The year 2013 began with the controversial Companies Bill, now an Act, being passed by the Parliament and making local headlines which continued throughout the year. In fact, allegations and clarification about the Bill and its impact on Sikkim continued till December and will undoubtedly play into 2014 as well as groups and parties try and whip it into an “issue” like the Direct Taxes Act of 1994.
And it is interesting how the Income Tax issue continues to demand attention in Sikkim, two decades past. The Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim [AOSS] hogged considerable news space with numerous protest rallies being held against some unpalatable references made in the writ petition filed with the Supreme Court by the Association demanding IT exemption for old settlers.
The first half of the year was also peppered with incidents of political violence as the party aligned to SDF dissident PS Tamang [Golay] was finally launched in February as Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. Mr. Tamang’s resignation from his parent party came much later and he still holds no official post in SKM, although he has agreed to take charge as President in February 2014.
Meanwhile, some new parties came into being, some old ones were revived while some ceased to exist. 2013 also saw the civil society springing into action from time to time. While some initiatives held on, others fizzled out. The Bhum-chu predictions made in February signaled a good year ahead and a good year it was for tourism and students. The state was spared any big natural calamity apart from the wind storm over parts of North and East districts, which seemed more like Mother Nature’s idea of a prank. The prank, however, did unfortunately claim one life.
Sadly, what has also remained a constant over the years is the disturbing number of lives lost to suicide. Road accidents may not have had as many casualties this year as compared to suicides. Suicides have deliberately been left out of this year’s round-up as it deserves to be covered better and a more detailed round-up will feature in our forthcoming issues next year.
Till then, here is a rewind of 2013:
JANUARY
03 JAN - PACKAGED LUM ORANGES LAUNCHED: Lum Orange Growers Association (LOGA), promoted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra [KVK] Mangan, started the supply of packaged Lum oranges for markets within and outside the state. Each carton contains 30 large sized oranges costing Rs. 150 per carton.
09 JAN – DIRECT CASH TRANSFER PILOT PROJECT LAUNCHED IN EAST SIKKIM: The East district became one of the 43 districts in the country chosen by the Central Government to pilot the Direct Cash Transfer [DCT] System, whereby beneficiaries of 34 identified Centrally Sponsored Schemes [CSS] will have cash benefits [subsidies] transferred directly into their Aadhar Enabled Bank [AEB] Accounts
12 JAN – FIRST GURUNG FILM RELEASED: ‘Aage Thagu’, [elder brother] was released by the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at a special premiere held at Mannan Kendra.
12 JAN – RIOTING IN RHENOCK: First there was strong sloganeering, then the shops downed shutters, then the police station was gheraoed, then vandalized and finally Section 144 imposed on Rhenock bazaar. By late evening of 11 January, 10 persons had been arrested on charges of rioting and other sections of the IPC for their alleged involvement in the incidents of the day.
19 JAN – PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION RETURNS TO GOVT SCHOOLS: Shut since 2010, the government decided to re-start Pre-Primary education at schools from this year onwards. Training for first batch of 262 Pre-Primary Teachers [Class XII passed] began on 17 January, while the second batch of 250 plus teachers [Class X passed] were trained from 28 January to 06 February. Earlier, these teachers were working as School Mothers and after the Pre-Primary section was shut in 2010, they were shifted to Gram Panchayats where they were working as Panchayat Education Assistants.
21 JAN – 16 KILLED IN ROAD MISHAP NEAR TEESTA: A tragic road mishap near Teesta under Kalimpong sub-division of West Bengal on the night of 18 January claimed 16 lives. The only survivors of the mishap were the five who escaped with injuries. The ill-fated vehicle was staggering overloaded with 21 people on board against the prescribed limit of 11 including the driver. The vehicle was ferrying the passengers back to Melli from Triveni Mela.
22 JAN – BAN ON IMPORT OF EGGS LIFTED: In welcome news for consumers and traders in the state, the Animal Husbandry Department lifted the ban on import of eggs into Sikkim. Earlier, the ban has been lifted for three months [Oct to Dec 2012] initially and there was much uncertainty over whether the ban would be reinforced with the New Year or whether the lifting of the ban would be extended. The relaxation was extended indefinitely.
26 JAN – YANGANG LAND HANDED TO SU: Following years of controversy and stonewalling surrounding the land acquisition for the proposed campus of Sikkim University at Yangyang in South Sikkim, the land documents were finally handed over to the university.
28 JAN – PADMA SHRI FOR HILDAMIT LEPCHA: Hildamit Lepcha was named for Padma Shri for her distinguished service in the field of art. Ms. Lepcha was among the 80 names announced for the Padma Shri this year.
31 JAN – ASSEMBLY SESSION PASSES RESOLUTIONS ON LT SEATS, ST STATUS FOR ALL SIKKIMESE, and AGAINST COMPANIES ACT: A one-day Sikkim Legislative Assembly session (Seventh session part- iii of the Eighth Assembly) was held today. Among the more significant businesses taken up were the adoption of three Resolutions, moved as Private Member’s Business, each touching on a different aspect of identity and norms of Sikkim’s uniqueness within the Union of India. The resolution covered aspects of Assembly seat reservation for Limboo and Tamang communities by virtue of their being recognized as Scheduled Tribes, ST status for all ethnic communities of Sikkim, and protection of Sikkim Companies Act of 1961.
FEBRUARY
02 FEB – VIGILANCE RAIDS: Vigilance Police carried out simultaneous raids on two former Secretaries of the Energy and Power Department on 01 February. Retired Secretaries DD Pradhan and Pema Wangchen, both of whom retired as Principal Chief Engineer cum Secretary, Power Department, have been booked by the Vigilance Directorate for possession of assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. With the twin raids, Vigilance Police completed a busy week which started with a raid on Additional SP, Sikkim Jails, Kado Tshering Bhutia earlier in the week.
08 FEB – 3 BLIND PERSONS GET VISION RESTORED: Out of the five children taken by NAB to Shankar Netralaya, three returned with vision - Pavitra Gurung, [8 yrs], Vemu Subba [22 yrs], Nim Tshering Lepcha [12 yrs].
08 FEB – ONLINE DATABASE OF EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS: Sikkim became the first state with online Employee and Pensioner database with real-time updates. The Employees and Pensioners database will provide information of all employees and pensioners of the state online. Both these databases are linked to the treasury and will be updated on real-time basis.
12 FEB – SKM HEAD OFFICE LATHICHARGED: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supporters threw bottles at the Chief Minister’s motorcade as it passed their head office at Daragaon [Gangtok] along NH 31A. The follow-up police action deteriorated fast and ended with a lathicharge in the SKM head office and the arrest of six persons. Several SKM supporters and police personnel were injured in the fracas. The incident has snowballed into a major standoff with SKM having moved the Supreme Court and an independent enquiry carried out.
12 FEB – SNT ALLOWS PASSENGERS TO TRAVEL STANDING: SNT finally decided to allow standing passengers in its buses and further directed that such buses which have standing passengers should have adequate grab bars with hanger straps from the roof along with gangways for the use and safety of standing passengers. Standing in luxury and air conditioned buses is still however still not allowed.
13 FEB – YARCHA GUMBA, HERBS INCLUDED IN NATHULA TRADE LIST: Yarcha-gumba [Caterpillar Grass], the much coveted herbal remedy harvested from cold desert pastures, was green-flagged as an item allowed for border trade between India and China over Nathula.
19 FEB – STATE EMPLOYEE CENSUS RECORDS 54,000 EMPLOYEES IN SIKKIM: DESME reports revealed that there are approximately 54,000 employees working under the State government in Sikkim. The figure covered all kinds of employees - regular, Muster Roll and Work-Charged employees. Around 5 years back, the number of State government employees was projected at around 40,000.
21 FEB – FOUNDATION STONE LAID FOR SC BHAWAN: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling laid foundation stone of Scheduled Caste Bhawan at Development Area. Also announced that all students from the Scheduled Caste community will be given scholarships upon graduation to enroll in coaching institutes to prepare for competitive exams of their choice; pension package for traditional folk musicians of Sikkim. The Rs 5.94 crore Bhawan is scheduled to completed in 3 years time.
22 FEB – 50% HIKE IN DAILY WAGES NOTIFIED: The Labour Department notified a hike in daily wages for labourers/ workers in the State. The new wages come into effect from 01 April 2013 onwards. With this, the announcement of the State Government to effect such a hike has been delivered. The daily wages for Un-skilled labourers was hiked from Rs 130 to Rs 200, Semi-skilled from Rs. 145 to Rs. 220, Skilled from Rs. 165 to Rs. 250 and Highly-skilled from Rs. 190 to Rs. 290.
26 FEB – BHUMCHU: The Bhumpa [vase] at Tashiding Monastery filled out exactly 21 cups of crystal clear water. The vase can hold a total of twenty one cups; its contents however do not stay stable. When the water level increases and is crystal clear, then it is peaceful and prosperous, thus promising a good harvest and general good health.
27 FEB – HC DIRECTION ON SU SALARY HARASSMENT ISSUE: The High Court of Sikkim, in an interim order passed on 25 February, directed Sikkim University to release withheld salary [of two months] and experience certificates to two former faculty members who had run afoul with the university authorities last year when they petitioned the Executive Council of the University with allegations against the then Vice Chancellor.
28 FEB – EARTHQUAKE REHAB MANAGEMENT FUND BILL: Chief Minister, who is also the Minister in-Charge of Finance, Revenue and Expenditure Department, introduced the Sikkim Earthquake Rehabilitation Management Fund Bill in the Legislative Assembly.
MARCH
02 MAR – FOUNDATION STONE LAID OF NEW SECRETARIAT: Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh laid the foundation stone for the new building of Tashiling Secretariat. The cost of the comprehensive project works out to Rs. 277.34 crore in two phases- Phase-I for Rs. 224.10 crore and Phase-II for Rs. 53.24 crore.
02 MAR – R ONGMU BECOMES FIRST WOMAN CHIEF SECRETARY OF SIKKIM: Rinchen Ongmu, IAS batch of 1979, took charge as the Chief Secretary of the state today. Ms. Ongmu, in her tenure thus far has served as District Collector and later as Secretary and Head of the Department of various departments such as Urban Development and Housing, Rural Management and Development, Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Finance, Planning and Development Department,
06 MAR – SIMFED LAUNCHES ‘SIKKIM ORGANICS’: Sikkim State Cooperative Supply & Marketing Federation (SIMFED) launched organically grown local agriculture and horticulture produce under the brand name “Sikkim Organics”. These products were officially launched during the inauguration of International Flower Show on 23 February.
08 MAR – SIKKIM SCOUTS RECRUITMENT: A staggering 6,803 candidates appeared in the five rounds of Physical Fitness Tests held in the State as part of the Sikkim Scouts Battalion recruitment rally. Sikkim Scouts is a new battalion being raised under the Ministry of Defence to man the high altitude international borders of the State.
11 MAR – VEHICLE TORCHING BEGINS: Two cases of arson were registered by the Soreong police today. No one has been arrested so far. It is believed that the owners of the two vehicles in question are SDF supporters. The two incidents took place within minutes of each other.
12 MAR – SIKKIM CHESS PLAYERS MAKE IT TO TOP 20 NE: The Sikkim Chess Association [SCA] team returned with 10 medals from the 6th edition of the North-East FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2013 held in Imphal, Manipur from 27 February to 07 March. 15-year-old Rakesh Gurung, a class X student at Tadong Senior Secondary School and part of the SCA team, breached the top-20 rankings in the tournament. He is the first player from Sikkim to make it into the top-20 in such a prestigious FIDE Rating chess tournament in the north-east level [he is ranked 17th].
12 MAR – TRADE LICENSE RULES AMENDED: Several significant amendments were made to the Sikkim Trade License Rules by the Urban Development & Housing Department in keeping with the changing times and flourishing of various types of business outlets.
15 MAR –DONATION BOX STOLEN FROM ENCHEY MONASTERY: The donation box at Enchey Monastery was stolen. It is estimated that cash inside the box was between Rs. 2 to 3 lakh.
16 MAR – FIRST NE MT EVEREST EXPEDITION: Chief Minister flagged off two mountaineers from Sikkim on an Everest expedition today. Everester [2012] Kazi Sherpa, OSD, IHCAE-Chemchey, and Anand Gurung of South Sikkim have been selected as part of a 16-member team of the 1st North East India Mount Everest Expedition 2013. The expedition was organised by the Department of Planning, Government of Manipur, with the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association as the executing body and is funded by the North Eastern Council.
23 MAR – 460 RECRUITED IN SIKKIM SCOUTS: Names of the batch of recruits for the Sikkim Scouts battalion to be deployed at the high altitude border regions of Sikkim were announced in Siliguri. Out of the 690 candidates who had cleared the physical and medical screenings and taken the written exams, 460 have been taken in as the first batch of recruits for the battalion which is to be staffed exclusively by Sikkimese personnel.
25 MAR – DALAI LAMA ARRIVES: HH the Dalai Lama arrived here today to a rousing and emotional welcome led by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. The Dalai Lama was on a three-day visit to Sikkim, the highlight of which was the consecration of the Tathagata Tsal.
25 MAR – 154 SELECTED FOR CM’S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP: 154 children selected under the Chief Minister’s Merit Scholarship Scheme began the new academic session in an array of reputed schools outside and within the State. The ambitious scheme was launched in 2010 and this is the fourth batch of students who are being sponsored on full scholarship to various renowned schools of the country as well of the state.
26 MAR – TATHAGATHA TSAL CONSECRATED: The Dalai Lama carried out the consecration of the 137.5 feet tall Buddha statue here at Tathagata Tsal today. Apart from the consecration rituals, this grand dedication to the Buddhist faith also received high praise from the Dalai Lama, who, in his address to the mammoth gathering of devotees, expressed his happiness at being at Tathagata Tsal on this momentous occasion and deep satisfaction with how the ambitious project has finally shaped up.
APRIL
03 APR – SIKKIM STATE IT SERVICES INSTITUTED: The State Government instituted a new service cadre, the Sikkim State Information Technology Service. The total authorized strength of the Service at its inception has been put at 43 for now.
04 APR – STATE ANNUAL PLAN FIXED AT Rs 2060 CRORE: Sikkim’s annual plan for the year 2013-14 has been fixed at Rs. 2,060 crore which is almost 10% higher than the plan outlay for the year 2012-13 which had been fixed at Rs. 1,500 crore. The sanctioned outlay is in keeping with the State’s projections of its requirements for the new financial year.
04 APR – SHRPP WORKERS ARRESTED FOR POSTERING: Twenty-five members of the Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party [SHRPP] were taken into custody by the police in connection with unauthorized postering by them in the capital. Before the year ended, SHRPP would seize to exist, merging into the Congress.
06 APR – LAND ACQUISITION PROCESS INITIATED FOR SLEEPING BUDDHA STATUE AT SINGHIK: The Sleeping Buddha statue is to be developed in Singhik, ahead of Mangan in North Sikkim. For this purpose, the State Government is acquiring around one and a half hectares of land in which also will be set up “modern way side amenities” and a hot spring developed. The project is to be developed by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department. The Land Revenue department has issued a notification for land acquisition.
06 APR – SIKKIM EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE COURT RULES NOTIFIED: The State government has notified the Sikkim Employees State Insurance Court Rules, 2012. This, as in the case of the Sikkim Employees State Insurance rules, has also been notified after more than 15 years since it was first drafted in 1996. These rules are issued under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948.
08 APR – COMMITTEE FORMED FOR MODERNIZATION OF SLAUGHTER HOUSES: Sikkim now has a committee to oversee the operation and modernization of slaughterhouses in the State. This was only necessitated following a Supreme Court order directing the constitution of such a body. The Committee has the Secretary, UD&HD, as chairman and also includes the DIG [Range] and the Gangtok Mayor as members apart from other officials.
