Strike relief for tourists
Posted by barunroy on April 16, 2008
Darjeeling, April 15: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has decided to relax its indefinite shutdown at tourist facilities and spots in Darjeeling from tomorrow. The relief will also cover the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)’s joy rides.
The DHR’s daily passenger service between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, however, will not be allowed.
The botanical garden, the zoo run by the Bengal forest department and the Rock Garden and Shrubbery Park maintained by the DGHC, will be open along with the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and its museum .
The Morcha call for closure of all government offices from yesterday had included these tourist spots. Yesterday was a state holiday and the facilities, except for the toy train, would have been closed to tourists even if there had been no agitation. The toy train rides, however, were shut for two consecutive days.
The decision to extend the relaxation to tourist facilities run by the government was taken after a meeting with district magistrate Rajesh Pandey, who returned to Darjeeling today. However, at the end of the meeting, D.K. Pradhan, a Morcha leader, said: “The talks remained largely inconclusive.”
The Morcha had said it would not allow the district magistrate to enter Darjeeling after a lathicharge on ex-servicemen in Siliguri had left several of them injured. The party had accused Pandey of working on the behest of the CPM, which is against the statehood demand revived by the Morcha. However, the Morcha relented after the state government insisted that Pandey should be allowed to return before its demands were considered.
The Morcha had in the past demanded that the deputy police superintendent of police, Siliguri, and the inspector-in-charge of Pradhannagar police station be suspended for their role in the lathicharge. Today it added that some of the constables’ role should also be probed.
“The suspension of the police officers is not within our jurisdiction,” said Pandey. The Morcha leaders were told that the Darjeeling police have requested the CID to probe the lathicharge. The government is also considering the demand for a judicial inquiry.
The district administration has asked the Morcha to apply for permission to hold rallies in Siliguri and the Dooars. “We will forward them to the state government,” said Pandey. [The Telegraph]
