Bimal Gurung threatens to burn GTA copy
Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, TNN | Feb 9, 2012, JALPAIGURI: Mamata Banerjee's claim of sorting out the Hills issue, within three months of coming to power, received a fresh jolt on Wednesday after Bimal Gurung threatened to burn the agreement copy of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). At a meeting in Sibchu, the Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha president said that if the GTA was not implemented by March 27, he would burn the copy on April 17.
What's worse, the GJM chief hinted has given a strong hint that if the mouzas of Dooars and Terai are not included under the GTA, they would not accept it. Gurung's declaration came barely 48 hours ahead of the chief minister's scheduled visit to Siliguri to flag off the Uttar Banga Utsav.
"We did not demand GTA. It was the government who offered us the treaty. If it is not implemented by March 27, we will burn down the GTA agreement copy on April 17," Gurung said while addressing a meeting on the occasion of martyrs' day at Sibchu in Jalpaiguri district. It was on this day last year that three GJM supporters were killed in police firing.
The party leadership has been demanding the inclusion of 198 mouzas from the Dooars and Terai in the proposed GTA for quite sometime now. Following this demand, the state government had constituted a high powered committee to decide on the issue. The committee is scheduled to hold a meeting on March 24.
"I have asked my men, who are members of the high powered committee, to walk out of the meeting if the committee denies including the mouzas of Dooars and Terai, which we have demanded, under the GTA," Gurung said, indicating that they are not going to accept anything that excludes parts of Dooars and Terai.
Experts believe that by signing the GTA agreement hastily, the government is caught between two burning issues. If the mouzas, as demanded by the GJM, are not included under the GTA, GJM will not accept the treaty. And if it is included, the plains will rise up in protest.
"It will not be possible for the high powered committee to recommend inclusion of the mouzas of Dooars and Terai into the GTA. In that case, if GJM accepts the deal, it will lose its base in the plains," an observer said.
The meeting was attended by expelled ABAVP leader John Barla. The Hills party is now trying to project him as the representative of the tribals living in the tea belt of Dooars and Terai.
Keep deadline or we will intensify our stir, warns Gorkha Morcha- threatens to burn copies of the GTA MoA at Sukna rally
MARCUS DAM, TH: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung on Wednesday announced that copies of the memorandum of agreement for the setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in the Hills would be burnt at a public rally on April 17 if the proposed body was not put in place by March 27.
“The message to the government is loud and clear,” senior GJM leader and MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling district, indicating that the GJM would step up its movement for a separate State if the March 27 deadline was not met.
Mr. Gurung's announcement, which threatens to change the course of political developments in the region in the months ahead, was made at a rally at Sipchu, adjoining the Dooars region in north Bengal, organised by the GJM to mark the first anniversary of the death of three of its activists in police firing there.
“In the event of our deadline not being met we shall organise a rally at Sukna on April 17 to signal the intensification of our movement for a separate Gorkhaland State — by burning of copies of the GTA agreement,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told this correspondent over the telephone.
“Our concerns over the delay in the implementation of the agreement were conveyed to Governor M.K. Narayanan, whom we met in Darjeeling on Tuesday. He has assured us that he will take up the matter with President Pratibha Patil when he calls on her next week,” Mr. Giri said.
The GJM leadership, which has been blaming the Trinamool-Congress-led government for the delay in the implementation of the GTA agreement — which had been signed on July 18, 2011 — has raised the pitch over the past few weeks.
MS. BANERJEE'S CLAIM THAT THE CRISIS IN THE HILLS HAD BEEN RESOLVED APPEARS, TO SAY THE LEAST, PREMATURE.
“The people of the Hills were given the assurance by the State government that the GTA would be set up within six months of the signing of the agreement. Not just is that period over; there are no signs of elections to the GTA being held,” Jyoti Kumar Rai, GJM assistant general secretary, said.
Instead, the term of the high-powered committee to look into the question of whether or not Gorkha-dominated areas in the Terai and Dooars are to be included within the territorial jurisdiction of the GTA was recently extended by another six months — till July 28. This despite the agreement stating that “the committee will be expected to give its recommendations within a short period, preferably within six months of its constitution,” the GJM leadership argues.
The GJM has maintained that it will not agree to elections for the GTA before a decision is taken on its demand for extending the jurisdiction of the proposed body beyond the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district to those parts of the Terai and the Dooars where Gorkhas are pre-dominant.
SNS, SILIGURI/DARJEELING, 8 FEB: In a move that might further jeopardise the already-strained relation between the state government and the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), Mr Bimal Gurung, the GJMM president, said his party activists would make a bonfire of copies of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) at Sukna on 17 April if the state government failed to implement the pact by 27 March.
He also hinted that his party would plunge into the statehood movement with renewed vigour in April while addressing a public meeting at Sipchu in the Dooars organised to mark the first anniversary of the Sipchu killing.
Three GJMM activists were killed when the law enforcers opened fire to quell a party rally that was out to defy the prohibitory order on 8 February last year.
The move has assumed significance as barely two days are left for the chief minister to arrive in Siliguri to inaugurate the North Bengal Festival.
“Our patience has been wearing thin with the state government sitting tight on the GTA pact. We will not budge an inch from the agitation. It will bring into the open the long accumulated collective frustration over the inordinate delay in putting the pact into motion,” Mr Gurung said.
The tripartite GTA pact was signed on 18 July last year at Pintail Village on the outskirts of Siliguri. The Bill was passed in the Assembly, but the implementation process has been delayed as it is yet to get the Presidential Assent which is a constitutional imperative to turn the Bill into an Act.
Aside from the GTA outburst, Mr Gurung again reiterated that the Gorkhaland Liberation Organisation chief, Mr Chhatray Subba was training a group of hardcore Maoists in a camp being run in the Lava forests under Kalimpong sub-division.
“The state government cannot sit idle, as a grave threat might ensue to the peace in the Hills from the subversive forces which are bent on instigating violence in support of some airy ideas,” he said.
GJMM observes Black Day
To mark the police firing at Sipchu in the Dooars, where three GJMM supporters were mowed down last year, the Hill-based party observed Black Day today across the Darjeeling Hills. Black flags were unfurled atop the GJMM offices at all corners of the Hills and the party activists put on black bands to express condolence for the departed souls whom they call martyrs for the cause of Gorkhaland. Black flags were also seen fluttering from shops across Darjeeling town. A meeting was also organised in the town where the speakers stressed on maintaining the statehood resolve in the face of adversities. The party expressed dismay over the delay in the proceedings of the CID probe that the Mamata Banerjee government ordered in June last to pinpoint responsibility behind the firing.
