ABGL explores court option for meet - Party will approach HC to counter refusal of permission

VIVEK CHHETRI,TT, Darjeeling, Nov. 29: Persistent stonewalling by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the repeated refusal of the Darjeeling district administration to allow it to hold public meetings in the hills have prompted the ABGL to think of seeking a solution from the high court. The latest blow has been the administration’s denial to grant permission to a rally that the ABGL had planned to hold on December 7. On two other occasions in the past year, the party, one of the most vocal against the Morcha, had been refused permission to stage public shows in Darjeeling town. “If Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee can hold his rallies in Maoist-infested areas in south Bengal, why cannot we? What kind of law and order situation is prevailing here in Darjeeling?” ABGL president Madan Tamang asked. Tamang said his party would approach police tomorrow for a written copy of the order refusing permission for the December 7 meeting to be submitted in the high court. “We had applied for permission for the meeting on November 22 and we were verbally told that it could not be allowed because of a law and order problem,” Tamang said. In the past one year, the ABGL had tried to hold two public meetings in Darjeeling but both had been derailed by the Morcha. Large crowds had jammed the venues so that the ABGL could not go ahead with the meetings. The Morcha explanation of the jam-packed venue was that they were a “spontaneous reaction of the general public” who did not want the rallies. “The state government is afraid that its political stooges in the hills will be exposed if I hold these meetings. In the past, they used the Morcha to stop my meetings but this time they have shown their true colours by directly getting the administration involved,” alleged Tamang. Calling upon the Morcha to refrain from taking his criticism in a negative perspective, Tamang, said: “They should take it with a positive mind. I don’t want this agitation to go to waste by settling for an arrangement which is less than statehood.” The ABGL president had lately been accusing the Morcha leadership of agreeing tacitly to an alternative to the DGHC, a stand that had been denied by the Morcha stridently. An official of the Sadar police station here admitted that they had noted that “there could be law and order problem” if the ABGL went ahead with its meeting. “Moreover, specific location as to where in Darjeeling town the party intends to hold its public meeting has not been clarified in their application,” said the officer. Amal Kanti Roy, subdivisional officer of Darjeeling, refused to say much. “Since it is a holiday I will not be able to furnish the details immediately. I think the venue has not been clearly mentioned in the application,” he said. Tamang, however, alleged that the administration was trying to stop him deliberately. “The government has been exposed. They will be forced to give me a written answer tomorrow, once I apply for a certified copy,” Tamang claimed. In the meantime, the Morcha has remained non-committal towards supporting the 12-hour Bengal strike called by the BJP tomorrow. “We do not want to comment on the strike,” said a senior Morcha leader. The party had backed the BJP for the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for Jaswant Singh’s victory from the Darjeeling seat. Singh was later expelled from the BJP.

INTERLOCUTER IN KOLKATA 

KalimNews Kolkata,29 Nov: Interlocutor Leut.General Vijay Madan appointed for the tripartite talk among Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Govt of West Bengal and Central Government (Govt of India) is now in Kolkata. He will be visiting the Secretaries and Chief Minister of West Bengal Government. 

He will be arriving in Darjeeling on 2nd December and will leave Darjeeling on the morning of 4th . It is also presumed that he will be visiting Dooars on his way back. On his visit he will meet with Bimal Gurung and other political leaders as well s Government Officers.

Gorkhaland interlocutor to visit city

TNN.29 Nov KOLKATA: Lt Gen (retd) Vijay Madan, whom the Centre appointed as interlocutor for talks with all stakeholders on the Gorkhaland issue, will be inKolkata on Sunday for talks with state government officials. He will also meet governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. 
The scheduled fourth round of tripartite talks between Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders, the Bengal government and the Centre will be held in Darjeeling on December 21. 
The decision to appoint the interlocutor was agreed at the third tripartite meeting in Delhi on August 11. The home ministry announced Madan's appointment on October 23. 
Madan had been to Darjeeling earlier this month and held discussions with GJM general secretary Roshan Giri and its central committee members, Amar Lama and Asha Gurung. He is expected to visit Darjeeling again in December, before the fourth round of talks. 
Sources said Madan's visit to the city is seen as a move to prepare the groundwork for the next tripartite meeting. Madan would meet the chief secretary, home secretary and other senior officials to discuss possible solutions. 
GJM chief Bimal Gurung had already announced that he would intensify his agitation and declare Gorkhaland if the December talks fail. 
Sources said efforts were on to increase the ambit of functioning of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. GJM leaders had also been looking for more power and control of the entire Darjeeling district, but the state government wants to exclude Siliguri sub-division, which functions as a mahakuma parishad. 
In the August talks, the three sides had decided to have an "interim arrangement" in place of the present council.

