Appeal from Darjeeling

Dear friends,

Cyclone Aila left a death trail as it whizzed past through Bengal, early this week. Our Hills, too, have also been battered and maimed and is today housing hundreds of inconsolable souls who have lost their near and dear ones.
 
Darjeeling recorded 240 mm of rainfall within 24 hours. Given our poor planning and lack of proper expertise in disaster management our infrastructure has crumbled so have the dreams of many families.
 
500 houses have been destroyed and more than 1400 people are currently staying in 41 government relief camps. Many families are still searching for their dear ones hoping to find their bodies even after four days. Till date 26 bodies have been recovered, mainly from Darjeeling and Kurseong while two more are missing at Haridashatta and the villagers have not yet given up on the search.
 
Nature’s fury has spared none. Six people who were trying to save the family of Pooja Gurung, at Haridashatta, have been buried alive. None could save the saviors who saved 14 lives. These people had come from as far as Soom tea garden to help the victims in Darjeeling.
 
Three year old Tashi Doma Sherpa, died on her way to the hospital. Forty one year old Mohan Kumar Rai and his eight year old son Manish Rai from Bara Pattabung were found underneath the debris clutching each other for one last moment.. Siksha Tamang and Yogesh Subba, from Cutlary, Kurseong, had just been married but the slides snubbed their lives in a blink of an eye. Almost every village, every locality has a similar story.
 
We can only pray for the departed souls but for those who are homeless we can and we will make a difference.
 
The Darjeeling Press Guild has been moved by the devastation it has witnessed. Following request from the residents of Darjeeling we have decided to undertake a project to rebuild many a dreams.
 
We cannot construct 500 houses but we want to make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged residing in far flung areas of the district by constructing atleast 20 houses- maybe more if can generate more funds.

We have already started our groundwork. The administration has promised us to provide land for reconstruction and we have already formed a team comprising of journalists from all newspapers to identify the beneficiaries. We have made provisions to print every penny that we collect and spend in leading dailies for we want to justify the faith reposed on us.
 
Given your love for the place, we would also like to appeal for help from your end by mobilizing support among our community members out there. We have also started a thread in Facebook titled: In Support of People Displaced by Darjeeling Landslides. Please browse the thread as well.
 
Thank You,

Vivek Chhetri,
President
Darjeeling Press Guild
Principal Correspondent,
The Telegraph
+91 94341 41985
 vivek.chhetri@gmail.com

---

Dear Friends,
 
 
The Darjeeling Press Guild today (30 May 2009) held its meeting at Hotel Anand Palace in Darjeeling. It was attended in full strength and we have agreed on the following points:

It was decided that the Guild would work towards rebuilding lost homes. We will be providing all materials in a phased manner so that nothing is misutilized.
 
We have decided to concentrate on building homes of those people who fall within the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category and are located at far flung areas.
 
Since the government provides a sum of Rs 22,000 for construction of these houses under the Indira Awaaz Yogna and since many villagers have made a house within this budget we have decided to construct houses within Rs 25,000-30,000 band. Our architect will have to redesign taking into consideration our agreed cost price and will therefore be providing a new sketch tomorrow (Sunday).   
 
For day to day supervision of the project we have decided to involve the local samaj in the respective villages.
 
The follow teams have been formed for the project:

Mr Suraj Sharma (Calcutta TV), Reza Pradhan (ETV) and Mrinal Rana (Times of India) have been entrusted with identifying the beneficiaries. They will collect the details of all the 600 displaced families, will visit the spots and will document every family and extend of damages. They will provide a complete picture within Friday (5th June).
 
Mr Amitava Banerjee (Hindustan Times), Deep Gazmer (Times of India) and Vivek Chhetri (The Telegraph) will be doing all the correspondence. This team has already approached the Union Bank of India (because of its location) and an account will be made functional on Tuesday. The team has also been directed by the Darjeeling Tea Association to make a formal request to the industry on Monday. Mr Banerjee and Mr Gazmer will be visiting the DTA office for the needful. The team has also written to Mr Soam Namchu of the Glenn Foundation (New Zealand) for help. A letter has also been written to Mr Samir Sharma- currently based in Dubai, who has promised to help us either by organizing a fundraiser or by mobilizing his friends in UAE.
 
Himalaya Darpan- the largest circulated Nepali daily has agreed to help us in our endeavor. They will be publishing the names of the donors on a weekly basis. Mr Sanjay Pradhan and Mr Mohan Lama (Himalaya Darpan) have been entrusted with this job.  
 
 
Mr Rajesh Garg, an entrepreneur from Darjeeling, has also agreed to provide all necessary help as far as transportation of materials and storage is concerned. Following his assurance we have entrusted Mr Rabin Giri (Sunakhari) and Mr Bhushan Tamang (Himalaya Darpan) to keep a record of all building materials.
 
All accounts will be maintained by Nalima Thapa, Sachina Gurung and Sabita Thapa. Individuals interested in sending funds through WU can send it to any of the three above names.
 
Overall coordination will be done by Mr Rabin Rai (Himalaya Darpan).
 
Documentation of all progress made will be done by the students and teachers of the Mass Com Department of St Joseph’s College.
 
Also, I spoke to Mr Surendra Gupta, District Magistrate, Darjeeling, this morning and he has promised to extend all help. The district authorities have maintained that if any of the beneficiaries do not have any land for construction, they would facilitate transfer of vested land provided it is available in the given area.

