Huge controversy caused by Kapil Sibal and his face off with Facebook

According to a report in the New York Times, Union Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal met with leading social networking sites in an attempt to censor messages posted on them related to India. According to the report, Mr. Sibal called legal representatives from the top Internet service providers and Facebook into his New Delhi office... At the meeting, Mr. Sibal showed attendees a Facebook page that maligned the Congress Party’s president, Sonia Gandhi. “This is unacceptable,” he told attendees, and he asked them to find a way to monitor what is posted on their sites. The report goes on to say that he wanted these sites to be humanly monitored as opposed to using technology to filter out offensive comments!

The attempt to clamp down on personal freedom, while the government uses all its might to dig up dirt on its opponents, are troubling signs of those in power trying to exercise undue control. The good news is that the fear of social media has crept its way to the very top and an attempt to crush this could spell the eventual doom for those in power. Earlier this year, the Egyptians “turned off” the Internet in act of desperation and the world knows how that story ended. We might not have reached such a precipice as yet, but these are sure signs that those in power are determined to go to any lengths to crush the rising tide of discontent.

Freedom of expression has reached new highs as previously non-existent mediums are slowly becoming available to large sections of the world population. You can launch a song on the Internet and get millions of viewers and an ardent following in a matter of days, as we saw in the case of the Kolaveri song. Likewise, you can earn notoriety and be completely exposed, as in the case of Swami Agnivesh. If someone says things on the Internet about Sonia Gandhi, or far that matter anyone else, it doesn’t exactly become true. This is by no means an attempt to condone offensive messages. People who read such posts are likely to come to their own conclusions about individuals who post such messages. Posts on social networking sites are a part of person’s digital trail that is here to stay for posterity. Those who misuse these new forms of freedom on the Internet are bound to pay the price through a strange, almost “karmic,” self-regulating mechanism. So those who post frivolous messages are as much at risk as the people they chose to berate in public. Clamping down and playing “school principal” is just not going to work and in fact will only make things worse because people will always find a way to get around such roadblocks.

Part of the problem is that while the world has changed, our politics is stuck in a time warp. Political parties across the country are still, by and large, like extended family businesses with no semblance of intra-party democracy. While media channels have exploded, our political leadership operates like we are still in the age of Doordarshan. Our PM holds meetings behind closed doors with a handful of his veteran buddies from the media and calls it a “press conference.” Our prince-in-waiting, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, does not write or speak to the media. Unfortunately, neither does Ms. Sonia Gandhi. Between them, they wield enormous power but sadly, offer little insight into their world view or, for that matter, their vision for a country with a growing majority of bustling, impatient, and ambitious youngsters.

At a time when the country is faced with so many challenging problems, it is painful to see Mr. Sibal and his ilk focusing their energies on precisely the wrong things. For instance, security of our computer networks is for more critical than random comments on social networking sites. The move to police the web is an indication that our leaders are completely out of tune with the times and out of touch with its young and dynamic populace. The last few weeks, in particular, have clearly shown that our elected leaders from all parties are incapable of collectively addressing the most pressing issues facing the country. When there are critical bills to be discussed and passed, the government drags in changes related to FDI in retail without any prior discussion whatsoever on the issue. The opposition meanwhile, seems more intent on disruption rather than any substantive debate.

The future belongs to countries whose leaders are unafraid to embrace these new avenues of freedom enabled by the latest technologies -- leaders who view these mediums as a source of great strength and a means to tap into the collective wisdom of its people, rather than overreacting to the misuse by a relative minority. Clearly, “Young India” has taken to this medium in droves. They are hungry and eager for India to shed its slow and painstaking ways and surge ahead in a globalized world. To realize the dreams of these young men and women, those in power should either “shape up or ship out.”

-PRAN KURUP

Why Mamata Needs to Grow Up

It’s six months after that sweltering summer day in May, when Mamata Banerjee became the first non-Left chief minister of Bengal in 35 years. Six months after her triumph, there are worrying signs that Mamata the chief minister might not live up to the potential of Didi who demolished the Left.

On the night of Saturday, November 5, Didi marched into a police station in Bhowanipore, south Kolkata, to order the release of a handful of her supporters from jail. These people were part of a mob which was playing very loud music and bursting crackers on the road in front of Kolkata’s main cancer hospital. When local police intervened to clear the road and stop the music, they were beaten. After a few troublemakers were locked up tensions escalated, with the chief minister’s brother picking up the cudgels on behalf of the goons. At least 12 policemen were injured in the scuffle. Finally Banerjee, who lives close by, turned up to tame the mob and set her rowdies free. The police filed no charges. Mamata’s supporters claim that she had to intervene because the incident occurred two days before Bakr Eid and urban development minister Firhad ‘Bobby’ Hakim, who Didi had sent to see what the ruckus what all about, suggested that it could take an ugly communal turn. Thus, it was inevitable that Didi would step in to rescue her goons. Really?

Has Mamata forgotten that she’s the chief minister of a state and the police are part of the establishment that she has to stabilize and run? By stepping into the fray on behalf of the goons, Banerjee eroded the credibility of the police. Her duty as chief minister is to enforce rule of law in Bengal, not strengthen the hands of goons. If Trinamool thugs can run amok with the blessings of the chief minister, civil society will be replaced by the rule of mobs. Mamata came to power deeply suspicious of the state and its various arms.

This fear was rational: after all the Left had permeated every nook and cranny of public life in Bengal, politicising the bureaucracy, police, teachers and even bus and auto drivers collectives. She put trusted people, many of them ex-babus and policemen who had joined her party and got elected, in key positions. But even that doesn’t seem to have eased her sense of insecurity: when a phone call to a senior cop would have sufficed, she chose to march to the thana in person.

The Trinamool doesn’t have spokesmen. Didi does most of the talking. And only Didi speaks on behalf of her government today. Asked recently about infant deaths in hospitals, Didi said she wasn’t doing health at that particular moment, she was doing industry. Mamata has inherited empty coffers. Her sole strategy to fill it is to ask New Delhi to write off Bengal’s debts, which totaled a staggering near-Rs 200,000 crore around the time of elections. And the number is speculative: few people, with the possible exception of finance minister Amit Mitra know how badly Bengal is broke.

A proper budget hasn’t been presented to the Assembly yet. All expenses are funded after votes on account. Mitra, a rookie politician who went from corporate lobbyist to the finance minister’s chair in Bengal, might not be fully aware himself. He should rope in his predecessor Asim Dasgupta, the Left’s economist-finance minister to unearth the real scale of Bengal’s bankruptcy. Even after a Central bailout takes place, Mamata might find it tough to live with its consequences. Belt tightening and higher taxes are prescribed for states in dire straits. But Didi doesn’t do taxes: she’s responded to fuel price hikes by cutting fuel taxes in Bengal. Everyone knew that reviving Bengal would be hard work. But it’ll be a tragedy if Mamata lets her quirks and caprices make a tough job even tougher.

- Abheek Barman

GJM is trying to blackmail the Government by trying to take ABAVP with it

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is unhappy with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leadership for “trying to bite more territories in the Dooars than it should legitimately swallow”.

