Opposition councilors of Darjeeling Municipality to stage dharna against illegal high-rises in the hill town

EOI, DARJEELING, MARCH13, 2023 : Opposition councilors in the Darjeeling Municipality owing allegiance to the Hamro Party have threatened to stage a dharna in the Darjeeling Municipality against the present civic board run by the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha to demand action against construction of illegal high rises in the town.

On Monday, 15councillors sitting in the opposition bench, among them councilors from Hamro Party, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and a few independents held a separate meeting to discuss the issue of mushrooming construction of illegal buildings in the hill town, flaunting municipal rules and regulations. 

"Darjeeling falls under the seismic zone 4 category. As such it is vulnerable to earthquakes and landslides. Lives will be lost in the event of a natural calamity occurring anytime. We cannot allow such a thing to happen," said former chairman of the Darjeeling municipality, Ritesh Portel. 

He said the issue of illegal construction was grave. Under his chairmanship, action had been taken against defaulters and courts had been moved. "People were happy that we were taking action. However, the BGPM used money power to topple our board in the behest of those involved in construction work," he said. 

The HP won the municipality election in Darjeeling and formed the civic board but after only nine months they faced a floor test which resulted in the BGPM taking overcontrol of the civic body of Darjeeling. 

The former municipality chairman alleged the BGPM was involved in allowing illegal constructions and warned the opposition councillors would stage dharna in protest. 

"As soon as we were removed from the board the BGPM started allowing construction of high rises in a rampant manner. We oppose this and will sit in dharna," said Portel. The HP leader also took a dig at BGPM president Anit Thapa for failing to walk the talk. 

"He (Thapa) preaches about following a system but that does not translate into action. Is allowing illegal construction that puts the lives of the citizens in danger, the system he talks about," questioned Portel. The former civic body chairman pointed out that tourists coming to the hills were being put off by the concrete jungle that Darjeeling town had turned into over the years. 

"Darjeeling is a tourist destination. The concrete jungle that Darjeeling is today is an eyesore. Tourists come to Darjeeling for its beauty and natural serenity. If the illegal construction of high rise buildings continues, tourists will not turn up in the near future," said Portel. 

Portel said he would continue to lead the opposition councillors to work for the benefit of the citizens. "We urge the people come to us or even call us with their problems. We may be in the opposition but we will work for the people who voted for us and help them," he said.