29 July, 2004; NOW! 1

Thursday, 29 July, 2004 Vol. 3 No. 110 Gangtok � Rs. 3 SBICARLOAN

the most convenient option

contact PT Bhutia 98320 35786or Chettri 94340 12824

� Sanction & Disbursement in1 day

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

insurance of the borrower� Repayment up to 84 months

SUBASH RAI

GANGTOK, 28 July: The smallestact of negligence on the part of a drivercan lead to loss of several lives, as wasseen in the road accident of 26 July,that took place at Gaidhara, between32 Mile and Singtam in which fourpersons including two women lost theirlives. According to survivors, the ac-cident occurred because of speeding.

Most people agree that taxi driversover speed most of the times, specially

SPEEDKILLSBUT WHAT ARE WEDOING ABOUT IT?

when on long-distance routes like Siliguri.“They always seem to be in a hurry, goodweather or bad,” say commuters.

According to some taxi drivers, theyneed to hurry so that they can book ticketsfor the return trip. A return trip that some-times kills people and destroys families.

“Minor accidents on the highwayoccur with disturbing regularity but it isonly when a big accident happens thatwe sit up and take notice,” says a local.

In most cases the cause of the ac-turn to pg 5

The mangled TATA Spacio whichmet with an accident at 14 Mile on

26 July. Four lives were lost.

SURVIVOR IMPLICATES DRIVERa NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: The condi-tion of Dr. Yanita Cintury, injuredin the accident which took place at14 Mile on 26 July, is still very criti-cal reveal doctors at Manipal hos-pital where she has been admitted.

Dr. Bala Subramanium andProf. S Dutta, who have been over-seeing her treatment inform that Dr.Cintury is still in an unconsciousstate – much in the same state asshe was brought to the hospital in.

As informed by the doctors,she is suffering form a conditioncalled cerebral oedema whichleads to the swelling of the braindue to blood collection.

“She was initially sufferingfrom subdural haematoma whichis collection of blood between thecranium and the brain. This is acondition in which the brain cellsget clogged,” say the doctors.

The accumulated blood in thebrain is being surgically removedand the patient has been put on theventilator [artificial respiration orin other words a life support sys-tem]. The doctors also inform thatit is difficult to tell whether the pa-tient will pull through or when shewill regain consciousness.

“This is a neurological condi-tion in which a proper prognosiscannot be made,” says Dr. BalaSubramanium.

The other accident victim whohas been admitted at Manipal, S.Panigrahi, employed with the Ac-

The driver of the ill-fated TATASpacio, Raju Chettri, recuperatesat Singtam Hospital.[right] S. Panigrahi, a passengerwho survived the accident, undertreatment at Central Referal Hos-pital, Tadong

IT WAS THE DRIVER’S FAULT, SAYS THE MANWHO WAS CONSCIOUS THROUGHOUT

countant General’s office here, is,however, in a stable condition. Talk-ing to NOW! he confirms, “I amfeeling very fine and do not have

turn to pg 7

Prerna is aCinchona

victimBIRENDRA SHANDILYA

MUNGPOO, 28 July: 15-year-old Prerna Chettri suddenly findsherself helpless. The burden hasbecome unbearable for her littleshoulders.

Prerna is a school dropoutwith education only upto class 8.Prerna, however, did not want toquit studies but had to do so dueto the economic condition of herfamily. The same fate now awaitsher sisters Rebecca, studying inclass 8, Ranjana in class 3 and herbrother Prakash in class 2.

On 20 July 2004, her fatherKashiram Chettri, a worker at theCinchona Plantation in Mungpoopassed away leaving behind hischildren and a wife who has beenparalytic for the past 5 years.

“I always wanted to study, butfate did not allow me. Now, withmy father no more, I don’t knowhow our house will run,” saysPrerna.

She doesn’t even know howshe will continue her mother’streatment or how she will send herbrothers and sisters to school.

Though her family is still inmourning for her father, she doesnot have time to sit and ponderover the loss as she has the morepressing worries of her family’ssurvival to think about.

“You will find many suchPrernas in every nook and crannyof the Cinchona Plantation,” addsShekhar Rai, a neighbour and alsobelonging to the Cinchona Plan-tation Trade Union.

Luxman Sharma, president,

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: ManinderPal Singh Kohli, known in the re-gion as Mike Davis and RohanMehta, in a shocking confessiontoday, spoke exclusively toNDTV’s Swati Majumdar and ad-

KOHLI CONFESSES ON TV!

“I KILLED HANNAH”mitted to the news channel that heraped and murdered 17-year-oldBritish citizen Hannah Foster.

The interview, recorded at thePunjab Police Headquarters Kharad,Kohli said he was fed up of hidingand running, which is why he was

turn to pg 7

turn to pg 2

2; NOW!; 29 July, 2004

NOW!FIRST WITH THE NEWS

ED-SPACE

Highway AggressionApart from engine failure, which is rare, accidents on the highwayare caused either by over negligent driving or over-speeding. Inmost cases it is a combination of the two. And yet, what we havein Sikkim? Bookings for rash driving are as rare as reprimandsfor over-speeding. No one has ever heard of an accident takingplace because the driver has forgotten his blue book at home orbecause he is not carrying his license. And yet, this is all thatthose responsible for keeping our roads safe keep themselvesbusy with. Legally speaking, the records of a speed gun mightbe required to take see a booking to its legal end, but that shouldstill be no deterrent in serving challans to obviously speedingdrivers. At least it will deter them from flooring the acceleratorstoo often. Coming back o the speed radar question, it is a wonderthat a state with smart cards for blue books does not have thisbasic equipment for traffic police personnel.It is no secret that mainline drivers are among the most aggressiveon the highways. Any person who has driven to Siliguri will vouchfor the reckless maneuvers they indulge in as they rush to theirdestination. It’s a race for them the moment they push off fromthe stand here and it takes less than a second for the fun to turnfatal as the passengers of the ill-fated Spacio found out on 26July. This is where passengers should step in and insist that thedriver does not put lives in danger. While most commuters mightconvince themselves that the driver is in complete controlbecause he has driven on the road so often, they should nowrealise that this is not always the case. Also, it is always better tobe safe than sorry. They should insist that their driver does notover-speed. The SP [East]’s suggestion that those with drivinglicenses issued outside Sikkim should get a clearance from Sikkimofficials to drive on roads here is a good idea. In fact, theconcerned authorities can issue special stickers for the vehiclesof drivers from outside who pass a driving test here. There willalso be no need to enforce this rule, because passengers willautomatically fight shy of booking into a vehicle that does nothave such a clearance and the pressures of business itself willforce compliance. Think about it...

