Showing posts with label Local. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Local. Show all posts

Bimal Gurung Supports Protecting the Heritage Structure of Hotel Mount Everest

3:48 PM
The GTA chief Bimal Gurung has extended his support to protect the 100 years old heritage structure of Hotel Mount Everest in Darjeeling. He said that the new venture that is being proposed must be inline with the existing structure and should not be dismantled. He has also demanded that the ex-employees who were forced to quit the job following the fire be reemployed in the upcoming hotel.
Bimal Gurung Supports Protecting the Heritage Structure of Hotel Mount Everest
Bimal Gurung Supports Protecting the Heritage Structure of Hotel Mount Everest
GJM chief released his statement on the issue of dismantling of the Hotel Mount Everest taday and said "I have just come to learn from news reports regarding the purchase of the Heritage Mount Everest Hotel. I am happy that the purchase by a private company has materialised. After a period of 30 years of remaining as an eyesore, it is a welcome sign.

However, The Hotel is so deeply integral to the lives of the people of Darjeeling that the dismantling of the place would not be the right solution. It has a History of it's own which is woven with the History of Darjeeling.

The people of Darjeeling always fondly remember the Hotel even though they may not have had the resources to take advantage of the facilities it offered.
It has been a part of the folk lore of the Hills. It has provided livelihood to thousands of people. It has been the place associated with famous people and locals have happy memories attached with this hotel.
As a young boy from the gardens I used to stand in awe and admire the place from the road.
The GTA will oppose any form of dismantling of the Iconic Heritage architectural structure. The new venture that is being proposed must be inline with the existing structure and construction must be undertaken without dismantling the aesthetic value of the place. Those ex-employees of Hotel Mount Everest who were laid off must be absorved as workers by the new company.

दार्जीलिङको ऐतिहासिक धरोहरको रूपमा विख्यात माउण्ट एभरेष्ट होटेल बिक्री भएको विभिन्न समाचार माध्यमहरूमार्फत हालैमा मात्रै मैले थाह पाए। उक्त होटेललाई एउटा निजी कम्पनीले पुन: निर्माणको उद्धेश्यले नै किनेको थाह लागेपछि मलाई धेरै खुशी लागेको छ। लगभग तीस वर्षको दुरावस्थापछि उक्त ऐतिहासिक होटेलले नयॉं रूप लिनु स्वागतयोग्य विषय हो।
यद्यपि दार्जीलिङवासीको जनजीवन अनि इतिहाससित पनि गहिरो सम्बन्ध रहेको तथा दार्जीलिङवासीको गहिरो प्रेम रहेको यस होटेललाई होटेललाई पूर्णरूपले ध्वस्त गरी नयॉं निर्माण गर्नु सही समाधान हुनेछैन। दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को इतिहासमा यस होटेलको आफ्नै गरिमामय इतिहास समाहित रहेको छ। यस होटेलबाट प्रदान गर्ने संशाधन अनि सुविधाहरूको राम्रो प्रकारले उपभोग गर्न नसकेतापनि दार्जीलिङवासीले यस होटेललाई सदैव आफ्नो ह्रदयपटमा सम्हालेर राखेका छन्। दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को मुटुमा यो होटेल दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को लोक- संस्कृतिको एक अभिन्न अंग भएर पनि बसेका छन्। हजारौं मानिसहरूको जीविका आर्जनको माध्यम पनि बनिसकेको छ यो होटेल। भारत देशसितै विश्वभरिकै प्रसिद्ध व्यक्तिहरूको सु:खद सम्झनाहरू पनि यस होटेलसित जोड़िएको छ। दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को विभिन्न ऐतिहासिक घटनाहरूसितै यहॉंको सामाजिक, सांस्कृतिक अनि आर्थिक जीवनशैलीको साक्षी भएर पनि यो होटेल वर्षौदेखि दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को काखमा बसिरहेको छ।
चियाबगानको एक युवा केटा छदॉं सड़कमा उभेर मैले पनि यस होटेललाई अचम्भित बनेर धेरैबेर सम्म नियाल्ने गर्थे। यसको सौन्दर्य अनि शान देखेर म आफै अचम्भित बन्ने गर्थे त्यसबेला।

