SIKKIM OBSERVER                                         May 5, 2012

After calling off bandh GJM wants tourists to visit hills

Welcome to Darjeeling: Morcha MLA

Darjeeling, May 4: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader and member of the West Bengal Assembly Harka Bahadur Chhetri on Wednesday urged tourists to visit Darjeeling without any fear.

Tourism was an important part of the hill economy, and the recent spate of cancellations, due to the turmoil in certain pockets in Dooars, was hurting the industry, he said at the Secretariat in Kolkata, The Hindu reported.

 “Darjeeling is having gorgeous climate. Please come and have a good stay. I am welcoming you,” he said.

Chhetri’s call comes after the Morcha last week called off its proposed indefinite bandh in the region, which was to begin last weekend.

  “Considering the situation in the region, the problems faced by the people during bandh and the request of the Bengal Government and the district administration, we are postponing the bandh for the time being,” GJM President Bimal Gurung said last week.

The GJM collaborated with a break-away faction of the ABAVP led by John Burla to call an indefinite bandh in support of its demand for holding rallies in the region, which was disallowed by the State Government apprehending large scale violence.

Press Club organizes public debate on traffic system

Gangtok, May 4:  The Press Club of Sikkim in collaboration with the Office of the Superintendent of Police (East) on Wednesday organized an open public debate ("Khulla Manch") on the traffic in the capital here at the heart of the capital at M.G Marg.

The function is a part of the 23^rd National Road Safety Week organized of Sikkim traffic police.

 The panel consisted of K.N Topgey (Mayor, Sikkim Municipal Corporation), Shakti Singh (Deputy Mayor),  P.K Basnet (Senior R.T.O), Mandeep Singh (Senior S.P), Sonam Bhutia (D.S.P Traffic), Ongmu Bhutia (S.D.P.O) and Snadhya Prasad (Councellor).

 Many questions were asked during the debate to which some solutions were provided on the spot.

Some of the main issues discussed during the debate were the increasing number of the vehicles in the city and less parking space, fake West Bengal licenses used by drivers, parking of VIP and Official vehicles in front of tourism department which hinders flow of traffic and unstable hike in the taxi fare at peak hours.

The Mayor said the capital would soon have ropeways from Gangtok to places like Ranipool and Sichey with a minimum fare of Rs 10 to 15 to reduce the number of people travelling on road.

Annual Day function at SMIT

Speaker harps on character & leadership

Majitar, May 4:  K. T. Gyaltsen, Speaker of Sikkim Legislative Assembly, emphasized on the need to build character and leadership among students. He said education should not be limited to marks and salaries.

Speaking at a function here on the Annual Day of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) as the Chief Guest, Gyaltsen said, “Giving education to a person short on character is like giving a sports car to a teenager high on drugs! Both will result in disastrous consequences.” He emphasized the importance of character building in the context of education.

Brig. (Dr.) S.N. Mishra, Vice Chancellor, SMU, and other officials of the University were present at the function.

The Vice Chancellor congratulated the students and the staff upon their wonderful achievements and said that SMIT is recognized as an institution of excellence all over India. He, however, cautioned the students and the authorities not to become content but keep on working hard as miles still need to be covered.

 SMITSONIAN, the annual SMIT magazine was released on the occasion.  Cultural programmes and prize distribution to students for their achievements in academic, cultural, literary and sports activities were part of the Annual Day function.

Govt vs Teesta Urja over Chungthang Teesta hydel project
Gangtok, May 4: In what appears to be the first indication of tension brewing between

the Energy and Power  Department of the State Government and it's joint venture partner Teesta Urja Limited, the private developer of the 1200 MW Mega Teesta Stage III hydro power Project at Chungthang in North Sikkim (one of the biggest hydel power projects in the country), the State Government has approached the State Electricity Regulatory

Commission on April 5, 2012 alleging that the Teesta Urja has denied the government its 26% equity shares in the Rs. 6000 crore mega project; a pre-condition in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the company with the government.

The Commission headed by former Chief Secretary T T Dorjee appointed a sole arbitrator to resolve the dispute on the same day without hearing the Teesta Urja's version on the issue, UNI reported.

Reports indicate that on April 7, 2012, the State Government approached the District Judge East and North District at Gangtok, under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996, praying for interim injunction restraining Teesta Urja from changing the constitution of its Board of Directors.

The District Judge vide an Order dated 7.4.12 passed an interim order restraining the company on reconstituting its Board of Directors.  The matter reportedly is set for a final hearing on May11. The State Government has claimed that apart from the 26% equity shares it also has the right to select two directors as their appointee in the company board.

Meanwhile, Teesta Urja Limited has filed an appeal before the Central Electricity Tribunal against the order of the State Regulatory Commission referring the matter to a sole arbitrator.

After hearing both parties the Tribunal has vide an Order dated 25.4.12 stayed the

operation of the order passed by the State Commission. The matter has been fixed for final hearing before the Appellate Tribunal on May 29, the report said.

Karki assurance on Sikkim weeklies

Scribes body demands better deal on govt advertisements

Gangtok, May 4: Minister for Information and Public Relations CB Karki has assured that the government would positively view demands placed before it for increase on rate and flows of advertisements to weekly newspapers in the State.

This was revealed by Female Journalist Association President Radhika Pradhan, who met the IPR Minister along with a delegation of the Association recently.

After receiving positive response from the Minister on their demand Association members and Pradhan met IPR Secretary KS Tobgay to pursue their demands.

Presently the government’s classified advertisement rates for local weeklies is Rs 55 per column centimeter and full page display advertisement is Rs 5,500 only. The Association wants the rates for classified advertisements to be increased to Rs 95 per col cm and the display rates to be fixed at Rs 11,000 per page.

The Association has also demanded increase in release of both classified and display advertisements to local weeklies. Apart from a few dailies most local newspapers in the State are weeklies.

Editorial

PRESS FREEDOM

We Mourn The Closure Of Gangtok Weeklies

Ever heard of Female Journalist Association? We have one in Sikkim by that name and surprisingly while other media organizations are busy entertaining the public and at times playing the role of a public relations body, the Female Journalist Association has urged the State Government to give a better deal to Gangtok weeklies in matters regarding release of government advertisements. The IPR Minister CB Karki has again assured the Press that the government would respond positively on the issue.  Perhaps it will do something this time as the next Assembly polls are nearing.

Sadly the death of several credible Gangtok-based weeklies and other journals in the past few years is something that free societies should be worried about. Weeklies such as Weekend Review and Mid-Week are no more. We mourn their untimely death or indefinite closure. The Sikkimese and Sikkim Observer (Nepali edition) are also off the newsstands for a long time. Journals such as Talk Sikkim and Hill People have been forced to shut down due mainly to financial constraints. In such a scenario the claim that the Press in Sikkim is free and vibrant has no basis. Quality is what people are looking for in the media and this is in short supply in today’s Sikkim. A casual glance at which newspapers are getting government advertisements and how often will reveal the state of the Press in Sikkim. Let the facts be revealed and the truth will be out in the public domain.

Sikkim Muslim women forum meet in Gangtok

Gangtok, May 4: Members of the All Sikkim Muslim Women’s Association, who participated in the first general meeting of the Association here on Sunday, has decided to work for the welfare of Muslim women community in the State.

The meeting held here at the Sikkim Democratic Front Bhawan was attended by members of the Association from Mangan, Jorethang, Namchi and Gangtok.

During the meeting the Association introduced its governing body:  Manium Iqbal Bhutia (President), Merunisha Begum (Vice President), Noorjaha Begum (General Secretary),

Mumtaz Begum (Treasurer), Merenaaz Begum (Assistant Treasurer) and Saminaa Bano (Advisor).

Apart from conducting a free health camp and plantation drive in various parts of the State the members also discussed on various skill upgradation schemes such as tailoring, computer course etc for upliftment of the women community.

