Salgaocar take on Mumbai

MAPUSA: Salgaocar Football Club will miss two of their key players - goalkeeper Karanjit Singh and Brazilian striker Josimar Martins da Silva due to suspension as they host Mumbai FC in a 21st round I-League football match at Duler Stadium, here, Saturday, 4 p.m.

Salgaocar not only gave away their first half lead in their previous game against Sporting Clube de Goa but also lost their two key players after they were shown direct red cards on a day where six yellow and three red card were flashed.

Defender Randeep Kumar will also be missed as he has accumulated four cards and consequently remains suspended for one match.

Salgaocar, placed ninth with 20 points from as many matches, will have fond memories of their previous leg clash as they had managed a solitary goal victory, the first win for the team after a horrendous run at the start of the campaign.

Mumbai FC coach Khalid Jamil admitted to Salgaocar’s strengths and said they have been unlucky in many matches.

“They are a very good team. I believe they would have had better results but were unlucky in many games. We will have to be on top of our game,” said Jamil.

Mumbai are placed seventh on the table with 26 points from 19 matches.

Jamil said he was keen to try out a couple of promising youngsters who have grown in stature over the last couple of months.

“I don’t think it’s a risk because I trust these players. The players are good, they have good temperament and can stand up to the best,” said the Mumbai FC coach.

“There is no secret to the team’s performance in this year’s I-League. It’s all down to hard work and nothing else. We had a poor start but we never lost confidence,” said Jamil.

Meanwhile, Churchill Bros will look to maintain their momentum when they face ONGC in an away match.

In another match, Prayag United SC, fresh from their IFA Shield triumph, are surely at their confident best will take on United Sikkim in Gangtok at 2 p.m. In Kolkata, East Bengal will clash with Air India at Kalyani Stadium, at 2 p.m.

GJM leaders to meet JMM boss for poll alliance

A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) delegation led by party general secretary Roshan Giri will meet Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Shibu Soren in Ranchi to discuss plans for an electoral alliance ahead of the panchayat elections in West Bengal.

“We are travelling to Ranchi on March 24 and will meet Mr. Soren and his son Hemant Soren. We have an alliance with the JMM and this meeting will be held to chalk out an electoral strategy for the rural polls,” Mr. Giri told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling.

The JMM is believed to have a significant presence in the tribal-dominated areas in the Dooars region of north Bengal.

The two parties have been on good terms for about a year, particularly after Shibu Soren called on GJM president Bimal Gurung in June last year and confirmed his support for the GJM’s demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. At the meeting, it was proposed that the two parties work towards the creation of a Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh.

The support of the JMM to the GJM has become critical, particularly in the wake of the latter falling out with the John Barla-faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) in recent times.

Mr. Barla and his associates had supported the GJM’s demand for inclusion of areas in the Terai and Dooars within the jurisdiction of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

However, differences had cropped up between him and the GJM leadership since the elections in July 2012 to the GTA that were confined to the three hill sub-divisions without the plains being brought into the ambit of the regional autonomous body.

Sikkim and Darjeeling to host Himalayan Drive 2013

New Delhi, March 22, 2012: With a mission to promote motorsport across the length and breadth of the country, JK Tyre has associated itself with the very first Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) Rally in the Sikkim region – the Himalayan Drive. The rally will cover the regions of Sikkim, West Bengal, Darjeeling hills and the pristine Eastern Himalayas. The three-day event will be flagged off on March 22, 2013 from Siliguri’s City Centre.

The Himalayan Drive is the first ever motorsport event organised in the Eastern Himalayan region by Just Sportz Management Pvt. Ltd, with joint support by the Government of Sikkim, West Bengal and GTA. The event has attracted more than 50 drivers and navigators from Kolkata, Siliguri, North Bengal, Darjeeling and Gangtok. The 400 km long rally will traverse through the beautiful lush green landscapes of West Bengal and the mountainous terrains of Sikkim & Darjeeling Hills, including tea gardens, forests of exotic flora and fauna as well as the majestic Tista River.

While the hilly terrains of the region will provide the required action and excitement to the participants and raise the level of competitiveness, the locations en route will be a visual delight, like the panoramic views of the snow-capped Eastern Himalayas including the majestic Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world, and take them through different hill tribes including the Nepali, Bhutias, Lepchas and others, offering insights into the unique culture, food and lifestyle of the region.

Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head – Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “We are delighted to be associated with The Himalayan Drive, which is a first of its kind endeavour in this part of India. This heralds a new milestone in the promotion of motorsport in the Sikkim, Darjeeling and North Bengal region. We have already made a mark in Bhutan through our Indo-Bhutan Car Rally. Motorsport enthusiasts can look forward to a grand feast of thrilling action and adventure in West Bengal, Sikkim and Darjeeling hill areas, which promises some challenging terrain and breathtaking beauty, all in the beautiful backdrop of the mighty Eastern Himalayas.”

