Morcha protest puts rural exam on hold Relief for off-shops, glare on block office... From relay to indefinite fast for Nickole.. Dalai Lama visiting Kalimpong ... Manohari singh remebered in Kolkata

Participants of a relay hunger strike by the Morcha in Darjeeling on Friday. Picture by Suman Taman

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 10: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today browbeat the government into deferring an exam for employees’ promotion in the panchayat department. The Darjeeling district administration has announced that the exam scheduled for tomorrow has been put on hold indefinitely.

The Morcha has also decided to shut down the block development office in Bijanbari from Monday.

However, keeping in mind the “success” of the tripartite talks on the Darjeeling hills and the coming festive season, the Morcha has lifted the “ban” on liquor off-shops from Monday.

District magistrate Surendra Gupta said in the evening: “Certain objections had been raised by them (the Morcha), so the exams have been deferred. Another date will be announced.”

Earlier, Morcha assistant secretary Binay Tamang said the panchayat exams should be postponed till the interim set-up for the hills was finalised.

“We have already told the Janmukti Karmachari Sangatan (an employees’ union affiliated to the Morcha) not to take the rural job exams tomorrow. It will be held once the interim set-up is finalised,” said Tamang.

The hill party has also decided to close down the block office in Bijanbari, 35km from Darjeeling, from Monday. “We are not satisfied with the functioning of the block office. We have received complaints about the way the officials are functioning in Bijanbari,” said Pemba Tshering Ola, president of the Morcha’s Darjeeling sub-divisional committee.

Some of the Morcha allegations against the block office are:

lMisappropriation of funds and anomalies in issuing tenders and notices on implementation of development work under the Border Area Development Project.

lNo action has been taken against employees winning the contracts for the projects and participating directly in political activities (which the party says are against existing rules)

lIrregularities in payments for work done under the 100-days’ scheme

lIrregularities in bringing people under old age and widow pension and the delay in disbursement of the benefits.

Objecting to the way in which the BADP funds are being utilised, Tamang said: “Tender for work under the BADP is not being issued, and the process of allotting projects is flawed. Crores of rupees are being spent on development of the region but the quality of work is not up to the mark.”

Under the BAPD, the district administration can undertake projects like construction and creating community assets.

Sonam Bhutia, additional district magistrate (development) of Darjeeling, said the grievances against the Bijanbari block office would be looked into. “As far as stopping the department exams is concerned, a decision can only be taken by the state government,” said Bhutia.

From Monday, however, the Morcha will allow the off-shops to remain open.

“Taking into account the success of the ongoing tripartite meetings and the festival, we have decided to open the off-shops from Monday,” said Tamang.

The off-shops have been shut since July 5, as part of a non-cooperation movement against the state government. Sale of liquors in restaurants has, however, not been restricted by the Morcha.

Sources said the owners of off-shops had met Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and had formed an association, which is now an affiliate of the hill party.

The Morcha said during the next round of the tripartite meeting, discussions would be held on the transfer of the tauzi department to the new set-up. The tauzi department is in charge of the land records of the tea garden. The mode of selection of the interim authority would also be taken up at the talks.

“Territory will be discussed during the political-level talks which we expect to be held before the pujas,” said Tamang.

Sources said the Morcha was looking at making some announcement when it celebrates its foundation day on October 7.

From relay to indefinite fast for Nickole

TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 10: A relay hunger strike currently going on in the three hill towns will be converted into an indefinite fast from September 17, said the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

The party had been organising the hunger strike since August 1 to demand that Morcha central committee member Nickole Tamang, a prime accused in the murder of ABGL leader Madan Tamang, be produced alive in court.

Nickole had been arrested by the Darjeeling police on August 16 but he allegedly escaped from the CID custody from Pintail Village on August 22.

The CID had said in its chargesheet that the investigators had recovered Nickole’s cellphone with dual SIM cards from the murder site at Upper Clubside Motor Stand in Darjeeling. Madan Tamang was killed by a khukuri-wielding mob in broad daylight on May 21.

“The relay hunger strike which is taking place in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong will continue till September 16. Instead of the relay hunger strike, we will now go in for an indefinite hunger strike from September 17,” said Binay Tamang, assistant secretary of the Morcha.

The indefinite fast will, however, be held only in Darjeeling. “The indefinite hunger strike will be organised in front of the Darjeeling district magistrate’s office by our youth front members. Seven members of the youth wing will take part in the fast,” said Binay.

Two Yuva Morcha members each from Darjeeling and Kalimpong will take part in the fast, while Kurseong, Mirik and Siliguri will be represented by one supporter each.

The chief judicial magistrate’s court in Darjeeling has issued an order to attach the properties of the 23 people named in the chargesheet filed by the CID. The accused are currently absconding. The CID had made a prayer for such an order when it had submitted the chargesheet to the court on August 30.

The 23 people were booked under sections 147/148 (rioting/rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 427 (mischief causing damage), 506 (criminal intimidation), 302 (murder) and 120 (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Sources said the court had issued the attachment order between September 4 and 8 and it was now the duty of the police to implement it. The same court had issued an order in August to freeze the bank accounts of 10 people accused in the Madan Tamang murder case. 

Exit continues in tribal body

TT, Jaigaon/Siliguri, Sept. 10: A joint secretary of the Dooars unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad today announced that he was quitting his post, the last in a trail of resignations that has affected the tribal outfit in the past two days.

Four office-bearers of the Dooars-Terai regional unit of the Parishad have resigned from their posts in the past two days. However, state leaders of the Parishad today said they would try to pacify the disgruntled regional leaders and to stop further exodus.

Rajesh Lakra (not the Dooars unit secretary who has resigned), a joint secretary of the regional wing, said he would put in his papers to the state committee tomorrow.

However, state president of the Parishad Birsa Tirkey, who reached Malbazar for tomorrow’s state committee meeting, said: “We have information about the resignations of the regional committee secretary and three others. We plan to sit with them to listen to their grievances and reinstate them to their respective posts.”

“We will also hear some other disgruntled regional leaders, but not during the state committee meeting tomorrow which will not have it on its agenda,” Tirkey added.

The state president’s move contradicts the comments of state secretary Tezkumar Toppo who had said that those who resigned had been “lured” by the Progressive People’s Party.

Former regional secretary Rajesh Lakra, treasurer Sanjivan Kuzur and two others who have resigned said they would not attend the state committee meeting tomorrow. “If the state president or other leaders call us to have dialogues, we are ready to meet them but will not attend the meeting tomorrow,” Kuzur said.

Rahul visits NB, Basibiyalo

SHEEM : Political - Rahul Gandhi, ALL India Congress General Secretary will visit the economically hit tea gardens of Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar on 14th September. He has no plan to scale to Darjeeling hills now as expected.
Literature - 91st episode of popular monthly literry programme Basibiyalo will be organised today on 11th September at Sub-divisional library hall, Kalimpong under the aegis of Sudesh Khati a young story writer of Kalimpong. Khati has invited all the literature lovers to attend the programme and share their feelings in the platform from 1 PM onwards.
Unpublished works of late Dr. Sashi Bhushan Rai (S.B. Rai) will be released in book form on 26th September, 2010 at Club Royale (Green Hill Resort). The book entitled 'Mero Cancer Yatra Ra Chihanma Gorkha' will be released on the day in presence of prominent literary figures of the region. Kalimpong Television, Kaleybung Darpan and Charitra Prakashan are assisting the programme. 
Hill liquor shops set to reopen
TNN, DARJEELING: In a welcome move, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has decided to allow licensed liquor shops in the Hills to remain open from September 13.
In July this year, GJM leader Bimal Gurung had announced the closure of all government licensed liquor shops in the Hills. On Friday, the Morcha said it would allow these shops to resume functioning as the tripartite talks were progressing in the right direction and the Pujas were also round the corner.
"The tripartite talks to settle the issue of interim arrangement are going in the right direction. Also, keeping the Pujas in mind, we have decided to allow government licensed liquor shops to remain open from September 13," said GJM assistant secretary Benoy Tamang. 

