Darjeeling - The Queen of Hills

[Reproduced from Himalayan Travelers Guide to Darjeeling by Barun Roy]

Unanimously described as the ‘Queen of Hills’ Darjeeling is unique in its versatility. For the tourists, fresh from the sights of other lands, Darjeeling comes not only as a delightful surprise but as a veritable relief from the hot and sultry weather of the plains. From the surroundings of this unrivalled mountainous town which stands at an average height of 7,000 feet above sea level, one sees the breath-taking beauty of the snow covered peaks, the tips of which seem too silvery to be real, a dappled effect indeed of vivid white and patches of grey.

Darjeeling is at once, both old and new. The cosmopolitan town itself has come a long way since its modest beginnings in 1835. The new includes modern amenities, first class hotels, comprehensive shopping centers; some of India’s most famous boarding-schools, cinema halls and the world’s most sought trekking trails. Yet a few miles of the town one comes into contact with age-old customs and ways of living – hand plowed terraced hill side fields, surrounded by gaily painted huts, hollowed out bamboo pipes for carrying water and villagers still utterly unspoilt by the rush and materialism of the Twenty First Century.

A Brief History

The name ‘Darjeeling’ came from the Tibetan words, “dorje” meaning thunderbolt (originally the scepter of Indra) and “ling” a place or land - Hence, ‘the land of the thunderbolt’. This name could also have been inherited from a Buddhist Monastery of the same name once situated on the top of the Observatory Hill.

The town which originally consisted of a few mud huts surrounding the monastery on Observatory Hill was officially inaugurated by Captain Lloyd and Dr. Chapman. In 1839, the station was handed over to Dr. Campbell who was its first Superintendent. At this time there was not more than 20 families in the district of Darjeeling, and the further building up of Darjeeling, both physically and industrially was due almost entirely to Dr. Campbell’s twenty two years of untiring labour.

From a collection of a few mud-huts it has today grown up to be one of India’s premier hill stations, visited by tourists from distant corners of India and all over the world.

Gorkha Janmukti Posters requesting people to observer discipline during the 7 May Meeting

Gorkha Rang Mancha completed…at last!

North eastern rockers to rock Gangtok

GANGTOK, May 03: Come May 9 and the Alpine Attitude Event Management (P) Ltd will host the North Eastern Rockers here at the Sikkim Government College auditorium. Keep yourself free. A total of 24 rock bands from Kolkata, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and various places of Sikkim will be performing live from May 9 to May 11. On the first and the second day, 12 bands each would be performing, from which only top six bands would be selected for the final day. Winners will be taking home cash prize money of Rs 50,000. The first and second runners-up would be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively. Sponsored by the Sikkim State Aids Control Society (SSACS), Sikkim Express, a local English daily is its media partner. The entry ticket for the first two days is only Rs. 50 per head and Rs. 100 for the final day. This event, according to the, organizers, is aimed to be an annual event in Sikkim and has appealed to all the rock music fans to be the part of the event.  [Sikkim Express]

Mirik Lake popularly known as Sumendhu Dhap turns into Sewer

No taxis in Darjeeling hills Wednesday

There will be no taxis for tourists in West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills Wednesday when the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) holds a rally in Siliguri, the apex body of 48 taxi syndicates has announced.

The All Transport Joint Action Committee is affiliated to the GJM.

‘There is a GJM political rally in Siliguri town of the district May 7 and all vehicles of the 48 taxi syndicates under our committee will be busy ferrying GJM supporters up and down the hills,’ said committee vice-president Abu Rai.

‘But the tourists need not feel harassed. Although no taxis will be available uphill, we are not going to stop vehicles bringing tourists from the plains,’ Rai told IANS.

Suggesting an alternative tour plan, he said: ‘Tourists can take a toy train to places like Ghoom or trek to nearby places of interest like the Darjeeling Himalayan Institute, Nightingale park, Happy Valley tea garden, Lloyd Botanic Garden, Japanese Peace Pagoda and Tibetan Refugee Centre.’

