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ANURADHA SHARMA LAKHOTIA & PEMA LEYDA SHANGDERPA

Chuikhim, Sept. 27: Dashain is all set to be different in Chuikhim this time.

Much to the pleasure of the women here, Dussehra in this nondescript hilly village in Kalimpong subdivision, more than 55 km from Siliguri, will be held sans jaand and raksi (forms of country liquor that are must-haves at any festival).

“We will try to make it up with liberal doses of meat and fish,” said Krishna Bahadur Rai, one of the women. Ever since the residents decided to develop this place as a model self-sustaining village and introduce community-based tourism more than a year ago, all hooch dens have shut shop. “We now want the village to develop as a liquor-free tourist destination,” Rai added. (more…)

VIVEK CHHETRI
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Darjeeling, Sept. 24: Rain over the past three days triggered a landslide about a kilometre and a half from the heart of the hill station this afternoon, killing eight people and highlighting once again Darjeeling’s vulnerability to man-made disasters because of ill-planned constructions.

At Kazi Gaon, many people were caught in their houses when a huge mass of loose earth, trees, boulders and mud — originating about 150 feet above — came crashing down this afternoon. Many did not manage to scamper to safety. (more…)

Press Trust of India
SILIGURI, Sept. 24: A new group, with suspected links with Maoists in Nepal, has emerged in the hills of Darjeeling which gave birth to the Gorkhaland movement by GNLF chief Mr Subash Ghisingh, with a call to take up arms for creation of a separate state.
The new outfit, United Gorkha Revolutionary Front led by a former former Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) man Mr Ajay Dahal, was launched two years ago, but its existence came to be known in the hills recently, police said.
The police came to know about it from posters put up in Kalimpong on 6 September. (more…)

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Kalimpong, Sept. 24: Darjeeling district police today sought to play down the United Gorkha Revolutionary Front (UGRF)’s claims that its armed wing — United Gorkha Revolutionary Army (UGRA) — has been running nine training camps in the subdivision.

“As of now, I have no credible information about the existence of any camps. Let me verify the claims and only then will I make a comment,” said district superintendent of police Rajesh Subarna.

Yesterday, the UGRF had made the “disclosure” in a release issued to a vernacular daily here. In it, the nascent organisation also maintained that once the training gets over, its armed struggle for the creation of the separate state of Gorkhaland would begin. (more…)

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Kalimpong: Binod Bhujel and Rodrique Lepcha, the duo picked up from Suruk on Thursday for harbouring rebels belonging to the United Gorkha Revolutionary Army (UGRA), were arrested on Friday. The two, along with suspected UGRA member Ram Rai, were produced in court, which remanded them to 10 days of police custody.

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Kalimpong, Sept. 21: Darjeeling police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) today launched a joint operation in some of the villages of the hill subdivision in search of the members of the United Gorkha Revolutionary Army (UGRA).

The organisation — supposedly the armed wing of the United Gorkha Revolutionary Front formed by former CISF jawan Ajay Dahal — had announced the launch of an armed struggle for the separate state of Gorkhaland about a fortnight ago. (more…)

Statesman News Service
SILIGURI, Sept. 21: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Darjeeling Police today launched a joint operation against the newly formed Gorkha National Liberation Army (GNLA), a wing of the United Gorkha Revolutionary Front (UGRF), in the jungles and remote villages of Kalimpong.
Confirming the development, Darjeeling SP Mr Rajesh Subarno said: “A joint operation has been launched against the GNLA and the UGRF activists by police and CRPF jawans today.”
The move comes in the wake of reports that the UGRF had formed its own army in the name of GNLA under the leadership of Ajay Dahal. The GNLA, formed as a part of the UGRF’s proposed armed struggle for the creation of Gorkhaland, had recently splashed some posters in Kalimpong town, exhorting the people of the Hills to join them. (more…)

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Kalimpong, Sept. 18: The Opposition in the Kalimpong municipality today accused its chairman C.K. Kumai of mis-utilising civic funds, including the Rs 2 lakh donated by him to a local puja committee last year.

The chief of the GNLF-led civic body, however, has lost no time in rebutting the allegations levelled against him by Norden Lama, Bijay Sundas and Pravin Rahapal at a press meet here today.

Besides the donation to Shakti Puja Committee, Kumai had also sanctioned Rs 60,000 for a staff picnic last December. He had leased out a stall in Hat Bazar to a functionary of a trade body affiliated to the GNLF for Rs 71,000 when the person in question had himself put in a bid of Rs 1.71 lakh. Not only that, though Rs 75 lakh has been sanctioned for a bus terminus near Novelty Cinema, the municipality has already run out of funds and it is yet to be completed. (more…)

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Lava, Sept. 17: You (education) gave light to darkness/ Found the way to the moon/ Happy are the educated lot /Sad, who are not

The above words taken from a Nepali poem describing the imaginary lamentations of a school dropout on the follies of not continuing his education.