Suicide rates rising high
Prakha, GANGTOK, September 10: At a time when Sikkim is fetching top billing in national suicide rates for the past two consecutive years, the heath officials are presently fumbling on generalized factors and consequently oblivious to actual reasons why Sikkimese people are committing suicide almost every second day.

During a function to mark the ‘World Suicide Prevention Day 2010’ held today here at SNTM conference hall, the health officials admitted that there is lack of credible research to pin-point reasons for alarmingly high suicide rates in Sikkim which pole-vaulted from 18.88 per one lakh persons in 2007 to 43.16 per one lakh persons in 2008 before dropping down to 35.28 in 2009.

The national average for suicide is 10.5 per lakh persons. The rate of suicide for the year 2008 and 2009 in Sikkim was the highest in the country, said the health officials.

“This is a very serious issue. We accept that no research has been conducted to find out actual causes for suicide deaths in Sikkim. We have to take up our independent study than to rely on suicide data provided by police”, said Dr IL Sharma, STNM superintendent.
Sikkim ranked first among the Northeastern States and fourth in the country in suicide rates as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report of 2006.
As per the Sikkim CID police data presented today by the State health department, 124, 287 and 241 persons committed suicide in 2007, 2008 respectively in Sikkim.
While pointing out the generalized reasons of depression, social pressures and substance abuse, additional director of health department Dr PM Pradhan said that the department does not have a base to assert the particular reasons for Sikkim.
“There is a lack of research. We have to study the figures provided by the police and make our analysis. There was a massive jump in suicide rates from 2007 to 2008. We have to study more and we are determined to make a comprehensive study”, said Dr Pradhan.
According to the non-communicable diseases division of the health department, the factors for suicide spurt in Sikkim were mental illness including depression, socio-economic changes, rapid development, loosening of family bonds, breach in social supports and social taboos.
“Impulsiveness and/or aggressiveness in Sikkim’s society is also perhaps cause of worry”, the department said.
A section of health officials, however, has labeled the factors projected by the non-communicable diseases as ‘general’ and burrowed from the universal factors for suicides. The department needs to undertake a proper study instead of depending on data provided by police, they said.
Regarding the specific query whether suicides in Sikkim is linked to poverty and rising unemployment, Dr Pradhan said that such factors need to be studies. “It is a matter of research and we have to find out the actual cause”, he said.
Dr Pradhan informed that the department has been conducting awareness programmes in all parts of the State especially at grassroots levels besides providing training to health care providers on mental health issues. He said the recently launched Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Annual and Total Checkup for Health Sikkim (CATCH) gives top priority for mental health issues.
Screening of patients suffering from mental depressions will be done at the grassroots levels under CATCH and those who need immediate care will be referred to appropriate centers, said Dr Pradhan.
“Health seeking behaviour of population for mental health needs to be better understood too. Some services were provided through district mental health programme in East District. There are only four psychiatrists in the State health department. It is also felt that there is still a barrier to access mental health care even in areas where psychiatrists is available for treatment of mental illness and substance abuse. There is unwillingness on part of patient to seek help because of stigma attached to mental and substance abuse disorders and/or suicidal thoughts”, said the non-communicable diseases division of the health department.
Manohari Singh remembered
Avijit, KalimNews, Kolkata: Manohari Singh the legend in Indian Musical world was remembered by Amit kumar Fan Club and Melody Chime of Kolkata. During a programme held in Kalakunj Auditorium, Kalamandir of the city musicians of his time and his colleagues as well as his fans were present. A video show on the life and works of Singh was an added programme. 
Guitarist Bhanu Gupt, Musician Salil Choudhary and singer Sabita Choudhary, Sabitri Majumdar, Musician Subarna kanti Ghose and others attended the memorial programme.
Saxophonist and senior assistant to late Rahul Dev Burman, Manohari Singh died  on 13 July at Lilawati Hospital, Mumbai at 4 PM due to cardiac arrest. Singh was 79. Singh was last seen playing saxophone in the popular reality show Indian Idol with the famous singer Asha Bhonsle.

Music genius Singh had played saxophone in the latest films Veer Jara, Chalte Chalte etc and his last film was 1942 a Love story. He had played saxophone in the hits of past like Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charcha har juban par (film Brahmachari), Rup tera mastana (Aradhana) However his musical talents are greatly admired for his playing in the Burman's hits of 1970s. Sitaron Se Aage was his first break in the bollywood music world when he played for S.D. Burman, father of late R.D. Burman.

Dalai Lama visits Kalimpong

Prakha, GANGTOK, September 10: The Dalai Lama will be staying at Kalimpong in Darjeeling district for two days before flying to Pelling in West Sikkim in a chopper on December 15. He would be visiting various parts of Sikkim besides inaugurating a conference organized by Namygal Institute of Tibetology (NIT) during his nine-day tour.

According to a tentative itinerary of his proposed visit, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to stay at Kalimpong on December 13 and 14. On the next day, the Dalai Lama will fly to Pelling in a helicopter and make a brief visit of the Pemayangste monastery and then reach Tashiding monastery.

This was informed today by the State ecclesiastical secretary, Tenzing Gelek to a gathering of monks, representatives from eight Buddhist organizations and Tibetan associations and Tibetan Welfare officials here at Gangtok. The meeting was held to brief and take suggestions from the gathering.

State HRD minister NK Pradhan and Gangtok MLA Dorjee Namgyal Bhutia were also present on the occasion.

It was informed to the gathering that the Dalai Lama will be staying a retreat for meditation at Tashiding for two days on December 16 and 17. The retreat, ‘Tsam Khang’ is being constructed and should be ready by November and it would be exclusively for His Holiness and the house where he stayed will be declared as a museum, the State ecclesiastical secretary informed.

After two days of retreat at Tashiding, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to depart for Palchen Choling monastery at Ralang on December 18 and later visit the Tibetan settlement there. The following day, he would be participating in a blessing ceremony at the under-construction Buddha Park at Ravangla before proceeding to Gangtok on a chopper.

On December 20, the Dalai Lama will be inaugurating a 3-day seminar at Chintan Bhavan on ‘Brain and Mind, Our Potential for Change: Modern Cognitive Sciences and Eastern Contemplative Traditions’ organized by NIT. He had been invited by the Sikkim government to inaugurate the seminar which is expected to lay the foundations of Sikkim’s efforts to formally introduce concepts of morals and ethics to its school curriculum.

A public teaching from the Dalai Lama has been slated on December 21 at Paljor Stadium.

The Dalai Lama will be attending the closing ceremony of the NIT conference on December 22 before leaving Sikkim on December 23.

The State HRD minister invited suggestions from all to the State government over what kind of pujas should be conducted during the visit of the Dalai Lama for the benefit of Sikkim. He also read out the invitation letter sent to the Dalai Lama by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.

Gangtok MLA Dorjee Namgyal Bhutia said that everyone in Sikkim is excited about the forthcoming visit of the Dalai Lama.

10 auto ricksaws in a trip to Rajasthan from Sikkim

Some of the participants of the rally in Gangtok on Friday. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Prakha, GANGTOK, September 10: The auto-rickshaws are ready to roar and this time; these three wheelers will be rolling down from Gangtok on a 3500 kms trip right upto the princely town of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan!

After turning heads here earlier this year in April when seventy multi-coloured auto-rickshaws motored into Gangtok, ‘The Rickshaw Autumn Run 2010’ organized by The Adventurists is slated to hit the down-road on September 12 from MG Marg.

