GURUNG DEMANDS MAJOR SHARE OF AILA HELP PTI: Siliguri , Jul 6: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today demanded that the major share of the Rs 1,000 crore allotted in the Union budget to the Aila cyclone-affected areas of West Bengal be spent on Darjeeling disrict. "The Aila cyclone affected the Darjeeling Hills more than the other parts of the state. A total 32 people had died in the calamity in Darjeeling,"he said. The state government had put the number of dead at 28 in the hills and the total toll in the state at 138 in the aftermath of the cyclone which hit the state on May 25. Forest funds hitch in hill road repair RAJEEV RAVIDAS The Telegraph, Kalimpong, July 6: For villagers of Nimbong and Pabringtar, last week’s landslides could only be a precursor to a long period of hardship as the road link to Bakrakote, the lifeline for the area, could take a while to restore. The landslides, according to the villagers in Kalimpong Block I, have damaged the road in many places, a major portion of which belongs to the forest department. And the problem lies there. The Kalimpong division of the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation said unavailability of funds could delay the work. At a time when even the staff salaries were being paid from funds meant for other divisions, arranging money for other work would be difficult, said U. Ghosh, the divisional manager. “The disruption is hampering our protection work as well, but the fact is that we don’t have any money of our own.” The corporation has not been able to engage itself in timber trade following the yearlong ban imposed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha as part of its agitation for Gorkhaland. The corporation earns between Rs 9 crore and Rs 12 crore annually by auctioning off timber grown in the subdivision. “We are trying (to get the ban lifted), and have been in talks with the political party (read Morcha),” said Ghosh. However, that is little consolation to villagers for whom the road is the lifeline. Edwin Subba, a Morcha leader, said Bakrakote in the plains was 25km from Nimbong and from there it was easier to reach Siliguri. “We bring all our supplies through this road. Now with the road damaged, prices of all items will go up,” he added. In fact, the villages were cut off from the rest of the world till yesterday when the road link to Kalimpong via Kafer was restored. The other and more shorter road to the subdivisional headquarters via Khani and Relli, too, is blocked because of multiple landslides. “The relief materials sent by the administration reached us last night and were distributed today,” Subba said over the phone from Borbat, 5km from Nimbong. The 35-odd families hit by landslides in the area are living with their relatives. “The landslide has taken away our house and our land. People from the block development office have taken our records, but I don’t know what good will come out of it,” said Chandramaya, the daughter-in-law of B.B. Mangar, the lone landslide casualty. Sikkim body fights drugs Statesman News Service GANGTOK, 6 JULY: The ‘Matri Bhumi Suraksha Sangathan,’ (MBSS) an autonomous body has decided to take on moral policing to tackle drug menace and flesh trade across Sikkim and the north Bengal hills. “The menace is no less than that of Opium war of China,” said Mr Duk Nath Nepal, convener of the organisation. The body has further alleged the influx of outsiders as the major cause of the social and moral degradation among the youths. Established on 28 May, the MBSS has scheduled an elaborate line of action in a phased manner. “In the first phase we wrote letters to all tele-service providers for inclusion of Nepali language in their day to day services,” said Mr Nepal. He further informed that the second phase would involve social and moral policing to fight the perils of drug addiction and flesh trade. Earlier the organisation had written to heads of all mobile companies demanding use of Nepali language in their IVRS and other value added services. “Despite the inclusion of Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, all the tele-service providers of India are yet to include the language in their daily services,” said Mr Nepal. He further termed the imposition of alien languages through tele-service as a form of cultural imperialism being forced on the hill people. When asked about the response of the letters sent to tele-service providers, Mr Nepal said: “Among seven letters sent, two have been received and acknowledged.” Girls top NBU exams OUR CORRESPONDENT, The Telegraph: Siliguri, July 6: Girls have outshone boys in BA, BCom and BSc Part III (general) exams under the 1+1+1 system, the results of which were published by North Bengal University today. The varsity has brought out the results within 26 days of the completion of the exams. Last year, it took 74 days to announce the results. The difference in the pass percentages of boys and girls is 0.96 for BA, 3.41 for BCom and 3.94 for the