উত্তরবঙ্গ সংবাদ থেকে নেওয়া জলপাইগুড়ির কিছু খবর
Uttarbanga Sambad Online
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Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
News of Jalpaiguri 05/05/2010
Trinamul, Congress gear up for poll fight | |||||||||||||||
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April 30: The stage is set for a direct fight between the Congress and the Trinamul Congress in the elections to the three municipalities of Jalpaiguri, Englishbazar and Old Malda unless an anti-Left alliance is forged before May 7, the last date for the withdrawal of nominations. The Congress today took out a rally in Jalpaiguri with 23 candidates and the two Independents it is backing, before they filed their nominations. Trinamul candidates also filed papers for 10 seats in the 25-ward civic body. The party will declare the name for one more seat later. “The state leaders have endorsed our decision. If the Congress still does not allow us to fight from the 11 seats, we will put up our candidates in all the wards,” said Chandan Bhowmick, the secretary-general of the Jalpaiguri Trinamul Congress. In Malda, Congress supporters took out a procession that ended at the district collectorate, where candidates for all the 18 seats of Old Malda municipality and 11 seats of 25-ward Englishbazar civic body submitted their nominations. Slogans like “not a single seat should be spared for the Trinamul Congress in Barkatda’s Malda district” and “the CPM will cut a sorry figure” rent the air at the rally. Huge party flags, cutouts of the Congress’s hand symbol and posters gave the procession a festive look. “The Congress had decided to spare two seats for Trinamul in Old Malda, though they are very weak there. But they demanded six seats,” said Malda block Congress leader Nabaranjan Singha. He added that Trinamul’s demand for 15 seats in Englishbazar was “not acceptable” and only seven could be spared for the party. Malda district Trinamul Congress president Goutam Chakraborty said their candidates would file nominations for all the wards of the two municipalities on May 3. President of Malda Town Congress Bibhuti Ghosh said the candidates for the remaining 14 wards at the Englishbazar civic body would file their papers on May 3. “All said and done, we still believe that good sense will prevail on the Trinamul Congress leadership and they will accept seven seats that we are ready to offer them in Englishbazar,” said Ghosh. Both Ghosh and Singha, however, conceded that absence of a tie-up with Trinamul would shatter the chances of defeating the Left Front at Old Malda. To days Weather |
Wednesday Day/05/05/2010
 | Hot with times of sun and clouds; a strong thunderstorm in spots this afternoon |
| High | 36°C |
| RealFeel®: | 43°C |
| View the Hour-By-Hour™ Forecast | |
| Winds: | E at 4km/h |
| Wind Gusts: | 9 km/h |
| Max UV Index: | Very High (9) |
| Thunderstorm Probability: | 95% |
| Amount of Precipitation: | 0.5mm |
| Amount of Rain: | 0.5mm |
| Amount of Snow: | 0.00cm |
| Hours of Precipitation: | 1 Hrs |
| Hours of Rain: | 1 Hrs |
| Hours of Daylight: | 12.5 Hrs |
Wednesday Night
 | Partly cloudy and warm with a thunderstorm |
| Low: | 25°C |
| RealFeel®: | 29°C |
| View the Hour-By-Hour™ Forecast | |
| Winds: | E at 4km/h |
| Wind Gusts: | 11 km/h |
| Min UV Index: | N/A |
| Thunderstorm Probability: | 95% |
| Amount of Precipitation: | 0.3mm |
| Amount of Rain: | 0.3mm |
| Amount Snow: | 0.00cm |
| Hours of Precipitation: | 1 Hrs |
| Hours of Rain: | 1 Hrs |
| Hours of Dark | 11.5 Hrs |
Watching the Sky
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
News of Jalpaiguri 04/05/2010
Clash shuts Jalpaiguri
Police deployed on Merchant Road in Jalpaiguri on Monday. Siliguri, April 19: An altercation snowballing into a clash between shop-owners and lawyers shut down Jalpaiguri town for most part of the day today.
