Another Bear Attack @Sikkim construction site

NAMCHI, November 26: A 19-year-old man working at the construction site at Rabong Buddha Park was mauled by the Himalayan Black Bear this afternoon, grievously injuring him.
John Rai, a resident from Mirik who sustained injuries on his left calf and wounds all over his body was referred to STNM Hospital, Gangtok.
This was the first bear attack in the sub-division even as the locals alerted of the sightings of two bears recently.
A team of forest officials consisting of DFO (Wildlife), Passang Dorjee Bhutia, ACF (Wildlife) Madan K Koirala, BO (Territorial), Anup Bhaniya, BO (Wildlife) Suman Basnet, BO (Wildlife) Dorjee Ongmu Bhutia surveyed the area but could not trace the animal.
Prior to the attack, forest officials had been surveying the area following reports of the wild animal eating at least five pigs from Borong-Ralong area, said forest officials. It may be mentioned here that a forest officials had last year tranquilised a black bear at the same locality.
Even at the time of filing this report, the forest officials along with members from eco development committee, joint forest management committee, Panchayats and locals have been coming through the locality. Cages have also been put at certain places around Rabong, forest officials said over the phone.

Mysterious object in Rabong sky leaves residents puzzled

GANGTOK, November 24: The unusual sound experienced in the skies of Rabongla this afternoon sent shivers down the spine of local residents and irked many others.
The local people of Rabongla in South Sikkim today reported of having seen some unnatural object flying in the sky followed by some noise this afternoon. “At first, we heard a noise and later we observed an object flying in the sky leaving back the white fumes,” said Karma Rinzing, one of the local residents informed.Worried over what might happen, the local people immediately informed the incident to the police.
Later talking to media, the DC, South AK Singh said, although the team headed by SDPO was immediately deputed to find out on the incident no traces could be made. The DC doubted that that the people may have sighted the army MIG fighter plane which he added might have changed its course. At the same time, the DC has urged the people not to panic.
He further informed that the police team is still in the process of finding the traces if it happens to be any unidentified objects

26th Pang Lhabsol festivities in Ravangla starts

GANGTOK, August 31: The unity of Sikkimese cultural enormity and plurality that it’s different indigenous communities-Nepalis, Bhutias and Lepchas- encompasses is set to come alive during the State wide festivities of Pang Lhabsol.
The celebrations are held to pay obeisance to Mount Khangchendzonga, the guardian deity of Sikkim and the common thread for the complete communal harmony here.

Over the years, Rabongla in South Sikkim has been the hub of Pang Lhabsol festival with the celebration committee straddle firmly with one foot in tradition and the other foot in modern amusements.

Having completed silver jubilee celebrations of Pang Lhabsol at Rabongla last year, the committee is all set to continue the festivities during the 26th Pang Lhabsol which will commence from September 2.

The opening day will witness rural sports, open volleyball semi-final, traditional dances and bike stunts.

Besides the famed Pang Toed Chaam dance on September 4, the other chief attraction is the volleyball tournament featuring several teams. The celebrations will be held at Mani Chokerling complex.

Rabongla over the years has grown as a volleyball hub in Sikkim Himalayan region and every volleyball lover awaits this event held along the sidelines of Pang Lhabsol celebrations.

The day celebrations will be wrapped up musical evenings by hard hitting rock band Robin N Looza and rap outfit Nepsydez.

Rural Development minister CB Karki and Barfung MLA Sonam Gyatso Bhutia have extended warm invitations to all to witness the 26th Pang Lhabsol festival at Rabong.

Chess tournament in Pang Lhabsol at Ravangla

Gangtok,August28 : Open State Level Pang Lahbsol Chess Tournament will be organized by Ravangla Pang Lhabsol Celebration Committee (RPCC) at V.C. Ganju Lama Senior Secondary School, Ravangla, from 2- 4 September.
Sikkim Chess Association (SCA) is participating for the first time in Ravangla Panglabsol Celebration, Mr. Mahindra Dhakal, General Secretary of SCA and an international chess player said in a press conference at SCA office at 6th mile Tadong on Friday. Mr. Nir Kumar Gurung, RPCC publicity secretary, Chogyal Bhutia, treasurer and Bikash Rai, member, were present. Around 80 players are expected to participate in the seven round league match, Mr. Dhakal said.
Objective of the tournament is to give chance to the chess players and to develop chess in sports sector, said SCA president H S Sharma. The winner and runners-up in the final will be given trophy, certificate and also cash prize, of which the amount is yet to be decided, the organizers said.
Chief Patron of the chess tournament is C B Karki, Minister for Rural Management and Development (RMD) and Dushan Pariyar chairman of RPCC.

