जीना हत्याकाण्डः अब रहस्योद्घाटनतिर
पेदोङबाट फर्किएर मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुंग, 1 दिसम्बर : पुलिस प्रशासनले केही दिनभित्रमा नै जीना हत्याकाण्डको रहस्योद्घाटन गर्ने संकेत दिएको छ| अहिलेसम्म पुलिस प्रशासनले हत्याकाण्डलाई सुल्झाउन वा हत्याराहरूको खोजी गर्न चालिरहेको पहलबारे खुलासा गरेको थिएन| तर आज पेदोङमा यसै काण्डलाई लिएर हत्यारा पक्राउ हुनुपर्ने माग गर्दै पेदोङ पुलिस पोष्टमा धर्ना र जुलूस भएपछि कालेबुङ थाना प्रभारी प्रसाद प्रधानले पुलिस प्रशासनबाट भइरहेको पहलबारे जानकारी दिए| तिनी अनुसार हत्याराले जीनाको हत्या बलात्कार गरेको कारण आफ्नो कुकृत्य जीनाले पर्दाफास गर्ने डरले गरेको एकदमै होइन|
जीनाको हत्या सुनियोजित तरिकाले भएको छ| तोपखानास्थित जीनाको घरदेखि केवल चालीस फीट परको खोल्सामा जीनालाई फ्यॉंकिएको थियो| खोल्सामा जीनाको प्राण गइहालेको भने थिएन तर अस्पताल ल्याउँदा ल्याउँदै तिनको मृत्यु भएको थियो| जब जीनालाई खोल्सामा पाइयो त्यसबेला जीनाको कम्मरमुनीको लुगा थिएन| खोल्साबाट केवल दस फीट परको खेतमा तीनको लूगा पाइएको थियो| त्यहीँ नै तिनका मोबाइल फोन र जीनाले बोकिल्याएको स्कूसको झोला पाइएको थियो| पुलिस प्रशासनको जॉंचले खेतमा पाइएको जीनाको कम्मरमुनीको लूगा अनि त्यहॉं पाइएका अन्य सामानहरू हत्याराले हत्याको कारणबाट ध्यानभङ्ग गर्ने खेल मात्र मानेको छ|
जीनाको शवको फोरेन्सिक रिपोर्टले जीनाको बलात्कार नभएको पुष्टि गरेपछि पुलिसलाई यस्तो शंका भएको थाहा लागेको छ| पुलिसले फोरेन्सिक जॉंचको रिपोर्ट पनि दोहोरो जॉंचको निम्ति पठाएको छ| पुलिसले गरेको जॉंचले संकेत गरे अनुसार जीनाको हत्या खोल्सामा नै गरिएको थियो| जीनाको शरीरमा चोट पाइएको थिएन| केवल टाउकोमा चोट पाइएकोले कुनै धारिलो हतियारले सुनियोजित रुपले प्रहार गरेर जीनालाई मारेर फ्यॉंकिएको हो|
घटनास्थलबाट पुलिसले धेरैवटा तथ्यहरू संग्रह गरेको छ| जसको अध्ययन भइरहेको छ| खोल्सामा नै मारेर फ्यॉंक्न अघि जीनाको कम्मरमुनीको लुगा खेतमा फ्यॉंकिएको हो| हत्या बलात्कार गरेर गरिएको बुझाउन नै यसो गरिएको भए पनि हत्या बलात्कारको कारण नभएको पुष्टि भएकोले हत्याको अन्य कारण खोज्न पुलिसले आन्तरिकरुपले जॉंच तीब्र पारेको छ|
यता जीनाको परिवारले पुलिसले सही जॉंच नगरिरहेको आरोप लगाएका छन् भने पुलिस पक्षले परिवारले केवल आरोप लगाइरहेको तर सहयोग भने नगरिरहेको पनि खुलासा गरेको छ| परिवारपक्षले पुलिसलाई हत्यारा खोज्न सबैप्रकारको सहयोग नगरेसम्म पुलिसले हत्यारालाई सहीरुपले चिन्हित गर्न ढिलो हुने आईसी प्रसाद प्रधानले बताएका छन्| केवल परिवारपक्षले मात्र होइन वरिपरिका छरछिमेकीले पनि अहिलेसम्म हत्यारासम्म पुग्न सक्ने कुनै पनि 'क्लू' देखापर्ने सम्मको सुराक पुलिसलाई दिइरहेको छैन| अहिले पुलिसले जीनाको फेसबुकलाई पनि अध्ययन गरिरहेको छ भने जीनाका साथीहरू, गाउँमा तिनको सामाजिक कार्यशैली, कतिपय गोप्यपक्ष अनि मोबाइल फोनलाई अघि राखेर पनि अध्ययन गर्ने कार्य पुलिसले गरिरहेको छ|
