IMPHAL, March 10 - The 30-hour general strike called by Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) severely affected normal life in the Northastern State on Sunday. The strike came into force at 6 pm on Saturday�.
All roads to Imphal wore a desolate look since early morning today as local and inter-State transport services remained suspended. The markets and other business establishments were also shut. However, the normal functioning of Imphal Airport was unaffected.
Strike supporters including womenfolk in particular enforced the strike at many locations. However, there is no report of any untoward incident during the strike.
The STDCM had resolved to call the strike if the State Government failed to send a recommendation to Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs for inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei people in ST list by March 6.
In the recently concluded State Assembly session, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that the government was positively looking into the demand to include the community in the ST list.