The DM will also be providing the official details of the people displaced by the landslides which we shall compare with our own details to ensure that no deserving person is left out.
 
Even though the Guild members will be in touch on a daily basis to monitor the progress, we have decided to convene our next formal meeting at Hotel Anand Palace on Saturday (6th June).
 
The number of houses we can built will entire depend on the contribution we receive. If the donors want to appoint some independent people to supervise the entire project, the Guild will be most happy.
 
Regards,

Vivek Chhetri,
President,
Darjeeling Press Guild,
+91 94341 41985.

Update: (2 June 2009)

The Darjeeling Press Guild members today opened an account at the Union Bank of India ( the details have been posted).

The DPG has also contributed a sum of Rs 10,000/- (ten thousand only) toward the Relief Fund (receipt has been posted at the FB photo wall).

Our survey team consisting of Mr Suraj Sharma, Reza Pradhan and Mrinal Rana  are making spot visit to collect the details of the affected families. As agreed during our Guild meeting,they are well within completing the list of beneficiaries by Friday(5th June 2009).

Response has been positive but some contributors seem to have donated at www.darjeelingtimes.com, website. We have however had a word with Mr Udhyan Rai, the administrator of the website and he has agreed to be a part of our team. He has promised to divert the entire sum to the DPG Relief Fund at an appropriate time. The DPG will update its account status along with the donor’s name on every alternative day.

Mr Shenpenn Khymsar had also called me today and he is also co-coordinating our efforts in US.

Regards to all and thank you for your response.


Vivek, Deep and Amitava.

CONTACT DETAILS FOR DONATIONS:


BANK ACCOUNT:

Account Name: Darjeeling Press Guild Relief Fund.
Account Holders: 1. Vivek Chhetri. 2. Deep Gazmer. 3. Amitava Banerjee
Bank Name: Union Bank of India.
Branch: Darjeeling

A/c No: 403602010994585
IFSC NO: UBIN0540366.

Note: Any person residing in India but wanting to send the money through a different bank other than Union Bank of India) has to mention the IFSC No. along with A/c no and the account name.

Overseas contributors please contact your bank before making the final deposit.


PAY PAL:

Pay using PayPal- paypal ID is: whereismary@hotmail.com ( courtesy, Niraj Lama)


WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER:

NALIMA THAMI

email: nalima5@yahoo.com, navhneta5@yahoo.com

phone no: +91 97330 11070

address: Gandhi Road, Darjeeling.

The code could also be sent to vivek.chhetri@gmail.com

who will forward it to nalima bhaini in case there is a communication gap. BUT please address it to NALIMA THAMI as she has been entrusted withl collecting, depositing and maintaining the records .

PLEASE POST THE DETAILS OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AT THE FACEBOOK WALL, OR YOU MAY EMAIL ME THE DETAILS ALSO. THIS IS THE ENSURE TRANSPARENCY AND ALSO AVOID ANY CONFUSIONS. WE WILL CHECK THE BANK ACCOUNTS EVERY TWO DAYS AND WILL POST THE DETAILS FOR YOUR VERIFICATION.
 
PLEASE PLEASE browse the thread: In Support of the People Displaced by Darjeeling Landslides, everyday for regular updates and feedbacks from our members. please make it a daily habit.

Cheerz.
Vivek.
 
 

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Daily update : 3 June 2009.

Dear frens !

These are today’s progress regarding your initiative.

1. I, received a mail from Dr Mahendra P Lama, vice –chancellor, Sikkim University, after providing him with our  contact details. This is what he has posted.

Dear Vivek Bhai,

Thank you for your mail. Shall do the needful within next three days  (Dr Lama has promised us Rs 10001/-)

 
2. Mr Mark Devereux, an alumni of North Point, Darjeeling, who is currently residing in Canada, had posted the following mail;

Hi Vivek,

You're all doing very good work here! I'm a North Pointer living in Canada and just learned about this tragedy today (from the North Pointer social network). I'm going to send $CDN 100 via Paypal. Please advise once received.
Best of luck with your continuing efforts!
Warm regards,
Mark

 
Mary Boland, who is operating our Pay-Pal id from US, has also mailed me the following details:

Payment details

Amount: $100.00 CAD

Transaction Date: Jun 2, 2009

Transaction ID: 87Y72457JR2046241

Subject: You've got a payment - Darjeeling Landslides

Message: Hi There, As per the instructions on the "In Support of the people Displaced by Darjeeling Landslides" group, I'm sending $CDN 100 in support of the cause. Best of luck with your efforts. Regards, Mark

View the details of this transaction online

Christopher Devereux is a Verified buyer.

Christopher Devereux has completed the PayPal Verification process to help confirm their identity, and they have a confirmed bank account, or been approved for a PayPal Plus Credit Card.

The PayPal Verification process is a security measure to confirm that a user is the owner of the bank account or credit card they are using in PayPal. Confirming each user's identity helps prevent fraud, such as identity theft, and increases the security of payments in PayPal.

This transaction will appear soon in the Recent Activity list on your Account Overview

 

Mary has further maintained:

Hi Vivek,

Thanks for all your hard work.  Glad to report that we received our first donation of $100 CAD from Christopher "Mark" Devereux which after conversion and Paypal fees comes to $86 USD.

