24-30 September, 2003; NOW! 1SOUTH-EAST ASIA

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MURDEREDNBCs collect OBC certificates

TURN TO pg 9 FOR DETAILS

Three days on the Track & Field

S.I. Jyoti Chettri

FORRs. 8,000!Rs. 8,000!GANGTOK: While profiling Dawa Tamang, Sikkim Police sleuthsdescribe him as a quiet, docile man with few friends. He did,however, manage to make the acquaintance of one person hecould have avoided. Making things worse for himself, he evenborrowed money from this person. The rather small amount ofRs. 7,000 proved very expensive. Not only did it notch up aninterest of Rs. 1,000 in 15 days, it also cost him his life. Copsbelieve that Kishore Thapa, who had lent Dawa the money,schemed and carried out his murder along with an accomplicewhen Dawa failed to pay up in time...

TURN TOpg 3 FORDETAILS

TURN TO pg 16 FOR DETAILS

JORETHANG’SHERO

LADY COP ROUNDSUP 6 DACOITS,RECOVERS LOOT

Chasing “dacoits” onlonely highways takes guts.Specially when it is darkand you have only a ser-vice revolver and a con-stable with a nightstick fordefence. S.I. Jyoti Chettri ofNaya Bazaar PS displayedoodles of guts and pres-ence of mind last Friday.TURN TO pg 8 FOR DETAILS

2; NOW! 24-30 September, 2003GANGTOK 24-30 SEPTEMBER, 2003

NOW!SIKKIM MATTERS

ED-SPACE

2

WE WILL NEED

UNBIASED

REPORTAGE NOW

I am a regular reader of your pub-lication and I feel that NOW! hasbeen doing a great job in provid-ing us general people with trans-parent news and stories whileother papers go for sham and bi-ased news.

Of lately, I have gathered someflying news. It seems there is go-ing to be quite a commotion. Thecable war is reviving and this timeover issues like unpaid salaries.

As far as the general public isconcerned, we view the entirecrackdown on SCTV with suspi-cion. After all, why was its prop-erty not destroyed and the admin-istrative crackdown not exercisedtill a rival channel debuted? Weknow of the power politics at playin this confrontation, but the is-sue was never made crystal clearin the press.

With the opposition gearingitself to stage a comeback, it is nosecret who they will side with andexploit for publicity. They will, tosome extent, have public sympa-thy behind them.

All I am trying to say is thatthere will be many changes com-ing about in the near future. It isthrough this phase that we will belooking towards NOW! to pro-vide us with clean and unbiasedwrite-ups.

All the best and God Speed.Tshering Tsultrim,recvd. over email

ENCOURAGE WRITERS

Thank you very much for publish-ing my poems in the litNOW,when the hills write, section ofyour paper. Although, I have beenlate in thanking you, but the de-lay has doubled the amount ofthanks. I hope you will keep onencouraging all others who try

their hand at creative writing. Ofcourse, not everyone is perfect. Iam actually a cupboard poet andI used to write and play on thecomputer. I have managed to getU$ 100 for Poetry in Motion fromInternational Library of Poetry,Poetry.com. I am blowing my owntrumpet.

Lastly, thank you once again. Ishall pray for a long and dynamicexistence of your paper in this tin-sel town of ours. May God blessyou for being so kind. Kesang Ongmu

No. 1

First of all a very big thank you tothe NOW! team for giving usmore pages and good colour andnot increasing the price. It is a ser-vice you are doing for your read-ers. We, your regular readers, will

make sure that NOW! remains theNumber 1 newspaper in town.Just one suggestion, please giveus more news from west and southSikkim like you are doing for thenorth. Congratulations! And keepup the good work.Sonam Bhutia, Gayzing

STAY TRUE TO THE

PEOPLE

I am a regular reader of NOW!and appreciate its extensive andgood coverage of north Sikkim.Its readers in north Sikkim alsowelcome the addition of colour atno extra cost. Keeping its increas-ing popularity in mind, I wouldlike to suggest here that NOW!cover the region without comingunder any pressure. Reach out tothe people from the grass-rootsand cover news without fear orfavour. This will be highly appre-ciated by the people.Norden Lepcha [ex-Zilla

Panchayat], Hee Gyathang

THANK YOU, STNM

This is to express my most sin-cere appreciation and gratitude toSTNM hospital, Gangtok,Sikkim, through your esteemednewspaper. Never had I experi-enced so much compassion, pa-tience and efficiency among doc-tors and staff in any hospital orprivate nursing home.

I had the opportunity to ob-serve the cooperation among thedoctors in various departmentsand their singular willingness tohelp patients and families withmuch needed understanding anda human touch. As a patient, Icould perceive that the entire teamat STNM were genuinely keen onproviding quality treatment.

Among other things whatstruck me was the general cleanli-ness of the premises of the hospi-

CABLES YES, DIALTONE NO

We, the inhabitants of Dzongu [Hee-Gyathang] have already paidRs. 1,000 each to BSNL a year ago, but are yet to receive our

telephone connections. Locals here have even contributed sums rang-ing from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 2,000 extra for the cables that the depart-ment has brought up to Hee-Gyathang. The telephone connectionshave, however, still not been provided. We have even approached theCGM and GM Telecom several times but have received no responsethus far. We would also like to add here that the telecom cables whichwere laid up to Hee-Gyathang are now getting ruined. We would nowlike to call upon the BSNL authorities to come clean on what theyhave planned for Hee-Gyathang. Either provide us with the telephoneconnections, or return the money deposited by us.Norden Lepcha [ex-Zilla Panchayat] and other subscribers,Hee-Gyathang

The Ideology of

ConvenienceCommentators at the national level are passing many satiricalremarks on the sudden change of heart in Mulayam SinghYadav. The man who raised hell at every occasion to derideMayawati for sheltering Amarmani Tripathi, the MLA accusedin the Madhumita Shukla murder case, is now defending himas a “great leader”. The only motivating factor for this turnaroundwas the fact that Amarmani led some BSP bailers into Mulayam’sSP camp. That, is the popular flavour the “ideology of conve-nience” in a nutshell for you. This trend, which is of recent vin-tage at the national level has, however, been the norm eversince democratic voting was introduced in Sikkim. No groupwas willing to pass five years in the Opposition bench andjumped ship the first chance they got.What could be the reason?The lucrative temptations of the treasury bench are as strongin their corrupting influence in other states as they are in Sikkim,yet fluctuating allegiances are a constant only in Sikkim. This issolely because politics in Sikkim is ruled by personalities, notideology. When politicians follow a personality, they wean awaythe moment they lose favour with the person. Commitment toan ideology takes more than just the vagaries of favouritism toswitch sides. With no concrete ideology to pursue, it becomeseasy for politicians to drown their self-serving decisions in therhetoric of “people’s welfare” while justifying radical realign-ments. There is also the need for a politician to remain in news.For this they have to belong somewhere. Too many politicianshave revived too may defunct organizations in the past just sothat they could belong to a camp and continue to make news.Given this history, it is little surprise that KC Pradhan, perhapsthe most experienced politician in Sikkim, decided to rediscoverhis level with the Congress [I] the moment he fell out of favourwith the BJP high command. His claims of “en bloc” inductionof the BJP state-unit into the Cong [I] should have made na-tional headlines given the near impossibility of this happeninganywhere else in the country. In Sikkim, however, it did not evenmanage to raise eyebrows.Mr. Bhandari is also right when he claims that “season” of en-bloc inductions has started. Sikkim should prepare to go dizzywith the speed of realignments that will grip it in an electionyear. One good thing that will come out of this is that the choicesfor the Sikkimese voter will be skittled down. The next elec-tions, in all probability will again be a head-on clash betweenMr. Chamling and Mr. Bhandari.

� LETTERS

In a move that could have far-reaching effects on Assam’sschool-education apparatus,

the state government has decidedto put in place a policy that could,in a single stroke, cleanse the sys-tem of most of the politics thatplagues it at the moment.

The new policy, the recentlyframed Assam Secondary Educa-tion Service Rules 2003, which isyet to be made public, wouldmake merit the sole criterion forthe appointment of that key-stoneof public education, the teacherin government schools, an areathat had over the years reduced tothe politician’s personal fiefdom.

As state education ministerRupam Singh Ronghan, concedes:“We are aware that certain inefficientpeople used to get the job … some-times due to political pressure.” Andhence the new policy, one that hasbeen drafted to marginalise the in-fluence the local MLA hitherto hadin the selection procedure - rightfrom his constituency, anywhere, tothe state capital.

According to highly placedsources in the government, the ap-pointment of graduate would fromnow on be decided [read filtered]by school and district level selec-tion committees and finally the statelevel approval committee. Signifi-cantly, while the local MLA, wouldstill be a part of the governing bodyof the school, all other members ofall the three committees would beeducation department officers, in-cluding the director of secondaryeducation, from various levels.Members of the public and parentsbodies have also found representa-

tion in the committees.An unprecedented amount of

transparency would be added tothe system at the school selectioncommittee stage itself, based ona 250-mark marking system thatwould take into account thecandidate’s performance rightfrom his or her high school leav-ing certificate (HSLC) examina-tions, to the university degrees.

According to the new rules, “Anyappointment made from outside theselect list shall be invalid except ap-pointment made on compassionateground by the government.”

Significantly the new rulesframed by the government alsoextend to the appointment of allother employees in schools.

Once in place, the rules shouldprevent the rut from setting in thestate’s education.

Ironically, among those blamedfor the state of affairs of academ-ics in the state is former chief min-ister and one-time “Man of theNation” Hiteswar Saikia who had,in the height of the of a series ofsurrenders by ULFA cadre a fewyears back [Saikia’s brainwave atthat point created the now infa-mous SULFA, or the band of sur-rendered ULFA cadres], declaredbefore elections, and then went onto create, one lakh school teach-ers’ jobs, a move that has largelybeen blamed for sub-standard, in-efficient teachers having foundtheir way, largely through politi-cians, into the state’s schools.

