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C M Y K

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Since last five years Shastriji using Astrology Science in givingSuccess too many human beings by making impossible intopossible.Our worshipper Guru Acharaya Professor Dr. ShivshankarShastriji (State Astrology) through Astrology Study and Divinecapacity of Meditation has spread a light in India for welfareof different problems of Mankind Since last five years.Swamiji, taking the responsibility of “Vishwa sewashramSangh” & “Astrological Research Project”, “Viswa JyotishVidyapith” in Siliguri under the Human Research DevelopmentMinistry Govt. of India has succeses to create a new belieftowards the Astrology study to the people of North Bengal,Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam and Nepal. Shastriji divine “Power”Astrology and through Meditation of Tantra many ChildlessCouples have achieved the happiness of child. Problems failure

by Doctor giving birth of child ever after the presence of balanced Simons between husband& wife, sexual & physical weakness, obstacles in marriage, unsuccess in love affairs,unhappiness in marriage life, family troubles, attract towards other women being wife,troubles in child education bring child towards right path, too much alcoholic, Suddenunsuccessful in business and got no Success even after every attempt, Sudden stopped ofMoney, Victory over enemy, physical security from uncertain enemy to get success injudicial affairs, got no promotion in service. Right prediction about kids, Relief fromunwanted planets, Horoscope study as making Horoscope from computer etc could besolved at right time. You all along with your family members come to Swamaji and get theproblem could solved. Swamaji has honoured from our country and from outside world forhis service towards the Astrology & Tantra has been honored by “Jems Silver” in 2001from “American Institute of astrological Science” (New York, U.S.A.) InternationalFederation of Astrology & Spiritual Science (Govt. of Sri Lanka) had honored Swamiji byGold Medal in 2001. For his unprecedent Astrology Power Swamiji has been honoured by“Bharat-Bandhu” in Kolkata by the Governor of Utter Pradesh Bishnukant Shastriji in22nd January 2000. While vice-chancellor of Rajasthan University and Pondichery honoredGold medal. Has been honored by “Bharat Mata Samman” & “Life Achievement Award.”

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KAMAKHYA SIDHA ASTROLOGY TANTRAYOGI’S NEWS

2; NOW! 22-28 October, 2003

C M Y K

GANGTOK 22-28 OCTOBER, 2003

NOW!SIKKIM MATTERS

ED-SPACE

2

� LETTERS

Always Alert, Accident Avert ?!The oxy-morons that GREF has peppered NH31A with shouldperhaps be taken more seriously now. News of accidents aregetting too frequent and no one seems inclined to really ad-dress the issue. The traffic police is occupied almost full-timewith patrolling the streets of the capital or enforcing the no ve-hicle rule at MG Marg even as public carriers speed all alongthe state and national highway putting tourists, locals and evenpedestrians at risk. Watch any mainline jeep turn full pedalaround the curve below the Super Market in Gangtok and youwill understand how everyone is at risk. If such dangerouslyhigh speeds are achieved so close to town, then one can onlyimagine what the speedometer clocks on the smoother,straighter surfaces of the highway beyond Ranipool.It sounds almost immature to point out here that speeding onhill roads is dangerous. That goes without saying, but what isactually being done to prevent it? Precious little. While just aboutevery driver gets pulled up for a surprise check of his vehicledocuments in the vicinity of the capital, the highways rarely seea surprise check except during festivals when checking be-yond Rangpo becomes especially strict. It is time that some-one started setting and enforcing speed limits along the high-way. There is no doubt that most accidents which have takenlives in Sikkim have been caused due to over-speeding. It musttake a lot of momentum for a vehicle to crash through the cul-verts and fly off the road as was seen in a recent accident inwest Sikkim.What the enforcers of traffic rules could also look into is the healthof vehicles which ferry passengers. A person who pays for theride deserves to be travelling in a healthy vehicle. While no oneminds the odd puncture along the highway, a brake-fail or steer-ing lock are dangers that they can easily be protected against bysome vigilant policing. The reliability of the driver is another is-sue and it is perhaps time that separate licences were issuedbefore a person was allowed to drive a passenger vehicle.

POLITICS FOR NO

REASON

I don’t believe the stand takenby Lepcha Assc. that they have

“not sold out, but given up” onSiblac [NOW! issued dated 15-21Oct, 2003]. I am also not com-pletely in support of SIBLAC al-though I sympathise with the de-mands. But I definitely am con-fused. Why isthere so muchconfusion in lo-cal politics at present. The rulingparty seems to be doing well foritself and the Opposition has beendisinterested at best. I fail to seethe reason why party politics hasshifted from parties to what theHealth Minister recently said -Apex committees.Sherab Bhutia, Gangtok

WHY GO ANTI?

I have a point against all the let-ters in your paper which suggest

that NOW! does not take an strongenough stand against the govern-ment, that it should become moreconfrontationalist. They say thatnewspapers play the role of watch-dogs in a civil society. I agree withthat. What I don’t agree with is ananti-establishment paper. The estab-lishment is after all representativeof the people and won’t being anti-establishment mean being anti-

I am prompted to write this re-ply to the viewpoint expressedby one shri Tashi Wangyal

Bhutia in your weekly dated 15-21 October. It is pertinent to havesuch debates in the civil society,more so in such times when thevery fabric of social harmony isthreatened by various undesirableand, of course, unavoidable devel-opments.

The situation gets furthermurkier and unpleasant when ev-eryone starts delivering one’s ownconclusion based on individualviews. As the views of Mr. TWBhutia seem to be of that nature,or is either written by someoneelse to further malign the targetedorganization.

Firstly, whether the Siblacleadership is politically motivatedor not is something certainly de-batable, this, only time will tell.

Coming to the question of af-fecting a change in the Constitu-tion, I see no reason why it can-not be done and in order to do itthe right way, is to struggle andput forward the views why suchan amendment is required andhow it is going to benefit the com-munity. Of course, the support ofall the people of the State is es-sential. If we recall, there was atime when people never expectedthe Nepali Bhasha to get recogni-tion. In fact there was saying inthose times: “Nepali will neverget their bhasha, Tibetans willnever get Lhasa.”

The Nepali language did getrecognized after the entire Statewith its three ethnic communitiesworked tirelessly for years to-gether. Of course, it is anothermatter that today the people haveforgotten the contributions ofvarious individuals and groupsand also do not have the decencyor guts to even take out the namesof the main protagonist even onceon “Bhasa Diwas.” So, there is noreason why such amendment can-not be brought about, but every-one has to contribute and not seekcheap publicity or quick moneyby sabotaging a process which isgoing to benefit all. Political com-pulsions should be the last con-sideration.

Besides all the misconceptionsof Mr. Wangyal, the most seriousis the issue of Limbus and theTamangs. It is very essential tonote that all the BLs are happywith the recognition of the Lim-bus and Tamangs as ScheduledTribes. The root cause of all theproblem is this development dueto which the tribals now have achance of forming a governmentof their own and maybe even have

a chief minister from amongthemselves. The entire exercisethat caused much confusion is tostop this from happening and thiscan be achieved by confining thetribes to 13 seats only. We knowthat all our Limbu and Tamangbrothers are also aware and it isonly a matter of time that this willbe expressed and the situation willbe then different. Any case-historyif repeating and no one can stopit. Time has come for the Lhomen-Tsong-sum to reassert its role onthe soil of their origin.

Coming to the 12-seat aspect,the Honorable Soli Sorabjee hadalso given his view that the Par-liament need not ratify the disin-

vestment of the Public sectorcompanies, but as we all know,the Hon’ble Supreme Court gavea different judgement.

Likewise, it is essential to notewhy the BL is in danger. There isno doubt that only Bhutia andLepchas can contest from the 12seats. But, it is essentially a tribalseat. To understand this further –the spirit of reservation was with-out any doubt to protect theBhutias and Lepchas, but the in-strument used to provide this wasthe Scheduled Tribe Order. As perthe Constitution, this is the onlyway to provide reservations.

Moreover, the Supreme Courtjudgement, which protected thereservation, has also mentionedthe need to phase out such pro-tection in due course of time.Therefore, the apprehension isgenuine and if the Chief Ministeris concerned, then he should notgive patronage to people whowant to take away this legitimate

right. He should at least meet thepeople who are raising these is-sues and find out amicable waysto solve this problem. Should thisnot happen, the biggest loser willbe the society and the image ofthe State.

Coming to the main objectiveof the Siblac, which is to purifythe definition of Bhutia. It mustbe noted that many concernedpersons raised the objections dur-ing the 1994 elections when Mr.NB Bhandari and his SSP think-tank fielded the first Sherpa can-didate from Rakdong Tintek. Thiswas presumably done to take re-venge on BLs for toppling hisgovernment. At that point in time,people did not realize the impli-cations of the move and it wasonly in the 1999 election that thiswas highlighted and thusSIBLAC was born.

Of course, the present leadersof Siblac were then busy fightingtheir respective elections andprobably the prospects were bet-ter and the real issues were over-looked. It is still noteworthy ifthey have realized their role nowand have started working on theissues. There is no use asking whythey have started now.

Finally, the Nathula issue isone of the instances due to whichnot only the BL, but the identityof the entire Sikkimese societycan be diluted. This is possibledue to the past experiences of allmega-projects brought in for thesake of employment and revenuebut the influx following theseprojects create further economicand employment problems.