Sent you an email with the details.  Will forward to the Union Bank account as soon as it clears my USA account.

Keep up the good work.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you all!

Mary 

 

3. Mr ASHOK R. MIRCHANDANI, a Darjeeling lover, who is the honorable Indian ambassador to one of the African countries (sorry for not recollecting the name of the country) has mailed me the following details:

Dear Vivek,

The bank transfer procedure for non icici banks seems very complicated, and SBI has no online access, or maybe they have but I do not have it. Please send me an address and I will send a cheque for Rs25,000.00 pachees hazar. add this ro the Indira yojana and you got two houses!

Regards

Ashok

 4. Mr Anup Pradhan, from the  Human Performance Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 413 545 3393 (Lab),413 253 1379 (Home), writes:

Hi Vivek & DPG,

Excellent initiative. Congratulations.

Re: collecting contributions, especially from overseas donors:

In the past I have found an online service called ChipIn (www.chipin.com) very useful. This service makes the donation process very easy especially if the donor wants to use a credit card. In my experience, regardless of the amount of good intentions, the willingness of a person to donate is directly related to the ease of making the transaction. Chipin.com makes the process painless and quick. So maybe you can consider this yet another vehicle for collecting contributions.

(e.g. here's what I had setup two years ago: http://kalimpong.chipin.com/darjeeling-fire-relief-fund )

I also had a suggestion regarding the rebuilding. Perhaps you could involve Save The Hills in the reconstruction process, especialy for technical knowhow with issues related to construction in slide prone areas. If the reconstruction was carried out with input from the experts one can imagine that this initiative would also serve as a model for safe construction in our hills.

Good luck and please keep up with the updates.

Best,

Anuj

 5.  Mr. Shenpenn Khymsar, from US, who is co-ordinating a fundraiser in New York on 13 June writes that the details of the fundraiser has been posted at:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110672498641&ref=ts

its organized in NY by Doma and Tsering Amdo

So everyone from Darj area is going to support

6. Mr Lobsang Drukta writes:

Dear Ashok

Got it.... I'll see what I can do from my end . Will they need any help on the (architectural) designing / consultation front ? I know an accredited architect - passed out of JJ School of Architecture , Bombay two decades back, and he has worked for the last 18 years in the hills of Bhutan  - who may be interested in helping out. He is based in Siliguri.

 Affly

Drukta

 

7,  Mr Milan Mukhia from Sri Lanka writes:

Dear Vivek Ji,

Thanks for updates with all your effort for the sake of Peoples in Need.

Just to inform you that I personally transferred US$ 70 (Indian Rs. 3200) through website darjeelingtimes.com payable to mantraclicks@gmail.com.  I  understand whoever manage mantraclicks.com in darjeelingtimes will join the Guild Relief Fund as one consolidated unit.

I am spreading your appeal to my friends and colleagues around.

Best regards,

Milan

8. Mr Raj Basu from Siliguri writes:

Dear Vivek, Deep & Amitava,

Thank you for the update.

On the 1st of June, evening, after the 3rd Zonal meeting of CII, both laxmi & I had reported to Suraj that the CII North Bengal has confirmed the donation of roof material (tins) 12 bundles. The same can be handed over on the date the Daj team comes to Siliguri to collect the other materials. It would be wonderful if a CII representative can join the distribution.

Shall wait for your update.

Dear frens, as you see we are growing. Thank you all for your concern.

Regards,
Vivek Chhetri.

Dear friends!

The Darjeeling Press Guild members were at the Darjeeling district court throughout the day, trying to retrieve our documents, following suggestions from our dear Sunita didi, from UAE, who wanted some legal documents for more support. We did manage to post some details but this seems insufficient. Will work it out with didi and see what best can be done.

We also received some positive feed backs today:

Mr Ashok R Mirchandania, writes:.

Dear Vivek,

Cheque No 808271 issued on the SBI Darjeeling for 25000 has been sent to Amitabha Banerjee. Should leave cotonou today. Hope you get enough and succeed. BTW I am not an Ambassador, just an Honorary Consul General Of India to the Benin Republic, in West Africa.


*- Thank you Mr Mrichandania, for your support.

Mr Neeraj Agarawal, who is currently based in UK, has written the following mail:

 
Hi Vivek,

I had recently done some fundraising to help a school in Sonada. (You can check out my fundraising page at www.sponosor-me.org/neeraj for details). I am looking at the possibility of re-allocating some of this fund towards this amazing initiative that you guys have undertaken. The money would be routed through 'Joy to the World' a Scottish charity which has been the direct beneficiary of my fundraising efforts. Joy to the World is committed to supporting children and young people. I have also been in touch with another UK charity called Darjeeling Children's Trust that too works for children in Darjeeling and are keen to support your initiative. However, given their specified terms of reference relating to children and young people, both these charities are unable to make a donation directly to your appeal. They have thus suggested that once the project gets going then they could contribute monies towards any special facilities directly relating to the children eg. providing them with clothes, books, equipment etc. or perhaps rehousing some families with children.

Please let me know if this is something you would consider.

Finally I have one small suggestion - it would be great if you could put all email ids in your mailing list on to the BCC list as it would otherwise expose them to a risk of being spammed.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,


Neeraj.

    * It would be great if we receive feedbacks from our members on Mr Neeraj’s suggestions.

