June 18, 2008
Tea and tourism trade hit as trouble brews in Darjeeling
KOLKATA - PROTESTERS shut down India's famous Darjeeling hills yesterday, threatening its tea and tourism industries, as the Gorkha community pressed its demand for autonomy with an indefinite strike.
The Gorkhas, who are ethnic Nepalis, are demanding that a separate state of 'Gorkhaland' be carved out of the eastern state of West Bengal to protect their culture and heritage.
The strike has badly hit the tourism and tea industries, the two mainstays of the local economy, and a tea industry official warned that exports of premium Darjeeling tea could fall by 20 to 25 per cent this year.
Protesters called off the strike for a few days last week and forced tourists to leave Darjeeling. Yesterday, they shut down hotels again and asked local residents to stock up on food.
'We have asked people to have enough stocks for at least 45 days as we will continue to agitate, irrespective of the hardship,' said protest leader Bimal Gurung, head of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Gorkha People's Liberation Front).
The region's vast tea gardens ship highly prized and fragrant brews around the world, churning out about 10 million kg a year.
Although tea workers were exempted from the strike, the lack of transport and fear of violence were hitting the industry, said Mr Rajiv Lochan, secretary of the Siliguri Tea Traders' Association.
Tourists were also avoiding the Darjeeling hills, with hundreds of cancellations reported by tour operators since last week.
The ruling communist government in West Bengal has ruled out a separate 'Gorkhaland' state but has offered to talk to the protest leaders.
This was rejected by the protest leaders. 'We want to talk to New Delhi, not with the local government,' Mr Gurung said.
The communist government has threatened to take serious action if the strike is not lifted.
Experts say the central and state governments are unlikely to give in to the Gorkhas' demand, and warn that the agitation could intensify and be long-drawn-out as emotions are running high.
At least 1,200 people died in the first Gorkhaland campaign in the 1980s, but protests ended a few years later after Gorkha leaders accepted limited autonomy.
This time around, Gorkha leaders insist their campaign will be peaceful.
REUTERS
