Correspondent
SHILLONG, May 14 – The dawn to dusk bandh called by NGOs passed off peacefully, however, paralysed normal life today in four districts of Meghalaya.The NGOs called the bandh from 5 am to 5 pm today in East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts.
During this period, shops and other business establishments remained closed. The Government offices remained paralysed with employees staying away from their workplaces.
Streets wore a deserted look with vehicular traffic going off the road. The bandh disrupted the traffic on NH 40 and 44 which connects the State with the rest of the country and also forms the lifeline of Barak Valley, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur.
The bandh was called by the Khasi Students’ Union, the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People and the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front. The NGOs are demanding stringent guidelines to prevent D-voters from enlisting in the voters lists.
Bowing under pressure, the government has removed the “facilitation cells” set up for enrolling voters at the district and block levels of the State.
The Government has also set up an all-party committee to study the issue of D-voters and Election Commission’s guidelines for voters’ registration and modify them suitably in tune with local conditions. The State-modified enrolment guidelines would then be sent to the EC for approval. The all-party committee would have its first meeting tomorrow.