माउण्ट एभरेष्ट होटेल दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को ऐतिहासिक धरोहरको रूपमा रहिआएको हुनाले गोरखाल्याण्ड क्षेत्रीय प्रशासन उक्त होटेलको उदाहरणीय ऐतिहासिक सरचंनालाई पूर्णरूपले ध्वसं गर्ने विषयमा प्रतिवाद जनाउँदछ। यस होटेलमा रहिआएको पुरानो ऐतिहासिक सरंचनाको कलाकारिताको मूल्याङ्कन गरेर यसलाई नष्ट नगरी यस होटेलको नयॉं सरचंना गरिइयोस्। यसबाहेक माउण्ट एभरेष्ट होटेलका पुराना कर्मचारीहरूलाई पनि नयॉं कम्पनीले नोकरी प्रदान गर्नुपर्ने पनि कम्पनीपक्षलाई म निवेदन गर्दछु।"

Source - Bimal Gurung Official

Gas balloon cylinder exploded in Darjeeling, several injured, 3 critical

11:12 AM
In an incident of gas balloon explosion in Darjeeling Kanija Fatima has lost one of her legs in the blast. Three/3 other women, Sakila Khatoon age 24 , Kanij Fatima age 24 and 45 year old Rajia Begam all residents of Darjeeling are said to be in critical condition and have been moved to Siliguri.
Bimal Gurung visit the victim of the Gas balloon cylinder explosion in Darjeeling
Bimal Gurung visit the victim of the Gas balloon cylinder explosion in Darjeeling - photo DC
The explosion took place around 7:30 P.M near Kalimpong Motor Syndicate at the venue of the Muhharam Remembrance celebrations in Darjeeling every year. According to the sources, the cylinder had gone empty, and the person operating the balloon stand was mixing the chemicals to fill more gas into the cylinder, when it exploded. Meanwhile, the balloon stand owner seems to have absconded and is yet to be traced.

Taimul Ali a resident from Islampur who was in a visit to Darjeeling and 5 year old Iftikar Ali are the other victims, however, their condition are said to be stable.

GTA Chief Bimal Gurung along with other high ranking GTA and District Officials visited  the District Hospital where the injured have been taken.

News Credit - DC

Kurseong Municipality fails to dump garbage at dumping ground

9:58 AM
With the failure of the Kurseong Municipality administration to dump garbage at the Dhargaon dumping ground since past one week, garbage and wastes have again amassed at different nooks and corners of the town. The reason for the failure being the pathetic road conditions in Dhargaon and protests by the locals for the construction of dumping ground there.

Garbage heap in Kurseong due to dumping ground issue.
Garbage heap in Kurseong due to dumping ground issue.
It has been learnt, when the construction of dumping ground at Dhargaon was initiated, the Municipality had assured the locals of constructing a metal road in the area connecting the dumping ground site.  However, no signs of metal road construction are apparent in the area. Demanding immediate initiation of construction of a metal road, the resentful residents of Dhargaon have been opposing and obstructing dumping of town garbage in their area.  

Following the unfavorable developments, garbage bins across the town are overflowing with wastes. The town possesses a degraded and smelly atmosphere with all kinds of wastes lying in heaps at road sides.  Even in the prevailing freezing weather the horribly stinking garbage has created an unhygienic atmosphere causing inconvenience to the locals pedestrians here.  This has also multiplied the fear and chances for the town to develop various diseases.

Notably, the Kurseong populace had been living in such unhygienic atmosphere due to lack of proper dumping ground in the region. But after the formation of new municipality board a proper dumping ground site was located at the China OG in Dhargaon. It can be mentioned here that the site was already being used as a dumping ground for town wastes since one year before the construction works began.