पत्रकारहरुलाई कालेबुङमा लाखेस
कालिमन्युज, सिब्सु ८ फरवरी: कालेबुङको टाउन हल पछि सिब्सुमा पनि गोजमुमो प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले कालेबुङका स्थानीय समाचार च्यानलहरु अनि पत्रकारहरुलाई न्यायलयमा मुद्दा हालिदिने खुल्ला रुपले घोषणा गरेका छन्। “ मैले पत्रकारहरुलाई कहिल्यै नराम्रो भनिन तर, बिपक्षी दलका नेताहरुले घिनलाग्दो भनेका कुराहरु कमसेकम काटँ छाँट गर्नुपर्छ। मैले नदेखाउँनु भनेको होइन तर राम्रो भषामा बोल्न जान्नु पर्छ। मान्छेले हेर्न नसक्ने भषामा बोलेका कुराहरु देखाउँदा राम्रो हुँदैन” भन्दै बिपक्षी दलका नेताहरुले नराम्रो बोलेका कुराहरु देखाएको सन्दर्भमा गुरुंगले जोड्ले आक्रोश ब्यक्त गरे।
ज्ञात रहोस गुरुङले सोमबार कालेबुङमा पनि स्थानीय च्यानलहरुलाई मुद्दा हाल्ने कुरा गरेका थिए। तिनले दार्जीलिङ र खर्साङमा मोर्चाको कार्यक्रम बाहेक अन्य कसैको पनि देखाउँन नपाउँने बताउँदै अब कालेबुङका सबै च्यानलहरु बन्द गरिदिने चेतावनी दिएका थिए। त्यसै कुरालाई आज सिब्सुमा पनि गुरुङले दोहोराएर मिडीयाकर्मीहरु माथि निकै जोडले बर्सिए। यता आज कालेबुङका दुईवटा बाहेक सबै च्यानलहरु बन्द गरिदिने चेतावनी आएको बताइन्छ।
कालेबुङमा माओवादी पसेको कुरा आधारहीन रहेको क्रामाकपाको दाबी
कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ ८ फरवरी: क्रामाकपा पार्टीको युवा एकाई गक्रायुमोले गोजमुमो प्रमुख बिमल गुरूङले कालेबुङमा माओवादी पसेको छ भन्ने कुरालाई आधारहीन वक्तव्य हो भनेका छन्। गक्रायुमो महासचिव अरुण घतानीले पार्टी कार्यालयमा आयोजित पत्रकार सम्मेलनलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै गुरुङले माओवादीको कुरा गरेर जनतामा आतङ्क सृजना फैलाउँन खोजेको आरोप लगाए। तिनले भने यहाँ माओवादी कसैले भित्राउँन सक्दैन तर मोर्चा नेताहारुले नै माओवादी ल्याएर यस्तो कुरा गरिरहेको हुन सक्ने आशङ्का व्यक्त गरे। घतानीले मोर्चालाई आरोप लगाउँदै मोर्चा नेताहरुले नै पहिला लालगडमा माओवादी नेताहरुसित बैठक गरेको कुरा सबैलाई थाह छ अनि माओवादी नेताहरुसित बैठक गर्ने मानिसहरुले नै यस्तो काम गर्न सक्छ भने। यसै क्रममा तिनले दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा माओवादी होइन तर खाओवादीहरु जन्मिएर आईला, भुईँचालोको पैसाहरु ब्यापक मात्रमा खाएको आरोप लगाए। तिनले पत्रकारहरुलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै क्रामाकपा अध्यक्ष आर बी राईलाई जीटीएको पदमा राख्ने मोर्चाले लालच देखाउँने कार्य नगर्नु भनि सुझाव दिएका छन्।
आर बी राई गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलन प्रति ईमान्दार नेता रहेको कारण तिनले सांसदको गरिमामय पद त्यागेर आएको अनि यस्ता ईमान्दार नेतालाई चानचुने पदको लोभ देखाउँने कार्य गलत रहेको बताउँदै जीटीएको पदमा क्रामाकपा अध्यक्षको कुरा टाढाको रहेको बताउँदै कुनै कर्मीहरु समेत त्यस्ता पदमा नबस्ने स्पषट पारे। मोर्चा प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले दिएका आधारहीन कुराको क्रामाकपाले बिरोध गर्ने बताउँदै मोर्चा नेताहरुले शहीदको सपनालाई कुठराघात गरेको आरोप लगाए।
तिनले मोर्चा प्रमुख गुरुङले कालेबुङका पत्रकारहरु तथा स्थानीय समाचार च्यानल कर्मीहरुलाई न्यायलयमा मुद्दा हालिदिने कुराको बिरोध गर्दै यो असंवैधानिक र अगणतान्त्रिक कुरा रहेको अनि यसमा प्रशासनले हस्तक्षेप गर्नु पर्ने माग गरे। समाचार च्यानल र पत्रकारहरुलाई मुद्दा हलिदिन्छु भन्ने कुरा गरेर गुरुङले बिगत ८६ सालको परिवेश सृजना गरेर आतङ्क पैलाउँन खोजेको पनि तिनले आरोप लगाए। पत्रकारहरु माथी गुरुङले गरेको नकारात्मक् टिप्पणी तिनले यथाशिघ्र फिर्ता लिनुपर्ने माग गर्दै यदि पत्रकारहारुलाई धम्काएर अगणतान्त्रीक कार्य गर्न खोजे क्रामाकपाले कहिल्यै सहन नगर्ने तिनले चेतावनी दिए। मोर्चाले दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा तानाशाहको शाषण गर्न खोजेको आरोप लगाउँदै यस्ता तानाशाह्हरुको अब अन्त शुरु भएको अरुण घतानीले दाबी गरेका छन। मोर्चाले बिकाशको निम्ति जीटीएमा सम्झौता गरेको दाबी गर्दै बिकाशको निम्ति गरेको सम्झौताको कुनै औचित्य नरहेको तिनले दाबी गरेका छन्।
अर्कोतर्फ आगमी १५ फरवरीको दिन क्रामाकपाको युवा संगठन गक्रायुमोले दार्जीलिङ पहाडको सम्पूर्ण ८ वटा खण्ड बिकाश कार्यालयहरुमा धर्ना दिने बताएका छन्। भारतीय गोर्खाहरुको राष्ट्रिय राजनैतिक सुरक्षा जीटीएले होईन केवल छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्डले मात्र बोक्न सक्छ यसैले गोर्खाल्याण्ड यथाशिघ्र गठन गर्नुपर्छ, पहाडका ८ वटा खण्डहरुलाई २५ वटा अनि ११२ वटा ग्राम पञ्चायतहरुलाई १६०वटा बनाउँनु पर्छ, मिरिकलाई महकुमा बनाएर पहाडमा त्रिस्तरीय पञ्चायत चुनाव हुनपर्छ लगायत अन्य यस्ता थुप्रै मागहरु लिएर खण्डबिकाश कार्यालयहरुमा धर्ना दिने भएको घतानीले थप स्पष्ट पारे। तिनले हाल दोगोपापलाई गोजमुमोले अदृष्यरुपमा सञ्चालन गरिरहेको बताउँदै यहाँ भईरहेको भ्रष्टचारको सरकाले चाडो जाँच गर्नुपर्ने माग गरे। हाल ग्राम पञ्चायत बिभागमा राजनैतिक हस्तक्षेप रहेको कारण आशा परियोजना अनुरुप स्वास्थ्य सहायकहरुको नियुक्ति बन्दरहेको बताउँदै यसको पनि सही जाँच हुनपर्ने तिनले माग गरे। तिनले हाल सिलगडीलाई सरकारले जिल्ला बनाउने षडयन्त्र गरिरहेको आरोप लगाउँदै दार्जीलिङ पहाडको भौगोलिक अवस्थान बेग्लै रहेको भएता पनि यसमा सरकार मौन बस्नु उचित रहेको तिनले बताए।
GTF at Assam
KalimNews, Bureau, 8 February: Gorkhaland Task Force had its first meeting in the Northeast on February 8, 2012 with Gorkha dignitaries. On the day it met with Tanka Bahadur Rai, Cabinet Minister Planning and Developement, Law and Judiciary, Public Grievances and Pension Deptt. Govt. of Assam at Assam Secretariat office.
Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, TNN | Feb 9, 2012, JALPAIGURI: Mamata Banerjee's claim of sorting out the Hills issue, within three months of coming to power, received a fresh jolt on Wednesday after Bimal Gurung threatened to burn the agreement copy of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). At a meeting in Sibchu, the Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha president said that if the GTA was not implemented by March 27, he would burn the copy on April 17.
What's worse, the GJM chief hinted has given a strong hint that if the mouzas of Dooars and Terai are not included under the GTA, they would not accept it. Gurung's declaration came barely 48 hours ahead of the chief minister's scheduled visit to Siliguri to flag off the Uttar Banga Utsav.
"We did not demand GTA. It was the government who offered us the treaty. If it is not implemented by March 27, we will burn down the GTA agreement copy on April 17," Gurung said while addressing a meeting on the occasion of martyrs' day at Sibchu in Jalpaiguri district. It was on this day last year that three GJM supporters were killed in police firing.
The party leadership has been demanding the inclusion of 198 mouzas from the Dooars and Terai in the proposed GTA for quite sometime now. Following this demand, the state government had constituted a high powered committee to decide on the issue. The committee is scheduled to hold a meeting on March 24.
"I have asked my men, who are members of the high powered committee, to walk out of the meeting if the committee denies including the mouzas of Dooars and Terai, which we have demanded, under the GTA," Gurung said, indicating that they are not going to accept anything that excludes parts of Dooars and Terai.
Experts believe that by signing the GTA agreement hastily, the government is caught between two burning issues. If the mouzas, as demanded by the GJM, are not included under the GTA, GJM will not accept the treaty. And if it is included, the plains will rise up in protest.
"It will not be possible for the high powered committee to recommend inclusion of the mouzas of Dooars and Terai into the GTA. In that case, if GJM accepts the deal, it will lose its base in the plains," an observer said.
The meeting was attended by expelled ABAVP leader John Barla. The Hills party is now trying to project him as the representative of the tribals living in the tea belt of Dooars and Terai.
