GUWAHATI, Aug 27: NNN : As the Hindu based Bajrang Dal called Assam bandh today, the Muslim dominated bodies will call 12-hour bandh on Tuesday as a counter-bandh to the former’s.
All Assam Minority Students’ Union supported by two other organisations has announced today to call a counter bandh on Tuesday.
In today’s Bajrang Dal bandh, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad endorsed it to protest the ‘migrant-induced’ violence in western Assam.
Due to the bandh today, government officeswitnessed a thin attendance. Educational institutions and other private firms were closed. Road blocks and pelting of stones to the commuters marked today’s bandh in many parts of Assam.
On Sunday, the death toll due to the ongoing ethnic clashes in Assam has reached 88.
One more person was found killed yesterday in western Assam district of Dhubri bordering Bangladesh.
According to Dhubri district superintendent of police PC Saloi, one more dead body was recovered on Sunday. It is still unclear whether the person was killed last evening or this morning.
Sunday morning, the police found the dead body was found in Suknajhora village under Bogoribari police station.
Following the incident, the people started agitating by blocking National Highway 31 and pelting stones at the police. A family was attacked in Kokrajhar district by the agitators and injured five persons. The blocking of the highway was reportedly lifted on Sunday evening.
On Saturday, seven persons was killed in Assam in the clashes in separate incidents.
The latest cases of ethnic clashes cropped up again even as the State and the Union governments are trying their best chalking out strategies to contain the problem.
Three days ago, had Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi had sough the help of newspaper editors for restoring normalcy in the communal clashes affected areas of Assam particularly in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts.
Meeting the editors, the chief minister of Assam had requested the journalists to extend needed co-operation to the state government in restoring peace in Assam.Altogether 15 newspaper editors had attended the meeting.
A day before Tarun Gogoi’s meeting with the editors of Assam, he had also sought the help of civil society organisations to extend needed co-operation for bringing the ongoing clashes into a halt.
The state government has been formulating strategy after strategy but it is yet to fructify at the moment.
The clashes between the Bodos and the immigrant Bangldeshis broke out in mid July which has resulted in the displacement of lakhs of people.
Bodos have vowed that those Muslims that have already been displaced from Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) will not be allowed to return again in the area.
Reports had also said that around 1200 non Muslims had already fled from Dhubri district since the last few days fearing backlash.
Communities like Bengali Hindus and Koch-Rajbongshi comprised the maximum among the fleeing people from Assam’s western district of Dhubri. Dhubri is an Assam district bordering Bangladesh where, of the total population Muslims comprise of 75%.
In districts such as Nagaon in central Assam and Karimganj and Hailakandi in southern Assam where Muslims are majority, the state government is in full gear to contain any untoward incident. Reports said adequate security has been already stationed in these districts.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/12-hour-bandh-disrupts-life-in-assam/
