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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।

15 Sept 2012

Takling road on appalling condition, public appeals early mending

MUKESH SHARMA
Takling Busty: September 14
It is understood that road plays as principal role in the advancement of the rural places anywhere in the world. The magnitude of the development first counts on the condition and the availability of good road. The people residing in the remotest hamlets where the conditions of the roads are appalling, one can picture the state of the lives settled there. One such story is that of the 11 kms long Takling road.
The road till Teesta Gram Panchayat looks fine but as soon as it enters to Takling GPU, one can witness the pathetic condition of the road. The agriculturally dependent Takling farmers had to come down Teesta to market their produced almost every day, but they have been facing enormous hurdles due to the road condition. The question of small vehicles on the road is unimaginable, only jeeps and big vehicles ferry down the 11 kms long kutcha road. The Takling road also connects the rural places like Mangwa, Chota Mangwa, Chegra, Soreng, Kalimpong, Teen Chule etc.
The residents of the place during emergencies like that of illness have to rush via the road to the Teesta Primary Health Centre where only primary treatment is accessible and most of the patients are referred to Kalimpong which is 30 kms from Teesta.
The GTA area Sabhasad Ramesh Lama on the other hand had assured the villagers for the speedy restoration of the road in coordination with the Special Engineering Cell. The villagers of the area have appealed the concerned department to kick start crafting the condition of the road at the earliest.

Lions club of Rangpo gateway of Sikkim organised world peace rally

RANGPO-15TH SEPTEMBER 12
Lions club of Rangpo gateway of Sikkim organised world peace rally on the occasion of world peace week at Rangpo .organised with the special support and attended from the school students and teachers from Rangpo secondary school,rangpo junior high school, tiny tots school and little bells school the club members along with other delegates was also present in the meeting .Rangpo police station in charge PI Mr. Sonam wangdi was present as a chief guest while lion chabilal Sharma ,district chairperson lion mangilal jain and sanjay Agarwal was present as a special guest of the programme .club director Mr. v k nigam and lion k t wangchuk discussed regarding the peace and world environment specially stressed regarding peace Sikkim in the entire country and world .during the programme two new members named Mr. gaurav chhatri and suresh lama was inducted and lion rajen gurung president of the club has welcomed the new members in lion family .the slogan competition was also organised and top four slogan was awarded with attractive certificate by the hand of chief guest Mr. Sonam wangdi poise inspector cum in charge of Rangpo police station .Rangpo secondary school comes first while little bells school stood second followed by tiny tots school and Rangpo junior high school third and forth respectively .

Architect arrested

Darjeeling, Sept. 14: Pravin Mukhia, a Darjeeling-based architect who has designed the under-construction Gorkha War Museum, was arrested yesterday for allegedly kidnapping two 17-year-old girls and confining them to one of his houses near Siliguri.

Lodhama police picked him up from the Salbari market and rescued the girls yesterday. Mukhia, 52, was produced in the chief judicial magistrate’s court today and remanded in judicial custody till September 28.

Assistant public prosecutor Pankaj Prasad said Mukhia had been slapped with sections 363, 365 and 368 (kidnapping and confinement against will) of the IPC.

The lawyer said the girls had gone missing from Lodhoma, about 70km from Darjeeling, on September 5.

The girls’ confinement came to light when one of them managed to speak to her friend from Lodhama, he said.

Slide blocks NH31A for 12 hours

Gangtok, Sept. 14: The NH31A that connects Sikkim with the rest of the country was blocked for over 12 hours after a landslide at Kirney last night.

The road was opened this afternoon.

Around 500 vehicles were stranded on both sides of Kirney in Kalimpong subdivision as slush and debris fell on a 300metre-stretch on the highway. Most Gangtok-bound vehicles took a detour via Kalimpong that takes one hour extra.

“The landslide occurred yesterday around midnight. A portion of the land above the highway slipped on to the road resulting in the halt of traffic,” said an official of the Border Roads Organisation, which looks after the road.

On the Siliguri-Gangtok route, Kirney is 8km before Rangpo.

BRO sources said the landslide occurred because of continuous rain for the past few days.

“Rangpo and the surrounding areas recorded 80mm of rain in the past 24 hours,” said an official of the Met department in Gangtok.Rangpo is 35km from here.

“Excavators and workers were deployed to clear the debris. But shooting stones had become a major hurdle in the restoration work,” said the BRO official.

Gangtok-bound vehicles took a detour via Kalimpong, Munsong and Rangpo.

“It takes an hour extra to reach Rangpo via Munsong and it is the only road that leads to Gangtok other than NH31A,” said Madan Sherpa, a taxi driver from Gangtok.

Most Siliguri-bound vehicles, however, waited for the highway to open.

According to a police officer at Melli checkpost, 3km away from the slide-hit area, more than 300 vehicles were stranded for the entire night.

Pema Lama, a local tour operator, said around 150 tourists were stranded.

Barfi! treat for Darjeeling - Keventers on screen, crowd excited

Siliguri, Sept. 14: Darjeeling today came alive on the silver screen in Anurag Basu’s Barfi!.

The audience at Inox City Center in Siliguri were mesmerised from the very beginning as a scene showing a market in Calcutta gave way to another in which a smoke-puffing toy train chugged against the backdrop of the lush green hills.

