Guwahati, May 3: Curfew was withdrawn today from the North Cachar Hills district following no fresh reports of ethnic clashes between Dimasa and Hmar tribals over the past few days.
Deputy commissioner of N.C. Hills, Syed Iftikhar Hussain, ordered lifting of the curfew this morning after reviewing the district’s law and order situation with senior police, army and CRPF officials in Haflong.
The Dimasa-Hmar ethnic violence had rocked the hill district last month and claimed 30 lives. Many of the villagers are still staying at refugee camps in neighbouring Cachar district.The clashes began in February when Hmar militants abducted three senior functionaries of the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD).
The DHD retaliated by raiding Hmar villages in N.C. Hills and put pressure on the villagers to release their cadres. Violence erupted after the recovery of 21 bodies of Dimasa youths from Mastul hill in Cachar district on April 3.
Karbi blockade
The indefinite rail and road blockade in Karbi Anglong district, called by Karbi militants, is causing a great deal of trouble to commuters along a 70-km stretch. While the state government has focused its attention on the railway lines and National Highway 39, which links Upper Assam, Manipur and Nagaland with Guwahati, it has left other roads in the district unguarded.
The outfit, named the Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills People’s Resistance, has called the blockade to oppose the government’s move to accord Scheduled Tribe (hills) status to Bodos living in the twin districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills.
Though the Assam government has ensured adequate security for trains and vehicles passing through the district, the problem is far from over as trucks and buses are taking many more hours than is normal to complete their journey.
Deputy inspector-general of police (central-west range) Pallab Bhattacharya said four convoys — three during the day and one in the evening — are provided on National Highway 39.
He said three additional companies of the Assam police battalion have been pressed into service. Twenty police vehicles are used in each convoy. Apart from NH 39, police and other security agencies are also guarding the railway tracks and trains. “The situation is peaceful now though the Karbi militants have not withdrawn their blockade,” said Bhattacharya. He said the CRPF, the RPF and the GRP were assisting the civil administration in maintaining order while the army has come out on NH 39 and along railway tracks in the Bokajan area.
Passengers, however, complained that it was not enough as they are stranded either at Nambor or Khatkatti for four to five hours while waiting for the convoys as they cannot move without security escorts.
Sources in Diphu said while railway tracks and NH 39 are guarded, no buses are plying on other roads.
Bus and truck services to Diphu remained stalled since the launching of the blockade on April 25. Private vehicles, however, are plying as usual. This has caused a great deal of hardship to residents of the district.
The attack on the BG Express last Sunday night is worrying railway passengers, who are hesitant to board trains running through the district. Three passengers were injured in the attack.
Dispur’s new policy has already antagonised the people of the two districts while trying to buy peace with the Bodos.
Clause VIII of the recently- signed Bodoland Territorial Council accord is the epicentre of the whole controversy. It says that Bodos living in Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills would be granted Scheduled Tribe (hills) status as per the new arrangement.
