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Kalimpong, Nov. 29: A civilian movement against the politics of bandhs is taking shape here as well, much like the one in Darjeeling.

Various NGOs and ordinary people will meet at the Dukha Niwarak Sammelan hall here on Sunday to discuss ways to voice their concern. Leaflets announcing the meet are being circulated here.

Given the public mood, the meeting is expected to get a good response. “We hope to fix the date for a peace rally at the meeting,” said N.P. Dixit, president, Kalimpong Consumers’ Association. A similar rally in Darjeeling on Tuesday attracted more than 7,000 residents.

The Kalimpong subdivision has seen two successive five-day shutdowns in the last one-and-a-half weeks and the anger is showing among the people.

“The time has now come for us to tell political parties that we have had enough of bandhs,” said Suresh Rai of Rishi Road.

“This groundswell of resentment against bandhs augurs well for the future,” said Sandip Jain, the president of a local body, Vision Kalimpong.

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BIRESWAR BANERJEE

Siliguri, Nov. 28: The brunt of political unrest in the Darjeeling hills accompanied by six-day shutdown has hit the wholesale orange market here. The loss of business is estimated to be Rs 10 lakh.

Oranges come to Siliguri Regulated Market from places like Bijanbari, Sukhiapokhri, Soureni, Mirik, Teesta, Rambhi, Mungpoo, Kalimpong and a few places in Sikkim. From here they are supplied to North and South Dinajpurs, Malda districts in north Bengal, various parts of south Bengal and also to Bangladesh through the border at Changrabandha in Cooch Behar. (more…)

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Kurseong, Nov. 28: Five bandh supporters were arrested last night for setting a car on fire on Monday.

Dhiraj Thapa (44), Gautam Lama (40), Kishore Thapa (49), Ranjit Thapa (20) and Mahendra Chettri (24) were produced in the court of the Kurseong subdivisional judicial magistrate and remanded in jail custody.

All five are GNLF supporters and were picked up from Chilauna Dura, below Makaiari Tea Estate, 3km from here. They have been booked under Sections 147, 148 and 307 of the IPC for rioting and attempt to murder. The sections are non-bailable and if proven guilty, the accused may have to serve a sentence of two to 10 years.

The group had also heckled the block development officer (BDO) of Kurseong, Manish Verma, the same day. (more…)

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Darjeeling, Nov. 28: Five days of GNLF bandh had crippled the hills but the unrest seems to have stirred the people, who are now ready to come out into the forefront to mobilise public opinion on several issues.

Riding high on the response of over 7,000 residents who turned out for the “peace rally” here yesterday, a group of senior citizens today convened a meeting at Darjeeling Gymkhana Club to concretise the movement.

People like Father Kinley Tshering, rector, St Joseph’s School (North Point), and B.K. Pradhan, a lawyer, who were part of the rally, attended the meeting to form a yet-to-be-named body to protest against bandhs. The platform is expected to act as a pressure group to redress other social and civic problems as well. (more…)

Statesman News Service

KURSEONG, Nov. 27 : Tension flared up in Kurseong today when opposing the GNLF sponsored bandh, a large group of women tried to force traders to open their shops. The act led to a friction between the bandh supporters, opposers and the administration.

To keep the situation under control the district administration imposed 144 of the CrPC in Kurseong town. “The situation warranted imposition of prohibitory orders. It would remain in force as long as required,” said the Kurseong SDO Mr Dibyendu Das. In a late development today, the GNLF declared that it was withdrawing the ongoing indefinite bandh from 6 a.m. tomorrow.
Hundreds of women, ostensibly Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha supporters all, came out in the streets opposing the GNLF sponsored ongoing bandh. The agitating women tried to force traders to open shops and other business establishments, which the police discouraged.

The situation took a turn for the worse when a police inspector tried to disperse the crowd at the Kurseong bus stand by wielding his baton. He struck several people including the reporter of The Statesman, who was at the spot to collect news, in the process and although the police official was cautioned by his colleagues he preferred to use the strongarm tactics.

