www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph

Police seized around 1000 litres of foreign liquor from the house of Dawa Lama, the treasurer of the Morcha, and recovered 17 khukuris from alleged Gorkhaland Personnel cadres last night.

Lama, who owns a liquor off-shop in town, is absconding.

Darjeeling police chief D.P. Singh said: “Yesterday Dawa Lama was seen with some people who had warrants pending against them. We asked him to bring these people to the police station but he did not co-operate. ”

He has been booked under the Bengal Excise Act.

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The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, March 24: Bimal Gurung has decided to go it alone in the polls — banking on the Gorkhaland card and demanding that his three hill candidates sign a bond promising to resign as legislators or go on fast in front of the Assembly whenever the statehood agitation demands it.

The Morcha has fielded Trilok Dewan from Darjeeling, Rohit Sharma from Kurseong and Harka Bahadur Chhetri from Kalimpong.

The announcement of the names was preceded by a lot of histrionics at the Gymkhana Club Hall. The Morcha chief at first asked the 4,000-odd supporters whether the party should field its own candidate or support some other party.

“I have said the Morcha was not born for election politics. Nevertheless, after 40 months of agitation, we are bound by compulsions and are in a difficult phase. I do not want to take a single-handed decision and will want to hear all opinions,” he told the audience.

He first called for a voice vote and with the overwhelming majority wanting the party to field its own candidate, the Morcha chief asked them to raise their hands if they supported the idea.

However, before rattling off the names of the three candidates, Gurung said: “Whoever is the candidate, he must sign a bond stating that he would withdraw or resign at any moment. The bond must also state that they will be willing to sit on a hunger strike in front of the Assembly.

“This is the people’s movement and the people’s voice should always be respected,” he told the candidates.

While Darjeeling candidate Dewan is a 65-year-old retired chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh, Sharma is an associate professor of Kurseong College. Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri, 53, is a well-known academician in Kalimpong from where he is contesting.

Dewan, who belongs to the 1969 IAS batch, also fought the 1971-Bangladesh war as a Captain with the 11 Gorkha Rifles. Although not a Morcha central committee member, Dewan is part of the party’s Study Forum and was a participant in all tripartite meetings between the state, Centre and the Morcha.

Sharma, a member of the Morcha’s central committee, entered politics only after the party was formed in 2007. Chhetri, a doctorate holder in botany and the party spokesperson, is the most well known political face and is currently a science teacher at St George’s School in Pedong, Kalimpong.

“Earlier, we had no weapons to fight the state government. We will now have a weapon to fight the government on the floor of the Assembly,” said Chhetri. The Morcha spokesperson was also the general secretary of the ABGL in 2004, when Madan Tamang was the party president. He was also a well known face of the support group of the Bhutanese refugees.

The Morcha sounded confident of victory. “We must vote en masse to send a clear message about our Gorkhaland demand. I will request even the chief minister of Sikkim to grant two days leave to people from the Darjeeling hills who are currently working in the state so that they can come over to vote,” said Gurung.

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The Telegraph

Darjeeling, March 24: The Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA) — the apex body of all tea producers’ associations in India — today asked the state’s labour department to immediately convene a meeting to discuss the revision of garden workers’ wages.

The CCPA appeal came at a time the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated union is set to stop the dispatch of sample tea bags from the hill gardens from tomorrow.

The garden owners said they would discuss the wage revision “in conformity with well established practices towards a composite agreement covering all sections of the West Bengal tea industry.” This means that the discussion must be carried out with all operating tea unions in Bengal and that no separate parleys could be held only with the Morcha’s union.

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www.kalimpong.info

A spy writer travels to historical espionage related locations for his books. Following that path he ends up in Kalimpong.. here’s an excerpt from an article about his travels.

From Spy holidays: following in the steps of James Bond – Telegraph

Kalimpong is a Himalayan hill station in West Bengal, sitting on the old trading route from India to Tibet, in the shadow of Darjeeling. It has fantastic espionage form. According to a reliable source, it has always been popular with Russian intelligence officers seeking a break from the Calcutta heat.

So, plenty for me to get stuck into, but what about the family? Luckily, we had a great guide, Sidharth, who had already taken us on a trekking holiday through the nearby state of Sikkim. His father was born in the town and he was extremely proud of its history. He also embraced the challenge of “espionage tourism”.

Our first stop was the Himalayan Hotel, which was once home to David MacDonald, who accompanied Francis Younghusband on his trip to Lhasa in 1904, and is still owned by the MacDonald family. The guest book includes the names of Mallory, Tenzing and Hillary, who stayed before advancing on Everest.