BIRENDRA SHANDILYA

Uncertainty rules high inthe cinchona plantationhere. The apathy of the

state government towards the cin-chona plantations has raiseddoubts that the Government wastrying to slowly close down theonly cinchona plantations of thecountry and the first of Asia.

“It seems that no body wantsto be accountable for thesorry state of this industry,”believes Luxmon Sharma,President of United Forumof Cinchona PlantationTrade Unions [UFCPTU].

The Government hasbeen constantly harpingabout the cinchona indus-try going sick, with an an-nual deficit of Rs. 24crores.

“Since 1991 there is nopermanent Director, theDistrict Magistrate is justperforming the tasks of ad-ditional director. This in-dustry has become like aship without a rudder,”adds Sharma. “Overheadcosts have never been cur-tailed, officials still main-tain the lifestyle of the Brit-ish Raj. How can the indus-try be viable if this contin-ues?” he questions further.

Sharma adds thatthough he had been work-ing for 35years at the plan-tation, he has never seen asingle balance sheet getsubmitted.

“I don’t think that thereare any proper accountsmaintained of this industry,” al-leges Sharma.

Sushil Kumar Neogi, ChiefChemist of Emetine Factory estab-lished in 1982 says: “The mainproblem is that demand for qui-nine sulphate has gone down. Weare facing stiff competition fromproduce from the outside which isbeing sold at very low prices inthe Indian market.”

He added that till 1996, theannual demand was around100kgs. Now it is around 50kgs.A market survey is the need of thehour, he believes.

The UFCPTU however is notbuying this. “West Bengal is amalaria affected state. If the State

Forum of Trade Unions, added:“Out of 5,350 workers in the fourCinchona plantations, nearly 500families are on the brink of star-vation as the Governemnt hasstopped the age old tradition ofgiving work to a family memberof the worker deceased or retired.”None of the vacancies in the cin-chona plantations have been filledsince 2000.

“Till you are working it is allright. Once you retire or die yourfamily is usually in dire straits.There are no other means of live-lihood in these plantations,” addedRai.

The Government has been jus-tifying its actions stating that itincurs an annual loss of Rs. 24crores in this industry. Inciden-tally, the cinchona plantation is thelargest State run industry in theDarjeeling hills with approxi-mately 40,000 people sustainingthemselves directly or indirectlyfrom this industry. With the

present funds crunch, the statedecided that it could no more bearthe losses and engaged McKenzieand Company a US based consul-tancy company to provide a solu-tion to the problem. TheMcKenzie Report has suggestedthat the total plantation area bereduced from the existing 26,000hectares to 2,000 hectares, and theexcess land be given to the labour-ers. It has also suggested that theGovernment provide technical andfinancial support to these labour-ers for a period of 5 years so thatthey can take up ginger, orangesand any other cultivation to makethemselves self sustainable.

“Rather than talking of SarbaSiksha Abhiyans, the need of thehour is to probe into why childrendrop out. If the root of the prob-lem is addressed then children likePrerna , Rebecca, Ranjana andPrakash would never dream ofleaving school,” said PrakashChettri, a resident.

Contd from pg 1

Prerna is a Cinchona victim

Health Department purchasesquinine from us, this industry willbe revived. Other than this, 2 yearsago, a German Company wantedto acquire all the bark [from whichquinine sulphate is extracted], butthe Government showed no inter-est at all,” adds Sharma.

Other than this, there is lot ofscope for diversification whichhad started with the research byIndian Scientific Cultural Re-

search [ISCR] from late 60’s till1975.

“With the world going herbaland the cinchona plantations witha height ranging from 500 ft to6000 ft it is best suited for all typesof medicinal plants. However theResearch & Development wingdoes not do much. Every year, thealkaloid content is going down,”reveals Sharma.

Now, with diversification outof 26,000 acre total land of the 4plantations – 8270 acres is dedi-cated to cinchona, 200 acresDioscorea (this is to be expandedto 600 acres), 75 acres to rubberplantation, 2- acres to ipecac, 7605acres to bamboo, forest and thatch.

“Even with this the rubberplantation, we feel, is being dis-couraged by the Government,”feels Sharma.

In a Question-Answer Sessionin the Assembly, the Joint Direc-tor, Dr. P.K. Lala in a report, dated21-10-2003, had stated that thelatex from the rubber plants culti-vated in the cinchona plantationis of inferior quality.

“This is purely contradictoryas we have just 2 monthsago started extractingrubber. Also the rubberof the Rongo plantationhas been certified “BestQuality” by the IndianRubber Board,” informsSharma.

“We feel that morethan the Government,the reports reaching thegovernment are not cred-ible enough and paint avery false picture,” al-leges Sharma. He saidthat for the past 4 to 5years, the production hasbeen totally stopped inthe old factory and themodern plant of 1982,set up at a cost of Rs.1.05 Crore, to processraw bark- an advantageover the old plant whichcould only process drybark never became op-erative owing to techni-cal problems.

“Aren’t these sug-gestive of the fact thatthe Government is plan-ning to close down theIndustry slowly, thoughthe workers are still get-

ting their wages?” questionsSharma.

“For the revival of the Indus-try even if the Government adoptsdrastic measures so long as theyare not detrimental to the work-ers, we will support every move,”assures Sharma.

The Forum consisting of 5Trade Unions except the ones af-filiated to the GNLF and theCPI[M] has decided to hold amassive rally followed by a depu-tation and dharna to the DarjeelingDistrict Magistrate.

“If this too yields no result wewill give dharna outside the StateAssembly,” added Sharma.

CINCHONA WOES

West Bengal ignores all signsof recovery, sees only the

symptoms of decay

...A MODERNPLANT SET UPAT A COST OF

Rs. 1.05 CRORE,TO PROCESSRAW BARK

NEVER BECAMEOPERATIVE OW-ING TO TECHNI-

CAL PROB-LEMS...

...SINCE 1991THERE IS NO

PERMANENT DI-RECTOR TO

LOOK AFTERTHE AFFAIRS

OF THE PLANTA-TIONS...

