In a significant development, people’s representatives from both Sikkim and northern West Bengal have come together to demand tribal status for at least 12 left-out communities in the region.
Activists from the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) have been hoisting black flags across Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and surrounding areas since 5 August to protest the delay in implementing a Permanent Political Solution for the region.
Charkhole is a village that has been abundantly blessed by nature. On one side, you get to enjoy the majestic view of the Kanchenjunga, and on the other, you get to witness the magical, extensive stretch of the valleys.
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has taken an in-principle decision not to allow setting up of fresh hydropower projects in the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong.
The plan for dwellings alongside the hillslopes must of necessity be vetted more carefully than has been manifest.
On 28 May, 344 people tested Covid-19 positive, which till today was the single-day highest for the state.
Man kept at the quarantine centre at Manikchak College tests positive.
One of the doctors in the bus, an eye specialist, has tested positive for Covid-19, while the remaining have tested negative. However, all the others in question are presently in quarantine.
As patients from other districts and states are being admitted in Dr Chhang’s Hospital in Siliguri, Siliguri Mayor Asok Bhattacharya has said immediate steps should be taken to operationalise such facilities in other districts too.
They have expressed concern as they said they do not have the exact information about fresh coronavirus affected persons and deaths. The concerns come at a time when an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that touring the region and that today went to Kalimpong has alleged noncooperation from the state administration, including the police in north Bengal.
