The indefinite shutdown called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha in Bengal's popular hill-town Darjeeling, has fallen flat on Day One, the Mamata Banerjee government has said. While the Chief Minister stopped short of calling it a flop, the GJM said it could have, but did not, enforce the bandh. Attendance in government offices was "normal" in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik, said state tourism minister Gautam Deb. The protests, spearheaded by the GJM, started last week over fears that the state government was forcing the mostly-Nepali speaking children of the hill-town to learn the Bengali language at school.
