Assam bandh on October 23 brings life to a standstill

Correspondents

JORHAT: The 12-hour bandh called by over 46 organizations was total as all business establishments remained closed and government offices had poor attendance as employees could not reach their offices due to non-availability of transport services. Only vehicles belonging to security forces like Assam Police, CRPF and Army were seen on the road. Long and short distances vehicles plying through the district to Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh too remained off the road. Ferry services between Neematighat and Majuli were cancelled during the bandh hours.

Three vehicles were damaged by picketers at Ajanta AT Road Bypass, Ladoigarh NH-37 and on the Jorhat-Mariani road near Cinnamora Tinali. A total of 26 picketers were held and four bikes were seized by the police and all 26 picketers were kept at the Jorhat Police Station lock-up for the day.

Passengers who reached Jorhat Town Station at 8.10 am faced problems due to non-availability of hired vehicles or rickshaw pullers. Picketers from several organizations burnt tyres, shouted slogans, forced shops to down shutters and did not even allow movement of any kind of vehicles. A special ferry service between Kamalabari to Neematighat was allowed for the students participating in the State-level science exhibition that got underway in Majuli from Tuesday. All other ferry services were cancelled, said sources. The Jan Satabdi Express reached Jorhat safely from Guwahati this afternoon and returned at the usual time, informed railway sources.

TINSUKIA: Defying all warnings of the State Government and district administration, the traders in entire district of Tinsukia pulled their shutters down in support of the Assam bandh on Tuesday. The bandh was total and complete. Though the ASTC maintained skeleton services with police escort and few passengers, all private vehicles including inter-State buses were off the road. All banks, commercial institutions and private educational institutions were closed. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the district though some bandh supporters resorted to tyre burning on NH-37.

JOYSAGAR: Normal life was paralyzed and bandh supporters were seen burning tyres on roads in Joysagar. In the morning, bandh supporters came out on bikes and asked shops and other business establishments to down their shutters. Other picketers gathered in front of the ONGC and GAIL main gate of the town and locked the gate to stop employees from entering the complex.

Meanwhile, Sivasagar Police detained as many as seven picketers from different parts of the town who allegedly manhandled some local businessmen and labourers. They were released from the Sivasagar Sadar Police Station in the evening. Besides, in Sivasagar NH-37, stones were pelted at government buses and a Bolero jeep. Police rushed there and controlled the situation. In Sivasagar Amguri Railway Station, the bandh supporters blocked the railway track due to which the Tinsukia-Delhi intercity morning service train had to halt at Amguri Station till 4 pm.

In Nazira, the picketers stopped the ONGC employees from entering the offices and the local business establishments were also closed down by the picketers. In Lakwa, Sonari, Charaidew, Simaluguri, Namti and Rajmai, all business establishments as well as daily markets remained closed and vehicles also remained off the road. The overall situation in the district was peaceful and under control.

On the eve of the Assam bandh, panic prevailed in Sivasagar town following recovery of an IED by the Sivasagar CRPF and police patrolling team in the Station Chariali area at about 9.15 pm on Monday. Indian Army-CRPF and police officials rushed to the spot and recovered the bag where there found a live IED which was installed by some unidentified miscreants. The IED was later defused.

Meanwhile, the Army-CRPF team apprehended some suspected terrorists from the Station Chariali-BG Road area on Monday night and they have been identified as Raju Ali alias Mackuri, Mukttar alias Saddiq, and Nazar Fakir alias Jot Baba of Dorikapara of the town. The security sources informed that the accused were detained on the basis of suspicion and they could be active members of a fundamentalist group working in Upper Assam. Many objectionable items, as well as some chemicals, were recovered from the possession of the accused and sources doubt that such kind of chemicals are generally used in the coal-stone mining process for blasts. Interrogation is on.

TANGLA: The 12-hour Statewide bandh evoked mixed response in Udalguri district on Tuesday. The district headquarter witnessed a complete shutdown of business establishments and government offices and schools remained open. Meanwhile, the bandh did not evoke much response in Tangla town as shops and markets remained open. Schools and government offices functioned normally but banks remained closed. Tangla Police also detained four bandh supporters of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS). In Kalaigaon town too the bandh evoked mixed response. In the morning, protesters shouted slogans and burnt tyres.

DEMOW: The 12-hour Assam bandh was successful in Demow. In the morning, the bandh supporters burnt tyres in Demow. Business establishments, banks and private schools remained closed and normal life was paralyzed. The buses were off the road due to which passengers had to face serious problems. During the bandh, the Demow Police along with jawans were patrolling. No untoward incident took place during the bandh.

SARUPATHAR: Normal life was affected in Sarupathar under Dhansiri subdivision due to the Assam bandh. Business establishments remained closed at Sarupathar, Barpathar, Naojan and Uriamghat under Dhansiri subdivision. Activists of different organizations like Chutia Students’ Union burnt tyres on the road in various places of the subdivision.

MORIGAON: The 12-hour call bandh passed off peacefully in Morigaon district, except for 2-3 tyre burning incidents. Private schools and business establishment remained closed. Four-wheelers remained off the road and only some two-wheelers were seen plying. At Jargaon under Jagiroad constituency, which is a linguistic minority dominated area, the bandh did not evoke any response. Private schools and business establishments also remained open.

On the other hand, at Buraburi, which is a religious minority dominated area, the bandh evoked total response. Police arrested 12 AMSU activists for trying to enforce the bandh. In Laharighat constituency, police arrested two KMSS leaders and two leaders of Asom Miya Parishad for burning tyres at Laharighat Bazar. Besides, AMSU leaders burnt tyres at Goroimari too under Laharighat constituency of the district to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

Kokrajhar: The 12-hour Assam bandh failed to evoke response in Kokrajhar. As the Government of Assam had issued strict directives to district administration across the State ahead of the bandh to take action against officials who abstain from duty and to cancel the trade license of shops which remain closed during the bandh, all the government offices in Kokrajhar functioned normally while markets, shops and business establishments as well as educational institutions remained open. Except long distant vehicles and commercial trucks, all kinds of vehicles were seen plying on the road normally.

The bandh did not get response as no frontal organization of the Bodos and other struggling communities extended their support to the bandh. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the district.