Morcha feelers on timber ban

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, The Telegraph: Kalimpong, July 7: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is not averse to holding talks with the forest department on lifting of the ban on timber movement in the hills. However, party insiders feel that the talks will be restricted to the movement of the felled logs, and not on fresh felling. The Morcha, they said, is firm on not allowing any fresh felling of trees in the hills. The Morcha ban on timber trade has been on for more than a year. The Kalimpong division of the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation, which earns between Rs 9 crore and Rs 12 crore a year from timber trade, has borne the brunt of the ban as it has not been able to generate any revenue last year. Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the newly appointed spokesperson of the Morcha, has, however, stressed the need to take an informed stand on the timber trade. “A fact-finding team could go into the issue and submit a detailed report to the party president. Thereafter, we should leave it to his wisdom,” he said. Chhetri may have been alluding to unconfirmed reports that, despite the ban, timber is still being clandestinely moved from places in the foothills and the plains. This is being done in collusion with a section of Morcha leaders and supporters engaged in the trade. The hill party had imposed the ban as part of its non-cooperation movement in support of Gorkhaland. According to the spokesperson, lifting the ban will make sense, otherwise the logs will rot. “However, in my opinion, there should be a monitoring committee to ensure that only the felled timbers are traded. Leaving the task to the party’s local units could become counter-productive because they could have their vested interests,” Chhetri said. Economics was not the only factor for the imposition of the ban, but environmental concerns also played a role, Chhetri said. “Revenue can be generated from many other sources, but how can you generate environment? Nature, at best, can only be protected. The Morcha president has always given top priority to environmental concerns.” Track caves in, toy trains hit- One month to restore Darjeeling-Njp service A stretch of the toy train track that caved in near Gayabari. Picture by Kundan Yolmo The Telegraph:Siliguri, July 7: Weather has again played spoilsport for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR). Less than a month after the toy train track damaged by Cyclone Aila had been repaired, soil erosion took place at two spots between Gayabari and Mahanadi on Friday, stalling the service between New Jalpaiguri Station and Darjeeling. The authorities said it would take more than a month to repair the track. Gayabari is 36km from Siliguri and Mahanadi is further 3km above. The cyclone on May 26 had caused rubble from the hillsides to cover the track at 50 spots on the 80-km long route. But this time, earth underneath the track has eroded at two spots. While at one place, 20 metres of the track caved in completely, at another spot, soil beneath a stretch of 17 metres eroded. “The NJP-Darjeeling service was disrupted last Wednesday because the rubble from above had scattered on the tracks at the Chunbhatti Loop near Tindharia (25km from Siliguri). The track was cleared immediately and the service was resumed on Thursday. But the heavy rain on the day after triggered major landslides beneath the tracks between Gayabari and Mahanadi stations,” Subrata Nath, the director of DHR, said today. “The NJP-Darjeeling service has been halted completely since Friday and it will take more than one month to restore the track to the original shape,” he added. “The Cyclone Aila had brought debris and trees onto the track and they were removed in 10 days. But more than a month will be needed to complete the repair this time,” said Nath. The DHR runs six pairs of trains: one between NJP and Darjeeling, another between Darjeeling and Kurseong and the remaining four between Darjeeling and Ghoom. “Only the NJP-Darjeeling service will remain stalled. The trains between Kurseong and Darjeeling will run normally,” he said. The restoration has not begun as the DHR is still estimating the cost of the work. “We are in the final stage of cost estimate and it is coming up to about Rs 1 crore. The contract for the repair will soon be awarded and the work will begin after that,” said the director. He added that as the tourist season was lean, the DHR incurred a daily loss of approximately Rs 15,000. GNLF,GJMM Activists Allege Assault SILIGURI, 7 JULY: A Panighatta based GNLF leader, Mr Rajen Mukhia today alleged that some GJMM activists assaulted a number of his party supporters, all residents of Panighatta, in Mirik today. The victims had gone to Mirik to collect papers related to a tender floated by a dairy farm. “We would not tolerate such atrocities on us and would retaliate, if necessary,” Mr Mukhia warned. The victims lodged an FIR at the Mirik police station. Recounting the incident, Mr Mukhia said that about six persons, GNLF supporters all had been to Mirik this morning from Panighatta to collect tender papers. “A group of GJMM supporters snatched the papers and assaulted them in addition to damaging the vehicle they were traveling.”He threatened to retaliate if the administration remained partisan towards the GJMM. Mr Ranjan Rai, Mr Bivas Tamang, Mr Anil Chettri, victims of the incident have lodged FIR at the Mirik police station today demanding arrest of those involved in the alleged atrocities on them. The authority of the Mirik police station confirmed the complaint.The in-charge Panighatta police outpost Mr Samir Chatterjee said tension prevailed in the area. ;SNS

DOOARS TERAI :RSP TO LEAD TEA WORKERS' STIR

SNS:JALPAIGURI, 7 JULY: The RSP Jalpaiguri district leadership started for Kolkata today with about 1,200 tea workers of the Dooars based tea estates for a sit-in- demonstration in front of the State Assembly tomorrow. The agitators would also submit a memorandum to chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on the problems prevailing in the tea plantations and dogging the workers.

