The Adivasi Sangel Abhijan sponsored 12-hour general strike against the “Dondi marking” issue in Tapan in South Dinajpur district, drew mixed response in North Dinajpur district today.
Members of the tribal community, armed with bows and arrows, blocked both National Highway-34 and the 10-A State Highway at Siliguri More in Raiganj for hours since morning. All private vehicles stayed off the roads and business establishments downed shutters. Private institutions also remained closed. However, financial institutions, including banks, remained open.
“Schools and colleges will remain closed for the heat spell and following an order of the government for six days. As such, students did not have to bear the brunt of the strike.
All state government offices were functional, but there were less number of visitors,” a source said.
Only government vehicles, including buses of the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC), were seen plying on the roads. In Chopra, most of the tea gardens remained closed due to the agitation of the tribals.
The president of the North Dinajpur district of the Adibasi Sangle Abhijan, Durga Murmu, said, “Apart from the Dondi marking’ issue, we had a demand that the government stop removing tribal people from their land in different places in the state, especially in tea garden areas in Chopra. Tribal students appearing in the HS examinations were not allowed to write in the Santali language. We demand that the state government prepare HS questions in the Santali language too. People at all places of North Dinajpur today supported our strike and it was peaceful.”
The Superintendent of Police of North Dinajpur, Sana Akhtar, said police remained active at all the places across the district. “No violence was reported during the strike,” he said.