However, tourists would have to postpone trips to places like Mirik and Sukhipokhri that are some distance away from Darjeeling, he added. [News.Net]

CPI(M) takes out procession in Siliguri

Siliguri (PTI): After the administration gave permission to the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha to hold a public rally on the outskirts of this town on May 7, the CPI(M) on Monday took out a procession opposing a separate state of Gorkhaland being demanded by it.

The processionists shouted slogans against GJM president Bimal Gurung and vowed to resist further division of Bengal.

Meanwhile, the GJM busied itself in organising its public meeting.

The GJM has directed that each family in the Darjeeling hills should send at least one member and vehicle owner should ferry party supporters for the cost of fuel.

All tea gardens of Kurseong subdivision would remain closed with workers joining the rally, GJM press and publicity chief Benoy Tamang said. [The Hindu]

Sikkim HC dismisses PIL against hydel projects

GANGTOK, May 5: The Sikkim High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by the former chief minister Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari challenging the award of 15 hydel contracts to private parties in the North district.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr AN Ray and Mr Justice AP Subba, passed the order yesterday dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mr Bhandari two years ago seeking annulment of the contracts for hydel projects on ground that the state government had awarded those contracts in an arbitrary and non-transparent manner.

While dismissing the petition, the court observed that the petitioners were ‘politically coloured’ as the contentions raised in the petition had not been substantiated during the hearing of the case. [The Statesman]

Rally paralyses traffic movement in Siliguri

SILIGURI, May 5: A CPI-M rally in Siliguri against the ongoing ‘divisive activities in the region’ brought the town to a standstill this afternoon. The huge rally paralysed traffic movement on Hill Cart Road, Bidhan Road and Kutchery Road between 5 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. The impact was such that it took more than half an hour even after the rally, for the traffic to come back to normal.

The rally originated from Baghajatin Park in the town. Leading from the front were the state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya, Siliguri mayor Mr Bikash Ghosh and the deputy mayor Mr Nur-ul-Islam. Today’s rally, which was probably the biggest organised by the CPI-M in recent times in Siliguri, was also joined by various workers’ unions and youth wings of the party. To make the rally a success, the CPI-M also arranged for the transportation of party supporters from the fringe areas of the town. Today’s maha rally was a show of strength for the CPI-M against the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha’s proposed public meeting at the Indira Gandhi Maidan in Siliguri on 7 May. [The Statesman]

RSP accuses CPM of creating rift in party

SILIGURI, May 5: The Revolutionary Socialist Party today alleged that the CPI-M was trying to create a schism between the RSP’s state and Darjeeling district units on the Darjeeling issue. “The party line on the matter of the Hill-based political parties’ democratic rights is one,” declared the RSP leadership. A few days ago, when the Darjeeling district RSP criticised the state government for denying the GJMM permission for a rally in Siliguri the district CPI-M leadership affirmed that the state RSP was behind the state government on this issue. “The Darjeeling district RSP’s stand on the matter is inconsequential as the state RSP is with the state government in the matter,” was what CPI-M state committee member Mr Jibesh Sarkar had said.

Refuting the CPI-M claim, senior RSP leader and state PWD minister Mr Kshiti Goswami said over phone from Kolkata that the party was united on the issue and the state committee fully endorsed the stand taken by the party’s Darjeeling district unit. The Darjeeling district RSP secretary Mr Binay Chakravarty alleged today that the CPI-M is trying to conjure up fissures within the RSP. “To say that the state RSP and the Darjeeling district RSP are different in their respective stands on the sensitive Hill issue amounts to gross interference within the party’s internal affairs. Who has given the CPI-M leadership the right to speak on behalf of the RSP’s state committee?” Mr Chakravarty questioned.

Mr Kshiti Goswami clarified that the Hill-based political outfits should not be debarred for long from exercising their democratic rights like organising rallies and staging fast for a cause of their own within the constitutional framework [The Statesman]

Deposition extended to 17 May

DARJEELING, May 5: The Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha (GJMM) has again sought time to depose before the one-man commission set up to probe the lathi-charge on the ex-armymen at Darjeeling More on 9 April.
“We are busy at the moment and need more time to prepare depositions from the injured all over Darjeeling district,” stated retired Col. Ramesh Allay, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Bhutpurva Sainik Morcha (BGBSM). The first deposition held at Siliguri from 20-22 April proved inconsequential as the GJMM failed to appear for the hearing. In view of GJMM’s appeal Mr ML Meena, who is deputed to probe the incident, had postponed the deposition to 5 May at Circuit House in Darjeeling. This time too, the GJMM has appealed to postpone the deposition.

