Morcha talks tact: Avoid deadlock Keep territory out, Gurung told team...ABGL finger at govt role in hill set-up

Morcha talks tact: Avoid deadlock  

TT, Darjeeling, July 27: Bimal Gurung today said he had instructed the hill delegation that participated in the July 24 talks not to rake up the issue of territorial jurisdiction of the interim set-up, indicating that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president had wanted a dialogue without hindrance. Gurung said he did not want the territorial issue to crop up at least till the new hill authority was put in place.

CRPF jawans keep watch at Chowrastha where ABGL members were on a fast on Tuesday. Picture by Suman Tamang

He expressed his satisfaction on the tripartite meeting between the Centre, the state and the Morcha and said he did not want any “deadlock”, which would have happened if the territorial issue had been broached during the parleys.

So far, both the Centre and the state have been insisting that the jurisdiction of the interim set-up be restricted to the three hill subdivisions of Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling. The Morcha had maintained that it wanted Siliguri, the Terai as well as the Dooars, besides the Darjeeling hills.

“I am happy that the talks are back on track. I had called the members of our delegation an hour before the talks begun on Saturday and briefed them on Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh. However, I realised that the government would first discuss the interim arrangement and told them not to discuss the territory as it would create a deadlock. I told them to concentrate first on the powers and functions of the set-up,” Gurung told a gathering at Gymkhana Club on the occasion of martyrs’ day.

The Morcha president also said he had asked the delegation to keep their mobile phones switched off so that they were not disturbed during the discussions. 

The Morcha chief, however, indicated that in the long run the issue of territory was bound to crop up especially when “realising our dream of a separate state”.

“We will not concede an inch of the Dooars and the Terai,” Gurung said. “I had also told the delegation that if the territory issue comes up for discussion they should talk about the entire Dooars and the Terai and not just about the Nepalese-dominated area.” In Saturday’s talks, the Centre had directed both the state and Morcha to make a point-wise observation of the proposal for the interim set-up and submit it within two weeks. An official level meeting would then be held on August 17.

Bimal Gurung pays homage at the martyrs’ column at Chowrastha on Tuesday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Gurung admitted that the talks dwelt on the interim set-up but added that if the talks failed in the future then the Morcha would talk only about Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh, the new state that it wants. “The Bengal government wants a deadlock and is looking at the 2011 Assembly elections. If talks don’t move in the right direction, then we will have no option but to send a joint delegation comprising Gorkhas and Adivasis for a separate Pradesh,” he added.

Sounding optimistic about garnering the support of the Adivasi community, Gurung said: “We have only shown love and respect to the community and this is paying off. Despite hostility, we never stopped engaging in talks with them and ultimately we will be able to fight for a separate Pradesh together. This is our ultimate aim and we will not stop till we achieve our goal.”

Launching an attack on the slain ABGL leader Madan Tamang and his wife, Gurung said: “I admit that Madan Tamang was a great leader but I am not convinced he was the one for the Gorkhaland cause. He talked about mid-day meal scams and scams in text books and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan but became quiet after a few public meetings. Were such talks compromised over money?”

The Morcha leader said he was “tense” because the ABGL had staged a hunger strike at the martyrs’ column at Chowrastha where we had planned a programme. “But I told our supporters to move out at the earliest.”

The martyrs’ column is in memory of 1,200 people who had been killed during the Gorkhaland agitation of the eighties. 

KalimNews: GJMM organised a Sahid Diwas programme to pay homage to the martyrs of Gorrkhaland in JB Thapa Park where a monument is errected . After paying homage there in the monument a party meeting was organised in the Gymkhana Hall. District Administration prohibited GJMM to organise any public meeting in Chowrasta as  relay hunger strike of ABGL is organised since  23rd July 2010. A barricade made by Darjeeling Police demarcated the Chowrasta into two halves. After the programme of GJMM leaders of ANL. BJP. CPR, GRC, SDUF and others paid homage to the martyrs in the same monument.

In the meeting held in Gymkhana Bimal Gurung announced that all DGHC Offices will remain open from 28th July till August 5.

A meeting of ABAVP Block Committee was held in Banarhat Branch Committee President John Barla announced that on 30th July its Dooars regional Committee will meet to discuss on the strengthening and reorganisation of the Committee. 

Bandh In SIliguri

In memory of the death anniversary of Charu Majumdar Naxalite Leader, CPIML has declared a 12 hr bandh in Siliguri and Bhaktinagar today.
Death Mystery of a prisoner
GJMM Central Dooars Committee accused Police of murdering Padam Pradhan(42 yrs) an accused in a vehicle accident who had surrendered before the Alipurduar Court  on Friday. He was found hanging in the Alipurduar Hospital where he was brought for medical treatment on Monday, said a police source. A resident of Birpara and a driver of a bus in Birpara- Jaigaon route had met with an accident last year but failed to appear in the court.  He had surrendered himself to the court and arrested there and sent to Alipurduar Correctional Home. A probe be ordered against the police atrocities and his two wives and 4 sons and daughters should be given proper relief demanded the party. A complaint is also made in the Birpara Police Station.

ABGL finger at govt role in hill set-up 

ABGL president Bharati Tamang pays homage at the martyrs’ column at Chowrastha on Tuesday. Picture by Suman Tamang

TT, Kalimpong, July 27: The ABGL has accused the Centre and the state of using the murder of Madan Tamang to their advantage to bring the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to its knees, forcing it to accept an interim authority instead of the DGHC.

ABGL central committee members Pratap Khati and Trivuban Rai said if the Morcha settled for the interim council, it would conclusively prove the party’s role in Tamang’s murder. The ABGL chief was hacked to death in Darjeeling on May 21 and since then the Morcha has been on the back foot in the hills.

The ABGL leaders hinted that the government knew who was behind the murder and was using it to browbeat the Morcha into accepting the interim set-up.

“Madan Tamang was one voice which consistently opposed the interim set-up that the three sides were working towards, and that is why he was killed. Now all the three sides (state, Centre and the Morcha) are conspiring to force an interim set-up in the hills,” alleged Khati at a media conference here today.

However, the ABGL, its leaders said, would not allow the interim set-up to happen. “When the people could successfully foil attempts to bring the hills under the Sixth Schedule even after a memorandum of settlement was signed, stopping this (the interim set-up) will not be difficult. We will settle for nothing less than Gorkhaland,” said Rai.

The ABGL leaders also ridiculed Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri for terming the proposed set-up a “de facto” state. “How can there be a de facto state. Can there be a de facto wife? The Morcha has been trying to hoodwink the people by agreeing to the set-up while paying lip service to Gorkhaland,” said Khati.