However, there was no official communication from the Chief Minister’s Office after Morcha chief Bimal Gurung struck a deal with Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) leader John Burla.

Following the deal, Gurung dropped his demand for Gorkhaland Territorial Authority (GTA) — agreed upon in a tripartite movement signed by the Centre, State and GJM — and sought to replace it with a new arrangement called Gorkha Adivasi Territorial Authority (GATA), comprising all the 513 moujas of the Dooars.

In the earlier demand, the GJM had demanded 196 Gorkha-majority moujas and a high-powered team led by Justice Shyamal Sen was instituted to look into it.

However, Banerjee is unhappy because the new deal would stir a hornet’s nest in an already volatile area vexed by multiplicity of sub-national interests. Groups like Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association, Kamtapuri People’s Party and Madesias are already asking for their pounds of flesh.

“The GJM is trying to blackmail the Government by trying to take ABAVP with it,” said a Trinamool Minister.

If the Government allows this, the 29 per cent-plus Bengali population — a majority of which voted for the Trinamool — would be alienated from the party. “Didi would never concede to the demand and the GJM will have to look to work within what it had earlier demanded,” the Minister added.

While the GJM refused to comment on the issue, a party MLA said the Government would have to assuage feelings of the Gorkhas of the plains to get permanent peace in the region.

Meanwhile, John Burla rushed to Kolkata on Thursday to hold talks with ABAVP president Birsa Tirkey, who earlier rejected the new deal with the GJM and demoted the former from his post of a district president.

Tirkey said “Burla was not within his jurisdiction to sign any pact with any outfit while rejecting the deal” calling it “unacceptable and impractical agreement which has no basis.”

Tirkey conceded that the GATA agreement would obviously drive a wedge in the Adivasi organisation and finally help Gurung.



GJM is trying to blackmail the Government by trying to take ABAVP with it

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is unhappy with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leadership for “trying to bite more territories in the Dooars than it should legitimately swallow”.

However, there was no official communication from the Chief Minister’s Office after Morcha chief Bimal Gurung struck a deal with Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) leader John Burla.

Following the d...eal, Gurung dropped his demand for Gorkhaland Territorial Authority (GTA) — agreed upon in a tripartite movement signed by the Centre, State and GJM — and sought to replace it with a new arrangement called Gorkha Adivasi Territorial Authority (GATA), comprising all the 513 moujas of the Dooars.

In the earlier demand, the GJM had demanded 196 Gorkha-majority moujas and a high-powered team led by Justice Shyamal Sen was instituted to look into it.

However, Banerjee is unhappy because the new deal would stir a hornet’s nest in an already volatile area vexed by multiplicity of sub-national interests. Groups like Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association, Kamtapuri People’s Party and Madesias are already asking for their pounds of flesh.

“The GJM is trying to blackmail the Government by trying to take ABAVP with it,” said a Trinamool Minister.

If the Government allows this, the 29 per cent-plus Bengali population — a majority of which voted for the Trinamool — would be alienated from the party. “Didi would never concede to the demand and the GJM will have to look to work within what it had earlier demanded,” the Minister added.

While the GJM refused to comment on the issue, a party MLA said the Government would have to assuage feelings of the Gorkhas of the plains to get permanent peace in the region.

Meanwhile, John Burla rushed to Kolkata on Thursday to hold talks with ABAVP president Birsa Tirkey, who earlier rejected the new deal with the GJM and demoted the former from his post of a district president.

Tirkey said “Burla was not within his jurisdiction to sign any pact with any outfit while rejecting the deal” calling it “unacceptable and impractical agreement which has no basis.”

Tirkey conceded that the GATA agreement would obviously drive a wedge in the Adivasi organisation and finally help Gurung.

Courtsey : The PIONEER

Mamata brokered territory deal: CPM, CM and Deb to come clean on GTA DEAL

Siliguri, Nov. 1: The CPM today alleged that the deal between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad on territory had been brokered by minister Gautam Deb with the blessings of Mamata Banerjee.

Former minister and CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya asked the chief minister to come clean about her government’s stand on the inclusion of the Dooars and the Terai in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

“The chief minister had time and again claimed that her government had resolved the Darjeeling hill issue with the GTA agreement. She should take responsibility for the new situation arising from the Parishad’s consent to the transfer of the Terai and the Dooars to the GTA. The government should say loud and clear if its wants the two regions to be brought under the ambit of the GTA,” said Bhattacharya.

The Parishad’s units in the Dooars and the Terai had announced on Sunday that they were backing the inclusion of the regions in the GTA. Earlier, the Parishad had been opposing tooth and nail the Morcha’s claim to 199 mouzas in the plains and there were frequent skirmishes between the supporters of both the outfits.

The CPM leader said the silence maintained by Mamata and north Bengal development minister Deb raised suspicion that both were privy to the parleys between the Parishad and the Morcha.

Asok Bhattacharya  :

“Mamata’s silence and her cabinet colleagues’ refusal to speak on the deal make us suspect the entire development has taken place with her knowledge. We strongly feel that Mamata Banerjee had prior information on the Parishad-Morcha tie-up and Gautam Deb played the role of interlocutor in the parleys between the two sides. In fact, Deb had met leaders of the Parishad and the Morcha many times,” said Bhattacharya.

“(Morcha president) Bimal Gurung’s confidence during the joint news conference with Parishad leaders on Sunday that they would achieve the goal (inclusion of the Terai and the Dooars in the GTA) also strengthens our suspicions,” he added.

Deb refused comment yesterday when The Telegraph asked him about the deal between the hill and the tribal outfits.

Bhattacharya said he feared that the tie-up between the Morcha and the Parishad would embolden other outfits seeking statehood to up their ante.

“The deal will have ramification for the entire north Bengal and an uncertainty looms over the formation of the GTA now.”

Deb was reticent about the deal today too. “We have not received any formal proposal and it is not possible for me to make comments based on media reports. Nonetheless, the government wants to make it very clear that it is sincere in maintaining the integrity of north Bengal,” he said.

Told about Bhattacharya’s charges, Deb said: “He is making desperate attempts to grab media attention. I would prefer to ignore such statements.”

Courtsey : The Telegraph

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE : "ABVP’s change in stand would create fresh tension in the region".

QUOTES :


"ABVP’s change in stand would create fresh tension in the region".


-Salil Acharya, CPM, district secretariat member


"Under no circumstances should the plains be brought under the ambit of the GTA".


-Ziaur Alam, CPM district secretariat member, Jalpaiguri


“I have my doubts about the unity of the Parishad because of the internal bickering in the outfit. I feel the state government should take care of tribal rights to land and other things and allow development to take place in the Terai and the Dooars,”


-D.P.Roy, MLA, Alipurduar

“Many people are opposed to the Parishad’s move. The government has created a rift between the people of the region.”

- Atul Roy, the president of the Kamtapur Progressive Party


“We oppose any steps that will affect the interest of the Rajbanshis. Thousands of Rajbanshis live in the Dooars. We will decide on a movement demanding that our problems be addressed immediately.”

