15 July, 2004; NOW! 1

Thursday, 15 July, 2004 Vol. 3 No. 99 Gangtok � Rs. 3

HOTEL BAYUL, MG MARG, GANGTOK

JUST LOW RATE!!!

ANY ITEM Rs. 90 - Rs. 150

* Chinese Crockery* Attractive Home articles* Chinese ladies bags* Chinese toys* Chinese ladies shoes* Paris & Germany perfumes & Scents

* Chinese windchimes* Chinese charging torch* Chinese body spray* Chinese alarm clock* Chinese dying mat

And many more...

Expo 2004

HONG KONG BAZARHONG KONG BAZARW

ITH

NEW

STOCK

SBICARLOAN

the most convenient option

contact PT Bhutia 98320 35786or Chettri 94340 12824

� Sanction & Disbursement in1 day

� Lowest interest rate at 9%� No prepayment charges� No processing charge� Loan up to 90%� Free accidental death

insurance of the borrower� Repayment up to 84 months

FELICITATIONS, A PUBLIC OVATIONOF THE ACHIEVERS: CHAMLING

63 NEPALI-SPEAKING SUCCESS-STORIES RECOGNISED

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: In a firstinitiative of its kind, the SikkimGovernment today felicitated atotal of 63 Nepali-speaking per-sons in recognition of their “pro-fessional excellence, consistentcontribution and dedication to thedevelopment of their motherlandIndia.” The list includes the 19Sahitya Akademi award recipientswho will also receive Rs. 1,000Sikkim Appreciation Pensionfrom the State Government as atoken of appreciation towardstheir contribution in developingthe Nepali language. The final list[complete list tomorrow] includespolitical heavyweights, sportinglegends and luminaries from theglamour world.

Setting the mood for the day’sevents, the Chief Minister, PawanChamling, highlighted the factthat the felicitations were beingheld in the peak of monsoons.This, he said, was the time of theyear when nature was at its pretti-

est and also its most fearsomeform. As much a time for sowingfor a better future, as it was forpreparing for unforeseen chal-lenges, he said while thanking the

“distinguished” invitees for hav-ing made the time to share thismoment with the Sikkimese peo-ple and helping in inspiring theState to carve a more prosperous

future for itself.“This is a public ovation in

their honour,” Mr. Chamling saidwhile introducing the 63 person-

alities felicitated today, while add-ing, “In doing so, we would liketo state the fact that a function ofthis nature is far above the localand national political exigenciesand other narrow considerations.We are here to listen to their suc-cess stories and learn from them.”

The three-day event, whichkicked off with the 190th BhanuJayanti celebrations yesterday con-tinued today with the felicitationsceremony, the release of three vol-umes of the ambitious Study-Se-ries on Sikkim and the SikkimAppreciation Pensions, concludestomorrow with a seminar onNepali literature.

At today’s function, althoughthe list was exhaustive and theprogramme long, each recipienthad their fans in the audience whokept the applause strong through-out. What the function alsoachieved was to remind the peo-ple of achievers from the past andgeographical distant regions whohad done the hill people proud.

The doyen of Nepali literature, IB Rai [first from left] receives the Sikkim Appreciation Pension instituted for Sahitya Akademiawardees at Chintan Bhavan on 14 July as part of the Sikkim Samman Sammilan.

THE CULTURAL DIALOGUE ACROSS THE HIMALAYAINITIATED BY GURU PADMASAMBHAVA SHOULD

CONTINUE, SAYS KAPILA VATSAYANAN

EXPERTS ON THE SIKKIM STUDY SERIES

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: TheSikkim Study Series was launchedabout three years back in recogni-tion of the fact that there was

“huge gap” in the people’s needto know and the availability ofwell-researched volumes onSikkim, the Chief Editor of theseries and economic advisor to theChief Minister, Dr. Mahendra P.

Lama, revealed today before therelease of three volumes of the 7-part series today. Volumes ofSikkim’s geography and environ-ment, culture and literature were

turn to pg 6

Namchi Sports Hostel to tour South Korea

ON

pg 7

Bhandariwet blanketon SammanSammilanDETAILS ON pg 4

2; NOW!; 15 July, 2004

NOW!FIRST WITH THE NEWS

ED-SPACE

write NOW!

If you feel strongly about something that has been reported in NOW!or have an opinion on some recent development, then share it witha wider audience. While the LETTERS section will carry responsesto articles and news carried in NOW!, ACTION MAIL is about com-plaints and grievances. Wherever possible, NOW! shall also searchout a response to the Action Mail. If not, then at least a complaintwould have been filed in the public domain.write to: NOW!, Gairi Gaon, Tadong, East Sikkim.Or email: sikkimnow@ rediffmail.com

WE HAVE BOOKS &

TEACHERS AT

MANGANSSS

Through the columns of yournewspaper we, the students of

Class X of Mangan Senior Sec-ondary School, would like toclarify that the article printed on06 July about Mangan school say-ing that we have not got our Eng-lish and Hindi books was not cor-rect. It has also been told that wedon’t have our science teacher. Onthe previous edition it has beenwritten that we have not got ourcomputer books. But we the stu-dents of class X would like toclarify by saying that all this isfalse. We have been provided withour Hindi books, we also have ourscience teacher. But the English[Literature and work book] has notbeen provided all over Sikkim.

Therefore, we would like torequest you before printing anyarticle, please investigate properlyabout the matterStudents of MSSS, Guardians, AO& Text Book Incharge.

THE LIST FOR

FELICITATIONS SHOULD

HAVE BEEN LONGER

It is heartening to know that dignitaries, musicians, actors, liter-

ary figures, sportsmen and othereminent persons from administra-tion are going to be felicitated on14 July. We must recognize andcongratulate them. They are luckyto achieve this honour.

But it is sad to know thatnames of Sikkimese ladies havenot been included in the list. Theretired secretaries, both male andfemale who had contributed to thegovernment since the time of theChogyal like Late Dr. Shanti Rai,the first lady doctor, late teachersof various schools, officers whocontributed for establishment ofdepartments like Tourism, CottageIndustries, Women & Child Wel-fare, Law department, etc andmany others have been left out.

We feel names of dedicatedsecretaries and officers shouldhave been included.Citizens, Gangtok

REALISATION TOO LATE

This is reference to your article “Retrain and Redeploy –

Power departments solution forsurplus staff” dated June 27 bySubhas Rai.

The training scheme that thedepartment is providing to all itsnon-regular staff is well and good.This should be seen as a positivestep after the department has beentaken over by the chief minister,but with some drawbacks. Thedepartment finally seems to real-ize that it is overburdened withexcess and non-skilled staff, how-ever if this realization has comethen it has come too late.

The problem that they arefeeling today must have been de-tected earlier at the point of timewhen these staff were being re-cruited. After so many years ofbeing in service and with most ofthe employees being the onlybread-earners of the family atpresent, they are on the verge oflosing their jobs at the cost of thedepartment’s mistake.

Recruitment of non-skilledand surplus staff shows the irre-sponsible attitude of the depart-ment. It is difficult to imagine thatthe department that renders one ofthe important services to the citi-zens of the state by supplying elec-tricity can be so careless.

