A total shutdown brought normal vehicular movement along the Imphal-Saikul road to a grinding halt in Manipur on Saturday.
It is a popular state highway which passes through hundreds of villages under three Assembly constituencies -Khurai, Khundrakpam and Saikul in Manipur and connects to the state capital.
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The shutdown has severely affected commuters since Saturday morning.
The supporters of the total shutdown came out in groups and prevented0 movement of vehicles along the route since early morning while others burned tyres at some locations to enforce the shutdown. There is no report of any unwanted incident till filing of this report.
The total shutdown has been called by Peace and Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC), Khundrakpam Assembly constituency and neighbouring Saikul in protest against the State Government’s failure to repair the highway. PDCC has even warned to start repairing work all by themselves within next 24 hours.
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The people of Saikul Assembly constituency and surrounding areas have been facing untold problem because of the deplorable road condition for more than two years and the Government has not paid attention since then.
Condemning the Khundrakpam MLA Th Lokeshwor Singh for allegedly ignoring the road condition and the plight of the people, the functionaries of PDCC said that the authority had earlier set a dateline to start repairing work of the road stretch on December 15.
Hundreds of diesel auto-rickshaws, mini-vans and buses carrying the passengers used to ply along the 40-km highway on a daily basis from Imphal to various places along the route such as Pangei, Yumnam Khunou, Sagolmand, Pukhao and Saikul towns.
Protestors alleged that the authorities concerned remained indifferent despite the matter was appraised to the government through several memorandums.
Manipur stands second among the northeastern states in terms of road accidents caused by the potholes after Arunachal Pradesh, according to reports.