Seventy one teams consisting of 175 participants from more than 20 countries will be driving the auto-rickshaws from hill town of Gangtok to reach the desert oasis of Jaisalmer on September 26.

The 3500 kms run will raise over 80,000 pounds for the official charities, Frank Water Projects and Maiti Nepal, informs a press release from the organizers.

Frank Water Projects funds sustainable, community run, 5-filter UV clean water projects in India while Maiti Nepal is working on prevention of trafficking of girls and young women.

“Seventy one brave teams will launch from Gangtok’s MG Marg at 10:30 am with no set route, no professional drivers, no back up or support of any kind and will face some of the toughest driving conditions in the world”, said The Adventurists which is based in United Kingdom.

Tourism minister Bhim Dhungel will be flagging off the Rickshaw Autumn Run from MG Marg.

"The Rickshaw Run is possibly the most exciting one yet, taking our teams from a lofty elevation way up in the mountains to the scorching, sand blasted desert. Our teams have a veritable behemoth of an adventure before them, starting off with a tough downhill slog to plains over landslides and numerous other challenges”, said Matthew Dickens, director (operations) for South Asia branch of The Adventurists.

Dickens said that Gangtok is a great location to launch the auto-rickshaw run.

“I was awestruck by the condition of the roads when I made by way up to Gangtok earlier this week. Its tough enough in a jeep, so let’s see how our little three wheeled marvels cope with the conditions while going down from Gangtok”.

The organizers have also expressed the support given by State tourism department and Travel Agents Association of Sikkim.

“The Adventurists are all about promoting safe, sustainable and responsible tourism. This event certainly has a lighter side, but the message is clear. We plan to bring attention to tourism all across India, raise awareness to the beauty of such places as Sikkim and Jaisalmer and we are thrilled to be raising a large amount of money for worthy charities across the nation”, said Vikash Pradhan, Chief of Field Operations for The Adventurists.

Before kicking off towards Jasailmer on Sunday, the international tourists participating in the Rickshaw Run will be playing an exhibition football match against the Bar Association of Sikkim at Paljor Stadium on Saturday at 2 pm.Founded by Tim Morgan, The Adventurists has offices in England, India and Mongolia.

Guides for treks in Mahananda 

Children look at a pet elephant inside the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary on Friday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 10: Foresters will provide guides for tourists visiting the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary that will open on September 16 after a monsoon break.

Nearly 40 youths today took part in the daylong training session organised by the foresters of wildlife division-I at Sukna, 9km from here.

“Unemployed youths from the fringe villages were trained to become tour guides. The objective of taking such an initiative is to help the tourists enjoy their forest trip in an organised manner and also to provide a source of income for the youths of the local villages,” said Tapas Das, the divisional forest officer (wildlife-I).

Villagers from Koklang, Punding, Gulma and Khairani, participated at the training session held at the Nature Interpretation Centre in Sukna.

“Earlier, there was no organised approach from the department to guide the tourists inside the jungle. Now we will engage around 40 guides for the visitors,” Das added.

The trainee guides were told not to allow the tourists to use plastic bags inside the sanctuary, harm animals or pollute the environment by throwing waste.

“We will provide the guides with identity cards and uniforms. They will get remuneration from the visitors for their service,” said Das.

Chandra Tamang, a resident of Punding, who attended the training session, said: “This will not only help us earn money but will also increase our knowledge about the forest and the wildlife.”

Animesh Bose, the programme co-ordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, who also attended the session, said: “Such moves always help to keep a pollution-free environment inside the forest, besides creating income opportunities.
2 die in accident
गंगतोक। गंगतोक से सिलगुढी कि तरफ जारहे एक यात्री वाहक वाहन दुर्घटना में दो लोगों की मौत हो गया है जबकी 5 गंभीर घायल हो गया है। रानीपूल थाना के तहत  हुए इस दूर्घटना में उत्तर प्रदेश निवासी 61 वर्षिय गनपत अरोरा और 18 वर्षिय आनन्द कुमार गुप्ता की मौत मणिपाल अस्पताल में उपचार के दौरान हो गया। पुलिस सूत्रों के मुताबिक घटना सुबह साढे 6 बजे की है। जब गंगतोक के प्रावेट टैक्सी स्टैंड से  सात लोगों को ले कर सिलगुडी के लिए रवाना हुआ था, तब अचानक 7 माइलस्थित एलपीजी गोदाम के पास सडक को छोड्ते हुए लगभग 10 फुट उचा दिवार पर टकराकर गोदाम के गेट के पास लौट गया। जिस में चालक सहित पांच लोग घायल हो गया। जिस में मल्ली केराबारी दक्षिण सिक्किम  निवासी चालक गणेश छेत्री (20) मृतक अरोरा के बेटा संजिब कुमार अरोरा (32), बहु रेखा अरोरा (20),पोता स्वरित अरोरा (01) तथा मनफर रावत (28) गम्भीर रूप से घायल हो गया है। घायलों को यहां के तादोंग स्थित मणिपाल अपस्पताल में उपचार हो रहा है।
पुलिस ने चालक विरूद्ध भारतीय दंड संहिता के धारा 279,330 के तहप पहले मुकद्मा दर्ज किया था बाद में यात्रीयों के मौत हो जाने के वाद 304 (ए) के तहत मामला दर्ज किया है। घटना के कारण के बारे में विस्तृत  छानविन शुरु किया गया है।
Potholes cause accident

TT, Jalpaiguri: Two trucks collided on NH31D on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri on Friday afternoon, injuring the drivers of both the vehicles (top). While one driver was admitted to the Jalpaiguri District Hospital, the other was released after first aid. Police said the collision had occurred when the drivers had tried to negotiate potholes on the highway.

This is the second accident attributed to the bad condition of roads in Jalpaiguri in less than 36 hours.

A Class X student was killed when the auto-rickshaw he was travelling in turned turtle on NH31 on Thursday. Twenty-two others were injured in the accident.

Private bus owners have been on strike in Siliguri subdivision and Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts for the past 11 days to demand the speedy repair of the roads. More than 1,500 buses have been kept off the roads because of the strike. Passengers depended on few government buses in Jalpaiguri (bottom) to tide over the strike.(Pix: Biplab Basak, TT)

Sandalwood jail for trader 

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 10: A Calcutta-based businessman and his employee were today sent to jail by a local court here for their alleged involvement in a sandalwood smuggling racket.

Officials of the directorate of revenue intelligence produced Jiwan Behal, who runs a chemical manufacturing unit at Jessore Road in Dumdum, and Gokul Saha before additional chief judicial magistrate of Siliguri Bibhuti Khesang.

“The judge remanded them in jail custody. They will be produced again on September 16,” said Ratan Banik, the standing counsel of the central government who is representing the DRI.

According to DRI sources, red sandalwood, which has a huge market in China, is being brought from states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and smuggled to China through Nepal for making decorative items. Smugglers often use the porous border at Panitanki in Naxalbari block, around 40km from here to take their consignments to Nepal — which is evident from regular seizures by the DRI and the SSB personnel on the border.

“Investigations and seizures have revealed that Behal and his associates used the chemical manufacturing unit to store the sandalwood logs and also to camouflage their smuggling activities. The logs were loaded into trucks bound for Nepal,” a source said.

On September 3, the DRI officials intercepted two trucks at Ghoshpukur on NH31, around 20km from here, and seized 14,965kg of red sandalwood that were on way to China via Nepal. The drivers of both the vehicles were arrested.

The arrested drivers told the interrogators about Behal’s involvement in running.

“The Siliguri DRI then informed their counterparts in Calcutta, who in association with Dumdum police, arrested Behal and Saha, from Jessore Road on September 3,” Banik said. “Next day, the duo were produced in the metropolitan magistrate’s court in Calcutta who remanded them in jail custody.”

