Imphal: At least 14 excavators and a trailer truck engaged in road construction works were set on fire by unknown miscreants on the NH-37 connecting Imphal to Jiribam in Manipur during the past 24 hours.
Nongmaithem Inao, one of the owners of the excavators, told the press in Imphal on Monday that the excavators were set on fire in the area between the Keithelmanbi village and the K Senam village.
The miscreants used allegedly cranes to destroy the burnt excavators and tried to sell the scrap metal in Silchar, Assam, Inao said.
In response to a question from a reporter, Inao said that the owners of the burnt vehicles have filed complaints with the police, who are investigating the incident.
The actions of the miscreants come at a time when the Manipur Sand Distributor Association has announced that sand-transporting trucks plying to Assam and Dimapur will cease work from August 1 until National Highway-37 is properly opened.
Speaking to the media, the association’s general secretary, Gurumayum Shitaljit, sought the support of all private truckers and companies in the strike and appealed to them to cooperate with the association’s decision.
It is worth noting that NH-37 has become a hunting ground for anti-social elements while Manipur is heavily affected by the ongoing three-month-old communal clashes between the Kukis and Meiteis.
On this NH-37, anti-social elements armed with sophisticated weapons have been allegedly extorting Rs 5,000 each from trucks transporting essential goods into the state.
The highway looters are taking advantage of loopholes created by the security forces from time to time to carry out their ruthless extortion campaigns.
In this connection, All Manipur Road Transport Drivers’ and Motor Workers’ Union (AMRTDMWU) Secretary General M Anil Meitei said that well-armed militants extorted vehicles plying on NH-37.
The armed men stopped the trucks at the New Keiphundai area and forcefully took Rs 5,000 from each truck that arrived in Jiribam between 7:30 and 8:00 am.