Gangtok: A convoy of 94 vehicles left Rangpo
in Sikkim for Siliguri on Sunday via National Highway 31A which
passes through Darjeeling district where Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha (GJM) sponsored indefinite bandh enters its fifth day.
The convoy left Rangpo with police escort in view of the
bandh, police said.
They said for the last few days GJM picketers had only
allowed Sikkim National Transport (SNT) vehicles to pass on
the highway and private vehicles and taxis were plying at
their own risk.
Meanwhile, the Sikkim Hotels and Restaurant Association
(SHRA) has urged the people of the Darjeeling hills and the
GJM leaders there to allow unhindered vehicular movement to
Sikkim on National Highway 31A as it was the lifeline of the
landlocked state.
Addressing a press conference, the SHRA also
expressed its gratitude towards the people of Darjeeling for
allowing at least SNT vehicles to ply on the highway during
the bandh.
The SHRA also condemned the killing of three GJM
supporters in the police firing at Sibchu on February 8.
SHRA President, Bhanu Pratap Rasaily, said that
tourism was the only sector in Sikkim in which local people
were engaged in gainful employment. This sector, he said, had
been hit due to the current spate of bandhs and travel
uncertainty.
Rasaily said that although the GJM had assured the
national highway would be kept open for Sikkim during the
Darjeeling bandh, some unwanted incidents had scared regular
traffic off the highway.
PTI
