Newmai News Network
Imphal | May 19 : Even as Union Home secretary GK Pillai is all set to visit Manipur probably on May 21 which will be his second visit in a month's time to take stock of the prevailing situation, the state is limping back to normalcy gradually from the recent paralytic situation owing to protests and counter-protests over numerous issues.
Although the availability of essential commodities is still scarce in most parts of Manipur, people somehow, are managing things in their own stride while obtaining their daily requirements inspite of the sky-rocketing prices. Shipment of life saving drugs and rice has been continuing for the last two days through air postal cargo and Air Force cargo plane in Manipur and it will continue, according to a reliable source.
Manipur was highly charged in the wake of Th. Muivah's proposed visit to Manipur in the first week of May. This sudden grim situation of Manipur cropped up when the state administration was in dire strait following the agitation of the state government employees since January 16 demanding the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission in the state.
However, after the four months' agitation, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Wednesday between the Manipur government and the employees representatives under the aegis Joint Administrative Council (JAC) of All Manipur Trade Union Council (AMTUC) and All Manipur Government Employee Organisation (AMGEO). Earlier, the Manipur Secretariat employees started attending their normal function since May 15 after an agreement was made with state government.
With the state government opening up of various avenues for settlement and solution over various issues, common people are hoping against hopes that everything will be settled only if it can put into actions rather than promises.
In the meantime, atleast 176 vehicles of various types including 138 trucks, 28 oil tankers and other types of carriers, two inter-state buses and eight light vehicles for transporting essential commodities left Imphal along with a security escort team on Wednesday which will pass through along the National Highway-53, said an official source. The transportation of essential commodities and stranded vehicles along the National highway-53 will be brought to Imphal with the security personnel escort team very soon, said a minister.
Meanwhile, some civil organizations have appealed the concerned organizations to lift the blockade and counter-economic blockade in order to reduce the hardships faced by the general public in Manipur. Manipur is still reeling under protests currently against different reasons in Manipur for which the common people irrespective of communities have to face the same brunt, said an intellectual working for an NGO.
Imphal | May 19 : Even as Union Home secretary GK Pillai is all set to visit Manipur probably on May 21 which will be his second visit in a month's time to take stock of the prevailing situation, the state is limping back to normalcy gradually from the recent paralytic situation owing to protests and counter-protests over numerous issues.
Although the availability of essential commodities is still scarce in most parts of Manipur, people somehow, are managing things in their own stride while obtaining their daily requirements inspite of the sky-rocketing prices. Shipment of life saving drugs and rice has been continuing for the last two days through air postal cargo and Air Force cargo plane in Manipur and it will continue, according to a reliable source.
Manipur was highly charged in the wake of Th. Muivah's proposed visit to Manipur in the first week of May. This sudden grim situation of Manipur cropped up when the state administration was in dire strait following the agitation of the state government employees since January 16 demanding the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission in the state.
However, after the four months' agitation, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Wednesday between the Manipur government and the employees representatives under the aegis Joint Administrative Council (JAC) of All Manipur Trade Union Council (AMTUC) and All Manipur Government Employee Organisation (AMGEO). Earlier, the Manipur Secretariat employees started attending their normal function since May 15 after an agreement was made with state government.
With the state government opening up of various avenues for settlement and solution over various issues, common people are hoping against hopes that everything will be settled only if it can put into actions rather than promises.
In the meantime, atleast 176 vehicles of various types including 138 trucks, 28 oil tankers and other types of carriers, two inter-state buses and eight light vehicles for transporting essential commodities left Imphal along with a security escort team on Wednesday which will pass through along the National Highway-53, said an official source. The transportation of essential commodities and stranded vehicles along the National highway-53 will be brought to Imphal with the security personnel escort team very soon, said a minister.
Meanwhile, some civil organizations have appealed the concerned organizations to lift the blockade and counter-economic blockade in order to reduce the hardships faced by the general public in Manipur. Manipur is still reeling under protests currently against different reasons in Manipur for which the common people irrespective of communities have to face the same brunt, said an intellectual working for an NGO.
Manipur blockade 'bonus': Buy a TV, get petrol free
With the arterial supply routes blocked, Manipur has run out of petrol. It's only rare that a person gets a litre of petrol only after shelling out Rs 200 in the grey market. Amid this acute fuel scarcity, an Imphal-based electronic outlet dealer, L Sharat Singh, came up with the idea to increase sale of television sets, washing machines and refrigerators by luring customers with "free" petrol. The best medium, he felt, was newspaper ads. And the response was overwhelming — hundreds of customers were seen queuing up at his store. But, there's a catch. The customers have to wait for the "free" petrol till the highway blockades are lifted and the fuel is available at filling stations. "The footfall at the outlet has suddenly gone up," said Mahesh Wahengbam, a senior employee of the outlet.
Incidentally, this is not the first time that Sharat has come up with such an innovative marketing strategy. During the 52-day economic blockade on NH-39 (Imphal-Dimapur Road) and NH-53 (Imphal-Silchar Road), he had used the same strategy to rev up his sales. The aim behind such strategies, said Sharat, "is not only to attract customers, but also to send a message to the government for its failure to meet the basic demands of the state's people".
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