Gurung greets a Morcha supporter at Tribeni. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Kalimpong, March 13: Till a year ago, the GNLF had used the Maghe Mela at Tribeni to establish the tribal roots of the Gorkhas and build up its case to demand Sixth Schedule status for the hills.

A little more than 12 months later, about 20,000 people from the Darjeeling hills and the Dooars descended on the picturesque venue of Tribeni, the confluence of the Teesta and Rangit, to celebrate the success of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in stalling the special status bill and in ousting Subash Ghisingh as caretaker administrator of the DGHC.

As in Singla, Morcha president Bimal Gurung was present at Tribeni, 50km from Darjeeling, today to join in the revelry. However, unlike yesterday when he only did the listening, Gurung did speak, albeit briefly. Conscious of the presence of a large number of people from the Dooars, Gurung reassured them saying: “We will not part with even an inch of the Dooars during our struggle for Gorkhaland.”

Predictably, this was greeted with a deafening roar of approval, which all but drowned the mighty currents of the Teesta.

“The GNLF sacrificed us at the altar of power, despite the contribution of the Dooars in the Gorkhaland agitation. We are confident Bimal daju will not betray us in the same manner,” said Gopal Chettri, a resident of Birpara, before joining his friends in the merry making.

Also making merry was Gurung, who did a few jigs as popular Nepali music reverberated throughout the green valley. People stood in a long queue to either shake his hand or garland him.

“I am here because I believe in the cause (being espoused by the Morcha),” said C.K. Lama, a resident of Takdah.

Earlier, the marching band of a local Teesta school escorted Gurung and senior Morcha leaders to the main venue from near Teesta Bazaar. Schoolchildren in traditional Gorkha costumes also presented dance items to keep the crowd entertained in an ambience that was picnic-like.

If the organisers are to be believed, they had prepared lunch for 25,000 people. However, seeing the sheer size of the crowd, the nervous organisers went on the public address system and requested the people to take small helpings to ensure no one went un-fed.

Beverage of any kind was conspicuous by its absence from the menu. And all this was happening at the same venue where not till long ago, at GNLF-sponsored events, assorted local brews used flowed like the adjacent water of the Teesta.