S ASAAR KO PANDHRA in the Paddy Field Local people enjoy playing in the mud during the traditional Ropai Mahotsav (Paddy Plantation Festival) in Bisankunarayan, Lalitpur on Monday, June 29, 2009. Photo : The Himalayan Times SWINE FLUE DETECTED IN NEPAL Kathmandu: 29 June: Three cases of swine flue, pandemic influenza A h1H1N1, have been detected in Nepal. The announcement was made by the Health Ministry, Government of Nepal. The three infected victims comprise a 38-year old woman, a 44-year old man and an 8-year old boy, all from the same family. The trio arrived in Nepal from USA via Doha on June 21. They are currently undergoing treatment. The names have not been disclosed. (The Himalayan Times) 500 BUNDHS IN 6 MONTHS IN NEPAL Rajan Pokhrel, The Himalayan Times , Kathmandu The bandh culture has taken a turn for the worse, with statistics showing that in the past six months only 12 days were free of any kind of bandh Bandhs were enforced on as many as 166 days in the last six months, disrupting vehicular traffic and shutting down government offices, business establishments, hospitals and bazaars. All days in January, February and April saw a bandh or a strike in some part of the country. Except for March 18 and June 13, bandhs and strikes were recorded every day in the two months. In May, 46 bandhs were recorded, while June has seen 57 bandhs and strikes so far The statistics, compiled from incidents reported by mass media across the country, also reflect that the Unified CPN-Maoist has been using bandh as a tool for protest after it stepped down from the government in the first week of May Organisations affiliated with the former rebels en forced 22 bandhs and strikes in June and 17 in May. The party enforced bandhs for 69 such programmes in the past six months. Other parties are also not far behind when it comes to enforcing bandhs The Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML organised 15 and 17 bandhs respectively in the last six months. Likewise, Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum enforced seven such programmes, while the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party organised such activities twice while the Sadbhavana Party organised once Not only the political par ties, even locals have started enforcing bandhs to fulfill their demands. In the last six months, the locals organised bandhs and strikes across the country for 175 times. They mainly blocked roads demanding compensation for the families of mishap victims Armed outfits and Taraibased groups enforced such programmes 145 times while the transporters and traders enforced bandh 92 times in the period. The transporters called bandhs mostly to protest vandalism of vehicles, while traders called bandhs to protest fre quent bandhs. In Tarai, Rajan Mukti and Jwala Singh groups of Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha and Madhesi Mukti Tigers came to the forefront to call bandhs The strikes and bandhs, which were often politically motivated, meant that roads were blocked “I left for Kathmandu from Dhankuta on April 7 But it took me a week to reach Kathmandu,” Sheshraj Guragain, a bandh victim, shared his experience Guragai, along with his ailing mother, were stuck at Sunsari and Rautahat due to strikes called by Koshi flood victims and the UCPN-Maoist. It takes only 14 hours to travel from Dhankuta to Kathmandu on normal days The increasing culture of bandhs is severely affecting the poor’s ability to feed themselves, forcing many to skip meals and scavenge for food or borrow money and sell off assets to survive, the UN World Food Programme said in a bulletin. The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries also informed that the nation loses revenue worth $7 million to $14 million on every bandh day According to the police, bandhs and strikes were recorded on 254 days in 2008. The strikes were carried out by political parties, ethnic groups, students, labour groups, journalists, traders and teachers, among others KB Rokaya, member of the National Human Rights Commission, said political parties should take initiatives to end the bandh culture “No one can violate other’s rights in the name of exercising his/her rights,” Rokaya said. पोखरामा नयाँ आविष्कार कान्तिपुर संवाददाता 29 जुन कास्की, पोखराका एक युवाले इन्धन र विद्युत् बिनै चल्ने इन्जिन तयार गरेका छन् । इलेक्ट्रोनिक्स इन्जिनियरिङका विद्यार्थी महेश त्रिपाठीले ४ वर्षको अनुसन्धानपछि उपकरण बनाउन सफलता पाएको बताए । पेट्रोलियम पदार्थ र लोडसेडिङको मारले सर्वसाधारणलाई अप्ठ्यारो पारेपछि त्यसको विकल्प खोजीमा आफू लागेको उनले बताए । 