“Through the newdecentralisation at the grassrootslevel, the managing committee ofthe school will now get the op-portunity to choose the right can-didate, according to merit, for thejob,” says Ronghang.

What now remains is theimplementation of the new rules,in letter, and in spirit

Assam Cleans up School

Education System

FOCUSMONALISA GOGOI

ACTION MAIL

turn to pg 3

24-30 September, 2003; NOW! 3

UP-FRONTUP-FRONT

3

WILL SIKKIM HELP KARMA DOMAGET BACK ON HER FEET?

IN an earlier issue, NOW! had carried the tragic tale of KarmaDoma, a momo seller, who lies in STNM hospital, with her right legamputated, deserted by her husband, forced to take her son out ofschool and in dire need of monetary help. Although the article hasmanaged to raise some money, more needs to be done. We re-quest our readers to send money by cash or cheque towards theKarma Doma fund. The contributions can be sent to NOW! GairiGaon, Tadong. PH. 270949. Money can also be collected by usfrom address given by you.

The total funds raised till 30 September, 2003, will be addedto with a substantial contribution from NOW! and the names ofthose who contributed towards this initiative to rehabilate Karmawill be carried in the NOW! issue dated 1 October, 2003.

tal and the outstanding and self-less efforts of the doctors and therest of the staff. In this context, Iwould like to thank and mentionthe names of a few who were di-

DARJEELING: SubashGhising, the DGHAC chairmanand GNLF supremo is now hand-ing out cross-border solutions. Heclaims he has the “formula” tobail Nepal out of the present cri-sis. And just in case the locals arefeeling left out, Mr. Ghising alsohas the talisman to ward off theevils of Kalyug – separate onesfor men and women!

“Nepal has lots of faults, bothpolitical and religious, which theyare not aware of. If I could have goneI would have helped solve Nepal’sproblems,” Mr. Ghising said.

Incidentally, Mr. Ghising isscheduled to visit Singapore fora tourism meet there and was ear-

lier scheduled to fly there viaNepal where he had been invitedto release a religious cassette. Therecent spurt in violence there hasforced a change of plans and Mr.Ghising will now be flying viaKolkata instead.

“Nepal does not realize that Ihave the key to peace there and asolution to their problems,” Mr.Ghising claimed, but before he couldannounce his panacea for Nepal’sills, he shifted the topic to theDarjeeling hills and its hill council.

“The DGHC is very near state-hood as the Home Ministry is justa step away,” he claimed while

also hinting at the possibility oftaking political “sanyas.”

There is no surety of how longhe would remain chairman, Mr.Ghising said while admitting thatthe post had distanced him fromthe people.

Mr. Ghising was addressing alarge gathering at the Town Hallhere at a cassette release function.

Oh! His talisman to keep thecorrupting influence of “Kalyug atbay: a copy of the Hanuman Chalisain the pocket of every man in thehills and a cassette of the “superspiritual voice” of Ani ChuingDoma in every woman’s bag.

Ghising has the solution to Nepal’s problems…AND THERE’S ADVICEFOR THE LOCALS TOO

AMITAVA BANERJEE

rectly concerned with my treat-ment. They are Dr. (Mrs.) PMelozina, Dr. (Mrs.) ShielaChettri, Dr. Sandip Pradhan, Dr.SK Rai (Dental), Dr. (Mrs.) SemSem Bhutia and the nursing sisters.

GANGTOK: Who would havewagered that Dawa Tamang, a 35-year-old, docile stenographer withthe Advocate General’s officehere would lose his life over apetty sum of Rs. 8000?

But it happened and broughtto the capital the most grisly mur-der in recent times. Dawa, paidwith his life for the Rs. 7,000 hehad borrowed and the Rs. 1,000he owed as interest to a person hethought was his “friend.”

This friend turned foe on 16September when Dawa was bru-tally murdered at his house nearLall Bazaar.

When the Police discoveredDawa’s badly battered and de-composed body, four days later,they were confronted with a“blind” murder case with virtu-ally no leads. But in less than 72hours, the two main accused hadbeen arrested and put behindbars. And the gruesome tale ofrevenge and cold-blooded mur-der unfolded.

Cops entered the scene on 19September, last Friday, whenNavraj Rai, Dawa’s taxi driverlodged a missing persons report.Navraj told the Police his em-ployer had been “missing” sincethe 17th. Dawa’s house waslocked from outside and even his

MURDERED FOR Rs. 8,000!Steno repays Rs. 7,000

loan with lifeneighbours, who generally knewabout his comings and goings,had no clue this time.

A worried Dorjee Tamang,Dawa’s elder brother, also arrivedfrom Pakyong.

Fearing the worst, SadarThana personnel, in the presenceof Dorjee, forced open Dawa’sflat. As they entered the house, anauseating stench hit them. Evenbefore they had taken the quiltsoff the bundle in the bedroom,they knew a murder had takenplace. The walls were splatteredwith blood. Dawa’s body hadbeen covered with blankets andquilts and kept in the middle ofthe room.

A missing persons investiga-tion was now a murder case.There were, however, no leads yetand no hint of motive.

Armed with little information,the Police team, led by SP [East]Akshay Sachedeva and Investi-gating Officer, PI, Sadar, PM Rai,swung into action and began with

questioning the driver.The first hint of a lead came

when the driver disclosed thatDawa had bought the van on loanand that he had been repayingsome amount every month. Healso provided some details onDawa’s social circle and hisfriends.

The first major breakthroughcame when the owner of a hotelDawa used to frequent revealedthat she had once overheard Dawamention someone called DamberChettri or DB, an alcoholic, whohad been pestering him for moneyfor quite some time.

The search was on for “DB.”Sadar Thana sleuths soon ze-

roed in on “DB” who turned outto be an out-of-work cook, whoused to work at a small eatery be-low the High Court on the Na-tional Highway 31A. Dawa usedto work in High Court complexalso. The eatery in question hadclosed down recently and used tobe run by one Kishore Thapa.

When cops reached Damber’shouse, they were told that he hadgone to Ravangla and would beback only on 22 September.Sleuths in civvies were thenposted near his house.

Despite the promising leads,the case appeared to be headednowhere. A link between Dawaand DB was not yet establishedto suggest murder.

Meanwhile, Kishore, 28, andoriginally from Kathmandu, waspicked up from his Tathengchenresidence and brought to theSadar Thana for questioning. Hereportedly was hesitant to shareany information on Damber.However, upon persistent interro-gation, he revealed that he knewboth Damber and Dawa and alsothe fact that Dawa had borroweda sum of Rs. 7,000 from him withthe promise to return in fifteenday’s with an interest of Rs. 1,000.Kishore told the Police that Dawahad failed to return the money.

On the 22nd, Damber returned

home and was immediatelypicked up by the Police.

Damber proved less resilientthan Kishore. He broke down andspilled the beans on how he andKishore had plotted and carriedout Dawa’s murder.

According to Damber, it allbegan with the Rs. 7,000 thatDawa had borrowed fromKishore. When Dawa was unableto pay back the sum in time,Kishore, married and with twochildren, ran into financial crisisthat led to the closure of his eat-ery and Damber jobless.

Blaming Dawa for all his mis-fortunes, later, even Kishore toldthe Police that he then roped inDamber to “do some denting-painting” on Dawa.

“Both had a common motiveand wanted to avenge their hurtand anguish they felt was causedby Dawa. But the fact that couldto go this extent of brutally kill-ing the person in cold blood issurprising,” Mr. Sachedeva says.

The cops are convinced thatthe whole murder was the resultof a well thought-out plan ofwhich they even had a trial run aday earlier.

According to the cops, havingmade up their minds to “finish”Dawa, Kishore and Damber cameto the victim’s house on the

May the Lord almighty blessthe STNM hospital and the stafffor the wonderful work that theyare carrying out.PJ Pradhan, Gandhi Road,Darjeeling

Contd from pg 2

a NOW REPORT

turn to pg 16

4; NOW! 24-30 September, 2003

POWER PLAYPOWER PLAY

4

The resignation letter, which is dated 16September, was followed two days later bya letter on a BJP, Sikkim Pradesh, letter-head to the AICC [I] President, SoniaGandhi, offering to join Cong [I] en-blocon the wings of a 3-point agenda.

Listing these “points,” Mr. Pradha lists“Political Safeguards” first. These safe-guards, Mr. Pardhan explains will comewith “changing” the Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Caste [Amendment] Act, 2003,to restore the “original definition ofBhutia”. Accompanying these changesshould be changes in the Representation ofPeople [Amendment] Act, 1980, to guar-antee that “non-BLs have no right to con-test elections from BL reserved seats” andalso mandating reservation for the major-ity Nepali community of Sikkimese originin the State assembly.

The second point on the agenda for join-ing Cong [I] is the demand that delimita-tion of constituencies be carried out beforethe next elections, “particularly in respectto he 12 BL and 2 SC seats”. Mr. Pradhanwants this exercise to ensure that at least60 per cent of the voters in each of the re-served constituencies belong to the com-munities they are reserved for. “This mayrequire to keep the delimitation process inSikkim beyond the purview of the Delimi-tation Act, 2002, which is possible keep-ing in view Article 371F of the Constitu-tion,” the letter details.

The final point of the agenda demandsST status for the entire Nepali communityof Sikkimese origin.

The “memorandum” submitted by Mr.Pradhan to the BJP hierarchy in Delhi de-tailing the reasons prompting his resigna-tion starts with the high-command’s “sabo-taging” of former SSP president and CMand present SPCC [I] president, NarBahadur Bhandari’s offer to merge his erst-while party “en-bloc” into BJP. Also listedas a causative factor is the ruling SDF’sbeing a BJP ally at the central level. “Wevehemently oppose most of the socioeco-nomic and political programmes and poli-cies pursued by the Chamling government,”the memorandum states while adding thatthe central BJP high-command has “con-sistently” supported Mr. Chamling in theface of the state-units opposition.

