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Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 149
The Morung Express “
www.morungexpress.com
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way
Suspects confess in rape, slaying of 2 teens [ PAGE 8]
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
Dimapur | June 1
Every logging season, the tall dark trees in the Saramati mountain range which have stood sentinel along the Indo-Myanmar border for generations are being cut down, sawed and brought to Dimapur. Enjoyed the IPL final From Dimapur, the timmatch? Good. Now clean ber is transported by freight up the place! trains to metros like Delhi to build houses and decoThe Morung Express rate the living rooms of the as furniture. POLL QUESTIOn richRampant logging in the Vote on www.morungexpress.com Saramati range in interior SMS your anSwer to 9862574165 Kiphire district bordering Myanmar has rapidly deciAre educational qualifications necessary mated the tree population for a ministerial post in in this range, probably the the government? last rain forest in Nagaland after the irreparable destruction of Intanki forest Yes no Others Are you satisfied with the due to excessive logging way state politics are being and encroachment. conducted in Nagaland? Reports of illegal logging Yes 10% and hunting on the periph81% ery of Fakim Wildlife Sancno tuary, the thickest virgin 09% Others forest in the Saramati range, Details on page 7 has also raised environmental concerns. The small sanctuary covering an area of 642 hectares is home to a variety of flora and fauna in-
Minister defends diesel price hike
NEw DElhI, JUNE 1 (IANS): New Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Sunday defended the fresh hike in diesel prices saying the fare for bulk consumption has come down. “We don’t want to take any step which will send a negative signal to investors. Don’t see the things in isolation. Today the diesel price for bulk consumption has also decreased by Rs.1.24. We are also responsible towards welfare of the people,” Pradhan told a television news channel here. “We have reached a stage to reduce diesel price up to Rs.1.24 in bulk consumption. This has happened due to the strengthening of the rupee under Narendra Modi’s government,” he added. Diesel prices were hiked Saturday by 50 paise a litre, excluding state levies, the second such increase in rates in three weeks.
Diesel price hike disappoints people, asserts Jayalalithaa
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Sunday said people who expected progress with the change of government at the Centre are disappointed after the 50 paise hike in diesel prices. In a statement here, Jayalalithaa urged the central government to withdraw the diesel price raise, saying it will have an inflationary effect. She also urged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to not follow the wrong economic policies of the erstwhile Congress-led government. According to her, the oil pricing mechanism should be changed by factoring the cost of crude - both imported and domestically explored - and its refining costs. She said if this method is followed, the prices of petroleum products would come down and inflation would be contained.
[ PAGE 2]
US soldier freed in Afghanistan [ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 11]
Monday, June 2, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4 –John C. Maxwell
Marquez wins thriller to record perfect six [ PAGE 12]
PROHIBITION saramati range plagued by IN NAGALAND illegal logging and hunting ACAUT questions stakeholders Ashikho Pfuzhe
Diesel price hiked by 50 paise per litre
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Peace and reconciliation between Thetsumi and Zhavame village
Kidman reveals her desire to have more children with husband Keith
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Likely to have ‘negative impact on environment and sustainability of the people in the long run’
Generations old trees in the Saramati range in Kiphire district being cut down for timber.
cluding tiger, leopard, wild mithun, hoolock gibbon, blythe tragopan, hornbill and medicinal herbs. “If the depletion of forest cover in the Saramati range continues at the present rate, not only Kiphire district but the whole state of Nagaland is sure to witness
abrupt climate change and extreme weather conditions,” said a social activist and environmentalist. The depletion of forest cover and subsequent climate change will ultimately affect the Likimro Hydro Electric Project (HEP), which currently produces
24MW during peak season. Likimro HEP is sourced from Likimro River which originates from Mount Saramati, the highest peak in Nagaland, standing at an altitude of 3841 meters above sea level. Mount Saramati is covered with snow from December to
February and after February the snow melts into the Likimro River. Parliamentary Secretary for Excise & Housing, T Torechu, who represents 60 Kiphire-Pungro assembly constituency, said the rampant logging in Pungro sub-division under which Saramati range falls would have a negative impact on environment and sustainability of the people in the long run. During his three consecutive terms as elected representative of the constituency, Torechu had initiated maximum road connectivity in far-flung border villages in the Saramati Range. “For all the blessings, road connectivity is also turning out to be a curse as it is facilitating timber smugglers to transport their produce easily,” he said. Torechu stressed on the need for joint effort of the Government (like Forest department), NGOs and public to check the menace of illegal logging and also to create awareness among the villagers on the long term negative effects of deforestation.
