1111120 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

20 - 26 SEPT, 2006, GANGTOK sikkim.midweek@gmail.com VOLUME 1 NO. 3. Rs. 10

What we love about the officialwebsite of theGovernment of Sikkim

On Page 18

SARAH comes tothe aid of strays

SHOW OFSTRENGTHDZONGU DIVIDED OVER PANAM

SHOW OFSTRENGTH

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On Page 16

Debashish Mukherjeearrived in Gangtok on28th September 2005.

Checking into Hotel Sernya atNew Market, he stayed here fortwo days. This pattern wasrepeated the next month andagain the month after that. Onhis third visit he borrowed Rs.2000 from the manager of thehotel, claiming some problemwith his ATM card. And thusbegan a journey of lies thatfinally culminated in his arreston 13 September 2006, exactlya year after his arrival. In that

one year Debashish had conneda large number of people intoloaning him big amounts ofmoney. He projected himself asa successful media personalityand even negotiated withNayuma Television for aprogramming tie-up. Withmuch fanfare he launchedVishal Telefilms’ talent hunt‘Voice of Sikkim’ from ChintanBhawan in the company ofHRD Minister GM Gurungand DIG, Range, AkshaySachdeva.

But his carefully craftedweb of deceit came crashingdown when Chandra Shekar

HOW ONE MAN FOOLED AN ENTIRE TOWNTHE VISHAL TELEFILMS CON - THE COMPLETE STORY Pradhan, a resident of Convoy

ground, Tadong, filed an FIRagainst him, alleging that theaccused had cheated him of Rs.1, 78,800 on the pretext ofgetting the complainant’sdaughter admission in amedical college in Pune. WhenPradhan travelled to Pune, hediscovered that no admissionhad been secured at the college.Upon his return to Gangtok,Debashis handed him a chequewhich subsequently bounced.After Pradhan lodged acomplaint in this regard,Sikkim Police arrestedDebashish. Thus ended ajourney that saw Debashishhog the limelight, in more ways

than one. Today, as he cools hisheels at Sadar Thana,Debashish will have ampletime to contemplate on how hisgrand scheme went so terriblywrong. Earlier than he wouldhave anticipated, perhaps.

That the man was a charmeris no longer in doubt. How elsecan we explain the sheernumber and variety of peoplethat he conned into giving himlakhs of rupees on the basis ofvague promises made by him.Although very few are willingto come forward in publicagainst him, it is believed thereare dozens of people who havebeen robbed of their money.

RHEA SHARMA

photo courtesy: NOW! continued on page 3

22222 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND-UP

GANGTOK: “Yo pali koDasain tapai haru sabaiko lagiramro hos.Tapai haruko khushimai mero pani khushi cha.”

With these words, ChiefMinister Pawan Chamling hadkicked off the first of the seriesof Janata Melas from the EastDistrict at the Guards Groundhere on October 3, last year.

And this year too, the Melaof benefits for the Janata wasslated to make its debut forboth the East as well as NorthDistricts at the Paljor Stadiumhere on September 22.

The Janata Mela this yearwas planned to be granderin scale as i t was to beorganised for both the East

and Nor th Dis t r ic t s .According to the DistrictDevelopment Officer, EastDis t r ic t , near ly 3 ,500benef ic iar ies had beenident i f ied for var iousbenefit schemes from theEast District for this year’sMela . There are 11Constituencies in the EastDistrict.

During the Janata Mela,the Chief Minister was tohand out benefits to tokenbenef ic iar ies whichincluded schemes under theRural Housing Scheme, OldAge Pens ion , landcompensation, land bankscheme, grants to religiousinstitutions and incentivesto sportsperson.

But even as the s ta tegovernment was makingpreparations to hold thisyear’s Janata Mela, it cameunder heavy criticism fromthe opposition parties. In ameet ing he ld on 18September at the CongressHead Off ice , the par tydemanded a White Paperfrom the State Governmenton the organization of theJanta Mela. The party hasasked the government todeclare the benef i t s i tproposes to distribute aswel l as ensure tha t thegovernment distributes thebenef i t s to genuinebeneficiaries and not on thebasis of political allegiance.The par ty has a l so

threatened to take legalaction against the IndianOil Corporation which issupposed to provide a hugequant i ty of new LPGconnect ions for publ icd is t r ibut ion dur ing theMela at one go when IOChas been refus ing toprovide the same to thegeneral public.

Earlier, the state unit ofBhara t iya Janata Par ty[BJP] ra ised objec t ionsregarding the manner inwhich the benef i t s a redisbursed. The BJP is of theopin ion tha t s ince theeconomic benef i t sdistributed during the Meladoes not come straight offthe pockets of the ChiefMinister or his ministersand MLAs, the distributionof the same should becar r ied out by thegovernment officials. Theparty has further suggestedthat since the beneficiarieshave to go to the districtheadquarters to receive thebenefits, they should alsobe paid in advance all theexpendi ture incurred onaccount of their travel andstay in these areas.

But, in a sudden turn ofevents the Mela has nowbeen postponed, with thenew dates ye t to beint imated. One does notknow what prompted thechange in dates but events

that unfolded on Monday,September 18 may havesomething to do with it .The day saw hundreds ofSDF supporters from farflung villages thronging toMintokgang, for the‘Dasain kharcha’ theybelieved was being doledout. Ministers, legislators,district officials and policehad a tough t imecontrolling the crowd.

By late afternoon peoplecrowded the ent i re areasurrounding SammanBhavan, the Whi tehal lcomplex and the circulardivider of J. N. Marg.

The fact that the chiefminister was in fact awayon a two day tour ofDarjeeling did not deter thelarge number of people,who refused to budge untillate in the evening.

Despite being informedthe chief minis ter wasaway, the public refused toleave.

Some cabinet ministers,legis la tors and off ic ia lsfrom the chief minister ’soffice had to intervene andask the people to leave. TheDis t r ic t Col lec tor R.Telang, Superintendent ofPolice MS Tuli and seniordistrict and police officialsall had assembled in thearea to control the situationwhich threatened to get outof hand.

Much Hungama aboutJanata Mela

a MIDWEEK Report

A General Body Meeting of the newly registered

Goethals Alumni Sikkim will be held on Sunday

the 24th September 2006 at 5.30 pm at Hotel

Chumbi Residency, Tibet Road Gangtok. All ex-

students of Goethal’s Memorial School,

Kurseong, whether registered or not are

cordially invited.

The meeting will amongst other points discuss

the outcome of the recent meeting of various

Alumni held at the school with the Principal

Brother Beddoe and the plans for the coming

Centenary Celebrations of the School. It will

also focus on past and future activities of the

Alumni and ways of strengthening the

Association.

The meeting will be followed by dinner.

All ex-Goethalites are urged to attend and to

confirm their participation to

Mr. J. D. BarfungpaAsst. General Secretary. Mobile : 9434410202

ORMr. Aswin Oberoi

Treasurer. Mobile : 9434022313

NOTICE

GANGTOK: Sikkim’s Forest,Environment and WildlifeManagement department hasbeen made the resource agencyby the Union Ministry ofForest and Environment forcoordinating the NationalEnvironmental Awarenessprogramme in the North-Eastern region.

According to PrincipalChief Conservator ofForests TR Poudyal, theprogramme, whose themefor the current year is solidwaste management, is to betaken up in collaborationwith various NGOs, state

government departments,joint forest management ande c o - d e v e l o p m e n tcommittees and educationalinstitutions.

Proposals have beeninvi ted from the localNGOs, educat ional andtraining inst i tut ions,scient if ic bodies andgovernment institutes fortaking up concrete action-oriented activity on solidwaste management indifferent areas of the regionand also generat ingawareness to ensureeffective management of

solid wastes, he said.The proposals , to be

prepared on a prescribedformat , may includeconduct ing of ral l ies ,camps, competitions andpreparation of educationalresource material onenvironment issues. Theproposal must also includean act ion-orientedcomponent which involvesenvironment improvementto benefit local community,Mr. Poudyal said adding thatthe completed proposalsshould reach the departmentlatest by 10 October.

Forest Deptt made resourceagency for awareness campaign

of the North Easta MIDWEEK Report

SDF supporters at the White Hall complex waiting for the CM’s darshan. A MIDWEEK Photo

3333320 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND-UP

The game plan was simple.First he had to create an auraof wealth and success aroundhim to be credible. SoDebashish tied up with somefinance companies to procureluxury vehicles for himself.Soon he had seven of these. Hestarted projecting VishalTelefilms as a top notch mediacompany which had a tie-upwith Star One. In fact, he wasalways seen wearing the StarOne ID card. But according tonew revelations, these weremade locally in a well knownphoto studio here. VishalTelefilms then startednegotiating with NayumaTelevision for providing fivehours of programming daily,for which they would payNayuma Rs. 5 Lakhs a month.If Nayuma Television hadbothered to check they wouldhave found out that not onlydid Debashish not representStar One but his companyVishal Telefilms was not evenregistered and had no tradelicense. But Mukherjee was inbusiness and soon he took up anew office at a building ownedby former Chief Secretary SWTenzing in Development Area.He had a staff of twenty, andseven luxury vehicles. YogeshPradhan of Alphabets BookShop supplied furniture worthover a lakh, which he is yet tobe paid for. By now Mukherjeehad created an aura of wealthand success around him.Enough to inspire trust andmake people believe in his talltales. One of these was abouthis background. Mukherjee

claimed big businessinvestments back home inJamshedpur and a hugemansion. But according to hisdriver, this was all a bunch oflies. His mother, sister andbrother lived in a small flatthere. As for Mukherjee, heentered the area only at nightand only after ensuring that‘Aslam’ was not around. Policeinvestigations so far haverevealed that Debashis is aresident of Swarn Vihar,Sonari-Jamshedpur but hisclaims of being a cameramanwith a leading nationalentertainment TV channel isdoubtful.

One of the many fraudsDebashish played was ofpromising to get Scorpios whichwere supposed to be auctionedat New Delhi at a cheap rate, forpeople here. Nearly ten personsbought into this story, includingteachers and bureaucrats whopaid up to Rs. 2 lakhs each asadvance. A gentleman is said tohave hurriedly sold family goldin the hope of getting a Scorpiocheap. However, not all arewilling to come forward andmake official complaints.

Only last month, on 29August, Vishal Telefilmslaunched ‘Voice of Sikkim -Pratibha ko khoj,’ a talent huntat Chintan Bhawan. Thewinner was promised a MarutiAlto car, Rs. 1 lakh in cashaward, a Bangkok tour and anaudio-video album contractwith Vishal Telefilms. On theoccasion the HRD ministerpromised all help from hisdepartment as well as from the

state department to make theevent successful. The muharatof ‘Sapna Sapna Bhayo’, thenext venture of VishalTelefilms was also given by theHRD minister. Guest of Honor,Akshay Sachdeva, DIG, Rangealso addressed the gathering.

In the meantime, Deo AshisMothay, a graduate fromVishwa BharatiShantiniketan.was also luredinto the doubtful world ofVishal Telefilms, with itspromise to create stars out ofeveryone. Mothay alleges thatpromises made to him about

money and contract all turnedout to be fraudulent.

Sikkim Police are now on thelookout for Paromita Mukherjee,Debashish’s wife and MD ofVishal Telefilms. A mistake thepolice seem to have made wasin delaying the search of the flatwhere the couple stayed. Thiswas done three days after hisarrest. It is believed thatParomita, who is in an advancedstage of pregnancy, is nowabsconding along with her andher brother. They have allegedlydestroyed all documents andphotographs that were in the flat.

HOW ONE MAN FOOLEDAN ENTIRE TOWN

THE VISHAL TELEFILMS CON - THE COMPLETE STORY

Even as the scam is slowlyunspooling, more and morecases of fraud are emerging butlocals are wary about comingout in the open. Meanwhile, thetwenty employees whoresigned from the companyafter Mukherjee’s arrest nowwant to carry forward the‘Voice of Sikkim’ talent huntthemselves. Towards this endthey are meeting variousofficials to garner support.

As for Debashis Mukherjeeand the Vishal Telefilms scam,the drama is still to be playedout in its entirety.

continued from page 1

The Vishal Telefilms office, now sealed.

GANGTOK: Seven membersof the State Civil Services,who were holding variousposts in various StateGovernment departments,have been promoted to theranks of Special Secretaries intheir respective departments.

The promoted officials areTenzing Gelek, AdditionalSecretary, EcclesiasticalAffairs Department; CPDewan, Director,Information and PublicRelations Department;Lhendup Dorjee, AdditionalSecretary, Raj Bhawan;Dawa Sandup, AdditionalSecretary, Energy and PowerDepartment; DP Sharma,

Additional Secretary, HomeDepartment; PR Poudyal,Project Director, SRDA,Rural Management andDevelopment Department;and Wangmu Tenzing,Additional Secretary,Tourism Department.

As per an office orderissued by the Department ofpersonnel on 16 September,the officiating promotionshall not confer any right forregular promotion and shallnot be counted towardsseniority. Regularpromotions will be made onlyafter consultation withSikkim Public ServiceCommission.

GANGTOK: While a l lo ther par t s of the s ta tewi tnessed a daylongobservance of Hindi Diwas,a Lingchom-Tingda basednon governmenta lorganisation has decided totake a step further and makethe event in to a twoweeklong ext ravaganza .The celebrations organisedby Nature Conservation and

Socia l WelfareOrganisation in associationwith Nehru Yuva Kendra[Mangan] , which hads tar ted ear l ie r on 14September at CommunityHal l , L ingchom, wi l lcontinue till 28 September.

The two weeklongcelebrations will witnessvarious activities such as quizand essay writingcompetitions as well asantakshari, besides various

Seven SCS officials

promoteda MIDWEEK Report

other cultural presentations.On 26 September, a rallyfrom Lingchom to Youngang[Kabi] will be taken outwhereas the prize distributionceremony will be held on theconcluding day.

Nature Conservation andSocial Welfare Organisationwas formed recently with thetwin objectives of preservingthe natural and cultural heritageof North Sikkim anddevelopment of the society.

Two weeklong Hindi Diwas

celebrations in Northa MIDWEEK Report

Send in your feedback, queries and mail to

sikkim.midweek@gmail.com

OR post it to:Midweek, Near Hotel Yatung, Nam Nang, Gangtok - 737101

Phone: 03592 320169

44444 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

POLITICS

NAMPRIKDANG: Thetension in the air was palpable.The turnout at theNamprikdang Ground wasclearly divided into twogroups, one in favour of theProject in the belief that itwould bring in a new era ofprosperity to this economicallybackward region of NorthSikkim and the other opposedto it, believing that it wouldforever change their lives, forthe worse.

The North District Policewas present in full strength;clearly in anticipation ofclashes between the twogroups. The presence of theNorth District administration,led by the DC, North, alongwith senior officials of thepower and forest Departments,the Dzongu area MLA and asenior Cabinet minister whoalso heads the SteeringCommittee for hydel projectsin North Sikkim did little todeter the enthusiasm of theprotesting group, who weredetermined to not let go of thisopportunity to voice theirconcerns vehemently.

The Public Hearingmeeting, organized by theSikkim State Pollution ControlBoard, for the 300 MW Panamhydro electric power projecthere on September 18 had boththe groups indulging in a verbalshow of strength. The DistrictPolice was not taking anychances-the protesting grouphad earlier stopped a team

consisting of officials from theForest Department anddevelopers of the Project fromentering the area for jointinspection. The protesters,supported by members of theAffected Citizens of Teesta(ACT) and its supportersblocked the road at theSankhalang Bridge onSeptember 3. The Policeallegedly had used intimidationto force the protesters to clearthe way. “The police threatenedto trap us in some severecharges and legal cases if wedid not stop the blockade. Wewere only demonstrating in apeaceful and democraticmanner. But some of us wereeven later detained up by thePolice and questioned,” aprotester from Dzongu toldMIDWEEK.

Supporters of ACT hadearlier said that they wouldboycott the Public Hearing inprotest. “We are all aware ofthe fact that Public Hearingsare just eyewashes and hardlyaddress the real concerns of theaffected people,” an ACTsupporter said.

However, ACT supporterswere present in full strength atthe Panam Public Hearing,clearly defiant and determinedto prove a point. Even as thePublic Hearing began with thewelcome speech by Dr. GopalPradhan, senior scientist, StatePollution Central Board, someprotesters began booing. As hebegan to sum up the objectivesfor this Public Hearing, herequested the Project Affected

People (PAP) to come forwardwith their opinions andsuggestions to ensuresuccessful implementation ofthis Project.

Next to speak was Ms. CC

Shangderpa, chairperson,SPCB, who made it clear thatthis Project was a part of the“Government’s plan for theprosperity of the poor andmarginalised janata of NorthSikkim” and everyone had tocontribute their bit in this“national building efforts.” Hercomments that once thisProject would becommissioned, the people ofDzongu can “run hotels” intheir houses and “eat anabundance of fish,” weregreeted with loud jeers. Aroundthat time, some protesters whowere booing were silenced bythe Police and their names

noted down. One person wasput to “car arrest” by the Policefor his alleged alliance with theprotesters and deemed a“trouble maker.” He waslocked inside a Police car tillthe end of the meeting.

The GM of the HimagiriHydro-Energy Pvt. Ltd, talkedabout the Project componentsand said that the MoU with theState Government was signedin December 2005. “We arehere because your Governmentinvited us to develop thisProject. We are determined towork in close coordinationwith the locals at the same timeensuing maximum social andeconomic benefits to thevillages in the Project area.”

Former Minister, socialactivist and President, ACT,Athup Lepcha did not mincehis words when his turn tospeak came. “We are deviatingfrom the real and pertinentissues concerning us. TheGovernment is clearly notsensitive to our problems. TheProject is being forced upon uswithout addressing the realconcerns of the people,” hesaid.

Mr. Lepcha used theEnvironment ImpactAssessment (EIA) reportprepared by the developers toraise some valid points. Apartfrom environment and socialconcerns, he raised thequestion of land acquisitionand land rates. “Our lands havebeen taken by disregarding thespecial provision that nooutsider can buy or sellLepcha-Bhutia land. And weare expected to sell it at dirtcheap rates. The Governmentrecently decided that the landrate would be just Rs. 2 Lakhsper acre from Rs. 7 Lakhs peracre for grade I land in Dzongu,when other Project developersin North Sikkim are givingbetter rates. Moreover, the landdoes not just belong to us. It isour ancestors. When most

Show of strength by all

at Panam hearing

DZONGU DIVIDED OVER PANAM

SARIKAH ATREYA

Concerns of ACT1. The extensive drilling and excavation during theconstruction period may release dust particles in the airwhich may cause lead to some serious health problems.

2. The presence of large migrant labourers near the riverbank would lead to deterioration in water quantity andsubsequent changes in the aquatic biota due to dischargeof waste into the river. These migrants might be probablecarriers of various diseases not endemic to the regionresulting in health risks for the locals.

3. Since the migrant workforce are generally from outsideof the State, with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds,they are bound to affect the local socio-cultural and valuesystems

4. 10 kms of river from the dam site till the power house willvirtually dry up as it will flow in the tunnel. It will lead to lowevaporation and subsequently affect the rainfall pattern andvegetation in the area. Reduced water in the RangyongChu is likely to affect the fish population downstream, whichis very important component of any Lepcha social orreligious ceremony.

5. The EIA Report has not taken into consideration of activelandslides in the area, especially around Panam village,where the power house will come up. The survey of theProject area is incomplete and inconclusive. The Reporthas not included the fact that the Project area falls underthe Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve. The globalphenomenon of global warming and receding glaciers inSikkim have not been studied properly.

6. The Project area falls entirely within the Lepcha Reserveof Dzongu. The Lepchas have been declared a PrimitiveTribe by the State Government. Given these facts, how cana major project come up within the Reserve?

