1NOW!24-30 July, 2002

Panorama

BeyondCompetition

MG Marg, Gangtok, Sikkim - 737 101

ph: 25098 / 22488

Color Lab

GANGTOK WEDNESDAY, 24-30 July, 2002 Vol 1 No 8 � Rs. 5

CHECK FOR - RAJDHANI & WOMEN NOW! - FREE SUPPLEMENTS WITH EVERY ISSUE OF NOW!

CONVERSE 200226-27 JULY, 2002

KOLKATA: The Academy ofMotion Pictures has procured theonly existing print of Sikkim, thelittle known documentary by

Satyajit Ray,nearly threedecades after themaestro made thefilm, reportedly ina bad shape.

The print wasbelieved to be inthe custody of adescendent of theNamgyal dynasty.

T h edocumentary had

been commissioned by theChogyal, but Sikkim merged withIndia before the documentary couldbe premiered. It had been widelyrumoured that the only existingprint was with the Gyalmo HopeCook who had left for USA shortlyafter the merger.

The print was finally traced toher about two years back andefforts were spearheaded by long-time friend of the Ray family andfilm buff Dilip Bose of BrownUniversity on behalf of the RaySociety, the maestro’s Director sonSandip Ray said here.

The society is involved inrestoration and preservation of Rayfilms. The master print, firstrecovered from Hope Cook by aprofessor colleague of Bose, hasnow been taken over by theacademy, which has alreadyrestored 11 films of the late filmmaker, Sandip Ray said.

Asked when the restoration ofthe film will begin, Sandip said,“Since the Academy has just gonethrough the process of procuringthe print other follow-up issues likerestoration do not arise now.”Sikkim is one of the sixdocumentaries by Ray.

The 60-minute documentary inblack and white was shot in 1971,and contains picturesque shots ofthe then Himalayan kingdom. Themaestro is reported to have taken ayear to finish its shooting.

The film has never beenpublicly screened in India. It is,however not yet certain whether thedocumentary will be brought toIndia for screening.

Among the 11 restored Rayfilms, done at a cost of $1 million,there was a documentary on poetRabindranath Tagore and Manihar,the missing part of the Threedaughter series of Ray based on thework of the Noble recipient andliterary colossus.

3-DECADE-

OLD RAY

DOCUMENTARY

“SIKKIM”

PROCURED

MISMANAGED

SBS, SOMBARIA,

BRANCH MANAGER

ARRESTED

SOMNAMBULANT

SUPERVISION CAUSES

RS. 2 CRORE

EMBEZZLEMENT AT

SBS SOMBARIA

With banking practises as lax asat SBS, the Sombaria episode wasa time-bomb ticking to explode.Reconciliation of accounts hassurprisingly not been the prior-ity with the bank, leaving unscru-pulous personnel with enoughopportunities to try and schemea plan to embezzle funds. AtSombaria, however, SBS deservescredit for having detected mal-practice and ordering a full-fledged enquiry in the activitiesof the Branch Manager there. Hewas subsequently suspended andhas now even been arrested asVigilance takes over the case...

TURN TO pg 5 FOR DETAILS

ACHULEY!COUNCIL NOD FOR

INCLUSION OF LEPCHA

AS 2ND LANGUAGE

IN ICSE, ISCGANGTOK: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has decidedto include Lepcha language as a second language in the ICSE and the ISCexaminations. The language is slated for inclusion from the year 2005 academicsession. CBSE already offers Lepcha and Bhutia as options for second languageand the Council’s decision, it is learnt was spurred by a representation made bythe Sikkim Lepcha Youth Association, North District, making the request....

- TURN TO pg 8 FOR DETAILS

BEYONDCOLD

TURKEYTHE STORY

OF

SIKKIM’S

SENTINELS

AGAINST

SUBSTANCE

ABUSE- TURN TO pg 3 FOR

DETAILS -WEST SIKKIM CONSIDERS SWITCHING FROM PADDY TO CASH CROP CULTIVATION - pg 4

2 NOW! 24-30 July, 2002RECAP SIKKIM

FOUR SUICIDES IN

ONE WEEK

a NOW REPORT

JORETHANG: A fifty-year-oldwoman, resident of Goom BelboteyKitam Block committed suicide byhanging herself froma tree on July16, 2002 at around 8 o’clock. AtNazigaun, Jorethang, a youth tookhis own life by hanging himself inhis bathroom at around 11 am onJuly 21, 2002. Further east, inPakyong, a 55-year-old man, aresident of Dugalakha Bustycommitted suicide by hanginghimself inside his house. He wasreportedly undergoing psychiatriccare for quite some time. A residentof Penlong is also reported to havetaken his own life in a hotel roomin Siliguri.

DRIVERS

ARRESTED ON

CHARGES OF

KIDNAPPINGa NOW REPORTRANGPO: Two drivers of RangpoBazaar, Raju Pradhan and SunilChettri, were arrested on chargesof attempted rape and kidnappingon July 21. A report against themwas filed by a girl from HeeBermiok (West Sikkim), whoclaimed that the duo had forced herinto their vehicle and werewhisking her away when shemanaged to jump off. She sustainedminor injuries in her attempt toescape from the moving Marutivan. She was medically examinedand the culprits were arrestedthereafter.

CM CALLS ON

BJP CHIEFGANGTOK: The chief minister,Pawan Chamling called on the BJPpresident, Venkiah Naidu in NewDelhi on July 23. Mr. Chamling,who is in New Delhi at themoment, discussed various issuesrelating to the State with the newBJP president. According to a pressrelease, Mr. Naidu has assured allpossible assistance to Sikkim,especially in the providing safedrinking water. Mr. Naidu has saidthat the State should work incoordination with the centralgovernment for Sikkim’sdevelopment.

GANGTOK: The Sikkim PradeshCongress Committee-I (SPCC-I)has expressed its displeasure overwhat it calls the “arbitrary andunilateral manner” in which thecentral government has reduced thequotas in medical seats for Sikkim.

SPCC (I) spokesman, KNUpreti said in a press statement that“the callous approach of the Stategovernment in dealing with thematter is shameful, as it involvesthe career of meritorious studentsof this educationally deficientState.”

“The north eastern states andSikkim have been provided withseats in reputed medical collegesacross the country to provideopportunity to the deserving andmeritorious students for shapingtheir careers as these States do nothave medical colleges or the ones

GANGTOK: Former ChiefMinister and Sikkim SangramParishad supremo, Nar BahadurBhandari has expressed hisreservations on the appointment ofa ministerial committee to discussthe Income Tax issue.

Terming the move as“irrelevant,” Mr. Bhandari said ina press statement that theappointment of the committeemakes no sense since Sikkim’s OldLaws already stand protected underArticle 371F and cannot bereversed at this stage. “Nothingshould be or could be done at thispoint of time,” as the decision was“against the spirit of the May 8,1973 Tripartite Agreement and the

Part of the procession to mark Guru Trungkhar Tsechu, which was observed on July 19. This day isconsidered the most auspicious Tshechu Day. The day began with Tshog and Chodme offerings atTsuklakhang Monastery. Later, a procession carrying a special statue of Guru Rinpoche started fromChorten Gumpa and culminated at The Tsuklakhang Monastery.

set up in the States lack adequateinfrastructural facilities for suchspecialized courses. To do awaywith these seats or reduce the quotais unfair to the students of Sikkim,”Mr. Upreti said.

He said that the “excuse” thatSikkim now had its own medicalcollege was neither “maintainablenor rational.” “The Manipalmedical college here is in the infantstage and lacks properrecognition,” he said, claiming thatthe college has only received aconditional clearance from theMedical Council of India and thatthe “permission to run the medicalcourse is given on a yearly basisand the College is still waitingclearance for this year ’sadmissions.”

“The college lacks properinfrastructural facilities and trainedlecturers,” Mr. Upreti alleged,adding that the College being aprivate one had a high fee structure

beyond the means of the State’spoorer students.

The SPCC (I) spokespersonfurther said that the stategovernment owes to it to the peopleto deal with the issues in the “rightearnest” and to get the state’s quotaof medical seats restored in full tosafeguard the interests of thestudents aspiring to make a careerin medicine.

“The indifferent attitude of thestate government is deplorable,”Mr. Upreti said.

Meanwhile, the AICC generalsecretary-in-charge of Northeastand Sikkim, Imran Kidwai arrivedon a visit to Sikkim on July 19.

According to party sources, thevisit of Mr. Kidwai is to overseethe functioning of the party in thestate and formulate strategies forthe revival of the Congress inSikkim. The SPCC-I is also gearingup for the ensuing Panchayat andMunicipality polls in the state.

a NOW REPORT

CONG WANTS MEDICALQUOTA REVERTED

constitutional guarantees underArticle 371F,” he said.

The State Cabinet recentlydecided to set up a ministerialcommittee to seek ways to breakthe impasse over theimplementation and enforcementof Central Direct Taxes in the State.

Mr. Bhandari said that theConstitutional mandate was “supremeand sacrosanct” and his party standsby this “constitutional arrangement.”

“The case filed in the SupremeCourt against the implementationof Income Tax laws in the state wason merit,” he said. He accused theChamling government ofwithdrawing the case “in aconspiracy to make the peoplesurrender their bonafide rights.”

“Appointment of anycommittee to discuss the tax issue

is irrelevant since Sikkim’s lawsstand protected under theconstitution and cannot be reversedat this stage. The people of Sikkimcannot allow its violation or anyfraud being perpetrated on itsprovisions,” he said.

Mr. Bhandari also accused theChamling government of retractingfrom its stand on the income tax issue.

“In November 2001, an all-partydelegation had gone to Delhi toimpress upon the central governmentnot be implement the tax laws inSikkim as that would be against thespirit of the tripartite agreement andalso against Article 371F. My partystill stands to this constitutionalarrangement, whereas the formationof the ministerial committee isagainst the whole intent behind thisexercise,” he alleged.

a NOW REPORT

BHANDARI PROTESTSFORMATION OF

MINISTERIAL COMMITTEEON INCOME TAX

rajdhaniIN

GET

SOME

FRAGRANCE

INTO

YOUR

LIFE

Akhil Bharat

Nepali Ekta

Samaj

banned

under POTAa NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Akhil Bharat NepaliEkta Samaj (ABNES) was declared“unlawful” under the Prevention ofTerrorism act, 2002, in a decisionpassed by the Home Ministry ear-lier this month. Banned along withABNES were Tamil Nadu Libera-tion Army and Tamil National Re-trieval Troops. This takes the totalof organisations banned underPOTA to 32.