| OUR CORRESPONDENT | ||||||||
Siliguri, April 19: An altercation snowballing into a clash between shop-owners and lawyers shut down Jalpaiguri town for most part of the day today. After the clash this morning, the lawyers boycotted the court, while the shop-owners downed shutters. Five traders were arrested for allegedly assaulting the lawyers. Members of the business community had set up a blockade in front of Mukta Bhawan adjacent to the Jalpaiguri district court entrance on Merchant Road from 9am, demanding the arrest of lawyer Bappa Ghosh, who, they alleged, assaulted Bachchu Roy, a shopkeeper, last evening. When other traders came to Bachchu’s rescue, Bappa allegedly beat up some of them. The traders filed a complaint against the lawyer with Kotwali police. Around 10am today, Tapan Bhattacharya, the secretary of the Jalpaiguri Bar Association, persuaded the protesters to lift the blockade and entered the court. “Suddenly, stones began raining down on us from behind. Immediately a mob armed with lathis and sharp weapons attacked us and five of our members were injured,” Bhattacharya said. The Kotwali police picked up five shopkeepers from the spot. “Yesterday a lawyer badly assaulted shop-owner Bachchu Roy on Merchant Road. Despite a complaint, he was not arrested and instead five of our members were caught,” said Prantosh Deb, a member of the Merchant Road Byabsayee Samiti. The situation was brought under control after RAF was deployed in the area. Inspector-general of police (north Bengal) K.L. Tamta invited representatives from two sides for talks but could not break the deadlock. “We are trying to find a solution,” Tamta said. President of the Jalpaiguri Byabsayee Samiti Sadhan Bose said he had written to the bar association requesting the lawyers to settle the matter that had been kindled by a “trivial” altercation. Anand Kumar, the Jalpaiguri district police chief, said the situation was still tense but under control. “We have arrested five persons for blocking the road and talks are on with both sides to restore normality.”  Get More Customers, Get More Income!!!With no day-to-day current of shoppers you cannot have reliable everyday income. It's not possible to get income if no one visits your website. You need customers to see your products, every day, 24 hours! Our company helps more than 30,000 customers get more visitors online. You will increase your sales by receiving thousands of real interested visitors to see your web-site. More Visitors...  Advertise to over 10 million users across the globe.We advertise your business in global network of affiliate portals, each with own targeted points of interests. Our company gives you effective promotion strategies that helps your company succeed online. We will provide you with real and visible results and take your website to the next level. Promote Now...  Increase your website search engine rankBe presented on search engines is one of the most critical ways to increase website traffic and show your business or service to individuals that might be looking for what you are offering. Most of the major search engines utilize a software to calculate your website ranks. They know the number of websites are referring to your web-site; more links and visitors higher rank for your web-site. Get Better Rank...
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Tea auction back in Jalpaiguri | |||||
| OUR CORRESPONDENT | |||||
Siliguri, July 14: After a year and three months, the sound of the gavel reverberated through the North Bengal Tea Auction Centre in Jalpaiguri today, courtesy the consistent efforts of the stakeholders of tea industry in the region. “In May last year, we had to close down the auctions after the 13th sale for virtually no inflow of tea from the estates and bought-leaf factories,” said Kamal Bhattacharjee, the chief executive officer of the NBTAC. “Since then, we have been trying heart and soul to resume auction at the centre.” Since its inception in February 2005, the NBTAC has been reeling from the “starvation” of tea. Added to it was the stiff competition from the Siliguri Tea Auction Centre, which continues to be the preference for planters since 1976. While last year the NBTAC could not hold auctions for 39 weeks — there are 52 sales in in a year — today’s sale (28th sale) was the first this year. During the 27 previous dates, there was no auction because of inadequate or no tea. “We auctioned 4,369kg of tea today. The sale was 100 per cent with an average price of Rs 101 per kg,” Bhattacharjee said. “Although the quantity put in auction was insignificant compared to other centres, it was good that we could at least resume the process. The price was also competitive in comparison to Siliguri.” While NBTAC sources revealed that the highest price today rose to Rs 108 and the lowest was Rs 95, officials at the Siliguri Tea Auction Centre spoke of similar figures. “At the 27th sale held (in Siliguri) on July 2, the average price was Rs 110.79. The figures of the 28th sale on July 10 are yet to be compiled. But given the trend, it can be said prices of high quality tea have dipped by Re 1 to Rs 3 while other teas fetched Rs 3 to Rs 5 less per kg,” a source said. Stakeholders associated with the NBTAC are, however, hopeful. At present, 148 buyers, 58 sellers and six brokers are registered with it. “We hope to see the sales rise in the future and the centre continues to remain functional, catering for the tea industry in the region,” said N.K. Basu, the principal adviser to Indian Tea Planters’ Association.
