Absconding con man arrested

KNE; Kalimpong, December 31 Kalimpong police arrested absconding Sonam Dorjee Bhutia from Panighatta on December 30 midnight. Accused 36-years-old fled on June 1 from the police custody by making an excuse of using the lavatory. As per the police source, some reliable source informed them about the presence of Bhutia at Panighatta. The Kalimpong police with the help from Panighatta police arrested him. The Kalimpong police team had also reached Kolkata to apprehend the absconding but they returned empty handed earlier. Bhutia used to collect money through forgery. He used to lie the people by saying that he is from the Intelligence Bureau and the Custom. A case under section 224 was filed against him and he was placed before the court today.

Moktan’s statement creates rift in the GTF

KNE;Kalimpong, December 31: There are much possibilities seen that the Gorkhaland Task Force (GTF) faction may dissolve. After the GTF Coordinator, R Moktan said that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) should call all party meet regarding Gorkhaland, tension has been created within the GTF. The Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) central committee General Secretary, Pratap Khati cautioned that the ABGL will step out from the GTF, if Moktan does not take back his words or amend them. 

As per Khati, Moktan commented without any deliberation. The ABGL General Secretary said that Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) is an umbrella organization and for the demand of a separate state, the ABGL joined the organization on its call. But the Moktan has been working as per his wishes, he added. 

 Saying that ABGL does not know anything except Gorkhaland Khati said, “We shall never accept those who compromise with Madan Tamang’s murder. Moktan by asking that particular faction who has compromised with the government for Gorkhaland, to call an all party meeting has done a false job. This is outside ABGL’s rule. Moktan has started buttering the Morcha”. Further, alleging the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of working against Gorkhaland, Khati said, Darjeeling is not Mamata’s source of income. “As per the constitution of India we are demanding a separate state. Who is the CM to tag our revolution as plaintiff?” questioned the ABGL General Secretary.

Sudden increase of river Teesta washes pyre

KNE;Kalimpong, December 31 The Hindus of the Kalimpong and of other places perform the last rituals of their departed at the banks of the river Teesta at Labarbotey, along NH31A. But the sudden release of the water by the dams operating in Sikkim has couple of times washed away the pyres and the half-burnt bodies. The same episode occurred today when a pyre was washed away by the water just after the fire was lit. 

The body was recollected after a while when the water level decreased, and the last rites were performed. ‘The incident happened when there was sudden rise in the water level’ said an eyewitness and added that before too the similar kind of incidents occurred but the administration did not act on it. 

दिल्लीको घटनाले तातियो पहाड: पेदोङमा भएको जिना हत्याकाण्डको उठ्यो आवाज

कालेबुङ 24 दिसम्बर। राजधानी दिल्लीमा एक छात्रा माथि भएको सामुहिक बलत्कारको चौतर्फी बिरोध भईरहेको समयमा पहाडबाट पनि बिरोध भएको छ। पहाडवासीहरु पनि पिडीत नारीले न्याय पाउँनुपर्ने माग गर्दै अनि दोषीहरुलाई यथाशिघ्र सजायको माग गर्दै सडकमा निस्कन थालेको छ। यसै सिलसिलामा राजधानी दिल्लीमा भएको सामुहिक बलत्कारको घटनाको बिरोधमा आज गोर्खा जनमुक्ति नारी मोर्चाले शहरमा मौन जुलुस निकालेको थियो। 

यहाँको डम्बर चौकबाट शुरु भएको उक्त मौन जुलुसमा नारीहरुको सुरक्षा गर्नुपर्ने मागमा बिभिन्न प्रकारका प्ला कार्डहरु बोकेका थिए। यस अवसरमा डम्बर चौकमा जुलुस शुरु हुन अघि गोजमुमो पार्टीका बरिष्ट सदस्य एंव सभासद डा आर बी भुजेल, नारी मोर्चा केन्द्रिय समिति सदस्य तारा लोहार लेप्चाले सबैलाई सम्बोधन गरे।“नारीहरुलाई सम्मान गरौ”, मानिसहरुमा बृद्धि भईरहेको शैतानी प्रवृति नष्ट पारौ आदि स्लोगानहरु लेखिएको प्लाकार्डहरु बोकेर निकालिएको जुलुस यहाँको थाना डाँडा परिसर हुँदै महकुमा अधिकारी कार्यलयमा पुगेर समापन भयो।

 यस अवसरमा बिभिन्न समाजिक संगठनका प्रतिनिधीहरुको पनि सहभागिता रहेको थियो। दिल्लीमा भएको सामुहिक बलत्कारको घटनाको बिरोधमा निकालिएको उक्त जुलुसले आज यहाँको पेदोङम गत वर्ष भएको 22 वर्षिय जीना प्रधान हत्याकाण्डको आवजलाई पनि अघि ल्यायो। दिल्लीको घटनाले नारीहरु सुरक्षित छैन भन्ने सन्देश चारैतिर फैलाएको समयमा समाजिक अपराधका घटनाहरुको कारण पहाडमा पनि नारीहरु सुरक्षित छैन भन्ने प्रमाण जीना प्रधान ह्त्याकाण्डले स्पष्ट पारेको छ।

 जुन ह्त्याको आज 13 महिना बितेर जाँदा पनि जाँच गर्ने पुलिस कर्मीहरुले हत्यारालाई पक्राउ गर्न सकेको छैन। राजधानीमा भएको घटनाको बिरोधमा निकालीएको जुलुसले आज जिना प्रधान हत्याकाण्डको आवज निकालेपछि पुलिस प्रशासनले जाँच कार्यमा गरिरहेको बिलम्ब माथी पनि प्रश्न खडा गरेको छ। यस सम्बन्धमा डम्बर चौकमा गोजमुमो पार्टीका बरिष्ट सदस्य एंव सभासद डा आर बी भुजेलले मानिसहरुलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै दिल्ली घटनाको आरोपीलाई यथाशिघ्र सजाय दिनुपर्ने माग गरे।

 तिनले सम्बोधनकै क्रममा गत वर्ष पेदोङमा 22 वर्षिय जिना प्रधानको दिउँसै हत्या गरिएको सन्दर्भमा पुलिसले यथाशिघ्र कार्वाही गर्दै दोषीलाई पक्राउ गरेर नारीहरुको सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित गर्नुपर्ने माग गरे। “अहिले पहाडमा पनि नारीहरु सुरक्षित छैनन। पेदोङमा जिना प्रधानको हत्या भयो। केहि वर्ष अघि मात्र कालेबुङ महकुमाको चुईँखिममा चार वर्षिय नाबालिकको बलत्कार भयो। यसको साथै यहाँको बोङबस्ति स्थित एक नाबालिकको अपहरण गरेर बलत्कार अनि हत्या गरिएको घटना अघि आईसकेको छ।

 यस्तो घटनाले सामाजिक अपराधाहरु दिनोदिन बडीरहेको पुष्टि गरिरहेको छ भने पुलिसले किन दोषीहरु पक्राउ गर्दैन ?” – डा भुजेलले प्रश्न राखे। आज महानगरीहरुमा मात्र होईन ग्रामिण ईलाकाहरुमा पनि सामाजिक अपराधका घटनाहरु दैनिक बृद्धि भईरहेको बताउँदै उक्त घटनाका दोषीहरुलाई पुलिसले यथाशिघ्र पक्राउ गर्नुपर्ने माग गरे। पहाडमा समाजिक अपराधका घट्नाहरुमा संलग्न दोषीहरुलाई पुलिसले पक्राऊ गरेर नारीहरुको सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित गर्नुपर्ने माग गर्दै पुलिसले जाँच कार्यमा बिलम्ब गरिरहेको बिषयमा पनि प्रश्न उठाए।

 यसै सिलसिलामा नारी मोर्चा केन्द्रिय समिति सदस्य तारा लोहार लेप्चाले दिल्ली घटनाको पिडीत प्रति पहाडवासीको सम्वेदना रहेको बताउँदै दोषिहारुलाई यथाशिघ्र सजाय दिनुपर्ने माग गरे। तिनले नारीहरुको सुरक्षा पुलिसले सुनिश्चित गरेर निर्धक्क हिड्न सक्ने वातावरण बनाउँनुपर्ने माग पनि गरिन। 

 यहाँको डम्बरचौकबाट निकालीएको उक्त मौन जुलुसमा बिभिन्न संगठनका प्रतिनिधीहरुको सहभागीता संगै सभासदहरुको पनि सहभागिता रहेको थियो। उक्त प्रतिनिधी टोलीले महकुमा अधिकारी एल एन शेर्पालाई भेट गरेर एउटा ज्ञापन पत्र सुम्पियो। दिल्ली घटनाका अरोपीलाई यथाशिघ्र सजाय दिनुपर्ने ज्ञापन पत्रमा माग गरिएको छ। यस अवसरमा महकुमा अधिकारी कार्यलय परिसरमा गोर्खा दुख निवारक सम्मेलनका अध्यक्ष उदय कुमाई लगायत अन्य संगठनका प्रतिनिधीहरुले पनि सम्बोधन गरे।

Chewang Bhutia to resign from TMC

KNE;Kalimpong, December 23: The president of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Kalimpong Block II Chewang Bhutia today hinted his resignation from the party. Along with Bhutia several other party members are said to quit the party on December 26. Bhutia interacting with the media today said that meetings are going on and the statement on the resignation may come out fast. 

