SDF memorial banner for the community

RANGPO-10^TH MARCH12

This year Sikkim democratic front 2^nd decade completion grand function organised at jorthaang is memorable for the business community of the state .after the reformation of trade and business affairs cell in the state the cell members working actively has succeeded to make possible for huge participating of business community in the 4^th march function. it was a historical and memorable day for the business community that the main gate banner at jorthang was shown with the persons of Bhutia lepcha,nepali ,Marwari,bihari and Muslim unity and fraternity banner .after the formation of sdf government the business community has relief from the various wrong word and by providing the seat and ticket in last nagar Panchayat and municipality election the party has proved that all communities are equal. in every speech of chief minister also in the first line of speech of cm it is clearly listened that the persons of different communities Bhutia ,lepcha ,nepali and business community is a historical word for business community .and this time in the main gate banner and stage banner too the three community photo is a memorial banner for the community .

Read More

Traning to the farmers in ginger cultivation

RANGPO-10^TH MARCH12

Horticulture and agriculture department east Sikkim organised training and distribution programme at bhurung ward of west Pandam constituency today. According to the news Mr. j n giri deputy director horticulture Majhitar and staff along with field officer has provided special training to the farmers interested in ginger cultivation .area Panchayat and senior citizens was specially present during the programme. At the end of the programme twenty five progressive farmers was provided with eighty kg seeds of ginger total four thousand kg ginger seeds along with medicines to be needed for the protection to be needed against disease suspected to o0ccur during the cultivation. The farmers seen happy and has given special thanks to the department for such type of concept. Tomorrow the ginger distribution programme is going to be held on pachak.

Read More

clas for tool tax and public toilet tender

RANGPO-9^TH MARCH12

Behind the reasons of tender process occurred on 7^th march at Rangpo nagar office of tool tax, the two group clash created one injured in the Rangpo IBM area. according to the news the Rangpo bazaar parking, tool tax and public toilet tender was to be done at Rangpo nagar Panchayat office.from the beginning of the office time the problem was created and was intense at Rangpo nagar Panchayat office as some persons was stopping to go to participate in tender process but any how the tender process was end .but suddenly on same night two group was clash in the same tender matter process at 11.30 pm and Mr. sion Rai was admitted at Rangpo phc and later admitted to CRH Tadong for further treatment and according to the news he is out of control.mr amos rai of Rangpo mandi bazaar has files an FIR at Rangpo police station alleging that his brother named dion Rai was attacked by six persons named bisu biswakarma,kumar biswakarma.amit bhujel,kumar barialy,tirthaman Rai and imran khan with khukari .police registering the case under section 326/34 starting searching of the six youth but till the news send no any arrest was done.regurding the matter this correspondent has contacted with Rangpo nagar Panchayat president Mr. nirmal khati.it was surprise to know that he is not known about the tender of car parking, tool tax and public toilet officially .he has come to know about the matter from the advertisement of newspaper. it was done by the officers and staff recruited by the urban development and housing department for running the nagar Panchayat office.what a surprise and unfortunate that nagar Panchayat president is not known about the activity and work procedure of Rangpo nagar Panchayat office. by seeing this type of situation it is seen that the tender process done on 7^th march must be cancelled as it is suspected that the tender process was not done in transparent and freely .so must be retender .

Read More

Bharat team eyes Olympics semi-final

Bharat Chhetri being welcomed at his house at Methibari on Tuesday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, March 9: The Indian hockey team that has qualified for the London Olympics is now targeting a spot at the semi-finals.

“Our aim is to get to the semi-final of the Olympics and we are working hard at it. We have a group of young players with an average age of 26 years who are ready for the big event,” team captain Bharat Chhetri said in Siliguri.

The team qualified for the Olympics after beating France 8-1 on February 26 in Delhi.

Chhetri returned to his home at Methibari on Tuesday after the squad pushed France out of the competition. Methibari is 8km from here.

The captain said all the players of the team were in good shape under the training of Australian coach Michael Jack Nobbs.

“We are hopeful for a good show this time in the Olympics as our players are physically fit and ready for any challenge. We have worked hard under the guidance of our Australian coach who has not only elevated our fitness level but also helped us develop skills. For me fitness is more important than experience as this is a fast game and you have 70 minutes to prove yourself,” said the 30-year-old player.

The last time the Indian team took part in the Olympics was in 2004 in Athens.

In the tournament that begins on July 27, 12 hockey teams would be divided into two groups and the top four squads would qualify for the semis. The two top teams from the semi-finals would take on each other in the final.

Chhetri said a month-long conditioning camp started in Bangalore from Tuesday and he would join the team on March 13.

He added that after the camp the squad will be touring Europe for the next two months where it will participate in a four-nation tournament in London. The team will take on Australia, England and Germany during the tourney. Later, the squad will play practice matches in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany so that the players become acclimatised to the weather.

“Sandip Singh has emerged as one of the best penalty corner specialists in the world. He has developed a very good combination with defenders like V. Raghunath and Rupinder Pal Singh. In the Olympics England’s condition will be like playing in front of our home crowd as a lot of Indians and Pakistanis are settled in London and they will support our team. Pakistan will be another favourite in the Olympics,” Chhetri said.(Telegraph)

Read More

Mizoram trounces Sikkim to lift Ao Cup

Mizo players pose with the Dr T Ao Memorial Cup at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok on Friday. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, March 9: Mizoram prevailed over Sikkim 9-8 in sudden death to lift the Dr T Ao Memorial Cup in the final of the soccer tournament at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok today.

The visiting team won the premier northeast tournament when Vincent Lalrindika converted a spot kick into a goal after Sonam Pintso Bhutia of Sikkim failed to shake the rival’s net in the fourth round of the sudden death.

In football, sudden death means there is no fixed number of spot kicks and players of both teams would continue taking one penalty each until a winner is decided.

The match had ended in 1-1 draw in normal time leading to spot kicks. With both the teams scoring four goals and missing one spot kick each, the penalty-shootout also ended in a stalemate, paving the way for the sudden death.