थाहा लागे अनुसार जीनाको पिताको छ महिना अघि मृत्यु भएको थियो| तिनको बद्लीमा तिनको कान्छा छोरा बोनीले नोकरी पाउनेवाला थियो| भुमिसुधार विभागबाट बोलाइएको अन्तरवार्तामा तर बोनी बस्न सकेन| त्यही नोकरी जीनालाई दिइने कुरा पनि चलिरहेको थियो| अहिलेसम्म नै परिवारको कसैले पनि त्यो नोकरी पाएको छैन| त्यसदिनभरि जीनासित भएका घटनाहरूबारे पनि पुलिसले अध्ययन गरिरहेको छ| पुलिसले जुटाएका प्रामणहरूले अबको साता दिनभित्रमा नै हत्यारालाई पक्राउ गर्न सकिने आशा पुलिस प्रशासनले गरेको छ| तर यसको निम्ति पुलिसलाई परिवार अनि छरछिमेकीको सहयोगको खॉंचो रहेको छ|
यता जीनाका परिवारले पुलिस प्रशासनले भनेजस्तो जॉंच नगरिरहेको गुनासो अझ पनि जारी राखेको छ| आज पेदोङमा सोसियल फोरम, पेदोङ युथ स्पोट्र्स एसोसिएसन, खाम्दोङ समाज कल्याण सङ्घ, पेदोङ संरक्षण र सुन्दरीकरण समिति, पेदोङ चालक सङ्घ, एकता परिवार तथा अन्य संस्थाहरूले संयुक्तरुपले नगरमा जीनाका हत्याराहरू पक्राउ गर्नुपर्ने सम्बन्धमा पुलिसलाई चाप दिन र्याली निकालेको थियो| नगरपरिक्रमा गरेपछि प्रत्येक संस्थाले पेदोङ पुलिस पोष्टमा ज्ञापन पनि चढायो| चालक सङ्घले तीन घण्टा चक्काजाम पनि गर्यो|
पुलिसले हत्या कुनै खप्पिस हत्याराले नै गरेको हुनसक्ने शंका गरेको छ| बलात्कारको कारण हत्या नभएको स्पष्ट भएपछि हत्या अरु कुन कुन कारणले हुनसक्छ भन्ने सम्बन्धमा पुलिसले गहिरोरुपले छानबिन गर्ने कार्य गरिरहेको छ|
'पीपी होइन पेदोङमा थाना चाहिन्छ'
जीना हत्याकाण्डको कारण नै पेदोङ पुलिस पोष्टलाई थाना बनाइनुपर्ने माग चर्किएको छ| पेदोङमा केवल पुलिस पोष्ट मात्र रहेकोले पेदोङमा भइरहेका अपराधिक घटनाहरू चर्किएर गएको संघसंस्थाहरूले आज कालेबुङ थाना प्रभारीलाई बताए| फादर पिटर लिङदामोले पेदोङमा थाना हुनुपर्ने माग पनि गरे| अघिदेखि नै पेदोङवासीले पेदोङमा थाना बसाइनुपर्ने माग गरिरहेको छ तर अहिलेसम्म यहॉं थाना बसाइएको छैन| के थाहा लागेको छ भने पेदोङमा जीना हत्याकाण्ड पॉंचौं हत्याकाण्ड हो| यस अघि पनि चारवटा हत्याकाण्ड भइसकेको छ तर यस्ताकाण्ड पेदोङभित्र नै सीमित बनिसकेको छ| जीना हत्याकाण्डपछि पेदोङवासीले पेदोङमा थाना बसाउनुपर्ने माग जोरसित उठाएको छ| थाना बसाइए यस्ता अपराधिक घटनाहरू निर्मूल हुने पेदोङवासीको भनाइरहेको छ|
जीना मामिला राज्यको गृह विभागमा
जीना हत्याकाण्डलाई केवल नागरिक समाजले मात्र महत्वपूर्ण मानेर हत्यारा पक्राउ पर्ने माग गरिरहेको छैन, कालेबुङका विधायकसम्मले यो मामिलाको अन्त गराउन राज्यको गृह विभागसम्म पत्राचार गरेका छन्|
