COVID19 Pandemic and Drug Addiction in Darjeeling
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…
Siliguri
COVID Samples Pending Test Since the 19th of May at NBMCH
In what may shock many, COVID samples are pending test at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) since the 19th of May.
Home Quarantine is Dangerous for Darjeeling Hills
In this crucial time of the COVID 19 that rendered thousands of migrant labourers, students, medical patients as well as travellers in a difficult situation outside their home, many states including Sikkim has already taken an initiative to bring them back home but with strict norms of 14 days quarantine at designated quarantine centres.
Rishi Kapoor and Me – A Personal Account
I clearly remember that I had walked into the house late one Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 1985. I was in class six then. My mother asked me if I had sneaked out to watch ‘the’ film. I said no. She gave me an uncanny look and then went on to believe what I had said reminding me it was “A” categorized film and was ‘not good’ for me. I spoke the truth. I had not seen the film. I also saw that Siliguri town was suddenly gripped by a fever. It was Sagar, the film which was the talk of the town. The bold posters that were plastered across the city were enough to raise quite a few eyebrows. It was much later that I actually got to see the film. I did not know that it was Rishi Kapoor then.
Apex Plan for Combating COVID19 in the Hills, Terai and Dooars
The COVID19 pandemic has been claiming lives and livelihood around the Globe at an alarming rate. Global & National Action Plans and initiatives to combat the pandemic have already been underway. Its success ultimately depends upon the effective and prudent actions undertaken at the Regional and Local level to implement it.
Siliguri-The Legitimate Claim Since the Old Gorkha Days
A question that anti-Gorkha elements have always triggered to counter Gorkha’s claim on Siliguri since the time of Left Front is, why should Siliguri be in Gorkhaland when 80 per cent of its population speaks Bengali? I decided not to halt unearthing the answer so easily after coming across an individual who said that this is an invalid claim of the community. To arrive at a proper conclusion, the most important of all the aspects would be to consider economy, demography and history.
Three-Tier Panchayat in Darjeeling – A Context
We, the people of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, wholeheartedly welcome the initiative to initiate Constitutional Amendment to implement the three-tier Panchayati Raj in these two districts. Panchayati Raj has been the backbone of Indian democracy. It envisaged incorporating all the villages and its population in the nation-building processes. Further, as the majority of the population lived in the villages it was an endeavour to make them equal stakeholders in the decision-making the process and the developmental activities. Panchayati Raj system came into existence when the Community Development Programmes failed due to the lack of governance and monopoly of the few. Panchayati raj was implemented to decentralise democracy.
“Bring in Constitutional Amendment – Pave Way for 3-Tier Panchayat in the Region” – MP Raju Bista
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista has demanded that Article 243M section 3 of the constitution which prevented the holding of 3-tier Panchayat Election in the hills is scrapped.
Gorkhaland – A Demand whose Time has Come
‘Gorkhaland’ the very name evokes strong sentiments – from a motley crew of passionate supporters to very dedicated gang of opposers, to a vast majority of well-meaning but clueless neutrals who irrespective of their understanding of the issue or absolute lack of it, comment on it passionately.
Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars: In a State of Limbo
There is a famous story about this king Satyavrata, who wanted to ascend heaven in his human form. He found a willing partner in Sage Viswamitra – who through his immense powers managed to send Satyavrata to heaven without dying, but Indra, the king of heaven, refused to permit a human to enter the realms of heaven, alive – for it was against the law of nature. Amid Indra’s refusal, and Viswamitra’s iron will — Satyavrata by now known as Trishank, hung upside down between heaven and earth and there he has remained ever since – in a state of limbo.