Office bundh withdrawn by GJMM.. Chakka Jam in Darjeeling More...ABGL wants referendum in hills..Ghisingh salvo...Tharoor quits

KalimNews:Source-SHEEM, 18 April: All SDOs Offices along with BDO Offices of Darjeeling hills will reopen from 19th April 2010. The shut down of these Offices called by GJMM since April 7 is withdrawn from Monday. Meanwhile Madan Tamang has demanded for a referendum for the proposed Interim Setup to be implemented by dissolving the present DGHC.

TT, Darjeeling, April 18: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has “banned” the movement of government vehicles in the hills for an indefinite period, demanding the immediate arrest of GNLF supporters who had allegedly beaten up some Morcha men in the Terai last week. The “ban” extends to police cars as well.

The GNLF, too, has threatened a chakka jam tomorrow at Darjeeling More in Siliguri if the Morcha supporters involved in Tuesday’s clash are not arrested immediately. Subash Ghisingh’s supporters will stop all hill-bound vehicles and those coming down.

The Morcha has, however, decided to allow the subdivisional and the block offices to start functioning from tomorrow. It had shut down the offices on April 7, citing hike in water tax and lack of transparency in implementing the 100 days’ work scheme. Following the closure, the Darjeeling municipality rolled back the tax.

Party general secretary Roshan Giri said: “We have decided to open the subdivisional and the block offices from tomorrow, keeping in mind the census that has started.”

Media and publicity secretary Rohit Sharma said it was party president Bimal Gurung’s idea to go for the indefinite bandh. “We told him that we had imposed a 24-hour ban to press for the arrest of the GNLF supporters but he told us that this would not work and the ban should be indefinite.” Asked whether the “ban” on vehicles would affect the census, Giri said: “This is the party’s stand at the moment.”

This is not the first time that the Morcha has “banned” the movement of government vehicles. But given the government’s policy of non-confrontation in the hills, the administration is unlikely to take any action.

Morcha insiders, however, said the vehicle ban is a pressure tactics to force the state and the Centre to accept an interim arrangement for the hills that would include parts of the Dooars and the Terai.

Territory has been a major bone of contention between the government and the Morcha. The state and the Centre are reluctant to part with any part of the plains and want the interim set-up to be confined to the hills. 

ABGL for referendum on ‘set-up’

TT, Darjeeling, April 18: The ABGL has urged the government to hold a referendum to find out whether the interim set-up mooted by the Centre, state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is acceptable to the people.

“If the referendum goes in favour of the (interim) set-up, we have nothing to say. However, the government must not thrust any provision on the people unless it is accepted by them,” ABGL president Madan Tamang told a media conference today. “The Morcha is now talking as if the interim set-up is equivalent to the statehood. We do not think the people will accept it.”

The ABGL chief also demanded a probe into the assets of Morcha leaders. “We believe that Rs 1,200 crore has been spent through the DGHC in the last two years. We demand a CBI inquiry into the projects executed by the council in the past 24 months and a probe to ascertain Morcha leaders’ properties,” said Tamang.

Ghisingh salvo

The GNLF chief, Subash Ghisingh, said in Jalpaiguri on Sunday that the Morcha’s settling for an interim set-up was “nothing but begging”. Ghisingh said he was “101 per cent” sure that the Centre and the state had rejected the demand for Gorkhaland. He criticised the Morcha’s demand for the inclusion of the Terai, Dooars and Siliguri in the interim set-up and quashed rumours that he had been invited by the Union home minister for talks.
River swallows saviour 

Tourists on Sunday raft on the Rangpo at Melli, 12km from the spot where one of the rescuers drowned . Picture by Prabin Khaling

TT, Gangtok, April 18: A 40-year-old man drowned in a tributary of the Teesta in East Sikkim last evening while trying to rescue three persons marooned atop a truck stuck in the river that rose suddenly following heavy rain.

Three men were loading sand on the truck and another was cleaning his Tata Sumo in the Rangpo, when the water level began rising around 5pm.

One person engaged in the sand loading swam to safety, while the remaining three climbed atop the truck. The river swelled further and the Tata Sumo was soon submerged in the water.

Around 6.30pm, despite the heavy shower and fading light, residents of Rangpo, located 44km from here, swung into action to save the three sitting atop the truck. Rangpo police also joined the operation.

The driver of the Tata Sumo was pulled through the fast flowing river by the rescuers who had a degree of protection with ropes tied around their waist. “But the rope around Bhola Tamang loosened and he was swept downstream,” said an officer of Rangpo police station.

Tamang was pulled out of the water by other rescue workers and taken to the nearest hospital at Singtam, 12km away. He was declared dead on arrival by the hospital authorities.

The other two, Dil Bahadur Gurung and Md Salim, hanged on for dear life even as the river rose to the bonnet of the truck.

Around 10pm, army personnel arrived with a raft and the duo were safely brought to the riverbank.

District collector, East, D Anandan told The Telegraph that compensation would be released to the family members of the deceased according to government rules once a report on the incident was submitted to him by the block officer concerned.

The rain that lasted for hours triggered at least a dozen minor mud slides in Gangtok, some along the NH31A. However, no major damage has been reported and the debris has been removed.

“We are on alert as the district has been experiencing heavy rains for the past few days. Quick Response Teams have been formed and a control room has been set up,” said Anandan. 
Tharoor quits as PM sticks to propriety

Shashi Tharoor comes out after meeting the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Sunday noon. At night, Tharoor returned to submit his resignation. (PTI)

Sanjay K Jha, TT, New Delhi, April 18: Manmohan Singh tonight secured the resignation of Shashi Tharoor as junior foreign minister, the Prime Minister playing the dispassionate umpire and signalling one of his favourite batsmen to return to the pavilion over the IPL mess.