According to DD Pradhan,Secretary, Power, one of the rea-sons he puts forward is the com-puterization of the offices. If ac-cording to him this forms a con-crete reason then the time hascome to remind that most of theemployees were appointed at atime when the offices were notcomputerized hence computeriza-

tion of offices is a later trend andshould not be the reason.

Though non-regular and sur-plus, these employees have gainedexperience in their respectivefields of employment, but thetraining they are being providedat present is an overall training,that too the training is provided onjob. This means that the employ-ees may not be able to fare theexams well, thereby giving astrong reason to terminate theirservices. Eventually this may addto the unemployment problem al-ready widely prevalent in the state.Muster Roll Employees,Power Department, Gangtok

Hill People Should Play ToTheir Strengths

The Sikkim Samman Sammilan, despite the short time in whichthe organisers had to, well, organise things, has managed todraw up an impressive list of achievers from varied fields. Ofcourse, as is attendant to any awards/ felicitation ceremony,there will be voices which suggest more names. Most of thesevoices would be justified and to look at the positive side ofthings, it means that there are many Hill People who do usproud. The argument why such a felicitation for reflecting gloryon the Hills was so long in the making, we leave for anothertime. For now, let’s try and see what the presence of so manygreats means for us.

First the literary achievers. They deserve credit for havingsucceeded in convincing the Sahitya Akademi in 1975 thatNepali was a vibrant language with thriving literary activity inIndia. Recognition under the VIIIth schedule might have takenlonger, but Nepali as a language of India was recognised muchearlier. These writers continue to produce remarkable worksdespite an admittedly shrinking audience.

One look at the list of achievers from other fields, and it be-comes clear that while the Hill People can excel in everythingthey put their mind to, they are best when it comes for playing totheir strengths. Born athletic, sports is a natural calling to peoplefrom these parts and no one proves this better than BaichungBhutia. The hills lend well to creative pursuits and Bollywooddoes not have a finer actor than Danny Denzongpa. The schoolshere are the best foundations that one can hope for a child andJoel Rai copy-edits one of the most “propah” publications of thecountry, India Today. Surendra Rasailly, vice-president, NIIT, be-lieves that given the creativity of the Hill youth and their com-mand over English, they are best suited for the IT industry. Hehas proven it and assures that there are many more in the proc-ess of breaking out in the national scene.

What one also notices, is despite the inherent strengthswhich propelled these achievers to success, they remain ex-ceptions and success in these fields is not the norm. What is itthat holds back the others? Only lack of perseverance comesto mind.

Recently a Bhutanesewoman was so severelyharassed while trying to

obtain a visa to a western coun-try that she gave up in frustration.“I don’t need to go to your coun-try,” she said and came home. Itwas, apparently, a humiliating ex-perience.

She had the luxury of cominghome. Today there are many oth-ers who don’t and are forced to gothrough the unpleasant grilling byvisa officials. Some are studentstrying to make the term deadlines.

With more Bhutanese peopletravelling overseas for non officialreasons, the problem is growing.

The profile of the averageBhutanese air traveller haschanged from the tourist, to a mix-ture of officials and developmentworkers, to businessmen andwomen and, more recently, stu-dents. Students practically fillDruk Air at least twice a year.

This increase in traffic comesat a time when the internationalenvironment is not the most con-ducive for travel. With tensionsrunning high since the fateful 9/11 terrorist attack in the U.S,Bhutanese travellers can expect tobe treated like non entities at best,as suspected terrorists at worst.

To start with, we belong to aregion from where millions ofpeople are trying to leave everyday. The large groups of visa ap-plicants are treated badly anyway,particularly by local staff at theembassies. And we are rightamong them.

Bhutanese travellers will suf-fer more than others because weare not used to this treatment.Back home and overseas we havebeen treated well in the past andeven been a little spoilt. In thatsense we are getting another tasteof the real world.

There is another element.Apart from the fact that we areapplying for visas at busy embas-sies like New Delhi where we haveto join the long local queues evenif ambassadors are accredited to

Bhutan, Bhutanese travellers aresometimes deliberately placed onlow priority.

Yet we cannot afford to com-plain.

Small countries do not havemuch say so we will be on longwaiting lists for some time yet.Even our embassies have limitedleverage when it comes to push-ing papers because of firmly es-tablished systems. Also, we haveto accept that some of the visarules are necessary for a numberof reasons.

Many countries demand a re-ciprocal arrangement and that isnot a feasible idea because Bhu-tan has limited contact and play

in a limited diplomatic arena. Insome ways it is the price of exclu-sivity.

The concept of paperwork andformalities are also new to us andmany Bhutanese usually turn upat the application points withoutthe required documents. Neitherdo we have facilities like creditcards and automated banking sys-tems that are sometimes requiredto prove that we are not illegalmigrants. The wads of cash thatBhutanese travellers pull out oftheir pockets even make peopleworried.

We have to also accept thetruth that there are someBhutanese travellers who do travelfor the wrong reasons, althoughthis number is so small it does notjustify a blanket grouping on allBhutanese travellers. Suspiciousimmigration officials, however,will take it to heart. Suspicion is apart of their responsibility.

But, with a growing numberof Bhutanese travellers facing dif-ficult times, it is time to wake upto the problem. More Bhutanesepeople getting lost, robbed, andfalling by the wayside the trend, itappears, is on the increase.

While officialdom pushes itschannels, we can be aware of theimplications of travel for a start andget used to the often tedious prepa-rations that are necessary. For astart, we need to know the rules andetiquette of travel and follow them.

The choice, otherwise, is tostay home.

-courtesy: Kuensel

Going abroad from Bhutan

BUT, WITH AGROWING NUMBER

OF BHUTANESETRAVELLERS

FACING DIFFICULTTIMES, IT IS TIMETO WAKE UP TOTHE PROBLEM...

15 July, 2004; NOW! 3� RAJDHANI

Key Specs* SR1105IL SR1130IL

Microprocessor AMD Athlon XP Processor Intel Pentium 4 Processor @ 2.8 GHz

Operating System Turbo Linux Workstation Release 10.0

Processor Bus Speed 266 MHz FSB 400 MHz FSB

Chipset VIA KM400A Intel 845GV

Memory 128 MB PC2700 DDR (333MHz); 256 MB PC2100 DDR (266MHz);

2 DIMMS (Expandable to 2GB with 2 DDR DIMMS Slots (Expandable to 2GB

discard) with discard)

Hard Drive 40 GB Ultra DMA ATA Hard Drive at 7200 RPM

Optical Drive 48X CD ROM Drive 48X/ 24X/ 48X CD-RW Drive

Diskette Drive 3.5” 1.44 MB

Communications ITU V.90 K56 Flex Data/ Fax Modem

Video Graphics Integrated VIA-S3 Graphics Intel Extreme Graphics; Up to 64MB

16MB shared memory Architecture Dynamic Allocation

(User configurable up to 64 MB)

