February 25th, 2015

C M Y K

www.morungexpress.com

The Morung Express

Dimapur Vol. X issuE 53

“

www.morungexpress.com

[ PAGE 8]

Emma Watson puts dating Prince Harry rumours to end

Entrepreneurship- a crucial part of employment

By Sandemo Ngullie

”

– Aristotle

[ PAGE 2]

Gayle storms to first WCup doublecentury

[ PAGE 9]

[ PAGE 12]

IS militants abduct dozens of Christians in Syria

[ PAGE 11]

reflections

Wednesday, February 25, 2015 12 pages Rs. 4

We are what we practice. Therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit Land bill introduced amid protests

C M Y K

Explosion leads to major fire in Wokha town 7 dead, over 20 injured; rcc building destroyed, three houses gutted

Wouldn’t it be much easier to just buy a pair of masks?

The Morung Express Poll QuEsTion

Vote on www.morungexpress.com sMs your answer to 9862574165 Are Nagas really ready to handle oil business?

Yes

no

others

Nagaland to receive 18,475 Crs over 5 yrs DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 24 (AGENCIES): Nagaland state will receive Rs 18,475 crores in a five-year period ending March 2020, as per the recommendations of 14th Finance Commission which have been “in-principle” accepted by the government. The 14th Finance Commission recommended a “post devolution revenue deficit grants of total of Rs 1.95 lakh crore (for 11-states), for five year period” beginning April 1 this year. Nagaland listed as one of the top five beneficiary revenue deficit states, which includes Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. The 14th Commission while calculating grants to the states have departed from the previous Finance Commissions, “by taking into consideration a States’ entire revenue expenditure needs without making a distinction between Plan and Non-Plan”.

Photo by steve odyuo

Photo by Thungdemo Kyong

7 people died and over 20 were injured as a major fire broke out in Wokha town as a result of an explosion at a gun shop on February 24 at 11:27am. (L) Surrounding houses destroyed by fire; (R) RCC building that housed gun shop.

Morung Express news Dimapur | February 24

Seven people died and over 20 were injured when a major fire broke out in Wokha Town on Tuesday, February 24. Among the casualty were two women and two minors.

The fire erupted following an explosion at 11:27am at a private gun shop (M/s General Merchant & Arms & Ammunitions Dealer) in the heart of Wokha Town, in Tsumang colony, informed district administration officials from Wokha district.

The fire led to the further explosion of 4-5 gas cylinders in three other houses adjacent to the building, which were com-

pletely gutted. The gun shop was housed in an RCC building, surrounded by wooden cum tin roofed houses in a cluttered residential cum commercial area.

Sources on the spot stated that the explosions caused debris (bricks, glass, stones, etc.) to fly in all directions. The injured persons have been admitted to the district hospital, or are being treated at various clinics in the vicinity, sources said.

Among the dead were a grandmother and her 4-month old granddaughter, said ASP of Wokha, Tokavi Achumi. The district administration found their bodies along with the parents of the infant who were injured, and are currently in hos-

pital. Two personnel in uniform were also injured during the rescue operations.

The fire services came to the rescue immediately, informed the Wokha district administration, contributing much to controlling the situation. Taking additional security measures, a bomb disposal squad was also summoned from Kohima which reached Wokha by evening of February 24. The rescue efforts were joined by the local community, NGOs and the Assam Rifles, alongside the district administration’s apparatus. The cause of the explosion that led to the fire is yet unknown, but “we are investigating the matter,” said the SP of Wokha, Chumren

Khuvung, even as the site has been cordoned off.

Meanwhile, the Lotha Hoho has expressed deep sorrow and condoled the dead and their bereaved families, while wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.

In a press release from its chairman Mhao Humtsoe and general secretary Mhondamo Ovung, the Hoho urged the Nagaland State Government to grant ex gratia to the dead and Medical Allowance to those injured. The Hoho also urged the concerned agencies such as the Fire Service and the general public to be “on alert and preparedness to meet and tackle such eventualities in future.” Agencies concerned have also been urged to “in-

vestigate thoroughly the actual cause of the explosion and those responsible to be booked under appropriate Section of Law.” MLAofthe28WokhaAssembly Constituency has expressed “deep sympathy” for the lives lost, and gave condolences to the deceased andtheirfamilies.

CM and HM condole Expressing profound grief and shock respectively at the incident, Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang and Home Minister Y Patton, conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members of those who lost their lives, while wished for the speedy recovery of those injured, through separate press releases.

Transport dept seeks patience from ACAUT Textile industry receives

vealed that against the increase mained the same. Meanwhile, it DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 24 by the state government.

A letter from the NST General of 15.23% cost in HSD and lub, said that the fare rate revised in (MExN): The Commissioner and Secretary for the Nagaland Manager on this issue was also 30% in tyre and tubes and 20% in 2013 is continuing.

The letter further stated that state Transport Department has made available to the media. The spare parts, the government apurged ACAUT Nagaland for pa- letter informed the fares were proved enhancement of fare by the ACAUT has failed to account tience with regard to revision of revised in 2008, 2010 and 2013, only 10% from the last rate of fare in the bad road conditions in altaking into consideration opera- in the revision taking effect from most all districts. Owing to the NST bus fares.

In a letter to ACAUT, the de- tional expenditures. They were 2010. Agan, as against 53.39% road conditions, it said that the partment informed that the Gen- necessitated due to sharp esca- price escalation of HSD & Lub, consumption of spare parts etc eral Manager, NST was directed lation in cost of HSD, tyres, spare 45.10% against tyres and tubes has been incessantly increasing, to obtain inputs on prevailing parts etc, which were enhanced and 33.94% in spare parts, fare “which the department is finding was revised by 28% from the last difficult to cope with.” market prices of HSD, oil & lubri- in regular intervals.

The Commissioner and SecThe letter reminded that the rate of fare in 2013. cants, tyres, tubes & flaps and moAcknowledging that the cost retary has meanwhile assured tor parts from June 2013 to date for fare revisions were done only decision on the matter by the state after two to two and a half years of HSD and Lub has slightly re- that the department will act government. It further informed of the last revision when the de- duced over the last 3 to 4 months, “purely in public interest” and that NST bus fares were last re- partment could no longer con- it informed that the cost of tyres, urged ACAUT against resorting KOHIMA, FEBRUARY vised and notified on June 2013 tain the losses suffered. It re- tubes and spare parts has re- to agitations.

24 (DIPR): A high level meeting on Swine Flu was held with private practitioners, Medical officers from Para Military forces, Police and Home Guard on February 24 in Kohima. AdMorung Express news ditional Secretary H&FW, our Correspondent awareness among school called upon dental surgeons Dimapur | February 24 Kesonyu Yhome sought inchildren; to know the dif- to exercise elements of charKohima | February 24 puts from all the stakeholdference between urban and ity and voluntary service to The main accused in the July 4, 2013 murder of a woman at Landmark colony, Dimapur ers, so that the department The Nagaland School Oral rural children’s oral hygiene make a change.

Congratulating Dr. ML has been acquitted. Rikumkaba Pongen, the could work on it in the fight Survey Report 2013-14 was status; prevalence of oral tisagainst H1N1 flu. He also released here today, showing sue destruction in the form Ngullie, chief investigator main accused, was facing trial in the court of said that the department is that only 19 percent of school of caries, fluorosis, and gin- and his team on successful the Sessions Judge, Dimapur since October in touch with all the district children in the state visit den- gival bleeding; prevalence completion of the project, Dr. 2013. He was arrested two days after the murofficials. “We are aware tists. Joint director (Dental) of oral-facial birth defects in G Kemp, principal director der. Three other people, arrested on suspithat the Department alone Dr. H. Hotokhu Chishi said the form of cleft palate, cleft H&FW was optimistic that the cion of complicity in the murder, also underwent trial but were acquitted in September may not be able to tackle that the oral health delivery lip;, prevalence of malocclu- survey would become a valu- 2014; with the court citing “lack of evidence.” sion and oro-facial defor- able asset to the department status index (restored teeth) the situation and we do The judgement was pronounced on Febat 5.5% was also too low and mity; prevalence of tobacco “whereby we can formulate not want to stay away from needs to be strengthened to initiation among school chil- policies and strategies to face ruary 18. Lack of veritable evidence linking this admission to face such at least 10%. He further in- dren and to understand the the challenges of the ever in- the main accused to the crime was cited as a situation where we have sisted that children friendly prevalence of pain of dental creasing needs, especially in the basis behind the exoneration as the court to face a crunch, then only clinics be built. while pronouncing the verdict was said to origin and pain stress among the field of oral health care.” come to you for cooperaDr. Nandira Changkija, have stated, “The prosecution could not “Since dental treatment is school children. tion” Yhome maintained. very expensive and the state’s The survey covered stu- MD, NHM informed that prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.”

Principal Director, H&FW, economy is poor, preventive dents from 8-13 years in Di- the dental fraternity con- The judgment order was said to be 72 pages Dr G Kemp requested all methodology seems to be the mapur, Kohima, Mon, Peren, sists of 200 practitioners and long. The police, investigating the crime, had the sectors to bring out only feasible alternative at Phek and Wokha. A sample of there is no dearth of delivery collected ‘swab samples’ for forensic analyspecific action plans in present,” stated the survey re- 1013 school children, study- of oral health services to the sis. The expert report returned as negative, terms of logistics, medi- port brought out by the Oral ing from Class III to VIII was community. She called upon implying it could not link the accused to the cines, isolation wards, etc. Health Division, Directorate picked from various schools. dental surgeons to go the ex- murder, it was learnt.

Meanwhile, the prosecution in charge of Releasing the survey re- tra mile and give their best Suggestions for designing of Health & Family Welfare port, Kesonyii Yhome, ad- service. Director (Health) Dr. the case stated there are grounds for appeal (DoHFW). travel advisory, issues reHowever, a positive trend ditional secretary, DoHFW Neikietuo Chiesotsu mean- in a higher court. Stating that the investigatlating to vaccination, med- shown was that 89.1% of chil- stressed on the need to sen- while assured that the de- ing agency (Dimapur police) has been inicines and other pertinent dren know the importance sitise children who never partment is doing its best on formed of the court verdict, the prosecution issues for prevention and of brushing. The objective of brush, use tobacco products oral health in the state. in charge said that it is up to the investigating combating H1N1 also were the survey is to understand etc and to inculcate the habit Survey report agency to make the groundwork for appealdiscussed. highlights on Page 5 ing in a higher court. the level of oral hygienic of brushing at night. He also

High level meeting on Swine Flu held

Only 19% of children in July 4, 2013 murder Nagaland visit dentists accused acquitted

C M Y K

The CM appealed to the Wokha district administration and other government agencies to give all possible assistance to families of the deceased and injured persons. He also urged upon a ‘competent agency’ for a thorough investigation “so as prevent the occurrence of such incident in future.”

The HM expressed appreciation to the people of Wokha town and police personnel “for the rescue operations which continued till night and because of their efforts lives of many people could be saved.” Patton called for a proper investigation to “enable the state government for a complete assessment to do the needful.”

boost in Nagaland state Morung Express news Dimapur | February 24

Among the slew of developmental projects and schemes for the North East and Nagaland announced by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, during the Hornbill Festival last year, two centrally sponsored projects have finally landed in Nagaland.

Union Minister of State for Textiles, Santosh Gangwar, on Tuesday laid the foundation stones of the Apparel & Garment Manufacturing Centre and the Weavers’ Service Centre (Toluvi Village) here at DIC Complex, 6 Mile, in presence of officials of Ministry of Textiles and ministers, legislators and officials of the state government.

The inauguration of the Apparel & Garment Manufacturing Centre in Nagaland is the first among the eight NE states including Sikkim as promised by the PM and will provide employment to at least 1200 educated unemployed youths.

The Union Minister noted that the NE has a unique textile culture, which can be showcased to the rest of the world.

He also expressed delight to learn that Naga youth have a penchant in fashion designing.

Thanking the Nagaland Government for allotting the land for the centres, the minister assured that infrastructure will be completed in three months time so that they become functional by July-August.