I also received a call from Mr Puran Gongba (Uncle Joey’s (hehe) from Darjeeling) saying that Dr Sonam B Wangyal, a well know writer who is currently based in Jaigaon, Jalpaiguri, has handed over a sum of Rs 1001/- towards our project. Mr Amitava Banerjee, will be meeting Puran Uncle tomorrow. Thank you very much Dr Wangyal.

Regards,
Vivek.

Dear friends!

Slowly but surely we are moving ahead. Our survey team has finished making all spot visits. Suraj Sharma, Reza Pradhan and Mrinal Rana have really worked hard in visiting every place, documenting the extent of damage and collecting relevant datas.

The Darjeeling Press Guild will be meeting at Hotel Anand Palace at 10 am on Saturday (6 June 2009). The Guild will shortlist 20 families during the meeting and the details will be communicated to all tomorrow.

We have been receiving positive feeds from our members from across the globe. Mr Neeraj Agarwal (neerajagarwal72@gmail.com), who is co-ordinating our efforts in UK had mailed me the following today:

Hi Vivek,

Following up on a suggestion to create an appeal on Chip In, I have created one using Niraj Lama's paypal account which was advertised on the facebook group. This means that all the money donated through Chip in will go into that particular paypal account. Have a look and if you feel this is fine, then please feel free to share the link and promote it more widely.

http://neeraj.chipin.com/darjeeling-landslides

 
I would be happy to update this as and when required. Do let me know if you have any other comments on this.

Regards,

Neeraj.

*** I think we should go ahead with Mr Neeraj’s proposal. Plz circulate the link.

Vaishali Pradhan, my friend who is currently based in Kathmandu is also trying to help us along with Anita Subba. We are grateful to them.

I also received inquires from Calcutta and Delhi, today.

Once again thank you all for your support.

Regards,
Vivek. 

Daily update  07-June 2009.

Meeting of the Darjeeling Press Guild !.

The meeting of the Darjeeling Press Guild was held at Hotel Anand Palace at 10.30 am on Saturday, 6th June 2009.

Mrs Laxmi Kaushal, executive officer, Confederation of Indian Industry  (CII), also attended our meeting and provided us with some valuable suggestion along with a pledge to support our initiative.

The followings points were discussed:

1. The survey team comprising of Suraj Sharma, Reza Pradhan and Mrinal Rana, provided us with a list of 21 beneficiaries along with the relevant information like number of working members and financial status of the identified family.

In the list we also had four families whose members have died during the landslides. The Guild members have decided not to help these families as the government has hiked the compensation package. The families would be getting Rs 4 lakh for every member died. Two such families had two casualties, each. The Press Guild has instead decided to add some more after which the final list will be published along with the details on Monday.

2. Following suggestions from the survey team which has made spot visit, we have decided not to stick to a uniform house model as this seems unviable. According to the survey team, the land pattern is not uniform. Unlike the plains and that houses are build in the Hills as per the land’s. We have instead decided to use the model house only for our estimates and will work out a plan with every beneficiary identified. Every member of the Guild will be given in charge of one house.

We have already conveyed the message to our architect Subin Pradhan, who has also agreed to make all necessary changes. We are also looking at using corrugated tin sheets for the entire construction with just one roof sloping instead of cement. The suggestion has come from the displaced people themselves.   This will be looked upon by Subin after he makes the spot visits.

We are happy to happy to announce that Mr Bardan Ghimire from US and  Mr Pawan Subba from UK have informed us about their contribution of 100 USD.  We have also collected a sum of Rs 1000 from Dr Sonam B Wangyal and have deposited the same in our account.

We will be updating our accounts on Monday and will scan the passbook details and post in on our regular site for the benefit of all.

Thank you very much for your support.

Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling.

Update 07-06-2009:

Dear frens,

I received a mail from Sunita didi, Dubai, who is co-ordinating our initiative there. There have been so positive developments and we shall post the details as and when it gets through.

We are updating our bank account tomorrow. I shall post the details tomorrow.

I also received a call from Smriti Gurung, London and a mail from Saloni Shrestha from Singapore. They are extending support to our cause.

The Darjeeling Press Guild members are trying to meet the District Magistrate tomorrow. I spoke to the DM today. He has assured that he will try his best to meet us tomorrow. Since, an inter- ministerial team from Delhi is currently touring Darjeeling to assess the damage caused by the landslide he has not been able to provide us with the exact time. Nevertheless he has promised us to meet us as early as possible.

I also received a mail form Mr Neeraj Agrawal from London stating if we should approach two UK based organizations for post –construction relief work. I personally feel that we should first complete our target before diversifying further.

Thank you very much for all your support.

Regards.

Vivek.

---

Daily update  08-June 2009.

Dear friends,

We are making steady progress and I now realize that it is time for us to act. We have put in place all possible system for contributions and let us put it in good use!.

We could not meet the District Magistrate today as he was pre-occupied with the inter-ministerial team from Delhi and he also had a meeting in Siliguri today. We however will be meeting him as soon as possible.

There have been some positive feedbacks:

Mr Petr Savcha, a scientist from the Czech Republic and my dear friend writes:

Dear Vivek,

I have just sent USD 150 via Paypal to whereismary@hotmail.com. I hope the sum will reach your fund in order, but in case of any problems, please let me know and I will send details incl. the transaction ID.

Dear Petr: I have received a confirmation from Mary about our contribution.