अब जीना हत्याकाण्डको मामिलालाई केवल संघसंस्थाहरूले मात्र सम्बोधन गर्ने छैन राज्यको गृह विभागले पनि यसलाई सम्बोधन गर्नेछ| रहस्यमय तरिकाले जीनाको हत्या गरिएको थियो भने हत्यारा अझसम्म पक्रा परेका छैनन्| यस मामिलालाई प्रशासनले गम्भीररुपमा लिनुपर्ने सम्बन्धमा नै कालेबुङका विधायक डा. हर्कबहादुर छेत्रीले आज राज्यको गृहविभागलाई पत्राचार गरेको छेत्रीले बताएका छन्| यो विभागको मुखिया भने राज्यको मुख्यमन्त्री नै रहेकी छन् भने विधायक अनि मुख्यमन्त्रीले हत्यारा खोजिनिकाल्न कुनै महत्वपूर्ण पदक्षेप गर्ने देखिएको छ|
मौनता तोड्दै पोष्टरमा घिसिङ आदिवासी जनजातिको विरुद्धमा जीटीए
मनोज वोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, १ दिसम्बर| नगरपालिका पूर्णरूपले गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाको हातमा गइसक्दा पनि चुपचाप बस्ने गोर्खा राष्ट्रिय मुक्ति मोर्चाले अब मिरिकको चुनाउ हुने भएपछि पोष्टरद्वारा बोल्न शुरू गरेको छ| धेरै समयपछि कालेबुङमा गोरामुमोको पोष्टर देखापरेको छ तर यसपल्टको पोष्टरमा भने गोरामुमो अध्यक्ष सुबास घिसिङको हस्ताक्षरसमेत रहेको छ| १९८८ मा गरिएको शान्ति सम्झौता अनुसार स्थापित दागोपापलाई क्षेत्रबिहिन अनि क्षमताबिहिन व्यवस्था बताउँदै यसलाई क्षमतासम्पन्न बनाउन दागोपापलाई बढोत्तरी गर्न अनिवार्य रहेकोले गोरामुमोले छैटौं अऩुसूचीको माग गरेको पोष्टरमा बताइएको छ| मुख्य कुरा के उल्लेख गरिएको छ भने पहाडमा भइरहेको नगरपालिका चुनाउलाई गोरामुमोको पोष्टरले अवैद्ध बताएको छ|
दागोपापलाई बढोत्तरी गर्न पञ्चायत क्षेत्र र नगरपालिका क्षेत्र संलग्न गरेर मोठ ४५ वटा विभाग रहेको छैटौं अनुसूचीको विधेयकलाई पुरानो दागोपापको ऐनलाई शंसोधन गरेर विधानसभा अनि लोकसभा दुवैमा १०७ औं बीलकोरुपमा २००७ मा पारित गरिएको थियो| २००५ केस नम्बर १० एमओएस अनुसार दागोपाप क्षेत्रभित्र नगरपालिका चुनाउ गराउन असंवैधानिक मानिएको छ| यसकारण सम्झौता अनुसार बङ्गाल सरकारले नगरपालिकाको चुनाउ गर्न पाउने छैन| यदि चुनाउ गरेको खण्डमा त्यो अवैद्ध हुने मात्र होइन यसले सेविधानलाई नै उलङ्घन गरेको हुनेछ- पोष्टरमा उल्लेख गरिएको छ| पोष्टर अनुसार दागोपापमा केवल पर्यटन विभाग मात्र दिइएको तर सरकारी गल्ती र अदुरदर्शीता कारण तीनतीनवटा व्यवस्था पञ्चायत, नगरपालिका र दागोपाप एउटा सीमित क्षेत्रमा दिएर यसलाई केवल विकास एजेन्सीकोरुपमा स्थापित गरिएको थियो तर जमीन भने बङ्गाल अधिनस्त नै थियो| यसैकारण नै गोरामुमोले संवैधानिक सुरक्षा भएको व्यवस्थाको माग गरिरहेको थियो|
यसैको फलस्वरुप दागोपापलाई छैटौं अनुसूचीमा परिवर्तन गर्दै २६ दिसम्बर २००५ मा छैटौं अनुसूचीको बील पास भइसकेको छ| यसैले पनि अब बङ्गालको हातमा केही नरहेको अनि चुनाउ गर्ने प्रक्रिया पनि सरासर अवैधानिक रहेको उल्लेख पोष्टरमा गरिएको छ| यसैकारण नै गोरामुमोले झुटो चुनाउमा अंशग्रहण नगरेको पनि खुलाइएको छ| पश्चिम बङ्गाल सरकारले जीटीए जस्तो असंवैधानिक व्यवस्था ल्याएर यहॉंका २२ भन्दा धेर आदिवासी जनजातिहरुको हित र अधिकारको विरुद्धमा कार्य गरेको आरोप पनि पोष्टरमा उल्लेख छ| गोरामुमो ममता व्यानर्जीको सरकारको विरुद्धमा नरहेको तर तृणमूल सरकारले लिएको असंवैधानिक निर्णयको विरोध भने गर्ने पनि पोष्टरमा लेखिएको छ|
