RailEnquiry

Kokrajhar/GUWAHATI: Thousands of passengers are stranded at various railway stations and national highways because of twin agitations by the Bodos and the Koch-Rajbongshis in western Assam for Bodoland and Kamatapur states respectively.According to NF Railway authorities, at least 10 short-distance trains were cancelled on Monday and long-distance trains connecting Assam with other parts of the country were running behind schedule. Miscreants on Monday afternoon removed fishplates of railway tracks between Lower Haflong and Migrendisa stations in Dima Hasao district and an engine of a security train derailed there. However, no one was hurt in the incident, which took place at 5.45pm on the first day of the 100-hour Dima Hasao bandh.While All Bodo Students' Union (Absu)'s 48-hour strike paralyzed life in the four districts of the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) and Sonitpur district on the northern banks of the Brahmaputra, the 36-hour stir called by the Hitesh Barman faction of the All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU) also crippled traffic movement in western Assam areas, including Dhubri district. All government offices, markets, shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained shut.

The Biswajit Roy faction of AKRSU continued with its 100-hour hunger-strike, also for Kamatapur, at Bongaigaon town for the second day. "If the government does not take any positive step, then we will intensify our agitation," said Roy. Absu had initially called a 60-hour strike but later relaxed it to 48 hours in view of Eid.

Trucks carrying essential commodities are stranded on national highways at the Assam-Bengal border owing to the strike. Absu activists blocked NH-52 at Rowta in Udalguri district, disrupting movement of vehicles. The activists also blocked railway tracks at Bijni in Chirang district till 12pm. There were incidents of stone-pelting and vehicles being damaged in Sonitpur. Minor clashes between Absu members and people opposing the strike were reported from Baksa district.

"We are really sorry for the stray incidents that took place during our strike. We want to reiterate to our activists and other people that our movement is democratic and non-violent. Nobody should indulge in any form of violence. We seek cooperation from the people to intensify our democratic movement for Bodoland," said Absu president Promod Boro.

The Bodoland People's Front (BPF), which is in power in the Bodoland Territorial Council and also an ally of the Congress-led state government, has decided to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 7 demanding Bodoland.

On the first day of KPLT's 12-day strike in Karbi Anglong district, there were no major incidents of violence. Though arsonists tried to set fire to government buildings, security forces managed to drive them out. The district administration relaxed the curfew for four hours but re-imposed it later in the day.

About 200 activists of Karbi Students' Association (KSA) staged a protest in Guwahati on Monday, demanding that the Centre should issue a notification for the creation of a separate state comprising Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts. Former bureaucrat J I Kathar, who also served as deputy commissioner of Guwahati, was also part of the KSA protest in Guwahati.

On the other hand, Ulfa (Independent), in an email statement, said Assam has become a volatile state because of the "divisive" policies of the Centre. "The so-called political leaders cannot tide over the crisis. They may win the elections by persuading some tribal leaders, but cannot find a permanent solution to the turmoil. In this situation, it is high time intellectuals committed to the people's cause take the lead in building bridges between people of diverse communities," said Ulfa (Independent) publicity secretary Arunodoy Asom.