Jhora near Dikchu PHC poses threat to health staff and locals

MANGAN, 15 April:  A second night of heavy shower on 12 April forced the residents of Dikchu New Market and Dikchu PHC staff to spend a sleepless night. As the water flow between the PHC and staff quarters began to flood towards the PHC, the staff had to leave their quarters at night and seek shelter elsewhere. Heavy flow of water towards the Dikchu New Market also scared the people residing in the area into keeping awake all night.
Medical Officer, Dikchu PHC, Dr. Mohan Thapa while speaking to NOW! Informed that it is inconvenient to walk through this jhora for the health staff which is very risky when it rains and there is no alternate foothpath to cross over.  He also informed that the nearby jhora should be trained immediately as there is further risk during the coming rainy season. A view, that the local residents agree with and demand at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the ward panchayat, Kado Lepcha visited the spot and informed that he will submit a report to the District Administration immediately requesting for the needful to be carried out under the NC fund.  The representatives from District Hospital Mangan also visited the spot.

Apex Court sets final deadline for HSRP coverage

GANGTOK, 15 April: The Supreme Court of India has directed that all states fully implement the scheme of fixing High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) by 30 April, 2012. The State government here is also comply with this order. Earlier, the State government had submitted to the apex court that the HSRP scheme would be completed by 31 March and had also been reported by this paper. However, all vehicles in the state could not be covered and the therefore the time limit has been extended by the Supreme Court.
“All states, therefore, are mandated to fully implement the scheme of fixation of HSRP in their entire state, positively by 30th April, 2012, in relation to new vehicles and 15th June, 2012 for old vehicles,” the Supreme Court order directs.
While extending the time limit, the apex court has made clear that no further extension shall be allowed and added that the directions of the Supreme Court are to be implemented without default. The apex court further ruled that in the event of default, the concerned Secretary (Transport) /Commissioner, State Transport Authority and/or any other person or authority responsible for such default “shall be liable to be proceeded against under the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.”
The cost of fixing HSRPs in Sikkim, as has often been complained by vehicle owners, is much higher compared to other states. Here, it costs a little over Rs. 2,000 [for 4-wheelers] while in other states the cost is less than half this amount. In this context, it may also be highlighted here that the Supreme Court, had in 2010, dismissed appeals by foreign multinational backed Indian firms - Shmnit Utsch India Private Ltd and Tonnjes Eastern Security Technologies Pvt Ltd (the firm which bagged the contract in Sikkim as well)- claiming that state governments had no right to change the conditions laid down in the Central law proposed notice inviting tenders for HSRPs. Indian HSRP manufacturers had protested against the experience and certain minimum turnover clauses attached to the NITs and alleged that this was tailor-made for foreign multinationals to bag the contracts for supply of HSRPs.
West Bengal and Orissa had effected changes in the NITs, doing away with the clause requiring previous experience in manufacturing of HSRPs to qualify for submitting tenders. The changes were challenged unsuccessfully by Shhimnit and Tonnjes in the Calcutta and Orissa High Courts respectively. Both had moved the apex court against the decisions of the High Courts, and lost there as well.

Editorial: News is Information

Never has the debate over what constitutes proper journalism been as frenetic as it is nowadays with the multitude of 24-hour news channels addressing diverse audiences with their own spin on reportage. Of late, starting from the Anna phenomenon to the recent Centre-Army situation, this debate has become even more frenzied. Grand debates have been held over which channel [newspapers not so much] provided balanced reports and which has been too sensational or which news broadcast exposed a lack of journalistic ethics. The debates will never resolve because journalistic ethics are not codified enough to throw absolute answers on what is right and what wrong. In fact, journalism is, at its core, essentially concerned with reportage and not with the greater disputes of rights and wrongs. These are concerns which require application of serious thought and journalists, by virtue of their job-description, not expected to be experts with all the solutions, but expected to be equipped with the right tools to convey the story. That does not go to say that reporters cannot help in resolving issues. In fact, this is what a good journalist should be committed to. They do not resolve conflicts by suggesting remedies, they do so by providing information since conflict is born from communication gaps. Once all sides have access to information, they are also equipped to work out solutions.
This is also where journalists differ from politicians. Politicians, given the paranoia that comes with the post, hold their cards very close to their chests. They also thrive on misinformation and this is where a committed journalist could play a constructive role - by disbursing authentic information. To disburse information, however, a journalist is required to procure it first and on this path are the most pitfalls. Since information has to be sourced, there is always the danger of a plant. People with personal vendettas on their agenda are known to dish out selective information and many journalists stumble. While the general argument goes to say that information is information irrespective of where it came from, a journalist is expected to glean through it carefully. If at all someone needs to let off a shot, why should it be from the shoulders of a reporter straight into public domain. Whenever journalists speak of “self-censorship,” this is what they mean. Information, at the end of the day should serve the needs of the public and not individuals. The self-censorship mentioned here deals only with deciding on what needs to be thrown in the public domain and not whether it is palatable or not. Any news, good or bad, which needs to be broken, should be. As for the audience, they should understand that news is about information first and not all information can be sensational. Information is supposed to tease the senses into engaging...

ASGTBA felicitates Paschim Sikkim Sahitya Sansthan founder Kedar Gurung

PADAMSHREE GURUNG IS A ROLE MODEL FOR ALL, SAYS MINISTER TILU GURUNG
GANGTOK, 15 April: All Sikkim Gurung [Tamu] Buddhist Association [ASGTBA], today felicitated PadmaShree awardee Kedar Gurung and eight other achievers from the community at a special function held at Sikkim Government College auditorium here at Tadong today chaired by Buildings Minister Tilu Gurung accompanied by former Minister GM Gurung.
Along with Padmashree Kedar Gurung, Ganesh Bahadur Gurung, Naren Gurung, Padamlal Gurung, Snehalata Gurung, Mani Kumar Gurung, Chandrapal Gurung and HL Gurung were felicitated today in recognition of their contributions in their respective fields.
Addressing the gathering, Padmashree Kedar Gurung talked about his journey towards the completion of fifteen books till date and that his plans to continue publishing. He said, “It is such a sad state of affairs today  that we have few readers in Nepali society in comparison to other community.”
He also shared his experiences in the early days of his life. From a teacher to a bookseller, Mr. Gurung has come a long way with some sweet memories and bitter experiences.
Kedar Gurung, along with like-minded friends had established ‘Paschim Sikkim Sahitya Sansthan’, [an organization to serve literature] in West Sikkim. The organization has a rich history of paving the way for many newcomers.
“I am happy at being able to remain active and creative to this date, a journey that began in the early 70’s”, expressed the writer who could not hide his emotions.
Mr. Gurung gave up his teaching profession for his love for Nepali literature and started a book shop. He has so far published 15 collections. “I had the experience of running a book shop in a society that does not read books. Our society has been on the back foot only because of the tendency of earning easy money which has made us idle,” he commented.
Mr Gurung informed that the Prakashan has been working on an ambitious project of bringing out a book detailing the lives of great personalities of Indian Gorkha/ Nepali community who have made great contributions to the country.
Minister, Housing and Buildings, Tilu Gurung, who presided over the programme today, urged the people of the community to think and work for the community. She appealed to the youth to follow the path shown by Kedar Gurung. “He is a role model and an idol for all,” she said.
The association also felicitated former Minister Padam Lall Gurung, Ganesh Bahadur Gurung [teacher], Naren Gurung [musician], National youth Award winner Mani Kumar Gurung, Snehalata Gurung [teacher], HL Gurung [teacher] and Chandra Pal Gurung [policeman].
Earlier, president of the association, HB Gurung, general secretary Dev Gurung, Goverdhan Gurung and others addressed the occasion
A litterateur of repute, Padamshree Kedar Gurung was born on 09 July 1948 in Sardong village of West Sikkim. He was recently conferred the Padmashree in literature. He received his primary education from Lingchom school, finishing his matriculation from Turnbull High School, Darjeeling in 1960 and going on to graduate from Government College, Darjeeling.
Padamlal Gurung was born on 11 November 1942 in Sardong basti Geyzing, West Sikkim. A politician now, he became noticed first during his stint as a police officer. After joining politics, he served as a Minister from 1985 to 1989.
Naren Gurung was born on 21 January 1957 in Chakhung, West Sikkim and has made his mark in the field of music. His credentials as a creative artist include a diploma in Sashtriya Sangeet and Sangeet Natak Akademy Award in 2004.
81 years old Ganesh Bahadur Gurung is a retired teacher who received a National award in 1990.
Chandrapal Gurung was born on 18 September 1955 in Tallo Sukrabarey, South Sikkim and had joined Sikkim Police in 1974. He received president’s police medal award from the president  on 26th January 2011.
HL Gurung born in 1935 in Lower Sadam received National Education Award from former President R. Venkataraman. Sikkim government too felicitated him in the field of education.
Snehalata Gurung was born on 20 December, 1950 in West district. She received National level award on March 2010 from Delhi in the field of education.
Mani Kumar Gurung was born on 12 December 1978 in Lower Dalapchand. He was actively involved in Nehru Yuva Kendra who received national level award in 2004 from Sports and Youths Affairs department, Government of India for his service to the sports field.

