FROM BBC NEWS

Maoists have held several protests against the president

Thousands of Nepal’s former Maoist rebels have blocked all roads leading into the capital, Kathmandu, to protest against the governing coalition.

Waving red flags, the rebels blocked the road at Thankot which connects the capital with the east-west highway.

Hundreds of riot police have been deployed to keep the peace.

The BBC’s Joanna Jolly in Kathmandu says the Maoists want a debate on presidential powers in parliament, but the government has refused the demand.

The Maoists emerged as the largest party in Nepal’s first democratic election last year.

They say President Ram Baran Yadav acted unconstitutionally by overruling their decision to sack the army chief earlier this year.

The president’s decision led to the collapse of the Maoist-led government in May.

Slogan shouting

Supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have gathered on roads connecting Kathmandu with the rest of the Himalayan nation.

At the Thankot checkpoint, the main entrance to the capital, hundreds of Maoist supporters held banners and their party’s red flag, stopping vehicles and chanting slogans.

Seven other Maoist checkpoints have been set up around the city and only ambulances and emergency vehicles are being allowed to pass through.

Police said roads were shut by the protests but that there were no reports of violence.

Sagar Chandra Thapa, a Maoist leader in the Kathmandu valley, told the BBC that he expected thousands more supporters to join the blockade throughout the day.

“Today’s protest is against the president’s unconstitutional move. Our protest is to establish civilian supremacy over the military. We want to discuss it in the parliament, but we are not allowed. Therefore, we are forced to take to the streets.”

The Maoists say they will continue their protests until their demands are met.

They plan a demonstration at the main government office complex in Kathmandu on Thursday. Thousands of Maoists held similar rallies against the president in September.

The coalition government has asked the Maoists to call off their protests. It has refused to discuss their demands, saying the issue has already been resolved.

FROM MYREPUBLICA.COM

BY AVASH KARMACHARYA

KATHMANDU, Nov 10: Filmmaker Nabin Subba is one of those few who have truly lived what a teenage life is all about. There must be hardly few things that Subba, promoter of indigenous films in Nepal, has not experienced. From getting nastiest to becoming a gangster, Subba has many such memories still fresh in his mind that could easily fill the pages of his memory book.

Born in a Lahure family in 1967 AD in Taplejung district, Subba, 42, has only a few memories of his early childhood because he spent a lot of time in Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Nepal. But he still remembers those nursery days at his hometown in Taplejung when he and his friends did not have the privilege to learn a-b-c-d through any fancy nursery books.

“We neither had chalkboards nor course books. Those were the days when our teacher used to get thick layers of dusts on our table and used to draw us the basic of English and Nepali,” he recalled.

Though he barely remembers all what he did as a child, Subba says that he was an introvert child. He adds that he looked very lean and thin amongst his fellow classmates and that was why fellow mates who looked healthier than him made him do their works. While pursuing his secondary level of education in Hong Kong, Subba and his friends were fond of fishing.

“The Chinese in Hong Kong loved eating yucky insects and we were fond of fish,” he smiled and added. Because he lived within an army camp, the atmosphere around him was obviously much stricter than of his friends, and even the school he went to made sure that the students did not go against the school disciplines. But these factors did not stop Subba from practicing all sorts of childhood pranks. Bunking school was something next to impossible for students in his school because the school buses picked them up from their homes and loyally dropped them back. However, Subba with his friends made the impossible possible by bribing the bus driver.

He still remembers the sound of the slap that he got from his teacher when once he bunked school and went for picnic with his friends. It was probably the first and last time he got corporal punishment in his school life. Oh yes, he remembers another such incident. Once Subba was delivering a love letter of his friend to a girl of his class. He got caught and it was the last time he got thrashed.

As a teenager, Subba always desired becoming a fashion designer but he himself is clueless why he did not become one.

Many may not have ever thought or dreamt that this promising filmmaker had his own gang of boys, and he often got into serious gang fights with Chinese gangsters while he was in Hong Kong.

He was only 14 when he first got into what a teenager calls “gang fight.”

“I was quite a big fan of Bruce Lee and so were my friends. In fact, we used to host our practice sessions where we imitated Bruce Lee, learnt some martial arts skills, learnt using knives and sticks. Once when we were in a serious fight with Chinese gundaas, my friend got badly wounded. Luckily, I escaped major injuries. Minor bruises were too common,” Subba got down deep into nostalgia.

He however said that he and his boys never initiated a fight and they were Chinese who often took up an issue to create a battle.

He was not a spoiled brat but he did not spare experiences of all naughty things. Take for example; he says he loved breaking the windowpanes of army camp he resided in.

“Every time they installed new windowpanes, we made sure that they didn’t last for more than two days,” Subba laughed.

Upon completing his secondary level of education, he came back to Nepal and got into Intermediate in Science (ISc) faculty in Dharan. It was still not over. There were still a lot more fun to be had. As a college-going student, he made sure that he enjoyed bunking classes like other boys did in his time.

Subba chuckled and added, “After answering the attendance call, we always planned to bunk. Whenever the teacher turned to the blackboard, I used to escape from the window with my friends and we used to sit somewhere for some guitar sessions. My friends used to get themselves busy getting high while I enjoyed the music. We always loved ragging our teacher.”

Going back to those good old days, Subba even does not hesitate uncovering those moments of his life in Dharan when he and his friends indulged in watching X-rated flicks, screened in almost every ally. Obviously, like any other teenagers, he loved flirting with the opposite sex but says he never got into eve teasing.

Once such incident that he can never forget all his life was when he was bullied by some six students of Padma Kanya Campus. He was new to Kathmandu and had just started his profession as a journalist.

“I couldn’t believe it. The girls surrounded me and bullied me. Had I not escaped, they would’ve gone physical,” he gushed.

Today at 42, Nabin Subba is still single. It was not that he did not fall in love, but in his own words, all those relationships that he seriously got into did not work because of the distance. He often fell in love with girls from foreign lands and believes that the “Miss Perfect” for him is still to come.

Having come across four decades of his life, Subba now loves to recollect all his past memories, nostalgias and cherishes them by the day. He wishes to see his school friends someday. He still remembers walking in the romantic rain; he even misses his gangster friends from his school who used to carry holsters in the class itself.

“Nothing lasts forever. At the end of the day, they are just memories that will remain deep within. I love living my life with them everyday,” the film man concludes.

FROM MORUNG EXPRESS

Dimapur, November 9 (MExN): The oath taking and handing and taking over ceremony of the new office bearers of the full-fledge Minority Forum, 3 Dimapur III A/C was held today at Singrijan village, with elders from six minority communities including, Kachari (Dimasa and Mech), Garo, Gorkha, Adivasi and Indigenous Muslim.

Zakir Hussain, information & publicity secretary of the forum in a press note stated that Apun Naben and Devandra Rana, president and general secretary of the forum voiced parallel concern over the pitiable condition of the communities. They also declared to struggle for the rights and would also highlight the grievances of the communities. However, they appealed to the people to extend full cooperation towards the organization. They requested the elders to guide the new office bearers in the right direction. They further expressed hope that “unitedly the communities can achieve the desired goal.”