29 July, 2004; NOW! 3� RAJDHANI

SAGAR CHHETRI

GANGTOK, 28 July: The lastday of the 3-day hunger strikeundertaken by SubhashBarailly saw him weak in healthbut strong on resolve. 72 hoursof going without food has onlyadded to his desire to continuewith his struggle, it appears.

When NOW! caught up withhim on Wednesday, Subhash wassitting alone at the spot with onlyone friend for company. Themakeshift cover not providingenough protection from the inces-sant rain.

But visits from CongressmanTseten Tashi Bhutia and CPM mem-

ber Anjan Upadhaya have bolsteredhis confidence somewhat.

“The Communist Party hascalled for an enquiry into mycase,” he tells us. He claims thatalmost 800 students and govern-ment officers also visited him andappreciated his protest.

“Everyone said ‘you are on agood mission, don’t give it up,”he says.

On questions about what hedid at night, he informs that on thefirst night he slept at Thakurbari,the second night he was at the spottill 2 am after which he went hometo change his clothes since theywere completely wet by the rain.

Have 3 days of hunger no ef-fect on him?

“I have pain in my body be-cause of my gastric problem. Myeyes feel hazy, my legs are swell-ing up and yes, I’m very uncom-fortable,” he says.

Subhash, in spite of his verypublic form of protest has not re-ceived any response from the peo-ple it was meant for. But he prom-ises to continue with his protest,threatening to go on an indefinitehunger strike as well as approach-ing the courts in search of justice.

Subhash is protesting what healleges were unfair means whichdenied him appointment as pho-tographer-cum-media coordinatorat the Raj Bhawan Secretariat, in-terviews for which were held on28 May this year.

Barailly ends fast weak in healthbut resolute in spirit

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: It was ashocking homecoming thatgreeted Buddha Ratna Sakya, alocal jeweller and his daughterBinju, when they returned to theirflat at New Market here on 26 Julyafter spending nearly eight monthsaway at Patan in Nepal.

The first shock came whenthey unlocked the main gate ataround 6 PM on the said date andrealised that the door wouldn’tbudge - it was locked from inside!

“I opened the lock from out-side but the door would not open.I then called a namley and askedhim to go into the house from thetoilet window and open the doorfrom inside,” reveals Mr. Sakya.

As he opened the door, thenamley informed Mr. Sakya thatthe toilet window was alreadyopen and that his flat appearedransacked. The other window inthe toilet through which one couldeasily get access into the residen-tial rooms was broken too.

Then came the real shock -their house had been burgled.

The locks to the two residen-tial rooms were prised off theirhinges, there were householditems thrown all over, the cup-boards were all open, clothes andpaper lay strewn every where. Thehouse had been looted completelyof all that could be pawned off.

The burglars seem to have hada free run of the residence, theystripped the idols placed in thepuja-sthan of all ornaments madeof copper with gold plating, 8 brassidols were stolen along with a cop-per idol, 7 silver chimis approxi-mately 50 tolas, the instruments

and the equipment used by the jew-eller, gold pendants with preciousstones and copper, a silver Khukuri,a Kalra, Mandala and brass bells.

But what appears intriguing andcould possibly lead to the culprits isthat the burglars seemed to knowexactly what was of value. Apartfrom the obviously valuable items,they even stole household items likealuminium utensils, 4 pressurecookers, pressing iron, mixer-grinder, all ferrous items that couldbe sold for scrap. The burglars ap-pear to have taken their time. Theycould have known that the tenantswould be away for a long time.

Everything that could be sold asscrap was taken away. The plasticand steel items that were fixed tothe stolen items like the handle ofthe pressing iron and the bottom ofthe mixer-grinder were left behind.The iron stands over the burner of agas stove, the fans and also an ironstand that was kept above a kero-sene pump stove were stolen.

“They had all the time and theyknew what they were doing,” be-lieves Mr. Sakya.

Binju, also mentioned that theculprits went about their “business”at leisure. Even the toilets were“very, very dirty” and even her col-lection of coins were stolen from awell-secured hiding place, informsMs. Binju. “These thieves also hadthe audacity to throw coins of lessvalue like the 10, 20 paisa coins infront of our flat,” he said.

Luckily, the burglars, despite allthe time they had at hand, could notbreak open Mr. Sakya’s safe. It wasnot for want of trying though. Thesafe bears many scratch markswhich stand testimony to the factthat much was tried. A lubricant and

a set of pliers were left on top ofthe safe by the burglars in a wickedsalute to its strength.

Mr. Sakya further reveals thathe filed an FIR with the SadarPolice station on 27 July and thatall preliminary investigation hadbeen carried out immediately.

Now remains the part of iden-tifying the culprits. Mr. Sakya andhis daughter are convinced that

this is the handiwork of one themany scrap collectors in town.

“Most of the scrap dwellerswere always seen around ourhouses. Our neighbours knowabout them, they are always lin-gering around places and the waythe loot was carried out, it wassome one who knew very well ofthe value of metals and scrap,”said Binju Sakya.

Jeweller returns to find home burgled; suspects rag-pickers

4; NOW!; 29 July, 2004 NEWSSCAN �

REEBOK SHOWROOMBelow Bank of Baroda

MG Road, Gangtok

ready madesavailable

at

LATEST ARRIVAL: BIRD MOBILE PHONES

SAMSUNG

C100 5,990/-

x100 6,490/-

N500 5,590/-

R220 3,590/-

NOKIA

3310 3,390/-

1100 3,890/-

2300 4,690/-

3100 6,490/-

PANASONIC

A100 4,500/-

G51 6,995/-

MOTOROLA

C200 2,890/-

C33Oi 4,590/-

C550 7,490/-

EXCHANGE OFFER/COMPUTERISED REPAIR/SERVICE

INTERNET POINTYama House, M.G. Marg, Gangtok

Ph: 9434188167/9832093603/202166

VACANCYSikkim Development Foundation, a non Governmentorganization based in Gangtok requires dynamic andcommitted persons for the following vacancies.1. Accountant : B.com graduate with at least 2 years

experience in maintaining books of accounts ,thisis full time appointment at Gangtok office

2. Project Assistant: graduate with work experiencein the NGO sector particularly in community en-gagement. The appointment is initially for threemonths at Gangtok and can be extended accord-ing to project requirement.

