Assam Rifles secures threatened supply route to Manipur’s hill districts

The Assam Rifles has moved additional troops to secure a bridge on a national highway in south Manipur that is the only route for essential supplies to the tribal district of Churachandpur district in the violence-hit State.

The Assam Rifles has moved additional troops to secure a bridge on a national highway in south Manipur that is the only route for essential supplies to the tribal district of Churachandpur district in the violence-hit State. A source said that additional columns were moved after security forces picked up chatter from Valley-based Meitei insurgent groups who were planning to damage the bridge at Sinzawl on NH102 B, which connects Manipur with neighbouring Mizoram.

With highway blockades and the armed cadres of insurgent groups -- both Kuki and Meitei -- threatening free movement, the transport of essential supplies to various communities across the State has been endangered. On the one hand, Churachandpur, a Kuki-dominated area in the south of the State, has been getting essential supplies by road from Mizoram as protestors have blocked access from the northern Imphal Valley regions of the State; that is the road from Mizoram now being threatened by Meitei insurgents. On the other hand, Kuki groups in the north have blocked the main supply route to the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley, forcing a fall back on an alternative route. In the south-east, the border areas of Chandel and Tengnoupal, primarily Kuki and Naga-dominated districts, are now dependent on Myanmar for the supply of essentials as they are blocked from the rest of Manipur.

On Tuesday, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga tweeted that 2,388.50 quintals of rice have been sent to “Zo ethnic tribes in troubled Manipur areas and internally displaced persons residing in Mizoram by Govt. Of Mizoram, including other relief supplies.” A total of 11,785 internally displaced people from Manipur have taken shelter in Mizoram since the eruption of ethnic strife in Manipur, Mr. Zoramthanga said. 

More than 100 people have been killed and more than 50,000 people from both Kuki and Meitei communities have been displaced since ethnic violence erupted on May 3.

Since National Highway 2 or NH 2 has been blocked by Kuki groups in the north, the supplies to Meitei-dominated areas in the Imphal Valley are being maintained through NH 37. In April, before the crisis erupted, an average of 390 vehicles travelled on NH2 every day, according to an officer in the security establishment. Over the past 14 days, the average daily movement on NH37 has spiked to 483 vehicles, indicating that the alternate route is now operational.

More than 4,000 weapons and lakhs of ammunition have been snatched from police armouries in two phases since May 3. A little over thousand weapons have been recovered or returned to police armouries so far. According to officials, around 80% of stolen weapons are with Meitei groups and the remaining 20% are with the Kuki groups. 

A senior government official said that many of the snatched weapons are believed to be in the possession of banned Meitei insurgent groups who have entered from Myanmar; the movement of 60 to 70 such groups have been recorded in the Valley since May 3.