Alert‬ taxi driver foils alleged trafficking bid, 4 Darjeeling girls rescued

10:43 PM

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NGO

Writes Amitava Banerjee, 

7 Jul 2016, DARJEELING: Four local girls were rescued from Darjeeling Hills on Saturday just as they were about to be trafficked, thanks to a vigilant taxi driver who alerted authorities in time.

The incident happened at Mirik, a scenic tourist town in Darjeeling surrounded by tea gardens. However, the economically backward condition of people of the tea gardens and surrounding villages makes it highly vulnerable to trafficking. A number of sex rackets operating from private residences and guest houses were unearthed in SIliguri and other towns of North Bengal recently.

Sailesh Subba, the taxi driver at Krishnanagar taxi stand in Mirik, noticed the four girls talking to a man, who looked like an outsider.

“Recently I had attended an anti-trafficking awareness programme conducted by MARG, an NGO, and police,” Subba told HT. Suspecting something wrong, he approached the girls and learnt that they were going to Bangalore for jobs in a beauty parlour and that the man was escorting them to Siliguri railway station.

He immediately informed the NGO which in turn alerted the police. The four girls and the man were taken into custody for questioning.

Sailesh Subba, the taxi driver at Krishnanagar taxi stand in Mirik. (HT Photo)

The girls, aged between 18 and 24 years, revealed that they had undergone a beautician course and were offered jobs in a salon in Bangalore through a manpower placement agency in Kolkata. (The name of the manpower agency and the salon has been withheld for investigation purposes.)

“We found a lot of anomalies in the documents,” investigating officer R K Diyali said. “The Kolkata placement agency document claimed that seven girls would be joining as stewards in F&B service department of the Bangalore based organization. However, the girls had no clue they were joining as stewards. The offer letter from the Bangalore salon claimed they would be joining as hairstylists and beauticians.”

Nirnay John Chettri, president of the NGO, Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG), said they got in touch with “our partner NGO, Justice and Care, in Bangalore. They paid a visit to the salon posing as customers. Except for a massage bed, the single room did not have any equipment used in a salon.”
50-year-old Prabal Mohan Bhattacharya from North 24 Parganas has been arrested and charged under Section 370 IPC (trafficking). “We are thoroughly investigating the case,” the Investigating Officer Diyali said.

Recently four students of Darjeeling Hills had unearthed an international flesh trade racket resulting in the arrest of its kingpin from Gurgaon in Haryana. “Along with the four students we will felicitate Sailesh Subba also,” Chettri said.

Source: hindustantimes

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Darjeeling police busted International sex racket with the help of school kids

9:11 PM

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West Bengal

Writes Amitava Banerjee

Darjeeling, Jun 19, 2016: Intervention by schoolchildren helped uncover an international sex racket, leading to the arrest of the operation’s kingpin from Delhi along with a woman trafficker from Nepal.

Three traffickers were arrested at the West Bengal-Nepal border, and a police team from Darjeeling was rushed to Delhi to nab others involved in the racket. Members of Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG), an NGO, accompanied the police team.

Gagan Verma, the alleged kingpin, was arrested from his residence in DLF Phase 2, Gurgaon, by the Darjeeling police team along with Haryana police on Saturday. Verma allegedly forged government documents such as Aadhaar cards to traffic girls, and force them to dance in bars and into flesh trade.
Most of the girls were trafficked from the hills of Darjeeling, Sikkim and Nepal. The racket was operational in the National Capital Region, particularly in Gurgaon and Mudrika area of Delhi.
However, Verma’s aide, Sunni Tamang, managed to give police the slip and escaped to Nepal by road. MARG subsequently informed its partner NGO, Maiti Nepal, and Tamang was apprehended at the Nepal-West Bengal border at around 6pm on Saturday.

 Darjeeling police busted International sex racket with the help of school kids

The Darjeeling police team comprised of two sub-inspectors, two women and two men constables. “We are bringing Verma to the Darjeeling district. He will be produced at the additional chief justice court in Siliguri,” said Deo Gazmer, officer-in-charge of Khoribari police station.v
The operation to bring down the racketeers began after MARG received information from Maiti Nepal that a 15-year-old girl had gone missing from a remote village in the Sidhupalchowk district of Nepal.

The NGO has 12 Students Against Trafficking Clubs (SATC) running successfully in Darjeeling schools, under which students of Class 10, 11 and 12 are sensitised on the human trafficking issue.
“We had alerted our SATC regarding the missing girl. Four of our students from an SATC we run in a school located in the remote part of the district bordering Nepal managed to trace [the girl] on a social network site and befriended her,” said Nirnay John Chettri, president, MARG.

The students pretended to be residents of Nepal who were looking for jobs. The 15-year-old girl then introduced the SATC members to her “friend” in Delhi, who offered them jobs with a salary of Rs 15,000. They would have to work as bar dancers and entertain guests in Delhi.
When the SATC members raised concerns about being caught at the India-Nepal border, they were asked to e-mail their photographs and within 20 minutes they received fake Aadhaar cards along with their appointment letters.

“The students then laid a trap, stating that they would run away from their homes for Delhi. They requested the person in Delhi to send someone to meet them in Panitanki on the Indo-Nepal border, located in the plains of the Darjeeling district,” said Chettri.

At 1 pm on June 8, a man and a woman arrived at the rendezvous point in Panitanki, and were apprehended by police. The duo was identified as Ugen Tshering Bhutia, 23, of Jaldhaka in Kalimpong sub-division and Srijana Rai, 22, of Kumai in Darjeeling district.

“The whole evening, we continued chatting with the Delhi people from where we learnt that a girl from their group had boarded the Rajdhani Express to pick up our SATC girls from the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station (NJP) on June 9,” said Chettri.

A second trap was laid on June 9 at NJP, and Pranita Mukhia, 22, originally from Sipchu in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, was arrested.

Along with her Hierien (39) of Shilong, Prashant Borah (24) and Pranjol Sunwar (37) of Dibrugarh were arrested from NJP.

MARG the key NGO working in this case states: After our recent intervention in Panitanki (Indo Nepal Border) and NJP on 8th and 9th of June we got certain lead information of sex racket flourishing in Gurgaon and Munrika area of Delhi and NCR.

Most of the girls were trafficked and recruited from the hills of Darjeeling, Sikkim and Nepal. Darjeeling Police Team organised by  Deodoot Gajmer (OC Khoribari) and headed by  Anup Roy (SI) and MARG members left for Delhi.

