हाइटेक कखरा- फर्कियो क पुरी क...‘Cool’ Sikkim touches foreigners - Singapore team to build library in rural school... Bhutan army to learn rescue tips at HMI... Tribal tea union ‘recovers’ Adivasi land Parishad says planter duped owners... ‘Lawlessness’ keeps away new owner..

हाइटेक कखरा- फर्कियो क पुरी क

मनोज वोगटी,कालेबुङ,4 मई।कोही पनि अभिभावकले आफ्ना नानीलाई स्कूल लगाउन अघि हजारपल्ट सोंच्ने गर्छन्‌। अन्तमा तय हुन्छ बुताले भ्याउनसक्ने अंग्रेजी नर्सरी स्कूलबाट नै आफ्ना नानीले प्राथमिक शिक्षा आर्जन गर्नेछ। त्यसपछि नानीको शिक्षा शुरू हुन्छ ट्विङ्‌कल, ट्विङ्‌कल लिटर स्टार, बाबा ब्लाक्सिप-जस्ता अंग्रेजी राइम्सहरूबाट। जबसम्म एबीसीडीसित नै बटट अंग्रेजी राइम्सहरू नानीले छिचोल्दैन तबसम्म अभिभावकलाई नानी अंग्रेजी स्कूल पढ़िरहेकोमा आनन्द आउँदैन। क ख र अ आ भन्दा अघि नै एबीसीडी पढ्‌नुपर्ने नर्सरीबाट शिक्षा शुरू गर्ने त्यही नानी श्रेणी चढ्दै गएपछि आफ्नै मातृभाषामा कमजोर बन्छन्‌। पछि उसैले सबैलाई गर्वसाथ भन्छ-मलाई त नेपाली लेख्न पढ्‌न नै आउँदैन। 
अंग्रेजीकरणले निलिसकेको नेपाली सभ्यतामा मातृभाषाले पाउने यही अवहेलनालाई धेरै नजिकबाट अनुभूत गरेपछि अन्तमा रम्बीका देवासिश मोथेलाई लाग्यो यस्तै हो भने त हाम्रो नेपाली वर्णमाला विलुप्त हुनेछ। आजका विद्यार्थीहरूलाई नेपाली भाषातिर आकर्षित गर्न कुनै कार्य अवश्य नै गर्नुपर्छ। मोथेले यसो सोंचेको चारवर्षपछि नेपाली वर्णमालाहरूले सङ्गीतवद्ध एनिमेशनको रूप प्राप्त गर्‍यो।
आज रामकृष्ण रङ्गमञ्चमा यही नेपाली वर्णमालाहरूको एनिमेशनको विमोचन हुँदा देवाशिष मोथेको हर्षको सीमा थिएन। कालेबुङ टेलिभिजन तथा केटीभीको सौजन्य र समायोजनामा देवाशिष मोथेले चारवर्ष लगाएर तयार पारेको नेपाली वर्णमालाहरूको सङ्गीतबद्ध एनिमेशनको विमोचन कार्यक्रमलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै केटीभीका निर्देशक नरेन्द्र तामाङले भनिरहेका थिए, देवाशिषले नेपाली वर्णमालाहरूको उद्वार नै गरेका छन्‌। अब नानीहरूले एनिमेशनद्वारा नेपाली वर्णमालाहरूको ज्ञान लिनेछन्‌। नेपाली वर्णमाला नाम गरेको एनिमेशन एल्बममा  स्वर र व्यञ्जन वर्णहरूलाई सङ्गीतबद्ध गरिएको छ भने रम्बीका विद्यार्थीहरूले त्यसमा स्वर दिएका छन्‌।ती नै सङ्गीतबद्ध वर्णमालाहरूलाई एनिमेटेट गरिएको छ, जसलाई घरघरमा हेरेर नानीहरूले स्कूलको सिँडी टेक्न अघि नै मातृभाषाको प्राथमिक ज्ञान लिन सक्नेछन्‌। उद्घोषिका ललिता प्रसादले सगर्व भनिरहेकी थिइन्‌, यस्तो ऐतिहासिक कार्य सम्पादन गर्न पाउनु केटीभीको सौभाग्य बनेको छ।
 केटीभीको अनलाइन न्यूज अथवा वेबसाइट  डब्ल्यु डब्ल्यु डब्ल्यु डट केटीभी कालिम्पोङ डट कम-को विधिवत उद्घाटन अनि वार्णमाला एनिमेशनको उद्घाटन कार्यक्रममा वर्णमाला परिवारले नेपाली कखरालाई लयबद्ध गर्ने रम्बीका बाल गायक गायिकाहरूलाई पनि उभ्याएको थियो। उनीहरूले क्यासेटमा गाएका वर्णमालालाई मञ्चमा उभिएर गाइरहँदा सबैमा मातृभाषाप्रतिको प्रेम बल्झिएको थियो। दोस्रो श्रेणीदेखि दशौं श्रेणीसम्म पढ़िरहेका रम्बीका कलाकार विद्यार्थीहरूले उपस्थित समूहलाई पनि लयहालेर कखरा सिकाए। मोथेले पत्रकारहरूलाई भनिरहेका थिए, जतिबेला मैले यो प्रोजेक्ट शुरू गरेको थिएँ, त्यतिबेला कति कलाकारहरूको भर्खर बोली फुटेको थियो। कोही पनि प्रशिक्षित कलाकारहरू होइनन्‌। मैले मेरो घरवरिपरिका नानीहरू थुपारेर यो प्रोजेक्ट शुरू गरेको हुँ। 

