As many as 13 Sikkim-bound vehicles were attacked and damaged near Teesta Bazar.
Violence in the hills continued today as the Gorkhaland agitation entered its 29th day as incidents of arson and attack on vehicles were reported on Thursday.
State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb’s vehicle was attacked allegedly by GJM supporters at Panighata near Siliguri as he was on his way to attend an event put up to observe the birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanubhakta. He said that protestors surrounded his car, chanted slogans and even pelted stones. A police vehicle was also damaged after he left the place.
Since late night on Wednesday, several government establishments were put on fire including a Revenue Inspector Office at Sukna, Tourist Information Centre at Mall Road in Darjeeling, a rail station at Gayabari area in Kurseong and a forest Bungalow.
As many as 13 Sikkim-bound vehicles were attacked and damaged near Teesta Bazar.
Deb said that it was not a movement. “It is rather hooliganism and ‘goondagiri’. The Centre has not spoken a word against the destruction of the GJM workers here and their MPs and ministers have indirectly fuelled the violence,” Deb said.
GJM leaders, however denied any association with the violence. “We have been protesting in a democratic manner and we have nothing to with the incidents of violence,” said GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.
State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury, at a press conference on Thursday said that both the Central and the state government had been indifferent towards the prevailing violence at the hills. “At present we see impervious governments both at the state and the Centre who are doing nothing to end the crisis at the hills. Even two months ago Gorkhaland was not an issue there. The CM’s visit raked up violence there providing a lot of oxygen to Bimal Gurung who people had forgotten. Now it seems the governments have left it on God to solve the problem. They are treating fire in the hills as another tourist attraction which people can watch from a distance,” Chowdhury said.
In another development, three intellectuals – writer Krishna Singh Moktan, singer and musician Karma Yonjan and educationist Prabhat Pradhan – returned their awards conferred upon them by the state government in protest against the atrocities on the Gorkhas who were fighting for Gorkhaland. “The Gorkhas are demanding a self-rule and to suppress the movement the state government is using force. In protest against the actions of the state government I am returning the awards,” Moktan said.
They had returned the awards to Nepali Sahitya Sammelan Committee who would return those to the district administration.
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