Darjeeling :The pro-Gorkhaland outfits including Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and Hamro Party on Wednesday called off the 12-hour bandh they had convened in Northern West Bengal’s hills on February 23 to oppose the motion against attempt to divide the state that has been passed by the Assembly.
However, leaders like Bimal Gurung, Benoy Tamang and Ajay Edwards, sat on hunger strike in front of Bhanu Bhavan in Darjeeling in protest against the state legislature passing the motion. Nine
members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) also joined the protest.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said the state administration would take action against anyone trying to impose a bandh and reiterated that she was not in favour of splitting the state.
The call for the bandh had caused anxiety in view of the state secondary examination which is scheduled to start from Thursday.
At the same time, the hill traders and car drivers were not happy with the bandh call during the tourist season.
The decades-old demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland – to be carved out of Darjeeling district and the contiguous areas of the Dooars (foothills) in Jalpaiguri district – have seen much violence and bloodshed, while severely hitting the region’s economic mainstays tea, timber and tourism.
