Kuki-Zo group calls for shutdown along NH-2, reiterates ‘separate administration’
The Committee on Tribal Integrity (CoTU), a Kuki-Zo body, which has been demanding ‘separate administration’, has called for the shutdown
IMPHAL: A Kuki-Zo group has called for a 12-hour shutdown along National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) from 6 am Friday to press its demand for a ‘separate administration’.
The Committee on Tribal Integrity (CoTU), a Kuki-Zo body, which has been demanding ‘separate administration’, has called for the shutdown. CoTU has been observing the third day of every month as “separation day” since May 3 violence occurred in Manipur.
“The Committee would observe this coming 3rd October 2025 as Separation Day with full fervor to remind the Government of India that the Kuki-Zo community have been physically and demographically separated from the majoritarian Meitei community”, a statement issued by the group on Wednesday said.
All business establishments including academic institutions would remain closed as usual with the exception of medical emergencies and funeral procession which will remain out of the purview of the shutdown, it said.
Meanwhile, the banned Kuki Liberation Army-Letkholun (KLA-L), has demanded autonomy in managing the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In a statement, the group’s secretary, information and publicity, Jalaimang Kuki rejected suggestions that the relief camps in the state be shut down by December 2025. “Any plan or policy that undermines our capacity to care for our own will be met with resolute opposition. The Government’s proposal to close relief camps by December 2025 without meaningful engagement is unacceptable.”
On July 5, former Manipur chief secretary Prashant Kumar Singh said all the relief camps housing IDPs would be shut down by December.
Thursday’s statement by the banned outfit demanded that a viable resettlement plan be conceptualised and executed by the Kuki-Zo, for the Kuki-Zo. “We require full agency in determining resource allocation and utilization. We urge the Government to step back, provide necessary support and resources, and let us manage our own affairs without interference,” it said.
The group also emphasised that a separate administration was a prerequisite for the safe and dignified return of IDPs.
