WB Bypolls peaceful, 65% Polling

TOI, KOLKATA: Sixty-five per cent polling was recorded today in the byelections to 10 Assembly seats in West Bengal which passed off, by and large, peacefully. "The final percentage of voting will be higher and known later as queues were reported in many booths beyond the end of polling at 5 pm," state's Chief Electoral Officer Debasish Sen said. 

Altogether 45 companies of central paramilitary forces and 75 companies of state police personnel were deployed. 

Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district registered 75% votes, the highest, and Alipore in Kolkata the lowest of 45%, Sen said. 

According to him, 12 people were arrested from West Midnapore and North 24-Parganas districts for electoral malpractices and on charges of impersonation. 

The byelections are considered to be a dress rehearsal for the 2011 state Assembly elections, with the contest confined to the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine. 
The Front has suffered electoral reverses in panchayat elections, the Lok Sabha, assembly byelections and in municipalities. 

IANS,West Bengal: Sporadic incidents of violence marred voting Saturday for the 10 assembly seats in West Bengal whose outcome will have long-term consequences for the ruling Left Front. About 35 percent voters had exercised their franchise till 1 p.m., an official said. State chief electoral officer Debasish Sen told IANS: 'Polling was peaceful and smooth. There was no major incident of law and order. Only some minor incidents were reported.'

A presiding officer at Sujapur constituency in Malda district was removed for allegedly trying to influence voters at the Bakharpur Primary school booth, he said.

Two people were arrested for casting 'false votes' in the Belgachia East constituency on the northeastern fringes of the city.

Around 40 companies of paramilitary forces and state armed police have been deployed across the 10 constituencies: Bealgachia (East), Kalchini (ST), Rajganj (SC), Sujapur, Goalpokhar, Bongaon, Contai South, Egra, Serampore and Alipore.

Nine seats fell vacant as the legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha, while the death of popular Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Subhas Chakraborty led to the by-poll in the Belgachia (East) constituency.

The CPI-M and Trinamool Congress are contesting in five and seven seats respectively. The others have been left for the Left Front allies and the Congress.

TH, Kolkata: Barring some minor incidents, the by-elections in 10 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal passed off peacefully.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee cast her vote at a school in the Alipore constituency. Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu now confined to his home, stayed away from the process.

Chief Electoral Officer Debashis Sen said the overall percentage of polling was over 65.

Rajgunj’s distinction

The highest of 75 per cent was recorded at Rajgunj in Jalpaiguri district, North Bengal.

The lowest — 45 per cent — was at Alipore, an elite residential locality in South Kolkata which was vacated by Trinamool Congress legislator Tapas Pal, who had won by a margin of over 1,100 votes. He is now a Trinamool MP in the Lok Sabha.

The CEO said that 12 people were arrested during the day and three polling officers removed on charges of trying to influence voters.

Altogether 45 companies of the Central forces and 75 companies of the State police were deployed for the smooth conduct of polls.

Belgachia East

While nine of the seats fell vacant as the legislators got elected to the Lok Sabha in the May elections. Belgachia East had to go to the polls following the death of the former Transport Minister and senior CPI(M) leader, Subhas Chakraborty.

The CPI(M) fielded candidates in five of the constituencies and CPI nominees are in the fray in two constituencies. Candidates representing the Left Front constituents are contesting in the remaining three. Ramola Chakraborty, is trying to defend her husband’s seat in Belgachia East.

The Trinamool has fielded candidates in most of the seats.

