Bongaigaon, Dec. 19: The Pradip Ray faction of the All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU) temporarily called off the 36-hour statewide strike, which began at 5am today, following a meeting with Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati this afternoon.

AKRSU BANDH HITS LIFE

The strike was called to press for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Koch Rajbongshi community and the creation of a separate Kamatapur state.

The bandh affected normal life in western Assam, including Bongaigaon district.

Biswajit Ray, adviser to the group, confirmed the decision to withdraw the strike this evening from Guwahati.

During the day, shops and establishments remained closed, attendance in government and private offices was thin and cars and buses remained off the roads. However, rail communication was normal and all the educational institutions here remained open.

Picketers burnt tyres on National Highway 31C at Chapaguri after a brief blockade to enforce the bandh.

Pradip Ray, president of the student group, was present with picketers at Mahabirsthan here in Bongaigaon town this morning.

Purabi Sarkar, president of the Koch-Rajbongshi Mahila Samiti, also joined the protest at Mahabirsthan and shouted slogans against the government.

"If the Bodos of Karbi Anglong and Karbis of the plain areas are entitled to get the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, then why can't the Koch-Rajbongshis get the same, being one of the indigenous groups of the state?" asked Gokul Barman, general secretary of the group.

Last month, AKRSU leaders had received a letter from the state government after holding protests in Kokrajhar. In the letter, the government had promised to hold a meeting with representatives of the students' group but it never materialised.

Ray said the chief minister had yesterday written a letter to them, offering to discuss the issue today.

This morning, the group's leaders said only a letter would not make them call off the strike.

They called off the strike after the chief minister assured them that he would look into their demands, AKRSU leaders, who were present at the meeting with the chief minister, said.

The leaders of the students' organisation said they would wait and watch the government's moves before taking further steps.