Kuki CSO-Ukhrul Lifts Counter-Blockade After Govt Assures End to ‘Selective’ Economic Restrictions on Kuki-Zos

The Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul (WCKCSOs-Ukhrul), on Tuesday August 11, lifted its counter economic blockade and total shutdown along NH-202 after the Manipur government assured it of an end to what the organisation described as a “selective economic blockade” targeting Kuki-Zo people.

The decision came after a meeting between a government delegation led by Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam and spokesperson Thokchom Radheshyam and representatives of the WCKCSOs-Ukhrul at Shangshang on Tuesday afternoon.

The WCKCSOs-Ukhrul said an agreement had been reached with concerned Tangkhul and Meitei groups to end the blockade along NH-202 against the Kuki-Zos, following which it decided to withdraw its counter measures with effect from 4:30 pm on Tuesday.

The organisation had imposed the counter economic blockade on July 27, escalating it into a total shutdown from August 5, in retaliation for what it termed a discriminatory economic blockade allegedly imposed by certain Tangkhul and Meitei groups along the highway.

In a significant development, the WCKCSOs-Ukhrul said a handwritten agreement was executed with the government delegation, under which the government undertook responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of NH-202 and preventing any group from imposing blockades or creating disturbances along the vital highway.

The committee said the government's assurance also covered the free and non-discriminatory movement of essential commodities, a key demand amid mounting concerns over restrictions on supplies and movement.

“Normal movement may resume from 4:30 PM today,” the WCKCSOs-Ukhrul said in a statement.

The committee, however, made it clear that the lifting of its blockade was contingent on the government's assurances being honoured, saying it expected the agreement to be implemented “in letter and spirit” and that no community should be subjected to selective economic restrictions.

The development brings a temporary end to a sharp escalation of competing economic blockades along NH-202, where restrictions on movement had threatened to deepen already existing ethnic and economic fault lines in Manipur.

The WCKCSOs-Ukhrul welcomed the government's intervention but effectively put the administration on notice that any return of discriminatory restrictions could undermine the fragile understanding reached on Tuesday.

“No community should be subjected to selective economic restrictions” now stands at the centre of the agreement, with the government's ability to keep NH-202 open and secure likely to be closely watched by all sides.