Darjeeling Indefinite strike

Bimal Gurung asks people to keep food stock for 45 days ready

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kolkata, June 16 (PTI) The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, has asked people in the Darjeeling hills to keep ready food stock for at least 45 days in view of the indefinite bandh from six pm this evening.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI that this was stated by president Bimal Gurung at a party meeting today.

Asked if it meant that the GJM had decided on a 45-day bandh, Giri said, “We have not called a 45-day bandh. Ours is an indefinite bandh. We cannot predict how long it will last. Our president has asked people to keep rationed stocks ready for 45 days at least.” Giri said the demand for a separate state for the Gorkhas was not new. “We have been demanding it since 1907. The Centre is aware of it and only it can solve the issue. We want a tripartite meeting. What is the problem in accepting our demand?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, GJM press secretary Benoy Tamang said food stock for only 15-20 days was available in the hills.

SUCI to toe Trinamool line, not to attend meet on Darjeeling

Kolkata, June 16 (PTI) Toeing the line of its ally Trinamool Congress, Socialist Unity Centre of India today said it will not participate in the all-party meeting on Darjeeling issue convened by the West Bengal government tomorrow.

Holding the CPI-M responsible for the current situation in Darjeeling hills, SUCI state secretary Pravash Ghose said his party would not join the meet at the state secretariat to discuss the situation arising out of agitation by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

“Now when the situation has gone out of their hand, they want us to put our seal of approval on the decision to be taken at the meeting,” Ghose told reporters here.

Asked whether Trinamool’s decision prompted SUCI to stay away from the meeting, Ghose replied it was their party stand.

Trinamool Congress had ruled out any possibility of reconsidering its stand of staying away from the meeting.

Noting that GJM should have been invited to the meeting, Ghose said a “frank discussion” could have taken place with the leadership of GJM which is the centre of of the agitation.

“How can we solve the problem of the hills without their representation?” he asked.

The Life Of A Leader

By JYOTI THAPA MANI
BUSINESS WORLD

The political life of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, possibly the most enigmatic figure of India’s freedom struggle, is difficult to capture. Making a notable attempt is recording company Sa Re Ga Ma, with its collection of four CDs (or one DVD) of his speeches, songs and a film on the life of the man who confounded all by allying with Germany and Japan during World War II to free India from Britain’s yoke.

Volume 1 presents speeches delivered by Netaji between 1938 and 1944. Volume 2 brings together orchestral and vocal renderings of the Indian National Army’s (INA’s) music. Volume 3 brings alive the passionate narration and lively rendering of INA songs by INA Captain and musician Ram Singh Thakur, and provides a glimpse into the origin of some of India’s most patriotic songs, including the national anthem and classics such as Kadam kadam badhaye ja. Sa Re Ga Ma has done a commendable job, with the 60-odd-year-old recordings sounding live and fresh. What disappoints, though, is the film in Volume 4. Despite its wide-ranging footage, it fails to do justice to the unsung men and women who made INA what it was. Significant people in Netaji’s life, including Ram Singh Thakur and INA martyr Durga Mall, whose bronze statue stands in Delhi’s Parliament grounds, are not to be seen. What also rankles is the absence of an interview with Netaji’s daughter Anita Bose Pfaff, professor of economics at the Augsburg University in Germany. The film is a documentary but conveys no message. Still, at Rs 500 for the package, this one is a steal.

(Businessworld Issue 17-23 June 2008 )

In Newspapers Today!

Gorkhaland

Seperatists clash with police

Darjeeling unrest poops tea party

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

BY SANJAY MANDAL AND SOHINI MOOKHERJEA

Calcutta, June 15: Calcutta’s port and airport have not exported tea for the past five days, the hills unrest preventing cons-ignments worth around Rs 7-10 crore from reaching the city.

“This is the second flush season, when we get the best-quality Darjeeling tea. If the situation doesn’t improve we may lose export markets,” said Aditya Khaitan, chairman of the Indian Tea Association, the apex body of tea companies.

A brief spell of showers in May kicks off the second flush season, after the first flush has ended in late April. As monsoon sets in well and proper, tea quality deteriorates and fetches lower prices.

Although the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which called an indefinite bandh last Monday, relaxed it from Thursday, the truckers who ferry tea from the gardens to Calcutta aren’t prepared to take chances, traders said.

Production too has been hampered with workers often unable to report for work although tea gardens are exempt from the bandh, which resumes from 6pm on June 16.

