BREAK IN MIST Editorial- The Telegraph, 13 Aug 09

Signs should not be taken for wonders. Thus the initiation of a process to restore normalcy in the hills of West Bengal should not be read as a quick-fix magic formula. The beginning that has been made should, however, please the West Bengal government since a consensus has been reached to abandon the idea of granting a separate state to the Gorkhas. There was an agreement that an interlocutor would be appointed to review the realities in the region and to look into the various demands. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha seemed to be pleased at this outcome and promised to maintain peace. What this means is that the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act of 1988 is no longer valid. The Sixth Schedule Bill of the Constitution, which sought to grant autonomy, has also been dropped. In other words, negotiations will now proceed without any past baggage. The West Bengal government had bought peace with Subash Ghising, the former numero uno of the Gorkhaland agitation, with the promise of the DGHC and the Sixth Schedule. One gain has been the three-tier panchayatsystem to replace the single-tier system that now lies derelict. What this truce essentially ensures is that during the peak tourist season, Darjeeling will be free from trouble. Tourists will be able to visit what was once called the queen of hill stations. This, however, has all the appearances of a temporary truce. The hills without the usual tourist traffic would be seriously strapped for resources and the people who live there would lose an irreplaceable source of income. From the point of view of the GJM, this is the best time to negotiate a tactical peace. The Central government and the West Bengal one may have achieved a truce, but by no means a permanent peace. There is no guarantee that the GJM or some other organization will not revive the demand for a separate state and unleash another round of bandhs and violence. The fragility of the situation was underlined by the statement of Amar Lama, a GJM leader. Mr Lama said that peace would be maintained “unless provoked by the West Bengal government”. The definition of what would constitute a provocation on the part of the West Bengal government was deliberately left vague. Embedded in the statement is also a deep-seated suspicion of the state government and its intentions. The hills may be free now of the mists of trouble but, like the weather, politics there can be unpredictable. DGHC in death bed, regular job cry Workers bank on promise & new set-up Lal Kothi, the administrative headquarters of the DGHC Vivek Chhetri,TT, Darjeeling, Aug. 12: Fearing an uncertain future, an organisation of nearly 8,000 contractual workers of the DGHC today reasserted their demand for permanent jobs. The revival of the demand comes a day after a decision was taken to scrap the council. “It was made very clear yesterday that an alternative arrangement to the DGHC would be worked out. But we want permanent status at the earliest,” said Machendra Subba, the president of the Janmukti Asthahi Karmachari Sangathan, after iterating the demand for permanent status on behalf of the workers. He, however, refused to say much on the repealing of the DGHC Act. In the absence of the DGHC, a permanent status would mean a shift to the new set-up or a transfer to other departments. The decision to scrap the council along with plans to abandon the Sixth Schedule bill was taken during the tripartite talks in Delhi yesterday. The Morcha, which was a party to the talks with the state and central governments, has even agreed to the appointment of an interlocutor for the hills. Union home secretary G.K. Pillai had said in Delhi yesterday that the alternative set-up to the DGHC would have to be worked out through a mutual agreement and consultation. There are indications that the Morcha could accept a three-tier panchayat system in place of the DGHC. But party general secretary Roshan Giri had hinted that the future of the DGHC workers was the state’s responsibility. “It is up to the state government to work out an alternative arrangement,” he said yesterday. The Morcha had always been against the council and the Sixth Schedule status, an autonomous administrative status for tribal areas, as it felt they came in the way of Gorkhaland. “The state government had earlier told us that the regularisation process would start within three months. The timeframe expires on September 9. If the process does not start by then, we will consult the Morcha leadership and start an agitation,” said Subba. Apart from the regularisation of the jobs, the contractual workers have also demanded that their salaries be on a par with that of state government employees. At the moment, the workers get a consolidated salary ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per month. The ABGL, one of the oldest parties in the hills, maintained that it was not necessary to do away with the council right away. “If Gorkhaland is formed, the council will be automatically dissolved,” said Madan Tamang, the president of the ABGL. Tamang said it was the responsibility of the state government to look after the DGHC contractual workers. “The workers are the government’s liability as it allowed Ghisingh to recruit them randomly during the 21 years that he was in power,” said Tamang. Trying to put a pressure on the Morcha, Tamang said the party should refrain from contesting either the panchayat or the municipality elections. “Unless these elections are held in Gorkhaland, there is no question of accepting them as these systems are now within Bengal,” said Tamang. A media release issued yesterday by the Union home ministry had read: “The government of India and the government of West Bengal proposed that as an interim measure and to restore the democratic process, the elections to the panchayat samitis, gram panchayats as well as municipalities be allowed to be held.” The ABGL has, however, welcomed the decision to abandon the Sixth Schedule bill. “I had been maintaining that the bill was alive and I am vindicated now. It is a victory for the ABGL. However, unless we get a government notification we cannot say it is completely dead,” said Tamang. Asok raps Morcha bid to score brownie point TT, Siliguri, Aug. 12: The Darjeeling district CPM feels that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is misrepresenting facts to project yesterday’s tripartite talks in New Delhi as a step towards the achievement of a separate state. “The issue of statehood for the Darjeeling hills was not discussed at the meeting,” Asok Bhattacharya, the Bengal urban development minister and a senior CPM leader in the district, told a news conference here this evening. “The Morcha leaders are saying the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act will be repealed and a special status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution will not be conferred on the hills. In fact, these decisions are not new. The state government had agreed to dissolve the DGHC four years ago at a similar tripartite meeting held in the presence of GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh. Later, when Ghisingh was harping on the special status for the hills, the chief minister ruled out such an arrangement,” said Bhattacharya. He added that the meeting had decided to dissolve the hill council only after an alternative administrative set-up was put in place. Bhattacharya, however, agreed that the outcome of the meeting was positive. “It seems that the Morcha leaders have finally realised that the formation of a separate state is not feasible and hence, agreed to co-operate with the central and state governments.” “We have also come to know that the Morcha leaders assured the governments of a peaceful atmosphere in the hills till the next meeting is held on December 21 in Darjeeling. They also promised co-operation with the administration in the implementation of development schemes in the hills,” said Bhattacharya, who is also the Darjeeling district Left Front convener. The minister also welcomed the Morcha’s statement that the party would consider participating in the civic and panchayat polls. He, however, noted that more than Rs 200 crore, earmarked for development works in the hills, was lying unutilised. “We hope that Morcha leaders will not block any state government official going to the hills to implement the schemes and monitor the progress of ongoing projects,” said Bhattacharya. WEATHER REPORT dated 13.08.2009 Local forecast for next 24 hours (Gangtok & its neighborhood):

Generally cloudy sky (.) Chance of moderate rain or showers (.) Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 21°C and 18°C respectively (.)

Gangtok city forecast of Max., Min. & Wx. Condition

Valid for the period	Max in oC	Min in oC	Rainfall in mm	Wx condition
Next 24 hours	21	18	020.0	Moderate rain or showers
Next 48 hours	22	19	025.0	Moderate rain or showers.

Met data dated 13.08.2009

Today’s Sun sets at (in IST)	18:13	Tomorrow Sun rises at (in IST)	05:03
Moon rises at (in IST)	23:10	Moon sets at (in IST)	12:36
24 hours rainfall (in mm)	078.6
Max Temp. (in 0C)	21.3	Dep. from normal	-1.7
Min Temp. (in 0C)	18.6	Dep. from normal	+1.6