Siliguri, 30 April: Residents of Sevoke Bazaar, which is under the Gorkhaland Territorial
Administration (GTA), are up in arms, demanding inclusion of the area in
the Champasari gram panchayat under the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad
(SMP). Their move follows the district administration’s act to ‘delete’
the area during the delimitation exercise for the upcoming SMP polls.
The CPI-M leadership in Siliguri supported the people there, who had been demanding inclusion of the area in the SMP when the delimitation process was being carried out in the past few days. Notably, Sumita Lama, a CPI-M candidate, was elected as a Champasari gram panchayat member from this area in the last SMP polls, though it was transferred to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) then. A section of the people lodged an objection with the authorities concerned on 23 April against the deletion of the Sevoke Bazaar in the delimitation process. “Though we have lodged an objection, block level officials yesterday refused to include the Bazaar and the 10-Mile areas in the SMP. We have come to know that Sukna Tea Estate and Jaduvita areas have been included in the SMP,” a senior member of the Sevoke Bazaar Citizens’ Forum, Gopal Gupta, said. “We sent a memorandum to chief minister Mamata Banerjee in February this year, demanding that Sevoke Bazaar be included in the Champasari gram panchayat. We have planned to send another prayer to the chief minister on the issue of geographical location of this area in the interest of the poor people,” Mr Gupta added. When contacted, GTA councilor Roshan Giri, who was elected unopposed from Sitong Lathpunchar, said: “This is a transferred area. When the area has been transferred to the GTA, how can it be returned to the SMP during the polls? There is no question of this area being included in the SMP,” he said. “People from Sevoke Bazaar came to Darjeeling today to meet the district magistrate over this issue, but they met the additional district magistrate and demanded that the area remain under the GTA,” Mr Giri, also the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha general secretary, claimed.
“The GTA will serve the people of Sevoke Bazaar and carry out development works there,” he added. Another resident, Tulsi Pradhan, who is mobilizing the people to demand inclusion of the area in the Champasari gram panchayat, said: “Since my childhood, the area was under the Siliguri police station, and people used to get justice from the Siliguri court.” “Though the area was transferred to the DGHC, we used to avail of services from the Pradhan Nagar police station in Siliguri. Even when the area was under the Champasari gram panchayat in the SMP, we participated in the last rural polls,” Mr Pradhan said, adding, “When the GJMM started the Gorkhaland agitation in 2007, we were suddenly informed that the Kurseong police station would control the area and the Kurseong sub divisional court would settle all legal matters.”
Mr Pradhan argued that the poor people will face problems if the area was added to the Sitong-Lathpunchar gram panchayat, which is 50 km away from Sevoke. According to him, the people will not be able to bear at least Rs 200 as round-trip transportation cost and other expenses to go to Sittong-Lathpunchar gram panchayat. “But Rs 20 is sufficient to go to the Champasari GP office,” he said. Mr Lama said the Kalijhora area was included in the DGHC, but no rural polls were held there and people were deprived of basic facilities from the panchayat. “We fear the people of Sevoke would be deprived of the basic facilities that the gram panchayat gives if the rural polls are not held in the GTA area,” Mr Lama said.(SNS)
The CPI-M leadership in Siliguri supported the people there, who had been demanding inclusion of the area in the SMP when the delimitation process was being carried out in the past few days. Notably, Sumita Lama, a CPI-M candidate, was elected as a Champasari gram panchayat member from this area in the last SMP polls, though it was transferred to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) then. A section of the people lodged an objection with the authorities concerned on 23 April against the deletion of the Sevoke Bazaar in the delimitation process. “Though we have lodged an objection, block level officials yesterday refused to include the Bazaar and the 10-Mile areas in the SMP. We have come to know that Sukna Tea Estate and Jaduvita areas have been included in the SMP,” a senior member of the Sevoke Bazaar Citizens’ Forum, Gopal Gupta, said. “We sent a memorandum to chief minister Mamata Banerjee in February this year, demanding that Sevoke Bazaar be included in the Champasari gram panchayat. We have planned to send another prayer to the chief minister on the issue of geographical location of this area in the interest of the poor people,” Mr Gupta added. When contacted, GTA councilor Roshan Giri, who was elected unopposed from Sitong Lathpunchar, said: “This is a transferred area. When the area has been transferred to the GTA, how can it be returned to the SMP during the polls? There is no question of this area being included in the SMP,” he said. “People from Sevoke Bazaar came to Darjeeling today to meet the district magistrate over this issue, but they met the additional district magistrate and demanded that the area remain under the GTA,” Mr Giri, also the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha general secretary, claimed.
“The GTA will serve the people of Sevoke Bazaar and carry out development works there,” he added. Another resident, Tulsi Pradhan, who is mobilizing the people to demand inclusion of the area in the Champasari gram panchayat, said: “Since my childhood, the area was under the Siliguri police station, and people used to get justice from the Siliguri court.” “Though the area was transferred to the DGHC, we used to avail of services from the Pradhan Nagar police station in Siliguri. Even when the area was under the Champasari gram panchayat in the SMP, we participated in the last rural polls,” Mr Pradhan said, adding, “When the GJMM started the Gorkhaland agitation in 2007, we were suddenly informed that the Kurseong police station would control the area and the Kurseong sub divisional court would settle all legal matters.”
Mr Pradhan argued that the poor people will face problems if the area was added to the Sitong-Lathpunchar gram panchayat, which is 50 km away from Sevoke. According to him, the people will not be able to bear at least Rs 200 as round-trip transportation cost and other expenses to go to Sittong-Lathpunchar gram panchayat. “But Rs 20 is sufficient to go to the Champasari GP office,” he said. Mr Lama said the Kalijhora area was included in the DGHC, but no rural polls were held there and people were deprived of basic facilities from the panchayat. “We fear the people of Sevoke would be deprived of the basic facilities that the gram panchayat gives if the rural polls are not held in the GTA area,” Mr Lama said.(SNS)