Quoting from a release issued by the Union home ministry after Saturday’s tripartite talks, Khati said even the set-up being discussed is not the one proposed by the Morcha, but suggested by the Centre. “The Morcha is on the verge of settling for something which is even lesser than the DGHC,” he alleged.

“It required a woman in the shape of Dil Kumari Bhandari (former member of Parliament from Sikkim) to secure the recognition of Nepali as an official language of the country, it will be another woman (Bharati Tamang, ABGL president and widow of Madan) who will deliver Gorkhaland,” an ABGL leader said.

Graft booklet bundle of lies: SDF

TT, Gangtok, July 27: The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front today described as a “bundle of lies” the allegations of corruption levelled by the Congress against the chief minister and its other SDF leaders and said it was contemplating legal action against the Opposition party.

“The booklet released yesterday by the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee led by its president Nar Bahadur Bhandari is not Sikkim Mahaloot but Sikkim Mahajhoot (great lies). The allegations made in the book against chief minister Pawan Chamling, five ministers and seven former ministers are a bundle of lies,” said Bhim Dahal, the SDF spokesperson, at a media conference in the party office here.

In fact, it was Bhandari who had been convicted in two CBI cases in the past, the spokesperson said. “The SPCC president himself had been sentenced a couple of times in the CBI cases. Now he is drubbing everyone else corrupt and demanding a CBI probe.”

Bhandari, a three-time chief minister, had been convicted and sentenced by a designated CBI court in 2007 and 2008 on corruption charges. He has appealed in the high court against the conviction.

A former MP, Dahal said the corruption allegations against his party leaders were nothing new. “Bhandari has been filing cases in courts since 1995. He had filed some 12 cases but had lost on every occasion. Having lost the legal battles, Bhandari has now come up with the booklet to defame the SDF and insult the Sikkimese who are fully behind us,” he claimed.

Dahal said the SDF had handed out comprehensive defeats to Bhandari on 10 elections since 1995. “The consecutive electoral defeats have left him very frustrated and he is now resorting to such defamatory tactics.”

“The Sikkimese believe in the SDF and not the bundle of lies from the SPCC. They have elected our party for four consecutive terms. We will prove the Congress allegations baseless in the 2014 Assembly elections too,” Dahal said.

On the SPCC plan of distributing the booklet to central leaders including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the SDF spokesperson said such tactic was not new.

“The Congress keeps on saying that it will go to Delhi and complain against the SDF government to the central leaders. But the fact remains that whenever the leaders from Delhi visit Sikkim, they are impressed by the development work here and praise Sikkim publicly,” Dahal countered.

The spokesperson said the party was contemplating legal actions against the SPCC editorial team on the defamatory portions of the booklet. “We are consulting our lawyers.”

On the complaints filed with the CBI, Dahal said it was up to the agency to decide on the complaints. “It is for the CBI to act,” he added.

Bison killed one

TT, Cooch Behar, July 27: A 40-year-old man suffered a fractured hip bone when a bison that had strayed into a Mathabhanga village this morning struck him from behind, three months after two persons were gored by two animals in a similar attack in a nearby hamlet.

Dulal Barman, 40, a resident of Bhogmara, was attacked by the animal around 6am. Police said Barman was sent to the health centre at Nishiganj from where he was referred to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.

The bison also killed a cow in the same village that falls under forest minister Ananta Roy’s Mathabhanga constituency.

In April, two bison had strayed out of Patlakhaoa and had run amok in Putimari, 1km from Bhogmara, goring two persons before being driven back into the forest.

The additional divisional forest officer of Cooch Behar, Amitava Chatterjee, said the bison might have strayed into Bhogmara either from the Patlakhaoa forest or Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, both 15km away.

“We are not sure from which forest the bison had come. However, as soon as we got the information, a tranquillising team was brought in from Jaldapara. Around 10.30am, the bison was successfully darted and immobilised before it was released in Jaldapara,” Chatterjee said.

The animal has created panic among villagers as similar incidents have been recurring in the area.

“Last October, two bison had strayed into the Ghoksadanga area and had killed two persons and injured many others. Similar incidents have also taken place. The forest department, especially the forest minister who is from this district, should look into the matter,” said Anil Barman, a resident of Bhogmara.

Forest department sources said according to existing rules, the cost of the treatment of any person injured by a wild animal would be borne by the department.

Timber loss blamed on ban

TT, Siliguri, July 27: Ban on felling of trees and halt in auction because of frequent agitation in the hills by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have led to an annual shortage of timber worth Rs 40 crore in the past couple of years, the Timber Merchants’ Association of Siliguri today said.

“We used to buy timber through auctions conducted in Kurseong and Kalimpong divisions of the state forest department. However, over the past two-three years, because of political agitation that halted auction and the ‘ban’ on felling of trees, we could no longer buy timber from the hills and had to depend on the ones sold from the depots in the plains,” said Onkarnath Banerjee, the association general secretary. “We cannot say how much loss the forest department has been incurring for this but we have suffered a heavy loss as we used to buy timber worth Rs 40 crore or so every year from the hills. Discontinuation of the auction has led to shortage of timber in the market and has scaled down our business.”

The traders said the absence of timber of certain species, which grow in higher altitudes, was also affecting business. “Certain species of timber like pine, dhupi, which grow only in high altitudes and are used for designing furniture, is no longer available. A section of buyers are eager to purchase this type of timber but we cannot supply it,” said Sanjib Sinha, a timber merchant from the Dooars. “This shortage has also affected around 500 people directly involved with the trade.”

Citing an example, the timber merchants said they had suffered a loss of about Rs 10 lakh as they could not collect a consignment after participating in an auction held by the forest department in the hills because of the Morcha’s movement. “The total quantity of timber sold in that auction cost around Rs 40 lakh and we had paid 25 per cent of it, which was around Rs 10 lakh, according to rules,” an association member said. “However, till date, we could not collect the timber.”

Sources in the state forest department said there are 34 government timber depots in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar.

The last auction was held in December 2008 in Odlabari. Although the forest officials may not have to face opposition if they conduct the auction in its depots located in the foothills, but the shortage of timber has stopped the process, a trader said.

Officials of the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation also expressed their helplessness. “Several cubic metres of timber are lying at the divisions now and we have no idea when these will be finally auctioned,” a senior official said.

The Morcha is nonchalant. “We feel the timber in the hills is the property of the hill people and the government had minted money by exploiting the forest resources,” said Roshan Giri, the general secretary.

