Day one of Janta Curfew successful

Dipen Pradhan, SNS, Darjeeling, 13 August 2013: Janta Curfew was observed in the Darjeeling Hills today ~ the first day of the two-day programme ~ as convened by the GJMM to prove its point that it can paralyse life without resorting to the conventional mode of shutdown. Meanwhile, the state’s home secretary, Mr Basudeb Banerjee visited Darjeeling today. He met senior administrative and police officials. He said after coming down to Siliguri that he had taken stock of the situation in the Hills and would inform the chief minister of what he had seen here after getting back to Kolkata. 

Thirty more ~ all GJMM activists and one GTA member ~ were arrested in course of raids since last night, informed Darjeeling SP, Mr Kunal Agarwal.

Life remained stalled with hardly any people being found on the thoroughfares of the town. Save for police vans, ambulances and press vehicles, there was no vehicular movement.  

Not a single report on picketing by the GJMM has come from anywhere. The business establishments, government offices, educational institutions, hotels, shops and markets were all closed. Even the medical shops were shut. Emergency services were also affected.

Vehicles carrying water and milk did not ply. No newspaper was available. 

Mr Ramesh Gupta who runs a medical facility at Chowk Bazaar said that not even a single patient has approached them today. “I closed it around 3 p.m,” he added. 

The GJMM, party office at Singhamari was also closed. Mr Bimal Gurung in his Facebook page posted, “I will stay at home the whole day to support the Janta curfew. I am getting news from all areas that it is a great success." 

The district magistrate’s office too wore a deserted look. The new Darjeeling district magistrate, Mr Punit Yadav, who had assumed charge yesterday, said he needs some time to understand the pulse of the situation here. “The state government is prioritising normalcy,” he added. 

The news agencies based in the Hills decided not to circulate the newspapers during the Janta Curfew. The hawkers said they have taken a two-day leave.  

The tea and Cinchona plantations spread across the Hills, however, functioned normally, as the GJMM kept these outside the purview of its Janta Curfew. 

The state home secretary held an hour-long meeting with the Darjeeling district magistrate, GTA principal secretary, Darjeeling superintendent of police and others at Richmond Hill. He refused to talk to the media.

SNS: Sukna, on the outskirts of Siliguri, wore a deserted look on the first day of the two-day 'Junta Curfew' enforced by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) that began today after the party had withdrawn the shutdown that dragged on for 10 days. The roads along Ram Singh Thakuri Chawk were almost deserted. 

People seemed to have chosen to remain indoors in view of the seriousness of the GJMM to enforce the Junta Curfew to send the message to the state government that its clout in the Hills has remained unscathed despite the state’s alleged strong-arm strategy to break the bandh for Gorkhaland. 

However, enough security forces have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident A local, Ms Pratima Chhetri, who runs a restaurant in the area, said people have chosen to remain indoors in response to the call. 

"I did not open my restaurant. It will remain closed tomorrow too. Though I would incur loss, I do not mind. The call has been given in the name of Gorkhaland. We are ready to suffer. No force has been applied. The response is spontaneous," Ms Chhetri said. Another local, Ms Rita Lama, said the response is total. 

"We found no people on the road. So we are also staying indoors. I want normalcy to be restored immediately so that we can return to our normal chores," she said. 

The GJMM Sukna block leader, Ms Durga Sharma, said the party has not done anything to enforce the Junta Curfew. 

“We have neither campaigned nor forced people to observe the curfew. It is a spontaneous response. The same will be the case tomorrow,” Ms Sharma said.