Reporters based in Imphal, for a change, have stopped looking for news. Instead of asking colleagues if there is anything important happening, the common question among the mediapersons is where petrol is available.
“I have been running around since yesterday not for news, but for a litre of petrol. Do you know where I can get it?” a reporter of an Imphal-based popular vernacular paper asked his colleagues.
After the police crackdown on supporters of NSCN (I-M) leader Th. Muivah on May 6 at Mao town, no fresh supply of essential commodities was coming to Imphal.
Protesters blocked the Imphal-Dimapur highway since May 6 and all petrol pumps in Manipur were closed as there was no stock.
“My editor is angry that I did not file any good story over the past three days. But what can I do without any fuel? How can you move around and do stories without fuel?” a reporter said angrily.
The blockade has also a telling effect on Imphal-based dailies. Running short of newsprint, all the Imphal-based dailies are coming out with four-page editions.
