Cut in GTA members’ salary to pay elderly

VIVEK CHHETRI

Rangbhang, Jan. 14: Bimal Gurung has decided to deduct the salaries of GTA Sabha members to pay old-age pension to 900 senior citizens in the hills. The GTA had decided to pay the pension and had even passed a resolution to this effect. But sources said since the provision was not included in the GTA’s budget for the current fiscal, the pension plan has not been approved by the state finance department. Bimal Gurung, the chief executive of the GTA, while addressing a crowd at the inauguration of Krishi Mela at Rangbhang, near Mirik, said: “I am now only committed to the welfare of my people. I am not bothered about what the Opposition has to tell me or what critics have to write in their newspapers. I had earlier announced a pension plan for senior citizens called Kamansingh Ramudamu pension scheme, and we will immediately pay the pension by deducting salaries of the elected GTA members.” According to Gurung’s plan, 20 people aged above 70 from each of the 45 GTA constituencies, who do not receive any benefits from the government, will be paid Rs 500 a month. This means each of the elected GTA Sabha members will have to fork out Rs 10,000 every month. “The pension will be distributed during the ongoing Krishi Mela and we will give four months’ (from January to April) pension at one go. After April, GTA officials will have to work out the nitty-gritty of the scheme,” said Gurung. GTA officials said money would be allocated for the pension in the budget for the next financial year. It is not clear how the GTA members’ salaries would be deducted to pay the pension. An elected GTA member gets Rs 25,000 a month. A GTA executive Sabha member is entitled to Rs 30,000 and the deputy chairman draws Rs 35,000. The chairman’s monthly pay is Rs 40,000, while the deputy chief and the chief of the GTA draw Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively. Gurung today said the GTA had also received funds from the Centre to construct 1,150 houses under the Indira Awas Yojna. “When the construction starts, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders and contractors should not accept even a cup of tea from the beneficiaries. I don’t want any corruption in the scheme.” Sources said the hills were receiving funds under the scheme after seven years.

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Sikkim CM inaugurates Jorethang Maghey Mela 2014

JORETHANG

14 Jan 2014

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling inaugurated the ‘Jorethang Maghey Mela 2014’ here today. He also inaugurated several other stalls installed by different departments and the Saras Mela. The opening ceremony was attended by several ministers, MLAs, HODs and several other important dignitaries. The Mela started with a beautiful dance showcased by members of Tall Music Academy from Jorethang and Namchi. The dance was followed by cultural performances by people belonging to Bhutia, Nepali and Lepcha community.

The cultural events were followed by an exhibition football match played between women teams from Sikkim and Nepal in which the Sikkim team defeated the team from Nepal by 2-0. The winner and runners up team was handed over cash prizes and special trophies by Housing and Building Minister Tilu Gurung.

Other attractions during the day included adventure sports like paragliding and river rafting, while various eatery stalls provided visitors with an array of traditional Sikkimese cuisines on display across the mela ground and Jorethang bazar. Different amusement rides, entertainment items along with various other stalls are also on display at the mela.                 

Meanwhile, the organising committee has announced the presence of Governor of Sikkim Shrinivas Patil as the chief guest on the second day of Mela.

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Golay accuses SDF , Challenges Chamling for public debate

Gangtok

14 Jan 2014

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha president PS Golay on Monday accused the SDF led state government for desperately trying to win back people’s trust by making false promises. He said the state government has already ‘gobbled’ the actual funds for development and is pushing the state into an inevitable debt. He added, “If the state government wants to give anything to the people, they should first show what they have given to them in the past two decades of their rule,” said Golay during a picnic cum meeting at Karunthang under Yangyang area in South Sikkim.

Golay assured that his party will form the government after the 2014 Assembly Elections because the SKM has been formed by the conscious people of society who are well aware of what SDF has done to the state in the last 20 years.

Golay also did not refrain from accusing the SDF of large-scale corruption in land transfer for the construction of Sikkim University at Yangyang. He claimed the land donors were deprived of compensations and rehabilitation and the varsity campus still lies in shambles. Golay further challenged the CM for a public debate on democracy in Sikkim. “The SDF just made promises in the past 20 years. They did not work on their promises. We will exceed our words with deeds,” he said.

 “Chamiling divided our society on grounds of casteism to accumulate power but the time to unite against the wrong has come,” added Golay.

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Gurung inaugurates Krishi Mela, promises development

KALIMPONG

13 Jan 2014

Gorkha Territorial Administration chief executive Bimal Gurung today inaugurated the four-day long Krishi Mela in Kalimpong wherein he promised development of the Darjeeling hills within three years.