Gangwar said the centres would provide gainful employment to the youth and boost local economy. He further called upon the people to work unit-

edly to develop the garment sector in the region.

Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles, SK Panda, said that though NE handloom products have been a matter of pride, yet they have failed to kick off due to lack of infrastructure and other factors.

He said the Apparel & Garment Manufacturing Centre would serve various purposes including imparting skills, production of fashion apparel and also tag handloom with tourism.

Nagaland minister for Power, Kipili Sangtam, and Lok Sabha MP, Neiphiu Rio, also spoke on the occasion.

About the Apparel & Garment Manufacturing Centre Scheme The scheme, entirely funded by Ministry of Textiles under NERTPS, will augment the capacity in the NE for unleashing entrepreneurship and creating skilled workforce pool for the apparel sectors. It aims to create an integrated workspace and linkage based on entrepreneurial ecosystem for the start ups. Apparel manufacturing centres, having three production units, will be set up in each of the NE state, with the objective of promoting entrepreneurship, generating employment and creating skilled workforce by training local population in the state.

The scheme also envisages to address migration of youth to other states and to diversify the textile initiative by creating organized apparel units and to enable the domestic handloom of NE to integrate with the fashion industry.

C M Y K

C M Y K

2

Dimapur

Wednesday

LocaL

25 February 2015

The Morung Express C

Entrepreneurship- a crucial part of employment Our Correspondent

Kohima | February 24

A two-day workshop on education and employability skill development organized by Mount Olive College, Kohima jointly with Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Ministry of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs & Sport in collaboration with Film and Cultural Society of North East was held from February 23 to 24.

Theja Meru, Musician and Entrepreneur, who addressed the students on motivational talk focused on entrepreneurship in Nagaland.

“Entrepreneurship is not an option. You have to come and put a lot of seriousness and consideration in it,” said the Entrepreneur

Students of Mount Olive College, Kohima interacting with Simon Berry (Social Entrepreneur) through Skype during the workshop on education and employability skill development. (Morung Photo)

who pointed out that every year around 10,000 students graduates in Nagaland but only 1000 jobs are

available in the state, thereMeru, while stating that fore entrepreneurship be- one cannot keep blaming comes a crucial part of em- the government because a ployment. society needs the govern-

ment’s intervention and support to grow, also advocated for clean election and urged the student to be campaigners of clean election for an accountable government. “Our problems are bigger than big but we are smaller than small.

The solution is we have to be smarter than smart,” urged Meru to the students.

Meru who emphasized on wealth accumulation among the students asserted that money is not everything but money is many things and that money is necessary to acquire the materials that each individual needs and want today while further adding, “The smell of fresh, clean, good money earned through your hard work, brains and innovation is awesome.”

What makes a country

successful is its work culture, time management, reading habits, savings, added Meru while citing examples of first world countries like Japan, Singapore which started small with hardly any productive resources. Meru further encourage the students to take up entrepreneurship with a conviction and commitment adding, “If you succeed, everybody succeeds with you.”

Solomon, Asst Manager, Vijaya Bank, delivered Kohima a briefing on loan facilities for new entrepreneurs and students.

On the concluding day, a screening of the film “The Cola Road” was witnessed by the students and an interaction with Simon Berry (Social Entrepreneur) was held through Skype.

NABCONS conduct awareness prog on commodity exchange

M Y K

ZuNheboto, February 24 (mexN): A one-day awareness programme on commodity exchange was conducted at Town Hall, Pughoboto town, Zunheboto district on February 21. NABCONS (NABARD Consultancy Services) on behalf of Forward Market Commission (FMC), Government of India conducted the programme.

V. Chelladurai, General Manager, NABARD & Principal Representative of NABCONS in Nagaland and Bendang Aier, AGM, NABARD, as resource persons, sensitised the participants about price discovery, how it empowers farmers to take good decisions and the protection they get against price risk by entering into futures contract through commodity exchange. The role and functions of Forward Market Commission (FMC) as the regulatory authority over all the commodity exchanges operating in the country was explained.

More than one hundred participants representing district administration, agriculture department, Town Committee, Self Help Groups and farmers from Lazami, Mishilimi, Natsumi and Ghathashivillages attended the programme, which was organised with active support from Nagaland Rural Bank (NRB), Pughoboto branch. Thejako Pucho, Branch Manager, NRB, Pughoboto branch and Rev. Vitoshe Wotsa respectively, pronounced the welcome address and invocation prayer. Kekhriezo, Assistant Manager from NRB, Head Office, Kohima said the vote of thanks. The programme ended with screening of documentaries on price discovery, futures contract and commodity exchange.

CM flag off army recruitment rally

C M Y K

Kohima, February 24 (DiPr): Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang flagged off the army recruitment rally at the IG Stadium Kohima on February 24.

In his brief address, Zeliang congratulated and appreciated the Naga youth for coming forward to serve the state and the nation. He appealed to all Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Textiles, alone with SK Panda, secretary , Ministry of the Naga people, already Textiles (R) and Rayja Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio (L) cutting the ribbon during the inauguration serving in the army to moof Weavers’ Service Centre and Unveiling of Plague for Apparel & Garment Manufacturing tivate their fellow brothers centre at Dimapur on February 24. Photo by Caisii Mao and to educate them about the positive culture and the benefits in terms of skills, discipline and personality improvements that comes from serving in the army.

He expressed happiness for the overwhelming response and conveyed his best wishes to all the candidates appearing in the recruitment rally “This rally will provide better opportunities to our youth to join the Indian army,” he maintained.

Zeliang remarked that the youth of Nagaland always had exceptional martial skills, where officers

DMC’s rigorous drainage cleaning

and soldiers from Nagaland have done the Nation and the Indian army proud on numerous occasions by displaying exemplary valour and gallantry in war and in other operation against antinational forces in Jammu & Kashmir. Zeliang said that he expects more participation of Naga people in the Indian army and reminded them that joining the Indian Army is not merely as a job but an opportunity for serving the country.

The Chief Minister of Nagaland expressed gratitude to Brigadier Lamba and his team for conducting the rally in the state of Nagaland and assured them of all the needed help and cooperation from the civil administration.

He also complimented Brigadier K.K Roy Choudhury, Director of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement, Nagaland and his staff for motivating the Naga youth, by providing free of cost coaching and guidance to facilitate them to qualify in the recruitment test.

ANGPTA not to take part in agitation DMC Administrator, Atokhe seen supervising the drainage cleaning at New Market Dimapur DimaPur, February 24 (mexN): The All Nagaon Tuesday. (Morung Photo) C M Y K

Morung Express News Dimapur | February 24

The Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) is continuing its rigorous cleaning of clogged drainages in many areas of the town. On Tuesday, the DMC staff supervised by its Administrator, H. Atokhe Aye cleared the main drainage at New Market, which was clogged for a long time.

Interacting with this reporter, Atokhe said it was found during the clearing that many buildings near

the drainage were letting out its latrine waste into the drain. He has appealed the people to stop the practice in the interest of commuters and business community of the area. On Sunday, the DMC plans to clear drainages on both sides along Nyamo Lotha Road from Plaza Point till St. Montessori School.

On behalf of the New Market (Baba Market) businessmen, A.K. Tapadar expressed heartfelt gratitude to the DMC Administrator, Atokhe for personally

supervising the clearance work of the drain which often causes flood in their area during rainy season.

“We will continue to extend our support to the DMC towards this effort,” he added.

Tapadar also thanked President of New Market Business Owners’ Association, Hokivi Chishi under whose leadership the welfare of New Market businessmen is being looked after.

The drainage clearing is part of DMC’s 2nd phase developmental activities in the town.

land Graduate Primary Teachers Association (ANGPTA) comprising of both the central office bearers and all district units have decided not to take part in the proposed agitation called by ANSTA, NSEAOA, and NSSFOF from March 2. ANGPTA President Bendang and general secretary Hoshika H Sumi in a press release cautioned its members to refrain themselves from the said agitation and to perform their normal duty as usual, as this proposed agitation is only for the welfare of some section of teachers, where we are not covered under it either directly or indirectly. “Though ANGPTA is a part and body of ANSTA yet it shall not involve itself in this very agitation as the grievances of our association are ignored/unaddressed by our parent body as the general welfare of other categories of teachers (like primary teachers) are totally ignored,” the Association stated further.

Farewell function of CS on Feb 28 Kohima, February 24 (DiPr): Additional Chief Secretary & Home Commissioner has informed to all the Administrative Heads and Heads of Department that the farewell function in honour of Chief Secretary of Nagaland, CJ Ponraj, IAS, who is demitting office on February 28 will be held on February 27 at 1 p.m. at Secretariat Plaza, Nagaland Civil Secretary. The ACS & Home Commissioner has therefore requested all the concerned to attend the function.

Chief Minister flags off army recruitment rally at the IG Stadium Kohima on February 24. (DIPR Photo)

Brigadier K.K Roy Choudhury, SM, VSM Director of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement, Nagaland who delivered the welcome note informed that the rally which commence today would continue upto 6th March 2015.

He disclosed that candidates who qualify for physical and medical test will be selected to appear in the written test on 15th March at Rangapahar Dimapur.

Different date schedule has been exclusively kept for various districts of Nagaland. Aspiring candidates from Longleng, Mon, Mokokchung and Tuensang are appearing in the recruitment rally 24th February 2015. Candidates from four districts i.e Wokha, Zunheboto, Phek and Peren will appear on 25th February 2015 while 27th February has been scheduled for candidate from Dimapur, Kohi-

ma and Kiphire districts.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Nagaland Home Minister, Y. Patton, Minister for Forest, Environment & Wildlife, Dr. Niekiesalie Nicky Kire, Parliamentary Secretary, Youth Resources, NRE & MTF, Khriehu Liezietsu, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Nagaland, Temjen Toy IAS, Special Secretary Home Singsit, Joint Secretary, Asangla Imti and government officials.

C M Y K

BAM School shifted to new campus

PheK, February 24 (mexN): Bishop Abraham Memorial (BAM) School was on February 23 shifted to a new campus, which was inaugurated by Murohu Chotso, Deputy Commissioner, Phek. Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, Bishop of Kohima blessed the inauguration, informed Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary, Kohima in a release.

Murohu Chotso congratulated the Catholic Church for the yeomen service rendered towards education and development of the Naga people.

Mentioning that he had the chance to be associated with Queen Mary Higher Secondary School, Mokokchung, one of the best in the State, the DC hoped that BAM will produce good and quality officers and administrators.

Meanwhile, he encouraged the parents to co-op-

erate with the school authority in bringing up their children; “Even corporal punishment become necessary at times to discipline our children and parents should not shrink their responsibility,” stated and promised public support and co-operation in the development of the school in the days to come.

The Bishop in his speech said, “It is a miracle that we were able to complete this structure within a record time of seven months, even without the necessary resources at the disposal.” The school was named after late Bishop Abraham, who was the first bishop of Nagaland, it was informed. Abraham, according to the Bishop, had a dream to establish good Catholic schools in each district headquarters and Phek was one of the places where that dream was not fulfilled due to

“narrow minded of leaders.”

Thus, they lost thirty years.

Further, he said the Church receives no fund from the government, but all their resources come from the sacrifice of poor people and savings made from different centers and parishes. He categorically stated, “No money is taken out of Nagaland instead; money is brought in for the development of our people and for providing quality education at the doorstep of our people in the interior parts of Nagaland.” He also added that 90% of the students in the Catholic schools are non-Catholics and there should not be any fear of coming close to Catholic Church, “the mother of all Churches.” He sought co-operation and collaboration of the public of Phek town for the development of the road, water and electricity to the new campus.

C M Y K

Toulazouma pig-rearing project enters third phase Morung Express News Dimapur | February 24

C M Y K

The pig-rearing project at Toulazouma Village sponsored by NEDFi under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and implemented by Dimapur based NGO Community Development Foundation (CDF) has entered the crucial third phase.

In the third phase of implementation held Tuesday at Toulazouma Village, forty piglets of the total target of 70 piglets were distributed to the villagers as part of the initiative to encourage pig rearing as a viable economic activity for sustainable livelihood.

The piglet distribution programme was held in presence of NEDFi Dimapur branch manager, Vimeyiel Richa, and CDF director, Henry Heshu.

