| RAJEEV RAVIDAS | ||
Kalimpong, March 23: The water scarcity in Kalimpong was compounded today with suppliers refusing to ferry water to households and hotels to protest the municipality’s decision to declare six streams contaminated with coliform bacteria. The Kalimpong Water Supply Drivers’ Welfare Association’s protest comes at a time the hill town has been facing acute water scarcity because of a dry spell. The civic body that used to pump water on every alternate day has restricted the supply to once in three days in the past two-three weeks. S.D. Zimba, the health officer of the municipality, had yesterday declared water in six streams unsafe for drinking as tests showed that the sources contained coliform bacteria. He said the tests had been conducted in 2010 and 2011. The association said the supply wouldn’t be resumed “till the matter is sorted out to our satisfaction”. “We have been supplying water from these sources for ages. Till date, there have been no complaints that anybody has fallen ill after drinking water supplied by us. The municipality suddenly decides that the water is contaminated. We will not supply water till the matter is sorted out to our satisfaction,” said Samuel Rai, the president of the association. Zimba said the residents were only advised not to drink water from the contaminated sources. “We didn’t put a stop to the sale of water from these sources that the people could use for washing and other purposes,” he said. Rai said the association had doubts about the reliability of the water analysis report. “The municipality says the analysis was done in 2010 and 2011. Why are they making the report public now? The civic body has to come clean on this. We are not against conducting a proper test of the water we supply to the people.” The association operates under the umbrella of the Janmukti Chalak Mahasangh, an affiliate of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The Kalimpong residents are now suffering with the drivers going on strike and the civic body restricting the pumping to once in three days. Sharad Rai, the manager of Tribeni Lodge at Thanadara, said: “I have had to turn away guests as there is no water in our lodge. We require about 2,000 litres of water to run the lodge when it is packed.” The cost of 1,000 litres of water is between Rs 200 and Rs 300 depending on the distance from the source to the destination. Rai said 35 vehicles collected water from the streams and supplied it to consumers. “Each vehicle carries 1,000 litres of water and makes four trips a day on an average. That means we supply around 1.4 lakh litres of water daily.” The people depend on the private vehicles to a large extent as the municipality’s rationed water supply can’t meet their needs. Ganga Maya Gurung, the vice-chairperson of the municipality, said the civic body would soon hold a meeting with the drivers’ association to sort out the matter. “The matter will be settled amicably,” she said.(Telegraph) |
शिक्षक प्रमुखको लापारवाहीको कारण बेहाल अवस्थामा चम्पामाया प्रथमिक पाठशाला
पहाड़को प्रथमिक पाठशालाहरु एका एक बन्द हुनुमा सरकार पक्ष दोषी छ कि शिक्षक-शिक्षिकाहरुको लापारवाही? किन दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को शैक्षिक स्तर दिनोदिन खस्किन्दै गइरहेको छ? प्रथमिक शिक्षा बाल-बालिकाहरुको निम्ति महत्तवपूर्ण हुँदा-हुँदै पनि किन आजसम्म पहाड़को शिक्षा व्यवस्थामा सुधार आउन सकिरहेको छैन?
राजनीति गर्दिनँ भन्नु पनि अर्को राजनीति होः हर्कबहादुर छेत्री
मेरो अधिकारक्षेत्रभित्र पाँच बर्षको लागि जनताको हितको काम गर् भनेर मलाई भोट हालेको हो नि। मलाई थाहा छ यसले जनताको धेरै हित हुन्छ। यसले जनताको हितसँगै पार्टीको पनि हित हुन्छ, आन्दोलनलाई पनि सहयोग पुर्याउँछ भनेपछि एकदम निसंकोच भनेर अघि बढ्न सक्छु म। म त्यही काम गर्दैछु।
बघिनी फेरि पुरानै खोरमा
‘समयले मानिसलाई कहाँ कहाँ पुर्याउँछ,,,,,,’ कुनै समय रेडियो नेपालबाट बजिरहने यो चर्चित गीतले मान्छेको जीवनमा प्रणयसम्बन्धको आरोह अवरोहले पार्ने प्रभावलाई सुन्दर ढंगले व्याख्या गरेको छ। यो लोकप्रिय गीतको यही एक हरफ कुनै राजनीतिकर्मीको जीवनसँग गाँसेर हेर्दा के उत्तर पाइएला?