-Asutosh Burma, The Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party

The decision has been taken very hastily. This involves the sentiment of thousands of common people of all communities. We must not forget that ABAVP also enjoys the support of other non-Nepalese and non-tribal communities as well. If they are not happy with us, how can we move further?


- Tea Labourer, Odlabari Tea Estate
SOURCE: Times of India

"We supported the ABAVP as it had promised to resist the GJM in the plains. Now once they have joined hands with the GJM, it will be easier for them to penetrate this region. It is obvious that the GJM will start calling the shots in this region. Who will guarantee that they won't target us once their goal is achieved?

- Tea Labourer, Odlabari Tea Estate

"The decision has been taken very hastily. This involves the sentiment of thousands of common people of all communities. We must not forget that ABAVP also enjoys the support of other non-Nepalese and non-tribal communities as well. If they are not happy with us, how can we move further?

This is not an official decision of the party. A faction of our organisation has agreed to joint GATA. But we are not ready. It is a political conspiracy hatched by Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri to capture tribal land in Terai and Dooars."


-BIRSA TIRKEY, PRESIDENT, ABAVP, Paschim Banga
SOURCE: Times of India

Government is “displeased” with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s “efforts to strike a deal” with local leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad

Oct. 31: The state government is “displeased” with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s “efforts to strike a deal” with local leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad to press for the inclusion of the entire Dooars-Terai region within the hill set-up, sources said.

By roping in the Parishad, the Morcha is trying to put pressure on the committee formed to look into the territory issue of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) to include more plains areas in the hill set-up, the government sources said.

Such a move could “alienate the people of the plains from the Trinamul Congress”, the sources added.

“The chief minister is displeased with the Morcha for trying to strike a deal with the Parishad. The outfits now want all the 514 mouzas in the Dooars-Terai region to be included in the GTA. Earlier, the Morcha had demanded the inclusion of 196 mouzas from the plains in the set-up. The Justice (retd) Shyamal Sen-headed committee is looking into the earlier demand,” a Writers’ source said.

The sources said Mamata Banerjee was “against the inclusion of more plains areas in the GTA than what the committee is already looking into”.

“By roping in the tribals, the Morcha is planning to press for the inclusion of more plains areas in the GTA. The Parishad’s support will increase the Morcha’s bargaining power. This will alienate the non-hill population from Trinamul and strengthen the CPM’s claim that the Mamata government is trying to divide Bengal,” one of the sources said.

The Parishad, which had earlier opposed the inclusion of the Dooars and the Terai in the hill set-up, held a joint news conference in Mongpong, 25km from Siliguri, yesterday and said it had agreed to the plains areas being included in the GTA.

The Parishad leaders had said the Morcha had accepted their condition of including “Adivasi” in the name of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

“If the Parishad joins the GTA and starts demanding a separate Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh together with the Morcha, we could be in an awkward situation. The chief minister will not allow separate statehood under any circumstance,” a Trinamul leader said.

Sources in the cabinet said the government was “surprised” at the new development and was monitoring the situation “cautiously” before deciding on its course of action.

“We were surprised to say the least. We were not prepared, especially after the enactment of the GTA, for such a move,” a minister said.

North Bengal affairs minister Gautam Deb refused comment, merely saying: “We have not received any official communication, verbally or in writing, yet. I’m not going to comment on the issue on the basis of what has appeared in newspapers.”

CPM leader Surjya Kanta Mishra today said the Morcha was trying to “create a divide between the tribals” by demanding with a section of Parishad the inclusion of the entire Dooars-Terai region in the GTA. “Fresh complications are being created by the Morcha. The majority of the Adivasis don’t want the region to be part of the GTA.”

Source : The Telegraph

Territory deal: - Parishad state chief to seek explanation from dooars unit

Parishad and Morcha supporters gathered at Mongpong on Sunday. Siliguri, Oct. 30: The move by a section of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad in the Terai and the Dooars to support the inclusion of the Adivasi-dominated areas of the plains in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has come as a surprise to the state president of the tribal outfit.

The Parishad president, Birsa Tirkey, said the local leadership had decided to hold talks with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha without the consent of the state committee.

The Parishad had been demanding Sixth Schedule status for the Terai and the Dooars while vehemently opposing the inclusion of the region in the proposed GTA.

Tirkey said he would seek an explanation from the leaders who addressed a joint press conference with Morcha heavyweights at Mongpong today.

The Parishad president, who was in Ranchi, said he had heard that the Dooars leaders had agreed to a new dispensation called the Gorkha Adivasi Territorial Administration and to work with the Morcha leadership.

“The Parishad men from the Dooars and the Terai participated in today’s dialogue with the Morcha leaders without taking any consent from our state committee. They are free to attend any meetings with anybody without the authorisation of state leaders. But they do not have the power to take any decision on any issue, unless they are authorised by the state committee. I am now out of the state and once I return to Calcutta tomorrow, I will call an emergency meeting and ask the leaders who participated in today’s meeting for an explanation,” Tirkey told The Telegraph over phone.

Tirkey had visited the Writers’ Buildings on October 20 to submit a memorandum to Justice (retd) Shyamal Kumar Sen, who heads the high-power committee set up by the state government to address the territory issue raised by the Morcha for the inclusion of the Terai and the Dooars in the GTA.

“We could not meet the Justice or the state home secretary, G.D. Gautama. We submitted the memorandum to the officials in the home department. We clearly mentioned in the memorandum that under no circumstances could any place in the Terai and the Dooars be brought under the GTA. We also demanded autonomy for the areas under Sixth Schedule, as we are the indigenous tribal people of the areas and our issues related to development are completely different from those in the hills,” he said.

The tribal leader also pointed out that the Terai and the Dooars were Adivasi-dominated areas and Assembly seats were reserved for candidates from the community. “We have six Assembly seats reserved for candidates from the scheduled tribes and these areas cannot be part of any other set-up,” Tirkey said.

When asked if he would take any disciplinary action against the leaders who took part in today’s meeting, Tir-key said: “Once I reach Calcutta, I will get a detailed report of today’s meeting and also ask our members in what capacity they attended the meeting. Any decision on disciplinary action can be taken after that.”

Morcha leadership might resume the statehood agitation

 Oct. 17: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and other senior leaders of the party today left for New Delhi to “clearly know the Centre’s mind” on the creation of Telangana state, party sources said today.

Morcha insiders said the leadership could not sit “smugly” if Delhi went ahead with the formation of Telangana and would have to restart with “renewed vigour” the movement for Gorkhaland.

The fresh agitation for Telangana has cast a shadow on the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the peace that the Darjeeling hills have been witnessing ever since the tripartite pact for the arrangement was signed by the state, the Centre and the Morcha.

Although Gurung was tight-lipped about the visit, party sources said he was expected to meet Union home minister P. Chidambaram and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Those accompanying Gurung include Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri, spokesperson and MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri and central committee member Jyoti Kumar Rai.

“Our leaders are keeping tabs on the developments regarding Telangana,” said a source. “They will try and gauge the mood of the Centre on the Telangana issue. We cannot sit idle and laud the GTA while Telangana is formed.”

