State after DGHC dump, says Morcha

TT, Darjeeling, Sept 9: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today declared that it would not settle for anything other than Gorkhaland after the DGHC was dissolved and it would not agree to an alternative arrangement as discussed at the August 11 tripartite talks. “Gorkhaland is a just demand and we have realised that we cannot stay with Bengal anymore. Our aspirations will only be fulfilled if Gorkhaland is formed,” said Roshan Giri, the Morcha general secretary, while referring to the chief minister’s statement yesterday. Bhattacharjee, in his speech at Baghajatin Park in Siliguri yesterday, had ruled out the formation of Gorkhaland and appealed to the hill people to remain as part of Bengal. “We are committed to the cause of Gorkhaland and will not accept anything less than statehood. The only alternative to the Sixth Schedule and the DGHC has to be Gorkhaland.” Giri’s statement goes against the sprit of the agreement reached between the Centre, state and the Morcha delegation during the third round of tripartite talks in New Delhi on August 11. Following the meeting, the Union home ministry, in a press release, had stated: “It was agreed, in principle, to the (sic) repeal of the DGHC Act, 1988. The repeal of the Act would be processed as soon as an alternative administrative setup/framework is finalised through mutual consultations and agreement.” If one is to go by the release, it was taken for granted that the interim administrative set-up would first be finalised after which the DGHC would be dissolved. The Morcha has already stepped up its ante demanding immediate dissolution of the DGHC but till date had refused to speak on the alternative arrangement as stated in the media statement. Asked about the Morcha’s demand for the implementation of the three-tier panchayat system (the hills have a defunct one-tier system), Giri said such an arrangement could not be considered as an alternative to the DGHC. NO ALERNATIVE TO TALKS Marcu Dam, The Hindu, Kolkata,10 Sept:West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Wednesday that there was no alternative to discussions if a solution to the political impasse in the Darjeeling Hills arising from the demand of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) for a separate State in the region was to be found. Speaking at Siliguri in north Bengal, he said: “We want peace in the hills; we want discussions. There is no alternative to discussions for a political solution in the hills.” The State government had already ruled out any division of the State for the creation of a Gorkhaland as demanded by the Morcha. “There can be no compromise on our demand for Gorkhaland,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling when asked to comment on Mr. Bhattacharjee’s remarks. “We are maintaining peace in the hills but actual peace will prevail only after Statehood is granted to us. That is our one-point demand.” The GJM leadership is looking forward to the tripartite meeting with representatives of the Central and the State governments to be held on December 21 when it intends to take up the Statehood demand for discussions. “It should be a political meeting as the issue at hand is political. It should not be held at the level of officials,” Mr. Giri said. ‘DISSOLVE DGHC’ The GJM leadership is demanding the immediate dissolution of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) after which it will specify an alternative set-up for the region during the talks on December 21. It had been decided at the previous tripartite discussions held in New Delhi on August 11 that an alternative set-up would be finalised through mutual consultation and agreement between the parties concerned. This would necessitate repealing the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988. JASWANT FACTOR On whether Jaswant Singh’s expulsion from the BJP would affect the future of the Statehood demand, Mr. Giri said: “Our alliance is with the BJP. Mr Singh’s expulsion will not make much of a difference” “There are other senior BJP leaders besides Mr. Singh who have been supporting our Gorkhaland cause,” he added. Mr. Singh was elected MP from the Darjeeling constituency with the support of the GJM in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year. JASWANT's EXPULSION BOON FOR GORKHALAND WebIndia , Siliguri, 9 Sept: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) Wednesday termed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh's expulsion from the party Wednesday as a "boon for the Gorkhaland movement" as the leader can now "work freely" for the realisation of a separate state. "Jaswant Singh is now free of party fetters. This development is a boon and not a bane for the Gorkhaland movement. He can now use his immense contacts at the national level for furthering our cause," GJM central committee member and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri told IANS. Jaswant Singh, who has held defence, finance and external affairs portfolios in the BJP-led governments was expelled for his controversial book praising Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence". The GJM, spearheading the demand for a Gorkhaland out of Darjeleing