Kokrajhar, Aug. 29: The Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students Union, not content with enforcing a 48-hour bandh which began at 5 am today, has gone ahead and announced a 100-hour Assam bandh from September 29.

General secretary of the union Biswajit Ray said the organisation has chalked out a series of agitation programmes to support its demand for a separate Kamtapur state and Scheduled Tribe status for the Koch-Rajbongshis.

“We are calling a 100-hour Assam bandh from September 29 to October 3 and a cycle rally at district headquarters and subdivisional office on September 15,” Ray said.

The 48-hour bandh, which began at 5 am today, affected normal life in Bongaigaon and its neighbouring belt especially in Rajbongshi-dominated areas. The bandh was total in Bongaigaon town with shops and business establishments staying closed. Buses and other vehicles, apart from private vehicles, were off the roads.

The bandh failed to evoke any response in Kokrajhar. But it was partial in Basugaon town in the same district. Trucks were provided security on National Highway 31. There were no reports of any untoward incident.

The union leader criticised the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) for trying to divert attention from the Koch Rajbongshis’ movement by holding a programme the same day. “The AASU programme is a conspiracy to dilute and weaken our movement which we are fighting for our rights in a democratic way,” Ray said.

Ray asked AASU leader Sankar Prasad Ray to quit the organisation. “Being a Rajbongshi he should leave AASU and join us in our fight for our rights,” he said.