The film is a story of Murphy, a hearing impaired boy. When Murphy says his name is “Murphy”, it sounds like “Barfi”, hence the name.

“Darjeeling is an intrinsic part of the movie and the central characters of Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D’ Cruz have been portrayed as local people. It is different from the movies that were shot here in the past, in which, except for a few landscapes, the storyline was not relevant to the local people. This is second movie shot in Darjeeling that I have enjoyed. The first one was obviously Aradhana,” said Sujata Pradhan, a 55-year-old resident of Pradhannagar.

The two-and-a-half-hour film is set against the backdrop of the hill town between 1972 and 1978. It is a love triangle between an autistic girl, Jhilmil, (played by Priyanka), Barfi and Shruti (Ileana).

In the Inox hall, the crowd got excited every time the Ghoom station, Keventers, the Capitol Clock Tower, St Andrew’s Church and the Planters Club flashed on the screen.

The pristine woods, colourful prayer flags, tea gardens, misty hills, wooden houses and rosy-cheeked children in woollens made the experience even more real.

“The places were so familiar, just like we see them while taking a walk round the town on a cloudy afternoon. We could relate to the scene where the actors were seen eating at Keventers and the view of the Capitol Clock Tower from there. Although some scenes were shot in the dark, I could identify the places,” said Darjeeling resident Archana Sherpa, who is now based in Siliguri.

“The wooden houses with tin barrels kept outside for preserving water were so very Darjeeling! It was a practice to store water in such barrels in the old times,” said Sameer Gurung, a Darjeeling resident.

A group of college girls from Darjeeling said they could instantly recognise the Happy New Year Bridge at Jamuni. “We nearly shouted with joy when the Happy New Year Bridge was shown,” said Dipti Subba, a third-year student of a Siliguri college. The once unknown forest village of Khairani-Punding has been captured with its paddy fields, forests, thatched bamboo houses on stilts and cattle.

“The scenes where he (Barfi) is proposing Ileana atop the Ghoom railway station and when he falls from his bicycle at Tindharia after being hit by the toy train were so funny. The scenes where Barfi and Priyanka were riding a wooden trolley on the toytrain tracks are adorable,” Srijana Thapa, a resident of Pradhannagar, said.

An official from Inox said today the occupancy rate at the theatre was around 70 per cent. “We are screening nine shows per day. The movie has had a very good opening and we are expecting full house during the weekend,” said Sinchan Biswas, the unit head of Inox, City Centre.

Landslides hit tea gardens

Darjeeling/Kalimpong, Sept. 14: Landslides triggered by heavy overnight rain in the hills caused extensive damage in six tea gardens but planters said the digging being done under the 100-day rural job scheme was making the soil come loose.

While work had to be stopped for the day in Takdah and Lopchu gardens because of the slides, Bannockburn, Phoobshering, Ging and Pussimbing reported loss of many tea bushes.

“Takdah received around 18 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours. Around 160 labourer quarters have suffered damage. A 40ft road in Takdah has been washed away in four places and five culverts have been damaged in landslides. There is no approach road to the garden factory now,” said Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal advisor to the Darjeeling Tea Association.

Mukherjee said 13 labour quarters and two culverts had borne the brunt of the calamity at Lopchu.

“Tea bushes in an acre of land have been uprooted in Lopchu and road connectivity within the garden has become a major problem. Given the extent of the damage, no work could not carried out in Lopchu today.”

Road communication in the Ging tea garden, about 20km from Darjeeling, was hit after three culverts had been damaged. “In Phoobshering, 6,500 tea bushes have been uprooted by the landslides. There is no approach road to the factory now. Water has also seeped into the garden factory,” said Mukherjee.

The DTA has alleged that constructions under the 100-days’ work scheme aggravated the situation in the tea gardens. “The soil in the plantations loosens when boulders are removed to build pathways and roads during the monsoon. At some places, the main drain gets blocked while the sewerage is being improved, leading to spilling of water,” said Mukherjee.

The DTA has demanded that the government issue a directive to stop construction activities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme during the rainy season.

“We are told that in many states like Harayana, 100 days’ work scheme is not executed during the agricultural season. We also demand that the scheme be implemented in the hill gardens bet- ween October and March,” he said.

Subin Pradhan, an architect said: “It is always advisable that earth-cutting is avoided during the monsoon as the loose soil could easily trigger a landslide.”

Saumitra Mohan, the principal secretary of the GTA as well as the Darjeeling district magistrate, however, said an order had already been issued to all subdivisional officers and block divisional officers, saying any project be cleared only after taking into account environmental concerns and technical viability. Elsewhere in the hills, four persons were injured in the landslides.

“A house collapsed at Singritam near Glenburn tea garden and one person was injured,” said a resident of Singritam, 25km from Darjeeling.

Minor landslides in over a dozen places in and around Darjeeling were also reported. The NH55was blocked at Dali early this morning because of a mudslide but the road was cleared by 8am. “The NH31A had also been blocked (at Tarkhola, Melli and Kalijhora) but all major roads have been cleared of debris with the help of agencies like the Border Roads Organisation and the public works department,” said DM Mohan.