The inaugural ceremony was also attended by GJM study forum member Swaraj Thapa, agriculture department member Kalyan Dewan, GTA vice-president Lopsang Lama and others.

The Krishi Mela has more than 24 stalls hosted by the Forest and Health Department.

Gurung said that if he fails to develop the Darjeeling hills within three years, the people can discard his party, the GJM. He also announced several development plans and promised to establish a ropeway from Kalimpong to Relitar by the end of March. A hospital comprising 300 beds and a high school will be set up in Kalimpong, said the GTA chief.

Further, Gurung vowed to establish a 15-bed hospital in Barabat and to work on beautifying Reli by constructing parks for children and also a Reli Jheel. He added both the state and central governments will fund all development plans adequately.

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GTA plea on CM visit

Darjeeling, Jan. 13: The GTA Sabha today requested state officials involved in drawing up the itineraries of the chief minister to ensure that the hill body was kept in the loop about the details of her visit to Darjeeling later this month.

Observers have said the plea seeks to avert any unpleasant incident like the one at Chowrasta on January 29 last year. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, at a government event then, had told a crowd at Chowrasta that Darjeeling is “a part of us”. The comment sparked protests at the venue that made Mamata upset.

Lt. Col. (retd) Ramesh Allay, the deputy chief of the GTA, said: “We would request the state officials to keep the GTA in the loop about issues related to the chief minister’s visit to Darjeeling on January 22. This is because many of the subjects have been transferred to the GTA.”

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 14-day Krishi Mela at Jamuni, about 15km from Darjeeling town.

Relations between Mamata and the GTA chief executive had got strained after January 29 last year, mainly because Bimal Gurung was angry the chief minister had distributed pattas in Darjeeling, even though the land and land reforms department had been transferred to the GTA.

Gurung had made an oblique reference to the distribution of pattas by the chief minister without taking the GTA into confidence. Soon after Gurung’s speech, things took an ugly turn after the chief minister reprimanded Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters for raising “we want Gorkhaland” slogans in response to Mamata’s comment on a unified state.

It is only recently that the relations between the state government and Gurung have improved. Mamata is scheduled to attend a programme organised by the Tamang community in Mirik on January 21, followed by a government event at Chowrasta the next day.

Allay said: “Yesterday’s marathon (Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon) was a huge success, but initially, the police had not kept us in the loop. They came to us later but we immediately decided to help them and the GTA also played a major role in its success.”

The krishi melas are being held at four places in the hills. Fairs at Jamuni and Relli in Kalimpong kicked off today, the ones in Kurseong and Mirik begin tomorrow.

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Hills’ first marathon a success Run for peace brings Darjeeling on road

Darjeeling, Jan. 12: Darjeeling came to a standstill this morning, but this time 17-year-old Raksha and her mother Asha were not confined indoors.

They were out on the streets at 7am and running in the first-of-its-kind marathon in the hills.

After the prolonged statehood agitation that had crippled the hill town last year, Darjeeling put on its running shoes for peace and harmony.

Raksha and Asha Tamang were among the 2,000 participants from the hill town and around the country who braved the cold — 10-12°C — and lined up at the starting point of the first Amway Darjeeling Police Marathon — Let’s Run for Peace.

The 13km run was held in association with The Telegraph.

As the run was held on the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nityasatyananda, secretary of Darjeeling’s Ramkrishna Mission Nivedita Educational and Cultural Research Centre, was present at the prize-giving ceremony at Chowrasta. “On seeing such enthusiastic participation, I am reminded of a quote of Swamiji. ‘Be a hero, always say I have no fear’,” the monk said.

Toddlers to teenagers, homemakers to honchos, athletes to the aged, schoolchildren to soccer stars and the odd starlet, everyone was there for Sunday morning’s run to “give peace a chance” as The Beatles would have put it.

About 2,000 people ran and an equal number cheered them. The weather gods allowed for a clear, sunny sky.

“We just had to be here today. My mother and I wanted to be part of this historic run together,” said a beaming Raksha, a Class X student of Sukhiapokhri High School.

Some came wrapped in mufflers, others in thick woollens and some came in just T-shirts.

But everyone was in sneakers and brimming with enthusiasm when they assembled at Ghoombhanjyang, just outside the Ghoom railway station.

In August, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had called stay-at-home protests and the people had stayed in.

While the seasoned runners did their stretches in a corner, the late-risers were seen trying to get alert with steaming cups of tea.

Ministers Madan Mitra and Gautam Deb were not there at the starting line. But Bhaichung Bhutia was.