मोथेले नै कखरामा सङ्गीत दिएका हुन्‌ भने यसमा देश विदेशका तिनका मित्रहरूको पनि ठूलो सहयोग रहेको छ। मोथेले भने, जापानका साथीहरू आशाको सिनोरा, आत्सुको होण्डा, फ्रान्सका एक्सेल अनि नेश्नल इन्स्टिट्यूट डिजाइनिङमा पढ़िरहेका सिटोङका निवेश गुरूङले यसकार्यमा साथ दिएका हुन्‌। तिनले नानीहरूमा वर्णमाला सिक्ने उत्सुक्ता बढ़ाउनको निम्ति भनेर मात्र वर्णमालाको एनिमेशन निकालेको बताउँदै भने, वर्णमाला मात्र होइन भुँइक्लास र त्यसमाथिका श्रेणीहरूमा पढ़ाइने कविताहरूलाई पनि सङ्गीतवद्ध गरी एनिमेशन बनाइएको छ, जसलाई नेपाली राइम्सकोरूपमा नानीहरूले गाउन सक्नेछन्‌। बाजेबाजुले पढ्ने कपुरी क, खरायो ख-लाई पनि सङ्गीतबद्ध गरि एनिमेशन गरिएको छ। पुर्खाहरूले जुन मनोविज्ञानले कखरा पढ्न अक्षरहरूलाई अथर्र्बोधी बनाउन लय निकाले त्यसैबाट पनि मनोरञ्जन लिँदै नानीहरूले वर्णमाला सिक्नसक्ने छन्‌ भन्ने मेरो सोंचाइ हो। अंग्रेजी, हिन्दी बङ्गाला भाषामा यस्ता काम भइसकेको शान्तिनिकेतन विश्वभारतीमा संङ्गीत सिकिरहेको बेला थाहा पाएको अनि अन्य भाषीहरूले आफ्नो भाषालाई गरेको माया देखेर नै मोथेलाई यसप्रकारको कार्य गर्न मद्दत मिलेको तिनले बताए।
यसलाई व्यवसायिकरूपले पनि सोंचिएको छ, तर यसको निम्ति प्राविधिक पक्ष हामीसित कमजोर छ। यो समस्याको समाधन हुनसके अनि सहयोग भए विज्ञान, हिसाब, भूगोल. इतिहासलाई पनि सङ्गीतबद्ध गरी एनिमेशन बनाउने सोंचेको छु-मोथेले भने।

‘Cool’ Sikkim touches foreigners-Singapore team to build library in rural school

Singapore students play with the children of Panthang School at the school’s playground on Wednesday. (Prabin Khaling)

TT, Gangtok, May 4: Thirty-two students from a school in Singapore are currently visiting Gangtok, interacting with the students of a government school here for whom they will help set up a library.
The students from Fairfield Methodist School (secondary), Singapore, have also brought two-three storybooks each for the library that will be built at Panthang Government Junior High School, 12km from here.
Three teachers are escorting the foreign students who are here for a week-long international exposure trip. The annual trip is a part of the curriculum for the secondary students.
“The trip has been excellent with nice cool weather and the natural beauty of Sikkim which we can’t find in Singapore. Most of us have developed friendship with the students here and all of us are enjoying our stay here,” said Julian Tan, a 15-year-old student.
Today the students of both the schools played a football match on the Pangthang School playground.
The foreign students had arrived here on Sunday and had gone for a daylong trek in a nearby forest with their Sikkimese friends.
The batch is busy learning the Nepali language, playing and sharing their experiences with the 107 students of the government school that teaches students up to Class VIII.
“I can’t say that I know each one of them but at least I can say that I can speak to them openly without feeling awkward. Back there in Singapore there is too much stress among the students but here the students are relaxed and humble. I believe Singapore people have to learn to be humble from them,” said Tan.
The funds, given by the Singapore government and the parents of the school students, are being used to make bookshelves for the library in Panthang school.
“Our students are interacting well with the children. They have painted the walls of the school building and are helping the carpenters to build the bookshelves. It has been a pleasant experience so far and I am delighted to see our students interacting well with the students here,” said Jean Ho, one of the teachers who is escorting the foreign students.
The teacher added that such trips help to understand the cultures of different places. “We want our students to experience different cultures and share the Singapore culture with students from other nations. They also do services in whichever schools they go. Such trips promote understanding of different cultures and develop friendship with students from other nations,” Ho said.
A batch of students from the same school had also visited Panthang School last year. The group had helped to set up a dining hall in the building.
“Last year the students were a bit shy but this time they are more open and interacting well with our students,” said Ho.
The headmistress of Panthang School, Denkala Thendup, said: “They want their students to have an experience of a village-level school and they have also come here to make friends. As the students from Singapore school had also visited this school last year our students have become more interactive and they are easily mingling with them. Such bonding has also developed confidence among our students and their shyness has gone,” she said.
Tshering Dorjee Lachungpa, the owner of Khangri Tours and Travels that has co-ordinated the trip along with Singapore-based Divine International Explore and Treks Agency, said students from Singapore had visited Sikkim earlier as well.
He said they mostly went Yuksom in West Sikkim. But for the past three years the students are coming to schools in and around Gangtok.
“We have been choosing Panthang School for the past two years considering the short period of the trips which are usually for 10 days including travelling. Panthang School is close to Gangtok but is located in a rural area with beautiful forests and quiet surroundings. Medical facilities and decent hotel accommodations are easily available in nearby Gangtok,” he said.
The students will leave Gangtok on Saturday.
Bhutan army to learn rescue tips at HMI

