New Delhi: Nearly 200 vehicles, including trucks carrying essential commodities to Manipur’s capital Imphal, have been stranded since April 24 after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast blew a part of a vital bridge on the national highway connecting the state with neighbouring Nagaland.
Land-locked Imphal is connected to the rest of India by two key national highways – the National Highway No. 2 that passes through its Kangpokpi district to Nagaland; and the National Highway 37 (now renamed NH 127) through Jiribam to Assam’s Barak valley.
Since the condition of the NH 37 is not too good, most trucks carrying goods use the highway through Nagaland. According to the latest reports, several trucks headed to Manipur have been diverted to NH 37 since April 24 evening.
According to local news reports, the April 24 blast took place a day after the armed volunteers guarding the respective villages of the Kuki and Meitei communities – at loggerheads since May last year – engaged in a fight in the Imphal West district.
“The blast, causing major damage to the bridge, has cut off all traffic and vehicular movement on the most important lifeline of the state,” said the Imphal Free Press.
Quoting official reports, it said, “The bombs were exploded horizontally in three spots making huge holes in the middle of the bridge. The impact of the explosion on the bridge shook the ceiling of Evangelical Baptist Convention Church Fellowship which is 700 meters away from the explosion site.”
No casualties have been reported so far.
As per the news report, around 163 loaded trucks, six buses and two oil tankers have been stranded at Tumuyon Khullen in the state’s Senapati district due to the explosion.
An IANS report said the police are yet to ascertain who might be behind the blast. “Security forces rushed to the spot. A probe was launched and a search is going on to nab the perpetrators,” it said.
Since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur, this is the second attempt to stop vehicular movement on the key highway by means of a blast. This past June, suspected Kuki militants had detonated an IED at a bridge near Kwakta in the Bisnupur district, causing injuries to three people. The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by the N. Biren Singh government. Two people including a Kuki person have been arrested in the case so far.
