Buddha rules out three tiers - Bimal sticks to stand but agrees to attend Delhi talks

OUR BUREAU, The Telegraph:June 3: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today shot down the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha demand for a three-tier panchayat system in the DGHC area and instead asked them to revive the two-tier system, the elections to which have not been held since 2000.

“The DGHC is still there and I cannot stop elections to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad. Their demand for a three-tier panchayat system is not possible,” the chief minister said after a meeting with a Morcha delegation at Writers’ Buildings today.

“However, it is positive (sign) that they are wanting to hold elections. I also requested them to allow the municipal polls to take place in the hills,” the chief minister said.

The seven-member Morcha team led by its president Bimal Gurung met Bhattacharjee mainly to discuss the rescue and relief operations in the landslide-hit hills that saw the death of 28 persons on May 26. Amar Lama, a central committee member of the Morcha, told The Telegraph: “The state government strongly believes that we are trying to reinforce our territory and is bent on not meeting our demand.”

Observers said the demand for a three-tier system was largely to correct Subash Ghisingh’s mistake to confine the DGHC administrative area to the hills. After the formation of the DGHC in 1988, the state government was quick to form the Mahakuma Parishad as the administrative unit for the plains in Darjeeling district.

Since the Constitution of India stands for only one zilla parishad for each district, a fulfilment of the Morcha demand would mean an amendment to the law. As far as the statehood demand was concerned, the chief minister told the delegation to participate in the tripartite talks. Gurung told reporters that the BJP MP from Darjeeling, Jaswant Singh, who took oath in the Lok Sabha today, would raise the demand for Gorkhaland in Parliament. “We are participating in the Delhi talks to resume soon. We will take part in the elections only if there is a three-tier panchayat system.”

The chief minister said Rs 4 lakh each would be handed over to the next of kin of those who died in the cyclone fury.

The office of a rafting unit closed at Melli. (Below ) Tourists enjoy rafting on the Teesta. Pictures by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Teesta rafting suspended

RAJEEV RAVIDAS

Kalimpong, June 3: The DGHC has suspended rafting in the Teesta, saying the adventure sport needs to be streamlined to avoid the recurrence of the like of the mishap in which a tourist from Mumbai had died in the river on Monday.

The order to suspend the rafting was issued today by T.D. Sherpa, the tourism secretary of the DGHC.

The offices of several rafting units at Melli and Teesta Bazaar had downed their shutters since Monday when a raft with 14 people — three were guides — on board overturned at Chitrey, 14km from here. Rashila Thakkar, a 37-year-old woman from Mumbai, died in the mishap.

Following the success of the DGHC’s river rafting venture launched in 1995, many people plunged into the business and at present, there are around 45 rafts which offer rides to tourists on the Teesta.

Still, a DGHC official said, there is no system in place to grant licences to the rafting units and check safety and security aspects of their operations.

Like every adventure sport, rafting has also an element of risk involved in it. The absence of any sort of regulation is all the more perplexing because of the fact that the DGHC, by its own claim, has a mechanism to ensure the safety of riders on its rafts.

Bimal Gazmer, the assistant director of DGHC’s tourism department, said whenever they tried to get private rafts registered, there were objections from some operators.

Gazmer said the DGHC’s Chitrey-based rafting unit operated in a very professional way. “We take all precautions to ensure the tourists’ safety and get them to sign on risk bonds. The riders are provided with life-jackets and helmets.”

The same cannot be said about most of the private operators. In fact, some of them privately admit that their business is affected by people out to make a quick buck. “Anybody with the wherewithal to buy a raft starts the business. Many of them are least bothered about the need to engage well-trained guides and make available proper safety tools on the rafts,” said an owner.

Rafting provides direct employment to around 150 people in the two hamlets of Melli and Teesta. Sukbir Lama, the vice-president of the Teesta-Rangit Raft Owners’ Association, said it was imperative that professionalism was infused into the business. “We welcome any initiative on the part of the authorities to streamline this sport that provides bread and butter to so many people.”

