Guwahati shuts down as Guv reviews security

Guwahati, May 28 (UNI) This biggest city of northeast India came to a standstill today as twin bandhs called by the opposition parties and trade bodies to protest the Asom government's 'failure' on the law and order front evoked total response.

Business establishments, banking services and educational institutions remained closed while attendance in government offices was negligible.

Vehicles kept off the roads, with only a few state-corporation run buses and private vehicles plying.

Barring a few incidents of tyre burning, no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere in the city so far.

Meanwhile, Governor Lt Gen.(retd) Ajai Singh reviewed the prevailing situation with top officials of the Asom Police.

Home Commissioner Rajiv Bora, DGP RN Mathur, IGP(SB) Khagen Sharma, Deputy Commissioner (Metro) Avinash Joshi and City SSP S N Singh were present in the closed-door meeting which lasted for more than an hour.

Today's dawn-to-dusk Guwahati bandh has been called by the city committee of the main opposition party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) against the Asom government's alleged failure to check the recurrence of blasts in the city.

The bandh coincides with a 12-hour Guwahati bandh called by the BJP.

With the Saturday's bombing by ULFA militants in Athgaon area of the city, which left seven people dead and several injured, the strike call received mass response, with the people using the opportunity to register their protest against the violence.

Guwahati had been targeted several times by the ULFA in the past few months, with as many as five blasts in the city in this month itself. Saturday's blast was the deadliest in the last four years.

The militants had been targeting the busy market areas and commercial locations, including Athgaon, Fancy Bazar and Machkhowa.

Saturday's blast had created uproar against the ULFA, with the general public holding protest rallies and prayer meetings against the rebel group.

Trade bodies, spearheaded by the Kamrup Chambers of Commerce, have also called a 24-hour Kamrup district bandh today.

Political parties and students' and other civil society organizations, including commercial bodies, had also joined in the condemnation of the violence against the innocent people.

The administration had also come under heavy criticism from the people over the failure to curb the recurrence of blasts in the city.

UNI