4 people died in a road accident near Yangyang of south Sikkim. A Maruti 800 SK 02 -0333 that skidded off the road at Samroc Bhirkuna on Yangyang Ravangla road. The dead are Bishnu prasad Rai, Dil kumar Rai, Madan Gurung and Lolay Subba of Tam, Upper Yangyang and Tojok. Mir kumar Gurung is injured and admited at Hospital of Yangyang.
In a bike accident 1 young girl died in Kalimpong. The accident occurred at 6th Mile Barbot when a Pulsar 200 WB 74 N- 8385 driving by Krishna Chhetri 20 with Deepika Sunar 19 in the pillion collided with a truck WB 73- 5244 . Both Sunar and Chhetri were of Mangal Danra in which the girl Deepika died at the spot while Krishna is severely injured in the accident and admitted in the SD hospital.
15 died in Coochbehar
Fifteen bodies were brought out from the submerged bus and taken to the morgues in MJN Hospital and Dinhata Sub-Divisional Hospital for postmortem, the police said.
The vehicle was later hauled up from water with the help of a crane as fire brigade, disaster management and police personnel joined rescue work along with locals.
The police resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse a mob, which damaged a police van near the block hospital at Dewanhat to protest the alleged delay in treating the injured.
Locals alleged tear gas shells were also burst but this was denied by authorities.
Four of the 25 injured had to be shifted to MJN Hospital.
The dead included a schoolgirl Shweta Roy, studying in Class IX, who was going to Dinhata to visit relatives, locals claimed.
Eyewitnesses said the mishap occurred as one of the front tyres of the minibus, travelling from Coochbehar town to Dinhata, suddenly burst.
Traffic movement along Dinhata-Coochbehar highway was stalled for several hours as locals blocked the arterial road to protest "rash driving".Mywestbengal.com: At least 15 people, including women and children, were killed and some thirty others were injured when a passenger bus skidded off the road and fell into a pond at Dinhata in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district on Sunday, police said.
District police chief Kalyan Banerjee confirmed the deaths. He said eight bodies were being taken to a local hospital for autopsy.
The injured were sent to a local hospital, where police had to use batons to disperse the grieving relatives from emergency wards.
The accident happened when the bus on way to Dinhata from Cooch Behar fell off the road and plunged into a pond at Nayanjuli.
The bus was fished out of the water later.
TNN, KOLKATA: Bookings for Darjeeling, once the favourite Puja vacation destination, are finding no takers. The numbers have fallen so low this time that even elite hotels are ready to give away rooms at 50% discount but still cannot find anyone, thanks to the turmoil in the Hills.
Darjeeling is facing an indefinite strike since Sunday evening.
There has been a shift towards North Bengal and Sikkim instead. Hotels and resorts, run by both state corporations and private operators, are overbooked. Tour operators say rush will continue till Diwali. In fact, many tour firms are discouraging people from heading for Darjeeling because they are afraid tourists will get stranded in the Hills and ask for cancellation dues.
State tourism department officials say their guest houses in Darjeeling are "more or less empty" throughout the Pujas. "Last year, the situation was slightly better, perhaps because there was a lull in political turbulence. Not so this time," said an official.
"The general feeling is that Darjeeling is no longer safe for travel. Too much political turbulence make tourists feel uncomfortable about visiting Darjeeling," said Debal Ghosh, spokesperson of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation.
Till a few months ago, there were many inquiries from visitors of other states and foreigners too. But the brutal daylight murder of Madan Tamang on May 21 in an area frequented by tourists slammed the door on bookings. "People feared that it would trigger clashes. They realised that peace in the Hills was gone. Darjeeling still remains close to tourists' heart, but they prefer North Bengal and Sikkim for now," said Anil Punjabi, eastern India chairperson of Travel Agents Federation of India.
