Economic Blockade Cost Manipur 2 Billion Rupees a Day

Imphal, Jun 28 : The economic blockade may have ended in Manipur, but the loss that the state has suffered due to the 66-day long blockade is enormous.

Manipur state suffered a loss of about two billion rupees per day due to the economic blockade.

N. Mohendro Singh, an economist said that during the blockade petrol was not merely scarce, but its price in black market had gone up to 140 rupees a litre.

For five litres of petrol one had to wait for about 10-15 hours before the petrol pump starts delivering it.

“As far as the economic calculation is concerned we lose about 132- 200 crore a day on account of the economic blockade. You’ll be glad to know that in 2004-2005, Manipur suffered the setback of economic blockade for about 60 days and daily loss is about 2.32 crore with the result that in 2004-2005 Manipur suffered the loss of 139.20 crore ,” said Singh.

The economic blockade he says has not only brought the state to a standstill but it created a space for black marketing.

Singh said that the blockade had dehumanized the people of Manipur on all fronts from educational sector to the industrial sector.

He said that the people have begun to question the existence of the government and its functioning and that the blockade had created a gap between the government and the people.

“It (economic blockade) has made a loss around one lakh and 180,000 rupees, and we the common mass and our colleagues lost above rupees ten thousand to twenty thousand. Such a thing has occurred, how we describe to you sons,” said Tharosangbi Devi, a vendor.

Singh added that all the private schools including the government schools stopped functioning because petrol was not available and vans could not ply. The blockade, he says, of such a long period can produce a generation gap in education in human capital formation in human resource mobilization.

Singh says that the government of India and Manipur should apply all rules and regulations to prevent such a situation because it is against the humanity and mankind.

In 2005 and 2006 Manipur suffered a loss of about 2.5 billion rupees per day and in 2006-2007 it suffered a loss of 2.31 billion rupees, said Singh.