GTA treaty small step, ultimate aim Gorkhaland: Asha Gurung

Sukna (WB), Jul 18 (PTI) The tripartite agreement for formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is just a ''small step'' and the ultimate aim is a separate state of Gorkhaland, a top leader of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha said today. The chief of the Gorkha Mahila Morcha, the women''s wing of the GJM, Asha Gurung, said she was happy at the inclusion of the word ''Gorkhaland'' in the GTA agreement, but the ultimate aim is to achieve a state of Gorkhaland. "We are happy at the stand taken by (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee. The previous Left Front government did not allow the inclusion of the name Gorkhaland,''" Gurung, wife of GJM chief Bimal Gurung, said. She said those in Dooars and Terai agitating against inclusion of those areas under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration comprised only 15 per cent of the population in those areas. "They are being enticed by the CPI-M (into the agitation)," she said.

New Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Gets 600 Crore Package

Sukna (West Bengal), July 18 (IANS) A tripartite agreement on the Darjeeling hills was signed Monday between the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and the West Bengal and central governments.

At the core of the pact is the formation of a new autonomous elected Hill Council Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), which is armed with more powers as compared to its predecessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) formed in the late 1980s.
Thousands of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters gathered at the Pintal Village, near Sukna, to witness and celebrate the signing of the tripartite agreement for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration today. Clad in traditional attire, the supporters, including women, gathered under the tents erected on the sprawling ground near the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council bungalow amidst heavy security.
Activists of the GJM women's wing, Gorkha Nari Morcha, took to the stage, dancing and singing to celebrate the occasion. Many of the supporters were heard shouting slogans like, 'Mamata Banerjee zindabad,' and 'Bimal Gurung zindabad,' while shouts of 'we want Gorkhaland,' 'we want a separate state,' were also heard.
"This is a turning point in our movement and not a permanent settlement. This is only a temporary settlement to address the basic problem. The separate state issue must not be a closed chapter," P Arjun, a member of the GJM think tank 16-member Study Forum, told Media.

Girls from Sikkim & Darjeeling rescued from Bangalore flesh trade

The central crime branch (CCB) police on Friday arrested five persons, including a 50-year-old woman, for allegedly trafficking innocent women and forcing them into flesh trade. Police have rescued nine women in Vivekanagar.Darjeeling district-based Anju Singh alias Maria Singh, 50, Muskan Roy, 28, Devagan Roy, 20 and Krishna, 27, and Rakesh, 37, from Vivekanjagar, were arrested on Friday after a raid at a house in Vivekanagar.The accused brought girls from Darjeeling & Sikkim , promising them job opportunities in the city.The innocent women walked into the trap, were forcefully pushed into flesh trade and detained in the city.
Based on a tip-off, the CCB police conducted a raid and arrested five persons. Nine women were rescued, of which eight hail from West Bengal and one is a resident of Sikkim.Investigations revealed that the pimps charged ¤5,000 to ¤10,000 for each girl.A case has been registered in Viveknagar police station.

With the exemplary initiative of Bangalore Police, Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG, NGO) Darjeeling and Arz, nine girls from Darjeeling and Sikkim and other north eastern states were rescued and at the same time five traffickers one lady the kingpin Ms. Marina Singh Rana alias “ Anju Aunty” of Champasari, Siliguri, Mr. Amit Singh alias “Muskan” of Bijanbari along with Mr. Rakesh Birsha, Mr. Devgan Rai and Mr. Krishna Singh were nabbed by Police, which is a great breakthrough of police conducted in recent time in regards to human trafficking. Talking to the spokesperson of MARG Mr. Nirnay John Chhetri over the phone informed about the success of the raid was jointly carried out by Bangalore Crime Branch and MARG taking help of the local NGO’S of Bangalore.Informing further Mr. Chhetri said that the raid was the result of information provided by Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG) an organization based in Darjeeling through a local web portal Darjeeling Times that, women and young girls are being commercially and sexually exploited from the hills to Bangalore.

MARG forwarded the information through the web portal   http://www.stoptrafficking.in. The portal was conceived by Arz social work organization working towards combating human trafficking. After initial verification by Arz and MARG, about the authenticity of the information Arz reported the matter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. As per the direction received by the referral representative of Arz and MARG, they visited Bangalore and met the Police authorities along with the non-government organizations and reported the matter of trafficking of girls from Darjeeling, Siliguri, Sikkim to Bangalore.The local NGO and the police decided to go for surveillance of the area along with to trace the activities of the victims and traffickers in Bangalore based on the information reported. After the surveillance and collection of necessary information a raid was conducted by the Crime Branch, Bangalore under the supervision of Joint Commissioner of Police, Bangalore Mr. Alok Kumar, during which 9 girls were rescued and 5 traffickers were arrested. The arrested traffickers included the kingpin Ms. Marina Singh Rana, her body guard Mr. Amit Singh alias Muskan from Bijanbari, Mr. Rakesh Birsha, Mr. Devgan Rai and Mr. Krishna Singh.Ms. Marina is known for trafficking girls for commercial sexual exploitation from the Hills of Darjeeling. Ms. Marina is known to be the native of Champasari Siliguri and during the interrogation, it was found that she have managed to construct a huge building at Champasari out of the money made by flesh trade. Ms. Marina has married three times and has involved her own son Mr. Ajay Singh alias ‘Ajju’ for carrying out flesh trade along with her.

