Imphal: A 48-hour general strike imposed across Manipur in protest against an alleged directive by security forces to remove the word “Manipur” from a Manipur State Transport (MST) bus signage has paralyzed Imphal city on Thursday morning.
The general strike, called by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, came into effect at the midnight of Wednesday.
The committee demanded the governor to tender an apology to the people of Manipur within 48 hours and called for the resignation of security Aavisor Kuldiep Singh, chief secretary P.K. Singh and director general of police Rajiv Singh, holding them responsible for the incident.
All business establishments, educational institutions, markets, and public transport services remained shut in Imphal.
Security advisor Kuldiep Singh told representatives of Imagi Meira, a women’s group, that the decision was taken collectively as a security precaution to avoid incidents similar to the one in Kangpokpi, where an MST bus was attacked by suspected Kuki-Zo militants.
General strike supporters came out on the street and blocked vehicular movements in different parts of Imphal. The people’s general strike exempted emergency and essential services.
No untoward incident was seen till the filling of this report.
