National Highway-37 becomes almost unnavigable during the rainy season every year, but it has proved to be a safer option than NH-2 whenever Manipur is on the boil. | Photo Credit: – In peacetime, Manipur prefers to travel or transport goods on National Highway-2, a lifeline that connects its capital Imphal to the rest of the country through Nagaland to the north. During periods of conflict, however, the State reluctantly falls back on the other lifeline—the more arduous National Highway-37, connecting Imphal and Assam’s Silchar to the southwest via the interstate border town of Jiribam. NH-37 becomes almost unnavigable during the rainy season every year, but it has been a safer option than NH-2 whenever Manipur is on the boil. Inevitably, NH-37 gained strategic importance after the Kuki-Meitei ethnic conflict that erupted in May 2023, followed by the Kuki-Naga hostility, which led to indefinite blockades along the hilly stretch of NH-2. The State’s fate, partly tied to the condition of its highways, is expected to change after December 2026, the target set by the National …