12 APR – LAW COLLEGE STUDENT PROTEST: Final semester students of Government Law College here staged a protest at the college and petitioned the college authorities demanding immediate resolution of the uncertainty surrounding their degrees in light of the fact that the course has not received recognition of the Bar Council of India. While the Law College enjoyed BCI recognition when it was affiliated to North Bengal University, it has not received it since its shifting to Sikkim University. The Law college was recognized by the Bar Council of India later in the year.
18 APR – PRESIDENT MUKHERJEE VISIT: President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, received a warm send off from Libing Helipad in Gangtok as he completed a day and a half long visit to the State packed with events which saw him travel through two districts and officiate an inauguration, a foundation stone laying ceremony, a walk through MG Marg, a cultural presentation treat and the routine meetings with delegations. The President inaugurated the Rs. 116.75 crore Siddhesvara Dham at Solophok.
18 APR – SKM AND SDF CLASH AT MELLI: The South district border town had a tense evening on 17 April after a clash between Sikkim Democratic Front and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supporters here. The clash is reported to have erupted when SKM and SDF party workers were reportedly on a door to door outreach campaign around Melli and came face to face.
19 APR – FIRST REDRH COMPLETED IN NORTH SIKKIM: Two homes completed under the Reconstruction of Earthquake Damaged Rural Houses [REDRH] here at Ringhim ward of Ringhim-Nampatam GPU were inaugurated. These houses, belonging to Bhaichung Lepcha and Singhitak Lepcha, were the first to be completed under the REDRH scheme in North Sikkim, the worst hit district by the 18 Sept 2011 earthquake.
19 APR – DUDHEY BETH ‘REDISCOVERED’: Calamus inermis, a species of cane known locally as Dudhey beth [Nepali] and Bruhl [Lepcha], is endemic [not found anywhere else] to Sikkim and also on the endangered list. The cane variety is so rare that since it was first discovered and recorded by Thomas Anderson in 1869. The cane was spotted and recorded again on 16 April 2013 by a Department of Science & Technology team led by Assistant Scientific Officer, Dr. Sonam Rinchen Lepcha. The “rediscovery”, was made at the confluence of Teesta and Mani Chu in Lower Dzongu.
20 APR – JIPMER GOLD MEDAL FOR RANKA BOY: Dr. Ranjan Raj Pandey from Dhajey in Ranka, East Sikkim, bagged the Gold Medal in Post graduation MD in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at JIPMER Pondicherry. The award is in recognition of his overall excellent performance in the post graduation course and also for securing the highest marks in theory and practical examinations.
23 APR – BURNS PATIENT DIES AT STNM HOSPITAL: The tragic death of a 22-year-old woman on 20 April at STNM Hospital due to burns sustained in a kitchen accident made a lot of noise. The incident also highlighted the lack of infrastructure and facilities in the state to treat burns patients.
27 APR – PS TAMANG QUESTIONS GOVT CLAIMS IN ASSEMBLY: Rebel SDF MLA, PS Tamang, while engaging in discussions on the Governor’s Budget Address, pulled out data collected by him from the Forest Department on scale of plantation drives undertaken in Sikkim under the Green Mission and the 10 Minutes to Earth Programme. Addressing the Assembly, Mr. Tamang pointed out that the Department’s official report on the 10 Minutes to Earth programme, it has covered 8,093 sq Km area with tree plantations; an impossible feat given that Sikkim’s total geographical spread is 7,096 sq km, one thousand square kilometers smaller than the area supposedly planted over by the Department.
27 APR – RICHARD GERE IN SIKKIM: Hollywood star, recognised Humanitarian and a passionate advocate of human rights in Tibet [he was banned from the Oscars once after making anti-China comments on the air at the 1993 ceremony], Richard Gere, regaled Gangtokians with an earnest talk, “Buddhism in the West and My Personal Experience” here at Mannan Kendra today. Mr. Gere, shared the stage with Sogyal Rinpoche at the event organized by the Namgyal Institute Of Tibetology in conjuction with Conservancy for Trans-Himalayan Art & Culture (CTAC).
MAY
01 MAY - SDF AND SKM CLASH IN NAMCHI, SHOPS SHUT: This was a clash which everyone was expecting, and although the strong Police bandobast in Namchi ensured that no flare-up conflagrated into a free for all through most of the day, late in the evening on 01 May, Sikkim Democratic Front and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supporters clashed here at Jorethang Road. Several supporters on both sides suffered minor injuries and some vehicles were damaged before the cops arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control. Both sides have filed FIRs on the incident and on last count, 4 SKM supporters had been rounded up in connection with the fight.
03 MAY – KHELGAON INAUGURATED: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling dedicated the Rs. 22.78 crore [phase-I], Khel Gaon, the much-delayed, but state-of-the-art sports facility developed at Reshithang in East Sikkim across Gangtok to the youth and students of Sikkim today.
04 MAY – SLIDES DISRUPT GANGTOK WATER SUPPLY: Heavy downpour disrupted Gangtok’s water supply network with the main supply channels to the reservoir at Selep damaged by landslides. Gangtok and its surrounding areas did not receive water supply from 30 April to 02 May.
06 MAY – ROSE VALLEY CHIT FUND SCAM: Flagged by the Reserve Bank India for its suspiciously irregular ways and under inspection of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Rose Valley Group - Rose Valley Real Estate & Constructions - was served its first police raid on Saturday when the Sadar Thana here raided its branch office in Tadong and seized documents and other records. The Kolkata-based Rose Valley Group is suspected of being a chit fund scam, and one of even larger proportions than the Sarada racket which shook West Bengal up last month.
07 MAY – EIILM UNIV OFFICIALS ARRESTED: Senior Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management [EIILM] University officials were arrested by Sikkim Police from Jorethang in South Sikkim in connection with a case registered at Sadar Police Station. A police team led by SDPO [Rangpo], DSP L Palmu Chettri took the EIILM University Vice-Chancellor, Dr OB Vijayan, Registrar, Col [retd] Alok Bhandari and Examination Controller, Bijay Dahaia, into custody from Jorethang. EIILM officials were accused of issuing fake certificates.
08 MAY – LHAKO PHUTI IN INDIAN TEAM FOR ASIAN CUP: Lako Phuti Bhutia from Sribadam, a product of the path breaking Mangalbaria Football Academy, has been picked for the Indian Senior National Women’s Team for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers to be played later this month. Lako was in the training camp for the probables for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Last October, Lako was in the U-19 Indian Women’s football team which played in the AFC championship held in Malaysia.
09 MAY –SORENG B.Ed COLLEGE PRODUCES FIRST BATCH: A total of 196 students, the combined strength of the first two batches of the B.Ed. College here, received their degrees. The college was set up in 2009 and after affiliation with Sikkim University, it was granted recognition by NCRTE and has been functioning in full capacity since 15 May 2012.
10 MAY – SU ANNOUNCES 11 NEW DEPARTMENTS: The new academic session which begins August 2013 at Sikkim University will see the introduction of 11 new departments at the university, and with this addition to the bouquet of courses on offer, the University will finally be offering post-graduation courses in all core subjects being taught at the under graduate level. Starting August 2013, the following post graduate courses will be offered: Anthropology [MA/ MSc], Education [M.Ed], English [MA], Hindi [MA], History [MA], Political Science [MA], Commerce [M.Com], Management [MBA], Tourism [MA], Mathematics [BSc-MSc Integrated and MSc] and Zoology [MSc].
10 MAY– TIBETAN TRADER RELEASED: The trader from Tibetan Autonomous Region arrested by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police on 04 November 2013 was convicted by a local Court here at Gangtok on 06 May and returned to TAR from Nathula on 10 May since he had already served out his time [of six months] in Judicial Custody as an under trial.
12 MAY – KABI TINGDA RESIDENTS RALLY AGAINST BRO: Tired of unconvincing assurances and disappointed by the consistently deplorable condition of the North Sikkim Highway and JN Road, both under the charge of Project Swastik of Border Roads Organisation, the people and panchayat members of Kabi-Tingda [for NSH] and JN Road marched out on the road today in a public demonstration registering their annoyance and disappointment. The rally, which was also joined by Travel Agents Association of Sikkim [TAAS] members, walked from Tashi View Point to GREF head-office here at Swastik.
13 MAY – 7000 TAKE ACCOUNTS CLERK EXAM: The Finance, Revenue and Expenditure Department conducted written examination for filling of 150 posts of Accounts Clerk/ Store Keepers at 14 centers in and around Gangtok. The examinations were conducted under the supervision of officials from the Finance department for which 10 nodal officers and 28 center coordinators and assistant coordinators were appointed.
13 MAY – USFC COMPLETE I-LEAGUE SEASON: Bhaichung’s United Sikkim Football Club [USFC] completed its debut I-League season with a match against Mohun Bagan here at Paljor Stadium. The last match brought no changes either in the ranking or number of points for USFC as it went down 3-0 to Mohun Bagan and now stares at relegation.
14 MAY – LINGZYA BEY ROAD RESTORED: Today, more than a year and a half since the earthquake on18 September 2011, the Roads & Bridges Department, North district, opened Lingzya-Bey road in Upper Dzongu for light vehicular traffic right up to Bey today. While this stretch had been opened in mid-Feb, it had not settled down properly, and kept acting up. The earthquake had triggered 15 trouble spots on this stretch especially inconveniencing people from Bey, Sakyong and Pentong.
17 MAY– ASESUA TO JOIN SDF: The All Sikkim Educated Self Employed & Unemployed Association [ASESE&UA] president, Nawin Kiran, today announced plans to join the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front with the executive and active members of the association. 25 executive members and around 50 active members of the association will be joining the ruling party after formally resigning from the ASESE&UA.
17 MAY – NEW RAJ BHAWAN INAUGURATED: Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh dedicated the new Raj Bhavan to the people of Sikkim this afternoon coinciding the occasion with the 39th State Day celebrations. The Governor first unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi after that he officially inaugurated the new Raj Bhawan, a replica of 123 years old Raj Bhawan albeit with state of the art facilities and technology.
18 MAY – NE MT EVEREST TEAM SUMMIT: The 1st North East India top of the World Mt Everest Expedition team has successfully reached the summit of the highest peak of the world, Mt Everest [29,029 ft] this morning at 7:35 AM [Indian Standard Time]. Anand Gurung from Sikkim was the first to summit Mt Everest at 7:35 AM followed by Nima Lama from Arunachal Pradesh at 8:30 AM and finally by N Bidyapati Devi from Manipur at 9:30 AM. N Bidyapati is the first lady from Manipur to Summit the Mt Everest.
20 MAY – BRAWL ENDS IN SMIT STUDENT’S DEATH: A brawl at a café turned tragic with the death of a 22-year-old SMIT student and the arrest of seven local youth. The case is currently be tried in Court.
25 MAY – BHANDARI REINSTATED AS SSP PRESIDENT: Former Chief Minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, was reinstated today as the president of Sikkim Sangram Parishad, a party he founded in 1984, claimed to have merged with the Congress in 2003, and returned to now after having been toppled, again, by the Congress high command. Mr Bhandari was ousted by the Congress high command from the State Congress post in April earlier this year.
27 MAY – BREATH ANALYSER TEST FOR NORTH CABBIES: Sikkim Police conducted breath-analyzer tests on taxi drivers passing through Mangan today. North Sikkim Police has been provided with mobile breath analyser kits to check alcohol levels in drivers. Of the 110 drivers and their vehicles checked yesterday, 25 were challaned, most of them because the driver had higher than permissible levels of alcohol and some because of incomplete documentation. Some of the drivers were even detained.
30 MAY – SAATHI LAUNCHED: SAATHI- a program towards finding solutions to substance abuse under Chief Minister’s Youth Empowerment and Self-Reliant Mission 2013, was launched at Samman Bhawan. Spearheaded by Lok Sabha MP PD Rai, the program will work towards making children emotionally secure and making them say no to drugs.
JUNE
03 JUN – SIKKIM JUDICIAL ACADEMY OPENED: Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir inaugurated the academy at the high court complex.
03 JUN – BACs RE-DESIGNATED AS GVK: The State Government, as per a Notification [no 155/GEN/DOP dated 29th May 2013], re-designated all Block Administrative Centres as Gram Vikash Kendras and the Block Development Officers as Gram Viaksh Adhikaris in order to strengthen Panchayati Raj Administration. Likewise all Sub-Divisional Magistrate as Sub-Divisional Magistrate-cum- Panchayat Development Officer.
05 JUN – TANEK BHIR SLIDE: A massive slide has tore away from the Tanek Bhir, from directly below the Tanek Primary School [classes where have been suspended in light of its precarious situation], racing off the steep incline straight into the Dikchu PHC complex in Dikchu Naya Bazaar half of the town in North Sikkim. Angered that more than 24 hours since the slide tore off from the Tanek Bhir and imperiled Dikchu Naya Bazaar, none of the senior officials of the project developer had bothered to visit the area, the public of Dikchu marched on the SKPPL office here today.
11 JUN – INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM [ICS] SET UP: The East District Administration has been reinforced preparedness with a systematized disaster management system for the convenience of the people to approach the right person during the time of disasters. ICS is a standardized on-scene incident management concept designed specifically to allow the responder to adopt an integrated organizational structure as per the complexity and demands of any incident – single or multiple - without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries
15 JUN – TIKJEK CLASH: SKM and SDF groups clashed at Tikjek in West Sikkim following an ‘incident’ at MLA PL Subba’s brother’s house at Tikjek near Gyalshing. Both sides filed FIRS with the Gyalshing police.
20 JUN – SIKKIM PILGRIMS STRANDED AT UTTARAKHAND: More than 20 pilgrims from Sikkim are stranded in flood-hit Uttarakhand in the worst affected zone near Kedarnath. Around 15 pilgrims are from Lingdok in East Sikkim alone, six of them women, and this group is the one stranded on the road [along with thousands of other pilgrims] near Kedarnath. A group of seven pilgrims from Rhenock and Dalapchand were also in Uttarakhand.
22 JUN – SIKKIM POLICE MANUAL RELEASED: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling released the 3-volume Sikkim Police Manual at the conference hall of Police Headquarters.
22 JUN – CHACHA NEHRU AWARD FOR EMRS GIRL: Nima Doma Bhutia, a class XII student of Eklavya Model Residential School, Gangyap in West Sikkim, was conferred the ‘Chacha Nehru Sports Award' in basketball by the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, for the second time. She received this award for her performance in the under-19 CBSE Basketball Nationals last December in Jaipur, where EMRS, Gangyap bagged the silver medal.
22 JUN – BUTTERFLY BRIDGE INAUGURATED: The Pedestrian Flyover constructed at the cost of Rs. 4.58 crore at Deorali here was inaugurated Friday evening by Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling. The project was undertaken in 2011 with an aim to solve the long pending issue of ‘conflict’ between vehicular and pedestrian traffic and also to supplement the ever growing tourism sector of the state.
25 JUN – KABI LONGSTOK PROTEST: Peace prayers were held at the Kabi-Longtsok sacred grove in North Sikkim and participants representing various organizations also strung out banners to register their protest against a proposed Rs. 8.46 crore beautification plan mooted for this historically significant place.
25 JUN – PABYUK GUMPA FOUNDATION STONE LAID: Speaker KT Gyaltsen, who is also the concerned area MLA, laid the foundation post of the Pabyuk Monastery here today. The Monastery was established in the year 1715 and has 75 monks in residence at present. The monastery was severely damaged in the 18 September 2011 earthquake, necessitating the construction of a new monastery.
27 JUN – AOSS APOLOGIZES: The Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim, chastised from several sections for its insensitive and incorrect representation of the Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigners [in a writ petition filed by it in the Supreme Court], expressed deep regret over the hurt caused to the community and further informed that it has directed its lawyers to amend the petition and remove the references which have hurt the sentiments of the people.
