विमल गुरूङद्वारा शिलान्यास
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 25 जुलाई। विकासको मूल फुटाउने बाचा गर्दै गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलनलाई विश्राम दिएर गोर्खाल्याण्ड टेरिटोरी एड्मिनिष्ट्रेशनमा सहीछाप गरेपछि गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाले आजदेखि विकासको मूल फुटाउने काम शुरू गरेको छ। गोरूबथानको आहाले-2 स्थित 2002 देखि थॉंतीमा रहेको डिग्री कलेजको निर्माण शीघ्र गरिने भएको छ। मोर्चा अध्यक्ष विमल गुरूङ कलेजको निर्माणको निम्ति शिलान्यास गर्न गोरूबथान पुगेका थिए। गोरामुमो कालदेखि नै यहॉं कलेज बनिने हल्ला चलेको भए पनि अहिलेसम्म पक्का निधो भएको थिएन। तर आज विमल गुरूङले आहाले-2 मा पुगी पुजा अर्चना गर्दै शिलान्यास गरेपछि कलेज बनिने पक्का भएको छ। कलेज निर्माण गर्न गठित कमिटीमा मोर्चा अध्यक्ष विमल गुरूङ नै अध्यक्ष रहेका छन् भने विधायक डा.हर्कबहादुर छेत्री सचिव रहेका छन्। 
शिलान्यासपछि गुरूङले हप्तादिनदेखि नै निर्माण कार्य शुरू हुने बताएका छन्। गोरूबथान डिग्री कलेजको बोर्ड राखेर शिलान्यास गरेको भए पनि गुरूङले डिग्री कलेजको नाम इन्द्रबहादुर राई हुने जनाए। शिलान्यासपछि पानडॉंड़ामा सम्पन्न जनसभामा तिनले कलेजको नाम घोषणा गरे। जीटीएले पहाड़मा मोठ आठवटा कलेज निर्माण गर्ने भए पनि सोही मध्ये एक यो कलेज बनाइएको हो होइन भन्ने कुरा स्पष्ट भएको छैन। जीटीएद्वारा होइन पार्टीको तर्फबाट नै आज गुरूङले कलेज निर्माण गर्न 20 लाख सहयोग राशि संग्रह गरेको बताउँदै कलेज निर्माणको निम्ति गोरूबथानका सम्पूर्ण जनताको सहभागिता हुनुपर्ने जनाएका छन्।
44 महिनाको आन्दोलनमा अन्य ठॉंउको तुलनामा गोरूबथानको योगदान धेरै रहेको अनि गोरूबथान आन्दोलनको कुरूक्षेत्र नै बनेको बताउँदै तिनले भने, अब दार्जीलिङ कालेबुङ भन्दा गोरूबथान विकशित हुनुपर्छ। किन भने यो क्षेत्र डुवर्सको सीमाना क्षेत्र हो। जीटीए क्षेत्रमा विकास गरेर हामी आदिवासी विकास परिषद अनि बङ्गाल सरकारलाई चुनौती दिन चहान्छौं। आज जीटीएभित्र पस्दिन भनेर जीटीएको विरोध गर्नेहरूलाई भोलीको दिनमा जीटीएमा राल चुहाउने बनाउनेछौं।
मोर्चाको पक्षबाट यो कलेज गोरुबथानलाई उपहारस्वरूप रहेको बताउँदै यस कलेज दार्जीलिङ,कालेबुङ अनि खरसाङको कलेजहरूभन्दा भन्नै रहने अनि कलेजमा विध्यार्थीहरूको निम्ति सबैप्रकारको सुविधा रहने जनाएका छन्। कलेज निर्माण कार्यमा आफू स्वयं खट्ने बताउँदै गुरुङले निर्माण कार्यमा कुनै प्रकारको घोटला हुनु नहुने बताए। जीटीएपछि राज्य
तिनले भने, मान्छेको निम्ति सबैभन्दा ठूलो कुरा विकास हो। जीटीए चलाएर हामीले बङ्गाल र केन्द्र सरकारलाई देखाउन सक्नुपर्छ। जीटीए चलाएपछि सरकारको पक्षमा कुनै हामीलाई दिने विकल्प युटी र राज्य मात्र रहनेछ। जीटीएभित्र हामी गोर्खाहरूलाई मात्र होइन डुवर्स क्षेत्रमा हेपिएर बसेका आदिवासी,राजवंशी, कोचेमेचे सबैलाई नोकरी दिन चहान्छौं। हाइपवर कमिटिले डुवर्स क्षेत्र लगायत सम्पूर्ण दार्जीलिङ जिल्लाको निरीक्षण गरेपछि कमिटीको निर्णय अनुरूप नै जीटीएको चुनाउ हुने तिनले बताए।
दाबी सबै मौजा पस्छ भन्ने छैन
जनसभाबाट नै तिनले डुवर्सका जनतालाई सम्बोधन गर्दै मोर्चाको झण्डा रुखमा होइन घरमा लगाइदिने अपील गरे। तिनले भने, हाइपवर कमिटीले रुखलाई सोध्दैन, घरलाई सोध्छ। यसकारण रूखमा होइन घरमा झण्डा लगाउनुपर्छ। हाइपवर कमिटीको निर्णय अनुसार नै डुवर्सका क्षेत्रहरू जीटीएमा अन्तरभुक्त हुनेछ। डुवर्सको सम्पूर्ण गोर्खा बाहुल क्षेत्रहरू जीटीएमा गाभिन नसक्ने संकेत दिँदै तिनले भने, सबै क्षेत्र जीटीएमा अन्तरभुक्त हुन्छ भन्ने छैन। नभएका क्षेत्रहरूलाई पनि हामी अवश्यै विचार गर्नेछौं। त्यहॉंको समस्याको समाधान पनि गर्नेछौं। जनता ढुक्कले बस्नु।
विमलको मुद्दा अर्कै छ, हस्ताक्षर सचिवको हो