Preference will be given to female candidates andlocal candidates

Apply within 2nd August with biodata by post ofin personToThe Executive DirectorSikkim Development FoundationTashi Khar ‘Chungyal ComplexM.G Marg, Gangtok SikkimPh: 229276

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: Membersof the All Sikkim Contractors As-sociation have warned that theywould opt for legal recourse, iftheir demands were not taken careof by the State Government.

In a meeting of the Associa-tion held here at its office in De-velopment Area yesterday, themembers protested against thegovernment’s practice of holdinggovernment tenders outsideSikkim and demanded the same tobe held within the State.

Youth asscprotests fivestar hotel onforest land

GANGTOK, 28 July: All SikkimYouth Association through a letterdated 26.7.2004 has asked the Sec-retary, Environment and ForestDepartment to stop the construc-tion of a five star hotel at ReserveForest land at Pangthang. The 25.5hectares of land, it alleges has beenallotted by the government for theconstruction of the hotel.

The letter signed by Associa-tion’s General Secretary, RudraKhatiwara also questions the propri-ety of transferring such a huge areaof forest land in the context of theForest Conservation Act. “As per ourlittle knowledge the transfer of sucha huge area of land, would requireclearance from the Union Minister,Ministry of Environment and For-est, Government of India,” the let-ter says. The association has also de-sired to know to which departmentthe forest land allotted for the fivestar hotel belongs.

Incidentally, while talking tothe DFO, East, NOW! learnt thatthe project at Pangthang forest re-serve land had been stopped by theforest department.

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: The SPCC[I] has taken up the cause of thelocal media calling on the stategovernment to look into the finan-cial problems faced by the mediaorganisations here as well as to as-sist in the functioning of the pressas an independent industry provid-ing a vital service.

Addressing the press at Con-gress Bhawan, SPCC [I] spokes-man, Jigme N. Kazi, said thatamong the main reasons for thefinancial crises in most local me-dia houses was the late paymentof advertisement bills by the gov-ernment along with inadequateflow of advertisements to the me-dia by the government.

“It is high time that the exist-

ing rates of government advertise-ments, which have remained staticfor the past ten years, were raised.The flow of information from thegovernment to the press has alsoto increase; the media should notbe used just for the purpose ofstate propaganda,” he said. He hasalso called for the protection oflocal papers under the Local Pro-tection Act of 1994 and the revivalof press organisations.

The other issue raised by Mr.Kazi concerns the sanctity of so-cial organisations. On this, he saysthat such organisations have beenformed with certain aims and ob-jectives and should be left aloneby political parties. He has urgedpolitical parties to respect the in-dependence of all social organisa-tions, such as SIBLAC. Interest-

ingly, allegations of politicisingSIBLAC were directed againstCongressmen, Tseten Tashi Bhutiaand Kunga Nima Lepcha, whowere recently elected convenors ofthe body by the SIBLAC steeringcommittee, overthrowing thelong-serving convenor, NimaLepcha. “Social organisationsshould not be exploited by vestedinterests,” said Kazi.

At the same time Mr. Kazi alsolamented the disappearance ofother opposition political partiessaying that a political party shouldnot just appear a few months be-fore elections.

The state Congress has alsoraised objections against the pro-posal of the cabinet to impose Re.1 as cess on petrol and diesel.

“Though the government says

that this will raise revenue themoney raised will undoubtedly beused for “other” purposes and will,in fact, indirectly raise prices ofother commodities,” feels Mr. Kazi.

Taking up the cause of thefarmers the SPCC [I] spokesper-son demanded that they be pro-vided financial support from fi-nancial organisation as well as theimplementation of rural schemes.

“The farmers, apart from fi-nancial aid, also require guidancein marketing,” Mr. Kazi said.Speaking for the rural folk he saidthat 90 percent of the new LallBazaar complex should go to lo-cals. “We do not want the newmarket complex to turn into an-other Hongkong market,” he saidadding that similar structuresshould also come up at other dis-

trict headquarters.Speaking at the deplorable con-

ditions at the Sikkim House at NewDelhi, he said that an identity cardsystem should be implementedthere as it had been reported thatthe officials in charge of the prop-erty were more interested in accom-modating residents from other ar-eas than from Sikkim.

“The Sikkim House is for thepeople of Sikkim so that whenthey go down to Delhi they canavail of cheap accommodationand food. But presently, the houseis functioning as a 3 star hotel,”he informed.

He also informed that the AEsand JEs at Rabong constituencywere expelling workers employedunder MR which they were notauthorised to do.

SPCC [I] demands better deal for local media houses,opposes politicisation of social organisations

The meeting also demandedto divide the bigger tenders intosmaller units, so that even thesmall contractors could partici-pate in the work and bid for thesame.

The members felt that the ten-der forms issued by the State Gov-ernment were priced much higherthan in other states and has de-manded a reduction in the cost oftender forms. The meeting alsopassed a resolution demandingcontract works to be offered onlyto local contractors in biggerprojects like NHPC.

Contractor’s body wants all contractsto be decided inside Sikkim

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: “Moun-tain Dew” a popular drink pro-duced by Pepsi coming to Sikkimdoes not contain caffeine,claimed an official of DrangchuBeverages of Bhutan which sup-plies Pepsi products to Sikkim. Itmight be recalled that the Centrefor Science and Environment, theorganisation which had brokenthe pesticide in colas report lastyear, had recently alleged thatMountain Dew, a non-cola drinkcontained caffeine.

Speaking to NOW!,Abhrajyoti Das, Customer’s Ex-ecutive of Drangchu Beveragessaid: “These products are non-colaproducts and there is no possibil-ity of containing caffeine.”

According to him, these prod-ucts are bottled at Sonarpur inWest Bengal and the formula usedto manufacture the same is entirely

different from that of USA, wheretwo varieties - with and withoutcaffeine - are sold.

Mr. Das further said that caf-feine content is not mentioned onthe label of the bottle and there isno objection from the Govern-ment of India.

“This proves that MountainDew and other products like 7 Upand Mirinda Orange do not con-tain caffeine,” he clarified.

The CE also informed thatplastic bottle products come toSikkim from Sonarpur and allother glass bottle products weresupplied from Bhutan. Accordingto him, Mountain Dew is a newPepsi product and has a very goodmarket in Sikkim.

“This sort of false report canhamper the market of such newproducts,” he said. It might bementioned here that the CSE rev-elation was also carried in a recentissue of NOW!