We must realize that the mostserious problem faced vis a visSikkim and its future is created bySikkim being a Welfare State wherepeople from various places cometo make a living and then graduallylay claim on the sparse resources,political rights and employment,thus creating more and more prob-lems. Even in the global context,the biggest problem is the popula-tion explosion due to which thereare so many problems related to en-vironment, human-rights, economy,political rights etc.

The Nathula opening no doubtpromises a lot of opportunities,but for whom? As things stand,Sikkim can at best play only asmall role in running hotels andletting out houses, but imagine thenegative aspect which I don’twant to deliberate upon here. Thebiggest fallout will be the loss ofour status as a Special State. If weunderstand the politics properly,all the economic and other aids

COUNTERPOINT

SONAM PALZOR LEPCHA

Arithang

Not Everything IsBlack & White

THENATHULA

REOPENINGNO DOUBTPROMISESA LOT OF

OPPORTUNITIESBUT

FOR WHOM?

turn to pg 12

people. I also don’t believe that theState does nothing wrong, but at-tacking the establishment con-stantly leads to a situation when theReal issues don’t get enough promi-nence and get buried in the numer-ous alarmist calls raised earlier. Ibelieve that a paper should reportfairly and take stands only on is-sues that are of greater importance.

Suman Subba,Gangtok

JOURNAL No. 1

I am a regular reader of yournewspaper - NOW! It is indeed

both informative and qualitative.The complete news and views ofthe state are furnished throughyour newspaper. Within its shortperiod of publication, it has luredmany readers and has occupied aposition that many others have notyet occupied. Its recentappearence in color with morepages, without an enhancement inprice has proved it to be the No. 1journal of the state. I sincerelyrequest you not to enhance itsprice so that it can be within ev-erybody’s reach.

I hope NOW! will now workmore with renewed zeal. I wishNOW! and its family a happy andprosperous future.Kiran Rai, Sudunglakha, Rhenock

22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 3

C M Y K

?UP-FRONTUP-FRONT

3

HAS THE AIDSJUGGERNAUTROLLED INTO

SIKKIM AIDS – Few FactsHIV: Human immuno deficiency virusis transmitted into the blood streamthrough unsafe sex, blood transfusionor from pregnant mother to unborn child.Infection: Within 3 weeks to 6 months,the infected blood becomes sero posi-tive. The virus can stay in the body from3 to 10 years without any symptoms.AIDS: The disease triggers a collapsein the immune system causing cancers,TB, chronic diarrhoea and high feverleading to death.Treatment: No known vaccine. Drugcocktails check progress and can pro-long life.

AIDS, the dreaded scourge ofthis century seems to havediscovered Sikkim on itsjourney of death. Five people

have died of AIDS in the State in the lastone year. Three persons have full blownAIDS and are undergoing treatmentwhile 22 persons have been diagnosedas HIV positive and will eventually alsofall victim to AIDS.

HIV has even passed on to the nextgeneration, with two HIV positivewomen in the state giving birth to infantswith the virus. Apart from these twowomen, all the rest who have tested posi-tive are men and most of the cases arefrom Gangtok and surrounding areas.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,”says Dr. Yogesh Verma, Consultant Pa-thologist, STNM. “We only know ofthose cases which come for voluntarytesting or are suspected cases admittedat STNM hospital.”

There are also many who never comeforward or others who prefer the anonym-ity of the cities for treatment. Even offi-cials in the field admit that the actual fig-ures of HIV positive cases in Sikkimcould be as much as three times higher ormore since the numbers at hand reflectonly those who have come forward forvoluntary testing. The number of peoplecarrying the virus and not aware of it couldbe much higher, they believe.

There has, however, been an increasein the number of people who are nowcoming forward for testing at the Volun-tary Counselling and Testing Centres atSTNM Hospital, Gangtok. If only oneor two people came in a week for testingwhen the Centre started in January lastyear, today the Centre has more than adozen coming in every week. This is nomean figure considering the stigma at-tached to the disease.

The State has three Voluntary Coun-selling and Testing Centres for HIV test-ing. While the ones at Gangtok andSingtam are fully functioning, the cen-

tre at Namchi is to open soon.People who come for tests are given

pre-counselling where they are told aboutthe disease and the different ways onecould contact it. After the test, one is againgiven post-counselling. If one has testedpositive then counselling is given on howto live a life and prevent further spread ofthe infection.

Patients admitted to the General Wardare also tested for HIV if found with suspi-cious symptoms.

“Many come with coincidental infec-tions like diarrhoea which lasts for morethan a month, extra pulmonary TB or Her-pes which refuses treatment. These kind ofpatients are tested for HIV but only afterwe take their assent,” informs Dr. Namgyal,Consultant [Medicine], STNM.

Confidentiality, in fact, is the key todealing with HIV patients. For the risingHIV/AIDS population, discrimination andstigmatisation are part and parcel of theirfears. HIV positive people are at the receiv-ing end of multiple problems, psychologi-cal, medical and infrastructural.

Commenting on the situation in Sikkim,Dr. Namgyal reveals, “HIV patients feareven going to the chemist and buying medi-cine. I have to buy it for my patients, col-lect money from them and give it to thechemist.”

Fear of exposure also keeps many peopleaway from the testing centres.

“We want to tell the people that wemaintain complete confidentiality and re-ports are given the same day. Please visit

the nearest testing centre if you have anysuspicion,” says Dr. Verma.

Patients who are HIV positive or eventhose who have AIDS are admitted to theGeneral Ward. The State follows the no-segregation policy for treatment of HIV/AIDS patients.

Are our doctors and nurses equipped tohandle such cases? And is there any dan-ger of other patients getting infected?

“Absolutely not,” assures Dr. Namgyal,“the HIV virus does not pass through theair or even touch. We take the normal pre-caution that we take for all infectious dis-eases. All the nurses and doctors have beentrained and sensitised to the disease andthere is no discrimination of any kind.”

The big problem that faces the AIDS pa-tients in the State is the lack of treatment forthe disease. Many with full-blown AIDS areeasily besieged by opportunistic infectionslike chronic diarrhoea and fever, TB, pneu-monia and jaundice. While the hospital pro-vides treatment for these infections, no medi-cine is given for the treatment of AIDS.

“We are following the national policyon this. There are no provisions for treat-ment of AIDS,” explains Dr. Namgyal.

It is not just lack of empathy.Though pharmaceutical companies have

hammered down the cost of anti-retrovirals[AVRS] which can check the progress ofAIDS, they continue to be expensive. Aminimum of Rs. 1,500 a month per pre-scription is needed for each patient.

“Most of the patients come from thelower economic strata. How can they af-

ford the treatment?” asks Dr. Namgyal.With the National AIDS Control Or-

ganization [NACO] not offering mon-etary support, there is little that the StateAIDS Control societies can do. MostAIDS patients just languish away withno hope of treatment of any kind. Per-haps the State could come to the help ofthese patients, suggest doctors.

The key to combating AIDS lies inevolving an effective preventive strategywhile simultaneously providing treat-ment and setting up rehabilitation cen-tres. NACO spent Rs. 228 crores in2001-2002 for AIDS preventionprogrammes. A similar amount has beenallocated for this year. A large compo-nent of this money goes to the StateAIDS Control Societies for speedyimplementation of the programme. InSikkim, a State AIDS cell was institutedin 1992, while the State AIDS ControlSociety [SACO] was formed in 1999.

So how effective has the AIDS pre-vention programme been here?

“AIDS cannot be cured, it can onlybe prevented. So we can only holdawareness campaigns and target inter-vention programmes. We have 30 NGO’sin the State which work with us. We havetrained all panchayats in HIV controlprogrammes. All the PHE’s have beentrained. At the moment we have threeTarget Intervention Programmes goingon along the Teesta, on NHPC sites,” in-

HIV has passed on to a new generation in Sikkim

and five lives were lost to AIDS over the past year.

Although there is no way to halt the AIDS jugger-

naut, it is possible to slow it down. MITA ZULCA

takes a closer look at where this scourge of the

century stands in Sikkim...

turn to pg 5

4; NOW! 22-28 October, 2003

C M Y K

POWER PLAYPOWER PLAY

4

SIBLAC remains insistent on protest againstNathula, offers talks with Lepcha asscs

a NOW! pic

GANGTOK: The Sikkim BhutiaLepcha Apex Committee[SIBLAC] has said that it has notsidelined the demands of theLepcha community and it is stillwilling to “discuss” the issues inan amicable manner.

“We have not ignored the de-mands of the Lepcha community.In fact, SIBLAC was formed tofurther the cause of both Lepchaand the Bhutia communities. Wehad asked the Lepcha Joint Ac-tion Committee to arrange a meet-ing with us but it is they who havenot responded to our sugges-tions,” Nima Lepcha, convenor,SIBLAC said.

Responding to allegations bythe various Lepcha associations inthe State that SIBLAC had under-mined the cause of the Lepchacommunity and had ignored theirtwo memorandums asking forsupport to Lepcha-specific de-mands, Mr. Lepcha said thatSIBLAC, in a letter dated may 8,2003, addressed to NamgyalLepcha and N Tshering Lepcha,had asked the Lepcha Apex bodyto arrange a meeting with them“any time according to their con-venience to discuss the Lepchademands threadbare,” but instead,“they wrote to us saying that theywere withdrawing support fromSIBLAC.”

