Morcha sends Soren signal to tribals JMM chief meet before Calcutta trip

VIVEK CHHETRI

Roshan Giri, Bimal Gurung, Shibu Soren and his son Hemant in Darjeeling on Friday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, June 15: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders today met Shibu Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief and well-known tribal leader, to boost the hill party’s appeal to those adivasis in the Dooars and Terai who are averse to the demand for statehood.

The meeting was held hours before a Morcha delegation was scheduled to leave for Calcutta this evening for talks with the Bengal government tomorrow on the Justice Shyamal Sen committee report.

The Morcha hopes that its association with the JMM will act as a bargaining point at the Calcutta meeting. The hill party has been under pressure since June 9 to revive its statehood agitation after it was revealed that the Justice Shyamal Sen committee had included only five mouzas in the Gorkha Territorial Administration area, against the Morcha’s demand of 396.

The Morcha had termed the recommendations “unjust, insulting and humiliating”. Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today said: “If the interest of the Gorkhas and the adivasis of Darjeeling, Terai and the Dooars are not looked after by the state government, the statehood agitation will have to be renewed. We have requested Shibu Soren and his party to support us in our demand. They will reach out to the adivasi people in the Dooars and Terai and will talk on the issue.”

Soren, who was the face of the Jharkhand statehood struggle, and his party leaders, including son Hemant, spoke to Gurung and his team for more than an hour in Darjeeling.

“We discussed the political developments in the state and the region. We have decided to extend all possible political support (to the party). We have the experience of being able to carve out a separate state of Jharkhand,” Soren said.

The Morcha has been facing opposition from some adivasi outfits in the Dooars and Terai on the issue of statehood. The Morcha does not hope much will come out of tomorrow’s meeting in Calcutta.

Hemant, the deputy chief minister of Jharkhand, who spoke after the meeting said he did not think the interest of the Gorkhas and adivasis would be addressed at the meeting at Writers’ Buildings. “I do not think that any decision in the interests of the Gorkhas and the adivasis would be taken in tomorrow’s meeting. We are now ready to fight together in the interest of the Gorkhas and adivasis and our state committee will co-ordinate (with the hill party) and announce its agitation in the days to come.,” Hemant said.

“We know that the fight for statehood is difficult but we have formed a new platform today. If we fight together we can get better results,” he said.

John Barla, an adivasi leader from Dooars who is supporting the Morcha’s demand for inclusion of plains in the GTA, said: “I have no hope of the meeting being fruitful.”

Three adivasi representatives will be part of the 21-member Morcha delegation to Calcutta. It will be led by party general secretary Roshan Giri.(TT)

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Plains seek govt word on GTA report

Siliguri, June 15: A forum formed to protest the inclusion of plains mouzas in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has warned that it will launch an intensified movement if the state government doesn’t take a final stand on the Justice Shyamal Sen report tomorrow.

The Terai-Dooars Joint Action Committee asked the government to declare whether it would accept or reject Justice Sen’s recommendation to add five mouzas in the plains to the GTA during the meeting between Mamata Banerjee and a delegation of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders tomorrow.

“The Terai and Dooars have been going through a period of uncertainty ever since the GTA accord was signed and a high-powered committee (headed by Justice Sen) was formed to look into the Morcha’s demand to bring 396 mouzas under the administrative body. People in the plains were anxious about the functioning of the committee as not a single person from the Terai or the Dooars was a member of the panel other than the Kalchini MLA (who is a representative of the Morcha),” said Darjeeling district Intuc president Aloke Chakravorty, who is also a leader of the Joint Action Committee.

“Now that the Sen committee has made its recommendations, the state must clarify tomorrow whether it will accept or reject the report. If the government doesn’t come out with an unambiguous stand during the meeting between the chief minister and the Morcha leaders, we (the Joint Action Committee) will be forced to launch an intensified agitation,” he said.

The Joint Action Committee is a conglomerate of 20 outfits such as the Intuc and the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad which are opposed to the inclusion of the plains mouzas in the GTA.

Observers said the anti-Morcha forum’s warning of a fresh movement could be a pressure tactic ahead of tomorrow’s meeting.

“The warning has been issued to mount pressure on the state government and dissuade it from giving any new promise on the Morcha’s demand for more territory,” said an observer.

The Parishad also said it was concerned about the outcome of tomorrow’s talks between the Morcha leaders and the chief minister. “Our organisation welcomes the recommendations made by the high-powered committee. But we are concerned about the outcome of tomorrow’s meeting in Calcutta,” Birsa Tirkey, the state president of the Parishad, told The Telegraph over the phone from Calcutta.

Tirkey said Parishad leaders would meet Bengal governor M.K. Narayanan and apprise him of the situation emerging out of the Sen committee’s recommendations.

“We had sought an appointment with the governor and he has agreed to meet us at 1pm on July 5. We will inform the governor about the resentment of the tribal people over the Morcha’s demand to bring the plains under the GTA. We will put forward our points before the governor and tell him that people in the Terai and the Dooars have rejected the Morcha’s demand,” Tirkey said. (TT)

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Landslide halt to Nathu-la permits

NIRMAL MANGAR

The landslide zone that blocked the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg at 9th Mile. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, June 15: Sikkim police have stopped issuing permits to tourists driving up to Chhangu Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu-la after landslides on several stretches along the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg.

“We stopped issuing permits yesterday because boulders are continuously rolling down the road at 9th Mile and 17th Mile (near Kyongshala village), which is dangerous for tourists,” said an officer at the police check post at 2nd Mile.

A police officer said that the permits would be issued once the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) gives the green light for vehicles to travel up to Nathu-la.

According to the police officer, the decision not to issue permits — tourists require them because Nathu-la is close to the China border — was taken after a discussion with the BRO and the state tourism department.

Chhangu Lake (12,000ft), Baba Mandir (13,500ft) are two other popular tourist destinations in East Sikkim and tourists have to take the same JN Marg to reach there. The distance from Gangtok to Nathu-la is 56 km.

According to the check-post office records, on an average day, 400 vehicles are issued permits during the tourist season for the trip to Nathu-la and back.

“We issued permits for 1,090 vehicles on May 20, perhaps making the highest number of tourists visiting these three places this year,” said a check post personnel.

A BRO officer said 120 workers were trying to clear the road. “When it rains, the boulders start falling down on the road,” the BRO officer said. With the Nathu-la option not available for tourists, there is a sense of disappointment among holidaymakers.

“We had come to Gangtok on Wednesday and booked a trip to Chhangu Lake and Baba Mandir on Thursday. The travel agency here informed us that the permits are not being issued. We are disappointed with the news as our entire itinerary has been affected” said Sujoy Ghosh who had come from Bengal’s North 24-Parganas.

Tourists are now heading to Namchi in South Sikkim and Yumthang Valley in North Sikkim.

“Although it is quite depressing to learn that the permits are not being issued, we were told that the initiative has been taken for our safety. We have decided to visit Samdruptse, Char Dham and Sai Mandir at Namchi. The trip for Chhangu and Baba Mandir is due for the next time we visit Sikkim,” said D.K. Bomzan from Dehradun.

