Sikkim field visit by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on I&T

Rongpo post office likely to get Heritage status

Gangtok: The second oldest post office in Sikkim, the Rangpo post office could be soon declared as a heritage postal building by the Union government following a field visit by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information & Technology.

A 12-member Parliamentary committee led by its chairman MP Achuthan on Monday inspected the wooden post office at Rangpo bazaar, 41 kms away from Gangtok. The team was briefed about the heritage value of the Rangpo post office by Sikkim Lok Sabha member PD Rai, who is also a member of the standing committee on Information & Technology.

“The Rangpo post office has been rendering good services to the people. Generally people are satisfied with its services. It is a heritage building in Sikkim and once it is declared as a heritage building, its architecture will be maintained in its original form”, said Achuthan to reporters after inspecting the Rangpo post office and the telephone exchange which is also in the same around 1 acre complex.
Achuthan told media that the Parliamentary committee will be in Sikkim till July 7 to take an overview of the postal and telecommunication services in the border State. The team will also be visiting the Nathu La border to take stock of the telecommunication services being enjoyed by the defense personnel and local population. The committee will be interacting with the State government to get their feedback on the status of postal and telecommunication services in Sikkim during their tour. The team is accompanied by senior officials from BSNL and Postal Services.
Rangpo is the main entry point to Sikkim and since its establishment in 1927, the post office has witnessed the history of Sikkim especially the border trade with Tibet. Sikkim, at that time, was under a monarchy and the postal services under the British ruled India had set up the post office at Rangpo.
“When it was established in 1927, lot of trade was taking place. The whole history of Sikkim can be interpreted through this post office. Once it is declared as heritage post office, tourists coming to Sikkim through Rangpo will love to visit it and take photographs. There will also be lot of development in the post office at Rangpo. We will then make a pitch for Rhenock post office once the one at Rangpo gets the heritage status”, said Mr. Rai.

Sikkim & Bengal to be linked via flyover by BRO

GANGTOK: The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is considering the construction of a 1-km flyover from Rangpo Mining to the Rangpo border at Mansoong, that connects West Bengal, at a cost of Rs100 crore.

Major landslides are a common occurrence on the 100-km National Highway 31 A that links Siliguri with Gangtok. Restoration of traffic takes two to 10 days.

The BRO technician has earmarked 75 spots, 28 of which lie on on Sikkim`s 40 km stretch. The remaining 47 spots lie on the West Bengal`s 60-km stretch from Sevoke Coronation Bridge to Ranipool, near Gangtok. A superintendent of BRO 764 Task force commandant based at Kalimpong, Manav Prasad, has informed.
The BRO is also constructing another flyover and one-km tunnel from Kumrek to Mining ground at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Another 200-mt tunnel will also replace the existing tunnel at Chisopani ahead of Singtam at a cost of Rs 8 crore.
Referring to the incomplete repairing and double-lane road extending work, Prasad has laid the onus on Darjeeling bandhs called in January and February. Moreover, they are yet to receive clearance from the departments concerned in Sevoke to Teesta, where some stretches passed through the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and Baikuntapur forest.

Prasad adds, "We hope to complete the restoration works of main thoroughfare of only connecting roads with mainline via Siliguri by May. Over 500 labourers have been equipped with seven large excavators and other machines for road widening and landslide spots mitigation."

Tiff over sari claims 7-yr-old Kid

Gangtok, Nov. 5: An argument between two women over a sari has allegedly claimed a seven-year-old boy. The bludgeoned body of Arpit Sharma was recovered from a Sikkim jungle today.

Arpit had gone missing from Rangpo Junior High School on Monday. He used to live with his grandparents in Rangpo’s Lower Bazar, while his parents were in Bihar. Police said the family was engaged in the carpentry and masonry.

Investigations revealed that the school authorities had told Arpit’s grandparents that a woman posing as his mother had taken away the boy from the institution to the Singtam hospital around 10.30am on Monday on the pretext of visiting a doctor.

