Tourists left stranded as Gorkha agitation mounts

TOURISTS LEFT STRANDED: The indefinite bandh call by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has forced tourists to cut their visit short.

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Keywords: Tourists, Darjeeling

Kolkata: For more than 10,000 tourists in Darjeeling, the holidays in the hills have ended abruptly . The sudden indefinite bandh call by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and its notice to tourists to leave overnight, have forced them to cut their tour short and scamper for the plains.

Not many vehicles are available and the tourists are being forced to pay exorbitant fares.

One such stranded tourist, Utpal Mullick, says, "All rates have increased. The government should understand the situation and come up with a proper solution."

In its demand for the separate state of Gorkhaland, the Janmukti Morcha has also included parts of Dooars, Terai and Siliguri apart from the areas covered under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. Clearly, the Bengal government isn't interested.

West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has said, "I appeal to the Morcha leaders to come to the discussion table after foregoing their demand for a separate state. We are ready to discuss everything. But unless that demand is dropped, there's no point in sitting for tripartite or bipartite talks."

For Buddhadeb, Darjeeling is the newest thorn in his flesh, a thorn many thought his predecessor Jyoti Basu had plucked out two decades ago. Meanwhile, the calm in the hills because of the bandh could turn out to be the lull before yet another storm.

(With inputs from Narayan Singh Roy in Siliguri)