After taking support from  Robin Hibu (IPS) Jt. Commissioner Delhi Police, (Nodal Officer for the North East Folks), Deepak Saharan (HPS) DCP East of Gurgaon, Mam Tanya Singh (ACP) Gurgaon, SHO DLF Phase 2, Darjeeling Police Team raided and arrested  Gagan Verma from his residence.

Verma is one of the kingpin who was pushing girls into club dancing, flesh trade and was illegally making documents like Aaddhar Cards for the girls.

Sunni Tamang an aide of Verma escaped that very morning for Nepal by road. This information was again relayed to Maiti Nepal. At around 6pm yesterday Sunni was apprehended by Maiti Nepal Team in Nepal Gunj.

Mission Impossible became possible because all worked as a team.

It was the joint effort of Robin Hibu (Jt. Comm), Deepak Saharan (DCP), Mam Tanya Singh (ACP), Deodoot Gazmer (OC Khoribari), Kalyan Gurung (CI, Khoribari), DYSP (Khoribari), Sanjay Prasad (Maiti Nepal), Subir Roy (for arranging a vehicle for the team on the 16th), Lisa from Caritas India (Anthony Chettri, Delhi) for arranging vehicle for two days for the team, SATC members.

Via Hindustan Times

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GTA's borewells to overcome water crisis meets opposition from environmentalists

11:04 AM

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NGO

Vivek Chhetri and Rajeev Ravidas

June 3: The GTA's move to overcome water crisis in the hills by digging borewells has met with opposition from environmentalists who say machines shouldn't drill the fragile land without a proper study.

The Darjeeling district magistrate deputed a hydrogeologist under the state government to submit a report on three borewells dug by individuals in the Kalimpong municipality area. The hydrogeologist said the bore-wells had been dug without permission from appropriate authorities.

The GTA had already identified 10 places to dig borewells and set in motion the administrative process for it.

Mark Lyngdoh, a young entrepreneur, is believed to be the first person to dig a borewell in the hills. He successfully dug the borewell in the Hill Top locality in Kalimpong a couple of months back and over 6,000 litres of water could be pumped out a day.

Samden Dukpa, executive director, public health engineering department, GTA, had said the borewell dug by Lyngdoh should be the first in the hills. "I am not aware of the existence of any other borewell in the hills," said Dukpa.

Water being pumped out of the borewell dug by Mark Lyngdoh in Kalimpong's Hill Top in May.
Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

One had never tried a bore-well before in the hills because of the terrain where water is hard to be found below the surface.

After Lyngdoh, two more individuals dug borewells in Kalimpong which is located around 4,200ft.

Dukpa today said world renowned hydrogeologist Dr. Ritesh Arya had identified 10 locations in the hills for digging borewells.

"In February, we had engaged Dr Arya to carry out a preliminary survey on the feasibility of drilling borewells in the hills. Dr Arya has the experience of digging such wells successfully in high-altitude places like Ladakh, Leh, Shimla and Dharamsala. The (GTA) chief executive (Bimal Gurung) himself is very keen on the project. We intend to carry out pilot projects to drill borewells at 10 different sites in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong and tenders will be floated soon," he said.

Environmentalists and the general public, especially in Kalimpong, however, raised questions on drilling the fragile hills to extract water. The public's concern has found resonance with the district administration as well.

Wing Commander (retd) Praful Rao, the president of Save The Hills, a Kalimpong-based NGO, said: "A proper survey needs to conducted before the mountains are drilled. The impact of drilling the fragile mountains needs to be studied, the type of aquifers beneath the surface needs to be understood, the quality of water needs to be tested and the amount of water that can be extracted needs to be carefully analysed before such an adventure can be allowed."

He went on: "The water scarcity in the hills is more about mismanagement and drilling should be the last resort. There are also enough research materials that show that drilling of fragile mountains is not among the best options. There were instances when digging of deep wells had dried up springs in the mountain areas."

Asked about the issue, Anurag Srivastava, the Darjeeling district magistrate, said he had asked Soumit Chatterjee, a hydrogeologist in the state water investigation department, to submit a report on the borewells in Kalimpong.

Chatterjee who visited Kalimpong yesterday, said the borewells had been dug without permission.

"All borewells dug in the hills are illegal. Permission has to be obtained from the district level ground water resources development authority and the state level ground water resources development authority for digging borewells under the West Bengal Groundwater Resources (Management, Control and Regulation) Act, 2005."

The hydrogeologist said the district level authority would grant permission to extract water till 50 cubic meters per hour. "Beyond the 50 cubic meter mark, permission has to be sought from the state authority," he said.

The official is expected to submit his report to the district magistrate soon. "We were not aware that drilling was taking place in the hills. Apart from merely looking into administrative technicalities, one has to take into account what the impact would be on a young mountain like the Himalayas if thousands of deep wells are dug," said Chatterjee.

Zion Lepcha, the vice-chairman of Kalimpong municipality, said: "After concerns were raised by a section of the society, we have informally asked those who have dug borewells to stop extracting water until we get experts to carry out a scientific study of our area."

A GTA official, who didn't want to be named, said the hill body was not aware of the rules restricting the digging of borewells.

Another GTA official said it was to be found out if the two authorities referred to by Chatterjee had jurisdiction over the hills.



Via Telegraph

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Facebook helps find 22-year-old Gorkha woman missing from Dooars

10:13 AM

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NGO

Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Feb. 26: From China to Canada, Delhi to Darjeeling, a motley group of people networked across continents to unite a 22-year-old woman with her family almost three weeks after she lost her way from a Dooars tea garden.

Chunnu Tamang went missing from Tulsipara tea garden near Birpara on February 7.

She was tracked, identified and united with her family at Salua in East Midnapore yesterday by several Facebook and WhatsApp users whom she hasn't met and will perhaps never see.

Chunnu had been staying in the tea garden with her mother Bela and three sisters. She lost her father few years ago.

Earlier this month, she lost her way while roaming in the plantation.

Her family lodged a police complaint and while they looked for her in the Dooars, Vivek Lepcha, 23, a graduate from St Xavier's College, Calcutta, got a call from a friend in Siliguri.