The personal slight suffered by Mr.Pradhan in the hands of senior BJP leadersis listed as the third point triggering the res-ignations. Mr. Pradhan alleges that two “se-nior” BJP leaders visited Sikkim in the firstweek of September, but did not find it nec-essary to either inform him in advance ordisclose “their mission”. Upon their return,they announced the dissolution of the state-unit from Delhi and released a new list ofoffice-bearers for Sikkim constituting of“loyal lieutenants” of the present CM.

“In Sikkim, a natonal party was in thepockets of a regional party,” Mr. Pradhansaid at the Press conference.

The memorandum, while announcinghis plans of joining Cong [I] en bloc, states:“…to merge en bloc with the Indian Na-tional Congress under the leadership ofSmt. Sonia Gandhi, who alone is capable

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Sikkim NebholaNational Liberation Front, in itsmeeting held here at its Deoralioffice on 20 September, haspulled up the State governmentfor the shoddy quality of the ra-tion cards being distributed in theState.

The ration cards are not “per-manent,” Nebhola alleges whileadding that the photographs in theration card are unrecognizableand the information full of errors.

The release further alleges thatthe people are yet to receive thebenefits of the Rs. 43 lakhs sanc-tioned for procuring piglets forfree distribution.

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: The spurned former presidentof the State BJP unit, KC Pradhan, has citedhis commitment to “protect and preserve therights and privileges laid down in Article 371Fof the Constitution” as the “one-point” agendato justify his resignation from the party alongwith the executive body members ofBharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Sikkim. At apress conference held here at CongressBhavan on 22 September, Monday, Mr.Pradhan claimed that the state BJP unit hasjoined the Congress [I] “en bloc”. “I havejoined the Cong [I] along with 4,000 BJPvolunteers from the state,” he announced.

One-point agenda to quit, three-points to realignKC PRADHAN LEADS BJP EXODUS INTO CONG

of providing an effective, responsible andpeople-oriented government to the peopleof Sikkim, whose interest and welfare arecentral to our heart.”

The news of Mr. Pradhan leading an “en-bloc” march of BJP supporters into the Cong[I] has evoked mixed responses. HR Pradhan,who replaced Mr. Pradhan as the BJP stateunit president has pooh-poohed his claims ofleading away 4,000 BJP “volunteers”.

“When I took over as the SikkimPradesh president, I learnt that the BJP stateoffice did not even have membershipforms. I wonder where Mr. Pradhan culti-vated the 4,000 volunteers from,” he saidwhile speaking to NOW!

The mood at the Congress Bhavan was,however, much more upbeat.

Welcoming Mr. Pradhan into the Con-gress fold, Mr. Bhandari claimed that theBP state-units “en bloc” induction into theCong [I] was just the beginning. “Manymore en-bloc mergers into Congress willstart taking place now,” he said.

Pointing out the reasons listed by Mr.Pradhan for his joining the Cong [I], theSPCC [I] working president, NamkhaGyaltsen, said that this development provedthat the BJP was an “anti-national, anti-minority” party.

While the repercussions of the latestdevelopment will take some time to filterin, there is no denying that the season ofmergers, inductions and resignations hasbegun. With the elections barely a yearaway, the people can prepare for a regulardisplay of histrionics from its politicians.

a NOW! pic

NEBHOLA protests

shoddy ration

cards

highway hullah in EXTRAS

24-30 September, 2003; NOW! 5

POWER PLAYPOWER PLAY

5

GANGTOK: Within days of theChief Minister’s announcement tohike reservations in higher stud-ies and government jobs for theNon-Backward Communities[NBC] of Newar, Bahun, Chettriand Sanyasi, who have recentlybeen accorded OBC status inSikkim, KN Upreti, the SikkimPradesh Congress Committee [I]spokesperson has communicatedhis party’s “concern and opposi-

State Congress wants quota revisions to enda NOW REPORT

tion” to such “divide and rule”policies and called for an end tosuch short-term gimmickry.

The State Cabinet on 16 Sep-tember had cleared the decisionto “officially” accord OBC statusto the four communities and alsookayed the decision to accord 14per cent reservation for them inhigher education and governmentjobs. This was three percenthigher than the 11 per cent thatthe economically backward ofthese four communities had to

earlier share with such reserva-tions within the open category.The latest hike in reservationstakes the quantum of reservationsin Sikkim to 74 per cent againstthe Supreme Court judgementstipulating a maximum of fifty percent reservation.

Criticising the third revision ofthe State’s reservation policywithin one month, Mr. Upreti saidthat the move made a “mockery”of the reservation policy. “It isunfortunate that the cabinet deci-sions and government’s policies

should become so fluid and ri-diculous,” the Press release states.

The Press release also “de-mands” that the State Govern-ment “spell out” its formula onhow the new tribal communitiesof Limbu and Tamang should beprovided seat reservation in theState assembly. “The Govern-ment should spell out its formulafor recommendation to the cen-tre, avoiding the present neutralstand, shirking from its respon-sibility and shifting it to the Cen-tre,” Mr. Upreti says.

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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: The NBCs have be-come OBCs and the ScheduledTribe category expanded to includeLimbus and Tamangs and the lat-est topic of controversy brewingin the State is whether the “rulingclass people” and “subjects” canbe clubbed together as STs and“share the benefits equally”.

“It has become a significant sub-ject to debate and come up with waysand means so that the suppressed andoppressed class of people can get duejustice and enjoy the equal rights andprivileges as enshrined in the con-stitution of India,” says a Press re-lease issued by the RenjyongMutanchi Rong Tarjum.

The Lepcha association’s opin-ions have been voiced in response

to similar observations made bythe Chief Minister at a recentmeeting with his party members.

The Tarjum, has, incidentally,been demanding “exclusive res-ervation” for the State’s Lepchasin jobs and higher educationclaiming that despite their statusas STs, they have not been able todevelop at par with “other brothercommunities in economical, so-cial and cultural aspects.”

TARJUM SEES “SUBJECT FOR DEBATE” IN CLUBBINGOF RULERS AND SUBJECTS IN ST CATEGORY

While the Tarjum clarifies that itis not “blaming” any other commu-nity for the backward status of theLepchas, it contends that the faultlies with the “policy-making bodyof the then government” which de-cided to club together the ruling classand subjects in the same category.The Tarjum now hopes that this al-leged impropriety will be set rightby according “exclusive reservationquota” for the Lepchas in Sikkim.

CONGRATULATIONS!Sikkim Amateur

Athletic Association

upon the successful

completion of the

4th State Level

Junior Athletic Meet.

from the MEMBERS

Sikkim Cricket

Association.

6; NOW! 24-30 September, 2003

6

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GANGTOK: Sunday, September 21 saw agathering of many famous names of Nepaliliterature at Community Hall, Gangtok. Theoccasion was the Nirman Puruskar cer-emony organized by Nirman Prakashan,Namchi. Literary figures, poets and writerswere honored with the Asha Rani Puruskar,Ashbadhur Nirman Puruskar and the GopalGaunlay Puruskar respectively for excel-lence in writing and for keeping customs andtraditions alive through their works. Twelvebooks on Nepali literature were also releasedat the day-long programme.

The function was attended by the chiefminister, Pawan Chamling, his mother,Asha Rani Chamling, father, AshbadhurChamling, Kalawati Subba, Speaker Leg-islative Assembly, BB Goorong, PoliticalAdvisor to the CM, ministers, patrons ofNepali literature and the general public.

This year’s Asha Rani Puraskar was

awarded to Bhim Dahal, Lok Sabha MPfrom Sikkim who is also well known forhis creative writings. The AshbadhurNirman Puruskar was awarded to RP Lama,an eminent writer from Darjeeling. Thank-ing Nirman Prakashan, Mr. Lama, said thatSikkim needs to send its representatives tothe Sangeet Natak Academy and the LalitKala Academy to promote Nepali literatureeven further.

The Gopal Gaunlay Puruskar wasawarded to Pempa Tamang, a well knownlocal writer.

Addressing the audience, the Guest-of-Honour, Krishna Singh Moktan, a well-re-spected novelist and poet from Darjeeling,said the awards not only paid tribute to anindividual, but also to Nepali literature andculture as a whole.

“As a poet, I think that poetry is a con-stant struggle between the mind and theheart, and it can always give a new per-spective to an individual. Although thewriter dies, the work that he or she leaves

behind never dies,” he added.The Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling in

his speech said that the awards were a wayto pay his respect and express his love andgratitude towards his parents.

“With the fast-changing times, societyis moving farther away from its roots andtraditions. It is the duty of writers to keepthe culture and tradition alive through theirwork. Nirman Puruskar is doing its best tokeep this culture alive,” he added.

Also felicitated for their contribution tokeeping the Nepali literary and culturalscene alive and vibrant were 14 otherNepali poets, singers, musicians, novelists.Publishers and writers from Sikkim,Darjeeling and Nepal.

Speaking on the motivating factors be-hind establishing Nirman Prakashan in 1977,Mr. Chamling reminisced of the times whenhe, along with his friends from Namchi,decided one day, twenty-six years ago, thatthey should started a literary publication. The

Recognisingthose whocarry Nepaliliteratureforward

THE NIRMAN AWARDS

CEREMONY a NOW REPORT

turn to pg 12

SUDUNGLAKHA: Some sixtymembers of the Sai Samaj KalyanMandali, east Sikkim, were atKopchay here on 19 September,last Friday, to offer voluntary so-cial service to help out with car-ing for the thousands who arrivehere everyday for a “darshan”with Guruji Nirmal Mangar.

A Press release issued by NimaTheeng of Pakyong informs thatthe Sai devotees were inspired tothe service by their Pakyongconvenor, DR Gurung.

The 60 volunteers ferriedbuilding material and patients onstretchers over the steep one ki-lometer stretch from the road-heads to Guruji residence in thefields below. The group alsohelped out with the ongoing workof taking the road to the Guruji’sresidence. The Sai Samaj mem-bers also provided lunch and re-freshments to all those who were

Sai Samajis work for Nirmal “Guruji”a NOW REPORT

present for a “darshan” on the day.This aspect of the service wasoverseen by OB Gurung, who alsohappens to be a zilla panchayat.

