www.telegraphindia.com
Kalimpong, July 30: An attempt to change the local business community’s weekly day off from Sunday to Thursday was foiled when the markets here remained closed today.
The bid to change the day is seen as the fallout of an on-going tussle between two local trade bodies — Kalimpong Bepar Mandal, which campaigned for the shift, and Kalimpong Chamber of Commerce, which opposed it. (more…)
www.telegraphindia.com
Kalimpong, July 23: World Vision, an NGO, with the help of the local health department, has launched a programme in schools to educate students on the hazards of HIV-AIDS.
Such a programme was first held at Dr Graham’s Homes, which was attended by 170-and-odd students of Class XI of the institute. Discussions, skits, and documentaries on HIV-AIDS formed part of the day-long programme. “We will conduct another programme in the school, which will be for students of Class IX,” said Biju Abraham, the programme manager of World Vision. Other schools will also be involved in the project. (more…)
www.telegraphindia.com
RAJEEV RAVIDAS
Kalimpong, July 6: Satyanaryan Agarwal and Rameshwar Das Bhadoria look at the reopening of Nathu-la with mixed feelings.
As veteran traders of Kalimpong, which once used to be an important centre of Indo-Tibetan commerce, they are happy at the resumption of border trade with Tibet and China, but disappointed that Nathu-la has been chosen over Jelep-la for the purpose.
Their disappointment is understandable: as young men more than fifty years ago, they were involved in border trade through Jelep-la. In fact, before the Sino-Indian war of 1962, most of the trade with Tibet took place through Jelep-la with Kalimpong acting as a trading hub.
Jelep-la mountain pass, at 10,827 ft above sea level, is located south-east of Nathu-la and connects Tibet with Kalimpong via Sikkim. The Kalimpong to Jelep-la road used to be the most easily navigable route between the two countries. (more…)
www.telegraphindia.com
Kalimpong, July 2: For the 500-odd children of Kalimpong and South Sikkim, the summer vacation must have been more fun than usual, thanks to the summer camp organised by World Vision, an NGO working in the rural areas of the two places.
The first batch of 250 children — aged between 10 and 18 years — from the rural areas of Turuk, Sadam, Mallidara and Lumchuck in South Sikkim have already returned home after spending three days at the camp, which concluded at Pudung, about 10 km from here, yesterday.
The next camp will be held at the same venue, the Centre for Mountain Dynamics at Pudung, from July 6 to 8. This time, the participants will include another batch of 250 students of rural Kalimpong. “The idea behind these camps is to inculcate proper values among young kids. Apart from games, the participants are given value-based and environmental lessons,” said Biju Abraham, programme manager, World Vision, Kalimpong. Given that the number of school dropouts is alarmingly high in the rural belt here, a special awareness class was also held for them.
“Most of the students belong to the economically backward section, and it is important to tell them about the need to continue their education,” said Rakesh Rai, the community development coordinator.