“The bandh and unrest have affected both production and exports, because of low worker and staff attendance and transport problems,” Khaitan said.

Arvind Nevatia of Chamong Tea, which owns the highest number of tea gardens in the region, said the bandh had hit planters, traders, exporters and even the airlines and shipping companies that transport tea outside India.

“The losses can run into several hundred crores. This is because the tea companies have entered into forward contracts with other countries,” he said.

The smaller tea growers are suffering too, prevented by the unrest from sending their plucked leaves to bought-leaf factories or the bigger gardens that have their own factories. So they are forced to sell at reduced prices to factories outside the area earmarked as “Gorkhaland”, with whom they don’t have tie-ups.

Sources said these gardens were selling at Rs 8-8.50 a kg, down from the Rs 10-10.50 a kg at the beginning of the season.

Calcutta airport exported its last loads of tea on Tuesday. These had arrived before the bandh. “Since then, nothing. All bookings have been cancelled,” said Amin Khan, manager, east, Singapore Airlines cargo division.

Other carriers too have suffered huge losses, international cargo department officials at the airport said.

A 100-tonne consignment of Darjeeling tea, scheduled for London, has been deferred, an Emirates airline official said. Of this, 48kg was to arrive at the airport this week. “We are worried,” the official said.

Darjeeling Statehood Movement :Youths Garlanded for Rioting !

By  Santosh Kumar Agarwal

Seven youths arrested by police on 13^th June’08 in connection with ethnic violence a day earlier in Siliguri plains of Darjeeling district, were garlanded by an army of local residents when they were released on bail at the Siliguri sub-divisional court in spite of the police slapping ‘attempt to murder charges’ on these youths. About 500 peoples including supporters of ‘Jana Jagaran’ (an apolitical forum), ‘Amra Bangali’ and CPM’s youth front DYFI-all opposed to Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM)- gathered on the court premises demanding the release of the seven.

A battery of lawyers appearing for the youths free of cost, argued before the court that people armed with stones and sticks could not be charged with attempt to murder u/s 307 of the IPC. Acting chief judicial magistrate R.N.Makal granted them bail against a bond of Rs.1000/- each and directed them to appear before the OC of Pradhannagar police station once every week.

This release order sparked jubilations outside the court and as the seven youths appeared from the court lock up at 3.20PM, they were garlanded and taken around Siliguri town on motorbikes by more than a hundred youths chanting anti-GJM. Slogans. An ‘Amra Bangali’ activist Khusiranjan Mondol retorted that if police can arrest the seven, why they did not arrest the (Nepali) rioters of Bhanunagar who threw stones at our (Bengali) people at Ganesh Ghose Colony.

“We want tripartite meeting on Gorkhaland” BIMAL GURUNG

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON EXCLUSIVE

KOLKATA: The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, on Sunday said it was ready for tripartite talks with the Centre and West Bengal government even as it braced to enforce an indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling hill from Monday. [Inset: GJM President Bimal Gurung speaking at a rally held at Lebong in March 2008. He initiated the Non Cooperation Movement then. Inset below: People listening to Bimal Gurung calling for Non Cooperation. Exclusive Beacon Online Photos]

“We want a tripartite meeting on our demand and (External Affairs Minister) Pranab Mukherjee had spoken of talks. The problem is a political one and we want a political solution”, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said.

He said GJM was not invited by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to the all-party meeting on their demand on June 17 but the leadership was contemplating a parallel all-party meeting soon.

The decision was taken at a meeting of GJM’s central committee where Bimal Gurung and all GJM unit secretaries were present.

No question of separate Gorkhaland: Pranab

FROM HINDUSTAN TIMES

By Arindam Sarkar/Rahul Das

The Centre stated clearly on Friday that it is against the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, as put forth by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

“We are not in favour of a separate state,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the annual general meeting of the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce, Mukherjee, however, added that the government was willing to hold talks with the GJM provided there were no pre-conditions.

Mukherjee also met with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for about 10 minutes, during which the latter reportedly convinced Mukherjee that the Centre should neither agree to the Gorkhaland demand nor push Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling in the Lok Sabha.

With his back to the wall following the GJM’s refusal to talk with the state and its insistence on direct discussions with the Centre, Bhattacharjee is desperate to have the Congress-led UPA government on his side. He explained to Mukherjee that the GJM and its chief, Bimal Gurung, have not been invited to the all-party meet on June 17 since theirs was not a registered political outfit. The CM however said he was open to have talks with the outfit.

