I Love Siliguri - ILS

Late television actress Pratyusha Banerjee, who passed away on April 1 last year, is all set to come back in the form of a short film. Pratyusha last shot for a project 'Hum Kuchh Keh Naa Sakey' one and half months before she committed suicide. The film never released because of what followed later. But now her best friend and TV actress Kamya Punjabi has decided to pay Pratyusha a beautiful tribute. She will be releasing Pratyusha's film online on her first death anniversary. The film, which features Pratyusha in the lead, bears an uncanny resemblance to her real life. To begin with, the subject revolves around heartbreak and depression, which were allegedly the reasons behind her drastic step. Kamya says, "Though a work of fiction, it will seem quite similar to what Pratyusha must have gone through. She will be seen heartbroken, resorting to vices like drinking and smoking. As a narrator, I will interlink her reel and real lives, and question viewers on why peopl

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha yesterday desperately tried to nullify the advantage that the hill Trinamul had received from Mamata Banerjee's announcement that a land survey would be conducted for residents of Mirik municipality. The Morcha that questioned the need for the survey, however, said it would be a good move for the hill people. Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, yesterday said: "The announcement is good as it is our own people who will get land rights. However, we have apprehensions that it might just be a political stunt before civic elections. Survey of Mirik municipality area was done in 2011 by the Left Front government and if the government is sincere, it should immediately distribute land rights." Official sources admitted that such a survey had been conducted. Giri's statement is an indicator that the Morcha is desperately trying to nullify the impact of Mamata's announcement. While announcing the upgrade of Mirik block to a subd

On December 7th, a 15 year old girl child was coerced and raped by Tarun Dev Rai, after which he threatened the child with dire consequences if she spoke about it to anyone. Terrified the child kept quiet, until she couldn’t take it anymore and spoke about it to her friends, and family. Darjeeling’s leading child protection organization MARG Ngo Darjeeling came to know about the incident and sent counselors to meet with the child. Following which, an FIR was lodged on the 30th of December 2016. The case was handed over to IO Sabita Lama of Kurseong Police, and she has diligently investigated the case. She has charged Tarun Dev Rai under Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Kurseong court has issued an arrest warrant against him. However, Tarun Dev Rai has gone absconding and the police have been unable to trace him. Speaking over the phone with TheDC, IO Ms. Sabita Lama stated, “Once the case was registered, we conducted the medical examination of the

Opposition parties in the hills yesterday strongly condemned the remarks of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung who had appeared to suggest that the two Gorkha representatives in the Indian Constituent Assembly were not dedicated enough towards the cause of separate state for the community. Gurung in his remarks had said but for the mistakes made by Damber Singh Gurung and Ari Bahadur Gurung, both of whom were members of the Constituent Assembly at different times in the 1940s, the Gorkhas wouldn't have been reduced to begging for a separate state till today. "I feel ashamed to call myself a Gurung. Had Ari Bahadur Gurung and Damber Singh Gurung dedicated something to this land for our sake, maybe, we wouldn't have been begging like this... I have to make up for the mistake they made. I have to rectify their mistake. Had they rectified themselves then, I wouldn't have to beg like this," he had said while addressing a small function to lay the foundatio

The putrefied carcass of a full grown female elephant was found at Moraghat range of Dooars. The carcass was sighted lying near Kalapani river by forest workers during a routine visit, Wildlife warden Seema Chowdhury said. It was, however, yet to be known when the elephant died, Chowdhury, who visited the sport along with Jalpaiguri district forest officer Bidyut Sarkar said. Meanwhile, wildlife NGOs here have alleged laxity by forest department as the carcass was not sighted during the three-day elephant census that ended on March 29. Sarkar said the allegation will be looked into. West Bengal Forest Minister Benoy Krishna Burman said the elephant had died of old age.