Man arrested with detonators

Ilias Sehikh (head covered) being taken to court in Balurghat. (Mithun Roy)

TT, Balurghat, July 27: The BSF arrested a man with 250 detonators from a village near Hili bordering Bangladesh last night, the seizure coming close on the heels of a warning by the paramilitary force that Maoists had settled in areas closer to India in the neighbouring country.

Ilias Sehikh, 35, was arrested from Haripukur by the 57th Battalion of the border force acting on a tip-off.

The BSF handed over Sheikh to Hili police at 11am today. He was later produced in the court of chief judicial magistrate of Balurghat Fatema Yasmin here and remanded in police custody for seven days.

Senior BSF officers said the detonators were being smuggled into India from Bangladesh and efforts were being made to get the details from various sources.

“We had told the Bangladesh border guards recently that Maoists had settled down in different areas close to the border. But we did not notice any sincere effort on the part of the Bangladesh government to crack down on the Maoists,” said a senior BSF officer.

The police said they would interrogate Sheikh and try to find out if he had any link with the Maoists. The BSF had seized 200 detonators from Haripukur on April 2 also. However, the person who had been carrying the explosives gave the force the slip. Haripukur is 30km from here.

Officials in the state home department said they were examining if the militants were using the 252-km international border in South Dinajpur for the supply of explosives. They are worried about the 30km stretch of the border without barbed wire fence.

District superintendent of police, South Dinajpur, Swapan Banerjee Purnapatra said the BSF had been asked to intensify vigil along the border following the recovery of the explosives in a span of four months.

History of armed forces to deck up Patton premises 

The tank at Sagardighi in Cooch Behar. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti

Main Udin Chisti, TT, Cooch Behar, July 27: Bengali novelist Bibhuti Bhusan Bandyopadhyay had once dubbed this town the “city of beauty”. The district ex-servicemen’s association has decided to beautify it further by doing up the south-eastern corner of Sagardighi where there is a Pakistani Patton tank, seized as a trophy during the 1971 war of liberation for Bangladesh.

Yesterday, on Kargil Day, at a programme organised to commemorate the fallen soldiers, the association announced that a hoarding depicting famous victories and achievements of the Indian armed forces would be put up behind the Patton tank.

General secretary of the association Tapan Chowdhury said several attempts to draw the attention of the district administration to beautify the south-eastern corner of Sagardighi, where the war trophy is kept, had remained unheard.

“We have decided to raise subscriptions from our members to carry out the work ourselves. Soon we will put up a hoarding with pictures of the achievements of the army, the navy and the air force. It will be like a permanent exhibition that will enlighten the tourists as well as students on the role of our armed forces,” said Chowdhury.

He added that the US-made tank was seized by the Indian army after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. The war trophy is one of the tourist attractions in Cooch Behar along with the palaces and the temples that dot the town.

“The tank was initially kept at the Chila Roy army barracks here when it was brought after the Pakistanis were defeated in Bangladesh. Later, it was kept for public viewing at Sagardighi,” Chowdhury said.

However, the area where the tank is kept overran with weeds and turned into a den of criminal activity.

“The district merchants’ association had cleared and beautified the place in 2003 before handing over the upkeep of the tank to us. We have fenced the area and the tank is given a fresh coat of paint every year. All programmes to commemorate the victories of our soldiers and to remember the martyrs are always held here,” Chowdhury said .

Members of the district ex-servicemen’s association will contribute photographs and the army, navy and air force were being contacted for archived pictures to feature in the hoarding.

“We will have photographs of the Kargil conflict, the Bangladesh war of liberation, and pictures of aircraft and ships in action,” the secretary said.

Villagers gherao foresters

TT, Jaigaon, July 27: Residents of Sukhanibusty today gheraoed forest officers of Chulsa Range who had gone to the village to steer out a lone elephant.

The elephant had entered the village from Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and damaged four huts last night. The gherao was to demand the immediate payment of compensation for the huts damaged. The foresters were released after they assured the villagers of a meeting at Nagrakata police station tomorrow.

Shops gutted

TT, Siliguri: Two shops were razed to the ground and another was partially damaged in a fire at Fuleswari market here on Tuesday. Two fire engines from Siliguri fire station doused the blaze. Fire officers said short circuit was the probable cause of the blaze.

Missing

TT, Jaigaon: Gopal Chetri, a 22-year-old resident of Subhashini Tea Estate in Hasimara, went missing in the Torsha river on Monday. Police said he had gone fishing with his friend Sanjay Lohar

Workshop

TT, Siliguri: Foresters of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary held a workshop on the rescue and release of snakes and other reptiles for NGOs based in and around Siliguri. Tapas Das, the divisional forest officer (wildlife I), said at the workshop that to maintain ecological balance, reptiles should be released in the same locality from where they had been rescued.

Bomb hoax

TT, Siliguri: The Guwahati-bound 2502 Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express was stopped at Chulsa station in Jalpaiguri district at 6.36pm on Tuesday after the GRP got information that a bomb was on the train coming from New Delhi. A search was carried out but nothing was found. The train resumed its journey at 8.57pm. Northeast Frontier Railway sources said the 2501 Up train would leave Guwahati at 11.45am on Wednesday instead of its scheduled departure at 6am.

Little explored Zuluk opens visitors’ vista- Sikkim hamlet woos tourists for a peep into Lakes, peaks and pass

The Memenchule Lake and (above) Mt Kanchenjungha seen from Zuluk during sunrise. Telegraph pictures

Abhijit Sinha, TT, Siliguri, July 27: Serpentine snow-strewn roads, a dazzling Kanchenjungha and its range, the historical Jelep-la leading to Tibet and a variety of flora and fauna. All these, added with consistent promotion, have led to the emergence of Zuluk as an ideal destination for tourists wanting to plunge into the nature’s lap.

Located at 10,000ft, Zuluk is a tiny hamlet in East Sikkim with a population of 335 people.

“The place was unknown to outsiders till a few years ago. But over the past couple of years, it has emerged as an ideal tourist destination because of its idyllic locales and serenity,” said Sandeep Chourasia, a Calcutta-based tour operator.

“Even today, tourism is in its nascent stage in Zuluk and at best a maximum of 50 tourists could be accommodated there,” he told The Telegraph over the phone from Calcutta.

He added that accommodation is available at cottages run by local self-help groups and at the homes of some residents.

Chourasia said describing the sunrise in Zuluk with Kanchenjungha in the foreground would be futile. “You have to see it to believe it. The three-level zigzag roads, a symbol of man’s engineering skills, are also mesmerising,” he said. “A number of other sites, right from lakes to temples, can be seen while visiting Zuluk.”

