SIKKIM: One dead, bridge washed away in landslide in Sikkim

FROM THE HINDU

Gangtok (PTI): A labourer was killed and a steel girder bridge over River Barkhola washed away following torrential rains and a massive landslide which disrupted vehicular traffic between east and north Sikkim.

A labourer, identified as Sanjay Tamang, was washed away in a sudden gush of water while he was working at a culvert near the bridge on Rangrang-Dikchu road, officials said adding the body was later recovered some distance away.

A Border Road Organization (BRO) official said the bridge with a length of 4.15 km was washed away following a landslide.

Some vehicles were stranded on either end of the bridge.

The Project Swastik engineers will take up restoration work of the vital bridge, they said adding it will take upto seven days to restore it.

TEA: FROM THE GRAPEVINE LIVING IT UP

If there’s more information, tea would get more sympathy

A plethora of attractive journals on India’s premier beverage — on the lines of wine and whisky magazines — would really help give tea its due

FROM ECONOMIC TIMES

BY RESHMI R DASGUPTA

SHARED BY AARDEE

THANKS to Nayana Goradia, this week I got to see the 20th anniversary issue of a very interesting journal called Tea Time. It was full of articles on both current and historical issues, and provided plenty of information on the doyens of an industry that should be top of the mind in India, given our chai fixation. Suffice it to say that it isn’t. In fact, we are probably privy to far more information on other drinks, such as whisky and wines.

The latter, of course, also has a rather solitary outlet in India in the form of the bijou Sommelier magazine run by the indefatigable Reva Singh. The former has sought a toehold here (among the reading public, that is, considering the liquor already dominates the drinking public!) with the eponymous Whisky magazine, courtesy the equally energetic and knowlegeable Sandeep Arora. Both are gaining readers quite predictably, as we are a people who are perennially hungry for news.

But what about tea? Considering the beverage has been in India for much longer than either of the other two drinks, and enjoys a far broader consumer base, there has been no attempt to give it an image beyond its commodity value. We are regularly told about which is the most expensive tea and at what price the bulk crops were sold at every auction, but there is so much more to it.

There is no doubt that had it not been for the reams that are written about the romance and the heartbreak of producing great wines, they wouldn’t fetch such amounts at auctions and sales. We know who are the skilled tasters and blenders, who are the cellar masters with noses perfected over generations, and which are the most prized vineyards. So much so that the trade festival in Bordeaux — Vinexpo 2009 just concluded on June 25 — attracts several hundred more lay visitors than purely business negociants.

NORTH EAST: Manu Valley tea estate in Tripura now exports tea

FROM THE HINDU

NEWS SHARED BY AARDEE

Kailasahar (PTI): The once sick Manu Valley tea estate here has turned the corner, exporting a huge quantity of its produce to England, Iran and Uzbekistan and enjoying the third position in the Kolkata tea auction.

What has brought about this success? The general manager of the estate, G C Das, thinks it were mosquito nets.

He said when they purchased the estate in 1981, it was plagued by large-scale absenteeism as majority of its workers were most of the time down with Malaria which claims hundreds of lives in Tripura every year.

“We just distributed mosquito nets to overcome the problem and over time the production capacity rose from just 80,000 kg to present 24.57 lakh kg annually.”

The area under cultivation had also increased from 150 hectares to 200 hectares now, Das said.

On the export front, he said last year one lakh kg of tea produced in the estate was exported to the UK while 30,000 kg of tea was exported to Iran.

He said the Manu Valley tea fetches the highest price in the state and is presently third in the Kolkata tea auction.

Mr. Das said this year the tea market was doing well following crop failure in Kenya and ethnic violence in Sri Lanka.

“The price of a kg of tea at the Kolkata and Guwahati auctions stands at Rs 120-125 whereas it was only Rs 85-90 last year,” the assistant manager, Prabir Dey, said.

Asked how it was doing good business at a time of global meltdown, Das said, “We are focussing on quality, cost effectiveness and adoption of modern technology.”

