This New Year was a new coming for Bimal Gurung, as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president took office today as the chief of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the post that he had given up, to lead the fresh statehood movement last year in June. Gurung first completed the puja rituals before entering his chamber at Lalkothi and taking the chair of the Chief Executive of GTA.
Talking to reporters after taking office in the afternoon, the GTA chief executive said, “There were some misunderstanding with the state government in regards to our demands that are mentioned in the GTA agreement and which was not fulfilled. However, now that things are back on track, I hope everything will fall in place”. Issues like transfer of departments and the reserved forest to the GTA, providing tribal status to all the Gorkha community except the schedule castes and the release of arrested GJM leaders and activists including the Sabhasads are among the demands of the Hills party. “We have been assured and are hopeful that the PWD and Information and Culture Affairs departments would soon be transferred to us,” Gurung stated.
After the patch-up with chief minister Mamata Banerjee last October, GJM had promised to put an end to the agitations and work towards the development of the Hills and had even sat for a bipartite meeting with the state government in November- unlike earlier when Gurung had said he would talk only with the Center.
Today, the GJM president promised to usher development and boost tourism in the region. “For 2014, we will focus on developing the Hills. Priority will be given to generating employment in the Darjeeling Hills and promoting tourism which is the backbone of our economy,” said Gurung. Work on a water kingdom at Jamuney and the ropeway in Rohini and other projects in Relli, Pala, Triveni, all related to tourism, will be taken up on a war footing by the GTA, he asserted. The GJM president said eight new colleges would be established in the region while work on two of them would start soon. “Education will be prioritized. For a medical college in Kurseong, we have already identified the land and are in the look-out for one in Takdah for an engineering college,” said Gurung.
The GTA chief executive also said the long delayed Balasan Drinking water project for Darjeeling town would be commissioned, soon. “We want the Balasan project to start at the earliest and are looking at it to be operational within June, this year. The distribution system needs to be completed,” he said. The Balasan water project that was originally slated to be completed within three years of its commissioning in 2006, but has been delayed due to various reasons including political and the Army not providing land for a six km stretch on its area at Jalapahar.
Gurung will be heading to Delhi at the end of this month to meet ministers and officials to pursue the various projects for the Hills. He will also visit a famous temple in Kathmandu to offer prayers later this year.
Source: EOI
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| Bimal Gurung at his office in Lalkothi. |
After the patch-up with chief minister Mamata Banerjee last October, GJM had promised to put an end to the agitations and work towards the development of the Hills and had even sat for a bipartite meeting with the state government in November- unlike earlier when Gurung had said he would talk only with the Center.
Today, the GJM president promised to usher development and boost tourism in the region. “For 2014, we will focus on developing the Hills. Priority will be given to generating employment in the Darjeeling Hills and promoting tourism which is the backbone of our economy,” said Gurung. Work on a water kingdom at Jamuney and the ropeway in Rohini and other projects in Relli, Pala, Triveni, all related to tourism, will be taken up on a war footing by the GTA, he asserted. The GJM president said eight new colleges would be established in the region while work on two of them would start soon. “Education will be prioritized. For a medical college in Kurseong, we have already identified the land and are in the look-out for one in Takdah for an engineering college,” said Gurung.
The GTA chief executive also said the long delayed Balasan Drinking water project for Darjeeling town would be commissioned, soon. “We want the Balasan project to start at the earliest and are looking at it to be operational within June, this year. The distribution system needs to be completed,” he said. The Balasan water project that was originally slated to be completed within three years of its commissioning in 2006, but has been delayed due to various reasons including political and the Army not providing land for a six km stretch on its area at Jalapahar.
Gurung will be heading to Delhi at the end of this month to meet ministers and officials to pursue the various projects for the Hills. He will also visit a famous temple in Kathmandu to offer prayers later this year.
Source: EOI
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