BSc stream. “The percentage of female candidates who cleared the BA exams is 92, while that of boys is 88.06. In the BSc stream, the percentage is 97.33 for girls and 96.37 for boys. It is 96 per cent for girls and 92.59 per cent for boys in BCom,” said Susanta Das, the controller of examination of the varsity. Arunava Basumajumdar, the vice-chancellor of NBU, said: “That girls have been performing well in the past few years is a significant achievement for the academia of the region with a predominantly rural background.” The varsity has 72 colleges under it. It published the results of the BA, BSc and BCom (honours) on July 30. Compared to last year, the overall pass percentage for the three courses has declined by 2.4 per cent. The overall pass percentage for BA is 89.32, BSc 95.34 per cent and BCom 94.04 per cent. The results were dispatched to the colleges today and the students can apply for re-assessment of the papers by July 20. WB secretaries visit Lalgarh to boost development PTI, Lalgarh (WB), Jul 6 To give a fillip to development activities, a second team of WestBengal secretaries today visited this former hub of Maoist activity. "We are trying to accelerate the development process initiated by the previous team,"Secretary for the development of OBC, R D Meenasaid. A number of tubewells would be installed to solve the drinking water problem since setting up a drinking water pipeline would take some time, he said. "The situation has also improved with markets and offices reopening. We are instilling confidence among the people,"he said. " Though it is true that we have not been able to reopen schools (yet), we will be doing so very soon," Meena said. The administration would begin giving loans from next week to self-help groups and theNREGA scheme would be implemented through gram panchayats, he said. Meanwhile, one person identified as Bhagabat Hansda, a resident of Binpur, was arrested from Khusboni for the landmine blast behind the BDO&aposs office last Thursday. Expert trio play truant, get back at BJP SANJAY K. JHA, The Telegraph: Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie New Delhi, July 6: Pranab Mukherjee’s budget ended up highlighting a deficit —- in the BJP. The gap showed when the time came for the main Opposition party to give its reaction to — in other words, rip into — the budget proposals. The BJP’s trio of economics experts were nowhere to be seen. Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, all recently turned dissident, chose to leave the party in the lurch just when their services were needed the most. In their absence, the BJP’s formal reaction to the budget had to depend on vague political rhetoric instead of specific economic criticism. Jaswant, Yashwant and Shourie usually analyse the budget before the media on the party’s behalf. This year, they are angry at the leadership’s efforts to protect and “reward” those they think are behind the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll debacle. So Jaswant left Delhi for his village, while Yashwant delivered a stinging snub by choosing the media over party. Sushma Swaraj, who eventually briefed the media, admitted that Yashwant had informed the party that he was engaged for the day. Shourie was untraceable. Worse, Murli Manohar Joshi, another leader who understands economics, attended the House during the budget presentation but fled the national capital soon after. Joshi, whose running battle with L.K. Advani has been a constant source of embarrassment for the party, has, however, expressed a desire to lead the discussion on the budget in the Lok Sabha. Even Yashwant will participate in the debate, indicating a plan to register individual brilliance, thrown into relief against the party’s deficiencies. As these leaders’ absence dawned on the leadership, Advani called a meeting to prepare the BJP’s formal response to the budget. Among those who attended were Sushma, party president Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, S.S. Ahluwalia, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Prakash Javadekar. These leaders would have had no problem taking apart any move or proclamation by the government on a political issue, but none of them is known for a deep understanding of financial and monetary intricacies. The statement issued after the meeting was forced to harp on commonplace expressions like “lacklustre”, “dry”, “boring” and “disappointing”. It spoke of past failures to create jobs and insufficient tax relief, and made the customary insinuation that the proposals were inflationary. The BJP said the budget didn’t have anything that would reverse the downturn, was deficient in new ideas and would not enhance economic activities. It accused Mukherjee of squandering a great opportunity but did not say what the BJP would have done in his place to inject the economy with new life. Rajnath raised eyebrows further by issuing a separate statement. It repeated the same run-of-the-mill complaints GENERAL BUDGET 2009-10