Mizoram had taken the lead in the 15th minute of the match. R. Laldanmawia’s shot from close range rebounded off Sikkimese defender Sonam Pintso’s legs and looped over goalkeeper Sikkim Kunzang Lachungpa into the net. The speedy players of Mizoram gave Sikkim’s defence a tiring time in the first half and continued their momentum in the second half.

However, towards the last quarter of the match, Sikkim players found some energy to attack the Mizo goal. Their sustained pressure resulted in a handball by a Mizo player in the box, resulting in a penalty in the 82nd minute. Midfielder Thudpen Tshering Bhutia calmly converted the spot kick into a goal.

Mizoram took home Rs 7 lakh and Dr T Ao Memorial Cup, while Sikkim received the trophy for the runner-up and Rs 4 lakh. Manipur captain Nilakumar Singh was adjudged the player of the tournament.(Telegraph)

Read More

Rainless hill winter sparks dry tap fear

VIVEK CHHETRI

The Senchel lake in Darjeeling, one of the three reservoirs of the hill town

Darjeeling municipality chairman and other councillors perform the puja. All pictures by Suman Tamang

The water treatment plant of the Balasun project

Darjeeling, March 9: The Darjeeling municipality is apprehending an acute water shortage in the hill town in the next one month.

The winter has been dry this year and the condition, the municipality fears, will persist. “We had very little rain during the winter months. The water-level is extremely low and if the present condition exists we will find it very difficult to supply water to the town people,” said municipality chairperson Amar Singh Rai. He was present yesterday at the Devi temple at Senchel, when the civic body performed a puja to invoke the water god.

Sushma Rai, the councillor in charge of the water works at the municipality, said the water-levels at the Senchel North and South lakes are much less than what they were last year at this time. “At North Lake, the water level was 16.6ft on this day last year. Today, the level is only 12.1ft. Similarly, the water-level at South Lake is 11.5ft now as against 17.3ft last year,” she said.

The North Lake has a storage capacity of 20 million gallons while the capacity of South Lake is 13 million gallons. But the reservoirs are never full and on days the water is supplied to town residents, the level comes down by two to three inches.

A third lake at Sindap, a kilometre down from the Senchel lakes, has a capacity of about 8 million gallons. But since this lake leaks, water, which is pumped from Bangal jhora near Rangbull, is hardly stored here.

Darjeeling requires a daily supply of about 15-18 lakh gallons. But on a normal day, the municipality can only supply about 7-8 lakh gallons of water.

“If we are to sufficiently supply water to the 2 lakh residents of town, we will need at least 20 lakh gallons of water on a given day,” said an official of the municipality.

What the two lakes now need is rain as they are completely dependant on Khang khola near Sonada. The khola is rain-fed.

“There are 26 streams from which water is drawn to these two lakes from Khang khola. I had gone to survey the area a couple of weeks back and I found that almost all, except four streams, had gone dry,” said Rai.

With the Darjeeling municipality almost convinced about an impending water crisis, the officials have already written to the state government for Rs 38 lakh. The figure was arrived at after considering the logistics of distributing water through tankers for the next two months till monsoon. “We are waiting for a response from the state government,” said Rai.

The much-hyped Rs 56 crore Balasun drinking water project, which was supposed to have been completed by February, is likely to be delayed by another three to four months.

“We had gone to inspect the progress of work and we believe that water from this project can only be distributed after three-four months,” said Rai.

Most of the work, including setting up a treatment plant at Sindhap, has been completed but the laying of pipes in certain areas like Ghoom-Jorebunglow is still pending.

The government has sanctioned Rs 7.07 crore for re-laying old pipes and for constructing a water reservoir in the St Paul’s area. But this has got nothing to do with the Balsun project.

The municipality believes that the town requires about Rs 155 crore to completely revamp the distribution system to ensure that the water is properly supplied to the entire town even after the Balasun project is completed. The project has been envisaged to pump water for 16 hours a day to supply 2 million gallons to Darjeeling from Balasun river, about 30km fromthe town, through two pumping stations.(telegraph)

Read More

झील वरिपरिका हावाघरहरुको मरम्मती कार्य शुरु

9 मार्च (कालेबुङ):-मिरिकमा पर्यटन मौसम शुरु भएपछि स्थानीय गैर सरकारी संगठन सचेत मंज्चले झील वरिपरिका हावाघरहरुको मरम्मती कार्य शुरु गरेको छ।मिरिक घुम्न आउने पार्यटकहरुको सुबिधाको निम्ति झील परिसरमा निर्माण गरिएका हावाघरहरुको मरम्मती र रखरखाउको निम्ति सम्बन्धित निकायले चासो नदेखाए पछि गैर सरकारी संगठन सचेत मञ्च अग्रसर बनेको छ।मिरिक घुम्न आउने पर्यटकहरु झील परिसरमा बनाइएका हावाघरमा विश्राम गरी मिरिक झीलको प्राकृतिक सुन्दरताको अवलोकन गर्ने गर्दछन। तर यी हावाघरहरुको रखरखाउको दिशामा सम्बन्धित विभागले ध्यान नदिएको कारण हावाघरहरुको अवस्था जीर्ण बन्दै गइरहेको थियो।पर्यटकहरुलाई विश्रामको सुबिधा उपलब्ध गराउने उद्देश्यले सचेत मञ्चका कार्यकर्ताहरुले हिजोदेखि हावाघरहरुको मरम्मती कार्य शुरु गरेका छन।बर्ष 2009मा स्थापित यस संगठनले झील परिसरमा रहेका धुप्पी घारीको सरसफाई र सुन्दरीकरनको दिशामा पनि काम गर्दै आई रहेको छ। सचेत मञ्चका अध्यक्ष रञ्जित रसाइलीले झील परिसरको सुन्दरीकरण र रखरखाउको दिशामा स्थानीय प्रशासनले चासो नदिएकोमा दुःख प्रकट गरेका छन।उनले मिरिकको पर्यटनको पुरानो गरिमा फर्काई ल्याउन नागरिक समाज जागारुक बन्नु पर्ने कुरामा जोड दिएका छन।

Read More

Disaster victims benifited

1. 9TH MARCH 2012 RANGPO-
2. -DEPARTMENT OF AH,LF&VS WEST DISTRICT disbursed the ex- gratia relief to the families who lost their livestock in the Earth quake of 18^th September 2011 as per the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) norms. On receive of the relief,sufferer farmers expressed their gratude to the State Government for compassion on fellow citizen in natural calamity of highest intimidation they ever experience. The payment was disbursed by the hand of dr d s tiwari Joint Director West AH,LF&VS Department on 7^th March 2012.according to the news total seventy three thousand rs was distributed among the seven victims.