Two more booked under SADA

GANGTOK, 15 April: Following on the heels of the Friday drug bust in which two alleged peddlers were arrested, the Sadar police carried out another drug raid in the capital and made two more arrests. Acting on a tip off, the Sadar police personnel raided the rented room of Rudra Adhikari, 37 and Bhim Chettri, 34, both originally from Kalchini, Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and presently residing at Manbir Colony here. In the course of the raid, the police uncovered a cache of drugs which included 1,796 tablets of spasmo proxyvon and another 90 tablets of N10, both, much abused prescription drugs
The raid was conducted late on the evening of 13 April at around 7 pm and both, Bhim Chettri and Rudra Adhikari, have been taken into custody and booked under the Sikkim Anti Drugs Act. It is further informed that the duo were earlier running a garage at Sukhapool which was damaged and eventually collapsed in a landslide following which it is reported that they took to peddling drugs. They operated from their rented premises.

Sikkim annual plan fixed at Rs. 1,500 crore

MONTEK SINGH COMMENDS STATE GOVT’S DEVELOPMENTAL EFFORTS
GANGTOK, 13 April: Sikkim’s annual plan for the year 2012-13 was fixed at Rs. 1,500 crore today, informs a press communiqué received from the Principal Resident Commissioner, Sikkim House, New Delhi. The plan size was finalised at a meeting between Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, held at Yojana Bhawan. The Plan size grows up to Rs. 1,877 crore with the addition of Rs. 377 crore which the Planning Commission informed today it would be releasing for Sikkim from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund [against the total announcement of Rs. 1,000 crore] to assist earthquake restoration works here. The Chief Minister informed the meeting that the entire Rs. 1,000 crore package announced by the Prime Minister for undertaking various earthquake repair activities will be utilised in the state in next two years .
The Chief Minister, the press release from Delhi informs, highlighted that the plan size [not including the earthquake relief funds] is Rs. 100 crore higher than the current plan size.
Meanwhile, an update from the Press Information Bureau informs that in his comments on the performance of the State, the Deputy Chairman appreciated the “development efforts” and pointed that the human development indicators of Sikkim were among the best in the country. He said the growth in agriculture during eleventh plan was better than the national average and also made positive mention of the priority being given to organic farming, horticulture and floriculture.
As per Planning Commission data, Sikkim has achieved a growth rate of 8.95% during the 11th plan which is higher than national average.
On plan performance, it was pointed that the GSDP at Constant Prices rose from Rs. 1,73,932 in 2004-05 to Rs. 3,34,311 in 2009-10 and was likely to increase to Rs. 3,64,218 in 2010-11 showing an annual growth of 8.95 percent. Likewise the Per Capita GSDP at constant prices rose from Rs. 30,730 in 2004-05 to Rs. 55,441 in 2009-10 and likely to increase to the level of Rs. 59,806 in 2010-11 showing an annual growth of 7.87 percent.
Mr. Ahluwalia, during the plan finalisation deliberations, also commented that tourism being the largest service sector in Sikkim, had high growth potential and has attained the top priority sector due to its vast spinoff effects contributing to the overall development through sustained fiscal receipts and employment generation.
“Sikkim endowed with unparalleled natural beauty, clean environment and picturesque location is one of the most potential State for tourism sector to flourish. In Sikkim, tourism has attained a consistent growth. The proactive tourism vision of the State Government, insurgency free environment and friendly people has been one of the major factors in upsurge of tourism in the state,” the PIB release quotes the Deputy Chairman as commenting.
Mr. Ahluwalia, also recognised that the general trends in rural development over the last two decades indicated that human development indicators like literacy, life expectancy, infant mortality, access to health, sanitation and rural infrastructure like roads, bridges, electricity, water, toilets, houses, school, hospitals, telecommunication etc. has been increasingly universalized. However, there was a declining trend in terms of relative contribution of agricultural sector to the economy and also as an employer, he pointed out.
Briefing the Commission, the Chief Minister is reported to have detailed that over the past two decades, the State has adopted the path of sustainable development, working in pursuit of developing the rural areas at par with the towns by providing all basic and modern amenities and sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas. The aim, he said, was to develop Sikkim as an “eco-city State”.
He also highlighted that the September 2011 earthquake had caused extensive damage to the infrastructure and setback the development process here. The developmental programmes, he stressed, can only be successful with liberal financial assistance from the Government of India in the 12th Five Year Plan and particularly in the Annual Plan 2012-13.
On the various schemes launched in recent years by the State, the CM highlighted the CM’s Free Scholarship programme under which the state was offering full scholarship to Sikkim students enrolled in the top-20 international universities of the world. On similar lines, Sikkim has launched a unique scheme called the Chief Minister’s Merit Scholarship Scheme under which students enrolled in government schools in rural Sikkim, upon selection on merit, were being funded to study at prestigious public and convent schools like Scindia School, Springdales School [Dehradun] and Pinegrove School [HP] etc. A budget of around Rs. 7 crore has been provided in current financial year and target has been fixed to sponsor 1,000 Sikkim students to reputed schools in the country by the year.
Detailing the various initiatives undertaken by the State Government like the CATCH programme and the Mission Kutcha House Free Sikkim, the CM briefed the Commission that State was confident of generating an annual revenue of Rs. 1,500 crore from the hydel sector in three years time. Tourism too was receiving special focus in the State and showing good results with 10 lakh tourists having visited Sikkim in 2011, having doubled from the 4.9 lakh visitors recorded in 2006. The target now is to attract 5 million tourist by the year 2015, the CM said, stressing that this would happen with better planning , aggressive publicity and world class tourism infrastructure.

Public aggrieved with Teesta Urja’s disinterest in settling compensation due for land damaged by tower installations

MANGAN, 13 April: Affected landowners of the 1,200MW Teesta Stage III being developed in North Sikkim are aggrieved with their demand of compensation for property damaged by the project developer, Teesta Urja, remains unaddressed. The complainants are those whose land was acquired for erection of towers to carry high tension power transmission lines. They are upset that their land, approach roads and footpaths were damaged in the tower installation process, but now compensation entertained thus far.
Landowners from the villages of Pathuk, Chandey, Kokaley, Ralap, singbel, Tibuk and Lower Mangshilla, contend that they could not sow seasonal crops on the plots of land near the tower sites since it was under construction. They rue that now that some towers have been completed, they find the surrounding fields left in extensively damaged condition.
“Our cardamom and other plantations have been damaged by the muck taken out from the foundation and even the road and CC footpath have been badly damaged while transporting the machines and other materials,” informed some landowners while speaking to NOW!
“Now we have heard that the Teesta Urja had commissioned the work to some other company,” informed another landowner, underlining that they do not know whom to approach for du compensation.
“The company had assured that we would be paid for damage to our land before they started the installation of tower and that we would also be paid rent. We have been paid only for the land measuring 30X30 feet where the towers have been installed. We were not aware at that time that our agricultural land surrounding the construction sites would be damaged like this,” they add.
“For the last six months no representative from the company has visited the area and the monsoon could prove dangerous for the houses situated below the towers. We will not allow further work to be carried out unless we are paid the damage compensation for our land,” said Kewal Das Chettri of Takjer basti under Pathuk ward.
Similarly, Purna Bahadur Chettri, another landowner, informed that he had earlier approached the company officials regarding the matter but was told that another company would be paying the compensation.
“The irrigation channel in my land, along with other tracts, has been damaged by the movement of excavators,” claims Jit Bahadur Rai.
The landowners have demanded that the representatives of the company should meet the landowners and solve the problem as soon as possible.

