Gurung revises deadline for state | ||
TT: Darjeeling, July 17: Bimal Gurung today asked his supporters to have “patience” to achieve Gorkhaland and said it could take more time to fulfil the dream of a separate state than the deadline he had set. The president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had earlier said if he could not achieve Gorkhaland by March 10, 2010, he would shoot himself in front of his supporters. Today, Gurung, said he still believed in his deadline, but added hurriedly that it could also be delayed a bit. “March 10, 2010 was my vision. We are technically working towards achieving Gorkhaland within that period. However, there would be some delay or maybe, it could be achieved earlier also. Even God can make mistakes. I am just a human being,” Gurung said at Gymkhana Club, where the booklet,Why Gorkhaland, was released and distributed to the gathering. Gurung turned the tables on the people and spoke of his commitment towards the cause. “Today is my birthday and I cannot lie. Chief minister had asked me to run the DGHC with more power and money on March 11, 2008. I did not accept the offer because I will accept nothing less than Gorkhaland. One must never run after power,” he said.“If you really want Gorkhaland, you must have patience.” The leader said the GNLF leaders in Siliguri were looking at coming up to the hills after March 2010. “Apart from them, there are a lot of other opportunists also. I have said we will need more time and if the people do not want me but want these opportunists, I have nothing to say. I will sacrifice myself for the cause of Gorkhaland,” said Gurung. MPs meet minister In New Delhi, the two MPs of Sikkim, P.D. Rai and O.T. Lepcha, on Friday took up with Union home Minister P. Chidambaram the hardship being faced by the people of the state because of the indefinite bandh called by the Morcha. Both the parliamentarians requested the Union minister to enhance the helicopter services to Sikkim immediately to tide over the emergencies. |
Relief for Sikkim extended - Morcha exempts educational institutions, tea gardens and cinchona plantations from strike | ||
TT, Darjeeling, July 17: From Monday, all educational institutions, tea gardens and cinchona plantations will be exempt from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s indefinite strike, the party announced today. The Morcha has also decided to extend the relaxation to the vehicles bearing Sikkim numberplates from 6am tomorrow to 6am on July 23. “Sikkim vehicles can ply along NH31A from tomorrow to 6am on July 23. Other vehicles bearing Bengal registration numberplates will not be allowed to ply. Shops and other establishments along the highway will, however, remain closed during the relaxation period,” said Binay Tamang, the party’s assistant secretary. Yesterday, the Morcha had said the relaxation to Sikkim vehicles would be given only between 6am and 6pm tomorrow. “Sikkim has been supporting our cause and as we also want to strengthen the bond between the two areas, we have decided to provide a longer relaxation,” said Tamang. The party has not, however, decided to provide any relief to people of the urban areas. “Today, we wrote to the Union home ministry saying that the tripartite talks on Gorkhaland must be held at a political level in July itself. If we do not receive any communication from the Centre before July 23 morning, we will close down NH31A and also review the relaxation we announced today,” said Tamang. The Morcha leader made the announcement following an emergency meeting of the party’s central committee at Darjeeling Gymkhana Club soon after the release of a booklet, Why Gorkhaland. Earlier, during the day, while addressing a gathering, Morcha chief Bimal Gurung had said he was aware that people were facing inconvenience because of the strike. |
GJMM keeps schools, tea industry away from bandh
SNS: KURSEONG, 17 JULY: The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leadership has excluded schools, tea plantations and the cinchona plantation from the purview of its indefinite bandh enforced in the Darjeeling hills on 13 July. According to the GJMM assistant secretary, Mr Binay Tamang, all schools, tea plantations and the cinchona plantation would function normally from 20 July. He also specified that the relaxation extended to all education institutions. Incidentally, the Darjeeling tea industry had appealed to the GJMM to keep the industry out of the bandh for practical reasons.
