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A C C U R A T E
B A L A N C E D
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C R E D I B L E
VOL 9 No 114 RNI No: SIKENG/2006/18384
GANGTOK, MONDAY 05 JANUARY 2015
End of EIILM impasse in sight today
6 officials flee campus, students
continue stir
HM Report
Gangtok, Jan 4: At least 6
EIILM university officials
have fled the campus amid
an
indefinite
strike
launched by agitating
students that entered
thirteenth day on Sunday.
Around 200 students
pursuing
various
professional courses at the
Budang, West Sikkim based
private university today
alleged the officials of
fleeing from the varsity
without paying heed to
their demands. With their
semester end exams to
begin on 18 December
already shelved, the
students
have
been
demanding an official
response on the deadlock.
Further, the Vice Chancellor,
Registrar and Controller of
Exams have gone missing
since the past week.
“We have been left like
orphans as there is no
direct contact in the
university
campus.
Moreover, the six officials
fled in the evening despite
the local SDM having
issued a stay order. Neither
the police nor the local
administration bothered to
stop from fleeing,” the
students told the media
Sunday. They further
suspected that EIILM
university is on the verge
of shutting down, days
after Himalayan Mirror
reported on its promoters’
intension to wind up their
education business from
Sikkim.
On the other hand, state
HRD minister R.B.Subba
seeking to end the two-week
long impasse has called a
meeting with the students
and some faculty members
at Gangtok on Monday. “We
are hopeful that our
problem will be sorted out
at the earliest and our voices
are heard,” they said.
EIILM which began as a
state recognised private
university in 2006 is facing
charges of fraudulently
forging
documents,
records, issuing invalid
certificates
involving
forgery and cheating lakhs
of students and their socalled coordinators running
their various off-campus
institutions and study
centres all over the country.
Sikkim
police
have
registered a case against the
EIILM University on 2012
already submitted charge
sheets in connection with
fake certificate scandal.
According to sources,
the university is likely to
close down and depart from
Sikkim due to a severe legal
blow from the Supreme
Court. The Apex Court has
turned down the varsity
management’s plea for
quashing all criminal cases
and court proceedings
they are facing in
connection to several cases
in the past. They had been
chargesheeted in several
cases relating to cheating
and forgery in Namchi trial
court and haven’t reported
since the past 2 months.
SKM braces for civic polls, forms panel
HM Report
Gangtok, Jan 4: Ending
months of political inactivity,
opposition Sikkim Krantikari
Morcha (SKM) party
Sunday called a meeting of
its leaders and resolved to
take part in urban local body
elections due for April-May
later this year.
Despite its president and
Upper
Burtuk
MLA
P.S.Tamang
(Golay)
remaining incommunicado
since the past few months,
the
meeting
also
constituted
a
fresh
coordination committee
headed by K.P.Adhikari.
The 14-member body has
all 9 SKM legislators sans
Golay and senior leaders
like
P.T.Gyamtso,
T.N.Dhakal, Phuchung
Bhutia and Taraman Rai as
its advisors. The committee
will steer the party till the
civic body polls and also
marks
its
second
foundation day in a grand
manner on 4 February.
Former Gangtok Mayor
K.N.Topgay has been
entrusted the task of
coordinating the party’s
campaign for the municipal
elections along with former
Burtuk ward councillor Nilu
Chettri.
Sunday’s meeting was
necessitated after SKM
MLAs faced massive public
outrage for remaining
inactive within seven
months of winning the
assembly elections from 10
constituencies, claimed
party insiders. Now, with its
resolve to resurrect its
support base in the run up
to the civic polls, the party
has is now looking ahead
to resume its activities
within the next few months.
SKM MLAs have
assured party workers that
they are working in public
interest
and
won’t
compromise for petty
issues.
They
also
rubbished rumors doing
rounds on their alleged
links with the ruling party
and sought support of all
unsuccessful candidates in
the past elections stating
they had the mandate of at
least of 40 percent people.
The SKM party will also
go for membership drive
after its third foundation
day celebration and relink
with its active party workers
and supporters to keep the
party’s rural base intact
before the 2017 Panchayat
elections, they informed.
