" Day respite from the political agitation in the Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Region.

Life back to normal in hills!   Is it?

KALIMPONG/MIRIK/KURSEONG, 9 Sep 2013: With the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha providing a two-day respite, market places across the hill were today swarming with people busy collecting rations. There were long queues before ATM counters even before the sun first peeped through.

The Haat bazaar area and ration shops in Kalimpong saw huge numbers of customers and they kept on coming even in the evening.

Similar scenes were today witnessed in Mirik with residents of the tourist town and its surroundings thronging the market places the entire day. ATM counters had queues snaking long distances and banks hardly had any breathing space.

The scenes in Kurseong were not different either and it appeared almost everyone in town was at the market places buying essential commodities. The arterial Hill Cart Road runs through town and traffic was moving at a snail’s pace all along the day.

Several students who had gone home at the beginning of the agitation were seen returning back to their respective schools.

Schools can reopen BUT!------No transport. Political unrest in the Region penalises their own people. WHY???

GJM allows schools to reopen, seeks Gorkhaland signature drive

Darjeeling hills, Thursday asked students and teachers to do a signature campaign for Gorkhaland and send a copy to the president and the prime minister.

Asserting that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's ongoing agitation for Gorkhaland will continue, its chief Bimal Gurung said all schools of the region will be allowed to reopen from Sep 13.

"The on-going agitation for Gorkhaland will continue as it is our final battle. But considering the priority we accord to education, we have decided to allow all schools in the Darjeeling hills to reopen from Sep 13," he said.

However, the students will have to walk to their schools as no transport will be available for them.

"All students and teachers must also do a signature campaign for Gorkhaland and send a copy to the president of India and prime minister," said Gurung, who earlier asked schools to "discuss the Gorkhaland issue in the morning assembly as students must understand the relevance of the demand".

Gurung, who earlier said that students in the region were ready to sacrifice education for the sake of Gorkhaland, asked the school authorities to hold classes on Saturdays and Sundays to make up for the lost time.

"Students are our future, tomorrow's voice for Gorkhaland. Keeping this in mind, their success in the coming higher secondary and other final examinations need to be ensured by teachers," said Gurung and reiterated that his fight is not against West Bengal but against the central government.

Report taken from news paper from the  Hill Region

Recent update on the political situation in the Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Regent and what has happenened to Education for pupils.

     Temporary  "Back to School"  But for how long?

Kurseong, 9 September: Though the GJMM chief Mr Bimal Gurung has decided and announced the reopening of educational institutions amidst the bandh environment in the Hills, but even after his announcement the educational institutions are likely to be affected.

Due to the ongoing Gorkhaland agitation, all the schools and colleges in the Hills have been closed, since 29 July. Meanwhile, the agitators had also asked the boarding students to leave the Hills. Accordingly, all the boarding students have left the Hills. Not only the boarding students, but reports said some day-scholars have also left the Hills due to the bandh. Hence, after the announcement of the reopening of the educational institutions, now the students are being informed to rejoin their respective schools. But sources, said that not all students will turn up in the Hills and rejoin their schools.

A school authority said that earlier too this type of agitation had occurred and educational institutions were closed. When the institutions were reopened many students did not come back and we fear the same will happen again.

However, we have been trying to contact the students to request them to rejoin school. Some parents fear that even if they send their wards here it is bound to affect their studies as the agitation is still going on while others feel insecure because of the unrest in Darjeeling Hills. But all these worries are baseless since the agitators themselves have emphasised that even if the agitation continues educational institutions should not be affected. It was learnt that not only the boarding students but even a few day-scholar students whose parents have the means who had gone elsewhere due to the bandh might consider to continue studies there even if Darjeeling Hills reopen.

But these problems are not new to the Hills as even in the past educational institutions had to bear the brunt of the frequent Darjeeling Hills bandh and in one such case, in order to continue with the studies of its students normally, a school reportedly shifted base from Kurseong to Siliguri. However, school authorities had denied that such a step had been taken because of the agitation. Notably, from 13 September, all educational institutions in Darjeeling Hills will reopen again after being closed for more than a month since 29 July.

Taken from a local news paper.