Gorkha council staff to be upgraded

Statesman News Service :SILIGURI, 3 JUNE: The state Congress leadership has extended support to the GJMM demand of providing permanent status to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council temporary employees. A GJMM delegation led by its president Mr Bimal Gurung met the state Governor recently in Darjeeling, demanding a prompt order from the state government to make the temporary DGHC staff permanent. The state Congress working president Mr Pradip Bhattacharya said that the demand was justified and should be looked into by the state government without further delay. “It stands to reason that the DGHC employees who have been working for so long should be made permanent,” he said. “We have heard that around 8,000 temporary employees have been demanding permanence for a long time. It is puzzling why the state government has not considered it so far,” the Congress leader said. Regarding the tripartite dialogue on the Darjeeling tangle, Mr Bhattacharya said that it should commence again to thaw the impasse. “Both the Centre and the state government should take initiatives to start negotiations soon. The tangle should be resolved through relentless talks which must be founded on the principle of mutual consent,” the Congress leader said.

No nomination for hill civic polls

Press Trust of India: SNS,Siliguri, 3 JUNE: With Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha abstaining from the civic body polls in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong demanding three-tier panchayat polls and CPI(M) having little organisational base in the hills, no nomination paper was filed as the last date expired yesterday. There was no logic in not holding elections of Darjeeling Zilla Parishad instead of the municipal polls, GJMM general secretary Mr Roshan Giri told PTI over phone. The CPI-M, not having much organisational strength in the hills, had already decided against contesting the municipal polls in the area. West Bengal Municipal Affairs minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya said with the five year term of three municipalities in the hills set to expire after July next, ways to run the civic boards would be taken after getting reports from Darjeeling district. “There were possibilities of appointing government administrators at an appropriate time,” Mr Bhattacharya added. The SMP is scheduled to go for three-tier polls ~ Mahakuma Parishad (on lines of zilla parishad), panchayat samiti and gram panchayat on 28 June and filing of nomination papers for SMP polls would end this afternoon, officials said.

National Executive Meeting in Siliguri

BGP IS NOT A POLITICAL THREAT – D.K. BHANDARI

Mrs.D.K.Bhandari, Chairperson, BGP

Prof. Munish Tamang, Secretary,Central Media Cell, BGP

Media Cell, BGP : 2 June, 2009.

Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) should not be taken as a political threat since this apolitical and social body has nothing to do with politics. Its aim is not to compete with any political outfit but to work for unification of the Indian Gorkhas for the cause of their social, cultural, literary and linguistic development. This is a known fact that this national organization has not caused harm to any organization rather it has directly or indirectly helped them out through different means. The organization has been able to make the national leaders aware of the problems facing the Gorkhas in India in terms of their identity crisis. It has also been successful to shift the paradigm by taking Gorkha’s problems in Delhi durbar from regional level. The BGP is the sympathizer of political parties that are carrying out various activities and movements at their own level to draw the attention of concerned authorities about the demand of Gorkhas.

The above statements were made by Smt. D.K. Bhandari, Chairperson, BGP at Mangal Maity Bhawan, Siliguri on 31^st May while addressing a large number of National Executive members of the organization gathered from various parts of the country. Referring to the present movement of Gorkhaland being spearheaded by different political parties in Darjeeling hills, Smt. Bhandari recalled the Nepali language movement and stated that only political efforts are not enough to get a demand materialized. According to her, the Nepali language was recognized at the social level backed by the political strength. She stated that it has now become necessary to bring all the national parties into confidence towards the demand of a separate state of Indian Gorkhas. A national consensus is to be brought to fulfill this demand and for this purpose efforts should be made from all walks of Gorkha society in India, she added. She also appealed other regional Gorkha bodies to come forward to realize the goal of a separate state.

Addressing the gathering, C.K. Shrestha, Working President of the organization highlighted the achievements of the BGP at national and regional levels. He said that a few organizations have been hijacking the programmes and strategies of the BGP and now the BGP workers should claim such programmes as their brainchild. Due to the absence of assertiveness the BGP workers have become faceless in the present Gorkha society despite their tremendous contribution towards the cause of Gorkhas in India, he stated. He also claimed that the national leaders are aware of the role of BGP to shift the demand of separate state from state to central level. Talking about the demand of Gorkhaland, he said that the BGP is of the view that this issue should not be addressed by any single political party to fulfill vested interest but it is to be addressed by the nation itself considering the injustice the Gorkhas have been facing since last several years despite their selfless contribution towards the independence, security, building and development of this nation. According to him, the demand of Gorkhaland is related with the identity crisis of over 1.25 million Gorkhas in India and it should be discussed at national level by all the national leaders as the Gorkhas do not want sympathy from anybody. He also stated that the nationalism is the first priority of the Gorkhas in India and they would never blackmail the nation to fulfill their demand. He also appealed the BGP workers to understand the views of other organizations working for similar causes and not over-react on them.

