Manipur: 33-hour bandh over two missing teenagers affects normal life in Imphal

Normal life remains affected in Manipur state capital Imphal after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) extended the bandh by 24 hours against the missing of two teenage boys.

Initially the bandh, which started from 4am of November 10 was scheduled to conclude on Friday 1pm.

However, the JAC extended the bandh for 24 hours until 1pm on Saturday due to the government’s alleged failure to trace the whereabouts of the two missing boys despite apprehending two persons in connection with the case.

The two teenagers- hailing from Lamsang Akham Awang Leikai in Imphal West district went missing after they had gone to attend a meeting at Awang Sekmai also under Imphal West district on November 5.

In view of the bandh, the Khwamband Keithel, the main market in Imphal including the iconic Nupi Keithel (women’s market), wore a deserted look since early morning while movement of passenger service vehicles were off the road except a few private ones.

The commercial areas of Imphal town with shops, banks and other business establishments also remained closed in view of the shutdown.

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Except for a few private vehicles, all the inter-state, inter-district and inter-localities transport services also suspended their normal service.

The educational institutions around the state capital also remained closed.

So far, there has been no report of any untoward incidents till the filing of this story.

Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since the first week of May, in which 175 persons were killed and nearly 50,000 people displaced.