Darjeeling-dooars

ADMINISTRATION
Colonialism is perpetuated in part by justifying to those in the colonizing nation the idea that it is right and proper to rule over other peoples, and by getting colonised people to accept their lower ranking in the colonial order of things- a process we can call ‘colonising the mind’. It operated by persuading people to internalize its logic and speak its language; to perpetuate the values and assumptions of the colonizers as regards the ways they perceive and represent the world.
J. McLeod, Post-colonialism.
Have you ever wondered to yourself why it is that all people like me seem to have learned from you is how to imprison and murder each other, how to govern badly, and how to take the wealth of our country and place it in Swiss bank accounts.

Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place.

The administrative head quarter of the District of Darjeeling is situated and located at the hill which is called the Queen of Hills of the world. There are two wings of administrations civil and police. The District head quarter of the civil administration of Independent India is being run from the New Kutchery Building that was constructed by the British in the year 1897. The same old building attaining an age of more than a century is still being with used renovations and repairs at times. The head of the district administration is the District Magistrate (D.M). He is assisted by Additional District Magistrates (A.D.M.) and the Sub-Divisional Officers (S.D.O.) of the four Subdivisions of the district. The appointees to the posts are generally from amongst cadres belonging to the Indian Administrative Services (I.A.S). But in some exceptional cases of politico-administrative exigencies, the cadres belonging to the West Bengal Civil Services (WBCS) if favoured by the ruling party by maintaining certain norms and rules are posted to the posts of A.D.Ms and S.D.Os. Similarly, in the police department for the maintenance of law and order and keeping social tranquility, the Superintendent of Police {S.P} is the head of the police department and is assisted by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). As in the civil administration the post of S.P. is only from the Indian Police Service (I.P.S.), but the posts of ASP are some time filled-up by promotes and that of D.S.P. is usually manned by local promotees. In the British days the local official was assigned to carry and perform the task and duty of the Superintendent of Police of Darjeeling, but in independent India not a single local, except chosen tribal, has so far succeeded to cross the barrier to become the S.P. of Darjeeling. The district geographically, historically, topographically, politically and ethnically being entirely different with the rest of West Bengal, the government has made provisions to teach Nepali Language by engaging local Nepali teachers for the officials coming from the plains of Bengal to Darjeeling Hills. This has been done with a view to administer the region with ease and smoothness. Further Nepali Language is the official Language of the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling as per the Language Act 1961 of the Government of West Bengal. Further Nepali is one of the major Indian Languages in the Constitution of India. Monthly financial incentive has also been arranged to the officials on passing an examination in Nepali Language of the set standard for the purpose. However, neither the D.M. nor A.D.M. or officials coming from the plains intend to labour and study for passing the examination of the set standard. But 'it is compulsory for WBCS [executive] officers to pass Departmental exams {8 papers on Law, Accounts, Bengali etc. conducted by PSC and they also have to submit 6 number of court cases, which have to be accepted by the Legal Remembrancer, West Bengal, before they can be considered for confirmation in service and their yearly increments sanctioned. Many officers, of Darjeeling district, present and past [I do not want to give their names here] could not pass departmental examination in their whole service life and so they could not be confirmed even after serving for more than 25 years incurring huge financial loss to themselves" ( D. T. Tamlong). The officials appointed in the plains from the Hill Areas of Darjeeling after passing the West Bengal Public Service Commission Examination are required to be conversant in