USFC rides on Quinton’s hat-trick to down Aizwal FC 4-2

GANGTOK, 13 April: Requiring to win every one of its remaining three games, Bhaichung’s USFC stayed on course towards getting promoted to the first division by downing Aizwal FC 4-2 at a keenly contested and excessively aggressive match here at Paljor Stadium today.
The USFC win rode on the shoulders of a flawless hat-trick by captain, midfielder Quinton Jacobs who led from the front today. The victory, required as it was, is also significant because it was with a draw against Aizwal in the Siliguri leg that hiccups began for the USFC, a stumble it corrected only on 11 April here when it beat the pool toppers, ONGC Mumbai. With today’s win, USFC is back on the top of the pool with 21 points, one point ahead of ONGC. Only the top-2 teams from the Gangtok leg will get promoted to first division I-League. This position, USFC will, in all probability, hold only for one day because on Saturday, ONGC takes on Mohammedan Sporting. Should either of the teams win [there can also be a draw which case they share a point each] , they will move past USFC [ONGC stands at 20 pts and Mohammedan Sporting at 19 and each win earns 3 points].
At Paljor Stadium today, both teams put it all on the line, and this included all the rough tricks they had in their bags. A staggering 6 cautions were flashed in the match today, four to USFC players and two to Aizwal FC. In fact, two of USFC’s four goals came by way of penalty kicks, and this after the first penalty hit the woodwork.
For USFC, Daniel Bidemi Ayeni won the lead with a goal in the 38th minute, and the second half belonged to captain Quinton N Jacobs who scored in the 60th, 65th and 81st minute.
The match had its see-saw moment with David Lalrinmuana, the Aizwal captain, levelling the score in the 49th minute. It was shortly after this that Quinton was unleashed on the Aizwal defence and completed his hattrick. Towards the close of the match, Michael Lalremruata pulled one back for Aizwal, but the game had already run away from them by then and when the final whistle blew, USFC was home 4-2.
Earlier, in the first match of the day, Kalighat MS outplayed Royal Wahingdoh 2-0, both goals scored by Waheed Adekunle.

Jhora near Dikchu PHC poses threat during monsoon

MANGAN, 13 April:  The heavy shower of last night put the staff of Dikchu PHC at risk as the flow of water between the PHC and the staff quarters raged out of control and started overflowing towards the PHC. The Primary Health Centre at Dikchu New Market, North Sikkim is situated at the bottom of the Tanek Bhir where the 18 September earthquake had triggered a landslide which had also damaged some portion of the PHC.
Dr. Mohan Thapa, Medical Officer, Dikchu PHC, while speaking to NOW! informed that the jhora should be trained immediately and also informed that there is further risk during the coming rainy season.

Awareness on organic farming held at Duga

AAMIR KHAN’S “SATYAMEV JAYATE” TV CREW SHOOTS SESSION
GANGTOK, 13 April: An awareness-cum-training programme on Organic Farming its benefits and certification process was organized on 12 April by International Panaacaa Limited (Service provider Agency for ICS) in association with Sikkim Organic Mission Food Security & Agriculture Development Department at Duga, East Sikkim. A press release informs that farmers from 8 wards were present in this awareness-cum-training programme.
State Project Coordinator, International Panaacea Limited, Hoshiar Singh Vashishtha highlighting the key issues of Organic farming and its Certification process explained the process, documentation and demonstration aspects.
Land and Soil, Water, Human health, Forest & Environment, Wild life and livestock details are vital issues for Internal Control System. Before accepting the Organic farming there are many documentation process which have to be maintained by all of us, he informed.
He emphasized that before getting the Scope Certificate for Organic products, there are various documentation process and practices which have to be maintained by the farmer community. Land documentation (checking of Parcha) to verify the land and its area, Farmers diary, Internal checklists, field map, detail of live stock, soil fertility, water test, detail of manure etc.
The process for organic farming and its certification process is very tough. After completion of the documentation process all important information data will be entered in a website called “TRACENET” to trace out the information of each farmer. Once this is done Agricultural & Processed Food Products Expert Development Authority (APEDA) will check and verify then they will issue  Registration or Identification Number (ID No.) to each farmer. After wards Certification Agencies will carry out their activities, inspection of documentation as well as field verification then only the  process will begin for Scope Certificate, he informed.
State Project In-charge, Vimal Prakash in his address emphasized on farm input management. He described about the soil health and its recommendations which was collected from the field of the farmers.
Additional Executive Director, Sikkim Organic Mission, K.K. Pradhan spoke on soil fertility management and the importance of DOLOMITE which enhance the fertility of soil in organic farming.
Convener, Farmer Cell, DN Sapkota spoke on the policy and programme made by the Government for the benefit for our famer community. CEO, Onecert Asia Agri. Certification Agency, Sandeep Bhargav highlighted the issues regarding certification and inspection methods. He urged the farmers to understand and follow the process of documentation which are provided by the Service provider Agency as after 2015 it has to be continued and there will be no such Service Provider Agency, in this case farmers themselves have to do all documentation work.
At the end of the programme, a television crew visited the site and recorded all the activities of the programme, the release informs. The crew was from Aamir Khan’s film production unit which is coming up with a new show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ on Star Plus highlighting various social issues. Khan who was in the state last month was briefed about the organic farming mission in the state during his visit and so he was interested in the highlighting the subject on his show, the release further mentions.

Controlled rock blasting at Pakyong Airport site

GANGTOK, 13 April: Huge mass of earth cutting and filling is underway at the Pakyong airport site. A press release informs that to speed up the progress at the site, the commissioned agency, Punj Lloyd, has arranged for controlled rock blasting after obtaining necessary clearances from all the regulatory authorities and further following the codal procedures.
Even though the rock breakers/ heavy excavating machineries were already deployed but it was felt necessary to go ahead simultaneously for blasting operations, the release explains. The process has been underway since 05 April and till date approximately 75 kg of gelatin has been utilized at the site. SDM & SDPO, Pakyong were also present during the process of blasting on 10 April, the release adds.

Husband booked for abetting suicide

GANGTOK, 13 April: A case under section 306 [abetment of suicide] of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against one Sonam Tshering Lepcha at the Melli police station. According to a report received from SI BB Lama [Melli police station], on the intervening night of 17 March, Sukmit Lepcha [30], wife of Sonam Tshering Lepcha, resident of upper Suntaley had committed suicide by setting herself on fire.
Further investigation revealed a troubled relationship between the deceased and her husband. The deceased had been mentally harassed which led to her committing suicide, it is now being suspected. The post mortem report received yesterday indicates that the cause of death was due to Hypondoenic Cardiogenic Shock as a result of suicidal anti morters burn injury [80-90 per cent]. No arrest has been made so far and the case is under investigation.

Two suicides

GANGTOK, 13 April: Two suicides were reported/ detected in the State on 12 April. In Gyalshing, a 31-year-old man, a resident of lower Chongrang, committed suicide by hanging, while under the Ravangla police station, a 15-year- old boy who had been missing for the past few days, was found to have committed suicide by hanging at Rangla Khasmal on 12 April.

