Gorkhas Repeat: Won't take no this time

Subrata Nagchoudhary, IE, Kolkata 1 Dec:An image makeover for Darjeeling to coincide with the secretary-level tripartite talks, slated for December 21, is almost complete. The words “West Bengal” have been wiped off all signboards on shops, business establishments, hotels and even in most government premises in all the three hill sub-divisions. Instead, “Gorkhaland” has been inserted in all such premises as a mandatory step.

The contours of a new Gorkhaland state have begun to take shape under Bimal Gurung and his associates who have designed and executed a meticulous campaign to show New Delhi and the state government that Darjeeling is no more a part of West Bengal, whatever be the outcome of the tri-partite discussions.

With the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha whipping up a frenzy for a separate Gorkhaland, there are clear rumblings of a major showdown from the hills if the Gorkha aspiration for a separate state fails to take a definite shape this time around. Every tea stall, business enterprise, hotel and other establishments on the way to Darjeeling adores this new lexicon — Gorkhaland. Those who could not afford a fresh coat of paint to display “Gorkhaland” after having deleted West Bengal, have computer print outs proclaiming Darjeeling’s new identity pasted on their walls. The physical changes are matched by equally aggressive pronouncements by Gurung and his colleagues.

“We have only one agenda for this round of talks — creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland,” says Gurung, the president of the GJM. “Before that we are not going to deviate in any direction,” Gurung adds. His lieutenant, Roshan Giri, joins in to elaborate the underlying mood: “Should the December 21 talk fails to arrive at a consensus for a separate Gorkhaland state, we would unilaterally declare the Gorkha state. We would be the sole caretaker of Gorkhas’ fate.”

The image makeover in Darjeeling began on November 7 after Gurung issued specific fatwa for immediate implementation. The Morcha leaders’ desperation is largely explained by the fact that no tangible results have come out of the GJM-sponsored agitation for Gorkhaland in the past two years and the movement runs the risk of losing its steam. Gurung’s promise of a separate state by March 2010 has almost fallen flat. He has been abundantly apologetic over the slip. His next move to push the Gorkha cause by roping in BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh proved futile too, after the expulsion of Singh for his book on Jinnah.

The Congress, the Trinamool and the CPM are opposed to division of Bengal. The senior-most Congress leader from Bengal, Pranab Mukherjee, has been categorical about not supporting Gorkhaland. Gurung and his party don’t seem to have too many options but to lend a highly emotive pan-Nepali/Gorkha edge to the continuing agitation.

GOVT TO INTRODUCE DIGITAL RATION CARD

Government has approved in December 2008 implementation of a pilot scheme on smart cards based TPDS in Chandigarh and Haryana. To make delivery of services more efficient under Targeted Public Distribution System Under it, eligible BPL families would be issued smart cards in place of existing ration cards. These smart cards will have biometric features of family members, based on which verification of genuineness of the BPL families will take place and thereafter only the essential commodities would be issued to them from fair price shops. 

For commencing implementation of smart card based delivery of essential commodities, work is in progress by implementing agencies-Government of Haryana, Chandigarh UT Administration and National Informatics Centre. 

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. (pib)

Weather report dated 01.12.09 

Local forecast for next 24 hours (Gangtok & its neighborhood):

       Generally cloudy sky .  Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 14°C and 09°C respectively. Gangtok city forecast of Max., Min. & Wx. Condition.

Valid for the period	Max in oC	Min in oC	Rainfall in mm	Wx condition
Next 24 hours	14	09	000.0	Generally cloudy sky.
Next 48 hours	15	09	000.0	Generally cloudy sky.

III.   Met data dated 01.12.2009 

Today’s Sun sets at (in IST)	16:38	Tomorrow Sun rises at (in IST)	06:07
Moon rises at (in IST)	16:34	Moon sets at (in IST)	06:00
24 hours rainfall (in mm)	000.0
Max Temp. (in 0C)	15.8	Dep. from normal	-1.2
Min Temp. (in 0C)	09.7	Dep. from normal	+2.7

Have to consider GJM's viewpoint, says interlocutor

TNN 1 December 2009,KOLKATA: Lt-Gen (retd) Vijay Madan, the interlocutor appointed by the Centre to hold talks with all stakeholders over Gorkhaland, said on Monday that negotiating with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) was the only way to honour sentiments of Hill residents. This would also help all parties involved in understanding the crux of the Gorkha problem, he said.