53 years on, Indian soldiers in icy Himalayas
short of boots, ski masks
New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS): It’s yesterday once more as 53 years on,
Indian Army soldiers in the icy Himalayas, to go by a parliamentary
panel’s report, suffer a crippling shortage of snow boots, ski masks
and ammunition, among others - precisely the cause of the crushing
defeat inflicted by the marauding Chinese forces in 1962.
Parliament’s standing committee on defence, in its report tabled in
the just concluded winter session, says there’s a shortfall of 447,000
ski masks, 217,388 high-ankle boots, 186,138 bulletproof jackets,
13,09,092 brown canvas rubber sole shoes with laces, and 126,270
mosquito nets.
“The committee are surprised over the fact that such deficiencies
of basic items of regular use, where no high-end technology is
warranted, were allowed to exist,” the panel, headed by Major General
B.C. Khanduri (retd), said.
An Indian Army representative was quoted in the report as stating
there is a “major deficiency in operation and training stock”,
“inadequate capacity and quality issues of indigenous ammunition by
Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)” and “inadequate budget support for
the Ammunition Roadmap”.
Thus, the committee recommended that “necessary steps
should be taken by the (defence) ministry so that ammunition in
required quantity and of high quality is always available with army
at any given time. Otherwise, in the opinion of the Committee, it
would not be possible for the country to sustain a war for a longer
period”.
As for the non-procurement of 186,138 bullet
proof jackets, sanctioned in 2009, the committee felt that the
figure...must have soared in the last five years due to increase in
number of new recruits and also the wearing down of the old stock”.
“The committee are perturbed over the fact that such an important
life saving device has not been purchased by the ministry,
jeopardizing the lives of thousands of soldiers,” it said.
On the non-performance of the indigenous 5.56mm INSAS rifle that
was meant as a replacement for the standard-issue AK-47, the panel
found it “shocking” that even in 53 years, the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) had not been able to develop “a
world class basic product like a rifle”.
The committee also expressed “surprise” that the funds for raising
a mountain strike corps (some 30,000 personnel) was to be taken from
the army’s budget and there was no separate allocation.
“The committee are surprised to note that for raising of this Corps,
no separate allocation has been made in this year’s budget,” the panel
said.
“As informed, an amount of Rs.5,000 crore has been earmarked for
it, but it is not over and above the actual budget allocated and the
army has been asked to raise this corps out of its own budget,” it
said.
The report added that only war wastage reserves were being
utilised for raising the corps, terming this impractical.
“It seems very impractical and incongruous that a new corps is
being raised with war wastage reserves. The committee feels that the
ministry do away with its proclivity of ad-hoc planning and provide
adequate budgetary support commensurate with the requirement of
the mountain strike corps,” it said.
To be based at Panagarh in West Bengal, the mountain strike corps
is meant to counter potential threats from China. It will be the army’s
fourth strike corps after the Pakistan-central formations based at
Hissar, Ambala and Bhopal.
The panel also pointed out the lack of funds for the forces, and
asked the government not to use the economic situation as an excuse
for not increasing
allocations.
“Although defence expenditure is increasing in absolute terms over
the years, the percentage increase... since 2000-2001 has not been
consistent,” the report said.
“The committee are least convinced with the reply of the
ministry that the allocation for defence expenditure has been
constrained by the overall economic and fiscal situation. Such a
reply is routine in nature and as per (our) view, the defence of the
country must have precedence over other aspects and the ministry
of finance should prioritize the entire budgetary allocation
appropriately so that there remains no dearth of funds for the
services and the security of the country is never compromised for
want of money,” the panel added.
India on July 10 hiked its defence budget by 12.43 percent, with
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocating Rs.2,29,000 crore ($38.15
billion) in the budget proposals for 2014-15 that he presented in the
Lok Sabha.
This is Rs.25,373 crore over the Rs.203,672 crore allocated for
2013-14 and Rs.5,000 crore over the Rs.224,000 crore allocated in the
interim budget for 2014-15 presented ahead of the April-May general
election.