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. Picture by Suman Tamang

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, May 4: The Royal Bhutan Army has requested the Darjeeling-based Himalayan Mountaineering Institute to train its personnel in search and rescue missions during landslides and earthquakes in high altitude areas.
The request was sent by the Bhutanese government through India’s Union home ministry.

“We have received the request and have accordingly, charted a special course for the Royal Bhutan Army. In principle, both the countries have agreed to train the personnel at the HMI but we are still discussing the number of personnel to be trained,” Col. Neeraj Rana, the principal of the HMI, told The Telegraph.

Bhutan wants the HMI to train six army officers but the latter is insisting on a batch of at least 30 personnel. “That is the minimum number required to make the course financially viable for the institution,” said Rana.

The HMI will charge Rs 20,000 for each trainee for the 20-day course that is scheduled to start on September 15.

The HMI had last year imparted training in rescue operations during calamities in mountainous regions to six groups of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

“The request from the Bhutanese government came after our success in training the NDRF personnel last year. We trained six batches of NDRF personnel and each batch consisted of 60 personnel. One batch had only women,” said Rana.

The mountaineering school has been selected to conduct the training given its international standing following its enrolment as a member of the Switzerland-headquartered Union Internationale Des Association D’Alpinisme (UIAA).

The UIAA, also known as the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, is a body that governs climbing across the globe. Certificates issued by the HMI will be valid across the globe as it is a member of the UIAA.

The NDRF, which conducts search and rescue operation during disasters, has jawans drawn from the Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force.

“The training revolved around search, rescue and rehabilitation when natural calamities strike mountainous regions in the country,” said Rana.

At the moment, eight battalions of the NDRF are stationed at Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu), Mundali (Orissa), Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Chandigarh, Barasat (Bengal), Guwahati, Pune and Gandhinagar.

The institution had charged Rs 16,000 for each NDRF trainee and the payment was made by the Union home ministry.

Tribal tea union ‘recovers’ Adivasi land  Parishad says planter duped owners

The protesting workers with a Parishad flag at the garden in Jamadarpara. Picture by Biplab Basak