Mr Vishal Subba, from Abu Dhabi, further adds:

Dear Vivek,

The collections from Abu Dhabi should be in by the end of this week and to save costs we will combine it with the dubai collection (which Samir da is doing) and send together.

Regards

Vishal Subba

Adnoc Distribution

P.O. Box 4188

Abu Dhabi UAE.

Tel: +971 2 5543229

Mob: +971 50 7212439

Fax: +971 2 5540916

email (official): vishal.subba@adnoc-dist.ae

email (alternate): vishalsubba@hotmail.com

email (alternate): vishalsubba23@yahoo.co.in

blog site            : http://vishalsubba.blogspot.com/


Things are working out in Nepal too. Vaishali Pradhan, who again is a very good friend of mine but presently settled in Kathmandu has copied me the following mail:

Dear friends,

As forwarded to you earlier, we have decided to open an account with The Himalayan Bank under a relevant name (maybe Darjeeling Relief Fund) today. I will be circulating the account number to you after which we all can deposit our respecive funds, after which we can send the collective amount to our freinds in Darjeeling. I have spoken to a friend at the bank and they have agreed to open (and close) the account without any extra formalities (this will help us as we do not have to get into the nitty gritties of the process). As soon as I get the account number we can get started. I also would like to request you to kindly inform as many people about this intiative.

Do let me know if you have other ideas to support them.

Rgds,

Vaishali.

The man (or should I say the women) of the match is once again Sunita didi from Dubai. She has been supporting us so much that I cannot justify her commitment for the cause. She once again writes:

Hi there,

Hope all's well.

I'd like you to know that my 'drive' is doing pretty well, one of my colleagues made a contribution of 5oo dhms and that I felt was so generous.

I'm pretty sure of reaching my target of Rs 35000 /-

I love my colleagues :)

Sameer, you need to tell me how to hand over the collection to you,I should be ready by tomorrow evening.

I'll give you the list as well.

Have a good day!

(Samir/not Sameer (hehe)  too, is coordinating our activities along with Sunita didi, in Dubai).

Mr Ashok Pokhrel, a proud Hermonite from Kathmandu, seems to have left a message with another of our dear but pompous (( Asok daju you would agree with me right!) ), Hermonite, Mr Rajesh Pandey, that he is contribution INR Rs 1001/- towards our initiative.

Thank you very much Asok daju. Hope to see you at Joey’s/ Hotel Apsara, soon.

Dear frens,

As you must be aware that we are making good progress but  I have realized that many of us are not getting proactively involved in the project. Lets us all joins hands together and bring a smile to those we can.

Also, I updated the A/c today. Our total collection till date is Rs 20,001/- (This is largely because the funds are still being collected). Apart from the Rs 10,001/- that has been contributed by the Darjeeling Press Guild, we have received Rs 1000/- from Dr Sonam B Wangayal, from Jaigaon. More importantly, there is confusion about the other Rs 10000/- as it is credited to something called the RTGS. We inquired with the bank authorities but they seem unaware about the transaction as details have not been provided by the depositor.

I would request all, to kindly provide us with the details about your contributions.. I understand that many contributors would want to remain anonymous. However, please email me the details and  I will ensure that your name is not published. We need to know where every penny is coming from to ensure that there is total transparency in our dealings. We are now in a fix as we are unaware regarding the Rs 10,001/-contribution..

If you do wish we will maintain your anonymity.

Dear all, it is time for us to act. Let us join our hands together.

Regards to all.

Vivek.

Daily update  09-June 2009. 

Dear friends !

The Darjeeling Press Guild today met the District Magistrate. He did maintain that the administration is trying to enhance the compensation for those who have lost their houses from Rs 6,000 to atleast Rs 60,000/-. We told him about our initiative in detail and has asked us to carry on with our work.

The DM has further maintained that when the government compensation comes he will not take an official note of the help we have extended to the 20 beneficiaries. This essentially means that despite our help those beneficiaries would not be deprived of any government help as and when it comes. The DM was however clear that it would take “quite a while” for the government funds to reach as survey and identification needs to go through a lot of official formalities.

The DM suggested that if the government funds come early we could think of providing construction materials so that these beneficiaries could construct bigger houses.

The Darjeeling Press Guild has already decided to speak to the beneficiaries about their requirement before taking any decision. We also want to wait till we collect the required funds before finally telling the beneficiaries about our plans. We think it would be inappropriate to promise them something as our effort would solely depend on the amount collected.

There have been positive developments today.

Niraj da and Mary, have posted the following:


Hi Vivek!


Will transfer the below funds as soon as possible.  They need to clear my USA bank account and then go to my Indian account and then directly into the Relief account.  It will take about a week, but we won't need to pay any fees.  I have sent thank you emails to all those who have payed via Paypal.  The list of donors:

Dr. Petr Svacha $150

Bardan Ghimire   $100

Pawan Subba     $100

Mark Devereux   $100

Mary & Niraj      $500 (plus we'll pay the Paypal fees so the full amount goes to the relief fund)


Total to date    $950 (approx. Rs. 44,000)

Thank you very much Mary and Niraj da..

Mr Suman Goshai from Hongkong has written the following:

Hello Vivek & Nalima,

Namashkar,

 
Vivek, did you receive my text msg?

 
This evening, at around 6:30 p.m. HK time, I have sent Rs 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand)as a donation from my side through Western Union.  I have mentioned Nalima Thami as the recepient of the sum.  Please give her the MTCN number and tell her to collect the sum.  I hope you have already informed her about it.