JULY
02 JULY – KABI LONGSTOK REFUSES ACCESS TO INSPECTION TEAM: The joint inspection of the project proposed for the Kabi Tingda sacred grove by officials from the Rural Management & Development Department and the Ecclesiastical Affairs Department could not be carried out as the anti-project group refused to allow the visiting officials access to the grove. While both sides engaged in reasonably civil discussions earlier in the day, as the number of anti-project group swelled with arrivals from Gangtok, the situation turned tense and an altercation also broke out after some sharp comments were passed.
08 JULY – GEETANJALI THAPA LA FILM FEST: Sikkim’s Geetanjali Thapa won the “Best Performance in the Narrative Competition” at the Los Angeles Film Festival for her role in Kamal KM’s “I.D.”, which also made it North American the festival held from 13 to 23 June in LA.
09 JULY – VIDEO BILLBOARD INAUGURATED: Chief Whip to the State Government, Ugen T Gyatso, inaugurated a 10 feet by 8 feet LED Video Board here at the MG Marg, switching on with the inauguration, a digital display board to make grander announcements in the heart of the capital. As a curtain-raiser, a video, “Sikkim – Places to Visit”, was screened. The digital billboard has been put up by Exotic Media, an advertising and media company.
10 JULY – SHRPP WORKERS AND PRESIDENT ARRESTED: Thirty-two Sikkim Himali Rashtriya Parishad Party [SHRPP] members, including the party president, Dr AD Subba, were placed under arrest on charges of obstructing the National Highway [NH 31A], obstructing a police officer on duty and taking out a procession without prior permission from the said authorities.
12 JULY – DENZONG WELFARE ASSOC RALLY AGAINST AOSS PETITION: Hundreds of people took to the street today in a peaceful protest rally organized by the Denzong Welfare Association [DWA] to register their protest against the controversial writ petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim [AOSS] in the Supreme Court.
19 JULY – SBI SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE: Allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace, reportedly suppressed for a while now, erupted in public with high drama and loud remonstrations playing out on the streets and crowding in offices and the Sadar Thana. The allegations were leveled against Regional Manager of State Bank of India, Sunanda Das, by the staff of the bank and as the situation deteriorated, he was heckled, assaulted, marched to the thana and eventually a General Diary complaint filed.
20 JULY – SIKKIM ORGANIC MARKET INAUGURATED: Chairman for Agriculture Department, TN Sapkota, inaugurated the “Sikkim Organic Marketing Co-operative Society” here opposite Sadar Thana. The stalls were stocked with certified organic produce from Sikkim farms.
20 JULY – SHRINIWAS PATIL TAKES CHARGE AS GOVERNOR: Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil took charge as the 15th Governor of Sikkim.
24 JULY – GOVT NOTIFIES REGULARIZATION OF WORKERS: The announcements have been made often, assurances announced as frequently, and now the State Government has officially notified its commitment to regularize services of temporary workers of more than five years service in the government rolls. The notification announces that the State government has taken a policy decision for regularisation of all Work-Charged, Muster Roll, Adhoc and consolidated pay employees who have been employed in government departments for the past more than 5 years in the respective departments in the post of Office Assistant, Junior Drivers and Office Attendant. On Christmas eve, the Cabinet okayed a proposal to create 4,002 new posts in the Group C and D categories to accommodate the first batch of regularizations.
25 JULY – PROVOCATIVE POSTERING: Provocative posters surfaced in some parts of East and West Sikkim. These posters sought to further vitiate the already disturbed environment created by the petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim and the aggressive response it has generated in Sikkim.
27 July – BLPF launched: An organization introducing itself as “Bhutia Lepcha Protection Force” was launched. The organization has been formed in the pursuit of a 2-point agenda - secure “social-political-religious and economic protection of the Bhutia Lepchas of Sikkim, under Article 371 F of the Indian Constitution” and “Preservation and protection of Sikkimese dharma lineage as originally founded by Mahaguru Padmasambhava, the Lotus-born Buddha and further espoused by Denjong Naljoir Choe-Ji, in this land of Nay Mayal Lyang- Bayue Dremo Jong”.
27 JULY – EVALUATION OF CMES: An evaluation study of the Chief Minister’s Self Employment Scheme [CMSES] was launched by the Department of Economics, Statistics, Monitoring & Evaluation [DESME]. This study has been commissioned by Sikkim Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Limited [SIDICO].
30 JULY – 25 KW MICROHYDEL PROJECT COMMISSIONED: A 25 KW Micro Hydroelectric Project, commissioned by the Sikkim Renewable Energy Development Agency (SREDA), was inaugurated at Hee-Bermiok. The project which can generate electricity for around 500 bulbs was officially handed over to the Village Energy Committee.
AUGUST
01 AUG – CLOUDBURST AT RIMBI: A cloudburst led the otherwise tame village streams at Rimbi to break their banks in a flashflood of an unprecedented scale and sweep down in a rush of devastating fury, causing extensive damage at the villages of Sangkhola and Upper Rimbi under Yangthang constituency in West Sikkim, about 25 km from the district headquarter town of Gyalshing. Thankfully, no lives were lost and no one grievously injured in the incident. SSB camp and one house was washed away.
02 Aug – Development Area and Sichey Sports Academy: In what could possibly be a first of its kind initiative in the State, residents of Development Area, Upper and Lower Sichey joined hands to establish a sports academy to facilitate a healthy and positive society through sports. Sikkim Royal Sports Academy is an initiative aimed at promoting sports, and in the process, create a sporting and healthy environment for the many youth of the area who have been brought an option to choose sports as a medium of development.
02 AUG – BURTUK SGC NOTIFIED AS SEPARATE COLLEGE: The Sikkim Government College, Tadong’s out campus at Burtuk, established in 2012 to accommodate students who could not be taken into the Tadong campus, has been notified as a separate entity. Gangtok now has two government degree colleges, one at Tadong and another at Burtuk.
03 AUG – AOSS REMOVES HURTFUL REFERENCES: The Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim had filed two interlocutory applications in the Supreme Court on 31 July 2013 seeking permission to make amendments in its writ petition and withdrawal of one of the petitioners from the case. The Supreme Court allowed the interlocutory applications.
03 AUG – FB FRIEND CHEATS SIKKIM GIRL: A 27-year-old woman from Gangtok who had recently found herself in a desperate situation in Mall Bazaar in the Dooars was rescued and safely escorted back home by an NGO engaged in combating human trafficking. The woman is learnt to have entered into an intimate relationship with a person she met online on Facebook and left Gangtok some months back and met the person in Siliguri.
05 AUG – ONE-MAN SIT APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE SKM LATHICHARGE: The Supreme Court appointed IC Dwivedi, former Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, as the one-man Special Investigating Team [SIT] to investigate the 11 February police lathicharge on the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha head office in Gangtok.
07 AUG – SSP CONDUCTS VIDEO CONFERENCING: One of the oldest political parties of Sikkim, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad adopted one of the youngest communication technologies, with the SSP president Nar Bahadur Bhandari, sitting at Sangram Bhawan here in Development Area, participating in a live video conference with party supporters from West Sikkim.
15 AUG – ORGANIC PEAS SEED VILLAGE DECLARED: The two progressive adjoining villages of Begha and Mangmoo in Dentam GPU under Maneybong Dentam constituency, West Sikkim, have been declared “Organic Peas Seed Villages”.
20 AUG – PRIMITIVE TRIBE WELFARE BOARD CONSTITUTED: The state government has constituted the Primitive Tribe Welfare Board to oversee various welfare schemes, socio-economic and educational development of the Primitive Tribe of the state, the Lepchas. Headed by Lachen-Mangan MLA, Tshering Wangdi Lepcha, as the chairperson, the Board has 13 other members.
30 AUG – ADHOC TEACHERS RALLY FOR REGULARIZATION: The All Sikkim Ad-hoc Teachers Welfare Association [ASATWA] took out a rally in the capital. The ASATWA consists of the teaching staff from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan [SSA] and Human Resource Development Department [HRDD]. The main motive of the association for holding the protest rally was for job security and ending of the annual “harassment” that ad-hoc teachers have to face regarding continuation of their service.
30 AUG – CM DEPOSES BEFORE PATRA COMMISSION: Chief Minister PawanChamling deposed before the Commission of Inquiry for the second time. The Commission is enquiring into corruption allegations leveled against him by Opposition leaders.
SEPTEMBER
03 Sept – Landslide kills 5 in West Sikkim: A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall has claimed five lives at Tamabung village under Yuksom Tashiding constituency in West Sikkim. A family of four, including a three-month old child, and a guest staying overnight with the family, were buried in the landslide. All five were asleep when the landside hit the house at night.
04 SEPT – DENGUE: The Health department decided to apply quick remedial measures effectively in controlling outbreak of dengue in Rangpo. An inspection team found grimy ponds with real breed of Dengue in lower Bazar area and they took decision immediately to clean these up as early as possible. There were 38 positive cases of dengue between 19 August to 03 September 2013, out of which 26 patients are from Sikkim and remaining 12 are from West Bengal. Most of the cases here have been reported from Fatak Line, Monsong and Jitlang and Golitar and Adarsh Gaon in Singtam.
05 SEPT – GOLAY RESIGNS FROM SDF: A resignation which had been in the making for almost as long as the present term of the SDF Government finally came through with SDF’s MLA from Upper-Burtuk, PS Tamang [Golay], releasing copies of his resignation letter from the party to the media.
05 SEPT – LAPTOP DISTRIBUTION PROG LAUNCHED ON TEACHERS’ DAY: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling handed over laptops to eight students during the state-level Teachers’ Day Celebration. With this token gesture, the project to empower students of government schools with Information Technology tool by providing them laptops has been launched. Two students from each district were presented laptops.
11 SEPT – 3 SIKKIMESE KARATEKAS REPRESENT INDIA: Three Karatekas from Sikkim were selected for the Indian Karate team to participate in the International Karate Championship accredited by the World Karate Federation to be held at Bar, Montenegro from 27-29 September. Bijoy Gurung, Bhim Bahadur Subba and Navin Rai were part of the 27-member national team.
11 SEPT – ANTLERS OF EXTINCT SIKKIM STAG FOUND: During a multi-disciplinary team expedition to Ocean Lake Gyam Tsona, Gurudongmar Tso and Tso Lhamo, all in Sikkim’s cold desert in North Sikkim from 03-07 September, the team found huge antlers of Sikkim Stag or Tibet Red Deer from the dried lake bed. The Sikkim Stag is known to be extinct from present day Sikkim limits.
14 SEPT – GRAM PANCHAYATS CAN ISSUE TRADE LICENSES: Trade and hawker licenses can now be issued, renewed and cancelled by Gram Panchayats for Class III Bazaars and Rural Marketing Centers that fall within their respective GPUs. The Urban Development and Housing Department published a gazette notification empowering the Gram Panchayats as per the policy decision taken by the state government before the Gram Panchayat and Territorial [Zilla] Panchayat elections in November last year.
14 SEPT – MICKMA LEPCHA CONFERRED USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN YUVA PURASKAR: Mickma Tshering Lepcha of Tashiding, West Sikkim was conferred the prestigious ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ for his achievements in the field of Lepcha folk music and songs. The award was presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi, National School of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi.
18 SEPT – 2011 EARTHQUAKE ANNIVERSARY
Marking the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake, 503 new houses were inaugurated all over the State. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling announced that 4,850 houses have been completed thus far.
20 SEPT – GOLAY DISQUALIFIED FROM SLA: Speaker of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly passed an order disqualifying the Upper Burtuk MLA from the House. The disqualification follows from Mr. Tamang’s resignation from the ruling party on whose ticket he had been elected on in 2009.
22 Sept – Rs 80 crore earmarked for home stays: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling announced an ambitious plan to facilitate the setting up of home-stay tourism options at 1,000 homes across the State. Rs. 80 crore has been earmarked for this project. The CM made this announcement which addressing the Garib Utthan Diwas [Poverty Alleviation Day] of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front.
24 SEPT – CELL SET UP TO MONITOR SOCIAL MEDIA: The Sikkim government has set up an exclusive cell under DIG (R) in the police headquarters to engage with the public on social media on a regular basis and counter any hate propaganda and rumours so as to maintain complete peace in the state.
30 SEPT – TWO SIKKIM LADS IN UNDER 19 INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM: Two Sikkimese boys have made it to the India Under-19 squad for the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. Uttam Rai and Nim Dorjee have been chosen in the 23-member U-19 Indian football team which will play in the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers to be held in Doha, Qatar from 04 October.
OCTOBER
01 OCT – LAPTOP DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMME BEGINS IN EARNEST: The promise of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling to provide free laptops to government school students of Classes XI and XII and government college students was fulfilled with a grand distribution ceremony held here at Tenzing Namgyal Memorial Ground here at Tathangchen. Students from government schools of East district and the six government colleges in the district [around 9,500 students in all] were provided laptop computers.
02 OCT – TEMI TEA RELEASES NEW PRODUCTS: The Secretary Commerce and Industries, PT Euthenpa launched and released the new packets of Temi Tea. The new products are Temi Tea Royal, Temi Tea Magic and Temi Tea Super fine and low priced tea bags.
02 OCT – CYBER VILLAGE PROJECT LAUNCHED: On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Governor Shriniwas Patil launched India’s first Cyber Village Project at Melli Dara Paiyong GPU. The Cyber Village Project has been conceptualized by the Chief Minister of Sikkim. The project, ensures technology, broadband internet connectivity and e-governance at the grass root level. On the occasion six ward Panchayats of the 22-Melli Dara Paiyong Gram Panchayat Unit were presented with tablet PCs.
03 OCT – ANOTHER QUAKE: Sikkim was rudely reminded of the devastation and destruction caused by the 18 September earthquake in 2011 when an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale hit the state at 11:43 in the morning. People packed into the streets and congregated at open spaces, with children returning from school adding to the milieu and heightening the levels of panic which surged with each aftershock.
04 OCT – ROAD MISHAP KILLS 5: Five persons were feared dead while six others escaped with injuries when the Bolero (SK-01J-1900) they were traveling in plunged into the Teesta river after colliding head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction. The accident occured near Geil Khola, West Benagl, along NH 31A under Kalimpong Police Station.
06 OCT – GOLAY JOINS SKM: The induction which had been in the air ever since the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha was formed in February earlier this year, finally came about with former SDF MLA PS Tamang joining the party at a grand function organized here at Paljor Stadium. Mr. Tamang, who had resigned from the Sikkim Democratic Front on 04 September, took primary membership of the SKM on 06 October.
08 OCT – SPSC PRELIMS: Out of 5,532 candidates who had enrolled for the examinations to fill 25 posts of Under Secretaries and two of Deputy Superintendents of Police, 5,433 admit cards were issued. Of these, 3,611 sat for the examination. The exams drew a lot of criticism from the candidates and local media finally forcing the commission to cancel the exams.
18 OCT – EVERY DAY IS SUNDAY: “Every day is Sunday”, Sikkim’s first full-fledged mainstream Bollywood flick premiered at Denzong Cinema Hall.
19 OCT – UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE ANNOUNCED: The State Government took a major policy decision to grant unemployment allowance to the unemployed youth of the state. Those who have passed Class X and those who are diploma holders and are unemployed will be eligible for the allowance. The amount of the allowance and other criteria is to be declared by the concerned department soon.
21 OCT – KHEL RATNA FOR 4 EVERESTERS: Anand Gurung, Ravindra Kumar and Kazi Sherpa were on top of the world, literally, in May 2013 when, over the course of three days, each stepped on to the summit of Mount Everest. The State Government announcing their name for the Sikkim Khel Ratna, a recognition which carries a Rs. 10 lakh kitty each apart from the prestige it shines on the mountaineers.
