Explained: How goods train mitigated highway stir woes during strife in Manipur

Guwahati: Landlocked Manipur has been witnessing steep price hike and mild commodity crisis, a direct impact of highway stir imposed by agitators, mostly belonging to the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

All is not lost now as the N Biren Singh-led government managed goods train to reach Khongsang in the violence-hit state’s Noney district, blunting the agitators’ resolute stance of bargaining their demands while holding the highways in their grips.

To date, eight trips of goods trains have come to Khongsang without any hitches.

Any regime, during strike on the two key supply routes- National Highway (NH) 2, connecting the state’s capital Imphal and Nagaland’s Dimapur, and NH 39, the Imphal-Jiribam route, running in the state, had to deal with this situation to get commodities shipped into the state.

Besides strikes, frequent landslides along the two routes are also a multiplier to cease flow of goods trucks.

During prolonged economic blockades, people had to cough up double to even triple times the price of essential commodities including fuel, cooking gas, rice, pulses, vegetables, baby foods, construction materials among others.

People making a beeline to fuel stations for hours across the state to procure just a few litres of petrol and diesel has become a ritual in the hard days.

There have been instances of allegedly assaulting truckers even to the extent of allegedly killing and torching the trucks by miscreants along the highways.

Deployment of heavy security forces along the two key arteries in addition to providing maximum escorts to the goods-laden trucks motorcades are the common steps taken up by the government to bring in essential commodities.

In extreme situations, commodities are also airlifted to the state. The situation concerning roadblocks escalated in the state after the unprecedented ethnic crisis unfolded on May 3 last year when agitators imposed a sudden highway shutdown in the state’s Kangpokpi district through which the NH-2 passes.

Movement of goods vehicles along the Imphal-Jiribam highway even with escorts is also an uphill task owing to the location of villages with agitating mobs along the route.

Nevertheless, the government managed to ferry the goods under adequate security arrangements.

To minify all these qualms, the state government rolled up sleeves to bring in commodities by train after working out strategies with the Indian Railways.

The efforts bore fruit as a goods train loaded with a few items of essential commodities arrived for the first time in Manipur at the newly constructed Khongsang railway station in Noney district about 70 kilometres from Imphal in the afternoon of July 24, 2023, giving smiles to the people.

The 12-boggie train was flagged off from Assam’s Guwahati railway station on the previous day. Each bogie had the capacity of 60 metric tonnes.

Manipur Chief Minister Singh, who received the historic train at the crucial juncture, expressed happiness, saying it would ease the hardship faced by the people of the state owing to shortage of essential commodities.

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for making the transportation of essential commodities through the Northeast Frontier Railway (NF Railway) possible.

The Manipur Chief Minister also appreciated the people, especially the Zeliangrong Naga community of Noney and neighbouring Tamenglong districts for their cooperation and support in bringing railway service to Manipur.

Urging the Zeliangrong community, the CSOs and the Joint Tribe Council to take initiative in developing a railway department, Chief Minister Singh announced the setting up of a guest house in the railway station.

Seeking support from the people in restoring peace and tranquility in the state, the Chief Minister said that normalcy would come only through prayers and support of the people.

The traders’ representatives of the state thanked Chief Minister Singh and expressed hopefulness of reduction in the prices of essential commodities, if the supplies come in bulk.

During his visit to Manipur in May last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced transportation of essential goods to the state by train up to the Khongsang railway station.

The Manipur government’s round the clock efforts in coordination with the Indian Railways supported by the traders resulted in operationalising the Jiribam-Khongsang line for goods trains.

To expound the process in a chronological manner, the state government had on May 21, 2023 constituted a committee to examine the feasibility of transporting essential goods by train up to the Khongsang railway station.

The government also tasked the committee to examine how the goods brought by train can be stored and transported to goods trucks for bringing it to Imphal.

On June 1 last year, a meeting was convened to review preparedness for transportation of goods by train up to the Khongsang railway station.

During another review meeting convened on June 23 last year, it was informed that the Khongsng approach road had been made motorable for carrying vehicles with widening the curve for easy negotiating and as agreed in the meeting, traders visited the spot on June 25 the same year.

As a result of the state government’s tasks, the sounds of engine chugging, wheels clacking on the iron tracks produced by the goods train were heard at the Khongsang railway station under the soft sun on July 24, 2023.