Mr Tamang further informed that the National Highway 31A, which is the lifeline to Sikkim would remain open for Sikkim vehicles from 18 July to 23 July. “Only vehicles sporting Sikkim number plates would be allowed to ply on the highway during the relaxation,” he said. Mr Tamang demanded the tripartite talks on Gorkhaland be held in July instead of the proposed date in August and if the talks fail to materialise in July, they would again close the NH 31A from 23 July, 6 pm onwards.Chidambaram assures early NH 31 reopening
GANGTOK, 17 JULY: The Union home minister, Mr P Chidambaram has assured early re-opening of the National Highway 31A, which has been caught up in the GJMM sponsored indefinite Darjeeling bandh, inconveniencing the people of the Himalayan state to the extreme. The Union minister's assurance was made to the Sikkim MP Mr PD Rai after the MP drew the Home minister's attention towards the hardship being faced by the people of Sikkim due to the holding up of the highway by the GJMM. Mr Rai and the Sikkim Rajya Sabha MP Mr OT Lepcha urged Mr Chidambaram to increase the size of the helicopter that flew between Sikkim and Bagdogra to tide over emergencies. Mr Chidambaram assured them the Centre was keeping a close watch on the situation in the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim. Meanwhile, the state Food & Civil Supplies minister Mr DB Thapa has assured that his department was alert to the situation arising out of the bandh in the Darjeeling hills. He assured there was no shortage of essential commodities in the state. A release from the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) informs that Mr Thapa has appealed the people not to panic while reiterating that his department and the government would not allow shortage of essential commodities and price hike in the bazaars.
TH: KOLKATA, 17 July: The police administration in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, where the bandh called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) in the hills entered the fifth day on Friday, has sought the deployment of Central paramilitary forces and additional companies of the State police.
“We have sought deployment of six companies of paramilitary forces as well as additional battalions of the State’s Rapid Action Force” Rahul Srivastava, Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling, told The Hindu over the phone.
The local police authorities have drawn up a contingency plan in the event of the law and order situation in the hills deteriorating and necessitating the use of force. Most of the thanas in the region are under-staffed.
The police had chosen to maintain a “non-confrontationist” attitude till the plan that had been sent to the State government was put into effect, Mr Srivastava said. But of growing concern to the local administration were moves by the GJM to set up what a section of the local authorities perceived was “a form of parallel administration” in the hills.
Even as normal life continued to be crippled in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, bands of young volunteers of an ostensibly “peacekeeping” outfit of the GJM called “Gorkhaland Personnel” were reportedly moving around in certain areas to enforce the bandh. The outfit was viewed as one of the faces of the emerging “parallel administration.”
Members of the “Gorkhaland Personnel” who were being trained by ex-servicemen in camps across the hills were largely drawn from among the local youth. The outfit was raised last year, according to the local police.
“Whether they are provided arms is not important. What is important is the sentiment that draws them into becoming volunteers and the hierarchical structure within which they function,” a senior police official said.
According to intelligence reports reaching the administration, the strength of the outfit is between 300 and 500. The GJM, though, claims that the figure is a lot higher. Seven training camps have been set up across the hills for volunteers of the outfit.
The GJM leadership reiterated during the day that the bandh it called in support of the demand for a separate State would continue indefinitely.
| Gorkha bandh: Darjeeling tea industry at a loss of Rs 1 cr/day |
| PTI Siliguri July 17, 2009, 13:29 IST: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's indefinite bandh since July 13 has seriously hit the tea industry in the region causing a whopping loss of Rs 1 crore daily. |
"If we fail to supply international buyers they will shift to other countries like Nepal and China. They are not concerned about our problems," he added.
"The industry from the beginning of this fiscal has been plagued with problems one after another and the GJM bandh is the last nail in the coffin. If the bandh is not immediately called off many gardens would have no option but to close," he shared.
GJM demands tripartite meeting on Gorkhaland
IANS, Siliguri (West Bengal), July 17 : The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) Friday sent a fax message to the central government demanding that a tripartite meeting on its demand for a separate Gorkhaland state be called early and decided to partially relax the ongoing shutdown in Darjeeling district from Monday.
