The Southern Angami Public Organisation (SAPO), a Nagaland-based tribal organisation, has called off its 10-day bandh along the Manipur border, which disrupted traffic on the lifeline National Highway-2. Manipur’s refusal to remove a police post and stop development activity in the disputed Kezoltsa prompted the bandh.
Manipur’s main supply route is National Highway-2. Due to the bandh near the forested Dzükou valley, vehicular travel and the supply of essential commodities were interrupted. Three Naga tribes claim traditional ownership of the area, which is disputed. Naga tribes are spread across Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Myanmar as a result of arbitrary borders drawn by the British during the colonial era.
The conflict began in 1985, when the Manipur Forest Department attempted to survey the area. The move enraged southern Angamis, who forced Manipur to apologise for trespassing without permission. Since then, there have been claims of heavy logging and smuggling.
SAPO said in a statement that the bandh had been lifted in response to petitions from the Tenyimi People’s Organization (TPO), a federation of ten Naga tribes. TPO has given Manipur an ultimatum to withdraw police forces from Kezoltsa and to end the blockade, according to the report.
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