MERRY CHRISTMAS

Debashis Bhaumik, Maharaja Harendra Narayan Road, Patakura (Near
Bundh), Cooch Behar-736101 (West Bengal).
E-mail : newsman.cob@gmail.com
Phone : 9434256600 / 8509784534
Webpage : http://tinyurl.com/coochbehar
Skype : debashisbhaumik

SABITRI LODGE

Cooch Behar Heritage Society draws attention of West Bengal Governor
Mr MK Narayanan over the sorry state of Sabitri Lodge, a heritage building situated in
Cooch Behar. The Governor is expected to visit Cooch Behar on 26
December to attend a programme at a school. Here is the letter :

Dec 24, 2011
Shri MK Narayanan
His Excellency the Governor
West Bengal

Your Excellency,
I, on behalf of the Cooch Behar Heritage Society, beg to draw your
kind attention to the critical status of historic Sabitri Lodge of
Cooch Behar and seek your kind intervention immediately in this
matter. The building, at the heart of the town of Cooch Behar, is
presently under the jurisdiction of Public Works Department of West
Bengal and occupied by some police officials.

Sabitri Lodge was built 125 years ago by Kumar Gajendra Narayan
Senior, a barrister of Calcutta High Court and a cousin of Maharaja
Sir Nripendra Narayan of Cooch Behar. Gajendra, the great grandson of
Maharaja Harendra Narayan, married the second daughter of Brahmananda
Keshab Chandra Sen while Sen's eldest daughter, Sunity was married to
Maharaja Nripendra. It was following the marriage that the Brahmo
Samaj got divided.
Kumar Gajendra, the secretary of Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj of Cooch
behar, named the newly constructed house Sabitri Lodge after his
beloved wife. A school was set up here to teach moral education to the
boys and girls of Cooch Behar. Later, in 1908, a technical school was
established for local womenfolk. Aryya Nari Samaj and Band of Hope
Wing for anti liquor campaign in the state were also launched here.
The building was for a certain period of time a shelter for the great
reformers of India.

After the demise of Maharaja Sir Nripendra on 18th September, 2011 the
situation got adverse for Kumar Gajendra. Anti Brahmo feelings grew
manifold. Kumar Gajendra and his family members had to go in exile
following a complaint of theft. Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das,
Atulprosad Sen and several other barristers came here to fight the
legal battle for the family and stayed in the Lodge for many times
then. The charges were later proved to be baseless and were
subsequently withdrawn but Kumar Gajendra never returned to his
homeland.
We pray to Your Excellency to be kind enough to look into the matter
so that this historic two storied building be renovated and granted
heritage status.

With deepest regards,

Yours faithfully,

Arupjyoti Majumdar
Secretary
Cooch Behar Heritage Society
395 Biswasingha Rd,, Cooch Behar 736 101, West Bengal .

An earlier letter :






Dec 20, 2011
Shri MK Narayanan
The Hon’ble Governor
West Bengal

Your Excellency,

Cooch Behar was once a princely state in British India and merged with West Bengal in 1950. Lots of archival materials of the state period having immense historical value are still scattered in different offices of PWD, collectorate, judiciary etc. Though this district has a record room, it is not well maintained since long. For instance, a letter recommended by Vidyasagar and written by Michael Madhusudan Dutt to Maharaja Narendra Narayan of Cooch Behar for a candidature in Cooch Behar Court in 1860 was here but this priceless document is not traceable now.

These records also have immense historical value as they throw light on inter- state relations and relation of the British throne with the Royal family of Cooch Behar. Moreover, erstwhile state of Cooch Behar had its own administration, some laws exclusively of her own. These documents are valuable sources for research workers.

Under the circumstances Cooch Behar Heritage Society proposes to set up an archive in Cooch Behar for proper preservation of the same for future.


With deepest regards,


(Arupjyoti Majumdar)
Secretary
Cooch Behar Heritage Society

GREATER COOCH BEHAR

'Greater Cooch Behar' supremo Bangshi Badan came out on bail

After a long legal deliberation the once supremo of 'Greater Cooch
Behar' movement Mr Bangshi Badan Barman came out from behind the iron
bars on bail on Friday afternoon.
A large number of 'Greater Cooch Behar' activists, family members and
well wishers thronged in front of the Cooch Behar District
Correctional Home (CDCH) this noon to receive him. After coming out
from the jail Mr Barman rushed to the age-old Hiranyagarvo Shivmandir
on the west bank of Sagardighi and prayed blessings from Lord Shiva.
From there he left for his home at Jarabari in Dinhata.
Mr Barman was the general secretary of the undivided Greater Cooch
Behar Peoples' Association. During their movement for a separate
Greater Cooch Behar state a violent clash occurred on 20 September,
2005. On that day five persons including three policemen and two
'Greater' supporters got killed. At first Mr Barman evaded arrest. On
25 May 2006 he surrendered to the court of the Chief Judicial
Magistrate in Cooch Behar. On 31 May 2006 he and his associates earned
'political prisoner' status from the court. Since then he was in the
CDCH. Two cases in connection with murder of an additional SP and
murder of two constables were pending against him.
After change of power in the political scenario of the state on 20
July 2011 the release of 43 Greater Cooch Behar activists was expected
following the new state government's policy on release of prisoners.
On 12 August of this year a bail petition was moved at the High Court
and on 12 December the court sanctioned his bail prayer. Today, after
examining the relevant documents he was granted to come out from the
jail, said his lawyer Mr Shibendra Nath Roy. Mr Roy said the other
undertrial 'Greater Cooch Behar' supporters are also expected to come
out on bail very soon.

