Manipur: Local newspapers fail to hit stands, cable blanked out in Imphal

Imphal: Newspapers have failed to hit the newsstands in Manipur's capital, Imphal, for the third day on Monday, and local cable networks have also blanked out news for two days following protests by two powerful journalists' bodies in the state.

The media fraternity under the banner of the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild of Manipur (EGM) launched the pen-down strike after a controversy erupted,  thereby leaving the general masses with a lot of losses.

Sources said that while insurgents of a particular outfit wanted the publication of a statement issued by them, the others threatened dailies/local cable TV channels with dire consequences if the said statement was published.

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It is confusing the journalists working in this sensitive border state, where around 35 different outfits are operating to make their presence felt.

Two apex journalists' bodies - AMWJU and EGM, which discussed the issues in the past few days fervently appealed to the concerned outfits not to interrupt the smooth functioning of the media fraternities in the state, an AMWJU spokesman said.

This was not the first time the media, both print and electronic, got threats from the underground and urged the people not to disturb the media persons and media houses in Manipur.