MOUNTAIN DEW SOLD IN SIKKIM HASNO CAFFEINE CLAIM DEALERS

29 July, 2004; NOW! 5� NEWSSCAN

Easy Instalment Scheme availableMobile Phone at Reasonable PricesParking facilityConnection facilityExchange offer availableSecond-hand sets available

�

�

�

�

�

�

contact: 201006, 98323 70433TENZING ENTERPRISES Shopping Complex,

Room No. 41, Development Area, Gangtok

go mobile!

cident narrows down to over-speeding.

What is surprising is that al-though the Traffic Police is empow-ered to book drivers for over speed-ing, it is yet to be implemented in thestate. Even the Motor Vehicles de-partment has not displayed any sign-boards showing the maximum speedlimit allowed on our highways.

Speaking to NOW!, Superin-tendent of Police [East], KS Raoadmits that over speeding is thereason for most accidents but hereiterated that it was only un-skilled, irresponsible andindisciplined drivers who commit-ted such mistakes. According tothe SP, anyone can get a licensefrom Siliguri, whether they aretrained or not. “And this licenceis valid all over India,” he adds.

In the case of Sikkim, his de-partment conducts a ten-day train-ing for those who apply for a driv-ing licence. Some tests are alsoconducted by Motor Vehicles De-partment prior to issuing the li-cence. But in case of licences is-sued from Siliguri no such train-ing or test is required, he discloses.

“Another reason is that manyof the drivers are seasonal drivers.They work for a few months as la-bourers, waiters and salesmen andwhen the occasion presents itselfthey again become drivers. Theseunprofessional drivers break mostof the traffic rules which lead toaccidents,” adds the SP.

According to him establishmentof driving training schools and tak-ing out some notification making itmandatory to obtain a permission

letter from Sikkim Government todrive in Sikkim by those who havea driving licence obtained from out-side Sikkim could prove to be agood counter measure.

Regarding the non-enforce-ment of laws against over-speed-ing, the SP revealed that in hillyterrains like Sikkim, cases of overspeeding are not that common.The Department also does nothave speed measuring equipmentlike Speed Radar which is used tomeasure the speed of the vehicles.He also admitted that the depart-ment has hardly any record ofbooking drivers for over speeding.But he assured that the Depart-ment was planning to place a pro-posal with the Central Govern-

ment to equip traffic personnelwith speed measuring devices.

Members of Main Line Taxi Driv-ers associations maintained that reck-less driving was seen only among thenew and unskilled drivers. A memberof United Main Line Taxi Drivers’Association said that they regularlybrief their members to avoid speed-ing and observe other traffic rules.

An interesting point somedrivers mentioned was that someof the new models of vehicles pre-ferred by most owners required aminimum speed of 40 km perhour. “Otherwise it will giveJhatka, which even leads to break-age of engines,” they informed,implying that it was the enginewhich forced a higher speed.

Well, different points of view,but the fact remains that over-speed-ing which may not have been sucha problem in the state earlier is nowdefinitely increasing with newer

vehicles and more competitivenessamong drivers. In this light, imple-mentation of the Over Speeding Acthas become very necessary as ameasure to protect the commuters.

Contd from pg 1

SPEED KILLS: BUT WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?

STYLEHotel Golden Pagoda, MG Marg, Gangtok

DEEPAK SHARMA

MANGAN, 28 July: Lt BenjaminLaku Saring Football Tournamentwhich started on 14 July atMangan Public Ground concludedwith the final match played be-tween Upper Singhik and LowerSinghik on 26 July.

Both teams played well to tieat 1-1 in normal time. The matchwent into extra time, with bothteams again scoring a goal each.

It was finally KC Dadul ofUpper Singhik who scored thegolden goal for his team. Thematch was won by Upper Singhik3 goals to 2.

Chief Guest, Senior SP, BBBasnett and SDM, PW Lepchahanded over the trophy and cashprize of Rs. 10,000 to the winningteam and cash prize of Rs. 5,000

Upper Singhik lifts Lt Benjamin LakuSaring Football Tourney

to runners-up, Lower Singhik andthe most promising player awardwas given to BB Subba, of UpperSinghik.

The next soccer event forMangan is the Independence Dayfootball tournament which willbegin in the first week of August.Interested teams may contactSachin Electronics and DynastyHotel, Mangan Bazaar for entrydetails.

SAGAR CHHETRI

GANGTOK, 28 July: The teamfrom Table Tennis Academy,Gangtok is back after represent-ing the state in the Open TT Tour-nament that was held in Siligurifrom 21 to 23 July.

Thirty participants from thestate, some as young as 8 years oldhad taken part in the tournament,which had teams from across WestBengal competing for the trophy.

Mokshata Dahal of TTA reachedthe quarterfinals while qualifying forthe pre-quarterfinals were ZarinaRana, Yogen Rai, Karun Chettri,Tenzing Gyatso, Siddhant Pradhanand Suman Pradhan.

Thupten Kunga Bhutia, StateTT Coach while talking about theperformance of the state, said that

although the state did not win anymedals, the main objective of par-ticipating in the tournament wasto expose the young players totournaments like these.

He added that the players fromthe state played against manyhigh-ranking players in the coun-try and that it was a good oppor-tunity for them to pick up tips onskill, confidence and handlingmatch pressure.

“Overall our team played andlooked in good form and judgingby their performance it showedthat they are improving their gameand utilizing the techniques thatthey are being taught,” he stated.

Thanking the state govern-ment, he asked for more opportu-nities of this kind to be providedto players to improve their game.

No medals yet, but our TT playersrake in a lot of experience

6; NOW!; 29 July, 2004

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

WANTEDFLAT IN AND AROUND

GANGTOKContact: 9434117299,

9832034929

CLASSIFIEDSNOW!

NEWSSCAN �

Kutshe SheguThe 49th day of Kutshe Sheguof Tashi Thendup Bhutia wholeft for his heavenly abode on11 June, 2004 falls on July 29,2004. All friends, relatives andwell wishers are requested tojoin us in offering prayers forthe departed soul at ourresidence at UpperTathangchen, Gangtok, EastSikkim.

We would like to take thisopportunity to thank all thosewho extended their help in ourhour of grief and bereavement.

Chindi Zongpo Bhutia, Tharchen

Bhutia, Dadul Bhutia, Chewang

Namgyal Bhutia, Brothers and other

family members.

