www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 29: The ABGL held a public meeting at Bijanbari today, ignoring for the first time a strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which had resorted to similar pressure tactics in the past to scuttle political programmes of its rivals.

Police ensured safe passage for ABGL supporters to attend the meeting by arresting Morcha workers who had squatted on roads.

The Morcha had on Monday announced the strike in Chungthung, Bijanbari-Pulbazar and Rimbick Lodhoma to protest the alleged inability of the state-owned Himalayan Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited (Himul) to clear Rs 3 crore dues of dairy farmers.

“The meeting was a success. It has definitely given us the much-needed confidence. The police have also done their job,” said Dawa Sherpa, the working president of the ABGL. “Despite the strike, we could bring around 400 people to the venue. Some of our supporters walked for one and a half hours to reach Bijanbari from Kainjalay.” Bijanbari is 40km from here. (more…)

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 28: Bimal Gurung today said the hills could not be “hoodwinked” into accepting an interim arrangement and threatened to start a mass agitation if the Srikrishna Committee submitted a favourable report on the formation of Telangana on December 31, 2010.

“We are closely monitoring the developments of the Srikrishna Committee. We cannot be hoodwinked and made to accept an interim set-up while the government goes ahead and creates Telangana. We will start a mass agitation and at the moment, I am not in a hurry to sign the understanding on the interim set-up (till the Srikrishna report is tabled before the Union home minister on December 31),” the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president said. He was addressing party workers at Chintan Sabha at Darjeeling Gymkhana Club.

Union home minister P. Chidambaram had formed a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna to determine whether a Telangana state is needed.

According to the terms of reference laid down by the Union government, the committee will basically “examine the situation in the state of Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand to maintain the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh”. (more…)

The Telegraph
RAJEEV RAVIDAS

Kalimpong, Dec. 27: A preliminary survey by the civil aviation ministry has concluded that Deolo is not a suitable site for the construction of a helipad in Kalimpong while giving nod to other identified sites at Dhotray near Darjeeling and Mirik.

The survey also found that introduction of regular helicopter services in the three hill towns would not be commercially viable.

The government-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited had carried out the survey jointly with the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) in March to find out if the chopper rides could be launched from Bagdogra to Mirik, Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Apart from Deolo, which is 5km from here, the other sites surveyed were the existing helipads in Mirik and Dhotray tea garden, 18km from Darjeeling.

Pritha Sarkar, the WBTDC joint director, said helipads could be developed at Dhotray and in Mirik. “However, the site at Deolo is not suitable for the construction of a helipad. There is no suitable site in Kalimpong that can be used for the (helicopter) operation,” said Sarkar on phone from Calcutta, quoting the report. She said the report had not mentioned any reason for rejecting the spot.

The site in Mirik is often used by helicopters to land and take off and the survey said it could be converted into a full-fledged helipad.

“They (read the Pawan Hans) said in their report that people would prefer to travel by road to these places rather than by air to enjoy the scenic beauty of the hills. So, the service may not be commercially viable,” said Sarkar.

She, however, stressed that all matters relating to the setting up of helipads in the hills and the Sunderbans were in a preliminary stage.

Pawan Hans was incorporated with the objective of providing helicopter services to oil companies for off-shore explorations and charter rides for the promotion of tourism. The company also offers air rides to the remote and hilly areas.

Sarkar said Pawan Hans had suggested that instead of regular trips, charter services could be an option in the hills.

The introduction of helicopter services in the hills had figured in Parliament earlier this month. CPM Rajya Sabha member Saman Pathak had asked the government if helicopter services between Bagdogra and the three hill towns could be launched to facilitate the arrival of tourists.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel, in his written reply, said a survey had been undertaken by the Pawan Hans in collaboration with the WBTDC to check the viability of the helicopter services in the hills.
————
www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 26: Unidentified hooligans have removed the portrait of Madan Tamang and the ABGL party flags from his memorial structure at Upper Clubside in Darjeeling.

The memorial was erected by Tamang’s family members at the site where the former ABGL chief had been hacked to death hours before he was to address a public meeting on May 21.

The vandalism was noticed this morning. The photograph of Tamang was missing and eight of the 11 flags surrounding the plinth were found uprooted. The flags had been planted at the spot ahead of the meeting on the fateful day.

The ABGL has refrained from blaming any political party for the incident.

“We will immediately write to the chief minister and the Union home minister regarding the incident. We believe the act has been the handiwork of those who oppose our party,” said Laxman Pradhan, the general secretary of the ABGL’s Darjeeling district committee, without naming any political outfit.

The hill leader’s assassination has been blamed on the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, names of whose 30 members figure in the chargesheet filed by the CID in a Darjeeling court

“If police do not take any action and immediately arrest the miscreants involved in the incident, the ABGL will take appropriate steps,” said Pradhan, without elaborating the party’s plan.

The police have started an investigation.