The next day the boy’s guardians filed a missing person’s diary.

Asked whether the family suspected anyone, Arpit’s aunt told the police an incident involving a neighbour, Bina Devi Sharma, 24, whom the boy had seen stealing a sari from their home.

“The boy’s aunt embroiders saris and one such item strung out in the balcony of the house was stolen during Diwali. Arpit had seen Bina Devi wearing the sari a few days later. This led to an argument between the boy’s aunt and the accused woman,” an officer of the Rangpo police station said.

The investigations zeroed in on Bina Devi as a prime suspect and she was interrogated today by the Rangpo police. “Even though she did not admit the crime initially, she gave us some clues that led us to search the Sawney jungle (near Singtam, about 35km from here) and we found the bludgeoned body,” the officer said. “The woman later confessed the crime saying that she had kidnapped and killed the boy to take revenge.”

The police also recovered the school shirt and the bag of the boy near a stream. The body was handed over to the boy’s guardians after a post-mortem.

Rangpo’s kidnapped child brutally murdered

photo:VoS
05 Nov, Rangpo: A case has been registered against a women who allegedly killed a child after kidnapping. The child named Arpit Sharma aged 07 years doing his schooling at Rangpo Government School was missing since Monday 10:00 am on his way to school, a search operation was conducted by Sikkim Police after a missing report was filed at Rangpo PS. Today Rangpo police conducted a interrogation with a suspect women who is a neighbour of said child’s family. A partial decompoed body of a child was recovered from Sawney Busty, Singtam some few kilometers from Rangpo.
A women Bina Devi Sharma finally confessed that she killed a child because few months earlier there was a domestic dispute between herself and the family of child. She confessed that she killed a child in verge to pacify her anger. Sikkim Police has filed a charge against the said women under IPC. Further information is awaited on this report.

7 yr old boy kidnapped by an imposter

GANGTOK, November 5: A seven year old boy is reported to have been kidnapped by a woman posing as his mother from Rangpo Junior High school on November 2.
The missing boy, Arpit Sharma had gone to school as usual in the morning but did not returned back in the evening. The guardians contacted the school authorities who informed that boy had been taken away from the school at around 10:30 am by ‘his mother’.
The ‘mother’ it turns out to be was an imposter.
A woman posing as the mother took away Arpit from the school with an excuse for medical treatment at Singtam district hospital, the guardians of the missing boy said in their written complaint to Rangpo police station.
The parents of Arpit stay outside the State for their work and had left their son entrusted to the care of his grandparents.
We have asked the parents and other relatives whether that Arpit landed up with them but he has not gone to them, said Dinesh Sharma, the uncle of the missing boy requesting the police to investigate on the case of the missing boy.
Till now it is learnt that the boy had been spotted in Singtam but no other information have filtered down leading to the suspicion that Arpit may have been kidnapped

We are stepping into a new dawn for Sikkim: Pawan Chamling

A significant milestone: VP Hamid Ansari

Rangpo,October31: Mr. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India, laid the foundation stone for Sivok-Rangpo rail link on Friday, October 30, at a Rangpo site. Those present included Mrs. Ansari, Governor of Sikkim, Mr. BP Singh, Mrs. Singh, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Union Minister for Railways, Mr. Mukul Roy, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Dr. Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister of Sikkim, Chief Secretary and other officials, Government of Sikkim, and representatives and officials from Railways.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ansari said, “I am very happy to participate in today’s function and lay the foundation stone for the new broad gauge line between Sevok and Rangpo that would provide the first ever rail link to Sikkim. This is a significant milestone in providing the rail connectivity to the state”.
He hoped that the national project would be completed on time. It is also gratifying that further extension of this line from Rangpo to Gangtok is being planned and the survey for the same has been carried out, he said. He also said, establishing rail connectivity would not only lead to further economic development but also increase the number of tourists coming to the state.
Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling in his address said, “Today is a red letter day for Sikkim and the Sikkimese people as the dream project that we pursued with the wholehearted support and endorsement of the Central Government has come to a full circle”.
As a Himalayan State, CM said, Sikkim is face to face with certain specific problems and hardships caused by its locational disadvantages and as a landlocked State, “we are deprived of easy access to regular communication and transportation linkages with the outside world”.
“With the only existing 31A National Highway to link Sikkim with the rest of the Country and the world, we are hard pressed to build other channel of communication for the State. Frequent disruptions due to landslides and disturbances in the neighbouring areas give us a sense of isolation and cause extreme hardships at times. However, today I feel this story belongs to the past and we are now stepping into a new dawn”. He said, “I am personally grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and convey the gratitude of my people to the Government of India and to the Ministry of Railways and the Railway Board for making our cherished dream a reality”.