Read More

forest fire awareness camp

RANGPO-9^TH MARCH12

Namthang forest range office under south district forest territorial organised day long forest fire awareness camp at katyang school ground.mrs tilu gurung area mla cum minister building and housing was present as a chief guest of the programme. under the special presence of panchayats,students,teachers,gurdians and citizens of the area under the initiative and activeness cum DFO D MANJUNATHAN,acf sangey kazi along with other staff and officers of forest department of Namthang range organised .demonstrated the fire safety measures to be done during the jungle fire .

Read More

President nod to GTA, over to CM

Mamata Banerjee, Bimal Gurung

March 7: The President today gave her assent to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Bill, the signing clearing the decks for the formation of the hill set-up while putting the onus of implementation on Mamata Banerjee. The chief minister had last week blamed the Centre for the delay in forming the GTA.

From all indications, there are still some major obstacles to the formation of the GTA, especially with the state government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha differing on the process of elections to the new body.

An official in Writers’ Buildings said this evening: “The Centre has done its bit. The ball is now in the chief minister’s court.”

The first obstacle is the issue of the added territories, Gorkha pockets in the Dooars and Terai that the Morcha wants to be brought under the GTA. The Justice Shyamal Sen committee, which is examining the issue, is yet to submit its report. It has missed its six-month deadline and is now working on an extension. It is unclear when the panel will submit its report.

The Morcha is determined not to allow elections to the GTA, till the Gorkha-dominated mouzas are brought under the new body. The party has left it to the state government to find “ways and means” of putting the GTA in place and is keen on running the body with nominated representatives as an interim arrangement.

“I spoke to the chief minister this evening and thanked her as well as the Union government for expediting the formation of the GTA,” Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri told The Telegraph. “But we have also made it very clear that we will not agree to elections to the GTA unless the issue of the added areas is settled. It is practically impossible to hold elections to the GTA until and unless the new areas are added. It is now up to the state government to find ways and means to make the GTA functional.”

Morcha sources said by “ways and means” Giri was demanding that party representatives be nominated to the GTA to make the new hill body functional till elections were held.

But the state government is not in favour of nominating Morcha representatives since there is no provision for it in the GTA agreement.

“There is no bar on conducting elections to the GTA or in completing the process of forming the body till the territory question is resolved. That was agreed upon by all three parties that signed the GTA agreement,” chief secretary Samar Ghosh said at Writers’ Buildings this evening.

So, Ghosh said, after the GTA Bill with the President’s assent is sent to the state government, it will be notified and made into an Act.

“Once it becomes an Act, and this should take about a week, we will start the election process. The first step will be initiating the process of delimitation,” said Ghosh. He said, for now, elections would be held in the current Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council area.

“The election process should not take more than three months,” Ghosh said. “New territories, if added later, would find representation in the body eventually.”

“The Election Commission of India or the state election commission has no role in this. The GTA agreement and the Bill clearly state that the elections will be conducted by the state government,” he added.

On the government’s stand, a Morcha leader said: “Unless we have a clear idea of the population of the entire GTA area, including the added ones, how can the 42 constituencies agreed upon in the GTA agreement, be created?”

The other problem that the cash-strapped state government might face is of finances. Other than the Rs 200 crore that the Centre has promised to the GTA every year for three years, the government has agreed to pay the salaries of all GTA employees which would come to a little over Rs 100 crore annually. Other than this, the state has also agreed to share the expenses for creating infrastructure for the development of the hills, the amount of which has not been estimated so far.

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said: “This money is being set aside by the state government. Also, we will be spending money for development of the GTA areas from the North Bengal Development Council funds.”

But officials at Writers’ said this would be a “recurrent expenditure” and the government would have to work hard to provide for it every year.(Telegraph)

Read More

Morcha fails ballot test - Party’s Mussoorie candidate loses, forfeits deposit

Darjeeling, March 7: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s decision to test electoral fortunes in other parts of the country with significant Gorkha population came a cropper with the party candidate forfeiting his deposit in the Mussoorie seat in the Uttarakhand Assembly polls.

The Morcha had fielded Jagdish Chauhan in Mussoorie to assert itself as a pan-Indian party looking after the interest of the community across the country.

Both party president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri had been to Mussoorie to campaign for Chauhan before the January 30 election.

This is the first time that the Morcha contested any election outside Bengal.

The election results, which were declared yesterday, saw BJP candidate Ganesh Joshi winning the seat by bagging 28,097 votes. Jot Singh Gunsola of the Congress came second with 18, 321 votes.

Chauhan fared miserably and managed to get only 444 votes.

Asked about the poor performance, Giri said: “The results were poor as we did not get enough time to campaign in Mussoorie. We merely held one roadshow which was not enough. The Gorkha votes also got divided among the candidates of our community.”

Other Gorkha candidates, who had contested in Mussoorie, fared much better than Chauhan.

While Godavari Thapa Thapli, who contested as an Independent came third and managed 9,248 votes, Bhupendra Singh Chhetri of the Uttarakhand-based Gorkha Democratic Front got 2,628. A total of 15 candidates contested in Mussoorie.

Although there is a considerable presence of Gorkha population in Mussoorie and the rest of Uttarakhand, observers believe that the result is a reminder to the Morcha that Gorkha voters in other parts of the country have their own regional issues which determine their electoral choices.