"He shared some photographs of a girl with me and said she was seen at the NJP station and added that she must have lost her way. He told me she had been seen in the area for three days. Since my friend is in a government service, he did not want to come out in public. I decided to post the photos on a Facebook page called The Darjeeling Chronicle," Lepcha said.

The Darjeeling Chronicle page lists news and events and it has multiple administrators not only from Darjeeling, Calcutta, Mumbai and others cities of India but also from Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. The page has more than 48,000 followers.

Rinchu Doma Dukpa, one of the administrators, said: "We received the message on February 10 and as soon as we put it up, it was shared 2,400 times. It seems that Rajen Chhetri from Delhi informed Rangu Souriya of Kanchenjungha Uddhar Kendra (an NGO) based in Siliguri, about the message."

Souriya rushed to NJP but by then, Chunnu had left the area.

"She went missing again and all of us were very worried," Dukpa said. "We got information about the girl from Bikash Lama, Ugen T. Bhutia, Simran Sharma (in Calcutta) and Sanjeev Rai."

Facebook helps find 22-year-old Chunnu Tamang missing from Dooars

Bikash, 38, a businessman from Jaigoan in the Dooars, said: "When I saw the post on Facebook, I decided to share it and some of my friends from Birpara told me about the girl's family. Since the FB post said she was seen in NJP, I, along with some of the girl's relatives, went to NJP station but we could not find her."

By this time, other pages on Facebook, like Dooars Express and Hamro Darjeeling, had also shared the posts.

Sanjeev, 30, a travel guide from Alubari in Darjeeling, managed to get in touch with Chunnu's eldest sister, Binu, who works in Chennai.

"I saw a post on FB pages Hamro Darjeeling and Darjeeling Chronicle. I also saw another post stating that someone had gone missing and a contact number had been given," Sanjeev said.

When Sanjeev called that number, he found it was Binu's

On February 21, the DC team received a message from Anmol Mukhia, a international relations PhD scholar from Jilin University, China.

"Anmol had shared the girl's photographs posted by Bishal Tamang from Salua in East Midnapore," said Dukpa.

Anmol in a WhatsApp message from China said: "I had seen a post about a missing person. Once I got the pictures shared by Bishal Tamang, I send those to DC."

Bishal said they got a call from police "saying a girl who spoke Nepali was found walking aimlessly on a highway. They asked if we could help. We tried speaking to her but she could not give proper answers. Sometimes she said she was from Delhi and then she named other places. She was admitted to the sadar hospital here," said Bishal.

Bishal then posted the woman's pictures on the Hamro Darjeeling page. Eventually Amnol came across the posts. "I contacted DC," said Anmol.

The DC got in touch with Sanjeev Rai, who had helped identify Chunnu. "I contacted Binu in Chennai, who confirmed that it was her sister," said Sanjeev.

Binu said: "I heard from my friend that pictures of my sister, who had gone missing from the garden, were being circulated on Facebook. My friend shared the pictures and mentioned my phone number along with that. Later, I was contacted by some people who informed me about my sister. I am relieved that she has been found in Salua (around 800km) from the estate. My mother and relatives reached Salua yesterday. They are on their way home today."

Note Kudos to The Darjeeling Chronicle team, keep up the good work..

Telegraph

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Two Minor girls from Tea Garden rescued from traffickers by KUK NGO

10:03 AM

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Stop Human trafficking

Report by PRASHANT ACHARYA

Siliguri2 Feb 2016 Two minor girls from closed Panighatta Tea Garden were rescued from allegedly being trafficked to Dubai with the efforts of   NGO KanchanjungaUddhar Kendra (KUK), Siliguri and Railway Protection Force (RPF) Patna.

According to the information one local agent Guria Darjee from Jabra More, Naxalbari has been arrested who had contacted the victims first for providing jobs.
The victims are now in Patna and kept in a government shelter home. Patna police is trying to trace the other agents involved in the case.

Two minor girls were lured with providing lucrative jobs were travelling with an agent from Nepal in a train from NJP on 31st January. Family members informed KUK when their children didn't return home till evening.

Human trafficking, - Representational image

RanguSouriya, general secretary of KUK told that the victim's family contacted her for help. After filing the missing dairy at Panighatta she tried to contact the victim's number. After repeated call she convinces them to inform about their whereabouts. The girls informed that they were travelling in a train with a lady from Nepal and also informed the name of a local agent.

Later police traced the number and then with the help of RPF Patna they were rescued the minor girls but unfortunately the agent somehow manage to flee from the train.
According to the information there were other three girls missing from eastern Nepal and these agents had taken them in another train. Plans were to make all five girls fly on the same date to Dubai from New Delhi.

Souriya who recently received award from President of India among 100 powerful women of India is doing tremendous work to save the lives of hundreds of girls trafficked from various parts of India including Nepal.

Till now more than 700 girls has been rescued from brothels and from the hands of pimps since 2004.

Souriya informed that till date 14 traffickers has been arrested and four were convicted. Vicky Biswa from Kalchini has been convicted life time similarly BinayTamang of Darjeeling with 14 years, SangitaDarjee of Naxalbari with 10 years and JamunaThapa a brothel manager from Pune and resident of Nepal with 7 years imprisonment.

Via EOI

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Bharatiya Gorkhali Welfare Association Initiatives

9:48 PM

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social

Bharatiya Gorkhali Welfare Association is a non-political, non-profit social organization of the Indian Gorkhas of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Bharatiya Gorkhali Welfare Association has done numerous services for the welfare of the Gorkhas in Karnataka. Some of its major activities are listed below:

1 . It has obtained a 2% reservation for Gorkhas under the OBC category for admission into government colleges in Karnataka after fulfilling certain criteria.
2. It provides scholarship to meritorious students from Class 1 to Class 10.
3. It has provided various vocational courses to resident Gorkhas.
4. It has been instrumental in procuring from the government 12 houses for resident Gorkhas.
5. It has held numerous cultural and sports events for the Gorkhas of Bangalore from time to time.
6. It provides a helpline for resident Gorkhas in times of emergency.
7. It is recognized by many areas and states in India including Darjeeling and Sikkim as a socially responsible organization and maintains good relations with major organizations in those areas.
8. It provides career counselling and placement assistance for the Gorkhas.

