The Mamata Banerjee Government has toughened its anti-bandh stand in Darjeeling hills asking the district administration to go for salary deduction of Government employees who failed to report for work in during the ongoing indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in support of a separate Gorkhaland State.
The State Government has decided to deduct the salary of 180 out of 200 employees in the district administration who did not turn up during the bandh days, sources said adding two or three days’ pay will be cut.
Apart from this salary of 6,000 employees of the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority will also be deducted sources said, adding the staff in question had been asked to show cause for their absence despite Government circular to report for work.
The indefinite bandh called by GJM and 17 other parties was continuing for the past one and half months or so.
The tough decision came against the backdrop of the Gorkhaland movement getting more violent by the day and gradually coming down towards the plains with reports of agitators burning down government vehicles in lower regions of Sukna and other areas, sources said.
GJM supporters on Tuesday took out processions at Joygaon a place in Dooars region in Alipurduar district bordering Bhutan. “We are closely watching the situation and any acts of violence will be strongly dealt with,” a senior police official said even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again appealed for peace in the Hills.
Banerjee who was on a two-day tour to Siliguri and North Bengal on Tuesday asked all the Hill parties to give peace and development a chance by withdrawing bandh and allowing the “people to lead a normal life.”
Banerjee’s appeal came a few days before Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee an umbrella body of the agitating Hill outfits would meet in Delhi for its future course of action.
Informing that the entire tourism and tea industry which formed the mainstay of the Hill region had literally shut down on account of continuing bandh bringing untold hardships to the common people Banerjee said “I appeal to all the political parties in the Hills to take a decision and restore peace in the Hills and work in favour of the people.”
She added “please do not spoil the image of Darjeeling which has great reputation world over,” saying the Government was always ready for constructive like development and reminded “I will never allow the State to be divided again.”
Insisting that she would not allow the division of Bengal at any cost Banerjee said “I will rather sacrifice my life than sit watching my state being broken again. There is no difference between the people of the Hills and the Plains. All can live happily with mutual respect and care. The political parties will only have to pave the way for that.”