On being asked about the matter KM Sanitary officer Ramesh Subba said the wastes are not being dumped properly since the road to the dumping ground is in shambles added to the protests being staged by the residents of Dhargaon. However, he said the municipal administration is working on the relevant formalities to begin construction of proper road to the Dhargaon dumping ground.

Source- EOI



Kurseong - increase in wild bear attacks

11:55 AM
Kurseong - The people of Chimney, Majua Busty and its adjoining areas under the Kurseong sub-division have been spending sleepless nights due to increase in wild bear attacks. The residents have complained that wild bears from the adjacent Baggora Forest have been attacking their pets and cattle at night. The people are mostly farmers depending on agriculture and livestock, for which the costs of loss is high.

Increased in wild bear attacks in Kurseong
Increased in wild bear attacks in Kurseong
A resident of Majua, Rudra Tamang said the people have been facing several problems due to the frequent attacks. He added recently a bear attacked a bee keeping farm of Birlal Tamang and damaged the entire infrastructure. He added the forest officials have already been informed and they have been taking stock of the incidents but the attacks have not decreased. 

Meanwhile, forest officials claimed that the incident has not been reported to them. They said even though several measures have been taken time and again the menace of wild bears has not decreased. They added the wild bears foray into settlement areas due to continuous deforestation. 

(EOIC)


Mirik - Unmukti Welfare Society began training on fabric painting

11:06 AM
Mirik Unmukti Welfare Society in association with Nehru Yuva Kendra, Darjeeling, today began a two-month long training camp on fabric painting at Thurboo Primary School. The training camp has 31 woman trainees who will be trained in the art by instructors Bikash Subba and Laxman Rai.

Training camp on fabric painting to begin at Thurboo Primary School

Organising committee secretary Saroja Tamang said the training camp has been organised with an aim to enable the women to become self employed besides promoting the art of painting. Senior school teacher Namgyal Pakhrin was the chief guest of the inaugural function today.

EOI


Darjeeling expects snowfall soon - 3 degrees Celsius, tourists started to flock in

12:26 PM
Temperatures dipping to a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius in Darjeeling has not only aroused hopes of snowfall soon, but also tourists have increasingly started to flock in, points the tour operators. 


Darjeeling -  Mall Road covered with snow...
Darjeeling -  Mall Road covered with snow...
In addition, the ongoing Darjeeling tea and tourism festival that kicked off yesterday being held at Chowrasta has been an added boost. 

Today, on the occasion of celebrating Christmas, Chowrasta was flocked with the tourists. 

The commercial lane was set with lights and decorations all the way towards Chowrasta where songs and dance here continued till eight in the evening. 

"It is the number of domestic tourists in maximum flow,” said on of the tour operators. 
It can be mentioned here that the number is comparatively low than earlier years. 
“It can be said that tourist flow in Darjeeling is slowly recovering,” he added. 


Notwithstanding Christmas today and upcoming New Year, many tourists had made pre-bookings just to spend the Christmas and New Year in Darjeeling with the hope that Darjeeling would soon witness a snowfall, points the hoteliers. 

Though it is yet to snow, the cold winter charm of Darjeeling has itself added a sweetest flavour to the Christmas today for all the tourists and locals celebrating the occasion. 

Mr RK Chaudhury from Calcutta Salt Lake who spends his holidays almost every year during the winter said: "This years Christmas celebration in Darjeeling stands very unique. I come here almost every year during winters and yet this year me and my family enjoyed it much than before. I hope it snows in Darjeeling soon." 

It can be mentioned here that Darjeeling last witnessed snowfall on 11 January 2012 at Tiger Hill and few flakes at Ghoom and Jorebuglow with temperatures dipping to 1 to 2 degrees Celsius. 

Notably, in earlier years, the ongoing agitation with the statehood demand with strikes had brought a major downfall in the flow of tourism. Also, the recent agitation had brought about a downfall of at least 75 per cent in the flow of domestic tourists. 