Bharatiya Gorkhali Welfare Association (BGWA)logo

CURRENT INITIATIVES

SAHAYOG – This is a BGWA initiative for providing free accident insurance to its members. It was launched on 25 January 2009 at the occasion of the 14th General Body Meeting of the BGWA. A group of students and members from the unorganised sector, who do not get insurance cover from their employers have been provided insurance. This initiative will spread to all the members of BGWA who lack such insurance cover.

BGWA can also arrange for health insurance to its members at a very low premium. Sahayog has entered into a partnership with a reputed NGO to help facilitate the paperwork and claims procedure for the insurance policy so that the members will have a steady support in their times of need. Additional facilities of Sahayog include opening of a bank account (with debit card facility) for the members from the unorganised sector.

AASHWAS – A BGWA initiative, is a series of career counselling, personality development and vocational training workshops. As an attempt to attain its objective of advancement of the Gorkha community, Aashwas (Nepali translation being "Reassurance") has been organised by corporate and industry professionals residing in Bangalore. With the enthusiasm and drive to share professional wisdom and acumen to the budding sections of community, Aashwas provides a ready forum to students and professionals alike, wherein ideas and concepts are freely discussed and exchanged - all within the hope that the younger generations of our community become aptly equipped to take on the professional world as and when they do so. To those from the non-corporate arenas, Aashwas is roping in stalwarts from respective industries in order to buttress their positions and growth prospects thereon. Kindly note that Aashwas is a social welfare initiative of BGWA, wherein NO remuneration has been charged by the professionals in mentoring the attendees. A list of Aashwas mentors have been prepared who will offer professional guidance to those seeking career counselling in various fields.


SAJILO - BGWA's initiative "Sajilo - Hami Sabai Ko Lagi" is aimed at sharing information amongst us, which would be useful in our daily lives away from home. We request you to email us at bgwabangalore@gmail.com any information that you may have on the areas listed below and the same will be posted on this site. If you would like to post details regarding "Sale of Vehicle & Furniture", please do provide your Name and Contact Number so that once the post is made,  interested people can get in touch with you.

Via bgwa

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Three Minor Girls From ‪‎Kurseong‬, Rescued in Kolkata

9:27 AM

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Stop Human trafficking

Three minor girls were rescued from the port area of the city today after they went missing from their Kurseong home in Darjeeling district, police said today.

The three were rescued after a tip off from an NGO and were spotted Mallikghat Flower Market area.

The girls have been handed over to representatives of the NGO till the arrival of Kurseong Police, police said adding that a case under IPC section 363 (Punishment for kidnapping) against unknown people have been registered.

"We are looking into the incident to check into whether the girls were kidnapped or not. We are talking to the trio and trying to track into how they reached the city," the investigating officer of Kolkata Police said.

Via PTI

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National Honour for ‪GORKHA‬ ICON - Rangu Souriya

9:21 PM

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NGO

Ms. Rangu Souria is one of the 100 top women achievers of India, and yesterday she received an award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, New Delhi, in collaboration with Facebook had launched 100 Women Initiative last year to recognize and acknowledge women who are making a difference in their communities.

Ms. Souriya has devoted her life to rescuing children and youth trafficked into brothels, domestic-slavery and other exploitative situations, and has so far rescued over 600 victims from the traffickers.

She has risked her life and devoted all her resources to this cause, and it was befitting to see her hard-work being finally acknowledged by the Hon'ble President of India and the Ministry of Women & Child Development.

We are thankful to all our readers who have supported her cause and we hope that this incredible love and support will continue for her in the future.

Hat's Off to Rangu Di and all the people associated with Kanchanjunga Uddhar Kendra, Marg Ngo Darjeeling and Dooars Express who have worked selflessly and tirelessly to save our most vulnerable children and youth from the traffickers

Via TheDC

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Sikkim Woman Raped in‪ Delhi-based NGO‬, 2 Arrested

9:22 AM

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Sikkim

A 21-year-old woman from Sikkim has alleged that she was raped and assaulted by her former employer and a colleague in a south Delhi-based NGO, following which the two accused have been arrested, police said on Monday.

In her complaint, the woman told the police that she used to raise funds for the NGO and her job required travelling to Chandigarh, Shimla, Dehradun, and other places, and it was during one of those trips that one of the accused allegedly physically assaulted her.

The woman further alleged that she was raped by one of the accused while the other person filmed the act. The woman also alleged that the founder "headed NGOs by different names" and would bring girls from north-east on the pretext of providing them jobs and in turn "sexually abused" them, a senior Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) official said.

"The Commission taking a strong cognisance of the complaint immediately took up the case with the police officials and an FIR was registered at the Hauz Khas Police Station," the official said.

Police said that the woman had come to Delhi around a year ago. She said that she was brought here by the NGO and she quit her job in December after the alleged sexual assault. She approached DCW around a week ago, following which they approached the police.

Source: PTI

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Child’s rescue blows lid off trafficking racket in Darjeeling Hills

10:43 AM

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Stop Human trafficking

Writes Amitava Banerjee

The rescue of a 15-year-old boy from the Darjeeling Hills, who had escaped from a monastery in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, has brought to light a threat that has been plaguing the Hills.

Pic for illustration purpose

Many children, especially from the economically backward strata of society, are forcefully sent to religious institutions to train to become men of religion and get free food and shelter while at it.

In most cases, the children are forced against their will and the majority of these institutions where they are herded off don’t adhere to norms laid down under different Acts pertaining to child welfare.

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Darjeeling, in a meeting with different NGOs and religious institutions on Thursday, categorically said that the children would have to be produced before the CWC and the District Child Protection Unit before such religious institutions could take them into their fold.

“We have to examine whether the child is interested in pursuing religious studies or is being forced into it. We have to also see whether such institutions taking in Juveniles are registered under the Juvenile Justice Act,” Subeshna Thapa, chairperson of CWC, Darjeeling, said.

On July 23, Bal Suraksha Abhiyan Trust (BSAT), an NGO in Darjeeling Hills, received an email from CWC, Shimla, saying that a 15-year-old from Darjeeling has been rescued. The boy communicated in Nepali and the authorities had trouble conversing with him.

Acting on the lead, the BSAT managed to trace the family of the rescued boy. It was learnt that one-and-a-half-years ago, the boy from the remote Darjeeling village was sent to a monastery in the vicinity to undergo religious training.

His family comprises an elder brother, younger brother, a homemaker mother and an alcoholic father, who tends to the fields. It was common for most of the households in that economically backward locality to send their children to monasteries for training.