DARJEELING: Darjeeling highway blocked by landslides

FROM BLOG TARAGANA.COM

DARJEELING – Landslides following heavy rains have snapped road links between the hills of West Bengal and Sikkim.

Twenty houses along National Highway-31 near Sevoke have also collapsed. Several vehicles are stranded in the area.

Landslides also occurred at Rambhi and Kalijhora.

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) and the local administration are removing the debris to enable vehicular movement at the earliest.

“Heavy rain in the night led to heavy landslides at seven places in Sevoke region causing great damage to roads. We have called in the local administration and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to help support us to remove the debris at the earliest. We have got the earthmovers working but we are not sure of when we can finish,” said Krishna Kanta Das, a police officer. 

JOB OPENINGS: Trainee Pilot and Field Officer

SHARED BY AARDEE

Applications are invited from Indian Citizens to fill up the following posts in a department under Cabinet Secretariat on direct recruitment basis. Vacancies are subject to change. These posts carry all India transfer liability. The eligible conditions for the post are as under:

A. Trainee Pilot, a Group – ‘A’ Gazette post:

i) No. of Vancancies: (11) vacancies (05 UR, 03 OBC, 02 SC and 1 ST)

ii) Age: Below 27 years as on last date of receipt of applications (relaxable for Govt. Servants and SC/ST/OBC candidates as per rules)

iii) Educational Qualification: 10+2 (Science).

iv) Professional Qualification: (i) Holding CPL from DGCA of the Govt. of India

ii) Holding current RTR and FRTO License endorsement on CPL & iii) Medical Fitness for Flying Duties by AFCME.

v) Scale of Pay: Pay Band -3 Rs. 15,600 – 39, 100 and Grade Pay Rs. 5,400 with other allowances as admissible to Central Govt. employees from time to time. flying allowance, as due to be also inserted.

B. Field Officer (language), Group ‘B’ Non Gazetted/Non Ministerial cadre post:

i) No. of Vacancies: 05 (03 UR, 01 OBC, 01 SC)

ii) Age: Below 30 years as on last date of receipt of applications (relaxable for Govt. Servants and SC/ST/OBC candidates as per rules.)

iii) Educational and other qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese Language from a recongised University / Institution OR A Bachelor’s Degree with a Diploma in Chinese Langauge from a recognised University / Institution.

iv) Scale of Pay: Pay Band 2: Rs. 9.300 – 34,000 /- and Grade Pay Rs. 4,800 with ohter allowances as admissible to central Govt. employees from time to time.

NATIONAL: Evangelical Fellowship of India is shocked and saddened by the judgment on Homosexuality

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE BY EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP OF INDIA

In an extraordinary verdict on 2nd July 2009 the Delhi High Court de-criminalised homosexuality by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It said that any sex between consenting adults should be legalised; holding that the 149-year-old law making it a criminal offence is violative of fundamental rights and not punishable.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India is shocked and saddened by the judgment.

In a secular state a distinction is made between God’s unchanging moral laws and man’s legislated social laws – civil and criminal. Decriminalization of homosexuality in no way changes the moral order. It is common sense to recognize that homosexual practice is a violation of the natural order. While all sin is sin, all homosexual activity is essentially sinful, whether it is done by singles or by gays or lesbians involved in committed relationships.

The real concern – shared across a broad spectrum of the Indian religious communities – is not with this one High Court judgment. It is with the potential Pandora’s box it opens as has been the experience in the West: No discrimination in housing and jobs (what happens if a religious community housing society or school wants to keep out homosexuals?), same-sex unions and then marriages (threat to the definition and sanctity of the God-ordained initiation of marriage between one man and one woman), teaching in schools of homosexual behaviour and relationships as “normal” or acceptable “alternative lifestyles” … and so it goes. 

OUT OF THE BOX: Out to protect girls on campus, cop finds herself at receiving end

FROM INDIAN EXPRESS

SHARED BY AARDEE

New Delhi: She was posted at the Delhi University to protect girl students from eve-teasers. But on Wednesday, the plainclothes Delhi Police Constable not only found herself molested, but bundled up into a car and on the verge of being abducted.

