10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 1

C M Y K1

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THE CAPSULE FROMHELL HAS ARRIVEDAND THE BODYCOUNT IS RISING

TURN TO pgs 8 & 9 FOR DETAILS

Lakpa, 20,has lost his

leg toSpasmo

Proxyvon

MITA ZULCA puts a faceto Sikkim’s drugproblem and hopes thatthe horror sinks in…

...WHEN HE CAMETO HIS SENSES, HEWAS SCREAMING INPAIN, SAYING THATHIS LEFT LEG, THE

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The final episode of NOW’sthree-part series on sub-

stance abuse in Sikkim narratesthe story of Lakpa, a twenty yearold who lost his leg to SpasmoProxyvon. From a poor family, thefuture looks bleak for Lakpa. Heis not only a victim of his own ad-

diction, but also of the society’sindifference - a society that re-mains in constant denial and hasstill not realized that addictionhas struck deep roots in theState. The horror of addiction isreal and it is here. The third in-stallment also speaks of what

needs to be done, of the policy deci-sions required and the social awaken-ing necessary to save a generationfrom wasting away.

2; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

GANGTOK 10-16 DEC, 2003

NOW!SIKKIM MATTERS

ED-SPACE

2

� LETTERS

TO THE SP [EAST]

KHAKI ATROCITY AT

RANGPO

The complainant begs to bringto your kind notice the fol-

lowing facts for favour of yourimmediate intervention and nec-essary action.

That on 25-11-2003, I hadbeen to Rangpo bazaar to attendto some personal matter with theB.O. Forest Department. Since Iwas having some financial prob-lem, I requested the said B.O. tolend me some money for enablingme to reach Gangtok. There afterI was told by the said B.O. to goto Rangpo Police Station wherein,the police personnel present in theP.S. all of a sudden, without anyrhyme or reason, assaulted mewith kicks, blows and rolls.

While I was trying to save mybody, the roll struck two fingers ofmy left hand thereby causing frac-ture of one of the finger. I was con-fined in Hazat for one night and Iwas released the next day. It is perti-nent to mention here that I was mer-cilessly beaten up by five or six con-stables of Rangpo police station.

It is unfortunate to say that apolice seen as the protector of lawand public are abusing their powerby torturing innocent people likeme. If given opportunity to iden-tify the police personnel involvedin the said act I can identify thempersonally but I do not know theirnames. I request your good self tokindly constitute a committee toenquire into the matter and suchpolice personnel who are harass-ing and torturing the public maybe brought to justice.Kinga Tshering Bhutia

ON EDUCATION

Although the present educational system in Sikkim is

benefiting from the induction oftrained teachers and the issuing ofquality text books in governmentschools, the results are still not

favourable. The minds of the stu-dents are still the same as com-pared to the student’s of the past.

Most government school stu-dents feel they are inferior to stu-dents studying in private schools.They feel that they won’t be ableto compete in the world later.These students come to schoolwithout any ambitions, knowingthat it is futile to hope. Their so-ciety and their parents too find theeducation quite futile.

It is a sad irony to have stu-dents without ambition andawareness. The subjects whichthey are taught only provide themwith enough to get through, butthe spirit of learning is missing.

The students do not get anymoral support and their minds are

filled with negativity. We all knowthe effect of positive thinking ina person’s life. If a student enjoysstudying then each aspect oflearning becomes fun.

The subjects imposed in gov-ernment schools are all consid-ered ‘literatures of knowledge’and aim to provide informationand knowledge on various sub-jects. To boost and to reflect agood image, the governmentshould impose a subject of a newkind, ‘Literature of Power”. Theformer literature may lose its rel-evance and but the latter remainsunchanged and works to providepower and spiritual boost to us.

If the government promotesspiritual, ethical and psychologi-cal teachings in governmentschools, it will provide a tremen-dous boost to the students.Pawan Bhattarai

TO THE SNT DEPTT

BUSES FOR ALL

Our SNT Department needswaking up. As private ap-

peals to their office and officialshave had no impact, perhaps alittle public ventilating of griev-ances will do no harm.

The state of Sikkim by virtueof its geography is connected byonly road transport.

Sincere thanks to the SNT De-partment for sufficient buses, butin many places the service is stillnot sufficient.

There are three buses thattravel through Pakyong, Aho andRanipool. These are Rhenock,Padamchen and Pakyong buses.The Padamchen bus is occupiedby employees working in variousgovernment departments inGangtok and the Pakyong bus toois reserved for Pakyong employ-ees. The Rhenock bus is not anoption. It is full beyond capacity,with passengers from Rhenockand Rongli. For the last fewmonths the locals and college stu-dents especially falling underPakyong and Aho zone are notallowed to get on the bus. Themain excuse they give is overload.

It is the people with limited finan-cial ability who prefer buses. Espe-cially college students who have noincome but only expenditure. Thesebuses are their only option.

The fact cannot be denied thatcollege students are given conces-sions. But what use is it if SNTbuses do not allow them to get in?If this sort of thing continues,many students will not be able tograduate despite being enrolled ina college.

Why can’t a separate bus beallotted for the government em-ployees travelling to Gangtok anda separate one for locals? It is re-ally sad that we should be incon-venienced in this way for weeks.I hope the situation does not re-main the same and the public willforce the authorities to take nec-essary steps.Steve BK, Sikkim GovernmentCollege, Tadong

BOYS CLUB IS STILL

“BOYS CLUB”

The article “Bhaichung’s Clubgets a sponsor” printed in

NOW! Vol. 2 No. 21, datedWednesday,19-24 November2003 has created confusion overthe existence of our club “theBoys Club”. So the founder-mem-bers and the players of Boys Clubwould like to complain over thesubject matter.

We would like to inform youthat Boys Club is still alive andkicking with all its founder mem-bers and players intact. Boys Clubhas not transformed into UnitedSikkim Sporting Club [USSC] asreported nor is USSC the club thatgave Bhaichung to the world asprinted in your paper but it is theBoys Club that gave Bhaichungto the world. In no way is USSCthe new “avatar” of Boys Club.

Moreover, stating that Mr.

Karma P. Bhutia’s associationwith the club right from its incep-tion in 1983 is not true. However,he was the Club’s president andmanaged the club from 1991 to1994 and we will not deny hiscontribution to the Club. But themisinformation that Mr. Bhutia,as the founder of Boys Club, hasnow associated with the USSCsuggests that the USSC is the newavatar of Boys Club [as printedin your paper]. This is not true.Nor is USSC a breakaway of BoysClub because all the foundermembers of the club are intact inthe club.

Boys Club is a registered clubwith the Land Revenue Depart-ment, Government of Sikkim andif at all the statements carried outin your paper are true there haveto be authentic documents andresolutions of the Boys Clubmeeting to transform Boys Club

into USSC in support of the ar-ticle as printed in NOW!

Besides Boys club has beensponsored by K & Company andSikkim Tourism in the years 1993and 1997. Ongoing negotiationsregarding sponsorship with prob-able companies at present are hin-dered due to the misinformationprinted in your paper.

The members of Boys Clubstrongly feel that the mediashould print only the fact after in-vestigation of the matter to avoidsuch misinformation and confu-sion as such the confusion createdby your publication has com-pelled us to request you to takeinstant action on this matter or wewill be forced to move to Courtfor legal action against the“misinformer” whoever it may be.

Stoned ImmaculateThe pressure to lead with a newsy, event-based story is strongwhen packaging a weekly for the news-stands. Yet, the cover-story we have opted for this week is not based on a recentevent, but it is still reflective of a trend that Sikkim ignores at itsown peril. The regular readers will notice that this is also thesecond time in three weeks that we have put addiction on thecover. The decision was arrived at after accepting that at timessensationalism is the only way the media can draw attention towhat it feels is a pressing concern. And, substance abuse needsto be prioritized for a solution by our policy-makers. That ex-plains the disturbing photograph of a young life suffocated by adebilitating amputation and a headline that screams to attractattention. We hope it does. Not a week passes by without newsof a life snuffed by a drug overdose. The age of initiation intodrugs drops with each passing week and there has been oneconfirmed suicide by a 10-year-old unable to bear the traumaof withdrawals.

Do we still go on with life believing that addiction is not aserious enough problem?

Alcoholism has always plagued the Sikkimese society andalthough it needs to be addressed too, the abuse of SpasmoProxyvon demands immediate attention. What makes the drugmore dangerous is that apart from wrecking the usual falloutsof drug abuse, it is also mortally dangerous in the way it isabused. The prescription drug comes in the form of capsuleswhich addicts dilute with blood, water and at times even withalcohol. SP does not dissolve completely and the burning sen-sation that addicts mistake for a “rush” is actually their veinsgetting scrapped by the undissolved granules. While SP com-mands a chemical dependence like any other substance ofabuse, it also brings along complications in the form of gan-grene which leaves amputation as the only solution. In light ofthis almost immediate fallout, one need not even get into de-tailing the dangers of intravenous drug use. And yet, we see nocohesive approach to combat the growing popularity of the drugamong the youth.

In real terms there are only two organisations, both NGOs,striving to find a way out for those caught in the web of addic-tion. There is one drug counsellor at the STNM hospital. This ishighly inadequate. Even in the absence of any statistics on howmany addicts we have in Sikkim, one won’t be wrong in believ-ing that the current support system is highly inadequate. Thereare too many left out in the cold to deal with their addictions inisolation. NGOs have their role to play in combatting drug abuse,but before that we need a clear-cut policy on the issue andproactive community involvement. We have none in Sikkim.

Do we continue that way? Should we?

ACTIONMAIL

We shall be obliged if youcould kindly take proper actionagainst our complained matter.

You may meet us for furtherclarification of the matter and weassure you our cooperation.Members, Boys Club

CORRECT ON

ADDICTION

We, the students of NorthSikkim Academy, would

like to express our appreciation ofNOW! in general and the serieson drug addiction in particular.Abuse, we agree is a growingproblem among the youth. Wehope you continue highlightingsuch concerns in the future too.NSA students, Mangan

POETIC REFUGE

The recent articles on addictionin NOW! brought me face-to-

face with the alcoholism I deal

with in my family. I pennedsome lines on my ache and hopethat the person it is meant forunderstands.

REFLECTIONWith a start I wake up in the night,What was it that gave me a fright?Then it all comes back tooverwhelm meThe despair, the heartbreaks thatno one can see,When did it start? How did it allcome about?From a caring husband youturned into a drunken lout.How I smile when thinking backto the early days,When it was filled with fun,laughter and constant fraysBut we’d make up again and betogetherUntil the sunny days turnedgloomy

turn to pg 3

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 3

C M Y K

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MANGAN: Siporah TsheringBhutia, a student of Mangan Se-nior Secondary School, and herteacher, Prakash Rawat, cannotstop beaming with pride. Backrecently from the 30th JawaharlalNational Science Exhibition forChildren, held at Dehradun from17-22 November, last month, thetwo can still not believe that notonly did the President APJ AbdulKalam, himself a scientist, spenta long time discussing their modelon Wino Solar Technology, butalso made special mention of theMangan SSS display in his speechdelivered at the closing ceremony.

The Mangan SSS model, ex-

plains Siporah and her teacher,demonstrated the working of a“Sun synchronized power plantand a vertical axis wind turbine.”The turbine, a still excited Siporahexplains, rotates irrespective ofthe wind direction and adds thatthis project exploits the potentialof both sources of non-conven-tional energy - solar and wind –and can be used to ease our de-pendence on the ever-shrinkingreserves of fossil fuels.

The exhibition at Dehradunhad participants from some 250schools from all over the country,besides some schools from theGulf countries.

When asked to share the high-points of her Dehradun experi-

An impressed President APJ Abdul Kalam discusses the Mangan SSSmodel on Wino Solar Technology with Siporah Tshering Bhutia

Mangan School model on alternative energy impresses Kalamence, Siporah said that her inter-action with the President was veryencouraging. “The interest heshowed, the questions he askedand the encouragement he lav-ished on us were proof that hisscientific temperament has notdimmed despite his busy sched-ule as the President of the coun-try. I was not only thrilled whenhe made a special reference to ourmodel in his speech later, but wasalso convinced that I had to pur-sue science more seriously fromnow onwards,” she said.

Needless to add, her schooland her friends are all basking inthe reflected glory of ManganSSS’ impressive showing at thenational level exhibition.

DEEPAK SHARMA

DIKCHU: On 5 December, last Friday, a truck [SK-03-1772] skidded off the road about one kilometreshort of Dikchu [from Singtam], killing its driver,damaging one house and injuring seven of its pas-sengers.

At about 10:30 am the residents of the PHC area[where the accident took place], here witnessed atruck plying from Siliguri to Chungthang skid offthe road due to over speeding, plunging down some200 feet killing its driver Ramesh Sundas, a residentof Tadong, Gangtok.

The accident also damaged the house of ManBahadur Subba, who, along with his family, had a

Then the evenings were full oftensionAs the children and I had to bewary not to mentionAll the forbidden topics that setyou in a rage,So we felt like cowering birds ina cage.Then you threw my things leftand rightNot caring that the children werein sight

How my heart breaks toremember their cryingAs you ranted and raved, mylove for you started dryingHow long can we go on like this?Only existing but so much we missThe normal happy-go-luckyfamily lifeAs we struggle with all thisconstant strifeThen the final hurtful act of yoursTo lock us out of our very doorsWe may stumble we may fallBut for what its worth, we’re still

Contd from pg 2standing tallFor there may be a lot ofproblems to faceBut with God watching over ussurely we’ll win the raceI am a survivor so it goes in a songFor this I believe in and see nowrongWhen evening comes I neveragain have to fearAs I live content and happy withthose that are dear.

Name withheld on request

providential escape since everyone at home [his wifeand their 5 children] had left the house shortly be-fore the truck crashed into it.

The vehicle had on board seven passengers, 5 ofwhom suffered minor injuries and two were referredto STNM Hospital in serious condition. The staff ofDikchu PHC was quick to react and reached firstaid to victims immediately. Police personnel fromthe Dikchu OP and the local residents of Dikchuhelped in the evacuation of the survivors and carry-ing them to the PHC and rehabilitating the affectedresidents of the destroyed house.

