Anti-CAA agitation: Govt suspends internet in various parts of 6 districts
Kolkata: Bengal government has suspended internet services various parts of six districts of the state on Sunday to prevent rumour-mongering and circulation of fake news, especially on social media, amid the ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Internet services were suspended in North Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24-Parganas' Barasat and Basirhat sub-divisions and Baruipur and Canning sub-divisions of South 24-Parganas. Following the instruction from the state secretariat, internet service providers have temporarily withdrawn their services in these districts.
Also, at the behest of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state has taken various measures to prevent incidents of violence. Trouble brewed after people launched demonstrations and put up rail and road blockades at a number of places in the state to protest against the amended Citizenship Act.
According to sources in Nabanna, these steps were taken after the state government found that some communities and religious extremist groups were trying to galvanize violence despite repeated appeals from the government. On Sunday, the state government instructed District Magistrates (DMs) in various districts, particularly at Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, to take concrete steps to ensure uninterrupted supply of food and water to North Bengal and North East-bound passengers stranded at various stations. State tourism minister Goutam Deb on Sunday visited Alipurduar station and interacted with the passengers to find what problems they were facing. Directives have also been issued from Nabanna asking the DMs to ensure that people travelling in buses on National and state highways get proper food and drinking water.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday had urged people to protest in a democratic way and warned that action would be taken against those taking the law into their hands. She urged the agitators not to indulge in road and train blockades. Banerjee said her government would not tolerate it if people suffer. "Those creating trouble would not be spared," she said.
Some parts of Malda, Murshidabad, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, and Howrah witnessed sporadic incidents of violence as people went on a rampage ransacking various railway stations and put up road blockades. Train services on the Sealdah-Budge Budge rail route was suspended for nearly five hours since 12.40 pm after some people stopped trains at Akra railway station and allegedly vandalized a part of the station. There have been reports of road blockades at North 24 Paraganas' Deganga, Khardah-Kalyani Expressway, and Amdanga, and at places in Birbhum and Murshidabad.
On Sunday morning, South
Eastern Railway announced the cancellation of 15 trains, including Howrah Express from Tirupati and Ernakulam. Ten other trains, including Shalimar Express from Thiruvananthapuram, several trains in the Howrah-Kharagpur railway section of South Eastern Railway and incoming trains from Puri and Odisha were also cancelled.