In Kalimpong, the landslides occurred near Chota Bhalukhop-Leprosy Hospital, East Main Road, Mahakal Dara, between 3 Mile and 7th Mile and between Nimbong and Bakrakote. About 10 houses at Laminigaon in Chota Bhalukhop stand precariously below a hill where the earth has loosened and a landslide might occur anytime. Similarly, five houses along East Main Road could tumble down as there are high chances of a landslide getting bigger below.

Huge boulders rolling down the Deolo hill damaged the road at Mahakal Dara and a bridge near Tashiding in the 6 Mile area was destroyed in the landslides.

14 Sept 2012

Lions club world peace really

RANGPO-14TH SEPTEMBER 12
Lions club of Rangpo gateway of Sikkim is going to organise world peace rally on the occasion of world peace week tomorrow at Rangpo. lion chabilal Sharma zone chairman ,lion rajen gurung president and lion anand Pradhan active member of the club giving details about the programme asked that the peace rally shall be participated by the students of four school named government secondary school ,Rangpo junior high school ,tiny tots school and little bells school along with local club members ,residents and delegates from several ngo .clubs and association .the slogan writing competition is also organise between the students of the four school in the theme of world peace and top five slogan shall be awarded with certificate and gift .from last three year the club is organising marathon race on the eve of world peace day but this time the peace rally is organised for spreading lesson to the entire world to take the lesson from Sikkim regarding to leave in peace from Sikkim as Sikkim is known as the most peaceful state in the3v country and world .

आजको पैह्रो दार्जीलिङ अनि कालेबुङमा

13(कालेबुङ)ः- गत राती परेको अबिरल बर्षाले दार्जीलिङ पहाडका धेरैवटा क्षेत्रहरु पैह्रोको चपेटमा परेको छ। पैह्रोको चपेटमा परेर केही मानिसहरु घाइते पनि भएका छन जसलाई दार्जीलिङको विभिन्न अस्पतालहरुमा भर्ना गरिएको छ। यता, राजमार्ग 31एको कालीझोडा अनि तारखोलामा पैह्रो सोहोरिएर राजमार्ग अवरुद्ध हुँदा आज बिहान 11 बजीसम्म यातायात ठप्प रहेको थियो तर बीआरओको तत्परतामा राजमार्गमा यातायात सुचारु गरिए पनि जामको कारण यातीहरुहरु समस्याको सम्मुखिन भएका छन।पहाडका विभिन्न क्षेत्रमा पैह्रोको कारण सयौंको संख्यामा मानिसहरु प्रभावित भएका छन भने सडकहरु अवरुद्ध भएको कारण जनजीवन पनि अस्तव्यस्त भएको छ। दार्जीलिङको डाली,ब्लुमफिल्ड, रिशीहाट, चौरस्तालगायत केही चियाकमानहरुमा पैह्रोले आवासीय घरहरुलाई व्यापक क्षति पुर्यााएको छ भने यता कालेबुङको भालुखोप, 7 माइल छिबो पोस्योर बस्ती, 15 माइल आदि क्षेत्रहरुमा पैह्रोले व्यापक क्षति गरेको छ। कालेबुङ क्षेत्रमा लगभग एक दर्जन परिवार पैह्रोको कारण प्रभावित भएका छन। पैह्रो झरेर सडकहरु अवरुद्ध भएको कारण यातायात सेवा पनि प्रभावित भएको छ। कालेबुङ शहरदेखि आठ किमी टाडा 15 माइलमा पैह्रोले एउटै गाउँको आठवटा घरहरुलाई आंशिक नोक्सान पुर्यााएको छ तर सम्भावित खतरालाई केन्द्र गरी स्थानीय प्रशासनले प्रभावित परिवारहरुलाई सुरक्षित स्थानतिर स्थानान्तरण गरेको छ। पैह्रोले नोक्सान पुर्यारएको घटनापछि स्थानीय प्रशासनका अधिकारी र सम्बन्धित क्षेत्रका जीटीए सभासदहरुले पैह्रोग्रस्त क्षेत्रहरुको भ्रमण गरी क्षयक्षतिबारे जानकारी लिईरहेका छन भने प्रभावित परिवारहरुलाई सुरक्षित स्थानहरुतिर पुनर्वास गराउने कार्य गरिरहेका छन। कालेबुङको 37 नम्बरसमष्टीकी सभासद कल्पना तामाङले पैह्रोग्रस्त क्षेत्रहरुको परिभ्रमण गरेपछि व्यापक नोक्सान भएका जानकारी प्राप्त भएको बताएकी छन।

Work begins for Gorkha museum

VIVEK CHHETRI
Darjeeling, Sept. 13: The GTA today started the construction of a Rs 1.5 crore Gorkha War Museum near Batasia at a time the hill body is accused of hurting the sentiments of the community by removing the Gorkha solider’s statue atop the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan.

The GNLF and the CPRM had plastered posters across the hills condemning the GTA’s decision to remove the soldier’s statue.

The GTA had said the statue didn’t suit the Rangamanch Bhavan, a cultural centre, and so it would be shifted to the war museum.

The foundation for the museum had been laid by Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh at Batasia Loop on April 8, 2012. He also donated Rs 25 lakh from his MP Local Area Development fund for the project. However, the authorities decided to set up the museum at Quarry in Batasia, 1km from the earlier location, because of problems in acquiring land.