“The second option for most of the tourists after Chhangu Lake is Lachen, Lachung and Yumthang. There has been a 50 per cent increase in bookings for Lachung,” said Raju Rai, a local tour operator.

According to the check post office here 92 vehicles took permits for Yumthang on yesterday and 73 vehicle permits were issued today for the same destination.

A check post officer (on condition of anonymity) said that permits would be issued to Chhangu Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu-la from Sunday if the road is cleared.(TT)

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Mamata pushes ties to brink

J.P. YADAV

New Delhi, June 14: Mamata Banerjee today pushed her relationship with the Congress to the brink as she pitched for A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as her “formidable… number one” presidential nominee and dared the Congress to throw her out of the UPA.

“Our candidate is Kalam,” Mamata declared outside the 16 Ashoka Road residence of Mulayam Singh Yadav, trying to look defiant despite the absence of the Samajwadi Party chief by her side.

Sources said Mulayam was upset with Mamata for jumping the gun on Kalam. ( )

Mulayam’s failure to step out with her, which stood out in sharp contrast with Wednesday’s joint announcement at the same venue, fuelled doubts on how long the heartland veteran would stick with Mamata.

The Bengal chief minister refused to read too much into it. But she later rushed an MP, Kunal Ghosh, to Mulayam’s residence that reaffirmed her fears about the reliability of the Samajwadi leader.

After the short meeting with Mulayam, Ghosh said the Mamata-Mulayam friendship was on and alleged deliberate efforts from “certain sections” to create confusion.

Mamata, who remained closeted through the day with her close aides, spelt out in the evening her intent to have a contest in the presidential election if there was no consensus on Kalam.

The chief minister said the ball was in the Congress’s court on her continuation in the UPA and asserted that there was no question of changing her stand on Kalam. “I am not the one to get threatened. Nobody can threaten me,” Mamata said in an indirect reference to the Congress amid reports that efforts were on to turn Mulayam around and isolate Mamata.

Ruling out the possibility of a compromise candidate, Mamata said: “I have taken a stand. I cannot change it, you know.” She went on to give a “clarion call” for a “conscience vote” and urged all political parties to vote for Kalam, the “best candidate”.

Asked whether she would walk out of the UPA, Mamata sought to put the onus of a decision on the Congress. “We have not left the UPA. If they don’t want us, they can throw us out…. The choice is with the Congress,” Mamata said, just before leaving for her meeting with Mulayam.

Mamata said she would not attend the UPA meeting scheduled for tomorrow to discuss the presidential election. She, however, cited the excuse of being already late in reaching Calcutta for not attending the UPA meet.

Her intent, however, was clear as railway minister Mukul Roy did not attend today’s cabinet meeting and she shut out efforts by some Congress leaders to reach out to her. Mamata is scheduled to leave for Calcutta by an afternoon flight tomorrow.

Her determination to lock horns with the Congress was clear as she called Kalam more than once in a bid to convince him to contest. She later claimed that Kalam had agreed to contest. Kalam has not yet made a public announcement.

Mamata sought to set aside concerns about her being tagged with the NDA and the BJP which are said to be in favour of Kalam. “It is not fair to say he will be BJP candidate or Naveen (Patnaik)’s candidate or Mamata’s candidate. Earlier also, I had proposed Kalam’s name and the NDA had supported,” she said.

The chief minister did not rule out the possibility of a mid-term election if the UPA lost the presidential poll. “If the ruling party loses the presidential election, it is for the Congress to consider mid-term elections,” she said in response to a question on the possibility of snap polls. But Mamata clarified that she was not pushing for one.

Close aides of Mamata affirmed that under no circumstances would she back Pranab Mukherjee for the President’s post and she was convinced that the Congress was determined to make him the candidate despite her opposition.

Mamata’s aides today used Mukherjee’s calls to CPM leaders in Calcutta to seek support as a handle to attack him. “In the last six months, Pranabda has not called Mamata even once. Today, he called CPM leaders for support and people of Bengal will see who are his friends,” said Ghosh, the Trinamul MP.

Trinamul insiders said Mamata’s “separation” with the Congress was virtually complete, though she would not push for a formal divorce. “She will remain in the UPA and continue to live separately to torment the Congress,” said a Trinamul leader.(TT)

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7missing after car crash

Gangtok, June 14: Seven persons were reported missing after an SUV skid off the road and plunged into the Teesta near Mamkhola in Kalimpong last night. Another occupant of the car, Kiran Subba, 35, escaped with critical injuries and was taken to Siliguri for treatment.

The accident occurred at a spot between Rangpoo and Melli along NH31A around 11pm. Police said the missing persons were Amardeep Subba, 23, Sajal Subba, 17, Umesh Subba, 25, Bikash Subba, Mohan Subba, Subash Subba, 18, and Durga Mani Pradhan, 30. Durga was driving the Tata Sumo. The passengers were from the same family. “They are all are residents of Upper Kitam in South Sikkim and were on the way to Gangtok to collect the body of a relative,” said inspector Bijay Subba.

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Barla faction joins JMM for statehood

Members of the Terai Dooars Joint Action Committee, a forum of organisations opposed to the inclusion of plains mouzas in the GTA, at a protest meeting on Hill Cart Road in Siliguri on Thursday. (Kundan Yolmo)

June 14: The John Barla-led adivasis today joined hands with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and formed the north Bengal branch of Shibu Soren’s party, asserting that they would strive for a separate state — Darjeeling Terai Dooars Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh — if the government failed to bring more plains mouzas under the hill set-up.

The dissident faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad led by Barla today met the JMM chief at Mongpong, 30km from Siliguri.

“At the meeting, it was decided that we will form the Uttar Bangal Jharkand Mukti Morcha or the north Bengal regional unit of JMM. A 21-member committee, with Gautam Toppo as president and Raju Bara as general secretary, has been formed,” the deputy chief minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren said after the meeting. “The committee will protect the interests of the tribals and their rights, including their demand for a separate state.”

The decision to float the regional unit of the JMM has given a boost to Barla and his followers, who were ousted from the Parishad after they joined hands with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

“Ever since they were ousted from the Parishad, Barla and his followers lacked an official platform. They have been since desperately scouting for a platform. They got that today in the JMM,” an observer said.

The JMM, on the other hand, had earlier tried to work out an agreement with the Parishad. But the alliance did not mature as the Parishad was opposed to the idea of plains territory being made part of the hill set-up and preferred to tie up with like-minded forces like the KPP. This went against the JMM agenda of separate state for tribals.

“We are very clear in our intentions and will fight for the rights of tribals. Our decision is to wait till the June 16 meeting between the Morcha leaders and Mamata Banerjee. If the state government refuses to include more mouzas in the GTA, we will launch a movement for the separate state of Darjeeling Terai Dooars Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh under the banner of JMM,” said Raju Bara, a dissident Parishad leader and general secretary of the JMM’s NB unit.

