TT, Vivek Chhetri, Darjeeling, Nov. 4: The “brown envelope”, which has been the talk of the hills for the past week, has finally started reaching Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders asking them to refrain from in any party activity.
The move, apparently aimed to cleanse the party of corruption, could also be one of the biggest tests for the Morcha. The outfit has sent notices, slipped inside brown envelopes, to at least one central committee member who has been with the Morcha since its inception on October 7, 2007.
“Brown envelope” was a term used by the British press to imply below-the-table transactions of slush money or information that politicians indulged in.
Even though Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri refused to divulge the names until the list was completed, sources said notices have been sent to Bimal Darjee, the convener of the party’s Tindharia-Sukna unit, who is also a central committee member. According to well-placed sources, notices have also gone to Sujan Rai and Saran Lama, both from Liza Hill unit, apart from Praveen Tuladhar of Kalimpong.
Darjee admitted that he has received the notice. “I got the letter on October 28 and I will obey the decision taken by the party president,” he said over the phone from Tindharia in Kurseong subdivision.
Morcha president Bimal Gurung, while addressing a public meeting in Darjeeling on October 25, had said he was aware of some leaders who had bought SUVs and were taking “pact-money” from contractors. The Morcha president had urged the people not to speak on behalf of these leaders and instead mark them out as those who were not sincere towards Gorkhaland.
Darjee, however, said he had always stood by his principles. “I have not bought cars or taken pact money (for contracts). Anyone can meet me for a clarification. I am not against the cause of Gorkhaland and its people either,” he said.
Darjee, however, said since no clarification was sought by the Morcha from him, he would not explain his stand to the party leadership on his own. “The letter states that I should no longer interfere with party activities in the Tindharia-Sukna area and also should not participate in the workings of the development committee of the Morcha,” said Darjee. Technically, Darjee has not been expelled from the party’s primary membership if one is to go by the content of the notice.
“In future, if Bimal Gurung thinks I should take up some party responsibilities, I will definitely shoulder them to the best of my abilities as I am always committed towards the cause of Gorkhaland,” said Darjee.
Analysts believe that the move to send the notices, virtually sidelining some of the leaders in the party, could be one of the biggest tests for the Morcha. “If the dissenters manage to influence a section in the Morcha, which has had intra-party squabblings in some areas, the party could face some troubled times,” said an analyst.
However, other observers believe that given the overwhelming support that the Morcha currently enjoys in the hills, the leaders against whom notices have been sent cannot be a major threat immediately. “In fact, the political careers of some of these leaders could be doomed,” another analyst said.
Phuguri to open today
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Darjeeling, Nov 4: Phuguri tea estate, which has been shut since October 28, will reopen tomorrow. The decision was taken at a meeting between the management and the union leaders in Darjeeling today.
The garden, 7km from Mirik, was shut after Sailesh Ramudamu, a resident of the estate, allegedly beat up general manager Rajesh Kumar Khausal on October 27.
“Sailesh thought the authority was siphoning off tea from the garden as the produce was being dispatched after 4pm,” said Sandeep Mukherjee, the secretary of Darjeeling Tea Association.
Following the assault, the management had announced the closure till further notice.
“Since the accused surrendered to police on Monday, we decided to convene a meeting,” said Mukherjee.
After the meeting, the management and the leaders of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, an affiliate of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, decided that “made tea” can be dispatched from the garden at any time of the day.
P. T Sherpa, the president of the union, however, said the workers will not get their wages for the period when the garden was closed.
The estate has 651 workers on its payroll and produces about 1.6 lakh kg of “made tea” a year.
Estate reopens
TT, Jaigaon: Jogesh Chandra Tea Estate in Mal subdivision reopened on Wednesday. The garden had been shut since December 27. Hind Tea Co. has taken over the estate that has 1,297 workers on its payroll.
MINISTER ACCUSES MAMTA OF SECRET PACT WITH GJM
UNI, Siliguri, Nov 4 : Urban Development and Municipal Minister Asok Bhattacharya today charged Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee with having a 'secret pact' with the GJM, spearheading the statehood demand for Darjeeling.