Landslide near source disrupts water supply to capital

SUPPLY EXPECTED TO BE RESTORED BY SATURDAY
GANGTOK, 12 April: Additional Chief Secretary, R Ongmu, chaired a meeting at the Secretariat today to discuss the water supply problem being faced by the people here due to a major slide at 12th km along the Ratey Chu [source] to Selep axis on the night of 10 April damaging and disrupting the raw water transmission lines towards Selep tank water reservoir.
The Additional Chief Secretary took stock of the situation and has directed the concerned department and district administration to gear up to ensure that the people of Gangtok and adjoining areas
who are supplied with water from the Selep tank water reservoir are supplied with safe drinking water. The meeting was also attended by Mayor [Gangtok Municipal Corporation], Councilors, District Collector [East], Superintendent of Police [East] and officers from Water Security and Public Health Engineering Department [WS&PHED].
Thereafter, immediately another meeting to deal with the modalities for the supply of water to Gangtok and adjoining areas was held at the District Control Room situated at MG Marg, Gangtok which was Chaired by KN Topgay [Mayor, GMC]  and attended by the DC [East], SP [East] and the officials of the PHE Department. The officials of the PHE informed about the vehicles already hired by the department for the supply of water to the affected areas. The distribution plan for immediate supply of water to the affected areas was prepared by the officials.
The meeting decided to distribute water Ward wise under monitoring by the respective Councilors and support of the line department of PHE, Police and district administration. These include Arithang [Opposite Rai Cottage], DPH [taxi stand], Upper Sichey [above DC office], Tibet Road [opposite BL house], Syari [beside Cooperative society], Tathangchen [Guards ground], Kazi Road [above Assembly], Baluwakhani [Forest Colony Road], Lower Sichey [below MB Thapa’s house], Lall Bazaar [besides Denzong Cinema Hall], Development Area [Super Market], Burtuk [besides Vajra Cinema Hall], Chandmari [Taxi Stand], Deorali [opposite Forest Secretariat], Daragoan [Convey Ground], Tadong [opposite Sikkim Manipal] and Gangtok Bazaar at MG Marg and New Market. Total number of 21 vehicles has been deployed for the supply of water including 04 from the Army and 02 from Airport Authority of India [AAI], Pakyong, it was informed.
Addressing the press after the meeting the officials informed that the restoration of the pipe line started since the morning of 11 April and the work is still going on. At the present pace the restoration work is likely to be restored by the evening of 13 April whereas the normal supply of water is expected to begin only by the evening of 14 April.
It was also informed that the distribution of water through trucks and tanks will be continued till the normal distribution of water from the PHE pipeline is restored and additional trucks and tanks will be requisitioned in case of requirement. The District Administration has requested the consumers to make judicious use of water and to properly boil the water for drinking purpose. It has also asked the consumers to contact the Control Room on its number 03592-204995 to ensure adequate supply of water in their locality.
Additional Chief Engineer, WS&PHE Department, TT Bhutia speaking to NOW! stated that adequate men and machinery has been already deployed in the slide area to restore the damaged raw water
mains.
The slide that took place on the night of 10 April at Charcharay Khola has damaged a total of six raw water pipelines and currently to suffice the immediate need of the people the department is using flexible pipes which were procured last year during the earthquake for temporary supply of water.
The department considering the health of the people has also used chlorine liquid in the water being temporarily distributed through trucks, in the meanwhile the department has requested the general
public to boil the water before consuming it for their own safety.

Shortage of teachers plagues North Sikkim schools

PUBLIC AND PANCHAYAT BLAME INDISCRIMINATE TRANSFERS FOR PRESENT PREDICAMENT
MANGAN, 12 April: Several schools in North District are facing acute shortage of teachers which is affecting the timely coverage of the school syllabus. The Secondary and JHS schools which are located in remote areas are struggling to provide quality education. The public and panchayat from different GPUs expressed their dissatisfaction with the HRDD for not being able to provide teaching staff as per the requirement. Some schools have still not been able to start the syllabus in some subjects owing to the shortage of teaching staff.
The problem, people here contend, stems from teachers opting for transfers to urban areas to suit their convenience. The SMC, public and the panchayats express that the Department should at least check the status and teacher strength at the school and consult the SMC before granting such transfers. They further expressed that there should be some provision of replacing the outgoing teacher with a substitute before the transfer orders are issued. As of now the SMC or panchayats have no say in all of this as the transfers are issued by the head office, they added.
“The teachers who come from outside North District do not want to render their services in the village and always opt for transfer in some urban area as per their convenience,” rued one panchayat member while speaking to NOW! The department should give preference to candidates from these areas itself while appointing teachers, expressed some SMC and Panchayats.
This correspondent having met with different panchayats, SMC, Zilla and heads of the schools collected the data for the shortage of teachers. Most of the schools like Tingvong SS, Namprik JHS, Lachen SS, Gor SS, Gnon-Sangdong SS, Mangshilla SS, Ralak JHS do not have enough Math teachers. Mangshila School has large number of students in some of the classes and need to be rearranged into different sections but this is not possible due to lack of teaching staff.
Tingvong SS requires one Math and one Arts teacher, Lachen SS requires Math, Nepali and Hindi teachers, Namprik JHS needs Math and Science teachers, Ralak JHS needs Math and Arts teachers, Mangshila SS need Math, Computer and PET while Sangdong SS and Hee-Gyathang SSS requires an Arts teacher each.
The Gor Secondary School still has only one teacher in the Secondary level when the school actually requires at least seven.

Sikkim’s Dhara Vikas effort bags national award for WWF

GANGTOK, 12 April: The Ground Water Augmentation award of the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India was awarded to the Dhara Vikas programme of the state in the NGO category. Minister for Water Resources, Pawan Kumar Bansal presented the award to Priyadarshinee Shrestha, Landscape Coordinator of WWF – India’s Khangchendzonga Landscape Programme based in Gangtok, in a function organized during the World Water Week celebrations at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi today.
A press release informs that WWF-India received this award for their work in supporting the State Government for providing technical support to this programme. Conceptualized in 2008, the Dhara Vikas programme of the Rural Management and Development Department has shown successful results in the revival of dying springs, streams and lakes. WWF – India was nominated by the Government of Sikkim for this award, the release informs.
WWF-India, with the support of People’s Science Institute and SIRD, Karfectaar had facilitated the training component of the programme by providing training to field level functionaries consisting of field facilitators, barefoot engineers and ACFs leading to the development of five master trainers in the state. A total of 45 trainings were organized during a span of 2 years, which enabled successful implementation of the programme at the field level. WWF acknowledges the support of the field facilitators for this programme, who were the main driving force at the implementation level, the release mentions.
This is the 5th national award for MGNREGA programme in the state over recent years.

Addl CS calls emergency meeting to discuss infrastructure status in North Sikkim

GANGTOK, 12 April [IPR]: An emergency meeting was convened by Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Home Secretary today in the Conference Hall, New Secretariat.
The meeting which focused on the North district issue was attended by the representatives of Border Roads Organization, Reserved Bank of India, State Bank of India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., Food & Civil Supplies Department, STCS and D.C. (North).
The Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Home Secretary specifically issued directions keeping in mind the oncoming monsoon and that North Sikkim has been shaken by the earth quake of 18th September, 2011. She directed all the officers present in the meeting to ensure on emergency basis to cater to the public of North Sikkim that the necessary services with regard to telecommunication, road networking essential commodities including the supply of LPG and banking facilities should be restored and made available to the public of North Sikkim immediately.
D.C. (North) was specifically directed to tie up with the Officers of Reserve Bank of India, State Bank of India, Border Road Organization and Food & Civil Supplies Department and to ensure that all essential services are made available to the public of North Sikkim. She also directed Secretary, Food & Civil Supplies to tour North Sikkim and ensure the Buffer Stock of essential commodities are provided in respective godowns.
Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Home Secretary noted the various problems of BSNL and banking facilities and that of Food & Civil Supplies Department and ensured that their problems would be brought to the notice of the State Government and whatever assistance and support that is required will be taken up through the State Government.

Editorial: Add Border Trade to Tourism Bouquet

If things follow their due course, Border Trade over Nathula will resume in little over a fortnight. The trade has not [even remotely] lived up to its projected glory, but has been vibrant at the local level, with goods keeping shops here well stocked with popular-among-tourist goods. The last few years have seen Tibet in turmoil and that has dampened spirits at the trade marts a bit, but business, whether in the ‘official’ exports from here or the casual imports from the other side, has found its commercial balance. This balance is however very low. And as the State begins the paper work to issue trade passes for local traders to join a new season of border trade, it is necessary that a frank appraisal is undertaken of the whole development. The resumption of trade over Nathula was a big moment for Sikkim, as also Asia’s largest neighbours, but the promise that this trade is pregnant with, remains stillborn.
It is important for Sikkim to go over the pre-reopening projections once again, sift the practical from the hyperbole, study the figures [both, the official ones and the unofficial estimates], sit with the traders, from both sides, and see how this trading can be taken to the next level working within the cramped guidelines of the trade modalities. Coming up is the border trade’s seventh outing and it is about time that everyone concerned accepted that while funding for infrastructure might keep coming for trade-related works, Delhi does not appear too excited about enhancing the items officially allowed for border trade over Nathula. After all, the demand for expanding the list was made on the first year itself and since then, all that Sikkim and its traders have received, are assurances that the request was being considered. On ground, some fast-moving items have even been struck off the tradeable list. It is perhaps time that Sikkim started thinking more outside the box while working within the insensitive list and modalities appended to its border trade. Say for example tourism. Nathula is a big hit with tourists and the Sherathang trade mart is along that route. While this trade mart might not behave like a trading hub, it still has appeal among tourists, offering them a chance for photo-ops with foreigners or bargaining with traders from Tibet. And really, ever since the huge gate replaced the natural pass at Nathula, the place is not really appealing anymore. Surely, some coordination with traders from the other side and involvement of tourism stakeholders from here can make the whole Sherathang experience more than just about bargaining over a Chicago Bulls embossed ‘cowboy’ hat. No rules will be broken if cultural troupes perform there while the trading hours are open. With adequate promotion, this could prove a big hit and earn substantial revenue for everyone allowed. A little prodding, and surely the authorities will allow even foreign tourists to travel up to at least the trade mart at Sherathang. Unfortunately, it is being sidelined with rushed share-jeep tours to Nathula not even stopping over at Sherathang anymore! The tourism potential of Sherathang is an aspect of the border trade that can surely be explored a bit more.
Definitely, if more thought is applied to it, more ways of making the border trade more meaningful for Sikkim can be worked out.

