Copies of Himalaya Darpan burnt by GJYM

Violence erupts in Jaldhaka Hills...Rural officials stay away for fear of violence

KalimNews: Three opposition leaders of Rongo were threatened allegedly by GJMM supporters of Rongo of Jaldhaka region. ABGL leader LM.Sharma, Cong Leader Prabin Gurung and CPRM leader Urgen Sherpa were threatened of dire consequences by GJMM leaders of that area .  Later the three reported the matter to the  Jaldhaka Police Station, where angry protestors of GJMM gheraoed the Thana .
They were charged by GJMM of conspiring to form another political party in Rongo area.  Later with the intervention of Sub Divisional Committee of GJMM the matter was hushed up and amicably settled. Prabin Gurung stated that we were blamed of opening a new party which is totally untrue, but now everything is settled.
In the hills there is a rumour of the possibility of formation of a new party and reviving of GNLF on and from 5th April .
This morning copies Himalaya Darpan in Kalimpong were burnt by GJMM supporters. Himalaya Darpan is blamed of spreading rumours and  disturbing the peaceful situation of the hills by printing unnecessary news.
TITBITS:
KalimNews: 1.Kalimpong Press Club will publish Yellow Pages of Kalimpong this year , a sub committee is formed and Pradip Lohagun is co-opted as convenor .
2. 3rd Death anniversary of Late K.W.Molommu was observed by Kalimpong Press Club. He was the photojournalist of the then Himalchuli and Sunchari samachar and Ex President of Kalimpong Press Club.
Extended weekend hits hail relief

A blockade set up by angry garden workers at Dalsingpara Chowpathy on Thursday to protest the administration’s failure to provide relief

TT, Alipurduar, April 2: Forty-eight hours after a fierce hailstorm in Kalchini block damaged over 3,000 dwellings, thousands of people have been left homeless and without food, thanks to the long weekend that has apparently hampered the administration’s efforts to put together relief measures.

The worst hit are the residents of the two closed tea gardens of Kalchini and Raimatang where workers have not been given the financial allowance meant for locked out industries since October last year.

Sources in the Jalpaiguri district administration said there were sufficient funds to procure tarpaulin and plastic sheets for makeshift shelters, but because of the long weekend — with yesterday being a bank holiday and today being Good Friday followed by Saturday and Sunday — matters have not moved much. It would be at least Tuesday — for the tarpaulin sheets will be bought from Siliguri only on Monday — before relief reached those affected.

With helplessness and frustration fanning the tempers of the garden dwellers, panchayat functionaries and staff from the block development office are reluctant to visit the affected areas for fear of violence. “We have received 800 tarpaulin sheets and we fear that we will face the people’s anger if we go to them with what we have when the demand is for about 5,000 tarpaulins,” said a block official from Kalchini, 45km from here.

In Dalsingpara gram panchayat, deputy pradhan Sambhu Jaiswal has formed a 10-member team to identify the worst sufferers. “Yesterday, the administration had promised to send 50 quintals of rice but the consignment has not reached us. I have contacted the Jaigaon Merchants’ Association for supplies, as we cannot wait for the administration. Let us see how they respond,” Jaiswal said.

He said the affected people had been asked to come and stay at a camp set up with tarpaulin sheets beside the panchayat office and take shelter at a local Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan Kendra if it rains. He said at least 4,000 men, women and children were homeless in Dalsingpara.

The deputy pradhan of Kalchini gram panchayat, Chanchal Das, declared that he was too scared to face the people with a handful of tarpaulin sheets. “We are not feeling safe to distribute the small quantity of sheets sent to us, but at the same time, we are secretly giving the tarpaulins to those who have been rendered totally homeless,” Das conceded. He said the workers of the two closed gardens would be immensely benefited if they were paid the allowance.

Ramkumar Lama, the RSP zilla parishad member from Kalchini, said the non-payment of the allowance for locked out industries was a major lapse on the part of the administration. “What we are facing now is an emergency situation after a natural calamity of immense proportion. We had demanded that the block office remain open for the next three days, but no one listened to us. Not only is the administration callous, it has proved to be unsympathetic as well. The block development officer is on leave when he should have been more active,” Lama said.

The situation is a tad better for workers of Bhatpara tea estate that also faced the fury of the storm. N.S. Thapa, the manager of the garden, said 300 workers’ houses had been completely damaged and an equal number partially destroyed. “We have already spent around Rs 4 lakh to purchase tarpaulin, pipes and asbestos sheets to rebuild the houses. Tea bushes on about 300 hectares have been badly damaged and we will get new leaves only after six weeks,” Thapa said. He said no government relief had reached the garden.

