TURA: An irate mob of several hundred people from Ampati marched on to the Garo Students’ Union (GSU) office in South-West Garo Hills district headquarters on Saturday morning and burnt it down in retaliation to the harassment being meted out to Assam traders who have been restricted from entering to buy produce of the farmers from the region.
The sudden burst of anger by the public forced the GSU leaders to abandon their office and flee for their lives as the mob armed with stones and sticks came down to the student union office and tore it down before setting it ablaze.
The secretary of the Ampati Bazaar Committee was also not spared as his office was also set on fire by the mob which charged him for siding with the students’ body.
The issue of high prices of food items and the blockade of buyers from the neighbouring Assam town of Mankachar are believed to have been the root cause of the trouble breaking out. Farmers who depend heavily on buyers from Assam for a good price of their produce have been experiencing a raw deal for a long time, ever since the pandemic shut down the region.
“Today being the weekly market day, betelnut sellers from Ampati and different parts of the region had come with the expectation of getting their produce sold to the buyers from Mankachar. When they did not turn up they became very upset,” informed district superintendent of police Rituraj Ravi.
Since the Covid pandemic began, entry of traders from the neighbouring state of Assam had been restricted to Ampati, which is just a few kms from Mankachar town.
However, even as restrictions were gradually eased in the last couple of weeks to allow trade and commerce, subject to adherence of Covid protocols, the traders from Mankachar continued to face blockade. Coupled with the blockade were reports of illegal tax collection leveled against outside traders by members of the students’ union.
With Saturday being the last weekly market before the start of Christmas celebrations, farmers had reportedly contacted the buyers from the neighbouring state to meet and sell their produce in the hope of earning some revenue for their hard work and celebrate Christmas with their families.
“When they did not turn up some farmers contacted them and found out that they had been turned away by the GSU. This infuriated them and tempers quickly rose leading to the attack,” informed a trader from Ampati who witnessed the incident on Saturday morning.
The angry farmers were joined by hundreds of people who also vented their anger out over reports of alleged extortion being perpetrated on outside traders by members of pressure groups like the GSU and others.
The mob marched to the GSU office and pelted stones, broke windows and set it on fire. They also did not spare the market secretary office, setting it on fire, before vandalizing stalls run by some of the locals who were selling fish and vegetables inside the market.
Their grudge against the local sellers was that these traders were purchasing the food items at throw away prices from Mankachar and reselling them at exorbitant prices in Ampati. They accused the market secretary of conniving with the local sellers to fleece the public.
“Some people have immensely benefited from this lockdown whereas we have not been able to sell any of our produce for so many months. What will we take home for our children for Christmas when we cannot sell anything?” questioned several farmers who met with the district administration to register a complaint against the GSU and the market committee.
This scenario has been played out several times over in many other districts of Garo Hills, including Tura, where prices of fruits and vegetables have skyrocketed on the excuse of the pandemic and claims of shortage whereas one only needs to cross over to nearby Assam to find the same items being sold at much cheaper prices.