DOOARS TRIBAL TO LEND SUPPORT TO TRINMOOL CONG
TOI KOLKATA 29 Nov: Breaking free of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP), tribal leaders in the Dooars and Terai are planning to follow in the footsteps of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) by extending support to Trinamool Congress. It was GJM's support that helped Trinamool wrest Rajganj in the recent assembly bypoll.
The tribal leaders, who've decided to support Trinamool in the next assembly poll, are likely to meet Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata in the first week of December.
ABAVP was floated a year ago to combat GJM in the Dooars. But its formation spurred massive ethnic strife. The latest political development, it is feared, may lead to fresh ethno-political trouble in this tea garden belt, as a section of ABAVP activists don't share some tribal leaders' enthusiasm to support Trinamool Congress.
These activists prefer to keep their Adivasi brand afloat by maintaining a distance from mainstream political parties. A year ago, members of different mainstream political parties had come together under a common ethnic umbrella for tribals to form ABAVP. "Adivasis in the tea garden belt united to further their cause. If some try to enter into an alliance with Trinamool, ABAVP members who had earlier belonged to Left parties won't agree," said a Parishad leader.
The difference among ABAVP leaders was evident during the recent Kalchini assembly bypoll. A section of tribal leaders fielded independent candidates, ignoring prominent leaders. In spite of losing, the ABAVP candidate ranked second, relegating Congress and RSP to the third and fourth positions respectively.
Political observers and intelligence officers fear that factionalism among tribals may pave the way for insurgency. ABAVP president John Barla is not worried, though. "We plan to meet Mamata Banerjee for development of our region. If she does something for our development, it will be reflected in the ballot box," he said.
Sources confirmed that the ABAVP delegation scheduled to meet Mamata will comprise Barla, Birsha Tirke, Rajesh Lakra and Tezkumar Toppo. "Most of these leaders hail from Congress. Leaders from the Left Front will not join the initiative," said another tribal leader.
Leaders of Left parties in the region are happy. They hope divisions within ABAVP might encourage the erstwhile Left members of the outfit to return to their original fold. "If tribal leaders go in for an alliance with Trinamool, we will get back our support base among tribals," said Asu Sarkar, an influential CPM leader.
Like the Left, GJM leaders also view divisions within ABAVP as an opportunity. GJM leaders are trying to reach an understanding with tribals to launch a joint movement. ABAVP secretary Rajesh Lakra admitted that GJM leaders had approached them. "The GJM leadership has approached us for talks to discuss our common problems," said Lakra.

Intelligence agencies are, however, alarmed over the region's chaotic political situation. "Both mainstream and ethnic political leaders have failed to find a headway for the region. So, people are losing faith in them. It may pave the way for Maoists and other insurgent outfits," said a senior intelligence officer in North Bengal.

Grandmother awaits return of dead grandson

Mohan Prasad, SNS, Kurseong, 29 NOV: She knows that her grandson will never return and yet she doesn't lock the door from the inside. Instead, she places a stool “pidha” against the door, like earlier times. Her grandson used to return home, sometimes late in the evening, around 7:30 pm. She used to leave the door unlocked so that he could get in easily without knocking or calling her. She still places a stool against door instead of the lock. Kurseong sub-divisional hospital psychiatrist, Dr TP Dukpa said that it may have been a habit which is continuing even after the death of her grandson or it may be a sentimental activity. However, without examining her properly, it is difficult to say that she has any problem.
64-year-old Bisash Thapa, who’s been in shock for the last one year, keeps on waiting for justice. She is today a lonely old woman, living off the pension of her late husband, and no one to look after her. Mrs Thapa's grandson was murdered around one year ago. Till date, the murderers have not been caught and justice is yet to be meted out. But Mrs Thapa is living in the hope that one day justice will prevail. The question of who killed her one and only grandson and why, frequently occurs to Mrs Thapa. However, even after a gap of more than one year, Mrs Thapa finds no answer to this question that haunts her. The administration has proved to be incapable of solving this murder mystery.
Just like any other day, on 28 June, 2008, at around 4 pm, Mrs Thapa's grandson, Upesh Thapa (15), who was a class 9 student of St. Alphonsus School, Kurseong, left the house and told his grandmother that he was going to his friend's place. He mentioned that he would be back by 7 in the evening but unfortunately he never came back. On the morning of 29 June, 2008, Upesh Thapa's dead body was found at the WBSEB Store-Gate, which is located on the way to his house, near Kurseong Municipality office.
As per police sources and the post mortem report, Upesh Thapa was murdered with a rope tied around his neck. Several injuries and cut-marks were spotted on his head, face and neck. The motive behind the murder was possibly random looting as Upesh's cell phone has been missing since. This explanation, however, does not satisfy the residents of Lower Dumaram Busty-Kurseong, and they allege that the police have failed to trace the real murderer.
Mr Laxman Gurung, resident of Lower Dumaram Busty, and a neighbour of deceased Upesh Thapa said that even after a gap of a year, the police officials failed to solve Upesh Thapa's murder mystery. As a result the residents of the area do not feel secure. They also do not feel that the police can efficiently protect them.
Another neighbor, Mr Purna Gurung said that it is indeed unfortunate that the police, even after a gap of several months, have still not been able to solve the murder mystery of an innocent class 9 boy. Mr Gurung also informed that several deputations has already been submitted to the police administration by the residents of Lower Dumaram Busty, but so far, the administration has only made assurances.
He also informed that day by day, the condition of Upesh's grandmother is deteriorating, following the loss of her one and only grandson. She has been living in a state of shock for several months now.

In this connection, when questioned, the Kurseong SDPO, Mr Rakesh Singh said that so far, three IO (investigation officer) have been changed to solve the case quickly. He assured that inquiry is on, and the police are trying their best to solve the matter.

BISON RUN OVER BY TRAIN
IE Chapramari,Jalpaiguri,29 Nov:A bison died after being run over by a passenger train in North Bengal’s Chapmari forest area at 9 am today.

According to the District Forest Officer, Wildlife II Jalpaiguri, Tapas Das, the bison was coming out of Chapmari sanctuary and was crossing over to another jungle on the other side of the railway tracks when it was hit by the Mahananda Link Express.

“The animal died on the spot. It is difficult to fence these jungles and to make sure that the animals do not cross the railway tracks. With these old tracks cutting across jungles, such mishaps have become common,” said Das.

