8 H I M A L AYA N M I R R O R GANGTOK, WEDNESDAY 07 JANUARY 2015 Jorethang Maghe Mela to promote Sikkim Organic Gangtok, Jan 6: Maghe Mela committee 2015 has decided to showcase the ‘Organic potential’ of Sikkim during the State Level Jorethang Maghe Mela celebration which will begin from January 14. Zero waste management and traditional essence will also be the main attraction of the fare to locals as well as tourists. A coordination committee meeting with the stakeholders was held at the conference hall of Soochna Bhawan under the chairmanship of Minister for Rural Management and Development Department S. B. Subedi, today . The meeting was also actively participated by Deputy Speaker Sikkim Legislative Assembly Sonam Gyatso Lepcha, Minister for Urban Development and Housing Department N.K. Subba, Minister for Health & Information and Public Relations A. K. Ghatani who is the Chief Patron of the organizing com- Bengal governor takes charge of Meghalaya, says won't talk politics Shillong, Jan 6: Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who Tuesday took additional charge of Meghalaya, said he does not talk politics in Bengal and will not do so in the northeastern state as well. The 80-year-old Tripathi was appointed after Krishan Kant Paul was transferred to Uttarakhand. He was administered the oath of office by Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan. He took the oath in Hindi. Though a seasoned politician, Tripathi made it clear he would not indulge in politics as long he was holding the office of governor. "In West Bengal, I have clearly said that please don't talk politics to me. As a governor, I am governor of every section of the society whether the ruling party or the opposition," Tripathi told journalists. "I don't talk politics in West Bengal and will not talk politics here (Meghalaya) also because the governor should be a person who should respect all sections of the society," he said. Asked if there was a possibility of him being appointed the full-fledged Meghalaya governor, Tripathi said: "I don't know. I will do whatever the government tells me to do." To a query whether some governors resigned after their transfer to the northeast, he said: "This is such a nice place and everyone should be willing to come here. The natural surroundings and every good thing is here... why should they object to it?" Tripathi said he would find out from the Meghalaya government on what developmental work was taking place in the state. "Construction of roads, airports and transport facilities required to be considered at an urgent level," he said. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, cabinet ministers and other officials were present on the occasion. (IANS) Nepal, India to settle border dispute within 4 years Kathmandu, Jan 6: Survey officials from Nepal and India have agreed to settle their bilateral border disputes within four years, including the construction, restoration and repair of boundary pillars and clearance of "no man's land" on both sides of the border. Two prominent newspapers of Nepal -- The Kathmandu Post and the Republica -- carried news items in their Tuesday editions that a decision was taken at the end of December in the Indian city of Dehradun, according to which both sides have agreed to start field work in the border areas by the first week of February. The inspection and field work will not cover the Susta and Kalapani sections that together total 40 km of the 1,751km Nepal-India border. These sections are the most contentious boundary issues between the two neighbours and are being discussed at top bureaucratic levels. During the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last year July-end, Nepal and India had agreed to form a Nepal-India Boundary Working Group (BWG) and commence work in the field at the earliest for the construction, restoration and repair of boundary pillars including clearance of "no man's land" and all other technical tasks according to the terms of reference (TOR) to be agreed in the first meeting of the BWG. The BWG -- a new bilateral mechanism formed last year ahead of the visit of Swaraj -- is a technical body at the surveyor general-level which replaced the joint technical level Nepal-India boundary committee formed in 1981 and ended its mandate in 2007 after preparing GPSbased boundary maps. The field survey teams of both sides that will be dispatched in the first week of February are mandated to construct, restore and repair boundary pillars, carry out GPS observation of boundary pillars, develop modalities to address crossholdings and encroachment in no man's land and provide technical inputs to the higher level as required. The field inspection team from the Nepali side includes the chief district officer, armed police force and officials from the survey department while the Indian side will be led by a district magistrate, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and border management officials. Three separate teams will be mobilised on both sides of the border and will coordinate with other on disputed issues. GPS maps