Moreover, the ceremony started with the invocation pronounced by Benedict Kindo, an elder from the Adivasi community while the oath-taking and handing and taking over of the office was carried out by Tarun Momin, president of the Nagaland Garo Tribal Council. The ceremony was chaired by Minist Jigdung, an elder from Amaluma village., it stated.

FROM THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

KOKRAJHAR, Nov 9: Unidentified gunmen shot dead one Bhakti Raj Khatiwada (37) last night at 10 at Tiniali Bazar under Kokrajhar Police Station. The Gorkha Parisangh, Assam and several other Gorkha organisations have called a 12-hour BTC region bandh on November 11 in protest.

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THIS SERIES WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE CONTRIBUTION OF ABDUL KALAM EZANI

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE] EXCLUSIVE

HIMALAYAN JOURNALS

JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER, M.D., R.N., F.R.S.

Volume II

TOP OF KONGRA LAMA

We reached the boundary between Sikkim and Tibet early in the afternoon; it is drawn along Kongra Lama, which is a low flat spur running east from Kinchinjhow towards Chomiomo, at a point where these mountains are a few miles apart, thus crossing the Lachen river:* [The upper valley of the Lachen in Tibet, which I ascended in the following October, is very open, flat, barren, and stony; it is bounded on the north by rounded spurs from Chomiomo, which are continued east to Donkia, forming a watershed to the Lachen on the south, and to the Arun on the north.] it is marked by cairns of stone, some rudely fashioned into chaits, covered with votive rags on wands of bamboo. I made the altitude by barometer 15,745 feet above the sea, and by boiling water, 15,694 feet, the water boiling at 184.1 degrees; the temperature of the air between 2.40 and 4 p.m. varied from 41.3 degrees to 42.5 degrees, the dew-point 39.8 degrees; that of the Lachen was 47 degrees, which was remarkably high. We were bitterly cold; as the previous rain had wetted us through, and a keen wind was blowing up the valley. The continued mist and fog intercepted all view, except of the flanks of the great mountains on either hand, of the rugged snowy ones to the south, and of those bounding the Lachen to the north. The latter were unsnowed, and appeared lower than Kongra Lama, the ground apparently sloping away in that direction; but when I ascended them, three months afterwards, I found they were 3000 feet higher! a proof how utterly fallacious are estimates of height, when formed by the eye alone. My informants called them Peuka-t’hlo; “peu” signifies north in Tibetan, and ”t’hlo” a hill in Lepcha.

Isolated patches of vegetation appeared on the top of the pass, where I gathered forty kinds of plants, most of them being of a tufted habit characteristic of an extreme climate; some (as species of  _Caryophylleae_) forming hemi-spherical balls on the naked soil; others* [The other plants found on the pass were; of smooth hairless ones, _Ranunculus,_ Fumitory, several species of _Stellaria, Arenaria, Cruciferae, Parnassia, Morina,_ saxifrages, _Sedum,_primrose, _Herminium, Polygonum, Campanula, Umbelliferae,_ grasses and _Carices_: of woolly or hairy once, _Anemone, Artemisia, Myosotis, Draba, Potentilla,_ and several _Compositae,_ etc.] growing in matted tufts level with the ground. The greater portion had no woolly covering; nor did I find any of the cottony species of _Saussurea,_ which are so common on the wetter mountains to the southward. Some most delicate-flowered plants even defy the biting winds of these exposed regions; such are a prickly _Meconopsis_ with slender flower-stalks and four large blue poppy-like petals, a _Cyananthus_ with a membranous bell-shaped corolla, and a fritillary. 

Other curious plants were a little yellow saxifrage with long runners (very like the arctic _S. flagellaris,_ of Spitzbergen and Melville Island), and the strong-scented spikenard (_Nardostachys_). The rocks were chiefly of reddish quartz, and so was the base of Chomiomo. Kinchinjhow on the contrary was of gneiss, with granite veins: the strike of both was north-west, and the dip north-east 20 degrees to 30 degrees.

We made a fire at the top with sheep’s droppings, of which the Phipun had brought up a bagfull, and with it a pair of goat-skin bellows, which worked by a slit that was opened by the hand in the act of raising; when inflated, the hole was closed, and the skin pressed down, thus forcing the air through the bamboo nozzle: this is the common form of bellows throughout Tibet and the Himalaya.

After two hours I was very stiff and cold, and suffering from headache and giddiness, owing to the elevation; and having walked about thirteen miles botanizing, I was glad to ride down. We reached the Phipun’s tents about 6 p.m., and had more tea before proceeding to Tungu. The night was fortunately fine and calm, with a few stars and a bright young moon, which, with the glare from the snows, lighted up the valley, and revealed magnificent glimpses of the majestic mountains. As the moon sank, and we descended the narrowing valley, darkness came on, and with a boy to lead my sure-footed pony, I was at liberty uninterruptedly to reflect on the events of a day, on which I had attained the object of so many years’ ambition.

Now that all obstacles were surmounted, and I was returning laden with materials for extending the knowledge of a science which had formed the pursuit of my life, will it be wondered at that I felt  proud, not less for my own sake, than for that of the many friends, both in India and at home, who were interested in my success? We arrived at Tungu at 9 p.m., my pony not having stumbled once, though the path was rugged, and crossed by many rapid streams.

The Soubah’s little shaggy steed had carried his portly frame (fully fifteen stone weight) the whole way out and back, and when he dismounted, it shook itself, snorted, and seemed quite ready for supper.

FROM MYREPUBLICA.COM

BY SUNDAR KHANAL

KATHMANDU, Nov 10: Adding to a series of crackdowns and unraveling quite a new dimension in the organized flesh trade, Police busted an internet-based prostitution racket operating in the capital, on Monday evening.

Amit Gautam, one of two Kathmandu-based members of the racket who have been running the business through a portal, nepalsexguide.com, for four months, was ambushed at Naxal by a team from the Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu. The racket, controlled by a leader based in New Delhi, India, is said to have been supplying Nepali girls chiefly to Indian nationals visiting here.

A police officer leading the crackdown told Republica that Amit, 21, a resident of Samakhusi, had been working as the local contact for the racket and is identified as ´John´ in the homepage of the website. Police extracted from him a mobile phone numbered 977-9849055457, the same mentioned in the home page referring to contact person ´John´.

The police team was searching for Ameet´s business partner, a woman named Sangeeta Shrestha, a resident of Tahachal, as this news was being prepared and they believe she would be nabbed anytime during the night.

According to the homepage of the website, the racket is described as a ´´guide to beautiful Nepali women and Asian escorts offering their unrivaled services at our Nepal Sex Guide escort agency.” 

“We currently have 40 escort girls who are offering companionship to businessmen and discerning gentlemen at five star hotels or exclusive residence. Our collection of thrilling beauties includes college girls, aspiring and established models, young professionals and even some from Nepal Film Industry,” goes part of the text under the header ´About us´.