पहाड़का विपक्ष दलहरूले आफूलाई जीटीएमा बिक्रि भएको आरोप लगाइरहेको सन्दर्भमा तिनले भने,म बिक्रि भएको छुइन। जीटीएमा हस्ताक्षर मैले गरेको होइन। सचिवले गरेको हो। विमलको मुद्दा अर्कै छ। जसको प्रतीक्षामा आजसम्म बसेको छु। विमलले कहिल्यै आफ्नो इमान बेच्दैन। मोर्चाले मुद्दालाई भुलेको छैन। जीटीएको नामले हामी खुशी छौं। अब राज्य हुन मात्र बॉंकी छ। पहाड़का बुद्धिजीवीहरूलाई पेपरमा मात्र होइन कार्यरूपमा उत्रिनुपर्ने अपील गर्दै जीटीएमा बुद्धिजीवीहरूको धेरै खॉंचो रहेको बताए। माकपा सरकारले गोर्खाहरूलाई बुलेट दिएको तर आज तृणमूलले भने जीटीए दिएको बताउँदै ममताको गुण गोर्खाहरूले भुल्नु नहुने तिनले बताए। जीटीएसित आइलाको तुलना गर्न नहुने बताउँदै तिनले जीटीएमा भ्रष्टचार नहुने दाबी गरे। तिनले भने, जीटीएमा प्रत्येक व्यक्तिले आफ्नो योग्यता अनुसार काम गर्नुपर्छ। शिक्षकले ठेकादार होइन, स्कूल पढाउनुपर्छ। गोरूबथानको मार्केट पनि तिनले दिल्लीबाट आर्किटेक्ट झिकाएर केही दिनमा नै निर्माण कार्य शुरू गर्ने घोषणा पनि गुरूङले गरे।Chamling's visit on day 32
Prabin Khaling, KalimNews, Gangtok, 25 July: The Chief Minister on his 32nd day of the village to village tour while talking to the students and sanctioning financial aid to the students for the exposure trip said them to visit the various parts of the state and learn about the history, geography, culture, tradition and developmental activities of the state. The state has tremendous potentiality and the students should know about it. The exposure trip will also help them learn about the state which in long run will help in shaping their career in various sectors in the state itself, the Chief Minister said.
Talking about the demand of the people with regard to cleaning and maintenance of the Chochenpheri Lake the Chief Minister said that the lake is the property of the people. The infrastructure has been created by the government and it is the people’s duty to protect, clean and maintain it. This lake is the medium of progress of the area and the people should learn it to market it for tourism purpose. The Chief Minister in this regard directed the Tourism Department to prepare a concrete proposal for the protection and maintenance of the lake in sustainable manner.
While laying the foundation stone of the Manghim at Rikyap the Chief Minister said that the government has taken every possible step to protect the language, culture, tradition and religion of every community of the state. While protecting the identity of every community of the state the government is protecting the identity of the State in true sense. The Chief Minister also congratulated the land donor for donating his land for the Manghim and urged the people to come forward for such noble causes.
Talking about the various demands of the people the Chief Minister said that schemes should not be proposed and sanctioned in the interest of the contractors but should be in the interest of the public. The Chief Minister further said that the demands put forward by the people during this tour shall be sanctioned in two phases and the first phase shall be sanctioned by September of this year. Of all the demands forwarded by the people till date 25 school auditorium and 50 school building have been sanctioned by the government, the Chief Minister declared.