According to the RSP Kalchini block committee secretary, Mr Ganesh Lama, the party MLA of Alipurduar, Mr Nirmal Das and the RSP Alipurduar MP, Mr Manohar Tirkey, would also join the programme in Kolkata.

“Representatives of all the tea plantations of Dooars including the locked ones would participate in tomorrow’s programme.

Reopening of the locked plantations, sufficient supply of potable drinking water in every tea estate and similar other crucial issues figure in our list of demands,” Mr Lama said.

Meanwhile, the Jalpaiguri district magistrate, Mrs Vandana Yadav, today held a tripartite meeting with the former and new management and the workers’ unions of Chinchula Tea Estate at Banarhat block about the reopening of the plantation.

A month ago the state chief secretary, Mr Ashok Mohan Chakraborty had assured the Akhil Bhartiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad leadership reopening of three locked tea plantations in the Dooars and Chinchula is one of them.

Mr Surajit Bakshi, one of the three new managing directors of the Tea Estate, claimed that they purchased the plantation from its former owner, Mr Subhranshu Bhoumick today.

“Today we signed a memorandum of understanding in front of the Jalpaiguri DM and we officially own the plantation now.

The Tea Estate would reopen on 9 July,” Mr Bakshi said. The plantation was locked in 2005 affecting 1,350 workers.

Speaking on the subject, the Jalpaiguri DM, Mrs Vandana Yadav said that the new management has assured to clear 65 per cent of the dues within a few months.

“Of the 65 per cent, 35 per cent dues would be cleared before Durga Puja and the remaining 30 per cent would be cleared by the next Holi festival. The rest of the dues would also be cleared gradually,” the DM said.

NBU TO GO FOR SEMESTERS

SNS: SILIGURI, 7 JULY: The Vice Chancellor, North Bengal University, Prof Arunava Basumajumder has hinted that the university would go for an introduction of the semester system in the under-graduate courses depending upon the building of the required infrastructure.

“We have already introduced the semester system at the post graduate level from the session 2008-09.

Now we are thinking in terms of introducing it at the UG levels too, though the faculty and other related infrastructure are not yet ready for the switch over,” he said.

Underscoring the importance of the switch over at the UG levels, the VC said that the university should move to the semester system at all levels from the Post graduate down to the Higher Secondary.

“For the system involving assessment restructuring is recognised everywhere as one perfectly in tune with the modern times.

The state education department is thinking in terms of introducing a uniform syllabus from the HS to the PG levels all over the state.

This would prove a milestone in advancing the cause of qualitative education in the state,” he said.

Dwelling on several new projects for the university, the VC said that a centre for development of bamboo and cane products had been set up with financial assistance from the horticulture and food-processing department of the state government.

“The department has assured us of providing a financial assistance to the tune of Rs 5 crore. This apart, the University Grants Commission has sanctioned Rs 25 lakhs for the Centre of Himalayan Studies attached to the university for its various programmes,” he said.

LF confident of retaining SMC

Statesman News Service: SILIGURI, 7 JULY: Unfazed by the grand alliance speculation between the anti-Left forces for the Siliguri Municipal Corporation elections in September, the Darjeeling district Left Front exuded confidence of retaining control over SMC board yet again. Speculations are doing the rounds with the crucial elections drawing near that a grand Opposition alliance encompassing all the anti- Left parties would take on the Left Front in the coming SMC elections. The BJP and the GJMM have given enough hints in this direction and the Congress and the Adivasi Vikas Parishad are reportedly not averse to such an alignment. However, ruling out any adverse impact of such an Opposition consolidation on the electoral fortunes of the Left parties, the Darjeeling district Left Front leaders said that the painstaking development efforts undertaken by the Left Front- led Board in the last five years would help them have the last laugh. According to the Mayor, Munshi Nur-ul- Islam, the anti-Left Front wave would get stranded at the doorstep of the SMC elections. “Opposition alliance or no alliance, we would retain the SMC Board, for our performance would speak for us. Nobody can deny that Siliguri has received a tremendous facelift in terms of all round development in the last five years,” he claimed. Rejecting apprehension of a possible defeat for the Front in the SMC elections in the backdrop of the steady erosion in its support base, the CPI district secretary Mr Ujjwal Chowdhury said that much of the all-sweeping anti Left Front torrents was a myth. “People's preferences vary from area to area depending on the quality of the candidates and the performance of the incumbents. SMC elections would definitely return us with a thumping majority on the basis of our performance,” the CPI leader said. Echoing the view, the Forward Bloc district secretary Mr Smritish Bhattacharya said that the people would not change the status quo in the SMC. “Our performance would prove the decisive factor, though the contest would be arguably much tougher in comparison with the previous time,” he said. But striking a discordant note, a senior district RSP leader Mr Tapas Goswami said that the much vaunted development plank would lose its gloss once the veneer was peeledf. “We have failed to dent into the texture of life as far as the slums are concerned. Slum life in Siliguri, particularly in the added areas, continue vegetating with no signs of qualitative change visible,” the RSP leader complained.

