ROY’S MUSINGS: Apocalypse now – The growing threat of AIDS

BY BARUN ROY

Lying pale and exhausted is a young girl of 18, who looks 20 years older. She has lost her eyesight as a virus infected and destroyed her retina. Her head moves constantly because she needs to localize sounds reaching her ears. Even speaking is a physical exertion that leaves her breathless, her speech is punctuated by gasps for air, despite the oxygen being fed into her nose. An organism has infected and destroyed most of her lungs.

A weight loss of 10 kgs in three months has left her wasted and the skin over her once strong arms is pale and dry. Standing out from the pallor are numerous round, purplish lesions. There is one inside her cheek too. Cancerous cells have developed in the blood vessels and are multiplying and migrating out of control. As she attempts to speak, her incoherence and removal from reality become obvious.

Mercifully, this patient is only partially aware of  her surroundings and situation. She has another organism which has invaded her brain to produce the mental changes now so obvious. A battalion of viruses is marching across her placenta this very moment to invade the child in her womb.

This is the description of a once sensitive and intelligent young mother-to-be, a full blown case of AIDS, acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Today, according to Dr. Hiroshi Nakajama, of the World Health Organisation the stress is upon “Sharing the challenge.” The focus is on the need for individuals, groups, communities and nations to partner in preventing the spread caring for the affected and minimizing the social and economic fallouts of AIDS. “We all need to join forces and share the challenge… only partnership gives us a chance of prevailing against the pandemic,” says Dr. Nakajama.

Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Luc Montagnier independently discovered the organism that causes AIDS in 1983-84. It was christened as Human Immuno-deficiency Virus or HIV. Today, at least five different strains of the virus have been caused by HIV-1 but HIV-2 has also begun its march. Infection with two strains of HIV is considered more serious.

There is reason to suspect that man could have contracted the repercussion of HIV from certain species of African monkeys. The transmission probably occurred through consumption of monkey blood and meat, considered delicacies by some African tribes. Bizarre rituals during which monkey blood is smeared all over the body seem yet another likely route of infection.

ESSAYS: Waning Admiration of Darjeeling

By N. G. Yolmo

How Darjeeling was in the past and how it has become now, the changing phase is being experienced by the elders who are living along with the passage of time. In accordance to their words, it has been said that Darjeeling is known in global view as “the Queen of Hills” with its wonderful beauty gifted in abundance by the nature. It has been very attractively supported to its beauty to look more beautiful by the snowy white mountains which are in its back ground. In addition to its fantastic scenery Darjeeling is reputedly known to have been possessed by the very rich quality of imparting wholesome climate. Having been bestowed with conducive climate to good health and for being famous for “Sun Rise” in the world, people from almost all the countries visit Darjeeling presuming very amiable resort.

Very loving Darjeeling is now smeared by hateful situations: political, social and economical. The aged people can not help but shed tears of despair when it is seen in a state of hell which was regarded from long before as a sacred place. Darjeeling is foreseen by spiritually advanced persons as a seat of God but it is now brought into use in very cheap way for selfish fulfillment.

There is a saying, ‘as you sow so shall you reap’. The consequence of the indiscrimate action is just at the door to greet the people of Darjeeling. Darjeeling has come into detection that the most dreaded disease called “AIDS” which has already found its place here in the beautiful Hill Station.

The newspapers recently had flashed alarming news for people of Darjeeling in the form of caution about the increase in the number of HIV positives cases. AIDS has been specified as a symbol of UNHOLY DISEASE which is caused to have been emerged from the Moral Degradation of human being. It is quite natural to get the feeling on insecurity of life when the KILLER disease is making its way in large area of human habitation with incredible speed. Since the AIDS has been declared by experts as an INCURABLE disease and effective essential drugs against AIDS has not yet been successful enough to bring it for public use. The fate of the persons who are already been infected have no means than to face the verdict of untimely death.

More than 75 per cent of the population is living in the villages and in industrial belts of tea garden who are mostly below poverty line and many of them are ignorantly in darkness about the spreading of the virus and to take precautionary step against it.

ROY’S MUSINGS: A reminder to AIDS Pandemic in Darjeeling!

BY BARUN ROY 

Darjeeling on the verge of AIDS Pandemic’. The story had revolved around an investigation that had revealed that the HIV positive cases in the Hills and especially Darjeeling had exploded to a four digit number. And this was only four years after the first HIV case had been acknowledged in Darjeeling. The crux of the story was while people were working on AIDS awareness and the Government was concerned, housewives, children, teenagers and the sick were getting more and more vulnerable to the virus. The Principal Secretary of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council reacted sharply to the story and immediately stopped advertising through Beacon. Though good things also did came out of it, Darjeeling AIDS control centre, free HIV test facility at Saheed Durga Malla Hospital, now Darjeeling District Hospital, the extent to which the dreaded sickness has today evolved over a decade of this investigation is simply devastating.

