Porters wait for work at Moreh’s border gate 2. A file picture

Imphal, June 19: It was a race against time for traders in Moreh this morning. Border gate number 2 was flung open at 8 am and closed sharp at noon, 10 days after the trade point was shut down following the June 9 killings.

As businessmen bargained at the Namphalong market of Myanmar and goods-laden vehicles crossed the gate and whooshed past Lok Chao river towards Imphal, the tension that enveloped the town seemed to be a thing of the past.

Around 10 vehicles, mostly Tata Sumos, reached Moreh from Imphal today. Small-time traders, mostly women from Myanmar, began flocking to the Moreh market with their wares even before curfew was lifted.

If traders breathed a sigh of relief, so did the administration. The sight of bustling trade was a proof that the town was finally limping back to normality.

On June 9, shoot-at-sight orders were issued after suspected militants shot dead five youths, believed to be Kukis, at two separate places in the border town. A house was also torched in protest against the murders. Bodies of six persons, believed to be Meiteis, were recovered that afternoon from a spot near border gate number 1 in Myanmar.

Earlier in May, the Myanmarese government had sealed the border for a few days after a bomb exploded in a hotel at Namphalong market on May 25.

Since then, additional Assam Rifles and India Reserve Battalion personnel have been deployed in the town for patrolling.

After the situation in the town improved over the past few days, the superintendent of police of Chandel district, G. Bimolchandra Sharma, convened a meeting at Moreh police station yesterday and decided to open the border gate for a few hours today.

The decision was conveyed to Myanmar town commander by Moreh subdivisional police officer Hasna Jaman immediately.

The current timing — 8 am to noon — will be in force for the next two or three days and if the situation remains peaceful, the gates will remain open till 4 pm — the usual trading hours.

Daytime curfew has already been relaxed at Moreh, but night curfew continues from 6 pm to 4 am. Official sources said here that night curfew would continue as a precautionary measure.

The decision to open the border gates, even though for a few hours, has saved many from possible starvation.

Border trade forms the primary source of sustenance for people living along the border, who buy most of their daily essential commodities, including foodgrains, from small-time Myanmar traders.

“We are monitoring the situation constantly and will decide on the increasing the duration of business hours if we are satisfied,” an official spokesperson said here.

“We are also in touch with our Myanmarese counterparts to ensure that they also maintain a strict vigil on their side of the border. Hopefully, business will return to normal very soon,” the spokesperson added.