It might be of interest to notehere that ABNES was first bannedduring the Nepal monarch,Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah’srecent visit to India. At that time,the reason offered was that theorganisation had been functioningin India for the past 17 yearswithout registering with thegovernment. Space-Time, a Nepalbased cable TV outfit, whilequoting an official from the IndianEmbassy in Kathmandu had evenhinted that the ban followedABNES’ involvement in offeringprotection and shelter to leaders ofthe Nepali Maoists. The group isalso accused of lobbying for theMaoists by organising publicmeetings and raising donationsfrom Nepalis in India, as well asIndians, to support the rebel cause,Space Time had alleged.

Interestingly, shortly after KingGyanendra’s visit, the West Bengalgovernment formed a specialsecurity task-force to arrest Maoistterrorists and destroy their traininggrounds. The State PoliceDirectorate decided to deploy aspecial security task-force after itwas informed by intelligenceagencies about Maoist activities inthe forests of North Bengal. Thetask force is well-trained and hasmodern communication equipmentand weapons.

ABNES, reports Space-Time, issuspected of having served as abridge between Nepal’s Maoistsand India’s People’s War Group(PWG), the Maoist CommunistCentre (MCC), the UnitedLiberation Front of Assam (ULFA)and the Bodo separatists. Thereport quotes “a senior Indianofficial” as stating that thegovernment had proof that thegroup was aiding Nepal’s Maoistsin obtaining weapons and trainingfrom foreign terrorist groups suchas the Sri Lankan (LiberationTigers of Tamil Eelam).

Hari Acharya of the NepalCommunist Party (Masal) says thatbecause the Society was being usedas a shelter for Maoists as well asa source of financial support andtraining, its ban would have majorconsequences. Acharya is a formeractive member of ABNES andformer MP. He added: “They werespreading confusion by using thename of the group, legallyregistered, and affiliated with ourparty, the All India Unity Society.Now we are assured (that the namewon’t be misused).”

CONTACT NOW! AT 70949 EMAIL: SIKKIMNOW@REDIFFMAIL.COM

3NOW!24-30 July, 2002

Offering hope and recovery to drugusers and alcoholics, the SikkimRehabilitation Centre was offi-

cially inaugurated on June 18, 2002. TheCentre, located at 32-Mile, Nimtar, EastSikkim, offers treatment for drug addictionwhich includes detoxification, behaviouraltherapy such as counselling or psycho-therapy, medications or their combination.On land donated by Pastor Joseph Tamang,who incidentally, is also bearing all theexpenses, this centre is the culmination ofthe efforts and struggle of two individualswho have taken up this cause as the mis-sion of their lives.

PJ Pradhan and Rajen Dewan, bothclaim to be reformed alcoholics. They say:“We used to drink all the time. All ourfriends have died of alcohol abuse. We won-der why we are alive? What is the pur-pose?”

This search for a meaning to their livesgave them the strength to not only give updrinking in 1983, but also use their, “beenthere, done that” experience to help othersdeal with similar problems.

The beginning was small. The Princi-pal of PNGS School sent a student for coun-selling to Pradhan. The result was very posi-tive. Slowly more young people came tohim for sharing their problems. The Churchasked him to train the hope prayer fellow-ship in counselling.

“All the while I used to dream of start-ing a rehab centre, but there were no fundsavailable. Then, Rajen, who was workingin Darjeeling, came to help me,” recollectsPradhan.

Rajen Dewan brought with him the ex-perience of having worked with KRIPA, theMumbai-based NGO. Having workedwidely in Darjeeling, Kolkata, Mumbai,

Mr. PD Rai, SIDICO, Sikkim Women’s

Council, Mr. Dayaratna Pradhan, Ex-

ecutive Director, SECAI, GT Lama, Prin-

cipal, Ranipool Government School,

BK Lhamu, Principal, Tathengchen

Government School, Anugra Rai and

Rhoda Pegha, teachers from West

Point School, have been taking a keen

interest in the whole project and Sikkim

Rehabilitation Centre wishes to ac-

knowledge their support.

DEVELOPMENT

SIKKIM’S SENTINELS AGAINST

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

BEYOND COLD TURKEY

Goa and Meghalaya as part of the KRIPAFoundation, Rajen knew how to deal withproblems of chemical dependency. The duoworked informally with users and their fami-lies over the next few years.

Not having a centre, they would work outof houses or hotels. At times, with more than18 addicts for detoxification. Today, RajenDewan is the Programme Director, SikkimRehabilitation Centre. He looks after the dayto day affairs of the rehab centre, whilePradhan screens, motivates and conductsfamily meetings because he believes: “Theaddict is addicted to chemicals and the fam-ily is addicted to the addicts. The addict suf-fers from the symptoms of addiction, whilethe family suffers from dysfunction. Oneneeds to help them break out of this viciouscycle.”

Once an addict is admitted to the rehabcentre, he or she is kept in the Intensive CareUnit of Singtam Hospital to help minimisethe withdrawal process which can be fatal ifnot monitored properly. After the initial de-toxification process is over, the patient isbrought to the centre for rehabilitation.

Here, from day one, he is involved in the

recovery routine. Rules are laid down, theneed for discipline explained and a completechange in lifestyle enforced. For example,making them do their own chores, washingtheir own clothes etc. Treatment can occurin many different forms and for differentlengths of time, because as they claim: “Drugaddiction is typically a chronic disorder char-acterised by occasional relapses. A short-term, one-time treatment is often not suffi-cient. For many, treatment is a long-termprocess which involves multiple interventionsand abstinence.”

That is why behavioural therapy is veryimportant. This offers people strategies forcoping with their drug craving, teaches themways to avoid drugs and prevents relapse andhelps them deal with relapse if it occurs. It isin this area that PJ Pradhan chooses to work.

He says, “Just telling an addict not to takedrugs is not going to help. It is a complexproblem and we have to handle it delicatelybecause all the cases are very sensitive.”

So, how big is the problem in Sikkim?“It is very big. And the scary part is that

the average age of drug users has started de-clining. At one time, drug abuse used to be a

problem among youngsters above the ageof 18, nowadays, more and more youngerchildren are taking to it. Last year, a boy inclass III committed suicide. .”

Horror stories like these abound. Re-cently, a young boy developed gangrene inhis leg and it had to be amputated. Appar-ently, he was injecting himself in the thighwith dissolved tablets in a syringe. Sedimentstarted accumulating and an abscess devel-oped. Blood supply was blocked and itstarted stagnating. Finally the doctors hadno option but amputation.

Says Pradhan, “The hospital has alreadyamputated three cases where the tip of theneedle broke and spread infection. Painkill-ers are not meant to be injected. These arenot rare cases. They happen quite often.”

The need to spread awareness becomeseven more acute. “We need schools to havecounselling cells; people to sponsor aware-ness programmes; constant emphasis needsto be given. We have to frighten the youngwith details of the terrible effects of abuse,”says Dewan.

PJ Pradhan and Rajen Dewan have over-come their own problems and are now us-ing their experience and wisdom to help oth-ers. The only limitation they have is limitedfinance. Sponsors, business houses, indi-viduals who care about the problem can sendin contributions to Sikkim RehabilitationCentre, No. 32, Nimtar, East Sikkim. Fami-lies of drug users can contact them at 54347(rehab centre) or (26302, counselling, PJPradhan). A collective responsibility isneeded to address the problem.

Drug addiction is no longer

something Sikkim can

ignore, but it does. Two

reformed alcoholics have,

however, taken up the

cudgels to battle chemical

dependancy in Sikkim.

They might be strapped for

funds, low on resources,

but their commitment

knows no limits. They now

have a rehabilitation

centre where they can

care for recuperating

addicts better. MITA ZULCA

profiles the duo, their work

and Sikkim’s drug

problem...

A 10-YEAR-OLD COMMITTED SUICIDEAFTER SUFFERING WITHDRAWALSYMPTOMS SO SEVERE THAT HE WOULDPUNCH HIMSELF WITH A COMPASS...

PJ PRADHAN AND RAJEN DEWAN, THE REFORMED ALCOHOLICS WHO NOW HELP ADDICTS KICK THE HABIT

4 NOW! 24-30 July, 2002FROM THE SPOT

GYALSHING: West Sikkim,beyond Gyalshing, is cut off fromthe rest of the State owing to amajor landslide at Kalej Khola.

The rains, which have beenharsh for the district, have already

Dzongu girl

bags Lt. Lha

Tshering

Memorial

Literary Awarda NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: Phurkit Lepcha, astudent of Hee Gyathang Sr. Sec.School, Dzongu has been conferredthe Lt. Lha TsheringKunchdyangmoo Memorial LiteraryAward for the year 2002. The awardincludes a cash prize of Rs. 5,000/-and a certificate. The award is inrecognition of thestudent’sperformance in the AISSExamination (ClassX). Phurkittopped the Lepcha languageexaminations from Sikkim this year.The award will be given of theoccasion of Tendong Hlo Rum Faatwhich falls on August 8, this year.Lt. Lha Tshering Kunchudyangmoowas an eminent poet, writer,historian and treasurer of SikkimLepcha Association. He also servedas the senior translator (Lepcha) inSikkim Legislative Assembly. Hedied in an accident in 1996.

caused several families to relocateto safer areas. District officialsinform that people who had theirhouses at the foot of steep hills hadto be vacated because of the dangerof landslides. Families from nineconstituencies in the district had tobe relocated in this fashion. Thepeople who abandoned their housesreceived funds from theGovernment and have alreadystarted house construction at saferplaces.

