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A HUMBLE HOMAGE TO

ADIKAVI BHANU BHAKTA ACHARYA

on his 190 th Birth Anniversary

OPENING SHORTLY ATTSE-KA Commercial Complex, 31A National Highway(Near Private Taxi Stand), Gangtok- 737 101, Sikkim

Ph.: 201182/201183/201184/201185

The Nepali translation of the

great Hindu Epic Ramayana

carried out by Kabi Bhanu

Bhakta is regarded today as

one of the precious

treasures in the house

of every Nepali

speaking Hindu family.

THE DIGNITARIES ARRIVE

RANJIT SINGH

GANGTOK, 12 July: “The roadshere seem to be better than thosein Bombay,” were the first wordsuttered by Mala Sinha as shetouched ground at the TouristGuest House at Rangpo today.

Emerging from the vehicle af-ter a long trip from Siliguri she im-mediately goes about admiring thesurroundings of the guest houseenquiring about the flowersplanted about the space. Accom-panied by her husband, Mr.Lohini, with whom she starred inwhat was to be their first and lastNepali movie, Maitighar, theheartthrob of yesteryears is inSikkim to receive special felicita-tions instituted by the State Gov-ernment - Sikkim SammanSammilan - for being one from theNepali-speaking region to reflectglory on the Hills and its people.

Dignitaries have begun to ar-rive in the state for the SikkimSamman Sammilan and all prepa-rations are well in order to providethe best of Sikkimese hospitalityto the distinguished guests whohave done the Nepalese commu-nity, not only in India but through-out the world, proud with their sin-

gular achievements.Various guest houses in the

capital town as well as severalhotels have been booked to ac-commodate these artistes and spe-cialists in their respective fields.And it is also an honour for thestate of Sikkim that many of themhave decided to attend the func-tion giving their busy schedules arest without a second thought.

Mala Sinha speaks Nepali flu-ently and it is only after a whilethat you realise the quaintness ofit all. After having spent her en-tire adult life in Bollywood en-

gaged as a leading actress in theHindi movie industry, it is a pleas-ant surprise to see her converse atease in her mother tongue.

As Mr. Lohini explained, “Af-ter all, we are both fromKathmandu and grew up there, soNepali comes easily to us.”

Although this is her first visitto the region, Mala Sinha’s popu-larity ratings remain high in thehills. “There were so many auto-graph seekers at the airport due towhich we were delayed. Westarted from Bagdora together

Mala Sinha [above] admires the flora at Rangpo Tourism Guest House. [panel

left to right]: Some of the other dignitaries who arrived today: Ranjit Gajmere,

Hari Prasad “Gorkha” Rai, Kapila Vatsyasanan and Dr. SR Sharma

turn to pg 5

With the guests as theyarrive at Rangpo

Under-trial ISI suspects go on hunger strike over “delayed justice”

2; NOW!; 13 July, 2004

NOW!FIRST WITH THE NEWS

ED-SPACE

Fire can purify and fire candestroy. The latter was evi-dent in the recent fires that

razed through Rhenock, Rangpoand Chandmari. On the night ofMay 21, eleven houses were com-pletely gutted at Rhenock bazaar.Then again on June 6, more thanseven houses were razed to theground at Rangpo.

On 9 June, a fire at UpperChandmari destroyed anotherhouse completely. Fortunately nolives were lost in the three acci-dents. The places were all woodenstructures and constructed in oldstyles. This type of houses stillexist in the old bazaars of all dis-tricts. Some of these structures canalso be found in Gangtok bazaar.

In all of these accidents, peo-ple lost property, gold, cash anddomestic items.

Besides these, valuable docu-ments, even Sikkim Subject certifi-cates, photos, books etc were alsolost. I visited the spot at Rhenockon 23 May along with PratapPradhan and Chandra Rai to offersupport to the victims. We metsome of them and found their con-dition to be very sad and pathetic.

In the fire, the master copy ofRK Pradhan’s unpublished novel“Puja” was destroyed. The exist-ing original copies of the novels“Nilam”, “Biwasta”, “AntimUpahar” were also gutted. Themaster copy of film “Nirmohi”was also lost. Somewhere in thehouse of Dr. S Chettri all the bookswere totally lost, apart from car-damom and cash.

We personally met them andthey were in a miserable condition.