TT, Jalpaiguri, May 4: The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad today “took back” land that was being used by a Siliguri-based planter as a small tea garden for the past five years, alleging that he had duped the Adivasi owners.
The Jalpaiguri administration has termed the “takeover” illegal. “Who gave them the rights or the responsibility of reclaiming tribal land? There is an administration and government procedure for everything. They should have come to us and we would have taken the appropriate steps,” district magistrate Vandana Yadav said.
But the Parishad alleged that complaints to the administration — that a non-tribal has bought tribal land, which is illegal — had been ignored.
Today, around 12.30pm, the workers of the plantation and the tribal owners of the land accompanied by members of the Progressive Tea Workers’ Union (PTWU), a Parishad-affiliate, marched into Jamadarpara, about 12km from here. The protesters were led by the assistant secretary of the Raipur unit of the PTWU, Pradhan Hembram.
Planting the Parishad flag in the garden, the marchers “took over” 22 bighas of the small garden adjacent to the Raipur tea estate and declared Chitta Majumdar, who has been running the estate on behalf of planter Om Prakash Agarwal, an illegal occupant. “This Agarwal had promised jobs to the Adivasi land owners and their family members, taking advantage of their gullibility. There are about 10 families whose land was taken away,” Hembram said.
The protesters plucked 50kg of tealeaves that was sold to a bought-leaf factory at Rs 15 a kg. “We will soon form a cooperative from among the members of the families who own the land and it will operate the garden and share the profit,” Hembram said.
Tezkumar Toppo, the state general secretary of the Parishad, said he saw nothing wrong in the occupation of the land and that it was part of a democratic movement by the Adivasis as the administration and police had tried to hush up matters.
“In April last year, we tried to prevent Majumdar from running the garden. Matters turned ugly as his men and ours almost came to blows and the police were called. On April 12, 2010, I lodged a formal complaint on behalf of the Parishad with the backward classes welfare department with the plea that the land be returned to the owners. Three days later, a meeting was convened at the Kotwali police station which Agarwal attended.”
Agarwal allegedly told the police that he had taken a power of attorney from one Ramu Oraon, who had bought 39 bighas of land from 10 owners of Jamadarpara in 2002. Subsequent inquiries by the police had revealed that nobody by the name of Oraon existed.< When the block land records office on instructions from the backward classes welfare department identified the 22 of the 39 bighas as belonging to the Adivasis, the Parishad decided to occupy it. Kandru Oraon said his father, the late Budhuram Oraon, had sold 12 bighas to Agarwal for Rs 3,000 about 10 years ago. “He had promised us jobs but mostly non-tribals work in the garden,” Kandru said. Agarwal could not be reached, but his wife Manju Devi said: “I cannot say anything about the land… All I can say is that Majumdar was given a power of attorney to run the garden.” Majumdar claimed that he did not know that the garden was on tribal land. “I have allowed the Parishad to take over 22 bighas without any pact. The rest of the bighas are not on tribal land,” he said. 
BEd ‘fraud’ arrested
TT, Siliguri, May 4: The managing director of Mitra Management Consultancy Pvt Ltd was arrested last night, a few hours after 20-30 youths raided the firm and accused him of taking money from them for admission to a BEd course that does not exist.
Binoy Mitra was today produced in the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court that remanded him in police custody for five days.
Mitra was arrested by Pradhannagar police on the basis of a complaint filed by several youths who had paid cash ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 65,000 for a BEd degree, purportedly awarded by Magadh University in Bihar. Enquiries at the university had revealed that none of the applicants had been admitted to the course and all the documents issued to them by Mitra — like identity cards and admission notices — were fake.
Mitra has been booked under several sections of the IPC, including 417 (punishment for cheating), 420 (cheating or dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document).
The aspiring teachers who have been duped by MMC said the police should return their migration certificates — a document issued by university on completion of a degree to be produced while pursuing a course in another university.
“We had to submit our original migration certificates for admission to the BEd course. Yesterday, after our complaint, the police raided his office and took away certain documents, including our certificates,” said Kanu Chandra Burman, a resident of Sitai in Cooch Behar.
“We have told the police to return us the certificates, in reply to which the officials have told us that they would verify the documents and then hand them over to us in another three-four days.”
The police, however, could not say anything about the cash that Mitra had collected from the students.
ARUNACHAL CM DEAD Army to reach crash site
PTI, New Delhi, May 4 : An army team is expected to reach the crash site of the chopper that carried Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu tonight to help retrieve the bodies of the deceased.

An officer-led Army patrol with one JCO and 20 other ranks searching the general area has been diverted to the likely site to recover the mortal remains (of Khandu).
"Because of rugged high altitude terrain and snow conditions, the patrol is likely to reach the site by approximately 8 PM," an army official said here.
Meanwhile, the Army Brigade Commander supervising the operation has also been asked to move forward towards the crash site.