In another development,farmers at Lower Bhalu Thang,under Tashiding constituency wererendered to a sorry state due to thecondition of their paddy fields,which are on the verge of dryingup. The irrigation channel meant

for irrigating their fields wasdamaged by a landslide recently.Thirty acres of paddy field arewithout water according to theADC (West) who inspected thearea along with the officers fromthe Agriculture, RDD andIrrigation Departments.

The Agriculture Department hassuggested that the farmers shouldgive up the cultivation of paddy andswitch to horticulture. Thecultivation of paddy is a very “costlyaffair” says SB Subba, DC (West).The process of collecting the waterfor irrigating the fields is veryexpensive and the returns that thefarmers get from cultivating paddyis not very good, he explained. Thus,agriculture experts have suggested

WEST SIKKIM CUT-OFF; CONSIDERS SHIFT

FROM PADDY TO CASH CROPSthat planting of cash crops such ascardamom, ginger and oranges willbe economically better for thefarmers. These cash crops are alsosupposed to help check landslidesand be more beneficial than thetraditional paddy farming.

The planting of paddy hasalready been completed, thus theirrigation channel that wasdamaged has been replaced withhuge poly pipes for the time being.Since no permanent solution can befound, the Agriculture Departmenthas suggested that the croppingpattern should be changed and cashcrops are seen to be the most suitedfor the situation. This plan will beimplemented over the next threeyears, DC West informed.

Monsoons have been

unduly harsh on West

Sikkim prompting

relocation and even a

rethink on its

traditional paddy

cultivation.

SUMANLATA PRADHAN

reports

GET CONNECTED WITH

Nayuma Cable TelevisionAND GET TUNED WITH THE WORLD!

JUST IN RS. 100/-

A total Entertainment & InformationChannel now in Gangtok

Zee Tv Nepal TelevisionZee Music Channel NepalZee English Sahara TelevisionZee Cinema Aaj TakZEE News BBCHBO B4UCartoon Network DD1CNN DD2Niclodion ETV (Bangla)MGM DD7Alpha Bangla etc.Ten Sports ETV (Bihar)DD Sports MCMHallmark DD BhartiFashion TV PTV World

MTV

Monthly Fee Rs. 130/- only

For further details contact:

NAYUMA CABLE TELEVISIONTibet Road, Gangtok, East Sikkim

phone: 28348, 21832

GANGTOK: The Chief Minister,Pawan Chamling deniedallegations that he was involved inthe assassination attempt on theGNLF supremo, Subhas Ghisinghlast year.

Speaking at the inauguration ofthe Press Club of Sikkim here onJuly 17, Mr. Chamling said that asection of the Press had linked himwith the attempt on the life of theGNLF supremo, which he said was“part of the misinformationcampaign launched by some vestedinterest to create fissures in therelationship between the people ofSikkim and Darjeeling Hills.”

Mr. Chamling called the FourthEstate in Sikkim to work for thebetterment of the society as a wholeand asked them not to indulge inspeculation and report the truth.

He said that there was a “well-planned disinformation campaigngoing on in the State” and urged

and GIFT yourself

MGAFREE

Monsoonthis

buy a MarutiatENTEL

MARUTI

GENUINE

ACCESSORIES

WORTHRs. 5,000offer valid for Omni, Car 800 & Wagon R

till 26th July, 2002

ENTEL MOTORS

6TH MILE, TADONG. PH: 31828, 32341, 32059

the Press to play a positive role incombating this evil. He said thatthe standard of journalism in theState has to improve.

Mr. Chamling also refutedallegations that he had links withthe Maoists as reported in somenewspapers recently.

Mr. Chamling also expressedhis displeasure over the fact thatsome of the schemes of thegovernment were benefiting only ahandful of contractors andsuppliers when it should havebenefited the entire community.The Opposition had recently lashedout at the government over thesystem of “pool tenders” whereonly one big contractor would getthe work order. Mr. Chamling saidthat the Press should expose suchlapses on the part of theadministration regularly.

Urging the media persons toconcentrate on social issues, Mr.Chamling said that this would helpthe government to frame the rightpolicies. “The Press should report

the facts and at the same time,criticize the government in aconstructive way,” he said.

Criticising the Opposition forindulging in misinformationcampaigns against the government,Mr. Chamling said that the formerchief minister and oppositionleader, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, “has

been misleading the people on theincome tax issue.

The Chief Minister handed overa cheque of Rs. 1 lakh to the PressClub committee as a yearly grantfrom the government. Heannounced a grant of another Rs. 1lakh from the Chief Minister’s Fundfor purchasing the infrastructuralrequirements of the club.

a NOW REPORT

CHAMLING WARNS AGAINST DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN

AUGUST 10, 2002

ORGANIZED BY:

DIKCHU YOUTH

WELFARE

ASSOCIATION

DISTANCE:

18 KMS FOR MEN;

9 KMS FOR WOMEN

LAST DATE FOR

ENTRIES: AUGUST

6,2002

FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION

CONTACT:

SECRETARY, DYWA

PHONE: 45134

OPEN

MARATHONfor Men &

Women

- DIKCHU -

“A GOLDENOPPORTUNITY TO BEA PART OF DIVINITY”

‘Vyakti Vikas Kendra’,Gangtok invites ‘all’ tocelebrate the auspiciousoccasion of “GURUPURNIMA” at NepaliSahitya Bhawan at 5 p.m.on July 25 (Wednesday)with the one and onlyrenowned “Vikram” —anevening of high energysatsang and kirtan—”ComeOne Come All”THE ART OF LIVINGinvites all to join the DSNcourse starting from July25 (Thursday, evening) atthe same venue - ”A uniquepackage to delve very deepinto the stillness within usand with the aim to integratethis experience into our dayto day lives”.

5NOW!24-30 July, 2002

Dream it...Believe it...

Achieve it

CERTIFIED TRAINERLegden Dorjee Bhutia

GOLD GYMwe produce results

FITNESSTOTALFOR

BELOW RAJEEV ELECTRONICS, MG MARG, GANGTOK. PH: 24385

RESULTS

GUARANTEED

for

MEN&

WOMEN

UP-FRONT

GANGTOK: State Bank of Sikkimis back in the news and this time againfor embezzlement by its employee.The Vigilance Directorate of Sikkim,on July 12, arrested Budhiman Subba,on charges of embezzlement follow-ing a complaint filed with it by SBSa day earlier. Mr. Subba is alleged tohave misappropriated close to Rs. 2crores from the bank vaults whileserving as Branch Manager at theSombaria, which also happens to behis hometown.

AK Yadav, the Managing Direc-tor of SBS, when contacted, con-firmed that his office had filed acomplaint against Mr. Subba andrevealed that the first inkling offoul-play at the Sombaria branchsurfaced during a surprise check ofits records on April 4, 2002.

The official complaint filed withVigilance details that the surprisecheck (reportedly conducted by the

Vigilance Officer appointed at SBS)of the Books at SBS, Sombaria, re-vealed a shortfall of Rs. 48.59 lakhsfor the said day alone. Interestingly,Mr. Subba turned up the next daywith Rs. 48 lakhs to make up forthe shortfall.

The alarm bells had, however,already been sounded and a detailedexamination of the accounts was or-dered. The internal audit team de-cided to check accounts from April1, 1998 onwards (presumably thefinancial year that Mr. Subba tookcharge of the branch at Sombaria).By the time the internal audit teamhad checked the accounts up toMarch 31, 2000, the amount “miss-ing” totalled at Rs. 1.25 crores.

Further scrutiny of records atSombaria revealed that another Rs.73 lakhs were unaccounted for thefinancial year 2000-2001. The totalamount that Mr. Subba is alleged tohave embezzled now stands at Rs.1.97 crores. All within three years.

This figure could still go higheras the bank claims that several “un-accounted/unrecorded fraudulenttransactions of TDRs and Fixed De-posits” total to about Rs. 23 lakhs.

The Sombaria incident was atime-bomb waiting to explode as faras SBS is concerned and it would

not be out of place to suggest that ithas got away cheap given the man-ner in which it was being run tillrecently. The bank, for instance, didnot have an “Operating Manual” tilla couple of years back when a con-sultant commissioned to prepare areport on the bank’s road to recov-ery prepared on for them.

In fact, the rehabilitation reportfor SBS made it poorer by Rs. 54lakhs as fees for the consultant fora report that is yet to be imple-mented, for want of funds to launchit, it is learnt.

While everyone is aware thatnationalised banks reconcile theiraccounts everyday, there were SBSbranches which had reportedly notbothered with reconciliation for thepast ten years and more. A recentdrive to get the books updated hasseen them reach the last financialyear. It was only natural then thatSombaria happened.

Preliminary investigations by thebank’s internal audit and vigilancesleuths reveal that Mr. Subba wouldissue TDRs, FDRs and overdraftreceipts from his office and not re-flect them in the Bank’s accounts.The figure, which investigators be-lieve must have been reasonablylow at one time escalated out of

hand to reach the Rs. 2 crores thatstares the bank in lost resources atpresent. It might be of interest tonote here that the operating cost ofrunning 22 branches across theState for SBS stands at Rs. 4 crores.

The SBS complaint with Vigi-lance also alleges that Mr. Subbahas not handed over importantdocuments such as DD Books, TDRBooks to his successor despite sev-eral reminders. Till these books arerecovered and then tallied with therecords at the branch, the actualamount embezzled might never beknown. Informed sources revealthat several people have alreadyapproached the bank with receiptsof deposits made at the SombariaBranch which are not reflected inits books. Bank officials, it is learnt,are also contemplating advertisingthe serial numbers of TDRs andFDRs issued to Sombaria branchduring Mr. Subba’s tenure so thatthe bearers might approach the bankor the Vigilance Directorate withthe same.

Interestingly, the receipts, be-cause they are signed by the BranchManager and bear the official sealcannot be turned away as forgeriesand have to be entertained by thebank. There have reportedly also

been incidents when even depositsinto savings account have been mis-appropriated.

What makes the whole episodemore quixotic is that Mr. Subbacontinued as Sombaria’s BranchManager even after the misappro-priation was uncovered sometime inMay 2001. It took a year before themachinery at SBS moved to havehim suspended on May 24, 2002.A meeting of the Board of Direc-tors cleared the way for the case tobe handed over to Vigilance and thesubsequent arrest.

