GUWAHATI: With curfew relaxed for 9 hours in Bara Bazar of Shillong, the market area sprang back to life on Sunday with people seen busy buying essential commodities.
Shopkeepers too breathed a sigh of relief. The biggest traditional market in Meghalaya wore a deserted look all these days following the recent spate of violence in Shillong.
Some of the vendors were forced to sell their produce at throwaway rates or even worse dump them as they were unable to reach the customers.
After the recent violence in Meghalaya, life is slowly limping back to normal in Shillong.
At least seven to eight individuals were stabbed in a part of the market including Bara Bazaar and curfew was clamped in the city.
Now with things slowly improving the fear in the market is taking a turn for the better.
“Now it’s becoming normal. with the relaxation of curfew people are having time to shop in the markets,” said a shopkeeper from Shillong.
“Only local people are shopping. We haven’t seen any tourists or outsiders. All the people present in the market are local people,” said another shopkeeper.
Although there was not much inflow of people from far-flung villages on Sunday, the market nonetheless was crowded with people from all parts of the city rushing to Barabazar to do some quick shopping.
The East Khasi Hills district administration had relaxed curfew in Barabazar till 04:00 PM on Sunday and in Police Bazar, the curfew was relaxed till 08:00 PM.
