मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 30 जुलाई। कालेबुङ बस विस्फोटको घटना दिनोदिन जटील बन्दै गइरहेको छ। यूएलए नामक भूमिगत भनिने सङ्गठनले सार्वभौम राष्ट्रको माग अनि जीटीए सम्झौताले गोर्खाहरूलाई धोका भएको बताउँदै सङ्गठनको प्रमुख एम. थेगिम नामक एक अज्ञात व्यक्तिले बम बिस्फोट काण्ड आफूहरूले गराएको बताएपछि खुफिया विभाग अनि प्रशासनको हाल टाउको दुखाइ भइरहेको छ।गत मंगलबार राती यहॉंको मोटर स्ट्याण्डमा रहेको उत्तर वङ्गाल परिवहन निगमको बस बिस्फोटको जॉंच कार्य हाल द्रुत गतिमा अघि बढ्दै गइरहेको छ। सीआईडी, जिल्ला पुलिस अधिक्षक, उत्तर बङ्गाल आईजी अनि कलकत्ता फोरेन्सिक जॉंच दलले घटनाको रिपोर्ट लिएपछि आज जलपाइगढ़ी डिभिजनल कमिश्नर ए.के. सिंहले पनि घटनास्थलको निरीक्षण गरी जानकारी लिए। आज डिभिजनल कमिश्नरसँग कालेबुङ महकुमा शासक एल.एन. शेर्पा, थाना प्रभारी प्रसाद प्रधान लगायत व्यापक पुलिस कर्मीहरूको उपस्थिति रहेको थियो। कालेबुङ पुलिस अहिले शङ्काको आधारमा विभिन्न व्यक्तिहरूलाई सोधपुछ कार्यमा जुटिरहेको छ।
आफैले तोकेको कार्यक्रममा डा. छेत्री अनुपस्थितमनोज वोगटी ,कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 30 जुलाई। कालेबुङले मात्र होइन जिल्ला कै गन्यमान्यले बुद्धिजीवीकोरूपमा मानेका अनि अहिले कालेबुङका विधायक बनेका डा.हर्कबहादुर छेत्रीले आफैले समय तोकेर तय गरिएको कार्यक्रममा उपस्थिति नदिएपछि मोठ 32 वटा सङ्घसंस्थाका प्रतिनिधीहरू हेरेको हेरेकै भए। 11 वजीदेखि कार्यक्रम शुरू हुने तय थियो अनि कार्यक्रमको उद्देश्य नै विधायक डा. छेत्रीलाई सम्वर्धना जनाइने थियो। डा. छेत्रीले अनेकौं व्यवस्तता देखाउँदै पनि आयोजक सङ्गठनलाई आजको दिन तोकेका थिए। कार्यक्रम शुरू भयो तर डा. छेत्री आइपुगेनन्। 32 वटा संघसंस्थाका प्रतिनिधिहरूले आयोजक सङ्घठनलाई चेपारोमा पार्दै थियो। 1 बज्यो तर पनि डा. छेत्री सम्मान थाप्न आएनन्।
विधायक बनेपछि पहिलोपल्ट डा. छेत्रीले कालेबुङका वरिष्ट नागरिकहरूलाई कार्यक्रम तय गर्न लगाएर पनि उपस्थिति नदिएर आहत बनाएपछि उपस्थित समूह छेत्रीसित रुष्ट बनेको देखियो। आज यहॉंको एक अराजनैतिक संस्था गोर्खा दुःख निवारक सम्मेलन कालेबुङले विधायक डा. हर्कबहादुर छेत्रीलाई सम्मानित गर्ने कार्यक्रमको आयोजना गरेको थियो, जहॉं सम्मानित व्यक्तिको अत्तोपत्तो थिएन। शिक्षाविद पी.आर. प्रधान, डा. जीएस योञ्जन अनि 32 वटा सङ्घ-संस्थाका प्रतिनिधिहरू लगायत अन्य गन्यमान्य व्यक्तिहरूले लगभग चार घम्टा पर्खिएपछि अन्तमा सम्मान कार्यक्रम नै हुन सकेन। यस्तो खाले घटना कालेबुङमा पहिलोपल्ट भएको सबैले बताएका छन्। सबैले डा. छेत्रीले उपस्थिति दिन सक्तैन थिए भने किन उनैले आजको दिन तोके? भन्ने प्रश्न उठाइरहेका थिए।
सुन्नमा के आएको छ भने डा. छेत्री आज नै कुनै महत्त्वपूर्ण बैठकको निम्ति दार्जीलिङ गए। गए पनि तर तिनले आप्नो अनुपस्थितिको सूचना आयोजक संस्थालाई नदिएकोले डा. छेत्री सबैको आलोचनाको शिकार बनेका थिए। यस सन्दर्भमा आफ्नो अनुपस्थितिको सूचना नदिएको अनि यसको निम्ति माफी समेत नमागेको सङ्गठनका सभापति उदय कुमाईले बताएका छन्। तिनले भने, उनी आजको कार्यक्रममा आएनन्, ठीकै छ तर हाम्रो शुभकानमना सधैँ उनीसित छ। डा. छेत्रीको अनुपस्थितिलाई लिएर उपस्थित विभिन्न सङ्घ-संस्थाका प्रतिनिधिहरू अनि सङ्गठनले पनि दुःख व्यक्त गरेका छन्। यसै सम्बन्धमा पी.आर. प्रधानले भने, विधायक कतै जानपर्ने थियो भने उनले पहिले नै सूचना दिनपर्ने थियो। तिनी केही राम्रो र गहण विषयको निम्ति कतै गएको हो भने उचित छ तर कार्यक्रमलाई नै महत्व नदिएको हो भने उचित कार्य गरेनन्।District move irks Morcha
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| Harka Bahadur Chhetri addresses the media in Darjeeling on Sunday. Picture by Suman Tamang |
