May 11: Union home secretary G.K. Pillai reached Imphal on Tuesday on home minister P. Chidambaram’s instruction, while government-appointed interlocutor for Naga talks R.S. Pandey was dispatched to Nagaland in view of the ongoing tension between the two states over the proposed visit of
NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah to his birthplace in Manipur. There are serious reports of shortage of essential commodities due to the blockage of two highways, government sources said.
The sources said that the twin visits are aimed at resolving the deadlock over the issue and ensure that common people do not suffer. Mr Pillai and Mr Pandey have been given the mandate to resolve the differences and restore normalcy so that common people do not suffer, official sources said.
The Manipur government has opposed Mr Muivah’s visit saying it would disturb communal amity since the NSCN-IM has demanded a “greater Nagaland” comprising Naga-inhabited areas in neighbouring states.
The idea has been turned down by the Manipur government which has got the backing of the Centre.
Mr Pillai met top officials from the Army, CRPF, Assam Rifles and BSF. He also held discussions with the Manipur government and senior officials on the situation arising from the economic blockade by Naga students and Mr Muivah’s attempt to enter the state to visit his ancestral village.
Official sources said the meeting discussed the counter blockade by some valley-based organisations preventing transport of essential items to hill districts as a protest against the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM)-sponsored economic blockade on national highways.
The Manipur government had approached the Centre to provide security on the Imphal-Silchar National Highway 53 so that trucks loaded with essential items could ply without disruption since the ANSAM was blockading the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway 39. In Delhi, Union home ministry sources said Mr Pillai will return on Wednesday night.
Mr Muivah, who has been camping in Viswema village of Manipur since May 5 on Monday said, “Our patience is running thin... We decided to defer (the visit) at the request of the PMO, but we will not wait indefinitely. Anyway, I will go to my birthplace, no one can stop me.”
Meanwhile, stocks of petrol and essential commodities were running low in valley areas of Manipur with the three week old blockade by the Naga students in the hill districts preventing entry of trucks.