Tibetans observe day’s fast in West Bengal

Tibetans living in West Bengal and Sikkim marked the arrival of the Beijing Olympic torch in New Delhi with a 24-hour fast since Wednesday to highlight the human rights violations in Tibet.

The Olympic torch arrived in the country Thursday morning amid protests by the Tibetans in New Delhi.

‘The 24-hour long fast concluded Thursday afternoon. Sixty-odd people participated in the fast, showing solidarity with their community in Tibet,’ West Bengal Tibetan Solidarity sub-committee spokesperson D. Dorjee told IANS.

The Tibetan Solidarity Committee is a forum of the Tibetans living in India, comprising mostly students and traders.

Dorjee said: ‘We have nothing against the Olympic torch relay. But, since the torch is travelling worldwide, a lot of media attention is on the event. We just wanted to stage a protest, holding this 24-hour long fast, condemning the repression by the Chinese army.’

U.S. nationals sent to correctional home in Siliguri

KOLKATA: U.S. nationals Monica Bond and her daughter Heather, detained after 9 mm cartridges were found in their baggage during a security check at West Bengal’s Bagdogra airport on Monday, are now in the Siliguri Special Correctional Home.

A senior official of the U.S. Consul General, Kolkata, visited the women at the correctional home on Wednesday, their lawyer Abhaypada Chatterjee told The Hindu over telephone from Siliguri.

Tourists from California, they were arrested under the Arms Act, 1959, and remanded to judicial custody for three days by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Siliguri on Tuesday.

“Documents sought from the U.S. Consul General’s office say the women have no criminal record,” said Mr. Chatterjee, whose prayer for bail to the accused was rejected by the court.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the cartridges were of American origin, Rahul Srivastava, Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling, said.

Provide jobs for locals: CM

GANGTOK, April. 17: Taking concern steps for locals, state chief minister Mr Pawan Chamling strictly instructed all the upcoming private companies to provide maximum employment opportunities to the local people of the state in the investors and power developers meet held in Gangtok recently.
He however, said: “all private sector undertakings, industrial units and such other companies in the state should strictly adhere to the state government policy of providing maximum employment opportunities to the local people of Sikkim only” adding “It is a policy decision taken by the Cabinet recently”. The chief minister also appealed to investors for their co-operation in maintaining the prevailing peace and harmony in the state. “Sikkim is a land endowed with peace, loving hospitable citizen and any unwanted activities will hurt their sentiments”, he said.
He further said , the state government is committed to fulfil all the initiatives taken for the development of the state and assured to provide conductive environment for carrying out smooth business activities in the state.
While explaining the Local Protection Act (LPA) which was formulated recently to safeguard the interest of the local people, he said that though there is skilled manpower deficit in the state, effort is being made to train the educated unemployed youths through capacity building measures which would assist them for jobs later.  But he reiterated urged investors and power developers to give employment to only those Sikkimese people having authentic documents issued by the district collectorate and pointed out that while providing jobs for educated local youth must be given first preference. [The Statesman]

AGSU’s long-march peaceful in Siliguri

SILIGURI, April 17: Despite provocation from the CPI-M and its outfits, the All Gorkha Students Union’s long-march from Darjeeling to Sankosh today passed through Siliguri peacefully.  The silent march had started from Darjeeling on 13 April. The march would traverse a 299 km distance up to the Sankosh river in Jalpaiguri covering the demanded Gorkhaland territory.  The AGSU march reached the Darjeeling More in Siliguri about 10.30 a.m. today. The near 150-odd marchers had planned to enter the town, walk up to Venus More and then proceed along the National Highway 31A via Salugara.  But coinciding with the march, members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, gathered at Darjeeling More in large numbers and started mongering slogans opposing the march and the demand for a separate state. They also cautioned the AGSU marchers against entering the town premises as planned by the marchers.

The large contingent of police force present at the spot subdued the tension and diverted the rally.
However, another group of CPI-M supporters again tried to incite the marchers at Champasari More by shouting provocative slogans. But ignoring them, the AGSU march went ahead only to come across another CPI-M agitation near the Bhaktinagar Check Post.

This time, the Siliguri Municipal Corporation chairman and the CPI-M councillor, Mr Dilip Singh was leading the agitation shouting slogans opposing the inclusion of Siliguri and the Dooars in the Gorkhaland demand. The overwhelming presence of the police force prevented the situation from escalating and the AGSU march went ahead peacefully. [The Statesman]

Russian deal for north Bengal tea

Siliguri, April 17: The CII’s North Bengal Zonal Council has reached an understanding with a Russian company for direct export of tea from here to the Republic of Bashkortostan. The deal came through after five months of negotiations.

“Teastan, a company based in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, has agreed to buy 20 tonnes of orthodox tea from north Bengal every month,” G.S. Hora, the next chairman of CII’s zonal council, said.

“A consortium of about 20 stakeholders from different sections of the tea industry, namely planters, traders and blenders, is being formed in Siliguri. The exports will take place through this consortium. Once it is formed, a formal agreement will be reached between the company and the consortium. As a facilitator, it was our job to create an interface between the industries of the two countries,” said Hora.

Bashkortostan is a federal subject of Russia.