Anurag Srivastav, the subdivisional officer of Alipurduar, said 5,000 tarpaulin sheets had been requisitioned. “However, because of the long weekend they cannot come before Tuesday. It will take some time to send sufficient relief to the people. I have also instructed the assistant labour commissioner to release the financial assistance for closed gardens in a week’s time,” said Srivastava.

Detonator haul in Hili border

A BSF jawan posted at Hanripukur in Hili on Friday. (Mithun Roy)

TT, Balurghat, April 2: The BSF found 500 detonators in a shopping bag that was abandoned by a man after he was challenged by the border guards in Hili last evening.

BSF sources said the carrier, who was walking past the border with Bangladesh at Hanripukur in Hili, about 25km from here, escaped. This was the largest haul of explosive devices in the state in recent times, a BSF source claimed.

A team of senior officers is scheduled to visit Hili in connection with the seizure soon. “Around 6.30pm yesterday, the man was spotted carrying a large shopping bag in Hanripukur. As soon as the jawans asked him to stop, he dropped the bag, ran towards Bangladesh and disappeared into the darkness across the unfenced border,” the sources said.

The detonators in the bag were kept below vegetables. The jawans deposited the bag with their officers at the Hili camp. An Indian ration card was also found in it. Investigations are on to find out whether the document is fake and the whereabouts of the person named on it.

Intelligence sources said the unfenced portion of the border was a favourite gateway for subversive elements. In 2006, a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, Ali Ahmed, was arrested from the Agra area in Hili, 2km from Hanripukur. Ahmed jumped off a train near Varanasi while being taken to Kashmir by police. However, he was caught later.

Following the seizure, the BSF has tightened the vigil in the area and has also alerted its women battalions. 

Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 comes into force from April 1, 2010

PIB, New Delhi: April 1: The Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education Act has come
into force from today, April 1, 2010. This is a historic day for the people of India as from this day the right to education will be accorded the same legal status as the right to life as provided by
Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Every child in the age group of 6-14 years will be provided 8 years of elementary education in an age appropriate classroom in the vicinity of his/her neighbourhood.
Any cost that prevents a child from accessing school will be borne by the State which shall have the responsibility of enrolling the child as well as ensuring attendance and completion of 8 years of schooling. No child shall be denied admission for want of documents; no child shall be turned away if the admission cycle in the school is over and no child shall be asked to take an admission test. Children with disabilities will also be educated in the mainstream schools. 

The Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh has emphasized that it is important for the country that if we nurture our children and young people with the right education, India's future as a strong and prosperous country is secure.
Further, all private schools shall be required to enroll children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities in their incoming class to the extent of 25% of their enrolment, by simple random selection. No seats in this quota can be left vacant. These children will be treated on par with all the other children in the school and subsidized by the State at the rate of average per learner costs in the government schools (unless the per learner costs in the private school are lower).
All schools will have to prescribe to norms and standards laid out in the Act and no school that does not fulfill these standards within 3 years will be allowed to function. All private schools will have to apply for recognition, failing which they will be penalized to the tune of Rs 1 lakh and if they still continue to function will be liable to pay Rs 10,000 per day as fine.
Norms and standards of teacher qualification and training are also being laid down by an Academic Authority. Teachers in all schools will have to subscribe to these norms within 5 years. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been mandated tomonitor the implementation of this historic Right. A special Division within NCPCR will undertake this huge and important task in the coming months and years. A special toll free helpline to register complaints will be set up by NCPCR for this purpose.
NCPCR welcomes the formal notification of this Act and looks forward to playing an active role in ensuring its successful implementation. NCPCR also invites all civil society groups, students, teachers, administrators, artists, writers, government personnel, legislators, members of the judiciary and all other stakeholders to join hands and work together to build a movement to ensure that every child of this country is in school and enabled to get at least 8 years of quality
education.

GOOD FRIDAY Celebrated

PTI, New Delhi, Apr 2 : Christians today thronged churches to hold special prayers and observed fasts as a way of renunciation of earthly comforts to commemorate Good Friday, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Members of Catholic Church held processions at various places with devotees carrying wooden crosses to symbolise the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus some 2000 years ago.
In the Christian-dominated Mizoram, the largest Presbyterian Church organised prayers and worship services as priests performed masses in all local branches of the church.
Massive processions were taken out by the faithful in Aizawl and certain other towns, braving inclement weather, to signify sufferings of the Christ to save mankind.
Many devotees in the national capital observed fast which they will continue till Sunday when the community celebrates Easter - marking the resurrection of Christ. Special masses were held by the Church of North India.