 “I don’t know about other members, but I have made my mind to resign from the party”, said Bhutia. Explaining further, he said that he joined the party aiming that the party will do good for the Hills and its people but till date not even a single step has been taken in this direction.

 The party on the other hand also failed to provide any security to its leaders and the people he said and alleged the TMC of playing with people’s innocence. “There is no distinction between the CPM and the TMC, their attitude towards the people of the Hills has remained the same”, said Bhutia. TMC leader Gautam Deb had promised the party members a meeting with the party president Mamata Banerjee which too remained unfulfilled. 

The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) sabhasads who are appointed by the TMC must also resign from their posts, he insisted. Bhutia who is always in the headlines had left the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in June this year and had joined the TMC. Bhutia and other party members will submit their resignations to the president of the Darjeeling District Committee Gautam Deb.

296 adhoc teachers made permanent, rest to follow- Giri

Kalimpong, December 23 ‘269 adhoc teachers has been made permanent, the volunteer teachers are also in the pipeline’ said that Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Education Department in-charge also the chief guest Roshan Giri while addressing the gathering on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebration of the Gairibas high secondary school under Today-Jalakda constituency today. The GTA has taken up education as its topmost priority he added. 

Giri stated that they have demanded the provision of linguistic minority, which after its implementation, the SSC in the Hills will not be applicable. The GTA is bearing the salaries of adhoc teachers who are working in the schools which are not recognized. We are also working for the recognition of these schools he held. The appointments of the primary teachers will be completed by January 2013 which will constitute the candidates who had sat for the examination on 2002.

 The high schools have 633 vacant places, SSSK has 1084, MSK has 64 and the appointments to the same will be carried out at the earliest he assured. The engineer college at Takdha is under construction, the university will come up after few days as agreed in the GTA accord, and the land for the IT college has been confirmed at Garidhura said Giri and underlined the people that it has been carried out in such a short period of its journey.

 The schools buildings will be constructed with sound technology he said and added that apart from the education, GTA has made several projects for tourism and roads and is moving ahead fast. The GTA’s last objective will be Gorkhaland concluded Giri.

Cutting and Tailoring Training for women

Kalimpong, December 23: 3 months long Cutting and Tailoring Training commenced in the residence of Bum Bahadur Gurung today. The training an initiative of the 37 no Constituency Sabhasad, Kalpana Tamang is being organized by the Naari Morcha branch of Upper Pagang under Payeu Gram Panchayat. Sabhasad Tamang was present as the chief guest for the inaugural function held under the presidentship of Dachiki Gurung.

 The training aims to make the females of the said area self reliant. Doma Gurung and Munnu Tamang will be imparting training to the participants. The overall expense of the training is being borne by Sabhasad Tamang. The chief guest in her address said that the training is being held remembering the contributions of the women during the agitation. 

Through this training the unemployed women of the area will be getting employment opportunities, she added and notified that similar trainings will be held in other areas of the Constituency in the coming days. The Sabhasad also present 50 chairs to the members of Santuk Lumbung-2 Sewa Samaj. President of Morcha Upper Pagang branch, Dawa Dorjee Sherpa, President of Yuva Morcha branch, Dawa Tenzi Sherpa and the representatives of the Morcha Payeu Dalapchand Zonal Committee were also present during today’s function.

College to close in transfer protest

Darjeeling
 Government College Darjeeling,

VIVEK CHHETRI  Dec. 23: Bimal Gurung has directed the Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarathi Morcha to close down the Darjeeling Government College office for an indefinite period starting tomorrow to protest the state government’s decision to transfer two teachers from the institution.

 Although colleges in the hills are closed for winter vacations, the administrative wings of the institutions are open and a closure of the office would mean that the teachers who are to be transferred would not be given release orders, mandatory before joining a new college. Sherpa Bhutia, the head of the geography department, is to be transferred to Chandernagore Government College. 

The other teacher, Willie Henry, who heads the zoology department, is supposed to be transferred to AB Sen College in Cooch Behar. “We met our party president Bimal Gurung (today) and according to his directions, we are closing down Darjeeling Government College indefinitely from tomorrow,” Asok Chhetri, the vice-president of the Vidyarathi Morcha, told The Telegraph today.

 Darjeeling Government College is the only government college in the hills. Under the GTA memorandum, the college is supposed to be handed over to the hill body Gurung, the GTA chief executive, had directed GTA executive member R.P. Bhujel to send a written objection to the state higher education minister asking the government to stall the teachers’ transfers till the institution comes under the autonomous hill body.

 The letter dated December 18 read: “I, as directed by Shri Bimal Gurung, Hon’ble Chief Executive, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha, request you to kindly hold the transfer of these teachers till the transfer of Darjeeling Government College is completed.” Gurung had also directed Kurseong MLA Rohit Sharma to look into the issue. 

 The development comes at a time chief minister Mamata Banerjee is about to start a tour of some north Bengal districts and a review meeting between the state, Centre and the Morcha on the functioning of the GTA is also scheduled in Delhi on December 26.  

“This is a political transfer,” said Bhutia, who has sought the state government’s permission to remain in Darjeeling. He cited the guidelines framed by the higher education department (Letter No. 583-Edn (H)/ION-59/12) dated June 15 which states that government colleges would be categorised in four zones: A, B, C and D. Zone A is classified as areas within 25km of Sealdah/Howrah and B, C and D are zones are within 75km, 200km and beyond 200km from the stations.

 “The guideline clearly suggests that if a teacher does not want to serve in A and B zones, he would be allowed to stay in C and D zones but not more than 10 years. I am in Darjeeling for only seven years now,” said Bhutia. Darjeeling is in zone D. 

 The teacher also stated that rule number 4 of the guideline says that: “Normally a teacher would not be asked to serve in D zone colleges twice. If the incumbent opts for a second transfer to D zone, his request will be considered.” “However, my request is not being considered,” Bhutia said.

आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुको नियुक्ति सम्बन्धि सभासदले गरे बैठक

 कालेबुङ, 22 दसम्बर। दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुको रिक्त रहेको पदहरुमा जीटीएले नियुक्त गर्न पहल शुरु गरेको छ। सोहि सिलसिलामा आज यहाँको महकुमा अधिकारी कार्यलयमा बिभागका भारप्राप्त सभासद प्रभा छेत्रीको उपस्थितीम एउटा महत्वपूर्ण बैठक सम्पन्न भयो।

 महकुमा अधिकारी एल एन शेर्पाकोसंग बसेको बैठकमा कालेबुङ खण्डका सीडीपिओको पनि उअपस्थिति रहेको थियो। उक्त बैठकमा चर्चा परिचर्चा गरेपछि कालेबुङको बिभिन्न आईसीडीएस केन्द्रहरुम्ना रहेको रिक्त पदको निम्ति नियुक्ति प्रक्रिया यथाशिघ्र गर्ने निर्णय लिईएको छ। 

उक्त पदहरुको निम्ति अघिबाटै आवेदन जमा भएको कारण अब नियुक्तिको निम्ति अन्तरवार्ताको प्रक्रिया शुरु हुने भएको छ। यता बैठक पछि आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुको विविध समस्याहरुलाई लिएर जनमुक्ति कर्मचारी संगठन आईसीडीएस शाखाले आज जीटीए ह्युमेन एण्ड चाइल्ड डेभलोपमेन्ट विभागका कार्यकारी सभासद्‌ प्रभा छेत्रीलाई भेटेर 11 सुत्री माग राखेको छ। संगठनका अध्यक्ष खडक बिक्रम सुब्बा अनि सचिव अनुप लामाको नेतृत्वमा रहेको टोलीले उक्त ज्ञापन पत्र सुम्पिन्दै आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुको समस्याबारे कुराकानी गरे।

 यस अवसरमा आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुको पनि सहभागिता रहेको थियो। विशेष कालेबुण्ग़ महकुमा अधिनस्थ रहेको बिभिन्न आईसीडीएस केन्द्रहर्मा कार्यरत आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुले भोग्न परिरहेको समस्याहरु उक्त ज्ञापन पत्रमा उल्लेख गरिएको छ। राज्यमा अन्य बिभागहरुमा कार्यरत कर्मचारीवर्गले जसरी शितकालीन भत्ता आदि पाउँछन उक्त सुबिधाहरु आईसीडीएस कर्मीहरुले पनि पाउँनुपर्ने संगठनले माग गरेको छ।

 यता जकस अध्यक्ष खडकबिक्रम सुब्बाले बिभिन्न पदहरुमा सो अवधि जकसं अध्यक्ष खड़्‌ग विक्रम सुब्बाले कर्मचारीहरूको संगठनको हैसियतले कुनै पनि नियुक्ति प्रक्रिया हुँदा जनमुक्ति कर्मचारी संगठनलाई पनि प्राथमिकता दिएर कार्य गरे असल हुने बताए

Gurung block on transfers

The Darjeeling Government College

TT; VIVEK CHHETRI  Darjeeling, Dec. 21: Bimal Gurung has asked the state government to stop the transfer of two teachers from the Darjeeling Government College to elsewhere in the state until the transfer of the institution’s jurisdiction from the state government to the GTA is completed. 

