CM Mamata to address GJMM meet on 15 May

KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will address a mass gathering of Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) in Darjeeling on 15 May.Kalimpong MLA and member of GJMM, Mr Harka Bahadur Chettri, met Miss Banerjee at Writers’ Buildings on 7 may. Gorkha leaders and the state government had parted ways following a similar meeting in January. The demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland had been taken up by the Gorkha leaders at the meeting and the chief minister had ruled it out. Mr Chettri said: “We want to forget everything that happened in the last meeting. Whatever problems and misunderstandings we have had in the past have been resolved now.” GJMM will work hand-in-hand with the state government to undertake development of the Hills, he added. 

The MLA said the Centre has given only Rs 65 crore of the Rs 200 crore to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). “We will take up the issue jointly with the state government and raise our demands to the Centre,” he said, adding out of the Rs 65 crore that has been provided by the Centre for development of the Hills, roads have been repaired and parking zones have been set up. Mr Chettri said the chief minister has sought GTA and GJMM’s help in conducting a survey to identify 25 locations that can be developed as tourist destinations. The state government has already constructed three tourist lodges in Dalgaon, Bijonbari and Rinbik. “Development cannot happen unless we maintain a good rapport with the state government,” said Mr Chettri. Miss Banerjee, along with state chief secretary Mr Sanjay Mitra and home secretary Mr Basudeb Banerjee, will leave for Darjeeling on 14 May.