7. The Tholung Gompa, one of the most sacred andimportant monasteries of the State lies in the vicinity of theProject. Any mega project involving large influx of migrantworkers and increased human activity can be a securitythreat to the Monastery and its sanctity.

300 MW PANAM HYDRO ELECTRIC

POWER PROJECT

P R O J E C T C O M P O N E N T S

The Project is being developed by the HimagiriHydro-Energy Pvt. Ltd, which proposes to tap thewaters of the Tholung Chu, one of the great tributariesof the Teesta in the Upper Dzongu in North Sikkim.

A Concerete gravity dam will come up on theconfluence of the Tholung Chu and Rangyong Chuat Lingza village, while the power house will comeup near the Panam village, connected by a 9.8 kmhead race tunnel along the right bank of the River.Three adit tunnels will also come up along the rightbank.

continued on page 7

Police personnel withprotestors at

the public hearing.Photo: SARIKAH ATREYA

5555520 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND-UP

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PLUS a host of other Mobile Accessories & Gadgets

GANGTOK: It seems to bethe flavour of the month.Forgeries and scams aremaking headlines in the State,the latest one involvingcurrency notes.

A racket involving fakecurrency notes has been bustedby the Police, thus uncoveringa scam that could havedevastating consequences onthe State economy. It hasexposed the fact that printingand counterfeiting of currencynotes had taken deep roots inthe State.

Singtam Police onSeptember 16 busted thisracket. Acting on a Policesource tip off, a team led bySDPO (Rangpo), SonamBhutia and Singtam OCSoloman Rai carried a raid atUpper Sawney, West Pendam,leading to the arrest of oneperson and recovery of a unitinvolved in the printing of fakenotes. However, when thePolice arrived at the house usedas a printing unit, the four gangmembers had fled the scene

taking with them most of thematerials used for printing thefakes. All the Police could gethold was some paper used forprinting. 16 blank papers wererecovered along with a sampleof a forged Rs. 100 note, alongwith some bottles containingchemicals and dyes used forprinting.

The Police managed to laterarrest one of the suspects.Tsewang Singh Subba, a 35year old resident of the UpperSawney village. The other threemembers of the gang-KrishnaPradhan, Vikram Rai andJashang Subba, had alreadymanaged to flee from thevillage and reportedly tookwith them most of the printingequipment, including aphotocopier which is vital toolin counterfeiting. “The gang, inall likelihood, used a high-resolution printer for printingthe fakes. We are tracking thewhereabouts of the otherthree,” DIG Range AkshaySachdeva told MIDWEEK.The three absconding suspectsmay have fled to Nepal. Alook-out notice for the three has

already sounded in Siliguri andthe border town of Kakarvittain Nepal,” the DIG said.

Police believe that the gangcounterfeited notes of Rs. 100and Rs. 50 only. TsewangSingh Subba has been bookedunder section 489 (a) (c) (e) and(d) of the IPC and placed underPolice remand.

“We are now in the processof determining how big theracket was and if there areother parties involved in this.It is also important to find outhow big the business was andthe areas of circulation. We arealso trying to track if any ofthe fakes were already incirculation in Sikkim,” Mr.Sachdeva said.

Terming the Police raid asa success, DIG Range said thatit has been through the effortsof the Police that the racketwas busted. “We were onlyhelped by a tip off given byone of our own sources. Wehad been working on this casefor some time now. The raidwas well-planned and wellorchestrated. It is a big successfor us,” he said.

COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY

RACKET BUSTED

GANGTOK: The home teamcontinued their winning streakin the eastern leg of the 29th

national sub junior footballchampionship being played atthe Palzor stadium herethrashing Jharkhand 10-1 in thematch played on Monday.

NAMCHI: Five lady teachersof New Light Academy,Namchi lodged a FirstInformation Report against theprincipal of the school,Lobzang Lama on Tuesdayaccusing him of underpayingthem their salaries as well asalleging several malpracticesand irregularities in the school.

A crisis had erupted in theschool last week with the fiveteachers having tendered theirresignation on 15 Septembercreating problems for the thestudents in the middle of theacademic session.

Today the teachers took thewar against the principalfurther by filing the FIR.Namchi police have beeninvestigating into thecomplaints.

New Light Academy, a highersecondary CBSE co-educationalschool is located aboveJorethang road, here. The fiveteachers who have resigned areBandana Subba, Roshna rai,Catherine Dewan, Karma DomaBHutia and Nirvika.

The teachers claim that

while they were promised Rs.5000 as monthly salaries theywere only paid Rs. 3500 permonth. They further allegedthat the principal asked themto sign on blank revenuestamps with the obviousintention of manipulating theaccounts. They also allegedthat while the registerednumber of students appearingfor the final examinationstotaled between 60 to70,students from outside the statewere brought in to appear forexaminations so as to makemoney out of the registrationfees which was between Rs.5000 to Rs. 10, 000 per student.

When questioned on theirdecision to resign, the teachersclaimed that the principalthreatened to terminate themwhile they were taking classesin full view of the students. Theywere also asked to leave theschool premises but before theprincipal could issue them thetermination letters they tenderedin their resignation. Meanwhile,the students are suffering themost with this mass resignationof the teachers in the middle ofthe academic session.

One arrested, a unit for printing fake notes recovered

a MIDWEEK Report

Sikkim skipper EngphohangSubba shone again scoringthree goals in the match.

Earlier Sikkim had routedOrissa 6-1 in the inauguralmatch of this nationalchampionship being hosted bythe Sikkim footballassociation. The Sikkimcaptain had scored two goals

in the inaugural match.In the second match of the

league Jharkhand had wonagainst Bihar 2-0 in the matchplayed on 16 September.

Orissa routed Chattisgarh 7-0 in the match played on 17September. Chattisgarh alsolost to Bihar 6-1 in the matchplayed on Tuesday.

Goals rain at sub junior meet, Home teamcontinues winning streak

a MIDWEEK Report

Namchi teachers file FIRagainst principal

a MIDWEEK Report

GANGTOK: Thecelebration of theBishwakarma puja this yearsaw two young lives beingclaimed during the bisarjan(immersion ceremony) of theidol yesterday at Rorathang.

20 year old student HemKumar Gurung and 24 yearold Sudish Roy who werepart of two separate groupswere swept away by thecurrents in the Rangpo kholain Rorathang yesterday. Thetwo were supposedly drunk

during the immersionceremony.

Gurung, a resident ofPachey Samsing nearPakyong was said to havegone for a swim in the riverswhen the current swept himaway. His body was found akilometer downstream.

Roy a resident of Ambari,Jalpaiguri was presentlyresiding at Chalumthangalso near Pakyong. He is saidto have slipped and falleninto the river.

Two drown during

Bishwakarma immersion

a MIDWEEK Report

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITYA State Government University incorporated under the State Legislative Act IX of 1995

Recognised by UGC, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India

Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical & Technological Sciences Distance Education Wing

ADMISSION NOTICE FOR AUGUST 2006

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SMART ACADEMY LC No: 1760

Bangar Building, Deorali, Gangtok. Phone: 03592 281043 / 280313

66666 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND UP

GANGTOK: A jointdelegation of commerce andindustry ministers from theNorth east including Sikkimwill leave for New Delhi on 21September, to lobby for moreincentives to make the NorthEastern Industrial Policy(NEIP) attractive for investorsto the region. The demand alsoincludes the extension of theExcise subsidy which expiresin March 2007.

Speaking to Midweek,Sikkim Commerce &Industries Minister R. B.Subba, who is a member of theNE Commerce and IndustriesMinister’s Forum said thatthey were slated to meet thePrime Minister on 21September itself with a jointmemorandum. Subba leavesfor New Delhi tomorrowwhere he will join hiscolleagues from the north east.

“We aim to make the NEIPfurther attractive and will putour suggestions before thePrime minister so that theregion can woo more

investors” Subba said.The delegation will seek

extension of several subsidiesand incentives under the newindustrial policy whichexpires in March 2007. Themost important being theextension of excise subsidieswhich expires next year.While separate notificationshad extended the excisesubsidies for HimachalPradesh, Uttaranchal andJ&K, it was not done in thecase of Sikkim and the NEstates. At the recent meet heldin Guwahati, the commerceministers from the variousNE states had adopted andpassed a resolution to take upthe matter in New Delhi. Thejoint delegation will also callon union Finance Minister, P.Chidambaram and CommerceMinister, Kamal Nath.

A new industrial policy onthe lines of the NEIP wasextended to Sikkim in 2002through an officememorandum by theDepartment of IndustrialPolicy and Promotion,Ministry of Commerce,

NE commerce ministers to meet PM to seek

more incentives under NEIP

SOME OF THE PROPOSED SUGGESTIONS

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE EXISTING NEIP

1. Inclusion of Power Generation (both Hydel & Thermal), Hospitals and Nursing Homes andTourism infrastructure (fixed assets) as thrust sector units under Annexure A.2. All areas within the region of North east to be declared as identified location for all exemption3. Subsidy at 25 % of the investment in plant and machinery and technical civil work which islargely fixed assets (building and warehouses) without any ceiling limit.4. Service sector to be included in Annexure A5. 90 per cent Central Transport subsidy (CTS) to be extended upto March 20176. Road Transport Subsidy at 50 % to be provided to the units if the value addition is reasonable7. CTS should also be applicable to existing units after substantial expansion/diversificationfor a fresh period.8. CTS be available for Capital Goods also9. Tea as a sector to be included10. 50 % subsidy to be included on Air Freight transportation11. An interest subsidy of 3 % on working capital loan and term loan to be provided for aperiod of ten years.12. Income Tax exemption to be extended by another 10 years for industries set up on orbefore 31. 3. 2007.13. Complete Income Tax holiday for all types of industries located anywhere in the Northeastern region.14. Exemption from Service tax for 10 years.15. Exemption of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT).16. Excise exemption to be provided if the units reinvest in the NER especially in capitalinfrastructure17. 50 % grant on purchase of power generation set without ceiling18. 25 % power tariff rebate subsidy on existing tariff in each state to a ceiling of Rs. 50 lacsper annum.19. Income Tax not to be charged on the reimbursement of central excise/subsidies etc.20. A policy should lay down a time frame for disbursement of incentive within one year21. All Industrial infrastructure development centres (IIDCs), Special economic zones Exportprocessing and Industrial zones (EPIP) should be 100% financed by the GOI.

Government of India. Thepolicy package for Sikkim todevelop its industries wasbased on the NEIP notified inDecember 1997 for the NEstates. The union governmenthad made the decision afterdiscussion on strategy andaction plan for developmentof industries and generationof employment in Sikkim

held in various ministriesinteralia infrastructuredevelopment , f inancialconcessions and easy marketaccess. The industrial policywas also extended to Sikkimkeeping in view that i tlagged behind in industrialdevelopment and toaccelerate growth and boostinvestor confidence. The

new ini t ia t ives wouldprovide the requiredincentives as well as createan environment forindustrial development. Atthe same t ime i t wil limprove avai labi l i ty ofcapital and increase marketaccess to provide a fillip tothe private investment in thestate.

PEMA L. SHANGDERPA

Commerce & Industries MinisterR B Subba, part of the delegationheaded for Delhi

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CMYK

COVER STORY

a MIDWEEK Report

families here have not yetdivided the ancestral propertyamongst themselves, how canthe Government expect us to doit now? Even the land surveywas carried out hurriedly.Cardamom fields did not evencome under the purview of landcompensation,” he said. “Wetotally disregard this Publichearing until we get a writtenclarification from theGovernment,” he added.

The DC, North TN Kazisaid that the Governmentreviewed the land rates and theprices were brought down“due to a technical problem.”He added that the new revisedrates did not applicable to allbut was subject to negotiationbetween the land owners andbuyers.

Area MLA Sonam GyatsoLepcha, hailing the Project asa harbinger great economicboom for the locals, said thatthose opposed to the Projectwere only talking about thenegative impacts but about itsimmense rewards. “A majorityof the people from Dzongu arein favour of this Project. Let usendorse and support thedecision taken by the SDF

Government. Cabinet Ministerand chairman, SteeringCommittee for hydel projectsin Sikkim Hissey Lachungpaechoed very much the samesentiments.

Although enough noise wasmade by the protesters, theybelieved that the answers thatwere provided to them byrepresentatives of concernedDepartments, developers andNorth District administrationwere “not sufficient enough.”ACT general secretary DawaLepcha later expressed hisunhappiness over the entireproceedings, accusing thestate Governmentrepresentatives of using it asa platform for politicalpropaganda. “We areconditioning our protests. Wewill be holding severalmeetings in Dzongu andgather momentum amongstthe PAP. Later, we will beholding a press conference inGangtok in this regard,” hetold MIDWEEK. ACT alsosubmitted a memorandum tothe SPCB expressing concernson the EIA Report’s findingsand recommendations for thePanam Project.

GANGTOK: After achievingconsiderable success in theirJhora Cleanliness Drive heldbetween November 2004 andFebruary 2005, the GangtokTask Force [GTF] is all set toresume the drive in the capital.The drive starts Wednesday, 20September, from Arithang.

In the upcoming drive, GTF

GANGTOK: Under its Special Medical and Veterinary Civic Action Programme, SashastraSeema Bal [SSB], Uttarey circle, provided free medical treatment and medicines to 550 patientsand 557 livestock at Uttarey, Mukrung, Simphok, Sophaka, Begha and intake villages in WestSikkim from 13 to 15 September.

The free medical camp, inaugurated by RC Sharma, area organiser of SSB, on 13 Septemberat Uttarey Government Senior Secondary School, saw chief medical officer of SSB and theveterinary and homoeopathy staff of the SSB Department administer free treatment to the needylocal population. Besides these, talks on subjects like health and hygiene, livestock management,environment and population control were also held.

Meanwhile, on 14 September, the SSB officials celebrated Hindi Diwas by organising variouscompetitions for the students of Uttarey Government Senior Secondary School. Winners ofthese competitions were later handed over certificates and prizes by the area organiser, schoolprincipal M Gurung, and teacher KM Subba.

During the programme, motivational talks were also held to spread awareness among thelocals regarding various topics, including national integration, AIDS, polio, leprosy preventionamong others.

also plans to educate people onthe need for connecting theirsewerage lines to the mainsewerage system of the PHEDepartment. The drive, GTFinforms, was resumed after itreceived a number of requestsand complaints from thepublic.

GTF also informs that forthe success of this drive, it aimsto solicit wholehearted

community participation fromthe residents of Gangtok. Themembership of GTF will alsobe made open for the public atthe venues of cleanliness drive.Keeping this in mind, the GTFhas requested residents,voluntary organisations andself help groups of theconcerned areas to comeforward and cooperate andmake this drive a success.

Show of strength by all at

Panam hearing

continued from page 4

Jhora Cleaning resumes in Gangtok

Free Medical Camp held at Uttarey

GANGTOK: Pondicherryuniversity, a reputed centraluniversity well known for itswide variety of courses invarious streams has appointedD.S.College, Samdur,Tadong, as it’s spot admissioncentre for all it’s coursesbeing offered throughDistance education mode.

The university offers 3y e a r s d e g r e e c o u r s e i nbusiness administrat ion,Corporate Secretaryship,C o m m e r c e , F o r e i g n

Tr a d e , C o m p u t e rAppl ica t ion a t graduatel e v e l a n d 2 y e a r s P. G.c o u r s e s i n B u s i n e s sA d m i n i s t r a t i o n ,Market ing Management ,F inanc i a l Managemen t ,F o r e i g n Tr a d e , H u m a nR e s o u r c e M a n a g e m e n t ,P u b l i c M a n a g e m e n t ,Human Rights , His tory,S o c i o l o g y, H i n d i a n dP o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e a tMasters level.

It also offers 1 year P.G. D i p l o m a c o u r s e s i nBusiness Administration,

Pondicherry University comes to SikkimIn t e rna t i ona l Bus ine s s ,Market ing Management ,F inanc i a l Managemen t ,P o r t f o l i o M a n a g e m e n t ,O p e r a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h ,B a n k i n g & F i n a n c e ,H u m a n R e s o u r c eM a n a g e m e n t , To u r i s mA d m i n i s t r a t i o n ,Agr icul tura l Market ing ,C o - o p e r a t i v emanagemen t , In su ranceM a n a g e m e n t ,P h a r m a c e u t i c a lM a r k e t i n g , S o f t w a r emarketing and Computerapplications.

a MIDWEEK Report

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GANGTOK: Some 50participants from Sikkim, mostof them monks from thevarious monasteries andLharipas [mural and thankapainters], are currently beingtrained on the techniques ofconservation and restoration ofillustrated manuscripts,thankas [religious wallhangings and scrolls],monastery murals and frescoesand metal artifacts.

The two week longworkshop is jointly organisedby the Sikkim State Archives,Cultural Affairs and HeritageDepartment in collaborationwith the National ResearchLaboratory for Conservation ofCultural Property [NRLCCP],Lucknow. The workshop wasinaugurated by Cultural andHeritage Affairs Minister GMGurung at the Youth Hostelhere in Tadong on 19September.

One of the aims of theworkshop is to create homebred experts for conservation

and restoration of suchpriceless murals, paintings andthankas and metal artifacts,which are being destroyed byage and ignorance.

Speaking to MIDWEEK,Joint Secretary of thedepartment, K Basnett, saidthat Sikkim lacked expertise inthis field and the workshop wasaimed to rope in exports andtrain the monks, Lharipas andGendrungs [master artistes] toexpose them on suchtechniques. At the workshop,they are given broad ideas onconservation techniques so thatthey are able to take care ofthese priceless items in theirrespective monasteries andinstitutes, he added.

Among those who havebeen imparting the knowledgeinclude US Lall, VC Sharma,both senior scientists in theNRLCCP, Virendra Kumar,head of the conservationsection of the NRLCCP, andGanshyam, senior scientificassistant.

This is the second suchworkshop conducted here. Thelast one was held in Namchi in2001. During the Namchiworkshop, the experts from thisinstitute had also helped restoresome of the murals, artifacts ofthe old Nagadak Monastery inSouth Sikkim.

Virendra Kumar toldMIDWEEK that the institute’sinvolvement with Sikkim datesback to 1976 when they wereengaged in similar restorationworks in the PhodongMonastery in North Sikkim.Later they also helped save oldmurals and wall frescoes onmud walls in the ShinonMonastery in South Sikkim.

Mr. Kumar said that on thecourse of this workshop, theywould also visit SanghaCholing Monastery in WestSikkim to find out if it requiredrestoration works there.

In the workshop, factors andtype of decay, general aspectsof conservation, role of light,humidity, deacidification andbio agencies would bediscussed. Demonstrations,documentations would also bepart of the activities at theworkshop.

At the inaugural function,the Cultural and HeritageAffairs Minister, who was thechief guest, asked participantsto make the most of thisworkshop and use it as anopportunity to gain expertise.“At present, we require ourown experts in each of theinstitutions and monasteries sothat conservation efforts aretaken up independently by youall,” he told the participants.

The Art of Conservation and Restoration

GANGTOK: The tribalpopulation of India comprisesof almost 8 per cent of the totalpopulace and is spread acrossthe length and breadth of theland from Jammu & Kashmir inthe North to Kerala in the Southand from Nagaland in the Eastto Gujarat in the West. Such awide variety in agro-climaticand geographical conditions ofIndia’s tribal areas ensuresavailability of an equally widerange of natural products.

To pay specific attention tothe marketing requirements oftribal forest and agriculturalproduce, the Government ofIndia set up the TribalCooperative MarketingDevelopment Federation ofIndia [TRIFED] - anorganisation committed toserving the needs of the tribalsand contributing to theupgradation of their livingstandards.

Keeping in this mind, thefirst TRIFED sales outlet wasopened in Gangtok on 26August. Present on the occasionwere DD Bhutia, Minister,UD&HD, and Wilfred Lakra,MD, TRIFED. The shopbecame the 30th sales outlet inIndia, second in the North Eastand the first in Sikkim.

