336 Loaded Trucks And 10 Passenger Buses Arrive in Imphal

Imphal, Aug 18 : At least 336 loaded freight trucks and ten passenger buses arrived here today afternoon from Jiribam (Manipur-Assam border town) via National Highway 53 under heavy security cover amid heightened agitation led by Sadar Hills District-hood Demand Committee (SHDDC).

After the state cabinet took the decision to send empty trucks to Jiribam along National Highway 53 to ferry in essential commodities in order to offset artificial inflation spun by the ongoing agitation under the aegis of SHDDC demanding declaration of Sadar Hills ADC into a full fledged district, about 300 empty trucks left for the Assam-Manipur border town Jiribam last week.

It is worth noting that the economic blockade that was imposed by SHDDC beginning midnight of July, tentatively for seven days, quickly spiraled into an indefinite general strike across Sadar Hills, barely two days after the blockade began, following the death of three women in a blockade related incident.

The 336 loaded trucks that arrived here included 45 oil tankers, besides several FCI-detailed trucks that brought in essential commodities. The convoy also brought in about ten passenger busses that were stranded in Jiribam owing to the agitation.

At about 3:10 pm suspected volunteers of the agitation rolled down a huge bolder from a hilltop near Sinam area and damaged a convoy vehicle of Thoubal police commandos. The occupants of the Maruti Gypsy however escaped unhurt miraculously.