Upper Asom shuts down against delimitation.

Guwahati, Jun 06 (UNI) A dawn to dusk upper Asom bandh called against delimitation evoked complete response in the three districts of Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Jorhat today.

Educational institutions, business establishments and banks remained closed while government offices reported thin attendance.

Traffic was also negligible, with only a few private vehicles plying on the roads.

Essential services like healthcare, water and power supply, however, have been kept out of the purview of the bandh.

Sivasagar Superintendent of Police Shyamal Prasad Saikia told UNI over phone that seven picketers were picked up in the district headquarters town.

The bandh was peaceful barring a few incidents of tyre burning.

A forum espousing the cause of protection of the existing number of constituencies had called the bandh, contending that the proposed delimitation of constituencies will amount to 'great injustice' in the three districts, as well as the entire state.

The forum christened as the Upper Asom Constituency Protection Committee, says, ''As the draft proposal is based on the 2001 Census, it is a matter of concern since the exact figure of foreigners and people of dubious origin settled in the state has not been determined yet. We are not against delimitation, but against the discriminatory manner in which it is been done.'' The forum also made a case for updating the National Register of Citizens before undertaking the delimitation exercise.

UNI