GUWAHATI, Oct 30 � The State rose in unison, reaffirming its pledge to fight terrorism and remembered the victims of the October 30, 2008 blasts on its second anniversary today. Amid prayers for peace, people paid tributes to all those who lost their lives in the serial blasts.
On the occasion, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi paid homage to the blasts victims at Ganeshguri flyover in the city. Gogoi, in his address, said that the State government is making all efforts to bring lasting peace in the State. �Violence has no place in the land of Srimanta Sankardeva and Ajan Fakir and all acts of violence must be denounced in the strongest terms,� Gogoi said.
Several ministers, MLAs and officials paid homage to the blast victims on the occasion.
Guwahati city, which was ripped apart by blasts in three public places on this day two years back, wore a sombre mood today with people taking to the streets with a strong message against terrorism and appeals to give peace a chance. Candles and earthen lamps lit up the city�s evening sky, showing the solidarity of the citizens in the war against terror.
Similar programmes were also organised at various places of the State.
The Lawyers� Association of Guwahati observed the day as �black day� in the CJM Court campus, where one of the blasts took place on that day. President of the association Pulin Chandra Goswami hoisted the black flag while Chief Judicial Magistrate Rabin Phukan started the tribute paying ceremony. An all-faith prayer, Geeta paath and bhajans were held for eternal peace of the departed souls.
The day, however, was more than just a tribute paying ceremony for those who lost their sole bread-winners in the incident. With her three kids � Dhrubajyoti, Rekha and Biswajeet � Bijulee Saud, wife of Mahesh Saud, a security guard in the CJM Court campus, was worried about the future of her kids.
�I cannot give a good future to my kids just on the basis of the one-time financial aid given by the government. I need a job to look after my family,� said Bijulee who is facing a dispute with other relatives of her husband on the issue of the sum of financial aid.
Wives of three other victims � Abul Kalam Ahmed, Anup Bhuyan and Jagat Das � are also looking for jobs to support their families in a decent manner.
In its second peace campaign, corporate house Logo Innovations organized a �Hug for Peace� campaign in the city that started from the CJM Court campus. Different corporate houses came forward to extend financial help to the bereaved families.
In the evening, earthen lamps were lighted in the court campus that was largely participated by common people, students from Cotton College and other educational institutions apart from those from the legal fraternity.
In Panbazar also, tribute paying ceremonies and naam prasanga were held.
The Kamrup (Metro) district administration lit earthen lamps in Ganeshguri in the memory of the blast victims. A tribute paying ceremony was also organized by Brihattar Asomiya Yuba Mancha at the blast site in the evening.
The All Assam Students� Union (AASU) also lit lamps at different places all over the State. In Guwahati, the students� body lighted 5,000 earthen lamps in Latasil playground and appealed to the people to come forward to denounce terrorism.
The Asom Gana Parishad also lighted lamps at the AGP headquarters at Ambari to pay homage to the serial blast victims. Party president Chandramohan Patowary, in a statement, said that terrorism can never solve any problem of the State. Party leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta also extended his sympathies to the bereaved families. Also remembering the victims of Dhemaji blast that took place on August 15, 2004, he said that the State can never forget the innocent victims of terrorism.
The State committee, Assam Chamber of Commerce also organized prayers for the deceased. Every unit of the Chamber all over the State observed silence in their memory.
Citizens also came forward in large numbers to light lamps in the memory of the dead. Candles and lamps were lighted by people at their homes, on the streets and shops, etc., to show solidarity against terrorism.
A homage paying ceremony was also organized on the bank of the Dighalipukhuri where a large number of people took part.
It may be mentioned that on October 30, 2008, serial blasts in Guwahati, Barpeta Road, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon left over 85 persons dead.
Our Dibrugarh Staff Correspondent adds: Hundreds of candles were lit at almost all intersections of the city in memory of the departed souls who lost their lives in the bloody serial bomb blasts that took place on October 30, 2008.
A cross section of people, including members of All Assam Students� Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Parishad (AJYP), etc., lit candles at Chowkidinghee, Thanachariali, Amollapatty, Paltanbazarr, Naliapool and Seijpur tinali. All those who lit candles and prayed have hoped that such incident will not occur again.
Our Silapathar Correspondent adds: Local AJYCP activists lit lamp and observed a one-minute silence in presence of several leaders of various socio-political organisations today.
Our Kokrajhar Correspondent adds: On the occasion of the two years of the serial blasts in the State, people of Kokrajhar paid floral tributes at Kokrajhar Bazar, where one of the blasts took place, in presence of several distinguished citizens.
Attending the programme, Hagrama Mohilary, Chief of BTC and BPF party president, has announced financial assistance of Rs 10,000 each to the next of kin of the decased of the blast here in Kokrajhar.
At the same time, people of Kokrajhar also commemorated the day with grief by lighting candles in the evening.
Our Dhekiajuli Correspondent adds: The Dhekiajuli Anchalik Chatra Santha this evening lit earthen lamps in its Saheed Bedi and paid tribute to the innocent people who lost their lives at Guwahati, Barpeta Road, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar. The members of the union promised to fight against terrorism.
Dhekiajuli Senior Citizen Association and Dhekiajuli Sahitya Sabha also participated in the Sradhanjali function.