Keep deadline or we will intensify our stir, warns Gorkha Morcha- threatens to burn copies of the GTA MoA at Sukna rally
MARCUS DAM, TH: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung on Wednesday announced that copies of the memorandum of agreement for the setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in the Hills would be burnt at a public rally on April 17 if the proposed body was not put in place by March 27.
“The message to the government is loud and clear,” senior GJM leader and MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling district, indicating that the GJM would step up its movement for a separate State if the March 27 deadline was not met.
Mr. Gurung's announcement, which threatens to change the course of political developments in the region in the months ahead, was made at a rally at Sipchu, adjoining the Dooars region in north Bengal, organised by the GJM to mark the first anniversary of the death of three of its activists in police firing there.
“In the event of our deadline not being met we shall organise a rally at Sukna on April 17 to signal the intensification of our movement for a separate Gorkhaland State — by burning of copies of the GTA agreement,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told this correspondent over the telephone.
“Our concerns over the delay in the implementation of the agreement were conveyed to Governor M.K. Narayanan, whom we met in Darjeeling on Tuesday. He has assured us that he will take up the matter with President Pratibha Patil when he calls on her next week,” Mr. Giri said.
The GJM leadership, which has been blaming the Trinamool-Congress-led government for the delay in the implementation of the GTA agreement — which had been signed on July 18, 2011 — has raised the pitch over the past few weeks.
MS. BANERJEE'S CLAIM THAT THE CRISIS IN THE HILLS HAD BEEN RESOLVED APPEARS, TO SAY THE LEAST, PREMATURE.
“The people of the Hills were given the assurance by the State government that the GTA would be set up within six months of the signing of the agreement. Not just is that period over; there are no signs of elections to the GTA being held,” Jyoti Kumar Rai, GJM assistant general secretary, said.
Instead, the term of the high-powered committee to look into the question of whether or not Gorkha-dominated areas in the Terai and Dooars are to be included within the territorial jurisdiction of the GTA was recently extended by another six months — till July 28. This despite the agreement stating that “the committee will be expected to give its recommendations within a short period, preferably within six months of its constitution,” the GJM leadership argues.
The GJM has maintained that it will not agree to elections for the GTA before a decision is taken on its demand for extending the jurisdiction of the proposed body beyond the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district to those parts of the Terai and the Dooars where Gorkhas are pre-dominant.
SNS, SILIGURI/DARJEELING, 8 FEB: In a move that might further jeopardise the already-strained relation between the state government and the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), Mr Bimal Gurung, the GJMM president, said his party activists would make a bonfire of copies of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) at Sukna on 17 April if the state government failed to implement the pact by 27 March.
He also hinted that his party would plunge into the statehood movement with renewed vigour in April while addressing a public meeting at Sipchu in the Dooars organised to mark the first anniversary of the Sipchu killing.
Three GJMM activists were killed when the law enforcers opened fire to quell a party rally that was out to defy the prohibitory order on 8 February last year.
The move has assumed significance as barely two days are left for the chief minister to arrive in Siliguri to inaugurate the North Bengal Festival.
“Our patience has been wearing thin with the state government sitting tight on the GTA pact. We will not budge an inch from the agitation. It will bring into the open the long accumulated collective frustration over the inordinate delay in putting the pact into motion,” Mr Gurung said.
The tripartite GTA pact was signed on 18 July last year at Pintail Village on the outskirts of Siliguri. The Bill was passed in the Assembly, but the implementation process has been delayed as it is yet to get the Presidential Assent which is a constitutional imperative to turn the Bill into an Act.
Aside from the GTA outburst, Mr Gurung again reiterated that the Gorkhaland Liberation Organisation chief, Mr Chhatray Subba was training a group of hardcore Maoists in a camp being run in the Lava forests under Kalimpong sub-division.
“The state government cannot sit idle, as a grave threat might ensue to the peace in the Hills from the subversive forces which are bent on instigating violence in support of some airy ideas,” he said.
GJMM observes Black Day
To mark the police firing at Sipchu in the Dooars, where three GJMM supporters were mowed down last year, the Hill-based party observed Black Day today across the Darjeeling Hills. Black flags were unfurled atop the GJMM offices at all corners of the Hills and the party activists put on black bands to express condolence for the departed souls whom they call martyrs for the cause of Gorkhaland. Black flags were also seen fluttering from shops across Darjeeling town. A meeting was also organised in the town where the speakers stressed on maintaining the statehood resolve in the face of adversities. The party expressed dismay over the delay in the proceedings of the CID probe that the Mamata Banerjee government ordered in June last to pinpoint responsibility behind the firing.
पत्रकारहरुलाई कालेबुङमा लाखेस
कालिमन्युज, सिब्सु ८ फरवरी: कालेबुङको टाउन हल पछि सिब्सुमा पनि गोजमुमो प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले कालेबुङका स्थानीय समाचार च्यानलहरु अनि पत्रकारहरुलाई न्यायलयमा मुद्दा हालिदिने खुल्ला रुपले घोषणा गरेका छन्। “ मैले पत्रकारहरुलाई कहिल्यै नराम्रो भनिन तर, बिपक्षी दलका नेताहरुले घिनलाग्दो भनेका कुराहरु कमसेकम काटँ छाँट गर्नुपर्छ। मैले नदेखाउँनु भनेको होइन तर राम्रो भषामा बोल्न जान्नु पर्छ। मान्छेले हेर्न नसक्ने भषामा बोलेका कुराहरु देखाउँदा राम्रो हुँदैन” भन्दै बिपक्षी दलका नेताहरुले नराम्रो बोलेका कुराहरु देखाएको सन्दर्भमा गुरुंगले जोड्ले आक्रोश ब्यक्त गरे।
ज्ञात रहोस गुरुङले सोमबार कालेबुङमा पनि स्थानीय च्यानलहरुलाई मुद्दा हाल्ने कुरा गरेका थिए। तिनले दार्जीलिङ र खर्साङमा मोर्चाको कार्यक्रम बाहेक अन्य कसैको पनि देखाउँन नपाउँने बताउँदै अब कालेबुङका सबै च्यानलहरु बन्द गरिदिने चेतावनी दिएका थिए। त्यसै कुरालाई आज सिब्सुमा पनि गुरुङले दोहोराएर मिडीयाकर्मीहरु माथि निकै जोडले बर्सिए। यता आज कालेबुङका दुईवटा बाहेक सबै च्यानलहरु बन्द गरिदिने चेतावनी आएको बताइन्छ।
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| Photo: Raju Nepali |
कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ ८ फरवरी: क्रामाकपा पार्टीको युवा एकाई गक्रायुमोले गोजमुमो प्रमुख बिमल गुरूङले कालेबुङमा माओवादी पसेको छ भन्ने कुरालाई आधारहीन वक्तव्य हो भनेका छन्। गक्रायुमो महासचिव अरुण घतानीले पार्टी कार्यालयमा आयोजित पत्रकार सम्मेलनलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै गुरुङले माओवादीको कुरा गरेर जनतामा आतङ्क सृजना फैलाउँन खोजेको आरोप लगाए। तिनले भने यहाँ माओवादी कसैले भित्राउँन सक्दैन तर मोर्चा नेताहारुले नै माओवादी ल्याएर यस्तो कुरा गरिरहेको हुन सक्ने आशङ्का व्यक्त गरे। घतानीले मोर्चालाई आरोप लगाउँदै मोर्चा नेताहरुले नै पहिला लालगडमा माओवादी नेताहरुसित बैठक गरेको कुरा सबैलाई थाह छ अनि माओवादी नेताहरुसित बैठक गर्ने मानिसहरुले नै यस्तो काम गर्न सक्छ भने। यसै क्रममा तिनले दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा माओवादी होइन तर खाओवादीहरु जन्मिएर आईला, भुईँचालोको पैसाहरु ब्यापक मात्रमा खाएको आरोप लगाए। तिनले पत्रकारहरुलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै क्रामाकपा अध्यक्ष आर बी राईलाई जीटीएको पदमा राख्ने मोर्चाले लालच देखाउँने कार्य नगर्नु भनि सुझाव दिएका छन्।
आर बी राई गोर्खाल्याण्डको आन्दोलन प्रति ईमान्दार नेता रहेको कारण तिनले सांसदको गरिमामय पद त्यागेर आएको अनि यस्ता ईमान्दार नेतालाई चानचुने पदको लोभ देखाउँने कार्य गलत रहेको बताउँदै जीटीएको पदमा क्रामाकपा अध्यक्षको कुरा टाढाको रहेको बताउँदै कुनै कर्मीहरु समेत त्यस्ता पदमा नबस्ने स्पषट पारे। मोर्चा प्रमुख बिमल गुरुङले दिएका आधारहीन कुराको क्रामाकपाले बिरोध गर्ने बताउँदै मोर्चा नेताहरुले शहीदको सपनालाई कुठराघात गरेको आरोप लगाए।
तिनले मोर्चा प्रमुख गुरुङले कालेबुङका पत्रकारहरु तथा स्थानीय समाचार च्यानल कर्मीहरुलाई न्यायलयमा मुद्दा हालिदिने कुराको बिरोध गर्दै यो असंवैधानिक र अगणतान्त्रिक कुरा रहेको अनि यसमा प्रशासनले हस्तक्षेप गर्नु पर्ने माग गरे। समाचार च्यानल र पत्रकारहरुलाई मुद्दा हलिदिन्छु भन्ने कुरा गरेर गुरुङले बिगत ८६ सालको परिवेश सृजना गरेर आतङ्क पैलाउँन खोजेको पनि तिनले आरोप लगाए। पत्रकारहरु माथी गुरुङले गरेको नकारात्मक् टिप्पणी तिनले यथाशिघ्र फिर्ता लिनुपर्ने माग गर्दै यदि पत्रकारहारुलाई धम्काएर अगणतान्त्रीक कार्य गर्न खोजे क्रामाकपाले कहिल्यै सहन नगर्ने तिनले चेतावनी दिए। मोर्चाले दार्जीलिङ पहाडमा तानाशाहको शाषण गर्न खोजेको आरोप लगाउँदै यस्ता तानाशाह्हरुको अब अन्त शुरु भएको अरुण घतानीले दाबी गरेका छन। मोर्चाले बिकाशको निम्ति जीटीएमा सम्झौता गरेको दाबी गर्दै बिकाशको निम्ति गरेको सम्झौताको कुनै औचित्य नरहेको तिनले दाबी गरेका छन्।
अर्कोतर्फ आगमी १५ फरवरीको दिन क्रामाकपाको युवा संगठन गक्रायुमोले दार्जीलिङ पहाडको सम्पूर्ण ८ वटा खण्ड बिकाश कार्यालयहरुमा धर्ना दिने बताएका छन्। भारतीय गोर्खाहरुको राष्ट्रिय राजनैतिक सुरक्षा जीटीएले होईन केवल छुट्टै राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्डले मात्र बोक्न सक्छ यसैले गोर्खाल्याण्ड यथाशिघ्र गठन गर्नुपर्छ, पहाडका ८ वटा खण्डहरुलाई २५ वटा अनि ११२ वटा ग्राम पञ्चायतहरुलाई १६०वटा बनाउँनु पर्छ, मिरिकलाई महकुमा बनाएर पहाडमा त्रिस्तरीय पञ्चायत चुनाव हुनपर्छ लगायत अन्य यस्ता थुप्रै मागहरु लिएर खण्डबिकाश कार्यालयहरुमा धर्ना दिने भएको घतानीले थप स्पष्ट पारे। तिनले हाल दोगोपापलाई गोजमुमोले अदृष्यरुपमा सञ्चालन गरिरहेको बताउँदै यहाँ भईरहेको भ्रष्टचारको सरकाले चाडो जाँच गर्नुपर्ने माग गरे। हाल ग्राम पञ्चायत बिभागमा राजनैतिक हस्तक्षेप रहेको कारण आशा परियोजना अनुरुप स्वास्थ्य सहायकहरुको नियुक्ति बन्दरहेको बताउँदै यसको पनि सही जाँच हुनपर्ने तिनले माग गरे। तिनले हाल सिलगडीलाई सरकारले जिल्ला बनाउने षडयन्त्र गरिरहेको आरोप लगाउँदै दार्जीलिङ पहाडको भौगोलिक अवस्थान बेग्लै रहेको भएता पनि यसमा सरकार मौन बस्नु उचित रहेको तिनले बताए।
GTF at Assam
KalimNews, Bureau, 8 February: Gorkhaland Task Force had its first meeting in the Northeast on February 8, 2012 with Gorkha dignitaries. On the day it met with Tanka Bahadur Rai, Cabinet Minister Planning and Developement, Law and Judiciary, Public Grievances and Pension Deptt. Govt. of Assam at Assam Secretariat office.
Shri Rai concurred with the GTF that the aspirations of the Gorkhas could not be met by the formation of a Gorkhaland Territorial Adminsitration and only a separate state would achieve that, he felt.
More meetings are scheduled for the coming days. The team of GTF had Sukhman Moktaan, National General Secretary of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP), R Moktan Co-ordinator Gorkhaland Task Force (GTF), Dawa Pakhrin President Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha and member GTF, Kishor Pradhan executive member CPRM and member GTF. They were accompanied by Nanda Kirati Dewan and others.
छ्त्रेलाई पक्राउ गर्ने गोजमुमोको माग
राजेश शर्मा, कालिमन्युज, जयगांउ ८ फरवरी । जीटीएफसंग छत्रे सुब्बा छ अनि छत्रे सुब्बाले कालेबुंग र डुर्वसमा माओवादिहरु लुकाएर राखेको छ यसैले आई बि अनि बंगाल सरकारले यो झट्टै बुझेर पक्रेको हुनु पर्छ तर् सरकारले उक्त काम गरेन भने गोजमुमोको जीएलपीले पक्राउगरी सरकारलाई सुम्पीनेछ। उक्त घोषणा गोजमुमो अध्यक्ष विमल गुरुंगले गोर्खाल्याण्ड आन्दोलनको अवधि शहिद हुने पांच जनाको शहिद वेदी शिलान्यास र सिब्सु गोलिकाण्ड्मा मृतकहरुको श्रदाञजली समारोह्को समय् सिब्सुमा गरेका हुन।
जीटीएफले माओवादिलाई तालिम दिएको होइन तर छ्त्रेले ट्रेनिंग दिइरहेको आज तिनले स्पष्टीकरण दिए। टास्क फोर्समा राम्रा मानिसहरु पनि भएकोले छ्त्रेको कारण जीटीएफलाई अप्ठ्यारो नपरोस भनेर सतर्क् गराएको तिनले अझै थपे।गुरुंग आज बुधवार सिब्सुको खेल मैदानमा बिहान ११ बजे देखि प्रारम्भ भएको शहिद दिवसको प्रमुख अतिथिको रुपमा उपस्थित थिए।
आजको पहिलो दिवसको कार्यक्रमको आरम्भ म्याराथान दौड बाट गरीयो। कार्यक्रममा गोजमुमो मुल सचिव रोसन गिरी लगायत प्रचार प्रसार सचिव एव कालेबुंग बिधायक डा र्हक बहादुर छेत्री, खरसांगका बिधायक रोहित शर्मा, एंव डुर्वस क्षेत्रका विधायक विलसन चम्प्रामारी लगायत् अखिल भारतिय आदिवासी बिकास परिषदका पूर्व अध्यक्ष जोन बारला पनि उपस्थित थिए।
जीएलपीको सलामीसाथ शहिद वेदीको शिलान्यास गरिएपछि समारोह प्रारम्भ गरिएको थियो । उक्त समारोहको अध्यक्षता कालेबुंग महकुमा समितिका उपाध्यक्ष लोपसांग लामाले गरेका थिए। लामाद्वारा लिखित् उत्सर्ग वा गोर्खाल्याण्ड शहिद स्मारक सिब्सु नामक पाचं शहिदहरुको जानकारी भएको पुस्तकको बिमोचन समारोहमा गरीयो । समारोहमा शहिद परिवारलाई स्मृति चिन्ह् एंव प्रशंसापत्रहरु बितरण गरीयो ।
आजको समारोहमा दार्जीलिंगको कार्निवलद्वारा निर्मित् एक गिति क्यासेटको बिमोचन पनि गरीयो । कार्यक्रममा आदिवासिहरुको उपस्थिती नगन्य थियो भने गोजमुमो समर्थकहरुमा पनि यस दिनलाई समझना गर्ने खासै उत्साह् देखिएन तर शहिद प्रमिला शर्माकि आमा भने रुदै गरेको देखियो ।
गुरुंगले आफ्नो वक्तव्यमा भने, आजको दिन ऎतिहासीक दिन हो डुर्वसको गोर्खाहरुको निम्ति त झन महत्वपूर्ण दिन हो, बामफ्रण्ट सरकारले गोजमुमोको गणतांत्रीक र गान्धीवादि नितिको आन्दोलनमा गोर्खा जातिमाथि अत्याचार गर्दै गोली चलाएर बिमला राई, बिक्की लामा र निता खवासलाई शहिद बनाएको दिन हो । गोर्खा जातिले आफनो अधिकार मांग्दा सरकारले गोली ठोकेको हो यसैले डुर्वस जीटीएमा गाभिएको हुनैपर्छ । आविप र गोजमुमोको लक्ष्य अलग अलग छ तर एक आपस्तमा मिलेर दुवैको फायदाको निम्ति आदिवासि र गोर्खा जातिमाझको सम्बन्ध् बिगत दिनमा जसरी नंग र मासु झै थियो आउदो दिनमा पनि नंग र मासु भन्दा राम्रो हुनेछ भन्ने जनाए ।
