IMPHAL: Security has been beefed up across violence-affected Manipur ahead of Independence Day.

This came after few Imphal valley-based militant outfits called for boycott of the Independence Day celebrations in the state.

Manipur police informed that security forces have been conducting search operations in vulnerable and sensitive areas of the state.

Meanwhile, preparations for the Independence Day celebrations are underway in most parts of Manipur.

It may be mentioned here that Coordination Committee (CorCom), an umbrella body of the major armed militants outfits from Manipur, has called for boycotting of the 76th Independence Day in the strife-torn Northeast state.

The CorCom has also called for a total shutdown for 17 and half hours in Manipur on August 15.

The shutdown would come into effect from 1 am and would end at 6:30 pm on August 15, a statement issued by the CorCom said.

The CorCom is a conglomerate of six Valley-based militant outfits – the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), its Progressive faction (PREPAK-Pro), Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), the political wing of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and United National Liberation Front (UNLF).