Curfew lifted in Guwahati, broadband Internet restored

Guwahati, December 17

The authorities in Assam on Tuesday lifted the curfew here, for the first time in almost a week, and restored the broadband Internet services as the situation in the state that was on the boil over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, has improved, officials said.

After massive violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), curfew was imposed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tinsukia and a few other cities of Assam on December 11 and the Army was deployed.

“The decision to lift the curfew in Guwahati was taken at a law and order review meeting presided over by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal late on Monday evening. In Dibrugarh, the curfew has been relaxed for 14 hours from 6 am on Tuesday,” an Assam Home Department official said.

“The situation would be further reviewed later in the evening.”

He said that though the land phone-based broadband Internet services were restored, suspension of mobile Internet would continue till 9 am on Wednesday.

According to a senior police official, government and private offices, banks and business establishments remain open.

Vehicles are also plying in Guwahati and all other major cities and towns.

However, schools will remain closed at a few places in Assam including Kamrup Metro till December 22.

The Chief Public Relations Officer of the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) Subhanan Chanda said that all efforts are on to fully normalise the train services in the state. He said that 11 local passenger and inter-city trains were running within Assam on Tuesday.

The Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) Regional Executive Director Sanjeev Jindal said that since Sunday, flight services were fully operational in all the 10 airports in northeast India, including six in Assam and one each in Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. — IANS