गोर्खालीगलाई फेरि झट्का त्रिभूवन राईले दिए पार्टीबाट राजीनामा
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, १ दिसम्बर| मदन तामाङको हत्या हुनु अखिल भारतीय गोर्खा लीग पार्टीलाई ठूलो झट्का थियो| तिनको हत्यापछि दार्जीलिङ पहाडको राजनैतिक इतिहासमा सबैभन्दा पुरानो राजनैतिक पार्टी अखिल भारतीय गोर्खालीग आजसम्म प्रायः लथालिङ्ग अवस्थामा रहेको छ| माउ विनाको चल्ला सरह बनिसकेको छ| तिनको हत्यापछि गोर्खालीग कार्यकारी अध्यक्ष पदमा रहेर दावा शेपाले केही महिना नेतृत्व दिएपनि पछिबाट सर्वसमितिले नै तिनलाई पार्टीबाट निकाली दियो जो गोर्खालीगको निम्ति दोस्रो झट्का थियो| अब गोर्खालीग कालेबुङ महकुमा समितिका सभापति पदमा रहेका त्रिभूवन राईको राजीनामाले फेरि पार्टीलाई अर्को झट्का दिएको छ| त्रिभूवन राईले आज पार्टीबाट राजीनामा दिए| महकुमा समितिको पदबाट मात्र होइन तिनले गोर्खालीगको साधारण सदस्यसम्मबाट पनि राजिनामा दिएका छन्| तिनले राजिनामा पत्र गोर्खालीग केन्द्रिय समिति अध्यक्ष भारती तमाङलाई पठाएका छन् भने आज तिनले एक प्रेस विज्ञप्ति पनि जारी गरेर राजिनामाबारे स्पष्टिकरण दिएका छन्| मदन तामाङ जीवित रहुञ्जेससम्म आफूले तिनको विचारलाई अनुसरण गर्दै आरहेको र त्यसपछि पनि पार्टीलाई सहयोग पुर्याइरहेको अनि अहिले आएर पारिवारिक समस्याको कारण स्वेच्छाले राजिनामा दिनुपरेको विज्ञप्तिमा बताइएको छ|
सके जति मदन तामाङको सिद्धान्तलाई अनुसरण गरेर हिँडेको अनि अहिलेसम्म परिवारको निम्ति धेर समय दिन नसकेकोले नै अबउसो परिवारको निम्ति समय दिने बताइएको छ| पार्टीको साधरण सदस्यसम्मबाट पनि तिनले राजिनामा दिएपनि मदन तमाङलाई न्याय दिलाउनमा भने भरसक प्रयासरत रहने अनि मदन तामाङ जस्ता नेता गोर्खाहरूले पाउनसक्ने तिनको भनाइ रहेको छ| स्मरण गराइन्छ, त्रिभूवन राई गोर्खालीगका एक कर्मठ कार्यकर्ता थिए| तिनी अधिबाटै दुइ वर्षसम्म कालेबुङ महकुमा समितिका सचिव पदमा रहिसकेका छन् भने हाल तिनी महकुमा समितिका अध्यक्ष पदमा रहेका थिए| यसपल्टको विधानसभा चुनाउ पनि तिनले कालेबुङ समष्टिबाट गोर्खालीग कै टिकटबाट लडेका थिए| तिनको राजीनामाले अखिल भारतीय गोर्खालीग नेता मदन तामाङको हत्यापछि शुरू भएर बढ्नथालेको घाउलाई अझ नून छर्ने काम गरेको छ|
College launched courses without govt nod: NBU
TT, Siliguri/Darjeeling, Dec.1: North Bengal University today said the Darjeeling Government College had introduced four new under-graduate courses and enrolled more than 200 students without the mandatory permission from the state higher education department.