If Tharoor began his political career with the flamboyance that defines Twenty20, his tenure of less than a year has been as short as the pint-sized version of cricket that set the stage for his downfall.

The focus now shifts to the IPL top management. Many Congress leaders, especially the younger lot, want the government to rip open the IPL’s dark underbelly and bring under the glare the operations of Lalit Modi whose close association with some BJP leaders is well known.

Tharoor met the Prime Minister tonight after the Congress core group arrived at the conclusion that protecting him would neither be easy nor wise. Tharoor had called on Singh in the morning, too, and explained his position, stressing that he was innocent and blaming IPL commissioner Modi for the crisis.

The core group, however, was not impressed by his simplistic line of defence and decided that there was no point in dragging the matter.

Contrary to a perception among some Congress leaders that the Prime Minister would support the minister he cherry-picked, Singh did not try to defend him, sources said.

The sources said Sonia Gandhi, too, did not speak much at the meeting which took over two hours primarily because the Prime Minister was given a thorough briefing on the episode.

The meeting was also attended by Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony, P. Chidambaram and Ahmed Patel. None spoke up for Tharoor but all aspects of the controversy, apart from the possible fallout, were discussed.

The announcement by Tharoor’s friend Sunanda Pushkar earlier in the day that she was giving up the “sweat equity” given to her in the Kochi IPL consortium also did not cut ice with the Congress core group. The surrender was seen as a last-ditch attempt by the Tharoor camp to salvage his post.

The sweat equity was at the root of the controversy as it fuelled allegations that Sunanda was being given the largesse as an indirect reward to Tharoor — a charge the minister has repeatedly denied.

It was decided that the Prime Minister would ask Tharoor to resign and the development would be made public tonight itself, not waiting for another round of ruckus in Parliament tomorrow.

After meeting Tharoor, Singh had a brief conversation with Sonia over the phone. Tharoor did not speak to the waiting media but indicated his intent by using a personal car, instead of his official vehicle, to reach 7 Racecourse Road for handing over his resignation.

A late-night statement issued by the Prime Minister’s media adviser said: “Shashi Tharoor, minister of state for external affairs, has submitted his resignation from the council of ministers to the Prime Minister today. The Prime Minister has forwarded his resignation letter to the President with a recommendation that it be accepted.”

The sources said near-unanimity existed among the core group members that Tharoor had caused embarrassment to the party by getting embroiled in an avoidable mess and his attempt to invoke Kerala pride to justify the venture was almost childish. Nothing much was left to deliberate on the merits of the case as the leadership had already made up its mind.

The party waited for the Prime Minister’s return from abroad as removing a minister in his absence would have raised questions of impropriety. Sonia had already asked Mukherjee and Antony to study the case and prepare a report for the Prime Minister to act upon.

Although a younger section thought Singh might defend Tharoor if no direct link to corruption could be established, no seasoned leader expected the Prime Minister to overrule the party’s assessment.

Singh is neither known to defend someone facing charges of impropriety nor does he interfere too much in organisational matters. It is Sonia who invariably takes such decisions, and the advice of both Mukherjee and Antony is usually given weight.

With Tharoor out of the way, IPL chief Modi’s alleged closeness with former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has become a topic of discussion in Congress circles.

One young minister of state, who wondered till yesterday if lesser mortals like him too will be treated like Tharoor, told The Telegraph today: “We can’t sit idle and watch the rot in the IPL. We must expose everybody now and show the true face of the BJP.”

The tide of sympathy for Tharoor started rising after the word went out yesterday that his exit was almost certain. Many leaders who could not stomach his lifestyle and tweeting habit started contending that the minister was after all new to the “cesspool of politics”.

“He is too precious to be lost. He should learn the tricks of the trade and return sooner than later,” a minister said, expressing the hope that Tharoor would be given another chance some day.
Bhutanese Celebrate New Year in Manchester
Sapan Pathak (Bhola), Manchester, NH, Bhutanusa.com:Bhutanese American at Manchester, NH observed Nepali new year’s celebration amid diverse cultural shows, speeches and well-wishes of the year. The primary aim of the program was  to mark the beginning of the Nepali  new year 2067 B.S. and to  unite all the Bhutanese living in different counties and cities of  New Hampshire.
More than 400 Bhutanese from the cities of  Manchester, Concord loconia and Masschuetuse  gathered  on the 16th day of April, 2010 with their respective presentations at South New Hampshire University college auditorium. From 6 pm to 10 pm eastern time Friday, enthusiastic participants, spectators and  supporters filled the  collage auditorium  to its bursting point with applaud, cheers, laughters, spell of the literature,  jingles of the music and the charms of the dancers and other performances. The credit for  organizing and monitoring the show goes to the Bhutanese communities of Manchester and its outskirts.
The program would not come to a successful fruition had the American volunteers not rendered their sincere services. For this reason, the organizing committee extended its appreciations and honors to these local volunteers. They were Kim Calhoun-social worker of Manchester School Depatrment, Doug Hall-social volunteer of NH who is helping Bhutanese refugees in the area, Jessica Sant0s- employment counsellor of Manchester  Employment  Security Department, Jeena Carrol Planet – social worker and one of the best volunteers for refugees and Sister Irene- social worker from Catholic church.
Among many who helped bring the event to its perfect completion were Dev Ashikari, Manju Khadka, Vola Pathak, Lal Khadka, Maya Mishra, Om Basnet, Gaurav Pudel, Sharu Mainali and Kamal Basnet who worked more actively during the prgram.
“Thanks to the communities of NH”, Said the organizers for the continued support for and appreciation of their programs in the days to come.