According to the town people,the officer in charge of RongliBazaar who used to stay atRhenock showed exemplarybehavior. He immediately rushedto the army camp at Chalisey inthe middle of the night. He metthe commandant of army andasked for his help. Army person-nel with fire equipment reachedthe spot for immediate operation.The name of the brave officer in-

charge is Nakul Pradhan. If itwasn’t for his initiative the entireRhenock bazaar would have burntto ash.

There were others like himwho tried their level best to pre-vent large scale damage. RoshanLama, Counsellor of Kalimpong,with his group carrying fire extin-

guishing equipment reached thespot in the nick of time for theoperation.

The local fire department stafffrom Rangpo and Singtam alsohelped extensively in the fir fight-ing operation.

While one acknowledges therole played by these brave men,there are many steps we can taketo prevent fire accidents of thiskind occurring again.

Here are some suggestions to-wards prevention:

�VIEWPOINTby P SHRESHTA

- There should be mutual co-ordination between Fire department,Public Health Engineering department, UD&HD and Rural De-velopment department.

- The existing water reservoirs of the fire department of the vari-ous bazaars should be filled up regularly and checked properlyfrom time to time so that in case of emergency shortage of watershould not arise.

- The water hydrants should be checked properly from time totime for effective operation.

- The local plumbers and the junior engineers should always bealert regarding this matter.

- Gas cylinder, petrol and fire catching products should be shiftedoutside the periphery of the main bazaar.

- Petrol pump should be shifted from the main bazaar, if locatedin the bazaar.

- Sweepers should always be there to clean the bazaar properly.- The local fire department officers should contact the district of-

ficers from time to time for fire fighting materials.- The water reservoir should be constructed in the entire main

bazaar- All the staff of fire department should be trained for proper man-

agement- Public awareness should be spread in proper manner by dis-

cussing among the Panchayat, local people and with schoolchildren. Awareness should also be spread at the village level.

- Forest department should always be careful for the safety offorest fire, which may cause disaster.

- Smoking in public office complex is banned and should be fol-lowed very strictly.

- Fire fighting equipment should be kept in all offices and shouldbe checked by the administrative section from time to time sothat it may not be dry for lack of use.

- Water bucket and sand bucket should be compulsorily kept inall shops.

- All the shopkeepers should be informed about fire hazard fromtime to time and if necessary, trained by government.

- The old wooden structures should be removed smoothly by mak-ing a master plan for all bazaars.

- The authorities should not encourage slum areas in the sur-rounding areas and should try and remove them

- If necessary more funds should be provided to improve the slumarea for proper housing.

New York road namedafter Kalpana Chawla

NEW YORK: A street in JacksonHeights, a New York suburb withpredominantly Indian shops, hasbeen formally named ‘KalpanaChawla Way’ in honour of the In-dia-born astronaut who was killedalongwith six other astronautswhen space shuttle Columbia dis-integrated in midair.

Dedicating the road to her,New York Mayor MichaelBloomberg paid tributes to hercourage and described her as‘heroine of two countries’.

“When people walk by thisstreet, they would know that shewas someone who made a differ-ence even if they did not knowher,” he said.

The Mayor also made a gaffe

write NOW!

If you feel strongly about something that has been reported inNOW! or have an opinion on some recent development, then shareit with a wider audience. While the LETTERS section will carryresponses to articles and news carried in NOW!, ACTION MAILis about complaints and grievances. Wherever possible, NOW!shall also search out a response to the Action Mail. If not, then atleast a complaint would have been filed in the public domain.write to: NOW!, Gairi Gaon, Tadong, East Sikkim. Or email:sikkimnow@ rediffmail.com

when he said he had walked withher a year earlier at the India Dayparade. A reporter corrected himthat the woman astronaut he hadwalked with was not Chawla butanother Indian-American astro-naut Sunita Lynn Williams.

Chawla was among the sevenastronauts who perished when theColumbia shuttle broke up as itentered Earth’s atmosphere backfrom a space mission on Feb 1,2003. The shuttle disintegratedafter the insulation which wasmeant to deflect heat was dam-aged during the take off.

The shuttle has not flown sincethen as experts make improvementto ensure that such accidents arenot repeated.

