LALIT GOLAY IS THE SECOND KALEYBUNG RATNA PURASKAR RECIPIENT- on 11^th Foundation Day cum National Press Day 

KalimNews, Kalimpong 12^th Nov: Mr. Lalit Golay a renowned film and video artist and comedian will be honoured with 2^nd Kaleybung  Ratna Puraskar for his contribution in the field of Film and Video by Kalimpong Press Club. During the closing of the Club’s 10th foundation day and on the occasion of 11thFoundation day cum National Press Day Celebration at Ramkrishna  Rangamanch Golay will be honoured.

A presentation on Eco-tourism and felicitation of Kumudini Homes and Jubilee High Schools of Kalimpong which celebrated Platinum and Rockvale Academy and Mt. Carmel School celebrated Silver Jubilee this year are the other highlights of the celebration. These Schools will be felicitated for their contribution in the field of education for so long. 

Dr.G.C..Subba. Director of Medicinal and Other Plantation is invited as Chief Guest of the programme who will also launch Kalimpong News a blog site of news administered by the Club on the same day.

Wifred Singh will also be felicitated for his best caption for the Caption Contest held during the Photography exhibition-Colour of Nature a couple of months ago. 

A debate to be participated by the eminent Citizens of Kalimpong on the topic "Indian Gorkhas are facing identity crisis" will also be organized on the day. For the motion debators Rajen Bnerjee, Hari Psd Adhikari, Dilip Bhujel and Dinesh Ch Poudel will participate while Kishore Chhetri, C.B.Chhetri, Dilip Pradhan and Bal kr. Sharma will  participate  against the motion.

It is reminded that last year Mr. Manoj Dahal, Mount Everest Climber, Mr. Bharat Chhetri, National Hockey player and Dr. Mikthuk S. Foning, an eminent Horticulturist were honoured with first ever Kaleybung  Ratna Puraskar and Kalimpong Press Club organised a year long programme like Senior Citizens' Quiz competition, Chess Competition, Photography exhibition, Seminar on Human Trafficking in collaboration with I&C dept, 3 day Workshop on Journalism on the occasion of its completion of tenth year of establishment.

Parents float unit to oppose strike - Plea to provide security to children defying fee shutdown