The notorious human trafficker Mr. Singh is reported to be the permanent resident of New Delhi and during Ms. Marina’s absence in Bangalore used to supervise Ms. Marina’s commercial sexual activities. Most of the girls trafficked by Ms. Marina are from North-East and the Hills of Darjeeling, according to the report available to NGO, informed Mr. Chettri.

The victim girls in their statement to the police shared that, they were brought by Ms. Marina in the name of availing job in beauty parlors and malls but later on she forced them into practicing prostitution. They also revealed that they had to satisfy six to seven customers in a day and till date no payments of any kind is given by the main kingpin Ms. Marina. Furthermore, one of the victims informed that she was not allowed to go home even though she told that her mother back home was seriously ill. The girls also stated that they

were physically tortured when they were not able to get any clients. The names and address of the nine girls have not been revealed for maintaining their privacy. Adding more Mr. Chettri said that “I am sorry that I am not able to share the details of the 9 girls who were rescued form commercial sexual exploitation in Bangalore for the reason best known to all. We know that they are from the Hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim and presently they are all in the protective home of Bangalore and process of repatriating them is on.”

Kurseong Landslides kill four, snap links to Sikkim

Siliguri June 17 (IANS) Four members of a family were Friday killed when their house in West Bengal's Darjeeling district collapsed in a landslide. Another landslide snapped road links to neighbouring Sikkim.

Heavy rains since Thursday night triggered the landslide at St. Marie, just two-three kilometres from Kurseyong town, early Friday.

The victims included three children aged 10, 3, and 1) and their father, police officer Nima Bhutiya told IANS over telephone. The children's mother had stepped out of the house at the time of the incident.

Traffic on a national highway linking West Bengal and Sikkim was snapped following another landslide at Kalimpong early Friday due to heavy rains.

"We tried to clear the debris to allow movement of light vehicles but a fresh landslide completely blocked the road," said Kalimpong Additional Police superintendent J. Dorji.

Darjeeling issue solved:CM Mamata

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday made a historic announcement that the decades-long Darjeeling issue had finally been resolved.

At the end of the second day of the official talks between the state government and the GJM, Mamata said: “Darjeeling issue is on its way to getting settled. Home Minister P Chidambaram has been informed that the Darjeeling matter has been solved. An agreement has been signed between us at the official-level. Technicalities have also been worked out at the official-level.”

The Chief Minister had promised a “way out of the Darjeeling impasse in three months” at her first press conference after assuming reigns of the state on May 20.
State Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh is expected to speak to the Centre and Banerjee wants to sit for a tripartite meeting ideally within a week.

Calling the tripartite talks among the Centre, the state and the Hill party a mere formality, Banerjee said the meeting should be held at Darjeeling itself and not in Kolkata or Delhi.

Meanwhile, GJM secretary Roshan Giri said, “All contentious issues such as transfer of Tauji (right over tea gardens), territory of Terai and Dooars, reserve forests, casual employees of DGHC and sectarian crime were discussed. We are happy today.” Critical contentious issues were claimed to have been settled in the meeting and it was decided that a new interim administrative board, comprising representatives of the Centre, the state and the GJM, would be formed within two weeks. The 9-member committee which would decide on addition of territory and control of the tea gardens would submit a report within six months.

Interestingly, whileMamata kept repeating that the Hill issue had been resolved, Giri played it safe without commenting on GJM’s original demand for a separate Gorkhaland. He said, “These were only the minutes of the meeting.” A new Hill Council would be elected democratically by the people of the region at a later date. The council would have powers to form rules but not pass laws. The two-day meeting followed GJM chief Bimal Gurung’s show of support to Banerjee

“People of Darjeeling should get justice”: Dr.Pawan Chamling

Temi (South Sikkim): Sikkim Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling on Friday, June 3, expressed his high hopes that the long pending problems of Darjeeling people will be solved from the new government of West Bengal under leadership of Mamata Banerjee.
“I will tell this much that the problems of Darjeeling people are very old and I am very optimistic that they will be solved under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. She is meeting with leaders from Darjeeling and this is a correct step”, said Dr. Chamling in an interaction with media at Temi tea garden, 70 kms from Gangtok.
Responding to a question on Gorkhaland issue, the Chief Minister reminded that Sikkim Legislative Assembly had earlier this year passed a resolution in favour of the separate Statehood demand of the Darjeeling people.
“The demand of Darjeeling people is a separate State and we had passed a resolution. Until and unless the problems of Darjeeling people are solved, there will be no solution on NH 31A issue. Hence the resolution is the interest of Darjeeling and Sikkim people”.
The 96 kms NH 31A is the lifeline of the landlocked State of Sikkim, 54 kms of which falls along the Kalimpong subdivision of West Bengal and vulnerable to blockades during any political disturbance in the Darjeeling hills.
“Now what is to be done is that the West Bengal government and Mamata Banarjee must take a decision. We aspire for peace and progress in Darjeeling hills. The people of Darjeeling should get justice. This is want I want as an Indian citizen”, said Chamling.
While extending his good wishes to the Trinamool Congress leader, Chamling said that his Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government will talk to her on ensuring undisrupted traffic on NH 31A.
“We will talk with her on better coordination about NH 31A, the lifeline of Sikkim. We will work together not only on NH 31A but both Sikkim and West Bengal governments can do much work together in many areas like tourism, hydro power and law”, said the Chief Minister.
(Sikkimreporter)

Hill lady in Antarctica, aim South Pole

Darjeeling, Nov. 19: Strong whispering wind in Antarctica might have blown away the tents but it has failed to shred the spirit of Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, who as a member of the Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition is vying to be the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole.

