Cooch Behar: Tea garden suspends work, 550 jobless

Management has not cleared 21 days of workers’ wages and one month and 21 days of wages of the sub-staff, says Alamgir Hossain

Representational image.File picture

The management of a tea garden in Cooch Behar district announced work suspension from Thursday, leaving around 550 workers jobless.

As workers of Sreebas tea estate in Changrabandha under Mekhliganj subdivision reached the garden on Thursday morning, they saw the suspension notice

“The management has not cleared 21 days of workers’ wages and one month and 21 days of wages of the sub-staff. This (suspension of work) is undesirable. If they (the garden management) had an issue, they should have sat for talks,” said Alamgir Hossain, a leader of Trinamul workers’ front INTTUC.

A worker said the garden should reopen at once or else the tea bushes would dry up. Workers also resorted to protests at the garden and contacted the administration for an intervention.

District assistant labour commissioner Sumanta Roy called a tripartite meeting but no one from the garden’s management came.

[News Via : The Telegraph]

#Darjeeling MP Raju Bista Demands Re-inclusion of 11 Gorkha sub-tribes as ST without any further delay.

Office of Raju Bista

Press Release

Today, I spoke on the  have requested the Union Government to expedite the process of granting Schedule Tribe status to the 11 left-out Gorkha sub-tribes Bhujel, Gurung, Mangar, Newar, Jogi, Khas, Rai, Sunwar, Thami, Yakha (Dewan) and Dhimal without causing any further delay. 

Speaking in support of the Constitution Scheduled Tribes Order Second Amendment Bill of 2022, I highlighted how under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi ji, the Tribal Community across India is finally getting the support and justice that had been long denied to them. It is a matter of great pride that our nation today has the first Tribal Female president H.E Draupadi Murmu ji. I highlighted how under PM Modi ji, our government has increased the Scheduled Tribe Component of Tribal Sub-plan (TSP) by 350% from Rs 24504.45 crores in 2013-14 to Rs 87,584 crores in 2022-23. I also applauded the celebration of our Tribal communities in the form of 'Janjati Gaurav Diwas' initiated by PM Modi ji on the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda ji.

I informed the Parliament how the Indian Gorkha community, which was compositely recognized as the “Hill Tribes” till Independence. However, after Independence the “Hill Tribes” status of the Gorkha community was taken away without any consultation with the community members. This has caused them to be harassed and kept deprived of their rights. They are treated as 'citizens of Nepal' instead of Indian citizens and have to face humiliation in our own country. 

I highlighted how the WB Government had gladly accepted the land and resources of our Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars when our region was merged with West Bengal in 1954, but had refused to accept the people who live there, and how the Gorkhas were continued to be discriminated against in the state. I highlighted how the TMC Govt was conspiring to continue denying the Gorkhas their rights, and seeking to cause a demographic change in the border region, by settling in Rohingyas and other illegal immigrants in the critical "Chicken Neck" region of our country.

I therefore requested the Government of India to help end this 'identity crisis' and reduce national security threat faced by our country, by re-including the 11 left-out Gorkhas sub-tribes as Scheduled Tribes at the earlies.  

I informed the Parliament, that the Gorkha community has patiently waited for justice for a long time, and doing so will not only help in correcting a historical wrong, but it will also permit the Gorkha people to preserve our unique cultural and traditional heritage. Most importantly, this will help provide the Gorkhas with Constitutional protection.

While there has been a considerable delay in the completion of granting ST status for Gorkhas, but I am confident that the Government of India will expedite the process and give the Gorkha community the long awaited justice.

*Raju Bista*

*Member of Parliament, Darjeeling and* 

*National Spokesperson, BJP*

Jalpaiguri Trinamul leads provident fund protest in Jalpaiguri

Hundreds of tea workers are being deprived of their PF because of the lackadaisical attitude of EPFO authorities: Ritabrata Banerjee

[Tea workers and Trinamul supporters at the demonstration in front of the regional PF office in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday.

