The meeting of transporters and Morcha leaders in progress at Pintail Village on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Oct. 19: Threats of at least three bandhs, each for not less than 24 hours, seem to be looming over north Bengal at a time when the tourist season in the hills and the Dooars is inching towards the peak, which is usually in November.

The Citu has called an indefinite transport strike from Wednesday. It is unlikely to affect light traffic because other transport syndicates, which have around 500 member vehicles, will ply their cars with “GL” number plates. But drivers of goods and commercial carriers and petrol tankers will join the Citu strike.

While the Shiv Sena has threatened with a 48-hour bandh in Siliguri sub-division, parts of Jalpaiguri and the Dooars from Tuesday, the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee has called a 24-hour shutdown in north Bengal on Wednesday.

Amra Bangalee agreed to postpone its indefinite bandh after the additional district magistrate of Siliguri purportedly sought 24 hours to see if the organisation’s demand could be met. “If the administration fails to provide us with satisfactory evidence, indicating that steps have been taken to curb the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s highhandedness, we would be forced to go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday,” said Khushiranjan Mondal, the north Bengal zonal secretary of Amra Bangalee.

The organisers of all three strikes are anti-Morcha forces, protesting not only against the hill outfit’s diktat to vehicles owners and drivers to change the “WB” number plates to “GL” but also the blot-out-Bengal-from-signboards mission launched by the outfit.

Amra Bangalee has demanded that the district administration rewrite “West Bengal” on all signboards, which the Morcha has replaced with “Gorkhaland” and arrest those responsible for assaulting drivers at Dilaram on October 9.

Darath Karmakar, the Darjeeling district president of the Shiv Sena, said his party would not reconsider its decision regarding the bandh.

“We protest against anti-national activities like deletion of ‘WB’ from government signboards and forceful change of number plates by the Morcha and the manner in which the administration is tolerating these acts,” he said. State urban development minister and the CPM MLA from Siliguri Asok Bhattacharya today appealed to the three organisations to withdraw the bandhs.

“We condemn the Morcha for its activities and want the administration to take necessary steps. However, bandhs called in Siliguri to counter the Morcha are equally undesirable and would add fuel to the already tense environment.”

“The CPM is against such strikes and would be on the streets, opposing them,” he added. The minister was silent when Jibitesh Sarkar, a state committee member of the party, announced the Citu’s decision.

“We have a meeting with the administration tomorrow. If there is no commitment from its side, the drivers are free to go to the hills using the illegal ‘GL’ number plates or stop plying their vehicles,” Sarkar said.

Ajay Chakraborty, the president of the Citu-affiliated Darjeeling District Taxi and Private Car Drivers’ Association, confirmed that there would be no change in the union’s decision unless the administration promised them help.

The Morcha, on the other hand, has decided to go ahead with its signboard mission.

“We would continue making the alterations on the signboards. Changes will be made on the signboards of shops and private establishments as well. Also, any vehicle — save a few which we will consider — has to sport ‘GL’ number plate while plying in the hills,” said Binay Tamang, the media and publicity secretary of the Morcha.

District magistrate Surendra Gupta said seven FIRs have been filed against the Morcha for changing signboards of state government offices. “We have a meeting with Citu tomorrow. We are trying to dissuade organisations from calling bandhs.”

The minister, who is also the Left Front convener in the district, said leaflets in Bengali, Nepali and Hindi would be distributed in the hills to make people aware of the unconstitutional activities of the Morcha.