The charge was, however, denied by the leadership of both Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Trinamool Congress.
Mr Bhattacharya claimed at a press conference that Ms Banerjee, during her visit for laying the Sikkim-Sevak rail project foundation on October 30, had a meeting with GJM pesident Bimal Gurung.
The minister, also a local CPI(M) leader, said the GJM's latest support to Trinamool Congress candidate Khageswar Roy for Rajganj assembly constituency was ample testimony of their understading.
He said the Trinamool Congress was answerable for its league with the Maoists and lately with the GJM.GJM spokesman Harka Bahadur Chettri while denying any such pact said Mr Bhattacharya's allegation was a 'figment of imagination'.
He said the GJM's support to TMC was to ensure the defeat of CPI(M) candidate Dhanapaty Roy as any opposition to the ruling party was a welcoming standing for them.
Mr Chettri said there was allegation that Bimal Gurung and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had a secret meeting just before the Siliguri Municipal polls but it was yet to be established.
TMC's Darjeeling district president Gautam Deb said Mr Bhattacharya was misleading the people on false propaganda to gain mileage before the November 7 by-election. He said there was no truth in the minister's version about the meeting between the TMC chief and GJM leader.
 After night at zoo, bear goes back to wild
TT, Gangtok, Nov. 4: The Himalayan black bear that mauled two forest officers yesterday was released in the wild after spending a night at a zoo.
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The animal had ambled into Setey Bazar near Gangtok early yesterday and was caught after a hide-and-seek played out for over six hours. During the confrontation, two forest officers were clawed while the third was injured when he fell while fleeing and the bear was taken to Himalayan Zoological Park in Bulbuley, 5km from here, after it was darted.
This morning, it was sent to the reserve forest at Kupup close to the Memencho lake, about 70km from here, to be released. Kupup in East Sikkim is close to the Chinese border and Nathu-la. Sources at the Bulbuley zoo said the bear had fully recovered from the effects of the tranquilliser and had been fed meat.
Chief wildlife warden N.T. Bhutia said the animal had started for the wild in a truck at 8am. “The decision (to release it) was taken since there was not enough area in the zoo to house the bear and we feared that there would be infighting in the single enclosure where a male and a female bear are presently kept,” Bhutia said. He was present yesterday when the bear was darted very close to the administrative complex of East Sikkim.
Nearly eight darts were fired. The joint director of the state forest department, J.B. Subba, divisional forest officer (territorial) East Sikkim, B.B. Gurung and the medical assistant of the Bulbuley zoo, Sonam Tshering Lepcha, were injured when they approached the bear, which they thought had fallen asleep. But proving them wrong, the animal came after them and Subba was the first person to be attacked. A witness had said Subba could have been killed had not a police sub-inspector hurled stones at the bear to distract it. But the flailing claws caught Subba on the face and Gurung on the left leg and thigh. Lepcha dislocated his arm when he fell while fleeing. Subba and Gurung were flown by a helicopter to a nursing home in Siliguri at 3.30pm yesterday.
Senior forest officials said the bear might have come in search of food from the nearby Rateychu reserve forest. The Himalayan black bear is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act and is among the most endangered species.
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Courage tides over ineptitude & crowd- Himalayan Black Bear safely captured at cost of injuries to three forest personnel
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SE, GANGTOK, November 3: An unruly mob, ineffective tranquilizers and unimaginative containment measures severely handicapped the brave forest and police officials in a near disastrous mission to capture a wandering Himalayan Black Bear at Upper Sichey near East District Administrative complex today that took a senior forest official and a DFO to the brink of death before a heroic cop firmly stood his ground to save the day.
Forest joint director JB Subba, DFO (East) BB Gurung and Himalayan Zoological Park medic assistant Sonam Tshering Lepcha sustained deep injuries during the mauling by the rampaging fully grown bear at the bamboo thicket above the road near the administrative complex.
