GUWAHATI: Former Manipur DGP Yumnam Joykumar Singh (72) has welcomed the decision to reopen National Highway 2 and urged the government to restore movement on other arterial roads to ease connectivity in the state.
Singh said the reopening of NH-2, which passes through Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district and is widely used by Meitei commuters to reach other states, was “a step in the right direction.” He stressed that NH-37, linking Imphal with Jiribam and southern Assam’s Barak Valley, and the road to Moreh on the Indo-Myanmar border should also be reopened.
Talking to this newspaper, Singh said, “Manipur is a landlocked state. People cannot afford air travel. Full-proof security would be provided on all these routes.”
He said while the security situation had improved under President’s Rule compared to the tenure of the N Biren Singh government, there remained “an undercurrent of tension.” “Overall, there is definitely an improvement in the security situation compared to what it was when we had the N Biren Singh government,” he said.
Singh called for a neutral government in the state and urged early resettlement of displaced families from both Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. The violence had left over 250 dead and some 60,000 others displaced.
“There is a need for dialogue between civil society groups of both communities. Unless trust and confidence are restored, peace will be difficult to achieve,” he said, pointing to recent interactions between Thadou groups and Meitei civil society organisations as a positive sign. Singh identified illegal migration from Myanmar as the “crux of the problem,” arguing that unlike Mizoram, which prevented refugees from creating permanent settlements, Manipur allowed them to merge with locals. “They are defending the frontline force confronting the Meiteis,” he alleged.
He also pressed for a special intensive revision of electoral rolls, citing Manipur’s border location as well as its strategic importance.