“The result only proves that the Morcha has lost the confidence of its community members in other parts of the country. The Darjeeling-based party’s decision to settle for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration instead of carrying on with the statehood agitation which they had backed could be the final nail in the coffin,” said an observer in Darjeeling.

The Morcha’s decision to contest outside Bengal, according to party sources, was propelled by the fact that it did not want to be seen merely as a Darjeeling-based political outfit with a limited sphere of influence.

“In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, we had asked our supporters in Uttarakhand to back the BJP candidate. This time we were confident that we could contest at least the Mussoorie seat on our own,” a Morcha leader had earlier said.

“If we are able to rally all the Nepali-speaking people scattered across the country, the importance of the party in the eyes of the Centre would definitely increase. Winning an election outside Bengal where our community is present is not on our agenda. Our ultimate aim is to bring our people under one political banner.”

Asked if the party had dropped its plans to contest elections outside Bengal, Giri said: “No, we will stick to our decision to contest seats outside Bengal.”(Telegraph)

Read More

Traffic bar & clean-up for 100-yr-old bridge

Darjeeling, March 7: Traffic on Victoria Bridge will be stopped for 12 hours on Sunday to celebrate the structure’s 100th year and highlight its deplorable condition.The 110-feet-long bridge, also known as Chayang-Chanyanga Pul near Rajbari, will be closed to vehicles from six in the morning.Birman Biswakarma, the secretary of Victoria Bridge Sangrakshan Samiti, said: “This is a 100-year-old heritage bridge as an inscription on the railing suggests that it was built in 1912. We do not know the exact date on which the bridge was opened for the public. Although we wanted to mark the centenary on January 1, 2012, we finally decided to organise an event on March 11.”He added that a programme would be organised on the bridge on Sunday and the local people would clean up the structure to mark its 100th year.Biswakarma said they had zeroed in on the date because the school leaving examinations would be over by then.“We do not want any vehicle to ply on the bridge and since the examinations (Madhyamik and ICSE) would be over by then, our decision should not cause any major inconvenience. For medical emergencies we will keep stretchers at both ends of the bridge so that patients can be ferried across the stretch on foot,” Biswakarma said.Around 100 vehicles use the bridge every day.Biswakarma said the objective of celebrating the day was to highlight the deplorable condition of the structure. “Cracks have developed on the bridge and attempts must be made to repair the structure,” he said.The concrete structure near the Victoria Falls connects Darjeeling town with Rajbari and Sidranbong villages and Arya tea garden. No major repairs have been carried out since the bridge was constructed.“The bridge was a major tourist attraction because of the picturesque Victoria Falls. Tourists used to come to the bridge on horsebacks earlier to see the waterfalls,” said Biswakarma.Nayan Prakash Subba, a retired police officer who is now a columnist on the history of Darjeeling, said: “The bridge was designed by George Patrick Robertson in 1912. Robertson was the engineer of the Darjeeling municipality and he had also designed other municipal buildings in Darjeeling.”Victoria Bridge is 2km from the town.Subba said Victoria Falls was one of the major jhoras that feed the Sidrapong hydel project, which is considered to be the oldest hydel power station in Asia. The plant was built in 1897.Amar Singh Rai, the chairperson of Darjeeling municipality, said the civic body had no problems with the closure of the bridge for 12 hours. “Since they want to clean up the place, we have no problems with the decision. We are aware that some repairs have to be undertaken and we will do it depending on the availability of funds,” he said.(Telegraph)

Read More

minister Mrs. tilu gurung condemned news article of SDF stage fire incident

Raangpo 7th march
Rateypani Namthang mla cum building and housing minister Mrs. tilu gurung along with the youth and cheli morcha members has condemned the news article regarding thirty six persons injury in the 4^th march sdf stage fire incident case. According to release only six persons was minor injured and was send to their house after providing the first aid as the case was normal. According to the news every big programme or spiritual programme is end with the hawan and Sikkim residents is celebrating 4th march as like the spiritual day or celebration. the fire incident of 4^th march was like a hawan and our cheli and youth wing has strongly participated in the hawan and face without caring their life.regurding the two days long sdf day celebration at jorthang the rateypani youth and cheli along with area mla cum minister Mrs. tilu gurung has congratulated the state residents for attending in the function.lakhs of peoples was in the programme and its due to the Sikkim cm 42days tour of state cm and positive thinking of the leader .

Read More

दार्जीलिङ जिल्ला अस्पताल अनि कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पताललाई सुपर स्पेशिलिटी अस्पतालको रुपमा बढोत्तरी गर्ने

7 मार्च (कालेबुङ):- पश्चिम बंगालको तृणमूल सरकारले दार्जीलिङ पहाडको कायाकल्प परिवर्तन गर्ने आफ्नो बचनलाई व्यवहारमा परिणत गर्ने दिशामा पहल शुरु गरेको छ। दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा विकासको कार्यलाई गति दिँदै राज्य सरकारले दार्जीलिङ जिल्ला अस्पताल अनि कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पताललाई सुपर स्पेशिलिटी अस्पतालको रुपमा बढोत्तरी गर्ने निर्णय लिएको छ।यस योजनालाई मूर्त रुप दिन गठित हाई पावर कमिटिका दुइ सदस्यीय टोलीले यी दुइ क्षेत्रका अस्पतालहरुको स्थलगत निरीक्षण गरेर कलकता फर्केका छन। पश्चिम बंग स्वस्थ्य आयोगका प्रबन्ध निदेशक पुनित यादव अनि राज्य स्वस्थ्य विभागका संयुक्त सचिव पी विश्वासले हिजो दार्जीलिङ जिल्ला अस्पतालको निरीक्षण गरेका थिए भने आज कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पताकको परिभ्रमण गरी यसको वर्तमान अवस्थाबारे जानकारी लिए। यसबाहेक जिल्लाका अन्य स्वस्थ्य केन्द्रहरुको पनि सुधार र बढोत्तरी गरिने भएको छ। हाई पावर कमिटिका सदस्यहरुले यी अस्पतालहरुको हालको ढाँचाबारे अध्ययन गरी राज्य सरकारलाई आफ्नि रिपोर्ट बुझाउने छन। क्षेत्रका यी अस्पतालहरुमा अत्याधुनिक स्वस्थ्य सेवा उपलब्ध गराएर पहाडवासीलाई स्तरीय स्वस्थ्य सेवा प्रदान गर्ने राज्य सरकारको विचार छ। हाई पावर कमिटिका सदस्यहरुले जिल्ला अस्पतालका अधिकृत डा एस भौमिक अनि कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पतालका अधिकारी डा शुभरत्न प्रधानसँग बैठक गरी अस्पतालको समस्याहरुबारे जानकारी लिए।यता, दार्जीलिङ पहाडका अस्पतालहरुको अवस्थामा सुधार ल्याउन दागोपाप प्रशासकले हेल्थ भिजन 2012 नामक दस्तावेज राज्य सरकारलाई बुझाइ सकेको छ। अर्कोतिर, राज्य सरकारको यस प्रकारको पहललाई लिएर पहाडवासी उत्साहित देखिएका छन। सरकारी अस्पतालहरुमा पनि गुणस्तरीय स्वस्थय सेवाको उपभोग गर्न पाउने कुराप्रति पहाडका जनता आशावादी बनेका छन।

