Bharat Bandh plagued normal life in Assam; protesters broke barricade in Guwahati

Normal life was haphazardly hit in Assam today by the Bharat Bandh called by 21 organisations including All India Congress Committee. Since Morning the day to day life in the state was stalled as shops were closed and transportation was disrupted due to 'Bharat Bandh' in protest against "rising fuel prices and a rupee value drop.

As reported by the Shillong Times a large number of Congress party members along with former minister Rakibul Hussain have been arrested by police for trying to carry out the bandh in different parts of the state.

Because of the bandh the train traffic in the state has also affected severely.

As informed by reports of UNI, Congress supporters and leaders came out in the streets across Assam especially in Guwahati to execute their bandh demand and stopped passing vehicles and urged people to join the protest.

Congress workers aimed to stop the movement of trains in the state by squatting on the railway tracks and undertook to block national highways as well as main roads across Assam by burning tyres and setting up bamboo barricades, police said.

Assam Congress president and MP Ripun Bora together with party in-charge for the state Harish Rawat led hundreds of protesters during a rally in Guwahati this morning. The protestors forcibly tried to enter the state secretariat but they were countered by the police and security forces from entering the secretariat.

Officials said that the protestors were taken into preventive custody for the violation of section 144 of CrPC and also not providing prior information to the authorities about their protest rally.

Some private buses and vehicles were stoned in Guwahati's Adabari area, police reports said.

The bandh has also plagued life in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTAD) areas along with Barak Valley districts. Besides, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has canceled Silchar-Guwahati fast passenger train service on Monday.