Manipur CM thanks Kukis, Nagas for free movement on NH2

GUWAHATI

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) thanked the Kuki and Naga communities for ensuring the resumption of public road transport services on National Highway 2 after more than three years.

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A blockade on NH2, a lifeline for Manipur, was enforced in the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district after ethnic conflict broke out between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities on May 3, 2023. A few months ago, a counter-blockade was imposed on this highway in the Naga-majority Senapati district.

Imphal-Guwahati bus and passenger van services via Nagaland resumed on August 21, 2026, less than a fortnight after the Chief Minister, along with Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, announced the reopening of highways for the free movement of all communities.

The cooperation and understanding shown by the Kuki and Naga communities were important steps towards maintaining peace, restoring normalcy, and ensuring the smooth movement of people and public transport services in the State, the Chief Minister said, addressing a Hawkers’ Day event in Imphal.

The temporary blockade in a stretch of NH2 on Monday (August 24, 2026) came up after incidents of arson and gunfight in Taphou Kuki (Kangpokpi) and Taphou Naga (Senapati) villages, Mr. Singh said. The local MLAs and the district authorities had persuaded both communities to refrain from any activities that disrupted the free movement of vehicles, he said.

Public transport services along NH-2 continued for the fourth day on Tuesday. About 300 passengers, including women and children, left Imphal for Dimapur and Guwahati in a fleet of five buses and nine vans.

So far, about 900 passengers have travelled from Imphal to Dimapur and Guwahati. More than 400 passengers safely reached Imphal from Dimapur and Guwahati.