Audio Integrated AC’97 CODEC - RealTek ALC658; JBL Platinum Speakers

Monitor MV5500, MV7500 and FP5315 15” colour monitor

Keyboard & Mouse Compaq Easy Access Internet Keyboard; Presario Optical, PS/2 Scroller Mouse

Front Ports Two Hi-Speed 2.0, One IEEE 1394

One Headphone, One Line in, One

Microphone

Rear Ports Four Hi-Speed USB 2.0; One IEEE 1394; One Serial; One Parallel; One RJ-11

One RJ-45; Two PS/2 ports; Line in; Line-Out; One Microphone; One external VGA Port

AT:Amber ElectronicsTadong. ph: 232881, 98320 34547

easy finance options available

STYLEHotel Golden PagodaMG Marg, Gangtok

ANAND OBEROI

GANGTOK, 14 July: “Fires arevery good servants, they cook foryou, keep you warm and make lifecomfortable but it can never be agood master, so people should letfire remain a good servant,” statesa senior official of the Fire Serv-ice Department when asked tocomment on the two fire accidentsthat occurred recently at Sicheyand Development Area. Both thefires had caused considerabledamage with the first one at Sicheycausing big loss of money and alsocausing physical injuries to thefamily of Suren Pradhan. The sec-ond fire, which occurred at theresidence of former Minister, TulsiPradhan, at Development Area isalso said to have caused consider-able damage.

Officials at the Fire Depart-ment say that most of these fireaccidents are caused due to thecarelessness of the people.

“The common tendency of thepeople is to keep small works like

“HELP US PREVENT FIRES”fixing the odd naked wire or thebroken electrical switch andhousehold appliances pending forlater, until it is too late to preventa fire,” they believe, adding that itwasn’t possible for the fire depart-ment to go to every house to checkand so it was the responsibility ofthe residents to be more responsi-ble and careful.

Responding to the fear ofmany locals who feel that areaslike Arithang, Siyari and otherswould be difficult to reach by thefire brigade with the roads beingtoo narrow, officials said thatsome of the areas which were in-cluded in the fire hazard zone in-cluded Lall-Bazaar, MG Marg, Ti-bet Road, Siyari, Sichey, Arithangand the Deorali School road whichwere lined up with concrete struc-tures coming up one against theother, making it difficult for thefire trucks to pass easily and wereeven inaccessible at normal times.

“These places mostly havenarrow roads that get furtherblocked by haphazard parking. We

have suggested to the traffic regu-lating authorities to let vehicles beparked in a straight line and notslanting so that the roads remainfree for the big fire tenders topass,” says a senior official.

The department has furthersuggested that 30 feet of vacantspace be left around the area abovethe static tanks as the static tanksare basically in the gullies, whichare not in the road area.

“The increasing number of build-ings coming up everywhere has madeeven these 30 feet of vacant spacesimpossible. We also request driversnot to leave their vehicles parked nearhydrants and static tanks so that fire-fighting infrastructure is accessibleas and when required by the fire de-partment.

The department has alreadygot the Traffic Police to clear nightparking at these areas for the bigfire fighting vehicles to pass. Butthey are also quick to assure thateven in areas where the vehiclescannot pass, their hoses and thedelivery pipes will make it even

FIRE DEPT APPEALS TO PUBLIC

to the most inaccessible areas.The department has further

recommended one static tank and8 fire hydrants for Arithang, statictanks and fire hydrants for Devel-opment Area, Sichey and fire hy-

drants near Cooperative and DCoffice at Sichey.

“We are doing whatever wecan, but it is up to the people tohelp prevent fires by being morecareful,” repeat the officials.

Relaxed momentsDanny Denzongpa admires theMiss India [Earth] crown wonby Jyoti Brahmin [left] ofDarjeeling in the Femina MissIndia, 2004, contest. They werepresent at Chintan Bhavan on14 July to receive the felicita-tions instituted by the StateGovernment for achievers fromamong the Nepali-speakingIndians.

4; NOW!; 15 July, 2004 NEWSSCAN �

FREE COUNSELLINGFor Direct Admission after XII or Graduation,

conducted by Mrs. Soma Dey, CAREER’S COUN-SELLING INSTITUTE, Tibet Road, Gangtok.

Phone: 226510, 94341-53355 (Mob)In MBA/MCA (only Fees), BCA, IT, Hotel Management (only Fees),

BBM, Bio-Technology, Micro-Bio, Journalism, Mass Communica-

tion, Physiotherapy, Engineerings, BDS, Pharmacy, Tourism

Management, etc. in Bangalore, WB, Nagpur.

JOB GURANTEE IN HOTEL MANAGEMENT.

REGISTRATION & ENQUIRY OPEN FOR 2005 PMT, AI-EEE, AFMC, CET, COMED-KENT. COACHING STARTING FROM Dec. 1st week 2004 by a group of teachers from

SACHDEVA NEW (PT) COLLEGE. Winter crash course CBSE/ICSE (X-XII) ALLSUBJECTS UNDER ONE ROOF. RIMC (DEC Exam) and Class VIII Board Exam, ‘04

CIC IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR HIGHER STUDIES IN SIKKIM

ASHOK LEYLAND FINANCE LTD. & SIKKIM MOTORS

INTEREST**

* Finance at the sole discretion of ACFIN only

* Condition apply

SIKKIM MOTORS6th Mile, Tadong, Ph: 270601 & 231069 RAVI:

94342-03528 LHENDUP: 94341-37192

VIKAS: 94341-26860 AJAY: 98320-79060

Jointly launch first time in Sikkim

Offer valid till 25th July ‘04 only

RUSH TO:

ASHOK LEYLAND FINANCE LTD.6th Mile, Tadong

Ph: 270339, 270767, 98320-15871, 98320-81368

For Mahindra’s range of vehicles- Scorpio, Bolero, Maxx, Savari, Commander, etc.

%

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: The StatePradesh Congress Committee[I] chief, Nar BahadurBhandari, on 12 July met theUnion Human DevelopmentMinister, Arjun Singh at ShastriBhawan in New Delhi.

Apprising the Union Ministeron the current situation in Sikkim,Mr. Bhandari placed his griev-ances alleging that the Congresssupporters in the State were in avery sad situation. He also regis-

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: TheSikkim Pradesh Congress Com-mittee chief and former chief min-ister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari,short-listed as one of the recipi-ents of the Sikkim Samman felici-tations handed out to 63 Nepali-speaking achievers of national re-pute, was not present at today’sfunction. While those from theorganising committee who hadgone in a delegation to invite himsome time back were told that hisattendance would depend on whatthe party high-command directed,Mr. Bhandari today came outstrongly against the state govern-ment’s initiative to felicitateachievers from various fields.

In a press release issued fromNew Delhi, Mr. Bhandari claimedthat receiving this honour would be

an “insult to him and his beliefs.”In the release issued on 12 July

from New Delhi, Mr. Bhandari hasalleged that the State governmentwas organizing this function fromfunds accumulated by cuttingdown on the facilities accruing tothe poor Sikkimese people. Heclaimed that out of eight prestig-ious awards conferred on him byreputed organizations, he had re-ceived only two and it would bedemeaning for him to receive thisfelicitation.