साहित्य अनि सर्जकलाई माया गर्ने घिसिङ
80 को दशकमा देशभरिका गोर्खाहरूलाई जातित्वको भावना उत्पन्न गराउने प्रथम नेता सुवास घिसिङको निधनले अहिले घड़ी सम्पूर्ण दार्जीलिङ पहाड़ नै स्तब्ध बनेको छ। गोर्खाहरूका हित अनि अस्तित्वका निम्ति छुट्टै राज्यको बहस लिएर सुवास धिसिङले त्यसताक पहाड़का प्रत्येक गाँऊहरूको भ्रमण गरेका थिए। 22 जुन 1936 सालमा मिरिकको मञ्जु चियाबगानमा जन्म लिएरका सुवास घिसिङले आफ्नो तर्क राख्न एकलै जनसभा गर्थे। घिसिङले सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूलाई एकै शुत्रमा बाँध्न "गोर्खाल्याण्ड" शब्दको जन्म गरेका थिए।
निराश छन् विधायक डा. छेत्री
“बजट सत्रमा के कुराहरू उठान गर्नु पर्ने भन्नेबारे हामीले जीटीएबाट कहिले फिडब्याक पाएका छैनौं” डा छेत्रीले भने। डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री मोर्चाका प्रवक्ता हुन् अनि कालेबुङका जनप्रतिनिधि। दुइवटा महत्वपूर्ण पदमा बसेका डा छेत्रीलाई अहिलेसम्म जीटीएको बैठकमा निम्ताइएको छैन, पार्टीको राजनैतिक लाइनबारे उनीसँग चर्चा र छलफल नगरिएको त झन कति भयो, उनैलाई हेक्का छैन।
24 Mar 2012
Drivers halt water supply
Arrested with wireless - Nepal citizen held for planting transmitters near border
| VIVEK CHHETRI | ||
Darjeeling, March 23: Darjeeling police have arrested a resident of Nepal from the border area of Mirik for illegally installing transmitters and wireless equipment. Given the nature of the crime and the place of operation — the international boundary between India and Nepal — Darjeeling police are consulting the signal wing of the army and the ministry of communication and information technology to understand the motives of Bhola Kishore Dangol alias Kishore Pradhan. Kunal Aggarwal, additional superintendent of police, Darjeeling said: “Acting on a tip-off, we arrested Bhola Kishore Dangol, a resident of Nepal who was in possession of the transmitter and wireless equipment. We have checked the details and have found out that he does not have a valid licence to operate it.” According to Section 3 of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1933, no person shall possess wireless telegraphy apparatus without a valid licence. The police, however, refused to divulge the number of transmitters and the exact locations where they were planted. But sources said most of the portable transmitters had been placed in houses whose residents were unaware of the legal implications. Dangol, who was arrested on March 13 and remanded in police custody, claims to represent a Hong Kong-based company, Global International Service Pvt Ltd. Sources said he also claimed to represent another Chinese company, Touch Telecom and the Nepal-based Global Digital Network. “We are trying to find out the ulterior motives of Dangol. Members of the wireless monitoring committee under the ministry of communication have already visited Darjeeling. The committee is expected to submit a report in a day or two,” said Aggarwal. Preliminary investigation by the police suggests that Dangol was trying to use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to make international calls. “Use of such technology in an illegal manner causes huge loss of revenue to the government,” said a police official. When the VoIP technology is used illegally to call international numbers (using the Global System for Mobile Communication or GSM), the calls appear to originate from a local mobile phone of that country. The police have seized, a TP link router, Net booster, modem, repeater, power splitter, CPU, laptop and a small and a big antenna from Dangol. Sources said Dangol, who had been operating in the Naxalbari-Mirik area for the past two-and-a-half months would also frequent Darjeeling. The police suspect that the arrested Nepalese citizen had an accomplice in the region helping him in his operation. Dangol has been booked under Section 6 of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1933, and if found guilty, he can be imprisoned up to three years and slapped a fine. He was produced before the Kurseong additional chief judicial magistrate again today and remanded in police custody for four days.(Telegraph) |
23 Mar 2012
RCM employees on Dharna
RANGPO-23RD March12
After the central government order to close the RCM counter throughout country blaming the company as chit fund and money collection the lakhs of employees and agents are going unemployed .before 11 years under the formulation of multilevel marketing guidelines of India RCM having its household production started their business from bhilwara and this time more than one lakh families in the country is depend on this business .more than ten thousand employees and staff cum agent has sited on dharna at new Delhi from 16th march demanding to open the store immdeately.from 16th to 18th march the dharna was organised at ramlila maidan and from 19th march the dharna is at jantarmantar.more then ten thousand workers is in dhaarna and ficve hundred of then are sitting on hunger strike from the beginning of the dharna .one of the senior leader of the dharna programme Mr. mohammad ishar alam informed to this correspondent that 22 loksabha and rajyasabha members has visited and givrn assure to look into the matter .bharatia janta party national level spokesperson Mr. prakash javedkar has written a letter to the finance minister Mr. pranav mukharjee to interfere into the issue as in one side the central government is totally fail to provide the service and in other side they are trying to make the self employed persons again unemployed by shutting down the RCM counter.
ICICI Bank launches the super premium Sapphiro Credit Cards
SANJAY AGARWAL- 23 March:
ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, today announced the launch of ICICI Bank Sapphiro – a super premium product targeted at the growing super affluent segment and the Bank’s Wealth Management clientele.
ICICI Bank Sapphiro is the third in the exclusive ‘Gemstone Collection’ of Credit Cards, closely following the launch of the ICICI Bank Coral and the ICICI Bank Rubyx. ICICI Bank Sapphiro is designed as an ode to super affluent consumers, who lead a lifestyle defined by distinctive experiences and offers a selection of experiential privileges and rewards.
Card members will receive two cards - the ICICI Bank Sapphiro Platinum American Express® Credit Card and the ICICI Bank Sapphiro Platinum Chip MasterCard Credit Card. The cards, which are linked to a single card account with a single statement and a single fee, provide access to a host of exciting privileges from American Express and MasterCard. The cards provide exclusive privileges from some of the finest service brands in the world such as Leading Hotels of the World. Ltd., Atlantis the Palm, Dubai , and Air France-KLM. Card members also can look forward to exclusive members-only events, Thursday night movie premieres, complimentary tee-offs at championship golf courses across the world and premium privileges across travel, shopping, wellness and entertainment.
Ms. Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank said, “The Gemstone Collection of Credit Cards is our Endeavour to deliver relevant, powerful and distinctive value propositions across our customer segments. ICICI Bank Sapphiro takes the level of privileges for our super affluent and Wealth Management consumers several notches higher through the high-end experiential rewards on offer.”
