This Upper Assam district limped back to normalcy with 13-hour curfew relaxation in the municipal area from 7am on Monday despite protests by several organisations across Dibrugrah against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha said no incidence of violence has been reported in the district in the past 24 hours. “There was a rumour that one Dijender Panging, 32, was killed here on Friday following baton charge by security forces but the man was a drug addict and died because of poor health,” he said.

As the curfew was relaxed in the morning, people thronged the streets, markets and ATMs. Security forces, however, have stepped up vigil in the sensitive areas. Army has been carrying flag marches to maintain peace.

Dibrugarh superintendent of police Sreejith T. said, “The situation is slowly returning to normalcy but we are keeping a close watch. We are taking legal action against those involved in violence.”

A police official said, “The law and order situation is under control. No untoward incident has happened since Saturday. Security forces are carrying out regular flag marches. We hope the curfew will be withdrawn soon.”

Protests against the act, however, continued on Monday with several organisations, including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and the Dibrugarh Bar Association staging sit-ins and taking out rallies. AASU staged a sit-in at Chowkidinghee field and then took out a rally till Thana Chariali. Senior citizens participated in the protest. The AJYCP demonstrated in the new market area and the Dibrugarh Bar Association took out a rally from the district and sessions court. Members of the bar association held banners and placards and raised slogans against CAA.

“We have diverse languages and cultures in Assam. We don’t want the CAA in Assam as it is anti-Assamese. The Centre has forcefully imposed the act for vote-bank politics. They are trying to divide the people of Assam. We will continue our struggle against them,” AASU district president Shankarjyoti Jyoti Baruah said.

Tinsukia arson

Five shops and a vacant house were set ablaze by goons at Sripuria in Hijuguri in Tinsukia district after midnight on Sunday night, when the curfew was in force.

Additional superintendent of police (headquarters) Ashif Ahmed said several small shops were partially damaged. “We have started an investigation and the culprits will be arrested soon. Law and order situation in Tinsukia is under control,” he said. Four shops had been torched in the same locality on Wednesday, during a protest against CAA.

On Monday, curfew was relaxed for 11 hours from 5am while peaceful protests against CAA also took place in this Upper Assam district.

AASU’s Tinsukia unit took out a rally with protesters carrying placards and banners. People from all walks of life joined the protest.

Apart from the arson, the district more or less remained peaceful. “Normalcy is slowly returning here. But we are having a tough time because of lack of cash in ATMs,” said Amit Agarwalla, a resident.

No untoward incident was reported from the other Upper Assam districts — Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar and Jorhat — either.

No to celebrations

A huge number of people gathered for the Gana Satyagraha organised by the Dergaon branch of AASU against the act at Naren Sarma Memorial Field, Dergaon, in Upper Assam’s Golaghat district. Similar protests were also held at Merapani, on the Assam-Nagaland boundary.

The Dergaon Sahitya Sabha, Dergaon Journalists’ Association, Dergaon Sports Club and several AGP leaders and workers, among others, took part in the protest. Golaghat is the birth place of the AGP, the regional party which voted for the act.

The present turmoil in Assam has also created obstacles for socio-cultural programmes. Many farmers said no to Na-khuwa, a harvesting festival, as they said no to CAA.

In mid-December, towards the end of Aaghon, the seventh month in the Assamese calendar, farmers harvest soanguti (paddy) and celebrate the new grain with a feast, Na-khuwa.

Jitumoni Hazarika, a farmer at Kamargaon Dergaon said the present situation was not fit for holding any programme. “As these days are only filled with the slogan No CAA, so we cannot hold Na-khuwa,” he said.

Additional reporting by Sanjoy Hazarika in Bokakhat