GRC to march from
Darjeeling to Gangtok for
Merger
HM Correspondent
Siliguri, Jan 4: The
Gorkha Rastriya Congress
(GRC) Sunday announced
to organize a long march
from Darjeeling to Gangtok
demanding merger of
Darjeeling and Sikkim, an
issue that has been
overlooked by other
political parties in the hills.
The party feels that two
movements for Gorkhaland
carried out separately one
by the Gorkha National
Liberation Front (GNLF)
and the other by Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha (GJM)
has proved that separation
from Bengal is a tougher as
ever. “The easiest way for
separation is merger of
Darjeeling with Sikkim,”
Premoskar Blon, the GRC
spokesperson told a press
conference here at Siliguri
Journalists’ Club today.
“Historically, Darjeeling
district belonged to Sikkim
and the merger is the most
feasible way out for
separation,” he added.
The GRC will hold a
public meeting at Chowk
Bazar in Darjeeling on
January 7 that coincided
with the party foundation
day. The party will also
organize a long march from
Darjeeling to Gangtok the
capital of Sikkim in three
legs beginning in middle of
January, Blone said. The
first leg of March would be
from Darjeeling to Rangpo
the Bengal-Sikkim border.
The second and third leg of
the march would be from
Rangpo to Singtam and
from Singtam to Gangtok.
Parents challenge overdose death
HM Correspondent
Siliguri, Jan 4: The
parents of Subarna Lama
admitted in a Kolkata
hospital due to suspected
drug overdose have sensed
foul play and have
demanded
through
investigation.
Subarna from Kurseong
is in critical condition while
Sumantika Banerjee of
Jalpaiguri died after they
were found unconscious
inside a room where they
were staying as paying
guests.
Subarna had completed
her engineering from
Kalyani
Engineering
College in 2014 while
Sumantika was the MSC
first year student at
Presidency University.
Sumantika and Subarna
were found unconscious on
Sunday morning after
police broke open the door
of the room where they were
staying as paying guests
under Muchipara police
station in central Kolkata.
Doctors
declared
Sumantika brought dead
while Subarna is fighting
for her life.
The parents of both
Sumantika and Subarna
have rejected the police
version
and
have
suspected foul play. They
have demanded a through
enquiry.
Durga Lama and Sanjay
Lama the parents of
Subarna said that their
daughter was a simple girl.
A resident of Spring Site
under Kurseong police
station in Darjeeling district,
Subarna was in Kolkata for
further studies.
Durga and Sanjay who
are the workers at Castleton
Tea Estate said “Subarna
had gone to Kolkata in mid
of October after staying at
home for one month.” On
Saturday evening she
spoke over phone with the
parents. “We did not notice
any abnormality while
talking with Subarna,” said
her mother Durga. “We
strongly doubts foul play
and want a through
investigation,” said Sanjay.
Sumantika’s
father
Debasisis Banerjee who
works with LIC said that last
night Sumantika called him
up and she asked him to
wake her up at 7 am today.
“When I called her this
morning Sumantika did not
pick up the call and finally I
called up the land lady after
one hour,” said Sumantika’s
father.
Sumantika was studying
in MSC first year at
Presidency University after
passing BSC honours in
Physics from the same
University. She was at
home from holidays and
reached Kolkata only on
Saturday morning by
Darjeeling Mail.
AEs authorised valuers for
vigilance cases
HM Report
Gangtok, Jan 4: The State
Government has designated engineers in the rank of
Assistant Engineers and
above as Government Authorised Valuers for the purpose of carrying out valuation of assets (including
roads, buildings, structures,
plant and machinery etc.),
covering components of
civil, electrical mechanical
and other technical nature,
during enquiry and investigation of the cases of Sikkim Vigilance Police.
With this notification,
the state government can
depute engineers above AE
to Vigilance Police. The rule
comes into force with retrospective effect starting 01
January, 2012.
The government has fur-
ther authorized Sikkim Vigilance Police to engage the
services of engineers from
any State Government department for the said task of
valuation. The Notification
was published on 16 December 2014. Before this notification, the State Vigilance
Police was using the services of retired technocrats for
assessment during enquiry
and investigation of cases.
CMYK
CMYK
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