Siliguri IT market braves Gorkhaland movement

Even as the Gorkhaland agitation continues in the hills of North Bengal with
major political opponents, All India Gorkha League (AIGL) and Gorkha Jan Mukti
Morcha (GJMM), clashing on every step, the Siliguri IT market has put up a brave
show in times of political catastrophe maintaining its stability in the northern
region of Bengal.

Although the global recession has made a dent in the IT market sparing none
in the nation, Siliguri too has witnessed an overall loss of about 30 percent in
the OND quarter. The market suffered a huge setback early this year as the
Gorkhaland movement began to take a violent shape and spread across North
Bengal.

“So far, the hills in Darjeeling have been the worst hit alongwith Kurseong
being the center of the political movement. However, in Siliguri, despite the
agitation and the political overtone, the IT market has been steady as it is
untouched by the violence,” said Prasanta Pandit of Mediacomp Point, Siliguri.

Although political sources revealed that traffic movement on National Highway
31 has been affected due to political infighting, the case has been different
with the IT industry as no such events has been reported so far and no shops has
faced the brunt of the movement yet. However, supplies were halted in early
February as the violence engulfed the Dooars and GJMM started to enter Midnapore
to support people against alleged police atrocities.

“Although the Gorkhaland movement is a violent one, neither AIGL nor GJMM has
ransacked any IT retail outlets. In times of strikes and bandhs, like everyone
else in the region, we also

keep our outlets closed. All we have suffered till now is the burden of falling
demand for IT products in the region,” he added.

This year, the IT market has been falling at a constant rate of nearly 35
percent across West Bengal, however, the situation has become acute in Feb in
North Bengal, as dealers have reported that sales have touched an all-time low.
Also, sources said that the recent Interim Budget has not come as a breather for
the IT retail sphere. Dealers in Siliguri are hopeful that in the beginning of
the FY 2009, the market will start to recover.