NOW THAT THE WORLD KNOWSRepresentatives from all over the world are at Bangkok to discusswhere the battle against AIDS is headed. Squeezed in betweenthe photo-ops with celebrities are details on the present status.India, we now learn, is poised to take over from South Africa asthe country with the most number of HIV-positive people. Andyet, what do the anti-AIDS proselytisers of the country do,reinterpret the data to come up with the feel-good revelationthat the increase in the number of HIV infections recorded in2003-04 is much lower than the corresponding figure for 2002-03. And it is this attitude which underlines the rather rudderlesscampaign the country assembles against AIDS. At Bangkok,India must have enjoyed the rather dubious recognition as theonly country which at one time toyed [and even pursued] withthe idea of promoting abstinence against safe sex to keep HIVinfections to a minimum. The battle against AIDS is alreadycompromised by its epidemic proportions, short-sighted policiesand less than adequate detection systems to be further short-changed by such transitory considerations as morality. Sinceprecaution [which translates as awareness] is the only weaponagainst AIDS, it would make sense to start the awareness driveaccepting some ground realities even though they might beuncomfortable. Taking Sikkim’s case, since a high-risk group isnot starkly identifiable, it is advisable to consider everyone atrisk and get frank and open while sharing information on AIDS.A group specially at risk are the teenagers in schools. Raginghormones and the joie-de-vivre associated with this age leavesthem as open to experimenting with intravenous drugs as riskingunsafe sex. Agreed there are some AIDS awareness camps heldin schools, but these are seen mostly in urban settings. It is thevillage school which needs this information more urgently. Thisapplies to the entire country. But in a land where sex-educationin schools was thumbed down because it was seen as a“corrupting influence,” one wonders how frankly this problemcan be addressed here.

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GANGTOK, 12 July: SikkimViklang Sahayata Samiti will beholding a health camp for physi-cally disabled persons on 17 July,at Community Hall, here.

To discuss this, a meeting wasorganized among its members andNGOs at Hotel Blue Sheep onSunday, 11 July. Chaired by GMGurung, Minister, HRD & ChiefPatron of SVSS, the meeting hadmany dignitaries present. Theseincluded MLA’s Ramudamu,Bhim Dhungel, NK Pradhan andManita Mangar.

Representatives of GangtokMarwari Samaj, Sikkim Chamberof Commerce, Sikkim ChemistsAssociation, Rotary Club ofGangtok, Gangtok Hardware As-

SUBHAS RAI

GANGTOK, 12 July: Prepara-tions are on in full swing for thecelebration of the 190th Birth An-niversary of Adikavi BhanuBhakta Acharya to be held here onTuesday, 13 July. Decoration workat Bhanu Udhyan, here at ZeroPoint was almost complete thisafternoon with artists giving thefinal touches to floats [see pic],which will be the main attractionof the Shova Yatra.

According to the schedule, theprogramme will begin at 8.30 amat Bhanu Udhyan with Governor,V Rama Rao as the Chief Guestand Chief Minister, PawanChamling as Special Guest. Otherimportant dignitaries attending thefunction will include Nepal’snational poet, Madhav Ghimirey,Yudha Bir Rana, winner ofKrishna Smriti Puraskar and thisyear’s Bhanu Puraskar winner,Prem Thulung.

The morning function will endwith a colourful Shova Yatra takenthrough the main areas of Gangtok,concluding at Community Hall.

The second half of the day will

see a special commemorative pro-gramme held at the Tashi NamgyalAcademy auditorium where thechief minister will be the chiefguest. The programme will includerecitation of Ramayana, a culturalshow and release of Kanka, a sou-venir on Bhanu Jayanti.

The chief guest will hand theKrishna Smriti Puraskar andBhanu Puraskar to Mr. Rana andMr. Thulung respectively.

Madhav Ghimirey, KN Rai,Minister-cum-President of this

year’s Bhanu Jayanti CelebrationCommittee and Mr. Chamling willbe addressing the gathering.

Winners of various competitionsheld on 10 July will also receive theirprizes from the chief guest.

First prize for poetry in theopen category went to AmarBania ‘Lohoro,’ followed byRadha Upadhya and Beena Rai[Second] and Radhika Sharmawith third position.

In story-writing, ParasmaniSam bagged the first prize.

Kapilmani Adhikari and ThamanNaubag were declared second andthird respectively.

Durga Subba is the winner ofthe essay-competition whereasKabita Naubag and Hari BhaktaAdhikari were declared secondand third.

Deorali Sr. Secondary Schoolis the winner of this year’s inter-school Ramayana recitation com-petition followed by TashiNamgyal Higher Secondary Schooland Tadong Sr. Secondary Schoolin second and third positions.