He added that Soren would meet Morcha president Bimal Gurung in Darjeeling tomorrow.JMM central organisational secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya, who was also accompanying Soren, said the party was exploring the possibility of its expansion in north Bengal with its strong tribal presence.

“We have already some support base in north Bengal. Through this tour, we are exploring how to strengthen the support base and expand our party,” Bhattacharya told The Telegraph. The JMM had contested nine seats in the Dooars the Assembly elections and ended second in three constituencies — Kalchini, Kumargram and Madarihat.

Parishad leaders, however, refused to give much importance to the development. “It is not the political party but its agenda which matters,” said Parishad leader Rajesh Lakra. “People here are against the inclusion of their area in the GTA or creation of a separate state. The party that stands by this agenda will be welcomed by people, others would be rejected.”(TT)

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Ghisingh’s ‘delayed’ suit in court

Subash Ghisingh at Calcutta High Court on Thursday. Picture by Bhubaneswarananda Halder

Calcutta, June 14: GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh today filed a writ petition in Calcutta High Court challenging the validity of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Act, the suit prompting the Trinamul Congress to question the rationality behind his “delayed response”.

High court sources said the case would come up for hearing early next week. Ghisingh refused to comment on the case, saying: “Since I have already filed the case, the issue is now sub-judice. Now, whatever I have to say would be conveyed to the court by my counsel.” Arunava Ghosh will represent Ghisingh in court.

The GNLF chief also issued a press release in which he said: “In a meeting on June 8 this year, our party discussed the political fate of the Gorkhas…of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council area and also the long pending Sixth Schedule Bill… After discussions…it was finally decided that there is no other alternative for the party except to file a case to safeguard the special status of the DGHC.”

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb today dismissed the GNLF chief’s petition saying anyone was free to approach the judiciary. But he added: “We have nothing to say on the suit filed by Subash Ghisingh but would like to question the rationality behind his delayed step. His decision to file the suit after 11 months of the GTA agreement is surprising.”

Deb said the GNLF chief was now a “non-entity” in the hills. “Over decades he had organised statehood movements, and was patronised by the CPM which had its own interests. During his regime, Ghisingh also got involved in financial irregularities and these are open secrets. It does not suit him to talk on issues like saving the hills and working in the interest of the people,” the minister, who is also the chairman of the north Bengal core committee of Trinamul, said.

In Jalpaiguri, Ghisingh told journalists: “Whatever I have to say regarding the violation of the Constitution, I will say in court. But the GTA accord cannot be implemented without clarifying the issues which I have raised.”

GNLF sources said Ghisingh had pointed out that after the dissolution of the DGHC, the hills should come under the municipalities and panchayats. “Under the constitutional provisions, it is necessary to amend the Constitution to form another body (GTA). But this was not done and so it is a violation of the Constitution,” a Morcha source said.(TT)

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Sikkim nursing aspirants stuck in Bengal red tape - Physics and chemistry still in rule book for admission to hospital course

NIRMAL MANGAR

Gangtok, June 14: Around 200 students who opted for healthcare science in Class XII can’t apply for general nursing course because of the West Bengal Nursing Council’s insistence that admissions would be given only to those who studied physics and chemistry.

The SNT Nursing Training Centre, the only college that offers the course in Sikkim, is accredited to the West Bengal Nursing Council.

The Indian Nursing Council, the governing body of nursing councils in all states, has recently revised the criteria for admissions to the general nursing and mid-wifery course, saying students who didn’t study physics and chemistry could also apply for the course.

But the Bengal nursing council hasn’t effected the corresponding changes in the admission rules and it’s still mandatory for students to study physics and chemistry to apply for the GNM course.

“I had opted for healthcare science and passed the Class XII examinations with good marks. But the SNT Nursing Training Centre (at STNM Hospital) in Gangtok has refused to accept my application for the general nursing and mid-wifery course as I didn’t study physics and chemistry at higher secondary level,” said a student, who passed out of Namchi Girls’ Senior Secondary School.

The students as well as parents have been taken aback by the nursing institution’s decision.“We never thought our wards would face such a crisis when they chose healthcare science in Plus Two. We have sought the human resources development department’s intervention to deal with the conundrum,” said a guardian.

The SNT Nursing Training Centre has 20 seats for the GNM course.

Students who studied healthcare science as a vocational subject for taking up nursing courses had to study physiology, anatomy, diet, delivery system and English at Plus Two level. The first batch of students found out the anomaly in the Bengal nursing council’s admission rules only after they cleared the Class XII exams and started applying for the GNM course.

Healthcare science was introduced by the CBSE at five government senior secondary schools in Sikkim two years back. Opting for healthcare science does not mean that a student would take up further studies in nursing. He or she can also study regular courses provided that they have cut-off marks.

HRD secretary C.S. Rao said he had already taken up the matter with the health department. “The Indian Nursing Council has amended the admission rules, saying students who haven’t pursued chemistry and physics can also do the GNM course. But the Bengal nursing council hasn’t changed the rules yet. I asked the health department to pursue the matter with the Bengal nursing council,” said Rao.

Health principal secretary Kumar Bhandari said the STNM Hospital would have to adhere to the admission rules of the Bengal nursing council. “The college is affiliated to the Bengal nursing council and as such, students applying for the course should have studied chemistry and physics at the Plus Two level,” said Bhandari.

Sushanta Banerjee, the director of medical education in Bengal, said the state nursing council was yet to get any directive from the Indian Nursing Council regarding the change in the admission rules. “Once we receive the direction, we will also make the necessary changes.” (TT)

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Gurung warns hills of ‘shrewd’ lady Morcha chief rules out result at meet

VIVEK CHHETRI

Morcha chief Bimal Gurung addresses party workers at Gymkhana Club in Darjeeling on Thursday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, June 14: Bimal Gurung today described Mamata Banerjee as a “shrewd” lady who makes a lot of empty promises and said there was little chance that his party would arrive at an agreement on the mouzas during the June 16 meeting with the chief minister in Calcutta.

The Morcha chief indicated that the only way out was to intensify the statehood agitation in the days to come and appealed to party workers to remain united and be ready for any situation.

“A 21-member delegation will meet the chief minister on June 16 but I have little hope of the delegation reaching a positive agreement. Mamata Banerjee is a shrewd lady who only indulges in lip service. Her announcements for Darjeeling would have filled up two-three boxes but in reality nothing much has happened,” Gurung told his party workers at the Gymkhana Club hall here today.

This was his first public outburst since the disclosure of the Justice Shyamal Sen committee report that recommended to the government the inclusion of five plains mouzas in the new hill set-up. The Morcha had demanded that 396 mouzas from the Dooars and Terai be made part of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

The Morcha leader warned the delegates, who would be led by party general secretary Roshan Giri and the four Morcha MLAs, even against smiling at Mamata. “You should not even smile at her and not be influenced by her smile. Look straight into her eyes while discussing with the chief minister and your heads should not bow down,” he said indicating that he would not be attending the scheduled meeting.

