BREAKING NEWS : SILIGURI BUNDH ON 16 AND 17 JANUARY...2 SNT buses and police vehicles attacked near Malli ... 2 CRPF company being deployed... .Amid sorrow and grief Gurung's cremation held

KalimNews: To foil the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's two days relief to the hill people after its four days 96 hour bundh the anti-Gorkhaland outfit of Siliguri Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee (BOBBBC) has announced to call counter bundh in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts on 16 and 17 January. 

Meanwhile, state Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya has consented to meet the union Home Minister P. Chidambaram between 17 and 19 January, 2011 in the national capital to discuss the law and order situation in West Bengal. Earlier Bhattacharya was reluctant to meet Chidambaram. The hill people have expected some concrete results in the scheduled meeting between two top brass leaders who are responsible for the ongoing affairs in Darjeeling hills. According to the information available with KalimNews, the duo will hold two separate sittings on these days.
Strike reports
KalimNews: Two SNT buses of Sikkim Government were attacked with stones at Kirney near Malli in NH31A. A police report stated that the bus returning from Siliguri was later police escorted safely to Gangtok. A Kalimpong police source stated that two police vehicles were attacked by miscreants near Kirney when they reached there to clear fell trees on the NH 31A.
2 companies of Paramilitary force is being deployed in NH31A to monitor the NH 31A. Inspector General of Police, North Bengal, Ranvir Kumar said the two companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are being deployed in addition to the present security arrangement to guard the National Highway 31A, linking Sikkim with West Bengal.
Report from Dooars state that GJM picketers at Minamore , Bagrakote in NH31 C and Khunia More in between Chalsa and Nagarkatta stopped movement of all vehicles in NH 31C. Almost in all the routes of Dooars no movement of vehicles was observed even the trains except the morning express were diverted through the Dhupguri route. However, life was normal in Alipurduar.  In Malbazar all shops and Offices were open but due to lack of vehicles the town and roads were almost deserted.
Central Committee leader Kalyan Dewan was detained from Khuniamore and later released by Nagarkatta police.
UNI, Siliguri, 13 Jan: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-sponsored 96-hour bandh paralysed life for the second day today in the hills sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. The GJM's agitation is for a separate Gorkhaland.

Official sources said train servcies in Siliguri, Sevok and Assam were disrupted. Some long distance trains on the same route were diverted to Coochbehar and New Jalpaiguri. Additional Superintendent of Police, Kurseong, J Dorjee said IG, North Bengal Ranvir Singh visited Sikkim's lifeline NH 31A, which remained outside purview of the bandh in accordance with the Supreme Court, to assess the situation there.

Mr Dorjee said they had requested the Centre yesterday to send two companies of CRPF to maintain traffic on the highway.

The bandh call was aimed at putting pressure on the Centre to make its stand clear on the issue of a separate Gorkhaland state comprising the hills and certain areas contiguous to it in the north Bengal plains.

The shutdown announcement came on the heels of the Srikrishna Committee report on the Telengana issue being made public recently. The bandh has been called in the proposed Gorkhaland area comprising three hill sub-divisions--Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling and adjoining areas including Terai and Dooars.

The stir partially affected the Terai and Dooars region, sources said.

Picketers were seen at different spots near NH 55 and tyres were burnt to stage blockades.

The hill outfit will also start a hunger strike led by GJM chief Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri from February 16.

Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) protested against the bandh citing a law and order problem.

Hundreds of additional forces were deployed. Rapid Action Force, District Combat Force and the State Armed Police have been deployed in different areas to prevent outbreak of an untoward incident, Mr Dorjee added.

Amid sorrow and grief Gurung's cremation held- Veteran Social activist Late Pitamber Gurung cremated in Guwahati

Nanda Kirati Dewan, Guwahati: National Vice-President of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) Late Pitamber Gurung was cremated today at the ‘Bhootnath’ cremation centre on the bank of mighty river Brahmaputra in Guwahati in large presence of his wellwishers, kith and kin and general Gorkha populace of Guwahati besides the natives of Udyananchal. Funeral possession of gurung who passed away on 12 Jan was taken out at 11am from ‘Little Cottage’ his residence at Udyananchal's  Christain Basti, Guwahati with hordes of relatives, friends and wellwishers and family members.  

Members of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh laid the flag of organisation on the body of late Gurung and paid due homage followed by leaders of others organizations and individuals by laying flower wreath on the departed soul.