Bhawani Ghimirey ofTarethang was declared the winnerof the Open Ramayana Recitationcompetition with PhoolmayaSharma of Pakyong and DayaramBhattarai of Tadong coming secondand third respectively.

Nirjala Dahal of Tashi NamgyalAcademy was declared best speaker

in the interschool debate competi-tion followed by Swastika Poudyalof Deorali Sr. Secondary School andSampurna Lama of West Point Sr.Secondary School.

The organizers believe thatthis year’s Bhanu Jayanti will bea historic occasion, with re-nowned personalities fromNepali-speaking regions like MalaSinha, Danny Denzongpa,Bhaichung Bhutia, Jyoti Brahminand others attending the function.

They are here to participate inthe Sikkim Samman Sammilan tobe held on June 14 and 15.

sociation were also present in themeeting.

The Gangtok health camp willbe the last of the five health campsheld in East district. This exerciseis being conducted by the Samitito find out the exact number ofdisabled population in Sikkimwhich will help frame the policiesas to how this section of our soci-ety can be given the maximumlove and affection along with re-quired medical assistance andemployment, informs a press re-lease issued by SVSS.

Addressing the gathering, Mr.Gurung appealed that every per-son from society should come for-ward to help the physically chal-lenged persons in every mannerpossible. He appreciated the ef-forts of SVSS, which is working

selflessly for the upliftment ofsuch disabled persons.

Dignitaries and NGOs presentin the meeting promised all possi-ble help to SVSS. The meetingended with a vote-of-thanks byMLA Ramudamu, with an appealto attend the camp on 17 July at10 am, Community Hall.

Gangtok prepares for thegrandest Bhanu Jayanti

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GANGTOK, 12 July: SikkimPradesh Congress Committee[I] chief, Nar BahadurBhandari, who is in New Delhiat present called on the IndianNational Congress General Sec-retary and Minister of State, Os-car Fernandes on 10 July, in-forms a press release issued by

GIRL SUCCUMBS TOBURN WOUNDS

GEYZING: A 19-year-old girlfrom Darap succumbed to burn in-juries while being rushed toSTNM Hospital, Gangtok fortreatment. She was brought toGeyzing hospital with 100 per centburn injuries and was immediatelyreferred to STNM hospital. But onthe way, near Melli, the girl whowas a Class XII student suc-cumbed to her injuries. Her guard-ians returned to Darap with thebody. Investigations so far suggestit to be another case of suicide.

MISSING PERSONFOUND DEAD

AFTER TWO DAYSKALUK: Hasta Bahadur Subba, a36-year-old resident of LungyakBusty had gone missing from hishouse since 7 July. On 09 July at 4pm his dead body was recoveredfrom Kalay Khola by local people.The brother of the deceased alongwith others identified the body. Theinquest was conducted and the deadbody forwarded for autopsy. So farno foul play has been established.The case is under investigation.

PURAN TAMANG

NAMCHI, 12 July: And 8-daylong Awareness Generation Pro-gramme under ManaviSanrakshan Abhiyan concludedhere at Tingmoo School premisestoday. The camp was organized byKewzing Youth Club and wassponsored by the State SocialWelfare Advisory Board.

At the camp, counselling-cum-health checkup on Tubercu-losis was carried out for the vil-lagers. Sr. District TuberculosisOfficer, Namchi Hospital, gavecounselling on ANC/PNC and im-munization.

Deputy Director, Animal Hus-

the state Congress.At the meeting Mr. Bhandari

placed complaints alleging misuseof public funds received by thestate government from the Centreas well as the North-East Councilpool. He is reported to have al-leged that the misuse of funds hap-pened due to lack of proper moni-toring, facilitated by the good re-lations shared by the state govern-

ment with the previous NDA gov-ernment at the centre.

Emphasizing on the need fortransparency regarding utilizationof these funds, he demanded theconstitution of an independentbody to investigate the matter.

The release claimed that theINC General Secretary has givena positive response to Mr.Bhandari’s concerns.

BHANDARI MEETS FERNANDES, DEMANDS INVESTIGATIONINTO UTILISATION OF CENTRAL FUNDS IN SIKKIM

bandry and Veterinary Servicesgave a detailed talk on incomegeneration through animal hus-bandry. Talks on various issuesincluding attitudnal changes andthe role of male members of thefamily and their commitment to-wards the girl-child were also cov-ered at the camp.