22 OCT – ADHOC TEACHERS BEGIN CHALK DOWN STRIKE: The All Ad-hoc Teachers of Sikkim [AATS] started their pen-down, chalk-down indefinite strike at government schools across the state and sat on dharna in front of the District Administrative Centre, East.
22 OCT – SRM UNIV NOTIFIED: The Shri Ramasamy Memorial (SRM) State University Bill has finally been notified by the State Government. Governor Srinivas Dadasaheb Patil had given his consent to the bill on 09 October, and the Act was accordingly notified on 22 October. The SRM State University Bill which was passed by the Sikkim Legislative Assembly on 27 June 2012 was returned to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly by the last Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh for reconsideration of certain aspects. The State government then promulgated an ordinance in August and subsequently the Bill was passed by the House unanimously for the second time.
28 OCT – SIKKIM TOPS LONELY PLANET BEST IN TRAVEL LIST: Sikkim came out on top in the list published by the global travel guide ‘Lonely Planet’. Sikkim is followed by the Kimberly in Australia and Yorkshire in England respectively in the top 10 regions to visit according to the travel guide.
31 OCT – 90% HIKE IN DA: The State government enhanced the rate of Dearness Allowance of state government employees and Dearness Relief for state government pensioners from the existing 80% to 90% of the basic pay.
NOVEMBER
01 NOV – EMRS WIN NE U-19 C’SHIP: Eklavya Model Residential School, Gangyap in West Sikkim became the Regional Champions for the fourth consecutive time winning the Under 19 CBSE Cluster-I [North East Region] Basketball Championship.
02 NOV – SIKKIM ADVENTURE TOURISM FEST: Three-day Sikkim Adventure Tourism Festival 2013 in Lingmoo organized for the first time in this place by the Lingmoo Heritage Conservation Society in collaboration with other government departments.
08 NOV – HRDD RESPONSE TO AD-HOC TEACHERS’ DEMANDS: The Human Resource Development Department has agreed in principle to the demands placed by ad-hoc teachers of the state. In a press statement HRDD said that the demand of ad-hoc teachers that the yearly appointment system be removed “is being considered by the government for implementation and is already in process”. The department further said that Teachers’ Eligibility Test [TET] is mandatory for all.
10 NOV – PRESIDENT MUKHERJEE’S BACK IN SIKKIM: The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Gangtok onboard a special army helicopter. The President was received and accorded a warm welcome by Governor Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil and Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at Libing Helipad.
12 NOV – NAMCHI TAXI STAND STARTS FREE WiFi FACILITY: In an interesting move towards providing better services to passengers, Namchi Local Taxi Drivers' Association has launched free WiFi internet facility at the Parking Plaza there. Since passengers have to wait till the taxi gets fully occupied [in the case of share-cabs], with this free internet facility they can pass their time better as they wait for the taxi to be filled. Waiting passengers can ask for the WiFi password at the ticket counter.
14 NOV – BHAICHUNG IN FIFPRO TECH COMMITTEE: Football icon Bhaichung Bhutia was selected to serve on the Technical Committee of FIFPro, the World Body for Players for a term of 4 years starting from 11 November 2013. He is the only representative from Asia in the six-man committee that has 3 from Europe, and one each from Asia, Africa and South America, informs a press release from Football Players Association of India (FPAI).
16 NOV – SALT PANIC: Catching up late to rumours which originated in Bihar of salt supplies getting constricted, Gangtok witnessed panic buying. People in the districts and Gangtok were clamoring to buy large supplies of salt. Many now have at least a year’s supply stored at home when there was no need for them to purchase even one packet! Meanwhile the district administration issued notices assuring that salt supplies were sufficient in the state.
15 NOV – SMIT STUDENT DEATH: A 21-year-old girl from Bihar studying at SMIT, was found dead in her hostel room. She was a final year student at SMIT with less than 13 days left for the completion of the course. The deceased had a good academic record and her untimely demise raised considerable speculations.
19 NOV – TATA FIRST BOOK AWARD FOR SIKKIMESE AUTHOR: Chetan Raj Shreshtha of Sikkim won the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award 2013 in the fiction category. Chetan’s debut book ‘The King’s Harvest’ published by Aleph Book Company was released in June earlier this year. The Tata Literature Live! First Book Award is an annual award to encourage, recognise and celebrate first-time writers in English in the Indian literary space, across the fiction and non-fiction genres. Works were judged for excellence, originality and accessibility, as well as promise.
19 NOV – SHRPP MERGES WITH CONGRESS: Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party [SHRPP] officially merged with the Indian National Congress. SHRPP’s office bearers from the central executive committee, frontal organizations and other different level committees along with party supporters from different parts of the State led by the party president Dr AD Subba, joined the Congress.
20 NOV – MAITREYA HEART SHRINE RELIC TOUR ARRIVE: Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic tour arrived in Sikkim through Rangpo check-post where monks from Phodong Monastery offered it a traditional welcome in the presence of senior state government representatives, members of the exposition committee and devotees from all over the state. The relics arrived in Sikkim after touring 66 countries, making their last halt in Bhutan where they were kept on display for a week.
22 NOV – THREE STAR NEPAL WINS GOVERNOR’S GOLD CUP: Three Star [Nepal] lifted the 34th All India Governor’s Gold Cup Football Tournament 2013 beating another Nepal team, Manang Marshyangdi Club in the final match played at Paljor Stadium. Three-Star won the match 3-1. Last year, the club had lost to BSF Jalandhar in the finals of the tournament. This is the second time that 3-Star has lifted the Gold Cup in Sikkim, having also won the tournament in 2008 when it beat Army XI in the finals.
25 NOV – ALTERNATE HIGHWAY APPROVED: The Union Ministries of Defence and Forest & Environment have given the go ahead to the proposed alternate road to NH 31A exclusively for defense purposes. The proposal was floated by BRO Project Swastik in 2010-11. The proposed route will cover Damdim, Chalsa, Khunia More, Jaldhaka and Tokday. The Khunia More to Rhenock axis [via Rachela] covers a distance of about 75 km and links up with the 51 km stretch from Rhenock to Ranipool via Rorathang.
25 NOV – ONGC MUMBAI WINS CM’S GOLD CUP: ONGC Mumbai lifted the All India Chief Minister’s Gold Cup outplaying Air India 02-01.
28 NOV – FIRST TET HELD: The Human Resource Development Department held its first Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) with a total of 819 candidates from all the four districts sitting for the same. The results for the test are expected to be announced by December. A total of 832 candidates, including in-service, adhoc and contractual teachers had registered for the test conducted by the HRD, GoS out of which only 819 sat for the test.
29 NOV – COMMITTEE FOR IT EXEMPTION DEMAND OF OLD SETTLERS INSTITUTED: The State Government, through a Gazette Notification, constituted a high-level committee chaired by the Finance Secretary to pursue the Income Tax exemption demand of the old settlers of Sikkim. The committee has Principal Secretary, Finance, Revenue & Expenditure Department, MG Kiran as chairman; and Secretary, Law Deptt, Lakchung Sherpa, and one member of the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim as members. Additional Secretary, Home, Tashi Cho Cho, has been appointed Member Secretary to this committee.
DECEMBER
04 DEC – YUL DRU SUM INAUGURATION: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling inaugurated the community house Yul Dru Sum at Sichey for Lachen, Lachung and Chungthang. The CM announced free electricity for the people of Dzongu, Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung once the Teesta Stage III hydel project in North Sikkim is completed.
04 DEC – PIL AGAINST MADHYA BHARAT: Public interest litigation filed by Karma Thinley Lama in the High Court, seeking, among other things, termination of the 96 MW hydel project in East Sikkim being developed by Madhya Bharat Power Corporation Ltd.
05 DEC – 71 CHUJACHEN HYDEL WORKERS TERMINATED: Employees of Gati Infrastructures which has undertaken the 99 MW Chujachen hydel project in East Sikkim accused the power developers of arbitrarily terminating them from the company. Of the around 123 local employees engaged with the company, 71 have been let off and it is expected that more will be let off as new lists are drawn. The first list of employees to be discharged was released on 21 November; the second list of employees to be retrenched was released by the company on 29 November.
06 DEC – LAPTOPS DISTRIBUTED IN WEST SIKKIM: A total of 2,261 students of class XI and XII from 10 schools of Soreng Sub Division received free laptops.
08 DEC – CM ISSUES STATEMENT ON MISQUOTE: In a rare press release, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling responded strongly to what he sees as a deliberate and mischievous misquoting by some newspapers in how his comments on the Companies Act 2012 were reported. His explanation of the said Act and what it entails were misrepresented as his support and celebration in a deliberate and coordinate move to discredit him and his government, the CM stated through the release. His statement during the inaugural function of the Yul Dru Sum in Sichey were allegedly misquoted by some local newspapers. The newspapers in question have since published a corrigendum admitting the misquote and regretting.
16 DEC – SPTMC DHARNA: Sikkim Pradesh Trinamool Congress [SPTMC] members, led by their president, PT Lucksom, sat on a daylong dharna in front of the District Administration Centre demanding the restoration of lost seats of Nepali and Tsong [Limboo] communities in the State Legislative Assembly.
09 DEC – GRUESOME MURDER AT NAMNANG HOTEL: A gruesome murder took place in Gangtok where the body of the victim, unidentified as of yet, was found in a mutilated condition in a room in a local hotel located at Namnang. The stand-in manager found the body in the room when he used his keys to open the room after getting no response from inside. Pavir Mondal, the stand-in manager, found the body under the bed sheets covered in blood. The dead body was found in a disfigured state – one eye gouged out and an ear and nose cut off. The case remains insolved.
11 DEC – HC DIRECTS MoEF TO NOTIFY ECO-SENSITIVE ZONES: The High Court of Sikkim has directed that the Ministry of Environment and Forests issue a notification demarcating “eco-sensitive zones”, commonly known as buffer zones, within two months in Sikkim.
14 DEC – SKM STUDENT’S WING RALLY: Sikkim Krantikari Vidyarthi Morcha, the students’ wing of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, took out a rally against the tagging of the party youth as ‘druggists’ and ‘rowdies’ by the Chief Minister and the Sikkim Democratic Front.
16 DEC – PAKYONG AIRPORT PROJECT AFFECTED FAMILIES IDENTIFIED: A total of 17 families have been identified as project affected and in danger, living in close proximity to the Pakyong Airport. Five of these families have also been evacuated to safer locations.
16 DEC – WINDSTORM: Gangtok, got a taste of a different type of natural calamity, a windstorm on the night of 15 December. The heavy windstorm brought down the mercury along with trees, branches, electric poles, sheds and houses. In a tragic incident, the strong winds also claimed the life of 11-year-old Savitri Chettri [also known as Marina Chettri, as she is referred to in official updates] who was killed in her sleep when a gigantic tree crashed on her dwelling at Indira Byepass. The wind started picking up at around midnight and was in full force by 2 a.m., howling in a sinister fashion throughout and it was apparent that the morning would bring news of some disaster.
17 DEC – SKM REGISTERED: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, formed in 04 February earlier this year, became a registered political party.
18 DEC – COMPENSATION TO FEMALE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ENHANCED: Government has enhanced compensation to women who are victims of extreme forms of violence by 1000% and for victims of rape the compensation has been doubled. Also, for child victims of crime who suffer injuries the compensation has been enhanced by 500%.
18 DEC – SIKKIM STUDENTS OF HGPI RETURN HOME: Students from Sikkim who recently fled from their course at the Himalayan Group of Professional Institutes, Himachal Pradesh, have now reached home. The group of around 45 students reached Sikkim today. The Sikkim students had earlier decided to forego their studies at the HGPI, Himachal Pradesh after being harassed and allegedly threatened by a group of students from Haryana
18 DEC – NAMCHI BOY CLEARS NDA WRITTEN: Krishna Kumar Mangar, son of Champa Singh Mangar of Phalidara, Namchi cleared NDA written examination held in the month of August 2013 and will now be sent to New Delhi for Services Selection Board (SSB) interview coaching. He is the only one who qualified the NDA written exam out of five Sikkimese students who had appeared in the said examination.
21 DEC – ‘LAND WHERE I FLEE’ RELEASED: ‘Land Where I Flee’, Prajwal Parajuly’s second offering and his debut novel [the first being a collection of short stories “The Gurkha’s Daughter”] got its official Sikkim release at Rachna Books here at Development Area.
21 DEC – SKM CELEBRATES ROLU PICNIC ANNIV: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha celebrated the fourth anniversary of the Rolu Picnic of 2009 on Saturday at Rolu in South Sikkim. The “new avatar of Rolu” –was also unveiled on the day where a signboard naming the spot “RHOLU- Revolutionary Home for the Oppressed, Laid down and Underprivileged”.
22 DEC – WINTER CARNIVAL: The three-day Sikkim Winter Carnival 2013 started at White Memorial Hall with the inauguration of the Buddhist Art of Butter Sculpture and Sand Mandala presented by Tourism and Civil Aviation Department along with the Photo Exhibition presented by Information and Public Relations Department, Governor of Sikkim.
23 DEC – HOME STAYS DEFINED: Home Stays in Sikkim have now become official with the state government having finalized its definition as well as the regulatory aspects of this kind of tourism trade; this finalization process was completed with the concerned department having incorporated all suitable recommendations and suggestions as presented by the public and particularly by stakeholders in the Tourism business.
24 DEC – MAN ARRESTED FOR MAKING LEWD RECORDINGS: In probably one of the first of its kind incident recorded in Sikkim, one person was picked up by the police for making recordings of a sexual act, apart from sexual assault as well.
24 DEC – YOUNG MOTHER DIES AT MANGAN HOSPITAL: The family of a 25-year-old woman who died after delivering a child at the District Hospital Mangan has accused the hospital staff of carelessness which led to her death. Dil Kumari Gurung had been admitted to the district hospital at around 6 pm on 23 December where she gave birth to a child at around 11 a.m. It is alleged that the gynecologist was not on duty at the time and when contacted over phone gave instructions to the other doctor on duty and staff regarding the delivery instead of attending to the complication immediately.
26 DEC – COMMUNITY COLLEGES INTRODUCED: The Directorate of Technical Education, under HRDD introduced the concept of community colleges at a function held at the HRDD premises. The Community College is a scheme sponsored by All India Council for Technical Education AICTE, Government of India.
26 DEC – PARYATAN BHAWAN INAUGURATED: Paryatan Bhawan, the new office of the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department inaugurated at Tadong.
26 DEC – CABINET APPROVES CREATION OF 4002 POSTS: The Cabinet on 24 December approved the creation of 4,002 posts in various group C and D categories of the State Government. With this, the first phase of regularization of services of temporary employees covering those who have put in 15 or more years of service has taken a substantial step forward. This latest move carries an additional financial implication of close to Rs. 79 crore per year.
Some Firsts of 2013
03 Jan - Packaged Lum oranges launched
12 Jan – First Gurung film released
02 Mar – First woman CS appointed R Ongmu
11 Mar – First vehicle torching incident of the year [in Soreong]
16 Mar – First NE Mt Everest expedition flagged off
23 Mar – 460 recruited in Sikkim Scouts first batch
19 April – First REDRH completed in North Sikkim
01 June – Strength-lifting debuts in Sikkim
05 Aug – First Pangthang Bench Press competition held
06 Aug – Reshithang Sports Complex hosts first tourney
31 Aug – Primitive Tribe Welfare Board holds first meeting
07 Sept – State gets its first Cardio thoracic Surgeon
01 Oct – First Mother Dairy Farm in NE set up in Sikkim
31 Oct – Sikkim tops Lonely Planet’s Best Regions to visit in 2014 list
02 Nov – First adventure tourism fest Lingmoo
16 Nov – First Cherry Tea Fest at Temi
19 Nov – Tata Tata Literature Live! First Book Award for Chetan R Shreshtha.
And it is interesting how the Income Tax issue continues to demand attention in Sikkim, two decades past. The Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim [AOSS] hogged considerable news space with numerous protest rallies being held against some unpalatable references made in the writ petition filed with the Supreme Court by the Association demanding IT exemption for old settlers.