Mr. Kula Kulendran, Executive Vice President and Head of American Express Global Network Services for Japan, Asia-Pacific and Australia said, “The launch of the ICICI Bank Sapphiro Platinum American Express® Credit Card is a key milestone in our long-term growth strategy as we look to bring our long term partnership with ICICI Bank to the next level of success and serve India’s constantly evolving consumer needs with superior product offerings powered by enhanced rewards, on American Express-branded cards.”
Mr. Vicky Bindra, President, APMEA, MasterCard Worldwide, said, "The ICICI Bank Sapphiro Platinum Chip MasterCard Credit Card reflects our commitment to create an innovative, tailored payment solution for the super affluent segment which is becoming a key target segment for our customer financial institutions. Our experience and expertise in catering to this exclusive segment combined with best practices and technologies would make payments safe, simple and convenient for MasterCard card members."
the Bharat Scouts & Guide has flag off today by Dr. H.P. Chhetri
23RD MARCH12
The 36 members of Sikkim State, the Bharat Scouts & Guide has flag off today by Dr. H.P. Chhetri , State Chief Commissioner with Mr. Prakash Kazi Shakya, State Secretary for National Integration Camp at Kolkata. Total 17 member from Duga Secondary School and 17 from Rabongla Senior Secondary School departed under the contingent Leader Mr. Mukund Dhungel, and other 3 Scout Master and Guide Captain. During the Program they will exhibit our culture, Tradition, Food Plaza and Skill o rama program and back on 29th March 2012. Mr. C.K. Sapkota, SOC, (Scout) & Mrs. Meena Bhutia, STC (Guide) went yesterday to attend The Camp at Kolkata as a Staff Member appointed by National Headquarter, New Delhi.
World Water Day
RANGPO -23RD MARCH12
On the eve of the World Water Day i.e. on 22nd March 2012, B.A.C, Duga organized various events to give awareness to the people regarding the water.Officials from the B.A.C, various Panchayat, and students of the Duga Sec. School, VWSC (Village Water & Sanitation Committee) & local people of the block were present to celebrate this wonderful day. Zilla Panchayat (T.B.Shilal) was invited as the Chief Guest.Events like quiz competition & painting competition were held during this day. The motive of the competition was to give awareness to the people of the block.In this quiz competition, Duga Sec. School emerged as the winner and they were awarded with the individual certificate & a cash prize by the chief guest. The first runner up VWSC (Village Water and Sanitation Committee) & the second runner up B.A.C, Duga staffs were also awarded with certificate and cash prize.In the painting competitions all the participants were from the Duga Sec. School and the winner was Master Sudip Thapa of class V. Second place was taken by Miss Puja Pradhan of class V and the third place by Master Aniket Tamang of class V. All of them were also awarded with individual certificate and cash prize by the chief guest.All the other participants were also awarded with the participation certificate.Apart from the above competition awareness programme was also held which includes demonstration of electro chlorination and terra water filter by Assistant Engineer of BAC, Duga Mr. Jeevan Kr. Sharma. After the demonstration, chlorine solution was also distributed among the people that were present during this event.
Fruit Wine & its Commercial Application
22ND MARCH12
NERAMAC is organizing jointly with Indian Grape Processing Board (Under Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, New Delhi) One- Day Seminar on “Fruit Wine & its Commercial Application” at Denzong Regency Resort, Gangtok (East Sikkim) on 23rd (Friday) March 2012. Since Food Processing has been identified as a thrust area for development of Horticulture in the North-Eastern Region and a great scope in Sikkim. It will be benefited to Local beneficiaries, NGO’s, SHG’s, GPU’s and Investors to know how about its value additions to be marketed in the domestic and abroad.
On this auspicious event, The Hon’ble Minister- FS&AD, HCCDD’s (GoS) – Mr.D.N.Thakarpa and Secretary – Mr. Vishal Chauhan, IAS have given their kind consent as the Chief Guest and Guest of honour .according to Mr. p c Roy the special award ceremony is also organized in the programme for those who has participated and came in the auction of big cardamom held at Rangpo since last year.
Singtam has completed its 41st episode
RANGPO-22ND MARCH12
Basibiyalo the monthly literary meet of Singtam has completed its 41st episode and is going to organise 42nd episode at Singtam nepali dharmasala on 25thmaarch12 .with the special support of Mr. dawa Sherpa social worker the programme shall be attend by renewed writer com chief administrator of SICB Mr. sankar dev dhakal as a chief guest of the programme .according to Mr. Mohan Pradhan neeraj founder of basibiyalo Singtam Mr. paras mani dangal editor samay dainik,mr bijoy kumar Subba renewed writer etc are going to attend as a special guest of the day long programme.
I-League challenge for Bhaichung boys in Gangtok
 |
| Paljor Stadium in Gangtok, where the final leg of the I-League’s second division will be held from March 29 to April 17 |
Gangtok, March 22: The final leg of the I-League’s second division will be held at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok where all eyes will be on Bhaichung Bhutia’s boys who are leading in the first section of the tournament being held in Siliguri.
Seven clubs will take part in the final leg that begins on March 29 and two top teams will make it to the first division of I-League when the matches conclude on April 17.
The Gangtok matches will be hosted by the Sikkim Football Association. SFA general secretary Menla Ethenpa said today that two matches would be held on most of the days in the final round in Gangtok.
“According to the fixture drawn up by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the first match will kick off at 12.30pm, followed by the second one at 2.30pm. On days of single matches, the kick-off will be at 2.30pm,” he said.
