www.telegraphindia.com

Nov. 26: A hand-written poster in Nepali signed by “Students of Kurseong” appeared in the town’s taxi stand today, reminding political parties how bandhs had left the people disgusted.

“Allowing schools to remain open is not enough. Teachers and students who live far from the town are facing problems with transportation…. If the repeated bandhs do not stop, the students will take to the streets,” the poster read.

Subash Ghisingh’s GNLF, which has called an “indefinite bandh” in the hills since a khukuri attack on a leader on Friday, suddenly announced a six-hour breather today.

However, no vehicle was allowed to ply even during that period — 10am to 4pm.

Very few shops opened, though. “We came to know about the break after 10.30. We open our shops by 8.30am,” said a shop owner on Ladenla Road.

Most of the hill schools are now holding their annual exams. Hundreds of students will return home to cities across India when the residential schools shut down for winter vacation on December 1.

Parents of children whose schools closed down for the recess early because of the turmoil have got stuck in various towns over the past few days. Police have escorted many of them to Siliguri.

There has been a spate of strikes in the hills since Thursday. First, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha called a 96-hour shutdown before calling it off on the evening of the first day itself. A 108-hour bandh called by the GNLF in Kalimpong ended today, but the general strike called by the party across the hills is still on.

Before GNLF supporters tore away the Kurseong poster, student leader P.K. Pradhan said: “The allegations in it are false. We have left schools out of the purview of the strike. We have also allowed vehicles carrying students to ply.”

Kalimpong students celebrated the end of the 108-hour bandh by going to school. “Attendance was 100 per cent,” said Prakash Pradhan, the director of Rockvale Academy.

A group of Darjeeling re-sidents has decided to hold a silent rally against bandhs tomorrow.

Ghisingh today said the Sixth Schedule status, over which the political drama is being played out, was “first-class and fittest” for the people of Darjeeling.