While speaking exclusively to The Telegraph “from somewhere in Antarctica”, Reena sounded high on adrenaline. “The conditions are beautiful but difficult. The winds are very strong and two of our tents were blown away and we had to work hard to set them up again,” she said over the sat-phone.

After spending a week at Punta Arenas, Chile, as part of the pre-expedition preparation, the team reached the base camp in Antarctica on a specially equipped aircraft. The four-and-a-half hour flight is undertaken only a few times each year during the short austral summer.

The team is presently camping somewhere near the Patriot Hills — which is the only commercial base camp in Antarctica. The Hills lie on the lee of a range of mountains, including Antarctica's tallest peak, Mt Vinsion, and are situated near a vast area of naturally occurring blue ice that is used as a runaway, said a spokesperson of the team in an email to The Telegraph.

“We will be leaving this place in the next two days for another point from where we will start to ski,” said Reena, a Darjeeling girl who settled in Delhi after marrying Everester Loveraj Dharmshaktu.

Once the team starts skiing, there will be no trained guides or dropping of food. The team will have to fend for themselves, do every chore right from pitching the tent to cooking their meals on their own.

“We are getting up as early as 7am and skiing as much as possible,” said Reena.

For a week, the team has acclimatised at Patriot Hills where the average temperature has hovered between –20 degrees Celsius and –40 degrees Celsius. They have also adjusted to 24-hour daylight and dazzling scenery that is so bright that it could cause blindness and the constant threat of serious sunburn because of lack of sufficient ozone above Antarctica.

The Kaspersky Expedition will see women from eight Commonwealth countries – Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom – brave blizzards, crevasses and temperatures below –40 degrees Celsius as they ski 900km over approximately 40 days to the Geographic South Pole. On reaching their target, the team members from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first people from their respective nations, male or female, to ski to the South Pole.

Those from India, New Zealand and Singapore will be the first women from their nations to make this symbolic and prestigious journey. The expedition, which is being led by Felicity Aston, is being organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth and is expected to reach South Pole during the first week of January.

Reena has not been able to contact any of her family members. “Please tell them I am absolutely fine and please tell all my well-wishers to pray for me,” she said.

‘Long March 2’ by Lepchas from Darjeeling to Dzongu

ILTA approaches Centre, Sikkim authorities for pilgrimage to Dzongu from Nov 19

GANGTOK, November 14: Though their maiden ‘Long March’ last year during the month of April was aborted due to politically laced hostilities, Lepchas from Kalimpong subdivision and other areas of Darjeeling district under the banner of ‘Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association’ (ILTA) are determined to reach the holy land of Dzongu in North Sikkim this time.
And this time, the pilgrims have taken a top down approach and have approached the Union Home Ministry, Tribals Affairs Ministry and All India Adivashi Vikash Parishad for the permission to take a three day ‘Pakram Takram’ (pilgrimage) to Dzongu, the last bastion of the indigenous Lepchas.
The ILTA has expressed its desire to march from Kalimpong to Dzongu from November 19 to 21.
We have also submitted our request and notified the Sikkim Government including the chief secretary, home secretary, North District administration and police along with the Kalimpong subdivision and Darjeeling district administration, said ILTA president Paval Shimik to media here.
The ILTA president asserted that the proposed tour is purely religious and is a pilgrimage by the Lepchas from Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. We want to reach to our holy place of Dzongu where we will perform our traditional prayers and other rituals, he said.
Well wishers of the Lepcha community will also be participating in this pilgrimage, said Shimik. He reiterated that the pilgrimage is a ‘pilgrimage’ with no iota of political contours.
Last time, the long march had several layers of political and activism colours and the marchers had themselves said that the pilgrimage was to ‘save their holy land’.
Underlining the importance of Dzongu for the Lepchas, Shimik compared Dzongu as the ‘Kashi’ and ‘Jerusalem’ for the Lepcha community. We will return back after offering our prayers to our guardian deities, he said.
The proposed pilgrimage is conducted under the umbrella of ILTA with participation and support of frontal organizations. The march towards
Dzongu will begin from Rangpo, it is informed.
The ILTA president expressed his hopes that the Lepchas of Sikkim will extend a warm welcome to their Lepchas brothers separated by geographical boundaries.
‘Welcome’ was missing during the 2008 bid by the Lepchas of Darjeeling region to pilgrimage to Dzongu and instead, the march of the 500 odd Lepchas had to be aborted at its midpoint in Dikchu in face of open hostilities.
The Lepchas had marched from Triveni, Kalimpong right up to Dikchu on the evening hours of April 15. Dikchu is the entry point to Dzongu and around 40 kms away from Namprikdang, the place where the pilgrims had resolved to perform pujas.
All along the way to Dikchu, the Lepchas had to face hostilities from the local people who termed their march as a politically sponsored march by the opposition political parties with the North Sikkim hydel debate reaching to a peak riding on the hunger strike by Affected Citizens of Teesta. The 'locals' also ensured that shops and accommodation facilities to the marchers were not made available.
The marchers had been escorted to Dikchu by a huge contingent of Sikkim Armed Police where a huge number of people from North Sikkim were positioned on the other side of the bridge. At Dikchu, a huge number of people from North Sikkim were positioned on the other side of the bridge with an intention to stop the marchers
Fearing a clash between the Darjeeling Lepchas and the local people,
Sikkim police and administration managed to convince the marchers to retreat.
After several discussions, the Lepchas were bundled into vehicles and escorted back to Rangpo border from where they left for their respective destinations.

