Two-day bandh to greet Mamata

Siliguri, July 11:  Outfits opposed to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced a statewide bandh on July 15 and a two-day shutdown from July 18 across Bengal to protest the agreement on the adminsitrative set-up for the Darjeeling hills that is expected to be signed then.

The outfits also said they would stage road blockades if chief minister Mamata Banerjee comes to attend the tripartite meeting for the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration in Darjeeling on July 18.

Members of the Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Banchao Committee, Amra Bangali, Bangla Morcha and Rashtriya Shiv Sena, demonstrated at Hashmi Chowk here this afternoon and burnt effigies of Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri.

“We consider this authority (GTA) as the first step or the foundation stone of the separate state of Gorkhaland, which means partition of Bengal,” said the president of the Bhasha Banchao Committee, Mukunda Majumdar.

“We will oppose the tripartite meeting as we are against granting any autonomy to the hills. As tripartite talks are scheduled for July 18-19, we have called a 48 hours state strike during that period.”

The July 15 strike has been called jointly by other anti-Morcha outfits, he said.

Elaborating on the plans during the two-day shutdown, Majumdar said the members of the outfits would stand along the travel route of the chief minister — from New Jalpaiguri station if she comes by train and Bagdogra, if she flies down — to voice their protests.

“In general, we have nothing against the chief minister or her government. In fact, we appreciate some of her moves to redress certain problems of the state. But if she is coming here to attend the meeting for the formation of the new authority for the hills, we will oppose her visit. We will set up blockades at Darjeeling More and other locations and will stop her convoy like any other vehicles,” Majumdar added. 

-TT