Morcha entry plea rejected again
TT, Kalimpong, Jan. 19: The standoff between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the administration continued for the second day with police stopping the nearly 1,500 marchers at Kumani More this afternoon.
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| CRPF jawans patrol Darjeeling town on Wednesday. (Suman Tamang) |
The Morcha marchers had been camping at Samsing on the border of Jalpaiguri district, about 100km from here, since yesterday.
Early this morning, hundreds of Morcha supporters gathered in front of the gates leading to the bungalow of the Samsing tea garden director, demanding that the padayatra from Gorubathan to Jaigaon should be given unhindered passage.
The police, however, refused to budge, maintaining that their entry would create a law and order problem in the Dooars.
Morcha supporters led by members of the Nari Morcha, the party’s women’s wing, shouted slogans in favour of Gorkhaland and against the state government. In between, they burst into songs.
Yesterday, the marchers arrived in Samsing, trekking 22km from Gorubathan after aborting the plan to enter Jalpaiguri district through Malbazar. This afternoon, Morcha vice-president Kalyan Dewan and spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri tried to convince the police officers to allow them entry through Samsing but the request was rejected.
All this while, the Morcha marchers numbering about of 1500, including party president Bimal Gurung remained in the Samsing forest area, which falls in Kalimpong subdivision of Darjeeling district but borders the Dooars.
By 3pm when it was clear that the huge police force with commandos would not budge from Samsing, the marchers started moving towards Kumani tea estate and the forest village by the same name on their way to Khunia More. Khunia in Jalpaiguri district is about 22km from Samsing and is another of the Dooars’s entry points.
The police said the marchers might try to enter the Dooars through the Khunia More either late tonight or tomorrow.
In the evening, the Morcha spokesperson said they had reached Kumani More. Asked about their plans, Chhetri said they were continuing the march.
However, Jalpaiguri police chief Anand Kumar said the marchers had made an attempt to move towards Khunia More but were stopped at Kumani More. “We will not allow them to enter the district at any cost as there is apprehension of trouble,” Kumar said.
Jalpaiguri district magistrate Vandana Yadav said prohibitory orders under Section 144 has been extended in the Dooars to the whole of Friday.
TH, KOLKATA: The Darjeeling hills of West Bengal faced a shutdown for a second day on Wednesday because of the seven-day second phase of bandhs called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership to press for a clarification from the Centre on its stand on the GJM demand for a separate Gorkhaland State.
Tension continued to prevail in the Dooars area where a large contingent of police personnel prevented GJM president Bimal Gurung, his associates and supporters from continuing on their “padayatra” to Jaigaon in Jalpaiguri district – the scene of clashes on Sunday between GJM activists and supporters of rival local outfits opposed to the Statehood demand.
“We have decided to extend by another two days the prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr PC which are already in force in the region. To ensure peace we shall not allow any processions or meetings there,” District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri Vandana Yadav told The Hindu over telephone.
Mr. Gurung and his followers were stopped by the police from proceeding any further at the border separating Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. “They have been trying to make a detour to reach Jaigaon but we have all the roads leading to the town covered”, she added.
Benoy Tamang, the GJM assistant general secretary who is accompanying Mr. Gurung, said that they had been prevented from continuing their ‘padayatra' by a “large contingent of about 2,500 policemen on the highway” leading to Jalpaiguri.
“The authorities have imposed prohibitory orders in the region but we are determined to find a way through to Jaigaon in the next few days”, Mr Tamang said.
Meanwhile, life remained paralysed for the second successive day in the Darjeeling hills where the bandh was “total”. Shops, commercial establishments and offices remained closed but tea gardens have been exempted from the bandh. A rally was held in the hill town where GJM leaders told the congregation “to be prepared to go to the Dooars where the situation is grim in the wake of police high-handedness on our supporters there”.
The anti-GJM Democratic Front criticised the bandh call “which is counter-productive as it is affecting the local economy and the livelihood of the people”.
Doubts over bandhs
“How is the daily wage-earner expected to survive such frequent and prolonged bandhs? We are also doubtful what the bandh is going to achieve even though the GJM claims to have re-intensified its movement for a separate Gorkhaland State,” said Dawa Sherpa, convenor of the Democratic Front, when contacted in Darjeeling.
TH, KOLKATA: The Darjeeling hills of West Bengal faced a shutdown for a second day on Wednesday because of the seven-day second phase of bandhs called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership to press for a clarification from the Centre on its stand on the GJM demand for a separate Gorkhaland State.
Tension continued to prevail in the Dooars area where a large contingent of police personnel prevented GJM president Bimal Gurung, his associates and supporters from continuing on their “padayatra” to Jaigaon in Jalpaiguri district – the scene of clashes on Sunday between GJM activists and supporters of rival local outfits opposed to the Statehood demand.
“We have decided to extend by another two days the prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr PC which are already in force in the region. To ensure peace we shall not allow any processions or meetings there,” District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri Vandana Yadav told The Hindu over telephone.
