Anti-citizenship law stir continues in Bengal, curfew lifted in Guwahati

Protests over the amended Citizenship Act stretched into fifth day in West Bengal, with agitators on Tuesday blocking roads and railway tracks in parts of the state, officials said In neighbouring Assam, curfew was lifted in Guwahati following improvement in the law and order situation.

Shops and business establishments were open in the city, and vehicles plied as usual. In Dibrugarh district, curfew has been relaxed for 14 hours from 6 am on Tuesday, officials said. Mobile internet services, however, remain suspended in parts of the state.

Tension ran high in Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas, where protesters took to the streets and raised slogans against the Narendra Modi government.

As many as 354 protesters have been arrested for violence over the past few days, with police stepping up vigil in the trouble-torn pockets of the state.

Several trains to north Bengal were either cancelled or delayed, railway officials said.

Internet services continued to remain suspended for the third day in Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, and parts of North and South 24 Parganas to prevent rumourmongering and circulation of fake news on social media.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to lead a rally from Jadavpur to Bhawanipore in south Kolkata against the citizenship law.

The BJP is also set to take out rallies across the state in support of the amended Act.

Banerjee, who has consistently opposed the citizenship law, had on Monday dared the Centre to dismiss her government, and asserted that the new Act could only be implemented in the state on her "dead body".

The state government has also "stayed" preparations for the National Population Register (NPR).

Curfew was also eased for 13 hours in Shillong on Tuesday even as the state administration continued to restrict mobile messaging services in the state.

No violence, however, has been reported in the state since Monday.