Siliguri IT market braves Gorkhaland movement

Siliguri: Even as the Gorkhaland agitation continues in the hills of North Bengal with major political opponents, All India Gorkha League (AIGL) and Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), clashing on every step, the Siliguri IT market has put up a brave show in times of political catastrophe maintaining its stability in the northern region of Bengal.

Although the global recession has made a dent in the IT market sparing none in the nation, Siliguri too has witnessed an overall loss of about 30 percent in the OND quarter. The market suffered a huge setback early this year as the Gorkhaland movement began to take a violent shape and spread across North Bengal.

“So far, the hills in Darjeeling have been the worst hit alongwith Kurseong being the center of the political movement. However, in Siliguri, despite the agitation and the political overtone, the IT market has been steady as it is untouched by the violence,” said Prasanta Pandit of Mediacomp Point, Siliguri.

Although political sources revealed that traffic movement on National Highway 31 has been affected due to political infighting, the case has been different with the IT industry as no such events has been reported so far and no shops has faced the brunt of the movement yet. However, supplies were halted in early February as the violence engulfed the Dooars and GJMM started to enter Midnapore to support people against alleged police atrocities.

“Although the Gorkhaland movement is a violent one, neither AIGL nor GJMM has ransacked any IT retail outlets. In times of strikes and bandhs, like everyone else in the region, we also keep our outlets closed. All we have suffered till now is the burden of falling demand for IT products in the region,” he added.

This year, the IT market has been falling at a constant rate of nearly 35 percent across West Bengal, however, the situation has become acute in Feb in North Bengal, as dealers have reported sales to touch at an all-time low. Also, sources said that the recent Interim Budget has not come as a breather for the IT retail sphere. Dealers in Siliguri are hopeful that in the beginning of the FY 2009, the market will start to recover and there will be a solution to the ongoing political crisis.