Water bandh in the hills

The GNLF-controlled Darjeeling municipality has decided to stop supplying drinking water and clearing garbage in the town from tomorrow. In Calcutta, home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said the situation in the hills was "worrisome' but tourists were safe. "Those feeling unsafe would be brought down to the plains,' he added. Although a lean season for tourism, there would be several hundred tourists in the Darjeeling hills now. The peak period will begin in March.