Home secy holds meeting with GJMM

SILIGURI, Nov. 25: The State home secretary, Mr Ashok Mohan Chakrabarty called upon the GJMM leadership today to allow the district administration and the Darjeeling Hill Council to carry on with the developmental activities in the Darjeeling hills.
Mr Chakravarty held a review meeting on the law and order situation with the senior administrative and police officials of the district. The district magistrate, the additional district magistrate, the inspector general of police, North Bengal, the district superintendent of police and others attended in the hour-long closed door meeting at the SLG Circuit House. The home secretary, however, refused to divulge the details of the meeting.
Dwelling upon the continuing unrest in the hills he said that the state administration was aware about the gravity of the situation. “It is unfortunate that all development work in the district has come to a halt due to the ongoing non-cooperation movement by the agitating hill-based outfit. Several important work like road repairs and drinking water supply has been severely affected,” he said.
When asked whether the state government will continue to keep a low profile if the GJMM agitation turns violent in the future, the home secretary said that the state government hoped that the proposed second round of tripartite negotiation will yield positive results and the situation will not turn volatile.
On whether the state government apprehended that the tribal unrest in south Bengal would spill over in the hitherto peaceful northern part of the state, Mr Chakravarty answered in the negative. “The grievances of the tribal community in the region are being addressed. The tribal representatives will meet the Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner Mr BL Meena on 6 December to apprise him of the development related problems being encountered by the community,” he said.
"However, we are worried over certain developments in Cooch Behar and the Dooars in Jalpaiguri. To resolve our apprehension, we are augmenting the police force in the region,” he said.
Expressing grief over the sudden demise of the veteran Siliguri Municipal Corporation mayor Bikash Ghosh, the state home secretary said that his acquaintance with the late mayor dated back to the days when the late leader had cooperated with the state government in establishing the SLG Development Bank.