A dawn-to-dusk shutdown enforced by opposition parties in Assam Monday to protest the central government's fuel price hikes brought normal life to a grinding halt, with shops and businesses remaining closed and few people venturing out on to the streets.
'Educational institutions remained closed, and most public and private transport remained off the roads,' a police official said.
The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the 12-hour strike that began 5 a.m., with many other smaller parties and groups supporting the protest call.
'The strike is total across the state with people spontaneously supporting our protest call. People are sick and tired of the escalating prices of essential commodities, besides the recent hike in prices of fuel and cooking gas cylinders,' AGP president Brindaban Goswami told IANS.
The state government last week slashed petrol and diesel prices by a rupee each.
'The government has failed to control price rise and it is the common people who are suffering. As an opposition party it is our duty to raise such crucial issues and hence we called for the strike,' BJP leader Dhruba Baishya said.
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