Mayor Asok Bhattacharya announced Wriddhiman Saha, an Indian cricket player, as the ambassador of the cleanliness campaign of Siliguri Municipal Corporation. The ace cricketer's selection as the face of the cleanliness drive is little surprising for sports enthusiasts in the town as Bhattacharya is known to have good relations with former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly. The campaign will be launched on April 10. "The mayor had brought Ganguly to Siliguri for various events. Even recently, the former cricketer had visited the mayor's home. It is surprising that Bhattacharya has chosen Wriddhiman over Sourav for the campaign," a sports enthusiast of Siliguri said. The mayor said: "We have decided to start a cleanliness drive across Siliguri and Wriddhiman Saha will be our ambassador for the drive. He is an iconic face of the town because of his consistent performance in the Indian cricket team." Wriddhiman hails from Siliguri. "The campaign's slo

Daily Horoscope (April 1 2017) Aries (March 21 – April 19) Don’t be afraid of the fire today, Aries. Instead, embrace it and incorporate more of it into your life. Certain people may intimidate you at first, but that doesn’t mean you should run away from the scene. More than likely this feeling of intimidation is a signal that there’s something you need to learn from that person or situation. Stick around and pay attention. Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Tackle things that require high energy today, Taurus. This is your day to make short work of chores, errands, or any sort of physical activity. Patience is the thing that you will lack, if anything, but don’t worry, because your strengths lie elsewhere now. Your heart is apt to sing once you get going on a personal project about which you feel passionate. Gemini (May 21 – June 20) Even though you feel most comfortable when things are organized and meticulous, Gemini, you’re going to need to be flexible. Allow room for surprise and ad

H.E Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, was received at Palam Technical Airport at 5:30 PM today, by Shri S.S. Ahluwalia, Hon’ble Minister of State for Agriculture, Farmers’ Welfare & Parliamentary Affairs, Govt. of India. The Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi has nominated Shri S.S. Ahluwalia as Minister to Receive & See-off the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and represent the Union Govt. in State Functions in New Delhi. H.E Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, is on a State Visit to India till 4th April 2017.  The Prime Minister of Malaysia, His Excellency Dato Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, is visiting India between 30 March – 04 April 2017 accompanied by his wife, Datin Sri Rosmah Mansour. This is his third visit to India as Prime Minister of Malaysia, the last one being in the year 2012. The visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, follows the highly successful visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri N

Based on a complaint, the Police on Friday arrested one trader from Kolkata's Karaya area for allegedly selling 'plastic' made eggs to his customers, officials said. According to reports, a middle-aged woman, Anita Kumar, lodged a complaint at Karaya Police Station against a local shopkeeper alleging that the man sold her artificial eggs, which were dangerous for health. After starting probe into the matter, city police's enforcement branch on Thursday late evening detained the accused trader, Shamim Ansari, and after hour-long interrogation, he was arrested on Friday morning. An senior official of Kolkata Police told IBNS that fraud and criminal conspiracy charges have been slapped on Shamim Ansari. However, arrested seller of 'plastic' eggs was produced in a local court at Alipore on Friday and was sent to police custody for four days. Meanwhile, understanding the importance of the matter, Kolkata Mayor Shovan Chatterjee has ordered his officials to inves

The SC clarified that the order would apply to bars and pubs and restaurants as well. If the ban does not apply to these categories then the objective of preventing drunken driving is lost. The SC however said that there would be a relaxation for a municipal area of less than a population of 20,000. The limit in such areas has been reduced to 220 metres instead of 500 metres, the SC also observed. The SC clarified that the order would apply to bars and pubs and restaurants as well. If the ban does not apply to these categories then the objective of preventing drunken driving is lost. The SC however said that there would be a relaxation for a municipal area of less than a population of 20,000. The limit in such areas has been reduced to 220 metres instead of 500 metres, the SC also observed. The SC also said that states such as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which have a different excise year, the vends can continue operations till the licences expire on September 30. The distance rule

Sikkim Police has reported that a woman from Pakyong has been duped of Rs. 20 Lakhs by a 'FRIEND' she had made on facebook. The victim had established friendship with one Louis Lucas of London in the year 2015 who subsequently assured her working visa for United Kingdom as the victim wanted to go there to work. In order to obtain the visa, the alleged person had reportedly asked the victim to deposit money as fees in several instalments into various accounts which were in names of different persons. The unsuspecting victim trusted her online friend and deposited around 20 Lakhs in the bank accounts provided to her. Since many months had passed, the victim was not provided with the working visa she was promised, she requested the alleged person for a refund but he refused to do so and stopped taking her calls and became incommunicado thereafter. A complaint has been received at CID Police Station, Gangtok where a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy has been registered and

