West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, after chairing an all-party meeting on Tuesday at Pintail village in Darjeeling thanked all political parties for their help in restoring peace at the hills. She also announced compensation packages for the dead and injured during the violence.
"I was asked for compensation to those affected in the violence. Those who were not involved in spreading violence will be compensated. Families of each of the dead would get Rs 2 lakh and a member of the family would get an employment provided there is no pending cases against them. Those who suffered serious injury would get Rs 50,000. There is also a proposal of including Nepali language in West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) Examinations. We will consider it," she said after the meeting.
Eyeing a better foothold in the region, she also announced a slew of developmental projects including a 100-bed hospital, a bus stand at Mirik, a college at Kurseong, and several other projects. These projects are to be executed jointly by the state government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).
Other than Trinamool Congress, representatives of parties such as Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League and Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) were also present at the meeting. GNLF leaders said that about one dozen people were killed and dozens were injured in the 104-day long agitation at the hills in demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.
The administration, however, refuted claims that the deaths were owing to police firing, saying that people died because of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) cadres.
In another development, one day after Supreme Court ordered a stay on the arrest of GJM chief Bimal Gurung until the next hearing of the case, Gurung released an audio clipping from an undisclosed location.
"I thank the Supreme Court for giving me a relief of 15 days. I have been implicated with false charges. I will go to Delhi and file petitions for others who have been similarly framed," he said in the clip.
He also said that conspirators such as Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa would try to instigate them but the people of the hills should not fall into the trap.
COMPENSATION
- The CM announced compensation for the families of the victims of the unrest.
- Family members of those who dies will get Rs 2 lakh and those injured will get Rs 50K.
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