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03 February, 2005; NOW! 1
Thursday, 03 Feb, 2005 Vol. 3 No. 244 Gangtok � Rs. 3
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C R E D I T
TURN TO pg 7
KATHMANDU, 02 Feb:Press censorship was clampedin Nepal today, as KingGyanendra formed a 10-member cabinet comprisngmostly his loyalists, a day af-ter he sacked Prime MinisterSher Bahadur Deuba’s gov-
ernment, declared a state ofemergency and assumed all ex-ecutive powers for three years.
All major political leaders,including Nepali Congresspresident Girija Prasad Koiralaand NCP-UML leader MadhavKumar Nepal were either un-
der house arrest or detained,sources in the parties said.
Kathmandu was cut offfrom the rest of the world ascommunication lines, includingmobile, Internet, long distancecalls remained suspended forthe second day. Press censor-
ship was imposed with the sus-pension of the right to informa-tion and foreign news channelswere off the cable networks.
The king suspended severalprovisions of the Constitution,including freedom of the press,speech and expression, peace-
ful assembly, the right to pri-vacy, and the right against pre-ventive detention, a statementfrom the royal palace said.
The situation inKathmandu is calm and quiettill now, but uncertainty and
a NOW REPORT
GANGTOK, 02 Feb: Obvi-ously not happy with the inor-dinate delay by the investigat-ing agencies in solving theTaraman Chettri murder case,the Sikkim Pradesh CongressCommittee president NarBahadur Bhandari shot off a let-ter to the West Bengal CM,Buddhadev Bhattacharya, call-ing for his “personal interven-tion” in the matter.
Mr. Chettri, an SPCC [I]general secretary, was mur-dered at 10 Mile, Sevoke on 18
December along with his friendPemba Lepcha. Mr. Bhandariwrites: “Two and half monthshave already lapsed since theirbrutal murder but the assailantshave not been nabbed as yet,because of the non co-opera-tion by the Sikkim Police.”
A copy of the letter has alsobeen sent off to the UnionHome Minister, Shivraj Patil.
Mr. Bhandari also called forheightened vigilance along the110 km border Sikkim shareswith Nepal in light of the stateof emergency declared there byKing Gyanendra. In fact, he
said that the border should besealed to prevent the state be-ing affected by the happeningsin the neighbouring country.
At a press conference today,Mr. Bhandari also condemnedthe donation of Rs. 1 lakh by theChief Minister to the GuwahatiPress Club during his press con-ference held there calling it aneffort at self publicity.
“He is probably the firstchief minister in India to do so;we condemn this donation,”said Mr. Bhandari.
The demand of Rs. 1000
SHRI PAANCH MUZZLES PRESS IN NEPAL
a NOW REPORT
PAKYONG, 02 Feb: Puttinganother increment to the al-ready high statistics of roadaccidents in the state, is the onethat took place at Pakyong subdivision last night. This time,the accident was fatal resultingin the death of all the people inthe ill-fated vehicle.
The incident took place at
around 10 pm on the night of 01February when a Commander[SK-04-0741] plunged some1,000 feet at Bhotay Khola,about 3 kms from Pakyong.
The three occupants,Birendra Thapa, HarkaBahadur and GeorgeBiswakarma died on the spot.Incidentally, all three were driv-ers by profession, reveal policesources. Birendra was driving
the vehicle at the time of theaccident, it is further learnt.
The vehicle, which belongsto one Omkar Agarwal, a residentof Pakyong had gone to Changay,about 5 km from Pakyong, todrop a passenger, one DorjiBhutia at around 8:30 pm. Theother two passengers were appar-ently just accompanying theirfriend Birendra on the journey.It was while they were returning
that the vehicle fell of the road.Police sources inform that the
road there is very narrow apartfrom the fact that it is a sinkingarea. As such, the actual cause ofthe accident has not been ascer-tained yet. Incidentally, the vehi-cle has been completely damagedand reduced to scrap.
The bodies of the deceasedhave been sent to STNM Hos-pital, Gangtok for post mortem.
Three die as vehicle plunges 1000 ft
Now hear this, SHRP wants Sikkim’s capital shifted to safer location!
Bhandari calls for Buddhadeb’s “personal intervention”to hasten Taraman murder investigation
turn to pg 4
a NOW REPORT
GANGTOK, 02 Feb: The de-mand to shift of State capitalof Gangtok to a more stableland was the highlight of the3rd Foundation Day observedby the Sikkim Himali RajyaParishad party [SHRP] here atDaragaon today.
In fact the president of theparty, Dr. AD Subba went sofar as to propose two capitals
for Sikkim.He said, “Some states like
Jammu and Kashmir have twocapitals, why not Sikkim?”
According to him Gangtok,which according to scientists isin the high risk zone of naturalcalamities has now become sooverloaded and overcrowded,
that a substitute capital for it isthe need of the day.
Many other demands fea-tured in the SHRP agenda dur-ing their press conferencewhich is the first of its kind.The list includes employmentguarantee schemes for unem-
turn to pg 5
SAARC meet
called offNEW DELHI, 02 Feb: Themeeting of the South Asian As-sociation for Regional Coop-eration [SAARC] scheduledfor February 6 in Dhaka hasbeen called off after PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh ex-pressed his inability to attend.
The SAARC charter statesthat all member nations have toattend the meet.
Though there were earliermisgivings over India’s attend-ance following the general strikecalled by the opposition in Bang-ladesh, the official reason givenis the situation in member stateNepal, where Gyanendra dis-solved the multi-party govern-ment led by Prime Minister SherBahadur Deuba and declared anemergency Tuesday.
The cancellation of the sum-mit, which had been postponedearlier owing to the December 26tsunami disaster, was formallyannounced by SAARC chairmanPakistan on Wednesday.
2; NOW!; 03 February, 2005 ED-SPACE
Dr. Bhim Singh Basnet is nomore amongst us. He breathedhis last on the afternoon of 27
January, 2005, at the age of 66. The sec-ond child of late Man Bahadur Basnetand late Smt. Ratna Maya Basnet, Dr.Basnet was born on 14 March, 1939, atDevelopment Area, Gangtok.
He acquired his early education atGangtok. Despite his inability to continuehis post-matriculation education inschool due to sickness, the brilliance inhim did not deter him from passing theexam in the first division - a rare feat theneven for regular students, as an externalexaminee. He then proceeded for his ISCstudies from Government College,Darjeeling, which he again passed in thefirst division. Recognising his brilliance,the Government of Sikkim selected himto pursue B. Sc. [Agri] course fromAllahabad University, which he com-pleted, again in first class.