Today, the work on the museum was launched at a programme attended by GTA deputy chief Lt. Col. (retd) Ramesh Allay, executive member Binay Tamang and GTA principal secretary Saumitra Mohan among others.

Of the Rs 1.5 crore needed for the project, the state government has already sanctioned Rs 1.05 crore. “We also have Rs 25 lakh given by Jaswant Singh. So, funds will not be a problem. Construction should be over in a year and it may take another six-seven months to landscape the entire area,” said Binay Tamang.

The two-storied museum will be spread over 20,000sqft and house Gorkha war memorabilia.

Tamang said a research centre would also come up at the museum and students could access it.(TT)

Deb threat to launch road protest

Siliguri, Sept. 13: North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb has threatened to launch a movement against the Centre and the National Highways Authority of India if NH31D is not repaired immediately.

“If no initiative for repairs or upgrade of the road to a four-lane highway is seen in the next few days, we will be forced to launch a movement because people face a lot of trouble while travelling on NH31D, particularly in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. The NHAI has to take immediate steps,” Deb said.

R.K. Chaudhry, the project director of NHAI posted in Siliguri, said: “Repairs have been initiated on NH31D. The road was last repaired two years ago and the onus is on the contractors who had carried out the repairs to restore the damaged stretches. We are issuing letters to them to do the work.”

He added: “If the contractors do not take up the task, we will engage other contractors and get the work done before Durga Puja.”

Paraglide treat for Sikkim tourists - 60 experts to take part in four-day international gliding festival starting on Oct 31

Gangtok, Sept. 13: Tourists planning to visit Sikkim in October-November would get a chance to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the place when the state hosts its first international paragliding fest.

Sixty paragliders will take part in the four-day event from October 31 that aims to promote adventure sports at a time when tourist traffic is heavy.

“Sixty paragliders from England, France, Germany and Nepal, and from Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim in India will participate in the four-day event,” said Bhim Dhungel, the minister for tourism and civil aviation.

He added that the event would be sponsored by the tourism department and organised by the Paragliding Association of India and the Sikkim Paragliding Adventure Sports Co-operative Society Limited. The estimated budget is Rs 25 lakh, Dhungel said. The fest would be held at the Sports Complex at Reshithang in East Sikkim, 8km from here.

According to tourism department officials, the paragliders would take off from Bulbuley in East Sikkim at a height of 2,200ft and land in the Sports Complex.

The festival that will end on November 3 would also include free flying and spot landing contests, an acrobatics show and sky diving that would be performed by experts.

“We will also organise tandem flights (gliders that are two-seaters) for tourists. For Rs 4,200, a tourist can enjoy a four-hour flight,” said Arjun Rai, the president of the Sikkim Paragliding Adventure Sports Co-operative Society. He added that many local youths were earning their livelihood through paragliding that became popular two years back.

In 2010, the state government had trained youths to hold paragliding sessions. The group was also sent to Himachal Pradesh for training. Most of them returned to Sikkim and started conducting paragliding sessions in the peak seasons. During March-May and October-November (the tourism seasons) paragliding is held at Reshithang and Chakhung in the West district.

Sikkim has 34 registered paragliders.

“The paragliding event would be a success in the sunny and enjoyable weather. One can look forward to an exciting experience while flying over the lush green Dang hills, water bodies, gardens and other picturesque locations,” said Manoj Roy, the secretary of the Paragliding Association of India. The event website www.pgaoi.org/pgfest2012 was launched today.

Paraglider and trainer Jocky Sanderson, who won the National Geographic 2010 People’s Choice Adventurer Of The Year award, will hold seminars and workshops during the fest. Sanderson had won the award for scalling the Everest and paragliding down the hill and kayaking through the Kosi river to the Indian Ocean.

Darjeeling ready for date with Barfi!

Siliguri, Sept. 13: Renuka Sharma’s yearlong wait will be over tomorrow when Barfi! releases.

The 58-year-old is enthusiastic about the film not only because a portion of the movie has been shot in her hometown Tindharia but also because she posed as a passenger in a toy train while Ranbir Kapoor sped alongside on a bicycle.

“I have been prodding my son to take me to watch the movie in one of the cinemas in Siliguri. It is not often that one gets featured in a movie starring Ranbir. I had worn our traditional attire of chaubandi choli and fariya that day and hope to catch a glimpse of myself as a toy train passenger in the film,” Renuka told The Telegraph today.

In Siliguri, the film will release in two INOX and one CINEMAX centres, along with one or two cinema halls.

Tindharia residents are happy that Bollywood has not forgotten their place where films such as Rajesh Khanna-starrer Aradhana were shot.

“The last movie shot here was Parineeta for which Saif Ali Khan rode in a toy train in a song sequence in 2004.We are grateful that the makers of Barfi! shot here again after seven-long years. The toy train and DHR (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway)’s Tindharia station have been extensively featured in the movie,” said Binay Chetti, a DHR enthusiast and a resident of Tindharia.

He hopes the worldwide audience the film will get will reverse the dwindling importance of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which is a Unesco world heritage site.

“The promos show the toy train billowing smoke moving towards Pushkar daju’s shop where the film’s crew had eaten during the one-day shoot. A group of us are planning to come down to Siliguri to watch the movie next week,” said Chetti.