“The ABGL has filed a complaint with us, saying unknown miscreants removed party flags and took off Tamang’s picture from the memorial. We are investigating the incident,” said a police officer.

The ABGL is planning to put up a statue of Tamang at the memorial. “The statue is being made and it will be placed on the memorial soon,” said Pradhan.

————
www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
RAJEEV RAVIDAS

Kalimpong, Dec. 23: The hills have been reeling from daily power cuts for over a month, forcing the Christian community to seek the intervention of the chief minister to bring an immediate stop to the outage during Christmas festivities.

Homes go dark for about two hours in the evening between 5pm and 8pm and for almost the equal length of time during the day.

“Why is there load-shedding only in the hills? I have made enquiries with my friends in Siliguri, and they say things are fine there,” said Praful Rao, the secretary of the Kalimpong Consumers’ Association and the president of Save The Hills.

Members of the Christian community here today faxed a petition to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, saying they should not be denied their “right to worship” during Christmas.

“Kalimpong has a significant Christian population. For them this week is holy and an important part of the Christmas celebrations. Carol singing during late evening and night commenced on December 20 and will continue until Christmas day. In this regard, the power cuts by the WBSEB between approximately 5.30pm and 8pm has totally ruined the carol singing, resulting in the carol parties wandering around in pitch darkness,” said the letter signed by members of the Christian community.

Darjeeling bishop Stephen Lepcha said it was sad that the power cut was going on even during the Christmas festivities.

“Either deliberately or unknowingly, this (power cut) has been happening. There appears to be none to talk on our behalf. I have also taken up the matter with state minority commission,” he said over the phone from Darjeeling.

The Christians, though, are not the only ones complaining. The people in general are frustrated with the daily power cuts.

“My daughter was forced to study in candle light during her annual exams last month. Since things do not seem like improving. I am thinking of buying an inverter,” said Gita Lama, a resident of East Main Road.

The power cuts have also resulted in the loss of business for many people. “The outage coupled with poor Internet connectivity have hit my business hard,” said James Tamang, the owner of Cyberden on Main Road.

Efforts to contact West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd officials in Siliguri proved futile.

————
www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 23: The political temperature in the hills has dropped and the chill, too, is back in the air, so are the Santas, mistletoes, turkeys, stuffed goose, croquette and more.

An air of festivity has gripped the hills with Christmas stars adorning many a rooftop here. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, happy after its talks with Union minister P. Chidambaram, has agreed to contest elections and allow all government offices to remain open. It has also withdrawn its strike.

“We are happy that the strikes have been withdrawn. The prem bhoj (Christmas feast in churches) has also been held and people are into carolling, which at times extends till January 3,” said Father Alex Gurung of the Darjeeling diocese.

The biggest Xmas mass in Darjeeling will be held at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception tomorrow evening.

“The mass will start at 7pm as we don’t want to extend it till late in the night largely because of the cold,” said Father Alex.

The cold, however, has failed to damper preparations at many well-known addresses.

Christmas menu of roasted boar head encircled by rosemary garland may have vanished across the world but many hotels in town have lined up some of the best known Xmas dishes, which have been handed down through generations. “We have a 50-year-old history of Christmas celebration,” said Diamond Oberoi, owner of Hotel Elgin in Darjeeling. (more…)

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 23: All major parties in the hills are willing to contest the municipality and rural polls but most of the rivals of Bimal Gurung are reluctant to form the board for the interim authority if they win, in which case the set-up might end up as a non-starter.

With the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha agreeing to contest the local body polls, elections to the panchayat, due since 2005, and the municipalities in the region can now be held.

The Morcha’s decision to contest the election has set in motion a process to form the new set-up as it has been agreed that the board of the Gorkhaland Regional Authority will be formed through proportionate representation, depending on the number of seats won in the panchayat and the municipalities.

The mode of forming the board had been a major bone of contention between the Morcha and the government with the hill party demanding that it be allowed to nominate all the members to the GRA. The state was, however, adamant that the board should be formed either through direct or indirect election. (more…)

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 22: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has agreed to allow rural elections to be held in the hills, a decision that has cleared the path for signing an agreement on an interim set-up for Darjeeling within a fortnight.

This means the board of the interim authority will now be formed through proportionate representation depending on seats won in the panchayat and municipality elections, as demanded by the Bengal government.

Led by its president Bimal Gurung, a Morcha delegation conveyed its decision to Union home minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi today.

Harka Bahadur Chhetri, media and publicity secretary of the Morcha, said over the phone from New Delhi: “The home minister told us that the report (on the set-up) would be forwarded to the cabinet committee on security after which the agreement (on the interim authority) would be signed.”

According to Chhetri, the committee could sit for a meeting “even tomorrow or day after or at the latest within a fortnight”. (more…)

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 22: Three-hundred students of Sikkim University have fanned out on a unique mission to study different aspects of the region and record untold stories for posterity.

