A litre of petrol at Rs.200 in the black market and a cooking gas cylinder for Rs.1,500 or more... After two months of a blockade in Manipur, world boxing champion Mary Kom says she’s at her wits’ end trying to balance training for the Olympics with the slow process of cooking with firewood. The five-time world women boxing champion is only one amongst the many thousands trying to cope with the blockade, which has not only driven up the cost of commodities but brought the state virtually to its knees. Hospitals have put on hold all routine surgeries due to non-availability of oxygen cylinders while stocks of essentials, baby food and life saving drugs have almost dried up. The blockade on the two national highways, the main lifelines linking Manipur with the rest of India, is a result of a bitter rivalry between two tribal groups over creation of new district in the region. The Kukis are demanding a separate Sadar Hills district while the Nagas are refusing to give up their land for it. Hundreds of trucks carrying essentials and medicines have been stuck in the adjoining states of Nagaland and Assam with protesters laying siege to the two highways. Landlocked Manipur depends on supplies from outside the region. Trucks from the rest of India carrying essentials pass through Nagaland. The government has been unable to break the deadlock despite five rounds of talks between the groups.
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