Mr. Bhandari has claimed thathe was unlike the other politiciansof Sikkim many of whom had be-come ministers by “a travesty offate.” He further added that he hadbeen chief minister for three timesand also an MP with the support andlove from Sikkimese people and didnot need to be recognized by theSDF government in this manner.

BHANDARI WET BLANKET ON SAMMAN SAMMILANSPCC [I] chief calls on Arjun Singh,

highlights shortfalls in Sikkim’seducation infrastructure

tered complaints regarding short-age of teachers in schools and col-leges, financial constraints; mis-use of central funds and non-avail-ability of textbooks even after thehalf-yearly examinations in Gov-ernment schools were over.

He also alleged that the SarvaSiksha Abhiyan had become anadditional income generationscheme for the ministers.

Mr. Bhandari, through a pressrelease issued from New Delhi men-tions that in a state where the totalpopulation is around 5 lakhs, there

are more than 25 thousand unem-ployed youth, “who have the poten-tial to turn into human bombs”.

Referring to the SikkimManipal Medical College, Mr.Bhandari informed the UnionMinister that the College had beenset up nine years back but hadfailed to get recognition from theMedical Council of India till date.On this issue, the SPCC [I] chiefhas raised certain questions alleg-ing “vested interests” of the stategovernment with the ManipalMedical Institute.

DEEPAK SHARMA

MANGAN, 14 July: The northdistrict headquarters celebratedthe 190th Birth Anniversary ofAdikavi Bhanu Bhakta at Com-munity Hall, Mangan on Tues-day, 13 July. The chief guest forthe day was Zilla Adhyaksha [N]Lobzang Tenzing. The celebra-tion programme was also at-tended by DC, PS Targain,former chairman, NT Lepcha,SDM, PW Lepcha, Jt. Director,Education dept, JB Karki, prin-cipals of Mangan Senior Sec-ondary School and NamgyalPhuntsog Kazi, NSA school.

Senior SP, BB Basnett was alsopresent along with and other of-ficials and local residents ofNorth Sikkim.

Students of MSSS, NSA,

Pakshyap Club and Sai Samiti,Mangan participated in the cel-ebrations.

The programme started with Mr.Karki giving an introduction of

Adikavi Bhanu Bhakta’s life whichwas followed by Poonam Pradhan,a student of MSS school reiteratingthe achievements of Bhanu Bhaktawho was born in 1871 and startedwriting poems at the age of 18 andwho wrote Ramayana, Tyag, BadhuSaiksha, Prasna Uttari, etc. in sim-ple and lucid Nepali.

Ramayan Path competitions,poem reading competitions anddance competitions betweenMSSSS and NSA students werealso a part of the programme. Thiswas preceded by Senior SP, Mr.Basnett and teacher LB Basnettreading out their own poems.

A short play called “ModernChoro, Ra Daura Surwal,” on thelife of the poet was also performedby NSA students.

Before the prize distributionceremony, the chief guest empha-sized that it was not necessary foreveryone to be a poet but one must

all try and be a wise human being,just as Bhanu Bhakta is remem-bered every year for the good workthat he did for the society.

Prizes were distributed by thechief guest and DC. For RamayanaPath, the first and second prizeswere given to Meena Pradhan andPrakreet Sharma of NSA schoolwhile the third prize was given toKharka Bdr Subba of MSSS School.

In the Poem Competition thefirst and second prizes went to NGTamang and Santosh Rai, MSSSwhile the third prize went to JyotiRai, NSA. In the dance competi-tion the first prize was taken byRachna Bhandari, MSSS, with thesecond going to Gyamit Lepcha,NSA and the third prize going toPoonam Pradhan, MSSS

The celebrations ended with avote of thanks by SDM PWLepcha.

MANGAN OBSERVES BHANU JAYANTI WITH CALLSTO LEARN FROM THE ADIKAVI’S LIFE

15 July, 2004; NOW! 5� NEWSSCAN

REEBOK SHOWROOMBelow Bank of Baroda

MG Road, Gangtok

readymadesat

LANDMARK INTERNATIONALhas already opened another branch inJammu & Kashmir. For this, 20 morebrilliant boys/girls as Branch Manager/Asst. Manager will be recruited soon.

LIMITED VACANCY / ACCOMMODATION FREEFor details contact immediately:

Sandhu Building, 6th Floor, M.G. Marg,Gangtok Ph: 98320-90007 (mob)

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: An emer-gency meeting of the executivecommittee of the World ReligiousReformation and Human Unity Or-ganization, Sikkim [WRRAHUO]was held at Namchi on 11 July. Themeeting which was chaired by itspresident Gagan Rai, had a single-point agenda – to discuss and reactto the news item in a local weeklywhich reported on an incident at theKheocheopalri Lake concerningthe hoisting of a flag in the centre

a NOW REPORT

DZONGU, 14 July: Lingthem Jr.High School, Upper Dzongu, forthe first time in its history, cel-ebrated Bhanu Jayanti on 13 July.This is a remarkable event asDzongu has hardly any Nepalipopulation.

Since Sikkim is celebrating the190th Bhanu Jayanti with a three-day programme at Gangtok andalso felicitating Nepali-speakingdistinguished personalities whohave made remarkable contribu-tions in different vocations andwho clearly symbolize national in-tegration, Dzongu too was inspiredto do something to honour the greatpoet, informs a press release.

Omchu marriesBhanu Jayanti

with raisingawareness onhealth issues

a NOW REPORT

NAMCHI, 14 July: An Inte-grated Health Camp cumBhanu Jayanti Ceremony washeld on 13 July at Omchu, SouthSikkim. Organized by JharnaClub, Omchu, it had DTLepcha, senior citizen of the lo-cality as the guest of honourwhile SDDO, Namchi waspresent as the chief guest.

The chief guest in his addressurged the people to take advantageof this opportunity. He said thatthe programme as initiated by thestate government was worthy ofpraise as the poor people were get-ting lots of benefits.

Dr. Bimal Rai, District Repro-ductive Health & Child HealthOfficer, Namchi General Hospi-tal spoke on issues concerningchild health, family planning andnutrition.

Various cultural shows werealso performed on the occasion.

A total of 58 villagers wereprovided with free medical ex-amination and medicines by DrBimal Rai, DRCHO, BM Rai, ex-Chief Medical Officer, NamchiHospital and Dr Rebecca Lama,Gynecologist along with DrSarda Rai from Namchi GeneralHospital and Dr Buddha fromJorethang Hospital.

About 250 locals attendedthe programme that was spon-sored by Bok-Omchu GramPanchayat Unit.

of the lake thus “defiling” it. Theincident took place on 06 July.