“The MLAs should stop building networks with state ministers and they should not attend the Assembly session which is starting soon.”

The Morcha while announced a series of agitation to protest the Sen committee report had sought an appointment with the chief minister. Mamata has agreed to meet the Morcha leaders on Saturday.

“It is not a report of the 10 member committee but of a one-man commission,” Gurung said referring to the Sen committee’s recommendations. The territory report was drawn up by Justice Shyamal Sen alone. The other members of the committee were not privy to the recommendation nor the census report based on which it was drawn up.

The Morcha’s agitation programme includes resignation of chairman and councillors of hill municipalities on June 27.But today Gurung said: “The programme of civic chairmen resigning from their posts must be pushed back and done only at the last moment. The moment the civic chiefs and the councillors resign, the government will appoint their sub-divisional officers in their places and they will play their own games in the hills,” said Gurung.

The hill party warned the state government against forcing elections to the GTA without settling the territory issue. “If they force the elections on us, we will close down the offices of the district magistrate and the sub-divisional officers. If they still try to conduct the polls, we will only ask the deaf and dumb people to contest,” said Gurung, indicating that the party would make a mockery of the polls.

The Morcha president was also angry at Mamata’s alleged ploy to force the party to accept Justice Sen’s recommendation. “Soon after announcing that only five mouzas would be included in the GTA, Trinamul floated its unit in the hills and got together all the people who were against us. They are trying to force us into submission but we will not allow this to happen. We are not afraid of being arrested or to facing bullets.”

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb, who had held the first Trinamul meeting in the hills earlier this week, refused comment on the Morcha chief’s charges. Nearly 1,500 disgruntled Morcha and GNLF leaders with their supporters had joined Trinamul at the meeting.

“We are keeping a close watch over the entire situation but will not comment. Both our party and the government are waiting for the meeting scheduled for Saturday in Calcutta and its outcome,” said Deb, who is also the chairman of the north Bengal core committee of Trinamul.

Party insiders, however, said Trinamul was looking forward to the GTA polls. “Considering the situation, we don’t feel there is any problem in holding the GTA polls. The Morcha might take up the territory issue and launch a movement but it has nothing to do with the polls to be held within the current DGHC area. This decision was taken by the state, in consultation with Bimal Gurung’s party,” a Trinamul leader said.(TT)

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मेक्स वाहन राष्ट्रीय राजमार्गमा दूर्घटनाग्रस्त

14 जून (कालेबुङ):- नाम्चीबाट गान्तोकतिर गइरहेको एउटा मेक्स वाहन राष्ट्रीय राजमार्गमा दूर्घटनाग्रस्त भएर टिस्टामा पस्दा वाहनमा सवार कूल आठजना मध्ये सातजना लापता बनेका छन भने एकजनाले वाहनबाट हाम फालेर आफ्नो ज्यान जोगाएका छन। एस के 01-4052 नम्बर भएको यो बाहन नाम्चीको कितामबाट एकजना आफन्तको शव लिन गान्तोकतिर गइरहेको थियो। यो दूर्घटना बुधबार अबेर राती लगभग साढे बाह्रमा भएको बताइएको छ। दूर्घटना बंगाल अन्तर्गत मामखोलामा भएको थियो। पुलिसको अनुमान अनुसार वाहन मामखोला नजिक पुग्दा वाहनका चालकले नियञ्त्रण गुमाए पछि लगभग 400 फिट तल टिस्टा खोलामा पसेको थियो। दूर्घटनाको तत्कालै वाहनमा सवार आठजनामध्ये एकजना युवक करण सुब्बाले वाहनबाट हाम फालेर आफ्नो ज्यान जोगाएका छन। उनलाई घाइते अवस्थमा उत्तर बंगाल मेडिलक कलेजमा भर्ना गरिएको जानकारी पाइएको छ। तर बाकी सातजना भने अहिलेसम्म लापता रहेका छन। लापता हुनेहरुमा वाहनका चालक दूर्गामणि प्रधानसहित कितामको सुब्बा परिवारका सदस्यहरु मोहन, सजल, बिकास, उमेश, अमरदीप अनि शुभम सुब्बा रहेका छन। दूर्घटना यति भयवह थियो कि दूर्घटना पछि वाहनको केही अवशेष बंगालको किर्ने नजिक देखिएको थियो। सिक्किम अनि बंगाल पुलिसले राफटरहरुको सहयोगमा लापता मानिसहरुको खोजी कार्य शुरु गरेको छ। यसबीच, 27 माइलमा एउटा शव देखा परेको खबर पाइए पनि यसबारे आधिकारिक तौरमा भने पुष्टि हुन सकेको छैन।

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Justice Sen: My judgement was based on Constitution, law and conscience

TAPAS GHOSH

Calcutta, June 12: Justice Shyamal Sen, who led the committee that recommended changes to the territorial reach of a new Darjeeling set-up, has told The Telegraph his judgement was based on the “Constitution, the law of the land and allegiance to my conscience”. “Let people say whatever they want. I have done my duty. There was always going to be an aggrieved party. That is only normal and natural. If a person demands Rs 50 crore but is awarded only Rs 1,000, then that person is bound to be aggrieved. I don’t mind it. I know that my judgement was based on the Constitution, the law of the land and allegiance to my conscience,” Justice Sen said. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had dubbed the recommendations of the Justice Sen committee that only five of the 396 mouzas demanded by the hill party be included in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration to be “unacceptable, unfair and humiliating”. Justice Sen explained that the criteria for deciding which mouzas should be included were listed in the GTA agreement to which the Morcha, the state government and the Centre were signatories and that he had merely applied the norms to reach his conclusion. “The criteria of homogeneity, contiguity, compactness and ground reality is there in the GTA agreement. I did not lay down these parameters,” Justice Sen said. “The Morcha was agreed on this, as was the state government and the Centre. I used my mind, my reasoning as well as submissions of all the parties to arrive at my conclusion.” Justice Sen said that the only thing that he did lay down was that the recommendations to be submitted to the government would be his and his alone. “All those in the committee, other than me, had their interests involved,” Justice Sen said. “The Morcha, the state government and the Centre all had their interests at stake. So, obviously, they could not sit in judgement on a matter where their own interests are involved. So, I made it very clear that the judgement would be mine alone. And the Morcha agreed to this.” Justice Sen said that no one should now say that they should have been consulted on the final recommendation after having agreed to his condition that he alone would give the final recommendations to the state government. “It was agreed upon that all the parties concerned would make their submissions but not participate in the decision-making,” Justice Sen said. “That would be left to me. If any of them had been involved in the decision-making, then it could have been challenged in a court of law and set aside. For, no one can judge his own cause.” But Justice Sen was all praise for the Morcha members on the committee. “They were all very fair and co-operative,” he said. “I was very impressed with their behaviour. I faced no problems during the functioning of the committee.” On not visiting the Dooars and the Terai to interact with the people to find out their views, Justice Sen said: “How would my going there have helped? The district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri provided me all the information I required. They know their districts much better than I do. They are the best people to have provided me with the information. Besides, some census reports were there which greatly helped me.” He said that some of the census reports were “confidential” and their contents could not be shared with other members of the committee. “The additional registrar general of the census department, who was a part of the committee, explained this to the other members,” he said. Now, Justice Sen said, “it is all over, I have no further role to play. My job has ended. I would not like to defend my own judgement.”(TT)

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Morcha counters Trinamul show - Hill leaders: switch is departure of unwanted

Siliguri, June 12: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today sent two of its MLAs to Panighata to give a boost to its supporters, a day after some middle-ranking party leaders switched to Trinamul.