Read More

Scarcity of drinking water in School

RANGPO-6TH MARCH12
More than 600 students of Rangpo mining secondary school are facing huge problems due to scarcity of drinking water. According to the news from fifteen days scarcity of drinking water is shown in school as no single drop is come from the source of government pipelines. the school management has many times contact and appealed with the staff of phe but ignored and not seen serious over to solve the problem .it is a unfortunate to see that the school students has to face the water scarcity .the guardians of the school are thinking to take action against such type negligence.if not solved the main problem immediately the guardians are going to ready for complaining against such type of workers who are against the life of school students as water is the most essential thing for everyone.

Read More

युवा मोर्चाको मिरिक शाखाले क्षेत्रका युवा अनि विद्यार्थीवर्गलाई दूर्व्यवसनबाट टाडा राख्न अनि उनीहरुको समस्यालाई निदान गर्ने दिशामा पहल शुरु गरेको छ

6 मार्च (कालेबुङ):-गोर्खा जनमुक्ति युवा मोर्चाको मिरिक शाखाले क्षेत्रका युवा अनि विद्यार्थीवर्गलाई दूर्व्यवसनबाट टाडा राख्न अनि उनीहरुको समस्यालाई निदान गर्ने दिशामा पहल शुरु गरेको छ। युवा मोर्चाले आइतबार मिरिकमा सम्बन्धित पक्षका प्रतिनिधिहरुसँग एउटा बैठकको आयोजना गरी यसबारे छलफल गरेको छ। मिरिकको टूरिष्ट लजमा सम्पन्न सो बैठकमा गोजमुमोको मिरिक शाखाका अध्यक्ष फूबी राई, नगरपालिका अध्यक्ष श्रीमती माला सुब्बा, मिरिक कलेजका प्राचार्य डा आनन्द खडका, मिरिक थानाका प्रतिनिधि मानस दासलगायत विभिन्न शैक्षिक संस्थानका प्रतिनिधिहरु सहभागी थिए। बैठकमा क्षेत्रमा चलिरहेको नशालु पदार्थको ओसारपसार र सेवनमाथि नियञ्त्रण बनाउन, विद्यार्थीहरुले भोग्न परिरहेको ट्राफिक समस्याको समाधान गर्न लगायत शिक्षासँग सम्बन्धित अन्य समस्याहरुको निराकरणबारे चर्चा भएको थियो। क्षेत्रका विद्यार्थीवर्गको हित अनि शैक्षिक विकासको निम्ति बैठकमा उपस्थित सबै पक्षले आ आफ्नो प्रकारले पहल र सहयोग गर्ने कुरामा सहमति प्रदान गरेका छन। विद्यार्थीवर्गलाई नैतिक अनि सामाजिक दायित्वहरुप्रति सचेत र जागरुक बनाउन युवा मोर्चाले आगामी अप्रेल महिनाको पहिलो सप्ताहमा एउटा संगोष्ठीको पनि आयोजना गरिने बैठकमा तय भएको छ। बैठकमा आफ्नो विचार प्रकट गर्दै मिरिक कलेजका प्राचार्य डा आनन्द खड्काले युवा मोर्चाको यस पहललाई स्वागतयोग्य बताएका छन।

Read More

Citi and Life Insurance Corporation of India to set up India’s first Infrastructure Debt Fund

SANJAY AGARWAL-RANGPO-6THMARCH12
-ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Citi and Life Insurance Corporation of India to set up India’s first Infrastructure Debt Fund.as per the information received from the banks management of the said banks The Finance Minister in his budget speech for fiscal 2012 had announced setting up of Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs) in order to accelerate and enhance the flow of long term debt for infrastructure projects. To attract off-shore funds into IDFs Finance Minister had also announced that withholding tax on interest payments on the borrowings by the IDFs would be reduced from 20% to 5%. Income of the IDFs has also been exempt from income tax.

The framework for establishment of IDFs was announced by the Ministry of Finance in June, 2011 wherein IDFs were allowed to be set up either structured as a non banking financial company (NBFC) or as a mutual fund. Reserve Bank of India issued the regulations for IDFs to be set up as a NBFC in November, 2011 and Securities Exchange Board of India issued the regulations governing an IDF structured as a mutual fund in August, 2011.

ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB), Citicorp Finance India Limited (Citi) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up India’s first Infrastructure Debt Fund structured as a Non Banking Finance Company (IDF - NBFC). The MoU was signed today in the presence of the Honourable Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

ICICI Bank (together with a wholly-owned subsidiary), BoB, Citi and LIC will hold 31%, 30%, 29% and 10% shareholding respectively in the IDF-NBFC. The IDF would seek to raise debt capital from domestic as well as foreign resources and would invest in infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership model that have completed one year of operations. The IDF will expand and diversify the domestic and international sources of debt funding to meet the large financing needs of the infrastructure sector, thereby giving an impetus to the creation of the infrastructure necessary to drive India’s growth.

