Bandh enters sixth day in hills, Sikkim remains cut-off

SILIGURI: Life continued to remain paralysed in the hills and Sikkim cut off from the rest of the country as the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) sponsored indefinite bandh demanding Gorkhaland entered the sixth day today.

There was no report of any untoward incident and the situation was peaceful, Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) K L Tamta said.

Six hundred CRPF personnel requisitioned to deal with the situation are being kept in reserve in Siliguri and no company has yet been sent to Darjeeling as the existing situation did not demand it.

Darjeeling District Magistrate Rajesh Pandey told PTI that National Highway 31-A linking Siliguri and the Sikkim capital, Gangtok, continued to remain cut off following the indefinite bandh as 70 km of the highway passes through bandh bound Kalimpong sub-division.

Army and police vehicles and school buses, however, were plying as they were exempted from the purview of the bandh, he said.