However, the commission has agreed to come back on 17 May for the purpose. “The GJMM is busy with some other engagements at the moment. We have agreed to come back on 17 May to keep the inquiry fair,” said Mr Meena. The commission was supposed to submit its report to the state government within a month’s time. “Following the recent developments, I too, will have to request the government to extend the date of submission,” he added. Mr Meena also visited the house of late Mr Jeevan Biswakarma, a retired BSF constable who committed suicide on 11 April. The 62-year-old, who was a resident of Ging and had participated in the 9 April rally, was driven to desperation after his medal was snatched by the police in the lathi-charge. “He could not bear the loss of his medal and committed suicide out of himiliation,” Mr Meena said. [The Statesman]

Tripartite rider for talks - Buddha invitation produces result, but Morcha wants Centre to be a party to dialogue

Darjeeling, May 5: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today responded positively to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s invitation for a dialogue but said the party would attend the meeting only if the Centre was involved in the process.

The Bengal chief minister had yesterday told a news channel in Calcutta that the people of Darjeeling should come forward with their demands. [Inset: M.L. Meena, the chairman of the probe commission, at the circuit house in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang]

“What do you really want from us? What do you expect from us or the Centre? What do you want to achieve through your movements?” Bhattacharjee had asked the hill residents. He had also appealed to the people to bring about an amicable solution for lasting peace in the region without which, he said, there could not be any development in the hills.

Binay Tamang, the media and publicity secretary of the Morcha, said his party had no problem submitting a list of demands.

Sikkim seeks crop damages

Gangtok, May 5: The Sikkim government has approached the Union ministry of environment and forests to compensate farmers for crop damage caused by animals straying out of forests.

The state forest and wildlife management minister, S. B. Subedi, today claimed that the Sikkim forests were teeming with wild animals, which were causing the menace.

“Over the past 20 years there has been an increase in wildlife population along with the increase in forest cover,” Subedi said at the inaugural session of a weeklong workshop. Forest officers and the members of eco-development and forest protection committees attended the workshop being held in Singtam, 30km from here.

Supporting the minister, the state’s principal chief conservator of forests and forest secretary, S. . Lachungpa, said the growth in wildlife population in terms of figures was yet to be worked out. “However, more sightings of animals like bear, wild boar and deer in recent times and reports of man-animal conflict and crop damage are sure ways to say that there has been an increase in the population of animals.”

The other reason for a flourishing wildlife population is the ban on grazing in forest areas. “The ban has increased the fodder and fruits in forests. An almost end to hunting of wild animals is also a major contributing factor for the growth,” the forest secretary said.

Gurung remark riles CPM

Siliguri, May 5: Darjeeling district CPM leaders have hit back at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung for his “indecent” comments about Bengal urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya while talking to reporters at Cooch Behar’s Dinhata yesterday. [Inset: The CPM rally on Hill Cart Road in Siliguri on Monday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo]

At a meeting called by the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party and Kamtapur Progressive Party, Gurung had said: “Now that we (the Morcha) have been allowed to hold a rally in Siliguri …, Asok Bhattacharya is free to visit the hills, hold meetings, dance and sing and do whatever he wants to.”

“Being the president of a party which calls itself democratic, he (Gurung) should refrain from making such indecent comments,” Jibitesh Sarkar, a state committee member of the CPM, said here today. “The CPM is proud of the culture of the Gorkhas who have always been decent in their behaviour and conversations. Gurung’s statement directed at a state minister is in sharp contrast to this culture.”

Sarkar added that there could be differences in the ideologies of the CPM and the Morcha, but that should not lead to personal attacks. “We have been opposing the Morcha’s demand for a separate state, but none of us have ever made any offensive remark about any of their leaders.”

This evening, the CPM organised a rally in Siliguri calling for peace and amity in the hills. More than 7,000 supporters started off from Baghajatin Park and travelled 3km via Hashmi Chowk, Hill Cart Road, Airview More, Siliguri Junction and Darjeeling More before they stopped at Mallaguri More.