Sikkim,Darjeeling Tourists can carry liquor: Morcha

Darjeeling, Nov 12: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said tourists would be allowed to carry liquor to the hills, but warned that the same relief would not be extended to local people.

Cars with liquor in them will be seized and the vehicles will be used by Gorkhaland Personnel for six months — a “punishment” for hill residents who would dare to flout the Morcha “ban” on the sale of alcohol.

“The GLP will conduct strict checks on all vehicles from tomorrow. If cars are found carrying liquor bottles, they will be seized and used for a six month period by the GLP as a penalty,” said Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the spokesperson for the party after a central committee meeting in Patlabas.

Although few hill residents would speak out in public, many agreed in private that the Morcha should differentiate between carrying a bottle for personal consumption and bringing cartons for business. “No one likes to be checked by the GLP who have no legal standing,” said a resident of the town.

Earlier, too, the GLP, a voluntary squad of the Morcha, had posted itself along the highway, confiscating, what they claimed was “smuggled” liquor from Sikkim, but of late the activity had been scaled down. The government had declared the GLP act of checking cars and seizing liquor bottles illegal. This time, too, the district administration said it would take strong action against GLP policing.

“Movement of liquor, bought from an authorised place, is not illegal. But checking vehicles, seizing them and confiscating alcohol is illegal. We will take strong action against such illegal activities,” said Darjeeling district magistrate Surendra Gupta.

Asked whether drinking alcohol was banned, Chhetri said: “No, drinking has not been banned but we are trying to stop the inflow of revenue to the state exchequer through the sale of IMFL.”

However, the identity of tourists carrying alcohol will be verified by the GLP. This only means more harassment for visitors, who may have to answer a volley of questions.

The Morcha has also asked the people to stop participating in “friendship” football matches that the police are currently organising in various villages to improve police-public relations. “We request teams to withdraw from the tournament,” said Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha. Although Giri did not say why the soccer meets should be boycotted, it is suspected that the party does not want the men in khaki to interact closely with the people.

The Morcha has also decided to put its stamp of approval on the process of regularising the jobs of 3,000-odd contractual workers of the DGHC. “Recommendation for the regularisation must come from the local unit of the Morcha,” said Giri, hinting that it was the party’s way of “rewarding” loyal workers

Hic! hurrah for local brew in Darjeeling

Restaurant owners hatch Plan B to counter Morcha ban on liquor shops

Darjeeling, Nov. 8: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha deciding to close down all licensed liquor shops from tomorrow, many restaurants and hotels are planning to fall back on traditional tipple to cater for the needs of tourists.

The Morcha move is supposed to “pressure the state exchequer” by stopping the flow of revenue that the party claims is being generated through the sale of liquor in the hills.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung had earlier said the state government had collected excise duty of around Rs 50 crore from the sale of liquor in the hills during the just-ended month long festival period.

Sources in the liquor business, however, said all taxes were directly collected at the source (manufacturing unit) and liquor shops do not have to shell out a single rupee to the government at the time of sale of any bottle.

“Only for the renewal of bar licences, they have to pay around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. The rest of the tax is paid by the manufacturers before the liquor leaves the factories,” said a source. The source also said if all “off” shops in the three hill sub-divisions stopped selling liquor and the manufacturers scaled down the production proportionately and distributors brought in less quantity, then the loss to the state exchequer would be around Rs 3 crore per month.

Most bars have already worked out a plan to counter the ban. “We have started ordering local liquor made from rhododendrons, oranges, ginger and chingping, a type of seed. A bottle (750ml) of local liquor costs us around Rs 80 but they are also available at Rs 20 depending on the quality,” said the owner of a leading restaurant.

Locally brewed liquor does not fall in the Morcha ban ambit, as no excise duty has to be paid to the state government. But it is illegal to serve them in restaurants. In the hills, where there hardly appears to be any writ of law — no electricity bills and taxes have been paid for a year and at one point the Morcha forced vehicles to use “GL” numberplates — many believe that they can sell locally brewed liquor without any administrative hassles.