and some adjacent areas in West Bengal, ensured Jaswant Singh's victory from Darjeeling in the general elections this April-May. Chhetri said the BJP cannot backtrack on its stand of supporting the creation of Gorkhaland as the issue figured in the party's election manifesto. "We supported Jaswant Singh only because the BJP nominated him. If the BJP had named any other candidate we would have gone all out to ensure his victory also. So, our relations with the BJP will also not be affected," Chhetri said. At the same time the GJM was happy with the progress of talks in the third round of tripartite talks recently in Delhi. "The result of this round of tri-partite is positive. We will continue our negotiations with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre." Hemmed in by forest, CM & wife take rest - Buddha vanishes into jungle, while Gurung burnishes Gorkhaland agitation The forest bungalow at Mongpong TT, Siliguri, Sept. 9: Far from the hustle and bustle of Calcutta and even Siliguri, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is spending a couple of days amid the serene surroundings of the hills at Mongpong. Accompanied by wife Meera, Bhattacharjee reached Siliguri yesterday on a two-day visit. His place of stay was different this time. It was not the usual circuit house off NH31 on the outskirts of the town but the forest bungalow at Mongpong managed by the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation, located around 30km from here and on the left bank of Teesta. “The couple will leave for Calcutta tomorrow,” said a police officer. At the heavily fortified Mongpong, Bhattacharjee and his wife were relaxing. Sources said he had taken the break after several months. “He seems to be weak and is taking rest and can be seen only occasionally at the dining hall or portico,” police sources said. “Today, he left for an official meeting and returned around 12.45pm. His wife, too, went to Siliguri and returned in the afternoon.” Since then, they are spending the hours in complete seclusion, the sources said. Another official said the chief minister was not keeping well and he deserved rest. Sources at the WBFDC said both Bhattacharjee and Meera are taking light Bengali diet, with less spices and oil, though they could not provide the detail of the menu. Clash over school strike Tyres burn in Gayerkata. (Anirban Choudhury) TT, Alipurduar, Sept. 9: The education strike called by the Adivasis in the Dooars turned violent today as local people and tribals clashed in Duramari, prompting police to fire in the air and burst tear-gas shells. In Gayerkata, a vehicle of the law enforcers was damaged. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad have shut down schools in Gayerkata, 75km from here, as part of the indefinite strike. The local people blocked NH31C from 9.30am to 5.30pm to protest against it. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded. Officers from Banarhat police station asked the protesters to withdraw the blockade. Furious at this, a group of students stoned a police vehicle. Around 500 students and their guardians had blocked NH31C yesterday, demanding the opening of schools. The Parishad strike had started on Monday to press for recruitment of teachers in Hindi medium schools. At Duramari, 15km from Gayerkata, local people clashed with Parishad members when students tried to enter a high school. Some policemen were injured in the brick battle. Rabi Das, a former pradhan of Duramari gram panchayat, said: “The Parishad brought in armed people from outside and looted shops and injured at least 13 people.” He also accused the police of being partisan. “They were appealing to the tribals with folded hands while lathicharging the locals.” A few cycles were also set on fire during the clash. K.L. Tamta, the inspector-general of police (north Bengal), said over the phone from Siliguri: “We used 10 rounds of tear-gas shells and fired 5-6 rounds in the air. There was also a mild lathi-charge.” A huge force had been deployed in Duramari, he said. In Gayerkata, block development officer (BDO) of Dhupguri Hasdeep Singh tried to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade but in vain. Subir Shikdar, a protester, said: “The BDO had failed to keep his promise to open the schools by today. We withdrew the blockade after an assurance from Shantanu Mukherjee, the SDO of Jalpaiguri Sadar.” John Barla, the president of the Dooars Terai Coordination Committee of the Parishad, said: “We will continue our strike till are demands are met.” Parents’ fury over school shutdown SNS, JALPAIGURI/SILIGURI, 9 SEPT: Agitating guardians of students of the Gairkata area today ransacked a police vehicle following the latter’s failure to act against the Akhil Bhartiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad’s indefinite shutdown of all schools in the Dooars. The ABAVP leadership also ransacked a primary healthcentre at Duramari area of Dhupguri block over the same grievances. Several guardians and the people in general of Gairkata today blocked road against the district administration's failure to reopen the schools. According to a guardian Mr Parimal Mandal, the district administration today failed to keep its word. “Yesterday