The move comes against the backdrop of plans by the Mamata Banerjee government to carve a separate Alipurduar district out of the existing Jalpaiguri. All the 199 mouzas each from the Dooars and the Terai that the Morcha wants under the GTA fall within Jalpaiguri district.
“Unless a final shape is given to the territory of the GTA, we do not think there should be any reorganisation of the districts which involves areas we have demanded within the GTA. Such a move will go against the spirit of the GTA agreement signed recently,” Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri said here today after a meeting of the party’s “core” committee.
The meeting, presided over by party chief Bimal Gurung, had been called to discuss the stand the Morcha should take at the all-party meeting called by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday to discuss a new name for West Bengal as well as the planned reorganisation of five districts.
“We discussed the issue of the reorganisation of the districts thoroughly and we believe the issue is of immense importance for us,” Chhetri, also the Morcha MLA from Kalimpong, said.
The party wants Mamata to refrain from taking decisions on reorganisation of the districts covering the Dooars and the Terai, some parts of which fall in Jalpaiguri and the others in Darjeeling.
The hill party is also worried that most pockets dominated by the Nepali-speaking people in the Dooars are closer to Alipurduar, which is proposed to be made a district, than Jalpaiguri town. The pockets come under the Kalchini and Madharihat blocks, now part of Jalpaiguri’s of Alipurduar subdivision. Once Alipurduar is upgraded to a district, Kalchini and Madharihat are likely to fall under it.
Train crash chain reaction
TT, July 31: An express from Guwahati jumped the rails near Malda this evening and veered off to a parallel track to collide with a local train, leaving at least one person dead and over 100 injured and tearing up Bengal’s railway schedule.
The 7.05pm crash between Jamirghata and Gour Malda stations, about 10km from Malda town, halted train traffic and led to the Darjeeling Mail and several other Calcutta-bound trains getting stuck at various north Bengal stations.
Seven north Bengal and Guwahati-bound trains from Calcutta too were cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers, including a large number of students and tourists, in the lurch.
The engine and some 10-12 bogies of the 24-coach Guwahati-Bangalore Express, headed to Bangalore via Howrah, got derailed and rammed the Malda-bound passenger train from Azimganj, Murshidabad.
Eyewitnesses said both engines were mangled and caught fire, which was doused by local people, and the impact caused the first of the local train’s dozen-odd coaches to mount its engine. Two of the express train’s compartments fell into a trackside swamp.
Divisional railway manager Harish Kumar said a male body had been found near the engine. Some local people claimed having seen several bodies hanging from the mangled coaches but this could not be confirmed. The causes of the derailment remained unclear till late tonight.
The accident revived memories of the May 2010 tragedy in West Midnapore when a goods rain had crashed into the derailed coaches of the Jnaneswari Express, killing 150 passengers.