Siliguri, Terai & Dooars exempted from GJM Indefinite Strike

From Statesman News Service

SILIGURI, June 15: The indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) would be resumed in the Darjeeling Hills from 6 p.m. tomorrow after a 60-hour relaxation. However, the GJMM has decided to exclude Siliguri and Dooars from the shutdown. Instead a hunger-strike would be launched in the two non-Gorkha dominated areas to press for the Gorkhaland issue.

According to the GJMM Press and publicity secretary, Mr Binoy Tamang, the indefinite fast would be launched at 14 locations in the plains from 6 p.m. tomorrow.   Of the 14 locations, five are located in and around Siliguri sub-division, while the rest are located in the Dooars.

In Siliguri, the proposed fasting venues are Naxalbari, Bagdogra, Darjeeling More, Pradhannagara and Salugara (adjacent to Siliguri town, but located in the Jalpaiguri district). Whereas the nine locations in Dooars are Bagrakote, Oodlabari, Malbazar, Chalsa, Birpara, Nagrakata, Banarhat, Hamiltanganj and Kalchini.

Small tea growers at CM door

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Bhattacharya speaks at the annual general meeting of the small growers. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, June 15: Small tea growers of north Bengal are finding it difficult to send their produce to bought-leaf factories and big gardens because of the unrest in the hills and the plains, leading to price-cuts.

The growers have sought chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattachrjee’s intervention to find a solution to the problem.

Subash Bhowal, the secretary of the North Bengal Small Tea Planters’ Association, said: “We have more than 600 members in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur and Cooch Behar and their yearly production is about 10 million kg.”

“They sell the tealeaves to at least 50-60 BLFs and big tea gardens with factories located in the Dooars and Terai region. But now there has been a 30 per cent decrease in supply,” Bhowal added.

This had had an effect on prices.

“At the beginning of the season, we were selling tealeaves at Rs 10-Rs 10.50 per kg. The price has now come down to Rs 8-Rs 8.50 per kg as we try to clear the stocks that are piling up,” said Nitai Majumdar, an executive committee member of the association.

Fast off after govt scraps four power plants

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Dawa T. Lepcha and Tenzing Gyatso Lepcha break the fast at B.L. House in Gangtok. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, June 15: Two members of Affected Citizens of Teesta broke their indefinite fast after the Sikkim government told them that four hydel power projects in the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu have been scrapped.

However, ACT will continue with the relay hunger strike, which entered 361 days today, till all hydel projects planned for Dzongu were cancelled. In the yet-to-be scrapped list is the 300 mw Panan hydel project, which the government is determined to go ahead with.

ACT general secretary Dawa T. Lepcha and member Tenzing Gyatso Lepcha were on fast for 96 consecutive days before they withdrew it yesterday after the Sikkim government’s intimation.

ACT vice-president and chief coordinator Tseten Lepcha said along with his organisation, Concerned Lepchas of Sikkim and the Sangha of Dzongu — the three bodies spearheading the anti-dam protests to preserve the fragile ecology of the Lepcha reserve — consider the government’s decision a bold one .

“We thank chief minister Pawan Chamling for his personal intervention in considering the wishes of the people of Dzongu. ACT also thanks the initiative of the Chungtahng gram panchayat committee for having taken a bold step to establish an effective communication between the government and the people because of which this decision was taken,” Tseten said.

Mamata decision to skip meet irks party

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Mamata

Calcutta, June 15: Mamata Banerjee’s decision to skip Tuesday’s all-party meeting to discuss Darjeeling has not gone down well with her party’s rank and file, some senior leaders and her allies.

The Trinamul Congress chief iterated at a rally today that she would attend the meeting only if the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was invited.

Mamata also demanded a separate secretariat for north Bengal and urged the Centre and the state to immediately announce development packages for the region.

But many in her party said the decision to skip the meeting was not “judicious”, particularly when the Trinamul Congress was trying to gear up its organisation for the general elections due next year.

“Last week, Didi asked us to do the groundwork for the Lok Sabha elections. We had dented the CPM’s base for the first time in the rural polls and to skip the meeting at this juncture would send a wrong signal: that we support the Morcha,” said a leader from South 24-Parganas, where the party wrested the zilla parishad from the CPM. “It was not judicious. We should have taken part in the meeting and place our views,” he added.

A minority cell leader said “our leader” had rightly pointed out that the Morcha should have been invited to the all-party meeting “but, at the same time, we should not skip the meeting just because of that”.