Bodies of Namchi couple recovered from Teesta

STOP-PRESS
NAMCHI, 11 April: The bodies of couple from Namchi, Prahlad Rai and his wife Lata  Rai, missing since they left here for Siliguri on 02 April, were finally recovered today.
Poonam Pradhan, Assistant Engineer, Irrigation Department, who, as the co-ordinator of Sri Satya Sai Sewa Sangathan, Sikkim, has been assisting the search operations, informs that Mr. Rai’s dead body was recovered from near the NHPC dam at Kalijhora along National Highway 31 A at around 9:30 a.m. The vehicle in which the couple was travelling on 02 April, it may be recalled was recovered from the Teesta near Seti Pool [a few kms short of Kalijhora] only a few days ago.
The dead body of Mrs. Rai was discovered in an inexplicable coincidence later in the day.
After Mr. Rai’s dead body was recovered, it was sent for autopsy to Siliguri Medical College. This, after the procedural formalities were completed at Sevoke Police Station. Even as Mr. Rai’s body was at the medical college, friends and family were scouring the Teesta for signs of his wife even as a group was awaiting the completion of the autopsy so that they escort the body home.
As this group awaited the doctors to finish, they learnt that the Phansidewa Polcie Station had sent in a dead body of an unidentified woman to the same hospital this morning. This dead body had washed up at the Mahananda Barrage under the Phansidewa Police Station’s jurisdiction. Initially the family did not pay any heed to this information beyond offering sympathies for the unclaimed body. However, later in the day, they decided to see the body in the outside chance that it might be of Mrs. Rai.
Their fears proved right. The dead body in the mortuary was of Mrs. Lata Rai. The body was identified by her son who was at the hospital in connection with the autopsy at the time.
A group of family members then proceeded to the Phansidewa Police Station under Kurseong sub-division to inform them that the body they had brought to the hospital earlier in the day had been identified. They also extended their gratitude and thanks towards the Officer in Charge at Phansidewa Police Station for having taken the body out of the river and sent it to the mortuary.
The OC handed over the personal effects and items recovered from the body, among which were gold ornaments and a wrist watch. A locket with Satya Sai Baba’s photograph was also handed over to the family members. The wristwatch recovered from the body of Mrs. Lata Rai by the Phansidewa PS personnel had stopped at 6.27, most probably on impact at the time of the accident. The couple, it may be recalled, had left Namchi on the afternoon of 02 April and are recorded as having exited from Melli shortly after 5 in the evening.
The post-mortem on both bodies was carried out today and the bodies have been brought home to Namchi. The funeral is scheduled for Thursday, 12 April.


Mourning siblings blame BRO negligence for accident
The son and daughter of the deceased couple, still distraught over their loss, today revealed that someone had seen the car go off the road on the evening of 02 April and even informed the Sevoke Police Station. Shockingly, the personnel at Sevoke PS ignored the report claiming that the area where the accident was reported to have taken place did not fall under their jurisdiction!
One will never know if a more humane response from the cops at Sevoke would have ensured a different ending for this unfortunate incident. The family has been at their wits ends since 02 April, grappling with suspicions of foul play and the trauma of uncertainty about the fate of the parents.
They deceased couple’s children are blaming BRO, contending that negligent work by the Border Roads Organisation and the deplorable condition of the roads led to the accident.
They point out that the accident occurred a spot where the BRO has marked a slight diversion at a section where the road has caved in. This diversion is however not prominently marked and can be easily missed in the twilight hours, which is when the accident took place; the couple obviously did not see the markers at this spot and went off the road.
The brother and sister believe that their parents met with the accident because of BRO negligence and have called on people to speak out strongly against such oversights because such a fate could befall anyone who uses roads maintained by BRO, in Sikkim and elsewhere.
Then, there is the problem of rash and inconsiderate driving on the highway with oncoming traffic seldom using dippers and blinding people with their high beams.

Bhaichung’s USFC opens winning account by downing league topper

TWO MORE AND IT’S THROUGH TO FIRST DIVISION
GANGTOK, 11 April: United Sikkim Football Club [USFC] registered a crucial victory, its first in the Gangtok leg of the second division of the I-League Football at Paljor Stadium today. The home club, which has struggled with a loss [to Royal Wahingdoh] and two draws [Kalighat MS and Vasco SC] in the Gangtok leg, made it all good for its strong fan base here today by downing the league toppers ONGC [Mumbai] 2-1.
USFC, which had arrived in Gangtok [after the Siliguri leg of the second division I-League] as the top team with 13 points, had, because of its poor first three games, had slipped to fourth place. With the 3 points earned from today’s victory, USFC has 18 points and climbed one notch to reach the third place. The top-2 teams from the pool after the Gangtok leg will be promoted to the first division. To confirm this promotion, USFC should both its remaining two matches.
However, despite losing the match, ONGC still retains its top spot with 20 points from 10 matches. USFC has also played the same number of matches and has 18 points. Mohammedan Sporting stands between the two with 19 points.
The home club received full support from a packed stadium, especially students from different schools in and around the capital blowing vuvezelas right till the end of the match, their lungs gathering strength from the team’s first win at home.
USFC started strong, launching constant attacks from the moment the starting whistle blew and even missed some good chances in the early minutes.
After missing some good opportunities, Babatunde J Oladels earned the first lead in the 25th minute and within ten minutes, the referee offered a penalty shoot to USFC for a foul in its opponent D-Box, which was successfully converted by Daniel Bidemi Ayeni. USFC was 2-0 ahead in the first half itself.
With 10 goals to his name now, Daniel is still the highest scorer so far in the league.
Towards the end of the first half, well into injury time, ONGC was reduced to 10 men when Alhassan Abubakar was marched off the field with a red card after he intentionally injured Romen Singh of USFC who received medical attention for the bloodied face he was left with.
The injured Romen Singh was replaced by Nim Tshering in the second half against the 10-man ONGC team and soon Bhaichung Bhutia replaced Babatunde. In the 67th minute, the referee offered another penalty kick, this time to ONGC, which was converted as the face-saver for the league toppers by Yusa Katsumi.
The attacks and counter attacks continued and the home team missed some good opportunities to extend the lead in the match which finally ended with the home club registering its first win on home ground.
USFC will now be taking on Aizwal FC on 13 April and Mohammedan Sporting Club on 17 April in the final round. In the Siliguri leg, USFC had drawn its match against Aizwal FC and had lost to Mohammedan SC. Although USFC is a better team on paper and the field than the two, it will have to work past the Siliguri history with the two teams to seal a position for itself in the first division, and with it, becoming the first club from the region to play among the big boys.
The club has extended its thanks to the home crowd, especially the students, for their support and encouragement throughout the match and further urged them to continue with their support for the upcoming two matches of the final round.