बिमल गुरुंगले आफ्नो सम्बोधनमा तिनले डुर्वसमा घर बनाउन आन्दोलन गरेको होईन तर जातिको उत्थानको निम्तिी आन्दोलन गरेको हो यसैले बिपक्षीहरुले गलत लाण्छना नलगाउने र् गलत सवाल नउठाउने चेतावनी दिए। डुर्वसको जनताहरुलाई जाति विरोधि काम गरने हरुको पुच्छर नसमात्ने सल्लाह पनि तिनले दिए । दिल्लीमा आदिवासि जातिको केन्द्रिय अध्यक्षसंग मिलाउने काम मनोहर तिर्कीले गरेको पनि तिनले खुलासा गरे। जीएटीए गठन गर्ने मोर्चाको सोचलाई बिगार्ने नेताहरुदेखि सावधान रहने पनि तिनले सतर्कता जताए। पश्चिम बंगालका मुख्य मंत्री र बन बिभागसंग अनुमति लिएर सिब्सुमा विराट शहिद वेदि बनाउने पनि तिनले सभामा बताए। सरकारलाई २७ मार्च भित्र जीटीए गठन गर्ने अन्तिमेथ्यम दिएको स्मरण गराउदै तिनले नत्र त्रिपक्षिय सम्झौता जलाउने चेताउनी पनि सरकारलाई सभामा दिए। सम्पूर्ण गोर्खा जाति एक भएर अब हुने अन्तिम लडाईको निम्ति जनतालाई तैयार हुने आवहान तिनले गरे ।
डा हर्क बहादुर छेत्रीले आफनो सम्बोधनमा गोर्खाल्याण्ड गोजमुमोको लक्ष्य हो तथा जिटिए प्रथम खुड्किलो हो भन्ने बताए । डुर्वसमा आविप र गोर्खा मिलापले केन्द्र र राज्य बतर्मान समयमा तर्सिएको बताए । तिनले पनि सरकारलाई चेतावनी दिदै अलगराज्यको आन्दोलनको संकेत दिदै साधारण जनता तयार रहने आवहान गरे ।
शहिद समारोहमा गोजमुमो महासचिव रोसन गिरीले वक्तव्यको क्रममा २०११को १८ जुलाई स्मरण गराए। बिपक्षी नेता छत्रे सुब्बा एंव आर बी राईलाई सम्बोधन गर्दै गोजमुमोसंग् तर्क् गर्न आउने चुनौति तिनले दिए । तिनले गोजमुमोले डुर्वसको बिकासको निम्ति सोचदै आएको अनि अलग राज्य गोर्खाल्याण्ड्को मांगमा ज़ीटीए एक रणनिति हो भन्ने बताए । छत्रे माथी बर्सिदै तिनले भने छत्रे सुब्बा हत्यामा माथी बिश्वास गर्छ तर गोजमुमो अहिंसामा विश्वास गर्छ् । छत्रे सुब्बाले उक्त सम्झौता नपडेको पनि तिनले दावी गरे र पडने आवहान गरे । तिनले आगामी २४ तारीखको दिन हाई पावर कमीटीले समपुर्ण राजनैतिक पार्टीहरुलाई बोलाएको पनि खुलासा गर्दै डुर्वसलाई जीटीएमा अनतर्भूक्त गर्ने राम्रो बाटो तैयार भईरहेको बताए । यता गोजमुमो डुवर्स कमिटिलाई आज भंग गरिएको जानकारि पार्टी सुत्रले दिएको छ् ।
Morcha threatens to boycott hill panel- Gurung cry for mouzas and early GTA
RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Sibchu, Feb. 8: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today threatened to withdraw all its four members from the territory committee if the Gorkha-dominated mouzas that it has demanded were not brought under the new hill administrative set-up.
Morcha president Bimal Gurung also expressed displeasure at the delay in the implementation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. One of the stumbling blocks to the early implementation of the GTA is that the territory panel is yet to submit its recommendations to the government.
The Morcha chief was speaking at a programme here to mark the first anniversary of the police firing that killed three party supporters at Sibchu.
“Our members will walk out from the HPC (high-powered committee) if it fails to include the mouzas demanded by us,” Gurung said.
In his address earlier, Morcha secretary Roshan Giri said the committee would meet in Calcutta on February 24 to hear the opinion of all political parties in the Dooars and Terai in the set-up. “The additional areas (to be included in the GTA) will be decided on the basis of contiguity, continuity and homogeneity. There shouldn’t be any difficulty in including the areas from the Dooars and Terai,” he said.
Apart from the 199 mouzas in the Terai and 196 from the Dooars, the Morcha has demanded the inclusion of three mouzas from the Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district in the GTA.
Gurung’s walkout threat is being seen as a tactics to put pressure on the committee to submit its report earliest given that the Morcha has set a deadline of March 27 for the state government to implement the GTA agreement. The party has threatened to re-launch the Gorkhaland agitation, if the deadline is not met.
The Morcha has four members in the HPC which is headed by Justice Shyamal Sen. Other members are the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, a representative of the state home department, the director of census (representing the Centre) and the administrator of the DGHC. The government had on January 27 extended the term of the 10-member HPC formed in July last year by six months, a few days after the Morcha set the March 27 deadline.
The Morcha president wondered why the HPC was not being able to submit its report till today. “The delay in the formation of the GTA is providing an opportunity to the (opposition) leaders in the hills to chirp,” he said. Morcha rivals have revived up their campaigns in recent times, clamouring for statehood and Sixth Schedule status.
In Calcutta, Justice Sen said he did not know what the Morcha was saying. He said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri had met him recently and had accepted the government proposals.
“He told me that a Morcha delegation would meet me in Calcutta on February 24. We have had cordial talks and had placed several proposals before them. They have agreed to them and it has been recorded. I don’t know what they are saying. They have not said they will not meet me on February 24,” Justice Sen told The Telegraph.
In Sibchu, on the fringes of the Dooars , Gurung came down heavily on Chhatrey Subba, accusing the 71-year-old rebel Gorkha leader of trying to breach peace in the hills. He, however, clarified that when he talked about training camps and Maoists in his speech, the charges were not against all constituents of the Gorkhaland Task Force. The GTF is an anti-Morcha consortium of five outfits — the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, CPRM, ABGL, Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha and the GNLF (C).
The GTF members had yesterday said Gurung would have to either retract his statements delivered on Monday or prove their involvement in conducting such camps.
“I mentioned the Task Force because Chhatrey (Subba) is part of it,” Gurung said. The Morcha chief had said the forests of Kalimpong were harbouring 15-20 Maoists. “No one should engineer violence. Remember, we too have GLP. We will pounce on any one (indulging in violence) and hand him over to the government,” he said. The GLP is a squad of lathi-wielding volunteers raised by the Morcha, apparently to control crowds at its meetings.
The Morcha president dared Subba to share his vision of Gorkhaland with the people. “I will assemble one lakh people in Kalimpong or anywhere to hear him,” he added.
Rain brings chill back in foothills
MRINALINI SHARMA, TT, Siliguri, Feb. 8: Sudden showers in the Himalayan foothills and Sikkim today brought a chill in the air making people scramble for umbrellas and the extra woollens that had been tucked away for sometime.
Weather experts said the sudden rainfall was a result of the western disturbance passing over the region and that the upper reaches of the state and Sikkim might experience snowfall later this week.
“The western disturbance has approached the region from Jammu and Kashmir. It was crossing northern UP yesterday but is now passing over north Bengal and Sikkim. This has resulted in sudden showers in different areas and a dip in the day temperature,” said Indranil Sengupta, the assistant meteorological officer at the Regional Meteorological Office in Jalpaiguri.
The temperature recorded in the past five days had shown a rise and the average maximum temperature was 25 degrees Celsius.