Another attraction is Young Husband Track named in memory of a Briton who had found a route leading to Lhasa, 520km away, said Chourasia.

A road to Tibet through Jelep-la was constructed on the route which Young Husband had used for a trip from Kalimpong to Lhasa in earlier 20th century. Before the construction of the road, traders used mules for trade with Tibet through the track. Even after the occupation of Tibet by China, the trade continued through the pass till 1962.

With the place developing as a tourist hotspot, the socio-economic conditions of the 33 families living there have improved considerably.

“Since Zuluk is bestowed with abundant natural beauty and has its own significance in the history because of Jelep-la, we thought of making every family in the area self-empowered. The residents can sustain themselves and enrich their lives by adopting tourism as a means of livelihood. With the revenue from tourism, they could improve their standard of living. The people were earlier engaged in cattle rearing or used to work as casual workers under the Border Roads Organisation,” said Gopal Pradhan, the president of a self-help group in Zuluk.

He said one could also see a lot of birds and animals in Zuluk. “Monal pheasant, blood pheasant, which is the state bird of Sikkim, khaleej pheasant and snow pheasant are some of the avian species spotted in Zuluk. Among animals, the red panda and the snow leopard can be sighted,” said Pradhan.

As Zuluk comes forth to woo visitors to spend a few days in the land of snow and cloud, Chourasia said they were also concentrating on the promotional aspect.

“The Association of Tourism Service Providers of Bengal has taken an initiative to popularise Zuluk. On our side, we have been the pioneer in providing the information on the hamlet and promoting the site with an intention to help the local population and to extend an opportunity to people who wish to visit offbeat destinations,” said Chourasia.

27th JULY SAHID DIWAS in Kalimpong

MARTYRS OF GORKHALAND AGITATION REMEMBERED at Sahid Park

Dr.H B Chhetri addressing the audience

Family Members of Martyrs of Gorkhaland Agitation

Photos: Manoj Rai and Samten Kabo

Yarsagumba: The Himalayan Viagra ‘Kira Jhar’
Parinita Kashyap, Voice f Sikkim

(Locals collecting Yarsagumba Himlalayan Viagra 'Kira Jhar' ) Yarsagumba or Yarchagumbu is an exceptional and incredible herb that grows in the pastures above 3,300 meters upto 4000 meters in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India and Tibet. Yarsagumba literally means summer plant and winter insect (dong cong xia cao) in Tibetan. In India it is usually known as ‘Kira Jhar’ which means Insect Plant . Scientific name of this herb is Cordyceps Sinensis.

yarsagumbaYarsa gumba is a exceptional combination of a yellow caterpillar and a mushroom (fungus). Just earlier to the rainy season, spores ofcordyceps fungus infect these Himalayan caterpillars that live on moist grass and hollow soil. After the fungus buries itself in the caterpillar’s body, it works its way out through the insect’s head. The parasite gets the energy from the caterpillar. The fungus parasite gets so much into the body of the caterpillars’ that it drains all the energy from the insect and ultimately it dies. As temperature increases and the snow melts -yarsa gumba emerges and is collected at this time. During monsoon, the yarsa gumba is swept away.

Researches has revealed that the body of Yarsagumba contains:- Cordycepin acid, Cordycepin, D-mannitol, Polysaccharide, SOD, Fatty Acid, Nucleocide Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, Serien, Zinc, Copper, Carbohydrates etc. Cardycepin and Cordycepic acid have been found to be the main constituents.

Yarsagumba is also known as the “Himalayan Viagra” or “Himalayan Gold” for its high medicinal and commercial value. It is mainly used as a treatment for impotency in many countries. Numerous scientific studies and research reveals that it has properties of antibiotic in it. Cordycep sinensis is used for lung and respiratory infection, pain, sciatica and backache. It also provides vitality and increases physical stamina of the body. Yarsa gumba is used by the Chinese to cure chronic hepatitis B and immune function such as dysfunctioning of liver. According to the Hawaiian health products, cordyceptin is found effective against tuberculosis as well as in the treatment of leprosy. Another major use of this is in the treatment of leukemia. It is useful for children, adults, the aged and the sick people.

It energizes lung, kidney and liver; improves memory and purified blood; keeps a person physically and mentally sound. It is of great importance for men and women of any age group, players, people working in physical stress, suffering from premature ejaculation and sexually inactive ones. It gradually empowers internal energy of our body in a natural way as well as acts as a powerful aphrodisiac. Unlike Viagra, it does not cause any mental problem or any other type of physical damage or malfunctioning.

Morcha meet permit denied...Adivasi Union disowns rebels...Mahaloot allegation on Chamling...

TT, Darjeeling, July 26: The Darjeeling district administration has refused to grant permission to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to hold its martyrs’ day meeting at Chowrastha tomorrow, with the ABGL refusing to shift its hunger strike from the spot.

Although the Morcha declared today that it would go ahead with the meeting at Chowrastha, insiders said the party would avoid a confrontation by making some other arrangements for the programme.

“We have received a report from police, expressing the apprehension that there could be a law and order problem if permission was granted (to the Morcha) to hold its function at Chowrastha,” said Surendra Gupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling.

The Morcha has been holding meetings at Chowrastha on July 27 since 2008 in memory of 1,200 people who had died during the 28-month-long Gorkhaland agitation. Thirteen people were killed in a police firing at a GNLF rally brought out on July 27, 1987, to protest the Indo-Nepal friendship treaty of 1950.

The authorities fear law and order problems this year as the ABGL has been staging the relay hunger strike at Chowrastha, demanding the arrest of those behind the murder of the outfit’s leader Madan Tamang. The ABGL accuses the Morcha leaders of planning and executing Tamang’s assassination.

Dawa Lama, the treasurer of the Morcha, said the party was determined to go ahead with its “main function” at Chowrastha. “Since the martyrs’ column has been erected at Chowrastha and we have been holding the function there (for two years), we will go ahead with the main programme at the same venue,” he said.

Even though Lama sounded rigid, it has been learnt that the Morcha, which does not want any law and order problem following Tamang’s murder, will only hold a prayer followed by a wreath laying ceremony at Chowrastha (on the martyrs’ column). ‘The main meeting will be held at Gymkhana Club,” said a source.

Asked if the administration would allow the Morcha to go ahead with the wreath-laying ceremony, DM Gupta said: “Permission from the administration is not required for a wreath laying ceremony.” 

