Day three of the bandh called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha saw near-normal situation
As life was limping back to normal on the third day of the bandh called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung, he sent out a veiled threat to government workers and tourists.
Day three of the GJM-called bandh saw a near-normal situation in the hills on Wednesday. Schools, colleges, and shops were seen functioning as usual, and local residents as wells as tourists were seen on the streets. Government offices, especially the office of the District Magistrate, were, however, heavily guarded by police, RAF, and CRPF personnel. While people went to work, the attendance was low.
A meeting of the GJM's youth wing was conducted on Wednesday and Prakash Gurung, president of the youth wing, said, "Protest rallies will be taken out in the hills and if the police tries to use force to stop those, we might call for an indefinite strike in the hills."
Bimal Gurung, on the other hand, sent out a note of warning government employees and tourists while talking to media persons. "The DM's office has been turned into a police outpost. Employees must understand that police would not give protection forever. If they lose their jobs, they can be easily re-employed when we have our Gorkhaland; but they must stand by our protest first. I will advise tourists to make changes to their plans based on the current scenario," he said.
The state, on the other hand, has made some administrative changes in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). C Murgan, an IAS officer known for his proximity to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been appointed as the full-time Secretary of the GTA. Another IAS officer, Deepap Priya, who is also a favourite of the CM, has been appointed as the Executive Director of the GTA, a post which has been recently created for her.
Sources said that the appointment of these two IAS officers had been done to aid the government in monitoring the activities of the GTA.
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