Contributed by Mr. Hemant

SFI meet takes up Hill development

SILIGURI, April 13: The 24th Darjeeling district conference of the Students’ Federation of India was held at Chittaranjan High School in Bagdogra on 12 April.  Among the issues discussed were the situation in the Darjeeling hills and the development of education in the district.  Flagging off the conference, the SFI state secretary Mr Apurba Chatterjee expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in the Darjeeling hills and the strategy being followed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leadership vis-à-vis its political opponents. “Even the student activists of the SFI are not being spared. We got information that the GJJM activists had tried to prevented around 50 of our activists from coming to Bagdogra to attend the conference. SFI activists were threatened with dire consequences if they turn up at the conference. However, committed as we are to hill plain fraternity, our organisation would under no circumstances fall into the GJJM trap,” he affirmed.
The SFI leader criticised the Centre for following the footsteps of NDA. and has reduced education to just a commodity. Mr Sudip Roy Chowdhury, the vice president of the Darjeeling district SFI said that his organisation had demanded improvement in education infrastructure and establishment of new colleges for the Siliguri sub-division. [The Statesman]

SHRP demands probe into Chamling ‘corruption’

GANGTOK, April 13: The Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad (SHRP) has sent a letter to the Centre today pleading for a detailed inquiry into the charges of corruption against the state chief minister Mr Pawan Chamling which was flashed in the media recently. SHRP wrote letters to President Mrs Pratiba Patil, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chief Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Union home minister Mr Shivraj Patil and to the director general of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking detailed inquiry into the charges of corruption levelled against the state government. “The sate government had allegedly siphoned off Rs 375 crore which was reported in Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report is not a matter of joke. It is an authentic report,” said Mr Biraj Adhikari, spokesperson of SHRP. “The CAG reports also mentioned improper fund transfer made by state government from one department to another to balance the account”, he added.

The charge of corruption against the chief minister and state government, flashed on the national channels created much of a chaos. “It is so surprising that citizens here are mum even after the corruption charge against the chief minister was proved on the channel ” said Mr Adhikari. “The reason why the people are so scared to speak out is that about 90 per cent of them are government employee and they know that corruption is indented so deep everywhere starting from politicians to bureaucrats that nothing can be done” he added. The state government is trying to defend itself by putting up their party message on the highway road in Gangtok and its periphery. “Interestingly, if we want to put our party poster or banner we would not be permitted by the authority and police would be deployed to remove those in our so called democratic state” said Mr. Tara Shresta General Secretary, SHRP. “The government is misusing democracy and police, which should be independent,” he added. State government led by Mr KT Gyaltsen legal advisor to chief minister had condemned the allegations of corruption and demanded immediate apology from the channel or they will take legal action. [The Statesman]

One dies as storm strikes Siliguri

Siliguri, April 13: One person died after a storm with winds at 70kmph swept through Siliguri and its surrounding areas last night. The whole subdivision, including the town, plunged into darkness as electric poles were brought down and power lines snapped. Authorities said there were no reports of large-scale damage to properties.

Rekha Jaiswal (45) was killed after a tree uprooted by the gusts of wind fell on her tin-roofed house in Suryasen Colony. The woman was taken to the Siliguri subdivisional hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries later. [Inset: A house damaged in the storm in Mallaguri.]

“Over 65 per cent of overhead wires in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area were damaged,” said Lyton Bhowmick, the divisional manager of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL). “Our men were pressed into action last night itself after the storm subsided and power supply was be restored to the whole town by this morning.”

Lepchas to walk to ‘holy’ land

Darjeeling, April 13: About 500 Lepchas from Darjeeling and Sikkim will march 150km to Dzongu from Tribeni to protest against the setting up of hydel power projects in the protected area.

The weeklong march from Tribeni, the confluence of the Teesta and the Rangit, will start tomorrow. The Himalayan state is setting up six hydel projects along the Kanka and Teesta rivers in North Sikkim’s Dzongu, considered holy by the Lepchas.