It is obvious from this case thatthings need to change fast at SBS.As a new initiative, all brancheshave been supplied fax machines sothat they can no longer dither fromfiling daily reports. In anothermove, a circular of year 2000 hasbeen re-enforced which makes itmandatory for Branch Managers tofirst produce details of reconciledaccounts of their respectivebranches before applying for incre-ment. It was obviously lax supervi-sion which led to the Sombaria in-cident, but given the fact that manysenior officials at SBS are under-trained and unqualified for a bank-ing job it was only to be expected.

MISMANAGED!BRANCH MANAGER ACCUSED OF POCKETING RS. 2 CRORES OF SBS MONEY

SBS, Sombaria’s Branch

Manager might be under

custody at present, but if

the allegations hold any

truth, he had a field day

while in office. PEMA

WANGCHUK reports...

6 NOW! 24-30 July, 2002

GANGTOK 24-30 JULY, 2002

SIKKIM MATTERS

DEEPFOCUS

by RANJIT SINGH

ED-SPACE

LETTERS�

The whole exercise ofreshuffling the cabinet wasambiguous to say the least.

At the end of the day it was just acase of the Emperor donning hisnew clothes, which as it turned out,didn’t impress many. Rather thaneffecting a decisive change as asolution to sagging popularity andeven more sagging (in)activity allVajpayee managed was toregurgitate the diabolical andambiguous atmosphere within thecabinet and in the processsplattered himself onto theunsuspecting world outside.

‘India Today’ caught some ofthe splatter here reproduced foryour appetite and if possiblesolution (as you will notice theregurgitated splatter throws upsome intriguing questions):How much party is there in thegovernment and how muchgovernment is there in the party?How much Vajpayee is in theparty and how much Advani is inthe government?How much party is in Vajpayeeand how much government is inAdvani?How much Deputy is in the PMand how much PM is in theDeputy?The rest of the insidious,indigestive splatter was caught byyours truly:How much government is in theRSS and how much RSS in theparty?How much Advani is in thegovernment and how muchVajpayee in the cabinet?How much cabinet is in Advaniand how much NDA is inVajpayee?How much RSS is in thegovernment and how muchAdvani is in RSS?The reshuffle was also supposedlyinvoked to deal with the RSSdemand for trifurcation of Jammuand Kashmir as well as that ofthe bifurcation of EasternRailways sought by NitishKumar and objectedvehemently to by MamtaBanerjee. Farooq Abdullah wasexpected to win a cabinet berth in

exchange that he give up hisdemand of autonomy for J&K andMamta Banerjee too was to beaccommodated, ostensibly tomollify her.So? The regurgitation continues:How much trifurcation in Kashmirand how much autonomy forRSS?How much bifurcation in Biharand how much accommodationfor Mamta?How much Farooq in cabinet andhow much J&K in India?How much mollif ication forMamta and how much cabinet forbifurcation?And continues:How much Foreign is in Financeand how much Finance is inForeign?How much Jaswant is inYashwant and how much Sinhain Singh?How much bollywood is ingovernment and how muchpolitics in bollywood?How much shuffle in reshuffleand how much reshuffle incabinet?How much RSS is in Ayodhyaand how much in Gujarat?How much NDA is in thegovernment and how muchwithout?

Maybe if we shuffle and reshufflethese questions we will find someanswers.

Huffing and puffingOur PM was reflectingPaused for a moment triflingAnd said “my cabinet needsreshuffling.”

“We need new facesto kill old tracesserve a few acesto those with poor bases”

“We need a rejuvenationa cause for celebrationsend some to damnationand some to fool the nation”

“however ineffectualhowever irreverentialhowever inconsequentialall the same it’s constitutional”

“So Yashwant, Jaswant exchangeyour nameplatesForeign or Finance I never knewto differenciateNaidu, Jaitley sorry to obviateA party, you know, needs a strongcabinet”?!

“Krishnamurthy, to the cabinet youbelongHere you will sing your swan songWith Vinod and Shatru to help youalongOur government’s going to be anational turn on”?!

“And let me tell you it’s not funnyHaving for deputy somebody calledAdvaniKnowing how much for my seathe’s hornyThe RSS, damnit, I got toaccommodate their tyranny”

“And for those who think thisexercise futileOf having a reshuffle once in awhileSee how I’ve eased out the NDA

combine57 of 7722 of 32are all mine.”

IMPROPRIETY VS IRRESPONSIBILITYPeople take offence when a newspaper misspells their name ina report. A corrigendum is demanded. When a sentence slipsinto an article and is not corroborated with evidence, clarificationsare demanded. Such a demand for propriety is good. But onewonders why this desire for accountability starts and ends withnewspapers. Why don’t the people in a democracy take it furtherand demand accountability, transparency and decency, all virtuesone would expect from people in public life, from their leaders.One hears frequent complaints that these “virtues” have becomealmost alien to our political culture, but when was the last timeyou heard of the electorate standing its leaders against the walland demanding accountability? Mudslinging, unrestrainedcriticism of opponents and the total lack of accountability forwhat one does or says have become an almost routinephenomena in the context of our politicians. Although not uniqueto Sikkim, it is the trend here that concerns us. The electionsover, the manifestos are relegated to the cold storage and thefavourite whipping horses flogged again with a severity decidedby which side of the treasury bench the mandate places you. Itis perhaps the lack of a clearly thought out ideology amongpolitical parties, both national and regional, about their plans forSikkim which forces them to choose rhetoric over logic. Whilethis might work for the charged times of election campaigns,people tire of these shenanigans in the more peaceful 5-yearreprieve that they get between elections.Lets talk of the Opposition first. The Opposition has to realisethat they cannot get vocal only when it suits them and go silentwhen other matters occupy them. The first duty of the Oppositionis to make sure that they remain one and essay out the roleawarded to them by the people. It is wrong to believe that theelectorate only selects the victor. We have to credit the massesenough intelligence to also decide who they want in theOpposition. The Sikkimese people might appear docile and evenmeek at times, but the experience of democracy has honed theirpolitical acumen. That they chose SSP as the sole oppositionwhen they also had the choice of Congress (I) to share theresponsibility is indication enough of their political shrewdness.They were aware that SSP was the only party that would not optfor a truck with the ruling front once the ballot had been counted.On that count, the Sangramis have not let them down thus far.The rumours of another exodus of MLAs from the party (if thedeparture of three MLAs can be called an exodus) are still justrumours. Sangram has, however, disappointed through this termby maintaining a low profile and only making that odd show ofprotest. One does not expect them to take to the streets, but thepeople should at least know that they are around. Of late therehas been a resurgence in statements from both SSP and Cong(I) and it remains to be seen how long this return to limelight issustained. Both parties have very mature leaders in their midstand one hopes that their statements start reflecting their maturitysoon. Politics in Sikkim and the Sikkimese people would benefitmuch from an active and vociferous Opposition which makesnoises which are louder and more coherent than the usualdiatribe of allegations.As for the ruling front, in the absence of constant pressure fromrivals, it will have to delve into some serious soul-searching.Now that it is into its second term, it no longer has the cushionof a previous government to blame for all that is wrong in Sikkim.It has to also accept that “healthy criticism” is just a euphemism.There is no healthy or unhealthy tint to criticism, at least not onthe part of the critic. It is just criticism. It is up to the personcriticised to take it in the spirit that he desires. Criticism, by itsvery nature is negative and there are few who can see theirfaults when it is pointed out to them. It would also not be out ofplace for the ruling SDF to appoint an ombudsman from amongthemselves - a person, whose sole job would be to criticise theworkings of his own party. They need not make such commentspublic, but coming face to face with their own limitations shouldhelp the party improve its performance and also give it the feelof the pulse of the masses. In fact, except at public meetings,the party should take a policy decision not to praise its activitiesany more. They have won the elections and have an unassailablemajority in the Assembly - that should be praise enough of theirperformance thus far. Consolidation cannot be achieved whilebasking in past glory, it has to be earned through performance.Should the ruling and the Opposition choose performance overrhetoric, no matter how eloquent, both would benefit a lot andthe Sikkimese people would profit the most.Any takers?

IMPRESSIVE

NOW! keeps us abreast with thelatest happenings in science,

national and interantional arena and presents information in an easy-to-remember form.I am highly impressed with the paper. It is a fountainhead of success.Sunil Chaudhary, Upper Arithang

NICE

I was very thrilled to come across a copy of NOW! It was very nice to gothrough the contents. I wish you good luck and hope that the paper

grows from strength to strength.Dr. CL Pradhan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

A QUESTION OF RESHUFFLING

ANSWERS

Quite a lot of people woulddefinitely feel Bhutan issleeping on the refugee

imbroglio to waive off Nepal’sefforts towards working outrepatriation of the 100,000refugees in the makeshift camps ofeastern Nepal—also included arethe hundreds and thousands thathave filtered into cities and villageswith a view to eking out a moreagreeable living than in the camps.However, the Druk regime witheleven rounds of bilateralministerial level talks under its beltand the twelfth one just round thecorner and with verification ofaround 12,000 refugees at theKhudunabari camp, would insistyou believed otherwise. And indoing so, it would comfortablyignore that the above facts arestretched over a time frame of morethan 12 years and the slowverification process, if it was aimed

Why repatriation is not possible

at anything, has been stalled; theseclearly underscore the fact that therepatriation process has beenpainfully slow. And further, if weare to talk about achievements sofar, one does not need to go a fullcircle before realizing that it isback to square one.

One thing is for certain -Bhutan, if anything, has not beensleeping over the issue; on thecontrary, it is wide awake and hasits guard up against any Nepaliendeavours that its fears couldforce it to really do something withconcrete results. As of now, it canbe said that in principle Bhutanagrees to repatriation of all theBhutanese refugees, and then itwill let the issue be nibbled awayby ducks, as it busies itself to buytime holding Nepal in a maze oftalks and scores of other counterblames.

