GNLF to meet Sonia on state; No change in proposed Gorkhaland map: Roshan Giri

 

GNLF to meet Sonia on state
OUR CORRESPONDENT - The Telegraph

Siliguri, Feb. 1: The GNLF will join hands with the Bharatiya Federation for New States to demand Gorkhaland. A delegation of both the organisations will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi either on February 4 or 5 to place their demand.

Dawa Pakhrin, a GNLF leader from Kalimpong, today said: “We have decided to highlight the demand of the separate state at the national level rather than confining it to district or state levels. Keeping that in view, we have joined hands with the federation.”

Pakhrin said the GNLF was the first organisation to raise the demand for Gorkhaland in the mid-80s and its 1,200 supporters had died during the movement. “We have lost thousands of our supporters during the movement for the separate state. We have respect for the present state government. But we want the separate state for our identity,” he said at a news conference here.

Baba Ram Kishan Dev, the founder chairman of the federation, who was also present, expressed his full support for Gorkhaland. He said the federation had been formed on February 27, 1996, in New Delhi and had played an active part in the formation of new states like Uttarakhand. “We have always supported the demand for smaller states and have fixed an appointment with the Congress president in the first week of February. An 8-10 member delegation will meet her,” said Dev.

“During the formation of Uttarakhand, the federation was the co-ordinator for 52 organisations which were spearheading the movement for the separate state. Here we have come to extend our support to GNLF leaders for Gorkhaland. We will also talk to the leaders, who are organising a movement for a separate Kamtapur state,” he said.

Dev, however, doesn’t have any plan to include the Darjeeling MP in the delegation. He also ruled out a dialogue with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which is also on the warpath for the separate state. “The Darjeeling MP is busy with ‘Jinnah’ and writing new books. After being elected from Darjeeling, he has done nothing for his constituency. Morcha leaders are not willing to get involved with us,” Dev said when asked why the federation was not including the MP and Morcha in the delegation.

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No change in proposed Gorkhaland map: Roshan Giri
PTI News

Siliguri, Feb 1 (PTI) Claiming there was no change in the map of the proposed Gorkhaland state as reported in the media as attributed to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri this evening termed the reports as "false".

"There is no truth in the report which is motivated," Giri asserted in Darjeeling in an apparent bid to clear confusion among the rank and file following report of Gurung's recent note to the Centre excluding Siliguri and sizeable portion of Terai and Dooars region.

"There is no change in the map of proposed Gorkhaland," Giri said.

Wary about the fallout about the news in the Darjeeling hills, Gurung was scheduled to address a GJM rally at Dagapur, on the outskirts of Siliguri on February 6, ostensibly to clarify his "stand".

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GJM lifts liquor ban in Darjeeling
Times of India

DARJEELING: After three dry months, the queen of the hills is once again on a high.

On Monday, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) withdrew the ban on sale of liquor it had imposed last November, and Darjeeling rejoiced.

Thirsty tourists and locals rushed to liquor shops to bag a bottle of their favourite tipple before stocks ran out even as restaurants raised a toast.

Dilip Patel, a tourist from Ohio, asked his guide to lead him to an off-shop on learning about the ban being lifted. He was seen walking back to his hotel clutching two beer bottles acquired from Chowrasta.

GJM had enforced the ban on November 7 to choke revenues for the state government and to ensure people’s focus did not waver from the Gorkhaland movement. But within three months it buckled under growing resentment and decided that the decision was not compatible with the social fabric of the hills. Apart from beating the chill, alcohol is offered to deities in festivals by various hill communities.

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Statehood meet venue in DM court
OUR CORRESPONDENT - The  Telegraph

Darjeeling, Feb. 1: The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha has decided to organise a public meeting in Siliguri on February 6 and has proposed three venues to the administration for the event.

The district administration will communicate its decision to the student wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha after receiving a “report” from Siliguri, a senior official has said.

In 2008, the Morcha had been refused permission by the administration to hold a meeting in support of its statehood demand in Siliguri’s Baghajatin Park. However, after an agitation for a month, the hill party was allowed to organise a rally on the Indira Gandhi grounds on the outskirts of the town. The Vidyarthi Morcha’s move is likely to provide a fresh impetus to the statehood demand in the plains. If allowed, the proposed meeting will be the second on the demand in the Siliguri civic area after 2008.

Public meeting in support of Gorkhaland in the plains has always been a cause of concern for the administration as the majority of the people living in the Siliguri subdivision are opposed to the division of Bengal.

Kismat Chhetri, president, Vidyarthi Morcha, said: “We will organise the meeting largely with the students of the Terai. We appeal to all hill students to attend the meeting. We are expecting a crowd of about 40,000 to 50,000.”

Although senior Morcha leaders are unlikely to attend the meeting, its student wing is trying to get leaders from across the country to address the gathering. “We will finalise the list of speakers on Wednesday. We are hopeful that we will have representatives from the All Jharkhand Students’ Union, All Assam Students’ Union, the student wings of the Kamtapur Progressive Party and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (BJP student wing),” said Keshav Raj Pokhral, general secretary, Vidyarthi Morcha.

The Morcha student wing has proposed to the administration the three venues — Baghajatin Park, Kanchenjungha Stadium and Dagapur Sports Ground. “The administration is not averse to giving us permission on Dagapur but they will officially communicate us their decision tomorrow,” said Pokhral.

