MOBILE This issue of NOW! contains 24 pgs, including a 4-pg supplement, X-FACTOR. for the the young 23-29BSNL Oct, 2002 NOW! 1 ST COME 1 MORE ST SERVE coverage 1 NHway, Rangpo, Singtam, Panorama Pakyong, 17th Mile Color Lab SMS Voice Message Service Internet Beyond LOWEST RATES Competition ROAMING MG Marg, Gangtok, Sikkim - 737 101 BharatSancharNigamLtd.SIKKIM ph: 25098 / 22488 For details call: 27500, 24722 GANGTOK WEDNESDAY, Oct 23-29, 2002 Vol 1 No 19 Rs. 5 This POSSESSED FATHER HACKS 13-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER Hand TURNTURN TOTO Has pgpg 55 FORFOR Killed DETAILSDETAILS THE CABLE WARS WON’T THIS BE A GOOD CIRCUIT TO FLY? BAGDOGRA COULD GO INTERNATIONAL ANY DAY NOW... Something is bound to give as two operators battle it out for a larger piece of the lucrative A NOW! FEATURE cable turf in Gangtok... TURN TO pg 9 FOR DETAILS DETAILS WHY IT DESERVED THAT LOTTERY WALLAH ARRESTED ON STATUS... CHARGES OF RAPING MINOR TURN TO pg 3 FOR DETAILS TURN TO pg 9 FOR DETAILS IT’S OFFICIAL NOW THE 3 “UNATTACHED” MLAS TO NO SPECIAL SOPS, YET ATTACH WITH SDF ON FRIDAY TURN TO pg 4 FOR DETAILS 2 NOW! RECAP SIKKIM 23-29 Oct, 2002 TAAS MEMBERS SUPPORT TRAUMATISED FAMILIES THROUGH THEIR LOSS N. SKM ACCIDENT CLAIMS FIVE LIVES Last rites A NOW REPORT GANGTOK: Five persons were killed and four others seriously in- after the jured when the vehicle in which they were travelling lost control and final holiday fell into a deep gorge in North Sik- kim in the afternoon of October 17. A NOW REPORT The eight passengers were tourists from West Bengal GANGTOK: The three members traveling from Gangtok to of the same family who lost their Yumthang, a popular tourist des- lives in a road accident in North tination in North Sikkim, when the Sikkim on October 17 were cre- driver lost control of the Mahindra mated at the Ranipool cremation Maxx (SK-04-4389) in which they grounds yesterday. were travelling near the Rang The last rites of Parag Roy, 56, Rang bridge and plunged more Ruby Roy 46 and Monumita Roy, than 800 feet around 1:45 pm on 20 of Kolkata were conducted by the said date. their relatives at the Ranipool cre- Four persons of the family of mation grounds, on the banks of five from Kolakata and one per- Ranikhola river, about 15 kms from son from Murshidabad district in here on October 20. Sanghamitra West Bengal who were travelling Roy, 22, who survived the accident, in the ill-fated vehicle were killed lit the funeral pyres of her father, pix NOW! in the accident. They have been mother and younger sister. identified as Parag Roy, Ruby Roy, The last rites of Anup Mishra who Paramita Roy and Anup Mishra. driver, were first rushed to the was also travelling with the same Sanghamitra Roy, 22, of the same Mangan District Hospital and later group, was performed by his two family has survived with serious shifted to the Sir Thutob Namgyal brothers who arrived here earlier. injuries. The other tourist killed Memorial Hospital in Gangtok. Earlier, the body of another vic- was Md. Khaleduz Zaman , who Members of the Travel Agents’ tim of the accident, Md. Khaleduz was travelling with a friend, Association of Sikkim (TAAS), led Zaman, who was earlier identified Hakim Ahmed, who was injured. by their President, Paljor Lachungpa, as Mithun Raman, was taken back All five were killed on the spot. rushed to the spot from Gangtok im- to his hometown Behrampore by his Police rushed to the stop im- mediately and supervised the rescue relatives. mediately after the news of the ac- and relief operations. The five dead Five persons were killed and four cident reached the Rang Rang Po- bodies have been handed over to the others injured when a passenger Jeep lice outpost. PI Ongmu, Mangan TAAS members after the post in which they were travelling to Police Station, told NOW! that the mortems were conducted in the Yumthang in North Sikkim lost con- Police team reached the spot by 2 Mangan Hospital. trol while giving pass to another ve- pm and immediately started res- The Police said that most of the hicle coming from the opposite di- cue and relief operations. luggage and belongings of the victims rection and fell in a deep gorge near The locals as well as jawans have been retrieved and also handed Rang Rang in North Sikkim on Oc- from Assam Rifles also joined the over to TAAS members. The cause tober 17. rescue operations along with the of accident is being investigated and Members of the Travel Agents Police, she said. The rescue op- the driver, who is also seriously in- Association of Sikkim (TAAS), who erations were difficult since the jured, has been arrested, PI Ongmu had rushed to the spot immediately terrain is treacherous and ex- said. The driver apparently told the after