Tibetans, Sikkimese people share close relationship: Dalai Lama-‘Tibet Festival’ at Gangtok to ‘Thank India & Sikkim'
SE, Gangtok, November 6: The maiden five day ‘Tibet Festival’ in Gangtok hosted by the Tibetan community of Sikkim commenced from today on the occasion of the 50th year of ‘Tibetans in exile’.
“The Tibetan and Sikkimese people have had close relationship throughout history in the religious, culture, social and political fields. The renowned Nyingma master, Terton Lhatsun Namka Jigme, played a significant role in the development of Nyingma tradition in Sikkim”, said the Dalai Lama in his message which was read out by Thundop Dorjee, Settlement Officer, Gangtok during the inaugural session of the festival here at Kanchenjunga Shopping Complex, Lal Bazaar here.
In his message, the Dalai Lama informed about his fond memories of his several visits to Sikkim and pointed out that although all major religious traditions flourish in Sikkim, Buddhism is its traditional religion which has contributed to the evolution of the Sikkim identity.
“This Buddhist cultural heritage encourages the cultivation of such ideals as compassion, peace and non-violence, which have a role to play in the development of the Sikkimese society. Therefore, one way of getting benefit from this heritage and preserving it is to incorporate its message in the educational system”.
The Dalai Lama in his message said that the today the Tibetan refugees in Sikkim have settled down well and are making whatever small contribution they could towards the State’s development and growth.
The festival here would be displaying the Tibetan culture, religion, Buddhist rituals, medicine and astrology, music and dance, costumes, arts and crafts and cuisine during the five day of festivities.
This festival is being organized to acknowledge, honour and sincerely thank the government and people of India and especially the State of Sikkim and its people for providing a refuge in which the Tibetan community has thrived by the Tibetan community of Sikkim.
Sikkim has a special place in the hearts of the Tibetan community, said Kriti Dolkar Lhamu, president of Tibetan Women Association, Dharmasala in her introductory speech.
Lhamu said that the support provided by the Sikkimese people and government will be etched in the pillars of Tibetan history. She also thanked Bhaichung Bhutia for showing solidarity to the Tibetan cause when he had last year boycotted the Beijing Olympic torch relay of Delhi leg.
A ‘Thank you India’ song by Thumi Sambhota Tibetan School and cultural performance by the oldest Tibetan opera, Tashi Shoepa, were presented on the inaugural day.
State PHE minister TT Bhutia who was the chief guest on the inaugural session said that unity and brotherhood is the hallmark of Sikkim’s history. There is no communal disparity in Sikkim and the State government treats each community and all religions equally which had led to peace and tranquility here, he said.
On Saturday, a panel discussion on ‘Tibet’s Environment’ will be chaired by Dalip Mehta while Khenpo Tsewant-la will be presenting a discourse on Buddhism in English.
On Sunday, a panel discussion on ‘Tibet in Exile’ will be chaired by Claude Arpi, discourse on Buddhism by Chamba Choepal followed by cultural presentations and a special appearance by Miss Tibet, Tshering Chungtak during a traditional Tibetan costumes pageantry show.
On Monday, Vinod Saighal will be chairing a discussion on ‘Significance on Tibetan culture’ followed by special screening of three films ‘Jigdrel (Leaving fear behind)’, ‘Nangpa La killing’ and ‘Strange Spirit: One country’s occupation’ after which the festival will be declared closed.
There are around 3,500 Tibetans in Sikkim who have settled in most parts of the State. A settlement of the Tibetan community is at Rabongla in South Sikkim while a group of the Tibetans have settled in Tshoka on the way to the Dzongri trek in West Sikkim. Most of them are entrepreneurs while some of them have taken up jobs in the State government and organizations of the Union government.

A CD free of Charge on Know How and details of Cancer   and its treatment "Cancer Nirvana" was released in Kalimpong this evening.

It was compiled by Naveen Sony a Rotarian in memory of his mother who died of Cancer. Eminent Doctors Dr. Salil Dutta, D. Pankaj Choudhary were present in the programme as Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively. Photo:  Hira Chhetri

CHAIRMAN PFC SHRI SATNAM SINGH ADDRESSING A PRESS CONFERENCE AT GANGTOK ON 7TH NOVEMBER,

UNION POWER MINISTER SHRI S SHINDE TALKING TO MEDIA PERSONS AT GANGTOK ON 7TH NOVEMBER,

UNION POWER MINISTER SHRI S SHINDE TALKING TO MEDIA PERSONS AT GANGTOK ON 7TH NOVEMBER, 2009 All Pix: PBI Gangtok

Hic! hurrah for local brew - Restaurant owners hatch Plan B to counter Morcha ban on liquor shops

