2 Bandh Calls by Separate Outfits Paralyses Life in Manipur Districts

Imphal: Normal life was paralyzed in several districts of ethnic violence hit Manipur on Monday because of two separate bandhs called by the United Naga Council (UNC) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU).

The UNC, comprising 20 Naga tribes of Manipur gave the dawn-to-dusk bandh call on Monday in Naga-dominated areas in the state in protest against the killing of a 57-year-old Naga woman in Imphal East on July 15.

The COTU had called a 72-hour shutdown in Kangpokpi from Sunday midnight to protest against “continuous” attacks on Kuki-Zo people by Meitei groups.

The UNC demands included the immediate setting up of a judicial committee to probe the killing, immediate arrest of those involved, and justice for the victim according to Naga customary law.

Life was also affected in the Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district because of the 72-hour bandh by the COTU.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a conglomerate of recognized tribes of Churachandpur district in Manipur has declared to hold a rally in four hill districts on July 20 on the demand of the Kuki-Zo people for a separate administration for themselves.