The stringent measures adopted by the government - right from
threatening a break in service for state employees skipping work to the
heavy presence of security personnel - ensured that the offices brimmed
with people.
"The attendance in government offices in the
hills was satisfactory. Better than any other day," Mamata said this
afternoon while leaving Nabanna.
Earlier in the day, Darjeeling district magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta
put the attendance figure at 93 per cent. A similar figure was quoted by
the Kalimpong district administration.
Unlike the other government departments, the general staff skipped
work at the GTA's office, where newly appointed secretary Barun Roy held
a few meetings.
Although there was no report of any major violence through the day,
stray incidents occurred in some areas, fuelling speculation that the
Morcha was readying itself to intensify the agitation over its statehood
demand.
At Bijanbari, some 35km from Darjeeling, the BDO's chamber and the
adjacent panchayat office were set on fire around 11.45pm yesterday.
"My chamber and the panchayat office were set ablaze last night. But
the fire was doused quickly," said Kaushik Banerjee, the BDO of
Bijanbari, who was with his wife and four-year-old son at a building
nearby.
The police said two youths had been arrested in connection with the
Bijanbari incident. Tonight, Satish Pokhrel, a GTA Sabha member
representing Relling-Kaijaley constituency, was detained by police. He
is the first GTA Sabha member to be detained during the current unrest.
Around noon today, Morcha supporters tried to set fire to a public
works department office near Darjeeling Government College, but the
flames were put out immediately.
In Sonda, about 15km from Darjeeling, stones were hurled at an office
of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited and
its window panes broken.
While youths believed to be Morcha supporters tried to make their
presence felt, party general secretary Roshan Giri stressed on the need
for an intervention by the Centre.
"The statehood demand is at its highest among the hill people now and
we request the Centre to immediately intervene," Giri told a news
conference.
Darjeeling BJP MP and Union minister S.S. Ahluwalia said today: "I
had a talk with Amit Shah on the Darjeeling situation today. I also
spoke to Union home minister Rajnath Singh and the Union home secretary
yesterday. I am hopeful that with this, something will come out."
While the BJP-led Centre principally supports the concept of smaller
states, the Narendra Modi government has not made its stand on
Gorkhaland clear despite the Morcha's association with the BJP.
A section of Trinamul leaders said Giri's demand for the Centre's
intervention indicated that the Morcha wanted a way out of the agitation
through talks, especially after the administration appeared to be in
control of the situation on the first day.
Giri, however, attributed the attendance at the government offices to the steps "threatened" against those who skipped work.
"They threatened people to come to work," he said.
The relative peace in the hills today brought a sigh of relief among
many administrative officials but police officers with experience in the
region cautioned it was too early to predict anything.
"The Morcha might have chosen to be subdued sensing the police
arrangement. The agitation is an indefinite one, we need to be on our
toes every day as things can turn around anytime," said a police
officer.
Trinamul leaders today alleged that party supporters were being
threatened in several villages in Tukvar and Lebong GTA constituencies.(TT)
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