Sukhman Moktan, Secretary General highlighted the organizational achievements of the BGP in the last three years. He disclosed that the new central committee of the BGP would be formed in October this year during the Maha-Adhiveshan of the organization which will be held at Siliguri. According to him, the new committee will have to face more challenges in various aspects in view of the present political situation. Referring the prevailing national trend of youth’s involvement in political sphere, Moktan opined that the BGP should ensure participation of more youths in its future course of action and also highlighted the necessity of bringing the ideology of the BGP at grass root level. He claimed that the BGP has been able to make Indian Gorkhas aware about the unification at national level by way of organizing leadership building workshops in different parts of the country. He suggested that the BGP should now prepare a list of whole time workers and utilize their services in organizational affairs.

About the demand of Gorkhaland, Moktan disclosed that the BGP central leadership has decided to camp at New Delhi during the month June-July and hold discussion with the present UPA Govt. and opposition parties as well about the seven point charter of demands of the organization which tops the creation of a separate state for Indian Gorkhas. He also directed the office bearers of state and district level committees of the BGP particularly from Darjeeling, Sikkim, Dooars areas to keep themselves in readiness to rush for New Delhi in a short notice to hold discussion with the national leaders about the long pending demands of the organization.

Madhav Karki, Councillor. Bodoland Territorial Council suggested the BGP leaders to form a political cell of the organization to look after the related subjects including demand of Gorkhaland and viewed that the Gorkhas should now field their own candidates from respective constituencies in future elections. B.B.Chhetri (President, Meghalaya State Committee) also echoed his view and emphasized on the need of an effective cell to sort out the political issues.

Col (Retd) D.R. Gurung, Chairman, Financial Committee suggested that transparency should be maintained in the organizational transactions. He also disclosed that a large number of BGP workers are now working in political parties and they must bear courage to oppose any anti-BGP move of their parties. Gurung, who is heading Bharatiya Gorkha Bhutpurva Sainik Morcha, Siliguri claimed that he had challenged the party leaders who had framed unnecessary charges against the BGP leadership circle in the recent past. Gurung also requested the BGP central leaders to make him free from the organizational burden as he is now engaged in political activities.

The meeting was followed by an interactive session which was conducted by Munish Tamang, Secretary, Central Programme Cell, New Delhi.

The other leaders to address the meeting were Rudra Adhikari, Treasurer, Buddhiman Pradhan, Joint Secretary General (Admin), B.B. Chhetri (President, Meghalaya State), Nityananda Upadhyaya (Secretary, Assam State), Binod Bishta (Secretary, Manipur State), S. Pandey (Secretary, Sikkim State), Shivlal Alley (Secretary, Uttarakhand State), Jiwan Gurung (Secretary, Darjeeling), C.K. Pradhan, Dy. S.P (Retd) (President, Kalimpong), Binod Prakash Sharma (Secretary, Kurseong), K.N. Pradhan (President, Siliguri) and Arun Acharya (Social Worker). They highlighted the organizational activities and achievements of the BGP in respective areas and also discussed about the future course of action of the organization. Other prominent BGP leaders present in the meeting were Smt. Latika Joshi (Vice President), Bhupendra Adhikari (Secretary, Zone IV), Dr. Raja Singh Limboo (Member, Policy Making Body), Col (Retd) S.K. Mukhia (Office Secretary, Siliguri), Brig (Retd) N.B. S. Bishta (President, Uttarakhand State), S.K. Chhetri (President, Mangal Maity). Apart from them, the social thinkers of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, Dooars, Siliguri were also present in the meeting as observers.

This was the last National Executive meeting of the present central committee of the BGP as its term is going to be expired in October this year and a new central committee is to be formed then.

NEPAL CHURCH BLAST SUSPECT ARRESTED

Wed, 2009-06-03 03:09

Accused Sita Thapa nee Shrestha

Kosh Raj Koirala – Asian Tribune Correspondent in Nepal Kathmandu, 03 June, (Asiantribune.com): Nepal police on Tuesday arrested a woman allegedly involved in planting a bomb in Roman Catholic Church at Dhobighat, Lalitpur district, two weeks ago.

