Gangtok, April 16: The Lepchas from the Darjeeling hills marching towards Dzongu in North Sikkim had to turn back at Dikchu today after facing open hostility from their Sikkimese “brothers”.

A police team escorting the marchers bundled them into vehicles and took them back to Rangpo on the Bengal border. Around 500 Lepchas, including some from Rangpo, were on their way to Dzongu, ostensibly on a pilgrimage to their holy land, although their real aim was to protest against the mega hydel power projects being set up there.

“We were marching to our holy land but the Sikkim government hoodwinked us into returning,” said Dorjee T. Lepcha, the president of the Kalimpong Lepcha Youth Association.

Dorjee admitted that they returned to avoid clashes with “Lepcha brothers” in Sikkim. He said bottles were thrown at the marchers and shops downed shutters along their route to prevent them from buying refreshments. “The people also used provocative and filthy language.”

According to police, hundreds of Lepchas from Dzongu were camping at Namprikdang, the entry point to the Lepcha reserve, to stop the marchers. Fearing more violence, the police convinced the marchers to abort their mission.

The deputy inspector-general of police (range) of Sikkim, Akshay Sachdeva, said Dzongu was a protected area and permits are needed from the North Sikkim district collectorate to go there. “The marchers had no permits and there was the possibility of clashes. So we took them back to Rangpo,” Sachdeva said.

At a news conference in Gangtok, K.T. Gyaltsen, the spokesperson for the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, termed the march a plot by the Opposition. “By bringing people from outside and interfering with the internal matters of the state, the opposition parties are trying to obstruct the development process,” Gyaltsen said.

Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), whose members are on a relay hunger strike at B.L. House here to protest against the hydel power projects, got a shot in the arm today when activist Medha Patkar paid them a visit.

Patkar also visited the four who have been on an indefinite fast for the past 30 days and have been admitted to Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital.

“It is a matter of pain and anguish to see how members of the Lepcha community from the hills are struggling for months,” Patkar said. “We are ready to hear what chief minister Pawan Chamling has to say, but unfortunately he is not saying anything.

“On the way, I met the marchers who were turned back. We were stopped at Nandigram (in Bengal) too, but we ultimately won there,” Patkar added.

Trouble had erupted in Nandigram after the Bengal government went on an acquisition drive to set up a petrochemical hub there. The proposed hub has been since shifted to the island of Nayachar.