Addressing the benefi-

NEDFi officials and Community Development Foundation (CDF) members along with beneficiaries of the pig rearing project at Toulazouma Village during the piglet distribution, Tuesday. (Morung Photo)

ciaries, the NEDFi manager said the project at Toulazouma Village is the first piggery project in the North East Region sponsored by NEDFi. Richa said the Toulazouma project would serve as a model on whether such piggery projects can be implemented in other villages. Assuring

the NEDFi would continue to extend all possible assistance for successful implementation of the project, he also appealed the beneficiaries to be committed to the project.

Director, CDF, Henry Heshu, said it was high time that Nagas learn to stand on their own feet for

their sustenance, especially in meat production, and not depend on imports or other people to do their work. Urging the beneficiaries to imbibe work culture, Heshu said NEDFi would be willing to extend more assistance if the piggery project proves to be a success.

Chairman, Toulazouma Village Counicl, Lhousezo Suokhrie, on behalf of the villagers thanked NEDFi and CDF for selecting the village as the site of the model piggery project.

The main objective of the piggery project, which has now entered the third year, is to strengthen the farmers’ income and opportunity through piggery. Besides providing piglets free of cost, NEDFi along with CDF also supplies composite supplementary diet and extend vet care support services and trainings.

It is also hoped that in the next five years, Toulazouma Village would be able to supply pork meat as well as piglets for rearing.

In the first two phases, 56 families had benefited from the project with each family supplied to piglets for rearing and further propagation.

C M Y K

REgional

The Morung Express

Wednesday

Dimapur

25 February 2015

3

Arunachal Pradesh 'integral and HC relief for Meghalaya children inalienable' part of India: Govt New Delhi, FebruAry 24 (PTi): Asserting that Arunachal Pradesh was India's "integral and inalienable" part, the government on Tuesday said Indian leaders visit that state as they visit other parts of the country, four days after China raised a strong protest over Prime Minister Narendra Modi going to that state.

"The state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India.

The people of Arunachal Pradesh are citizens of India. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other parts of India," spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry Syed Akbaruddin said.

He was replying to a query if there was any chance that India will give

a strong reply to China on Arunachal Pradesh issue after it commented on Modi's visit to that state.

The spokesperson was answering questions during a live 'Q&A' session on Facebook.

Expressing its "diametrical opposition" to Modi's visit to Arunachal, China had lodged a strong protest with India, saying it was not conducive for resolving the border dispute.

China claims the northern part of the state as a part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, a claim rejected by India.

Modi had visit Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month to participate in the state's 29th foundation day and also flagged off the Naharlagun-New Delhi Express by pressing a button at a function held

Northeast Briefs

Indefinite total bandh in Mizoram to demand better roads

in state capital Itanagar.

The development is significant given that both countries are preparing for Modi's visit to Beijing in May. To a separate question on response to 'Visit India Year 2015' launched by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Beijing, the spokesperson said, "It is less than a month since the Visit India Year 2015 was launched in Beijing.

The first data will come in March. We expect an increase in tourists."

During the 45-minute Facebook session, the spokesperson received about 1,300 questions ranging from job opportunities in India to consular issues to government welfare schemes. He responded to over 20 questions.

Asked about the shortage of Indian diplomats,

the MEA spokesperson said there were nearly 2,000 Indian diplomats but it was still not enough.

"This of course is still not enough. We have increased our annual intake to the Indian Foreign Service. When I joined in 1985, the annual intake was only 12. Now, in 2014, it is 35.

This is a nearly 300 percent increase," he said.

On reports that Sri Lanka will ink nuclear pact with Pakistan, he said India was the first country with which Sri Lanka has signed a nuclear agreement. "It indicates the trust that we have in cooperating with each other on this sensitive technology," Akbaruddin added.

He was also questioned about a YouTube message by a group of Indian nationals stuck in Jeddah, to which he

replied that country's Consulate in Jeddah was fully aware of the case and all possible steps are being taken in actively pursuing it with various Saudi authorities.

On India's membership in the UN Security Council, he said the UNSC reform process was being discussed at the UN General Assembly. "We are hoping for a framework to be agreed upon. Once this is done, individual countries will be able to vote for candidates, including India, for permanent membership," the spokesperson said.

Asked about by when India would get bullet train, he said a feasibility report on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route for the bullet train was being prepared which was likely to be ready by June.

"Further decisions can be taken after that," he added.

32 Congress candidates elected unopposed in village council polls

AizAwl, FebruAry 24 (eNS): Thirty-two Congress candidates have been declared elected unopposed to six village councils in Mizoram’s Chakma Autonomous District as the district readies to face rural body polls for 71 other rural bodies on Wednesday.

The BJP, for the first time, has fielded more candidates than state parties.

A statement by the AizAwl, FebruAry 24 (PTi): A member of Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram (BDFM), who was allegedly involved in the abduction of two employees of Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) earlier this month, was arrested by Mizoram police and remanded to judicial custody, police said today.

Lianmawia (45), resident of Naisingpara relief camp in North Tripura district, was arrested at Tongsnampara in North Tripura district, around 12 kilometres from the Bangladesh bor- iTANAGAr, Februder, yesterday in connection with the February 2 kidnapping. Ary 24 (PTi): Arunachal BDFM members had allegedly abducted a large number of Pradesh Chief Minister people, both Mizos and non-tribals from Mamit district on Nabam Tuki today expressed discontent over Mizoram-Tripura-Bangladesh border since 2011. the pattern of rural development fund released by the Centre. imPhAl, FebruAry 24 (PTi): An improvised exAddressing the State plosive device (IED) was found near a jail in Imphal West Employment Guarantee district this morning. Police said Assam Rifles personnel of 24th battalion found the IED while patrolling Sajiwa Council (SEGC) meeting area, about 15 km north of here and reported it to them. here, Tuki asked the rural The bomb was later removed and defused by experts, the development department police said, adding, it could have been the handiwork of to take up the matter with militants who might have planted it to attack security the ministry to release funds so that maximum personnel who patrol the area and jail complex daily. days of employment can be provided besides creating sustainable asset in rural areas.

GuwAhATi, FebruAry 24 (PTi): The Assam government has decided to introduce with immediate effect self-attestation of documents in lieu of attestation by gazetted officers/magistrates, etc in all cases except where there is statutory requirement. This order also pertains to self-declaration in place of submission of court affidavits, AGArTAlA, Februsaid a government release here today. The initiative by the Ary 24 (iANS): The State Government is to simplify government procedures strength of women memand to promote Citizen Centric Administration, it said. bers of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Tripura rose to a record 26 percent against 12 percent at the national imPhAl, FebruAry 24 (AGeNcieS): Few students' level, a top party leader organisations demanded strict actions against schools which concealed the fact that they were not recognised said here Tuesday.

"Around 26 percent out by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

These schools - Central Institute of Science, Galaxy Se- of 87,691 CPI-M members nior Secondary School, Akash Institute of Science and in Tripura are women. AlArts, Ram Krishna Higher Secondary School and Asian ways the percentage of Co-Educational Institute - have reportedly admitted 2200 women members of the students. Their plan was to allow the students to appear in party was higher in Tripura the class 10 and 12 examinations through two recognised compared to national proschools, namely MM Higher Secondary School and Little portion," Tripura CPI-M Rose Higher Secondary School. However, the CBSE re- state secretary Bijan Dhar jected the plan. When these schools failed to issue admit told reporters. cards for the examinations beginning from March 2, the He said that after the students and their parents vandalised the school proper- last state conference in ties recently. The principals and teachers are absconding. 2012, the number of party AizAwl, FebruAry 24 (eNS): An indefinite total bandh began in southern Mizoram’s Lai Autonomous District on Tuesday as the Young Lai Association demands better roads and better electricity in the region. The YLA’s total bandh is to demand better roads from Lunglei district, the main thoroughfare to the Lai district from Mizoram capital Aizawl, and to force the government to re-route a planned new highway through the district’s capital Lawngtlai. The current plans for the road will bypass the town. The YLA is also demanding an Executive Engineer’s post be sanctioned for the district in the Power and Electricity department.

Bru outfit man arrested

State Election Commission said on Tuesday that 32 Congress candidates did not face any competing candidates in six village council areas and have therefore been declared elected unopposed.

The SEC also gave the figures of each competing party’s candidates – 480 for Congress, 187 for BJP, 148 independents and 108 for the Mizo National Front.

Neither the Mizoram Peo-

ple’s Conference nor the Zoram Nationalist Party have fielded candidate for the 481 seats up for grabs in the rural polls.

The Chakma areas of southern Mizoram have been a traditional Congress stronghold, but the BJP has this year attempted to make inroads in the region.

It has recently welcomed several veteran politicians from both the Congress and MNF into its fold.

cheNNAi, FebruAry 24 (The hiNDu): Twenty parents in Meghalaya can now heave a sigh of relief with the Madras High Court quashing an order of the Child Welfare Committee that their children who are staying at Hosur in Krishnagiri district be sent back to their home State.

They can now continue their education, because the parents submitted that it was their decision that the children should study in Tamil Nadu.

The children were staying at the Sri Niveditha Trust in Krishnagiri district.

On October 24, 2013, the Child Welfare Committee, Krishnagiri, passed an order that they be sent back to Meghalaya.

The order had been passed under Section 38 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act.

IED recovered near Manipur jail

Self-attestation of documents to be introduced in Assam

Nabam Tuki

der was cryptic and mentioned no reason for transferring the children, though the panel enjoyed statutory powers.

The parents’ stand that it was only as per their request the children were studying in Tamil Nadu was undisputed. Parents were the natural guardians of the children and entitled to take a decision.

If they did not want the children to study here in the present scenario, they could take them back.

The court called upon the Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya Governments to examine the suggestions given by the NCPCR for necessary action within four months.

It quashed the impugned order. They can continue their education in the State as per the wishes of their parents.

ST status to more Assam communities likely GuwAhATi, FebruAry 24 (Dc): In what may change course of politics in Assam, the ministry of home affairs is set to recommend tribal status for at least 26 communities of adivsis, like Munda, Oraon, Santhal and other tribals of Jaharkhand origin, mostly associated with the tea plantation industry of Assam.

Pointing out that 97 communities are listed as tea tribes in the state, authoritative security sources in the home ministry told this newspaper that most of them are listed as Other Backward Class (OBC) at their respective place of origin so all in the list of tea tribes of Assam can’t be granted ST status.

Disclosing that Cabinet memorandum has already been prepared to include 26 adivsis in the schedule list of Assam, authoritative security sources said that the ministry has also forwarded the report of a parliamentary committee in 2002 to the tribal affairs ministry which proposed to

Tuki unhappy with central fund release Tuki said fund released under centrally sponsored schemes to the state would be immediately released to the departments concerned along with the state's matching share so as to lift the next instalment of central fund on time.

The meeting approved the labour budget for both IPPE (Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise) and non-IPPE blocks for 2015-16 besides resolving to set up a social audit unit for which funds would be borne by the union RD ministry.

The petitioners’ wards were sent back to Meghalaya. Thereafter, pursuant to the High Court’s directive, the matter was examined by the Chief Secretary, Meghalaya. The official had recorded the parents’ statement.

Already, following an interim directive of the High Court, the children were continuing their education at present as per their parents’ wishes.

When the matter came up before the First Bench comprising Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice M.M. Sundresh, counsel for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) submitted that the parents’ stand could not be disputed.

The Commission filed a report and the draft protocol on child trafficking.

The Bench observed that the committee’s or-

The meeting also resolved to appoint Ombudsman from civil society with law background and preferably retired civil servants with age above 65 years, Convergence of MGNREGA programmes with other programmes like tree plantation and sanitary latrines and major allocation of the fund provision to be kept for agriculture based activities.

The meeting was attended by commissioner, secretary, director, chief engineer and the zilla parishad chairpersons of the districts.

include tribal groups — Tai Ahom, Moran, Motok, Koch-Rajbongshis, and Chutia with adivsis in the schedule list.

