Protesters with traditional weapons near the blockade on NH34. Picture by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, June 12: A demonstration by adivasis in North Dinajpur held up traffic on NH34 for 10 hours today, adding to the woes of those returning from Sikkim and the bandh-hit Darjeeling hills.

Members of the tribal community, wielding traditional weapons, blocked the main road link between north and south Bengal at Bilaspur, 28km from Raiganj town, from 7am to 5pm to demand official recognition of the Alchiki language.

Rajat Chowdhury from Barrackpur and his parents were on a Calcutta-bound NBSTC bus that was held up at Bilaspur. They had failed to board the Darjeeling Mail to Sealdah on June 10 after being stuck in Gangtok while the bandh in the hills blocked the highway to Sikkim.

“We finally reached Siliguri around 1am last night,” Rajat said.

The Chowdhurys, along with many other stranded travellers, boarded the NBSTC bus at 5am today. Three hours later, they were caught in the blockade.

“We have been stuck here since 8am,” said Rajat at 2 in the afternoon. If the bus was running on schedule, Rajat and his family would have reached Calcutta by 3pm.

Arati Das of Jadavpur in Calcutta was in a Tata Sumo, travelling with her husband, two sons and parents-in-law. They were on their way home from Pelling in Sikkim.

“Yesterday, we were stuck at Teesta Bazar on our way to Siliguri because of the bandh. We set off for Calcutta from Siliguri at 4am today. But now we are stuck here without food or water,” she said.

Arati’s husband, Anirban, who works in Siliguri, said: “There was no way we could skirt the blockade. The protesters had placed large stones right across the road.”

Gopal Murmu, the state secretary of the Adivasi Samaj Sikshan Sanskriti Sangstha, said their demand was a long-standing one. “In December last year, the state education minister had given us a written undertaking that Alchiki would be taught in schools, but nothing has happened so far,” he said.

The blockade was lifted after the additional district magistrate arrived at the spot and received a memorandum from the protesters.