Morcha hand prompts fee refund.. Hailstones hit brew belt hard...Heat wave in south, snowfall in Sandakphu

Students and parents outside St Joseph’s Convent’s office in Kalimpong on Thursday. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

TT, Kalimpong, April 1: St Jose ph’s Convent was today compelled to return a part of the fees to some of its outgoing Class X students after the Janmukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation protested the “extra charges” on the basis of complaints, it claimed it had received, from the parents.

The convent, a premier school for girls here, has also reportedly agreed to accept the reduced fees from other outgoing students who are yet to pay.

The institution had charged Rs 5,200 from each student of the outgoing ICSE batch as the last payment. It includes Rs 3,900 as tuition fees for January, February and March; Rs 600 as building fees; Rs 500 as charges for transfer certificates, character certificates and miscellaneous; and Rs 200 for the school’s alumni association.

The ICSE wing of the JSTO, an affiliate of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, however, argued that since the outgoing students had already paid their tuition fees for the 2009 academic session, it was not fair to ask them to pay tuition fees for the first quarter of 2010 when they were mostly at home preparing for the board exams.

The academic session in the hills is from February-March to November-December. Since the session ends in December, the outgoing students attended schools only during the ICSE exams.

“If the outgoing Class X students are to pay the fees for the first quarter of this year, they will effectively be paying for 15 months. As regards the fees charged by the school other than tuition fees, we have suggested that the levying of building fees be made voluntary,” said E.B. Sherpa, the president of the JSTO’s ICSE wing, Kalimpong unit.

Following their meeting with the JSTO team today, the school authorities agreed to withdraw the tuition fees. In fact, according to some parents The Telegraph spoke to, the school returned Rs 3,900 to those who had already paid Rs 5,200.

The school authorities, however, were not available for comment.

Tshering Tamang, the chief coordinator of the Morcha’s education monitoring cell who was also present at the meeting with the school authorities, said they had received similar complaints last year as well, but it was a little too late for them to act.

“We acted today after we got calls from the parents and representatives of the senior citizens. We condemn the charging of extra fees from Class X students as a matter of policy,” he added.

Morcha threatens fast over Tea dues

TT, Darjeeling, April 1: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike here from April 7 to protest the failure of the managements of the Dooteria and Kalej Valley tea gardens to clear the workers’ dues. The party has also asked the Centre to take action against the two estates.

According to Amar Lama, a Morcha central committee member, Dooteria has not cleared provident fund and gratuity of Rs 2 crore, while the amount defaulted by Kalej Valley is about Rs 1.4 crore since 2008. “Workers in these gardens have also not received rations since October that year,” he alleged.

The two estates, located in the Darjeeling subdivision and owned by the Alchemist Group, are among the 87 gardens that produce Darjeeling Tea.

A Morcha team that had gone to Delhi on March 29 on the Centre’s invitation also apprised central officials of the problems the tea workers have been facing in the brew belt of Darjeeling, the Terai and the Dooars, and particularly in the two gardens. “In Delhi, we met Ashok Kumar Mangotra, additional secretary, ministry of commerce and industries (tea garden), and S.K. Srivastava, additional secretary, ministry of labour and employment, and have submitted details of the dues by the two gardens. They have assured us that they will direct the Tea Board of India to start a fact-finding probe soon,” Lama said.

The Morcha claimed that the two gardens topped the list of defaulters in Darjeeling.

Deepak Pradhan, the legal adviser to the Morcha’s trade union in the two gardens, said: “The assistant labour commissioner in Darjeeling has called a meeting on April 5. If the meeting fails, we will start an indefinite hunger strike in front of the district magistrate’s office from April 7.”

The garden managements could not be contacted. 

School head held for kid torture

Imphal, April 1: A school headmistress here was arrested last night for torturing children, including a six-year-old boy from Sikkim, who had been working as domestic helps at her house.

Narmada Rana was arrested after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Imphal West, had lodged a complaint with police yesterday afternoon.

Rana, charged with cruelty to juveniles and wrongful confinement of children, was today remanded in police custody till Saturday.

Childline Imphal, an NGO, had rescued the six-year-old Jack from Sikkim and five-year-old Anjali of Ukhrul district in Manipur from the house of the headmistress here during a raid on March 27.