'पर्मानेन्ट मेगनेटिभ पार्वर' -चुम्बकीय शक्ति) बाट चल्ने 'सुपर एम' नामक उपकरण नौलो रहेको दाबी पनि उनको छ । 'मैले इन्टरनेटमा पनि खोज गरे विश्वमा यस्तो उपकरण बनेको छैन' त्रिपाठीले दाबा गर्दै भने- 'यो विश्वमा नै अनुसन्धान नभएको नयाँ आविष्कार हो ।' उपकरण चलाउका लागि उनले एउटा डिक्स जडान गरेका छन् जुन दौडिन्छ र चल्छ । उनको यो उपकरणमा हाल ३ सय न्युटन शक्ति क्षमता छ । उपकरणले जेनेटेर र ठूुला मोटरगाडी पनि यसबाट सजिलै चल्न सक्ने उनले बताए । बीस वषर्ीय त्रिपाठीको यस आविष्कारलाई शनिबार सिर्जना विकास केन्द्रले एक कार्यक्रमका बीच सार्वजनिक गर्‍यो । अनुसन्धानकै क्रममा १० औं पटकसम्मको परीक्षण असफल भएको उनले बताए । 'एघारांै प्रयासमा इन्जिनले मूर्तरूप लियो' उनले भने- 'अझै पनि यसलाई विस्तार गर्न बाँकी छ ।' उपकरणमा उनले चुम्बक, काठ, कीट, पंखालगायतका सामग्रीहरू प्रयोग गरेका छन् । यो प्रविधि आफैं चल्छ । जसका लागि कुनै इन्धनको आवश्यकता पर्दैन । इन्जिनमा उनले एउटा पंखा र बत्ती पनि जडान गरेका छन् । उनले उपकरण निर्माणका लागि व्यक्तिगत रूपमा एक लाखभन्दा बढी खर्च गरिसकेका छन् । स्थानीय रूपमा नै यसको विकास गर्न उनले भोला ढकालसँग मिलेर विज्ञान तथा प्रविधि अनुसन्धान केन्द्र खोलेका छन् । संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिकाको गागिज लाइटले दिएको ५० प्रतिशत छात्रवृत्तिले आफूलाई उपकरण निर्माण गर्न हौसला मिलेको उनले जानकारी दिए । 'राज्यले सहयोग गरेको खण्डमा यसलाई प्रयोग गरेर देखाउने थिए' उनले भने- 'प्रतिभाको कदर नहुँदा नरमाइलो लाग्छ ।' NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY ORGANISATION CELEBRATES STATISTIC DAY PIBGangtok 29th June, 2009:National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), Government of India, Tadong celebrated 3rd Statistics Day, which is also the birth anniversary of Late Professor PC Mahalnobis, the founder of the Statistical System in India, at ICAR Complex today. Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Accountant General, Shri A F Dungdung said that the importance of statistic is immense in every field of human life and its use should not remain only in theoretical domain but should be utilized in a practical domain to achieve maximum benefit. Speaking as chief guest, Joint Director, ICAR , Tadong Dr H Rahman briefed about late Professor P C Mahalnobis, his field of work, achievements and the importance of agricultural statistic for the proper planning and development of the country. Earlier welcoming the guests, dignitaries and audience, Director, NSSO, Shri D Mukhopadhyay highlighted the objective of this day. He said, this day is to create public awareness among the people specially the younger generation for drawing inspiration from Late Prof P C Mahalnobis about the role of statistics in Socio Economic Planning and policy formulation. A seminar highlighting the importance of statistic in different fields was also organized by NSSO. Dr B Khandelwal, HOD, Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Science presented her paper on application of statistic in medial science, Smt Subarna Pradhan, Deputy Director, DESM&E, Government of Sikkim presented her paper on price statistics in Sikkim, Ms Rajkumari Sanatombi, Lecturer in Statistics, Department of Community Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Insitutute of Medical Science presented her paper on role of statistics in research and Dr Kundan Kishore, Scientist, ICAR presented his paper on application of statistic in agriculture. Ballots pour as voters brave rain THE TELEGRAPH: Voters, with umbrellas, outside a booth at Susrutanagar in Matigara block on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo Siliguri, June 28: Rain could not dampen the voting spirit today with 80 per cent of the electorate casting their ballots for the three-tier elections to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad till 9.30pm. The percentage is expected to rise as voting continued well into the night. Except for an incident in which ballot papers were misplaced, voting was incident-free. Thousands queued up in front of the 470 booths across the four blocks of Siliguri sub-division from the morning despite the shower. Subir Sarkar, the in-charge of the weather station at North Bengal University, said in the past 48 