Normal life was affected in the valley districts of Manipur following a 18-hour bandh called by the militant outfit, National Revolutionary Front of Manipur (NRFM).

The bandh, which began at last midnight, led to the closure of markets, business establishments, and banks across the five valley districts. Public transport vehicles were also notably absent from the roads, though a few private vehicles were seen operating. Essential services, however, were exempted from the bandh’s purview.

The NRFM called for the bandh in protest against the signing of the merger agreement between the then-Manipur ruler Maharaja Bodhchandra and the Government of India on this day in 1949. The agreement officially integrated the princely state of Manipur into the Indian Union on October 15, 1949.