Ph: 228398/ 9832059384

BUILDING FOR SALEFour storeyed: USP1. Within Gangtok area2. Tenants all vacated

(empty)3. Unrestricted sunlight

from three sides.4. Roadside5. Payments only after

change of ownership.

Call: 9434057782

FOR SALEMARUTI ZEN [1999 MODEL] IN

GOOD CONDITION.INTERESTED PARTIES MAY CONTACT:

94341 03320, 231297

Kutse SheguThe 49th Day SHEGU of our late mother Mrs. Lhakit Lepcha whopassed away on 10th June 2004 falls on 28th July 2004. All friends,relatives and well-wishers are requested to join us in offering prayerfor the departed soul at our residence at Tathangchen near Arkya area,Gangtok.We the family members take the opportunity to express our sinceregratitude to all friends and well-wishers who helped and stood by usduring our bereavement. We seek forgiveness for not being able tothank you all individually.

Dr. Yanki Donka Shipmoo & Family members

Ph. 204753, 204069

LAND FOR SALELand measuring 50x50above Entel Motors, 5thMile, Tadong. Price negoti-able. Contact: 227424,9434137509

Anteysthi KriyaWe are deeply indebted to all our friends, well wishers and relativeswho shared our sorrows during the bereavement and funeral of ourbeloved mother, late Jib Kumari Pradhan (Vendor Babuni) whopassed away peacefully on the 20th July 2004 at the age of 83.We would be highly grateful, if all our well wishers could join us topray for her departed soul during the 13th Day Anteysthi at IndiraBye Pass near Amdo Golai (above Motor Vehicle Office) on the1st August 2004.

Sons & Daughters-in-law: Nawin & Kiran N.K. (Ranjan) & Chandra S.K.

(Dilip) & Dr. Ima Daughter Geeta & D.K. Gurung (Son-in-law) & Family members

FOR SALEPrivate petrol jeep, long chassis,hard-top, 5-door, year of manu-facture - 1988. In good condition.Please contact: 98320-42007.

REQUIREDWanted for a reputed hotel inGangtok.1 [one] Cook1 [one] Waiter1 [one] House-keeping girl.Interested persons may contact:94340 12018

Anteysthi KriyaAnteysthi Kriya of our beloved Lall BahadurBasnett, who left for heavenly abode on19.7.04 falls on 31st July 2004. All rela-tives, friends and well wishers are re-quested to join us to pray for the departedsoul at our residence at Samdur Busty.

Tek Bahadur Basnett9434257099

FOR SALEWhite colour Hard Top Gypsy.Model 1996. Price negotiable.

Interested parties maycontact: 221602

Anthyesthi KriyaThe Anthyesthi Kriya of Late Bishnu PrasadDhungel, who left for his heavenly abode on 20thJuly, 2004 falls on 1st August, 2004.Al l f r iends, relat ives and wel l wishers arerequested to join us in offering prayers for thedeparted soul at our residence at Central Pendam,East Sikkim.We would like to take this opportunity to thank allthose who extended their help in our hour of griefand bereavement.Vinod Sharma [Dhungel], CL Dhungel, GP Dhungel, Tika Bhushan Dhungel [sons]

Nanda Sharma, Tara Sharma [daughters]

LOST

MONEY PURSE belongs toMunna Baraily has been lostbetween Tadong Police OutPost to Joybells School on26 June at around 10 am. Iffound please return thesame to:

Tadong OP@ 231981 orCall: 9832369520

(Anthesti Kriya)Rasam Pagri( A n t h e s t iKriya) of ourbeloved fatherChiranjilalljeeKhatri who leftfor heavenlyabode on 20thJuly, 2004, fallson Sunday 1stAugust, 2004. All relatives,friends and well wishers arerequested to join us to prayfor the departed soul at ourresidence at Gangtok.We also take this opportunityto express our gratitude to allthose who have been stand-ing by us in these momentsof grief and sorrow.Lalchand, Mohan and Ashok Khatri

Rasam Pagri

form no. 3755Life Insurance Corpora-

tion of IndiaPlace: GangtokReg. Policy No. 451149088 Noticehaving been given of the loss ofPolicy Numbers 451149088 on lifeof Mr. Prabhakar Golay issued by LICof India, Gangtok branch office.Duplicate policy will be issued unlessobjection is lodged with us within onemonth of this.

Sr. Divisional ManagerJalpaiguri Divisional Office, LIC

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 28 July: The StateBank of India and Sikkim Motors,Mahindra & Mahindra dealers on27 and 28 July held a two-dayMaha Loan Mela at the top floorof Main Line Taxi Stand here be-side the Police Headquarters.

About 50 enquiries had comefor the Mela till the afternoon of28 July, out of which 4 vehicleswere booked and 7 were spot de-livered on 27 July. The next day,however, saw only one vehiclebooked.

The most popular vehicle atthe loan mela was the Max-Festara. But vehicles like the Scor-pio and Bolero also drew in manyenquiries inform the organisers.

Interestingly, the enquiriescame from all parts of the state

with the on-the-spot buyers hail-ing from Melli, Dikchu, Sumbuk,Deorali and Jorethang.

There were special gift ham-pers for the customers who pur-chases Mahindra vehicles duringthese two days. The gift hampersincluded such expensive items ascolour TVs, VCDs and WristWatches.

Vikash Gurung, Sales Execu-tive, Sikkim Motors revealed thatalthough the Loan Mela did notlive up to his expectations [rang-ing a low 30-40% on his meter],it was a good event still. The rea-son behind the low turnout he be-lieves might have been the unsuit-able venue, bad weather and thenonavailability of permission todisplay the vehicles.

SBI-Sikkim Motors loan mela seesbookings from all over Sikkim, fails to

impress organisers though

Tharo Line,Lal MarketRoad. Ph: 201062,Mobile: 9832062684SALES & SERVICES

amolaRC E L L U L A RC E L L U L A R

DEALSIN ALLTYPES OF MOBILEPHONES ANDACCESSORIES

29 July, 2004; NOW! 7� NEWSSCAN

RANJIT SINGH

GANGTOK, 28 July: Encroach-ment of forest land is a commonenough occurrence in Sikkim. Ini-tially, the state government didn’tbother about it too much and theencroachers gradually turned set-tlers making it difficult for the gov-ernment and especially the ForestDepartment to reclaim their prop-erty. Though at present the forestdepartment is attempting to clearforest land of encroachers, the taskhas become almost controversial asthe encroachers have now begun todemand status as settlers.

