Rallies bring back unrest memories - Protest panic grips tourism sector

Siliguri, April 15: Three rallies brought out by outfits opposed to each other over the jurisdiction of the hill set-up kept police busy in Siliguri today as they mobilised forces, tear gas shells and a water cannon to quell possible confrontation between the two sides. The air of uncertainty that hung over Siliguri, the gateway to Darjeeling and Sikkim, came at a time when the region is expecting 2 lakh tourists over the next two months.

Around 100 police personnel equipped with water cannons, tear gas and armed with sticks, shields, and guns stood along Hill Cart Road that leads to the hills from Darjeeling More onwards. The water cannon was planted in Dagapur, the entry point to Siliguri on NH55. The force was also guarding Panchanoi, a little ahead of Dagapur.

Forces were also posted at Salugara on NH31 and in Bagdogra, points of possible confrontation, to prevent both the sides from reaching each other. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-led joint action committee brought out two of the three processions.

“It brought back memories of 2007-2008. Tourism was hit and the footfall figure was down by 60 per cent till 2010,” said Raj Basu, adviser to the Eastern Himalaya Tour and Travel Operators’ Association. That year, the Gorkhaland movement was revived in the Darjeeling hills. The Morcha movement gained momentum in 2009 (see chart below). The tourism sector started reviving with the signing of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement last year. “That dip in footfall was almost gone during the Pujas last year.”

North Bengal, which includes Darjeeling and the foothills, gets around 2 lakh visitors every year. “People tour an entire circuit like the Darjeeling-Dooars-Terai-Sikkim, which is why we don’t have figures for a particular area. But Darjeeling has an annual footfall of nearly 3.5 lakh tourists. Of them, 60 per cent, almost 2 lakh, visit in summer, that is now. And all of them pass through Siliguri,” Deepak Gupta, the general secretary of EHTTOA, said.

The tourist season starting from the middle of March continues till May-end. “That is, till the board results are out and the monsoon begins. Today’s rallies were not taken out in the hills but here. Siliguri is the entry point to the hills and Sikkim. Any unrest here will hurt hill tourism the most,” said a tour operator.

Barun Saha, a businessman, who lives near Bagdogra, said he heard the pro-GTA procession shouting slogans and feared that their rivals would come up any moment. “We could hear them shout slogans in favour of plains territory in the hill-set-up. Agitation like this one cause tension in the Terai. We were fortunate the anti-GTA lobby did not assemble or else, the situation could have turned complicated,” said Saha.

The Morcha wants the Gorkha-dominated areas from the Terai and the Dooars to be made part of the GTA, a demand that has caused outrage among the plains outfits — 26 organisations that have come under a banner to plan protests.

Around 15 members of the plains forum or the anti-GTA group tried to march towards Sukna but were stopped by the police at Dagapur, a district intelligence officer said. “Four people were detained,” the officer said.

Simultaneously at 2.30pm, 150-200 Morcha workers were stopped at Panighata More before Bagdogra, 15km from Siliguri. The police persuaded them to return.

The police patrolling was relaxed around 5pm when news arrived that the Morcha-led Joint Action Committee had cancelled its rally in Dagapur and would not be coming to Siliguri because of rain.

But some slogan-shouting Morcha members and the rebel faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad marched from Salugara to Bhaktinagar police station, another entry point to Siliguri town. “Elaborate arrangements were made at Bagdogra, Darjeeling More, Panchanoi, and adjacent areas of Pintail Village. No untoward incident has been reported,” said Darjeeling superintendent of police Kunal Agarwal.(TT)