Read More

world lightest airplane by Pukar's Teams

SANJAY AGARWAL-RANGPO-6TH FEBRURY12

Sikkim's UAV lad Pukar Pandey & team heads for USA.Started his study from east point senior secondary school taken education from ATTC bardang ang left for maharshi markedeshwar university panchkula for further studies. at there with the help of ten more friends has discovered world lightest airplane may be run via remote control .it’s a historical issue that 300 universities from entire world was participated in the exhibition organized by nasa at California and this project was nominated in top 65 list in nomination. On 16th march the group is going to exhibit their discover in California .the day is a historical day for Singtam and Sikkim too. As Sikkim student shall see by entire world and Sikkim name may come forward. Today with the b lessing of parents, society and Singtam and Sikkim.

Read More

One day long program on livestock management

6TH MARCH 2012-state AH, LF &VS Department West District organized, One day long program on livestock management & poultry production at Chumbung near to Pelling in west Sikkim.The main objective behind the program was to generate sagacity on livestock farming for income generation for sustainablelivelihood.That was also to make the people comprehend on Animal Husbandry Department activities & their potential areas of application. Along with this, how the present Government is following the methodology to put into operation of various programs at village’ level to tempt seventy percent of state budget in village development. Now Extension & training wing of AH, LF & VS Department is proactive to evaluate the ground reality of farmers, to generate information& disseminate this in mass by this kind of training
The program was presided over by Bhim Bdr. Bhurathoki, ex- Panchayat and & Upaman Basnet Head master of chumbung Jr High School & Kapu Bhutia were the guest of owner. From the Department Dr D.S Tewari Joint Director West, Dr S.P Bhutia Deputy Director, Dr Kishor Thapa V.O DVH Gyezing Arjun Chhetri SM Darap, Siva Chhetri SM Pelling, Loknath, & staff from pelling Vety Sub centre were present. The crucial participation was of fifty six farmers.
The program was conducted by Dr Thapa. In the morning session calf rally was organized .twenty two numbers of hybrid calves were taken for gala. The gala round was started with the rules & regulation with technicality in selecting calves. Finally three calves were selected in 1st, 2nd &3rd position. Rests of the contestant calves were also given consolation prizes. In the second half session training was imparted. The deliberation started by joint Director Dr. D.S Tewari was purely result oriented & applicable in the nearest village in alike situation of soil profile & terrain as of program area. He stressed on breed improvement program, calf raising methods, feeding balance ration, proper housing, together with all precautionary & prophylactic major to eradicate prevalent diseases of livestock could help our farmers for optimum benefits.Folllowing this Dr S.P Bhutia strut on piggery & poultry farming. He informed that a female pig (sow) having eight teats at one side & all together sixteen teat, can give birth to sixteen piglet at a time which is more economically viable. In poultry farming he suggested to go for kallinga brown & RIR for brown cell eggs production. He also highlighted on medication & vaccination. After this Dr Kishor deliberated regarding the recent out break of disease in dogs in Gyalshing. He suggested dog owner to vaccinate their dogs by CD Vaccine. He also talked on zoonotic diseases.. He informed that AH Department also impart vocational training to students. Speaking with students he highlighted on Hydrophobia (Rabies) is highly contagious zoonotic disease of zoonotic importance. After this Bhim Bdr Bhurathoki Chief Guest also deliberated on the program. He expressed gratitude to the Govt in availing such holistic program in remote villages. He suggested every body to curtail stress on govt for providing employment to every body by self-employment generation .With Medicines & prize distribution the program was over.

PRESS RELEASE BY-

DR D. S TEWARI JOINT DIRECTOR,
AH, LF &VS WEST SIKKIM.

Read More

Darjeeling civic body richer by Rs 10 lakh

Darjeeling, March 5: The zamindari department of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-led Darjeeling municipality has collected more than Rs 10 lakh in rent from lease holders in 26 days as against an annual collection of Rs 2 lakh by the previous boards.The revenue collection drive has also brought to light the modus operandi of many lease-holders of municipal properties who had managed to hoodwink the civic body on revenue for years.Seshmani Gurung, commissioner in charge of the zamindari department, said: “Within a span of 26 days, we managed to collect taxes of Rs 10,42,478, merely from three of the Darjeeling municipality buildings (named A, B and C).”Elections to the hill municipalities, including Darjeeling, were held in December 2010, more than two years after nobody came forward to file nominations for the polls after the five-year term ended. At that time, the municipality was looked after by a board of administrators appointed by the government.The Darjeeling municipality has 26 buildings (named A to Z), three supermarkets, one “LB building” (with 20 flats), apart from around 44 acres of land that it leases out.“In the past, the collection by the zamindari department never crossed the Rs 3 lakh mark while the average collection stood at Rs 2 lakh per annum,” said Gurung.The collection has been possible after the department scrutinised the papers of the lease-holders of the three buildings, A to C.“In some cases we found out that the lease-holder had sold the shops for Rs 11 lakh. It is illegal to either sub-lease or sell leased property. The municipality was getting a rent of only Rs 240 per month from the person who had taken the property on lease,” said Gurung.In most civic buildings, the rent hovers around the Rs 200-280 mark, which was fixed nearly 15 years ago, a civic official said. The civic authorities not only made the new owner pay a salami (an advance) of Rs 2 lakh but also increased the rent from Rs 240 to Rs 8,160. “This is the prevailing market rate of the shop in the area,” said Gurung.An official said the rent of all buildings had not been increased. “We are doing a case by case study,” he said.The officials also took action against shops which had been sub-leased by the original owners. “We had closed down ATMs of various banks which had come up on sub-leased property but later we made them pay fines of Rs 60,000-70,000 each, depending on the space they occupied,” said Gurung.The commissioner also said the lease-holders of almost 80-90 per cent of the shops in Darjeeling had sub-leased their property to other people at a higher rate.“They pay the municipality a monthly rent of Rs 240 but they had sub-leased the shops to a third party for anything between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000,” said Gurung.The municipality has also found out that most of the buildings given to citizens for residential purposes were being sub-leased for commercial purposes. “We are in the process of ascertaining the market price of such properties. Rents for residential buildings are in the range of Rs 50-150 but even then there are number of cases in which the people have not paid their rents and their total outstanding dues have reached around Rs 30,000,” said Gurung.Civic authorities had earlier said the total annual expenditure of the municipality in terms of salaries, wages for daily workers, gratuity to retired employees and a portion of their pension stood at Rs 1.02 crore.“It is difficult for us to manage. We have to pay 20 per cent of the salaries (the rest is paid by the state government) of the 456 permanent employees of the municipality. Also, we do not get any financial help to pay the 193 daily wage workers who get Rs 75 a day,” said a municipality official.Apart from rents, the municipality gets its revenue from trade licences, taxes of residential and commercial properties and mutation fees among others.(Telegraph)