SIKKIM OBSERVER         April 28, 2012

China seeks package solution for Sino-India boundary issue

Beijing, April 27: Seeking a package solution for the boundary issue through a negotiation process, China on Saturday said it would like to work with India to build up consensus in order to settle the problem at an early date.

"China always holds that the two countries should seek a package solution of the boundary issue through negotiation based on the spirit of peace, friendship, equality-based consultation, mutual respect and mutual understanding," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said.

"It serves the fundamental interests," Liu told PTI in response to questions on Arunachal Pradesh Governor Gen (retd) JJ Singh's reported comments that India should "move away from its non-negotiable stand on the border dispute with China."

However, the Arunachal Pradesh Raj Bhawan said that media reports about Gen Singh's statement on border dispute with China "have been purportedly taken from a speech and the comments have been quoted out of context."

Liu, on his part, said that "China would like to work with India to build up consensus and speed up the framework negotiation process in order to settle the boundary issue at an early date."

Surprisingly Gen Singh's reported remarks were not carried by the Chinese official media which in the past few days was more focused on the successful launch of Agni V and its implications for China.

Anna to visit Sikkim next month: NASS

Gangtok, April 27: Anti-graft activist Anna Hazare is likely to visit Sikkim next month to lend his weight behind those struggling to lead an anti-corruption campaign in the State.

This was revealed by members of the Nagarick Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (NASS) who recently participated in Anna-led daylong hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

NASS members – Rudra Khatiwara, Basudevh Adhikari, YT Lepcha and ML Niroula – who participated in the hunger strike said they have submitted documents and CDs to Team Anna on alleged rampant corruption in the State administration. They met Anna and Arvind Kejariwal in New Delhi during the hunger strike organized by India Against Corruption, according to reports.

Those who participated in the meet said Anna and his team will visit Sikkim next month to campaign against corruption in high places in the State.

Charges against Karmapa dropped

New Delhi, April 27: Indian officials said on Tuesday they had dropped all criminal charges against a top Tibetan Buddhist monk seen as a potential successor to the Dalai Lama.

Police in the northern State of Himachal Pradesh filed conspiracy charges against Urgyen Trinley Dorjee, the 17^th Karmapa last December, after authorities found more than $1 million in foreign cash, including Chinese yuan, stashed in his monastery.

The discovery led to allegations in the Indian media -- vigorously denied by the 26-year-old Karmapa -- that he was a Chinese spy, AFP reported.

"We have decided to drop all criminal charges against the Karmapa," state Home Office official S.P. Singh told AFP by telephone.

"The police and the government lawyers thoroughly investigated all the charges and found no real evidence to pursue a case against him," Singh said.

The Karmapa is revered by his followers as the 17th incarnation of the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

He fled Tibet in 1999 at the age of 14, reaching India after a perilous eight-day winter journey by foot and horseback over the Himalayas.

Recognised by both China and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa is seen as  having the highest profile of a cast of young lamas who might fill the void when the Dalai Lama, now 76, dies.

Since fleeing Tibet, he has mainly lived at the Gyuto Monastery in Dharamshala, the northern Indian hill station that is the seat of the Tibetan government in exile.

Officials at the Karmapa's office welcomed the decision to drop the charges.

"We had full confidence in the rule of law, and knew that the government would eventually conclude His Holiness was not involved in anything criminal," spokesman Gompo Tsering said.

The Karmapa's office had always insisted that the money seized during a police raid on the monastery in January 2011 was accumulated from "offerings by devotees" from around the world.

Editorial

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

The Vicious Circle

   Emergencies, disasters, and catastrophes are not gradients, they are separate, distinct problems that require distinct strategies of response. Disasters are events distinguished from everyday emergencies by four factors: organizations are forced into more and different kinds of interactions than normal; organizations lose some of their normal autonomy; performance standards change, and; more coordinated public sector/private sector relationships are required. Catastrophes are distinct from disasters in that most or all of the community built structure is heavily impacted; local officials are unable to undertake their usual work roles; everyday community functions are sharply and simultaneously interrupted, and help from nearby communities cannot be provided.

   Climate change is a multifaceted (from drought to flood) and multidimensional (from local to global) hazard that has short, medium-and long-term aspects and unknown outcomes. What we do know is that climate change is intensifying the hazards that affect human livelihoods, settlements and infrastructure. It is also weakening the resilience of livelihood systems in the face of increasing uncertainty and frequent disasters. Climate change can increase vulnerability to unrelated, non-climatic hazards. An urban earthquake, for example, hitting when the elderly population is already suffering from the kind of heatwave that claimed 35,000 lives in Europe during 2003, would be much more stressful for such vulnerable groups. Alternatively, an earthquake during a drought may come at a time when reservoirs and water pressure are too low to combat fires adequately.

    Another major aspect of combating disaster and catastrophe, particularly in underdeveloped countries is the corruption factor. The local administration realizes that disasters and catastrophes offer an opportunity to earn a fast buck. This leads to overstatement of losses to lives and properties during disasters. Using the mass media, particularly the electronic media, the authorities paint a dismal picture of damages caused by disasters to impress higher authorities and financial institutions to pour in the much-needed funds to meet the situation. Corruption does not end there; officials and concerned parties pocket huge amount of money while implementing various projects related to the disaster. Haphazard work done in these projects inevitably leads to future disasters and the vicious circle goes on and on.

INTERVIEW Of the Week

TENZING BHUTIA

TASHIDING HYDRO PROJECT CASE IN SUPREME COURT

“Project violated applicable laws”

    Construction of hydropower projects in Sikkim is again making headlines these days mainly because of strong anti-dam protests in West Sikkim led by ‘SAFE Sikkim’ against the 96 MW Tashiding Hydropower Project.

‘SAFE Sikkim’ and Platform for Joint Action against Hydropower Projects recently jointly organized a successful rally at Gyalshing, headquarters of West Sikkim, demanding scrapping of the project

The movement against Tashiding Hydropower Project took a new turn when Tenzing Bhutia, former editor of The Sikkimese, an English newsweekly published from Gangtok, raised the matter in the apex court recently.

 Bhutia filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court (Writ Petition (Civil) No.101 of 2012) raising some important issues related to the project. Sikkim Observer spoke to Tenzing Bhutia on his submissions to the Supreme Court. Excerpts from the exclusive interview:  

Sikkim Observer: ‘Safe Sikkim’ together with many other organizations have been consistently pressurizing the State Government to abandon the Tashiding Hydropower Project. Why did you approach the Supreme Court?

Tenzing Bhutia: The State Government has not taken any proactive action to wipe out fears from the minds of the people of the project area.  It has also failed to convince the people that dams and hydro projects under development in Tashiding does not create disasters in Sikkim. The State Government may not want to interfere with the power policy of the Centre which wants to convert the North East States into a “power house” of India. Sikkim has become a victim of those who are exploiting its river resources. Despite our continued protests the authorities have remained silent. This has forced us to approach the apex court to decide on the legality of the issue.

S.O: What is the legality of the issue?

TB: According to the Wild Life Division, Ministry of Environment and Forest regulations, no project can be set up within a 10 KM radius from the boundary of a National Wildlife Park. In this case, the Tashiding project is being constructed at a site which is within a 10 KM radius from the boundary of Kanchenjunga National Park. On this aspect alone, the project should be scrapped and no permission should be given by the National Wild Life Board. The regulatory authorities seem to have looked the other way and by their deliberate inaction they have allowed the project to continue to violate applicable laws relating to religious sites as well as to the environment and ecology.

S.O: What is the stand of your writ petition on the Rathong River?

