Very few students were seen turning for classes at schools and colleges on Wednesday despite the exemption from the curfew imposed on the day in the valley districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Kakching and Bishnupur. Total curfew was also imposed in Churachandpur district.
Relaxed for weeks now from 5 am 6 pm in valley districts especially Imphal West and Imphal East with the concerned authorities citing improvement in the law-and-order situation, curfew was fully imposed in the five mentioned districts on Wednesday following the call of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) to push back the army barricade installed at Phougakchao Ikhai, Bishnupur district.
No employees were seen in almost all the government offices while all marketplaces, shops remained shut and the streets barren with little movement.
And while some schools and colleges were open for the day, there were hardly any students present. This could be due to the fact that there were no autos/vehicles which many students used to travel to schools.
Following the curfew, state police put barricades at various areas of Imphal City, including Moirangkhom crossing, Keishampat bridge, Wahengbam Leikai under over bridge and in front of Bir Tikendrajit International airport along Tiddim Road, Sanjenthong, Palace Compound crossing and others.
Police also detained many curfew violators. Later in the evening, few shops were seen open despite curfew imposition.