Guwahati, July 1 NNN : The Paresh Barua faction of United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) will stand oppose to the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi to Assam on Monday to take the first hand knowledge of flood situation.
However, the anti-talk faction of ULFA will not call bandh this time taking the immense hardship faced by the flood affected people.
It is still unclear what mode of protest the ULFA may carry out if it is not going to be a shutdown.
It can be noted that 22 of Assam’s 27 districts have been under flood. However, the Prime Minister and the UPA chairman will only visit the two worst affected districts, i.e.Tinsukia and Sonitpur.
“As always, we oppose the visit of the rulers of colonial India,” ULFA publicity secretary Arunodoy Dohotia said in an emailed statement. “But we have decided not to enforce a shutdown owing to the critical situation arising out of the devastating floods.”
The worst since 1998, the floods across Assam have claimed 61 lives in the second wave from mid-June.
The Assam government has opened 768 relief camps for thousands of flood affected people. Army and National Disaster Relief Force personnel have since June 27 rescued more than 8,000 marooned people.
In some areas of Tinsukia and Sonitpur districts, the flood-affected people had to be airlifted.
The floods have also been cruel to the 860 sq km Kaziranga National Park with more than 50 animals including four rhinos having either drowned in the submerged park or run over by vehicles while trying to cross over to higher grounds beyond an adjacent highway.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/ulfa-opposes-pms-visit/
