Mamata receives warm welcome from GNLF, and Development Boards

10:13 AM

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Trinamool Congress

Writes: Prashant Acharya

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was given a grand reception yesterday afternoon at the Bagdogra airport and in Rohini near Kurseong by hill communities that included the Khambu Rai, Lepcha Development Council members as also cadres of the Gorkha National Liberation Front.

This was the first time that GNLF supporters were seen welcoming the chief minister with khadas and Nepali scarves and reflects the ongoing bonhomie between the Trinamool chief and Mann Ghisingh, who the chief minister has appointed as vice chairman of the North Bengal Board of Sports and Games.
Thousands of people from both the plains and the hills had gathered at the airport since morning to welcome the chief minister, who landed around three in the afternoon and proceeded directly to Darjeeling without uttering a word to the press people present.

In Rohini, she was accorded a grand welcome with flowers, khadas and traditional garlands. The chief minister even alighted from her car to accept the greetings. Banerjee will be in Darjeeling for five days and welcome President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday who will be flying directly to the Lebong helipad from Bagdogra. On Wednesday, July 13 the President and Banerjee will attend a function observing the birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya. The chief minister is also slated to attend the annual meeting of the Darjeeling Tea Association during her five-day stay.
Over 400 members of the Bhujel community met chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Bagdogra airport yesterday and submitted a memorandum demanding a development board.

Mamata receives warm welcome from GNLF, and Development Boards

The state government has formed seven development boards in the hills - for Lepchas, Bhutias, Sherpas, Tamangs, Rais, Mangars and Limbus.

"A couple of days ago, sources in the government had said they would form a board to cover three (more) hill communities. This encouraged the Bhujels to approach the chief minister," an observer said:

On Saturday, a government official had said the state intended to form the West Bengal Biswakarma Welfare Board for the development of communities like the Kami, Damai and Sarki.

[With additional inputs from Telegraph]

Via TheDC

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Rai Development Board has started its operation

11:05 PM

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West Bengal

Writes: Rajeev Ravidas

The West Bengal Rai Development Board has started its operation with  30 general body members owing allegiance to the Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskritik Sansthan, although the objection raised by the Khambu Rights Movement was yet to be addressed.
M.S. Rai, the chairman of the Rai board, said the first governing body meeting of the board had been held in Darjeeling on Saturday. "The board belongs to all Khambus living in Bengal. It will work for their development. Today, we distributed Rs 1 lakh each to 20 poor Rai families from the hills. This is the first instalment of Rs 2 lakh we intend to give to each of these families for constructing houses," he said in Darjeeling.
The KRM has expressed unhappiness at the board's functioning without taking it into confidence. "We were told by both the Darjeeling district magistrate and S.K. Thade (principal secretary, backward classes welfare department) that even though the notification constituting the general body had been issued on February 12, it would not be acted upon till the differences between us and KKRSS were resolved. This is totally unexpected. We will decide on our next course of action later," said A.K. Rai, the KRM president.
The KRM had staged a hunger strike from February 17 to 24, demanding that its supporters be made the board members.
The 31-member general body has just one supporter of the KRM.
Observers say that the notification could be potentially backdated to skirt around the PIL and upcoming elections code of conduct.

via TheDC

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Nine on hunger strike in hospital - Khambu Rights Movement

11:10 AM

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kkrss

Kalimpong, Feb. 21: Nine members of the Khambu Rights Movement, who were on an indefinite hunger strike at Tricone Park here, have been admitted to the Kalimpong subdivisional hospital in the past three days.

The hunger strike demanding that the organisation be allowed to form the Rai development board started on Wednesday with 14 participants. Since then, the number has gone up to 25, including the nine who have been hospitalised.

Manoj Rai, the KRM spokesman, said those admitted to the hospital were suffering from complications ranging from severe dehydration to low pulse rate. "All nine are refusing to eat and they have been given intravenous drops. We will continue our protest till our demand is fulfilled," he said.

A doctor at the hospital, H.S. Das, said: "The condition of all those admitted is stable."
The KRM was formed on January 16, 2013, and initially it functioned under the Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskriti Sansthan (KKRSS) to spearhead the demand for granting a Scheduled Tribe status to the Rais. The two organisations had differences over the board issue with the KRM alleging that the KKRSS was never in favour of a development board.

Khambu Rights Movement launched an indefinite hunger strike at Tricone Park to protest against interference

The KRM claims that it should be given the right to form the Rai development board that was announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on January 22 as it spearheaded the campaign to secure the board.

The KKRSS, which claimed to have backed the board demand, said it deserved to form the body as it was the primary association of the Rais and enjoys the support of more than 90 per cent of the community members.

