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www.morungexpress.com
The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 59
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www.morungexpress.com
Monday, March 3, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
Angelina and Brad tease wedding details
Enhancing care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS [ PAGE 2]
Ukraine mobilizes for war, calls up reserves [ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 11]
[ PAGE 8]
By Sandemo Ngullie
DIMAPUR, MARCH 2 (MExN): The GPRN/ NSCN has proposed that the Government of Nagaland should think of establishing a medical college in Mon or Tuensang to enable students from “so called advanced tribes” to pursue academic excellence from Mon, Tuensang or Kiphire. This was stated in a press release from the MIP This building belongs to of the GPRN/NSCN. you? woh ! and who owns the land? It noted that the GPRN/ NSCN is convinced that the proposed medical college The Morung Express should be shifted to one of POLL QUESTIOn the mentioned ENPO headVote on www.morungexpress.com quarters, “so that people SMS your answer to 9862574165 from ENPO areas get to benefit in the spheres of Over the last 50 years of Nagaland Statehood infrastructures, develhas corruption become opment and specialised more widespread? education.” Secondly, the GPRN/NSCN’s MIP pointed out, “it is high time that Yes no Others those people in power reIs naga society doing enough to create, develop and strengthen alises the scarcity of land in its democratic culture? and around Kohima town. An exile Tibetan woman prays on the first day of the Tibetan New Year or Losar in New Yes 16% Delhi, India, Sunday, March 2. Tibetans all over the world will mark the arrival of the Wood Not to mention the astro77% no nomical amount likely to Horse year with prayers and festivities. (AP Photo) 07%
Details on page 7
Unidentified woman found dead DIMAPUR, MARCH 2 (MExN): The dead body of a woman was recovered on Sunday by the police in Dimapur. The body was recovered around 8:00am from the 3rd Mile bazaar area, NH 29. Non-Naga by appearance, police said that the deceased’s identity could not be ascertained. The woman was believed to be homeless and died of ill-health. The body was taken to the district hospital morgue but post-mortem could not be conducted because of the day being a Sunday.
More evidence of water on Mars
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wAsHINgtoN, MARCH 2 (IANs): After finding clinching evidence of the presence of water on Mars last month, NASA scientists have now unearthed a Martian meteorite in the Yamato glacier in Antarctica that features curved micro-tunnels consistent with moving water. “The Red Planet is revealing the presence of an active water reservoir that may also have a significant carbon component,” said Everett Gibson, a scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, US. According to NASA, the discovery is “reviving debate in the scientific community over life on Mars”. The meteorite itself is 1.3 billion years old and is believed to have landed in Antarctica 50,000 years ago. The meteorite also features tiny, carbon-rich ‘spherules’ squished in between the various layers of rock, a phenomenon similar to another Martian meteorite that landed in Egypt in 1911, said a NASA release. “We can never eliminate the possibility of contamination in any meteorite. But these features are, nonetheless, interesting and show that further studies of these meteorites should continue,” said Lauren White from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Federer wins 6th Dubai C’ships title
–Oscar Wilde
[ PAGE 10]
‘Proposed medical college should be in enPo areas’
reflections
Others
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It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it Manmohan heads for Myanmar summit on regional ties Monday
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be sought by the land owners for establishing such an institution.” It also mentioned that water problems forever plague Kohima. “Every water hole or stream around Kohima is like a private gold mine, the congestion at Kohima town is so gross, that soon, even the air and sunlight may not come for free,” stated the GPRN/ NSCN. On the other hand, it said, the public in Mon or Tuensang “may donate land and water for free, if such institutions are established.” For this purpose, the GPRN/NSCN suggested that civil societies like ENPO and ENSF “ought to brief the public on such matters.” GPRN/NSCN stated that under the leadership of Gen. (Retd) Khole Konyak and N. Kitovi Jimomi, it firmly believes that “the time is ripe enough for all tribal bodies to clearly understand that future Naga
generations will question the wisdoms of the tribal leaders and government of the day, should the glaring disparity amongst Nagaland tribes remain oblivious as they are now.” “While Nagaland waits for an acceptable and honourable political solution with the Government of India, should the parents in Mon, Tuensang or Kiphire forever send their children to Kohima or Dimapur for higher education?” the GPRN/NSCN questioned. It iterated that freedom would be nothing “if equality is denied to far flung areas of our nation.” “Proliferation of specialised institution, infrastructure, roads and communication must not be limited to few districts of Nagaland. Acceptable political solution for Nagaland is inevitable and therefore, no tribe in Nagaland must be left behind locally or globally,” the GPRN/NSCN asserted.
GPRN/NSCN opposes news item on oil exploration The GPRN/NSCN has strongly opposed “the recent news which appeared in one of the local dailies in Nagaland, on the 28th of February, 2014, which stated the Nagaland Cabinet reportedly approving issuing of licences to oil companies (Cos).” This was mentioned in a press statement from the MIP of the GPRN/NSCN. “GPRN/NSCN is of the view that, the rich oil fields being the only lifeline for the Naga generation, even if explored, its refinery should be set up in Nagaland,” it noted. Further, it stated that it must be based on “people-centric policy and not to some few vested individuals.” Terming it as “national property,” the GPRN/NSCN said it will “go to any extent to defend and preserve it as long as it does not benefit the Naga people and also advices the allotted companies to perform the work at their own risk.”