the district administration officials assured us of police assistance to reopen all the schools in the area. Accordingly, we sent our children to school today but the ABAVP activists drove us back and the schools remained closed for the third day in succession,” said Mr Mandal. Following the administration's failure to provide police help to reopen the schools, the guardians blocked road and upset movement of vehicles. When the police reached the spot, the people got excited and ransacked a police vehicle. The DSP crime, Jalpaiguri, Mr Biswadip Mahato went to the spot with a large contingent of policemen and brought the situation under control. Later the BDO Dhupguri, met the ABAVP leadership to hold a discussion on the issue. At Duramari, the people and the students engaged in a clash with ABAVP supporters demanding immediate reopening of the schools in the area. Six ABAVP supporters were injured in the stone pelting between either sides. The police lathi charged, fired two rounds in the air and five rounds of teargas to bring the situation under control. The administration has finally decided to deploy sufficient police in the area to avert further deterioration of law and order. The ABAVP leadership is but resolute to continue with the closure of schools programme. According to the ABAVP Dooars-Terai Coordination Committee president Mr John Barla, the programme would continue. “We held a meeting at Nagrakata today and decided to continue with the programme. If the district administration does not listen to our plea we would lock all the government offices in future,” Mr Barla said. Kanu’s support to ABAVP Veteran Naxalite leader, Mr Kanu Sanyal expressed support towards the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad’s demand for Hindi teachers and schools in the Adivasi-dominated Terai-Dooars region. “The demand is justified as communication problem has been spiking Adivasi students’ education in the largely Hindi-speaking tea belt,” he said. The ABAVP has been pressing for the transfer of teachers not well conversant with Hindi and their replacement by teachers from the Hindi stream, in the region. Lending whole- hearted support to the demand, the Naxalite legend said that the state education department should meet the demand immediately. “The tribal students happen to be at the receiving end of the existing system when the lingual impediment is coming in the way of their proper education. “Overhauling the system replacing the teachers from the non-Hindi streams by those from the Hindi stream is all the more urgent as the education aspiration among the Adivasi students is growing fast in keeping with the growth of identity-consciousness among the subaltern community,” the Leftist leader said. Commenting on the recently signed bonus agreement for the tea industry, Mr Sanyal said that he was not satisfied with the negotiated bonus for the long-deprived tea plantation workers. “The hike is marginal and keeping in view the legacy of deprivation dogging the tea plantations in north Bengal, the hike should have been on a higher percentage,” he said. Workshop on man, elephant conflicts SNS, JALPAIGURI, 9 SEPT: The Jalpaiguri forest division in collaboration with the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation today organised a workshop on man-elephant conflict mitigation at Sulkapara forest Community hall under Diana forest range at Nagrakata. Attending the programme today, the DFO Jalpaiguri division, Mr Kalyan Das stated that the elephants, that habitate in both the northern and southern part of Dooars, has been heavily affected due to several reasons. “The elephant habitate at the northern forest areas of Dooars has been highly affected due to rising of the river beds of all the Bhutan based rivers because of heavy dolomite sedimentation. Also these rivers are causing heavy soil erosion during the rainy seasons which has destroyed a large part of the jungle at Diana and Reti forest area. Also the elephants are proving unable to drink this dolomite contained river water which affected their habitat there” stated the DFO. Also he added that at the southern part of the Dooars a large amount of cattle in grazing in the unprotected and reserved forest areas and shortening the elephant food, “ All these problems have also affected the elephant corridors in the forest areas which increasing the number of man-elephant conflict” added Mr Das. Adding to the issue the CF northern region Mr Manindra Biswas said that they have paid a total 20 lakhs rupees last year to the villagers for their crop damage due to elephant raid, “But we succeed to pay human death compensations only to 50 percent cases in this period but would definitely pay the rest of the families within a short period. Concerning this situation we have decided to insist the forest villagers to cultivate alternative crops” added Mr Biswas. Also the official stated that the forest department has already started to work on this subject, “we are insisting the forest villagers to cultivate mainly four cash crops as ginger, turmeric, elephant foot, and garlic instead of traditional paddy or corn which attract the pachyderms. Already the forest villagers of Kalapani forest area of