Following this, he joined govern-ment service as a gazetted officer inAgriculture Department during a periodwhen the post itself was envious andself-satisfying. However, the scholar inhim urged him to go for higher studiesin the United States of America, and forthis he appeared for an All India Com-petition for Tata Endowment ResearchLoan Scholarship Examination. His in-telligence and iron-will saw him throughthe stiff competition and he was selectedfor the award for scholarship.
In America, where he did his post-
graduation, he registered himself as aresearch scholar in Kansas State Uni-versity. In due course, he was awardedthe Doctor’s Degree in Philosophy byKansas State University - a feat unpar-alleled in the history ofSikkim and a matter ofpride for Sikkim for hav-ing such a worthy son.Though he was probablythe first Indian Nepali tobe conferred with such adistinction, he was notsatisfied until he com-pleted the Fellowship ofGamma-Sigma-Delta In-stitution, which is theworld’s highest societyfor agriculture science.
On successful com-pletion of his studies, hewas offered lucrative jobsin USA and elsewhere butDr. Basnet, who was notafter material gain, de-clined all these offers and
chose to serve his countrymen instead.Sikkim, during that period, was in theprocess of transformation and was inurgent need of persons like Dr. Basnetfor its all round development in agri-
culture and allied fields.He served the Agricul-
ture Department in variouscapacities and finally re-tired as the Commissioner-cum-Secretary in the year1996. Even after his retire-ment, the Government ofSikkim felt the need tohave his vast experienceand superior skills at hand,hence he was re-appointedas the Director General,Training, in which capac-ity he served for the nexttwo years.
Dr. Basnet was a tow-ering figure amongst theintelligentsia of Sikkimand an agriculture scien-tist par excellence. The
role played by Dr. Basnet in bringing theAgriculture and Animal Husbandry De-partments to their present status is sec-ond to none. The Science Society ofSikkim is the brainchild of Dr. Basnet,of which he was the founder presidentand life member. It would be rather dif-ficult, if not impossible, to narrate all thegood deeds and laurels, which includenational and regional awards, heachieved for the State.
The State Government wanted tofelicitate him for his lifetime achieve-ments in 2004; however, due to his in-disposition, he was unable to receive thehonour personally.
It is our misfortune that we lost himat 66, a too young an age to die, keep-ing in mind that the society would havebenefited immensely from his contin-ued presence and guidance. He was agreat social worker and was activelyassociated with many social organisa-tions. He was a philanthropist of thehighest order and his contributionsmonumental. Death may have snatchedhim away from us but his good deedshave immortalised him. The cominggenerations will draw strength and in-spiration from his disposition and soci-ety will always gratefully remember himfor his munificent acts. In his death weconsole ourselves with the saying:Death is the golden key that opens thepalace of Eternity.
Dr. Basnet is survived by his wife, one
OBITURARY: Dr. BS BASNET [1939-2005]
A Man of UnmatchedBrilliance
turn to pg 3
Literally EndangeredWhen Gadul Singh Lama says that Nepali literature is notin the best of healths, he has to be taken seriously. Afterall, apart from being a writer himself, he is also the generalsecretary of the Sikkim Sahitya Akademi. Reading habitsare down all over the world, so if Nepali literature finds fewerreaders, it comes as no surprise. But while writers and pub-lishers the world over are going out of their way to wooreaders, the Nepali literati remains unmoved. A book launch,for example, now means more than just formal release bya VIP. It is an interaction with the writer, a chance to posequestions, get copies autographed. While the prudish mightfrown at such tamashebaazi, the written word is in the dan-ger of extinction and desperate times demand desperatemeasures. Flashy book launches and promotion drives arethe order of the day in the publishing business and are nolonger seen as debasing the work. The best in the fieldresort to it.
So why doesn’t the Nepali publishing industry here fol-low suit? The answer perhaps lies in the fact that the indus-try is not professional enough. Most believe that the job isdone with the printing of a new title. They have to realisethey are “publishers” and not “printers.” A publishers work,once a piece of work has been found fit for release, beginsafter the printing is over. Copies of the book have to circu-lated for reviews, the writer has to be promoted in the me-dia, the markets have to identified and consignments reachedthere before the publicity blitz. All this does not cost much.All it requires is a professional approach. Given the identifi-able pockets in India where Nepali readers reside, the pau-city of reading material [thanks largely to poor marketing],and the presence [thankfully] of some great writers still inour midst, an educated and well researched approach topublishing should save the day for Nepali literature. As thingsstand, it won’t be long before the language itself is reducedto the status of a dialect, used only for communication andneither read nor written. That would be a sad time. By con-tinuing to do nothing about it, we are hastening the process.
MAILdarjeeling
by BIRENDRA SHANDILYA
DARJEELING, 02 Feb:
The PDF and the CPI [M]today sent a joint memo-
randum to the West BengalChief Minister demanding thatthe DGHC elections be held ontime so that the new board canbe formed by 26 March as re-quired by the DGHC Act.
“Election is the most impor-tant exercise of any democraticsetup. In order to reinstate democ-racy in the Hills, elections willhave to be held as per schedule;then only will public faith pre-vail on the State Government,”said Asok Bhattacharjee, seniorCPI [M] leader.
In this memorandum, theyalso demanded that securityagencies perform their dutystrictly, sincerely and impar-tially in order to ensure free andfair elections. Incidentally, theOpposition camp has claimedthat the GNLF has unleashed areign of terror.
“The strong-arm tactic ofthe GNLF has already been en-forced to strike fear among theopposition supporters. How-ever, this time we will not givein,” said SP Lepcha, former CPI[M] MP from the Hills. Alle-gations of largescale violence,booth-capturing and rigging bythe Green Brigade are raisedoften by the Opposition here.
“This time the State Govern-ment should ensure that nosuch thing takes place,” de-manded the PDF leaders.
Incidentally, the meetingheld today between the PDFand the CPI [M] in Siliguri re-sulted in further strengtheningof bonds between these forces.
“Everything is moving inthe right and positive direction.All the constituent parties of thePDF along with the CPI [M] are
happy with the way things aremoving in the oppositionfront,” proclaimed MadanTamang, the PDF president.