Madan met state chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti and home secretary Ardhendu Sen at the state secretariat during the day.

Madan is scheduled to meet Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Tuesday and brief him about talks with GJM leaders.

The interlocutor said he would go to Darjeeling on Wednesday for a fresh round of talks with GJM leaders. Madan is scheduled to take part in a tripartite meeting at Darjeeling on December 21.

Talking to reporters at Writers' Buildings, Madan said that he was more than satisfied with his interactions with GJM leaders.

"Talks with GJM leaders were held in a very friendly atmosphere. They are nice people who listen to suggestions carefully and respond to them too," he said.

Asked if the fourth round of tripartite talks scheduled to be held in Darjeeling on December 21 would lead to a solution to the problem, Madan said that the decision would have to be taken at the political level.

"I am not the right person to comment on a solution to any problem. I will narrate the experiences I had on talks at various levels to the Centre," he added.

The state top brass, who are scheduled to participate in tripartite talks on December 21, will have to address problems of acute water crisis, the sorry state of roads and other civic problems in the hills which the GJM leaders are expected to raise at the talks.

Morcha yes to hill stand-in - Interlocutor meets CM at Writers’

TT, Kalimpong/Calcutta, Nov. 30: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha said any interim administrative arrangement would have to include the Dooars on a day the interlocutor appointed by the Union home ministry to facilitate the fourth round of talks stepped into Writers’ Buildings for the first time. Lieutenant-General (retired) Vijay Madan, the interlocutor, met the state chief and home secretaries and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to get a grasp of the ongoing problem in the Darjeeling hills. Up in the hills, the Morcha said it was willing to accept an interim administration in place of the DGHC, but only if the new arrangement meets three of its conditions. The party’s revelation comes after it was put under the scanner by ABGL president Madan Tamang who alleged that the Morcha was settling for an alternative to the DGHC and scuttling the demand for a separate state. Tamang’s allegation has raised the political discourse to a fever pitch in the hills in the run up to the fourth round of tripartite talks scheduled in Darjeeling on December 21. Clarifying the party stand, Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri said the three primary conditions for the interim arrangement were: it must cover the entire Darjeeling district and parts of the Dooars and Terai; it must be time-bound; and it should be more powerful than autonomy granted under the Sixth Schedule. “Except for the judiciary and law and order, all financial and legislative powers that will enable us to form rules and regulations, should be completely detached from the state government,” he added. The party, Chhetri said, would use the interim arrangement to secure the geographical boundary of the Gorkha state it has been demanding. The Morcha “map” shows “Gorkhaland” extending from the Mechi river in the west to Sankosh in the east. “Once the DGHC act is repealed, the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad will also have to be abolished. The entire district will then have to come under the interim arrangement,” he added. Chhetri said any interim set-up that does not include these three conditions would remain a non-starter. “However, the interim arrangement will be the least of our focus during the talks. Instead, we will be driving hard on the Gorkhaland issue. People should not fall prey to the falsehood being spread by the stooges of the state government,” he added. In Calcutta, Madan said he had come to meet senior state officials and the chief minister. “I am a soldier and believe that there is a solution to every problem,” he added. Asked if the “problem” would be an easy one to tackle, the interlocutor said: “There are areas that are black and white and grey ones as well. We all have to tackle that. Your chief minister is a man of great intellect and a gentleman. The people representing the movement in the hills are also all nice persons.” Madan will meet governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi tomorrow and visit Darjeeling the next day. “I will submit a report to Delhi on December 4,” he said. Chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said he could not comment on his interaction with the interlocutor, as it was a “sensitive” issue. Gorkhaland Talks near IE,Kolkata,1 Dec: With 20 days to go for the tripartite talks between the state government, Centre and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), Lt General (retd) Vijay Madan, the Centre’s interlocutor, met Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Monday and discussed the issue of Gorkhaland. Asked about the demand put forth by GJM, Madan said: “There is nothing called absolute victory. Even America did not have absolute victory. I am a soldier and I have come here to find a solution for this issue (Gorkhaland).” “There are many stakeholders and I will have to speak to all of them. And only then will I submit my report to the Central government,” said the interlocutor. The tripartite meeting is going to be held at Darjeeling on December 21. The decision to appoint an interlocutor was taken in the last tripartite meeting held in Delhi three months ago. Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti and Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen were also present in the meeting where the state government presented its stand on the issue of Gorkhaland. On Tuesday, Madan will meet Minister for Urban Development Ashok Bhattacharya and later in the day he will be meeting Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. He will be going to Darjeeling on December 2. Bhattacharya said he would apprise Madan about the situation in the Hills. “I am going to tell him about the prevailing situation and how the economy in the Hills is being affected seriously because of the continuous protests,” said Bhattacharya. Gorkhaland