Thongba, a locally brewed liquor, is served in wooden kegs. Picture by Suman Tamang
In that case, tourists have no option, but to drink rakshi, made from chingping and rhododendron — the brew is a hit among trekkers in the Sandakphu-Phalut region — or thongba. The thongba is made from wet millet seeds put into a foot-tall wooden keg, which has a six-inch diameter. Hot water is poured into the millet and it starts fermenting instantly. The liquor is sipped through bamboo straw dipped into the keg. That is as far as the exotic nature of the liquor goes.

“But the worry is that with the demand, the prices might go up and we may not get the required stock of good quality,” said the restaurant owner.

With IMFL liquor off the menu, many hotel owners believe that their sales will take a major dip. “We have realised that when we have local or foreigners as clients, liquor makes up almost 50 per cent of the food bill. If there are middle-class tourists, the liquor makes 15 per cent of the food bill,” said a hotel owner. Sources in the excise department said there were 24 outlets selling country liquor across the hills and the number of “off” IMFL shops stood at 19. The number of licensed bars is 19 too.

Since early morning, many of the “off” shops had a steady flow of customers many of whom were trying to stock up. “At times people need liquor to organise successful parties in the hills,” quipped a buyer.

Dharmendra Poddar, acting secretary, Darjeeling Bar and Offshoot Owner’s Association, said: “Since there is a call to close down the shops we will do it from tomorrow. The issue of Gorkhaland after all is a very sentimental one.”

Poddar admitted that association members had tried to contact Gurung. “We could not meet him after which we decided to close the shops. Till now, we have not thought of any alternative business to sustain ourselves,” he added.

Dry run: No liquor in Darjeeling from Nov 7

DARJEELING: There will be no liquor in Darjeeling from November 7 — not a sip for tourists, not a sip for locals. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)
issued this diktat, apparently to deprive state government of the revenue it earns from liquor sale in the Hills.

Bars, restaurants and liquor shop owners in Darjeeling have little choice but to toe GJM’s line, even if it means giving up their sole means of livelihood. This means no more Kangchenjunga sunsets, nursing a glass of whiskey. Locals have it worse - a bitter winter without spirits. And what’s the Darjeeling administration - that has virtually allowed Bimal Gurung and GJM a free run - doing about it?
Apparently nothing. ‘‘We are not worried about the GJM diktat,’’ said an excise department official.

‘‘We are more concerned about the health of the Darjeeling people because they will turn to illicit liquor.’’

Gurung’s claim that he wants to stop the flow of liquor revenue to the state coffers has no logic, say excise officials. ‘‘It’s absurd to think that way. In fact, all taxes are paid in Siliguri before the liquor is brought to the Hills,’’ said an official.

Gurung insists the government made Rs 40 crore through sale of liquor during Puja alone. Last month, he announced closure of licensed liquor shops as part of the ‘non-cooperation movement’ against the state. Import of liquor from Sikkim (which is cheaper), too, was stopped. Gorkhaland Personnel have been deployed on NH-31A to check vehicles for liquor.

When another excise official was asked about the impact of the closure, he said: ‘‘Revenue-wise it will not make much of a difference as Siliguri is a much bigger source. In Darjeeling, import will be hit and also supply to army.’’

The real losers will be those who depend on the liquor business to run their family. In the three Hills subdivisions, there are 53 licensed bar and restaurants, 19 licensed shops and 24 country spirit outlets. Licensed shop owners refused to talk on the issue, saying they would have to obey the GJM diktat, no matter what.

‘‘We will suffer heavy losses but we can’t do anything about it,’’ said an off-shop retailer. In the past four weeks, liquor shops are incurring a loss of Rs 30-35,000 each day.

The Darjeeling Bar and Restaurant Owner’s Association also refused to talk. ‘‘We tried to meet Bimal Gurung to request him not to close the liquor shops, but could not. We have no choice but to shut shop,’’ said association secretary Dharmendra Poddar.

For many in Darjeeling, it’s now a question of survival. Some bar owners are thinking of converting into restaurants, but with tourist inflow drying to a trickle after GJM started its agitation, restaurant and bar owners are already scraping the bottom of the barrel. ‘‘What about our staff? They have families to feed?’’ said a bar owner. Some are holding on to the hope that Gurung will lift the ban after a few months

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha waves liquor ban threat in Darjeeling

Darjeeling, Oct. 26: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced a ban on liquor shops in the hills from November 7.

The shutdown is apparently not because the hill outfit wants supporters to abstain but because it doesn’t want the state to earn revenue from their drink.

“During the festival season, the Bengal government collected Rs 40-50 crore as excise duty from liquor sales in the hills. All liquor shops will be shut down from November 7,” Morcha president Bimal Gurung told a rally in Darjeeling town while announcing a series of agitation programmes to press his statehood demand.

Hotel and restaurant owners reacted with shock, but refused to be quoted out of fear. “About 70 per cent of the din- ers consume alcohol and we buy our supplies from the off-shops. We will lose a lot of revenue,” said a restaurant owner who refused to named.

“On every bill, at least 50 per cent is spent on liquor,” said the manager of another restaurant.

Bringing liquor from the plains will not be a cost-effective proposition, they added.

