Life in Muzaffarnagar returns to normal

People welcomed the return of normal life in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar on Monday, a day after the curfew in the communal violence hit town was lifted.

Shopkeepers said the past few days were difficult for them as life came to a standstill in the town.

"I am feeling very good that life is returning back to normal. The days of the curfew were tough for us because it was extremely difficult to commute," a local shopkeeper, Pandit, said.

"Now that the curfew has been lifted , the public has started coming to the area again. So, I am very happy now that normalcy is returning. We hope that this environment will stay," he added.

On Monday evening, ten days after it was imposed, the administration lifted the curfew in the area, saying that the situation was again "peaceful."

Earlier, on Monday Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi visited the area to survey the situation and also meet victims of the riots.

The Prime Minister had earlier talked to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and condemned the violence.

The Uttar Pradesh Government has constituted a one-member judicial commission to probe the Muzaffarnagar violence, which has claimed over 40 lives.

The commission, which would mainly look into administrative lapses, if any, in controlling the violence, would submit its report to the government within two months.

Violence broke out in the Kawal area of Muzaffarnagar earlier this month when members of a community returning from a panchayat meeting in Naglabadhod, three kilometres from Kawal, clashed with members of another community.