Centre to hold talks with JACAS in Dec
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy : TNN
Jorhat/Imphal, October 29 2014:
The Centre is planning to hold talks with the members of Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS) of Karbi Anglong in December.
"The Centre has already prepared a schedule for the talks and we have been informed about it," said Prasanta Kumar Borgohain, DC Karbi Anglong.
The DC has made this announcement when the hill district is witnessing a 1000-hour bandh called by JACAS since Monday morning.
JACAS called the strike in protest against the Central Government's delay in announcing the schedule of the next round of talks.
The organization, which is spearheading the demand for an autonomous State within Assam, held the first rounds of talks with the Centre on November 6 last year.
Meanwhile, the district administration met JACAS representatives at Diphu on Tuesday and requested them to withdraw the bandh.
"We requested them to withdraw the bandh, but they have not taken any decision," said an official.
The district administration has directed all departments to keep their offices open during the bandh.
"Police have been directed to provide adequate escorts to run buses in places like Hamren, Bokajan and Diphu," he added.
Life was affected in the hill district and Government offices, educational institutions and business establishments remained closed during the bandh on Tuesday.
Although the district administration is trying to run passenger vehicles with the help of escorts, vehicles were off the highway on Tuesday.
Trucks and buses heading towards Nagaland and Manipur are also stranded on the highway.
The bandh's impact was also felt in land-locked Manipur as most fuel outlets in Imphal have shut down, triggering a sudden fuel crisis.
There is likelihood of price hike of essential commodities if the bandh continues.
The price of petrol soared up to Rs 90/litre in the grey market, even as Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has intimated the Centre about the hardships faced by the public owing to frequent blockades on highways.