Biplab Basak]

Hundreds of Trinamul supporters, including tea workers, went to the regional provident fund office in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday, demanding necessary steps from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) — a central government organisation — to expedite payment of PF to tea workers.

Led by state ministers Moloy Ghatak and Bulu Chik Baraik and state INTTUC president Ritabrata Banerjee, party supporters held a demonstration in front of the office.

“Hundreds of tea workers are being deprived of their provident fund because of the lackadaisical attitude of EPFO authorities. John Barla, a Union minister of state (the BJP MP of Alipurduar), is from a tea estate but has not done anything for workers on this issue. If the issue is not resolved within this month, tea workers and our party will raise blockades in front of the house of John Barla and other BJP MPs and MLAs of this region,” said INTTUC president Banerjee.

In September this year, Trinamul’s all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced in Malbazar that the party will organise a movement against the EPFO on a number of issues related to workers.

These include the problem faced by some tea workers in linking their Aadhaar with PF accounts, delay on the part of some tea gardens in depositing provident fund although it is deducted from workers’ wages and employees’ salaries, and hurdles faced by some workers in receiving their provident fund after retirement.

During the demonstration, a delegation representing Trinamul Cha Bagan Sramik Union submitted a memorandum to EPFO authorities, stating the issues should be resolved.

Mahua Gope, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president, said John Barla and other legislators of the BJP will have to answer tea workers and their families about what they have done for them.

“These people have only made empty promises. We have never seen John Barla taking any effective steps to help tea workers with their provident fund. The state government, on the other hand, has taken various initiatives for people in tea estates,” she said.

The demonstration in front of the EPFO office, preceded by rallies conducted by Trinamul across the Dooars on various issues of tea workers, indicates that Mamata Banerjee’s party wants to exert pressure on the saffron camp and simultaneously revive its support base in the north Bengal brew belt, said political observers.

They pointed out that panchayat elections are ahead and the support of the tea belt decides the results of rural bodies in at least three north Bengal districts.

“In some recent elections, a section of tea workers sided with the BJP. Trinamul wants the votes to swing in its favour and hence has taken up the task of playing the development card and raising issues like provident fund dues which the workers can easily relate to,” said an observer.

source : The Telegraph

Kareena Kapoor to make her OTT debut from Darjeeling

Kareena kapoor file pic

Writes : Vivek Chhetri

Kareena Kapoor is set to make her over-the-top (OTT) debut from Darjeeling and many believe Bollywood’s latest foray into the hill station is the result of prevailing stability and peace in the region.

“Kareena Kapoor will be starring in a film directed by Sujoy Ghosh and she is expected to reach Darjeeling next week. Some of the places where shootings will take place are Mt Hermon School, Ghoom railway station, a monastery near Ghoom and also near Lava in Kalimpong,” said a source who is in the know of things.

The untitled movie is an adaptation of a novel, The Devotion of Suspect X, written by one of Japan’s most popular writers, Keigo Higashino.

According to director Ghosh’s tweet, the other lead characters in the movie are Jaideep Ahlawat of the Gangs of Wasseypur fame and Vijay Varma who is known for his role in the film Gully Boy.

Following the shooting in the Darjeeling hills, the next round of filming will be held in Mumbai in June, said a source.

Darjeeling was a regular feature in Bollywood many years ago. While Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore starrer Aradhana put the place in the spotlight, more than 200 films have been shot in the hills.

Sanjay Biswas, a writer in Darjeeling, said: “The list of even Bollywood films shot in Darjeeling is long. Over 200 films in Hindi, Bengali, Nepali and even Tamil and Telugu films have been shot here.”

Some well-known films to be shot in Darjeeling include Vinod Khanna-Shabana Azmi starrer Lahoo Ke Do Rang and Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat. Dev Anand visited the town many times to shoot for Mahal, Joshila and Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai.

Amitabh Bachchan was here with Rekha for Do Anjaane and with Rakhi for Barsaat Ki Ek Raat. “Anurodh, which had Rajesh Khanna, was also shot in Darjeeling. Sunil Dutt, too, had visited Darjeeling for Humraaz,” said Biswas.