Artificial plastic eggs were seized from a seller in Kolkata’s Tiljala area on Thursday after a woman complained about eggs which smelled of plastic upon cooking to the civic body and consumer affairs department. Acting on the basis of a complaint made by woman residing in the Kareya Police Station area, police later detained egg-seller Mohammed Shamin Ansari from Tiljala and seized eggs and sent them for testing. According to Anita Kumar, the “fake egg” had a strange “plastic-like quality” when it was spread out on a pan. “I tested my suspicion by putting a match to it and it caught fire. The shell also looked plastic. I was sure that this was not natural and, being a mother, I felt I should alert the public,” Anita said. “One of my family members was complaining about uneasiness whenever she was having these eggs,’ she added. Mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay, who ordered a probe into the matter, said, “I have heard about plastic eggs but never thought of seeing them in the city. We ar

Mamata Banerjee tossed a trump card that could checkmate the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha by announcing that the state government would conduct a survey on granting land rights to the residents of a tea garden in Mirik municipal area. Around 70 per cent of the nearly 8.75 lakh hill people live in tea gardens and cinchona plantations and don't have right to the plots where their families have been living for generations. However, the chief minister today just spoke about the survey for people without land rights in six-seven wards of Mirik municipality. "We will conduct a survey to address the land problem that you have in Mirik town. The survey is needed as we will have to get a clear picture, find out who has what, a shop or a residential house. After the survey, we will take an official decision so that you get an address of your own. We will find out a solution to your problem," Mamata said, drawing a huge applause from a gathering that came here to witness her declaratio

Mamata Banerjee tossed a trump card that could checkmate the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha by announcing that the state government would conduct a survey on granting land rights to the residents of a tea garden in Mirik municipal area. Around 70 per cent of the nearly 8.75 lakh hill people live in tea gardens and cinchona plantations and don't have right to the plots where their families have been living for generations. However, the chief minister today just spoke about the survey for people without land rights in six-seven wards of Mirik municipality. "We will conduct a survey to address the land problem that you have in Mirik town. The survey is needed as we will have to get a clear picture, find out who has what, a shop or a residential house. After the survey, we will take an official decision so that you get an address of your own. We will find out a solution to your problem," Mamata said, drawing a huge applause from a gathering that came here to witness her declaratio

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has threatened to call a 24-hour general strike in the Darjeeling hills if the state government fails to stop the construction of a tourist lodge at Tiger Hill. Binay Tamang, the GTA Sabha member and also the assistant secretary of the Morcha, today said: "The GTA chief executive, Bimal Gurung, has written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, requesting her intervention to stop the construction at Tiger Hill. We will wait for a favourable response. If we fail to get a positive assurance within a week, we will also approach the Supreme Court and call a 24 hour general strike." The West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited has undertaken a Rs 40 crore project to build four cottages, 20 double bedrooms and a 20-bed dormitory at Tiger Hill, 14km from here and at an altitude of about 8000ft. Tourists flock to Tiger Hill, situated 14km from here and at an altitude of about 8000ft, to see the sunrise and early morning rays getting reflected on M

Daily Horoscope (March 31 2017) Aries (March 21 – April 19) A sudden burst of physical energy and determination could lead to additional income for you, Aries. This is probably due to an unexpected opportunity to do some extra work outside the scope of your usual employment. It could also be a long overdue payment for past work. You could also receive acknowledgement of some kind for work well done, further firing your enthusiasm. Go for the gold! Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Friends or a group with which you’re affiliated could propose a trip. This might seem like a great adventure, Taurus, so you’re likely to go for it. You will probably have a wonderful time. You might make some new friends while you’re away, or even fall in love. A little break might fire your enthusiasm for pursuing career or educational opportunities when you return. Go for it! Gemini (May 21 – June 20) An opportunity to do some extra work outside the scope of your regular job could present itself to you. Ta

In an extremely shocking and hard to believe incident, a teacher of a Junior High School got pregnant by her 13-yr student. 24 years old Alexandria Vera admitted that she was in a physical relationship with the boy since September. She started flirting with him during summer camp where she met him for the first time. As per the teacher, they were engaged with his family’s consent and they knew it all.   When the boy didn’t come to school, Alexandria shared her number with him on Instagram and it’s from there that the duo indulged in a relationship. He asked her for hang out for which she easily agreed and then they almost daily used to indulge in the act of intercourse. They had their first physical encounter when Alexandria went to drop him to his home and co-incidentally his family was not there and hence, they got a chance for it. After that, it used to happen almost every day. After s* xually abusing the guy for long, she got pregnant but even after that, the duo did