The Union Finance & External Affairs Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Parliament House to present the General Budget 2009-10, in New Delhi on July 06, 2009. The Ministers of State of Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam and Shri Namo Narain Meena are also seen. (pib)

· THE FINANCE MINISTER SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE, UNVEILS MASSIVE HIKE IN EXPENDITURE TO PUT THE ECONOMY ON GROWTH PATH.

· TOTAL EXPENDITURE INCREASED BY 36 PER CENT; PLAN EXPENDITURE TO GO UP 34 PER CENT TO RS. 3,25,149 CRORE.

· NON-PLAN EXPENDITURE

TO GO UP BY 37 PER CENT.

· TARGET FOR AGRICULTURAL CREDIT FLOW SET AT RS. 3,25,000CRORE. ALLOCATION UNDER RASHTRIYA KRISHI VIKAS YOJANA INCREASED BY 30 PER CENT AND UNDER ACCELERATED IRRIGATION BENEFIT PROGRAMME INCREASED BY 75 PER CENT.

· ALLOCATION UNDER NREGS HIKED BY 144 PERCENT TO RS. 39,100 CRORE.

· ALLOCATION UNDER BHARAT NIRMAN INCREASED BY 45 PERCENT; PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA, RAJIV GANDHI GRAMEEN VIDYUTIKARAN YOJANA AND INDIRA AWAAS YOJANA GET SUBSTANTIAL HIKE.

· NEW SCHEME OF PRADHAN MANTRI ADARSH GRAM YOJANA TO BE LAUNCHED ON PILOT BASIS.

· ALL BPL FAMILIES TO BE COVERED UNDER RASHTRIYA SWASTHYA BIMA YOJANA .

· UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION AUTHORITY OF INDIA GETS RS. 120 CRORE.

· ONE-RANK ONE-PENSION COMMITTEE REPORT ACCEPTED. PRE-1997 AND PRE-2006 BELOW OFFICER RANK DEFENCE PENSIONERS TO BENEFIT.

· OUTLAY FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES INCREASED TO RS. 3472 CRORE.

· NO CHANGE IN CORPORATE TAX RATES.

· INCOME TAX EXEMPTION LIMIT INCREASED BY RS. 10,000 FROM RS. 1.5 LAKH TO RS. 1.6 LAKH, FROM RS.1.8 LAKH TO RS.1.9 LAKH FOR WOMEN TAX PAYERS AND RS.2.25 LAKH TO RS. 2.4 LAKH FOR SENIOR CITIZENS.

· 10 PER CENT SURCHARGE ON INCOME TAX GOES.

· FRINGE BENEFIT TAX TO BE ABOLISHED.

· MINIMUM ALTERNATE TAX INCREASED FROM 10 TO 15 PER CENT.

· COMMODITY TRANSACTION TAX TO BE ABOLISHED.

· TELEVISION SET-TOP BOX TO ATTRACT 5 PER CENT CUSTOMS DUTY.

· CUSTOMS DUTY ON BIO-DIESEL REDUCED FROM 7.5 TO 2.5 PERCENT ON LCD PANELS FROM 10 PER CENT TO 5 PER CENT. AND ON 10 SPECIFIED LIFE SAVING DRUGS/VACCINE FROM 10 PER CENT TO 5 PERCENT.

· CUSTOMS DUTY ON GOLD INCREASED FROM RS. 250 PER 10GRAMS TO RS. 500.

· EXCISE RATE HIKED FROM 4 TO 8 PER CENT FOR A NUMBER OF PRODUCTS BARRING SPECIFIED FOOD ITEMS, DRUGS AND PHARMACEUTICALS, MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PAPER AND PAPER BOARDS, PRESSURE COOKERS AND CHEAP FOOTWEAR.

· EXCISE DUTY ON NAPTHA, SLASHED TO 14 PER CENT WHILE HIGH SPEED DIESEL BLENDED WITH 20 PER CENT BIO-DIESEL FULLY EXEMPTED FROM EXCISE DUTY.

· EXCISE DUTY ON MAN-MADE FIBRE, POLYESTER CHIPS, PTA AND DMT TO BE INCREASED FROM 4 PER CENT TO 8 PER CENT.

· SERVICE TAX TO BE IMPOSED ON COSMETIC AND PLASTICSURGERY, TRANSPORT OF GOODS BY RAIL AND COASTAL AND INLAND WATERWAY CARGO.

· REVENUE DEFICIT PROJECTED AT 4.8 PER CENT OF GDP.

· FISCAL DEFICIT PEGGED AT 6.8 PER CENT. (pib)

RS.2000 CRORE ALLOCATED FOR RURAL HOUSING FUND

The Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget Speech in the Lok Sabha today said that the allocation for the Bharat Nirman programme of six schemes for the development of rural infrastructure is being stepped up by 45% in 2009-10 over the BE of 2008-09. This programme is an important initiative for bridging the gap between the rural and urban areas and improving the quality of life of people particularly the poor in the rural areas, he added. The Minister said that the allocation for the Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is proposed to be increased to Rs.12,000 crore, for the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Viduytikaran Yojana (RGGVY) to Rs. 7,000 crore and for the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) to Rs.8,800 crore. The Minister also announced that a sum of Rs.2000 crore is proposed to be allocated for Rural Housing Fund in the National Housing Bank (NHB) from the shortfall in the priority sector lending of commercial banks. This will boost the resource base of NHB for their re-finance operations in rural housing sector. The move will broaden the pace of rural housing. (pib)

