Manmohan Singh to visit blockade-hit Manipur

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit blockade-hit Manipur on Dec 3 to attend a series of programmes and address a public gathering, an official said here on Monday.

The prime minister is likely to be accompanied by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi during the one day visit.

"Singh would inaugurate a city convention centre, inter-state bus terminus, the assembly complex and the Imphal bench of Gauhati High Court building," an official said.

He would also open the National Institute of Technology (NIT) complex after which he will address a public gathering at Kangla fort complex in the afternoon. This will be his third visit to Manipur after he became the prime minister. On Nov 2, Home Minister P. Chidambaram visited the state.

The northeastern state has been facing ethnic troubles as the United Naga Council (UNC) and the All-Naga Students' Association (ANSAM) have continued their road blockade agitation in northern Manipur to protest the Manipur government's agreement with leaders of the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee (SHDDC).

The SHDDC had Aug 1 launched road blockade agitation on the two arterial national highways that link the state with the rest of the country, demanding conversion of the Kuki tribal majority Sadar Hills area into a full-fledged district.

The UNC and ANSAM have blockaded the two National Highways since Aug 21 to counter the blockade launched by the SHDDC.

Tribal Nagas inhabiting northern Manipur, adjacent to Nagaland, are opposed to the creation of a full-fledged Sadar Hills district.

The SHDDC had lifted the blockade on Nov 1 after the state government agreed to their demand of creating a district, a move opposed by the Nagas.