The bar is apparently where SVR agents relax over vodkas and lime. They also like to visit the home of the late Russian philosopher Helena Roerich, who moved to Kalimpong after the death of her husband, the acclaimed artist Nicholas Roerich.

We didn’t see any Russians, but the hotel would make an atmospheric setting for a fictitious debrief, with its heavily varnished wooden panels and old gramophone player on the bar. They were more Russians in evidence at the Roerich home, Kruketi House, now a museum. Fresh Russian signatures were drying in the visitor’s book. SVR? Perhaps. And certainly enough colour for a cameo in a future book.

My daughter liked Roerich’s vivid paintings, and the house, seemingly untouched since Roerich’s death in 1955, gave an insight into her life as a thinker, writer and traveller.

Half an hour later, after being shown the covert base of India’s SAS, the Black Cats, we were bathing in a spring-fed outdoor pool. We had the place to ourselves apart from three Bhutanese women, who had come across the nearby border to let their hair down. They were in bikinis, chain-smoking and listening to rock music on mobile phones. It was a surreal sight, but Sidharth said it was a common one in Kalimpong, where things are more relaxed than in Bhutan. I knew at once that the pool would make the perfect setting for a Cold War-style honeytrap.

The embellishments and the liberal literary licenses taken in this article warn me that I can probably expect these books to be a little masala-laden, but if the new book does feature Kalimpong in the plot I will read it and let you guys know.

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www.newkerala.com

Siliguri, Mar 24 : The GJM, fighting for a separate state, today announced names of candidates in the three Hills sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong for the April 18 assembly polls.

Former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh Trilok Dewan will fight for the Darjeeling seat, while Professor Rohit Sharma will vie for Kurseong.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Press and Publicity Secretary Dr Harka Bahadur Chettri will contest from the Kalimpong seat, GJM vice-president Kalwan Dewan said.

The GJM is also mooting the idea of fielding candidates in three seats–Malbazaar, Dhupguri and Kumargram–in the plains, he added.

Darjeeling and five other north Bengal districts, comprising 54 seats, will go to first phase elections on April 18.

Jailed MLA Wilson Tamtamary will fight as a GJM-backed independent from the Kalchini seat in Dooars.

Meanwhile, the Kamtapur Progressive Party(KPP) has announced a candidates’ list of 21.

”Talks are on for a possible alliance with the GJM in the plains area. We are also considering ABAVP or Peoples Progressive Party for an alliance,” KPP founder-member Atul Roy said.

On March 22 Subhash Ghisingh-led Gorkha National Liberation Front had announced the names of three candidates, including that of a woman, for the Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong seats.

–UNI

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The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, March 23: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said its “frontal organisations and supporters” wanted the party to field its own candidates in the three hill seats, an indication that the idea of “consensus” nominees has been dropped.

The Morcha today held a meeting with the CPRM, the Congress and the BJP at the Darjeeling Gymkhana Hall to convey its stand. All the three parties along with four others had been invited to a Morcha meeting on March 18, where the issue of fielding “consensus candidates” was discussed.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said after the meeting: “Our frontal organisations and our supporters are of the opinion that the party should field its own candidates. We are looking into this elections as an opportunity to strengthen the Gorkhaland voice and we make a call to all (political and apolitical organisations) to strengthen this voice.”

Giri refused to elaborate, claiming that party president Bimal Gurung would address the candidature issue during a meeting with party supporters tomorrow.

But the CPRM said it was still hopeful that the issue of the consensus candidate would move forward. (more…)

The Telegraph

March 22: Housing minister Gautam Deb said police were “tightening their nets” to arrest Bimal Gurung after the Assembly polls on a day the Gorkha Janmkuti Morcha chief was granted anticipatory bail on three counts.

The Darjeeling sessions court today granted bail to Gurung for cases related to the blocking of NH31A, the burning of a vehicle belonging to the late ABGL leader Madan Tamang and the attack on his garage in Darjeeling.

All the three are non-bailable offences.

Dinesh Chandra Rai, the lawyer who moved the bail plea, said: “Since they were non-bailable sections, we applied for anticipatory bail, which had been granted by the court.”

Under the rules, those who procured anticipatory bails will have to surrender before the court in four weeks.