hours, Siliguri had received around 300mm of rainfall. “Polling across the mahakuma parishad area was peaceful save for a minor incident of misplacement of ballots,” said Sharad Dwivedi, the subdivisional officer of Siliguri who was also the returning officer. “Although the official time for voting is from 7am to 5pm, we apprehend that polling in some booths may continue even after the scheduled hours as unlike the parliamentary polls, one has to cast three votes and it takes time. We have information that a large number of voters are still standing in queues and orders have been passed to continue polling. ” The misplacement of ballots was reported from two booths (29 and 29A) at Amiya Palchoudhury Smriti Vidyalaya in Matigara block. “By mistake, 10 ballots meant for the panchayat of another booth, located in Mohorgong-Gulma Tea Estate, were packed with the ballots of these two booths,” a senior official said. As the news spread, the Congress insisted that the election should be allowed to continue, while the CPM demanded a re-polling. “As soon as we came to know that ballot papers of another booth have come to ours, we asked the presiding officer to stop polling and inform his superiors,” said Babul Bhowmik, a CPM leader. Soon CPM and Congress supporters started hurling abuses at each other and police from Pradhannagar arrived. A magistrate, too, reached the spot with the subdvisional officer’s message that a re-election would be held in the two booths for the panchayat level. “It was a minor problem but we had to halt polling for three-four hours. It was decided later that voters of these two booths will exercise their franchise for panchayats on Tuesday when repolling would be held,” the official said. EVM malfunction Voting was disrupted for 30 minutes in three booths of the Malbazar Municipality because of the malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs). Apart from the delay, polling was peaceful in the Gangarampur, Islampur and Kaliaganj civic bodies that also went to polls on Sunday. Despite heavy rain, Gangarampur in South Dinajpur recorded 88 per cent voting in its 18 wards, while North Dinajpur’s Islampur and Kaliaganj registered 85 and 84 per cent polling, officials said. Both the civic bodies have 17 wards. In the 15 wards of Malbazar, 74 per cent voters cast their ballots. In some places, polling continued after scheduled hours as many voters queued up just before the official close of voting at 3pm. Rain fails to dampen poll spirit Statesman News Service :SILIGURI/ BALURGHAT/ MALDA/RAIGANJ/ MALBAZAAR (JALPAIGURI), 28 JUNE: Although the administration was fully prepared to tackle untoward incidents, the three-tier panchayat poll in Siliguri sub-division today, was by and large peaceful till late in the afternoon. Upto 3 pm, the average poll percentage was recorded at 5,3.53 per cent, even as voters were still queuing up in sizeable numbers in almost all the 470 polling booths spread across the four blocks of Matigara, Naxalbari, Khoribari and Phansidewa. Amidst moderate showers, the polling for the 360 gram panchayat, 64 panchayat samity and seven Mahakuma parishad seats of Siliguri sub-division began at 7 am in the morning. Combining all the three-tiers, there are altogether 1,257 candidates in the fray, whose fates were being decided on ballot papers by a total of 3,22,629 voters today. Due to the rains, voter turnout at the polling booths was quite low in the morning and upto 11 am, the average cast was recorded around 20 per cent only. But as the day progressed with the monsoon showers taking a break, the voters started queuing up in large numbers again. Ladies and young voters were particularly enthusiastic as they exercised their franchise for the rural polls. By 3 pm, the poll percentage rose substantially with Matigara block recording the highest polling at 58 per cent. Next was Khoribari at 54 per cent, Phansidewa 51.3 per cent and Naxalbari 50.84 per cent. As per the Darjeeling DM, Mr Surendra Gupta, given the voters’ long queue in majority of the polling booths at 5 pm, the polling is likely to stretch past 9 pm in the evening. No remarkable trouble was reported from any polling booths across the sub-division, barring the anomaly in ballot paper in two polling booths at Devidanga under Champasari gram panchayat. By-polls in Ward no 11 