The World Religious Refor-mation and Human Unity Organi-sation was formed with its ad-hoccommittee in a mass meeting heldat Namchi on 8 February, 2004. Itsmain aim and objectives are tocarry forward the message andteachings of Guru Hazoor, who isthe patron saint of the organisa-tion working to bring peace to theworld and avoid the predicted endof the world as believed by theorganisation, informs a press re-

lease issued by the organisation.The executive committee, at its

meeting, has condemned the “dis-torted and mischievous news” pub-lished in the weekly. The press re-lease has alleged that the newsitem, along with the comments oftwo government officials have hurtthe sentiments of “lakhs of devo-tees” in Sikkim and Nepal who re-vere the Sat Guru also known asGuru Hazoor. It also alleges it wasnot the incident, but the reportwhich has ignited communal pas-sions in the State.

The organisation has alsotaken strong exception to the in-tervention of the DC West and SPWest who according to them hadordered the removal of the peaceflag and the national tricolourwhich had been hoisted by thebaba in the middle of the lake.

The organisation has also de-manded an apology from the offi-cials as well as the concerned newspaper for the “blasphemy” commit-ted to Guru Hazoor who has beenaccused of defiling the lake or itmight take recourse in legal action.

GURU HUZOOR DEVOTEES CLAIM PRAYERS CANNOTBE MISCONSTRUED AS ACTS OF DEFILEMENT

PURAN TAMANG

NAMCHI, 14 July: The 190thBirth Anniversary of AdikaviBhanu Bhakta Acharya was ob-served here at Government Col-lege, Namchi, yesterday. The func-tion was organized by the NepaliHonours department of the col-lege. BM Rai, Upadyaksha, Southwas the chief guest at the functionwith CS Sharma, Psychiatrist,Namchi Hospital present as thespecial guest.

The programme started withlighting of the butter lamp fol-lowed by garlanding of the photo

of Bhanu Bhakta, with a welcomesong presented by students ofKamrang College.

Students of IInd year, NepaliHonours, Hari Prasad Chettri andPrem Sharma performed RamayanPath. MN Dahal, littérateur fromWest Sikkim gave an introductionon the life of Bhanu Bhakta whilean introduction to Indian NepaliLiterature was given by DasratKharel, Lecturer, Namchi College.

Lyricist cum poet RajuPakhrin gave a reading of thepoem ‘Hawa ko Paisa’ whileLaxmi Rai, English Lecturer,Namchi College gave a talk on ‘In-

dian English Literature’. BijayKumar Subba a writer from WestSikkim talked on progressive lit-erature while Thiru Prasad Nepal,well known author from Namchigave a brief introduction on Lit-erature and Society.

Various cultural pro-grammes were presented bySurya Jyoti Sangh, UpperGoam, Yangyang Dance teamand students of the college.

A similar programme was alsoorganized at Namchi CommunityHall by Dakshin Sikkim SahityaSammelan. Phurmit Lepcha, ZillaAdyaksha, South was the chief

guest. Open and inter schoolRamayan Path competition, Poemand Quiz competitions were heldduring the programme. The vari-ous cultural programmes were pre-sented by Sapth Sur SangitikManch, Namchi.

The main focus of the pro-gramme was the felicitation cer-emony in which Dakshin SikkimSahitya Sammelan felicitatedMahnanda Poudyal with the ShivaKumar Rai Smriti Puraskar in Lit-erature and the Agam SinghTamang Pratibha Puraskar to CBGurung in Music.

Namchi Girls Senior Second-ary School came first in the reci-tation of Ramayan Path whileNamchi Senior Secondary Schooland New Secondary School stoodsecond and third respectively. Inpoem competition Namchi PublicSchool, Namchi Girls SSS andSadam SSS stood first, second andthird respectively.

Literary discourses topline Bhanu Jayanti in Namchi

As ours is a mixed societywhere three ethnic communities,the Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepa-lese reside in peace and share eachother joys and sorrows, the com-munity at Dzongu too decided tocontribute its bit towards commu-nal harmony and introduce BhanuBhakta’s contribution towardsNepali literature amongst the stu-dents and the general public inparticular, informs the LingthemJr. High School principal.

The day-long celebratoryfunction had Tashi Lepcha, JFMCPresident of Lingthem-LingdhemGPU, present as the chief guest.The programme started with anopening speech delivered by aschool teacher, Ms. Jay-JayLepcha which was followed by a

short introduction of BhanuBhakta Acharya by Ms. UgenChunjzom Bhutia.

Speeches on Bhanu Jayanti byNamgey Lepcha, Head Master ofthe school was the highlight of theday along with cultural pro-grammes by the students.

Besides this, the school alsoreleased the first issue of itsmonthly wall magazine, “High-lander Digest”.

Recitation of poems, storiesand other articles were also con-ducted amongst the students.

The programme was hostedby Mahindra Dahal, a teacher ofthe school and the programmeconcluded with the vote ofthanks by him.

BHANU JAYANTI DEBUTS AT LINGTHEM

VISAWORK & STUDY

IN USA, UK,CANADA,

NEWZERLAND,FRANCE,

LITHUANIA,

Everest OverseasConsultancy- 03532517565,

9434034443, 9434127223 -

6; NOW!; 15 July, 2004

WANTED Computerhardware engineer andmarketing executive. Inter-ested person give bio-dataat NOW OFFICE, Tadong,Gangtok.

VISAWORK & STUDY

IN USA, UK,CANADA,

NEWZERLAND,FRANCE,

LITHUANIA,Everest Overseas

Consultancy- 03532517565,

9434034443, 9434127223 -

FOR LEASEAvailable at prime location inGangtok below pvt. bus-cum-taxistand, a 51/2 storey shortly to becompleted building with a carpetarea of 5000 + sq. ft. ideal for hotel/office etc. Contact: 94934127178 or94343117410 immediately

TO LETAvailable two-roomed flats withattached tiolet-bath and kitchen atTadong, Daragaon below BahaiSchool. Contact: 9434127178

WANTEDFLAT IN AND AROUND

GANGTOKContact: 9434117299,

9832034929

TO LETFlat with kitchen, Dinning, two-bathrooms, ideal for residential-cum-offical purpose atDevelopmnet Area.

Contact: 9434137158,9434110063

CLASSIFIEDSNOW!

FOR SALE! Zoom 1010

Guitar Processor for sale [inperfect condition] owned by StillWater ’s guitarist SonamLachungpa. Price: Rs. 8,000[negotiable]. contact: 98320-46939. Sonam Lachungpa [SL]

Anthyesthi KriyaThe Anthyesthi Kriya of late Miss Sheetal Subba,who passed away on 8th June 2004 falls on 18thJuly 2004. All friends, relatives and well-wishersare requested to join us on offering prayers forthe departed soul at our residence Below PWDOffice, Zero Point.

Mr. K.B. Subba03592229067, 9832009455

Mr. Preetam Subba - 9832070464

THE NO. 1 FITNESS CLUB IN TOWN OFFERS WEIGHT LOSS

AND FITNESS PROGRAMME FOR BOTH LADIES AND

GENTS WITH QUALIFIED AND CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS.

ENROL NOW

Gold Gym, MG Marg, Behind Hotel Golden Pagoda, Gangtok.

ph: 9832070234

GOLD GYMH E A L T H C L U B

NEWSSCAN �

released today by experts of na-tional repute in the said fields.

