Economic blockade cost Manipur two billion rupees a day

IMPHAL: The economic blockade may have ended in Manipur, but the loss that the State has suffered due to the 66-day long blockade is enormous.

Manipur State suffered a loss of about two billion rupees per day due to the economic blockade.

N Mohendro Singh, an economist said that during the blockade petrol was not merely scarce, but its price in black market had gone up to 140 rupees a litre.

For five litres of petrol one had to wait for about 10-15 hours before the petrol pump starts delivering it.

As far as the economic calculation is concerned we lose about 132- 200 crore a day on account of the economic blockade. In 2004-2005, Manipur suffered the setback of economic blockade for about 60 days and daily loss was about 2.32 crore with the result that in 2004-2005 Manipur suffered the loss of 139.20 crore ," said Singh.

The economic blockade he says has not only brought the State to a standstill but it created a space for black marketing.

Singh said that the blockade has dehumanised the people of Manipur on all fronts from educational sector to the industrial sector.

He said that the people have started questioning the existence of the government and its functioning and that the blockade created a gap between the government and the people.

"It (economic blockade) has made a loss of around two billion rupees per day, and we the common mass have suffered the most. How should we describe the situation to our children, said Tharosangbi Devi, a vendor.

Singh added that all the private schools including the government schools stopped functioning because petrol was not available and vans could not ply. The blockade, he says, of such a long period can produce a generation gap in education, in human capital formation and in human resource mobilisation.

Singh says that the government of India and Manipur should apply all rules and regulations to prevent such a situation because it is against the humanity and mankind.

In 2005 and 2006 Manipur suffered a loss of about 2.5 billion rupees per day and in 2006-2007 it suffered a loss of 2.31 billion rupees, said Singh.