Buddha statue at South Sikkim to wait another year

GANGTOK, 5 AUG: Works to set up the 90 ft tall Buddha statue at Rabong in South Sikkim would take a year more. Architects and sculptors continue to toil to complete the statue at Sangkhola near Singtam. The proposed 125ft statue of Sangay Chomden Dey (Lord Buddha in Sikkim) in a sitting position would be the tallest Buddha statue in the world.
Twenty workers (eight from Jaigoan in West Bengal and 12 from Kathmandu, Nepal) have been working for over 12 hours daily on the project for the past two years.
Mr Krishna Khati, a metal worker at the work site in Sangkhola said that the nickel-aluminum bronze alloy statute with steel frame inside would weigh over 57 tonnes. After completion, the structure would be dismantled into adjustable parts and transferred to Rabong, the site for the statue.
The Sakyamuni project started in 2006 to mark the 2550th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. The project covering an area of 22.5 acres would have an eco-garden and other tourist amenities along with the giant statue.
Interestingly, the relics of Lord Buddha would be offered to the statue to enhance its significance and add Rabong to the Buddhist religious circuit in India. Last November, relics of Lord Buddha were collected from across eight Southeast Asian countries for the project. Somdet Phra Nyanasaamvara, the 19th supreme patriarch of the Buddhist order in Thailand had offered the relics. Besides, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Taiwan and Vietnam have also offered relics.
Those are under tight security at the newly built Karma Thekchenling Monastery.

Minor girl raped in South Sikkim

GANGTOK, Sept. 25: A nine-year-old girl was raped by unidentified persons at Borong under Ravangla sub-division in South Sikkim yesterday. According to a complaint lodged by one Lakpa Sherpa, a local, the nine-year-old daughter of Dilmaya Sherpa had been sexually abused while returning from school a kilometre distant from her home, yesterday. The child was admitted in the Ravangla primary health centre in traumatic conditions. She was later shifted to the district hospital in Namchi. The police are yet to learn about the identity of the culprit or how many they were in number. "The girl is in shock and has not been able to reveal anything so far," said DIG Range Mr Akshay Sachdeva. The police are now waiting for her to come out of the trauma and then expect to learn how the incident occurred. "It is possible that she knows the identity of the culprit and would be able to provide it to the police," the DIG hoped.The police are, however, probing every angle and have registered a case under 376 IPC. The incident has caused a huge public ire

Sikkim Pang Lhabsol festival concludes

RABONG, August 28: The three-day long Pang Lhabsol festival concluded here at Mani Chokerling Mani Lhagang, with a colourful Pangtoed Chaam.
Somnath Poudyal, Minister, Agriculture and Horticulture was the chief guest of the day.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Poudyal congratulated the organizers and urged the youth folk to imbibe positive aspects of the festival which is being celebrated exclusively in Sikkim as a festival of unity, communal harmony and brotherhood. He also stressed on the importance of preserving the sense of unity and integrity as proclaimed in the festival.
DD Bhutia, Minister, Urban Development and Housing Department who is also the chief patron of the Pang Lhabsol Celebration Committee in his address highlighted about the significance and the history of the festival. He also informed that the Pang Lhabsol next year will mark its silver jubilee year and that it will be celebrated in a big way with the inclusion of all the north eastern states in the festival where their cultural heritages will be showcased.
Earlier, the celebration began with prayers performed by monks at the Mani Lhagang. The celebration was also attended by PS Tamang, Minister, Sports and Youth Affairs, ND Chingapa, Chief Secretary, Zilla Adakshya and Upadakshya, DC, SP and other officials of Namchi and Rabongla along with the huge public presence

