MAMATA ISSUES GOVT ATTENDANCE ORDER ON EVE OF DARJEELING STIR

DARJEELING/KOLKATA: The stand-off between the West Bengal government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) over an indefinite strike called by the regional party from Monday is showing no signs of abatement, with both sides refusing to back down.

The Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday issued an order mandating all government offices across Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts to remain open, making it clear that there should be no disruption of life on account of the strike. It also stipulated that every state government employee must report to duty until the strike is withdrawn, and leaves without prior approval or a “genuine reason” should not be granted.

The GJM leadership challenged the order, stating that any repressive tactic employed by the state government would be met with more intense agitations. It is feared that this display of political upmanship will be at the cost of the region’s lawand-order situation in the days to come. MANDSAUR: Traders rued their burnt shops, farmers mourned the death of their sons to police bullets; but as four days of violence drew to a close, both sides could only speak of one thing: demonetisation.

“Notebandi destroyed the trust between farmer and trader,” said Sunil Ghatiya, a soybean trader in Mandsaur’s Pipliya Mandi, “It finished off our market.”

“The traders exploited us,” said Dinesh Patidar, whose son Abhishek was killed when police opened fire on farmers demanding loan waivers and better prices for their crops, “They knew the farmers were desperate for cash.” The Modi government insists the economy has weathered the shock demonetization of 86% of India’s currency on 8 November last year, even as evidence to the contrary piles up and economists say they lack the tools to isolate its effects.

In Mandsaur, where four days of rioting resulted in the deaths of 5 farmers and the destruction of crops, farms, shops, and trucks, the policy’s effects are visible: demonetisation has disrupted every aspect of the rural economy — land markets, credit networks, procurement,