Start state work: Morcha to govt TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 6: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said the state and the Centre should get down to work instead of “sweet talking” and announced a slew of agitation programmes to keep up the pressure of conferring statehood on the Darjeeling hills. Rallies, demonstrations, wearing of traditional dresses and the resignation of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons from the boards of administration of the hill municipalities will be part of the fresh agitation that will extend over three months. However, the party refrained from calling any strikes that could hamper business during the tourism season that is set to start within a fortnight. “It is time for the state and the Centre to act instead of indulging in sweet talking. Dissolve the DGHC as promised and dump the Sixth Schedule bill officially. We want to see these things done,” thundered party president Bimal Gurung at a public meeting at the Motor Stand here. Political observers believe that the Morcha does not want another round of talks without anything to show to its supporters. The Morcha, state and the Centre had agreed to dissolve the DGHC, scrap the Sixth Schedule bill and appoint an interlocutor during the last tripartite meeting held in New Delhi on August 11. During his visit to the hills a week ago, home secretary Ardhendu Sen had said an arrangement to replace the DGHC would be made as soon as proposals came from the Morcha. “The process to repeal the act will begin then,” he had said. In an obvious pressure tactics, Gurung said unless the governments acted, the party would “not feel nice” about attending the fourth round of talks in Darjeeling on December 21. “I have, however, kept in mind the Centre’s request (to maintain peace) while announcing the agitation.” This time, the agitation is largely centred on dissolving the DGHC. “From tomorrow, employees associated with the Janmukti Karmachari Sangatan will wear black armbands to support the contractual workers (who number around 7,000) of the DGHC in their demand for regularisation of jobs.” On the “cultural movement”, Gurung said: “No one should be forced to wear traditional dresses. However, I will construe that those who don’t (wear) are against Gorkhaland.” Gurung was also unhappy with the state government’s decision to open an additional Regional Transport Authority counter in Siliguri. He dared the state to “transfer all government offices (from Darjeeling to Siliguri)”. On allegations levelled against the Gorkhaland Personnel for indulging in moral policing, Gurung said: “One or two mistakes might have been committed… But I have reports that the particular couple hauled up on Wednesday were found in an unacceptable position.” The GLP “highhandedness” on Wednesday had met with protests from the local people — the first against the uniformed brigade of the Morcha. “It was good to see the GLP slink away,” a witness had said. Gurung for DGHC repeal SNS, KURSEONG, 6 SEPT: In what can be called a calculated move to pressurise the Centre and the state government, the GJMM chief Mr Bimal Gurung has asked for an immediate repeal of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and called on the chairmen and vice-chairmen of all the hill-based civic bodies to step down by tomorrow. He addressed a well-attended meeting at Chowk Bazar in Darjeeling today. These apart, the GJMM's paramount leader appealed to all the ethnic communities residing in the Hills to show solidarity of purpose by donning traditional attires during the coming festive season spanning from 25 September to 25 October. He also issued a diktat asking the government employees to actively participate in public programmes to advance the cause of Gorkhaland. The GJMM would organise a string of public meetings across the hills to rejuvenate the popular statehood demand. “These meetings would remain focused on scrapping the DGHC, the principal stumbling block in the direction of realizing the age old collective reverie. The Centre and the state government must do away with the discredited institution, otherwise all endeavour to win back the confidence of the Hill people would prove futile,” he said. Mr Gurung asked the government employees, both regular and casual, to wear black bands on their arms from tomorrow till 21 December, the date fixed for the next round of tripartite dialogue, in order to display solidarity behind the DGHC scrapping demand. Mr Gurung further said that if the state government wanted to transfer the motor vehicle department (RTO) from Darjeeling to Siliguri it must take back all the departments including police down in Siliguri lock, stock and barrel. “We would open and establish our own departments in the hills and these would frame laws in keeping with our peculiar requirements,” he added. Filming hills for east-west harmony - European union funds documentary The Spanish crew in Kalimpong. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha) RAJEEV RAVIDAS, Kalimpong, Sept. 6: A Spanish crew is in town shooting a documentary on Gandhi Ashram School in particular and Kalimpong in general. The documentary tentatively titled Fiddlers on the Thatch is partly funded by the European Union as one of its media programmes aimed at bringing the east and the west closer. The Barcelona-based director of the film, Nestor Perera, said he saw in the school, which specialises in teaching Western music, particularly violin, and imparts free education to underprivileged children, a wonderful jugalbandi of the east and the west. The school located at 6 Mile was founded in 1994 by a Jesuit priest from Canada, Father Ed McGuire, an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. “I met Father McGuire in 2000 and we remained good friends till his death in 2005. He was the most sincere person I have met in my life. He always gave me the impression of being at peace from within,” said Perera. The director was first here in 2000 coinciding with the visit of then US President Bill Clinton to India to do a feature story on Gandhi Ashram for CNN. “After seeing the feature on television, the chairman of a European NGO came forward to help the ashram. Since the ashram runs on donation, I hope my documentary will help raise funds for it,” he added. The documentary will also showcase the hill town and its people. “Kalimpong