But after the showers today, the maximum temperature dropped to 23.8 degrees.
Weather experts said although the dip was not much, a chilly condition existed throughout the day because of the rainfall and cold wind. “There is not much dip in temperature but yet we feel cold. This is because there has been some rainfall and windy conditions are prevailing over sub-Himalayan West Bengal,” said Sengupta.
This morning, there were moderate showers in Siliguri, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of Sikkim.
“The cloudy weather is likely to remain for the next 48 to 72 hours after which the western disturbance will cross over to the northeastern states. It is likely that rainfall will be experienced in some areas of Sikkim and snowfall may occur in the higher altitudes in the next two days. It was drizzling in Gangtok this morning but the place received moderate showers accompanied by thunder in the afternoon,” G.N. Raha, the in-charge of the Meteorological Centre in Gangtok, told The Telegraph over the phone from Sikkim.
“Winter in the foothills gets over by February end and this is signified by the gradual increase in both the minimum and maximum temperatures. By the end of this month, both day and night temperatures will increase to nearly 27 degrees Celsius and 14 degrees respectively,” Sengupta said.
The average normal minimum temperature at night has increased from 11 degrees Celsius in January to 12 degrees Celsius this month and the average normal maximum temperature had risen from 23 degrees Celsius last month to 24 degree Celsius in February.
Sengupta added that in the past five days, the day temperatures remained near normal at 25 degrees Celsius while the night temperatures had risen. The normal minimum night temperature at this time of the year is 12 degrees Celsius.
“The day temperature has been slightly above the normal and the night temperatures have shown an increase in the past five days. The rise in night temperature is because of the cloud cover that prevents heat from escaping. The chill during the day today was also because of the cloud, which did not allow the sunlight to reach (the earth’s surface). We can expect a rise in temperature after the western disturbance passes,” Sengupta said.
He added that it might snow in Darjeeling later this week. “Darjeeling is not new to snowfall in February. It had snowed once on February 14. We wouldn’t mind another bout of snowfall,” Nima Sherpa, a resident of Lebong said.
The hill town had seen snowfall on Valentine’s Day in 2007.
Dispatch halt looms on hill govt gardens
VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, Darjeeling, Feb. 8: The trade union of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has threatened to launch a fast and stop the dispatch of made tea from three state-owned estates in the Darjeeling hills if the workers are not paid the same wages as their counterparts in the industry.
The West Bengal Tea Development Corporation (WBTDC), a state government undertaking, runs Pandam, Rangaroon and Rangmuk-Cedar gardens in the hills.
The government had played a pro-active role in increasing the wage of garden workers from Rs 67 to Rs 90 in the Darjeeling tea industry with effect from April 1 last year.
“It is surprising that the WBTDC failed to increase the workers’ wages even a year after the government brokered deals between trade unions and garden owners on pay hike. We have been holding gate meetings for an hour from 8am in the three gardens since yesterday. The meetings will continue till February 11,” Babin Subba, a central committee member of the Darjeeling Terai-Dooars Plantation Labour Union, told The Telegraph.
Threatening to intensify the agitation, Subba said: “If we do not get a positive feedback from the government, the workers will start a hunger strike and stop the dispatch of made tea from the three gardens.”
The unions had entered into the wage deals with the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) and the Indian Tea Association separately (ITA). Most of the tea gardens in the hills are affiliated to either of the associations. Although the government plantations are not members of the DTA or the ITA, they generally follow the agreements inked by the two associations.
While Rangmuk-Cedar, located 35km from Darjeeling and in Kurseong subdivision, has 1,931 workers on its pay roll, Rangaroon and Pandam employ 219 and 268 labourers respectively. Both Rangaroon and Pandam are in the Darjeeling subdivision.
Industries minister Partha Chatterjee expressed surprise at the Morcha’s plan to stop the dispatch of tea from the WBTDC gardens. “Who said we are not giving them the revised wages? We are giving them the revised wages. I have conveyed this to Kurseong MLA Rohit Sharma. This kind of threat is not acceptable,” he said at Writers’ Buildings.
However, deputy manager (administration) N. Basu and company secretary S. Samandhar of the WBTDC admitted that the revised wages were not being paid. But they refused to say anything further on the issue.
Hong Kong date for Sikkim band - GnC to stage second foreign rock show
BIJOY GURUNG, TT, Gangtok, Feb. 8: The Girish N the Chronicles (GnC) has been invited to play in Hong Kong, the second chance for the Gangtok band to perform outside India.
The band will perform on February 12 at the annual rock festival, Alive-III, Clash of Titans, in which musical troupes from other Asian countries like South Korea and Japan are slated to take part.
“Your band has already gained the reputation as one of the finest from India and also looking at the fan following you have in Hong Kong, it would really be great to have you as a part of this event,” reads the invitation to the GnC from Extreme Entertainment HK, the organiser of the event.
A press release issued by the GnC said the Hong Kong performance would be the second by the band outside India. It had played at the Suncane Skale music festival in Montenegro in Europe in 2010 and came second in the contest. Bands from 26 nations had participated in the concert.
GnC front man and vocalist Girish Pradhan, 25, has played in South Korea also during the Yamaha Asian Beat final in November last year. The other GnC members are 24-year-old Nagen Mongranti (drums), lead guitarist Suraj Karki, 23, and Yogesh Pradhan (guitars, bass and sound engineering).
The band was the brainchild of Girish and his younger brother Yogesh, 23.
Girish has already been in Hong Kong since November to perform at bars after being signed by a private management company there. The other band members joined him on February 6 for the coming festival where they will play covers and original compositions.
“It is a matter of great achievement for the band to get to play in a foreign country and leave a mark with music and talent. This way, the band is also serving as Sikkim’s as well as India’s musical ambassador. All aspiring musicians can learn from the GnC that if they work hard and chase their dreams, they can make a good career,” said Shyam Pradhan, the media manager of the GnC.
Pradhan said after participating in the rock fest, the GNC would deliver guest performances at three-four select venues in Hong Kong till February 14.
“The shows will be attended by event management companies and pub owners and if they are satisfied with the performance, the band may be asked to stay in Hong Kong to play at more events,” he said.
According to the media manager, Girish wants to send a message to the youth that music should be taken as a career and not merely as a form of entertainment.
“Sikkim is producing professional footballers and the state can also display its talents in music. Girish will encourage talented musicians in Sikkim to come to Hong Kong if the GnC is able to set up a base there,” said Pradhan.
Forest timber offer to tea gardens
ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY, TT, Alipurduar, Feb. 8: The government has told the tea garden owners to regularise their supply of firewood to workers and in case of shortage, to buy the extra from auctions conducted by the forest department.
The move was prompted by observations that smugglers posing as garden workers were raiding forests for timber. Tea workers frequently scout for firewood in the forests, since the supply from gardens is irregular. The firewood is part of the fringe benefit that a worker gets from the garden.
Asked how much firewood a garden worker was entitled to, an industry source said it was not measured in kilograms.
“The quantity is measured in volume. Each worker is entitled to 5ftX5ftX2.5ft (length-height-breadth) of timber a year,” said an industry source adding that shade trees were cut to supply firewood.
The government’s concern was conveyed at a meeting of garden managements convened by the forest minister Hiten Burman at Writers’ last week.
“I had come to know that the garden managements had not been providing firewood to the workers regularly for the last three years. As a result, workers are entering the forest for timber. They are being followed by the timber smugglers,” said Barman.
At the meeting, the minister also said his department would compensate any garden worker whose property was damaged by wild animals.
Representatives of the Darjeeling Tea Association, Indian Tea Association and the General Tea Association of India were present at the meeting.
Many tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai are located on the forest fringes and on elephant corridors. Tea workers and their houses are often victims of elephant and leopard attacks. The garden land does not belong to the managements and are taken on lease. According to forest norms, compensation is not given to damage caused by animals to property on government land. Now, a worker’s family is compensated only if he is killed by an animal.
Many gardens claimed that they spend more than Rs 5 lakh every year to repair damaged houses of workers. Sometimes, vast swathes of plantation are destroyed by marauding elephants.
The minister said his department was trying to work out a way to compensate the gardens. “I have asked the forest officials in north Bengal to enquire how it can be done, more importantly to find out what changes have to be made in the rules. This process will take time,” Barman said.
He said the garden managements had been told to ask workers not to cultivate paddy on unused land adjacent to forests as it attracts elephants.
“Like the forest villages in Bankura, we will also form halla parties in the gardens so that they keep a lookout for elephants at night and alert the workers,” he said.