4 hours extra to release body

Siliguri, April 17: It took eight hours and the intervention of the principal to release the body of a 17-year-old boy from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH).

Jagadish Burman from Dinhata in Cooch Behar was under treatment at the sub-divisional hospital in his hometown for symptoms of a jaundice-like disease. “On the advice of doctors there, we shifted him to NBMCH on Monday afternoon,” said his uncle Biswanath Burman. [Inset: The North Bengal Medical College and Hospital]

Burman also said during the treatment, doctors at the NBMCH told the family that water had accumulated in Jagadish’s stomach and he had developed some complications.

“Around 10.20am today, I came to know that my nephew died. Forty minutes later, the staff on duty confirmed the news,” said Burman.

Blast detained include six trainee nurses

Siliguri, April 17: Police today detained four persons, including two trainee nurses, in connection with the recent blasts and recovery of explosives in town, taking the total number of detainees to eight.

Eight others have been arrested since two consecutive explosions in Champasari killed three alleged bomb-makers on April 3 (see chart). They are members of the BCP (MLM) or Bhutan Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), said the police.

The four detained today live on the outskirts of Siliguri, the police said. This is the first time that people arrested or detained in this case have given addresses that are outside the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area.

As many as six of the eight detainees are pursuing nursing training at different private health establishments, prompting the police to appeal to nursing home owners to be more cautious while recruiting.

“They should verify the background of all their employees,” Siliguri additional superintendent of police Rajesh Yadav said. The law enforcers have also asked landlords to furnish details of their tenants at the nearest police stations.

“Of the 16 arrested or detained so far, nine are girls who seem to have come from poor backgrounds. Nursing is an easy profession that does not require candidates to be highly qualified. And Siliguri has many nursing homes and private clinics,” a senior police officer said.

Shaven heads to mount anti-China protests

Darjeeling, April 17: Members of the Tibetan community in Darjeeling have decided to shave their heads en-masse at Chowrastha on April 21 to protest against the Chinese crackdown in Tibet.

“We have decided to observe Black Monday by shaving our heads. We are expecting some of our women to join the programme, which will start at 10.30am,” Pasang Doma, an executive member of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, said. [Inset: Tibetan protesters at Darjeeling’s Chowrastha on Thursday. Picture by Suman Tamang]

The day has been chosen because the recent Tibetan uprising began on March 10, which was a Monday. In 1959, the first uprising had started on the same date, March 10, when Chinese troops had tried to arrest the Dalai Lama.

Doma said she was not sure how many people would turn up for the programme. “We have informed our members in places like Pokhriabong, Kalimpong, Mirik and Kurseong and we expect them to come,” she added.

Morcha marchers skirt Siliguri

Siliguri, April 17: More than 200 members of the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu rallied near Darjeeling More for more than an hour this morning before backing off and taking NH31 that bypasses Siliguri.

Although police had refused permission to the marchers to enter the town, the actual deterrents were the blockades set up by members of the DYFI, the CPM’ youth wing. [Inset: Marchers cross First Mahananda Bridge. Picture by Kundan Yolmo].

The marchers are on their way to the Sankosh on the Bengal-Assam border, the last frontier of the new state they are demanding.

Commuters were caught in a severe traffic congestion at Darjeeling More and along the highway. It took more than an hour for roads to return to normal.

Heavy police arrangements had been made throughout the route to avoid trouble. The police had even hired buses, indicating that they could be mass arrests if the situation turned volatile.

The rift in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leadership was evident a little after 10.30am. While central leaders like Kamal Dorjee preferred to avoid Siliguri, those like Ravi Shankar Sharma, the president of the Gorkha Janmukti Agsu, an affiliate of the Morcha, wanted to cross the town before heading for the Dooars.

The marchers first halted at the NH31-Hill Cart Road crossing, baffling police who thought that the rally would take the highway.

“We want to march peacefully through Siliguri and then head for Sevoke,” said Sharma. “Siliguri is an integral part of the Gorkhaland that we want.”

Court push for BEd colleges

Calcutta, April 17: Calcutta High Court today said universities are bound to affiliate BEd colleges that have obtained clearance certificates from the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE).

“According to a Supreme Court ruling, once a BEd college has got an NCTE certificate, obtaining affiliation from a local university is a mere formality,” Justice Aniruddha Basu said.

The judge directed Vidyasagar University in West Midnapore to immediately grant affiliation to the Chandrakona Town Bengal College of Teachers’ Education.

The Chandrakona college had got a clearance certificate from the NCTE on May 24 last year. When it applied for affiliation, Vidyasagar University sent a team to the college for inspection.

Bengal bandh ‘blessed’ by EC

Calcutta, April 17: In Bengal, even the Election Commission gives right of way to bandhs.

The state poll panel today extended by a day the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers for the first two phases of the panchayat elections on May 11 and 14, removing a roadblock before Mamata Banerjee’s 12-hour shutdown on April 21.

The Trinamul Congress was in two minds whether to go ahead with the Monday shutdown against price rise as it would have stood in the way of the poll process. The last day for withdrawing nominations assumes significance because of an undeclared reason: this is when deals are struck and some candidates drop out to ensure votes are not split.

However, with the Election Commission thoughtfully giving more time, Mamata is now certain to press ahead with the bandh.