KoHIMA, MARCH 2 (MExN): Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will lay the foundation stone for Nagaland’s first medical college in Kohima at 12:00 noon at Phriebagei, Kohima on March 3. The programme will be chaired by Chief Sec-
retary Nagaland, Banuo Z. Jamir, IAS while invocation prayer will pronounced by NBCC general secretary. Rev. Dr. L. Anjo Keikung. Welcome song will be presented by Üsou Musical School, Kohima and felicitation by Chairman,
Kohima Village council. Brief introduction of the medical college will be given by Commissioner & Secretary Health & Family Welfare, Sentiyanger Imchen, IAS. Vote of thanks will be proposed by minister for health & family welfare Imkong L. Imchen.
Mongoloid People’s Forum for Race Commission in India Rio to lay foundation stone for medical college in Kohima today
NEw DElHI, MARCH 2 (MExN): The Mongoloid People’s Forum (MPF) has expressed concern about the increasing “racial attacks” on the people from the North East region of India in its national capital, Delhi. In that, it asked the Government of India to accept the prevalence of racial discrimination in the country and constitute a statutory body like a ‘Race Commission’ such as in the United Kingdom and several other countries. The “inability of the central government to control the increasing incidence of
racial attack on the northeast people is a reflection of the inner voice of the larger egoistic mainland people,” noted the MPF in a statement from its convenor, K. Zou. “As the waves of hatred against N.E people is already created in the public mindset, the capital city of Delhi can no longer be called a safe place for the ethnic mongoloid citizens of this country.” The MPF also pointed to the “pitiable socio-economic condition” and the lack of leaders to intervene on behalf of the people of the North East region in such times of need that escalate the problems
further. “Bashing people from the N.East,” observed the MPF, “is viewed as an act of supremacy over the mongoloid people and a display of their pride as more Indian than us.” Further, the organization alleged that “The attitude of the Delhi police personnel amounts to abetment of the crimes.” To the MPF, a negative attitude is visible towards the people of the North East “who are generally blamed for defiling the pristine orthodox Hindu cultures and traditions by their open mongoloid attitude.
Confronting/assaulting people from the Northeast seem to be considered an act of valour by the local residents and even some orthodox Delhi police personnel, who generally sided the culprits rather than taking prompt action.” MPF convenor K. Zou urged his “fellow weak and helpless mongoloid community in the country” to “avoid living with your own whims and fancies in the mainland for the sake of our own safety” as the “law, the police and the leaders may not be in your favour every time.”
89% HiV transmitted through sexual route in nagaland: report Morung Express news Dimapur | March 2
In Nagaland, HIV is predominantly transmitted through the sexual route. Statistics taken in 2012-13 showed that 89% of HIV infection in Nagaland is through sexual transmission. The statistics, which appeared in the Computerized Management Information System (CMIS) bulletin (April 2006 to March 2013) published by Nagaland State Aids Control Society (NSACS), also stated that parent to child transmission stood at 5% and transmission through infected needles and syringes at 4%. Earlier, the major route of HIV transmission was sharing infected needles and syringes. The bulletin underlined that there is an urgent need to inform healthcare providers and the public about the presence of HIV/AIDS in Nagaland State. In 2011, Nagaland was among six highest adult (15 to 49 years) HIV prevalence states in India with 0.73 %, according to Technical Report, India Estimates 2012. However, the NSACS report showed an increasing decline in the number of HIV+ cases in the State. The bulletin recorded that in the year 2006-07, at Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) across Nagaland, 22,121 people took HIV test and 1,027 were detected positive. Meanwhile, in 2012-13, 71,674 took the test and 1,533 of them were found to be HIV positive. According to the bulletin, rate of HIV+ declined from 4.64% to 2.35% within three years (2006 to 2008), but increased to 3.23% in 2008-2009, after which it
Source: CMIS, NSACS
declined at 2.30% in 2011-12. Meanwhile, number of AIDS related deaths in Nagaland during 2012-13 was 82 out of 423 cases reported (graph). Among pregnant women, 151 were tested HIV positive in 2012-13 out of 19,175. Kiphire district had the highest HIV sero-positivity among pregnant women attending Ante Natal Care (ANC) clinics in 2012-13 and Wokha had the lowest with 1.59%. The figure in the bulletin showed a steady decrease in the HIV positivity rate among pregnant women from 2007 to 2013. The data taken of general clients attending ICTCs in 2012-13 showed that Dimapur has the highest rate of HIV seropositivity with 6.33% among the 11 districts. Longleng district has the least with 0.11%. In 2012-13, people between 25 to 49 years constituted 74% of HIV+ cases in Nagaland, followed by 15 to 24 years – 16 %; Below 14 – 6 %; and
Above 50 – 4%. The report concluded that HIV positivity among general population as well as High Risk Groups (HRGs) has declined steadily over the past three years. The positivity rate is higher among general population than HRGs, especially in Dimapur, Kohima, Tuensang, Kiphire and Peren districts, and numbers of discordant couples are more in the priority districts of Dimapur, Kohima, and Tuensang. It further stated that a comprehensive study is urgently required to analyze and prioritize on men having sex with men and clients visiting female sex workers and design the requisite interventions. Scaling up of linkages between ICTC counsellors, Targeted Intervention, and Anti Retroviral Therapy centres need to be prioritized as HIV+ clients referred from the former centres to the ART are low, it recommended.
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