British vision of rail link to Rangpo comes alive
Suman Sahoo,SNS, SILIGURI, 29 OCT: The foundation stone laying of the Sevoke-Rangpo rail link tomorrow would fulfill an plan envisaged in the early 19th century by the British rulers. The colonial rulers had envisaged a rail link (Teesta Valley project) between Siliguri and Kalimpong in around 1909. Construction works of a metre gauge rail link, however, ended at Geille Khola, short of Kalimpong and the service was opened on 29 September 1915. The extension work to Sikkim, however, was never taken up. A preliminary survey to extend Rail link to Sikkim was carried out in the years 1917-18. A girder bridge across the Teesta near the confluence with the Great Rangeet River replacing the suspension bridge built in 1880 was also thought of. A siding for railway stock and the development of a copper mine was to be laid at Rangpo and the extension work up to Gangtok, through Sankokhela was expected by 1925. The dream, however, remained unrealised. Tomorrow, the railways would restart the linking exercise after 59 years since a devastating flood that drove through Darjeeling district in mid- June in the year 1950 washed up the railway tracks till Geille Khola. With one-third of the annual average rainfall in two days, the Teesta flooded the area destructing the railway tracks beyond repair. All roads, rail and settlement at Geille Khola had collapsed into the river. All demands from the residents to repair the railway tracks, which had become a lifeline for trade and commerce in the area, fell on deaf ears thereafter. The authority did not show any interest in repairing the tracks and restart the service. All that is likely to change now for the good. “Hardly anything except nostalgia of the service remains today,” said the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway director, Mr Subrata Nath. “Although the proposed railway tracks between Sevoke and Rangpo is different from the previous one, it would evoke our memory,” he added.
(With inputs from ‘The Tron Sherpa’, Vol 1, by Terry Martin)
Hint at railway sops before byelections, More after polls, says Mamata
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TT, Cooch Behar, Oct. 29: Mamata Banerjee today told the people of north Bengal to expect more pleasant surprises after the byelections to the four seats in the region got over on November 7.
She arrived here today from Calcutta on a special train at 11.15am to flag off a new daily, an inter-city between New Cooch Behar and Guwahati that she christened Kamakshya Express, from the station.
“I had said before that north Bengal can be transformed into Switzerland. I have special plans for the region as far as projects and new trains are concerned. However, as the byelections are on and with the model code of conduct in force, I am not spelling them out today. But today’s flagging off of the new train is well within the code,” she told a large gathering.
She said New Cooch Behar would be developed as an ideal station while inaugurating a railway museum, showcasing the heritage of the district.
“I will visit north Bengal every month, may be every two month or even twice a month. In fact I will be here again in November. I will bring in widespread changes for the betterment of north Bengal. I am announcing that the Uttarbanga Express will now run seven days a week instead of three,” she said.
With 15 councillors in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, the Trinamul Congress chief can now dream of making more inroads into the region and is nurturing north Bengal with an eye on the 2011 Assembly polls.
The railway minister said the New Mainaguri-Jogighopa track laying work was in progress and within a year there would be connectivity between New Cooch Behar and Golakganj in Assam, a distance of 60km. She will flag off two new trains between New Cooch Behar and New Jalpaiguri and Bamunhat to New Jalpaiguri next month.
The hundreds of people gathered at the function were elated at Mamata’s announcements and promises. “Just wait and see, the unemployed youth will support Mamata with all their heart from now on. Her initiatives are increasing her popularity each day,” said Rajib Alam, a local youth.
The secretary of the Dinhata Merchants’ Association, Rana Goswami, who had come to attend the function, said: “For the past 30 years we have been demanding a train between Bamunhat and New Jalpaiguri and Mamata has finally decided to gift it to us. The train will open up new areas for trade.”
During the flag-off, Mamata invited a man with his three-year-old daughter up onto the stage to do the ceremonies. The child, however, became nervous and cried out when the flag was thrust into her little fingers while the Kamakshya Express was being flagged off.
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The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari inaugurated the Regional Conference on “Right to Education with Special Reference to Sikkim and its impact on Legal Awareness Campaign” in Gangtok (Sikkim) today. The conference was organized as part of the on-going Golden Jubilee celebrations of the High Court of Sikkim. Delivering inaugural address, he said that it has taken us six decades after independence to provide the right to every child in the 6-14 years age group to free and compulsory primary education in neighborhood schools. The Right to Education Act passed by the Parliament last month is a historic step and empowers our citizens to demand education so that every citizen can develop her potential to the fullest.
He opined that with its impressive record in the field of education, the question for the state is to assess whether formal enrolment has been translated into meaningful educational outcomes. We need to question if our children have acquired skills commensurate with their schooling and whether they have access to vocational and technical skills, social and life skills that are necessary once they leave the portals of the school.
The Vice President emphasized that we need to question whether there exists inequity, and segregated access to quality education. We need to assess if this is being realized for the poor and the vulnerable at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid.
He said that the products of our education system are the future citizens of the country. A rudimentary legal awareness of their rights and duties as citizens and of the basic political, Constitutional and legal scheme of things in the country are imparted in the schools. However, empowering citizens in a more meaningful manner can only be done through specific and specialized legal awareness programmes of the kind conducted by the Sikkim State Legal Services Authority. He hoped that the existing synergy between civil society and the government would continue to further legal awareness in the state.
The Vice President stressed that the narrative of educational reform must begin from the premise that every citizen has the right to a dignified life and that it is the duty of the state to make it possible. Education is indeed the most potent instrument for social and economic mobility and for eventually bringing about social and political change. The state government has correctly recognized the importance of education. He wished all success to the government and to the legal fraternity in their endeavour to promote education and legal awareness in the state.
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