Raju (name changed) was brought back to Darjeeling from Mumbai by his friend Nasir (name changed) when Raju’s sickness was no longer treatable. His wife Sunayna (name changed) a semi-literate dame from a Tea Garden near Darjeeling could hardly understand the scope of her husband’s sickness when Nasir told her that he was HIV positive. Raju had returned back to Mumbai only last year after spending the Dashai festivals with his wife and two daughters. “He was healthy as an ox when he came last time,” Sunayna says. When inquired whether they had sexual intercourse then, she blushes looks aside and then replies angrily, “What kind of question is that?” An intervention by a village elder saying that the question was important to learn whether she had already contracted the virus or not  -  Sunayna replies, “Yes!” She is concerned about her husband and inquires whether he could be cured in Darjeeling. I try to convince her saying that the retro-drugs could at least extend his life from 5 to 8 years. While I interact with her and make plans to contact Non Governmental Organisations and Government Agencies, a Panchayat sits outside deciding upon the fate of Raju and his families. Raju, Sunayna, their daughters and Nasir along with Raju’s aged mother are ‘requested’ by the Panchayat to leave the village and seek help in the town ‘for the greater good’. Instead of fighting with the Panchayat Sunayna asks me to help them and we drive to Darjeeling after gathering some clothes and utensils. We arrive at Darjeeling District Hospital and Raju is admitted there. I leave to make arrangements for Sunayna and her family’s stay. By the late afternoon I receive a call, Raju has been discharged three hours after he had been admitted. The reason given by the doctor who has signed on his discharge letter is ‘no facilities for treating HIV patients exists in this hospital’. We move around the town requesting Raju’s admittance from hospital to hospital – at last Darjeeling Dooars Medical Association Hospital, known popularly as Planter’s Hospital takes the case of Raju. We are also able to bring in the Non Government Organisations in Raju’s aid but before anything could be done, Raju dies. Sunayna is left behind with her two daughters including an infant. Nasir returns back to Mumbai but before leaving he confidentially tells me that the two frequented prostitutes and led a promiscuous life. Raju’s betrayal to Sunayna in living a promiscuous life and his greatest sin of all giving to his wife the virus knowingly or unknowingly that has now also been contracted by his two daughters cannot only be attributed to his literacy and lack of awareness. He was simply negligent of his duty towards himself and his family. And while he left the mortal world, Sunayna and her daughters will now have to pay for their entire life for the mistakes they did not commit.

In 1998, I had reported that the number of HIV positive cases were not just rising in the Hills but were gaining pandemic proportions. The liberal life style, the increase in pre-maritial, pre-teen sex, the rise of the incidences of multiple sex partners, the rise in the number of drug abusers and most importantly the rise in the number of sexual interaction between the youths of the hills and the people from outside had made the Hills and especially Darjeeling town the hotbed of HIV positive cases. However, my submissions were contested, rebuked and even made fun of. In fact, the then Principal Secretary of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council called me and inquired as to why he should not consider suing Beacon – ten years later, Darjeeling Hills and Darjeeling Town is perhaps the fastest growing town in the whole of Bengal in the case of HIV positives. A fact today accepted by West Bengal Government. In fact, the West Bengal States AIDS Prevention and Control Society has warned that Darjeeling district which is presently in the ‘B’ category in the State may join Kolkata in the ‘A’ category with the most cases of HIV positives in the nation.

In an unofficial estimates made in 1998 by Beacon through a survey of its own, 8.7 times more cases of HIV positives were found than the one officially reported. The survey further revealed that the spread of AIDS could in few years reach pandemic proportion. In 2008, ten years after the publication of the said story Beacon Online distributed questionnaires among 200 people, young and old and from different back grounds and asked them to answer them. The questionnaires were kept confidential and no names were required to be offered. The results of the questionnaire were most revealing to an extent even greatly disturbing.

The test area of this survey was based in the town of Darjeeling. While the sample and the survey results may not accurately depict the case of the entire Hills, they do offer an accurate image of the town.

Questions	Percentage of people who answered in Yes and No
Are you aware of AIDS?	92 Yes 8 No
Have you had sex outside your marriage or  relationship?	73 Yes 27 No
Do you believe that promiscuous life is a part of the  21st Century Culture?	66 Yes 34 No
Do you indulge in recreational drugs like Marijuana  etc?	54 Yes 46 No
Is virginity cherished today?	27 Yes 73 No
Based on your life style how vulnerable do you  think you are to AIDS?	63 Yes 37 No

The results of the above questionnaire are symptomatic of a society that Darjeeling has become. Ranging from 15 year student to 45 year bank executive unbridled sexual escapades have become a fancy for most.