An election coordinationcommittee constituting of threemembers from each constituentparty of this “seat-sharing” coa-lition was lso formed today. Mr.Tamang also announced thatthe seat sharing arrangementsbetween the PDF [constitutingof the All India Gorkha League,CPRM and the GNLF-C andthe CPM] was nearly finalisedand would be announced assoon as the State Government
made the formal announcementof the Election schedule.
Meanwhile, SubashGhising, along with the GNLFdelegation, arrived at theBagdogra Airport today afterhaving attended the tripartiteDGHC review meeting in NewDelhi on 28 January. Inciden-tally, the tripartite meeting wasone of the demands made bythe GNLF Supremo and wasbetween the Central Govern-
ment, State Government andthe GNLF [the three signatoryparties of the DGHC accord].
Commenting on this, DKPradhan, Darjeeling MLA,and GNLF-C leaders stated,“Ghising’s attending the tri-partite meeting is meaning-
less as he does not have thepublic mandate with theDGHC’s tenure having endedon 26 March, 2004, and it ispresently running on an exten-sion awarded by the State Gov-ernment keeping with certainprovisions of the DGHC Act.Ultimately, the net result of themeeting was also zero.”
To this, RB Rai, general sec-retary of the CPRM, added, “Theother political parties of the Hillsshould also been invited to suchreview meetings as all politicalparties have the same status inthe Hills as the GNLF.”
CPM joins PDF in petitioning Buddhadebfor Council elections in time
03 February, 2005; NOW! 3� RAJDHANI
WEATHERUPDATE
GANGTOK &SURROUNDING AREASThe Weather Yesterday
MAX TEMP: 14.3 Degree CelsiusMIN TEMP: 4.4 Degree CelsiusRainfall: nillRelative humidity: 77%
-courtesy Agro-MeteorologicalOffice, Gangtok
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[For 2005-2006 Session]Class X (CBSE/ICSE)- Mathematics and Science starts from 10 Feb, 2005
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New Branch opens shortly at (LCC) Lakhotia Computer Centre,
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Special concession to the selected candidates for computer
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Registration starts from 28 January 2005 till 7 February 2005 only
Contact along with guardianMr Sunil Chaudhary (Managing Director), beside Arithang High
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E-Mail: brilliant_ [email protected] or [email protected]
BRILLIANT COACHING
son, two daughters, daughter-in-law and a minor grandson, be-sides two brothers, two youngersisters and their families.
Finally, we are privileged topay our sorrowful and respect-ful homage to the noble de-parted soul with the followingwords: Death is the liberator of
him whom freedom cannot re-lease, the physician of himwhom medicine cannot cure,the comforter of him whom timecannot console. May his nobleDeparted Soul Rest in EternalPeace. Om Shanti! Om Shanti!Om Shanti!
-From All the Members ofthe Bereaved Family
Contd from pg 2
A Man of Unmatched Brilliance
a NOW REPORT
GANGTOK, 02 Feb: A five-member team from Canada ar-rived here yesterday as a partof the Rotary InternationalGroup Study Exchange pro-gramme. Today, the teamheaded by Nancy Morris metthe local journalists at the PressClub of Sikkim and shared theirexperience of their India tour.
The team leader informedthat the main objective behindthe Rotary International GroupStudy Exchange programmewas to provide the exchangeteams an opportunity to learnabout people from other placesand their cultures and vice versa.
She was also all praises for
the people of Sikkim, their sim-ple and amiable nature, andalso their ‘unique’ way of life.
The other team members –Leah Hendry [journalist],Natalia Pona and Kerrilee[agronomists], and John Nasser[property developer] - alsoshared the experiences they hadgathered during the tour.
The Canadian team, whicharrived in India on 04 Januaryand has already visited variousparts of the country, will leaveSikkim on 05 February.
a NOW REPORT
GANGTOK, 02 Feb: Around24 journalists, including twofrom Sikkim, recently partici-
pated in a week-long trainingprogramme, “A Balanced Me-dia - Facing the Challenge,” inBhubaneswar.
The programme was organ-
ised and sponsored by the Brit-ish Deputy High Commission,Kolkata, especially for the jour-nalists of Orissa, wherein jour-nalists from neighbouringChhattisgarh and Sikkim werealso roped in.
The programme, aimed attraining the journalists on thefiner nuances of journalism,was conducted by NorrieDrummond, a UK-based trainerfrom the Thomson Foundation,Wales. He is presently workingon an assignment in Afghani-stan and is also engaged intraining journalists in Kabul.
Participating scribes ac-knowledged the media courseas “valuable”. The course wasjam-packed with interactivesessions, writing editorials, all-
day reporting exercise, storyconstruction, holding pressconference, interviewing per-sons, and dealing on aspectslike pitfalls of a good reporter,in-depth analysis, media andethics, etc.
Inaugurating the pro-gramme, first Secretary andHead of the Press and Commu-nication Department, BritishHigh Commission, New Delhi,Jeff Wilson said that the work-shop was organised essentiallyat the request of journalists andeditors from those regions whohad expressed an interest in theBritish Government organisingsuch media courses exclusivelyfor the eastern and the northeastern regions. The trainingprogramme was the fourth in its
series held exclusively for thisregion, he added.
The British Deputy HighCommission has chosen theThomson Foundation as thepartner for this programme forthe organisation’s vast experi-ence in training journalists, es-pecially those working in diffi-cult areas. Established in 1962by Lord Thomson of Fleet, theThomson Foundation providespractical, intensive training bothin the UK and abroad.
The Thomson Foundation,in association with the BritishDeputy Commission, also pre-sented certificates to the partici-pants. The certificates werehanded over by the BritishDeputy Commissioner, Dr.Andrew Hall.
Sikkim scribes return more educated from British HighCommission’s training on “balanced media”
Amiable Sikkimese impressCanadian exchange group
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GANGTOK, 02 Feb: A coor-dination meeting of variousdepartments, presided over bythe Minister for Land Revenueand Disaster Management De-partment, DD Bhutia, was heldon 31 January at the TashilingSecretariat Conference Hall.The meeting was a follow-upto the meeting held last monthin connection with cleanlinessand beautification of Gangtokand different towns in the State.
The Minister directed all
present to be serious about theimplementation of schemes ap-proved by the government inpublic interest.
Major issues like identifica-tion of labourers coming fromneighbouring countries and sub-letting of trade licenses werediscussed and direction wasgiven to the concerned depart-ments to work in this field seri-ously so that interest of the peo-ple and the State is preserved.
