Imphal, Aug 20 : The Imphal bench of Gauhati high court is feeling the heat of the ongoing agitation by the Kukis on National Highways 39 and 53 in Manipur. For two successive days since Thursday, the High Court Bar Association, Manipur had to suspend court proceedings owing to an acute shortage of petrol and diesel triggered by the highway stir.
Though some oil outlets here have started selling petrol and diesel, though in a rationed way, people have to spend four to five hours to get their share to tank up their vehicles. To make the matter worse, black marketers are selling petrol at Rs 100 a litre.
"On Wednesday, the bar association decided to suspend work in the court," a key leader of the association said, adding that its members would convene a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
In pursuit of its decades-old demand to convert Sadar Hills in Senapati into a full-fledged revenue district, the self-explanatory Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) has been imposing the economic blockade in the two highways since August 31.
The committee has also called an indefinite general strike in Sadar Hills. Besides fuel, prices of other essential commodities have also doubled up giving a big bow to the consumers.
On the other hand, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has pledged to look into the agitators' demand. Her assurance came during a meeting with a delegation of Kuki leaders, including SHDDC committee members, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
In the meantime, thousands of Nagas on Friday took to the streets in the four hill districts of strife-torn Manipur to oppose the state government's alleged attempt to bifurcate Senapati by converting Sadar Hills and Jiribam into full-fledged districts. This comes at a time when the Kukis have intensified their decades old agitation, seeking conversion of Sadar Hills in Senapati to a full-fledged revenue district.
Under the aegis of the powerful United Naga Council (UNC), a protest rally was staged simultaneously at the district headquarters of four Naga-dominated districts of Senapati, Chandel, Tamenlong and Ukhrul where the rallyists also announced a common declaration. The silent rallies were organized by various Naga social and student bodies under UNC.
At the Chandel district headquarters, the Chandel Naga People's Organization (CNPO) speaker (Assembly Affairs) Kh Loveson Monsang read out a declaration reading, " We condemn the divide and rule policy of the state government which has always played the communal card."
Four MOUs signed by the Nagas of Manipur and the state government in 1981, 1992, 1996 and 1998 underline the spirit that the resolution to the conflict on the issue of Sadar Hills will be brought about through a consensus of the peoples concerned in the interest of bringing about lasting peace and harmony between the Nagas and Kukis. But the government is acting otherwise, it said.
The declaration added that the Nagas wish for peace and harmony with other communities based on mutual respect for rights over land and traditional ownership.
Stating that the collaborators of the state government were fishing in troubled waters, which will only cause grievous damage to the fraternal relationship of the communities, the declaration said, "We respect the genuine aspirations and rights of all communities in the state just as we wish that our demands are respected by others."
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