Anti-Gorkhaland body calls 24-hour shutdown in Siliguri
Siliguri: Activists of the Bangla-O-Bangla Bhasa Bachao committee, a regional forum, called for a 24-hour bandh here on Thursday, protesting the fifth round of Gorkhaland tripartite talks to be held with Central officials in New
Delhi. Most of the shops were closed with only a few schools and government buses
running along with some private vehicles in Siliguri. Picketers blocked the road
and stopped local autos and rickshaws. The committee says that the district of
Darjeeling comes under the purview of West Bengal state and it cannot be divided
by any means. "The purpose of this meeting (tripartite talks) is a conspiracy
to hand over part of Bengal, that is Darjeeling, to the rebel Nepalese, in the
form of giving them more power, more power or more self-government with powerful more than ...schedule. We strongly oppose it; we will never accept partition of Bengal or any Gorkhaland demand," said Mukunda Majumdar, president of the committee.
The Gorkhaland Movement has taken a different turn after the GJM proposed the
establishment of an interim council till December 31, 2011, as a precursor to
the creation of a separate Gorkhaland state. The Gorkhaland Regional Authority
seeks to have legislative powers on matters such as town and country planning,
culture and mining of certain minerals. The Gorkha population in West Bengal is
estimated to be around a million.