Darjeeling tea soon to be on e-auction, say traders
PTI, KOLKATA, 8 February 2012: Darjeeling tea would soon be offered for electronic auction after some software glitches were sorted out, the Calcutta Tea Traders Association said today.
“E-auction of Darjeeling tea has not ye been introduced because the product cannot be standardised. Each variety of Darjeeling tea is unique,” the chairperson of the Tea Traders Association, Sangita Kichlu, said at a news conference here.
Ms Kichlu said there were also some glitches in the software, which NSE.IT (information technology arm of NSE) is looking into.
“We hope that e-auction in Darjeeling tea would be introduced in the next financial year,” she said.
CTC and orthodox variety were being sold through the e-auction route.
At present 55 per cent of total tea produce of around 1,000 million kg were being routed through the e-auction route.
CTTA, an association of buyers, brokers and sellers, was celebrating its 125th anniversary. Ms Kichlu said Russia was now emerging as a strong orthodox market and would partly compensate the loss in the Iranian market due to the payments crisis.
Tibetans-in-exile protest against ‘killings’ by Chinese authorities
SNS, SILIGURI, 8 February 2012: Thousands of Tibetans from Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills took out a rally here today to protest against the alleged trampling of the Tibetan Dharma and rampant killing of the protesters by the Communist regime in China.
The rally comprising women and children started at Darjeeling More and ended at the court here. The participants carried coffins to mark the procession of self-immolations involving nuns and monks in the Buddhist state that China keeps under its suzerainty since 1959.
Nineteen incidents of self-immolations have occurred in Tibet since March last year. Besides, over six Tibetans were killed as police opened fire on 23 and 24 January on agitators who were protesting against being forced to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Two members of the Tibetan parliament representing the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, Ms Dhardon Sharling and Mrs Dolkar Kirti also walked with the participants.
They served a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh through the office of the sub-divisional officer, asking for India’s intervention to end what they termed the Chinese authoritarian tyranny over the Dharma-abiding innocents in Tibet. “We also plead that the United Nations should send a fact-finding mission to Tibet to have an on the spot study of the fast worsening situation,” Ms Sharling said.
“We, the Tibetans, are grateful to India for providing shelter and succour to the struggling Tibetans in this hour of crisis. India, the timeless repository of spiritual values, should not be cowed down by the arm-twisting Chinese diplomacy,” she said.
Morcha threatens to boycott hill panel- Gurung cry for mouzas and early GTA
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| Bimal Gurung (right) with Roshan Giri (left) at the programme in Sibchu on Wednesday. Picture by Biplab Basak |
Morcha president Bimal Gurung also expressed displeasure at the delay in the implementation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. One of the stumbling blocks to the early implementation of the GTA is that the territory panel is yet to submit its recommendations to the government.
The Morcha chief was speaking at a programme here to mark the first anniversary of the police firing that killed three party supporters at Sibchu.
“Our members will walk out from the HPC (high-powered committee) if it fails to include the mouzas demanded by us,” Gurung said.
In his address earlier, Morcha secretary Roshan Giri said the committee would meet in Calcutta on February 24 to hear the opinion of all political parties in the Dooars and Terai in the set-up. “The additional areas (to be included in the GTA) will be decided on the basis of contiguity, continuity and homogeneity. There shouldn’t be any difficulty in including the areas from the Dooars and Terai,” he said.
Apart from the 199 mouzas in the Terai and 196 from the Dooars, the Morcha has demanded the inclusion of three mouzas from the Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district in the GTA.
Gurung’s walkout threat is being seen as a tactics to put pressure on the committee to submit its report earliest given that the Morcha has set a deadline of March 27 for the state government to implement the GTA agreement. The party has threatened to re-launch the Gorkhaland agitation, if the deadline is not met.
The Morcha has four members in the HPC which is headed by Justice Shyamal Sen. Other members are the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, a representative of the state home department, the director of census (representing the Centre) and the administrator of the DGHC. The government had on January 27 extended the term of the 10-member HPC formed in July last year by six months, a few days after the Morcha set the March 27 deadline.
The Morcha president wondered why the HPC was not being able to submit its report till today. “The delay in the formation of the GTA is providing an opportunity to the (opposition) leaders in the hills to chirp,” he said. Morcha rivals have revived up their campaigns in recent times, clamouring for statehood and Sixth Schedule status.
In Calcutta, Justice Sen said he did not know what the Morcha was saying. He said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri had met him recently and had accepted the government proposals.
“He told me that a Morcha delegation would meet me in Calcutta on February 24. We have had cordial talks and had placed several proposals before them. They have agreed to them and it has been recorded. I don’t know what they are saying. They have not said they will not meet me on February 24,” Justice Sen told The Telegraph.
In Sibchu, on the fringes of the Dooars , Gurung came down heavily on Chhatrey Subba, accusing the 71-year-old rebel Gorkha leader of trying to breach peace in the hills. He, however, clarified that when he talked about training camps and Maoists in his speech, the charges were not against all constituents of the Gorkhaland Task Force. The GTF is an anti-Morcha consortium of five outfits — the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, CPRM, ABGL, Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha and the GNLF (C).
The GTF members had yesterday said Gurung would have to either retract his statements delivered on Monday or prove their involvement in conducting such camps.
“I mentioned the Task Force because Chhatrey (Subba) is part of it,” Gurung said. The Morcha chief had said the forests of Kalimpong were harbouring 15-20 Maoists. “No one should engineer violence. Remember, we too have GLP. We will pounce on any one (indulging in violence) and hand him over to the government,” he said. The GLP is a squad of lathi-wielding volunteers raised by the Morcha, apparently to control crowds at its meetings.
The Morcha president dared Subba to share his vision of Gorkhaland with the people. “I will assemble one lakh people in Kalimpong or anywhere to hear him,” he added.
Rain brings chill back in foothills
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| A clouded Darjeeling sky on Wednesday when the temperature dropped to 4 degrees Celsius; and (above) a woman and a boy take shelter under an umbrella in Siliguri. Pictures by Suman Tamang and Kundan Yolmo |
Weather experts said the sudden rainfall was a result of the western disturbance passing over the region and that the upper reaches of the state and Sikkim might experience snowfall later this week.
“The western disturbance has approached the region from Jammu and Kashmir. It was crossing northern UP yesterday but is now passing over north Bengal and Sikkim. This has resulted in sudden showers in different areas and a dip in the day temperature,” said Indranil Sengupta, the assistant meteorological officer at the Regional Meteorological Office in Jalpaiguri.
The temperature recorded in the past five days had shown a rise and the average maximum temperature was 25 degrees Celsius.
But after the showers today, the maximum temperature dropped to 23.8 degrees.
Weather experts said although the dip was not much, a chilly condition existed throughout the day because of the rainfall and cold wind. “There is not much dip in temperature but yet we feel cold. This is because there has been some rainfall and windy conditions are prevailing over sub-Himalayan West Bengal,” said Sengupta.
This morning, there were moderate showers in Siliguri, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of Sikkim.
“The cloudy weather is likely to remain for the next 48 to 72 hours after which the western disturbance will cross over to the northeastern states. It is likely that rainfall will be experienced in some areas of Sikkim and snowfall may occur in the higher altitudes in the next two days. It was drizzling in Gangtok this morning but the place received moderate showers accompanied by thunder in the afternoon,” G.N. Raha, the in-charge of the Meteorological Centre in Gangtok, told The Telegraph over the phone from Sikkim.
“Winter in the foothills gets over by February end and this is signified by the gradual increase in both the minimum and maximum temperatures. By the end of this month, both day and night temperatures will increase to nearly 27 degrees Celsius and 14 degrees respectively,” Sengupta said.
The average normal minimum temperature at night has increased from 11 degrees Celsius in January to 12 degrees Celsius this month and the average normal maximum temperature had risen from 23 degrees Celsius last month to 24 degree Celsius in February.
Sengupta added that in the past five days, the day temperatures remained near normal at 25 degrees Celsius while the night temperatures had risen. The normal minimum night temperature at this time of the year is 12 degrees Celsius.
“The day temperature has been slightly above the normal and the night temperatures have shown an increase in the past five days. The rise in night temperature is because of the cloud cover that prevents heat from escaping. The chill during the day today was also because of the cloud, which did not allow the sunlight to reach (the earth’s surface). We can expect a rise in temperature after the western disturbance passes,” Sengupta said.