TB: For all of us, the Rathong is a symbol of Sikkim’s faith and culture. The unique Bhumchu ceremony of Tashiding is deeply rooted with the Rathong. The construction work on the Tashiding Hydropower Project is destroying the natural flow of the holy river to a great extent thus defiling Bhumchu. The State Government is taking a double stand on the Rathong. You remember, on 20.08.1997, the 30 MW Rathong Chu Hydro Project was cancelled by the State Government to protect the Bhumchu ceremony. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at the time of cancellation had made a press statement stating that he would honour and uphold the sentiments, religion, and culture of the Sikkimese people and to save the environment. The Rathong Chu Hydro Power project was scrapped because of these reasons.

 If the Loharinag-Pala hydropower project on the Bhagirathi River can be cancelled under the pressure from Ganga Mahasabha on religious ground, why shouldn’t Tashiding Hydro Project be cancelled on similar ground?

S.O.: What are the other issues highlighted in the writ petition?

TB: There are several instances where funding agencies like World Bank or Asian Development Bank stopped financing hydropower companies in view of mass protests against such projects. The Power Finance Corporation of India, Rural Electrification Corporation of India and a host of other public financial institutions provide funds to power projects in India. Keeping in view of the prospect of these projects a large amount of public money is being spent for the Tashiding project, which is essentially anti-people. The writ petition has made a submission to the apex court to issue a writ in the nature of prohibition restraining the financial institutions and all other public financial institutions from investing in the Tashiding Hydropower Project.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN      April 25, 2012

Nepal parties seek more time to settle statute row

Kathmandu, April 24: Major political parties of Nepal on Monday sought two more days to thrash out contentious issues that have held up their constitution drafting.

The Himalayan country's political parties have extended the Constituent Assembly's (CA) term thrice earlier, though they had in 2008 agreed to complete the drafting of the statute book within two years.

During a meeting of the Dispute Resolution Sub-Committee Monday, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)(UCPN-M) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), who also heads the committee, proposed for two more days to settle the yet to be resolved issues of constitution drafting, media reports said.

The constitutional committee and the sub-committee have been summoned to meet on Wednesday, said Ram Chandra Poudel, Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader.

During Monday's meeting, political parties came closer over the issues on judiciary, citizenship provision and electoral system. They were, however, divided on the issues of state restructuring and forms of governance.

Tibetans to get five-year registration certificates

Dharamsala, April 24: Tibetans born in India and those living in the country for more than 20 years can now get the registration certificates essential for their stay renewed after every five years, a Tibetan official said on Sunday.

"The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has requested the Indian government about the problems faced by Tibetan refugees in renewing their RCs every one year or six months. The Indian government has consented to allow Tibetans born in India and those living in India for more than 20 years to get their RCs renewed after every five years," a CTA statement quoting Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said.

The CTA is an organisation based in India with the goals of rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and taking care of their needs. It is also called Tibetan government-in-exile and was founded by 14th Dalai Lama in 1959, after he fled to India, IANS reported.

Sangay said the home ministry of India has specified four conditions to be fulfilled by Tibetans to avail the five-year extension of their stay, which include production of supporting letter from the CTA and certificate of character and antecedent.

"The five-year extension of RC will come into effect once the states receive the centre's notification and evolve a standard procedure in consultation with the CTA. Till then, we appeal to Tibetans to renew their RCs in accordance with the present regulations," Sangay said.

According to a report titled "Demographic Survey of Tibetans-in-Exile-2009", the total population of Tibetans outside Tibet stood at 1,27,935, comprising 70,556 males and 57,379 females.

"There are 94,203 Tibetans living in India, 13,514 in Nepal, 1,298 in Bhutan and 18,920 elsewhere," it said.

Tibetan monk in long walk to freedom

“It is not necessary to be a Buddhist to practise meditation”                       

After China invaded Tibet in 1959, a young monk went into solitary confinement. He remained in a tiny dark room in the capital Lhasa for 19 years.
Choden Rinpoche's confinement was self-imposed and he spent the two decades secretly meditating and reciting sacred texts he had memorised.
Rinpoche had none of the ritual objects, no altar, or books associated with a monk, just a set of rosary beads he hid under his blanket. Even retaining these was dangerous.
"If you kept even one scripture text, that is a serious crime - more serious than keeping a gun," he said through an interpreter.
He was constantly spied on and although the Chinese visited him regularly, they believed he was an invalid.
At 83, Rinpoche is a respected scholar, teacher and meditation master, and among the last generation of Tibetan-born lamas who studied before the invasion that destroyed much of their culture. He is in Sydney to teach.
He became a monk at the age of six and had long wanted to do a solitary retreat. He took the "opportunity" of China's invasion to do so.
"During the Cultural Revolution, Tibetan monks were forced to criticise their spiritual teachers and [Buddhism]," he said.
Rather than do this, he went into a room in his cousin's house in 1965 and remained there until 1985, never once venturing out.
Despite his lack of possessions and confinement, he did not feel he lacked anything and is grateful he was able to quietly practice.
"[I] was actually very happy," he said. "During the time outside, things were so wild."
When he emerged in 1985, his mind felt calm but after 19 years without exercise, he could not walk properly. He rejected a role with the Chinese regime, travelled to India and has remained in exile. He has since taught in monastery in southern India and more recently in the West.
He says it is not necessary to be a Buddhist to practice meditation.
"In order to gain happiness it is not necessary to be a Buddhist," he said. "But it is necessary to create the cause of peace and happiness, to develop wisdom."
Everyone could benefit from time in solitude, he said. "The mind will become more peaceful, more focused and gain some clarity in life," he said. "But the ultimate benefit will depend on the motivation for engaging in the retreat."

GJM to boycott Mamata meetings in Darjeeling

Darjeeling, April 24:  The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will boycott all future meetings to be addressed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and North Bengal Development Minister Goutam Deb here.

The GJM will boycott the meetings of Banerjee and Deb to protest the state government's decision not to give permission to the John Barla-led faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) supported by the GJM to hold a meeting at Nagrakata in Malbazar on Sunday, GJM president Bimal Gurung said, PTI reported.

Gurung and Barla were scheduled to address the meeting at Nagrakata. The administration did not give permission to the ABAVP faction led by Barla to hold the meeting and has also imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 Crpc in the area.

 GJM general secretary Roshan Giri also supporting Gurung's decision to boycott the meetings of Banerjee and Deb said, "We have to taken the decision to protest the administration's partisan functioning in reference to the pro and anti-GJM conglomerates."

The Barla faction of the ABAVP supports the GJM and wants the inclusion of the moujas of the Dooars and Terai in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) while the rival factions oppose the inclusion of moujas of Dooars and Terai in GTA. The Barla faction of the ABAVP has called for an indefinite bandh in the Terai-Dooars area from Monday.

Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and a host of other outfits have called a 12-hour strike in Dooars on Sunday to prevent the meeting which was scheduled to be held in Nagrakata by the GJM-backed groups seeking the inclusion of the plains in the administrative set-up for the Darjeeling hills.

Significantly, the joint action committee, including the Adivasi Viaksh Parishad and 19 other organisations, wrote to Jalpaiguri district magistrate Smaraki Mahapatra, requesting her not to grant permission to its rivals to hold the public meeting.

Birsha Tirkey, president, AVP, said, “The tribal population is with us. Our tribal brothers will resist any effort made to take away the land of Dooars and Terai and including it in the GTA. We will not allow them to hold any meeting here.”

However, the GJM-backed groups of Dooars were adamant on holding the meeting in the region on Sunday.

John Barla, leader of the GJM-backed organisation in Dooars and Terai, said, “We will hold the meeting here under any circumstance. We want the region to be included in the GTA.”

Barla, who is also the convener of the Joint Action Co-ordination Committee, said the plains would witness a tribal movement if permission was not granted for the meeting.

ABAVP-GTA bandh in Terai, Dooars

Darjeeling, April 24:  Violent clashes and arson marked the indefinite shutdown in northern West Bengal's Terai and Dooars regions called from Monday by a faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) and supported by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

The shutdown called by the John Barla-led faction of the ABAVP evoked a mixed response, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed for restraint and maintenance of peace and order in the region, IANS reported.

