The strike by the All Manipur Petroleum Tanker Drivers' Union
(AMPTDU) was called off following release of the kidnapped driver even
as a student union sponsored blockade on two national highways continued
today.
Driver Surajit Singh, abducted by militants from Khujuma area in
Nagaland while he was bringing petrol along with others to Imphal on
April 22, was set free by its abductors last evening, a spokesman of
AMPTDU told reporters this morning.
Drivers would start plying petrol tankers along with security
personnel from today, he said. Official sources said petrol pumps are
closed since April 22 last and petrol was selling at Rs 110 per litre.
Singh was kidnapped by a militant organisation, which collected
Rs 8000 to Rs 10000 per year from each oil tanker, when his employer did
not pay the amount in time.
Meanwhile, Zeliangrong Students Union (ZSU) have been continuing
its blockade on two national highways Imphal Jiribam Silchar and Imphal
Dimapur Guwahati since April 21 last demanding release of a girl student
identified as Alice Kamei by an insurgent outfit Revolutionary People's
Front (RPF).
RPF had earlier said that Alice had joined the organisation on
her own. Official sources said transport services between Manipur and
neighbouring states remained suspended for the past few days because of
the blockade.
The government was considering to provide security to vehicles
but a decision was yet to be taken. Prices of essential and other items
brought to the state from other states had skyrocketed because of the
blockade, the sources said.
No comments:
Post a Comment