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Monday, May 3, 2010
News of Jalpaiguri 03/05/2010
News of Jalpaiguri 03/05/2010
JALPAIGURI: GNLF poll strategy soon, says Ghisingh
Subash Ghisingh. From Beacon Online Archives
JALPAIGURI, March 3: The GNLF chief and former Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council chairman, Mr Subash Ghisingh, is back from political exile. Mr Ghisingh, who was in Jalpaiguri today in connection with a litigation linked to the assassination attempt on him in the year 2001, declared that his party, the Gorkha National Liberation Front, would “surely play its role” in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
According to Mr Ghisingh, the GNLF would wait for some more days before declaring its stand. “We may support some political party as we did earlier or field an Independent candidate. The last time we supported the Congress but they delayed introducing the Sixth Schedule for Darjeeling Hills. This time we would wait some more to understand the overall condition. We would convene a party meeting soon and then declare our stand,” the GNLF chief said.
Iterating that Sixth Schedule was the only solution for the Hills, Mr Ghisingh said his party would not change that view. “The ongoing political turmoil in Hills is entirely due to the Centre’s delay in introducing the Sixth Schedule for Darjeeling, which we believe is the most suitable solution for the Hills. Earlier, the state government assured me to provide Sixth Schedule by 28 February 2008 but it failed to do so. But the Centre cannot drop our demand as there is an agreement between the DGHC and state government on the issue,” Mr Ghisingh said.
He claimed that his decision to leave the DGHC chairmanship and the Darjeeling Hills physically was “to help the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha move forward with the Gorkhaland demand.”
“With the political experience I gained over the years and knowing the state government and the Centre’s view regarding Gorkhaland, I am certain nobody can get it by force. I have instructed the GNLF supporters in the Hills to keep a low profile till my next instruction,” he said.
Mr Ghisingh attended the hearing on Mr Chhattre Subba, prime accused in the assassination attempt case. According to the defence lawyer, Mr Tarit Ojha, Mr Ghisingh did not utter the name of Mr Chhattre Subba even once in the court.
Hearing
Mr Justice Partha Sakha Dutta of Calcutta High Court today directed that the trial of Mr Dipak Gurung, a GNLF leader and 26 others be shifted from Darjeeling court to ACJM, Siliguri. Those being tried were the accused charged with the killing of Pramila Sharma, a GJMM activist on 25 July, 2008 near Gurung’s house in Darjeeling.
Jalpaiguri gets football academy
Japaiguri, Nov 23 (Indianfootball.com-IBNS): The North Bengal town of Jaipalguri got its own football academy under a joint venture of the PCM Group and Mohun Bagan AC.
The academy will enable young talent from across North Bengal to get proper football training
and ideally be groomed to become professional footballers.
Ths academy is the first of its kind in North Bengal, where a lot of talent lies untapped.
At a press conference on Friday PCM group Chairman Kamal Mittal and Mohun Bagan AC General Secretary Anjan Mitra informed the media that the spotting of talent for the academy would be done by celebrated football coaches and former national players.
The Academy was inaugurated yesterday with Pranab Nandy and Suklyan Ghosh Dastidar named as the Academy coaches.
Unlike the Mohun Bagan-SAIL Football Academy in Durgapur the PCM Mohun Bagan Football Academy in Jaipalguri will not be fully residential.
The boys to be trained would be in the age group of 16 to 19 years under a three year programme.
The academy will enable young talent from across North Bengal to get proper football training
and ideally be groomed to become professional footballers.
Ths academy is the first of its kind in North Bengal, where a lot of talent lies untapped.
At a press conference on Friday PCM group Chairman Kamal Mittal and Mohun Bagan AC General Secretary Anjan Mitra informed the media that the spotting of talent for the academy would be done by celebrated football coaches and former national players.
The Academy was inaugurated yesterday with Pranab Nandy and Suklyan Ghosh Dastidar named as the Academy coaches.
Unlike the Mohun Bagan-SAIL Football Academy in Durgapur the PCM Mohun Bagan Football Academy in Jaipalguri will not be fully residential.
The boys to be trained would be in the age group of 16 to 19 years under a three year programme.
Rhino, bison census conducted in West BengalJalpaiguri, (West Bengal), Feb 27 (ANI): A two-day wildlife census of the One-Horned Rhinoceros and Indian Bison recently began in West Bengal.
Forest officials began 2010 census at Jalpaiguri Wildlife Division-II.