The case is now under investigation by the SadarThana. The cops are also awaiting the technical re-port from the Motor Vehicles department to ascer-tain the main cause of the accident.

Driver perishes as truck crashes 200 ft

a NOW REPORT

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4; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

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GANGTOK: “The present stateof affairs in the State has forcedme to take on a more active rolein Sikkim politics once again,”said former Chief Minister andSikkim Pradesh Congress Com-mittee-I president Nar BahadurBhandari as he read out the namesof the office bearers of the newly-constituted SPCC [I] at a functionheld here at the Congress Bhawanon 5 December, last Friday.

The new body of the SPCC [I]

GANGTOK: The Sikkim Demo-cratic Front organised a YouthEmpowerment meeting for theRumtek constituency at SikkimGovernment College ground hereon 9 December, Tuesday. About2000 people attended the meetingwhich had Food & Civil SuppliesMinister, KB Chamling, as thechief guest. The meet was alsoattended by the area MLA andTourism Minister, KT Gyaltsen,Chairman [STDC], DorjeeNamgyal, Uday Lama, DB Thapaand KB Gurung along with ZillaPanchayats, panchayat membersand party workers from theRumtek constituency.

Youth conveners for the Rumtekconstituency were chosen duringthe meet. Kiran Rai was elected theconvener while Naveen Chettri,Navin Poudyel and Rudra Kharelwere declared vice conveners.

While addressing the gathering,Damber Dahal, SDF, Youth Con-vener for East District, stressed onthe responsibilities and duties ofyouth towards the party and askedthem to fight against the anti-socialelements in the society. He said that

CONGRESS WEARS A NEW LOOK

NOW! pix

BHANDARI

ANNOUNCES

LIST OF NEW

OFFICE

BEARERS

was necessitated with the recentmerger of Mr. Bhandari’s SikkimSangram Parishad with the Cong[I]. The delicate balancing act thatMr. Bhandari had to negotiate toaccommodate old Congressmenand new entrants was obvious inthe mammoth list of office bear-ers in the restructured SPCC [I]which has a post for everybodywho was anybody in the erstwhileSikkim Sangram Parishad, and, ofcourse, in the former Congressunit.

Mr. Bhandari seemed un-

daunted by the triple beating theCongress took in three States inthe recent Assembly elections anddeclared that the party was all setto take on the ruling SikkimDemocratic Front party in theAssembly elections scheduled fornext year in the State.

“We will be launching a mas-sive campaign from 14 Decemberfrom Pakyong and gearing up forthe Assembly elections,” Mr.Bhandari said, without clarifyingwhat campaign strategy the partywould adopt. Given his tone

though, corruption charges againstthe SDF government will defi-nitely figure in the Congress’ strat-egy in the run up to the elections.

Declaring that the Congresswas “the only party” in Sikkimthat functioned according to the8 May Agreement, Mr. Bhandaridemanded that the Chamling gov-ernment clarify how it intends tosecure the constitutional right ofthe Tamang and Limbu commu-nities now that they are declared

tribals. He also alleged that theSDF government had a hand inthe closure of the CBI office herein Gangtok in order to avoid thecorruption cases against it.

Mr. Bhandari said that ticketsfor the Assembly elections wouldbe given to those party candidateswho enjoyed the trust of thepeople, based solely on their per-formances.

In an obvious bid to please all,

the youth from the Rumtek con-stituency were efficient and brightand an asset to the party.

The STDC Chairman, Mr.Namgyal, in his speech, said thatthe Opposition parties were try-ing to create communal dishar-mony in the State by making is-sues out of non-issues and urgedthe people not to get carried awaywith such whisper campaigns andassured that SDF will ensure thatthe rights of the people are pro-tected at all costs.

Hari Har Poudyel, East Dis-trict, Zilla Upadakshaya, spoke ondecentralization of power andhow it would benefit the peopleat the grass-roots level. He alsoasked the people to cooperate

with their Panchayats.Addressing the gathering,

Mr. Gyaltsen, said that the mainobjective of the meeting was toapprise the people on the Op-position-sponsored “propa-ganda” aimed to mislead thepeople as the elections drewnearer. He said that politics wasabout providing social and eco-nomic benefits to the peopleand that SDF government wasdoing just that. He also urgedthe panchayats to play a moreproactive role and spread theparty’s message of “ janatasewa” among the people.

The Chief Guest spoke on theaims objectives and significantachievements of the government.

SARIKAH ATREYA

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a NOW REPORT

a NOW pic

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 5

C M Y K5

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GANGTOK: Perhaps energisedby the recent awakening of theOpposition [with the Congressannouncing its list of office bear-ers for Sikkim], or maybe buoyedby the monumental trouncingSikkim’s only Opposition suf-fered in three other states, theChief Minister Pawan Chamlingwas in a noticeably belligerentmood this Sunday at the inaugu-ration of the State’s first passen-ger ropeway at Deorali. Speakingat the function, Mr. Chamling tar-geted the Bhandari-led oppositionwith a barrage of political innu-endos and responded to severalallegations levelled at his govern-ment.

The State unit of the Congresscame in the direct firing line ofthe CM, who spared no effort todrive home the point that the Con-gress and its leaders in Sikkim, inthe absence of any issues, wereresorting to “total lies” in an ef-fort to “mislead” the people.

The CM, before he started thesledging match, clearly identifiedwho it was being targeted at.While stressing that the nationallevel Congress leaders at the AllIndia Congress Committee[AICC] “may be good,” Mr.Chamling maintained that thestate unit was “nothing but adustbin” collecting the spentforces of Sikkim politics.

“All those who have joined theCongress are themselves em-broiled in corruption charges andstill they speak of making corrup-tion a poll issue. None of them hasa clean image,” he said.

Taking a dig at the variousparty colours that the present cropof Congressmen have worn in thepast, Mr. Chamling likened themto snakes. “No matter how manyskins they shed, they cannotchange their true nature of oppor-tunism,” he said.

Pointing out that SDF had re-mained true to its ideology and vi-sion ever since it was formed morethan ten years back, Mr. Chamlingquestioned the “trust” that thepresent Opposition could evokegiven the fact that its membershave changed and shifted their loy-alties and ideology so often. “Howcan anyone believe in a party thatis run by people who do not thinktwice before abandoning the iden-tity and ideology that had broughtthem to power at one time?” Mr.Chamling questioned.

Refuting allegations made bythe SPCC [I] president, NarBahadur Bhandari that the SDFgovernment had engineered theshifting of the CBI office fromGangtok, Mr. Chamling clarifiedthat CBI was an “independentbody” in which the State, or forthat matter the Centre, has no say.“Mr. Bhandari, given his closeassociation with the CBI, should

be aware of this,” he said.Mr. Chamling also let loose a

salvo of caustic remarks at thePublic Interest Litigations beingfiled against his government bysome members of the Opposition.“These PILs are actually PoliticalInterest Litigations and nothingelse,” he said.

Criticising organisations suchas SIBLAC and GAC for “fuel-ling communal passions” theState, Mr. Chamling maintainedthat neither his government, norhis party, had ever tried to “mis-lead” the people by citing the 8May Agreement, something, hesaid the two organisations wereconstantly indulging in. “We area part of the Indian Union andabide by Article 371F of the Con-stitution,” he stressed.

Shifting focus to hisgovernment’s performance thusfar, Mr. Chamling said that theState’s “emotional integration”with the rest of country was fi-nally happening. While praisingPrime Minister Atal BehariVajpayee’s “competent and dy-namic leadership,” Mr. Chamlingsaid that the State had finallyjoined the national mainstream.

“The State has scaled greatheights in the last nine years,which is matter of great pride forus. The SDF party is a member ofBJP-led National Democratic Al-liance [NDA] at the Centre andwe also have a role to play in the

The sledge-fest beginsCHAMLING COUNTERS OPPOSITION

ALLEGATIONS, REVEALS DEVELOPMENT

AS SDF’S POLL PLANK

decision-making process at thenational level,” he said.

Hinting at SDF’s poll-plank forthe next assembly elections, Mr.Chamling said that the govern-ment has decided to complete allinfrastructural requirements of theState in the next four years.

“Through the last nine years,our focus was on the social-eco-nomic and political upliftment ofthe people. We have strived toprovide a better quality of life to

the people, protect and safeguardtheir rights and privileges. Wehave delivered on most of ourpromises, although work on infra-structure development has alreadystarted, we will accord more fo-cus on it in the next term,” he an-nounced.

As the CM made obvious onSunday, he is warming up for theassembly elections scheduled forthe last quarter of next year. Thecountdown to the polls has begun.

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: The State-unit of the BharatiyaJanata Party [BJP] has attributed the party’sresounding victory in three States in the re-cently-concluded Assembly elections to “goodgovernance and developmental programmesof the BJP-led NDA at the Centre”.

The BJP, in a press release, said that theresults also indicate that the voters, includingthe tribals, now have more faith in the BJPthan on the Congress or other regional parties.

“The voters are now showing more in-clination towards national parties. This isthe trend even in Sikkim, as shown by themerger of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad

with the Congress,” the release reads.The BJP, it announces, will field candi-

dates from all constituencies in Sikkim inthe coming Assembly elections as well asthe Lok Sabha polls.

“Since the BJP believes in alliance withother parties, it will try to form pre-pollalliance with other parties. If the BJP canforge a minimum common programme withother parties, seat adjustments can be madeaccordingly,” the release adds.

The BJP State-unit “celebrated” the vic-tory of the party by sending congratulatorymessages to the party high-command, thePrime Minister and the deputy Prime Min-ister in New Delhi.

BJP is open to pre-poll alliances in Sikkima NOW REPORT

POSTMEN TO

DRESS AS

SANTAS FOR

X-MAS MAIL

excuse me...

by PANKAJ THAPA

6; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

Dikchu mixes entertainment with AIDS awareness

a NOW REPORT

6

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION OF SIKKIM, aleading Charitable Non-Government –Organisation in the fieldof education, recipient of the National Award for Child Welfare2002, invites applications for the following post:

POST REQUIREMENT

1. Vice Principal -Trained M.A. / M. Sc. / M. Com.With minimum 8years teachingexperience at Secondary / SeniorSecondary level.-Experience as head of anySecondary / Sr. Secondary school-Trained Graduates with minimum10 years teaching experience andas head of Secondary / Sr.Secondary school may also apply

2. Graduate Teacher a) B. Sc. (Bio) B. Ed.b) B.A. with Geography / Economicsc) M.A. / B.A. with English honours.

3. Sports Teacher - B.P. Ed.4. Music Teacher -Minimum Grade VIII, experience

in teaching students in groups &individual. -experience in western classical& entertainment music.-Instruments: Guitar, Violin, Keyboardand/or Voice / choir technique andconducting

5. Staff Nurse (G.N.M.) Should be willing to :-stay in the hostel with the children-take up other assignments

Preference will be given to candidates with higherqualification!

Applications in their own handwriting with complete Bio-data,address with telephone No. and other documents (Xerox) shouldreach the following latest by 19/12/2003. Please enclose self-addressed stamped envelop for further correspondence.

Chairperson, Human Development Foundation of SikkimChildren’s Village,

GRBA Road, P.O. Box 47,Gangtok- 737 101, Sikkim

Queries by phone may be directed to (03592) 229565 between 9.30 a.m.

and 4.30 p.m. or 98320 32890 after 5.00 p.m. or by E-Mail: hdfs@sify.com

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GANGTOK: Nine of the ten can-didates of the first batch trainedby the Call Centre Agent Trainersof the Department of InformationTechnology have been selected byGuwahati-based VNV Consult-ants after interviews held on 5December, last Friday.

The first batch of thirteen, se-lected from 49 applicants, hadonly recently completed a 2-month call-centre trainingprogramme which began in Oc-tober earlier this year. Althoughthe first batch comprised of 13candidates, three were selected forfurther interviews by 2COMSwith chances of being employedin any of the numerous BusinessProcess Outsourcing companies

even before they could completetheir training. VNV Consultantshave been selecting individualsfrom Sikkim and other north-east-ern states and placing them incompanies in Gurgaon and othercities. Incidentally, the ninety percent selection record of ITDepartment’s Call Centre Agenttraining wing is the highest in theNorth-east.

The training centre is an ini-tiative partly funded by DONER[Department for Development ofNoerth-eastern Region] and is runby DOEACC and the IT Depart-ment of the State. The trainershave undergone special trainingfor grooming aspiring call centreagents in Guwahati.

During the 2-month trainingcourse candidates are taught the

IT Deptt’s call centre training wingposts 90% placement record

art of telephone etiquette and cus-tomer interaction for a course feeof Rs. 3,000. They are furthermade conversant in English, theiraccents neutralized and impartedbasic knowledge of computers.Candidates should be higher sec-ondary pass. Once employed witha call-centre, they stand to makeanything between Rs. 8,000 to Rs.20,000 per month.

Interviews for the second batchof trainees were conducted on 28and 29 November, but since thedates coincided with the final ex-aminations, the response was verylimited. Taking this into consid-eration, the Department has de-cided to hold a second round ofinterviews on 10 December andanother in the first week of Janu-ary 2004.

GANGTOK: DIG SudhakarRao, an IPS officer from theSikkim cadre on deputation toCBI and posted in Vishakapatnamwas arrested, ironically, by CBIsleuths on charges of graft, daysbefore he was to return to Sikkim.

DIG Rao was arrested on 6December, last Saturday, by a CBIspecial investigation team fromDelhi along with two AndhraPradesh government employeeson charges of corruption. His resi-dence, along with those of his twosuspected partners in crime werealso raided.

The DIG is alleged to havedemanded a bribe of Rs. 10 lakhs

from a person to settle his casebefore he left the CBI to return toSikkim and deputed the publicprosecutor [one of the AP govt.employees] to collect the money.

The arrest brings the DIG’s as-sociation with the CBI a full circle.He was posted to Vishakapatnamas SP, CBI, three years back andhad been promoted to the rank ofDIG only last month. SeniorSikkim Police officials, whenasked to comment on the develop-ment expressed shock over it whileadding, “Who knows the levelsone falls to when driven by greed.”Interestingly, the police adminis-tration was already preparing forRao’s return and had even ar-ranged for his new post here.

