BARPETA, July 10 - Emboldened by the success of its earlier stir which received an overwhelming public response, the Sarthebari Subdivision Demand Committee is planning a series of agitation programmes to pressurise the Government to establish a new civil subdivision in the eastern part of Barpeta with Sarthebari as its headquarters.
In a meeting of the committee held on Wednesday evening with Banikanta Bhuyan, working president of the committee in the chair, it was decided to observe hunger strikes for three days from July 10 to 12. Local units of the All Assam Students� Union, Assam Bell Metal and Brass Metal Artisans� Association and unions of local traders are participating in the hunger strike. Besides, the leadership of the committee will organise street meetings to explain the necessity of the agitation so that a large number of people participate in it.
The committee will stage a daylong road blockade on July 13. The busy Barpeta-Daulashal-Hajo Road will be blocked somewhere between Chenga and Garemari on that day. Moreover, the meet decided to stage a sit-in demonstration at the Dispur Last Gate during the Monsoon Session of the State Assembly. In addition, several other programmes will be organised till August 15.
A spokesman of the committee informed this correspondent that the programme has been taken up to attract the attention of the Government towards the long-standing demand. He added that the committee would undertake several other measures to pressurise the Government.
�Our strategy is to convince and compel the Government to establish a civil subdivision here and not to create any problem for the authorities,� said Prahlad Talukdar, secretary of the demand committee, and added that they have appealed to the people to observe the agitation programme in a disciplined and peaceful manner.
Local residents are aggrieved due to the backwardness of the area on all fronts. So they will go all out this time to achieve their goal. �The Government will hopefully consider the genuine demand of the people of the area who have been fighting for a subdivision since 1970,� they said.