“The crucial difference today was that the driver of the passenger (local) train was alert and slammed the brakes, which reduced the impact,” said Eastern Railway general manager Varun Bharthuar.
The accident has damaged 500m stretches along both tracks, which need to be repaired before trains can run.
Railway officials said the Sealdah-bound Darjeeling Mail, New Cooch Behar-Sealdah Uttar Banga Express, and the Alipurduar-Sealdah Kanchankanya Express were stranded at various places.
The trains cancelled in Calcutta were the Darjeeling Mail, Padatik Express, Sealdah-Saharsa Hatey Bajarey Express, Kanchankanya Express, Gour Express, Balurghat Fast Passenger and the Guwahati Garib Rath Express.
Calcuttan Ritwik Dutta, 23, was to report for his first day of work with a Malda bank at 9am tomorrow but feared he would lose what was “going to be my first job”. He said: “I called up the bank authorities but they said I must report by 5pm tomorrow.”
In Malda, 340km away, R. Jyoti Pathak, assistant driver of the express, said: “Suddenly, we felt a bump and realised the engine had gone off the tracks. There was a loud bang and I fell unconscious.”
Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi initially said the body that was found was not related to the crash (unconfirmed reports said it had been lying there since earlier) but railway officials later confirmed one death in the collision.
Subba son held for stove blast
RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Kalimpong, July 31: Police today detained Santosh Subba, the 35-year-old son of jailed Gorkha leader Chhatrey Subba, in connection with the kerosene stove blast at Motor Stand here on July 26.
“We have detained one person and are examining him,” said D.P. Singh, the superintendent of police, Darjeeling. Asked if the detained person was Santosh, he replied in the affirmative.
The blast had partially damaged a bus parked at the stand and shattered the ventilator of a ticket counter.
Sources said the police were examining the details of the calls made from Santosh’s cellphone on July 28, the day a person identifying himself as M. Thehgeem called up a vernacular newspaper’s office here and said his Underground Liberation Association had carried out the blast to protest the signing of the GTA agreement.
The police are also understood to have recovered a copy of the newspaper which had carried the ULA’s claim from Santosh’s car.
Sources said Santosh appeared very frustrated over the 10-year-long detention of his father in a Jalpaiguri jail.
The 62-year-old senior Subba was arrested for allegedly masterminding the attack on GNLF president Subash Ghisingh near Kurseong on February 10 in 2001.
Parishad refuses to lift tea embargo
TT, Siliguri/Jaigaon, July 31: The Progressive Tea Workers’ Union today said it would continue to stall the despatch of tea from the gardens in the Terai and the Dooars unless the planters assured them in writing that the demand for an immediate revision of wages would be considered.
The leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad-affiliated union held a meeting in Malbazar today to discuss north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb’s plea to withdraw the agitation and settle the issue through tripartite talks in Calcutta on August 4.
“Earlier, on the basis of a request from the minister, we had withdrawn the one-day strike planned for July 28. He has again appealed to us to withdraw the ongoing agitation and allow the despatch of processed tea from the estates,” said Tezkumar Toppo, a PTWU leader and the general secretary of the Parishad. “We appreciate the minister’s gesture and attempt to look into the issues. We are thankful to him for even taking us to the chief minister last week. At the same time, we need a letter from the planters who have not sent us any written commitment so far. We want them to write to us, assuring that our demand would be met at the earliest.”
The union once again rejected the planters’ contention that they would not be able to pay the labourers wages and disburse rations.
“We are not ready to buy the theory that they cannot pay wages and distribute ration from tomorrow onwards unless we withdraw the agitation. They have earned crores of rupees in the current season and we feel the warning has been issued in a bid to scuttle our movement,” said Toppo.
The planters said although the workers had been paid wages and disbursed rations in the past two days, it would not be possible to make any payment next week.
“We want to reiterate that unless tea is allowed to move out of the gardens, it is not possible for us to pay wages,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association.
Asked about the union’s demand for a written assurance, Bhattacharjee said: “We have time and again insisted on the restoration of normalcy. We, too, want an early solution to the issue and are ready to increase the wages.”
Sources said the planters had talked to the union leaders, who have sought the letter as a face-saver to withdraw the strike. A source in the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations, hinted that it was likely that such a letter might be sent in the next couple of days, thus facilitating the lifting of the embargo
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