During the day long tour the Chief Minister addressed the people at Chochenpheri, Rikyap, Machong, Parkha and Linkey.
Deal done, now growth survey - Architect in tow, administration & Morcha on study tour of hills  |
| Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri, DM Mohan Gandhi and architect PR Mehta (extreme right) inspect a plot of land near Darjeeling railway station for a proposed parking lot. Picture by Suman Tamang |
The study comes days after the signing of the agreement between the Morcha, the state government and the Centre to set up the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration for the hills.
Under the hill agreement, the three sides have agreed to take up over 40 development projects including the setting up of four ropeways in Darjeeling and Kurseong.
The survey team included Darjeeling district magistrate Mohan Gandhi, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri and Delhi-based architect P.R. Mehta, apart from officials of the land and land reforms department.
The team inspected sites at Batasia, Red Cross Complex, Kakjhora, Judge Bazaar, the motor stand area and Lebong.
Gandhi, however, said Mehta was not officially tied to the survey. “Since he was in town, we thought of calling him for the inspection. The survey was in the pipeline as the state government wanted to come up with plans to decongest the town about three years ago. This was basically a follow up to this proposal and an effort to identify possible sites to create parking spaces in town,” said Gandhi.
Gandhi added that the district administration was looking at creating more parking spaces apart from beautifying the town. Mamata Banerjee had repeatedly said she would turn the hills into Switzerland.
The Morcha, which has signed the hill deal on July 18, however, indicated that the survey was part of the party’s decision to immediately start development works.
“We are not sure whether Mr Mehta has been taken in officially or not but the district magistrate and the administrator of the DGHC have recognised his expertise,” said Giri. “To start with, we are trying to concentrate on creating parking space, strengthening the motor stand and beautifying the town immediately. Apart from this, we have already started drawing up plans not just for Darjeeling but also for other towns like Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik,” said Giri. He said Mehta had taken up beautification projects in Delhi and Jaipur in the past.
The speculation doing the round is that though Mehta is not officially tied to the project, the Morcha is looking at taking him on board for planning.
“We have to adopt a holistic approach to develop the area. I am just looking at the sites now and we will also seek a number of suggestions. Later, we can combine the ideas to come up with a holistic plan for the region,” said Mehta.
Morcha president Bimal Gurung told party workers at Chungthung, 26km from Darjeeling yesterday, that he was racing against time to change the face of the hills. “I cannot wait for long. We have already started planning for the region,” he had said yesterday.
Sources said the Darjeeling municipality has also prepared a plan to develop the Chowk Bazar area, which includes realigning the vendors in the area.
Tea supply threat with rehearsal - Workers prevent truck from leaving garden
 |
| Adivasi Vikas Parishad supporters demonstrate at the entrance to Karala Valley garden on Monday. Picture by Biplab Basak |
The truck was allowed to leave an hour later though the Progressive Tea Workers’ Union — the workers’ body of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad — said the “bar on the despatch of tea would be total from tomorrow”.
Today, PTWU members across 158 gardens in the Dooars and 50 in the Terai demonstrated against the managements for not agreeing to their demand for a daily wage of Rs 250.
The leaders of the PTWU — the dominant trade union in the Dooars and Terai gardens — said they would stop the despatch of tea from estates from tomorrow and would observe a general strike in the region on July 28, if no decision was reached on the revised wages in the next two days. The current daily wage in the plains gardens is Rs 67. In the last meeting that was held, the planters had agreed to an annual increment of Rs 8 for three years, which had been rejected by the trade unions.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-backed Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, which has managed to clinch a deal of Rs 90 a day for hill garden workers, has also joined the PTWU in its agitation. According to sources in the tea industry, if the threat to stop the despatch of tea is carried out, then the loss would be around Rs 20 crore a day for the Dooars and the Terai sector.
“Even though the despatch depends on the orders received by each garden, it is the peak season now. Given the trend of production and sale, it can be said that on an average eight tonnes of tea (that is 8,000kg) is despatched from each of the 208 gardens everyday,” a senior representative of a tea planters’ association said.
“As of now, the average auction price of CTC tea is Rs 120 a kg, which means in total, the industry would face a transaction loss of Rs 19.88 crore everyday and of course, the proportionate loss in profit,” he said.