The movie was shot in Tindharia, 30km from Siliguri, in June last year.

Scenes which show Ranbir speeding alongside the toy train and on a bicycle and then falling were shot in Tindharia.

The Anurag Basu-directed film was extensively shot in Darjeeling, Tindharia and some locations near Sukna in June last year and February this year. The film is set against the backdrop of Darjeeling and Calcutta of the 1960s and the 1970s.

It revolves around a deaf-mute boy played by Ranbir and the two women in his life, played by Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D’Cruz.

In the remote Khairani-Cunding locality near Sukna, 15km from Siliguri, Sandip Subba is waiting to see how his village and house look on the big screen. The Barfi! crew had shot some scenes involving Ranbir and Priyanka in the village for two days.

“The promos look quite appealing and I could catch a glimpse of my village too. I want to see if my house, too, is in the frame because some of the shots were taken near my residence,” said Subba.

“Scenes of Priyanka and Ranbir arriving at the village in a rickshaw, moving around playing with goats and participating in a festival, were shot at Khairani-Cunding.”

Diksha Rai and her friends from Siliguri will watch the first-day-first-show at Inox in City Centre, Siliguri. She was lucky as she got to pose for a photograph with Ranbir at Bagdogra airport when he came for the shoot in February. She posted it on Facebook.

Diksha has already checked reviews of film critics on the movie on Twitter.

“I am so excited to watch the movie as both Priyanka and Ranbir are my favourite actors. Famous Bollywood critics like Taran Adarsh have applauded the movie on twitter. We are going to watch first-day-first-show tomorrow,” Diksha said.

Old-timers are eager to watch the “old world charm” of Darjeeling.

“My wife and I usually watch first-day-first show of all good movies and Barfi! is a must-watch. The film is appealing because it has been shot in Darjeeling and it will be a treat to watch how the scenic beauty and old world charm of the Queen of Hills have been captured using modern-day technology. I want to see how Ranbir who plays a deaf-and-dumb character relies entirely on his acting prowess to communicate his emotions,” said K.B. Gurung, 62, of Shivmandir near Siliguri.

Anurag Basu, the filmmaker, sounded equally enthusiastic. “It is a film where the positive aspects of life have been portrayed. We have shot extensively in the Darjeeling hills and feel that people of the region would love it watching,” Basu told The Telegraph over the phone from Mumbai.

Barfi! has also prompted stakeholders of tourism sector to gear up.

“In the promos, we have found an enchanting Darjeeling hills and hope it will bring more filmmakers to the region,” said Raj Basu, a tour operator who had also arranged logistics for the Barfi! crew.

“A couple of filmmakers from Calcutta have already conducted surveys for their upcoming films, which they plan to shoot in the region. Darjeeling has proved to be a favourite for filmmakers of Bollywood and we expect them to project the region further.”

In Darjeeling, people are equally enthusiastic, and are waiting for tomorrow.

Anup Subba, the unit head of INOX Leisure Limited, Darjeeling, said no other film had generated as much response and excitement as Barfi! in the recent past.

“We are getting bulk bookings from schools, colleges and various other groups. We had not witnessed such excitement in the past,” said Subba.

All students of the department of mass communication and journalism of St Joseph's College, Darjeeling, have booked tickets for tomorrow’s show. The students had extensively helped Anuraj Basu during the shoot in Darjeeling.

INOX, which has three screens in Darjeeling, plans to run seven shows a day.

“We have a seating capacity of 811 and we are expecting a tremendous response. The movie will be screened from 11.15am and the last show of the day will start at 6.15pm,” said Subba.

Ticket prices at INOX vary from Rs 110 to Rs 210.

“However, I have personally decided to slash the rates by half for the students of Salvation Army School, Darjeeling (a school for those who cannot speak and hear). They are planning to watch Barfi next week,” said Subba.

Additional reporting by Vivek Chhetri in Darjeeling(TT)

13 Sept 2012

Freedom fighter who drove Netaji’s car dies

Darjeeling, Sept. 12: Krishna Bahadur Mukhia, who once drove Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s car during his INA days, died in Darjeeling on the night of September 11.

One of the last freedom fighters in the hills, Krishna Bahahur was 91. He died in his residence in Rockville Dham and is survived by three sons and two daughters.

Suresh Mukhia, one of his sons, said: “My father was down with fever for a couple of days. He had also caught a cold and breathed his last around 8.30pm last night.”

Krishna Bahadur was born on May 12, 1921, at Glenburn Tea Estate.

He joined the British Army in 1942 as a mechanic. But on February 15, 1942, he was taken a prisoner of war by the invading Japanese forces and sentenced to jail in Japan.

When Subash Chandra Bose founded the Indian National Army, Krishna Bahadur was released by the Japanese and he joined Bose’s struggle for Indian Independence.

In 1943-44, he was Netaji’s driver, the job given to him perhaps because he was a mechanic.

“In 1944, while fighting against the British, my father was again captured near the Indo-Burma border and taken to Delhi. Even though he was released, he was not given post-retirement benefits by the British,” Suresh said.

After his return to his native place, he worked as a driver in various tea gardens and was later appointed as a driver by the District School Board. “He retired in 1986,” Suresh said.