The media and publicity secretary of the Morcha, Binay Tamang, told reporters today that the party was circulating a set of instructions among its supporters who wanted to attend the public meeting at Indira Maidan on the outskirts of Siliguri on May 7. The instructions include:

‘Fairness’ focus in new date

Darjeeling, May 5: The one-man commission probing the lathicharge on a rally of former jawans at Darjeeling More on April 9 has once again decided to extend the date of deposition by witnesses after the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the ex-servicemen’s association sought more time.

“I will be coming here again as they (the Morcha and ex-servicemen) have sought more time. The decision has been taken to ensure fairness of inquiry,” said M.L. Meena, who heads the commission.

The former jawans are expected to make a written submission before the commission on May 17 and 18. The first round of deposition had taken place in Siliguri for three days starting April 20. The second round of a daylong deposition which, too, was agreed upon after a request from the Morcha, was expected to be over by five this evening.

Amar Lama, a central committee member of the Morcha, said: “Since we are all concentrating on the May 7 meeting in Siliguri, we have not finished collecting information. That is why we asked for more time and got it.”

Meena is expected to write to the Bengal government to extend the date for submission of the report, which otherwise would have had to be completed by May 23.

Col (retd) R. Allay, the president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Bhutpurba Sainik Morcha, which had organised the April rally, said the ex-servicemen would first hold a meeting with the Morcha’s central committee before deposing before the commission.

Cry for tiger tea logo

Siliguri, May 5: The Royal Bengal Tiger is more suitable than elephant, feel some of the stakeholders of the north Bengal tea industry, as far as the proposed logo for tea produced in the Terai and Dooars is concerned. [Inset: A worker plucks tealeaves in a Dooars garden]

Following the Tea Board of India’s decision to feature the elephant in the logo for the brew produced in the region, a section of people associated with the sector believe that the predator is better suited than the pachyderm to indicate the area of the produce.

“The idea to feature elephant in the proposed logo that the tea board plans to bring out for branding the brew produced in the foothills of sub-Himalayan West Bengal deserves appreciation,” said Rajiv Lochan who is associated with the Siliguri Tea Traders’ Association.

“But we feel the elephant lacks uniqueness as it is found in other parts of the world like Africa. The Royal Bengal Tiger is a unique animal which truly represents our region and can be ideally featured in the logo,” said Lochan.

Lochan expressed the apprehension that if the region, which produces CTC tea, is symbolised by the elephant, there are chances that the sale of Kenyan tea would increase. “As CTC tea is produced in the African country also, such a possibility cannot be ruled out. The basic objective of branding of Indian tea produced in different regions may also suffer a jolt.”

Bangshi’s old outfit back with ‘state’ map - For the police chief: name the spot

Cooch Behar, May 5: The Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association has set up maps of its version of the “state of Greater Cooch Behar” in all the gram panchayat areas of the district.

The hoardings bearing the map and “welcoming” people to the “state” started appearing one by one about three weeks ago. [Inset: A map set up by the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association along Rangpur Road in Okrabari. (Main Uddin Chisti)]

Although the superintendent of police of Cooch Behar, Anil Kumar, said the display of the maps was “totally illegal”, he added that he was yet to spot any of them. “I am trying to find out where these maps have been put up,” Kumar said.

The Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party, a breakaway faction of the Association, has denied any role in setting up the maps. “We have nothing to do with it,” said Ashutosh Barma, the party president. However, the Democratic Party, too, is fighting for a separate state.

The Association with Bangshibadan Barman as its chief was formed in 2005. On September 20 the same year, a mass hunger strike organised by the association turned bloody, triggering mob violence. An additional police superintendent and two constables were killed. The police fired in retaliation, resulting in the death of two Association supporters.

Bangshibadan was jailed in 2006 and the association split. The breakaway faction formed the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party while the original organisation remained under the control of one of Banghisbadan’s erstwhile lieutenants, Jyotish Sarkar. “From the very beginning we have been fighting for a new state. The Democratic Party has shifted from the cause and is no part of us,” said Sarkar today. Bangshibadan himself is now a member of the Democratic Party.