Shah Rukh Khan shot Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Main Hoon Na. “Main Hoon Na was shot in Darjeeling in 2003 and the next major Bollywood shooting was for Anurag Basu’s Barfi! in 2011,” said a movie buff from Darjeeling.

Between 2007 and 2011, the hills were in turmoil over Gorkhaland. There was another round of agitation in 2013 and Bollywood stayed away from the region then. However, when things settled, director Basu came to Darjeeling in 2016 to shoot for Jagga Jasoos which had Ranbir Kapoor in the lead.

Sujoy Ghosh, too, was in Kalimpong to shoot for Kahaani 2 which had Vidya Balan in the lead in 2016.

The hills went into agitation mode again in 2017. “As soon as there was stability in 2018, Rajinikanth came to Kurseong to shoot for his Tamil film Petta,” said the movie buff.

Paras Chhetri, who works as a line director in Darjeeling for Bollywood films, admitted that lack of stability and peace in the region hit the industry hard.

“In the past two-and-a-half months, the pandemic hit us hard. Earlier, the strike and agitation did play spoilsport. We can now expect two to three major web series to be shot in Darjeeling soon,” said Chhetri stressing that those could be seen as spoils of some stability and peace in the hills.

Most web series are aired through OTT, which essentially is a media service offered directly to viewers via the internet bypassing cable broadcast and satellite television platforms.

[Source : Telegraph]

Diesel price hits a ton, buses bear brunt

There are around 5,500 private buses on local and long-distance routes across north Bengal, but hardly 2,500 buses run on roads

In Pic : Private buses parked at the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus in Siliguri. File picture

Writes : Avijit Sinha

Almost half of the private bus owners in north Bengal have stopped running their vehicles in the region and to Assam and Bihar because of galloping diesel prices. 

The price of diesel — increasing rapidly in the last few days — touched Rs 100 per litre at a number of locations of Bengal on Tuesday, including Darjeeling and Cooch Behar of north Bengal. 

According to Pranab Mani, the secretary of the North Bengal Passenger Transport Owners’ Coordination Committee, many bus owners grounded their vehicles as their earnings can’t match their fuel cost. 

There are around 5,500 private buses on local and long-distance routes across north Bengal, but hardly 2,500 buses run on roads, he said.

“In 2018, the bus fare was hiked for the last time by the state government when the price of a litre of diesel was Rs 68. Now, it is Rs 100 in many places. It is obvious that many owners are in acute financial crisis,” Mani said. 

In the last week alone, 500 buses went off roads in north Bengal as diesel prices have increased virtually every day. 

Bus owners said that in 2014, when diesel was Rs 64 per litre, the fare of private buses was fixed at 60 paise per kilometre for local buses and 65 paise per kilometre for long-distance buses. In 2018, when diesel price increased to Rs 68 per litre, the state government revised the fares by 10 paise per kilometre to be 70 paise and 75 paise for local and long-distance buses, respectively. 

“Now diesel is around Rs 100 per litre and we are charging the same old fares. It is not possible for us to sustain the loss,” said a bus owner based in Cooch Behar.

Over the past one week, there has been a dip in the number of private buses that connect Siliguri to different locations. Around 48 private buses used to run between Cooch Behar and Siliguri but now only 30 do. 

Similarly, 15 private buses would run along the Siliguri-Alipurduar route but now only six to seven do.

“We fail to understand why the state government is not increasing the bus fares when price of every other item is on the rise. The state itself has to bear the loss as it is paying subsidies to the North Bengal State Transport Corporation and other state-run transport companies every month. An immediate revision of fares can help the sector to revive or else the situation will worsen,” another bus owner said.

In north Bengal, around 20,000 people are associated with the private passenger transport sector.

A senior official of the state transport department said they were aware of the situation. “We understand their problem but the decision to revise fares has to be made at the top level of the government. All we can do is to make recommendations,” he said.

