Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

Gangtok: The former Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri L.D. Kazi Khangsarpa passed away on July 28 in his residence at Kalimpong. He was 103 years old, and he was under treatment, and his condition was stable for a week. Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling, soon after hearing the demise of the first Chief of Sikkim, rushed to Kalimpong to pay the last tribute to the former CM. Shri Kazi was the first Chief Minister soon after the merger of Sikkim in 1975, and he is considered the architect of the merger of Sikkim into the Indian Union. With his passing away, an era of Sikkim's history has ended.

This new-born baby was found shoved inside a drain pipe in a toilet of a workshop in Gangtok, Sikkim, India in the wee hours of the morning of May 23, 2007. The baby girl is battling for her life in the Neo Natal Intensive unit of a hospital here. She has been abandoned by her teenaged mother. Baby Asha Tara is a tough fighter, who has refuse to give up her battle for survival. Doctors however say that even if she survives, she may need life-long medical treatment and may also suffer brain damage. Her future is bleak and uncertain. But she has the resilience and the will to live. Please pray for Baby Asha Tara and sent her all your good wishes and healings.

Danny Denzongpa returns to the big screen after a long time making way for his 150 th film by the name of “ Frozen ”. First time Director Shivajee Chandrabhushan , a 35-year old Mumbai-based photographer, is all set to leave his imprint as a filmmaker by doing some fine research. The movie encompasses the journey of a father and his son and daughter, seen through the daughter’s eyes. Danny plays the father. The director tries to be a bit experimental by treading on adventurous terrain and venturing into unexplored territories of film-making. In order to achieve it, he has chosen to make the film sans color. This was done in order to give it a look that goes in sync with the location of the film, i.e, Stakmo, which is an hour drive from Leh. Shivajee wanted it to be given that look as the film has been shot in winter and so there is no green anywhere. So it was shot in colour and was digitally intermediated to black and white and finally to get the required tonality, it was printed ...

Gangtok, July 26: Three French nationals charged with violating wildlife laws in the northeastern state of Sikkim were let off with a fine, saving them from punishment of up to three years in jail, officials Thursday said. A government official said the youths - two boys and a girl in their early 20s - were held by forest wardens over the weekend from near the Budang reserved forest, about 100 km west of Sikkim's capital Gangtok. "The trio were held with about 41 insects ranging from rare species of butterflies to moths. They also possessed equipment for collecting and catching insects," Sikkim's chief wildlife warden N. Bhutia told IANS. The three youths who claimed to be students from the University de Corte and hailing from Corsica in France pleaded innocent saying they were not aware of local laws. Under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, anybody found killing or trying to smuggle out, endangered species from reserved forest areas could face a max...

BB reader Jim Ratcliffe writes, This link points to "Weeping Sikkim," a blog that chronicles an ongoing hunger strike by the youth of Sikkim , India to demand goverment transparency and accountability regarding hydroelectric projects in Dzongu, the homeland of the Lepcha people . The good news is that hunger strikes by the Buddhist community in Sikkim have sucessfully stopped hydroprojects in the past. However, the projects planned for Dzongu are much much larger. The government of Sikkim is not evil, and has made remarkably progressive environmental moves in the past (e.g Sikkim was one of the first states in India to ban plastic bags). Sikkim works hard to position itself as an ecotourism/buddhist pilgrimage destination for western tourists, so getting the word out about this hunger strike may help tip the balance. The people behind the Sikkim protest blog are also uploading YouTube videos like this one ( Video Link ), which shows ACT (Affected citizens...

Gangtok: Encouraged by his grand father Shri C.D. Rai, a octogenarian politician turned bureaucrat turned journalist and by his technocrat father like Shri P.D. Rai, a Sikkimese student Shri Nitin Das Rai studying in an university of USA shared his gainful experience with the members of press club of Sikkim here on July 14, 2007 at press club of Sikkim, which he had contemplated during May-June 2007. He said that the visit was not a kind of pleasure one, but it is a study visit by students who can learn many things by putting hard effort and doing struggle in practical life with minimum and limited amount and mostly cutting down the expenditure, practically to learn to live in adversity and gain the knowledge. The backpacking concept is prevalent in America and Australia, he added. He has received the travel grant from the university in a open competition. He along with h...

Ganesh Tok, a Tourist View point hit by landslides Gangtok: It is the rainy season in full swing here and the landslides have already hit in and around the capital, the red signal to natural catastrophe and man made disaster in the recent time. After amdo Golai, Ganesh Tok, a few kilometer away at the hilltop of Gangtok was hit by landslide last Thursday. One house is completely damaged while other house is partially damaged. The state administration swung into action promptly and evacuated ten houses. Again, the landslide hit in the area and two more houses damaged completely after evacuation and thus the administration succeeded to save the lives of the people in time. The power supply has been badly effected due to the slide in the area since the high tension poles have been disrupted and damaged by the slides.

Statesman News Service GANGTOK, July 15: A documentary film festival, organised by a local group, is in progress here. Fifteen documentary films from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, Canada and India are being screened as part of the festival. “The festival is aimed at providing a platform to the documentary filmmakers to plan their future movies. This is for the first time that such a festival is being held in Sikkim,” said Mr Raman Shresta who played a ky role in organising the event. “The movies, such as Team Nepal, The Great Indian School Show, The City Beautiful and Teardrops of Karnaphuli have caught the attention of the state’s cinelovers,” Mr Shresta, added. These movies were also screend in Madrid, Dutch, USA, Karachi, Holland, Spain and all other South Asian countries, he said. Free shows were organised for the students of Deorali Senior Secondary Girls High School (DSSGHS) recently. “The objective was to let the students know the improtance of document...