Vehicular movement on national highways (NH) in areas under Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri district, especially NH 31 - the gateway to the northeastern states - was negligible.

Train movement in the Dooars-Terai section also was affected, with many long-distance trains either cancelled or diverted. Shutdown supporters in some places put up road blocks, which were later removed by police.

Clashes between supporters and opponents of the shutdown were reported in some areas, resulting in injuries to some. More than 80 arrests were made from Siliguri and adjoining areas of Darjeeling district.

In Naxalbari, several buses were damaged and a few vehicles were put on fire by those enforcing the shutdown.

In Oodlabari and Banarhat in Jalpaiguri district, several people were injured and police had to fire teargas shells following clashes between supporters and opponents of the shutdown.

The indefinite shutdown was called after the state government refused permission for a joint rally by the Barla faction and the GJM at Jalpaiguri's Nagrakata. Both outfits have also called for a boycott of all future meetings called by Banerjee.

SIKKIM OBSERVER April 21, 2012

Devastating fire breaks out in Darjeeling market

Darjeeling, April 20: A devastating fire raged through the main market square of Darjeeling town in West Bengal, bringing back memories of the horror of 1971. In 1971 the same patch of the market had been razed to the ground.

The fire broke out at around 2.15 am at MP Road. According to a local resident

the fire started from a wooden shop, the floor of which gave way and spread rapidly after two LPG cylinders burst in the restaurant on the ground floor of the same building. With the area densely populated with wooden shops without any gaps, in no time the fire spread, The Hindustan Times reported.

Fire tenders from Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Bijanbari; Green Force of the Dera Saccha Sauda; Army (21 Madras and 11 Gorkha Regiment) together managed to contain the fire by 7am. With acute water scarcity, private water tankers pitched in to help.

"Around 90 shops have been gutted. Though estimates have not been made of the loss, it would be to the tune of above Rs. 2 Crores" stated Saumitra Mohan, District Magistrate, Darjeeling. Most of the schools including St Joseph's and Loreto Convent declared a closure.

Gangtok church to celebrate platinum jubilee

Gangtok, April 20: The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Sikkim (EPCS) will celebrate its platinum jubilee here tomorrow. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling is expected to attend the function and will inaugurate the ancillary hall of the church. He will also address the congregation at the Paljor Namgyal Girls School.

Founded in 1936, the church has been the centre of Christian activities in the State and has given birth to numerous church leaders. Late Rev. CT Pazo and Late Prabal Singh Rai are likely to be felicitated during the celebrations, which will comprise of songs and dances, choirs and felicitations

Founders, missionaries and pastors will be felicitated during the function, according to Rev. PS Tingbo, the moderator of the church. A large section of the church’s 10,000 members in the State are expected to take part in the celebrations, Tingbo said.

Indigenous groups in Nepal poised to play greater political role

Kathmandu, April 20: The Nepal Federation Of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), founded in 1991 as an autonomous and politically non-partisan, national level umbrella organisation of all indigenous peoples of Nepal, is likely to play a greater role in the political affairs of the country.

NEFIN currently consists of 55 member organisations of indigenous peoples' organisations (IPOs) widely distributed throughout the Terai, the Hills and mountains of Nepal. NEFIN was formed with the goal of securing indigenous peoples' rights, including documenting, preserving and promoting cultures, languages, religion, customs, traditions of the indigenous nationalities of Nepal and to assist them in developing and obtaining equal rights.

With the demand for a federal structure strong among the people of the plains, hills and the mountains growing by the day, the Maoist government has a tough task ahead given the fact that many other ethnic communities are against giving greater political rights to the indigenous communities.

NEFIN has been playing an important role in supporting its member organisations in leadership development, strengthening decision-making capabilities, networking and enabling them to fight for securing indigenous peoples' rights, including rights to self determination and ethnic autonomy and also to secure their rights to development by preserving and promoting their distinct identity.

NEFIN's vision is the establishment of multicultural, federal democratic republic, and a rainbow society, where diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, territorial, regional and sex groups are treated equally and equitably. It wants the indigenous peoples' rights to be recognized and respected and indigenous nationalities enjoy ethnic autonomy within the federal structure.

NEFIN is a very active player in the national political landscape in Nepal and has managed to give indigenous rights issues a high profile on the political agenda.

Editorial

LOOK BEYOND 2014

Cong: Drastic Overhaul Needed

The Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh looks set to undergo a drastic overhaul post the election debacle in the State. In what comes as a surprise move, the party has entrusted senior leader AK Antony to lead a panel that will go into the causes of the party's rout in recent Assembly elections held in UP and Goa, besides the shock defeat in Punjab and the performance in Uttarakhand. The review committee, also comprising Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, is expected to give its report to party Chief Sonia Gandhi by month-end. The party revamp may be followed by changes in the Union Cabinet, which is also vitally important if the party is serious on having a long view in national politics

Merely changing office-bearers of the party in its State units will not do. What the party needs to do is to replace sycophants with credible and capable leaders in all wings of the party unit. The new leadership must then be given a free hand to build up the party from the grassroots. Along with the revamping of the party Congress leaders in-charge of the party in various States also need to be changed depending on their performance. Many of those in-charge of the party do not give much emphasis on the State units as they are too busy currying favours from the powers-that-be in the State as well as the Centre. While revamping the party the Congress leadership must focus on eradicating corruption from the system of governance. The Congress party’s hesitation and inability to take on corruption head-on is largely responsible for the recent poll debacle. Because of corruption party re-organisation has become meaningless in many States. This must change if the party is serious on coming to power and implementing its policies and programmes.

Guv grant for 14 NGOs, schools for good work

Gangtok, April 20: Several social organizations and schools, including Tashi Namgyal Academy, North Sikkim Academy, Namgyal Institute of Tibetology and Lepcha Youth Association, are among those expected to get financial grants from the discretionary funds of Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh.

The initiative is to appreciate their good work and to further encourage them in their work. In total 14 NGOs and schools will get the grants, according to an official release.

  Other organizations that received the grant are: Inner Wheel Club, Padma Odzer Choeling School, Sikkim Viklang Sahayata Samiti (Gangtok), Multanchi Lom Aal Shezum, Wangdi Faith Mission Home (Mangan), Kyongsa Sarva Sewa Samiti, Aarigaon Sanskrit Vidyalaya (Gyalshing); Sanjeevani Rehabilitation Centre, National Association for Blind (Namchi), and Rehabilitation Centre (Nimtar).

5-day Sikkim Tourism carnival in May

Gangtok, April 20: A five-day spring tourism carnival would be held from May 11 in Sikkim with events spread across the State. Sikkim Tourism and Civil Aviation Secretary, R Telang, said the carnival would include cultural and religious events, adventure sports, handicrafts, music and traditional foods, PTI reported.

Besides the government department and tourism stakeholders, the Army would also be present as an integral part of the events, he said. The 17 Mountain Division will perform paragliding, paradiving, motorcycle stunts and other adventure activities, besides a dog squad display, he said.

Sikkim had held a snow and culture festival recently to boost tourism in the mountain State.

PRIDE OF SIKKIM Keepu Lepcha

Learning To Serve

Sikkim’s Miss Keepu Lepcha received CNN-IBN’s ‘Real Heroes Award’ for extraordinary service to the nation at a function in New Delhi recently.

Miss Keepu runs ‘Lepcha Cottage’, a home for almost 100 orphan and other disadvantaged children of the Lepcha community in Gangtok. She started her noble service by supporting 20 needy children with her own resources.

With help from friends from abroad Ms Keepu started the construction of the Children’s Village at Chongey near Gangtok in her own land in 1998.

The Children’s Village provides food, accommodation and education to needy and destitute children.