Kapila Vatsayanan, considereda doyen of Indian culture, todayreleased the book on Culture writ-ten by MM Gurung and RP Lama.Not new to Sikkim, Ms.Vatsayanan visited Sikkim first asthe Union Secretary, Education[Culture] for the inauguration ofthe Namgyal Institute ofTibetology. Yet, she admits, her lat-est visit was an eye-opener. Theemotionally charged two days thatshe has spent here witnessingSikkim and the cultures it harbours,have added a new dimension to herunderstanding of the State, she saidtoday at the release function.

Impressed with the manner inwhich Sikkim’s unique diversityof cultures came together to cel-ebrate Bhanu Jayanti, Ms.Vatsayanan opined that this cul-tural exchange worked as thebridge which linked Sikkim’s pastwith its future. This was a link thatcannot be allowed to snap, shestressed.

Reiterating her belief in cul-ture as an ever evolving phenom-enon, she said that India had some500 versions of the Ramayana.“500 narrations of the same story.

That’s diversity at play in unison,”she said.

Reminding the audience thatGuru Padmasambhava originallyhailed from Afghanistan and istoday revered as the Patron Saintof Sikkim, she said that culturalexchange across the Himalayaswas initiated by Guru Rinpocheand should continue.

Even as the rest of the countrywas turning mono-cultural,Sikkim should be proud that it hasmaintained its plurality, she said.

Books such as the one she re-leased today, Ms. Vatsayanan said,were steps in the right directionbecause what the region and thecountry needed were alternatemodes of research as exemplifiedby the Study Series.

Expectations from the StudySeries remained high with SunitaNarain of Centre for Science &Environment who released thetome on Sikkim’s Geography andEnvironment written by KCPradhan, Dr. Eklabya Sharma, Dr.Gopal Pradhan and Dr. AB Chettri.

Pointing out that most of In-dia’s current woes stemmed fromthe fact that it had lost touch withits traditional knowledge base,Ms. Narain hoped that suchbooks would teach us the folkculture again.

NEW DELHI, 14 July: Shortlybefore flying to Islamabad, USDeputy Secretary of State RichardArmitage on Wednesday said ter-rorist infrastructure still existed inPakistan and stressed that infiltra-tion, which continues, should end.

“Clearly, all the infrastructurethat supports cross-border terrorismhas not been dismantled.. some hasbeen dismantled,” Armitage said ata press conference in New Delhiwhen asked whether the US wasconvinced that Pakistan had dis-mantled terrorist infrastructure ex-isting on its soil.

On India’s concerns aboutcontinued infiltration, he said “any

India’s crude oil reserves willexhaust in less than 20 yearsfrom now while its natural gas

reserves will last another 28 years,oil and gas industry experts saidat a CII lecture today.

“At the current rate of produc-tion, we have 18-20 years of oilbuffer and about 28 years of gasreserves,” Avinash Chandra,former Director General of the Di-rectorate General of Hydrocarbon,said.

He, however, stated that therecent gas finds - 14.5 trillion cu-

ARMITAGE APOLOGISESTO FERNANDES FOR

STRIP-SEARCHNEW DELHI, 14 July: USDeputy Secretary RichardArmitage today said he was “hor-rified” at the the incident of strip-searching done on GeorgeFernandes during an official visitto US as Defence Minister andapologised to him.

“On the way in the car here Ihad the opportunity to telephonemy old friend George Fernandesand told him I had heard about theproblem he had. I was horrifiedabout it and I personally apolo-gised to him,” he told reportersafter he met leader of the opposi-tion L K Advani

Claiming that nation had “noclue” about how it was going tomove ahead, Ms. Narain said suchbooks, because they get the peo-ple in touch with their past, couldhelp in formulating the policies forthe way ahead.

Sikkim’s biggest asset, shestressed, is her environment andwhile most states saw only twooptions here - to exploit and con-serve - Sikkim will have to “learnto live with it,” she said. “It willbe a very exciting prospect to baseyour economy on your environ-ment,” she said.

Praising the State’s aspirationsof going completely organic, shesupported the move by stating thatIndia was too poor a country tofirst contaminate and then cleanup the mess. “We have to take pre-emptive measures,” she said.

Noted litterateur, Kamleshwar,who released the book on litera-ture by Subhash Deepak, pepperedhis address with anecdotes, allaimed at driving home the pointthat writers have to be passionatein their beliefs and compassion-ate in their retelling of local cul-tures. “They [writers], are the peo-ple who have to get off and pushwhen the wheels of democracystop turning,” he said.

contd from pg 1

Experts on the Sikkim Study Series

level of infiltration is too muchfrom our point of view. There isinfiltration. You get various opin-ions here about whether it is up ordown. It is down probably. But thepoint is not to have it at all.”

On the situation in Jammu andKashmir, he said, after his meetingwith Prime Minister ManmohanSingh, that “people are still dying.It is not acceptable.”

During his hectic day-longschedule, Armitage also had meet-ings with External Affairs Minis-ter K Natwar Singh, Defence Min-ister Pranab Mukherjee, NationalSecurity Adviser J N Dixit besidesholding extensive parleys with

Foreign Secretary Shashank.The first senior member of the

Bush Administration to visit Indiaafter new government assumedoffice, Armitage also met Leaderof Opposition L K Advani.

To a question, he said he hadnot made any request for Indiantroops to Iraq. “I made no requestat all for the troops,” he said, add-ing the Indian government has in-dicated ways in which it would behelpful.

Armitage said, during his talkswith Manmohan Singh and otherleaders, he briefed them about Iraqsituation and discussed Afghani-stan, Pakistan and Kashmir be-

sides other regional issues.The discussions also included

“economics” of Indo-US relations,he said.

He noted that India and Paki-stan were engaged in compositedialogue process and had takenConfidence Building Measures[CBMs] making the situationmore positive than it was twoyears ago.

On Italy’s recent proposal forexpansion of G-8, group of indus-trialised countries, to include In-dia, Armitage said “India certainlyhas taken its place on world stage”and “its stances” were worth ad-miring.

TERROR INFRASTRUCTURE STILL IN PAK: ARMITAGE

INDIA’S OIL RESERVE TO EXHAUST IN 20 YRSbic feet in offshore Andhra Pradeshand 4-5 tcf in offshore Orissa byReliance Industries and ONGC dis-covering large oil and gas reservesboth on east and the west coast -will further augment natural gasproduction in the country.

“We estimate that natural gasproduction will reach 195-200million standard cubic meters perday in 7-8 years from the currentlevels of 81 mmscmd,” he said.

India is 70 per cent import-dependant to meet its 120 milliontonnes of crude oil requirement.

ONGC Chairman and Manag-ing Director Subir Raha said “weare not doing enough to build ourability through creation of strate-gic stockpile, to sustain disruptionin oil supplies.”

Oil production will peak in lessthan 10 years time, he said, empha-sising the need for a National En-ergy Security Plan for a unifiedapproach to energy security.

Raha said while renewableenergy may at best be able to re-place 30 per cent of the oil con-sumption in the next 20 years,

emphasis should be on saving oilthrough use of efficient technol-ogy in motor engines, irrigationpumps etc and incentivising con-servation.