The Morcha leaders, who addressed the crowd from the same venue where the Trinamul event was held yesterday, tried to dismiss the switch saying that the departure of a few Gorkha workers would not affect the party or the Gorkhaland movement much.

“It would hardly matter if only 200 Gorkhas, who have their own interests, join any other party from the total Gorkha population of 7 lakh in the region,” Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri said at the meeting in Panighata this afternoon. “We are least bothered about such departures as these people were either not related to our party or were expelled from the Morcha.”

“The GNLF leaders who joined Trinamul have a record of switching parties to serve their interests. If Trinamul leaders can retain them, it is fine,” he added.

Around 1,500 people, most of them disgruntled Morcha and GNLF supporters, joined Trinamul yesterday. Four former GNLF councillors were among those who switched loyalty.

The meeting, which started around 2pm and continued till 5.30 in the evening, witnessed the presence of 500-odd supporters. While most of them were local people, some reached Panighata from Mirik and some areas of Kalimpong in vehicles.

The Morcha leaders explained the party’s stand on the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the reasons for opposing the report submitted by the high-powered Justice Shyamal Sen committee. The panel has recommended that five of the 396 mouzas demanded by the Morcha be added to the GTA.

“We are waiting for the meeting with the chief minister which has been scheduled for June 16. The chief minister has a different feeling for the hills and that is why we are still banking on her,” Chhetri, who is also the Morcha spokesperson, said.

The chief minister had earlier announced that she would meet the Morcha delegation on June 14 but later rescheduled it to the 16th. “We cannot say what she will tell us at the meeting as we are not foretellers. It is up to the chief minister, her cabinet colleagues and the officials to understand our stand, perceive the aspirations of the people and then decide on the mouza issue.”

Reacting to the Morcha meeting, minister Gautam Deb, who is also the core committee chairman of Trinamul in north Bengal, said the expansion of his party’s base in the hills would not affect the relationship with Morcha.

“Trinamul and Morcha are separate political platforms but that does not necessarily mean that we will have to confront each other. There might be differences in agendas and opinions, but that would not affect the relationship we have with each other,” Deb said. “Seeing the new government’s initiatives and the chief minister’s proactive attitude towards the hills, people have started joining our party. This process will continue in the coming days.”

The minister said Trinamul wanted the early formation of the GTA to expedite development in the hills.(TT)

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Deaths spur day run bar - Cop aspirant from hills succumbs to endurance test

Suresh Bhujel

Calcutta, June 11: Suresh Bhujel today became the second casualty of a constable recruitment test conducted last week in 40-degree heat, forcing the police brass to revise its screening schedule for the remaining candidates.

Like Abhishek Pal of Noapara, Suresh, a 24-year-old from 16th Mile in Kalimpong, didn’t regain consciousness after slumping to the ground midway through a 1.6km sprint that he was required to complete within six-and-a-half minutes. He died at 5.45am.

He and Abhishek had been admitted to SSKM Hospital with symptoms of heat stroke on Wednesday afternoon. Abhishek died that very night amid allegations that delay in medical treatment was as much the cause of death as the searing heat that had knocked him out.

The police suspended the remainder of the recruitment tests till June 20 but the decision to alter the timings apparently wasn’t taken until today. “We have decided that no candidate will be made to run between 11am and 3pm. The heat is unbearable at mid-day, so there will be a break during that period,” said a senior officer at Lalbazar, the police headquarters.

The screening tests will resume late afternoon, as is the system followed by the army and the paramilitary forces.

“If required, the tests can continue till evening. If a candidate scheduled to take the test on a particular day can’t be accommodated for paucity of time, we will shift him or her to the schedule for the next day,” the officer said.

The police brass have also decided to improve medical and other facilities at the venue. There was allegedly no doctor at the test venue, the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, last Wednesday because of a manpower shortage at the police hospital.

The Telegraph had highlighted how a paramedic and some police personnel took Abhishek to SSKM Hospital in an ambulance around 2.45pm that day, after which he had to wait three hours to be shifted to the intensive care unit.

The police have since tied up with Fortis Hospital to deploy a medical team prepared to handle any emergency during the remaining days of the recruitment drive. “The hospital has given us in writing that a team led by a senior doctor will be there every day,” an officer said.

“The hospital will also send an ambulance to back up the one we have.”

The RCTC management has requested the police to shift its recruitment drive elsewhere to allow it to prepare for the Monsoon Races that start on July 10, but Lalbazar has apparently decided to stay put.

“There was a proposal to shift the venue to Rabindra Sarovar. But that would mean making the candidates circle the stadium several times to complete running 1,600 metres. We didn’t want to risk that because of medical reasons, so the plan to shift was shelved,” an officer said.

The announcements coincided with Abhishek’s father Naba Kumar Pal and sister Madhurima meeting chief minister Mamata Banerjee and police commissioner R.K. Pachnanda today.

“We wanted changes (in the recruitment tests) and it is good to see the police doing the needful. But it’s unfortunate that two lives had to be lost for this to happen,” said Neeladri Sekhar Ghosh, one of Abhishek’s cousins who had accompanied the family to Writers’ Buildings and Lalbazar.

Suresh’s elder brother Suren was inconsolable when he received his sibling’s body in the presence of senior police officers. Additional commissioner of police Debasish Roy promised to look into his request to give a job to one of his other siblings, all of whom live in 16th Mile village of Kalimpong, a source said.(TT)

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Trinamul enters Morcha turf

AVIJIT SINHA

Minister Gautam Deb with the newly inducted Trinamul members at Panighata on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Panighata, June 11: The Trinamul Congress today inducted a number of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders at a public programme in Panighata and signalled the possibility of contesting the GTA polls scheduled for next month.

A number of GNLF leaders, including former DGHC councillors, also joined Trinamul along with middle-ranking Morcha leaders in the presence of minister Gautam Deb. Trinamul claimed that nearly 1,500 people joined the party in its first public meeting in the Darjeeling hills, a Morcha turf.

“Today’s was the first public meeting of Trinamul in the hills. We intend to spread our base in the hills and participate in the development process taken up by Mamata Banerjee,” Deb, who is the chairman of the Trinamul core committee of north Bengal, said. “Our intention is not to oppose any other political party but spread the message of peace, harmony and democracy to expedite development.”