Raas Mela

Raas-mela comes again

The historic Raas-mela of Cooch Behar is going to start on Thursday.
Cooch Behar DM Mr Mohan Gandhi will inaugurate the fortnight long
fair. Cooch Behar Municipality is the organiser of this biggest and
longest carnival of Cooch Behar district.
The Raas-mela is organised to celebrate the Raas Yatra of Lord Madan
Mohan, the tutelary deity of the Cooch Behar royal family.
It was Maharaja Harendra Narayan (1783-1839), the then ruler of Cooch
Behar State, in whose regime the first Raas-mela was organised. It is
said that when Maharaja Harendra Narayan shifted his capital and
founded a new palace at Bhetaguri he was greatly disturbed by the
presence of ghosts in the old palace. So he felt the need to establish
a new palace. In 1812, Maharaja Harendra Narayan moved into the new
palace on Raas Purnima (the full moon night in the month of Kartik). A
Raas Mela was organised there on that occasion. That was the first
Raas-mela of Cooch Behar.

Rajdhani halted by agitators

Members of the SUCI-dominated Aloo-Paat-Dhanchashi Sangram Committee
halted the Guwahati bound Rajdhani Express at New Cooch Behar Railway
Station on Wednesday noon. Following the agitation plying of all
trains were disrupted in the route for a long time.
Secretary of the Aloo-Paat-Dhanchashi Sangram Committee, Mr Nripen
Karjee claimed they halted the Rajdhani Express from 1-20 pm to 2 pm.
They organised the agitation demanding supportive price of potato,
paddy and jute, lifting of agricultural loans and stern steps against
price hike of essential commodities, Mr Karjee said.

TINBIGHA

At Tinbigha corridor on Wednesday noon.

TINBIGHA

Bangla PM visits Tinbigha

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Tinbigha corridor in
Mekhliganj subdivision in Cooch Behar district on Wednesday noon. She
stayed there for a very short time. During her visit she planted a few
saplings there to mark friendship of India and Bangladesh. Former
Bangla President Mr HM Ershad accompanied her today.
The Bangladesh PM expressed her hope for an amicable solution of the
enclave problems as there exist a number of enclaves of the two
countries that are waiting for a long to be exchanged. She thanked the
India government for making the Tinbigha corridor accessible to the
Bangla nationals for 24 hours. This facility bailed out the Bangla
people from confinement, she commented. She also expressed her hope
for an amicable solution of water distribution of Tista river.
The Tinbigha corridor was handed over to Bangladesh to allow the
Bangla people to get connected by road between two Bangla enclaves
named Dahagram and Angarpota with Patgram in mainland of Bangladesh.
She said her government would erase out the problems related to
enclave exchange that were not done during the past 64 years.
Today, two Union ministers Mr Gulam Nabi Azad and Mr Jitendra Prasad
Singh welcomed the PM of the neighbouring country at Tinbigha. There
was a heavy security cover made by the BSF to make her visit
trouble-free.
Sheikh Hasina arrived at Dahagram today and inaugurated a few
facilities like a primary health centre, a Union Parishad building and
a power station. From there she reached Tinbigha by car and from there
she left for Patgram.

COOCH BEHAR AIRPORT

Regular Cooch Behar-Kolkata flights resumed

After long years regular flights between Cooch Behar and Kolkata have
been resumed on Monday. People from different sections of society
welcomed the resumption of the air service.
The thoroughly renovated and upgraded Cooch Behar Airport was waiting
to accept regular commercial flights after many years. At last, the
North East Shuttle Private Limited came up and offered their 18-seater
Dornier-228 aircraft to fly between Cooch Behar and Kolkata. At
present, the flight will be of five days a week except Wednesday and
Sunday. The fair of a single journey from Cooch Behar to Kolkata is Rs
5,000.
At 8-05am on Monday, the 18-seater aircraft came from Guwahati and
landed at Cooch Behar Airport. It left for Kolkata at 8-40 am.
The resumption of air service has been welcomed by all but delaying of
arrival of the first flight that was scheduled at 7-40am made many
anxious though the first day flight was full of passengers. The state
government is to shoulder responsibility of eight seats if the air
service fails to get adequate passengers.
AAI regional director Mr Gautam Mukherjee and chairman of North Bengal
State Transport Corporation were among the Kolkata bound passengers
today. Mr Mukherjee assured that they would consider pressing of
larger aircrafts in this route if demand rose. In that case the runway
of the Cooch Behar Airport would be made wider, he said.
It may be recalled here that on 19 July an aircraft of the North East
Shuttle took off from Cooch Behar Airport and left for Kolkata
initiating resumption of regular flights.
After failure of the Deccan Charters, another flight operator concern,
the North East Shuttle came up to operate air operations between Cooch
Behar and Kolkata. It may be mentioned here that 22 February of this
year was scheduled for resuming of air service from Cooch Behar
Airport. But at the last moment the Deccan Charters failed to turn up,
as they had to send their stipulated aircraft for servicing to South
Africa from where they brought it.
Welcoming the revival of the long awaited Cooch Behar-Kolkata air
service, the secretary of Cooch Behar District Merchants Chamber of
Commerce, Mr Rajendra Baid hoped that it would be helpful to improve
the tourism, commerce and industry sectors of the region. He also
hoped that the concerned authorities would be able to maintain regular
flight operations from now on. More flight operators may come up again
if the NES flights prove viable, he said. After a few months there
will be need to fly larger aircrafts in this route as the demand from
the passengers would rose, he hoped. He appealed to the authorities to
bring down the fare between Cooch Behar and Kolkata and widen the
runway. It may be mentioned here that in the same flight the fare of
Guwahati to Cooch Behar is Rs 1500 only.