A pressure cooker bomb in the Church of Assumption on June 23 had killed three Indian nationals -- Celeste Joseph, 15, on the spot and Deepa Patrick, 20, and Buddha Laxmi Joseph, 35, in the course of treatment -- and left 13 others injured.

The arrested has been identified as Sita Thapa Shrestha, 27, of Gyaneshwar, Kathmandu, the capital city. She was arrested from her rented apartment at Shantinagar, Baneshwar on Tuesday morning, according to police.

Police, however, did not make her public citing ongoing investigations.

The explosion occurred when a congregation of over 300 was about to start a Saturday mass, and just a few minutes after an unidentified woman, now identified as Sita, exited the prayer hall at about 9.15 am, leaving behind a bag.

The Church of the Assumption is the first and the biggest Catholic Church in Nepal. A large number of expatriates visit the church every Sunday.

Addressing a news conference organized in the capital, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kuber Singh Rana, who is the head of a probe committee into the blast, said they are carrying out further

investigation as per intelligence reports and details received from the arrested.

The Home Ministry had formed a three-member probe committee on June 24 keeping in view of the seriousness of the attack at the religious site.

Binaya Patrick, 21, who is the husband of the slain Deepa, had identified Sita as the same woman who left a bag and exited the prayer hall, minutes before the fateful incident occurred. "She [Sita] has also confessed to the crime to us," said DIG Rana.

Preliminary investigation showed that Sita is associated with various religious and social organizations including Save Hindu State Committee and was strongly demanding scrapping of the decision to make Nepal a secular state. She is found engaged in such activities to press the government to revoke the decision made by the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly last year to declare Nepal a secular

state.

A little-known Hindu fundamentalist group called Nepal Defense Army had owned up the blast. The same group had detonated bombs at a mosque and a church in Biratnagar last year, besides carrying out explosions in various parts of the capital city Kathmandu.

काठमाडौँ, जेठ १९ गते । ललितपुर जिल्लाको धोबीघाट भनिमण्डलस्थित एजम्पसन चर्चमा बम विस्फोट गराएको अभियोगमा हिन्दू राष्ट्र बचाउँ समितिकी सीता थापा श्रेष्ठलाई प्रहरीले मङ्गलबार बिहान पक्राउ गरेको छ । जेठ ९ गते शनिबार बिहान चर्चमा प्रार्थना भइरहेको बेला ९.२० बजेको समयमा बम विस्फोट हुँदा एक जनाको घटनास्थलमा र दुई जनाको उपचारका क्रममा मृत्यु भएको थियो भने १३ जना घाइते भएका छन् । प्रार्थनासभामा ३५० जनाको सहभागिता रहेको थियो । प्रहरी प्रधान कार्यालय अपराध अनुसन्धान विभाग तथा महानगरीय प्रहरी आयुक्त कार्यालयका अनुसार अभियुक्त थापालाई प्रत्यक्षदर्शीले दिएको बयानका आधारमा अनुसन्धान गर्दै जाँदा बानेश्वर शान्तिनगरस्थित कोठाबाटै प्रक्राउ गरिएको हो । पक्राउ अभियुक्त थापाको साथबाट शङ्कास्पद दस्तावेजहरू पनि बरामद भएको प्रहरीले बताएको छ । "कालो ब्लाउज लगाएकी अधवँैसे महिला भक्तजन बसेको बीचमा झोला राखेर नजिक बसेकाहरूलाई हेरिदिनु भन्दै पिसाब फेर्ने बहाना गर्दै बाहिर निस्केकी थिइन्", प्रत्यक्षदर्शीले दिएको यही बयानका आधारमा उनलाई १० दिनपछि प्रमाणसहित पक्राउ गरेको विभागका प्रहरी नायब महानिरीक्षक कुवेर रानाले बताउनुभयो । नेपाल पुलिस क्लबमा मङ्गलबार पत्रकार सम्मेलनको आयोजना गरी घटना विवरणका बारेमा जानकारी दिँदै रानाले भन्नुभयो- "अभियुक्त थापालाई घटनाका प्रत्यक्षदर्शी घाइतेसामु उपस्थित गराउँदा उनीहरूले सोही महिला भएको किटानी गरेका छन् र अभियुक्त स्वयंले पनि स्वीकारेकी छन् ।" स्थायी घर ज्ञानेश्वर आनन्द भैरव सत्तल भए पनि शान्तिनगरमा भाडामा बस्दै आएकी थापा जीवन सहारा बालसरोकार केन्द्र र ग्रामीण सिर्जनशील महिला उत्थान केन्द्रको सदस्य हुनुका साथै आर.पी. -रामप्रसाद) मैनालीले गठन गरेको नेपाल डिफेन्स आर्मी नामक संस्थासँग सम्बद्ध रहेको प्रहरीले जनाएको छ । चर्चमा बम विस्फोट गर्न प्रयोग गरिएको जस्तै आई.ई.डी. लेखिएको अर्को झोला ती महिलाको कोठाबाट बरामद भएको छ भने अन्यको खोजी भइरहेको जनाइएको छ । आफूलाई डिफेन्स आर्मीको कमान्डर बताउने मोरङ गोविन्दपुरका आर.पी. मैनालीलाई प्रहरीले पक्राउका लागि 'मोस्ट वान्टेड'को सूचीमा राखेको छ । उक्त बम विस्फोटबाट भारत केरला घर भई हाल ढल्को बस्ने वर्ष १५ की सेलेस्टी जोसेफ, उनकी मुमा वर्ष ३५ की बुद्धलक्ष्मी जोसेफ र पटना घर भई नेपाल घुम्न आएकी वर्ष २० की दीपा पेटि्रकको मृत्यु भएको थियो । घाइते १३ जनामध्ये पाँचजना उपचारपछि घर फर्केका छन् भने कतिपयको अवस्था अझै गम्भीर रहेको छ । प्रहरी आयुक्त कार्यालयले विस्फोटबाट चर्चमा करिब डेढ लाख रुपियाँ मूल्य बराबरको क्षति भएको जनाएको छ । सो घटनाका बारेमा छानबिन गर्न अपराध विभागका नायब महानिरीक्षक रानाको संयोजकत्वमा तीन सदस्यीय समिति गठन गरेको थियो । समितिले नै महानगरीय प्रहरी परिसर ललितपुरसँग सहकार्य गरी अभियुक्त पक्राउ गरेको हो।