Investments should be made inalternative energy like hydrogenand coal gassification, he added.

15 July, 2004; NOW! 7� NEWSSCAN

ICICI PRUDENTIAL

LIFE INSURANCE CO.

REQUIRES

Marketing Executivesfor marketing Life

Insurance products inSikkim.

Interested candidateswanting to earn good

income, contact:CAPITAL ENTERPRISESSiyari Road, Deorali,

Gangtok

Ph: 281043 / 280313

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: The lastmatch of the SFA Senior DivisionFootball Super League 2004 wasplayed between IR Battalion andD’zongri Club today here at TNAGround. IRB won the match by 2goals to nil. Both the goals of IRBwere scored by Krishna Tamang.During the game a yellow cardwas shown to Pranay Subba ofD’zongri in the 45th minute.

With the end of the leaguematches of the tournament UnitedSikkim Sporting Club stood atfirst place with 9 points in Group‘A’, Boy’s Club with 6 points,IRB with 3 points and D’zongriwith 0 points.

In Group ‘B’ Sikkim Police

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 14 July: TheNamchi Sports Hostel has beeninvited to participate at the Sec-ond Inter-religious Peace SportsFestival to be held in Asan, SouthKorea form 20 to 27 July, 2004.

This festival is being organ-ised by the Inter-religious Interna-tional Federation of World Peaceworking under the umbrella of the

‘A’ in first place with 9 points,Sikkim Police ‘B’ with 6 points,Tathangchen FA with 3 pointsand Saipatri Club, Singtam with

0 points.The toppers of the two groups,

USSC and SP ‘A’ will play for thetrophy on 18 July at TNA ground.

IRB beat D’zongri 2-0, rank third in pool A

United Nations Organisation. Theorganisers feel the festival wouldbe a significant effort in usheringa new era of Inter-religious Coop-eration among youth of the worldand in building a culture of peaceand lasting friendship.

Incidentally, Namchi SportsHostel is the only football team inIndia which has received this in-vitation for the team event of foot-ball representing the religion of

Buddhism. It is presumed thatNamchi Sports Hostel receivedthis invitation on the basis of theirperformance and achievements atthe various national level tourna-ments. This Festival would be agolden opportunity for the boys ofthe hostel to acquire much neededinternational exposure.

The organisers are providingfree board and lodgings as well asproviding for local transport and

sightseeing. The state governmenthas sanctioned an amount of Rs.7.38 lakhs to cover the interna-tional air fare and other way sideexpenses.

PS Tamang, Minister, Sports& Youth Affairs and Building andHousing Department has calledfor a special function be organisedto see the team off on their maideninternational tourney on 18 July.

Namchi SportsHostel to tourSouth Koreafor Peace SportsFestival

BIRENDRA SHANDILYA

DARJEELING, 14 July: Bring-ing an end to all speculations spe-cially in Kurseong, the GNLFformed Municipal boards in all thethree Hill Municipalities today.

In the first-ever Oath TakingCeremony on a grand scale, all 32Municipal Councillors took theoath of office. In the first Boardmeeting today, the name of BalBahadur Dewan who had won un-contested in favour of the GNLFfrom Ward 16, was proposed asChairman by Manikala Lama andseconded by Pemba TsheringBhutia. 66 year old Bal BahadurDewan, a lawyer by profession waslater sworn in as the Chairman.

However, due to his ailing healthhe could not climb up to the dais and

a NOW REPORT

KALIMPONG, 14 July: Thesecond day celebrations for BhanuJayanti was held here at the TownHall today. The events for the dayincluded a Kavi GhostiPratayogita and recognition to thestudents of who had acquiredgood marks in Nepali.

took the oath from his chair. He couldnot address the gathering either.

Credit for organizing today’soath taking function which wasattended by all the eminent citi-zens of the town, DGHC council-lors, Secretaries, administrativetop brass and Municipal staff wentto Asish Chakroborty, AdditionalDistrict Magistrate and the Mu-nicipal Administrator. He evenstole the limelight by singing apopular Nepali number to a heavyapplause from the gathering.

“This is a very good opportu-nity to interact with the Council-lors and to get to know them,” saidChakroborty.

In the next meeting, the ViceChairman will be nominated bythe Chairman. As the previousChairman Passang T. Bhutia has

won from Ward No. 22 and 31,and was sworn in as the Council-lor of Ward 31, re-election will beheld in Ward No. 22.

Meanwhile in Kurseong, it wasa scene of jubilation in the GNLFcamp. With the equation standingat 10 independent and 10 GNLF onthe day of the results, talks of in-dependents trying to form the boardwas doing the rounds. Howeverwith the GNLF working in fullthrottle to woo back the independ-ents, many of whom were dissidentGNLF leaders, the GNLF finallyemerged victorious.

“All eyes were trained atKurseong as the situation was verytricky. Now we have 15 Council-lors on our side and a few more tocome. With this equation we haveemerged victorious,” said Shanta

Chettri, MLA from Kurseong anda Senior GNLF leader.

PC Agrawal of the GNLF waselected the Chairman and he inturn nominated Sanjay Chettri asthe Vice Chairman. Later a rallyfollowed by a “thanks giving”public meeting was organized bythe GNLF in Kurseong.

In Kalimpong the scene was abit different. The GNLF Councillorsproposed the name of ChandraKumar Kumai and the People’sDemocratic Front proposed the nameof Norden Lama. The Vote went infavour of the GNLF, with Kumaigetting 19 votes and Lama 4. Inci-dentally, Kumai, also a lawyer by pro-fession is the former Chairman of theKalimpong Municipality [1994-99].The Vice Chairman however was notnominated today.

GNLF TAKES CHARGE OF ALL HILL MUNICIPALITIES

KUMAI IS KPGCHAIRMAN,

AGAINKARAN SHAH

KALIMPONG, 14 July: Thecivic poll process ended todaywith the swearing-in of the WardCouncillors and the formation themunicipal board by the rulingGNLF.

Today’s schedule began withall the councillors taking the oathof office in the presence of theSub-Divisional Officers and abuta hundred locals present for theceremony at the town hall at 11 inthe morning.

A total of twenty-three coun-cillors took oath for the overallprotection of the place that wasfollowed by a conference to electa candidate for the post of Chair-man. CK Kumai was elected tothe post.

Pleased by his victory, thechairman of the Municipality said:“I thank all those who voted in myfavour and also those who votedfor the opposition because theyhave just maintained their demo-cratic process. Now, as a chairmanI know my responsibility and anagenda for the new term has al-ready been sorted out.”

Rachayita Lama of RockvaleAcademy and Tri Lochan Pariwarof St Augustine’s were felicitated.The former had scored 92% whilethe later had 88% in this year’sICSE exams.

Mr. Sharma, Secretary of theNepali Sathiya Adhayaan Samitisaid: “ This is a good feat from boththe students and especially since

they belong to a modern genera-tion. This will help keep the legacyof the great Acharya and the aspi-rations of the Nepali society alive.”

