The 48-hour economic blockade against Manipur called by the Kuki Statehood Demand Committee (KSDC) ended on Thursday evening.
The KDSC had advanced protest to 5 p.m. July 9 from July 11 so that the blockade could be imposed simultaneously with the end of a general strike at that hour. Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam Gangmei said the government was in touch with the Union government on the KSDC demand for creation of a “Kuki State” carved out of Manipur, which has a total area of 22,327 sq. km.
But, he added, involving Kuki underground organisations in the demand was untenable. He pointed out that these outfits had come overground after signing a Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Union government. One of the major ground rules of the SoO is that the signatories shall not do anything to cause disintegration of Manipur's territory.
