www.facebook.com/himalayan.mirror ♦ A C C U R A T E B A L A N C E D ♦ C R E D I B L E VOL 9 No 120 RNI No: SIKENG/2006/18384 GANGTOK, SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 2015 Punish striking teachers: SDF tells Govt HM Report Gangtok, Jan 10: School teachers resorting to forfeit their voting rights while demanding rollback of their transfer under the umbrella of an ‘illegal’ organisation is a highly condemnable ‘antinational’ act, the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front alleged today. Linking the teachers’ protest to a conspiracy by outside ‘anti-national force’, SDF spokesperson Bhim Dahal came down heavily on the anti-transfer stir launched by Sikkim Teachers’Association. STA had threatened to forfeit their voter cards if the mass transfer of 1,063 school teachers is not rolled back by 17 January. Dahal demanded that the government should act stern against those teachers for involvement in unconstitutional acts in gross CJ steps in to end lawyers’ impasse violation of State Service Conduct Rules. The party has been defending the government move terming it as a balancing act to ensure quality education in state run schools. Opposition parties including SKM and state units of BJP and Trinamool Congress have slammed the move terming it as political victimisation after the assembly elections. Amid uncertainty, EIILM student attempts suicide HM Report Gangtok, Jan 10: The ongoing strike by EIILM university students turned serious on Saturday when a final year Mechanical Engineering student tried to commit sui- NEWS BRIEFS 2 injured in blast Two minors were injured Saturday after a crude bomb exploded near Dumdum railway station on the city's outskirts. The explosive kept inside a tiffin box exploded near gate number 2 of Dum Dum railway station. The injured are rag pickers and the bomb exploded when they picked up the box. cide inside his room. Fellow students found Madan Baruah inside the room and stopped him from ending his life. Baruah, a B.Tech 7th semester student hailing from Arunachal Pradesh later said he was frustrated due to the ongoing impasse in the university due to the "indifference" of the university and the state government even as their protest entered the 19th day on Saturday. Around 200 students from within and outside the state, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh have laid siege at EIILM campus at Budang, West Sikkim after their semes- ter end exams was shelved coupled by several key varsity officials going missing since the past month. The incident comes a day after the Enforcement Director attached property worth Rs.110 belonging to EIILM promoters. A meeting called by state HRD minister R.B.Subba and existing EIILM officials last week failed to yield any solution as key officials including Registrar and Controller of Exams remain incommunicado. Subba had assured full support from the state government and urged them to appear their exams as early as possible. HM Correspondent Siliguri, Jan 10: The impasse over agitating lawyers of Siliguri Bar Association over various issues drawing a blank even after a month and with solution nowhere in sight after internvention from various political parties has prompted Kolkata High Court Chief Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur to step in to bring an end to their seize work and resumption of the day to day legal chore. Dr. Manjula Families crying raw deal stall airport work Missing child traced Bhumika Rai, aged 15 years of Tinzerbong, West Sikkim who had gone missing since January 1 has been traced at Bhaktinagar, Siliguri, West bengal yesterday. The child has been handed over to her legal guardian after necessary legal formalities. Drugs arrest Jorethang police arrested 2 youths from Daragaon, Jorethang with huge quantity of contraband substances. The accused Shvijan Subba (22) from Maghigaon and Karma Gyatso Bhutia(23) from Daragaon were nabbed during a routine search ahead of Maghey Mela in the area. They have been booked under Sikkim Anti Drugs Act and sent to police custody. Scholarship test Selection Test for Chief Minister's Meritorious Scholarship for South District will be held at Namchi Senior Secondary on January 11. HM Report Pakyong, Jan 10: Construction works of the Pakyong Greenfield airport in East Sikkim has stopped yet again due to construction related problems. Around 17 households in the project’s vicinity launched a protest and stalled works after their houses began showing signs of cracks and land slips, which they said has endangered their lives and property. The aggrieved locals warned against any further construction until their properties are reassessed and full rehabilitation and relief is provided. “We will not let work until our demands are met,” they said. Today, Pakyong Sub-Division Magistrate and officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) visited the site and took stock of the situation. Agitated residents petitioned them demand immediate relief and compensation unlike written and verbal assurances given in the past. Crying a raw deal given by the state government in terms of compensation in older rates, at least 17 families have been demanding a reassessment of their houses for proper valuation. Earlier in October, the state government had paid 80 percent of the compensation amount to them, while the remaining 137 households (second phase) were given 20 percent of the total assessed amount. Many among them have refused to accept the costs. The former were given a solitium of 30 percent of the total property value while those assessed in the second phase got 100 percent solitium. Now, the 17 households have been demanding reassement seeking compensation at revised solitium of 100 percent as per the Land Acquisition Act 2013. After multiple delays and cost escalations, the AAI seeks to complete the ambitious project by March 2016, but compensation related issue have stalled construction time and again. draw their more than a month long ongoing agitation, as it has aversely affected the people of Siliguri and adjoining areas pertaining to legal issues. Though today's meeting did not draw any potential result, Justice Chellur said the decision in regard to the lawyers demands would be taken soon. “I have urged the lawyers to withdraw their agitation,” she said. On January 6, Gowda, the Union law minister had sent HM Report gurating the Uttar Banga Utsav the CM will be heading for the Hills. On January 21 she is scheduled to attend the Himal Terai Dooars Sports