Another veteran of the Bengal tea industry said if the bar on the despatch of tea continued for a fortnight, it would affect domestic markets like Calcutta. “The loss that we would count on every single day is substantial. Now if this agitation to stop the despatch of tea continues for 15 days or beyond it, it is natural that there would be shortage of CTC tea manufactured in Terai and Dooars in the domestic market,” he said. “It would also cause problem for exporters who send CTC brews to other countries.”
Shukra Munda, the chairperson of the PTWU, said his union had been organising hour-long meetings in front of garden gates since last week. “Today was the last day of such agitation and from tomorrow, we would not allow tea packages to move outside gardens. The bar on the despatch of tea would be total from tomorrow. If no decision is reached in the next two days, we will observe a one-day general strike in the Terai and Dooars on July 28,” Munda said. “Further decisions on movements from July 29 and onwards would be taken in due time.”
In Karala, PTWU supporters stopped a vehicle which was coming out of the garden, loaded with tea packets. “It was detained for an hour as our agitation was in progress. Later, it was allowed to go,” said a garden worker.
Workers who are members of over 30 other trade unions, including the Intuc and the Citu, which are affiliated to either of the two apex bodies – Defence Committee for Plantation Workers’ Rights and Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers —launched gate meetings in the gardens.
“We will carry on with a similar agitation for a week and wait to see whether there is any response from the owners’ side. If there is no development, we will observe a strike in the tea industry for three days starting August 10,” said Aloke Chakraborty, the Darjeeling district Intuc president.
With a standoff looming, planters said they were eager for an early settlement. “We had discussions but could not reach a consensus,” Monojit Dasgupta, the secretary general of Indian Tea Association, said over phone from Calcutta. “Nevertheless, we are eager for an early settlement and waiting for the next round of tripartite talks to be convened by the state labour department. Our appeal to workers is that as talks are pending, they should refrain from agitations and carry out regular works as any agitation or strike would only affect the industry.”
State labour minister Purnendu Bose said his department has taken cognisance of the issue. “I have personally met both planters and trade union representatives and if required, I will talk to them again,” Bose said.
State labour commissioner Amal Roychoudhury, who had presided in all the rounds of tripartite talks, held in Siliguri and Calcutta since March end, said the next meeting is likely to be called in the first week of August.
Mixed response over development of Kurseong town
SNS, KURSEONG 25 JULY: The residents of this town is divided over the beautification and development of Kurseong town.
Yesterday, an architecture and urban development expert, Mr PR Mehta, along with the Kurseong MLA, Mr Rohit, GJMM and senior leader, Mr Anit Thapa, surveyed different places in Kurseong town for the overall development of Kurseong Town as well as to beautify it in a well planned manner.
Mr Jiten Pradhan, resident of Kurseong town, said that the businessmen will support the government to build a better Kurseong town but at the same time, the concerned authorities should also consider the problems of the businessmen. He said: “Before dismantling the old constructions to establish any new projects, the officials should first locate and rehabilitate us in proper way so that our daily earnings will not be disturbed and be affected in any way”.
Mr Pratap Agarwal said: “We haven't heard anything regarding the projects. The authorities should first inform the concerned people so that we can prepare ourselves”.
Mr Subash Lama, a local, said that he was very happy to know that if the projects are implemented in a planned phase, Kurseong will automatically develop. Regarding shopping complexes he said that there should be a vegetable market in just one floor, a textile market in another, goldsmiths, meat shops and so on in the same building which should be well spaced so that people can walk around freely. Such buildings attract people and the sales rise automatically.
An elderly resident of Kurseong Town said that finally he is hopeful that proper development will come to Kurseong. On children's park and malls he said it will be good for the town.
“Kurseong does not have a place where elderly people like me and the youngs ones can spend time like they do in Chowrasta in Darjeeling,” he said.
He said it is welcome news that such kind of a place is being planned and pointed out that the place should be devoid of any pollution.
He suggested that the town square should have a clock tower in the centre and said that he had heard that the town square is being planned in the centre of the town and also that a car parking is planned along with the it which should will not be proper.
Another resident Mr Ramesh Sharma said that if we want to develop the place into Switzerland then we have to take examples from other developed places like in Europe and America where towns or cities when redeveloped lay main emphasis on the development of society.
Meanwhile, Mr PR Mehta made a thorough survey of Darjeeling today.
The main town area of Darjeeling has become congested leading to traffic jam and various other problems that have immensely spiraled over the past few years due to lack of proper planning.
Mini Directorate functioning
Chief Ministers mini directorate has started working with Rajat Sahni ADM of Darjeeling as the in-charge of the Office supported by seven other officers. Temporarily this office is functioning at Shivmandir, Siliguri and a plan to construct its own building near Uttarayan housing complex is on the process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit the office after an interval of every three months.
