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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. VIII ISSUE 233
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www.morungexpress.com
Patience is necessary, and one cannot reap immediately where one has sown All 5 accused arrested in Mumbai gangrape case,... [ PAGE 08]
‘I’m a vicious alcoholic on the verge of dying’ [ PAGE 11]
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NPSC prelim successfully conducted in Tsg [ PAGE 02]
Buddhists in Myanmar torch Muslim homes and shops [ PAGE 09]
By Sandemo Ngullie
Morung Express news Dimapur | August 25
“Training for the biggest cultural festival in the world.”
The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn
Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your answer to 9862574165
Yes
no
Others
Do you support the nagaland government’s decision to extend the Hornbill Festival to ten days? Yes
12% 84%
no Others
04%
Details on page 7
10-year old’s body found in Kohima
Kohima, august 25 (mExN): 10-year-old Robin Kumar Rumtel’s dead body was found in a river here on Saturday morning, at around 10:30am. The boy had gone missing last Sunday evening (August 18) from Kohima’s Upper Midlane. His decomposed body was found in a river below AG Colony here on Saturday. According to Rumtel’s parents, the boy’s body had a broken arm, broken skull and a back injury, and the body was decomposed beyond recognition. His parents, as per sources, had decided not go ahead with the post-mortem of the deceased. The Kohima police, as per its inquest, stated that there was no sign to suggest foul play. Nonetheless, the police said they will further investigate the case. Robin Kumar Rumtel was a class IV student of Government Middle School, New Market and the only son of Raj Kumar Rumtel and Shanti Kumar, who hail from the Nepali community. He used to attend Sunday school at a nearby church. His body was buried in the AG war cemetery.
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Monday, August 26, 2013 12 pages Rs. 4 –Soren Kierkegaard
Vettel wins Belgian GP to extend overall lead [ PAGE 12]
shutdown at likimro, no power generation
reflections
Is the print media in Nagaland exercising responsibility to ensure ‘spirit of inquiry?’
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Ferry service across River Chathe: A migrant farmer on his way to Chumukedima Saturday weekly bazaar sits on an improvised ferry to cross River Chathe. The improvised ferry is made up of an inflated truck tyre tube; the ferryman uses two pieces of thermocol as flippers or oars to navigate the ferry on the rough and muddy river, which flows on the outskirts of Dimapur, nagaland’s commercial hub. (Morung Photo)
chumukedima bazaar to get facelift Morung Express news Dimapur | August 25
Two independent consultants entrusted by the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation to evaluate projects in North East Region (NER) funded under “10% lump sum scheme for NER,” completed the evaluation of two projects in Nagaland state. The two consultants, Abhinav Gupta and Rashid Khan, from the Delhi based firm Ernst & Young LLP evaluated the completed shopping complex in Mokokchung and the ongoing shopping complex project in Chumukedima. “The main idea behind the evaluation is to
understand whether the objective of a project has been fulfilled or not, what can be the learnings from these projects and how to improve upon them in the 12th Five Year Plan,” the consultants told media persons prior to their meeting with public leaders and Market Management Committee (MMC) of Chumukedima weekly bazaar, Saturday afternoon. Khan said the evaluation of projects is based on five viewpoints – relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. Asked on their assessment of the completed shopping complex in Mokokchung, the consultants said that they cannot pres-
ently comment as they have come only to collect data. “After we go back we will do the analysis part including cost-benefit analysis based on the data collected and thereafter we will submit our report to the Ministry,” Khan said. The two consultants will be visiting all seven north eastern states and Sikkim and evaluate 2-3 projects funded under the “10% lump sum scheme” and hold consultations with various stakeholders including contractors, departments concerned, beneficiaries and implementing agencies. During the meeting with Chumukedima public and stakeholders, public lead-
countries and continents – vouch for his generosity. When he invites friends over for lunch or dinner, the spread will most likely be a thoughtful, eclectic one where he personally mulls over every dish served. Much of it would be familiar to Naga tastebuds, but then, in true Abraham Lotha style, there would be a California style salad made entirely from ingredients sourced around Dimapur. “Abraham’s generosity and wit are great for a person who is looking for good food and better conversation,” says an academic friend based in Guwahati. Then those close to him talk about his wit and quirky sense of humour. Whether his are parishioners in Nagaland, or New Jersey, their love for his personal style comes largely from having been at the other end of his good-natured jokes. These are qualities that make him an important interlocutor
for Nagas spread across different parts of the world and their kith and kin back home. The eldest sibling among a family of eight, Fr. Abraham chose to become a priest because he felt that God had called him not just to serve the church but the Nagas as a priest. Currently serving as the Principal of St. Joseph’s College Jakhama, he says, “Youngsters today have a lot more options and many of them are anxious about making a profession outside government jobs. They are also looking for guidance.” At St. Joseph’s College they aspire to strive for academic leadership and academic excellence in higher education. “We want to make students globally competent where they can be able to compete globally and not just in Nagaland. We also want to be an inspiration to other academic institutions in Nagaland,”
ers and MMC members of the weekly Saturday bazaar apprised the two consultants on the need for better marketing infrastructure in Chumukedima since it is one of the fastest growing towns in the state and also soon-to-be district headquarter of Dimapur district. The weekly bazaar MMC members also informed that theweeklybazaar,thebiggest weekly bazaar in Nagaland with around 1200 vendors, would soon be converted to daily bazaar. The members also highlighted on the infrastructural needs of the bazaar including cold storage godowns and a bridge over Chathe river to connect neighbouring villages on to other side of the river.
