Morcha ups ante in rural Siliguri

TT, Siliguri: Leaders of the Gurkha Janmukti Morcha the foothills have alleged lack of infrastructure development in the rural areas of Siliguri and sought intervention of party chief and GTA chairman Binay Tamang as well as the state government.

"In a number of rural pockets on the outskirts of Siliguri, work on infrastructure projects has come to a halt or not started yet. At a time the state and the GTA are carrying out development across the hills in an elaborate manner, there is no reason why people in these areas should be deprived. We have met Binay Tamang and written to the administration," said Samson Tamang, president of the Siliguri sub-divisional committee of the Morcha.

In recent years, this is the first time the Morcha has focused on issues pertaining to Siliguri, "In Naxalbari, Kharibari anrd Phansidewa (of Siliguri sub-division), projects like drinking water supply, community hall, roads, river safety works, sanitation have not been implemented," added the Morcha leader.

The complaint is seen as an attempt to in mount pressure on the Left-run Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, "The Morcha is trying to exert pressure on the Left and revive its support by highlighting local issues and by drawing comparisons with the hills," said an observer.

Morcha leaders said they planned to field candidates in the elections to the Siliguri Municipal Corporatiation, due in 2020. "We feel there should be representations from different communities in the civic body. It can help meet the demands on infrastructure raised by such communities. That's why we want to field candidates in the next civic polls," said Tamang.