The four courses — BSc computer science and bio-technology (honours) and BA sociology and anthropology (pass) — were introduced in this academic year by former principal Dipak Ray.
An NBU official said Ray had flouted rules by starting the courses without sanction from the director of public instruction (DPI) under the higher education department
“The colleges have to first place the proposal for new courses before the DPI. If the DPI gives the nod, a letter of approval will be sent to the college and a copy of it to the varsity. Thereafter, the varsity sends a team to the institution to assess the infrastructure and faculty before granting its nod for the courses,” said the official.
He said the NBU had not received any letter from the DPI till date and had come to know about the issue from the new principal.
“We immediately called up Anish Chattopadhyay, the DPI. He told us that he had not received such a proposal from the Darjeeling Government College. Former principal Dilip Ray has grossly violated government norms and he is accountable for the problems faced by the students today,” said the varsity official.
The NBU authorities said the recruitment of 28 part-time teachers for the four courses had also been carried out without the DPI’s consent.
The classes had begun on October 1 with 200 students in the BA subjects and 14 in the BSc streams. The varsity had already rejected the registration of all 14 honours students. The other 200 students pursuing the pass streams fear they, too, will face the same fate.
The varsity said it had no power to reject or approve the registrations as the courses had not been approved by the government. The current principal, Lalita Ahmed Rai, had said the varsity would be requested to allow the 200 students who had taken up sociology and anthropology subjects to switch over to other pass courses.
“When the courses have not been approved by DPI, the question of sanctioning or rejecting the registrations of students by the varsity does not rise at all. We don’t have the power to take such decisions. We have allotted specific seats for pass course and honours subjects. Allowing the students to cross over to another pass course would mean an increase in the number of seats,” said the NBU official.
Another violation of rule during the tenure of the former principal has also come to light.
Thirty-two students have been admitted to MA English at the college when the NBU had allotted only 25 seats for the course. Although the college requested the NBU to accommodate the additional seven students, the varsity has not made any commitment.
The faculty council of the varsity decides on all matters pertaining to post-graduate courses at the university and affiliated colleges. No meeting of the faculty council has been scheduled to discuss the issue.
The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha threatened that it would launch an agitation if the problems faced by over 200 students were not solved by Saturday.
Warning to river polluters - Karala clean-up with Teesta water today
TT, Jalpaiguri, Dec. 1: The pollution control board today warned that municipalities would face legal action if they failed to check the dumping of waste in rivers and other water bodies under their jurisdiction.
The warning came from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board chairperson, B.K. Dutta, who arrived here along with river expert Kalyan Rudra after thousands of fish had floated up dead on the Karala river on Monday.
The duo sat with north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb and officials of fisheries and irrigation departments and the Jalpaiguri Municipality at the circuit house to discuss the measures needed to be taken to clean up the Karala poisoned by pesticides.
The authorities decided at the meeting to pump in water from the Teesta into the Karala from tomorrow so that the poisoned water could be diluted.
“I appeal to all municipalities to stop dumping waste in rivers and other waterbodies. I will convene a meeting of all civic chiefs in Calcutta on December 9 to discuss the pollution of rivers. The municipalities will be told that they will have to stop the practise of dumping waste in rivers or face legal action,” said Dutta.
Sources in the board said a case could be started against a municipality under the Environment Protection Act for polluting rivers. If the charge is established and the guilty are fixed by the court, they can be slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lakh or imprisonment up to five years or both .
The board chief said the Alipurduar municipality had already been taken to the task for the pollution of the Kaljani river. Dutta said the board had received several complaints about the dumping of rubbish in the Kaljani.
“Although the civic body had been warned many times, there has been no effort on its part to clear the Kaljani of garbage. We sent the municipal authorities a notice three months ago, asking them to stop dumping waste in the river or we will take them to the high court green bench. As requested by the Alipurduar civic administration, we have given it five months to take up proper waste disposal methods so that the river pollution could be arrested,” said Dutta.
The pollution control board chairperson said prima facie evidence suggested that pesticide had caused the fish deaths in the Karala. Although the board had collected water from the Karala for tests, the result is yet to come.
Minister Deb said a drive would begin tomorrow to clean the Karala with water from the Teesta. “Water will be pumped in from the Teesta to flush toxicants out of its tributary Karala. The Karala will get a swill at two points near Jubilee Park and Rajbari Para in the town,” said Deb.
Fire brigade pumps will be used to bring in water from the Teesta that flows about half a kilometre from Jalpaiguri.