writing and speaking in Bengali. But for the officials BELONGING TO NON-NEPALI COMMUNITY coming from the plains to the hills, it is not compulsory and obligatory for passing the examination and test so as to acquire workable knowledge of Nepali Language. Hence, almost all of them spend their tenure in Darjeeling without learning the language of the people and place but leave Darjeeling either on promotion or obtaining a rewarded posting. In some cases they overstay after the expiry of normal posting of two years tenure for the blue-eyed officials of the political leadership has been made permissible. But in spite of getting extended tenure of staying in Darjeeling Hills, they seemed to be practically not interested in learning Nepali. During a quarter century (1980-06) this writer happened to meet only two officials one IPS and one IAS posted in Darjeeling to have learnt speaking Nepali with fluency. Of the two, one has retired after becoming the Director General of Police, in a hill State and another presently working under foreign company. During the tenure of service in Darjeeling Hills the officials belonging to other linguistic group rarely meet the common people for getting the information of the actual state of affairs of the nook and corner of the region. However, it seemed that they get posted of situation from the elite people belonging to a section of business community and managers of tea gardens with whom they usually meet in the GYMKHANA CLUB and PLANTERS CLUB for breakfast, lunch, dinner, gossips and parties over a peg or two and and at times it takes one drink too many to stimulate their minds. The conversation deepens and these clubs serve as a perfect venue to diagnose the backgrounds, characters and well beings of every local entity that ranges elites. This nexus has functioned as on all important cogs in the wheel for the mini colonial administration to pounce and grind the Gorkha aspiration at its very root. The two clubs were left by the British as their legacy, but today the administrative officials and privileged gentry of today who are unknown to the masses of Darjeeling Hill have made these two clubs as the heirloom of the same. Some of them have the recognition as EXPERT on the socio-political and administrative matter pertaining to Darjeeling. Officials coming with limited belongings and, returning convoy of TRUCKS loaded with luggage after completion of their tenure in Darjeeling is regarded as a normal pattern of the administration. The present Governor's House or the Rajbhawan of Darjeeling was purchased on 31st Oct 1877 by the British from the Maharaja of Cooch Behar. The Rajbhawan was damaged in 1934 due to severe earthquake. But the same was repaired and furnished in the year 1939 (AS PER A REPORT PUBLISHED IN THE HINDUSTAN TIMES DATED 22 JUNE, 2002). But, the furnishings and antiques were taken in four truckloads in the month of May, 2002. The removal of the items of historical and heritage values were vehemently condemned and protested by the COMMUNIST PARTY OF REVOLUTIONARY MARXISTS, ITS YOUTH WING, DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONARY YOUTH FRONT, FEW INTELLECTUALS OF NEPALI SAHITYA SAMMELAN, DARJEELING AND All GORKHA STUDENTS UNION TOO HAD JOINED THE FRAY. But the protest was a voice in the wilderness, for the reason that the personality involved in the fraudulent removal of the antics was holding the highest constitutional post in the state. While the protesters belonged to a bunch of puny backward and minority community from the state of West Bengal. So, would it mean anything? Nontheless call a curse or blessing, but even amongst the puny minority, a few are born with the torturous human component called conscience. It is this conscience that pricks and haunts the mind, when there are no answers to resolve the questions such as; shouldn't the custodian of the constitution be above the smirch and filth of a common mans greed? Is Darjeeling to far and abscure to be heard within the noise and voice of the world's largest democracy? Doesn't Darjeeling merit to attract the country's constitutional jurisprudence, writ when it's antics are being swindled in the broad day light? This happening was aptly apposite to the writing of LEKHNATH POUDYAL, a poet and visionary of Nepal. In respect of tyrannical RANA rule in Nepal, he had written that the action of higher ups would be made unanimously acceptable no matter what they did.