“The allegations are baseless.

THE THREE FACES OF SIBLAC [left to right]: Covenors Nima Lepchaand Tseten Tashi Bhutia and spokesperson Tenzin C’wang

The ball is actually in their court,”Mr. Lepcha said.

The Lepcha associations hadrequested for such demands as 50-50 sharing of all BL reservationsbetween the two communities anda revision of Revenue Order No.1 to protect Lepcha land fromalienation to even Bhutias.

In its first press conference,held here on October 16, since re-turning from Delhi after holdingwhat it calls a “very successfuland historical demonstration” to“create an opinion” among thepowers that be at the Centre onthe issue of the protection of therights and privileges of the BLsin the State, SIBLAC convenorsTseten Tashi Bhutia and NimaLepcha, along with spokesmanTenzin C’wang, contradicted al-legations made by the Lepcha as-sociations and maintained that theLepcha cause was still “verymuch part of the SIBLACagenda,” with or without the sup-port of “some organisations.”

“Just because some Lepchaorganisations have decided towithdraw their support formSIBLAC, does not mean that wedon’t have the support of theLepchas any more. The majorityof the Lepcha community is stillwith us,” Mr. C’wang claimed.

The Lepcha Joint Action Com-mittee had earlier announced thatit had withdrawn support fromSIBLAC and had disassociateditself from any of its demands or

agenda. It had also distanced it-self from the latest SIBLAC pro-test over reopening of Nathula fortill the issues of the restoration ofBL rights in Sikkim were not re-solved.

It may be recalled here that theLepcha associations had an-nounced that they did not supportthe SIBLAC protest againstNathula. “It is an international is-sue in which we don’t want toinvolve ourselves. Furthermore,all Lepcha organizations have al-ready pulled out of SIBLAC so ithas no truck with what SIBLACsays or does. SIBLAC’s state-ments should not be construed tobe representative of Lepcha opin-ion in Sikkim,” said NorzangLepcha, the legal counsel to theAll Sikkim Lepcha Joint Action

Committee had said.During the recent demonstra-

tions in Delhi, SIBLAC’s protestwas centred around the reopeningof the Nathula, which was lappedup by the media there. Mr. Bhutia,in an interview to a news channelduring the rally said that the re-opening of Nathula would lead to“terrorism activities, increasedinflux and law and order problemin the State” and that the indig-enous BLs did not want to “endup like Kashmiri Pundits.”

Mr. Bhutia, when asked to jus-tify his fears on the influx issuesaid that SIBLAC was not op-posed to the reopening of Nathulaper se. “Our opposition to Nathulatrade is stemmed from our fearsand apprehensions and we are ofthe opinion that some important

measures must be taken up beforeit is opened for trade, to safeguardthe rights and privileges of theBLs and other ethnic communi-ties of the State,” Mr. Bhutia said.

SIBLAC’s three-point demandhas been the restoration of theoriginal definition of “Bhutia” byamending the Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Castes Orders(Amendment Act; safeguard ofpolitical rights of the BLs byamending the Representation ofPeople’s Act, 1980 and fresh de-limitation of reserved BL con-stituencies to guarantee majorityvoters from the two communitiesin the reserved constituencies.

In direct response toSIBLAC’s Delhi-yatra, theChief Minister PawanChamling at recent public meet-ing held at Pakyong said thatSIBLAC was playing a danger-ous game by bypassing the StateGovernment. “If somethinggoes wrong now [vis a vis theissues raised by SIBLAC] thenwe should not be held respon-sible,” he said.

Similar misgivings againstSIBLAC were voiced by theHealth Minister, DD Bhutia,who commented that SIBLACwas not a “bad” organisation,but that those leading it were“confused” about their realidentity and were, in turn, con-fusing the people.

a NOW REPORT

extrasIN

TheCups That

ChokeJELLY-CUPS

BANNEDWORLDWIDE,LOVED HERE

22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 5

C M Y K

POWER PLAYPOWER PLAY

5

GANGTOK: Although decen-tralisation of power to thepanchayats is underway on paperand promised often in speeches, theground realities of its implementa-tion leave a lot to be desired, saidthe Chief Minister Pawan Chamlingwhile speaking at the State-levelConference on Decentralization ofPowers to Panchayati RajInstitutions held here at the ChintanBhawan on 17 October, 2003.

An IPR release informs thatwhile stressing thatdecentralisation of power was apractical necessity given the factthat panchayats best understoodthe problems and aspirations ofpeople at the grassroot-level, theCM said that this had to be pre-ceded by capacity building of thepanchayats, MLAs, ministers and

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forms Dr. RL Sharma, ProjectDirector, SACO.

When asked about the highrisk group in Sikkim, DR. Sharmasays that given the make-up of theSikkimese society, it is difficult tocategorize high and low riskgroups. It is mostly those indulg-ing in unprotected sex and in thehabit of abusing and sharing in-travenous drugs who are at agreater risk. Although most of thecases detected in the State havebeen sexually contracted, thereare fears that the rising number ofdrug abusers will spiral up theAIDS graph.

SACO has commissioned

ORG-MARG for mapping of theentire State for HIV/AIDS. Thereport on that is expected in amonths time. But for now, the fig-ures speak for themselves. Wecannot afford to be complacent.What is essentially required is ajoining of hands. Since the epi-demic in Sikkim is still in its in-fancy, it is the right time to ini-tiate more structured plans.

“HIV/AIDS is not only theproblem of the Health Depart-ment. It is a social development,a medical problem. We all haveto work together to contain theepidemic,” stresses Dr. Sharma.

The AIDS juggernaut cannotbe stopped. The only thing that wecan all do is help prevent thespeed of its spread.

Contd from pg 3

Has the AIDS juggernaut

rolled into Sikkim?

GANGTOK: The Medical Coun-cil of India has told the Union HealthMinistry that none of the 11 collegesit approved for increase in seats orrecognition meets the minimumstandards. Manipal Institute ofMedical Sciences, Gangtok, is oneof the eleven found wanting.

The MCI’s 30-page report -submitted on September 30 - tothe Health Ministry as per theSupreme Court’s directions, is astinging indictment of the infra-

CONFERRING ON DECENTRALISATIONCHAMLING UNHAPPY WITH GROUND

REALITY ON EMPOWERMENTOF PANCHAYATSgovernment officials.

Reminding the panchayats thatthey were not just the deliverers ofdevelopment, but also the watch-dogs of the developmental process,Mr. Chamling urged the zillaadhakshyas to visit grampanchayat units more often andprepare detailed reports on prob-lems, follow-up implementation ofvarious schemes and prepare fea-sibility reports on new ones. These,he said, would be the pre-planningmodule which would help the stategovernment form new policies andclear new schemes.

While the CM let off thepanchayats with just a call for ca-

pacity building, his bureaucracyreceived a stronger flaying. Lackof cooperation and coordinationbetween top and mid level offi-cials was creating much confu-sion and stalling developmentalworks, he said. Mid-level offi-cials, who form the girth of theadministrative machinery needbetter orientation and the CM sug-gested that the concerned headsof departments start deputing theirjuniors to the field so that they getin touch with what the State needsand aspires for.

Returning to the panchayats,Mr. Chamling, while terming theconference an important event,

stressed accountability and urgedthe panchayats to implement thedecisions of the conference dili-gently. He even assured furtherhikes in funds sanctioned for thepanchayats as and when theyequipped themselves better togovern their respective villages.

With regard to various schemesstill pending in the official process,the Chief Minister said that thereare certain rules which are becom-ing hurdles in the path of progressand needed to be changed in the

a NOW REPORT

interest of people of Sikkim.The day-long conference was

also attended by the DeputySpeaker, ministers, chairpersons,zilla adyakshas and upadhyakshasof all the four district, AdditionalChief Secretary, zilla panchayatsand panchayats from all over thestate and heads of various stategovernment departments. Ministerfor Rural Development, GC Raialso submitted the District Plan-ning Report of South district to theChief Minister at the conference.

SIKKIM ROCKSTHIS IS TO INFORM ALL ROCK ARTISTS OF SIKKIM THAT WE ARE COMPILING ANALBUM OF 8 SONGS FROM VARIOUS BANDS IN AND AROUND SIKKIM. INTER-ESTED BANDS WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT ONE ORIGINAL SELF COMPOSED SONG INCD FORMAT TO THE FOLLOWING PERSONS BEFORE 15 DECEMBER.

NIKKI RAI-PH: 221426 OR SONAM LACHUNGPA-PH: 9832046939THE SONGS CAN BE IN ANY LANGUAGE BUT THE GENRE SHOULD BE ROCK, ALTERNATIVE OR GRUNGE!

structure in these colleges rang-ing from non-functioning or non-existent labs to severe shortage ofqualified teaching staff.

What the MCI report has to sayabout our medical college:Manipal Institute of Medical Sci-ences (private), Gangtok(Sikkim): 14 lapses including40% shortage in teaching staff(33 of them left the institute in lastthree months while 40 on leave onthe day of the inspection); non-teaching government employeeson faculty; accommodation short-

age for resident doctors; nursestrength half of what is required.

All attempts by NOW! to con-tact the concerned authorities at themedical college were snubbed.