Deb said Trinamul would soon form committees at different levels in the hills.

“Regarding the issue of the GTA mouzas and the polls, we will request the people to maintain peace as the party concerned (Morcha) will meet the chief minister soon. We want people to refrain from activities that might jeopardise progress and development in the hills,” Deb added.

The meeting comes two days after the Justice Shyamal Sen committee’s report on the Morcha demand for territory was disclosed. The committee has recommended the inclusion of five plains mouzas in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which has not gone down well with the Morcha that had demanded 396. The party has lined up a month-long agitation programme to protest the report.

In Panighata today, Rajen Mukhia, a former GNLF leader with three former DHGC councillors K.N. Subba, N.B. Khawas and Tshering Sherpa, joined Trinamul. Following him were some middle-ranking Morcha leaders from the hills and the Terai like Bishal Chhetri, Yuvraj Tamang and Shyam Rai. Slogans like “long live Mamata Banerjee” rent the Panighata air.

After the joining ceremony, the newly inducted members and Trinamul supporters from all three hill subdivisions, took out a procession in Panighata. Led by Deb and escorted by police, the rally culminated at the meeting venue.

“The GNLF and Morcha could not achieve Gorkhaland and took the path of compromise for their own interests. But Mamata Banerjee, who visited the hills six times during her first year of governance, did a lot for the hills, right from sanctioning of funds for development to the implementation of new infrastructure projects,” Mukhia said. “We joined Trinamul today to bring peace, democracy and development in the hills.”

While Deb refused to speak on the GTA polls, a Trinamul leader said: “The ultimate aim is to contest the elections. Nearly 1,500 people joined our party in a single day.”

Asked if Trinamul had promised him a ticket in the GTA polls, Mukhia did not give a direct reply: “We are not saying anything on Gorkhaland. But regarding GTA, which would be formed through elections, it is a usual practice for regional and national parties to contest polls. We find nothing wrong in such participation.”

Bishal Chhetri, a former member of the Terai committee of the Morcha, said discontentment was brewing among Morcha workers in the plains

“Morcha leaders have failed to address our demand to be included in the GTA. The agreement was signed without considering our aspirations,” Bishal Chhetri said. “In Trinamul, there is no such pretence. The chief minister and her colleagues like Gautam Deb are working consistently for the hills with specific plans for development. We would prefer to be in Trinamul.”

Shankar Adhikary, the president of the Terai committee of the Morcha, refused to put much importance to today’s programme. “Bishal Chhetri was the former president of the Terai branch committee and was removed from the post. Later, he was also expelled from Morcha,” Adhikary said, trying to dismiss Chhetri’s importance as a Morcha leader. “The others who joined lack political consciousness, are prone to ill habits like drugs and have their own interests. Trinamul’s entry however, will not affect the Morcha.”

Some Morcha supporters had planned to waylay Deb with black flags to protest the Sen committee report but the minister took a different route while entering Panighata. Local sources said the Morcha was planning a public meeting tomorrow to counter today’s meeting and prove their base.(TT)

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Mouza strategy that failed

VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, June 11: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha knew from the outset that it was nowhere near getting the 396 mouzas it had demanded but had banked on a formula followed during the formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council, among its other strategies, to see it through, party sources said.

The Morcha knew that problems of homogeneity and contiguity would come in the way but had cited the BTC formula followed in neighbouring Assam to try and convince the Shyamal Sen committee to recommend the inclusion of at least 60 to 100 mouzas in the GTA, they said.

“We were aware that contiguity would be a problem to connect all the 396 mouzas and this was why we were looking for a face-saver in the recommendations. Anything between 60 and 150 mouzas would have been a face-saver for the party, which unfortunately we could not find in the recommendations,” said a senior Morcha leader.

By homogeneity the high-powered committee meant the presence of a majority of people speaking a similar language and following the same culture. Contiguity meant linking one mouza with the other.

“We had told the committee that if two areas with more than 51 per cent Gorkha population were separated by one that had less Gorkha population, that too should be included to maintain contiguity. The mouzas with less Gorkha population could be included as John Barla, the adivasi leader backing us, had significant following in these areas. We felt that the middle mouza could be left out only if there was no majority even after the Adivasi and Gorkha populations were taken into account,” said one of the committee members.

“Such a model had been followed when the Bodoland Territorial Council was formed,” he claimed.

The Morcha members had hoped that forest stretches would be considered as links to mouzas, making them contiguous. For example, villages like Kumai-Sipchu and those mouzas demanded in the Nagrakata block of Jalpaiguri district are not contiguous because of the Chapramari forest that separates them. But according to the Morcha formula, the Chapramari forest should be considered the connecting link between the mouzas which would then be contiguous.

“We understand that it might not be possible to connect all the 396 mouzas but efforts should have been made to include a decent number of mouzas so that the issue would have been settled for once and all,” said a Morcha leader.

Chief secretary Samar Ghosh had listed four key parameters used by the committee to arrive at its conclusion — contiguity, homogeneity, compactness and ground realities.

Bimal Gurung’s party is unwilling to buy the argument that more mouzas could not be considered, given the “ground reality” criterion. Under this criterion if the DGHC areas are not a source of sustenance for a mouza, it would not be considered for inclusion.

“It is unfair to say that if people of a mouza depend on Siliguri for sustenance, it cannot be part of the GTA. We in Darjeeling are also dependent on Siliguri. To consider where people shop as a ground reality criterion was not fair. Also, just because some mouzas are adjacent to international borders of Nepal and Bhutan, they have not been included in the GTA,” the leader said.

“The best way out was to have both the pro-inclusion and those against it sit together and justify their cases mouza-wise. In this manner both the parties would have been satisfied.”

The Union home ministry had specified that the mouza-wise linguistic data would be privy only to Sen because of the “sensitive nature” of the information. The decision-making power lay only with Sen.

L.B. Pariyar said he and other three Morcha members on the committee were not consulted before the final recommendations were made public by Justice Sen.

“How can I say that I was a member of the committee when the final report does not bear my signature? It was a one-man commission. The fact that we would not be consulted before the final recommendations would be drawn up was made known to us only during the last meeting of the committee on May 29. Even then, we had lodged a verbal protest but I do not know whether Sen recorded our protest or not,” Pariyar said.(TT)

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FURRY OF PROGRAM DECLARED BY MORCHA AFTER SEN'S REPORT

MUKESH SHARMA

KALIMPONG

June 10:

