Common People Common Voice

By Kesang Tamang: Guards Ground, located at Tathangchen, near West Point Sr. Sec. School has became an important venues for most of the activities that are being held in the capital these days. Right from the morning till evening, this playground is full with boys and girls indulging themselves in different sports. It is also a venue for organizing different Fair and Exhibitions. But has anyone tried to find out why is it called by the name Guards Ground? Most of the people from Sikkim are well acquainted with the fact where this name comes from. But still many are unaware of the origin of the name. The story dates back to the time when there used to be a Chogyal or Monarch system in Sikkim. Sikkim used to be an independent kingdom. Right above the Ground, there is a “Palace” which used to be residence of the then king of Sikkim and the Guard Ground used to be a camp where Royal Guards of Chogyals used to reside. The building of West Point School used to be different Administrat...

MINI- An untold story of a great Indian footballer  Our region ,the hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim has over the years produced plenty of talented footballers, but most of us are not aware of them, especially the players from yester years. Late Chandan Singh Rawat’s name comes first to my mind. He was a great player born in Darjeeling and went on to play for India .Then it was Late Pem Dorjee who was a talented Stopper who played for almost all the big clubs and even captained the Indian National team. He was from Kalimpong but later on settled in Sikkim. I know the names of other players too but have very limited details about them. But I could meet one of them in my recent visit to Kalimpong, He was an exceptional forward of his times. The details are as follows- It was in 2007 when I had gone to Kalimpong and played in the league there that I had first heard about this Gentleman from my friend. He had told me that this man was like a legend there and people used to floc...

Survey points to TB pill violation    60% prescriptions do not follow dosage rules, says study : G.S. MUDUR  New Delhi, May 5: Nearly 60 per cent of tuberculosis medication dose strengths sold in India through prescriptions of private practitioners do not conform with standard TB treatment guidelines, a study has revealed. The findings corroborate suggestions made by some Indian doctors — several times over the past two decades — that a majority of private practitioners do not write correct prescriptions for treating TB. The government’s TB control programme provides free TB treatment to more than 70 per cent of patients. In the new study, US-based researchers analysed the sales of TB drugs in India and nine other countries, examining sales only driven by the private sector. “Sixty per cent of the pills sold (in the private market) can’t be aligned with the standard guidelines,” said William Wells, a public health specialist with TB Alliance...

Dharamsala, Apr 25 (PTI) The Chief Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration will announce the final results of the elections of Prime Minister and the members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile on April 27. Chief Election Commissioner Jampal Choesang and Additional Election Commissioners Geshe Rigzin Choedak and Yangkho Gyal will announce the results, a spokesman of the Administration said today. The final round of polling for the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and 3rd directly elected Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) was conducted on March 20 this year. The Tibetan community in India, North America, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Poland, Japan, Russia, Taiwan and Australia had participated in the process. A total of 83,399 Tibetans had registered to exercise their franchise. Earlier, in the preliminary round held on October 3 October last year, out of 79,449 registered voters, 61 per cent of voters cast their ballots. ...

A model state of the country and next Switzerland of the east, these are the part of a vision that State Government has set for itself by 2015. But that line of vision still seems to be blurred. Why? NARESH CHETTRI reports. Just 2 kilometers away from the bustling capital comes a dallying, Luing busty at Bhotay Gaon. This place is yet to see any developments that are the benchmarks for Sikkim becoming a model state. The area faces the unavailability of drinking water for past one year. Locals told reporter that the taps installed in the area completely dried up no more throws water. “It is like a beautiful body without a soul” stated an elderly local. They locals informed that they have taken up the task on their own hand and have bought their own rubber pipe coils and taken the water from the natural springs from Devithans and elsewhere and sharing among various households around the busty. The locals have made various water tanks entirely on their expense at natural sp...

By: Kesang Tamang Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Sikkim Chapter in a move to display its solidarity towards Tsunami affected people of Japan set up a fund raising stall at Titanic Park, Gangtok on 19 th March 2011. UPF an international organization with it’s headquarter in USA, has been working in Sikkim since very long time. The fund raising program was headed by UPF Sikkim Chapter Vice President, Mr. Nima Theeng, UPF Sikkim Chapter Director Mr. Dhendup Sherpa and other members. GMC Mayor, Mr. K.N.Topgay accompanied by Deputy Mayor and Ward Councilors also donated generously for the cause. Later in the evening, they hold a candle light prayer for the people of Japan hit by Earthquake and Tsunami. Religious heads from different religious institutions and the gatherings prayed for an end to the miseries and sufferings caused by the radiation leakage from the nuclear accident at Fukishima, Daichi after the Earthquake. In this move to raise funds, a group of students from Sikkim...

Written Examination for the post of Graduate Teachers (Arts, Science, Math) which was to be conducted by Sikkim Public Service Commission (SPSC) was held on 26 th February 2011 after a much long controversy over the past month. One may note that the exam for same was to be held on 15, 16, 17 & 18 of February and the Admit Card for the same was to be issued from 3 rd to 12 th February. But in the mean time SPSC came up with the notification that only those candidates attaining 45% and above will be allowed to sit for the examination and the same was not mentioned during the time of advertisement. Around 3,000 candidates applied for the post of 298 Graduate Teachers. This statement by SPSC heated the situation and various Associations, Organizations and Individuals protested against the decision of SPSC, which led exam to halt. After facing criticisms after criticisms on its improper functioning, SPSC relaxed the percentage (%) criteria upto 40%. Strict guidelines were gi...