The woman constable was patrolling the lane between Stephen’s College and Hindu College.

As per norm, she was in plainclothes to identify and catch assailants. But three youths, who drove up in a Santro, mistook her for a student and began passing lewd comments at her.

When she objected, they physically molested her.

When she objected even more, they dragged her into the vehicle and began driving off, with her screaming for help.

“A male constable, Sanjay, posted in Maurice Nagar, patrols the area along with her. He heard her screams and came to her aid,” said a senior police officer. But he got roundly beaten. “The assailants punched and kicked him,” the officer said.

Finally, to her abductors’ consternation, the woman announced that she was a cop. They stopped the car and two of them ran for their lives.

By then, a PCR van had reached the spot — Constable Sanjay had called for help.

“The police party intercepted the car. Two of the youths managed to flee, but the third was arrested,” said Sagar Preet Hooda, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North).

He turned out to be one Anil Kumar, a Post Graduate in Arts from the Delhi University who has also done his BEd and is preparing to sit for competitive exams.

NEPAL: No further flexibility – Maoists

FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET

KATHMANDU: A secretariat meeting of Unified CPN (Maoist) held on Friday came up with a conclusion that there is no room for further flexibility on the party´s side on resolving the ongoing political deadlock.

“We have already shown maximum flexibility. There is no more room for further flexibility,” senior U-CPN (Maoist) leader Mohan Baidya told reporters while emerging from the meeting.

Baidya said Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal must mention the president´s move in his address to parliament.

After the party´s secretariat meeting, the Maoist leaders held talks with leaders of 12 small parties represented in the Constituent Assembly.

The Maoist leaders tried to convince the leaders from small parties on their stance that the president´s move to reinstate the army chief, who was sacked by the erstwhile Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, was an unconstitutional step.

PHOTO FEATURE: BATTLE FOR HEIGHTS AT 14,400 FT!

In an apparent response to the tastefully designed recreation centre of the Indian Army at the Nathu La border, the Chinese authorities on the other side have also embarked on a construction spree right at the border with a taller building. The under construction Chinese building and the Indian Army building jostles for space at the border separated only a barbed wire and the earlier panoramic view of the Tibetan side from the border has been blocked permanently. Photo from Sikkim Express

SIKKIM: TEN NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY PROJECTS INCLUDING SIKKIM DECLARED AS NATIONAL PROJECTS

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

GANGTOK, July 3: Ten rail projects in the North-East region have been declared as national projects.

These include Bogibeel rail cum road bridge and gauge conversion of Lumding-Silchar-Jiribam, Rangia-Murkongselek. To ensure strict adherence to time schedules for completion on these projects, senior officers are being entrusted with their close monitoring.

This was announced by the Minister of Railways, Mamata Banerjee in Parliament today. Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10, she said, the North-East Region is very sensitive and its projects are in progress for providing connectivity to State capitals of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

The Minister said, the construction of national project in Sikkim from Sevoke to Rangpo is proposed to be entrusted to IRCON for time bound completion. The surveys for new lines connecting Gangtok and Shillong have been completed and the proposals would be further processed for necessary clearances.

SIKKIM: Sikkim Lok Sabha MP pitches for Himalayan development whilst participating in Parliament debate

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

P. D. Rai

GANGTOK, July 3: The lone MP from Sikkim, PD Rai spoke in the Parliament today on the issue of formation of a Board for Himalayan Development.

The resolution was brought by a MP from Himachal Pradesh. Participating in the discussion, Mr. Rai spoke of the need for the Union Government to give credence and value to a different development model for the mountains. “It cannot be the same as what happens in the plains,” he said.

Mr. Rai said that a beginning had been made with the setting up of a working group whilst making the 11th Five Year plan. He endorsed the views of several members that the Himalayas were a unique feature in the world.

