www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Feb. 26: A poster signed by “Gorkhaland loving people” appeared in town this morning, announcing that loyalists of the separate state movement would not attend the funeral of the Kurseong MLA’s husband who died last night.

Deo Chandra Karki, 53, had been ailing for sometime and breathed his last at the Kurseong subdivisional hospital.

The poster that appears to have been put up at 6am reads: “Yesterday, Deo Chandra Karki, husband of anti-Gorkhaland MLA from Kurseong, Shanta Chhetri, died. We, the Gorkhaland loving people, will not attend the funeral.” It was signed by “Gorkhaland loving people”.

After fingers were pointed at the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which had chased away most of the GNLF leaders from the hills, including Chhetri, Gurung’s party put up a counter-poster at 9am, “protesting” the one plastered by people “trying to derail our Gandhian movement”.

“We protest the poster plastered by Gorkhaland loving people. These are people who are merely trying to derail the Gandhian movement,” the poster put up by the Morcha’s Kurseong sub-divisional committee read.

Chhetri’s house had been torched and the Kurseong police station attacked on February 18. Chhetri had blamed the Morcha without naming Bimal Gurung’s party. The Morcha had denied the allegations.

After the arson, Chhetri had spent the night at the hospital along with her son and daughter-in-law, before moving in to a relative’s house. “The last rites could not even take place at my house. They torched my house. I have lost everything now,” a sobbing Chhetri said over the phone. The body was taken to Gauri Shankar tea garden below Giddepahar, about 8km from Kurseong, which is Karki’s native place. By 2pm, when the funeral took place, about a thousand people had visited Chhetri family to express their condolence.

Karki, an employee with the Public Health Engineering department, was also an All India Radio-approved singer and a tabla player.

On August 18, 2008, GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh could not bring his wife’s body to the hills for cremation after she died at a private nursing home in Siliguri. Even then fingers had been pointed at the Morcha. The party had denied the allegations and had said it was the “public” who did not allow Ghisingh to come to the hills.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha has decided to lift its “ban” on movement of police and government vehicles from tomorrow, reports our Darjeeling correspondent. “We have decided to lift the ban taking into account the Sukna episode. The police and administration have to move around. Moreover, the parent party (Gorkha Janmukti Morcha) has already called for a jail bharo agitation,” said Amrit Yonzone, the vice-president of the Vidyarthi Morcha.

The students had imposed the “ban” on February 5 after a gathering of Youth Morcha supporters was lathicharged. The Morcha members were demanding permission to hold a public meeting in Siliguri. On February 21, a mob demanding the immediate arrest of an alleged murderer, had set on fire the Sukna police outpost.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Gangtok, Feb. 26: Bengal chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti today assured the Sikkim government that no stones would be left unturned to keep NH31A open at all times under instruction from the Supreme Court.

The national highway is the only arterial route linking the Himalayan state to the rest of the country.

“We assure you that we will try our level best so that the directive issued by the Supreme Court to keep NH31A open is followed. Any group that flouts the order will face legal action and everybody has to cooperate with the order of the apex court,” Chakrabarti told The Telegraph during the tea break in the three-hour session with Sikkim chief secretary T.T. Dorji and senior officials at Chintan Bhavan today. (more…)

Details from earthquake.usgs.gov

2010 February 26 04:42:29 UTC
Magnitude 5.4 – WESTERN XIZANG

Location: 28.432°N, 86.769°E
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region: WESTERN XIZANG

Distances:
70 km (40 miles) N of Namche Bazar, Nepal
165 km (100 miles) ENE of KATHMANDU, Nepal
220 km (135 miles) NW of Gangtok, Sikkim, India
670 km (415 miles) NNW of Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India

Click here for map of epicenter and surrounding areas.

The Telegraph
RAJEEV RAVIDAS

CRPF personnel at the Kalimpong library on Thursday.
Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Kalimpong, Feb. 25: A citizens’ forum here has demanded the immediate withdrawal of CRPF personnel from Kalimpong and sought their redeployment on NH31A as the presence of the central force is likely to be exploited by anti-Gorkhaland elements.

In a letter faxed to President Pratibha Patil today, the Citizens’ Rights Forum said the situation in the hills was not “potentially explosive” to justify the deployment of the CRPF.

The letter signed by forum president N.P. Dixit said the only purpose of deploying the CRPF in the region was to ensure free movement of vehicles on NH31A even during strikes in the hills in keeping with a Supreme Court order.

Of the two companies of the CRPF deployed in the subdivision, one has set up base at Reang, off NH31A near Rambi, about 30km from here, while the other is billeted at two places in town.

The forum feared that anti-Gorkhaland elements could exploit the presence of the CRPF in the urban areas by provoking them into “unpleasant and retaliatory actions”. This, the letter said, could only result in “chaos, disturbance and violence” all around. “We (therefore) urge you to recall them (the CRPF) from the towns of the hills and re-deploy them on the highway at the earliest.”