The website asks to drop a note about oneself by phone or email at nepalsexguide@gmail.com and states that after receiving a complete email, the aspiring client will be given a phone number for further personal contact.

The racket seems to have charged clients differently under three categories–College Students (NRS 25,000), Models (NRS 50,000) and Celebrities (NRS 100,000 onwards).

Besides services in Nepal, according to the website, the racket is also operating in seven major Indian cities and girls are supplied at various rates on hourly basis.

According to police, things will be clearer with the arrest of the Nepali woman who is said to be partnering with Amit in Kathmandu.

FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET / SIFY.COM

KATHMANDU: Hundreds of people flocked to hospitals for tests with swine flu like symptoms while public schools were shut down for three days in a third district in western Nepal after fears of an epidemic loomed large in the region following detection of the virus in school students and security forces. Myagdi district, adjacent to Baglung and Parbat, where the H1N1 virus was detected in nine samples taken from 12 people complaining of swine flu-like symptoms, came under scare after over 250 people rushed to hospitals with coughs, cold and other symptoms that may or may not be indicate of the virus.

The fear rose after the suspected outbreak of the disease in Parbat district last week where schools and an army camp have reported positive for the virus.

The government has rushed a team of doctors to the district while schools have been closed to contain the spread of the disease.

As the medical team began consultations with local authorities and civil society in Parbat, efforts to contain the disease were hampered because the only facilities to diagnose swine flu are in the capital city.

After swine flu was confirmed in nine people in Parbat – which include school children and soldiers at an army camp at the main town Kusma -similar symptoms were also reported in its neighbouring Baglung district, causing the Private and Boarding Schools Organisation in Nepal (Pabson), the umbrella body controlling private schools in the Himalayan republic, to shut down.

Now PABSON has also decided to keep all private schools in Myagdi closed till Tuesday following fears that swine flu has entered the district from Parbat. 

The first case of swine flu was reported in Nepal in June when three members of the same family, who were travelling to Kathmandu from the US, tested positive at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.

However, despite the recent panic, Nepal, unlike its southern neighbour India, has yet not reported any death.

While the number of detected cases has reached 60, the recovery rate has been cent percent unlike in India, where nearly 500 people have died so far.

FROM SIKKIM REPORTER

BY JANUKA SHARMA

Gangtok: Sikkim Archery Association (SAA) has organized a Traditional (Bamboo) Archery tournament at Tathangchen Archery field which was inaugurated on Sunday by Minister TT Bhutia who is president of the Association.

The tournament is to revive the traditional culture involving the youth, Mr. Bhutia said. He also informed, compound and bamboo archery tournament will be conducted in December at Kabi Lunchok, North Sikkim.

On the first day, Dapen Tathangchen defeated Lingdok by 35-6 points. Total 16 teams have participated in the tournament, 14 from Sikkim and two teams from Pedong (Kalimpong), West Bengal, informed Dr. K B Gurung, Executive member of SAA. The tournament will continue till 29th November in the same place. Three days’ modern archery tournament will start from Monday at Paljor Stadium, he informed. He mentioned, yearly three times archery tournament is held in the state – Chief Minister Gold Cup Archery Tournament, 5 Sides compound Archery tournament and Traditional and modern Archery Tournament. Only bamboo equipment are allowed in the traditional archery tournament, Dr Gurung noted.

FROM SIKKIM REPORTER

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde

Gangtok: Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has praised the Pawan Chamling government for going ahead with optimum utilisation of the hydropower resources of the state. The Himalayan state was on course to become the richest state in India upon commissioning of the ongoing hydel projects in a few years’ time, he said. The revenues from the hydropower projects will not only boost the coffers of the state exchequer, but also bring about an overall socio-economic development in Sikkim, he added.

Mr. Shinde came to Sikkim on Saturday on a three-day visit within four months of his taking charge of power ministry for second consecutive terms in the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On the day he chaired the 16th Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) meeting held in Sikkim. Later in the evening he was talking to reporters.

Asked about the status of the six hydel projects which were put on hold by the ministry of environmengt four months ago, the Union Minister said, “I have taken up the matter at the higher level for grant of clearances to the six hydel projects.” He however maintained that the environmental issues must be taken due care of in conceiving hydropower projects. Even his ministry has made necessary changes in its hydropower policy in view of the environment-related concerns being raised by various quarters, he said.

He mentioned that a broad range of issues like the local area development, compensation to the project-affected people, jobs to the local people and setting up of training institutes for developing skills of local youths and their absorption in the power projects, etc, have been committed by the power developers engaged in the state.

FROM SIKKIM REPORTER

BY YUVRAJ DAHAL

Gangtok: 9th Convocation of Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences was held at Conference Hall of SMU on November 8. Governor Mr. Balmiki Prasad Singh, Chancellor of the University and chief guest declared the convocation open.

Total 717 students of different discipline were given degrees and medals in MBBS, Medical Science MSc, BPT & B.Sc Nursing, B.Tech, M.Sc, MCA, BCA & MBA and Distance Education. Dr. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was a special guest at the convocation which was attended by Mr. NK Pradhan, Minister HRDD, Mr. KT Gyaltsen, Speaker Sikkim Legislative Assembly, Mr. MB Dahal, Deputy Speaker SLA, Professor Dr. Mahendra P Lama, Vice Chancellor Sikkim University, Brigadier Dr. SS Pabla, VC SMU, among others.

Dr. Nair, in his address said, SMU has integrated youths and learners of the country. He appreciated the University for offering graduate programme in Medical Sciences, allied healthcare, engineering and management disciplines and post graduate programmes in selected disciplines in its “phenomenal growth” within a short span of time.

Having a right mindset is a basic rule for achieving success. All great leaders reiterate that mind is the source of all success and failure in life. But, how a person can operate his mind in the way that he can eventually enjoy the results he wants, he asked. He quoted Swami Vivekananda, saying, “Take up one idea, make that one idea your life, think of it, dream of it and lice on that idea. Be full of that idea and just leave every other idea”. This is the way to success – the path shown by great spiritual giants, Dr. Nair said. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai had 40 years back propelled the Indian space programme to reach the present height, ISRO chairman noted.

Governor and SMU Chancellor Mr. Singh in his address said, “Fortunately, education is in the news in India. The enactment of the Right to Education is truly historic in our country. For centuries people of certain castes and women in general were denied access to education. Our leaders during the freedom struggle rejected this deplorable tradition and we have made a decisive break with this past. We are keen to secure education for each Indian”.

He said, a good education empowers people to take responsibility for their own lives and for improving the lives of those around them. Modern technology and the forces of globalization have reduced distances and increased connectivity. “The content and quality of education have enormous potential to make an important contribution to our individual well-being and to strengthening of our nation”.“Education”, he added, “is seen as an experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. It is the process by which society transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values to its new generation. Education should also be seen as a way of producing good citizens for the society with knowledge, skills and moral values”. He further said, “It is being increasingly recognized that knowledge would be the key driving force in the 21st century and that India has the potential to emerge as a globally competitive player. Towards this, India needs a knowledge revolution to build capacity and generate quality to empower its human capital including our 550 million nationals who are below the age of 25”.