The raid followed the rescue of a seven-year-old girl, Rai (names of all children changed), Anjali’s sister, from the Nongmeibung area of Imphal East the previous day.

Rana, 51, runs a private school called Narmada English School in the locality. She originally hails from Sikkim and has been staying in Manipur for 30 years.

During interrogation, Rana revealed that a Sikkim police inspector, Vishal Rai of Renauk, East Sikkim, had sent Jack to her three years’ back.

“The child has forgotten the names of his parents and the place where they live in Sikkim,” N. Jibanmala Devi, member-secretary of Imphal West CWC, said today.

The three children were medically examined at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences here yesterday. The examination showed evidence of several forms of cruelty.

“There are several scars and wound marks on their bodies. Anjali had a fractured left forearm, while Jack bears burn injuries on his buttocks,” Mala Lisam, centre co-ordinator of Childline Imphal, said.

The police have decided to get in touch with their Sikkim counterparts to trace the boy’s parents.
3000 houses roofless, 2 hurt, bushes bear brunt 

Alipurduar, April 1: A hailstorm that lasted for 20 minutes last night wreaked havoc in the brew belt in Kalchini block, damaging at least 3,000 houses and rendering families homeless.

Most of the houses damaged had roofs that looked like skylights. This house belongs to Sanjib Tamang of the Raimatang tea estate; (above) the blockade at Dalsinghpara Chowpathy on Thursday. Pictures by Anirban Choudhury

Two persons, one of them five-year-old Sanjeev Rai from Dalsinghpara, were hit by hailstones. Sanjeev got two stitches on the forehead.

The worst damage were in four gardens, where houses as well as tea bushes bore the brunt of the hailstones that the affected people claimed were larger than tennis balls. Two of the tea gardens, Kalchini and Raimatang, are currently closed. The two others affected are Dalsinghpara and Chinchula.

Angry tea garden workers today blocked the road to Bhutan from 11am to 1pm at Dalsinghpara Chowpathy, 45km from here, to protest against the administration allegedly dragging its feet over the distribution of relief.

The blockade was lifted after staff from the block development office promised to distribute by evening tarpaulin sheets to those whose homes were damaged.

The storm and the accompanying hailstones caught everyone by surprise.

“It was just after 8pm yesterday when suddenly the storm lashed out. We thought it was usual for a storm during the dry season. But, within moments, the hailstones began thudding down on the tiled roofs of our houses and broke through them. We were lucky to remain unhurt as we took shelter under the bed,” said Sanjib Tamang of Raimatang. He said he as well as many others spent the night in the open with their families.

Sanjeev Rai (top) and Maila Lama. (Anirban Choudhury)

The same was the case at the closed Kalchini tea estate. “At least 2,000 houses have been damaged, many of them completely. The condition of the workers of the closed garden is very bad. The garden has been shut for the past 15 years and no one from the administration has come to our aid,” said Chandre Lama, the pradhan of the Kalchini gram panchayat.

He said most of the workers in the closed gardens had renovated their homes, saving money from the funds given under the Financial Assistance to Workers of Locked Out Industries by the state government. “Now the investment has gone to waste,” the pradhan said.

Chinchula, one of the affected gardens, had reopened in August 2009. The management had cleared all its dues, according to an agreement, about a week ago. “We have deposited Rs 1.26 crore as provident fund dues last week and installed new machinery,” said Sajal Biswas, manager of the estate.

He said besides workers’ houses, the hailstorm also damaged the factory shed and tea bushes.

Sambu Jaiswal, the pradhan of Dalsinghpara gram panchayat, said more than a 1,000 huts had been flattened. The 58-year-old Maila Lama, who was hit by a hailstone, lives in Gopalbahadur Busty near Dalsinghpara.

“The storm last night was accompanied by hailstones weighing not less than 400 grams. Just when the new leaves of the first flush were emerging, we suffered heavy damage and production will be less by about 20 per cent this year. There is damage all over the garden,” Biswas said. He added there was a hailstorm on February 27 this year, but that had only damaged the tea bushes (and spared the houses).

Anurag Srivastav, the subdivisional officer of Alipurduar, said relief had already been despatched to the affected Kalchini block.