And it all happened because of around seven tranquilizers which had been rifled into the bear in regular intervals refused to sober down the bear with generous contribution of noise from the crowd which had gathered in large numbers to watch the tamasha seriously jeopardizing the containment measures that had been carefully put into place by forest and police officials with great risk to limb and life.
It is a miracle that there were no casualties not from the claws of the bear but from the stampede of the crowd on three occasions.
The whole incident began early morning when Mrs Pema Zangpo Gurung spotted the animal at around 7 am in her small field at Sateybari, Upper Sichey. It was her husband who recognized the animal as a bear and he immediately alerted the local police and forest staff. The bear had strayed into the suburb during the night hours in search of food and apparently camped at the field.
Once informed, the local police and forest staff reached the spot led by Chief Wildlife Warden NT Bhutia and CCF (Wildlife) HP Pradhan. The area was cordoned off and a trap was laid even as the bear lay hidden in the field.
At around 10:30, the first tranquilizer was pumped into the bear through a draft fired from a rifle. By then, the whole area was surrounded by curious onlookers whose numbers grew in strength despite repeated requests them to vacate the area.
At 11: 12 am, two tranquilizers were shot into the bear from the rooftop of a nearby building.
Instead of having a debilitating effect, the shots seemed to have injected a fresh bout of energy into the bear that jumped out of the field with a roar, bypassed the trap and somehow managed to reach to the upper road and wilted away into the bamboo thicket even as the crowds went helter-skelter with terror.
By this time, additional forces from the Sadar police station led by PI Tshering Sherpa and more forest officials arrived at the scene where the bear was cornered.
SP (East) Dr MS Tuli was also present at the spot to supervise the capture mission.
Despite poor visibility, two more tranquilizers from the rifle and one from a pistol seemed to have shown its desired effect on the bear. Close observations gave a false sense of security to the people and the authorities leading to the signal given for the cage to be hauled up to the spot.
Then at 12:30, disaster struck as the bear roared back to life and in lightening speed jumped on those nearby.
Joint director JB Subba was the first victim as the bear mauled him and took him down rolling. DFO (Territorial, East) BB Gurung tried to come to the rescue and a chunk of meat from his left thigh was clawed out when the bear lashed on him.
Himalayan Zoological Park medic assistant Sonam Tshering Lepcha dislocated his left arm when pulled down by the bear. All happened in seconds and if the mauling was allowed to prolong a few seconds more, then there would have been causalities.
Fortunately, Sadar Police station SI Sameer Pradhan displayed great courage as he stood his ground and counterattacked the bear with whatever he could lay his hands on. His courage caused the bear to flee in the opposite direction giving enough time for those being mauled to scamper to safety.
Blood tearing down his face, Subba was immediately rushed to the STNM hospital followed by the other two victims.
The horrific incident shook all with questions abounding over the effectiveness of the tranquilizers. A couple of more tranquilizers were shot into the bear that finally slumbered into a state of unconsciousness even as a standing order to terminate the bear had been issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden.
The bear was hauled into the cage and into the forest vehicle at 1:20 am ending a six hour long standoff. The bear was whisked away to the Himalayan Zoological Park where it will put under observation for some time, forest officials said.
The bear could have probably slipped into the urban areas in search of food from the nearby Rateychu Reserve Forest, it is suspected.
Despite the threat posed by the huge bear to the human lives, the forest and police officials took great precaution and risked their lives to safely capture the Himalayan Black Bear, a highly endangered wildlife species listed in the Schedule I of the Protection of Wildlife Act.
Meanwhile, the injured Subba has been airlifted to Siliguri for further medical treatment while the DFO and the medic assistant are being treated here in Gangtok.
At the same time, questions have crept over the reasons for the increasing wanderings of wild animals into human habitats. The Upper Sichey bear is reported to have been wandering in and around the area up to Arithang for the past one week. The animal was in search of food and as forest officials point out, the increasing loss of their food items from the jungles have forced these animals to come into conflict with humans.
Recently, a bear had jumped on a group of farmers and clawed away a chunk of meat from the leg of a 42 year headmaster at Sangshu, Dentam in West Sikkim yesterday.
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