On Wednesday, a team of DRI officials reached Calcutta and prayed for the duo’s transit remand. The two were brought here and presented at the court today, Banik said. “During the arrest, the police and the DRI officials raided Behal’s chemical manufacturing unit and seized more sandalwood logs.”

Two ITBP officers have been arrested on Tuesday for alleged collusion with smugglers of red sandalwood in a Himachal Pradesh pocket along the China border.
WHY LEPCHAS OF WEST BENGAL ARE AGITATED
Selina Rongmo, Kurseong Social Network (http://www.ksnonline.org/):The friendly, smiling, timid Lepcha is angry today. He has left the cool Hills and come to the Plains seeking justice as his tribe is on the verge of existence! He is compelled to do the most unheard of thing for a Lepcha to do since independence – sit in indefinite Hunger Strike and Dharna, in the hot Plains sun, and shout for Justice about:
NEGLECT!
1. Neglect by the State Govt, Central Govt, Political Parties and Policy makers in thinking for the welfare of the communities like Lepchas in all aspects – because they have been quiet and gentle all these years with tremendous tolerance quality.
2. It’s more than 60 years of independence and in comparison with 1947, communities like Lepchas had to sacrifice the most in terms of language, the culture and the very land they belong to. On the whole since independence till date the Graph of people speaking the Lepcha language fluently, practicing the culture and custom and total land holding has diminished by more than 80 %. Is it only the fault of the community or is it direct negligence by the Government and decision makers to consider in planning process the aspiration of communities like Lepchas?
3. Amount of money being infused for development has increased many fold since last 60 years from thousand to billion rupees but why does it have negative impact on communities like Lepchas. Instead of prospering, the Lepchas are on reverse swing. Communities like Lepchas have been reduced from the owner to vagrant. Is it not negligence not to consider the appropriate planning process fit for community like Lepchas?
4. Community like Lepchas had sacrificed the most for greater interest of the Nation. Dynamics of Forest and rivers were changed from provider for sustenance of the community to enormous revenue earner for Government in the process, nature based community direct sustenance system was depleted and negligence on the part of Decision and policy maker to consider and compensate the loss of the sustenance was foreign and rebound on community aspiration for development.
5. In recruitment of the Armed and Paramilitary Forces of both Central and State Govts – the introduction of producing ethnic based Community Certificate by incumbent candidate has denied the opportunity for Lepcha youths to join the Forces and serve the Nation. Not a single vacancy has been announced since the categorisation for the category the Lepchas falls in compared to several round of announcement and induction for other category in all Armed and Paramilitary Forces.
6. Lepchas of Darjeeling District, West Bengal are being categorised as Sikkimese. Govt categorisation is based on old Historico-anthropological studies which in the present geo-political setup is not applicable because of the distinct modern delineation of Sikkim and Darjeeling districts. It is true that Lepchas of Sikkim and Darjeeling have a common ancestry, but the negligence on part of the decision maker will directly marginalise the political right of the Lepchas in present political volatile situation of Darjeeling. To categorise Lepchas of Darjeeling District, West Bengal as Sikkimese is ludicrous because time and again the Lepchas have been referred by historian and anthropologist as original inhabitant of Darjeeling District.
7. The Lepcha population has been grossly reduced in the last census, because their names and titles have been mistaken for non- Lepcha ethnic groups by the Census enumerators. Is it simple negligence or conspiracy to make the Lepcha a political non entity?
8. The negligence of the policy maker to consider Lepchas of Darjeeling District, West Bengal in upcoming new political status of the region will make Lepchas expatriates in their area of origin, because the nomenclature itself denies the Lepchas proper representation in policy making body.
9. Mr Sonam T Lepcha, a Kalimpong resident, received the National Award Padmashree for promoting Lepcha Culture, Music and Songs ! Sad to say,his nomenclature was forwarded not by his own State Govt, but by the Sikkim Govt. This instance proves the utter lack of interest of the State administration in Lepchas. Only Academic Scholars seem to be interested in our Tribe, and their work is lost in gloomy Libraries after the Scholars get their PhDs !
10. In State Govt Recruitment interviews why is there only two Language Groups Nepali Speaking and Bengali Speaking – why is there so much Controversy and Ambiguity for Lepcha candidates, who cannot claim to be Nepali and hence are considered to be in the Bengali Group and their Bengali reading skills are tested in the Interviews ! Why this harassment just because they claim to be Lepchas?
THE LEPCHAS OF DARJEELING HILLS ARE NEGLECTED AND ON THE VERGE OF LOSING THEIR IDENTITY AND EXISTENCE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE –
THEY ALSO FACE ECONOMIC DEATH!
THE SHY LEPCHA IS NOW FORCED TO DRESS IN HIS TRIBAL CLOTHES AND SIT DOWN IN DHARNA SEEKING JUSTICE FOR THIS NEGLECT!
THE LEPCHA SEEKS TO RESTORE HIS RIGHTFUL DIGNITY !

Lepchas on an indefinite hunger strike in Kolkata on Wednesday. Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

KalimNews: Indefinite Hunger Strike started by youth wing of Indigenous Lepcha Association is on the verge of withdrawing its agitation a special source said. Condition of a participant is said to be deteriorating.
Meanwhile a source confirmed that the Government of India has issued a notification with directives to introduce Lepcha Language in the Primary education curriculum for the Lepcha students and Lepcha medium of education.  (Pix below:Sushil Lepcha)

TH, Kolkata: Members of the Lepcha community, an indigenous tribe of the Darjeeling hills, went on an indefinite hunger strike here on Wednesday demanding clarity from the State and Central governments on their “status” as a community.

The Lepchas are the indigenous tribals of the region that was originally a part of territory governed by the ruler of Sikkim. The region was gifted to the East India Company in 1835.

“According to a 2004 notification by the Anthropological Survey of India, Lepchas were classified as tribals of Sikkimese origin. Since then, when we are asked to produce community certificates while applying for enrolment in para-military forces, the certificates issued to us state that we are of Sikkimese origin and are rejected by the authorities concerned,” said B. Lepcha, convenor of the dharna committee.

The Lepchas of Sikkim and Darjeeling have a common ancestry but the categorisation marginalises the rights of the Lepcha community in the politically volatile situation of Darjeeling, he added.Questions related to the “status” of the Lepcha community in the Darjeeling hills are being increasingly voiced in a region where ethnic identities often dominate public discourse.

Claiming that they never had problems in being recruited into the military and para-military services before the notification, Mr. Lepcha said the policies of the Central and State governments were creating “artificial differences among the communities of the region”.

“Instead of issuing community certificates categorising us as Gorkhas and persons of Sikkimese origin, they should give certificates according to the region,” he added.

GJMM ready for elections on condition ... GJMM rejects Jaswant offer... 3 more ABAVP stalwarts resigned... Pastor cancels Quran burning plan

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 9: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said it was ready for elections to the proposed interim set-up for the Darjeeling hills if the Dooars and the Terai were included in the new arrangement.

“We have no problem with elections to the set-up, provided it has jurisdiction over the entire Darjeeling hills, Siliguri, Terai and Gorkha-dominated areas of the Dooars,” said Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the media and publicity secretary of the Morcha. “We have demanded that 196 mouzas (a mouza is a cluster of areas identified by the state land and land reforms department) of the Dooars and 65 mouzas of the Terai, including Siliguri, be made part of the territory to be under the set-up.”

Chhetri also said Morcha president Bimal Gurung had decided that no front line leader of the party would be at the helm of affairs in the interim authority.

“The party will, however, select the people who will be in charge of the authority in case it is formed through nomination,” Chhetri told journalists at the Bagdogra airport upon his return from Delhi.

