Shopkeepers at Kakching Lamkhai today staged a sit-in protest after shutting down their businesses in opposition to what they described as unbearable monetary demands allegedly made by various groups.
Speaking at the protest, Advisor of the Kakching Lamkhai Bazar Board, Yengkhom Nimai, said that shopkeepers in the area have been struggling to sustain their families due to the conflict that has affected the state for more than three years. He alleged that despite the difficult economic situation, certain organizations continue to demand money through phone calls and appealed for an immediate halt to such practices.
Nimai further stated that many traders have been forced to take up daily wage labour because of declining business and economic hardship.
Executive Committee member of the Kakching Lamkhai Bazar Board, Kshetrimayum Shandhyarani, said that traders have been facing severe difficulties since the outbreak of the crisis in 2023. She appealed to all concerned not to create fear or intimidation among members of the Bazar Board and the shopkeepers.
Shandhyarani also claimed that while shopkeepers are facing monetary demands from certain quarters, they are simultaneously being harassed by the police, adding to their difficulties by summoning them. She urged all concerned groups to refrain from imposing such demands on shopkeepers.