'SAVE OUR LAND TO SAVE OURSELVES' - New Initiative Aimed at Sensitizing Hill People Launched
If we are to save ourselves, we need to save our land from encroachers and outsiders. With this motive, people in Pedong region of Kalimpong have started an initiative to sensitize hill people on the need to conserve our lands.
In a first meeting, conducted in Pedong, the initiative which is being led by Mr. Anil Khawas informed the locals that we should not sell our precious lands to outsiders, as it will eventually make us homeless and can cause our people to be thrown out of the Darjeeling region.
Urging the locals to think 10 times before selling the land to the outsiders, senior citizen and social activist Mr. Nimtshering Bhutia said, "our hills are like heaven, and today outsiders with money are entering our villages and buying lands from simple village folks for peanuts... later these very outsiders will become insider and we the insiders may have to become refugees in our own land."
He further said that, every section of the society needs to be aware of this important issue, and should inform those who are unaware. We need to preserve our lands not just for ourselves, but also for our future generations.
He requested GTA and GTA Sabhasads to help spread the word, and make buying and selling of land by outsiders illegal.
TheDC has in the past raised this very issue, in an Editorial titled 'Economic Rape and Social Marginalization of Darjeeling: GTA Should Wake Up' written on February 26, 2014 [details here: http://on.fb.me/14HiJYh] we had written:
'The revenue earned through Tea, Tourism, Oranges and Timber has continued to be drained out of Darjeeling, and this project will be another nail in Darjeeling's economic coffin.
As such, land is precious in Darjeeling and owing to the shoddy economic conditions, largely made worse due to political upheaval, our own people are unable to own/buy land in our own hills, while rich people from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and else where in India, including big resort chains and even actors like Govinda have bought land for peanuts across Darjeeling region.
What is very very costly for our people - say 10 lakh is peanuts for someone who is used to paying Rs 1 crore for a 2 bedroom condo/apartment. Hence, many people from big cities outside Darjeeling region are buying up lands across the hills, Terai and Dooars. This has three immediate effects, i) our people will not have land to build houses in; ii) revenues generated from new places benefit outsiders, rather than the locals and iii) rapidly growing population is putting increasing pressure on our resource base and causing more pollution by the day.
In all of India, Darjeeling is the only mountain region in India, where OUTSIDERS (those who are not from the region) are allowed to buy and sell land. No other state/region along the Himalayan belt such as Sikkim, Himachal, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and all of north-East allows outsiders to buy and sell land. Darjeeling region is the only Himalayan region in India, which is pretty much a "if you have cash, do as you please" zone. Case in point, the workers from Chandmuni tea garden near Matigara were kicked out on the pain of death, to make room for Ambuja Housing lead Uttarayon complex. People in Ghoom were paid around Rs 10 to 20,000 per acre only while Sterling Resorts built their sprawling Silver Oaks property, which now covers a whole hill.
Back in 1990s the then All Gorkha Student's Union President Roshan Giri and his organization had raised the issue of, "inner line permit" which would recognize the original domicile of our hills and not just protect our rights in availing jobs and economic opportunities, but it would also help in preventing outsiders from buying and selling lands. However both Mr. Giri and his former organization (not sure if it still exists) seem to have conveniently forgotten his fiduciary duties towards Darjeeling after joining GJM.
People from the hills, Terai and Dooars continued to be socially, politically and economically marginalized. Our people earn Rs 95 a day slogging in the tea gardens and such is the travesty that the tea garden owners now run "Tea Toursim" business in Darjeeling, and makes the tea garden workers to cook, clean and even dance for the tourists, all included in that same Rs 95 per day paid to them. Most of the hotels in Darjeeling are now either owned by or operated on a lease by people from the plains,and the best our people can hope for is to work as cleaners, maids, servants and drivers - that is if they are lucky.
The money earned through tourism and tea is conveniently drained down to the plains, and what remains with Darjeeling? lowest waged labourers, unabated pollution and drain of our natural beauty and resources. This is nothing less than exploitation and economic rape of the hills and its people.
Economic drain is how the British were eventually able to capture India, and this is how eventually Darjeeling will be rendered voiceless and choice-less in the days to come if we do not become aware of what is happening around us. This is not a matter to be taken lightly and the earlier this GTA administration wakes up about this reality, the better it will be for Darjeeling, its people and our future.'
