www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Sept. 29: The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute has become a member of the Union Internationale Des Association D’Alpinisme (UIAA), paving the way for the Darjeeling-based institution to play a global role in framing rules and policies on climbing.

The UIAA, headquartered at Berne in Switzerland, is also known as the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation and is the global body that governs mountaineering. The Indian Mountaineering Federation, based in Delhi, is already a member of the UIAA.

“The HMI has been made a member after its track record was reviewed by the UIAA. It is the only institution which has been granted membership apart from the IMF,” Col. Neeraj Rana, the principal of the HMI, told The Telegraph.

Every aspect of the HMI was scrutinised by the UIAA after the principal had applied for the membership one-and-a-half years ago.

The HMI has also been given voting rights, which essentially means that it can play a pivotal role in framing international rules and policies on mountaineering.

The UIAA lays down training standards to be followed world-wide and recommends or certifies a particular equipment for mountaineering as safe. It sends experts from the UIAA to check whether member federations are following basic guidelines laid down by the UIAA. Besides, any new climbing technique has to be approved by the UIAA.

Now that the HMI has become the member of the global body, the certificates issued by the institute for its basic and advance courses will be recognised across the world.

“So far, we have trained 1,600 foreigners from every corner of the world, although we were not sure whether our certificates would be accepted internationally. We no longer have to worry about the recognition as the logo of the UIAA will now be on our certificates,” said Rana.

Tenzing Norgay’s son Jamling Tenzing Norgay, an Everester based in Darjeeling, congratulated the HMI for the achievement. “It would do wonders to the brand image of the institution and bring about global acceptability of its courses. Being one of the premier institutions of the country, this should actually have been done much earlier,” said Jamling, who himself was trained at the HMI.

Tenzing was the director of the institution till his death in 1986. The HMI was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru a year after Tenzing become the first climber along with Edmund Hillary to scale Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.

The inclusion of the HMI in the UIAA was welcomed by mountaineers in Calcutta as well. Mrinal Chatterjee of the Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers said the development was a feather in the cap of the HMI. “We are happy about the development. As the UIAA is an internationally acclaimed body, the HMI will definitely benefit technically,” Chatterjee, who is also an HMI member, said.

Amulya Sen, mountaineering adviser to the Bengal government, said: “The present administration of the HMI is dynamic and I am happy with this. The UIAA has been trying to include sports climbing in the Olympics. The HMI stand to gain by this development.”

The HMI can now expect more international students to visit the institution.

“As part of an exchange programme with the UIAA, professionals from abroad will come and impart training at our institution and vice-versa,” said Rana, before leaving for Italy to give a presentation on the HMI at a conference organised by the UIAA. “Our revenue has reached Rs 87 lakh per annum and will easily cross the Rs 1 crore mark this financial year.”

A 17-minute film on the HMI’s expedition to Mt Makalu, To the Summit and Beyond, recently received the award for the best documentary at the International Adventure Film Festival held at Lyon, France, on September 17.

“The documentary was on the success of our climb to Mt Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world,” said the principal.

The HMI team not only became the first Indian team to scale Mt Makalu but had also made a world record by sending five members, the most number of people to the peak at a single point of time. During the expedition, Rana had also set a world record of paragliding from the highest point, when he took 17 minutes to reach Mt Makalu’s advance base camp from Camp II, situated at 22, 473 feet.

In 2003, the HMI team had also sent a team to Mt Everest.

“The HMI is preparing to take a team from the Northeast to Mt Everest in March 2011. There will be 16 climbers and eight support members in the Northeast team,” said Rana.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Sept. 29: The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha has called a strike in all the 15 colleges across the hills from tomorrow till October 5 to fulfil several demands the outfit had placed before North Bengal University.

The strike is a fallout of the poor results in Part I and Part II exams of undergraduate courses recently, sparking protests from the students as well as the teaching fraternity, who had accused the NBU of gross negligence.