From Mahalaya onwards, at least 5,000-7,000 people would flock to Darjeeling daily. This year, not even 5% of that number is going towards the hill station, said Punjabi. "Tourists from Spain,France,Japan and Thailand made up the maximum number of foreigners in Darjeeling. This time, when they are seeing us for bookings, they clearly tell us they they have been asked by their countries not to visit Darjeeling," Punjabi said.
Darjeeling hoteliers did not want to comment directly. "August and September are lean periods anyway and are non-indicative of what might happen during the Pujas," said an official at Windamere. Rakesh Razzak, spokesperson of Anand Palace, said: "We do have some inquiries from within and outside the state. The Pujas are still two months off and we hope things will get better by then."
भागोपको सिक्किमको समिक्षा बैठक सम्पन्न
In a bike accident 1 young girl died in Kalimpong. The accident occurred at 6th Mile Barbot when a Pulsar 200 WB 74 N- 8385 driving by Krishna Chhetri 20 with Deepika Sunar 19 in the pillion collided with a truck WB 73- 5244 . Both Sunar and Chhetri were of Mangal Danra in which the girl Deepika died at the spot while Krishna is severely injured in the accident and admitted in the SD hospital.
15 died in Coochbehar
PTI, Coochbehar 29 Aug:At least 15 people were killed and 25 others injured when a minibus in which they were travelling overturned and fell into a pond at Dewanhat in Coochbehar district on Sunday.
The vehicle was later hauled up from water with the help of a crane as fire brigade, disaster management and police personnel joined rescue work along with locals.
The police resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse a mob, which damaged a police van near the block hospital at Dewanhat to protest the alleged delay in treating the injured.
Locals alleged tear gas shells were also burst but this was denied by authorities.
Four of the 25 injured had to be shifted to MJN Hospital.
The dead included a schoolgirl Shweta Roy, studying in Class IX, who was going to Dinhata to visit relatives, locals claimed.
Eyewitnesses said the mishap occurred as one of the front tyres of the minibus, travelling from Coochbehar town to Dinhata, suddenly burst.
Traffic movement along Dinhata-Coochbehar highway was stalled for several hours as locals blocked the arterial road to protest "rash driving".
District police chief Kalyan Banerjee confirmed the deaths. He said eight bodies were being taken to a local hospital for autopsy.
The injured were sent to a local hospital, where police had to use batons to disperse the grieving relatives from emergency wards.
The accident happened when the bus on way to Dinhata from Cooch Behar fell off the road and plunged into a pond at Nayanjuli.
The bus was fished out of the water later.
SIM NEWS: GJMM has canceled its meeting of 29th August at Jaigaon.
ABGL team will meet Rahul Gandhi on 30th August at Delhi .
CPM in favour of inclusion of other parties in tripartite talks as peoples representative
KalimNews: As the tripartite talks will determine the partial solution of Gorkhas of Darjeeling it should be decided all the people of this area, stated Sitaram Yetchuri in Siliguri and echoed by Ashoke Bhattacharya, Saman Pathak, Jibesh Sarkar. During a meeting held in Gymkhana Hall of Darjeeling on sunday in memory of Ratanlal Brahman a comrade who spoke in Nepali in Assembly of West Bengal while he was a MLA. They repeated that GJMM is not the only party to represent the hill people. Arrest of Bishal Rai applauded but with questions
KalimNews : Kalimpong police have claimed that it has nabbed a suspected murderer of Rudra Dhital within a short time of 4-5 hours. This success of the Kalimpong police has been credited but it has also raised several questions amongst the local people. General mass have started to ask about the murderer of late Tika Ram Chhetri, ex-councillor, Kalimpong Municipality which is still unresolved as none have been arrested.
It may be recalled that Chhetri's murder mystery had taken place within the 200 mtrs radius of Kalimpong police station popularly known as Thana Dara while Dhital was killed over half kilometer away from the local police station. Further, Rudra was killed during the early morning time when he was distributing routine milk to his regular customers and Tikaram was also seen speaking with his friends in the late morning in a local restaurant.