Members of the Guardians’ Forum in the chamber of the deputy mayor on Thursday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo TT, Siliguri, Nov. 12: A newly formed parents’ body has opposed the decision of the Guardians’ Forum of North Bengal to launch an indefinite strike against the fee hike in seven English medium schools. Its members said they would send their children to attend classes defying the shutdown from November 30. The Consolidated Forum of Guardians has also distributed leaflets and submitted letters to the SDO and additional superintendent of police of Siliguri, requesting them to provide security to children, who will be sent to schools during the strike. The new body has alleged that Guardians’ Forum president Sandeepan Bhattacharjee had abused its members when they had approached him for talks. “We want the issue of fee-hike to be settled amicably by other possible means (rather than strikes) and are against even a single day’s strike on the issue,” said S. Paul, one of the representatives of the Consolidated Forum. “Hundreds of guardians, who have witnessed how the movement on fee hike and the two-day strike last month had affected the studies of the children, are supporting us.” “The school authorities have made it clear that they will keep the institutions open during the strike. On our part, we have decided to send our children to schools as they have exams ahead. For this reason, we have intimated the administration and sought security as precaution because defying the strike might affect our children,” Paul added. The leaflets issued by the Consolidated Forum also said “if any type of harm whatsoever is done to the children”, Guardians Forum president Bhattacharjee and his associates would be held responsible.” The emergence of a parallel body, after more than eight months of the movement against fee hike, is significant, indicating that a section of guardians has lost faith in the agitation. A parent who is a member of Consolidated Forum said his daughter had been studying in Nirmala Convent (one of the seven schools which have hiked fees) for the past five years and during this period, there has been an increase in tuition fees by Rs 200. “The Guardian Forum must understand that even the prices of vegetables have increased during this period and of late, we hardly find anything logical in their demand. These strikes and demonstrations are affecting studies and mounting mental pressure on our children.” Don Bosco School, St Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph’s High School, Nirmala Convent, Jermel’s Academy, New St John’s and Royal Academy are the six other schools where fees have been hiked. Another parent said guardians should be ready for fee hikes. “A student of nursery cannot afford to pay the same fees when he reaches Class X,” she said. “It is not that I am supporting the schools but the authorities have repeatedly said guardians who are economically weak or have many children can approach the schools for consideration.” In the meantime, the Guardians’ Forum today informed deputy mayor Nantu Paul that so far not a single school has corresponded with them or has asked them to attend any meeting. On Friday, it had been decided that each school would invite the Guardian Forum for talks separately. “We are ready to sit across the table with them but they have remained unresponsive. We will wait till November 30 or else resort to the indefinite strike,” the Guardians’ Forum president said. He branded the Consolidated Forum an “illegal body” and denied the charges of abuse levelled against him. The schools had earlier claimed that the rising expenditure and the increase of staff salaries under the Sixth Pay Commission had forced them to hike fees. Education secretary Vikram Sen had appealed to the schools to refrain from giving effect to the new fee structure and allow children who have been unable to pay the increased fees to attend classes. The schools claimed that not a single student who did not pay the new fees had been asked to leave the school or barred from sitting in exams. “What is the rationality behind threatening us with a strike when we have not flouted the government order at all?” asked a principal of a school. Ill after fast TT,Siliguri: Two students of Siliguri Institute of Technology who were on indefinite hunger strike since Tuesday were admitted to NBMCH after they fell ill on Thursday. Ten fourth-year students of SIT are on fast, demanding job placements, hostel facilities and qualified faculty. The college management has initiated talks with the students to end the impasse but no breakthrough has occurred so far. Havildar killed in crash TT,Gangtok, Nov. 12: An army jawan was killed and two others were injured when the truck they were travelling in skidded off Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and fell 800m below at Sixth Mile, near here, today. The vehicle belonged to the Signals Regiment was on its way to Binnaguri. Havildar S.K. Singh, 40, was driving the army truck and died on the spot. Two signalmen Jitendra Kumar, 23, and J.P. Singh, 25, were rushed to the army hospital at Libing in Gangtok, police said. Police investigation suggests that the truck went off the road while giving way to a coming vehicle. Army sources said the injured jawans would be flown to a hospital in Siliguri. The deceased was from Allahabad and had one year of service left. Bahuguna in Sikkim Environment activist Sunderlal Bahuguna (centre) in Gangtok. Bahuguna arrived in the Sikkim capital on Thursday as part of his Save Himalaya campaign after touring the north-eastern states. Bahuguna was one of the champions of the Chipko movement in Garhwal, which resulted in a 15-year ban on tree-felling in 1980 in the region. Picture by Prabin Khaling Bike prize and title for daring stunts on wheels TT, Siliguri, Nov. 12: Bike lovers in north Bengal and Sikkim will soon have a chance to combine theirpassion, skill and knowledge to contest and prove their mettle.If a biker can create wonders on the road, he or she is awaiting a title: Enthusiast Biker of North Bengal and Sikkim Floated by xKmph.com, an online community of bikers with members across the country and even in Bhutan and Nepal, the screening of contestants will startsoon. Bikers living in the region and interested in demonstrating their skills will have the option to win the title and a brand new bike as prize.