In one such instance, in theyear 1978, the state governmentallotted some land to a group ofpeople in the Pakyong subdivi-sion. This was reserve forest landwhich was initially leased out tolocals of Topchay and Thekabungfor an initial period of 10 years.While a total of 40 persons wereleased one hectare of land each at

Thekabung; at Topchay 21 localswere leased a hectare of land forcardamom plantation.

With the expiry of the lease pe-riod, the persons allotted the land hadto remove their plantations and handthe land back to the forest department.Recently, some of these people whohave had to hand over their land tothe government at Topchay andThekabung, have complained thatthough the department had made themevict the land other encroachers hadentered the plots to which the gov-ernment was turning a blind eye. Theyalso allege that these encroachers hadbegun cardamom plantation on theplots previously leased out to them andby right should be leased out to themagain.

According to the DFO, East,the second term of the lease ex-pired in the year 2000 when by acentral government ruling forestland was no longer to be permit-ted to be leased out. The personswho had been leased the forestland at Topchay and Thekabung

were then asked to evict.“I had gone to the area sometime

last year and was assured by the peo-ple that they would evict soon ontheir own and that I would not needto visit the area again for the pur-pose,” the DFO informed. His visitto the area was necessitated due tosome controversy that had arisen re-garding to the eviction orders. TheDFO also admits that though mostof the locals at Thekabung who hadbeen leased the land had cleared outon expiry of the lease with the cen-tral government notification regard-ing forest land other encroachers had,in fact, settled in.

Of the 40 encroachers on theforest land at Thekabung, 18 hadleft voluntary, the DFO informed.

“The other 22 had to be forcefullyevicted by engaging forest guards,police personnel and local labourers.Also the land was cleared of all car-damom plantations,” the DFO in-forms. This eviction drive took placein February this year; this was fol-lowed by a final inspection of the area

in March during which the remainingcardamom rhizomes were destroyedin the presence of one of the encroach-ers, who had even started to build afence around “his” plots.

The DFO further revealed thatthe encroachers at Topchay as wellas Thekabung had been sum-moned many times earlier.

“They were supposed to va-cate the land last April but sincethey had already planted their cropand with the approaching electionswe decided to give them moretime,” the DFO said.

“In March this year there wasan eviction drive by our depart-ment during which the whole ofthe concerned forest land atThekabung was cleared of en-croachers. As for Topchay, the areastill has to be cleared and our de-partment has begun efforts to freethe forest land there of encroach-

ers,” the DFO informs. There arearound 21 encroachers at Topchaywho had been allowed to planttheir crops till last November.

The reclaimed forest landwould be planted with trees, theDFO informs. “For any other ac-tivity we need the permission ofthe centre,” he adds.

The DFO also says that otherareas, especially in the northwhere forest land has been takenup by illegal settlers, have alsobeen notified for clearing.

“However, some of the peopleliving in the forest land have beenthere for decades and can be calledsettlers,” says the DFO. Such peo-ple are asked to produce relevantdocuments on examination ofwhich they are allowed to remainon the land. But, as the DFO in-forms, most people do not haveany such documents.

EVICTION OF FOREST LAND IN EAST DISTRICT;THEKABUNG CLEARED, TOPCHAY HOLDS ON

FREE COUNSELLINGFor Direct Admission after XII or Graduation,

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

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

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

tion, Physiotherapy, Engineerings, BDS, Pharmacy, Tourism

Management, etc. in Bangalore, WB, Nagpur.

JOB GURANTEE IN HOTEL MANAGEMENT.

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

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

CIC IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR HIGHER STUDIES IN SIKKIM

metal ain’t soft avocalistgets readyfor the bigday

jest a while by ARUN & CHEWANG, TNA

much problems.” Apart from an in-jury to the head, he says he also hasa fractured shoulder, and minor in-juries to his fingers and right thigh.

Recalling the accident, Mr.Panigrahi says that the accidentwas due to the fault of the driver.

“The accident occurred whenthe driver of our vehicle was try-ing to overtake another vehicle; ashe was overtaking another vehi-cle appeared from the opposite di-rection and he lost control,” saysMr. Panigrahi says.

He also informs that he hasmade a similar statement, impli-cating the driver of the vehicle inthe accident, to the police. It hasalso been learnt that the relativesof some of the patients havelodged an FIR against the driverwith the police.

Says Mr. Panigrahi, “After theaccident we were taken to the

Singtam hospital along with thedriver. There at the hospital, thedriver claimed to be a hospitalpatient but I identified him as thedriver of our vehicle.”

Mr. Panigrahi further revealsthat he was conscious throughout- from the time the driver lost con-trol till the time the NJP-boundTATA Spacio settled 100 ft belowthe National Highway at Gaidhara.In fact, he helped pull out Dr.Cintury from the mangled jeep andlater at the Singtam hospital helpedher onto the ambulance which wasto bring them to Manipal.

Incidentally, the relatives ofMr. Panigrahi, too, plan to lodgean FIR against the driver of theSpacio, Raju Chettri.

A total of four people died inthe accident - three on the spot andone while being rushed for treat-ment. There were eleven peopletravelling in the vehicle, includ-ing the driver.

Contd from pg 1

Survivor implicates driver

confessing to his crime.Describing the interview as the

most shocking news coverage hehas witnessed in his career,NDTV’s Pranoy Roy, introducedthe interview as a “cold and dis-turbing confession.” The NDTVcorrespondent, too, admitted thatshe was shaken by the expression-

less recounting of the entire epi-sode by Kohli who displayed nooutside signs of duress or pressure.

Recounting the incident, Kohlicame on TV with the revelationthat on the ill-fated night, Hannahwas walking on the same lane ashis van was parked. Admitting thathe was drunk on the said night andraped Hannah and then strangledher to death.

Kohli also said he was “open”to being deported to UK and fac-ing a tiral there.

The admission, however, car-ries little legal weight, not onlybecause it was made in policepresence, but also because thecrime was committed in UK. InIndia, he is charged with havingforged a passport.

Contd from pg 1

KOHLI CONFESSES ON TV!

