Guwahati, Jun 15 : Naga groups on Monday agreed to suspend a two-month-long blockade of a vital highway that has caused food and fuel shortages in the troubled northeastern state of Manipur.The Naga Students Federation, one of the main groups behind the blockade, announced the suspension after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on the same day the government announced it would send troops to end the standoff.
Tribal groups from Nagaland blocked supplies to neighbouring Manipur, home to more than 2.5 million people, for preventing their separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah from visiting his birthplace.
Insurgency has long plagued Manipur as well and dozens of tribal insurgent groups still exist, though violence levels in the region have fallen.
The Manipur stand-off is seen as a new security headache for the central government which is already struggling with a growing Maoist insurgency.
The Nagas have been fighting Indian forces for a free Nagalim state carved out of the northeastern region, including parts of Manipur. Manipuris oppose this and see Muivah's attempts to visit his village as undermining their territorial integrity.
The Naga Students Federation said it had suspended the blockade after Prime Minister Singh agreed to look into Naga grievances.
"The blockade has been temporarily suspended from 6 p.m. (1230 GMT) of June 15," said a statement, which was supported by almost all groups enforcing the blockade.
"After meeting the prime minister this morning, he assured us he will look into the matter and asked us to call off the blockade."
The 60-day blockade has dried up supplies in the state and a litre of gasoline is selling for almost double the normal rate while food prices have soared and medicines are scarce.
Earlier, Home secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters federal troops would be deployed from Tuesday to end the blockade.
"We have decided to send central forces to remove the blockade," Pillai told Press Trust of India news agency.
Manipur has a border with Myanmar and is considered India's trade gateway to Southeast Asia. Government officials say ensuring peace is vital because it could help promote international trade.
The Naga rebellion is a 60-year revolt in which tens of thousands were killed in Nagaland before a truce was declared in 1997. Negotiations with New Delhi have made little progress since then. Muivah, who is mostly based in Amsterdam, is in now in India for talks.
(Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Sugita Katyal)
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