“Ever since we have formed the community, we are into several offline activities like stunts, bike expeditions and likewise, to woo riders in the region to xKmph.com,” said Santanu Banerjee, an engineer by profession and the founder of the community. “We are planning to conduct this mega event in the middle of January and have already fixed counters from where forms for the contest could be distributed in the hills and the plains,” he added. Once a biker buys a form against a fee of Rs 200, he will be called in to audition or screening. “At the auditions to be conducted at five places, every contestant will be interviewed and asked to demonstrate their skills,” Banerjee said. “Our plan is to select more than 50 people for the final that will be held on Siliguri outskirts.” Asked about the final round, Banerjee said the events were yet to be fixed. “However, contestants will be asked to form “8”, zigzag and race as slowly as possible. We will also hold a group discussion to assess the participants’ knowledge on biking and allied topics.” The organisers hope that the event will pull big crowds. “The last event we had organised was One Wheel Ride, a stunt show held in Darjeeling last month. Around 3,500 people had witnessed that show. Another stunt show held in South Sikkim on August 15 had also drawn a large number of people,” said Banerjee. The winner, xKmph members said, can be the centre of  worldwide attention as the details would be posted on the website that will be updated regularly by the co-ord inators. “Added to the bike, there would be exciting gifts for him or her,” said one of them. Cracks in Bengal's Red Bastion PTI, 12 Nov:Cracks in the ruling Left Front widened on Thursday on the issue of advancing of 2011 Assembly elections in West Bengal as demanded by a minor partner following repeated electoral reverses, with major allies saying the issue should be discussed and lead partner Communist Party of India-Marxist virtually rejecting the idea. "We have to sit and discuss. I do not rule out such a possibility. The issue of going for early polls requires to bediscussed threadbare in the Left Front and also our party," Public Works Department Minister and Revolutionary Socialist Party leader Kshiti Goswami told PTI. "Any decision should be taken after careful thought. No hasty decision should be taken," Goswami said in an apparent reference to Fisheries Minister and West Bengal Socialist Party leader Kironmoy Nanda, who renewed his call for the coalition to quit and go for early assembly elections. Unfazed by criticism from Left Front partners to his demand, Nanda reiterated "If we opt for early assembly polls there will be time to make a turnaround. If we lose the assembly elections, we will sit in the opposition since we cannot be in power for an indefinite period." The Forward Bloc, the second biggest constituent in the nine-party Left Front coalition, also said since the demand has been raised by WBSP it should be discussed in the Left Front. "I will ask Front chairman Biman Bose to call a LF meeting to discuss the issue," Forward Bloc state secretaryAshok Ghosh said. To a question, Goswami acknowledged "If we remain in power for long time we grow fat. Remaining out of power will increase our striking power." CPI state secretary Manju Kumar Muzamdar said the issue raised by Nanda would be discussed on November 14 and 15 at the party's national executive in New Delhi . A front-ranking CPI-M leader and the party state secretariat member Robin Deb, however, said "There is no precedent of the government quitting following election reverses." "Only in 1991, the assembly elections were preponed by a year and and clubbed with the Lok Sabha election to save expenses," he told PTI. Another CPI-M leader and party's state secretariat member Shyamal Chakaborty said the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government was elected for five years and has not completed its term. "Where is the question of resignation?"He said the Congress had only three Lok Sabha seats in 1977 in the state, but the Congress-led government had not resigned. Meanwhile, three major LF partners CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP were critical of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement in an English daily that the point of view of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee appeared to "have found resonance across Bengal". CPI national executive member and state secretary Manju Kumar Majumder said his party protests Chidambaram'sstatement obliquely backing Banerjee's assertion that the LF government has lost the right to rule. "As Union home minister how could he say this," he asked. Echoing him, Forward Bloc leader Hafiz Alam Sairani said, "We have nothing to say if he made the statement as a leader of a political party. But if made it as Union home minister, he should dismiss the state government." Senior RSP leader Manoj Bhattacharjee termed Chidambaram's utterances as "irresponsible". He also contested Chidambaram's statement that CPI-M and CPI-Maoist did not confront each other all these years and said this was far from true. "CPI-M is not in collusion with Maoists and the party suffered the maximum number of casualties at their hands," he said.