Kalimpong taps dry for two days
RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Kalimpong, July 25: Electricity is not a problem yet but the other two aam admi concerns of pani and sadak are beginning to tell on the people of Kalimpong as the rains have wreaked havoc on the water supply infrastructure and the roads midway through monsoon.
Residents of Kalimpong have not received water for two days from July 22 after landslides at Algarah (16km from here) damaged pipes supplying water to a reservoir at Deolo few days ago.
Water from the tank is distributed to around 7,000 households of the hill town on every alternate days.
It is expected that the public health engineering (PHE) department, which distributes water, would be able to restore the supply lines from tomorrow.
“We have enough water in the Deolo reservoir today and we should be able to supply water tomorrow,” said Rajen Pradhan, the PHE superintendent.
Pradhan said the daily requirement of the town is 7.3 lakh gallons.
Till yesterday afternoon, the Deolo reservoir had about 3 lakh gallons of water, which had been kept as a buffer to meet emergencies like fire.
“We were able to replenish water from Thukchuk and the Neora river. If there is no further damage to our pipelines, then we will be able to supply water to the residents on alternate days as usual,” he said.
Residents of the hill town get water from the department for half an hour every alternate days.
But the officials fear that if there is more rain, causing landslides on the 6-km stretch from Algarah to the 4th Mile, then it could again result in the pipelines getting damaged.
Praful Rao, the president of Save The Hills, an NGO working on landslide issues, said an alternative arrangement to supply water to the residents of the hill town is needed. “The rainy season will continue for another month and half. The usual non-stop rain lasting for two-three days has not yet occurred this year. You can well imagine what could happen if we were to get that kind of rain,” he said.
It was not possible to ascertain if the Kalimpong municipality had an alternative arrangement in place to meet a possible crisis of potable water. L. N. Sherpa, the subdivisional officer of Kalimpong and acting administrator of the municipality, did not take calls from The Telegraph.
In the absence of water supply for two days, most residents arranged for drinking water from the natural springs in the neighbourhood.
“I had tapped rainwater for washing purposes and, for drinking, I brought 1,000 litres of water from the market,” said Nilesh Khadka, a resident of B.L. Dixit Road in Kalimpong.
The price of 1,000 litre water delivered at home is anything between Rs 200 and Rs 300, depending on the distance of the house from the town.
The PHE superintendent said he was keeping the SDO updated on the water situation.The mudslides have also affected the traffic movement on NH31A, the main road link to Siliguri. The highway has been blocked by slush and debris for hours several times in the past few months resulting in traffic jam and increased travel time.
“Landslides have turned the highway into a hell. Safety apart, the inordinate delay we have to encounter on the highway is not only inconveniencing but is also hurting us economically. If I have a day’s work in Siliguri today I will either have to go there a day in advance or I will have to stay back over night,” said Robin Lama, a businessman from Kalimpong.
Usually it takes about two hours to reach Siliguri from here, a distance of 65km, through the highway.
But because of regular traffic jams, especially on stretches affected by landslides, sometimes it takes double the time or even more to cover the distance.
Residents of the town submitted a letter to the Darjeeling district magistrate, Mohan Gandhi, last week drawing his attention to the bad condition of NH31A.
A source in the Border Roads Organisation, which maintains the highway, said they were doing their best to ensure an uninterrupted flow of traffic on the highway.
Chamling's visit on day 32
Prabin Khaling, KalimNews, Gangtok, 25 July: The Chief Minister on his 32nd day of the village to village tour while talking to the students and sanctioning financial aid to the students for the exposure trip said them to visit the various parts of the state and learn about the history, geography, culture, tradition and developmental activities of the state. The state has tremendous potentiality and the students should know about it. The exposure trip will also help them learn about the state which in long run will help in shaping their career in various sectors in the state itself, the Chief Minister said.
Talking about the demand of the people with regard to cleaning and maintenance of the Chochenpheri Lake the Chief Minister said that the lake is the property of the people. The infrastructure has been created by the government and it is the people’s duty to protect, clean and maintain it. This lake is the medium of progress of the area and the people should learn it to market it for tourism purpose. The Chief Minister in this regard directed the Tourism Department to prepare a concrete proposal for the protection and maintenance of the lake in sustainable manner.
While laying the foundation stone of the Manghim at Rikyap the Chief Minister said that the government has taken every possible step to protect the language, culture, tradition and religion of every community of the state. While protecting the identity of every community of the state the government is protecting the identity of the State in true sense. The Chief Minister also congratulated the land donor for donating his land for the Manghim and urged the people to come forward for such noble causes.