Honey lovers on the prowl, claws three

TT, Siliguri, Nov. 29: Bears are straying out of forests in Kurseong and in the past two months there have been two attacks on humans and regular raids for cattle.

The honey lovers have devoured quite a few apiaries, too, besides the kitchen gardens at Ghalaytar, Mana, Labda, Tham, Chambi, Turuk and Babu Khola in Sittong I, II and III gram panchayats.

Residents of these villages recalled that the raids started around October.

“A bear attacked Anita Gurung and her son Diwas at Mana when they were on her way to her mother’s house in the afternoon of October 1,” said Arun Rai of Sittong Busty. Anita fractured her right hand where the animal had struck while Diwas had been clawed all over.

“They were admitted to the Kurseong subdivisional hospital and the forest department bore the expenses of their treatment,” said Rai. Anita and Diwas are residents of Labda Busty-Mungpoo.

The second and the more recent incident of mauling was on November 15 when 71-year-old Chenam Lepcha of Taklit in Sittong I was attacked near his paddy field.

“It was around 8.30am when Lepcha was working in his paddy field. He was caught off guard when the bear attacked him from behind. It ran away when Lepcha cried out for help and villagers reached the spot. But he suffered severe injuries on the chest and head,” said Chandra Rai, another resident of Sittong Busty. Both the attacks had been during the day, but cattle raids had been reported at night.

Those who have seen the bears described them as big and burly measuring up to more than six feet in height. Ever since the attacks, villagers armed with tins, firecrackers and torches have been keeping vigil at night. “On November 24, at 3.30am, the goats in my pen suddenly started bleating. When we rushed out we saw this big bear around six feet in height scrambling away with a goat slung on its back. We burst firecrackers to scare it away. There have been at least 10 instances when cattle was stolen by the bear,” said D.B. Gurung of Tham Dara in Sittong III.

Dhan Bahadur Gurung’s apiary in Labda Busty was raided too. “The honey combs were damaged but nothing much happened to the apiary. The bees, too, were there,” said a villager.

Forest officials said they were doing their best to “restrict the movement of the bears to the forest”.

“According to our survey, three Himalayan Black Bears are causing the damage. Our guards and staff are patrolling the villages daily in a bid to restrict the movement of the bears to the forest. We have provided compensation to the villagers who have lost their cattle and bore the treatment expenses of the three persons who were mauled by bears,” said Dipak Rasaily, the deputy ranger of Baggaura.

Sumita Ghatak, the divisional forest officer, (wildlife I), said one probable reason why bears were straying was the increase in its population. “The problem is not Sittong’s alone. We have got reports of such incidents from other parts of the hills too,” she said.

Foresters to tranquillise ‘jilted’ rhino

TT, Siliguri, Nov. 29: Foresters have decided to tranquillise an adult male rhino that left Gorumara National Park on November 12 after losing a fight with another, probably over a female rhino.

Since leaving Gorumara, the seven-year-old rhino has travelled about 60km to reach the Baikunthapur forest division and finally it entered Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Five kunki elephants have been used to track the rhino since Friday in our efforts to drive the animal back to Gorumara. But we have not been successful as it often hides itself in the bushes,” an official of the Baikunthapur forest division said.

Driving the rhino back to Gorumara will not be an easy task, as there is a possibility of the animal getting hurt during the process, the official said. “If the rhino, while being driven back, enters any tea garden or forest village that falls on the way, it may create panic among residents who can also attack the animal in fear. Considering this option, we have decided to tranquillise the rhino as the last resort.”

The official said: “On November 12, the rhino left Gorumara after having lost a fight with another. The fight was probably over a female rhino.” The animal entered Apalchand forest and then reached Bodaganj under Belakoba range by crossing the Teesta. It was last seen at the Eighth Mile area in Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary near Siliguri last evening, the official said and added that trekking 60km was nothing unusual for a rhino.
Pakistan constructing bunkers along border

New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) The paramilitary Pakistan Rangers are building ‘defensive’ bunkers along the frontier with India to defend themselves from possible attacks from within their own territory, the chief of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) said Saturday.

‘We have come across certain construction activities across the border. In some instances, the bunkers being constructed are facing their own territory,’ BSF chief Raman Srivastava told reporters here. Srivastava said this could be seen as a preventive measure taken by the Rangers to defend themselves from attacks by the Taliban or other militant groups.Srivastava also praised the operations of the BSF’s newly-raised women’s wing. ‘The women constables have expressed desire to be posted along the borders and also to be made part of anti-Maoist operations. We are discussing what other duties could be given to them,’ he said.
A woman BSF constable on the Bangladesh border in North 24-Parganas. This is the first deployment of women along the eastern frontier, said inspector- general CV Murlidhar. The presence of many women among smugglers and infiltrators necessitated the move.

ONLY ONE LOTTERY A WEEK

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday asked the West Bengal and Sikkim governments to ensure that their various online and other lotteries are drawn only once a week in accordance with the central law on lotteries.

A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice K.S.Radhakrishnan asked the two state governments to file a status report on periodicity of the draws of various lotteries in the states.

The bench asked if the two states were duly following and enforcing the Central Lottery Act, 1998, which provides that no lottery will be drawn more than once a week.

The apex court order is likely to heavily affect the lottery business in the two states, by cutting down their periodicity.

The bench's direction came on a lawsuit by a former management student Bibhash Karmakar of Bombay University, who ended up spoiling his career owing to his addiction to the lottery, which he began playing in the hope of earning some extra money to meet his expenditure.

