Citizenship Act protests: Curfew relaxed in Guwahati, parts of Dibrugarh

Guwahati, December 15

Curfew imposed on Guwahati and parts of Dibrugarh district in the wake of the violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act was relaxed on Sunday for several hours, police said.

Special trains have been arranged by the Assam tourism department in association with the railways to ferry passengers stranded in various parts of the state.

According to an official, curfew has been relaxed from 9 am to 6 pm in Guwahati. In Dibrugarh west, Naharkatia, Tenughat areas, it has been relaxed from 7 am to 4 pm.

Six flights, however, had to be cancelled, including one to Paro in Bhutan, in view of the law-and-order situation, an official of Airports Authority of India in Guwahati said.

Long queues were seen outside grocery shops at several places, including Dispur, Uzan Bazar, Chandmari, Silpukhuri and Zoo Road in Guwahati town. Auto-rickshaws and cycle- rickshaws were plying across the city since morning.

Petrol pumps have also opened with vehicles waiting in lines to refuel. Police were using loudspeakers to inform the public about the relaxation.

Meanwhile, members of the Guwahati unit of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) held demonstrations outside party headquarters in Ambari area, demanding resignation of three ministers, including party president Atul Bora.

AGP members in Parliament had voted in favour of the contentious bill.

Students’ organisations AASU and AJYCP also took out rallies across the state, seeking revocation of the law.

Violent protests had erupted in the city and other parts of the state earlier this week after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament, with agitators engaging in pitched battles with the police, forcing the administration to impose curfew.

Curfew relaxed in parts of Shillong   

Shillong: The curfew, imposed in parts of the city amid violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act, was relaxed from 6 am to 7 pm on Sunday, officials said.

The curfew was relaxed for 13 hours in areas under the jurisdictions of Sadar and Lumdiengiri police stations, the officials said.

In view of the prevailing law and order situation in the curfew-bound areas, the District Magistrate of East Khasi Hills, M W Nongbri, has relaxed the curfew till 7 pm, they said.

Curfew will be reimposed in these areas from 7 pm on Sunday till further orders, a statement issued by the district administration said.

SMS and mobile Internet services have been withdrawn for 48 hours since 5pm on Saturday, an official said.

Banks and educational institutions have been shut since December 11 and the North Eastern Hill University has also postponed all examinations to February 2020.

Traffic was negligible on the roads during the relaxed hours of curfew and markets were shut for most parts of the days.

The Assembly will be holding a special one-day session on December 19 to allow the government to pass a resolution to demand the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state. PTI