is a special place for schools. The schools have a huge impact on the local economy. So does floriculture. I will also touch on the movement for Gorkhaland,” said Perera, who has to his credit a wide-range of documentaries including one on Spanish fashion designer Davidelfin, the Bhopal gas tragedy and the natural medicines of Cuba. The Barcelona-based Moo Productions and Enunai Productions are the co-producers of the documentary, which is expected to be complete by the middle of next year. The director, however, has not yet decided on the duration of the film. “Depending on the length of the film, it will either be aired on television or released in theatres.” Perera, however, is certain that the film will not be a standard documentary. “It will be a creative documentary with a script as in a fiction film. I have chosen some characters who will re-create their journey to the ashram,” said the director, who seems to have taken a special liking for the town and its people, the pathetic conditions of “roads and Internet connectivity” notwithstanding. Besides Perera, the four-member crew comprising director of photography Albert Serrado, sound engineer Kiko Abarquera and producer Laia Mello will complete the shooting by September 10. Consensus on hill garden bonus - Grade a tea estates to pay workers at 17% Darjeeling, Sept. 6: The Darjeeling tea industry and trade unions have reached an agreement to disburse bonus at rates higher than last year, though nature’s vagaries and the agitation in the hills have meant that the payment is a shade lower than what the workers in the Dooars were offered. Following a marathon meeting which went past midnight here yesterday, the garden managements and the unions agreed that Grade A estates would provide bonus at the rate of 17 per cent. The labourers of the gardens in grades B, C and D will get the bonus at the rates of 16, 15 and 13 per cent. The gardens are graded on the basis of various yardsticks, including profit. The bonus percentage is calculated on the total annual earning of a worker. Last year, Grade A, B, C and D gardens had received bonus at the rates of 15, 13, 12 and 10.25 per cent respectively. According to the Plantation Labour Act 1951, a worker is entitled to a minimum bonus of 8. 33 per cent. Suraj Subba, general secretary, Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, an affiliate of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said: “We are happy and satisfied that we could manage higher rates for the garden workers this year.” Bimal Gurung, the president of the Morcha, expressed his happiness at the outcome of the meeting. Sandeep Mukherjee, secretary, Darjeeling Tea Association, an umbrella organisation of the estates in the hills, said: “Yesterday’s meeting was the second one to decide on the bonus rate and it was attended by the trade unions of all political parties, except the one affiliated to the Citu (Darjeeling Chai Kaman Mazdoor Union). We have decided to disburse the bonus by September19.” The first round of the meeting was held on August 28. Sources said the rates were slightly lower compared to the estates in the Dooars, where managements agreed to pay bonus at the rates of 18, 16.5, 15 and 13.25 per cent for grades A, B, C and D gardens. The hill gardens cited the devastation caused by cyclone Aila and the agitation launched by the Morcha as reasons for the lower rates. Nevertheless, these are the highest bonus rates for the hill gardens in the recent past. “Hill estates had to invest a lot for the rehabilitation of the workers and to maintain infrastructure. Moreover, there was drought-like condition during the first flush and transportation of tea was hampered during the second flush because of the Morcha agitation. The figures produced by the unions and the management showed that there was loss in the production to the tune of 30 per cent this year,” one of the sources said. There are more than 80 tea plantations in the hills. ABAVP calls indefinite school shutdown SNS,JALPAIGURI/KOLKATA, 6 SEPT: Demanding immediate transfer of those Hindi medium school teachers who are not from Hindi stream, the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad has called for an indefinite shut down of schools scattered over Dooars and Terai from tomorrow. Informing the programme, the ABAVP Dooars-Terai Co-ordination Committee president, Mr John Barla said that the state government should appoint teachers only from Hindi stream for the Hindi medium schools in the Adivasi-dominated region. “Over 400 Hindi medium primary and high schools in Dooars and Terai area are doddering for dearth of teaching staffs. Moreover, most of the teaching staffs are from other mediums, resulting in serious communication problems for the students,” he added. Speaking on the issue, the ABAVP Dooars-Terai Coordination Committee secretary, Mr Rajesh Lakra said that his organization had repeatedly appealed to the chief minister and the principal secretary of state school education department. “The recently published state government's notification regarding recruitment of primary teachers has disappointed us. We are thus left with no other option but to resort to indefinite shutdown of schools in pressuring the state education department,” he added. State blamed for vacant seats Managements of private engineering colleges have held the state government responsible for not resolving the crisis in engineering education that has arisen due to global meltdown. This year, a total of 2,500 engineering seats have been left vacant. Infact, among the 20,000 candidates who were called in for the fourth round of counselling, only around 450 students opted for berths in private engineering colleges. With global meltdown shrinking job opportunities in the IT sector, opting for a engineering college is no more the first choice of students. The managements of the private engineering colleges feel that there is a need for a better understanding of the current situation. The state government should have played a better role in handling the situation, said a director of a private engineering college in Kolkata.He stressed on the need for holding counselling sessions for both guardians and students. Mr Dhurjoti Banerjee, assistant secretary of the Association of Owners of Private Engineering Colleges, said: “The guardians are unnecessarily concerned. They should be made to understand that the current situation will not continue for four years. Although there is lesser scope now, the situation will be completely different when these students pass out from colleges.” Depression passes by - Met office says worst over but rain to continue

