Jorhat, Oct. 8: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi and his supporters today blocked AT Road for over two hours, throwing traffic out of gear on the town’s main artery and leaving a ripple effect on other roads.
Akhil and his supporters took to the street as part of the samiti’s movement against the government’s failures on several fronts and in support of a number of demands covering issues from big dams to farmers’ rights.
This is the first time that the union invaded chief minister Tarun Gogoi and union DoNER minister B.K. Handique’s home turf.
Akhil and over 1,000 supporters marched from JDSA field to the Jorhat deputy commissioner’s office in spite of the rain.
With the administration maintaining a high alert with heavy police deployment in the DC’s office, the court campus area and all the entry and exit points of the town, the KMSS activists were stopped at the gates. Riot-control policemen and their vehicles were also posted in the area. Traffic on AT Road and in the adjoining areas was thrown out of gear for over two hours and the police put up barricades to make the road one-way and to avoid congestion. As vehicles were diverted to other roads, there was a jam in most of the roads.
Before submitting a memorandum to a senior district administration official, Akhil held an impromptu meeting on AT Road and asked his followers to squat on it. He addressed the gathering for nearly 50 minutes and raised questions on the proper implementation of government schemes. He criticised the government for largescale corruption in most of the departments, especially the public distribution system.
He sought permanent protection for Majuli island from erosion, resolving of inter-state boundary rows and the dam issue and an inquiry into the financial anomalies in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
He alleged that the government was ignoring farmers and the poor.He alleged that a big scam was going on in the PDS in Jorhat, Sivasagar and Golaghat districts with BPL beneficiaries being deprived of their quota of essential commodities while the same was being sold at high prices outside the PDS.