Bandh supporters run riot in Siliguri, CPM councillors driven out of SMC | |||||||||||||||||||
TT, Siliguri, July 17: Congress supporters allegedly drove two CPM councillors out of their chambers at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, ransacked the head post office and damaged seven vehicles during the 12-hour bandh today. In the morning, the pro-bandh supporters, who assembled at Hashmi Chowk and shouted slogans against the Mangalkot incident, ransacked five private vehicles. The strike disrupted train and flight services in north Bengal. Two flights bound for Calcutta from Bagdogra were cancelled. The Darjeeling Mail reached New Jalpaiguri around 11.30am after it was detained at Aluabari for some hours, Several other long-distance trains were also held up in different stations, officials said. Around 10am, a group of youths went to Siliguri Head Post Office and broke the main door and glass panes at the counters. A North Bengal State Transport Corporation bus, which was on way to Baghajatin Park to pick up defence personnel, was the next target. It was stoned and ransacked in front of police. A truck was also damaged at Champasari. An hour-and-a-half later, a group of Congress members entered the SMC premises. They allegedly shoved Paritosh Das, member, mayor-in-council (urban poverty eradication), and Moushumi Hazra, the chairperson of the borough committee-III, and drove them out of their chambers. Some of the employees, who were in the office, were asked to leave immediately, a civic employee present there said. “As the SMC is run by the CPM, we cannot recall an incident when the supporters of any anti-Left party have entered the building and forced to close down the departments during bandh.” Mayor Nurul Islam accused the Congress supporters and councillors led by Darjeeling district president Shankar Malakar of creating the trouble. “Our councillors were assaulted and the employees were dragged from their seats. We will file police complaints against them. Two drivers were also heckled,” he said. After the incident, CPM members started sloganeering in front of their party office. Within minutes, a procession by Congress and Chhatra Parishad supporters and a motorcycle rally of Intuc workers passed the street, creating tension. Senior police officers, however, tackled the situation. “The strike was a total success,” Malakar said. The CPM leaders brought out two rallies in quick succession to protest against the incident at the SMC, which covered short distance on Hill Cart Road. “Whatever happened today has left us stunned,” CPM’s urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said. “The police have failed to deliver their duties.” TT: Calcutta, July 17: A government that had started its stint with the slogan of Do It Now has adopted as its undeclared policy Don’t Do Anything Now. From the besieged hills of Darjeeling to bandh-bound Calcutta, the government appears to be unable, or even unwilling, to act. Chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti explained the position thus: “The government has to weigh the pros and cons of every administrative action. The costs of such action will have to be considered too. If police march into a troubled territory and fire at people, there’s always the chance of some innocent people getting killed. In that case, the government has to face the music. So the administration has got to be patient.” It seems its patience has such longevity that the administration will stand and watch public property being burnt one after another, which happened yesterday when so-called Congress supporters torched buses, and will do nothing to protect private property either. In Broad Street in south Calcutta, a group of bandh supporters ransacked two eateries for daring to open their doors. Mohammad Rafique, the owner of one, said: “I told them that all the food we made last night was perishable but they threw it away and broke my earthen stoves.” “There were three of them (police) but they just stood aside and watched. What kind of protection is that?” he asked. When citizens don’t feel secure in a situation there is a description for it: collapse of law and order and, by extension, of government. In such circumstances, resigning is an option, the one Mamata Banerjee wants Delhi to force on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The CPM, however, is hoping — just as the administration is — that merit lies in being patient, that the Opposition will dig a hole for itself and creep in. CPM state secretary Biman Bose said: “Let the people realise who these elements are and what their real character is,” when he was asked why the administration had failed to stop the Opposition’s acts of vandalism he had listed. That the official party line is to wait and watch and hope for the best became evident at the CPM state secretariat meeting this evening. “The people’s recent mandate (Lok Sabha polls) didn’t empower us to take strong action to ensure peace and normality. Let voters now judge the worth of those they have invited to replace us,” a secretariat member said. Bose said: “The lawlessness of the last two days underlined the advent of the forces of anarchy of the seventies.” The chief secretary’s helpless comment today demonstrated the government’s surrender to these “forces of anarchy”. Having promised yesterday that publicly owned buses would run during the bandh, he was reduced to apologising: “I am really sorry for people who left their homes today because of my assurance.” The CPM and its government have their compulsions in not causing conflict with the Congress because hope lies in encouraging distance between that party and its new ally Trinamul. But Citu, its labour wing, helped implement the bandh by calling a transport strike of its own ostensibly in protest against the torching of state buses. If the Citu was protesting, the administration was expressing fear. The result was the same: the absence of transport. Sumantra Chowdhury, transport secretary, said: “Yesterday, so many buses had been damaged and set on fire. So we decided not to bring out state transport buses today. There was insecurity.” When a government itself is afraid, can it protect citizens? A senior home department official said: “What will happen to law and order and public security? Public property is being damaged or being set ablaze. Political killings are being reported from the districts. The government is in no mood to act and is a mere spectator. If this is the trend, people will go berserk at every minor provocation.” They are: from Nandigram to Lalgarh to Sealdah and Howrah. The policy of Don’t Do Anything Now goes back to when Mamata blockaded a national highway for a fortnight. It led to the Tatas walking out. If that is the lesson, continuation of this strategy till the 2011 Assembly polls, as many have come to expect, could provoke voters into doing something. | |||||||||||||||||||
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