In 2001, she established Padma Odzer Choeling School in the Children’s Village.

SIKKIM OBSERVER          April 14, 2012

PIPLINES DAMAGED, WATER SUPPLY DISRUPTED

Addl. Chief Secy takes charge; water to be restored by Saturday, alert on North Sikkim

Gangtok, April 13: A meeting was held at the Conference hall of the Secretariat under the Chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary, R. Ongmu on Thursday to discuss the water problem faced by the people due to major slide at Km 12th along Selep and Ratey Chu, which has damaged and washed away water pipes disrupting regular supply of water to the capital.

The Additional Chief Secretary took stock of the situation and directed the concerned department and district administration to gear up  activities to ensure that the people of Gangtok and adjoining areas do not suffer due to non-supply of drinking water.

The meeting was also attended by Mayor KN Tobgay, GMC Councillors, District Collector and Superintendent of Police (East), and officers of PHE (Public Health Engineering) Department.

Meanwhile, the capital witnessed emergency supply of water by the department in trucks and vehicles in the capital. The department has promised supply of regular water by Saturday morning.

Keeping in mind that the monsoon is on the door step and that North Sikkim has been shaken by last year’s earthquake, Ongmu directed all the officers present in the meeting to ensure that on emergency basis to cater to the public of North Skkim that the bare necessary services in regards to telecommunication, road networking essential commodities, including the supply of LPG and the banking facilities, should be restored and made available to the public of North Sikkim immediately.

D.C. (North) was specifically directed to tie up with the Officers of Reserved Bank of India, State Bank of India, Border Road Organization and Food & Civil Supplies Department and to ensure that all essential services are made available to the public of North Sikkim. She also directed Secretary, Food & Civil Supplies to tour North Sikkim and ensure the Buffer Stock of essential commodities are provided in respective godowns.

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely                                                  

By Padam B. Chettri

As you are all aware, there were reports in the papers stating that the Sikkim Government had “entered into a strategic joint-venture with ATPIL … which was selected from among the best performing private hydel developers in the State”. A local daily this week also reported: “This decision was taken by the State Government in light of the poor performance of the SPDC over the past years [among other factors] and in order to infuse some professionalism and expertise into the corporation. For the selection of the strategic joint venture partner, tenders were floated on the basis of which ATPIL was selected to take 49% of the stake in SPDC, it is further learnt.”  

 I understand that Dr Chamling manipulated the recommendation of the White Paper for handing over hydel projects to ATPIL. In case of enquiry, Dr Chamling will blame the officials who “misled” him as in many other instances.

 Subject to verification, M/S ATPIL is the Company which was blacklisted by the State government a few years ago. The reason is given in a RTI application.  In reply to an RTI query pertaining to allotment of hydropower projects to Amalgamated Transpower India Limited, the Sikkim Power Development Corporation stated: “The total interest against the Bond of Rs. 50.10 crores paid by SPDC as on 31. 3.  2009 is Rs. 38, 45, 43, 219.00”. As of now, the amount will be far more than thirty-eight crore forty-five lakhs, forty-three thousand two hundred and nineteen rupees.

    Also ATPIL is in the notice of Central Bureau of Investigation, Calcutta. The CBI “requested that the approval of the Government of Sikkim required under section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, for registering cases, may kindly be accorded expeditiously, to enable CBI to conduct formal investigation into the matters”.  The letter dated 12 October, 2010 from Suman Bala Sahoo, Joint Director, East, addressed to T T Dorji, IAS., Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim, mentions ATPIL.

It is the misfortune of the people of Sikkim that we have to tolerate a rogue administration under a rogue who does not allow CBI into the State. But take heart, the CBI will finally nail him. (The writer is President of Sikkim unit of BJP) 

Former Sri Lanka PM on Sikkim visit

Observer News Service

Gangtok, April 13: Former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe arrived here today on a five-day visit to the State.

The former prime minister was accompanied by Prof. Maithree Wickremasinghe. During their visit they will be staying at Raj Bhawan and Hotel Mt. Pandim, Pelling, West Sikkim. They will be visiting flower show at Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal Memorial Park, Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom.

 The guests will also be visiting Rumtek monastery, Lingdum Monastery, Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Temi Tea Estate, Samdruptse, Char Dham, Pemayangtse monastery and ruins of Rabdentse Palace in West Sikkim.

Editorial

WATER CRISIS

Accountability Must Be Fixed

Disruption of water supply in Gangtok has now become a regular feature. In the past few months and years Gangtokians have witnessed numerous occasions when residents and tourists faced acute water shortage. It is, therefore, the right time to stop blaming the government and the concerned authorities over the crisis and doing nothing about it ourselves. Rain harvesting is something that needs to be taken seriously even as the monsoon is on its way in a month’s time. Relying on the government alone to face the crisis would be unwise and disastrous at times.

However, one cannot pardon those in power who are responsible for serving the public. Though there are many engineers in the Public Health Engineering Department yet the water supply pipelines from Ratey Chu to Gangtok is constantly damaged the moment there is a downpour. It is learnt that several crores of rupees have been spent recently for ensuring that the water supply lines on this route is kept intact. And yet the water crisis continues. A thorough probe needs to be ordered into this messy affair. Accountability must be fixed before the public is made to suffer further.

IDENTITY CERTIFICATE

Action Against Fake Sikkim Subject Certificate Holders Demanded

The Chamling Government’s delay in taking legal action against holders of fake Sikkim Subject Certificate has been questioned by bonafide Sikkimese who have justifiable reasons to dount about the establishment’s real intentions on the issue. So far action has been taken against only 212 persons who possess fake Certificate of Identity (CoI), which state that they belong to the special category of Sikkimese who were called ‘Sikkim Subjects’ and issued Sikkim Subjects Certificate during the Chogyal era prior to the ‘merger’.

   Even on this matter the initiative came from Sikkim RTI Forum and not the government. The Forum has stated that of the 3,15, 396 Sikkim Subject Certificate holders in Sikkim 31,180 possess fake identity certificates. Forum’s General Secretary DK Chettri alleges that the authorities have remained silent over the demand for speedy action against those involved in the fake CoI racket. Opposition leaders earlier made a hue and cry over the issue but failed to take the issue to its logical conclusion. What is worse is the fact that those who possess fake identity certificates continue to encroach upon the rights and interests of bonafide Sikkimese, majority of whom are Sikkimese Nepalese, who are given special status under the Constitution.

Gurung in a dilemma over Nepal award

Darjeeling, April 13: A Nepal-based culture group’s decision to felicitate Bimal Gurung in Kathmandu has put the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in a spot as the party’s statehood agitation had centred on a separate identity for Indian Gorkhas.

Receiving an award from a neighbouring country like Nepal would not have raised eyebrows in case of any other Indian citizen. But the Morcha, like the GNLF, had always justified its statehood agitation on the grounds that Nepalese or Gorkhas living in India needed a separate identity distinct from the citizens of Nepal. Under the circumstances, the party is planning to write to the ministry of home affairs to bail Gurung out of his dilemma — to accept or not to accept the award. “We have decided to write to the ministry of home affairs before deciding on attending the programme,” said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri.

Kurseong British era landmark crumbling

Kurseong, April 13: Chimney, a landmark during the British Raj for travellers en route to Darjeeling on the outskirts of this town in Darjeeling district, is gradually falling prey to time and neglect.

 A quaint halt for travellers with a 27-foot-tall brick built chimney situated at 7000 feet above sea level it offered a warm hearth with a fire crackling on chilly nights for travellers when the temperature dipped below zero degree Celcius. There was also a stable for horses at Chimney, PTI reported.

As per accounts of villagers, the British used it as a place for rest at night and to cook food. When the present Hill Cart Road had not been constructed, the one and only road used by the Britishers was the Old Military road via Chimney to Darjeeling on which horse-drawn and vintage vehicles ran.

