| SANKARSHAN THAKUR |
New Delhi, May 11: The centrally appointed Jammu and Kashmir interlocutor group has recommended cascading devolution of powers to the Jammu and Ladakh regions on the lines of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.
The broad-brush implication of the proposal is the loosening of Srinagar’s hold on decision-making in all departments other than home and finance.
Offering The Telegraph a sneak-peek into the bold points made in the 160-page report by the interlocutor group, sources said: “The motivation behind a radical decentralisation of intra-regional powers is that since Independence, the diversity of political aspirations in J&K has been completely ignored by Srinagar-centric thinking.
“Differences in aspiration exist not merely in the Jammu and Ladakh regions but within these regions as well, it is necessary to address them. The report is an advocacy of these competing aspirations in the state and the GTA is a good model to work on.”
The GTA agreement, the sources said, is annexed to the report.
But while they recognised the need for correcting the “imbalance of power” between regions, the interlocutors — Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M.M. Ansari — held out against demands for trifurcating the state from sections in Jammu and Ladakh.
Their key fear probably was that any division among the three regions would de facto develop communal contours and knock off even the pretence of Jammu and Kashmir being a composite entity. The report is set to be made public next week, seven months after it was submitted to home minister P. Chidambaram.
Sources suggested that the Centre was keen on a public debate “in Kashmir and elsewhere” to build consensus on the course ahead.
“The report is, of course, not binding on the government but before suggestions become part of the larger policy discourse it is best to have an open debate on what should and should not be done,” the sources said. “Nobody is under the illusion that we are going to have a resolution in Kashmir tomorrow.”
It is no surprise the interlocutors shunned even the notion of secession — just as secessionists of the Hurriyat shunned the interlocutors — but they may also have fallen well short of addressing the autonomy or self-rule aspirations of Valley-based parties like the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party which dominate the political discourse of the state.
What has been offered them is more symbolic and corrective in nature, not radical or concrete.
There is, for instance, no blanket return to the pre-1953 era of autonomy. One suggestion is that the state government could choose to go back to calling the chief minister “wazir-e-azam” — the equivalent of Prime Minister — but only in Urdu; in all English exchanges, the chief minister will continue to be called just that. The content of the recommendation is linguistic, not political.
There is an accompanying suggestion that the word “temporary provisions” in relation to Jammu and Kashmir in Article 370 of the Constitution be replaced with “special provisions” to remove any apprehensions about the “permanence” of constitutional guarantees the state enjoys.
The interlocutors recorded issues of misuse of political and military powers in Kashmir and the steady erosion of guarantees under Article 370 of the Constitution and are learnt to have recommended a series of confidence-building measures (CBMs).
They do not, however, translate into any big-ticket concessions. On the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), for example, the report recommends for a start that security matters should not become issues of public debate or political polarisation.
That said, the interlocutors suggested that criteria should be laid down to enable withdrawal of the AFSPA from specified zones of peace. The armed forces have been rock-jawed in their opposition to lifting the AFSPA, phased or in blanket fashion.
The interlocutors have taken a sharper view of the alleged misuse of the Public Safety Act (PSA) under which people can be held without trial for up to a year. As a means to building public confidence, they held that PSA should be used with greater care and caution and trials of PSA detainees should be fast-tracked.(TT)
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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।
12 May 2012
Hill model for J&K
‘Special’ exam for hill ad hoc teachers
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| Harka Bahadur Chhetri |
Calcutta, May 11: The Bengal government has decided to hold a “special” school service commission examination” to regularise the appointment of 279 teachers who had been recruited on an ad hoc basis in the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council area.
The decision was conveyed by chief secretary Samar Ghosh to Kalimpong MLA and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri here today.
“Regularisation of ad hoc teachers in hill schools was a long standing demand of the Morcha as all of them have more than the required educational qualifications,” said Chhetri.
The MLA said Morcha leaders had discussed the demand with education minister Bratya Basu several times and the latter had promised to expedite the regularisation process.
“We had talks with Bratya Basu several times. He said the state government was trying to find out a middle path. Finally, the chief secretary told us today that the schools in the DGHC area would be treated as a special case and the school education department would hold a special examination to regularise the ad hoc teachers’ jobs,” said the MLA.