Should there be any problem when receiving the sum, please let me know and I will deal with that. Or you guys can also text me at +852 6288 2051.

Thank you very much Sumanji. We would be doing the needful tomorrow.

I also got a call from Mr B. Edward (Glenary’s Darjeeling) and he would be signing a cheque of Rs 10,000/-  towards the Darjeeling Press Guild Relief Fund, tomorrow.

Thank you very much to the entire Edwards family.

Dr Sailendra Dewan form Bangalore too has made a contribution towards our initiative;

Dear Vivek,

I have deposited Rs. 2000 as contribution to Darjeeling Press Guild Relief Fund to your Union Bank of India account. It has been transferred from my ICICI Bank, Pondicherry account today.

Please let me know when you receive it.

Thanks for all the good work the guild is doing for the landslide victims.

Regards,

Dr. Sailendra Dewan

Bangalore

+91 98454 06931

Thank you very much Dr Dewan.

Vaishali Pradhan, who is helping us from Kathmandu has made the following note. Please take note of it;

Dear friends,

I am really sorry to inform you that I have some bad news. I recieved a call from the bank yesterday evening stating that the top management refused to accept the account on the name I had mentioned (Darjeeling relief fund). The reason, weird and distressing, was that the cause (beneficiries) were not in Nepal but in a foreign country. However, I was adamant on opening an account so have decided to stay as a signatory. The account now will be under my name as the only option left was to get a personal account. I dont know if all of you would agree to this and will be willing to contribute to a personal account. Neverthelss, I still trust my instincts and hope that you all will be a part of this. I will be recieveing the account number this evening and will forward it to all of you.

As the funds begin to flow in, I will keep you all updated about the progress on a daily basis.

Rgds,

Dear friend the total amount deposited in our accounts stands at Rs 21,000/- (Twenty one thousand as of today).

The following are the contributors:
Darjeeling Press Guild: Rs 10,000/-

RTGS ( I have not yet heard from them): Rs 10,000/-

Dr Sonam B Wangyal: Rs 1000/-.

Many of the funds are still been routed and some of the cheques have already been dispatched from across the world. The total amount that has been dispatched but which is yet to reach us stands at around Rs 1.4 lakhs. I will provide the details as and when it gets credited to our account. Many fundraising events are being organized and we are likely to get a clear picture of the amount we can raise by the third week of June.

Thank you all for your support.

Regards.

Vivek.

 

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 Daily update  10-June 2009.

 Dear Friends !.

Sunita didi from Dubai has posted us the list of contributors who have helped her. None of them have ever visited Darjeeling and their only bond with our beautiful place is didi. Yet, they have come forward to help us during this hour and have strengthened the bonds of humanity forever.

On behalf of all the members of this initiative I would like to thank our friends from Dubai for their thoughtfulness:

Sunita didi, writes:

Good morning!

Below is the list of contributors from my side.

1. Jayasree- 500, 2. Rehab R -150, 3. Rebecca -111, 4. Mejda- 100, 5. Kavita -100, 6. Suresh- 100, 7. Marium – 100, 8. Smitha- 100, 9. Mr. Ginawi- 100, 10.Nicole- 100, 11. Susie- 50, 12- Geeta- 50, 13. Clementine -50, 14. Wael - 50

15. Hiba -50, 16. Jayanthi- 50, 17. Naseem -50,18. Jinan, mausmi, ida, Anitha – 100, 19. Huma- 30, 20. Fazrul – 30,  21. Sudeshna- 50,  22. Gomathy- 100, 23. Lakshmi- 100, 24. Lara- 100, 25. Nirlok - 500.

 That amounts to AED 2,771  which is 36,033 INR.

Well, I made it :).

Samir, please get back to me at the earliest so I can  hand it over to you.

Sarika didi from Gangtok/Kalimpong has sent a cheque of Rs 5000. The following is her mail:

Dear Vivek,

We are happy to be a part of this innovative releif programme. Have deposited HDFC Cheque no 211934 amounting to Rs.5000/-  only in the account of Darjeelilng Press Guild Releif Fund.

All the Best and do let us know if there is anything we could do from here.

Love,

Sarika Di & Jagat.

Thank you very much didi and bhena.

During the day we also collected a cheque of Rs 10,000 from Mr B Edwards (Glenary’s) and the same has been deposited.

Thank you very much Uncle.

Mary has informed that she has received a contribution of $100 AUD from Anna and Grant (Walton). The details are as follows:

Payment details

Amount: $100.00 AUD

Transaction Date: 10 Jun 2009

Transaction ID: 46428400KF5393726

Subject: Donation for the Darjeeling landslide assistance

Message: Hi Mary, Could you please confirm that you have received $A100 (one hundred australian dollars). Our thoughts go out to those who have suffered. Cheers Anna and Grant (Walton)

Mary has also received a sum of USD 20, from Roshini Rai, who is currently working in Mumbai. Thank you very much Roshini.

The Darjeeling Press Guild members also collected a sum of Rs 10,000/- which was transferred through Western Union by Mr Suman Goshai from Hongkong.

Thank you very much Suman daju.

As of today, the total amount deposited at our account stands at Rs 41,001/-(forty-one thousand one).

