Kangpokpi Drivers' Union Rushes Lifeline to Truckers Trapped on NH-2, Presses Government to Break Highway Deadlock

In a humanitarian intervention amid the prolonged highway standoff in Manipur, the Sadar Hills Inland Transporters' and Drivers' Union (SHITDU) rushed emergency relief to truck drivers stranded for days between two opposing protest sites along National Highway-2, saying the drivers had become "silent victims" of a conflict not of their making.

The stranded drivers, most of them hailing from outside Manipur, have remained caught between Namduilong-Kanglatongbi, where a Liangmei Naga group has been enforcing an economic blockade for over two months, and the Gamgiphai Buffer Zone, where Kuki-Zo organisations have launched an intensified round-the-clock agitation demanding the removal of the blockade and restoration of free movement along the highway.

The confrontation has left dozens of drivers immobilised for more than five days, with many reporting that they had exhausted their food supplies, had no access to toilets or drinking water, and had received little or no assistance.

Although the state government reportedly escorted some stranded drivers back towards Imphal, several others continue to remain trapped along the highway with no certainty over when normal movement will resume.

Responding to their plight, SHITDU members immediately mobilised relief supplies, distributing rice, cooking oil, drinking water and other essential commodities to the stranded drivers.

The union also assured the drivers that it would continue extending humanitarian assistance for as long as they remained stranded.

Expressing gratitude, one of the stranded drivers said the assistance had brought much-needed relief after days of hardship.

He recounted that apart from running out of food, the drivers had been forced to endure extremely difficult conditions without even basic sanitation facilities.

"There is no toilet even for nature's call. We sincerely appeal to the Government to ensure our safe passage at the earliest," he said.

SHITDU spokesperson Lenpu Chongloi said the stranded location did not fall within the union's jurisdiction, but members decided to intervene purely on humanitarian grounds.

"These drivers are performing an essential service for society. They should not be left abandoned in the middle of a confrontation. We rushed to them because humanity comes first," he said.

Emphasising that the union represents the welfare of drivers beyond community lines, Chongloi said SHITDU has always stood with transport workers irrespective of caste, creed, religion or ethnicity.

"Our responsibility is towards the welfare of drivers. Whether day or night, irrespective of community, we will continue to stand by them whenever they are in distress," he said.

Appealing to both sides engaged in the highway standoff, the union urged them to recognise the indispensable role played by the transport community and to consider the immense hardships faced by drivers stranded in the middle of the highway.

SHITDU also called upon the Manipur Government to urgently resolve the prolonged impasse and restore unhindered movement along National Highway-2, asserting that transport workers must be allowed to discharge their responsibilities without becoming casualties of competing agitations.

National Highway-2, one of Manipur's principal arterial lifelines connecting the state with the rest of the country through Nagaland, has remained severely disrupted for months, with the prolonged blockade and counter-agitation continuing to cripple civilian movement and expose transport workers to worsening humanitarian conditions.