Manipur government announces reopening of National Highways
The Manipur state government has announced the reopening of National Highways and the resumption of bus services between Imphal and Kohima to facilitate free movement across the conflict-affected region. This move follows over a year of economic blockades caused by ethnic tensions between Kuki-Zo, Meitei, and Naga communities.
Why it matters
The reopening is a critical step in de-escalating long-standing ethnic violence in Northeast India and restoring essential supply chains and public transit in the region.
More than a year after the Union government failed to clear the “economic blockades” by ethnic groups in Manipur, the State government on Saturday (August 8, 2026) announced the immediate reopening of the National Highways (NHs) for the free movement of people from all communities in the ethnic conflict-scarred State.
The government also announced the resumption of a bus service connecting Manipur’s capital Imphal and Nagaland’s capital Kohima. Certain community members had been barred from travelling on this arterial highway since the conflict between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities erupted in May 2023 and shifted to one between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups from February.
The Tangkhul Naga Long, a Naga organisation, welcomed the announcement, but said that the government should stop the “militarisation” of Naga-inhabited areas and reject the creation of a separate administration for the Kukis in the ancestral homeland of Naga people. Kuki organisations are yet to react.
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