Madarihat-Birpara block have achieved a huge financial benifit by cultivating the elephant foots and also reduced the number of elephant raids. Also the villagers of Gosaihat forest village area of Dhupguri has concentrated on elephant foot cultivation” the CF said. The program today attended by the 62 forest protection committees of 8 blocks of Jalpaiguri district, “ Also we insisted them to cultivate lime bushes along their border areas of their lands as it would help them to reduce the number of elephant raids” the official stated. Manipal students without escorts- 400 vacate tech hostels in sikkim Students board a bus to Siliguri on the SMIT campus around 10am on Wednesday. Picture by Prabin Khaling TT, Sept. 9: Nearly 400 students of the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology today arrived in Siliguri without police escorts, saying they would return only after the authorities promised security and normality on the campus. Since 6.30am today, the students started leaving the campus in Mazitar, 44km from Gangtok, for their homes by the Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) buses that brought them to Siliguri. Most of them were annoyed with the security arrangements at their hostels and accused the SMIT authorities of negligence. “We paid a huge amount for our courses and only because of that, we will return to the SMIT to complete our studies. The management of the institute, however, will have to ensure our security on the premises,” a first-year student of applied electronics and instrument and a resident of Bandel in Hooghly district said at the SNT bus stand in Siliguri. It took the students around four hours to come to Siliguri S.S. Pabla, the vice-chancellor of Sikkim Manipal University to which the engineering college is affiliated, however said in Gangtok today that the SMIT authorities would approach police for a permanent picket on the campus. “I thank the police and the state government for defusing the situation. I also appeal to the police to take up the investigations sensitively as the future of students is at stake. We will open the institute soon,” he said. Following a series of clashes at the SMIT since Sunday, many students had decided to leave the hostels, which have around 4,000 boarders. The SMIT had announced an indefinite shutdown and had promised to escort those willing to go home. What had started as an altercation on Sunday over a foul committed in a friendly volleyball match had snowballed into clashes between boarders and the day scholars, who yesterday laid siege to the hostels by blocking the roads leading out of the campus. In the brick battle that followed, eight students were injured. The students said they come out of the institute on their own risk and no police escort was provided to the buses that brought them to Siliguri. Some boarders, however, said they had been escorted till Rangpo, the town on the Sikkim-Bengal border. “We saw two police constables, carrying sticks, seated in a bus that carried some of the students. If this is security, we have nothing more to say,” a first year student of mechanical and a resident of Upper Assam said at New Jalpaiguri station. “Around 400 of us have left the campus.” Another first year student of civil engineering and a resident of Bongaigaon in Assam said: “We will return after October 5. We hope that everything will become normal by then.” In Sikkim, the superintendent of police of East district, M.S. Tuli, said 130 taxis and 18 buses had been arranged to ferry the students down to Siliguri. “They have been vacating the hostels from early in the morning and we had asked our counterparts in Bengal for cooperation and help as well as security for the students,” Tuli said. He added that the mob that had surrounded the SMIT campus dispersed at 9.30 last night. However, no police or administrative official of the Bengal government was seen at SNT bus stand or NJP railway station. The students boarded the trains and buses to their hometowns on their own. The inspector-general of police, north Bengal, K.L. Tamta, conceded that no policemen accompanied the students as they had not been approached for such arrangements. “But I had instructed the circle-inspector of Kalimpong, who met the students at Rangpo and gave them emergency numbers of police stations en route to Siliguri as well as the number of the officer-in-charge of the GRP at New Jalpaiguri in case they needed any help. The police also patrolled the NH31C all the way from Rangpo to Teesta to ensure that there was no trouble. Ministers Asok Bhattacharya and Kanti Ganguly had contacted me as they were concerned about the events in Mazitar,” Tamta said. Hostelites leave SMIT campus SNS, GANGTOK, 9 SEPT: About 1,700 outstation students of the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) at Mazitar near Rangpo in East Sikkim today left campus for home, following yesterday’s clash. The SMIT authority had them escorted by faculty members to Siliguri. The campus was hit by riots on Monday night after a misunderstanding between the local and outstation students grew violent. According to the Rangpo police, the SMIT authority declared the institution closed for at least 10 days or till further notice. “Meanwhile