Concerned departments like
UD&HD, Roads & Bridges, La-bour, Irrigation and Flood Con-trol, Power and GREF werepresent in the meeting. All Dis-trict Collectors, SPs, SDMs andSPDOs also attended the meet-ing and put forth their sugges-tions on how to keep Sikkimclean and beautiful.
Among the attendees, DGP,TN Tenzing, and, PrincipalSecretary of UD&HD, JaishreePradhan, represented their de-partments personally. [IPR]
DD Bhutia discusses Sikkim’s concerns fromcleanliness to local interest with officials
confusion prevails everywhere.The King, who will head thegovernment, through a royalpromulgation named RameshPandey as the new ForeignMinister and Dan BahadurShahi as the Home Minister,state-run Radio Nepal said.Veteran economist MadhukarShumsher Rana has been ap-pointed as Finance Ministerwhile Tanka Dhaka will be theInformation and Communica-
tion Minister and RadhaKrishna Mainali the ministerfor sports and education, it said.
The United States and Brit-ain joined India in criticisingthe king’s action. A US StateDepartment spokesman saidUS was “deeply troubled” bythe dismissal of Deuba’s gov-ernment and termed the devel-opments in Nepal as “a stepback from democracy.”
Human rights group Am-nesty International has expressedconcern over the king’s actionsaying “the international com-munity must make it immedi-
ately clear to the king that by as-suming power he is directly re-sponsible for protecting the peo-ple of Nepal and safeguardingtheir fundamental human rights.”
Contd from pg 1
Shri Paanch muzzles Press in Nepal
4; NOW!; 03 February, 2005 NEWSSCAN �
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MELLI, 01 Feb: With a viewto train the farmers and bringawareness among the ruralmasses about eco-friendly ap-proach for managing pest anddisease problems using availablemethods and techniques [IPM]and to minimise the indiscrimi-nate and injudicious use ofchemicals and pesticides, a one-day awareness camp was heldhere at Tek, Namthang, on 25January. The programme with atheme of ‘IPM for Better Envi-ronment’ was organised byNCUI, Melli, in coordinationwith Central Integrated PestManagement Centers, Govern-ment of India.
In his inaugural speech,MK Das, PPO, gave a broad
a NOW REPORT
GANGTOK, 02 Feb: Com-munist Party of India [Marxist],Sikkim Unit, has condemnedthe manner in which the NepalKing, Gyanendra Bir BikramShah, has imposed Emergencyin the country.
Addressing a press confer-ence here today, AnjanUpadhaya, a senior CPI [M]leader, appealed to every Indian
crores as a “peace bonus” raisedby Mr. Chamling with the Cen-tre during the meeting of thenorth eastern chief ministers yes-
terday was also termed as “un-reasonable” by the state Congresspresident. Stating that earlierMizoram, which has been an in-surgency affected state, had re-ceive a peace bonus to aid it inits effort to restore normalcy, Mr.Bhandari said that this demandactually meant that “Sikkim wasnot a peaceful state”.
Mr. Bhandari also revealedthat he had received a memoran-dum submitted by the residentsof about 18 villages in West Dis-trict and signed by 421 peopleprotesting the shifting of theUpper Gerathang SecondarySchool to Lower Gerathang.
Apart from alleging that theschool at Upper Gerathang hadproper infrastructure whichwould now be useless, Mr.Bhandari also claimed that thememo stated that the people ofthe villages were being victim-ised as they had voted for theCongress during the last elec-tions. He further alleged that theinitiative was being pushed byan SDF MLA.
On the declaration by thecabinet during its last meetingwhich granted the Lepcha tribeof Sikkim the status of a Primi-tive Tribe Group, Mr. Bhandaricalled this a “political gimmick.”
Contd from pg 1
Bhandari calls for Buddhadeb’s “personal intervention”to hasten Taraman murder investigation
citizen to condemn this act ofthe Nepal Monarch, while urg-ing the Indian Government towithdraw all economic aid toNepal with immediate effect.
Alleging the monarchy ofalways attempting todestabilise the democraticsetup of Nepal, Mr. Upadhayafurther appealed to all politicalparties of Nepal, including theMaoists, to come together andstruggle for setting up of a Re-
public of Nepal.Commenting on the present
scenario of Nepal, he predictedthat a full-fledged war wouldtake place in this HimalayanKingdom for the establishmentof a democratic government.
The CPI [M] leader went onto add that the Nepal King totallylacked the ability to head the na-tion as its king and added thatNepal was enjoying only “child-ish democracy” under him.
State CPM wants Nepal to struggle for Republic; King good only for “childish democracy”
definition of IPM, its conceptand the methods one needs toadopt in order to make IPM asuccess. He further told thatIPM should not be a single per-son programme but a commu-nity approach. IPM helps tominimise the ill effects ofchemical pesticide and pro-motes sustainable productionwith minimum fiscal expenses,he informed.
A lecture on the pest anddiseases of chilly and gingerand the technique of its man-agement was delivered by RDMazumdar, SSA. He informedthat IPM is a seed-to-seed tech-nique but farmers try to adoptIPM practice when the pest anddiseases are in advanced levels,
thereby crossing economicthreshold levels and causingeconomic loss.
The programme was at-tended by more than 50 partici-pants.
On the same day, the prelimi-nary meeting betweenNABARD and the trainers andtrainees selected to undergo bam-boo craft training under REDP,which is to be organised atNamthang, was also convened.
The objective behind hold-ing the meeting was to intro-duce trainees with the sponsor-ing agency and also to makethem understand that the train-ing was being organised to de-velop their skills, in order tohave a sustainable socio-eco-nomic development of the ben-eficiaries. [IPR]
Farmers made aware on ecofriendly pest management
Death toll in tsunamis passes 2,90,000JAKARTA, 02 Feb: The number of people presumed dead inDecember’s earthquake and tsunamis rose to more than 2,90,000on Wednesday, with Indonesian authorities announcing a furtherincrease in the number of dead.
Indonesia was hardest-hit by the December 26 quake and tsu-namis, with a total 2,37,071 people listed as dead or missing, thehealth ministry said. A health ministry official said the 1,27,774people listed as missing but who almost certainly perished wouldonly be considered dead after one year.
Thailand’s toll remained at 5,393 confirmed dead. A further3,071 people were listed as missing, more than 1,000 of themforeigners.
The toll in Sri Lanka, which was second hardest hit by thecatastrophe, stood at 30,957, according to the Centre for NationalOperations. The number of people listed as missing was 5,637,but many were expected to be among those never formally iden-tified, hurriedly buried and included in the confirmed death toll.