Later, on 21 September,Kopchay played host to some2,000 volunteers who helped outwith the ongoing civil works inthe area. Sai Samaj members alsohelped out on that day by provid-ing the assembled devotees withresting places and refreshments.

A NOW! File Foto of a patient being

rushed for some miraculous heal-

ing in the hands of Nirmal ‘Guruji.’

SFA appeals for sponsorshipSikkim Football Association announces the start of the 25th All India

Governor’s Gold Cup Football Tournament form 10th October to

22nd October 2003 at Bhaichung Stadium, Namchi. This year too,

we would like to know, how much do you still remember your loved

ones who has left for their heavenly abode? If you still love them,

SFA offers you a golden opportunity to sponsor in their sweet memory

any one of the following token trophy of this Gold Cup. Remember,

this is just one time expenditure, so hurry and contact us before it is

too late.1. Memorial FAIR PLAY Trophy Rs. 5,000/-

2. Memorial MAN OF THE FINAL MATCH Trophy Rs. 5,000/-

3. Memorial BEST GOALKEEPER Trophy Rs. 5,000/-

4. Memorial MAN OF THE TOURNAMENT Trophy Rs. 10,000/-

5. Memorial RUNNERS-UP TOKEN Trophy Rs. 15,000/-

6. Memorial WINNER’S TOKEN Trophy Rs. 25,000/-

Menla Ethenpa

Hony. Secretary

24-30 September, 2003; NOW! 7

Taking disability management to the grassroots

7

FOCUSFOCUS

GANGTOK: An orientationprogramme on disability manage-ment for medical officers work-ing in Primary Health Centres inthe state started at the STNMHospital conference hall, LadakhiBuilding, on 22 September, Mon-day. The orientation programme,which will end on 27 September,is sponsored by the RehabilitationCouncil of India.

Speaking on the inaugural day,Chief Guest and Minister ofHealth & Family Welfare, DD

Bhutia, said that the state govern-ment was doing all it could to helpthe disabled. He directed Dr. SCPradhan, Director, Health Ser-vices, to see to it that even the dis-abled in remote corners of theState are provided with good care.He also expressed hope that thetraining received by the doctorspercolated to the grassrootsthrough community health work-ers and generated universalawareness on disability manage-ment in Sikkim.

“A doctor commands consid-erable respect and confidence ofthe people in the community. He

is the only skilled person to playa key role in the preventive, cura-tive, promotive and rehabilitationservices available to the people atthe grass root level,” said Dr. BPDhakal, General Secretary,Sikkim Spastic Society. He addedthat it was for this reason that theRCI had decided to converge thedisability management strategieswith the help of comprehensivehealth-care infrastructure of theGovernment of India. Thus, thisnational programme for Orienta-tion Training of PHC medical of-ficer came into being after con-sultation with the Ministry ofHealth & Family Welfare, GoI, inSeptember 1998.

RCI is a statutory body under

the Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment, formed in June1993. RCI has advisory, regula-tory, supervisory and trainingawareness generating role in thefield of disability management inaccordance with the People WithDisability Act, 1995.

Dr. HC Goyal, counsel for RCI,and also the Head of the Depart-ment of Rehabilitation, SafdarjungHospital, New Delhi was the re-source person for the trainingprogramme. While speaking toNOW!, Dr. Goyal said that thisprogramme was important to dis-seminate awareness among thedoctors about common disabilitiesand how to manage them.

“Doctors will gain knowledge

ORIENTATION PROGRAMME FOR MEDICAL

OFFICERS ON DISABILITY MANAGEMENT

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on the causes, early detection andbasic rehabilitation managementof all common disabilities. Doc-tors at PHC’s are the first to comein contact with such patients andif they are trained then they canprovide proper guidance and ad-vise to them and can also referthem to the proper agency,” headded.

According to Dr. Dhakal, someof the medical officers who couldnot make it to the trainingprogramme would be given train-ing in the coming days. He addedthat it is expected from the presentdoctors to utilize the knowledgegained in this programme for train-ing the multi purpose workers andcommunity health workers.

GANGTOK: The Spices Boardand the Department of Agricul-ture & Horticulture agree that itis necessary for Sikkim to opt forthe “inorganic” option one lasttime to save its cardamom plan-tations before it goes ahead withits plans of becoming a com-pletely “Organic State.”

This realization was arrived atduring the XIth Annual ResearchCouncil Meeting, held here at theSpices Board office at Tadong on19 September, last Friday.

Secretary, Agriculture & Hor-ticulture, Dr. GK Gurung, whiledeliberating the increasing threatfrom Chirkey and Phirkey dis-eases which destroy cardamomplantations in Sikkim, revealedthat a field visit of affected plan-tations in August this year hadconvinced him and his team thatfertlisers and pesticides will havebe used one final time in Sikkimto save its cardamom plantationsfrom the combined assault ofthese diseases. He also called onthe research and technologicalknow-how with Spices Board tohelp in combating these diseases.

Sharing his views on the prob-lem, Director, Horticulture, JRSubba, opined that going inor-ganic one final time will have tobe backed by a concerted propa-gation of cheaper, better and moreeffective planting materials, forwhich support from the SpicesBoard was required.

“Sikkim has never seen pestand disease problems of suchhuge magnitude and technicalsupport from the Spices Board isimportant to solve this problem,”Mr. Subba said.

Bijay Gurung, Member, SpicesBoard stressed that the farmersneed to be given more know-howof the disease and stressed thatmore studies should be con-ducted. He also reiterated thatmisinformed notions of carda-mom cultivation and marketingwhich are still common need toeradicated.

The bane of diseases has hitSikkim hard and even though theState recently won the Best RuralPrize in spices cultivation for itsCardamom, the latest problem hascaught its growers unawares andcreated much loss and panic.

Mr. Gurung was of the opin-ion that the Spices Board and theGovernment should include thefarmers in important meetings andinvolve them in the attempts tocurb the problems related to car-damom production in the State.

Dr. J Thomas, Director [Res.],ICRI, Spices Board,Myladumpara, who was presentfor the Meet assured full supportto the state department and sug-gested that the strategy to “effec-tively and efficiently” eradicatethese diseases “in one single ap-plication” of fertilizer and pesti-cide spraying, be carefully workedout taking into consideration thedifficult terrain and water-sourcesof the State.

The meet also saw various sci-entists and experts deliver paperson such topics as crop improve-ment, agronomy and soil science,plant protection, post-harvesttechnology and saw detailed dis-cussions on field problems.

Experts suggest one “inorganic” roundfor Sikkim before it goes organic

SPICES BOARD HOLDS ANNUAL

RESEARCH COUNCIL MEETING

a NOW REPORT

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JORETHANG: WhenIndra Bahadur Gurung lefthome on 19 September, lastFriday, on a routine chore ofattending a tender process atthe RDD office at Jorethang,little must he have realizedthat by the time the dayended, he would have gonethrough perhaps the most ad-venturous day of his life, com-plete with a female knight inshining armour, who saved himfrom losing a fortune.

The day passed withoutevent and it was only towardsevening that things started hottingup. The tender process over, ataround 6 PM, Indra Gurung foundhimself waiting at the Akar Bridgehere, to hop a lift back home toYuksom. The light was fading andjust as he was debating whetherto check into a hotel or not, awhite Maruti van drove down thestate highway. It slowed down asit approached him and beforeIndra Gurung could react, twopeople jumped out. They snatchedthe bag he was clutching, ran intothe van and sped off towardsLegship.

By the time Indra Bahadurcould collect his wits, the van had

RECAP SIKKIMRECAP SIKKIMS.I. JYOTI CHETTRI – JORETHANG’S HERO

vanished be-yond the far bend. He was nearpanic mode, the bag contained Rs.34,500, a substantial amount hehad collected only the same day.Luckily for him, he recognized thetwo who had jumped him and hadregistered that they were headedtowards Legship. He immediatelycalled up the Naya Bazaar PS andinformed the cops of the“dacoity.”

Within minutes he was at thePS filing an FIR and namingPramod Khanel and KintupBhutia, both, residents ofGeyzing, as the perpetrators of thecrime. The FIR also recorded thatthe duo had four accomplices.

Sub-Inspector Jyoti Chettri had

received the phone call from atraumatized Indra Gurung and hadlater registered his FIR. She couldunderstand how desperate the per-son who should have been on hisway home would be when he isforced to get “held-up” instead.The formalities over, she directedconstable BK Sharma to accom-pany her as she went chasing af-ter the culprits.

Barely half an hour had lapsedsince the incident and the record-ing of the complaint.

Speeding down the Jorethang-Legship highway, the direction inwhich the six accused had spedaway, she chanced upon the vansome eight kilometers out ofJorethang at a place called Kipsip.

As SI Chettri alightedfrom her police jeep, shenoticed that the van wasempty. It was dark. As shescouted around the area, sheheard voices and as shepeered below the road, shesaw a person walk up.There were five others be-hind him. She knew thatthe gang was dangerous.They had already proventhat they were willing totake risks. She had to be

careful. All she had at her dis-posal were a constable with anightstick and her trusty revolver.SI Chettri also realized that shecould not allow the gang to slipaway.

Drawing courage from hertraining as a cop, she whipped outher gun, prepared her constable toprovide backup and stepped outof the shadows when the gang hadgathered around the van.

The gang of six must surelyhave weighed their odds at charg-ing the SI. After all, they wereonly a few feet away and she hadonly one gun. But when SI Chettrihad barked the order for them tosurrender, she had convincedthem that she meant business.They surrendered.

A taxi that SI Chettri hadbrought along proved helpful inferrying the arrested gang back toJorethang.

SI Chettri drove into her PS ahero. The hoodlums rounded-upand the entire amount recovered.

