Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, JULY 22
The commercial capital of Nagaland came to a grinding halt on Wednesday afternoon, when business establishments across the central areas shut their businesses in a show of anger and protest at the brutal excesses committed on a local employee by members of an underground faction recently.
Although the shutdown was to be voluntary, almost every shop and establishment in the urban center in Dimapur and Chumukedima responded sharply by closing business.
The early morning hours in Dimapur town was a hectic sight as usual with residents doing a quick shopping.
But by 12 noon, shops and business establishments including medical shops and street hawkers, and petty pan shops and petrol pumps shut down in protest against the brutal assault of an employee of local crockery in the town by workers of the armed underground group GPRN/NSCN on July 19.
The Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business Association of Nagas, East Dimapur Business Association, and the Chumukedima Chamber of Commerce and Trade Association, shop owners’ and business associations called for the closure. Although the six-hour closure of business establishment was a ‘voluntarily call’ in support of the victim and to highlight the continuing assault on economic lives of citizens, almost every business establishment showed their solidarity by downing their shutters.
By 12 noon police personnel were seen patrolling along Purana Bazaar to Chumukedima road and in the central town areas. They were seen in most junctions within the town and equipped in their safety and riot gears in case of any eventualities from the public.
The usually-jammed roads of the town were deserted while no shops were seen open in the city except for few local footpath vegetable vendors trying to sell vegetables to whomever they can.
While the outrage of the public was perceived to be high and initially offered an expectation of tension, the voluntary strike ended peacefully with no reports of violence.