In his lawsuit, Karmakar contended it was a social malady, as tens of thousands of poor people get hooked up to online lotteries in hope of earning millions but end up ruining themselves.

He said online lotteries are drawn virtually every hour n the two states during the day, making the players addicted to them hope that fate may smile on them the next hour.

Karmakar cited the example of a railway coolie, who would often buy lottery tickets worth Rs. 2,000 a day and end up borrowing Rs.10 from Karmakar to pay the bus fare to return home.

His addiction had led him to sell all his wife's gold jewellery worth Rs.200,000.

Arguing his case personally, Karmakar also told the court that he often found sex workers, spending their earnings, on the lottery.

STRANGE OBJECTS IN SIKKIM

SE, GANGTOK, November 25: Reports of strange objects being sighted from various locations around Sikkim in the past week have come in.
Eyewitness claim that the strange looking object appears with loud sound and leaves behind a trailing smoke. The whole incident, they said takes place within a blink of a second. One of the eyewitnesses claimed to have shot a picture of strange looking object but later found it to be totally black.
When these eyewitnesses contacted the Police, the latter responded the incident to be Indian Air force’s routine practice of fighter aircrafts.
But the people are confused over how the aircrafts could fly by in mountainous place that too in mid night. The continuous sighting of strange objects in Sikkim skies has left many wandering.
The sighting is mostly done in Southern region of Sikkim, the latest report of sighting being on November 23 when people of Rabongla witnessed followed by similar sighting in Namchi and Salghari on November 24.
A group of enthusiastic sci-fi people have put their assumption for flying objects to be some UFO’s activities while others are looking as a supernatural phenomena power of some god or goddess. There are others who correlate their assumption correlating to end of the world.
When a team of enthusiastic citizen reporters contacted astrophysicist over this issue, the said astrophysicist said that it may be a fragments of the comet which flew in close approach to Earth surface. The tiny fragments of some comets from the space on entering  earth’s atmosphere in tremendous speed gets ignited like a fireball which makes a rumbling sound, people should not get frightened since this phenomena usually takes place and is natural cosmic event, the astrophysicist said.(VoiceofSikkim) Jesuit Programme Breaks culture of ViolenceBhutanusa.com/Source:UCAN,DAMAK, Nepal : The Jesuit Refugee Service(JRS) has stepped in to break a cycle of violence, drug and sexual abuse that had been plaguing thousands of ethnic Nepali youths from Bhutan living in refugee camps in East Nepal.“All kinds of evils were plaguing the camps,” says Jesuit Father Peter Jong Lepcha, program coordinator of Youth Friendly Centres (YFC).

“We realized that there are so many programs being implemented for the refugees in general but nothing for the youth as such.” The YFC program is part of the Jesuit Refugee Service’s (JRS) Bhutanese Refugee Education Program, supported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Caritas Nepal.

Ganesh Pradhan 37, in charge of the YFC program in Sanischare refugee camp told UCA that the initiative has given the youths a platform to develop their skills and overall personality.

“The various programs under the YFC have changed the lives of the youths here. Instances of violence that existed earlier, the drug abuse, the sexual abuse and other problems have gone down dramatically,” he said.

The Bhutanese of Nepali origin — known as Lhotsampas — are caught in a no man’s land.

Thousands fled Bhutan fearing for their lives after new citizenship rules were introduced about two decades ago. The government says the refugees are migrants and have no right to live in Bhutan.

The refugees believe their only options are settling down in foreign countries or repatriation to the homeland they still love. Sun Maya Tamang, 39, wants to go back to her homeland in Bhutan, but she says she still has not made up her mind if she will opt for a third-country resettlement.

“I may just opt for it, I am not sure,” she said. “I still feel bad about leaving behind, 18 years ago, the home, the farmland we had, and the happy memories.”According to the JRS, there are now more than 108,000 refugees living in the seven camps in East Nepal. JRS field director Father PS Amalraj, told UCA News that young people are vital to conditions in the camps.

“The power of the youth can either build or destroy the refugee camps. Keeping this in mind, we established one youth friendly center in each camp and we now have 14,000 members,” Father Amalraj said. The YFC initiative consists of education in journalism, television presenting, sports, music and awareness of HIV/AIDS and other social issues.

An online education program has recently been added to address the growing school drop-out rate in the camps, Father Lepcha says. The UNHCR reported in September that more than 20,000 Bhutanese refugees had been resettled overseas — mostly in the US — with a further 5,000 expected to leave Nepal by the end of 2009.

Govt spends Rs 60 lakh to protect Darj tea brand

New Delhi: The government spends over Rs 60 lakh per annum on legal requirements to protect the `Darjeeling' tea brand globally, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. This amount is spent to protect the word `Darjeeling' and the logo of the tea produced from that area, minister of state for commerce Jyotiraditya Scindia told the House in a written reply. The government has done pioneering work for the protection of Darjeeling tea, which has been registered as a geographical indication, he said. The tea, produced in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal, was the first product to be registered in the country under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. Geographical indication is a sign used on goods that have a specific area origin and possess qualities, reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that region. Geographical indication aims at preventing non-Darjeeling tea from being passed off as Darjeeling tea. About promotion of the premium tea, Scindia said the government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 5.68 crore in the 11th Plan to upgrade the Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre as a Centre of Excellence. PIB No Votes for Temple-RAM WITH ROTI IE,Nov 29:Two days before the Lok Sabha discusses the report of the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry into the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Kameshwar Chaupal, who laid the foundation stone for a proposed Ram Mandir at the shilanyas site at Ayodhya in 1989, has said that the Ayodhya movement has lost its electoral appeal. And the BJP, which has to blame itself for it, should have included “roti (livelihood) with Ram.” Chaupal, a Dalit (Paswan, by caste), has been a much-feted swayamsevak in the BJP/RSS, and the Sangh Parivar has always maintained that “his shilanyas act showed that the RSS-BJP’s Hindutva was an inclusive, all-encompassing idea.” “You won’t be able to mobilise voters in the name of Ram or Ayodhya now. The politicisation of the Ram Temple movement proved to be its bane. It should have been left to the religious leaders of both communities. Ram, like Gandhi, Subhash (Chandra Bose) and Patel, is a revered symbol in the country. The symbol of Ram then should not have been reduced to the BJP when leaders from even the Congress, like Dau Dayal Khanna and Karan Singh, were also involved in it,” Chaupal told The Sunday Express today.

