Anti-GTA bandh hit life in Dooars
DOOARS : The strike called by the joint action committee, comprising 19 anti-GJM organisations and protesting against the inclusion of mouzas from Terai and the Dooars region into Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, hit normal life in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri district today. The bandh’s impact was also felt in Siliguri, a commercially important town of North Bengal, where the markets, shops, private and some government offices remained shut. Train services in neighbouring Coochbehar district and Assam were affected, the Northeastern Railway officials said, adding trains had been re-routed via alternative lines, avoiding the Dooars and Terai corridors in view of the bandh.The official further said that an inter-city train, which started from Siliguri for Alipurduar, was forced to return to Siliguri again following a blockade put up by tribal people near Dajkara station in Jalpaiguri. Significantly, the tour operators and the tea estate owners today appealed to political parties and the administration to keep the tourism industry out of the ambit of bandhs, as it was one of the mainstays of the regional economy and this was the industry’s peak season. Tej Kumar Toppo, a senior leader of the joint action committee, said, “We spoke with tour operators and tea estate owners. We can understand their concern, but we are fighting for a cause. We will continue with the movement until we get written assurance from the government that our areas will not be included in GTA.”
President, Adivasi Vikash Parishad, Birsha Tirkey said, “The band is completely successful. There had been a huge support for the bandh as people preferred to remain indoor. We had earlier planned to call a 48-hour strike, but we considered the projected loss of the economy of the region and we respected the state government’s request to withdraw the bandh call.” According to a senior police official, some stray incidents of clashes were reported from some tea gardens at the Dooars. Tension flared up at Dhenguajhora tea garden when anti-bandh supporters tried to reopen the estate.
Former Akhil Bharatiya Adivashi Vikash Parishad leader John Barla, who was expelled from the party and joined hands with GJM opposed to the bandh call, tried to force entry into some closed tea gardens along with his supporters. However, a huge police force was deployed at sensitive places and no untoward incident was reported, said a police official. Barla’s faction has called for a 48-hour bandh on April 18 and 19.
( Source - The Indian Express)
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