The GNLF has in the meanwhile called off its indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling hills from 6 a.m. tomorrow. The bandh had been convened on 24 November following an attack on party leader Mr KB Gurung in Darjeeling. In Darjeeling, GNLF leader Mr AR Dewan today claimed that the district administration had initiated action against the GJMM as demanded by the GNLF. He also claimed that the police had issued an arrest warrant against the GJMM leader Mr Bimal Gurung. According to Mr Dewan, satisfied with the police action against the GJMM, the GNLF was withdrawing the strike. There is no official confirmation of Mr Dewan’s claim though. When asked if the police had issued arrest warrant against the GJMM chief, the Darjeeling Asp Mr Rajesh Yadav neither confirmed nor rejected Mr Dewan’s claim.

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Neeraj Vagholikar

The late Nari Rustomji who served as Assam’s chief secretary and Dewan of Sikkim had, through his writings, warned that development inputs into Sikkim needed to be within the absorptive capacity of the region. In 1998, the Expert Appraisal Committee on river valley and hydroelectric projects, appointed by the ministry of environment and forests, noted Rustomji’s observations while examining a proposal for environmental clearance for the 510-MW Teesta V hydroelectric project in Sikkim. Since this was one of the multiple large hydroelectric works in the ecologically and culturally sensitive Teesta river basin, it recommended a detailed study on the “carrying capacity” of the river basin before taking a decision. But the MoEF cleared the project in May 1999 without giving environmental clearance and conducting the carrying capacity study. However, one of the conditions for clearance was that “no other project in Sikkim will be considered for environmental clearance till the carrying capacity study is completed.”

Things have changed substantially since then. In the last three years the Sikkim government has signed agreements for at least 26 large hydroelectric projects. Since 2004, the MoEF has granted environmental clearance to at least seven new hydroelectric projects, in violation of its own mandatory condition. Sikkimese civil society groups such as the Affected Citizens of Teesta are disappointed that a golden opportunity has been lost. There was hope that the carrying capacity study process would enable a comprehensive assessment of cumulative impacts of the many proposed hydroelectric projects and a serious options assessment for ecologically and culturally sensitive economic development in the Teesta river basin. But the MoEF has continued granting clearance to one project after another without seriously examining the issue in a holistic manner as per its own mandated condition.

The so called “run-of-the-river” hydroelectric projects being developed involve the construction of large dams which divert the river waters through long tunnels, before the water is dropped back into the river at a downstream location after passing through a powerhouse. These projects are promoted as being “environmentally benign” as they involve smaller submergences and lesser regulation of water as compared to conventional storage dams. This perception conveniently ignores the impact of several features intrinsic to this design. For example, long stretches of the river will be bypassed between the dam and powerhouse, with up to 85-90 per cent of the river flow in the winter diverted through the tunnels. Not only will this destroy riverine ecology, but a cascade of projects will mean that the river is in full flow only in brief stretches between two successive hydel projects.

Since 20 June, the ACT and its supporters have been on a satyagraha in Gangtok against the juggernaut of dams planned in the state. The Buddhist monks have also joined the protests. Amongst the many concerns are the socio-cultural impacts on the small populations of indigenous communities due to an influx of large populations of outside labour and the ecological impacts on the Teesta river and the sacred Kanchenjunga landscape.

The former Chogyals had accorded special legal protection to some parts of Sikkim with respect to ancestral lands of indigenous communities and restricted entry of outsiders. This was further reinforced after the state’s merger with India in 1975 through Article 371 (F) of the Constitution which protects the old laws and traditions. Protesters feel that the current development plans contradict the legal and constitutional protection given to the indigenous people, reflecting Rustomji’s concerns about absorptive capacity of the region.

