Life remained paralysed in the Darjeeling as there was no transport on the roads and markets were closed on the first day of the two-day "Janata Curfew" announced by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
Police sources said that 30 more GJM activists were arrested since Monday night during the special police drive. The arrested included GJM central committee member Ashok Lama from Kalchini in the Dooars plains, said the Darjeeling SP Kunal Agarwal.
In line with its softening of stance, the GJM has said it will participate in the election of a new chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) after earlier announcing that all members of the hill body would resign. On Monday, GTA Sabha chairman and Morcha central committee member Bhupendra Pradhan said he would write to the GTA principal secretary R D Meena to call a meeting of the GTA Sabha on August 16 to elect the new chief executive of the hill body.
GJM president Bimal Gurung had resigned from the post of chief executive of GTA on July 30 prior to the start of the agitation for a separate state. On Monday, GJM spokesman Harka Bahadur Chhetri had said all GJM members of the GTA would resign at an "appropriate time".
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