 Two heads of departments of Darjeeling Government College, Sherap Bhutia and Willie Henry, have been transferred to Chandernagore Government College and AB Sen College in Cooch Behar, respectively. Bhutia heads the department of geography and Henry the zoology department. 

 A letter written by R.B. Bhujel, executive member of the GTA in charge of higher education, to the state higher education department said: “I, as directed by Shri Bimal Gurung, Hon’ble Chief Executive, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabha, request you to kindly hold the transfer of these teachers till the transfer of Darjeeling Government College is completed.”

 Gurung has also directed Kurseong MLA Rohit Sharma to take up the matter with the concerned minister. “I spoke to the minister regarding the matter and he said he would look into it,” said Sharma. The Kurseong MLA also stated that senior officials of the state government had suggested that they should allow the two teachers to join the new place of posting and that they could be brought back to Darjeeling once the college is handed over to the GTA in the next one and a half months.

 “One of the officials suggested that the teachers join work as of now and that they could be called back to Darjeeling once the government college is brought under the GTA’s supervision,” said Sharma. 

 The Darjeeling Government College is the only government college in the hills and is supposed to be transferred to the GTA according to the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Centre, state and the Morcha on July 18, 2011. Section 6 of an annexure of the MoA that deals with subjects to be “transferred to GTA” states: 

“College Education including Agricultural and Technical Colleges, Local Management of Government sponsored Colleges; Mass Education and Physical Education; Engineering, Medical, Management, and Information Technology with Government and Government sponsored colleges for which wings /cells shall have to be created by the GTA for the area under its jurisdiction.” 

 The Gorkha Janmukti Vidhyarthi Morcha has also protested the transfer of “Nepali-speaking teachers” out of the hills. “We cannot afford two Nepali-speaking teachers to leave the college,” said Ashok Chhetri, vice- president of the Morcha’s student wing.

Chhaiya Chhaiya on Darjeeling toy train

- Bollywood act on DHR wagon to boost tea and tourism fest spirit 

Picture by Suman Tamang 

TT;VIVEK CHHETRIDarjeeling, Dec. 21: Chhaiya Chhaiya happened in Darjeeling today. The hill town that has witnessed many a Bollywood shoot today saw real life imitating reel when local dancers performed on a moving toy train. No, they did not dance on the roof of a compartment. 

A flat, open wagon was attached to the train so the dancers could perform, just like in the SRK-Malaika Arora song in Dil Se. The trains of the 131-year-old Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) have featured in several films — the most famous are Aradhana (in the song Mere Sapno ki Rani) and recently Barfi!. 

Today, when the train left Darjeeling station, the cultural troupe started dancing to Nepali songs. When the train stopped at Batasia Loop for 10 minutes, many tourists jumped onto the wagon and danced along with the troupe. M.D. Bhutia, the director of DHR, said: “This was an effort to popularise the DHR among local people and tourists. 

This was also an initiative to be part of the festive spirit brought alive through the ongoing Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival.” The train which was being pulled by a steam locomotive also had a diesel engine trailing the steam engines, in case the steam locomotive did not work. In two places, Dali and Ghoom, the diesel engine pushed the steam engine. 

 Binay Tamang, the executive member of the GTA in charge of information and cultural affairs, said: “We had seen such scenes only in movies. We thought such an item would be a major attraction among tourists. We had been corresponding with the DHR officials for quite sometime and we are happy the initiative rolled off today.”

 Bhutia said: “As of now we have decided to have performances like the one today on special occasions. If things work out well, we can introduce it on the joy rides.” The tourists seemed to have enjoyed every bit of the ride. Derak Elliot from Canada said: “It was a lot of fun and we were pleasantly surprised. We have been here for a couple of days and it was great to be in a place where the festival has just started.” 

प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामाले राजनीतिको वर्णमाला पनि सिकेको छैन - डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री

डी के वाइबा, कालेबुङ 21 दिसम्बर। “प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामाले राजनीतिको वर्णमाला पनि सिकेको छैन” – उक्त बयान कालेबुङका बिधायक डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्रीले भनेका हुन। आज पत्रकारहरु संगको भेटघाटमा प्रो लामाले जीटीए भन्दा छैटौ अनुसुची राम्रो हो भनेको कुरा एक दैनिक समाचार पत्रमा प्रकाशित भएको सन्दर्भमा डा छेत्रीले उक्त टिप्पणी गरेका हुन। यता केहिदिन अघि सिलगडीमा आयोजित गोर्खाल्याण्ड टास्क फोर्सको सम्मेलनमा “कुनै पनि राजनैतिक दलहरु गोर्खाल्याण्डको निम्ति समर्पित छैन” भन्ने शिक्षाविद प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामा विवादको घेरोमा परेका छन। प्रो लामाको उक्त वयान प्रति गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाले कडा प्रतिक्रिया जनाएको छ।

 गोजमुमो प्रवक्ता एंव काल्बुङका बिधायक डा हर्कबहादुरले आज पत्रकारहरुसंगको एक भेटघाटमा प्रो लामाको वयान प्रति कटाक्ष गर्दै “मलाई यस सम्बन्धमा केही भन्नु छैन” – भनेर धैरै कुरा भने। केही भन्नु छैन भनेर भन्न शुरु गरेका बिधायक डा हरकबहादुर छेत्रीले पहिला त उक्त बयान प्रो लामाको आफ्नो नीजि बयान हुनसक्छ भने तर केहि समयमा नै प्रो लामा प्रति बर्सिन्दै राजनैतिक पार्टीसित सम्बन्धित नभएका व्यक्तिले यस्तो टिप्पणी गर्नु ठिक होईन भने। तिनले प्रो लामाको उक्त बयान प्रति बर्सिन्दै प्रो लामाले पहिला आफ्नो बिभागकै कार्य हेर्नु राम्रो हो भन्दै “यदि तिनी छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्ड प्रति समर्पित छन भने कुनै पनि राजनैतिक पार्टीमा आएर गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलनलाई टुङ्गोमा पुर्यााउँन सही नेतृत्व दिएर देखाओस” भने। “प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामाले राजनीति गरेको छैन।

 राजनीति नगर्ने व्यक्तिले बाहिर बसेर जथाभावी टिप्पणी गर्नु ठिक होईन। यदि तिनले विश्व विद्यालयमा बसेर राजनीति गर्दैछ भने त्यसमा भन्नु केही छैन। तर तिनले जे भने त्यो एकदमै अनुपयुक्त बयान हो” – डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्रीले भने। तिनले प्रो लामालाई आक्रमण गर्दै “यदि शिक्षाविद भएको नातामा आफुलाई राजनीतिमा दखल छ भन्ने मान्छ भने अथवा गोर्खाल्याण्ड कसरी ल्याउँनुपर्छ भन्ने बिषयमा ज्ञान छ भने तिनले गोर्खाल्याण्ड प्राप्त गर्नुको निम्ति लडीरहेकोप दलहरुको हातमा आफ्नो ज्ञान अथवा सुझावहरु लेखेर दिनुपर्छ” भने।

 यसको साथै डा छेत्रीले गोर्खाल्याण्ड प्रति समर्पित छैन भन्ने प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामाले “समर्पितको संकेत के हो भन्दै के गर्योै भने समर्पित देखिन्छ भनि प्रश्न तेर्साए। तिनले उल्टै महेन्द्र पी लामा छुट्टै राज्यको मुद्दामा ईमान्दार नभएको आरोप लगाउँदै गोजमुमो पार्टीले आन्दोलनकालमा सरकारसंग 11 पल्ट वार्ता गर्दा प्रो लामाले कुनै सुझाव समेत नदिएको आरोप लगाए। “छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्ड प्रति यदि प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामा ईमान्दार भएको भए तिनले सुझाव दिने थिए। तर किन एउटै सुझाव तिनले दिएनन ?” – डा छेत्रीले प्रश्न गरे।