Darjeeling district magistrate Surendra Gupta, however, said he had asked his officials in Siliguri to submit a report on law and order of the area. “The decision will be taken after receiving the report,” he added.

Observers also believe that Dagapur is the most likely venue where the administration can give its nod largely because the spot is close to the areas dominated by those in favour of the statehood demand. The venue is about 500 metres from the spot where in 2007 police had lathicharged a group of ex-servicemen, who had taken out a procession supporting the statehood demand, and burst tear-gas shells to prevent them from entering Siliguri town.

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Training boost to soccer teens
- Camp to revive kalimpong’s Football glory OUR CORRESPONDENT - The Telegraph

Kalimpong, Feb. 1: About 250 budding footballers in the Kalimpong subdivision completed a month-long winter training camp organised by the Kalimpong Football Academy at the Mela Ground here yesterday.

Into its third edition, the camp has been gaining in popularity going by the increase in the number of trainees, from about 100 when it was started to 237 this year. A 12-member coaching team under the leadership of the academy secretary, Dhendup Bhutia, provided training to the youngsters at the camp.

The academy was formed by a group of veteran footballers to revive the golden days of Kalimpong football in the seventies and early eighties when players like Pem Dorji and Urgen (Mini) Lama played at the national level.

“We are committed to bringing back the glorious days. Our youngsters are hugely talented, but they need proper guidance,” said Bhutia, himself a former footballer.

The trainees were all under the age of 17. During the camp that kicked off on December 30, the players were divided into three groups —Under-10, Under-13 and Under-17 — and provided with intensive training from 7.30am to 9.30am everyday.

“Apart from teaching them football skills, we also made them aware of the need for proper physical training.

The players were also given supplementary diet at the non-residential camp,” said Samten Kabo, a member of the coaching team.

Bhutia said some players of the earlier two batches were doing well at the district and state levels.

“Some of these little players, we hope, will one day represent the country because they have the talent,” he added.

Ten of the best trainees in this year’s camp were given gifts, while the rest were presented with certificates of participation.

Tulsi Bhattarai, one of the 10 players, said the camp was of immense help to him.

“I had never undergone such organised training before. I will definitely become a better player if I work on the things that I got to learn at the camp. The coaches were very encouraging and said I had talent,” said Bhattarai.

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Hill forest college without faculty, recruits
MRINALINI SHARMA

Siliguri, Feb. 1: The Eastern Forest Ranger College in Kurseong has not been able to conduct induction courses for rangers for almost three years now because of lack of faculty and low recruitment of range officers.

The institution was set up to provide an orientation course for the newly recruited rangers before they were posted at different places.

But after the last batch passed out in 2007, the only ranger college in the country under the control of the Directorate of Forest Education (DFE) is holding only two-week refresher courses and one-week workshops for in-service officers.

Currently there are two faculty members in the college, instead of five, including principal W.I. Yatbon, who joined a year back, and Thiru Selvan, an assistant instructor who joined in September.

“We don’t have regular faculty here and the instructors who come are usually on deputation. They apply for the posts and the government deputes them to the college. However, not many people are interested since they are reluctant to leave their home states and come here. The main reason is that the accommodation facilities here are not up to the mark. Right now there are just two quarters for the instructors. If housing arrangements are made for faculty members then more officials would apply for posts here,” Selvan said.
He added that the government had advertised twice for the posts but there was little response.

Located at St Mary’s Hill, 4km from Kurseong town, the place was called St Mary’s Seminary and it was under the Catholic Mission of West Bengal until the government purchased it and established the EFRC in 1974.

“It was difficult to conduct induction courses after 2007 so we have been organising refresher courses and workshops,” Selvan said.

The other two ranger colleges in the country are at Balaghat in Maharashtra and Haldwani in Uttarakhand under the respective state governments.

“The state governments have adopted low recruitment policy for range officers. This has resulted in no admissions for rangers at the college and this is another reason why we have not been able to conduct the induction courses. We have a capacity of training 40 range officers from all over the country at a time and the induction course is of 18 months’ duration,” said Yatbon.

He said with no induction courses being held in the college the newly recruited rangers are sent to Central Academy for State Forest Services in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Burnihat in Assam or at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

The authorities have also complained that the college building is very ill-maintained. “It is a very old building and although it houses the required facilities, there is severe leakage problem during the monsoon. The maintenance is very poor,” Selvan said.

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Gorkha activists to take their agitation to Delhi
OneIndia

Siliguri, Feb 2 (ANI): In a bid to intensify their protests, separate state activists in Darjeeling have decided to take their agitation to New Delhi.

Officials of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), the political party agitating for a separate state of Gorkhaland has said their protests in the State have not borne much fruit, so they will take it to New Delhi.


"We will all get together and take out our protests in to New Delhi which will have better effect. People here are suffering because of the protest. We stall traffic, block roads, so we are thinking that we will organise less of our programmes in Darjeeling and more in New Delhi." said Daowa Pakhrin, leader of GNLF.

Meanwhile, a non-political organization that fights for the cause of the smaller states in the country, asked GNLF and all other activists supporting to separate state to work in unison.

"Many organisation are protesting. It is our request to all such organisations to coordinate so that there are no internal strives among them," said Baba Ram Kishan Deo, founder chairman of the Bharatiya (Indian) Federation for the New States.

The Gorkhas have been demanding a separate state, to be carved out of West Bengal, to help them preserve their culture and heritage.

West Bengal's Gorkha population is estimated to be around a million. (ANI)