The crash site, three kilometers to South East of Luguthang village in Arunachal Pradesh, was identified by civilians living in nearby villages and was later confirmed by the photographs taken by the rescue helicopters.
IBNS, Itanagar, May 4 : Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu was declared dead on Wednesday after the wreckage of his helicopter that crashed on Saturday was located in the remote hills of Luguthang, near the Indo-China border at an elevation of over 4,000 metres.
The mountainous region was exceedingly difficult to reach, with narrow hill-hugging foot roads, barely enough for one person to pass through at a time, officials said. Coupled with rain and snow, it took rescue workers between one to two hours just to traverse a kilometre, reports said.
The Pawan Hans Eurocopter B3 craft, carrying Chief Minister Khandu and four other people took off on Saturday from Tawang at 9:56 am for state capital Itanagar, which is 200 km away. The chopper was expected to reach its destination within 11:30 am.
But there was no contact with the helicopter since 20 minutes after take off as it flew over the Sela Pass, officials said. The crash location showed the chopper had deviated northwards the mountain pass crashing near Luguthang.
Apart from Khandu, the chopper was also carrying pilots Captain J S Babbar and Captain K S Malick, the Chief Minister's security officer Yeshi Choddak and his relative Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup. All of them have been found dead.
A government official and a relative of Khandu identified his body, media reports said. But with all the snowing it would not be possible to airlift any of the bodies or the wreckage before Thursday, Kiran Rijiju, the adviser to the late chief minister said.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram broke the news to the media at his second press briefing of the day in New Delhi. “From whatever I can piece together from the information given by the villagers and assuming it to be true, I am afraid the news is grim and sad,” he said.
“Villagers, who reached the site, have found charred bodies. But these are interrupted communications. Though a Cheetah helicopter has located the debris, no official of the government, army or police has been able to reach there,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.
Asked when officials will reach the crash site, the Home Minister said, “It may take several hours for any of these officials to reach the spot because it is about five kilometres from Keyla.”
Earlier in the day, Chidambaram had declined to confirm if the wreckage of the chopper was the same on that was missing since Saturday with the Arunachal CM onboard.
Later at a news conference, Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region B K Handique said, "The Chief Minister and four others are dead." A Panchayat leader and one of Khandu’s relatives had identified the body, he said.
He also informed on the death of the other four people on board with Khandu. “All occupants of the helicopter are dead. While we could identify Khandu, the other four bodies have been charred beyond recognition,” he said.
However, saying that the official confirmation could only be available after completing formalities, he refused to speculate on who would succeed Khandu to take over the helm of the state that shares a disputed border with China and has been without a Chief Minister for five days.
Condolence messages started pouring in. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said that he was “deeply pained” to receive the confirmation of the death of Khandu. “He was dedicated to the cause of improving the quality of lives of the people,” he said in statement.
“In his death, the state and country has lost a visionary administrator and an excellent human being. I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to members of his family and friends,” said Krishna.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said there should be a stricter air safety code to prevent such accidents.
“I am sorry to know about the demise of Shri Dorjee Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. The co-passengers have also died in crash. My sympathies for the bereaved families,” tweeted Swaraj on Wednesday evening.
“We must devise a stricter air safety code to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future,” she said on the micro-blogging site Twitter.
Khandu’s chopper went missing amid plenty of confusion on Saturday. Hours after it lost contact, and was declared missing, the Chief Minister’s office announced that Khandu had landed safely in Bhutan.
The statement, apparently based on a phone call that authorities had received, was retracted later as Union Home Secretary G K Pillai announced the beginning of an extensive search operation that would involve almost every resource the country had from the army to the space organisation.
The federal government sent in Minister of State at the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanswamy and Union Minister Mukul Wasnik to Itnagar on Sunday to take stock of the situation and oversee the search operations.
Thousands of Indian Army soldiers, police and local villagers combed through possible locations on foot on Sunday. Air Force choppers and Sukhoi fighter jets did innumerable aerial sorties of the places tracing the choppers route.
Finally it was on Monday that some headway was made as satellite and radar images from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian Air Force jets showed “metallic traces” in at least three locations.
Seven spots were pinpointed and rescue workers were sent on foot to investigate the sites on Tuesday. However, with poor weather conditions there was little progress and even by the fall of Tuesday night, the wreckage was not spotted.
Rescue operations resumed once again on Wednesday morning amid relative clearer weather. The site of the crash was reached and reports started pouring in of the chief minister’s demise. Bodies in partially decomposed state were said to have been found at the location.
Increased frenzy was seen in front of the Chief Minister’s residence at Itanagar, even before the official confirmation. Television images showed state ministers and MLAs have started arriving at Khandu’s bungalow.
Congress leader Khandu, 56, had assumed the Chief Minister's office in April 9, 2007, replacing his own party's Gegong Apang. He was respected in the state for his work focusing on the lower levels of society.
His political career began through working as a local politician helping set up schools and organising drinking water supplies in remotest areas of the Himalayan state. He was decorated a military intelligence man who participated in the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Born in the Gyangkhar village of Tawang district on March 3, 1955, Khandu was a Buddhist belonging to the Monpa tribe with little formal education. He is survived by four wives, four sons and two daughters.

‘Lawlessness’ keeps away new owner

The Mujnai tea estate: Cloud on reopening date

TT, Alipurduar, May 4: The new management of the Mujnai tea estate did not reopen the garden today as scheduled, citing lawlessness on its premises.

The agreement to reopen the garden was signed at a tripartite meeting in the office of the Jalpaiguri district magistrate on April 21. Central leaders of prominent trade unions had signed the deal though the leadership of the Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union (CBMU) of Citu, which is dominant in Mujnai, had kept away.

As a token of goodwill, the new management had also sent Rs 500 each to the 999 workers on two occasions and ration for a fortnight, but they were not accepted under instructions from the local Citu unit.

Rupinder Singh Ranawat, the general manager of Anjuman Tea Company Limited that has taken over Mujnai, said: “According to the last meeting, we were supposed to open the garden but there is complete lawlessness. We are worried about the safety and security of the managerial staff. We have informed the district administration that the situation in the garden is not healthy. We are waiting for further instructions from the administration.”

The CBMU said central trade union leaders knew little about the ground realities and so the agreement signed by them with the management was void. Without a “proper” deal, the management could not be allowed to function, the CBMU said.

Sukha Oraon, the secretary of the garden unit of the CBMU, said the labourers were not ready to accept retrenchment of the workforce. The retrenchment of a section of labourers and four-day work for the rest of them was discussed at the March 9 meeting of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association with the new company. “Naturally we did not accept the proposal. More importantly, the new management before taking over the garden, lodged an FIR against 11 workers. The charges against them, like damaging bungalows and the factory, are baseless.”

Jalpaiguri district magistrate Vandana Yadav said a meeting has been called on Tuesday between the management and the union.

The previous owner of Mujnai tea estate, 60km from Alipurduar town, had abandoned it last year in the middle of December without intimating the administration. Last month, Ratan Jha, an impostor posing as the new owner of the garden, had been arrested.

Workers block cramped train

Workers block the train at the New Jalpaiguri Station on Wednesday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, May 4: Over 1,000 migrant workers waiting for a Kerala-bound train blocked the tracks at the New Jalpaiguri Station for more than an hour this afternoon when they found that there was no space to accommodate them on the weekly express from Assam.

