More than a year after the Union government failed to clear the “economic blockades” by ethnic groups in Manipur, the State government on Saturday (August 8, 2026) announced the immediate reopening of the National Highways (NHs) for the free movement of people from all communities in the ethnic conflict-scarred State.

The government also announced the resumption of a bus service connecting Manipur’s capital Imphal and Nagaland’s capital Kohima. Certain community members had been barred from travelling on this arterial highway since the conflict between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities erupted in May 2023 and shifted to one between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups from February.

The Tangkhul Naga Long, a Naga organisation, welcomed the announcement, but said that the government should stop the “militarisation” of Naga-inhabited areas and reject the creation of a separate administration for the Kukis in the ancestral homeland of Naga people. Kuki organisations are yet to react.

Kuki and Naga organisations have been behind blockades and counter-blockades on sections of NH-2 and NH-202.

Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, and Saitu MLA Haokholet Kipgen jointly announced the reopening of highways during a visit to Kangpokpi, a Kuki-majority district. The announcement came a day ahead of a total shutdown threatened by a coalition of 14 civil society organisations seeking an Assam-like exercise to update the National Register of Citizens.

“The boundaries of Manipur were formed and have been protected by all communities over 3,000 years. Some vested interest groups are trying to create confusion among us, but there is a solution to every crisis,” CM Singh said after holding meetings with community leaders in Kangpokpi as part of the government’s ongoing peace-building and reconciliation efforts.

He underscored the need for all communities to identify themselves as Manipuri first and move freely to each other’s domains.

The Deputy Chief Minister sought the support of civil society organisations, public leaders, intellectuals, and others to bring about lasting peace in the State. “Manipur can achieve complete development only when both the valley and the hill areas progress equally,” she said.

Economic lifelines

Mr. Kipgen, the Saitu MLA, said NH-2 has been the lifeline of all communities in Manipur since the Second World War. Manipur and Nagaland formed a key theatre of that war 82 years ago. “It is high time for all communities involved in the [ongoing] conflicts to forget the past and return to normality,” he said.

Manipur’s topography is like a sport stadium, where the Imphal Valley is the central playfield, the surrounding hills are the galleries, and the highways are crucial passages through the galleries to and from the playfield. This specific geography made the highways, specifically NH-2 and NH-37, lifelines of the State.

NH-2 connects Manipur’s capital, Imphal, and Nagaland’s capital, Kohima, to the north, while NH-202 connects Imphal to Nagaland’s Mokokchung via Manipur’s Naga-dominated Ukhrul district.

Kuki organisations imposed a blockade on a stretch of NH-2 through Kangpokpi district soon after the May 2023 conflict, cutting off access primarily for the Meitei community. Naga organisations enforced a counter-blockade on the stretch of this highway through the Naga-dominated Senapati district earlier this year to protest the killing of six Naga hostages, allegedly by Kuki people.

The Kuki-Naga conflict also saw Kuki groups imposing a blockade on the Litan stretch of NH-202 connecting Imphal with the Naga-dominated Kamjong and Ukhrul districts. This highway used to be the alternative for many after the blockade was imposed on NH-2.

NH-37, which connects Imphal and southern Assam’s Silchar to the southwest, has been incident-free in contrast. However, it is less preferred by truckers and travellers due to cave-ins, frequent landslides, and presence of extortion gangs.

In March 2025, the Centre attempted to restore free movement on all roads and highways in Manipur. However, the move was met with angry protests, and a person was killed when a mob attacked a bus of Manipur State Transport in Kangpokpi.

Published - August 08, 2026 09:54 pm IST