“The mountain paradigm needed to be first understood. The rest of the issues related to funds would follow suit. Therefore, the Board’s ambit has to be widened since it needs to take care of many things including the strategic nature of the Himalayas. It should also be based on security, border trade and on environment besides solely being exploited for its rich resources,” Mr. Rai told the Parliament.

SIKKIM: MONSOON MANIA – Sikkim cut off for 12 hours

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

RANGPO, July 3: Sikkim was today totally cut off from the rest of the country for 12 hours following a series of landslides along National Highway 31A triggered by heavy rainfall in the area last night.

Heavy landslides occurred at three places between Rangpo and Siliguri – Andheri, Loha Pool and near Hanuman Mandir area from 1 am this morning. The Border Roads Organisation did the restoration work after which normal traffic was restored at about 1 pm today.

The road closure and the ensuing heavy traffic jam caused after reopening of the road caused undue harassment to the passengers.

SIKKIM: CS expresses satisfaction over progress by BRO on Nathu La road double laning project Quality and milestones must be met: Chingapa

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

GANGTOK, July 03: While expressing his satisfaction over the road widening process along the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg connecting Gangtok with Nathu La border, State chief secretary ND Chingapa urged the Swastik Project of the Border Roads Organization (BRO) to ensure ‘quality and milestones’ are met.

The Sikkim Government is very serious about the quality and milestones so we can avoid cost escalation and inconvenience to the general public and tourists, said the chief secretary during a one day stock-taking tour of the road building processes along the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg.

Speaking to media at Nathu La border, Mr. Chingapa said that purpose of his visit was to know about the progress of the Nathu La road double laning project by BRO. In this inspection we want also to understand and overcome any bottlenecks affecting the project, he said.

The double laning project of 64 kms Nathu La road from Gangtok to the border is scheduled to be completed by March 2009 and has a budget provision of Rs. 780 crores. The project had started from 2008 and has been planned in four phases.

After concluding his visit, Mr. Chingapa expressed his satisfaction over the progress of the works. The work is going is a very healthy and happy mode and is progressing well, he said.

During the tour, the chief secretary was accompanied by the heads of the State forest, roads & bridges, land revenue, mines & geology, commerce & industries, information and public relations Departments and BRO officials in charge of the project.

During spot meetings at Mile 2 and Mile 8, the chief secretary was briefed about the progress of the project by the BRO officials led by 758 BRTF Commandant Ravi Chugh.

Here Mr. Chingapa expressed it to the BRO officials that the State government is ready to take up any bottlenecks affecting the project. If the BRO has any bottlenecks lying with the Union Ministries, the Sikkim Government is ready to take them up, he said.

“If any proposal is being held in the Ministries, please get in touch with us and the State government will take it up”, said Mr. Chingapa.

Extract of matter raised by Rajiv Pratap Rudy in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, July 3, 2009

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE] EXCLUSIVE

MATTERS RAISED WITH PERMISSION OF CHAIR

RE. CONCERN OVER SCARCITY OF DRINKING WATER IN DARJEELING.

SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY (BIHAR): Mr. Deputy Chairman, Sir, thePlanning Commission, sometime back, had sanctioned a scheme for lifting water from the Balasan River to meet the long-time drinking water requirement of the hill district of Darjeeling. The project commenced in July 2007, but it has not seen the light of the day and is causing huge distress to the large hill population. Water scarcity is having adverse impact on the health and social well being of the people there. Water scarcity in the hill district of Darjeeling is very acute and deserves an early intervention by the Union Government. This speaks loud on the development which has taken place in North Bengal so much so that this has resulted in implications of raising a separate State for whichthe people of Gorkha Land have been struggling. They have beenagitating for more than three decades now. The aspirations of the people which basically stem from development issues for the plains; the neglect of the Queen of Hills with poor infrastructure, lack of education facilities and neglect of tea gardens coupled with growing discontent in the Duars region and the plains of the hill district is a matter of concern. (Contd. by 1O)

RG/DS/12.05/1O

SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY (contd.): Recently, when there was Cyclone Aila, 32 people got killed in the landslides, and there was absolutely no infrastructural plan or disaster management plan. As a result, the state of affairs in the region is such that the large hill destination is growing into a slum area. There has been a consistentneglect of the entire region of North Bengal which has created this situation, and this is creating great unrest in that part of the country.