Customers queue up in front of an IMFL shop on Friday to stock up before the ban comes into force. Picture by Suman Tamang VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, Darjeeling, Nov. 6: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha deciding to close down all licensed liquor shops from tomorrow, many restaurants and hotels are planning to fall back on traditional tipple to cater for the needs of tourists.  The Morcha move is supposed to “pressure the state exchequer” by stopping the flow of revenue that the party claims is being generated through the sale of liquor in the hills. Morcha president Bimal Gurung had earlier said the state government had collected excise duty of around Rs 50 crore from the sale of liquor in the hills during the just-ended month long festival period. Sources in the liquor business, however, said all taxes were directly collected at the source (manufacturing unit) and liquor shops do not have to shell out a single rupee to the government at the time of sale of any bottle. “Only for the renewal of bar licences, they have to pay around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. The rest of the tax is paid by the manufacturers before the liquor leaves the factories,” said a source. The source also said if all “off” shops in the three hill sub-divisions stopped selling liquor and the manufacturers scaled down the production proportionately and distributors brought in less quantity, then the loss to the state exchequer would be around Rs 3 crore per month. Most bars have already worked out a plan to counter the ban. “We have started ordering local liquor made from rhododendrons, oranges, ginger and chingping, a type of seed. A bottle (750ml) of local liquor costs us around Rs 80 but they are also available at Rs 20 depending on the quality,” said the owner of a leading restaurant. Locally brewed liquor does not fall in the Morcha ban ambit, as no excise duty has to be paid to the state government. But it is illegal to serve them in restaurants. In the hills, where there hardly appears to be any writ of law — no electricity bills and taxes have been paid for a year and at one point the Morcha forced vehicles to use “GL” numberplates — many believe that they can sell locally brewed liquor without any administrative hassles. In that case, tourists have no option, but to drink rakshi, made from chingping and rhododendron — the brew is a hit among trekkers in the Sandakphu-Phalut region — or thongba. The thongba is made from wet millet seeds put into a foot-tall wooden keg, which has a six-inch diameter. Hot water is poured into the millet and it starts fermenting instantly. The liquor is sipped through bamboo straw dipped into the keg. That is as far as the exotic nature of the liquor goes. “But the worry is that with the demand, the prices might go up and we may not get the required stock of good quality,” said the restaurant owner. With IMFL liquor off the menu, many hotel owners believe that their sales will take a major dip. “We have realised that when we have local or foreigners as clients, liquor makes up almost 50 per cent of the food bill. If there are middle-class tourists, the liquor makes 15 per cent of the food bill,” said a hotel owner. Sources in the excise department said there were 24 outlets selling country liquor across the hills and the number of “off” IMFL shops stood at 19. The number of licensed bars is 19 too. Since early morning, many of the “off” shops had a steady flow of customers many of whom were trying to stock up. “At times people need liquor to organise successful parties in the hills,” quipped a buyer. Dharmendra Poddar, acting secretary, Darjeeling Bar and Offshoot Owner’s Association, said: “Since there is a call to close down the shops we will do it from tomorrow. The issue of Gorkhaland after all is a very sentimental one.” Poddar admitted that association members had tried to contact Gurung. “We could not meet him after which we decided to close the shops. Till now, we have not thought of any alternative business to sustain ourselves,” he added.

State defiant on teachers - Flouting norms, govt to go ahead with recruitment 

TT, Calcutta, Nov. 6: The Bengal government today dismissed human resource development minister Kapil Sibal’s directive that the state scrap the process of appointing primary school teachers ignoring central regulations that are applicable across the country. “The state government has its own teacher recruitment procedures. We have the freedom to appoint teachers for state-aided schools on our own. We cannot take Sibal’s statement into consideration,” state school education minister Partha De told a news conference.

The state government had recently issued newspaper advertisements inviting applications for the post of primary school teachers to fill up 56,000 vacancies in 59,000 schools.