The Chief Minister is scheduled to declare Mirik a sub-division of Darjeeling district at an official programme on Thursday.  Mirik was earlier a block under the Darjeeling district. Mirik is an important tourist destination and several lakh tourists visit the hill town every year for its beautiful lake. During an administrative review meeting at Pintail Village in Darjeeling, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that her government would lay stress on the development of tea gardens and food processing industry in the Darjeeling hills. On the third day of her visit to north Bengal, the Chief Minister said that efforts were being made to develop IT industry in the hills. She said that soon the hills people would see various employment opportunities open up. Later, she told a press conference that people in the Darjeeling hills wanted peace and development and her government would make every effort to bring them in. The CM also promised to solve the perennial problem of low vo

Bengal Chief Minister chaired an administrative review meeting for Jalpaiguri district at Sarojendra Deb Raykat Kala Kendra today where she took stock of various development projects. Later in the day, the Chief Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for several projects during a public meeting. She also distributed benefits among people of the district. She announced the formation of a medical college in Jalpaiguri. The projects inaugurated by the CM include a mobile animal treatment unit, seven long-distance buses of North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC), a women’s police station and a residential complex for sub-inspectors. The newly constructed building of Banarhat police station and barrack was also inaugurated by the Chief Minister. During her speech, the CM said that the natural beauty of Jalpaiguri was unmatched. She laid stress on tourism in the district and said Gajoldoba was a ‘dream project’ that would attract tourists from all over the world.  Sh

Management of Tirrihannah Tea Estate in Naxalbari block announced suspension of work in the main division of the garden yesterday, following the confinement and assault of the managerial staff by some labourers last evening. The regular activities were, however, normal in Jabra and Mohanlal, the two other divisions of the estate. A division in a tea estate means an area of plantation, located at a distance from the principal infrastructure of the garden, the factory and offices. There is separate workforce in each division. The factory and offices usually come under the main division. A notice issued on behalf of the manager, Amlan Kusum Garai, said because of the attack on him and some other managerial staff by guard Ramesh Biswakarma and worker Mehmood Ansari, along with others, suspension of work had been announced in the main division. Biswanath Ghosh, the factory manager of the garden, has filed a complaint at Bagdogra police station, naming Biswakarma, who is a leader of the

Mamata Banerjee yesterday said the state government would ensure that peace and democracy prevailed across the Darjeeling hills ahead of and during different elections slated to be held in the region over the next six months. "Civic polls will be held in the hills soon. Panchayat and GTA elections will also be conducted this year. There is peace in the hills now and we want the entire election process to be carried out in a democratic manner. People in the hills want peace and development. It is our responsibility to ensure that peace and a complete democratic environment persist in the hills," the Bengal chief minister said at Pintail Village here yesterday afternoon. Mamata was speaking to the media after attending a meeting to review the administrative matters pertaining to Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts. While polls to four hill municipalities - Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik - are scheduled for May, panchayat elections have been due for many years. Elec

Daily Horoscope (March 30 2017) Aries (March 21 – April 19) You may sense that the actions around you are fueled by selfish motives. You may be the only one who really sees what’s going on, Aries. You feel like an observer on a mountain looking down with disdain on the people below. You understand the politics of the situation, yet from your high vista you feel powerless to implement effective change. Collect data now and act later. Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Take action that will help you find greater freedom in your life, Taurus. In an attempt to please the people around you, you may be giving up too much of yourself. Before you know it, you may be in shackles connected to people, situations, and commitments that you can’t seem to extricate yourself from. Use today to free yourself from these chains. Gemini (May 21 – June 20) You may have to consciously let go of some of your plans, Gemini, and simply leave things up to chance. The element of the unexpected can help you out qui