“The examination will just be a formality to regularise their appointments. All of them are surely going to qualify,” he added.
The Janmukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation, an affiliate of the Morcha, had held meetings and dharnas across the hills, demanding that the ad hoc teachers’ jobs be made permanent.
The teachers had been appointed on a temporary basis by the DGHC run by Subash Ghisingh. The state school service commission wasn’t allowed to fill up the vacancies in the hill schools as Ghisingh was opposed to the panel conducting the recruitment. Most of the teachers had been working for more than 15 years.
Reacting to the government’s decision to hold the special school service commission exam, JSTO spokesman Bhishan Roka said: “Whatever they mean (by special exam), as long as the ad hoc teachers are absorbed into the service, the JSTO will be happy.”
The Kalimpong MLA said there were 621 vacancies in the hill schools at present and they needed to be filled up as soon as possible.
“The new government has been taking positive initiatives in this regard. A considerable number of schools in the hills have been upgraded in the past one year. After the regularisation of the 279 ad hoc teachers, we would request the government to fill up the vacancies as soon as possible,” said the Morcha leader.
Chhetri said Darjeeling was the centre of education and tourism since the days of British Raj. “But the schools are in a shambles now because of the strife in the past three decades,” he added.(TT)
Linguistic data elude territory panel - Sen committee seeks mouza-wise census, Union home ministry sits on request
| VIVEK CHHETRI |
Darjeeling, May 11: The Shyamal Sen committee is unlikely to submit its report on the territorial jurisdiction of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration by the first week of June as it is yet to receive the linguistic break-up of the population in each mouza in the Dooars and Terai.
The high powered committee has sought mouza-wise population details from the directorate of census. However, the directorate of census couldn’t part with the data, as it didn’t receive clearance from the Union home ministry.
Apart from Justice (retd) Sen, four representatives of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, a representative of the state home department and the director of census are members of the panel. The administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council is the convenor of the committee.
The panel that met last on April 19 has not been able to set the next date, as no progress could be made without the linguistic details.
“The last meeting was held on April 19, but the next date has not been announced. That is mainly because the director of census has not received the permission from the Union home ministry to release the mouza-wise linguistic details,” said L.B. Pariyar, one of the four Morcha representatives on the committee.
He said the committee had heard all parties which were for or against the inclusion of the mouzas in the GTA.
“Unless the linguistic details are furnished with the committee, not much headway can be made. The director of census is in the process of seeking permission from the Union home ministry. The permission is needed as the directorate of census doesn’t publish the number of people who speak a particular language in each mouza. The census report shows only the block-wise population details. Let us see what happens,” Pariyar said.
The data would be from the 2001 census as the 2011 report is not yet published.
The Morcha has demanded that 196 mouzas from the Dooars, 199 from the Terai and three from the Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district be brought under the GTA.
Asked if the party would write to the Union home ministry to grant the permission fast, Pariyar said: “The committee is headed by a person of Justice Sen’s stature and it would not be proper for us to bypass him in this regard. We hope that the permission will be granted soon.”
Earlier, Morcha president Bimal Gurung had set April 28 as the deadline for the submission of the committee report and threatened to pull out of the GTA agreement and embark on a renewed statehood movement.
However, the Morcha later relented after holding talks with Mamata Banerjee in Calcutta and was assured that the committee would submit its report by the first week of June. It was also agreed by the Morcha and the state government that the elections to the GTA would be held either at the end of June or in early July.
The panel was formed on July 18, the day the GTA pact was inked by the Centre, state and the Morcha. It was given six months to hold sittings and submit the recommendations.
However, in February, the committee sought another six months as it had not completed going through the submissions and conducting the hearings on the territory issue.(TT)
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8 May 2012
Models villages in controversy
RANGPO-8TH MAY12
The concept of state government to make the first modal village of the state in kameray under rhenock constituency comes in a big question mark among the villagers .according to the news when the concept was announced it was also cleared that one benefit one house policy may be implemented but when in realty seen the imple emption was just opposite .many houses is to be listened that they has received three to four benefit like green house, water tank,poly pipe and composition feed but many families nor received single one .on 5th may only the horticulture ,agriculture and cash crop development department has distributed many farmers used materials but was distributed not properly. The bee was distributed but without queen which is useless .such type of work policy may not make possibility to announce as a first modal village .transparency is must necessary for any type of success if plan or mission.