Sikkim cop in CBI net while

on deputation with

the investigating agency

available at:

STYLEHOTEL GOLDEN PAGODA,MG MARG, GANGTOK.PH: 03592 223276

winter collection

a NOW REPORTDIKCHU: World AIDS Day wasobserved at Dikchu Bazar by thelocal NGO, Dikchu Youth Wel-fare Association in collaborationwith the Sikkim State AIDS Con-trol Society on 1 December. Theprogramme was part of the year-long Targeted Intervention Projectbeing carried out by the Associa-

tion in the area. Keeping in view the interests

of the various sections of thepeople of the area, the programmeincluded a number of activitiesboth for the children and theadults. An Open Quiz Contest, aTalk on AIDS and Sit & Drawcompetitions were organized. AMusical Nite, with thetheme ”Help Prevent AIDS be-cause this is the only cure,” ow-

ing to this year’s WorldAIDS Day’s theme “Fight Stigmaand Discrimination, live and letlive “ was the highlight of thefunction.

Folk songs, modern songs anddance competitions were held toentertain the general public whilean AIDS Awareness session ofthe Targeted Intervention Projectwas also conducted by Chung

a NOW REPORT

turn to pg 11

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 7

C M Y K7

DATELINE NORTH SIKKIM

HO

USI

NG

LO

AN

MEL

A THIS 10TH & 11TH

DECEMBER

just carry your:* Sanctioned building plan* Salary Certificate * Proof of Identity * Xerox copy of land title

STATE BANK

OF INDIAPH: KUMAR GAJMER @ 221165

Just walk into Gangtok, Zero Point,

Deorali, Tadong, Singtam, Jorethang, Namchi &

Mangan branches of the State Bank ofIndia and your Housing loans will be

sanctioned on the spot

Namsoong Celebration Committeeinvites all to join in the celebration and make

Namsoong 2003 a grand success!

Venue: Namprikdang Mela Ground Date: 24 Dec - 28 Dec 2003‘Wish you all a Happy Namsoong!’

MANGAN: Namsoong is an im-portant festival of Lepchas and iscelebrated in a grand fashion atNamprikdang each year. Thepreparations are being launchedon an even larger footing this yeargiven that it will also be attendedby the Chief Minister PawanChamling who is expected to visitNamprikdang on 27 December.

Although the festival is nor-mally organized by the NamsoongCelebration Committee, the dis-trict administration is also pitch-ing in this year with the prepara-

tions. This was evident in themeeting convened at the DACconference hall on 2 December,last Tuesday, to finalise the datesand itinerary for the Namsoongcelebrations and Kagyad dance atRinghem Gumpa. The Kahyaddance forms an important ritualof Namsoong celebrations.

The meeting was attended bythe Zilla Adhakshya [north],Lobzang Tenzing, the DC, PS

Targain, senior government offi-cials posted in the district and rep-resentatives from the NamsoongCelebration Committee andRinghem Gumpa.

At the meeting, Sonam Lepcha,treasurer of the Rinzing ChoelingGumpa Committee of Ringhem,voiced the financial problemsfaced by them in organizing theKagyad Dance every year. Publiccontributions and government aid

fell short of the Rs. 65,000 re-quired to conduct the dances hesaid. The budget would go up thisyear since they were also thinkingof incorporating the Singhi Dance.

The DC in turn stressed the needto organize the Namsoong celebra-tions even better this year given thepresence of the CM and other VIPsat Namprikdang this year.

The Zilla Adhakshya’s sugges-tion that the budgetary problems

A visit to the government primary school in the Nampatamblock in north Sikkim brings one face to face with the apathythat plagues education. As the above photo bears out, theschool is literally falling apart. The structure is obviously inurgent need for repairs and the moment one enters the class-room one realises that even the furniture needs to be replacedor repaired immediately. The doors hang askew on the hinges,the window panes are missing and the school cannot evenbe locked anymore – the door won’t shut! How the schoolmanages to impart any education is anybody’s guess.

North prepares for a grander Namsoong Mela and Kagyad DanceDistrict administration to help with

organization and donations

of the two events be eased withcontributions from the officersposted in Mangan. This was im-mediately accepted by the officialspresent at the meeting. The offi-cials agreed to raise Rs. 25,000 forthe Namsoong mela and anotherRs. 20,000 for the Kagyad Dancefrom within the ranks to assist withthe events. This added to the bud-get already at hand and a hand-some contribution promised by theZilla Adhakshya should see thetwo events through. The organiz-ers are now committed to make asuccess of the Namsoong mela andKagyad Dance.

DEEPAK SHARMA

SCHOOL’S OUT!

Patients might get driven inambulances, but have to

stand while awaiting theirappointment with the

doctors. Such is the plight ofthe provisions at the District

Hospital at Mangan. Althoughmore than a hundred

patients arrive here formedical aid on an averageevery day, the hospital has

only one bench to accommo-date them. Even this solitary

bench seems to be a rejectfrom one of the offices. The

locals agree that the hospitalshould provide better

arrangement for the comfortof the visiting patients.

Drivento Wait

8; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K8

Lakpa’s story is not very differentfrom that of other addicts. He was16 when he took his first SpasmoProxyvon tablet. A year later, he

was completely addicted and had graduatedto injecting the drug. As time passed, hisneed grew. Soon, he was running out ofveins to inject. He ended up injecting inhis groin. It was then only a matter of timebefore an abscess developed. Doctors di-agnosed it as gangrene – the death of a partof the body.

Gangrene emits harmful toxins whichcirculate throughout the body from the in-fected part and proves fatal in a majorityof cases. To save his life, doctors ampu-tated Lakpa’s leg from the thigh down. Hewas barely 19 at the time.

“When he came to his senses after theoperation, he was screaming in pain, say-ing that his left leg, the one that had beenamputated, was hurting. He was sufferingfrom phantom pains which often happensto people who lose a limb,” recalls PJPradhan, better known as “mama” who wascounselling Lakpa and coordinating helptowards his recovery.

When NOW! first heard of Lakpa, weknew that the time had come to give drugaddiction in the state a name and a face.Too long had we changed names, too longused abstract images to talk about addic-tion. So we went to meet him.

Lakpa comes from a poor economicbackground. At present he’s almost an in-valid, finding it difficult to walk even withthe help of an artificial leg. Malnourishedand depressed, he can hardly get out of bedanymore.

His father allowed us to take photosand document his story. Not an easy deci-sion, as many parents of drug addictswould vouch.

Lakpa’s might not be the face that im-mediately comes to mind when we speakof addiction. Many of us may dismiss histryst with drugs as something that only hap-pens to kids like him from poor families.But we would be fooling ourselves. Drugabuse knows no social class or status. Itcan happen in any family. It is happeningin most families.

We were hopeful that showing the realface of addiction, showing how terriblywrong things can go, would deter otheryoungsters from experimenting with thisCapsule From Hell.

The next day, when we went unan-nounced to see Lakpa again, we were infor a shock.

We walked into the room to come faceto face with an addiction we had only talkedabout till now. Even as Lakpa lay in bed,his leg lost to Spasmo Proxyvon, two boys,hardly out of their teens, were injectingthemselves with the same drug. One had

THE CAPSULEGET

SCAREDVERY

SCARED

Lakpa, 20, one of theSpasmo Proxyvon casualtiesof Sikkim. Lucky to still bealive, his leg had to beamputated followingcomplications broughton by injecting SP

DRUGSTO

RY 3

MITA ZULCA puts a faceto Sikkim’s drug problemand hopes that thehorror sinks in…

The Way AheadWhat those dealing with addicts and addiction have to

suggest as possible solutions to growing substance abuse

and its fallouts:

Dr. IL Sharma, Psychiatrist, STNM Hospital:“Catching an addict, putting him in lock up and beating him is not going to solve theproblem. Sometimes this leads to more serious problems. What I want is that everyaddict who is caught should be brought here, preferably escorted by a family member.It is true that earlier we did not have sufficient manpower, but now, we have enoughstaff. We have a clinical psychologist and a trained drug counsellor.Another problem is that the detoxification unit at STNM Hospital is inside the psychiat-ric ward. Many people don’t want to come here, as they don’t want to be branded aspsychiatric patients. A separate ward needs to be created to house addiction patients.Maybe a family ward where family members can also stay.”

PJ Pradhan, Addiction Counsellor:“The Government should start more rehabilitation centres. Some of the private reha-bilitation centres may not be affordable for those from poor economic backgrounds.The state has to either subsidize rehabilitation treatment or help NGOs give free treat-ment for addicts who cannot afford to pay. Another rising trend is of girls taking todrugs. A separate treatment centre and woman counsellor needs to be created forthem. However, the problem of addiction does not stop with detoxification. Rehabilita-tion should be holistic. It is necessary to set up some kind of training and earningopportunity for the recovering addicts. Otherwise they will go back to the same envi-ronment and chances of relapse are more.”

Dr. Namgyal Sherpa, Consultant, Medicine, STNM“If we cannot totally stop drug abuse, we should at least make it safer and get realisticabout our goals. The danger of various infections spreading through addicts who shareneedles is serious. We should launch a needle-exchange programme, like they havein Manipur and Nagaland, wherein addicts can exchange their old syringes with newones for free. If you can’t control drugs, at least protect other people from infectionsbefore it creates a multi-burden on the society.A weaning programme can also be launched where you wean away addicts from in-jecting themselves with the drug to taking the drug orally. This is a method of harmreduction. Of course we must not lose sight of the ultimate aim, which is to make alladdicts give up drugs totally. I think we need more NGO involvement here.”

FOCUSFOCUS

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 9

C M Y K 9

FOCUS

FROM HELL IS HERE

his pants down, in a desperate search for avein that would ensure his next fix. Therewas blood on the floor.

We were horrified. Apart from the bru-tality of the whole scene, what hope wasthere of using Lakpa’s story to dissuadeothers from taking the same route, whenhis own friends continued to inject in thevery room that he lies in with an artificialleg propped against the wall?

Is the battle against drugs all but lost?Is there any way to get the message acrossto the young that doing drugs is not “cool”;that it can deform... kill??

The “Say No To Drugs” campaign hashardly worked. Will drug scare stories bemore effective?

And there are many of those. Of a boywho couldn’t urinate because of regular in-jecting in his groin. Of how urine startedcoming out of his mouth and nose. And theten year old who kept hurting himself witha compass because he couldn’t bear the painthat withdrawals brought. Of how his par-ents found him hanging one morning whenthe pain got too much. What of the boy whodied of overdose and his stomach simplyexploded in the coffin that he lay in.

What a generation weaned on theromanticised notions of substance abuse,thanks to their music and their idols, don’trealise when they get inducted into the habitis that addiction does not even allow the

victim dignity in death. It is not unusual tofind an overdose victim crumpled in a filthyalley way with his pants down and a sy-ringe in hand. No matter how lyrical “coldturkey” may sound, there is no poetry inthe pangs that come with withdrawals [asthe 10-year-old proved with his compass].

“Spasmo Proxyvon is more dangerousthan even Brown Sugar,” says PhurbaYolmo, Project Director, Sikkim Rehabili-tation Centre. “Users have begun to take acocktail of drugs mixing SP with otherdrugs and even with rum. This causes aburning sensation, a rush, this is the highthat they seek, not realising that the rushthey feel is actually their veins burning upunder the combined assault of minute gran-ules and alcohol,” he explains.

Those who know say that unlike otherdrugs, SP has no fixed period of gratifica-tion. The frequency of injecting depends moreon availability of the drug than the need, lead-ing to dangerous physical consequences.

“Used for long periods of time, it affectsyour central nervous system. A sudden lossof consciousness, or an SP black-out killsthousands of neuronal cells in the brain. Infuture this may be a precursor to mental ill-ness as well as epilepsy,” informs Dr. ILSharma, Psychiatrist, STNM Hospital.

Abuse of the drug can block arteries, cancause heart attacks and even paralysis whenthe artery to the brain gets blocked. Inject-

ing the drug can be particularly dangerous.The tablet does not dissolve properly, sedi-ments start accumulating and an abscess de-velops. Blood supply gets blocked and thelimb starts rotting. There is then no optionbut to amputate the limb. The bolus or theundissolved part of the tablet can get stuckin a vital organ, like the heart, lungs or brainwhich can be life threatening.

“Injecting is extremely dangerous. Youdon’t know which blood vessel they arepushing into. Injecting into an artery canbe fatal,” adds Dr. Namgyal Sherpa, Con-sultant [Medicine], STNM Hospital.

Dangers apart, Drug addicts do not re-ceive any sympathy from the public. No onecares whether they live or die. Sometimes

not even their family. And yet, no one is bornan addict. Those who abuse drugs are them-selves caught in a vicious cycle - one theycannot break without help. The twin terrorsof denial and confrontation have to be facedcollectively by all. Parents need to come for-ward and speak out. Police needs to get moreserious about dealing with peddlers and sup-pliers - how difficult can it be to find thesemerchants of death in a one street town?

The state government too needs toevolve some drastic measures before wehead in the direction of other North-east-ern states, which are now finding it impos-sible to combat the problem.

Or, we can reconcile to an army of am-putees on our streets.

THE NOW! INITIATIVE

Different people have different views on addiction. Law enforcement agenciesview addiction as a crime; Religious communities view addiction as a sin;Moralists view it as a moral deficiency; Psychiatrist believe it to be a problem

of anxiety and depression; while a layperson views addiction as a lack of will-power.All are wrong. At least not completely correct. And these myths and misconcep-

tions make diagnosis and treatment more difficult.In the late 1930s, after working several years with alcoholics, Dr. William D.

Silkworth, seen as a medical saint, came to the conclusion that “Alcoholism is notjust a vice or a habit, it is a compulsion, a pathological urge. It is a disease.”

In the year 1956, American Medical Association acknowledged addiction as adisease and in 1958, World Health Organization also declared it to be a progressivedisease.