Sikkim worships guardian deity

RABONG (South Sikkim) Aug 28: Over 7,000 people including monks, students and state government officials thronged Mani Chokerling shrine at Rabong in South Sikkim today to witness Pang Lhabsol, a mask dance festival. People offered prayers to Mount Kanchanzonga, the guardian deity of Sikkim. The day was also observed to mark the signing of the brotherhood treaty between Lepchas and Bhutias in the 13th century. "We are celebrating the festival here since 1984," said Mr DD Bhutia, state urban development and housing department minister who was the chief patron of the organising committee. "We will celebrate the silver jubilee of the festival next year in a big way," Mr Bhutia, added. Various cultural programmes were organised and traditional dances performed to mark the festival. Tourists also took part in the celebrations. People from all walks of life including children were present at the Rabong monastery to watch mask dance. "The main reason behind organising the event is to preserve our traditional culture, such as mask dance, which is fast vanishing," Mr Bhutia, said. "This festival also brings peace in our society as we pray in the monastery for peace and tranquility," he added. More than 25 departmental stalls from different parts of the state were put up in the exhibition and locals were engaged in food stalls selling traditional local food. "Another reason behind organising the event is to engage unemployed locals in this way," Mr Bhutia, said. Students from various schools performed traditional dances, such as snow lion dance on the occasion. A volleyball match and other sports event students were also organised.

Rural sports at Sikkim festival

Rabong, Aug. 27: Sporting activities ruled the roost at this South Sikkim town on the second day of Pang Lhabsol today.
The three-day festival is unique to Sikkim and is observed to pay obeisance to Mount Khangchendzonga, the guardian deity of the state. It also commemorates the signing of the blood brotherhood between the Lepcha chief Thekung Thek and his Bhutia counterpart Khye Bhumsa in the 8th century with Khangchendzonga as witness.
In Rabong, the festival is being held for the 24th year in a row and the occasion is used to promote rural sports along with the traditional and religious aspects of the festival. Even senior citizens and women avail of a chance to participate in the various rural sports organised by the Pang Lhabsol Celebration Committee.
The participants took part in tug-of-war, bamboo-pole climbing, pillow fights, musical chairs, balloon fights, cock fights and sack race.
“Besides the religious ceremonies, we organise activities for the promotion of rural sports which is losing out to other games,” Y.C. Bhutia, a senior member of the organising committee told journalists.
The other big attractions are the volleyball tournaments. While one is an intra-Sikkim tourney, the other is a national-level meet with cash prizes and trophies. Some of the best national players including Arjuna awardees and members who have represented the Indian and Nepali sides in international matches descend on Rabong for the meet.
The three-day festivities will come to an end tomorrow at the Mane Chokerling complex here.
The highlight of the celebrations tomorrow is the Pangtoed Chaam, the warrior dance to be performed on the final day. Pangtoed Chaam is the manifestation of a dream by the fourth ruler Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal in the 17th century and was later choreographed by him.

2 students drowned in the Cho-Dzo lake in Rabongla

Rabongla (South Sikkim), Aug 5: Two high school students drowned in the Cho-Dzo lake yesterday afternoon after they had sneaked into the enclosed area with a group of friends while the chowkidar was away.
Kamal Sharma of Class XI and Pramod Chettri of Class XII both studied at VC Ganju Lama Senior Secondary School here. Neither knew how to swim and probably got stuck in the mud at the bottom of the lake.
While Sharma hails from Polok in the Ralong constituency, Chettri was from Golitar, a village near here.
The Cho Dzo lake is located below Ralong Road. Sharma and Chettri were part of a group of six schoolboys who reached the lakeside, a restricted zone, after sneaking in through a broken section of the locked main gate of the enclosure.
The chowkidar who mans the gate had gone home on some errand.
VC Ganju Lama Senior Secondary School is currently hosting the Independence Day Cup Football tournament, which is why all classes after the lunch break have been suspended for the time being.
The subdivisional police officer of Rabongla, T.D. Kazi, said investigations revealed that the boys played volleyball by the lakeside for almost an hour and afterwards, feeling tired and sweaty, they decided to take a swim in the lake.
Chettri decided to wade into the deeper side of the lake. Cho Dzo Lake looks innocuous to the naked eye but heavy rainfall in the past one week has raised its water level quite a bit. Chettri would have found himself in 7-8ft of water and his leg probably got trapped in the mud.
When Chettri did not come up to the surface even after quite a few minutes, Sharma, his friend, dived in at the same spot, ignoring the warnings of the other boys.
Sharma did not come out of the water either.
None of the other four boys know how to swim and they stood around for a while, not knowing what to do. Then they ran back to Rabongla town, which is about 1.5km from the lake, and informed police who rushed to the spot.
However, by then it was already too late and the police could only fish out the bodies. After post-mortem, the bodies were handed over to the families. Sharma and Chettri were cremated today.
The Cho-Dzo lake is the venue of Rabong Discovered, a festival held every year in April. The lakeside is being developed as a cultural and handicrafts village. Around 10 years ago a, boy had drowned in the lake.