Apart from United Sikkim Football Club co-owned by Bhaichung, Mohammedan Sporting, Vasco Sporting Club, Kalighat Milan Samiti, Royal Wahingdoh, Aizwal Football Club and ONGC Mumbai will play in Gangtok.
ONGC Mumbai had been relegated from the I-League first division last year.
The same teams are presently taking part in the Siliguri leg which will end on March 25.
Ethenpa said points from the Siliguri and Gangtok matches would be tallied to know the two top teams who would be promoted to the I-League. “The SFA has decided to allow all school students in uniform to watch the matches free to popularise football and enable them to see the national teams playing,” he added.
The stadium has a capacity to pack 30,000 spectators and Rs 20 will be charged for a seat in the hillside gallery. The SFA said the ticket price for a berth in the southern and northern galleries would be Rs 30, while spectators will have to shell out Rs 50 each for a seat in the western gallery.
Tickets for VIP gallery will come at Rs 100 each.
With United Sikkim leading the Siliguri leg with 13 points from five matches, expectations are high among football lovers here that the team will qualify for the I-League top division.
“We are looking forward to that day. It will be big achievement for a small state like Sikkim to have a club in the I-League. It will be a proud day and a big turning point for Sikkim football,” said SFA president B.K. Roka.
“In such an eventuality, soccer lovers in Sikkim would get regular opportunities to watch premier clubs like Mohan Bagan, East Bengal and Dempo SC playing at Paljor Stadium,” he added.
The AIFF rules say every team in the I-League division must play on the home turf as well as at the rival’s native place.
United Sikkim’s last match in Siliguri will be against Mohammedan Sporting on March 24.
The management of the Bhaichung club hopes that it can keep up the momentum in the final round also.
“We are doing well in the Siliguri leg having won four matches and drawn one. We are the table toppers now and the players are confident that they can perform well in the final round also,” said United Sikkim senior manager Arjun Rai.
Rai said United Sikkim would attract a lot of ground support on the home turf.
“We are expecting a large number of people to root for the club at Paljor Stadium during our matches and their support will be a boost for our players. The other advantage is that we will be playing on the artificial turf at Paljor Stadium where our players practise daily.”(Telegraph)
Water every three days - Kalimpong supply hit, sources infected with bacteria
| RAJEEV RAVIDAS |
Kalimpong, March 22: The residents of town are getting drinking water supply every third day for the past one week with the administration announcing today that water in some sources was unsafe for consumption. The public health engineering (water works) department of the DGHC that distributes drinking water to the town has been forced to regulate the supply as the streams are drying up because of inadequate winter rain. Earlier, the PHE used to distribute water every alternate day. “The three main sources at Neora Khola, Relli and Thukchuk have dried up. Earlier, Deolo reservoir, fed by these streams, always had about 8 lakh gallons of water. But for the past 15-20 days it has come down to 3.5 lakh gallons to 5 lakh gallons,” said Rajen Pradhan, the superintendent of the water works department. The town gets its water supply from Deolo reservoir. Kalimpong requires around 7-8 lakh gallons of water every day. Pradhan added that if there is no rain soon, the problem of water scarcity could get more acute. “In the previous years, the sources used to dry up in April. However, such a scenario has unfolded a month in advance this time. If there is no rain, we could be in for a lot of trouble,” he said. Pradhan added that the residents of the town should use water sparingly. “People can help us tackle the problem by saving water and plugging in the leakage (in the supply lines).” The water scarcity has also hit Darjeeling town. Darjeeling municipality had sought Rs 38 lakh from the state government earlier this month to distribute water in houses. “But the money has not been sanctioned yet. We will face a major problem as the present stock will last for a week to 10 days at the most,” said a source. Darjeeling requires around 16-18 lakh gallons of water everyday. But the municipality can only supply around 7-8 lakh gallons daily. The hill town gets its water from the North Lake, South Lake and Sindhap that are fed by the Khongkhola river near Sonada. The river gets its water from 26 streams, out of which 21 went dry by mid-March. A 1,000 litre of water costs around Rs 350 in Darjeeling. Some Kalimpong residents draw water from the natural springs, while most buy water from the markets. A 1,000 litre of water in Kalimpong costs anything between Rs 200 and Rs 300 depending on the distance of a house from the source like small streams or jhoras. “Things are bad, but manageable for now. But if the situation worsens, it will cause a dent in our pockets,” said Ratan Lama, a resident of 10 Mile near here. The Kalimpong municipality said today water drawn from some of the sources in town was unsafe for drinking. “The municipality along with the health department had sent water from 10 different sources in and round town for tests. The tests have confirmed the presence of coliform (bacteria) in the water. The water from these sources is unsafe for drinking but it can be used for washing and other purposes,” said Dr. S. D. Zimba, the health officer of the civic body. The contaminated sources are three jhoras in the 12Mile area, Ghatay khola in Sindebung, Raushay Bazar jhora and Gangi jhora at Dungra Busty. “The contaminated water can cause bacterial infections like typhoid, paratyphoid, cholera, bacillary dysentery and viral infection like viral hepatitis A and E, rotavirus diarrhoea, travellers’ diarrhoea and amoebic dysentery,” Zimba said. The municipality went public with the findings of the tests on World Water Day that is observed world wide on March 22 to focus on the importance of fresh water and sustainable management of its sources.(Telegraph) |