The first half of the year was also peppered with incidents of political violence as the party aligned to SDF dissident PS Tamang [Golay] was finally launched in February as Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. Mr. Tamang’s resignation from his parent party came much later and he still holds no official post in SKM, although he has agreed to take charge as President in February 2014.
Meanwhile, some new parties came into being, some old ones were revived while some ceased to exist. 2013 also saw the civil society springing into action from time to time. While some initiatives held on, others fizzled out. The Bhum-chu predictions made in February signaled a good year ahead and a good year it was for tourism and students. The state was spared any big natural calamity apart from the wind storm over parts of North and East districts, which seemed more like Mother Nature’s idea of a prank. The prank, however, did unfortunately claim one life.
Sadly, what has also remained a constant over the years is the disturbing number of lives lost to suicide. Road accidents may not have had as many casualties this year as compared to suicides. Suicides have deliberately been left out of this year’s round-up as it deserves to be covered better and a more detailed round-up will feature in our forthcoming issues next year.
Till then, here is a rewind of 2013:
JANUARY
03 JAN - PACKAGED LUM ORANGES LAUNCHED: Lum Orange Growers Association (LOGA), promoted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra [KVK] Mangan, started the supply of packaged Lum oranges for markets within and outside the state. Each carton contains 30 large sized oranges costing Rs. 150 per carton.
09 JAN – DIRECT CASH TRANSFER PILOT PROJECT LAUNCHED IN EAST SIKKIM: The East district became one of the 43 districts in the country chosen by the Central Government to pilot the Direct Cash Transfer [DCT] System, whereby beneficiaries of 34 identified Centrally Sponsored Schemes [CSS] will have cash benefits [subsidies] transferred directly into their Aadhar Enabled Bank [AEB] Accounts
12 JAN – FIRST GURUNG FILM RELEASED: ‘Aage Thagu’, [elder brother] was released by the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at a special premiere held at Mannan Kendra.
12 JAN – RIOTING IN RHENOCK: First there was strong sloganeering, then the shops downed shutters, then the police station was gheraoed, then vandalized and finally Section 144 imposed on Rhenock bazaar. By late evening of 11 January, 10 persons had been arrested on charges of rioting and other sections of the IPC for their alleged involvement in the incidents of the day.
19 JAN – PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION RETURNS TO GOVT SCHOOLS: Shut since 2010, the government decided to re-start Pre-Primary education at schools from this year onwards. Training for first batch of 262 Pre-Primary Teachers [Class XII passed] began on 17 January, while the second batch of 250 plus teachers [Class X passed] were trained from 28 January to 06 February. Earlier, these teachers were working as School Mothers and after the Pre-Primary section was shut in 2010, they were shifted to Gram Panchayats where they were working as Panchayat Education Assistants.
21 JAN – 16 KILLED IN ROAD MISHAP NEAR TEESTA: A tragic road mishap near Teesta under Kalimpong sub-division of West Bengal on the night of 18 January claimed 16 lives. The only survivors of the mishap were the five who escaped with injuries. The ill-fated vehicle was staggering overloaded with 21 people on board against the prescribed limit of 11 including the driver. The vehicle was ferrying the passengers back to Melli from Triveni Mela.
22 JAN – BAN ON IMPORT OF EGGS LIFTED: In welcome news for consumers and traders in the state, the Animal Husbandry Department lifted the ban on import of eggs into Sikkim. Earlier, the ban has been lifted for three months [Oct to Dec 2012] initially and there was much uncertainty over whether the ban would be reinforced with the New Year or whether the lifting of the ban would be extended. The relaxation was extended indefinitely.
26 JAN – YANGANG LAND HANDED TO SU: Following years of controversy and stonewalling surrounding the land acquisition for the proposed campus of Sikkim University at Yangyang in South Sikkim, the land documents were finally handed over to the university.
28 JAN – PADMA SHRI FOR HILDAMIT LEPCHA: Hildamit Lepcha was named for Padma Shri for her distinguished service in the field of art. Ms. Lepcha was among the 80 names announced for the Padma Shri this year.
31 JAN – ASSEMBLY SESSION PASSES RESOLUTIONS ON LT SEATS, ST STATUS FOR ALL SIKKIMESE, and AGAINST COMPANIES ACT: A one-day Sikkim Legislative Assembly session (Seventh session part- iii of the Eighth Assembly) was held today. Among the more significant businesses taken up were the adoption of three Resolutions, moved as Private Member’s Business, each touching on a different aspect of identity and norms of Sikkim’s uniqueness within the Union of India. The resolution covered aspects of Assembly seat reservation for Limboo and Tamang communities by virtue of their being recognized as Scheduled Tribes, ST status for all ethnic communities of Sikkim, and protection of Sikkim Companies Act of 1961.
FEBRUARY
02 FEB – VIGILANCE RAIDS: Vigilance Police carried out simultaneous raids on two former Secretaries of the Energy and Power Department on 01 February. Retired Secretaries DD Pradhan and Pema Wangchen, both of whom retired as Principal Chief Engineer cum Secretary, Power Department, have been booked by the Vigilance Directorate for possession of assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. With the twin raids, Vigilance Police completed a busy week which started with a raid on Additional SP, Sikkim Jails, Kado Tshering Bhutia earlier in the week.
08 FEB – 3 BLIND PERSONS GET VISION RESTORED: Out of the five children taken by NAB to Shankar Netralaya, three returned with vision - Pavitra Gurung, [8 yrs], Vemu Subba [22 yrs], Nim Tshering Lepcha [12 yrs].
08 FEB – ONLINE DATABASE OF EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS: Sikkim became the first state with online Employee and Pensioner database with real-time updates. The Employees and Pensioners database will provide information of all employees and pensioners of the state online. Both these databases are linked to the treasury and will be updated on real-time basis.
12 FEB – SKM HEAD OFFICE LATHICHARGED: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supporters threw bottles at the Chief Minister’s motorcade as it passed their head office at Daragaon [Gangtok] along NH 31A. The follow-up police action deteriorated fast and ended with a lathicharge in the SKM head office and the arrest of six persons. Several SKM supporters and police personnel were injured in the fracas. The incident has snowballed into a major standoff with SKM having moved the Supreme Court and an independent enquiry carried out.
12 FEB – SNT ALLOWS PASSENGERS TO TRAVEL STANDING: SNT finally decided to allow standing passengers in its buses and further directed that such buses which have standing passengers should have adequate grab bars with hanger straps from the roof along with gangways for the use and safety of standing passengers. Standing in luxury and air conditioned buses is still however still not allowed.
13 FEB – YARCHA GUMBA, HERBS INCLUDED IN NATHULA TRADE LIST: Yarcha-gumba [Caterpillar Grass], the much coveted herbal remedy harvested from cold desert pastures, was green-flagged as an item allowed for border trade between India and China over Nathula.
19 FEB – STATE EMPLOYEE CENSUS RECORDS 54,000 EMPLOYEES IN SIKKIM: DESME reports revealed that there are approximately 54,000 employees working under the State government in Sikkim. The figure covered all kinds of employees - regular, Muster Roll and Work-Charged employees. Around 5 years back, the number of State government employees was projected at around 40,000.
21 FEB – FOUNDATION STONE LAID FOR SC BHAWAN: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling laid foundation stone of Scheduled Caste Bhawan at Development Area. Also announced that all students from the Scheduled Caste community will be given scholarships upon graduation to enroll in coaching institutes to prepare for competitive exams of their choice; pension package for traditional folk musicians of Sikkim. The Rs 5.94 crore Bhawan is scheduled to completed in 3 years time.
22 FEB – 50% HIKE IN DAILY WAGES NOTIFIED: The Labour Department notified a hike in daily wages for labourers/ workers in the State. The new wages come into effect from 01 April 2013 onwards. With this, the announcement of the State Government to effect such a hike has been delivered. The daily wages for Un-skilled labourers was hiked from Rs 130 to Rs 200, Semi-skilled from Rs. 145 to Rs. 220, Skilled from Rs. 165 to Rs. 250 and Highly-skilled from Rs. 190 to Rs. 290.
26 FEB – BHUMCHU: The Bhumpa [vase] at Tashiding Monastery filled out exactly 21 cups of crystal clear water. The vase can hold a total of twenty one cups; its contents however do not stay stable. When the water level increases and is crystal clear, then it is peaceful and prosperous, thus promising a good harvest and general good health.
27 FEB – HC DIRECTION ON SU SALARY HARASSMENT ISSUE: The High Court of Sikkim, in an interim order passed on 25 February, directed Sikkim University to release withheld salary [of two months] and experience certificates to two former faculty members who had run afoul with the university authorities last year when they petitioned the Executive Council of the University with allegations against the then Vice Chancellor.
28 FEB – EARTHQUAKE REHAB MANAGEMENT FUND BILL: Chief Minister, who is also the Minister in-Charge of Finance, Revenue and Expenditure Department, introduced the Sikkim Earthquake Rehabilitation Management Fund Bill in the Legislative Assembly.
MARCH
02 MAR – FOUNDATION STONE LAID OF NEW SECRETARIAT: Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh laid the foundation stone for the new building of Tashiling Secretariat. The cost of the comprehensive project works out to Rs. 277.34 crore in two phases- Phase-I for Rs. 224.10 crore and Phase-II for Rs. 53.24 crore.
02 MAR – R ONGMU BECOMES FIRST WOMAN CHIEF SECRETARY OF SIKKIM: Rinchen Ongmu, IAS batch of 1979, took charge as the Chief Secretary of the state today. Ms. Ongmu, in her tenure thus far has served as District Collector and later as Secretary and Head of the Department of various departments such as Urban Development and Housing, Rural Management and Development, Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Finance, Planning and Development Department,
06 MAR – SIMFED LAUNCHES ‘SIKKIM ORGANICS’: Sikkim State Cooperative Supply & Marketing Federation (SIMFED) launched organically grown local agriculture and horticulture produce under the brand name “Sikkim Organics”. These products were officially launched during the inauguration of International Flower Show on 23 February.
08 MAR – SIKKIM SCOUTS RECRUITMENT: A staggering 6,803 candidates appeared in the five rounds of Physical Fitness Tests held in the State as part of the Sikkim Scouts Battalion recruitment rally. Sikkim Scouts is a new battalion being raised under the Ministry of Defence to man the high altitude international borders of the State.
11 MAR – VEHICLE TORCHING BEGINS: Two cases of arson were registered by the Soreong police today. No one has been arrested so far. It is believed that the owners of the two vehicles in question are SDF supporters. The two incidents took place within minutes of each other.
12 MAR – SIKKIM CHESS PLAYERS MAKE IT TO TOP 20 NE: The Sikkim Chess Association [SCA] team returned with 10 medals from the 6th edition of the North-East FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2013 held in Imphal, Manipur from 27 February to 07 March. 15-year-old Rakesh Gurung, a class X student at Tadong Senior Secondary School and part of the SCA team, breached the top-20 rankings in the tournament. He is the first player from Sikkim to make it into the top-20 in such a prestigious FIDE Rating chess tournament in the north-east level [he is ranked 17th].
12 MAR – TRADE LICENSE RULES AMENDED: Several significant amendments were made to the Sikkim Trade License Rules by the Urban Development & Housing Department in keeping with the changing times and flourishing of various types of business outlets.
15 MAR –DONATION BOX STOLEN FROM ENCHEY MONASTERY: The donation box at Enchey Monastery was stolen. It is estimated that cash inside the box was between Rs. 2 to 3 lakh.
16 MAR – FIRST NE MT EVEREST EXPEDITION: Chief Minister flagged off two mountaineers from Sikkim on an Everest expedition today. Everester [2012] Kazi Sherpa, OSD, IHCAE-Chemchey, and Anand Gurung of South Sikkim have been selected as part of a 16-member team of the 1st North East India Mount Everest Expedition 2013. The expedition was organised by the Department of Planning, Government of Manipur, with the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association as the executing body and is funded by the North Eastern Council.
23 MAR – 460 RECRUITED IN SIKKIM SCOUTS: Names of the batch of recruits for the Sikkim Scouts battalion to be deployed at the high altitude border regions of Sikkim were announced in Siliguri. Out of the 690 candidates who had cleared the physical and medical screenings and taken the written exams, 460 have been taken in as the first batch of recruits for the battalion which is to be staffed exclusively by Sikkimese personnel.
25 MAR – DALAI LAMA ARRIVES: HH the Dalai Lama arrived here today to a rousing and emotional welcome led by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. The Dalai Lama was on a three-day visit to Sikkim, the highlight of which was the consecration of the Tathagata Tsal.
25 MAR – 154 SELECTED FOR CM’S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP: 154 children selected under the Chief Minister’s Merit Scholarship Scheme began the new academic session in an array of reputed schools outside and within the State. The ambitious scheme was launched in 2010 and this is the fourth batch of students who are being sponsored on full scholarship to various renowned schools of the country as well of the state.
26 MAR – TATHAGATHA TSAL CONSECRATED: The Dalai Lama carried out the consecration of the 137.5 feet tall Buddha statue here at Tathagata Tsal today. Apart from the consecration rituals, this grand dedication to the Buddhist faith also received high praise from the Dalai Lama, who, in his address to the mammoth gathering of devotees, expressed his happiness at being at Tathagata Tsal on this momentous occasion and deep satisfaction with how the ambitious project has finally shaped up.
APRIL
03 APR – SIKKIM STATE IT SERVICES INSTITUTED: The State Government instituted a new service cadre, the Sikkim State Information Technology Service. The total authorized strength of the Service at its inception has been put at 43 for now.
04 APR – STATE ANNUAL PLAN FIXED AT Rs 2060 CRORE: Sikkim’s annual plan for the year 2013-14 has been fixed at Rs. 2,060 crore which is almost 10% higher than the plan outlay for the year 2012-13 which had been fixed at Rs. 1,500 crore. The sanctioned outlay is in keeping with the State’s projections of its requirements for the new financial year.
04 APR – SHRPP WORKERS ARRESTED FOR POSTERING: Twenty-five members of the Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party [SHRPP] were taken into custody by the police in connection with unauthorized postering by them in the capital. Before the year ended, SHRPP would seize to exist, merging into the Congress.
06 APR – LAND ACQUISITION PROCESS INITIATED FOR SLEEPING BUDDHA STATUE AT SINGHIK: The Sleeping Buddha statue is to be developed in Singhik, ahead of Mangan in North Sikkim. For this purpose, the State Government is acquiring around one and a half hectares of land in which also will be set up “modern way side amenities” and a hot spring developed. The project is to be developed by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department. The Land Revenue department has issued a notification for land acquisition.
06 APR – SIKKIM EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE COURT RULES NOTIFIED: The State government has notified the Sikkim Employees State Insurance Court Rules, 2012. This, as in the case of the Sikkim Employees State Insurance rules, has also been notified after more than 15 years since it was first drafted in 1996. These rules are issued under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948.
08 APR – COMMITTEE FORMED FOR MODERNIZATION OF SLAUGHTER HOUSES: Sikkim now has a committee to oversee the operation and modernization of slaughterhouses in the State. This was only necessitated following a Supreme Court order directing the constitution of such a body. The Committee has the Secretary, UD&HD, as chairman and also includes the DIG [Range] and the Gangtok Mayor as members apart from other officials.