In India, the official death toll has reached 10,749 with 5,640still reported missing and feared dead. The government said onMonday that it would make up its final casualty figures in “abouta week” in which it is expected to declare the missing dead.
In Myanmar 61 people were killed. At least 82 people werekilled in the Maldives. 68 people were dead in Malaysia, most ofthem in Penang, while Bangladesh reported two deaths. Fatalitiesalso occurred on the east coast of Africa where 298 people weredeclared dead in Somalia, 10 in Tanzania and one in Kenya.
03 February, 2005; NOW! 5� NEWSSCAN
To mark the Peaceful
passing of this year
and the Propitious
welcoming of the
Tree Bird Year,
Pemayangtse
Monastery is hosting
its annual Guru
Dragmar Chaam
(Masked Dance) on
the 6th, 7th and 8th
of February, 2005.
at: PemayantseMonastery
The programme for the three
days is as follows:
6th Feb, 2005Performance of VariousMasked Dances
7th Feb, 2005Appearance of GuruDragmar in addition toother Chaams followedby observance of Gutorritual.
8th Feb, 2005Unfolding of theexquisitely hand-embroidered Silk Thankaof the SakyamuniBuddha with prayers andKawang from Ven.Yangthang Rimpocheand Ven. LachenGomchen Rimpoche.
courtesy: Hotel Phamrong, Pelling
Guru
Dragmar
Chaam
ployed youths; protest againstNathula Trade Route on ac-count of natural calamities,AIDS and other diseases; dis-continuation of function ofGMC on the ground of low per-centage of population; demandof a Railway line throughBhakrikote, North Bengal toSaramsa; restriction over re-employment and extension ofservice to retired officers andemployees; maximum opportu-nity to wards of retired govern-ment officers and employees inthe service; introduction ofneutral TV channel with thehelp of Doordarshan, etc.
Dr. Subba alleged that thepresent government wasworking only in the govern-ment files and not on the field.He assured that if his partyever came to power it wouldstick to the theory of “talkless, work more”.
Speaking on the unem-ployment problem, Dr. Subbasaid that his party has a spe-cific plan to solve this prob-lem. “We have a plan, whichwe do not want to disclosenow,” he said.
Now hear this,SHRP wants Sikkim’s
capital shifted tosafer location!
Contd from pg 1
BIRENDRA SHANDILYA
PASHUPATINAGAR [Indo-Nepal Border], 02 Feb: Withemergency declared in theHimalayan Kingdom of Nepalyesterday by King GyanendraBir Bikram Shah, a shadow ofuncertainty has descended onthe Indo-Nepal border areasalso. Soon after the announce-ment, a feeling of uncertaintyspread from the capital to thedistant borders.
In Pashupatinagar, a marketon the Nepalese side of the Indo-Nepal Border, 30 km fromDarjeeling, fear and uncertaintywas the general feeling. Therehave also been unconfirmed re-ports of the borders being sealedsoon. A Royal Nepal Army Offi-cial, on request of anonymity, in-formed that they had no official
orders on what was happening orwhat line of action to adopt.
Everyone in Pashupati de-cided to remain tight lippedyesterday with fear loominglarge over them. A businessmanin Pashupati expressed his con-cern that if the borders weresealed, the businessmen herewould starve, as they are de-pendent on the Indian tourists.
With the blackout of manyNepalese television channelsand shut down of all means ofcommunication following thedeclaration of emergency, thoseon the Indian side of the bor-der are distressed, as they haveno means of knowing how theirrelatives on the other side of theborder are doing. The onlything they can do at present ispray that normalcy returns andpeace is reinstated.
Phurba Sherpa, a residentof the Indian side of the bor-der, said he was worried abouthis relatives in Nepal. “We havenot heard anything from themyet. As Nepalese channels areblocked and even telephonelines in Nepal are down, allcommunication with them havebeen cut,” he stated.
Most of the Indians havingrelatives in Nepal are relyingon Indian news media for newsupdates.
Even the Maoists have de-cided to use this political insta-bility to their full advantage anddeclared a three-day strike from03 February. Sources inPashupatinagar stated that theMaoists, in a display of power,held a large meeting atBaghbirey, a small settlementbelow Pashupati, on 01 Feb.
Meanwhile, Indian Securityforces and intelligence depart-ments are keeping a closewatch on the fast changing situ-ation. With the SSB manningthe Indo-Nepal border, securityhas further been beefed up.
“Though everything wasnormal today and vehicles pliedacross the border as normal, weare on alert and keeping closewatch,” stated ASP [Darjeeling].
Incidentally, Nepal has beenfacing a lot of political instabilityand turmoil since the 1990s.Though Nepal shifted to multi-party democracy in 1991, none ofthe governments lasted long. Af-ter his appointment as the PrimeMinister by the King in July 2001,Sher Bahadur Deuba has beenremoved from his office twice. Inthe interim, there were multiplegovernments, all of which lastedfor very short periods.
Meanwhile, the bloodyMaoist agitation began in 1996.Since then, more than 10,000people are reported to havebeen killed. In 1996, whenDeuba took over office, theKing had asked him either tomake peace with the Maoists orto begin the poll process. How-ever, Deuba failed to fulfill ei-ther of this, which led to hisdismissal on Tuesday.
PASHUPATINAGAR REMAINS CONFUSEDON LIFE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY
a NOW REPORT
NAMCHI, 01 Feb: In order tomake people self-reliant,Navodip Pratibha Sangh[NAPRAS] of Lower Kitamorganised a month-long voca-tional training on plastic bagmaking here at Lower Kitamunder the sponsorship of NehruYuva Kendra, Namchi.
A total of 26 trainees are
participating in the training thatstarted today, informed RoshanKauskhik, general secretary ofNAPRAS. The main idea be-hind organising this training isto inculcate work cultureamong the people and allowthem to generate incomethrough this very skill.
Members of NAPRAS andAngel Female, a self-helpgroup of the locality, are par-
ticipating in the training atpresent; the organisers are ex-pecting more people to join thetraining programme later.
Similarly, another voca-tional training also commencedfrom today at Melli Dara un-der the supervision of DivyaShakti, an NGO of Melli Dara.Around 15 participants will betrained on bamboo craft duringthis training camp.
