Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar for Bijay Bantawa

Outgoing president, Press Club of Sikkim, Parasmani Dangal, [extreme right] hands over charge to the new president Bhim Rawat [left] and general secretary, Joseph Lepcha.

GANGTOK, 05 July: Senior journalist Bijay Bantawa has been selected for the ‘Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar’ for the year 2011 conferred by the Press Club of Sikkim. Mr. Bantawa, the editor-publisher of weekly newspaper Himgiri, will receive the award on the 9th foundation day function of the PCS on 17 July here at Gangtok, a press release issued by the PDS publicity secretary, Nirmal Mangar, informs.

The new PCS executive committee, in its first meeting convened today, also unanimously decided to felicitate Arun Kumar Rasaily during the foundation day celebrations. Mr. Rasaily, the Kalimpong correspondent of Nepali daily Sunakhari Samachar published from Siliguri, will be felicitated for his contributions to the field of journalism for more than a decade.
Continuing with its initiative to encourage upcoming journalists, the PCS selected Homnath Davari for the ‘most promising journalist’ award for 2011.
Mr. Davari is the South district correspondent based of Gangtok-based Nepali daily Samay Dainik.
During the meeting, the PCS executive team also took strong objection of the circulation of an anonymous SMS and pamphlets against some members of the organization. This was done in the run-up to the executive committee elections with the clear agenda to target a prospective contender with negative campaigning of the most deplorable kind.
Condemning this act, the PCS executive members decided that the membership of the person found guilty of having involved in the defamatory act will be terminate immediately and legal action pursued.
Earlier, the outgoing executive members handed over the official papers of the Club to the new team.
The PCS has also set up a 7-member advisory committee with veteran journalist and former president CD Rai as chief advisor. The other members of the advisory committee are Santosh Nirash, Subash Deepak, Ashoke Chatterjee, Bijay Bantawa, Amalendu Kundu and Kishore Moktan.