Inspite of negligence by
the Govt., Darjeeling scores over Siliguri in Education Report
A
report compiled by the Paschim Banga Rajya Parambik Siksha Unayan
Sanstha shows the Darjeeling hills marching ahead of the plains
as far education is concerned, breaking the common notion that
the hills were behind Siliguri in all possible respects. The report,
published in April this year, states that the literacy rate in
the hills is 71.87 per percent while that of Siliguri is 67.72
percent. DGHC. which has a population of 8,40,476 against Siliguri's
10,58,513, also has a higher number of educational institutes
than the plains. While there are 201 primary and 77 upper primary
schools in Siliguri, the hills can boast of 755 primary and 121
upper primary schools, almost twice the number.
The report states that the hills not only have an edge over Siliguri
on the number of teachers but also in their quality. The total
number of primary and upper primary teachers in the three hill
sub divisions is 3,513, while for Siliguri, the only sub division
in the plains, the count falls to 2,253. However, in the case
of upper primary teachers, Siliguri has 147 teachers more than
832 of the autonomous council. According to the report, the hills
had 125 untrained teachers while Siliguri had 1,015. District
school inspector RK Ghosh and sabhadhipati of Siliguri Mahakuma
Parishad Anil Shah have attributed the wide disparity in the number
of trained teachers between the hills and the plains to the absence
of basic training institutes for teachers. The DGHC has two training
centres, one at Darjeeling and the other at Kalimpong. Shah expressed
reservations about the number of one teacher and two teacher schools,
which according to the report, was 10 and 68 in Siliguri, while
in DGHC, the figure was zero.
It is in the infrastructure of the schools that Siliguri steals
the show over the hills. The number of primary and upper primary
schools without drinking water in the council was 699 while Siliguri
was 117. Siliguri is ahead of DGHC even with regard to pre school
facilities. While there were absolutely no Anganwadi centres of
the ICDS project in the hills, there were 499 such centres in
Siliguri. The Government is responsible for the poor infrastructure
of the schools and lack of facilities.
Culprits arrested
for murder, strike called off
Tension prevailed in Darjeeling as the town witnessed two murders
in less than 24 hours. The first was of a local GNLF leader, Wazirman
Tamang (54), killed inside his residence last night. He was the
president of the party's Lepcha Busty unit in the Darjeeling Sadar
Police Area. The other murder was of Anand Rai which took place
in the heart of the town on 29 July. The GNLF had called a strike
in Darjeeling town until those accused in the murder of Anand
Rai, gram panchayat pradhan of Lebong, were arrested. Sanjay Chander,
superintendent of police, Darjeeling said, "Kiran Thakuri
and Sangram Thakuri, both of whom have admitted to committing
the crime, were arrested". According to Chander, the murder
was not pre-planned and was the fallout of personal rivalry. Rai
and his murderers had been together, when during a heated argument,
the accused brought a chopper from a nearby meat shop and hacked
Rai to death, Chander said. The law enforcers, however, have not
yet been able to apprehend the five accused of murdering Wazirman
Tamang, president of the GNLF Lapche Busty unit.
Chander said they suspected the murder was related to the complaint
lodged by the deceased leader against certain Himalayan Plantation
Workers' Union members. Even though police are working on a number
of fronts, it is believed that the five accused, Bam Prasad Rai,
Neeraj Rai, Dik Bahadur Rai, Rudra Rai and Prasad Mukhia, have
crossed over to Sikkim as the bustee lies near it. Early morning,
31 July, posters plastered on walls called for withdrawal of the
strike, but people could not shake off the fear of violence. In
a bid to instill confidence, the Darjeeling Police, in an unprecedented
move, started making announcements in town, late in the afternoon,
appealing to the people to open their shops and assuring them
none of the political parties would oppose.
Martyrs' Day meet
without the presence of the Chairman
GNLF leader Mr Subash Ghissing stayed away from the public
function marking the 14th anniversary of Gorkhaland Martyrs' Day
on 27 July at Chowrastha, shocking party loyalists and cadres.
However, he attended the function at the less populated Lopchu-Peshok
constituency. Addressing the rally at Darjeeling, Mr Hangu Subba,
vice-chairman, DGHC, raised the Gorkhaland issue saying that the
GNLF's demand for separate statehood has not ended with the formation
of the DGHC. "We must never forget those who died during
the Gorkhaland agitation and be united in our fight for a separate
state," he said. Mr Deepak Gurung, president, Darjeeling
GNLF branch committee, blamed the CPI-M and the CPRM for creating
hurdles in the formation of Gorkhaland. He said the GNLF had accepted
the council "under compulsion".
Mr Gurung also raised the issue of "no man's land",
saying that "the Darjeeling hills are yet to be included
in the Indian map". "What will happed if the people
here are to declare sovereignty?" he wondered. The Martyrs'
Day was also observed in Kurseong and Kalimpong.
Drunk teenagers on rampage
In a case of drink getting the better of man, a group of inebriated
boys in their teens, went on the rampage in what the police claim
was the fallout of a drunken brawl over a girl. Armed with choppers
and knives, the intoxicated lot damaged three shops, a Maruti
van and a motorcycle in their frenzy. Amit Tamang (19) and Deo
Deep Rai (18) have been arrested for creating nuisance. A shopkeeper,
whose establishment was ransacked, said that at 8 pm on Thursday,
around 10 boys, who were drinking liquor shop a stone's throw
away from the district intelligence bureau and a police outpost
at the Ladenla Road, got into a bitter argument. This soon snowballed
into a verbal war of expletives.
The owner of a curio shop that bore much of the brunt of the sudden
outburst said the gang had destroyed priceless statues. A telephone
booth owner, who has his shop down the street, quickly downed
his shutters on hearing the commotion. He said the boys also assaulted
a few passers-by. The ordeal came to an end when the owner of
the motorcycle and the Maruti chased the four boys. Residents
and shop owners in the area alleged the liquor shop was unlicensed
and was the favourite of local hooligans.