Dry spell hits tea first flush
| VIVEK CHHETRI | |
Darjeeling, March 22: The Christmas Rain that Darjeeling missed this winter is threatening to pour cold water on the finest flush of tea this season. Planters fear that the toll of the parched winter would soon tell on the crop, pushing down production of the first flush — the most expensive category — by nearly 50 per cent below normal. If the dry weather continues, a further dip in April is not ruled out. A double-edge cloud curse is also hanging over the hills — the moisture-laden curtains are blocking much-needed sunshine and floating away before rain could fall. The expected yield in the two-month-long first flush is around 1.5-2 million kg or 20 per cent of the total produce in a normal year, said Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal adviser to the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA). Planters said that in 2009-10, when the production of Darjeeling tea had come down to an all-time low of 7.96 million kg, the hills had received 3.8mm of rain in December. This time, there was no rain in December, essential for the first flush and fondly called the Christmas Rain. In the mid-90s, Darjeeling used to produce nearly 13 million kg of tea a year. The plucking of the first flush starts from February-end and continues till April-end. “The production till now is nearly 50 per cent lower than the average at this time of the year because of the lack of rain. There is little hope of improvement as the plucking of the first flush will come to an end in another month,” Mukherjee said. He said there might be a marginal improvement or a further dip in production depending on the weather over the next one month. Rainfall did improve in January but February drew a blank. This month, the hills received 3.1mm in three days till yesterday, the DTA said. “Apart from rain, the leaves need sunshine to grow faster. This year, the hills have experienced several cloudy days. But unfortunately, the clouds are passing away and we are not getting the much-needed showers,” Mukherjee said. The industry is also worried that rain in the hills has been erratic and not evenly spread. “The hills are receiving almost 20 per cent less rainfall during winter compared with showers 20 years ago,” Mukherjee added. Tea officials said the industry largely survived on first flush sales. “Almost 80 per cent of the first flush is exported. It gets the highest prices,” a planter said. The prices vary from estate to estate. According to a Darjeeling-based planter and manager of one of the largest gardens in the hills, the first flush prices usually rule between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 a kg.(Telegraph) |
22 Mar 2012
मिरिक झीलको जीर्णोद्धार र सुन्दरीकरणको पहल शुरु
मा मोर्चा प्रमुखको यस आशयको बयान आएको छ। मिरिकका आफ्ना कार्यकर्ता र समर्थकहरुलाई नयाँ उर्जा प्रदान गर्न बुधबार मिरिक पुगेका मोर्चा प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले क्षेत्रको पर्यटन विकासको निम्ति आफ्नो दल गम्भीर रहेको संकेत दिएका छन। उनले आजदेखि मिरिक झीलको जीर्णोद्धार र सुन्दरीकरणको निम्ति पहल शुरु गरेका छन। मिरिक झीलको सर सफाई र सुन्दरीकरण गरी पर्यटन व्यवसायलाई प्रोत्साहन दिन हरसम्भव प्रयास गरिने गुरुङको बिचार छ। उनले यसको निम्ति मिरिक नगरपालिका बोर्ड अनि पार्टीको स्थानीय नेतृवर्गलाई यस सम्बन्धमा निर्देश पनि दिएका छन। मिरिक झीलको जीर्णोद्धार र सुन्दरीकरणको निम्ति आजदेखि अभियान शुरु गरिएको छ।यसको निम्ति सीएडीसी नामक एजेंसीले काम हातमा लिएको छ।यस योजनाको निम्ति 3 करोड चार लाखको रुपियाँ अनुमोदन गरिएको छ। यस अवसरमा आज झील परिसरमा एउटा कार्यक्रमको आयोजना पनि गरिएको थियो। यस कार्यक्रममा मोर्चा प्रमुख गुरुङलगायत खरसाङका विधायक डा रोहित शर्मा अनि दलका केन्द्रीय र स्थानीय नेतृत्वहरु उपस्थित थिए। यसै दिन, पार्टीको मिरिक शाखाले आयोजना गरेको सुनाखरी फूलको प्रदर्शनीको उदघाटन पनि गरे। क्षेत्रका बिभिन्न बागवानी संगठनहरुको सहयोगमा आयोजना गरिएको फूल प्रदर्शनी आगामी 27 मार्चसम्म चल्नेछ।
BAHA’IS OF GANGTOK CELEBRATED NAVRUZ
Four delegates from Sikkim left for Delhi to support Anna
RANGPO-22ND MARCH12
Four delegates from Sikkim left for Delhi to participate in the struggle and dharna organise by team Anna at Delhi jantar mantar on 25th march12.mr y t lepcha from nimtar ,mr basadev nirola from aahu, Mr. mitralal nirola hee barmaik west Sikkim and Mr. rudra khatiwada from rhenock east Sikkim are the four delegates going to participate for the dharna .talking to this correspondent by the group they asked that they shall meet with Anna team and assure full support in the movement also has decided to submit a letter regarding the present issues and status cum decisions of the state government .the team shall also invite Anna to visit Sikkim.
Mamata to tap Morcha for RS polls
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| Mamata, Bimal |
March 21: Mamata Banerjee today invited Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung to meet her in Calcutta on March 24 apparently to seek his party’s support for the March 30 Rajya Sabha polls.
Trinamul leaders said the chief minister would try to persuade Gurung to withdraw his party’s decision to abstain from voting in the Upper House polls and boycotting the Assembly and instead back Trinamul in the crucial election.
A senior leader of the Morcha, which has four MLAs, said in Darjeeling said this afternoon: “Our president has accepted the invitation and decided to leave for Calcutta on March 23. Roshan Giri, L.B. Pariyar and Anit Thapa will accompany him.”
