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Independence, several labour laws drafted during the British era continued to govern the country, describing them as outdated and in need of reform.
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.