SNS, KOLKATA, 30 NOV: The Centre appointed interlocutor, Lt Gen. (retired) Mr Vijay Madan today said “there cannot be any outright victory,” on the issue of formation of Gorkhaland as demanded by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) following a meeting with the chief minister and chief secretary today. The interlocutor will also meet Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi tomorrow as well as the CPI-M minister from Siliguri, Mr Asok Bhattacharya before proceeding towards Darjeeling for a meeting with the GJMM leaders ahead of the tripartite talks and report to the Centre on 4 December. 
Gorkhaland Issue Tripartite meeting
PTI, Kolkata, Nov 30 The Centre today said a tripartite meeting to resolve the vexed Gorkhaland issue would be held in New Delhi on December 21.
"Representatives of Centre, state government and GJM would attend the meeting," the Centre's interlocutor on the matter Vijay Madan told newsmen here.
Earlier in the day, Madan had a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty and Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen.
Madan, a retired Lieutenant General of Army, said the Gorkhaland issue needed a political solution. "There is no problem in the world that could not be solved through dialogue," he said.
Madan is scheduled to meet Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Municipal Affairs Minister Asok Bhattacharya and several state government officials tomorrow before returning to Darjeeling on Wednesday.

Goa red carpet for Sikkim girl - Avartan screened at film fest

Gangtok, Nov. 30: Seven-year-old Yuden Zongtenpa walked the red carpet at a theatre in Panaji in Goa last evening. The child artiste from Sikkim had for company Rajat Kapoor and Rituparna Sengupta.

The three of them have starred in Amol Palekar’s Avartan, a feature shot entirely in Sikkim and screened at the 40th Indian International Film Festival in Goa.

“It was received very well as far as we gathered from the audience reaction. Yuden was also at the post-screening press conference that was held today and is spending the day at the beaches,” said proud mother Rebina Rai.

She said journalists had shot several questions at the child artiste. But Yuden did not speak much, confining herself to only saying hello. “She was more interested in hitting the beaches,” Rebina said. She quoted Palekar as saying that no date had been fixed for the film’s release. Palekar said for Yuden’s role, he had interviewed children in Mumbai first, but when he stumbled upon her in Gangtok, her sweet face and immense talent immediately struck him.

Before flying off to Goa, Yuden had told The Telegraph on Friday that apart from looking forward to watching herself on screen, she was keen on walking and playing on the beaches. Asked about the shots she had enjoyed, Yuden said a kite-flying and a wheelbarrow scene shot in West Sikkim were her favourites. She was also excited to meet Rajat Kapoor, whom she called Mojo Jojo, a character in the popular children’s cartoon series, The Powerpuff Girls.

“She wore traditional Sikkimese dress as well as contemporary ones during her shooting at locations in Geyzing and Jorethang in March this year. She was the toast of the entire crew as well as the actors,” the mother said.