General Secretary of the clubhighlighted on girl-child issues, herlabour and her contribution to theeconomic well-being of a familywhich is not being acknowledgeand compensated by our society.

The NABARD also launchedfour Farmer’s club during thecamp which was attended by morethan 150 villagers everyday.

Awareness camp atTingmoo covers varied

social issues

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RAVANGLA: A dead body wasfound inside a public toilet atYangyang road, Ravangla. On 07July Bishnu Rawat, a sweeperwith UD&HD reported that a per-son had gone inside the public toi-let at around 9 AM and did notcome out even after an hour.

On suspicion, a report waslodged in the local Police Station.The police broke open the toiletand found a dead body, which waslater recognized to be that of ManiKumar Gurung, head constable ofthe Sikkim Fire Services posted atRavangla

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He was 41 years old.

RAVANGLA FIRE HEAD CONSTABLEKILLED IN FREAK ACCIDENT

Kutse SheguThe 49th day Kutse Shegu ofLate N. Lama who left for hisheavenly abode on 1 June,2004 falls on July 19, 2004.All friends, relatives and wellwishers are requested to joinus in offering prayers for thedeparted soul at our residenceabove Arithang School,Gangtok, East Sikkim.We would also like to take thisopportunity to thank all thosewho extended their help in ourhour of grief and bereavement.Mrs. G. Doma (wife), Sonam Damdi

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with Ranjit Gazmer, but he’s no-where to be seen,” she says.

Mr. Gazmer, the Darjeelingingredient in the Bollywood mu-sic industry, has already left theguest house for Gangtok.

Talking to NOW!, Mr. Gazmerexclaims how much he appreciatesthis initiative of the Sikkim gov-ernment.

“This is truly a great step takenby the government of Sikkim tobring together all Nepali speakingachievers together at one fo-rum. It might be belated butlet’s not dwell on that.”

Mr. Gazmer is also allpraise for the talented crop ofNepali musicians of the mod-ern era.

“The musicians of today arecoming up with some real goodmusic both here in Sikkim aswell as the Darjeeling hills andNepal. They also have more scopeand support than during our time,”he says.

Ranjit Gazmer, incidentally,was the one to introduceBollywood to the percussive po-tentialities of the Madal.

“I worked under RD Burmanfor a many years and he is certainlythe greatest,” he says when askedof his great mentors. “I am basi-cally a Darjeeling lad and there isso much music and talent in thehills which can now be nurturedwithout resorting to Bollywood,”says Mr. Gazmer.

He informs of another greatDarjeeling musician, Louis Banks– incidentally, a close relative ofhis - who made it big in Bombay.

Mr. Gazmer is interrupted by agentle voice informing that theyhad met before. Hari PrasadGorkha Rai is 90 years old and a

renowned poet and recipient of theSahitya Akademi award. Indeed,age has not mellowed his memory.The two, it transpires, had met at amarriage ceremony some years ago.

“I may be old, but this time Imade up my mind to come toSikkim for the occasion even if Ihad to crawl,” he tells NOW! atthe Rangpo Tourist Guest House.

Mr. Rai has come all the wayfrom Kohima, Nagaland. Theweather Kohima, he says, is muchlike Gangtok, very wet and dampwith very little sunlight for warmth.

“So when I heard of the invitationI felt a wave of warmth comingover me,” he says. He, too, is allpraise of the government of Sikkimand especially the chief minister,Pawan Chamling for making suchan event as the Sikkim SammanSammilan possible.

“This was much needed as itwill provide a forum for interac-tion for the specialists of variousfields as well as artistes and liter-ary figures which was not avail-able before,” Mr. Rai feels.

He also holds Mr. Chamling invery high regard as a poet whomhe calls an accomplished “literarygenius”.

“His writings touch all sec-tions of the people,” says Mr. Raion the chief minister.

On asking him whom he con-siders the greatest of Nepali writ-ers today he immediately replies,

“IB Rai,” but quickly adds thatthis is his personal view. “IB Rai,through his writings, gives theimpression that he is well read andhe too touches all sections of thecommunity,” says Mr. Rai.

Other dignitaries who maketheir way in and out of the guesthouse on their way to Gangtok in-clude SR Sharma, neuro-surgeonwith a practice in Lucknow. He,too, says he was pleasantly sur-prised at the invite he received forthe occasion. Mr. Joshi, an ex-MLA from the Assam, is also an

invitee and reveals that theNepalese-speaking populationin Assam is about 25 lakhs“…the largest of any state inIndia,” and they, according tohim, are the deciding factor inany elections in the state.

