Naga leaders, after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Monday, hinted at a temporary suspension of their 65-day-old blockade of two national highways in the Northeast. Earlier on Monday, the Centre had said it would send more than 2,000 security personnel to end the blockade by Naga groups.
[A Nagaland Students’ Federation (NSF) release issued in Kohima late on Monday night said it was temporarily suspending the blockade in response to appeals by various individuals and organisations, including the Prime Minister, PTI reports.]
Union home secretary G.K. Pillai said earlier, “We have decided to send Central forces to remove the blockade. The ministry will send 16 additional companies of paramilitary forces, including one women’s company, to assist the Manipur government to clear the blocked highways. Besides, six companies of Central forces are being sent to Nagaland.”
He added that the Nagaland and Manipur chief secretaries would meet here on June 16 to review the situation.