K. L. Tamta, the inspector-general, north Bengal, said the CRPF company camping in Kalimpong was meant to be stationed on the highway at Rangpo on the Sikkim border. “Because of lack of adequate accommodation there, they are being kept in Kalimpong. Once the accommodation is arranged, they will be shifted to Rangpo,” he said.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Kalimpong, Feb. 25: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung today said he would lead a 10-member team to Salua, the headquarters of the Eastern Frontier Rifles, to “take a look at the situation there”.

“We have not yet finalised a date for the visit and that will be decided within a day or two as will be the members of the delegation. But I can tell you that I will be going,” Gurung said at Deolo this evening.

A day after the attack on the Shilda EFR camp by Maoists, Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri had announced that a party delegation would visit West Midnapore. However, he did not specify whether Gurung would be part of the team. (more…)

The Telegraph

Siliguri, Feb. 25: Bengal chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti today said there was no question of dialogue with either the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in north Bengal or the Maoists in the south at a time when policemen were being targeted in both regions.

The fifth round of tripartite talks on the statehood demand is, however, on schedule, said Chakrabarti, adding that he was not aware of the date.

The chief secretary was reacting to a question on whether the government would talk to the Morcha over the recent incidents of arson in the Darjeeling hills: the setting afire of the Sukna police outpost on February 21 and the attack on the Kurseong police station on February 18. (more…)

The Telegraph

Kalimpong, Feb. 24: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today threatened to launch a jail bharo agitation in the hills and the Dooars if all the 18 people arrested in connection with the Sukna arson were not released within 72 hours.

Eighteen people were rounded up and sent to jail after a mob, demanding the arrest of a murder accused, had burnt down a police outpost at Sukna, 10km from Siliguri, on Sunday night. (more…)

The Telegraph

Calcutta, Feb. 24: The construction of a new railway link connecting north Bengal to Sikkim has begun with Ircon International Limited, a public sector undertaking incorporated with the Indian Railways, starting work on the 44km stretch between Sevoke and Rangpo two years after the plan was mooted.

The general manager of the Northeast Frontier Railway, Shiv Kumar, and senior officials of the railways and Ircon, attended the ground-breaking ceremony at Rangpo on the Bengal-Sikkim border on Saturday.

Ircon sources said the estimated project cost is around Rs 3,300 crore. (more…)

The Telegraph

Feb. 23: Less than 24 hours after two companies of the CRPF arrived in Siliguri, they were deployed along NH31A to keep the lifeline to Sikkim free of blockades. The third company of the central force also arrived in Siliguri today.

In Sukna, on the outskirts of Siliguri, where one company is billeted at Pintail Village, the CRPF personnel patrolled the area which was deserted for the second day running after a mob set on fire the police outpost there on Sunday night. This led to police raids and 18 people were arrested.

Shops and establishments in Sukna were shut but traffic remained normal, much like yesterday.

The inspector-general of police, north Bengal. K.L. Tamta, said all three companies had been deployed at strategic points along NH31A. “Two of the companies have moved out to the Kalimpong subdivision and will be patrolling NH31A from the Coronation Bridge to Rangpo, the gateway to Sikkim. Their sole task would be to ensure that the highway remains open to traffic round-the-clock and will intervene if there are any blockades,” Tamta said.

He said the CRPF personnel marched through Sukna and the neighbouring area in the morning to ensure peace in the area.

According to senior police officers in Kalimpong, one of the companies had moved into a fisheries office complex at Reang village, 40km from Siliguri, around 4am today.

Another company went up to Kalimpong, as there was no suitable accommodation at Rangpo. The officer said the company posted at Reang will patrol NH31A from Coronation Bridge to 29 Mile, while the one in Kalimpong will look after the stretch between Teesta and Rangpo, a distance of 35km, the officer said.

The company in Kalimpong has put up at the state library hall near Thanadara and at the empty Birla House in Upper Cart Road.

The CRPF has been deployed on the basis of an order of the Supreme Court to the central and state governments to ensure that NH31A is not blocked to traffic during strikes called in the region. The court was acting on a petition filed by O.P. Bhandari, a Sikkim resident, who had complained that frequent blockades on the highway by pro and anti-Gorkhaland forces cut off the Himalayan state that had neither a rail or air link, save a helicopter service.
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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Feb. 23: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today shot down the proposal of the cabinet committee on political affairs to set up a “political committee” to deliberate on the demand for Gorkhaland and to explore possible solutions to end the impasse in the hills.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung said he only believed in continuing with the tripartite meetings. “Tripartite meetings are taking place between the Centre, state and the Morcha and they should continue. There is no space for other political parties,” said Gurung, hinting that an all-party committee was not acceptable to the Morcha. (more…)

(Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of this series)

Photographs from the 2010 Kolkota – Kalimpong Charity Bike Ride for DGH – Part 3:

19. DGH band about to start marching.

20. DGH Band leading the bikers thru Kalimpong Town

21. “Oh when the Homes goes marching in”

22. Being welcomed by students of Central Tibetan School

23. Kesang Bhutia (Principal, Central Tibetan School) felicitating Caroline

24. Ken Hammond with the girls of Central Tibetan School

25. On the last mile up to the Homes on Murray Road

26. We did it – Archie and his daughter Christine all smiles as they reach the destination

27. Bengal Bikers at DGH Gate

28. Well done guys – the team at the gates of DGH.

29. Time to relax – it is actually over!!

30. Cheers

This is the last post from the series. See photos from Part 1 and Part 2.

