Bista had on Thursday written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking more Covid-19 testing centres in the Darjeeling district. Thapa said he hoped the latest letter to Modi wouldn’t be yet another letter but “a letter for action for setting up a testing lab in the GTA region”. Political observers said jibs by Bista and Thapa at each other suggested that the two were into political shadowboxing. Thapa has said the GTA is ready to provide the infrastructure and the support but added that the hill body needed an “official letter of request from MOFHW, dept. Government of India.”“Once we receive the letter, we will discuss it with the West Bengal Government and expedite the work on the infrastructure setup,” Thapa stated.

Source: The Telegraph May 31, 2020 19:41 UTC