Source : The Telegraph

Residents of Dalgaon tea estate recalls Bogtui-like carnage

In one of the most horrific massacres in north Bengal, 19 persons were killed and burnt at the home of a Citu leader on November 6, 2003

[In Pic :The Dalgaon tea estate near Birpara of Alipurduar district, the site of the 2003 carnage where 19 persons were murdered.File Picture]

Writes : Avijit Sinha

The carnage at Bogtui village in Birbhum district, where eight persons were murdered on Monday, made residents of the Dooars tea belt recall a similar incident of 2003 at Dalgaon tea estate near Birpara of Alipurduar district.

Seen as one of the most horrific massacres in north Bengal, 19 persons were killed and burnt at the home of a Left-backed trade union leader on November 6, 2003.

A group of workers of the garden attacked the house of Citu leader Tarakeswar Lohar who was holding a meeting. The workers,  furious with Lohar and his henchmen for their highhandedness, resorted to the attack when they learnt the trade union leader wanted to induct three “outsiders” in clerical posts of the garden, instead of local educated youths.

They barged into the house with sharp weapons and indiscriminately attacked those sitting inside. Lohar and a few others managed to escape but 19 people, including two women, died. The house was torched and what remained were charred remains of the bodies.

“The thought of it still sends a chill down our spine,” recalled Parameswar Mahali, a former worker of the garden. “We rushed to see the house in flames. There were bloodstains everywhere and charred bodies on the ground.”

Lohar did manage to escape from the spot and later died a natural death .

In due course, it was found that the attack was retaliatory, similar to the Bogtui incident. But here, unlike in Bogtui, where the massacre seems to be a sequel of Trinamul leader Bhadu Sheikh’s murder on Monday, Dalgaon residents were fed up with Lohar and his aides.

However, Debaprasad Roy, a veteran Congressman from Jalpaiguri, pointed out that while the government in Bengal had changed from the Left to Trinamul, the culture of violence had not.

“There is information that the incident in Bogtui happened because of a dispute between the two groups of Trinamul workers who were into illegal sand mining and some other activities and wanted to gain control over the area,” said Roy.

[source : Thr Telegraph]

Hill solution, not GTA poll, says Bimal GurungOn Tuesday, Mamata had again spoken of her wish to hold the elections

Writes : Vivek Chhetri

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung on Thursday wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her not to hold the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elections but work out a “permanent political solution” for the hills.

“Today we wrote a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her to work out a permanent political solution instead of holding GTA elections…. Holding elections would go against the democratic spirit as the people of the hills have rejected the GTA,” Gurung, who is an ally of Trinamul, said in Kalimpong.

On Tuesday, Mamata had again spoken of her wish to hold the GTA polls. “...Now Darjeeling is peaceful, I am so happy. Darjeeling started the election process, I am so happy. Next, we will go for GTA election also but before that I will sit will all... and try and adjust with so many parties. We want to see that Darjeeling smiles,” she had said.

A senior leader of Morcha, Lopsang Yolmo, who was the chairman of the GTA Sabha, said his understanding of permanent political solution was the state of Gorkhaland.

Although the BJP government promised a “permanent political solution” in its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto and Mamata while campaigning for the Assembly election in 2021 had said in a rally that the BJP-led Centre would never work it out and only the state government would, the exact contours of the "PPS" has neither be defined by the BJP nor Trinamul.

Gurung’s Morcha is now pressing on this point. Yolmo said the Morcha would organise a seminar in Kalimpong on April 2, to discuss the PPS .

Earlier, Roshan Giri, general secretary of the Morcha had talked about a provision under Article 244 (A) of the Constitution. This Article was inserted in the Constitution in 1969 for the formation “of an autonomous state comprising certain tribal areas in Assam” with provision for creating local legislature or council of ministers or both.Gurung’s party had rejected the GTA when they started the Gorkhaland agitation in 2017. In the hills, the BJP and GNLF are also opposed to it. The GNLF even filed a case against the hill body in Calcutta High Court. However, new hill parties — Hamro Party and the BGPM — are in favour of the GTA elections.

source : @Telegraph