In the last few years, addiction has become rampant in this region. I am an ex-addict myself and have been working in the field of rehabilitation for the last sevenyears. Recently, I came across the case-history of a 15-year-old boy who has beeninjecting a lethal dose of Spasmo-Proxyvon for the last three years. Today this trendis prevalent among our youngsters, indicating the seriousness of the situation.

Addiction is not just an addict’s problem, but also everyone else’s. Today it is insomeone’s family, but tomorrow it could be yours. The answer to the problem isawareness, information and talking about it. If you already have a problem in thefamily, seek professional help. The resources of helpline, counselling, detoxificationand rehabilitation are available.

Don’t make addiction a family secret. Acquire a proper attitude, don’t hide. Addic-tion is like a poison mushroom that grows best in the dark. Don’t expect your childrento come forward and say, “Mummy, I love you, but I have a drug problem.” It is not soeasily admitted because of the social stigma attached to addiction. It requires inter-vention.

What is the cause of addiction? Over the years, I have come across more than500 addicts, and come to realise that there are many reasons. Some do it to becomemore popular with their peer group, others, to deal with boredom or psychologicalproblems or as with some, out of initial curiosity.

How to identify the problem?Sometimes an addict openly admits to his drug use, but more often than not, he

denies it. It is left to the observance of the family to look for tell-tale signs to recognizean addict. The addict manifests a marked change in his behaviour. He may take tostaying awake at night and sleeping during the day. A sudden change of friends andmeetings behind closed doors; mysterious phone calls, even telling lies, etc. Familymembers may notice that the addict spends large sums of money, borrows fromothers, or that things around the house are missing. The person may become lethar-gic and apathetic with a loss of interest in personal hygiene, become moody andwithdrawn, restless, irritable and discontent.

Commonly used drugs in the hill regions are pharmaceutical drugs such asPhensydyl, Spasmo Proxyvon, Nitrosun-10, Fortwin, Relipen, Morphine, etc. The gate-way drugs are alcohol, ganja and nicotine. Volatile substances like Dendrite, correc-tion fluids are common among school children.

It is better to suspect, even if one may be wrong. Confront the addict repeatedlywith evidence that make you suspect and seek professional help early.

The writer is the Project Director, Sikkim Rehabilitation Centre

By PHURBA YOLMO

ADDICTION: Neither A Vice Nor

A Habit. A Disease

THE WAY AHEAD

Phurba Yolmo, Project Director, Sikkim Rehabilitation Centre :“Social Welfare Department should encourage the setting up of more NGO’s. SRC can bethe mother centre which will provide treatment for addicts and training for service provid-ers. Networking with other treatment centres is also important.Self help groups are not very strong here. You need to have more frequent meetings.When the recovering addict has an urge to take the drug he should be able to reachsomeone immediately. Long term follow-up is necessary for long term recovery.Banning the drugs is no solution. But a programme can be launched for exchanging of oldneedles with new ones to prevent infections. Although this may be controversial, it is arealistic approach.”

Akshay Sachdeva, SP, East:“There is no alternative to enforcement. I believe in a combination of strict enforcement oflaw along with therapy and rehabilitation. However, don’t expect the police to be reform-ers. That is not our job. There are other agencies to do that. Police needs to do the dirtyjob of identifying and arresting people. Let us do that. The state government should enacta special law for those peddling in prescription drugs. At the moment I have either theNDPS Act or nothing. NGO’s should be more involved. When we arrest addicts theyshould call and provide therapy for the arrested addicts. It should not be the other wayaround, although we are willing to mediate with parents and bring about a solution.Media needs to spread more awareness on this problem.”

It is difficult not to get involved with the story when it is as horrific as what

Lakpa is going through. How does one ignore it? One doesn’t. On its part,

NOW! has decided to help with Lakpa’s rehabilitation and Hope Centre

has contributed to this initiative by subsidising Lakpa’s recovery phase

and bending rules to accomodate him in their detox & rehabilitation Cen-

tre. But more needs to be done. NOW! is working on setting up a Rehabili-

tation Fund and will approach its readers for support shortly. We hope the

response to this call will be as positive as the past initiatives.

For help call:

Sikkim Rehabilita-

tion Centre -

254347

Hope Centre -

222979

STNM - 220594

or NOW! 270949

FOCUS

10; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K10

DESPATCHESDESPATCHES

A recording of sacred Tibetan Buddhist chants by the monks ofSherabling monastery near Dharamsala, is one of the nomina-tions for the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, which were an-nounced in Beverly Hills, California, on December 4, last Thurs-day.

“Sacred Tibetan Chant: The Monks Of Sherab Ling Monas-tery,” released by Naxos World has been nominated in the BestTraditional World Music Album [Vocal or Instrumental] cat-egory. This audio CD was released in January 2003.

The CD includes Buddhist chants, Mahamudra LineagePrayer & Meditation, Mahakala Puja [Yeshe Gonpo], Invoca-tion and offering to Mahakala, and Receiving blessings and dedi-cating the merit to world peace and harmony. It presents thelineage prayer with which the monks of Sherab Ling Monasterybegin their day, offering respect to a line of great meditationpractitioners going back as far as the seventh century. It alsoincludes part of each day’s closing ritual in which the monks askfor purification and dedication to all sentient creatures.

Incidentally, Sherabling Monastery is the seat in exile of theTai Situ Rinpoche. The monastery is located in the Kangra Val-ley near Dharamsala.

The 46th Grammy Awards will be held on 8 February, nextyear at Staples Center in Los Angeles, USA.

courtesy InternationalCampaign for Tibet

BIJOY SHANKAR HANDIQUEin THIMPHU

Boxed in by an increasinglyanxious Indian government keen to see an end

of foreign support to north-east-ern militant movements on theone hand and the militants lodgedin the jungles of the Himalayankingdom on the other, the Bhutangovernment has been at pains oflate to understand the toll that apossible attack on the militantscould take on its own population.The situation gets more compli-cated given the growing fears ofthe Bhutanese being graduallyoutnumbered by the immigrantNepalis, or Lhotshampas [“south-ern Bhutanese”], from Nepal,Darjeeling and Sikkim living inthe six southern hill districts of thecountry.

“More than 66,000 Bhutanesepeople will be directly affected in304 villages in 10 dzongkhags[districts], should the governmentlaunch military operations against

the North-east rebels such as theUnited Liberation Front of Asom[ULFA], National Democraticfront of Bodoland [NDFB] andthe Kamatapur LiberationOrganisation [KLO], now in thejungles of Bhutan,” said BhutanFinance Minister Wangdi Norbuin an exclusive interview atTaschho Dzong in Thimphu.

The disadvantages of a frontalattack against the militants seemheavily tilted against the Hima-layan kingdom, with 50 per centof its population living in the bor-der areas of the eastern and south-eastern regions - areas that thepossible operation would cover -which receive their suppliesthrough Assam.

“The sufferings would be un-imaginable,” Dasho Norbu said.Not to mention possible retaliatorystrikes by the rebels againstBhutanese citizens in Assam. Morethan 13 Bhutanese citizens havebeen killed and 19 others injuredby Bodo militants in the past threeyears, informs the Minister.

“We have already cut down onvehicular traffic through Assamand all traffic is now being re-routed though the Phuentsholing-Thimphu highway via West Ben-gal,” he adds.

The average Bhutanese is al-ready beginning to the feel theeffects. “Transporting essentialgoods from Phuentsholing to theborder districts has already in-creased the costs manifold,” theFinance Minister reveals. Also atstake: food-stock worth Rs. 6crores imported from Assam ev-ery year and the Rs. 4 crore worthof agricultural produce exportedto India through Assam.

For now, the Bhutanese gov-ernment has set up warehouses inSamdrup Jongkhar and Mongar toprovide food and essential sup-plies to people of the border areain case of a conflict. At this junc-ture, while the Bhutanese govern-ment says a war against the mili-tant camps should be a short one,it is also prepared for a long drawnout assault, says Norbu.

BHUTAN’S CATCH 22Indian ultras andthe Nepali issue

Kingdom urgesIndia to help

identify Nepalialiens

Quite expectedly, the Bhutanesegovernment feigns ignorance whenit comes to the issue of how north-eastern militants entered the coun-try. If one were to go by the merce-nary theory and the often made pre-sumption that north-eastern mili-tants were offered facilities in ex-change for support to neutraliseNepali dissidence and perhaps pushthem out, Bhutan’s inviting in theULFA, or for that matter the NDFBor the KLO into their country doesnot seem to have helped. Oncethere, the militants simply dug in,not just going back on a possibledeal of helping Thimphu rid itselfof the Nepali problem, but, accord-ing to reports, tying up with theNepalis instead.

That the ultras have an equa-tion with the Nepalis, at least theMaoists ultra among them, is per-haps substantiated by the fact thatthe ULFA has now been offeredspace in the Maoist-controlledareas of Nepal in the event of aBhutanese assault.

“There are over 55,000 non-

Bhutanese workers in the king-dom, some of whom have livedand worked in Bhutan for manyyears. All of them would, at somepoint, claimed Bhutanese citizen-ship,” said the Bhutanese ForeignMinister Khandu Wangchuk.

“The main agenda of theNepalis in Bhutan is to bring intothe kingdom a large number ofnon-Bhutanese people of Nepaliorigin, take over the country’s po-litical power and government ma-chinery and provide themselvesand other people of Nepali originwith land and Bhutanese citizen-ship,” says Dasho Wangchuk.

According to reports, whileNepalis comprise 30.82 per centof Bhutan’s total population of 7lakh at present, another 16 percent are in the “refugee camps”in Nepal. Bhutan’s crisis under thecircumstances would be obvious:a return of refugees from Nepaland India would mean the Nepalipopulation in Bhutan increasingto 46.82 per cent.

“It is imperative that any returnof people from Nepal or else-where is dealt with strictly accord-ing to the law of the land,” saysWangchuk. “We urge India to as-sist us in identifying the Nepalisto be taken back from the refugeecamps of Nepal.”

In Bhutan’s scheme of things,that probably would have a stron-ger bearing on its response to-wards Indian ultras based in thekingdom.

[By arrangement withNewsfile]

The doors of communication betweenChina’s Central government and theDalai Lama are wide open, a senior Chi-nese official was quoted as saying onThursday by Xinhua news agency,Beijing.

Zhuang Congsheng, an official withthe United Front Work Department ofthe Central Committee of the Commu-nist Party of China, made the remark ata recent news conference.

But Zhuang said talks with the DalaiLama would depend on his abandoning anymove to seek independence for Tibet.

“So long as the Dalai Lama abandonshis position on seeking Tibetan indepen-dence and publicly recognizes Tibet asan inalienable part of Chinese territory,contacts and discussions between himand the central government on his ownfuture can be carried out,” he said.

The Dalai Lama, even at a press con-ference held in Darjeeling during his re-cent visit to the hill station said that hewas willing to forego the demand forindependence if Beijing grants greaterautonomy to Tibet. Senior officials ofthe Tibetan government have held talkswith Chinese officials in recent months.

China “open” for talks with Dalai Lama Tibetan Chant

CD Nominated for

Grammy

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 11

C M Y K 11

TASHI NAMGYAL ACADEMYGangtok - 737101. Sikkim

REQUIRES TEACHERSFor The Following Posts W.E.F. February 2004

1. KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS - 2 Posts- Candidate should be Graduate with TTC / MontessoriTrained / B.Ed.Pay Scale Rs. 5000 - 150 - 8000 plus other benefitsas per TNA Board Rules.

2. TRAINED GRADUATE TEACHER - 1 Post - Candidate should posses B.A., B.Ed Hindi / M.A.,B.Ed with Hindi as one of the subjects and should beable to teach other general subjects also.Pay Scale Rs. 5,500 - 175 - 9000 plus other benefitsas per TNA Board Rules.

3. TRAINED GRADUATE TEACHER - 1 Post- Candidate should be B.Sc or M.Sc. B.Ed. with phys-ics/ chemistry as the subjects to teach ICSE classes.Pay Scale Rs. 5,500 - 175 - 9000 plus other benefitsas per TNA Board Rules.

4. Post Graduate Teacher Of Political Science - 1Post

- MA (Political Science) B.Ed. to teach ICSE & ISCClasses.Pay Scale Rs. 7000-225-11500 plus other benefitsas per TNA Board Rules

4. Physical Training Instructor cum Warden - 1 PostCandidate should be Retired Army Personnel withBachelor’s / Master’s Degree in Physical Educationand proficiency in games and sports.Pay Scale Rs. 5000-175-9000 plus other benefist asper TNA Board Rules.

TNA is a co-educational IPSC member school with ex-cellent working environment. Candidates with experi-ence of teaching, having fluency in English and PublicSchool background and proficiency in games and sportsshall be preferred. Apply to the principal within 15 daysof publication of this advertisment. Short listed candi-dates shall be called for written test and interview. Pref-erence will be given to local candidates.

PRINCIPAL

TASHI NAMGYAL ACADEMYGangtok - 737101. Sikkim

N O T I C E

Parents are hereby informed that allclasses in Tashi Namgyal Academyare overcrowded with students.Number of students in each classcannot exceed the present numberof students. Hence, we regret ourinability to admit students in anyclass in the Academic Session 2004.

PRINCIPAL

GANGTOK: The judicial offi-cials of the State gathered here atthe High Court on 6 December,last Saturday, for what the ChiefJustice RK Patra in his inauguraladdress said was “not just an or-dinary get together.” Inauguratingthe Conference of Judicial Offic-ers of the State of Sikkim, 2003,Mr. Justice Patra said the confer-ence was “an occasion” for intro-spection.

The Justice disclosed that al-though he was keen on holdingsuch a conference at an earlierdate, it could not be organized for“certain reasons.” A conferencelike this, he said, was necessaryto “consider” whether the judi-ciary was moving “on the righttrack.”

While pointing out that theConstitution has assigned the ju-diciary “the role of sustainer of therule of law,” the Justice stressedthat the subordinate judiciary wasthe “life-line of the entire fabricthe state judiciary.”

Making an interesting observa-tion, Mr. Justice Patra said that ina socialist democratic republiclike India, the State was respon-sible for raising the standard ofliving of the masses and reducingthe disparity between variousclasses and ensuring equality ofopportunity to all groups. “Theprocess of ensuring equitable dis-tribution among the public hasresulted in filing of cases in thecourts. As a consequence, the re-sponsibility of the courts has in-creased, both in volume and mea-sure,” he said.