Kumai resigns as civic chief

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Kalimpong, June 15: GNLF leader C.K. Kumai has resigned as the chairman of the Kalimpong Municipality as well as the councillor of his ward.

Morcha leader and councillor of Ward 7 Norden Lama said Kumai sent in his papers to the civic body’s board of councillors late last night. “We will now request the vice-chairman, K.H. Subba, to convene a meeting of the board at the earliest,” Lama added.

Kumai had been under pressure to resign after the majority of GNLF councillors shifted their allegiance to the Morcha. In the 23-member board, the Morcha currently enjoys the support of 14 councillors, while the rest are still with the GNLF.

Despite repeated attempts, Kumai could not be contacted today.

The GNLF leader had been clinging on to his post after defeating a no-trust motion against his board on January 24. The majority of the GNLF councillors crossed over to the Morcha afterwards, but the municipality rules do not allow another no-trust motion to be tabled before the elapse of six months.

Asok’s plea for peace

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, June 15: Bengal urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya today reiterated the need to maintain peace and unity in Siliguri at any cost.

Talking to journalists today, the Darjeeling district Left Front convener said normality had to be restored in Siliguri immediately.

The minister refused to speak on the decision taken by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha not to attend the meeting with the Bengal government on Wednesday in Calcutta and to resume their strike from tomorrow.

“I don’t want to comment on this as the entire episode is being monitored by the CPM’s state leadership and the chief minister,” said Bhattacharya. “We will tackle the crisis politically and as part of the move, we have been organising meetings in villages and tea garden for the past couple of days, appealing to the public to maintain peace and normality in the region.”

After the clash the trade hub witnessed on Thursday, the Darjeeling district unit of the CPM has been holding several meetings to spread messages on peace and unity, especially between the people of the hills and the plains.

Apart from Bhattacharya, Jibitesh Sarkar, Bikash Ghosh and Anil Saha have also attended the meetings at Kharibari, Naxalbari and Matigara blocks.

“It is true that Siliguri’s spirit of unity has been shattered by Thursday’s incident. But we will overcome it with the help of residents,” said a senior party leader in the district.

Left Front divided on ‘integrity’

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Calcutta, June 15: The chief minister wants the all-party meeting on Tuesday to adopt a resolution opposing any move to split Bengal while making room for talks on the “democratic aspirations of the hill people”.

The Congress and Left Front partner RSP support Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s move to include the resolve to “protect the state’s integrity” in the resolution.

But the CPI and the Forward Bloc fear that such a resolve will make the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha more rigid.

The core committee of the state cabinet will meet tomorrow to decide the contours of the resolution to be formally moved by the chief minister on Tuesday, keeping in mind the political compulsions of the various parties.

The issue had figured in yesterday’s front meeting, where the CPI’s Nandagopal Bhattacharya sparred with the chief minister, saying the “state’s integrity” as a pre-condition for the talks would vitiate the atmosphere.

Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh had sought a “more congenial resolution acceptable to all”.

The allies found the chief minister “quite firm” on the issue. “Do you want a division of the state when there are demands for Greater Cooch Behar and Kamtapur states and the inclusion of three Bengal districts in Jharkhand?” a front leader quoted him as asking the CPI veteran.

Varsity silent on re-exam request

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The Siliguri SDO (right) at the meeting. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, June 15: Colleges in Siliguri have resolved to propose to North Bengal University to give another chance to those candidates who missed their exams because of strikes in the past one week. The varsity, however, did not give any assurance on the matter.

The institutions have also decided to extend the last dates of issuing and receiving applications for admissions to undergraduate courses till June 17 and 18, respectively.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the principals of four colleges in the Siliguri sub-division with the sub-divisional officer, Smita Pandey, and additional district magistrate Paritosh Roy this evening.

“Keeping in mind the extra-ordinary circumstances prevailing in Siliguri over the past one week, the colleges have decided to give students some more time to apply for admissions,” said Pandey.

“The decision to extend the dates was taken after a request from the administration and in keeping in mind the interests of the students,” said Ranajit Das, the principal of Kalipada Ghosh Terai Mahavidyalaya (Bagdogra College). “But the move will make it very difficult for us to start the new academic session on schedule.”

Morcha warning before sermon on discipline – To the Centre next: Gurung

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The crowd that had assembled on the banks of the Tribeni on Sunday to listen to Bimal Gurung. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Tribeni, June 15: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will not hold any further talks with the Bengal government, but approach the Centre with its statehood demand, its president said here today.