12 APR – LAW COLLEGE STUDENT PROTEST: Final semester students of Government Law College here staged a protest at the college and petitioned the college authorities demanding immediate resolution of the uncertainty surrounding their degrees in light of the fact that the course has not received recognition of the Bar Council of India. While the Law College enjoyed BCI recognition when it was affiliated to North Bengal University, it has not received it since its shifting to Sikkim University. The Law college was recognized by the Bar Council of India later in the year.
18 APR – PRESIDENT MUKHERJEE VISIT: President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, received a warm send off from Libing Helipad in Gangtok as he completed a day and a half long visit to the State packed with events which saw him travel through two districts and officiate an inauguration, a foundation stone laying ceremony, a walk through MG Marg, a cultural presentation treat and the routine meetings with delegations. The President inaugurated the Rs. 116.75 crore Siddhesvara Dham at Solophok.
18 APR – SKM AND SDF CLASH AT MELLI: The South district border town had a tense evening on 17 April after a clash between Sikkim Democratic Front and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supporters here. The clash is reported to have erupted when SKM and SDF party workers were reportedly on a door to door outreach campaign around Melli and came face to face.
19 APR – FIRST REDRH COMPLETED IN NORTH SIKKIM: Two homes completed under the Reconstruction of Earthquake Damaged Rural Houses [REDRH] here at Ringhim ward of Ringhim-Nampatam GPU were inaugurated. These houses, belonging to Bhaichung Lepcha and Singhitak Lepcha, were the first to be completed under the REDRH scheme in North Sikkim, the worst hit district by the 18 Sept 2011 earthquake.
19 APR – DUDHEY BETH ‘REDISCOVERED’: Calamus inermis, a species of cane known locally as Dudhey beth [Nepali] and Bruhl [Lepcha], is endemic [not found anywhere else] to Sikkim and also on the endangered list. The cane variety is so rare that since it was first discovered and recorded by Thomas Anderson in 1869. The cane was spotted and recorded again on 16 April 2013 by a Department of Science & Technology team led by Assistant Scientific Officer, Dr. Sonam Rinchen Lepcha. The “rediscovery”, was made at the confluence of Teesta and Mani Chu in Lower Dzongu.
20 APR – JIPMER GOLD MEDAL FOR RANKA BOY: Dr. Ranjan Raj Pandey from Dhajey in Ranka, East Sikkim, bagged the Gold Medal in Post graduation MD in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at JIPMER Pondicherry. The award is in recognition of his overall excellent performance in the post graduation course and also for securing the highest marks in theory and practical examinations.
23 APR – BURNS PATIENT DIES AT STNM HOSPITAL: The tragic death of a 22-year-old woman on 20 April at STNM Hospital due to burns sustained in a kitchen accident made a lot of noise. The incident also highlighted the lack of infrastructure and facilities in the state to treat burns patients.
27 APR – PS TAMANG QUESTIONS GOVT CLAIMS IN ASSEMBLY: Rebel SDF MLA, PS Tamang, while engaging in discussions on the Governor’s Budget Address, pulled out data collected by him from the Forest Department on scale of plantation drives undertaken in Sikkim under the Green Mission and the 10 Minutes to Earth Programme. Addressing the Assembly, Mr. Tamang pointed out that the Department’s official report on the 10 Minutes to Earth programme, it has covered 8,093 sq Km area with tree plantations; an impossible feat given that Sikkim’s total geographical spread is 7,096 sq km, one thousand square kilometers smaller than the area supposedly planted over by the Department.
27 APR – RICHARD GERE IN SIKKIM: Hollywood star, recognised Humanitarian and a passionate advocate of human rights in Tibet [he was banned from the Oscars once after making anti-China comments on the air at the 1993 ceremony], Richard Gere, regaled Gangtokians with an earnest talk, “Buddhism in the West and My Personal Experience” here at Mannan Kendra today. Mr. Gere, shared the stage with Sogyal Rinpoche at the event organized by the Namgyal Institute Of Tibetology in conjuction with Conservancy for Trans-Himalayan Art & Culture (CTAC).
MAY
01 MAY - SDF AND SKM CLASH IN NAMCHI, SHOPS SHUT: This was a clash which everyone was expecting, and although the strong Police bandobast in Namchi ensured that no flare-up conflagrated into a free for all through most of the day, late in the evening on 01 May, Sikkim Democratic Front and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha supporters clashed here at Jorethang Road. Several supporters on both sides suffered minor injuries and some vehicles were damaged before the cops arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control. Both sides have filed FIRs on the incident and on last count, 4 SKM supporters had been rounded up in connection with the fight.
03 MAY – KHELGAON INAUGURATED: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling dedicated the Rs. 22.78 crore [phase-I], Khel Gaon, the much-delayed, but state-of-the-art sports facility developed at Reshithang in East Sikkim across Gangtok to the youth and students of Sikkim today.
04 MAY – SLIDES DISRUPT GANGTOK WATER SUPPLY: Heavy downpour disrupted Gangtok’s water supply network with the main supply channels to the reservoir at Selep damaged by landslides. Gangtok and its surrounding areas did not receive water supply from 30 April to 02 May.
06 MAY – ROSE VALLEY CHIT FUND SCAM: Flagged by the Reserve Bank India for its suspiciously irregular ways and under inspection of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Rose Valley Group - Rose Valley Real Estate & Constructions - was served its first police raid on Saturday when the Sadar Thana here raided its branch office in Tadong and seized documents and other records. The Kolkata-based Rose Valley Group is suspected of being a chit fund scam, and one of even larger proportions than the Sarada racket which shook West Bengal up last month.
07 MAY – EIILM UNIV OFFICIALS ARRESTED: Senior Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management [EIILM] University officials were arrested by Sikkim Police from Jorethang in South Sikkim in connection with a case registered at Sadar Police Station. A police team led by SDPO [Rangpo], DSP L Palmu Chettri took the EIILM University Vice-Chancellor, Dr OB Vijayan, Registrar, Col [retd] Alok Bhandari and Examination Controller, Bijay Dahaia, into custody from Jorethang. EIILM officials were accused of issuing fake certificates.
08 MAY – LHAKO PHUTI IN INDIAN TEAM FOR ASIAN CUP: Lako Phuti Bhutia from Sribadam, a product of the path breaking Mangalbaria Football Academy, has been picked for the Indian Senior National Women’s Team for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers to be played later this month. Lako was in the training camp for the probables for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Last October, Lako was in the U-19 Indian Women’s football team which played in the AFC championship held in Malaysia.
09 MAY –SORENG B.Ed COLLEGE PRODUCES FIRST BATCH: A total of 196 students, the combined strength of the first two batches of the B.Ed. College here, received their degrees. The college was set up in 2009 and after affiliation with Sikkim University, it was granted recognition by NCRTE and has been functioning in full capacity since 15 May 2012.
10 MAY – SU ANNOUNCES 11 NEW DEPARTMENTS: The new academic session which begins August 2013 at Sikkim University will see the introduction of 11 new departments at the university, and with this addition to the bouquet of courses on offer, the University will finally be offering post-graduation courses in all core subjects being taught at the under graduate level. Starting August 2013, the following post graduate courses will be offered: Anthropology [MA/ MSc], Education [M.Ed], English [MA], Hindi [MA], History [MA], Political Science [MA], Commerce [M.Com], Management [MBA], Tourism [MA], Mathematics [BSc-MSc Integrated and MSc] and Zoology [MSc].
10 MAY– TIBETAN TRADER RELEASED: The trader from Tibetan Autonomous Region arrested by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police on 04 November 2013 was convicted by a local Court here at Gangtok on 06 May and returned to TAR from Nathula on 10 May since he had already served out his time [of six months] in Judicial Custody as an under trial.
12 MAY – KABI TINGDA RESIDENTS RALLY AGAINST BRO: Tired of unconvincing assurances and disappointed by the consistently deplorable condition of the North Sikkim Highway and JN Road, both under the charge of Project Swastik of Border Roads Organisation, the people and panchayat members of Kabi-Tingda [for NSH] and JN Road marched out on the road today in a public demonstration registering their annoyance and disappointment. The rally, which was also joined by Travel Agents Association of Sikkim [TAAS] members, walked from Tashi View Point to GREF head-office here at Swastik.
13 MAY – 7000 TAKE ACCOUNTS CLERK EXAM: The Finance, Revenue and Expenditure Department conducted written examination for filling of 150 posts of Accounts Clerk/ Store Keepers at 14 centers in and around Gangtok. The examinations were conducted under the supervision of officials from the Finance department for which 10 nodal officers and 28 center coordinators and assistant coordinators were appointed.
13 MAY – USFC COMPLETE I-LEAGUE SEASON: Bhaichung’s United Sikkim Football Club [USFC] completed its debut I-League season with a match against Mohun Bagan here at Paljor Stadium. The last match brought no changes either in the ranking or number of points for USFC as it went down 3-0 to Mohun Bagan and now stares at relegation.
14 MAY – LINGZYA BEY ROAD RESTORED: Today, more than a year and a half since the earthquake on18 September 2011, the Roads & Bridges Department, North district, opened Lingzya-Bey road in Upper Dzongu for light vehicular traffic right up to Bey today. While this stretch had been opened in mid-Feb, it had not settled down properly, and kept acting up. The earthquake had triggered 15 trouble spots on this stretch especially inconveniencing people from Bey, Sakyong and Pentong.
17 MAY– ASESUA TO JOIN SDF: The All Sikkim Educated Self Employed & Unemployed Association [ASESE&UA] president, Nawin Kiran, today announced plans to join the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front with the executive and active members of the association. 25 executive members and around 50 active members of the association will be joining the ruling party after formally resigning from the ASESE&UA.
17 MAY – NEW RAJ BHAWAN INAUGURATED: Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh dedicated the new Raj Bhavan to the people of Sikkim this afternoon coinciding the occasion with the 39th State Day celebrations. The Governor first unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi after that he officially inaugurated the new Raj Bhawan, a replica of 123 years old Raj Bhawan albeit with state of the art facilities and technology.
18 MAY – NE MT EVEREST TEAM SUMMIT: The 1st North East India top of the World Mt Everest Expedition team has successfully reached the summit of the highest peak of the world, Mt Everest [29,029 ft] this morning at 7:35 AM [Indian Standard Time]. Anand Gurung from Sikkim was the first to summit Mt Everest at 7:35 AM followed by Nima Lama from Arunachal Pradesh at 8:30 AM and finally by N Bidyapati Devi from Manipur at 9:30 AM. N Bidyapati is the first lady from Manipur to Summit the Mt Everest.
20 MAY – BRAWL ENDS IN SMIT STUDENT’S DEATH: A brawl at a café turned tragic with the death of a 22-year-old SMIT student and the arrest of seven local youth. The case is currently be tried in Court.
25 MAY – BHANDARI REINSTATED AS SSP PRESIDENT: Former Chief Minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, was reinstated today as the president of Sikkim Sangram Parishad, a party he founded in 1984, claimed to have merged with the Congress in 2003, and returned to now after having been toppled, again, by the Congress high command. Mr Bhandari was ousted by the Congress high command from the State Congress post in April earlier this year.
27 MAY – BREATH ANALYSER TEST FOR NORTH CABBIES: Sikkim Police conducted breath-analyzer tests on taxi drivers passing through Mangan today. North Sikkim Police has been provided with mobile breath analyser kits to check alcohol levels in drivers. Of the 110 drivers and their vehicles checked yesterday, 25 were challaned, most of them because the driver had higher than permissible levels of alcohol and some because of incomplete documentation. Some of the drivers were even detained.
30 MAY – SAATHI LAUNCHED: SAATHI- a program towards finding solutions to substance abuse under Chief Minister’s Youth Empowerment and Self-Reliant Mission 2013, was launched at Samman Bhawan. Spearheaded by Lok Sabha MP PD Rai, the program will work towards making children emotionally secure and making them say no to drugs.
JUNE
03 JUN – SIKKIM JUDICIAL ACADEMY OPENED: Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir inaugurated the academy at the high court complex.
03 JUN – BACs RE-DESIGNATED AS GVK: The State Government, as per a Notification [no 155/GEN/DOP dated 29th May 2013], re-designated all Block Administrative Centres as Gram Vikash Kendras and the Block Development Officers as Gram Viaksh Adhikaris in order to strengthen Panchayati Raj Administration. Likewise all Sub-Divisional Magistrate as Sub-Divisional Magistrate-cum- Panchayat Development Officer.
05 JUN – TANEK BHIR SLIDE: A massive slide has tore away from the Tanek Bhir, from directly below the Tanek Primary School [classes where have been suspended in light of its precarious situation], racing off the steep incline straight into the Dikchu PHC complex in Dikchu Naya Bazaar half of the town in North Sikkim. Angered that more than 24 hours since the slide tore off from the Tanek Bhir and imperiled Dikchu Naya Bazaar, none of the senior officials of the project developer had bothered to visit the area, the public of Dikchu marched on the SKPPL office here today.
11 JUN – INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM [ICS] SET UP: The East District Administration has been reinforced preparedness with a systematized disaster management system for the convenience of the people to approach the right person during the time of disasters. ICS is a standardized on-scene incident management concept designed specifically to allow the responder to adopt an integrated organizational structure as per the complexity and demands of any incident – single or multiple - without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries
15 JUN – TIKJEK CLASH: SKM and SDF groups clashed at Tikjek in West Sikkim following an ‘incident’ at MLA PL Subba’s brother’s house at Tikjek near Gyalshing. Both sides filed FIRS with the Gyalshing police.
20 JUN – SIKKIM PILGRIMS STRANDED AT UTTARAKHAND: More than 20 pilgrims from Sikkim are stranded in flood-hit Uttarakhand in the worst affected zone near Kedarnath. Around 15 pilgrims are from Lingdok in East Sikkim alone, six of them women, and this group is the one stranded on the road [along with thousands of other pilgrims] near Kedarnath. A group of seven pilgrims from Rhenock and Dalapchand were also in Uttarakhand.
22 JUN – SIKKIM POLICE MANUAL RELEASED: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling released the 3-volume Sikkim Police Manual at the conference hall of Police Headquarters.
22 JUN – CHACHA NEHRU AWARD FOR EMRS GIRL: Nima Doma Bhutia, a class XII student of Eklavya Model Residential School, Gangyap in West Sikkim, was conferred the ‘Chacha Nehru Sports Award' in basketball by the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, for the second time. She received this award for her performance in the under-19 CBSE Basketball Nationals last December in Jaipur, where EMRS, Gangyap bagged the silver medal.
22 JUN – BUTTERFLY BRIDGE INAUGURATED: The Pedestrian Flyover constructed at the cost of Rs. 4.58 crore at Deorali here was inaugurated Friday evening by Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling. The project was undertaken in 2011 with an aim to solve the long pending issue of ‘conflict’ between vehicular and pedestrian traffic and also to supplement the ever growing tourism sector of the state.
25 JUN – KABI LONGSTOK PROTEST: Peace prayers were held at the Kabi-Longtsok sacred grove in North Sikkim and participants representing various organizations also strung out banners to register their protest against a proposed Rs. 8.46 crore beautification plan mooted for this historically significant place.
25 JUN – PABYUK GUMPA FOUNDATION STONE LAID: Speaker KT Gyaltsen, who is also the concerned area MLA, laid the foundation post of the Pabyuk Monastery here today. The Monastery was established in the year 1715 and has 75 monks in residence at present. The monastery was severely damaged in the 18 September 2011 earthquake, necessitating the construction of a new monastery.
27 JUN – AOSS APOLOGIZES: The Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim, chastised from several sections for its insensitive and incorrect representation of the Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigners [in a writ petition filed by it in the Supreme Court], expressed deep regret over the hurt caused to the community and further informed that it has directed its lawyers to amend the petition and remove the references which have hurt the sentiments of the people.