Products from all over India

are available here, with goodscoming from as far as Gujarat,Ladakh and Chattisgarh.Exquisitely woven sarees withprices ranging from Rs. 1000to Rs. 3000 vie for shelf spacewith Angora and Pashminashawls. Table mats, homedecoration items, jute filecovers, office stationary, bags,metal products are some of theother tribal produced itemsavailable here.

“People in Sikkim have alove for cane products whichcome from Mizoram,’ informsAD Mishra, Regional Director,TRIFED, and former GeneralManager of STDC. Mishra,who has recently taken chargeis full of enthusiasm about this‘shop for a cause’ venture andsays the shop is already quitepopular amongst Gangtokians.He plans to launch TRIFED’snext venture at Namchi shortly,with a sales outlet openingthere next month.

To give impetus to localcreativity and tribal produce,artists from Sikkim wererecently taken to New Delhiwhere TRIFED hadrequisitioned the whole of DilliHaat and invited artisans fromall over the country. “It attracteda huge crowd and was veryencouraging,’” adds Mishra.

TRIFED - SHOP FORA CAUSE

9999920 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND-UP

Government of Indiaintroduced a scheme inNovember 1996 for

establishment of a fund at theState level to whichGovernment of India was tocontribute upto 50 per cent ofthe contribution made by theState Government, subject to amaximum contribution of Rs.2 crores. This was meant forproviding financial assistancefor specialized treatment forlife-threatening illness to thebona-fide people living belowthe poverty line [BPL].Accordingly, the StateGovernment constituted inOctober 1998 the Sikkim StateIllness Assistance Fund

Association [SSIFA] and laterreleased Rs. 50 lakh in March2000 and Rs. 25 lakh in May2000 towards Statecontribution and Central sharerespectively. The rules framedin 2001 for the Fund providedfor assistance to the deservingpoor people holding BPLcertificate or Vikas Patrika.

Though the SSIAFA wasformed in 1998, the StateGovernment released the shareof Rs. 50 lakh only in March2000 after a delay of more thana year. The Central share of Rs.25 lakh received in May 2000was belatedly released to theAssociation in March 2001.Even after the delayed transfer

of funds as well as framing ofrules for the scheme, not asingle person was assisted tillJuly 2004 towards life-threatening illness by theAssociation on the plea of non-finalisation of BPL list by theState Government. This wasdespite the fact thatidentification of beneficiariesunder the BPL category wascompleted in July 2000 by theGovernment for distribution offood grains under PublicDistribution System. TheAssociation, as late as in July2004, decided in consultationwith Government of India thatthe income certificate issued byDistrict Collector or sub-

How many tourists will come to Sikkim fromTibet Autonomous Region (TAR) & MainlandChina once the Nathu La route opens for

tourists in 2011? It is difficult to put exact numbersat this hour. But we can estimate and gauge the future.

After the Qinghai-Tibet Railwaystarted between mainland China toTibet’s capital Lhasa, one can startguessing the future. This guessing isessential when we formulate plan fortourism infrastructure development inSikkim. By 2011, domestic touristinflow to Sikkim will be around 9lakhs, three times of what we aregetting now. The reason being theopening of land route thru Nathu Lafor Tibet and Mainland China will attract a hugenumber of domestic tourists from the plains ofIndia to Sikkim who will further like to visit Tibet& mainland China enjoying the land route ofscenic cold desert and monasteries. Visit to MtKailash and Lake Mansarovar is another greatattraction for the Hindu & Buddhist pilgrims ofIndia as the journey to these holy places fromNathu la route will be more comfortable and lesstime consuming as compared to the difficult andcostly route thru Kathmandu in Nepal. SriLankan Buddhists will also take this route to visitMonasteries in Tibet. Furthur, from the Tibeteanside, we will get tourists and traders coming toSikkim who will also like to visit the plains ofIndia through this land route.

Currently, more than 1 lac passengers aretraveling from Mainland China to Tibet by theQinghai-Tibet railway which started formally on1 July 2006 connecting Mainland China withLhasa. The Qinghai-Tibet railway line hascarried 272,700 passengers and 37,400 tons offreight since entering service on July 1. About40 percent of the passengers were tourists, 30percent business people and the rest students,

transit workers and people visiting relatives inTibet, according to Jin Shixun, director of theTibet Autonomous Regional Committee ofDevelopment and Reform. “The Qinghai-TibetRailway has turned Tibet into one of the most

coveted t ravel des t ina t ions inChina,” said Jin.

In July and August, Tibet played hostto 913,000 domestic and overseastourists and raked in 942 million yuan(about 117.75 million U.S. dollars.) inrevenue. Average occupancy for three-star and four-star hotels in Tibet over thepast two months was 83.7 percent. Foodand drink sales rose 55.7 percent .

A train ticket from Chengdu toLhasa is about 331 yuan (41.375 U.S. dollars)and a sleeper ticket is about 712 yuan (89 U.S.dollars).About 390,000 tourists visited Tibet inthis July, up by 50 percent year-on-year. Theyspent over 83.75 million US dollars in Tibet,up by 43.7 percent year-on-year..

Statistics from Tibet Tourism Bureau showthat, Tibetan tourism income reached 1.46billion yuan (about 182.5 million US dollars)by receiving 15 lacs tourists from January toAugust in 2006.

The yearly tourist flow to Tibet from mainland Chinais thus around 30 lacs. A good number of them willlike to visit Sikkim and rest of India once theinfrastructure on the Indian side is complete in the next4 years. Border Road Organisation is about to start thelaunching of road widening work from this Novemberthis year between Nathu la and Gangtok and NationalHighway Authority of India will take up widening jobof Gangtok-Siliguri highway.

Even if 10% of the tourists visiting Tibetfrom Mainland China plan to visit Sikkim andfurther down the Indian plains, we will get extra3 lacs tourists inflow into Sikkim from theDragon country.

Are our Hotels and other infrastructurecapable to take this much load down five yearsfrom now. We have to reassess and plan fortourism infrastructure based on the changingsi tua t ion fo l lowing the tour is t rush f rommainland China and Tibet Autonomous Regionthrough the Nathu La Pass to Sikkim and downto Indian plains. The planners in Sikkim haveto keep this in mind while making the strategictourism plan for the next decade..

It is worth noting that China’s first air route to Tibetwas started from Chengdu in 1965. Each year over onemillion passengers fly the route. There are three airportsin Tibet and fourteen air routes to the “Roof Of TheWorld”. Further, Chinese Railway Ministry has decidedto launch two rail connections linking Shanghai,Guangzhou with Lhasa in early October this year.

World has become a village now. We in Sikkimwill also be affected by the rolling sound of theQinghai-Tibet Railway over the Tibetan Plateau andhave to open our ears and mind to hear and understandwhat is happening beyond Nathu La and how we inSikkim are affected. Positive mind can bring a lot oflaurels to Sikkim.

The writer is S.K.Sarda, President, SikkimChamber of Commerce.

Tourism in Sikkim vis a vis Nathula

Non- implementation of scheme

denies benefit to poorDue to indecisiveness of the Health Department to finalize eligibility criteriafor the scheme the entire fund of Rs. 87.61 lakh remained unutilized for morethan four years besides denial of intended benefits to the deserving poor.

divisional Magistrate wouldsuffice to identify thebeneficiaries under the scheme.However, no wide publicitywas given by the Associationto inform the public livingbelow the poverty-line aboutthe facility available under thescheme as directed byGovernment of India.

Thus due to de lay inproviding funds to the saidFund, finalizing the criteriafor eligibility for extendingthe benefit and tardiness ofthe Associa t ion and thedepartment to give widepublicity of the scheme, theentire amount of Rs. 87.61lakh inc luding in teres t

[Rs.13.23 lakh] remainedunutilized for more thanfour years . The non-implementa t ion of thescheme deprived accrual ofintended benefi ts to thedeserving poor peopleliving below the povertyline besides non-availing ofthe potential contribution ofRs . 2 c rore f romGovernment of India to asignificant extent.

In reply, the Associationinformed in August 2005 thatthe scheme has taken off fromNovember 2004 and sevenbeneficiaries had beenprovided with the assistanceRs. 2.33 lakh so far.

S. K. SARDA

Masters Education PointTibet Road, Gangtok

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CMYK

OP-ED/FEEDBACK

Vol. 1 No. 3

Without going about theusual rounds ofc o n g r a t u l a t i n g

Midweek and expressing myviews on what makes the paperappealing, here’s a question Iask the Traffic Officials and theentire Police Department. Isthere a different set of laws forthe common man, thebureaucrats, the VIPs and thePolice Officers? Or is there aspecific law that says bureaucrats,VIPs and police officers can parktheir cars anywhere, anytime andas long as they wish? Perhaps themuch flaunted new trafficaccessory ‘The Red Lock’ onlyapplies to us.

Last week my friend’s carwas locked in Tadong where hehad parked just for 5 minutes.He agrees he broke the law, Rs.500 fine justified. But he parkedhis car there only after he sawanother vehicle parked a littlefurther down, which was notlocked. After he went to the DCoffice, paid the fine, got

somebody to unlock his car,even then the other car was stillparked there. When asked thedriver said that it was high-ranking police officer’s car. Isthat ok? Is it legal for a policeofficer to park his car at anillegal spot, regardless ofwhether he is there on duty orfor personal reasons? Are allvehicles driven by a policeofficial (be it his aunt’s newBolero or his in-laws’ WagonR), in uniform or not, on dutyor not, immune to parking laws?

Another case in point is thestretch in front of Blue Sheeprestaurant. Don’t you think it’stime you officially declare thestretch a VIP car park? And doesthe red light being coveredsignify something? Anotherquestion is whether everyonecan apply and request for analloted parking space and thenget a ‘Parking allowed only forSK-O2 XXXX - by orderTraffic Police’ in blue paintedon the wall along the road where

no other vehicles are allowed topark? Or maybe there is a pre-requisite for that too, you’deither have to be a minister’s kinor a red light man yourself, thenyou get to park your official car,your own car, your sister in-lawscar and so on.

These are questions I amsure a lot of Gangtokians wantanswered. Is it possible toapply the Right To Informationhype here? Maybe not. Maybethis letter will never see thelight of day if I do not mentionmy name, which is not quite abig name but I do not want tolose the only job I have (youknow the trend!).

Midweek, I leave it to youand see if you can relay myquestions to the authorities orrather not print it in case an adcoming your way from thedepartment fails to come in.

Pseudo NameGangtok

rec’d over email

INBOXs i k k i m . m i d w e e k @ g m a i l . c o m

Just a couple of questions

YUMTHANG NOT

GREEN

I am a student of SMIT. Lastseason, I’d visited Yumthang,Katao, etc., and was very upsetwith the condition of theseplaces. Why are these placesneglected? There are no greentrees anywhere. Please writeabout it.

Rupam SilRec’d over email

CONGRATULATIONS

Midweek is something I hadbeen long waiting for. It’s a joyto read. My congratulations tothe Midweek team for thewonderful effort.

Nikhil Subba

Midweek has become myfavorite bedtime reading. Somuch to read… Lage RahoMidweek!

Sonam DomaRec’d over email

COMMUNITY LIBRARY?

Let me congratulate you on thesuccessful launch of Midweekand its subsequent issue. Thearticles are really very preciseand the style of writing is thebest I’ve ever read, and I’m

sure that by reading it regularly,I and others like me will be ableto improve our writing skills.I sincerely request you toprovide a column for thepeople where they can writeabout their problems to thegovernment and seek solutionsfor the same. At this juncture,let me not forget to request youto cover what’s happening withthe State Community Library.It has remained closed since thepast few months, at the expenseof the members and people likeus, and the government is yetto find a new location to shiftthe library.

Khagesh AgarwalBBA 2nd year,

Gangtok.

Midweek has headlinedin its second issue anews item which states

that “170 Heritage Trees to beSacrificed for New Raj Bhavan- Keeping Sikkim Green?”

While fully appreciating theconcern of the paper forprotection of trees in the statein general and the Raj Bhavanin particular, the Forest,Environment & WildlifeManagement Departmentwould like to point out a fewdistortions in the report andrequest the paper to againpublish the correct picture.

Some trees will definitelyhave to be removed from thework site for enabling the newRaj Bhavan to come up. Notas many trees will be felled. Afact sheet of enumeration madeby the East Territorial Divisionreveals that there are 50 treeswhich may ultimately go. Restof them are poles, bushes andunimportant shrubbery. Eventhe trees that are currentlyproposed to be cleared forremoval will be minimized, forwhich this department is inactive consultation with theSPWD [Buildings & Housing]Department.

Species like Jhingeny,Asaray and Angeri are inferiorvegetation and cannot betermed as valuable orindispensable. These andothers such as bamboos andUtis can be easily replaced bynew plants of the same type asthey regenerate luxuriantly inthe altitude and climate ofGangtok. Even though sometrees would have to be removedthere is no other alternativeland in Gangtok suitable for theconstruction of a Raj Bhavanwhich requires a large plot ofland given the security andprotocol requirements.

The Forest, Environment &Wildlife ManagementDepartment has alreadydecided in consultation withthe Sikkim Public WorksDepartment [Buildings] to fellas less a number of trees aspossible and mainly byavoiding hacking down theRhododendron trees.

The Government havealways strongly advocated andpursued conservation orientedpolicies over the past severalyears. There is no casualnessor negligence on the part of thedepartment to abide by such

policy stipulations.Development is a dynamicconcept and cannot stagnatewhich is our bounden duty tofacilitate. This small loss oftrees that will so occur has beenadequately taken care of in theproposal in the building of theRaj Bhavan itself whereby theForest Department will berealizing costs from theconcerned Sikkim PublicWorks Department [Building]for raising what we callcompensatory afforestation.

The State Green Mission isa unique experiment launchedby the Government this year.It has resulted in broad basing[not broadcasting as reported inthe paper] greening activities atthe people’s level, at allbureaucratic level.

While the print media ingeneral have been lending theirsupport for this programmeover the past several months,this Department urgesMidweek too to kindlyunderstand and similarly helpstrengthen the cause ofconservation in the State.

TR Poudyal, IFSPrincipal CCF-cum-

Secretary Forests

“The correct picture” - Forest Deptt.

Why Blame the People

The recent episode of how Debashish Mukherjee ofVishal Telefilms conned an entire town is only one ofa long list of scams pulled on the people here. From

the Pacific Blues con case which duped 20 job aspirantsinto paying lakhs of rupees as advance in exchange ofjobs abroad, to the more recent West African AdvanceFee scam which saw a Ranipool couple dish out Rs. 3lakhs on the promise of winning a $20 million legacy, theinstances are numerous. Educated and unemployed youthhave become one of the main targets of recruiting agenciesfor whom Sikkim is proving to be a rich playing field. Thegeneral public may be naïve and trusting but the web ofdeceit that Debashish wove has ensnared even the highand mighty. First of all, it was Nayuma Television, almosta semi-government organization that granted legitimacyto Vishal Telefilms by announcing a media tie-up whereinthe latter would produce five hours of daily programmingfor the channel. Did the mandarins at Nayuma even botherto check out the antecedents of the company before goingpublic with their agreement? No, they did not, because ifthey had bothered to do some background check theywould have found out that claims made by Debashish werea whole lot of baloney. Even Star One, the channel thatDebashish claimed to represent has now said that theyhave had no dealings with him. Secondly, how did thisnon entity of a television company get to host the launchof its talent hunt from the hallowed environs of ChintanBhawan? Present there as Chief Guest was HRD MinisterGM Gurung and gracing the occasion as Guest of Honourwas DIG, Range Akshay Sachdeva. These are seriousissues at stake here. The government and the policedepartment cannot wash its hands off by simply passingthe buck to the people. After all they are there to look afterthe interests of the citizens of the state. If they give a conman legitimacy, why then blame the people for being takenfor a ride. The fact is that a lot of people lost a lot of moneyby putting their faith on a person whom they perceived ashaving the blessings of the authorities. Some accountabilityis surely called for here.

Yumthang valley

111111111120 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

OP-ED

PEMA WANGCHUK

FR INGE BENEFIT

Well well well whaddya know! Iget this letter of appreciationfrom your dear editor! She tells

me that you folks out there are reallyenjoying the stuff I dole out. Myheartfelt gratitude for your plaudits; orshould I say condolences for yourinsanity at praising my frivolous words.Anyway for better or for worse lets geton with it shall we…

Let me begin with a farce called TVnews and a story of one who brings itto us. In addition to misinforming youguys, I also happen to teach visualcommunication at a few schools inDelhi. A scam I’ve assiduously workedon for the past seven odd years withconsiderable success. So one of myerstwhile students now working for awell known production company inDilli feeding Zee TV, gave me a franticcall the other day begging me to provideher access to a cocaine dealer, in thewake of the great contribution that a Mr.Rahul M. has made in this regard. Allof a sudden pushers seemed to be ingreat demand and the only problem wasthat the heat had made all these denizensdisappear into the woodwork. As I havebeen quite indulgent in many ways and

have seen this sordid world from upclose I volunteered to play therole…incognito of course, for lack of agenuine candidate and as the researchthat I had on the subject was quiteformidable. So in good faith I called thegirl over, lets call her Sita(actual name withheld, ala news channel style),promising her sensationalbytes posing as a cokedealer if you please.Needless to say, all I askedfor in return for thisinformation wasanonymity which waspromptly assured. Soyours truly went to townfabricating a story on how I scored cokefrom Nigerians (actually I’ve yet tomeet one of those) at a throwaway priceand then made a killing by selling it tothe rich and famous in the capital.Having played the Good Samaritan andafter providing some really explosivestuff, I left town for a couple of days toresearch a subject for a film blissfullyunaware of what was cooking back ingood ol Dilli.

Upon returning I called my daughter

and was received with a very coldresponse indeed and along with thatcame a question. How had I procuredmy computer and mobile phone shewanted to know? The conversationended with her informing me that my in

laws had asked her to viewmy frugal assets withsuspicion as I had beenfeatured on the Zee News,‘RED ALERT’ programmeholding forth on the virtuesand economic benefits ofbeing a coke pusher! What’smore my daughter evenidentified the exact locationwhere the fake interview wasconducted. My first reaction

was blind anger and some of my morebelligerent friends asked me to take thisscam story to a rival channel as a stingoperation. The prospect did seemattractive at first but wisdom prevailedand I decided to let sleeping dogs lie. Ican’t blame the ambitious climber Sitaeither as the irony is that the owner ofthe production house; daughter of anerstwhile Congress Minister and wife ofa well known scribe, knows mepersonally! So that’s investigative

television journalism for you. So the nexttime you have Prince, winner of a millionhearts plastered live all over your TVscreens for the better portion of 48 hours,ask yourselves just two questions…Isthis for real and if so where the hell isPrince today? That’s the kind of instantnirvana that news channels dole out dayin and day out.

Now I’d like to tell you two instancesof what was NOT reported. The first isan anecdote related by one of my moregifted students who at the time wasworking in Zee Business channel.Rewind to the time when the lastelections in Haryana were about to beheld. This guy was summoned by thebig boss and asked to make 40 copiesof a CD handed to him under strictsecrecy. The unsuspecting soul dutifullyreturned to his edit bay and uponplaying the CD discovered the topcontender for the CM’s post cavortingaround with a nubile nymphet in a seriesof near impossible positions. It turns outthat he was cajoled into this by the wilynymphet who had herself prearrangedto put this memorable union onto tape.That’s why the poor guy lost out to the

It is not rare for a newspaper office to get besiegedby anonymous phone calls making complaints orvoicing protest. Sometimes these calls are against

the establishment and sometimes against thenewspaper reports. Almost always, these phone callsare personal in nature, in that the complaints areprotests about personal affronts suffered by the callers;rarely do matters of policy or trends make it throughthe phone lines via anonymous callers. While agreeingthat individual sufferers rarely have the support baseof organisations to make a noise about their problems,it is disconcerting to note that most times thesereactions are individual and lopsided reactions toincidents that could have larger ramifications than justthe individuals painted in negative light by thedevelopments as they unspooled.