Lady cop

rounds up

6 “dacoits,”

recovers

loot

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Wednesday, September 24, was theday given by the Sikkim High Court for Playwin,the country’s first online lottery and promoted bythe Sikkim Government, to close operations in thestate. But a Supreme Court ruling given earlier thismonth has come as a breather for both Playwinand Sikkim Lotteries.

In its 12 September ruling, the Supreme Courttold the State to make interim arrangements forPlaywin to continue with its operations until it de-livers a final verdict. Four weeks time has beengranted for filing of counter affidavits and twoweeks thereafter for rejoinders, if any. Till then theinterim arrangements made by the High Court shallcontinue, the SC ruling directs.

It might be recalled that earlier, in its 24 Juneruling, the High Court had ordered the Directorateof Lotteries to cancel the marketing agency of Tashi

a NOW REPORT

To encourage the progressiveuse of Hindi in central gov-ernment offices and organi-zations, a 15-day “HindiFortnight” is being held atCommunity Hall from Sep-tember 26. Organized by theOffice of the AccountantGeneral [Audit], the valedic-tory function on the inaugu-ral day will have Governor ofSikkim, V Rama Rao as chiefguest. The programme willbe attended by all the headsof central government of-fices, Chief Secretary andother dignitaries. This is thefirst time such a programmeis being organized in the stateat this scale.

HINDIBOL

Delek Gaming Solutions, a subsidiary of PlaywinInfravest, belonging to the Mumbai-based Esselgroup. The court had directed the government toterminate Playwin’s agency within three monthsand call fresh tenders to appoint a new marketingagency.

The ruling had come after two separate writ pe-titions had been filed by Modi Entertainment Net-works Pvt. Ltd. and by JK Bhandari and RajendraUpreti, from the State, alleging that the govern-ment had not followed the rules while inviting thetender.

After hearing both the sides, the court had askedthe government to float fresh tenders following“rules, norms and procedures”.

Speaking to NOW!, LP Barphungpa, Director,Sikkim Lotteries, said, “Yes, we have some relief,we have to go according to the verdict.”

This is one verdict that Sikkim Lotteries andPlaywin Infravest will be happy to comply with.

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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Even as his detractors findfaults in his formula to adjust the hitherto“left-out” communities in the OBC cat-egory, the Chief Minister Pawan Chamlinghas not only handed out the first lot of OBCcertificates to members of the Newar,Bahun, Chettri and Sanyasi communities,but also received handsome felicitationsfrom organisations representing these com-munities in Sikkim.

In a lavish felicitation programmeorganised here at the TNA grounds by theNewar, Bahun Chettri, Sanyasi Coordina-tion Committee on 22 September, Monday,the CM handed over OBC certificates to20 members of the said communities in asymbolic gesture of the “official” recogni-tion of their respective communities asOBCs in Sikkim. The day was also reservedfor a public felicitation of Mr. Chamlingby organisations representing the said com-munities in the State. Interestingly, the dayalso coincided with the “Garibi UnmulanDiwas” [Poverty Alleviation Day] of theruling SDF party.

Addressing the massive gathering, Mr.Chamling reminisced on the events that ledto his going underground in 1993 after hisfallout with the then Bhandari government.September 22 marked the day when hecame out of hiding to form the SDF partyand has since been observed as the “GaribiUlmulan Diwas.”

He said that the “revolution” to “com-pletely eradicate poverty and establish ademocratic State, and which is still on,” waskick-started on this day. Claiming that theinclusion of the left-out communities in thestate OBC list was another move in thisdirection, he called for a consolidated ef-fort from all sections of the society in the“reconstruction” of the Sikkimese society.

Sharing his government’s nine-year ex-perience of lobbying to convince the Cen-

tre to include these communities in theOBC category, Mr. Chamling alleged thatthe move was severely crippled by the “in-efficiency” of the previous Bhandari gov-ernment. It was only after the Centre hadrepeatedly turned down the State’s repre-sentations on the issue that he decided togo the distance alone and include the com-munities in State OBC list.

Earlier, in her welcome address, SDFexecutive committee member and coordi-nator, NBCS Coordination Committee,Manita Pradhan, while expressing “grati-tude” on behalf of the four communities,said that this latest development had comeabout through the sole efforts of the Chief

RECAP SIKKIMRECAP SIKKIM

Minister.“Despite the Centre rejecting the de-

mand, the Chief Minister went ahead andexpended all the powers at his disposal tofulfil this long-pending aspiration of theSikkimese people,” she said.

The presidents of the Sikkim ChettriBahun Kalyan Sangh and Sikkim NewarGuthi, DR Thapa Chettri and KhagendraPradhan, addressed the gathering on behalfof their communities, and both expressedtheir gratefulness to Mr. Chamling for“uniting the Sikkimese Nepali society”under one roof. Both felt that the economi-cally backward sections of the two com-munities should benefit from the facilities

NBCs collect OBC certificates, felicitate Chamling

provided under the OBC tag.Dispelling the popular notion that

Newars were the affluent class, Mr.Pradhan contended that a large section ofthe Newar population in Sikkim still lived“hand-to-mouth” and were deprived “so-cially and economically.”

Minister for Transport, SB Subedi andMinister for health, DD Bhutia also spokeon the occasion.

More than 5,000, from all over the state,especially those belonging to the Newar,Bahun, Chettri and Sanyasi communitieshad gathered at the TNA grounds for thefunction.

WAITING FOR THE CM: The welcome party for the felicitation of the CM at TNA Ground on 21 September. a NOW! pic

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: The All Sikkim Gurung [Tamu]Buddhist Association called on the Secretary, So-cial Welfare Department, on 23 September, Tues-day, and submitted a detailed report on the Gurungcommunity titled, “Historicity of Gurung EthnicHill Tribe.”

The document seeks to further the Gurung de-mand to be included in the Scheduled Tribe cat-egory and comes in response to the Department’sadvice to submit a detail account of the reasonswhy the community, which is presently under theOBC category, should be so recognized.

The Association’s letter to the Secretary alsoreminds him that the Centre, as early as in 1976,had admitted that the Gurungs of Sikkim were oneof the “left out” from the ST list of the Centre.The Association hopes that the new documents

submitted by it will accelerate the process of theirrecognition as tribals.

In another development, the Association electeda new central executive committee on 21 Septem-ber after the previous one was dissolved on 8 Sep-tember, earlier this month, in pursuance of a StateGovernment circular reminding government ser-vants that they cannot join any political party or“organizations which take part in political move-ment or activity”.

KB Gurung continues as the president in thenew body with Mohan Gurung of Yuksom as thevice-president and Binod Gurung of Namchi asthe General Secretary. Shanti Gurung, Gangtok,as Treasurer and Ravi Chandra Gurung, YangYang,and Mohan Gurung, Gangtok, as publicity secre-taries.

The Association now has no government ser-vant in the executive body.

GURUNGS PREPARE DOCUMENTS TO PROVE

HISTORICITY OF THEIR BEING HILL TRIBESa NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: The 1st AnnualGeneral Meeting of the Citizen’sUrban Co-operative Bank Ltd. washeld here on 21 September, Sun-day. The meeting was presidedover by the Chairman, PK Pradhanand attended by the directors,share-holders and representativesof Cooperation Department.

The Chairman, in his welcomeaddress, briefed that after obtainingRBI license and getting registeredwith the Cooperation Department,the Citizen’s Bank, a fully comput-erized branch, started its commer-cial operations from 21 March,2003 with a capital base of Rs.42.89 lakhs and 469 members.

While responding to the vari-ous queries raised by the share-

holders, NR De, Managing Direc-tor, said that the bank was grow-ing satisfactorily. The bank’spresent share capital has increasedto Rs. 54.59 lakhs with 537 mem-bers. The bank’s present depositsand advances stand at Rs. 72.54lakhs and Rs. 11.77 lakhs respec-tively, he revealed.

The demand for loans undersmall business, transport opera-tors, housing, personal loans, con-sumer loans is quite encouraging,it is learnt.

The Chairman and the Boardof Directors also appealed to theshare holders to confine theirbanking business with their ownbank, Citizen’s Bank, and intro-duce new members and custom-ers for rapid growth and prosper-ity of the bank.

Citizen’s Bank holds AGM, board satisfied with progress

10; NOW! 24-30 September, 2003

18

DATELINE NORTH SIKKIM

SQUEEZED DRYIts name means the “Ocean Lake,” but Gyam Tsona in north Sikkim is today [pic, left]barely even a pond. There was a time, however, when the lake spread out more than 75hectares [pic above] and was Sikkim’s only “loud lake’ in that the sound of its waves couldbe heard miles away. Inconsiderate diversion of its feeder spring skittled the lake to itspresent size in less than four years. The water body obviously had some role to play inthe local ecology and perhaps even more. During better days, the lake also hosted thelargest visitation by migratory birds who would stop over, replenish and rest on its shores.All that is lost now, but there may still be time to return this lake to its original size androle. pix USHA LACHUNGPA

HEE-GYATHANG: Membersof the Students Voluntary Club,an initiative triggered by the So-cial Organising Committee herecomprising of Hee-Gyathang Sr.Sec. School teachers and studentsand local zilla panchayat, arecommitted to their aims of socialupliftment, promotion of humanvalues of right-thinking and right-living. In their latest endeavour,SVC members were atYoungming Dah [Liang Dah],below Hee-Gyathang, on 20 Sep-tember, last Saturday, to conducta “Wildlife Preservation and En-vironment Conservation Camp.”

The Camp started with a plan-tation drive by the SVC memberswho then entertained the localswith a play performed on thebanks of the Youngming lake. Theplay, which was well received bythe gathered gentry, also carriedsocial messages on such topics ashealth and hygiene, wildlife pro-tection, preservation of local cul-tures, education, alcoholism andmodern agricultural techniques.

Towards reaching informa-tion on these topics, the SVC is

also publishing a monthly news-letter called “Essence” whichcontains inspirational essays onthese issues.

A noteworthy project under-taken by the Club is the “Eradi-cation of Angutha Chaap” projectat the rural level where the stu-dents go out and reach literacy tothe older folk.