Trinamul sources said north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb got in touch with Gurung after industries minister Partha Chatterjee called him up and requested him to pass on Mamata’s invite to the Morcha chief. “I spoke to Bimal Gurung and he confirmed that he would be present in Calcutta on March 24. But I did not discuss the issue of the Rajya Sabha polls with him,” Deb said.
Trinamul is pulling out all stops to pool in as many votes as possible for its candidate for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat and the Morcha’s support is crucial to help the ruling party get past the winning post. On the strength of its 184 MLAs in the Assembly, Trinamul will get three of the five seats for which the polls will be held.
“It is essential to secure as many votes as possible for our fourth nominee,” a Trinamul leader said. “So if we can persuade the Morcha to make a turnaround and agree to vote for us, it will help us.”
At a meeting held in Mongpoo, 38km downhill from Darjeeling, on Sunday, the Morcha had decided to boycott the Assembly and abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha polls to protest the state government’s decision to hold elections to the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration before the issue of territory expansion is sorted out.
It had also expressed its disappointment at Mamata turning down its request for a Rajya Sabha berth.“The state government is betraying us. Since 1952, nine MPs from the hills have been sent to the Rajya Sabha. But this time, the new government tried to play with our identity by not sending anyone from the hills,” Gurung had said.
Morcha general secretary Giri today refused to say whether it would reconsider its decision in case the chief minister made the request. “It is a sensitive issue and I would not like to comment on it,” he said.However, in case the Congress pulls out of the fray and decides to back Trinamul — such indications emerged this evening — the Morcha’s support will not be required.
“Till such time as the Congress takes a final call and makes an official announcement, we cannot take it (the Rajya Sabha polls) easy,” a Trinamul leader said. “So, we will carry on with our attempts to garner the requisite numbers needed to win the fourth Rajya Sabha seat.”Morcha sources hinted that the issue of elections to the GTA would also be discussed when Gurung met Mamata.
“Our boycott of the Rajya Sabha polls and the elections to the GTA are interlinked. The main reason for the boycott is the state’s insistence on holding elections to the GTA before the issue of territory is sorted out. So we can’t talk of one and ignore the other,” a Morcha leader said.
The Morcha wants Gorkha-dominated areas in the Dooars-Terai region included in the hill set-up.(Telegraph)
21 Mar 2012
Morcha rails at CM for hill ‘neglect’
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| Mamata |
Siliguri, March 20: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said Mamata Banerjee was “too occupied” with the railway ministry and appealed to people to decide if the new government had solved the Darjeeling issue as claimed by the chief minister.
The Bimal Gurung-led party also accused Mamata of prioritising the railways as it was a matter of her survival in the larger political arena while putting Darjeeling and its problems in the backseat.
“Trinamul leaders are too occupied with issues like the railway ministry and Dinesh Trivedi as these are directly related to the survival of the party in the political arena. The Darjeeling issue has taken a backseat,” said Morcha spokesperson and Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri.
Since the placing of the railway budget, a drama has been unfolding around railway minister Dinesh Trivedi and Trinamul chief Mamata, who replaced him with Mukul Roy for raising rail fares across the board.
Chhetri said as Mamata was busy in Delhi with issues like railways and Trivedi, the hills were no longer a priority for her.
“The party and the state government must understand that because of the delay in GTA formation with its extended territory, there is a simmering discontent among the people in the hills and plains,” the MLA said.
The Morcha does not want the election to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration to be held till some mouzas in the plains are brought under the jurisdiction of the new hill set-up.
“The people should check out whether the government has solved the problem, as it has been claiming over the past few months. They should even question the government as the situation is heading towards uncertainty,” Chhetri said.
The Morcha, which claimed that the onus was now on the central and state governments to meet the demands, reconfirmed that it would move ahead with the protest programmes in the Dooars and the Terai if the Gorkha-dominated areas from the region were not added to the GTA.
Gurung had earlier announced a string of agitation from April if the territory demand was not met.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had yesterday promised Parliament that a “practical and viable solution” to the Darjeeling situation would be found and recognised the “contribution” of the Bengal government in “facilitating this outcome”.
Told about the opposition that the Morcha would meet from the Adivasi Vikas Parishad, KPP and other organisations that did not want any plains areas to be added to the GTA, Chhetri said: “Times have changed. Unlike in 2007 and 2008 when we were at loggerheads with the Parishad, we now have a sizeable portion of the tribal population, led by John Barla, with us. It would be more of a Parishad versus Parishad situation this time. There would be a much less resistance this time.”
He insisted that both sides would have to face an acid test now. “We, along with (rebel adivasi leader) John Barla, would be able to reassert our support base in the Terai and the Dooars where a chunk of the population wants to be under the GTA. The other lobby of the Parishad that had always spoken against us will have to prove its clout this time. Our leaders and workers from the Dooars and Terai were present at the meeting held in Mungpoo last week. Specific instructions to garner support and prepare for the agitation have been passed on to them,” he added.
Parishad leaders have made it clear that they would not “give up” their territory.
“We will stop the Morcha if it tries to spread fresh unrest in the Terai and Dooars. Given the state government’s persistent silence over territory issue, we are facing twin challenges,” said Birsa Tirkey, the state president of the Parishad.
The first challenge for the Parishad is to prove that the Morcha and Barla do not enjoy the minimum support in the Dooars and Terai, said Tirkey.
