Public road transport on the Imphal‑Dimapur‑Guwahati corridor via National Highway 2 ran without interruption on Saturday, carrying 428 passengers in 19 vehicles that left Imphal at about 10 a.m. The fleet included eight buses and eleven Winger minibusses, marking the first occasion since services resumed that daily ridership exceeded four hundred travellers.
Since the restart of the route on August 21, more than 1,700 people have moved from Imphal toward Dimapur and Guwahati, according to the state government. A brief suspension occurred on Friday after a shutdown in Senapati district, but operations were restored the following day, allowing the steady flow of commuters from various communities.
State officials have hailed the continued movement as a key step toward restoring safe, uninterrupted connectivity between Manipur and the rest of the Northeast. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh was credited for facilitating the resumption, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah previously praised the government’s effort to reopen the highway for free movement. The chief minister said the service offers much‑needed relief to students studying outside the state and to patients traveling for medical care.
The revival follows an announcement on August 8 by the chief minister, Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen and Saitu MLA Haokholet Kipgen in Kangpokpi, which pledged to reopen national highways for all communities and to restart the Imphal‑Dimapur‑Guwahati bus service. NH‑2 remains a vital road link connecting Manipur with Nagaland and Assam, providing essential access to Dimapur and Guwahati.
