Normal life was thrown out of gear on Tuesday in Manipur as a result of the 18 hour general strike called by Corcom, the apex body of six banned underground organisations from Monday midnight. This is to protest the "illegal" merger of Manipur to the Indian union on October 15, 1949. The militant groups say that by that time Manipur had its own Assembly, MLAs and a constitution and as such the then king Budhachandra had no right to sign the merger agreement without the authorisation from the Assembly.
All educational institutes, government offices, commercial places were deserted. There were no vehicles except those relaxed by Corcom.
Vehicles coming from other parts of the country were stranded outside the border. However, there was no report of untoward incident. Police had also beefed up security measures throughout the state.
The Naga People's Organisation Saikul and the Kuki Impi Saikul also called a 48 hour general strike in Senapati district from Monday midnight. They are demanding review of the government order issued in June 2011 brining 120 tribal villages under the police stations located in Imphal East and Thoubal districts. Since the highway 2 passes through this district no vehicle could ply.