There is segment of office called CONFIDENTIAL SECTION attached to the chamber of the District Magistrate of Darjeeling. It has a tradition of being manned by non Nepali person since its inception. Similar tradition of appointing non-Bengali District Magistrate if the Superintendent of Police is Bengali or vice versa was in practice for years together. But, after the devastating agitation that had posed physical challenge to the officials in 1985-88, the tradition of the permutation and combination of Bengali and Non Bengali D.M and S.P has been abandoned. However, the tradition of manning the confidential section by non Nepali person has been in practice in more subtle design. Thus the modus operandi of the Government of West Bengal towards Darjeeling has been made clear by them. Almost all the local officials working under them, in spite of being fully aware of the modus operandi of the boss, could do nothing except meekly surrendering for the sake of post, perk, favour and also prospect. As "it is natural for the subordinate officers and the staff, to fear the superior officers. Every officer or the staff wants good portfolio or important department/assignment and the future of the subordinate officer/staff is doomed, if the boss writes a small "But'' in the ACR (Annual confidential report). The value of an ACR or the fear of the same can be understood by those who are on the verge of promotion. Accordingly, there is keen competition to be in the good book of the boss or to be in the inner circle around him, that sometimes leads to unhealthy competition among the subordinate officers/staff and they tend to attend to every whim of the boss by being resourceful in every thing, trying to please by constant praise and saying, 'sir, you can do it. You have the power…". I would like to call this Canute culture. This inner circle or the coterie sometimes inadvertently inflicts injustice to many who work quietly and silently without bothering any body and at the same time causes embarrassment to the boss and the establishment" (D.T. TAMLONG). It gives a clear picture of the administration of Darjeeling and the modus operandi of the administrator deployed to the place. So, it is obvious that modus operandi is one of the factors for causing a sense of alienation in the minds of the people. The officials and the ruling class belonging to the advanced and privileged community of West Bengal are in no mood to accept the reality. On the contrary they leave no stone unturned to brand and label the conscious and literate people of Darjeeling as Anti-Bengali in private conversation. Some of the officials from Non-Nepali Community in the police and civil administration working in the District of Darjeeling have ultimately reached the highest and glorious administrative ranks of the state of West Bengal in their respective departments, but their experiences and acquaintances with problems of the place and people never get a tract for causing the slightest relief in ameliorating the plight of the place and people which they have pretended to have loved very much during their stay. The familiarity and friendship established with the people during their stay in Darjeeling Hill during service get waned with rapid stride after their transfer from Darjeeling Hill. The waning of familiarity and acquaintance is nothing for Darjeeling, but it has become a culture of Indian administrative services towards Darjeeling in the post British period. Some of the officials from Darjeeling Hill working in the plain areas of Bengal in lower status of administrative responsibility also forget the familiarity gained during their service tenure. Most of them on retirement become hard critics of the people and place where they worked.

The British, for the speedy development of Darjeeling region, is found to have established the Public Works Department in the year 1839. The department since then has been functioning uninterruptedly. Despite covering a time span of one hundred and sixty seven years the indigenous people has not succeeded to occupy the TOP EXECUTIVE POST OF THE DEPARTMENT. Similarly, the Health and Hospital department initiated by the British in a humble way in 1883 by way of establishing EDEN SANITORIUM has taken the shape of District Hospital in Independent India under West Bengal, but the administrative and executive post for the local professionals has become a wild dream to achieve till this day. The District Hospital of Darjeeling appears to be lacking in modern facilities in the treatment of different types of diseases as compared to the other district hospitals of the state while gradually the sub- divisional hospital at Siliguri has turned into a District Hospital. In order to purchase and install a C.T. SCAN MACHINE, few people with some professionals are engaged in collection of DONATION and have also succeeded in securing the same without help from the authorities. The Eden Sanatorium of British days has been named after Sahid Durga Malla as Durga Malla Hospital and the same has been renovated, extended and expanded to five storeyed building to give a shape and Status of District Hospital of Darjeeling. In the execution of the works it is believed that several crore of rupees were made available by the World Bank. But the quality and standard of the work has become a subject of criticism within the alert and receptive circle of town. The leakage of water from the ceiling during rainy season and the falling of rafters on patients on more than one occasion has given impetus for the justification of such criticism.

Darjeeling Government College was established in the year 1948 for imparting higher education to the people of the region. Similarly the Government High School was founded and started by the colonialist in the year 1892, and it was taken over by the education department of the government of West Bengal from the day India won freedom. On being taken over, the school has been passing from bad to worse. Sri Asim Dasgupta, a former student of this school, has the distinction of holding the portfolio of the Finance Minister of West Bengal for more than three decades. The holding of the finance portfolio by him is a record in the annals of the democratic India. But the school in which he had studied is found to have been running without a full-fledged Headmaster for more than thirty years. This state of affairs has not become a matter of embarrassment to him and his government. The school in Independent West Bengal was meant for the backward and national minority people of the state residing in Darjeeling, but it has been regarded as a prerogative of advanced and big nationality to deprive the national minority. The exploitation, deprivation, suppression and denial of the legitimate right of the Nepali speaking people dominantly inhabitating Darjeeling District and Dooars region is to be construed and termed as munificence as because in no case the big and ruling class is ready to accept their accomplishment of colonizing Darjeeling. Hence, the sons of the soil, being unable to be in command, at the helm of affairs of the administration and also denial to higher executive and technical posts by way of a systematic design, are found to have been drained elsewhere. But on joining in different posts outside West Bengal the sons and daughters of Darjeeling are found to have occupied the post of Chief Secretary, Home Secretary of state Governments and Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister in other states of India. Many of the technocrats, bureaucrats and inspector-general of police in different states of India were from Darjeeling. Besides, in the field of Games and Sports, Music and cinemas, the talents from Darjeeling have been contributing in a significant way. Thus the talent drain from Darjeeling is found to have been taking place from the early part of the fifth decades of twentieth century and the flow is due to the deprivation of opportunities and also lack of political and administrative support and backing.