The most important thing when

we talk about repatriation is thewillingness on the part of thecountry directly involved in settlingthem in the land of their origin. So,here we would be expecting theDragon kingdom’s willingness totake back all the Lhotsampas,which, to put it in simple terms,would require nothing less than itswillingness to undo its ‘ethniccleansing’ act. That this is a remotepossibility will find many critics.Furthermore, it only requires a littlecareful dissection to look throughwhat Bhutan labels as the“verification process” and see thatrepatriation is nothing more than apipe dream. Had Bhutan beenreally willing to take back therefugees, it would have alsosimultaneously carried outarrangements back home to settlethe Lhotsampas it intended to takeback. For, whatever they ownedthere has passed over to Bhutanesenationals who are too comfortablysettled there to be willing to forsaketheir benefits as and when theirLhotsampa brethrens return.

One also needs to consider, if

JAIDEV BHUSAL on the Lhotsampa issue between Bhutan

and Nepal which has been stagnating through the 12

years of talks between the two nations on the fate of the

one lakh Bhutanese Nepalese in refugee camps in Nepal...

turn to pg 10

7NOW!24-30 July, 2002 OPINION

In a quiet, air-conditioned wing of theBritish Library, a pane of glass separatesthe pushed-up faces of onlookers and

some of the oldest maps in the world.“What is that?” whispers a visitor to his

companion.The yellowed map is of England, circa

1300. Now it is a relic - not be relied uponfor navigation. Its coastlines are blob-like,and its cities drastically out of scale. Thiscurling, creased map begs the question: howaccurate will our modern maps seem 700years in the future?

The question embodies a larger debateover the history and purpose of cartography- or map-making. Not confined to mappingcoastlines and political boundaries,cartographers through the centuries have alsooutlined the dominant religious and culturalattitudes of the day.

It is why Africa is at the bottom, Americais in the West, and the Prime Meridian runsthrough London.

“Maps and cartography have played amuch bigger role in the way the world worksthan most people think,” says Ken Athertonof the British Cartographic Society.“Socially, politically, economically -cartography has had a hand in it all.”

The importance of map-making washighlighted in late June, when OxfordUniversity purchased what it described as“the most important Islamic scientificmanuscript to come on the market for thelast 100 years” - The Book of Strange Artsand Visual Delights containing an hithertounknown series of colourful maps.

At £400,000 (more than $600,000), theBook did not come cheap, but to experts itsunique insight into medieval concepts of theworld is well worth the money.

The social impact of cartography beganas early as the first organised civilisations.Maps were - as they are now - ways ofdefining frontiers, separating and classifyingpeople and places. Anything or anyoneunknown was relegated to the fringes - themargins - of the map, classified simply as“Here There Be Dragons” or somethingsimilar.

Tellingly, some of the most highlyregarded early maps look nothing like theway we see the world today.

During the Middle Ages, most Arab andsome European maps frequently depicted theworld ‘upside down’, with theMediterranean near the top, and the equatorat the bottom.

“Most of the best maps come from theMiddle East. They are usually Jerusalem-centric, and have the South at the top,”Atherton says.

The most famous of these is the Al-Idrisimap from 1154 - reputed to have beenChristopher Columbus’ major navigatingtool.

Colonial expansion and the commercethat was tied to it was reflected in the newcartography. European powers became themost travelled, and therefore had the mostextensive maps. They became thedominating powers of the day, and their maps- their views of the world - became thestandard.

They tell us where we are, where we’re going, and how

to get there. But the most important use for maps may

be that they can tell us where we have been. The world

of maps and cartography, CHRISTOPHER LANE discovers,

has had more to do with where we want things to be than

where they actually are...

More problematic than the Euro-centricorientation of the continents was the politicsand economics used in charting the “NewWorld”.

“The places that people weren’t proudof, just didn’t appear on the maps,” saysAtherton.

While sites of victorious battles andfortifications were shown with remarkableaccuracy, native settlements, slums, anddefeats were often left off. This became notonly a by-product of hierarchical attitudes,but in some cases, a cause of it.

“So, someone would come acrosssomething and say ‘well this isn’t on my map,it must not be important’,” says Atherton.

The influence of maps in colonialismcame to a head in 1894, when the PrimeMeridian was to be declared.

There were huge arguments over wherethe Prime Meridian should be. Every countrywanted it running through their own capitals,but at the time, the English had the best mapsin the world, and it was declared it wouldrun through Greenwich.

By the turn of the century, the world wasdivided into hemispheres - with the north andwest dominating politically, economically,and culturally. On every map that was mass-produced, Europe and America wouldalways appear on the top.

But that convention, some say, is a side-effect of continually evolving - andimproving - cartography.

“It comes to reflect the reality of ourworld,” says June Chamberlain, associateeditor at Mercator Magazine in Oregon,United States. “Our maps have become moretruthful. When religion was a central part oflife, maps reflected that. Now they don’t.”

These days cartography has become soadvanced that there is virtually nothing onland that is left uncharted. Satellites andcomputers can pinpoint a position on thesurface of the earth, and cross-reference itwith millions of maps to make sure it isaccurate.

The new debate has focused on the“projection” of maps.

Mapping a round surface (the earth) ona flat plane (paper) causes distance andlandmasses to become distorted. Differentprojections cause different distortions. Oneof the most widely used and mostrecognisable modern maps is the Mercatorprojection - named after the 16th centurycartographer.

The Mercator projection makes sure allthe lines of latitude and longitude intersectat 90-degree angles. This is accurate forocean navigation, but anything near the polesbecomes hugely distorted. In a Mercatorprojection, Greenland is as big as Africa.Some argue that such distortions reflectlingering political and cultural bias.

But there are options.In 1974, the Peters Projection came to

light. It had the effect of compressing thepolar landmasses (America and Europe),while elongating the central ones. It causeda furore among map-makers - social activistssupported it, while detractors called itmisrepresentative of the world.

WHY AFRICA IS

AT THE BOTTOM

AND AMERICA IN

THE WEST

-turn to pg 8

Pollution has become one of the most potent ecologicalcrisis and a debilitating factor for man these days.Every individual has the right to a pollution free

environment, however, the pressure of an ever-increasingpopulation, unplanned urbanization and indiscriminatedeforestation has only aggravated the crisis. Since pollutionis directly linked with the environment and in turn withhuman health, it is only natural that when pollution increases,the quality of life goes down.

The burden posed by pollution on human society isimmense. The loss of resources through unnecessary,wasteful exploitation, the cost of pollution abatement andcontrol and the cost of human health are some of the basicissues to be borne in mind by one and all.

The classification of pollution is a difficult job. Howeverclassifications according to environment (air, water, soil) andpollutant (lead, carbon di-oxide, solid wastes...) are widelyused approaches. Considering the pollution abatementmeasures we can recognize two basic types of pollution.

Firstly, the non-degradable pollutants, the materials andpoisons such as aluminum cans or DDT, which either do notdegrade or degrade very slowly in the natural environment.These materials combine with other compounds in theenvironment to produce additional toxins. Removal of many

such pollutants from the biosphere would be virtuallyimpossible. Then come the bio-degradable pollutants suchas domestic sewage which can be rapidly decomposed bynatural processes.

SOME PROBLEM AREASAIR POLLUTION: is classified as the most dangerous type ofpollution because of its presence in the life supporting air. AirPollution which was once regarded as the bane of industrializednations now threaten our country too. Apart from air pollutionfrom industries or vehicles even smoke from our humble chulhasfrom both urban and rural areas has emerged as a problem. Airpollution can be defined as the change in the concentration ofvarious solid particles and gases other than oxygen such asCO

2 and CO above the normal levels. Air pollution is the major

cause of respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, asthma,bronchitis, birth defects etc. There are also other long termenvironmental effects related to air pollution that cross

international boundaries resulting in global environmentalchange. Increasing levels of CO

2 in atmosphere from burning

coal, petrol and deforestation cause a gradual increase in globaltemperature. This is due to the heat trapping nature of CO

2

which will have a serious effect on the global climate, resultingin melting of glaciers, rising of ocean levels and change inrainfall patterns and inundation of low lying coasts. Automotivefumes are the major sources of NO

2. The NO

2 released by the

automobiles reacts with unburnt hydro-carbon from automobilesin presence of sunlight and produce eye watering photochemicalsmog. It has been found that in Delhi alone 400 tonnes ofpollutants are spewed by motor vehicles.

Accumulation of man made gases such as CFCs (Chlorofluro carbons) and holons used in refrigerators, airconditioners, coolants etc. cause thinning of ozone layer.Depletion of ozone layer would result in several skin diseases

POLLUTION AND HUMAN HEALTH

turn to pg 10

Dr. GOPAL PRADHAN, Senior Environment Scientist, Department of Forests, Env. &

WL, details the different forms of pollution and their impact on human health...

8 NOW! 24-30 July, 2002DESPATCHES

And still other projections aimto throw any form of cartographicconvention out the window.

“Take a look at the AustralianProjection,” says Atherton. “It isinverted, and Australia is smack inthe middle - it gives you acompletely different outlook on theearth.”

such as, skin cancer. ThoughIndia’s contribution to air pollutionis insignificant we must realize thatair pollution is a problem involvingthe world and efforts to contain itmust be taken up jointly by allcountries.WATER POLLUTION: Waterpollution is one of the more seriousenvironmental problems. Majorcauses of water pollution aredischarge of untreated communityand industrial wastes into our riversand streams, increasing use offertilizers and pesticides anddumping of organic and inorganicwastes into water bodies. Theimplications of water pollution onhuman health and well-being andeconomic development are highlyundesirable. Water pollution fromchemicals contributes to loss ofspecies. Pollution of our rivers canlead to destruction of the naturalresources.

India faces serious problems ofwater pollution. Nearly 70% of allthe water available in our countryis polluted. Over 75% of all

diseases in our country emanatefrom water borne sources and over73 million workdays are lost dueto water related diseases.

The effluent discharges fromindustrial sources leads to the deathof many aquatic flora and fauna.More than two third of the pollutionin our rivers is caused by humanand cattle wastes. In view of this asystematic programme to restorethe quality of water in the country’smajor rivers has been initiated.Several other schemes of low-costsanitation, river front development,construction of electric crematoriaetc. have been taken up.