At 9.15am, after the Darjeeling police band played the national anthem, former Indian football captain Bhaichung let loose a bunch of Tri-colour balloons to loud cheers and flagged off the marathon.

Although 13km is much shorter than the official marathon distance of 42.19km, the organisers felt that a 42km run on hilly terrain would have been daunting.

Each participant was given a white T-shirt. The route was lined with tourists and local people who clapped and cheered the participants.

Bhaichung, in a navy blue tracksuit gifted by the police, did not run but encouraged the runners. “It is great to see such a massive turnout. I hope the marathon spreads to Sikkim and other northeast states,” he told Metro while posing for photographs.

The behind-the-scenes team was led by Kunal Aggarwal, superintendent of police, Darjeeling.

Dressed in a tracksuit identical to Bhaichung’s, he made sure the run was completed without a glitch. “We are overwhelmed by the response. We were hoping to attract about 800 people but the turnout of 2,000 has taken us by surprise. This has motivated us to organise the marathon next year, in a bigger and better way.”

In all, 1,500 men and 500 women from Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Sikkim and Karnataka participated.

The runners started from Ghoombhanjyang and passed Ghoom station through Sukhia Road, Tenzing Norgay Road (NH55), 18th Lebong Cart Road, Birch Hill Road, Mall Road, past the zoo and ended the run at Chowrasta — the main square of the town.

Hari Shankar Sharma, 30, from Rajasthan was the first to cross the finishing line among the men. He completed the run in 41 minutes. Shyamali Singh from Asansol was first in the female category.

Sharma wrapped himself up in a thick blanket as soon as he finished, taking it off only when he was called to receive the medal. He ran the marathon in Calcutta on January 5. It is there that he learnt about the Darjeeling event and took a train to the hill town.

“In recent times, Darjeeling has been in the news for all the wrong reasons but I hope today’s marathon sends a strong signal that the people of Darjeeling want nothing but peace,” Bhaichung said after the prize distribution.

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Jorethang Maghay Mela 2014 to start from Jan 14

JORETHANG

12 Jan 2014

The state’s biggest extravaganza of the New Year 2014 is all set to kick off here at the border town of Jorethang, South Sikkim. The yearly fair which attracts over one lakh visitor on a daily basis from across Sikkim and outside features various cultural and traditional programs apart from the other attractions. Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling will officially inaugurate the 3-day long fair on January 14.

Chief Patron of the mela organizing committee and also the area MLA Zoom–Salghari constituency Madan Cintury informed, the main event which include cultural programs and exhibitions will be held at the Jorethang Ground, while the other fair attractions will be in display along the Rageet River bank. He further said other stalls featuring various culinary delights of the state, departmental and traditional items will be installed across Jorethang bazaar. This year’s mela will also feature adventure sports like paragliding and river rafting along with other sports events including the ongoing Inter-constituency Rural Football Tournament and skill games etc.  

The inaugural day will be marked with performances by dancing and singing troupes from Sikkim and other states, while the special men and women exhibition football matches will also played during the day, according to Century. Expecting a huge number of people, the Jorethang administration have also tighten the security in and around the town. The Governor of Sikkim Shriniwas Patil will be the chief guest for the second say of the mela, he added.  

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Hill TMC wants son-of-soil as party’s LS candidate

KALIMPONG

12 Jan 2014

Even if the name of TMC’s LS candidate from Darjeeling constituency has not yet been disclosed the hill leaders of the party are now speaking up that the candidate must be someone who is a local resident. Although some weeks ago former Indian football skipper Bhaichung Bhutia was being named as TMC candidate, which is still unconfirmed. Hill TMC women wing president Nanita Gautam stated the hill unit would prefer to have a candidate who is from the place.

Speaking in a meeting at Saat Mile in Kalimpong Gautam said, “The party high command will announce the name of the candidate soon and we want the candidate to be a son of the soil.” With this she also clarified the TMC will fight the election fielding its own candidate. Gautam met the women folk of the area and discussed about the party policies as a step to gain foothold in the area. Speaking the journalists later, she said the local women are willing to join the TMC as they aspire for peace and development.

Gautam claimed the women complained that some GJM youths have been trying to create disturbances in the area and also warned the youths to stay away from troubling the villagers.

Stating that Poonam Chettri has been chosen as a temporary convener Gautam claimed several women will join the party officially on January 16. She also demanded the benefits flowing from GTA should directly reach the public as the administration is meant for all. While voicing for transparency in GTA Gautam also demanded initiation of panchayat raj system in the hills at the earliest. (EOIC)

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