Sales from the off-shops had picked up since Morcha volunteers started a crackdown on liquor smuggled in from Sikkim a few months ago.

Representatives of the Centre and the state are going to meet Morcha leaders in Darjeeling on December 21 for the fourth round of talks on their demands.

Observers said the outfit had also stepped up its agitation before the first round last year. It had then asked the hill people to refrain from paying their electricity bills.

“I will declare Gorkhaland and impose home rule (if the December talks are inconclusive),” Gurung said today. “Gorkhaland Personnel (the outfit’s volunteer force) will collect tea, motor vehicle, boulder and other taxes.”

The Morcha has also decided to restart using “Gorkhaland” on signboards. However, unlike in the past, it will refrain from replacing “West Bengal” on government boards.

At Chowrastha, Gurung admitted rampant corruption in his outfit and promised measures to stem the rot. “During the two-year agitation, many leaders have bought expensive cars, built houses, sat with engineers in hotel rooms and amassed wealth. The party secretary will start sending notices to them from tomorrow,” he told the gathering.

Never before had the Morcha chief made a public admission of corruption in his ranks. He said the tainted leaders were in all wings of the party.

Former footballer Shyam Thapa was among Darjeeling sportspersons presented with a tola (little less than 10gm) of gold, a citation and a khukuri at the Chowrastha event.

Kashmiri students in Sikkim & Darjeeling

A group of 38 students and three teachers from Jammu and Kashmir toured Darjeeling and Sikkim from September 28 as part of an educational excursion that was organised by the Black Cat Division of the army.

The tour was conducted as part of the Operation Sadbhavana to enhance the awareness of students from the remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir on the culture and heritage of different parts of the country.

The excursion was also aimed to showcase the dedication of Indian soldiers to the nation and the conditions under which they operate. It was expected to motivate the students towards joining the armed forces and serving the country.

The itinerary of the students in Sikkim from September 30 to October 3 included visit to places of interest in and around Gangtok and a trip to Nathu-la on the India-China border where the youths interacted with the army personnel deployed there.

Maj. Gen. R.S. Chopra, the general-officer-commanding of the Black Cat division, addressed the visiting students.

From September 28 to 30, the students toured Darjeeling hills under the aegis of the Darjeeling brigade of the 27 Mountain Division.

The students enjoyed the picturesque surroundings of Darjeeling with Mount Kanchenjungha as the backdrop. They were taken to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the zoological park, the Japanese Peace Pagoda and the Batasia War Memorial.

Manipur beat Darjeeling in women's football Chmapionship

Gangtok, Oct 9 : Title favourite Manipur overwhelmed KFA Darjeeling 18-3 in a Group A league match of First Pempa Dorji Memorial All India Women``s Football Championship at Paljor Stadium here yesterday. Striker I Prameshwori Devi scored a double hat-trick, as Manipur women pulverlised the rival team scoring nine goals each in either side of the 90-minute match.

Devi``s teammate Ph Bina Devi also hammerd a hat-trick. Bem Bem Devi and substitute Ksh Naocha Devi also scored a brace each for Manipur.

Meanwhile, in Group-B league tie, Orissa defeated Tamil Nadu 2-0 with Susmita Mallik and captain Sradhanjali Samantary being the scorers, while Sikkim Green lost to West Bengal 0-3. Paromita Sit, Nosaba Alam and Sujata Kar scored for West Bengal.

In today``s fixture, Manipur will play Assam, while Sikkim ``Green`` will take on Tamil Nadu.

Darjeeling tourism crippled by Water tankers’ strike

DARJEELING, October 5: Giving no respite to a bandh hit tourism industry in Darjeeling, a strike called by drivers of water tankers, the elixir of the hill station, has brought an excellent tourism season here down to its knees.
The strike which began from yesterday had a rippling effect not only on the tourism stakeholders but also the common people here in the hill town. The agitating drivers are demanding that the tankers be allowed to enter the town and distribute water as per their convenience.
Talks at various levels from today morning have failed to mitigate the issue.
The resultant water scarcity have forced the hotels here to started rejecting new tourists while forcing the guests to bring their Darjeeling sojourn to an abrupt end from today.
“Water had stopped coming from yesterday and we are out of water so we are compelled to ask our guests to check out”, said a hotel owner. We are also unable to take in new guests, he added.
Almost all the hotels here depend on water tankers for their daily water supply of 15000 to 18000 litres.
After a tumultuous nine months, a good season had beckoned for the tourism industry in Darjeeling this puja break with arrival of domestic and foreign tourists in good numbers leading to packed hotels.
However, the problem posed by agitating water tanker drivers has spoiled a good ending for the tourism industry of Darjeeling. Locals are also facing water supply problems in the town area which already notorious for its meager water supply sources.
Meanwhile, the drivers are adamant that they be allowed to ply their tankers in the bazaar area as per the old timetable – till 8 am in the morning, between 11 am to 3 pm and after 6 pm in the evening.
The Darjeeling traffic police had tweaked the existing time table to allow the tankers to enter the bazaar area only between 1 pm to 4 pm in the afternoon which led to the strike call.
An offer of 12 noon to 4 pm timetable by the police to the drivers was not accepted leading to the impasse.
At the same time, the Darjeeling Hotel Owners Association has appealed to the drivers to call of their strike.
The water tanker drivers have also not allowed other private vehicles to ferry water into the town .

