The 60-day blockade of the Dimapur-Imphal National Highway-2 was lifted on July 3 after a representative of the Union government assured Kuki groups that their political demands can only be addressed and settled by the government. The Kuki groups and BJP MLAs have been demanding separate administration since the violence erupted on May 3.
The decision to lift the roadblocks was announced after a 19-member team comprising Kuki-Zo civil society organisations and representatives of the United People’s Front (UPF), and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), the umbrella group of 24 Kuki insurgent groups that are part of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the government, met a senior Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) functionary in Assam’s Kaziranga on June 30.
On Sunday, after the UPF and the KNO announced that they have decided to lift the blockade at Kangpokpi on NH-2 with immediate effect to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in the State, there was massive resistance from the local residents.