J.B. Rai, CPRM leader feel that the criminal culture is making its route to the Darjeeling hills slowly as there have been about half a dozen of murder incidents in the last few months. Had the police acted promptly and set an exemplary sample in the murder cases of ABGL leader Madan Tamang and Tikaram the youths like Bishal Rai could not have thought of killing a milkman during broad day light. The incidents of killing of Tamang and Pushpajung Thapa in Darjeeling and Tikaram Chhetri in Kalimpong have welcomed the anti-socials and criminals providing with a chance to indulge in such grave and heinous acts that are not allowed in civilized and peaceful society. All these have taken place due to negligence on the part of administration in the hill, he added.
Opinion of Rai have been echoed by all sections of the society as they have started to feel insecure to live in such a society where a broad daylight murder case remains unsolved after a lapse of more than four months.
Though, the Superintendent of Police Devendra Pratap Singh who reportedly rushed to Kalimpong to enquire into the murder case, has also informed that the killer has been booked under section 302 of Indian Penal Code which could hang him if the crime is proven in the court of law. The assurance of SP Darjeeling will have to be remembered by the hill people till the case remains in the court of the law.
Though, the Superintendent of Police Devendra Pratap Singh who reportedly rushed to Kalimpong to enquire into the murder case, has also informed that the killer has been booked under section 302 of Indian Penal Code which could hang him if the crime is proven in the court of law. The assurance of SP Darjeeling will have to be remembered by the hill people till the case remains in the court of the law.
The police have disclosed that Bishal Rai has also admitted of having killed Dhital. But it is still to be seen if he accepts the crime in front of the punishment announcers. Now it is the tradition that he will put a lawyer for defense who easily frees him from the bar within 90 days or less. Then the case remains unsolved forever to give a new opportunity to the new murderer and new victim waiting for his turn to be hacked like Madan Tamang and Rudra Dhital.
Moreover, one vital clue added in the murder of Dhital is that he had reportedly confrontation with Bishal Rai some days back on the issue of a contract work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. NREGA being a national policy of the union govt. has now been a platform of confrontations for such criminals. This is the big question hammering the local people. They are of the view that the concerned agency of the union Govt. should also interfere into the matter as to what circumstances led such a homicide. According to the local educated circle, had such an incident taken place in other parts of the country the issue would have been highlighted at national level by the effective media. However, the absence of consciousness among the hill people and their attitude to remain neutral and silent on social issues have been rendering anti-social elements to move free after committing several crimes.
Kalimpong police has to rethink on inaction in the unsolved murder mysteries rather they pat themselves in solving a single murder case. It is their duty to nab the culprit and punish him as per the prevailing law. 'Is it a matter of pride when one completes its duty?' one can ask the question to himself. It is not time to take snaps in front of the media for performing duties which they are assigned to but it is the time to cover their face for not being able to nab the culprits who have committed such murders and may be roaming in the town without fear of law, observers opine.
Darjeeling may be deserted TNN, KOLKATA: Bookings for Darjeeling, once the favourite Puja vacation destination, are finding no takers. The numbers have fallen so low this time that even elite hotels are ready to give away rooms at 50% discount but still cannot find anyone, thanks to the turmoil in the Hills.
Darjeeling is facing an indefinite strike since Sunday evening.
There has been a shift towards North Bengal and Sikkim instead. Hotels and resorts, run by both state corporations and private operators, are overbooked. Tour operators say rush will continue till Diwali. In fact, many tour firms are discouraging people from heading for Darjeeling because they are afraid tourists will get stranded in the Hills and ask for cancellation dues.
State tourism department officials say their guest houses in Darjeeling are "more or less empty" throughout the Pujas. "Last year, the situation was slightly better, perhaps because there was a lull in political turbulence. Not so this time," said an official.