As tripartite talks on the formation of the interim set-up progressed, the Darjeeling district CPM had demanded that the authority be run by elected representatives and not by nominated people. But the Morcha was adamant that a nominated body should rule the interim set-up and Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri had opposed the CPM demand even before departing for the tripartite meeting in Delhi on Monday.

Although Chhetri did not divulge more, political observers said his comments indicated that in case the set-up had jurisdiction over only the three hill subdivisions, as had been insisted by the Centre and the state government, the Morcha would oppose elections and settle for a nominated body comprising the lesser known leaders of the party.

Darjeeling MP and BJP leader Jaswant Singh also supported the Morcha’s call for a nominated body to run the authority and said representatives of all political parties in the hills should be included in the set-up.

Asked about Jaswant’s pitch for the presence of all parties in the interim arrangement, Chhetri said: “I don’t know in what context he made such a comment. All I can say is that we are leading a movement for a separate state in the hills and we will decide who will be included in the set-up.” 
GJMM rejects MP proposal
SNS, SILIGURI, 9 SEPT: The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha today rejected the Darjeeling MP Mr Jaswant Singh's counsel to nominate members to the proposed interim council from all the political parties with presence in the hills and in accordance with the Reservation policy prevailing in the country.
Visibly embarrassed, the GJMM media secretary, Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri said in Siliguri on return from New Delhi today that Mr Singh had not been authorised by the party to comment on crucial policy matters. “A BJP veteran, he seems unaware of the stand my party has taken on the matter. What he said is his personal stand and maybe, it is the stand of the party he belongs to,” Dr Chhetri said.
Mr Singh's comment crated flutters in the political circles yesterday when he categorically stated that the nominated council should involve not just the political parties with presence in the hills but all socio-economic categories listed in the Reservation schedule including the SC, ST, OBC and the women.
Rejecting Mr Singh's assertions, Dr Chhetri said that being the true representative of the hill populace his party should have the right to nominate members to the proposed interim council.  “None from the party central committee would be nominated. We would remain absorbed in carrying on with the statehood struggle as the interim council being envisaged for the hills would be a mere revised version of the much-hated Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council,” he said.
He further said that his party was ready to support elections provided the Centre and the state government agreed to incorporate Terai and the Dooars within the geographical contour of the interim council.  “We would go for elections tomorrow if the Centre and state accept our boundary demands.  We have demanded 64 moujas spread over the Terai and the Dooars apart from 96 moujas in the hills where the Gokha community is in a demographic majority,” Dr Chhetri added. Asked why the principal hill-based party was fighting shy of elections, the GJMM leader said that his party would remain focused on the territorial aspirations of the Gorkha people. “Realising these long- suppressed aspirations are more important than contesting elections,” he said.
Charging fusillades at the state government, Dr Chettri said that the Marxists looked determined to stall the council- formation process.  “Adept in the divide and rule stratagem, they are bent on driving wedge amongst different sections of the hill people,” he said. 

3 more ABAVP stalwarts resigned

TT, Jaigaon/Siliguri, Sept. 9: Three more office-bearers of the Dooars Terai Regional Unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad today resigned from their posts to protest the alleged autocratic functioning of the outfit’s leadership in the plains.

The unit’s secretary Sanjiban Kuzur, adviser Robin Baghowar and a member of the party’s state and regional committees Sanchita Bara handed over their resignation letters to the Parishad’s state president Tez Kumar Toppo in Malbazar this afternoon.

The senior leaders quitting their posts is a major blow to the Parishad which was already reeling from the resignation of the unit’s secretary Rajesh Lakra on Tuesday.

The Telegraph had reported yesterday that at least five leaders would follow in Lakra’s footsteps.

In their resignations, the three leaders expressed anguish at the style of functioning of the unit and alleged that the laid down norms of the Parishad were being violated by some leaders heading the outfit.

“When a leader and social worker like Rajesh Lakra has stepped down from his post, there is no question of us remaining. So, we resigned today,” said Kuzur. “There is no democracy in the unit and some leaders are working according to their whims and wishes, without thinking of the well-being of the tribal populace which stands behind them.”

Kuzur brushed aside Parishad leadership’s claim that they were deserting the organisation to join the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and contest the coming Assembly polls. “There is no question of joining the PPP. Considering the instability in the Parishad, we had no other option but to submit the resignations as we cannot simply sit idle and watch these people ruin the organisation,” he said.

Tezkumar Toppo, the state secretary of the Parishad, said the three leaders had fallen prey to the “lure of the PPP”. “We don’t think that their absence will have any impact on the Parishad.”

However, chairman of the Parishad-backed Progressive Tea Workers’ Union Shukra Munda said he would try to get back Lakra and the other three leaders. “They are important for our organisation and we will soon meet them to resolve the problem,” he said.

Parishad leaders hinted that certain changes would be effected in the regional unit during the state committee meeting in Malbazar on Saturday. “The exit of three-four leaders has no impact on the Parishad so far. But if the trend continues, there is no doubt it will create problems for the outfit,” said a leader. “We hope the state committee will take some decisions to ensure that the regional unit functions at its best.”

JNM ROAD OPENED FOR TRAFFIC 

Prakha, Gangtok@JNM road was made through for all kinds of traffic @ 1500 hrs on 9 Sep 2010 due to untiring and dedicated efforts by OC 130 RCC Mr. Manoj Kumar and his team. The workshop team led by Lt Col Aniruddha Sen was also successful in recovering the vehicle which was stuck between two slides. However the road is still one way and traffic regulation is required. About 75 Army/Civil vehicles crossed the new cut stretch without any difficulty. However a bench cutting is being done about 20m above the existing road in order to obtain a more stable alignment .
Another time another place
Highest race course in the world? subrata chowdhury talks of Lebong and memories that refuse to die (SNS)
BACK in 1971 was when I first got to savour the experience of being in mountain country and, prophetically enough, it happened to be in Darjeeling, which epitomised a mysterious comeliness that earned it the sobriquet, “Queen of the Hills”. Young but largely unwise to the ways of the diehard traveller, I had somehow chosen that town to honeymoon in, my choice made the more pleasant because of a chance encounter with an old school friend who happened to be promenading his newly married wife in the Mall. Having exchanged pleasantries, he suggested we visit Lebong Race Course because, as he went on to explain, without being in there the trip to Darjeeling would remain incomplete.
   So we rode a Landrover and were soon past the hill that fronted Lebong. It was a race day and people of every indigenous origin as also tourists were converging on the three ticket counters at the entrance. Inside it was nothing short of theatrical – an oval of velvety green turf surrounded by white wooden barriers but definitely smaller than the courses one normally comes across in big towns, green galleries and a grandstand that was adequately filled with a colourful crowd, most of them armed with binoculars. Such is the pull of pedigree.
   Incidentally, at the end of the day I lost and my friend won. I still remember the ponies ridden by diminutive jockeys vying for lead in a most animated way as they went round skirting that white barrier and rushing for the finishing line. The crowd bayed in unison.
I came to learn that Lebong was the highest race course in the world (above 6,000 feet). It now all seems so nostalgic because the race course is defunct, the last race having been run in the middle of the mid-’80s.
   I had read about legendary jockey Dawa Tshering Bhotia, who had won the prestigious Governor’s Cup in front of a crowd busting at the seams in 1952. As the record goes, he has won it five times in all. If you were out for an early morning walk across the Mall in Darjeeling, you might have chanced on finding that bespectacled octogenarian slowly making his way with a walking stick. Conversation struck up, the “Dawa Jockey” as he was popularly known to locals, might tell you about the ’50s and ’60s when he was busy steering winners on that lush turf track that was kissed by a mellow sun and drew moisture from the clouds, cheered on by the crowd around him. He might also add that one should have heard the crowd roar when the vivacious animals made their way to the starting stalls. In fact, back then virtually all of Darjeeling would be at Lebong on race days, the crowd comprised of Lepchas, Gorkhas, Tibetans, Sherpas, Bengalis, North Indians, rajas, maharajas, the Governor himself, government officials, Army personnel and fashionably dressed men and women from every walk of life. Hoards of people could be seen walking down CR Das road with water bottles, tiffin boxes, brollies, babies and racing guides on race days. Those who were regular punters would pray to the goddess of luck by dropping coins into gagris (copper vases) filled with water and flowers kept at waysides by well-wishers.
   But not every punter was affluent. Some would thumb lifts along Lebong Cart Road in junky Jeeps, Landrovers, Austin A40s and Ambassadors, huddled like cattle and excitedly discussing jockeys, horses and tips. Bhotia might also tell you many more interesting anecdotes if you deigned to sit with him on one of those iron benches along the side of the Mall for a little while more. You could, with a little luck, meet Naswan Madan, another gentleman in his early 80s at the Chowrasta Store. He was certainly another champion jockey of the ’50s and ’60s, competing in the races every week and on all Derby occasions simply for the love of it.
The Lebong I’ talking about might have see more glorious days but for the circumstances the hill town had to go through since the later half of the last century. It was in the vicinity of the race course that Dr Cambell, British surgeon and researcher in phytogeny, planted the first sapling of the present Darjeeling tea trade in 1850.
   A visitor to Darjeeling now can have an aerial view of Lebong Race Course from the edge of the town itself, but it’s an Army camp at present. With a stretch of the imagination you could visualise chestnut ponies being reined in by jockeys in lively livery, pushing at each other to get ahead.
The scenic beauty, the topographic magnificence and the milestones are being recast in this panoramic set-up at the footfalls. The present opens a window on history, with glimpses of a past that will never die.
   Lebong is nearly 1,000 feet below Darjeeling town and about eight kiolometres from the Mall. The place derives its name from the Lepcha word Alebung, meaning “the tongue-shaped spur”. 