NEPAL: ‘Nepal Maoist’s fresh bid to woo Delhi’

FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET

KATHMANDU: Comrade Prachanda is pretty busy these days. But is associated with annoyance as well which has made his restive. The unceremonious ouster from the prestigious and lucrative Chair, which visibly came to his pocket after a long but “safe hibernation” in New Delhi’s NOIDA, has apparently made him to think twice as to what went wrong that he have had to or was forced to vacate the Chair?

Needless to say, his excessive hobnob with the Chinese regime while in power made the movers and the shakers of Nepali politics, seated in Delhi albeit, bit annoyed with him and the party he still loosely represents.

In the process, he forgot that he was provided the needed shelter by one regime-the regional Goliath- that practically wants this nation to swallow eventually like Sikkim. Even if he had this knowledge in advance about various “models” of arm-twisting, yet why he hid himself in India and enjoyed the said country’s lollypop is a serious matter that demands investigation from interested quarters.

The allegation that Prachanda and his party colleagues were pro-Chinese is just a rubbish calculation. The name Mao doesn’t guarantee the love and honour for China as is becoming clearer.

None of the Maoists friends went to China while the so called people’s War was on.

All, sneaked into India and were greeted by the Indian authorities who had vowed to take revenge from the ruling sovereign-King Gyanendra then, through the subtle use and over use of the Maoists residing then in NOIDA, Delhi.

The 12 point agreement singed, November 22, 2009, by the Maoists under India’s structured formulae does tell that for the ex-rebels the Indian establishment was much closer than the Chinese regime.

Why not the said agreement in ROLPA jungles? Plain question but loaded with meaning and significance.

Yes! What is for sure is that when the Maoists entered the power corridors in Singh Durbar, August 18, 2008, some sort of nationalistic fervour gripped the entire Maoist paraphernalia, save a hard core pro-India senior leaders, who concluded that “not all of the Indian instructions from the Indian quarters” could be taken for granted.

SIKKIM: Confusion in hospitals over blood with HIV traces

FROM THE STATESMAN

GANGTOK, 3 JULY: A mismatch of blood test results between pathologists of the Central Referral Hospital (Manipal CRH) and blood bank of the state run Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial hospital (STNM), has caused a stir after the Manipal doctors claimed HIV strain was present in one of the three units of blood procured from STNM hospital on Monday.

According to technicians at the CRH, one of the three blood packs received from STNM showed faint traces of HIV after two rounds of spot tests. The blood pack was returned to STNM the same day for cross-examination. The head of department, pathology at the CRH, Dr Amlan Gupta refused to speak on the subject.

Dr Pema Seden, in-charge of the central blood bank, STNM ruled out the presence of HIV positive strain in the blood pack returned by the CRH authority. “Rapid tests alone are not substantial. Our confirmatory test ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunoassays) showed no such threat,” Dr Seden said. “We never send untested blood” she further added. Subsequently, the blood packs were tested at the State Aids Control Society (SSACS) laboratory. No HIV stain was found in it.

Both the hospitals accepted that use of different types of testing kits caused the confusion. Dr CM Sharma, junior specialist at the STNM blood bank affirmed of having tested the questionable blood packs using NACO (National Aids Control Organisation) certified kits, while the CRH authority refused to divulge the kit used for tests.

JALPAIGURI: Subba’s second day of strike

FROM THE STATESMAN

JALPAIGURI, 3 JULY: The hunger-strike programme of the Gorkha Liberation Organisation chief and prime accused in the GNLF chief, Mr Subash Ghisingh’s assassination attempt in 2001, Mr Chattre Subba and five co-accused continued for the second day today.