It is significant that 26 adivasi communities, which are going to be included in the schedule list of Assam, have Scheduled Tribe status in their respective place of origin. The adivasis, which is known as tea tribes in Assam, comprising present and past plantation workers, have an estimated population of more than 60 lakhs in Assam.

However, due to sizeable presence of OBC workers in the tea-tribe community, the Adivasis of Jharkhand origin were deprived of getting the ST status which they have been accorded at their respective states of origin.

Clarifying that a parliamentary committee in 2002 had recommended the inclusion of these communities in the schedule list of Assam, security sources said that home ministry has already started the process.

SALE

SALE

TATA GRANDE

Model Color Mfd Date Price Location Contact

SALE

: Sumo Grande GX : Castle Grey : 4/2011 : 6, 20,000(Negotiable) : Dimapur : 9856188628/9436002400

ADMISSION

The following courses are offered

1. Special coaching for N.P.S.C (Prelim-2015) UPSC, SSC and other competitive Exam.

2. Spoken English Course 3. Computer courses 4. Typewriting 5. Stenography 6. Cutting &Tailoring 7. Embroidery 8. Knitting Contact:

Capital Training Institute Near T.C.P.Gate, Kohima Mob: 9402831939

CPI-M women members at record number

Students' bodies demand action against private schools

members rose to 87,691 from 76,636 despite 1,391 party members getting killed. Besides, another 707 members were expelled from the party on numerous grounds and 7,072 members did not renew their membership.

At the national level, 12 percent of the total 1,065,406 members (as per 2013 data) are women.

"Quality of party members is a big issue for us.

Our rectification move is on and this is an endless task. To maintain quality of membership is also a non stop endeavour," said Dhar, also a CPI-M central committee member.

He said that ahead of

the four-day 21st state conference of the CPI-M, beginning Wednesday, conferences of eight district committees, 24 divisional committees, 244 local committees and 6,000 branch committees were held during the past three months.

A large number of secretaries in three tiers - divisional, local and branch - have been dropped due to diverse reasons.

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, his wife and party's politburo member Brinda Karat, West Bengal CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar are the key speakers at the indoor party conference.

Intellectuals appeal for saving rhinos GuwAhATi, FebruAry 24 (PTi): Intellectuals of Assam have appealed to the people asking them do their best to stop poaching of rhinos, which is the 'Pride of Assam'.

"We need to build up a strong support base for the sake of the rhino and its preservation for which we earnestly appeal to all to come forward and do everything possible to protect and nurture this wonderful creature," a Raj Bhavan release quoted intellectuals as saying in a meeting.

To protect the great one-horned Indian rhinoceros of the state, Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna

Acharya has convened a meeting of intellectuals to discuss the issue.

After detailed discussions, members of various organisations present in the meeting conveyed to the Governor their decision to issue a public appeal from their side.

"The rhino is our identity.... Killing of rhinos is a challenge to Assam's identity. Saving the rhino will ensure safeguard of the environment that will lead to conservation of natural habitats of all species," the release said today.

Wanting the residents along the wildlife sanctuaries to be the foremost

protectors to prevent the poachers, they said,"We should equip these 1st Line saviours and protectors to act against these poachers. It is our foremost duty to win their trust so that they can become our foremost allies."

The intellectuals expressed concern in the appeal as rhino population, which was once abundant in the alluvial grasslands of the Brahmaputra valley in Assam, has drastically come down in the recent times.

This is mainly due to poaching and some other reasons like large scale disappearance of their habi-

tats, the release said, adding this third largest animal in the world is now facing a serious threat from multiple corners.

Stating the population of rhinos was restricted to Assam's national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of Kaziranga, Orang, Pabitora and Manas, the appeal pointed out that rhino poaching in the state has become one of the major environmental issues in the country.

Poaching for the rhino's horn is the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino even though a number of conservation measures have been taken up by the

authorities, the meeting held February 17 on noted.

The government has taken preventive measures but the situation has not improved much and that calls for more effective actions on the part of the government, agencies and other stakeholders of the civil society, the participants said.

Representatives from Asom Sahitya Sabha, Gauhati University, Vivekananda Kendra, Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Sahitya Sabha, and other intellectuals and former Bihar and Tripura Governor Devananda Konwar attended the meeting.

The Grace Prayer Centre, Forest Colony Dimapur observed its third foundation day on February 24, 2015 with Rev. Kika Jamir as speaker (Inset). Rev. Akou Punyu, Rev. James Ngully, Aleno (Director Grace Prayer Centre) along with Moayanger L. Pongener, Tsadipong T. Longkumer (all counsellors) and well wishers attended the foundation day.

NAGALAND HANDLOOM & HANDICRAFTS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD

Cordially invite you to the

CRAFT BAZAR To be inaugurated by : Shri.T. WATI AO Managinng Director NHHDC Ltd, Dimapur, Nagaland On 25th February, 2015 at 1:00 P.M at

Urban Haat Bellow old Dhansiri Bridge Dimapur, Nagaland

Sponsored by: Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Govt. of India, Ministry of Textiles, New Delhi R.S.V.P 03862-224591/ 230046

SHIKU TETSO General Manager

4 businEss US asks India to remove obstacles in bilateral trade Wednesday

Dimapur

The Morung Express

25 February 2015

hyDerabaD, February 24 (iaNS): The US wants India to remove obstacles in the way of boosting two-way trade with reforms, more openness of economy, ease of doing business and by giving confidence to investors.

US Ambassador Richard Verma Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made rationalisation of bureaucratic procedure a high priority on his list of reforms and that the US eagerly anticipates substantial progress in this direction.

Addressing students at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here Monday night, he said some of the challenges in improving bilateral trade could be addressed by a high standard bilateral investment treaty.

“India continues to be perceived as a tough place to do

business. It ranks 142 in the World Bank ranking measuring ease of doing business.

Investor confidence is still shaky. Intellectual property enforcement is perceived as weak and many sectors still remain closed to outside investors and businesses,” he said.

The ambassador was speaking on “India and the United States: Building strong and sustainable economies for our people”.

His observations are considered significant in the wake of US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to India during which the two countries set a target to take bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2020 from the current $100 billion.

Stating that the two-way trade tripled from $19 to $100 billion in 12 years and the defence sales have gone from

Fares and freights for contract and goods carriage

zero to $10 billion in a decade, Verma said they have only scratched the surface.

Referring to potential spoilers, he said an investment treaty could address some challenges.

“The US remains committed to negotiating a treaty with India. A high standard treaty will give assurance to those people and companies who want to create jobs and invest in India’s future and it could even lead to more comprehensive bilateral trade agreement between two countries,” he said.

The ambassador said a hotel CEO recently mentioned that it takes an average 80 permits to build a single hotel in India while it required only six permits in Singapore.

“According to the World Bank, it takes an average nearly four years to resolve commer-

cial disputes here, the third longest average in the world.

Creditors wait even longer to recover funds from a company which has become insolvent,” he said.

“Indian courts face a backlog of 30 to 40 million cases nationwide. Companies simply cannot afford to invest in or provide financing for an economy where legal justice comes too late when it comes at all,” he added.

He said while it was for the Indian people to resolve questions of openness of the Indian economy and transparency of government decision-making, the experience shows that economic reforms, legal certainty, enforceability and transparency are hallmarks of successful economic systems with high investor confidence and potential for growth.

Verma said he believes the US and India have common interest in intellectual property.

“If India wants best technologies, the newest products and innovations then it must be known for best intellectual property regime,” he said.

Stating that this was a transformative time for the US-India relationship, he said Obama’s visit was more than symbolic.

The ambassador said the US was partnering with India in financial inclusion, skills training and clean energy development.

He quoted Obama that India’s rise economically was in the interest of regional and global stability and global economic growth.

“If our two economies are growing together, we can be a powerful engine of prosperity across the globe,” he added.

New Delhi, February 24 (iaNS): Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet Tuesday launched its Holi promotional scheme ‘colour the skies’ with domestic fares starting at Rs.1,699 all inclusive.

The airline’s promotional scheme is also valid for international bookings starting at Rs.3,799 for Delhi to Kathmandu.

According to the airline, under the latest offer, tickets on routes like Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Delhi to Dehradun, Guwahati to Kolkata, Ahmedabad to Mumbai and Bangalore to Hyderabad can be booked at Rs.1,699.

Delhi to Kathmandu flights can be booked at Rs.3,799, with discounted fares also available on most other inter-

national routes.

The company said that a total of 100,000 seats are available on sale.

The latest discount scheme by the company is one of the many such offers that it has come out with in the recent past to shore up bookings in the lean travel period.

The company said that passengers can make bookings for the latest offer which is now open till midnight Feb 26 for travel period from March 1 to April 20, 2015.

The airline had recently announced a new enhanced schedule effective from March 29. The new schedule offers improved metro connectivity, attractive day return options, attractive non-metro connections and better timings.

TRAI slashes various call connecting charges as zero,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement Monday.

The TRAI Monday issued the “Telecommunication Interconnection Usage Charges (Eleventh Amendment) Regulations” which prescribed revised domestic termination charge (MTC and fixed termination charges) and International Termination Charges.

“Mobile termination charge (MTC) for all calls originating from wireless network has been reduced from 20 paise per minute to 14 paise per minute,” the statement said. “Termination charge for international incoming calls has been increased to 53 paise per

minute from existing 40 paise per minute,” the statement said.

Domestic termination charges are the charges payable by a telecom service provider (TSP) whose subscriber originates the call, to the TSP in whose network the call terminates.

In the prevailing Calling Party Pays regime, the calling party subscriber pays for the call to his TSP who, in turn, pays termination charges to the called party’s TSP to cover the interconnection/network usage costs.

The International Termination Charges are the charges payable by an International Long Distance Operator, which is carrying

_

LEISURE

Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.”

SUDOKU Game Number # 3148

New Delhi, February 24 (ageNcieS): The Modi Government has accepted the 14th Finance Commission’s (FFC) recommendation that the Centre should transfer 42 per cent of divisible pool to the states, including taxes, grants and so on. The recommendation is for the fiveyear period 2015-16 to 2019-20.

The 13th Finance Commission had suggested these transfers to be at 39.5%. “The Government has accepted the FFC recommendation of 42% in the spirit of cooperative federalism,” a highlyplaced source in the Modi Government told The Hindu.

In a radical recommendation the FFC headed by former Reserve Bank Governor Y.V. Reddy, has suggested that there be no distinction in the plan and nonplan allocations.

A compositional shift in the

Central allocations to States between tax devolutions and plan grants has been recommended too. Tax devolutions are to be higher. The recommendation is on the basis of demands from an overwhelming number of states that the number of centrally sponsored schemes be reduced and the states be given the freedom to spend as they decide rather than on the basis of policies formulated at the Centre.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the FFC report in Lok Sabha earlier on Tuesday.

The report will be tabled in Rajya Sabha later in the afternoon.

The report has a dissent note on the vertical devolution from FFC Member Abhijit Sen who has said that the 42-per cent transfers have the consequence of reducing the fiscal space available to the Centre.

SpiceJet offers Holi discount ‘Samsung leads Indian smartphone market’ scheme starting at Rs.1,699 Smartphones: Used is the new cool

Kohima, February 24 (DiPr): The Transport Commissioner & Member Secretary, State Transport Authority, H. Achumi in a notification stated that in exercise of the power conferred under section 67 (1) (i) of the M.V Act, 1988, the State Transport Authority has fixed the maximum fares and freights for Contract Carriage and Goods Carriage for all routes within the state as follows with immediate effect.

1. Contract Carriage (Taxi) i) Seating Capacity upto 4 @ Rs. 3.00 per km per passenger (Less than 100 km); @ Rs. 2.50 per km per passenger (More than 100 km) ii) Seating Capacity of 5 & above @ Rs. 3.00 per km per passenger (Less than 100 km); @ Rs. 2.20 per km per passenger (More than 100 km) 2. Goods Carriage (By authorized pay load) i) Heavy (More than 9000 kg): @ Rs. 60/- per km ii) Medium (More than 3000 kg but less than 9000 kg): @ Rs. 30/- per km iii) Light (Less than 3000): @ Rs. 22/- per km.