hearing the news of the acci- tremely dangerous. The severity of police that the vehicle lost control dent, had arranged the funeral of the the accident could be judged from when he was trying to make way for tourists. The TAAS team, led by its The innocent looking stretch of the North Sikkim Highway short the fact that the bodies of those an Army convoy coming from the President, Paljor Lachungpa, had su- of Rang-Rang bridge where a “Maxx” en route to Yumthang top- dead were badly mutilated and opposite direction on a narrow stretch pervised the rescue and relief opera- pled over killing five and seriously injuring another four. The spot disfigured, PI Ongmu said. of the North Sikkim Highway near tions and even arranged for transport has now become a stop for all north-bound vehicles where pas- The four injured, including the the Rang Rang Bridge. and medical facilities. The funeral sengers alight and see for themselves the “spot”. was attended by members of TAAS and officials from the State Tourism Department. The Tourism Minister, KT Gyaltsen, along with area MLA and Power Minister, Hishey Lachungpa SIQUOK PUJA had earlier visited the injured who have been admitted at the Sir Thutop Namgyal Memorial Hospital here. A NOW REPORT IN KABI: The annual Siquok Puja was per- formed at the site of the swearing in of the oath of blood brotherhood between womenNOW! Thekong Tek-Nyukung Gnal and Khye Bhumsa at Kabi Longchok at North Sikkim on October 21. The day long puja organ- ized by Kabi Longtsok Club for prosperity is traditionally performed by Bongthings on 15th day of ninth month of every year based on the Tibetan Calendar. TT Bhutia, Minister to the Government of Sikkim who is also the area MLA, Sonam Gyatso Lepcha, MLA Dzongu con- stituency, office bearers of Renzyong Mutanchi Rong Tarzum (Sikkim Lepcha Association), students, general public of Nursing - North Sikkim and media persons partici- A Noble pated in the Puja. Profession Preparations a day before the puja at Kabi Longtsok. a NOW! pix 23-29 Oct, 2002 UP-FRONT NOW! 3 THE SKIES ARE INTERNATIONAL NOW ...maybe not right away, but Bagdogra will go international sooner is due to the fact that several op- would be interested in visiting your rather than later. And it makes sense... erations such as immigration, cus- part of the region,” said a senior A NOW REPORT toms and health facilities are not journalist from Thimpu while talk- IN HIS OWN WRITE - The Union Minister’s letter committing him to “fully geared up,” it is learnt. ing to NOW! For quite a while now there has international status for Bagdogra The once a week Indian Airlines The cause of internationalizing been a concerted effort by various flight now deferred, would have Bagdogra was strongly recom- organisations and individuals to get “maximum uplift and discharge” of mended by HIMTAB (Himalayan the central government to announce 119 passengers, the Union Minis- Tourism Advisory Board) and IATO the Bagdogra airport an interna- ter had told Sikkim Hotel & (Indian Association of Tour tional one. The lobbying has been Restaurnt Association, while add- Operators). particularly strong and vehement by ing that even Air India was exam- Chief Minister, Pawan tourism associated organisations ining the “suitability” of A310 op- Chamling, too made a strong plea. and individuals from Sikkim and erations at Bagdogra airport. In his words “…the dire necessity the neighbouring regions who fore- The Minister had further dis- to make Bagdogra an international see a strong advantage to their trade closed that the national carriers airport is of prime in the transformation of Bagdogra could operate international flights importance…which would be the into an international airport. The out of Bagdogra even without offi- hub of Kathmandu, Bhutan, Bang- logic inherent in this belief is that cially declaring the airport “inter- ladesh and all major metropolitan the image of Sikkim as a tourist des- national”. cities of this country.” tination which, the State govern- Declaring Bagdogra an interna- The issue was also raised in the ment is trying to portray, will re- tional airport is a logical though be- Rajya Sabha by Prasanta Chatterjee ceive a major boost. lated move. The airports surround- MP and Chandra Kala Pandey, MP. Bagdogra is 14 kms away from ing the region are all international In their presentation they claimed Siliguri. Siliguri is a booming trans- in nature being located in Nepal “…Bagdogra airport is not only the port centre, strategically located on (three in Nepal), Bangladesh and gateway to north Bengal, but it is a narrow stretch of Indian Territory Bhutan (Paro) and even Tibet also the gateway to the north east that connects the 7 sister states of (Lhasa).