Daily Archives: July 4, 2012
JUST IN: AAGSU condoles Hiruda’s death
THE HIMALAYAN BEACON
Guwahati 4th July 2012:- All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union (AAGSU) has condoled the demise of veteran and the legend Assamese poet, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Hiren Bhattacharya popularly known as Hiruda who died today at Dispur Hospital today at 11:45AM.
Condoling Hiru Da’s death AAGSU’s Central Information Secretary Nanda Kirati Dewan said Hiren Bhattacharyya has innumerable publications in Assamese and achieved many accolades for his poetries through his life. He lived a life of dignity and honour and dedicated served the literary world as true Literature’s Soldier. It is an irreparable loss to the state. In a short span of 8months Assam lost three personalities Bhupen Da, Mamoni Baideo today Hiru Da.’, He further added, ‘The Sungandhi Pakhila (Butterflies) will no more be with us to pass the message of beautiful things around in lyrical thematic way. We will miss him especially his fans will miss him dearly. I will dearly miss him as I find myself in his two poetries FAILURE and WHAT IS IT THAT BURNS IN ME.
AAGSU’s team also called on his grief stricken family including daughter Shanta Bhattacharyya Sharma, son-in-law Pranjal Sharma.
The legend of Assamese poem history, Hiren Bhattacharyya achieved Bishnu Rabha Award in 1998, Rajaji Puroskar(awarded by Bharatiya Bidya Bhawan) in 1984-1985, Soviet Desh Neheru Award in 1987, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 and Asom Upotyoka Sahitya Award(Assam Valley Literary Award) in 2000.
SPORTS WATCH: Youngest Indian boxer Thapa seen as Olympic medal prospect
FROM TIMES OF INDIA
NEW DELHI: Two months before the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games, a 16-year-old Indian jabbed, hooked and punched his way to silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Shiva Thapa is now going to be the country’s youngest boxer to compete at the Olympics in London.
Thapa himself didn’t imagine that things could happen so fast. The Guwahati-born pugilist had set his sights at the Rio Games four years from now and he couldn’t believe it when he made it to London by winning the Asian qualifiers two months ago in the 56 kg category. Overnight he is also seen as a potential medal winner.
“I never thought it (Olympics) could come for me so soon. My parents and I were looking at Rio 2016. Now that I have qualified, I am putting everything in my effort to win a medal. Even when I won the silver in Singapore, the ultimate goal was to do well at the Olympics,” Thapa said, where he is training with six other London-bound boxers and other promising boxers from Ireland, Tunisia and Russia.
“The weather is similar to what it is expected to be in London. The timing of the trip could not have been better as we are practising with some of our potential rivals, said the second Assamese to qualify for London, the other being archer Jayanta Talukdar, and fourth Olympian from the state after footballer Talimeren Ao and shuttler Deepankar Bhattacharjee.
DARJEELING: Experts from London to train zoo officials in Darjeeling
FROM THE STATESMAN
KOLKATA, 3 JULY: Experts from London will train the senior officials of Darjeeling Zoo on how to save endangered animals.
Mr AK Jha, director of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, said the team will also train several officials of zoos in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Mr Jha came to meet forest minister Hiten Barman today at Writers’ Buildings. Some endangered animals at Darjeeling zoo have given birth, said Mr Jha.
He said a snow leopard and a red panda gave birth at Darjeeling zoo recently. He said breeding of many more endangered species took place in the past few months. Blue sheep, Himalayan Tahr, Goral (goat), kaleej pheasant chicks, silver pheasant, and red jungle fowls are among them.
He said Darjeeling Zoo will send a male red panda to Australia and it will in turn get a female red panda. “This exchange will help us to breed the animals,” he said.
SIKKIM: Plan to set time limit for Nathu-la
FROM THE TELEGRAPH
BY NIRMAL MANGAR
Gangtok, July 3: The state tourism and civil aviation department plans to make it compulsory for tourists to leave Changu Lake, Nathu-la and Baba Mandir by 2.30pm keeping in mind the landslide-prone route and the safety of the visitors.
Earlier, no specific time was mentioned to leave these tourist hotspots.
“All tourists visiting Chhangu Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu-la have to leave the places by 2.30pm,” said R. Telang, the secretary of tourism and civil aviation department.
“Tourists returning to Gangtok late are often left stranded halfway because of landslides, especially near the 13th Mile and 9th Mile on JN Road. Now no tourists will be allowed to roam the areas after 2.30pm. They will be asked to leave so that they can reach Gangtok by 4.30-5pm. The timings have been fixed for the safety of the visitors,” Telang said.
It takes around two hours to reach Gangtok from Nathu-la. In the peak season around 500-600 tourists visit Nathu-la, Baba Mandir and Chhangu Lake everyday.
SILIGURI: CPM unity call to anti-Morcha parties
FROM THE TELEGRAPH
Sarkar
Siliguri, July 3: The CPM in Darjeeling district sent a letter to three regional parties yesterday, requesting them to participate in the GTA elections in unison.
Jibesh Sarkar, the acting district secretary of the CPM in Darjeeling, who wrote the letter to the presidents and secretaries of the CPRM, GNLF, ABGL and the Darjeeling Civil Society, invited them for immediate talks to join hands and strive for peace and democracy.
The GTA polls are scheduled for July 29.
“We have reservations on certain clauses in the GTA Act and feel that the situation in the hills is not conducive enough to hold the polls in a free, fair and peaceful manner,” Sarkar said today. “Nevertheless, we are keen on participating to catalyse the process of restoring peace and democracy which is the need of the hour.”
“Now that the polls are ahead, we have written to these parties, urging them to participate in the polls and work together for restoration of democracy and peace in hills. We must work in unison to achieve our common goal,” the CPM leader added.
The CPM, which had support of around 40 per cent of the hill population in the eighties — even Morcha president Bimal Gurung has acknowledged it — is left with an abysmally low support base in all the three hill sub-divisions where the GTA polls would be held.
DARJEELING HILLS: Candidate expenditure hole in GTA polls – Govt cites ‘omission’ to explain absence of rule, Morcha rivals say election is an eyewash
FROM THE TELEGRAPH
BY VIVEK CHHETRI
Representatives of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha at a meeting addressed by party chief Bimal Gurung at Deolo on Tuesday. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha
Darjeeling, July 3: The Darjeeling district authorities have revealed that they have not been notified what the candidate expenditure ceiling should be for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elections.
The state hill affairs department has also not said anything on the declaration of assets of the contestants or whether candidates have to file affidavits as a check for previous criminal record. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha rivals have cited these holes in the rules to say the polls are an “eyewash”.
The matter may be a case of “omission” on the government’s part, as a Writers’ Building official has said, but if it goes unaddressed, it could mean unbridled spending by candidates. Voters, too, would not get a picture of their candidate’s wealth, nor their criminal record, if they have one.
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