New Delhi, February 24 (iaNS): Aiming to boost adoption of wireline network or fixed line phone connections in the country, the telecom regulator did away with charges that a landline service provider has to pay to other service providers for transmitting its phone calls. This move by the regulator may reduce tariffs.

“To promote investments and adoption of wireline network (so that they become an effective vehicle for delivery of high speed internet in the country), the Authority has decided to prescribe Fixed Termination Charges (FTC) as well as Mobile Termination Charge (MTC) for wireline to wireless calls

Centre accepts 14th Finance Commission recommendations

calls from outside the country to a TSP in the country in whose network the call terminates.

“We welcome the regulation to the extent that it reflects part of our aspiration. Our stand always has been Bill & Keep. The regulation has prescribed this principle for calls between wired and wireless networks but not on wireless to wireless networks,” Arvind Bali, chief executive officer & director, Videocon Telecom said.

“Keeping a termination charge of 14 paise for calls between wireless networks is, indeed, not equitable and to some extent takes away the impact of its forward look significantly,” he added.

New Delhi, February 24 (iaNS): South Korean handset maker Samsung continued to retain its top position in the Indian smartphone market in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2014, a report by International Data Corporation (IDC) said Tuesday.

Samsung mopped up 22% of the market share followed by Micromax 18%, Intex 8%, Lava 7%, Xiaomi 4% and the rest 41% by others. According to IDC India, the smartphone market observed shipment contraction in Q4 for the first time ever (quarter-on-quarter basis).

“This was largely owing to a high channel inventory at the beginning of the quarter amongst general trade which in turn was caused by the surge witnessed in online sales during festive season,” the statement here by IDC said.

The fourth quarter of 2014 was seen as a correction phase wherein the smartphone market declined by 4% while the feature phone market plummeted by approximately 14% over the third quarter (July-September) 2014.

The overall mobile phone market stood at 64.3 million units in Q4 2014, which reflects a sequential drop of 11 percent over Q3 2014 and an annual drop of five percent. “Feature

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 3158

Answer Number # 3147

New yorK, February 24 (iaNS): Ever used a second hand high-end smartphone? That’s a growing trend now, according to a new survey report. Market research firm Gartner recently released a report projecting the used smartphone market to roughly double to 120 million units, or a wholesale value of $14 billion by 2017, CNET reported.

“With consumers in mature markets upgrading their smartphones every 18 to 20 months, the inevitable question is what happens to the old device?” Gartner analyst Meike Escherich was quoted as saying by CNET. Previously, used cellphones primarily ended up in the hands of consumers in developing markets. But that’s changing.

With consumers increasingly looking to tighten their purse strings, a year-old smartphone looks like a cool deal. And for those who hanker for the latest, selling off the old high-end phone is an attractive way to bolster their funds.

Many companies are capitalising on this trend. One such player is Gazelle, an e-commerce company that specialises in enabling people to sell used electronics.

In October, Gazelle began offering the option to also buy used smartphones.

“It’s a huge market that’s growing fast,” Gazelle CEO Chris Sullivan said in an interview.

Gazelle’s own studies found that within the same household, one member of a family could be constantly upgrading to the newest smartphone, with other members either taking the second hand phone or buying a cheaper used model. phone to smartphone migration trend is clearly visible. Smartphones formed a healthy 35% of the overall mobile business in Q4 2014, which is up by 13% from a year ago, that is, Q4 2013,” the report added.

“Smartphone vendors are quick in gauging the DIMAPUR civil hospital:

consumer demand for 4G handsets. In percentage terms, 4Gy handsets are still in single digit. But vendors who are not yet ready with the 4G portfolio are likely to miss the next wave of smartphone growth story.” Karan Thakkar, senior market analyst, IDC India said.

STD CODE: 03862 232224; emergency229529, 229474

metro hospital:

227930, 231081

faith hospital:

228846

shamrock hospital

228254

Zion hospital:

231864, 224117, 227337

police control room

228400

Police Traffic Control

232106

east police station west police station

227607 232181

cihsr (referral hospital)

242555/ 242533

dimapur hospital

224041, 248011

apollo hospital info centre:

230695/ 9402435652

railway:

131/228404

indian airlines

229366

nagaland multispe- 248302, cialty health & 09856006026 research centre

W

O

R

Creating a Budget rent

budget

mortgage

expenses

insurance

income

fixed

maintenance

flexible

savings

spending

expenditures

daycare

guideline

utilities

earnings

entertain-

cost

ment

transactions

hygiene

income

clothes atm

withdrawal

D

Y O J O P E T X E P A S A J F I X E D B

C G L O P F L F V O J D U I D K M Z I W

S

V E E G N S B B X O A B X J J O Q U G I

I X A M L A W Z I F P M P Z C E K A K R

C P A F J V D I K X A I Z N C O N T R X

E

V E W U T I L I T I E S I N K J R P X I

E N X F E N P L N H I L A Q L A G H Q M

D S U P H G Q T V F D R F Q N N A A A Y

A

I E R V E S E U P S U R D S E W B Z Y Y

G S V P G N D O R S G D A Y C A R E E U

L V W Z A A D Y N A O C H W Z J I S Q Y

R

P G N N G C V I N A T V A N A R L E I X

Y S C G T R O G T I L P D B M L H A S N

R E D D R H U S O U U E I T P F Q R X N

C

Z H Z F O R E N T E R T A I N M E N T F

I T I C M G S Y W B S E N I L E D I U G

H

K O H K G G N I D N E P S K N I R N J T

T L C P R V B U D G E T Y G Z A O G T Y

K C R N K X J D N Y E M O C N I Q S F X

E N E I G Y H N L F G I J I J O B O U R

ACROSS

1. Mountain pool 5. Loamy deposit 10. 10 10 10 10 14. Margarine 15. Sight-related 16. False god 17. A soft sheepskin leather 18. Isolation 20. Anxious 22. Artificially formal 23. “Eureka!”

24. Homes for birds 25. Favoring social equality 32. Page 33. Piglet 34. Confederate soldier 37. Provide nourishment 38. Soup server 39. Dad 40. South southeast 41. An small olive-grey bird 42. Overactive 43. Outgoing 45. Communion table 49. Historic period 50. Snood 53. Windflower 57. Graniteware 59. Angers 60. Unit of land

61. Alcoholic 62. University administrator 63. Deceased 64. Glacial ridge 65. Achy

DOWN

1. Ripped 2. Balm ingredient 3. Back 4. No longer legally acceptable 5. Semitropical evergreen tree 6. Creative work 7. Estimated time of arrival 8. Knights 9. Leave in a hurry 10. Name of a book 11. Makes changes to 12. A nine-piece musical group 13. Sleighs 19. A stupid foolish person 21. Buckeye State 25. F F F F 26. “Comes and ____” 27. Away from the wind 28. Not together 29. Equestrian 30. Snow house 31. How old you are

34. Awestruck 35. Type of sword 36. A lyric poet 38. 59 in Roman numerals 39. Egyptian tourist attraction 41. French science-fiction writer 42. Not there 44. Superficiality 45. Coming up 46. Javelin 47. Crown 48. Possessing a weapon 51. If not 52. 2 2 2 2 53. Backside 54. Chocolate cookie 55. Close 56. Feudal worker 58. Arctic bird Ans to CrossWord 3157

Police Control Room: North Police Station: South Police Station: Fire Brigade: Naga Hospital: Oking Hospital: Bethel Nursing Home: Northeast Shuttles

STD CODE: 0370 100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202 08974997923

CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862 282777/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC)

MOKOKCHUNG: 0369 2226225/ 101 (O) 9436012949 (OC) PHEK: 8414853765 (O) 9862130954(OC) ZUNHEBOTO: 03867 280304/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC)

MON: 03869 251222/ 101 (O) 9436208480 (OC) KipHire: 8414853767 (O) 8974304572 (OC)

Toll free No. 1098 childline

Police Station 1:

DIMAPUR: 03862 232201/ 101 (O) 9436017479 (OC)

TUENSANG: 8414853766 (O) 8414853519

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE

MOKOKCHUNG:

KOHIMA: 0370 2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC)

WOKHA: 03860 242215/101 (O) 9862039399 (OC)

chumukedima fire 282777 brigade nikos hospital and 232032, 231031 research centre

KOHIMA

FIRE STATIONS

STD CODE: 0369

2226241

Police Station 2 :

2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home:

2226216 2226263

Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):

2226373/2229343

TAHAMZAM (formerly Senapati) STD CODE: 03871 Police Station: Fire Brigade

CURRENCY EXCHANGE CURRENCY NOTES

222246 222491

BUY(Rs)

SELL(Rs)

US Dollars Sterling Pound Hong Kong Dollar Australian Dollar Singapore Dollar Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen

60.86 93.85 7.59 47.20 44.63 48.26 50.75

63.62 98.39 8.46 49.54 46.84 50.62 54.04

Euro

68.88

72.22

Thai Baht

1.81

2.01

Korean Won

0.053

0.059

New Zealand Dollar

45.42

47.67

9.38

10.46

Chinese Yuan

LOCAL

The Morung Express

NSF demand imposition of Inner Line Permit in Dimapur DiMapur, February 24 (Mexn): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) today demanded that the Nagaland state government impose the Inner Line Permit in Dimapur district. In a meeting today at Dimapur, the NSF expressed concern at the presence of “Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrants in Naga inhabited areas.”

It formulated a list of modalities to address the issue, which called for setting up ILP monitoring cells in each district headed by an ADC. It demanded maintaining proper records of ILP holders/ guarantors and that ‘IBIs’ should not be issued driv-

ing licenses, identity proof certificates, trade license/ permits etc.

Contractors engaging labour from other states, it advocated, should obtain permission from the ILP monitoring cell and that it should be “mandatory for contractors to deport the labourers after completion of work within a specific time.” It further urged that issuing of ILP certificates be based on legal documents.

The NSF also urged village councils and ward authorities to maintain records of non locals of “Indian origin” and “Bangladeshi origin” separately. It

discouraged the issuance of resident proof certificates to people of “Bangladeshi origin” unless they produce required documents. Non Nagas, the NSF demanded, should not be given Scheduled Tribe and Indigenous Certificates and should not be allowed to own immovable property or assets. It further said that “Nagas should strongly discourage inter marriage with Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrants."

The NSF further called for set up of Industrial Training Institutes in each district, which provides training on basic construction work and driving.

Finance dept clarifies on No Dues Certificates KohiMa, February 24 (Dipr): The Nagaland state Finance Department has clarified on the release of terminal benefits to retiring employees after obtaining No Dues Certificates (NDCs) from banks. Due to differing interpretations and misinterpretations by HoDs and DDOs, the Finance department said that instances have been reported of retiring Government employees being compelled to obtain NDCs

from all banks. The department informed that only those employees who have availed loans from banks are required to obtain NDCs. “It is the responsibility of banks to furnish the list of employees who have availed loans to the concerned Heads of Departments. In case no list is furnished, it shall be deemed that no dues exist.” In any case, it stated that DDOs should not compel retiring employees to obtain

NDCs from banks unless a specific reference has been received from the bank concerned. Further, the department informed that the necessity of obtaining NDCs applies only to personal/service loans availed against salary accounts, and shall not apply to loans availed for construction of house or purchase of immoveable property etc. against which property has been mortgaged as security in favour of the bank.

Wednesday 25 February 2015

practices of our forefathers towards purification of oneself.” He expressed hope that the festival strengthens the bond of love and unity among the Angami in particular and Nagas in general.

The governor also conveyed best wishes and hoped that the Almighty God continue to bestow abundant blessings upon the Angami community.

NAGALAND SCHOOL ORAL HEALTH SURVEY Survey report highlight -Knowledge about importance of brushing - 89.1% -Brushing teeth daily - 79.9% -Brushed teeth atleast once in life - 98.4% -Children who brush at night - 24.7% -Children who never brush - 1.6% -Children who use toothbrush - 70.58% -Children who use random objects for cleaning teeth - 13.91% -Children with dental plagues - 41% -Children with calculus - 30.9% -Children with mal occlusion - 30.5% -Children with caries - 38.7% -Children with cleft palate - 4.6% -Children with cleft lip - 1.8% -Children with bleeding gum - 48.5% -Children with tobacco products - 28.3% -Children with smokes - 14.8% -Children with visited dentist - 19.0% -Children with restoration (Filling) - 5.5% -Children with toothache - 43.70%

BIrThDAy GrEETInGS

Happy birthday, My Special Companion Its your birthday How good it is that you exist, Rare and a beautiful person.