“We have sent about 2,700 tarpaulin sheets, rice and dry food to the affected areas. An assessment of the loss is being done by the block office. If further relief is required, we are prepared to send it,” the subdivisional officer said.
Heat wave in Plains and snowfall in hills

TNN,Kolkata, 2 April: The campaign against global warning may have lost its intensity after a couple of flawed predictions by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change led to a global outcry, but extreme weather conditions in the state sounded the warning bell and pointed to the need for action to mitigate the impending crisis.
While the city and rest of south Bengal reeled under a heat wave, rain in widespread areas of Darjeeling district in north Bengal and snow in the higher reaches of Sandakphu and Phalut, triggered a cold wave. The sub-zero temperature at the two Himalayan locales is in sharp contrast to the extreme heat in south Bengal with West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum and Burdwan recording temperatures well over 42 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Office at Alipore has issued a heat wave warning for the five south Bengal districts. Over the next 48 hours, the maximum temperature will simmer well over 40?C. "The heat wave condition will persist in south Bengal. Though there is no such warning for Kolkata, temperature in the city will hover around the 40 degrees Celsius mark for at least two more days," said GC Debnath, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata.
On Thursday, the mercury read 39?C in Kolkata, a shade below this year's highest (39.6?C) recorded in the city this year a few days ago. High humidity created a pressure cooker situation, jacking up the discomfort factor.
In north Bengal though, the weather is expected to improve as rain recedes. Though the weather will remain cold over the next 24 hours, officials at the Met office in North Bengal University said it would get more pleasant in the days ahead.  

Several parts of the Darjeeling district has been lashed by heavy rain in the past two days in north Bengal. The temperature in Darjeeling was around 10 degrees Celsius. The rain, coming after a severe drought that began in October, has been welcomed by tea growers.
But the inclement weather on Wednesday brought life to a standstill in Darjeeling. Cyclonic winds uprooted trees, blocking roads and triggering powercuts as electricity lines were disrupted.
In the upper reaches, hailstorm and snow was recorded at Sandakphu and Phuket. The four inches of snowfall recorded is rare at this time of the year.

Morcha axes two... to rebuild singer home

The house of Binod Sangden that was burnt down. Picture by Suman Tamang

TT,Darjeeling, March 31: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has suspended two of its office-bearers in Pokhriabong-Nagri constituency for two months over an attack on the house of singer Binod Sangden on March 16.

The party has also decided to rebuild Sangden’s house at Magarjung, about 40km from here, and bear the cost, although Morcha and the singer himself had said there was no political angle to the attack.

Jyoti Kumar Rai, a central committee member of the Morcha who has been entrusted with looking after the party activities in Pokhriabong-Nagrifarm, said: “We have directed the president of the local unit, Bhawajit Tamang, and Dipen Mallay, who heads the youth wing in the area, to refrain from indulging in any party activities for the next two months. The incident (arson) was an outcome of a misunderstanding between two groups. Everyone is a Morcha supporter and it is our responsibility to help Sangden given his stature.”

Even though the reason for suspending the leaders was not given by Rai, it is believed that the Morcha took action as the two had failed to control the situation that had led to the attack on the house.

Sources said two groups of local youths had been at loggerheads over a contract work in the area. One group went on the rampage, burning a motor bike and damaging a vehicle allegedly belonging to the rivals on March 16. The house of Sangden was also burnt down, but the exact reason for the attack is not yet known.

“My house was set on fire by anti-socials over a contract work. There were no political overtones in the incident and I request all to refrain from politicising the issue. However, I urge the Morcha to ensure that those responsible for the incident are punished,” Sangden had said.

The Morcha had come in for criticism from rival parties as well as its own frontal organisations like the ex-servicemen’s association for failing to maintain peace in the area. Sensing the public sentiments, Morcha president Bimal Gurung had ordered an inquiry to fix the people responsible for the attack.

Hotelier ‘flees’ hills

Ajay Edwards, a hotelier, has alleged that he was forced to leave Darjeeling on Sunday by a group of 15-20 people. “I have been staying in Siliguri, but I had gone to Darjeeling to look after my parents who are not keeping well and to take care of my business. However, a group of 15-20 people came to my place on Sunday and asked me to leave Darjeeling,” Edwards said over the phone from Siliguri.

He owns Glenary’s, a popular restaurant in Darjeeling

“I am not linked to any party and as a lover of the hills, I welcome any interim arrangement that will bring peace, stability and development to the region,” he added.

Jaigaon: Debpara Tea Estate in the Dooars will reopen on Thursday. The decision was taken at a meeting at the deputy labour commissioner’s office in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday. The garden with 1,175 workers on its payroll has been shut since March 26. Sonali Tea Estate, which had closed down on March 19, reopened on Wednesday.