STERN ACTION TO BE TAKEN AGAINST ACTIVISTS OF ABAVP

Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad activists today locked the Madarihat Panchayat Samiti office and burnt the flag of the Hashimara Merchants Association, turning the situation tense in the Dooars once again. Around 200 ABAVP supporters today assembled at the Madarihat BDO office at about 1.30 p.m. and forced the BDO Mr Naved Akhtar out of his office, after he refused to leave. The agitators then drove out the rest of the staff from the office. ABAVP supporters also burnt the flag of the Hashimara Merchants Association when the traders were opening their shops. Protesting against the act, the traders called a trade halt in the New Hashimara area for an indefinite period and gheroed the Hashimara police outpost.Although the ABABVP leadership had declared yesterday that they would allow trade till 17 May, the Mateli and Banarhat-based traders decided to continue with the trade halt. The secretary of the Banarhat Merchants Association Mr Bijoy Barua said that they would not supply foodstuff to the tea plantation areas till the situation returned to normal. The bus operators in the region have sought administrative protection against ABAVP excesses. The secretary of the Dooars Minibus Owners Association Mr Chandi Sarkar today said that the administration must provide them with protection so that they can operate their vehicles safely. “The ABAVP activists have not been allowing us to run buses from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Dooars, as was announced yesterday,” Mr Sarkar alleged.The DM Jalpaiguri Mrs Vandana Yadav acknowledged the problem. “Several trains were diverted to other routes today due to the problem in the Dooars. If the ABAVP activists continue to disturb normal life, we would have to apply force,” she said. “The ABAVP stir is disrupting normal life and the administration will not allow it to continue. We are trying to normalize the situation and are hopeful the agitators will realize that the current state of affairs must alter. If not, the administration would be forced to apply stern steps to control the situation,” she added.The SP Jalpaiguri Mr Anand Kumar echoed the same sentiment: “The two ABAVP activists arrested a few days ago are accused of vandalizing six houses in Nagrakata on 30 April over voting. We want peaceful negotiations with the ABAVP leadership but if they continue to violate law and order, the administration will have to swing into action,” the SP added.