Editorial: Anonymous Road Workers Should Not Go Unheard

It has been some days since this newspaper reported about the flight of two labourers from a GREF/ BRO road gang and of their allegations of inhuman working conditions bordering on torture which convinced them to flee Sikkim. These labourers had been brought in from Jharkhand, and it was only after they had made it back that they went public with their horror story. They have filed a police complaint and pleaded that their friends, taken along with them as labourers to a road project in Sikkim and still engaged there, be rescued. Unfortunately, they duo does not know where in Sikkim they were engaged. What they do clearly remember is that the work was dangerous and the working conditions even more so. They were obviously unwilling to work at the site they were deployed to and have claimed that they were forced to labour away. Agreed, theirs is only one side of the story, but it is still a story corroborated by the police authorities in Jharkhand as one which has been officially lodged with them. Shouldn’t the allegations have fetched a response from the BRO? Do not other agencies in Sikkim, say the Labour Department for instance, have a responsibility towards labourers brought in from outside Sikkim to repair and restore infrastructure damaged by last year’s earthquake? As per rules in place, every agency which ships in labourers from outside, is required to submit detailed lists of personnel, and where they are deployed, with the Labour Department. As per the duo, they were part of a work-gang of 36; surely some record should have been maintained somewhere about them. As a first step, the names of the labourers who have filed a police complaint in Jharkhand, should be crosschecked, and the Labour Department should visit the work site to ensure that no one is being forced. Anyone who has seen the kind of damage Sikkim roads have suffered due to the earthquake will attest to the fact that repairing/ restoring them is not going to be an easy task. Even driving through stretches where BRO is undertaking road expansion works is unnerving when the weather turns foul, and the earthquake-damage zones on North Sikkim Highway take the harrowing factor to whole new levels. For all the engineering or funds BRO might marshal, the repairs will need human muscle and nerves to complete. It is a daunting task no doubt and there is also the need to have the road network repaired, but these challenges/ requirements should not be allowed to justify instances of people being lured into road gangs with promises of higher than normal wages without being told of the risks involved. To do so is cheating, and then forcing them to work when they obviously want to leave is a criminal offence. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Sikkim learnt to its chagrin of how shoddily labourers are treated here. Labourers from villages which have never seen an earthquake in living memory were left abandoned and forgotten in remote recesses of North Sikkim, left to their own devices to escape the trauma and in many cases, taking flight without even collecting their dues. Unfortunately, no State agency or civil society groups demanded better treatment last September, and none appears moved enough to even comment on the latest instance of tribals from Jharkhand spilling the beans on the working conditions in Sikkim. No one even notices labourers at road project sites. They should be feted because they run a gamut of risks and dangers on a daily basis so that Sikkim can travel and remain supplied. And even if thanking them is too much to ask for, they least that the State and the Sikkimese can do is ensure that they are not abused. The anonymity and destitution which leads them to accept work in faraway lands and at potentially hazardous sites have already made victims of them, and a disinterested people take away even hope...

SPDC joint venture with APPL, not ATPIL

Reference to your article dated 09.04.2012, we would like to point out the discrepancies of the following facts; That 49% stake in SPDCL [Sikkim Power Development Corporation Limited] was disinvested to M/s APPL [Athena Project Private Limited] not ATPIL, as reported in the news item.
Further that APPL through its special purpose vehicle [Teesta Urja Limited] is developing 1200 MW Teesta – III HEP and as on date no agreement has been cancelled with the aforesaid mentioned company.
In view of the above kindly issue a corrigendum for the news published in your newspaper as on 09.04.12, in order to avoid misguiding the readers and legal problems and in future you are requested not to publish the news which is not based on actual facts.
Joint Managing Director, K Thupten
The error is regretted - Editor

Housing Data from Census 2011 released

STATE RECORDS MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN BASIC AMENITIES
GANGTOK, 11 April: Sikkim has recorded an improvement in the coverage of drinking water, dwelling units, latrine facilities, communication, and lighting according to the Housing Data of the Census of India- 2011 released officially by the Directorate of Census Operations, Sikkim for the State today. [For complete details read NOW! dated 16 March 2012].
PIB Gangtok Director, CK Dorjee, who was present as the chief guest, released the data today.
In his power-point presentation, Joint Director Census Operations Sikkim, Dr DK Dey informed that the number of houses in Sikkim was 169,022 which included 115,395 in rural and 53,627 in urban areas and the total number of households in the state was 128,131, which includes 92,370 in rural and 35,761 in urban areas. He added that the housing data consists of the number of houses, households, the condition of the census houses, amenities available and assets.
Dr Dey mentioned that the objective of this census was to know the condition of the houses, amenities available to the households and assets possessed by the households. He mentioned that Sikkim has shown a tremendous improvement in different areas of its coverage compared to the 2001 census. He stated that Sikkim has become urbanized in banking facilities, improvement in communication and mode of transport. He informed that in tap drinking water source, Sikkim stood on the fifth position in the country after Chandigarh, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh and Goa.
The PIB Director stated that the population census provides valuable information about the land and its people at a given point of time which are essential inputs required for planning and developing sound policies and programmes aimed at fostering the welfare of the country and its people. Mr Dorjee added that the data sources have become indispensable for effective and efficient public administration besides serving the needs of the scholars, businessmen, industrialists, planners and electoral authorities. He stated that the Directorate of Census has already released Provisional Population Paper-I &II, containing Provisional population of the state, literacy rate, sex ratio, Rural Urban Population, which was based on enumerators’ abstracts.

ASESE&UA protests back-door recruitments at 6 govt deptts and undertakings

GANGTOK, 11 April: The All Sikkim Educated Self Employed and Unemployed Association [ASESE&UA] today reiterated its strong condemnation of government jobs still being ferreted away with favouritism and through the back door and has demanded that such subterfuge, which ends up denying the majority of the unemployed, be stopped forthwith.
Addressing a press conference today, the ASESE&UA vice president Sonam Pintso Bhutia released details of six government departments and undertakings where jobs have been cornered by a select few without any interviews being held or advertisements being released to announce the vacancies.
These appointments have been seen at the Commercial Taxes Department, Temi Tea Eastate, SPWD and Forest Department, Mr. Bhutia informed while also releasing specific details of who benefited at which posts.
He mentioned that all vacancies in government departments need to filled in free and fair manner which offers all candidates a level playing field. This did not happen in the six above-mentioned departments and has often been overlooked in the past as well, he added.
This illegal appointment system must be immediately stopped so that every citizen gets a fair chance at competing for a government job, he reiterated. “The right to equal opportunity in all sectors including services must be restored so that no discrimination what so ever for the appearing candidates is allowed,” he demanded.
“We are speaking for the unemployed youth and have been fighting for the rights of the unemployed youth since day one,” he stressed, while adding that the ASESE&UA, aware of illegal recruitment in various departments and private and public institutions, has also filed RTI applications with the concerned departments to secure more details.

State Fund created for smoother operation of MGNREGA schemes

GANGTOK, 10 April: The State Government has formulated the Sikkim State Employment Guarantee Fund Rules, 2012, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The rules provide for the establishment of the Sikkim State Employment Guarantee Fund (SSEGF) with the objective of ensuring operational flexibility, timely and smooth flow of the funds corresponding to labour demand and implementation needs.
The State Fund so established will be utilized to meet expenditure related with the implementation of schemes under MGNREGA, including payment of Wages- unskilled, semi skilled and skilled, Cost of material component, Unemployment Allowance, Compensation for delayed wage payment, Monitoring, Evaluation, Studies, Technical assistance for planning, Training, Expert consultation, Field visits, any other expenditure of the Council and Administrative expenses subject to the ceiling limit prescribed by Central Government from time to time.
In connection with the establishment of this fund, a single nodal Agency by the name of “Society for Proper Management and Administration of the State Fund” will be registered to strengthen the present fund system of MGNREGA. A Governing Council with the Secretary, RMDD as Chairperson and the Project Director, MGREGA as member secretary, will also be established.
As per the rules now instituted, all labour budgets of the districts will be scrutinized by the Council and forwarded to the State government with the Council also reviewing the overall performance of the Scheme in the state and making appropriate recommendations.
It will ensure the smooth flow of funds from the centre to the State Fund and on to the District Programme Coordinator. There will be review of work completion reports and utilization certificates submitted by the DPCs and besides, the Council will also ensure compliance of the guidelines and orders of the Scheme by the government for financial management. Apart from appointing the auditors to audit the accounts of the scheme it will review the audit reports as well.
The State Fund will now be maintained in a separate interest bearing Savings Bank Account in a Nationalized Bank which shall be non-lapsable and it is further directed that the state government or any other authority is not to create any encumbrance on the State Fund.
The source of the state fund will be the funds received from the centre under the MGNREG Scheme.
The Member Secretary shall monitor the operation of the State Fund and furnish audited accounts Statements and Utilization Certificates to the Ministry of Rural Development, State Government and before the Governing Council. Within three months after the end of each financial year the Member Secretary shall furnish the annual report on account of ‘Sikkim State Employment Guarantee Fund’ to the State Employment Guarantee Council and State Government.