Navodip sees plastic bags in new light
6; NOW!; 03 February, 2005 NEWSSCAN �
Kutse SheguThe Kutse Shegu of Late Dr. Dechen NorbuBhutia who left for his heavenly abode on 17December, 2004, falls on Thursday, 03February, 2005. All friends, relatives and well-wishers are requested to join us in offeringprayers for the departed soul at our residenceat Lower Tadong, above Kajla Petrol Pump.We would also like to express out gratitude toall those who extended support and sympathyat the time of bereavement and we regret ourinability to thank and express our gratitudeindividually.
Smt. Neelam N Bhutia [wife], Guinee NNamchangcorpa and Gegee N Namchangcorpa
[daughters], Gyalden N Namchangcorpa [son]
Phone No: 270437; Mobile No: 9434117577
Anthyesthi KriyaThe 13th day Anthyesthi Kriya of our Late motherDharma Devi Sharma residence of KazitarNamchi who left for heavenly abode on 25thJanuary 2005 falls on 6th February 2005. Allrelatives, well wishers are requested to join us inoffering prayers for the departed soul at ourresidence at Rawtey Rumtek(Ray Khola road).We would like to express our gratitude to all thosewho extended their support and sympathy duringour time of bereavement.
Sons: Dr. S.P. Sharma, Dr.H.N.Sharma, Meelan Sharma.
Daughters-in-law: Mala Sharma, D.K.Sharma, Beena Sharma.
Daughters: Radha Sharma, Maheswari Sharma, Laxmi Sharma
and other family members.
GhewaThe Ghewa of late Sumitra Gurung [Sanu koBoju], who left for her heavenly abode on 30January, 2005, will be held on 05 February atDK Gurung Building, Pani House. All friends,relatives and well wishers are requested to joinus in offering prayers for the departed soul. Wewould also like to express our gratitude to allwho extended their support and sympathyduring our time of bereavement and regret ourinability to express our gratitude individually.Rajesh Gurung [Social Welfare Department],
Dambari Gurung, Deepak Gurung, Ganga Gurung and Geeta Gurung
Kutse SheguThe 49 days Kutse Shegu of ourbeloved father late Mar TsheringLepcha, who left his heavenlyabode on 28 December, 2004,falls on 14 February, 2005. Onbehalf of family members, we re-quest you to join with us in of-fering prayers for the departedsoul at our residence atChujachen Busty, Kewzing.
Phurba Lepcha (wife),
S Tharcho Lepcha (son),
S Mayel Lepcha (son), TikaMaya Lepcha (daughter-in-
law), Keepa Lepcha (daughter)
Kutse SheguThe Kutse Shegu of late Ana Gyamu Bhutia, who left for herheavenly abode on 30. 12.2004 falls on 16 February 2005,Wednesday. All relatives, well wishers and friends are requestedto join us in offering prayers for the departed soul at our residenceat Kabi Youngang, North Sikkim.We would like to express our gratitude to all those who extendedtheir support and sympathy during our time of bereavement andwe regret our inability to express our gratitude individually.
Sonam Palzor, Karma Dorjee [grandsons],Karma Doma, Rinzing Ongmu [grand daughters]. Ph. 220577
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DARJEELING, 31 Jan:Though the barter of SnowLeopards and Tibetan Wolvesfor pheasants might not seem avery bright idea, the DarjeelingPadmaja Naidu HimalayanZoological Park [PNHZP] hasdecided to indulge in it owingto the high success rate of theircaptive breeding programme. Ifthings work out well with theGangtok zoo authorities, theZoological Park in Gangtokmight soon get some SnowLeopards and Tibetan Wolvesin lieu of Khalij Pheasants.
Incidentally, the PNHZP isthe only zoo in the country withthe successful captive breedingprogramme involving high alti-tude endangered Himalayan ani-mals. Started in early 1990s, theprogramme helped in increasing
Darj Zoo extends ‘exchange offer’ to Gangtok Zoothe numbers of these animalsmanifold. The list of animals inthe programme includes theSnow Leopard, Tibetan Wolf andthe Red Panda. Such has been thesuccess rate that the populationof Red Pandas had increasedfrom nine in 1995 to 24 in 2001.Similarly, the population ofSnow Leopards has increasedfrom five in 1995 to 14 in 2001.
“The problem we then be-gan facing with such a high suc-cess rate was shortage of enclo-sures,” stated DR Sewa, deputydirector, PNHZP. It even re-sulted in the Fifth ConsultativeCommittee meeting for the Min-istry of Environment and For-ests, with the Central Zoo Au-thority taking a very serious de-cision to discourage captivebreeding in the end of 2000.
However, braving such a de-cision the PNHZP continued the
good work of finding ways ofsolving this problem. The au-thorities decided to start a re-stricted breeding programme.Common Leopards, which are inlarge numbers, were sent to otherzoos and their enclosures used tohouse Snow Leopards. New en-closures will also be built. Someof the Snow Leopards and Ti-betan Wolves would also be sentto other high altitude zoos likeNainital, Shimla and GangtokZoo, decided the authorities.Another landmark project of thePNHZP was the successful re-
introduction of a pair of Red Pan-das into their natural habitat be-low Sandakphu.
03 February, 2005; NOW! 7� SPECIALS
NOW!: An engineer by training anda technocrat by profession, how didyou chance upon writing?SANU LAMA: Actually, I entered theworld of creative writing much beforebecoming an Engineer. I was inspiredto pursue writing by my learned andrevered teacher the late RashmiprasadAlley, who helped me tremendously.I used to write for school magazinesand my first article in a literary maga-zine was published in Changa, pub-lished from Payung Busty, Algarah.
As far as becoming an Engineer isconcerned, the then Chogyal’s Govern-ment declared the first Seven Year De-velopment Plan for 1954-61. Since therewas a dearth of technical persons inSikkim, when I passed my matriculationexam in 1956, I was picked along withothers to study engineering at MBC In-stitute of Engineering, Burdwan. Mybecoming an engineer happened bychance, writing came as a choice.
You have received several awards andnow the Padma Shri, how importantare awards for writers?While no writer has an award in mindwhen he writes, these awards are stillvery much important because they pro-vide encouragement and recognition.They also force a writer to improvehis skills, because once awarded, hehas to live up to the recognition. Inthat sense, awards play an important
role. Also, an award is not for thewriter alone. For example, the PadmaShri is not an honour for me alone, italso honours the readers, publishers,critics, Sikkim and Sikkimese peopleand the entire Nepali community ofthe country. This award will certainlyencourage the younger generation tosimilar creative pursuits.