The member-secretary of the North Bengal Flood Control Commission, Dhiraj Dhar, said the bed of the Teesta was higher than that of the Karala at the confluence of the two rivers 7km downstream.
“So, water from the Karala will not flow into the Teesta during the purification drive. Still, we will be extremely careful when the river is cleaned up,” Dhar said.
With the outset of the winter, water level in the Thames of Jalpaiguri has come down.
At today’s meeting, the Congress chairperson of the Jalpaiguri municipality, Mohan Basu, said the pollution control board had not responded to a proposal sent by the civic body to clear the Karala of pollutants.
Dutta said he had not received any report from the civic body and requested the chairperson to bring the detailed report to the meeting in Calcutta on December 9.
Poor infrastructure hits tourism in Mirik
SNS, SILIGURI, 1 DEC: The Mirik Lake, located at an altitude of 1,767 metres above sea level, boasts of a quaint aura of its own. The sight of the lofty Kanchenjunga getting reflected on the placid lake waters adds to its grandeur. Tourists from far and wide are flocking to the picturesque spot after the return of peace in Darjeeling Hills.
Tourists are now making a beeline, as it were, for the Hills. The tourism season spans from September to December. Yet, there is something missing, not in nature, though, which is generous in its bounty, but in tourism infrastructure which seems to be in a shambles.
“Everything's fine. The sky is blue and there is a nip in the air, though, mercifully, it's not biting cold yet. But we are missing the pleasures of boating because there are only a few boats left and, to cap it all, there's neither any rescue boat nor life jackets. We have found several boats lying broken. Some are too old for service. We wonder what would happen in case of a boat capsizal,” said a tourist from Ahmedabad, Mr Rajesh Chowdhury, who came with his three children.
The receptionist at Mirik Tourist Lodge, Mr Suresh Pradhan, said: “We have been asking for new boats for the past 20 years. Not a single one has been provided yet. Seven boats are in service now though the condition of most of them is pitiable. When the DGHC came into being in 1988 these boats were provided. There is not a single rescue boat. There was a lone life-saver who was appointed on a contract basis. Since his retirement there is practically no diver. We have approached the DGHC assistant director several times. Recently, the secretary of the department has assured us of infrastructure revamp. Let us see whether things would move now with the GTA being set to replace DGHC,” he said.
The assistant director, DGHC, Mr Dipak Kumar Sunwar, said that development had remained in limbo since the GJMM re-launched the Gorkhaland stir in 2008.
“We sent proposals related to revamping of tourism infrastructure in Mirik to the DGHC officials concerned more than three months ago. There has been no response so far. We are hoping that with the formation of the GTA things would look up,” he said.
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, १ दिसम्बर| मदन तामाङको हत्या हुनु अखिल भारतीय गोर्खा लीग पार्टीलाई ठूलो झट्का थियो| तिनको हत्यापछि दार्जीलिङ पहाडको राजनैतिक इतिहासमा सबैभन्दा पुरानो राजनैतिक पार्टी अखिल भारतीय गोर्खालीग आजसम्म प्रायः लथालिङ्ग अवस्थामा रहेको छ| माउ विनाको चल्ला सरह बनिसकेको छ| तिनको हत्यापछि गोर्खालीग कार्यकारी अध्यक्ष पदमा रहेर दावा शेपाले केही महिना नेतृत्व दिएपनि पछिबाट सर्वसमितिले नै तिनलाई पार्टीबाट निकाली दियो जो गोर्खालीगको निम्ति दोस्रो झट्का थियो| अब गोर्खालीग कालेबुङ महकुमा समितिका सभापति पदमा रहेका त्रिभूवन राईको राजीनामाले फेरि पार्टीलाई अर्को झट्का दिएको छ| त्रिभूवन राईले आज पार्टीबाट राजीनामा दिए| महकुमा समितिको पदबाट मात्र होइन तिनले गोर्खालीगको साधारण सदस्यसम्मबाट पनि राजिनामा दिएका छन्| तिनले राजिनामा पत्र गोर्खालीग केन्द्रिय समिति अध्यक्ष भारती तमाङलाई पठाएका छन् भने आज तिनले एक प्रेस विज्ञप्ति पनि जारी गरेर राजिनामाबारे स्पष्टिकरण दिएका छन्| मदन तामाङ जीवित रहुञ्जेससम्म आफूले तिनको विचारलाई अनुसरण गर्दै आरहेको र त्यसपछि पनि पार्टीलाई सहयोग पुर्याइरहेको अनि अहिले आएर पारिवारिक समस्याको कारण स्वेच्छाले राजिनामा दिनुपरेको विज्ञप्तिमा बताइएको छ|
