Diphu July 8: General strike, strike or Bandh – the infamous words have become into regular use in Karbi Anglong, since the nineteen eightys decade.
Bandh means shutdown of normal human life, roads will be deserted, offices, schools, markets, banks, everything will come to a grinding halt; life will leap back to the primitive stage, all of a sudden, at the whim of the inflexible command-giver who wishes a grand halt to everything.
The gadget called strike has now become s strike culture in Karbi Anglong.
From political parties to ultra organizations, students and social organizations; even employees and unemployed associations in this autonomous tribal district of Assam have a preference for this gadget.
Thousands of hours of strikes have caused an unassailable quantum of fiscal and material damage to this large district (10434 square kilometer area), but the custom is going on with full dynamism.
For instance, if you take a fleeting look at the figures below, which are the calculations of only the past six months, the enormity of the problem can be easily assessed.
“The strike culture in this land has become a ‘necessary evil’ for everyone; it is hard to come out of its magic charm,” Mukul Kathar, a well-known Diphu resident said.
| Time Lost To Strikes In 2013 | |
|---|---|
| 17th and 18th January | 48 hour strike |
| 22nd January | 12 hour strike |
| 25th January | 12 hour strike |
| 24th to 26th January | 36 hour strike |
| 12 February to 18th February | 132 hour strike |
| 29th March | 12 hour strike |
| 17th to 18th May | 36 hour strike |
| 4th June | 24 hour strike |
| Total 312 hours lost to strikes in 6 months | |