The West Bengal Forest Department, with the aid of 23 non-governmental organisations dealing with wildlife conducted the census.
The team surveyed the region for two days in search of the rhino and Indian Bison, species for which the region is noted.
The survey is being conducted through the forestlands of Gorumara and Chapramari.
“We haven’t yet received the statistics of the total number of bison. But what I have heard from the groups, some are saying that they are about 40, some are saying 50. We can’t see all the bison together but we hope they are in good numbers,” said Tapas Das, District Forest Officer.
Last time when the census was carried out, the picture showed a good number of the animals living in this part of the region. According to the forest officials, the number is likely to increase this year.
“We have the statistics of the rhinoceros. In the last census, they were 31 in number. They gave birth to more rhinos after that. I feel there might be 35-36 of them now. We will come to know the exact number after the results,” Das added.
The Duars region of the Jalpaiguri district of the state is noted for a variety of wild of which the One-Horn Rhino and the Indian Bison are claimed to be rare varieties
Jumbo calves in Jalpaiguri are specially trained for patrolling
Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Feb 25 (ANI): Wildlife authorities here are imparting special patrolling training to rescued elephant calves at the Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri District.
Buddhadeb Mondal, a forest ranger at the sanctuary, said six calves, ranging from three to four days to a year, are being trained.
“We have already rescued six elephant cubs and their age varies from 3-4 days old to 1 year old. Some experienced Mahouts (elephant riders) are giving training to these cubs so that we can use these cubs when they grow up for patrolling purposes,” said Mondal.Ravi Biswasarma, a mahout, said, “These elephant calves are fed by us, and when they grow up, they will patrol the forest.”
According to forest sources, there are 17 captive elephants at the rehabilitation center.India has over 50 percent of the world’s Asiatic elephant population.
A 2005 census showed there were 25,000 to 28,000 elephants in India, including 1,500 male tuskers of breeding age.
Forest officials began 2010 census at Jalpaiguri Wildlife Division-II.
The West Bengal Forest Department, with the aid of 23 non-governmental organisations dealing with wildlife conducted the census.
The team surveyed the region for two days in search of the rhino and Indian Bison, species for which the region is noted.
The survey is being conducted through the forestlands of Gorumara and Chapramari.
“We haven’t yet received the statistics of the total number of bison. But what I have heard from the groups, some are saying that they are about 40, some are saying 50. We can’t see all the bison together but we hope they are in good numbers,” said Tapas Das, District Forest Officer.
Last time when the census was carried out, the picture showed a good number of the animals living in this part of the region. According to the forest officials, the number is likely to increase this year.
“We have the statistics of the rhinoceros. In the last census, they were 31 in number. They gave birth to more rhinos after that. I feel there might be 35-36 of them now. We will come to know the exact number after the results,” Das added.
The Duars region of the Jalpaiguri district of the state is noted for a variety of wild of which the One-Horn Rhino and the Indian Bison are claimed to be rare varieties
Jumbo calves in Jalpaiguri are specially trained for patrolling
Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Feb 25 (ANI): Wildlife authorities here are imparting special patrolling training to rescued elephant calves at the Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri District.
Buddhadeb Mondal, a forest ranger at the sanctuary, said six calves, ranging from three to four days to a year, are being trained.
“We have already rescued six elephant cubs and their age varies from 3-4 days old to 1 year old. Some experienced Mahouts (elephant riders) are giving training to these cubs so that we can use these cubs when they grow up for patrolling purposes,” said Mondal.Ravi Biswasarma, a mahout, said, “These elephant calves are fed by us, and when they grow up, they will patrol the forest.”
According to forest sources, there are 17 captive elephants at the rehabilitation center.India has over 50 percent of the world’s Asiatic elephant population.
A 2005 census showed there were 25,000 to 28,000 elephants in India, including 1,500 male tuskers of breeding age.
Pregnant elephant compelled to work
forWestBengal's Mandabari Forest
Department
By Tarak, Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), April 20 : In a shocking incident, a 16-month pregnant elephant
is being forced to work by the Mandabari Forest Department in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district here in contravention of existing legal directions forbidding it.
According to law, an elephant cannot be used for work after 15 months of pregnancy.
In 2002, Rangini, the female-elephant, had suffered miscarriage when she was forced to work by the department after 15 months of pregnancy
.
Animal protection organizations here are livid and allege that Rangini's life is endangered.
