The historic tripartite agreement for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was on Monday signed to resolve the vexed Darjeeling problem amidst protests and bandhs in the Terai and Dooars areas.

The agreement was signed by West Bengal Home Secretary G D Gautama, Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary K.K.Pathak and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha General Secretary Roshan Giri at the Pintail village, about 8 km from Siliguri. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and GJM chief Bimal Gurung and the BJP MP from Darjeeling Jaswant Singh were present at the accord-signing ceremony, among others. Describing the occasion as 'historic,' Mr. Chidambaram said the Centre and the state government would fully back the GTA.