Assam government has declared a public holiday under the Negotiable Instrument (NI) Act in the state's 16 districts going to polls in the first phase of the Panchayat elections on December 5.
All Government/Non Government offices, educational institutions and business establishments including banks, tea garden and industries in those 16 districts will remain closed on the day, an official release said Friday.
The 16 districts are Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Majuli, Golaghat, Nagaon, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Darrang, Morigaon, Kamrup (M) and Kamrup District.
Panchayat elections in the state will be held in two phases on December 5 and 9. The counting will take place on December 12.