CM Chamling slams pro-Gorkhaland agitationists; Strike paralyzes Darjeeling

Asha Gurung at Chowkbazar today during public meeting of GJMM

CM Chamling slams pro-Gorkhaland agitationists for blockade of NH-31A
DNA News

Gangtok: Slamming the pro-Gorkhaland agitationists for carrying out frequent traffic disruption on the National Highway 31A, the sole road link connecting Sikkim with the rest of country, chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling today urged the Centre to intervene in the matter to enable the people of Sikkim to lead a life of dignity and respect.

A state of lawlessness was prevailing in the Darjeeling Hills since 1986 on the issue of a separate statehood demand with the agitationists resorting to frequent blockade of the NH-31A that has adversely affected the economy of Sikkim and traumatised its people who have had to live in a state of fear, he said at the meet on internal security presided over by the prime minister Manmohan Singh at New Delhi.

The loss to the state economy has been to the tune of Rs1,000 crore because of traffic disruptions on NH-31A since 1986, Chamling said, an official release said here today.

Something needs to be done (uninterrupted traffic on NH-31A) urgently as the agitationists had sought to isolate Sikkim and its people at will and even on the slightest pretext, Chamling implored the Centre.

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Strike paralyzes Darjeeling
Myrepublica
KHILANATH DHAKAL

DARJEELING, Feb 7: Normal life in Darjeeling in India has been hit hard due to an indefinite general strike called by the students affiliated with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, at the end of a three-day shutdown called by the Morcha. The students called the indefinite strike to protest the use of force against the students during the three-day strike.

The agitating students shut the hill town on Sunday saying that the police used force on some Morcha activists who were on a hunger strike in Siliguri. Some 50 students were said to have been injured in the lathicharge. The students called the indefinite strike after the police intervention.


The Morcha is fighting for a separate Gorkha state. Due to the banda, all educational institutions, industries, markets and traffic movement have come to a halt.

Claiming that the central government has not paid heed to its demand, General Secretary of the Morcha Roshan Giri warned that his party will announce a separate Gorkhaland on March 17 in case the center failed to addressed their demands by then.

“The state has resorted to use force against us when we are seeking just demands for all Gorkhalis. We will establish a separate Gorkhaland even at the cost of our lives,” Giri told myrepublica.com.

The proposed Gorkhaland includes three million population, out of which one million live in Darjeeling alone where more than 90 percent people are Nepali speaking.

Earlier, the Morcha had said that it will rethink on the proposed Gorkhaland, demanding that those areas in the hills with high Nepali population are incorporated in the proposal.

After dropping Dooars and Tarai area from the proposed Gorkhaland area, the Morcha has expected the proposal to be final, Bimal Gurung, the president of the party, said. He said the new proposal has not yet been officially announced. Gurung also informed during a mass meeting in Kalimpong that the proposal has been submitted to the Indian Union Home Minister.

The Morcha leaders, who till December 21 last year have sat for four rounds of talk with the central government, have blamed the central government of dilly-dallying.

The party intensified its struggle after December 26 last year stating that all efforts and requests to hold talks at the political level were not heard.

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Security environment under threat in West Bengal: Buddhadeb
HindustanTimes

The security environment in West Bengal is under threat from Left-wing extremists in western areas and ongoing "separatist" movement in Darjeeling, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Sunday.

He said 28 police station in the three districts of Western Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura are affected by Naxalism.

"The spread of Left-wing extremism in these areas has been facilitated by their location next to the affected areas of Orissa and Jharkhand as well as by the dense forest cover available for cover action," he said.

Mentioning about the situation in Lalgarh, Bhattacharjee said, "They (Naxals) have killed civilians and policemen, mostly in and around Lalgarh."

The Chief Minister said the police action in the area last year did not get any resistance from locals despite attempts of the extremists to mobilise them against the police.

Bhattacharjee said the time is right "to mount pressure on the extremists" as recent success has added momentum to anti-naxal operations and also morale of the forces is now high.

About the demand of separate Gorkhaland state, he clearly said the state government has not accepted the demand though it has agreed to increase the powers of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill council or "any other body which could replace the council".