Life crippled in Manipur's Kuki-Zo areas due to indefinite shutdown

IMPHAL: 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, has 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. (IANS) 

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