Morcha talks tough on statehood - Bar on hotel pollution fee

TT, Darjeeling, Nov. 27: Less than a month before the fourth tripartite talks, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has hardened its demand for Gorkhaland, saying the party will not discuss any arrangement other than statehood in the December 21 meeting. In another tough stand, the Janmukti Darjeeling Hotel Owners’ Association, a Morcha affiliate, has asked its 400-odd members to stop paying the annual fees for renewal of pollution certificate from the pollution control board. Till now, it had been expected that the talks would end the administrative lacunae prevailing in the hills — the defunct DGHC, the municipalities and the panchayats. However, with Bimal Gurung’s party making it clear that only Gorkhaland should figure in the meeting, not much headway is expected to end the administrative lacunae. After the third round of talks in New Delhi on August 11, a Union home ministry release had said: “It was agreed in principle to repeal the DGHC Act 1988. The repeal of the act would be processed as soon as an alternative administrative/framework is finalised through mutual consultations and agreement.” Morcha central committee member Amar Lama said the party submitted a proposal in May 2008 for repealing the DGHC Act. “The government has accepted our proposal but has added the condition of alternative administrative set-up,” he told The Telegraph. “We, however, had not proposed any set-up and are not thinking of it also. Moreover, the government has not consulted us on this alternative arrangement. We believe that after the DGHC is repealed, the alternative arrangement should be Gorkhaland and nothing else.” Madan Tamang, the ABGL president, had recently criticised the Morcha saying the party was ready to accept a set-up less than statehood. The current Morcha stand goes against the home ministry release. Even though the fourth round of talks will be held at the secretary-level, it was expected that the party would agree to ensure the functioning of the defunct bodies. “We have already said if the election to the hill municipalities are to be held, then a three-tier panchayat should also be in place,” Lama said. Setting up a three-tier panchayat in the hills is almost impossible at the moment largely because Siliguri subdivision already has a mahakuma parishad, which functions like a zilla parishad. A district cannot have two bodies with powers similar to a zilla parishad, and dissolving the mahakuma parishad is unlikely to be welcomed by the people of the Siliguri subdivision. The government appointed interlocutor for the talks, Lt Gen. (retd) Vijay Madan, will arrive in Calcutta on Sunday to discuss about the tripartite meeting with government officials. On the non-payment of pollution fees, Palden Lama, the general secretary of the hotel owners’ association, said: “We appeal to all the hotels in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong to stop paying fees for renewing their pollution certificates. We want to strengthen the Morcha’s non-cooperation movement.” Hotels have to pay between Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 annually depending on its size and category to renew their certificates. The certificate is issued by the PCB after taking into consideration the waste disposal system and other parameters like amount of carbon emission from hotel generators. An official of the PCB’s Siliguri office said defaulting hotels have to pay a fine of 10 per cent of the annual fees to obtain a fresh certificate. “Under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act 1986, hotels who do not have the certificate can be closed down. Under Section 15, the defaulters can be fined Rs 5 lakh along with imprisonment for five years.” GNLF meet The GNLF has planned a three-day meet at Panighata in Mirik block to renew its political activities after a gap of over two years since the emergence of the Morcha. The event beginning on December 4 under the banner of the Gorkha Janjati Manyata Samaroh Samiti will raise the demand for conferring Scheduled Tribe status on all Gorkhas in India. “Several Gorkhas, irrespective of their surnames, have been demanding their inclusion in the ST category,” said Rajen Mukhia, a GNLF leader and the samiti president. Minorities: Plan to be discussed SNS, KOLKATA, 25 NOV: The state Cabinet today deferred decision on a proposal seeking to declare six communities as minorities on the basis of language after chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said there should be more discussion on the financial implication of the proposal before a final decision is taken. Interestingly, the proposal, aimed at protecting the language and culture of minorities, was moved by the minority affairs department headed by the chief minister himself. There seem to be confusion among Cabinet members over the proposal sent by the department. While the Cabinet proposal clearly mentioned that the concurrence of the finance department was not sought since there is no financial implication the state finance minister, Mr Asim Dasgupta said: “The financial aspect of the proposal should be looked into since schools or educational institutions may be set up for protection of the language and culture of the linguistic minorities.” However, officials at Writers’ Buildings have raised the question how the proposal was initially cleared by the chief minister and chief secretary before being placed before the state Cabinet. The proposal had declared the six communities including Hindi, Urdu, Oriya, Telegu, Santhali and Nepali as linguistic minorities in the state. At present the state only recognises religion based minority communities. The proposal has immense political significance due to ongoing agitation at the Hills as well as Junglemahal where Nepali and Santhali are the dominant languages. The chief minister has formed a committee comprising the ministers of finance, higher education, school education and the minister of state, minority affairs department to look into the proposal. The Cabinet also approved a proposal of raising the cadre strength of WBCS (Executive) officers by 250 today although the finance department initially cleared only 100 posts. The present cadre strength of WBCS officers is 1767 which is being raised to 2017. The rehabilitation package for land losers for the embankment at Sunderbans will also be given to landless labourers as well.  