State-owned Likimro Hydro Electricity Project (LHEP) has been temporarily shut down. The shutdown was necessitated to make way for maintenance work. The Chief Engineer, Power Department, K. Miachieo, speaking to The Morung Express on Sunday, disclosed that siltation (accumulation of sediment) had reached danger level at the forebay prompting engineers to shut it down. Forebays are used in hydro project sites to trap sediment in order to keep the main reservoir free from debris. If left unattended, the accumulating silt would pose threat to the turbine seriously affecting generation, Miachieo said. Workers are now in the process of removing the silt and the cleanup exercise is likely to take a few more days, it was added. The shut down has to some extent affected distribution. The quantum of
power generated at Likimro is distributed within the state through the three load dispatch centres located at Kohima, Mokokchung and Dimapur. The peak generation capacity of LHEP is 24 mega watts (MW), that is, during the monsoons. With no contribution from LHEP, the state is now entirely dependent on the North East Load Dispatch Centre for meeting its electricity requirement. Queried on the frequent power cuts, Miachieo said, the frequency of distribution is dependent on whatever amount of power is transmitted from the regional load dispatch centre, which in turn is dependent on the output of the generating stations. With regard to the power situation in Nagaland, the peak demand is projected at 110 mega watts. On the other hand, the frequency of supply hovers between 5070 mega watts during the monsoons, going as low as 40 mega watts during the lean or dry season.
The frequent power cuts in Dimapur are attributed to ‘load shedding’ and also ageing transmission equipments getting overloaded. With the district consuming a major chunk of the received quota of power, it is not unusual for transmission equipments to go kaput in Dimapur often resulting in blackouts in certain locations on any given day. To remedy this, the Chief Engineer said that the department has put up a proposal to the government for replenishing the existing transmission infrastructure in Dimapur. Called ‘System Improvement Scheme,’ it is envisaged to upgrade the existing equipments to meet an ever growing demand for power in a phased manner. However, putting up a proposal is one thing but getting it approved by the policy makers is an altogether different story. The first phase of the proposed scheme is projected to cost around Rs. 40 crores.
Maharashtra bans black magic
mumbai, august 25 (iaNs): Maharashtra has approved a comprehensive law banning black magic, witchcraft and other superstitious practices. Governor K. Sankaranarayanan signed an Ordinance Saturday evening which will curb all these practices, and award stringent punishment for practitioners. Maharashtra is the first state in the country to enact such a law. The state government is likely to notify the law, which stipulates a maximum sentence of up to seven years in jail for various
practices, by Monday. The move comes five days after the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, the founder-head of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), which was at the forefront of the movement against these blind and often harmful practices. Among other things, the new law will ban inhuman practices, human sacrifice, rituals to enable sex selection by pregnant women, and all forms of acts known as ‘Jaadu-Tona’ in common parlance.
More than a Priest: a writer and educationist, Abraham Lotha
Morung Express Feature Kohima | August 25
Labeled as a ‘good mixture of tradition and contemporary’ by the Governor of Nagaland, Fr. Abraham Lotha is not just your usual priest. His recently released book, The Raging Mithun: Challenges of Naga Nationalism, has received good reviews. It is, according to him, a critique of Naga nationalism, religion and culture and performances of Naga identity through festivals. Besides his newly released book, Fr. Abraham is the author of History of Naga Anthropology. He has also edited the book Responses to Climate Change 2011, translated hymnals and prayers in Sangtam, Yimchungrii, Tenyidie and Lotha, as well as translated and edited the Deuterocanonical books in Lotha. Those who know him well – and there are many spread across several
Fr. Abraham Lotha
he further adds. “When I started, journalism was very raw in Nagaland. Times were rough but challenging. You didn’t have to go far to report. Everywhere you went, things were happening,” says Fr. Abraham who started his career as a journalist in 1990 after completing his diploma in journalism from British institute in Mumbai. He has worked for The Observer, Nagaland Times,
Nagaland Post and The Morung Express, of which the former two no longer exists. He says, “Basically I wanted our people to get proper news, receive media education and also be a responsible journalist.” Fr. Abraham has three bachelors degree, the first from Dimapur College and the latter two pursued in Pune, where he received his bachelors in Philosophy and Theology respectively. In 1995 he moved to the US where he studied video production for one year after which he pursued his Masters in Social Cultural Anthropology at Columbia University. He further pursued his PhD in Social cultural anthropology from City University of New York (CUNY) which he completed in 2009. On the intellectual scene in Nagaland, he says, “There is growing interest and appreciation for excellence in academics. Young people need to be nurtured and en-
couraged to be creative and analytical in their studies.” As an anthropologist, Fr. Abraham has a penchant for documenting Naga culture. He is perhaps the first to release Naga folk music in 1990, when he released an album called ‘Riinichen.’ In Lotha, this means an offshoot of a tree, signifying for him Naga culture that was “cut off like a tree but like an offshoot, it still grew.” Fr. Abraham currently serves as the Director of Chumpo Museum in Dimapur. Chumpo is now part of the itinerary for every traveller from across the world. They come to share his passion for his culture and in doing so, become invested in his drive to tell the story of the Naga people in a way that does justice to their proud history. “During the colonial days, we were not allowed to appreciate our own culture. However more and more realized that there is
a lot of good in our culture,” he says, which marked the beginning of Naga “cultural renaissance.” He has also been a constant critic of the present Naga political situation. “People appreciate peace. They are tired of the conflict and would like to resolve it one way or the other. Our leaders should respect that desire of the people. Nobody wants to live in fear.” When he is not busy being a journalist, Principal and a Priest he enjoys listening to Blues, classical music and Naga music during his spare time. At one time he was also part of a high school band in the 1980s called The Crossbearers. Fr. Abraham plays many roles but for him, most importantly, he is a priest. He attributed all his successes to God and his priesthood. He says, “Being a priest is like being a shepherd whether it be in the parish churches or educational institutions.”
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