As the MLA of Darjeeling, I have several practical proposals in mind to really help all the affected people. I have seen with my own eyes how people have suffered and in my interactions with them have been painfully touching. For the migrant brothers and sisters who were forced to come back to the hills and also others I have few immediate suggestions.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama celebrated his 85th birthday on July 6 and given the border dispute with China; proposals for him to be conferred the Bharat Ratna started pouring in. In the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim too, the demand is picking up.
In the year of pandemic, 2020, India, a developing nation started having its first cases of infection in the month of February. By March 22nd, there were enough cases for Govt. to call for a lockdown of the nation with the immediate closure of all educational institutes. This led to the start of a new era of a method of teaching in this sphere of the Globe called Online Teaching. This might be a common practice in developed nations like Europe and the US, but it was new for the Indian subcontinent, where there is one of the largest populations of the young generation undergoing their basic education.
In our mountains we celebrate today as Bhadaure Purney!! as it is believed that today the 1st Jhyakri (shaman) got his gyaan from is guru. Today our traditional shamans (Jhyankri, Fedangba, Bijuwa, Dhami etc) visit their Guru and thank them for their teachings and the nurturing they gave.
2 जुलाई 1995 सालमा दिवंगत हुनभएका महान संगीतकार, शब्दकार, गायक स्व. जीतेन्द्र बरदेवाको 25औं पूण्यतिथिमा सश्रद्धा भावपूर्ण श्रद्धाञ्जली अर्पण गर्दै यो सानो लेख्न प्रस्तुत गर्ने प्रयास गरेकी छु। – मेनुका प्रधान, दार्जीलिङ
When I wake up this morning, the thirst for drinking cuppa made me look at my kitchen-shelf and found out that my tea container was nearly empty. I thought, will ask some tea leaves from my neighbour then it occurred on my mind that they have been on home quarantine for almost a week. Since we are tackling this apocalyptic situation venturing outside just for one particular supply deemed not as essential. So reckoning, what will be of my next tea time, I prepared for now with some left-over tea leaves which I enjoyed immensely as it was my last deoch an doris.
Are we responsible parents? Are we a part of responsible civil society? Is every school and every teacher taking up responsibility? It’s high time we pull up our socks and get ourselves on our toes if we want to see every flower that we have sown blossom and spread its fragrance.
Drug addiction is a common problem of youths these days. Most studies reveal that drug addicts are from the urban areas where there is sufficient…
Allowing tourism in Darjeeling from 1st July, 2020 is a blunder. I understand the plight and hardships the stake stakeholders of tourism industry are facing due to recent COVID19 pandemic crisis. I too am going through this adversity, as I myself am involved in tourism management in Darjeeling and Sikkim since past many years. We are facing extremes pressure to pay loans, EMIs, lease rent to the hotels, salaries to staffs and drivers, renewing and maintaining trade license of hotels, travel agency office, vehicles etc.
Although Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal and the state of Sikkim have been projected predominantly as tourist sites, the mainstay of the rural population continues to be agriculture. According to Census 2011, the majority of the population here are rural (60.58% in Darjeeling-Kalimpong & 75.03% in Sikkim) and agriculture is the main occupation. Here farming communities depend on wage labour, small businesses and tourism (homestays) to augment their income from agriculture and all these were also closed during the lockdown period.