Chief Minister said, “Together with the completion of the first phase of the project upto Rangpo, we would also eagerly look forward to the second phase of the project to be extended to Gangtok as part of the policy of the Ministry of Railways to provide rail link to all State Capitals. In fact, Madam Benerjee has been kind to let us know that preliminary engineering and traffic survey for extension of rail line from Sivok-Rangpo to Gangtok has been completed in March 2009. My Government will give topmost priority in helping the Railways to finalize the locational surveys, acquire land and render any assistance required”.
He further said, “I would like to share our dream and plan to extend the railway track upto Nathula border post standing at 14, 400 feet separating India with Tibet Autonomous Region of China. We are aware that countries like Switzerland has created special railway line in high altitude area over and above 14,000 feet like the Jungfraujoch (pronounced as Un-fra-yok) on top of Europe and in Mount Titlis, creating an engineering wonder”. “In the same way”, CM said, “I would like to urge upon the railway authorities to take advantage of the scenic beauty of Sikkim together with its strategic location to create another wonder of the world in the railway history surpassing all past achievements”.

Sikkim chugs into country’s rail map

Rangpo/Sevoke, Oct. 30: Eighty-year-old Ratna Bahadur Rai wants to live for at least five more years. Reason: his half-a-century old aspiration to board a train from Sikkim to reach Siliguri.

As Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari today laid the foundation stone for a landmark railway project to connect Rangpo to Sevoke, Rai cheered along with thousands of others. The old man had trekked from Mazitar to the Mining Stadium Ground in Rangpo to witness the event which will for the first time place the Himalayan state on the railway map of India. The railway link is expected to be extended to Gangtok, around 40km from Rangpo, the town on the Sikkim-Bengal border.

“I huffed and puffed as I walked the hilly terrain, but I was determined to come to Rangpo. In the 50s, when I was a little more than 20 years old, I used to carry oranges, ginger and wool bought from Tibetan traders on bullock carts to reach Geillkhola near Kalimpong,” recollected Rai. “The goods were loaded on the little train that used to chug out of the station everyday to Siliguri. I had always wanted to board the train but could not as after some years, the service was discontinued because of landslide. It used to take 24 hours for a return journey from Geillkhola to Rangpo.”

Ansari, who considers the plan to connect Sikkim to the rest of the country by trains an engineering achievement, had a word of appreciation for the Indian Railways. “It was only recently that a train was flagged off in a similar hilly terrain in Jammu and Kashmir. The effort of the railway ministry is appreciable and we look forward for execution of this project which was a long-drawn aspiration of Sikkim residents.”

Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling, who was present at the event with governor Balmiki Prasad Singh, thanked the railways. “Today is a red letter day for Sikkim. So far, the sole means of communication was NH31A. It is good our state has now been included in the rail map and we look forward to see the route extended to Gangtok and trains leaving from our state capital in the coming years.”

