SILIGURI/ KALIMPONG, 11 JAN: Employees at panchayat offices in Kalimpong sub-division will start an indefinite pen-down strike tomorrow to protest the manhandling of their colleagues by residents of Pitamchin village.
The panchayat employee was attacked at Pitamchin village under Lingay gram panchayat which falls under the jurisdiction of Algarah block-ll in Kalimpong sub-division.
The villagers were protesting against alleged double standards being practiced by the officials while dealing with victims of the 18 September 2011 earthquake. The protesters turned violent and severely beat gram panchayat staff member Sonam Tashi Bhutia, according to a spokesperson of the Ganamukti Karmachari Sangathan, which has convened the strike, alleged.
Mr Bhutia was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries. He is under treatment now. Local GJMM leaders and gram panchayat officials intervened when the situation was spiralling out of control.
The villagers said they were unhappy with the administration on several counts. “First the relief came very late. Secondly, several affluent and influential persons are on the beneficiary-list though they had sustained no loss due to the trembler. This aside, discrimination is being made among the quake victims during distribution of compensation,” one of the agitated villagers said.
However, senior gram panchayat officials said the villagers had no knowledge of the parameters involved in the distribution of the calamity-compensation.
“It must be understood that the compensation yardsticks are different in regards to the houses that were fully damaged and partially damaged. For the former, the amount is Rs 35,000, while for the latter, the figure is Rs 5,000. This is what has led to the confusion among the villagers. We will take up programmes soon to educate the villagers regarding the different yardsticks in reference to the compensation grants,” one of the senior gram panchayat officials said.
The Darjeeling district magistrate Saumitra Mohan, said that the administration had no liberty to get out of the compensation-norms as determined by the Centre.
“There are clear distinctions in regards to houses damaged partially and fully. The Centre has also mentioned that owners of ‘kaccha’* houses would be given Rs 10,000 for complete damage and only Rs 2,500 for partial damage,” the Darjeeling district magistrate added.
“The Centre has also asked the victims to open bank accounts for receiving compensation. After the account is opened the administration will transfer money to the respective accounts in accordance with the list of victims,” he added.
He added that around 8,000 houses had been fully damaged and nearly 32,000 houses had been partially damaged.
“We had demanded nearly Rs 42 crore for the purpose. We have received Rs 20 crore from both the Centre and state so far. The next installment would be released on receipt of the utilisation certificates,” he added.
The panchayat employee was attacked at Pitamchin village under Lingay gram panchayat which falls under the jurisdiction of Algarah block-ll in Kalimpong sub-division.
The villagers were protesting against alleged double standards being practiced by the officials while dealing with victims of the 18 September 2011 earthquake. The protesters turned violent and severely beat gram panchayat staff member Sonam Tashi Bhutia, according to a spokesperson of the Ganamukti Karmachari Sangathan, which has convened the strike, alleged.
Mr Bhutia was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries. He is under treatment now. Local GJMM leaders and gram panchayat officials intervened when the situation was spiralling out of control.
The villagers said they were unhappy with the administration on several counts. “First the relief came very late. Secondly, several affluent and influential persons are on the beneficiary-list though they had sustained no loss due to the trembler. This aside, discrimination is being made among the quake victims during distribution of compensation,” one of the agitated villagers said.
However, senior gram panchayat officials said the villagers had no knowledge of the parameters involved in the distribution of the calamity-compensation.
“It must be understood that the compensation yardsticks are different in regards to the houses that were fully damaged and partially damaged. For the former, the amount is Rs 35,000, while for the latter, the figure is Rs 5,000. This is what has led to the confusion among the villagers. We will take up programmes soon to educate the villagers regarding the different yardsticks in reference to the compensation grants,” one of the senior gram panchayat officials said.
The Darjeeling district magistrate Saumitra Mohan, said that the administration had no liberty to get out of the compensation-norms as determined by the Centre.
“There are clear distinctions in regards to houses damaged partially and fully. The Centre has also mentioned that owners of ‘kaccha’* houses would be given Rs 10,000 for complete damage and only Rs 2,500 for partial damage,” the Darjeeling district magistrate added.
“The Centre has also asked the victims to open bank accounts for receiving compensation. After the account is opened the administration will transfer money to the respective accounts in accordance with the list of victims,” he added.
He added that around 8,000 houses had been fully damaged and nearly 32,000 houses had been partially damaged.
“We had demanded nearly Rs 42 crore for the purpose. We have received Rs 20 crore from both the Centre and state so far. The next installment would be released on receipt of the utilisation certificates,” he added.
SNS
Assault spurs rural strike call
Kalimpong, Jan. 11.TT: Two panchayat officials have been roughed up at Lingsey by a mob that demanded earthquake compensation even for those who were not entitled to it, prompting the Janmukti Karmachari Sangathan to call an indefinite strike in the block and panchayat offices in Kalimpong from tomorrow.
The JKS, a wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said the strike would be observed in all three block offices and 41 panchayat offices in the subdivision till police took action against the culprits.
Sources said people of Pitamchinga in Lingsey had assaulted the two officials at a meeting last evening. The meeting was called to register the names of those villagers who had not received compensation from the government for the damage caused to their houses in the earthquake.
“But all villagers turned up and wanted the compensation to be paid to all of them. When the officials expressed their inability, they were manhandled by the people,” alleged Kharga Vikram Subba, the Kalimpong unit president of the JKS.
Lingsey is 60km from Kalimpong town.
Subba said Sonam Tashi Bhutia, a panchayat karmi, had been assaulted severely and was rushed to the Kalimpong subdivisional hospital, which, in turn, referred him to Siliguri. Executive assistant Rohit Chhetri was the other person manhandled.
“The incident has created a sense of insecurity among the government staff. We want police to take strong action against those responsible for the incident and that is why we have called an indefinite strike in all three block offices and 41 panchayats in the subdivision,” said Subba.
Four villagers were also admitted to the Kalimpong hospital with minor injuries.
“We had gone to the panchayat office to get our names registered since our houses, too, were damaged in the quake. Since there were many people, all of them could not be accommodated in the office. Many of us were outside when all hell broke loose. There was a lot of pushing, shoving and punching. Some of the blows landed on me,” said one of the injured villagers.
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