Talking about the various demands of the people the Chief Minister said that schemes should not be proposed and sanctioned in the interest of the contractors but should be in the interest of the public. The Chief Minister further said that the demands put forward by the people during this tour shall be sanctioned in two phases and the first phase shall be sanctioned by September of this year. Of all the demands forwarded by the people till date 25 school auditorium and 50 school building have been sanctioned by the government, the Chief Minister declared.
During the day long tour the Chief Minister addressed the people at Chochenpheri, Rikyap, Machong, Parkha and Linkey.
Rural boys keep Sikkim soccer legacy intact
TT, Gangtok, July 25: A group of under-16 players from an academy at Central Pendam in East district is set to preserve the rich legacy of rural Sikkim’s contribution towards football.
Teenagers from Gram Vikash Sangathan Football Academy have caught everyone’s attention in the ongoing second division S-League at Paljor Stadium here.
The children studying in classes below XII have scored three victories against teams consisting of much senior players and have lost only one match in the tournament.
With nine points so far, the GVS Football Academy is in the second position in Group A of the league and plays the final match on August 20.
Gram Vikash Sangathan is an NGO, which floated its own football academy in 2008 as a sporting extension of a host of social welfare activities it conducts.
“It was an initiative by like-minded individuals and today, we have 25 students selected from the rural areas of Sikkim during the winter camps we organise every year at Central Pendam. They are all studying in Central Pendam senior secondary school now,” said academy manager Karma Zigmee Bhutia.
“When we first started the camps, our intention was to just attract children to football. But we were overwhelmed by the response from the students and parents and decided to start the academy.”
The GVS boys have already scored brownie points by their performance in the S-League. Football fans hope the GVS players will inherit the soccer legacy left by the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia.
The Himalayan state’s celebrated footballers trace their roots to villages.
While Bhaichung hails from the remote Tinkitam village in South Sikkim, East Bengal players Nirmal Chettri and Sanju Pradhan are from Melli in South Sikkim and Sombarey in West district respectively. United Sikkim Football Club player Nim Tshering Lepcha is also from Dzongu, a village in North Sikkim.
The recruits picked from South, East and West districts are given accommodation in a hostel run by the academy. They are trained by former footballers Michael Lepcha and Bharat Tamang at the ground of Central Pendam senior secondary school everyday.
“Our boys have natural and technical skills. What they lack is match experience as all of them are under 16. They have not played many matches before and are now taking part in second division tournament of the state league. No matter how much we train these children, they can blossom only after playing regular competitive matches. Match experience is very vital,” said Lepcha, a former Santosh Trophy player.
Academy manager Bhutia was all praise for Central Pendam senior secondary school principal Suchitra Subba. “Whenever we select promising players from distant areas, the school readily admits them, facilitating their entry into the academy. Besides, the school ground is available at all times for practice,” said Bhutia.
The academy wants to hone the skills of their promising recruits and give them a launch pad to earn fame and money in bigger clubs in future. The students have been divided into two age groups, U-14 and U-16.
“The parents of these students have been extremely co-operative and helpful. Each student has to pay Rs 1,100 per month and the GVS bears the remaining expenses. Each student’s expense comes around Rs 2,200 a month and we are managing the cost with great difficulties,” said Bhutia.
Govt mum on fast for state
Cooch Behar, July 25: The fast-unto-death programme of a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association entered its eighth day today and the district administration, which had issued an appeal for the withdrawal of the agitation, has decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy.
Since July 18, when the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration pact was inked between the Centre, the state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, about 4,500 members of the GCPA have been sitting on an indefinite fast demanding a separate state of Greater Cooch Behar. While the numbers at the fast site — a ground behind the palace here, has ebbed and flowed over the past eight days — the organisers are steadfast that their movement would continue. The faction had also started a similar agitation in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar from last Monday where 81 of its members were taking part.
“We are happy that the district administration is co-operating with us and has not caused any hindrance to our agitation. However, till our demand is met, the agitation will continue,” said Nirmal Roy, the president of the organisation, over the phone from Delhi.
However, a steady stream of protesters has been making a beeline for the district hospital in town.
“We have treated 130 persons, who had been complaining of dehydration but only three are still admitted to the hospital. The others had left after a day’s stay or an hour or two,” said Kalyan Dey, the superintendent of the MJN Hospital.
The protesters, who claim they are 5,000 in number, have been staying inside crude tents made of bamboo and cloth that line the road leading to the ground behind the palace. Till two days ago, they had not been allowing media persons to enter the grounds.