But with the political leaders now vowing peace and with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) starting to function normally, the peaceful environment has been resettled in the Hills, which has been one of the main reasons for the recovery of tourism in Darjeeling.

Thestatesman

Darjeeling Tea & Tourism Festival 2013-14 kicked-off in Chowrasta

7:23 PM
Darjeeling 24 Dec 2013 - Tourism Festival (DTTF) kicked-off to an grand opening at the Chowrasta in Darjeeling, today. The event is a joint venture between the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the state government aimed at boosting the tourism of the region. In the opening ceremony of the third edition of the event, GTA announced a slew of new projects to develop and improve the tourism infrastructure in the Hills.


 Darjeeling Tea & Tourism Festival 2013-14
 Darjeeling Tea & Tourism Festival 2013-14 
 “The DTTF is an endeavor to promote tourism of this region. It is also aimed to safe guard the culture and tradition of Darjeeling. For this, we have lined up a slew of development projects,” said Sonam Bhutia, the GTA tourism executive director. The tourism executive director said priority would be given to ease traffic which is a major cause of concern, presently.

 “One of the basic requirements for providing better facilities to the tourist coming to the Hills is to have a proper parking space and better traffic system. We have started work on four parking lots in the three Hills sub-divisions. This apart, we have also asked the state government to fund mini parking lots in various tourist spots,” Bhutia said. The GTA will also identify areas in the rural belt of the Hills to promote eco-friendly and village tourism. “We want tourism to flourish even in the rural areas.

Facilities like home stays and eco-tourism needs to be promoted. For this we have started the process of identifying rural areas through the block and Sabhasad levels. We will grant interest free soft loans to interested villagers to provide basic amenities like toilets and clean rooms to tourists. We will have a profit sharing of 80:20,” said Bhutia, adding the home stays are expected to be operational in October next year.

The GTA tourism department is also hoping to start adventure tourism in a big way. Presently, activities like paragliding and rafting is operational and it is expected that the GTA will soon start zorbing ball, kayaking and hot air balloon at a regular basis.

The GTA will also come with four new ropeways in the Hills. Two will come up in Darjeeling from Batasia to Rock Garden and Tukvar to Goke. In Kurseong the ropeway will be constructed from Giddepahar to Rohini and in Kalimpong from Delo to Relli. “We have got the green signal from the Tourism Finance Corporation of India for four ropeways to be started in the three hill subdivision. Construction work will start within July next year,” said Bhutia. With this year’s emphasis on local culture and tradition, the first day of the DTTF saw folk dances and songs in the morning, which continued till the evening.

EOI

Taekwondo Competition at Turnbull School organised by Darjeeling police

2:32 PM
With the aim to promote better relation between public and police, and to make itself approachable, the Darjeeling police has started a number of programmes which includes organizing sports activities. Today, as part of the initiative, the Darjeeling police concluded the The Friendly Taekwondo Competition at the Turnbull School premises in Darjeeling.

More than twenty-six students from various schools participated in today’s event which included both girls and boys. Speaking about the initiative Purnima Sherpa, the town DSP said, “The purpose of the tournament is to make the youths aware of being healthy and the importance of sports activities. Now days, the youths of the Hills are going the wrong way and are also indulging in substance abuse."

The Taekwondo tournament was co-sponsored and supported by the Himalayan Sporting Taekwondo Training Association and the Taekwondo Sporting Academic Club of Darjeeling. The winners of today’s event will be awarded by the Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her visit to Darjeeling on January 22.

 “We want the youths to feel that they have achieved something and get a morale boost. This is the reason we decided that the winners should be awarded by the CM herself when she comes to the Hills in January,” said the town DSP. The winners of archery and football events, which concluded in October, will also be awarded by the CM. The selected students from the taekwondo competition will be sponsored by the Darjeeling police to participate in a similar competition in Assam, as a guest team.

echoofindia

 
Copyright © Indian Gorkhas. Designed by Darjeeling Web Solutions