Imphal, June 28: Naga students in Manipur intensified their economic blockade on the state?s two national highways, preventing all goods-laden trucks bound for Imphal from crossing the border with Nagaland.

The All Naga Students Association, Manipur, began the agitation after the Okram Ibobi Singh government declared June 18 a state holiday to mark the anniversary of the 2001 uprising against the extension of the NSCN (I-M)-Delhi ceasefire beyond Nagaland. Manipur?s Naga community perceives the move as an attempt to sabotage their movement for the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas.

Activists of the student organisation yesterday set fire to a vehicle near Senapati, on the Imphal-Dimapur road, for defying the blockade.

Reports reaching here said nearly 100 trucks were stranded just across Mao Gate, which leads to Nagaland. With the All Tribal Students Union, Manipur, supporting the blockade, Manipur now faces the prospect of a complete breakdown of the supply chain. Consumers have already started feeling the impact of the blockade with prices of essential commodities increasing.

The government had provided armed escorts to trucks headed for Imphal in the first couple of days after the blockade began. A senior police officer in Senapati district said the administration had not issued any directive to escort stranded trucks to the state capital. ?We are ready to escort the trucks, but cannot do so without an official directive. We are, however, patrolling the highway.?

In a statement today, the All Tribal Students Union, Manipur, said the Naga community?s demand for the revocation of the government?s decision to declare June 18 as ?Integrity Day? was ?justified and reasonable?. It said the 2001 uprising against the erstwhile NDA government?s decision to extend its ceasefire with the NSCN (I-M) beyond Nagaland ? the announcement was retracted ? ?petrified? the Nagas and other tribal communities living in the valley.

?The physical and mental trauma of many tribal families living in the Imphal valley during those difficult days still linger in their minds,? the statement said.

The union also urged the government to initiate action against the police personnel responsible for death of three tribal students in an alleged fake encounter earlier this year.