A section in the Morcha wants the party to intensify the agitation for statehood as soon as possible if the team believes that there are “positive indications” on the formation of Telangana state.

“We might be happy with the development packages announced by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. But if a separate Telangana state is formed, we cannot simply sit idle. It is a serious issue for us and we will have to plunge headlong into a more intensified agitation,” said the source.

As long as Telangana is not created, the Morcha can be content with the formation of the GTA. “Otherwise, we have very little option before us,” said a Morcha leader.

“It is a question of political survival. We have promised the people of the Darjeeling hills a separate state and we have raised their hopes. We have told them that the GTA is a step forward in that direction. Now, if Telangana is formed, we cannot carry on happily with the GTA. We have to go in for a long and sustained agitation to attain our ultimate goal.”

The sources said the Morcha leadership might immediately resume the statehood agitation if it believed that the Centre was on the verge of forming Telangana.

‘Not to allow inclusion of Dooars, Terai in GTA’

The success of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in smoothening the ruffled feelings of the Gorkha population in Darjeeling Hills seemed to remain elusive in the contiguous plains even as her dialogue with the Adivasi Vikas Parishad a tribal pressure group of Dooars and Terai in North Bengal remained inconclusive.

The leaders of the Dooars and Terai Committee, an umbrella group of various Adivasi groups told the media on Wednesday after their “partly successful” meeting with the Chief Minister, that she had turned down their appeal not to include areas of Dooars and Terai into the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority. The Adivasi leadership iterated they “would prevent inclusion of areas from the plains in the GTA at any cost.”

“We spoke to the Chief Minister and put a 12-point demand. We told her that we will not allow the incorporation of Dooars-Terai in the GTA. The Chief Minister and the GJM will be responsible for the unwanted and unpleasant consequence in the plains if they persisted with their idea,” Adivasi leader John Burla said adding the Chief Minister however was sympathetic towards our other demands and promised to give packages for development in the area.”

The main contention is over about 225 mouzas in the Dooars-Terai region. The Adivasi leadership also demanded a separate Adivasi Territorial Administration along the lines of GTA or formation of a Dooars-Terai autonomous council or for that matter including both Darjeeling and Dooars in Sixth Schedule all of which were promptly turned down by the Chief Minister, sources said adding she however promised to look into the other demands that included releasing Adivasi and Bodo prisoners from jails.

Earthquake in Sikkim & history

Earthquake history

The earthquake activity in this region is due to the Indian plate diving (thrusting) beneath the Eurasian plate. The state is mainly mountainous and underlain by several thrust faults. Most significant are the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFF).

Seismic Hazard

All districts of the state of Sikkim lie in Zone IV. Since the earthquake database in India is still incomplete, especially with regards to earthquakes prior to the historical period (before 1800 A.D.), these zones offer a rough guide of the earthquake hazard in any particular region and need to be regularly updated .

Largest Instrumented Earthquake in Sikkim

19 November 1980 - Near Gangtok (Sikkim-West Bengal Border region), 6.1 Ms (PAS)

19:00:46.9 UTC, 27.39N, 88.75E, 17 kms depth

Eight people were injured in Gangtok and there was also minor damage reported from the city. the quake was felt in eastern and north-eastern India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Significant Earthquakes in Sikkim

The following list briefly outlines known earthquakes in this region. General locations are provided for historical events for which "generalized" epicentral co-ordinates are available. Some events which were significant for other reasons are also included. This list will be updated whenever newer information is available. Please note that Magnitude and Intensity are NOT THE SAME. All events are within the state or union territory covered on this page unless stated otherwise.

Acronyms Used:

D=Depth, OT=Origin Time, Mw=Moment Magnitude, Ms=Surface Wave magnitude, Mb=Body Wave Magnitude, ML=Local Magnitude, M?=Magnitude Type unknown

15 January 1934 - Indo-Nepal Border region, Mw 8.0

14:21:25 IST / 08:43:25 UTC, 26.50N, 86.50E

Nearly 10,500 people were killed in Bihar and Nepal. Damage was also reported from many towns in Sikkim.

12 January 1965 - West of Gangtok (Indo-Nepal Border region), 6.1 (TS)

13:32:24 UTC, 27.60N, 88.00E

19 November 1980 - Near Gangtok (Sikkim-West Bengal Border region), 6.1 Ms (PAS)

19:00:46.9 UTC, 27.39N, 88.75E, 17 kms depth

Eight people were injured in Gangtok and there was also minor damage reported from the city. The quake was felt in eastern and north-eastern India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

21 August 1988 - Udaipur Gahri, Nepal (Indo-Nepal Border region), Mw 6.8 (NEIC)

23:09:09 UTC / 04:39:09 IST, 26.755N 86.616

Nearly 900 people were killed in the border districts of Nepal and Bihar, India. Damage was also reported from Kathmandu and Sikkim. Felt over much of northern and eastern India and much of Nepal. Felt as far as New Delhi.

14 February 2006 - Mana, North Sikkim, Mw 5.3

27.377 N, 88.362 E, D=020.1 kms, OT=00:55:23 UTC

A moderate earthquake struck the Sikkim Himalayas on 14 February 2006 at 06:25 AM local time resulting in two deaths and minor damage to property in the state of Sikkim, India. It had a magnitude of Mw=5.3. This is the strongest earthquake in this immediate region since a Mw=6.3 earthquake on 19 November 1980.

18 May 2007 - Nambu, North Sikkim, Mb 4.6

27.302 N, 88.159 E, D=021.1 kms, OT=12:40:02 UTC

A light earthquake struck the Sikkim Himalayas on 18 May 2007 at 18:10 PM local time resulting in some panic in the state of Sikkim, India. It had a magnitude of Mb=4.6.

20 May 2007 - Singyang, North Sikkim, Mb 5.0

27.303 N, 88.191 E, D=021.1 kms, OT=14:18:18 UTC

A moderate earthquake struck the Sikkim Himalayas on 20 May 2007 at 19:48 PM local time resulting in some panic and minor damage in the state of Sikkim, India. It had a magnitude of Mb=5.0.

HIGH COURT RAP FOR CENTRAL GOVT AND STATE GOVERNMENT OVER GTA PACT

KOLKATA, 17 SEPT: Calcutta High Court criticised the state government and Union government on Friday, for failing to address issues relating to the impact of an alleged influx of people from Nepal on demographics in India. The criticism comes long after the ink has dried on the memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the state, Union Government and the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) for the formation of Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA).

“The matter is extremely serious in nature. The respondents are taking the matter very lightly,” the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mr Justice JN Patel and Mr Justice Asim Roy said during a public interest litigation (PIL) hearing on the misutilisation of Articles six and seven of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950, which some say is leading to an influx of people of Nepali origin to India.

The provisions in these Articles confer exclusive and restricted national treatment to the treaty beneficiaries in India and Nepal.