Sikkim on a tree planting spree

Statesman News Service : GANGTOK, 7 JULY: The Sikkim state government has appealed to every one of its six lakh population to spare at least 10 minutes of their busy schedule on 15 July in planting a tree. The mass programme would begin at 10.30 am. The appeal is in keeping with the state government's ‘green initiative’ and to make the people environmentally conscious. To make the unique programme ‘Ten Minutes to Greenery’ effective and successful, plantation would be carried out in all towns, villages, office premises, public premises, schools compound, government offices, public sector undertakings, premises of the Army and Paramilitary Forces and private land of individuals so that every individual participates in the unique plantation programme. The incomparable programme comes as an inaugural form of the fourth phase of the state ‘green mission’ for the protection of the green wealth of the State. The state government had launched the ‘Green Mission’ in 2006 to integrate the people with nature and their natural surrounding. The mission also envisages raising seedlings and developing ornamental plants in vacant land. Commenting on the mission, the Sikkim chief minister Mr.Pawan Chamling said: “I am happy to note that the progress of the last three years has indicated tremendous success with the survival of the seedlings planted along the roads, ridges, vacant land, institutional land and courtyards.” With the state forest department being the coordinating agency, a host of other programmes have been proposed for the day.

SWINE FLUE TALLY 153

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Eight new swine flu cases were reported Tuesday in India taking the total number of people infected with the influenza A(H1N1) virus to 153 in the country, the health ministry said.

“So far, 970 people have been tested, of which 153 are positive for Influenza A(H1N1),” a statement issued here said.

An official said of the 970 people tested for swine flu, 290 were identified through entry screening at the 22 international airports.

“Of the 153 positive cases, 106 have been discharged,” the official added.

The eight new cases were reported from Mumbai (2), Delhi (2), Hyderabad (1), and Bangalore (3).

A 66-year-old woman, who had tested positive for the virus last month in Delhi and had developed complications because she had respiratory problems, was discharged Tuesday after she recovered.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Monday said there were 94,512 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection in 135 countries since the outbreak of the virus.

There have been 429 deaths globally, majority from Mexico and the US.

Budget Highlights- Rural Development

§ Aam Aadmi is the focus of all UPA's schemes

§ Mandate for inclusive growth

§ National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Allocation hiked by 144% to Rs.39,100 crore

§ NREGA provided employment opportunities to more than 4.479crore households in 2008-09

§ Rs. 100 per day as entitlement under NREGA

§ Pilot Project to be taken up in 115 districts by converging NREGA with other schemes

§ Bharat Nirman allocation hiked by 45%

§ Indira Awaas Yojna allocation up by 63% to Rs 8,883 crore

§ Rs 2,000 crore for rural housing fund under National Housing Bank

§ Rs 100 crore one-time grant to expand banks in unbanking areas

§ PM Gram Sadak Yojna hiked up by 59 per cent to Rs.12,000crore.

§ PM Grameen Adarsh Yojna on pilot basis in 100 villages with SC/ST population.

§ Swarna Jayanti Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY) now as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to make it universal, more focussed and time bound for poverty alleviation by 2014

§ Target to enrol 50% cent of rural women in self-help groups over the next five years

§ Rural mega clusters in Bengal and Rajasthan

§ Incentives in interest rates to farmers to pay back

§ Interest subsidy for home loans up to Rs 1 lakh

§ Work on National Food Security scheme for subsidised food

§ Govt to shift to nutrient based fertiliser subsidy regime

§ Fertiliser subsidy to go directly to farmers

§ Incentives in interest rates to farmers to pay back

§ Target for agriculture credit raised to Rs 3,25,000 cr in 2009-10

§ Additional budget allocation to farmers

§ Allocation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna stepped up by 30%

§ Banking network to be expanded

§ One banking centre in every bloc (PIB)