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

GANGTOK, July 30: Diki Sherpa, who has been suffering from kidney failure since the year 2000 underwent a major operation at Rabindranath Tagore Internal, Cardiac Science Hospital, Kolkata. The operation, which began this morning at 8 am, was completed successfully after five hours. It is also informed that the kidney patient will regain her consciousness only after three days. In a press meet held yesterday, Pema Doma Sherpa, external affairs manager, Mission SAVE DIKI said that the operation was carried out with Rs 4 lakhs already generated through the initiative of The Times of India, Kolkata. Only Rs 56, 000 has been raised in Sikkim and Pema hopes to generate more as her ailing friend still needs about Rs 3 lakhs for post operation treatment. ...

Saptaparna Chakraborty [Contestant No. 17], represents the state of Sikkim and Voice of Seven Sisters of North-East in Amul Star Voice of India. Contestant No 17 State: Seven Sisters of North-East Saptaparna Chakraborty Age: 17 yrs Academic Qualification & Profession: Student of Class 12. Family Background: My family consists of three people - Me, my Father and Mother. Both my parents work in a bank. A few lines about yourself: I am a simple girl from a small village. I have big dreams to becoming a great singer. What inspired you to pursue music? I wanted to learn music since I was a kid. Also, I come from a musical family. Naturally, I took to music and today, music is my life. Your Dream: To be a successful Playback singer. Your Idol & Why? AR Rehman! His music is simply mesmerizing. Favourite Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhna Sargam Favourite Music Director: AR Rehman, Ismail Darbar, RD Burman, MM Kreem. Favourite Film:...

BL reported, the two of Teesta Stage V Power Station at Balutar in East Sikkim units were synchronized with the grid at 7:15 PM on July 25th 2008 and the third one was synchronized at 9 AM on July 26th 2008. A press release said that heavy rain accompanied by abnormally high levels of silt in the river water, in May, June and early July, had compelled complete shut down of the power station from June 12th 2008. It also said that the silt deposition altered the course of river and caused damage to the river banks at various places in and around the Dikchu town. The release said that the repair work has been undertaken on a war footing and has been completed within shortest possible time keeping in mind the requirements of the local people. According to the release, the second phase of the repairs, to further increase the height of the protection walls, will be taken up soon to take care of the safety and security of the people living in and around the Dikchu and Fidang villages. http://...

Indian national football team captain Baichung Bhutia was in an optimistic mood ahead of India’s Group A opener against Afghanistan on Wednesday. India are one of the favourites for the AFC Challenge Cup’08 and are pooled in Group A along with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. They start against Afghanistan on Wednesday. Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia spoke to Goal.com on India’s preparation for the competition and was in a hopeful and buoyant mood. He highlighted the boost the Portugal tour has given them and remarked: ”The preparation has been going on well for the matches of the AFC Challenge Cup’08. The match against Malaysia was also a good preparation.” Bhutia also expressed some doubts on the training facilities available to them in Hyderabad. He told Goal.com’s Rahul Bali: “Training grounds were not quite up to the mark. The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium was no...

From: Visions of Hell http://savethehills.blogspot.com/2008/06/lest-we-forget-oct-1968-in-pictures.html By: Praful Rao Pictures from Das Studio These amazing photos of the Oct 1968 Disaster in Darjeeling district are reproduced here kind courtesy Das Studio, Nehru Road, Darjeeling. Having lived through the nightmare 4 decades ago as a young college student, these photographs bring back vivid memories. To whose who don’t know about the 1968 disaster in this part of the world, here is a brief on it:- “In 1968, floods in the Darjeeling area destroyed vast areas of W. Bengal and neighboring state of Sikkim by unleashing about 20,000 landslides and killing thousands of people, report Sankar et al. These slides were caused by a heavy downpour ranging from 500-1000 mm in three days. Such incidents have a return period of 100 years claim the meteorologists. The impact of the rains was such that the Darjeeling-Sikkim road was breached at 92 places and the road transport was totally disr...