We speak here of crime – both, white collar andthe nefarious and violent kind.

There was a lot of protest, some hushed, some overt,some emotional, when newspapers started reportingon the plethora of thinly-veiled downline chit fundschemes which were finally getting investigated by theCrime Branch. Under the same series of investigations,several established finance companies were also underthe scanner when doubts were raised about theirprofessionalism which was reflected in their failure tosecure the required official clearances before startingoperations in Sikkim. While some earnestly defendedthe downline prize money schemes as viable optionsfor self employment [!], others, employed as marketingagents with finance companies complained that theirjobs had been placed at risk. What they fail to appreciateis that while the former is downright illegal, no matterhow many chairpersons or MLAs they bring as chiefguests to their seminars or senior government officialsthey bring as introducers. The latter’s commitment tojob-security is suspect if it is not even serious aboutstarting operations in Sikkim in a legally appropriatemanner. And yet, individual reactions remain emotional.

Then there is corruption. Every time the VigilancePolice makes a corruption-related raid or arrest, thereare murmurs that newspapers play up only the travailsof out-of-favour small fries who get ensnared in suchbusts. “There are so many more people who are corrupt,why don’t newspapers report on them?” is a commonquery. For one, the age of sting operations havethankfully not debuted in Sikkim yet, for another, policeaction and subsequent penalization are not justpunishments for individual offenders, but also examplesfor others indulging in similar activities to desist. Notreporting on even the little that is being done to containgraft would make the transgressors more blatant.

And then there are the excesses that we knowsimply as ‘crime.’

The operations of the masked gang that attemptedto rig the lottery results last month are now revealingthemselves to be more complicated, intricatelyconspired and meticulously schemed. When the newsbroke, there were those who complained against the

use of photographs of the accused. There was a similarargument – why were the photographs of this groupbeing circulated when murderers and rapists are allowedto get arrested and sentenced in anonymity? Whileevery crime is distressing news, this one, even if noone was hurt and no real damage caused, came as aharbinger of the levels of gumption achieved by thecriminally inclined. When the news was prominentlyplayed out, it demanded of the readers to ponder on thepossibility of a future spiraling out of control. It askedof the readers to realise that it is crime, and not the oft-repeated possibility of agitation that the society and itscaretakers needed to be wary of.

The examples and reactions cited above are toillustrate the point that individual interests areoutweighing societal concerns too often in Sikkim.So much that rhetoric is out-shouting the saner signalsthat these trends point at. What the rise in cheatingand violent crimes reflects is that social involvementrequired as the first line of defence is developing toomany cracks. Those who complain about either policeaction or newspaper reports on crimes are almostalways associated with accused, not as co-conspiratorsbut as relatives and friends. When they defend awanton act with weak excuses [like ‘why them andnot everyone else indulging in similar activities?’],they almost condone the acts. From there on, itmultiplies and soon delinquent behaviour getsencouraged into more serious offences against the stateand the society. This is not an expression of frustrationbrought on by unemployment as many would have usbelieve, these are situation created by societalindulgence and neglect; the indulgence for the wrongreasons and the neglect of real concerns. These arethe portions where the social fabric needs urgentrepair. Everyone has an anarchic streak, if the fabricrends too much, too many will slip through the seams,many more than can be recovered.

[The writer is Editor, NOW!]

Crime Stares Through Gaps

RED ALERT in the capital

- continued on page 18

1212121212 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

a MIDWEEK report

ROUND-UP

GANGTOK: The StateCabinet recently sanctioned anamount of Rs. 25 lakhs toimplement the ManagementAction Plan (MAP) for theKhangchendzonga BiosphereReserve in the State.

This is a 100 percentcentrally-sponsored scheme ofthe Central Government andenvisages effective andsustainable socio-economicdevelopment of the peopleliving in the KhangchendzongaBiosphere Reserve, which ispart of the KhangchendzongaNational Park.

Spread around an area of1784 sq kms, theKhangchendzonga NationalPark covers nearly 38 percentof the total area of Sikkim, inNorth and West Districts. Thebuffer area around the KNPcomprises of theKhangchendzonga BiosphereReserve, with 21 villages in itsvicinity.

The total forest land ofthe state is 5765.10 sq km,while total area under tree

cover is 3129 sq km, i.e.44.1 percent. 2173 sq km or30.62 percent of the totalgeographical area of thestate is under wildl i feprotection, which is perhapsthe highest in the country.The KhangchendzongaBiosphere Reserve wasnotified in February 2000. Itis spread over North andWest districts encompassing1784 sq km ofKhangchendzonga NationalPark and 835.92 sq km overfour buffer zones totallingan area of 2619.92 sq km.These buffer zones areLhonak Valley, WestC h u n g t h a n g - L a c h e n ,Tholung Valley and Rangitand Teesta Catchments.

The Management ActionPlan for the KBR waslaunched in February 2000and comprises mainly ofsocio-economic activitiesfor the villagers, encouragecommunity participation inenvironment conservationand reduce dependency onthe fores ts for fue l andlivelihood.

There are variouseconomic developmentcommittees in the villages ofKBR which play an activerole in deciding anddeveloping economicactivities suited for them.Under the MAP, piggeryfarming, cardamomrejuvenation and distributionof milch cows are part of theeconomic developmentactivities for the villages ofKBR. Other componentsinclude horticulturedevelopment, distribution ofLPG connection, cattleimmunization, upgradationof mule tracks andorganising health camps forthe villagers. Building ofcommunity toilets are also onthe cards under thisinstalment of grants. Focus isalso on habitat managementwhich includes forestprotection, setting of forestcheck posts and boundarydemarcation of the KBR.

A total of Rs. 80 Lakhs hasbeen sanctioned by the CentralGovernment, of which Rs. 25Lakhs is the first instalment.

First instalment of Rs.25 lakh

comes in for KNP

GANGTOK: A total of 41youth f rom Soreng,Chakung, Daramdin ,Rinchenpong and Hee-Bermoik cons t i tuenciesunder took a weeklongt ra in ing in the f ie ld oftourism guide from 11 to 16September a t theCommunity Hall, Soreng.The training falls under thecapaci ty bui ld ingprogramme initiated by theTourism Department.

The topics covered in thet ra in ing inc ludedimportance of good guide,tour ism resources ofSikkim, eco- tour ismini t ia t ives in the s ta te ,re l ig ious shr ines andmonasteries, thankas andiconography, flora-faunaand wet land of S ikkim,dances, art, culture of thes ta te , food pa t te rns ,handicrafts, special interesttours, adventure tourism,rescue and relief operationof touris ts , connect ivi tysys tem, personal i tydevelopment, etc.

The resource personswere f rom var ious s ta tegovernment departments,inc luding Tour ism,Eccles ias t ica l , Fores t ,

Cul ture , Indus t r ies ,Agriculture, Horticulture,Mounta in Ins t i tu te , andTravel Agents’ Associationof Sikkim.

At the end of the trainingprogramme, a trekking toVarsey was undertaken togive the t ra inees somepractical experiences.

Another weeklongcapaci ty bui ld ingprogramme on ‘CookingSkill’ was organised by thedepartment at the Instituteof Hotel Management hereat Tadong from 11 to 16September, which wasattended by 46 youth fromRinchenpong, Soreng andChakung. The programmesaw faculty members fromIns t i tu te of Hote lManagement t ra in thepar t ic ipants on subjectssuch as cooking skills andhygiene for food handling.They further held practicaldemonst ra t ion onpreparation of Indian andcontinental cuisines salads,soups and desserts.

This training is third in theseries being organised by thedepartment in pursuance of thedecision of the stategovernment to observe the year2006-07 as the CapacityBuilding Year.

a MIDWEEK report

email: self@arthurpazo.com

Capacity buildingtraining for youth

GANGTOK: 11 Septembersaw a number of inaugurationsand valedictory functions ofvarious training programmeslaunched by the stategovernment under the SkillDevelopment and TrainingProgramme sponsored underthe Swarna Jayanti ShahariRozgar Yozana [SJSRY].

A four month-long Dhupand Khada Making Trainingwas inaugurated at Kewsing[Bakhim] in South Sikkim on11 September. Twelveunemployed persons belongingto the economically weakersection of the society arecurrently undergoing thistraining aimed at making thelocal unemployed youths self-sustainable.

The valedictory function ofa similar four months’

Dhup and khada

making training beginsprogramme conducted earlierwas held the same day wherethe newly trained batchconsisting of 12 unemployedwomen were awardedcertificates by the JointSecretary-II, UrbanDevelopment & HousingDepartment who is also theproject director of SJSRY.Further, another two months’skill upgradation training,which again started the sameday, is currently being given tothese trainees.

Meanwhile, the valedictoryfunction of the two month-longMotor Car Driving Trainingwas held the same day at theMotor Training Institute atGyalshing. Fourteenbeneficiaries who hadundergone this training wereawarded certificates anddriving licenses by the projectdirector, SJSRY.

a MIDWEEK report

Tsoka, one of thevillages within the

KhangchendzongaNational Park.

Photo: Karchoong Diyali

131313131320 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND-UP

GANGTOK: When there is awill, there is a way.Overcoming financialconstraints, the members ofCARE [Concerned forComplete Life] recently tooktheir mission to save lives outof the confines of the capitaland to the districts. Aftersuccessfully holding awarenesscamps on ‘probable preventionof suicide’ in various schoolsin Gangtok, CARE held asimilar programme atJorethang Senior SecondarySchool in South Sikkim on 14September.

Under the programme,which has ‘Cheerful andComplete Living’ as its theme,the organisation presented aradio-play before the schoolchildren, staff, local gentriesand local NGOs, wheremetaphors of fear, doubt,worries and discouragementwere dramatically presented bymembers of Christian StudentFellowship of Sikkim. Thisradio-play, which depicts the

factors and elements of suicide,has enjoyed massive successamong the students who feel itis an easy instrument to reachthe message to all levels ofpeople.

In his address, Dr. CSSharma, Psychiatrist, NamchiHospital, who was the resourceperson for disease control,talked about various reasons ofmental ailments, depressionand its negative and sometimesfatal consequences in a veryinteractive manner. Theprocess of globalisation and atransition in life style ofSikkim, he said, played a majorrole in depression among theyouths, which led them to endtheir own lives. He alsoinformed the gathering aboutvarious belts of Sikkim wheresuicide rates had gone up anddwelt on how timelyintervention and help couldsave lives.

Later during the interactionsession, a panel comprising ofDr. CS Sharma, TN Sharma[Rt. Educationist] and NorzangSandhyang [Rt. Educationist]

answered the queries of thestudent. An evaluation formatfor the same queries wasdistributed for the samepurpose among the students.

Also to address thegathering were MN Dahal,Under Secretary, HRDD;Ongdup Lepcha, generalsecretary, CARE; Tika Gurung,a renowned social figure ofJorethang and also a memberof Purba Mazigoan SudharSamaj; and S Khatri, principal,Jorethang Senior SecondarySchool, who extended hisgratitude toward CARE forcoming forward and organisingsuch awareness camps invarious schools.

The entire awarenessprogramme was facilitated byDr. Solomit Lepcha, MO I/C,Jorethang Hospital, andCombined Christian YouthFellowship, Jorethang, andsponsored by Yeti ConstructionLimited, Purba MazigoanSudhar Samaj, Variety FastFood Corner, Jorethang andDarjeeling Store, AdventureTours and Travels, Gangtok.

‘Cheerful And Complete Living’

in Jorethanga MIDWEEK Report

NAMCHI: At a time whengetting a job in the governmentsector is akin to finding theHoly Grail for the local jobseekers, a young man fromSouth Sikkim has chosen totake the path less trodden.Despite having received ampleopportunities to get employedin the government sector, 34-year-old Topzor Dorjee Bhutiahas opted to work for thewelfare of his society. Hisrelentless efforts have todayborne fruit – he hassuccessfully establishedvarious clubs devoted tobettering the standard of livingof the people of South Sikkim.

Born on 15 October, 1972,at Kewzing, a remote village inSouth Sikkim, Mr. Bhutiareceived his junior leveleducation from KewzingJunior High School and thenwent on to finish his seniorsecondary school educationfrom Namchi SeniorSecondary School. His calibergot him noticed by theauthorities, and, as a result,offers to work as a governmentemployee started flooding ineven before he could completehis school education.

“Besides teaching joboffers, I was even called to jointhe Police Department as aPolice Inspector directly. But Ichose to ignore such offers andinstead put my heart into socialservice,” recalls Mr. Bhutia.

In 1990, he formed theKewzing Youth Club to raisethe standard of living of thepeople of Kewzing. The remotevillage of Kewzing, at thattime, did not have a single clubor organization that wascommitted to the welfare of thesociety. Mr. Bhutia, along witha few members of the newlyformed club [which was laterregistered in 1994], took great

pains to improve the standardof health, education andeconomy of the area. Hisefforts did not go to waste andsoon he was able to start 15farmers’ clubs and 95 self-helpgroups at Kewzing, Rabong,Sanganath, Tinkitam, Rayong,Sangmoo, Zarong, Lingee,Lingmoo and Tingmoo grampanchayat units.

The results are visible now:farmers of the area have madegood progress in theagricultural sector; they nowsell their agricultural productsat the nearest markets ofRabong, Jorethang andSingtam, and earn enough notonly to sustain themselves butalso to educate their children.

The club has also helpedseveral farmers’ clubs andSHGs in procuring loansamounting to Rs. 11 lakhs fromvarious financial institutionsunder the micro incomegeneration programme onagriculture and animalhusbandry. Kewzing YouthClub has, till date, alsoorganized a number ofexposure tours and trainingsoutside the state for the localvillagers.

With the help andcooperat ion of thesefarmers’ clubs and SHGs,Kewzing Youth Club is

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Topzor Bhutia leads

by example

further actively involved instrengthening thePanchayati Raj Institution inAsia [PRIA] besides

participating in the planningprocess of the North EastCouncil for the Northeasternstates . Further, for theupliftment of the labourers,the club is a t presentworking with the NationalLabour Institute, Delhi.

Besides giving a muchneeded push to thedevelopment of agriculture inSouth Sikkim, Mr. Bhutia alsotakes time out to work in thehealth and environmentsectors. He is the JointSecretary of Voluntary HealthAssociation of Sikkim, and amember of Ecotourism andConservation Society ofSikkim, and also of the newlyformed Kewzing Village

Tourism. He further activelylends his support toprogrammes held by otherorganizations like Nehru YuvaKendra, Ravangla TourismDevelopment Society, SikkimDevelopment Foundation, etc.

In recognition of his workin the social sector, Mr. Bhutiawas awarded the District YouthAward for the year 1999-2000.

“Our aim is to work for thesocio-economic developmentof rural areas. Apart from this,empowerment of women andyouth also features on ouragenda. We also feel it is ourduty to point out to our youththat agriculture is the onlyincome generating sector inSikkim,” he says.

P. LAMA

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1414141414 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

HISTORY

The IB unit in Gangtok was endowed with thefacility of a full-fledged and well-equippedmedical dispensary and regular doctor. This outfit

was primarily used for the staff members of the bordercheckposts and those of the Sonam GyatsoMountaineering Institute, IB’s in housemountaineering school that trained all the new entrantsin the skill of climbing and surviving in the remotestborder checkposts. I’d diverted, with permission ofthe IB, some medical facilities to some of the Chogyalloyalists and some of them were even supplied withdaily kitchen needs from the ration items meant forthe checkposts.

One of the most important beneficiaries was NarBahadur Bhandari, who had suffered most whiledefending the Chogyal and opposing the Indiansponsored moves to ‘annex’ the small kingdom. Helived on the meager income of his wife and I tookadvantage of supporting him with his daily needs andm e d i c a lfacilities. He wasnot a paid agent,but he did notdecline toassociate withme. I discoveredthat Bhandariwas not asecessionist andhe did not want to fight back for the Chogyal. He toounderstood the realities of the situation and bided histime to build up mass base. I did not see any harm inhis open and democratic political activities, thoughsome of his speeches were directed against the ‘deshbechoas’ and ‘corrupt deputationist officers fromIndia’. Having grown up in democratic India I learnt

to respect the voices of political dissent and I refusedto fall in line with the police commissioner to bookNB Bhandari under the defence of India Rules [DIR]and the maintenance of Internal Security Act [MISA].

Bhandari later managed to ride on the crest of theanti-India feelings and the failings of the governmentof Kazi Lhendup Dorji and grab political power. I amnot here to sit on judgement on the intrinsic honestyof Bhandari and follow the tails of the CBI to unearththe mountain of black money that he allegedlymanaged to pile up. Bhandari did nothing new. The

political breed in India enjoys almost constitutionalprotection in their acts of plundering the nationalcoffers and the pockets of the poor. He simplyfollowed the illustrious footsteps of his senior partnersin Delhi and elsewhere in India.

Bhandari is not a lone thug. He is good company.However, I cherish the memory of the honest school

Open Secrets - India’s Intelligence

unveiled, is the story of an intelligence

operator, who worked for 30 years in the

country’s prime intelligence agency. MALOY

KRISHNA DHAR brings out stories of blatant

and brutal misuse of the Indian intelligence,

security and investigative agencies by the

ruling establishment. In the book Dhar talks

about the manipulated and rigged

referendum conducted in Sikkim in favour of

India. He says, “Barring a handful of

collaborators most Sikkimese had no illusion

that the referendum was manipulated and

rigged. It indeed was. It is presumed that the

true history of the ‘merger’ of Sikkim would

be chronicled by a non-partisan historian in

due course of time.” Speaking to MIDWEEK,

he confessed “I could not afford to be that

brutal in writing the Truth, though I wanted to.

I was afraid of kicking up too much dust. Dust,

as you know, has a unique quality. These

particles can bury civilizations.”

Excerpts from his chapter Back to Shangri-La and Inside the Kalachakra

Back to Shangri-La

The Kazini’s milk of human kindness dried up afterKhatiwada started questioning the propriety of

outright merger of Sikkim with India.[ [

teacher Bhandari who had the courage of convictionto oppose the Indian takeover of Sikkim.

Narbahadur Khatiwada and his band of fiery youthhad helped Kazi Lhendup in mobilizing the muchneeded Nepali support to his movement. Young Nepalileaders like Khatiwada and NK Subedi hadwholeheartedly supported Kazi out of expectation thatin a constitutional monarchy of the Nepalis would geta better deal and be treated as equal to the Bhutias andLepchas. Khatiwada’s youth brigade had successfullyopposed the pro Chogyal forces represented byNarbahadur Bhandari and others. Even Ram ChandraPoudyal, another Nepali youth leader, and a ministerin Kazi’s cabinet, did not measure up to the popularityof Khatiwada. But the Kazini’s milk of human kindnessdried up after Khatiwada started questioning thepropriety of outright merger of Sikkim with India. Hepreferred a loose tie with the big neighbour andconstitutional monarchy. Kazi Lhendup too had notbargained for total merger, but he was outwitted byDelhi. Kazi was not undiplomatically curt to the youthleader. But Kazini’s options varied between extremes.After being lodged at the Mintokgang she discoveredthat Khatiwada had become an agent of the Chogyaland his close friend Mohan Gurung of Rhenock haddeveloped Communist links. The Police Commissioner

took Kazini’s ordersrather seriously andstarted hauntingN a r b a h a d u rKhatiwada.

Orders for me fromDelhi were very clear.They wanted me to win

over the turbulent youth leader and bring him back tothe proximity of Kazi. His mischief potential could notbe allowed to whip up Nepali sentiment and destabilizethe Kazi government. Besides the Nepali youthKhatiwada had made inroads into the Sanghaconstituency that gave him added strength. His strategyof uniting the Nepalis and the Bhutias against Delhi’swinning horse Kazi should be frustrated. Theseassessments acquired new dimensions after NarbahadurKhatiwada initiated a process of challenging some ofthe actions of the governor.