National meet in wake of tripartite talks SNS, SILIGURI, 27 NOV: With uncertainty sharpening in the politically volatile Darjeeling hills as the tripartite dialogue date draws near, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leadership is toying with the idea of organising a national symposium on Gorkhaland soon in New Delhi. Informing, this the GJMM media secretary, Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri said over phone from New Delhi today that a seminar on similar lines organised by several north Cachar based tribal organizations in Assam had inspired them to think in such terms. “We are in New Delhi principally to attend a tribal seminar on the invitation of some northeast-based tribal organizations. The exposition of the cause of the several tribal communities concentrated in Assam and elsewhere in the northeast before an enlightened and inquisitive audience has put the Gorkhaland symposium notion in us. We would finalise the date and other nitty gritty after returning to the hills tomorrow. But our objective is to involve as many intellectuals, academicians and public figures as possible in the symposium,” Dr Chhetri said. Asked to comment on the deepening controversy over the acceptance of the interim council as an administrative measure on way to the official repeal of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, Dr Chhetri said that his party was yet to take a decision on the matter. “We remain focused on the fourth round of the three-way talks slated in Darjeeling next month. If such a proposal is broached by the Centre, our president, Mr Bimal Gurung would take the final decision,” he said. Yet, scotching at speculations that the interim council would become just another version of the existing DGHC in new attire, the GJMM leader said that his party would make it clear that the interim council must be a time-bound arrangement. “Mr Subash Ghising accepted the DGHC dropping the statehood demand once and for all. We would not tread the beaten track. On the contrary, we would accept it as a necessary evil on way to abrogation of the much-detested DGHC as well as to our final destination, the Gorkhaland state,” Dr Chhetri added. ELECTRICITY CHARGE HIKE PTI, Kolkata , Nov 27 Power bills are set to rise for over 90 lakh consumers from billing month November with the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission announcig hike in tariff today. For CESC consumers in Kolkata and Howrah, the rise would by 48 paise per unit and 78 paise per unit for those of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.  Following the hike, CESC& amp;aposs average tariff now stands at Rs 4.57 per unit while that for WBSEDCL it is Rs 4.27 per unit. For CESC consumers consuming 200 units the rise would be Rs 96 and for WBSEDCL Rs 156, with subsidy done away by the state government. WBERC also allowed a 24 paise per unit hike for Durgapur Projects Ltd and a 46 paise per unit hike for DPSCL. The new tariff followed rise in fuel cost (coal price) for power companies. Coal India Ltd raised prices by 11 per cent on average. Murder cuffs on Trinamul leader - Whiff of property feud in guha killing Ganesh Banerjee on the Malda court premises on Friday. Picture by Surajit Roy Malda, Nov. 27: A district general secretary of the Malda Trinamul Congress was arrested today on charges of murdering Congress leader and former Englishbazar municipality vice-chairman Biswanath Guha. Ganesh Banerjee, who left the Congress and joined Mamata Banerjee’s party along with 200 others three months ago, was picked up from his house in the Puratuli-Barmanpara area of the town at 3am today. Another accused, Shyamal Majumdar, fled his residence before police could reach. Sources in Intuc, the labour wing of the Congress of which Guha was the district president, said a property dispute was probably the reason for the murder. Banerjee has been remanded in police custody for seven days by chief judicial magistrate B.B. Mondol. Guha was found bludgeoned to death on the night of July 12 last year in an under-construction lodge about 500 metres from his house. The police then arrested Akhtar Sheikh, Guha’s driver, and announced that he had admitted to the crime. Guha’s wife Lakshmi was interrogated twice. “Ganesh Banerjee was the person who had filed an FIR with the Englishbazar police accusing Akhtar of committing the murder. He also recorded Shyamal Majumdar as a witness. Both of them were very close to the murdered person and we are looking for the absconder,” said Malda superintendent of police Bhuban Mondol. Banerjee had said in his FIR that Majumdar was the first to call him up to convey the news of Guha’s murder. According to the district police chief, there was more to be unearthed as more than one person involved in the grisly killing. Guha was found with his head bashed in, stabbed and with two bullet injuries, one on the head, the police recalled. Investigating officer and deputy superintendent of police Shyam Singh described the case as “unique”. “This is a rare case where two persons, one who lodged the FIR and the other, who was the witness, both turned out to be involved directly with the murder. They had tried to pin the entire blame on the driver,” he said. Akhtar had been taken to Bangalore in August 2008 for a polygraph test and narco-analysis where he had come clean before his interrogators. Investigators said the test reports had arrived in Malda recently and after that the police zeroed in on Banerjee and Majumdar. While the district police chief was silent about the motive behind the murder, Intuc sources said Guha had bought properties in the names of Banerjee and Majumdar and the dispute could have led to the crime. The police said Guha himself was no stranger to crime. In 1992, he had been sentenced to life term by a Malda court for the murder of a Congress supporter. After four years in jail he was acquitted by the high court. He was also implicated in a number of other murder cases, the police said. Intuc supporters today held a demonstration in front of the police superintendent’s office, demanding the punishment of the guilty for their leader’s murder. “It is now more than one-and-a-half years since Biswanath Guha was murdered, we want all the guilty to be hanged,” said current Intuc district president, Kazi Nazrul Islam. Banerjee is as a clerk in Chintamani Girls High School here. Majumdar, on the other hand, is a supplier of building material. Asked about his reaction to Banerjee’s arrest, Malda Trinamul president Gautam Chakrabarty said