Norden Lama

Kalimpong, Aug. 1: Norden Lama, the councillor of Ward 7 of the Kalimpong Municipality, is set to become the next chairman of the civic body.

Although the process to elect the new chairman replacing C.K. Kumai is yet to begin, an indication to this effect was given by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung. The party chief had declared after a central committee meeting in Darjeeling yesterday that Lama would receive the Independence Day salute at the main programme here.

Today, Morcha’s central committee member Harka Bahadur Chhetri said at a meeting that Lama was chosen keeping in mind his seniority and track record as the Opposition member in the civic body during the GNLF regime.

“Lama has been working as the leader of our councillors, so his elevation to the chairman’s post is a logical choice,” a source in the Morcha said.

Kumai, his deputy Karna Hang Subba resigned from both the municipality’s posts as well as councillors. Another GNLF councillor Aditya Rai also quit. However, they will cease to be the members of the civic body only after the board of councillors meets and accepts their resignations.

Today’s meeting decided to make the Independence Day celebrations a two-day affair, despite the Morcha-affiliate Janmukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation’s call to restrict the programme to one day. The celebration committee, however, agreed to limit the size of the marcher from schools to 100 students per contingent.