Medical Council surprise check finds14 lapses at Manipal

a NOW REPORT

6; NOW! 22-28 October, 2003

C M Y K6

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ASSAM LINGZEY: Whatdrives a man to commit murder?Not much it seems. For ArunKumar Subba, a 20 year oldyouth, just the temptation of mak-ing away with seven tolas of goldwas reason enough. He is accusedof having strangled his aunt, 39-year-old Banubai Subba, to deathon 14 October, last Monday justso that he could lay his hands onher jewellery. What has shockedlocals here is that Arun, till re-cently lived in the care of Banubaiand her husband, Surya KumarSubba, who teaches at the SauriniPrimary School here. Arun’s ar-rest a day after he committed thealleged murder is little solace forSurya Kumar who is still to cometo grips with the death of his wife.

Informed sources reveal thatArun is a resident of Kalimpongand had stayed with the couple foralmost five years till he moved outafter getting married earlier thisyear. He had apparently returnedto his uncle’s house when he ac-companied a carpenter as hishelper to work at Surya Kumar’s

construction site, a short distancefrom the place of crime.

Investigations have revealedthat after the husband left forwork on the fateful day, Arun,who was working at the nearbysite noticed that his aunt wasalone at home. He went over andpicked up a nylon rope as he ap-proached the house. There he pro-ceeded to strangle Banubai todeath and after he had taken allthe jewellery off her, hid the bodyin the diwan in the living room.

He swiped the room clean ofany evidence of murder and thenhid the rope and bloodstainedclothes in a secluded place. Hethen returned to the constructionsite and continued with his work.

When the husband returned

from work and did not find hiswife at home, he is reported tohave asked Arun whether he knewwhere his aunt was. The nervous-ness with which Arun repliedmade Surya Kumar suspiciousand he returned home to inspectthe room more closely. He noticedthat the diwan had been shifted.When he opened it, he saw thebody of his wife stuffed inside. Heimmediately raised an alarm andbefore anyone could respond,Arun took to his heels and disap-peared into the forest. Everyoneknew who was the culprit.

When Sikkim Police personnelat Ranipool PS learnt that Arunwas scared of the dark and thatthe only other relative he had inthe area lived near Jalipool, they

laid a trap for him.A Sikkim Police team compris-

ing of the SDPO, Gangtok, HemRaj Rai, OC, Ranipool, KarmaBhutia, ASI, Gambhir Chettri alongwith constables in civil clothes pre-pared to nab Arun whenever he sur-faced. Elsewhere, a police team ofOCs from Singtam and Rangpowere also deployed so that he didnot cross the border.

Sure enough, Arun turned upat his relative’s place on 16 Octo-ber and was nabbed immediately.

Upon interrogation, Arun ad-mitted that he was driven to mur-der by the temptation of pawningthe jewellery and opening a “milkand paneer” shop like his friends.

NEPHEW MURDERS AUNTFOR 7 TOLAS OF GOLD

ACCUSED SAYS HE WANTED TO

START A “MILK AND PANEER”

SHOP WITH BLOOD MONEY

a NOW REPORT

Cops payhomage tomartyredcomrades

a NOW REPORT

PANGTHANG: Sikkim Policeheld the Police CommemorationDay Parade at the Sikkim ArmedPolice complex, Pangthang onTuesday, 21 October. 52 person-nel of Sikkim Police gave guardof honor in remembrance of the952 martyrs from all over Indiawho had given their lives anddied during active duty duringthe year 2003.

Out of the 952 martyrs, themaximum number were from theBSF, which had 226 martyrs.Among the state police services,Uttar Pradesh had a total of 126martyrs and Jammu & Kashmirwith 110 policemen who hadsacrificed their lives in the lineof duty.

Sikkim this year had 4 martyrsin PI, Naku Bhutia [SAP], SI,Asutosh Pathak [Sikkim Police ondeputation to CBI], ASI PasangLepcha [SAP] and ConstableMani Kumar Bagdas [SAP].

The function was attended bysenior police officials of the stateand various central organizationsstationed in Sikkim.

During the function officersoffered wreaths and the names ofall the martyrs were announced.A 52-gun salute, during which theNational Flag was flown at halfmast, was offered as a mark of re-spect to the departed souls.

Dr. M Singh Tuli, CO, SAPwhile speaking to NOW! said thatOctober 21 was important for thepolice in India as it symbolizedthe courage and devotion of the10 brave Indian policemen wholaid down their lives on the altarof duty at the hot springs inLadakh on this day in 1959 whilerepelling the enemy forces fromthe Indian soil. Although it hap-pened 44 years back, the braveryof these men is still rememberedand is fresh in the memory of allpolicemen. To honor them the Po-lice Commeration Day is held onthis day every year.

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extrasIN

a continuing

offence against

humanity

RAPE

a continuing

offence against

humanity

a continuing

offence against

humanity

22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 7

C M Y K7

FOCUSFOCUS

GANGTOK: Nathula beckonsand how. While the State govern-ment is conducting a thoroughstudy on all the logistic andinfrastructural requirements of theState and the arrangements thatneed to be put into place oncetrade via Nathula resumes, theprospects of Nathula reopeninghas generated a great deal of ex-citement in the neighbouring WestBengal as well.

West Bengal is all set to senda team here next month to “ex-plore the possibilities” of tradeand infrastructure developmentonce Nathula reopens for tradewith China. The West BengalMinister for Commerce and In-dustries, Nirupam Sen and theMinister for Urban Development,Asok Bhattacharya, along withCommerce and Industries Secre-tary, Sabyasachi Sen, are expectedto arrive here soon, to “chalk outways to develop the area,” reportsindicate. They are also expectedto meet the Chief Minister, PawanChamling and visit Nathula dur-ing their visit.

Khyali Ram Singhi was born on 6December, 1921 in Rajasthan. Heis 82 now and has made Sikkim his

home. His father, Lt. Ganpat Rai Singhi,was one of the first members of the busi-ness community to have set up a businessenterprise in Mangan. Khyali Ram has seenmany transitions in Sikkim and is a willing

narrator of stories of allthose who are willingto listen.

His father, KhyaliRam tells us, came toSikkim with the turn ofthe twentieth century.He joined the biggestbusiness house inSikkim in those days,Jethmull Bhojraj, thebankers of the then Hi-malayan kingdom. Theenterprise was based inMangan and soon,Ganpat Rai Singhi be-came a partner and ranthe Chotta Bank. His-torical records suggestthat while JethmullBhojraj was the bankerfor the palace, theChotta Bank servicedthe British PoliticalOfficers operations inSikkim. Although

Jethmull Bhojraj’s descendents havemoved back to Haryana, the Singhi familysettled in Sikkim and runs the popular RajEnterprise in Gangtok.

Khyali Ram reminisces the old dayswhen a trip to Mangan meant a pony ormule ride down Penlong to Dikchu andthen onwards toMangan. A tiringprospect for the un-initiated, but it hadits own charm.

Khyali Ram fin-ished his basicschool from theMission Kothischool at Mangan in 1931 and joinedTNHS in Gangtok in 1936. He studied thereup to class VIII and then returned toMangan to look after his father’s shop.

He was happiest in Mangan becausethat is where his best friends - AchungKazi, Zigmee Kazi and Singhi Kazi -lived. He also had many friends aroundMangan and from Dzongu, Lachen,Lachung and Dikchu.

His family had to however leaveMangan and settle in Gangtok sometimein 1939. By then, however, he had struck

a strong bond with this gateway to northSikkim.

Involved in the Chotta Bank operations,Khyali Ram, in 1957-58, decided to alsoexplore the prospects of trade with Tibet.In fact, till 1962, the year when trade wasdiscontinued, Khyali Ram owned and ran

a shop at the tradingpost of Yatung in Ti-bet. His shop wascalled “Shri SikkimStore.” He was oneof the last Indiantraders to returnfrom Tibet and isstill celebrating the

news that trade might return to Nathula.In fact, Khyali Ram still has Rs. 13,000

deposited in the Bank of China and stillhas the passbook with him. This was aprincely amount in the sixties and he hopesthat the Bank will honour his dues and re-turn the amount to him when Nathula re-opens again. If this happens, Khyali Ramplans to donate the money to some reli-gious organisation.

About the trade, Khyali Ram revealsthat it was tough. The journey, the weatherand the high altitude, all combined to ex-

tract a heavy toll, but the profits made theexercise worthwhile. He recollects that theusual items for export to Tibet were ciga-rettes, watches, textiles, petrol and kero-sene. Blue jeans, he tells us, were much indemand among the Chinese soldiers andgood money could also be made on exportof automobiles which had to first be dis-mantled, carried over to Yatung and thenassembled again.

Today, Khyali Ram sits among a col-lection of rare memorabilia collected overthe past eighty-odd years. Occupying prideof place in his Gangtok home is the certifi-cate signed by Pandit Nehru commendingKhyali Ram for his role in Indo-Tibet tradeand his support to the Nehru entouragewhich crossed Nathula in 1957. The cer-tificate of recognition recently awarded toKhyali Ram by the State Government forhis role in the development of Sikkim isthe latest addition.