Dear Friends We take pride in being Sikkimese . Sikkim with a polulation of just over five lakhs is known as the most peaceful state of India, our state is gaining popularity these days as the favourite tourist destination with many beautiful places to visit. Sikkimese are also friendly and hospitable people. Over the last few years, our state is being flooded with giant MNCs setting up hydel power projects throughout the length and breadth of our tiny himalayan state causing a lot of heartache for the local people. Till last count, the present government has granted permission for 22 such projects to tap the powers of the mighty Teesta. Each project is bringing in thousands of people to our state in search of livlihood, just imagine the plight of us when all the projects get completed. No, we are not against the development , only concern for us is that our sentiments be respected . Is it too much to ask for ? The govt has failed to realise this forcing local people to protest aga...

Dzongu (Sikkim): With 22 dams being built on the river Teesta in Sikkim, entire tracts of tropical forests will be submerged which will kill the states' only lifeline, the river Teesta. In a last ditch effort, the Lepcha community is on an indefinite hunger strike. Teesta V project involves 18 kilometres of tunneling. It's also called a run of the river project in which the river water is diverted through a long tunnel, dropped downstream while the height is used to generate electricity. There is much less obvious displacement because of this but the question is by playing with the forces of nature by making the river go underground is it going to cause one of India's biggest environmental damage? And now angry citizens -the Lepchas have embarked on a satyagraha with a 16-day relay hunger strike to save this the national park and biodiversity under threat from the hydel projects. "These are going to affect the mountains, the amount of digging, the amount of ...

Environment under threat Statesman News Service GANGTOK, July 11: Members of the Lepcha Youth Association (LYA), Kalimpong unit, blocked NH-31A at West Bengal-Sikkim border in Melli for more than two hours today to express their solidarity with activists of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) who have launched a hunger strike in Gangtok to protest against the upcoming hydroelectric power projects at Dzongu in North Sikkim. Traffic movement was paralysed on the highway owing to the roadblock. Vehicles remained stranded on the highway in different places. Mr Ajuk Tamsangmo, chief coordinator of the Lepcha Youth Association, said: “Over 4,300 people from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Mirik and Bhutan participated in today’s roadblock in a peaceful manner. The government’s move to start hydel power projects at Dzongu is not acceptable as it would affect the environment in the area and destroy the Lepchas’ creations.” Members of various organisations, such as the Darjeeling Thong Tsesu...

Malli (Kalimpong), July 11: Traffic on NH31A, which connects Sikkim to Siliguri, was disrupted for two hours following a blockade by the Rong Ong Prongzom (Lepcha Youth Organisation) here today. The roadblock that began at 11am, was organised in support of Affected Citizens of Teesta which has been on hunger strike in Gangtok, demanding the immediate scrapping of the NHPC’s hydel projects in Dzongu, an area reserved for Lepchas. About 2,000 people, mostly Lepchas attired in their traditional best — dumpra (for men) and gadha (for women) — split into four teams and blocked different intersections, allowing only ambulances, defence and other emergency service vehicles to pass. A heavy police bandobust, including a team of Sikkim policemen, was in place to maintain peace. Addressing the gathering at the blockade, Prongzom president Dorji Lepcha said the intention was not to cause harassment to commuters, but to preserve the identity of the Lepchas. “Dzongu (meaning fortified ...

GANGOK, June 28: Union minister of state for Railways Mr R Velu announced here today that Sikkim would get the much-awaited railway connectivity soon. “To begin with, trains would ply between Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim, a stretch of 52.7 km. The estimated expenditure for the project is Rs 1,334 crore,” Mr Velu, said. He added that railway link in the state would be extended up to Gangtok later. “We have decided to introduce five passenger reservation centres (PRCs) in Sikkim for the benefit of the common people and tourists,” he added. Mr Velu said that 14 per cent of the total revenue earned by the state railway would go to the Centre. “Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) will be introduced for the first time by the Northeastern Railway. Under the new system, tickets can be booked from any part of the state even without personal appearance,” Mr Velu, added. It may be recalled that Sikkim Governor Mr V Rama Rao had called for introduction of railw...

Gangtok, July 8: Representatives of the Sikkim government, led by local MLA Sonam Gyatso Lepcha, held a public hearing in Dzongu today to win the support of landowners for the mega hydroelectric projects coming up in the Lepcha reserve. Around 200 people gathered at Namprikdang in North Sikkim, many of them arriving in vehicles sporting the flag of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). The legislator has been defending the hydel power projects in the area even as protests against the plants gain momentum in Sikkim. Even today, many landowners from Dzongu stayed away from the SDF show of strength at Namprikdang and were instead seen at B.L. House in Gangtok, where the indefinite hunger strike begun by Affected Citizens of Teesta entered its 18th day. ACT wants the state government to scrap all the projects coming up in Dzongu and review the ones planned for other parts of the state. Two meetings between members of the organisation and the government have ended in a stalemate. One of...

Hunger strike by ACT protesting Dzongu Hydel Projects at Dzongu enters 19 days, Panchyat and local people favours the projects Gangtok: The indefinite hunger strike by Affected Citizen of Teesta(ACT) enters 19days on July 9. Meanwhile local people and panchayat in a large number called a press conference here and supported the project stating that the project would bring more revenue in the State and development of Dzongdu area as well. The local Panchayat secretary Namdup refuted the allegation of ACT that the local people had given their land without their consent. Earlier, six more persons had joined in the hunger strike on July 3. The person who joined in the satrygraha are Phumit Lepcha, Pintso Lepcha and Zangpo Lepcha from Dzongu constituency and Khem Lal Gautam(60), Sachabir Limboo(61) and Ratna Bahadur Gautam(50) from Raley a...