Incidents of arson continued on the 35th day of the indefinite bandh in the Hills. The heritage Rajrajeshwari Hall in Kurseong was torched on Wednesday in the wee hours of the morning.
"At around 1.30 pm we got news that the Rajrajeshwari Hall was torched. We immediately informed the fire brigade. The Hall is totally gutted," stated Arun Mohan Ghosh, Secretary of the Hall. The single storied structure was completely gutted in the fire.
Rajrajeshwari Hall is located in the heart of Kurseong town on Dow Hill Road, at a stone's throw distance from the Kurseong Municipality. Earlier on June 4, 2016, a fire had broken out at the Rajrajeshwari Hall. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had handed over Rs 38 lakhs in February this year for the renovation of the Hall.
The Rajrajeshwari Hall under the Bengali Association of Kurseong had a rich history. Rai Bahadur Sashi Bhusan Dey had started a Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Kurseong, in memory of his late son who had died from this disease. While he was at Kurseong, the local Bengalis approached him for his patronage in constructing a Hall for the Bengali Association to meet.
Being a philanthropist, he built the Rajrajeshwari Hall in the name of his wife just below the TB Sanatorium. Thus the Rajrajeshwari Hall was built in 1930.
The Durga Puja of the Bengali Association used to be organised in this Hall. The Bengali Association of Kurseong had been formed in 1908 and the Association started commemorating Durga Puja since 1915. Since 1930, the puja is being observed in the Hall. 2016 marked the centenary of the puja.
The Hall was a single-storeyed semi-concrete structure with the walls made of concrete, the roof of tin and the interiors and stage of wood. Many rare photographs, documents and books were gutted in the fire.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has washed off their hands from the incident stating that the party has no involvement in the torching of the Rajrajeshwari Hall.
There were attempts to set the Tourist Lodge in Kurseong on fire. Though the fire was doused, the kitchen was damaged. In Darjeeling town, at around 1.30 pm, the Trinamool Congress party office located at Judge Bazar was set on fire. A police vehicle was also torched a few yards away from the TMC party office.
In Mirik, the funeral procession of Asish Tamang, a GJM activist who had allegedly died in police firing on Monday night was taken out. The BDO office of Mirik was also torched.
The Darjeeling Hill Runners, an association of long distance runners based in Darjeeling organised a 12-hour continuous run for Gorkhaland on Wednesday. "Around 30 runners have been running at the Chowrasta with the run continuing nonstop for 12 hours. We have done this in support of Gorkhaland," stated Prahlad Roka, a Hill runner.