Strike to go on, says Morcha - 200 students to return to hill schools today amid bandh

Darjeeling, June 22: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced that it would strengthen its picketers across the hills from tomorrow to strictly enforce the strike now that “the tourists had left” even as a group of 200-odd students from Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh are planning to return to Darjeeling after their summer break tomorrow.

Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha, today said: “We have allowed smooth passage of tourists for the past four days and it is only expected that all tourists have left town. From tomorrow we will increase picketers across the Darjeeling hills and only those who have emergencies to attend to like job interviews, medical treatment will be given a free passage.” Only those schools having internal term exams were exempted from the strike, he said.

In fact, the Morcha today started picketing in Singamari area (where the party’s office is situated) to check whether vehicles “were moving with proper documents”. The Morcha-affiliated All Hill Transport Joint Action Committee, a union of transporters, has been entrusted with the job of issuing “passes” during the strike.

Meanwhile, a group of 200-odd students from Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh are expected to reach Darjeeling tomorrow, after the Morcha issued permission for their “safe passage.”

The students belong to St Joseph’s School (North Point), which is among the best schools in the hills, where former kings of Nepal and Bhutan, among other royal members, have studied in the past.

“Cancelling tickets and getting confirmations is an arduous task for the students. Since the students are coming from various places, we decided to approach the Morcha to grant us safe passage to which they have agreed. We are thankful to the Morcha,” said Kinley Tshering, rector, North Point. The school is scheduled to reopen after their summer break on June 24.

Ten vehicles from North Point will leave for Birtamore- the nearest airport in Nepal, to fetch the 70-odd students from Nepal most from Kathmandu, while an equal number of cars will reach Phutensoling to get the students from Bhutan.

“The Thai and Bangladeshi students will be reaching Bagdogra airport,” said Tshering. North Point boarders from Calcutta, — there are about 35 boarders from the city — and the rest of country, will however come as and when the strike ends.

The Telegraph