“There is lot of hope in respect of education reforms in the country. We have to move with caution and deliberation but also with speed and determination. Our democratic processes should help us in achieving our goal. Today, we are also facing a bigger human challenge: How to live?”

“In an age where even the educated youth are joining suicide squads and indulging in senseless violence, the moot question is whether the education system can be made sensitive to this challenge. The very civilization of which science, the Internet, and related sources of knowledge are the integral parts is now under threat from fundamentalism and the ignorance that underlines it. It has fuelled helplessness, hopelessness, and a distortion of religious beliefs. Many believe that we have to look beyond science and technology to the learning of religions, history, literature, and the arts”.

“Two aspects of education would, however, remain paramount. First, education must strive to create in young minds a willingness to tolerate differences of opinion and the desire to understand different points of view. Second, the massive progress in science and technology has tended to stress the intellectual rather than moral and spiritual values. What we need is a synthesis of these values spiritual and moral as well as intellectual with the aim of producing a fully integrated human being. Such a person would be both inward looking as well as outward looking, who searches his own mind in order that his nobler self may prevail at all times, and at the same time recognize his obligations to his fellow men and the world around him”.

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

BY MEGHDEEP BHATTACHARYYA IN DARJEELING

Joey’s Pub is closed because of the liquor ban

What’s Darjeeling without a drop to drink? Not half as heady a holiday hangout.

Just ask the gang of five friends from Calcutta cutting short its stay because of the booze ban. “What is there to do here after 8pm?” demanded Rahul Varma, 21.

The MBA student from Garden Reach arrived in Darjeeling with four classmates on Saturday with plans to stay a week. Till they heard of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s ban on the sale of licensed liquor. “We have decided to head back on Wednesday,” Varma told Metro.

The Morcha slapped the ban from Saturday in a bid to block the state government’s monthly revenue stream of Rs 3 crore from 19 off-shops and 54 licensed bars. Darjeeling going dry is already leaving visitors from Calcutta high and dry.

Joey's pub when the hills were heady

“I will think twice before I plan another trip to Darjeeling because of the ban,” said Calcutta-based US national Doug Riley, 38, on his fourth visit in two years.

The two most popular watering holes, Buzz and Joey’s Pub, cut a sorry figure on Monday. Buzz, below Glenary’s, was trying in vain to woo tourists with mocktails while Joey’s, near INOX, remained locked for the third day on the trot. “Nobody comes here for soft drinks, so no point keeping it open,” shrugged an employee at Joey’s.

There is free flow of locally brewed liquor like thongba and rakshi and many restaurants have started stocking up, but most tourists are reluctant to risk it.

“I would love some alcohol now, but I’m not that desperate either,” said Kaunteya Chatterjee, 30, a private bank employee from Calcutta, shying away from rakshi on the racks.

No wonder some owners of eateries forced to go dry are already plotting other possible ventures. “Alcohol accounts for more than 50 per cent of our sales. It isn’t easy to branch into other business in Darjeeling, but we may not be left with a choice by the Morcha ban,” said the owner of a deserted sip-and-bite stop.

The Morcha leadership refused to blink. “Tourists might be facing some problems, but our sole aim is to stop revenue flow into the state coffers,” said a Morcha leader.

Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, however, told Metro that he did not support the ban on liquor, among other such moves by the Morcha.

Mansi Ahlawat, 27, a content writer taking a break, summed up the tourist blues: “This isn’t the Darjeeling we knew and loved.”

Film-maker Anjan Dutt, a Darjeeling loyalist, couldn’t agree more. “Darjeeling without liquor is just very, very wrong… extremely unfair. I called up friends there and it is an absolutely desperate situation. My friend Puran (Gongba), who runs Joey’s Pub, is without income for the last three days. Tourists are running away.”

Will you stop going to Darjeeling because of the liquor ban?

===================

“Banning liquor is against the cosmopolitan spirit of Darjeeling. It’s like declaring the place vegetarian. It’s quite tragic”

– Anjan Dutt, film-maker

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

In an exclusive chat with The Telegraph’s Meghdeep Bhattacharyya in Darjeeling, Jaswant Singh spoke on Gorkhaland and the political crisis in Bengal. Excerpts follow:

Q: What’s on your agenda, with regard to Gorkhaland, on this trip?

A: This visit is essentially about the ex-servicemen’s gathering. Ex-servicemen from all over the country up to the rank of generals are here to attend the seminar. Naturally, the legitimate aspirations (with regard to Gorkhaland) of the people of Darjeeling will be in focus in the seminar. The organisers are seeking the support of the entire community of servicemen which has fought side by side in the battlefield with the valiant Gorkhas. I, Jaswant Singh, an ex-serviceman, am no exception.

Q: How do you propose to take forward the issue of Gorkhaland, now that you are no longer with the BJP?

A: I believe in the cause, in the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling. I appeal to everybody, don’t treat the issue as a problem, treat it as a challenge to statecraft — how best to meet the hopes and aspirations of India’s valiant citizens who have, for centuries, given their lives to the protection of their motherland.

Q: Rephrasing the previous question — how, after the BJP has been relegated to much lesser significance in Parliament and after your expulsion from the party, do you expect to make progress on the issue as the sole crusader for your cause in Parliament?

A: (Laughs) I really like the term “sole crusader”. Sometimes, my dear friend, it takes a sole crusader to make a difference. The strength of the demand for Gorkhaland is in the relevance and legitimacy of the ideas. With or without the BJP, I will continue to voice the demand, even as the sole crusader.

Q: Do you support the forms of agitation adopted by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, from barring administrative work, not paying electricity bills, land revenue and motor vehicles taxes to the banning of licensed liquor sale in the hills?

A: No! I do not support this. I certainly don’t. But understand that such steps sometimes become necessary when the government stops hearing the voice of legitimate demands and aspirations of a people. Bengal, over the last three-and-a-half decade, has turned illegal forms of agitation into a political art form. The Left Front government cannot preach restraint now, something which it has hardly shown during its tenure in power. Kehtey hain na – saw chuhey khaakey billi Haj ko chali! (As the saying goes — after devouring a hundred mice the cat embarks on a pilgrimage!)

Q: What’s your opinion on the way the Morcha leadership, self-declared Gandhians, silences all opposition, even from within the hills, be it Madan Tamang or Subhas Ghising?

A: You’re referring to a local disputation of an individual nature. I cannot comment on this.

Q: The last time we asked you this question (October 21), you had declined comment. What’s your opinion on the present political crisis in Bengal and Mamata Banerjee’s brand of politics?

A: It is a matter of great sadness, my friend, that Bengal today has sunk into the kind of non-governance, not just mis-governance, mind you, non-governance. The Left Front has obliterated the difference between party and government, a fundamental of democracy. It has turned election engineering into an art and now cries foul when others do the same. The Left Front government introduced in India’s political lexicon, the bandh. Now, Mamataji is doing exactly what the Left Front has mastered for so long.

