JACAS calls off 1000-hour bandh in Assam

The bandh was called off following assurance from the central government to invite the group for talks in December: JACAS

The rotary at the busy Guwahati Club intersection wears a deserted look during 12-hour Assam bandh called by the Bajrang Dal to protest against the All India United Democratic Front’s (AIUDF) alleged links with jihadi and terror outfits in Bangladesh, in Guwahati on Friday. (Source: PTI)

The 1000-hour bandh called by the Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS), that had disrupted life in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district and affected normal flow of traffic on NH29 to Nagaland and Manipur since Monday, was finally called off late yesterday.

JACAS chairman Khorsign Teron said in Diphu, the Karbi Anglong district headquarter, that the bandh was called off following assurance from the central government to invite the group for talks in December. JACAS has been demanding declaring Karbi Anglong, Assam’s largest district with an area of 10,332 sq kms, as an autonomous state under provisions of Article 244(A) of the Constitution.

While the bandh had disrupted normal life in the district since Monday, it had created panic in Nagaland and Manipur because National Highway 29 (erstwhile NH-39) – the only supply route to the two hill states, passes through Karbi Anglong. Karbi Anglong deputy commissioner PK Buragohain however said normal traffic on NH29 was maintained by providing adequate security during the bandh period.

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Earlier, Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang had sought the intervention of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to get the bandh withdrawn. Zeliang, in a letter to the union home minister said frequent bandhs in Assam not only cut off road communication but also affect supply of essential items including foodgrains, medicine, petroleum products etc to Nagaland as well as Manipur. He also spoke to his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi, said frequent bandhs in Assam, especially in Karbi Anglong, cause immense sufferings for the people of Nagaland for no fault of theirs.

Meanwhile, the police on Friday arrested JACAS chief convenor Bijoy Teron on charges of hoarding of illegally felled timber in his residence. Police and forest officials also seized illegal timber worth Rs two lakh from his residence.

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