While the shutdown in the Darjeeling hills continued with the indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) entering its eighth day on Wednesday, the Dooars region in the plains of north Bengal seems headed for a fresh spell of unrest.
This is because of a call by the regional unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP), a tribal grouping, for an indefinite bandh in the Dooars from Thursday to foil moves by GJM supporters to take out processions in the region to Kumani near the border separating Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts where their party president Bimal Gurung is camping.
“The ‘padayatra' programme from Sankosh to Kumani begins tomorrow [Thursday] and will culminate in Mr. Gurung addressing our supporters on February 27”, Benoy Tamang, GJM assistant general secretary told The Hindu over telephone from Kalimpong sub-division.
If required GJM supporters participating in the ‘padayatra' would defy prohibitory orders imposed in the region by the Jalpaiguri administration, he added.
Bandh to continue
Mr. Tamang also said that the bandh in the Darjeeling hills would continue. It has been called in protest against the police firing on GJM supporters at Sipchu in the Dooars last week resulting in the death of three persons and to highlight the demand for a probe into the incident by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