The youths, who work at different places in Kerala, reached the station to board the 12516 Guwahati-Thiruvananthapuram Express. They had all returned home to cast votes for the Assembly polls on April 18.

“We purchased tickets for the general compartments. As the train reached the NJP, we found that both the general compartments were full and there was not enough space to stand,” said Amit Roy, a resident of Rajgunj block in Jalpaiguri district.

“As we tried to enter the compartments, we were refused entry by passengers (who were also bound for Kerala and had boarded the train at Cooch Behar and Alipurduar),” said Roy, who works as a painter.

The NJP witnessed sudden rush today as a large number of workers had returned home to cast votes on April 18.

“All of us had been to our homes to cast our votes and are returning to our workplaces. Some of my friends who had returned earlier told me about the rush to board the same weekly express on the last two Wednesdays,” said a youth.

The train arrived at the NJP at 2.05pm and was scheduled to leave at 2.25pm.

Finding that it would be difficult to get berths on general coaches, the workers tried to find space in sleeper coaches. “Surprisingly, the situation was more or less same there, with people squatting together on the floors, in front of bathrooms and even in vestibules,” said Rajesh Burman from Phansidewa.

“We were left with no other option because this is the only train that goes directly to Thiruvananthapuram (located 3,143 km from the NJP). If we change trains at Howrah or Chennai, we will have to shell out more money.”

As the time passed, the labourers who could not accommodate themselves in any of the coaches, raised a blockade in front of the train. The GRP personnel and officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway reached the spot and tried to dissuade the labourers.

When the agitators refused to vacate the tracks, the authorities announced that an addition general compartment would be attached to the train. The blockade was withdrawn and many youths jumped inside the coach to take seats. But several others still stood on the platform as the train finally left at 4.45pm.

A GRP officer said the stranded passengers would be accommodated in other trains travelling to Howrah and different destinations in south India.

“Additional coaches will be added to these trains and the labourers can find berth there,” said the officer.

Elephants stuck in garden mob fury

The elephants in Huntapara Tea Estate on Wednesday. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

TT, Alipurduar, May 4: Thirteen elephants, part of a 40-member herd crossing from one forest to another, were left stranded in a tea garden today because of a mob that also brought work in some sections of the estate to a halt.

Foresters were hoping that the 13 animals, including three calves, would move to Titi forest once the darkness fell and the mob dispersed.

The herd was moving from Dhumchi forest to Titi via Huntapara Tea Estate this morning. Although 27 elephants could reach Titi, the 13 members halted in Section 28 of the garden as three calves were with them.

The distance between the two forests is 7km.

Seeing the elephants, a large number of people gathered in the garden and started disturbing the animals by bursting crackers and throwing stones.

“The mob stood on the very path the elephants were supposed to use to reach Titi. When the stones were thrown, the adult members of the herd charged at the onlookers,” said a witness.

The elephants had initially taken shelter in the tea bushes, but later went near a dried up stream. But the people continued to disturb them and work in some sections of the garden came to a halt. .

“There were 40 odd elephants in the herd and it was divided in two parts. While one part comprising 27 elephants entered the Titi forest, the other stayed in Section 28 of the garden. As many people went to watch the elephants, we had to suspend work in Section 26, 27, 28 and 29 for the day. The herd damaged a large number of bushes also,” said Gurtej Nain, the manager of the estate.

The garden is 68km from here.

Foresters from Madarihat and Lankapara ranges reached the spot and had a trying time controlling the mob.

The Lankapara range officer, Deben Roy, said the elephants had halted in the garden as three newborns were with them.

“The animals became furious and chased the mob when they were attacked. Elephants don’t move outside forest during the day and we are waiting for the evening.”

Dollar arrest

TT, Siliguri: Nazarbul Ali, a resident of Hanskowa near Phansidewa, and Binod Kuzur of Patna, were arrested on Wednesday while trying to collect Rs 50,000 against a 1million US dollar note. Police have confiscated the note. Experts will be called on Thursday to find out if it is a counterfeit currency, police said.

Road injuries

TT: The driver and the helper of a Siliguri-bound truck were injured when the vehicle skidded off NH31A and fell into a gorge near Swetijhora, 30km from here, on Wednesday. Police said the truck was coming from Sikkim.

Prison probe

TT, Malda: Englishbazar police and the authorities of the Malda District Jail started an investigation after jail superintendent Debasish Chakraborty noticed a white cord hanging outside the boundary wall of the prison around 5.30pm on Wednesday. The officials said they were conducting an inquiry to find out if the cord was being used by the prisoners to bring in banned items or was part of a plan to escape from the jail.

Train timing

TT, Siliguri: The 12505 down Northeast Express that was scheduled to leave Guwahati at 9.45am on Thursday will leave the station at 4.30pm that day, Northeast Frontier Railway sources said on Wednesday.

Media Lies And Misinformation On Bin Laden

Stephen Lendman,  Countercurrents.org, 04 May, 2011:Corporate media manipulators love a big story they can hype, distort and falsify to attract large audiences, unaware they're getting managed news, not truth.