Bangshibadan Barman, under whom the statehood movement had initially started in 2005, has protested against the fast. He had said last week that the hunger strike would be a wrong message at a time the government has decided to release him. Banghsi’s name figures in the list of 52 under trial prisoners whom the Mamata Banerjee government has decided to free. The Greater Cooch Behar movement leader was arrested eight years ago when a mass hunger strike programme turned violent and three policemen were lynched.
In the past few years, Bangshi’s followers have taken to electoral politics and formed the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party.
The GCPA gathering is causing hardship to the staff of many government departments that have their offices in the vicinity of the fast venue. “They are not causing us any problems as yet but the manner in which this agitation is going on day in and day out is making us uneasy,” said an employee of the food department.
District magistrate Smaraki Mahapatra said that an appeal had been made to the agitators to leave. “We had made an appeal to the organisation to withdraw its agitation, but they have not replied. We have not taken any decision on them yet,” she said.
She said the agitators have been demanding a letter from the Union home ministry assuring them that their demand would be met. “It is not possible for us to arrange that,” the district magistrate said.
Deer deaths
TT, Jaigaon/Alipurduar: Two deer died in Banarhat and Hasimara on Monday. An adult deer died on Red Bank tea estate in Banarhat after two dogs bit it. Foresters of Binnaguri wildlife squad said the animal had entered the garden from the nearby Diana forest. In another incident, the carcass of a male adult hog deer was found on the runway of the Hasimara Air Force station. Foresters suspect that the animal was bitten by dogs.
Jumbo raids
TT, Alipurduar/Jaigaon: Four workers’ quarters of Nimati tea estate in Alipurduar were damaged by a tusker on Sunday. In another incident, a tusker damaged the block agriculture office at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Sunday. Local sources said the two night guards on duty at the office fled when they spotted the animal that came out of the Jaldhaka forest.
Prabin Khaling, KalimNews, Gangtok, 25 July: The Chief Minister on his 32nd day of the village to village tour while talking to the students and sanctioning financial aid to the students for the exposure trip said them to visit the various parts of the state and learn about the history, geography, culture, tradition and developmental activities of the state. The state has tremendous potentiality and the students should know about it. The exposure trip will also help them learn about the state which in long run will help in shaping their career in various sectors in the state itself, the Chief Minister said.
Talking about the demand of the people with regard to cleaning and maintenance of the Chochenpheri Lake the Chief Minister said that the lake is the property of the people. The infrastructure has been created by the government and it is the people’s duty to protect, clean and maintain it. This lake is the medium of progress of the area and the people should learn it to market it for tourism purpose. The Chief Minister in this regard directed the Tourism Department to prepare a concrete proposal for the protection and maintenance of the lake in sustainable manner.
While laying the foundation stone of the Manghim at Rikyap the Chief Minister said that the government has taken every possible step to protect the language, culture, tradition and religion of every community of the state. While protecting the identity of every community of the state the government is protecting the identity of the State in true sense. The Chief Minister also congratulated the land donor for donating his land for the Manghim and urged the people to come forward for such noble causes.
Talking about the various demands of the people the Chief Minister said that schemes should not be proposed and sanctioned in the interest of the contractors but should be in the interest of the public. The Chief Minister further said that the demands put forward by the people during this tour shall be sanctioned in two phases and the first phase shall be sanctioned by September of this year. Of all the demands forwarded by the people till date 25 school auditorium and 50 school building have been sanctioned by the government, the Chief Minister declared.
During the day long tour the Chief Minister addressed the people at Chochenpheri, Rikyap, Machong, Parkha and Linkey.
Rural boys keep Sikkim soccer legacy intact
 |
| The players of GVS Football Academy line up for a match in the second division of S-League at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok. Picture by Prabin Khaling |
Teenagers from Gram Vikash Sangathan Football Academy have caught everyone’s attention in the ongoing second division S-League at Paljor Stadium here.
The children studying in classes below XII have scored three victories against teams consisting of much senior players and have lost only one match in the tournament.
With nine points so far, the GVS Football Academy is in the second position in Group A of the league and plays the final match on August 20.
Gram Vikash Sangathan is an NGO, which floated its own football academy in 2008 as a sporting extension of a host of social welfare activities it conducts.
“It was an initiative by like-minded individuals and today, we have 25 students selected from the rural areas of Sikkim during the winter camps we organise every year at Central Pendam. They are all studying in Central Pendam senior secondary school now,” said academy manager Karma Zigmee Bhutia.
“When we first started the camps, our intention was to just attract children to football. But we were overwhelmed by the response from the students and parents and decided to start the academy.”