"If it (elephant) continues to be deployed for work, it is likely to suffer a miscarriage again like before. If the Forest Department doesn't provide rest to her, all the organizations and institutions have decided to protest," said Sujit Das, member of the Nature and Adventure Society, a non-government organisation working for wildlife.
According to Rangini's mahout, his repeated pleas to the concerned officials to not use the elephant for work were allegedly ignored.
"I was sent back from here to accompany her to Doctor Madam (female veterinarian) and I informed the DFO (Divisional Forest officer) that my elephant's condition is not good, and I am facing problems to carry grass from such a far off place. But no one is paying attention to my problems," said Sujit Biswakarma, the caretaker of the elephant.
There are 57 captive elephants in the region deployed to carry out vigilance, to carry logs of wood, and perform other jobs in the forest.
is being forced to work by the Mandabari Forest Department in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district here in contravention of existing legal directions forbidding it.
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In 2002, Rangini, the female-elephant, had suffered miscarriage when she was forced to work by the department after 15 months of pregnancy
.
Animal protection organizations here are livid and allege that Rangini's life is endangered.
"If it (elephant) continues to be deployed for work, it is likely to suffer a miscarriage again like before. If the Forest Department doesn't provide rest to her, all the organizations and institutions have decided to protest," said Sujit Das, member of the Nature and Adventure Society, a non-government organisation working for wildlife.
According to Rangini's mahout, his repeated pleas to the concerned officials to not use the elephant for work were allegedly ignored.
"I was sent back from here to accompany her to Doctor Madam (female veterinarian) and I informed the DFO (Divisional Forest officer) that my elephant's condition is not good, and I am facing problems to carry grass from such a far off place. But no one is paying attention to my problems," said Sujit Biswakarma, the caretaker of the elephant.
There are 57 captive elephants in the region deployed to carry out vigilance, to carry logs of wood, and perform other jobs in the forest.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
News of Jalpaiguri
News Of Jalpaiguri
West Bengal rehabilitates surrendered Kamtapur rebels
Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Apr 20 : West Bengal Government has launched a special scheme at Jalpaiguri to rehabilitate the surrendered rebels of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), a banned militant outfit.
To herald this project, a function was organised here when the surrendered persons interacted with district administration officials, the top brass of the police and also the media persons.
They are being trained in productive vocations under a scheme named Rashtriya Sam Vikash Yojana (RSVY).
Biswajyoti Das, the coordinator of this programme said that the initial response has been quite encouraging and they are hopeful reforming almost all the surrendered KLO persons.
Out of the 150 and odd surrendered KLO rebels, 52 have been attending the rehabilitation programme mooted under RSVY.
"Although we have expected around 100 surrendered persons to undergo this special rehabilitation programme, presently we have 52. Actually when the Chief Minister visited Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and other regions in north Bengal he wished to know whether we have maintained any contact with the surrendered and former KLP rebels. He prompted the Commissioner to lend a fillip to this rehablitaion programme and it has been going on well," said Das.
Das further said that there is ample scope for the former KLO activists to become enterprising individuals in the society.
"Yes, with rupees 30,000 bank loan there is hope for these surrendered persons. We have tried to find out and spot the talent among them to learn some trade or the other like carpentry, tailoring, electrical work etc. with which we could send them to ITI (Industrial Training Institutes) for further training. With the bank loan of rupees 30,000, there is scope for them to become entrepreneurs," he added.
In the public interaction, a couple of the former KLO activists said that they wished to avail more of concrete assistance from the government of West Bengal in addition to training in some trade.
Duringr a span of 15 days they in be trained with farming, animal husbandry and other activities.
The KLO had been one of the major terrorist outfits operating beyond Malda and in the Cooch Behar region of West Bengal. The KLO, prior to its ban, used to train its activists in the jungles bordering Assam, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
The prime objective of KLO was to carve out a separate Kamtapur State comprising six districts - Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda of West Bengal and four contiguous districts of Assam - Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara.
News By
Purulia, Jalpaiguri provided
maximumjobs under NREGA
The districts have provided 64 days of jobs under the 100-day job scheme as against the state average of 45 days.
"Apart from Purulia and Jalpaiguri, good number of jobs were provided in Birbhum (56), Burdwan (55), North 24-Parganas (54), South Dinajpur (53) and West Midnapore (52) districts," joint secretary in state panchayat and rural development department Liakat Ali told PTI.