Q: You’ve told us earlier that the question of your rejoining the BJP “is really of academic interest”. Given the choice, would you join any other political party?

A: (Laughs) I’ve become a veteran of attempting to answer this question. I leave it to you, show me a party, which you think I should join and then I’ll think and answer.

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Subba at the district hospital on Sunday. (Prabin Khaling)

Gangtok, Nov. 9: A 51-year-old woman was mauled by a Himalayan black bear in North Sikkim yesterday morning.

This is the third time in a month that bears entered human habitation and mauled people. The latest incident has forced the forest department to issue an alert to people venturing near the forests.

According to North Sikkim district officials, Suk Maya Subba of Khamsing village, 80km from here, was mauled by the animal around 8.30am yesterday while she was returning from her neighbour’s house.

Subba, who has suffered injuries on her left shoulder, face and chest, is presently undergoing treatment at the district hospital at Mangan, 70km from the state capital.

The divisional forest officer (territorial) North Sikkim, N. T. Bhutia, said her condition was stable.

Three boys, who had gone to collect food for their cattle near the forest in Khamsing village, also saw the animal. They immediately ran to safety.

Forest officials suspect that the bear is still in a cardamom field near the Rabom Jhora in Mangan.

The wildlife officials have alerted the local residents of the area.

Bhutia said a team of forest officials and police have started a combing operation in the fringe areas around Khamsing village from this morning but the animal had not been traced till late afternoon.

“It could have returned to the forests also. But the combing operation is still on,” said Bhutia.

On November 3, a Himalayan black bear had injured three forest officers on the outskirts of the state capital, while they tried to dart the animal.

Later, the bear was tranquillised and taken to Bulbuley zoo before being released in the wild.

On the same day, a 60-year-old man was mauled by a bear in a forest near Pelling in West Sikkim while he was returning to his home near Tikjuk from Dokathang.

“These repeated attacks in recent times could be because of the rise in the bear population or due to the increase in the forest areas. The animals could also be entering human habitation in search of food,” a forest official said.

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Darjeeling, Nov. 9: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung today set a condition to the fourth round of tripartite talks, saying that DGHC should be dissolved and the Sixth Schedule Bill officially scrapped before the December-21 meeting.

Gurung, who was speaking at a seminar on Gorkhaland organised by the ex-servicemen’s association at the Darjeeling Gymkhana Hall, said: “The DGHC must be dissolved and the Sixth Schedule bill officially dropped. Otherwise things cannot move forward”.

The Morcha leader, however, did not clarify whether the party would boycott the talks if the demands were not fulfilled. During the third round of talks between the state, Centre and the Morcha in New Delhi on August 11, the three sides had agreed to dissolve the DGHC and drop the Sixth Schedule Bill.

Dropping the bill would not be much of a problem as the next session of Parliament is set to be convened in the next two weeks. But dissolving the council before the talks could be an uphill task largely because the Morcha has also demanded that all the 6,000 DGHC contractual workers be regularised before it is dissolved. The Morcha has already demanded that the process of issuing appointment letters to contractual workers should begin from November 17, failing which they have threatened to launch an agitation.

Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, while addressing the meeting, said for Gorkhaland “one must show patience, should maintain peace and have determination and thoughtfulness”.

“The unity of the hills is its biggest strength and Gorkhaland is not a demand but a right of the people. Gorkhaland will definitely be a reality,” the MP said.

The three-day seminar also brought the Morcha and the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh closer to each other. The two bodies, the Parisangh is an apolitical front, have not shared the best of relations in the past.

Dil Kumari Bhandari, a former Sikkim MP and the president of the Parisangh, said: “We have supported the movement in the past and will continue to do so in future. We can definitely be united.”

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

A file picture of the forum’s march to protest against school fee hike in Siliguri

Siliguri, Nov. 9: The school education department has decided to depute one or two senior officers to conduct an inquiry into the hike in fees by seven English-medium schools located in and around Siliguri and submit a report to the government.

“We have sent several letters to these schools, asking them to refrain from charging higher fees. But still, the schools are collecting the revised fees,” Amiya Sanyal, the deputy director of Anglo-Indian Schools in the state, told The Telegraph over the phone from Calcutta today.

“So, it has been decided to send senior officers to Siliguri to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to us. The exercise will be completed as soon as possible. The officials to be selected for the job will be in the rank of an assistant director,” said Sanyal.

He admitted that the state government had certain limitations, which restrained it from taking a tough stand towards the seven institutions. “There are certain acts and rules which differentiate these English-medium schools from other educational institutions in the state. We need to work strictly according to the law and guidelines,” said the officer. “Nevertheless, we are hopeful that the issue will be resolved and the deadlock will be over soon.”

In Siliguri, representatives of the Guardians’ Forum of North Bengal said they were waiting for letters from each of the seven schools. “At the meeting convened by the (Siliguri) deputy mayor on Friday, we had clearly mentioned that we wanted talks to be initiated by each school and held in the presence of an arbitrator like the deputy mayor, mayor or anybody else who is competent to decide on the issue,” said Sandeepan Bhattacharjee, the president of the forum.

“The schools were specifically told at the meeting that they must invite us to the talks, by Wednesday. If the institutions do not respond, we will have to call an indefinite strike again.”

The forum had threatened to launch an indefinite strike at the seven schools from today if they did not roll back the revised fees.

However, a truce was declared by the parents following a meeting convened by the Siliguri deputy mayor Nantu Pal on Friday.

The forum, sources said, is also holding talks with parents, especially those who have been opposing the strike or the movement. “We are interacting with them (parents) on a regular basis, explaining different factors like the nonchalant attitude of the schools and their defiance of government circulars,” said Bhattacharjee. “Almost all of them told us that they had been misguided by the schools.”

The seven institutions are Don Bosco School, St Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph’s High School, Nirmala Convent, Jermel’s Academy, New St John’s and Royal Academy.

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, Nov. 9: Authorities at the Seventh Day Adventist English Medium School in Naxalbari have decided to upgrade food safety measures at the institution where yesterday 91 students fell ill after taking breakfast that had a lizard in it.

A source at the school said one student started vomiting after he spotted the lizard in the breakfast comprising ghugni and suji.

“It is possible that other students were psychologically affected since they, too, saw the lizard in his breakfast. The children started vomiting and complained of stomach ache. We lost no time in taking them to the Naxalbari Block Hospital,” said the source.

Confirming that a lizard had been spotted in the breakfast, Sudan Das, the principal of the residential school, said food safety measures and hygiene would be improved so that such incidents did not recur at the institute.

The principal was out of station when the incident occurred yesterday.

“The students who fell ill are in a stable condition now. We take proper measures to ensure the quality of food and yesterday’s incident was an isolated one. Now onwards, the kitchen will be supervised strictly and the staff members have been advised to wash vegetables properly and examine the foodgrain and pulses carefully before cooking them. The hygienic conditions in the kitchen will be upgraded,” said Das.