Since every citizen has theright to receive “speedy, inexpen-sive and unpolluted justice,” in-trospection at conferences such as

the one held last week were im-portant, the Justice said. “In or-der to preserve the faith of thepeople in the administration ofjustice and rule of law, judiciaryas a hole has to remain vibrant andeffective,” he stressed.

Speaking on the judicial affairsof Sikkim, the Justice admittedthat unlike other states, Sikkimwas not facing the problem ofpendency of arrears in courts. Thissituation, however, may be a tem-porary phenomenon, he warned.“The time may not be far off whenwe may have to face such prob-lems,” he said while enumeratingthe reasons which delayed dis-posal of cases. Pointing out thatone of the reasons was “Court-made,” the Justice rattled off lackof punctuality, laxity, lack of con-trol over case records and courtproceedings by Judicial Officersas factors contributing to the de-lay. While stressing that theCourt’s time was “precious” andmust be “respected,” the Justicesaid that a Presiding Officer mustnot rest easy just because theymeet the target. “This kind of at-titude can well be described asthat of an ostrich which fails totake note of the danger lyingahead because once backlogstarts, it tries to percolate gradu-ally and time would come whenwe may not be able to cope withthe menace of mounting arrears,”he said.

In this regard, the Justice re-minded the gathered judicial of-ficers of the frequent circulars is-sued by the Court for early dis-posal of old cases and those re-lating to senior citizens and atroci-ties committed against womenand weaker sections of the soci-ety. He urged his officers to “lo-cate and examine” such pending

cases and dispose them “as expe-ditiously as possible.”

He also stressed that it was“necessary” for Chief JudicialMagistrates to periodically visitjails located in their jurisdictionsand hold court in jail if the situa-tion demands. Similarly, he alsocalled on district judges to makeperiodic inspections of subordi-nate courts under them. “Suchinspection should be effective andproductive and there should beconstant and regular vigilantmonitoring in the matter,” he said.

While speaking on theinfrastructural facilities of the ju-diciary, Mr. Justice Patra revealedthat the Court, in modification ofits previous resolution, has de-cided to have two Fast TrackCourts, one each at Namchi andGangtok. “The judiciary haspower, but without purse,” theJustice said while adding that ithas to depend on the executive forthe finances of administration ofjustice. In this regard, he pointedout the lack of residential accom-modation for several judicial of-ficers has already been intimatedto the state government for imme-diate attention.

The Justice urged that everyjudicial officer see himself as a“legal aider, totally committed toachieve the goal of equality be-fore law.”

He rounded up his inauguraladdress with the words: “May Istate that when a litigant knocksat the door of the Court and waitswith great expectation, he shouldnot be frustrated. We cannot for-get the declaration of the greatcharter of Magna Carta to noneshall we deny justice, to noneshall we delay justice and to noneshall we sell justice.”

RECAP SIKKIMRECAP SIKKIM

Chief Justice calls for

judicial introspection

DO NOT FRUSTRATE LITIGANTS:JUSTICE RK PATRA

a NOW REPORT

Chung Tongden Lepcha, projectcoordinator.

A total of seven local NGOs -Sangam Youth Club, LowerRakdong, Srijana Club, LowerMarchak, Sojaka Club, LowerRakdong, Yuva JagraiSangh, Lower Samdong,Sunakhari Club, Lower Kambaland Shivalian Club, Middle

Tumin participated in the event.Residents of different villages

from around Dikchu, as also la-borers of Teesta Stage V hydroelectric Project [dam-site] at-tended the programme in largenumbers.

Dr. Kalzang Diki, NGO Ad-viser, Sikkim State AIDS ControlSociety, graced the occasion asChief Guest while JKLimboo, District Youth Coordina-

tor, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Gangtokwas the Special Guest. RosieConnor from California, USAwas the Guest of Honor.

The Dr. Diki reminded thepeople of the alarming increase ofAIDS cases in our country as awhole and in Sikkim in particular.

All the speakers stressed on theneed to lead a healthy and risk-free life to save the society fromthis dreaded disease.

Dikchu mixes entertainment with AIDS awarenessContd from pg 6

12; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K12

GANGTOK: It has been prom-ised, then postponed; announced,and then postponed again and justwhen Gangtokians had stoppedtaking the ropeway project seri-ously, the one kilometer long pas-senger “bi-cable, jig-back” rope-way from Deorali to the TashilingSecretariat rolled its debut run onthe flick of a button pressed by theChief Minister Pawan Chamling atan elaborate inauguration cer-emony held at the Deorali junctionon 7 December, Sunday.

Dedicating the Ropeway to the“people of Sikkim,” Mr.Chamling said that it was a “his-toric day” for the State.

“The completion and commis-sioning of the ropeway is the ful-fillment of the long-desire of mygovernment to provide eco-friendlymeans of transport to the peoplewhich would also double as a ma-jor tourist attraction,” he said.

Asking the people of Gangtokto be “proud” of such landmarks,Mr. Chamling said that the rope-way had “added more beauty” tothe Capital and that it was like an“ornament” that adorned its beau-tiful landscape.

While speaking on the safetyaspect of the system, Mr. Chamlingassured that the ropeway was “ab-solutely safe” and urged everyoneto use it frequently.

The Rs. 14 crores project wasdesigned and constructed byDamodar Ropeways & Construc-tion Co. Pvt. Ltd [DRCC], Kolkataand took exactly 3 years to build.

Speaking on the occasion,Managing Director, DRCC, CLChamaria admitted that theproject was a “challenging one,”since the ropeway had to be builtover the populated Deorali area,along the busy stretches of theNational Highway 31A, and at thesame time, made attractiveenough to “make it definite desti-nation for tourists.”

“Right from the designing stage,these aspects were taken full careof and the project crafted to com-

The Jigback system, on which the new Ropeway is based, hastwo cables-one called the track rope that supports the cabinsand the other called the Haulage rope which pulls the cabins.The technology enables the two cabins move in opposite direc-tions at the same time.

The electrical control of the movement of the cabins is an-other engineering feat involving accurate deceleration and posi-tioning of the cabins in limited pre-fixed locations in the terminals.

There are three terminals along the one-km route - Lower Ter-minal Point at Deorali, Middle Terminal Point near the Assemblyand the Upper Terminal just below the Secretariat. There are nosupporting towers between the Lower and Middle Terminals, whichis a single span of 700 meters.

Each cabin has the capacity to hold 25 people, including oneattendant. There are lift facilities in the Lower and Middle Termi-nals, for the ease of the passengers.

The speed of the cable cars is set at four meters per secondfor the present with the provision of increasing it to 5.5 metersper second. The trip from Deorali to Secretariat thus takes aboutseven minutes.

The safety aspect of the Ropeway system has been the pri-mary concern with DRCC. The system has been fitted with fullycomputerized modern safety mechanism of international stan-dards that takes care of all possible snags like mechanical andelectrical failure and high velocity winds. The movement of thecars is constantly monitored by the main control room and in caseof a power failure, a standby 250 KVA generator is primed forbackup. In case the generator too fails, a diesel engine will bringthe cars back to the stations. Each car and the three terminalsare equipped with safety signal devices and intercoms. The ex-ecuting agencies of this project were Voest Alpine Austria Draht[Austria] and Doppelmayr Tramway Limited [Switzerland]. Thebrake system for the ropeway is imported from Switzerland andthe cable lines from Austria. Both are countries with an extensivenetwork of ropeways. The cabins were manufactured by DRCC.

ply with these objectives,” he said.Also topmost in the minds of the

designers was to proceed with thework causing the least disturbanceto the people living in the area andnot interfering too much with theflow of traffic on the Highway.

“In order to meet these objec-tives, we adopted the bi-cablejigback technology,” Mr. Chamariasaid. Thanks to this technology, notower was required between theDeorali and the Assembly termi-nals. Pulling the huge cables overthe Deorali Bazar’s tall buildingsand over the busy traffic was “ahuge challenge, and this could nothave been possible without the co-operation and assistance from vari-ous departments such as UrbanDevelopment and Housing, Forestand Sikkim Police,” the MD said.

While also expressing hisgratitude to the residents ofDeorali for the “support” they of-fered to the project, Mr. Chamariasaid that project could be com-pleted without any mishap due to

their support and assistance.The inauguration ceremony

was also attended by the UD&HDMinister, TT Bhutia, Secretary, LBRai, Chief Secretary, SW Tenzing,Cabinet ministers, MLAs, seniorofficers form DRCC and the Stateadministration and a large gather-ing of local people. Although freejoyrides were on offer on the in-auguration day, a one-way ride isbeing ticketed at Rs. 30 per headwhile the two-way fare has beenfixed at Rs. 50. Monthly tickets forgovernment employees will report-edly cost Rs. 500.

Interestingly, the State govern-ment is in the process of con-structing two more ropeway sys-tems in the State - one connect-ing Namchi with Samdruptsewhere a 135 ft statue of GuruRinpoche has been constructed,and the other between Maenamand Tendong. Also in the discus-sion stage are ropeways fromGangtok to Tsomgo and fromJorethang and Dhupidara.

About the Ropeway

Float from Deorali to Secretariat in 7 minutes!Chamling inaugurates Sikkim’s

first passenger ropewaySARIKAH ATREYA

DEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT

The Chief Minister, with his wife, Tikamaya Chamling, on his side, unveils theplaque announcing the inauguration of Sikkim’s first passenger ropeway.

[left to right]The Chief Minister at

the main control-room of the ropeway

at Deorali.Deorali, as seen from

inside one of thecabins on its climb tothe tower at the StateLegislative Assembly

at Nam Nang.

all pix NOW!

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 13

C M Y K

extrasTHE NOW! 8-PAGE SPECIAL

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Friday was a different experience altogether. Young violinists from Kyi-

de-Khang Secondary School Violin Or-chestra provided a much neededbreak from the braying and scream-ing rock shows that the festival keptforcing on the Gangtokians. With a littlehelp from certain quarters, the youngmusicians caressed the strings with as

GANGTOK SAHAR MEIN

MAARO GHAGRA JO

GHUMIO…

The Sikkim Food & Cultural festivalcame alive with the vibrant colours

and flavours of the deserts ofRajasthan on 6 December [Saturday]when the Marwari community show-cased their contribution to the cosmo-politan Sikkimese society through aspecial cultural show.

The stage pulsated with the foot-tapping strains of Rajasthani music, theswirling of the rich tapestry of theGhagras and the different hues of thecolourful Safas [turbans] even as theeager locals jostled for elbow-space totry the mouth-watering desert cuisine.

“This is definitely a refreshingchange from the routine Sikkimesesong and dance programmes whichwere becoming repetitive,” said a localgirl. “Even the food is a good changefrom the usual momos and rolls,” sheadded.

The food stall, put up by theInnerwheel Club of Gangtok, laid out ascrumptious fare that includedJodhpuri Halwa, Kesariya Jalebis,Mung Dal Chilla [pancakes] with Lesunki Achar and spicy chaats.

The crowd, which definitely seemedto have had enough of “local” culturalprogrammes, enthusiastically joined inwith the artists from Surilo, a MarwariCultural Troupe from Siliguri, whobelted out traditional Rajasthani folksongs and dancers gyrated to populardesert tunes from Bollywood.

The icing on the cake was a Nepalidance item put up by the troupe, muchto the delight of the crowd.

The fest surges to an end

AND THE STRINGS

CAME ALIVE

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:The Kyi De Khang Violin Orches-tra in full swing. Marwari ladiesgive Gangtok a taste of Rajasthan.KDK tinytots chill out inbeachwear.

MORE ON InTheCity

NOW! pics

14; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

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VAjRAThe 49th Day Kutse Shegu oflate Lassim Bhutia whoexpired on 26 October 2003falls on 13th December 2003.All relatives, friends and wellwishers are welcome to joinus in offering prayers for thedeparted soul at ourresidence at Sang, EastSikkim. We would also like totake this opportunity to thankall those who extended theirhelp in our bereavement.Namgyal Tshering Bhutia,

Norbu Tshering Bhutia,Lakpa Tshering Bhutia &

Lachung Bhutia (sons)Ph: 9434127196,

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The ongoing sale at ABACUSin Deorali has been extended

till 30 December on overwhelm-ing public demand. The 50 percent discounts offered on AdidasSports Wear and more than 60per cent discount on unbrandedgoods brought from Nepal andBangkok have been attractingcrowds by the dozens.

“We thought this will be a goodtime to hold the sale as the nextfew weeks have a lot of festiveoccasions and what better wayto celebrate than buying new

things!” says Sonam T. Yaka, pro-prietor, Abacus.

The Adidas range is full of newarrivals and has a variety of ar-ticles on offer from shoes to jack-ets, to even headwear. Withprices scaled down for all items,the discounts are making it pos-sible for everyone to buy thesebranded goods

Abacus has also brought theWILLS Lifestyle franchise toSikkim. The range has both ca-sual and formal garments for la-dies and gents.

“Wills is an exclusive brandthat is doing very well in the

metros, so I thought of bringingthe Wills Lifestyle experience toGangtok,” explains Sonam.

Abacus has exclusive dealer-ship for Nike and is launching theLevis wear for the tough jeanswearer.

“The other shops in theRajdhani don’t sell authentic andbranded stuff. Their goods don’thave quality and durability. Here,the customer can get value formoney and buy authentic goods,”boasts Sonam.

However, even with the dis-count, things are not so cheap.But remember its ORIGINAL.

A three-day Pre-ChristmasCelebration was held at

Community Hall, Gangtok, fromDecember 5 to 7.

Organized by the EvangelicalPresbyterian Church of Sikkim,Gangtok, in collaboration withPresbyterian Synod of Mizoram,the celebrations saw a good turn-out of members of the church aswell as the general public.

The audience were treated tomelodious carols and groupsongs. Solo songs were per-formed by the renowned Sukmit

[Tasho] Rai and Mrs. & Mr.George Suman Pasha, followedby teenager Christina Bishwa.

