By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 28: An unusual stillness gripped Shillong on Monday as streets wore a deserted look, business establishments remained closed and hawkers stayed off the roads in a near-total shutdown called by the Shillong Citizens Forum to protest the Pahalgam attack.
Across Greater Shillong, business establishments voluntarily remained closed in the main commercial hubs of Police Bazar and Iewduh in a powerful show of solidarity towards the Pahalgam victims.
Majority of the shops in localities like Rynjah, Laitumkhrah, Laban, and Mawbah, among others, chose to stand together in grief and condemnation of the terror attack, demonstrating the profound power of silence.
Some eateries in Police Bazar kept their shutters half-open throughout the day and fully opened towards the evening. The streets were partially empty as most people chose to stay indoors.
The traditional authorities of Iewduh clarified that there was no notice for closure of shops and the shopkeepers voluntarily kept their shutters down.
Government offices, schools and public transportation functioned normally and there were no reports of any violence from any part of the city, police said.
However, not everyone extended their support to the shutdown call.
The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization (HITO) opposed the shutdown, citing the interests of the marginalised people for whom “daily livelihood is sacred and non-negotiable”.
The organisation said it shared the grief of the families of the Pahalgam victims but added that true solidarity should be voluntary, not enforced through orchestrated shutdowns.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya BJP accused the Mahila Congress in the state of demonstrating its anti-national character by allegedly opposing the shutdown at a time when the entire nation was mourning the deaths.
