TURA: The nine hour long road blockade called on Friday night across the five districts of Garo Hills by agitating Garo groups over the Citizenship Amendment Bill passed off peacefully on Saturday morning with no untoward incidents reported.
Several organizations in the region under the aegis of the Garo Hills Joint Action Committee had announced a stir to protest the passing of the bill in the recent Lok Sabha by the BJP led central government.
The road blockade was called by social and student organizations, including the Garo Students Union (Interim body), Garo Hills State Movement Committee, among others.
The stir impacted night travel and movement of private and commercial vehicles in several parts of the region.
In the towns of Tura, Williamnagar, Baghmara, Ampati and Resubelpara, vehicular traffic went off the roads during the stir and the only visible commuters were police patrol teams and magistrates on duty.
However, unlike the previous week’s stir, during a daylong shutdown of the north east called by North East Students Organization, this time, there were no barricades of roads with stones or burning tyres as police kept a strict vigil across vulnerable areas.
The agitating groups have reiterated their objection to the passing of the bill terming the government’s move as a threat to preserving the identity of the indigenous people of the north eastern region.
“The bill will also add to the problem of influx of illegal migrants which the state is already facing for a long time,” mentioned the agitating bodies in a memorandum they submitted to Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, earlier this week.