Avartan, also titled And Once Again, has been scripted in English by Palekar’s wife, Sandhya Gokhale. The movie has music scores by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with lyrics by Gulzar.

Sikkim Tourism had spent Rs 1.5 crore on the movie that also showcases the natural beauty of the Himalayan state and is believed to go a long way in promoting tourism.

Time, neglect apply brakes on ropeways

Mohan Prasad, SNS, KURSEONG, 30 NOV: Once a major form of transportation and tourist attraction, ropeways in the Darjeeling hills are creaking to grinding halts in succession.
Many still recollect the good old days when the trolleys rolled overhead transporting goods and men over crevices and hill tops to serene spots when life was not so town centric. Understandably, the kudos go to the British, who had envisaged and rigged the lifelines through the clouds.
Time has applied the brakes on the ropeways and in most instances for good, turning the trolleys into rust buckets. The pylons minus the cables now stand sentinel in many spots ~ a heart-wrenching reminder of the past glory.Take for instance the Balasun Tea Estate Ropeway, which was shut down six years ago with little possibility of a revival.
The Balasun Ropeway is about 20 km downtown Kurseong. In its heydays, it covered about 12 km from Balasun to Marmah Tea Estate and was the lifeline for many.
According to Balasun Tea Estate officials, the British Ropeway Engineering Company Ltd. London had installed the service in the 1930's. The service was shut done six years ago for various reasons ~ damage caused to the ropeway infrastructure chiefly, on a regular basis. Similar reasons had also forced the closure of the Rangbul Ropeway situated approximately 13 km from Darjeeling.
The service used to ferry passengers and cargo over a distance of 30 km from Rangbul to Miling Tea Estate and to Tungsung Tea Estate thereon. The service was discontinued six years ago as well. According to Mr Bir Bahadur Subba, a former employee of the Rangbul Ropeway, the ropeways were a major form of transport before the network of roads developed.
“Now, roads lead to and from almost every corner of the hills. Along with that, the number of vehicles has grown manifold in the Darjeeling hills and the people can avail of road transport easily. The ropeways are not as essential today like the yesteryears,” he pointed out.
“That may be so, but it has taken away the sweetness and adventure of travelling over gorges and ravines through the clouds suspended mid-air from a cable. The tourists regret it for sure,” said Mr Binay Gurung, a senior citizen of the Balasun Tea Estate.