DIMAPUR, JUNE 1 (MExN): The Against Corruption And Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland has pointed out the “farce and hypocrisy” of the Nagaland Total Prohibition Act, 1989, and questioned NGOs and Churches backing the Act for their silence on the ACAUT’s exposure of discrepancies in the Government of Nagaland’s Excise Department. ACAUT recently exposed how 46.18% of the IMFL/beer cases (2054 out of 4448 cases) meant to be destroyed by the Department had gone missing under the supervision of the Excise Commissioner. This was done through on-spot check by ACAUT in the presence of NGOs representing Youth Association of Nagaland (YAN), Business Association of Nagas (BAN), Dimapur Urban Colony Council Chairman Federation (DUCCF), Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and East Dimapur Business Association (EDBA). The ACAUT has asked the Excise Commissioner
to “come clean” on his comment that there was “no chance of pilferage” despite the on-spot counting done by the NGOs, whose role, it stated is to be a “watch dog” for “such illegal activities by the department.” Furthermore, the ACAUT rejected the statement of the Superintendent of Excise, stating that through the statement he has “tacitly agreed” with the ACAUT that “huge quantity of IMFL/Beer was diverted to the black market.” “In the light of the above massive pilferage done by the department, ACAUT request the District administration to immediately set up independent Judicial enquiry at the same time request the Govt. of Nagaland to take cognizance of the matter and carry out necessary action, including suspension of erring officials, so that the judicial inquiry can maintain neutrality,” the ACAUT noted. It chided the NGOs and Churches “strongly advocating for a dry state” for having kept silent and that they “should stop the whole charade of catching small time bootleggers which is of no consequences.”
one cop injured in Dillai gun battle Morung Express news Dimapur | June 1
One policeman was wounded after unidentified gunmen attacked Lahorijan Police Post of the Assam Police at Dillai, NH 36 on June 1. The gun battle started at around 2:50am and lasted for over half an hour, sources said. The Assam Police (AP) stated that the first shots came from the Dimapur (Nagaland) side of the border. “Some miscreants from Nagaland side, we are not saying Naga miscreants, but some unknown miscreants from Nagaland side... about ten to fifteen people fired upon the Border Out-
post,” the SDPO of Bokajan, Sankar Brata Raimedhi told media persons from Dimapur at the site of the incident on Sunday. The assailants retreated after the AP personnel retaliated. The injured policeman, identified as Constable Rajesh Teron, who was holding a sentry post at the rear of the camp, was shot on the right arm and has been referred to a hospital in Guwahati, Medhi said. One platoon of the 6th AP Battalion mans the Lahorijan Police Post. The shots came from at least two directions. “They came very close and most probably fired after crossing the border,” Medhi said. Residents in the vicin-
ity of the camp said that over a hundred rounds were shot in the exchange of fire. A resident of Rilan Yan, which overlooks the AP camp, said that some stray slugs fell on rooftops. The spent slugs were probably from shots fired in the air, the resident said. Five empty cartridges of AK-series ammunition were recovered after police combed the area from where the first shots were held to have originated. “(It is) premature to comment on who is behind the attack. We don’t know exactly what the idea behind the attack was but as of now we are trying to do what we can,” stated SDPO Medhi.
Gloria Patri: A message of change
DIMAPUR, JUNE 1 (MExN): Gloria Patri, which commenced on May 1, concluded on a high note here on Sunday at Life’s Spring Corner, Dimapur. The event, which was initially scheduled to be held for 30 days, was extended by two more days. An increasing number of people turned up each evening as the event progressed. “It was evident that today’s generation is ready and willing to answer to a higher calling and is bold enough to stand up to declare their love for Jesus,” the organizers shared. “Tonight God has something for all of us. People will say that you are young and just celebrating in flesh… celebrating in the physical is better than your depression in the spiritual. We are living in a time where people are frustrated with the church and church leaders. People do not trust them because they want everything for free. We call ourselves a Christian State but we have messed up. Young people have gathered here and we gave so much hope in you. We want
People are seen deep in prayer at the concluding service of Gloria Patri, held in Dimapur throughout the month of May.
and need change for which every Christian needs to embrace passion and power in God,” said Pastor Visasier at the concluding service. Many young boys and girls shared testimonies of receiving spiritual gifting, restoration of relationship with their parents, reaffirmed not just to be good Christians in the stage or the church but to move out of their comfort zone and contribute towards building the community with the principles of Christianity. It may be mentioned that along with the worship services held every evening, the Gloria Patri team
also carried out a monthlong cleanliness drive around Dimapur in the mornings. The organizers said they will continue the cleanliness drive even after Gloria Patri concludes. The timings would be notified by the organizers through Facebook groups and through newspapers. Meanwhile, the event organizers expressed their gratitude to everyone who attended Gloria Patri evening worship services and joined them for the cleanliness drive. They expressed hope that they would receive such support in other endeavours in the future.
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