Moreover, the bigger the event, the worse the reporting, and no matter how often they're fooled, madding crowds rely on proved unreliable sources like US cable and broadcast TV, as well as corporate broadsheets and popular magazines publishing rubbish not fit to print.

After Obama's May day announcement, round-the-clock coverage now features "story one" ad nauseam, cheerleading the death of a dead man with no one allowed on to refute it.

A previous article did, accessed through the following link:

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/05/lies-damn-lies-and-bin-ladens-death.html

Separating fact from fiction, it explained:

(1) Significant facts from David Ray Griffin's important book titled, "Osama Bin Laden: Dead or Alive?" In it, he provided objective and testimonial evidence of his December 2001 death, likely from kidney failure, not a special forces hit squad getting their man then or now.

(2) Forensic evidence that post-9/11 videos and audios were fake.

(3) Bin Laden's role as a CIA asset, as well as called "Enemy Number One," using him advantageously both ways.

(4) Also, reports of his 2001 hospitalizations in Pakistan and Dubai where (in July) the emirate's CIA station chief visited him in his hospital room. Why not if he was a valued asset, his likely status until his natural, not violent, death.

Nonetheless, Western politicians and media, notably America's, never miss a chance to report fiction, not fact, especially on headline news like bin Laden's death, a decade after it happened.

Examples of Media Misreporting

Several May 2 New York Times articles provide painful reading, including Mark Mazzetti, Helene Cooper and Peter Baker's headlined, "Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden," saying:

"For years, the agonizing search for (him) kept coming up empty. Then last July, Pakistanis working for the (CIA) drove up behind a white Suzuki navigating the bustling streets near Peshawar, Pakistan," and discovered, after checking its license, that it belonged to his "most trusted courier...."

Claiming he lead them to bin Laden's location, it said:

"79 American commandos in four helicopters descended on (it). Shots rang out....Of the five dead, one was a tall, bearded man with a bloodied face and a bullet in his head."

Bin Laden's manhunt ended, said the writers, when he was identified, then quickly buried at sea to hide the evidence, though under English common law most often, no body means no killing or crime. In other words, without proof, prosecutorial allegations are baseless.

Nonetheless, Mazzetti, Cooper and Baker recounted a decade-long fantasy, including detainee interrogations in secret Eastern Europe prisons, widespread surveillance, wiretaps, satellite images and more before tracking bin Laden to a Abbottabad, Pakistan compound and killing him.

No matter that none of it was true and much more. International and constitutional law prohibit sending uninvited military forces to another country for any reason.

Moreover, no one suspected of any crime may be summarily executed with no arrest, no due process, no no judicial fairness, and no trial. Just a bullet, bomb or slit throat, Washington's version of summary judgment besides torture and imperial wars as official policies.

These topics were ignored in major media reports, focused solely on killing a decade earlier dead man.

On May 2, Times writers Scott Shane and Robert Worth headlined, "Even Before Al Qaeda Lost Its Founder, It May Have Lost Some of Its Allure," saying:

Bin Laden had "long been removed from managing terrorist operations and whose popularity with Muslims worldwide has plummeted in recent years," calling him a "violent extremis(t) without saying he was replaced after his 2001 death so, of course, his influenced waned. Out of sight, out of mind, especially when dead.

A May 2 Times editorial headlined, "The Long-Awaited News," saying:

"The news that (he'd) been tracked and killed by American forces filled us, and all Americans, with a great sense of relief....(but we must) remember that the fight against extremists is far from over."

Noting years of painstaking "vigilance and persistence," it praised Obama for "show(ing) that he is a strong and measured leader. His declaration on Sunday night that 'justice has been done' was devoid of triumphalism."

In fact, he affirmed continuity of America's war on terror - state terror, including four imperial wars and numerous proxy ones, expending enormous sums while popular needs go begging.

Ignoring truth, he repeated lies endorsed shamelessly by America's media, notably by Times correspondents, op-ed contributors, and editorial writers with comments like:

"Bin Laden's death is an extraordinary moment for Americans and all who have lost loved ones in horrifying, pointless acts of terrorism."

Unmentioned was decades of US and Israeli-sponsored state terrorism responsible for millions of deaths, destruction and human suffering. Earlier, noted scholar/activist Eqbal Ahmad (1934 - 1999) called it:

"illegal violence, (including) torture, (attacking and bombing) villages, destruction of entire peoples, (and) genocide," adding, "Who will define the parameters of terrorism, or decide where terrorists lurk? Why, none other than the United States, (its leading practitioner) which can from the rooftops of the world set out its claim to be the sheriff, judge and hangman, all at one and the same time."

So while rhetorically supporting equal justice and democratic values, Washington spurns international and constitutional law, using brute force to assert might over right, all the while proclaiming just cause reasons for its actions.

No wonder Ahmad called America "a troubled country," sowing "poisonous seeds" globally, saying "(s)ome have ripened and others are ripening (with no) examination of (what they've) sown," adding that "(m)issiles won't solve the problem." In other words, violence assures more of it, but don't expect America's media to explain.