Offices, trains bear brunt of bandh

BJP supporters set up a blockade on NH34 near Malda town. (Surajit Roy) TT, Nov. 30: Supporters of the BJP ransacked two government offices in Malda, pelted a police vehicle with stones in Raiganj and held up several trains in north Bengal as the party observed its 12-hour bandh to protest rise in price of essential commodities. While there was little impact of the shutdown call in Siliguri and Jalpiaguri, most shopowners in Malda, North Dinajpur and Cooch Behar said they did not open their establishments for fear of violence. “Earlier, in Cooch Behar, there used to be stiff resistance from the Forward Bloc and the CPM during bandhs called by opposition parties, but that has changed. We did not see any rallies being taken out this time by the Left parties urging people to thwart the bandh,” Sirajul Sheikh, a resident of Cooch Behar said. In North Dinajpur, the people feared that the BJP would take the help of RSS cadres that have some presence in the district. “Who wants to take the risk? Our establishments are not insured against bandh violence,” said Joynarayan Somany of the West Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce. Around 150 bandh supporters stormed the offices of state forest and sericulture departments in Malda and ransacked furniture and broke windowpanes. They also tried to stop district magistrate Sridhar Ghosh from entering but let him go after a scuffle with police. “Twelve people have been arrested,” said Bhuban Mondal, the superintendent of police of Malda. Jatin Ghosh, the BJP district president, however, denied his party’s role in the ransacking. In Dalkhola, North Dinajpur, some bandh supporters pelted a vehicle carrying policemen with stones on NH34. The police lathicharged to disperse the supporters. The Guwahati-Puri Express and the Kolkata-Raiganj Express via Radhikapur were held up at Malda station for two hours. The Darjeeling Mail was stopped at Telta station near Dalkhola at 5am. It left for New Jalpaiguri at 3pm. The Sealdah bound Kanchenjunga Express departed NJP around 4.30pm, more than eight hours after the scheduled time. The Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express was delayed for more than five hours and left NJP at 4.30pm. “Train services started becoming normal at 4.30pm,” said G.D Mondal, the station manager of NJP. Goondas find Bengal haven - BJP bandh rampage reflects Delhi ambitions A BJP supporter enforcing the bandh at the mouth of Rajarhat New Town. (Aranya Sen) TT,Nov. 30: The scale of street hooliganism during today’s BJP-sponsored bandh left Bengal stunned amid indications that the unexpected violence stemmed from the ambitions and rivalries of central and state party leaders. Bandh-enforcers armed with sticks and rods torched three buses, attacked cars, snatched drivers’ keys and blocked traffic to Calcutta’s IT hub and airport as the Left government, true to its form during recent bandhs, stayed a spectator. (See Metro) A senior official said the police presence on Calcutta’s streets was less than even the 2,000-odd personnel deployed for the November 24 SUCI bandh — probably the government counted on the BJP having never been a major force in Bengal. Sources, however, suggested the violence had little to do with the official reason for the bandh — price rise — over which the BJP is agitating nation-wide. It was the result, they said, of the efforts of outgoing BJP national president Rajnath Singh, and new state party chief Rahul Sinha, to impress the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Rajnath is eyeing the job of the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha or a similar post and wants to show he and his handpicked Bengal chief can project an “assertive” BJP in a state where it has never wielded much influence. Rajnath today appeared to condone the violence, telling The Telegraph: “It was a spontaneous reaction to extreme poverty. The display of fury is understandable.” Sinha, entangled in a faction fight since being installed on November 6 after the Sangh got Satyabrata (Julu) Mukherjee removed, wanted “to hog the headlines by enforcing the bandh”, state BJP sources said. Sinha is close to the Sangh, whose officials acknowledged that he had got many swayamsevaks on the streets today, especially in Nadia, Malda and other north Bengal districts. So, even though the BJP’s November 20 bandh on the same issue in Delhi, where it has been traditionally powerful, went off peacefully, in Bengal it spawned violence in Calcutta, other areas of south Bengal and parts of north Bengal. In Delhi, the BJP had called a partial bandh, asking shops and commercial establishments to shut but exempting transport, banks, schools, colleges and eateries. Sinha, however, urged the central leaders to allow him to call a total bandh in Bengal. A party functionary in Delhi said that Rajnath readily agreed, saying state units should be free to decide their strategy on public agitations, despite some leaders’ view that the party should not be seen as overly destructive. Last week, Rajnath asked Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Javdekar to monitor the bandh preparations in Bengal. Local leaders were assigned charge of the various zones and Bihar Lok Sabha member Shahnawaz Hussain was told to come to Bengal yesterday to ensure the script was followed. Rajnath stayed in touch with the district supervisors in Bengal over the phone to monitor the bandh’s progress, especially in north Bengal. The violence, however, brought out the factionalism in the state unit. Sinha’s rival and Bengal BJP vice-president Sabyasachi Bagchi slammed the “ferocity” of the violence and said the party’s central leaders