prepared by both sides will be taken as the basis for the construction, restoration and repair of the boundary pillars. Nepal and India had erected a total 8,553 pillars along the border, of which 1,325 are missing and 1,956 are either damaged or semi-damaged. (IANS) mittee, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) P.D. Rai, Parliamentary Secretary Sonam Dadul Bhutia, Chairman STCS Mr. Rastaman Rai, Chairman STDC Rup Naray- an Rai, senior officials from various departments and others. Addressing the gathering Subedi stressed that local Organic food should be available in all hotels and restaurants of Jorethang and announced that a meeting with the concerned sector will be held on January 8 at Jorethang. He also emphasized on the need of organic vegetables for the occasion and to meet-up the demand in proper coordination with Agriculture and Horticulture department. Earlier MP Rai had outlined the need of connectivity between green, organic and clean Sikkim to deliver a clear message in global scenario. He also suggested to conduct an awareness programme on Anti-Drug abuse. Deputy Speaker Mr. Sonam Gyatso Lepcha urged stake holders to impart active contribution at various levels to make the event a grand success. (IPR) The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi releasing the commemorative coin to mark the 175th birth anniversary of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PIB) Govt. names road in memory Uttarkanya gears up to welcome CM of slain party workers HM Report Gangtok, Jan 6: The SDF government has renamed and notified the 12 km stretch of Chakung to Khaniserbong Kamling Road in West Sikkim as Late Arun Rai Marg. The late Arun Rai was an SDF worker who was killed in a political clash in the run up to the Assembly elections last year. Earlier this road is named in the name of former CM, B.B Gurung. The Cabinet had cleared the proposal some months ago and the notification to this effect was passed on 13 December. This stretch of the road was earlier named after veteran politician BB Gooroong. Similarly, the 16 km road from Soreng to Kaluk in West Sikkim has been named after SDF worker the late Nanda Kumar Gurung who was also killed in a political clash in Kaluk ahead of the elections. The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), the principal opposition party in the state, said the ruling party should not have politicised the issue. SKM spokesman Dilip Rai said there were many more deserving people who have not received recognition. "We believe that justice should be given to the deserving and this issue should not have come through political affiliation or through political lobbying," Rai said. JU students on hunger strike, reject appeal for talks Kolkata, Jan 6: A section of Jadavpur University students, who launched a fastunto-death late Monday night to press for the removal of vice chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti, rejected the registrar's appeal to initiate a discussion Tuesday. As many as 11 students began the hunger strike at 10 p.m. Monday in front of the administrative building. They covered themselves with blankets, camping out in the wintry night. "The registrar had approached us for talks but we have already stated what our demands are. There is no point in talks unless our demands are met. We will carry on with the hunger strike till they agree," Gitasri Sarkar of the students' union of the varsity told IANS. Students from other universities lent support to their agitation Tuesday morning. The students have been clamouring for Chakrabarti's removal since Sep 17 when the university authorities ordered a police crackdown on a sit-in by students demanding an independent investigation into the alleged molestation of a female student inside a hostel. The incident triggered protest rallies in the city and had a ripple effect across the country, with college alumni organising protest marches in Delhi and Mumbai. Many students also boycotted the 59th annual convocation of the university in December last year. The agitation brought together the Kolkata diaspora and university alumni in solidarity through social networking websites. Amid the clamour for his removal, Chakrabarti, who was the interim vice chancellor, was given full time responsibility by Governor K.N. Tripathi, who is the exofficio chancellor. The state government later instituted a five-member probe panel headed by University of Calcutta vice chancellor Suranjan Das to look into the prima facie ev- idence of the alleged molestation. Two university students and an alumnus were arrested and subsequently released on bail. (IANS) Siliguri, Jan 6: Uttarkanya in Siliguri is getting decked up to welcome Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who will attend the inaugural ceremony of Uttar Banga Utsav on January 19. A guest house is being constructed to host the chief minister during her visit, while the entire Uttarkanya premises is being cleaned and decorated. Sources said the construction of the guest house and other preparation is being done in costs to the tune of Rs.5 crore. The