On August 15, 1972, the Indian government conferred on him a tamra patra (a copper plate) for his involvement in the freedom struggle.

This year on Independence Day, Krishna Bahadur was invited as a special guest and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha handed him a token amount of Rs 1 lakh.

The funeral will be held on Friday.

Krishna Bahadur’s two other sons are Kamal and Pawan and two daughters are Mira and Kalpana, both married.

Suresh works as an office superintendent in the office of the district inspector of schools, Kamal and Pawan are drivers with the state government. Suresh said his father used to receive a sum of Rs 3,040 as monthly pension from the district school board and Rs 6,050 from the Centre as freedom fighter’s pension.

12 Sept 2012

कालेबुङ आर्ट ग्यालरीको विधिवत उद्घाटन

12(कालेबुङ)- कालेबुङका चित्रकारहरुको प्रयासमा आज कालेबुङ आर्ट ग्यालरीको विधिवत उद्घाटन गरिएको छ। कालेबुङको अप्पर कार्ड रोडमा अवस्थित बरसाना रिसोर्ट परिसरमा स्थापना गरिएको उक्त आर्ट ग्यालरीको आज एउटा विशेष कार्यक्रमको आयोजना गरी उदघाटन गरियो। कार्यक्रमका मुख्य अतिथि सिक्किमका पूर्वमंत्री थुकचुक लाचुङपाको बाहुलीबाट आर्ट ग्यालरीको विधिवत उदघाटन गरियो। यस अवसरमा नाट्यकर्मी सीके श्रेष्ठ, वरिष्ठ अधिवक्ता अनमोल प्रसादसहित कला क्षेत्रसँग सम्बन्धित मानिसहरुको उपस्थिति थियो। कालेबुङका चित्रकारहरुको समूह कालिम्पोङ आर्टिस्ट एशोशिएशनको पहलमा प्रथमपल्ट कालेबुङमा यसरी आर्ट ग्यालरी शुरु गरेको हो। दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा नै दार्जीलिङको आभा आर्ट ग्यालरी पछि कालेबुङको यो दोस्रो आर्ट ग्यालरी हो। कालेबुङका होटल ब्यवसायी सञ्जय प्रधानले चित्रकलाको प्रवर्द्धनको निम्ति आफ्नो रिसोर्ट परिसरमा निशुल्क हल उपलब्ध गरिदिएपछि ग्यालरी शुरु गर्न चित्रकारहरुको मनोबल बढेको हो।कालेबुङ घुम्न आउने पर्यटक र चित्रकलाप्रेमीहरुको निम्ति यो ग्यालरी पूरा सप्ताह नै खुला रहनेछ। हाल चित्रकारहरुको यस संगठनमा कालेबुङका 34जना नयाँ अनि पुराना चित्रकारहरु सामेल छ्न। ती मध्ये केही उम्दा अनि केही नयाँ पिढीका चित्रकारहरुको कृतिलाई ग्यालरीमा स्थान दिइएको छ। हाल यस ग्यालरीमा ओएल कलर, वाटर कलर, पेंसिल, पेस्ट्रल आदिको प्रयोगद्वारा बनाइएका पोटट्रेट, ल्याण्डस्केप, स्टेललाइफ जस्ता चित्रकलाका बिभिन्न बिधाका कृतिहरु प्रदर्शनीको निम्ति राखिएको छ। कलापारखीहरुको निम्ति यी चित्रकलाहरु बिक्री पनि गरिने प्रावधान छ। कालेबुङमा नियमित भ्रमणको निम्ति यसरी आर्ट ग्यालरी शुरु हुँदा यसले क्षेत्रका चित्रकारहरुलाई प्रोत्साहन गर्नकासाथै यहाँको पर्यटनको क्षेत्रमा पनि नयाँ आकर्षण थपिन पुगेको आयोजकहरुको भनाई छ। संगठनले क्षेत्रमा चित्रकलाको सम्वर्द्धनको निम्ति चित्रकलामा रुचि राख्ने नानीहरुको निम्ति कार्यशालाको आयोजना गर्ने योजना बनाएको छ। यता, कार्यक्रमका मुख्य अतिथि टी लाचुङपाले कालेबुङमा आर्ट ग्यालरी स्थापना हुँदा खुशी लागेको बताउँदै आफ्नो तर्फबाट पनि हरसम्भव सहयोग रहने बताएका छन।

Heroin haul in hills

Darjeeling, Sept.11: Darjeeling police today arrested an alleged drug supplier with what they suspect to be a kilogram of heroin.

Kunal Aggarwal, the superintendent of police of Darjeeling, said: “We had prior information that Pemba Tamang, 40, was trying to sell drugs. Our team intercepted him near Ghoom railway station around 4pm today and found a kilogram of heroin, which we are told is worth at least Rs 75 lakh.”

Tamang, a resident of Magarjung village near Sukhiapokhri, was staying in a rented place at Sonada, about 25km from Darjeeling. He was a small-time contractor in Sikkim, police said.

The haul is considered the largest in recent years. Darjeeling police have arrested at least eight drug peddlers this year. It is, however, not yet known whether Tamang was involved in supplying drugs to local peddlers.

Aggarwal said Tamang told the police that he had brought the drugs from a “international border” and was trying to send it to Nepal.