BENGAL: Relief ‘irregularities’ in two districts

FROM THE STATESMAN

By Tirthankar Mitra

KOLKATA, Nov. 30: Test-checks of records of the district magistrates of South-24-Parganas and Darjeeling along with six sub-divisional officers and 11 block development officers disclosed irregularities relating to procurement and distribution of relief materials by the disaster management department. Till 2004-05, the department used to purchase poly agri-film rolls and get poly-tarpaulins fabricated through outside agencies as the process was cost effective, according to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

But in May 2005 the department issued tender notice for procurement of two lakh pieces of fabricated tarpaulins out of rates quoted by 12 firms, the lowest rate being Rs 469.90 per piece. In all, 4.97 lakh pieces of tarpaulin were procured from Haldia Petrochemicals Limited at a negotiated price of Rs 523 though HPL was not a participant in the tender.

Even the price negotiation with reference to the lowest offer was not attempted, the report observed. An extra expenditure of Rs 2.64 crore was incurred by the department as compared to the lowest offer.

If tarpaulins were fabricated by supplying poly agri-films, each would have cost Rs 454, it was pointed out. But the department bought fabricated tarpaulins on the ground that there was discrepancy in accounting of remnants.

The contention is not tenable as remnants were to be returned by fabricators as per norm fixed by the department. An additional loss of Rs 79.02 lakhs was incurred by procuring fabricated tarpaulins instead of getting the same fabricated by poly agri-films.

SIKKIM: Restored Sikkim docu by Ray likely to have world premiere in Gangtok in Feb

From Sakaal Times (www.sakaaltimes.com)

By Utpal Borpujari

Notwithstanding the fiasco at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival where it was not screened following ‘confusion’ over the status of the ban on it, the fully-restored version of Satyajit Ray’s unseen documentary Sikkim is likely to have its world premiere at Sikkimese capital Gangtok in February.

NGO Art & Culture Trust of Sikkim (ACTS), the right holders of the film, is expecting to receive the restored 35 mm print of the film from the Academy of Motion Picture Art & Sciences of the US towards mid-December and is planning to have the world premiere sometime in February.

The DVD version of the film, which was originally thought to have been lost before it came to the Trust in 2000 as part of a bunch of cultural artefacts handed over to it for preservation, was scheduled for a screening at the just-concluded KFF.

But it got cancelled as there was confusion on whether the 1975 ban still stood even though the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had given a ‘U’ certificate for “unrestricted public viewing” of the film in 2002.

“While the festival had got a DVD version, we are expecting the receive the fully-restored 35 mm print sometime in December, and we are considering a world premiere around February,” ACTS secretay Atul Kaura told Sakaal Times from Gangtok.

Kaura, who refused to comment on the KFF fiasco, said ACTS had received the copyright to the film. “We had sent the DVD to KFF through the Ray Society following a request from both the festival organisers and the American Centre,” he said.

“There should not be any controversy regarding this film made by India’s best-known master,” he said.

Meanwhile, CBFC sources told Sakaal Times that “technically” the film could be shown anywhere following its certification. “The ban was imposed because of certain reasons during the time when Sikkim became a part of India. More than three decades have passed since then, and the lifiting of the ban is more of a matter of technicality,” the sources admitted.

The 60-minute film was commissioned and produced by the then Chogyal (ruler of Sikkim) in 1971, but was banned when Sikkim acceded to India in 1975 as it purportedly ‘highlighted’ the monarchy.

NORTH EAST: Living for the Gospel—Faithfuls journey on despite trials

From Morung Express News

Dimapur | November 30 : Religious violence in parts of India has occurred repeatedly in recent times and these outbreaks have been between the Hindu and Christian communities. The issues have centered on questions of conversion, poverty and growing influence of Christian and Hindu groups among tribal population etc. On many occasions, Christians have been accused of luring people with gifts of land, money, food and clothes. However, Christians have denied it now and again, refusing to abandon their religion in spite of beatings and attacks on their homes and churches.

Mani Kumar Tamang, a converted Christian from a Buddhist background was chased out of his village and it is now one year since he met his parents back home at Kalimpong in Darjeeling. Nobody preached the gospel to this 20 year old man but he went to a Church where he was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Mani witnessed the first fruit of his Christian faith when his parents stopped drinking alcohol, which they were addicted to earlier, as he started praying for them. “No one forced me to change my faith. There was no farced conversion,” Mani says. Today, he is in Sikkim serving in a Church working mostly among the poor people.