Other performances includedlively cultural dances by studentsfrom PNG, a skit by Penlong EPCSyouth, a mini-orchestra fromSubhang Pegha’s Melody Acad-emy along with the children of Kyi-de-Khang school, who brought thehouse down with their charmingversion of “Mary’s Boy Child”.

The highlight of the musicalprogramme was Handel ’sMessaih with the all time classic“Hallelujah” sung in Nepali by theMizo choir.

Ministers representing the

government assured the Chris-tian community of thegovernment’s continued support.While delivering his Christmasmessage, Elder Lalthlanglianafrom Aizawl thanked the govern-ment for its amiable relationshipwith the Church. Appreciating therole of Reverend PS Tingbo andthe organizing committee for thecelebrations, he said that theywere encouraged to hold similarprogrammes in Mizoram alongwith the talented Sikkimeseyouth.

The function in the final eveningended with the presentation ofmementos to the Mizo guests.

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The mist rolled through theTNA ground and the winter

nip in the air was strong last Thurs-day, 4 December. The perfect set-ting for some exercise which camein the form of BSNL, Gangtok’sannual sports day, organized forthe first time and open to not onlyBSNL employees, but also theirfamilies, telecom users and thepress and media. The focus wason fun with a dash of sports. So,there was a skipping race, a pot-breaking competition, spoon raceand a round of musical chairs. Ev-eryone participated, the invitedguests, the BSNL officials, kidsand even the Press present to

BSNL FUN N’ GAMES

cover the event. GM, Telecom,MK Seth while speaking to NOW!announced plans of holding simi-

lar fun-cum-sports meets for thedisabled and the destitute childrenwho did not go to schools.

The days of working out of rented accommodations are over for the staff at the Auditor

General’s office in Gangtok. They are now prepar-ing to move into a Rs. 4.97 crore complex completewith lifts, central heating and well-lit cubicles.

On 3 December, last Wednesday, the Comp-troller & Auditor General of India, Vijayendra NathKaul, laid the foundation stone of the new AuditBhawan coming up below the SITCO complex.Among those present were Principal Director[Staff], PJ Mathew, Accountant General of Sikkim,AWK Langsteih, his deputy Deepak Kapoor, andsenior officers of the AG office.

Interestingly, work on the newoffice building started somemonths back and is already “24per cent” complete. The SikkimAG’s office is expected to moveinto its own Bhawan in the firstquarter of the next year.

The new AG office, apart fromthe facilities mentioned earlier,Mr. Langsteih revealed will alsoinclude a gymnasium for the staff.Obviously the planners have re-alized the need to have the audi-tors sweat out the muddle of fig-ures they handle through the dayto remain fresh and energized for

the next round of auditing.The CAG, Mr. Kaul, in his ad-

dress lauded the “vibrant” servicerendered by the Sikkim AG office“in enforcing the mechanism ofaccountability” since it was estab-lished in 1981. He also thankedthe State Government for its“wholehearted” support and co-operation extended to the auditorganization through the years.While listing the improved ameni-ties being worked out for the AGoffice staff, Mr. Kaul revealed thata 33 unit residential complex willbe constructed in the comingyears for them.

During the function the CAG alsoplanted a sapling in the complex.

The Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Vijayendra Kaul, lays the founda-tion stone of the Audit Bhawan coming up below the SITCO office in Deorali.

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Inclusion – To be a part & notapart,” was the theme of thisyear’s World Disabled Day,

observed here at the CommunityHall on 3 December, lastWednesday. Spastic Society ofSikkim organized theprogramme in collaboration withDepartment of Health & FamilyWelfare. Other participants atthe function were National Asso-ciation of Blind [NAB], Sikkimand Sikkim Viklang SahayataSamiti. Children from the threecentres put up an entertainingshow of songs and dances forthe audience. Speaking on theoccasion CK Cintury, Secretary,Social Welfare, assured that thedemands raised by these orga-nizations with the governmentwould be addressed as soon aspossible. Chief Guest, NDChingapa, Additional Chief Sec-retary, said that the cause of thedisabled needs to be addressedat all levels, including takingawareness to the villages. Otherguests present were ManitaPradhan, Chairperson, SikkimState Commission for Women,officials from Health and Educa-tion Departments, doctors,teachers and resource persons.

Dr. Dhakal, General Secre-tary, SSS, presented the annualreport of the society. In theevening the children put up adelightful performance at theTourism Culture & Food Festival.

Vedanta, the Science ofManagement, has alwaysprovided excellent guide-

lines for management of thestate. Its teachings can be usedin industry, business or at home.These guidelines have becomeall the more important in thepresent times of chaos where ef-fective management is so essen-tial. For all those interested in re-duction in costs, creating com-petitive advantage and improve-ment in quality of products andservices, a series of manage-ment talks based on the Vedantaare being organized by ChinmayaMission.

Acharya Kailas Chaitanyaji willshare his insights in the four-daytraining camp which will addressthemes like Value-Based Man-agement, Stress Management,Time Management and TeamWork. The talks will be held atConference Hall [top floor] of theAccounts & Administrative Train-ing Institute, Kazi Road, Gangtokfrom December 11 to 14.

For registration contact GKPradhan, Ph.224132/ 222421 orSK Sarda, Ph.224132/223594

Management Talks

By Chinmaya

Mission

Towards Inclusion

16; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

INTHECITY

16

Language can unite peopleas nothing else. So saysMB Rai, Chairman, Sikkim

Milk, who has started the first In-stitute of Chinese language inthe state.

With a Diploma in Interpreta-tion of Chinese Language, fromthe School of Foreign Lan-guages, New Delhi, Mr. Rai hasbeen quick to cash in on the pro-posal to open trade throughNathula.

“People who know the lan-guage can benefit immenselywhen the trade starts,” he says.

The institute which is tempo-rarily operating out of OBCBhawan, offers classes in Man-darin, the official and most widelyspoken dialect in China.

“Learning this language cancreate employment opportunitiesfor the locals. They can becomeinterpreters, teachers or even geta job in China. Travel agents canbenefit a lot by having someonewho knows the language,” addsSunumit Lepcha, who has an MAin Chinese from JawaharlalNehru University, New Delhi andteaches at the new institute.

Courses offered are of sixmonths, one year and three yearduration and costs Rs. 1,000 per

month. However, in accordancewith government policy, 50 percent concession is available forthose living below the poverty line.

For the 18 students who haveenrolled for the classes since itopened in October this year, theexcitement of learning a new lan-guage, knowing that they will bethe first ones to have the advan-tage when trade between the twocountries finally happens, is astrong motivation.

“It has been only two monthssince we started the classes. Iexpect it to increase a lot in thecoming days,” says Mr. Rai.

Those who want to learn Man-darin can call the Institute of Chi-nese Language at Ph. 231108,250297 or drop in at OBC Bhawan,near SNT Depot, PS Road.

ME SIKKIMESE, SPEAK CHINESE

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The 56 year old MalchandAgarwal who passed away

on 4 December, 2003, last Thurs-day, might have been born inTaranagar in Rajasthan, but wasa Sikkimese at heart. Sikkim, af-

ter all, had beenhis home and laterhis karambhoomiever since he ac-companied his fa-ther to Gangtok in1948. He wasbarely two at thetime. His father,late RameshwarlalAgarwal was

known popularly as the“Dahibadawala” by theGangtokians who were intro-duced to this north Indian deli-cacy by Malchand’s father in thelate forties.

Malchand went to school inGangtok and studied till class VIII.By the time he celebrated his six-teenth birthday, he was marriedand soon started his own busi-ness. After trying his hand at vari-ous businesses, he finally settledfor a cloth shop at Lall Bazaar.

Since he was one of the moresenior Lall Bazaar-based traders,he was elected the General Sec-retary of the Lall Bazaar TradersAssociation when it was formedin 1981. He provided yeomanservice to the concerns of Lall Ba-zaar traders from this chair. Hewas elected the president of theAssociation in 1983. He held thepost till his death last week. Hissocial commitment was, how-ever, not limited to Lall Bazaarand there are many who willvouch of his contribution to thecapital’s affairs in general.

An astute, committed and hon-est person, his loss is beingdeeply felt by the traders at LallBazaar as was apparent in thehuge turnout at his funeral.

He is survived by his wife,three daughters and two sons.

OBITUARY

- MALCHAND AGARWAL -

Lall Bazaar’s

Soul

The Rajdhani will see modelsfrom all over the North-East

sashay down the ramp in a cul-tural exchange that is being pro-moted as the first of its kind in theState. Snow Pulse, a North EastIndia Inter-State Cultural extrava-ganza showcasing the best ofmodels and fashion designerswill be held here at the SikkimGovernment College Auditoriumon December 13-14.

Organizers of the event saythat top models and designers

from Mizoram, Nagaland,Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya andSikkim will come together in theshow, which will also consist offolk music and dances. Variousstalls displaying arts and crafts ofthe NE States will be put up dur-ing the two days of fashion, glam-our, and song and dance.

From Sikkim, fashion designerJyotsna Pariyar will be participat-ing in the show along with mod-els Chimi and Pooja.

The show promises to add justthe right sparkle to the Rajdhaniand cozy up the locals in thefreezing December evenings.

NORTH-EASTERN MODELSIN DESI SETTING

SAGAR CHETTRI

a NOW REPORT

Snow Pulse promises to

bring northeastern

cultures and fashion

to Gangtok in a

two-day fest

much ease as Yoyo Ma during hiscoming-of-age days.

Other shows by KDK were alsocommendable, but for the Tibetangypsy dance which could havebeen done away with, since TIPA’sexcellent rendition of the samewas still fresh on everyone’sminds. A lighter side to the eveningcame in the form of beachwearfashionshow by tiny tots.

KDK took the stage again onSunday as part of the CulturalMusic and Dance competitionwhere they once again displayedtheir dexterity in the form ofGurkha dances, Limbu songs,Bhutia dances etc.

Come Monday, Gangtokianswere treated to one ‘solid ’popsicle when the band fromSiliguri belted out one item-num-ber after another with titles rang-ing from Kal Ho Naa Ho toDeewana et al.

the festsurges to an endFROM ExtrasCover

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 17

C M Y K

POETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRYPOETRY

STORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESSTORIESLiTNOWWHEN THE HILLS WRITE

17

Just when they had lost all hopeof ever finding a flat within theirbudget in Mumbai, the agent

mentioned the cottage. Both, the rentaland the deposit were well within theirbudget, but, for some reason the agentseemed reluctant and hesitant, andwhen they asked to see the cottage hegave them the keys and directions, butrefused to accompany them.

The cottage was perfect. It wassmall - just right for them - near thebusiness district so they wouldn’t haveto commute far, and the windowslooked down onto a small garden witha large Peepal tree and a bench be-neath. Now, as Neeta looked out of the window, she sawthat a woman was seated on the bench and lookingstraight at her. The agent hadn’t mentioned that there wasanybody staying there, and Neeta nervously walked uptoher, hoping that there wouldn’t be any complications inrenting the cottage. By the time she got out of the frontdoor, the bench was empty. Whoever the woman was,she was gone.

When she mentioned the incident to the agent, his faceturned white, but he insisted there was nobody living there.Probably some trespasser, Tarun insisted. Relieved, shenodded and they finalized the deal. A week later, theymoved in.

The first night in their new house, it was past three andNeeta was fast asleep when a knock, a light repetitivetapping, like a knuckle gently tapping on wood woke herup. Nervous, she woke Tarun up but he found no one atthe front door. He could hear the light knocking too. Mustbe the window rattling in the wind, he told her. I’ll check itin the morning, he promised and went back to sleep.

But, a few hours later, he woke up again. The repeti-tive tapping had begun again, it was unbearably hot –there had been a power cut and the fans weren’t work-ing. Groggy and half asleep Tarun, opened the bedroomwindow. It brought instant relief – not only was it cooler,but the knocking also seemed to stop. Disoriented andvery tired as Tarun got back to bed he didn’t notice thatthere was a woman seated on the bench. He didn’t seeher as she got up and started to walk towards the house,towards the open window.

The next morning Tarun woke up and found Neetamissing. He looked all over the house and then found herfast asleep on the bench near the Peepal tree in the gar-den. It was strange – she couldn’t explain how she hadgot there. And her eyes... The first thing that had appealedto Tarun when he had met her had been her light browneyes. But now, as he stared into them looking for an ex-planation, he saw that they had turned blue… Neeta her-self seemed very different… something had changed…Perplexed, Tarun started following her everywhere. Mostsurprising were the places she visited. A laser disc video-parlour, a computer centre, a gun shop, a high-tech elec-tronic shop, and she always stared at any neon light boarddisplayed on the front of shops. Then suddenly one dayshe stopped eating and vomited something purplish. Tarunwas horrified.

Then for the first time in two days she spoke: “Tarun…Iam okay.”

“Of course not!” shouted Tarun, “you must visit the doc-tor.”

“No”, screamed Neeta, “I …am all right.”Suddenly Tarun noticed that Neeta was having diffi-

culty in speaking.“What the hell is the matter with you?” shouted Tarun,

“you must come with me to the Jaslok Hospital!”“No” screamed Neeta again in a strange and heavy

voice which Tarun had failed to notice earlier in the ex-citement. Tarun approached her slowly, but suddenly he

was pushed heavily towards the wall byan unknown force. He crashed against

the wall and hurt his head, and couldfeel blood streaming down from

the wound.“Sorry, human!” Neeta said,

again in a heavy voice. Thensuddenly she moaned andslumped to the floor. She hadfainted. Tarun got up quickly andbandaged his wound with what-

ever first aid he could lay his handson and rushed out of the house with

Neeta in his arms.Tarun ran as fast as he could and hauled

a taxi.“To Jaslok Hospital, fast!” he commanded the

cab driver.On reaching the hospital, Tarun went to the nearest

door announcing “Doctor In.” He put Neeta down on achair and then described her symptoms and her strangebehaviour to the doctor seated across in great detail.

The doctor looked at her suspiciously. He shook herand woke her up. Neeta looked around wildly. The doctorput his hand inside his coat pocket and took out a smallkind of remote control and pointed it towards Neeta.