of English Bazaar municipality, some gram panchayat and panchayat samiti seats in Ratua, Harishchandrapur and Bamongola ended peacefully here today. Political leaders belonging to the Congress, CPI-M and BJP were busy with the by-poll in ward no 11. The Congress is trying hard to retain the seat over a prestige issue where the CPI-M and the BJP candidate were contesting. Interestingly, the CPI-M leaders were silent and did not lodge any complaint against other political parties. But both the BJP and Congress blamed each other for creating panic amongst voters. After the murder of Biswanath Guho, vice chairman and Intuc district president, the Congress has not nominated Guho's relative. Without any reports of major violence, the elections in Kaliyaganj and Islampur municipalities in North Dinajpur district went off peacefully today. Despite a continuous downpour in Islampur since early morning till around 10 am, there was no lack of interest among voters who reached their respective polling booths on time, crossing knee-deep water, especially in the premises of Ward no 1, 3, 4,6. The total turnout was more than 82 percent. In Kaliyaganj, there was a tussle between some Congress and CPI-M activists at Mahendraganj FP school in Ward no 14, where Mr Shyamal Saha, a CPI-M activist was injured. Total turn out here reached around 84 percent. By-election was also held in Ward no 22 in Raiganj municipality and no reports of violence has also been reported from two gram panchayat seats and one panchayat samity seat of North Dinajpur district. The Raiganj SDO, Mr Animesh Bhatacharjee, said, in Kaliyaganj municipality and Ward no 22 of Raiganj municipality, the turnout reached 84 and 85 percentage respectively, while the SDO of Islampur, Mr Sudip Mitra, said that total turn out reached more than 82 per cent in Islampur municipality. The president of North Dinajpur Congress committee, Mr Mohit Sengupta, said, CPI-M activists tried to influence voters in Kaliyagnaj and Islampur. "We hope to bag all 17 Wards in Kaliyaganj and in Islampur we hope to win with an absolute majority," said Mr Bharatendu Chaudhury, secretary of Kaliayganj zonal CPI-M committee. “Congress activists tried to influence voters in different booths of Kaliyaganj and police remained silent. Booths in both Kaliyaganj and Islampur municipalities in the last elections were captured by Congress activists and this year we expect our position will be better than the previous year," he added. Meanwhile, district magistrate of South Dinajpur, Mr Asoke Bannerjee today said: "Election went off peacefully this time," where all the 18 Wards in Gangarampur municipality witnessed peaceful poll today. The total turnout was around 88 per cent. Though there were no reports of illegalality, the Trinamul-Cong alliance and the CPI-M have been alleging each other of booth capturing . In the last poll , the CPI-M had bagged 15 seats while the Trinamul secured only three seats out of a total of 18 seats in the Gangarampur municipality . Mr Narayan Biswas , minister of small-scale cottage industry and also a resident of ward no 12 of Gangarampur, said , "On the basis of the development work undertaken in the previous year, the residents here must have voted in favour of the CPI-M and we hope to get a majority again." Around 9.30 am, Mr Biswas came to his booth in Gangarampur High School to cast his vote. Interestingly, it was reported that when Mr Biswas arrived at his respective booth, he forgot to bring his voter identity card. After his driver fetched him his identity card, he had to stand infront of booth no 18 for long hours instead of both no 19, before he could realise that he was standing in the wrong queue. The district administration did not permit him to move around in different wards today, as yesterday the Trinamul and the Congress complained the DM about him. Though Mr Biswas himself did not visit the Gangarampur party office , but he directed his party workers to pay frequent visits to the Gangarampur party office during the election period . On the other hand, Mr Swapan Biswas , district Congress president, and Mr Biplab Mitra, Trinamul district president, said that CPI-M activists had threatened the voters and captured booths in Ward no 1, 11, 15, 9, 13. "We informed police several times, but there was no response," they