Sometimes hot tempered, Sometimes so happy Immeasurable kindness I treasure your uniqueness.

Days with you gives me thrill That I feel it all so surreal.

Thinking that you are not here Makes me feel sad, But looking back on our crazy Memories makes me glad.

How much do I love you?

You may never know But the next time I see you I’ll let my love show.

If I could have just lone wish I would wish to grow old with you.

This is to you, my love I hope you like this.

Your Sweet Cucumber

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Nagaland TR Zeliang has also extended warm greetings to the Angami community on the auspicious occasion of Sekrenyi. Expressing well wishes on the festival, Zeliang hoped the festive season strengthen the bonds of unity and mutual goodwill not only among the Angami community, but the whole of Naga society.

WoKha, February 24 (Mexn): The Wokha unit of ACAUT Nagaland has expressed anguish over the explosion that occurred today in Wokha town. Urging upon the State government to immediately institute highly expert personnel (bomb squad) to find out the cause of the explosion, the unit in a press note demanded that the cause be made know to the public at the earliest. It further lauded the district administration, Police department, Fire department, Home Guards, all ranks & files of 17 Assam Riffles, local water suppliers and the volunteers who rendered their valuable services in fighting the inferno, saving lives and properties. Further, it expressed condolences to the bereaved family members and prayed that the departed souls rest in peace. It

also wished speedy recovery to the injured persons.

Meanwhile, terming the explosion in Wokha “unfortunate” and of “serious concern”, the NPF led by Noke Wangnao stated that the incident must be thoroughly investigated by competent agencies and the cause behind the unfortunate tragedy must be uncovered at the earliest. Those responsible for the tragedy must be punished as per the law of the land, it demanded.

Further, the NPF extended condolences to the members of the bereaved families. Wishing the injured speedy recovery, it also offered solidarity and support to the members of the families who have been affected by the tragedy.

In a separate press note, the BJP Nagaland State unit expressed deep grief and distress over the explosion

in Wokha town on Tuesday.

The rank and file of BJP Nagaland conveyed sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and those injured in the unfortunate incident. Further, the BJP unit urged the law enforcement agencies to unearth the cause of the incident.

Former deputy speaker of Nagaland Legislative Assembly, Ralanthung Yanthan has also expressed deep grief and pain at the explosion in Wokha, while extending condolences to the family members of those who lost their lives and the injured. In a message, he further lauded the administration, police, Assam Rifles and the general public for their “yeomen service” rendered to the victims. He also appealed to all, especially the government, to lend generous help to the victims.

85 defaulters penalised under COTPA 2003

The District Anti Tobacco Squad team of Dimapur with the seized items.

DiMapur, February 24 (Mexn): The District Anti Tobacco Squad (DATS) comprising of of-

ficers from police, excise and medical department led by its team leader Tsenpemo Kikon, Deputy

SP Reserve Dimapur conducted inspection in Dimapur town for compliance of COTPA 2003 on February 23.

A total of 85 challans were issued to 85 defaulters including schools, hotels, restaurants, shops and pan shops. A fine of Rs 18,520 was collected, according to a release.

Tsenpemo stated that from now on regular checking will be carried out in and around Dimapur and therefore, he has requested all the stakeholders to immediately comply with the provision to avoid penalty.

He also stated that government offices, banks, public transport, NST Airport and Railways station also come under the purview of COTPA 2003 and they should comply with it immediately.

Rengma Students' Union Swine Flu: Rapid Response condemns fund misappropriation Team formed in Dimapur TseMinyu, February 24 (Mexn): The Rengma Students' Union (RSU) has expressed shock to learn that an amount of Rs 12.79 crore meant for students with disabilities has been misappropriated by Department of School Education (DoSE) officials and some individuals. In a press statement, RSU through its Union Assembly Speaker Khwehi Semp and Secretary Senelo Kath condemned this kind of “evil practices” occurring constantly in education department.

RSU has appealed to the Special Investigation Team headed by K. Shiwoto, Sr. SP, to be bold enough to “come out with the truth in black

5

Investigation demanded in Wokha incident; condolences offered

Greetings extended on Sekrenyi KohiMa, February 24 (Mexn): Nagaland governor PB Acharya has extended greetings to the Angami community on the occasion of Sekrenyi, the festival of purification. The governor said, “Festival is an occasion to showcase our culture and traditions that has been preserved from time immemorial. Occasion reminds us afresh the customary

Dimapur

and white and prove the competency and integrity of his team.”

Meanwhile, RSU lamented that DoSE has failed to pay regular salaries to SSA and Hindi teachers, while it is yet to make settlement with NSEAOA, NSSFOF, ANSTA, conduct interview of RMSA candidates who had cleared written examination year back. It also pointed out the issue of bogus and proxy teachers.

RSU further appealed to all the right thinking people to “meditate seriously” on “the wave of political evils blowing and rocking the present society of which the anomalous status of Education Department can be a good indicator.”

DiMapur, February 24 (Mexn): A Rapid Response Team has been formed in Dimapur to tackle Swine Flu in the district.

A release from the Dimapur district medical officer informed that a meeting was held on February 23, which was also attended by various representatives from private hospitals and nursing homes from the district.

The meeting resolved that samples from private hospitals will be collected and sent for confirmatory test through the District Surveillance officer, IDSP. Private hospitals and nursing

homes have also been requested to make available an isolation room for suspected patients. The medicines for confirmed cases will be made available through the Medical Superintendent’s Office, District Hospital and Medical Officer in-charge of the isolation ward in District Hospital. Meanwhile, the RRT will comprise of Dr. Temsusashi MD, District Hospital, Dimapur (9436006885); Microbiologist, District Hospital, for sample collection (9612375449) and Dr. Moa, District Surveillance Officer IDSP (9436007335).

The prompt action of the fire services and the Wokha district administration helped save a number of lives as a major fire in Wokha town led to the death of 7 persons, with 21 injured, on February 24. (Photo by Steve Odyuo)

MEx FILE New office bearers of ENPO elected LongLeng, February 24 (Mexn): The Eastern Naga Peoples’ Organization (ENPO) elected its new team of office bearers for the tenure 2015-17 at its general session held today at Longleng district. The new ENPO team for the tenure 2015-2017 include: President - S. Khoiwang Wangsha Konyak; Vice-presidents - Sashi Naga, Kekongchim, Khaming Khiam, T. Mongko Chang; General Secretary - Manlang Phom; Secretaries – YP Chillio Khiamniungan, Hawang Wangsha Konyak, Athong Abraham Yimchunger, C.Amai Phom, Setsachio Sangtam; Finance Secretary - David Tingchem; Treasurers - Yongnyak Konyak (Dimapur) and Dr. Longai Phom (Kohima); Advisors - Chingwang Konyak, K.Asungba Sangtam, Y.Mangko Phom, Toshi Wungtung, A. Chingmak Chang, H. Heno Khiamniungan and Yonglong Konyak.

ENPUK appeals for calm KohiMa, February 24 (Mexn): The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Union Kohima (ENPUK) has appealed to both the Chang and Yimchunger communities in Tuensang to “shun violence, maintain calm and strive for harmonious co-existence as one family in Christ Jesus and refrain from further escalation of conflict.” A press statement from ENPUK president, David Sangtam and general secretary, V Chingmei Phom further urged both the communities “not to entertain any visitor/ guest from the respective tribes with the evil intention to escalate the tension beyond boundary.” Meanwhile, ENPUK requested its members in and around Kohima “not to indulge in any manner against each other, but to exercise utmost restraint and maintain calm and tranquillity among themselves.” If any conflict arises, ENPUK requested that cases be reported to its office immediately for timely intervention.

BYFD informs on tobacco programme DiMapur, February 24 (Mexn): The Baptist Youth Fellowship of Dimapur in collaboration with District Tobacco Control cell, Dimapur have invited the youth directors of the Baptist Churches in and around Dimapur to attend a sensitisation programme on harmful effects of tobacco. The programme will be conducted on February 26, 3:00 pm at Elim hall, DABA office Duncan. The resource persons are Dr. C. Tetseo, District Nodal Officer, National Tobacco Control Programme and Imkumla Aier, psychologist, National Tobacco Control Programme. BYFD president Imnatoshi Longkumer has also requested the youth leaders to bring pen drive to collect resources , while informing that time will be given for interaction with the resource persons.

Kohima police seize 660 kg of ganja

KohiMa, February 24 (Mexn): The personnel of DEF Kohima manning Phesama check-gate on February 24 around 8:00 am intercepted one truck bearing registration number PB10CJ/0383 for transporting 660 kg of contraband ganja worth 6.6 lakh. The ganja was found concealed in three secret compartments of the truck and was neatly wrapped in 66 packages each weighing 10 kg, informed a press release from Sub–Divisional Police Officer & PRO, Kohima. The consignment was reportedly loaded from Imphal and was on its way to be delivered in Guwahati, Assam. In this connection, two persons, namely Pawan Kumar (35) and Khukon Shaha (48) were arrested and booked vide South P.S Kohima Case No. 0026/2015 U/S 20 (1) (b) (ii) (c) NDPS Act and remanded into police custody for conducting and development, ZPO Peren further investigation. stressed that such incidents create fear psychosis in the SKK Platinum Jubilee minds of young people and the Planning Board condoles general public.

DiMapur, February 24 (Mexn): The Platinum Jubilee Planning Board of All Sumi Students Union SAVE Club: SAVE Club Nagaland has (SKK) has expressed sadness and grief over the dead also condemned the recent of Vizheli Kiba, wife of Lt. Avito Kiba, the founding Joint bomb blast outside the resi- Secretary of SKK on February 22. This was conveyed in dence of Parliamentary Sec- a condolence message issued by S. Zhevihe Sumi, Secretary Y. Vikheho Swu, one of retary, Planning Board Platinum Jubilee. the active members of the club.

Stating that such “futile at- ZPO Peren offers condolences tempt” on innocent lives and peren, February 24 (Mexn): The Zeliang Peoproperties was nothing, but ple’s Organisation, Peren has extended condolences to an act of "cowardice, savagery the bereaved family of Adai Reunim, president of Zelianand barbaric," it appealed for grong Mepui Organisation, who passed away recently. A booking the culprits at the ear- condolence message from Media Cell, ZPO Peren stated liest. The Club further asserted that the deceased served the people of Peren district in “peace loving citizens would various capacities as SDIO, DPRO during her service in not be shaken or provoked by the State government and served the Zeliangrong Mepui such evil and mentally sick Organisation as president till her last breath. people.”

More condemn recent blasts KohiMa, February 24 (Mexn): The Naga Mothers' Association (NMA) has condemned the rise of violence and attacks, “including the use of bombs in the recent incidents against Legislators, both in Dimapur and Kohima.” In a press statement, NMA Peace Team appealed to the State government to thoroughly investigate the crimes and bring the guilty to book. Expressing concern that after a democratic process has been observed in the State Assembly, there still exist incidents of violence and threats from unknown sources, NMA appealed to all to “desist from such acts, sink differences and rebuild our fragile society and work to take the state towards true development in the interest of our children - the future generation.”

Meanwhile, NMA voiced its concern on the continuing tension in Tuensang. It appealed for peace and sanity, reconciliation and forgiveness, while urging 'Shed no more Blood'. In its emergency meeting today, NMA decided that its Peace Team will go to Tuensang to appeal for peace and reconciliation and bring an end to the violence, the statement informed.

Further, NMA protested the use and recruitment of IBIs by the Naga Political Groups.

The Association appealed to the different NPGs to immediately cease working with the IBIs in the interest of peace and the welfare of the Naga nation.

“Any group that continues to do so would be in contravention to the wishes of Naga women and mothers,” it added.