The protesters have accused the Pawan Chamling government of not only “playing with the sentiments of the community” but also violating the Sikkim government extraordinary gazette notification (No 500, dated December 15, 2006) which calls for protection of the area.

“Despite protests, the Sikkim government is determined to go ahead with the projects. The march is aimed at mobilising public support because the government is playing with the sentiments of the community,” said Samden Foning Lepcha, general secretary, Darjeeling Lepcha Youth Association (DLYA), one of the organisers of the march.

March to push statehood limit

Darjeeling, April 13: Sixteen youths from across the Darjeeling hills today set off on foot to “fortify the Gorkhaland area” till its last frontier, the Sankosh river on the Dooars bordering Assam.

The mission is to plant Gorkha Janmukti Morcha flags along the stretch, a distance of about 290km from here.

“Siliguri and the Dooars must be included in Gorkhaland. We will not let go an inch,” said Hemant Rai, the team leader. The march is also a protest against the lathicharge on an ex-servicemen’s rally in Siliguri last week. [Inset: The team after they started from Chowrastha. Picture by Suman Tamang]

The initiative taken by the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu comes at a time when the Morcha is set to organise political rallies in the Dooars. “We appeal to hill residents to join the marchers and help fortify the Gorkhaland area,” said Ravi Shankar Sharma, the president of the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu.

The All Gorkha Students’ Union, or Agsu, was an apolitical organisation till it merged with the Morcha last year.

The team was flagged off from Chowrastha by Morcha president Bimal Gurung during the Ekta Diwas celebration. The Morcha Agsu also felicitated Indian Idol winner Prashant Tamang at the same venue.

Indian Idol returns to hills, holding Morcha hand

Darjeeling, April 13: Indian Idol Prashant Tamang today performed in front of his adoring home fans, for the first time after winning the television reality show, at a programme organised by a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated association.

Last year, the Morcha was born after its president Bimal Gurung cashed in on the strong anti-Subash Ghisingh sentiment that swept through the hills during the campaign launched to help Tamang win Indian Idol 3. The GNLF chief had refused to publicly back Tamang even as the entire Gorkha community put its collective might behind the singer from Darjeeling. [(From left) Karma Sherpa, Bimal Gurung and Prashant Tamang at Darjeeling’s Chowrastha on Sunday. Picture by Suman Tamang]

Since then, the political turmoil in the hills has been one of the reasons why Tamang could not perform here, although he toured about half-a-dozen countries across the world.

This morning, Tamang appeared happy to be back.

Divided, residents fret over safety

Siliguri, April 13: The discovery of three caches of explosive devices from different parts of the town in the past 10 days has shaken the confidence of residents here, even as they grapple with a potential conflict between the hills and the plains that threatens to destroy their unity.

“I was shocked to hear about the blasts (at Champasari on April 3),” said Nibha Prasad, a homemaker in Dagapur. “Now, police are unearthing bombs every other day. It is surprising that something like this is taking place in our town, where we took our safety and security for granted. Are we safe any more?”

“I have been living in Siliguri for the past 18 years and have never seen the town so tensed before,” Abhijit Roy, a general physician, said. “Our spirit of unity has always helped us tide over our problems. When there was a blast at New Jalpaiguri station in 1997, we were not that afraid of unknown forces because all of us were united.

Mayor plea after third haul- Champasari clue to cache of explosives

Siliguri, April 13: The Siliguri mayor has asked all landlords in town to submit details of their tenants to police after a cache of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) was recovered from a house in Gurung Bustee last night.

This is the third and the largest haul in 10 days. A bomb squad of the CID today detonated the IEDs on the banks of the Mahananda. Ten IEDs and six timers were recovered from Anjali Dey’s house, located barely a kilometre from the Pradhannagar police station.

A forensic examination of the ashes is expected to reveal the nature of the IEDs. [The IEDs being detonated on the banks of the Mahananda.]

The explosives were found in a room that had been rented out to three women, all of whom went missing after the Champasari blasts on April 3.