AGSU strike successful in Darjeeling

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

AGSU 12 hour strike in the hills

Darjeeling: The GNLF has decided to oppose the 12-hour bandh called by the All Gorkha Students’ Union (Agsu) in the hills on Wednesday.

The apolitical students’ body had called the strike on April 14 in support of a charter of demands that includes the setting up of a central technical university and the conferring of tribal status on all Gorkha communities before the hills are included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

“This is not the right time to call a bandh. It is the beginning of the tourist season and classes are on in full swing in most hill schools. It is unbecoming of an apolitical body like Agsu to involve itself in political matters,” said Gaulan Lepcha, the GNLF MLA from Kalimpong. Deepak Gurung, the president of the GNLF’s Darjeeling branch committee, echoed him by saying that the strike was “ill-timed” and “issueless”.

From 4pm tomorrow, the GNLF will organise street-corner meetings in different parts of the three subdivisions to mobilise people against the bandh. Lepcha said he, along with party activists, would go around Kalimpong and request traders to keep their shops open on Wednesday.

The Agsu leadership on the other hand has campaigned extensively in places like Bijanbari, Rimbick, Sukhiapokhri and Kalimpong in the last few days and is not ready to budge from its stand.

Reacting to the GNLF's call, Roshan Giri, the president of the Agsu’s central committee, said: “We know this is the tourist season but the future of the Gorkhas is also important. Once the bill is passed in the Assembly, nothing can be done.”

“If the GNLF tries to disrupt our programme, they themselves will be exposed,” said Sagar Rai, the president of the Agsu’s Kalimpong unit. “An emergency meeting of the Agsu’s central committee has been called tomorrow. There, we will decide on our strategy for Wednesday.”

Residents of the hills are apprehensive as there have been clashes between the GNLF and Agsu supporters in the past. GNLF supporters had allegedly vandalised the Agsu office in Darjeeling after the attack on Subash Ghisingh on February 10, 2001, and had forced traders to open their shops during an Agsu strike a couple of years ago.

Source: The Telegraph