administration, as always, is not leaving any stone unturned to make sure the CM is provided with the best hospitality. Notably, Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the week-long fest on January 20 at Uttarkanya premises. She will also formally inaugurate the newly constructed guest house in the premise and will also be the first guest at the facility. (HS) Eveready hikes battery prices Kolkata, Jan 6: Dry cell batteries market leader Eveready Industries India Ltd (EIIL) Tuesday said prices of its batteries are being hiked because of the rise in excise duty by two percent. "Excise duty on batteries has gone up by two percent, after the concessional rate of excise duty earlier allowed for consumer durables was not extended beyond Dec 31 last year. The same quantum is now being recovered through price increases with immediate effect by rationalisation of trade margins," company managing director Amritanshu Khaitan said in a statement. The company sells more than 1.2 billion units annually and is eyeing a growth between 10-15 percent this year. It has taken a hike of over 20 percent in batteries over the past 18 months. Shares of the company traded Rs.176.25, down by 3.48 percent, in the evening trade in BSE. (IANS) Dalai Lama talks on Secular Ethics in Nashik Dharamshala, Jan 5: The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Saturday said time has come for the world to promote oneness of humanity rather than creating differences based on faith, race and social background etc. “When we are children we don’t care very much about differences of faith, family or nationality, we just play together. But as we grow up we function less on that basic human level and learn to pay more attention to secondary differences like faith, race, social background and level of education. By seeing each other in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’, we lay the ground for conflict. We seek ways for ‘us’ to win and ‘them’ to lose. This is the basis for bullying, cheating and exploitation that gives rise to violence, corruption and the gap between rich and poor,” the Tibetan leader told some 4500 people including Tibetan sweater sellers, Buddhists monks from Sri Lanka, Burma and Christian priests in Nashik, where he spoke on secular ethics at an event organized by Indo-Tibetan Mangal Maitri Sangh. The 1989 Nobel peace laureate, who considers fostering religious harmony as one of his three commitments in life, said the most effective way to bring inner peace is to inculcate the basic human values into daily practice. He said that educational institutes in USA, Europe and India have collaborated in he initiative to introduce basic human values not based on any religious faith into education system. The Tibetan spiritual leader said there the ancient Indian concept of secularism which viewed all religions and even the views of nonbelievers with respect, can be achieved in the present time. He said that even those who do not believe in any particular faith will also ben- efit from “Secular ethics” which can appeal to everybody. “Because they are in everyone’s interest.” However, he added that if the nonbelievers are approached with faith based explanation they might not accept. “Religious harmony is important because all the major religious traditions are supposed to bring inner peace, but too often they are used to foster anger and hatred. We are all at peace here, but in other parts of the world conflict and violence have broken out in the name of religion - this is why we have to make an effort to create harmony between us.” The Dalai Lama further said that every human being has the potential to benefit or bring harm to others, adding that one must reduce the negative emotions and increase positive behavior. Tibetan spiritual leader who is currently in Delhi is scheduled to give a talk on ‘Secular Ethics’ at Presidency University in Kolkata, West Bengal on January 13. Edited, Published, Printed and Owned by Anjan Upadhyaya from Gairi Gaon, Tadong, Gangtok, Printed at Pabi Publication House, Ranipool, Gangtok. Telephone: 98512-22787, Email: himalayanmirrornews@gmail.com / himalayanmirror@yahoo.co.in. Scouts and guide rally Around 207 participants including 55 scouts and 66 Guides from 14 different schools from Sikkim participated in the three day the State Bharat Scouts and Guides rally. The state rally will concluded on January 8 while the training course will concluded on January 10. Suicide A 79 yrs old man committed suicide by hanging himself at his residence at Buriyakhop, West Sikkim. The deceased was reportedly sick since past 3 years. The dead body has been forwarded to Gyalshing District Hospital for medical autopsy. Gorkha Sanskritik Mahotsav Siliguri, Jan 6: The Gorkha Sajha Pariwar (GSP) is observing a 4day cultural programme named ‘Gorkha Sanskritik Mahotsav’ starting Jan 7 to 11. The event will be held in Salbari, Siliguri where the Gorkha community from across Darjeeling, Sikkim, Terai and Dooars are expected to regale in their cultural richness and diversity through food, music, dance and much more. (HS)