Muivah may reach Kohima on June 16---15/6/10

Muivah may reach Kohima on June 16

TNN, Jun 15, 2010, 05.46am IST

(GOVERNMENT NEED NOT LET IT BECOME SUCH A BIG ISSUE THAT PROBLEM WORSENS....VIBHA)



GUWAHATI/KOHIMA: Manipur government spokesman and sports minister N Biren Singh said on Monday that the Centre’s intervention was a positive step towards ending the blockade. He said, ‘‘People of Manipur have been expecting this for quite some time now.’’ While the Manipur government has managed to open NH-53, bringing in some supplies from Silchar in Assam, NH-39 — the lifeline of Manipur which passes through Nagaland — is still blocked.

Meanwhile, sources said NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah was likely to reach Kohima on June 16 to visit Khonoma and Pughoboto in Zunheboto district of Nagaland. He will then return to Kohima, where he will stay for a few days before heading for his proposed visit to Somdal. The Naga separatist leader had started for Somdal from Camp Hebron, the headquarters of NSCN (I-M) on May 5, but had to cut short his programme at Viswema village near Mao Gate owing to restrictions imposed by the Manipur government.

The All Naga Students’ Association of Manipur (Ansam) had called the indefinite blockade on April 12, opposing Manipur’s decision to hold Autonomous District Council elections in the hill districts, alleging that the ADC Act "suppresses tribal rights".

Later, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) joined the blockade by banning Manipur vehicles inside Nagaland in protest against Manipur police’s action of preventing their members from visiting Senapati district on May 3.

The situation worsened after the Okram Ibobi Singh government prevented Muivah from visiting his ancestral home at Somdal in Manipur’s Ukhrul district.