should condemn it. He blamed the hooliganism on the “outsiders” the state president had allegedly deployed in Calcutta and Howrah. Sinha denied this, saying “our party workers” were on the streets to “make the bandh a success”. Bagchi’s allegation, however, received support from Mamata Banerjee who claimed the BJP had “brought in CPM cadres to unleash violence” during the bandh. “The CPM and the BJP have been working together in the state since the Lok Sabha elections,” she alleged. Some BJP leaders agreed that the hooligans were CPM cadres but claimed it was a Left ploy “to discredit our party”. One leader said: “There was violence even in Behrampore (Murshidabad) where the BJP has hardly any base.” BJP sources said Sinha was at war with Bagchi and other key officials like general secretary Malay Majumdar. Bagchi, Majumdar and some others today wrote to central BJP leaders complaining about Sinha’s “unethical tactics” in enforcing the bandh. “Rahul camped for two days at the party’s central Calcutta office to work out the strategy of deploying RSS cadres in consultation with general secretary (organisation) Amal Chatterjee, also a key RSS man,” a BJP source said. Sword attack on deserted road - Doctors fear for student’s hand, finger at cong-backed goons Farooq Alam at the nursing home on Monday. Picture by Mehedi Hedaytullah TT, Islampur, Nov. 30: A second year student of Islampur College and CPM supporter was accosted on his way to the institution and his left hand severed, allegedly by Congress backed goons on a day when a BJP sponsored bandh had left the streets deserted and none to answer to the boy’s call for help. Doctors at a private nursing home where Farooq Alam was admitted said his hand will probably have to be amputated. “We are trying our best, but we have to amputate his hand to save his life,” said Dr Majhar Alam. The incident took place at Dhuligaon More, 25km from here, around 11am. Farooq had set out for college on his motorcycle for selection test for the Part II exams. Traffic was scarce and there was hardly anyone around at Dhuligaon More, which is usually a busy crossing. The gang of eight surrounded the motorcycle, forced Farooq to get down and brought the sword down on his left arm near the shoulder. They also hit him on the left wrist. Mohammed Farazuddin, a local committee member of the CPM, alleged that Congress-backed “anti-socials” had attempted to murder his brother. Farazuddin said the gang today was led by local Congress strongman Mohammed Abdul. In February, he had shot at another of Farooq’s siblings, Mohammed Zainal. The family resides in Srijali, which is part of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. However, the Islampur area and North Dinajpur as a whole is known as a Congress hub. “Our only fault is that we belong to the CPM and we had fought against the anti-social activities in the area. That is why they have been targeting our family members. When Farooq was attacked, there were only one or two persons around because of the bandh. They informed us and when we reached the spot, a stone’s throw from our house, the attackers had fled,” Farazuddin said. In Malda, another Congress bastion around 250km away, violence had claimed five persons in the past one month. While three belonged to the CPM, two were from the Congress. Not only that, the son of a Citu leader was shot dead at his house on Saturday, a few hours after several peace initiatives which included two all-party meetings and one peace march. According to Farazuddin, Abdul and his men had been pressuring them to withdraw the case pending against his gang in connection with the attempt to murder Zainal. Farazuddin also alleged that the police inaction against the Congress-backed toughs had emboldened them still further. “The miscreants have a nexus with a section of local police officers,” he said. Secretary of the zonal committee of the CPM Swapan Guha Niyogi shared Farazuddin’s views. He alleged that Abdul had been roaming about freely even though the police always claimed that he had been absconding. “Even today, the police reached the spot long time after the incident had taken place. This helped the miscreants flee,” Niyogi said. President of Srijali zonal committee of the Congress Mohammed Kamauddin, however, claimed that his party was in no way involved in the attack on Farooq. The CPM, he alleged, was making such campaigns with an eye to malign his party. Subdivisional police officer David Lepcha admitted that Abdul and his men were involved in today’s attack on Farooq. A police picket has been set up in the area and intensive patrolling has been introduced. “They had fled the area soon after the incident. We have started a combing operation in Islampur and adjoining areas looking for the miscreants,” Lepcha said. Inspector-general of police (north Bengal) K.L. Tamta said he had ordered the local force to arrest the anti-socials at the earliest. He said several cases including a case of attempt to murder was pending against Abdul. Road mishap TT,Gangtok: Three persons died when the vehicle they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell 100m below at Bom Bhir, Hathidunga in West Sikkim on Monday. Parvati Sharma, a teacher in a government school, Usha Sharma and driver Loknath Sharma died on the spot, police said. Five injured persons were referred to the Namchi district hospital. The police suspect that the brakes of the vehicle had failed. Rhino search TT,Siliguri: Foresters on Monday could not tranquillise a male rhino that had left Gorumara National Park after losing a fight with another over a female and reached Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary near Siliguri. A search is on.