alleged. . However, Mr Swapan Bannerjee, SP of the district , denied the allegation and said he himself had patrolled some of the sensitive booths with large number of police personnel and 3 persons have been held for misbehaving with voters in the queue of the booth. On the other hand , after the bomb blast by CPI-M activists in the abandoned house in Ward no 9 just a few days ago and the death of two activists have spread tension in the locality during the polls today. The Malbazaar administration too conducted peaceful polls today at the Malbazaar municipality. The SDO of Malbazaar, Mr Nilkamal Biswas, said there was no violence in Malbazaar. “Around 75 per cent of votes had been cast till 3 pm and the voters were still crowding in large numbers in all the 18 booths. Although we had previously decided to continue polling till 3 pm only, but voting is still under way in several booths. We are expecting to have around 90 per cent polling this time” the SDO added. The election started at 7 am but due to heavy downpour in morning not much voters came to cast their votes at the first couple of hours. But later in the day people started crowding the polling booths. But the election process in booth no 10 of Ward no 11 and booth no 11 of Ward no 12 was disrupted due to the sudden mechanical problems in the electronic voting machines. Later both the EVMs were replaced and the polling started again. Though the political parties of Malbazaar expressed their satisfaction, the Malbazaar based BJP leaders did not participate today in the polls as they could not fill candidates on time. Repolling to be held at Devidanga booths Statesman News Service:SILIGURI, 28 JUNE: The state election commission has ordered re-polling in two polling booths at Devidanga locality under Champasari gram panchayat, on the outskirts of Siliguri town. The repolling would be held on 30 June, between 7 am and 5 pm. According to the Darjeeling DM, Mr Surendra Gupta, the 29A Amiya Pal Choudhury Junior High School polling booth at Devidanga received the gram panchayat tier ballot papers of 32 Mohur Gong Gulma Tea Estate polling booth, located near Sukna. “But the presiding officer of the Devidanga booth failed to detect the anomaly and issued wrong ballot papers to three voters. Around 12 noon, the matter was brought to the notice of the presiding officer,” the DM said. Political parties held up polling in both booths and polling resumed at 2.15 pm, but only when a magistrate arrived and assured of recommending a repoll to the political activists. Locals kill cattle-lifter MALBAZAAR, 28 JUNE: The residents of Duramari village of Banarhat block today killed a person, suspecting him to be a cattle thief. Sajal Dutta, a resident of Debinagar area of Mainaguri, was passing Banarhat in his car early this morning. “The incidents of cattle thefts have increased in Duramari of late and the villagers are deeply concerned about it. Complaints have also been lodged with police several times. Angry villagers had formed a night guard’s team themselves to act against the problem” said Mr Ratan Sarkar, a local. Like every other day, the team, as part of their daily duty, were on the watch, when they noticed a car coming towards the village. The villagers stopped the car as the driver tried to flee. The villagers finally got hold of Dutta, who was in the car. Dutta immediately jumped out of the car and fell into a nearby pond. The villagers started pelting stones and bricks at Sajal, ultimately killing him. Later, the Banarhat police reached the spot and recovered the dead body. Condemning the incident, the SP Jalpaiguri, Mr Anand Kumar, said they had initiated a probe into the matter. ;SNS Plan for final assault - Force ready to enter villages IMRAN AHMED SIDDIQUI, The Telegraph: A CRPF team sees a telltale sign of Maoist presence in Khasjangal, felled tree trunks to slow down the forces. