March 19, 2025: Highlighting the people’s plight due to the National Highways blockade, Inner Manipur MP Bimol Akoijam asked the government to take firm action to clear the roads and allow free movement of citizens.
Appreciating the initiatives of the Governor to open the highways, the MP also said that the move has been buckled down by communal forces in the name of separate administration. Firm action needs to be taken to clear these roads, which come under Article 19 of free movement and Article 21 of the Right to Life, including the right to livelihood.
Calling the attention of the House, the MP said the blockade on National Highways, particularly NH-2 and NH-37, and illegal tax collection carried out by various armed groups for many years have led to an increase in commodity prices. This has seriously affected the economy and has been a decade-old problem, but the ongoing crisis has worsened the situation.
Some people are holding the highways to ransom in the name of separate administration, trying to obstruct the free movement of the populace, and rejecting the idea of resettlement in their original homes.
People from Churachandpur have been traveling 300 km to take a flight from Aizawl rather than traveling to Imphal, which is merely 50 km away.
