Army personnel patrol amid clashes between security forces and protesters during an indefinte strike in Darjeeling on Friday. AFP

Bimal Gurung, GJM chief

Violence and arson marked the second day of the indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hills today, with Army and paramilitary forces patrolling the streets to help restore calm.The scenic hills were largely shorn of tourists as Gorkhaland stir threw normal life into utter disarray. Security personnel took out route marches in the hills as Army patrolled the areas around Patlebas and Singamari where a large cache of weapons, explosives and cash were recovered yesterday.As Darjeeling resembled a garrison town, with security personnel in riot gear fanning across its length and breadth, the Centre today decided to put on hold sending fresh troops to help restore normalcy as the state government has not yet submitted its report on the situation prevailing there.Scores of alleged GJM activists descended on a panchayat office in Mirik, 50 km from Darjeeling, and set it on fire, an official said. A primary health centre was also set on fire at Lodhama.Six suspected Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters were detained today for allegedly setting ablaze a forest department office at Tarakhola in Kalimpong last night, a government official said.”The situation is still very tense. Anything can happen. We have taken out a route march for area domination at various places,” a senior police officer told PTI.The turmoil, which was set off by the state government’s announcement about introduction of compulsory teaching of Bengali language in schools, has begun impacting day-to-day life in the hills with schools, markets and even bank ATMs shut.There were hardly any tourists at the mall and on streets, which used to be teeming with them at this time of the year.Though there was relative calm in the hills after yesterday’s widespread violence, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung, who has gone underground, asked people in the hill station to be prepared for the “final battle” for achieving the separate Gorkhaland state. — PTI .