Extension of Stimulus Package for Print Media till 31st December 2009

The Stimulus Package given to the Print Media in February 2009 has been further extended by the Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, for another six months from 30th June 2009 to 31st December 2009. In February 2009, the print media was given a stimulus package comprising waiver of 15% agency commission on DAVP advertisements and a 10% increase in the DAVP rates to be paid as a ‘Special Relief’ subject to documentary proof of loss of revenue in non-governmental advertisements. (pib)

Traffic movement has been affected on NH-31

Siliguri, 6June: PTI: Regular Traffic movement has been affected on NH-31 here following a series of landslides.

"The Border Task Force are cleaning the debris, " Darjeeling District Magistrate Surendra Gupta said. At present, only light vehicles are being allowed to move towards the Dooars, Kalimpong and Sikkim, he said.

The services of toy trains, a major tourist attraction of Darjeeling, has also been suspended after the earth underneath the tracks got removed as a result of the landslides, Darjeeling HimalayanRailway sources said.

"It is still uncertain when would the services be restored,"they said.

Kandhamal MLA Take Oath on Bail

Bhubaneswar, July 6 (ANI): BJP leader Manoj Pradhan, who is an accused in Orissa’s Kandhmal riots, took oath on Monday as member of the legislative assembly.

Pradhan, who is currently out on bail, fought the elections from a jail and won from G Udayagiri constituency with a margin of nearly 24,000 votes.

Pradhan was arrested and jailed in October on charges of murder, arson, rioting and spreading communal hatred.

Orissa High Court granted Pradhan 15-day bail to allow him to take oath.

After taking oath, Pradhan said that he hoped that he would get support in the Assembly.

“I will try for a bail. I do not think I will go to jail again. (Q Will you get support in the Assembly?) Yes I will,” said Pradhan.

The violence in Kandhamal was sparked by the murder of a Hindu leader in the tribal area, where Christian missionaries have been active for years.

More than 25,000 Christians in the area were forced to flee their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs.

The murdered leader had been heading a local campaign to reconvert Hindus and tribal people from Christianity. (ANI)

Search for surrogate mother for elephant calves continues

Indopia: PTI, Siliguri, July 6: Officials in West Bengal are desperately looking for a surrogate mother to raise two elephant calves rescued recently. "We have been looking for a lactating&aposkunki'-- a trained elephant -- to feed a two-month-old calf which was rescued from the banks of Torsha river in Haldibari district yesterday," DivisionalForest Officer (Wildlife-III), Om Prakash, told reporters at Alipurduar.

Forest officials said it was believed that the calf was swept away in the swift current while crossing the crossing the river in a herd. It was found at a location where it managed to swim ashore, they said. Informed by the locals, foresters and other workers rescued it and sent it to Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary. Another deserted calf was found last week by wildlife personnel and it was being nursed by a dozen workers and a&aposkunki'.

"We are yet to get a lactating elephant. The&aposkunki&aposwas deployed as the calf&aposs trainer and arrangements to protect it from mosquito bite were also made,"DFO (Wildlife) of Jalpaiguri, Tapan Das, said. Doctors examining the calves said they were out of danger but need to be fed with mother&aposs milk for at least 18 months.

Missing Girl got ransom call

Shillong , July 6: The family of a 22-year-old girl from Meghalaya who went missing after she left for Bangalore to meet a man she met online, today claimed they have received a ransom call demanding Rs five lakh.

Sahana Rymbai of Nongmyngsong went missing on June 29 shortly after reaching Bangalore from Guwahati to meet her online male friend, who had introduced himself as Samir Gafur, her mother Shenaz said.

Despite repeated calls by her mother to Sahana & aposs number, she remained incommunicado for two days.

Later she briefly came on line to inform her mother that she was with Samir. When her mother called again on her daughter & aposs number, an anonymous person demanded Rs five lakh for her & apos release', Shenaz claimed.

" While the male voice initially asked Sahana & aposs family to deposit Rs 5 lakh in an account of Karnataka Bank (Gramin), they were later asked to come to the Bangalore airport." President of Civil Society Women & aposs organisation Agnes Kharshiing said quoting Shenaz.

Samir, while chatting with Sahana, had claimed to run several businesses in Bangalore and invited her to the city, a police official investigating the case said.