Truck drivers in Darjeeling have suspended till 9am tomorrow an indefinite strike they called to protest against the new timings imposed by traffic police for water supply in the town.The strike today affected the residents as well as the 300-odd hotels, which entirely depend on the trucks for the water supply.

Mitra Rai, officer-in-charge (traffic), said: “The restriction has been imposed considering the fact that tourists, who get down from trains at NJP in the morning, reach Darjeeling between 10am and 11am. We are trying to ensure that the traffic is smooth from 10am to 1pm.”

Earlier, the tankers were allowed to ply between 11am and 3pm and from 5pm to 8am.
Today, the police told the drivers that the trucks could run in the town from 12pm to 4pm everyday. A representative of the drivers said they would decide tomorrow whether they should accept the timing the police offered today.

GJM kicks off dress code with phulpati in Darjeeling

Darjeeling, Sept. 25: Dressed in traditional attires, a mosaic of people from across communities joined hands to herald the Dassai today, the first day of the month-long dress code imposed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Members of different communities — Bhutias, Sherpas, Marwaris, Bhojpuris and Lepchas — took part in a predominantly Gorkha tradition of phulpati rally, presenting a picture perfect scene of social harmony in Darjeeling.

Girls in chaubandi cholo danced along with masked dancers dressed as the goddess. The biggest phulpati rally was organised by the Gorkha Kala Sanstan, which snaked uphill from the Motor Stand to Chowrastha on a sunny morning. The sounds of madal and dhamphu (traditional Nepali instruments) reverberated the hills as almost every village brought out a rally.

Phulpati is a unique custom in which community members collect flowers, petals and other offerings from their houses and take them to the puja pandal to pay obeisance to Goddess Durga. The decorated palanquin carrying the sacred flowers, leaves and sugarcane tied in red clothes — the colour symbolising the goddess — is usually accompanied by an ornate umbrella. It is believed that people who pass underneath the palanquin are absolved of their sins. The tradition dates back to the days of King Pritivinarayan Shah (1723-1775) of Nepal when the phulpati procession used to start from Gorkha, his native place, and end at Kathmandu after covering hundreds of miles.

With the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha asking people to wear their traditional dresses for a month from today, many in town were seen attired in their costumes. Roshan Giri and Binay Tamang, the Morcha leaders, also took part in the Sanstan rally in traditional dress.

At Chowrasta, singers rendered songs. “From tomorrow, every community will perform its traditional dance for the next one month. The cultural show will be from 4pm to 6pm and the Lepchas will be the first to take the stage tomorrow,” said Tenzing Khambachay, the festival co-ordinator.

AIDS tally in Darjeeling & Sikkim shoots above 350

DARJEELING & GANGTOK, September 19: While Sikkim is grappling with a rising number of HIV/AIDS persons, the neighouring hill region of Darjeeling is also witnessing a surge in the number of persons infected with the dreaded disease.


Latest official figures point out that around 279 persons in Darjeeling hilly region have been infected with HIV/AIDS disease, a bitter offshoot of a disintegrating society here.

Informed people are at a loss as how to stem the rot and convince the people of rural areas are still rooted to traditional beliefs and taboos. Despite such odds, NGOs here like Sankar Foundation are working to spread awareness among the people besides providing for the medical care of the infected persons.

The Sankar Foundation has been sensitizing the people from rural areas with public awareness programmes besides hosting training camps for persons interested to work in this field. A similar training camp of five days concluded today here with focus on creating a strong awareness among the people about the dreaded diseases.

During the training, the participants were trained how to provide support and to sensitize the infected persons on their rights, said the NGO secretary Sankar Mani Rai.

Mr. Rai said that 6,500 persons have done their blood tests till now at Darjeeling under Integrated Counseling Testing Centre from 2002.

Meanwhile, according a report, Latest figures available with the Sikkim State AIDS Control Society (SSACS) mentions that a total of 60 persons in the state have been identified as HIV positive ~ an increase of six from the figures given in September by an NGO.

The society had conducted 9,200 tests so far in East and South districts and figures are expected to increase with more results yet to come from other districts. Out of 11 full blown AIDS cases, four have already died.

In another disturbing fact, it appears that the tentacles of HIV disease has now infiltrated the 15-19 age group in Sikkim with 10 positive cases being reported from the above age group. Two minors have also been affected with HIV. From the 60 HIV positive persons, 17 were female. Unsafe sex is the dominant factor for spread of the disease.Figures also point out that East district, the most populated region of the state tops the list with 54 HIV positive cases. Out of it, Gangtok has 33 cases.

“There are also 8 army personal who army cantonment who had been detected with HIV-AIDS”

Ex-GNLF leader’s car burnt at night

Morcha accused of arson and ransack
Kurseong, Sept. 11: The house of a former DGHC councillor was ransacked and his car set on fire last night allegedly by a mob led by two Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders even as party president Bimal Gurung claimed that efforts were on to maintain peace in the hills.