Meanwhile, the Teesta V project, which saw the MoEF committee refer to Rustomji’s thoughts during the decision-making phase, is in an advanced stage of construction and also embroiled in an enviro-legal battle. In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee, the Sikkim chief secretary has admitted that the power company has “grossly violated the terms, conditions and guidelines” imposed by the MoEF and has deliberately dumped excavated material generated from extensive tunneling work “into the river Teesta obstructing its free flow, causing thereby huge damage to the forest and environment.”

The region is clearly facing an environmental governance crisis.

(The writer is CNES-Setu National Media Fellow 2007 and member, Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group.)

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Kalimpong, Nov. 27: The business community here fears that the recent spate of bandhs and the possibility of further unrest could derail the efforts of a decade-and-a-half to put the hill economy back on track.

Apart from tea, tourism and schools are the backbone of the region’s economy. The recent shutdowns called by both the GNLF and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have had an immediate impact on tourism, while the education sector could suffer in the long-term.

Trade, too, suffered heavy losses in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. “In Darjeeling, transactions worth Rs 1 crore (roughly) take place everyday, so you can well imagine the combined loss in the three towns,” said B.M. Garg, the president of the Darjeeling Chamber of Commerce.

Such is the mood among businessmen in the hills that seven of them from Darjeeling have decided to relocate elsewhere. “Mamamchand Agarwal (a leading Darjeeling businessman) met us as part of a citizen’s delegation today and said he would be the eighth one to leave if the politics of bandh continues,” said A.R. Dewan, the secretary of the Darjeeling branch committee of the GNLF.

“For the tourism industry, bandh is a calamity in the same way floods are for farmers. Why resort to bandhs when there are other means of protest?” asked Suresh Periwal, the president of the north Bengal and Sikkim chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Periwal said the tourism industry suffered losses of about Rs 50 lakh during the five-day GNLF strike. “And next season, tourist arrival is likely to fall by at least 20 per cent,” he said. “Just when things were beginning to look up, the perception of north Bengal being a strike-prone area gets reinforced. This is not good at all.”

Hotels in Kalimpong were near-empty during the past few days. “All December bookings have been cancelled as well and we now have to return the advanced amounts,” said Sanjogita Subba, president, Hotel and Restaurant Owners’ Association of Kalimpong.

Though schools were not greatly affected by the shutdown, the fact that the agitation coincided with the annual exams in most institutions will weigh heavily on the minds of parents. “They will think twice before sending their children back to schools here,” said the principal of a local school who did not want to be named. “Parents of prospective students, too, may be scared away.”

Educational institutions, including boarding schools catering to students from across the country, provide the main impetus to the local economies of Kalimpong and Kurseong, which do not receive as many tourists as Darjeeling.

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Darjeeling, Nov. 27: More than 1,000 residents of the town took to the streets in a silent procession today with a message that was loud and clear: the hills want peace.

Around 11am, Chowrastha was brimming with people who turned up spontaneously to join the peace rally that was planned last evening. The handful of organisers were overwhelmed by the response, especially since only two posters announcing the event had been put up in town.

The participants, comprising people from all walks of life, marched from Chowrastha to Chowk Bazar, holding a solitary banner and placards that appealed to all to maintain peace and shun violence.

“In violence we forget who we are,” read one placard. Another said: “No one gets a gallantry award for threatening people.”

Boys of North Point School took part in the rally. Though there were no political banners, leaders and supporters of both the GNLF and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha could also be seen among the marchers. (more…)

Motor Stand, Kalimpong
24th November, 2007
Photo by: Praful Rao

From darjeelingtimes.com

November 27,2007

A symbolic silence peace rally was held in Darjeeling town, started from Chowrasta to Chowkbazaar, organised by the citizens of Darjeeling town, headed by Mr. B K Pradhan. Thousands of local inhabitants participated in the peace rally with pen and copy books on hands, placards quoting: “we want peace” etc. Citizens of Darjeeling, consisting of professionals, business men, etc. requested district administrations, GJMM and GNLF to restore peace in Darjeeling hills and also encouraged local shopkeepers to be united and courageous against anti social elements.

Original article and pictures at darjeelingtimes.com