2011 quake hit Chitrabhanu still awaits repairs

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A C C U R A T E
CMYK
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C R E D I B L E
VOL 9 No 254 RNI No: SIKENG/2006/18384
GANGTOK, THURSDAY 28 MAY 2015
Founder Five quit SKM,
allege Golay’s incompetence
HM Correspondent
lay’s incompetence and
lack of vision and direction
despite having secured
one-third mandate with 10
MLAs in the 2014 assembly elections. The move
comes in the wake of Golay’s repeated sabbatical
from politics, raising questions on his seriousness in
pursuing the party as a major opposition force in the
Teenager’s decomposed
body found, finger on
absconding caretaker
HM Report
Gangtok, May 27: A highly decomposed body of a
13 year old boy was found
concealed under a bed in
his room, in Marchak, Ranipool, East Sikkim. The
room from where the body
was retrieved was locked
since nearly 4-6 days.
The deceased has been
identified as Rohit Chettri,
a student of Ranipool
School. Rohit who originally hailed from Jaigaon,
West Bengal used to live
in a house belonging to
one Azad Bhutia in Marchak for the past 7 years.
Azad, a freelance photographer by profession had
recently shifted to Siliguri
after his wife who works in
the tourism Department
got transferred there. Rohit was staying in the
house with the caretaker
Roshan Rai alias Anil Rai
(38).
The horrific incident
came to light after Bhutia
visited his house on the
evening of May 25.
“I came back to Marchak on the eve of May 25,
but neither Rohit nor Roshan was around. When I
entered the house I smelled
foul odour but I suspected
nothing unusual. I opened
Rohit's room with the spare
key that I had with me and
saw nothing unusual. But
seeing many flies around
the bed roused my suspicion. As I looked underneath the bed, I saw Roshan's feet,” Bhutia said.
Meanwhile Police informed that Roshan had attended school on May 18
but was absent the following consecutive days. Police suspect that the murder must have taken place
between the evenings of
May 18-19.
The caretaker who is absconding since the incident is the prime suspect
in the murder.
According to Bhutia the
caretaker of the house
Roshan Rai who is a carpenter by profession had
been staying in the house
for the past 4 years and
was a shy and good natured person. He also added that the two shared a
very good relationship.
Meanwhile Police have
also rubbished news published in some social media sites mentioning that
the body of the youth was
chopped to pieces. The
body was intact but in advance stage of decomposition and the cause of
death can only be known
after the post-mortem report, police said.
Restore Maryada of Gurdwaras
in Sikkim: Badal to Chamling
HM Bureau, May 27: Punjab chief minister Parkash
Singh Badal has sought the
intervention of his Sikkim
counterpart Pawan Chamling for immediate restoration of Maryada (Sikh religious code of conduct) in
historical gurdwaras in the
north eastern state.
A Chandigarh based
news report quoted Badal
as having apprised Chamling that there were a number of historical Sikh gurdwaras in Gurudongmar,
Thanggu, Lachen, Chungthang, Tumthang and Lachung which were related
to the visits of the first Sikh
Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, to
the state.
Badal said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee
(SGPC), Amritsar had
brought to his notice that
the Maryada has been discontinued in above said
gurdwaras since last few
years. Badal said the historical symbols related to
Guru Nanak Dev in Chungthang have been given
Bodhi form by erecting
walls around them.
He said even Guru's belongings were also not being displayed for visitors
at Lachen and lamented
that even the 'Nishan Sahibs' have been removed
from these places. Badal
said all this has deeply hurt
the religious sentiments of
the Sikh community and
has caused resentment
amongst the members.
Seeking Chamling’s
personal intervention,
Badal urged him to give an
audience and support to
the five members delegation formed by SGPC under the leadership of its
General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, which
has been specially deputed to visit Sikkim regarding the issues of restoration of Maryada in gurdwaras of the state.
SDF dominated political
spectrum.
“We have quit due to the
leader’s incompetence, lack
of vision and political
knowledge,” said P.T.
Gyamtso. The former Rajya
Sabha MP had teamed up
with former bureaucrats like
KP Adhikari and MN Dahal
and conceived the SKM to
take on the Pawan Chamling
3 Gorkha jawans killed in
encounter with infiltrators
Darjeeling, May 27: Three Gorkha Army jawans were killed
yesterday in an encounter with heavily armed infiltrators
along the LOC border at Tanghdar sector in Kupwara district
of Kashmir. Security forces launched a search operation in
the forests near Petha village in Kupwara yesterday morning
following information about presence of militants there, informed an army official. He further said that the 3 jawans
including Rifleman Ankit Pradhan, Linkman Akash Kumar
Gurung and Rifleman Bishal Gurung of 11th Gorkha Rifles
were killed in the initial exchange of firing between the security forces and infiltrators. Amongst the others sustaining
bullet injuries, the trio succumbed to injuries before being
admitted to the army’s 92 base hospital in Srinagar. The troops
managed to kill one infiltrator and chase away the rest.
"The operation is still in progress and further details are
awaited," added the army official. The bodies of the deceased
arrived Bagdogra airport today. (HS)
led SDF regime. Adhikari
had unveiled the party’s
name and colours at the
party’s much hyped launch
at Soreng public ground on
4 February 2013. MN Dahal
ers failed to elicit positive
response from former functionaries.
During its formative
days, Phuchung Bhutia had
offered his Convoy Ground
house here for the SKM
headquarters which was
later shifted to its present
location at Tibet Road due
to reasons unexplained. Birbal Subba had unsuccessfully contested on a SKM
ticket from Dentam constituency, West Sikkim.
