GUWAHATI: The district administration in Arunachal Pradesh’s Itanagar on Wednesday ordered internet service providers to shut down “mobile internet including wi-fi services” in the capital region for 48 hours starting 5pm.
The shutdown, which started at 5pm on Wednesday and will continue till 5pm on Friday, is in response to a 36-hour state ‘bandh’ from January 13 called by the All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA), which is demanding chief minister Pema Khandu’s resignation on alleged corruption charges.
Stating that the ‘bandh’ call was illegal on the basis of a Supreme Court order, Talo Potom, district magistrate of Itanagar, directed BSNL and all other private internet service providers to suspend mobile internet including wi-fi services in the capital region.
In his order, Potom said that the move was necessary “to prevent occurrence of serious law and order problems” during the proposed ‘bandh’ called by ANYA.
Last month, ANYA, which is the premier youth association of the Nyishi tribe, had levelled corruption charges against Khandu and asked him to respond within 15 days.
On December 30, the association demanded Khandu’s resignation within seven days for failing to respond to the charges. On January 10, ANYA announced a decision to call a 36-hr-long strike demanding his resignation.
{{/usCountry}}On December 30, the association demanded Khandu’s resignation within seven days for failing to respond to the charges. On January 10, ANYA announced a decision to call a 36-hr-long strike demanding his resignation.
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday, the Itanagar district magistrate declared the strike as illegal, and banned the entry of people from outside the capital region unless they have a valid reason or a medical emergency. Potom’s order said there were reports that there will be a huge influx of supporters of bandh call from ditricts to the capital region and such influx may lead to serious law and order problems.