Recognition for Khyali Ram has comefrom many sides. Nepali Sahitya Parishadof Sikkim recognised his work in the so-cial sector in 2002 with a special recogni-tion. Interestingly, in 2001, the Lepcha As-sociation of Kalimpong invited him over

DEEPAK SHARMA THE MAN WITH EIGHTY YEARSOF STORIES TO TELL

Glimpses of ManganTHE PEOPLE WHOMADE MANGAN

Khyali Ram Singhi

turn to pg 12

While Sikkim government isobviously jubilant over the hugepotential that Nathula holds forSikkim, its immediate neighbouris also making sure that it is notleft behind in any way. BothSikkim and West Bengal will ben-efit immensely from the reopen-ing of the route. Chief MinisterPawan Chamling sums up the eu-phoria Nathula has generated bypointing out that internationaltrade will be on an even biggerscale than what it was at the timewhen it was shut down and thatthe trade will automatically ben-

efit the entire region, includingSikkim’s neighbours.

West Bengal is making surethat it will have an important roleto play in this trade. WB ChiefMinister BuddhadebBhattacharjee has already writtento Mr. Chamling calling for “ef-fective cooperation” between thetwo States.

Mr. Bhattacharjee told Mr.Chamling in the letter that if thetwo States can “position” them-selves well, “people from both theStates can benefit immenselyfrom the increased movement of

trade and resources that will fol-low through the Pass.” The WestBengal CM also told Mr.Chamling that in order to fullyutilise this opportunity, both theStates must take “concrete stepsfor development of infrastructurefrom Tsomgu through Gangtok toSiliguri.” The fact that West Ben-gal was quick enough to hear thecash registers ring and has alreadystepped up its development activi-ties in anticipation of the Nathulatrade boom is also not denied byMr. Chamling. Recently, he toldthe representatives of the businesscommunity here that he was dis-appointed by the apparent lack ofinterest amongst the people on thepossibilities that Nathula wouldbring. While stating that he saw“no urgency or the need to involvein fervent discussion and planningto cash on to this great opportu-nity” in the people, he said thingswere “different” on the other sideof the border with North Bengalalready involving itself in the de-velopment of adequate infrastruc-ture by holding numerous meet-ings and discussions to chalk outthe requirements.

The Old Silk Route will see some trade-related traffic again.

SARIKAH ATREYA

IS WEST BENGAL MORE EXCITEDABOUT NATHULA THAN SIKKIM?

turn to pg 12

CIS welcomes

assurance

on land for

investorsGANGTOK: The Confederationof Industries of Sikkim [CIS] haswelcomed Chief Minister PawanChamling’s recent assurance tothe investors that suitable land forindustrial purpose will be madeavailable. This, CIS believes, willdefinitely boost industrial devel-opment in Sikkim as land is themain constraint in Sikkim hold-ing back industrial growth.

The CM had made the an-nouncement at a felicitationprogramme hosted by the VyapariSamaj on 13 October to congratu-late him on his receiving the Doc-torate of Philosophy [HonorisCausa] from the Sikkim ManipalInstitute of technology.

“The assurance to simplify therules for an industry-friendly cli-mate will facilitate industrialgrowth and trigger revenue andemployment opportunities,” a CISrelease states.

The recent fiscal incentives forinvestors has already created in-terest in Sikkim, the release addsand an investor-friendly policywill provide the entrepreneurswith the right reasons to invest inSikkim.

Rishi Agarwal, the CISspokesperson, also welcomed theCM’s invitation to businessmen toget involved in the policy-makingprocess vis a vis Nathula and in-ternational trade through Sikkim.

8; NOW! 22-28 October, 2003

C M Y K8

NAMCHI: This second-largest town of theState has been the hub of various socio-economic developmental activities and isnow making a serious play to establish it-self as an important destination on the travelitinerary of tourists visiting the State.Namchi Mahotsav is an attempt in this di-rection and given the grand scale at whichthe ‘Mahotsav’ has been staged, the southdistrict headquarter seems serious about itsaspirations of growing into a popular tour-ist destination.

In fact, so impressed was the chief guest,Minister Tourism and Land Revenue, KTGyaltsen, with the organization of the 3-day Mahotsav which he inaugurated on 19October, Sunday, that he fixed the budgetfor next year’s Mahotsav at Rs. 10 lakhs.The festival this year was mounted on aRs. 5 lakh budget footed jointly by theGovernment of Sikkim and the Union Min-istry of Tourism & Culture.

Pegged as “a tourism and cultural festi-val showcasing the rich heritage ofSikkim,” Namchi Mahotsav more than livesup to its byline. A carnival mood infusesNamchi and the town square has been re-modeled into a mini-Sikkim with the State’sculture, people and their life-styles gettingshowcased in an infectious melee ofcolours.

Stalls exhibiting local handicraft vie forattention with near life-size models of tra-ditional houses complete with families ofthe ethnic communities they belong to.There is also a touch of modernity with thewares from various cooperatives and otherindustrial initiatives of the State displayedat various stalls.

Three days might prove too few if onewere to try out the lavish food plaza at theMahotsav. An impressive array of authen-tic cuisine from the traditional kitchens ofNewars [Chhoyalaprepared fromdried and cookedbuffalo meat is amust eat]; Limbus[nothing compares

A FESTIVAL DOWN SOUTHNamchidolls upfortourism

to savouring a Shya Karjyang sitting nextto a Timmok, a musket loader]; Gurungs[never knew boiled maize with rajma could

taste so good];Mangars [JichaNamey comeshighly recom-mended]; Bhutias[Try the Chey and

you will perhaps understand why beeftongue is such a delicacy]; and Lepchas[fish cooked in a bamboo is a taste that fewother dishes can compete with] are a gas-tronomic delight and even more so becausefew homes can rustle up these any more.What makes the culinary part of theMahotsav even more special is that food isserved in traditional style and one gets amore intimate feel of the food when servedin the traditional ambience.

Those extra calories collected while nib-bling at the food plaza can be knocked offeasily enough by joining the many traditionaldance troupe that put up shows at theMahotsav. For the less adventurous, the au-dience seat at these shows will not only beentertaining, but also an eye-opener to thefact that culture survives and thrives in ru-ral Sikkim even if it has been disowned bythe capital. Most of the performances arestaged by cultural troupes from the villages.

While most of us tend to see Sikkim asa homogenized whole, the varied traditionsat display at Namchi Mahotsav drive homethe point that the State is quite a melting-pot of cultures in its own right.

Since tourism is what the Mahotsav tar-geted, the organizers have also provided for“short-duration” conducted tours to placeslike Samduptse, Champang Park,Handloom Centre, Ngadak Gumpa, TemiTea Garden, Chemchey picnic spot,Damthang Biodiversity Park and Ravangla.

All in all, Namchi Mahotsav was anexperience – a good one – that definitelydeserves a longer encore. A more plannedpromotion and this could well develop intoSikkim’s own carnival which attracts tour-ists by itself and does not have to rely onlyon incidental traffic. The organizers deservepraise for staging such a well-planned andwell-mounted show on their first outing.

ANAND OBEROI

DEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT

[top to bottom]THE CARNIVAL AT TOWN SQUARE:People at the Namchi Mahotsav. The mod-els of traditional architecture can be seenin the backdrop.THE WELCOME DRINK: Chief Guest, Min-ister Tourism and Land Revenue, KTGyaltsen, shares a welcome drink at one ofthe food stalls along with cabinet colleagues,KN Rai [left] and Garjaman Gurung.LILTING STRAINS: The touch of authen-ticity did not end with the food and architec-tural models. The houses come completewith families treating guests to some folktunes too. pix NOW!

THREE DAYS MIGHTPROVE TOO FEWTO TRY OUT THELAVISH FOODPLAZA AT THEMAHOTSAV

22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 9

C M Y K17

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C M Y K18

DATELINE NORTH SIKKIM

STAGING HISTORYNSA prepares an entertaining glimpse

of Mangan’s historyMANGAN: Despite the ongoingholiday season, the staff and stu-dents of North Sikkim Academykeep a hectic schedule nowadays.While academics and co-curricu-lar activities have always beenhigh on the school’s priority list,the added responsibility of stag-ing Mangan’s past hundred yearsin a historical play specially com-missioned as part of the Centenarycelebrations here is keeping theschool campus abuzz.

Although the school manage-

ment is tight-lipped on the actualcontents of the play, they revealthat it will be very interesting.With obvious reenactments of theevents that moulded Mangan, theplay will also include colourfulglimpses into the varied culturesthat make for the melting pot ofMangan. Traditional dances of thevarious communities that havefound a home in Mangan and thefestivities that the Manganitescelebrate collectively.

The students go through mo-

tions of preparing for this “clas-sic” event under the watchful eyesof the principal, NamgyalPhuntsog Kazi, and the staff mem-bers and are only too proud thattheir school has been selected forthe honour of staging Mangan’s100-year march to the present. Theorganisers add that not only willthe play provide an entertainingintroduction to the history ofMangan, but will also showcasethe strong feeling of unity thatbinds the Manganites together.

for OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGAN: Their DC thinks it isa “genuine and deserving” caseand for the locals, it is the all-pur-pose route to the markets and theschools, and yet the concerneddepartment continually ignores it.The residents of Upper Dzongu,Sangkalang and Lower Dzonguare understandably upset.

The disillusionment is di-rected towards the Rural Devel-opment Department and stemsfrom the delay in constructingRCC footsteps from Sangkalangroad to Mangan old bazaar vialower Singhik.