7-day deadline to chalk out tea wage draft

- Minimum pay warning for garden managements

Interim hike hope brew

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 9: The state government has asked tea garden managements to submit within seven days a fresh draft on an interim wage hike after the proposal to pay a one-time “recoverable allowance” of Rs 400 to each worker was summarily rejected by the trade unions.

The CPM-led government, which has its eyes on the Assembly polls next year, also warned the garden managements that failure to draw up the new pay structure for the 3 lakh tea workers in the state would compel it to announce a minimum wage for the sector. Earlier, the planters had said the tea industry was under extreme pressure from the government to accept the workers’ demand for interim wage hike although the agreement on salary expires only next year.

The government set the deadline at a meeting attended by managements and trade unions in Calcutta today. The meeting was chaired by labour minister Anadi Sahu.

Sources said Sahu had proposed that the managements increase the wage to Rs 100 per day from the existing Rs 67. “The management expressed its inability to go in for a wage revision as an earlier settlement is valid till March 31, 2011,” a source said. Instead, the managements proposed to pay a recoverable allowance of Rs 400 to each worker. “Recoverable allowance means that the workers would have to pay back this amount after a mutually accepted date,” said a representative of the planters.

Following the stalemate, the source said, Sahu asked the managements to draw up a fresh proposal on the interim wage revision, failing which the government would start the process of implementing the minimum wage for tea garden workers. “The minister said he would visit Siliguri on September 16 to hold another round of discussions,” said Samir Roy, the convener of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers’ Right, an umbrella association of labour unions.

“We have demanded that the managements pay a need-based minimum wage along with dearness allowance and variable dearness allowance to the workers. These allowances were there until the Left come into power,” Roy told The Telegraph over the phone from Calcutta.

Need-based minimum wage essentially means a salary structure worked out taking into consideration the All India Consumer Price Index. One of the factors that determine the minimum wage is the amount spent by a worker on food containing 2,700 calories per day.

Trilok Roka, adviser to the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, an affiliate of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said: “Whatever decision the state takes, the workers have to get an interim relief to tide over the inflation till the new wage deal is worked out after the expiry of the current agreement on March 31, 2011.”

To implement the minimum wage in tea gardens, the government would have to first come out with a notification, set up a committee that will decide on the wage and get it passed in the Assembly.

In Bengal, the minimum wage varies from Rs 96 per day to Rs 193.50, depending on whether the worker is unskilled, semi-skilled or skilled and the sector he is employed in. Sikkim which has laid down a minimum wage for tea garden workers — the state has only one garden, Temi Tea, owned by the government — pays Rs 100 for unskilled, Rs 115 for semi-skilled, Rs 130 for skilled and Rs 150 for highly skilled workers. The garden owners said the government must, before taking a decision on wage revision, consider the many benefits like housing, medicine and rations that are provided by the industry.

Sandeep Mukherjee, secretary of the Darjeeling Tea Association, said: “The industry cannot afford a wage revision but following the government’s directive we will have to do a rethink.”

Torch light Rally of GJNM  in Kalimpong

DoNER to support youths

DoNER minister BK Handique (right) inaugurates the seminar in Gangtok on Thursday. (Prabin Khaling)

Prakha, GANGTOK, September 9: DoNER minister BK Handique today assured the State government that the North East Development Financial Corporation (NEDFi) will have a ‘much bigger presence’ in Sikkim for providing financial support to enterprising Sikkimese youth. “From now on, NEDFi will have a much larger presence and bigger role to play in Sikkim. Once we show the way, other financial institutions will also come”, said the DoNER minister during the inaugural session of a seminar on ‘Development of Manufacturing and Services Sector in NER’ organized by NEDFi here at Gangtok. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, industries minister Neeru Sewa, chief secretary TT Dorji, senior government officials and representatives from financial institutions and entrepreneurs from Sikkim and other NE States attended the function. The Chief Minister in his address had asserted the NEDFi needs to be more visible and aggressive in promoting the interest of the local people. He had urged the NEDFi to upgrade and increase the funds to its office here at Gangtok. Chamling also presented six issues specific to Sikkim and requested the personal intervention of the DoNER minister for their speeding solution. He requested a one time grant of Rs. 50 crores for acquisition of land in Sikkim so that the State government is able to provide land to investors on lease basis.

“If we are successful in this effort, we can expect investment over Rs. 5000 crores which will create employment opportunities to our people”.

The Chief Minister also demanded revision of trade items for the Nathu La border trade between Sikkim and Tibet Autonomous Region. He further demanded a Central Public Sector Undertaking in Sikkim and financial assistance for training facilities at Directorate of Handlooms & Handicrafts.

Another demand placed by Chamling was a one-time financial assistance and scientific and technological support for rejuvenation and re-plantation of cardamom and orange in Sikkim.

Responding to the demands, the DoNER minister assured all possible help to Sikkim in fields of floriculture, horticulture and tourism.

“I will discuss with Centre to see whether a Central Public Sector Undertaking can be set up here”, said Handique.

Regarding the one-time grant of Rs. 50 crores demanded by the Chief Minister for land acquisition for industrialization, the DoNER minister later told reporters that he has to go back and look into the demand more carefully. “I have to go back and see. As per rules we cannot give but we will see and find out a way because other Northeastern States are also making similar demands. We will soon take a call on yes or no”, he said.

Handique also assured to look into demand of revision of Nathu La trade items.

In his interaction with media, the DoNER minister laid stress on promotion of Buddhist circuit between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast with the adjoining Southeast Asian nations.

“I was toying with this idea for some time. I have already talked with both Myanmar and Thailand governments”, said Handique. His idea of Buddhist circuit was ‘Sky to Earth’.

“Tawang has the highest monastery and from there, tourists can drop down to other monasteries in the Northeast. Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are Buddhist pilgrimage destinations on their own right and only thing that is required is air connectivity”, said the DoNER minister. He said that he has already taken up the issue of inter-connectivity in Northeast region through air with the Indian Airlines. ortheast region. I am suggesting air connectivity between these two States with Guwahati being a halting point for the easy accessibility for tourists”, said Handique.