The school has more than 300 children studying from Nursery to Class VII and all of them are from financially backward families.

Forty students were released after preliminary treatment at the Naxalbari Block Hospital, while 41 were admitted yesterday. Ten children are recuperating at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. 

Tulsi Pramanik, the assistant chief medical officer of health, Siliguri, said all the students were out of danger. “Thirty-three students were released from the Naxalbari hospital today. The children admitted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital are recovering.”

“Food samples have been collected and sent for tests. We expect the results to come in about a fortnight,” he added.

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The blockade set up at Gurdwara More by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Hasimara, Nov. 9: Police burst nine tear-gas shells and resorted to lathicharge early this morning when supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad stormed a police outpost demanding the release of their leader and eight others who were arrested after three houses were ransacked last night at a tea garden in Jaigaon.

The Parishad called a strike in the Hasimara area, 40km from Alipurduar town, after the police dispersed the crowd around 4am, and set up road blockades at three points on NH31C causing traffic to come to a total standstill for almost 12 hours.

Communication between north Bengal and Assam — NH31C connects the two regions — was cut off because of the blockades at Gurdwara More, Hasimara Chowpathy and Nimati Chowpathy from 7am to 6.30pm. Heavy vehicles like trucks remained stranded along the national highway. Most cars to Assam, however, took the Alipurduar-Falakata route, which joins NH31C at Dhupguri. But Jaigaon, Kalchini block and Madarihat were out of bounds till the blockades were lifted.

The Parishad members were demanding the unconditional release of those arrested. The Parishad’s Hasimara-Jaigaon zonal committee president, Raju Bara, and eight others were produced in court and were remanded in 14 days of judicial custody by the additional chief judicial magistrate of Alipurduar.

Police sources said after midnight Parishad activists attacked the house of the vice-president of the Jaigaon branch of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Indra Bahadur Chhetri, for campaigning for the party-backed independent candidate for Saturday’s Kalchini byelections.

Police said the Parishad had brought out everything from Indra Bahadur’s house at Bharnobari tea garden, including a refrigerator, and smashed them with lathis. Raju Bara and the others were arrested from the spot by a force from the Hasimara outpost. Indra Bahadur was not at home at that time, the police said.

Soon, in retaliation, Morcha supporters attacked the houses of Bharat Chhetri and Ashit Thapa in the same garden and completely damaged the furniture, television sets and a motorcycle. Meena Thapa, still cowering from last night’s experience, said her husband Ashit had managed to flee the spot. “I had taken shelter in one of the rooms of our house with my two children and managed to lock ourselves in. They banged on the door but I did not come out,” she said.

According to garden workers, both Bharat and Ashit, were with the RSP once but had recently turned towards the Parishad whose members were at a majority in Bharnobari. “The Morcha supporters who attacked their houses believed that the attack on Indra Bahadur’s house was provoked by them,” a garden worker said.

At 3.30am today, over 200 Parishad supporters arrived at the Hasimara outpost and demanded the release of Raju Bara and the others. When they tried to enter the outpost forcefully, the police resorted to lathicharge and burst tear-gas shells.

The subdivisional police officer of Alipurduar, Pradeep Dutta, said nine persons had been arrested for the attack on Indra Bahadur’s house. “There was a huge mob at the Hasimara police outpost and they attacked with bows and arrows and tried to enter forcefully so tear-gas shells were burst and the mob dispersed after a lathicharge,” Dutta said. However, he did not respond to queries about the attack on the houses of Bharat and Ashit.

Indra Bahadur alleged that the Parishad had taken “revenge” for canvassing for a Morcha-supported candidate. “I have lodged a complaint with the Hasimara outpost after the attack. My wife was running a fever and had a lucky escape,” he said.

Sandeep Ekka, the Parishad’s zonal secretary, denied the charges levelled against those arrested.

“We demand the unconditional release of our people whom the police have arrested on false charges. In protest, we have called a strike in the Hasimara area today,” he said.

Ashit said he had distanced himself from politics and had left the RSP. “I did not work for any candidate and last night my house was attacked without provocation,” he said.

He added that he, too, had filed a complaint around noon today about his house being attacked and his belongings damaged.

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE]

Radio Misty 94.3 fm has partnered with G D Goneka public school, Siliguri for Goenkan splash-the art fest on 15th November .This is the one the biggest art fest in the region. This is endeavour to evoke a sense of joy and appreciation for young budding artists.

In a bid to encourage the young participants school has kept attractive prizes for the competition such as laptops, P.Cs, Digital camera, books, bicycles.. Participation certificates shall be awarded to all the participants. Teachers, Parents or Guardians who accompany the children are also welcome to be fruitfully engaged in an array of activities which will bring to them a fiesta of sight, sound and smell.

Says Nishant Mittal, Chief Executive Officer, Radio Misty “this is the proud moment for us to partner with this fest. Our RJ will be at grounds to cover this fest live links. Radio Misty team will also promote this event on air.”

FROM NEPAL NEWS.COM

The bus service between Kathmandu and Lhasa, which has remained defunct for the last three years, will resume from February 2010, according to reports.

The trans-Himalayan bus service, which commenced on May 1, 2005, was suspended in 2006 due to transportation permit hassles.

In order to insert a new momentum to the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year, Nepal and China are said to be working to restart the bus service between Kathmandu and the capital of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), attempts will be made to link directly with travel and tours operators who will operate chartered bus service on the Kathmandu-Lhasa route due to long procedural problems in obtaining transportation permits.

Both countries had started direct bus service between Kathmandu and Lhasa on April 29, 2005, 11 years after signing of a transport agreement between Nepal and China.

The state-owned Sajha Yatayat and Himalaya Limited Corporation were designated as operating agencies of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China respectively.

FROM DNAINDIA.COM

Gangtok: Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that he has taken up with Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) over stalling the work of six hydel project in Sikkim earlier this year over environmental concerns.

“I have taken up the matter at the higher level for grant of various clearances to the six hydel projects,” he told reporters here last night in reply to a question on the status of the six hydel projects which was put on hold by the MOEF four months ago.

Shinde, however, said that the environment-related concerns raised by the MOEF must be addressed appropriately by the stake holders in view of the buzz over the climate change.

The environmental issues must be taken due care of in conceiving hydro power projects, he said, adding even his ministry has made necessary changes in its hydro power policy in view of the environment-related concerns being raised by various quarters.

The MOEF had directed the Sikkim government in July this year bring all construction activities at Teesta Stage I (280 MW), Teesta Stage II (330 MW), Lachen (210 MW), Lachung (99MW), Bimyong (99 MW) and Bop (99 MW), all located in the ecologically sensitive Chungthang Valley in the upstream of Teesta River citing a report by the Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies of Hills and Mountain Environment (CISME) saying that these power projects endangered bio-diversity and rare wildlife of the region.  

Shinde praised the Pawan Kumar Chamling government for going ahead with optimum utilization of its hydro power resources in Sikkim and said that the Himalayan State was on course to become the richest state in India upon commissioning of various ongoing hydel projects in a few years’ time.