The advertisement had set only one minimum condition for a candidate to apply: he/she must have passed the Madhyamik (Class X) examinations. About 40 lakh candidates applied and the recruitment tests are slated for December.

Sibal yesterday asked the state government to scrap the advertisement and apply the rules laid down by the National Council for Teacher Education — the country’s apex body regulating teacher education — for the appointment of primary school teachers. .
The council’s rules lay down two things: first, a candidate for a primary teacher’s post has to clear the Class XII examination with a minimum of 50 per cent marks; second, the candidate also has to complete a two-year diploma from a primary teachers’ training institute. 

But De insisted today: “The question of stopping the recruitment process at this stage does not arise considering the fate of such a huge number of applicants. We have not broken any rule for appointing primary teachers.” But legal experts said that if challenged in court, the state’s views would not hold water.
“Education is on the concurrent list and a central law will always prevail,” said advocate Arunava Ghosh.

“The NCTE Act, which is a central one, is binding on the state government.”
According to the “formula” worked out by De, the state can get around the national council’s rules by giving candidates selected for the job a time frame, “say five years”, to fulfil the all-India criteria —clearing the Class XII examination with 50 per cent and obtaining a teachers’ training certificate.

The state government had earlier approved one-year diploma courses for aspiring teachers, but Calcutta High Court declared them illegal.
De was silent on the fate of teachers who failed to meet the national council’s criteria within the stipulated time or if the Centre refused to accept it.
He welcomed Sibal’s proposal to use a combination of bridge courses and open schooling to legalise the “invalid” diplomas so far approved by the state government.
“After this round of appointment, we are ready to abide by the NCTE rules in the future,” De said.
Over 120 primary teacher training institutes in the state have been declared illegal by the court for not abiding by the council’s rules but they now say they are ready to upgrade their infrastructure and increase their course duration from one-year to two-year ones.

Tea fast off after DM letter

TT, Siliguri, Nov. 6: The 26 workers of Nowera Nuddy Tea Estate who had been on an indefinite hunger strike since Monday withdrew their agitation today after Jalpaiguri district magistrate Vandana Yadav wrote to Tata Tea to reopen it by November 13.
The workers had been fasting on the subdivisional office premises in Malbazar. With the management leaving the estate and declaring indefinite suspension of work on September 14, workers of Nowera Nuddy had resorted to demonstration earlier before starting the hunger strike from Monday.This morning, the situation grew tense as workers of Batabari, Damdim and Rungamuttee, three other gardens owned by Tata Tea in the Dooars, demonstrated in their respective gardens for two hours, blaming the management for the closure.In the afternoon, two delegations of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad met the chief secretary at Writers’ Buildings in Calcutta and the Jalpaiguri district magistrate in her office.
“The district magistrate told us that she was sending a letter to the company, asking it to reopen the garden,” said John Barla, president of the Dooars-Terai branch of the Parishad.

Positive dreams on sale at HIV expo

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, Darjeeling, Nov. 6: Hari Chhetri has been HIV positive for almost a decade. The society might think that Chhetri can do little, but he and his friends have decided to prove that “life does not end with HIV/AIDS”.
People living with HIV/AIDS have come together to organise an art exhibition titled Positive Expressions, where their works have been put on for sale.
Chhetri is also the president of Sankar Foundation DjNP+ (Darjeeling Network of Positive People).
Of the 27 works at the exposition that is being held today and tomorrow, five were immediately sold, raising Rs 55,000 by afternoon.
“These artworks were the outcome of a two-day creative design workshop that was conducted by Sweta Pradhan and Dipang Lama of PRO D, along with Helen King,” said Chhetri.
The PRO D is a Darjeeling-based NGO, while King is a volunteer with the Shankar Foundation DjNP+.
The works, which have been done with charcoal, crayons and oil paints, express the hopes and dreams of the HIV positive people, many of whom have dared to come out in public.
“My work reflects the life before and after I was diagnosed with HIV positive. Society might be thinking that HIV people are mere skeletons but we want to prove that life does not end with HIV/AIDS,” said Shankar Mani Rai, pointing at his work.
“The artworks will also feature in the calendar which will be brought by the Shandar Foundation DjNP+. The money generated by the sale of the artworks and the calendar will go to the foundation,” said Pasang Lepcha, co-ordinator of Community Health and Advancement Initiative (CHAI), an NGO based in Darjeeling.
A total of 195 HIV positive people from across the hills are currently registered with the Shankar Foundation. “We have found that there are at least 187 HIV positive people in Darjeeling alone, but only 138 of them have registered with our organisation,” said Chhetri.
The Shankar Foundation caters for the medical needs of its members and organises events to disseminate information on the disease.

