Imphal | Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Monday thanked members of the Naga and Kuki communities for helping ensure the uninterrupted movement of public transport along National Highway-2 (NH-2), describing the cooperation as an important step towards restoring peace and normalcy in the state.

Speaking at the 45th Hawkers Day celebration organised by the Manipur Hawkers Association at Haying Khongbal in Imphal, Khemchand said the communities’ cooperation was helping facilitate the movement of people and vehicles and could contribute to wider reconciliation efforts.

The Chief Minister referred to the incident at Taphou village in Senapati district on Monday, following which the movement of vehicles was briefly disrupted. He said MLAs and district authorities intervened and appealed to both communities to maintain free movement and refrain from any activity that could obstruct traffic.

Public transport from Imphal resumed after a delay of a few hours, he said.

Services along the Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati route through NH-2 continued for the fourth consecutive day on August 24. Around 300 passengers, including women and children, travelled from Imphal towards Dimapur and Guwahati in five buses and nine Winger vehicles.

Khemchand said nearly 900 passengers had so far travelled from Imphal towards Dimapur and Guwahati, while more than 400 people had safely travelled in the opposite direction.

He attributed the continued movement of public transport to the government’s peace and reconciliation initiatives and dialogue among different communities. He also referred to the joint announcement made on August 8 to ensure free movement along the state’s national highways.

Referring to his recent visit to Jiribam, the Chief Minister said communities that had lived together before the outbreak of the crisis were gradually moving towards peaceful coexistence through the government’s reconciliation efforts. “Dialogue among communities is key to restoring peace and promoting development,” Khemchand said, stressing the need for continued engagement among all sections of society.

He also said protecting the territorial integrity of Manipur was not the responsibility of the government alone but a collective responsibility of all communities and people living in the state.

During the programme, the Manipur Hawkers Association submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister. Khemchand assured the association that its proposal for setting up a corpus fund would be placed for discussion at the next Cabinet meeting.

MLAs Sapam Kunjakeswor Singh and Lourembam Rameshwor Meitei, office-bearers of the Hawkers Association and newspaper distributors were also present at the event.