The Old Military Road is today known by the name of Aryan Sarani Road. In the last few years, the premises of Chimney and its adjoining land have been taken over by local farmers. Some local residents have also constructed a temporary toilet, close to the landmark, on the grounds.

With the passage of time and no upkeep, two to three feet of the top portion of the chimney has tumbled down. One resident, Dipesh Chetrri said that the authorities should take immediate measures to preserve the landmark as well as to include it among world heritage sites.

He said to protect it the authorities should declare Chimney as a tourist spot with the help of the forest and tourism department. Councillor Vinod Sharma, who is the in-charge of the Conservancy Department, told PTI that a part of Chimney was within the limits of the municipality. Sharma said that steps for its maintenance would be raised at the next meeting of the municipality.

24-hour anti-GTA bandh hits normal life in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri

Observer News Service

Siliguri, April 13: A 24-hour bandh called by the Dooars-Terai Joint Action Committee(DTJAC), brought life to a near-standstill in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts of North Bengal, police said. However the bandh had partial effect in pockets like New Malbazar and Alipurduar which have bigger concentration of Gorkha population, a national daily reported.

The bandh was called by DTJAC a mosaic of a dozen political outfits to protest against the proposed inclusion of Dooars and Terrain areas of the Himalayan foothills into the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority(GTA).

The pro-Gorkhaland outfit Gorkha Janmukti Morcha(GJM) had been demanding inclusion of 400 moujas from the contiguous Plains to the GTA which after coming into force would be an extension of the now-defunct Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

A one-man high-powered committee headed by Justice Shyamal Sen was looking into the matter and would submit its report in the coming weeks.

However, the people of the adjoining Plains comprising Bengalis, Adivasis, Kamtapuris, Bodos have strongly resented the inclusion of these areas into the GTA.

Apart from the fear of becoming ethnic minority in the newly formed body that would be headquartered in Darjeeling, the local leaders feel that the refusal of the GJM to drop the separate Gorkhaland demand would one day pave the way for inclusion of non-Gorkha areas of the Plains into a separate Gorkhaland.

After the Congress labour arm like Intuc and Bodo groups joining the new fold the multi-party anti-GTA group of the plains have gained in force. The RSP and CPI(M) labour unions like CITU have already been backing the group.

However the biggest support base comes from the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad which has about 4-5 lakh votes in the area. This notwithstanding the fact that a small group backed by ABAVP leader John Burla has sided with GJM leader Bimal Gurung.

Talks possible if Dalai Lama gives up Tibet independence demand: China

Beijing, April 13: As suicide bids continued unabated in Tibetan-inhabited areas seeking return of the Dalai Lama, China, for the first time in recent months, has indicated its willingness to reopen the stalled talks with him if he "truly gives up Tibetan independence."

"The central government has also made clear its willingness for talks if the Dalai Lama truly gives up Tibetan independence. The door remains open to him," the state-run China Daily said last week.

This is perhaps the first time that an indication has come up in the official media after the previous dialogue between Chinese officials and representatives of the Dalai Lama failed to make any headway in 2010.

It follows a barrage of criticism unleashed against him in recent weeks, with China alleging that he was instigating suicides, specially among the Buddhist monks in Tibetan-inhabited areas.

Besides, he wanted his authority to cover all of Tibet, including, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan. All these regions put together constitute one fourth of China's territory, Qu said.

Though the Dalai says on one hand that he renounced the independence demand, his other demands that all troops and mainland Chinese should leave the areas amounted to seeking independence, he said.

Asked about the prospects of the resumption of talks, Qu had said the Chinese Central Government can consider if the Dalai abandons his "independence political objective."

The article in the China Daily said the "Chinese government has repeatedly shown good intentions to the Dalai Lama by arranging the visits of his private representatives and relatives.”

Tragic end to a Sikkimese chasing his dreams in US

Gangtok, April 13: About 50 friends, family members and people from India's north-eastern regions paid their final tribute to Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, 38, a student from Sikkim who was among the seven killed in the Monday, April 2, shooting at Oikos University, a religious college in northern California.

A large number of local Tibetans and others held a prayer vigil for Bhutia, Sonam Chodon and five others who were shot dead by a disgruntled college student who carried out an execution type killing spree in a religious college in California.

On Saturday afternoon, Bhutia's body was brought in a silver casket to the McAvoy O'Hara the Evergreen Mortuary in San Francisco for a prayer service before his body is flown to his native place, Gyalshing in Sikkim, by Air India.

Bhutia's body reached his home just a day before his 39th birthday.

"His body will be going to Chicago and from there it will be reaching to Bagdogra airport, Sikkim, at about 1.30 pm on April 11," Anand Kumar Jha, consul (community affairs) at the Indian consulate in San Francisco, who attended the prayer service and helped set up the funeral home and clear the documents required before releasing the body, told rediff.com.

Bhutia's nephew Karma thanked everybody for coming to the funeral service and recalled, "My uncle was very smart and hard-working." Karma, who lives in Los Angeles, is doing his masters in electrical engineering from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). He recalled that when he came to the United States a year ago, Bhutia came to meet him in Los Angeles. "He was very helpful. He used to say if you are hard-working, do not give up your American dream."

Bhutia, a nursing student, was killed when the shooter stole his car outside the university's parking lot on Monday morning at about 10:33 am.

Thepo Tulku, member of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, was among those, including Tibetans, who paid his tribute to Bhutia at the funeral service.

Bhutia, 38, worked odd, long hours, and for at least six months he had balanced a graveyard shift as a janitor with nursing school. He may have felt isolated at times, living thousands of miles from his family and home, but he was a hard worker and a lively, cheerful man, friends said.

"I will remember him, and not because he was the victim of this crime, but because he was a gentle person," said Sandy Close, a San Francisco journalist who met Bhutia when he was a waiter at an Indian restaurant in her neighborhood. "I don't want his dying to go unnoted."

Indeed, based on his Facebook account, Bhutia seemed to have friends spread around the globe, including a brother and other family in India. But Close and others who knew him in San Francisco said he seemed to live a mostly solitary life in the United States.

Bhutia was Buddhist, but it's not clear if he was a member of any particular temple, and there are few people from his home state living in the Bay Area, San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"He was a very hard worker," said Punam Devi, manager of the North Beach residential hotel where Bhutia had lived for four years. "He worked at the airport all night, and then he'd go to the nursing school, and then he used to sleep in the daytime. He seemed to have no time for friends."

Bhutia had worked the overnight shift at San Francisco International Airport for about a year, cleaning the food court areas. His boss there said Bhutia had recently talked about taking a test to become a custodial supervisor, and his colleagues all knew he was studying nursing, too.

"He was articulate, educated," Close said. "He was very much a searcher, very much looking to get on in the world, even if he was not quite sure how to do it."

BJP leader visits State on grievances

Observer News Service

Gangtok, April 13:  The BJP MP from Baroda, Bal Krishna Shukla, in-charge of the party in Sikkim, arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit o the State.

 Speaking to mediapersons here at the Circuit House, Shukla said that although some states did not have elected representatives from BJP, the party still feels it necessary that grievances of people from these places must reach Delhi, PTI reported.

 "In pursuance of such initiative" he has been deputed to Sikkim and would take up grievances of people of Sikkim and Sikkim-related issues in the Parliament, Shukla said.

One of the issues to be taken up would be the Doordarshan Kendra in the capital. The Kendra was completed eight years ago but is yet to function, giving the Nayuma TV channel, owned by members of the ruling party, an upper hand.

SIBLAC mourns death of a Sikkimese, observes Chogyal birthday

Gangtok, April 13: The Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) mourned the untimely death of a Sikkimese, Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, who was gunned down in San Francisco recently.