the accused had joined the party recently. “If he is involved in the crime, the law should take its own course. The party will never stand by him,” Chakrabarty said. SC Seeks Sikkim's Response on Online Lottery PTI, New Delhi, Nov 27 The Supreme Court today sought response of theSikkim Government on a PIL which alleged that the State was organising"illegal"online lotteries in Maharashtra and West Bengalwhich was ruining the lives of thousands of people. A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices B S Chauhanand K S Radhakrishnan, while passing the direction, posted the matter for further hearing to December 14. The petition filed by Bibhas Karmkar who appeared in person alleged that the online lottery draws was being conducted by the state governments every 15 minutes and bumper draws every day. He pointed out that under Section 4H of the Central Lottery Act, there can be only weekly draws and bumper draws can be conducted only six times in a year. The petition alleged that lured by the so-called fabulous lottery rewards running into Rs two-three crore, several gullible public besides sex workers from Mumbai&aposs red light area were indulging in the game and losing their money. He alleged that several families are getting ruined by the online lotteries and the respective state governments were unable to ban the same as it can be done only by the Central government or the state which organises the lottery. Hence the petitioner sought appropriate direction to the authorities concerned to ban the alleged illegal lottery. Bhoj Raj kicks off his open campaign against Chamling from Namchi Tamang’s hibernation still unanswered to ruling front-Bhoj Raj kicks off his open campaign against Chamling from Namchi HM Report Bhoj Raj kicks off his open campaign against Chamling from Namchi Gangtok, November 26: Where is area MLA of Upper Burtuk? Whether he will turn-up in the foundation laid programme of Mahakhim on November 27 at Ranka… the people’s speculation will remain unanswered. The reliable source said that P S Tamang’s whereabout is still a question mark and confirmed that he’ll not present in the said official programme of the foundation laid stone of Mahakhim, the religious temple of Rai community in Ranka Rai Goan, 15 kilometers away from Gangtok. After long speculation of sitting MLA of Upper Burtuk, P S Tamang hibernation after the assembly election in May last, might have turn in an official programme in his area, will clearly shows that he is leading the dissidence within the party and its party culture. It is said that the people who are chasing him have not found where he is? The party sources said that on the eve of foundation stone laying at Ranka, chief minister will hand over all the political and other charges to the government Chief Whip Ugen Bhutia besides his home constituency Tumin-Lingee. The common people and party supporters are opposing the party’s imposing candidates from outside the constituency saying that the imposed candidates has hamper the development and other socio-political development has been pushed in the back foot from last 10 years. On the other side, the disgruntle leader Bhoj Raj Rai today campaigned openly in Namchi Bazaar for creation of alternative to ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) under the leadership of P S Tamang. He had met founder members of the SDF party in Namchi and advocates to alternative political outfit in the state. However, founder members of SDF, (whose name are not disclosed on their request) said that both the disgruntled leaders are in SDF party. Party has not taken any disciplinary actions against the duo, will remain the members of the SDF party has nothing wrong to talk openly with them.- Voice of Sikkim Two held for bank fraud bid TT, Alipurduar, Nov. 27: Two men, arrested for trying to swindle a nationalised bank out of crores of rupees, were brought from Sikkim to Birpara today and remanded in 10 days’ police custody by the additional chief judicial magistrate. Amit Das of Barasat in North 24-Parganas and Subrata Banerjee of Cossipore, Calcutta, had been arrested by Sikkim police in Gangtok while trying to pull off a scam in another bank there. In a complaint filed with Birpara police on October 28, the manager of the Central Bank of India’s Birpara branch, Pradeep Sarkar, said Das had opened an account in his branch. “On October 16, Sarkar received a phone call from his counterpart in the Burrabazar branch in Calcutta that Das had produced a letter of credit issued by the Birpara branch and wanted to withdraw Rs 48.7 lakh. He, however, fled the scene when the accounts were being verified,” said the assistant public prosecutor, Samir Majumdar. “On November 21, Sarkar received another call from the Central Bank India’s branch in Vadodara saying Das had produced another letter of credit issued by his branch and wanted to withdraw Rs 1.27 crore. The branch was told not to make any payment, but the duo disappeared,” said the public prosecutor. Sources in the Birpara police station said police intelligence had come to know about the arrests and asked the Sikkim police to hand them over. A letter of credit is issued by a bank to its customer against his/her assets, a police officer explained. “Scamsters use these banking instruments to withdraw large sums of money. However, it is most likely that the letter of credit is fake,” added the officer. Pradeep Dutta, the subdivisional police officer of Alipurduar, said more about the duo would be revealed after interrogation. Maoists plan 13 ‘parallel govts’ Baburam Bhattarai PTI, Kathmandu, Nov. 27: The Nepal Maoists today decided to declare 13 “parallel regional governments” in a bid to overthrow the coalition regime. The decision came as Maoist chief Prachanda met President Ram Baran Yadav who has been accused by the former rebels of violating “civilian supremacy” over the military by reinstating General Rukmangad Katawal. The vice-chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), Baburam Bhattarai, today announced the decision to declare 13 parallel governments after the Maoists lifted their five-month blockade of the parliament to allow the passage of the 2009 budget. The Maoists argue that Yadav’s reinstatement of Katawal, who was dismissed by Prachanda as army chief in May, is unconstitutional. According to Maoist journal Janadisha, the former rebels have decided to hold rallies across 13 regions of the country from December 11 to 18 in protest against Yadav’s