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee announced in Hindi that two computerised passenger reservation centres would be set up in Rangpo and Gangtok in a month. Passing on necessary instruction to Northeast Frontier Railway officials on the stage, she said: “Introduction of railway services will not only improve communication but the economy of the region as a whole. It is a big project and we are determined to finish the first phase and then extend it up to Gangtok, unlike others who simply lay foundation stones and turn oblivious when it comes to execution.

“If we can lay railway tracks in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, we can do the same in Sikkim. We have come here only after passing the work orders and allocating Rs 1,400 crore for it.”

The laying of foundation stone has not only brought communication hopes but fuelled job expectations as well.

Ajit Raphel, a second year student of ITI Rangpo, was seen sitting at the venue with a group of friends. “We are being technically trained and opening of rail route will definitely help us get more job opportunities,” he said.

Foundation stone laid in Rangpo, Mamata’s convoy rushed to Sevoke to lay another foundation stone for the same project. She announced an award of Rs 10 lakh for the NFR for performing well.

Pic: Sikkim Rail Foundation Stone at Rangpo

The foundation stone for a railway link from Sevoke near Siliguri to Rangpo, a town on the Bengal-Sikkim border, was laid on Friday. The project will put Sikkim on the railway map of India. It is now linked to the rest of the country only by road, NH 31A. The tracks will cover a distance of 52.7km. Work is expected to be complete in five years.

Railway Minister Mamata to flag off Sikkim lifeline today

Gangtok,October30: After a long wait, Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee is going to give a big push to the revival of a hill train from Sevok in West
Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim. The minister will lay the foundation stone of the project on Friday.

But how far the dream can come true is a question especially after concerns of technical experts are considered.

The rail ministry will invest Rs 1013 crore in the first phase to re-develop the rail track, Ms Banerjee had said. Besides being a jewel in the Northeast Frontier Railway crown, the track would be a ‘lifeline’ to Sikkim, the land-locked Himalayan state that is dependent on NH31A, a landslide-prone, risky and narrow road, for its connectivity to the rest of the country.

However, experts, so far enthusiastic over revival of the track, raised serious questions after it was decided that the tracks will be rebuilt in broad gauge instead of narrow gauge.

"This track needs to climb 1000 ft within 30 km aerial distance. So it must have many wide curves to gain technically required minimum running length. It also must be capable of withstanding heavy loads. How much would the weak and hilly topography of Teesta bank allow these is a major question," said a senior railways engineer on condition of anonymity.

Moreover, the planned course hosts many upcoming major hydroelectricity projects. Feasibility study and DPR of all these were prepared without any consideration for the broad gauge track. In the long run, running of heavy trains along it may not be healthy for the road, the hydro projects or the rail track itself, said geologists.

India plans rail link to Sikkim to counter China

Gangtok,October27: India has decided to connect Sikkim with the rest of the country through a railway line in the face of massive infrastructure development by China along the borders in the North-East.

The railways will soon start construction of a 52.7-km stretch connecting Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to lay the foundation stone for the project on October 30 at Rangpo. Vice-President Hamid Ansari will also accompany her.

The railway line has been declared a national project and trains are expected to run on it by 2015-16. A survey of the stretch is underway.

The Sevoke-Rangpo link is crucial as it will put Sikkim on the country's rail map. The larger plan is to eventually connect Sikkim's capital Gangtok with the country's railway network. This will be done by extending the line till Rangpo to Gangtok.

Sikkim CM visits Rangpo fire incident site

RANGPO, October 21: The Chief Minister Pawan Chamling visited the recent fire incident area on October 17 and assured the victims full support from the government like providing loan on subsidised rate if they want for the construction of their structure, that were gutted down.
On October 13, a major fire broke out at Rangpo, gutting five shops to ground.
Mr. Chamling met five fire victims including Sajjan Kr Agarwal, Satyanarayan Prasad, Swaminath Prasad, Rajendra Mangla, Satyananda Prasad and P Johabal and also assured to give loan on subsidised rate if they want loan to construct the structure.
On the same day, the State Commerce minister cum area MLA Niru Sewa also met with the fire victims at Rangpo and reassured to give full support from her side. She also provided 15 chairs and one water tank to Little Bell’s School and seven blankets to the fire victims of Rangpo

Inquiry into the Rangpo fire

Gangtok, Oct. 15: Five shops and a school were razed to the ground by a fire at Rangpo bazaar around midnight yesterday. The flames also charred five vehicles and destroyed property in the Sikkim-Bengal border town.