With the Chamling government having gone ahead with award of over two dozen hydro power projects in recent years with a proposed generation capacity of 5200 MW, the revenues generated from these projects will make Sikkim the richest state in the country, he said.

The revenues from the hydro power projects will not not only boost the coffers of the state exchequer, but bring in an overall socio-economic development in Sikkim, he said.

A broad range of issues like the local area development, compensation to the project-affected people, jobs to the local people and setting up of training institutes for local youths to honing skills and their absorption in the power projects, have been committed by the developers, Shinde said.

SIKKIM: Biharis threat to rights of locals – Sikkim party

FROM ZEE NEWS

Gangtok: The Sikkim Nationalist People’s Party (SNPP) today claimed that migrant population, mostly Biharis, posed a serious threat to socio-economic rights of the local people.

“What Thackeray has been ‘rightly’ saying in Maharashtra was also true in Sikkim as the migrant people, mostly from Bihar, posed a threat to rights and culture of the Sikkimese people, SNPP president Biraj Adhikari told reporters here barely hours after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister made a similar remark.

Stating that his party, which is in the opposition in the state assembly, held no grudge against any Bihari, he said “their growing population in Sikkim has emerged as a major concern in recent years.

He urged the Pawan Kumar Chamling government to put in place a mechanism to monitor movement of the migrant people and verify their identity and purpose of their stay here.

Adhikari claimed that most of the migrant people have obtained ‘fake’ identity proof like the Sikkim Subject Certificate or the Certificate of Identification.

FROM MORUNG EXPRESS

Dimapur, November 8 (MExN): The Gorkha Ex-Students’ Forum Dimapur has expressed deep shock at the sudden demise of its member, Advocate Ram Prashad Sharma, on November 7 at Kohima. The Forum has expressed its deepest condolence to the bereaved family members and prayed to the Almighty God to give them strength in their hour of grief and sorrow. “His immense contribution towards the Gorkha community as ex-vice president, GSUD, shall be treasured forever,” the forum stated.

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THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE] EXCLUSIVE

BY DIRGHA RAJ PRASAI

Dirgha Raj Prasai

From the very beginning, Nepal is respectfully following the objectives of UN. May be the UN, as an organization, is working for peace in Nepal. But, at present, Nepalese people are confused by the suspicious activities of UNMIN (UN representatives). As we all know that, the main objective of UNMIN is to establish peace in Nepal, but in the contrary what we have here is “The Team of Representatives-UNMIN” who has been found exercising against the peace process in Nepal. We are totally puzzled, whether UNMIN is here to establish peace or confuse people. We really don’t understand, “What is the interest of UNMIN in Nepal?” Why UNMIN is instigating civil war in Nepal?

Nepalese people had expected that the UN’s role would be impartial. But the UN could not remain neutral. The UNMIN listens only to the Maoist rebels and the corrupt leaders of the so-called big party totally disregarded the aspiration of majority of the Nepalese people. From the very beginning, UNMIN has been demoralizing Nepal Army and supporting Maoist and its rebel by allowing them to keep the weapons with them in the cantonment and let them start the youth force (YCL), who can be the law and order itself as they used to do during their revolution.

As we know, Nepal is positioned between two big nations, ‘China and India’. Although, Nepal is close to India in terms of culture and geography, Nepal has always been victimized by some Indian leaders. We Nepalese people request Indian leaders not to interfere and victimize Nepal, as they were found involved in abolishing Monarchy. 

Maoist leader Prachanda recently said “If there is another revolt at least one million people may lose their precious lives. We need to be very careful at this juncture, to stop the casualties. When the people revolt they obliterate everything. If the mandate of the CA election is further ridiculed we will declare war.” So, we are confused what the Maoists want? ‘A dog’s tail in a barrel always crooked’.

Recently, the Maoist leader Mr. Bhattarai has said- ‘After the abolition of the monarchy, would try to resist, and our main contradiction then would be with the bourgeois democratic parties. After April 2009 [when Prachanda resigned from government], that phase of the Constituent Assembly and implementation of the bourgeois democratic republic was more or less complete. We had formulated the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), we had our base areas, we had a lot of mass support, and all this we have been able to preserve. The PLA is still with us, and the arms we collected during that war are still with us within the single-key system, monitored by the United Nations team, but basically the key is with us and the army is with us and we have never surrendered. We are still continuing in the path of revolution.’ What is that? Is this peace assignment of UNMIN in Nepal?

The UN Chief, Secretary-general of UN Hon. Ban Ki-moon’s 22-hour visit (last Oct.2008), Nepal couldn’t find any way to open the door. The visit of UN Chief was rather centralized to the Birth Place of Buddha as a pilgrim. We were confused about his visit to Nepal. We couldn’t find any creative answer from UN Chief. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon also misguided from UNMIN and Ban Ki- Moon has urged for a national government participated by the Maoist. And he asked the government for not recruiting new personnel in the Nepal army and also not providing lethal arms to the Nepal army, a national security force. Nowhere in the world, would a country be able to protect its sovereignty by making the national army weak and powerless? The national army can’t compare with Maoist’s army. Now, in Nepal, we have two kinds of army- the national army and the Maoist’s army. Can we imagine two kinds of army in a country? Why UNMIN is not responsible for the overall management and supervision of Maoist army and their movement? It is the matter of grief for all. The intention of UN and its Org. UNMIN is to destroy all the identities of Hindus & Buddhists with the help of Maoist’s army. So, we are feeling, the Virus of UNMIN is more dangerous than Swine flu.

As Nepal is a sovereign country, Nepalese army is free to do anything for the country. Let all Nepalese (all over the world), Unite and Protest against the action of UNMIN in order to protect the sovereignty, democracy and identity of Nepal. Nepalese people don’t tolerate foreign intervention to our domestic affairs. So, there is no necessary UNMIN and its suggestions in Nepal.

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE]

BY KAMAL PRADHAN

Bharatiya Gorkhali United Forum organizes “Deusi-Bhailo Samapan Karyakram”, an effort to show courtesy towards the individuals who taken active participation during ‘Deusi Bhailo programme’, a series of events which lasted for three days. While Tihar, the festival of lights is celebrated with much funfare and gaety, Deusi – Bhailo songs definitely brings joy and an added zing both for the performers and the host, is a part of cultural practice followed by Gorkhas.on Tihar.

The performers were felicitated by Mr. Ruben Gurung – Adviser of BGUF, who wholeheartedly thanked all those participating on the said event. The participants of the performing group were T.l Shrestha- president (BGUF Bijay Pradhan – G. secretary (BGUF), Andrew Gurung – Adviser (BGUF) , Srijala Gurung – President, Lajpat nagar unit of BGUF, Sarita Gurung – Chief of womens’ cell central Comitee, BGUF including members of BGUF – Gauri Pradhan , Sameer Joshi, Sewan Tamang, Sewan Giri , Basant Khati , Prerna Gurung, and Monica Sewa .

