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Manipur: UNC temporarily lifts highway economic blockade after Assam talks

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The United Naga Council on Saturday temporarily suspended its months-long economic blockade of Manipur’s national highways after tripartite talks with the Centre and the state government in Assam, offering immediate relief to a state battered by supply shortages.

Guwahati agreement and immediate relief

Trucks moving goods on a highway
Stock image (Pexels, royalty-free).

UNC president Ng. Lorho said the blockade would stand suspended from 6:00 pm on 26 September 2026 following an agreement reached in Guwahati. The meeting was held at the BSF Frontier Headquarters Officers’ Mess in Garbhanga and involved the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Manipur government and the UNC. A broader Naga civil society delegation — including ANSAM, the Naga Women’s Union and several tribal councils — had travelled from Senapati for the talks.

The agitation had disrupted goods movement on NH-2, NH-37, NH-202 and NH-102A for nearly four months, choking supplies into the Imphal Valley and adjoining areas and driving up prices of essentials. The UNC’s key demands include revocation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, removal of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, and justice for six Naga men. Lorho told reporters the government had agreed to address the demands and that the council would therefore temporarily end the blockade — without withdrawing the underlying political claims.

A fragile pause for peace-building

Earlier state-level talks in August were described as an icebreaker but failed to end the blockade; on 9 September the UNC had extended the agitation indefinitely. Saturday’s Assam meeting was the first full tripartite engagement involving New Delhi, Imphal and the Naga apex body, focused on law-and-order and peace-building measures as much as highway access.

For ordinary Manipuris, the immediate gain is practical: trucks can move again, markets can restock, and transport costs may ease. Politically, the pause remains fragile. Peace-building steps are still on the table, and the UNC has made clear its demands are not abandoned — only the highway blockade is on hold for now.

Sources: The Indian Express; India Today NE

Related: ECINet voter-roll software review; CEC Form 6 resignation demand.

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