सके जति मदन तामाङको सिद्धान्तलाई अनुसरण गरेर हिँडेको अनि अहिलेसम्म परिवारको निम्ति धेर समय दिन नसकेकोले नै अबउसो परिवारको निम्ति समय दिने बताइएको छ| पार्टीको साधरण सदस्यसम्मबाट पनि तिनले राजिनामा दिएपनि मदन तमाङलाई न्याय दिलाउनमा भने भरसक प्रयासरत रहने अनि मदन तामाङ जस्ता नेता गोर्खाहरूले पाउनसक्ने तिनको भनाइ रहेको छ| स्मरण गराइन्छ, त्रिभूवन राई गोर्खालीगका एक कर्मठ कार्यकर्ता थिए| तिनी अधिबाटै दुइ वर्षसम्म कालेबुङ महकुमा समितिका सचिव पदमा रहिसकेका छन् भने हाल तिनी महकुमा समितिका अध्यक्ष पदमा रहेका थिए| यसपल्टको विधानसभा चुनाउ पनि तिनले कालेबुङ समष्टिबाट गोर्खालीग कै टिकटबाट लडेका थिए| तिनको राजीनामाले अखिल भारतीय गोर्खालीग नेता मदन तामाङको हत्यापछि शुरू भएर बढ्नथालेको घाउलाई अझ नून छर्ने काम गरेको छ|
College launched courses without govt nod: NBU
 |
| The Darjeeling Government College |
The four courses — BSc computer science and bio-technology (honours) and BA sociology and anthropology (pass) — were introduced in this academic year by former principal Dipak Ray.
An NBU official said Ray had flouted rules by starting the courses without sanction from the director of public instruction (DPI) under the higher education department
“The colleges have to first place the proposal for new courses before the DPI. If the DPI gives the nod, a letter of approval will be sent to the college and a copy of it to the varsity. Thereafter, the varsity sends a team to the institution to assess the infrastructure and faculty before granting its nod for the courses,” said the official.
He said the NBU had not received any letter from the DPI till date and had come to know about the issue from the new principal.
“We immediately called up Anish Chattopadhyay, the DPI. He told us that he had not received such a proposal from the Darjeeling Government College. Former principal Dilip Ray has grossly violated government norms and he is accountable for the problems faced by the students today,” said the varsity official.
The NBU authorities said the recruitment of 28 part-time teachers for the four courses had also been carried out without the DPI’s consent.
The classes had begun on October 1 with 200 students in the BA subjects and 14 in the BSc streams. The varsity had already rejected the registration of all 14 honours students. The other 200 students pursuing the pass streams fear they, too, will face the same fate.
The varsity said it had no power to reject or approve the registrations as the courses had not been approved by the government. The current principal, Lalita Ahmed Rai, had said the varsity would be requested to allow the 200 students who had taken up sociology and anthropology subjects to switch over to other pass courses.
“When the courses have not been approved by DPI, the question of sanctioning or rejecting the registrations of students by the varsity does not rise at all. We don’t have the power to take such decisions. We have allotted specific seats for pass course and honours subjects. Allowing the students to cross over to another pass course would mean an increase in the number of seats,” said the NBU official.
Another violation of rule during the tenure of the former principal has also come to light.
Thirty-two students have been admitted to MA English at the college when the NBU had allotted only 25 seats for the course. Although the college requested the NBU to accommodate the additional seven students, the varsity has not made any commitment.
The faculty council of the varsity decides on all matters pertaining to post-graduate courses at the university and affiliated colleges. No meeting of the faculty council has been scheduled to discuss the issue.
The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha threatened that it would launch an agitation if the problems faced by over 200 students were not solved by Saturday.
Warning to river polluters - Karala clean-up with Teesta water today
 |
 |
| (From left) Minister Gautam Deb, river expert Kalyan Rudra and Jalpaiguri municipality chairperson Mohan Basu inspect the Karala on Thursday; (above) a pollution control board official tests the Karala water. Pictures by Biplab Basak |
The warning came from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board chairperson, B.K. Dutta, who arrived here along with river expert Kalyan Rudra after thousands of fish had floated up dead on the Karala river on Monday.