“No” screamed Neeta.“My..suspicions were correct,” said the doctor, “Now,

the rebellion is over.”Tarun noticed that the doctor was also finding it diffi-

cult to speak and his voice too was heavy like his wife’s.“Save me!” screamed Neeta, “He is goin to kill me!”Tarun failed to understand what was happening around

him, but he sensed fear in his wife’s eyes. Swiftly Tarundrew out a gun which Neeta had bought during her shop-ping spree, and before the doctor, who was screaming”no..the rebellion…must be..stopped,” could press thebutton Tarun fired a fatal bullet aimed right at the middleof his forehead. The doctor fell down. Tarun then sud-denly swung his gun towards Neeta.

“You are not Neeta my wife, who the hell are you?”shouted Tarun.

“Since you saved my life I will tell you everything aboutmyself. I am from another planet. An alien in your lan-guage. The ruler of our planet is a tyrant and I am theleader of a small pack of rebels. The ruler has hired anassassin to kill me. I escaped and my spaceship landedon earth. I did not know that the assassin was followingme until I saw this doctor aiming that weopon at me. Since,I landed here, I started looking for weapons to help us inour rebellion. This is the reason you saw me visitinggunshops and high tech places. I needed a disguise ofan old woman but because people did not know me I justcould not dissapear everyone thought.. I was a super-natural being. So that I could roam about without beingnoticed I took the disguise of your wife,” as she said thisthe alien pressed the buton on the bracelet it was wear-ing, and suddenly a blue ray of light appeared and throughthe beam of light from the window, appeared Neeta.

“Oh! Tarun, I was so scared.” She cried and ran intohis arms.

For a fleeting moment Tarun had forgotten about thealien, the doctor and everything else and was very happyto see Neeta again, cuddled in his arms. The words ofthe alien suddenly brought him back to his senses andrealized that he was inside the Jaslok Hospital, encoun-tering an alien from another planet. The alien was speak-ing to them.

“I must leave now. It was nice meeting you and thankyou once again for saving my life.”

With these words the alien pressed the button on itsbracelet again, and was surrounded by blue light. Then infront of Neeta and Tarun’s eyes it disappeared, leavingthe dematerialised body of the “doctor’.

The writer is studying at Kirorimal College, New Delhi, andthis short story has also received a prize from SONY TV.

by NIKHIL PRADHAN

There’s a time and place for everything

That’s what ‘they’ all say

Don’t even ask who ‘they’ are

I never got to know at all

Who these mysterious ‘they’ were

But today I feel the need to ask

Were ‘they’ some wise old men

Or some tender young fools

Who thought they knew all?

Is there a place for silent grief

Where you retreat in deepest sorrow

Or is it a public, public place

Where you must proclaim your grief

To make others believe in it

Is there a secret place somewhere

Where you can unburden yourself

Of the anguish festering inside

Or are you forever doomed

To silently contain within yourself

What feels like Hell on Earth?

Is there a time for grieving alone

And a time for recrimination

Or does it all happen together

In this chaotic world we inhabit?

But what I really want to know

Is, is there a time for letting go

A time for moving on in life

Without someone who till now

Was a permanent fixture in your life

A person you will forever miss?

- TENZIN C.TASHI -

a time and place

18; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

WOMENEXTRA SPACE FOR THE FAIRER SEX

NOW!

18

WOMENNoticed mothers smearing warm

mustard oil, tempered with garlicflakes and fenugreek [methi]

seeds, all over a child’s body before abath? How mothers rave about the oilkeeping away the cold and making thechild’s skin feel good?

Such massages for newborn babiesand post-natal mothers is common prac-tise. The friendly-neighbourhood mid-wifewho gave the massages to the mother andchild would talk endlessly about the ben-efits of such sessions and how importantit was for their health.

They definitely knew what they weretalking about. Such massages are an an-cient practice that not only does it havetremendous therapeutic value, but is alsoan integral part of our culture.

But as one grew up, the massagesstopped. So did the pink glow in thecheeks, the soft and supple skin and theendless supply of energy. Stress becamea permanent fixture. You long for a sooth-ing, hot bath, somebody rubbing your backand neck and massaging the fatigue andstress away. Suddenly, you remember thepre-bath oil rub your mother used to giveyou. You can’t afford a trip to a five-starspa in the metros. Don’t you wish there

was similar service here… in your town…at an affordable price?

If you see yourself in the above situa-tion, here is some good news.

Ladies, massage therapy has arrivedin Gangtok, complete with aromatherapy,acupressure and your regular health mas-sage.

The White Orchid Beauty Parlour, lo-cated at MG Marg, is offering the ladiesprofessional massage therapy at a priceeveryone can afford. It offers a wholerange of massage therapy servicesthrough a highly qualified woman massagetherapist, who is trained in Native Ameri-can Healing and other forms of massagetherapies from America and Thailand. Sheis also a yoga therapist to boot.

Yoli Maya Yeh, the therapist, says thatmassage is all about touch, the most ba-sic form of therapy.

“Over time, we have forgotten the heal-ing powers of touch. Touch is enormouslyimportant to human well-being, especiallyin the modern world where social inhibi-tions stop us from touching each other. InIndian society, and definitely in Sikkim,massage therapy is so much a part of amother and child relationship. But we losethat as we become adults and the pres-sures of daily life make us more suscep-tible to stress and tension and other mod-ern-day ailments. This is where massagetherapy can be very beneficial,” she says.

MASSAGE THERAPY

First, the benefits of massage therapy.A massage doesn’t just feel good, researchshows it reduces the heart rate, lowersblood pressure, increases blood circula-tion and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, im-proves range of motion, and increases en-dorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.Therapeutic massage may enhance medi-cal treatment and helps people feel less

anxious and stressed, relaxed yet morealert. Massage therapy has proved to bevery beneficial, particularly in areas whereconventional medicine has not been assuccessful, including chronic arthritis,musculo-skeletal syndromes and chronicheadaches, among others.

So what exactly is massage therapy?Therapeutic massage involves the ma-

nipulation of the soft tissue structures ofthe body to prevent and alleviate pain, dis-comfort, muscle spasm, and stress; and,to promote health and wellness. It im-proves functioning of the circulatory, lym-phatic, muscular, skeletal, and nervoussystems and may improve the rate at whichthe body recovers from injury and illness.Massage involves holding, causing move-ment of soft tissue, and applying pressureto the body.

How is massage medically beneficial?Therapeutic massage can help with a

wide range of medical conditions, includ-ing: Allergies, Anxiety and stress, Arthritis[osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis],Asthma and Bronchitis, Chronic and tem-porary pain, Circulatory problems, Depres-sion, Digestive disorders, including con-stipation and diarrhoea, Headache, espe-cially when due to muscle tension, Insom-nia, Myofascial pain, Sinusitis and Sportsinjuries, including pulled or strainedmuscles and sprained ligaments.

And for women, the benefits can gobeyond just cosmetic. It is beneficial forladies with menstrual problems, post-de-livery problems such as sagging musclesand lower back pain, depression, moodswings, tension, anxiety and fatigue.

“Whether seeking relief for a medicalcondition, searching for a method to helpdeal with the stresses of daily life or want-ing to maintain good health, more andmore people, especially in the Westerncountries are now turning to therapeuticmassage,” says Yoli.

The services that Yoli provides arewide-ranging. A one-hour de-stress fullbody massage costs Rs. 400 andaromatherapy massage with essential oilsRs. 500. There are also regular healthmassages done in 21 sittings over a pe-riod of time at Rs. 200 per sitting. Thera-peutic massage consists of acupressurepreliminary conservative treatment andspecial acu-therapy treatment for Rs. 400each. A herbal massage is available forRs. 500.

“There are different massages for dif-ferent ailments and every woman shouldmake massage therapy a part of her regu-lar health and beauty regime,” advises thetherapist.

So ladies, take an hour off and experi-ence the healing touch of this ancient artthat has been practised for centuries.

Massage Therapy ServicesThe White Orchid Beauty Parlour,

New Market, MG Marg, GangtokFor appointment call: 222660

LADIES ONLY

The Power of Touch

NOW! can be reached at 270949. e-mail: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

IN GANGTOK!

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 19

C M Y K

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20; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K20

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NUINTOWN

ARIES: You may get an opportunity

to travel abroad. Business will be brisk.

Your status will improve. Social status

and popularity will be high. You may

receive a promotion. Teachers will be

very busy.

TAURUS: You will see easy suc-

cess. You may get a job opportunity

abroad. Social status and popularity

will be high. Expenditure will decrease.

Financial status will be very good.

GEMINI: Export business will do

well. Cash flow will be very good. You

may get a new vehicle. You should not

be too optimistic regarding news com-

ing in. Textile, chemical and food busi-

nesses will be very profitable.

CANCER: You can try your luck in

speculation to earn money. Small-scale

industry will do well. You may com-

mence new business. Students will

perform as expected. Employees will

have the support of their superiors and

subordinates.

LEO: You may go on a long trip. Ex-

penses will be higher than before. Liti-

gation will be postponed. Plastic and rub-

ber businesses will do very well. Encour-

aging communication will be received

from the person you are waiting for.

VIRGO: You may go for new business

activities. Partnership businesses will be

brisk. Social status will be maintained.

Understanding with you life partner will

be good. Income from your business is

indicated.

LIBRA: Business will be very brisk. You

will maintain good health. You will have

to watch over your father’s health. Ex-

penditure will be as expected. You will

be in a position to take a decision at work.

SCORPIO: You may acquire property.

You may go on a long trip. You may get

a job overseas. Students will do better.

Social status and popularity will be

maintained.

SAGITTARIUS: Financial crisis will

be over. Income through speculation

will be low. Financial position will be

good. Worries are indicated. Tension

due to spouse and business partner is

indicated.

CAPRICORN: You may start new

business. Business will be brisk. Wor-

ries will be over. Uncommon expenses

will be reduced. Peace and prosperity

will be maintained.

AQUARIUS: You may go for a long

trip. Social status and popularity will be

maintained. Business will be very brisk.

Encouraging communication will be

received.

PISCES: Business will be brisk and

busy. Employees will be rewarded for

their work. Those who have applied for

a loan may obtain a huge amount.

Domestic happiness will prevail. There

may be a new child in the family.

Paresh Rawal, Gulshan Grover

Handyman Plus. MidasTouch Inc. could not havethought of a more appro-

priate name for their new rangeof service that they are offeringto the residents of the Rajdhani.

A Handyman is what we allneed. Someone to pay our bills,arrange for carpenters andplumbers when we need themand ease out the little details oflife. Now you can have all this andmore for only Rs. 60 a month.Sounds too good to be true?Read on.

The services offered are BillPayment Plan [BPP], Emer-gency Plan [EP] and PrivilegeCard Plan [PCP].

The first service offers the facil-ity to have your electricity, waterand telephone bills collected fromyour doorstep by the HandymanTeam, who will do the needful andhand the receipt back to you.

The Emergency Plan ensuresthat in an emergency situation ,

you can call their office to arrangea Carpenter, Plumber, Electricianor Sweeper. They will get themfor you in less than two hours. Noextra amount will be charged forthis service except the actualsthat you will have to pay to theworkers directly.

A registration fee of Rs.20means that you become a mem-ber and within a month will re-ceive your Plastic Identity card,Partners information Booklet anda brochure. Your identity card willalso double as a privilege cardand can be used to avail dis-counts and special schemes atpartner outlets.

Similar services have beenoffered earlier by other firms, butgoing by the track record ofMidas Touch, the HandymanTeam will deliver. And we coulduse their help.

Handyman Aayo!

For further details contact:MIDAS TOUCH INC., Gangtok - 225521 / 220677 /

9832054742and we will be glad to answer your queries or send our

marketing team overto explain the scheme.

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 21

C M Y K

MANGLEY, SINGTAM: TheTeesta White-Water Rafting Ex-pedition of the National DefenceAcademy, Pune was flagged offby the General Officer Command-ing, 17 Mountain Division, Maj.Gen. Deepak Anand, VSM, on 8December here.

During this expedition, 14NDA cadets and their three in-structors will cover about 100 kmson Teesta in three days fromMangley to Sevoke with nighthalts at Bardang and Teesta.

The first phase of the expedi-tion will cover 18 km fromMangley to Bardang. On the sec-ond day, the white-water rafterswill cover 35 kms from Bardangto Teesta and the third and finalphase will cover 43 kms fromTeesta to Sevoke.The expeditionwill be carried out on treacherous,ice-cold rapids ranging fromgrade 2-4 [grade 5-6 are the mostdangerous].

Of the various water sports,white-water rafting happens to bethe most challenging and adven-turous. It was started in 1869 bySir John Powell in the AustralianArmy and has been fast gainingpopularity with the Armed Forcesin India. In 1992, white-waterrafting was first introduced atRaiwala, near Rishikesh, fol-lowed by ECANT [Eastern Com-mand Acqua Node, Teesta] atBardang. Teesta was chosen forthis expedition as it is consideredto be one of the more challengingrivers and makes considerabledemands on the technical andphysical skills of the enthusiasts.Training and expeditions onTeesta by armed forces personnelare conducted under the aegis ofthe Gangtok-based 17 MountainDivision.

The present expedition comesunder the Adventure Sports Train-ing Programme of the NDA whichis held every six months duringvacations for the cadets in theFifth Term who volunteer to trainfor adventure sports. These expe-ditions are carried out in differ-ent parts of the country to chal-lenge the mental, physical endur-ance and stamina of the youngcadets.

The 17-strong NDA team com-prises of two naval cadets, five airforce cadets and seven army ca-dets along with the officer in-charge of the expedition Capt.Mutthana and instructors Lt.Gupta and Lt. Sareen of the In-dian Navy. The team wasgroomed on extensively by in-structor, Lt. Nagen and river

guides, Das, Vijay and Bhagat ofECANT for 20 days on BasicRafting Techniques.

While speaking to NOW!,Capt. Mutthana said that the ex-pedition will be carried out on tworafts which will have eight raftersand one river guide each.

Cadet Arjun Singh [Army],while sharing his experience said:“This group of 14 was shortlistedfrom 90 volunteers. It feels greatto be here. The expedition will befull of adventure and thrills. It ismy first time and I realize it takesa lot of courage to do this kind ofthing which also teaches you teamwork.”