GANGTOK, July 29: Webbed in the paradox of vicious circle of poverty, a 26-year-old Diki Sherpa from 9th Mile in Sikkim is fighting for her life at Rabindranath Tagore Internal, Cardiac Science hospital in Kolkotta. With a hope to save Diki from kidney failure, some of the philanthropists today appealed the public of Sikkim to lend their support by way of voluntary donation to meet the medical expenses incurred during the operation. To support this noble cause, various associations including the State Roads and Bridges Department, local NGOs, Sikkim Student Association (SSA), Student Representative Council (SRC), Sikkim Government College, Denzong Association, Sikkim and Mangshila School has come under one roof to save the life of Diki. All the associations orga...

History of Darjeeling Paper read on 12th July 2008 in the seminar organized by Gorkha Janamukti Secondary Teachers Association, Kurseong Chapter, At Gorkha Library -Dr. Sonam B Wangyal Namastay, Nomoshkar, Khamri, Kuzo-zangbo, Tashi Deleg and Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to express my hearty congratulations to the members of the Gorkha Janamukti Secondary Teachers’ Association for holding this seminar and inviting me to say a few words. I will be reading this paper in English, not because I cannot read, write or speak in Nepali but because I can do it better in English. Ho, Nepalima yo paper parayko bha ajja mitho ra suwaudo hunay thiyo. Ma chhama chanhanchhu. Tara yuddama jasari jun hatiyar chalaunu subista hunchha tyahi chainchha yaha malai Angrezi mero subhistako hatiyaar ho jasto laagchha. (Yes, it would have been more appropriate and sweeter if this paper was read in Nepali. My apologies. But in war, it is necessary to wield the most apt of weapons, and ...

GANGTOK, July 28: In the latest round of transfers effecting senior Police Officers, Pratap Pradhan, SPS, Addl. Superintendent of Police/SDPO, Jorethang is transferred and posted as Addl. Superintendent of Police/SDPO, Gyalshing while ST Tonyot, SPS, Addl. Superintendent of Police, Traffic (North/East), who have been transferred and posted as SDPO, Gyalshing will continue as Addl. Superintendent of Police, Traffic (North/East). Sammi Rai, SPS, Addl. Superintendent of Police, Vigilance is transferred and posted as SDPO, Rangpo while KD Sangdarpa, SPS, Addl. Superintendent of Police/SDPO, Soreng, who have been transferred and posted as SDPO, Rabongla will continue as SDPO, Soreng. Sonam Gyatso, SPS, Addl. Superintendent of Police, East is transferred and posted as Addl. Superintendent of Poli...

Gangtok: Soon after the Assembly Session in the morning, the Chief Minister, Dr. Pawan Chamling accompanied by Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Members of the Assembly, Advisors, Adhaksyas, Chairpersons, Chief Secretary, DGP and others visited nearby Chintan Bhawan premises and paid homage to the first Chief Minister, late L.D. Kazi on his first death anniversary. Padma Vibhushan, Mr. Kazi passed away on 28th July, 2007 at the age of 103 at Kalimpong. The Chief Minister and other dignitaries offered khada on the life size bronze statue of late L. D. Kazi in front of Chintan Bhawan. Earlier, the Speaker, Mr. D.N. Thakarpa, along with Secretary, Officers and Staff of Sikkim Legislative Assembly, felicitated the Chief Minister in his chamber, at the Assembly Secretariat, for securing exemption ...

KURSEONG, July 28: A rare animal ‘caecilians’ has been discovered in Makaibari Tea Estate near Kurseong. The animal belongs to the amphibian family. It is being claimed that the animal was sighted after a gap of over 100 years. The creature found for the first time in 1881 at Rangliot Valley in Sikkim was named as Icohthyophis Skkimmennis. Robin Suyesh, a student from Delhi University made the discovery in the tea estate recently. Suyesh informed that the species was found in the area of Sikkim and Darjeeling and hence he had come here to investigate about the species about which not much was known. Suyesh has collected two samples, which he would take to Delhi for further studies. “I will take these samples to Delhi and show it to my seniors and study its anatomy to gather more information about the species,” he said. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=215953

SHERATHANG, India (AFP) — Guo Ting stands patiently in the drizzling rain hoping to sell her wares, about half a dozen blankets wrapped in plastic, but only a few shoppers show up and nobody is buying. "Business is not good as the market is too small," says Guo as she waits for custom at the Sherathang mart, about five kilometres (three miles) from the ancient Nathu La border crossing between India and China. When the two Asian giants opened the 4,500-metre-high (15,000 feet) pass in 2006 to improve ties dogged by a bitter war in 1962 that saw the route closed for 44 years, many on both sides hoped it would boost trade. Two years on, optimism has given way to despair as the flow of traders has shrunk to a trickle because of red tape, poor facilities and sub-standard roads in India's remote northeastern mountainous state of Sikkim. Guo is among about 35 traders who cross the border daily from China's Tibetan region, while five or so Indians hawk their goods across Nath...

