Darjeeling bandh passes off peacefully

Shubhadeep Choudhury 

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, September 28

The dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in the hill areas of Darjeeling district of West Bengal today evoked good response.

Private businesses remained shut in the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. There was also very little movement of vehicular traffic in the area. 

Warnings issued from Kolkata ensured that employees were present at the state government run offices. However, there was hardly anyone around to avail their services as ordinary people preferred to stay put at home.

The bandh was called by the GJM to protest against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent claim that Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has been allocated Rs 4,000 crore by the state government.

The GJM, however, raked up the separate Gorkhaland issue as well. A statement by GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said, “Those opposing Gorkhaland will get energy if the bandh is unsuccessful.”

“There was no major incident of violence. A total of 304 people across the three subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong were detained by police for trying to enforce the bandh forcefully”, Anurag Srivastava, District Magistrate of Darjeeling, told this reporter.

Srivastava said attendance of the employees in state government offices was about 97 per cent.

The DM also informed that all ration shops of the three hill sub-divisions remained open. Government-run passenger transport vehicles including the toy-train service between Darjeeling and New Jalpaiguri also ran as per schedule.

Those detained today included Kalimpong MLA Sarita Rai and senior GJM leader RB Bhujel. Irate Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters took out a procession at Kalimpong to protest against Rai’s detention.

A car carrying a flag of Trinamool Congress was also set ablaze at Kalimpong. Trinamool Congress supporters also brought out rallies raising the pitch against the GJM supporters. Thankfully, the two sides did not come to blows.