Officials said Rs 2110.40 crore (Rs 21.1 billion) was spent on jobs under NREGA this year which was Rs 940.39 crore (Rs 9.4 billion) last year.
Jalpaiguri district spent the maximum amount at Rs 201.5 crore (Rs 2.01 billion) and Howrah district spent the lowest of Rs 14 crore (Rs 140 million).
Villagers living in Howrah which is predominantly urban, got the least number of 15 days jobs under NREGA, he said adding that the number of people getting jobs in Hooghly (30), South 24-Parganas (29) and Murshidabad (29) is low.
A total of 34.75 lakh (3.47 million) households got jobs in the schemes in West Bengal where maximum 3,60,000 households got jobs in Murshidabad district and the lowest 55,921 households got job in Howrah district.
Besides the Gorkhaland agitation, Jalpaiguri is also hit by frequent bandh called by Kamtapuris and Adivasis.
"But the agitators did not hamper NREGA work much and villagers in remote Kalchini block bordering Bhutan too got jobs," district magistrate Vandana Yadav said.
Purulia district also provided an average of 64 days of jobs to the villagers belonging to predominantly backward classes and tribals.
About Rs 138.4 crore (Rs 1.38 billion) has been spent behind wages and durable asset creation in Purulia.
Projects which provided more wages and less material cost were selected, district magistrate Avanindra Singh said.
Maoist presence has affected eight out of 20 blocks in Purulia where the average days of work provided was 55 days this year up from last year's 24 days, he said.
NREGA programmes here were meant to create assets like tanks, ponds, irrigation wells, check dams, roads, social forestry, farmland creation and wage employment to the villagers in Purulia, sources said.
Officials said 60 per cent of the job card holders came forward to work in villages.
Officials said technical supervision and faster payment of wages were needed to sustain NREGA works and curb corruption in the state.
Officials called for a policy change in the existing practise of paying for every 15 days for NREGA work to help villagers who still depend on local moneylenders for immediate need of money.
RSP’s Dasharath Tirkey inducted,
courtesy LF quota
If the move to induct Dr Saumendranath Bera in the Left Front ministry was primarily to relieve Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee from some of the ministry work, Dasharath Tirkey’s induction was more to do with the quota system prevalent in the Left Front — number of ministers allotted to a Left Front constituent.
Tirkey (43) from RSP was sworn in as the Minister of State for PWD on Tuesday, replacing Manohar Tirkey who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kalchini in Jalpaiguri district. Kshiti Goswami of RSP is the Minister-in-Charge of PWD.
A graduate from Ranchi University, Tirkey became a member of the RSP in the year 1998. Born in Kumargram in Jalpaiguri, Tirkey had always been involved in trade union movement in the tea gardens at Jalpaiguri.
It was from the trade union movement that he joined the RSP. Salip Topko, his cousin, introduced him to politics, said the newly inducted minister.
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to press for
settling territorial demarcation
Kolkata: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading a campaign for a separate Gorkhaland state, today said it will press for settling demarcation of territory for the proposed interim set-up at the May 14 tripartite talks and emphasised it will not forgo its demand for inclusion of Siliguri, Dooars and Terai.
"The interim set-up, which would function till December 31, 2011 should have no interference from the West Bengal government and be given authority to look after law and order," Asha, wife of GJM chief Bimal Gurung, said.
She claimed the response from the Centre on this was 'positive' and refused to elaborate.
The sixth round of tripartite talks will be held on May 14.
Asha said the GJM would not budge an inch from its stand on the inclusion of Siliguri and parts of Dooars and Terai in Jalpaiguri district where Gorkhas are predominant in the interim set-up apart from the three hill sub-divisions of the Darjeeling hills.
"If our demand is not accepted, we will realise our goal through a forceful agitation," she warned.
When reminded that mainstream political parties in West Bengal are opposed to a further division of the state, she said, "Gorkhaland is a just demand. It is a demand which is more than 100 years old. We will not rest till we achieve our demand."
Agreeing that the Siliguri corridor was strategically very important, she promised if the government acceded to the statehood demand, the GJM would keep the area secure.
Asha denied having any truck with the Maoists in Nepal and said neither did it subscribe to the Maoist brand of politics in India.
"It is shocking that so many CRPF jawans were killed by them in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. We also codemn the killing of EFR jawans at Shilda in West Bengal," Asha, who is also the president of the GJM's Nari Morcha, said.