CASH INCENTIVE DISTRIBUTION FOR DAIRY FARMERS OF YAKSOM- TASHIDIN CONSTITUENCY.
RANGPO-8TH MAI12
- A day long program on fodder development for dairy entrepreneurship development & support through availing ample of feeds & fodder among the dairy farmers in the villages was organized at Tinziring at the premises of the house of Shri Devilall Dahal one of the identified progressive farmers in dairy sectors. The program was presided over by Uttam Adikari Panchayat Secretary of the ward. And attended by Milk society presidents & secretary of the following societies-
1. Arithang D.L Chhetri & Bhakti Sharma.2- Chumang- D.B Subba & Hemendra Adikari
3-Nessa G.M Dahal & N.K rai 4-Thingling P.R Thapa &Laxmi Pd. Chhetri
5-Semichen D.B Rai &P.K Rai along with 100 nos of beneficiaries.
From the Department Dr D.s Tewari. Joint Director, Dr S.P Bhutia Deputy Director, Dr, Kishor Thapa, & Loknath .
The program started with welcome address by Dr S.P Bhutia followed by address of Joint Director Dr D.S Tewari Joint Director who expressed gratitude on farmers’ zeal in fodder plantation. He also informed the house on the method of propagating fodders plants with high nutritious value & fibrous suitable for ruminant like cattle. He also aware people on Honourable C.M organic mission & fodders are fully ensured for their organic origin in Sikkim‘s Villages. After this chief Guest Adikari deliberated on the mission of the Department in cattle wealth development. He expressed his gratitude on availing cash incentive at the door step of villager & proving input delivery system strengthened & systematized by present Govt. He also thanked Honourable Minister/ area MLA Daucho Lepcha. After this there was cash distributed to 100 beneficiary @Rs 5000/ total Rs 500000/only.
Mr. jagdish cinturi has strongly condemned and questioned regarding the work procedure of ralang B gram Panchayat samiti
The west pandam congress committee incharge Mr. jagdish cinturi has strongly condemned and questioned regarding the work procedure of ralang B gram Panchayat samiti under west Pandam constituency. According to the news Mr. cinturi while in village visit some of the villagers has submitted the written complaint regarding the work procedure of area Panchayat Mr. dilip Thapa and blamed that Panchayat is totally involved in the corruption .
according to Mr. cinturi in a letter it is clearly blamed that the Panchayat has not distributed the benefits to the actually beneficiaries .water tank name may be included to only those who has a land but Panchayat has send the name of the persons who has no land and when the tank came for distribution the Panchayat has not given the tank to the name send by him claiming that they has no land and has distributed among their family members. the cows came for the families of secdule caste and tribes is owned by the Panchayat and has not distributed. The road quality of the road constructed between ralang and shypley is totally worst . in last year the modal house was sanctioned in the said villages and according to the norms the first instalment of the fund may be released just after the foundation works start though foundation work is completed but is not seen reimburse of the first installement so far .
Morcha doubts Barla
Siliguri/Jalpaiguri, May 7: The Terai-Dooars units of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have sent a report to the central committee of the party on the dismal performance of adivasi leader John Barla in garnering tribal support for the movement to include the plains in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.
Morcha spokesperson and Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri said it was high time for Barla to prove his support base in the plains.
The Joint Action Co-ordination Committee — a conglomerate of the Morcha, the Barla faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and like-minded outfits — had launched relay hunger strikes in the plains to protest the administration’s denial of permission to hold a rally at Nagrakata on April 22.
Although the fasts had been launched on May 3, the programme was abandoned because of the low turnout. The fasts were supposed to be held across the Dooars and Terai for the entire month of May.
