Kurseong Partial Strike

Kurseong , Dist. Darjeeling : The first day of the 48-hour bandh called by the ABGL here evoked a partial response.

The strike was called to protest against the alleged reluctance of the Kurseong Municipality chairman P.C. Agarwal to execute the will of his son Sami. Agarwal junior had died in March 2000 and had reportedly bequeathed all his property to the underprivileged.

Till 10 in the morning today most shops and business establishments remained closed with ABGL supporters asking people across the town to support the strike. At 7am, a shop was ransacked while a vehicle coming in from Mirik was attacked and the driver roughed up, allegedly by ABGL members.

Police swung into action after ten and most of the ABGL leaders were picked up on charges of forcing shopkeepers to pull their shutters down. They were released on bail in the evening.

The GNLF then entered the scene urging people to open their establishments. Soon around 80 per cent of the shops were open. Most of the schools and colleges functioned as usual.

Traffic movement from Siliguri to Darjeeling remained undisturbed and so did the toy train service. However, local taxis and vehicles that go from here to Siliguri did not ply today.

The GNLF supporters stayed on the streets till evening and claimed that the strike was unsuccessful.

“The allegations levelled by the ABGL are totally baseless. A family matter is being dragged onto a political platform. We opposed the strike today and will do so in future. The people listened to us and we are thankful to them,” said N.B. Khawas, the general-secretary of the party’s Kurseong branch.

Countering the claim, the ABGL’s Kurseong secretary Pranoy Thapa said: “Our strike was 100 per cent successful. The people only opened their shops because the GNLF forced them to do so with support from the local administration. We have not withdrawn the strike though we have promised the police that we will not persuade the people to down their shutters tomorrow. They for their part should ensure that GNLF supporters do not pressure the people to open their shops.”

Darjeeling police superintendent Rajesh Subarno said: “A large police contingent had been deployed and no untoward accident was reported from anywhere.”

Source: The Telegraph