Nima Sherpa, the press and publicity secretary of the student wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said they had a prolonged meeting today at Darjeeling Government College with those representing the hill colleges in the NBU’s executive council and the under-graduate council. (more…)

The Telegraph

Kalimpong, Sept. 29: A 25-member team of students from Jammu and Kashmir were hosted for two days by the army here as part of its Sadbhawna tour programme, providing the young minds an exposure to a world beyond their strife-torn state.

The students from Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi and Doda in the Valley were brought here by the Striking Lions Division of the army, headquartered at the Durpin hills, about 3km from the town. Most of the students are from Class IX to XII

“This is an educational-cum-motivational tour for these youngsters. The aim is to expose these fresh minds to the world outside the Valley,” said an army officer.

During the course of their stay that ended today, the students were taken to tourist hotspots in and around the town. They also interacted with the army officers and local people. “We are very grateful to the army for providing this opportunity to us. We have learned so many things from this tour. We can go back home and play a constructive role in our society,” said Altaf Hussein, a student.

Some among the students were victims of militancy that has been raging in Kashmir for two decades now. “I lost my mother to militants. Two of my brothers were also injured. We want the circle of violence to end as quickly as possible,” said Mohammed Rafiq, another student.

His friend Mohammed Yousuf said only a handful of people were engaged in violence. “There is not much disturbance now. A few created problem taking advantage of a weak political system.” The Class XII student said he wanted to join the IAS.

The students were introduced to the general-officer-commanding of the division Maj. Gen. B.K. Sharma today. They later left for Darjeeling. The students will also visit Sikkim before returning home.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Sept. 28: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said Mamata Banerjee’s visit had been “mutually beneficial” and her proposal to set up a secretariat in the hills was on the lines of the party’s demand for an interim set-up for the region.

Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the spokesperson for the Morcha, today said: “The visit has been mutually beneficial. The message is we are ready to welcome any leader willing to listen to us. This also proves that our agitation is not against any community.”

Chhetri said Mamata, too, would benefit from the visit as she was able to come to Darjeeling where no Left Front leaders had dared to in recent times, hinting that it would be a slap on the face of her arch rival, the CPM. The Left party is also the bete noire of the Morcha, which had once forced the CPM to cancel a meeting in Darjeeling that chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was supposed to attend in November 2007. (more…)

The Telegraph

Kalimpong, Sept. 27: The 110-year-old Dr Graham’s Homes has decided to embark on an expansion drive by almost doubling the number of students and turning the institution into a university of excellence in the long run.

The school has currently 1,300 students and the management’s immediate plan is to increase the strength to 2,500. “The short-term plan is to increase the primary and junior school base by adding more sections. This will require the construction of more classrooms and hiring of more teachers,” said Anmole Prasad, a member of the managing board of Homes.

The managing board of the school was recently reconstituted with Lt Gen. (retd) J. Mukherjee taking over as the president from M.J. Robertson. The new board members deliberated on ways and means to expand and improve the school during the course of the week-long celebration to commemorate the institution’s 110th anniversary. The celebrations concluded here yesterday.

Prasad said the new board would work on a multi-pronged approach to improve the education delivery system in the school. “The long-term vision is to turn Homes from a school into a university. Homes has the infrastructure, assets, heritage and importantly, the brand equity to turn itself into a premier institution of higher education,” he added.

Ex-students of Homes, many of whom gathered here in good numbers from different corners of the world over the last week, were unanimous in welcoming the plan. “Why not, why not. The school has the space and assets for expansion,” said Ganesh Mani Pradhan, an alumnus of 1957 and a floriculturist of the town.

On the concluding day of the anniversary celebration, the Kalimpong chapter of Old Boys and Girls (OGBs), as the alumni association of Homes is called, organised a sponsored walk in which the present and past students took part. More than 120 participants walked 19km, from Homes to 17th Mile via 11th Mile and then back to the school through another route.

Most of the participants collected roughly Rs 1,000 each to take part in the walk. “Part of the money will be used to sponsor a project in the school. We organise such a walk when there is a good gathering of ex-students during an important school event like this year’s 110anniversary celebration,” said Hiren Mani Pradhan, the president of OGBs’ Kalimpong chapter.