Kazi and his legislators were described by thecommon people as ‘desh bechoa’ and Alibaba and 31thieves. The latter allusion was directed at the electedrepresentatives to the Sikkim Assembly, who behavedless responsibly than wayside minor thieves. They wereused to give stamps of approval to all major decisionsformulated by the Governor and implemented by Kazi’scabinet. They were a frustrated lot. With the mergerthey had lost their relevance and were denied the crumbsthey received from the agents of Delhi. They had todepend on the mercies of Kazi and Kazini and the fringeloots that came their way. The Governor and his menfailed to measure the degree of frustration of theseelected people. The village folks hated them and theintegrated socio-political forces of Sikkim hadabandoned them. All was not hunky-dory with the Kazigovernment. There were serious charges of corruptionagainst some of the ministers.

The merger of Sikkim, I argued, should not wipeout the Sikkimese identity of its political forces. TheIndian states are states within the State and enjoyedtheir distinct political character, linguistic and ethnicidentity. Kazi’s merger with the Congress would castdeeper shadows on his personal integrity and hiscapability to uphold Sikkim’s uniqueness. The fearof ‘Indian influx’ inside Sikkim was stalking the mindsof the hill state.

[Excerpted with permission]

I discovered that Bhandari was not a secessionist andhe did not want to fight back for the Chogyal. He toounderstood the realities of the situation and bided his

time to build up mass base.[ [

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151515151520 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

CULTURE

TENZIN C. TASHI

I made three trips to Tsuklakhanginside of one month for variousreasons. I wanted to work on a

feature on the royal chapel, now theTsuklakhang Dratsangs and I wanted tosee how much havoc time and alteredcircumstances had wreaked on theTsuklakhang enshrined in my memory. Ialso wanted to check out a particularstructure in the Tsuklakhang complex thatI had seen several times before but hadjust connected with a special meaning.

Thus I found myself in front of theold building bearing the now defunctidentification number, W-III/ 436(2).Local people visiting the chapel to maketheir ‘koras’ or rounds will recollectseeing a few stray CRPF personnelthere not so long ago. To the casualobserver, the structure’s wooden cumstone architecture is nothingspectacular. But it is a piece of history,a relic from the past, a piece of thehistory of Sikkim and a piece of my ownfamily history.

Yes, I’m talking about the OldPrivate Secretariat of the Chogyal ofSikkim. The inscription on the side ofthe building reads 1931. An old familyfriend, late Aunty Vicky, the daughterof David Macdonald, of the HimalayanHotel in Kalimpong, once told meanything above 75 years of age isconsidered an antique. This building isexactly 75 yrs old when I seek to satisfymy curiosity that August morning.

It is a sluggish day, with no breezeeven. But the winds of change are verymuch in evidence, tearing hard at theentire Tsuklakhang complex. The oldbuilding that used to house the PangLhabsol costumes is razed, in its placestand two new Drashags, monksquarters, two storied, very utilitarian,bright yellow and maroon facadescontrasting sharply with the faded huesof the Yabring opposite the portal of theroyal chapel.

Each Drashag houses about 60young monks. Any young monk fromany monastery in Sikkim is eligible foradmission here. And there are plenty ofthem here already, kicking a footballaround on the lawn beyond. The youngmonks, our Drachungs, for all theirreligious vocation, are still young boyslike any other and football is a good wayto let off energy.

Below the Old Private Secretariat isits more familiar successor, the NewPrivate Secretariat. From below, thisstructure seems almost to grow out ofthe wall and many tourists stop to formtheir own conjectures about what itcould possibly house.

A true power triangle, a cluster ofSecretariats, I think, as I look out atTashiling, the present Secretariat of theGovernment of Sikkim, all cementedrepairs marring its façade. It looks likea war veteran nursing his battle scars, Ithink inconsequentially.

What piques my interest is the OldPrivate Secretariat. 1931. The then

Chogyal was Sir Tashi Namgyal, 15years into his reign. His PrivateSecretary was my paternal grandfather,Yap Tse Ten Tashi, of the RhenockDhakarpa family which providedseveral generations of Ministers toSikkim. And this was where he worked,I think excitedly. I really need to get afix on the physical remnants of the pastto help me better understand the familyhistory and fill in other gaps.

Interestingly, my own father also servedas Deputy Secretary to Chogyal PTNamgyal in the kingdom’s twilight years.He also occupied this selfsame office.

The door locked, the only alternativeopen to me is to peer through the grillsthat frame the window. It’s quite darkinside and my eyes, getting graduallyacclimatized to the darkness take in thegeneral somnambulant air within rightto the archaic wiring with old nakedbulb. It’s obvious no tubelight or CFLever made an entry here.

In the far corner, it’s an eerie scenethat greets my eager eyes. There’s atable near the window, with its chairand a cushion and another chair closeby. The two chairs are at odd angles,as if the owner of the desk and hisvisitor had just got up to say theirgoodbyes. There’s a black bag perchedon the chair and a plastic water jug andtwo mugs on the desk, all of which iscovered in layers and years of dust.Time hangs heavy, the only motion isthat of motes dancing in the few straysunbeams that have managed to

pervade the gloom. I can imagine mygrandfather sitting at that desk, myfather’s association with the IPRDepartment is too strong for any otherassociation to supersede it. It alwayshelps to get one’s physical bearingsright, and my grandfather’s life andtimes remain an ongoing obsession,with my file on him growing fatter andfatter.

Craning my neck, I make a startlingdiscovery. For a long time, I havepersonally wondered what happened toall the Pang Lhabsol costumes andswords and shields after the lastreligious dances at Tsuklakhang. Thiswas sometime back in the early eighties.Was it 1982? Inside the office, abovethe motley collection of things bundledup in old sheets, I discern a bamboo polestrung across the breadth of the room,weighed down by the Pangtoed helmets.All fifteen of them, including the specialones of the ‘Champon’ and ‘Chamjug’are intact, though the brocade bannersare but naturally faded.

Just the sight of the helmets bringsalive memories of another day, of theproud Pangtoed warriors shouting, ‘Ki-hu-hu’ as they performed the mysticalsteps. Will we ever see them swirlingwith sword and shield in theirtraditional venue, I wonder. Thelogistics seem a bit daunting with theDrashags carving up a lot of availablespace and everybody now so selfimportant I can’t imagine them beinghappy standing to watch theperformances. Do people really care oneway or the other?

The second time I make a trip toTsuklakhang, to visit KhentseSangyum, I wander over to have anotherpeek at the historical treasures. I amsorely disappointed that everything hasbeen cleared out. The empty roommagnifies and echoes mydisappointment. The labourers workingon a Drashag stop their work mid stroketrying hard to see what it is about theold building that is so fascinating.

7 September, Pang Lhabsol sees meshepherd two little kho clad boys pastthe newly erected gate near theTashiling gate and up to Tsuklakhang.We climb up the bend to be greeted bya mound of rubble where the Old PrivateSecretariat was standing not so longago. It was knocked down to pave wayfor more Drashags! A historical buildingnow reduced to a heap of mangledremains, so much like our culture itself.I wish I’d flouted the ‘No photography’rules and clicked away to my heart’scontent while it still stood, old, decrepitmaybe, but still standing.

I think only the pigeons understandthat they are the only constant there.

Going, going, gone

Yap Tse Ten Tashi speaking into the telephone in hisoffice at the Old Private Secretariat.Circa 1930’s. Private collection.

call: 9733091503 or email: pixelart@graffiti.net

1616161616 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ROUND-UP

GANGTOK: “A nation and its moralprogress can be judged by how it treatsanimals,” said the Mahatma. Gandhiji’sobservations ring true even today. Strayanimals are today one of India’s biggestproblems, with the Western world oftenportraying India as a country with cowsroaming on the streets. And stray dogsinfesting each gully, each neighbourhood.

Here in Sikkim, particularly inGangtok, the presence of stray dogs istaken for granted. And they are inhundreds. They are the loathed lot,homeless and despised by a society thatkeeps their more fortunate cousins as“pets”. They are everywhere- in thestreets, underneath a parked vehicle, inthe neighbourhood, in dark, dingy corners,living off the garbage bins and dumps andthe occasional generosity of you and me,throwing them stale leftovers.

Ours is a society that generally seesthem as a “menace and a nuisance”. Theyare in the news only when a rapid dog startsto traumatize a certain neighbourhood anddog bites are reported. The AnimalHusbandry and Veterinary ServicesDepartment then responds to the demandof the hour and orders mass culling of straydogs. Until recently, the local Police, alongwith the Veterinary Officers from the StateVeterinary Hospital would shoot the dogs.Earlier, it used to be the most barbaricmethod of killing strays - noose them withaluminium wires and strangle them todeath.

The department doesn’t seem to haveany other method to control the straycanine population. Killing is no longeran option because of the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals Act. Sterilization,or spraying the strays to control theirpopulation and vaccination is not on thelist of the Department.

Till recently, Sikkim could not boastof a NGO or an animal’s rightsorganization working for the cause ofthese stray dogs. There were no animalshelters or animal welfare organizationsor individuals involved in care, rescueand rehabilitation of stray animals in theState. And adopting the strays isdefinitely not a trend here.

However, there is hope now.Through the consistent efforts of localNGOs and young, dedicatedveterinarians, straydogs are now seeingbetter days, thanks toSikkim Anti-Rabiesand Animal HealthProgramme (SARAH),a project run byVetCharity, anAustralian-based, not-for-profit organisation,established byv e t e r i n a r yprofessionals topromote the inceptionof animal-welfareprogrammes indeveloping countries ofthe Asia-Pacific region,and to co-ordinate theveterinary volunteersworking in suchprojects.

In conjunction withthe Government ofSikkim and majorsponsor, the BrigitteBardot Foundation,VetCharity hasestablished a State-wide anti-Rabies andanimal healthprogramme, believedto be the firstG o v e r n m e n t -sanctioned initiative toadopt a state-wide andsustainable approach toaddress these serioushealth issues. ThroughSARAH, stray dogs aresterilized andvaccinated beforebeing sent back to theirneighbourhood. AndSARAH has been aresounding success.

According to Dr. Ian Douglas,president VetCharity, and DirectorSikkim Project, the magnitude of theproblem of stray dogs here in Gangtokis huge. “Rabies is endemic to Sikkim.Although some useful figures have been

published with respect to humans,limited statistical information isavailable regarding disease incidence in

domesticated animals and street dogs,and there is an extreme paucity of dataregarding the populations of Rabiesprevalence in feral canids and othernon-domesticated carnivores, includingthe jackal and the fox, which act asRabies reservoirs. There is the dread of

being bitten and contracting Rabies, orhaving to consider a protracted andexpensive course of post-exposureRabies vaccinations. An additionalfactor driving the killing of dogs is thehigh incidence of transmission of thedisease from dogs to livestock, withsubsequent mortalities in farmanimals,” he says.

In accordance with WHOrecommendations, VetCharity isdirecting its efforts at implementing acarefully coordinated humaneprogramme of anti-Rabies vaccination,animal birth control and health-careclinics, and clinical training of localveterinary and para-veterinarypersonnel; implementation of wildlifeconservation measures and publiceducation campaigns.

A pilot project was carried on for fourmonths in 2005. This comprised ofdesexing surgeries, training local surgicalstaff and organising anti-Rabiesvaccination camps in Gangtok andvarious regional centres. During thisperiod, 731 street-dogs were surgicallysterilised and 1,131 dogs vaccinatedagainst Rabies. The SARAH project isfunded through a match grants schemeof the State Government. VetCharity hasset up its clinic just next to the VeterinaryHospital here with a fully equippedsurgical unit and post-operation recoveryand observations shelters.

With the state-wide project nowbeing implemented, teams of volunteerveterinarians and veterinary nurseswork in collaboration with localvolunteers and the VeterinaryDepartment. Since June this year, about1700 stray dogs have been desexed andvaccinated and returned back to theirneighbourhoods where they came from.Neighbourhoods with the most straypopulation are identified and these arecaught using special nets. “The strayswhen they come here are usually skinny,diseased and unhappy. We ensure thatthey are well-fed twice a day and alsotreated for diseases while they are here,”says Dr. Douglas.

After the surgery, the dogs are fittedwith a yellow plastic collar withidentification number and date ofsurgery. One can also notice the smallnotch cut on one ear that they have.

However, it has been noticed that somepeople remove the collars when the dogsare back in the streets. “We request the localpeople not to remove the collars as it helpsus to track the dogs as well as maintainour records,” Dr. Douglas pleads.

The project will soon move toNamchi, the South Districtheadquarters, where the stray dogpopulation is a major concern.

The SARAH project not only needsthe moral support of the public but alsofunds to run the unit. Donations can bemade to the programme, in the form ofcash or kind. Rice, meat and yellowcollars can be donated as well.

For details contact:Dr Ian Douglas

President VetCharityDirector Sikkim Project

Email: sikkimproject@ vetcharity.orgPhone: 97331 50056www.vetcharity.org

Meet Sauraj Pradhan and his best buddy Nikki,a beautiful light brown stray mongrel who isfriendly, agile and devoted to his master. Thisfriendship is very new, just a month old, but onethat speaks of unconditional love and loyalty.Had it not been for Sauraj, Nikki would probablyhave died a painful death on the streets.

Sauraj, a Class IV student of Baha’i School,found Nikki in a badly injured state on the roadnear his house about a month ago. One of herhind legs was badly broken, possibly by aspeeding car and she was left to die. Saurajbrought her to the vets at SARAH center, whofixed her leg and treated her till recovery. Soon,Sauraj developed a bond with Nikki and whenshe was well enough to leave the center, Saurajvolunteered to adopt her. Today, Nikki is slowlyregaining the use of her leg and has found aloving home with Sauraj’s family, while this littleboy with a golden heart now has a best friendin Nikki.

You can also adopt a stray dog. Not only arethey more devoted and dedicated to theirfamilies, they are actually sturdier, healthier aswell as being excellent watch dogs. They arealso not so high on maintenance as pedigrees.Anyone interested in adopting a stray cancontact the SARAH center for more details.

SARIKAH ATREYA

SARAHcomes to theaid of strays Dr. Ian Douglas, president of VetCharity

171717171720 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

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sikkim.midweek@gmail.comGANGTOK: The State Bankof India’s offer of an exit optionscheme [EOS] to its staff hasnot yet found any takers inSikkim. SBI had recentlyoffered the EOS to its olderclerical staff so as to inductyounger, better trainedmanpower. Those above 50years of age are eligible for thescheme. According to PTBhutia, Deputy Manager, SBI,Gangtok, the Scheme has beenon offer from 1 September2006 and will continue tillMarch 2007.

The State Bank can fill thevacancies caused by thoseopting for the scheme unlike inthe case of those who had optedfor the earlier voluntaryretirement scheme [VRS],

where the bank was barredfrom filling up vacancies.

“The scheme is towardsincreasing productivity of theorganisation by hiring freshtalent,” adds Mr. Bhutia

Earl ier in New Delhi ,top f inance min i s t ryoff i c i a l s had sa id thescheme could be extendedto other banks based onhow it fares in SBI.

The EOS says clerical staffwho have not been promotedas officers to the juniormanagement grade scale-I afterfour chances will be eligible forthe scheme. All subordinatecadre employees will beeligible for the scheme.

Apart from the normalterminal dues, employeesopting for EOS will receive ex-gratia of 50 per cent of their

FOR SALEA Sony PD150 3CCD

camera in good condition.Contact: 99332233032

Can you tell us about Sunpharmaceuticals interest inSikkim?

Sun Pharmaceuticals is thesixth largest drugpharmaceutical company in thecountry. They becameinterested in Sikkim because ofvarious factors which includesclimatic conditions and thespecial incentives the state hasto offer. Initially it will investaround Rs. 50 crores and theunit at Setipool will beoperational by February 2007.

Sun Pharma has sparkedoff a chain reaction….

Yes, Sikkim has nowbecome polarized as the centrefor pharma companies. It hasgained momentum as thenewest destination for pharmacompanies to start operationshere and Sun pharma was in the

lead. Cadila-Zydus is startinga unit here at Bardang, AlchemLaboratories, one of the largestinjection manufacturingcompanies in the country willstart one such unit at Kumrek,Of course Godrej is startingwith a hair dye unit atMamring, IndChime Healthspecialists are the others whohave decided to start their units.

There were talks of moresuch companies coming…

Yes, there are several in thepipeline who are willing toinvest Cipla, Ranbaxy,Nicolas-Piramal and Punebased Emcure are some ofthem interested to come. Thereis a strong lobby within thepharma companies and it is thisthat has set off the chainreaction.

What is the total

investments these companiesare willing to invest?

In the initial phase the totalinvestments could be to thetune of 500 crores. Most of thecompanies are investingbetween Rs. 50 to 100 croresfor the units to manufacturemedicines both tablets,capsules, injections.

What about theinfrastructure?

An interesting aspect is thatthese companies are takingland on long term deals on theirown. Something that was anunlikely in the past without anyintervention by the stategovernment. They are alsocompensating well for the land.

What attracts thesecompanies?

Foremost it is the climaticconditions. The units require

low temperature for whichSikkim is ideal. Despite theseunits being fully airconditioned it pays in the longrun since the operating costscomes down. Then there is thebig market of the north eastzone to be captured sincemanufacturing and catering tothe needs from Sikkim wouldbe advantageous both in termsof economics and logistics.Peace and security and lack oflabour unrest are the otheradded attractions. Exportsthrough Nathula is also thechief reason with the list ofitems for trade to China to beupgraded to include medicines.

What are the subsidies onoffer from the stategovernment?

The state government has alarge number of benefits tooffer under the new industrialpolicy. There is investmentsubsidies upto Rs. 30 lakhs, 90percent transport subsidies

from the nearest railhead and100 % subsidies in insurance.Power is also provided atsubsidized rate of Rs. 3 per unitand each of these pharmacompanies require atleast 2megawatt of power. These aresome of the benefits.

What is your take on thenew industrial policy and itsextension?

We have been informedthat at the recent meet of theCommerce and industriesministers meet at Guawahati,which was attended by ourHon’ble Minister R. B. Subbathey had decided to approachthe union government forextension of the North EastIndustrial Policy which is awelcome move. It wouldbenefit if the policy wasextended with more incentivessince it expires in March 2007.The central excise benefitswas withdrawn in 2004 whileUttaranchal and Himachalhave been granted furtherextension of the policy andspecial incentives for anotherthree years. We in Sikkimhave been left out. We havealso been informed that theHon’ble Chief ministerrecently took up the matter ofthe extension of the newindustrial policy with PrimeMinister Man Mohan Singhin his last tour of New Delhi.The CM was verbally assuredof a positive signal in thematter by the PM.

Last week Sun Pharmaceuticals announced itsintention of investing upto Rs. 100 crore in Sikkim for

the current fiscal year, with a new plant that would costupto Rs. 50 crore. The Sikkim unit will have a capacityto produce 300 crore tablets and capsules per annum,which will be 20% increase over its existing capacity.

PEMA L SHANGDERPA spoke to RISHI KUMAR MITTAL, MDMount Distilleries and Spokesperson, Confederation ofIndustries, Sikkim about the interest shown by pharma

companies in Sikkim. Mittal, who is liasioning SunPharma operations in Sikkim has played an

instrumental role by intervening and lobbying to bringin other pharma giants to Sikkim.

Pharma companies eye Sikkim

total salary for the remainingtenure of service, subject to amaximum of 36 months. UnderVRS, employees were paid twomonths’ salary for every yearof service or for everyremaining year of service,whichever was less.

