SILCHAR, Jan 8 - The 11-hour Assam and North East bandh called by the All Assam Students� Union and North East Students� Organisation (NESO) in protest against the placement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Parliament evoked mixed response in Barak Valley.
While the bandh was partial in Hailakandi with AIUDF legislator Anwar Hussain Laskar being detained and shops and other establishments remaining closed, there was no affect of the bandh in Cachar and Karimganj districts.
Besides 37 bandh suppoters mainly from Congress, AIUDF and other Opposition parties being detained from Badarpur, life was normal in Karimganj district.
In Silchar, even as the traffic hustle was much lesser than normal days, offices,schools colleges and other establishments were mostly open.
Interestingly, banks, post offices and offices of the LIC were found closed owing to the 48-hour all-India strike called by the Central Trade Unions and Federations in support of their 12-point demand.
Slamming the anti-people policies of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Government, a number of Left wing associations took out a rally and echoed slogans against the Government. Local units of the trade unions and federations said that three more demands emphasising local issues including reopening of the Cachar and Nagaon Paper Mills, completing the Silchar-Saurashtra Mahasadak and allotment of daily wages to the tune of Rs 350 to the tea garden labourers. The organisations urged the common people to extend support towards the total shutdown on January 9 as a part of the nationwide protest.
On the other hand, as many as 60 cadres of the Left organisations were arrested by Karimganj police during the nationwide stir in protest against the anti-people policies of the Central Government.
Karimganj SP Gaurav Agarwal told The Assam Tribune that the picketers assembled at the railway station here to stop the Silchar-Dharmanagar passenger train around 9:30am. �Police dispersed the gathering and arrested and detained the bandh supporters. They were taken to a different location,� the SP informed. Some more isolated incidents of picketing also took place across the district.