 छुट्टै राज्य प्रति राजनैतिक दलहरु समर्पित छैन भन्ने बयान प्रो लामाको तल्लो स्तरका राजनैतिक कार्यकर्ताहरुको बयान जस्तै रहेको बताउँदै त्यस्तो बयान दिए प्रो लामाको उपकूलपतीको स्तर तल झर्ने पनि डा छेत्रीले बताए। “शिक्षाको क्षेत्रमा उच्च पद ओगटेका लामाले पार्टीका साधरण कार्यकर्ताले जस्तो बयान दिनु हुँदैन। त्यसो गर्दा तिनको दर्जा घटछ। अहिले शिक्षाको क्षेत्रमा उच्च पद ओगट्नेहरुको अभावमा प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामाले कि त शिक्षाको क्षेत्रमा हाम्रा समाजका नानीहरुलाई सही दिशाबोध गराउँन राम्रो कार्य गर्नुपर्छ कि त तिनले शिक्षाको क्षेत्र छोडेर राजनीतिमा आउँनुपर्छ। 

यस बिषमा प्रो लामाले दुईमा एक गरोस” – डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्रीले चुनैति दिदै भने। यसै सिलसिलामा प्रो लामाले जीटीए भन्दा छैटौ अनुसौची राम्रो हो भनेको सन्दर्भमा प्रश्न गर्दा तिनले आफ्नै जनजाति भएको नातामा प्रो लामाले छैटौ अनुसुची राम्रो हो भनेको हुनपर्छ भने। तिनले छैटौ अनुसुचीको प्रमुख कुनै एकजना व्यक्ति हुने गरेको अनि उक्त प्रमुख व्यक्ति पछि वंशको आधारमा प्रमुख हुने गरेको बताउँद “के प्रो महेन्द्र पी लामाले सुवास घिसिङनै सत्तामा बसिरहोस बन्ने चान्थ्यो ?” भनि सोझै प्रश्न उठाए।

Tea auction at tourism fest:

picture by Suman Tamang

TT';Vivek Chhetri; An open-air tea auction held in Darjeeling fetched more than Rs 3.5 lakh on the first day of the Tea and Tourism Festival organised by the Indian Tea Association. Soon after the festival was inaugurated on Thursday, tea was sold for around Rs 10,000 per kg. In half an hour, 35kg of tea was sold. 

The proceeds of the sale will go for charity. Bimal Gurung, chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration started the bidding for which 12 buyers who had come from across the country. S. Patra, the joint secretary of the ITA, said: “Seven chests each weighing 5kg were put on auction and the bidding started from Rs 20,000 onwards.” 

Gujarat Tea Processors and Packers won the bid for auction number one and two for a sum of Rs 50,000. They also won auction number seven for Rs 61,001. Mahabodhi Tea House bought 5kg of tea for Rs 61,000 to win auction number three, while Golden Tips, Tata Global and Lochan Tea won auction four, five and six for sums ranging between Rs 45,000 and Rs 61,000. The festival started with different communities of the hills bringing out a colourful rally with tableaux on trucks. 

The carnival parade was led by Gurung, minister Gautam Deb, actor Kunal Khemu, film director Vishal Mahadkar and cinematographer Nigam Bomzan. “I want to use this platform today to send a message to the state government through minister Gautam Deb that tourism needs development of infrastructure beyond organising dance and music festivals. The government needs to be practical and I hope there will be no interference from the state government in developing the region,” said Gurung. Text by  

Uday Thulung conferred with Sahitya Akademi Award, 2012

PB;. Gangtok, 21 December – Uday Thulung, a contemporary Nepali writer cum poet from Mungpoo, Darjeeling District has been selected for the Sahitya Akademi Award, 2012 under Nepali Literature for his collection of short stories entitled as “Ekanta Bas”. The award is presented every year by Sahitya Akademi, Delhi to diverse writers writing in various languages.

 This time six writers were selected including Uday Thulung for Nepali, Jayant Pawar (Marathi), Gourahari Das (Odia), Gangadhar Hansda (Santail), Lt. Indra Vaswani (Sindhi) and Peddibhiotla Subbaramaiah (Telugu) for their books of short stories. The selection Committee for Nepali literature comprised of writers like Nanda Hangkhim, Padmashree, Sanu Lama and Mohan Thakuri, as they took the decision on awarding Thulung with the Sahitya Akademi Award (Nepali literature). 

 Thulung further stated, “I feel obliged and when heard about the award I was moreover shocked and this award is not only for me but it is dedicated to the whole Nepali literary lovers. Last year, there aroused a controversy with the award presented to the Nepali Awardee but this year as my name has been selected, I hope every literati’s expresses satisfaction. I feel my responsibility towards my sanctuary has increased”. The first writer to have conferred with the Sahitya Akademi Award was Indra Bahadhur Rai in early 70’s.

लेप्चा राजा पुनु ग्याबो आच्योकको 281 औँ जन्मदिवस भव्यताको साथ पालन

लेचाहरुको भिडले राज्य अनि केन्द्र सरकारलाई सोच्नुपर्ने बनाएको छ – एल एस तामसाङ 

कालेबुङ 20 दिसम्बर । लेप्चा राजा पुनु ग्याबो आच्योकको 281 औँ जन्मदिवस आज यहाँको मेला ग्राउण्डमा ईण्डिजेनियस लेप्चा ट्राईबल एसोसिएसनको आयोजनमा भव्यताको साथ पालन गरियो। यस अवसरमा बिभिन्न स्थानहरुबाट लेप्चा समुदायका मानिसहरुको व्यापक सहभागीता रहेको थियो। कार्यक्रमको सुरु अघि बिभिन्न स्थानहरुबाट आएका लेप्चा समुदायका मानिसहरुले यहाँको 10 माईल फाटकबाट एउटा र्याअली निकालेको थियो। उक्त र्यािली दशमाईल फाटकबाट डम्बर चौक हुँदै थाना डाँडा भएर मेला ग्राउण्डमा पुगेको थियो। मेला ग्राउँण्डमा आयोजित उक्त कार्यक्रमको अध्यक्षता पद्मश्री सोनाम छिरिङ लेप्चाले गरेका थिए।

 यस अवसरमा फादर पिटर लिङ्दामोको बिशेष उपस्थिती रहेको थियो। पद्मश्री सोनाम छिरिङ लेप्चाले जातीय परम्परा अनुरुप लेप्चा राजा पुनु ग्याबो आच्योकको तस्बिर अघि पुजा अर्चना गरेर लेप्चा संगठनको झण्डोत्तोलन गरेपछि शुरु भएको कार्यक्रममा बिभिन्न लेप्चा जातिको सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रम सम्पन्न भएको थियो। लेप्चा संगठनको झण्डोत्तोलन गरेपछि कार्यक्रममा उअपस्थित सम्पूर्ण लेप्चा समुदायका मानिसहरुले आफ्नो राष्ट्रिय गीत गाए। कार्यक्रममा लेप्चा राजा पुनु ग्याबु आच्योककोको नाउँमा प्रकाशित पुस्तकको विधिवत लोकार्पण पनि गरियो।

 यस अवसरमा कोरियोग्राफर किरण लामालाई संगठनले सम्बर्द्धना जनाएको थियो। लेप्चा राजाको 281औ जन्मदिवस कार्यक्रमलाई सम्बओधन गर्दै ईण्डिजेनियस लेप्चा ट्राईबल एसोसिएसनका अध्यक्ष एल एस तामसाङले लेप्चा समुदायका मानिसहरु आफ्नो भाषा संस्कृतिको बिकासको निम्ति एकवद्ध भएर बस्नुपर्ने आह्वान गरे। तिनले कार्यक्रममा उपस्थित मानिसहरुलाई सम्बओधन गर्दै भने – ‘लेप्चा भनेको सत्य हो। आत्ना भनेको पवित्र हो। आज सैतानहरुले पवित्र आत्मलाई अपवित्र बनाउँदैछ। यो पवित्र ठाँउलाई सम्पूर्ण लेप्चाहरु एक भएर बँचाउँनुपर्छ। 