The bank has also decidedto give the exiting employeesthe benefit of repaying housingloans after retirement. All otheroutstanding dues to the bankwould, however, have to bepaid or would be adjustedagainst ex-gratia.

Employees availing of theexit option can also take upassignments with any othersubsidiary, associate or jointventure of SBI, subject toprior approval of thecompetent authority, the SBIcircular adds.

No takers yet for SBI exitoption scheme in Sikkim

a MIDWEEK Report

1818181818 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

CAPITAL

current incumbent! The otheris a saucy tidbit that you canaccess from a blog site if youlook long and hard enough. Butfor those who don’t want to gothrough that, it pertains to ourwell known now number 2English News channel vying tobe number 1 and its star femalecorrespondent who hasreported to us from so manyfronts. Well though a trifle late,it’s her slip that’s showingupfront now. The cute lass wentto an unmanned ATM with herboyfriend ostensibly to

After deposing their ownking, the Government ofSikkim murders the

Queen’s English. How else doyou explain the blatantlyincorrect punctuation ofAdvertisement’s, Notice’s &Notification’s and the likeliberally sprinkled all over thesite. Someone should put upnotification’s to use correctgrammar.In the Employment News, aparticular employment noticefor Mechanical AE’s is signedby a Mrs. Joint Secretary.Wow, GoS, talk of beinggender sensitive!The ‘Places of Interest’ isshoddily edited. Sample someof these inexplicable words-

‘on t’ ‘alson’. Also, the entireintroduction to the variousplaces is very insipid andsingularly uninteresting.The spelling of our sacredmountain as ‘Kanchandzonga’takes the cake, conformingneither to the‘Khangchendzonga’ preferredby the people of Sikkim oreven the more Pan Indianversion, ‘Kanchenjunga’. Talkof sitting on the fence!While IPR seems to be theonly one sweating it out to getthe correct copy in print, thewebsite links are themselvesin need of an update. We lovethat the IT Department seemsunaware still that the SikkimResearch Institute of

Tibetology was reverted backto its former name of NamgyalInstitute of Tibetology by theCM on the occasion of theinauguration of the ChogyalPalden Thondup NamgyalMemorial Park.An error that can claim not tobe so is ‘Sri’ Tashi Namgyal,we could have sworn hisactual title was ‘Sir’ TashiNamgyal.(Due to constraints of time, wecould not do a microscopicscrutiny of the site. Ourintention is not to causeconcerned Departmentofficials apoplexy but toensure that the Google worthyGoS website is the best that itcan be.)

That’s IT! Leading the way in the web world

What we love about the officialwebsite of the Government of Sikkim

withdraw some moolah but theheat and dust of the capital citygot to her and before you couldsay News, the two beganexploring the art of Kama Sutrain confined spaces! Needless tosay, when the poor managercame in the next day, he got theshock of his life on viewing thesexual aerobics graphicallyreported on tape. Of course thepoor guy had no option but todutifully package it and posthaste courier it to the owner ofthe channel as more than halfthe accounts at that ATM were

held by staffers from thechannel. And I’ll leave you tofigure out why this never cameto light…until now that is.

So this my dear friends isDilli and its TVchannels…each better than theother. So while expressingregret for being unable toprovide the between the linesstuff. I’ll leave you intelligentfolks to decide what’s true andwhat’s not. In themeantime…happy viewing.

Yours truly,Maddy

GANGTOK: Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee held acondolence meeting here on 11 September to pay respect to andoffer prayers for late Khandro Pema Dechen of Deorali Chortenwho had passed away on 5 September. She was in her earlyeighties.

Her funeral will be held on 26 September at Drakar Tashidingin West Sikkim which is considered the holiest of holy spots.

Also lovingly known as ‘Khandola’, late Khandro PemaDechen was revered as a Wisdom Dakini. She resided at the Do-drul Chorten at Deorali.

During the condolence meeting, the SIBLAC membersremembered the compassionate service and all the noble activitiesof Khandola during her six decade-long stay in Sikkim. Born inTibet, she had accompanied her teacher Dudjum Rinpoche toSikkim in 1947 after the latter was invited by the then Himalayankingdom by Chogyal Sir Tashi Namgyal. After the death of herteacher in the 1960s, she chose to make Sikkim her home andcontinued propagating the teachings of Dharma.

SIBLAC, during its meet, called upon all the Dharmapractitioners to seek inspiration from the attainment of the perfectstate of Nirvana by late Khandro Pema Dechen and appealed toall its volunteers to remain present during the final cremation.The funeral procession will be taken out on 25 September fromGangtok and her physical remains will be cremated at Tashidingthe next day.

SIBLAC holds condolence

meeting for ‘Khandrola’

a MIDWEEK Report

GANGTOK: On Sunday, 24September, Dr. Sanduk Ruit, arenowned eye surgeon fromKathmandu, will conductsurgery on people withcataracts here at CentralReferral Hospital, Tadong. Thefree eye camp is beingorganised by the DharmaChakra Center, Rumtek, inassociation with the JamgongKongtrul Centre, Kalimpong.

A day prior to theoperations, a free eye screeningcamp will be held at thehospital for patients fromGangtok, Ranipul, Pakyong,Burtuk, Chandmari, JN Roadand surrounding areas from 8AM onwards.

Dr. Ruit is the medicaldirector of Tilganga Eye Centrein Kathmandu and was

awarded the RamonMagsaysay Award forInternational Understandingthis year for his efforts indeveloping safe, effective andeconomical procedures forcataract surgery. Besidesperforming more than 40,000eye surgeries since 1988, he hasalso trained surgeons in India,China, Nepal, North Korea andVietnam.

For the cataract surgery, Dr.Ruit will be accompanied byDr. Jeff Tarbin from Americaand a team of four moredoctors.

Since the project is meant tobenefit the weaker section ofthe society, the Dharma ChakraCenter will also makenecessary arrangements for thetransportation of identifiedpatients to CRH and back, theirstay and medication.

RED ALERT in the capital

continued from page 11

Free eye camp at CRHa MIDWEEK Report

GANGTOK: The Holy CrossSchool, Tadong, will becelebrating its Sequi CentennialJubilee [150 years] of the HolyCross Congregation here at theschool auditorium on 21September.

Chief Minister PawanChamling will be the chiefguest of the occasion whilepresent as the guest of honourwill be PHE & Transport

Minister Menlom Lepcha.The Congregation of Holy

Cross is a Roman Catholiccongregation of priests andbrothers founded in 1837 bythe Venerable Father BasilAnthony-Marie Moreau in LeMans, France. Today, there are1,670 Holy Cross priests andbrothers who live and work in15 countries, including India,on four continents.

Holy Cross to celebrate 150

years of their Congregation

send your feedback to sikkim.midweek@gmail.com

191919191920 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

BOOKS/LITERATURE

That title up there is lifted

right off a dictionary ofeuphemisms by RW

Holder I had picked up fromRaman’s private littlekingdom, a.k.a. RachnaBookshop, sometime last year.In fact, it was the book title thathad grabbed my attention in thefirst place, simply because itsounded more of a goat than asheep. While most ‘How to…’paperbacks normally offer togive us the lowdown on howto do what we mean to do,here was this mean fathardbound that promised tohelp you unlearn whateveryou’ve learnt so far.

But am I going to waxeloquent over this dictionary Ihardly use? No. So why did Iwaste an entire paragraphtalking about it? That’s becausethe subject matter of this piece

is our tendency to resort toeuphemisms in our feebleattempt to make an offensiveor awkward situation lessoffensive or awkward. Besides,I happen to really like that title.

So, heading straight to thecrux of the matter, let me askyou - have you been payingattention to our politicallycorrect conversations lately?We no longer get straight to thepoint. We take a roundabout,sugarcoat our lameconversations with unhealthydoses of artificial sweetenersand just leave a hint of whatwe actually mean. The endresult: a large number of words,which get the message rightacross, are jostling to getthemselves enrolled in the listof endangered vocabulary.

Take for instance the word‘fat’. It is an inoffensive wordas long as it is strictly uttered incontext of Garfield, the comic

strip cat. Want to lose a femalefriend? Try telling her she’sbecome fat. And if someoneasks you “Do I look fat?” thecorrect answer always is astraight-faced “No!” If honestyis still your best policy [even inthis age!], you can still get awaywithout completely lying witha little help from an inoffensivesubstitute word - ‘healthy’. Theslightly bolder ones can try‘you’ve put on a little bit ofweight’, but do it at your ownrisk. Reaction to this statementvaries from person to person.

Wrinkles. Anotherendangered word. In a civilisedconversation, you don’t bringout that word. Ever. Even thecosmetic companies havelearnt from their mistakes.Anti-wrinkle creams are nolonger packaged in that name.They have now beenrechristened ‘anti-aging’cream. It’s the same thing,

SERAH BASNET

New Arrivals At JAINCO

01. Wild Wind - Taslima Nasreen

02. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

03. Devil’s Garden - Shreekumar Verma

04. One Night @ The Call Center - Chetan Bhagat

05. Five Point Someone - Chetan Bhagat

06. Footprints in the Himalaya - Sonam B. Wangyal

07. Code Name: God - Mani Bhaumik

08. 3 Novels - Shashi Deshpande

09. Weight Loss - Upamanyu Chaterjee

come to think of it, but itsounds a little less wrinkled.

But our double standardscome to the fore whenever wesee a possible piece of art orphotograph featuring an old,wrinkly face. In such arty-fartyinstances, the face is notmarred by wrinkles but markedby ‘character’ that ‘comes withage’. And while we spend asmall fortune to get rid ofwrinkles on our faces, wepretend to find pleasure indrooling over the very wrinkleson someone else’s face.Sadistic streak?

Petite. Another word thatmakes me laugh. Though manyopt to use this word to describethemselves, the fact remainsthat using an exotic soundingFrench word does not makeone ‘not short’. ‘Oriental’ isanother word. Nobody uses theword ‘Mongolian’ anymore. Itried using that word on myblog a couple of months agoand was reprimanded by afellow blogger. Mongoliansounds ugly, uncool, I’m told.Oriental, on the other hand,suggests something exotic.Huh? Okay, let me try this.Petite oriental lady. Hmm…Short Mongoloid. Eww…

Maybe that blogger was right.Half-pants and chappals

sound boring, ugly and uncool.And no person in his right‘fashion-conscious’ mind dyeshis/her hair anymore. Hair dyeis for grandma and half-pants[or hap-pen] for our countrycousins. Cool cats like us wearshorts and flip-flops and colourour hair.

Fashion and looksdepartments are not the onlyplaces where euphemismsthrive. It even finds its way toour mundane everyday life.Like for instance, irregularpower supply is labeled as‘temporary inconvenience dueto repair or upgradationworks’. Ditto with our presentstate of internet service, or lackthereof. What about walking/driving on bad, slosh coveredroads, which are in thatcondition due to ongoinggovernmental constructionworks? Well, that’s another‘temporary inconvenience’ welesser mortals have to suffer inthe larger interest of the society.

Playing right now in myWinamp is Depeche Mode’sEnjoy The Silence. “Words arevery unnecessary…” I guessthat’s a cue for me to stop.

Send in your feedback, queries and mail to

sikkim.midweek@gmail.comor POST IT TO

Midweek, Near Hotel Yatung

Nam Nang, Gangtok - 737101

Code Name: God -The Spiritual Odysseyof a Man of Scienceby MANI BHAUMIK

This book has been exquisitelywritten. Beginning as acombination of a spiritualautobiography and a rags-to-riches story, it goes on todescribe a world view of theuniverse that combines some ofthe most esoteric ideas ofmodern theoretical high energyphysics and medicinal scienceswith equally esoteric conceptsin Eastern philosophy [bothChinese and Indian], blendingthe observer and the observedtogether in a precise and logicalwhole that seeks to quench theemotional thirsting of manyseekers on the path of hard corescience who yearn to see the‘big picture’.

Throughout the narrative,one gets the impression of theauthor as both a bystander aswell as one who experiencesfully the pathway life leadshim. It begins with the unlikelyextremes of a barefoot villageboy growing up in ruralBengal, a boy, touched byextreme deprivation who isdeeply influenced during his

teenage years by Gandhianideals during India’sindependence struggle andgoes on to describe howexcellence in the mathematicalsciences, led him across castebarriers from that very villageover to laser research at auniversity in the USA, finallyending in the posh environs ofBel Air and its glitterati.

One topic, conspicuous byits absence, in the world viewpresented in the book is chaosand fractals. Perhaps, in a lateredition... All in all, a book thatwould grace any bookshelf,and a stirring testimony of a lifelived to its depths.

Devil’s Garden: Talesof Pappudom

by SHREEKUMARVARMA

The book features threethrilling adventures featuringthe indomitable cousins Dinu,Minu, Polly and Ravi. WhenRavi comes from Bombay tostay with his three cousins forthe summer holidays, littledoes he realize this is thebeginning of a series ofexciting events that will testtheir intelligence and luck.

In the first story a string ofaudacious robberies occur intheir usually quiet town. Whois the thief? Is it the sinister

Dhondu who seems to hate thechildren, or is he covering upfor someone else?

In The Hidden Treasure, the

four cousins end up spendingtheir Diwali holiday in Kaka’sfarm in a village. Village life isfun, especially with their broken-down ancestral mansion toexplore. Gradually the childrenrealize there is something sinisterafoot. Who has been diggingaway in the mansion in the deadof night? Did their ancestorreally bury his life’s savings intheir sprawling ancestral homebefore joining the 1857 uprising,or is it just a legend? And, if thetreasure’s still there, will they getto it before the crooks do?

In the last novel, it’s Dinu,Minu and Polly’s turn to visitBombay and spend the summerwith Ravi. There they makenew friends, one of whomclaims to have seen the face ofa bank robber. Soon after, aspate of robberies break out allover Bombay. Is it the samegang at work? Then their friendis kidnapped and the fourchildren find themselves in themidst of a desperate chase . . .

Thrilling, funny, and full ofmemorable characters, thesethree novels, first published inthe 1970s, are sure to captivatea whole new generation ofreaders.

2020202020 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

YOUTH

This week, MIDWEEK

presents cheat codes for...

Gangtok’s VeryOwn Bandana

BanditsIt's Wednesday, so maybe

i'll try to predict and write

about things that will be

relevant in, say, 5 days.

Ok...I predict that the

BANDANA BANDITS will get

bail, and I predict that Chundu will sing "PATIENCE",

and that Real Monkeys in experiment laboratories

will finally type 'BANANA'. AND in the long and

shamefully grand tradition of restaurant owners

trying to do music related things, such as sing. I did

it for fun, not because I have any aspirations to become

a master musician. I know for a fact that I couldn't

sing my way out of a wet paper bag, which is fine

with me.

I sometimes get annoyed when some of Gangtok's

Finest, do overtly dilletantish stuff, like singing. Why

not leave the singing to the people who've spent their

lives studying to be musicians? And why don't they

do really interesting things, like become Zen masters?

Or genetic engineers. The world could certainly use a

few more zen masters and genetic engineers. Don't

you agree?

Can you tell that it's late and that I'm rambling?

Hhmm..I just tried on my fancy new SUIT. It might

be a shameful thing to admit, but I do have a soft-

spot in my heart for a nice suit. I normally don't pay

attention to clothes, but a really nice suit(especially

a blue SUIT with gigantic Lapels. ha. ha) can be a

nice thing. So if you see me on the Streets OF Gangtok

and I'm wearing a fancy suit, please be kind and

understanding.... I was impressionable and I watched

too many movies when I was young and all of the

cool guys wore nice suits....James Bond, Frank

Sinatra,Al Pacino etc. Yup.. it is confirmed that George

Bush is the SPAWN OF SATAN!!

I think that would be anappropriate intro forStadium Arcadium, Red

Hot Chili Pepper’s ninth studiooffering. The unmistakablefunk style that has becomeRHCP’s trademark [which, bythe way, was pretty muchmissing in their 2002 By TheWay] is gloriously back in thisdouble CD album. The CDsnamed ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Mars’justify the arena-size albumtitle - it’s got 28 catchy ear-candies, peppered withgenerous doses of funk.

The album kicks off with thevery catchy Dani California,the first single off the album.It’s a song about the early deathof Dani California [the samecharacter from 2002’s By TheWay], a small town girl whobecomes a bank robber andlives a hard, fast and lonely life.

Before you are throughsavouring this one, the quartethits you with Snow [Hey Oh],a slow ditty with some greatmelody, and Charlie that hasguitarist John Frusciantelending singer Anthony Kiedishis falsetto harmonies andsimultaneous guitar solos. Thetitle track, Stadium Arcadium,

is slow and melancholy, a sharpcontrast, at least in terms ofenergy levels, to the next all outfunk track Hump De Bump.

She’s Only 18 proves thateven though on the wrong sideof 40, Kiedis can still singabout undies, a la Blood SugarSex Magik days, and make itsound good. Torture Me startsoff with Flea’s solid bass lineand Kiedis sounds like he’s ina frenzy here. Flea deliversgreat bass line again inEspecially In Michigan,another great song on thealbum. The funk is put back onthe spotlight with Warlockswhile C’mon Girl is one of theditties with a catchy chorus.

Tell Me Baby, on Disk 2, isan interesting super-catchyPepperisque song that startsfunky and then goes melodic.Hard To Concentrate is awedding proposal set to music,written by Kiedis for bandmateFlea and his new wife. A slowbut interesting number that hasmuted bass, layered guitars andhand drums doing a perfectslow dance.

The first thing that younotice about 21st Century isFlea’s bouncing bass attack.

It’s definitely Flea at his best.Another bouncy track is MakeYou Feel Better, a somewhatsixties influenced pop tune. Anenergetic track, So Much I hasFrusciante going absolutelybonkers, and with good results.Another not-to-be-missednumber is Storm In A Teacup,a full frontal funk attack. Funand catchy, it’s undeniably oldschool.

Stadium Arcadium isdefinitely not for those lookingfor aggressive music and itrequires a couple of listensbefore you can appreciate it.The feel is mellow throughoutthe album; it’s some goodunpretentious music that givesyou the feeling of being free.That description would soundironic if you remind yourselfthat the band oftencommunicates ideas ofconfusion and uncertainty,even chaos!

The Verdict: It’s notRHCP’s best album but still it’sdamn good. Spend somequality time with this giant ofan album. A good set ofheadphones recommended.

- WYLDE

The funk is back!

Rockin’ SaturdayBroke on a fine weekend evening? Why fikar whenMIDWEEK is here! This week, we’ve got a rockin’list of VH1 programming for 23 September,guaranteed to leave you headbanging all night long.

6.00 PM - Behind the Music: Kid Rock8.00 PM - Behind the Music: Pantera9.00 to 11.00 PM - 40 Freakiest Concert Moments[featuring Alice Cooper, Dave Navarro, Perry Farrel,Bob Dylan and others]11.00 PM - The Story of Heavy Metal: Welcome toMy Nightmare [featuring Black Sabbath, LedZeppelin, Kiss, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Saxon]12.00 AM - The Story of Heavy Metal: British Steel[featuring Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden,Van Halen]1.00 AM - The Story of Heavy Metal: Looks That Kill[featuring Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister,Warrant, Ratt, WASP, and More...]2.00 AM - The Story of Heavy Metal: Seek & Destroy[featuring Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Anthrax, LimpBizkit, Marilyn Manson]

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER CHEATSEuropean Classic team

Win the European Cup with England to unlock theEuropean Classic team.Holland Classic team

Win the European Cup with Holland to unlock theHolland Classic team.

Germany Classic teamWin the European Cup with Germany to unlock the

Germany Classic team.Brazil Classic team

Win the American Cup with Brazil to unlock the BrazilClassic team.

Argentina Classic teamWin the American Cup with Argentina to unlock the

Argentina Classic team.World All-Star team

Win the International Cup with any team to unlock theWorld All-Star team.

European All-Star teamWin the International Cup with France to unlock the

European All-Star team.