Next meet Sukraj Subha, staying at his uncle’s place who is a devout Christian. Sukraj Subha never liked listening to his uncle’s preaching but gradually he ‘realised it and accepted Christ.’ Originally from Takbya Basti situated at Darjeeling, Sukraj was earlier a Hindu. Some months after converting to Christianity, Sukraj returned home as his mother was seriously ill and she was taken to many doctors but her condition did not improve. Sukraj’s father, a well-known witch doctor in the village tried all that he could for his wife’s good health but failed. Later, Sukraj brought some Church pastors and leaders to pray for his ailing mother. Both his parents were ready to accept the gospel but their villagers did not allow them, especially his father as they feared he would stop practicing his ‘witchcraft profession’.

Shortly afterwards, Sukraj faced his father’s wrath who started to drink and picked up fights forcing him to reconvert into Hinduism. “My father disowned me because I refused to give up Christianity,” Sukraj recollects as he shares his testimony.

SILIGURI: Bihar man held with bombs

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

GRP personnel examine the luggage of passengers at New Jalpaiguri station on Sunday. (Kundan Yolmo)

Siliguri, Nov. 30: A resident of Bihar was arrested with eight crude bombs from the India-Nepal border last night. He has admitted that he was supposed to deliver the explosives to a person in Nepal.

Md Alam was picked up by the SSB in Bhaisvita, 40km from here. After preliminary interrogation, the SSB said somebody named Idris was supposed to meet Alam.

“We have recovered eight bombs from him. They are crude ones. As we don’t have any bomb disposal squad, we have handed them over to police,” said B.B. Joshi, the deputy inspector-general of the Ranidanga sector headquarters of SSB.

The 35-year-old man was spotted by the border force in a weekly village market. His suspicious movement had attracted attention.

After his arrest, Alam had tried to give confusing statements. Initially he said he was a rickshaw-puller. Then he said he was a day labourer.

The police also echoed the SSB officials about the nature of the explosives. “It seems like crude bombs. But now we are going to investigate where Alam got them from and whom he was supposed to deliver them to,” said Gaurav Sharma, the Siliguri additional superintendent of police.

Alam was produced in the Siliguri sub-divisional court today. He has been remanded in two days of police custody.

SIKKIM: Boycott call to bidders

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Gangtok, Nov. 30: The Sikkim National People’s Party has appealed to contractors in the state to boycott the process to award tenders for the Phase VII of the Pradhan Mantri’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), alleging that the bidding aims to benefit big corporate houses only.

The appeal was issued after an emergency meeting of the party chaired by its working president Tseten Lepcha this morning.

The Sikkim rural roads development agency, under the rural management and development department, had invited sealed tenders from eligible contractors for execution of the Rs 250 crore project under the PMGSY.

The process begins tomorrow with the issuing of tender forms. The project entails construction of roads in the rural areas of the state in two stages. Stage I involves formation, cutting, protective work and drainage, while Stage II consists of black topping of the roads.

Biraj Adhikari, the party president, said the outfit was flooded with calls from local contractors opposing the norms of the tendering process. “They are finding it difficult to bid with huge amount imposed as cost of tender forms, earnest money and temporary deposits in the bidding,” he said in a media conference.

The cost for tender forms for work above Rs 1 crore is Rs 30,000 and that for work above Rs 3 crore is Rs 50,000. For work above Rs 10 crore, the form costs Rs 1 lakh, Lepcha said. “This is absurd and cannot be accepted and tolerated.”

The earnest money has been kept at 2.5 per cent of the contract value which is very high. This meant that the local contractors would find it difficult to bid for more than one work because huge money was required to bid for the process, the party’s working president said.

“The whole process has been tailored to deny the Sikkimese contractors a chance to participate in the bidding. It is unfair and a one-sided criterion to benefit the moneyed contractors from outside the state,” Adhikari alleged.

The last date for collection of tender forms is December 3. The filled-up forms have to be submitted before December 6. The technical and financial scrutiny for the bids will be held from December 8 to 15.

DARJEELING HILLS: GJMM to intensify stir against talks delay

FROM THE STATESMAN

DARJEELING, Nov. 30: The Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha will neither appeal to the state nor the Central government to expedite the second round of tripartite talks. They would rather intensify their agitation programme from the 7 December in protest against the delay.

“At the first tripartite meeting in September, it was decided that the next meeting would be in November. The month has come to an end and there is still no information about the meet. Hence we have decided to start our next phase of programmes,” party spokesperson Mr Binay Tamang said.