The details are as follows: Darjeeling Press Guild: Rs 10,000/-, RTGS (?????) Rs 10,001/-, Mr Suman Goshai: Rs 10,000/-, Mr B Edwards (Glenary’s): Rs 10,000/- (cheque deposited for clearance) and Dr Sonam B Wangyal: Rs 1000/-
 
Also, Vaishali Pradhan from Kathmandu has opened up the following account in Nepal.

Dear friends,

The account has finnaly been opened in The Himalayan Bank.

The account number is 01902265280018

Account name: Vaishali Pradhan

Please do forward this account number to all you friends interested to contribute for the cause. I hope the contributions keep flowing in and we are able to forward as much to our team back in Darjeeling.

Dear friends, we are making much progress and I would like to thank all for the support. We are nearing the Rs 2 lac mark if we take into account all the commitments made till date

PLZ CONTINUE BROWSING THROUGH THE FACEBOOK THREAD: In support of people displaced by Darjeeling landslides, for further details.

Regards,

Vivek.

Update: 11 June 2009.

Dear friends !

Things were surprisingly quiet today apart from a few queries from Siliguri (Mr Santu Gurung) and Bombay (Roshini Rai). The Darjeeling Press Guild will be meeting at Hotel Anand Palace on Saturday once again.

We would like to clarify that the New York fundraiser which was scheduled to take place on 14 June 2009 is not part of our initiative. We too were under the impression that the fundraiser was being mobilized following our call for help. However, the organizers seem to be doing its independently and Shennpenn Khymsar has clarified the same through the following mail:

 

 

Dear all I thought it was important to post this clarification to settle things at the very onset.

Regards,

Vivek.

 

 

 

Model House for Landslide victims, which DPG is aimed to construct 20 houses 

 

 

 

Dear friends !.

Members of the Darjeeling Press Guild today held its meeting at Hotel Anand Palace. Mr Santu Gurung from Siliguri also attended the meeting and handed over a cheque of Rs 1602/- toward the relief fund.

The following resolution was adopted in the meeting.

1. The Darjeeling Press Guild will immediately start constructing houses as and when our funds cross the Rs 2.5 lac mark.

2. Mr Suraj Sharma and Mr Mrinal Rana, will provide the Guild with a detailed profile with pictures of all the beneficiaries within Friday. The details have already been collected.

3. Darjeeling Times dot Com has also decided to divert all the funds it has collected to our project. Mr Udhyan Rai, coordinator of DT.com mentioned that he has so far collected around Rs 10,000/-.

4. Mr Subin Pradhan, architect from Kalimpong, who is helping us in our project, has also posted a new design. The same has been uploaded in the Facebook thread for more feebacks. Since we are constructing houses on a need basis we are trying to have as many model as possible in place so that the beneficiaries can choose the model best suited for them and their land pattern.

So far the total amount credited to the Darjeeling Press Guild Relief Fund account at UBI, Darjeeling stands at Rs 1,11,421. (Rupess One lac eleven thousand four hundred and twenty one).

The following are the contributors:

Darjeeling Press Guild                                Rs 10,000/-

RTGS                                                       Rs10,001/-

Dr Sonam B Wangyal            (Jaigoan)        Rs 1000/-

Dr Sailendra Dewan (Bangalore)                  Rs 2000/-

Dr Priya Nepaune (Gangtok)                       Rs 5,001/-

Mr Suman Goshai (Hongkong)                    Rs 10,000/-

 

Mr Madhav Thapa Magar (Macau)                Rs 5,000/-

Mr B Edwards(Glenary’s)                             Rs 10,000/-

Mrs Sarika Pradhan (Sikkim)                       Rs 5,000/-

Mr Ashok Pokhral (Nepal)                           Rs 1000/-

Mr RR (wants to remain anonymous)           Rs 1000/-

Mr Santu Gurung and friends (Siliguri)         Rs 1602/-

Guide’s Association (Clubside Tours and Travel Darjeeling):              Rs 3000/-

 
We also received a sum of Rs. 46,816.58, from Mary Boland who has allowed us to use her Pay Pal account in US.

The detail of the Rs 46,816.58 which was deposited at Mary’s account is as follows:

Mary and Niraj Lama:                                   USD 500

Dr Petr Svach (Czech Republic)                      USD 150

Bardan Ghimire (US)                                    USD 100

Mr Pawan Subba (London)                            USD 100

Mark Devereux (US)                                    USD 100

Roshini Rai (Mumbai)                                  USD 20

Anna and Grant Walton (Aus)                       AUD 100

 
Apart from the said amount many contributors have already sent us cheques which are yet to reach us. As and when we receive these amounts the same will be posted.

The Darjeeling Press Guild has also been promised 12 bundles of tin sheets by Mrs Laxmi Kaushal, of CII (North Bengal). We will collect the same when we get down to Siliguri to collect other building materials.

The Guild will meet at Hotel Anand Palace next Saturday. All are invited the time of the meeting will be conveyed to all as soon as it is finalized.

If there are any discrepancies please let us know immediately.

Regards,

Vivek.

 

 

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Update :14 June 2009.

Dear Friends !

Things are really moving well and we hope to start construction work soon. Meanwhile these are the following updates:

 Mr Rajib Pokhrel, a Hermonite from Kathmandu has made the following comment:

Vivek,

GREAT JOB.

I would like to contribute some money  from my side. Please could you resend me the a/c no as I lost all the previous mails due to some problem in my mailing system.