Union disowns rebels  

Kiran Kalindi announces the names of the leaders of the new party at Malbazar on Sunday. (Biplab Basak)

TT, Jaigaon, July 26: The Progressive People’s Party formed by rebel members of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad has decided to dissociate itself from the latter’s trade union while mulling on whether to form a workers’ front or not.

At the same time, the chairperson of the Progressive Tea Workers’ Union, Sukra Munda, today said the Parishad union did not recognise the new party. “Rebels and suspended leaders of the Parishad have formed a party. The Parishad is a voluntary organisation and not a political party. Our union (Parishad) has obtained official recognition from the state labour department and we shall continue working for the interests of the tea garden workers,” Munda said.

The PTWU today begun bicycle rallies across the Dooars to raise long-pending demands of the workers. “We will press for the daily wage to be raised to Rs 250, the distribution of pattas and safe drinking water — some of our many demands. The rally will continue till July 30,” said Brajanath Nayek, the secretary of the PTWU.

Central committee president of the PPP Kiran Kalindi, one of the two leaders suspended indefinitely by the state leadership of the Parishad yesterday, said his party had nothing to do with the Parishad union. “If Sukra Munda has said he has nothing to do with the PPP, he is correct,” Kalindi said.

Asked whether the PPP would raise a trade union of its own, Kalindi answered that the matter was yet to be discussed. He evaded questions on whether the PPP would speak to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on its proposal for Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh, a new state. 

Cong graft slur on Chamling

Bhandari with the booklet in Gangtok on Monday. (Prabin Khaling)

TT, Gangtok, July 26: The opposition Congress today released a 108-page booklet highlighting the alleged corruption of the chief minister, five ministers and seven former ministers who had misappropriated wealth worth Rs 113 crore between 1994 and 2009.

Around 40 pages of Sikkim Mahaloot, the booklet, are on chief minister Pawan Chamling. The booklet was released by former Sangha MLA of the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee Acharya Tshering Lama at the party office here at Development Area.

Former chief minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari said the party had released the book to make people aware of the “misdeeds” and “corruption” of the leaders of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front.

“The booklet is the result of a research conducted by the party on innumerable information collected through RTI applications and from various reliable sources to expose such public enemies,” said Bhandari, the SPCC president.

Four SPCC functionaries had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court in July 2006 alleging that the chief minister had amassed assets worth Rs. 15.38 crore, disproportionate to his known source of income. The petitioners had prayed for a CBI probe.

The apex court had dismissed the petition on March 25. “It’s always open to the petitioners to approach the investigative agencies directly with the incriminating materials and it is for the investigative agencies to decide on the further course of action,” the court had said in its order.

The SPCC lodged its complaints with the CBI on May 24 and July 1. Most of these complaints have now been compiled in the booklet.

Bhandari said the documents submitted to the CBI were copies of affidavits filed by those named in the complaints declaring their wealth and income to the election authorities from 1994 to 2009.

He said the booklet had already been submitted to Congress president Sonia Gandhi before a party delegation meets her next month. 

Hill singer to compete with talent from abroad

Karma Sherpa with the medals he won after the auditions

Rajiv Ravidas, TT, Kalimpong, July 26: From the national arena to the global forefront, Karma Sherpa’s trek had been long and impressive.

The 26-year-old from Sonada, who had finished third in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla in 2007, is the first singer from the Darjeeling hills to make it to the television round of international Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar to be aired from August 13.

Before making it to the final 18, Sherpa had impressed the judges in two rounds of auditions.

“I won the rising star medal in the first round of audition in Calcutta, and shining star medal in the mega audition in Mumbai,” Sherpa told The Telegraph on the phone from Mumbai.

Thousands of aspiring singers had taken part in the two rounds of audition that were held across the country and abroad including Pakistan.

“After the first round, 60 of us including some contestants from Pakistan and Canada, were selected for the mega edition in Mumbai,” he said.

Eighteen finalists were chosen after the auditions in Mumbai.

“I was lucky to make it to the top 18 because the level of competition was very high. Shooting for the television round will begin from August 10 and the show will be telecast from August 13,” said Sherpa.

Sherpa has been performing in different parts of the country and abroad including Hong Kong, Nepal and Bangladesh after he finished third in the singing contest in 2007, that was aired in Zee Bangla. “Apart from doing stage shows, I am learning classical music in Calcutta. To make it to the final rounds of this international contest is a dream come true for me,” said the singer.

Sherpa hopes that the people from the eastern region, particularly the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim will extend their support to him.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is known for having discovered talents like singer Shreya Ghosal and composer Shekhar Ravjiani.

Shekhar along with his composing partner Vishal Dadlani would be judging the contest. Bhangra singer Daler Mehndi and composers Sajid-Wajid would be the other judges.

“I have worked really hard to reach here and I need the blessings of all to climb the summit,” Sherpa said.

August 4 date for NBU Blues

TT, Siliguri, July 26: North Bengal University will award Blues to sportspersons who have won laurels at the national level, after a gap of 15 years.

Arunabha Basumajumdar, the university vice-chancellor, today said NBU had last organised such a ceremony in 1995 when 31 players had been awarded. “This year, we will hand over the Blues on August 4 to 29 sportspersons who had played national, state and university level tournaments.”

Former Indian footballer Chuni Goswami will distribute the Blues and felicitate some sports personalities and coaches of the region.

According to the VC, Test cricketer Wriddhiman Saha, footballer Bapan Bera, paddler Sumana Bose, badminton player Nandita Ghosh and athlete Sutapa Das will be among the recipients who will get a blazer, a university monogram and a certificate.

On the gap of distribution of the award, the VC said: “There may be some reason for which the Blue was not presented regularly in the past. But from now on, we will hold it every year.”

The sports board of the varsity will also felicitate sportspersons of the region like Mantu Ghosh and Subhajit Saha (table tennis), Olympian Bir Bahadur Chettri (hockey) and Harishankar Roy and Jyotsna Roy Pradhan (athletics).

Table Tennis coach Amit Dam and Bharati Ghosh and athlete instructor Subhas Sarkar will also be honoured.

The NBU authorities are planning a sports complex on its campus and a project report will be sent to the state higher education department. The complex will be on a 30-acre plot. Apart from a ground with 5,000-6,000 seat capacity, two hostels for girls and boys will be built, Basumajumdar said. “This complex will help us organise inter-college and inter-university sports tournaments.”

The board of the varsity will organise annual prize distribution ceremony and award the best college considering its performances in sports throughout the year. This year, Ananda Chandra College of Jalpaiguri and Siliguri College of Commerce will be awarded with the champions and the runners-up trophies respectively.

