Darjeeling march of BOBBBC to protest Gorkhaland... Communist Dies in Hills.... Student Commits Suicide for delay on Telangana

TT, Jan. 19: Members of the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee, an anti-Gorkha Janmukti Morcha forum in the plains, will march to Darjeeling on January 23 to protest the hill party’s statehood agitation.

“Coinciding with the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who had given a call for Delhi Chalo, we will launch Darjeeling Chalo. It will commence from Baghajatin Park here and conclude in Darjeeling,” said Mukunda Majumdar, the forum president. “Our supporters, devoid of any arms, will march peacefully to voice our protests. We can no longer tolerate the silence of the central and state governments which is encouraging the Morcha to create inconvenience by raising road blockades, calling strikes and closing government offices.”

Wherever they are stopped by police, the forum members will block road, Majumdar said. “We will set up indefinite road blockades and burn effigies of Morcha leaders.”

The Amra Bangalee, another anti-Morcha outfit in the plains, said it would introduce Bangali Bahini, a squad of volunteers in uniforms on the line of Gorkhaland Personnel raised by the hill party, on January 23.

“We will organise a rally and public meeting in Siliguri, voicing our protests against Gorkhaland. Our workers are aware of the Morcha announcement of two-hour road blockade from January 21 and will oppose if any such blockade is set up in the plains,” said Khushiranjan Mondal, the north Bengal regional secretary of the party. “Causing inconvenience to people, students and the daily commuters in the plains will not be tolerated.”

The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, which was supposed to start a four-hour blockade in the Dooars and the Terai indefinitely from yesterday, however, has not launched the agitation. “Considering the present state of affairs and the coming Madhyamik exams, we have postponed our programme,” said Rajesh Lakra, the general secretary of the Dooars Terai Regional Unit of the Parishad.

The district administration said it was monitoring the situation. “We are keeping a close watch and are well aware of the developments. The administration will intervene in an appropriate manner to avoid any untoward incident whenever necessary,” said Surendra Gupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling.

Communist dies in hills

TT, Darjeeling, Jan. 19: A veteran communist leader of the hills, Harka Bahadur Rai, who was elected to the Assembly twice, passed away in a Siliguri nursing home today. The 73-year-old was admitted to the nursing home with anaemia yesterday and breathed his last around noon today. Rai is survived by his son and two daughters, said D.S. Bomzom, the spokesperson of the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CRPM), the outfit the leader had founded in 1996. Rai quit the CPM and formed the CPRM along with leaders like R.B. Rai, a former MP of Darjeeling, protesting the Left party’s refusal to grant separate statehood to the hills. A resident of Dooteria tea garden, Rai was the MLA of Kurseong in 1982 and 1987. “He was also a member of the CPM’s state committee,” said Bomzom. He had participated during the first labour apprising in the hills on June 25, 1955. “During the movement, six persons had died in a police firing at the Margaret Hope garden near Kurseong.” Roshan Giri, general secretary, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, has condoled Rai’s death. “We pray for the soul,” he said. Night violence rocks riverbank, 18 held The almost dried-up river. (Kundan Yolmo) TT, Siliguri, Jan. 19: Supporters of the Congress and the RSP clashed late last night over the possession of a stretch of a riverbank. Four policemen were injured and 18 people were arrested. The bank of the Mahananda is part of Ward 3 in South Baghajatin Colony. At 11.30pm yesterday, about 200 people, split in two groups backed by the Congress and the RSP, started accusing each other of trying to “capture” the riverbank of 10 bighas. Jeevan Majumdar, the general secretary of the Darjeeling district Congress, alleged that former ward councillor and RSP leader Rambhajan Mahato was illegally selling the riverbank as plots of land. To counter it, the Congress decided to pitch its party flags on the bank. The planting of flags was supposed to take place last night. “However, when our supporters reached the location late last night, the RSP members attacked us without any provocation.” The police arrived but they were pelted with stones. Majumdar accused the police of partisan attitude. “Instead of bringing the situation under control, the police arrested our supporters.” This morning, Majumdar, along with about 100 supporters met the additional superintendent of police (ASP) and demanded immediate action against the RSP backed hooligans. He said all the 18 arrested were Congress supporters. Anju Mahato, the wife of Rambhajan and the present councillor of Ward 3, has denied the allegations of selling the riverbank. “When they tried to pitch the party flags on the embankment, our supporters protested. The Congress men attacked us and pelted our houses with stones while abusing us,” she said. Gaurav Sharma, the ASP, said: “Since there was no prior intimation of the gathering, we visited the spot to prevent a law and order deterioration. Four of our men were injured. We fired four rounds of teargas and arrested 18 people.”

Student Commits Suicide for delay on Telangana

IANS, Hyderabad:Tension prevailed in the Osmania University campus in Hyderabad on Tuesday as students of all varsities in the Telangana region boycotted examinations after one of them committed suicide over the delay in carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.

Venugopal Reddy, an MCA student, set himself ablaze at Osmania University. His body was found in the campus early Tuesday, police said.

A suicide note left by Reddy said he was disappointed over the delay in formation of Telangana state and feared that it would not become a reality. He also appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to help in formation of a separate state.

Reddy, a native of Nalgonda district, was a student of Lalita College of Engineering at Uppal in the city.

His suicide triggered protests at the campus with Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students and teachers staging a protest with the body on the campus. The JAC leaders were demanding that the government pay Rs.5 lakh compensation to his family.

JAC also gave a call for a two-day shutdown in Telangana and urged students across the region to boycott examinations.

Additional police forces rushed to the university, the nerve centre of the ongoing Telangana agitation.

The student's suicide came a day after JAC began a march to urge the central government to immediately initiate the process for formation of Telangana state. The 20-day march through the region will conclude with a public meeting in Warangal.

Meanwhile, protests also broke out at Kakatiya University in Warangal, Satavahana University in Karimnagar and Palamuru University in Mahabubnagar. Students boycotted examinations.

JAC had already given a call for two-day protest against the decision of the universities to conduct the examinations as per schedule. The examinations began Tuesday despite the appeal by JAC and political parties to conduct them only after completion of the courses.

The Telangana agitation, which began in November, affected teaching in all universities. Some student bodies have decided not to appear for examinations till the state is carved out.