Transfer charge on GTA, ‘victims’ to protest - GNLF to oppose orders and hold rallies

VIVEK CHHETRI
Darjeeling, Sept. 11: The GNLF has accused the GTA of victimising its supporters, employed with the hill set up, by transferring them to remote places and said the orders would not be accepted.

GNLF leaders, who had been lying low for some time, said they would hold rallies across the hills to oppose the transfer and a new workers’ body would take up the issue.

Arjun Rai, the convenor of the GNLF in Mirik, said: “The GTA has started transferring our supporters (who worked in the DGHC earlier) to obscure places. This is nothing but political vendetta. Our supporters from Mirik have been transferred to obscure places in Kalimpong, Sandakphu and Jamuni in Darjeeling.”

He added that the GNLF would hold a rally in Mirik on Thursday to protest the transfer.

“In Mirik, 38 of our supporters have been posted at far-off places and with a salary of Rs 6,000, it is not possible for them to work out of station. All our supporters have decided not to accept the transfer orders,” Rai said.

The leaders said it was unfair to shift the workers as many of them were assigned duties at their native places by the DGHC in lieu of donating land to build roads and community halls. “They were given appointments in their own locality after they donated land to the DGHC to construct roads and community halls. To transfer these people to other places is unjust,” said Rai.

Binay Tamang, the executive member of the GTA in charge of the establishment section, had said earlier that the GTA had transferred around 550 workers. He said the shift had been effected because some of the important sectors like health had less staff.

GNLF leaders, however, refused to buy the justification.

“Supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha who were working outside Mirik, have now been transferred to places of their choice,” said Rai.

He added that at least 24 GNLF supporters in Darjeeling had complained of “unjust transfers”. “We wanted to hold a rally from Dali Fatak to Ava Art Gallery in Darjeeling today (to protest the transfer) but we did not get police permission. We will hold the procession as and when we get the permission,” Rai said.

The party today formed a Contract Service United Forum in Darjeeling. “The forum will now deal with the unjust transfer and the victims,” said Man Hang Subba, village chief of the GNLF’s Rock garden-Barbotey unit.

Tamang, however, said the GTA would stick to its decision. “If the employees refuse to join work, we will seek an explanation from them. A 15-day deadline will be given to provide satisfactory explanation, failing which jobs of the contract workers will be terminated,” said Tamang.

Around 6,000 erstwhile DGHC workers who are now with the GTA are on contract.

“Any government employee can be transferred to any place depending on the administration’s requirement,” he said.

11 Sept 2012

Biometric plan to catch truants - GTA wants retina and fingerprint scan for attendance

Darjeeling, Sept. 10: The GTA has decided to introduce biometric attendance system in some of its offices and hospitals in the hills to monitor the attendance of employees.

“We have ordered 20 biometric machines at the cost of around Rs 5 lakh. These will be installed in all important GTA offices and hospitals,” Binay Tamang, an executive member in charge of the Sabha’s establishment department, said today.

He did not say by when the system would be in place.

In the new system, the attendance would be recorded through retina scanning and fingerprints of the staff.

Right now, only Group A officers at Swasthya Bhavan in Calcutta undergo biometric scans for attendance.

“We believe that many employees come to office late and some also sign the attendance register for the entire week (in advance). The new system will put an end to such practices,” Tamang said.

The biometric system would be installed at the Lal Kothi, Lewis Jubilee Complex, Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan, Darjeeling district hospital, Kalimpong and Kurseong subdivisional hospitals and offices of the engineering department across the hills.

Officials in the GTA Sabha said around 2,000 of the 15,000-odd employees draw salaries without attending office. “Almost 2,000 of the 15,000 employees don’t attend office. Many work in other parts of the country but their family members take the salaries (deposited in their names). We also think many employees have died but others are drawing their salaries,” Tamang said.

Salaries are distributed in cash at GTA offices and an employee has to sign and collect it. “We have asked all employees to submit their voter identity cards, three passport size photographs, educational certificates and retention order given by the DGHC,” said Tamang.

The documents have to be submitted by September 14 and they would be matched with the existing records.

Most of the employees of the GTA were working with the DGHC earlier. After the council was dissolved in August, the staff members were absorbed into the GTA with the same designation.

Apart from the 6,321 DGHC employees, the GTA also has around 116 regular staff members on deputation from the state government and teachers of primary, secondary and higher secondary schools. “If the biometric system brings about the required change, we will introduce them even in schools,” Tamang said.

“The GTA has to dole out Rs 25 crore every month on salaries but the work culture is poor. We have come to make a difference in the administration and the old ways have to be changed,” he said.

Tamang added that preliminary findings had revealed that DGHC workers who have studied till Class VIII had been posted as assistant directors. “Some people who have only cleared Class VIII were appointed as assistant directors. This is why we have asked all the employees to submit their educational qualification certificates,” he said.

The official said 550 employees had been transferred to other departments that had less staff. “Certain departments like parks and garden have excess employees while key sectors like health have been neglected as many health centres are understaffed,” said Tamang.

