Kohima, Feb. 4: Kohima town wore a garb of normalcy on Saturday with normal activities resuming after a series of bandhs stalled normal life in the town during the past few days. The temporary relief notwithstanding, the bandh will resume on Monday.
While the ban on government offices and movement of government-registered vehicles by the Angami Youth Organisation (AYO) is still in force, shops and business establishments and banks reopened on Saturday. Public transportation which remained off the road during the bandhs also operated during the day.
AYO volunteers locked several government directorate offices today. Although the situation remained slightly tense, no untoward incident was reported at the time this news report was filed.Curfew in and around the PHQ junction, the Raj Bhavan, Jail Colony and Old Ministers’ Hill areas remains. Section 144 CrPc has been clamped in stated areas since the night of February 2 following the outbreak of mob violence.
In the town areas, entry into the deputy commissioner’s office from the local ground side has been prohibited. The additional deputy commissioner of Kohima, Lithrongla Tongpi, said that barricades have been placed as a security measure on Friday evening. However, she informed that the DC’s office, which was exempt from the purview of the bandh, was open. The public can access the establishment via the Assam Rifles camp.
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The entrance to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and, right, the gate to the Civil Secretariat.[/caption]
Bandh on govt offices, vehicles to resume on Monday
The AYO has informed that there will be no bandh on Sunday. However, it will resume on Monday, with several additions to the list of exemption. AYO leaders have said that the bandh from 9am to 3pm restricting government offices and movement of government-registered vehicles will continue.
However, several exemptions have been made. They include schools / colleges and education-related departments such as the NBSE, NPSC and SCERT; power sub-stations; postal services; fire services; telecom; Nagaland State Transport and national and private banks.
While said offices are not included in the purview of the bandh, the organisation advised officials and staff members of said departments not to use government vehicles when attending office.
Lotha Hoho to continue with bandh
The Lotha Hoho has decided to continue with the bandh. The organisation offered updates on Saturday stating that the Lotha Hoho Joint Action Committee (LHJAC) continued with the bandh as called by the JCC and All Naga Tribal Council.
“As informed by LHJAC that bandh will continue at Wokha till the demand of Naga public interest is served by the government of Nagaland. Added all business related to all the activities and public services like hospitals, pharmacies and schools were exempted from the bandh,” the note stated.
The LHJAC on Saturday locked up the offices of political parties in Wokha town. The LHJAC shut down the offices of the Naga Peoples’ Front, Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress, and the Wokha Town Council and Treasury offices.
The organisation has warned against breaking in, or of ‘tempering’ with the seal ‘without any notice.’ The LHJAC has called for ‘immediate step down’ of the NPF government led by Chief Minister TR Zeliang.
The Lotha Hoho and the LHJAC informed that further steps will be taken if no solution is brought to fulfil the demand.
The Dimapur Naga Youth Front has announced on Saturday that the Nagaland State Transport and the State Bank of India have been exempted from the bandh. The decision comes considering the hardship faced by travellers, as well as that transaction for the public is not affected.
ENPO announces agitation
The Easter Nagaland Peoples Organisation (ENPO) has announced agitations in the eastern areas in support of the protest across the state against holding the municipal and town council elections with reservation of seats for women.
The ENPO issued a press release on Saturday. The organisation stated: “Taking note of the extremely volatile situation in the state at present which initially erupted at Longleng, Dimapur and Kohima in regard to the ULB elections, the ENPO in an emergency meeting held on 4th February 2017 at Dimapur hereby resolved to extend support in total solidarity to the resolutions as adopted and demanded by the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) to restrict opening of government offices and movement of government vehicles till the demands are fulfilled.”
The presidents of the ENPUK and ENPUD are represented in the NTAC and JCC in behalf of the people of eastern
The six federating tribal units of the ENPO are informed to strictly implement the resolution with effect from Monday, February 6 in all the districts and sub-divisional head quarters. “However, all educational institutions both government and private, banks, medical, power, fire services, business and markets, army, central and paramilitary forces and private transportations are exempted from the purview of the restrictions,” the ENPO stated.
Also, the ENPO regretted what it called the “unceremonious act of back tracking by the state government from the laudable agreement between the state government and the JCC on 31st January 2017” initiated by the Nagaland Baptist Church Council “that led to sparkling the present crisis.”
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