The club, which works on theguidelines of the National ServiceScheme [NSS], has recently re-ceived Rs. 5,000 from NSS to fundits projects and hopes to visit ev-ery backward village in Dzongu atleast once a month. They are alsohoping for further financial sup-port from the State Governmentand hopes to work in collaborationwith state government departmentsof Forest, Agriculture and Science& Technology. They are also hop-ing to explore possibilities ofherbal plants cultivation in thehigher altitude areas.

The SVC comprises ofChewang Norbu Lepcha [Presi-dent], Dathup Lepcha [Vice-President], Tashi Lepcha [Jt.Secy.], Pemtok Lepcha [Gen.Secy.], Samdup Lepcha [Trea-surer], Tempa Lepcha [Publicityincharge] and 54 other members.

STUDENTS SPEARHEAD AN EDUCATIONIN RIGHT LIVINGDEEPAK SHARMA

KutseShegu

The Kutse Shegu of ourlate mother, Mrs.Lobsang Dolma, falls on1st October, 2003[Wednesday]. All friends,well-wishers and relativesare requested to join usin offering prayers at ourresidence at ForestColony, Gangtok. Wewish to thank all thosewho stood by us duringthe time of our bereave-ment and regret our in-ability to thank them indi-vidually.

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Members of the Students’ Voluntary Club, Hee Gyathang,pose for a group photo (top) after performing the play atLake Youngming (above). NOW! pics

24-30 September, 2003; NOW! 11

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ORDERThe Government of Sikkim after carefulconsideration of the matter and variousappeals filed by individual Petroleum Dealersand Petroleum Dealer’s Association of Sikkimhas been pleased to pass the following order:-1) The assessment of Income Tax in case of

Petroleum Dealers in Sikkim shall be doneduly giving 90% rebate on assessedIncome Tax from Accounting Year 1997-98 (Assessment Year 1998-99) onwards.

2) The Income Tax deposited if any byPetroleum Dealers so far as per existingrates of assessment for the periods 1997-98 onwards shall be adjusted against theamount of the tax payable after freshassessment.

3) The Petroleum Dealers are required tofurnish Books of Accounts for 1997-98 to2002-03 if not already furnished beforeassessing authorities for the period notassessed.

By Order(T.T. Dorji)

CommissionerRelease Order No: 102/IPR/2003-04 I.T. & C.T. Div.Dated: 17/9/2003 Finance Department

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Executive commit-tee members of the Sikkim Foot-ball Association, led by theirpresident, Tempo Bhutia, calledon the Chief Minister, PawanChamling, here on 23 September,Tuesday to thank him for his “his-toric” announcement reserving 2per cent sports quota in State gov-ernment employment.

Demand for a sports quota hasbeen a long-pending demand ofthe SFA, which feels that this is a“good beginning” for a more ag-gressive promotion of sportingexcellence in the State, a press

release issued by SFA informs.While talking to the SFA del-

egation, Mr. Chamling revealedthat his government has alreadytaken the initiative to build oneplayground in every grampanchayat and urged SFA to or-ganize more tournaments at thegrassroots level and appreciatedSFA’s holding of under-19 andwomen’s tournaments in theState.

The CM is also reported tohave advised SFA to come for-ward with a proposal to build afootball academy adjacent toSikkim Mining Ground atRangpo.

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: After its experi-ment with Nepali remixes andpop, local music producers,SK Audio Vision, has releaseda new album. The first devo-tional music album broughtout by the company is called“Sai Mantra” and has theGayatri Mantra on one sideand Om Sai Ram on the other.The music is by Ajnish, whoprovides the vocals on thetrack along with RimalaMoktan.

The album was released byB Moktan, President, SAICommittee, Sikkim, at SaiBhavan, Baluakhani on 21September, Sunday. Five ru-pees from the sale of each cas-sette will be given to Sai Com-mittee, Gangtok, to help themin the various community ser-vices they undertake.

According to Rakesh Somaniof SK Audio Vision, listening tothe Gayatri Mantra makes onefeel relaxed and helps in releas-ing stress.

“The main motive behind theventure is not to make moneybut to serve,” he says.

The album is presented byChandrakala Somani and ispriced at Rs. 45.

It is notified for the information of the concernedcandidates who have applied for the post ofAssistant Conservator of Forests that thePhysical Endurance Test of the eligiblecandidates will be held on 14/10/2003. Necessaryintimation has been sent to individual candidates.For further details, office of Secretary, S.P.S.C.may be contacted.

D. K. PradhanJoint Secretary

Sikkim Public Service Commission

SFA “THANKS” CM FORSTARTING SPORTS QUOTA

SK releases SaiMantra

NOTICE

Release Order No: 104/IPR/2003-04 Date: 23/9/2003

12; NOW! 24-30 September, 2003

20

DESPATCHESDESPATCHES

JORHAT: Even as the King ofBhutan Jigme Singye Wangchukwas visiting India, Indian troops con-ducted a covert operation inSamdrup Jongkhar, on the Assam-Bhutan border, only to face highercasualities than the ULFA cadre,who according to intelligencesources in the Army, lost only 3 men.

This, according to sources, hasresulted in the army changing tac-tics and deciding to hire surren-dered ULFA [SULFA] militants,given their first-hand knowledgeof the terrain of Bhutan, to carryout covert strikes against theirformer comrades. This is beingdone, even as the King of Bhutanoffers the fig leaf of talks to theultras in a last ditch effort to find

Surrendered ULFA to go after formercomrades-in-arms in Bhutan

ARMY OPTS FOR CHANGE IN TACTICS AFTER

LOSING SOLDIERS IN BHUTAN EVEN AS

200 ULFA MILITANTS SHIFT BASE

BIJOY HANDIQUE

a peaceful solution to the issue ofULFA insurgents and those fromthe National Democratic Front ofBodoland [NDFB] on their soil.

The services of 220 surren-dered ULFA militants have al-ready been requisitioned for thepurpose, sources said.

A similar strategy may also bedrawn up to deal with insurgentsin Bangladesh, a part of whichwas the recent unsuccessful at-tempt on the life of PareshBaruah, the ULFA commander-inchief, sources disclosed.

In yet another major develop-ment, more than 200 cadres of theULFA have shifted from Bhutantill Thursday last, and have set uptemporary bases in the jungles ofthe Pavoi Wild Life Sanctuaryalong the Assam-Bhutan border,and are on the move towards

Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.According to sources, the

NSCN [IM] are supposed to pro-vide them safe passage toMyanmar. The exodus has comein the wake of the recent agreementbetween Bhutan and India, whichwill now allow Indian troops toconduct operations in the moun-tain kingdom to destroy insurgentcamps of the ULFA and the NDFB.

Meanwhile, according to re-ports, ULFA cadres are now be-ing seen in and around the islandof Majuli in Upper Assam, wherethey are said to be stocking up onmedical supplies for their com-rades who have shifted fromBhutan. At present the ULFA has12 while the NDFB eight camps,mostly in the Samdrup Jongkhararea of southern Bhutan border-ing Assam.

The latest exodus of the militantsfrom Bhutan is reminiscent of asimilar cadre movement from mili-tant camps in areas such as

Lakhipathar in Upper Assam, fol-lowing similar media publicitygiven to the possibility of army op-erations being launched against theinsurgents in the state. In the sub-sequent launching of OperationBajrang, the army faced little resis-tance from the ULFA cadres, mostof whom had shifted from theircamps in Lakhipathar and othersuch areas leaving behind only atoken presence. This had resultedin hardly any members of the up-per hierarchy being apprehended.[By arrangement with Newsfile]

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first issue of the periodical Nirmanwas published from funds raisedby Mr. Chamling and his col-leagues who got together and per-formed Deosi throughout theDasain season that year. Soon, thepublication transformed into apublishing house and has thus farpublished more than 200 titles,which include collections of suchnoted writers as Parijaat. The pub-lishing house is today a not-for-profit organization.

Apart from those already listedabove, other prominent namesfrom the field of Nepali literaturepresent on the day were Dr.Ghanshyam Nepal, Tika PrasadRai, Dr. Bal Krishna Pokhrel,Meera Rana, Ramesh Vikkal,Ramlal Adhikari, Shivraj Sharma,Swami Prappanacharaya andHaimandas Rai.

Contd from pg 6

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DEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT

21

GANGTOK: On 20 September,last Saturday, 432 educated unem-ployed youth were given a shot atbecoming “young entrepreneurs”when they were handed loans tofinance their projects after propertraining by SIDICO. Cheques toeight of the 432, shortlisted for thesecond phase of the ChiefMinister’s Self EmploymentScheme, were handed over by theChief Minister Pawan Chamlingat a function hosted at Commu-nity Hall on the day while the restwere given their loans at theSIDICO office.

CMSES is being promoted asa harbinger of a paradigm shift inthe State where the unemployedyouth will start looking beyond thegovernment for jobs and suste-nance. The CM admitted that thiswill not be easy and assured allpossible help to the enterprisingand the brave who ventured be-

FROM UNEMPLOYED YOUTH TO YOUNG ENTREPRENEURSCMSES ENTERS SECOND PHASE

ANAND OBEROI

yond the State Government pay-roll to seek a self-employed future.

“Without struggling you willnever achieve anything. Utilizeyour potential and expertise andadapt to the changing times andyou will surely reach the top,” hesaid while addressing the gather-ing of CMSES beneficiaries, hiscabinet colleagues and senior of-ficials. “It will not be easy, but youshould not loose hope. Take it as achallenge and become the pioneersof change,” he added while under-lining the “idea” behind CMSES.

Reiterating his government’soft-repeated commitment to raiseSikkim’s revenue from the presentRs. 300 crores to Rs. 1,000 croresby 2015, the Chief Minister re-minded the beneficiaries that theywere being seen as important con-tributors to that goal.

Minister Animal Husbandryand Industries, PS Goley, whoalso spoke on the occasion,stressed on the need for “properutilization” of the loan.