RTI Forum demands legal action against fake COI holders

GANGTOK, 10 April: Sikkim RTI Forum has warned that if the concerned authorities did not take appropriate legal action against the proven and cancelled 212 fake Certificate of Identification holders within one month, the Forum will file a joint FIR against these 212 fake COI holders.
The Forum revealed today that according to information furnished by the Land Revenue Department on an RTI application by it, the authorities have cancelled 212 COIs as fake till date. This cancellation, the Forum points out, proves that the concerned authority was aware that these COIs were obtained through illegal means. But cancellation is not enough, and since illegal means were used to procure such certificates, legal action needs to be taken against holders of such COI’s, the Forum argues.
Addressing a press conference today, general secretary DK Chettri and vice-president GR Rai of the Forum demanded that appropriate action be taken against government officials and employees involved in issuing these fake COIs.
The Forum has also demanded termination of services of those with fake COIs and that the government’s money spent on training students with fake COIs be redeemed as well.
Mr Chettri stated that if the authorities can file an FIR against a person for obtaining Residential Certificate by illegal means then the same should be the case for fake COI holders as well.
The Forum also released some documents of a fake COI holder which showed that the person, currently employed with the Forest Department, had his name in the voters’ lists of both Sikkim and West Bengal on the basis of fake Panchayat recommendation. According to the Forum the case of this officer is under investigation.
According to the Forum, amongst the 31,180 fake COI holders in the state, even if 30% of them are in government jobs, the system is depriving about 10,000 Sikkimese of their rights and if every two of 31,180 has one child, then there will be another 16,000 more fake COI holders in the making, resulting in a total of 47,000 outsiders enjoying the rights of a Sikkimese citizen.

Chungthang residents aggrieved with SBI and BSNL service failures

WANGCHUK BHUTIA
MANGAN, 10 April: The public and Panchayats of Chungthang have expressed dissatisfaction with the services of BSNL and the State Bank of India in the area. Due to BSNL’s disrupted service, for the past week customers of the SBI Chungthang branch have been facing problems in transactions because of link failures.
People have not been able to withdraw or deposit cash at the bank for the past week which has especially affected parents whose children are studying elsewhere.
The public also informed media-persons on 09 April that Chungthang has not been supplied LPG cylinders for the last 23 days and now people have no option but to use firewood.
Also, bad road conditions have already started hampering transportation even before the onset of monsoon and the public have appealed to the Food, Civil supplies and Consumer affairs department officers for buffer food stocks before the rainy season begins.
Even the CDMA network has been disconnected for the area which was provided in September 2011. With the monsoons just around the corner, the authorities need to take notice of such basic problems being faced by the public of Chungthang and take pre-emptive measures before it is too late.

Namchi raid was in connection with new case

VIGILANCE REGISTERS DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS CASE AGAINST PS TAMANG’S WIFE
GANGTOK, 09 April: The State government has given the go-ahead to the Vigilance Police to investigate allegations of possession of disproportionate assets by Mrs. Krishna Kumari Rai, a government school teacher and wife of dissident SDF MLA from Upper Burtuk, PS Tamang. The recent raid at her residence in Namchi was in connection with the case registered with Vigilance Directorate against her, and not, as was being speculated, in connection with a Vigilance case already being investigated against Mr. Tamang. This latest development is being seen as a sign of hardening of the SDF Government’s stance against the dissident MLA,
Following clearance from the government, the Vigilance Directorate registered a case against Mrs. Rai on 04 April 2012 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It was in connection with the preliminary investigation of this case that a search operation was conducted in her house at Namchi the next day, on 05 April.
The Vigilance Directorate, as mentioned, already has a case registered against Mr. Tamang. This too is registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and is presently in the East District courts.
The Vigilance Directorate seized several items following its search of Mrs. Rai’s house at Tinzir, College Road, Namchi. She was also questioned on her sources of income and details of expenses. After the raid, all seized items were produced before the Magistrate. The case is in its initial stages of investigation and officials remain tightlipped about the amount and range of disproportionate assets alleged against Mrs. Rai. Officials also refuse to detail the items seized during the search. What they do inform is that the Vigilance Directorate registers a case only after preliminary enquiries on a complaint throw up enough prima facie evidence to justify a full enquiry. In this present case, it is informed that the Vigilance registered the case on “reliable source information”.

East DAC collating data on crop damage due to latest round of hailstorms

GANGTOK, 09 April: Heavy rains and hail that the State has been receiving for the past week or so have wreaked havoc on the livelihood of farmers in rural Sikkim. With a number of reports of crop damage coming in from all quarters with each passing day, the concerned offices are now in the process of collating all the reports of damages caused by hail and are expected to have an accurate figure in the next few days.
Speaking to NOW!, DC [East], D Anandan, confirmed that reports of crop damage due to hail have been coming in from various areas in and around Gangtok and across the East district at a steady pace and that his office has asked these complaints to be first registered with the Agriculture Department before a final assessment can be announced.
“Accordingly, the compensation packages will be announced after all the reports are registered with the Agriculture Department,” he stated.
Most of the reports are being routed through the respective panchayats who are in the process of collecting all the complaints and seeking supporting evidence in the form of photographs. Affected persons especially farmers have been flocking to the DC office the past few days with relevant documents to claim compensation.
Further, some claims for damages are also being recommended by the respective MLAs after which the same was being forwarded to the Agriculture Department and then the office of the District Collectorate. Only after the report of the Agriculture department has come in verifying the claims and extent of damages will the compensation amount be decided upon.

Kazi Sherpa reaches Everest base camp, now the climbing begins in earnest

GANGTOK, 09 April: Kazi Sherpa, a school teacher by profession and currently an officer on special duty at the Indian Himalayan Center for Adventure and Eco-Tourism, has reached the base camp of Mount Everest at 17,250 ft, informed the Director, IHCAE, GT Bhutia today. Mr. Sherpa, it may be recalled, is representing Sikkim and the country on a Mount Everest Expedition a part of a team which comprises of seven others, all Koreans. He has been sponsored to the expedition by the State Government.
Mr. Bhutia detailed that Kazi Sherpa and his team reached Namche on 03 April where they halted for two days for acclimatization and moved on for Duchee on 05 April, proceeding the next day to Pheraychee and on 07 April moved up to Gorakhechep which is about 1:30 to 2 hours away from Mount Everest Base camp.
The team, after reaching Gorakhechep on 08 April, even made an excursion to Kala Pathar, a peak at the height of 18,350 feet, to get a clear view of the Mount Everest and surrounding peaks.
Mr. Bhutia mentioned that Kala Pathar is the only peak which offers a full view of the Everest peak itself and the range. The views are constricted from all other halts on the final march to Everest including the base camp, he explains.
The team reached the base camp today and now the real climbing of the expedition will begin in the earnest.
The team plans to establish three camps before making the final push for the summit and becoming Everesters. Thankfully, weather, which had played spoilsport in the initial days of the expedition is now holding out well, Mr. Sherpa is reported to have communicated to his Director, and if good weather continues, the summit could be achieved any time in May, Mr. Sherpa has conveyed from the base camp.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Pawan Chamling had flagged off Kazi Sherpa on his Everest Expedition from Gangtok on 27 March.

Mission Poverty Free Sikkim well within reach, announces DESME Director

RMDD SURVEY UNDERWAY TO IDENTIFY BPL FAMILIES SO THAT SCHEMES CAN BE TARGETED MORE EFFECTIVELY
GANGTOK, 09 April: The mission of the State Government spearheaded by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling to make Sikkim a poverty-free state is well with reach, stated Director General cum Secretary, Department of Economics, Statistics, Monitoring & Evaluation, SD Tshering, while addressing media-persons here last Saturday.
To support this projection, the DESME Director highlighted data recently released by the Planning Commission of India on poverty levels for 2009-10. As per this data, poverty level has come down by nearly 20 per cent in Sikkim in the five years, dropping from 31.1 per cent in 2004 to just 13.1 per cent in 2009. The national average for number of households below the poverty line stands at 30%.
On poverty in Sikkim, Mr. Bhutia informed that statistics reveal that poverty levels were at the highest in Sikkim in 1977-78. This high-water mark, he said, was probably reached because of a surge in influx immediately after the merger of 1975. Poverty levels have been showing a downward trend ever since, but the drop has been most substantial under Mr. Chamling’s governance, he highlighted.
“The substantial decrease in poverty levels indicates that the pro-poor schemes, economic development and the subsidies of the State Government for the underprivileged are clearly having a very positive impact and are working,” he remarked and added that while poverty levels in other Northeastern States was going, it was not only firmly under control in Sikkim, but also aggressively declining.
What is even more celebratory about the latest data is that not only has poverty gone down, but per capita incomes have also been on a steady rise, he added.
While there is an obvious correlation between per capita income and poverty levels, it has been the consistent growth of the state economy that has proved beneficial, he explained, adding that if the trend continues, the Mission Poverty Free Sikkim was well within reach.
The dream of the Chief Minister to make every citizen a Lakhpati will also be realised very soon, the Director added, pointing out that the Per Capita income in current prices for the year 2010-11 already stands at Rs. 92,808.
The Secretary further informed that the Planning Commission data provides only figures of poverty and does not identify the people subsisting below the poverty line. For this, the Rural Development & Management Department was conducting a separate census in Sikkim so that schemes and projects for the upliftment of the BPL families can be targeted more effectively, he informed.

