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A deserted Imphal-Dimapur highway in Imphal on Wednesday, July 24.[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Imphal, July 24 (EMN): A 24-hour bandh in Manipur hit normal life in the border state particularly in the state capital on Wednesday.
The bandh which is scheduled to conclude at 6 am on July 25 was called by the newly formed Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the mysterious death of Ningthoujam Babysana Chanu for the unsatisfactory response of the state government.
The convenor of JAC in a statement on Tuesday, said medical emergencies, religious events and other essential services, electricity, fire services were exempted from the purview of the bandh.
JAC also sought support and cooperation from the local clubs, women folks bodies, civil society organisations, students’ organisations to get justice into the incident.
The bandh was effective in the greater Imphal area including Thangmeiband area, Singjamei, Naorem Leikai, Pechu Lampak and some important locations of the state while some women folks staged sit in demonstrations at different location demanding justice into the recent incident.
The roads here wore a desolate look after transport services including the inter-state and inter-district were suspended for the day. Most of the government and private offices, besides educational institutions, markets, shops and business establishments, remained closed.
The attendance at offices in Imphal including the state secretariat and secured office buildings premises both in Imphal was reportedly poor.
But the bandh did not affect the normal functioning of the Imphal International Airport and had no impact in some district headquarters.
A class VII student, N Babysana, daughter of Tomchou Singh of Thangmeiband Maisnam Leikai, Imphal West District was found dead hanging inside the hostel of Standard Robarth Higher Secondary School, Canchipur in Imphal West district on July 18 morning.
Demanding justice into the July 18 incident, the volunteers of the All Manipur Students’ Union staged a mass protest cum sit in demonstration at the western gate of the DM College premises in Imphal on Tuesday.
Meanwhile AMSU today urged the government to arrest the school authority to bring justice into the incident.It also demanded immediate release of its volunteers detained in connection with the bandh.