Mrs. Kapila Vatsayanan, aresearcher on culture, is visit-ing Sikkim for the first time.She will be handing out some

of the awards. She talks onSikkimese culture but there is notenough time to end the discussion.Also to make their way into Sikkimtoday were Lil Bahadur Chettri,Sahitya Akademi awardee, BikramBahadur Thapa and MadhavGhimirey from Nepal.

The town of Gangtok is explod-ing at its seams with the suddensprouting of a fountain of heavy-weights with its nerve centre dis-playing a slapdash of graphics as thetown gets more overwhelmed by theminute. And Jyoti Brahmin is yetto arrive and add glamour to thehigh-brow gathering.

One hopes that those participat-ing as well as the general public, insome way or the other, manage tomake the most of the opportunityother than just ceremoniously, thatsuch a hotbed gathering of Nepaliachievers in one place provides.

Contd from pg 1

BIRENDRA SHANDILYA

DARJEELING, 12 July: Thefour arrested along with Moham-med Dilshad, all under-trials foras suspected ISI agents, lodged atthe Darjeeling Correctional Homehave been on hunger strike sincelast Saturday.

Incidentally, 34-year-old Mo-hammed Dilshad alias Raja aliasAhmed had been arrested by theDarjeeling Police on the 03 Janu-ary, 2002, from the DarjeelingMore near Siliguri. Police had re-covered 500 gms of RDX alongwith classified documents includ-

ing maps of vital installations ofthe area from him.

He was charged under the Offi-cial Secret Act 3589 and under Sec-tions 120B, 121, 121A and 122 IPC.

Dilshad, who is alleged to havereceived training from the ISI in Pa-kistan is believed to have enteredIndia through the Wagah Borderand had been living in Siliguri sinceSeptember 2000. He had even mar-ried a local girl and had been usinghis leather trade as a cover.

After his arrest he was pro-duced in the Siliguri court and af-ter a few hearings the case wastransferred to the Darjeeling Court.

Dilshad who is still facing trial hasbeen an inmate of the Darjeelingcorrectional home for the past 27months. Along with him, AbdulBari, a resident of Delhi along withManish Goel, Mohammed Sahzadand Mohammed Azad were also ar-rested and have been housed at theCorrectional Home in Darjeelingsince 12 May, 2002 facing trial.

These four have now gone on ahunger strike in protest against whatthey claim is “delayed justice”.

Biplab Das, Superintendent ofthe Darjeeling Correctional Homestated: “As they have refused totake food, they are being moni-

tored closely by medical experts.There condition is stable thus far.”

He also added that he had gotin touch with his higher ups re-garding this hunger strike. “If wefind anything abnormal with theircondition we will immediatelyshift them to the Darjeeling SadarHospital,” added Das.

Incidentally, this hunger strikefollows the incident of Dilshadconsuming phenol from the toiletin the early hours of 12 June. Hewas taken to the North MedicalCollege, Siliguri and is now backto the Darjeeling correctionalhome in good condition.

Under-trial ISI suspects go on hunger strike over “delayed justice”

MP VISITS KPG, PROMISESCOMPENSATION FORLANDSLIDE VICTIMS

A NOW REPORT

KALIMPONG, 12 July: TheDarjeeling Cong [I] MP, DawaNorbula, visited Kalimpong todayto check on the latest condition ofthe areas hit by landslides on 8 July,last week which claimed two livesat 7th Mile here. Two persons in-jured in the landslide, doctors report,are still in a state of shock. The MPvisited the landslide-hit area andassured a compensation package forthe victims under the MP Fund, butcould not visit the recuperating pa-tients due to shortage of time.

With the guests as theyarrive at Rangpo

“I MAY BE OLD, BUTTHIS TIME I MADEUP MY MIND TOCOME TO SIKKIM

FOR THE OCCASIONEVEN IF I HAD TO

CRAWL,” HARIPRASAD GORKHA

RAI, 90

6; NOW!; 13 July, 2004

Rel

ease

Ord

er N

o. 1

4/IP

R/0

4-05

.D

ate:

5/7

/04

Kpg to go withheritage to lure

touristsKARAN SHAH

KALIMPONG, 12 July: The Ho-tels and Restaurants Association ofKalimpong today approached theTourism Department of theDGAHC [Kalimpong] with a spe-cial proposal to preserve the herit-age sites in Kalimpong and the de-velop the town as a “total touristcentre.” This was the first formalmeeting between both the parties.

