Stationed jawans stall UG class launch - RAF personnel occupy mirik college auditorium

Rapid Action Force personnel stationed in the auditorium of
Mirik Degree College on Monday. Telegraph picture

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, July 6: Mirik Degree College couldn't start its first-year classes today as the administration had stationed Rapid Action Force personnel at the institution.

The RAF personnel were stationed in the college auditorium following reports of simmering tension between supporters of various political parties in the Mirik area over distribution of relief materials among the landslide-affected people.

The administration had yesterday formed three panels - a grievance committee, food committee and house building committee - for better co-ordination in relief operations.

S.M. Rai, a lecturer of the government college, said over the phone from Mirik: "The session for candidates who had been admitted to the college this year was to start from today. However, we could not hold classes as we also use the college auditorium to hold classes."

"Moreover, the entrance to six classrooms on the first floor of the college is also through the auditorium," said Rai.

Around 600 students study in Mirik college which offers both general and honours courses.

"We have three classrooms on the ground floor where we conducted a few honours classes today. We had to hold classes on a rotational basis and we had to face inconvenience as both students and teachers had to wait for the classes," said Rai.

However, classes for first-year students, which were to start from today, were not held. There is a general grouse among many in Mirik that the police personnel could have been stationed at other government centres in an around Mirik, instead of using the college premises.

Asked if the college authorities had written to the administration for shifting the police personnel, Rai said: "The landslide has affected Mirik and in this situation, we have not written to anyone. There are other community centres in the area."

Today, the body of Shreya Subedi, 9, was recovered from Tingling in Mirik. With the recovery of Subedi's body, the death toll in the July 1 landslide from across the hills has touched 32. Eight people, three from Tingling and five from Kalimpong subdivision, are still missing.

Among the dead, seven are from the Mirik municipal area.

Told about the problem, in the college, Anurag Srivastava, district magistrate, Darjeeling, said: "I was not aware of the matter till now. We will definitely solve this issue as early as possible."

Headmaster dies

Basant Kumar Rai, the headmaster of Ramakrishna Siksha Parishad, Darjeeling, died in a road accident near Khara Khola in Kurseong on Sunday night. The SUV driven by Rai fell about 100 feet downhill from NH55 around 8pm on Sunday.

While Rai, 59, and a co-passenger, Rina Baraily, died in the accident, two others in the car, Prayas Baraily, 16, and Prazash Baraily, 5, have been admitted to a hospital in Siliguri.