JULY
02 JULY – KABI LONGSTOK REFUSES ACCESS TO INSPECTION TEAM: The joint inspection of the project proposed for the Kabi Tingda sacred grove by officials from the Rural Management & Development Department and the Ecclesiastical Affairs Department could not be carried out as the anti-project group refused to allow the visiting officials access to the grove. While both sides engaged in reasonably civil discussions earlier in the day, as the number of anti-project group swelled with arrivals from Gangtok, the situation turned tense and an altercation also broke out after some sharp comments were passed.
08 JULY – GEETANJALI THAPA LA FILM FEST: Sikkim’s Geetanjali Thapa won the “Best Performance in the Narrative Competition” at the Los Angeles Film Festival for her role in Kamal KM’s “I.D.”, which also made it North American the festival held from 13 to 23 June in LA.
09 JULY – VIDEO BILLBOARD INAUGURATED: Chief Whip to the State Government, Ugen T Gyatso, inaugurated a 10 feet by 8 feet LED Video Board here at the MG Marg, switching on with the inauguration, a digital display board to make grander announcements in the heart of the capital. As a curtain-raiser, a video, “Sikkim – Places to Visit”, was screened. The digital billboard has been put up by Exotic Media, an advertising and media company.
10 JULY – SHRPP WORKERS AND PRESIDENT ARRESTED: Thirty-two Sikkim Himali Rashtriya Parishad Party [SHRPP] members, including the party president, Dr AD Subba, were placed under arrest on charges of obstructing the National Highway [NH 31A], obstructing a police officer on duty and taking out a procession without prior permission from the said authorities.
12 JULY – DENZONG WELFARE ASSOC RALLY AGAINST AOSS PETITION: Hundreds of people took to the street today in a peaceful protest rally organized by the Denzong Welfare Association [DWA] to register their protest against the controversial writ petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim [AOSS] in the Supreme Court.
19 JULY – SBI SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE: Allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace, reportedly suppressed for a while now, erupted in public with high drama and loud remonstrations playing out on the streets and crowding in offices and the Sadar Thana. The allegations were leveled against Regional Manager of State Bank of India, Sunanda Das, by the staff of the bank and as the situation deteriorated, he was heckled, assaulted, marched to the thana and eventually a General Diary complaint filed.
20 JULY – SIKKIM ORGANIC MARKET INAUGURATED: Chairman for Agriculture Department, TN Sapkota, inaugurated the “Sikkim Organic Marketing Co-operative Society” here opposite Sadar Thana. The stalls were stocked with certified organic produce from Sikkim farms.
20 JULY – SHRINIWAS PATIL TAKES CHARGE AS GOVERNOR: Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil took charge as the 15th Governor of Sikkim.
24 JULY – GOVT NOTIFIES REGULARIZATION OF WORKERS: The announcements have been made often, assurances announced as frequently, and now the State Government has officially notified its commitment to regularize services of temporary workers of more than five years service in the government rolls. The notification announces that the State government has taken a policy decision for regularisation of all Work-Charged, Muster Roll, Adhoc and consolidated pay employees who have been employed in government departments for the past more than 5 years in the respective departments in the post of Office Assistant, Junior Drivers and Office Attendant. On Christmas eve, the Cabinet okayed a proposal to create 4,002 new posts in the Group C and D categories to accommodate the first batch of regularizations.
25 JULY – PROVOCATIVE POSTERING: Provocative posters surfaced in some parts of East and West Sikkim. These posters sought to further vitiate the already disturbed environment created by the petition filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim and the aggressive response it has generated in Sikkim.
27 July – BLPF launched: An organization introducing itself as “Bhutia Lepcha Protection Force” was launched. The organization has been formed in the pursuit of a 2-point agenda - secure “social-political-religious and economic protection of the Bhutia Lepchas of Sikkim, under Article 371 F of the Indian Constitution” and “Preservation and protection of Sikkimese dharma lineage as originally founded by Mahaguru Padmasambhava, the Lotus-born Buddha and further espoused by Denjong Naljoir Choe-Ji, in this land of Nay Mayal Lyang- Bayue Dremo Jong”.
27 JULY – EVALUATION OF CMES: An evaluation study of the Chief Minister’s Self Employment Scheme [CMSES] was launched by the Department of Economics, Statistics, Monitoring & Evaluation [DESME]. This study has been commissioned by Sikkim Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Limited [SIDICO].
30 JULY – 25 KW MICROHYDEL PROJECT COMMISSIONED: A 25 KW Micro Hydroelectric Project, commissioned by the Sikkim Renewable Energy Development Agency (SREDA), was inaugurated at Hee-Bermiok. The project which can generate electricity for around 500 bulbs was officially handed over to the Village Energy Committee.
AUGUST
01 AUG – CLOUDBURST AT RIMBI: A cloudburst led the otherwise tame village streams at Rimbi to break their banks in a flashflood of an unprecedented scale and sweep down in a rush of devastating fury, causing extensive damage at the villages of Sangkhola and Upper Rimbi under Yangthang constituency in West Sikkim, about 25 km from the district headquarter town of Gyalshing. Thankfully, no lives were lost and no one grievously injured in the incident. SSB camp and one house was washed away.
02 Aug – Development Area and Sichey Sports Academy: In what could possibly be a first of its kind initiative in the State, residents of Development Area, Upper and Lower Sichey joined hands to establish a sports academy to facilitate a healthy and positive society through sports. Sikkim Royal Sports Academy is an initiative aimed at promoting sports, and in the process, create a sporting and healthy environment for the many youth of the area who have been brought an option to choose sports as a medium of development.
02 AUG – BURTUK SGC NOTIFIED AS SEPARATE COLLEGE: The Sikkim Government College, Tadong’s out campus at Burtuk, established in 2012 to accommodate students who could not be taken into the Tadong campus, has been notified as a separate entity. Gangtok now has two government degree colleges, one at Tadong and another at Burtuk.
03 AUG – AOSS REMOVES HURTFUL REFERENCES: The Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim had filed two interlocutory applications in the Supreme Court on 31 July 2013 seeking permission to make amendments in its writ petition and withdrawal of one of the petitioners from the case. The Supreme Court allowed the interlocutory applications.
03 AUG – FB FRIEND CHEATS SIKKIM GIRL: A 27-year-old woman from Gangtok who had recently found herself in a desperate situation in Mall Bazaar in the Dooars was rescued and safely escorted back home by an NGO engaged in combating human trafficking. The woman is learnt to have entered into an intimate relationship with a person she met online on Facebook and left Gangtok some months back and met the person in Siliguri.
05 AUG – ONE-MAN SIT APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE SKM LATHICHARGE: The Supreme Court appointed IC Dwivedi, former Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, as the one-man Special Investigating Team [SIT] to investigate the 11 February police lathicharge on the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha head office in Gangtok.
07 AUG – SSP CONDUCTS VIDEO CONFERENCING: One of the oldest political parties of Sikkim, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad adopted one of the youngest communication technologies, with the SSP president Nar Bahadur Bhandari, sitting at Sangram Bhawan here in Development Area, participating in a live video conference with party supporters from West Sikkim.
15 AUG – ORGANIC PEAS SEED VILLAGE DECLARED: The two progressive adjoining villages of Begha and Mangmoo in Dentam GPU under Maneybong Dentam constituency, West Sikkim, have been declared “Organic Peas Seed Villages”.
20 AUG – PRIMITIVE TRIBE WELFARE BOARD CONSTITUTED: The state government has constituted the Primitive Tribe Welfare Board to oversee various welfare schemes, socio-economic and educational development of the Primitive Tribe of the state, the Lepchas. Headed by Lachen-Mangan MLA, Tshering Wangdi Lepcha, as the chairperson, the Board has 13 other members.
30 AUG – ADHOC TEACHERS RALLY FOR REGULARIZATION: The All Sikkim Ad-hoc Teachers Welfare Association [ASATWA] took out a rally in the capital. The ASATWA consists of the teaching staff from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan [SSA] and Human Resource Development Department [HRDD]. The main motive of the association for holding the protest rally was for job security and ending of the annual “harassment” that ad-hoc teachers have to face regarding continuation of their service.
30 AUG – CM DEPOSES BEFORE PATRA COMMISSION: Chief Minister PawanChamling deposed before the Commission of Inquiry for the second time. The Commission is enquiring into corruption allegations leveled against him by Opposition leaders.
SEPTEMBER
03 Sept – Landslide kills 5 in West Sikkim: A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall has claimed five lives at Tamabung village under Yuksom Tashiding constituency in West Sikkim. A family of four, including a three-month old child, and a guest staying overnight with the family, were buried in the landslide. All five were asleep when the landside hit the house at night.
04 SEPT – DENGUE: The Health department decided to apply quick remedial measures effectively in controlling outbreak of dengue in Rangpo. An inspection team found grimy ponds with real breed of Dengue in lower Bazar area and they took decision immediately to clean these up as early as possible. There were 38 positive cases of dengue between 19 August to 03 September 2013, out of which 26 patients are from Sikkim and remaining 12 are from West Bengal. Most of the cases here have been reported from Fatak Line, Monsong and Jitlang and Golitar and Adarsh Gaon in Singtam.
05 SEPT – GOLAY RESIGNS FROM SDF: A resignation which had been in the making for almost as long as the present term of the SDF Government finally came through with SDF’s MLA from Upper-Burtuk, PS Tamang [Golay], releasing copies of his resignation letter from the party to the media.
05 SEPT – LAPTOP DISTRIBUTION PROG LAUNCHED ON TEACHERS’ DAY: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling handed over laptops to eight students during the state-level Teachers’ Day Celebration. With this token gesture, the project to empower students of government schools with Information Technology tool by providing them laptops has been launched. Two students from each district were presented laptops.
11 SEPT – 3 SIKKIMESE KARATEKAS REPRESENT INDIA: Three Karatekas from Sikkim were selected for the Indian Karate team to participate in the International Karate Championship accredited by the World Karate Federation to be held at Bar, Montenegro from 27-29 September. Bijoy Gurung, Bhim Bahadur Subba and Navin Rai were part of the 27-member national team.
11 SEPT – ANTLERS OF EXTINCT SIKKIM STAG FOUND: During a multi-disciplinary team expedition to Ocean Lake Gyam Tsona, Gurudongmar Tso and Tso Lhamo, all in Sikkim’s cold desert in North Sikkim from 03-07 September, the team found huge antlers of Sikkim Stag or Tibet Red Deer from the dried lake bed. The Sikkim Stag is known to be extinct from present day Sikkim limits.
14 SEPT – GRAM PANCHAYATS CAN ISSUE TRADE LICENSES: Trade and hawker licenses can now be issued, renewed and cancelled by Gram Panchayats for Class III Bazaars and Rural Marketing Centers that fall within their respective GPUs. The Urban Development and Housing Department published a gazette notification empowering the Gram Panchayats as per the policy decision taken by the state government before the Gram Panchayat and Territorial [Zilla] Panchayat elections in November last year.
14 SEPT – MICKMA LEPCHA CONFERRED USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN YUVA PURASKAR: Mickma Tshering Lepcha of Tashiding, West Sikkim was conferred the prestigious ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ for his achievements in the field of Lepcha folk music and songs. The award was presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi, National School of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi.
18 SEPT – 2011 EARTHQUAKE ANNIVERSARY
Marking the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake, 503 new houses were inaugurated all over the State. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling announced that 4,850 houses have been completed thus far.
20 SEPT – GOLAY DISQUALIFIED FROM SLA: Speaker of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly passed an order disqualifying the Upper Burtuk MLA from the House. The disqualification follows from Mr. Tamang’s resignation from the ruling party on whose ticket he had been elected on in 2009.
22 Sept – Rs 80 crore earmarked for home stays: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling announced an ambitious plan to facilitate the setting up of home-stay tourism options at 1,000 homes across the State. Rs. 80 crore has been earmarked for this project. The CM made this announcement which addressing the Garib Utthan Diwas [Poverty Alleviation Day] of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front.
24 SEPT – CELL SET UP TO MONITOR SOCIAL MEDIA: The Sikkim government has set up an exclusive cell under DIG (R) in the police headquarters to engage with the public on social media on a regular basis and counter any hate propaganda and rumours so as to maintain complete peace in the state.
30 SEPT – TWO SIKKIM LADS IN UNDER 19 INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM: Two Sikkimese boys have made it to the India Under-19 squad for the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. Uttam Rai and Nim Dorjee have been chosen in the 23-member U-19 Indian football team which will play in the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers to be held in Doha, Qatar from 04 October.
OCTOBER
01 OCT – LAPTOP DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMME BEGINS IN EARNEST: The promise of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling to provide free laptops to government school students of Classes XI and XII and government college students was fulfilled with a grand distribution ceremony held here at Tenzing Namgyal Memorial Ground here at Tathangchen. Students from government schools of East district and the six government colleges in the district [around 9,500 students in all] were provided laptop computers.
02 OCT – TEMI TEA RELEASES NEW PRODUCTS: The Secretary Commerce and Industries, PT Euthenpa launched and released the new packets of Temi Tea. The new products are Temi Tea Royal, Temi Tea Magic and Temi Tea Super fine and low priced tea bags.
02 OCT – CYBER VILLAGE PROJECT LAUNCHED: On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Governor Shriniwas Patil launched India’s first Cyber Village Project at Melli Dara Paiyong GPU. The Cyber Village Project has been conceptualized by the Chief Minister of Sikkim. The project, ensures technology, broadband internet connectivity and e-governance at the grass root level. On the occasion six ward Panchayats of the 22-Melli Dara Paiyong Gram Panchayat Unit were presented with tablet PCs.
03 OCT – ANOTHER QUAKE: Sikkim was rudely reminded of the devastation and destruction caused by the 18 September earthquake in 2011 when an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale hit the state at 11:43 in the morning. People packed into the streets and congregated at open spaces, with children returning from school adding to the milieu and heightening the levels of panic which surged with each aftershock.
04 OCT – ROAD MISHAP KILLS 5: Five persons were feared dead while six others escaped with injuries when the Bolero (SK-01J-1900) they were traveling in plunged into the Teesta river after colliding head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction. The accident occured near Geil Khola, West Benagl, along NH 31A under Kalimpong Police Station.
06 OCT – GOLAY JOINS SKM: The induction which had been in the air ever since the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha was formed in February earlier this year, finally came about with former SDF MLA PS Tamang joining the party at a grand function organized here at Paljor Stadium. Mr. Tamang, who had resigned from the Sikkim Democratic Front on 04 September, took primary membership of the SKM on 06 October.
08 OCT – SPSC PRELIMS: Out of 5,532 candidates who had enrolled for the examinations to fill 25 posts of Under Secretaries and two of Deputy Superintendents of Police, 5,433 admit cards were issued. Of these, 3,611 sat for the examination. The exams drew a lot of criticism from the candidates and local media finally forcing the commission to cancel the exams.
18 OCT – EVERY DAY IS SUNDAY: “Every day is Sunday”, Sikkim’s first full-fledged mainstream Bollywood flick premiered at Denzong Cinema Hall.
19 OCT – UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE ANNOUNCED: The State Government took a major policy decision to grant unemployment allowance to the unemployed youth of the state. Those who have passed Class X and those who are diploma holders and are unemployed will be eligible for the allowance. The amount of the allowance and other criteria is to be declared by the concerned department soon.
21 OCT – KHEL RATNA FOR 4 EVERESTERS: Anand Gurung, Ravindra Kumar and Kazi Sherpa were on top of the world, literally, in May 2013 when, over the course of three days, each stepped on to the summit of Mount Everest. The State Government announcing their name for the Sikkim Khel Ratna, a recognition which carries a Rs. 10 lakh kitty each apart from the prestige it shines on the mountaineers.