Govt accepts White Paper recommendation, takes in ATPIL as strategic partner for SPDC

MEGA PROJECTS PLACED UNDER POWER DEPTT WATCH, SPDC TO DEVELOP MINI HYDEL PROJECTS
GANGTOK, 08 April: The State government has entered into a strategic joint-venture with ATPIL to run the Sikkim Power Development Corporation [SPDC]. The SPDC is now being operated by ATPIL, the company which has also floated Teesta Urja which is developing the 1,200 MW Teesta Stage-III hydroelectric project at Chungthang, North Sikkim. The State government continues to hold majority equity in the Corporation as it has offloaded 49% equity to ATPIL which was selected from among the best performing private hydel developers in the State, it is informed.
This decision was taken by the State government in light of the poor performance of the SPDC over the past years [among other factors] and in order to infuse some professionalism and expertise into the corporation. For the selection of the strategic joint venture partner, tenders were floated on the basis of which ATPIL was selected to take 49% of the stake in SPDC, it is further learnt.
The managing director, SPDC, in charge of the affairs of the SPDC is from ATPIL and the day to day operations are under ATPIL now. However, in a major policy shift, all major power development projects which were so long under the SPDC have been transferred to the Power Department. The SPDC is now in charge of developing only mini HEPs in the State. A few of these are already under development and all are under 5 MW capacity. Incidentally, the White Paper issued by the State government a few years ago on hydel power development in the State is also informed to have recommended the forging of a strategic joint venture with a private developer for SPDC.
It has been candidly stated that the SPDC, under the Power Department since its establishment in the year 1998, could not function properly due to various shortcomings. Earlier, the corporation was undertaking the big power projects in the State many of which it could not implement in time. Due to this, some agreements entered into with some companies had to be cancelled, including one with ATPIL.
The SPDC itself was established for the development of hydel projects by availing loans from financial institutions, however, several projects could not be completed due to constraints which included organizational capacity limitations, funds and expertise. So, when it could not operate to the expectations of the government and started incurring losses, it was decided to offload 49% equity to a private developer.
Today, as mentioned, the SPDC is engaged in the development of a few mini HEPs in the state while all the big HEPs have been transferred to the Power Department. The strategic joint venture with ATPIL was entered into with by the state government last year.
The government has also made it clear that the SPDC shall have no rights under any Implementation Agreement with any private Independent Power Producer (IPP) entered for development of hydro power projects in the State by such private IPPs and all land acquired by SPDC will now be under the State government.

Protestors sit on silent dharna outside lecture venue to inform delegates of complaints against SU VC

GANGTOK, 08 April: Ever since a section of the faculty went public with their allegations of irregularities in how the Sikkim University vice chancellor managed the recruitment process, protests against the VC have become more public and have started coming more often. In the latest instance, the groups protesting the VC’s handling of Sikkim University affairs, sat on a silent dharna outside Chintan Bhawan, holding up banners highlighting their points of protest and handing out pamphlets explaining these in more detail for anyone interested. Inside, the Sikkim University was holding its 3rd Spring Lecture programme and a book discussion session.
The protestors represented the joint committee formed by the Sikkim University Development Committee of Yangang, Tumin- Lingzey Youth Association, Rabongla Aastha Samaj, Students Union of Sikkim and Sikkim Sachet Berojgar Swarojgar Sangathan which have been consistently protesting against the VC for the past couple of weeks.
The focus of their protest was the group’s feeling of disenchantment with the university’s admission policy [which, they insist does not incorporate adequate presence of local students], the high fee structure, refusal to allow student unions or representative bodies to be formed among others.
“We are not trying to hamper the programme inside, but are just trying to inform the delegates, through our presence, of how things are not as rosy at SU as they would be told inside,” a member of the protesting group said.
Their demand for focus on local interests was not illegitimate, they contended, pointing out to a section in the SU Act which highlights that among the University’s main agendas would be “to educate and train manpower for the development of the State of Sikkim and to pay special attention to the improvement of the social and economic conditions and welfare of the people of that state, their intellectual, academic and cultural development”.
The protestors went on to point out that while the Admission Prospectus for 2012-23 mentions that “for the session 2012- 13, in addition to the intake capacity/ stipulated intake capacity another 25% of seats will be set aside for the foreign students in M Phil/ PhD programmes of Sikkim University”.
“If globally friendly policies can be adopted by the University then why the same can’t be extended to the students of Sikkim,” they question.
The university, under the VC, has not looked after the needs of students here and this, the protestors feel is revealed by the University’s refusal to grant permanent affiliation to any college in the State.
The University has not yet formed a College Development Council, they mention, explaining that such councils were necessary because they played an important role in the development of colleges and upliftment of education.

We Remember

KC PRADHAN
Three years have passed since we lost some of Sikkim’s finest souls in Tashi, Wangchuk and Chukie to a terrible road mishap on 06 April 2009. Years pass, but memories linger and the feeling of loss deepens as I mull over some of the vexed issues that confront us so frequently and so often. They were analysts in the truest sense of the word and understood with rare clarity where the destiny of Sikkim lay. Both, Tashi Tobden and Wangchuk Barfungpa, worked with me as able lieutenants cum facilitators for long years in the administration. They were always by my side when I had to confront any hassle in the administration. Their help was always readily available whenever called for and at times even without being asked. They dropped by the moment they sensed a situation developing. If we managed to steer away from some of the worst financial tangles, it was Tashi who put forth his considered thought and put the situation on the rail.
Temperamentally, they were poles apart. But in times of crisis, when the situation needs to be grasped clearly and immediately, their minds met and in their free and forceful deliberations, unfailingly delivered clear and simple solutions. Such occasions were many during my long tenure in service, and after their passing away, I consider, and do so very strongly, a void has been created which remains very difficult to fill. Their reservoir of knowledge on all matters Sikkim is now lost forever.
They were the real custodians of Sikkim’s rules and regulations and knew precisely how to position Sikkim in the national context. Their erudition fired a forthrightness which expectedly led to misunderstandings, but they remind upright in their thinking and never minced words or held back if they had to speak out against any issue which was detrimental to Sikkim. Such confidence and commitment does not come so easily. They belonged to families which go back as long as Sikkim’s written history; this rootedness to the land, backed by education in the best of public schools and colleges in India, and then being scions of ace diplomats of the times of the British Raj, infused in them an inherent strength to speak loud and clear, without fear or favour. They were men of substance and I had high admiration for them always.
Petite Chukie was a real fighter, an environmental activist with a clear vision. Even she was misunderstood and misrepresented, but what she was crusading for, we are realizing only now to the right issues. It was her relentless fight that finally got through to people at large and eventually, four of the five hydroelectric projects proposed for Dzongu were abandoned. She was the Daughter of Dzongu in the real sense.
Sikkim is progressing on all fronts in a rapid - rather hurried - pace. What the State desperately needs at present is an intelligentsia which can point out where things are going wrong and suggest course corrections in time. But where is this intelligentsia? This is the dilemma that we find ourselves in. There are many arm-chair critics, but none with the commitment or depth to point out, with well studied reasoning, not just what is wrong, but also what the right option is. This will greatly help the policy-makers to give a considered thought - rather re-thinking – to the path charted out for the future. As our Chief Minister often reminds us, if the intelligentsia does not speak, it will be fools who occupy the public domain and influence public opinion. Needless to add, the whole State will then become a fool's paradise.
On this rather somber anniversary, it would be advisable for the people of Sikkim to remember the three we lost on 06 April three years ago from the perspective of what Sikkim has lost with their passing away and pay them a homage they have earned because of how they lived their lives.
[The writer is a former Chief Secretary, Sikkim]

Science stream to begin at Namchi College with new academic session

GANGTOK, 05 April: Science stream will be added to the courses offered at the Government College, Namchi, from the upcoming academic session onwards, informs the HRDD Secretary, CS Rao.
Speaking to media persons yesterday, the Secretary informed that the demand for the start of a 3-year BSc degree course at the Namchi college was first raised two years ago with Chief Minister Pawan Chamling when he was there for the college’s 15th foundation day celebrations.
Both, general and honours courses will be offered for a BSc degree from Namchi college under Sikkim University, he added. Thus far, only the government college here in Gangtok used to offer a BSc course.