Manoj Rai said a four-member team of the KRM headed by president A.K. Rai had reached Calcutta and was in the process of fixing up appointments with ministers and government officials to lay claim to the creation of the board.

"We are also seeking a meeting with the chief minister," he added.

Via Telegraph

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Now GTA to form Development Boards for 19 hill communities

10:36 AM

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Mamata Banerjee

Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Feb. 15: The GTA has decided to form development boards for 19 communities in the hills and allotted Rs 5 crore for each of them in an apparent move to neutralise Mamata Banerjee who set up similar bodies to the chagrin of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

The Morcha has been alleging that Mamata has adopted "divide and rule" policy in the hills by forming development boards for different communities. Till date, the state government has created development boards for the Lepcha, Tamang, Sherpa, Bhutia and Mangar communities and also promised to look into the demands from the Rais and Limbus.

The Morcha-controlled GTA Sabha, however, passed a resolution on February 12 to form development boards for 19 communities which have significant population in the hills with an initial grant of Rs 5 crore for each of them. The 19 communities are Gurung, Bhujel, Newar, Rai, Sunuwar, Thami, Yakkha (Dewan), Khas, Mangar, Jogi, Limbu, Tamang, Dukpa, Lepcha, Sherpa, Bhutia, Yolmo, Scheduled Caste and Adivasis.

Bimal Gurung with Mamata Banerjee in the past

"While the government formed boards selectively to divide hill communities and weaken our Gorkhaland demand, we have created development boards for all hill communities to strengthen our unity and the Gorkhaland demand," said Bimal Gurung, the chief executive of the GTA.

Observers believe Trinamul has been able get a toehold in the hills largely because of its decision to form development boards. "The Morcha definitely feels Mamata's development board politics needs to be countered and that is why the GTA launched similar bodies for all communities," said an observer.

The state government has so far sanctioned Rs 131 crore for the development boards. The Lepcha board alone has been given about Rs 86 crore.

The GTA receives funds from the central and state governments, but the actual amounts are not known. There was an agreement that the GTA would be given a special annual grant of Rs 200 crore for three years once the hill body was formed.

Asked about the activities to be taken up by the GTA's development boards, Gurung said: "We will have to first chart out the composition of the boards and their tasks. The boards will then decide what is best suited for every community."

G.N. Lomjel, the general secretary of the All India Nepali Scheduled Caste Association, today said: "We welcome the GTA's decision to form development boards."


Source: Telegraph

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Khambu Rai and Limbu Development Board to be formed: Mamata Banerjee

8:32 PM

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Mamata Banerjee

Khambu Rai and Limbu Development Board will be soon announced by Mamata Banerjee who is in a visit to Darjeeling. She is likely to announce these development boards on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary celebration event on 23rd Jan in Chowrasta Darjeeling.

This has come as surprise to many because the Kirat Khambu Rais were fighting for Tribal status. "All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association Strongly condemn the use of our flag for the demand of Development Board. Our organisation ideology do not allow us to accept "Development Board" given by State Government of West Bengal. The use of the Flag without the permission of the organisation is unethical and crime" one of the social media post read.

"I have received several requests for setting up of development boards for various communities, among them, Khambu Rai and Limbu Board will be formed, meanwhile, we will consider for other communities too", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at the concluding ceremony of Himal Terai Sports Festival 2016 held at North Point today.

She also gave away prizes at the sports festival, which was jointly organised by Siliguri Police Commisionerate, West Bengal Sports Department and Darjeeling Police.

‘I will continue to work for you always. I don't pay attention to hate-mongers. I just do my developmental work,’ she said.
‘We are providing Rs 1 lakh each to the Sherpas for their development. We have provided a grant of Rs 131 crore for uplift of the Hills communities,’ Mamata Banerjee said.

‘We are providing sports equipment and jerseys to the sports-persons who are taking part in these events. All the clubs have been granted Rs 25,000,’ she added.

She will be present during the official celebration to mark Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary at Chowrasta tomorrow.

Source The Darjeeling Times

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Rais differ in Development board opinion

6:58 PM

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West Bengal Tribal Development Board (WBTDB)

Writes Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Oct. 18: A youth association of the Rai community has opposed the All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association’s decision to not accept a development board.

The general secretary of the Khambu Rights Movement, Sandip Kulung, today said: “We condemn the decision of not accepting a development board for the community. We have raised the demand after consulting our members from the grassroots level and we are leading the movement.”

The All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association had recently said that it would not accept any board because it could create rifts among the Rais and the main demand of the community is a Scheduled Tribe status. The Rais are now enlisted in the OBC category.