“We got in touch with the monastery in Darjeeling Hills as well. However, they were not willing to cooperate. They told us that the boy had been sent to a monastery in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, for higher studies,” Tej Kumar Thapa, child protection officer, BSAT, said.

The parents of this boy were not aware that he was sent to a different monastery in Himachal Pradesh. Thapa, with the consent of the parents and permission from CWC, Shimla, left to bring the child back home.

“The child claimed that he was beaten up regularly in the monastery. Even his named was changed. He was not interested in pursuing religious studies and was keen on attending a regular school. He escaped for the monastery and wanted to return to Darjeeling. He was spotted standing near a bus stand, with no money on him and crying. A person took pity on him and handed him over to the police,” Thapa said.

The police then handed him over to CWC, Kangra. Later, he was sent to a child protection home under CWC, Shimla.

Source-hindustantimes

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Police complaint against Darjeeling Red Cross for cutting trees

2:20 PM

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wake up

Darjeeling 16th July: Early morning today, it surfaced on the social media that trees on the Red Cross premises in Darjeeling were being cut and the planks from these trees were being loaded into pick up vans. Later when it was revealed that they did not have any permission the forest  authorities seized Wood and also filed Police Complaint Against Red Cross.

Trees on the Red Cross premises in Darjeeling were being cut and the planks from these trees
 were being loaded into a pick up vans

The incident have raised the serious question of the very existence of the most prominent NGO which is housed at the same Red Cross building where it took place, the Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection [FOSEP], which claims to champion the cause of Environmental Conservation in the region.

When FOSEP had nothing to say or do when the trees were being chopped down right under their nose, the concerned and responsible citizens of Darjeeling and Let's Green Darjeeling(N.G.O.) with the help of social media (The Darjeeling Chronicle) have saved the day.

It all started when TheDC published a post  [Details: http://on.fb.me/1Of6qTC] on 14th July saying "Some people have been cutting trees in the Red Cross premises for the past few days... and it's two more trees out of the town landscape ..." and raised the questions like Who gave the permission to CUT DOWN these trees?? Why is FOSEP quiet?? Why are none of the NGOs or Civil Society members concerned?.

When the report led Ms. Sumitra Tamang, a member of the Let's Green Darjeeling initiative to step in Mr. Prem Moktan from Red Cross had the reason for falling those trees, "these will cause landslides or damage homes in the neighbourhood." Mr. Prem Moktan allegedly told her that, their plan is to cut down all the trees below Red Cross building, and plant around some Rhododendron sapling.

Following the report from The Darjeeling Chronicle, Darjeeling Sub-Divisional Land Reforms Officer confirmed that he had not given any permission. He then went to visit the Red Cross Premises and after inspecting the area found that Red Cross did not have any permission from anywhere to cut those trees. Finally he filed a complaint against Red Cross authorities for felling the trees without any permission.

With inputs from The Darjeeling Chronicle

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Darjeeling Hill NGO MARG faces funds crunch

9:50 AM

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NGO

They sell T-shirts, collect donations at public spaces and seek help from anyone willing to hear them out, just to "make it happen."

Marg Ngo Darjeeling

Nirnay John Chhetri, the founder of Mankind in Action for Rural Growth, and volunteers from various schools in Darjeeling, have been working tirelessly for more than four years and have rescued more than 150 trafficked girls from Darjeeling hills.

"Seven of us formed MARG on September 8, 2006, by pooling in Rs 5,000 each and while we were concentrating on rural issues, we took up trafficking in 2010 when we rescued nine girls from Darjeeling in Bangalore. Five traffickers were also arrested during the rescue," said Chhetri.

Since then, MARG has mostly concentrated on issues related to trafficking. "Till date, seven traffickers have been convicted," said Chhetri.

But, despite the relentless work, MARG is facing a herculean task in its endeavour. The group, however, is not complaining.

"We sell T-shirts, collect donations from public spaces and approach people. Funds are a huge problem for us at times. We have to spend a lot in a month to track a case and verify the details before approaching the police, but nevertheless the will to do something, helps us overcome all challenges," said Chhetri.

The group raises about Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per annum from various sources. "It is difficult to go about our work with this amount. I usually approach good samaritans for help. Last July, we had to rescue a girl from Pune and I was helped by Paras Waiba from Switzerland and Father Kinley Tshering, provincial head of Darjeeling Jesuit, funded our mission," said Chhetri.

"I am moved by Meera Mangarti from Darjeeling, who despite earning just about Rs 3,000 a month has always contributed Rs 500 every month for the past three years for the cause. It aches my heart to accept her contribution. She is the only dedicated monthly contributor for our cause," added Chhetri.

Mangrati, who works at Holy Angel School, an institute for the underprivileged, said: "I heard about Nirnay John's contribution towards society and decided that I should do my bit to make this society a better place to live."

MARG today felicitated Mangrati and 25 police officers from Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Sikkim and Darjeeling as a token of appreciation on International Women's Day. Their theme for this year is "make it happen."

Asked whether MARG has approached any government agencies for funds, Chhetri said: "The only grant we have received is through the National Commission for Women, who provided us a grant of Rs 2 lakh in 2014 to conduct an awareness campaign. The process for applying for government grants is slow and tedious and by the time the funds are released, we would have finished our event."

Source: Telegraph

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Darjeeling police suspect human trafficking racket working in Jalandhar

2:00 PM

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Stop Human trafficking

The Darjeeling police are suspecting a high-level human trafficking racket working in Jalandhar, where the girls, especially from Darjeeling, a hilly town of West Bengal, are being trafficked.

A team of the Darjeeling police had allegedly recovered the three girls,  all around 17, missing from Kalimpong village in the Darjeeling hills since October 8, on October 21 from the Model House locality of the city.

Giving this information on phone, Sourav Ghosh, sub-inspector and office in-charge of Gorubathan police station, which falls in the Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling district, said that the girls were rescued from the house of a Nepali woman in the Model House locality. Later, they were handed over to their families in Darjeeling.

Ghosh said that they have traced three agents working in Darjeeling, who have links with the Jalandhar-based agents. After collecting more facts, they would share details with the Jalandhar police, Ghosh added.

Ghosh said they have called the girls for questioning on Monday along with their families as they are still in a state of shock and unable to tell anything. After interrogating the girls, they would lodge a first information report (FIR) in the case as, so far, they have registered a ‘missing’ complaint.