“This is an opportunity to realizeyour dreams. If you spend the moneyon buying bikes and mobiles, thenyou will regret it when the time comesto repay the loans and you would nothave contributed anything to the de-velopment of the State either,” he said.

Incidentally, the loan is interest-free if repaid within five years (twofor males and three for female entre-preneurs) and already there has beenmuch criticism that despite the man-datory training sessions for beneficia-ries, few are utilizing it properly. Infact, the Chairman, SIDICO, PD Rai,admitted to as much when he said that20 per cent of the released loans werenot being utilized properly.

Mr. Rai stressed that therewere enough opportunities in theagro and tourism industries for theloans to be invested fruitfully andurged the beneficiaries to ventureinto these mainstays of the Sikkimeconomy and make them stronger.

The CMSES concept wasfirst announced by Mr.Chamling in his budget speech

delivered on 23 March, last year.It has been in operation sinceJune, 2002, and in the past ninemonths, SIDICO has held 41one-week training sessions for1,550 young entrepreneurs, ofwhom, 1,493 have already re-

ceived financial assistance fortheir projects. The scheme hasRs. 90 crores set aside for it andenvisages to make entrepreneursout of 12,000 unemployed youthfrom the State by the time it runsits course.

The CM applauds a CMSES beneficiary on her journey to become a“Young Entrepreneur” as she leaves after collecting her loan handedover at a function held in Gangtok on 20 September.

a N

OW

! p

ic

GANGTOK: A nagging irritantfor anyone organising a mega-event in Sikkim, the recently-heldNorth East Council meet being acase in point, is the absence of 5-star hotels in the State to hostVVIP guests. An ambitious com-ing together of local firm YamaEnterprises Pvt. Ltd. with Toubrogroup of companies aims to giveSikkim its “first” 5-star hotel.

The two companies signed aMemorandum of Understandinghere on 19 September, last Thurs-day, in presence of Toubro Groupchairman, Kanwar Deep Singhand Yama Enterprise chairman,Thukchuk Lachungpa. Theproject, which will give the Stateits first five-star hotel, will comeup at Sichey.

Toubro Group of Companies isa diversified trans-national con-glomerate operating in diversebusiness areas and is based inChandigarh.

The present venture will be a5-star complex spread across anarea of 4.75 acres of premium landowned by Yama Enterprises andwill cater to premium-class tour-ists as well as businessmen. Esti-mated to cost about Rs. 80 crores

in its first phase, the hotel will haveall the modern trappings of a pre-mium five-star hotel, completewith a casino, international-stan-dard conference hall and a helipad.

Speaking to media persons af-ter signing the MoU, Mr.Lachungpa said that this projectwas a “dream come true” for him.

“This is a historic occasion forthe State, because this is the firsttime that such a venture has beencarried out here,” he said.

Mr. Lachungpa, who is also a

veteran politician, having servedas a minister in previous govern-ments, as well as a seasoned busi-nessman, said that ventures suchas these give the much-neededboost to the hospitality and tour-ism industries of the State. He re-vealed that a global tender will befloated for the design of the ho-tel, in which, they would be look-ing for modern design trendsblending with traditionalSikkimese architecture.

The entire project should be

Rs. 80 CRORE FIVE-STARPROJECT FOR SIKKIM

completed in about two year’stime, Mr. Lachungpa said.

The Toubro chairman, Mr.Singh said that this project was“just the beginning,” and hewould be looking at many othersprojects in diverse sectors to in-vest in, in Sikkim.

While expressing his “sur-prise” that the State had not yetattracted too many investors de-spite its many advantages, Mr.Singh said that Sikkim needs tobe marketed more aggressively.

“The peace and tranquillity inthe State and a very responsiveand pro-active government are itsUSPs. There is no reason that in-vestors should stay away fromSikkim any more,” he said.

Mr. Singh said that he had al-ready met the Chief Minister,Pawan Chamling and that he was“very impressed” by the positiveattitude and keen enthusiasmshown by the State government inattracting investors.

Mr. Singh said that the othersectors he was looking to invest in,included floriculture, InformationTechnology and food-processing,areas that the Toubro Group is al-ready involved in. This is the firsttime that the Group is venturinginto the hospitality sector.

YAMA ENTERPRISES JOINS HANDS WITH TOUBRO

a NOW! pic

Yama Enterprises Chairman, Thukchuk Lachungpa, with the Toubro MD-cum-Chair-

man, KD Singh, at the MoU signing ceremony here at Hotel Norkhil onb 19 Sept.

a NOW REPORT a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Recognizing theimportance that handloom andhandicrafts play in the economiesof the northeastern states and thedifficulties that entrepreneurs facein this line, NEDFi, the premierfunding agency in the region, haslaunched Scheme for NEHandloom and Handicrafts[SNEHH].

The scheme is to help themanufacturers, designers, export-ers of handloom and handicraftproducts. They could be propri-etorship, partnership or a com-pany. The eligibility criteria statesthat applicants should not be de-faulters in any governmentscheme or with any bank or NGO.

The maximum project sizecould be upto Rs. 25 lakhs.

NEDFi offers up to 25% of theproject cost as equity while thepromoter contribution is slated at15% of the project cost. Rest ofthe project cost to be funded un-der NEDFi’s composite loan.

Preference will be given towomen entrepreneurs of the re-gion, members of EPCH belong-ing to the north east region, par-

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GANGTOK: Gone are the dayswhen a mela meant ferris-wheelrides and games of luck. Thesedays the only melas that theGangtokians get on a regular ba-sis are the “car loan melas”. Justa month after the Maruti-SBI carloan Maha mela, Tata motors hastied up with the State Bank of In-dia to offer their range of Indica,

NAMCHI: Sikkim Precision In-dustries Ltd. [SPIL] here has inthe eight months since it wasstarted notched impressiveenough profits to earn its work-ers an ex-gratia allowance of onemonth’s basic salary.

A Press release issued by SPILinforms that the industrial unit,inaugurated by the Chief Minis-ter on 9 August last year, pro-duced 2.76 million devices, thusachieving 83 per cent plant capac-ity at a yield level of 93.3 per cent.In simpler terms, this translates toa profit of Rs. 11.47 lakhs for theunit in its first year itself.

Impressed with the unit’s per-formance, the SPIL, managing

director, Taga Khampa, an-nounced the ex-gratia allowance.

This, rather impressive recordhas been pulled off by the dedi-cated work-force at the unit, culledmostly from school dropouts fromin and around Namchi. They havebeen helped along the way by theengineers from SPIL and SITCO.

SPIL, manufactures T.O.-220

semiconductor devices in collabo-ration with Bharat Electronics Ltd.,Bangalore. It is the first “hi-tech”electronic industry in south-westSikkim in pursuance of the CM’svision to bring industrialization tothe two districts. “The strong foot-ing on which the unit has startedhas amply proven that his vision isbearing fruit,” the release adds.

SPILling over profitsSIKKIM PRECISION

INDUSTRIES LTD.

POSTS PROFITS,

EARNS EXTRA

ALLOWANCE FOR

WORKERS

a NOW REPORT

Prestidigitation at work at the SPIL factory at Namchi

Now, an SBI-TATA tie-up in Sikkim

a NOW REPORT

Indigo, Spacio, Sumo EZI, EX+and Safari on easy instalments.

A Car Loan Mela and road-show is being held on 22-23 Sep-tember at the Bajla Motors show-room at Tadong.

According to Sanjay Bajla,Director, Bajla Motors, the mainreason for having the mela is theimmense potential that passengersegment cars have in the State.With the government now plan-ning to give taxi numbers to the

Indica series of vehicles andSumo’s and Spacio being pre-ferred by tourists, Bajla Motors isconfident of getting a good re-sponse for their loan mela.

Their tie-up with SBI in financ-ing the passenger car-segment en-sures easy repayment plans andspecial discount facilities. BajlaMotors is also offering free goldbiscuits, Tanishq jewellery and freemusic systems with some catego-ries of its vehicles.

AGARTALA: Tripuragovernment’s plans to expand itsrubber cultivation up to 25 percent of the state’s geographicalarea may suffer a setback with theIndian Council for AgriculturalResearch [ICAR] expressing fearsthat the state’s rubber plantationscould be the reason behind the re-cent heatwave and uneven rain-fall in the state. Tripura is the sec-ond largest producer of rubber inthe country.

“Though the matter is being

Rubber affecting Tripura Weather: ICARexamined and analysed, increas-ing mono-culture of rubber couldbe one major reason for degrada-tion in the environment,” said anexpert of ICAR, speaking on con-ditions of anonymity.

Rubber mono-culture has al-ways been a matter of controversyand several countries, includingMalyasia, Liberia and Ghana,have drastically cut down on theirrubber cultivation because ofthreats to the environment.

A recently conducted surveyby experts of the ICAR confirmedthe rising temperatures and un-even rainfall distribution inTripura.

Officials of the state’s agri-culture department are alreadypre-empting a production loss of10 per cent in the current yearas a result.

According to the survey,Tripura’s average rainfall hasgrown over the past years but rain-fall during monsoon has comedown sharply. In 2001 the aver-age annual rainfall stood at 3,450mm while in 2002 it averaged3,421 mm. But the rainfall oc-curred unevenly and at timeswhen it was not required as dur-ing the harvesting season.

The ICAR survey has also re-corded a trend of rising tempera-ture in Tripura. The average tem-perature during summer monthsin Tripura has normally been be-tween 25 and 31 degree Celsius.This rose marginally last year,while in the current year tempera-ture levels between 32 and 33.4degrees Celsius have been re-corded.

Rainfall and

temperatures show

erratic levels in Tripura

despite a 12 per cent

growth in forest cover

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23

PRAVEEN MOKTAN

Kalimpong loves its socceras much as the rest of theworld.

There is something about thesimplicity of this beautiful gamethat endears it to us in ways thatits more cerebral cousin cricketcannot rival.

The reason why we are at timesmad about cricket is simple, In-dia is good at it. We do not lovewatching India play cricket. Welove watching India win in it. Buthave two other counties or twostates play against each other andwe do not bother.

