Our Correspondent
IMPHAL, March 13
The 48-hour statewide general strike called in Manipur by the All Manipur Minorities Students’ Union (AMMSU) since this morning affected normal life in the State on Friday.
The strike was called by AMMSU to protest the powerful bomb explosion on March 11 afternoon near a tea stall at the busy temporary market shed complex in Imphal which claimed the lives of three persons (including a college student Md Salman Khan) besides injuring 23 others including 8 women.Urging the groups involved in the incident to clarify, AMMSU has been demanding immediate arrest of the involved persons within their strike, an exgratia of Rs 5 lakhs and a suitable government job to the next kin of the deceased Md Salman Khan who is undergoing graduation in Modern College in Imphal.A newly formed joint action committee on the incident has also submitted a memorandum to the state chief minister.
In view of the general strike, markets and other business establishments besides educational institutions remained closed during the strike.
Inter-State passenger and goods carriers, besides auto-rickshaws failed to hit the Imphal roads in view of the strike. However the strike clould not affect the air traffic at Imphal international aiport.
At the same time as exempted earlier, the ongoing annual examination continued as usual at the respective examination centres.
Though the strike was total in the Meitei-pangal(Muslim) inhabited areas in the state, there is no report of any untoward incident during the strike.Meanwhile a joint meeting of the strike supporters is going on in Imphal to take a decision to continue or shorten the strike till the report goes to the press.
Unlike the state capital and other valley areas, there are reports of opening some of shops and business establishments in the five hill district headquarters- Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul.