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HYDRO- ELECTRIC POWER
When modern Japan and China were not aware of generating power from Water, the Darjeeling Municipality had hydro -electric power station in 1897 at Sidrabong. The supply of electric power from Sidrabong to Darjeeling had given the town a glittering look. People in their lore had compared it with the imaginative INDRAPURI the paradise of God Indra, but today the Indrapuri of bygone days has been made the most congested and unplanned hill town in India. The Sidrabong Hydro-electric power station, the first of its kind in Asia had eight sub-stations for supplying electric power to Darjeeling town and its surroundings. The revenue collected from the supply of electric power was used for meeting the salaries of the municipality staff, but the Sidrabong power house on being taken over by the West Bengal State Electricity Board in 1979, the plight of the Asia's first Hydro- Electric Power Station begins to be A VICTIM of the political and administrative power. Gradually moving from bad to worse, the Sidrabong Hydel Power Station had ultimately reached its horizon of oblivion, while surpassing the glorious history that it withholds in the annals of the hydro electric power in Asia and independent India. Instead of repairing, maintaining and modernizing Asia's first mini-hydel power station at Sidrabong, the Government of West Bengal in independent India moved with bigger vision in terms of hydro-electric power from the hills of Darjeeling. Similar fate has been met by Phaji Hydel Power Station, the first private power project initiated by Narabhup Rai and Padma Sunder Malla, which started three-phase power generation in 1935. In order to materialize the Stalinic bigger vision, the combined strength of the politician stationed at Writers and the technocrat of West Bengal had taken up an ambitious project called the Rammam Hydel Project for generating 300 MW Electricity and spent decades in the execution and implementation of the Rammam Hydel Project. The Government of Bhutan had also started construction of Chukha hydel project with loan and grant from India nearly two and half decades later than the Rammam Hydel Project. The Chukha project intending to generate 550 MW is seemed to have completed and is generating 300 MW ahead of its stipulated time. In spite of producing 300 MW only out of its target of 550 MW, it is said that the government of Bhutan had begun collecting 30 percent of its revenue through the sale of millions of units of power to India. The Chukha project that enabled the Government of Bhutan to fatten its treasury was completed within the scheduled time, carried and executed with the guidance and supervision of technician and engineers from West Bengal and India, but the Rammam Hydel Project started much earlier than the Chukha Project was completed after several decades later, with a power generating capacity of hardly 50 MW only when it was commissioned. The power thus produced in hilly region of Darjeeling is being taken uninterruptedly to the North Bengal Switch Yard located in the plains at a distance of more than one hundred and fifty kilometre from the point of generation. From there a little portion of the power is sent to Darjeeling from where it was taken. The plain areas have the facility of enjoying air condition during the heat of summer, but Darjeeling hill areas, from where the power is being taken to the plains, does not have fulsome accessibility of using heater during chilling winter despite the falling of temperature to zero or less than zero degrees Celsius during most of the winter season. In order to commission only the 50 MW out of its planned estimate to generate 300 MW, it took nearly two and half decades. The place of the project was Rimbick, a village under Pulbazar-Bijanbari Block of Darjeeling Subdivision, but the offices that could monitor the speedy execution of works were stationed at Siliguri and Kolkota. A neighbouring country China was lacking hydel power, while Darjeeling was ablaze with the power from water at the end of nineteenth century. Today China has started the construction of world's biggest hydel power station by harnessing her Yangtze River. In Darjeeling seeing the flow of several rivers and rivulet untapped, a visiting hydel power, experts from Japan was surprised and had termed the wastage of water as "FLOWING DOLLAR". The indigenous and other experts are of the view that perennial rivers and streams flowing from Darjeeling hills have a capacity of producing 3500 to 5000 MW POWER. And recently the National Hydel Power Corporation has undertaken the harnessing of river Teesta by constructing low dams at places for generating hydro electric power, but from the very start of the project a dispute related to undermining of ecological and environmental aspect has been raised from different quarters. The dispute has given raise to a possibility of submerging many villages situated on the national highway on the either side of river Teesta. In the midst of such dispute and controversy, the National Hydel power Corporation seemed least interested in enlisting support from the stratas of society excepting the favoured layer only. Thus the original home of hydel power generation in Asia is tottering with the fuel of dispute, controversy and the lack of taking all sections of people into confidence. The exercise of non-transparency maintained by the National Hydel Power Corporation has set to motion a sort of suspicion on the Teesta Low Dam Project.

