I arrived in Imphal only a day ago, a place I wanted to see but which was right at the ‘end of the road’ so to speak so if I didn’t get there it wouldn’t matter. The infrastructure in this part of India hasn’t been improved since the British built it in the 1930’s, basically there’s one road that connects it with the outside world, which runs along the Kohima ridge to the town of Kohima and then down to the Diampur, which has the railhead. I thought I was being very clever when I booked a flight from Guwhati to Imphal, thinking that by getting to the furthest point I would not have to double back on my route and save many hours on Indian buses.
This wonderful plan started to go wrong as soon as I arrived at Imphal airport. There was a collection of ‘Foreigner Registration’ people waiting for me so that lots of forms could be filled in. One person filled in the forms and three of four people watched him do it. I was asked my next destination and I said I was going to travel to Kohima by road. Out of the question I was told, the day before yesterday a group had blockaded the road and nothing could get in or out – the town was cut off. The only way out of Imphal was to fly. I went straight to the Indian Airways office, where a man was attempting to repair the ribbon on an ancient dot matrix printer. After a few minutes of trail and effort he told me that he couldn’t get his printer to work, so couldn’t issue any tickets so the office was now – closed, and he put a board up against the window.
I then looked around for some transport to town and a group of businessmen in a car offered me a lift. They worked for TATA chemicals; one was the local agent, his friend and the guys boss who had just arrived on the plane. As we drove along they filled me in on the situation. I was aware that the road had been blocked earlier in the year and apparently that ‘blockade’ had lasted ninety days, and this was another group with some grievances’.
There were about twenty eight groups in the area the local agent said and they all want something, particularly pay offs from local business people like himself, extortion and threats were part of normal life. “I carry a gun” he said passing a large revolver over the backseat to his friend. “Don’t worry” he said, “its’ registered.” I could see the Indian government crest on the stock and the rounds in the chambers. “I have to carry that, just so they know there’s only so far they can go”.
They were very enthusiastic about the prospect of Myanmar opening up and the proposal for a new road to be built from Yunnan in China, through Myanmar and then into India, which they thought would really help the prosperity of the area, and boost the governments ‘Look East’ policy. Building a road through Myanmar could well be the easy bit compared to building a road in India and then keeping it open.
As we arrived in town they pointed out the fortifications around the Public Works Department and the long queue outside a petrol station. “Petrol is already rationed, and things will only get worse.” As we stopped by a hotel and I got my pack out of the boot I noticed that my new friend openly carried his gun in a holster on his belt. Imphal is not a normal place.
As it turned out the hotel was full and I walked around for a couple of hours before finding a room which is unusual for India. On my trek around the centre I’d passed a group of heavily armed soldiers, seen armoured cars go by and seen several large queues outside ATM’s as people took out their money, before the cash ran out. This looked like a town under siege.
I was now very concerned about being stuck here, if the flights were all full there was no way to leave and I might not have be able to access any money either. So first call was to a travel agent, where I managed to get a flight to Guwahati for today. This morning I had a whistle stop look around the town and then headed for the airport. The countryside around the town looked wonderful and I’d been looking forward to my journey along the Kohima Ridge; but sometimes the only thing to do is to cut and run.
This wonderful plan started to go wrong as soon as I arrived at Imphal airport. There was a collection of ‘Foreigner Registration’ people waiting for me so that lots of forms could be filled in. One person filled in the forms and three of four people watched him do it. I was asked my next destination and I said I was going to travel to Kohima by road. Out of the question I was told, the day before yesterday a group had blockaded the road and nothing could get in or out – the town was cut off. The only way out of Imphal was to fly. I went straight to the Indian Airways office, where a man was attempting to repair the ribbon on an ancient dot matrix printer. After a few minutes of trail and effort he told me that he couldn’t get his printer to work, so couldn’t issue any tickets so the office was now – closed, and he put a board up against the window.
I then looked around for some transport to town and a group of businessmen in a car offered me a lift. They worked for TATA chemicals; one was the local agent, his friend and the guys boss who had just arrived on the plane. As we drove along they filled me in on the situation. I was aware that the road had been blocked earlier in the year and apparently that ‘blockade’ had lasted ninety days, and this was another group with some grievances’.
There were about twenty eight groups in the area the local agent said and they all want something, particularly pay offs from local business people like himself, extortion and threats were part of normal life. “I carry a gun” he said passing a large revolver over the backseat to his friend. “Don’t worry” he said, “its’ registered.” I could see the Indian government crest on the stock and the rounds in the chambers. “I have to carry that, just so they know there’s only so far they can go”.
They were very enthusiastic about the prospect of Myanmar opening up and the proposal for a new road to be built from Yunnan in China, through Myanmar and then into India, which they thought would really help the prosperity of the area, and boost the governments ‘Look East’ policy. Building a road through Myanmar could well be the easy bit compared to building a road in India and then keeping it open.
As we arrived in town they pointed out the fortifications around the Public Works Department and the long queue outside a petrol station. “Petrol is already rationed, and things will only get worse.” As we stopped by a hotel and I got my pack out of the boot I noticed that my new friend openly carried his gun in a holster on his belt. Imphal is not a normal place.
As it turned out the hotel was full and I walked around for a couple of hours before finding a room which is unusual for India. On my trek around the centre I’d passed a group of heavily armed soldiers, seen armoured cars go by and seen several large queues outside ATM’s as people took out their money, before the cash ran out. This looked like a town under siege.
I was now very concerned about being stuck here, if the flights were all full there was no way to leave and I might not have be able to access any money either. So first call was to a travel agent, where I managed to get a flight to Guwahati for today. This morning I had a whistle stop look around the town and then headed for the airport. The countryside around the town looked wonderful and I’d been looking forward to my journey along the Kohima Ridge; but sometimes the only thing to do is to cut and run.