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Ramgarh, June 28: Security forces are giving finishing touches to a plan to launch the final assault on armed Maoists holed up in villages in and around Khasjangal, a 12sqkm area between Ramgarh and Lalgarh. “We have information that Maoist action squad members are hiding in these villages. It’s just a matter of time before we launch an assault,” said a senior state police officer. According to the plan, the security forces will launch a pincer attack with small te- ams moving in from both the Ramgarh and Lalgarh ends. Khasjangal, a forest with many villages within it or on the fringes, starts around 8km from Lalgarh and 1.5km from Ramgarh police station. “The strategy is to trap the Maoists so they can’t escape to Bankura using the forest cover,” said the officer, who was part of the planning. The central and state forces have drawn up maps of vil- lages such as Bankishole, Ha- thigonsa, Kantapahari, Chhotopelia and Barapelia with the help of Ramgarh residents. “These villages are scattered in and around Khasjangal and so the forces will not move along the metalled road,” the officer explained. Hours before the operation — expected in the next 36 hours — members of the Cobra force, who specialise in jungle warfare, will approach Khasjangal from Ramgarh and Lalgarh while sanitising the surrounding areas. CRPF teams of 15 to 20 members each will carry out the actual operation. They will keep a distance of at least 300 meters from each other and hit the villages like waves, a CRPF officer said. “We know the Maoists have stockpiled arms and ammunition in this area and will put up a fight. They have a strong base among the tribals and we are also sure to encounter human shields,” he added. Each participant has been briefed on how to break the shields. Although minimising loss of innocent lives is an important objective, the final mission will have enough firepower. “Each team will have at least two light machine guns and one mortar launcher,” said a senior officer, poring over the map of a village. According to him, knowing the topography is paramount for success. “The enemy is capable of inflicting heavy casualties before beating a tactical retreat. We are trying our best to trap them and that is why we are taking time,” he explained. Till late this evening, central and state officers were in a huddle to finalise the strategy. “If we are satisfied with our preparations, the Cobras will be on the job from midnight and the others will set out early morning,” the officer said. A CRPF team went around Khasjangal this afternoon and found telltale signs of Maoist presence — two trees felled along the Lalgarh-Ramgarh road and pamphlets denouncing the crackdown. A resident of Arma village, 1.5km from the police outpost at Ramgarh, confirmed that the guerrillas had been preparing villagers to be used as shields. “They told us last week we would have to stand in front of the marching troops. Almost half the people in the village fled after that. We don’t know what we will do when the troops finally arrive,” the man said. Out of sight: army of youths , Absence fuels fear of permanent insurgency

SUJAN DUTTA, The Telegraph

A poster planted by the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities at Arma, the first village between the newly captured Ramgarh and Lalgarh town. The poster says police would not be allowed to enter unless the 23 demands, which include the SP seeking forgiveness holding his ears for atrocities in November, are met and wants an explanation from the Centre for deploying the CRPF to ‘protect the CPM from the people’s wrath’. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Ramgarh, June 28: A whole generation of tribal youths is not in sight in villages the security forces have been through in Lalgarh, prompting fears that some could have taken shelter in forests and eventually become part of a “permanent insurgency”. In relief camps at Pirakata, Kuldiha, Goaltore and Lalgarh, most people standing in the long queues to collect rice and cooked food are the elderly or women with children in their arms. As security forces pushed into Ramgarh on Saturday from Goaltore, most villages on the way — Pingboni, Kadashole, Mohultola, Khartola, Tetultola, Kushmasholi, Chowkisal — are bereft of people except for the very old. In the dash to Lalgarh police station through the Pirakata and the Jhitka forest on June 20, the scene was similar. Cows and goats tethered to vacant houses. Villages deserted except for people too weak or infirm to move. Where are the tribal youths of Lalgarh? Have the Maoists taken them all? Where to? Asked, the answers from those left behind are similar. Like the old woman sitting on a charpoy in Khartola on the road