Chowrastha in Darjeeling on Thursday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Siliguri, June 12: They came out in droves, all on motorcycles, zipping through the streets of Siliguri to enforce the bandh called by the Amra Bangali.

However, the “bike brigade”, seen for the first time in Siliguri, was not part of the Amra Bangali, but comprised supporters of a nascent organisation called the Jana Jagaran, formed to fight against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s call for statehood.

The Jana Jagaran supporters spread out in batches of 50-60 motorcycles. They stopped vehicles coming down from the hills and made them turn back, unless they carried tourists. When they saw an open shop, they went and pulled down the shutters.

“We are demonstrating to prove the point that we won’t tolerate the Morcha’s whimsical calls of indefinite bandhs any longer,” said a member of the “brigade” who did not want to be named.

The bandh in Siliguri was called to protest against the attack on tourists in Lataguri and the Morcha’s demand for Gorkhaland.

It was Jana Jagaran supporters who had last night ransacked five trucks carrying supplies to the hills. “Why should we allow the Morcha to call an indefinite bandh and then relax it for a few days so that the hill people can stock up,” another “brigade” member said today.

The Jana Jagaran claims that it is an “apolitical” body formed to fight the Morcha’s statehood demand.

“The people of Siliguri do not support the Morcha demand for a separate state, which will include this town,” said Swarup Bhattacharya, a joint secretary of the body. “So the Jana Jagaran was formed on April 20 this year. However, it is important to remember that we are only against Gorkhaland, not against the Gorkhas.”

Bandh supporters ride through Hill Cart Road on Thursday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Another joint secretary, Ashoke Kumar Hore, added: “We have people from all walks of life in our committee who might hold different political views.”

But in reality, 60 per cent of the organisation’s committee members are either affiliated to CPM outfits or associated with the party.

Today, the Jana Jagaran leadership also held a meeting with state hill affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya to decide on the future course of action. “We agreed with the minister that we should make all efforts to restore peace in the region,” said Hore.

However, the Jana Jagaran has still not decided whether to allow supplies to be transported to the hills tomorrow, the last day of the “relaxation” before the Morcha bandh is re-imposed on Saturday morning.