Normal vehicular movement along the Imphal-Moreh section on NH-2 was disturbed for new hours on Friday.
Reports reaching here said that drivers of the Imphal-Moreh service vehicles including passenger service vehicles protested after the police restricted carrying imported goods from Myanmar in the vehicles.
The reports said that on Friday morning, police at its check post along the highway at Moreh town stopped a passenger service vehicle and detained it saying that no imported goods can be transported from the border town.
Following this incident, several drivers of commercial vehicles including passenger service vehicles protested, according to reports. They blocked the highway with their vehicles to register a strong protest against restrictions allegedly imposed all of a sudden.
A team of police station led by its officer-in-charge (OC) rushed to the spot and tried to convince the drivers.
The officer told the drivers that they were compelled to impose the ban on the transportation of goods imported from Myanmar as a part of preventive measures to check the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The police officer reportedly convinced the drivers informing about the rising cases of positive cases of the new coronavirus and deaths due to the viral infections in the neighbouring country. He further informed the drivers that the order shielding the international border after the outbreak of the pandemic in both the countries is still enforced, while alleging that the goods were brought in into the state illegally through the porous international border.
Mention may be made that authorities of Indian government in Manipur first shielded the international border as a preventive measure to check cross border spread of COVID-19.
The Indian authorities had not only shielded the official cross border entry gates but also fenced the unauthorised entry gates along the borderline.
Later, in the backdrop of the rising number of COVID-19 infections in the country (India), particularly in Manipur, Myanmar authorities also imposed restrictions on the visit of people from the Indian side to the neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, later, SDPO Moreh convened a meeting with the drivers after which the drivers opened the highway for resumption of normal vehicular movement.
The police gave commercial vehicles time to leave the border town before noon of the day.
On what condition, the agreement was brought about could not be ascertained immediately even as reports said that both sides agreed to hold talks further at the level of Tengnoupal SP.
NNN
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