“The adivasi leaders had told us that they would gather adequate number of people from their side for the hunger strikes. But hardly any supporter of Barla was present at the locations where we launched the fasts on May 3. We have sent the necessary feedback to the central committee of the Morcha,” said Santosh Rai, a central committee member from the Dooars.
Madhukar Thapa, another central committee member from the Dooars, said Morcha supporters were now having serious doubts about the claims made by Barla.
“We do not know why the tribal leader could not make his presence felt in the relay hunger strikes. Morcha supporters were far greater in number than the adivasis at the venues of the fasts. Such a performance has left serious doubts in our mind and we have informed our top leadership accordingly,” Thapa said without naming Barla.
But Harka Bahadur Chhetri was more forthcoming on Barla’s role vis-a-vis the agitation for the inclusion of the plains in the GTA. “Barla must prove his support base in the Terai and Dooars by making the agitation a success. We are not in a position to say whether Barla or the Parishad enjoy the support of the bulk of the tribal population; it is entirely up to him to prove it.”
He said the Morcha was still banking on Barla. “We are organising a movement jointly and active participation of people is the key to success.”
Barla did not take calls on his mobile phone.(TT)
Push for tourism plans
| VIVEK CHHETRI | ||
Darjeeling, May 7: The state government has put together an elaborate plan to woo tourists to north Bengal and is getting ready to surprise holidaymakers when they step into the region in October, which is the start of the next season.
Raghvendra Singh, the state tourism secretary who is presently touring the hills to take a stock of the infrastructure that needs to be put in place, said the recently formed task force had already started work on improving various properties to accommodate tourists.
“We will come up with 30 Swiss cottages in the Dooars and the hills. Renovation of Morgan House, Tashiding and Hill Top (properties owned by the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation in Kalimpong) has already started. We will also improve the Darjeeling Circuit House and the Darjeeling Tourist Lodge. We plan to finish most of our work before October,” said Singh.
Mamata Banerjee had created the tourism task force to monitor the implementation of the tourism projects in north Bengal and to suggest new ones. The task force is acting as a single window platform for tourism promotion as officials of almost all departments have been made members.
Singh is the chairperson of the task force and other members include forest and environment secretary, land reforms commissioner and the DGHC administrator.
The task force wants to promote adventure and water sports in a big way in the hills. “We want to hold camps for angling and pitch tents in places where rafting has started.” said Singh.
The government has already started a process for setting up tourism parks at Gajoldoba, Saili and Kunjanagar in the Dooars. Works on creating new trekking routes and setting up watch towers in Buxa Tiger Reserve have already started.
Renovation of tourism properties at Tilabari, Betabari, Murti and Madarihat is also expected to start soon. “We plan to introduce our own tourism package covering the Darjeeling-Dooars circuit for the next tourism season. Keeping this in mind, we are trying to work out a number of activities for the visitors,” said Singh.(TT)
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7 May 2012
Football club sets eyes on I-League - Kalimpong boys get england-trained coach
| RAJEEV RAVIDAS | ||
Kalimpong, May 6: A football club was formed here today with 25 players who want to make a mark by playing in the second division I-League seven-eight years from now. The boys are being trained by a coach who has an international degree.
Share Football Club is Kalimpong’s first organised soccer club with dedicated players under a three-year contract.
Today, the club introduced its 25 footballers and released its official magazine along with an audio album Josh at a programme here.
“We want to provide a very good platform for footballers from the subdivisional level. Our ultimate aim is to play in the second division I-League in about seven to eight years,” said Ryan Lepcha, the treasurer of the club.
The club has already qualified for the local A Division League this year.
“We won the B Division League last year and we hope to do well this time. All our players are from Kalimpong subdivision. Since all of them are students, we are providing stipend for their education. We are also taking care of the accommodation and food of the players from outside the town,” said Lepcha.
Although the footballers had participated in local-level matches earlier under the banner of Share Football Club, the club was formally formed today with each player getting a three-year contract.
Lepcha said the club was paying the tuition fees for footballers who study in schools and colleges. Players from outside the town have been put up as paying guests in Kalimpong.
The players practise in the playground of Dr. Graham’s Homes school.
