Chalsa (WB): Adivasi leaders of Dooars and
Terai in West Bengal today met state Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee and said they would not allow any area from the two
tribal regions to be included in the Gorkhaland Territorial
Administration formed recently.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had demanded at the time of
the GTA agreement that some mouzas of the two adivasi regions
be included in the authority. While Dooars has 98 mouzas,
Terai has 123.
The Dooars lies on the foothills of the eastern Himalayas
around Bhutan while Terai is the area near the Siwalik range,
the lowest outer foothills of the Himalayas.
Representatives of various adivasi organisations like the
Toto Kalyan Samiti, Bodo People`s Forum and Akhil Bharatiya
Adivasi Vikas Parishad in a meeting with the Chief Minister
here put forward three alternatives.
Either an authority on the lines of the GTA to be named
as Adivasi Territorial Administration for the two regions be
formed, an Adivasi Autonomous Council be created or both the
regions be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
They also submitted some memorandums containing their
demands to the Chief Minister.
Mamata said she needed some time to consider their
demands.
PTI