8; NOW!; 29 July, 2004

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

today in

History29th July

THEFINALONE �

ARIES: You may take a new deci-sion towards your welfare. Chemi-cal, textile and computer-orientedbusinesses will be very successful.The stock market will swing in yourfavour. Stockbrokers will find favour-able changes at work.TAURUS: Those appearing forcompetitive exams will do well. So-cial status and popularity will bemaintained. Understanding withyour life partner will be good. Inimi-cal activities will be reduced. Politi-cal life will be very successful.GEMINI: This may be the best timefor commencing new business ven-tures. Understanding with your lifepartner will be good. Prosperity inyour activities is indicated. You mayacquire immovable property. Youmay make some household pur-chases. You will receive encourag-ing communication.CANCER: Business will show goodprofits. Expenses are indicated.Popularity will be high. You may bein a position to make an investment.You may consider new businessactivities. Business will be brisk.LEO: Business will show good prof-

ADMISSION OPENFOR DEGREE COUSES(SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY)

BScIT, MScIT,

BCA, MCA,

BBA, MBA,

Journalism &

Mass Comm.SMART ACADEMY

DeoraliPh. 281043/280313

birngs you a PC at an amazing

Rs. 499!*

HCL and Union Bank of India bring you India’s No. 1 PC

& world best selling Laptops

SOLE CHANNEL PARTNER FOR ENTIRE SIKKIM

NAYUMA INFOSYS, at SSI EDUCATIONUPPER TADONG, GANGTOK, PHONE: 270876, 231776, 9434186424, 9832311259

SATELLITESERIES* Intel Centrino 1.5 GHz* 1024 KB L2 Cache* Intel 855 GME chipset* 256 MB DDR SDRAM* 14.1” TFT, DVD ROM* 30 GB HDD, * Touch Pad* Integrated Intel PRO wireless 2100* WIN XP Professional* MS Office 2003, * Ieee1394

HCL Beanstalk powered by IntelPentium 4 Processor 2.6 GHz* MS Windows XP Home Edition* 128MB DDR RAM, 80GB HDD* 1.44 MB FDD, 56 kbps Modem* Altec Lansing Speaker with sub-woofer* Internet & Multimedia Ready KB,* 100 Hit Songs, 5 Blockbuster Movies* Microsoft plus for Windows XP* School Education Software* MS Works 7.0, * Xpress Recovery Tools* 15” color monitor, * 100 Hrs. Internet

FREE

Upgrade to

CD-Writer & 17”

color

monitor

1588: Attacking SpanishArmada defeated & scatteredby English defenders1715: 10 Spanish treasuregalleons sunk off Florida coastby hurricane1858: First commercial treatybetween US & Japan signed.US citizens allowed to liveanywhere in Japan1871: Born, [GregoryEfimovich] Rasputin, the madRussian monk1883: Born, Benito Mussolini [IlDuce], Fascist Italian dictator(1922-43)1890: Vincent Van Gogh diesin Auvers, France1900: Umberto I Italian kingassassinated by anarchistGaetano Bresci1936: RCA shows the first realTV program [dancing, film onlocomotives, Bonwit Tellerfashion show & monologuefrom Tobacco Road & comedy]1965: Beatles movie “Help”premiers, Queen Elizabethattends1973: Greek plebiscitechooses republic overmonarchy1981: Prince Charles ofEngland weds Lady DianaSpencer

its. Expenses are indicated. Popu-larity will be high. You may be in aposition to make an investment. Youmay consider new business activi-ties. Business will be brisk.VIRGO: A love partner may returnfrom a journey, and a pretty deepconversation could follow. Nothingmay be decided, as the discussionis likely to focus more on generali-ties than specific plans.LIBRA: All sorts of wonderfulchanges are in the air, both at homeand at work. At work, it may be thata proposal you submitted has beenaccepted, or you landed a dealyou’’ve been working on for sometime now.SCORPIO: Do not trust anyone, noteven those you consider friends.Someone may be keeping somethingfrom you or even manipulating infor-mation to his or her own advantage.SAGITTARIUS: Sudden change

could come your way unexpectedly.The change will be either personalor professional. Perhaps you will begiven a new job opportunity. This isa day for savouring good luck andnew beginningsCAPRICORN: Your intuitive abilitiesshould be growing by leaps andbounds now. You are likely to be get-ting psychic messages from justabout everywhere, both on a per-sonal and a universal level.AQUARIUS: Things may be com-ing at you from all angles, andsooner or later you will be forced totake action. The pressure is build-ing and the air is getting staler.PISCES: Stop dwelling on oldprojects and routines that are basedon situations that have long sinceexpired. Note the change that hasoccurred around you, and make thenecessary adjustments to your fu-ture plans.

GANGTOK: Prayers, recitationsand mantras for world peace havemarked the holy week whichstarted with Drukpa Tsheshi on 21July and concluded with GuruTrhungkar Tsechu, which fell onTuesday, 27 July. On the occasiona religious procession was takenout from Chorten Gumpa carryingthe statue of Guru Rimpoche. Be-fore the procession started largenumber of people had gathered atChorten Gumpa to offer khadas tothe statue of Guru Rimpoche.

Devotees walked the way upto Tsuklakhang carrying bannersand religious books.

At Tsuklakhang, invited guestswaited with lay people to receivethe statue with Serbang andprayers.

This year, 2004, is the WoodMonkey Year, which is the year ofGuru Rinpoche’s birth according toBuddhist Lunar Calendar and hasspecial significance as it comes onlyonce every 12 years.

In Mangan, The RikzingChoeling Gumpa of Ringchemand Mani Lakhang Gumpa of

Mangan Bazaar celebrated thebirthday of Guru Rinpoche. A pro-cession was taken out fromRinghem Gumpa via Pentok toMangan Bazaar. Monks, Shedastudents and others participated inthe procession along with monksof Singhik Gumpa.

Drukpa Tsheshiaround Sikkim

[above row] Drukpa Tsheshiprocession moves out of Do-drul

Chorten at Deorali, Gangtok.

[left] The devout on the specialday of Sikkim’s patron saint at

Mangan, North Sikkim

98320 80753

98320 34122

9832368930

9832369520

IF THE LAND-LINES LET YOU DOWN,NOW! CAN ALSO BE REACHED AT

email NOW! at:

sikkimnow@

rediffmail.comTharo Line,Lal MarketRoad. Ph: 201062,Mobile: 9832062684SALES & SERVICES

amolaRC E L L U L A RC E L L U L A R