Row over use of ‘Pintail Village’ by Opp

Bappaditya PaulSILIGURI, May 8: A controversy has erupted over the use of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ in Siliguri by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha for political purpose.Waking up late to the arbitrary act, the DGHC caretaker administrator and the Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner, Mr Bihari Lal Meena today said that the administration would not allow the GJMM to use the tourist resort any further. “All senior officials in the civil administration were busy in maintaining law and order for the past few days. The GJMM started indiscriminate use of ‘Pintail Village’ to put up party cadres and also for holding Press conferences taking advantage of the situation. But now we have taken cognisance of the matter and would not allow the GJMM to use the resort any further,” Mr Meena said. The DGHC administrator further added that he would hold a meeting with the GJMM leadership on Monday in Darjeeling and would categorically convey the message to them. “I would also attend office at the DGHC headquarters Lal Kothi in Darjeeling from Monday to monitor the affairs properly,” Mr Meena said. The GJMM president Mr Bimal Gurung, however, said that the Pintail Village was a property of the Hill people and hence, they had every ‘right’ to use the resort. “Pintail Village is our property. It is the yield of the struggle of past 21-years and hence everyone from the Hills has the right to use the tourist resort,” Mr Gurung told media persons at the ‘Pintail Village’ today. The tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ near Dagapur in Siliguri was a dream project of the former DGHC chairman, Mr Subash Ghisingh. The resort was built on a plot leased out by the state government to the DGHC as per provisions of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Agreement of 1988. The resort was inaugurated for tourist use on 12 November 2006. (The Statesman)