Hill rival body of Schedule Caste community demands development board

8:37 AM

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Schedule Caste

Rival bodies demand SC board

Writes Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Dec. 22: Two rival organisations of the Schedule Caste community in the hills have demanded a development board for the members from the state government.

The Darjeeling Indigenous Schedule Caste Welfare Association, which was registered as a society in 2014, today said it had got a positive response from the state government on the formation of a board for the SC community.

Bibek Sewa, president of the association, said: "On November 27, we visited the office of the backward classes welfare department in Calcutta. We also met minister Aroop Biswas, who is also the Trinamul observer for the hills. During our visit, we came to know that our demand is under consideration."

Sewa said the organisation had held a rally in Kureong on December 19 with the demand and Siliguri MLA Rudranath Bhattacharya and Trinamul (Hills) president, Rajen Mukhia, had attended it.

Darjeeling Indigenous Schedule Caste Welfare Association rally

"We grew up under the aegis of the All India Nepali Schedule Caste Association. But its leaders now seem to have a political colour...," Sewa said.

The All India Nepali Schedule Caste Association has also demanded a development board.

It had also organised a rally here on November 8.

R. Thatal, the president of the association, said: "We have already told the state government that they (the indigenous welfare association) do not represent the Nepali Schedule Caste community in the hills."

Asked who would lead the board if the state government granted it, Sewa said: "We will leave it to the chief minister."

SourceTelegraph

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Hill Scheduled Caste community wants Development Boards

12:40 PM

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Hill

8 Nov 2015: Demanding a development board, the Scheduled Caste community of the hills today organised a rally in Darjeeling and threatened to start an agitation that would include dharnas and indefinite hunger strikes. The Scheduled Caste community too wants a set-up on the lines of the Lepcha, Bhutia, Sherpa and Tamang communities which have been granted development boards by the Bengal government. Today, the community under the banner of the All India Nepali Scheduled Caste Association (AINSCA), took out a silent rally in Darjeeling town to highlight their demand. “We too want our community to develop like others in the hills. If the state government can establish so many boards, why not give one for our community? We have raised the issue with chief minister Mamata Banerjee and also submitted a memorandum to her during her last visit to the hills,” said Govind Narayan Lomzel, the AINSCA general secretary. He added, “We had also taken up the matter with GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung, but we were suggested to place the demand with the state government.”

The chief minister has also announced a board for the Mangar community would be formed soon, which has further antagonized the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha that rules the roost in the hills. Besides a development board for the community, the association also wants reservation for the community within the Gorkhaland Territorial.

File pic showing one of the Board chiefs
receiving cheque from Mamata

Administration, appointment of 204 teachers in high schools and higher secondary schools and implementation of a 100-point roster in the hills. “We make up 17.2 per cent of the hill population. In the GTA we do not have any reservation, which is why we want proper representation. Our educated youths remain unemployed and therefore we want the 204 teachers from our community to be given appointments in schools,” said Lomzel. The GTA has 45 elected and five nominated Sabhasads who run the affairs of the council and the Sabha.

Although the association has announced its decision to go on the agitation path, it has decided to wait and watch for the time being. “With regard to our three demands we are giving an ultimatum of one month after which we will hold programmes either in Delhi or in Darjeeling. Such programmes could be fast onto death or dharnas,” said Lomzel. When contacted, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said, “We support the demand of the Scheduled Caste community for reservation in the GTA and also appointment of the teachers. We have taken up the matter with the state government and will do so again tomorrow in the bipartite talk in Kolkata. As far as the demand for a development board is concerned, we believe all communities should get one.”

Source:EOIC

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All India Nepali Schedule Caste Association GTA Reservation Demand - Threaten Agitation

11:56 AM

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ST

Writes: Vivek Chhetri

The All India Nepali Schedule Caste Association today threatened to launch a dharna at Nabanna and a hunger strike after that if the state failed to start the process of amending the GTA Act in a month to provide seat reservation for the community in the hill body.

Today, 1,000-odd members of the association brought out a silent rally from Darjeeling railway station to Chowrasta.

They also demanded a development board for the community and a 100-point roster system on GTA job reservation.

G.N. Lomjel, general secretary of the association, said: "One of our main demands is seat reservation. We would request the state to start the process by amending the GTA Act in a month failing which, we will stage a dharna at Nabanna. After that, we might sit for an indefinite hunger strike."

There are 45 elected seats in the GTA and none of them are reserved. The community did not have any reservation in the 28 elected seats of the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council as well.

"Seat reservation in the GTA must reflect our community's population in the hills which now stands at 17.5 per cent. We are deprived since 1988 (when DGHC was formed)," said association president R. Thatal. "If the GTA Act is not amended within the winter session, we are thinking of boycotting the coming elections," he said without elaborating.

"Our other demands include formation of a development board for the SC community and job reservation in the GTA. We will also write to the National Schedule Caste Commission," Thatal added.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said: "We will raise the demand at the meeting in Calcutta tomorrow."

Source: Telegraph, Pic: Himalaya Darpan

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