Pro-Akhil Gogoi bandh hits life in Assam

GUWAHATI/JORHAT/SILCHAR: A bandh called by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti in protest against the arrest of its general secretary, Akhil Gogoi, crippled life in Assam on Saturday.
Police arrested Akhil while he was holding a press conference at Guwahati Press Club on Friday for allegedly inciting violence during a demonstration by the samiti in Dispur on Wednesday.Supporters of the samiti had taken to the streets to oppose the government's eviction drive on the outskirts of Guwahati.
Business establishments, educational institutions, offices and banks were closed during the 12-hour strike. Vehicles remained off the road across the state. A few government-run ASTC buses plied in Guwahati. " But no long-distance bus plied during the bandh," State Transport Workers' Association general secretary Khurshid Alam said.
The shutdown did not affect train and flight services. "Trains ran without any disruption," said chief public relations officer (Northeast Frontier Railways) S Hajong said. "Our services were normal," added an Airport Authority Of India official posted at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. Some passengers faced difficulty in reaching the airport.
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in Cachar district and parts of Meghalaya because of a blockade of National Highway 44 by bandh supporters.The protesters demanded immediate and unconditional release of Akhil. Despite the Congress's opposition, the bandh was total in Nagaon, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Naharkatia and parts of of Guwahati.
A number of civil organizations opposed Akhil's arrest. " Though we are not associated with the samiti, we oppose his arrest because he fights for the common people without indulging in corruption," said Dhan Sharma, a pharmaceutical salesman from GS Road in Guwahati. In Geetanagar and Fatasil Ambari, Akhil's followers staged protests, chanting slogans like "We want Akhil among us" and "Akhil is our leader". At Lukhurakhon, his mother came out in support of the bandh.
In Jorhat, some Youth Congress activists took out a procession supporting Akhil's arrest. "'We took to the streets to oppose the strike," a Congress worker said. On the other hand, the CPI(ML) and the Barak Valey unit of the United Revolutionary Movement Council backed the bandh. "Akhil's arrest is barbaric and politically-motivated," CPI(M) leader Chandan Sen Gupta said.
Assam Chamber of Commerce chief convener Rupam Goswami said, "The strike stopped transactions worth about Rs 30 crore."