The same National Hydel Power Corporation (NHPC) has undertaken the construction of Stages IV, V and VI with a generating capacity of 200 MW, 510 MW and 300 MW respectively in the State of SIKKIM. Further, it is heard that the NHPC has made an agreement with the Government of Sikkim for the supply of certain percentage of power out of total power generation to the state of Sikkim without any cost. But in case of TEESTA LOW DAM PROJECT with a proposal at 27th Mile, Kalijhora and Mungpong with a generating capacity of 130 MW, 110 MW and 340 MW respectively at places of the TEESTA RIVER flowing from the hill areas of Darjeeling no such agreement is seemed to have been made with any authority, but in order to execute the Teesta Low Dam Project, it is seen that the erstwhile Councillor of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council representing the area and his muscle men and also leaders and cadres of the ruling party mostly from Siliguri have seemed highly enthusiastic. On being certain of steam rolling with the enlisted support from the selected group, the NHPC has been carrying on the project, but the people engaged in Rafting in Teesta River are apprehensive of losing their livelihood after the completion of the project. They fear the possibility of the change of course by the river on account of submergence of several places of the present route of Teesta River. The diplomacy of political nature and other discernible endeavour pursued by the administrative mechanism of NHPC, in the execution of the project has been giving an ample scope for suspicion on the extent of future benefit to the place and its people. While, the project is in progress it has been marred with controversy and suspicion, but the extent of benefits and damages could only be felt and experienced by the people after the completion of the project and its commissioning.

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DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATION, POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION
It is known to all that there is paucity of drinking water in Darjeeling. The shortage of water is on the geometrical rise every year being unattended by the concerned authorities. The main water supply system for Darjeeling town was laid and carried by the British from Senchal Lake keeping in mind a target of ten thousand populations, but today the population of Darjeeling town as per 2001 census is one lakh and sixty thousand. During the British period the Senchal Lake was fed by twenty six perennial jhoras. Nowadays many of the Jhoras flowing to Senchal Lake have dried leading the lake's inability to meet the requirement of drinking water for increased population of Darjeeling Town, but the authority, in place of executing concrete plan and programme to cope with the challenge posed by the water scarcity, has had been carrying patch works of mishmash nature only. The offices of District Collectorate and the District Superintendent of Police have made arrangement for supplying of drinking water to the houses of their officials round the year by way of procuring the same from different Jhoras. The same practice is being followed by the Hotels, Holiday Homes and affluent classes of people of Darjeeling Town. Pedestrains are splashed by water tankers loaded with uncovered drums and plastic ‘Syntex’ drums. The Darjeeling Municipality being one of the oldest Municipalities in West Bengal also distributes drinking water during the dry season in places where water can be taken in vehicles. There occurs rush of water starved people resulting in push and pull and many a times spills into street brawls over a bucket of water, but the scene has been considered as a normal feature during the dry season in Darjeeling. If the scene had not been considered a normal feature then the authorities would have made arrangement of taking water carrying vehicles directly to Senchal Lake for filling it with sufficient water for making a fair distribution through pipes under Darjeeling Municipality, but such arrangements no publicity as compared to the distribution made at places with rush of people and their consternations. This publicity exercise enables to drawing the attention of the concerned level at Writer's for releasing necessary fund, otherwise the high drama of dry season seems impossible. In the enactment of high drama, the sponsorship of the Government of West Bengal has both explicit and implicit contribution. The contribution becomes discernible, when it makes publicity of Pumping of Water from Rungdung Khola to cater the need for drinking water in Darjeeling town. And at other time, it floats a proposal of bringing water from Balasan Khola, but despite Rungdung and Balasan Khola assurances the people of Darjeeling has been made Tantalus for the last two decades. It is also an irony of the fact that Sri Jyoti Basu had an intimate relation with Darjeeling as he is reported to have spent some time in the nearby villages of Darjeeling town during days of his underground sojourn. And after becoming the Chief Minister of the state, he used to make incessant visits to Darjeeling and on one such visit in the year 1995, he laid the foundation stone for providing adequate drinking water for Darjeeling from Rambi Khola. On that very day a cheque of rupees one lakh as instalment of advance from one of the contributors was handed over to the Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu on the very dais, but the Rambi Khola project till today has failed to see the light of the day. His worthy successor Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, in one of the visits to Darjeeling, in 2000, the local daily had carried a report of assurance made by him for providing solution to the water crisis of Darjeeling within six months. The crisis further worsened but the solution as contemplated by him did not appear in sight.