In Siliguri, Deb, a CPM state secretariat member, said: “He should be arrested as he has been named in a number of cases. The state government and police believe in timely action and are tightening the net through steps like lodging complaints against him and withdrawing his security. His arrest would be another action which we feel is likely to be done after the elections. It must be understood that the police need to consider an array of factors before implementing this decision.”

In a message to the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, he said: “They must understand that whatever the chief minister had told them while meeting them (in Malbazar), all commitments would be fulfilled.”

“They must learn from the Morcha and refrain from taking any step like allying with any political party. This would only reduce their status as puppets in the hands of political parties. They should maintain peace in the Dooars and have faith in the chief minister,” said the housing minister.

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The Telegraph

Siliguri, March 22: A move by the army to build an alternative road from north Bengal to Sikkim through forests, including the Neora Valley National Park, has invited criticism from environmentalists who fear that such a route will pose major threat to the pristine green cover and wildlife.

NH31A is the only road link now between Sikkim and the rest of India. The army’s proposed road starts at Khunia More in the Dooars and ends at Aritar near Gangtok.

The environmentalists have appealed to the President and the Prime Minister to reject the proposal and consider the widening of an existing narrow road from Bagrakote to Kolekham via Lava and extend it to Aritar.

“We have come to know that a proposal has been mooted by the army to build a road to Aritar in Sikkim from Khunia More, located close to the Chapramari wildlife sanctuary in the Dooars. The road will be developed through vast forest stretches and sanctuaries, including Neora Valley in Kalimpong, posing hazards to the flora and fauna,” said Animesh Bose, a member of the board for wildlife in Bengal and an environmentalist based in Siliguri.

The nature lovers noted that there was already an existing road that could be developed as an alternative route to the strategically located Himalayan state.

“We are equally concerned over the national security but want the army to consider the widening of Bagrakote-Lava-Kolekham road. This will not lead to loss of forest cover or wildlife habitat and at the same time, will decrease the financial burden on the army as the works involves only the conversion of a narrow road into a broad one,” said Bose.

The new road will pass through three forest stretches in Bengal, constituting 42km.

While a 6km stretch from Khunia More to Kumani will cut across the buffer zone of the Chapramari sanctuary, another part of the road from Kumani to Khasmahal via Rongo will pass through the forest under the jurisdiction of the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation.

The third stretch of around 30km is from Khasmahal to Rachela and Rhenock, all located in Neora Valley, before the road enters Pangolakha sanctuary in Sikkim.

Senior forest officers said the proposal from the army had reached their office around six months back.

“As we looked into the proposal, it was found that forests over a length of 40km or so in Bengal and the Pangolakha sanctuary near Aritar in Sikkim will be affected by the road. We had objected to the proposal and the matter now lies with the Union ministry of environment and forests,” said a forest officer.

The Neora Valley park which is likely to bear the brunt of the environmental destruction is home to several species mentioned in the IUCN Red Data List.

“They include the clouded leopard, red panda, Asiatic black bear, Satyr Tragopan and of course, tiger. Besides, the road will cross elephant corridors in Jalpaiguri and Kalimpong,” said Bose.

Around 150 environmentalists, including those from abroad, have sent an appeal to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh, requesting them to reject the proposal and consider the existing alternative route from Bagrakote to Kolakham to reach Aritar.

“We hope the central government will understand the importance of Neora Valley, which has been proposed to be included in the Unesco heritage site list. We are very much concerned about national security but once the road is built, the natural resources cannot be recreated,” said a forest officer.

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The Telegraph

Gangtok, March 22: Police are expected to submit a copy of the FIR registered against two American paragliders to the court of the chief judicial magistrate (South and West) at Namchi tomorrow.

Eric Reed and Brad Sander, who had flown into Uttarey in West Sikkim on gliders from Nepal, are facing charges of illegal entry under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and falsifying documents under Sections 465, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

The duo had been released yesterday — they got bail on Saturday — on condition that they should not move out of Sikkim. They are now in Geyzing, the district headquarters of West Sikkim.

Sources said once the FIR was submitted, the court would summon the two accused for consideration of charges.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, March 22: Subash Ghisingh has fielded greenhorns for the three hill seats — the choice of candidates revealing that the GNLF was keen on presenting fresh faces to build up a goodwill and renew its ties with the hill people in the absence of winning chances.

The only political face among the three GNLF candidates is Prakash Dahal, a former nominated councillor of the DGHC who has been fielded from Kalimpong.

Bhim Subba, a retired Naik of the 11 Gorkha Rifles and a former extension officer of the DGHC’s social education department in Sukhiapokhri, has been nominated for Darjeeling.

