Darjeeling: The 12-hour strike called by the All Gorkha Students’ Union (Agsu) in the Darjeeling hills today drew a mixed response from the people.
While the bandh was near total in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik, it went largely unnoticed in the Kalimpong subdivision.
The apolitical students’ body had called the strike in support of a 7-point charter of demands, including the setting up of a central technical university and the granting of tribal status to all Gorkha communities before the hills are included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Buoyed by the success of the strike, Roshan Giri, the president of the Agsu’s central committee, said the state government should now seriously look into their demands.
“The people have shown that they are with us. We are hopeful that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will reverse his decision to set up the central university in Darjeeling instead of Jalpaiguri,” he said.
The Agsu leader further said in case the government did not react favourably to their demands, the students’ body would call a 48-hour general strike by the end of the month. “We will also hold rallies and hunger strikes both in Calcutta and Delhi in support of our demand,” said Giri.
Early in the morning today senior GNLF leaders, including Deepak Gurung, president, GNLF’s Darjeeling branch committee, were seen at Chowk Bazaar in Darjeeling town “requesting” people to open their shops. However, even members of the GNLF-affiliated Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Transport Joint Action Committee stayed off the roads and the GNLF leaders soon dispersed. The GNLF was able to open shops in the Bijanbari-Kaijalay area around 10 am but all other parts of the Darjeeling subdivision remained shut. Educational institutions and offices, including the GNLF-controlled Darjeeling Municipality, were closed for the day.
No untoward incidents were reported from anywhere in the hills, as police personnel were seen posted at all important points across the three subdivisions.
The strike in the hills, however, adversely affected the hundreds of tourists who arrived in Siliguri on their way to Darjeeling and other tourist spots, as transport to the destinations was unavailable.
“Most of them were unaware of the strike and were forced to alter their travel plans and stay in Siliguri for the day,” said Samrat Sanyal, the secretary of the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators’ Association.
Source: The Telegraph
While the bandh was near total in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik, it went largely unnoticed in the Kalimpong subdivision.The apolitical students’ body had called the strike in support of a 7-point charter of demands, including the setting up of a central technical university and the granting of tribal status to all Gorkha communities before the hills are included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Buoyed by the success of the strike, Roshan Giri, the president of the Agsu’s central committee, said the state government should now seriously look into their demands.
“The people have shown that they are with us. We are hopeful that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will reverse his decision to set up the central university in Darjeeling instead of Jalpaiguri,” he said.
The Agsu leader further said in case the government did not react favourably to their demands, the students’ body would call a 48-hour general strike by the end of the month. “We will also hold rallies and hunger strikes both in Calcutta and Delhi in support of our demand,” said Giri.
Early in the morning today senior GNLF leaders, including Deepak Gurung, president, GNLF’s Darjeeling branch committee, were seen at Chowk Bazaar in Darjeeling town “requesting” people to open their shops. However, even members of the GNLF-affiliated Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Transport Joint Action Committee stayed off the roads and the GNLF leaders soon dispersed. The GNLF was able to open shops in the Bijanbari-Kaijalay area around 10 am but all other parts of the Darjeeling subdivision remained shut. Educational institutions and offices, including the GNLF-controlled Darjeeling Municipality, were closed for the day.
No untoward incidents were reported from anywhere in the hills, as police personnel were seen posted at all important points across the three subdivisions.
The strike in the hills, however, adversely affected the hundreds of tourists who arrived in Siliguri on their way to Darjeeling and other tourist spots, as transport to the destinations was unavailable.
“Most of them were unaware of the strike and were forced to alter their travel plans and stay in Siliguri for the day,” said Samrat Sanyal, the secretary of the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators’ Association.
Source: The Telegraph
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