According to the Jalpaiguri jail authority, Mr Subba and the five co-accused refused liquid intake including water in the day. “The Jail authority urged them to withdraw the stir but they denied to demanding immediate release from jail. The jail doctors are monitoring their physical condition and there is not much to worry,” said a Jalpaiguri jail official on terms of anonymity.

The ADM (general), Jalpaiguri, Mr NG Hira said: “We are watching the situation but cannot release them as it is a judicial matter.”

SILIGURI: Loads of new trains; promises of more tracks on Mamata lips

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, July 3: Eight new expresses have been announced for north Bengal with promises of tracks on a few stretches — one even connecting Mirik to Gangtok.

Among the additions are a train to Calcutta from New Jalpaiguri and another to Delhi. What came as a pleasant surprise to many was Mamata Banerjee’s announcement of a daily express from Balurghat in South Dinajpur to New Jalpaiguri and a weekly train between New Jalpaiguri and Digha. A demand of the residents of the Dooars — a train between Alipurduar and New Jalpaiguri via Siliguri — has also been met.

Two trains from Farakka — one to New Delhi and another to Nabadwip Dham — are expected to benefit the people of Malda. They can avail of the trains by reaching Farakka, 30km away.

“Many of our demands have been fulfilled,” said Biswajit Das, the general secretary of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, North Bengal. “It is a good budget and we feel the railway network will improve in the coming years.”

Three new weekly trains — New-Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani Express via Muzaffarpur, Kamakhya-Puri Express and the Dibrugarh Town-Chandigarh Express — for the Northeast will pass through north Bengal. The frequency of 2423/2424 New Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani has been increased from five to six days and the Ranchi-Alipurduar Express has been extended to Guwahati.

“Apart from the new trains, we are looking forward to seeing an improvement in infrastructure and construction of multi-facility complexes in Darjeeling and Alipurduar,” said Suresh Periwal, the chairman of the north Bengal and Sikkim chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

The railway minister has also said New Jalpaiguri will be one of the 50 in the country, which will be made world class. Ten halts in north Bengal will be made Adarsh stations.

KALIMPONG: Landslides kill one in hills – NH31 and NH31A blocked – Dwellings destroyed in Kalimpong Heavy rain forecast

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

People walk through the rubble even as a bulldozer tries to clear NH31 near Sevoke Kalibari on Friday. (Kundan Yolmo)

Kalimpong, July 3: Heavy rain triggered landslides in different parts of Kalimpong subdivision last evening, killing one person and damaging many houses.

The worst-affected areas are Nimbong and Pabringtar gram panchayats under Block I. At Borbat in Pabringtar, G.B. Mangar, 72, was buried alive after his house was swept away by a landslide. Sixteen more houses bore the brunt of the devastation and one of them was totally destroyed. As the approach roads to the area were disrupted at many places because of the slides, help was yet to reach the affected people.

The subdivisional officer of Kalimpong, Amiyas Tshering, said the slides had affected more than a thousand people.

“Eighty-one houses have been completely destroyed and 90 partially damaged. Relief items like blankets and tarpaulin sheets and food have reached Kafer, 10km from the worst-hit Nimbong,” said Tshering.

The officer said Kalimpong town had received a rainfall of 114mm last evening.

Edwin Subba, a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader, said over the phone from Nimbong that several affected families had been shifted to the Borbat Primary School.

Apart from houses, farmlands were also destroyed by the landslides. “Maize, ginger and cardamom have been completely or partially destroyed at many places,” said Subba.

NEW DELHI: BJP takes state cry to House

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

BY NISHIT DHOLABHAI

New Delhi, July 3: The BJP today raised the subject of Gorkhaland in Parliament in the garb of acute drinking water problem in the Darjeeling hills.

Raising the issue of water scarcity during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, BJP member Rajiv Pratap Rudy urged the government to look into the aspects of the demand for a new state or Gorkhaland.

Rudy was apparently doing what Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh is expected to do in the Lower House during the budget session.