According to the PIL, which was submitted by Mr Kallol Guha Thakurta and moved by Jan Chetna, a Siliguri-based voluntary organisation, an increasing number of people of Nepali origin are coming to India and enrolling themselves on the voters’ list in many constituencies in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and parts of the Dooars in West Bengal,

Resentment among people of non-Nepali origin about the inclusion of certain areas in the GTA's jurisdiction was manifested in a bandh in Siliguri. The bandh was part of a two-day agitation that took place on the day the MoA was signed. Several organisations are opposed to the GJMM’s demand for inclusion of eight wards from the Siliguri Municipal Corporation and 196 moujas each from the Terai and the Dooars in the GTA's jurisdiction.

The Election Commission has failed to prevent this illegal inclusion, it was submitted. It is violating Article 326 of the Constitution which deals with adult suffrage. Under the Indo-Nepal-Great Britain tripartite agreement in 1947, soldiers who are subjects of Nepal recruited in certain Gorkha regiments are debarred from possessing voting rights in India, it had been submitted. Their progeny is also not given this right.

Besides entering India from Nepal, a sizeable number of persons of Nepali origin are going to Bhutan and then coming over to India, it was submitted. As there is no extradition treaty between India and Bhutan, these people are not registered as foreigners. It was further submitted that there is rising apprehension that north Bengal and north east India will at a point of time be swamped by them.

The issue of the change of demographic pattern is a significant factor in the inclusion of area under Gorkha Terriotorial Administration's (GTA) jurisdiction. Incidentally, the director of census operations is a member of the high-powered committee which had been formed to look into the issue of identification of GTA's area from Siliguri, Terai and Dooars, keeping in mind the “compactness, contiguity, homogeneity and ground-level situations.”

 

Courtsey : The Statesman

The GJMM is paying households of Dooars & Terai Rs 30 a day to hoist the flag of GJMM before the survey, villagers alleged.

From rooftop to rooftop, on treetops, on shops and in the middle of tea gardens, the flag of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today flutters across much of the Dooars and the Terai plains, a visual makeover ahead of a government survey to assess the strength of the GJM’s claim on this territory.

Most of the flags have come up over the past month, irrespective of whether those living in the houses are ...Gorkas or Adivasis. This was after GJM chief Bimal Gurung issued a diktat not only to Gorkhas but also to Adivasis “who want to come under the Gorkha Territorial Administration”.

It is meant to be a show of numerical supremacy ahead of the planned visit by survey teams, which will be constituted by a committee comprising retired Calcutta judge Shyamal Sen, GJM representatives and those of the state and Central governments, to determine which areas should come under the GTA. The GJM has demanded nearly 400 mouzas in the plains — around 200 each in the Dooars and the Terai — in addition to the entire hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.

At Malbazar, Nagrakata and Banarhat in the Dooars, areas dominated by Adivasis, the display is the result of a combination of fear and alleged incentive. The GJM has been paying households Rs 30 a day to hoist the flag, villagers alleged.

Robinson, a tea labourer at Banarhat, said he has hoisted the flag because he could not afford not to. “We don’t want to be included in the GTA. We are Adivasis, living here for decades, but so many Nepalese and Bhutanese people have settled here that we are now almost reduced to a minority. Since they have put the GJM flag on their roofs, we have to do the same.”

Binay Tigga, another labourer, admitted he was being paid. “For the last one month, we are being given Rs 30 a day. They call us ‘the 67 people’ because our daily wage is Rs 67 while tea labourers in Darjeeling get Rs 90. They have told us that for a couple of months, till the survey is done, we can earn Rs 97, which is more than what tea labourers in Darjeeling earn.”

Shortly after the notification for the joint verification committee had been issued, Gurung made a speech at Nagrakata, where he announced the diktat on the flags and said that every resident must be home when the survey teams come calling.

A senior member of the GJM central committee conceded, “We are concerned about the Dooars region since it is a traditional stronghold of the Adivasis. To influence the views of the committee, our leaders have urged the people to put up GJM flags on their houses.”

Leaders among the Adivasis are fuming. Jhon Barla, block president (Banarhat-Nagrakata) of the All Bengal Adivasi Vikash Parishad, said, “The committee comprises only representatives from the government and the GJM. The ABAVP and other groups have not been made a party to this. Adivasis will never allow such a demarcation.” He also wondered where the GJM has found funding for the Rs 30 allegedly being paid to each Adivasi household every day.

The committee, formed on July 29, met for the first time on August 31. It then decided to publish a newspaper advertisement seeking suggestions and complaints, if any, but is yet to do so. Given six months to submit a report, it has decided to meet again in November.

Source : Indian Express

ILLEGAL FORMATION OF THE NEW BOARD OF SILIGURI JALPAIGURI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

The decision to keep the Siliguri and Jalpaiguri civic chiefs out of the development authority for the two towns has not gone down well with at least one of them.

Only one Congress representative is on the 12-member board which has at least five Trinamul leaders.

 The Congress chairperson of the Jalpaiguri municipality, Mohan Bose, has questioned how he and Siliguri mayor Gangotri Datta could have been left out of the board of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority. The civic chiefs have been on the SJDA board since it was first formed in 1980.

Today, SJDA chairperson and Siliguri MLA Rudranath Bhattacharya announced that a 12-member board including him and the chief executive officer of the development authority as member-secretary has been formed.

"We were told about the formation of the new SJDA board by the principal secretary of state urban development department on September 9. The new members would be informed about their selection so that they can carry out necessary duties and responsibilities in the future days," Bhattacharya said.

The other 10 members on the board are the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, the principal secretary of the urban development department, the divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri, the MLAs of Matigara-Naxalbari and Rajganj Shankar Malakar and Khageswar Roy, Siliguri deputy mayor Ranjan Silsharma and Trinamul leaders Jyotsna Agarwal and Chandan Bhowmik. The 12th member is Nantu Saha, SJDA chairperson said, but could not furnish details on him.

"As far as my knowledge goes, there are laid down rules that the civic chiefs of towns which come within the ambit of the development authority should be members. Any change in the composition of the board has to be made through a gazette notification and till date, we do not have information of any such notification," said Bose. The reaction from Gangotri was mild. "We cannot comment on the SJDA board," she said.

Malakar is the only Congress member on the board. Asked why the MLA and MP of Jalpaiguri and the sabhadhipatis of Siliguri mahakuma parishad and Jalpaiguri zilla parishad were left out, Bhattacharya said: "A board has been formed and it would be wrong to interpret its composition in terms of political colours."



But many pointed out that when the SJDA was under the Left Front, Congress leaders like Mohan Bose and Gangotri had been on the board. "This time Jalpaiguri MLA Sukhbilash Burma, Alipurduar MLA Debprasad Roy, Phansidewa MLA Sunil Tirkey have been left out. All of them are from the Congress, not even from the Left. Last time, Debprasad Roy, Mohan Bose, Gangotri Datta were all on the board despite being from the Opposition party," said a source.









ILLEGAL FORMATION OF THE NEW BOARD OF SILIGURI JALPAIGURI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

The decision to keep the Siliguri and Jalpaiguri civic chiefs out of the development authority for the two towns has not gone down well with at least one of them.

Only one Congress representative is on the 12-member board which has at least five Trinamul leaders.

