Manipur hill districts hit by shutdown

All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur protests against non-tabling of The Manipur (Hill areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021, in the current monsoon session of Assembly

Life in the hill districts of Manipur was thrown out of gear from Sunday midnight in response to a 24-hour shutdown called by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) in protest against the non-tabling of The Manipur (Hill areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021 in the current monsoon session of the Assembly that will end on Tuesday. All kinds of vehicles in general, and the trucks that ply along the national highways 2 and 37 are stranded. One bridge, which was damaged some days ago, is yet to be repaired. Several students’ bodies and tribal civil organisations also support the Bill. However, reports say the Thadou Students’ Association opposes the shutdown. All markets, educational institutes, business centres and government offices in the hill areas were shut down. However, media and other essential services were not covered by the lockdown. There has been no report of any untoward incident.