ZPO Nagaland: The Zeliang Peoples Organisation (ZPO) Nagaland has condemned the recent bomb blast in Kohima and at Dr. Benjongliba’s residence in Dimapur. “Their (perpetrators) attempt to create fear psychosis among the public is nothing but an act of insanity which should be condemned by one and all,” stated ZPO in a press note. The organisation further appealed to the state government to book the perpetrator(s) at the earliest. It also requested the civil organisations to come together and give fullest co-operation to the government in order not to let the “unwanted elements” take advantage of the situation.

ZBN: The Zeliangrong Baudi Nagaland (ZBN) has also condemned the recent incident at Dr. Benjongliba’s residence and bomb blast in Kohima.

“The hideous and gutless act committed by unscrupulous miscreant in the public place

is unbecoming and disturbing, which needs to be denounced at highest degree by one and all,” stated a note from ZBN president, Rangsam N. Hau and general secretary, Meijiang Gonmei. ZBN further expressed that in a time when Nagas are striving for unity and political solution, such “act of savagery within and without” may derail the ongoing peace process. It also urged the law enforcement agency to book the culprits.

NMHP: The New Ministers' Hill Panchayat (NMHP), Kohima has also condemned the bomb blast at Old Ministers' Hill Colony in Kohima. “Such act is a threat to the peaceful co-existence among various sections of people living together,” stated NMHP chairman, Neibo-O Kire and secretary, Lima Imsong in a press note. The Panchayat further urged upon the law enforcement agencies to book the culprits.

ZPO Peren: The Zeliang People’s Organisation has also condemned the recent incidents in Dimapur and Kohima. Pointing out that Kohima and Dimapur are where all the tribes of Nagaland peacefully co-exist and everyone yearn for lasting peace

SAKH: The Sumi Aphuyemi Kukami Hoho (SAKH), Pughoboto has also condemned the blast outside the residence of Parliamentary Secretary Y. Vikheho Swu. Questioning what the motive was behind the blast, SAKH stated if the Parliamentary Secretary had committed error while discharging his duties, “any individual or group should come up openly so as to resolve the problems in a civilised way, but not in such a cowardice acts.”

School visits EOH

DiMapur, February 24 (Mexn): The Junior Red Cross Unit, Bharat Scouts and Guides with the other clubs, teachers and headmaster of Vidhya Bhawan School visited the Ebenezer Orphanage Home (EOH) in Dimapur on February 21to encourage the 23 children of the orphanage that the Vidhya Bhawan family always stands with them. School uniform, stationeries, eatables and rice were donated for the children. The donation was made with the contribution of the Headmaster, teachers, JRC members, scouts and guides and well-wishers. A press note said that the Junior Red Cross unit lauded the Director of the Orphanage for rendering selfless effort in the upbringing of the children and humbly appealed to all well-wishers to come forward to bless the children and be blessed.

6

IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express WEDnEsDAy 25 fEbruAry 2015 volumE X IssuE 53

It is time for UN to be transformed

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

Amantha Perera Inter Press Service

Maimed by Conflict, Forgotten by Peace

What it needs is an inclusive membership where peoples, nations and states are all eligible for membership, thereby addressing the contradicting nature of state territorial integrity and national security

E

xpectations about United Nations depend on one’s perception and understanding of what the organization represents and what it can accomplish. The UN’s role is crucial considering the growing divisions and conflicts in our interconnected and interdependent global village. After all, inherent in the UN’s original design was for it to help prevent future wars and to ensure peace between states.

However, it is on this very point that the dilemmas begin to unfold. The ever changing nature of conflict has put the UN on a collision course filled with contradictions, especially in the context of people’s struggles for self-determination.

The idea behind the United Nations as a community of nations is universally recognized and its relevance and effectiveness lies in its structure. Therefore, in order to truly ensure that it contributes to building a just and secure world, the institution itself needs to be completely restructured and updated to reflect the world’s current context of peacebuilding frameworks and the true nature of existing conflicts.

In its current form, the name ‘United Nations’ is rather misleading, because based on the existing membership criteria, the UN manifests itself as a ‘Union of States’ rather than a genuine representation of a ‘Union of Nations.’ This has seriously undermined the UN’s political credibility because it has given rise to two most prominent dilemmas of our times – the question of ‘territorial integrity,’ and the tendency to give paramount legitimacy to state sovereignty over people’s sovereignty. From this standpoint, the UN becomes part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.

The direction of the new world order requires the UN to shrug-off exclusive membership to states. What it needs is an inclusive membership where peoples, nations and states are all eligible for membership, thereby addressing the contradicting nature of state territorial integrity and national security. Such a step would enable the UN to be dynamic and effective in engaging with deep-rooted issues which are responsible for most of today’s armed conflicts.

Since most of today’s armed conflict are taking place within existing state boundaries, the UN is called upon to intervene in ‘internal domestic’ confrontations for which it was not originally mandated. This creates difficulties unless the UN is given genuine cooperation by the state in question. This complication is compounded by increasing humanitarian crises, human rights violations and the refugee predicament, all arising from the present trend of intra-state conflicts, or ‘domestic issues.’ With an ambiguous practice of intervention, states have often invoked the principle of traditional sovereignty and non-interference to keep the UN or other international organizations outside their borders.

Any restructuring involves the UN redefining itself, at the heart of which is the relevance of its institutional role and operating mechanisms to proactively prevent conflict and to make possible contributing to a worldwide harmonious coexistence. The underlying question is whether the UN’s present institutional structure and composition provides it with the mandate to address the unmet needs and rights of affected people which are struggling within present state systems. Addressing this question is of the essence and determines the relevance of the present UN structure and mandates.

In the final analysis, an institutional transformation of the UN is necessary to enable it to embody and pursue the collective endeavor of humanity’s search for a just and secure world for all, not just a chosen few. The question remains whether the United Nations can lead the way using an approach which embraces both national security and human security as complementary principles?

lEfT WING |

Mazie Nakhro, Ph.D

Why National Mourning?

Thought-Provoking Question: What is more appropriate for our Nagas to do today: feasting or mourning?

What does God say? Read Lamentations 5:1-22 The book of Lamentations describes the once proud Jerusalem now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes.

Foreigners controlled the Promised Land. The once magnificent temple had been destroyed. Its treasures were all taken away. The city gates were burnt. The walls had come down. Its glory had been reduced to ashes. Jerusalem had fallen!

Now the people of God were poverty stricken and helpless.

Young people who were once Israel’s precious treasures were now considered valueless and vulnerable. Infants who were once in the comforts of their mothers’ breast for milk were now left fainted in the streets. Children cried out in hunger and thirst, but no one took pity on them anymore. Starving mothers who used to be filled with compassion now ate their own little ones. The once robust princes looked like “ghost” with skins shrivelled to their bones from lack of food. The people were deprived of all life’s necessities and suffered horrible atrocities and oppression.

Why did all this happen? Because of the many sins of the nation, now its citizens had fallen into enemies’ hands (1:5-7); because of the fathers’ sins, their children and women had to suffer (5:7); because of the religious leaders who falsely spoke of peace to come, the people ended up without peace (2:14).

Because the rulers had failed to consider the future God had for the people of Israel, the nation had fallen (1:9; 2 Chron. 36:5-21).

Having witnessed these national tragedies and horrors, the prophet Jeremiah was overwhelmed with grief and tears.

From a broken heart, he mourned and cried before God for fallen Jerusalem (Lam. 2:11, 19).

Okay, so now what?

We Nagas should be mourning in view of the deep crisis and the terrible situation we are facing today. We are losing all our ancestral values of duty, honesty, and honor. Our children are no longer sure of who they really are, where they belong, and where they will end up tomorrow.

Morally, we have become a society characterized by sexual immorality, theft, extortion, kidnapping, murder, lawlessness, corruption. We are engulfed in spiritual darkness and still seem to be sinking deeper in sins.

May God help to us to know when we need to mourn and pray!

Prayer: Lord, “Our forefathers sinned…now we must suffer because of their wrong” (5:7). Today I confess the sins of my forefathers. Remove the curses or consequences on our generation. Amen.

Taken from the book “Breakfast with the King: The 100-Day Devotional” by Mazie Nakhro

A woman on crutches walks past a row of shops in northern Sri Lanka, where over 110,000 people disabled by war struggle along with very little official assistance. (Photo: Amantha Perera)

Life Through the Eyes of the War-Disabled

I

t is a hot, steamy day in Sri Lanka’s northwestern Mannar District. Mid-day temperatures are reaching 34 degrees Celsius, and the tarred road is practically melting under the sun.

Sarojini Tangarasa is finding it hard to walk on her one bare foot. Her hands constantly shake and she has to balance on a crutch. “I am just trying to get to my daughter’s house,” she says.

Her destination is just two km away, but it feels like a lifetime to Tangarasa, who cannot afford any form of transport, or even shoes.

The last 25 years of this 58-year-old grandmother’s life have been ones of daily struggle. A resident of Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged Northern Province, Tangarasa’s left leg was amputated in 2001 after she was injured in a skirmish.

Worse was to follow in 2008 when she, her husband and her four children fled the fighting that erupted in the Mannar District between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a guerilla army fighting to carve out a separate state in north-eastern Sri Lanka.

The family would be on the run for almost a year and a half, before spending an equal length of time in a centre for the displaced after the 26-year-long civil war finally ended in May 2009.

Tangarasa was injured in a shell attack in 2008.

S

ureshbhai Patel, a 57-year-old grandfather from rural Gujarat, had gone to visit his prematurely born grandson in the state of Alabama, USA. He was brutally assaulted by the local police as he was taking a stroll in the neighborhood where his son lives.

The man received severe spinal injuries and is now partially paralyzed.

While such gross injustice should attract condemnation as it has from various sectors of US civil society and elected representatives, the there is something about the reaction of powerful brown people resident in the subcontinent that requires introspection.

After the Sureshbhai Patel assault news broke, Delhi’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sprang into action, putting on its ‘empathy’ for brownman Sureshbhai and ‘outrage’ hats at the same time at the excessive use of force by the police. The MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said ‘I can assure you that we intend to pursue this matter suitably here in Delhi through the U.S. mission, in Washington through our mission as well as several other local authorities in Alabama.’ He also added that it’s important that the Indian community feels safe and secure in USA. The MEA also updated the public on Sureshbhai’s health condition. The Indian Embassy in Washington DC has planned to contact the US State Department (akin to India’s Home Ministry). A US embassy official in Delhi was also summoned by the MEA and was told how India feels about this event.

People surely deserve a government that cares for them, even when they are abroad. Crimes by US police on an Indian citizen are unacceptable. But what about daily crimes by Indian police on Indian citizen? But before that lets go back to USA. In February 2011, Krittika Biswas, the daughter of an Indian Embassy of-

The head injuries have left her with trembling hands and a slur when she speaks. “It has been hard and it will be the same till I die,” Tangarasa contends, as she slowly recommences her journey, the sun beating mercilessly down on her.

Thousands of miles away, the story of 33-year-old Chandra Bahadur Pun Magar, a former Maoist fighter from the Dang District in southwest Nepal, follows a similar trajectory.

This father of three, including a two-and-a-halfyear-old baby girl, lost a leg in a landmine blast in 2002 when he was just 20, four years before the end of the country’s two-decade-long civil war between government armed forces and Maoist guerillas.

Now his biggest worries are how he will replace his miserable prosthetic leg, nearly a decade old, and provide for his family.

He chose a life as a dairy farmer after the war and now struggles every day. “I need to walk a lot and it is tearing my artificial leg apart. I heard a new leg costs 40,000 [Nepali] rupees (about 400 dollars).

“I don’t have the money, but my limb hurts during summer and winter, morning and night. Both cold and hot weather are bad for my injured leg,” he tells IPS. Nepal’s Peace and Reconstruction Ministry estimates that there are 4,305 war disabled in the country, but some experts suspect that the figure could be closer to 6,000. Even at the highest estimate, the number seems manageable compared to Sri Lanka’s post-war burden.

The Sri Lanka Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled estimates that over 110,000 were left disabled by three decades of civil conflict. The bulk of the war-disabled lives in the northern and eastern provinces, which bore the brunt of nearly 30 years of fighting.

In both countries, generations of war have piled hundreds of problems on top of one another; in both places, the war-disabled have been relegated to the

bottom of the pile.