FROM TIMES OF INDIA

JALPAIGURI: The Kamrangaguri area in Fulbari I gram panchayat under the Rajganj Assembly area witnessed violence on Saturday when Trinamool and CPM supporters went into a skirmish in the afternoon outside a polling booth while elections were on.

The clash, outside polling booth 121, resulted in the injury of eight persons, all of whom had to be hospitalized. Of them, four were later shifted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. The condition of two is critical.

Both Trinamool and CPM have claimed that the injured men were their supporters. But Trinamool later lodged an FIR against four CPM leaders Bimal Sarkar, Nepal Burman, Sushil Burman and Dhiraj Mondol.

Otherwise, the by-elections in the Rajganj and Kalchini Assembly constituencies were peacefully conducted and there was no untoward incident reported from anywhere else. Both the areas witnessed 75% polling on an average.

The Congress leadership has alleged that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parshad did not allow their polling agents to enter polling stations in at least five places at Kalchini. GJM and ABAVP have denied the allegation.

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FROM TIMES OF INDIA

KOLKATA: The scene outside the city Serampore in Hooghly, Bongaon in North 24 Parganas, Egra and Contai (South) in East Midnapore and Sujapur in Malda was quite apparent. Bongaon recorded a very high 81% turnout, while East Midnapore and Malda are just behind. Serampore has always gone with the Opposition, and Sujapur with the ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury family. Egra and Contai (South) might change sides, given its proximity with Nandigram.

Left candidates Prabodh Sinha and Satyendranath Panda conceded that they did not get the support they used to get at the grassroots.

The ruling Front is eyeing the two seats in Kalchini and Rajganj in Jalpaiguri, though leaders are keeping their fingers crossed. For instance, the RSP after losing a considerable support in the tea gardens to the Adivasi Vikas Parishad and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is banking on the divide between the GJM and Adivasi Vikas Parishad to scrape through. Rajganj also has a 20,000-odd Nepali population that will decide the fate of the candidates. “CPM candidate Mahendra Roy won by about 50,000 votes from this constituency. The elections seem tough this time,” a CPM leader said.

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FROM TIMES OF INDIA

DARJEELING: It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the people of the Hills, especially the Buddhists. The ashes of Gautam Buddha have been brought to Darjeeling from Bodh Gaya and will be on display for the people from Saturday to Monday at the Gorkha Ranga Manch, near Mall Road.

The Dharma Chakra Committee (DCC) of Darjeeling brought the casket containing the ashes of Buddha to the Druk-Sa-Ngag Choeling monastery near Dali on Friday. The ashes of his first disciples — Sariputra and Maha Mogallana — have also been brought.

Though many Buddhists make a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya, where Buddha was enlightened, few know that his ashes are also preserved. “This is a big opportunity for those who cannot make it to Bodh Gaya, to take Buddha’s blessings,” said Gautam Tamang, joint secretary of DCC.

The casket containing Buddha’s ashes was discovered in 1930 by the archeological department of Sri Lanka during the excavation of the Mahiangana Stupa. It had been taken to the Mullegamma Temple at Asgiriya in Kandy for daily worship. At the request of the Maha Bodhi Society of India’s Buddhagaya Centre, it was brought to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Vihara to commemorate the 2550th Buddha Jayanti in 2006. Since then, it has been kept there.

On Friday afternoon, the caskets were brought to Darjeeling from New Jalpaiguri station amid tight security. Four `bhantes’ (Buddhist monks) from Bodh Gaya Maha Bodhi Society of India are accompanying the caskets. Three of them are guarding the caskets round the clock.

This is the first time the ashes of Buddha and his disciples will be on display. “It was really nice of the Society to have the caskets displayed in Darjeeling. For us Buddhist, it is a blessing,” said Tshering Dorjee, member of the Maha Bodhi Society Committee.

The three caskets have been insured for Rs 1.80 crore. The intricately-designed caskets — which are shaped like stupas — are made of gold and adorned with precious stones and gems. The lamas of Dali monastery performed a special puja before unveiling the caskets, which were wrapped in red and yellow cloth. On Saturday, the caskets will be thrown open for the public. Besides the ashes of Buddha and his disciples, other relics and artifacts preserved at the Dali monastery will also be displayed.

As news of the arrival of Buddha’s ashes spread, people thronged the Dali monastery from Friday morning to catch a glimpse of the casket and offer `khadas’ (Tibetan scarves). “I had gone to Bodh Gaya once many years back with my family, but I did not know that his and the disciples’ ashes were kept,” said Tenzin Gyatso.

Those who had stayed back in Darjeeling after the enthronement of Gwalpa Rimpoche II a few days back, could not believe their luck. “I am from Dehradun and had come to Darjeeling for the enthronement. My decision to stay back a couple of more days has come as a blessing,” said Lata Bhutia.

After Darjeeling, the caskets will be taken to the Triratna Buddhist Monastery near Salbari in Sukna for display. From there, they will be taken back to Bodh Gaya on November 13.

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Siliguri, Nov 7 (PTI) All liquor shops in Darjeeling Hills closed down from today after Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, issued diktat to liquor shops asking them to stop their businesses.

The GJM issued the diktat to liquor shops last month to close down from November 7 in a bid to deprive the state government of revenue it earns from liquor sale in the Hills.

According to party sources, the state government had earned around Rs 50 crore from the sale of liquor in Darjeeling Hills during Durga Puja and Dussehra.

The party had earlier issued diktats to all vehicles in Darjeeling Hills to have GL number plate.

There is a call from the GJM to close down the shops we have done so accordingly, the Darjeeling Bar and Offshop Owner’s Association acting secretary Dharmendra Poddar said.

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FROM NEWS.INDIAAID.COM

Darjeeling: In a bid to push forward their demand for a separate state within India, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Saturday forced all liquor shops and bars in Darjeeling to close down.

“This is just the beginning. Liquor is just symbolic, you wait and watch what we will do in future. Government gets direct tax from liquor, so we are blocking it,” said P.V. Singh, GJM Sub-Divisional Secretary of Kurseong division.

The Gorkhas or the ethnic Nepalis have been demanding their “Gorkhaland”, which they want carved out of West Bengal to protect their heritage.

At least 1,200 people died in the first Gorkhaland campaign in the 1980s, but protests ended after Gorkha leaders accepted limited autonomy.

New protests erupted in 2008, but both the State government and the Union government rejected the demand for a separate state.

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FROM INDOLINK.COM

Kathmandu, Nov 8 (PTI) Maoists’ supremo Prachanda has warned that his party may declare a “parallel government” in Nepal if the ruling coalition fails to address the key dispute over “civilian supremacy”, which has forced them to take to the streets.

Prachanda, who headed Nepal’s first post-royal government, said even as they had withdrawn their plan to announce “autonomous states” the party may declare a “parallel government” if it was forced to move into the next phase of its protest to dislodge the alliance, the Nepalnews online reported.

Responding to the stepped up security and threats to mobilise the army to maintain law and order in the face of the Maoists agitation, Prachanda warned the government that they would be compelled to take up arms if force was used to quell the protest.

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