Festival at the Lebong Stadium in Darjeeling. On January 23 Banerjee will be attending Netaji Subash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary commemorations organized by the State Government at the Darjeeling Chowrasta. Following the commemorations she is scheduled to return to the plains and depart for Kolkata on January 24. Sikkim to enforce Food law in April HM Report Gangtok, Jan 10: The Sikkim government will extend and enforce the National Food Security Act from 1 April and is making all necessary preparedness in this regard. Almost two years after the central law came into force in other states, the state will roll out NFSA across all four districts, a meeting chaired by state food and civil supplies secretary D.P.Sharma announced today. Absconding Bur dw an blas Burdw dwan blastt accused arres arrestted Kolkata, Jan 10 (IANS): Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant Rejaul Karim, a key accused in the Oct 2 Burdwan blast in West Bengal, was arrested Saturday by the National Investigation Agency. Karim, against whom a cash reward of Rs.5 lakh was announced by the NIA, was nabbed from Jharkhand's Sahibganj district. "Karim who used to stay in Badshahi Road in Burdwan is an active member of JMB and was engaged in manufacturing and transport of bombs to different locations. Since the time of incident, he has been absconding to evade a letter to Justice Chellur along with enclosures received from SS Ahluwalia, the BJP MP from Darjeeling. In the letter, the union law minister said that the issues are important and critical and had urged the chief justice of Calcutta High Court to resolve the issues at the earliest. Gowda also requested the state government to provide necessary infrastructural assistance at the earliest. The crux of the matter was that even though the Siliguri Mamata to visit Darjeeling on 19 Jan Siliguri, Jan 10: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to arrive at the Darjeeling district on a 5 day long visit. Sources state that Banerjee will be arriving at Siliguri on January 19. On the same day she will be holding an administrative meeting with the administrative and police heads of the 6 districts of North Bengal at Uttar Kanya- the branch Secretariat of the government of West Bengal at Dabgram, Siliguri. On January 20, after inau- Thef am Theftt at Ashr Ashram Some unknown miscreants broke into an Ashram House located at ICAR Road, Tadong, East Sikkim on Friday and stole away items worth Rs. 1.25 Lakhs including 15 gms gold chain, Dell Laptop, Samsung Cellphone and cash. A case u/s 454/380 IPC has been registered against unknown persons at Sadar Police Station and is under investigation. along with four other judges of Calcutta High Court held a meeting with the members of Siliguri Bar Association today. The Siliguri lawyers under the banner of Siliguri Bar Association are on a cease work since December 8 demanding construction of a permanent court building at Siliguri court premises and setting up of a Metropolitan Court. Today, Justice Chellur urged the lawyers to with- Police Commissionerate was formed on August 4, 2012 with five police stations under it, the cases related with Bhaktinagar Police Station in Jalpaiguri district are dealt by the Jalpaiguri court. The Bar Association’s contention is that the existence of the police commisionerate justifies the formation of a metropolitan court here in Siliguri itself. Sources said the state government wants to move very cautiously as its decision to set up a Metropolitan Magistrate Court by bringing a part of Jalpaiguri district under it might prove politically disastrous vis a vis the TMC’s winning prospect in the upcoming assembly election in Jalpaiguri district. The district is already fragmented while the promise for a permanent bench of Calcutta High Court has not yet fructified. If more areas are brought under the proposed Metropolitan Court, the people of Jalpaiguri district are likely to be miffed at the Trinamool Congress led state government, subsequently leading to a disastrous result for the ruling front that is already losing its political ground in the state due to its shortcoming in various front, the most disastrous of which being the multi crore Saradha scandal. arrest," a NIA officer said. The accidental blast took place inside a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan killing two JMB militants and injuring another. Several people, mostly Bangladeshi nationals, have been arrested from India and Bangladesh in connection with the blast. Days after the blast, 39 bombs were recovered from Karim's house in Burdwan. "After the Oct 2 incident, the injured accused Abdul Hakim had called up Rejaul Karim for providing assistance and evacuation. His interrogation is likely to throw fresh leads and evidence in the investigation of this case," added the NIA officer. The food law, which came into force in July 2013, was to be implemented by State governments within a year by July 4, 2014. But the deadline was twice extended till April 2015 as many states including Sikkim could not put in place the necessary infrastructure for rolling out the welfare scheme. Just 11 of the 28 state governments had implemented the Act till December. Others have not yet identified beneficiaries entitled to wheat at Rs.2 per kg and rice at Rs.3 per kg guaranteed under the Act. The Act seeks to abolish the APL and below poverty line (BPL) criteria and uniformly provide 5 kg of wheat or rice to each identified beneficiary at a fixed rate of Rs 3 a kg for rice, Rs 2 a kg for wheat and Rs 1 a kg for coarse grains. Beneficiaries would be indentified through holding Gram Sabha in both rural and urban areas throughout the state on 28 January. Public have been asked to bring their Aadhar Card, Bank Account Number during the Gram Sabha. All the stakeholders, departmental officers and district officials had attended today’s meeting. Sharma informed that the exact numbers of beneficiaries are not available with the department and once the Gram Sabha submit its list to the department for compilation and accordingly will available the food grains to beneficiaries from registered fair shops in the state. The state government is working for digitisation of ration cards and seed them with Aadhaar numbers or else the Centre will consider the digitised list as being the only basis for allocation of grains from March 1, 2015 onwards so that the food grains will available under the new digital ration card at MSP rate. CMYK CMYK www.himalayanmirror.net 2.00