According to her, GJM was now maintaining a distance from Kamatapur People's Party, agitating for a separate Kamatapur state, and the Greater Coochbehar Democratic Party, which wants a Greater Coochbehar state, with which it had forged a common platform sometime back.
She said the GJM would strive to achieve its statehood goal through the Gandhian principles of non-violence and by keeping within the provisions of the Constitution.
Demanding adequate compensation from the Left Front government for the families of the 24 EFR jawans killed in the February 15 attack at Shilda in West Midnapore district, she said GJM functionaries had paid homage to the slain at the
base of the martyrs column at College square in north Kolkata yesterday.
GJM central committee member Asha Gurung told PTI in Kolkata that the organisation would also bargain for allocation of powers to the interim set-up similar to that of a state.
"The interim set-up, which would function till December 31, 2011 should have no interference from the West Bengal government and be given authority to look after law and order," Asha, wife of GJM chief Bimal Gurung, said.
She claimed the response from the Centre on this was 'positive' and refused to elaborate.
The sixth round of tripartite talks will be held on May 14.
Asha said the GJM would not budge an inch from its stand on the inclusion of Siliguri and parts of Dooars and Terai in Jalpaiguri district where Gorkhas are predominant in the interim set-up apart from the three hill sub-divisions of the Darjeeling hills.
"If our demand is not accepted, we will realise our goal through a forceful agitation," she warned.
When reminded that mainstream political parties in West Bengal are opposed to a further division of the state, she said, "Gorkhaland is a just demand. It is a demand which is more than 100 years old. We will not rest till we achieve our demand."
Agreeing that the Siliguri corridor was strategically very important, she promised if the government acceded to the statehood demand, the GJM would keep the area secure.
Asha denied having any truck with the Maoists in Nepal and said neither did it subscribe to the Maoist brand of politics in India.
"It is shocking that so many CRPF jawans were killed by them in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. We also codemn the killing of EFR jawans at Shilda in West Bengal," Asha, who is also the president of the GJM's Nari Morcha, said.
According to her, GJM was now maintaining a distance from Kamatapur People's Party, agitating for a separate Kamatapur state, and the Greater Coochbehar Democratic Party, which wants a Greater Coochbehar state, with which it had forged a common platform sometime back.
She said the GJM would strive to achieve its statehood goal through the Gandhian principles of non-violence and by keeping within the provisions of the Constitution.
Demanding adequate compensation from the Left Front government for the families of the 24 EFR jawans killed in the February 15 attack at Shilda in West Midnapore district, she said GJM functionaries had paid homage to the slain at the
base of the martyrs column at College square in north Kolkata yesterday.
News From ThaindianNews
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/left-front-led-strike-inhuman-unethical-mamata-banerjee_100354877.html
Left Front-led strike inhuman,
unethical: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, April 27 (IANS) Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Tuesday criticised the ruling Left Front for using “strong-arm methods” to enforce the strike against rising prices in West Bengal. The Front, however, said people had responded spontaneously to the shutdown.”What they have done is inhuman. They committed atrocities on train passengers. They forcefully stopped trains. At the Kolkata airport, they locked the toilets to prevent passengers from using them,” Banerjee told reporters.“What they have done at railways stations and the airport is a mockery of democracy. It is inhuman, unethical and unconstitutional,” she said.
“What we have seen today is a state-sponsored bandh which did not have the support of the people.”
Left Front chairman Biman Bose, on the other hand, claimed the strike was a success and that people had responded spontaneously to the strike call. According to him, the situation remained peaceful barring a few stray incidents.
He admitted that the strike call did not evoke the same response it got in earlier years in the tea gardens of Jalpaiguri district.
“Out of 153 tea gardens, in 50 the strike was total. Seventy four others were open, while 29 saw a partial strike,” he said.
Bose described Banerjee’s sharp criticism of the strike as “infantile”.
“There is no need to comment on such observations. Only those who rely on drama in their political journey can make such comments,” he said.
The 12-hour nationwide strike was called by 13 opposition parties to denounce the government over rising food prices.
In West Bengal, flight and train services were inoperative and vehicles kept off the roads. Two train passengers were injured in a clash with strike supporters at Pundooah station, railway officials said.
The streets in Kolkata and district towns were deserted and shops, markets and offices remained closed.
News From
ThaindianNews
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/left-front-led-strike-inhuman-unethical-mamata-banerjee_100354877.html
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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