Another cadet, P Nehra [Navy]said, “In the beginning it was dif-

GOC flags off rafting expedition

ficult. The water and the weatherwere different, but now weadapted. Now, it has become en-joyable, rafting on one of the mostchallenging rivers of the worldwill be an experience to remem-ber.”

The confidence on display wascommendable given the fact thatthe cadets lost a colleague to thetreacherous rapids during trainingon 28 November. Cadet AshokPavu [Air Force], from Kochi inKerala, drowned while he wasswimming alongside the raft inwhich some of his friends werebeing trained on rafting. His bodywas recovered almost a week af-ter the incident when Navy diverswere pressed into service.

ANAND OBEROI

21

RECAP SIKKIMRECAP SIKKIM

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The 12th Day rituals of Late Malchand Agarwal,president of the Lal Bazaar Traders Associa-tion who left for his heavenly abode on 4 Dec2003 falls on 15 Dec 2003. All friends, rela-tives and well wishers are requested to accom-pany us in offering prayers for the departedsoul at our residence at Church Road.

Bhajan Lal Agarwal (brother)Tikam Chand Agarwal (son)

Mohit Agarwal (Son)

Anthyesthi Kriya

RANIPOOL: When Yankee andMangal Pradhan woke up lastThursday, 4 December, they didnot know that the time had cometo pay their dues. The duo, as wellas Chewang Bhutia and his wifeBunu Chettri are suspected tohave been peddling in drugs forsome time now.

Acting on a tip off, RanipoolPolice raided and seized a sub-stantial amount of drugs fromtheir homes last Thursday.

Although the Police had priorinformation on these dealers, itdid not have sufficient proof tomake arrests. However, on themorning of 4 December, they re-ceived information that a largequantity of drugs could be foundat both the residences as freshsupplies had come in.

A decoy customer sent by the po-lice came back with Nitrosun-10 tab-lets, along with Phensydel and Corexbottles, cough medicines which areroutinely abused by users.

The Police team of SDPO,Gangtok, OC and second OC,Ranipool along with constablesraided the two residences andconfiscated a substantial cache of

prescription drugs abused by ad-dicts in Sikkim.

They recovered 57 files [456capsules] of Spasmo Proxyvon,16 files [157 tablets] of Relipen,and twenty tablets Nitrosun-10from Mangal Pradhan’s house and34 bottles of Phensydel, 11 bottlesof Corex, 11 files [88 capsules]of Spasmo Proxyvon, 29Nitrosun-10 tablets and a cartoncontaining 40 empty bottles ofcough syrups.

While Yankee and BunuChettri were arrested after theraid, both the husbands managedto escape. Chewang Bhutia wasarrested the next day when he wasfound “loitering” around hisRanipool house. There is still notrace of Mangal Pradhan, who theinvestigating officials suspect hasfled to Delhi.

The arrested trio have beenbooked under section 22/ 27 ofthe Narcotic Drugs and Psycho-tropic Substances [NDPS] Actwhich can send the guilty to 10ten years of imprisonment. Thetwo drug dens were reportedlyservicing addicts in Gangtok andalthough the investigations arestill in the preliminary stages, itis suspected that they got into thetrade only recently.

SINGTAM: The latest technology Telephone Exchange of 1,000lines capacity was inaugurated jointly by SK Mittal, GM, NHPC[Sikkim], and MK Seth, GM, Telecom [Sikkim] at Balutar on 5December, last Friday.

The new exchange, informs a BSNL press release, has all modernfacilities to cater to the needs of the local clients. This new Exchangeis a Rs. 3 crore project and has such facilities as faster STD service,multi-party conferencing, faster internet access, call-waiting and call-transfer facility, DCR, detailed bill recording, ISD facility, morningalarm, faster mobile access and more STD and ISD junctions forcalling remote locations. With the new exchange in place, telephoneswill now be provided on instant demand, assures Mr. Seth.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Mittal expressed satisfaction forthe developmental work done by BSNL in Sikkim and for its con-tinued support for the communication requirements of NHPC here.

a NOW! pic

Ranipool peddlersget the cop sting

a NOW REPORT

1,000-line telephone exchange

inaugurated at Balutar

a NOW REPORT

22; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K22

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GANGTOK: The national land resourceconservation week [14-20 November], wasobserved at Dhamelay Khola-I watershedin a colourful celebration of communityparticipation at the Ralap Primary Schoolrecently.

The celebration had Minister Agricul-ture, GM Gurung, present as the ChiefGuest and was also attended by the areaMLA [Khamdong], Gopal Lamichaney,and senior officials, Soil & Water Conser-vation.

The function started with a welcomeaddress by the secretary, Dhamelay Khola-I Watershed, followed by the Jt. Director,S&WC, speaking on the need to conserveland and other natural resources.

The watershed initiative at DhamelayKhola-I is barely a year old in its 5-yearproject span which aims at improving the

GANGTOK: The Sikkim chapter ofBuddha’s Light International Association[BLIA] has announced plans to hold a one-day health camp at Chota Samdong inChakung constituency in west Sikkim on14 December, 2003. A BLIA press releaseinforms that specialists from the field ofgynaecology, ENT, pediatrics and generalmedicine will conduct the camp and medi-cine “as far as possible” will be distributedfree to the patients.

The BLIA’s Sikkim chapter is run un-der the presidentship of GS Lama and hasorganized a similar health camp n upper

RECAP SIKKIMRECAP SIKKIM

water availability condition in this dry belt.Recovery of barren land and conservationinitiatives are other aspects of the projectwhich is proposed by the locals and deliv-ered in assistance with the S&WC depart-ment. The area is under the care watersheddevelopment officer Mrs. Nawang C.Tonyot with Deputy Director, NamgayDorjee Bhutia, as in-charge.

Since the project is essentially aboutcommunity participation, the day hadmany activities earmarked for people.The painting and quiz competitions hadparticipation from students from RalapPrimary School and Makha SecondarySchool, who also put up an energetic cul-tural programme for the guests. A shortplay on the virtues of conservation wasalso put up by the members of theDhamelay Khola-I Watershed Associa-tion and was well received by the gath-ering.

Members of the Dhamelay Khola-I Watershed Association perform a shortplay on conservation at Ralap Primary School ground as part of the Na-tional Conservation Week celebrations.

Conservation week observed at Dhamelay Khola-I watersheda NOW REPORT

Dzongu in the past. It has also undertakentree plantation drives and weedingprogrammes at the Bulbuley Smriti Van andhas been providing financial help to poorvillagers for medical treatment. It is alsoactively involved in socio-religious activi-ties like observance of Buddhist festivals.Since last year, it has started maintainingan annual calendar of activities in pursu-ance of the “humanistic Buddhism”preached and propagated by BLIA founderMaster Hsing Yun.

The Association has also expressedgratitude towards the Department of Health& Family Welfare for its “invaluable sup-port and guidance.”

BLIA to hold health camp

at Chota Samdong

a NOW REPORT

Mr. Bhandari urged the office bear-ers and members to “forget thepast” and work together on a com-mon platform. This need to call fora united effort may have stemmedfrom the fact that there are report-edly a number of disgruntledvoices in the revamped SPCC [I].Those with prominent posts in SSPand with the Congress earlier, allwant to play major roles in the newset-up. The need to satisfy all mayhave led to the exhaustive list ofoffice bearers.

The Central Executive Com-mittee members include vice-presidents KN Upreti, chairman[Press & Media], OT Bhutia,chairman, [general administra-tion], Phuchung Bhutia, chairman

[transport], ThukchukLachungpa, in-charge [generalelections], Maj. T Gyatso, chair-man, [ex-army administration],Dawa Lhamu Targain and CCSangderpa, [women’s wing], PRSubba [youth organization].

Former SPCC-I presidentsKarma Topden, Penzo D.Namgyal and ex-chief ministerSanchaman Limboo and formerpower secretary LP Tewari [whojoined Cong-I on the day] havebeen given the posts of SpecialInvitees and advisors of the party.The post of the treasurer has goneto former Gangtok MLABalchand Sarda.

Most of the prominent faces inSSP have now secured importantportfolios in the SPCC [I]. FormerSSP vice-president Biraj Adhikariis now the general secretary and the

spokesperson of the party. Similarly,Hem Lall Bhandari is general sec-retary [legal and office administra-tion] and Pintso Chopel Lepcha,general secretary in-charge of EastDistrict organization. Jigme N.Kazi, the general secretary, PressMedia and Publicity [English], DNNepal, Press and Media and Pub-licity [Nepali] and SonamLachungpa, general secretary, [gen-eral administration and discipline].Former SPCC [I] general secretary,Tseten Lepcha is now general sec-retary in-charge of North District,while Taraman Chettri and BBSubba take on South and West dis-tricts respectively.

Likewise, Bharat Basnet is thenew president, District CongressCommittee, East, along with AnilLachenpa, North, JK Rai, Westand Parshuram Rai, South.

CONGRESS WEARS A NEW LOOK

Contd from pg 4GANGTOK: The Limbucommunity’s biggest festival,Sirijonga Teyongsi Sawan Tongnam,was observed all over the State on 8December, Monday.

The biggest celebration was heldat Martam, Hee-Bermoik, WestSikkim, which had the presence ofthe Chief Minister, Pawan Chamlingas chief guest the attendance of alarge gathering of Limbus from allover the State as well as those fromDarjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars andNepal.

The day marks the birth anniver-sary of Te-Ongsi Sirijonga SingThebe, the patron saint of the Lim-bus. Special prayers and pujas wereheld at the Manghim, a temple dedi-cated to him at Martam.

Te-Ongsi Sirijonga Sing Thebe,

believed to be an incarnate of KingSirijonga Hang was born on theMangsir Purnima [full moon] of 1704in Sinam village of Yangwarok dis-trict of Limbuan in Eastern Nepal.Since an early age, he dedicated histime and life to the promotion ofLimbu language and script and in thedissemination of modern educationamong the Limbus in Limbuan.

In 1740, he is believed to havearrived in West Sikkim viaChewabhanjyang along with eightof his disciples. Once in Martam,he started teaching the Limbu lan-guage and religion to the people ofthe area. Seen as a great threat toBuddhism and the Tibetan languageand script by the Budhhist monks,he is believed to have been assassi-nated in 1741 at Reshi Wadham.

Limbus observe

Srijonga Teyongsi Sawan Tongnam

10-16 December, 2003; NOW! 23

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GEYZING: East Districtemerged as state champions in thejust-concluded Inter DistrictSchool Athletic Meet, 2003, heldat Kyongsa Ground, Geyzingfrom December 7-9.

Organized by the Departmentof Sports & Youth Affairs, themeet had 420 participants fromthe four districts. However, onlyone new record was set when

Nimden Lepcha, reached the31.01 metre mark in Javelinthrow, in the Under-19 for girls.

Day One started with a marathonof U-19 & U-14 boys and girls. Thiswas followed by a march-past of allthe participants after Chief Guest,VB Pathak, Secretary, Departmentof Sports & Youth Affairs, declaredthe meet open.

This is the second time that themeet is being held in Geyzing, with

GANGTOK: Sikkim AmateurTaekwondo Association has se-lected the team for the 18thNorth-East Games, to be held atImphal, Manipur from December16-19 . Nine players consisting of5 boys and 4 girls have beenshortlisted to represent Sikkim invarious categories after a gruel-ing training camp.

Rupen Pradhan (fin weight),

Mahadev Tamang (fly weight),Rajesh Thapa (bantham weight),Jyoti Pradhan (feather weight),Lahrab Bhutia (light weight),Tenzing Dolka (fin weight),Pempa doma Tamang (flyweight), Dekkim Doma (Banthamweight), Meera Chettri (featherweight) have been selected.

While Hira Narayan Pradhanwill be the Team Manager,Wanchuk Atuk will preside as thecoach. Rajen Subba and Dawa

Tamang are going as technicalofficers.

“All the selected players areexperienced and talented and wehave great expectation fromthem,” say Dawa Tamang, JointSecretary, SATA.

Expectations are especiallyhigh from Rupen Pradhan, JyotiPradhan and Meera Chettri forbringing the gold home.

The Sikkim Contingent leaveson Thursday, December 10.

SATA shortlists 9 for Sikkim’sTaekwondo team to NE Games

a NOW REPORT

the last one held in 2001. Accord-ing to Thupden Rapgyal Bhutia ,DSO [east], this time, records werebeing maintained more meticu-lously for future reference.

The medal ceremony was heldafter every three events, with med-als given to the winners by girlsattired in traditional costumes.

The grand finale on 9 Decem-ber had HT Basi, Director, Youth& Sports Affairs, as Chief Guest.

East lifts Inter-district School Athletic trophyNimden Lepcha, the sole record-breaker

24; NOW! ; 10-16 December, 2003

C M Y K

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GANGTOK: Sikkim FootballAssociation’s Chamchuk Lama,an empanelled national referee,has become the first Sikkimese toconduct a senior national levelmatch. Mr. Lama left for Kolkataon 8 December, Monday, to offi-ciate at the National FootballLeague, 2003-04, which gets un-derway soon.

This is the first time that a ref-eree from Sikkim has been se-lected to conduct matches at suchprestigious tournaments. The Na-tional Football League will see thecountry’s top 12 clubs battle it outin Kolkata. Interestingly, the AllIndia Football Federation has dis-played no reservations on Mr.Lama’s neutral refereeing by se-lecting him to conduct the clashbetween East Bengal andChurchill Brothers to be played atSalt Lake Stadium on 16 Decem-ber. On that date, there will be twoSikkimese on the field – Baichung

representing East Bengal and Mr.Lama conducting the match.

The SFA President, TempoBhutia, has thanked the AIFF forgiving such an opportunity to alocal referee and expressed con-fidence in Mr. Lama’s capabili-ties. Another local referee, BikashPradhan, also a national referee,missed the chance to conductmatches at the tournament havingfailed to attend the Cooper Testconducted by AIFF recently.

Chamchuk Lama becomes

first local referee to conduct

national tourneya NOW REPORT

CONGRATULATIONS!