The members of HORAK pre-sented a list of suggestions, whichthey believe would improve thetown’s appeal as a tourist attrac-tion. The suggestions ranged from,standardization of taxi fares, main-tenance of local infrastructure likefootpaths and roads, workshop fortaxi operators and guides, licensedporters and the more awareness onheritage sites.

“Since both the HORAK andthe Tourism Department, are head-ing towards the same direction andwork with the same motive ofserving the visitors and accruingbenefits for the town, a collectiveeffort will certainly carry more im-pact,” said the HORAK President,Amod Yonzone, who is also theowner of the Park Guest House.

The Association believes thathaving despite possessing a col-ourful history and rich culture andtradition of being the mini-gate-way to Tibet, Kalimpong has al-ways been neglected and still lacksthe awareness factor to truly pro-mote it as a tourist destination.

Today’s meeting resolved tohold a workshop to educate localdrivers on the various sites of townand its history. Also agreed uponwas the decision to recruit collegestudents and others youth as tour-ist guides during the tourist season.The institution of a in the munici-pality for the preservation of localheritage sites was also decided.

“These factors are essential forthe promotion of Kalimpong,” Mr.Yonzone stressed.

“We have also decided for thebuild a heritage museum in town,”added the HORAK President.

Bimal Gajmer, Area Manager[Tourism Department, DGAHC]added: “We will certainly considertheses matters seriously, but moreconcrete measures will be takenafter the formation of the localmunicipal body”.

“The concepts are appealing,I will approach the Assistant Di-rector of DGAHC Tourism withthe demand of a heritage museumand other issues discussed today,”assured Mr. Gajmer.

13 July, 2004; NOW! 7

Release Order No. 14/IPR/04-05. Date: 5-07-04

CINCHONAWORKERS TO

GO ON HUNGERSTRIKE

a NOW REPORT

DARJEELING, 12 July: Drivento near starvation, workers of theCinchona plantations have de-cided to launch a massive agita-tion from tomorrow.

More than 500 workers of the4 cinchona plantations will beobserving a 72 hour hunger strikefrom 9 am tomorrow.

“For the past 3 years therehave been no jobs for the familymembers of the workers who haveeither died or retired from the cin-chona plantations at Mungpoo,Monsong, Rongo and Latpanchar.This has resulted in nearly 400families with no earning membersdriving some to the brink of star-vation,” claims NB Chettri, Presi-dent of the Himalayan PlantationWorkers Union [HPWU], Cin-chona Unit affiliated to the GNLF.

The HPWU, prior to this, hasgiven several deputations to theDarjeeling District Magistratewho is also the Director of theCinchona plantations and also tothe State Commerce & IndustriesDepartment regarding these de-mands.

“The Government has utterlyneglected the cinchona industryand always complained of losses,”complained Chettri. Incidentally,the Cinchona Plantations, spreadover 26,000 hectares in theDarjeeling Hills have been de-clared a loss-making units by theState Government and accordingto the State’s Books incurs a totalloss of Rs. 24 crore annually.

It is however the largest staterun industry in the Darjeeling Hillswith approximately 40,000 peoplesustaining themselves directly orindirectly from this industry. Otherthan cinchona, the plantations alsogrow Dioscorea which is used formanufacturing steroids, rubberand other medicinal plants. For thepast 4 years the factory has beenshut down and production is nilstated Chettri.

“Recently there was an orderfor 7 tones but the supply couldnot be met as the factory isclosed,” alleged Chettri. “Utternegligence on the Government’spart and lack of competitive atti-tude of the administration has re-sulted in the death of one of themore prosperous industries,” re-torted Chettri.

The cinchona plantationstarted with 100 plants each ofCinchona succirubra and Cin-chona officinalis being introducedin Mungpoo in 1861-62.

8; NOW!; 13 July, 2004

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Darpan Publications Pvt. Ltd, Siliguri. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Executive Editor: Mita ZulcaNow! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong. East Sikkim. ph: 03592 270949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

today in

History13th July

THE FUTURE, NOW!

