Life back to normal in hills

9 Sep 2013

 With the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha providing a two-day respite, market places across the hill were today swarming with people busy collecting rations. There were long queues before ATM counters even before the sun first peeped through.

The Haat bazaar area and ration shops in Kalimpong saw huge numbers of customers and they kept on coming even in the evening.

Similar scenes were today witnessed in Mirik with residents of the tourist town and its surroundings thronging the market places the entire day. ATM counters had queues snaking long distances and banks hardly had any breathing space.

The scenes in Kurseong were not different either and it appeared almost everyone in town was at the market places buying essential commodities. The arterial Hill Cart Road runs through town and traffic was moving at a snail’s pace all along the day.

Several students who had gone home at the beginning of the agitation were seen returning back to their respective schools.

Read More

GJM spokesperson hints of changes in agitation going forward

PRADIP LOHAGUN

KALIMPONG

9 Sep 2013

GJM spokesperson and Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri has indicated there may be some changes in the statehood agitation strategy as the prolonged strike has disrupted normal life in the hills.

Talking to journalists in Kalimpong today, Chettri said changes to the movement’s roadmap going ahead will seek to leverage the mass support being received currently. He said Tuesday’s meeting of the GJAC will finalise what the new moves would be, adding, “The forthcoming strategy will be easy but effective”.

According to the MLA, the Congress-led central government is presently in a fix as regional parties have emerged as forces to be reckoned with.

“The government’s existence now depends on the decisions made by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Jayalalithaa, Mayawati and Mamata Bannerjee,” said Chettri, and the Gorkhaland agitation strategy would be prepared keeping national-level politics in mind. He said, “We have received positive assurance from Delhi and we will formulate our moves as per the situation at the Centre.”

Further, Chettri condemned the repressive measures adopted by the state government and denied any possibility of talks with it under existing circumstances. He alleged the state government is trying to portray the agitation as being concentrated within the leadership only and not among the masses by adopting the move to arrest leaders.

GJAC president Enos Das Pradhan has also said changes in forthcoming programmes are in the pipeline and will be made public soon.

Read More

आन्दोलनको रणनीति परिवर्तन गर्नुपर्छ - ड़ा. छेत्री

कालेबुङ 9 सेप्टम्बर (छेवाङ योञ्जन) : लामो समयको बन्दले गर्दा पहाड़को जन-जीवन अस्तव्यस्त रहेको कारण अब आन्दोलनको आगमी रणनीति फेरबदल गर्न सक्ने मोर्चा प्रवक्ता एवम कालेबुङका विधायक ड़ा. हर्कबहाजुर छेत्रीले मनतव्य दिएका छन्। आज कालेबुङका सञ्चार कर्मीहरुसंग कुराकानी गर्दै तिनले यस प्रकारको मनाशय पोखेका हुन। तिनले हाल छुट्टै राज्यको पक्षमा पहाड़मा उठिरहेको जनशक्तिलाई ठिकसंग प्रयोग गर्न आन्दोलनको रणनीतिमा फेरबदल गरिनु पर्ने बिचार राखे। आन्दोलनको आगमी रणनीति 10 सेप्टम्बरको दिन सम्पन्न हुने सर्वदलिय बैठकले नै निर्णय लिइने बताउँदै रणनीतिमा परिवर्तन ल्याउनु पर्ने कुरामा जोड़ दिएका छन्। ‘अबको रणनीति सहज अनि प्रभावशाली हुनेछ’ तिनले भने। विधायक ड़ा. छेत्रीको भनाइ अनुसार अब पहाड़ले बन्दबाट छुट पाउन सक्ने सम्भावना प्रबल देखिन्छ। बंगाल सरकारले हाल पहाड़ प्रति गरिरेको दमननीतिको विरोध जनाउँदै तिनले यो अवस्थामा छुट्टै राज्यको मुद्दामाथि सरकार पक्षसंग वार्त हुन नसकिने प्रकारको मनाशय प्रकट गरेका छन्। देशमा क्षेत्रीय राजनीतिक शक्तिहरु हाल बलियोरुपमा देखा परेकोले गर्दा केन्द्र सरकार पनि समस्यामा परिरहेको तिनको भनाइ छ। मुलायम सिंह, जयललिता, मायावती अनि ममता ब्यानर्जीको निर्णयमाथि नै केन्द्रको अस्तित्व निर्भर हरेको बताउँदै तिनले राष्ट्रीय राजनीतिलाई हेरेर नै आन्दोलनको भावी रणनीति तयार हुने जनाएका छन्। ‘दिल्लीबाट हामीले सकारात्मक आशवसन पाएका छौ’ तिनले भने ‘केन्द्रको अवस्था अनुरुप रणनीति अपनाउने छौ’। यता राज्य सरकारले आन्दोलनकारी दलहरुको नेतृत्वहरुलाई पक्राउ गरिरहेको घटनाको आलोचना गर्दै तिनले यसमा आन्दोलनलाई नेतृत्वमुखी बनाउने सरकारको षड्यन्त्र रहेको आरोप लगाएका छन्। अन्तमा तिनले सरकारको विरोधमा हाल पहाड़मा उठीरहेको जनाक्रोषलाई जनताले कायम राख्नु पर्ने अपिल गरेका छन्। अर्कोतिर गोर्खाल्याण्ड संयुक्त कार्वाही समितिका अध्यक्ष एनोशदास प्रधानले पनि आन्दोलनको भावी कार्यक्रममा फेरबदल हुन सक्ने बिचार व्यक्त गरेका छन्।

Read More

More effective measures needed, not strikes: public

KURSEONG

8 Sep 2013

Some sections of pro-Gorkhaland supporters in the hills believe the leadership should halt the programme of continued bandhs and come up with other forms of protests to increase the momentum of the movement within the Hills and outside.

“I support the Gorkhaland demand and have been participating in each and every programme of the current agitation. However, I now feel instead of bandhs we should go for other forms of struggle as shutdowns do not seem to have bothered the government much,” noted a Kurseong resident.

She added the month-long strike has started causing problems to the agitators themselves instead of the government.

Another local appreciated the recent decision of the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee to expand the Gorkhaland movement to other parts of the country instead of confining it within the Darjeeling hills. Meanwhile, some others have voiced the need to develop and adopt effective strategies to impress the powers-that-be in Delhi. They said merely bringing the hills to a standstill will do no good, adding the local populace and leaders should be aware of the political compulsions of the central government and take steps accordingly. (EOIC)

Read More