Infectious disease resultingfrom water pollution can beclassified into four groupsdepending upon the ways in whichtheir incidence can be lessened byimprovement in water supply:(a) “Water-borne” diseases arethose in which infectious agentsremain alive in drinking water e.g.typhoid, para-typhoid, gastro-enteritis etc. The incidence of thesediseases can be reduced with thepurification of water(b) “Water washed” diseasesinclude infection of the outer body

surfaces e.g. trachoma, skin ulcers,scabies and typhus, bacillary andamoebic dysentery andgastroenteritis. Its incidence can bereduced by augmented waterquality.(c) “Water-based” infections e.g.guinea worms. The infectionoccurs when the skin is in contactwith water or through drinkingwater.(d) Water breeding or waterproximity diseases are caused bymosquitoes or flies living nearaquatic conditions.

The programme taken on waterpollution control reducescontamination of watercourses,seas, soil and food. This improveswater resources for human use;reduces damage to aquatic life,which ultimately leads toimprovement in quality, lessdisability, suffering and pain.NOISE POLLUTION: Noisepollution, a much neglected pollutionthus far, has come in the limelight oflate as the most prevalent anddangerous nuisance. A cacophony ofunwanted sounds dumped intoatmosphere without considering theadverse effect it may have has been

Contd from pg 7

POLLUTION AND HUMAN HEALTHdefined as noise pollution. Thisinvisible pollutant has become aserious threat to the quality of man’senvironment. It can easily get on ournerves and can wear us out, tire us,drive us mad and make us stagger.The irritation caused by the constantticing of the clock, has been used todrive prisoners mad. The damagingeffect of noise on human organismshas become an important subject ofmedical research.

There are various kinds of noisewe are subjected to e.g. noise fromcars, trains, machines, factories,industries, aeroplanes, crowds,radios, mikes, stereos etc. All thesethreatens domestic tranquility,cause emotional disturbances,cardio-vascular problems,irritability, nervous disorders,mental tensions, damages hearing,interferes in human conversation,causes errors and accidents inwork, diverts attention andconcentration etc. Exposure tonoise levels higher than 90 decibelscontinuously for 8 hours or morecan lead to loss of hearing.

Studies have shown that thegrowth of trees weaken sounds toa certain degree. Robinette (1969)

points out that plants are efficientabsorbers of noise, especiallynoises of high frequency. Borderplanting along highways or streetscan be effective if plantings arelower towards the noise source andhigher towards the hearer, thus notonly absorbing but also deflectingthe noise upward. Green belt areasthus not only act as noise absorbsbut also act as air purifiers, foodand fiber producers andrecreational areas. Noise pollutioncan be checked also by reducingand manipulating the source oforigin of noise.LAND POLLUTION: Pollution ofland is mostly due to the use ofherbicides and pesticides. Pesticideswere used for the control of pestsfor a better harvest but the excessiveuse of this has led to the pollutionof land. Different chemicals used,as pesticides are hazardous to bothplant and animal lives.

Mining is another form of landpollution. It destroys vegetation,spoils fertility of soil, degradeshuman and animal habitat, raisesdusts, pollutes water and createsoccupational health hazards.

To be concluded

NEWNEWNEWNEWNEW

ComComComComComplexplexplexplexplexat

SNSNSNSNSNODODODODODdeorali

availableforrentrentrentrentrent

Ideal for showrooms,

offices & restaurants

> Toilets on every floor

> Car Parking facility

> Ready for Occupation

Interested persons please

contact: 81352, 80124, 37082

Contd from pg 7In truth, modern technology

allows for virtually any projectionand orientation of maps. It is thecenturies of having one dominantorientation that makes everythingelse look “out of place” - butperhaps not for long.

While the continents will bestaying where they are on our maps,new areas of cartography arecoming up, although still in their

infancy. Modern cartographers aremapping the stars more accurately,as well as the ocean floor, and evencyberspace.

“Maps are cultural and physicalsnapshots in time,” Atherton says.“Maybe our maps will becomesnapshots of our time. Whoknows?”

- GEMINI NEWS

WHY AFRICA IS AT THE BOTTOM...

GANGTOK: The Council for theIndian School CertificateExaminations has decided toinclude the Lepcha language as asecond language in the ICSE andthe ISC examinations.

According to official sources,a formal letter has been sent to thePresident of the Sikkim LepchaYouth Association, North District,by F. Fanthome, Chief Executiveand Secretary, Council for theIndian School CertificateExaminations informing him of theCouncil’s decision.

Speaking to NOW! over thephone from Delhi, Mr. Fanthomeconfirmed that the Council hadindeed taken the decision toinclude the Lepcha language as asecond language course in theICSE and the ISC examinations.“A representation was made to theCouncil to include the Lepcha

language by the Sikkim LepchaYouth Association some time ago.We deliberated on it and acceptedthe proposal as we have the policyof promoting regional languages,”he said.

The CBSE already providesLepcha and Bhutia languages assecond languages and the ICSECouncil has followed suit, Mr.Fanthome said.

However, it will be now up tothe ICSE-affiliated schools toinclude the Lepcha language intheir curriculum.

“The decision is now up to theschools to make suitablearrangements to teach thelanguage. If any school comes upwith Lepcha as the secondlanguage, we will be happy toevaluate the papers,” Mr. Fanthometold NOW!

The Lepcha language syllabuswill be based on the patternformulated by the Council, it islearnt.

While the inclusion of theLepcha language has been receivedwell in the region, for ICSE schoolswanting to include the language inthe curriculum, it would meanworking out the logistics and theviability before introducing thelanguage to its students. SKSrivastava, Principal, TashiNamgyal Academy, whilecommenting on this developmentsaid that his school would firstwork out the logistics before goingahead with it. “We have to see howmany students are willing to takeup Lepcha as a second language.Since the language has to beintroduced from Class I, it may takesome time before we are ready toinclude it in our curriculum. It willmake no sense if we appoint aLepcha language teacher if thereare no students for it,” he reasoned.

The Council will introduce theLepcha language from the 2005academic year.

a NOW REPORT

ACHULEY!COUNCIL NOD FOR INCLUSION OF LEPCHA

AS 2ND LANGUAGE IN ICSE, ISC

rajdhaniIN

UNRELIABLE RELIANCE!

9NOW!24-30 July, 2002

CLASSIFIEDS

FOR LEASE A fully furnished Restaurant, kitchen,storeroom and toilet of about 1200 sft, with complete marbleflooring, decorative false ceiling, seating with tables, cashcounter with cabinets, own water supply, refrigerator, gasconnection with 2 high pressure burners, kitchen cabinets,all kitchen utensils, cutlery and crockery is up for lease.The Restaurant is ideally located on 1st floor, KundehKhang Bldg, Near Sadar Thana, Tibet Road. Lessee canstart business on first day itself. Interested parties mayplease contact Mr. Shantanu, Manager, Zi Hotel, Tibet Roadat 25481.

SIKKIM HOTEL & RESTAURANTASSOCIATION

INFORMATION FOR ALL MEMBERS

Notice is hereby given that the Annual GeneralMeeting and the election of the Sikkim Hotel & Res-taurant Association will be held on Wednesday, the31st of July, 2002 at 2:00 PM at Hotel Rendezvous.

1. To read and confirm the minutes of the lastmeeting.

2. To review the activities of the Association andadopt the Accounts.

3. To hold election and choose a new ExecutiveBody consisting of 15 members.(The new, elected Executive body will electamongst themselves One President, One VicePresident, One General Secretary, Two JointSecretaries, and One Treasurer as per theMemorandum and Articles of Association.)

4. Any other business with the sanction of theChairman.The Election will be presided over by a seniorofficer of the Tourism Department. The handlingover of the affairs to the new elected body willtake place on the same day. We request allinterested members to come forward andcontest the elections.All proxy form must be submitted at HotelRendezvous one hour before the meeting.

S. T. WangdiGeneral Secretary

Show signs of demise this summer. The newsdoesn’t bring good cheer at all. The monsoonshave failed to show up with the fury they are

expected and required to. Bringing with it all-roundgloom. Forget us. Even schoolchildren know of theimportance of the monsoons for Indian agriculture.But the effects of a good or badrainy season goes way beyondagriculture and affects every singleparameter of economic and sociallife. Living in Sikkim where theHimalayas ensure enough rain, thismight be tough to believe, but anerrant monsoon impacts the entirecountry.

In fact, 15 good monsoon years have spoilt us.Since the widespread drought of 1987, India hasn’thad to bother much about the rains. Every single yearafter that the rains have showed up dutifully anddelivered on its promise of a bountiful harvest. Notthat this holds true across the country — the countryhas consistently had small and large pockets of severedrought to content with.

This year, however, the pockets of concern arespreading far and wide. The news is grim. Themonsoons are supposed to begin in June and end inSeptember. We are half way through them, yet the skieshave remained relentlessly dry. As a result, 12 statesare already affected, including the grain bowls ofPunjab and Haryana. Rajasthan is currently facingthe fourth consecutive year of drought, barring twodistricts. In the new financially wrecked state ofChhatisgarh, all districts are reeling under the dry spell.Madhya Pradesh produces 80% of the country’ssoyabean crop. The errant rains might ensure a cropfailure this year.

After the harvesting of the rabi (winter) crop,across the country, 31% of the kharif (summer) crophad already been planted. Most of it has now witheredin the hot sun. And the prognosis from agro-economistsis that the absence of good rains will not just affectthe summer crop, the lack of moisture in the groundwill also weaken the winter harvest.

So is this all about crop failure? No. It’s aboutcascading effects snowballing into a lack of economicgrowth. The simple oft-repeated statistic is that 67%of India’s over-a-billion population are farmers. Theirfood stock has already been depleted. The failure ofthe next crop means lack of food for their families.For those living in the fringes, on non-irrigated landlike the entire tribal belts of Orissa and MadhyaPradesh, the situation is far worse. There is no foodand no work too, or the means to earn food, since nearly

BUSINESS

all Food for Work programmes come to a halt duringthe rainy season.