Thanks.

Rajiv

Rajib Pokhrel

Premier Finance Co. Ltd.

Manbhawan, Lalitpur

5521223 / 5521402

Fax : 5550412

** will do the needful- viv.

Mr Robbie Subba, director Himali Boarding School, Kurseong has also made the following commitment.

Dear Vivek,

Sending a check of Rs 10,000.00 as starters tomorrow, senior students have started their own campaign, will foreward proceedings as and when.

Robbie Subba

Mary has further informed us that she has received $100 USD You received a payment of  Christopher T Middleton

The Darjeeling Press Guild would like to thank Mr Robbie Subba, Christopher T Middleton and Mr Rajib Pokhrel for their support.

Regards.

Vivek.

 

 

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Update :17 June 2009.

Dear friends !

The contributions that have been deposited at the Darjeeling Press Guild Relief Fund is as follows: (some cheques are in the process of being cleared)

The following are the contributors:

Darjeeling Press Guild                                      Rs 10,000/-

RTGS                                                             Rs10,001/-

Dr Sonam B Wangyal            (Jaigoan)             Rs 1000/-

Dr Sailendra Dewan (Bangalore)                        Rs 2000/-

Dr Priya Nepaune (Gangtok)                             Rs 5,001/-

Mr Suman Goshai (Hongkong)                          Rs 10,000/-

Mr Madhav Thapa Magar (Macau)                     Rs 5,000/-

Mr B Edwards(Glenary’s)                                  Rs 10,000/-

Mrs Sarika Pradhan (Sikkim)                           Rs 5,000/-

Mr Ashok Pokhral (Nepal)                               Rs 1000/-

Mr RR (wants to remain anonymous)                Rs 1000/-

Mr Santu Gurung and friends (Siliguri)              Rs 1602/-

Guide’s Association (Clubside Tours and Travel Darjeeling):              Rs 3000/-

We also received a sum of Rs. 46,816.58, from Mary Boland who has allowed us to use her Pay Pal account in US.

The detail of the Rs 46,816.58 which was deposited at Mary’s account is as follows:

Mary and Niraj Lama:                                   USD 500

Dr Petr Svach (Czech Republic)                      USD 150

Bardan Ghimire (US)                                    USD 100

Mr Pawan Subba (London)                             USD 100

Mark Devereux (US)                                    CAD 100

Roshini Rai (Mumbai)                                   USD 20

Anna and Grant Walton (Aus)                      AUD 100

Ashok Mirchandi, Benin,                             Rs, 25,000/

Madhav Sarda, (Golden Tips Tea Company, Darjeeling) Rs 11,000/-

Mitendra (Mikeda) Rawat (Darjeeling)       Rs 1000/-

Eva Didi (US)                                                 Rs 4,500/-

We would like to thank Mr Mirchandi, Mr Sarda, Mike da and Eva didi for their support.

Thank you very much.

Regards,

Vivek. 

 

 

 

Dear friends !

I would like to apologize, at the very onset, for being unable to post my daily updates for the past few days. Infact, I was out of station trying my best to fulfill certain social obligations.

We are making much progress.

Mr Robbie Subba, director, Himali Boarding School, Kurseong, has handed us a sum of Rs 10001/- (Ten thousand one). We would thank Mr Subba once again.

Mary has posted details of the USD 250 contribution made by Emily Esmaili, from US. Thank you very much Emily.

Mr Benoy Thapa, from Darjeeling, has also handed me over a sum of Rs 1000/- (one thousand) as his contribution towards our effort. Thank you very much Benoy Bhai.

Mr Soam Namchu from Darjeeling has posted the following commitments:

Mr Jimmy Keir who is the Director in our Glenn family foundation would like to send Rs 10,001. He has also been updated by you on your mailing address about the landslides and the money that has been raised. He wants to send by Western Union so please can you give the directions.

I myself would like to commit Rs 2501/- and will pay to you directly when I visit Darjeeling this week.

We would like to thank Mr Keir and Soam daju for their concern and the help.

Mrs Sunita Lama, from UAE, had called me up last evening to tell that the contribution made by her family and colleagues has already been transferred to a Darjeeling account. The same will be transferred to the Darjeeling Press Guild Relief Fund soon.

Thank you very much Sunita di.
 
Even as much is happening, I also received a mail from Vaishali who is in Kathmandu.

Dear friends,

 I regret to inform you all that we have had no collections so far. The account is still empty! I simply could not figure out the reason for this? I hope that I dont have to assume that none of you are interested.

I know we all are busy with our daily activities, but I guess taking out a little time and energy for our friends back home would not be that difficult.

I also havent recieved any feedback from any of you regarding this intiative (except from Anita Subba, Srijana Limbu and Smreety Dewan). Please could you put a little thought into this and try and contribute accordingly.

Hoping to hear from you all soon.

All we can say is GOOD MORNING KATHMANDU.

I regret to state that the scheduled weekly meeting of the Darjeeling Press Guild had to be cancelled at the very last moment on Saturday. Neverthless, Dr Priya Neupaney, from Gangtok had come over to Darjeeling. We are also happy that Dr Priya accepted our request to stay over in Darjeeling for a day.

We are grateful to Dr Priya for her feedbacks and her untiring support to our initiative.

Once again thank you all for the support.

Regards,

Vivek.