Tuesday, August 23 2005 19:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Shillong: With the social organizations withdrawing their indefinite public curfew on the issue of bifurcation of the Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education, the Government has lifted the curfew from greater Shillong area from tonight (Aug 23, 2005).

The district magistrate of East Khasi Hills D P Wahalang ordered the lifting of the curfew from the area from 9 pm tonight, official sources said.

The curfew was clamped first in two police station areas from August 8 and extended to the entire capital town to tackle the situation arising out of the prolonged agitation by a host of social organizations in four Meghalaya districts.

With the improvement in the situation after Independence Day, only night curfew from 7 pm to 5 pm was clamped. The time was further relaxed to begin at 9 pm.

The social organizations 21 including the Khasi Students Union (KSU), had announced the withdrawal of their indefinite public curfew in East and West Khasi, Ri-bhoi and Jaintia Hills districts from 6 pm tonight.

But they will hold a two-day picketing in Government offices from tomorrow, as per a decision taken at a meeting of the social organizations in Shillong, yesterday (Aug 23. 2005), KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling said.

No reason was given for the lifting of the public curfew, which had affected the movement of vehicles bound for central Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and other places along the national highways during the nights.

The social outfits from August 4, except Sundays and festival days launched it in the four districts.