Leaders of several regional political parties and organisations of the Darjeeling hills met at an all-party meeting in Darjeeling on Saturday and renewed their demand for a permanent political solution to the long-pending Gorkhaland issue.
In the meeting, a detailed assessment of ongoing projects was carried out with particular focus on the reconstruction of the Dudhey Bridge, which was destroyed in the devastating landslide in October 2025.
The announcements span almost every district, from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar to Cooch Behar, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, reflecting a strategy aimed at balanced regional development.
A comprehensive review meeting involving the district administrations of Darjeeling and Kalimpong and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was held at the GTA headquarters in Darjeeling on Wednesday to assess key developmental issues and chart out priorities for the hill region.
Speaking in Parliament on The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026 on Thursday, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said that decades after Independence, several labour laws drafted during the British era continued to govern the country, describing them as outdated and in need of reform.
"Since it was only announced yesterday, I haven't had the opportunity to study the entire document. However, there has been a long-standing proposal for the monetisation of the mountain railways of India, which includes the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railways, the Kalka Shimla Railway, and the Matheran Railway,"
"I managed to talk to him through WhatsApp call at around 2 pm yesterday, but I have not been able to contact him even after several attempts after that,"
According to GNLF leader Ajoy Edwards, he would leave for Delhi within a week to try and set up a meeting of its alliance partners and representatives from the civil society with senior leaders of the BJP.
To contain the spread of Covid-19, all inbound passengers, drivers and vehicle helpers entering Bengal from the state will have to furnish either of the three documents--certificate of double vaccination, negative RT-PCR negative reports issued within 72 hours of their travel
The officer on special duty for public health in north Bengal, Dr Susanta Kumar Roy, held a meeting with district magistrates, chief medical officers of health (CMOH) of both the districts, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital principal Prof Indrajit Saha and other officials today.