The former councillor, I.N. Pradhan, was the Kurseong branch president of the GNLF before he quit the party last year.

Around 8.30pm, two Morcha leaders — Bobby Pradhan, a central committee member, and Suprem Chettri — called Pradhan out of his house at Ghayabari, 15km from here.

“When I came out, they started accusing me of attending a GNLF meeting at Longview area some days ago. I told them to show me authentic proof of my attending the meeting. A few minutes later, they went away threatening to return with more supporters,” Pradhan told journalists today.

Pradhan reportedly called up the subdivisional police officer (SDPO) seeking protection. “The Morcha duo had returned with some 20 supporters around 9:30pm and started throwing stones at my house. They first broke the windowpanes, then broke open the garage and brought out my WagonR (WB 66 3322) and set it on fire. They had fled by the time police arrived. ”

Pradhan and his wife Deepa had by then locked themselves inside the house. The former councillor filed an FIR with Kurseong police naming Bobby and Suprem as the main accused.

Pradhan denied having attended the Longview meeting. “I had resigned from the GNLF on July 27 last year. On September 7, I had been to Siliguri to buy vegetables in the evening. If they (the Morcha) prove (that I attended the meeting), I promise that I will leave the hills within 12 hours. When I don’t have links with the GNLF why should I attend the meeting?”

The SDPO of Kurseong, Rakesh Singh, confirmed that an FIR had been filed. “We are investigating the incident. No one has been arrested so far,” he said.

The Morcha, however, refused comment on the attack. “I am going to Ghayabari to investigate the incident. I will be able to speak on this matter only after I come back,” said Kamal Thapa, the vice-president of the party’s Kurseong unit, over the phone around 3pm.

The media and publicity secretary of the Morcha, Rohit Sharma, said he was busy attending a meeting.

The arson in the hills continues even as Gurung said on September 6 that while chalking out fresh agitation plans, he had kept in mind the “Centre’s request to maintain peace”.

Last year, on September 7, the Maruti car of Rajen Mukhia, a former GNLF leader, was set on fire allegedly by Morcha supporters in front of his house at Panighata in Mirik.

Morcha supporters had also occupied the sprawling bungalow of GNLF leader Dawa Pakhrin in Kalimpong on August 22 last year, planting flags atop the building and its main gate.

The residence of former civic chief of Kalimpong C.K. Kumai had been ransacked and Maurice Kalikotey’s house torched as Morcha supporters went on the rampage following the death of one of its supporters in Darjeeling on July 25, 2008. The bullet that killed Pramila Sharma had been allegedly fired from the house of Deepak Gurung, the Darjeeling branch committee president of the GNLF.

The Morcha took over GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh’s two-storeyed house at his native village in Manju Tea Estate, around 15km from Mirik, and converted it into a unit office on July 29 last year.

Darjeeling at Launceston, UK

Darjeeling,Aug. 28: The English women wore Tibetan bakhu (gowns) and honju (silk shirts), the men looked dapper in kurta pyjamas. This August, the mixed flavour of Darjeeling’s composite culture made way to Launceston in England for two days.

And if one goes by records, the “Darjeeling at Launceston” event organised by the UK-based Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS) on August 19 and 20 were two of the busiest days of the Launceston Steam Railway (LSR) ever since it was established in 1983.

“It was a great success. Although hectic, everybody involved — staff, members of the DHRS and visitors — had a great time,” David Mead, the DHRS correspondence secretary and organiser of the event informed.

The programme was held as part of the DHRS’s annual celebration.

The visitors were greeted with a “namaste” (an Indian form of greeting with folded hands) and Tibetan prayer flags were erected at the entrance to Launceston station. The ambience was accentuated by the shehnai, the “Indian piped” music.

The “famous yellow signs” that dot the 80km toy train route were there too. The DHRS members, however, got a little creative this time setting up one of those yellow sign boards for the “Darjeeling station” that humorously highlighted the monkey menace in the hill town. “Beware of monkeys, they might steal your sandwich,” it read.

The papads and the Indian vegetable curry ran out on the first day and more had to be prepared. Even the two stalls selling Indian artefacts, books and clothes did brisk business.

Earlier, the DHRS used to replicate the hill railway’s Sukna station at its annual event in the UK. This time, they chose Darjeeling as it would be easier for people to make connection with the famous hill station.

The idea clicked. So successful was the event that “Darjeeling” not only drew crowds from different parts of the country, but from neighbouring Holland and Denmark too.

A part of the revenue collected in the event will be spent on communities living along the tracks in the hill town. In the past, the DHRS had distributed sewing machines, books and study material to schoolchildren and run vocational training courses.

“The two days were good financially as one can well imagine from the crowd that was there. We will continue to support the communities along the full length of the line,” Mead wrote.

Darjeeling DM denies road shut rumour

Kalimpong, Aug. 25: Darjeeling district magistrate Surendra Gupta today denied reports that NH31A would be shut for a few days to facilitate the movement of army vehicles bound for Sikkim. The town had been agog with rumours about the supposed closure.

The commander of 764 Border Roads Task Force, which maintains the highway, too, denied any knowledge about the closure