Mr. Gurung and his followers were stopped by the police from proceeding any further at the border separating Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. “They have been trying to make a detour to reach Jaigaon but we have all the roads leading to the town covered”, she added.
Benoy Tamang, the GJM assistant general secretary who is accompanying Mr. Gurung, said that they had been prevented from continuing their ‘padayatra' by a “large contingent of about 2,500 policemen on the highway” leading to Jalpaiguri.
“The authorities have imposed prohibitory orders in the region but we are determined to find a way through to Jaigaon in the next few days”, Mr Tamang said.
Meanwhile, life remained paralysed for the second successive day in the Darjeeling hills where the bandh was “total”. Shops, commercial establishments and offices remained closed but tea gardens have been exempted from the bandh. A rally was held in the hill town where GJM leaders told the congregation “to be prepared to go to the Dooars where the situation is grim in the wake of police high-handedness on our supporters there”.
The anti-GJM Democratic Front criticised the bandh call “which is counter-productive as it is affecting the local economy and the livelihood of the people”.
Doubts over bandhs
“How is the daily wage-earner expected to survive such frequent and prolonged bandhs? We are also doubtful what the bandh is going to achieve even though the GJM claims to have re-intensified its movement for a separate Gorkhaland State,” said Dawa Sherpa, convenor of the Democratic Front, when contacted in Darjeeling.
DIVIDE AND LOSE
There were no tourists in Darjeeling to celebrate a rare bout of snowfall yesterday. For the people living there, it was a cold, dreary day spent on desperate preparations for another weeklong bandh. But the people’s suffering does not seem to bother their political leaders or the administration. For the politicians, shutting down everything is the easiest way to demonstrate their strength.
Politics in the Darjeeling hills has been reduced to a naked show of muscle power by whichever party reigns there at any given time. For 20 years, it was Subash Ghisingh’s Gorkha National Liberation Front whose word was law there. For the past four years, it has been Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
The administration’s only worry is to ensure that the protests do not get too violent. The demand for statehood or some other form of self-rule may have once inspired the people’s hopes for a better life. But violent, disruptive politics everywhere destroys such hopes. It has been no exception in Darjeeling. The result is an unending cycle of bandhs, violence and intimidation that has made normal, peaceful life in Darjeeling a rare experience.
Politics in the Darjeeling hills has been reduced to a naked show of muscle power by whichever party reigns there at any given time. For 20 years, it was Subash Ghisingh’s Gorkha National Liberation Front whose word was law there. For the past four years, it has been Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
The administration’s only worry is to ensure that the protests do not get too violent. The demand for statehood or some other form of self-rule may have once inspired the people’s hopes for a better life. But violent, disruptive politics everywhere destroys such hopes. It has been no exception in Darjeeling. The result is an unending cycle of bandhs, violence and intimidation that has made normal, peaceful life in Darjeeling a rare experience.
The GJM’s latest protest plans have yet another disturbing dimension. In addition to the bandh in the hills and the Terai, Mr Gurung plans to go on a march through the Dooars. His plans are linked to the GJM’s demand for the inclusion of large parts of the Dooars in the Gorkhaland state that the party has been demanding. Neither the Centre nor the West Bengal government wants the Dooars to be part of any autonomous set-up for Darjeeling. That seems to have made Mr Gurung desperate to try and spread the GJM’s sway to the Dooars.
But his plans have prompted fierce opposition from not only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) but also from several groups representing the tribal people of the Dooars. Unless the politicians rein themselves in, there is real danger of a divide between the hills and the plains. No matter how the politicians try to exploit this to their petty ends, such a divide would be disastrous for the social and economic stability of the entire region. The administration needs to be extremely careful so that this does not happen. Darjeeling’s statehood cause too will suffer if the Dooars burns.(TT, 19 January 2011)
TT, Siliguri, Jan. 19: Nearly 600 people travelling to Gangtok through NH31A were today forced to return to Siliguri after alleged threats by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, prompting tour operators and transporters to block the entrance to the Sikkim Nationalised Transport terminus here for two hours.
“It is shameful on the part of the police administration, which has miserably failed to maintain traffic on NH31A. Tourists coming from different parts of the country had to change their itineraries and many of them have expressed anguish. The halt of vehicles on the highway has also led to losses, both on our part as well as of tourists,” said Samrat Sanyal, the president of the association.
TT, Gangtok, Jan. 19: Authorities here are planning to press into service Sikkim-registered trucks to prevent the shortage of essential commodities as vehicles with Bengal number plates face “subtle threats” along NH31A during the ongoing bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
But his plans have prompted fierce opposition from not only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) but also from several groups representing the tribal people of the Dooars. Unless the politicians rein themselves in, there is real danger of a divide between the hills and the plains. No matter how the politicians try to exploit this to their petty ends, such a divide would be disastrous for the social and economic stability of the entire region. The administration needs to be extremely careful so that this does not happen. Darjeeling’s statehood cause too will suffer if the Dooars burns.(TT, 19 January 2011)
600 travellers forced to return to Siliguri Terminus for Gangtok buses shut in protest
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| Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri addresses a public rally at Chowk Bazaar in Darjeeling on Wednesday. Picture by Suman Tamang |
The transporters alleged that CRPF personnel were not seen on the highway to Sikkim and police presence did little to stop bandh supporters from blocking NH31A at three points between Sevoke and Rangpo. All the vehicles that were sent back had Bengal number plates.