212121212120 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

YOUTH

Woo-hoo! My boyLukas Rossi wonthe Supernova gig

and I’m doing a victory dancearound the TV set. Sounderneath all those tattoos,long hair and layers ofwrinkles, those three geezersstill have some sense left inthem to pick up the mostcreative contestant to infusesome much-needed freshnessin their music. All theSupernova songs unveiled sofar are mediocre at best, thekind I wouldn’t even botherLimewiring for free. Let’s hopeLukas gets to have his creativeinputs in the band’s album.Now, on to the week’sperformances and the grandfinale recap.

The performance night onthe final week was more or lessforgettable with Brooke Burkesubjecting us to a recap of thefinal four’s journey towards thetop, right from the season’sopening. Yawn. Then we areonce again reminded byBrooke and the Supernovaboys that a few tour dates arealready sold out; I guesscreating a sense of urgency willwork wonders for ticket sales.

Ryan Star - the king of allthings gimmicky - suddenlymaterialises on stage. The fansvoted him for a final encore,we’re told. He plays hisoriginal Back of My Car. Firsttime I heard it, I thought it wasgood. Second time it soundedokay. Third time was anoverkill. Zzzz... Anyway, postencore, he plugs his new albumin the works, Dark Horse, andwins a Honda CRV and aVerizon Wireless LGChocolate cell phone for beingthe fan’s choice for the finalencore. He’s happy and he’sstanding on top of that new car.I’d be much happier if he wereunder the tyres of that Honda.Now get off that stage! Patriceshould really have been theresinging Radiohead’s My IronLung. Now that was an encore-worthy performance!

Blue-eyed Aussie boy Tobyfinally kick-starts the showwith Karma Police. But it’smediocre vocals at best. DidDave Navarro just say that’sthe best Radiohead song?Somebody please whack thatdummy on the head or gag himwith those fishnet stockings hewears on his mitts.

Toby then has Magni joinhim on guitars on his originalThrow It Away. Do we reallyhave to listen to the sameoriginals again? I found thissong catchy the first few timesbut now I’ve started finding itpainful. Same old arrangement.

Same old cheerleader act. I’mbored. And enough with EVSalready; writing it on back ofMagni’s head was a step too fardown the gimmick lane.

Any doubts I had about theCanadian Goth doll Lukaswere cleared on thepenultimate show as he tookon Coldplay’s Fix You andshowcased a voice that can bejust as sweet as it can begravelly when he lets it. Thenhe takes a risk of turning thetune into a rock anthem.Unlike Toby, he neither playsto a crowd nor resorts to

gimmicks but this Torontoboy sure is fun to watch, hisrooster strut and all.

While other contestants arecontent with playing theiroriginals the way they werefirst composed, Lukas changesthings up and performs astripped down, acousticversion of his Headspin,which, in my humble opinion,sounded better than last time.Oh, I love this guy! Look,there’s Paula Abdul in theaudience! Just back from hertherapist’s couch and on herway to the bar, methinks.

Up next is Dilana with ThePolice’s Roxanne, a song thathad Chris Pierson - Dilana’sone time bosom buddy - oustedfrom the show earlier in theseason. She opens with anacappella and her voice soundsgood without all that grizzle.She even has her remainingthree competitors join her tosing backup. Nice move butthen again at one point, Lukas’backup vocals clearly cutthrough hers. Hah! Nice coverperformance overall.

Before doing her originalSupersoul [oh, I hate that title],

ROCK STAR: SUPERNOVA FINALE RECAP she makes sure to explain it’sa ‘freedom song’, not an angrysong. Don’t know about youbut I’ve a problem buying that.For me that line “I could havekilled you in your sleep”definitely sounds angry. Oh,she’s explaining it’s aboutletting go of the bad andmoving on. Okay, now I get it.If you’re pissed with yourspouse, kill him/her. Instantfreedom from ol’ grouchy! ButI’m still not impressed with heroriginal.

Magni’s the last to hit thestage with Deep Purple’s Hush.He does a good job but still it’snot my favourite performancefrom the Iceman. But then,with his original When the TimeComes, the Icelandic madmanrevs things up, but that is afterhe - quite out of breath after hisfirst song - momentarily forgetsthe title of his own song! Nowhis original is a rock song, andit’s actually becoming moreappealing to me as time goeson, nevermind Tommy Leeripping the song as‘unmemorable’. For him, theonly thing worth rememberingis his days as Mr. PamelaAnderson.

The next day on the two-hour long finale show, afteranother yawn-inducing recapof the season, Magni is the firstto land in the bottom three,followed by Toby and Lukas.Magni scorches the stage withJimi Hendrix’s Fire, Toby[who looks the most nervousof all] continues hischeerleader act with BillyIdol’s White Wedding, andLukas promises Supernovahe’ll reacquaint them with aBittersweet Symphony.Magni’s the first to get the axe.After another round ofperformances by the remainingthree, Toby gets the boot. Nowit’s down to Dilana and Lukas.After endless numbers ofcommercial breaks and BrookeBurke’s fake smiles, TommyLee gets up and says “Lukas,you are our boy!”

I had predicted last weekit’d be a Toby versus Lukascontest, with Toby eventuallywinning the gig; this, despiteeven my mom telling me thegig was up for grabs for Lukas.Well, to repeat an old cliché,mom knows best and I happilyeat my words. The best manhas won!

- SERAH BASNET

2222222222 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

BAZAAR

SCORCHING

THE SHELVES:

YES, YES,

YES , we’ve heardtime and again thatpackaged goods are not good.But what makes you thinkfruits and vegetable are ‘pure’,they’re injected with all kindsof unnatural stuff to make themgrow bigger in a short span oftime, the groundwater theygrow in is contaminated and soon, ad nauseum.

If you’ve followed mostmodern day ads, you’ll findmost of them speaking directlyto kids. Yes, marketers knowthat kids are increasinglymaking the purchase decisionor at most brands, and they areconstantly on least influencingthem to a large extent. And bestof all, they exhibit a higherrecall and are on the lookoutfor something new.

‘I wantD r a g o n

Cheetos’ was aconstant refrain all

of the last week. Sokilling two dragons

with one stone, here’s thelowdown on the Dragon

Cheetos. They’re the latestoffering from the Fritolay’sDivision of Pepsico Cheetosbrand. Available in twovarieties:

Spicy Cheese Dragonz arecorn meal namkeen snacks indragon shapes, only they lookmore like an ancient toy fromMohenjodaro than a dragon.

Cheesy Masala Balls areexactly that, cheesy masalaballs only Dragons seem tohave eaten up Brandon Routh’sSuperman who was endorsingthem only a few days ago!

The freebie is now a Dragonbooster buildable inside thepack. There are 12 dragons and12 gears such as Jousting Pole,Turquoise Gear, etc to becollected.

If you are at sea, watch

Dragon-Booster on ToonDisney Wednesday-Friday 6p.m. and you’ll soon be able toconverse with your kids.

WHILE ON

Fritolay, here’sanother offering,Kurkure NewMasti SquaresSweet ‘n’ Sour,and thec a t c h p h r a s esays it tastesgreat with orw i t h o u ttopping. Thepack alsooffers yousome ideason whattoppingscan maket h ew h o l eKurkureepisode

We thought profiling a shop with traditionalIndian wear this week would make a nicechange especially since Dasai is just around

the corner and most women will be on the lookoutfor new clothes.

This shop’s been around for some time, a perfectantidote to most local ladies’ complaints that there’snot much by way of ethnic wear here in town. Well,step into In Vogue near Josse n Josse in M.G.Margand literally be in vogue. Men will probably have toexcuse themselves since it’s an out and out ladies store.

When it first opened, In Vogue had a lot ofhousehold items and fancy bags and wallets. Slowlythe shop has reinvented itself as the destination forthe traditional Indian woman. It’s just been

remodeled and expanded and there’s a sale going on.The owner was quite paranoid about putting rates inprint and not all the discount rates were tacked upwhen we went there but we could glean that there arediscounts starting from 15% to about 30% off onsarees, nightwear and salwar suits.

Rows and rows of intricate sarees in silk and crepeand in styles ranging from wispy creams to brightturquoise blue make a most attractive display and eventhose of us who do not wear sarees will find it tough toresist the impulse to finger them. You can also pick upnice readymade kurtas in flashy designs as well as somecut pieces that you can tailor to fit your style quotient.Prices range from surprisingly affordable to top drawer.

The shop’s got a good stock of Jockeyundergarments in 100% combed cotton in all sizes

IN VOGUEand colours. That apart, there are some real slinkynightdresses in vibrant colours from baby pink topassionate purple. All cotton night suits- pants andtops- in interesting prints will appeal to the moresensible minded ladies.

more masti. All packs retail forRs.10/- each. We checked it outat Fair Deal on PS Road whichnormally gets all the latestproducts.

All that talk ofchips and

savouriesm a k e sone long

for a tallglass of

j u i c e .There are

some newjuices out in

town. SuryaFresh Foods

Limited ( whoown the

Priyagold brand)have made a juicy

entry into thepackaged RTS

( ready to serve)juice market with

their Fresh Goldbrand of juices.

‘Hand picked from theorchards’ thrills the

marketing spiel while

the actual reason most peoplemight be tempted to switchfrom the other brands like Realis that the pricing is quitereasonable at Rs.65 for a 1 litrepack ,at least ten buckscheaper. You could buy thejuice and spend the ten buckson a copy of MIDWEEK!

Bhutan also jumps into thejuicy fray with their Dew Freshbrand of RTS juices. To quotemakers Bhutan Dairy andAgro Products Ltd., ‘DewFresh comes from theHimalayan Kingdom of Bhutan,a land known for Nature’sbounty’. A 200 ml tetrapack sellsfor Rs.10. Obviously this isgoing to compete with Frooti andthe like. Taste wise its prettymuch the same.

One wonders why our ownSikkim Supreme could neverreally break out of its tired andboring mould when they hadthe first mover’s advantage.Cans are oh so passé andcumbersome in this world oftetrapacked convenience!

- TINA

the lowdown on new products

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Quick picks:� The Jockey raglan tees are good value formoney and withstand the washing machine cycles.� Blouses and Petticoats in myriad hues to matchyour sarees.� Interesting looking bindis.� Psst: Spotted ladies buying the unusual cutpieces to make ‘honjus’ for the whole family. Talkof native ingenuity.What we like: That we don’t have to drape thenine yard wonder ourselves!

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

232323232320 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

WOMEN

Most women first suspectthey are pregnant whenthey begin to feel

nauseous and perhaps vomitevery morning. Morningsickness is generally associatedwith the first trimester, i,e, thefirst three months but it’sdifficult to makegeneralizations.

Some women do not getmorning sickness at all, after afew initial days of nausea.Others get it real bad, and areconstantly retching and feelingvery sorry for themselves.Though it disappears by thethird month, morning sicknesscan last well into the third term.

Morning sickness is actuallya misnomer. It can strike apregnant woman any time ofthe day, or appear in themorning and last the whole day.

HOW TO COMBAT

MORNING SICKNESS:

You can ask your

WELL, WELL, it lookslike I’ve survived beingbooted out of this space.This is our secondedition of the Womenspace and Madam Editoris not looking around fora replacement…yet! Butthen again Pema’sdelimited, Karchoong isnursing a family tree,Sarikah is on a Chinesehigh, speaking onlyMandarin and Serah istoo busy performingpyrotechnics Supernovastyle so it looks like littleole me was the safestbet. As for MadamEditor, she’s too busybeing wicked.

We’re hoping that thisWomen space willactually grow into ahighly networked forum,highly interactive, with alot of inputs from ourlocal ladies. Yes, I’llcome clean, it actuallyleaves me with a lot lesswork then.

You can get me directlyat tinatashi@gmail.com for yourinputs on what you wantto see on your page.Only one thing is bannedon this page, politics.What a colossal waste oftime tracking the ‘ratobatti types’, there are toomany of them andfamiliarity breedscontempt.Have a nice day!Tina

Most times we buysomething and expectit to work like a dream

without any maintenance. TheWashing Machine is anincredibly fine invention, onlyit needs a little more attentionthan switching the power on,shoving in the clothes andmaking ourselves scarce for 30mins.

Grandma says: Don’t mixwhites and coloured itemsunless you want to buy out thetown’s entire stock of bleach.Most colours bleed and you’llonly rue your‘dumpitalltogether’ strategy

a note

when confronted with streakedwhites.

The inlet pipe gets cloggedwith dirt and debris over timeand the volume of waterdecreases thus affecting theefficacy of your WM. Use anold toothbrush to clean the inletpipe from time to time.

Lint is a universal problem,keep tipping out the lint bagregularly before you have agolf ball in there.

Always put off your WMwhen the voltage fluctuates. Itcan badly damage your WM’smotor and the repair bill willcost a bomb.

triviaTHE NUMBER of

prostitutes in India has

risen by 50% in under a

decade. Worse, most of the

prostitutes are little more

than children, joining the

flesh trade at 12.

PLUTO is no longer a

planet, it is now relegated

to being a dwarf planet.

But Disney has no plans

to change the name of

Mickey’s faithful old

friend!

gynaecologist to prescribe amedicine to combat themorning sickness if you’rereally desperate.

Otherwise, don’t eat largemeals. Eat small meals moreregularly throughout the day. Yourchances of retaining it are better.

Some smells e.g. cigarettesmoke, coffee, pork, will makeyou nauseous, avoid them.

A simple remedy is to eat aplain dry toast or a biscuit even.

Ginger is part of the natural

arsenal. Either suck at ajulienne of ginger or crush itin your cup of tea.MORNING SICKNESS

WORRIES:

A little weight loss in thefirst three months is normal,nothing to worry about.

As for your baby, don’tworry, your foetus is actually aparasite and will draw all itsrequirements from your bodyirrespective of how much youeat or don’t eat.

Ever wondered whybeverages like tea andcoffee can never reallyslake your thirst the wayonly water can?While tea and coffee docontain a lot of water,they are diuretics whichin fact drain your body offluids especially whenconsumed in largequantities. Maybe it’stime to trade your hugemug for a tiny doll sizedone.

Morning sickness at 5 p.m!WHAT YOUR PARTNER

CAN DO:

Quit smoking!OTHER PROBLEMS youcan expect in the first threemonths:

· Tiredness· Bleeding gums· Constipation· Extreme mood swings· Feeling faint and actuallyfaintingPSST MEN! This is also

the time your normallyagreeable wife develops atendency to snap at you for nological reason at all. It’s a caseof damned if you do, damnedif you don’t.

So what do you do?Nothing. Everything. Nomatter what you do or don’t do,she’ll still snap at you.

On the other hand, it revealsthat of all the relationships onearth, marriage is the strongestwhen the couple’s in it together.

Don’t subscribe to the notionthat ‘more is better’ when itcomes to washing powder. Usethe recommended number ofscoops for different levels ofwash, too much of the higherend washing powders canactually make your clothes fade.

Maids and WM’s don’t getalong. Instruct your maid notto open the WM cover and tipin more clothes when the

The WM woes

machine cycle has started.Teach her to use the ‘Hold’ or‘Pause’ button for this purpose.

Don’t leave your laundrytoo long in the WM. Yes, itturns itself off but it continuesto draw power when the switchis on in most cases.

MIDWEEK Tip: Take careof your WM, it will be a bighelp when your maid quits onyou.

ADVERTISING / PRINTING / PUBLISHING / DESIGN / EVENT MANAGEMENT

CONTACT: 98320 31929 EMAIL: pelsh23@gmail.com

HEALTH-WATCHmidweek mailsikkim.midweek@gmail.com

G R A N D M A K N O W S A L L

2424242424 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

MOVIES

SHOWING FROM FRIDAY

ULTRA SURROUND SOUND:SHOW TIMINGS:

11:00AM / 2:15PM / 5:30PM

B O L L Y W O O Dsnippets

FROM FRIDAY

THE BIG REVIEW

THE

HOTLINE

320169

STARRING: Keanu Reeves,Winona Ryder, RobertDowney Jr., Woody Harrelson,Rory CochraneDIRECTED BY: RichardLinklater

If you saw RichardLinklater’s Waking Life(2001), you know the drill.

He shoots his film with liveactors and then computer-paints over them. The process(it takes more than 500 hoursto create a mere minute offootage) is called rotoscoping,and he applies it with equalskill to A Scanner Darkly, froma futuristic Philip K. Dicknovel well suited to the striking

visual dreamscape. Take thescramble suit worn by KeanuReeves (free of The LakeHouse, and we’re damn glad ofit) as Bob Arctor, a narcworking undercover. The suitturns Bob into a walkinghologram so that no one can geta fix on his identity, includinghis pal Freck (Rory Cochrane),who gets the creepy-crawlieswhen he imagines bugsinvading his body. It’s ahallucination of dumbness,despair, desertion and deathbrought on by the aptly namedSubstance D, the drug du jourin Bob’s California hood. Alsohooked are Luckman andBarris, two hyperarticulateslackers who share Bob’s

Anaheim abode. They areplayed respectively and to themanner born by WoodyHarrelson and, in the film’sflashiest and most ferociouslyentertaining performance,Robert Downey Jr. Dick wroteScanner in 1977, but the themeof Big Brother surveillance hasa this-just-in urgency for theDubya era. Linklater evokeseverything from film noir to thegreat paranoid thrillers of the1970s, notably The ParallaxView. Bob has gone so farundercover that he’s becomeworse than the addicts he’sspying on, to the point ofbedding Donna (WinonaRyder), a dealer with an endlesssupply. Linklater’s screenplayis far more convoluted than itneeds to be, disorientingaudiences when they should befocused on Bob’spsychological meltdown. Thebreaking point is hit when hebecomes the prime suspect inhis own sting. The scene inwhich Barris rats on Bob, notknowing he’s talking to Bobhimself - there’s that scramblesuit again - encapsulates themoral lines that blur whengovernment fights duplicitywith a greater duplicity. Yes,Linklater trips on hisambitions. But this giftedwriter-director isn’t out to dullthe masses with cinematicopium. Embedded in thevisionary headtrip of A ScannerDarkly is a hotly political callto arms.

PROTESTS AGAINST LAGE RAHO

What good is a successful filmwithout a controversy? On theface of it, Lage Raho Munnabhaihas nothing objectionable. Acomplete family entertainer,there is no scope for any sort ofcontroversy to be raked up. Butso we think… despite the factthat the film has been hailed as one of the best family films inrecent times, a certain section of the society has protestedagainst the film. And leading the protestor is none other thanUsha Gokani - Gandhiji’s grand-daughter. According to Gokani,the concept of Gandhigiri which forms the central theme of thefilm - is disrespectful to the teachings and philosophy of MahatmaGandhi. She has alleged that people are misusing Gandhiji’smessage and interpreting it to suit their own whims and fancies.Youth Congress members in Indore demonstrated against thefilm and burnt posters of the film demanding that the film bebanned. Just goes to prove, no matter how good you are, youcannot please all the people.

VISHAL SHOOTS FOR COPPOLA

In what could possibly be thebiggest honor for any Indianfilmmaker, Vishal Bharadwaj

recently stood in anddirected scenes for none

other than Francis FordCoppola. According toreports, Francis Ford

Coppola, who is currentlyworking on a war-movie

Youth Without Youth, wanted some portions of the film to beshot in India. However, he could not come all the way here to

shoot those scenes. He was looking for someone to directthose scenes and someone close to him suggested VishalBharadwaj’s name. Vishal was roped in for the assignment

and he just finished shooting the scenes in Mumbai alongsideCoppola’s second unit. For any filmmaker, Coppola is the godof the craft. His Godfather trilogy has served as inspiration for

generations of filmmakers. Naturally, when Coppola queriedBharadwaj about remuneration, Bharadwaj told him that heconsidered it an honor to serve Coppola. If Vishal’s work is

anything to go by, it is clear that after Shekhar Kapoor, here isanother director who is destined to go places internationally.

