Gorkhaland march nears finishing line

Darjeeling, April 23: Fighting against tired bodies and the blazing sun, the ever-swelling group of marchers tracing the Gorkhaland area is slowly inching towards the last frontier along the Sankosh.

“We are going strong. The heat is almost unbearable at times but our spirits are high as people are joining us everyday,” Ravi Shanker Sharma, the president of the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu, said over the phone from Kalchini in Jalpaiguri district.

Sixteen Agsu members had begun marching from Darjeeling on April 13 with the aim of planting the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s flags up to the farthest boundary of the new state that the party is demanding. Their number has now swelled to 203.

“We covered 42km from Birpara to Hasimara yesterday. Today, we will definitely reach Rajabhatkhawa and we expect to reach the Sankosh either on Friday or on Saturday,” said Sharma.

The journey has been trouble free so far, thanks to the residents along the way, the Agsu president said. “We are being received warmly by the people of the Dooars. They are taking care of our accommodation and food,” Sharma said.

The people of Kalchini today organised a programme followed by lunch for the marchers. “We have been surprised by the support we have got from the adivasi (tribal) community. We think that they too are getting drawn to the idea of Gorkhaland,” Sharma said.

Members of the Kamtapur Progressive Party are also helping the marchers in their 290-odd-km journey. [The Telegraph]