Your last published work was a trav-elogue and now you are planning torelease another. Why are you concen-trating so much in travel writing?Travelling is my hobby. My earliertravelogue “Aangan Paratira” wasabout my visit to European countriesand Germany. In my book, I tried tocollect facts about population, demog-raphy, background history, physicalstructures and even politics of that par-ticular country, so that those who readthe article can get a rough idea of thatcountry. My next travel book will bebased on South-East Asian countriesincluding, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka,Bangladesh, etc.
Who do you write for - yourself orfor readers?
I write for the society. My aim is to al-ways write things which are useful for thesociety. The thinking and expressions aremine and rest are for others to interpret.
How would you describe the reader ofNepali literature?After the recognition of Nepali Lan-guage in 1992, ef-forts for the devel-opment of Nepaliliterature have in-creased tremen-dously. But sadly,the readership hasnot grown to a sat-isfactory level.Some serious readers are still there butmost Nepalis are losing the habit ofreading and this is the main threat toNepali literature.
One reason behind the falling read-ership could be that the writers are notproducing material which appeals to thereaders. If Nepali literature is to surviveand thrive, then the writers should firstunderstand and respect what the read-ers want. For this, they may have tocompromise with certain things. Nepalilanguage is very rich and can still bevery appealing even if the writers haveto water down their prose to a level thatreaders can relate with and understand.
That said, there is also the need tomotivate the youth and students to de-velop better reading habits.
Do you find any difference between
Nepali readers of the 1950s when thepublishing industry saw some big hitsand the present one?The readers are same. There were seri-ous readers in 1950s and we find themin the present times too. But the differ-ence is that today’s readers are very busyand Nepali literature has to battle for their
attention with themultitudes ofother avenues forenter ta inment .Thus far, Nepaliliterature seems tobe losing.
Apart from areadership, literature, if it is to develop,also needs interaction between writers.How often do Nepali writers of re-gional, national and international levelmeet and interact?At the international level, the Govern-ment of India and the Government ofNepal have established Bharat Nepal BPKoirala Foundation to serve this pur-pose. The Foundation has the ambassa-dors of Nepal and India as its Chairper-sons. This Foundation organises a liter-ary meet every two years. As far as in-teraction between writers of nationaland regional level is concerned, wedon’t have any formal platform to doso yet. Some interaction happens on oc-casions like Bhanu Jayanti, but that isnot enough. Interaction between writ-ers is very important for the develop-ment of literature. Any development
needs debate, discussion, sharing ofviews, ideas, etc. and this remains aweak point of Nepali literature.
How important are critics to litera-ture? What has been your experiencewith them?Without literary criticism, there can beno literary development. Through criti-
cism one can judge a work. Sadly, wedon’t seem to have enough literary crit-ics around. There are very few intelli-gent reviews that I have come across.Take my case, I have to depend on peo-ple I know and those I send copies ofmy work to for comments to get feed-back on my effort. Otherwise, I hardlyreceive any comments from others.
Let’s get down to the basics then.Which was the last hit in Nepali lit-erature in the region? How manycopies did it sell?I hardly remember any big hits. But anovel “Droha” by Bhim Dahal and acollection of poems “Shanti Sandeha”by Jas Yonjan Pyasi of Kurseong whichbagged Akademi Award 2005, weregood reads. I won’t know the details ofhow many copies they sold, but am surethey were well-circulated in the market.
You are also associated with theSikkim Akademi, what role does thisorganisation play in the developmentof Nepali literature?Since it was established, SikkimAkademi has not only been workingfor the development of Nepali litera-ture in the State but it is also engaged
GADUL SINGH LAMA, popularly known as Sanu Lama in the literary circles, wasrecently nominated for Padma Shri for his contribution to education and literature.Born in Gangtok on 15 June, 1939, Mr. Lama retired as a Chief Engineer to the Gov-ernment of Sikkim. He is recognised as one of the more popular Nepali writers, withseveral of his works translated into Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, Oriya, English, etc.
Mr. Lama is also the recipient of Bhanu Puraskar of Sikkim [1991], Sahitya AkademiAward, New Delhi [1993], Dr. Shova Kanti Thegim Smriti Puraskar [2001] and MadanByakhyanmala Puraskar, Varanasi [2001]. He spoke to SUBASH RAI of NOW! shortlyafter his name was announced for the Padma Shri. Excerpts:
“Engineeringhappened by chance,
writing was bychoice”
in conversation with Sanu Lama
turn to pg 8
8; NOW!; 03 February, 2005
Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Baba Offset Press Works Pvt. Ltd., Gangtok. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Now! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong.East Sikkim. ph: 03592 271167 email: [email protected]; [email protected]
THEFINALONE �today in
History03rd February
ARIES: What begins aseasygoing could become morecomplicated through the day.You might need to sort througha misunderstanding.TAURUS: Speak your mind, notthat you really have a choice. Ex-press your feelings in a mean-ingful way in the morning. Youmight find that others have dif-ferent opinions from yours. Bediplomatic with family.GEMINI: A sensitive gesturecould melt your heart. Confirmmeetings and don’t stand onceremony over a message thathasn’t been returned.CANCER: You could feel con-fused by a discussion at work.Clarify and make sure everyoneis in sync here. Later in the af-ternoon, you are prepared totake a stronger stand.LEO: A sensitive gesture couldmelt your heart. Confirm meet-
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1377: Mass execution ofpopulation of Cesena Italy1690: 1st paper money inAmerica issued [colony ofMassachusetts]1740: Charles de Bourbon, Kingof Naples, invites Jews to returnto Sicily1743: Philadelphia establishes a“pesthouse” to quarantineimmigrants1752: Dutch States-Generalforbid export of windmills1783: Spain recognizes USindependence1815: World’s 1st commercialcheese factory established, inSwitzerland1867: Prince Mutsuhito, 14,becomes Emperor Meij i ofJapan [1867-1912]1876: Albert Spalding with $800starts sporting goods company,manufacturing 1st officialbaseball, tennis ball, basketball,golf ball, & football1882: Circus owner PT Barnumbuys his world famous elephantJumbo1915: Turkish & German armyreach Suez Canal1917: US liner Housatonic sunkby German sub & diplomaticrelations severed1919: League of Nations 1stmeeting [Paris]1943: The Allied troopship S.S.Dorchester was torpedoed by aGerman sub and went down witha loss of 600 lives. As it sank, fourchaplains gave up their lifejacketsto shipmates, thereby alsoperishing in the icy waters. Thebravery of Rev. Clark Poling (DutchReformed), Rev. George LansingFox (Methodist), Father JohnWashington (a Catholic priest) andAlexander David Goode (a Jewishrabbi) led Congress afterward tomark February 3rd as “FourChaplains Day.”1945: Almost 1000 FlyingFortresses drop 3000 ton bombson Berlin1962: President Kennedy bansall trade with Cuba except forfood & drugs1966: 1st soft landing on theMoon [Soviet Luna 9]1967: “Purple Haze” recordedby Jimi Hendrix1969: The Palestine NationalCongress appointed YasserArafat head of PLO1984: 1st baby conceived byembryo transplant born in LongBeach CA1985: In South Africa, DesmondTutu, 53, becomeJohannesburg ’s first blackAnglican bishop.1998: Stamps commemoratingPrincess Diana go on saleacross Britain1998: US military plane clipscable car lines in northern Italy,kills 20
A Swedish police officerhas confessed he robbed a
bank and later investigated thecrime himself, telling reportersat the time police had no clues.