The political mercury in North Bengal has risen once again, after an unexpected blow to the Gorkh Janmukti Morcha’s (GJM) expectations. The GJM had expected at least 150 out of 398 mouzas to get recommended by the High Power Committee. But to everybody’s surprise the 10 member Committee headed by Justice (Retd) Shyamal Kumar Sen recommended only 5 mouzas i.e. 2 from Dooars and 3 from Terai. The Morcha who were gearing up for the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) elections by staying much optimistic towards the High Power Committee’s report, now feel humiliated at their own home region. The GTA which was once proclaimed by theMorcha as the 1st successful step towards Gorkhaland formation is now left unwanted by the Morcha itself. The discontented GJM General Secretary was found stating, “If needed then we shall not let the GTA elections happen. “No election, only agitation.”Disappointed and dissatisfied with the whole situation the GJM Central Committee held an imperative meeting today at Patleybaans presided over by the Morcha Chief, Bimal Gurung. During the meet the Committee chalking out Morcha’s further plans, decided on submitting a memorandum to the Chief Minister (CM) and District Magistrate (DM) on June 12, 2012, opposing the High PowerCommittee’s report. They shall also submit an application to the CM requesting her to spare some time for the Morcha. And luckily, ‘if’ the CM accepts their request, then 21 GJM members will be heading towards the capital to meet her in order to discuss and deliberate the ‘mouza matter’. The Committee further notified that on June 27, all the Municipality Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik will be putting forward their resignations.Likewise, the Morchashall be calling on 74 hours Darjeeling and Terai- Dooars bandh for consecutive 3 days i.e. July 02, 03 and 04. It has been announced that the MLAs of all the 4 Sub Divisions (Darjeeling, Kalimpong,Kurseong and Mirik) will also be putting forward their resignations on July 17 at Chowrasta followed by burning of the GTA documents. Finally, on July 27,the GJM will be holding a mass public meeting during which they shall reveal their further future programmes. (kalimpongnewsexpress.blogspot.in)

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Strike after season ends - Morcha calendar marks shutdown after tourists leave

VIVEK CHHETRI

Tourists resting at the Mall after their arrival in Darjeeling and before checking into their hotels on Sunday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, June 10: The month-long agitation programme announced by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has left a window open for the tourist season.

The more-than-a-month-long Morcha programme that is devoid of strike till July when the tourist season ends, has come as a huge relief to hoteliers in town. The hotel industry had been spending sleepless nights ever since an agitated Morcha termed Justice Shyamal Sen’s recommendation to include only five of the 396 mouzas demanded by the party in the GTA as “humiliating”.

The Morcha had called a meeting of its central committee today to decide on future course of action. Hoteliers said they spent the entire day thinking of backup plans in the worst case scenario of an immediate strike. “We were anxious throughout the day and were thinking of various back-up plans. In the worst-case situation of the Morcha deciding to call a strike with immediate effect, we thought of taking the tourists out of the town late to night. We were trying to figure out what accommodations we would provide to them in Siliguri,” said a hotelier.

The Morcha, however, has called a 72-hour general strike only from July 2 onwards. The month-long agitation programme starts with submitting memorandum to the chief minister and the chairmen and commissioners of the three hills municipalities resigning from their posts. The second phase of agitation starts in July with the strike.

But by then, the hotelier said, the tourist season would have ended.

“Going by the bookings, I believe that the season will end after June 18,” he said. In the peak summer season, nearly 2,000 tourists arrive in the hills daily.

Many tourists were, however, unaware of the unfolding drama or the tension of the hoteliers today. Many of them trudged up to the Mall to enjoy the promenade before checking in, unaware of possible agitation programmes.

Sudhant Mondal and his 20 friends from Behrampore are among that group that arrived today.

They headed straight to the Mall from the motor stand even before checking into their hotel. Asked if they were anxious having arrived at this time in Darjeeling, Mondal was surprised. “Why should we?” he asked. Told about the development, Mondal said: “We had been travelling and we did not have the time to get any updates. We have arrived in Darjeeling and have not even checked into our hotel. We have found the place to be beautiful and we are enjoying our rest (after a steep walk uphill from the Motorstand) at the Mall now.”

Even D. Mukherjee from Calcutta, who had been in Darjeeling for the past two days, was unaware of the developments. “We wanted to extend our stay by another day or two but could not find a room. We are surprised that the hotels are full. We were not aware that anything like this (the Sen committee report and the Morcha protest) is happening in Darjeeling,” he said.

Darjeeling receives around 3.5 lakh domestic tourists annually, besides 40,000 foreigners.

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Staggered hill signal to govt

VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, June 10: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has lined up a staggered programme of engagement and protest, giving the state government time to work on measures that can help the party offset the dismay the territory report has spread among its supporters.

The agitation plan was announced a day after the Justice Shyamal Sen committee recommended the addition of five mouzas to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area. The Morcha had demanded 396 mouzas (not 398 as reported on Sunday because the organisation had duplicated two clusters.)

The sequence of the Morcha programme shows chronological preference is being given to engagement with the chief minister (see chart). However, pressure will be kept up through traditional means of protest.

The agitation is spread over more than a month, culminating in a public meeting on the Gorkhaland martyrs’ day on July 27. The time frame indicates the government is being given time to take some steps that will help the Morcha turn around its disheartened supporters.

Although the Morcha did not spell it out, the party leadership’s repeated references to specific mouzas that apparently met the Sen committee’s parameters but were still left out suggest it would like some assurance on inclusion of these clusters in the GTA area.

“We believe the chairman of the committee was bent on omission rather than inclusion. In his report, he omitted places like Manabari, Pathajhora, Thaljhora and Bagrakote only because the people from these areas shop at Oodlabari which is not Gorkha-dominated. By this argument, even Darjeeling and Kalimpong should not be within the GTA as the hill people shop in Siliguri and procure their foodgrain from the plains,” said Morcha spokesperson and MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri.

“More than 100 mouzas from the eastern Dooars and about three mouzas dominated by Gorkhas from the Terai were not included because they border Bhutan and Nepal, respectively. We see no logic to this argument as places like Pashupati in Darjeeling and Jholung in Kalimpong sub-division also border Nepal and Bhutan,” he added.

The threat to burn copies of the GTA agreement is being seen as a sign that the Morcha would not accept the autonomous set-up and would consider renewing the Gorkhaland agitation after reading the signals during the month-plus-long programme. The scheduled date of burning — July 17 — is also the birthday of Morcha president Bimal Gurung.

The Morcha said if the state government decided to hold the GTA elections, scheduled for next month, the party would oppose the plan. “We will oppose any move to conduct elections in the hills,” said Giri.

“Our four Morcha representatives in the committee were not consulted before the final report was compiled. We also had our data and the chairman could have easily tallied the data. The committee functioned as a one-man commission, not as a 10-member committee and we are against the committee’s functioning,” said Giri.

In Calcutta, home secretary Basudev Banerjee said: “The chief secretary is going through the (Sen committee ) report. It is a 330-page document. I am also going through it. We wish to upload it on the state government’s website by Tuesday.”

“We are keeping a close watch on the situation. We are in constant touch with the officials of the districts and additional deployment will be made as soon as the situation so demands,” Banerjee added.(TT)

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Accident at tarkhola

RANGPO-10TH JUME 12
Accident at tarkhola just six kilometres from Rangpo towards siliguri in national highway 31 a claimed three persons including one lady seriously injured. According to the news the private Scorpio no sk -01 –p-1955 going from Gangtok to siliguri uncontrolled at tarkhola plunged to 250 feet from the road to the deep of tista river .local residents rescued three persons named dr kumar ,Mr. wangchuk and Mrs. geeta and taken three injured persons to Rangpo primary health centre ,after first aid all the injured persons was referred to private nursing home at siliguri .according to the news dr kumar has a critical head injury while Mrs. gita has a injury in the back side of the body .according to the residents of the area the vehicle was overspeed.

