Manipur Resumes Free Movement Amid Fresh Tensions Over Peace March

After a 22-month restriction, the Manipur government on Saturday reinstated public movement across all routes in the conflict-ridden state. Officials announced that bus services have resumed from Imphal to Senapati via Kangpokpi district and from Imphal to Churachandpur via Bishnupur.

• However, tensions flared following a peace march on Saturday, coinciding with the Centre’s deadline for ‘free movement’ on highways. The Kuki-Zo group opposed the march in Senapati, where women’s groups clashed with security forces while blocking National Highway 2 in protest.

  Security has been intensified in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley and the surrounding Kuki-Zo tribal hills as the Federation of Civil Societies (FOCS), a valley-based conglomerate of about 20 organizations, launched its “March to the Hills” from Imphal. FOCS claims the march is a peace-building initiative following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s directive to allow unrestricted movement between key valley and hill routes.

  The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) strongly opposed the march, stating that the FOCS resolution to enter Kuki-Zo hill districts was a violation of buffer zones.

  “The idea of free movement, as presented by Home Minister Amit Shah through the Manipur Governor, misrepresents the situation and echoes a radical Meitei narrative that is neither viable nor acceptable,” COTU said in a statement.

  COTU also argued that National Highway 2, which passes through Kuki-Zo territory, was never blocked for humanitarian purposes, except on a few occasions to draw the Centre’s attention to the lack of reciprocity from the valley. It warned that FOCS’s march into Kuki-Zo areas under the pretext of assessing peace efforts could trigger fresh conflict.

  Meanwhile, security forces, in coordination with Manipur Police, have intensified efforts to ensure safe transit while maintaining law and order. The government has deployed public buses between the hills and valley regions, escorted by central forces, starting Saturday.
  The reopened routes include:

  • Imphal-Kangpokpi-Senapati
  • Senapati-Kangpokpi-Imphal
  • Imphal-Bishnupur-Churachandpur
  • Churachandpur-Bishnupur-Imphal
    Additionally, helicopter services between Imphal, Churachandpur, and Ukhrul will resume.

  In a separate development, security forces have recovered 114 weapons, IEDs, grenades, and ammunition across Manipur after the expiration of a two-week period for voluntarily surrendering looted and illegal arms, an official statement said on Saturday.