decision. The Maoists have around 40 per cent of the seats in the parliament. At his 90-minute meeting with Yadav, Prachanda said the Maoists were keen to end the current political deadlock that has stalled the peace process in the country. Yadav told Prachanda he wanted the parties to move forward and complete the draft of the Constitution on time, the President’s press adviser, Rajendra Dahal, said. Yadav said he was willing to work with the parties to end the deadlock and forge a consensus on key political issues. Sources close to Yadav said Prachanda wanted to gauge the mood of the President on the current political situation. Prachanda said his party was not against Yadav “personally” but had been forced to launch an agitation against the reinstatement of Katawal, sources close to the Maoist leader said. The former Prime Minister said his party was commited “to resolve the current political stalemate”. HIV/AIDS count reach 157 in Sikkim SE, GANGTOK, November 26: As the whole world joins hand in observing the World AIDS Day with the vow of preventing the ailment on December 1, the toll of HIV/AIDS patients in Sikkim has reached 157. The year 2009 alone recorded 26 HIV/AIDS cases in Sikkim, which authorities reveal is less than it was recorded last year. The Sikkim State Aids Control Society had recorded the highest number of cases in 2008, which numbered to 46. However, no cases of HIV positive were recorded in 1996. The latest SSACS statistics reveals that 102 males and 55 females are infected with HIV. According to the statistics, East District dominates the numbers with 91 male and 51 female cases while the West District records the least number with 1 male and 1 female case. No female with HIV/AIDS have been detected in North District except for 2 male cases. The data further reveals that 47 persons aged between 30-39 years are victims of HIV/AIDS, 2 below the age of 10, 1 case between 11-19 years, 31 cases aged between 20-29, 17 cases between 40-49years and 4 above 50 years. “132 HIV/AIDS patients are infected through sexual mode while 11 are through injecting drug, 3 from infected parent to child, 5 from infected blood transfusion and 6 cases are still waiting for the finding of it’s mode of transmission,” sources said. As a step towards spreading awareness to the people, there are integrated counselling and testing centers in Sikkim including one mobile van ICTC which are also providing facility to prevent parent to child transmission, said Namgyal T. Sherpa, SSACS Project Director. He added that the AIDS Day celebration would be low key in the Capital this year with few rallies and awareness programmes. “This time we have got less fund allocation from the National AIDS Control Organization so there would be no major events related with World AIDS Day,” the project director said. ‘Alternative road to Sikkim approved’ SE, GANGTOK, November 25: A proposal for an alternate highway from Chalsa to Gangtok, via Khonya more-Lhaldhaka-Tode-Rachella-Aritar-Rangpo-Ranipol along with a link to Menla has been approved by Government ‘in-principle’ on November 28, 2008 at an estimated of Rs. 183 lakh for preparation of detail project report (DPR) by Border Road Organisation has also been sanctioned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in May, 2009. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways RPN Singh said this in response to a question posed by Sikkim MP, Rajya Sabha OT Lepcha. In his reply, Mr. Singh said, since the proposal is at DPR stage, it is too early to indicate the date by which the proposed alternate highway would be completed. Earlier, the Sikkim MP had sought to know whether an alternative Highway for Sikkim apart from NH-31A has been approved previously and if so the details of its route and progress made in this regard and its completion. CS advises geological survey along NH 31-A before laying the first railway line NIRMAL MANGAR, SE, GANGTOK, November 24: The Chief Secretary TT Dorji has advised for joint survey to be taken up by Border Roads Organisation, Indian Railways and State Line Departments along the National Highway 31-A before laying the first railway line so that geological anomalies are ensured. This step, it is learnt has been necessitated as the alignment of the railway line is proposed above the existing NH 31-A where double laning is being taken up. The Chief Secretary’s direction came in the 19th meeting of the railway project held on November 19 here at the State Capital, which was also attended by secretaries of SNT, power, forest, land revenue, director of mines and geology, District Collector East, representatives from BRO, Army, chief engineer roads and bridges and other senior government officials. During the meet, a detailed presentation for the first phase of the project up to Rangpo and second phase till Gangtok was made by the Deputy Chief engineer (Construction) S. Prabhu of North East Frontier Railways. It is also been learnt that the double laning of NH 31-A is even likely to begin form 2010 and work would be completely initiated by the BRO. Mr. Dorji also advised the officials to be very careful on works particularly at Teesta valley area, which is very difficult spot with steep gradient and that the disposal of soil should be carefully looked upon. Further, the CS suggested that related infrastructure for defence purpose should be incorporated along with the dumping area of mud to be specified and the local names not to be changed. “For the stations at Rangpo and near Gangtok, a joint survey should be carried out expeditiously so that the required land could be earmarked on priority,” he suggested. Officials from the State Transport Department, the nodal department of the project said that preliminary survey for the second phase connecting Rangpo to Gangtok have been completed till Bhusuk via Kopibari. “Looking at the distance covered, the Railway authorities have initially proposed to terminate the same till Chota Singtam near Saramsa Garden, officials said. On the other hand, the State Government has urged the Railways to avail rail connectivity till Nathu-La border considering the defence presence. The final survey of the railway, it is informed is likely to complete by December and the works of laying of lines from Sevoke to Rangpo will commence soon in a war footing process. Some changes are also expected in the projects until the final report is prepared, it is learnt. Interestingly, the longest railway tunnel in Sikkim is likely to be of 4.6 km.