Confluence of student skills

A student speaks at Confluence in Siliguri on Monday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, July 26: An intellectual tug-of-war between students of dozen schools from Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Assam kept the atmosphere charged at Confluence, the inter-school debate competition organised by St Michael’s School in association with The Telegraph here today.

St James’, Binnaguri, emerged victorious and retained their champion status for the second year running. While Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti of Guwahati came second, Don Bosco, Siliguri, secured the third position.

With contemporary topics like “Smaller states may not be better governance” this year, students did not have to think far to come up with apt examples to substantiate their arguments.

The demand for separate states of Gorkhaland, Vidharbha and Telangana were used elaborately by the children to put forth their points.

“There is the Gorkhaland demand being raised in north Bengal and a separate state of Telengana in Andhra Pradesh. But does it mean that once the separate states are carved out, the attendance of teachers in primary schools will improve? Goa is a small state but it is not stable because the government there has changed 14 times in the past 15 years and the crime rate, too, is high. So, smaller states do not mean better governance,” said Saurav Goyal of Don Bosco School Siliguri while speaking for the motion.

Anushreya Ghosh from Army School, Sukna, said there had been 568 states in India in 1947 but except for the notion of independence, nothing had held them together. “These states have been brought down to 28 for better governance. Allotting national and state funds, creating infrastructure and generating employment can be the key to good governance than carving out smaller states,” she said.

Those speaking against the topic also put up examples of governance in smaller states like Sikkim, Goa, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Tripura and Chhattisgarh.

“Smaller states mean access to funds and transparency where people can know how the funds are being used. But corruption, nepotism, favouritism and anarchy are rife in bigger states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Even after 60 years of independence, there is improper governance and neglect in all aspects in some regions, giving rise to demands for Gorkhaland and Bodoland. So, smaller states should be carved to manage the vast extent of India’s population and ensure uniform development,” said Deb Deep Dey of St Michael’s School.

The two rounds of debate were conducted by Parnab Mukherjee, the chairperson of the event.

“Debating is like a conversation in a drawing room but it is a little formal and organised. Students should know the difference between debating and reading out from a paper,” said Mukherjee.

The students were judged on the basis of content, flow of speech, argument skills, interjection and audience response. Anushreya Ghosh from Army School, Sukna, and Romita Roy of St James were awarded the best speaker prizes.

BDO saves underaged girl

SNS, BEHRAMPORE, 26 JULY: When the bride was waiting at the marriage pedestal to receive her groom, the local BDO rushed in with police personnel and told the bride, “Do not marry now. You are too young to solemnize a marriage. Your marriage would be illegal as you are a 13-year-old minor.” For the parents of the bride, Madhumala Khatun from Kalitala village of Beldanga in Murshidabad, the world came crashing down when they realised that the BDO had appeared to break their daughter’s wedding due to her not being of marriageable age.
However, the bride’s parents decided to go ahead with the proposed marriage as the pandal was ready for the marriage rituals and the invited guests were present. However, the BDO left nothing to chance and swiftly picked up the bride in his vehicle, taking her to his office, where a fresh round of counselling began to make the girl decline her marriage.
“Carry on with your studies. If your parents fail to support your study, we shall stand by you. Marriage at such an early age is illegal and it cannot augur well for you," the BDO, Beldanga-II block, Mr Sachchidananda Banerjee told Madhumala, a student of standard VII at Trimohini High Madrasa of Naoda block. The girl agreed to the BDO’s proposal.
Meanwhile, her father, Zamiruddin Sheikh, an auto-van driver, was found asking the BDO, “What would happen to our money, already paid to the groom as dowry?”  A sum of Rs 10,000 was reportedly paid in advance against the total dowry demand of Rs 20,000 to the groom, Rohidul Sheikh, a vegetable vendor from Fazilnagar area of Nadia. The BDO stated that the groom was called repeatedly over phone, but vanished as his family members were afraid of being arrested.

Jungle Mahal boss felled in third try

TT, July 26: Sidhu Soren, the secretary of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities, was third-time unlucky.

Last year, police had zeroed in at least twice on the commander-in-chief of the Gana Militia, who had terrorised CPM supporters and dominated around 150sqkm of the “Maoist territory” in West Midnapore and adjoining Bankura. However, on both occasions, Soren had managed to elude the police.

In June last year, the joint forces had cornered Soren, whose real name was Bhuta Baskey, and his aides after they received information that the rebels were hiding in a forest in Kadashole, 15km from Lalgarh. The forces had killed two of Soren’s aides but the rebel leader escaped unhurt.

A few days later, the police cordoned off a village deep inside Pingboni forest where Soren was camping but he again escaped.

“But this time, we managed to shoot him dead in the forests of Metala,” a police officer said. “This is a big setback for the Maoists.”

Terming Soren’s killing a big achievement, West Midnapore superintendent of police Manoj Verma said: “He used to command the squad in Jungle Mahal and knew the terrain very well. He was involved in the murder of several CPM supporters in the area.”

An intelligence branch official said Soren had been an action squad member of the Maoists even before the formation of the People’s Committee.

“Before turning the People’s Committee into its frontal organisation in 2008, the Maoists had infiltrated the outfit by planting squad members like Soren there. He had helped the Maoists take control of the committee. Soren went underground after the joint forces entered Lalgarh last year.”

A Maoist leader admitted that Soren’s death was a “loss” for the rebels. “This will help the police enter and dominate the areas where we are in total control,” he said.

Intelligence officials said Sidhu hailed from Kharkata village near Goaltore. The police claimed Sidhu had trained the new recruits of the Maoists in Lalgarh.

Axed tribal duo form party...GJMM protests off...Mig crash toll3

TT, July 25: The formation of the Progressive People’s Party was announced today, the same day two of its office bearers were suspended by the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad.

Raju Bara, the Parishad’s organising secretary in the Dooars, and Kirankumar Kalindi, a senior leader of the organisation, were suspended indefinitely by the Parishad’s state leadership for “indiscipline”.

Bara had written to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha last month offering to hold talks with the hill party much to the anger of the Parishad state leadership that wants Sixth Schedule status for the Terai and the Dooars.

Explaining that the creation of the PPP, a new political party in the Dooars, did not mean that the Parishad had split, Bara said: “The Parishad is to the PPP what the RSS and the VHP are to the BJP.” While Bara is one of the four general secretaries of the PPP state committee, Kalindi is it’s central committee president.