"The general feeling is that Darjeeling is no longer safe for travel. Too much political turbulence make tourists feel uncomfortable about visiting Darjeeling," said Debal Ghosh, spokesperson of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation.
Till a few months ago, there were many inquiries from visitors of other states and foreigners too. But the brutal daylight murder of Madan Tamang on May 21 in an area frequented by tourists slammed the door on bookings. "People feared that it would trigger clashes. They realised that peace in the Hills was gone. Darjeeling still remains close to tourists' heart, but they prefer North Bengal and Sikkim for now," said Anil Punjabi, eastern India chairperson of Travel Agents Federation of India.
From Mahalaya onwards, at least 5,000-7,000 people would flock to Darjeeling daily. This year, not even 5% of that number is going towards the hill station, said Punjabi. "Tourists from Spain,France,Japan and Thailand made up the maximum number of foreigners in Darjeeling. This time, when they are seeing us for bookings, they clearly tell us they they have been asked by their countries not to visit Darjeeling," Punjabi said.
Darjeeling hoteliers did not want to comment directly. "August and September are lean periods anyway and are non-indicative of what might happen during the Pujas," said an official at Windamere. Rakesh Razzak, spokesperson of Anand Palace, said: "We do have some inquiries from within and outside the state. The Pujas are still two months off and we hope things will get better by then."
भागोपको सिक्किमको समिक्षा बैठक सम्पन्न
वलिदान दिवसमा प्रत्यक्ष अप्रत्यक्ष सहयोग पुऱ्याउने सबैको आभारी छौः भागोप
गान्तोक,29 अगस्त। भारतीय गोर्खा परिसंघ (भागोप) सिक्किम राज्य द्वारा पूर्व सिक्किमको पाकिममा गत 25 अगस्तको दिन पालन गरिएको बलिदान दिवसमाथि आइतबार पाकिम बजारको एक होटलमा समिक्षा बैठक सम्पन्न भयो। भागोप राज्य अध्यक्ष डॉ.कमल गुरूङको अध्यक्षतामा संपन्न बैठकमा बलिदान दिवसको कार्यक्रममा प्रत्यक्ष तथा अप्रत्यक्ष रूपमा सहयोग पुऱ्याउनेहरूलाई आभार प्रकट गर्दै एउटा धन्यवाद प्रस्ताव ग्रहण गरियो।।बैठकमा धन्यवाद प्रस्ताव राख्दै अध्यक्ष गुरूङले भने, भागोपले आय़ोजन गरेको बलिदान दिवस कार्यक्रममा थुप्रै गैर सरकारी संगठन, सरकारी उच्च पदाधिकारी, सरकारी कर्माचारी, वुद्धिजिवी,शिक्षित युवा तथा आम मानिसहरूले प्रत्यक्ष अनि अप्रत्यक्ष रूपमा सहयोग पुऱ्याएका थिए। उनीहरूको योगदान र समर्पण भागोपको समाज निर्माण र जातिको उत्थानको महाअभियानको निम्ति महत्वपूर्ण रहेको छ। उनीहरूको सहयोगले समाज निर्माणलाई थप टेवा पुगेको छ। जुन भागोपले सदैव ऋणी महशुस गर्दै सम्झनामा राख्ने छ।
उनले निकट भविष्यमा पनि सहयोगी संघ-संस्थाहरूको यस्तै सहयोग को अपेक्षा राखेका छन्। अर्कोतिर भागोप पाकिम शाखा अध्यक्षले बलिदान दिवसको आयव्ययको हिसाब-किताब प्रस्तुत गरेपछि पाकिममा भागोपको गतिविधिबारे विस्तृत प्रतिवेदन पनि प्रस्तुत गरे। जसमा उनले वलिदान दिवस आयोजन गर्ने क्रममा लगभग एक हप्ताभित्रमात्र भागोपको आजीवन सदस्यता ग्रहण गर्नेहरूको संख्या 106 जना पुगेको बताए। जसमा सरकारी उच्च पदाधिकारी, अवकाशप्राप्त कर्मचारी, समाज सेवी, शिक्षित युवा तथा समाजका माथ्थिलो तप्काका वुद्धिजिवीहरूको संलग्नता रहेको जानकारी गराए। उऩले अझ भागोपको सदस्यता व्यापक रूपमा थाल्ने अनि निकट भविष्यमा पाकिमका सबै जनगणलाई समाज निर्माणमा लागिपरेको यो राष्ट्रिय संगठन भागोपको दिशा निर्देशनमा अघि बड्ने बताए।