आज एकार्कमा बडीरहेको सैतानिक प्रवृतिलाई नष्ट गरेर यो पवित्र भूमीको रक्षार्थ सबै अघि आउँनुपर्छ”। तिनले सोहि क्रममा आहिले लेप्चा युवाहरु आफ्नो जातिय परम्परा र संस्कृतिलाई बँचाएर राख्न प्रेम भावको साथ अघि आएको पनि बताए। लेप्चा राजा पुनु ग्याबो आच्योकको जन्मदिवसमा आएका लेप्चा समुदायका मानिसहरुको भीडले राज्यसरकार अनि केन्द्र सरकारलाई पनि लेप्चाहरुको सुराक्षर्थ केही गर्नुपर्नेरहेछ भनेर सोच्न बाध्य बनाएको पनि तिनले जनाए। 

“आजको यो जनताको भीडले कोलकोता अनि केन्द्रलाई लेप्चाहरुको पनि आवज रहेछ भन्ने सन्देश दिएको छ” – एल एस तामसाङले भने। तिनले सम्बोध्नकि क्रममा लेप्चा समुदायका मानिसहरुलाई आफ्नै जातको युवा युवतीहरु एकार्कमा प्रेम गरेर विवाह गर्नुपर्ने सुझाव समेत राख्दै लोकतन्त्रमा भीडलाई विश्वास गर्बे भएको करण हामीले पनि आफ्नो भिड देखाउँनुपर्ने पनि बताए। तिनले लेप्चा जातिको भाषा संस्कृतिको बिकासकोको निम्ति एक्लैले आन्दोलन गरेर हुँदैन भन्दै यसको निम्ति सबै लेप्चा मानिसहरु अघि आउँनुपर्ने आह्वान गरे।

 अर्कोतिर लेप्चा युथ एसोसिएसनका अध्यक्ष डी टी लेप्चाले यता पत्रकारहरुसंग कुराकानी गर्दै लेप्चा राजा लेप्चाहरुको अन्तिम राजा भए पनि तिनी लेप्चाहरुको हक र अधिकारको निम्ति लड्ने पहिलो स्वतन्त्रता सेनानी हो भने। लेप्चा राजा पुनु ग्याबो आच्योकले लेप्चाहरुको अधिकारको निम्ति आफ्नो ज्याको बलिदान दिएर शहिद बनेकै कारण आज तिनको जनदिवस श्रद्धापूर्वक पालन गरेको थप जनाए। यसै सिलसिलामा दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा नवगठित गोर्खाल्याण्ड क्षेत्रीय प्रशासनमा लेप्चा बिकास बोर्ड गठन गर्ने जीटीए प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले घोषणा गरेको सन्दर्भमा प्रश्न गर्दा तिनले उक्त घोषणा राजनैतिक मुद्दा हुनसक्ने बताए। आफुहरुले जीटीएमा लेप्चा बिकाश बोर्ड गठन सम्बन्धि कुनै चर्चा नगरेको बताउँदै यस सम्बन्धमा संगठनले केहिदिनपछि चर्चा गर्ने जानकारी दिए।

State and GTA to get 12% of power generated from Teesta HPP

KNE;' Kalimpong, December 18: The state and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will be getting 12% from the power generated from the River Teesta under the National Hydro Power Project (HPP), claimed the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) Spokesperson cum Kalimpong MLA, Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri. However, the locals are concerned about threat to the existence of the Highway attached areas due to the Teesta HPP.

 In one hand it is believed that the whole country will benefit from the HPP while in the other it will prove to be a loss for the locals in many ways. Nevertheless, the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist (CPRM) has already cautioned of an agitation against the loss. The Kalimpong Krishak Kalyan Sangathan (KKKS) has also demanded that 12% of the power produced should be given to the GTA areas instead of the state. 

“The 12% electricity will be equally distributed between the GTA areas and the state”, clarified Dr Chettri in behalf of the Morcha who have kept mum over the matter. As per the rules of the World Dam Organization the 12% electricity is for the state government. However, GTA being a total different administrative arrangement, it should also get the benefits, he said and added that if the GTA gets even 6% of the energy that it will be a great achievement. “If we receive atleast 6% then we can add on to it and after its free use”, he said. 

When asked about the inconvenience caused to the Highway residents because of the HPP, Dr Chettri said that they are working towards solving the matter. “I along with the Kalimpong Sub Divisional Officer have talked with the NHPC regarding the matter. The NHPC has assured to set up a hospital, school and other facilities”, notified the GJM Spokesperson. He also added that the NHPC is striving towards constructing an alternative National Highway for Kalimpong and Sikkim. 

Apart from these the NHPC has also thought of beautification of few schools and Kalimpong town. Dr Chettri also demanded for additional provisions for the affected families along with the regular compensation. Further, speaking on the issue of closing down rafting, the MLA said that if such situation occurs then they will be taking concrete steps. “What happened during the Gorkha National Liberation Front’s (GNLF) regime here, it’s none of our business. As far as our party is concerned we will work for the betterment of the public. One of the examples is Takdah Engineering College. Also in the future the Morcha will work for the good of the layman”, advocated Dr Chettri.

CPRM demands proper compensation to Teesta HPP affected families

KNEKalimpong,  : The CPRM Block I, Zonal Committee has demanded proper compensation for the families affected by the NHPC project which is under construction at 27th Mile area, NH31A. The party demanding administrative interference over the matter submitted a memorandum to the Kalimpong Sub Divisional Officer, LN Sherpa. The party claims that 500 families residing alongside the river Teesta have been affected by the implementation of the NHPC project.

 They have further claimed that the hydro power project at river Teesta has stopped the smooth flow of the water further affecting the river beds at the 29th Mile, Gail Khola, Ravi Jhora, Teesta Pool-Suntaley and Pesok Jhora. It has also affected the river rafting in a negative way. “Looking at the condition of the affected families, the NHPC should provide employment to them along with the compensation”, insisted CPRM Kalimpong Regional Committee President Kishore Pradhan. 

 He also complained that though the NHPC had promised to build a safety wall from the project site to Teesta Bazaar, the construction work still remains incomplete at various places. The half-constructed safety wall is deteriorating day-by-day, he charged. The SDM has assured the CPRM to discuss the matter with the higher officials of the NHPC.

Run with roshni for gorkha identity at Mumbai marathon

KNE; Mukesh Sharma kalimpong;; Twenty marathon runners from the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim will take part in the Mumbai Marathon 2013 on January 20, thanks to the untiring effort of Rosni Rai, an amateur marathoner who is a corporate lawyer by profession, whose dream is to produce an Olympian from her neck of the woods.

 Rosni, who hails from Pedong, about 20 kms from here, had helped 23 runners from the region take part in the 1912 edition of the same event earlier this year. Following the success of the last marathon where the runners ran to highlight Indian identity of the Gorkhas, Rosni is facilitating the participation of the 20 marathoners under her “Run with Rosni” banner to showcase the potential of athletes from the hills.

 Rosni said the performance of the some of the runners in the last marathon and an article she read on the long distance runners of Kenya were the inspiration behind her “Run with Rosni” initiative. “Prabal Chettri ran the 21km half-marathon in 1 hour 16 minutes, finishing 11th out of 14,000 runners last time.

 Since he was running the official marathon for the first time, he was put in the ‘D’ category which meant he was behind 10,000 runners in the starting line. To come 11th from the position was very creditable,” she said, adding: “I am very clear if we give proper support to runners like Prabal, who is in the right age group of 19-20 years, we could see them representing India in the Olympics in four years time.” Prabal will be running the half-marathon in the next Mumbai run as well. 

So will the 16 others from the region, while the remaining three will run the full marathon. “What struck me most about the article I read on the Kenyan long-distance runners was the idea of having a running culture. Just like the Kenyan, especially the Kalenjin tribe, runners, we also come from high altitude, but there is no running culture in our community. We must develop the culture of running,”she said. 

 To promote the culture of running, Rosni had organized a marathon event in the Kalimpong sub-division last year, where her running mates from different parts of the country had participated. 31-year-old Rosni is into the amateur sport of ultra-marathon, which is longer than the traditional 42-km marathon.

 Her last major international run was the Comrades Marathon (also dubbed the Ultimate Human Race) where she covered the distance of 89 kms in 11 hours 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Given that the runners from the hills cannot afford to meet either the registration fee for the marathon or the travel and boarding expenses, Rosni takes the help of her colleagues and friends to raise the fund. “I have collected Rs 1 lakh from my colleagues to sponsor the 20 runners.

 The registration fee is Rs 900 for runners with valid timing certificates from previous marathons and Rs 6,000 for runners without timing certificates. Out of the 20 runners from the hills, 10 each have been registered under either category,” she said.

Dead fish float in Teesta, suspicion of pesticide use

Picture by biplab basak

TT; Jalpaiguri, Dec. 18: Hundreds of dead fish were found floating in the Teesta this morning, sparking a rush to catch them before experts warned that pesticides may have been sprinkled in the water, rendering the fish unsafe for consumption. On November 28 last year, Jalpaiguri had woken up to the news of several varieties of fish floating dead in the Karala that flows through the town.