Read More

Asok sees CM skirt-poll agenda

Siliguri, March 5: The CPM today trained guns on Mamata Banerjee and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders, alleging that both were moving ahead with a “hidden agenda” to form the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration through nomination and not elections.

Former minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya, who held a news conference at Anil Biswas Bhawan here this afternoon, said: “Realising the sentiments of the hill populace, we have been seeking early formation of the GTA through elections. But for some reason or the other, the Morcha leaders are not interested in polls unless the territory issue is resolved. The chief minister, on the other hand, is visiting the hills time and again but not taking any initiative to form the GTA through polls but passing the buck to the Centre.”

Mamata had told a gathering in Darjeeling last week that the Centre was to be blamed for the delay in forming the GTA.

“Such assertions and attitude of Morcha leaders and Mamata Banerjee has left us with serious apprehensions that both sides have a common hidden agenda of forming the GTA through nominations or running it by a nominated and not elected body. This is the reason why the Morcha is insisting on a decision on territories while the chief minister is silent,” Asok said.

CPM leaders warned that there would be widespread resentment if the GTA was delayed.

“Right now, the situation in the hills seems to be similar to that of 2005, when the Centre shelved the Sixth Schedule, which delayed the election process. It was this undercurrent of resentment that led to mushrooming of the Gorkhaland movement in the past four-five years. Now that the GTA has been delayed, we are suspecting a similar upsurge of resentment which might culminate in another movement,” said Jibesh Sarkar, a state committee member of CPM. “The onus lies with Mamata Banerjee because it was her hurry and lack of understanding of the reality that led to today’s situation.”

Bhattacharya also frowned on Mamata Banerjee’s open assertion that no Morcha leader or supporter associated with the Gorkhaland movement would be arrested. “We had run the government over decades and cannot find any such clause under which a chief minister can take such a decision. It is absolutely a biased one, made to appease the Morcha leaders,” the former minister said.(Telegraph)

Read More

Rangpo bridge found damaged due to illegal parking of vehicals

SANJAY AGAARWAL-RAANGPO-5^TH MARCH12

After the rangchang bridges incident every concerned department is busy in visiting and checking the state and national highway bridges and border road organisation is also serious over the issue. during checking it was found that the Rangpo bridges in national highway which connects rest of world with Sikkim and is the main bridges of the state is also not in good condition and is damaged. This bridge is maintained by border roads organisation. According to the news the main reasons of damages of bridges is illegal parking of vehicles in the bridges and overloading .the Rangpo police on duty at check post is serous over the issue and is taking strict action whenever they see the vehicle parked in the bridges but no any is seen serious over the overloading. there are four department in Rangpo check post to check the overloading police, motor vehicle department, Sikkim nationalised transport, and Sikkim transport department .four department is in duty but hundreds of truck loaded with more than 15 tonnes is entering in Sikkim everyday which is not only creating the loss to the state exchequer but also damaging the road and bridges. In other side the border road organisation has send the letter to the urban development and housing department Sikkim regarding illegal dumping of garbage’s disposal in the joints of bridges. The letter signed by Mr. pankaj sarswat executive engineer (civil) of border road organisation to the UDHD Sikkim intimated that the Rangpo bridges maintained by BRO is damaged. Departmental team has visited and suggested few remedial and preventive measure which includes that the garbage and waste are being dumped on the joint (leading to the corrosion) as one of the reasons. The BRO has suggested that necessary instructions may take to look into the matter so that the garbage dumping on the bridge should be disallowed strictly and immeadiately.the copy of the letter is sent to the Rangpo nagar Panchayat and block development office.

Read More

Saftey measures programms of Lanco

SANJAY AGARWAL-RANGPO-5^TH MARCH12

Lanco celebrated safety week commencing from 27^th February to 4^th march 2012 at their project area between different types of programme of safety measures. The programme was specially organised at taarkhola and sirwani barrage site. The special safety programme was organised at tarkhola site on 29^th februry12. .Mr. b k ojha project director as a chief guest hosting the safety flag specially appealed all the gathering delegates to be serious during the work.yesturday the valedictory function was organised at sirwani administrative complex.mr b k ojha project director, GM(HSE)MR d k singh,DGM(CIVIL) Mr s k gupta,manager HSE Mr s p Singh has delivered the speeches and emphasizes the need to implement ,promote and improve the safety culture in the working area premises. The group of employees has taken the safety oath and also signed in the safety aggrement.in the week long programme several type of competition was organised and yesterday the prizes distribution programme was also organised under the presence of Mr. B k ojha project director chief guest of the function.

Read More

More recruits for GLP - Rivals see diversion tactics in Morcha’s wary move

VIVEK CHHETRI
Darjeeling, March 4: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has renewed a recruitment drive for the Gorkhaland Personnel, a move that has drawn flak from political opponents who said Bimal Gurung’s party was scared that disillusioned hill youths might join Chhatrey Subba or any outfit that favours a statehood agitation.