to Ramgarh. “Don’t know where they are, may have gone to relatives’ or to the forests.” However, tribal youths with bows and arrows were around when Chhatradhar Mahato spoke last week. This afternoon, the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities held a meeting in Kantapahari — that is a target for the state — on the road between Lalgarh and Ramgarh. The day before yesterday, there was a rally in Dharampur, where youths had assembled and Maoist armed squad members were around with arms. When the forces reached Ramgarh yesterday, the Maoists were just ahead of them, firing in the air, shouting slogans and burning down a CPI office. All along the route they left signs of their presence. In retreat, the Maoist militia can withdraw to the villages in the forests and to the places between Ramgarh and Lalgarh — Boropelia, Chhotopelia, Kantapahari. The advance of the forces to Ramgarh and Lalgarh police stations by no means signals a total retreat by the militia. The security forces that have reached Lalgarh and Ramgarh are now firmly in an area where the Maoists have influence among the tribals. There is not a moment when the forces can relax. The number of forces that the state will require to sanitise all the roads will be much more than the 50 companies already in use in the operations. Parts of Bengal will then come to resemble zones of permanent insurgencies. In Chhattisgarh for example, there are 34 battalions — about 34,000 troops of armed state and central police — in Maoist areas. More than 80 per cent of the forces are deployed in just one district, Bastar, and the balance in Sarguja. Forces in Chhattisgarh have built up steadily since 2001. On the strength of the Chhattisgarh experience, Bengal’s security forces will — after cutting through the 14km stretch between Lalgarh and Ramgarh where the going may be the toughest — have to settle down to fortify their camps. Securing the forces will become the primary task for the forces. Maoist rebels have already indicated that they would attack the forces as they set out on patrols and for combing.

Cops torment, Maoists profit

PRONAB MONDAL, The Telegraph:

Lalgarh, June 28: As the central forces sanitise an area and move on, state police are facing charges that they are repeating the brutality which had provoked the Lalgarh agitation in the first place. The police allegedly beat up villagers at Pathardanga yesterday and destroyed their food grain, reminding residents why they “hated the force so much” and providing the retreating Maoists a chance to play “protector” again. After the police left the village, the Maoists returned. They persuaded the villagers to shift to the relief camps the rebels have opened at four places between Lalgarh and Ramgarh under the banner of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities. Last afternoon, the security forces had come under fire from the direction of Pathardanga, 3km from Lalgarh, during a sanitising operation. They fired back and waited, but nothing happened. The central forces then headed for committee leader Chhatradhar Mahato’s village, Amliya. The state police stayed back to conduct a “search” at Pathardanga. The state police’s first target was day labourer Manoranjan Mal, 30, who had stayed back when the other males fled the village. The police kicked the door of his house and broke it open. They began slapping and punching Mal, wife Jharna said. “Tor ghore IED rakha aachhe (you have a bomb at your home),” a policeman shouted as Jharna and her two young sons cowered. The “search” began, with the police flinging utensils around and tearing the mattress apart. Then they came across the sack of 30kg of relief rice from the government. They ripped it open, spilled the rice on the floor, stamped on the grain and emptied a can of kerosene over it. “This was our month’s supply but now the rice is inedible,” Jharna said at the committee’s Kantapahari camp. “This is why we hate the police so much. This was all the rice I had to feed my two sons.” Mal, whom the police took away, is in detention. Jipita Soren said she was alone when the police barged into her home. “They threw my dinner — a bowl of cooked rice — on the floor and stamped on it.” Kamalmoti Tudu said the police poured water on her firewood, so she couldn’t cook. “In the evening, the Maoists