Great news. Anju Tamang 19 years old from Birpara in Dooars has been selected for the Indian National Senior Women Football Team. She will be representing INDIA for the A.F.C Cup which is going to be held in North KOREA. She had been called for the trails on the basis of her performance at Women National  League. She attented the trail from Febuary 28 to March 28 at Goa. Its a proud moment for entire North Bengal, DarjeelingHills and Sikkim. The team will be leaving for S.Korea on 30th March tomorrow. We think she is the first girl from our region to play an International match for the National team. Congratulations Anju, May God Make You Victorious. Do SHARE and wish her all the best.. Read More: OUR DAUGHTERS, OUR PRIDE: Anju Tamang 1st Woman Football Player From Darjeeling-Dooars Selected to Play for Indian National Team On January 27, 2015 when we sent a "Shout Out" to Ms. Anju Tamang and wished her luck in her footballing career, the very first comment by Rezeem R

West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday afternoon arrested three suspected arms traffickers from a hotel in Kolkata's Kidderpore area and seized a huge sachets of ammunition from their possessions, officials said on Wednesday. According to reports, acting on a tip off, a team of CID raided a guest house near Kidderpore Fancy Market area and made the arrests and ammunition recovery. "Based on credible source inputs, we carried out raid at Arshad Guest House near Kidderpore Fancy Market at around 12:50 pm on Tuesday and recovered as many as 69 rounds of cartridges from a hotel room," a CID official said. "We have booked three illegal arms traffickers, including this ammunition trafficking racket's key operator Jamirul Hasan alias Vicky and his close aids- Md. Sabbir and Md. Tarik, from the guest house. They all are residents of Bihar," the official added. A senior official of Bengal CID said that the nabbed persons used to traffic il

Class X students of a school here ransacked the institute and raised a three-hour road blockade after the headmaster had told them that not all of them would be provided with bicycles under the state government's Sabuj Sathi scheme today as promised earlier. The students rampaged through Haiderpara Buddhabharati High School on a day chief minister Mamata Banerjee distributed bicycles among children under the scheme in Jalpaiguri, 45km from the scene of the violence. At the school in Haiderpara under ward 40 of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, students who had just appeared for Madhyamik arrived this morning to receive bicycles. They had been waiting for the cycles for the past two years. As they went to Swapnendu Nandi, the headmaster, he informed them that the school had not yet received enough bicycles and could hand over the "Sabuj Sathi" to only some of them. "We need 286 bicycles to distribute among the students who appeared for Madhyamik this year. However,

The Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs, S.S. Ahluwalia, will inaugurate the Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) at Matigara, on the outskirts of Siliguri town, on April 18. "The PSLK in Siliguri will be inaugurated on April 18. We are taking all necessary arrangements so that it starts working in a full-fledged manner from the first day," said Bibhuti Bhusan Kumar, the regional passport officer of Calcutta. While the complete task of processing passport applications will be conducted at the Matigara centre, the passports will be issued from Calcutta. "Initially, the number of appointments allowed per day will be around 100. In due course, we will revise the number depending on the inflow of applications," an official said. At present, north Bengal residents travel to Calcutta, Behrampore or Gangtok to get their passports done or to renew old passports.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at an administrative meeting in North Bengal, asked its government officials to act firmly to counter the child trafficking racket that has raised the storm in the state's politics of late, according to media reports on Tuesday. CM has asked Block Development Officer (BDO), police as well as social welfare department of the government to monitor the situation and the complaints that are coming up. Ensuring justice to each complain received, Mamata said: No one should be spared in the case of child trafficking. Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Juhi Chowdhury was arrested over the charge of child trafficking who was later removed from the party. The child trafficking case has also hit Rajya Sabha once as Congress MP Rajni Patil alleged an involvement of BJP MP Roopa Ganguly into the case without taking the latters name.

A tough-talking Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday indicated she wouldn't brook delays in completing development work. While reviewing works of the North Bengal Development Department(NBDD) executed over the past six years, the chief minister at one point even rapped Goutam Deb, the state tourism minister. Deb was the north Bengal development minister during 2011-'16. "During his tenure as the NBDD minister, most work was done for Siliguri and his constituency — Dabgram-Phulbari. He had failed to execute his duty as a minister of Bengal. He was more a minister of his homeground. Now, Rabi (Rabindranath Ghosh) is the NBDD minister. It's understandable that he will prefer Cooch Behar more than the other north Bengal districts," Banerjee said, replying to Maynaguri MLA Ananta Deb Adhikary. Banerjee instructed Deb to expedite the Gajoldoba tourism project, which recently got a nod from the court. "It is our dream project. The court has lifted the injunction. I would l

