Manipur highway opens, blockade of another continues
A Kuki organization has lifted its blockade on National Highway 202 in Manipur following government negotiations, though a separate blockade on NH-2 by the United Naga Council persists. The state government is actively working to restore transport links amid ongoing ethnic tensions.
Why it matters
The ongoing blockades in Manipur represent a critical humanitarian and economic challenge, affecting the supply chain and stability of the region.
Three days after Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh called for the resumption of free movement for all communities on Manipur’s highways, a Kuki organisation has lifted its counter-economic blockade on National Highway 202, better known as the Imphal-Ukhrul Road.
However, the blockade on the more strategic National Highway 2, enforced by the United Naga Council (UNC), continued.
The Kuki Civil Society Working Committee-Ukhrul (WCKCSOS-Ukhrul) announced the withdrawal of its “total shutdown” on NH-202 from 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday (August 11, 2026), after a meeting with a Manipur government delegation led by Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas.
The Kuki organisation imposed a counter-economic blockade on July 27. It intensified this into a total shutdown on August 5 protesting a selective economic blockade by certain Naga and Meitei groups targeting the Kuki community.
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