“We are trying to inculcate professionalism in our boys as far as the training method is concerned. We have a very good chief coach Chandra Kumar Rai (popular as Chandramani) who has a coaching certificate from the Football Association of England,” said Prabhakar Gurung, a member of the club.
Roshan Gurung, a 20-year-old striker, said: “I came back to Kalimpong after playing for Calcutta clubs like Bhowanipore and Rainbow. In Calcutta, I became aware of many technical flaws in my game. I intend to try my luck there again with improved skills that I hope to achieve under Chandramani uncle.”
Roshan is pursuing his BA degree at Kalimpong College.
Issac Lepcha, who appeared for the Higher Secondary exams this year, said: “Our coach is very good. I never had the fortune of receiving quality training that I am presently undergoing. I had played in Subroto Cup in 2008 and I have a feeling that had we received this kind of training, we would have done very well. I want to make the most out of this coaching by working hard. My aim is to play in the I-League.”
The 19-year-old is a student of The Scottish Universities' Mission Institution (SUMI).(TT)
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Relief for Tagore event - Morcha relents
| BIRESWAR BANERJEE AND VIVEK CHHETRI | ||
Siliguri/Darjeeling, May 6: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has made an exception for biswakabiRabindranath Tagore by deciding not to boycott his 150th birth anniversary celebration at Mungpoo on May 8.
But there is still confusion over whether any Morcha leader will be present at the Mungpoo event and share the dais with north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb.
The Morcha had called for the boycott of all government programmes to protest the denial of permission to the party to hold a public meeting at Nagrakata on April 22.
“The Morcha will continue to boycott all programmes organised by the state government. But we want to exclude the Mungpoo event from the ambit of the boycott as it will be an occasion to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore,” said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri.
Tagore had visited Mungpoo four times between 1938 and 1940 because of his love for the place and special bond with Maitreyi Devi, the daughter of his friend.
She was married to then director of the Directorate of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants Plantation, Manmohan Sen, and had published a book Mungpoote Rabindranath, containing an account of the poet’s stay at the tiny hill hamlet.
Later, Maitreyi Devi established Rabindra Smriti at the director’s bungalow in 1944 to preserve the poet’s memories. The place was converted into a museum by the Left-Front government in January 2000.
Mungpoo is 35km from Darjeeling and is in Kurseong subdivision.
Kalimpong MLA and Morcha spokesperson, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, has said nobody should politicise the Nobel laureate’s birth anniversary.
“One should understand that Rabindranath Tagore was not just a poet of Bengal but abiswakabi and we should not politicise his birthday celebration. The bard was the first recipient of the Nobel prize from Asia and I will be delivering a speech on him in the Assembly on Tuesday,” said Chettri.
Although the Morcha has decided to keep the Tagore birthday celebration out of the purview of its call to boycott government programmes, no party leader has committed to attending the Mungpoo event.
Even the state information and cultural department is not sure about who will be present on Tuesday.
“The programme will be a low key affair as many artists haven’t given a confirmation on their participation. The local people were also apprehensive about attending the function till yesterday. In this confusion, we did not print invitation cards and merely tried to invite people over the phone,” a senior official in the department told The Telegraph.
He said the organisers wanted Kurseong MLA Dr Rohit Sharma to preside over the event. “We have verbally communicated our intention to Dr. Sharma. He, however, told us that he would be out of station from tomorrow,” added the official.
When contacted, Sharma said: “I have not yet received any invitation card for the event. I will be leaving for Calcutta tomorrow and will return only on May 9.”
In Siliguri, minister Gautam Deb told journalists today that he would attend the day-long programme at Mungpoo on Tuesday. “There will be cultural activities like song, dances and recitation. I will reach Mungpoo on Monday afternoon so that I can attend the next day’s celebration.”
The Morcha had boycotted a meeting chaired by Deb at the Darjeeling District Hospital on April 25. The foundation laying of a column in memory of Bijanbari bridge collapse victims by the minister on April 29 was cancelled because of the hill party’s boycott call.
The minister said a process had already begun to open an international research centre on Tagore’s works at Mungpoo. “On Mamata Banerjee’s instruction, the north Bengal development department has allotted Rs 4 crore in this regard,” Deb said.
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