The duo sat with north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb and officials of fisheries and irrigation departments and the Jalpaiguri Municipality at the circuit house to discuss the measures needed to be taken to clean up the Karala poisoned by pesticides.
The authorities decided at the meeting to pump in water from the Teesta into the Karala from tomorrow so that the poisoned water could be diluted.
“I appeal to all municipalities to stop dumping waste in rivers and other waterbodies. I will convene a meeting of all civic chiefs in Calcutta on December 9 to discuss the pollution of rivers. The municipalities will be told that they will have to stop the practise of dumping waste in rivers or face legal action,” said Dutta.
Sources in the board said a case could be started against a municipality under the Environment Protection Act for polluting rivers. If the charge is established and the guilty are fixed by the court, they can be slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lakh or imprisonment up to five years or both .
The board chief said the Alipurduar municipality had already been taken to the task for the pollution of the Kaljani river. Dutta said the board had received several complaints about the dumping of rubbish in the Kaljani.
“Although the civic body had been warned many times, there has been no effort on its part to clear the Kaljani of garbage. We sent the municipal authorities a notice three months ago, asking them to stop dumping waste in the river or we will take them to the high court green bench. As requested by the Alipurduar civic administration, we have given it five months to take up proper waste disposal methods so that the river pollution could be arrested,” said Dutta.
The pollution control board chairperson said prima facie evidence suggested that pesticide had caused the fish deaths in the Karala. Although the board had collected water from the Karala for tests, the result is yet to come.
Minister Deb said a drive would begin tomorrow to clean the Karala with water from the Teesta. “Water will be pumped in from the Teesta to flush toxicants out of its tributary Karala. The Karala will get a swill at two points near Jubilee Park and Rajbari Para in the town,” said Deb.
Fire brigade pumps will be used to bring in water from the Teesta that flows about half a kilometre from Jalpaiguri.
The member-secretary of the North Bengal Flood Control Commission, Dhiraj Dhar, said the bed of the Teesta was higher than that of the Karala at the confluence of the two rivers 7km downstream.
“So, water from the Karala will not flow into the Teesta during the purification drive. Still, we will be extremely careful when the river is cleaned up,” Dhar said.
With the outset of the winter, water level in the Thames of Jalpaiguri has come down.
At today’s meeting, the Congress chairperson of the Jalpaiguri municipality, Mohan Basu, said the pollution control board had not responded to a proposal sent by the civic body to clear the Karala of pollutants.
Dutta said he had not received any report from the civic body and requested the chairperson to bring the detailed report to the meeting in Calcutta on December 9.
Poor infrastructure hits tourism in Mirik
SNS, SILIGURI, 1 DEC: The Mirik Lake, located at an altitude of 1,767 metres above sea level, boasts of a quaint aura of its own. The sight of the lofty Kanchenjunga getting reflected on the placid lake waters adds to its grandeur. Tourists from far and wide are flocking to the picturesque spot after the return of peace in Darjeeling Hills.
Tourists are now making a beeline, as it were, for the Hills. The tourism season spans from September to December. Yet, there is something missing, not in nature, though, which is generous in its bounty, but in tourism infrastructure which seems to be in a shambles.
“Everything's fine. The sky is blue and there is a nip in the air, though, mercifully, it's not biting cold yet. But we are missing the pleasures of boating because there are only a few boats left and, to cap it all, there's neither any rescue boat nor life jackets. We have found several boats lying broken. Some are too old for service. We wonder what would happen in case of a boat capsizal,” said a tourist from Ahmedabad, Mr Rajesh Chowdhury, who came with his three children.
The receptionist at Mirik Tourist Lodge, Mr Suresh Pradhan, said: “We have been asking for new boats for the past 20 years. Not a single one has been provided yet. Seven boats are in service now though the condition of most of them is pitiable. When the DGHC came into being in 1988 these boats were provided. There is not a single rescue boat. There was a lone life-saver who was appointed on a contract basis. Since his retirement there is practically no diver. We have approached the DGHC assistant director several times. Recently, the secretary of the department has assured us of infrastructure revamp. Let us see whether things would move now with the GTA being set to replace DGHC,” he said.
The assistant director, DGHC, Mr Dipak Kumar Sunwar, said that development had remained in limbo since the GJMM re-launched the Gorkhaland stir in 2008.
“We sent proposals related to revamping of tourism infrastructure in Mirik to the DGHC officials concerned more than three months ago. There has been no response so far. We are hoping that with the formation of the GTA things would look up,” he said.
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