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The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Sept. 27: Mamata Banerjee today did what she is best at: she worked the crowd to their delight.

Starting with, the “public” is the most important, and that the hill people had the “glaze” of the Kanchenjungha, Mamata had the crowd cheering her as she listed the projects that she had on her mind for the hills.

The Trinamul Congress chief’s first move to “reach out” to the people occurred at Darjeeling railway station this afternoon when she broke the security cordon and walked across the stage to clear a posse of security and media personnel.

“I think you are obstructing my view of the public,” she said much to the delight of the 1,000-odd people assembled there.

She immediately took the microphone and directed Union minister Mukul Roy to make arrangements so that the chairs on the dais were pushed back further to make space for the dancers. “I can understand the stage is small and I apologise for the inconvenience,” she said directing the media personnel who were obstructing the public’s view to come up to the stage and “stay still and quiet here”.

Mamata gifted Rs 500 to a group of Bhailo dancers according to hill tradition. During Diwali, Bhailo performers visit houses where people give them money as a goodwill gesture.

The end of an early Diwali and two more dances, Mamata struck the chord, and rightly so in Nepali. “Mato mero atyantai pyaro/Pahar mero sapna/Darjeeling ko bhai bhaini haru ramro rahun/Theyi cha mero kamana (My land is my love and the hills are my dream. My best wishes to the brothers and sisters of Darjeeling).

“I am learning Nepali and this is what I could learn within a day. I need to come here frequently,” she added promising to return to the hills after two-three months again.

She sealed the hill bond when she offered a “salute” to the members of the Gorkha Regiment. (more…)

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Sept. 27: Mamata Banerjee today announced a bouquet of projects for the Darjeeling hills including a secretariat in the hill town, accepting almost all the demands made by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha — even adding to them — but insisting that “the hills and the plains work” together.

She underlined her stand to keep the state united — a message aimed at both the hills and her critics in the plains — while accepting most of the development demands of the Morcha (see chart).

Addressing a gathering at the Darjeeling station this afternoon, Mamata, who was on a two-day visit to the hills, said: “Right now I am only looking after one small place (railway ministry). If I happen to be in a position to give more, I will give more. Trust me as I trust you also. I am ready to give my blood for you.”

But aware of the adverse fallout that any hint of support for a separate Gorkha state could have on her vote bank in the plains, Mamata made it clear that the people of the hills and the plains would have to work together for Bengal.

“There should be no fighting, no divide between the hills and the plains,” Mamata said at the meet, packed with Morcha supporters.

“The people of the hills and the plains have to work together. I am ready to negotiate for the hill people at any forum. Today, in Darjeeling, as a Bengali I am a minority, but I will be a majority in Calcutta. Similarly, there are other minorities in the state like Biharis and Punjabis. But this is a heritage of the country and we believe in integrity. The hill people also believe in integrity. No one wants violence.”

Mamata said she had her “own plans” to make the hills and the plains interact in harmony.

“I have a lot of idea for Darjeeling in my mind but since I am not in a position right now, it is all locked up in my brain. But when I get the place (the state government) I will tell you all the ideas. A secretariat of the state government will be set up in Darjeeling.”

In making her announcement of a secretariat in Darjeeling, Mamata has gone a step ahead of Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who as chief minister used to shift his office to the hills for a brief period every summer.

“Siddhartha Shankar Ray had picked up from where the British had left off so as to strengthen the ties between the administration and the common people in the hills,” said former PCC chief Pradip Bhattacharjee, who used to be the minister of state for labour in Ray’s cabinet. “Every summer senior officials of the chief minister’s secretariat would shift to the hills for a brief period, which could be from a week to a fortnight, sometimes even longer, and even cabinet meetings would be held there.”

Although some attributed the shift to the cooler climes in the hills, others pointed out that the move did ensure interaction between the local populace and some wings of the administration.

However, no permanent secretariat used to be set up in Ray’s days, which Mamata has promised to do in case she becomes the next chief minister.