Mature as they sound, these words have been penned by 11-year-old Prem Kumar Rai, the son of a farmer living in the remote Dalimgari village of Kalimpong subdivision. A student of Class VI at Juddhabir Higher Secondary School in Gorubathan, Rai recited his poem — Shiksha! Pheri Timro Yad Ayo (O Education! Your Reminiscence Haunts) — before an enthralled crowd at an elocution and extempore speech competition organised by the Rotary Club of Kalimpong.

In fact, people were so stunned by the performance of the diminutive poet, that many were not ready to believe that the poem was truly Rai’s creation. The headmaster of his school, Pradip Gurung, however, put all such doubts to rest. “He writes his own stuff. I, of course, have helped by correcting the spellings here and there,” he said.

“I have written many more poems, including one on my village. I chose to recite this particular poem in the competition because it is the only one I know by heart,” Prem told The Telegraph.

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Darjeeling, Sept. 17: The message was clear. Religion and traditions are more deep-rooted than politicians and their diktats.

The hill town wore a festive look today, as residents came forward to celebrate Viswakarma Puja like the rest of the country. Pandals were erected and paeans sung to the god.

The enthusiasm came as a surprise as there were indications from the GNLF — the ruling party in the hills which calls all the shots — that the god of engineering and architecture would be worshipped in a new way this time. It is not that Subash Ghisingh, the GNLF chief, had banned the traditional form of worship. For that matter, in the past too, Ghisingh had never issued any directive on religious practices, but then his subtle hints have always been followed to the hilt. (more…)

Statesman News Service
SILIGURI/DARJEELING, Sept. 15: Landslides, triggered by incessant rainfall last night, threw traffic out of gear on NH-31A and NH-31, from Sevoke Coronation Bridge to Kalijhora, today. Traffic movement was paralysed on NH-55 too due to a mudslide near Tindharia railway station this morning. There was, however, no report of any casualty.
Officials said that at least 12 cases of landslides were reported between Sevoke Kalibari temple and Kalijhora on NH-31A. Three cases of landslides were also reported on NH-31 that connects Siliguri with the Dooars. Locals said the landslides occurred in the early hours today due to heavy rainfall last night. Sikkim and Kalimpong remained cut off from the rest of the country till this evening. (more…)

VIVEK CHHETRI
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Darjeeling, Sept. 13: Politicians here can decide the fate of the gods.

Lord Viswakarma’s popularity is on the wane in the hills with Subash Ghisingh suddenly discovering that the god was never a part of the Gorkha community.

It was under the direction of the hill leader last year that Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Transport Joint Action Committee — an umbrella organisation of over 100 taxi syndicates — had replaced the idol of Lord Viswakarma with a shila (stone).

Though the GNLF chief had not issued a blanket ban on the traditional form of worship, his adoption of the shila ensured that the practice of idol worshipping started disappearing from the hills.

Within a year, Ghisingh, however, changed his stance once more and this time decided that even a shila should not be allowed to stand in for Viswakarma. The GNLF chief’s decision has ensured that the 100-and-odd syndicates do not celebrate Viswakarma Puja on September 17.

“We will organise a loha (metal) puja on September 23 instead. There will be neither a shila nor an idol. We will worship items like khukuri and metal tools (used in vehicles),” said Pranay Rai, the GNLF MLA from Darjeeling and also the secretary of the transport committee.

Not only that, the GNLF followers have also named the September 23-festivity the Loha (iron) Puja, and not Viswakarma Puja. This has ensured that the existence of the god of architecture and engineering is under threat among the Gorkhas, the majority of whom are incidentally Hindus.

The logic behind worshipping metals, however, has its base in Hindu mythology, GNLF supporters claim. Since according to them, Goddess Durga had worshipped metal before going to destroy Mahisasura, the king of the demons, Ghisingh’s interpretation stands vindicated.

According to Hindu mythology, the goddess returned victorious from the battlefield after a 10-day war with Mahisasura. This mythical 10-day period starts from September 22 this year and is usually recognised as the Mahalaya.

While the existence of Lord Viswakarma is at stake in the hills, Goddess Durga can breathe a sigh of relief for the narrow escape this time. GNLF followers have been asked to continue worshipping the Goddess in the form of a shila.

However, Ghisingh has made sure that a strict dress code is enforced during the Durga Puja celebrations. The hill communities have been asked to dress in their traditional attires to bring out the tribal nature of the Gorkhas, which is expected to ensure Scheduled Tribe status and the benefits that come with it.