Hitting out at Bharatiya Janata Party,West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while speaking in a public gathering, said she does not believe in a religion that restricts people from loving one another, on Tuesday. Speaking in favour of religious tolerance, Mamata said: I do not believe in a religion that restricts people from loving one another rather believes in one that enables to love ones own religion and respect others. Mamata,who was present at a host of administrative meetings in Jaipaiguri on Tuesday,did not spare BJP for spreading religious intolerance in the state. Our culture is to live with all people irrespective of religion, she said. BJP has earlier alleged the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal for appeasement politics. Rejecting such allegations, TMC supremo urged people and said: Do not indulge any religious temptations.Our constitution speaks for a secular country. TMC is not a communal political party. Earlier on Tuesday, Mamata expressed her c

The wicketkeeper-batsman was India’s unsung hero in their 2-1 series triumph over Australia Wriddhiman Saha made his first-class debut for Bengal in November 2007. In a match that Bengal drew, he scored a century on debut. A first-class century on debut by a wicket-keeper. Ponder on that for a moment. It’s not something which happens every day. It’s a feat that could have easily made the headlines if it happened today. Unfortunately for Saha, just two months before his feat, Indian cricket had its biggest moment in the sun, till then. A long-haired wicketkeeper-batsman named Mahendra Singh Dhoni had led India to their first global title in 24 years. They had won the World Twenty20 in South Africa. That was it for any chances in the national team for any aspiring keeper. Dhoni’s star kept becoming bigger and bigger, he became one of Indian cricket’s biggest heroes. And the Bengal keeper from Siliguri went quietly back to the domestic game and kept plugging away. He did get a few ch

Bangladesh Railway has taken the initiative to begin reconstruction on the defunct line between Chilahati to the Haldibarhi border in West Bengal’s Coochbehar. The Indian government, in turn, will construct a new track between the border and Haldibari station. The rail line from Chilahati to Haldibari was stopped during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. Once construction is complete,  trains will run from Chilahati to Darjeeling via Siliguri. Once the line is re-established it will be easier to import petroleum and stone from India, Bangladesh Railway Director General Amjad Hossain said. Businesses in both countries will gain greatly from the initiative, he added. The Bangladesh railway has submitted a proposal for an approximately Tk 781 million (Tk is Bangladesh currency, taka) project to build the 9.5 km new broad-gauge rail line from Chilahati to the Haldibari border. The rail division hopes to begin work on the project this July, finish construction work within one-and-a-half year

Liquor Shops along highways hearing Today in Supreme Court , will Liquor ban be revoked along highway or be continued The Supreme Court will today hear a batch of petitions seeking modification of its December 2016 order banning liquor shops within 500 metres of state and national highways across the country. A bench, comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, is expected to hear the matter. On Tuesday, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court that the apex court judgement, ordering the closure of liquor vends alongside highways, will come into effect from April 1 and this leads to a situation where an urgent hearing is needed. The apex court, in its December 15, 2016, judgement, ordered a ban on all liquor shops on national as well as state highways across the country and had made clear that licences of existing shops will not be renewed after March 31 next year. The verdict had come on a PIL alleging that nearly 1.42 lakh people died per year in road mishaps an

Rows of multi-coloured tulips in full bloom is a sight to behold, and the lucky recent visitors to the picturesque Deolo Hills near here have been gorging on the veritable feast for the eyes. The tulip bulbs were planted in the expansive gardens of the Deolo Tourist Lodge, 5km from here, in December last year on an experimental basis, and they are in bloom now. The tourism department of the GTA had engaged Himalayan Florica, a Delhi-based company, to introduce tulip flowers in the hills to add another attraction for tourists visiting the hills during the spring. Neeraj Chhetri, the proprietor of Himalayan Florica, said he had spoken to GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung on introducing tulips in the hills some time last year. "Within days of my meeting with him, the GTA chief accepted the proposal and we chose three places to start tulip plantations on a trial basis. Apart from Deolo, we have planted tulips at Lal Kothi and Shrubbery Park in Darjeeling. While the flowers started