“The Parishad is an NGO that works for the betterment of the Adivasis, the PPP is a political party. We will fight in all seats in the Dooars and the Terai in the 2011 Assembly elections,” he said at a meeting in Jalpaiguri’s Malbazar.

The PPP’s central committee general secretary, Joy Tirkey, said the central committee was formed on June 5 when 21 members were selected. “It will comprise 31 members. We have sent a letter to the Election Commission on July 14 seeking recognition,” he said, adding the PPP would maintain its relationship with the Morcha.

Birsa Tirkey, the state president of the Parishad, labelled the development an attempt to pull the wool over people’s eyes. “They brought people to the meeting in vehicles with Parishad flags on them. The people will not accept this,” Tirkey said over the phone from Calcutta.

Morcha to lie low, prods state govt

Nari Morcha supporters at a rally in Darjeeling on Sunday to mark the second death anniversary of Pramila Sharma. The Morcha activist was killed by a bullet fired allegedly from the house of a GNLF leader. Picture by Suman Tamang

TT, Siliguri, July 25: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced that it would not agitate or demonstrate in the hills till the next round of talks scheduled for August 17.

Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri told reporters at the Bagdogra airport that the ball was now in the “state government’s court” as the onus lay on Writers’ Buildings to clear its stand on the two demands of the hill party, the interim set-up and the new state.

“In previous meetings whoever represented the state government in Delhi behaved like tourists: they attended the talks and came back (and did nothing). Every time, they only offered assurances on whatever was discussed. Apart from that, the state government has nothing to show for as its contribution towards resolving the issue,” said Chhetri, who was on the talks delegation to New Delhi that returned here this afternoon.

He said after yesterday’s talks the Bengal government would have to come clean on its stand on the Morcha demand. “After the sixth round of dialogue, the central government clearly told the state to finalise its stand on whatever demands that have been raised by us and get back to Delhi by the first week of next month. After going through the state’s observations, the Centre will hold the next level of talks on August 17,” Chhetri said. “Till then, we will not organise any movement in the hills.”

The Centre had proposed that an interim set-up called the Gorkhaland Autonomous Authority, which would report to the Bengal governor, should replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. Delhi had also said the new authority would have “legislative powers” along with the executive authority that the DGHC now enjoys. While none of the proposals were new, yesterday’s development was that both the Morcha and the state government said they would submit their final observations within the deadlines so that the interim authority could be formed soon.

Chhetri and the seven Morcha members who had taken part in the Delhi meeting appeared positive about the outcome. They insisted that the discussions were solely based on their demands. Chhetri iterated that the separate state, whatever be its name, would be the ultimate goal of the Morcha.

“We want to separate from the Bengal government and if the interim set-up is formed, we will consider it only till December 31, 2011, and we are not going to compromise with the proposed area which we have already demarcated,” he said.

When reminded that the Centre had already made it clear that there would be no further division of the state, the Morcha leadership said it was not true.

“Who told you? The majority of the tribal population in the plains is with us. We are not worried about what a section of the Adivasi leadership feels,” said Chhetri, referring to the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad that has been demanding autonomy under the Sixth Schedule for the tribal-dominated areas in the plains of Darjeeling district.

The hill outfit had re-christened Gorkhaland, the state that it wants, as Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh to woo the Adivasis or the tribals.

Death tolls 3

SNS, Jalpaiguri, 25 July: The black box of the MiG-27 aircraft, which crashed yesterday in Jalpaiguri district, was retrieved today as the toll rose to three with two more persons succumbing to their injuries.
The black box or digital flight data recorder was located from near the spot in Bhotputti village where the crash took place, a senior Air Force officer told reporters here.
The MiG-27 had taken off from the Hashimara Air Base on a routine sortie and crashed within minutes, killing one person on the ground and injuring many.
A farmer Bholen Roy, who was cultivating his field, was killed when the fighter jet crashed between Moynaguri and Chengrabandha.
Two more persons, who were seriously injured, later died at hospital, taking the toll due to the crash to three.
Teenager Purnima Rai succumbed to her burn injuries at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital last night. Ten-year old Latika Roy also died of her injuries in the hospital yesterday, Jalpaiguri Sub Divisional Officer Naba Kumar Barman said.
The Air Force would pay an initial compensation of Rs one lakh to the kin of the dead and Rs 20,000 to the injured, the Air Force officer said.
It has ordered an investigation into the crash. A three-member team, which includes a technical officer and a senior pilot, arrived from Delhi to probe the crash. Another team from the Hashimara Air Base also reached the spot.
Besides the death, 16 people were injured in the crash and as many houses damaged.
Mr Saket Verma, injured pilot of the fighter jet who had ejected from the aircraft and returned to the airbase, also suffered injuries. 

Cycle rally for Global Warming awareness

Tarak Sarkar, ANI, Siliguri, July 25 : A cycle rally was organized in Siliguri here on Sunday to spread awareness about the dangers of global warming and how driving cycles could reduce the threat.

The organisers described the cycle as the most viable mode of travel to check pollution.

“Cycle is the future, because slowly and gradually, petrol and diesel are becoming less and prices will increase and pollution will also increase. Our effort is to take the people and their support. Our thinking is that this will move forward,” said Siladitya Choudhury, the chief organizer.

Enthusiastic participants said their endeavour was to set an example for Indians and others on ways to save the environment.

“We have participated in this so that the world can learn a lesson on how to save the environment. By using the cycles, there is no pollution and with this, the country could be saved from pollution,” said Dinesh Kumar Roy, a participant.

Spectators described it as a good step.

“This is a very good step. This will reduce pollution and even improve health,” said Hem Chandra Paul, a spectator.

About a thousand cyclists took part in the event.

Villagers free Maoist after cop tiff

The villagers of Nishchinta who chased away the Maoists. (Samir Mondal)

TT, Midnapore, July 25: The backlash against Maoist disruption of everyday life appeared to spread in West Midnapore today but it also put police on notice for their refusal or inability to protect villagers.

Villagers in Nishchinta had last night chased away armed Maoists who had tried to force them to attend a meeting and caught one of them. But today, they forced the police to release him after the cops said they would not be able to open a security camp there immediately.

The village is 25km from Radhanagar, where villagers had chased away Maoists on July 22 and around 8,000 people rallied against the rebels the next day.

Baren Patra (name changed), a resident of Nishchinta, said that last night around 9, a group of 14 armed Maoists had come to the village on motorcycles and asked the villagers to take part in a meeting in neighbouring Naharia “immediately”.

“We told them that we would not attend any programme at night. When we asked them to hold rallies during the day, they started beating me and some others with a stick,” Patra said.