The BJP threw up a small surprise for itself in an overall poor election result when it won the Darjeeling seat by a thumping margin after the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha issued a fiat in the hills that all should vote for Singh’s party.

Rudy started by criticising the Bengal government for going slow on the water supply projects in the hills. The Planning Commission had sanctioned a scheme for lifting water from the Balason river to meet potable water requirement of Darjeeling town. The project conceived in 1995 has not seen the light of the day.

“This speaks aloud about the development that has taken place in north Bengal so much so that this has resulted in implications of raising a separate state for which the people of the Darjeeling hills have been struggling. They have been agitating for more than three decades now,” he said.

“The neglect of the Queen of Hills with its poor infrastructure… coupled with growing discontent in the Dooars region and the plains… is a matter of concern,” Rudy told the Upper House.

Expressing fears that the Darjeeling hills were growing into a “slum”, Rudy alleged a “consistent neglect of the entire north Bengal”.

Rudy said since the area is in the chicken’s neck, the slim corridor that connects the rest of the country with the Northeast, it commands all the more attention. “The state borders three countries and it (north Bengal) is a gateway to Bhutan…Unrest in that region has created a dangerous situation,” said Rudy.

SILIGURI: Parents set fee deadline

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, July 3: The Guardians’ Forum of North Bengal has given the schools time till July 7 to resolve the fee hike issue. It has threatened to launch a movement with all social organisations and student bodies in Siliguri if the deadline is not met.

The forum has also questioned the “intention” of forming guardians’ committee for each school to look into the problem of increased fees.

“First, there was delay in the formation of the committees and now, there is a sudden halt in pursuing the final rounds of talks. We called on minister Asok Bhattacharya on June 28, requesting him to ensure that the decision making process was expedited. But he is reluctant to intervene and cited the Minority Commission Act. These developments have prompted us to question the intention behind forming the committee. We suspect it is a sinister move to sabotage our democratic movement,” said Sandeepan Bhattacharjee, the president of the forum at a news conference today.

The forum has been spearheading a movement against the fee hike in private English medium schools in and around Siliguri for the past three months.

The minister had entrusted Vandana Yadav, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, to facilitate the setting up of committees in each institution.

Five committees for each of the five schools — Auxilium Convent, Nirmala Convent, Don Bosco School and Jermel’s Academy in Siliguri but under the Jalpaiguri district and St Joseph’s Convent Matigara under the Darjeeling district — were formed.

Each committee comprised five members of the school, an equal number of parents and one administrative official.

SILIGURI: Debris hamper highway traffic

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

An embankment along the Teesta that was damaged by Cyclone Aila faced the assault of the torrent while the repair was going on at Teesta Bazar. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha)

Siliguri, July 3: Fresh landslides blocked NH31 and NH31A at Sevoke today, disrupting traffic from Siliguri to Sikkim and the Dooars for more than 10 hours.

There were seven slides —five on a 3km-stretch of NH31 from Sevoke police outpost to Coronation Bridge and two on NH31A — triggered by incessant rain at three this morning. SNT Jhora and Pagla Jhora are the two spots where the slides occurred on NH31A.

The traffic on both the roads was restored partially at 1pm and completely at 5pm.

Sevoke — which is around 30km from here — is the place where NH31 is split into two, with one (NH31A) going to Sikkim and the other to Assam through the Dooars.

The highways were cleared of rubble by workers of the PWD’s NH Circle III and the Border Roads Organisation.

“Our workers started the operation at 8am and it took them five hours to allow small vehicles to pass,” said Dhurba Chakraborty, the superintendent engineer of Circle III.

The labourers engaged excavators to remove mud and boulders from the roads.

Following the slides, a large number of vehicles were stranded on the two roads. According to officials of Sikkim’s East district, heavy vehicles carrying foodgrain and essential supplies like petrol and diesel to the state had been stuck at Sevoke. They said some tourists had taken alternative routes via Darjeeling and Kalimpong to reach Siliguri, while others had extended their stay.