Mr. Tamal Ghosal, Director of Just Sportz Mangement Pvt. Ltd. and Clerk of the Course (COC) of The Himalayan Drive said, “The Eastern Himalayas has great potential for adventure sports and a TSD rally is the first step to unleash the great potential of motorsports in the region. With the able support of the enthusiastic Governments of West Bengal, Sikkim & GTA, we hope to create an iconic cross country motorsports event which will rival the best in the world.”
The rally route is for the most part on hill roads that are as high as 9500 feet above sea level. Day 1 of the rally will see the drivers covering a distance of 120 km from Siliguri to Gangtok after the flag-off. On March 23, which will be Day 2 of the rally, drivers will cover 185 km from Gangtok to Darjeeling, while on March 24, the cars will head back to Siliguri, covering 110 km.

The rally will culminate in Siliguri on March 24, 2013 where the winners will be announced at a prize distribution ceremony scheduled at the City Centre at 7pm.
TSD rallying (Time Speed Distance) is a form of motor sport usually conducted on public roads (following Traffic Rules) but sometimes including off-road and track sections. The objective of these rallies is to maintain precise times and precise average speeds on various segments of a predefined route. Each team usually consists of a rider/driver and navigator. In a Time-Speed-Distance Format, the route instructions, in addition to instructions to keep a team on course also gives assigned speeds. This is where a common man can get his personal road car with basic safety equipments as provided by manufacturer to participate and experience the thrill of motor rallying.

CRPF deployed in Darjeeling Hills

Darjeeling: The CRPF, which has been deployed in the Darjeeling hills to help the district police, on Saturday conducted a road march at Rangbull, Sonada and other places of the town, official sources said.

The state government had requisitioned for the CRPF in the hills after the GJM announced the third phase of Gorkhaland agitation, the sources said.

One battalion of the CRPF has been deployed in Darjeeling Town and another in Kalimpong, the sources said adding the paramilitary force which reached the Darjeeling hills on March 11 started its duty from today.

Meanwhile, the employees of the government offices in the Darjeeling hills today held demonstration and dharna before the government offices as directed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

The GJM had directed the employees who are working under the government departments or the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) departments to conduct dharna as a part of its third phase of Gorkhaland agitation.

Bagdogra forest guard went berserk and killed one and injured another

Police are on the hunt to arrest a Bagdogra range forest guard, accused of killing an innocent tribal man and grievously wounding an aged cowboy in a feat of rage at Panighata area under Mirik police station. Police today said they have set up a camp after forest guard Santa Kumar Tamang went berserk and killed his neighbour Augustus Toppo and seriously injured Nar Bhadur Thapa, who was herding cows and goats in nearby jungle on Monday. Police believe that Tamang was unwilling to have his daughter marriage after she fell love with his colleague Subol Rai's son, all the residents of Manchakhola of Panighata block near Naxalbari. As the final talks on fixing a date for marriage were on Monday in their residence, Tamang got mentally upset and took a sharp weapon and went out hacking to death Toppo and injured Thapa, who was now admitted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital with serious wounds. After committing the crimes, he went hiding creating panic among the neighbours. Police from Mirik, Kurseong and Naxalbari began a manhunt and set up a police camp to instill confidence among the residents. UNI XC PC SS SS1213 NNNN

Morcha plan for Dooars

Darjeeling, March 18: Bimal Gurung today said he would camp in the Dooars and campaign door to door for the panchayat elections at a time many Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters in the plains have switched to Trinamul.

“I will immediately come to Dooars and will start a door-to-door campaign in the area. If needed, I will stay for a month in the area,” Gurung said.

Gurung today first held a meeting with Yuva Morcha members from the plains at Kumani, 110km from Darjeeling. Kumani, on the border of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts, falls under GTA control.

After the meeting, Gurung addressed supporters from a dais, during which he spoke about the Dooars campaign.

The Morcha leader also made it clear that the hill-centric party would campaign in the plains largely on two issues — on Gorkhaland and the inclusion of 396 mouzas from the Dooars and Terai in the GTA.

“The Bengal government constituted a three-member fact verification committee when our relations with the Trinamul were good. I do not know what has happened to the committee now but it is clear that Mamata Banerjee is now hell bent on going after me, instead of other parties like the Congress and the CPM,” Gurung said.

The Morcha had demanded the inclusion of 396 mouzas from the Dooars and Terai in the GTA but the Justice Shyamal Sen committee recommended inclusion of only five mouzas. After the Morcha said it was unhappy with the report, the government formed the fact-verification committee.

“We will not sell our self-respect and will continue with our demand for Gorkhaland and the inclusion of the plains mouzas in the GTA,” Gurung said.

Taking a dig at former Morcha leaders who have joined Trinamul — over 200 workers and leaders over the past few weeks have switched sides — Gurung said: “Have they joined Trinamul hoping the cases registered against them during the agitation will be withdrawn?”