Ghosh said that hundreds of girls, especially from the Gorkha community, are allegedly made to join dance groups and engaged for showering flowers in marriage functions, etc.

Ghosh revealed that when his team had recovered the three girls from the house, two girls from another state were also residing there. Ghosh added that the family of one of the girls has also filed a complaint against the woman from whose house the girls were recovered by the joint teams of Jalandhar and Darjeeling police along with representatives of a local NGO.

"We are planning to conduct raids in Jalandhar very soon after verifying the facts but the Jalandhar police are not co-operating with us," alleged Ghosh.

NGO speak

Raju Nepali, a representative of Darjeeling-based non-government organisation (NGO) Dooars Express, alleged that the girls from Darjeeling were being smuggled into Punjab, Delhi and Haryana.

SK Kapoor from local NGO Chitra, who was also involved in the rescue operation here, said that we are waiting for a report of the Darjeeling police and will provide help to them in recovering other girls as well.

The chase

As per information, a gang had smuggled the girls to Jalandhar to serve in the houses of non-resident Indians (NRIs). The five Darjeeling cops, including two woman constables, and representatives of non-government organisation (NGO) Dooars Express, had reportedly camped in the city for two days, after tracing a phone call from one of the girls.

The Darjeeling police had, on October 20, scanned the industrial area, Sodal, Lamba Pind and other locations before meeting officers at police station-8. The next day, NGO representative Raju Nepali contacted the girls and called them to the Model House locality near a migrant-dominated part of the city. The Darjeeling policemen laid a trap and recovered two girls who had managed to come there.

The third was recovered from the house of the Nepali woman in the same locality.

Source:hindustantimes

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Ngo MARG Generate Awareness Program on Crime for Rural Students and Youth

10:07 AM

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NGO

"MARG Program Helps Generate Awareness Amongst Rural Students and Youth"

Darjeeling: Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG) one of the leading NGO from the region working towards anti-human trafficking and child protection has successfully completed two-day awareness programme aimed at informing the rural students on rising crimes, such as human trafficking and crime against women. The NGO made the students aware of all legal provisions and other awareness topics related to such crimes.

MARG Completes Awareness Program

Satisfied by the awareness camp, Students Against Trafficking members said now they are confident in approaching police in case of any untoward incident they come across.

MARG general secretary Nirnay John Chettri said spreading awareness about human trafficking and crime against women is the best way to tackle the menace. “Earlier, people used to hide such crimes fearing bad name for the family, but with increasing awareness on legal facilities and institutions, the people have started coming out to voice against the crimes,” he added.

May be it is a reflection of the hard work put up by organizations like MARG that more and more crimes against women and children are being reported these days, as compared to the past.

[with inputs and Pics: ECOI]

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MARG conducts awareness programme on Human Trafficking in Kalimpong Villages

7:58 PM

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society

26th to 28th July 2014, MARG with the support from Glenn Family Foundation Kalimpong carried four awareness programmes about  Human Trafficking at Chibbo Busti, Pudung Busti, Bom Busti (Deowrali) and Pranami Girls High School Kalimpong.

 MARG conducts awareness programme on Human Trafficking in Kalimpong Villages

In the past MARG had recovered girls from Kalimpong Sub-division who were a victim of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in other states. Many of the girls were also lured into massage palour in Goa and were a victim of this trade. Recent rescue in Goa by ARZ, Goa Crime Branch and MARG speaks about this flourishing trade.

This awareness would not have been successful without the support from Glenn family Foundation as they have been doing mammoth development works in the far of villages of Kalimpong. Together we felt that there was a dire need of these awareness camps. 

In all the four camps students, parents and the local leaders participated with a great zeal to save daughters and sisters of their locality but unfortunately there was no participation from Darjeeling Police as we used to have earlier. This was indeed sad.

The youth and some students came forward to set up Students Against Trafficking Club (SATC) and very soon there will be 4 vibrant clubs with 20 to 25 members who will be trained to combat this menace which has been engulfing our society rapidly.

Source:  MARG

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DAWN ORGANIZES HEALTH CAMP AT RED BANK T.E

8:38 AM

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society

DAWN (Darjeeling and Dooars Tea Workers Relief Organization) organized a health camp at Red Bank tea estate in Banarhat in Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal where workers are suffering from severe malnutrition and even deaths due to starvation have been reported.

The following Report was published by  DAWN  in a social networking site.

Reported deaths of workers due to starvation in the tea gardens of Dooars had been bothering many of us this past winter, and it was the death of Sunita Oroan which made us realize that merely writing out our outrage on Facebook and other social media forms is not going to help. That is when a group of us decided to do something to help the starving workers ourselves, instead of waiting for the government to intervene.

DAWN ORGANIZES HEALTH CAMP AT RED BANK T.E

The formation of the Darjeeling and Dooars Tea Workers Relief Organization – DAWN was necessitated due to government inaction, and we are thankful to all of you for your support, encouragement, enthusiasm, ideas and willingness to step-up and help.

People who are from Darjeeling and Dooars region, and those who are associated with our region gradually started to connect with us from across the world, and offered to stand with us in our mission to provide help and relief to our brothers and sisters in the tea gardens who are in need.

With incredible support from our volunteers, our donors, our supporters, local people, and our collaborators – “We With You” and “Kalimpong Deurali Sangh” we were able to organize a medical camp on the 22nd of June, 2014.

Dr. Sharon Foning and Nurse Asmita Chettri from Kalimpong, and Dr. Chaudhari from Siliguri led the medical camp, with the help of around 20 volunteers.

We were able to provide check up for around 250 people, majority of whom were women and children. The locals are suffering from all kinds of ailments related to starvation and malnutrition. Majority of the women are anemic, and almost all the patients had some or other forms of chest ailment. Children are suffering from malnutrition and are severely deficient in vitamin and minerals.

Thankfully, we had enough of basic medication and we could provide antibiotics, vitamins and basic cough syrups to the patients. However, what we have provided is merely temporary relief and we will be working towards providing a long-term and permanent solution, for which we will need all of your help.

We thank Dr. Sharon Foning, Dr. Chaudhari and Nurse Asmita Chettri whose incredible help, commitment to helping the society and love for our community made this medical camp possible… You all cared and stood up, when many others chose not to. On behalf of DAWN and our members, we thank you guys from the core of our hearts and we hope that you will continue supporting our cause.

