107 days on, blockade drives Imphal vote hunt

IMPHAL: On Wednesday the

blockade

of Imphal valley entered its 107th day. With little hope in sight for the crisis to end, the March 4 and 8 elections here are all about the impasse.

Buying fuel at filling stations is an ordeal. At the end of his daily early morning wait at the Uripok-Kangchup Road petrol pump, city resident Rajesh Meitei is allowed to buy petrol worth Rs 500 only, not a drop more. Two-wheeler owners are allowed petrol worth only Rs 300 a day. When Meitei’s four-wheeler runs dry, he falls back on the grey market, where a litre of petrol sells for Rs 120. Last December the grey market rate rocketed to Rs 350 a litre.

Applying for LPG cylinder refills, city residents say, is pointless. Deliveries never reach. Again, the grey market is the only recourse, where the going rate for a cylinder is Rs 1,500, down from Rs 3,000 last December. Medicine supplies are being fl own in, say locals. There isn’t such a crunch on vegetable supplies because farms around town keep the supplies ticking, albeit at higher prices. Last November 1, the Nagas — opposing a government move to create about seven districts in the hills — blocked arterial roads linking Imphal valley to the rest of the country. National Highways 2 and 37 have been shut since.

The Nagas, who form a substantial part of Manipur’s population, say the government move helps their rivals, the Kukis. The Meiteis, who dominate the valley, too launched a counter blockade, but briefly. “This has been the new normal,” Rajesh says. “But who wants this ordeal to drag endlessly?”

For people like him, elections seem to be the only way to shattering the blockade. Campaigning is picking up despite netas grumbling that a candidate ends up spending almost double to reach out to voters. Elections are run on wheels and “buying fuel has become so diffi cult. We’re completely dependent on government,” Manipur BJP chief Kshetrimayum Bhabananda says.

State Congress secretary

Shashikanta Potsangbam

concedes many contestants are forced to buy fuel from the grey market. “Oil rationed by government isn’t enough for candidates,” he adds. Where do parties get publicity material? “We fly people to Guwahati to buy basic fl exes, streamers and hoardings. This increases costs. The local election bazaar has run dry,” Bhabananda rues. Candidates, groaning under the expenses, are keeping their meetings small. But the street-corner election meetings are regular, intense and all over town. And they only talk the blockade. The BJP, many see it as a rising force here, insists it’s in CM Ibobi Singh’s interest to keep the blockade going. The Congress stings back: BJP’s politicising a grave situation. Ibobi Singh, seeking a fourth term, says he’s constantly trying to restore regular supply of fuel and other essentials from other parts of the country. “Drivers and helpers say they won’t risk their lives,” he explains. Earlier, the state offered Rs 20 lakh and a government job to families of transporters who lost their life while transporting essential commodities through the hills.