The Congress chairperson of the Jalpaiguri municipality, Mohan Bose, has questioned how he and Siliguri mayor Gangotri Datta could have been left out of the board of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority. The civic chiefs have been on the SJDA board since it was first formed in 1980.

Today, SJDA chairperson and Siliguri MLA Rudranath Bhattacharya announced that a 12-member board including him and the chief executive officer of the development authority as member-secretary has been formed.

"We were told about the formation of the new SJDA board by the principal secretary of state urban development department on September 9. The new members would be informed about their selection so that they can carry out necessary duties and responsibilities in the future days," Bhattacharya said.

The other 10 members on the board are the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, the principal secretary of the urban development department, the divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri, the MLAs of Matigara-Naxalbari and Rajganj Shankar Malakar and Khageswar Roy, Siliguri deputy mayor Ranjan Silsharma and Trinamul leaders Jyotsna Agarwal and Chandan Bhowmik. The 12th member is Nantu Saha, SJDA chairperson said, but could not furnish details on him.

"As far as my knowledge goes, there are laid down rules that the civic chiefs of towns which come within the ambit of the development authority should be members. Any change in the composition of the board has to be made through a gazette notification and till date, we do not have information of any such notification," said Bose. The reaction from Gangotri was mild. "We cannot comment on the SJDA board," she said.

Malakar is the only Congress member on the board. Asked why the MLA and MP of Jalpaiguri and the sabhadhipatis of Siliguri mahakuma parishad and Jalpaiguri zilla parishad were left out, Bhattacharya said: "A board has been formed and it would be wrong to interpret its composition in terms of political colours."

But many pointed out that when the SJDA was under the Left Front, Congress leaders like Mohan Bose and Gangotri had been on the board. "This time Jalpaiguri MLA Sukhbilash Burma, Alipurduar MLA Debprasad Roy, Phansidewa MLA Sunil Tirkey have been left out. All of them are from the Congress, not even from the Left. Last time, Debprasad Roy, Mohan Bose, Gangotri Datta were all on the board despite being from the Opposition party," said a source.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha wants Mamata to refrain to form separate Alipurduar District.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has opposed any district reorganisation in areas of the Dooars and the Terai it wants under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration until the report of a committee examining the authority’s territorial jurisdiction is submitted.

The move comes against the backdrop of plans by the Mamata Banerjee government to carve a separate Alipurduar district out of the existing Jalpaiguri. All the 199 mouzas each from the Dooars and the Terai that the Morcha wants under the GTA fall within Jalpaiguri district.

“Unless a final shape is given to the territory of the GTA, we do not think there should be any reorganisation of the districts which involves areas we have demanded within the GTA. Such a move will go against the spirit of the GTA agreement signed recently,” Morcha spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chhetri said here today after a meeting of the party’s “core” committee.

The meeting, presided over by party chief Bimal Gurung, had been called to discuss the stand the Morcha should take at the all-party meeting called by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday to discuss a new name for West Bengal as well as the planned reorganisation of five districts.

“We discussed the issue of the reorganisation of the districts thoroughly and we believe the issue is of immense importance for us,” Chhetri, also the Morcha MLA from Kalimpong, said.

The party wants Mamata to refrain from taking decisions on reorganisation of the districts covering the Dooars and the Terai, some parts of which fall in Jalpaiguri and the others in Darjeeling.

The hill party is also worried that most pockets dominated by the Nepali-speaking people in the Dooars are closer to Alipurduar, which is proposed to be made a district, than Jalpaiguri town. The pockets come under the Kalchini and Madharihat blocks, now part of Jalpaiguri’s of Alipurduar subdivision. Once Alipurduar is upgraded to a district, Kalchini and Madharihat are likely to fall under it.

Source : The Telegraph

Gorkha was a Nepalese principality whose king, Prithvi Narayan Shah

All areas of old Assam identified for autonomy are now separate States. GJM leader Bimal Gurung believes that that is also Darjeeling’s future.

Addressing a victory rally in Darjeeling last week, Mr Bimal Gurung of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha triumphantly compared the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration with the Bodoland Territorial Council. In time, he is confident that Gorkhaland will be a full-fledged state like Nagaland. That is his “ultimate goal” he declared while Ms Mamata Banerjee was assuring people that “there is nothing to fear, Bengal is not being divided”.

The nomenclature — Bodoland, Nagaland, Gorkhaland — implies what is not. Bodos and Nagas are sons of the soil. The Nepalese are not, not even when their leaders reinvent them as Gorkha which, too, is not an indigenous word. Gorkha was a Nepalese principality whose king, Prithvi Narayan Shah, conquered other fiefdoms to create the kingdom of Nepal in 1769.

Everyone comes from somewhere. Identity depends on when you came and how you see yourself. The original Gorkha League constitution called Nepal the “motherland” though the Nepalese never forgave Morarji Desai for dismissing their claim for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule because it was a foreign language.

Mr Subash Ghising, whose Gorkha National Liberation Front the GJM supplanted, was more honest about his people’s dilemma. The Gorkhaland of his dreams would, he felt, “solve the ‘identity problem’ of the nine million Gorkhas in the country”. Today, that “identity problem” prompts some unnecessarily vociferous posturing. Two points in particular are stressed on the basis of folk memory but in defiance of history and ethnography. First, that the Nepalese have always lived in Darjeeling. Second, though this is implied rather than explicitly stated, that no other community can claim that right.

The first point is easily disposed of. Darjeeling was part of the kingdom of Sikkim until around 1780 when Nepalese troops invaded and conquered much of the territory. Nepal might have annexed Darjeeling if the Chogyal of Sikkim had not appealed to the East India Company which invaded Nepal and forced the cession of a large chunk of territory under the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1815. Darjeeling was restored to Sikkim and remained Sikkimese until 1835 when a mix of force and trickery persuaded the Chogyal to lease it to the East India Company for a sanatorium for British officers.

Sikkim never relinquished its title to the territory (for which the Company and then New Delhi paid an annual rent) and in 1947 submitted a 10-page memorandum drawn up by a Bengali jurist, Sardar DK Sen, to independent India’s new Government. It argued that Britain’s withdrawal automatically nullified the transfer and restored the status quo ante. It’s a different matter that the last thing today’s Sikkimese want is to be swamped by the Darjeeling Nepalese.

On the second point, Mr Dipak De, a member of Amnesty International, has sent out a number of petitions, arguing that Darjeeling being a Buddhist name and site, its transformation into Gorkhaland violates Articles 18(1) and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantee “freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and the rights of “ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities”. He makes the valid point that other communities are also stake-holders in Darjeeling. The Lepchas were the original inhabitants; then came the Bhutiyas. Some hold that even the Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Tsong and Sherpa peoples are not Nepalese. Protests by the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association, the Adivasi Vikash Parishad and other groups covered by the Integrated Tribal Development Programme support Mr De’s charge that even Darjeeling’s three hill sub-divisions are not demographically monolithic.

