Darjeeling unrest: As indefinite shutdown enters 10th day, food crisis looms

As the indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills entered its 10th day on Saturday, West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick said there is a "food crisis" as the GJM activists are not allowing trucks carrying food and vegetables to enter the hills.

There is a shortage of food, vegetables and essential commodities in the Darjeeling hills as the GJM activists are not allowing trucks to enter the hills, he said. The whole public distribution system in the Darjeeling hills have "collapsed" as there is no supply of rice, wheat and other commodities and the GJM activists are also not allowing the PDS shops to open, the minister said after inaugurating a new Khadya Bhawan here in Nadia district.

"There are some remote areas in Darjeeling hills where the poor people survive from the food items given in PDS shops. Due to the whimsical activities of a few people, the eight lakh inhabitants of the hills are in great distress," Mallick said.

There are 670 PDS shops in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, he said. The minister said, "Bimal Gurung once had driven away Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subhas Ghising from hills. Now the people will drive Gurung away from hills because of the food crisis."