The funeral procession was attended by Sukhmaan Moktan, National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh and members of Assam State Committee that include president Pusphadhar Sarma and Kishor Upadhyay, Co-ordinator of NE Zone, Mr. James Pradhan and others, Nanda Kirati Dewan, Information and Publicity Secretary of All Assam Gorkha Students Union (AAGSU), Arun Upadhyay, Administrative General Secretary of Assam Gorkha Sanmelan, Nava Sapkota, President Nepali Sahitya Parishad, Assam, Dr. Khagen Sarma of North East Regional Research for Literature and Culture, B B Gurung of BGP Meghalaya, Kamal Pradhan of AAGSU Delhi Unit and members of AAGSU Guwahati Metro and Rural Regional Committee.

Pitamber Gurung was born to Late Bhaktasher Gurung and Late Chandra Maya Gurung  on 21^st March 1943 at Paltan Bazar, Gorkha Thakurbari in Guwahati. A native of Guwahati late Gurung was mostly educated in his home city and passed his Masters in History from Guwahati University in late 60s and got absorbed in the Social Welfare Department, Government of Assam. 

He further got MA degree in Social Service from Tata Institute of Social Service, Mumbai country’s premier institute in social service. Late Gurung throughout his service life was known to be very humble and gentleman, it was under him that a revolution in department had taken place to ensure proper social welfare in real terms. He retired as Jt. Director of Social Welfare Deptt. Govt. of Assam in 2000. He was actively involved in all social reformations and organizations since his university days.  He served the literary body Nepali Sahitya Parishad, Assam as the Working President, Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh as the founder state President and National Vice-President besides he was member of Nepali Sahitya Kala Niketan, Nepali Mandir Prabandhak Samitee and several other social revolutionary reforming organizations.

He is known to be ‘Father of 1 minute short stories’ in Nepali literature for which he had compiled a book Ek minute ko Katha Sangrah MO KUNTALA HOON in 2001. A writer, author, leader and torch bearer softspoken Gurung remains immortal not only among the Gorkha community but also among the composite Assamese society. Gorkha organizations across the nation have condoled the death of Gurung and sent condolence message to the grief stricken family wherein all termed death of Gurung as a great and irreparable loss to the society. 

BGP is hosting a condolence meeting in New Delhi on Sunday while the All Assam Gorkha Students Union is holding it in Gorkha Thakurbari (Nepali Mandir), Paltan Bazar his birth palce in Guwahati today at the Pahad Singh Gurung auditorium.

Kalimpong on the 2nd day of 96 hr strike called by GJM  

Dharna of GJM in front of Kalimpong Thana against arrest OF GJM Central Committee member Kalyan Dewan in Khunia more near Chalsa by Nagarkatta Police. Later he was freed. Pix: Manoj Rai

HB Chhetri addressing the GJM supporters

A news paper hawker in Main Road

Hat Bazar

Daily Labourers

EC to review law situation in Bengal

IBNS, New Delhi, Jan 13: The Election Commission (EC) is sending a special team to West Bengal to review the law and order situation ahead of Assembly elections in the state.

The decision comes in wake of a visit by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi to Kolkata on Saturday where he said that in the wake of the recent violence in West Bengal, the EC was concerned.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, the EC said that several political parties from the state have submitted representations to the Commission about the prevailing law and order situation in West Bengal in Delhi and also during its visit to Kolkata on Saturday (Jan 8).

"The Commission has also seen several media reports on this issue," it said.

Maintenance of law and order is crucial to the conduct of free and fair and peaceful election, said the Commission."The Commission has, therefore, decided to make an independent assessment of the law and order situation in West Bengal," it said.

For the purpose, the EC will be sending a team of five senior police officers headed by the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer to West Bengal to make a first-hand assessment of the situation there.

This team is expected to visit different districts of the state at once and make an "on-the-spot assessment" after which it will submit a report to the Commission.

On Saturday, Quraishi, leading the full bench of the Election Commission (EC), met with leaders from political parties in the state to discuss the upcoming Assembly elections.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) said that the state administration has been instructed to step up efforts on seizing illegal arms and ammunition, preventing illicit liquor trade and identifying susceptible areas across Bengal.

Across the state, about 25,000 booths have so far been identified as "sensitive".

With the terms of existing Legislative Assemblies in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry expiring in May-June, elections in the states and union territories are due this year.