It took five hours for eight fire tenders from Rangpo, Singtam, Gangtok and Kalimpong to bring the flames that began at 11.30pm under control with the assistance of local people and police.

By that time, shops with wooden structures were burnt to ashes. They belonged to Sajan Agarwal, Satya Narayan Prasad, Swaminath Prasad, Rajendra Prasad and Satendra Prasad. The fire also destroyed Little Bells, a private school that teaches from the nursery level to Class VIII.

Fire brigade sources attributed the cause of the fire to electrical short circuit after preliminary investigation. Four nearby houses of Suman Tamang, V. Prasad, Chandra Maya Thatal and Swaminath Prasad were also partially damaged by the fire.

Sikkim’s commerce and industries minister Neeru Sewa, the local MLA who visited the spot after the incident, said she had assured the victims of support and compensation from the state government. “I have directed the block development officer of Duga to submit a report of the damage caused by the fire by this evening,” she said.

The minister asked the school authorities to start classes in the vacant space available in the area.

The victims have demanded a probe into the fire. Sources alleged that the shops-cum-residences of the five families were on rented premises and recently some misunderstanding had arisen between them and the owner.

The government has ordered an inquiry into the fire. Shops were closed in Rangpo today to show solidarity with those who have lost their property

The Fire in Rangpo destroy Houses and Vehicles

Rangpo,October14: A fire opposite Axis Bank broke out in border town of Sikkim Rangpo here in the mid-night hours on Tuesday, leaving almost five houses and as many vehicles destroyed in the incident. The fire broke out around late night hours in the  Rangpo area, disaster management officials said, adding the cause of fire is yet to be ascertained. The fire seems to have started from house belonging to Sadhan Agarwal as per local residents of area.

The fire broke out in one of the houses at around 10.30 pm yesterday and soon spread to neighbouring houses, causing cooking gas cylinder to burst, East Sikkim superintendent of police (SP) MS Tuli said. The cause of the fire was unknown, he said.

Six fire tenders were brought from Gangtok, Singtam and Namchi which brought the blaze under control by early morning today, Tuli said. No person was injured in the incident, he said.

The damage to the properties was being assessed, the police officer said.

Sikkim CM Chamling leads beautification drive to small towns

Gangtok,October10: The Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling accompanied by UD&HD Minister D.B.Thapa, Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel, Industries & Excise Minister Neeru Sewa along with senior government officers, MLAs undertook a tour of Ranipool ,Singtam,Rangpo and Melli to assess the potential of tourism and industrialization of areas as well as steps to be initiated to further beautify these locations.

Chief Minister Chamling decided that a truck terminal for organised parking of trucks be constructed in Ranipool area as well as tourist amenties nearby Singtam and upgradation and beautification of Rangpo town be undertaken by concerned department at earliest.

The officials from UD & HD department made a presentation of master-plan drafted for the proposed beautification of Rangpo town as gateway to East and North Sikkim. The BRO officials also attended the meeting and made their presentation on plans to expand the roads from Hospital Area to Rangpo Phatak after the festival of Diwali.
The Sikkim Chief Minister & team than proceeded to Melli and gave directives for similar upgradation of town as gateway to South & West Sikkim.