Going by some unenthusiastic supporters, more
leaders are likely to quit the
party in several batches in
the future. Besides, many
among the 10 legislators are
reportedly miffed with Golay’s repeated flip flops.
2011 quake hit Chitrabhanu
still awaits repairs
Trade Union Forum
threatens tea wage stir
HM Correspondent
Siliguri, May 27: Accusing the state government of delaying the process of fixing minimum wage for starved North
Bengal Tea Gardens, a joint forum of 24 trade unions Wednesday threatened rigorous movement unless the process is
not accelerated. The forum also accused the planters of buying unnecessary time. The first meeting to implement minimum wages 1948 in tea gardens was held on March 17 at
Uttar Kanya- the state mini secretariat. However, after the
meet there has been no major move while the state government is yet to announce the second meet.
“The government it seems is disinterested for the cause. The
planters are buying time and this is severe injustice for the
workers,” said Ziaul Alam, the convenor of the forum. The forum held a meeting here on Wednesday to discuss its future
course of action. “North Bengal has 283 gardens with 2.5 lakh
permanent workers,” he added. The March 17 meeting had decided to prepare a base paper and the responsibility to prepare
lies with Amal Roy Chowdhury, the secretary of the State Labour Department. “The base paper is yet to be prepared,” said
Alam. The forum has decided to stage gate meetings for three
days starting from June 11. “We will intensify the agitation if
nothing happens even after that. The tea planters dilly dallying
is not tolerated and we oppose it tooth and nail,” warned Alam.
HM Correspondent
Kalimpong, May 27: The
September 18, 2011 temblor
affected structures has still
not found repairs in the region forcing one to believe
that the government, authorities concerned and ruling
political outfits are least concerned atleast in the hills.
Chitrabhanu, one of the
structures built in 1965 by
Rabindranath Tagore son
and his daughter in law at
Aitsha Road here, still awaits
repair after it suffered major
cracks during the 2011 quake.
Thanks to the Nepal epicentered 7.9 temblor on April 25
which did not push the crack
further from making it even
dimmer.
The building however
had suffered major crashes
on its back forcing the caretakers to close the stair leading to the first floor which
obviously is not good news
for visiting tourists. The
building apart from running
vocational courses of three
months period on various
subjects under Kurseong
Polytechnic Institute is also
a foremost attraction for tourists especially for them having Bengal connection because of Tagore.
“Tagore’s belongings
have been beautifully preserved. It would be great if
the government immediately
repaired the cracks from fur-
ther dampening,” said R.C.
Naiyar, a tourist from Farakka. Tourists who visit the famous Pine View nursery
makes it a point to visit the
structure.
Although the concerned
officials were not available
for comment, Subhadra Giri,
the incharge of the building
told Himalayan Mirror that
they have not been able to
start the next session for vocational training. Around 30
vocational students are waiting for start of their course.
“The concerned authorities
have been informed repeatedly about the cracks in writing. They have assured repairs but the work is yet to
start,” he said.
Bengali FFood
ood FFest
est tto
ow
oo ttourists
ourists in hills
woo
HM Correspondent
Kurseong, May 27: If you
are a Bengali hopping
around in the hill right
now, time for you to be at
Cochrane Place, a famous
resort here to fill your
mouth with Bengal
cuisine. The resort along
with Calcutta based
Kewpie Restaurant has
organized a week long
Bengali Food Festival in
its bid to promote tourism
of the hills.
With new food items on
the menu hitting the table
every day, however it is
not just the Bengalis who
are flocking in the food
fest, probably the first of
its kind atleast in the subdivision. “The delicacies
are awesome and we are
enjoying every bit of the
fest,” said a German
couple on Wednesday.
“The food is nothing
new for any Bengali
residing in Calcutta or
elsewhere in Bengal. But
eating out in the hills has
a different pleasure,” said
a tourist from Calcutta.
Ravindra Kang, the
general manager of the
resort said chefs from
both the resort and the
restaurant have prepared
the food. “The prices
have also been marked
affordable to anyone,” he
added.
However, the organizers believe that such fests
are bound to promote
tourism in the hills.
“These foods are restricted upto Siliguri. Tourists
from every part of the
country are visiting the
hills, so there is a need to
have a place where their
taste of food is served.
This we feel will allow
promote tourism at a
greater scale,” said Rakhi
Purnima Dasgupta, the
proprietor of Kewpie.
The organizers are also
planning the fest in
Darjeeling and Kalimpong
with Bengali form of music
in the coming years. The
fest will continue till June 2.
CMYK
Gangtok, May 27: In a major jolt to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), five
founder members on
Wednesday quit the party
alleging president PS Golay’s ‘incompetence’ and
‘inexperience’ in steering
the rookie party. In the joint
letter sent to Golay, founder
members P.T.Gyamtso,
K.P.Adhikari, Phuchung
Bhutia, Birbal Subba and
MN Dahal stated they are
disassociating themselves
from the party with immediate effect.
Exposing a major breach,
the five leaders, considered
think tanks of the 2-yearold outfit lamented on Go-
had been the party’s
spokesperson and an authority of party publication
including the manifesto.
The resignation has slowly
brought out the SKM’s
skeletons triggering a major crisis especially for the
10 elected legislators.
Even as the resignation
didn’t mention much reason, party insiders say Golay has failed as the opposition leader. Despite having made an impressive
electoral debut, the SKM
currently lacks organisational hierarchy with most
of the leaders distancing
themselves from Golay and
his coteries. An organisational reshuffle is long overdue in the party as organis-