Soon, around 300 villagers gathered and started protesting. “We chased away the Maoists and People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities activists,” Patra said.

The rebels scampered to their motorcycles and sped off, leaving behind Sushil Mahato, who was caught by the villagers.

Sushil, 34, was trussed up and kept in the veranda of a local school through the night.

The villagers guarded Nishchinta at night to stave off a possible retaliation by the Maoists.

After the police reached the village this morning to take Sushil away, the villagers demanded that a security camp be set up in the area. When the police said it was not possible to set up a camp immediately, the villagers snatched Sushil from them and released him.

“It is not possible to set up a police camp at a moment’s notice. We first have to organise the necessary infrastructure. Moreover, there is a high court order against setting up police camps in schools. We had told the villagers we would step up patrolling but they kept insisting on the police camp. Then they snatched the man (Sushil) and freed him. We did not want to apply force on the villagers because they have done a good job by chasing away the Maoists,” said Praveen Tripathi, the superintendent of Jhargram police district.

A farmer, Sridhar Mahato (name changed), said he could not afford to “dance to the tune of the Maoists”.

“The rains have started and transplantation of the aman crop has begun. I can’t afford to waste a single minute by taking part in these stupid processions and meetings. Our day-to-day work is being seriously affected,” Sridhar, who owns a two-acre plot, said.
Low key Appearance for Chhetri 
PTI, New Delhi, Jul 26: Indian striker Sunil Chhetri made a low-key 21-minute appearance in the second half in Kansas City Wizard's surprise 2-1 win over English Premier League giants Manchester United in an international friendly in Kansas City, United States.
Chhetri, who is yet to make his Major League Soccer debut, came in for Teal Bunbury in the 69th minute and had a couple of shots which however did not trouble Manchester United goalkeeper Benjamin Amos at the newly remodelled Arrowhead Stadium.
He was lively throughout his outing as he kept running and tried to pile pressure on the Manchester United defence in an open and free-flowing game that was played at a breakneck pace in front of more than 50,000 spectators last night.

Former Journalist IAS officer died

Prakha, GANGTOK, July 26: Former IAS officer PG Tenzing who served Kerala for two decades in various capacities rising to rank of secretary, passed away today morning at Central Referral Hospital here at around 4:30 am at an age of 48 years after a prolonged illness. He was suffering from ill health for quite some and had been admitted at the ICU ward of the hospital for the past few days, family members and friends informed. 

Tenzing who hails from Mangan town in North Sikkim leaves behind his wife, Ambika who is an additional secretary in the State tourism department and two daughters. The elder daughter, Menda Rawa is pursuing graduation in USA while younger daughter, Dechen is studying in Class 10 here in Gangtok.

His funeral will be held later this week as per the Buddhist rituals at his ancestral hometown.

His body was first taken to Chorten monastery here at Deorali in the morning 6:30 am and then to his home here at Gangtok and from there to his ancestral hometown.

Tenzing, a graduate of Delhi University had passed the Civil Services exam in 1986 and had been posted to Kerala where he served for twenty years before quitting service in 2006 when he was heading three departments. He then embarked on a nine-month 25,320 kms ride across the country on his Enfield Thunderbird motorcycle. The experiences of this tour came out in the shape of a book, ‘Don’t Ask Any Old Bloke for Directions: A Biker’s Whimsical Journey across India’, published by Penguin Books India in March, 2009.

Tenzing had taken voluntary retirement, strapped a few possessions on his bike, got his retirement benefits encashed, bade good bye to his co workers at Thiruvananthapuram and had started his ride from the Varkala beach at resort in Kerala.

The book priced at Rs. 250 was aimed to inspire those yearning to break free from the bonds of professional life and embrace the freedom of the open roads. The book had been also been long-listed in the Vodafone Crossword Book Award 2009 but could not make it to the short-listed category which was announced earlier this month.

Raman Shresta who runs the popular Rachna Books here at Gangtok said that the highest seller from the book store was the book penned by Tenzing.

When the book was released at Rachna Books on third week of March last year, Tenzing’s 14 years old daughter Dechen P. Tenzing had also released her Manga comic book ‘Wolfs Fang’ on the same occasion.

Tenzing had produced the comic by his daughter.

Tenzing had also infused new blood in Sikkim journalism in the late 90’s by starting a weekly English newspaper, ‘Weekend Review’ in 1998. He got together a team and mentored the team members for the growth of journalism in Sikkim.

The weekly had revolutionized media in the laidback State of Sikkim and many of its products are well-established journalists here.

Former Telegraph correspondent Pema Ledya Sangderpa who worked under Tenzing in ‘Weekend Review’ said: “Tenzing wanted the growth of journalism in Sikkim and he formed a team. He was the mentor for the team and had great vision”.

“His death is a great loss. Everybody is shocked. In his short span, he had achieved everything. He was a true gentleman, doting father and a man of integrity”, said Sangdrepa expressing condolences to the bereaved family members from the old team of Weekend Review.

Journalist Yishey Doma who was attached with Weekend Review in 1999 to 2003 had acknowledged Tenzin in her book which had been released yesterday at Gangtok.

In her book ‘Legends of Lepchas-folk tales from Sikkim’, Yishey Doma points out that her exploration of the culture, myth and traditions of ethnic communities of Sikkim began between 1999 and 2003 when she used to work for Weekend Review.

“Some of the stories in this book were collected during that period, when I was doing a series called ‘Village Spotting’. My gratitude is therefore owed first to PG Tenzing, who not only roped me in the realm of Weekend Review but also recommending my name to the publishers of the book”, said Yishey Doma in her acknowledgments.

After the all-India tour in his bike and subsequent book release, Tenzing had settled down in Sikkim shuttling between Mangan and Gangtok pursuing his various interests. He was one of the founding members of Taktse International School here at Panthang and volunteering his services to monastic institutions. He also used to run a hotel here at Gangtok.

Tenzing had also come to Sikkim on deputation for at least on two occasions. He had first come as the director of the industries department in the early 90’s and later, he was deputed to Sikkim as the Census 2001 director, his friends inform.

Bhutanese Refugees on hunger strike

DAMAK: Around 4,000 Bhutanese refugees deprived of food relief started a hunger strike on Monday.
Refugees of seven camps in Jhapa and Morang district are on strike demanding food relief. They were deprived of the relief after missing the verification process.
"Our protest will continue till the demand is met," said Nandu Poudel, coordinator of the affected refugees.
The agitating refugees are said to be not getting assistance being provided by various donor agencies in food relief.