Pemu Chhetri, a 41-year-old housewife from Garidhura, has replaced sitting GNLF MLA Shanta Chhetri in Kurseong.

The GNLF is the first hill party to declare its candidates. (more…)

The Telegraph

Siliguri, March 21: The Left Front candidate for Kalimpong today blamed lack of development in the past 30 years for the turmoil in the Darjeeling hills while senior leaders struggled to cover up for the CPI green horn, saying the criticism was aimed at the DGHC and not the state government.

“I will contest from the Kalimpong seat with the intention to work for the development of the hills as in past 30 years there has been no development across the hills..,” said the CPI’s Bikram Chhetri after urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya introduced him to the media. Chhetri, in his thirties, is the working president of the AIYF, the youth wing of the CPI.

Even as Chhetri failed to realise what he had said, CPM state committee member Jibesh Sarkar and the CPI Darjeeling district secretary Ujjwal Chowdhury hurriedly tried a damage control.

“What he means is DGHC, the DGHC, not the state government,” the two leaders said almost in unison, interrupting Chhetri.

Later, however, Bhattacharya, Sarkar and Chowdhury were at a loss to explain why Chhetri referred to a span of 30 years while the DGHC came into being in 1988.

As for Chhetri, there was no stopping him. He went on: “There has been no systematic development in the hills… The extent of brain drain is abnormally high in the hills as there is no opportunity for proper employment.”

As senior leaders like Bhattacharya squirmed in their seats, Chhetri made another gaffe.

“I salute the aspirations of the hill people,” he said.

By then a hush had filled the CPM office on Hill cart Road. Chhetri then seem to realise that the “aspirations” of the hill people centred around Gorkhaland, which the Left Front is opposed to. Soon he went full throttle to cover up the “faux pas”.

“The state government cannot do anything directly if the DGHC falters from performing its duties,” he said. “I believe in the aspirations of common people in terms of development but do not support the demand for a separate state.”

No sooner had he finished his speech, than Sarkar snatched a microphone and rattled off an elaborate campaign plan.

“We have requested politburo member Sitaram Yechuri to address a meeting in Darjeeling before the polls. The chief minister has been requested to speak at two public meetings in the plains,” Sarkar said. “Our candidates will file their nominations on March 24 and 28.”

By the time Sarkar stopped speaking, Chowdhury had escorted Chhetri out of the room.

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The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, March 21: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has initiated a process to field “consensus” nominees for the three Darjeeling seats but is unsure of its strategy — or if it will be able to find candidates who would be acceptable to all major hill parties.

As a result, the process of finalising the list of candidates is getting delayed, spurring other hill parties to adopt a wait-and-watch strategy.

Sawan Rai, a leader of the CPRM, which took part in the nine-party meeting on March 18 where the idea of the consensus candidates was largely accepted, said: “The Morcha has to take the initiative. As they are the largest party, we are waiting for their feedback.”

Other parties also concurred that finding candidates acceptable to all would be difficult.

“The biggest issue is whether candidates selected by the Morcha would be acceptable to the other parties,” said another CPRM leader. “It also needs to be seen whether the Morcha will gain much politically if they decide to nominate apolitical persons acceptable by all.”

Rai also said that the other parties had expected the Morcha would form a committee comprising representatives of all political outfits, something that did not happen. “I don’t think a candidate nominated only by the Morcha would be accepted by the others,” Rai said. “In fact, it was decided that all the parties would be consulted and it is time for the Morcha to show their sincerity.”

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri today said: “We are holding our central committee meeting on March 24. I think a final decision will be taken only after the meeting.” Earlier Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri had said the party decision would be announced either on March 22 or 23.

The delay in the Morcha announcement seems to have a ripple effect on the ABGL. Sources said the ABGL, which had stayed away from the Morcha meeting in Darjeeling, has decided to announce its candidates only after March 25. “If the “consensus candidate” attempt fails, then the ABGL would need to negotiate with the other parties including the CPRM,” said an observer.

Till now, only the Left Front has announced its candidates. While the CPM’s K.B. Wattar and Deepa Chhetri will contest from Darjeeling and Kurseong, the CPI’s Bikram Chhetri has been fielded in Kalimpong.

The Morcha had not invited the CPM and the GNLF to its meeting, describing them as parties that were not in favour of Gorkhaland.

The GNLF has already declared that the Sixth Schedule status for the Darjeeling hills would be its election plank. Party president Subash Ghisingh had earlier said the list of candidates would be announced on March 22.

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