THEFINALONE �

ARIES: You are impulsively affec-tionate and flirtatious at this time,and you feel quite restless if youare in a stable, predictable rela-tionship that offers little excite-ment. You may be highly attractedto someone new.TAURUS: You are in an eager, con-fident mood and this is a good timefor any competitive endeavor or any-thing that requires a lot of energy.GEMINI: Physical thrills and ex-citement have a strong appeal foryou now, and you want to dosomething new and out of the or-dinary. You also have a lot of en-ergy and quick reflexes.CANCER: There is a friendly, co-operative, harmonious tone to theinteractions you have now. It is agood time for social activities andfor getting in touch with friends.LEO: Friendships and love rela-tionships are favored as you areopenly affectionate, warm, andalso quite responsive to lovinggestures from others.VIRGO: Sharing your hospitality,entertaining, giving somethingspecial and personal to a friend,and other loving gestures are em-phasized now. You are apt to feelrelaxed and pleasantly unambi-tious now.LIBRA: You're dissatisfied with the

"same old tune" you've been playingor listening to from others, and nowyou're apt to do something different.You're drawn to the unfamiliar.SCORPIO: Errors in judgment,due to personal prejudices or emo-tion, are apt to occur. Your moodvery much colors your thinkingright now. You can have fruitful dis-cussions with your close friends.SAGITTARIUS: Giving and re-ceiving appreciation, love, andhappiness come into your lifenow. You are moved to expressyour affections more openlythan usual.CAPRICORN: You are inclined totake physical risks, gamble,speculate, and to act on faith andbelief in yourself. This can, in fact,be a very productive time for youif you can keep your expectationswithin reasonable bounds.AQUARIUS: You are in an eager,confident mood and this is agood time for any competitiveendeavor or anything that re-quires a lot of energy.PISCES: This is a time when youexpress yourself very clearly, andconversations, negotiations, andcommunications of all kinds arecordial and successful. Expect arapid pace with numerous trans-actions.

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BIRENDRA SHANDILYA

DARJEELING, 12 July: AnjanDutta wears many hats. He is a re-nowned singer, actor and director.What he also is is a Darjeelingbuff. Unlike many other celebri-ties who did their schooling herebut forgot the Queen of the Hillsafter they made it big, Anjan is onewho could never get over hisDarjeeling hangover.

Having done his schooling fromSt. Paul’s School, Darjeeling Duttawas in Darjeeling from 1962 to 1969.

“I got a lot from my school aswell as from Darjeeling. It was notonly education but music, cinemaand theater. I saw some of the bestmovies in Darjeeling and also cameto know about great theater person-alities here,” proclaims Dutta.

The result: “Whenever I wantto do a location story. I come backto Darjeeling.”

He has done more than 6telefilms in the Darjeeling Districtand was in Darjeeling recently toshoot another telefilm. His nextbig project will be a Hindi featurefilm to be shot in Darjeelingscheduled for January next year.

“This is my dream project. Ihave always wanted to projectDarjeeling in a big way and pro-mote it also to audiences outsidethe state, hence a Hindi film,” ex-plains Dutta.

The film will mostly be shot atSt. Paul’s along with other locationsin Darjeeling and is about the grow-ing up process of a group of adoles-cent youths. The movie is expectedto have a lot of local involvement.

“We have heard a band calledthe Rusty Nails from Darjeeling.We liked them and are thinking ofgiving them a song in the movie,”discloses Neel Dutta, Anjan’s sonwho is a music director.

Like Anjan, even Neel is veryattached to Darjeeling.

“This is my second home. Ihave been coming here since 1990

once or twice a year,” says Neel.He loves talking long walks

in Darjeeling and checking outthe eateries.

“My mother too holdsDarjeeling very close to her heart,”he adds. Having been born inTaunggyi in Myanmar, which isalso hilly like Darjeeling, Anjan’swife never went back, but alwaysconnects Darjeeling to it.

“From my school days I havebasked in the cosmopolitan fla-vour of Darjeeling. It is high timethat people realise that Darjeelingis a heritage tourist destination,”Dutta is convinced.

He also lamented thatDarjeeling had become very con-gested, “It should be a little morespread out and not so centralized.”

However, he observes that inthe recent times the true spirit ofDarjeeling could be seen staginga comeback.

“Events like the DarjeelingCarnival which was held last yearis something very positive. It willhelp promote Darjeeling as well ashelp reclaim the past glory of theQueen of the Hills” added Dutta.

DARJ SMITTEN DIRECTOR BRINGS THELIMELIGHT BACK TO THE QUEEN