Official documents reveal thatas far back as in May, the DC[North] had written to the Secre-tary, RDD, making a case for theconstruction of RCC footstepsover this 793.35 mtr stretch. Thatwas before the monsoons and the

DC had pointed out that the 5kmlong Mangan-Sangkalang roadremains closed through most ofthe monsoons and that this foot-path was the preferred route for

the people. The monsoons are ontheir way out and five monthshave passed since the DC’s letter.The RCC footpath is still a dreamand the people who have to trekthe steep incline of the existingfootpath and negotiate its slipperycurves are unhappy.

The footpath is frequented bylocals transporting their agriculturalproduce and on shopping trips andchildren on their way to school.They point out that the footpath isin urgent need of some protectivewalls and railings to guard againstmishaps given the increased num-ber of people who use it.

It remains to be seen whethertheir renewed pleas get any reac-tion from a department which hasalready ignored the recommenda-tions of the DC.

DEEPAK SHARMA

LOCALS UNHAPPY WITH RDD’SCONTINUED NEGLECT

Stepping gingerly over a thoroughfare

WHERE’S THE FOOTPATH: A portion

of the treacherous footpath in question

NSA students rehearse for thedramatised history of Mangan they willstage for the Centenary Celebrations

ANNOUNCINGa tie-up which reinforces the fact that

SIKKIM does MATTER

TO COVER SIKKIM BETTERNOW!join hands with

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for news coverage in the country’s only Colour Nepali daily, HIMALAYA DARPAN, or trade enquiries, contact NOW!Gairi Gaon, Tadong, Gangtok. ph: 270949; sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

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22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 11

C M Y K

Singtam’s woes which cannot be disposed

19

DESPATCHESDESPATCHES

JOIN CRASH COURSE FOR XI & XII SCIENCE

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* LIMITED SEATS. REGISTRATION IS GOING ON. * FREE COUNSELLING FORHIGHER STUDIES AFTER XIICONTACT: MRS. DEY, CAREER’S COUNSELLING, TIBET ROAD, OPP. ELEC-TION OFFICE.PH: 226510. OR MRS. DHANI PH: 270797 OR MR. D. RAI PH:229099 DIRECT NO: 94341 53355 (M)

1. Chief Engineer, Project Swastik, C/O 99 APO invites applications byhand/ by post upto 1000 hrs on 27 Oct 2003 from contractor enlisted withBRO/ CPWD/ MES/ Railway etc for issue of tender documents as perunder mentioned details:-Srl. Name of work Estimated Cost Earnest Money

a) Supply and stacking of stone aggregates Rs. 15.00 lacs Rs. 27,500.0050mm & 40 mm nominal size as per MORT &H specifications for permanent works by anymeans between Km 10.00 and 28.50 on East-West Road in Great Nicobar Islands ofAndaman & Nicobar Island under Project Swastik

b) Supply and stacking of stone aggregates 75mm, Rs. 55.00 lacs Rs. 82,500.00to 75 micron, 53 mm to 22.44 mm & stonescreening 13.20 mm as per MORT & Hspecifications for surfacing work by any meansbetween Km 10.00 and 28.50 on Eas-West Roadin Great Nicobar Islands of Andaman & NicobarIsland under Project Swastik.

2. Spot tender forms will be issued from the office of HQ CE (P) Swastik,C/O 99 APO between 1200 hrs to 1300 hrs and will be received on sameday and place at 1330 hrs on 27 Oct 2003. Spot tenders will be openedimmediately after 1330 hrs on the same day and place.3. The applications for issue of spot tender forms shall accompany withdocuments related to past experience of similar type of work executed inlast three years, proof of enlistment with BRO/ MES/ CPWD/ Railway orany Govt. Department/ Agency and Earnest Money in the form of DCR/CDR/ TDR/ FDR.

SINGTAM: For all those whothought that the awarenessprogramme on solid-waste man-agement [organized jointly by theUD&HD and State Pollution Con-trol Board] held more than threemonths back would make Singtama cleaner place, the dream is stillfar from reality. The town contin-ues to grapple with a garbage dis-posal system that is woefully in-adequate and cannot help but feellet-down by UD&HD.

The Garbage Disposal Room[GDR], inaugurated at the Julymeeting as the first of its kind inSikkim, is yet to dispose any gar-bage and the “bell-ringing” tradi-tion which was to come Singtam’sway immediately, is yet to debut.The different coloured garbagebins don’t act as separators fordegradable and non-biodegradablewastes and the temporary collec-tion sites at Jubilee Line and LallBazaar are still in the same over-run condition as they were before.Things, locals insist are as disor-ganized and problematic as they

were before the meeting whichpromised to solve Singtam’s gar-bage disposal problems.

“The July meeting was just awaste of our time. We had a lot ofhope that the situation would im-prove. As you can see for your-self, they haven’t. Of course, theofficials will blame the local forthe filth, but in the absence of al-ternatives, what do they expect usto do,” says Ashbahadur Rai, anelderly resident.

Although the garbage truckcomes every alternate day, it can-not cart away all the refuse fromSingtam’s streets. Somethinggets left behind after every tripand rotting vegetables and house-hold refuse fester on Singtam’by-lanes as ripe breeding groundfor diseases.

Ranjana Pradhan takes onelook at the garbage piled outsideher house and confides that shelives in constant fear hat her chil-dren will contract some danger-ous disease from it.

“My house is just next to thecollection site at Lall bazaar. Mychildren play there every day andconstantly suffer from diarrhoea,

fevers and colds. Who knows whenthey will get a really bad disease.All this garbage in front of ourhouses on the site where we pur-chase our vegetables from. If some-thing is not done soon, we knowthere will be an outbreak of an epi-demic,” says the worried mother.

In fact, the general health ofSingtam seems to be suffering.The hospital here has receivedsome 25 cases of Malaria in therecent past. Most are indigenous– the disease was contracted inSingtam and not the plains be-yond Sikkim. Although HealthDepartment officials refuse toconfirm this figure, fact remainsthat garbage disposal is becomingmore than an unseemly sight inSingtam. It is developing into ahealth risk for the people there.

The Department in the mean-time offers its own reasons for thedelay in addressing Singtam’swoes. The Garbage DisposalRooms could not be used due totechnical reasons, it learnt. Lo-cals, however, point out that thewheelbarrows problem in negoti-ating the steps to the GDR are nota serious enough “technical”

problem. They also wantUD&HD trucks to lift garbageeveryday, as against the alternateday routine of the present. TheDepartment cannot do so becausethree its garbage disposal trucksare off-road for repairs at present.

The Department, however, lobsthe ball back at the people’s courtby claiming that no local body cameup with problems and suggestionson how to tackle Singtam’s garbagedisposal problems.

These arguments could con-tinue for ever. For the present,everyone is doing what they seefit and possible to keep their townclean. Recently, on 16 October,Sikkim Police personnel alongwith officials from Forest Depart-ment, UD&HD and IrrigationDepartment field staff cleaned theriver bed as an initiative under theSikkim Forest, River Course andRoad Reserve [Preservation andProtection] Act, 1988.

a NOW REPORT

CAN BE REACHED ATNOW!270949

GANGTOK: They came, theysaw and left as quietly as theycame [the blaring sirens of themotorcade notwithstanding]. Ateam of 29 defence attaches fromvarious embassies in New Delhidescended on Gangtok on 15 Oc-tober, last Wednesday, and madea beeline for Nathula, taking eventhe State government completelyby surprise.

According to reports, the teamconsisted of Colonel Huang Quinof the Chinese Embassy, Maj.Gen. VN Chernov of the RussianEmbassy, Brig. Ido Rees from theBritish High Commission, Col.John Hill of the US Embassy andCol. PJ Power of the AustralianEmbassy, amongst others.

The team put up in a local ho-tel at MG Marg here, and the en-tire convoy was parked at thestretch outside the hotel duringthis supposedly “hushed-up” trip,with apparently not even the State

government informed about thevisit. A report that appeared in anational English daily said that thedefence advisors were here to“study the State” and had also vis-ited Nathula.

This, however, is disputed bythe top brass in the State admin-istration.

A senior official of Sikkim Po-lice told NOW! that there was“nothing hush-hush” about the trip.

“This was part of a routine triptaken every year by defence at-taches from various embassies inDelhi. The trip is organised by theArmy in which the defence at-taches are taken to various forwardareas in the country to generallygive them a first-hand experienceof the defence establishments inthese areas. The State administra-tion, as well as the Police, wereinformed about the trip. It was nota hushed up matter as it was madeout to be,” he said, adding that theteam did visit Nathula, but it waspart of the routine visit to borderposts and nothing else.

a NOW REPORT

Defence attaches were

here on routine visit, not

secret assignment to

‘study the state’

12; NOW! 22-28 October, 2003

C M Y K

KNOW YOUR SCHOLARSHIPS

20

RECAP SIKKIMRECAP SIKKIM

OFFICE OF DEAN

Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences5TH MILE, TADONG, GANGTOK

VACANT POSITION

1. Applications are invited for filling the following posts in Sikkim

Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences.

SL. NO. OF MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONNO. POST VACANCIES REQUIRED

1. Dental Assistant 1 [One] Diploma in Dental HygienistDiploma in Dental Lab.

Diploma in Dental Operationroom Assistant

2. Lab Assistant 1 [One] Diploma in Laboratory Sciences

2. Applicants should possess certificate of Identification issued

by District Collector.

3. Applicant should possess the qualification from the

recognised college/ University/ Institute.

4. Application with full Bio-data should reach the undersigned

on or before 15th of November, 2003.

