A Procession of GJNM today in Kalimpong

RELAXATION ON STRIKE KalimNews, Kalimong 19 July :GJMM has given a 10 hour relaxation on Monday starting from 8 am to 6 pm to the transport and business community. But it is taken for granted by the public that relaxation will start from 6am. Some of the vehicles left to bring the students arrived at Siliguri. All shops will open and vehicles will be available to give the public a relief. It was said that GJMM supremo Bimal Gurung was in Gorubathan so the proposed Central Committee meeting could not be held for further possible relaxations to be made in view of the Central Government's preponement of the tripartite talk. Sources informed that GJMM is now under pressure from its members as well as sympathisers as common people are facing shortage of essential commodities and daily wage workers are facing financial crisis. It is also added that those related to education specially teachers and the guardians of the students have been criticising the party for no clear cut direction regarding relaxation made to the educational institutions. According to them when relaxation was allowed to educational institution, there should have been clear instruction about the availability of transport and allied matters which is directly linked with it. As a few students have already left for their home there will difficulty in taking classes without them and petrol pumps directly linked with transport is not given any relaxation which will result to acute fuel scarcity causing transport problem. So till now local guardians of the students are in a dilemma whether to send their wards to the school tomorrow or not, while outsider students from other states started to arriv from the mornig of Sunday. Acoording to another source there is possibility of complete relaxation / suspension of the Indefinite strike by tomorrow till August 11. GJM Announces 10 hr. Recess in Indefinite Bandh PTI 19 July 2009, 07:53pm, SILIGURI: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) on Sunday announced a 10-hour recess in the ongoing indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills from 8.00AM Monday. The GJM press secretary, Benoy Tamang, said over phone that the decision was taken to help outstation students reach their schools and colleges as all educational institutions were exempted from bandh from tomorrow. This would also help residential school managements and the hill people in general to store essentials for the hostels and private houses as well, Tamang said. All tea gardens and cinchona plantation were also given the 'relaxation' and kept out of the purview of the bandh from tomorrow, he said. When asked whether GJM had allowed 10-hour recess in the bandh tomorrow following Centre's decision advancing the date of third round of tripartite talks from August 24 to August 11, Tamang said, "not at all. The decision of recess has no connection with the Centre's reschedule of talks." Tamang said the Centre did not re-scheduled the date for talks as per GJM's demand which asked for any date within this month. Pranab rules out division of West Bengal DDI News Sunday 19 July, 2009:Union Finance Minister and WBPCC President Pranab Mukheree on Sunday ruled out any further division ofWest Bengal. "There is no question of any further division of Bengal, " Mukherjee told reporters when asked about the indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling Hills by the GJM demanding creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland. The minister said no problem could be solved by force and hoped that the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) would call off its indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling Hills. "The Centre has called for a tripartite talks with the GJM and the West Bengal government to discuss the demands made by the GJM on August 24, he said. "I hope that the GJM would participate in the talks to sort out the problems," Mukherjee added. Early date for hill talks

TT, New Delhi/Darjeeling, July 18: The Centre today advanced the talks on the hill impasse to August 11 as a “goodwill gesture” to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Delhi had convened the meeting on August 24 after the Morcha called an indefinite strike in the hills, but the outfit said it wanted the talks before the budget session of Parliament ended on August 7. The Morcha withheld its response to the “goodwill gesture”. Chief Bimal Gurung said he would react after getting the details and discussing them within the party. Besides the change of date, the Morcha had wanted talks at the political level — not with bureaucrats —and on the sole agenda of Gorkhaland. Sources said the UPA government was still not prepared for a political discussion. If Jaswant Singh, the BJP MP from Darjeeling, insists on attending the meeting, it can become a prickly issue. The home ministry has not spelt out the meeting’s agenda.

CENTRE PREPONES GORKHA TALKS TO AUGUST 11

PTI, New Delhi, July 18: As the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha sponsored indefinite bandh in Darjeeling continued, the Centre on Saturday preponed to August 11 the tripartite talks involving the West Bengal government and the GJM to be held in Delhi.

"This has been done as a goodwill gesture to GJM. This is the earliest possible date for holding the tripartite talks after the current Parliament session ends," a Home Ministry official said.

The Centre had earlier proposed to hold the talks on August 24 but the GJM wanted it to be preponed.

Normal life continued to be affected for the sixth day in all three sub-divisions of Darjeeling district owing to the indefinite bandh called by the GJM to press for their demands, including creation of a separate state for Gorkhas.

Besides a separate statehood, the GJM is also pressing for immediate transfer of Inspector-General of Police (north Bengal) K L Tamta, additional superintendent of police (headquarters) A Chaturvedi and SDPO of Kurseong Partho Pal, whom it accused of playing into the hands of the CPI(M) and showing vindictive attitude against the GJM supporters.

The last tripartite meeting between the three sides took place on December 29 last year where it was decided to take forward the talks after the Lok Sabha polls.

Govt advances date for tripartite talks with Gorkha group

TH,New Delhi , 18 July (IANS): Bowing to the request of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to advance the date for tripartite talks on its demand for a separate Gorkhaland, the government Saturday advanced the date by a fortnight to Aug 11 as a "goodwill gesture".

"This has been done as a goodwill gesture to the GJM. This is the earliest possible date for holding the tripartite talks after the current parliament session ends," said a home ministry statement.

The government had earlier proposed to hold the talks -- between GJM, the West Bengal and central governments -- on Aug 24.

On Friday, the GJM sent a fax message to the central government demanding that the tripartite meeting be called early and decided to partially relax the ongoing shutdown in Darjeeling district from Monday.

The GJM, which is fighting for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out in north Bengal, said it would relax the strike July 20-23. It began the shutdown July 13.