The GVS boys have already scored brownie points by their performance in the S-League. Football fans hope the GVS players will inherit the soccer legacy left by the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia.
The Himalayan state’s celebrated footballers trace their roots to villages.
While Bhaichung hails from the remote Tinkitam village in South Sikkim, East Bengal players Nirmal Chettri and Sanju Pradhan are from Melli in South Sikkim and Sombarey in West district respectively. United Sikkim Football Club player Nim Tshering Lepcha is also from Dzongu, a village in North Sikkim.
The recruits picked from South, East and West districts are given accommodation in a hostel run by the academy. They are trained by former footballers Michael Lepcha and Bharat Tamang at the ground of Central Pendam senior secondary school everyday.
“Our boys have natural and technical skills. What they lack is match experience as all of them are under 16. They have not played many matches before and are now taking part in second division tournament of the state league. No matter how much we train these children, they can blossom only after playing regular competitive matches. Match experience is very vital,” said Lepcha, a former Santosh Trophy player.
Academy manager Bhutia was all praise for Central Pendam senior secondary school principal Suchitra Subba. “Whenever we select promising players from distant areas, the school readily admits them, facilitating their entry into the academy. Besides, the school ground is available at all times for practice,” said Bhutia.
The academy wants to hone the skills of their promising recruits and give them a launch pad to earn fame and money in bigger clubs in future. The students have been divided into two age groups, U-14 and U-16.
“The parents of these students have been extremely co-operative and helpful. Each student has to pay Rs 1,100 per month and the GVS bears the remaining expenses. Each student’s expense comes around Rs 2,200 a month and we are managing the cost with great difficulties,” said Bhutia.
Govt mum on fast for state
 |
| The tents that house the protesters. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti |
Since July 18, when the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration pact was inked between the Centre, the state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, about 4,500 members of the GCPA have been sitting on an indefinite fast demanding a separate state of Greater Cooch Behar. While the numbers at the fast site — a ground behind the palace here, has ebbed and flowed over the past eight days — the organisers are steadfast that their movement would continue. The faction had also started a similar agitation in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar from last Monday where 81 of its members were taking part.
“We are happy that the district administration is co-operating with us and has not caused any hindrance to our agitation. However, till our demand is met, the agitation will continue,” said Nirmal Roy, the president of the organisation, over the phone from Delhi.
However, a steady stream of protesters has been making a beeline for the district hospital in town.
“We have treated 130 persons, who had been complaining of dehydration but only three are still admitted to the hospital. The others had left after a day’s stay or an hour or two,” said Kalyan Dey, the superintendent of the MJN Hospital.
The protesters, who claim they are 5,000 in number, have been staying inside crude tents made of bamboo and cloth that line the road leading to the ground behind the palace. Till two days ago, they had not been allowing media persons to enter the grounds.
Bangshibadan Barman, under whom the statehood movement had initially started in 2005, has protested against the fast. He had said last week that the hunger strike would be a wrong message at a time the government has decided to release him. Banghsi’s name figures in the list of 52 under trial prisoners whom the Mamata Banerjee government has decided to free. The Greater Cooch Behar movement leader was arrested eight years ago when a mass hunger strike programme turned violent and three policemen were lynched.
In the past few years, Bangshi’s followers have taken to electoral politics and formed the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party.
The GCPA gathering is causing hardship to the staff of many government departments that have their offices in the vicinity of the fast venue. “They are not causing us any problems as yet but the manner in which this agitation is going on day in and day out is making us uneasy,” said an employee of the food department.
District magistrate Smaraki Mahapatra said that an appeal had been made to the agitators to leave. “We had made an appeal to the organisation to withdraw its agitation, but they have not replied. We have not taken any decision on them yet,” she said.
She said the agitators have been demanding a letter from the Union home ministry assuring them that their demand would be met. “It is not possible for us to arrange that,” the district magistrate said.
Deer deaths
TT, Jaigaon/Alipurduar: Two deer died in Banarhat and Hasimara on Monday. An adult deer died on Red Bank tea estate in Banarhat after two dogs bit it. Foresters of Binnaguri wildlife squad said the animal had entered the garden from the nearby Diana forest. In another incident, the carcass of a male adult hog deer was found on the runway of the Hasimara Air Force station. Foresters suspect that the animal was bitten by dogs.
Jumbo raids
TT, Alipurduar/Jaigaon: Four workers’ quarters of Nimati tea estate in Alipurduar were damaged by a tusker on Sunday. In another incident, a tusker damaged the block agriculture office at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Sunday. Local sources said the two night guards on duty at the office fled when they spotted the animal that came out of the Jaldhaka forest.
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