CAB protests: All trains from Guwahati to upper Assam region cancelled

All trains from Guwahati towards upper Assam region have been cancelled, according to the Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO), North-East Frontier Railway, as anti-Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) protests continue to rock the state and other states in the North-East.

Assam's Guwahati city and Dibrugarh district have been placed under indefinite curfew till further orders in the wake of protests after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The administration had suspended mobile Internet services for 24 hours from 7 pm on Wednesday in ten districts of the state -- Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup.

In view of the prevailing situation, several airlines have announced that flights to Guwahati and Dibrugarh have been cancelled on Thursday and Friday and passengers travelling to these two cities will be offered a fee waiver on cancellation or rescheduling fee.

Amid the unrest in Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet earlier today assured the people of the state that "no one can take away their rights, unique identity and beautiful culture".

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 sailed through the Parliament after Rajya Sabha passed it on Wednesday. As many as 125 members of the Upper House voted in favour while 105 MPs voted against the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.

The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.