Tripartite talks on statehood demand to be advanced

SNS: NEW DELHI, 18 JULY: Bowing to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM)’s demand for early talks on the issue of a separate Gorkhaland, the Centre today advanced by a fortnight the tripartite talks as a “goodwill gesture”. The meeting comprising the Centre, West Bengal government and GJMM was earlier scheduled for 24 August but at the request of the GJMM, the government has agreed to hold it on 11 August. “This has been done as a goodwill gesture to GJM. This is the earliest possible date for holding the tripartite talks after the current Parliament session ends,” said a senior official of the home ministry. The GJMM had faxed a message to the home ministry on Friday urging advancing the tripartite meeting dates to resolve the long pending demand on Gorkhaland. The GJMM also said it has decided to partially relax the ongoing shutdown in Darjeeling district from Monday. Educational institutions, tea gardens and cinchona plantations will function normally, an emergency meeting of GJMM decided. They also announced partial opening of the NH 31 A, which is considered to be the lifeline of Sikkim, for five days from 18 July. The national highway would be open only to those vehicles which bear Sikkim number plates, the GJMM announced. Meanwhile, the Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee, an anti-Gorkhaland pressure group, today staged a roadblock at Champasari near Siliguri on National Highway 31 alleging that the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha was transporting food stuff and other goods to the Darjeeling hills on the pretext of giving relaxation to Sikkim vehicles ply through the facility.

“If they have convened an indefinite bandh, they should stick to it and not replenish supplies through surreptitious means. We would not allow the GJMM to take advantage of the situation when it is causing severe inconvenience to the common man through the bandh,” said Dr Mukunda Majumdar, president, BOBBBC.The GJMM leadership has denied the allegation. “It is a false and baseless allegation,” said Mr Pradeep Pradhan, vice president, GJMM.

Partial relief for Sikkim, blockade on key highway relaxed

PTI, Jul 18: In a partial relief, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha this morning relaxed for 12 hours its indefinite blockade on a crucial highway connecting Sikkim and Siliguri, and allowed the vehicles bearing number plates of the Himalayan state to ply on arterial route.

As many as 300 vehicles bearing Sikkim number plates has passed through the inter-state check post at Rangpo on the NationalHighway 31A since 6 am, a police official said.

The GJM activists were, however, not letting the vehicles bearingWest Bengalnumber plates to run on about 60-km stretch of the highway even during the relaxation hours due to political reasons, the official said.

"We will continue to give such concessions to Sikkim in future also to ease the difficulties of the people of the border state,"GJM leaders said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks carrying the essential supplies, including vegetables, have left Siliguri for various destinations inSikkim to meet the requirements of the people there when the blockade resumes this evening, officials said.

GJM relaxes bandh, Gurung threatens to commit suicide

Siliguri, July 18 (PTI) The GJM relaxed the indefinite bandh in Darjeeling for five days to allow movement of essential commodities to Sikkim, which has a sole road link through the hills, even as GJM chief Bimal Gurung said he would commit suicide if he fails to achieve Gorkhaland. GJM President Bimal Gurung said the relaxation of the bandh, which entered the sixth day today, for 12 hours on the national highway, the arterial road link to Sikkim, was extended "as a good gesture to the Centre". The Centre should accept his three-point charter of demands that the proposed third round of tripartite talks involving also the Centre and West Bengal government on Gorkhaland be held by this month instead of on August 24 as announced, he said. (Meanwhile, the Centre preponed the talks to August 11).

Protests against Telegraph visual

TT, Calcutta, July 18: Two women’s organisations today protested against the publication of a graphic in The Telegraph that depicted the state’s top five administrators in saris. The visual accompanied a report about the state of inertia in the administration. In a letter handed over to The Telegraph today, Maitree, an organisation working for the rights of women, said it was “shocked” to see the graphic on the front page of the paper “where you have portrayed men from the administration in saris suggesting that their inaction makes them women”. “The implication, thereby, is clearly that women are inactive and incompetent,” the letter said. “This is both a demeaning and humiliating stance towards women and we are amazed that a leading English daily holds such regressive attitudes and views.” Before handing over the letter, members of Maitree staged a demonstration in front ofThe Telegraph office, demanding that the paper apologise. The Paschimbanga Ganatantrik Mahila Samity, a CPM-backed women’s organisation, said the visual “exposes very clearly the entrenched patriarchal attitude that lies hidden behind the apparently super-modern and liberal façade of your newspaper”. Referring to a sentence that accompanied the visual — “We apologise to women who may feel the elegant sari has been wasted on our administrators” — the organisation said that “it is, in fact, a crude mockery of women’s sense of seriousness of occasion”. Telegraph replies For some months now, Bengal has looked like a state without an administration. Friday’s bandh and the unchecked vandalism on its eve further demonstrated the lack of will on the administration’s part to enforce the law. In yesterday’s paper, the five top administrators were depicted as men in saris to illustrate the paralysis of government draped in humour. Some of our readers and others have taken affront, seeing in it an assumption that women are weak. It is possible some may have associated the administrators in the graphic with women, which was not the intention of the visual device at all. We are sorry if the graphic gave that impression. Some others have, however, expressed appreciation of the political message we sought to communicate and the humour. The Telegraph practises gender equality. It also believes that women have long grown beyond stereotypes as the weaker sex in saris. Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee are just two examples of women in positions of strength. There are a million other unknown women — in saris or business suits — in whose daily shows of strength we rejoice in the pages of our newspaper. We hope our readers will see the Gang of Five in Saris in that context. We also hope despite all its divisions, true to 19th century poet Ishwar Gupta’s words —Eto bhanga Bangadesh, tobu range bhara — Bengal still enjoys a good laugh.