The lieutenant governor of Bengal used to shift his office to Darjeeling every summer during the British Raj.

Promising a “special package” for Darjeeling, Mamata said she would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Commonwealth Games and request him to put the package in place.

“Here, the people have suffered a lot but they should not suffer any longer,” Mamata said. “Bundelkhand, Telengana, Darjeeling, Jangal Mahal, all these places need a special package.”

She also assured the hill people that they would be entitled to their rights.

“People here are agitating for jobs, industry, development and creation of better infrastructure. The people are agitating for their rights and you will definitely get your rights.”

The railway minister opted not to take any sides while dealing with issues concerning the hill’s political parties. While she maintained that she wanted the murderers of ABGL leader Madan Tamang to be arrested, she also backed the demand that “an arrested person” should be produced in court. She was referring to the Morcha’s demand that Nickole Tamang, a prime accused in Tamang murder, who allegedly fled from CID custody, be produced in court. The Morcha suspects that Nickole died in custody and the government was trying to cover it up.

It was only the CPM which was in Mamata’s line of fire. “While coming up from Siliguri I read a few CPM posters which said that I was going to the hills to foment trouble. But it is they who foment trouble everywhere.”

In Calcutta, CPM state secretary Biman Bose today said Mamata is “hobnobbing”’ with the Morcha that was demanding statehood for Darjeeling was proof of her party’s tilt towards a division of Bengal.

“We now find the Trinamul leader visiting the hills to hold talks with the Morcha,” Bose said today. “All this makes it clear that the Trinamul Congress is in favour of a division of Bengal.”

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said his party was “happy” with Mamata’s announcements.

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www.kalimpong.info

KALIMNEWS

KalimNews: Kalimpong police arrested Chandan Chhetri (53) who allegedly killed his wife Dhan kumari Chhetri (50) in his residence yesterday in Chibo Busty. It is said that Chandan is not sane and he killed his wife while she was preparing the evening meal.
During interrogation Chandan said that his wife taunted him and he killed her with a knife. Dhan kumari’s was hacked to death by striking her on the front side of the throat.
Their sons Anuj and Anup are employed outside Kalimpong and Chandan was suffering from some mental disease since some years. On hearing the cry of Dhan kumari Chandan fled from the house when neighbours of the village gathered there.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Sept. 26: The need symbiotic, Mamata Banerjee today managed to keep the hill outfits — eager to be in her good books — happy without giving any concrete political assurance during the first day of her two-day stay in the region.

Known to be against the division of the state, Mamata deftly bypassed the only political demand of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha led by its president Bimal Gurung. “The government of India has proposed an alternative administrative set-up as an interim arrangement and will be operational till 2012. GJM (Morcha) requests you to take necessary initiative for the inclusion of the Gorkha-dominated areas of Terai and Dooars in the proposed interim authority,” the Morcha’s “political” memorandum read.

The inclusion of the areas in the plains in the interim authority for the hills is a contentious demand that has been starkly opposed by the Bengal government.

Mamata reportedly told the Morcha that “since the issue is being handled by the Union home ministry and the talks are progressing, it would be apt if the ministry took the decision”.

Gurung seemed happy with the overall dialogue, which took place in Hindi, and decided not to make an issue out of the lack of political commitment, a move understandable since the Morcha considers the “greater role” that Mamata will play in the state in the near future. “She is visiting Darjeeling as the railway minister and we, too, stressed issues regarding development of the region and the railways,” said Gurung after the meeting. (more…)

Sikkim News
Posted by VoiceofSikkim on Sep 25, 2010

GANGTOK, September 24: Continuing to make a mark on overseas academic institutions, Sikkim University is set to send two of its brightest students for an international fellowship programme at Hiroshima University, Japan.

Aminesh A Lulam Rai (24) and Rabindra Mani Pradhan (24) currently pursuing M.Phil degrees in Sikkim University would be participating in the ‘International Environmental Leader Short-Term Training Programme for Sustainable Asia’ organized by the university in Japan. The six-month long programme consisting of nine to eleven students selected from India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia will be commencing from October.