A court in the central townof Bollnas on Monday officiallycharged the 36-year-old for thearmed robbery on Dec. 17, courtdocuments said on Tuesday,adding he had pleaded guilty.
The amount of money sto-
ings and don’t stand on cer-emony over a message thathasn’t been returned.VIRGO: Use the daytime hoursto push a special projectthrough. You will succeed eas-ily, but by midday, you also mightbe confused about the project.LIBRA: You must continue be-ing highly responsive to a boss,even if you want to vanish witha loved one. Schedule time latein the day for this fantasy, or afun get-together.SCORPIO: You need to checkout some information before go-ing along with a plan. A lovedone or an admirer could be mostdistracting.SAGITTARIUS: Others come to
you and each one wants yourundivided attention. Confusionsurrounds messages. Sortthough all communication, andanchor in on the truth.CAPRICORN: Others continueto seek you out. You might won-der what you can do to help
them. Express concern. Don’tget uptight about some momen-tary chaosAQUARIUS: You may need tokeep your feelings under wrapsfor now. You will discover a lotmore as the day progresses.PISCES: A friend has only thebest of intentions, though he orshe might care a little too muchfor your comfort. Straighten outa misunderstanding before itdevelops into an ever bigger on..
in the development of the 11other sub-languages recognisedby the State Government. Someof these languages are well de-veloped while others are not.We have had some success inidentifying the problems beingfaced by these languages. Now
we are proceeding to the nextsteps. Under Sikkim Akademi,we are also compiling a volumeon Bharatiya Nepali and NepaliBhasi Bharati. This will in-clude, history, politics, culture,tradition, customs and otheraspects of Nepali language.You are also a very religiousperson, how do you balance
the two pursuits? Any plans ofwriting a book on religion?Religion and literature serve thesame purpose of serving the so-ciety. In my opinion religion andliterature are the two sides of thesame coin, without one, the otheris meaningless. Yes, I am plan-ning to translate some religiousbooks from English to Nepali.
Contd from pg 7
“Engineering happened by chance,writing was by choice”
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snowGANGTOK, 02 Feb: Despitethe heavy snowfall and foulweather, Gangtok Range andKyongnosla Range conducteda joint patrolling at Yelli andMenla on 27 and 28 January.
Apparently, the miscreantsthe patrolling troops were look-ing for were also under theweather, as nothing could befound by the teams.
CM Bhandari, BOT,Kyongnosla, who headed theKyongnosla Range, informedthat except for a few yaks andgoats, they did not find any-thing. The other team,Gangtok Range, was headedby Lagyap BO.
PURAN TAMANG
NAGI, 02 Feb: A day-longtraining camp for rural womenwas held here at CommunityCentre today where around 114participants were educated byresource persons on varioussubjects such as health educa-tion, nutrition, family planning,kitchen garden, thrift and sav-ing for self help groups, etc.The programme held under thescheme of Welfare Programmefor Women and Child was or-ganised by the Panchayats of 16Nagi Pamphok GPU.
LM Tamang, ICDS supervi-sor, Namthang, educated thewomen on topics like nutritionfor pregnant women and nursingmother, National Maternity Ben-
efit Scheme [NMBS], compul-sory registration of birth anddeath, and SHG formation andits activities income generation,etc., while Kharki Maya Gurung,senior DPHNO, Namchi Hospi-tal, spoke on RCH, family plan-ning and HIV/ AIDS.
While dwelling on subjectslike kitchen garden, hot watertreatment for ginger farming,rainwater harvesting and or-ganic manure, BN Pradhan,Horticulture inspector,Namthang, also informed theparticipants of the various fa-cilities facility provided by theHorticulture Department to theresidents of rural areas.
The participants were alsomade aware of the causes oftuberculosis and its treatment
through DOT [Direct Observa-tion Treatment] by NB Subba,lab assistant of Namthang Pri-mary Health Centre, while INSharma, ADDO, Rural Man-agement and Development De-partment, Namchi, informedthe gathering about the benefitsof micro-planning.
Speaking during the pro-gramme, Shanti Rai, ZillaPanchayat member of Nagi-Pamphok GPU who also wasthe chief guest, urged the par-ticipants to share the knowledgethey acquired during the campwith other rural women whowere unable to attend today’scamp. She also urged them tofollow the advices given todayby the resource persons.
The chief guest informed
that today’s camp was organ-ised from the micro-planningfund of Rs. 10 lakhs that wasset aside for health related pro-grammes. Out of this fund, Rs.50,000 was utilised by thePanchayat of Nagi PamphokGPU in organsing a free healthcamp on 01 February, while theremaining half was used fortoday’s camp.
Two women’s self-helpgroups of Nagi, viz. Nagbeliand Nari Ekta, also voluntarilyextended their help in organis-ing today’s camp.
Besides the local peopleand some departmental offi-cials, the programme was alsoattended by the panchayatmembers and Jiwan Gurung,RDA of Nagi Pamphok GPU.
Training camp for rural women tackles issue close to them
len was not disclosed but wasdescribed as sizeable. An hourafter the crime the police officerreturned to the bank as a lead-ing police investigator handlingthe case.
Colleagues became suspi-cious when he bought a new carin mid-January, paying 219,000Swedish crowns ($31,400) incash using banknotes from therobbery, the court said.
Cop robs bank, returns to investigate
