A 24-hour bandh was called by a proscribed outfit in Manipur on Sept 21

A 24-hour bandh was called by the National Revolutionary Front of Manipur in Imphal on September 21. The National Revolutionary Front is a proscribed outfit in the state. The bandh was called to protest against the merger of Manipur with India 73 years ago. Due to this, the normal life in the Imphal valley was affected and halted the movement of inter-district and inter-state public transportation.

However, Hundreds of vehicles stayed lined up as the proscribed outfit's cadres did not allow them to move. All the shops and establishments remained closed during this 24 hours bandh whereas only private vehicles were seen on the road for emergency purposes. The schools in the Imphal valley remained closed and the government offices in the valley marked low attendance of the employees.

According to the police officials, no untoward incident was reported till 2.30 in the afternoon. However, the 24-hour band did not impact much in the hilly region of the state due to the lesser hold of the outfits in the hilly districts of Manipur.

As per the sources, the National Revolutionary Front of Manipur decided to call for a bandh on this date because, in 1949, the erstwhile Maharaja of Manipur had signed an agreement for merging the kingdom with India which did not go well with some of the locals of the region as they feared that their language and culture would be at risk.