from Imphal. "We will enforce strict and democratic forms of protest until the government rescinds this partisan order. The Kuki-Zo community will not bow to coercion or manipulation," Kipgen warned.

Meanwhile, the Kuki Inpi Sadar Hills has strongly opposed the state government's recent directive to deploy Manipur State Transport (MST) buses in violence-affected areas amidst the ongoing ethnic conflict.

The Kuki Inpi criticised the move, calling it a “reckless and insensitive attempt” to restore public services without addressing the underlying political tensions.

"This decision risks endangering lives and reflects the state government’s insensitivity toward the plight of the Kuki-Zo community. Deploying buses without resolving the root cause of the conflict; it will only worsen communal tensions," it stated.

Instead of enforcing transportation services in conflict zones, the Kuki Inpi proposed alternative routes for MST operations, including Moirang-Imphal-Sekmai; Gamgiphai-Kangpokpi-Tamenglong; Gamgiphai-Kangpokpi-Mao; Lamka (CCPur)-Saungdoh-Lamka; Kakching-Imphal-Moirang; and Pallen-Moreh-Pallen.