अर्कोतिर भागोप राज्य समिति कार्यकारी अध्यक्ष नारायण भट्टराईले कार्यक्रमको विभिन्न पक्षहरूलाई लिएर समिक्षा प्रस्तुत गरे। उनले आगामी दिनमा दिशाहिन बन्न लागेको समाजलाई सही मार्गमा डोहोऱ्याउन पहल गर्नुपर्ने बताउँदै पाकिममा अझ व्यापक सांगठनीक कार्यक्रमहरू अघि वडाउने बताए।यसै गरि आगामी सितंबर महिनालाई संगठन विस्तारको निम्ति समर्पित गर्दै राज्यव्यापी रूपमा सांगठनीक कार्यक्रम थालिने बताए। समिक्षा बैठकमा पाकिम शाखाका र राज्य समितिका पदाधिकारीगणको उपस्थिति रहेको थियो।
Gurung wife in Dooars KalimNews: Asha Gurung and members of GJNM a women's wing of GJMM is on a visit of Dooars. Asha along with Jyoti Subba, Latika Sinha Prava Chhetri and others met GJNM members at Dekota Nepali High School of East Khairbari in Madarihat and tried to convince them that GJMM will not settle for anything without Dooars. During an interaction Asha said GJMM could have settled earlier with the three sub divisions if it was not sincere with the people of Dooars.
Telangana : A leap of faith
The result of the by-elections for 12 constituencies left vacant by the resignation of all the Telangana MLAs is out. K Chandrasekhara Rao led Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has scored a major victory over its more profound rivals – the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), by winning 11 out of the 12 seats. The remaining one seat has gone to the BJP which had a pre-poll tacit understanding with the TRS. The inevitable question that would be asked after the result aftermath is whether the landslide victory for the TRS is an indication of the popular mood in the Telangana region for the bifurcation of the state? Are we ready for yet another small state being carved out of its parent state or is the leap of faith too wide to take?
Ever since India became a free country, there has been a demand for a separate Telangana state. With the majority of Telugu speaking population being marginalized in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, Potti Sriramulu went on a hunger strike for 58 days for the creation of a separate state called the Andhra State out of the Madras state. He died in wake of his fast but his demands were met and a separate Andhra state was created based on linguistic lines. The region of Telangana which was under the Nizam rule at Hyderabad was included in the new state despite protests from various pro-Telangana groups. Hyderabad became the administrative seat for this new state.
There was a Gentleman’s Agreement that new jobs, welfare schemes, social and economic programmes would be initiated for the backward Telangana region, but as time passed by, millions of people from the coastal Andhra region migrated to the flushing Hyderabad region and made huge investments. Much of the benefits of the welfare schemes were being extended to the coastal regions. The Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and vast coal mines were in Telangana, but much of water and energy was supplied to the Andhra region. This led to a growing discontent among the people from the Telangana region and they were gripped by a fever of historic political betrayal. With subsequent governments at Hyderabad being indecisive and procrastinating on the issue, Telangana had all the ingredients to be a political hot potato.