(All photographs & captions courtesy Mr. Sushil Marda)

(Click here for Part 1 and Part 3 of this series)

Photographs from the 2010 Kolkota – Kalimpong Charity Bike Ride for DGH – Part 2:



9. Bikers on the hill road after Sevoke.

(Gentleman in yellow helmet is 82 years old). Hats off!
-admin

10. A well deserved rest just after Birick slide zone.

11. Ken Hammond, group leader, zipping past.

12. Way to go, guys!

13. Taking time out for a photo

14. Steep incline – need to walk

15. “Homus” ko babas – Sushil Marda, David Goodwin, Kishore Pradhan. Sonam Gompu, David Foning outside Sood’s Garden Retreat to welcome the bikers.

16. Bikers outside Sood Garden Resort

17. Bikers being felicitated by Mrs. Hishey of the DGH local committee.

18. Mr. Philips (CEO – DGH) greeting the bikers.




(Click here for Part 1 and Part 3 of this series)

(All photographs & captions courtesy Mr. Sushil Marda)

Much thanks to Mr. Sushil Marda for the photographs and information.

The last leg of the Kolkota to Kalimpong bike ride was the 70 km Siliguri-Kalimpong stretch.

Here’s the description and motivation for the ride (from Ken Hammond’s Blog – goinghomeday.blogspot.com):

The February 2010 charity ride covers some 670 kms, starting in Kolkata and finishing at Dr. Graham’s Homes School, Kalimpong India. 21 cyclists (19 UK+1 Germany & 1 Zimbabwe), are volunteering their time and financing their own trip and stay in India, to ride 7 days to raise money for the kids of this exceptional educational institution in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas.

On the last day of the journey, Feb 20th, 2010, 19 bikers (meant to be 20, but Rev. John Webster, the main organiser, had to drop out at the last minute) left Siliguri at 6am for a 70 km ride to Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong. A large part of the ride, especially after Teesta is steep uphill, so it’s no mean feat. Upto Teesta, the bikers were more or less together. The going got tough after that, but all bikers made it (reportedly several had to walk up the steep inclines). The first few bikers were at Sood’s Garden Retreat, 9th Mile, Kalimpong by about 1:30-2 pm, the last of them by 3pm. They then rode through town, past a reception at Tibetan school, and then the final push uphill to Dr. Graham’s Homes, where they reached by 4:30pm.

From the blog:

..we were led through the high street of Kalimpong accompanied by the DGH fife and drum band playing the school anthem. All along the street masses of people greeted us with cheers and clapping – what a heart warming and splendid welcome! Thank you Kalimpong!!

We stopped briefly at the Tibetan school whose principal Kesang Bhutia, also an ex-student and classmate (’72) was there with his students to greet us. He looks just the same as he did 36 years ago (I still think he was 44 yrs old back then!!).

Not quite done though – we still had another 500 ft of climbing (about 3km) before we finally hit the school grounds! Lining the route from the stores to the Jarvie Hall were excited children clapping and cheering us on – an emotional, poignant moment for the riders but even more so for me. Words cannot express the gratitude I felt to be able to experience this moment with my son next to me!

Philip Gibson gave a welcoming and warm speech – thanking us not only for our achievement but also for our support of the Homes. The next deed was indeed a joyous one – playing postmen/mistress by delivering letters in special envelopes to some of the sponsored children from their sponsors back in the UK.

Here are some photos:

1. Bikers Being welcomed by Mr. Philip (CEO – DGH) and David Foning (Bursar – DGH) at Siliguri (Hotel Sarovar Premiere)

2. Bikers Setting off for Kalimpong on 20-2-10

3. Bikers crossing Sevoke Military Station

4. Crossing Sevoke

5. Setting off from Coronation Bridge

6. Near Kalijhora

7. Some of the bikers, somewhere along the way!!

8. Vanda Goodwin Fraser puffing it up an incline.

(Click here for Part 2 and Part 3 of this series)

(All photographs & captions courtesy Mr. Sushil Marda)

The Telegraph

New Delhi, Feb. 22: The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs today decided to set up a “political committee” to deliberate upon the demand for the separate state of Gorkhaland as well as explore if the DGHC should be replaced by another body with more executive powers.

At its meeting today, the CCPA asked the home ministry to request political parties to name their representatives for the “political committee”. It is not clear whether GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh, the first DGHC administrator, will be invited to be part of the committee. The president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bimal Gurung, had been a close lieutenant of Ghisingh till he broke away, floated his own outfit and chased away the GNLF chief from the hills. (more…)