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Sen solution: five out of 398 - Morcha rejects formula, key meeting today

June 9: The Justice Shyamal Sen committee has recommended that five out of 398 mouzas demanded by the Gorkha Janmutki Morcha be brought within the ambit of a proposed authority that will run the Darjeeling hills and some fringe areas of the plains.

The Morcha has described the recommendation as “humiliating” and warned of the possibility of “a drastic change” in the situation, fuelling fears of a fresh agitation after over a year of normality in the hills although the plains have been restive.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed for calm (excerpts below), laying stress on the independent nature of the 10-member committee and reminding all stakeholders of a promise to accept such a panel’s suggestions.

The Morcha, which was expecting the inclusion of at least 150 mouzas (cluster of villages) and is now facing intense pressure to address disappointment on the ground, has called an emergency meeting tomorrow to take the final decision on its course of action. A decision is also expected on whether the Morcha would take part in the GTA elections scheduled next month.

On the Morcha’s public pronouncement will hinge the fate of the year-long peace. Darjeeling was quiet today and no celebrations were staged in the plains where the Adivasis have been opposing the inclusion of any of their villages in the proposed GTA.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri. Picture by Suman Tamang

The Darjeeling district administration posted armed police in riot gear at Chowk Bazar, the political hub of the hill town. Jalpaiguri police also stationed armed personnel in the Dooars. Both districts remained free of any untoward incident.

“The tourists will be affected only if the Morcha calls for a shutdown or a strike tomorrow,” a Darjeeling official said.

The five Gorkha-dominated mouzas the Sen committee has recommended for inclusion are Samsing and Chalauni in Jalpaiguri district and MM Terai, Purba Karaibari and Gulmakhari in Darjeeling district. (See map)

The recommendation was made public at Writers’ Buildings by chief secretary Samar Ghosh who underscored that he was merely announcing what the committee had recommended.

Later, the chief minister made more or less clear that the state government would stick to its word and accept the “genuine report”, although she added that “I am yet to go through the report in its entirety”.

Chief secretary Ghosh listed the four key parameters used by the committee to arrive at its conclusion — contiguity, homogeneity, compactness and ground realities (see chart on left). Contiguity was an intractable problem the committee grappled with as many mouzas were scattered from one another as the map illustrates.

Ghosh said of the 199 mouzas demanded from Jalpaiguri district, two had been recommended for inclusion. From Darjeeling district, three had been recommended from the 199 sought by the Morcha.

Within an hour of Ghosh’s announcement, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri told a news conference in Darjeeling: “The report is a humiliation for us and we will not accept it. Till now, there is peace in the hills but the situation could drastically change soon. The time has also come to rethink the formation of the GTA.”

The committee has drawn criticism in the hills on two counts.

The principal criticism is that the panel did not go for “field visits” to the Dooars and the Terai, the two regions where the 398 mouzas are located. Instead, the committee relied on reports from the district magistrates of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, both members of the committee.

The 10-member committee comprised of four representatives each from the state government and the Morcha, one from the Centre and Justice Sen who chaired it.

Another factor that has upset the hills is the reliance of the committee on the 2001 census to establish the demographic pattern of the areas demanded by the Morcha. Sources said the related 2011 census data were still being enumerated.

Besides, L.P. Pariyar, one of the four Morcha representatives in the committee, complained that the “all-important” census report on the linguistic pattern in the Dooars was not shown to the rest of the committee members.

A state government official said the Union home ministry had specified that only Justice Sen should have access to what the administration felt was “sensitive” data.

The Congress and the CPM have complained that none of their representatives from the plains was included in the committee that had four Morcha nominees. The committee had met delegations from political parties.

Chief secretary Ghosh said “each member participated in the discussions and offered their inputs, but the decision-making power lay solely with the chairman, Justice Sen, as agreed upon by all”.

Ghosh stressed that the Morcha had signed a bipartite agreement with the state government on March 24 this year, which makes it binding on both parties to abide by the committee’s recommendations in letter and spirit, irrespective of what they are.

But Morcha’s Giri said: “We had agreed in the hope that the recommendations would be fair. We cannot accept such a humiliating recommendation. We are being forced to wonder whether the committee was merely an eyewash.”

four factors

The 10-member high-powered committee headed by Justice Shyamal Sen based its recommendations on the mouzas on the following parameters

Contiguity

Whether the mouzas are in direct physical contact with the existing Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) area

Homogeneity

Whether at least 50% of the population in the mouzas share a common language and lifestyle

Compactness

Whether the mouzas require to be split to be included in the GTA, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration that will replace the DGHC. If a mouza requires to be split to be included in the GTA, it would not be considered for inclusion

Ground reality Miscellaneous factors like administrative reasons (mouzas housing gram panchayat headquarters cannot be included), accessibility and connectivity (whether a mouza can be easily accessed from the existing DGHC area), source of staple supplies (whether the essential supplies for a mouza come from the existing DGHC areas). If the DGHC areas are not a source of sustenance for a mouza, it would not be considered for inclusion.

CM’S APPEAL

The following are excerpts from chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to all stakeholders in the hills and the plains of north Bengal

Mamata Banerjee at Writers’ before she made the appeal Saturday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

There was an open agreement that the high-powered committee’s recommendation would be accepted by all. The committee was an important one and was impartial and autonomous. The state, the Centre and the Morcha gave their opinion but the decision was left entirely with the chairman. We didn’t take the decisions. Everyone was involved in the process, their opinion was taken. I will appeal to everybody to go by the agreement. A burning problem has been solved. With the tabling of this report, we have achieved a great deal. This will help us in moving forward. Even Bimal Gurung and other Morcha leaders wanted the report to come before the elections (to the GTA). I wasn’t expecting the report to come so early.

(In response to a question if she was happy with the report) The question of my being happy or unhappy does not arise. We had agreed on the high-powered committee and formed it jointly. The report may go for or against someone. But this is a genuine report. I am yet to go through the report entirely. I will be happiest the day when peaceful atmosphere would bring development to the region. I will be happy when tourists flock to Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Mirik, Sandakphu, Dooars and Terai. We haven’t received any report that the Morcha is unhappy with the report. There should be no differences. When the elections are held, they should participate in it. Once the elections are completed, funds will start flowing in and bring development. I don't want any disturbance in the hills. Those who are trying to play politics on this issue should stop it. Everybody loves Darjeeling, Dooars, Terai. The business community could not pay taxes when the movement was on. We have waived it. Once Darjeeling is free from trouble, business and development will reach the hills. We have started repair of roads. We are going to develop Mirik and Sandakphu. There are other projects in the pipeline, including power project.(TT)

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