Giving a call to the people to be prepared he added that the strategy they would follow would be totally different from the present. “The movement will be stronger and intense. On what the programmes will be, we will inform the people before 7 December,” Mr Tamang said. The GJMM has entrusted its students wing to pressurise the state and Central government for the successful outcome of the tripartite talks. The party has also elected ex-DGHC councilor Mr RP Waiba as its vice-president for the post that was vacant since senior GJMM leader Mr KS. Ramudamu expired in August.

The GJMM president has also written letters to to the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh and home minister Mr Shivraj Patil, expressing his condolence for those who lost their lives in the terror attacks in Mumbai. GJMM will organise rallies at all places within the proposed Gorkhaland territory on 2 December condemning the attack. Blood donation camps will also be set-up on the same day for those injured in the attacks.

DARJEELING HILLS: Spot ID cards for special people

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The crowd at the camp. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Kalimpong, Nov. 30: Over 350 physically-challenged persons from Algarah and the adjoining rural belt were given identity cards at a composite camp organised at the local primary health centre today.The event was arranged by the sub-divisional administration and the state health department. The programme was also supported by The Red Cross societies of Kalimpong and Siliguri and the Rotary Club here.

This was the largest-attended identification camp organised in the sub-division. Due to the huge turn out the event has been extended till tomorrow. Unlike previous camps where, only identification was carried out, this time, the entire process from identification to the distribution of cards was done on the spot.

Hearing aids were distributed among about 20 people at the event. Senior officials of the district social welfare department and motor vehicles department were present to speed up the process.

A psychiatrist from the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital was also made available to counsel the mentally ill. “The Red Cross Society of Siliguri had provided an audiometric machine and a technician. The Rotary Clubsponsored the travel expenses of poor patients,

DARJEELING HILLS: Rise in AIDS – Blame drug users in Hills

FROM THE STATESMAN

By Pranesh Sarkar

KOLKATA, Nov. 30: As the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha continues its agitation, the state government has another reason to be concerned about Darjeeling district. The number of HIV positive people has increased alarmingly in the area over the past few years.

A study by the West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (WBSACS) revealed that the number of HIV positive people in the district (the exact number is yet to be calculated) has increased over the past couple of years because of rampant use of contaminated syringes by drug addicts.

“It has been found that using contaminated syringes to take drugs by the drug addicts has helped the disease spread rapidly in Darjeeling Hills. In 2006, the number of HIV positive in the state was 1.49 lakh and the number reached to nearly two lakh by the end of 2007. The sudden increase of HIV positive cases in the state was mainly because it had spread rapidly in the hills of Darjeeling, courtesy the drug addicts,” a senior official of state health department said.

Officials also apprehend that the number of HIV positive cases could go up this year too as drug addicts did not adhere to the health department’s warnings. However, WBSACS has now divided districts in three categories according to the density of HIV positive cases. Four districts ~ Kolkata, Burdwan, Purulia and North Dinajpur ~ have been kept in the “A” category as these districts have the most HIV positive cases. Districts like Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, East Midnapore and Murshidabad have been put into “B” category as the number of HIV cases are increasing alarmingly in these areas.

DARJEELING HILLS: Family watches, prays as commando storms hotel

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Kurseong, Nov. 30: Devi Chettri had been glued to the television set at home for the past two days, tensed and scared, fearful about what lay in store for her commando husband.

Amrit Chettri, a National Security Guards (NSG) commando, was among the many battle-ready soldiers who had been part of Operations Black Tornado and Cyclone to neutralise the terrorists holed up in Oberoi Trident and Hotel Taj in Mumbai since last Thursday.

Yesterday morning, Devi breathed a sigh of relief as Amrit called her up and said he was fine. “It was a huge relief for me and my four-year-old daughter Neha, as we had been in front of the television waiting to see what would unfold. But at the same time I was proud that he was there to save hundreds of lives,” said Devi today at her residence at Giddhapahar, 3km from here.

“‘I am fine and safe. The mission is over and all of you should stop worrying about me’ was what Amrit told me yesterday,” added Devi.

The 25-year-old woman first came to know about the terror attacks in Mumbai on Thursday. The same day she also knew that her husband was one of the commandos who were on duty in the country’s financial capital.

“I had given a missed call on his cell number as soon as I came to know about the terror attacks and that the NSG was being called in. Since my husband had forgotten to switch off his mobile, my husband saw the missed call. He called me back saying that he was out on duty and that I should not call him anymore. I guessed that he was involved in the Mumbai mission, as there was no other emergency in the country at that moment. Since then I had been sitting before the television till yesterday morning when his call came,” Devi recalled.