“We have also to prove that people here do not want their fate determined by a high-powered committee which has Morcha MLAs as members. Under no circumstances, the plains areas would be included in GTA,” he added.(Telegraph)
20 Mar 2012
fake domicile
RANGPO-20THMARCH12 Out of 31180 fake certificate of identifications holders official statement of land revenue department some years ago the department is in position to furnish only 212 names only is a same full for the department authorities. a years before Mr. ganga ram rai of Mmring south Sikkim via right to information act 2005 has demanded to furnish all the fake COI holders name. after a struggle the department has agreed to furnish all the fake coi holder within march 2012 .the report came but what a unfortunate only 212 names was furnished out of 31180 fake coi.it is also a big issue that the fake coi was only cancelled .no any action was taken by the department or district administration though any type of fake documents or fake work is a big crime and the fake domicile is more bigger crime as via this document all type of facilities .government or non government service ,all type of quota and benefits may be received .why the action is not taken not known till today. Every persons or officers involved in this illegal racket must be take legal action by the department and district administration according to the transparent policy of the ruling government. It is also raising voice from the local residents of the state that all the fake coi holders name must be furnish immediately
Darjeeling lawyers on two-day strike
Darjeeling, March 19: The Darjeeling Bar Association here has called a two-day “cease-work” in the district court from tomorrow to press for the relocation of the special CBI court to the hill town.
This means, no advocate, except for government lawyers, will appear in court.
Seshmani Gurung, the vice-president of the association, today said: “Since we have not heard a word from the state government on the relocation of the special CBI court to Darjeeling, we have decided to go on ceasework for two days in the Darjeeling courts from tomorrow.”
The association had asked the state government to respond to its demand by today.
“The cease-work means no lawyer will appear in court. But government lawyers will be working. For persons booked under bailable offences, the judges will grant them bail. But there will be no one to oppose non-bailable charges slapped on arrested persons,” Gurung said.
“We will send a four-member delegation to meet the state government officials on Thursday,” he added.
The state government had on Saturday cancelled the inauguration of the CBI special court in Siliguri, allegedly after protests from Darjeeling lawyers who said the plains town was being given more prominence than the district headquarters. The programme was cancelled despite invitations being sent by the secretary of the state’s judicial department and the district and sessions judge.
The CBI court, which was previously on the Darjeeling court premises, had been relocated to Calcutta apparently because of lack of CBI cases.
“But there are at least 41 CBI cases from the hills and the relocation of the court is causing great inconvenience to the Darjeeling people,” Gurung had said earlier.
The association had gone on a four-day pendown strike from February 1 with the same demand.(Telegraph)
PM pledges hill solution - Darjeeling MP seeks funds for GTA region
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| Manmohan Singh and Jaswant Singh in the Lok Sabha on Monday. (PTI) |
New Delhi, March 19: Manmohan Singh today promised in Parliament that a “practical and viable solution” to the situation in the Darjeeling hills would be found and recognised the “contribution” of the Bengal government in “facilitating the outcome”.
The Prime Minister was responding to Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh’s plea to the government to resolve the issues related to the hills and extend financial assistance for the development of the region.
“I wish to assure this House that we have worked with sincerity to find an amicable solution to this difficult problem. We recognise the contribution made by the Government of West Bengal in facilitating this outcome. Whatever issues are outstanding, the House has my assurance, we will work with the same constructive spirit to find a pragmatic, practical and viable solution,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister’s assurance comes amid tensions between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the state government over the holding of the elections to the new hill body, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.
For the Morcha, the only issue is territory. “We don’t know what the Prime Minister means by outstanding issues. For us the only issue is territory. This should be settled. If the Prime Minister intervenes and settles this, we will welcome it. Nobody wants uncertainty in this region,” said Morcha spokesperson and Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri.
The Mamata Banerjee-led state government wants immediate election to the GTA. The Morcha, one of the signatories to the GTA agreement, wants the territorial jurisdiction of the new set-up to be settled first before the polls. The Morcha wants Gorkha dominated areas of the Dooars and the Terai to be made part of the GTA, a demand that is opposed by most plains outfits. The government, which has appointed a committee to look into the Morcha demand, wants the GTA elections to be held in the current DGHC area. According to the state government, any additional territory can be added later and the polls for those areas then held.
In the Lok Sabha, Jaswant Singh thanked the Centre and the Bengal government for forming the GTA and said it was the first step towards achieving Gorkhaland, a claim that is made frequently by the Morcha.
“The territorial administration is the first step towards the achievement of Gorkhaland. They cannot jump to Gorkhaland so let this Gorkhaland administration (GTA) be built up,” said Singh, welcoming the GTA.
The BJP leader’s comment created a furore in the House with Left leaders Basudeb Acharia and Gurudas Dasgupta seeking clarification on whether Jaswant Singh favoured the division of Bengal and the creation of a new Gorkhaland state.
Jaswant Singh said he was not suggesting anything while pointing out that it (Gorkhaland) was a very sensitive issue and should be handled with care.
“It is a highly sensitive issue. About 175,000 of them (Gorkhas) are in uniform. I am not suggesting a bifurcation of Bengal... I am not recommending (bifurcation),” Jaswant Singh replied.
He then went to raise the issue of Gorkhas being divided into tribals and non-tribals and sought a “start-up fund”.
“Some Gorkhas have been granted a tribal status; others have not been granted. I appeal to the government not to divide the Gorkhas into tribals and non-tribals. If some Gorkhas are tribals, then others should also be tribals,” he said.
He appealed to the finance minister for assistance for the region.
