Gangtok ,Sep18: The hunger-strike by members of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), an organisation largely made up of Lepcha ethnic community in Sikkim, entered its 91st day in Gangtok on Today.
A renewed appeal by the Sikkim government to call it off has been rejected. The organisation is demanding the scrapping of hydel power projects proposed in the north of the State.
What started as an indefinite strike has turned into a relay. Similar hunger-strikes have been launched in Darjeeling and Kalimpong by members of the Lepcha community in neighbouring West Bengal and moves are on to spread the movement, Dawa Tshering Lepcha, general secretary ACT, told .
A fresh phase of protests is also being planned , he added. The ACT is opposing the Sikkim government’s proposal to set up seven hydel power projects in the Dzongu area north of the State – a region that falls within the Lepcha tribal reserved area and has a population of nearly 8,000. There are less than 45,000 Lepchas, barely five per cent of the State’s population, across Sikkim.
A two members delegation of ACT led by its president Athup Lepcha has met hungerstrikers of north bengal who are supporting Dzongu issue at Kalimpong and Darjeeling .ACT has also informed of support and solidarity it has received from famous Scottish Missionary School for its ongoing relay protests on Dzongu issue.
The ACT has regretted that it has called off indefinite hunger strike of Dawa and Tenzing on its 63rd days following a personal appeal of Chief Minister of Sikkim but it has regretted that no solution has yet emerged on the basic issue it has raised of scrapping hydel projects in Dzongu till date.
It has also stated that it would continue with its relay hunger strike infront of BL House till a solution is reached to its satisfaction on issue.
