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.
"The civic body has readied four pumps to drain out water in case of requirement. We have alerted the borough officers and asked them to keep monitoring the situation. The control room has been activated and we are monitoring the entire situation"
Stricter containment measures to be first taken on an experimental basis in Darjeeling town area which will be applied in other places later.
Meanwhile, the health department has started preparations to admit suspected Covid-19 patients in a private health facility following its takeover. The other patents of the nursing home have been shifted elsewhere, it is learnt. The nurse had come in contact with the first Covid-19 patient of Kalimpong during her treatment at the NBMCH.
“A complete lockdown is being imposed in the hotspots and clusters or the areas adjoining the hotspots. We don’t want the infection to spread like wildfire. But the daily necessities of the people of these areas are being taken care of,” said chief secretary Rajiva Sinha in Nabanna today.
To start with, the board will comprise Nobel laureate Dr Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee and former regional director of WHO Dr Swaroop Sarkar while senior doctors namely Abhiit Choudhury and Dr Sukyumar Mukherjee, will coordinate with the board.
“These thermal scanners would also be sent to all closed tea gardens under the GTA,” Mr Thapa said in a press release from Kalimpong where he is currently overseeing and coordinating preparations to fight the novel coronavirus.
