GUWAHATI, Dec 11 - Amid intensified protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill across State, several incidents of vandalism were reported, as the protesters damaged government and private vehicles, resorted to stone pelting and vandalizing shops and public property.
As Guwahati became the nerve centre of students� protest with all the main arterial roads under seize of the protesters, a section of them resorted to willful destruction of public and private property and adopted coercive means to assert their protest.
A bus was set ablaze on GS Road, Sixmile whereas divider fence was damaged at several places of the city. Police barricades were set on fire in front of Janata Bhawan, the area that witnessed the most intense protest within the city today. Some police vehicles were also damaged by the protesters.
Thousands of people, especially office goers got stuck up during the day due to heavy traffic. For many, the situation deteriorated further after curfew was declared in the city.
Other than burning of tyres and blocking the traffic for hours, at several places in Ulubari and Paltan Bazar, students forced the shop owners to down their shutters and stop the business for the day.
�Equipped with cane and sticks, some of the students in college uniform barged into our premises and engaged in a brawl over closing our shops. We had no idea about any bandh call for today. It was a sudden development,� a departmental store owner in Paltan Bazar area said refusing to come on record owing to sensitivity of the issue.
The protesters also threatened the vehicles owners, who came in their way during the procession. Many commuters, including bikers, were stranded at various locations after the tyres and other stuff were set ablaze on the middle of the roads at numerous places.
�Amid massive traffic congestion owning to ongoing construction work near Ulubari flyover point, hundreds of protesters came from towards the Gopinath Nagar area and thrashed the bikers and onlookers. I saw a teenage student shouting expletives at a senior citizen for coming in the way of the rally,� an eye witness narrated.
Traffic installations and signages were vandalized stocked in the middle of the road and burnt at many places, particularly in the Dispur area near Janata Bhawan. Bricks stocked by the PWD for repair and refurbishing works were thrown on the road to block traffic. A stage/platform erected opposite the tea auction centre for the upcoming Indo-Japan summit was also razed down. As the main GS Road was blocked at Ganeshguri, many vehicles took the Japorigog road, creating a massive clogging on the narrow by-pass.