5. The interview will held on 17th November 2003 at 5th Floor,

CRH building at 11:00 AM.Dean,

Sikkim Manipal Insitute of Medical Sciences,5th Mile, Tadong

Gangtok

GANGTOK: To encourage girlstudents, the State Government hasapproved the Prerna Scheme, aseparate merit scholarship for girlsstudying in government schools.The scheme will commence fromthe next academic session.

Under this scheme, 27 meritori-ous girls from nine subdivisionswill receive scholarships at the classV, class VIII and class X levels.

This is in addition to the schoollevel General Merit ScholarshipScheme which is for both girlsand boys. Under this scheme,open competitive exams are con-ducted by the education depart-ment at the nine subdivisions for

PRERNA FOR GIRLS, MOREFOR SAINIK SCHOOL BOYS

class V. The first three rank-hold-ers are given an allowance of Rs.1,200. Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 800 perannum. The scholarship holdsgood till class VIII.

The second and third levelscholarships are for class VIII andclass X, for which the money al-location is more.

For post-metric studies, meritscholarships of Rs. 800 each areawarded to students who secure 70per cent and above marks in classXII Board Examinations with En-glish and three best relevant sub-

jects in single-sitting for pursuingany course of his or her choice.

Merit scholarships of Rs. 1,200per month, plus reimbursementsubject to a total of Rs. 10,000 perannum, are also awarded to stu-dents who secure 70 per cent andabove marks in class XII BoardExamination in single sitting forpursuing Honours courses atgraduation level.

There is no limit on the num-ber of beneficiaries from one fam-ily for availing of merit scholarshipand no income ceiling bar either.

For those from less privilegedfamilies, there is the GeneralScholarship, which is awarded toany student who has secured lessthan 70 per cent in Class XII butwhose parents’ combined incomeis less than Rs. 10,000 per month.This is however subject to fulfill-ment of eligibility criteria againstdifferent courses.

Recently, a proposal was alsomoved to increase the financialassistance scheme for Sikkimesestudents studying at SainikSchools. While an assistance ofRs. 10,000 per annum is beingprovided, the new proposal seeksto enhance this assistance to Rs.20, 000 per annum.

a NOW REPORT

to attend a meeting. When it wasKhyali Ram’s turn to speak, hesurprised everyone by deliveringa speech in fluent Lepcha.Lepcha, incidentally is just onemore of the seven languagesKhyali Ram speaks fluently. Heis equally at ease with Bhutia, Ti-betan, Hindi, Nepali, Marwariand English.

Khyali Ram lives his life tothe fullest. He does not believein half-measures and draws reli-gious solace from his Guru,Acharya Tulsi. He is looking for-ward to the centenary celebra-tions in Mangan and promises hewill be there to share the culmi-nation of a hundred years of per-severance and development withfellow Manganites.

Contd from pg 7

The Man With

80 Years Of

Stories To Tell

The West Bengal government,apparently keen to play an impor-tant role in the trade, wants to de-velop North Bengal, especially theSiliguri area in the Darjeeling andJalpaiguri districts. Siliguri wouldbe positioned as the transhipmenthub. Facilities such as warehouses,storage, customs and freight han-dling would be developed inSiliguri. Road connectivity alsofeatures high on West Bengal’s list.

Siliguri would naturally be thehub of all trading activities as it

is the only corridor linking Sikkimwith the rest of the country. Andthe West Bengal government willleave no stone unturned to cashon to the opportunities and theeconomic boom Nathula tradewill bring.

Chief Secretary, SW Tenzingtold NOW! that the team of WBministers is expected to arrivehere on 1 November. Although theactual agenda is not yet clear, theMinisters are expected to visitNathula and hold meetings withtheir counterparts here during thevisit, he said.

Contd from pg 7

IS WB MOREEXCITED...

given by the Central Governmentis due to the fact that Sikkim isspecial. The Speciality is due tothe fact that the Chinese Govern-ment has not recognized Sikkimas a part of India. Whether it wasgood or bad is another matter, butthe fact remains that the bettertreatment is due to this and aftersome years, once the dust settles,our Sikkim, with one MP, willmean nothing to New Delhi. Onecan be assured of that. Some busi-nessmen will benefit, but theSikkimese society will lose its

USP and without this leverage, weare doomed.

To conclude, it is good thatpeople have started expressingtheir opinions and it should bewith good intention of the peopleon the whole and not to take per-sonal advantage of boasting ofwhat one has said in print. Sikkimand the Sikkimese have been vic-tims of personal egos and pride.Let all take a break and rededi-cate ourselves for the future gen-erations and ensure that allSikkimese are united and resolveproblems as a single family likebefore and always.

Contd from pg 2

Not everything isBlack & White

Democracy not only allows a person the liberty of holding anopinion, but also expressing it publicly. If you feel strongly aboutsomething that has been reported in NOW! or have an opinionon some recent developments, then share it with a wider audi-ence. Write to NOW!, Gairi Gaon, Tadong [Gangtok], EastSikkim or email sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 13

C M Y K21

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C M Y K

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22

LEARN Fine Arts, Oil Paints,Glass Painting, Fabric Painting, PotPainting, Artificial FLower Making.Contact: Upper Arithang, Ph -221587. mobile: 98320 33451

SERVICESFOR SALE

LEARN Hair Styling andbeauty treatments. CONTACT:Susong at Aries, Nam Nang.

SIKKIM ROCKSTHIS IS TO INFORM ALL ROCK ARTISTS OF SIKKIM THAT WE ARE COMPILING ANALBUM OF 8 SONGS FROM VARIOUS BANDS IN AND AROUND SIKKIM. INTER-ESTED BANDS WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT ONE ORIGINAL SELF COMPOSED SONG INCD FORMAT TO THE FOLLOWING PERSONS BEFORE 15 DECEMBER.

NIKKI RAI-PH: 221426 OR SONAM LACHUNGPA-PH: 9832046939THE SONGS CAN BE IN ANY LANGUAGE BUT THE GENRE SHOULD BE ROCK, ALTERNATIVE OR GRUNGE!

MOBILE PHONE REPAIR/

EXCHANGE Repair or Ex-change your Mobile Phone atReasonable Cost.New Hand-sets also availableInternet Point, Yama House,

For sports goods contactSPORTING AGENCY, BidhanMarket, Siliguri. ph: 2534241.Deals in Cosco, Nivea, Yonex,SG, BDM, Rocky

SUVAM PRINTERS ShreeBhavan, First Floor, Hill CartRoad, Siliguri. ph: 2525221.Service available - graphics,composing and designingin Nepali, Hindi, English

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LEARN

Anthesti KriyaThe 13th Day Anthesti Kriya of LatePadam Singh Karki, who left forheavenly abode on 13th Oct, 2003,falls on 25th Oct, 2003 [Saturday].All relatives and well-wishers arerequested to join us to offer prayersfor the departed soul at our resi-dence at Lower Timburbong Busty[Karki Dara] on the said date.We also take this opportunity to thankall those who stood by us during ourtime of bereavement and regret ourinability to do so individually.

Dik Bir Karki and Prem Bdr. Karki [sons]Ritu Psd. Karki, T. B. Karki, Biru Karki, S. K. Karki, Mitra P.

Karki and Hem Bdr. Karki [grandsons]& all the family members

GANGTOK: Sikkimese with carproblems in their Spacios andSumos need no longer rush toSiliguri for repairs. With the open-ing of Lexicon Auto Limitedshowroom at 6th Mile, Tadong onSunday, 19 October, help is avail-able here and now.

The showroom was inaugu-rated by the Director of the com-pany, Harish Himatsingka and thefunction was attended by severaldignitaries from the Government

Lexicon sets up shop in Gangtokof Sikkim, members from thebusiness community and key cus-tomers.

Explaining the concept behindopening the showroom at Gang-tok, Mr. Himatsingka said it wasto cater to the sales and service ofspare parts requirements of theTata Range of vehicles in Sikkim.

“Today, with the fast growthand developmental work beingcarried out in Sikkim, it has be-come imperative for a full fledgedsales and service setup at Gang-tok. Lexicon Auto Limited there-

fore requests all owners of 1613,207, 407, 709, 1109, Spacio andSumo in Sikkim to contact thedealer points at Gangtok for allservice and spare parts require-ments,” he said.

Lexicon Auto has also assuredthat it will provide all necessaryassistance by way of easy financeschemes for purchase of vehicles,hassle free service and quick de-livery to its Sikkimese customers.

Lexicon Auto also has a fullfledged workshop at the TadongIndustrial area.

LOST Kalzang Wangdi [s/oSonam Bhutia, r/o Upper Arithang,Gangtok], has lost his marksheetsand certificates of Class X [roll no.3116834, yr. 1998] and XII [roll no.3209461, yr. 2000] and Tribal Cer-tificate. Finders may please con-tact 223088

SheguThe 49th day Shegu ofLate Dawa Tamang, whodied on September 16,2003 falls on November3, 2003.All relatives, friends andwell wishers arerequested to join us inprayer at our residence inTourist Lodge Quarters,Raj Bhawan, Gangtok.

Dorji Tamang [Brother] &family members.

Ph: 221062

SHOWING OFF THE TATA RANGE

a NOW REPORT

WANTEDJOB! JOB! JOB!