Team “We With You” and “Deurali Sangh, Kalimpong” were more than partner organizations, they were the force that drove our mission forward. Thank you guys so much for making the camp a success. Thank you for helping us from collecting medications to distributing them. The success of the camp is all due to you. We look forward to more such collaborative partnerships in the future.

We thank Mr. Shakti Thapa of Red Bank Tea Garden who has been our pillar of support in the area from day one. Mr. Shakti has been of tremendous help to us to liaison with the locals appraised us on their real issues and problems facing their community, and helped in setting up the medical camp. This camp would not have been possible without all of your help.

Ms. Sandhya Pradhan from Gorkha Channel has been of incredible help to us, in documenting the Red Bank issue and also the medical camp. Thank you.

We thank all our volunteers from DAWN, “We With You” and “Deurali Sangh” for your kind help and support.

Last but not the least, we thank all the donors who have helped and supported us, what we are doing would not be possible without your generous support. Thank You!!

What started as a small group of people wanting to act, instead of react... led to the formation of the Darjeeling and Dooars Tea Workers Relief Organization – DAWN, and we are hopeful that more people will join our cause.

Source: Darjeeling and Dooars Tea Workers Relief Organization - DAWN

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Child Protection NGO condemns Kalimpong murder

11:13 AM

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NGO

Kalimpong-based NGO Child Protection Forum today took out a rally in town condemning the brutal murder of a couple on June 19. Rally participants demanded justice for the victims and the strictest possible punishment for the culprits. They also demanded immediate rehabilitation of the couple’s two daughters, the elder of whom was also severely injured that day. Forum members later met sub-divisional magistrate K Radhika and submitted a deputation containing their demands.

The Child Protection Forum rally in Kalimpong.

Dominic Bhutia and Christina Bhutia of Gidabling near Kalimpong were found in their house in a pool of blood on the morning of June 19. They had been hacked to death with a sharp weapon, while their 12-year old daughter sustained major injuries. The couple’s 7-year-old daughter was lucky enough to escape unhurt. The elder sibling has major injuries on her hand and head, and has also lost one of her eyes. She is currently under treatment at a private hospital in Siliguri.

The Child Protection Forum demanded proper rehabilitation for the two sisters and called for the strongest of punishments for the accused father-son duo, Hangjit Rai and Puran Rai, who are under arrest based on information provided by the children.

Several NGOs including World Vision, Who Care and Catholic Church for Child Protection along with well-wishers and students participated in the rally.

Source: EOI

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Rally against hawkers' market construction at Chowrasta.

9:59 AM

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social

Darjeeling: The proposed construction of a hawkers’ market at Chowrastha has begun blowing out of proportion with town residents  taking to the streets even as the district administration continues to stand firm on its decision of going ahead with the plan.

School children participating at the rally.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone for the market complex in January of this year. The Aastha Hawkers’ Market, estimated to cost Rs1 crore, is expected to house more than 300 hawkers from the market areas of town. It is being constructed by the Rohini Engineering Cooperative Society Limited at CR Das Road, just below Chowrastha.

Strongly opposed to the construction are the Morning Health Club, Federation of Societies for Environment Protection and the Darjeeling municipality as well as most of the townsfolk. They have got a shot in the arm with GJM president and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration chief executive Bimal Gurung recently demanding a referendum on the construction.

However, the district administration is adamant to start work at the earliest citing the urgent need for a building to house the hawkers who at present have occupied most vantage pavements in town.

MHC members today submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate and also staged a rally to oppose the construction of the hawkers’ market at Chowrastha. School children and NGOs participated in the rally displaying placards.

Rally against the plan to construct a hawkers'
market at Chowrasta.

“We are not against the hawkers who do need a permanent place to trade from.

However, our opposition is against the construction of a concrete structure at Chowrastha, one of the few spots in town that still has some greenery left. A hawkers’ complex can be built in some other place,” said MHC president Tshering Dorjee Bhutia.

Further, he threatened to file a lawsuit if the district administration goes ahead with the building process by ignoring the people’s demand.

"We submitted a memorandum today, but we did not get a cordial response from the district magistrate. We will soon hold a meeting with other organisations and if required, file a PIL as well,” said Bhutia.

Meanwhile, the newly-floated Aastha Hawkers’ Welfare Association, which owes allegiance to the Trinamool Congress, alleged the issue was being unnecessarily politicised by the municipality in cahoots with the GJM. The association, countering the opposition to the construction, also served a deputation to the district magistrate.

“Construction work was supposed to start from June, but some municipality councilors, in connivance with the GJM, are opposing the plan and misleading the people for their vested interests,” alleged AHWA president Bharat Subba.

The association also pointed out that the municipality has chosen to keep silent despite rampant ongoing constructions in and around the Chowrastha and Mall areas.

“There are huge constructions underway on Nehru Road and big resorts have come up in the Mall area. Similarly, flouting municipality norms massive construction works are ongoing in other places of town. Why is the municipality keeping quiet over such cases or is it partners in crime too?” questioned Subba, who leads more than 300 members.

Darjeeling DM Puneet Yadav confirmed receiving memorandums from two separate associations and at the same time asserted a hawkers’ market would be built at Chowrastha as planned. 

"I have tried to assure local health club members and others opposed to the market that construction work will be carried out in accordance with municipality rules and regulations and that the peace and tranquility of Chowrastha would be maintained. The project is important for town residents and will commence as planned,” he said, adding soil testing on the construction spot is in progress while a plan would be submitted to the municipality after test report comes from Jalpaiguri in a few days.

Source: EOI

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54 year old Diwakari Chhetri sets example for NGOs

8:20 AM

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Siliguri

Fifty-four-year old Diwakari Chhetri has set an example for NGOs by working tirelessly for the betterment of society despite being single and without any financial support from the authorities.

CNSS president Diwakari Chhetri.

She has sold off her cows and even landed property to run her organisation for helping deprived women of remote villages. Chenga Nari Sewa Samity (CNSS) was formed in 2002 under the initiative of Chhetri and a handful of women from Chenga village under the Mirik block of the Gorkhaland Territorial administration.

Chhetri says she is working to bring about positive changes in the life of rural folk, especially in terms of women empowerment. She said huge amounts of money have been spent by the government for poverty alleviation and women empowerment, but the situation is still pathetic.

