The developments expose the gap between the government’s announcement and the situation on the ground, with the Kuki Inpi Manipur also distancing itself from the Chief Minister’s Kangpokpi engagement and the UNC continuing its blockade of NH-2.
By PC Bureau
August 12, 2026: The Sadar Hills Chiefs’ Association (SAHILCA), also referred to as SHCILCA, has clarified that the “free movement” announced during Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh’s recent visit to Kangpokpi was limited to the day of his visit and did not amount to a permanent lifting of existing highway restrictions.
In a statement issued after the Chief Minister’s August 8 visit, SAHILCA said the arrangement allowing free movement was applicable only to that particular day, when Khemchand Singh was in Kangpokpi.
The chiefs’ body also made it clear that it does not control the national highways and therefore had no authority to independently announce their reopening.
SAHILCA said that existing restrictions would continue to be enforced, effectively drawing a distinction between the Chief Minister’s announcement during his visit and the actual situation on the ground.
The clarification assumes added significance because the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex Naga body in Manipur, has continued to maintain its economic blockade along National Highway-2 and other highways in Naga-dominated areas.
UNC blockade remains a major hurdle
The UNC’s blockade has been one of the principal obstacles to the state government’s efforts to restore unrestricted movement along NH-2, the key Imphal-Dimapur route.
The Naga body imposed the blockade in May following the abduction and subsequent killing of six Naga civilians, including two pastors. The UNC has demanded action in connection with the deaths and has maintained that the highway restrictions will continue until its concerns are addressed.
The blockade has had a major impact on the movement of passenger vehicles and essential commodities. Hundreds of trucks have remained stranded, while the disruption has contributed to sharp increases in the prices of essential goods in parts of Manipur.
The Manipur government has repeatedly urged the UNC to withdraw the blockade.
The latest development came after government representatives held talks with UNC leaders. The first round of discussions on August 10 was described as “fruitful”, but the talks did not immediately result in the withdrawal of the blockade.
This means that the Chief Minister’s August 8 declaration of reopening the highways and the actual situation remain two different things.
While the state government announced that NH-2 and NH-37 would be opened for free movement of people from all communities, the continued UNC blockade means that at least parts of the key routes remain subject to restrictions imposed by organisations on the ground.
CM’s Kangpokpi visit
Khemchand Singh visited Kangpokpi on August 8 accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen and Saitu MLA Haokholet Kipgen.
During the visit, the Chief Minister announced the reopening of national highways for unrestricted movement of people from different communities. The announcement covered important routes including NH-2, connecting Imphal with Dimapur, and NH-37, which links Imphal with Jiribam.
The government also announced the resumption of the Imphal-Dimapur bus service.
Khemchand Singh presented the move as part of efforts to restore normalcy and promote reconciliation after more than three years of ethnic conflict. He stressed the hardships caused by prolonged disruption of transportation and appealed for greater unity among communities.
Development projects were also inaugurated during the visit, while the Chief Minister and other political leaders held interactions with local representatives.
However, the announcement was not backed by all the community bodies whose cooperation is necessary for normal movement along the highways.
Kuki Inpi also distances itself from visit
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body representing the Kuki tribes, had already distanced itself from the Chief Minister’s engagement in Kangpokpi.
KIM said the visit had taken place at the invitation of certain district-level civil society organisations and was not at the invitation, direction, authorisation or mandate of the Kuki Inpi.
The organisation rejected the visit and related engagements, saying that the actions of individual or district-level civil society groups should not be interpreted as representing the collective position of the Kuki Inpi or the wider Kuki community.
The position is significant because the Kuki political leadership continues to press for separate administration following the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur in May 2023.
KIM has maintained that it would not compromise what it considers the political aspirations and collective interests of the Kuki community.
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A reopening announced, but not yet fully implemented
The competing positions of the UNC, KIM and SAHILCA illustrate the difficulty facing the state government as it attempts to restore normal movement across Manipur.
The government can announce the reopening of a highway administratively, but sustained movement also depends on the cooperation—or withdrawal of restrictions—by powerful community organisations operating along the routes.
The situation is particularly complicated on NH-2. The route passes through Naga-dominated areas before reaching Dimapur and has remained at the centre of the UNC’s agitation. The Kuki community, meanwhile, has faced its own restrictions and counter-blockades on other routes.
A Kuki organisation recently lifted a blockade on one highway after the government held discussions with it, while the larger dispute over NH-2 remained unresolved.
SAHILCA’s statement therefore serves as an important clarification: the Chief Minister’s August 8 announcement should not be interpreted as evidence that all existing highway restrictions have been withdrawn.
For ordinary residents, the distinction is crucial. Free movement requires not merely a government announcement but actual access to the roads, the removal of blockades and agreement among the organisations exercising influence over different stretches of the highway network.
The latest developments show that while the state government is attempting to reopen the highways and project a return to normalcy, the ground-level situation remains considerably more complicated.
Until the UNC and other organisations withdraw their restrictions, the government’s announcement of unrestricted movement is unlikely to translate into completely free movement across all the affected routes.