This large farmer population is the fuel for theIndian economy. Agriculture still constitutes nearly27% (26.86) of India’s Gross Domestic Product. Lastyear, a mere less than 1% growth in agriculture ensured

a GDP growth of over 5%. Anegative agricultural growth willsurely stunt the country’s overalleconomic growth. A good harvestalso translates into money in thepockets of 67% of the population,ensuring a demand for goods andservices. Industrial production goesup, companies feel blessed as stocks

move fast out of the godowns. But a lack of rainslowers consumer spending, ushering in tougher timesfor both the industrial and the manufacturing sectors.

In recent times a majority of the manufacturingcommunity, especially consumer goods companies,have come to depend on the rural hinterland to selltelevisions, stereos, soaps and shampoos. A recent studyby the Confederation of Indian Industry found that inthe past few years, these companies have found 40million new customers in half a million villages.Resulting in double digit profit growth for the consumerindustry and an equivalent rise in their share prices.

But as the monsoon charts dip, so will the stockmarkets, with a fall in share prices and uncertainty.Already over the past two weeks vegetable prices havegone up by 9%, commodity prices are showing signsof hardening too. And in an electricity starved-country,there will be a greater demand for power as morepower will be needed in the rural areas to step upirrigation needs. And even cattle will not be sparedas fodder runs scarce.

Yes, India is still heavily dependent on themonsoon, and not just for the sake of its farmers butfor the entire nation’s economic prosperity. Once againthe Union Budget has pegged the GDP growth rate atnearly 7%, but given the current scenario, a quickglance at figures show this is unrealistic. Currentlyagriculture comprises a little over 26% (26.83) ofGDP. It grew by less than 1% last year. Industry isaround 22%, with a growth rate of nearly 7%.Services, which has a huge 51% (51.1) share in theGDP was up 8%. Now to achieve a growth of 7% asthe Budget hopes to do, even if industry moves up todouble digits at 10% and services remain at 8%,agriculture would still need to register 4 TIMES thecurrent growth — of 3.6%. That surely isn’thappening, if it hasn’t in the past 15 years of goodmonsoons.

15 YEARS OF HAPPINESS…

BUSINESS

NOW!by KANKANA DAS

GANGTOK: Sikkim Telecomunder West Bengal circle of BharatSanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)started accepting bookings for itsmobile service on July 22, 2002.Eighty agents have already beenassigned their coverage and 60more have been enroled to coverthe remote regions of the State. Theservice is expected to start in acouple of weeks time.

MK Seth, General ManagerTelecom, Gangtok told NOW! thatthe new venture offered a widerange of facilities. The BSNLmobile services will hit the

GANGTOK: SIDICO on July 22,kicked off the first TrainingProgram for 46 YoungEntrepreneurs, the first batch ofbeneficiaries under the ChiefMinister ’s Self EmploymentScheme.

The Inauguration session washeld at the SIDICO/SABCCOoffice. Both the Chairman and MDof SIDICO/SABCCO addressedthe candidates.

PD Rai, Chairman, SIDICO/SABCCO highlighted threeimportant points in his address. Hesaid that the Young Entrepreneurswere being trusted with the moneyand their ability to hold and utilize itcarefully; that the CMSES had beenmade very easy and that SIDICOensures that there is a training andcounseling program for the same. Hefurther reiterated that the governmentwas “100%” interested in the YoungEntrepreneurs and their future forthey were, after all, the future ofSikkim.

telecommunication sector here withwhat is being promoted as a “Soft-launch.” Benefits proposed as partof this Soft launch are free incomingcalls and zero airtime charges.While calls from one BSNL mobileto another would be free, calls toother mobiles would entail aminimal local land-phone charge.

The basic criterion regardingthe benefits of BSNL usageaccording to Mr. Seth are“optimization of cost, utilization oftime, improvement in efficiency,wider coverage and optimization ofresources”. Mr. Seth promises thatthe BSNL mobile service wouldcover as much of Sikkim aspossible.

The rates are subsidised withan initial deposit of Rs. 500 per

connection. This connection chargewill be Rs. 1,000 in the subsequentweeks. The billing on calls wouldstart only after the Soft Launchperiod (yet to be finalised) expires.

SMS, VMS and Internetfacilities have been accrued by theBSNL Services as the centre ofattraction of the entire project.Auto-roaming facilities;sophisticated customer care centrewith a billing server on 2048 kmper second; Voice Mail Service;Internet on mobile (Wireless accessprotocol); prepaid roaming; HelpDesk for various online and instantcustomer care and, a sufficientnumber of Collection & Serviceprovision Centres are some of thefacilities that BSNL Services boastof.

SWETA PRASAD reports on

the BSNL Mobile slated to

hit the market soon...

BSNL MOBILE TO COME WITH SOFT

LAUNCH, THAT’S FREE INCOMING CALLS

AND ZERO AIRTIME CHARGESThe challenge for SIDICO, he

said, was “to make each and everyperson, even the weakest person,who comes for the programsuccessful.” Whereas thefacilitator, SIDICO would meet theYoung Entrepreneurs halfway, itwas up to them to make the effortto make their individual enterprisesand hence the CMSES a success.

He envisioned a Singapore-likescenario existing in Sikkim whereeach and every one could raise theirstandard of living. Exhorting theYoung Entrepreneurs to also helpother people like them waiting theirturn, he said that they should tellothers about the CMSES, repaytheir loan money and make theirprojects successful and employ 2-3 other people.

Encouraging the YoungEntrepreneurs to enjoy theirtraining, he said , “Do what youwant to do. CMSES opens up theopportunities.”

The training is scheduled to runfor six days and similar trainingprograms will be held in August.

a NOW REPORT

Training starts for firstbatch of YoungEntrepreneurs

10 NOW! 24-30 July, 2002DEVELOPMENT

by some miracle repatriation doestake place, will it be very longbefore the conditions that had ledto their becoming refugeesresurface again? And in that caseshould Nepal be ready to housethem once again as refugees drivenfrom home because their countrysees them as threats to its ethnicpurity? If one is to look for the rootsof the problem, the need is to delvea little deeper into what looks likea diplomatic problem between thetwo countries on the surface. Thistheory would take us to an evidentclash, if not of civilizations,between two different ethnicities.At the heart of it, even aftergenerations of Lhotsampas havelived in Bhutan, they are still seen

as outsiders who have encroachedupon their opportunities and oftentaken the better share of it. As such,it is very difficult for the ‘realnatives’ to see who they believe areoutsiders having the upper handover things. The Bhutangovernment must have realized thisfact only too well to keep playingdown the issue of repatriation eachtime it is under compulsion toaddress it. How far this theoryholds will be a matter of study forsociologists but the point here is-can Nepal completely ignore thispossibility that has effectivelyhindered the repatriation process?

A few lapses on Nepal’s parthave made it easier for Bhutan tostretch the issue further. Agreeingto categorization of refugees onBhutan’s condition into four groups

was seemingly the gravest mistakein this regard. Since then, one wayor the other, Bhutan has played thegame of diplomatic procrastinationreally well—from sounding verypositive to insisting on its owncategorization and from starting theverification process to stalling it toblaming Nepal for not doing whatit should have. The last bit is thelatest tune Bhutan has hit upon,which it seems inclined to play forquite a while. And the fact that thesituation within the country rendersa bit of truth to this assumption canonly make matters worse, for thesecurity situation is theimmediately pressing issue at handwithout doubt. But Bhutan seemsto have played this too far in hintingthat Nepal may not be fullyinterested or rather involved inworking out a solution. It would be

Contd from pg 6

WHY REPATRIATION IS NOT POSSIBLEindeed unfortunate if Bhutan canget away with this one as well.

Part of the blame rests on Nepalalso for it has failed to state incertain terms that if this were theDragon kingdom’s idea of humour,Nepal isn’t taking it and that it failsto see the funny side of the wholeepisode.

One more bitter truth underliesthe situation for Nepal and that is—nowhere in the world has completerepatriation of refugees beeneffected. But it can be argued thateach case is a unique case and it isdifferent in our context;unfortunately, this very fact willprove to be the brick wall.Repatriation will fail to emerge,and the Druk regime will not mindit at all. The fact that a third countryhas considerable stretch of landbetween the two countries but failsto see its role despite havinginfluence over Bhutan’s foreignand defence matters, will certainlygo against Nepal.

And in this backdrop, if we areto analyse some diplomats visit to therefugee camps, apart from the factthat a bit more was seen and said, itcan be inferred that it failed to makeany dent in Bhutan’s adamant stance.We could be on clouds if we were toexpect the international communityto come and solve our problem, forthey may exert political pressure thatmight work, but to bell the dragonkingdom is what Nepal must do onits own.

In the meanwhile, the UnitedNations High Commission forRefugees would not be wasting itstime if it decides to design somelong-term strategies to provide forrefugees in Nepal—they are hereto stay.

Bhutanese Nepalese refugees at a camp at Damak, Nepal

GYALSHING: Chief Minister,Pawan Chamling claimed that theState’s financial health was soundand that Sikkim’s “goodperformance” was attracting moreinvestors to the State.

Speaking at the CooperativeSammelan for the West Districthere on July 18, Mr. Chamling saidthat Sikkim is heading towards“better times” and that the peopleshould make best use of theopportunities provided by thegovernment.

He cited the launch of theSikkim Super Playwin Lotto as acase in point. “We are getting 20per cent share of the total earningsthrough the Lotto, which is a goodrevenue share for the State,” hesaid, adding that 80 per cent of therevenue from the Lotto would beused to fund the Chief Minister’sSelf Employment Scheme. Thegovernment has set aside Rs. 90crores for this scheme.

Appealing to the people toconcentrate on capacity building,Mr. Chamling said that skilledmanpower was the need of thehour. “Capacity building is sadlyvery low in the State and couldprove to be a deterrent in oureconomic growth. We have thecapability to produce anything inthe State except salt, sugar andperhaps, textile. Everything elsecan be locally produced in theState. But for this to happen, theskills of the people must be honedand perfected,” he said.

Mr. Chamling said thatcooperative societies could play amajor role in improving theconditions of the rural masses byproviding the right platform for thevillagers to buy and sell localproduce. He said that farmerswould be provided with KisanVikas Patras to curb the practice of“Dadani” that provides traders andmoneylenders with an opportunity

to cheat gullible farmers. He askedthe farmers to form multi-purposecooperative societies so that theirproduce fetched better prices in themarket. He also urged thePanchayats to come forward in thisregard.