MUSEUM DEMAND

Demand for a museum at Victor Palace

Sending a memorandum to the state chief minister the Cooch Behar
Heritage Society requested her to consider setting up of a district
museum in Cooch Behar. CBHS sources claimed that there are many
archival materials and artefacts of the period of erstwhile Cooch
Behar State lying here and there. Historic coins, letters of Cooch
Behar kings, rare photographs, paintings, manuscripts and other
mementos, printing press of the State period, musical instruments used
by legendary folk singers like Suren Ray Basunia, Kedar Chakraborty,
Pyari Mohan Das and Nayed Ali are there that may be preserved in the
proposed museum.
On behalf of the CBHS, Mr Arup Jyoti Majumdar said they conveyed their
proposal to the chief minister with a hope that she would consider the
matter. They also named Victor Palace situated on the west bank of
Sagardighi to room the proposed district museum.
The renovated Victor Palace is a heritage one and it was selected by
the previous Left Front government to establish a luxurious tourist
lodge with all ultra-modern amenities. Later, the government had to
postpone the plan due to large-scale protests from different quarters.
CBHS believes the building named after Prince Victor Nityendra Narayan
is an ideal place for the proposed district museum. An eminent artist
Mr Aniruddha Palit opined that addition of an art gallery may me an
added attraction at the beautiful Victor Palace as it may link
heritage and history with art and culture of the region.

COOCH BEHAR AIRPORT

Cooch Behar waits for regular flights

Regular air service between Cooch Behar and Kolkata is going to start
from 5 September. This news ushered a fresh shower of hopes for
development of this region. The people from different sections of
society welcomed the news.
The thoroughly renovated and upgraded Cooch Behar Airport is waiting
to accept regular commercial flights after many years. Airport
Authority of India (AAI) sources said the airport is now ready for
flight operations.
The North East Shuttle Private Limited is to press 18-seater
Dornier-228 aircraft to fly between Cooch Behar and Kolkata. The
flight will be of five days a week except Wednesday and Sunday. The
fair of a single journey is Rs 5,000.
It may be recalled here that on 19 July an aircraft of the North East
Shuttle took off from Cooch Behar Airport and left for Kolkata en
route Saidpur of Bangladesh initiating regular flights. The aircraft
came from Dimapur of Assam and landed at Cooch Behar Airport amid
cheers from curious visitors and guests.
After failure of the Deccan Charters, another flight operator concern,
the North East Shuttle came up to operate air operations between Cooch
Behar and Kolkata. They submitted their proposal to the AAI to operate
air service using the recently renovated Cooch Behar airport. AAI
sources said NES has small aircrafts and these planes ply in areas
like Guwahati, Mizoram, Tripura and Shillong. At Cooch Behar Airport
such type of planes may land safely, AAI officials said.
It may be mentioned here that 22 February of this year was scheduled
for resuming of air service from Cooch Behar Airport. But at the last
moment the Deccan Charters failed to turn up, as they had to send
their stipulated aircraft for servicing to South Africa from where
they brought it.
Secretary of Cooch Behar District Merchants Chamber of Commerce, Mr
Rajendra Baid welcomed the revival of the long awaited Cooch
Behar-Kolkata air service and hoped that it will be helpful to improve
the tourism, commerce and industry sectors of the region. He also
hoped that the concerned authorities would be able to maintain regular
flight operations from now on. Flight operators like the Deccan
Charters and others may come up again if the NES flights prove viable,
he said. After a few months there will be need to fly larger aircrafts
in this route as the demand from the passengers would rose, he hoped.
Mr Ranajit Deb of North East Development Academy, Mr Arup Jyoti
Majumdar of Cooch Behar Heritage Society and Mr Aniruddha Palit of
Concern for Cooch Behar also expressed their pleasure.

FOR A BETTER COOCH BEHAR

Cooch Behar DM Ms Smaraki Mahapatra, civic body chairman Mr Biren Kundu and other officials on a road in Cooch Behar town to study the ongoing condition of the traffic system. On Sunday.