Hill courts to reopen today
OUR CORRESPONDENT - The Telegraph
Darjeeling, July 22: The Darjeeling Bar Association has decided to withdraw its indefinite ceasework from tomorrow following a written assurance from the Bengal home secretary that the powers of the district court located here would not be vested in the courts in Siliguri.
The decision to withdraw the ceasework, which had begun on June 25, was taken after a delegation of the association visited Calcutta.
The seven-member delegation had met home secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti and Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court S.S. Nijjar. Both of them had allayed fears that there was no such move being mooted either by the state government or the high court. Darjeeling has seven courts.
“The association also received a letter from the home secretary with an assurance that the state government has neither proposed, nor is contemplating any move to act on a resolution of the Siliguri Bar Association,” said Rajesh Chhetri, a member of the delegation.
The Darjeeling Bar Association had decided to shut the hill courts after its Siliguri counterpart adopted a resolution, demanding that the filing and other powers of the district and sessions court in Darjeeling should be vested in the additional courts in Siliguri.
The Siliguri association had maintained that the agitation for Gorkhaland in the hills was hampering the smooth functioning of the judiciary system there. It had also submitted the resolution to the high court, creating uproar in the hills.
“A district and sessions court can only be set up at the district headquarters. Siliguri is a mere subdivision of Darjeeling district and nowhere in the country does a subdivision have such a court. This is why we vehemently protest the Siliguri Bar Association resolution,” said Chhetri.
With the courts scheduled to reopen from tomorrow, Czech entomologist Petr Svacha and his companion Emil Kucera will be able to utilise the services of their lawyers.
DBA to lift cease-work today
DARJEELING, July 22: After an assurance from the home secretary, Mr Ashok Mohan Chakraborty and Chief Justice Mr S.S. Nijjar, the Darjeeling Bar Association (DBA), unanimously decided to withdraw its indefinite cease-work from tomorrow. “Respecting the home secretary and honourable chief justice's request the cease-work will be lifted from tomorrow. They assured us that the government has not taken any steps or is contemplating to act on the proposal passed by the Siliguri Bar Association”, confirmed Mr. Rajesh Chettri, executive member of the DBA.
The DBA's indefinite cease work commenced from 25 June protesting against the Siliguri Bar Associations proposal to transfer important powers of the District Judge to the additional court in Siliguri. A seven member joint action committee comprising of lawyers from the 3 Hill subdivisions that met the home secretary and the Chief Justice last week submitted its report at the meeting of the DBA today. “The meetings proved fruitful so the joint action committee formed specifically to pursue this issue of transfer of powers has been dissolved,” Mr Chettri stated.
The development is a reprieve for the two Czech nationals who were unable to move their bail plea on three earlier hearings in the absence of a defence lawyer. The duo even participated in the token hunger strike on 17 July with 62 other inmates protesting the cease work that delayed their case proceedings. The cease work continued for 28 days despite the High Court's directive to the State Government to restore normal functioning of the Darjeeling courts recently. “All the courts of Darjeeling will start functioning from tomorrow. However the Darjeeling Bar Association along with Kurseong and Kalimpong will resist if any issue arises in the future”, Mr. Chettri said. n SNS
Book on Makaibari
Siliguri, July 22: A book on Makaibari, written by Rajah Banerjee, the fourth generation owner of one of the most famous and oldest gardens, was released today by historian Basant Lama.
“I wanted to address and redress history through The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic Tea – Makaibari,” said the author. He added that the book is on the evolution of a sustainable synergy between the tea community and the environment
Tirkey flashes highway hope
OUR CORRESPONDENT - The Telegraph
Siliguri, July 22: The pot-holed national highways that interweave north Bengal will be repaired soon, Manohar Tirkey, the Bengal minister of state for public works, said today.
A high-level meeting that Tirkey had with Union surface transport secretary Brahma Dutt and other officials in Darjeeling yesterday decided that the state public works department would repair the national highways with Central funds soon.
“The change in alignment of the East-West corridor connecting Assam with Gujarat has led to problems,” Tirkey said. “Both the Union ministry and the state were confused over the responsibility of maintaining the roads. However, things have been sorted out in the meeting.”
According to Tirkey, his department will start repairing NH31 from Bagdogra to Kalchini, covering Sevoke-Malbazar-Chulsa-Binnaguri-Banarhat-Birpara-Madarihat, after receiving Central funds.
“Also, the repairing of NH55, connecting Darjeeling More on the outskirts of Siliguri with Chowk Bazar in Darjeeling town through Tindharia-Kurseong-Ghum will commence shortly. At many places in the hills, the highway is lower than the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway tracks which causes water logging on the road. We plan to raise the level of the road and put on mastic layers in congested areas,” the minister said. “We have been asked to submit revised estimates.”
Tirkey said earlier the National Highways Authority of India had decided to build the four-lane corridor through the Dooars. “The responsibility of maintaining the highway thus went to the NHAI. We continued maintaining the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri-Mainaguri-Dhupguri-Falakata-Cooch Behar route which was a state highway earlier but has now been declared NH31D.”
“But as the alignment of the East-West corridor has been changed and it will now run through NH31D, the onus of maintaining the Dooars route (NH31) has returned to us. The NHAI holds the responsibility to maintain the NH31D. We will, however, spend around Rs 1.50 crore to repair the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri road since work on the four-lane corridor on this route is yet to start.”
Tirkey said Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling has asked the officials of the Union ministry, who met him in Gangtok recently, to scout for an alternative route as the people of the state faced problems when NH31A, the lifeline of the state, closes down for landslide and strikes.
3 elephants die of poisoning
The Hindu
KOLKATA: The authorities of tea gardens near the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary in north Bengal have been asked by the State’s wildlife authorities to control the spraying of chemical herbicides in the wake of the death of three elephants of poisoning within a span of 24 hours last week.
The elephants, all females, were found dead on July 18 and 19 near the Simulbari tea estate in West Bengal’s Sukna forest range in Darjeeling district.
The wildlife authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident.
“We are awaiting the forensic report but there is no doubt that the elephants died of poisoning after consuming herbicides,” Sumita Ghatak, Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife Division I, told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling on Tuesday.
| About Us | Contact Us |
Set as homepage 
|
Add to favorites 
|
