Mirik to polls on Sunday to choose councillors

Mirik/VIVEK CHHETRI. Dec. 9: Mirik will go to polls on Sunday to choose councillors for five wards, a small scale process by Bengal’s yardstick, but there is much at stake in the elections for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Although the Morcha has already won uncontested four of the nine wards of the Mirik Notified Area Authority, there is much to prove for the predominant hill party in the elections.

Arun Ghisingh, the vice-president of the Morcha’s Mirik subdivisional committee and a candidate from Ward 2, is confident of a complete sweep.

“People in Mirik have realised that it is always good to stay under a party’s banner for the development. The people here are politically conscious and there is much to be done for the area. Tourism spots need to be developed, health care system has to be streamlined and focus should be on the completion of an aquarium and a drinking water project,” said Ghisingh, sounding confident of his victory.

Pemba Tshering Bhutia, an Independent in Ward 2, differed with Ghisingh.

“I am 100 per cent confident of my victory. I have decided to contest the elections because the Morcha fielded someone (Ghisingh) from outside (Ward 1). I told Morcha leaders that if they had nominated any of the 35 members on the executive committee of the party in Ward 2, I would not have jumped into the poll fray. Most of the people were unhappy that the party had fielded an outsider in Ward 2,” said Bhutia.

The Independent, however, said he was willing to join hands with the Morcha to form the board, if he won the polls.

But no matter who wins or forms the board, the new civic administration will have a plenty of issues to tackle.

To start with, only three wards — 2, 4 and 5 — in Mirik can be classified as proper urban areas. As the rest of the wards are part of a tea estate, the residents do not have land registered under their names.

“People are unable to apply for loans as they don’t have registration deeds. Rules say the tea garden land can neither be bought nor sold,” said Phubi Rai, the president of the Morcha’s Mirik subdivisional committee.

The hill town also lacks a proper sewerage system and a reservoir to supply potable water. Most of the people have to depend on streams for drinking water.

The heart of Mirik does not even have a proper public toilet and the streetlights are in need of thorough overhaul. A number of pathways need to be constructed in almost every ward.

The new board’s immediate focus should also be on the Mirik lake, which has turned into a rubbish dump by houses and hotels nearby.

Apart from Ward 2, elections will be held in Wards 6, 7, 8 and 9. The campaign for the polls ended today.

Roshan Tamang, 25, is taking on L.B. Rai, a central committee member of the Morcha and a two-time chairperson of the Mirik municipality, in Ward 7. Tamang was with the Gorkha Yuwa Morcha and was suspended from the organisation after filing nominations as an Independent.

“People in my ward asked me to contest as the area lacks development. I am not against the party (Morcha). I will continue to work for the Morcha whether the party accepts me or not,” said Tamang.

With both Bhutia and Tamang still swearing allegiance to the Morcha, it may seem that the party’s position is rosy. However, ground realities are different. Observers believe if the Morcha loses even a single ward, it will be a major blow for the party given the fact that it has won all municipal wards uncontested in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.

The Morcha admitted that the real challenges lie after the formation of the civic board. “Conversion of the notified area into a full-fledged municipality will be top on the party’s priority list,” said Phubi. A notified area status is given to a place with a population between 10,000 and 20,000.

“The municipality act considers such areas and civic territories equally. Both the notified areas and the municipalities enjoy same powers. However, since Mirik does not fulfil the required criteria (a population of more than 20,000 being one of them) to be considered a full-fledged municipality, it is called a notified area. Apart from the difference in the terminology, everything else is the same,” said Asok Bhattacharya, a former municipal affairs minister of Bengal.

Mirik notified area has a population of 11,487 with a voters’ strength of 7,393. Of them, 3,795 will cast their votes on Sunday. 

The Telegraph