“Once disbelieved, now achieved” Gangtok: “None of the Sikkimese seemed to believe when I had assured them exemption from Central Income Tax. But now it is reality”. This was observed by Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling in his address to All Sikkim Government Officers who had gathered to felicitate the Chief Minister at Palzor Indoor Stadium on July 26. It would have been easier to get the exemption earlier when L. D. Kazi or Nar Bahadur Bhandari was Chief Minister. But the issue was already meddled and made quite difficult when Sikkim Democratic Front came to power in 1994. Nevertheless, “we were steadfast in our demand to the Centre which eventually granted the tax exemption for our Sikkimese people”, CM said.“Our achievement of the tax exemptionis another proof of evidence of result oriented governance of SDF for the last 14 years”, ...

from Sikkim Darjeeling East Himalaya Information | Sikkim-Darjeeling.Com Gurudongmar Lake (also known as Gurudogmar Lake) is one of the highest lakes in the world located at an altitude of 17,100 feet (5,148 m). It lies on the North side of the Khangchengyao Range in a high plateau area contiguous to the Tibetan Plateau. The stream emerging from the lake is one of the source-streams of the Tista River. The lake is named after Guru Nanak, who is also known as Guru Dongmar. It is located close to the Indo-China Border in the province of North Sikkim, Sikkim, India. The lake remains completely frozen in the winter months from November to Mid-May except for one small part of the lake which is supposed to be touched and blessed by the Guru Nanak. The lake is highly revered by the Sikkimese and Buddhists and the waters are supposed to have curative properties. The Indian Army got into a conflict with the Sikkim Government when they erected a gurdwara (a Sikh temple) near...

GANGTOK, July 15: All five persons arrested in connection with the attack on local journalists at the Hamro Prajashakti office on July 4 have been granted bail by the Lower Court here yesterday. Those five persons are as Suraj Gurung (29), Ashish Subba (24), Milan Rai (27), Roshan Gurung (23) and Rupesh Gurung (23), who were arrested on July 7 from Syari in the Capital. Another accused, Dawa Tshering Bhutia was arrested later. However, these five were rearrested today in another case. They have been arrested under the Arms Act and the Sikkim Anti Drugs Act, based on the evidences recovered from the room in Syari at the time of their arrests on July 7. from Sikkim Express

303 surplus teachers on Govt payroll while some schools go without teachers NIRMAL MANGAR GANGTOK, July 15: At a time when the State Government is taking all necessary steps to improve the quality of education in the State, schools in the State continue to suffer from ills that plague the system. The State is not only being plagued by lack of teachers and inadequate teaching staff and infrastructure, the surplus teaching staff is also a major cause for concern. According to the latest statistical data with the Human Resources and Development Department, a surplus of little over 300 government teachers have been appointed in various government schools all over the State right from primary to that of Senior Secondary level. While so...

Lake Khecheopalri (27Ţ22′ 24” N and 88Ţ12′ 30” E) is situated 147 kilometres west of Gangtok, the state capital of the Sikkim Himalaya, in the West District at an altitude of 1700 meters amsl (above mean sea level). The lake represents the original névé (that is, compact granular snow that eventually forms a glacier) region of an ancient hanging glacier, and the depression is formed by the scooping action of the glacier. A moraine ridge forms the southern bank of the Lethang Valley (RAINA 1966). The lake has been estimated to be more than 3500 years old. Khecheopalri Lake is surrounded by the forested Ramam watershed (named after Ramam Mountain) and covers an area of 12 square kilometres. It falls on the southern boundary of the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (Buffer Zone IV), limiting the reserved forest boundaries of Khecheopalri Village. It has an open water surface area of 3.79 hectares with a mean water depth of 7.2 meters. The lake is well drained from the watershed with in...