Manipur’s Foothills Road Row: Access, Territory And A Fresh Cycle Of Blockades

A disputed foothills road linking parts of Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts has once again become the flashpoint between Naga and Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur, triggering a cycle of blockades and counter-blockades that have cut off what Kukis describe as a crucial lifeline route.

Tensions escalated this month after incidents of violence and alleged threats, culminating in an indefinite blockade enforced by Naga organisations from January 12, following an earlier blockade imposed by Kuki groups. The standoff comes amid deepening disagreements over the construction, naming and use of what Kuki groups call “Tiger” or “German” Road, an informal network of inter-village roads through the foothills.

The foothills route itself is not a recognised national highway. However, it links interior village roads to National Highway-2 (NH-2), part of the Asian Highway network, which runs from Dimapur in Nagaland through Kangpokpi district, via Imphal, and onward towards Churachandpur. 

NH-2 has historically been Manipur’s main arterial road connecting the hill districts to the Imphal valley and to interstate transport links. Since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May 2023, large sections of this Imphal–Dimapur corridor have been avoided by Kuki-Zo community due to security concerns, increasing dependence on interior foothills routes.

According to Naga civil society representatives, the immediate trigger was an incident on January 2, when members of a Kuki armed group under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) framework allegedly entered Iring Naga village, vandalised property and wrote slogans claiming the area as “Kuki land”.  

“This is not allowed. Such acts should not happen in our land,” said one of the members of Foothills Naga Coordination Committee (FNCC), speaking about the sequence of events that followed. 

On January 12, Naga villages in the foothills imposed a broader ban on movement along the route, which was subsequently endorsed by the FNCC and the Joint Tribes Council, a conglomerate of Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme Naga tribes. The blockade has now continued for nearly three weeks.

Unauthorized But Safe Route

For the Kuki-Zo community, the route is critical. Since ethnic violence erupted in Manipur in May 2023, Kukis have largely avoided travelling through Imphal Valley, citing security concerns. The foothills route, running through villages from Gamgiphai and Morbung towards Ireng and onward to the Imphal–Jiribam national highway, has become the only viable connection between Kangpokpi and Churachandpur. 

“We are using this route because we can no longer safely travel through Imphal,” Lun Kipgen, member of Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) said, explaining that before the conflict, movement between the two districts was routed via the valley.

At the heart of the dispute is not just access, but legitimacy. Naga bodies maintain that large portions of the road are unauthorised inter-village tracks that were widened and made motorable after the conflict, without consent from Naga villages whose land they pass through. While some stretches were earlier constructed under government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and by the state PWD, Naga bodies argue that most of the route is informal and has been politically named after Kuki armed group leaders. 

“We are not against road construction,” FNCC members said, referring to Naga civil bodies. “If the government builds a road legally, people will welcome it. The problem is the intention, naming these unauthorised roads after their insurgent leaders and claiming territory through them.”

Naga groups have raised three core demands, which they say have remained unresolved despite earlier assurances from the Manipur government: an end to unauthorised road construction in Naga areas, removal of SoO camps from foothill Naga regions, and action against illegal poppy cultivation.

The record of discussions dated August 8, 2025, signed by representatives of the Foothills Naga Coordination Committee, the Joint Tribes Council and the Manipur government, a copy of which Outlook has seen, stated that the state had neither approved nor sanctioned any such road, agreed to take legal action against unauthorised construction and naming, and assured action on SoO camps and illegal poppy cultivation, following which the FNCC agreed to call off its earlier blockade.

The standoff has also been compounded by recent violence. On January 26, tensions spiked further when some Kuki-Zo houses were set on fire in the district. A faction of the Zeliangrong United Front, a Naga insurgent group, claimed responsibility, alleging that the structures were being  allegedly used for illegal poppy cultivation.

After which the COTU announced the blockade which they revoked the next day. 

“Kuki-Zo cannot afford two fronts of conflict,” Kipgen said. “We had to smother our emotions, control our Village Volunteers from responding to ZUF.” 

District officials, however, have distanced themselves from the terminology surrounding the road. The Kangpokpi district administration has maintained that there is “no officially notified road” by the names circulating publicly, and that the routes in question are interior village roads, the matter being under consideration by the government.

The dispute has also drawn judicial attention. In December 2025, the National Green Tribunal’s Eastern Zone Bench in Kolkata ordered an immediate halt to construction of the controversial foothill road on grounds that it was being built through forested and ecologically sensitive areas without mandatory statutory approvals, including environmental and forest clearances. 

The tribunal directed the Manipur chief secretary to ensure no further work proceeds and constituted a high-level expert committee to inspect the project, with the next hearing set for February 2, 2026. Petitioners said no no-objection certificates or clearances were granted for the road’s construction.

For now, talks remain inconclusive. While discussions are reportedly ongoing, Naga organisations say the blockade will continue until they receive concrete assurances from both the state and central governments.