The Morcha, its rivals alleged, was using a government job carrot to lure the youths to the GLP. The Opposition appealed to the hill people not to send their children to the GLP camps.

“We appeal to parents not to send their children to GLP camps where they are forced to stay in inhuman condition. They have to do menial jobs and are made to work in the fields, cut grass and look after cattle,” said ABGL spokesperson Pratap Khati.

The first leg of the recruitment was held at the Darjeeling Government High School ground on Saturday. Of the 250 youths who turned up, 175 were selected for the GLP after a “test” in physical fitness conducted by members of the ex-servicemen’s association affiliated to the Morcha.

Similar recruitment drives would be held in Kurseong, Kalimpong, Mungpoo, Mirik, Siliguri, Pangihata-Soureni and the Dooars this week.

Col (retd) Ramesh Allay, who is in charge of the GLP, said: “The final decision on the number of recruits will be taken by party president Bimal Gurung. We thought of going for a fresh GLP recruitment as the educated youths were going astray. What they lack is a disciplined life. If they join the GLP, it would help a long way in shaping their future.”

The GLP is a squad of lathi-wielding volunteers formed in 2008, initially to control crowds in Morcha meetings but later started indulging in moral policing as well. The Morcha claims that it has around 15,000 youths on the GLP rolls.

Many believe that is not the monthly remuneration of Rs 1,000-1,500 but the hope of a government job that is drawing so many youths to the GLP.

A clause in the memorandum of agreement signed by the Centre, state and the Morcha for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration reads: “The GTA youth would be considered for recruitment to police, army and para-military forces subject to their suitability for such appointment.”

Morcha sources had said earlier that the Centre had objection to the use of the word “Gorkhaland Personnel”, as it was not a recognised body. Not only that, the Darjeeling police had registered many cases against the GLP for illegally occupying government buildings and wearing army fatigues. Under the circumstances, the “GTA” was incorporated in the pact to ensure jobs for GLP members.

Khati alleged that the young generation was “disillusioned” with the Morcha for giving up on statehood and signing the GTA. “It (recruitment drive) is an attempt to divert the youths. The Morcha is afraid that the youth may join Chhatrey Subba or any political party that is for statehood. So they are dangling the job carrot,” said Khati.

Dismissing the ABGL allegations, Allay said: “It is true that the Centre and even the state has agreed to recruit Gorkha youths. The party is pursuing the case but actual recruitment has not yet taken place.”

“We do not believe in violence and the GLP have been involved in rescue operations after the landslides and have worked to save forests and the society. The youths discourage people from indulging in vices like consuming alcohol,” said Allay. He claimed that the statehood agitation did not turn violent because of a disciplined GLP.(Telegraph)

Read More

SNT started the bus service between Rangpo to Namchi

SANJAY AGARWAL-RANGPO-3^RD MARCH12]

Deciding to connect to south Sikkim and east Sikkim nationalised transport has started the bus service between Rangpo –namchi route.acccording to the news SNT commonly known as rail of Sikkim has tried and almost success to connect state capital and district head quarter from the remote places ,villages and bazaars of state along with connectivity with siliguri and kalimpong is really a rail for Sikkim .in strike time SNT has played a vital role to make possibility to travel in such problem time. public of Sikkim must aware about of fact and have to appreciate the service facility provide by SNT.

Read More

After the formation of Sikkim democratic front the image of west Pandam is totally changed and is in the developing area.

SANJAY AGARWAL-RANGPO-3^RD MARCH12

After the formation of Sikkim democratic front the image of west Pandam is totally changed and is in the developing area. from heritage tourism to pilgrimage tourism, industrial unites to historical railway projects .budang Gadi is announced as to develop as heritage tourism and recently 85 lakh rs is sanctioned for developing the indrakil prayag project at rangpo.after completing the indrakil prayag construction Rangpo shall be well known in the pilgrimage tourism and is believed lakhs of domestic and foreign tourist at Rangpo and Pandam area. More than twenty big industrial units is another big development for the area. Maximum employment and business has come to this place due to the industrial units. Education units have also made the image of area positive. Except this the water problem is also going to solve and 24 crores projects works is under progress. Many small and medium sector development is going on, new roads are constructing under pmgsy scheme. this area has some more dreams and demands also expect announcement in sd f day like up gradation of Rangpo secondary school into senior secondary level, school ground facility at rangpo,police outpost at duga,pandam ,Majhitar and kumrek etc.

Read More

Team for north tour projects

Mamata at Chitra Bhanu on Friday. (Amit Datta)

Kalimpong, March 2: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today set up a taskforce to monitor the implementation of all tourism projects she had announced for north Bengal as well as to suggest new ones.

The team that consists of DGHC administrator Anil Verma and representatives of the state tourism and forest departments has been asked to submit a report on the feasibility of the projects within a month.

The formation of the taskforce was announced by tourism secretary Raghavendra Singh here.

The chief minister today held a meeting with tourism department officials at Deolo Point and asked them to invite bids for the tourism parks at Gajoldoba, Saili and Kunjanagar in the Dooars. The projects were announced by Mamata during her previous visits to north Bengal.

“We will set in motion the bidding process in 15 days. The tourism parks will have budget and mid-level accommodations and high-end resorts. The projects will be executed on the PPP model. Rites has been asked to prepare the master-plan for the mega-tourism plan in Darjeeling, and the Dooars and the Terai,” said Singh.

Mamata has also given a go-ahead to the Darjeeling district administration on three more projects — a horticulture college, an orchid research station and a flower-processing and marketing zone.

“The chief minister is very keen on exporting orchids. She feels that the abundance of flora in the hills can be exploited to bring in money. She has said the hill orchids will have a ready market in the West and if proper attention is paid, it will benefit the people,” said a close aide to the chief minister.

Mamata also visited the Pine View nursery, a major tourist attraction known for its cactus collection, and Chitra Bhanu, where Rabindranath Tagore used to stay.(Telegraph)

Read More