Guardians defer school strike

TT, Siliguri, Nov. 6: The Guardians’ Forum of North Bengal has deferred the indefinite strike it had threatened to start in seven English medium schools from November 9 as the deputy mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation today assured the parents’ body that more meetings would be arranged with the institutions.

The reprieve, however, came with a rider: Authorities at Nirmala Convent would have to sit for a meeting with the forum to resolve the fee hike issue by next Friday, failing which the parents would call the strike.
The ultimatum comes after Nirmala Convent sent three guardians, instead of any management representative, to the meeting between the forum and the seven schools.
A heated exchange of words between the forum leaders and the three guardians sent by Nirmala Convent delayed the starting of the talks by one hour.
“We honour the deputy mayor’s request and defer the strike for the time being. But Nirmala Convent will have to hold talks with us by next Friday. Otherwise, we will go ahead with the indefinite strike at all the seven schools,” said Sandeepan Bhattacharjee, the forum president.
The deputy mayor, Nantu Pal, who is also the in-charge of the education and culture departments, said: “Meetings will be held between the forum and each school. None of the parties should delay the convening of the meeting as the impasse is proving detrimental to the future of thousands of students,” Pal said.
The schools, however, refused to revert to the old fees. “We will not roll back the fees. We are ready to hold dialogues with the guardians as a lot of bitterness and misunderstandings have cropped up between parents and schools,” said K.O. Augustine, a Don Bosco representative.

Tibetan girl in a traditional costume at the Tibet Festival that began in Gangtok on Friday. The Tibetan community in Sikkim is celebrating the festival to commemorate the 50 year of its exile in India. The five-day fest will showcase Tibetan music and dance, costume, art and crafts, cuisine, Buddhist rituals, medicine and astrology. ‘This festival has been organised to acknowledge, honour and thank the government and people of India and especially Sikkim for providing us a refuge in which the Tibetan community has thrived. We will remain ever grateful for all that India has done for us,’ a spokesperson for the organising committee said. The festival was inaugurated by Sikkim public health engineering minister TT Bhutia. The message of the 14th Dalai Lama was read out by Dhondup Dorjee, the Tibetan settlement officer of Gangtok, followed by a ‘Thank You India’ song by Thumi Sambhota Tibetan School and traditional dances by Ghangjong Doekar. Two films, on Undercover in Tibet-Channel 4 ,and What remains of us were screened on the first day. Around 3,500 Tibetan families live in Sikkim. Picture by Prabin Khaling.
Nepal India Talks started

Kathmandu: Nepal-India home secretary level talks on bilateral cooperation on border security and the extradition treaty, among others, started in Kathmandu on Friday.
India's Home Secretary G.K. Pillai leads the 10-member delegation of security officials while the Nepali team is led by Home Secretary Govinda Kusum.
The two-day talks will mainly dwell on security issues and cross border crime. These issues had figured prominently during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's official visit to India in August this year.

Apart from concluding the extradition treaty and a pact on Mutual Legal Assistance, the meeting will deliberate on real-time exchange of information on Maoists and coordination among border districts to tackle drugs and fake currency smugglers, Indian official new agency Press Trust of Indian (PIT) said quoting sources.
Meanwhile, the visiting Indian Home Secretary met Prime Minister Nepal at his office in Singha Durbar today.
The Indian Home Secretary informed PM Nepal about the issues to be taken up by the secretary-level meeting and issues related to border security, it is learnt.
Indian ambassador Rakesh Sood was also present at the meeting.nepalnews.com