JORABAT, Oct 5 - Members of the Kalita Janagosthi Sanmilan, Assam today staged �Dispur Chalo� in Guwahati, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for its community. However, the Sanmilan members were not allowed to demonstrate at Dispur. The protesters were forcibly taken by police on buses to the Sonapur mini stadium on the outskirts of the city.
Despite the presence of a strong police contingent, about 70-80 protesters managed to stop a bus, blocking the National Highway 37 near Sonapur for about an hour, resulting in heavy traffic jam in the area.
According to the protesters, the Sanmilan wanted to submit a memorandum to the government at Dispur but they were forcibly stopped by police. They also alleged that no minister or any other representative of the government came to meet them. The Sanmilan leaders further alleged that the people from the Kalita community have been deprived of the benefits and rights unlike the other tribes due to the negligence of the government.
They threatened to launch a statewide protest if their demands are not addressed in the Assembly before December 31.
