Assam: Moran-Motok 48-hour shutdown enters second day, disrupts highway traffic
Reported by Manoj Kumar Ojha
Tinsukia: The 48-hour shutdown called by Moran and Motok organisations continued into its second day on Saturday, affecting daily life across Assam's Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.
The agitation was launched over political demands, but its impact was mainly felt by ordinary citizens.
Long queues of stranded trucks were seen on National Highway 37, the Kakopathar–Mahadevpur Road and the Makum–Jairampur route towards Arunachal Pradesh as transport services remained disrupted.
Truck driver Nabin Mahato, travelling from Roing in Arunachal Pradesh to Muzaffarnagar in Uttarakhand, said he had been stranded since Friday.
“We have been stuck on the highway for more than a day. With shops closed, arranging food and essential supplies has become difficult. We are managing with whatever little we have left,” he said.
At the ASTC bus station in Tinsukia, hundreds of passengers waited as bus services remained suspended.
The shutdown also affected daily wage earners whose income depends on regular movement of people and goods.
“Since yesterday I have hardly earned anything. Every day without work means hardship for my family, but I am still waiting and hoping for passengers,” said Budhnath, a rickshaw puller.
The bandh was called by the All Moran Students’ Union and allied organisations to protest the exclusion of Moran and Motok representatives from the recently expanded Assam Cabinet and the delay in granting Scheduled Tribe status to the communities.
AMSU president Palindra Borah said the movement would continue until the communities receive what he described as their rightful political and constitutional recognition.
No official response had been issued by the district administrations or the Chief Minister’s Office till the filing of this report.