The above is the story of the severe dehydration as suffered by Darjeeling due to over dose of politics injected to the Queen of Hills, in independent India, by the successive authorities. And her cousin sister Kalimpong town too had to undergo the same fate with regards to drinking water problem. The authorities being aware of the drinking water scarcity in Kalimpong proposed an ambitious plan called the Neora Valley Project. This was drawn up in 1978-79 with project cost of rupees nine crores. But later "the project was revised to meet the needs of the Army, enroute civilian and Kalimpong town by bringing water from Neora and Dhowla sources by gravity and the estimates stood Rs. 22.45 crores: the execution was also started and the project was slated to be completed by 1992. The execution of the project was started by the PHE Department and there was a High Level Board, headed by the Commissioner of Jalpaiguri Division, consisting of representatives of the Central Government, the State Government, the Army, other officials including the Chairman of Kalimpong Municipality and the DM as the convener. Executive Engineer PHE based at Siliguri used to execute the work. During one meeting, the Army representative, one Major General, expressed his annoyance at the slow progress of the work. He requested the Board to transfer the project to the Army for execution considering the slow progress of the project and also the manner in which it was being supervised from Siliguri.

The plan was to bring 15 Lakh gallons of water daily to be shared in the ratio of 8:7 between the civilian and the Army and the sharing of fund was also in the ratio of 8:7 between the State Government and the Central Government. The project execution was gingerly slow and the cost was again revised to Rs. 31.25 crores in 1991 and in 1992, the sum rose to Rs. 34 crores. By the time it was more or less completed in 1995, the project had escalated much above Rs. 36 crores. The additional water now available from this project was reported to be much less than 8 Lakh gallons per day but there has been some relief at Kalimpong. Some parts of the projects like reservoir at Algarah are still to be completed. Lava Lake has developed cracks and water line to Pedong area is yet to be drawn up. Many officers and engineers have come and gone and even retired {some have died too} but the scheme has still not been completed" (D. T. Tamlong). Mr. D. T. Tamlong is the retired Additional District Magistrate, who was intimately connected with the much publicized Neora Water Supply Project for Kalimpong. Thus, it is clear from his writing on Neora Project as quoted above that the Government of West Bengal and its department could not provide the targeted water supply to the people of Kalimpong and the Army in spite of spending such huge amount of public money in a manner preferred by them. After a lapse of more than a quarter century the project has not been fully completed. And sometimes the idea of pumping water from Teesta River for making abundance drinking water for Kalimpong is also floated, but nothing concrete has taken place. It is not only the towns of Darjeeling which is experiencing water crisis but many of the rural areas also do not have potable water supply. The several villages being tired of prayer and petition have been compelled to have their own arrangement for water supply. The rural areas have many agencies for taking care of drinking water supply. Some of them are panchayat, Block development office, Tribal Department, DGHC, PHE etc. but despite the existence and functioning of so many departments for taking care of the rural population, the problems of potable water stands as ever. The Sri Sathya Sai Organisation of Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, India has been successful in providing free drinking water to lakhs of people in several villages in South India as a part of its volunteer service, but the Government of West Bengal is utterly failing in providing adequate drinking water facility to eight lakhs people of Darjeeling Hills for the reason best known to them. The Left Front Government of West Bengal has made some sort of a record for holding the reins of power for so long, but in solving the water crisis of Darjeeling there is no end to its loose talk and fake promises. In order to provide drinking water for Darjeeling town BALASAN PROJECT was in talk for several years. It was surveyed, planned and estimated for many times but it failed to materialise on account of paucity of fund. In the Lok Sabha Election, 2005, the Congress candidate Dawa Narbula assured of taking