She said, “I used to withdraw money from my husband’s bank account without his knowledge for the organisation’s works. In 2005, I sold my cows to buy furniture and stationery for the CNSS office.”

Chettri have provided vocational training in tailoring, doll making and art and crafts, among many other skills to women of rural areas so as to make them capable of earning for themselves.

CNSS has 63 members at present and most of them are school and college going students. The organisation holds HIV/AIDS awareness camps, blood donation campaigns and works proactively to stop human.

Chettri, who is the CNSS’ president, has approached the police several times for assistance while dealing with rape victims and helped rescue girls and women from the clutches of traffickers.

CNSS assistant secretary Pratima Sharma said the organisation does not have its own office building due to lack of funds. She said the members have a dream to erect a building where women and girls can receive free computer coaching, attend awareness programmes and play indoor games.

Report by: PRASHANT ACHARYASource: EOI

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Disagreement over construction of Hawkers’ Market in Chowrasta

7:42 AM

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NGO

Darjeeling: Disagreement over the construction of a Hawkers’ Market at Chowrastha continues to rage on between the district administration and the Darjeeling municipality including residents.

At the proposed site for the hawkers' market
in the Chowrasta area

The Darjeeling district administration is keen to ensure Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s pet project - a hawkers’ market materialises at the Chowrastha area. However, townsfolk along with NGOs and the civic body are against the construction saying it would destroy the ambience of one of the most iconic promenades of the hills.

The Aastha Hawkers’ Market was envisaged by the chief minister and she had even led the foundation stone for the complex on January 23 of this year. However, on May 22, when workers of the Rohini Engineering Cooperative Society Limited (RECSL), which has been awarded the project, wanted to fell a couple of trees that were obstructing the construction work, they were stopped by members of the Morning Health Club (MHC) and the Federation of Societies for Environment Protection (FOSEP) including locals.

The Darjeeling municipality too is opposed to the construction and claims the district administration has not sought permission. “We have neither been taken into confidence nor has any permission for the construction been taken from us. The law is for everyone to follow including the district administration,” said Sukh Bahadur Biswakarma, the municipality vice chairman.

There was commotion this morning when RECSL workers started digging the designated area on CR Das Road, just below to Chowrastha. Residents including municipality officials tried to convince the workers it was illegal to start work at the spot as permission has not been sought. But the district administration used police assistance to ensure the digging work continued.

“The land belongs to the administration but the area falls under the municipality. There is no layout plan or proposal for construction in the Chowrastha area which makes the construction illegal. More importantly, we are answerable to the people who are opposed to any sort of construction there,” said the vice-chairman.

When reminded the chief minister herself had laid the foundation stone, Biswakarma said, “Yes, that is true, but we were never consulted on the proposed hawkers’ market.”

When asked about the ongoing controversy, Darjeeling district magistrate Puneet Yadav said no construction was being carried out and only samples were being taken for soil testing.

“We were only taking samples for soil testing which is a must before any construction. We will definitely submit a layout plan and a formal proposal after we receive the reports of the test,” he said.

At the same time, the DM asserted the issue is being blown out of proportion. He said, “There are several constructions in and around Chowrastha and we are committed to abide by all the rules and norms for building constructions. But it is sad the issue is being made big for nothing.”

The original motive for the hawkers’ market was to relocate more than 100 hawkers who have been evicted from Nehru Road, the stretch from Keventer’s to Chowrastha, in August of last year by the civic body as part of a beautification plan. These hawkers are presently trading from temporary stalls set up below Chowrastha.

Source: EOI

Darjeeling, June 13: The hill municipality today directed the Darjeeling district magistrate to stop “construction” of a proposed hawkers’ market at Chowrasta where workers were seen digging up soil today. The administration, however, continued the work despite the verbal communication from the civic body.

Residents walk along the project site on Friday. (Suman Tamang)

Many apolitical organisations from the hills had opposed the district administration’s move to set up the hawkers’ market at Chowrasta, a project whose foundation was laid by the chief minister.

“When we were told work had begun, I called up the district magistrate requesting him to stop it as it is illegal to start any construction in the Darjeeling municipality area without a plan sanctioned by the municipality,” said Suk Bahadur Biswakarma, vice-chairman of the civic body.

When the administration overlooked the verbal request, the municipality wrote a letter to Rohini Engineering Co-operative Society Limited, the agency entrusted with the work. It was sent around 3pm today. Copies of the letter were also sent to the district magistrate, superintendent of police, Darjeeling, executive engineer, PWD (Darjeeling division), and inspector-in-charge, Darjeeling Sadar police station.

The directive signed by Biswakarma read: “It has been reported by the field staff of Darjeeling municipality engineering department that your society has taken up construction of Hawkers’ Market at C.R. Das Road, Chowrasta, Darjeeling without prior sanctioned building plan from Darjeeling municipality. This is a clear case of violation of Section 220 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. You are, therefore, directed to stop the construction work forthwith.” Section 220 states: “In any case in which the erection of a building or any other work connected therewith has been commenced or is being carried on unlawfully, the Chairman, may by written notice, require the owner or the persons carrying on such erection or unlawful work to discontinue the same forthwith, pending further proceedings as respects such unauthorised construction.”

The section empowers the chairman to take help from police or municipality employees if such directives are not followed.

Biswakarma said: “We learnt that the district magistrate, superintendent of police and other police officers were present at the site when the work started this morning.”

On May 22, senior citizens from the Morning Health Club and Federation of Societies for Environment Protection had protested after workers were seen marking trees to be felled for the proposed hawkers’ market.

Social organisations like Jagriti Sewa Samity, Sahayak Samity and Amar Singh Gram had also written to the municipality to stop the construction.

“We cannot allow work with so many objections,” said Biswakarma.

Sushan Rai, secretary of Rohini Engineering Co-operative Society, said he had been directed by the PWD to start construction with 15 labourers from 8am today. “I received the letter on June 11,” he said.

District magistrate Puneet Yadav said only a survey was being conducted at the site. Asked if digging was needed for a survey, he said: “It is needed as we need to know how deep the hard layer is. We will not fell even one tree. We will also ensure that the building height does not exceed the restriction (11.2m) and no walking space is encroached upon on CR Das Road. If we are conforming to all norms then I do not think anybody can act arbitrarily.”


Biswakarma, however, said today, the workers were removing a retention wall and digging earth at the site.

Source  Telegraph:

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