the state armed police have been posted in the campus as a precautionary measure and as normal patrolling duty,” informed Mr KB Gurung, in-charge, Rangpo police station. Some state run SNT buses helped the students reach Siliguri today. Dr Surjit Singh Pabla, Vice Chancellor, Sikkim Manipal University, said: “The situation is under control and timely intervention by the state police and the administration helped avert further crisis.” He informed that an enquiry would be conducted and necessary action would be taken against those involved in the clashes on grounds of regionalism. It is also learnt that the SMIT would be closed till further notice. SMIT is a constituent engineering and management college of the Sikkim Manipal University at Mazitar near Rangpo in East district. Of the five students injured in the clashes, one with a head injury is under observation at the Manipal hospital at Tadong while the others have been released after first aid. It is also learnt that the Assam health minister, Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma is expected to visit SMIT to take stock of the situation and the plight of Assamese students studying in SMIT. He is also expected to meet the state chief secretary and Sikkim CM. BGP ACTIVITY IN NAGPUR

The Audience and Dr. Enos Das Pradhan addressing the gathering

BGP Media Cell, Mumbai : Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) leaders C.K. Shrestha (Working President), Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan (Vice-President), Sukhman Moktan (Secretary General), Bhupendra Adhikari (Secretary, Zone IV and V), Bikash Dutraj and Bishal Chhetri (members, Mumbai

Unit) held an organizational meeting at the epicenter of India i.e. Nagpur on 6^th September.

The meeting was organized at Hislop College, Nagpur and at the initiative of the local social body called Nagpur Gorkha Samaj and addressed by the central leaders of the BGP. In their speeches all the leaders highlighted the need of starting a national level apolitical organization of the Indian Gorkhas and appealed all concerned to enroll themselves as the members of this umbrella body of Indian Gorkhas. Dr. Pradhan, highlighted the contributions made by the Indian Gorkhas towards the achievement of freedom, building and development of this country. He also remembered the sacrifices made by the Indian Gorkhas during the time of freedom movement and highlighted the importance of observing the nationwide balidan diwas once in a year. According to Dr. Pradhan, the BGP may be the only organization to observe such patriotic programme throughout the country.

It may be recalled that this time the balidan diwas was observed at about 50 places in different states of India. He also requested the Gorkha people to continue to observe this day in memory of those Gorkha soldiers of the freedom movement and post-independence era who laid their lives for the sake of their motherland India in different difficult moments. Moktan highlighted the organizational aspects of this national association and said that the BGP has been working with seven national issues which topped the creation of a separate state for Indian Gorkhas mainly to clear the identity crisis facing since a long. Shrestha, in his brief speech, appreciated the attitude and nature of the Indian Gorkhas of peacefully settling in any part of the country and contributing towards the upliftment of the respective regions. He also shared his views about the character of the Gorkhas spread throughout the country and claimed that the Gorkhas have not remained as liabilities to other societies in India but they have sacrificed for the betterment of the area they are residing.

In the meeting P. B. Rana, President, NGS, welcomed the views shared by the BGP leaders and requested the local residents to become the members of this national level organization. Earlier, Sudipto Singh, Secretary, Managing Committee, Hislop College, Nagpur welcomed the BGP leaders and thanked them for rendering him opportunity to host the meeting of this national level organization. He also assured the BGP leaders to assist them in near future in their endeavor to hold such meetings or programmes. In the meeting it was decided to organize a three day long leadership workshop of the BGP activists at the same venue during the month of January next year.

It may be recalled that the BGP has already organized such workshop in Kalimpong, Pathankot, Dehradun and Guwahati in the past with an aim to make their activists well versed with the aims and objectives of the organization. Parvati Kunwar, local teacher and a social activist delivered vote of thanks. In the meeting Kumar Pradhan, Senior Engineer, Indian Railways enrolled himself as the patron of the organisation’s Nagpur unit and requested other local Gorkha residents to become ordinary or life members as the case may be. Earlier, a showmof a documentary film presented by Delhi Doordarshan on the inauguration of statue of Shahid Durga Malla was also arranged. The meeting was organized in the grand manner by the local residents and attended among others by most of the young educated youths particularly the girls. The entire programme was conducted by Bhupendra Adhikari.