Education top priority in Hills,

SNS, 15 January 2018, Kurseong: Chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Board of Administrators, Binoy Tamang, has said that one of the top priorities of the GTA would be the ailing education sector in the Hills. Addressing a sports event organized by the GTA at Mungpoo in Darjeeling on Friday Mr Tamang said that the Hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong are not only popular because of tourism, but also education.

"We have organized this GTA-level Primary School Sports Meet 2017-18 here to support the education system and to see it develop further,- he said.

"Physical exercise and extracurricular activities are a must for the overall development of children and their mind.As such, we have decided to continue to organise such sports meets every year. Not only this, the GTA will provide all possible help and take different measures to promote education and extra-curricular activities for the all-round development of students,- Mr Tamang added.

He further said that Mungpoo is a historic place and that it is a favourite haunt of writers and litterateurs, while also remembering how Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore stayed there and wrote several of his poems and other articles.

"Keeping in mind the people of Mungpoo and Cinchona Plantation, we will soon organize the Cinchona Bagwani and Tourism Festival at Mungpoo, so that residents here can benefit from the agricultural and tourism aspects here, The GTA will also sanction funds to develop the Mungpoo region,- Mr Tamang said.

According to him, the GTA will also decorate the house-cum-museum of Rabindranath Tagore at Mungpoo during the six-day festival. Mr Tamang said that during the same festival, they will felicitate Sishir Routh for his contribution to the Rabindra Bhawan as a caretaker. It is very unfortunate that for the past few months, Sishir Routh, who has great knowledge of the history of Rabindra Nath Tagore, is working in the Quinine factory at Mungpoo, instead of the Rabindra Bhawan," he lamented. 

According to him, he has directed the authority concerned to immediately re-transfer Mr Routh at his previous place of work, the Rabindra Bhawan in Mungpoo. "Mr Routh had been working at the Rabindra Bhawan where his father and forefathers once worked too. Anybody who goes there gets enlightened by Mr Routh on Rabindranath Tagore and the Bhawan," Mr Tamang added.

He further said that the state government has approved recruitment of all the 740 listed primary and secondary teachers after several efforts made by them. Mr Tamang also said that they have already talked with the ministry concerned regarding the promotion and regularization of Cinchona Plantation workers.