During its meeting held here this week and chaired by SIBLAC Convenor Tseten Tashi Bhutia, members described Bhutia as a “promising” Sikkimese who was an asset to the State.

The members decided to write to US President Barack Obama urging him to ensure that the body of deceased be flown to Sikkim to observe his death rites according to Buddhist tradition.

During the meeting SIBLAC observed the 89^th birthday and 57^th Coronation Day of late Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal who passed away in early1982.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN      April 18, 2012

China must reform to avoid another ‘cultural revolution’: Dalai Lama

Honolulu (Hawai), April 17: The Dalai Lama said on Monday there are hopeful signs that China will push through political reforms in China and Tibet in order to avoid another 'cultural revolution.'

  But the exiled Tibetan leader warned that there were still 'worshippers of the gun' in Tibetan areas of China, where more than 30 protestors -- many Buddhist monks and nuns -- have set themselves alight since March 2011.

"The same cultural revolution is returning that was the cause of a crisis in 2008 when several hundred people were killed or disappeared," he said in Hawaii, where he spent the weekend before a trip to the US mainland.

"Now the time has come that the Chinese authority must investigate the causes" of Tibetan protests, the Dalai Lama said.

"The local (Chinese) authority (in Tibet) I think ... are worshippers of the gun, as Chairman Mao Zedong once expressed that power comes from the barrel of the gun. Unfortunately some hardliners still believe that," he said.

The Dalai Lama said he sees hopeful signs in statements last month by outgoing Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, that China has no way forward but through economic and political structural reform.

Wen said on March 14 that China could see a repeat of the Cultural Revolution's deadly chaos without 'urgent' political reform, in a dramatic parting shot at his final news conference as premier.

The exiled spiritual leader is due to fly to San Diego, California this week, before visiting Los Angeles and Chicago. From there he will travel to Canada and on to Europe.

‘Dethroned ex- king Gyanendra will be jailed’

Kathmandu, April 17:  A top Communist leader has threatened to jail Nepal's dethroned king Gyanendra, weeks after the former monarch was accused by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of conspiring against the landmark peace process.

66-year Gyanendra, who has increased his appearances at public and religious functions over the last few months, has been targeted by Nepalese political leaders amid growing speculation over his future plans at a time when the country's peace process has been delayed due to deadlock among the parties, PTI reported.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, the former Prime Minister and senior leader of CPN-UML, warned the Gyanendra that he would be sent to jail if he tried to disrupt the 2006 peace process and drafting of a new constitution.

"If the former King is found conspiring against the peace process and constitution drafting, he would be directly sent to jail," Nepal said at a programme in the capital this week.

"Anyone who goes against the achievements of the People's Movement of 2006 will be obliterated," he warned.

Last month, Bhattarai had accused Gyanendra of conspiring against the peace process.

The prime minister had said Gyanendra's 'activism' is not a good sign at a time when the country's transition is set to be concluded.

China invites Japan, South Korea to build observatory in disputed Aksai Chin

Beijing, April 17: China is pushing Japan and South Korea to establish an astronomical observatory in Aksai Chin, a remote part of Jammu & Kashmir that Beijing occupied after the 1962 war and had Islamabad cede parts of the region to it a year later.

A Chinese scientist on Sunday said the East Asia Core Observatories Association -- with China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as it members - has recommended the site for the observatory. Yao told the official Xinhua news agency that the association had also surveyed sites in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Pamirs Plateau in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, but the new observatory is likely to be established in Tibet (Aksai Chin) this year.

The association's website shows one of its proposed sites in Aksai Chin (Shiquanhe in Chinese) in Tibet.

"EACOA directors reached a consensus that a review and evaluation meeting are urgently needed among regional excepts, aiming to update EACOA on relevant site survey progress, particularly focus on the site-testing metrology, instrumentations, procedures and data analysis performed on the candidate site at Ali (Aksai Chin) Tibet," it said about a recent meeting.

Ali in Tibet's Ngari Prefecture falls within Aksai Chin, which India claims to be its own territory.

The move comes as Beijing has been asking India to pull out of oil exploration from the disputed areas of the South China Sea off the Vietnamese coast. Both China and Vietnam claim the South China Sea.

China feels that the presence of India and Russia, which recently entered the area, will further complicate the territorial dispute. Experts see the Chinese proposal for the observatory as an attempt to complicate the Aksai Chin dispute by drawing in Japan and South Korea, who are members of the Japan-based EACOA.

The observatory will carry out research on planetary science, star formation, gamma-ray bursts and other astronomical projects. It will conduct around-the-clock observations of certain celestial bodies.

The move, if successful, will legitimize Beijing's claim over the disputed area and make it difficult for New Delhi to establish its rights over it.

Peace in Asia depends on China-India ties

Dharamsala, April 17:  The Tibetan PM in exile Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay recently inaugurated ‘Tibet: The Third Pole & Its Global Significance', a one-day conference organised by the Tibet Policy Institute at Gangchen Kyishong in Dharamsala.

The chief guest at the inaugural session was Dalip Mehta, a former Indian ambassador to Bhutan and various other Central Asian Republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Sangay said, “The idea behind the formation of the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) is to create an intellectual hub here in Dharamsala where experts will be invited to speak on a weekly or monthly basis. Since its launch, TPI has organized many seminars but this is the first conference where a panel discussion is being held. Soon, we will have two panel discussions a year, a day-long conference and another major conference which could be two-three days long.”

"Unlike the Antartic and the Arctic, Tibet has major global significance because when Tibet's ice melts, it converts into fresh water and contributes to about 10 major rivers of the world including the Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze and the Yellow river which is the basis of China's civilization," he added .

He also questioned the benefits and the risk factors associated with the damming of many of the Tibetan rivers by the Chinese government.

He concluded by saying the significance of Tibet's environment transcends much beyond our national borders and added that saving Tibet is saving yourself.

 Mehta, the chief guest, spoke about the relevance of Tibet from the point of view of regional security.

"It is unacceptable to say that peace in Asia, to a very large extent, depends on the relationship between India and China," he said.

‘Until China invaded Tibet in 1949, Tibet throughout its independent existence, had been a zone of peace and a source for regional stability being an effective space between Asia's two largest and most populous nations namely China and India.'

"The geopolitical reality changed after Tibet's occupation by China. India and China now shares a long and dangerously militarised border of over 4500 kms with claims and counter claims, and which had led to a war between these two nations in 1962," he said.

"Today, India and China are both nuclear powers with regional and global aspirations with Tibet no longer as the buffer state. And herein lies the significance of Tibet in India's relation with China," he said.

The conference also featured other speakers like Matthew Akester, an independent researcher who spoke about the rampant mining in Tibet, Tsering Dhondup and Tenzin Norbu, researchers from the Central Tibetan Administration's Environment Desk, as well as Thinley Jigme, Tenzin Dheden and Prof. Ngawang Phuntsok.

Report against ‘Pre-1953’ status for J&K

New Delhi, April 17: Attempts to seek autonomy on the lines of “pre-1953” status in Jammu and Kashmir would be unwise, the interlocutors on J&K have suggested in their report.

Central laws should be applied to Jammu and Kashmir after a review by a constitutional committee and be then ratified by Parliament and the state assembly by a two-third majority, the interlocutors have said.

The report, prepared after seeking views of a cross-section of opinion including political parties in J&K, said any attempt to pitch for autonomy on the lines of the "pre-1953 situation" will create a dangerous constitutional vacuum.

The report's recommendations seek to explore the scope for enhanced autonomy and inclusiveness without moving into politically sensitive terrain that can be seen as a concession to hard-line separatists. Its emphasis is on a political process that will build consensus by involving both Parliament and state legislature.

The report suggests that once the review process is ratified by Parliament and state legislature, the House would make no new laws applicable to the State unless these relate to the country's internal and external security and its vital economic interest.