On May 2, Washington Post writers Greg Miller and Joby Warrick headlined, "Bin Laden discovered 'hiding in plain sight,' " recounting the same fantasy as Times writers, saying:

"The commandos swept methodically through (his) compound's main building, clearing one room and then another" until they got their man. Sounding more like bad fiction, they said the operation was secretly planned for months, culminating with Sunday's assault, adding bin Laden wasn't hiding in a cave after all.

A WP editorial headlined, "Possible consequences of the bin Laden coup," saying:

"There are multiple reasons to celebrate" his death, including loss of Al Qaeda's leader, the prowess of US intelligence and military, and that the "prime (9/11) author (finally was) brought to justice."

It brought "a rare moment of common celebration and relief in a divided America. But (it's) not clear to what degree al-Qaeda's operations will be affected by the loss of its leader." It may, in fact, strengthen its resolve. History shows dead militants often inspire followers.

Ignoring illegal operations on foreign soil, it worried most about ending or curtailing them prematurely, no matter the toll in human life and neglect for popular domestic needs. For now, celebratory joy takes precedence, even for false reasons.

A Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "Victory in Abbottabad," saying:

Killing bin Laden "doesn't end the war against Islamic terror (note the racism), but it is a crucial and just victory that is rightfully cause for celebration."

Ignoring daily US war crimes, including killer drones murdering civilians, it railed against "combatants who hide in the world's dark corners, who rarely fight in the open and who attack innocents far from any conventional battlefield."

Praising Obama, it called it "a moment to salute George W. Bush....a vindication of (his war on terror, intelligence, and) interrogation policies," torturing innocent victims to extract false confessions and information about things they know nothing about, including bin Laden's alleged whereabouts.

His death, said the writer, "is a measure of justice for the thousands he killed (and) a warning to others who would kill Americans that they will meet the same fate, no matter how long it takes or where they try to hide."

This and other accounts like it, sadly, is what passes for corporate opinion in America, endorsing state terror and vilifying those against it.

Huffington Post contributor Michael Calderone headlined "Network Anchors Head to Ground Zero for Bin Laden Coverage," saying:

They never miss a chance to misreport major news, including the three broadcast anchors: NBC's Brian Williams, ABC's Diane Sawyer, and CBS' Katie Couric (an entertainer impersonating a newsperson) "host(ing) an expanded, one-hour May 2 edition of their nightly broadcasts from" Ground Zero.

Several cable channels joined them, including CNN and Fox, reporting fiction about a decade earlier dead man.

Time magazine's cover story featured bin Laden's full-page image with a pronounced red X crossing him out, highlighting what didn't happen to the detriment of readers believing inaccurate reporting.

Al Jazeera was just as bad with stories like one headlined, "Obama says world safer without Bin Laden," saying:

He "claimed responsibility for planning the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington," providing no corroborating evidence. In fact, in David Ray Griffin's writings, he said:

"(T)here is no good evidence that bin Laden had planned or even specifically authorized the 9/11 attacks." Those believing it cite his misinterpreted September 2001 Al Jazeera interview, rejoicing in the attacks but denying knowledge or responsibility.

Griffin said one of his aides confirmed that he had "no information or knowledge about the attack(s)" but he "thanked Almighty Allah and bowed before him when he heard this news." Days later he told Al Jazeera:

"I stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own motivation."

During two subsequent October 2001 interviews, he praised the "vanguards of Islam (who) destroyed America," but again admitted no knowledge or responsibility.

Al Jazeera now claiming it is a lie.

BBC aired the same misinformation as did America's National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting (PBS), calling his death a blow to Al Qaeda. So did Democracy Now, ignoring bin Laden's decade earlier natural, not violent, death.

Nation magazine editor Katrina vanden Heuvel also swallowed the big lie, headlining her article, "With Osama bin Laden Dead, It's Time to End the 'War on Terror,' " that was entirely bogus from inception, saying:

"Today, President Obama and his team have a chance to reset our fight against terrorism," vanden Heuvel not condemning its lawlessness, America's imperial wars, a president with no credibility, a falsely reported 9/11 event, and that the only relevant terror is what Washington unleashes globally against nonbelligerent nations.

Instead, she praised Obama's "humane and sober" position, calling it "a relief to hear in his words reminders of" a brief post-9/11 period before America went to war in Afghanistan, then Iraq, undertakings Nation magazine supported at the time and still stops short of rejecting.

A Final Comment

On May 2, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting's Peter Hart headlined, "Bush's Palpable Persistence in Pursuit of bin Laden," suggesting he stopped looking, knowing he died, quoting him saying in March 2002:

"Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not. We haven't heard from him in a long time....I don't know where he is. I really just don't spend that much time on him, to be honest with you."

Washington Monthly's Steve Benen offered more evidence of no interest in pursuing him, saying:

"In July 2006, we learned that the Bush administration closed its unit that had been hunting bin Laden," reported also by New York Times writer Mark Mazzetti on July 4, saying the CIA ceased all efforts last year pursuing him.

Along with David Ray Griffin's important work, it's more proof of bin Laden's 2001 death, putting a lie to Obama's announcement and shameless journalists repeating it.

[Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.]