Farmers want three-tier panchayat poll,zilla parishad for Kalimpong

YOWAN MOTHAY, KALIMPONG,SEPTEMBER 6/--/Farmers' organizations in Kalimpong in a meeting on Tuesday demanded that three-tier panchayat elections should be held in the Darjeeling hills. In the meeting held under the leadership of Kalimpong Krishak Kalyan Sangathan, representatives of various gram panchayats were present. It was decided at the meeting held at Dukh Nivarak Sammelan Bhawan that in the coming days representatives of organizations in other parts of the Darjeeling hills and Siliguri would be included in the movement.

Addressing a news conference after the meeting, Sangathan president Bishnu Chhetri said after a long discussion in the day's meeting it was decided that there should be three-tier panchayat elections in the hills of Darjeeling, instead of two-tier elections.

The decision would be carried forward in the form of a political movement.

"Now that the West Bengal Government had issued a notice of delimitation for two-tier panchayat elections in  Darjeeling hills, we are not satisfied with this," he said. Since Kalimpong and Darjeeling were two districts in the Darjeeling hills, three-tier panchayat elections should be held in both the districts and Zilla Parishads should be formed. He said two-tier panchayat elections were mostly outdated.

A protest would be organized on October 2 in this regard. Besides, a seminar would also be organized on the need for a three-tier panchayat election. The panchayat system was a constitutional right of the people and not a concession, he pointed out.

"If the villages are green and happy, the economic conditions of the cities will also improve," he said. He said the movement would work on how to inform the government about the issue and how to make the government change its decision on two-tier panchayat polls. He said an apex body would be formed for this purpose. Three leaders of the Sangathan --- Bishnu Chhetri himself, Nanita Gautam and Narendra Tamang -- had already been included. Twenty more representatives from various other organizations too, had been included in the apex body.

Chhetri also demanded that Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Chief Anit Thapa pass a resolution in the GTA Assembly that three-tier panchayat elections should be held in Darjeeling hills and send it to the State Government. Moreover, he also demanded that Darjeeling Lok Sabha MP Raju Bista should also work on this issue. He demanded that the MLAs of Darjeeling Hills should raise the issue of three-tier panchayat elections in Darjeeling Hills in the West Bengal Assembly.