“I know the strains on the exchequer. But please understand that after the difficulties of 30 years that Darjeeling has suffered, they require a start-up fund. Please consider that sympathetically,” he said.(Telegraph)
19 Mar 2012
मोर्चा र तृणमूल सरकारबीच तानातानको स्थिति शुरु
19 मार्च (कालेबुङ):- जीटीएको चुनाउ र सिमाङ्कनलाई केन्द्र गरी मोर्चा र तृणमूल सरकारबीच तानातानको स्थिति शुरु भएको छ। एकातिर राज्य सरकार सम्झौता अनुसार जीटीएको चुनाउ गरी हाल्न चहान्छ भने अर्कोतिर मोर्चा सिमाङ्कनको विवाद साम्य नभई चुनाउ हुन नदिने अडानमा अडिग बसेको छ। फलस्वरुप अहिले पहाडको राजनैतिक परिस्थिति फेरि एकपल्ट तरल बनेको छ। मोर्चाको शीर्ष समितिको हिजो मङ्पूमा सम्पन्न बैठ्कपछि ज़ीटीएमा तराई डूवर्सको अन्तर्भुक्तिको कुरा स्पष्ट नभई चुनाउ स्वीकार नगर्ने अडान जारी गरेको छ। यता, मोर्चा प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले आफ्ना चारजना एलएलएहरुलाई राज्यसभा चुनाउमा भाग नलिने निर्देश दिएको छ। मोर्चाको यस प्रकारको अडानले राज्य सरकारसँगको मोर्चाको सुमधुर सम्बन्ध अब कटुतामा परिणत हुने छाँट देखिएको छ। एकातिर, ज़ीटीएमा तराई डूवर्सको क्षेत्र सामेल नभई चुनाउ गराउने राज्य सरकारको दवाउको नीतिले मोर्चालाई अप्ठ्यारोमा पारेको छ भने राज्यसभाको निम्ति तृणमूलले मोर्चालाई सिट नदिएको कुराले पनि मोर्चा प्रमुख क्षुब्ध बनेका छन। आइतबार मङ्पूमा सम्पन्न शीर्ष समिति अनि कर्मीसभामा मोर्चा अध्यक्ष बिमल गुरुङले स्पष्टैसँग मुख्यमंत्री ममता बेनर्जीप्रति आफ्नो आक्रोष ब्यक्त गरे। यस सभामा मोर्चा महासचिव रोशन गिरी, चारैजना विधायकहरुलगायत स्टडी फोरम र केन्द्रीय समितिका सदस्यहरु उपस्थित थिए। सिमाङ्कनको कुरा साम्य नभइञ्जेल अन्तरिम समितिले ज़ीटीए सञ्चालन गर्ने मोर्चाको प्रस्ताव ममता बेनर्जीले खारेज गरेपछि अब मोर्चा पुन एकपल्ट राज्य सरकारको टाउको दुखाउने मनिस्थितिमा पुगेको छ। हिजोको मङ्पूको सभा पछि मोर्चाले नयाँ राजनैतिक कार्यक्रमहरुको घोषणा पनि गरेको छ। मोर्चाले यसपल्टको कार्यक्रम डूवर्स केन्द्रीत गरेको छ जहाँ आदिवासी बिकास परिषदका बिद्रोही नेता जोन बारलाको सहयोगमा आफ्नो शक्ति प्रदर्शन गर्ने घोषणा गरेको छ। मोर्चाको नयाँ कार्यक्रम अनुसार आगामी 7 अप्रेलदेखि दार्जीलिङबाट दूवर्सको निम्ति पदयात्रा शुरु हुनेछ।18 अप्रेलमा डूवर्सको नगरकट्टमा जनसभाको आयोजना अनि 21 अप्रेल नगरकट्टाबाट कलकतातर्फ पदयात्रा शुरु गरिनेछ।
मोर्चा प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले 18 जुलाईको सम्झौतामा उल्लेखित तकनिकी जटिलताहरुमा फसाएर मोर्चालाई चुनाउको निम्ति बाध्य पार्न खोजेको ममतामाथि आरोप लगाएका छन। तराई डूवर्सबिनाको जीटीएको कुनै औचित्य नरहेको दाबी गर्दै गुरुङले जीटीए बिफल भएको खण्डमा राज्य सरकार उत्तरदायि हुने बताएका छन।
Himalayan International Festival 2012 has started at Bhurung busty East Sikkim
19thMARCH12
A 3 day Himalayan International Festival has been inaugurated by eminent Lepcha maestro PadmashreeSonamTsheringLepcha.
Himalayan Heritage Research Development Society (HHRDS) is a Sikkim based national NGO registered under Society Registration Act 1860. The Society is dedicated to work of promotion and preservation of performing arts and heritage of Himalayas region since ten years. The HHRDS has its own campus and land at Bhurung Busty, East Sikkim in eastern Himalayas. The HHRDS has collected more than 200 masks, 150 musical instruments, rare manuscripts and other artefacts from Himalayas region and also planned to set up a museum of cultural heritage and artefacts of Himalayas region.
The festival exploring to make harmony and unity through cultural voice and with this aim in view aninternational level festival – ‘Himalaya InternationalFestival’ has been planned to organise as an annual event.
The designer of the festival Dr. O.P Bharti told at inaugural function that the event has planned for the showcasing of Himalayan culture and provide platform to make cultural dialogues to make harmony and fraternity among the Himalayan states as well as countries. The festival has been divided into National and International segments. From India the artists of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and North Bengal & Sikkim have been invited. For the International segments the scholars & artists from Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar have planned to invite. The performance will be followed by the Seminar on 19th march .