up the water crisis and its solution. Accordingly the political parties of Darjeeling Hills had provided him their support. The CPM and BJP despite not having their tangible support base had opposed the candidature of Dawa Narbula, but he got elected with a huge margin. He took up the matter with the central minister of water resources Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi who was also his political mentor. Local daily quoting Dawa Narbula had carried a report of sanctioning rupees fifty crore for execution of WATER PUMPING SCHEME FROM BALASAN for providing drinking water for the people of Darjeeling town, by the Government of India. After several months of that reportage a colourful advertisement of Public Health Engineering Department Government of West Bengal appeared in the same daily on 18th February, 2006 thereby informing the general public that the foundation stone laying ceremony of water pumping scheme from Balasan would be held at Chowrasta Darjeeling on 19th Feb 2006 at 3.30 P.M., by the Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacherjee. A three day public announcement through the mike made by the PHE Department in Darjeeling town and its surrounding areas along with pasting of several posters to appeal before the people with a request to be present on the day of the foundation stone laying ceremony at Chowrastra, {the Mall} which is situated thirty kilometre away from the actual site of the proposed project, but there was no mention in the advertisement, miking and posters, the name of Dawa Narbula, M.P and his initiative in sanctioning the amount. The ceremony took place as scheduled and was presided by West Bengal PHE Minister in presence of the Municipal Affairs Minister, Ashok Bhattacherjee, the DGHC caretaker Chairman, Subash Ghisingh and a host of GNLF LEADERS. A report in the local daily appeared on 20th Feb 2006 that Dawa Narbula, M.P being present on the dais was not given a chance to address and was subsequently ignored and disparaged, he left the venue and expressed resentment and anguish for not acknowledging Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on whose recommendation the funding was available. No reaction or comment came from the host and organiser of the programme. The All India Gorkha League issued a statement stating the foundation laying programme as a gimmick and ploy of CPM and GNLF for the ensuing Assembly Election of West Bengal. Later on, the spending of twenty lakh Rupees by the PHE Department in organising the foundation stone laying ceremony at Chowrastra became the talk of the town. After a year of the foundation laying ceremony of the Balasan River Project the thirsty people saw a ray of hope in THE FEDERATION OF SOCIETIES FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION {FOSEP} a non-government organisation as it received a huge amount from Japan for making water supply to the people of Darjeeling. The organisation has opted for making arrangement of drinking water for people of Pokhriabong valley that is a rural area of Darjeeling hill. From the month of July, 2007, the road leading to the proposed site of Balasan Project via Rungmuck Tea Garden was repaired giving the impression as the start of the project, but the environmentalists, NGOs and the FOSEP have raised a question as to the suitability of water from Balasan for drinking purpose. They pointed out that the location of the Balasan Project which is situated at the bottom of Tea Gardens where waters from Nine Tea Gardens flow. The residue, dregs and dross of insecticides, pesticides, fertilizer and other chemicals used by those nine tea gardens would one way or other reach Balasan River through the different stream, Jhora and rain water. The Balasan Project does not contain any plan and scheme for the Filtration and Water Treatment Plant before its distribution. Further they believe that the water was not tested to detect whether it was for human consumption prior to the drawing the plan and scheme of the project. Thus, the Balasan Project seemed to be entangled into a controversy of serious technical nature relating to the hygienic prospect, but the water starved population of Darjeeling seemed least interested on the question of possible intake of contaminated water and its side effects on the future generation. However, the government seemed least serious or interested to take a note of the techinical points as raised by FOSEP. Though, their concern was of utmost importance to ensure a clean, pure and hygenic water distribution system in the larger publc interest.
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