Normal life was badly affected in Kuki-Zo areas of Manipur on Sunday due to the indefinite shutdown called by the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the tribals, to protest the resumption of the bus services between state capital Imphal and the hill districts.
Ginza Vualzong, spokesman of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a constituent of the KZC, claimed that the indefinite shutdown is total and successful in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, and Pherzawl districts.
However, police officials said that the shutdown badly affected normal life in Kangpokpi district and partially affected the other Kuki-Zo-dominated districts.
The KZC activists and volunteers put up blockades on major highways while shops, markets and business establishments were closed in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and other districts.
The KZC, in a statement, also said that during the movement of buses from Imphal to tribal-dominated districts on Saturday, violent confrontations erupted in numerous locations between security forces escorting the vehicles and the protesters.
A police official in Imphal said that a huge contingent of security forces, comprising both Central and state forces, have been deployed on Sunday in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Pherzawl and Jiribam districts.
Senior officials are monitoring the situation, the official said, adding that no untoward incident was reported so far from any of the trouble-torn districts.
On Saturday, at least 43 people, including 27 security personnel, were injured and a protester killed during the clashes in Kangpokpi and a few other districts as the Kuki-Zo tribal organisations protested against the resumption of the bus services.
A senior police official said that as per the decision of the state government, bus services were resumed on Saturday by the Manipur State Transport Corporation under security to alleviate public inconvenience and as an initiative to bring back normalcy in the state.
MSTC buses and other vehicles carrying LPG gas and oil tankers plied along the Imphal-Bishnupur-Churachandpur and Churachandpur-Bishnupur-Imphal routes without any disturbance from the people. However, when the MSTC bus plied along the Imphal-Kangpokpi-Senapati route, a huge mob started pelting stones towards the bus at Gamgiphai in Kangpokpi.
The security forces used tear gas and minimum force to disperse the unruly mob. Further, roadblocks were put up at various other places along the National Highway with huge numbers of protestors including women and children trying to immobilise the movement of the bus and the security forces by felling trees, putting huge stones and boulders on the road, and burning tyres, the official said. Amidst the protest, there were incidents of firing from amongst the protestors towards the security forces, in which the security forces retaliated, the official said. He said that due to heavy pelting of stones, use of catapults and random firing by armed elements from amongst the protestors, 27 security personnel suffered injuries with two personnel critically injured.
The security forces showed tremendous restraint while trying to control the unruly and violent mob and used minimum force to control and counter the anti-social elements, including the firing by armed attackers, the official said.
During the skirmish, 16 protestors were reportedly injured and one protestor succumbed to his injuries. Two vehicles of the security forces were also burnt down by the protesters on Saturday, the official added.
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