UKHRUL (The Thursday Times) — Repeated attacks on vehicles along the main highway between Imphal and Ukhrul have pushed residents of Manipur’s Ukhrul and Kamjong districts onto a narrow, broken village road that turns a three-hour journey into one of six to seven hours, according to local reports.
The Ramva–Napetpali route, a single-lane rural road, has become the hill districts’ main link to the state capital since fresh tensions erupted in February amid the Naga–Kuki conflict. It winds through villages including Shokvao, Lungphu, Shingkap, Nongdam, and Leikoiching before reaching Imphal, and people from Senapati district now use it too.
Ambushes on the highway
National Highway 202 via Litan normally takes three to four hours, but commuters have avoided it despite security escorts after a string of attacks. On April 18, gunmen fired on private and passenger vehicles from a nearby hill range, killing two civilians, among them a retired Indian Army soldier. On May 29, an escorted truck carrying government rice was attacked and its driver was reportedly killed.
The latest attack came on November 4, when passenger vehicles and lorries carrying essential goods came under fire near TM Kasom. No one was hurt.
Fares up, trade down
The fare from Ukhrul to Imphal has risen from Rs300 to Rs750 per passenger, residents say. The road cannot take buses or heavy vehicles, and it becomes almost impassable in the monsoon because of poor drainage and deep mud.
Farmers and traders who once took their produce to Imphal’s markets now go far less often. Awon, a resident who travels regularly between Ukhrul and Imphal, said the longer route “has become a punishment”, and that a single errand in the capital now means staying two or three days because the return trip cannot be made the same day.
Residents have been advised not to travel at night, though medical emergencies sometimes leave them no choice, she said. Some families have lost relatives in accidents on the road, according to the reports.
Ukhrul’s legislator, Ram Muivah, has written to Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh asking for the route to be upgraded to a state highway. Apart from minor repairs carried out by local leaders and residents, no major work has begun.
Armed groups have increasingly targeted civilians on Manipur’s roads this year, and the state remains tense after the bodies of two missing Kuki youths were found earlier this month.
