GTA announces own TV Channel..... Dahal, Bardewa given Giri Puraskar, Biswas gets Bhanu Bhakta Samman....

Nar Bahadur Dahal receiving Giri Puraskar

SNS, Darjeeling, 13 July 2015: Assistant general secretary of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) executive member, Binoy Tamang today announced that a Nepali channel will soon be aired on national TV.

Addressing a gathering organized to mark the 201st birth anniversary of Bhanu Bhakta Acharya at Gorkha Ranga Mancha Bhawan here, he said: "Our own Nepali channel named. All India Nepali Channel, a 24 hours operating satellite channel will start functioning from the month of September this year"

"The inauguration of the channel will be done by central ministers. Initially we had thought of keeping the channel's name Kanchanjunga TV or Gorkha TV, but we finalized on All India Nepali (AIN) because the channel will be for all the Nepali speaking population of India," Tamang said.

Nabin Bardewa receiving Giri Puraskar

According to him, the channel will initially have two studios, one in Siliguri and one in Noida. However, he said that they have proposed the setting up of similar studios in Darjeeling, Gangtok and Guwahati as well.

"We have been asked to look for a 100 square feet area for the studio which is to be built in Darjeeling. Now it is your homework to search fora 1000 sq feet area so that the work for the studio can be started immediately" he said. When asked about the operations of the channel, he said, "A private company named NTV hosts several linguistic channels. One among them will be the Unlike other channels, this channel will highlight events that are going in places such as North East and Sikkim."

Tamang also said that multi-facility buildings like the Gorkha Ranga Mancha will also be built in Kurseong and Kalimpong, adding that the multi facility building in Mirik is almost complete. "Works for a cultural research institute in Darjeeling is also under process."

Sanjay Biswas receiving Bhanu Bhakta Samman

Meanwhile, the information and cultural department of the GTA today celebrated the 201st birth anniversary of poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya, where they felicitated Ganesh Rizal, Bhotu Pradhan, Arjun Pradhan and Sanjay Biswas with the Bhanu Bhakta Samman award 2015, a letter of appreciation, a memento and a cheque of Rs 25,000 for their contribution in the fields of acting, art, photography and journalism. They also felicitated Biren Subba and Dilip Biswa with the Bigya Bibhuti Samman Alankaran Award for their contribution to the field of literature. Apart from this, Giri Puraskar 2014 along with a medal, letter of appreciation, memento and a cheque of Rs 1,00,000 was awarded to Nar Bahadur Dahal and late Nabin Bardewa for their contribution in the field of literature and music. According to Tamang, GTA chief Bimal Gurung could not attend today's programme because he is presently visiting the landslide affected areas in Kalimpong.

"However, he has sent his best wishes to the personalities who were awarded today," Tamang said. Renowned literature scholar, Ashit Rai was present at the programme as the chief guest.