The DoNER minister also disbursed loans to small scale entrepreneurs from Sikkim on the occasion.

NEDFi chief managing director B Paul Muktieh and DoNER joint secretary Dr JP Sharma also addressed the gathering.

NBU digitises Nepali for India

Striving for keyboard presence: the varsity’s Nepali department

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 9: Work on digitising Nepali is currently underway at North Bengal University (NBU), a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country taken up by the Union ministry of communications and information technology.

The three-year project is being executed in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune. The work that commenced at the university in June 2008 is being funded by the department of information technology (DIT) as part of its project to digitise four major languages in the Northeast — Assamese, Bodo, Manipuri and Nepali.

“The Nepali department at the NBU has been assigned the task of the digital development of Nepali. Work on Bodo and Assamese is in progress at Gauhati University, while Manipuri is being digitised at Manipur University,” said Ghanashyam Nepal, one of the two chief investigators of the project and the head of the Nepali department at the NBU.

The other chief investigator is Pushkar Parajuli, also a lecturer at the Nepali department.

A group of experts in Nepali has been working extensively on compiling a Nepali corpus, collecting and morphologically analysing each and every word, their meanings, grammar and spellings. These are sent at regular intervals as raw material to the C-DAC where the software is being developed after the final consolidation.

“A software for Nepali has already been developed in Nepal. But the project being undertaken at the NBU is the first-of-its kind for the Nepali language in India. Published material available in the country is used to develop the software. It is a commendable step taken by the government for the Nepali language,” said Sharad Sinha, the core investigator of the project.

“We have collected and compiled around three million words from written material like novels, drama, newspapers, prose and wedding and visiting cards. All these will be compiled and used in the software,” said Kumar Pradhan, the chief language expert of the project.

“Spell-check, grammar check, and dictionary are some of the features of the software. The real challenge lies in compiling grammatical aspects, especially verbs because there are several ways to express an action in Nepali. We are also developing templates for verbs and actions,” he said. “The software will be useful for anybody who is interested in Nepali, especially research scholars. It will also be a basis for high-tech computation of the language later,” Kumar added.
Compensation unpaid as snakes make merry
kanchan siddiqui,BURDWAN, 9 SEPT: Even as more and more people are falling prey to snake bite everyday, cash compensation worth more than Rs 50 lakh, meant for the next of kin of the victims, remains unpaid in Burdwan.
The compensation was supposed to be disbursed as part of a disaster management programme, to assist the families of the deceased.
Burdwan alone witnesses more than 300 snake bite cases annually and it records an average 50 casualties each year. The victims are mainly farm land labourers. The recent casualties, mostly reported from within residential areas ~ following an unprecedented attack by snakes ~ have district administration concerned. The zoological and forest division experts, especially after the snake bite toll reached 14 in just six days in September, have blamed the sudden change in weather conditions for the rise in the attacks.
The state government now provides Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of snake bite victims as compensation.
The figure was a meagre Rs 5,000 in the 1980s which has been enhanced 20 times in 30 years. Since 2008-09 till August 2010, the district Disaster Management Cell under the Social Welfare Department in Burdwan recorded 93 deaths due to snake bite in different villages across the district.
The department gave Rs 44.40 lakh as relief to the next of kin of the victims. According to Mr Kumud Ranjan Saha, District Disaster Management Officer: “Till last August, 53 cases were pending and we required an additional fund of  Rs 47.90 lakh to meet the final disbursement. But, we haven’t received the sum yet.”
Meanwhile, 14 fresh cases were reported between 3 and 8 September. Mr Saha said: “The requisition will be enhanced proportionately.”
The outstanding amount was Rs 61.90 lakh till 8 September.  The Cell officials said: “We have no idea when the funds will reach us.” The district, however, is well prepared to combat the situation, say district health officials.
Dr Abu Ershad, Chief Medical Officer of health, Burdwan said: “We have purchased antidote worth Rs 80 lakh this year which is sufficient to deal with the cases. But, since the rural and block hospitals neither have neuro-physicians nor dialysis facilities, the rural patients are often referred to Burdwan Medical College which takes up a lot of time and delays treatment. We are helpless in this matter.” 

Affair whiff in girl ‘kidnap’

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 9: A five-year-old girl was today found abandoned in a forest on the outskirts of the town with local people alleging that she had been left there by a man, who was allegedly having an affair with her mother.

The girl’s father who has arrived from Gangtok is yet to file any complaint, police said.

“Around 4pm some people found the girl wailing alone in the Hatiadanga forest. They took her to the nearby locality and handed her over to residents there,” said an officer of New Jalpaiguri police outpost.

Saroj Roy, a panchayat member from Hatiadanga bazaar, 12km from here, then took charge of the girl. “We first tried to comfort the girl and offered her milk. A little later, we took her to the NJP outpost,” Roy said.

At the outpost, the girl told the police that she lived in Purba Sipahipara village, next to Hatiadanga forest, with her mother. “Her father Robin is a carpenter and stays in Gangtok. Local people alleged that her mother was having an affair with a person of the area for sometime,” the officer said.

The police suspect the man had intended to harm the girl in the forest, but fled when she started crying for help. The girl’s mother and the man have both escaped from the area. “We have contacted the girl’s father in Sikkim. Once he arrives, we will hand over her to him,” the officer said earlier in the afternoon.

The father reached the police outpost late in the evening.

Achintya Gupta, the circle inspector of Jalpaiguri Sadar, however, said the police were yet to receive any complaint and were trying to verify the allegations levelled by the villagers. “It is not possible to comment on the incident right now. We are trying to verify the various charges and claims made by the villagers,” Gupta added. 

Death again on potholed road

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 9: The potholed road of Jalpaiguri today claimed the life of a Class X student even as the 10-day-old indefinite bus strike started affecting around 2,000 vehicle workers besides more than a lakh of passengers.

Kaushik Tamang of Odlabari was on way to Bagrakote Nepali High School, around 10km away, on an auto-rickshaw when the vehicle turned turtle on NH31, killing the 15-year-old on the spot. Twenty-two others were injured in the accident.

Two days ago, a Guwahati-bound bus fell into a ditch to avoid a deep pothole on NH31C near Jaigaon, killing one passenger and injuring 11 others.

“The students were travelling in an over-loaded auto in the absence of private buses. As the vehicle left Odlabari, its front wheel fell into a pothole and turned on its side,” said Sujit Das, an Odlabari resident. “The injured students were rushed to Malbazar Subivisional Hospital.”

Around 1,500 buses in Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Darjeeling districts are off the roads since August 31 as part of the strike called by the North Bengal Passenger Transport Owners’ Coordination Committee to protest bad thoroughfares.

According to the bus owners, around 5,000 people eke out a living from the vehicles.

“Of them, nearly 3,000 are permanent employees and the rest are day labourers. It is true that because of the strike, the casual labourers have not been getting any remuneration for the past 10 days,” said Pranab Mani, the committee secretary. “We are aware of their problems but helpless. We will hold a review meeting on Saturday to decide whether the strike will be continued or not.”

The casual workers are, however, waiting for the strike to end. “Passengers are facing inconvenience but somehow they are reaching their destinations, may be by forking out extra money. But we have no option other than sitting around and consuming our little savings or doing some odd jobs,” said Rakesh Mahato, who works as a helper in a private bus.

Others like Jatin Roy are collecting passengers for small vehicles that are on the roads in Siliguri. “I am getting some money as commission from the drivers as we have no clue when the strike will end,” Roy said.

At Odlabari, local people set up a blockade at the accident spot blaming the administration for bad roads. Malbazar police persuaded the protesters to lift the blockade after nearly three hours at 12 noon. The driver fled but the vehicle has been seized.

