Mercury plummets below zero in Darjeeling - Lack of moisture clouds possibility of snowfall: IMD

Children enjoy a horse ride at Chowrastha in Darjeeling on Wednesday

Writes : Vivek Chhetri

The mercury plummeted below zero for the first time in Darjeeling town during the current winter with minus 1.5 degrees Celsius being recorded at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) ruled out immediate snowfall in the hill town for lack of moisture. Darjeeling had recorded heavy snowfalls — a major attraction for tourists — only twice in the current century.   

Referring to the minus 1.5 degrees Celsius registered at the Raj Bhavan weather station on Wednesday, G.N. Raha of the IMD, Gangtok, said: “This is the lowest minimum temperature recorded this season. However, we are ruling out snowfall in Darjeeling as there is a deficit of moisture.” 

According to the website of the Darjeeling district administration, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the town was minus 5 degrees Celsius, registered on February 11, 1905.

Sources said the mercury had started dropping below zero in Darjeeling on Tuesday. The weather station at St Paul’s School recorded zero degree Celsius on Tuesday.

However, with clouds disappearing, days, mostly afternoons, are expected to get warmer but nights will continue to be cold.

“With the region getting a bit of sunshine, you can expect the afternoon weather to hover around nine to 10 degrees Celsius. But nights will continue to be colder because of clear skies,” said Raha.

The IMD has predicted the possibility of snowfall only in the higher reaches of the Sikkim-Darjeeling areas in the next 48 hours.

Last year, Darjeeling had received snowfall for two consecutive days on February 4 and 5 — which was a rare occurrence in decades.

The two-day daytime snowfall in 2022 was heavier than what the town had received on February 14, 2007, which was considered among the heaviest in a decade. The town had been hit by snowfall for a while on December 29, 2018, also.

The upper reaches of the Darjeeling hills, like Sandakphu which is situated at nearly 12,000 feet, consistently receive heavy snowfall every winter. However, Sandakphu is yet to receive snowfall this winter. The higher reaches of Sikkim recently received snowfall.

“The days are cold but with fewer people and less traffic, the winter days are pretty pleasurable,” said Rupesh Pradhan, director, Mayukh Tea.

Tourism stakeholders maintain that snowfall in Darjeeling does bring an indirect benefit to the industry.

“Snowfall in Darjeeling brings wide publicity to the region and positive stories always help the industry,” said Navin Thapa, a hotelier in Darjeeling.

In recent times, Gangtok had started receiving more tourists during the winter because of the consistency of snowfalls in its upper reaches.

“However, this year, the tourist footfalls in Gangtok have been less, compared to Darjeeling,” said a hotelier who has properties both in Darjeeling and Gangtok.

source : Telegraph

Truck plunges into gorge, 16 Indian Army soldiers killed

Incident took place at Zema, which is en route to Thangu, while the vehicle was negotiating a sharp turn

The mangled remains of the army truck at Zema in Sikkim on Friday.

Writes : Avijit Sinha, Rajeev Ravidas

Sixteen Indian Army soldiers were killed and four others injured after the truck they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in north Sikkim, near the India-China border, on Friday.

In a statement, the army said three of the deceased were junior commissioned officers, while 13 were soldiers. The four survivors, who were travelling on the truck that was part of a three-vehicle convoy, were airlifted and admitted to an army hospital in Bengdubi near Siliguri.  

The Himalayan state of Sikkim has been witnessing the increasing deployment of armed forces in recent months because of rising tension between India and China. However, it could not be immediately confirmed whether the deceased had recently moved to Sikkim as a part of the build-up along the border.

Sources aware of the crash said a convoy of three vehicles was carrying army men from Chatten — an acclimatisation base in Mangan district of Sikkim — to Thangu, which is barely 1.5km from the international border, in the morning.

Around 8.15am, almost 45 minutes after the 2.5-tonne truck had left Chatten with 20 persons, it veered off the road and fell down a 1,000ft-deep slope. The incident took place at Zema, which is en route to Thangu, while the vehicle was negotiating a sharp turn.  

The bodies of all the 16 deceased persons were seized by the army’s recovery unit with the help of Sikkim police.

“Given the difficult nature of the terrain and harsh wintry condition, the bodies were recovered with much difficulty. The bodies have been taken to the medical intervention unit of the army at Chatten where an inquest was carried out by the police,” said a source.

Later, sources said the bodies would be shifted to a Gangtok hospital on Saturday for post-mortem, following which they would be handed over to the army. 

Chatten, which is close to Lachen — a popular tourist destination located around 130km from Sikkim capital Gangtok, has an installation of the army. Thangu, a tiny hilly hamlet close to the Tibetan plateau located at a height of around 4,000 metres, is a strategic point as it is the last Indian village on the border.

One of the deceased persons was Gopinath Makur from Bankura in Bengal. The President, the Prime Minister and many others mourned the soldiers’ deaths. “Pained by the loss of lives of our brave army personnel due to a road mishap in Sikkim. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” tweeted the PMO.

Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang and his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee also expressed their condolences. 

In Sikkim, defence personnel had lost their lives in similar accidents in the past as well. In June, two jawans died in a road accident in Zuluk. 

In July last year, four soldiers were killed in east Sikkim on Jawaharlal Nehru Road which connects Gangtok with the Tsomgo Lake and Nathu-la when a vehicle carrying 15 soldiers of the Kumaon regiment went off the road and plunged into a 600ft deep gorge.

On the same route, three army personnel and the child of a colonel died in another accident at 17th Mile in December 2020.

Retired army officers based in this region said in such hilly terrains, experienced drivers are engaged by the defence forces. Also, vehicles are checked regularly. 

“All necessary precautions are taken but even then, such accidents are reported. Such non-combat casualties are not desirable. We believe there will be a thorough probe into the incident to find out whether the vehicle had developed any sudden technical glitch and necessary advisories would be issued to drivers and others concerned to avert such accidents,” said an ex-serviceman based in Siliguri.

[News source : The Telegraph]

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