Darjeeling Blacks out TV Screens by West Bengal Government

DARJEELING: A cable-blackout ordered by the district administration the rising tension in Darjeeling has boomeranged. If the intention was to deny publicity to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's renewed agitation for Gorkhaland, the effect was just the opposite. Rumours, gossip and half-truths swirled in the charged up air of this Hills town, heightening tension and triggering cries of ghettoization. Morcha chief Bimal Gurung called it a "Taliban-style gag" and said: "We will not be surprised if mobile telephone services are stopped next. We will continue our agitation and will not enter into a dialogue with the Bengal government." TV sets went blank all across Darjeeling at 9.30pm on Thursday. Police raided the offices of local TV channels Himali, Darjeeling Television and Hamro and confiscated tapes and transmitters. Then, the only two cable TV operators in town were told to pull the plug on all programmes, not just the news capsules created by these three channels. District officials on Friday denied the gag charge and said that the cable operators' and channels' papers were not in order. 

The clampdown led to an outburst of anger. More people gathered on the streets on any other in the weeklong agitation. "Cable TV had kept many people indoors. But with nothing to watch on TV, not even serials or music, more people came out to take part in rallies and processions," said a GJM leader. Rumours flew thick and fast, provoking anger and outrage. Morcha leaders had to step in repeatedly to stop mobs from going over the edge. Chowk Bazar, a favourite meeting place of the locals, turned into the gossip centre. And the epicenter of Friday's surge of anxiety. Word spread in the morning of scores of GJM activists being arrested, working the crowd into a fury. It was only after Morcha leaders rushed to assure that no arrests had been made since Thursday that tempers cooled. In the afternoon, there was fresh rumour of Bimal Gurung's passport being revoked. 

Once again, Morcha leaders had to step in to quell tension. Late in the afternoon, rumours of a battalion of CRPF marching up the hills to suppress the statehood agitation triggered anger. As the crowds prepared for a confrontation, there was more electrifying rumour that the administration planned to cut electricity supply from Saturday. The people started shouting slogans against chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The Morcha again had to do some firefighting. The cable blackout has united the Hills rivals. CPRM and other Darjeeling Opposition parties joined the Morcha in condemning the gag order. So did the Darjeeling Press Guild. "This is a sinister move to suppress the Gorkhaland movement, but it won't work. The Mamata Banerjee government was attracting a lot of negative publicity even on national TV for its insensitivity towards the Gorkhas and the Gorkhaland movement. Hence this clampdown," said Morcha assistant secretary Binay Tamang.