SHILLONG:While the public braved the first day of the 36-hour bandh called by HNLC to protest the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Shillong, it was Government employees yet again who responded wholeheartedly to the bandh call.
The office of the North Eastern Council (NEC) was locked even though most of the senior employees stay within the office campus. The Secretary himself was absent from his post. His plea was that if the office is opened, some people might disrupt the functioning of the office. The question someone raised is, “What the security personnel doing?”
The State Government had pressed into service the JNNURM buses and maxi cabs so there was no excuse of there being no transport. “It is obvious from the attendance at Government offices that employees are getting used to bandh culture,” stated a retired senior bureaucrat.
Though some shops remained closed and roads in some parts of the city turned into football or cricket ground, common people seemed unconcerned about the diktat of the HNLC.
A good number of people were seen standing in various locations of the city to have a glimpse of the President when his convoy passed through the heart of the city. Those who needed to use their vehicles came out without any fear as many people were seen driving their vehicles and motorcycles.
An impressive crowd was seen greeting President at road sides in Mawlai while he was going to Don Bosco Museum.
A parent who went to drop his child to a prominent school in the city said he was disappointed to find the gates locked.
Our Jowai correspondent adds: The first 12 hours of the 36-hour bandh called by the HNLC passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from both East and West Jaintia Hills.
The bandh, however, badly affected business activities even as financial and educational institutions and Central government offices remained closed.
State government offices also recorded low attendance. While East Jaintia Hills recorded 30 per cent attendance, the percentage was slightly higher at 35 per cent in West Jaintia Hills.
The congested National Highway NH-44 wore a deserted look as all coal laden trucks and other trucks transporting various goods and commodities stayed off the roads which saw only police vehicles, ambulance and private vehicles carrying black flag (travelling due to emergency) plying.