Association president Sachin Rai Dumi had said: “We fear division within the Rai community as the board will not be able to build houses for 3 lakh Rai families in the BPL category. Some Rai members will receive benefits, while the others will not.” Other leaders had said it would dilute their main demand of a ST status. 

The total hill population is about 15 lakh and around 5 lakh Rais live in the hills. The community has three associations, Khambu Rights Movement, All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association and Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskriti Sansthan, which hasn’t yet made its stand clear. The recent development, however, seems to have created a rift in the community. 

Kulung said: “We do not believe that the board will dilute our Scheduled Tribe demand and we have been organising events in Delhi demanding ST status. There were no problems when the Lepchas, Tamangs, Sherpas, Bhutias and Mangars accepted the boards. Why will there be disunity in the hills only because the Rai community will accept a board?

Recently, Mamata Banerjee had declared a board for the Mangars and said she would look into the demands of the Rai and Limbu communities. 

Source Telegraph

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Rai community rejects development board under West Bengal govt

7:25 AM

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West Bengal Tribal Development Board (WBTDB)

Writes: Vivek Chhetri

An association of Rai community members today said it would not accept a development board for them as such an arrangement would divide not only the hill population but also their own community.

This is the first time that any community-based organisation in the hills has taken a stand against the state government's development board.

The Mamata Banerjee government has already announced development boards for five communities in the Darjeeling hills, Lepchas, Tamangs, Sherpas, Bhutias and Mangars.

The All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association today held a meeting at the Gorkha Dukha Niwarak Sammelan Hall to decide whether the community should accept a development board.

"The meeting was attended by the office-bearers of the association and 95 per cent of those present were of the opinion that we must not accept the development board," said Sachin Rai Dumi, the president of the association.

The Rai community has another organisation, Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskriti Sansthan, which hasn't yet made its stand on the development board clear. Both the organisations are equally influential in the hills.

Sachin Rai Dumi, the president of the association, (centre) in Darjeeling on Tuesday.
Picture by Suman Tamang

The association led by Sachin said its members would even sit on a hunger strike and bring out protest rallies if the development board was accepted by any other section of the Rai community.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during her visit to Kalimpong in September, had said in a public speech that she was considering the demands made by the Rai and Limbu communities for development boards.

"We have come to know that some individuals are approaching the chief minister for a development board. We will tell the chief minister that we do not want the board. If the need arises, we will organise protest rallies and hunger strikes to protest the formation of the board," said Hem Rai, the general secretary of the All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association.

Explaining their opposition to the board, Sachin said: "First of all, the board is not a permanent body and it cannot fulfil the aspirations of 5 lakh Rai community members. The board will divide not only the Gorkha community but also the Rai community."

The development boards have been registered as societies and are under the backward classes welfare department of the state government.

"We fear division within the Rai community as the board will not be able to build houses for 3 lakh Rai families in the BPL category. Some Rai members will receive benefits, while others will not. This will create a rift in the community," said Sachin.

M.K. Rai, the president of the Darjeeling subdivisional committee of the association, said: "Moreover, our main demand is to declare the community as a Scheduled Tribe. If we start running for houses and toilets, we will not have time to pursue our ST demand with seriousness."

Rais are now enlisted in the OBC category.

The total hill population is around 15 lakh and Sachin's association claims that 33 are the Rais.

The decision by an association of the Rai community to reject the development board has come as a major relief to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which has been alleging that Mamata Banerjee is trying to divide and rule the hill people through the formation of development boards.

"It is a very positive thought and we welcome it. Such thoughts will go a long way in strengthening the unity among the Gorkhas in the hills," said Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha.

Prominent Rai leaders in the Morcha are Jyoti Kumar Rai and Phoebe Rai, both of whom are executive GTA Sabha members.

Jyoti Kumar Rai welcomed the decision.

"The benefits that come through the tribal status are far more than those given under the development board. After all, the development board only divides the hill population," he said.

Tara Rai, the president of the other Rai association, Kiranti Khambu Rai Sanskriti Sansthan, could not be contacted today.

However, a senior member of this association on condition of anonymity said: "Our main demand is the Scheduled Tribe tag for the Rais. Nevertheless, some youths want the development board. Our association has formed a fact-finding team to study the implications of the development board and it is only after it submits a report, will we take a stand on the matter."

Binny Sharma, the spokesman for Trinamul (hills), said: "A lot of people from the Rai community have met the chief minister with the demand for a development board. They want development and to preserve their culture like other communities in the hills. I haven't heard much about the association which is saying that they do not want the board. As far as the tribal status is concerned, the state government was the first to write to the Centre. It is the BJP government which has not yet shown any interest towards the demand."

Source: Telegraph

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