Gorkhapatra

KOSH RAJ KOIRALA http://www.myrepublica.com/

KATHMANDU, June 2: In a major success, police have arrested a woman allegedly involved in planting a bomb in the prayer hall of Assumption Church at Dhobighat, Lalitpur district, two weeks ago.

The arrested is Sita Thapa Shrestha, 27, of Gyaneshwar, Kathmandu, according to police. She was arrested from her apartment at Shantinagar, Baneshwar on Tuesday morning.

A pressure cooker bomb in the church on June 23 had killed three Indian nationals -- Celeste Joseph, 15, on the spot and Deepa Patrick, 20, and Buddha Laxmi Joseph, 35, in the course of treatment -- and left 13 others injured.

While Celeste and Deepa died on the same day, Buddha Laxmi breathed her last on May 31.

Police, however, did not make the suspect public citing ongoing investigations.

The explosion occurred when a congregation of over 300 was about to start a Saturday mass, and just a few minutes after an unidentified woman, now identified as Sita, exited the prayer hall at about 9.15 a.m, leaving behind a bag.

The Church of the Assumption is the first and the biggest Catholic church in Nepal. A large number of expatriates visit the church every Sunday.

Addressing a news conference organized in the capital, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kuber Singh Rana, who is the head of a probe committee into the blast, said she was arrested on Tuesday morning from her rented apartment at Shantinagar, Kathmandu.

Home Ministry had formed a three-member probe committee on June 24 keeping in view of the seriousness of the attack at the religious site.

Binaya Patrick, 21, who is the husband of the slain Deepa, had identified Sita as the same woman who left a bag and exited the prayer hall, minutes before the fateful incident occurred. “She [Sita] has also confessed to the crime,” said DIG Rana.

Preliminary investigation showed that Sita is associated with various religious and social organizations including Save Hindu State Committee and was strongly demanding scrapping of the decision to make Nepal a secular state. She was found to be actively engaged in forcing the government to revoke the decision made by the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly last year to declare Nepal a secular state.

A little-known Hindu fundamentalist group called Nepal Defense Army had owned up the blast. The group had detonated bombs at a mosque and a church in Biratnagar last year, besides carrying out explosions in various parts of the capital city Kathmandu.

DIG Rana said they have also kept the NDA chief Ram Prasad Mainali on ´the most wanted´ list. “We are carrying out further investigation as per intelligence reports and details received from the arrested,” he added.