Fest to celebrate bloom boom- Food stalls to add colour to flower show

Expected exhibits: (From top) Catteleya, Anthurium, Cymbidium and Gerbera

Rajeev Ravidas, TT, Kalimpong, Sept. 9: Aroma added to colour is expected to draw more visitors to the bloom fest this time.

So, local delicacies will be an integral part of the second edition of the Kalimpong flower show to be held on the premises of Vrindavan School at 12th Mile early next month. The organisers also plan to host several competitions during the three-day fest from October 8.

Last year, the flower show was hosted by the Kalimpong-based Dansberg Club to celebrate the hill town’s success in the floriculture sector.

“Kalimpong has around 50 flower nurseries and is considered the floriculture hub of the region. Today it prominently features in the floriculture map of the world,” said Manoj Kumar Pradhan, the co-ordinator of the club.

The event will have a wide variety of flowers like orchids, palms, pines, bromeliads, on display.

“Some of the exhibits will be up for sale. Kalimpong is like a natural green house where different kinds of plants from cactus to pine are grown,” said Pradhan.

According to him, almost 15 per cent of the town’s population is dependent on floriculture.

Over 100 participants including flower nurseries, schools and individuals will take part in the three-day show that will end on October 10.

“We have invited participants from Sikkim and even Calcutta for the event,” said Pradhan.

The organisers have lined up “best flower” and “best flower arrangement” contests for different categories.

“The best participating school will be awarded the Lilawati Pradhan Memorial inter-school flower display trophy,” said the coordinator.

A sit-and-draw competition for students, and a photography and painting exhibition have also been lined up by the organisers.

The food stalls will sell momochas and choila prepared by the local women at the venue, 4km from here. 

Training Center

TT, Siliguri: A new training centre was inaugurated at the Prerana Educational Centre run by the North Bengal Council for the Disabled at Demdima Basti in Salugara on the outskirts of Siliguri on Thursday. The centre was built with money sanctioned from the MPLAD funds of Bimal Jalan. Besides the new infrastructure, a new ramp to facilitate the movement of special children has also been constructed with assistance from the Calcutta-based Apeejay Trust, said Rita Sengupta, the director of the centre.

Trinmully Rally
TT, Balurghat: Trinamul Congress workers organised rallies and meetings at Buniadpur, around 55km from here, on Thursday, demanding steps against policemen who were allegedly responsible for the death of a school student, Jayanta Sarkar, in lock-up on Sunday.

Health Raid

TT, Cooch Behar: Health officials conducted raid on 10 illegal pathology laboratories and two X-ray clinics in Dinhata town on Thursday. The raid was led by subdivisional officer Chiranjib Ghosh. The illegal diagnosis centres were closed by the health authorities after the raid.

Power protest

TT, Siliguri: The BJP organised a demonstration at the north Bengal zonal office of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd here on Thursday to protest the revision of tariff and frequent power cuts. They also submitted a memorandum to the deputy zonal manager, seeking intervention.

JU firm on CCTV stand

SNS, KOLKATA, 9 SEPT: Jadavpur University (JU) has decided to go ahead with the installation of CCTVs, despite continuing protests from a section of the students who gheraoed the university authorities for the second day today.
Members of the Executive Council (EC) have been confined to a room in the main building of the university since yesterday afternoon while students busied themselves shouting slogans against the authorities outside the main building. A few teachers also alleged that they were prevented from entering the building today, though students denied the allegation. They also claimed that an EC member was allowed to leave last night since he was unwell.
Prof. PN Ghosh, Vice-Chancellor of JU, held a Press conference this morning and said that the students could continue their movement as long as they wished, but the authorities would go ahead with their decision. He said that discussions will not be held unless the students withdrew their agitation.
Last night, the EC had decided to set up a committee to finalise the locations where the CCTVs would be installed after consulting with students. Threatening to go in for an indefinite strike, students today said they will continue their agitation unless the authorities relented.
Mr Manmatho Roy, chairperson of Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students Union (Fetsu), said: “The authorities should have first spoken to us before deciding to install CCTVs. We have submitted a memorandum to the V-C in this regard,” said Mr Roy.
It is illogical to spend Rs 16 lakh on this project, while the facilities in the hostels are yet to be upgraded, he said.
Incidentally, Jadavpur University’s EC members had been gheraoed overnight at least five times since 2008 and in all the instances students had been forced to withdraw their movement after the authorities refused to relent.
Pastor cancels Quran burning plan

GAINESVILLE, Florida: A Christian pastor on Thursday canceled a plan to burn copies of the Quran at his obscure Florida church, which had drawn international condemnation and a warning from President Barack Obama that it could provoke al-Qaida suicide bombings.
US defense secretary Robert Gates called Terry Jones, an obscure minister who heads the tiny Dove World Outreach Center church in the Florida town of Gainesville, to urge him not to go ahead, the Pentagon said.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Gates had expressed "grave concern" in the brief telephone call with Jones that the Quran burning "would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan." Jones later told journalists outside his church that he was calling off his plan, which had caused worldwide alarm and raised tensions over this year's anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on New York and Washington.
He confirmed Gates' call but linked his decision to what he said was an agreement by Muslim leaders -- which they denied -- to relocate an Islamic cultural center and mosque planned close to the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York. The proposed location has drawn opposition from many Americans who say it is insensitive to families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
"The imam has agreed to move the mosque, we have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday," Jones said.
CONFUSION OVER MOSQUE "DEAL"
He said he would fly to New York on Saturday with Imam Muhammad Musri, head of the Islamic Society of Central Florida to meet the New York imam at the center of the controversy, Feisal Abdul Rauf.
But Rauf said in a statement he was surprised by the announcement. "I am glad that Pastor Jones has decided not to burn any Qurans. However, I have not spoken to Pastor Jones or Imam Musri. I am surprised by their announcement," he said. "We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony," he said.
Sharif el-Gamal, the project developer for the New York mosque, said in a statement: "It is untrue that the community center known as park 51 in lower Manhattan is being moved. The project will proceed as planned. What is being reported in the media today is a falsehood." Musri conceded to reporters: "This is not a done deal yet. This is a brokered deal," he said. He said he had no fixed time for him and Jones to meet Rauf in New York.
INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION
Earlier, world leaders had joined Obama in denouncing Jones' plan to burn copies of the Islamic holy book on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The international police agency Interpol warned governments worldwide of an increased risk of terrorist attacks if the burning went ahead, and the US State Department issued a warning to Americans traveling overseas.
Jones has said Jesus would approve of his plan for "Burn a Quran Day," which he called a reprisal for Islamist terrorism. The United States has powerful legal protections for the right to free speech and there was little law enforcement authorities could do to stop Jones from going ahead, other than citing him under local bylaws against public burning.
Many people, both conservative and liberal, dismissed the threat as an attention-seeking stunt by the preacher. "This is a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaida," Obama said in an ABC television interview. "You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities."
The US president, who has sought to improve relations with Muslims worldwide, spoke out in an effort to stop Jones from going ahead and head off growing anger among many Muslims. Insults to Islam, no matter their size or scope, have often been met with huge protests and violence around the world. One such outburst was sparked when a Danish newspaper published a cartoon mocking the Prophet Mohammad in 2005.
Pentagon spokesman Morrell said earlier in the day that there was intense debate within the administration over whether to call Jones. Officials feared of setting a precedent that could inspire copy-cat "extremists." Jones' plan was condemned by foreign governments, international church groups, US religious and political leaders and military commanders.
It also threatened to undermine Obama's efforts to reach out to the world's more than one billion Muslims at a time when he is trying to advance the Middle East peace process and build solidarity against Iran over its disputed nuclear program. 

Chulyahako Ganthan (Series)