It seems that way because political instability and economic insecurity drove the Nepalese out of their country for generations to fan out across the Terai and Dooars and occupy large tracts of Sikkim and Bhutan, resulting in upheavals of one kind or another in both places. This migration gained additional impetus under official auspices after the British acquired Darjeeling. They imported the Nepalese to blast mountains, lay roads, build houses, plant tea and because “these hereditary enemies of Tibet” were the best guarantee of British Indian security, wrote the ethnographer and civil servant, HH Risley. “Hinduism will assuredly cast out Buddhism, and the praying-wheel of the lama will give place to the sacrificial implements of the Brahman. The land will follow the creed.”

Mr Ghising hoped to give a sense of rootedness to Nepalese immigrants whether strung out along the Terai, working in Mumbai and Chennai or wearing the uniform of India’s seven Gurkha regiments. He promised an equivalent of Israel’s Law of Return, ie, the right to a homeland in Darjeeling even to those who had never set foot in the place.

Mindful of the Nepalese contribution to the country, especially to its military, and given the votes at stake, Indian politicians shied away from taking a stand. The delay until 1992 in including Nepalese in the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule exposed their ambivalence. Though Jyoti Basu dismissed the GNLF as “divisive, anti-people, anti-national and anti-state”, he could hardly forget that the undivided CPI sent a memorandum to the Constituent Assembly asking that “the three contiguous areas of Darjeeling district, southern Sikkim and Nepal be formed into one single zone to be called ‘Gorkhastan’.”

Carefully choosing its words, the BJP, whose Mr Jaswant Singh still represents Darjeeling in the Lok Sabha, promised to “sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling district and Dooars region”. The Congress lurches from one ad hoc position to another, and Trinamool Congress appears to be doing the same.

They have forgotten Rajiv Gandhi’s warning on the eve of another acclaimed agreement, “Don’t the leaders of the CPI(M) know that regional autonomy is the stepping stone to another State?” He did not need to add that all the areas of the old Assam State identified for autonomy under the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule are separate States.

Mr Gurung may be justified in believing that that is also Darjeeling’s future. But one wonders whether in their eagerness to claim a major triumph for Trinamool in its first few weeks in office, either Ms Banerjee or Mr Palaniappan Chidambaram thought things through before the deed was done. Or is it precisely because they are so acutely aware of the logical consequences of their action that the principals did not commit themselves by putting pen to paper? Curiously, the signatories were junior non-political representatives.

FROM THE PIONEER

BY SUNANDA K DATTA-RAY

Tripartite Darjeeling pact to be signed on July 18

15 Jul 2011, 1632 hrs IST, AGENCIES

The much-awaited tripartite agreement on the vexed Darjeeling issue would be signed at Sukna, near the hill station, on July 18 in the presence of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said. Banerjee said at the state secretariat that she would be present during the signing of the agreement between the Centre, state government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The state's chief secretary and other officials would also be present representing the state. Sukna, which is within the Darjeeling jurisdiction, was chosen as the venue because of 'uncertain weather' condition in the hills, she told reporters.

Asked to comment on objections from several quarters over the use of the word 'Gorkhaland' in the name of the proposed hill authority (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration), Banerjee said, ''It hardly matters with change in a word. Some people are doing politics on the issue.''

Banerjee dismissed suggestion that the agreement would pave the way for ultimate separation of Darjeeling from West Bengal, saying, ''Darjeeling would rather be more strongly integrated with the state.''

In a veiled reference to the erstwhile Left Front government, the chief minister said, ''Failure on some people's part to restore peace in the hills does not mean that others cannot achieve it.''

She said several 'unauthorised organisations' and 'vested interest groups' were spreading falsehood to disrupt the peace process in Darjeeling.

''They are against signing of the pact, development in the Darjeeling hills and solution of the crisis.''

Banerjee expressed hope that the signing of the agreement would usher in peace in the hills and plains. ''Let the people of the hills and the plains, Dooars and Terai, live in peace.''

Visibly in a very happy mood, Banerjee said, ''I want Kanchenjunga to shine even during cloud-filled rainy season.''

The chief minister said that the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Surjya Kanta Mishra would also be invited, besides members of the North Bengal Development Council (NBDC) and ministers and MLAs from North Bengal.

Normal life was partially affected in Siliguri, Terai and Dooars after nine anti-Gorkha organisations called a 24-hour North Bengal bandh in protest against the scheduled signing of the hill treaty, police said.

Claiming the bandh to be a "total" success, Dooars-Terai Ngarik Manch president Lari Bose said no berth was given to the Adivasi community in the nine-member assessment committee formed to assess the demand for inclusion of 196 moujas of Terai and Dooars in the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

He said that the bandh in the two regions should be treated as a "people's mandate against the treaty".

Another organisation Adivasi Vikash Parisad has called for a 48-hour bandh beginning tomorrow in the two regions, while Bangla-o-Bangla Bhasa Bachaon Committee president Mukunda Majumder demanded that the word 'Gorkhaland' be dropped first.

More tourism potential in Dooars/Terai Region

Tourism has become one of the most flourishing industries in the world. Today, it is the second largest and fastest growing industry, next only to the petroleum industry. Worldwide, tourism is emerging as one of the biggest employers compared to any other economic sector. It offers opport...unities for economic, cultural and political exchanges, generates employment, foreign exchange and raises living standards. It facilitates social integration and international understanding.

The vast potential and the need for rapid development was recognised only in the Seventh Plan, subsequent to which tourism was accorded the status of an Industry, thereby encouraging private investments in this sector. The national action plan for tourism (1992), defines the objectives of tourism development in India and the primary strategy for its development:

• It is a unifying and a nation-building force, through fostering greater national and international understanding, particularly amongst the youth of the country.
• It serves to preserve and enrich India’s cultural heritage.
• It brings socio-economic benefits.

The strategy for achieving these objectives has been outlined as:

• Improvement of tourist infrastructure
• Developing areas on a selective basis for integrated growth, along with the marketing of destinations on the basis of a ‘Special Tourism Area’ concept.
• Restructuring and strengthening of institutions for development of human resources.
• Evolving a suitable policy for increasing foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings.

Tourism development in Dooars/Terai: It is unfortunate that due to socio-political and geographical reasons, the entire Dooars/Terai region has remained neglected and backward from the development point of view. It is pertinent to mention here that progress and benefits have not reached the Dooars region even today. The concept of Tourism development is very little in this region and is in its infancy. A few states like Sikkim and Assam have taken a few strides in developing tourism, with emphasis on eco-tourism, wildlife tourism, cultural tourism and adventure tourism. The other states have also commenced their efforts during the last decade.

However, the tourism development of the dooars & Terai region needs to be targeted via a regional approach rather than an individual state approach. The basic needs for tourism development of this region needs efficient infrastructure, good connectivity between the states and require ultimate peace in dooars and terai region. The entry permit formality required for a few states for both domestic and international tourists is a major deterrent to the region’s tourism attractiveness.

Government must identify Dooars as a potential foreign tourist destination and must take "special plans" for development of tourism in this region.

Location advantage

• Dooars has a location advantage and can be covered as a part of either Darjeeling-Sikkim tour or a trip to Kingdom of Bhutan or Assam.
• To attract foreign tourists, Dooars should be promoted along with Darjeeling Himalayan region.