Bimal Gurung assured the almost 500-odd people assembled on the banks of the Tribeni — the confluence of the Teesta and the Rangeet, 25km from here — that traders of Siliguri will, when the time comes, beg the people of the hills to buy their goods. He was referring to trucks that were prevented from carrying supplies from the plains to the hills by organisations opposed to the Morcha after the bandh was relaxed on Thursday.

The party president also had a note of warning for Sikkim. He said the Himalayan state’s silence on Gorkhaland demand would prove to be costly for it in the long run. “We will block access to Sikkim. Let us see how its ministers eat.”

The Morcha leader said even though the “Bengal lobby” at the Centre has been voicing its opposition to the Gorkhaland demand, his party would find a way to realise it.

Gurung was referring to the recent statements made by Union ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. Both have ruled out any division of Bengal. “The Centre has expressed its willingness to talk to us, but it must send us a formal invite,” the Morcha president said.

Asking his supporters to take out mass rallies on June 17, the day the state government is scheduled to hold an all-party meeting to discuss the problems in the hills, Gurung, warned that at no cost should they digress from the path of non-violence.

“Whatever the provocation, you must maintain discipline.”

Bandh back, with changes

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The Mall (top) in Darjeeling town wears a deserted look on Sunday, while Gurung (below) addresses a gathering at Tribeni. Pictures by Suman Tamang and Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Darjeeling, June 15: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s indefinite shutdown resumes in the Darjeeling hills from 6pm on Monday, but the party has tweaked the rules of the bandh to maximise its effect.

Schools and colleges have been exempted from the shutdown so that education is not affected. Tea gardens and the cinchona plantations, which together employ the largest workforce in the hills, will also function normally.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung mixed warning and assurance in his appeal to the hill people a day before the four-day relaxation of the shutdown ended.

“Please stock up whatever items you can as the strike resumes on Monday. However, if you run out of food, the Morcha will make arrangements to replenish your stocks,” Gurung said while addressing a party rally at the confluence of the Teesta and the Rangit near Kalimpong this afternoon.

“We will be setting up helplines at all places for this purpose,” Gurung added.

As in the first phase of the bandh (June 10-12), there will be restrictions on transport, which means no supplies can come in from the plains unless there is another relaxation.

Traders and residents are gearing up for a long haul.

“Today, we replenished our stocks for 20 days with essential items like rice, dal (pulses), atta (coarse flour) and sugar, so there is no reason to panic,” said Raja Banerjee, the area sales manager of a shopping chain.

“We are happy that at least schools are going to be open. Let us see how things progress. This is a movement and there are bound to be hardships during such times,” said an employee of a private bank who did not want to be named.

Darjeeling unrest poops tea party

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

By  SANJAY MANDAL AND SOHINI MOOKHERJEA

Calcutta, June 15: Calcutta’s port and airport have not exported tea for the past five days, the hills unrest preventing cons-ignments worth around Rs 7-10 crore from reaching the city.

“This is the second flush season, when we get the best-quality Darjeeling tea. If the situation doesn’t improve we may lose export markets,” said Aditya Khaitan, chairman of the Indian Tea Association, the apex body of tea companies.

A brief spell of showers in May kicks off the second flush season, after the first flush has ended in late April. As monsoon sets in well and proper, tea quality deteriorates and fetches lower prices.

Although the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which called an indefinite bandh last Monday, relaxed it from Thursday, the truckers who ferry tea from the gardens to Calcutta aren’t prepared to take chances, traders said.

Production too has been hampered with workers often unable to report for work although tea gardens are exempt from the bandh, which resumes from 6pm on June 16.

“The bandh and unrest have affected both production and exports, because of low worker and staff attendance and transport problems,” Khaitan said.

Arvind Nevatia of Chamong Tea, which owns the highest number of tea gardens in the region, said the bandh had hit planters, traders, exporters and even the airlines and shipping companies that transport tea outside India.

“The losses can run into several hundred crores. This is because the tea companies have entered into forward contracts with other countries,” he said.

The smaller tea growers are suffering too, prevented by the unrest from sending their plucked leaves to bought-leaf factories or the bigger gardens that have their own factories. So they are forced to sell at reduced prices to factories outside the area earmarked as “Gorkhaland”, with whom they don’t have tie-ups.

Sources said these gardens were selling at Rs 8-8.50 a kg, down from the Rs 10-10.50 a kg at the beginning of the season.