10 Sept 2012

दूर्घटनामा मर्नेहरुको संख्या दुइ

10 सेप्टेम्बर (कालेबुङ) :- आइतबार अपरान्ह तारखोलानजिक भएको एउटा वाहन दूर्घटनामा मर्नेहरुको संख्या दुइ पुगेको छ। यस दूर्घटनामा गम्भीर रुपले घाइते भएकी 4 बर्षीय बालिका लिजुम लेप्चाको उपचाराधीन अवस्थामा आज मुत्यु भएपछि मर्नेहरुको संख्यामा बृद्धि भएको हो।मृतक बालिका दक्षिण सिक्किमको पाम्फोकको निवासी रहेको थाहा लागेको छ। उनी आफ्नो फुपू र बोजुसँग हिजो वाहनमा सवार भएर रम्फूबाट साङ्सेतिर आफन्तकोमा आइरहेकी थिएन। सिलगढी रेफर गरिएका तीनजना घाइतेहरुमध्ये चार बर्षे बालिका लिजुम लेप्चाले आज प्राण त्याग गरिन भने रहल दुइजनाको अवस्था पनि चिन्ताजनक रहेको जानकारी प्राप्त भएको छ। घटनाबारे प्राप्त जानकारी अनुसार रम्फूबाट यात्रीहरु लिएर मंसोङ कमानको साङ्सेतिर आइरहेको ड्ब्ल्युबी 2380 नम्बर भएको एउटा कमाण्डर वाहन तारखोलानजिक दूर्घटनाग्रस्त भएको थियो। यो दूर्घटना आइतबार अपरान्ह साढेचारदेखि पाँचबजीभित्र भएको थियो। वाहन सड्कबाट 50 फिट तल खस्दा वाहनमा सवार सबै यात्रीहरुलाई शरीरको विभिन्न भागमा चोट लागेको थियो। घाइतेहरुलाई घटना स्थलबाट तत्कालै उद्धार गरी कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पतालमा ल्याइएको थियो। अत्याधिक चोटको कारण अस्पताल ल्याउने क्रममा नै 48 बर्षीय सुमित्रा राईको निधन भएको थियो भने कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पतालमा प्राथमिक उपचारपछि चिन्ताजनक अवस्थाका घाइतेहरु लिजुम लेप्चा(4) अनि निर्मला तामाङ(25) लाई तत्कालै सिलगढी रेफर गरिएको थियो जहाँ उपचाराधीन अबस्थामा आज 4 बर्षीय लिजुम लेप्चाको पनि मृत्यु भएको छ। बाक़ी 13 जना घाइतेहरुको कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पतालमा उपचार चलिरहेको छ। ती मध्ये केही घाइतेहरुको स्वस्थ्यमा निकै सुधार आएको अस्पताल पक्षको भनाई छ। यस दूर्घटनाबारे जानकारी पाएपछि जीटीएका उपप्रमुख रमेश आले अनि रम्फू-मंसोङ समष्टिका सभासद गोपाल रुचाल आइतबार अबेर राती महकुमा अस्पताल पुगेर घाइतेहरुको अवस्था र उपचारसम्बन्धी निरीक्षण पनि गरेका थिए।

Boy driver and pals killed in Sikkim Vehicle rolls down 1500ft, 4 kids die

Gangtok, Sept. 9: Four boys, apparently carrying garbage in a car to dump at a place near their hostel, died yesterday when the vehicle that was being driven by one of them rolled 1,500ft off a hilly road in West Sikkim.

Five boys, all below 18, were in the Maruti Alto yesterday morning and only one survived and has been taken to Siliguri for treatment.

He has suffered injuries on his head which police said were serious.

The four boys who died were identified by the police as 16-year-old Aditya Rai, who was driving his uncle’s car, Biswadeep Rai, also 16, Sumit Rai, 14, and Kapil Sunam, 17. They were students of Daramdin Government Secondary School in West Sikkim.

The fifth boy was Pritish Pradhan, 14, and a Class VIII student of United Academy, a private school at Daramdin.The boys who died were in Classes IX and X.

Driving a car below the age of 18 years is illegal and the owner of the car, in this case Aditya’s uncle Diwash Rai, could face punishment for this. He has been arrested and charged under bailable sections.

Although they studied in the government school, the four stayed as boarders at the hostel of United Academy, the police said. Diwash Rai, the owner of the car, is the principal of United Academy.Kapil, Aditya and Biswadeep died on the spot while Sumit and Pritish were pulled out alive by the police and youths of Sombaria and Daramdin. Sumit died on the way to Siliguri and was brought back to Jorethang Primary health centre. Yesterday evening, the families of the four boys lodged an FIR against Diwash Rai who was questioned by the police.

“An FIR has been lodged and he has been charged with endangering human life and causing death due to negligence. As the charge is bailable, Rai was given bail. However, the investigation will be carried out,” said a senior police officer at Daramdin police station. The maximum punishment for the charge is imprisonment up to two years or a fine or both.

The United Academy principal during the interrogation said the five boys had loaded garbage in his car for dumping at a nearby garbage site. They drove off with the car without informing him, he told the police.

“The valid age for procuring a driving license is 18 years. No one can drive a vehicle before attaining 18 years. If someone is found doing so, legal action is taken against the car owner,” said state motor vehicles secretary T.T. Sherpa.

He said that a motor vehicles inspector shall visit the spot and prepare a report on the incident.