Cipla staff in Sikkim on strike

RANGPO, September 20: Over 250 staff members and operators working under Cipla, a pharmaceutical company based in Kumrek in East Sikkim has been protesting for the past two days for not keeping their promises.
All the 250 staffs are on strike since September 18. According to the protestors, Cipla management had sent several staffs on training with promises of providing good allowances and salaries. During the training period, they were given a monthly salary of Rs 5500 but decreased to Rs 3500 per month after the completion of the training, it was informed. It was further informed the salary for the trained staffs changed to Rs. 4500 per month at a certain period of time.
Sources on the other hand revealed that the company had not only made an agreement with the trained staff to increase their salaries after two years of training but also to provide them with appointment letters as permanent staff of the company. “Two years period has passed and those staffs are yet to see the promises fulfilled,” sources further said

Sikkim Manipal sends 2,000 home after student clashes

Nearly 2,000 students from across the country have been sent back home after clashes between “local students” and those from other States forced the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology at Mazitar in Sikkim to shut down indefinitely.

“A skirmish between two students after a volleyball match on September 6 escalated into a major clash between two student groups on the campus,” Deputy Inspector-General (Range) Sridhar Rao told The Hindu over telephone from Gangtok. The police had to resort to tear-gas and lathi-charge to disperse them, he added.

The situation deteriorated to such an extent that one group put up roadblocks to prevent students from leaving the campus even after the decision to shut it down had been taken, said Mr. Rao.

Nearly 350 students from West Bengal were unable to get back home on Tuesday night, said West Bengal’s Minister for Youth Service Kanti Ganguly.

“I had to get in touch with the Home Secretary (Ardhendu Sen) and Inspector-General of North Bengal (K. L. Tamta) to ensure that they were escorted back safely,” Mr. Ganguly added.

The institute, located near Rangpo on the border between West Bengal and Sikkim and affiliated to Sikkim Manipal University, attracts students from across the country. Twenty per cent seats are reserved for government quota which is available for Sikkimese students only.

“Minor scuffles between local students and those from other States do take place sometimes, but this time the situation went out of hand,” said the Director of the institute, Dr. N.V.S. Reddy.

As the disagreement between the two groups grew violent, the management of the institute asked the police to intervene on September 7, Mr. Rao said, adding that the police were able to bring the situation under control and adequate police personnel were stationed at the campus through the night.

However, the next morning students went on the rampage again, even attacking policemen, at which point the police resorted to lathi-charge and tear-gas. Later in the evening, at a meeting between student representatives and the management, mediated by the police, it was decided to shut down the campus, Mr. Rao said.
(The Hindu)

SMIT may resume academic activities from Sept 20 next: VC

Gangtok,Sep10:  Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, which was closed down following clashes among two groups of students on Tuesday, today said it may reopen on September 20.

"We are deliberating on resuming academic activities from September 20, but there is another proposal to do so from September 29 after Dussehra festival. The final decision will be taken very soon and the outstation students'will be intimated about the decision," Sikkim Manipal University Vice Chancellor S S Pable said.

Clashes broke out on September 8 between two groups of students divided on local vs outsider lines. Seven students were injured during the clashes at SMIT campus at Majitar, about 40 km from here.

Pable said adequate security measures will be put in place in the varsity to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future. The process of hiring private security guards and retired army personnel will begin soon, he said.

The Vice Chancellor said enquiry was underway and documentary evidence was being collected to identify those students involved in the violence.

Assam Health Minister Dr. Hemant Biswa Sharma satisfied with SMIT situation

Gangtok, September 9: Assam Health Minister Dr. Hemant Biswa Sharma has expressed his satisfaction over the SMIT clash between the two groups student were found normalcy after the local administration has enterfered into the matter on September 8.
Dr. Sharma reached Sikkim this evening for personally assesses the situation and has taken stock of the situation prevailed from last Monday over the clash between the two groups of students with in the college premises.
He said that the situation is under control and satisfactory over the situation that panic the parents of North-eastern states especially from Assam where large number of students are studying in SMIT adding that the state administration effort to resort the situation normalcy was appreciated.
Dr. Sharma has first met the senior police officials and district administration at Rangpo Tourist Guest House where SP East M S Tuli along with District Collector D. Anandan, SDM Gangtok AB Karki and SDPO Rangpo H P Tewari has briefed on the situation.
The district administration further briefed the condition of injured students that they are admitted in Central Manipal Referral Hospital yesterday.
Later on, Assam minister has visited the engineering college and has discussed with the college administration on the situation.
It is informed that health minister Dr. Sharma has also discussed on the law and order situation and security measures with the CM Ravindran, Director General of Police (DGP) and other top brass for further security measures

