1,000-hour bandh hits life in Assam district

Normal life was disrupted in Assam's Karbi Anglong district Tuesday, in the wake of the 1,000-hour bandh called by a group of organisations demanding autonomous state status jointly for Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts.

There was no report of any violence from anywhere in Karbi Anglong during the bandh which started at 5 a.m. Monday. The bandh did not affect Dima Hasao and other parts of the state.

Most educational institutions and commercial establishments in Karbi Anglong's district headquarters Diphu remained closed. Government offices too recorded thin attendance.

The bandh had no impact on national highway 39 that connects the neighbouring states of Nagaland and Manipur. Police arranged escorts for vehicles on the highway.

The Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS) - a conglomeration of many organisations - had called the bandh, demanding the central and state governments resume tripartite talks for granting autonomous state status to the two districts.

The bandh is supposed to continue till Dec 7.

Stalin Engty, a leader of the group, told IANS that the state government Tuesday verbally assured that the next round of talks will be held during the second week of December.

He said the government asked the groups to call off the bandh.

"As of today, the bandh continues. We are going to discuss the matter with all our partner organisations and take a decision," he said.

Last month, the JACAS had started an indefinite hunger strike in Diphu, demanding that the government restart the tripartite dialogue. They withdrew the strike after about a week following an assurance that the central government would take steps soon.

However, nothing was done, the group leaders said.