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Mild response to GJM bandh

Govt offices record 'normal' attendance
Last Updated 12 June 2017, 19:35 IST

Government offices here recorded “normal” attendance although some stray incidents were reported during the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)-sponsored indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills, which began on Monday.

The GJM has called for the shutdown in central, state government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices in the hills in support of their demand for a separate Gorkhaland.

State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb claimed that attendance in the government and GTA offices was “normal” in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik.

“People have defied the GJM’s diktat and attended office. We hope good sense will prevail on the GJM leadership,” Deb said.

“The situation is peaceful here and everything is normal. Attendance in schools is also normal. We have taken all precautionary measures to check any untoward incident,” Darjeeling District Magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta said.

Police pickets and barricades were placed in front of the government and GTA offices, while Rapid Action Force (RAF) and a sizable number of women police personnel were deployed, Joyoshi said.

She said the army was present in the hills as a “backup”.

“The administration will act as per the law if anybody is found forcing others as well as establishments to participate in the bandh,” Joyoshi said.

“The administration will also see that no tourist faces trouble because of the bandh. We will not allow anything or anybody to disturb normal life here in the hills,” she said.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri claimed that the response to the bandh was good.

“We could have enforced the bandh, but we have not done that. We only appealed to the people,” he said, adding,  “The state government may claim almost cent per cent attendance, but that is not the case.”
“We want central intervention. Our party chief has written to the prime minister and Union home minister to sympathetically consider our demand (for Gorkhaland),” Giri said.

GJM activists reportedly damaged a panchayat office and a PWD office in the hill and resorted to picketing at some places in Kurseong and Kalimpong. Police said eight GJM activists were detained for trying to set fire to a BDO office at Phulbazar in Bijanbari block.

The GJM workers also damaged a PWD office in Darjeeling, the police said, adding that another office at Sonada was damaged. Giri, however, denied his party’s involvement and said that it was an attempt to defame the GJM.
Schools, colleges, transport, hotels and shops were exempted from the purview of the shutdown. Banks would remain open twice a week. Most of the tourists have left the hill station in view of the GJM’s
agitation.

GJM president Bimal Gurung said, “It is better if the tourists leave as the situation is deteriorating.”
The state government has ordered all its employees and those of institutions receiving grants-in-aid from it to attend office during the bandh period,  and warned that absence from duty would be considered as a break in service.
 

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(Published 12 June 2017, 19:35 IST)

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