Normal life paralysed as Dima Hasao-bandh enters 4th day

Normal life was paralysed while rail services between Lumding and Badarpur were disrupted today during the 100-hour Dima Hasao bandh as protesters damaged tracks and torched a bridge.
Bandh supporters blocked and damaged train tracks near Bageter railway station and set afire a railway bridge near Migrendisa station under the Haflong police station in Dima Hasao district, police said.
The bandh was called by the NC Hills Indigenous Student Forum (NCHISF) to press for bifurcation of Dima Hasao district and protest against renaming of NC Hills as Dima Hasao district.
Supply of essential goods via railway to Barak Valley region including Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram was badly affected, officials said.

Security has been stepped up after violence at Mahur and damage to the railway tracks by bandh supporters in the district.
The bandh also affected surface transportation services following which with almost all establishments remaining shut for the fourth consecutive day in the district today.

However, school and college exams were exempted from the purview of the bandh which mainly affected Haflong, Mahur, Harangajao and some other parts, while Maibang, Diyungmuk, Gunjung and Langting areas remained unaffected, they said.
The bandh was marred by violence yesterday with at least 15 persons, including a woman police officer, seriously injured in a clash between police and bandh supporters at Mahur Railway station.

Yesterday's clash took place when the police tried to lift a rail blockade by agitators.