GUWAHATI, Aug 6: India on Saturday airlifted food and drugs to the remote northeastern state of Manipur, where a tribal group seeking a separate homeland has blocked roads and cut off supplies, officials said. The airlift from the nearby state of Assam came in response to an appeal by the state government following the blockade launched by the All Naga Students Association of Manipur on June 20.

The group has seized control of a key highway linking Manipur with the rest of India, resulting in a shortage of essential goods. The rebels are demanding integration of all Naga-dominated areas in the northeastern region into a ‘Greater Nagaland’.

The demand is stiffly opposed by non-tribal residents of Manipur and surrounding states with sizable Naga populations, and the Indian government has rebuffed calls for redrawing the northeast’s map.

A state government official said four Indian Air Force cargo planes loaded with rice, pulses, edible oil, sugar and medicines had landed at the Tulihal airport in the capital Imphal.

“About 40 tons of essentials and medicines were being brought from an IAF base in adjoining Assam state following express orders from New Delhi to airlift food and other commodities,” T. Singh said by telephone.

“Several more sorties are being planned in the next few days.”

Some 30 trucks also rolled in to Imphal under heavy escort by army soldiers on mounted vehicles bringing in essential goods and petrol, diesel and cooking gas cylinders.

India’s Home Secretary V.K. Duggal was due to visit Manipur next week in a bid to help end the standoff. In 2001, demonstrations calling for a ‘greater Nagaland’ in Manipur turned violent, leaving 20 people dead and many more wounded.

In New Delhi, home ministry official Rajeev Agarwal told reporters that the Manipur government was holding talks with the students in a bid to persuade them to end their blockade.

“If necessary, New Delhi will also hold talks,” he was quoted as saying.

The Nagas have been seeking their own state since 1947. The insurgency has claimed more than 25,000 lives since.—AFP