Marchers cross First Mahananda Bridge. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, April 17: More than 200 members of the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu rallied near Darjeeling More for more than an hour this morning before backing off and taking NH31 that bypasses Siliguri.

Although police had refused permission to the marchers to enter the town, the actual deterrents were the blockades set up by members of the DYFI, the CPM’ youth wing.

The marchers are on their way to the Sankosh on the Bengal-Assam border, the last frontier of the new state they are demanding.

Commuters were caught in a severe traffic congestion at Darjeeling More and along the highway. It took more than an hour for roads to return to normal.

Heavy police arrangements had been made throughout the route to avoid trouble. The police had even hired buses, indicating that they could be mass arrests if the situation turned volatile.

The rift in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leadership was evident a little after 10.30am. While central leaders like Kamal Dorjee preferred to avoid Siliguri, those like Ravi Shankar Sharma, the president of the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu, an affiliate of the Morcha, wanted to cross the town before heading for the Dooars.

The marchers first halted at the NH31-Hill Cart Road crossing, baffling police who thought that the rally would take the highway.

“We want to march peacefully through Siliguri and then head for Sevoke,” said Sharma. “Siliguri is an integral part of the Gorkhaland that we want.”

A team comprising K.B. Dorjee, the additional superintendent of police of Kalimpong, Pradip Dutta, the deputy superintendent of police of Siliguri, and Swapan Ghosh, the inspector-in-charge of the Pradhannagar police station, tried to negotiate with the marchers.

The police agreed to escort the marchers till Salugara, provided they did not enter Siliguri. Around 200 supporters of the DYFI had by then assembled at Mallaguri More on Hill Cart Road — about 80 metres from the Morcha rally.

“The Morcha is responsible for the ongoing tension and for creating a rift among communities,” said Shankar Ghosh, the DYFI district secretary, who was part of the crowd at Mallaguri More.

Finally at 11.25, the rally started for Sevoke, taking the national highway and avoiding a confrontation.

The marchers have walked 84km from Darjeeling, where 14 of them had been flagged off by Morcha president Bimal Gurung on Sunday. The others joined the group on the way.

The team is on a mission to mark the area that they want to be made part of Gorkhaland, the demand for which has been revived by the Morcha in recent times.

District police chief Rahul Srivastava had earlier said the group would not be stopped if it was small and did not disrupt traffic or normal life. DYFI and CPM supporters had also assembled at three other points (see map) — Champasari More, Baghajatin Colony crossing and Bhaktinagar More — where they shouted slogans against the Morcha.

From Bhaktinagar More, 2.5km away from Darjeeling More, where the rally reached at 12.15pm, it was guided to Salugara by teams from the Bhaktinagar police station and Jalpaiguri Sadar.

The Citu’s district committee will hold a public meeting at Baghajatin Park on Saturday to protest against alleged attacks by Morcha supporters on members of Darjeeling Jila Chia Kaman Mazdoor Union, a Citu affiliate, in hill tea gardens.