On the ensuing Panchayatelections, to be held in the lastweek of September this year in theState, Mr. Chamling said that thepool system of candidates and seatswould be followed in accordance

with the central governmentdirectives. He said that his partywould field candidates in all Gramand Zilla Panchayats.

The CM said that thegovernment would complete allroad construction works in the WestDistrict and finish the carpeting ofalready-constructed roads in theDistrict. He refuted allegations thatthe SDF government wasdemanding a share from theallocation of contracts.

“No percentage is being askedeither by my government or theSDF party at any level for contractworks,” he said, adding that fromnow on, “all contract works wouldbe awarded in public interest.”

Mr. Chamling also expressedhis displeasure over the practice ofover estimation of contract works.Citing the example of theconstruction of the banquet hall atthe Sikkim Legislative Assembly,Mr. Chamling said that the initial

CM calls on cooperatives

to help eradicate Dadani

from Sikkim, work on

capacity building.

SARIKAH ATREYA reports...

cost of the construction wasestimated at Rs. 4.06 crores. Nowthe builders have applied foranother supplement of nearly Rs.4 crore and the building is no wherenear completion. He said that suchescalations should be avoided at allcosts.

Mr. Chamling also highlightedthe role of the cooperativemovement in bringing aboutpeople’s empowerment. He saidthat it was important for the peopleto understand the significance ofholding such sammelans. He saidthat cooperatives were one of themost effective ways to uplift theweaker section of the population.

The sammelan was organizedby the department of cooperatives.The State government has declaredthis year as the Year ofCooperation. The Sammelan wasorganized with the view to bringabout cooperative awarenessamong the public. Manydepartments and MPCSs put upstalls at the Sammelan where theirproducts were exhibited.

Others present on the occasionwere the Speaker, Kalawati Subba,ministers, MLAs, secretaries, DC,West, officials, members of variousMPCSs and a large number of thelocal populace.

The Chief Minister also handedout awards to the best PerformingCooperative Societies, from all overthe State. Share certificates were alsogiven to economically backwardmembers of cooperative societies.

CO-OPTING FOR A BETTER FUTURE

THE

HIT

TEAM

RETURNS

rajdhaniIN

11NOW!24-30 July, 2002 POWER-PLAY

AS A PARENT, YOU WANT TO DO

EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO KEEP YOUR

KIDS FROM EXPERIMENTING WITH

DRUGS. IT WOULD BE A WHOLE LOT

EASIER IF THEY CAME WITH

INSTRUCTIONS. BUT THEY DON’T. YET,

IT DOES NOT TAKE MUCH. SAY THANK

YOU. REWARD THEIR EFFORTS. CATCH

THEM DOING SOMETHING RIGHT,

ENCOURAGE THEM. SMILE. KNOW

WHO THEIR FRIENDS ARE. TELL THEM

THAT YOU LOVE THEM AND ARE

PROUD OF THEM.

12 NOW! 24-30 July, 2002

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Baba Offset, Tadong. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Now! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong. East Sikkim. ph: 03592 70949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

NEWS

IQ HI-FUNDA

Sikkim Football Association(AFFILIATED TO AIFF)

Sikkim Football Association IIIrd SFA Under-14

Football Super League 2002FIXTURE

GROUP ‘A’ GROUP ‘B’Namchi Sports Hostel Mt. Deepam SchoolT’Nites Club, Development Area Rongneck High SchoolThe Raiders, 6th Mile East XILama XI, Tsuklakhang Tashi Namgyal Academy

DATE TEAM TEAM MATCH COMMISSIONER27.7.02 Namchi Sports Hostel Vrs Lama XI Mr. Arjun Roka28.7.02 Rongneck High School Vrs TN Academy Mr. Ratan Chhetri28.7.02 Mt. Deepam School Vrs East XI Mr. Durga Mundra29.7.02 The Raiders Vrs T’Nites Club Mr. Tenzing Lachungpa30.7.02 Mt. Deepam School Vrs East XI Mr. Mohanlal Sarda31.7.02 Namchi Spots Hostel Vrs The Raiders Mr. Karma Gyaltsen01.8.02 TN Academy Vrs Rongneck High School Mr. Chewang C. Bhutia02.8.02 Lama XI Vrs T’Nites Club Mr. Dorjee Tamang03.8.02 Rongneck High School Vrs Mt. Deepam School Mr. Chondup Lepcha04.8.02 T’Nites Club Vrs Namchi Sports Hostel Mr. Anil Gupta04.8.02 East XI Vrs TN Acadmy Mr. P. C. Mundra05.8.02 The Raiders Vrs Lama XI Mr. Lalit Rai

FINAL 7.8.02 Group Topper ‘A’ Vrs Group Topper ‘B’ Mr. Shyam Pradhan

N.B. 1) Kickoff time 3:45PM for the simgle match on Sundays, the first match will start at 2:30PM.2) All the matches will be played at Old Guards Ground3) Duration of the game 30-10-30 minutes4) SFA reserves the right to re-schedule the ficture if needed.

(Menla Ethenpa)Hony. Secretary METRO POINT, NH 31/A, GANGTOK, SIKKIM. PH: 26065

Microsoft

.netCENTRE OF

EXCELLENCE

FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIESAPTECH IS MICROSOFT’S INTERNET SOLUTION PARTNER

APTECHCOMPUTER EDUCATION

www.aptech-education.com

ENROLL NOW

& GET

SPECIAL

DISCOUNTS

ACCPWORLD PROGRAM

The NewAnnouncing

WECHANGELIVES

GLOBALLY

Sikkim Football Association(AFFILIATED TO AIFF)

1st ALL SIKKIM WOMEN FOOTBALL

TOURNAMENT 2002BHAICHUNG STADIUM, NAMCHI

For the first time Sikkim Football Association isorganizing All Sikkim Women Football Tournament2002 to be played at Bhaichung Stadium, Namchitentatively from 1st August 2002. All the interestedschools/clubs/groups are requested to kindly confirmtheir participation latest by 27.7.2002. Entry formsare available from any one of the following officialsviz. Shri BK Roka, General Secretary, SFA, c/o PoliceDepartment, Gangtok, Shri Menla Ethenpa,Secretary, SFA c/o SIMFED, M. G. Marg, Gangtokor Shri Karma Yougyal c/o Sports & Youth AffairsDepartment, Namchi.

Menla EthenpaHony. Secretary

India’s largest car maker MarutiUdyog has slashed prices of itsentry-level Maruti 800 by Rs.

15,000 and Rs 18,000 with effectfrom Tuesday.

The new ex-showroom (Delhi)price of the Maruti 800 Standard(Euro-I) model now stands reducedby Rs 18,000 (8.7 per cent) to Rs1,88,619 from Rs 2,06,619previously.

Price of the Maruti-800(Standard Euro-II) has come downby Rs 15,000 (6.7 per cent) to Rs2,06,419 from the earlier Rs2,214,19.

The Maruti 800 Deluxe (Euro-II) model would now cost Rs2,55,534 (Rs 2,73,534), a reductionof Rs 18,000 (6.6 per cent), acompany statement said.

Tuesday’s move is believed tobe influenced by dropping sales ofthe company’s bread-and-buttermodel, which has witnessed asharp decline during April-June2002-03.

Sales of the Maruti 800 wentdown by 28.2 per cent to 24,982units from 34,797 units in the sameperiod last fiscal.

Overall, the company’s carsales dropped 20.2 per cent year-on-year to 54,016 cars from 67,727cars.

When contacted, Marutiofficials declined to comment onwhether prices of other modelswould also be reduced in the nearfuture.

GANGTOK: The States ofSikkim, Goa, Gujarat , Kerala,Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura andthe Union Territories of Andaman& Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra &Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu,Lakshadweep and Pondicherryhave declared that they arescavenger-free. Stating this in awritten reply in the Lok Sabha, theMinister for Social Justice &Empowerment said that theEmployment Of ManualScavengers and Construction ofDry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, isapplicable in 17 States and in allunion territories. He said that Rs.236 crore were released to 14 stategovernments during 9th Plan ascentral assistance for the centrallysponsored National Scheme forLiberation and Rehabilitation ofScavengers and their dependents.Dr. Jatiya said the scheme provides

Maruti 800

prices

slashed by

7-9%a NOW REPORT

HC TURNS DOWNASHOK BHUTIA’SBAIL PETITION

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK: The High Court hasturned down former Personal Secu-rity Officer to former CM, NarBahadur Bhandari, Ashok Kr.Bhutia’s bail petition following hisconviction by the lower court oncharges of corruption.

With the denial of bail, and un-less an order is passed on the con-trary, Bhutia looks at incarcerationas ordered in his conviction. He wassentenced to serve a 3 year jail term

Sikkim has becomescavenger free

for training and rehabilitation ofscavengers in alternate economicactivities in order to liberate themfrom hereditary, inhuman andobnoxious occupation. He said thatthe maximum amount of Rs. 44.46crore was released to Uttar Pradeshfollowed by Rs.33.34 crore toMadhya Pradesh and Rs.22.53crore to Tamil Nadu. Among other11 States, Gujarat received Rs.20.5crore, Rajasthan Rs.19.3 crore andAndhra Pradesh got Rs 16.53 croreunder the scheme.

Dr. Jatiya said 543 SanitaryMarts have been set up in 12 states.He said that the Sanitary Martconcept involves group approach inrehabilitation. Dr. Jatiya said morethan 120 crore rupees weresanctioned for the Sanitary MartScheme in these states during thelast three years.

(PIB)

and fined Rs. 10,000 for havingamassed assets disproportionate tohis known sources of income dur-ing his 9-year tenure as PSO to theformer CM. The disproportionateassets were found to be to the tuneof Rs. 18. 25 lakhs.

On the same day, the HighCourt also fixed August 5, nextmonth, as the date to hear his ap-peal against the conviction.

Mr. Bhutia is the first person inSikkim to be convicted under thePrevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

last week’s winner: Y. Chettri. Answer: Germany