He added: “Padam Lama (former Morcha president in the Dooars who has moved to Trinamul) should know what has happened to Nepali-speaking people of Bhutan. They have been chased out of that place and are now languishing in Mechi (Nepal).”

One of the reasons the Morcha cited for its Gorkhaland demand was to ensure that the Nepali-speaking people from India are not considered foreigners.

Samuel Gurung, Morcha leader and an executive member of the GTA Sabha, said: “It is important to win the panchayat elections both for the Gorkhaland demand and also for the inclusion of mouzas in the GTA as one needs to be in power and also financially strong.”

Power firm pays land rent after 17yrs

- 37 families get compensation for land used for road widening

A man collects cash from the district collectorate in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, March 18: The West Bengal State Electricity Development Corporation Limited today paid “rental compensation” to 37 families 17 years after the state power company used their land to widen a road near a hydel project site to move machinery.

The WBSEDCL today gave Rs 2,69,089 to the district administration to distribute among the affected families of Lower Bara Pubung Busty, about 45km from Darjeeling town.

Rohit Sharma, the Kurseong Gorkha Janmukti Morcha MLA, said: “In 1995, WBSEDCL had laid a road in the area to ferry their machines to a project site (6km from the village). They (the villagers) were told that a compensation would be given to them within two years but nothing happened.”

The 3MW Mungpoo-Kalikhola hydel project was completed in 1997, sources said, but the villagers did not get any compensation.

“We formed a landlosers’ committee and for 12 years we have been running from pillar to post for our compensation. About a year back, we apprised the Kurseong MLA about our problem,” said B.B. Dahal, president of the committee.

According to Ladup Moktan, the general secretary of the landlosers’ committee, the WBSEDCL had used three acres to widen an existing road. But in 1997, the district administration conducted a survey that revealed 1.19 acre was used for the road expansion.

Gopal Lama, the additional district magistrate of Darjeeling, said: “The land was not acquired so the compensation is being paid by WBSEDCL for using it as they needed to widen the road only to ferry heavy machinery.”

Lama said WBSEDCL had argued that the road was not taken over as WBSEDCL’s property and was now being used by the villagers for their own benefit. “This is why they are being paid rental compensation. This is like a rent for having used the road during the construction phase. The land was not acquired but the compensation is being paid by the WBSEDCL for using it as they needed to widen the road only to ferry heavy machinery,” Lama said.

Today, Rs 2,69,089 was distributed by Sharma and Lama from the district collectorate’s office.

The families received between Rs 2,200 and Rs 18,087, depending on the amount of land that was taken to expand the road. “The cash compensation was paid at the rate of Rs 2,262 per decimal (100 decimals make an acre),” said an official.

Sources said the land reforms department and the power company decided on paying the “rental compensation” basing their calculations on the value of land in 1993-94, which was Rs 2,262 per decimal. The road was widened in 1995.

“The WBSEDCL was of the opinion that they had only widened an existing road to construct a 16ft road and not taken control of the stretch. After much discussion, they agreed to provide compensation for 1.19acre. We are happy that we finally got some amount,” Moktan said.


Compensation for land-losers in Hills
ByDeep Gazmer, TNN

DARJEELING: Thirty-seven families of Lower Bara Pubong Busty in Darjeeling's Mungpo, who had lost their land to make way for a road for the Mungpo-Kalikhola Hydel Porject in 1995, received compensation on Monday from the district administration.

According to Rohit Sharma, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) MLA from Kurseong, an agreement was signed between the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), the implementing agency, and the land losers for provision of compensation for the land acquired to build a road leading to the project site.

"In 1995 an agreement was made between the WBSEDCL and families who had given their land to build a road.

However, the compensation was never handed out to the land losers. After I came to know about the plight of the affected families, I initiated the process to provide them the compensation at the earliest," Sharma said while handing over the cheques to the 37 thirty-seven families at the Darjeeling DM's office.

In December, last year, compensation was given to 51 fifty-one

people who had lost their land to facilitate the 53 MW Rammam Hydel project in Rimbick-Lodhoma. The compensation was given after fifteen years.

In order to complete the 3 MW Mungpo-Kalikhola project, the WBSEDCL required an access road to the project site. An existing road through the Lower Bara Pubung Busty was widened to 16 feet. As rental compensation, the WBSEDCL agreed to provide Rs 2262 per decimal as per the rates then.

According to the Kurseong MLA, WBSEDCL had utilized a total of 1.19 acres land for widening and construction of the road. As compensation, a compensation of Rs 2.70 lakh was distributed on Monday. While some received a minimum amount of Rs 2200, others got Rs 18000 according to the value of the land they had provided for the road.

Though the land losers were not very excited about the compensation amount, they still expressed gratitude to the MLA for his role in facilitating the process. "We had served a memorandum to the Kurseong MLA who was kind enough to look into the matter. The valuation then and now is not the same but still we are happy that at least we have got something," said B B Dahal, one of the land losers and president of the land losers' committee.