Imphal: The Manipur government has urged the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Naga community in the state, to withdraw its indefinite “trade embargo” along National Highways in Naga-dominated areas, warning that the blockade is severely disrupting supplies of essential goods and fuel.
The UNC, supported by other Naga organisations, began the embargo at midnight on September 8 to protest the Centre’s decision to fence the India–Myanmar border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR).
Since then, hundreds of trucks carrying foodgrains, fuel and other essential items have been stranded on NH-37 (Imphal–Jiribam) and NH-2 (Imphal–Dimapur), officials said.
Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel has written to UNC President Ng. Lorho, appealing for the agitation to be called off “in the larger public interest.”
In his letter, he assured that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has taken note of the concerns raised and is engaging in dialogue with the UNC and other stakeholders.
“The next tripartite meeting with UNC will be held on a mutually convenient date and venue,” Goel wrote.
The appeal comes after an August 26 meeting in Delhi between MHA officials and leaders of three Naga organisations—the UNC, the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) and the Naga Women’s Union (NWU)—ended without resolution.
The delegation, led by UNC President Lorho, pressed for reinstatement of the old FMR and a halt to ongoing fencing works along the 398-km Manipur stretch of the India–Myanmar border.
Naga bodies argue that fencing and the scrapping of the FMR will divide communities and sever ancestral, cultural and traditional ties of Naga tribes living across Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar.
The FMR, introduced decades ago, had allowed border residents to travel up to 16 km into each other’s territory without a visa or passport.
Last year, the Centre replaced it with a permit-based system allowing movement only within 10 km of the border.
The embargo has already disrupted the flow of essentials into the state, hitting supply chains in both the Imphal Valley and the Kuki-dominated hill districts.
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Districts such as Senapati, Ukhrul and Tamenglong are facing acute shortages as loaded trucks remain stuck at checkpoints.
The border issue has also sparked strong opposition from political parties and civil society groups in Nagaland and Mizoram, both of which, like Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, share stretches of the 1,643-km unfenced India–Myanmar frontier.
The MHA has announced plans to fence the porous border at a cost of Rs. 31,000 crore, citing the need to curb cross-border smuggling of arms, narcotics and other contraband.
For now, however, the standoff continues, with Manipur appealing for calm and supplies dwindling as negotiations remain deadlocked.