He added that it might snow in Darjeeling later this week. “Darjeeling is not new to snowfall in February. It had snowed once on February 14. We wouldn’t mind another bout of snowfall,” Nima Sherpa, a resident of Lebong said.
The hill town had seen snowfall on Valentine’s Day in 2007.
Dispatch halt looms on hill govt gardens
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| The Rangmuk-Cedar tea garden. File picture |
The West Bengal Tea Development Corporation (WBTDC), a state government undertaking, runs Pandam, Rangaroon and Rangmuk-Cedar gardens in the hills.
The government had played a pro-active role in increasing the wage of garden workers from Rs 67 to Rs 90 in the Darjeeling tea industry with effect from April 1 last year.
“It is surprising that the WBTDC failed to increase the workers’ wages even a year after the government brokered deals between trade unions and garden owners on pay hike. We have been holding gate meetings for an hour from 8am in the three gardens since yesterday. The meetings will continue till February 11,” Babin Subba, a central committee member of the Darjeeling Terai-Dooars Plantation Labour Union, told The Telegraph.
Threatening to intensify the agitation, Subba said: “If we do not get a positive feedback from the government, the workers will start a hunger strike and stop the dispatch of made tea from the three gardens.”
The unions had entered into the wage deals with the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) and the Indian Tea Association separately (ITA). Most of the tea gardens in the hills are affiliated to either of the associations. Although the government plantations are not members of the DTA or the ITA, they generally follow the agreements inked by the two associations.
While Rangmuk-Cedar, located 35km from Darjeeling and in Kurseong subdivision, has 1,931 workers on its pay roll, Rangaroon and Pandam employ 219 and 268 labourers respectively. Both Rangaroon and Pandam are in the Darjeeling subdivision.
Industries minister Partha Chatterjee expressed surprise at the Morcha’s plan to stop the dispatch of tea from the WBTDC gardens. “Who said we are not giving them the revised wages? We are giving them the revised wages. I have conveyed this to Kurseong MLA Rohit Sharma. This kind of threat is not acceptable,” he said at Writers’ Buildings.
However, deputy manager (administration) N. Basu and company secretary S. Samandhar of the WBTDC admitted that the revised wages were not being paid. But they refused to say anything further on the issue.
Hong Kong date for Sikkim band - GnC to stage second foreign rock show
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| Girish performs at an event; (above) the members of the rock band, Girish N the Chronicles. File pictures |
The band will perform on February 12 at the annual rock festival, Alive-III, Clash of Titans, in which musical troupes from other Asian countries like South Korea and Japan are slated to take part.
“Your band has already gained the reputation as one of the finest from India and also looking at the fan following you have in Hong Kong, it would really be great to have you as a part of this event,” reads the invitation to the GnC from Extreme Entertainment HK, the organiser of the event.
A press release issued by the GnC said the Hong Kong performance would be the second by the band outside India. It had played at the Suncane Skale music festival in Montenegro in Europe in 2010 and came second in the contest. Bands from 26 nations had participated in the concert.
GnC front man and vocalist Girish Pradhan, 25, has played in South Korea also during the Yamaha Asian Beat final in November last year. The other GnC members are 24-year-old Nagen Mongranti (drums), lead guitarist Suraj Karki, 23, and Yogesh Pradhan (guitars, bass and sound engineering).
The band was the brainchild of Girish and his younger brother Yogesh, 23.
Girish has already been in Hong Kong since November to perform at bars after being signed by a private management company there. The other band members joined him on February 6 for the coming festival where they will play covers and original compositions.
“It is a matter of great achievement for the band to get to play in a foreign country and leave a mark with music and talent. This way, the band is also serving as Sikkim’s as well as India’s musical ambassador. All aspiring musicians can learn from the GnC that if they work hard and chase their dreams, they can make a good career,” said Shyam Pradhan, the media manager of the GnC.
Pradhan said after participating in the rock fest, the GNC would deliver guest performances at three-four select venues in Hong Kong till February 14.
“The shows will be attended by event management companies and pub owners and if they are satisfied with the performance, the band may be asked to stay in Hong Kong to play at more events,” he said.
According to the media manager, Girish wants to send a message to the youth that music should be taken as a career and not merely as a form of entertainment.
“Sikkim is producing professional footballers and the state can also display its talents in music. Girish will encourage talented musicians in Sikkim to come to Hong Kong if the GnC is able to set up a base there,” said Pradhan.
Forest timber offer to tea gardens
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| The timber of shade trees in tea gardens are given to workers to be used as fuel but the supply is not always regular |
The move was prompted by observations that smugglers posing as garden workers were raiding forests for timber. Tea workers frequently scout for firewood in the forests, since the supply from gardens is irregular. The firewood is part of the fringe benefit that a worker gets from the garden.
Asked how much firewood a garden worker was entitled to, an industry source said it was not measured in kilograms.
“The quantity is measured in volume. Each worker is entitled to 5ftX5ftX2.5ft (length-height-breadth) of timber a year,” said an industry source adding that shade trees were cut to supply firewood.
The government’s concern was conveyed at a meeting of garden managements convened by the forest minister Hiten Burman at Writers’ last week.
“I had come to know that the garden managements had not been providing firewood to the workers regularly for the last three years. As a result, workers are entering the forest for timber. They are being followed by the timber smugglers,” said Barman.
At the meeting, the minister also said his department would compensate any garden worker whose property was damaged by wild animals.
Representatives of the Darjeeling Tea Association, Indian Tea Association and the General Tea Association of India were present at the meeting.
Many tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai are located on the forest fringes and on elephant corridors. Tea workers and their houses are often victims of elephant and leopard attacks. The garden land does not belong to the managements and are taken on lease. According to forest norms, compensation is not given to damage caused by animals to property on government land. Now, a worker’s family is compensated only if he is killed by an animal.
Many gardens claimed that they spend more than Rs 5 lakh every year to repair damaged houses of workers. Sometimes, vast swathes of plantation are destroyed by marauding elephants.
The minister said his department was trying to work out a way to compensate the gardens. “I have asked the forest officials in north Bengal to enquire how it can be done, more importantly to find out what changes have to be made in the rules. This process will take time,” Barman said.
He said the garden managements had been told to ask workers not to cultivate paddy on unused land adjacent to forests as it attracts elephants.
“Like the forest villages in Bankura, we will also form halla parties in the gardens so that they keep a lookout for elephants at night and alert the workers,” he said.
Darjeeling tea soon to be on e-auction, say traders
PTI, KOLKATA, 8 February 2012: Darjeeling tea would soon be offered for electronic auction after some software glitches were sorted out, the Calcutta Tea Traders Association said today.
“E-auction of Darjeeling tea has not ye been introduced because the product cannot be standardised. Each variety of Darjeeling tea is unique,” the chairperson of the Tea Traders Association, Sangita Kichlu, said at a news conference here.
Ms Kichlu said there were also some glitches in the software, which NSE.IT (information technology arm of NSE) is looking into.
“We hope that e-auction in Darjeeling tea would be introduced in the next financial year,” she said.
CTC and orthodox variety were being sold through the e-auction route.
At present 55 per cent of total tea produce of around 1,000 million kg were being routed through the e-auction route.
CTTA, an association of buyers, brokers and sellers, was celebrating its 125th anniversary. Ms Kichlu said Russia was now emerging as a strong orthodox market and would partly compensate the loss in the Iranian market due to the payments crisis.
Tibetans-in-exile protest against ‘killings’ by Chinese authorities
SNS, SILIGURI, 8 February 2012: Thousands of Tibetans from Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills took out a rally here today to protest against the alleged trampling of the Tibetan Dharma and rampant killing of the protesters by the Communist regime in China.
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| Photo: BNP |
Nineteen incidents of self-immolations have occurred in Tibet since March last year. Besides, over six Tibetans were killed as police opened fire on 23 and 24 January on agitators who were protesting against being forced to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Two members of the Tibetan parliament representing the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, Ms Dhardon Sharling and Mrs Dolkar Kirti also walked with the participants.
They served a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh through the office of the sub-divisional officer, asking for India’s intervention to end what they termed the Chinese authoritarian tyranny over the Dharma-abiding innocents in Tibet. “We also plead that the United Nations should send a fact-finding mission to Tibet to have an on the spot study of the fast worsening situation,” Ms Sharling said.
“We, the Tibetans, are grateful to India for providing shelter and succour to the struggling Tibetans in this hour of crisis. India, the timeless repository of spiritual values, should not be cowed down by the arm-twisting Chinese diplomacy,” she said.
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