Darjeeling to get its first spring cleaning after 52 years
Darjeeling is to get the first speing cleaning after nearly 52 years. During the British era, cleaning the roads and drains with water was a common practice. With the acute shortage of water this has become a thing of the past. Finally with monsoons coming in and with adequate water in the Sinchel reservoirs, the Municipality has decided to start this practice and it will continue till water is available. Passang Tshering Bhutia, chairman, Darjeeling Municipality said the main Chowk Bazar will be cleaned on 8 August. This will be a continuous process for other parts of the town till the Municipality has adequate stock of water. The Municipality has also asked the Fire Brigade to join in. "This will also be an important excercise for the fire brigade as they can check the hydrants and the pipe connections," said Bhutia.

The Municipality is also sanctioning funds for the repair of the defunct fire brigade water storage tank and will remove all encroachments from over the fire hydrant in Chowk Bazar. 'A clean and a healthy Darjeeling' is the main motto of the Darjeeling Municipality said the chairman. He said that the British has founded Darjeeling with the main aim of a health sanitarium, contradictory to this Darjeeling had become so dirty that tourists are avoiding the place. The Municipality has decided to restore the pristine glory of the place. They have served notices to shops at Chowrastha who have staircases over the drains.

"Tourism, which has suffered a setback recently, will get a boost if we can present a clean Darjeeling to the tourists, thus improving the total economy of this place," said the chairman. Waste disposal including solid and medical waste is another grave concern of the Municipality. The Darjeeling Municipality has decided to treat solid waste and convert it to manure which could be sold to the organic tea gardens. As more and more gardens are shifting to the organic camp this would be a double blessing, generate revenue for the Municipality as well as get rid of the waste. Hospital waste disposal will also be monitored carefully by the Municipality. The Municipality will slowly involve students in the clean Darjeeling drive. Reminiscing Madan Gurung, secretary Darjeeling Municipality said, "When I was small, the roads used to be washed everyday morning and the then Governor HC Mukherjee used to inspect whenever he was to town."

Madhyamik success makes Kalimpong rejoice
Kalimpong celebrated the success of its students at the Madhyamik examinations by organising a felicitation on Saturday. A daylong programme, forecast live on the local cable network, comprised cultural programmes and a function in honour of the students. The programme for first division holders was organised by the Scottish Universities Mission Institute Alumni Association. Schools across the sub division participated in the programme. Former secretary of West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, Sudin Bandopadhya, was the chief guest. A procession was held with the 108 students who secured first division at the examinations. The cultural and the felicitation programmes were held at a packed Kalimpong Town Hall. People from across the town gathered along with students, parents and teachers at the function

The SUMI Alumni Association, formed in the year 1990, has been holding felicitations for the students of Kalimpong since then. Students of the SUMI school, established in 1886, took part in the programme with equal enthusiasim. The programme is named after the school's former principal, PR Pradhan, who was present at the celebrations on Saturday. The oldest alumnus of the school, 94 year old PP Mukhia, and Nepali literary Bhai Chandra Pradhan were felicitated. Shreyashi Ghosh and Sandip Kumar received the the PR Pradhan Academic Merit Award.

Hill towns plagued by Civic inconveniences
Kalimpong is plagued by civic problems of more than one dimension. Improper maintenance of roads and traffic congestion ail the town besides an acute shortage of drinking water. The water crisis stems from rampant illegal tapping of pipelines, say residents. The main source of drinking water is Nehru Khola from where water is pumped into the Deolo reservoir. Lakes dotting the region are other sources of water. In January, the state government formed a scientific survey team headed by the DGHC principal secretary. Work has not started yet. A Kalimpong civic representative criticised the state government for failing to implement plans to upgrade the water supply system in the town. Locals complain that they demand that the three petrol pumps be moved from the town to its outskirts has not been implemented in the name of technical difficulties.

KC Mondal, SDO, Kalimpong said that a recent meet, transporters, pump owners and people's representatives have agreed to cooperate with each other in order to solve the problems of the town. Traffic congestion, caused mainly by haphazard parking of private cars, will be reduced, he said. The SDO said the technical peoblems faced by pump owners will also be considered as they must shift their pumps to the new locations. Locals are annoyed with the deteriorating condition of roads, especially in the heart of the town. The GNLF representative and residents demanded immediate repair of roads by the NH-55 Road Division.

Roads in Darjeeling town are no better, with problems compounded by random parking of vehicles. As the existing bus cum taxi stands cannot accommodate the rising number of vehicles, they are parked on the main roads. Taxis and buses are parked along more than one km of the Hill Cart Road near the Upper and Lower Judge Bazar, turning Darjeeling's arterial avenue into a one lane road. An umbrella organisation of hill transporters of the joint action committee has threatened to go on a 72 hour transport strike in the three hill subdivisions from 20 August demanding separate bus and taxi stands in town.

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© Darjeeling News Service and Allied sources