According to the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators’ Association, which spearheaded the protest at the terminus, ever since the Morcha started its 27-day strike on January 12, its supporters have been issuing threats to vehicles registered in Bengal.
Bimal Gurung’s outfit had claimed that it would keep NH31A, Sikkim’s only road link with the rest of the country, outside the purview of the strike.
“The drivers have been regularly complaining to us about threats. Stones were thrown at some vehicles on the first day of the strike. Since then, vehicles registered in Bengal have stopped plying the route to Sikkim. Yesterday, we met the IG to apprise him of the problem,” said Raj Basu, an adviser to the association, today.
“It was on the basis of his (IG) assurance that vehicles resumed travelling to Sikkim today. But the bandh supporters stopped them at Lohapul, Kirne and 27th Mile, and asked them to return to Siliguri. The drivers, after returning here, have specifically said they could not see any CRPF personnel on the highway but only a couple of policemen, who did not intervene to stop the bandh supporters from blocking these vehicles.”
As 33 vehicles returned to Siliguri with around 600 passengers including 150 tourists who had set out for Sikkim, association members and transporters blocked the entrance to SNT terminus on Hill Cart Road.
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| Morcha supporters at a rally at Chowk Bazaar in Darjeeling on Wednesday. Picture by Suman Tamang |
Hundreds of passengers and many SNT buses were left stranded in the terminus during demonstrations. The protesters dispersed around 1.30pm, two hours after they had started demonstrating, after the police assured them that vehicles travelling to the hill state would be escorted to and from Rangpo on the Sikkim border.
Vijay Kumar, who had come from Thane in Maharashtra and was forced to return from Lohapul, 35km from here, submitted a written complaint to the inspector-general of police of north Bengal, Ranvir Kumar.
In the complaint, Vijay Kumar said he was stopped on his way to Gangtok by some local people who threatened him with dire consequences if he did not return to Siliguri. “This has caused my family an additional burden and a loss of Rs 60,000. Please take appropriate action to avoid any such incident and also to safeguard the name of the state,” the complaint read.
The IG, however, said he had not received any complaints from the tour operators. “We have information that some vehicles were sent back to Siliguri but there has been no formal complaint so far. We are thinking of providing escorts (till Rangpo, 80km from Siliguri). The CRPF is patrolling the highway.”
The additional superintendent of police of Kalimpong J. Dorjee said certain preventive arrests were made in Lohapul today. Fifteen bandh supporters have been arrested from the site.
Scramble for Sikkim vehicles to beat bandh designs
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| Siliguri-bound Sikkim vehicles near Rangpo on Wednesday. Picture by Prabin Khaling |
The Sikkim government has also requisitioned vehicles belonging to private power developers as traffic on the highway has come down by 70 per cent despite an assurance by the Morcha that NH31A would be left out of the purview of the strike.
Transporters said most of the private trucks that carried essential items from Siliguri bear Bengal number plates and some “unidentified” groups had been giving “subtle warnings” to the drivers at places like Melli and Teesta along NH31A.
“Our drivers reported that there were some people who were noting down the registration numbers of trucks coming to Gangtok from Siliguri yesterday and today. The drivers were told that they were being let off this time, clearly hinting that there could be trouble if the vehicles hit the road again,” said a transporter.
The East Sikkim collector, D. Anandan, said he had met a delegation of Sikkim transporters and urged them to operate their vehicles to ferry essential commodities from Siliguri to the Himalayan state.
“We have assured them that if they co-operate to ply their vehicles, we will provide security along the highway from Rangpo to Melli,” said Anandan. “It is necessary that items for daily use are adequately stocked given the long duration of the strike.”
The strike in the Darjeeling hills had resumed yesterday after a two-day break and will extend till February 12 with four days of relief in between. The shutdown hasn’t affected the supply of the essentials to Sikkim yet, though the number of vehicles has gone down.
“The highway is open, but traffic is thin. Around 1,000 vehicles move up and down on a normal day, but this has come down to 200 to 300. But there have been no untoward incidents along the highway,” said B. K. Sundas, the subdivisional police officer of Rangpo.
NH31A is the only road link between Sikkim and the rest of the country.
Transport department officials said private power developers in the state had been asked to send their trucks to ensure smooth supply of goods during the strike.
“We are trying to run only Sikkim-registered vehicles along the highway to avoid any problems,” said a transport department official.
Sikkim Democratic Front spokesperson and MP P.D. Rai said the chief minister would raise the hardships faced by the people of the state during bandhs at a meeting on internal security called by the Prime Minister in New Delhi on February 1.
Jai Bimal Daju
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