No security on Manipal campus, say those leaving Sikkim Tech school

Rangpo & Siliguri Sept. 9: Nearly 400 students of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology came down to the plains today and said they would return only if the authorities promised security on the campus.

The institute, 44km from Gangtok, which had been rocked by clashes between hostel residents and local day scholars over the past few days, became a war zone yesterday with police storming a hostel at one point after being hit by stones.

The tech school was shut down indefinitely after the incident but students could not leave hostels on the campus as local people laid siege to the campus till late last night.

After the siege was lifted, the Sikkim government arranged for buses and taxis to ferry students wanting to leave for Siliguri.

“We have paid a huge amount for our courses and we will return to the SMIT only because of that. The management of the institute will have to ensure our security on the premises,” a first-year student of applied electronics and instrument from Bandel in Hooghly said at the bus stand in Siliguri.

About a third of the institute’s 4,000 boarders are from Bengal.

The students complained that no security had been arranged for them on the way down. “We saw two police constables, carrying sticks, seated in one of the buses that brought the students down. If this is security, we have nothing more to say,” said a first-year mechanical engineering student from Upper Assam.

One of the students stuck in hostel last night had said: “We are being targeted by outsiders.”

The vice-chancellor of Sikkim Manipal University, S.S. Pabla, today said in Gangtok the institute was approaching the police for a permanent picket on the campus. “I thank the police and the state government for defusing the situation. I also appeal to the police to take up the investigations sensitively as the future of students is at stake. We will open the institute soon,” he said.

Many of the boarders stayed back in their hostels.

The clashes had started on Sunday over a foul during a volleyball friendly. Three hostel residents were thrashed allegedly by local students accompanied by outsiders during the brawl, which then assumed a different colour altogether.

In Sikkim, East district superintendent of police M.S. Tuli said 130 taxis and 18 buses had been arranged to ferry the students to Siliguri. “They started vacating the hostels from early in the morning.”

North Bengal inspector-general K.L. Tamta said police stations on the students’ route had been put on alert.

Local students blame police & management for fuelling violence at SMIT

GANGTOK, September 9: The local students studying at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) today said that the inefficiency of the police and the SMIT management has given rise to yesterday’s violence at the college campus.
Addressing a press conference here this evening, the locals pursuing studies at SMIT alleged that the State Government, police and the SMIT management were not too serious to carry out any independent investigations. They also accused the police of lathi-charging and injuring eight students without knowing the actual reason.
Ongden Bhutia, one of the victims told media persons that the situation went out of hand when an Army vehicle tried to take away the students out of the campus.
They also alleged that the SMIT and police did not even try to pacify the situation and bring it under control.
At the same time, the students denied of their involvement in ransacking the computers, instruments and other properties of the college. “We, the local students were out of the campus gate which was locked from inside, so there is no question of vandalizing the college,” Diwas Poudyal, another student added.
The students have further requested the SMIT management to call back their decision of shutting down the college until further notice and resume the studies as usual.
“We have always welcomed the students from outside the state in our institution and wanted to maintain that intimacy,” Sharad Dhamala told media persons.
On the other hand, the All Sikkim Student Union said that the incident was unfortunate and should not have taken place.
Santsosh Shivakoti, the general secretary of the Union has requested the SMIT management to recover all the losses of the students.
It was informed that many students have lost their laptops, mobiles, cash and other valuables during the entire frenzy.
The Union has at the same time appealed the state government and the concerned authorities to resolve the matter at the earliest.