The ban which was imposed on the central projects in Manipur by the United Naga Council (UNC) in furtherance of its demand for an alternative arrangement outside the Manipur government has been lifted from 5 pm on Wednesday. This was announced by the publicity wing of the UNC in Imphal on Wednesday.
For a long time the UNC has been demanding an alternative arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur saying that they no longer want to stay under the "communal government" led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.
There had been blockade, general strike and other forms of agitations demanding the alternative arrangement.
The Union government has been holding talks with the representatives of the UNC and the Manipur government in this regard. The sixth round of talks was held in Delhi on August 30 among the representatives of the Union government, the Manipur government and the UNC. The UNC says that during the talks the representatives of the Union government had urged its representatives to lift the ban on the central projects so as to take the process to the political level within two months.
The UNC discussed the proposal in a meeting held on Tuesday. It was decided that the ban would be lifted from Wednesday. The announcement says that the ban on the Trans Asian Railway Line and power grid is lifted appreciating the firm and sincere intention of the Union government to end the stalemate stemming from the UNC demand.
However the ban on the "exploitive and divisive" projects which are undertaken without prior consent of the land owners and which have displaced or will displace people will continue. The projects include seismic survey for oil exploration, the Mapithel multipurpose dam, Chakpi Karong multipurpose dam.
