Indefinite <em>bandh</em> in Siliguri disrupts business

Siliguri: The indefinite bandh called by Gorka Janmukti Morcha, has brought the hills in Darjeeling and Bengal-Sikkim border to a standstill. “Siliguri has been a distribution point in North Bengal catering to the hills and Sikkim, apart from the local market. Although the bandh has taken place in Darjeeling and Sikkim border leaving Siliguri unaffected, it had a dire impact on business this time,” said Arindam Chakraborty of Siliguri-based Symbiosys. “Normally the season of May is always poor in terms of business and this time with the strike taking place in the hills, the situation has worsened,” he added.

Dealers in the city are not only worried about the sorry state of affairs going on since the Gorkhaland agitation began, they are fearing a revival of the tense situation in the plains of Siliguri.

“Siliguri, as such has not been directly affected by the bandh. We are keeping our shutters open but business is not at all normal. Consequently, dealers catering to different market segments have lost too much revenue. Primarily, those billing or supplying to the hills have lost about 70 percent while those catering to the local market are down by over 30 percent,” said Tamal Sutradhar, CEO, The Computech.

“There have been problems like this for over decades. I feel that soon Siliguri along with Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong will be declared 'politically sensitive' or 'disturbed' areas. Such a decision will not only result in loss of business opportunities in North Bengal crippling the IT infrastructure, but will also tarnish the image of the entire state,” said Asok Saha of Aparajita Computers.

Already, the tourism sector has been suffering with the number of tourists declining; now retail supplies along with essential commodities are also heading for a scarcity here.

“For long, apart from our own losses in course of the Gorkhaland agitation, the tourism sector has been the hardest hit. Tour operators and hotels comprise a bulk of our customers in the local market. Now, with their business at a risk, we too are at a menace of losing this valuable consumer base,” Sutradhar concluded.

As Siliguri has started to incur losses as a result of the bandh, national distributors have also signaled the alarm confirming the sorry state of North Bengal.

Speaking about the scenario, Gopal Pansari, Branch Head-East, Rashi Peripherals said, “The bandh did have a negative impact over the sales and distribution. Our figures have dropped by a margin of 10 percent as a consequence of the blockade and the hills are in bad condition.”

However, Redington did not suffer any major setbacks in terms of logistics and sales as a consequence of the bandh.

“Our logistical part is absolutely fine and we have maintained our regular flow of goods. Siliguri is not affected by the bandh but the hills are blocked. We are supplying to Siliguri and hence have not faced any major issues so far,” said Sanjay Saha, Branch Manager-East, Redington India.