The varsity’s Winter Sojourn is unique in more than one way. “We have formed eight teams, each comprising around 30-35 students studying different subjects at the varsity. We have identified eight themes which the students will look into from different perspectives for a proper understanding,” said Sohel Fridas, a geography teacher and the leader of a team.

The issues identified are as varied as Gorkhaland agitation, oral history, demilitarised international border studies, social space, cardamom cultivation, tea industry and water.

“For example, a team is on a 10-day visit to the Darjeeling hills to study the tea industry. While chemistry students are looking into the organic and inorganic aspects of the garden, physics students are studying the tools used in the industry,” said Fridas.

“We are looking at documenting a comprehensive profile of the industry, focussing on market constraints, pricing, labour acts, welfare schemes, productivity and owner-worker relations among others,” he added.

The team, which is currently in Darjeeling, has already spent five days in the Makaibari tea garden in Kurseong. They have been staying in the labour quarters, where stakeholders were asked to fill up a questionnaire.

While one group is in Darjeeling, other teams are visiting the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Nepal borders. “These teams will study the socio-economic and culture-related issues in border areas,” said Fridas.

Every group is being accompanied by a teacher from the varsity’s history faculty, who along with the students are recording the “oral history” of the region.

“We have come across various people and they have many stories to say. We have recently met a 103-year-old woman who turned out to be a treasure trove,” said Sangmu Thendup, history lecturer at the varsity.
————
www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Dec. 21: A new party has been floated with the Gorkhaland slogan at a time the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is trying desperately to negotiate with the Centre and the state a two year set-up in the hills.

Former Kalimpong branch committee president of the GNLF, Dawa Pakhrin, has floated the Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha in New Delhi and has started mobilising public support in the capital.

The development is an indication that the Gorkhaland issue will continue to bother the state and the Centre even if the interim set-up is put in place in the coming days.

“I am very happy that we received an overwhelming support from the Gorkhas in the capital,” Pakhrin said over phone from Delhi. The Nirman Morcha participated in a dharna, organised by the Federation of Smaller States, on the Rajghat premises yesterday.

“Demand for smaller states like Gorkhaland, Bundelkhand, Purbanchal, Vidarbha and other new states were raised at the dharna,” said Pakhrin. The Nirman Morcha has threatened to gherao the Assembly (building) before the elections if no concrete steps are taken by the state government to form Gorkhaland. “We are chalking out the details,” he said. (more…)

Photo: Chendup Lepcha

Photo: Chendup Lepcha

See the rest at : Photo Feature: 279th birth anniversary of King Gaeboo Aachyok

————
www.kalimpong.info

www.darjeelingtimes.com
Tuesday, 21 December 2010 22:51
Written by Kalimpongnews

Lepchas observes the 279th birth anniversary of King Gaeboo Aachyok (Photo: Chendup Lepcha)

KalimNews:Lepchas of Darjeeling District celebrated the 279 th birth anniversary of the Lepcha King Gaeboo Aachyok in Kalimpong. Thousands of Lepchas from all over the district assembled in Mela ground and shouted “Achuley” to greet each other. A small worship programme was also organised at Damsang gari a fort and refuge place of the late King near Algarah about 18 km away from Kalimpong by the District Level Lepcha Tribal association .

Lepchas are the aboriginal people of Eastern Himalayas and are found not only in the Darjeeling district but also in Sikkim and Nepal in huge number. Gaeboo was a political leader who fought with the Bhutanese and English people to save his vanishing tribe.

Gaeboo is thought of born in the Lungshyol near Mangzing about 10 km away from Oodlabari in the Gorubathan Block Division. According to records his territory extended from Paro Bhutan to Rhaenock in Sikkim. He was not very popular among the Bhutanese King as he use to protest against the oppression of Bhutanese King and his associates to the Lepcha subjects and he was compelled to leave Bhutan for good.

It is said that Gaeboo appeared during the first Bhutanese attack in Sikkim in 1668, during the reign of third (fourth?) King Debaraja, Chhoegyal Mijure Tempa of Bhutan during 1668-1670. A legend says that Gaeboo sought the help of Tibetan King for weapons to fight with the Bhutanese king.

A report says that during the period of fifth Dalai Lama, Bhutan invaded Sikkim and the southern parts were invaded. And during this war Gaeboo fought against Bhutan and was killed in the war. But the Sikimese history ignores the role of Gaeboo.

Another legend states that Gaeboo fought the Bhutaneese army from Damsang gari which is about km 18 away from Kalimpong near Algarah. Another legend also states that he fought the Bhutanese army from a fort called Dalim gari near Gorubathan and he was killed there. Though opinions and history differ but the existence of Gaeboo is approved by one and all.

In the celebration held today Lepcha leaders revived their demand of recognition of Lepcha language and inclusion of the language in the primary level as well as requirement of controversial Gorkha certificate for recruitment in military and para military forces.

————
www.kalimpong.info