The annual tourist inflow to the State during 2006-07 was 1,65,25,000 tourists, comprising 1,55,00,000 domestic tourists and 10,25,000 foreign tourists. It is to be noted that Dooars accounts for nearly 10-15 per cent of tourists in eastern region.

PERESPECTIVE PLANS

The perspective plan emphasises nature and eco-tourism (forest and water based recreation, wildlife sanctuary, sightseeing), adventure tourism (mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking, rafting, boating), culture and heritage tourism, and educational tourism Apart from existing tourist based functions within dooars/Terrai locations, a film studio, eco-lodges, eco-convention centre, amusement park, aquatic park, theme park, artisan’s village cum vocational training centre, botanical gardens, and zoological garden can be proposed. Dooars has a huge tourism potential. It can attract foreign tourists through promotion of wildlife and tea tourism .

It is suggested that:

• A comprehensive tourism plan should be prepared for Dooars and Terai to promote the tourism industry. Promotion of tourism demands more transit accommodation facilities near the transit interchange points such as railway stations, and regional bus stands, resorts for the year-round use, and development of tourist shelters in the forest areas.
• Effective utilisation of natural resources to promote under-utilised and lesser-exposed destinations in the region, and preservation of scenic and historic environments to attract domestic and international tourists.
• Strict enforcement and ban on activities such as illegal felling of trees in the forest areas, illegal boulder and pebbles extractions in the rivers, excavation of soil for brick kiln purposes, automobile movements within the sensitive natural zones, hunting and unregulated fishing.
• At the level of local recreation, wood parks have been proposed on the eastern bypass near Baikunthapur forest, Madhubagan forest as well as near Naxalbari Urban area. The area comprising Patiram, Kauakhali and Kalam on the south of Matigara Hat have been designated as the central recreational open space, containing organised parks, playgrounds and nature parks. The river edges, especially along Mahananda in Siliguri, Basra in Kalchini and Karala in Jalpaiguri should be developed into continuous recreational stretches

New centres
Government can also plan to set up a couple of tourism centers in Kolkata and Siliguri, which would act as "one stop destination" for tourism-related activities in the State. The Siliguri centre will be responsible for promotion of tourism in North Bengal.

On infrastructure front, Government must improve roads and highways and set up "quality hotels and resorts" in Dooars and terai region.

Getaway tourism in the vicinity of Siliguri, Malbazar and Alipurduar
Within 60 to 70 km radius of above locations and along all the exit routes of the towns, about 40 or 50 sites should be identified and earmarked for development of tourist resorts, day centres, picnic spots etc. to provide facilities to weekend tourists & getaway tourists.

Highway Tourism

To make the road journeys of tourists and other travellers safe, secure and pleasant, composite wayside facilities should be constructed on all National and State Highways within the entire North Bengal at distances of 25/30 kms. ¾ acres of land at each such site shouldl be identified/acquired and earmarked for constructing such facilities.

Heritage Tourism

Heritage sites are precious for a country. In tune with the policy of the Govt. of India the Department of Tourism will take appropriate measure for promotion of heritage tourism in the State. Heritage buildings, forts, monuments, temples, churches, mosques etc. at or near Jalpaiguri District, Coochbehar town should be identified and efforts should be made to restore, preserve and promote them as places of tourist interest with Central/State assistance and/or with the help and participation of private sector, wherever feasible.

Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism comprises trekking in the forests and the hills, mountaineering, mountain biking, rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, yachting, river rafting, long-distance swimming and para sailing, car rally etc.

Adventure Tourism should be promoted by the Government in consultation with the Forest and Environment Deptt., various Sports association of Dooars and Terai, the Sports and Youth Services Deptt. and various NGOs.

Amusement parks

An Amusement Park is always a centre of great tourist attraction. Government must construct amusement parks in various tourist spots of dooars and terai on priority basis. Smaller amusement parks may be constructed in the census/municipal towns and big industrial towns.

State Tourism Department in consultation with the District Collectors and NGO’s should identify and earmark suitable sites for this purpose and invite private sector to invest in such projects.

Convention Tourism

Siliguri is the gateway to North-Eastern States of India. It has the potential to develop into a world-class Convention Centre. The liberalisation of the country’s economy has attracted the attention of international hospitality chains. Apart from bringing in foreign direct investment, international chains are likely to contribute to the upgradation of Indian managerial and marketing talent to global standards in the hospitality sector. International trademarks in hospitality will ensure the much-needed quality assurance for marketing India as a competitive tourist destination.

To facilitate this, suitable sites (each measuring 15/20 acres of land) for setting up state-of-the-art Convention Centres on the pattern of Bigyan Bhavan at Delhi should be identified and earmarked in and around Siliguri or Bagdogra. To achieve this target Bagdogra Airport should be upgraded as International Airports. Government must welcome Private Sector investment in this purpose.

Wildlife tourism

There is tremendous scope for development of tourism based on wildlife in Dooars.The presence of a number of national parks, including Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley National Park, Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary and Buxa Tiger Reserve in Dooars, would also act as catalyst to the growth of wildlife tourism in this region. The Govt. should endevour to create better tourist facilities at or near such sites in conformity with the policies, rules & regulations for conservation of environment and ecological balance to enable tourists to appreciate the variety of flora and fauna in the dooars locations.

Agro-Tourism

There is a tremendous opportunity in agro tourism in both Darjeeling Himalayan and Dooars region. There are some firms working on this line. The tourist come and enjoys the natural beauty with fresh agri-products from the field. The region is still virgin and needs to be exploited. However, the infrastructure likes air connectivity, good road, electricity without disruption, clean drinking water, market access and other required facilities in the area or vicinity is required to be developed immediately for the betterment of agro tourism. West Bengal Forest development Corporation Ltd. And some private enterprises are involved in this business since last few years in this region. But there is much more to be done in this line where hundreds of farmers can make additional income from this sector. The agro tourism can provide employment of hundreds of rural youths if promoted properly.

Plantation Tourism

Dooars/terai of North Bengal have a large number of lush-green tea estates. Many such tea estates have some surplus lands and many of such estates are now eager to develop eco-friendly tourist resorts on their surplus lands.

The Government must encourage and consider the proposal of the willing tea estates.

Tea Tourism

Government must develop an Information-cum-Tourist Amenities Centre in each block of dooars region with a high-end tea interpretation Centre, which showcases the tea industries evolution. Government must encourage reputed hotel chains to develop such type of hospitality projects in different part of metro cities and also encourage investors to set up projects in dooars and terai locations. With an eye on attracting both domestic and foreign tourists, the government must embark an ambitious project for the development of an integrated tea tourism circuit. There is need to sanction specific schemes for the development of infrastructure and accommodation in North Bengal to promote tea tourism.

Tourists who are visiting Dooars areas had showed interest in staying in the tea gardens and see how tea leaves are plucked and processed. Tourists are also attracted to the lush green tea gardens and the scenic beauty. So why not promote the tea gardens as tourists spots?

The government should try to rope private parties so that it can commercially exploit the potential of tea tourism through public private partnership.

By : N.Burman, President, Dooars Terai Nagarik Manch