TRS was formed on the premise of the formation of Telangana state. K Chandrasekhara Rao pulled a rabbit out of a hat when he sat on an indefinite fast and his populist shenanigans galvanized the public into mass protests and strikes all over Andhra Pradesh. For the former TDP man, whose personal political aspirations saw him conniving both with the BJP as well as the Congress; this was the moment of fame. He could see this as an opportunity to rule a state all by his himself. The political stalemate that followed has taken lives of innocent young men who have been made martyrs of the struggle. The equivocal stand of the incumbent Congress and the main opposition TDP has only added to the frustration and apathy among the public.
Politics in India has degenerated from the Gandhian style of non-violent approach to mob mentality driven which is not only anti-social but also a crime. Frequent protests choreographed by parties for their personal agendas have inadvertently brought normal life to standstill. Brand Hyderabad has certainly taken a beating because of the agitations. The IT Hub had to close down for few days and business was severely affected. Destruction of public and private properties has been a blemish in this city of Nizams. This has led to a lot of investors shying away from Hyderabad because of the uncertainty hanging over it. Real estate sector has had to bear the most, as prices have sky dipped and bookings and new deals have stalled. The official damage to the economy could run to thousands of crores. And all this for an issue for which no party can afford to commit to. Internal bickering has emerged in the parties over Telangana and the issue looks to be dragged on for some time.
The Central government in its part has constituted a committee led by Justice Srikrishna to examine the state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh. It would review and comment upon the development of different regions in the state and make a case of the social fabric of the Telugu speaking population. It would also make observations regarding the status of Hyderabad, as a Union Territory or a part of either of the states. These recommendations would then guide the government on taking a decision.
A case in point would be the three new states that joined the Indian Union: Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. Jharkhand has been plagued by internal crises which have led to 7 CMs in the last 10 years. Naxalism and poverty have also been widespread in these states. Clearly, the basic targets why the states were created have not been met. Also, the division of states has brought in light small regional parties who can see their moment of glory in dividing up a state. Similar alarm bells have been sounded for Vidharbha in Maharshtra, Mithila in Bihar, Bundelkhand in MP and UP, and Gorkhaland in West Bengal. A dangerous precedent may be set which might affect the integrity of the Indian Union.
Going by past experiences, one cannot say that dividing a state can lead to a path of social, cultural and economic equality. There have been more failures than successes in this process. But at the same time the historical injustice meted out to the Telangana region cannot be forgotten. Political will for the development of the under-developed areas have to be the utmost importance. Petty politics for the sake of power will only lead to more discrimination and inequality. TRS and other pro-Telangana parties have to arise above their ranks and make sure that the struggle that has been going on for 60 years is not only successful but also inclusive and egalitarian. The poll results show that they have the support of the majority of Telangana people. With great power comes great responsibility – it’s time to put the age-old adage to test.
woman Maoist commander surrender
woman Maoist commander surrender
Shobha Mandi alias Sikha is the second Naxal to surrender after the West Bengal government announced a rehabilitation package for them.
“Shobha, who has five cases against her, has been keeping in touch with us for the last eight days, and, we succeeded in convincing her to surrender,” said West Midnapore Superintendent of Police, Manoj Kumar Verma
“She also handed over a bag that contained cash worth rupees 50,500,” Verma added
Mandi claimed that the top Maoist leadership knew about the sexual exploitation of women cadre, but were not taking preventive steps.
“I left camp on April 25 in frustration. When I came to know about the rehabilitation package, I contacted the police and they promised me security. So, I surrendered,” she said.
Mandi, the daughter of Jamadar Mandi, a resident of Koyerpahari under Sarenga Police Station in Bankura district left home in 2003 after Maoist leaders Sasadhar, Akash, Bikash, Madan and Suchitra met her family and convinced them that she would have a better life with them.
Earlier, Shobhan Karak, a member of the Maoist action squad, surrendered before the West Midnapore Superintendent of Police, the Jhargram Superintendent of Police and central Reserve Police Force inspector general.
He surrendered with a .303 rifle and a few live cartridges. He has 13 cases of murder and sedition registered against him.
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