A child walks in the rain in Calcutta. (Pradip Sanyal) TT, Calcutta, Sept. 5: The Met department today assured Calcutta that a deep depression near the coast would dissipate but heavy rain continued late at night causing waterlogging in several areas. Officials in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation said their staff were already working the pumps to clear waterlogged areas. Water accumulation was reported from at least nine places. “These areas are Gobinda Khatick Road, Christopher Road (both near Beleghata), parts of NSC Bose Road, Southern Avenue, Swinhoe Street and a portion near Rabindra Sadan. The drainage department has alerted officials who are in Lenin Sarani, Sukia Street and College Street (areas prone to flooding),” said a civic official. The city and its neighbourhood today experienced wet, windy weather because of the deep depression over the Orissa and Bengal coastlines but the Met office said in the evening that conditions would improve. “The deep depression moved past Digha this afternoon. It is continuing to move in the north-northwesterly direction towards Jharkhand. The good news is, it is weakening steadily and things will only improve,” said Gokul Chandra Debnath, the director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore. As a precaution, the government began preparations in the Surderbans to move people to safer shelters, chastened by its experience of cyclone Aila that had devastated the area. The deep depression started as a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal off Orissa on Thursday. Around 8.30am today, it lay centred 70km southeast of Balasore and 150km south of Calcutta. The system continued to move in a north-northwesterly direction and crossed the Bengal coast near Digha this afternoon where the rough waters swept away 54-year-old Ashis Chakraborty, a tourist from Calcutta who had gone bathing. Rainfall in most places over Gangetic Bengal is likely to be “heavy to very heavy” in the next 24 hours, the Met office said. “It is safe to say the worst has passed. Things will steadily get better, though most parts of Gangetic and south Bengal (East and West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia) will get heavy rain till noon tomorrow,” Debnath said. The Met office added that wind speeds may reach 75km per hour off the Bengal coast in the next 24 hours. The Met office said Calcutta today got 45.5mm of rain, but the municipal corporation said the city received 76mm rain till 11pm. The airport was closed from 7pm to 7.15pm because of poor visibility caused by rain. Weathermen in Orissa have predicted heavy to very heavy rain at a few places and extremely heavy rain (over 25cm) in isolated places. HONEY MOON COUPLES IN TROUBLE http://www.chitramala.com , September 3rd, 2009 at 9:57 pm If you are going to Darjeeling on honeymoon, forget snuggling up at lover’s point or holding hands at the Mall as you gaze up at Kanchenjuga. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which has been playing the role of moral police in the Hills, has come up with this new diktat to “clean up’’ Darjeeling. It doesn’t matter if you are married. It doesn’t matter if you are lovers and local. GJM won’t have you “hold hands in public, and walk or sit in a compromising position”. This campaign will be spearheaded by G J M ’s G o rk h a - land Personnel (GLP), who recently made headlines for ‘seizing’ liquor from tourists. The Queen of Hills has always been where love blossomed, in real life or reel. You had Rajesh Khanna wooing a coy Sharmila Tagore along the toy train tracks and Amitabh Bachchan romancing Rakhi in the backdrop of the Himalayas. Countless couples treasure memories of the sweet-nothings whispered in Shrubbery Park. Apparently, not any more. If GJM has its way, lovers might soon have to pack their bags in Darjeeling. Two married couples, who were apparently not aware of the diktat, faced the GLP’s wrath at Chowrasta on Wednesday. They were severely reprimanded for “getting physical” in public. One of the couples beat a hasty retreat, but the other protested. According to an eyewitness, the man argued with GLP squad that they had no right to act as the moral police. “Who are you to tell me how to behave? I am married and you can see that. My wife has vermilion on her forehead. Do I need your approval to move around in Darjeeling ? ” asked the local. GLP refused to budge. GJM is keeping an eye on all known lovers’ points in Darjeeling, including the Mall, Mall Road, Chowrasta, Love Road and Shrubbery Park, now known as Nightingale Park. Smoking has been banned in these areas and those carrying ‘illegal substances’ are being caught. While tourists have preferred to play it safe, locals are upset. “I have been walking down Chowrasta for 30 years. Even now, my wife and I often hold hands there. There is nothing wrong with that and GLP have no business banning it,” said Rajiv, a local. Next Round of Talks with Gorkhaland activists in December New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The next round of talks with Gorkhaland activists will be held Dec 21 after a “positive outcome” of the previous rounds, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here Tuesday. Three rounds of talks have been held between the central government, the West Bengal government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). The third round Aug 11 was chaired by the home secretary. “I may point out that the GJM leadership has been positive about the outcome of the talks. The next round of talks is planned Dec 21 at Darjeeling,” Chidambaram told reporters here. The centre, the West Bengal government and representatives of the GJM, at their tripartite talks Aug 11, agreed in principle to do away with the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) and set up an alternative framework. The GJM, led by president Bimal Gurung, has been spearheading a movement for setting up a separate Gorkhaland state by bifucrcating West Bengal. The organisation has been mobilising a movement in the hills also for opposing the Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling district.