 The mass deaths in the Karala was attributed to the contamination of water with the use of a cocktail of six pesticides, mainly endosulfan and methyl parathion, both used in cultivation of paddy. Around 6.30am today, people along the banks of the Teesta spotted the fish floating dead on the surface. The spot is a stone’s throw from the district magistrate’s office and close to Jubilee Park. Sujit Mondol, a resident of Saradapalli, adjacent to Jubilee Park, said he saw three-four persons taking away the dead fish in large containers.

 “They were not locals. When I asked them what they were doing, they replied that they had heard about the fish floating in the river and they were collecting them. Soon, more people, including children, came and started collecting the fish,” Mondol said. The dead fish sprang up along a stretch of about 500m downstream the river from Jubilee Park. With the departure of the monsoon, the river is turgid in town.

 The civic body and the fisheries department have filed separate complaints with Kotwali police, alleging that the fish had died because unknown persons had contaminated the river with poison. The incident made the disaster management wing of the Jalpaiguri municipality warn residents over loudspeakers not to buy fish caught from the Teesta. The Congress councillor of ward 3, Swarup Mondal, who is in charge of the disaster management wing, reached the riverbank around 10.30am.

 “We have made announcements over loudspeakers and are keeping a watch on the local markets. We have also sent word to Mainaguri, 19km away, where similar announcements are being made as fish caught here are sold in markets there,” said Mondal. Officials of the fisheries department also reached the spot and collected samples of water and the dead fish. They said it seemed that the fish had once again died because the water had been poisoned by pesticides. 

They said nearly 40 species of fish, including arh, boroli, tangra, bayim, punti, pholi, sar punti and boal had died in the Teesta. The executive officer of the district fisheries department, Subhasis Chakrabarty, said samples of the fish and the water would be sent to their laboratory in Calcutta for tests.

 “Catfish species like tangra and boal are hardy and their death indicates that a strong dose of pesticides killed the fish. We have already despatched the samples to Calcutta and we will soon get to know the nature of the poison,” said Chakrabarty. Subdivisional officer (headquarters), Sagar Chakrabarty said both the municipality and the adjacent Kharia gram panchayat had been asked not to allow fishing in the river for the time being.

Highway stuck for land

TT; AVIJIT SINHA Siliguri, Dec. 18: The National Highways Authority of India has said it cannot proceed with the four-laning of NH31D because it does not have enough land for the project. “We require around 625 hectares (1,544 acres) from Ghoshpukur (on Siliguri’s outskirts) to Salsalabari (near Alipurduar on the Bengal-Assam border) to lay the four-lane expressway aligning it with NH31D,” said R.K. Chaudhry, the project director of NHAI posted in Siliguri. 

 “Letters have been sent from our end to the state government and administrations of concerned districts since 2009, but for whatever reasons only half of the land has been cleared till date,” he said. Chaudhry added: “This delay in land acquisition and handing it over to us is delaying the bid and commencement of construction.” The state government is supposed to acquire land and hand it over to the NHAI for the highway expansion. But last month, the land commissioner’s office sent a letter to all government departments ordering them to steer clear of land acquisition.

 According to Chaudhry, the NHAI follows a general guideline of awarding construction work to companies only when at least 80 per cent of the land required is with it. In this case, a little over 700 acres (see chart) have been acquired so far. NHAI sources said the stretch in north Bengal is among the last two of the entire East-West Corridor — from Porbander in Gujarat to Silchar in Assam — where work is yet to start. The only other stretch where work is to be awarded is a 31km stretch in Assam, sources said.

 “We have however, initiated the process to invite qualification bids for the stretch. The bids would be opened on December 26. A tentative cost of Rs 2,212 crores has been assessed for the project,” the officials said. “A sum of Rs 7.44 crore has been sanctioned for the damaged stretches between Siliguri and Jalpaiguri. Repair work has been also done by contractors who had the responsibility for maintaining the road,” Chaudhry said. “However, unless the four-laning is done and the road is widened and strengthened from the base, it is tough to maintain the highway.”

 “This was a state highway earlier (SH12A) which was upgraded to NH31D for four-laning. The base material and reinforcements on state highways differ from national highways as it is obvious that vehicular movements would be less than national highways,” the NHAI official said. But right now “95 per cent of heavy vehicles moving through this region pass through this highway,” Chaudhry said. The highway is so potholed that when vehicles trundle down, they kick up a haze of dust that never seems to clear. Gautam Deb, the north Bengal development minister, today said the state government was looking into the issue. “However, the NHAI, by pointing to the land issue, cannot evade from its onus of repairing the road, which is still in a bad shape,” he said.

GTA funds plea at Delhi meet

TT;VIVEK CHHETRI Darjeeling, : The Union home ministry has called a meeting with the state government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in New Delhi on December 26 to review the functioning of the GTA. The Morcha is expected to seek more funds from the Centre for the GTA, as well as absorption of “Gorkha youths” into the police and paramilitary, and tribal status for Gorkhas, among others things.

 The state government will be represented by the home secretary, while a joint secretary in the Union home ministry will attend the meeting on behalf of the Centre. The Morcha has delegated general secretary Roshan Giri and Darjeeling MLA Trilok Dewan to represent the party at the meeting. A committee had been formed last year to review the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed by the Centre, state and the Morcha for the creation of the GTA. 

This will be the first meeting of the review committee after the formation of the GTA. Asked about the agenda of the meeting, Giri told The Telegraph: “All aspects of the GTA will be reviewed in the meeting.” Sources said the Morcha was likely to demand more funds to the GTA, apart from Rs 200 crore that the Centre had promised to provide to the hill body annually for three consecutive years. A GTA source said: 

“The GTA is of the opinion that the Centre needs to allot more funds as the hill body has already drawn up various projects which entail an expenditure of Rs 200 crore. The Centre is likely to be asked to explore various avenues like centrally assistance schemes through which more funds can be provided to the GTA.” The Morcha might also raise issues which have been agreed upon in the MoA, but not addressed yet. According to a Morcha leader, the issue of giving preferences to “Gorkha youths” in appointments in police, army and paramilitary forces will definitely be raised in the meeting. 

“We have heard that the Centre is looking at recruiting a large number of youths into the paramilitary forces. We are keeping a close eye on this development,” he said. A clause in the MoA reads: “The GTA youth would be considered for recruitment in the police, army and paramilitary forces subject to their suitability for such appointment.” Observers believe the term “GTA youth” is a euphemism for the Gorkhaland Personnel.

 The December 26 review meeting is being considered significant in other ways also as the GTA Sabha has passed a resolution demanding tribal status to all Gorkhas, except those belonging to Scheduled Castes. “This, too, could be discussed in the meeting as the agreement has said the state and the Centre would forward the applications of the communities to the authorities concerned for granting the status. Till now, no concrete steps have been taken in this direction,” said a source. 

 The delay in the transfer of different departments from the state government to the GTA might also be taken up at the meeting even though the party had said it was willing to wait till December 30 for the process to be completed. Bengal home secretary Basudeb Banerjee had recently said the 57 subjects mentioned in Section 26 of the GTA Act had been clubbed into 40 departments. “Out of the 40 departments, notifications for the transfer of 27 departments to the GTA have already been issued.

 We have asked the GTA to set up offices of three other departments while the transfer of the remaining 10 departments will take place soon.” The three departments whose offices have to be set up by the GTA are sports, statistic programme implementation and town and country planning.

