New Delhi: The central government has pressed into service the Herculean C-17 Globemaster aircraft to ferry fuel to locked-down Manipur. Witnessing its 82nd day of complete lockdown, Manipur had fuel just enough for four days, sources said. The Indian Oil Company sent an SOS to the Union government and the Air Force was mobilised.
Over 100 litres of fuel has been airlifted by the C-17 in three sorties. "We are willing to airlift even essential commodities, but so far the state has only requested for fuel," a top officer of the Union government said.
Manipur is seeing a protracted lockdown after the Naga Hill Council called a bandh in protest against the redrawing of some of the Naga majority districts of Manipur. Fuel prices have skyrocketed with petrol selling at Rs 300-400 per litre and cooking gas at Rs 200 per cylinder.
Elections in Manipur are scheduled for March and the Union Home Ministry has told the Election Commission that it will be difficult to hold polls in these circumstances. "National Highway 2 is completely shut. We are looking at Article 356 to see if the central government can intervene in any way," an official from the Home Ministry said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a meeting with Chief Minister Ibobi Singh has put the onus on the state to end the logjam with Naga groups and help restore normalcy.
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