Yesterday the, Bhai ChanPradhan Samiti Award, an All-In-dia Level award for excellence inNepali literary field, was handedover to Badri Narayan Pradhan ofJalpaiguri.

2nd Day of Bhanu Jayanti in Kalimpong

GODHRA: LALUORDERS FRESH

INQUIRYNEW DELHI, 14 July: RailwayMinister Lalu Prasad Yadav onWednesday ordered a fresh inquiryinto the Godhra incident.

Over 50 people, mostly pil-grims returning from Ayodhya,were burnt alive in two bogies ofSabarmati Express in Godhra inFebruary 2002.

The incident had sparked offcommunal violence in large partsof Gujarat, leaving over 800 peo-ple dead and thousands homeless.

WATER: CENTREPROMISES TO

PROTECT RIGHTSOF STATES

NEW DELHI, 14 July: The Cen-tre on Wednesday continued tograpple with the sudden inter-statecrisis resulting from Punjab’s uni-lateral decision to deny river wa-ters to neighbouring states, but itpromised to protect the rights ofthe affected states.

For second day in running,Prime Minister Manmohan Singhwas trying to find a solution withVasundhara Raje Scindia, ChiefMinister of Rajasthan, one of thestates affected, meeting him.

Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh and his Haryanacounterpart Om Prakash Chautalamet the Prime Minister on Tues-day in this regard.

Hinting that Rajasthan mighttake legal action, Raje told report-ers after the meeting that the PrimeMinister “promised to protect therights of the states.”

8; NOW!; 15 July, 2004

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Darpan Publications Pvt. Ltd, Siliguri. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Executive Editor: Mita ZulcaNow! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong. East Sikkim. ph: 03592 270949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

today in

History15th July

THE FUTURE, NOW!

THEFINALONE �

STYLEHotel Golden PagodaMG Marg, Gangtok

available at

Probably for the first time inthe history of Sikkim hasthe world of stardust and

tinsel town showered such praiseand attention onto the state. But itis just as befitting as the state hastaken on the initiative to honoursuch persons at the ongoingSikkim Samman Sammilan pro-viding a cause for unity and inte-gration in the process.

Danny Denzongpa, among themost popular villains of the bigscreen and a son of Sikkim, wasmuch appreciative of the govern-ment’s efforts at honouring Nepalispeaking achievers.

“I have been in Bollywood fora long time and have never beenrecognised by my state till re-cently. I am truly grateful to thegovernment for this honour,” hesaid at the felicitation ceremony.

Incidentally, Mr. Denzongpahad been awarded by the SDFgovernment with a State Awardin the previous term of the gov-ernment. The SDF governmenthad also proposed his name forthe Padma Shree.

Another great artiste of the reelworld, Mala Sinha, while appre-ciating the beauty of the land wentso far as to say, “If there is any-thing as a reincarnation I wouldlike to be reborn in Sikkim.”

She, too, was felicitated todayat the ceremony at ChintanBhawan. Mala Sinha, even at her

SIKKIM BASKS IN TINSEL TALK

glimpse of her outside her hotel.Completely floored by

Sikkim, she admits that shewishes her discovery of Sikkimhad come earlier.

But the one setting many aheart afire is the beauty queenfrom Darjeeling and Femina MissIndia Earth, Jyoti Brahmin.

“During one of the beauty con-tests I participated in, someonecame up and asked me how amomo-thukpa eating girl couldever hope to win a beauty contest,”she shared with the gathering atChintan Bhawan today. This eth-nic branding, instead of deflatingher zest to succeed, only made herresolve stronger and “today I cansay I am proud to be a Nepali,”she announced to a loud applause.

Maintaining that she was not

as great an achiever as Danny orMala Sinha, she admitted that allshe had achieved thus far was toreach a platform from where shecould take the next step up.

“I know I am not in leaguewith either Mr. Denzongpa or Mrs.Mala Sinha. All I have attained isa platform from which I can cer-tainly go on to greater things,” shesaid at the felicitation ceremony.

She will certainly go on togreater things and even more soif she does us even more proudby winning the Miss Asia-Pa-cific title.

age, has been drawing hugethrongs of people waiting for a

ARIES: You encounter frustrationsnow that throw a wet blanket on yourenthusiasm. You feel blocked andhemmed in. Your creative and origi-nal plans meet with opposition fromconservative people, establishedrules, and societal norms.TAURUS: Agreements, contracts,and joining your efforts with otherswill work out very much to your ad-vantage now. A friend or person inauthority may offer help or presentan opportunity which will benefit younow or in the future.GEMINI: Your artistic sensitivity, in-tuition, and imagination are stimu-lated. A fleeting impression or intui-tion is apt to be correct.CANCER: This astrological influenceoccurs twice in a lifetime, at age 25 -31 and again at age 54 - 59. Duringthis time period, changes occur inyour life that provide you greater free-dom and self-expression.LEO: A maturing of your ideals andspiritual values occurs now. This ma-turing process is so gradual and natu-ral that you will hardly notice it, but itis significant. You become less ego-centered and more sensitive to theneeds of others. Consequently, youbehave in a more mature manner.VIRGO: Giving and receiving appre-ciation, love, and happiness come intoyour life now. You are moved to ex-press your affections more openly thanusual. You also want to be surroundedwith beauty and harmonious people,and your artistic efforts flourish.LIBRA:You are motivated to work atresolving any ongoing problems you

may be dealing with, but you're aptto be rather irritable and edgy nowalso. You can't seem to ignore prob-lems or just let them pass. Familyrelations are rather tense.SCORPIO: This is an excellent timeto make decisions about your finan-cial affairs, as your judgment is soundand reliable, though a bit conserva-tive. Investing in beautiful things whichare likely to increase in value overtime (such as jewelry or fine art) isfavored. You are not interested infleeting excitement or frivolity now.SAGITTARIUS: You are optimistic,hopeful, and forward-looking at thistime. You can see connections andpossibilities you may have over-looked before. Now is a time for com-municating your enthusiasm, shar-

ing your plans and dreams.CAPRICORN: Blowups in the domes-tic sphere are likely, as you aren't feel-ing very patient or conciliatory. Passion-ate feelings of all kinds are aroused.AQUARIUS: Agreements, con-tracts, and joining your efforts withothers will work out very much to youradvantage now. A friend or person inauthority may offer help or presentan opportunity which will benefit younow or in the future.PISCES: Your imagination runs wildduring this time period! You are at-tracted to any kind of fantasy, mysti-cism, or imaginative work. Of course,the extent to which this affects you andthe precise ways it manifests dependslargely on your own personal tastesand inclinations in these matters.

1410: Poland & Lithuaniadefeat Teutonic Knights atTannenberg1662: Charles II grantscharter to establish RoyalSociety in London1815: Napoleon Bonapartecaptured1869: Margarine is patentedin Paris, for use by FrenchNavy1881: William “Billy the Kid”Bonney killed by Pat Garrett1904: First Buddhist templein US established, LosAngeles1937: Japanese attackMarco Polo Bridge, invadeChina1970: Denmark beats Italy 2-0 in 1st world female soccerchampionship1991: US troops leavenorthern Iraq