Source: DC
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| Pic via: Himalaya Darpan |
If we are to save ourselves, we need to save our land from encroachers and outsiders. With this motive, people in Pedong region of Kalimpong have started an initiative to sensitize hill people on the need to conserve our lands.
In a first meeting, conducted in Pedong, the initiative which is being led by Mr. Anil Khawas informed the locals that we should not sell our precious lands to outsiders, as it will eventually make us homeless and can cause our people to be thrown out of the Darjeeling region.
Urging the locals to think 10 times before selling the land to the outsiders, senior citizen and social activist Mr. Nimtshering Bhutia said, "our hills are like heaven, and today outsiders with money are entering our villages and buying lands from simple village folks for peanuts... later these very outsiders will become insider and we the insiders may have to become refugees in our own land."
He further said that, every section of the society needs to be aware of this important issue, and should inform those who are unaware. We need to preserve our lands not just for ourselves, but also for our future generations.
He requested GTA and GTA Sabhasads to help spread the word, and make buying and selling of land by outsiders illegal.
TheDC has in the past raised this very issue, in an Editorial titled 'Economic Rape and Social Marginalization of Darjeeling: GTA Should Wake Up' written on February 26, 2014 [details here: http://on.fb.me/14HiJYh] we had written:
'The revenue earned through Tea, Tourism, Oranges and Timber has continued to be drained out of Darjeeling, and this project will be another nail in Darjeeling's economic coffin.
As such, land is precious in Darjeeling and owing to the shoddy economic conditions, largely made worse due to political upheaval, our own people are unable to own/buy land in our own hills, while rich people from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and else where in India, including big resort chains and even actors like Govinda have bought land for peanuts across Darjeeling region.
What is very very costly for our people - say 10 lakh is peanuts for someone who is used to paying Rs 1 crore for a 2 bedroom condo/apartment. Hence, many people from big cities outside Darjeeling region are buying up lands across the hills, Terai and Dooars. This has three immediate effects, i) our people will not have land to build houses in; ii) revenues generated from new places benefit outsiders, rather than the locals and iii) rapidly growing population is putting increasing pressure on our resource base and causing more pollution by the day.
In all of India, Darjeeling is the only mountain region in India, where OUTSIDERS (those who are not from the region) are allowed to buy and sell land. No other state/region along the Himalayan belt such as Sikkim, Himachal, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and all of north-East allows outsiders to buy and sell land. Darjeeling region is the only Himalayan region in India, which is pretty much a "if you have cash, do as you please" zone. Case in point, the workers from Chandmuni tea garden near Matigara were kicked out on the pain of death, to make room for Ambuja Housing lead Uttarayon complex. People in Ghoom were paid around Rs 10 to 20,000 per acre only while Sterling Resorts built their sprawling Silver Oaks property, which now covers a whole hill.
Back in 1990s the then All Gorkha Student's Union President Roshan Giri and his organization had raised the issue of, "inner line permit" which would recognize the original domicile of our hills and not just protect our rights in availing jobs and economic opportunities, but it would also help in preventing outsiders from buying and selling lands. However both Mr. Giri and his former organization (not sure if it still exists) seem to have conveniently forgotten his fiduciary duties towards Darjeeling after joining GJM.
People from the hills, Terai and Dooars continued to be socially, politically and economically marginalized. Our people earn Rs 95 a day slogging in the tea gardens and such is the travesty that the tea garden owners now run "Tea Toursim" business in Darjeeling, and makes the tea garden workers to cook, clean and even dance for the tourists, all included in that same Rs 95 per day paid to them. Most of the hotels in Darjeeling are now either owned by or operated on a lease by people from the plains,and the best our people can hope for is to work as cleaners, maids, servants and drivers - that is if they are lucky.
The money earned through tourism and tea is conveniently drained down to the plains, and what remains with Darjeeling? lowest waged labourers, unabated pollution and drain of our natural beauty and resources. This is nothing less than exploitation and economic rape of the hills and its people.
Economic drain is how the British were eventually able to capture India, and this is how eventually Darjeeling will be rendered voiceless and choice-less in the days to come if we do not become aware of what is happening around us. This is not a matter to be taken lightly and the earlier this GTA administration wakes up about this reality, the better it will be for Darjeeling, its people and our future.'
Source: DC
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