IMPHAL, Oct 15 - A general strike called by many insurgent outfits in Manipur paralysed normal life today.
The Coordination Committee (Cor Com), a conglomeration of proscribed underground groups in Manipur, called the strike from 6 am to 6 pm of October 15 in protest against the �forced merger� of Manipur with the Union of India on October 15, 1949.
A joint team of Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK), another conglomeration of proscribed underground groups in Manipur, and the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) also called a total shutdown in Manipur and Tripura from 5 am to 5 pm today.
In separate statements, the ASUK and the NLFT appealed to the general public of their respective States �to mark the dark period of our history�.
Cor Com appealed to the public to refrain from organising any forms of entertainment programmes and stop business activities.
Though there was no report of any untoward incident, markets and commercial establishments, banks and educational institutions were closed during the day.
Attendance in government offices in and around Imphal was very thin as inter-State, inter-district and other city-based public transport services remained off the roads during the day. But the Imphal airport continued its operations as usual.
