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Friday, Apr 22, 2005

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National

Bandhs hit life in Assam

Special Correspondent

Protest against handing over ONGC oilfield

ALONE ON THE ROAD: A family takes a ride on a motorbike as buses were off the road and the shops closed during the twelve-hour bandh call given by the Oil Field Protection Sangram Samiti and the Vidhutkhanda Surakshya Sangram Samiti supported by the Left parties in Guwahati on Thursday. — Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

GUWAHATI: Normal life in Assam came to a grinding halt on Thursday due to two bandhs called in protest against the handing over of an ONGC oilfield to a Canadian company for exploration and the division of the Assam State Electricity Board.

The North-Eastern Oil Workers' Coordination Committee and the Toila Kshetra Suraksha Sangram Samiti had called for the bandh to protest the handing over of the Amguri oil field in Sibsagar district to Canaro Resource Limited for exploration. Several organisations, including the State units of the CPI(M), the CPI, the CPI(ML), the NCP and the SUCI, supported the bandh.

Police arrested hundreds of protesters picketing the railway track at the Guwahati station and different parts of the State as well as the national highways. The city wore a deserted look with traders keeping the shutters down and buses off the roads. The State CPI(M) secretary, Uddahb Barman, said the bandh evoked a good response.

During his visit to the State last year, the Petroleum Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, said the field had not been privatised as alleged but that the Canadian firm was engaged because it was willing to take the risk of investing in oil exploration in the nearly abandoned ONGC field.

`Aiyar misleading people'

The chief convener of TKSSS and Communist leader, Promode Gogoi, accused Mr. Aiyar of misleading the people by claiming that the ONGC was a partner in the 52.72-sq.km Amguri field project. As per the agreement with the Canadian firm, the ONGC was not entitled to any production share and the Centre was entitled to receive only 10 per cent of the profits after the company recovered its capital investments.

A separate 12-hour bandh call was given by the Vidyutkhanda Suraksha Samiti demanding the rollback of the Government's decision to divide the State Electricity Board into five independent companies. The Samiti alleged that the decision had been taken at the behest of the Asian Development Bank as a prelude to privatisation of the power sector. It would lead to a much higher power tariff which would not only hit the domestic consumer but also the industry.

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