It’s different with football. Wewatch it because we love the gameand not because our school, clubor country is winning in it.

In Kalimpong, we have a loveaffair with the game that tran-scends rationality. And in thissecular religion of the beautiful

game, the festival here is defi-nitely the 15th of August. Eversince I can remember, the ultimateholy grail of school football is theIndependence Shield and schoolswill go to any lengths to have thatbit of brassware in their cup-boards.

This is one time of the yearduring which teachers behave ata level of puerility that surpassesthat of their adolescent protégées.Right from the day the fixture isannounced, controversies abound.Of course, not the kind that wouldmerit mention in the press, butdefinitely ones that fuel many dis-cussions in school canteens,teahouses and staff rooms.

The clergy that officiates thisfestival is the KSA. They are theones who fix the date of the festi-val, decide on the canon and defi-nitely have a large say on the na-ture and content of the pantheonof local footballing deities that

folksare go-ing to re-vere. Whilemuch of theirwork is appar-ently commend-able, their actionsare not without the high-handedness and pre-sumptions that the exer-tions of such influentialbodies tend to be redo-lent of.

This year, I thoughtit was particularly un-thinking of them tolock all the gatesfrom the outsideand then disap-pear with keys asthe match insidewas in progress.

The KSA may have their rea-

sons inbolting up

the spectatorslike prep-school

kids, but due tothis thoughtlessness

quite a few missedtheir jeeps or had to

bear the discomfort oftheir full bladders even as they

watched matches whose level ofexcitability was reflected in the14-0 score lines. However, thiswill definitely not detract fromthe effort they put in year afteryear, to satisfy the insatiable in-terest that Kalimpong folkshave of the game.

Another interesting aspectof this game and one,

which maybewould merit a full-length column, isthat historically, the

crowds never cheer teams fromKalimpong itself. I could go back

as far as my relatively young mindwould allow me to and recall thatwhether it was the MRC orHimalshree and now the GYC,they are always at the receivingend of the jeers and the boos.Imagine Kalimpong playingBhutan and yet the good folk ofour town would rather cheer aforeign country. Maybe it has todo with the level of enthusiasmwith which our boys want to winmatches that the spectators do notempathise with. Or, it could alsobe that in the anonymous democ-racy of crowds, latent discontentspills over in such pseudo-politi-cal gestures that one experiencesevery time high profile [and ofcourse highly visible] managersand players from our home-townget on in the field.

Thankfully, the crowd does notbother with the polemics, whatthey really enjoy is the game, thekiller jhaal-moories and thatdouble peg of GS at Mithjew be-fore they board their rickety jeepsto cling for their dear lives all theway up to Algara.

KPG AND ITS SOCCERSPORTSSPORTS

5 BADMINTON ASSOCIATION OF SIKKIM(affiliated to the Badminton Association of India)

welcomes all theBadminton & Sports lovers to witness the

NORTH EAST ZONE INTER STATE BADMINTON

CHAMPIONSHIP 2003

participating teams:

ASSAM NAGALAND MANIPUR MIZORAM

TRIPURA ARUNACHAL PRADESH

MEGHALAYA SIKKIM

Venue:

PALJOR STADIUM COMPLEXIndoor Gymnasium Hall

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GANGTOK: The North-EastZone Inter-State BadmintonChampionship will be held atPaljor Namgyal Indoor Stadiumfrom 27 September to 1 October.This is the second time thatSikkim is hosting the champion-ship. The first time was in 1995.Organized by the Badminton As-sociation of Sikkim, the tourna-ment will have all eight states ofthe northeast participating in theevent. An international umpirefrom Manipur will be officiatingat the matches with KB Cashmoreand Renuka Chakraborty from theState also doing the honours.

There will be 19 participantsfrom each state competing for thethe Narang Cup for men. theChadda Cup for women, the

Eight states, four cups,one tournamentSIKKIM PREPARES FOR NE

BADMINTON TOURNEYRamatullah Cup for Junior boysand the Safi Kureshi Cup for thejunior girls.

Preparations are going on fullswing for the tournament. Thevenue is being prepared at a costof Rs. 5 lakh. The courts are beingpainted, the seating arrangementslooked into and logistics for stayfor the teams being finalized.

Inviting all badminton loversto come and see the event, ZangpoBhutia, president, BAS, said thatthe tournament will be of a highstandard with the best playersfrom the northeast competing inthe event. He also admitted thatalthough our players have the po-tential, they need to be groomedand trained in a more professionalmanner. Events such as these willhelp them get exposure and gatherexperience, he added.

16; NOW! 24-30 September, 2003

SPORTSSPORTS

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

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RANGPO: The three-day 4thState Level Junior Athletic Meetheld at the Mining Ground hereconcluded on 21 September, Sun-day, with athletes from TashiNamgyal Academy walking awaywith the overall Team Champion-ship trophy. Bandan Pradhan ofNamchi Public School was ad-judged the Best Athlete in theUnder-16 boys category, while, inthe Under-16 girls category,Lakpa Doma of Enchey SeniorSecondary School was declaredthe Best Athlete. In Under-14girls, Ganga Pradhan also ofEnchey Senior Secondary Schoolwas judged the Best Athlete withPaljor Lepcha of Tashi NamgyalAcademy walking away with the

Best Athlete title in the Under-14boys category.

Around 600 students from allover the State participated in the

TINGCHIM: The Lt. TenchoPipon Memorial Football Tourna-ment finals took place here be-tween Rang-Rang and Tingchimteams on 17 September, lastWednesday.

The day kicked off with the ar-rival of the chief guest, area MLAand Power Minister, HisseyLachungpa, who was treated to a

colourful cultural programme be-fore sports took centrestage and aslew of events were hosted for lo-cal students. An entertaining ex-hibition match for veterans wasplayed out during the lunch breakbefore the more serious and com-petitive final clash.

The finals were truly grippingwith both sides putting up a strongshow of footballing skills. Thescoring was opened by the teamfrom Rang-Rang in the first half,but the home team leveled soonafterwards. Tingchim took he

GANGTOK: The Kabi-Tingdagram panchayat has announcedplans to hold the Lt. KalzangGyatso Memorial Cup volley-ball tournament at Kabi, northSikkim. The tourney, which be-gan on 22 September is sched-uled to continue till 2 Octobernext month and will see tenteams clash for the prestigioustrophy.

Three days on the Track & Field4TH STATE LEVEL JUNIOR ATHLETIC MEET ENDS WITH TNA AS OVERALL CHAMPS

meet, competing in the two catego-ries of Under-14 boys and girls andUnder-16 boys and girls. The high-light of the meet was the 4 X 100metres relay in which PNGSSSbagged gold, TNA silver, with thebronze going to Rongyek JuniorHigh School in the Under-16 girlscategory. In the Under-14 girls re-lay, Rangpo Mining Schoolbagged gold, TNA silver and thebronze went to PNGSSS.

The gold in the boys Under-16relay was bagged by TNA whileNamchi Public School won thesilver with the bronze going toRongyek Junior High School. Inthe Under-14 boys relay, TNAbagged gold and Namchi PublicSchool bagged silver.

A cultural programme wasstaged on the last day, followed

by a march past by all the athletesalong with the “Eagles” bandfrom Pangthang.

The Chief Guest for the daywas Minister for Tourism, KTGyaltsen. Other delegates presentincluded officials of the Sports &Youth Affairs Department andofficers of the Sikkim Police andSikkim Armed Police.

Speaking to NOW!, coachesand athletes of various schoolssaid that the three-day meet was agrand success and were all praisesfor the organizing committee’s at-tempt at promoting athletics in thestate. They also gave full credit toSP [East] Akshay Sachdeva, presi-dent, Sikkim Amateur AthleticsAssociation, for organizing themeet in such a successful andgrand manner.

match away in the second halfwhen it scored two more goalsand lifted the trophy.

Interestingly, before going intothe finals, the Rang-Rang teamwith two players from Gangtok –Suresh Hingmang [goal-keeper]and Tseten Bhutia [midfielder] -had the odds in their favour, butthe day belonged to the home-team with all local players. Thetop-scorer for the finals wasKarma Wangdi of Tingchim whoscored a brace to secure the tro-phy for his team.

HOME-TEAM LIFTS TENCHOPIPON MEMORIAL CUP

DEEPAK SHARMAticipants in national and interna-tional fairs and exhibitions andnational, regional and state levelaward winners.

Training will be provided fromtime to time depending on theneeds of the entrepreneurs. De-sign and development of the prod-ucts of the region is one of thepriority items on NEDFi’s agenda.

NEDFi will facilitate deserv-ing entrepreneurs to participate inimportant fairs and exhibitions.The borrowers will be givenample opportunities to displaytheir products at NEDFi Haat forpopularizing their products andexplore market tie-ups.

NEDFI

ANNOUNCES

SPECIAL ...

from pg 13

Volleyball

tourney at

Kabi

NOW!sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

TRIUMPHANT TENACIANS: Jubiliant athletes from Tashi Namgyal Acad-

emy with their Overall Team Champions trophy. a NOW! pic

evening of 16 September armedwith a hammer and a wooden bat.Since he knew them well, Dawainvited them in. Some casual chit-chat followed and when Dawademonstrated the new music sys-tem he had purchased, Kishorelanded the first blow. Damberjoined the melee immediately andattacked Dawa with the bat. Thevolume on the music system wasturned up. Not satisfied withmerely the fatal blows to Dawa’shead, the two strangled Dawa till“he stopped breathing and mov-

ing”, bound him up and quietlyleft the house, locking the housebehind them.

Police said that they also tooksome cash and a camera from thehouse while they fled.

Kishore told the Police that henever anticipated that the “longarms” of the law would catch upwith the two of them so fast.

According to those interrogat-ing him, Kishore has shown no re-morse or regret as yet.

The two accused have been putunder Police remand for five daysstarting from September 23 andwill be booked under section 302of the IPC, the SP said.

Contd from pg 3

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