Darjeeling, Sept. 15: Bimal Gurung today said he could “not trust or believe” the state government the remark coming days after the state government held meetings with the hill body to expedite some of its demands.
The state government convened a bipartite meeting at Kalimpong on September 2 and followed it up with a meeting with the GTA’s education department at Calcutta on September 10. Basudeb Banerjee, the home secretary, chaired the Calcutta meeting, which was attended by Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha and GTA’s executive in charge of education, among others.
On September 5, the state government also restored security to Gurung, which had been removed in March.
However, despite the state’s overtures to Gurung, the GTA chief executive today made it clear that he was looking to the Centre for support in running the hill autonomous body.
“I do not trust or believe the state government. If they want to help us, it is fine, even if they don’t want to help us it’s fine,” Gurung said, while addressing engineers at a ceremony organised by the Hills Engineers’ Welfare Association at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan.
Gurung said he would continue to approach the Centre for more funds.
“We will have to go to each and every department at the Centre for funds. It is our job, the elected members of the GTA, to get funds while you (engineers) will have to work hard to ensure that the projects are properly implemented,” he said.
“Recently, when I was in Delhi, I was informed by the tourism officials that there are very little chances of Bengal getting funds from the Union tourism department. I have requested them to explore the possibility of providing funds directly to the GTA as this is an autonomous body,” Gurung said.
The hill leader said that Union human resource department minister Smriti Irani would visit Kalimpong shortly. “I have also requested her to announce the setting up of a central university for the hills during her visit,” the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief said.
“I do not want to mince words. If you want us to run the GTA smoothly, allow us to do so,” he said, referring to the state government.
“There were interferences in the past and I immediately filed a case against the interference. If they do not allow us to function properly, we will go back to agitation,” he said.
Gurung, however, immediately said the GTA has to prove its worth in the next three years.
“We have three years in the GTA. In these three years, we have to prove that we can administer properly and we must be able to show that we can develop our own place.”
Source: Telegraph
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| Bimal Gurung in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang |
On September 5, the state government also restored security to Gurung, which had been removed in March.
However, despite the state’s overtures to Gurung, the GTA chief executive today made it clear that he was looking to the Centre for support in running the hill autonomous body.
“I do not trust or believe the state government. If they want to help us, it is fine, even if they don’t want to help us it’s fine,” Gurung said, while addressing engineers at a ceremony organised by the Hills Engineers’ Welfare Association at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan.
Gurung said he would continue to approach the Centre for more funds.
“We will have to go to each and every department at the Centre for funds. It is our job, the elected members of the GTA, to get funds while you (engineers) will have to work hard to ensure that the projects are properly implemented,” he said.
“Recently, when I was in Delhi, I was informed by the tourism officials that there are very little chances of Bengal getting funds from the Union tourism department. I have requested them to explore the possibility of providing funds directly to the GTA as this is an autonomous body,” Gurung said.
The hill leader said that Union human resource department minister Smriti Irani would visit Kalimpong shortly. “I have also requested her to announce the setting up of a central university for the hills during her visit,” the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief said.
“I do not want to mince words. If you want us to run the GTA smoothly, allow us to do so,” he said, referring to the state government.
“There were interferences in the past and I immediately filed a case against the interference. If they do not allow us to function properly, we will go back to agitation,” he said.
Gurung, however, immediately said the GTA has to prove its worth in the next three years.
“We have three years in the GTA. In these three years, we have to prove that we can administer properly and we must be able to show that we can develop our own place.”
Source: Telegraph
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