Bandh shock for traders

Alipurduar June 13: Alleged supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha prevented a group of traders of Hamiltangunj from selling their goods in a weekly market at Central Dooars Tea Estate in Kalchini yesterday.

The move is being seen as retaliatory act as the traders in Hamiltangunj had kept their shops open on Tuesday despite an indefinite bandh called by the Morcha from that day. The hill party, which has a large support base in the Dooars, had said its bandh would be enforced across the territory it has marked as Gorkhaland.

Like other Thursdays, the Hamiltangunj traders had set out for the garden, 8km away, with their wares on a truck yesterday afternoon. But though they reached the market, they were not allowed to get down from the vehicle.

However, traders from Kalchini and Alipurduar, who also came for the weekly market, were allowed to open their shops.

The move has angered the trading community in Hamiltangunj, which lodged a complaint with the Kalchini police station yesterday.

“This is very unfortunate,” said Barun Mitra, the president of the Hamiltangunj Byabsayee Samiti.

Mitra said on Tuesday, two policemen had forcibly downed the shutter of a paan shop and assaulted a cobbler. Enraged by the incident, people in the area had damaged two police vehicles.

“What happened on Tuesday was between the police and the people of Hamiltangunj, and not with the Morcha supporters. No Morcha supporter had asked us to close our shops,” he said.

After the complaint, the police today called a meeting between the businessmen and Morcha leaders to sort out the differences, Mitra said. “Otherwise the same problem will recur on Sunday when we will go to the market.”

A weekly market also sits at Hamiltangunj in Kalchini on every Sunday. “We do not want the local businessmen to shut the people of Central Dooars out of the market,” Mitra added.

Gopal Haldar, the circle inspector of Kalchini, said: “We have received the complaint from the traders and have started a case.”