came and said they would look after us.” IG (western range) Kuldiep Singh said he hadn’t heard of the incidents but promised to “look into it”. “It’s a large force; so it’s possible there are some bad pennies,” he said. TWO ARRESTED Lalgarh, June 28 (ANI): Security forces on Sunday arrested two suspected Maoists and defused seven landmines from Lalgarh, while flushing out the Maoists hiding around the troubled area of West Bengal’s West Midnapore. Five landmines were recovered from Binpur, while two more were found near Kargil junction at Bankura district, said Raj Kanojia, Inspector General of Police. According to reports, police nabbed two men, who were hiding nearby in a bush where the landmine was planted. “We have picked up the two men. They are now being questioned. We are probing their Maoist links,” said Raj Kanojia. The government has deployed forces, which under the “Operation Lalgarh” are heading steadily to comb the entire area for landmines and other explosives. The operation is expected to go on till normalcy is restored in the troubled area and a sense of security returns among the people.(ANI) NEW NEPAL PM IN FRESH CONTROVERSY Thaindian News: Kathmandu, June 28 (IANS) Almost two months after Nepal’s Maoist government became embroiled in a row with the army and was ousted from power, the republic’s new Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal now finds himself dragged into yet another controversy involving both the army and the Maoist guerrilla forces. The Prime Minister’s Office was forced to issue a clarification Sunday after the controversy snowballed and threatened to wedge a deeper rift between the ruling coalition and the Maoists, who are warning to go on the warpath. The row erupted after British news agency Reuters asked the new prime minister about the contentious issue of merging the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the Nepal Army. The agency quoted the premier as saying that Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda “had told him and other leaders that upto 5,000 Maoist fighters who fulfilled the recruitment criteria should be absorbed in the army”. “So, if their leader confirms that thinking, then there is no question of integrating the total number of Maoist combatants in the army,” the agency reported the premier as saying. The report, picked up by other media, caused anger among the Maoists and reportedly, displeasure in the army. The Maoists accused Nepal of speaking out of turn. According to the peace pact they signed three years ago to end their armed uprising, only the special committee formed to direct the merger is authorised to take a decision on the issue. They have also pointed out that a verification conducted by the UN with the consensus of all major parties, including Nepal’s own, indicates there are about 19,000 PLA combatants who are eligible to be inducted into the army. The Maoists are also blaming India for the controversy, alleging that the prime minister talked about inducting 5,000 PLA fighters after a ’secret’ meeting between Defence Minister Vidya Bhandari and the Indian ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood. The statement issued by the PMO Sunday said Nepal had not said anything about inducting 5,000 PLA men in the army. It also said the prime minister should not be misinterpreted on an issue as sensitive as the integration. The statement pointed out that when asked how the merger would proceed, Nepal had said his government would honour the peace agreement and the integration committee would be reconstituted. “(The PM had said that) no homework has yet been done on the total number of people to be inducted in the security forces,” the statement said. “If we have to talk on the basis of a rough idea, Prachanda told me and (former prime minister) Girija Prasad Koirala that 3,000-5,000 combatants have to be inducted into security forces, the army. “If the (PLA’s) own leaders confirm this thinking, then there’s no question of absorbing the entire number in the army.” The merger of the two armies came into dispute earlier this year after a leaked video tape showed Prachanda as saying that he had inflated the number of the PLA from its original 7,000-8,000 to nearly 35,000 so that even after the weeding out by the UN, it would still have a sizeable number left.