The report also suggests replacing the word "temporary" from the heading of Article 370 with "special" as has been used for other states under Article 371 and proposes that the governor be appointed from a list of names prepared by the state government in consultation with opposition parties. Fresh elections should be held within three months, if Article 356 is used.

The report has also pitched for making the LoC between India and Pakistan "irrelevant", suggesting the door can also be open for Pakistan and separatist Hurriyat Conference to join the peace process if stakeholders in J&K are willing to accept a permanent settlement.

The home ministry had formed the team comprising Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari in the wake of youth unrest in J&K in 2010. The interlocutors had submitted their report to the ministry in October last year.

Editorial

AUTONOMY DEMAND

Meet Genuine Aspirations

The demand for ‘self-rule’ is not limited to countries seeking full independence; even areas/states within a country are seeking limited freedom and autonomy with a view to preserving their own traditional culture and distinct identity. The people of Tibet, Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir’s reference to ‘distinct identity’ and protection of their ‘special status’ are blatantly being ignored by Beijing and New Delhi. The Dalai Lama believes that the solution for the Tibet issue would be to grant ‘genuine autonomy’ as promised in China’s constitution. The case for Sikkim is very much the same. Ever since its takeover by its protecting power in 1975 the Sikkimese people have been demanding preservation of their distinct identity within the Union as reflected in Article 371F and the historic Tripartite Agreement of May 8, 1973.

  New Delhi, however, seeks to further assimilate Sikkim with the mainstream by craftily pumping money into the State to buy people’s consent for self-destruction. It should note that in the long run such a policy would be counterproductive, particularly when Sikkim lies in a strategic and vulnerable border region. A three-member report on J&K have rejected the demand for ‘pre-1953’ status while recommending ‘enhanced autonomy’ for the State. Its emphasis on involving both Parliament and State legislature without catering to the genuine aspirations of the people will not work. The experience in Tibet, Sikkim and J&K in the last few decades show that elected representatives of the people hardly represent the people. The political process in these regions are a farce imposed on the people but for how long.

WB govt to hold talks on inclusion of plains area in GTA

Siliguri, April 17: The state government today is likely to hold talks with representatives of organisations which have called a strike in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts on April 18 and 19 for the inclusion of the Dooars and Terai in the set-up for the hills.

The invitation for the talks at Writers’ Buildings was sent to John Barla, the convener of the Joint Action Co-ordination Committee that has called the strike. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is a constituent of the committee.

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said the government would request the leaders of the committee to withdraw the strike as disruptive activities would hit the economic growth of the region. “The government is relentlessly trying to dissuade all organisations from calling strikes. We will hold talks with the John Barla group (of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad) and other associations tomorrow and request them to call off the strike,” said Deb.

“We would like to tell them that the government is not against rallies and other forms of agitation, but they should refrain from strikes or any other disruptive activity which will have a negative effect on the region’s economy or will deteriorate law and order.”

The committee had called the strike in response to a shutdown announced by a forum of outfits on April 10 and 11 to protest the demand to bring the Terai and Dooars under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. However, the anti-GTA forum scaled down the strike to one day (April 10) at the request of industries minister Partha Chatterjee.

“We have received an invitation from minister Gautam Deb. A seven-member delegation will sit with ministers and officials. If the government appeals to us to withdraw the strike, the delegates will consult with other leaders before making any announcement. They will ask the ministers to promise us in writing that 349 mouzas in the plains will be made a part of the GTA,” said Barla.

Singh lays foundation stone for ‘Gorkha Museum’ in Darjeeling

  Darjeeling, April 17: The first of its kind Gorkha Musuem is all set to come up in Darjeeling in West Bengal, depicting primarily the martial aspect of the Gorkhas, known throughout the world for their bravery.

Pegged at Rs. 1 crore, the museum will be located adjacent to the Gorkha War Memorial at the

Jaswant Singh, Lok Sabha MP, Darjeeling laid the foundation stone for the museum here recently.

A personal initiative has actually paved way for this museum. 58-year-old Hemant Kumar Pradhan has been collecting war artifacts (medals, photographs, weapons, uniforms) related to the Gorkha regiments since he was 17 years old. Having managed a sizable collection of these rare artifacts, he has been running from pillar to post sharing his idea of a Gorkha war museum. Pradhan has even organized numerous exhibitions of his personal collection, national daily reported.

“Pradhan’s initiative truly fascinated us and we decided to work on it” stated Amar Singh Rai, Chairman Darjeeling Municipality. “With the idea being floated, we approached various persons including the MP. He was very receptive to the idea and assured us of all cooperation” stated Saumitra Mohan, District Magistrate, Darjeeling. Singh will be contributing Rs. 25 lakhs from the MP Local Area Development Fund for this project.

Incidentally Pradhan inspired by his mother carefully preserving his father’s “Burma Star” (a medal,) started taking deep interest in war artifacts. His collection now includes 200 medals (including Shamana medal of 1891; Tibet medal of 1903-04; Abor expedition medal of 1911-12 along with first and second world war medals,) photographs, uniforms and a surrendered Samurai sword.

“A museum has been my dream since 1972. Finally after 40 years of hard work my dream is all set to come true” stated Pradhan.

We want more Bhaichung Bhutias in Sikkim:  AIFF

Gangtok, April 17: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) could set up one of its eight regional residential academies in Sikkim if the state comes up with the required infrastructure.

I-League CEO Sunanda Dhar said the AIFF was setting up eight regional residential football academies in different parts of the country by the end of 2013 and one was likely to be set up in Sikkim.

However, he added, it would happen if the AIFF gets a ground and other required infrastructure in the State, The Times of India reported.

"We want Sikkim to develop more football infrastructure to create more Bhaichung Bhutias in the State," AIFF senior vice-president Subrata Dutta said.

Besides, he told reporters at Paljor Stadium that the SFA should pay attention to training of coaches and referees and said the AIFF would back SFA in its endeavours.

Dutta and Dhar were in town to inspect the organisation of the Gangtok leg of the final round of the second division I-League.
Sikkim 2012-13 annual plan is Rs 1500 cr

Gangtok, April 17: Sikkim annual plan for the year 2012-13 has been fixed at Rs 1500 crore.

The annual plan was finalised in a meeting between Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia in meeting held in New Delhi on Monday.

While speaking about the annual plan Chamling said that the plan is 100 crore higher than current plan size.

 He told that sikkim has achieved growth rate of 8.95% during 11th plan which is higher than national average.

Chamling said the State Government  has launched a scheme called Chief Minister’s Free Scholarship Programme under which  students enrolled in top 20 international  universities of the world  provided full sponsorship by the State Government.

The Chief Minister said work on Rs. 735 crore 575-bedded multispeciality hospital has been started and construction of the building will be completed in 2014.

No one homeless in Mizoram

Aizawl, April 17: Land-locked Mizoram has scored a high in housing and household amenities - the northeastern state does not have any homeless people, revealed the 2011 census for housing, household amenities and assets.

According to official figures, the state has a total of 221,077 households - 65.8% live in their own houses while 31.8% have rented accommodation. The rest live in staff quarters. The figures suggest that 2.8% live in houses marked dilapidated.

Mizoram has also set a benchmark in sanitation. As many as 2,03,185 families of the total 2,21,077 families in the State have toilets on the premises of their houses, while 3,342 families use public toilets and 14,550 people defecate in the open.

In sharp contrast, the more accessible Meghalaya cuts a sorry figure - 34.3% of its 5,38,299 households do defecation out in the open.

The problem for another northeastern state, Manipur, has been the lack of access to fuel for cooking. According to the latest census, 65% of the state’s 6.09 lakh people are dependent on firewood. However, amazingly, 57% of them possess cell phones.

At total of 65.7% of the households in Manipur are firewood users.

The national average is 49%. The census data revealed that 29.7% of the people in the state use cooking gas while 0.2% households use kerosene for cooking.