KARAN JOHAR TO JUDGE MISS WORLD

Come 30 September, KaranJohar will be in Warsaw,Poland to serve as one of thejudges at the 56th MissWorld contest. Johar is thefirst Indian filmmaker to beinvited to serve as a judge atthe pageant. He is goingaround saying that he needsblessings to carry out thisnew task efficiently.

Johar heads from Poland to Germany for the German releaseof ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ and then to Japan for the TokyoFilm Festival where his film will be also be screened, afterdoing so at the Toronto International Film Festival last week.

PRIYANKA IS THE SEXIEST IN ASIA

Priyanka Chopra has beenvoted the sexiest Asian

Woman in 2006 as per a pollconducted by a magazine.Last year the same crown

was given to Bipasha Basu.Priyanka Chopra seemed

quite flattered when the newswas given to her but she was

also surprised as she doesnot look at her in that sense.

Other prominent Indian facesin the top 10 are Bipasha

Basu, Aishwarya Rai, MallikaSherawat, Riya Sen and

Malaika Arora Khan.

1 1 : 0 0 A M , 2 : 1 5 P M , 5 : 30 P M

252525252520 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

ENTERTAINMENT

WHO: Named Tenzing by his parents 28 summers ago, todaymost people [at least the partying types] know him as DJ Bolo.WHERE: X’cape night club. That’s his official address for atleast three nights a week. See that guy behind the podium, rightnext to the oval dance floor, flipping CDs like a professionaljuggler? Yup, that’s our man.WHEN: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. That’s wherehe’s been DJing since the night club opened its door to the partyanimals on 28 December, three years ago.WHAT’S USUALLY ON HIS PLAYER: I love hip-hop, andthe good thing is most of the people who visit X’cape - especiallythose in their teens or twenties - prefer dancing to this genre ofmusic. And then again, a section of our slightly older party goersprefer Bollywood remixes. That’s why I have to keep in mind thetastes of all those on the dance floor and maintain a fine balancebetween hip-hop and other types of music by taking in requestsand playing something for everyone.HOW DID HE GET INTO DJING: I was interested in musicsince I was in school and enjoyed singing and playing my guitar.Then I started going to private parties and soon found myself behindthe music player, taking charge of the music section and makingsure to keep people on the dance floor. This was during the pre-CD era, where we had to collect dance tracks and compile them inan audio cassette! That was good fun but still I’d never thoughtI’d be someday DJing professionally. Then one fine day, AgyaUgen [Ladakhi] suggested I should be the DJ for the new nightclub he and his brothers were planning to open. I took the offer.BEST THING ABOUT BEING A DJ: I love DJing. I love thevibes you get from the dance floor. It’s like you’re there absorbingall that energy from people around you. Were it not for the timerestrictions, I could have played all night. I also love the fact thatthis profession gives you an opportunity to know other people andlet other people know you. I’ve even made friends with those peoplenow who weren’t exactly fond of me earlier!AND THE WORST: Sleep deprivation. Not that I’m complainingbut I usually get to crash at around 3.30 in the morning. But I’venow got used to these late night shifts.HOW HE KEEPS ABREAST OF MUSIC TRENDS: Besidesbeer, internet is the second best invention till date. That’s where Iget all the dope on latest music trends.THE GEAR HE USES: Denon 5000 Player and Denon 500Mixer.

A M I D W E E K P R O F I L E

NEW YORK: A husband andwife from Florida who becomethe first Indian American teamto take part in the popularreality television series, ‘TheAmazing Race’ were sadlyeliminated in the first roundlast week.

Vipul Patel, 29, and Arti, 26,of Windermere, Florida,appeared in the 10th season ofthe series. The pair said thatthey decided to join theprogramme to get theadventure out of their systembefore they have children.

“Arti is very loving. She’svery caring, she’s very friendly,”a report in the Orlando Sentinelquoted Vipul, a salesman, assaying in the show’s premiere.“Just look at her: She’sbeautiful.” The producers of theshow were raving about thecouple. “They were a veryinteresting couple. They werefunny,” the report quotedexecutive producer JonathanLittman as saying. “They’reterrific people,” anotherexecutive producer said.

Born in India, Vipul iscompetitive and goal-oriented, according to hissister Nilam. He speaks threelanguages. According to theshow’s rules, the participantsare barred from talking to themedia before theirelimination. The producers,however, supplied relatives togive insights into theparticipants’ characters.

“It was like his (Vipul’s)dream to be on it,” Nilam toldthe newspaper. “She’s verycharming, she’s calm, she’stoo nice,” Nilam Kanjee saidof her sister Arti, who wasborn in South Africa and canspeak five languages.

In this multiple EmmyAward-winning reality gameshow, broadcast in one-hourepisodes, teams of two or fourrace around the world incompetition with other teams.

According to the show’swebsite, this new season, 12teams will travel over 40,000miles in under 30 days to claimthe $1 million prize.

First IndianAmerican team outof ‘Amazing Race’

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CMYK

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SLIGHTLY-OFF-CENTRE/SLIGHTLY-OFF-CENTRE/SLIGHTLY-OFF-CENTRE/SLIGHTLY-OFF-CENTRE

by KARCHOONG DIYALII KNOW WHAT YOU

DID LAST SUMMER

The funniest rumors goaround this town. The

latest is about how aheavy duty politicoimported three safe vaultsfrom abroad. The lockerslanded at Delhi airport butwere soon whisked off toa South Indian capital.Following the journey ofthe lockers was awannabe secret agentfrom a local outfit here,who claims the finaldestination turned outto be a palatialbungalow belonging tothe politico. Me no know thetruth, me only hear and tell.But who would have so muchloot to stash away and whatthe hell is wrong with ourIndian lockers anyway?Watch this space for moresneaky details.

HAPPY DASAIN!

Talking of politicians, thisDassain is turning out to

be a nightmare for some.Supporters of all hue arelining up outside offices andhomes of ministers forDasain money, with manyministers having to slink outof their houses from the backdoor to avoid the crowds.What happened atMintokgang on Monday was

repeated at other places thenext day. What a sad stateof affa i rs. This wholebusiness of handing outdole is taking its toll, if I’mallowed to rhyme. At onelevel the state governmentasks the people to becomeself-sufficient and on theother is happy giving outmoney and stuff in this ohso feudal manner.Something to think about,surely.

HIGH ALTITUDE

COMPLEX

There is brisk businesshappening at Nathula. Ok

fine, the Sikkim Chamber ofCommerce may not think sobut I certainly do. I knowdozens of people who have

come back with fancyTibetan hats. Yup, may notseem like heavy tradingbut it’s a beginning.Meanwhile, all ourchumlas are heading upthese days, ostensibly tobuy silk blouses at a‘discount’. But they beingchumlas, it does notmatter to them that thecost of going up wouldnegate all the discountsin the world. However,not all are coming backhappy. Apparently, theTibetan ladies who cometo sell the wares on theother side are all so well

dressed and stylish that ourchumlas are getting a mightycomplex. The highest in theworld, some would say.

POLICING THE POLICE

We all know that thepolice do a mighty fine

job of keeping crime in checkhere at Sikkim. But recently,some have been raisingconcerns that all may not beso perfect with the force. It isbelieved that drug addictionamongst the rank and file isnot unheard of. That may ormay not be true but one thingwe all would like to know iswhere does the haul ofconfiscated drugs go? Somewould believe it lands backright in the market.

A little boy caught just after answering nature’s callalong the river banks at Nimtar.

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BOGOTA: It’s being called the Lysistrata, or ‘the crossed-legs strike’. Fretting over crime andviolence, girlfriends and wives of gang members in the Colombian city of Pereira have called aban on sex to persuade their menfolk to give up the gun.

Approximately 100 females associated with the gang members launched their strike lastWednesday. The strike was organised in part through the municipal office of the city.

After meeting representatives of the mayor’s office to discuss a disarmament programme, thewomen’s group decided to deny their partners their conjugal rights and recorded a song for localradio to urge others to follow their example.

The city of Pereira, Colombia, was the most violent in Colombia in 2005, reporting 488 killingslast year, and has a per capita rate of 97 murders per 100,000 residents, double the national level.Ninety per cent of the deaths are caused by fire-arms, and 87 per cent of victims are young gangmembers between the ages of 18 and 25.

Sex strike hits Colombia gangsters

EPHRATA, Washington:After the terrorist attacks of 11September, 2001, Gary Weddlebegan following the news soclosely he forgot to shave. Aftera week he decided not to shaveuntil Osama bin Laden had beencaught or killed. Nor has Weddle,46, who expected the al-Qaidaleader to be caught within amonth or so, trimmed his facialhair in the succeeding five yearsas he went from substituteteacher to science instructor atEphrata Middle School.

GETTYSBURG, Pa.: Awoman facing drug chargesadmitted in court that shesmoked marijuana with her 13-year-old son, often to rewardhim for doing his homework.Amanda Lynn Livelsberger,30, pleaded guilty to severalmisdemeanor drug charges inAdams Country court and willbe sentenced on 27 November.

She admitted she had beensmoking marijuana with herson since he was 11 and said

MAN WON’T SHAVEUNTIL BIN LADEN

CAUGHT

she had also smoked with twoof his friends, ages 17 and 18.

Livelsberger pleaded guiltyto misdemeanor charges ofcorruption of minors,possession with intent todeliver drug paraphernalia,possession of drugparaphernalia, possession of asmall amount of marijuana andpossession of a small amountof marijuana with intent todistribute. The plea agreementdid not stipulate a sentence.

Pa. mom pleads guilty to

giving teen pot

272727272720 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

Talk and all types ofcommunications arein the forefront. Youmay be involved inheavy negotiations

concerning a contract. Thosewith partners will find theyhave plenty to discuss and sodo you. It is time to makeamends with significantpeople, lest your family life bedisrupted by quarrels.

You are restless andsomewhat wearywith the norm,looking forsomething new to

do. That is not easy for Taurus,who is prone to remain inongoing patterns. It takes areal jolt of boredom to pressyou into change. Go with thatflow and you will be muchhappier. Aspects favorpartnerships.

There is so much onyour agenda thatyou must keep listsin order to juggle theballs. Those with

children will be devotingsignificant energy in thatarena. Don't let anyone pullyou into a quarrel over egos.Travel is particularly favoredand news that brings healingcomes from afar.

You are like a steamkettle, ready toexplode. There isplenty to say andyou are ready to spill

all with vigor. Practice a fewtimes in front of the mirror soyou won't confuse themessage by appearing to beoverreacting. You want to beheard. You don't want to forcesomeone into a defensiveposition.

This is a very goodperiod for letting goof whatever orwhomever needs tomove beyond you.

That may be a source ofincome, or a work relatedfriend. It is generally a goodweek to clean the closets, thedrawers, and make ready tospit shine your desk with plansfor better weeks to come.

Either you or yourpartner arerequesting sometime early in theweek to tend to

personal agendas. If it is theother, it is a Voice that speaksfor you also, even if you arenot conscious of the need. Bythe end of the week you willbe connecting andconversational again.

ETCETERA

by PANKAJ THAPA

One of the most enjoyablewriters in the Gangtokscene today has to be

Roshan Pradhan. Those of youwho read her excellent piecerecently in NOW! on the high-rise menace will vouch herdexterity with the written(typed) word. I happened to bethere when the cottage-with-lawn-and-blue sky-with-clouds-seeking lady was trying tofigure out why her seeminglyinnocent query raised such anuproar amongst us. We laughedlong and hard because we knewshe would have to look long andhard for that little cottage andlawn. What cottage? Whatlawn? In Gangtok? Hoo Boy!But having said that, would acottage and lawn be as idyllicas it sounds? Some one saidsomewhere,-“Be careful ofwhat you wish for,- you mightjust get it”. In this case, thecottage with the lawn and bluesky. Believe me, that stuff isgood only as a poster on yourwall. If this friend did find hercottage-with-the-whatever-wherever, it would have takenHerculean efforts to keep itlooking poster-good.Granted, nothing is moreserene and visually pleasing asa manicured lawn with littlehedgerows fronting yourcottage. But to get thehedgerow and lawn to thatserene stage requires awhopping sacrifice of allserenity. Have you triedmaintaining a lawn? Okay, I’mgetting ahead of myselfhere…have you tried to planta lawn? As a novice, onethought that all a lawnrequired was a trip to sultrySiliguri where you boughtsquares of lawn grass

(Mexican? Chinese?) whichyou dumpedunceremoniously on yourpatch and voila! Your lawnwas ready. Yeah, andGhenghis Khan invented ice-cream.A lawn planted properly,requires almost the sameamount of t ime, effort ,money and know-howneeded to build a smallrunway. The layers of pebble,gravel and sand followed bythe final layer of soil willkeep you busy for the betterpart of a month. The finallayer of the lawn grass willkeep you busy for the rest ofyour life. That’s becausealong with the grass come theweeds and they sprout likeapocalypse was tomorrow.The first few weeds getuprooted quickly andefficiently with your brandnew enthusiasm and trowel.So far, so good. Come themonsoons and that’s whentrue happiness strikes. Thelawn that you so lovinglytrimmed, weeded and clipped

transforms into a rainforest.Alien-looking plants invadeyour little patch of heavenovernight. You crawl throughthe undergrowth to uproot asmall weed that makes youburn 100 calories before youdiscover it has a two-feetroot. Get ready to grapplewith a million species ofthem weeds, not to mentionthe unmentionable creepycrawly denizens that pitch into make your lawn lifemiserable.The Star of Sikkim of courseis Haemodipsa Zeylonicus,quite a fancy name for ourcommon leech. A split-second is all it takes this littleenterprising chap to latch onto your skin. And though hehardly has any space forbrains, he’s clever enough toanesthetize his bite till he‘shad his fill. The worst partof a leech bite is not whenyou discover your soggy,blood-soaked socks and goscreeching down the street.It’s when that bite itchesafter three days. You scratchit unconsciously and nextminute you’re clawing at thebite with both hands. Themore you scratch, the moreit itches, and the more youscratch, the better it feelswhile the itch keeps gettingworse. Next stop,- pieces ofyourself under yourfingernails. So the next timesomeone invites you to sitout on his lawn, don’thesitate. Escape through thenearest gap in the hedge. Forus urbanites, the best lawn isbest viewed in yourneighbor’s garden, from yourthird floor window;- take mylast word for it. Ciao!

Green Lawn Blues

You are compelledto be honest duringthis period and youmay have things tosay that others

would rather not hear. Thinkcarefully about how to stateyour piece. The purpose is toimprove relationships ratherthan split them. Your energyis increasing and your dailylife picks up the pace.

Pay strict attentionto the words that fallfrom your mouth atthis time. You couldsound sharp and

critical even if you don't feelso. You have considerableenergy to plow into the hiddenside of life. You might chooseto pursue deep subjects. Yourdreams will be mostmeaningful. Study them.

You may beunveiling a projectof many months. Ifso, it meets withenthusiasm and

applause, particularly if itspurpose is to "serve." A legalor ethical bind may feel asthough it is dragging youdown and it probably is. Anyissues in that territory willrequire a long time tocompletion.

There is likely to bea lot of clatter in thecareer arena, withphone calls,negotiations, and

talk. Don't let it twist you intoa knot because this may beall flying dust that drops backonto the ground where itstarted. Remain at peace forbest results.

If you took yourselfon a dreamvacation during thesummer, you maybe looking at all

those bills now. They have away of turning up all at once.Aspects favor travel,education, legal concerns,and publishing. You mayreceive good news about thehealing of yourself orsomeone you love.

Use caution with anew relationshipthat forms at thistime. It is not likelyto be founded on

permanent ground. Youwant to play, but leave itl ight and easy and don'texpect life altering drama.Beware, also, of anythingthat appears to be dusted ingold. All that glitters is not,you know...

2828282828 20 - 26 Sept, 2006

CMYK

Printed at Baba Offset Works, Tadong. Publisher & Editor : Mita Zulca. MIDWEEK, Near Hotel Yatung, Nam Nang, Gangtok - 737101. Phone: 03592 320169 Email: sikkim.midweek@gmail.com

SPORTS

The year 2006 has been a bigyear for sports, especiallyfootball. While the World Cupseries held in Germany cameas manna from heaven tofootball lovers a few monthsago, the soccer mania inSikkim had already started inMarch earlier this year withMini SAARC FootballTourney held here. It wasfollowed by the senior division,second division league and theIndependence Challenge Cup.

After organising AFC ‘C’coaching camp, SikkimFootball Association [SFA]took on the task of holding theeastern leg of the Sub JuniorNational FootballChampionship which iscurrently being played at thePalzor stadium. The state team,Sports Academy of Sikkim, hasalready gained momentum bydefeating big teams like Orissaand Jharkhand by hugemargins, leading us to believeit will continue on its winningstreak during its matchesagainst other teams.

While the finals of the SubJunior National FootballChampionship is slated for 24September, the SFA membersdon’t have time to take abreather as they have toimmediately get on with the taskof making preparations for the28th All India Governor’s GoldCup Football Tournament,which will commence here from5 October.

SFA has a record ofcontinuously organising thisprestigious tourney year afteryear for the last 27 yearsdespite numerous setbacks ithas faced. This

accomplishment is also sharedby the Government, theconcerned department and thefootball fans in Sikkim whohave lent the association theirfull support.

The SFA further received amuch-needed boost whenAlberto Colaco, All IndiaFootball Federation GeneralSecretary, and Moshin Gillani,Assistant Development Officerof FIFA, recently visited thestate and observed that Sikkimwas now in a position to haveits own SFA Bhawan and afootball ground under the Goalproject II.. Let’s keep ourfingers crossed that we willsoon be able to see theseassurances materialise.

All India Governor’s GoldCup Football Tournament isalso known as the footballfestival of Gangtok, and it isthe biggest sportingextravaganza in the state eachyear. This year, the SFA is allcharged up to give the tourneya whole new look, starting witha new game pattern and anenhanced cash prize ofwhopping Rs. 5 lakhs. The

winners take away Rs. 3 lakhsas the prize money with theGold cup while the runners upchance to win Rs. 2 lakhs.

This year, the tourney willsee 12 teams playing 19matches in a quarterfinal leaguepattern. Under this pattern, outof the 12 teams, the top fourteams will be qualified for thequarterfinal round. The lasteight teams will be divided intoGroup A and B and they willhave to play a preliminary round[pre-quarterfinal] on knockoutbasis. Following this, the fourremaining teams from thisround will then face four teamsfrom the seeded group on thequarterfinal league pattern. Thewinners and runners-up fromthese two groups will thenadvance to the semifinals,which again will be a knockoutround. Double matches will beheld on Saturdays and Sundays.The final match will be playedon 19 October.

The participating teams areSports Academy of Sikkim,Sikkim Police XI, Bhutan,Bangladesh, Arambagh, AssamRifles, Tibetan National Football

SHOES, SPORTS, LUGGAGE &

PHYSICAL HEALTH EQUIPMENTS

is bringing

out a booklet

which will

provide

information

on all the

Sports

Associations of

Sikkim.

Details and suggestions by the

associations can be emailed to

sikkim.midweek@gmail.com

OR DELIVERED TO

Bharat, MG Marg, Gangtok.

Soccer year to come full circle

team, Air India [Mumbai], TataFootball Academy, PunjabPolice, BSF Jallandhar, ANFAXI [runners-up 2005/ champions2005/ six times champion],DGHC XI, and Services XI [aspecial team from Nepal].

The All India Governor’sGold Cup Football Tournament

CASH AWARDS ADDED TO GOLD CUP

will be followed by All IndiaPolice Football Meet sometimein November. Immediatelyafter the conclusion of thismeet, the state will be gettingready for the North East SportsFestival from where, we hope,the players will bring backlaurels to the state.

SHYAM PRADHAN Members of the Sikkim Football Association