Kohima, Sept. 30: Nagaland chief minister S.C. Jamir today suggested a joint strategy to ensure security of both passengers and vehicles on national highways to his Manipur counterpart O. Ibobi Singh and a Manipuri delegation when they met him in New Delhi this morning.

Sources at the secretariat here said Ibobi Singh and representatives of the United Committee, Manipur (UCM) met Jamir at Nagaland House today and discussed the need for beefing up security on National Highway 39, connecting Dimapur with Imphal. Jamir suggested that commissioners and DGPs of both states meet at the earliest and work out a joint strategy to ensure that passengers and goods vehicles are not stopped or harassed while travelling on NH 39.

Last week, Ibobi Singh and a UCM delegation met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in Delhi and demanded adequate security to the passengers and vehicles on both NH 39 and 53, which connect the land-locked state to the rest of the country. Advani has asked for reports from Jamir about the steps taken by his government after the September 5 incident in which two buses were looted and a woman was molested.

The Nagaland chief minister requested the UCM delegation that they refer the instances of harassment to passengers and vehicles by militants to the ceasefire monitoring cell. Stating that law and order was a state subject, Jamir said both the Nagaland and Manipur governments should take action to protect passengers travelling on NH 39.

Detailing the arrests made in connection with the September 5 Piphema incident to the delegation, the chief minister appealed to UCM and other NGOs to call off the ongoing highway blockade since it was mainly affecting the common people.

The UCM and other organisations have launched an agitation since the incident and are continuing with the highway blockade till their demand for better security is met.