Rai and Pradhan are the only students selected from India by the international screening committee of the Hiroshima University. The former has recently completed his Masters in the department of social systems and anthropology while the latter has also completed his Masters in the department of international relations/politics of Sikkim University.

The duo’s selection for the prestigious fellowship programme is one of the series of achievements notched up Sikkim University this year. The university had received its first overseas student from Japan University, Tatshuki Shirai (21) to study for a period of one year for this academic session at Sikkim Government College here.

Introducing the two students today to media, Sikkim University vice-chancellor Prof Mahendra P Lama congratulated Rai and Pradhan for being selected for the prestigious fellowship programme of the Hiroshima University. It is our pride to note that the Hiroshima University has selected two students from one of the youngest university in the country for this international fellowship programme, he said. When asked about the selection procedure, Prof Lama said that the Hiroshima University had wanted students from India for the fellowship programme. “Possibly other universities had also participated in the tests. We send the names of four of our students and two got selected from the entire country”, he said.

Prof Lama further informed that Sikkim University has been making efforts with universities abroad for student-exchange programmes. We already got our first overseas student from Tokyo and we are in touch with other universities in England for students from there to come and study here, he said. On his part, Rai said his name had been recommended to the international screening committee of the Hiroshima University. I had to write a 2000 words essay on climate change and we got finally selected for the fellowship programme on July, he said.

“I would try to understand the developmental mechanism of the Japanese social system which had been completely demolished during the mid 1940’s by an atom bomb. I would also seek to understand socio-economic and political progression in relation to environmental culture prior to the bombing and post bombing era through the prism of local and global lenses”, said Rai.

Fellow student, Pradhan expressed his interest in understanding the sustainable development and environmental management policies during the fellowship programme in Japan.

The fellowship, ‘International Environmental Leader Short-Term Training Program for Sustainable Asia’ is a short-term training to identify and develop environmental leaders who can address various environmental issues confronting the international community, informs a media release from Sikkim University.

In this training, students understand the relation between significant global environmental issues and local sustainable development and build capacity to identify problems from multiple and international perspectives through ‘International Cooperation Studies’. The training programme is part of the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students & Youths (JENESYS) programme which supports the exchange of undergraduate and post graduate students from ASEAN member nations.
Japanese student Shirai who is currently studying at Sikkim Governmetn College under Sikkim University expressed his good wishes to the two university students set to undergo a fellowship at Japan.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Sept. 24: Mamata Banerjee will make a public appearance in Darjeeling as well besides meeting select hill people behind closed doors as had been earlier planned, those in charge of the railway minister’s itinerary have said.

Mamata will attend a World Tourism Day programme at Chowrastha on September 27, and even though Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung is expected to be present at the meeting, the two are unlikely to share the same dais in public.

Instead, Mamata will meet a Gurung-led Morcha delegation on September 26 at 4pm, sources said. The Union minister will also be meeting the representatives of other political parties including that of the ABGL.

Darjeeling is already gearing up to celebrate World Tourism Day to coincide with Mamata’s stay.

The Morcha has asked the people of the hills to give her a warm welcome. A rally of Land Rovers, sit-and-draw competition, cultural programmes and a Darjeeling talent hunt will be held at Chowrastha.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Siliguri, Sept. 24: Employees of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, tour operators and toy train lovers will raise a slew of demands to improve the world heritage site when Mamata Banerjee visits the hills on September 26.

According to Darjeeling district Trinamul Congress leadership, the railway minister will be in the hills on September 26 and 27 and she has tentatively kept aside her first day to meet delegations and individuals.

“It is quite encouraging that the railway minister is visiting the hills and we will definitely meet her with long-pending demands like the full-fledged functioning of the DHR headquarters in Kurseong. We want the designated officials to function from there for the convenience of the employees and the management of the hill railway,” said Vishal Mukhia, the president of the NFR Employees’ Union (Kurseong branch). (more…)