Company is looking for gradu-ates, below 22 years for the postof Asst. Manager/ Manager [af-ter completion of training]. Sti-pend Rs. 1,500-Rs. 6,000.CONTACT: F.A.C.E. - GLOBE,Moktan Building, Mt. CarmelAcademy, Deorali.ph: 281654.LAST DATE: 31st Oct, 2003

WANTED Paying Guest accomodation neededfor working woman. Contact 225501

NOW!wishes

its readers

a happy

and safe

Diwali

&

Teohar

22-28 October, 2003; NOW! 15

C M Y K23

Puja Bonus Contest

Participate in

and win different attractive prizesYou will get contest forms with Every Purchase above Rs. 100.

LAST DATE 25.10.2003

We are not responsible forLal Bazaar outlet

Forms are available atArambagh’s Chicken, Deorali

and MG Marg [above Let’s Eat].

SPORTSSPORTS

The school which groomedIndia’s soccer sensation,Baichung Bhutia, seems to

be rediscovering its winning ways.The Tashi Namgyal Academy

football team is back fromHyderabad where it won the AllIndian Public School ConferenceFootball Tournament, hosted bythe Hyderabad Public School,Ramanthapur. The Tenacian teamcoursed through the tourney, win-ning every match and created arecord of sorts by doing so with-out conceding a single goal. Littlewonder then that Phuntsok

GOOD OPPORTUNITIESfor General, ST, SC & OBC Graduates

Available at:a] Central Vigilance, Election Commissionb] Inspectors of Income Tax (Central Excise)c] Sub-Inspector in CBId] Divisional Accountant/ Auditor/ Junior Accountants/ UDC

Under Government of IndiaPay Scale 5000-8000-9000

Last date of receipt of application: 10/11/2003Date of Exam: 08/02/2004

Place of Examination: GangtokRequirement of Documents: Xerox attested each copy of class X, XII and

Graduate ST/ SC/ OBC certificate in case reserve category and two copies ofpassport size recent good quality photograph.

Contact: Helpline Job Counselling & Marketing Management.c/o DTDC, Opp. Chorten Gate, NH31A, Deorali [Gangtok], East Sikkim.

ph: 03592 - 281985 [M] 94341-91789/ 26851

IPSC SCHOOLS HIT THE TNA WALLTenacian footballersreturn victorious; Liftcup without concedinga single goalNIGEL CASHMORE

Dragpa, the goalkeeper, was ad-judged the Best Goalkeeper of thetournament. Accompanying himin the “best” slot was DupTshering Lepcha who broughtback the highest scorer trophy.

TNA started off in strong fash-ion drubbing HPS, Begumpet, 4-0 in the first match. LKSEC,Gotan, Rajasthan, was in for ahumbling experience next andwas booted out 8-0. VidyaNiketan, Pilani, Rajasthan, cameclosest to giving the Tenacians afight and eventually lost 2-0. Thehost team could not capitalize onhome condition advantage in thesemis and lost 4-0. The same goaldifference replayed in the finalswhen TNA clashed with PhoenixPublic School, Belgaum,

Karnataka.While speaking to NOW!, the

TNA football coach, ManasChakraborty, said that it was agood experience for the youngteam which had practiced veryhard for the tournament. The 22goals that the team notched upwithout letting any get through on

their side is proof of the side’sstrength and commitment, he said.

The 16-member TNA squadconsisted of: Phuntsok Dragpa,Takzen Lepcha, Tseten Norbu,Sangay Bhutia, Lakpa Lepcha,Kunzang Lepcha, Norden

Wangchuk, Tshering Wangchuk,Bhaichung Lachenpa, LodenLepcha, Dup Tshering, TsetenBhutia, Tashi Dorjee, DawaTshering, Rikden Tshering andPhurba Tsedhring along with thecoach Mr. Chakraborty.

NAMCHI: The Sixth State OpenBoxing Championship was heldat Namchi, South Sikkim from17-19 October, earlier last week.The championship was organizedby the South District AmateurBoxing Association.

The three-day tournament sawthe East district boxers lift theSub-Junior Team ChampionshipTrophy after securing 33 points.SAI [Namchi] took the Runners-up Trophy with 20 points and thethird place was awarded to theNorth District Boxers.

Nar Bahadur Ranpal of EastSikkim was awarded the BestBoxer Trophy in the Sub-Juniorcategory while Hemant Subba ofSAI [Namchi] was adjudged theBest Looser in the same category.

In a more serious display ofpugilist skills, Sikkim Armed Po-lice Boxers lifted the Team Cham-pionship Trophy in the Senior Di-vision while the runners-up posi-tion went to the South DistrictAmateur Boxing Association and

the third place went to the EastDistrict Boxers. The Best Boxertitle was won by Rinzing Dorjee

a NOW REPORT

SAP boxers pound theirway to victory

of SAP while the Best Looser tro-phy was awarded to PawanDarnal of the East District.

16; NOW! 22-28 October, 2003

C M Y K

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Darpan Publications Pvt. Ltd, Siliguri. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Executive Editor: Mita Zulca

Now! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong. East Sikkim. ph: 03592 270949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

24

SPORTSSPORTS

NAMCHI: Three days of flyingfeet and furious punches later, theGangtok Dojang chalked up themost wins [27 medals in all] to liftthe Vth Invitational Tae-kwon-doChampionship, 2003, which endedhere at the New Secondary SchoolHall on 20 October, Sunday.

The host-team, South Tae-kwon-do Dojang, Sadam [with 11medals] was the first runners-up,while the Melli Dojang [with 14medals] was the runners-up at thetourney which saw the participa-tion of 73 Tae-kwon-do fightersrepresenting seven teams – Gang-tok, Sadam, Kolkata, Jharkhand,Kalimpong, Melli and Darjeeling.

The team from Kolkata baggedthe “Encouragement Trophy”even two of its fighters, Megnathand Shilpa Chowdhary were ad-judged the best male and female

fighters respectively. SandipSubba [Gangtok] won the BestFighter trophy in the junior cat-egory. Abhinam Seryo and SabitaPakhrin from Gangtok were alsogiven the Best Looser Trophies inthe senior category while SatyamBasnet from Sadam received thetrophy in the junior level. SaradYonzon [Gangtok] was adjudgedthe best referee.

Speaking to NOW!, SurajLama, ATFI, First Dan WTF, SouthKorea, incharge of the organizingcommittee revealed that moreteams could have participated inthe tourney had Dojangs from thenortheast not backed out due tostrikes and security problems in therespective states at the last minute.

He, however, added that thetourney saw ample display of tal-

GANGTOK WINS AT NAMCHI

a NOW! pic

5TH INVITATIONALTAE-KWON-DOCHAMPIONSHIP

a NOW REPORT

ent and rued the fact that becauseSikkim’s Tae-kwon-do fraternitywas divided between two associa-tions, its performance in tourna-ments outside the state was gettinghampered. Citing an example of theproficiency of local fighters, Mr.Lama named two 11-year-olds,Shyam Basnet and GitanjaliGurung, who recently earned theirblack-belts in Meghalaya. He isconvinced that if Sikkim Tae-kwon-do practitioners unite, they can be-come a team to reckon with at thenational and international level.

Interestingly, fighters this timearound did not have to spar onunsafe carpets and mats – thanksto Sports Authority of India, theorganizers conducted the fights onan arena mat. This is the secondtime that these mats are beingused in Sikkim.

The prizes were given away bythe chief guest. Minister for In-dustries and Animal Husbandry,PS Goley. Minister for Rural De-velopment, GC Rai, accompaniedhim as the Guest of Honour.

NAMCHI: The 25th GovernorsGold Cup is to come to a scintil-lating end today, 22 October, withthe match between Air India andTata Football Academy [TFA]slated for an exciting finish.

Both teams have played well toreach the finals. Air India beatMohun Bagan [Sail Academy] 3-1in the quarter finals while the com-bination of Nausad Mosa and BinayKuruvilla helped them defeat theAssam State Electricity Board in thesemi-finals by one goal.

TFA beat Air Force XI,Chittagon Abohoni [Bangladesh] toreach the semi-finals where SikkimPolice had to concede the match,losing 3-0. TFA has scored a totalof six goals in the tournament andconceded only one. Bets are on Jer-sey No. 8 Chitra Sen and No. 16Sunit Thapa giving Air India a run

MohunBagan

honours fortwo SFAofficials

GANGTOK: MenlaEthenpa, Secretary and BKRoka, General Secretary ofSikkim Football Associationhave been honoured with aLifetime Membership ofMohan Bagan. This honouris bestowed to them in rec-ognition of their role in thedevelopment of soccer inSikkim. This is a rarehonour coming from a pre-mier club founded wayback in 1889. SFA was in-formed of this decision byAnjan Mitra, General Sec-retary, Mohun Bagan. Thecertificates will be handedto them by the Chief Minis-ter, Pawan Chamling at theconcluding ceremony of thefinals to be held today, Oc-tober 22.

IT’S DOWN TO THE BEST TWOTFA’S YOUTHAGAINST THE

EXPERIENCE OFAIR INDIA

a NOW REPORT

for their money in the finals.Sixteen teams participated in

the tournament which has had an

uninterrupted run since 1979. Thetournament which used to be heldat Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, till

2001 shifted to Bhaichung Sta-dium, Namchi since Paljor Sta-dium is undergoing upgradation

at the moment. The grand finaleof the Silver Jubilee year will beheld in Gangtok next year.