भारतीय गोर्खाहरुको निम्ति नेपाली भाषी च्यानल सञ्चालको निम्ति सबै अघि आउँनुपर्छ – माकपा

कालेबुङ, 18 दिसम्बर। भारतीय गोर्खाहरुको निम्ति एउटा नेपाली भाषामा प्रसारण हुने राष्ट्रिय च्यानल हुनपर्ने पटक पटक माग उठे पनि आज सम्म उक्त च्यानल सञ्चालन हुन सकेको छैन। यस सम्बन्धमा आज माकपा नेता तरा सुन्दासले भारतीय नेपाली भाषी गोर्खाहरुको निम्ति भारत सरकारले नेपाल वान च्यानल अघिबाटै दिएको जानकारी गराउँदै उक्त च्यानलको प्रसारण भारतबाट हुनपर्ने माग गरेका छन। भारतीय गोर्खहरुको निम्ति भारत सरकारलाई नेपाली भाषी च्यानलको माग गर्दै दार्जीलिङका पूर्व लोकसभा सांसद दावा नर्बुलाले सुचना एंव प्रसारण मन्त्रिलाई पत्रचार गर्दा प्रसारण मन्त्रि जयपाल रेड्डीले नेपाल वान च्यानलको लाईसेन्स भारतीय गोर्खाहरुल्को निम्ति दिएको हो भनेर जानकारी गराएको पत्र सार्वजनिक गर्दै यसको निम्ति सम्पूर्ण राजनैतिक एंव गैरराजनैतिक संगठनहरु सडकमा आएर आन्दोलन गर्नुपर्ने आह्वान गरे।

 तिनले पहाडमा सत्तासिन पार्टी गोजमुमोले जीटीएमा नेपाली भाषालाई सरकारी कामकाजमा प्रयोग गरिने भनेर प्रस्तावा पारित गरेकोमा बधाई दिदै अब जीटीएले उक्त नेपाली भाषी च्यानलको प्रसारण भारतबाटै हुनपर्ने कुरामा जोडदिदै पहल गर्नुपर्ने सुझाव दिए। ‘नेपालबाट प्रसारण हुने च्यानल नेपाल वान्‌ को लाइसिन्स भारतले दिएको हो। नेपाल वान्‌ भारतीय गोर्खाहरूको च्यानल हो’- माकपा नेता तारा सुन्दासले भने। यहॉं कुनै प्रोडक्सन हाउस छैन भन्ने देखाएर च्यानल नेपालबाट नेपालकै विषयवस्तुलाई मात्र आधार गरी सञ्चालन गर्ने गरेको बताउँदै उक्त कार्यले भारतीय गोर्खाहरु बञ्चित बन्न परिरहेको दाबी गर्दै अब सरकारलाई चाप दिन सबै अघि आउँनुपर्ने आह्वान गरे।

 तिनले नेपाली भाषामा च्यानल प्रसारण गर्नको निम्ति भारतमा प्रोडक्सन हाउस छैन भन्ने देखाएर नेपालबाट प्रसारण गरिरहेको बताउँदै यहाँ नेपाली भाषामा च्यानल सञ्चालन गर्नको निम्ति प्रोडक्सन हाउसको कमी नहुने दाबी गरे। ‘हाम्रोमा प्रशस्त प्रोडक्सन हाउसहरू छ त्यसर्थ नै यहॉं फिल्म सिटी बनिँदैछ” सुन्दासले भने।तिनले देशभरि छरिएर बसेका गोर्खाहरूको निम्ति राष्ट्रिय च्यानल भए यहॉंका कलाकार, साहित्यकार, सङ्गितकार आदिले माथि उठ्‌ने नयॉं मञ्च पाउने थियो भन्दै च्यानलको माध्यमनबाट भारतमा गोर्खाहरूको परिचय अझ अघि बडाउँन सकिने बताए।

 नेपाली भाषाको च्यानल राष्ट्रिय स्तरको नहुनाले भाषा, कला, साहित्य अनि संकृतिको विकास नभएको अनि यसबारे भारतीय मानिसहरु अनभिज्ञ रहेको बताए। यस बिषयमा सबैले ध्यान दिएर कार्य गर्नुपर्ने बताउँदै सरकारले हाम्रो निम्ति दिएको च्यानल नेपाल वान्‌ अब भारतीय गोर्खाहरूबाट प्रसारण गर्नुपर्छ भन्ने माग गरे। तिनले उक्त च्यानलको निम्ति माकपाले राज्य कमिटीको निर्णयअनुसार 16 जनवरी 2006 सालमा नै तत्कालिन सासंद समन पाठकमार्फत केन्द्रिय सूचना अनि प्रसारण एवं संस्कृति मन्त्री अम्बीका सोनीलाई पत्रचार गरिसकेको थप जानकारी गराए।

Gurung casts Morcha net wide

 Gorkhas from across India attend seminar in Darjee

Bimal gurung

TT;VIVEK CHHETRIDarjeeling,'The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today took the first step towards a pan-India presence by holding a national seminar where the party made an attempt to be seen as the only political outfit espousing the cause of the Gorkhas across the country. Morcha representatives from 22 places across the country were present at the daylong event in Darjeeling where four resolutions were passed unanimously.

 Morcha president Bimal Gurung made it clear at the conference that he was looking at representing not only the people in the GTA area but also Gorkhas in other parts of the country. “I will be there for each and everyone of you. I know the Gorkha people living in other regions of the country have different problems. Our people in the Northeast are the worst sufferers. Just work out a date and we will accompany you to your respective chief ministers to redress your problems,” Gurung said. 

 The seminar adopted four resolutions — seeking the formation of a separate state of Gorkhaland, tribal status for all Gorkhas except for those belonging to the SC category, linguistic minority status for the Nepali language across India and the inclusion of more mouzas in the Terai and the Dooars in the GTA.

 This was the first national event of the Morcha. The representatives of the party from Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Sikkim were present at the seminar. Addressing the representatives of the Northeast states, Gurung said the party was willing to accompany their delegations to meet the Prime Minister and the home minister.

 “I believe in being practical and I will leave no stone unturned to address your grievances,” he said. Laxman Thapa from Dehradun said despite the Gorkhas being given the Other Backward Caste status in Uttarakhand, it was not of much use because of various “technical problems”. “It seems that the political leaders there just made the announcement for the sake of making the announcement.” 

 He didn’t explain what he meant by “technical problems”. Most of the delegates from the Northeast spoke of perennial insecurity they had to face in the region. “Our people do not feel secure in our own place in the Northeast. We are always perceived as outsiders,” said Raj Kumari from Manipur. Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the spokesman for the Morcha, said the demand for Gorkhaland had not been dropped and the GTA was a stepping stone towards achieving the goal.

GJM is born to achieve Gorkhaland

Dr Chettri GJM holds national seminar, 4 agendas passed 

Darjeeling,  Formation of Gorkhaland, tribal status to all Gorkhas residing in different parts of India except for Scheduled Castes, linguistic minority status of Nepali language and inclusion of Terai- Dooars mouzas in Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), were the 4 agendas passed during the National Seminar of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) Central Committee held at Gymkhana hall on Sunday. 

 The GJM Central Committee General Secretary, Roshan Giri in his speech announced afore mentioned agendas and also presented the party resolutions in the seminar that was presided over by the Morcha Chief, Bimal Gurung. Different speakers spoke on four agendas. Darjeeling MLA, Trilok Dewan speaking about the tribal status said that it should be given to the Gorkhas. It is also mentioned in clause 8 of the GTA agreement. 

“This demand is for a solid unity, survival and security of the Gorkhas”, advocated Dewan. Likewise, Kurseong MLA, Dr. Rohit Sharma stressed on the linguistic minority status of the Nepali language and inclusion of Terai- Dooars in GTA. Further, Kalimpong MLA, Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri spoke about the need for Gorkhaland “GJM is born to attain Gorkhaland”, he stated and underlined that its demand has never been sidelined. Since, GTA is a house which has 45 elected members, it can pass and send the resolution for Gorkhaland to the Government.

 If it is not accepted by the Government then the GJM Chief may also cancel GTA, notified Dr Chettri. Party delegates from Karbi (Assam), Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Dehradun, Roorkee, Rajasthan, Kolkata, Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu Kashmir, Uttarkhand, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Agsu (Assam) were present. While the party delegates of the hills comprised of Darjeeling MLA, Trilok Kumar Dewan, Kurseong MLA, Dr. Rohit Sharma, Kalimpong MLA, Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri and GJM Central Committee members.

 Assistant Secretary, Raju Pradhan delivered the welcome speech while the Organizational Secretary, Diwakar Gurung and P Arjun announced Morcha’s forthcoming programmes. Also during the seminar, cultural program was organized. Singer Rakesh Lama presented a song whose lyrics were written by the GJM President.

Cyber crime 2011 prime accused surrenders

KNE;Kalimpong,Prakash Subba, the prime accused of the cyber crime on Kalimpong surrendered to the Kalimpong Police last night. It may be mentioned that almost 5000 people had invested in a company named Babe Info Solution in the year 2010 and 2011. The money invested accounted to crores, it has been said. Accused Subba, who was the director of the company, along with its employees went missing with the invested money in 2011. This crores of fraud case was looked by the Kalimpong Police earlier. It was later handed over to the Darjeeling DIB and finally was handed to the Siliguri CID. However, no progress had happened with the case until now.

 Now, after Subba’s surrender, the case has taken a new turn. Though physically handicapped, Subba is said to be the master mind behind the fraud. The accused was produced to the ACJM Court by the Kalimpong Police today. He has now been sent to 7 days of remand. “I was hiding here and there since 2 years. I apologize for my misdeed. Without any pressure from anyone and on my own will I decided to surrender”, is what Subba said. Still 4 more individuals linked with the said case are on the run. Case has been registered against Subba under section 420, 406 and 341 of IPC along with 66 (i) (1I Act). In 2010, many companies had emerged in Kalimpong which used to send SMS through cyber and earn money the wrong way. Many people had invested. But when their invested money did not return, the companies got busted one by one.

