Darjeeling MP Raju Bista today urged the central government to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Siliguri, highlighting the severe healthcare challenges faced by north Bengal.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista met Union home minister Amit Shah yesterday during the ongoing Parliament session, urging him to expedite tripartite talks for a resolution to the longstanding political issues of the Hills.
The entire region comprising Siliguri, Darjeeling, and Sikkim has been experiencing continuous rainfall since early today.
President of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), central committee, Mann Ghising, today stated that the Gorkha community and the Darjeeling Hills are facing a severe political crisis.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from the Darjeeling Assembly constituency, Neeraj Tamang Zimba, has publicly highlighted the “unjustified” and “deliberate” delays in the implementation of several development projects proposed under his MLA Local Area Development (LAD) Fund.
Once renowned for its high-quality Mandarin oranges, Darjeeling has seen a decline in orange cultivation over the past few years due to climate change and pest attacks. Frustrated by mounting losses, many local farmers abandoned orange farming.
Darjeeling, the queen of hills, is grappling with a persistent and worsening traffic crisis, especially during the peak tourist season.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has also joined the chorus, demanding justice for Prakriti and other students who were allegedly assaulted during protests following her death.
Following an order from the West Bengal government on 2 November, 2023, the district administration has begun surveying tea garden lands in Darjeeling and Kalimpong.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista has strongly opposed chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to allow 30 per cent of tea garden land to be diverted for non-tea purposes, calling it a “dangerous and dictatorial” policy that could displace indigenous communities.
