Doomdooma: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Thursday staged a symbolic “funeral procession” of the state’s Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Department in Doomdooma, protesting the unabated rise in prices of essential commodities and other daily necessities.
The protest was organised across Assam following a call by the AASU central committee.
In Doomdooma, activists of the Doomdooma regional unit took out the symbolic funeral procession through the heart of the town, expressing strong resentment against the BJP-led state government over the rising cost of essential commodities.
The protesters demanded immediate intervention to control the prices of essential goods and provide relief to the common people from the mounting burden of inflation.
AASU Central Committee president Utpal Sarma, speaking on Thursday evening, criticised the state government over what he described as the failure of the Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Department to address the price rise.
“Do you know which department of the Assam government has turned into a dead body? It is the Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Department,” Sarma said.
“At a time when the prices of essential commodities should have been coming down, the continued rise in prices is dealing a severe blow to the common people,” he said.
Sarma further alleged that the government claims to be a government of the people before elections, but after elections, “it appears to turn into a government that protects the interests of big capitalists and business groups.”
“The government must wake up. It must provide relief to the common people from the blow of unchecked price rises in essential commodities. Until the prices are brought down, the continuity of our protests will remain,” Sarma warned.
The students’ body also warned that failure to reduce the prices of essential commodities would prompt it to launch a sustained and broader agitation across the state.
Doomdooma AASU regional unit president Dhiraj Gohain, secretary Samujjwal Bora Sonowal and activists from various branches of the organisation were present during the demonstration.