22 OCT – ADHOC TEACHERS BEGIN CHALK DOWN STRIKE: The All Ad-hoc Teachers of Sikkim [AATS] started their pen-down, chalk-down indefinite strike at government schools across the state and sat on dharna in front of the District Administrative Centre, East.
22 OCT – SRM UNIV NOTIFIED: The Shri Ramasamy Memorial (SRM) State University Bill has finally been notified by the State Government. Governor Srinivas Dadasaheb Patil had given his consent to the bill on 09 October, and the Act was accordingly notified on 22 October. The SRM State University Bill which was passed by the Sikkim Legislative Assembly on 27 June 2012 was returned to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly by the last Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh for reconsideration of certain aspects. The State government then promulgated an ordinance in August and subsequently the Bill was passed by the House unanimously for the second time.
28 OCT – SIKKIM TOPS LONELY PLANET BEST IN TRAVEL LIST: Sikkim came out on top in the list published by the global travel guide ‘Lonely Planet’. Sikkim is followed by the Kimberly in Australia and Yorkshire in England respectively in the top 10 regions to visit according to the travel guide.
31 OCT – 90% HIKE IN DA: The State government enhanced the rate of Dearness Allowance of state government employees and Dearness Relief for state government pensioners from the existing 80% to 90% of the basic pay.
NOVEMBER
01 NOV – EMRS WIN NE U-19 C’SHIP: Eklavya Model Residential School, Gangyap in West Sikkim became the Regional Champions for the fourth consecutive time winning the Under 19 CBSE Cluster-I [North East Region] Basketball Championship.
02 NOV – SIKKIM ADVENTURE TOURISM FEST: Three-day Sikkim Adventure Tourism Festival 2013 in Lingmoo organized for the first time in this place by the Lingmoo Heritage Conservation Society in collaboration with other government departments.
08 NOV – HRDD RESPONSE TO AD-HOC TEACHERS’ DEMANDS: The Human Resource Development Department has agreed in principle to the demands placed by ad-hoc teachers of the state. In a press statement HRDD said that the demand of ad-hoc teachers that the yearly appointment system be removed “is being considered by the government for implementation and is already in process”. The department further said that Teachers’ Eligibility Test [TET] is mandatory for all.
10 NOV – PRESIDENT MUKHERJEE’S BACK IN SIKKIM: The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Gangtok onboard a special army helicopter. The President was received and accorded a warm welcome by Governor Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil and Chief Minister Pawan Chamling at Libing Helipad.
12 NOV – NAMCHI TAXI STAND STARTS FREE WiFi FACILITY: In an interesting move towards providing better services to passengers, Namchi Local Taxi Drivers' Association has launched free WiFi internet facility at the Parking Plaza there. Since passengers have to wait till the taxi gets fully occupied [in the case of share-cabs], with this free internet facility they can pass their time better as they wait for the taxi to be filled. Waiting passengers can ask for the WiFi password at the ticket counter.
14 NOV – BHAICHUNG IN FIFPRO TECH COMMITTEE: Football icon Bhaichung Bhutia was selected to serve on the Technical Committee of FIFPro, the World Body for Players for a term of 4 years starting from 11 November 2013. He is the only representative from Asia in the six-man committee that has 3 from Europe, and one each from Asia, Africa and South America, informs a press release from Football Players Association of India (FPAI).
16 NOV – SALT PANIC: Catching up late to rumours which originated in Bihar of salt supplies getting constricted, Gangtok witnessed panic buying. People in the districts and Gangtok were clamoring to buy large supplies of salt. Many now have at least a year’s supply stored at home when there was no need for them to purchase even one packet! Meanwhile the district administration issued notices assuring that salt supplies were sufficient in the state.
15 NOV – SMIT STUDENT DEATH: A 21-year-old girl from Bihar studying at SMIT, was found dead in her hostel room. She was a final year student at SMIT with less than 13 days left for the completion of the course. The deceased had a good academic record and her untimely demise raised considerable speculations.
19 NOV – TATA FIRST BOOK AWARD FOR SIKKIMESE AUTHOR: Chetan Raj Shreshtha of Sikkim won the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award 2013 in the fiction category. Chetan’s debut book ‘The King’s Harvest’ published by Aleph Book Company was released in June earlier this year. The Tata Literature Live! First Book Award is an annual award to encourage, recognise and celebrate first-time writers in English in the Indian literary space, across the fiction and non-fiction genres. Works were judged for excellence, originality and accessibility, as well as promise.
19 NOV – SHRPP MERGES WITH CONGRESS: Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party [SHRPP] officially merged with the Indian National Congress. SHRPP’s office bearers from the central executive committee, frontal organizations and other different level committees along with party supporters from different parts of the State led by the party president Dr AD Subba, joined the Congress.
20 NOV – MAITREYA HEART SHRINE RELIC TOUR ARRIVE: Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic tour arrived in Sikkim through Rangpo check-post where monks from Phodong Monastery offered it a traditional welcome in the presence of senior state government representatives, members of the exposition committee and devotees from all over the state. The relics arrived in Sikkim after touring 66 countries, making their last halt in Bhutan where they were kept on display for a week.
22 NOV – THREE STAR NEPAL WINS GOVERNOR’S GOLD CUP: Three Star [Nepal] lifted the 34th All India Governor’s Gold Cup Football Tournament 2013 beating another Nepal team, Manang Marshyangdi Club in the final match played at Paljor Stadium. Three-Star won the match 3-1. Last year, the club had lost to BSF Jalandhar in the finals of the tournament. This is the second time that 3-Star has lifted the Gold Cup in Sikkim, having also won the tournament in 2008 when it beat Army XI in the finals.
25 NOV – ALTERNATE HIGHWAY APPROVED: The Union Ministries of Defence and Forest & Environment have given the go ahead to the proposed alternate road to NH 31A exclusively for defense purposes. The proposal was floated by BRO Project Swastik in 2010-11. The proposed route will cover Damdim, Chalsa, Khunia More, Jaldhaka and Tokday. The Khunia More to Rhenock axis [via Rachela] covers a distance of about 75 km and links up with the 51 km stretch from Rhenock to Ranipool via Rorathang.
25 NOV – ONGC MUMBAI WINS CM’S GOLD CUP: ONGC Mumbai lifted the All India Chief Minister’s Gold Cup outplaying Air India 02-01.
28 NOV – FIRST TET HELD: The Human Resource Development Department held its first Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) with a total of 819 candidates from all the four districts sitting for the same. The results for the test are expected to be announced by December. A total of 832 candidates, including in-service, adhoc and contractual teachers had registered for the test conducted by the HRD, GoS out of which only 819 sat for the test.
29 NOV – COMMITTEE FOR IT EXEMPTION DEMAND OF OLD SETTLERS INSTITUTED: The State Government, through a Gazette Notification, constituted a high-level committee chaired by the Finance Secretary to pursue the Income Tax exemption demand of the old settlers of Sikkim. The committee has Principal Secretary, Finance, Revenue & Expenditure Department, MG Kiran as chairman; and Secretary, Law Deptt, Lakchung Sherpa, and one member of the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim as members. Additional Secretary, Home, Tashi Cho Cho, has been appointed Member Secretary to this committee.
DECEMBER
04 DEC – YUL DRU SUM INAUGURATION: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling inaugurated the community house Yul Dru Sum at Sichey for Lachen, Lachung and Chungthang. The CM announced free electricity for the people of Dzongu, Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung once the Teesta Stage III hydel project in North Sikkim is completed.
04 DEC – PIL AGAINST MADHYA BHARAT: Public interest litigation filed by Karma Thinley Lama in the High Court, seeking, among other things, termination of the 96 MW hydel project in East Sikkim being developed by Madhya Bharat Power Corporation Ltd.
05 DEC – 71 CHUJACHEN HYDEL WORKERS TERMINATED: Employees of Gati Infrastructures which has undertaken the 99 MW Chujachen hydel project in East Sikkim accused the power developers of arbitrarily terminating them from the company. Of the around 123 local employees engaged with the company, 71 have been let off and it is expected that more will be let off as new lists are drawn. The first list of employees to be discharged was released on 21 November; the second list of employees to be retrenched was released by the company on 29 November.
06 DEC – LAPTOPS DISTRIBUTED IN WEST SIKKIM: A total of 2,261 students of class XI and XII from 10 schools of Soreng Sub Division received free laptops.
08 DEC – CM ISSUES STATEMENT ON MISQUOTE: In a rare press release, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling responded strongly to what he sees as a deliberate and mischievous misquoting by some newspapers in how his comments on the Companies Act 2012 were reported. His explanation of the said Act and what it entails were misrepresented as his support and celebration in a deliberate and coordinate move to discredit him and his government, the CM stated through the release. His statement during the inaugural function of the Yul Dru Sum in Sichey were allegedly misquoted by some local newspapers. The newspapers in question have since published a corrigendum admitting the misquote and regretting.
16 DEC – SPTMC DHARNA: Sikkim Pradesh Trinamool Congress [SPTMC] members, led by their president, PT Lucksom, sat on a daylong dharna in front of the District Administration Centre demanding the restoration of lost seats of Nepali and Tsong [Limboo] communities in the State Legislative Assembly.
09 DEC – GRUESOME MURDER AT NAMNANG HOTEL: A gruesome murder took place in Gangtok where the body of the victim, unidentified as of yet, was found in a mutilated condition in a room in a local hotel located at Namnang. The stand-in manager found the body in the room when he used his keys to open the room after getting no response from inside. Pavir Mondal, the stand-in manager, found the body under the bed sheets covered in blood. The dead body was found in a disfigured state – one eye gouged out and an ear and nose cut off. The case remains insolved.
11 DEC – HC DIRECTS MoEF TO NOTIFY ECO-SENSITIVE ZONES: The High Court of Sikkim has directed that the Ministry of Environment and Forests issue a notification demarcating “eco-sensitive zones”, commonly known as buffer zones, within two months in Sikkim.
14 DEC – SKM STUDENT’S WING RALLY: Sikkim Krantikari Vidyarthi Morcha, the students’ wing of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, took out a rally against the tagging of the party youth as ‘druggists’ and ‘rowdies’ by the Chief Minister and the Sikkim Democratic Front.
16 DEC – PAKYONG AIRPORT PROJECT AFFECTED FAMILIES IDENTIFIED: A total of 17 families have been identified as project affected and in danger, living in close proximity to the Pakyong Airport. Five of these families have also been evacuated to safer locations.
16 DEC – WINDSTORM: Gangtok, got a taste of a different type of natural calamity, a windstorm on the night of 15 December. The heavy windstorm brought down the mercury along with trees, branches, electric poles, sheds and houses. In a tragic incident, the strong winds also claimed the life of 11-year-old Savitri Chettri [also known as Marina Chettri, as she is referred to in official updates] who was killed in her sleep when a gigantic tree crashed on her dwelling at Indira Byepass. The wind started picking up at around midnight and was in full force by 2 a.m., howling in a sinister fashion throughout and it was apparent that the morning would bring news of some disaster.
17 DEC – SKM REGISTERED: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, formed in 04 February earlier this year, became a registered political party.
18 DEC – COMPENSATION TO FEMALE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ENHANCED: Government has enhanced compensation to women who are victims of extreme forms of violence by 1000% and for victims of rape the compensation has been doubled. Also, for child victims of crime who suffer injuries the compensation has been enhanced by 500%.
18 DEC – SIKKIM STUDENTS OF HGPI RETURN HOME: Students from Sikkim who recently fled from their course at the Himalayan Group of Professional Institutes, Himachal Pradesh, have now reached home. The group of around 45 students reached Sikkim today. The Sikkim students had earlier decided to forego their studies at the HGPI, Himachal Pradesh after being harassed and allegedly threatened by a group of students from Haryana
18 DEC – NAMCHI BOY CLEARS NDA WRITTEN: Krishna Kumar Mangar, son of Champa Singh Mangar of Phalidara, Namchi cleared NDA written examination held in the month of August 2013 and will now be sent to New Delhi for Services Selection Board (SSB) interview coaching. He is the only one who qualified the NDA written exam out of five Sikkimese students who had appeared in the said examination.
21 DEC – ‘LAND WHERE I FLEE’ RELEASED: ‘Land Where I Flee’, Prajwal Parajuly’s second offering and his debut novel [the first being a collection of short stories “The Gurkha’s Daughter”] got its official Sikkim release at Rachna Books here at Development Area.
21 DEC – SKM CELEBRATES ROLU PICNIC ANNIV: Sikkim Krantikari Morcha celebrated the fourth anniversary of the Rolu Picnic of 2009 on Saturday at Rolu in South Sikkim. The “new avatar of Rolu” –was also unveiled on the day where a signboard naming the spot “RHOLU- Revolutionary Home for the Oppressed, Laid down and Underprivileged”.
22 DEC – WINTER CARNIVAL: The three-day Sikkim Winter Carnival 2013 started at White Memorial Hall with the inauguration of the Buddhist Art of Butter Sculpture and Sand Mandala presented by Tourism and Civil Aviation Department along with the Photo Exhibition presented by Information and Public Relations Department, Governor of Sikkim.
23 DEC – HOME STAYS DEFINED: Home Stays in Sikkim have now become official with the state government having finalized its definition as well as the regulatory aspects of this kind of tourism trade; this finalization process was completed with the concerned department having incorporated all suitable recommendations and suggestions as presented by the public and particularly by stakeholders in the Tourism business.
24 DEC – MAN ARRESTED FOR MAKING LEWD RECORDINGS: In probably one of the first of its kind incident recorded in Sikkim, one person was picked up by the police for making recordings of a sexual act, apart from sexual assault as well.
24 DEC – YOUNG MOTHER DIES AT MANGAN HOSPITAL: The family of a 25-year-old woman who died after delivering a child at the District Hospital Mangan has accused the hospital staff of carelessness which led to her death. Dil Kumari Gurung had been admitted to the district hospital at around 6 pm on 23 December where she gave birth to a child at around 11 a.m. It is alleged that the gynecologist was not on duty at the time and when contacted over phone gave instructions to the other doctor on duty and staff regarding the delivery instead of attending to the complication immediately.
26 DEC – COMMUNITY COLLEGES INTRODUCED: The Directorate of Technical Education, under HRDD introduced the concept of community colleges at a function held at the HRDD premises. The Community College is a scheme sponsored by All India Council for Technical Education AICTE, Government of India.
26 DEC – PARYATAN BHAWAN INAUGURATED: Paryatan Bhawan, the new office of the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department inaugurated at Tadong.
26 DEC – CABINET APPROVES CREATION OF 4002 POSTS: The Cabinet on 24 December approved the creation of 4,002 posts in various group C and D categories of the State Government. With this, the first phase of regularization of services of temporary employees covering those who have put in 15 or more years of service has taken a substantial step forward. This latest move carries an additional financial implication of close to Rs. 79 crore per year.
Some Firsts of 2013
03 Jan - Packaged Lum oranges launched
12 Jan – First Gurung film released
02 Mar – First woman CS appointed R Ongmu
11 Mar – First vehicle torching incident of the year [in Soreong]
16 Mar – First NE Mt Everest expedition flagged off
23 Mar – 460 recruited in Sikkim Scouts first batch
19 April – First REDRH completed in North Sikkim
01 June – Strength-lifting debuts in Sikkim
05 Aug – First Pangthang Bench Press competition held
06 Aug – Reshithang Sports Complex hosts first tourney
31 Aug – Primitive Tribe Welfare Board holds first meeting
07 Sept – State gets its first Cardio thoracic Surgeon
01 Oct – First Mother Dairy Farm in NE set up in Sikkim
31 Oct – Sikkim tops Lonely Planet’s Best Regions to visit in 2014 list
02 Nov – First adventure tourism fest Lingmoo
16 Nov – First Cherry Tea Fest at Temi
19 Nov – Tata Tata Literature Live! First Book Award for Chetan R Shreshtha.
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