Tura, March 12: Residents of Tura woke up on Thursday to scenes of widespread destruction of public and private property following mob attacks that rocked the town the previous day. However, displaying resilience, citizens came out onto the streets early in the morning to clear debris and stand guard in their respective localities.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma visited several affected areas to witness the scale of the damage firsthand and interacted with residents, assuring them of the government’s help and support.
Most of the damage from the mob violence was reported in the Araimile locality, where a building was set on fire and several shops were looted. In Hawakhana, the office of the National People’s Party was ransacked, while a wine store and a motor spare parts shop were looted.
In the Nakham Bazar area, a motor repair garage was burnt down along with several vehicles parked inside the premises. Meanwhile, in the main market area of Tura, a religious place of worship was vandalised and set ablaze.
In the affected localities, particularly Araimile, residents began clearing the streets from early morning. Roads were strewn with broken bottles, stones, boulders and other projectiles left behind after the violence.
A semblance of normalcy is slowly returning to Tura after two days of lawlessness that began with protests opposing non-tribal participation in the upcoming elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC). The elections were eventually postponed by the government amid widespread demonstrations.
However, the protests were later hijacked by miscreants, leading to vandalism and arson attacks in both Tura and Williamnagar, resulting in significant damage to property.
