‘Ease tensions in Manipur’
October 17th, 2011 - 8:24 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Former union minister and social worker Mohan Dharia Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take urgent steps to ease tensions in Manipur and ensure that essential supplies reach the northeastern state which has been hit by a two-and-a-half-month-long blockade.
Dharia, a Padma Vibhushan awardee, urged the prime minister to ease the situation in the state before Oct 31 - when he is to be conferred with the 26th Indira Gandhi National Integration award.
In a four-page letter, Dharia has urged Manmohan Singh to appeal to the Manipuris to remove the blockade and maintain peace.
“There should be immediate supply of wheat, rice, petrol, gas cylinders etc,” Dharia wrote.
Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) began the indefinite road blockade agitation on the two crucial national highways, which link the northeastern state with the rest of the country.
They are demanding that the Sadar Hills sub-division in the Naga-dominated Senapati district in northern Manipur be upgraded as a full-fledged district.
The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex forum of Nagas in Manipur, has also been organising a counter-road blockade in all Naga-inhabited areas in northern Manipur, demanding that these areas should not be carved out without their consent.
The 78-day-long highway blockade to the state has severely hit the supply of essential commodities to the state.
- Team Anna to visit blockade-hit Manipur - Oct 15, 2011
- Gadkari to meet PM on Manipur blockade - Oct 21, 2011
- BJP team meets PM over Manipur blockade - Oct 22, 2011
- Chidambaram to visit blockade-hit Manipur - Oct 29, 2011
- Protests hit life in Manipur - Aug 21, 2011
- Road blockade hits life in Manipur - Sep 19, 2011
- Parties demand President's Rule in blockade-hit Manipur - Oct 14, 2011
- Chidambaram appeals for suspension of Manipur blockade - Oct 31, 2011
- Prices soar in blockade-hit Manipur - Oct 23, 2011
- 92-day Manipur blockade partially lifted - Nov 01, 2011
- United Naga Council temporarily lifts Manipur blockade - Nov 28, 2011
- On Day 100, Manipur warns of 'harsh action' - Nov 08, 2011
- PM to visit blockade-hit Manipur - Nov 28, 2011
- Resolve issues through dialogue: Chidambaram - Nov 02, 2011
- Is anyone listening, ask hapless Manipur residents as blockade continues - Oct 30, 2011
Tags: apex forum, awardee, dharia, gas cylinders, indira gandhi, manmohan, manmohan singh, mohan, naga, nagas, national highways, national integration, northeastern state, padma vibhushan, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, road blockade, social worker, union minister, urgent steps