जीटीए प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलन गर्छु भन्नु जनतालाई ढाँट्नु हो – बिपक्षी

प्रजाशक्ति प्रतिनिधी,कालेबुङ, 17 दिसम्बर। गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाका अध्यक्ष एंव जीटीए प्रमुख बिमल गुरूङले पुन: छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्डकोप आन्दोलन गर्ने अनि हजारौंको शहिद हुने भनी दिएको बायन 24 घण्टा बित्न नपाई जोडदार प्रतिक्रिया शुरु भएको छ। तिनको उक्त बयान माथी तृणमूल नेता छेवाङ भोटियाले प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त गर्दै अब गोजमुमो पार्टीले आन्दोलन होइन सभासद्‌हरूले राजिनामा दिनुपर्ने माग गरे। जनताले अघिबाटै छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्यांडको आन्दोलन गरिसकेको बताउँदै अब गोजमुमो नेताहरुले राजीनामा दिएर आन्दोलन गर्नु भनि सुझाव दिए। 

“गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलनको निम्ति बलिदान भनेको नै जीटीएका सभासद्हरूले राजिनामा दिनु हो” तृणमूल कङ्ग्रेसका नेता छेवाण्ग़ भोटियाले कटाक्ष गर्दै भने। भोटियाले छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलन अघि बडाउँनुलाई मोर्चा नेताहरुले राजीनामा दिनुको साथै गोर्खालिगले छैंटौं अनुसूचीको खेस्रा जलाए जस्तै मोर्चाले जीटीएको खेस्रा जलाउनुपर्छ तब मात्र जनताले विश्वास गर्नेछन भने। तिनले जीटीएभित्र बसेर गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलन गर्छु भन्नु पटक्क पत्याउने कुरा होइन भन्ने दाबी गर्दै मोर्चाले डरको कारण नै आन्दोलनको कुरा गरेको आरोप थोपे।

 भोटियाले जीटीएको बिरुद्धमा उच्च न्यायलयमा मुद्दा दर्ता भएको कारण गोजमुमो नेताहरु डराएको बताउँदै मदन तामङको हत्याको मुद्दा सर्वोच्च न्यायलयमा पुगेको कारण बिमल गुरुङ डरले धधाएको आरोप लगाए। अर्कोतिर यस सम्बन्धमा पिपल्स फोरमले पनि कडा प्रतिक्रिया जनाएको छ। पिपल्स फोरमका प्रवीण गुरुङले प्रतिक्रिया गोजमुमो अध्यक्ष विमल गुरूङले गोर्खाल्याणअडको कुरा गर्नु जनताको आँखामा धुलोहाल्नु हो भने। बिमल गुरूङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलन गर्ने कुरा गरेर जनतालाई भ्रम सृजना गरेको बताउँदै उक्त घोषमा बगमफुसे कुरा हो भने। 

तिनले जीटीए विरुद्ध न्यायलयमा दर्ता गरेको मुद्दा सम्बन्धि मुद्दाको विपक्ष रहेको बङ्गाल सरकारको पक्षबाट हिल एफियर्सका इञ्चार्ज चिताङ्‌सु शेखर प्रधानले न्यायलयलाई बुजाएको हलफनामा पत्रको बुँदा संख्या 10 मा “पहाडमा जीटीए स्थापित गर्नुको प्रमुख कारण त्यहॉं भइरहेको आन्दोलन समाप्त गरेर शान्ति स्थापित गर्नु हो किन भने त्यहॉं कुनै लजिक नभएको आन्दोलन भइरहेको छ” भनेर लेखिएको दाबी गर्दै दार्जीलिङ जिल्लालाई बङ्गालमा नै राख्नको निम्ति नै पहाडमा जीटीए गठन गरिएको छ भनेर लेखेको बताए।

 तिनले उक्त हलफनामा पत्रमा “यो धेर केही होइन, दागोपाप जस्तै क्षमता भएको अटोनोमस हो” भनेर न्यायलयमा बुझाएको बताउँदै उक्त सरकारी स्पष्टिकरणले गोर्खाल्याण्डको मुद्दा दबाउँन गोजमुमोले सरकारसंग सम्झौता गरेको स्पष्ट बनेको जनाए। “ विमल गुरूङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको मुद्दा बन्धक राखिसकेका छन्‌। तिनले फेरि आन्दोलन गर्छु भन्नु ढॉंट कुराबाहेक केही होइन” प्रवीण गुरुङले भने।

डाकघरको लापारवाहीले रोजगारको अवसरबाट बञ्चित एक युवक

 कालेबुङ, १७ दिस्बर। कालेबुङ डाक घरमा आएको कोलकोता पुलिसको अन्तरवार्ता पत्र समयमा पाउँन नसक्दा यहाँको कम्सि फरेष्ट बस्ति निवासी कमल राई रोजगारको अवसरबाट बञ्चित बनेका छन। तिनले गत मई महिनामा कोलकोता पुलिसको निम्ति शारिरिक परिक्षा उतिर्ण गरेका थिए भने तिनको अन्तिम अन्तरवार्ता हुन मात्र बाँकी थियो। शारिरिक परिक्षा समाप्त भएपछि अन्तरवार्ताको निम्ति पत्र पर्खेर बसेका कमला राई त्यतिबेला छाँगोबाट खसे झै भए जतिबेला डाक बोक्ने व्यक्तिले आफ्नो बुलावा पत्र अन्तरवार्ता सकिएर हातमा थमाई दिए। यस सम्बन्धमा तिनले रुष्ट बन्दै यो डाक घरको लापारवाही हो भनि आरोप लगाएको छ।

 तिनले डाक बिभागको लापारवाहीको कारण आफु रोजगारको अवसरबाट बञ्चित बन्न परेको आरोप लगाउँदै यस्तो घटना धेरै हुनसक्ने बताए। यस सम्बन्धमा तिनले जानकारी दिदै कोलकोता पुलिसको अन्तरवार्ताको निम्ति आफुलाई बुलावा पत्र आएको भए पनि डाक बिभागको कर्मचारीले आफ्नो बुलावा पत्र सही ठाउँमा नदिएको आरोप लगाए। अन्तरवार्ताको समय हिज दिउँसो 12 बजे रहेको बताउँदै बिभागले पठाएको बुलावा पत्र समय समाप्त भएर बेलुकी पाएको बताउँदै डाक बिभागको लापारवाहीबारे आक्रोश पोखे। आफुले पत्र समयमा नपाउँदा अन्तरवार्तामा जान नसकेको बताउँदै यसरी डाक बिभागले किन लापारवाही गर्दैछ भनि प्रश्न गरे। 

तिनी गणतान्त्रिक क्रान्तिकारी मार्सवादी कम्यूनिष्ट पार्टीका टाउन कमिटी अध्यक्ष हुन। उक्त घटना पछि आज क्रामाकपाले यसको लिखित गुनासो कालेबुङ डाकघरका पोष्टमास्टर पारस थापालाई चडाएको छ। क्रामाकपाले यस सम्बन्धमा यथाशिघ्र जाँच गरेर दोषी कर्मचारीलाई सजाय दिनुपर्ने माग गर्दै कर्मचारीवर्गले आफ्नो ड्युटी ईमान्दारपूर्वक निर्वाह गर्नुपर्ने माग राखेको छ। पिडीत युवकले आफ्नो ठेगाना सही रहेको बताउँदै तर डाक कर्मचारी सुसन लेप्चले उनको पत्र घरमा नदिएका नजिकैको एक दोकानमा छोडिदिएका बताए।

 तिनको उक्त बुलावा पत्र घरमा नदिए पछि समय समाप्त भएरमात्र प्राप्त भएको जनाउँदै यस्तो लापारवाही किन ? तिनले प्रश्न गरे। शनिवार छोडिदिएको पत्र उनले आइतबार हात पारे जब अन्तर्वार्ताको समयसिमा सकिकेको थियो| ‘मेरो ठेगाना ढिक हुँदाहुँदै पनि मैले समयमा पत्र किन पाइनँ? पोष्टमास्टरले पत्र मेरो घरमा नदिएर किन अन्य दोकानमा दिए| मेरोसम्ममा आइपुग्दा पत्र पनि खोलिएको थियो’-युवक कमल राईले भने, यदी मैले पत्र बाहिनैमात्र पाएको भए पनि म अन्तर्वार्ताको निम्ति दार्जीलिङ पुग्नसक्थें| डाकघर अनि डाक कर्मचारीकै लापरावाहीले तिनी रोजगारको अवसरबाट बञ्चित रहेको क्रामाकपाले आरोप लगाउँदै यसको उचित छानबीन हुनपर्ने माग गरेको छ।