Hill strike losses Rs 69 Crore due to bandh

Kolkata, 5 September: Caught in the grip of an indefinite stir by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), the economy of Darjeeling has suffered a loss of Rs 66 crore last month. 
Stating this in an affidavit filed by the state government in the Calcutta High Court today following a direction of a Division Bench presided by Chief Justice Arun Mishra last week, a compensation of more than Rs 69 crore has been sought. 
The direct loss to government revenue has been left out of this calculation, the affidavit stated. 
There has been a loss of Rs 46 lakh in the burning down of the Takdah forest house and the Pokhriabong police outpost, which is only a part of the total loss to government property, amounting to more than Rs 1.5 crore. 
The tea industry, a mainstay of this region, is expected to suffer a loss of Rs 20 crore. 
Apprehending a glut in the tea production, the affidavit stated that the producers will have to sell at a lower price and long-time storage will deteriorate the quality of the produce, owing to the absence of dehumidifiers in Darjeeling warehouses. 
The tourism sector has also been hard hit by the stir, with the sector recording a 50 per cent fall in internet bookings. 
The total loss for this sector was in the region of Rs 24 crore last month, it was stated. 

TT: The exchequer had suffered a loss of Rs 69.16 crore in August because of the agitation by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the Darjeeling hills, the state government told Calcutta High Court on Thursday. 

State home joint secretary, Nirmalya Ghosal, gave the figure to the court. 

The division bench of Chief Justice A.K. Mishra and Justice Joymalya Bagchi had asked the government to take all possible steps to keep the hills normal and restrained the Morcha from disturbing the normalcy by applying force. 

In the order, the bench had also asked the home department to file an affidavit stating the loss the state had suffered and mentioned that bandh supporters would be liable to compensate for the loss of the government exchequer.

Kanchan Chakraborty, IE,  Kolkata,  Sep 06 2013: The tea industry, tourism sector and the commercial establishments have suffered a loss of Rs 70 crore due to the bandhs imposed in the Darjeeling hills in August by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the state home department has assessed days after the Calcutta High Court asked why should the party leading the agitation be not asked to pay compensation for violation of rights and destruction of government property.

Delivering an order on August 14, a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Arun Mishra had asked the government to assess the loss and damage to public property during the indefinite bandhs enforced by the GJM.

A counsel of the state government Thursday said the home department has filed an application in the court on the losses incurred. Incidentally, the case was scheduled to be heard by the division bench today, but the Chief Justice was not in Kolkata, According to a home department official, the tea industry incurred a loss of about Rs 20 crore, the tourism sector Rs 25 crore and other commercial establishments about Rs 23 crore.

While the tea industry suffered major losses owing to sharp fall in the production and non-export of the produce outside Darjeeling, the tourism sector was hit hard due to cancellation of bookings in the hotels. Compared to 60,000 tourists who visited Darjeeling last year, this year the figure was pegged at a little more than 600.

More than 50,000 hotel bookings till Diwali have already been cancelled with the hospitality sector apprehending that the total losses incurred may cross Rs 150 crore during the festive season, the official said.

He said while most of the commercial establishments were closed the entire month, a conservative estimate has put the losses at about Rs 23 crore. The VAT collection too dipped sharply in August — only Rs 12 lakh was collected by the commercial tax department this year compared to more than Rs 62 lakh in 2012.