For those like Magar peace has not brought much respite.

Soon after his debilitating injury, the young man received treatment in India, funded by his party, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Afterwards, he lived in a commune where support for the Maoists was strong.

Soon after the signing of the 2006 Peace Accords, which marked the PLA’s transition to mainstream politics, Magar received a prosthetic leg from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the option of a retirement package of between 500,000 and 800,000 Nepali rupees (5,000 to 8,000 dollars).

He chose to buy a plot of land and attempt to make a living as a farmer, but this was easier said than done.

He gets an allowance of about 6,000 rupees (roughly 60 dollars) each month, and supplements it by selling dairy products, but the joint income is scarcely enough to put food on the table.

“It is not enough to support my family; everything is expensive these days and I am the only breadwinner. It would have been different if I had been an able-bodied person,” he laments.

He also accuses his former party of neglecting those like him who have been injured. Indeed, the disabled here are disproportionately represented within the 30-40 percent of Nepal’s population living in poverty.

The same refrain of neglect and misery can be heard all across northern Sri Lanka. The tale of Rasalingam Sivakumar, a 33-year-old former fighter with the separatist LTTE, is almost identical to that of Magar.

Sivakumar was injured in the eye in January 2009, as the war drew near to its bloody climax, and is partially blind now. He cycles miles everyday to sell poultry produce in his native town of Puthukkudiyiruppu in the northern Mullaithivu District.

The father of two kids aged one and seven years old, Sivakumar did receive some assistance – amounting to about 50,000 Sri Lankan Rupees (roughly 450 dollars) – through a programme run by the ICRC, which also served some 350 other disabled persons across Sri Lanka last year.

The sum is barely enough for a family of four to survive on for two months in Sri Lanka. Since then, he says, it has been a constant struggle to make ends meet.

Records maintained by local government bodies in the north indicated that unemployment among the disabled was as high as 16 percent in 2014, four times the national figure of four percent. Activists suggest that the real figure is much higher, since only those persons who went through official rehabilitation programmes were surveyed.

Vellayan Subramaniyam, president of the Organisation for Rehabilitation of the Handicapped in Sri Lanka’s northern Vavuniya District, who has also toured Nepal, says that neglect of the disabled is a combination of a lack of policies, and discriminatory social attitudes.

“We live in cultures that treat the disabled as not differently-abled, but as a burden. And post-conflict policy makers work in that conundrum. The disabled are relegated to the sidelines until someone from [that same community] reaches a decision-making position,” the activist contends.

Until government policies take into account the disabled, arguably among the most marginalised members of society, those like Sarojini Tangarasa will continue to plod along a lonely road without much hope for a better future.

For love of Indians Gagra Chatterjee

ficial in New York, was made to spend a night in jail on charges that were subsequently proved to be false. Krittika was outraged in the ways she had been dealt with by the New York police, including tight handcuffing while interrogation by police and taking her out of school in handcuffs in full view of her fellow students. At the jail, she was disallowed from using the restroom during detention, was kept with people who had allegedly committed serious crimes, was kept in a jail with unhygienic conditions. She was there for 28 hours. She publicly broke down while recounting her ordeal in front of the press. She gathered support from people who stood with her resolve to ensure that the price of every tear of her’s needed to be paid. That Krittika did not take the actions of the police lying down should act as a lesson in intolerance of any kind when it comes to violation of human rights by law enforcement agencies. The right to not being hurt, the right to not be publicly made a spectacle of, the right to discharging bodily functions and the right to not be detained on false charges (that is ‘for nothing’), are all non-negotiable and Krittika’s laudable stance only strengthens that. The then foreign minister SM Krishna recalls, “I distinctly remember that I had intervened to get the girl released, intervened when I was in the United States and, subsequently we took it up very strongly with the State

Department of the United States.” India’s top-most diplomats worked frantically all night to get this sorted out.

Krittika’s family subsequently decided to pursue legal action to ask for financial compensation from New York because of its actions. Damages claimed were of the order of 15 lakh US Dollars.

At that point, the Indian MEA officially stated in a media briefing on June 10, 2011, ‘However, once Ms. Biswas's family sought Ministry's permission to initiate legal proceedings against the concerned authorities in New York, it was granted promptly. Ministry's thoughts and support remain with the family at this difficult juncture and we will continue to provide them whatever assistance we can’.

This means that the MEA of India also considered its just that such treatment of a person by the police does call for compensation of the grade. That’s good to know. The case was settled in September last year, with New York agreeing to pay her 2.25 lakh US Dollars, that is about 1.4 crore Rupees at present exchange rate. Now lets come back to India.

If the alert, honorable and superpatriotic citizens of India were to direct their sensitivity a little inwards, they would be actually bankrupt the country. Here’s how. If the above amount is a fair amount, what would be the probable amount of compensation owed to the parents of the Manipuri young woman Thangjam

WRITE-WING

Manorama, widely believed to be have been abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by members of the security forces, namely the Assam Rifles. Who will be held accountable for not releasing the government inquiry commission report, after serious discrepancies between Assam Rifles version of events and some objective data that was incompatible with Assam Rifles version? What would be a fair amount of financial compensation for the mass gang-rapes of Kashmiri women in Kunan Poshpora, allegedly by soldiers of 4 Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army's 68 Brigade. And these are just illustrations. Add to this the innumerable illegal detentions, random beatings, rapes and so much more against women by police and security forces in India. Simply by tom-toming a heightened sense of what is unacceptable, one can win some kind of a self-absolving PR battle. Facts are another matter. Gods are yet another matter. The total amount of compensation (calculated using standards that the Indian government endorses in the Krittika case) for these crimes would make the Indian State go bankrupt. By its attitude on Manorama and Kunan Poshpora, vis-à-vis its agile response to Sureshbhai Patel and Krittika case, the Indian state has already proven itself bankrupt in other ways.

Should brown people escape their homelands to foreign countries to be considered as human beings by their ‘own’ state powers? May be they should wait it out for the unlikeliest scenario that these reparations owed to millions of our own victims for brutality by security forces are paid. That will actually bring in a lot more money in the bank account of most people in the subcontinent than the mythical 15 lakhs. Do we realize the gravity of these daily sins?

Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The morung Express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com All letters (including those via email) should have the full name and Postal address of the sender.

Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

7 PERSPECTIVE UN Touts 2015 as Milestone Year

WEdnEsday

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

25 February 2015

NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

The Newspaper with an Opinion The Morung Express

educate Our Girls Monjit Roy, assistant Professor, department of Commerce

E

T

Thalif deen Inter Press Service

he United Nations, in a sustained political hype, is touting 2015 as a likely breakthrough year for several key issues on its agenda – primarily development financing, climate change, sustainable development, disaster risk-reduction and nuclear non-proliferation. At the same time, the world body is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year while also commemorating the 20th anniversary of the historic Beijing Conference on Women which strengthened gender empowerment worldwide.

In a report titled ‘The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet’ released last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said 2015 is “the time for global action.” The upcoming events include the Third World Conference on Disaster-Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March; the five-year review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) Treaty in April-May in New York; and the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa in July.

Speaking to reporters last week, the secretarygeneral singled out three priorities “I have been repeating all the time.” “We have to do the utmost efforts to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (ending 2015). Then the Member States are working very hard to shape the post-2015 development agenda by September.”

The United Nations will host a special summit of world leaders, Sep. 25 to 27, and “we expect that most of the world leaders will be here and discuss and adopt and declare as their vision to the world, aiming by 2030, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he added. And in December this year, he said, “we must have a universal, meaningful climate change agreement” in talks scheduled to take place in Paris.

At each of these “milestones,” he pointed out, “we will continue to be ambitious to end poverty, reduce inequality and exploit the opportunities that accompany the climate challenge.” As for the 70th anniversary, he said, it will be “an important moment for serious reflection on our achievements and setbacks”.

But Jim Paul, who monitored the United Nations for over 19 years as executive director of the New Yorkbased Global Policy Forum, told IPS he was sceptical of the political hype surrounding the upcoming conferences. “The United Nations has been trumpeting the global meetings of 2015 as watershed events, but real world expectations are lagging behind the rhetoric of the secretary-general and his team,” he said.

Paul said there are several issues to bear in mind: while the U.N.’s summits address some of the world’s

W

ith the crowning ofAamAadmi Party’s government in Delhi, there is a renewed interest in public as to how the party will bring about better governance and public good. After all, the expectations are high as Delhi voters catapulted the activist party into power with whopping 67 out of 70 seats, forcing Arvind Kejriwal to admit that it was a ‘scary mandate’!

Healthcare is an integral component of the functioning of a society.

Good health indices reflect thevigour and plethora of a society. Delhi is the capital of India and enjoys the status of a partial state: it is a union territory, but at the same time, has an elected legislative assembly. Thus, its administrative system is a mixed one, with some of the key portfolios lying with the Center.

Spread over a tiny area of 1483 square KM, Delhi’s vast population of 1.7 crore makes it the most densely populated (population density more than 11,000 per square KM) area in India. This poses challenges in all areas, including healthcare delivery system.

In addition to a thriving private health sector, the health care services in Delhi are provided by central government and state government. Central governmental agencies like Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ESI, CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme), and Railways operate hospitals and dispensaries. At the state level, the Health Ministry of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi is a major player. The state government typically spends about 10 % of its 40 thousand crore annual budget on healthcare.

It runs 39 hospitals and about 300 allopathic dispensaries. In addition, the state health department also runs mobile dispensaries, school health scheme, Centralized Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) and its AYUSH department administers Ayurveda ,Unani and Homeopathic dispensaries and hospitals. The department is

‘The United Nations has been trumpeting the global meetings of 2015 as watershed events, but real world expectations are lagging behind the rhetoric of the secretarygeneral and his team’ most pressing issues, powerful member states like the United States usually seek to weaken the events and prevent strong outcomes. This trend was already visible in the 1990s, the golden decade of U.N. summits, when Washington began to insist that summits were too “expensive” and reached too far, said Paul, a onetime lecturer and assistant professor of political science at Empire State College in the State University of New York system. “That policy reached its most extreme form in the run-up to the summit of 2005, when the U.S. insisted on a massive, last-minute re-working of the agreed text, but it can be found in many other cases before and since,” he said. Paul pointed out that powerful states, the U.S. first and foremost, do not like to be limited by U.N.-based decisions.

Second, there is the problem of the lack of binding outcomes to these global events. He said grand aspirations are often expressed in the outcome documents, and the word “binding” is sometimes used, but all participants know that the outcome will remain aspirational – not tough, compelling policy to be adhered to. This gives rise to cynicism among the diplomats and especially among the public, urged by governments to blame “the U.N.” for its supposedly feckless behaviour (whilst they themselves are often at fault), he declared.

At a press conference last month, the president of the 193-member General Assembly, Sam Kutesa, said 70 years after the founding of the United Nations “we have a truly historic opportunity to agree on an inspiring agenda that can energize the international community, governments everywhere and the citizens of the world.” “We must be ready to seize this challenge,” he added.

Speaking on the specifics of SDGs, Chee Yoke Ling, director of programmes at the Penang-based

Third World Network, told IPS while the incorporation of the SDGs is an important part of the post-2015 development agenda, “We need to put the economic agenda as a priority for the Development Summit.”

She said financial instabilities “continue to loom before us, while increasingly anti-people and anti-development trade rules are being pushed by major developed countries in bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. “The notoriety of transnational investors suing national governments for hundreds of millions of dollars under bilateral investment agreements has triggered protests in many countries, with some developing country governments reviewing and even terminating those grossly unfair treaties. “ She said the Addis Ababa conference is crucial for addressing several fundamental financial and economic issues – without structural reforms that respect national policy space and ensure stability, sustainable development will remain elusive.

Paul told IPS there are various alternative policy venues, such as the World Bank, the G-8, the G-20, the IMF, and so on. The United Nations must confront the challenge of great powers who take decisions in venues they prefer and according to their own priorities and timetables.

Washington is certainly not the only U.N. member state to act this way, but as the biggest and richest, it has the strongest inclination to act according to its own perceived interests and not in a broadly consultative process, he said. “Finally, we should remember the difficult policy context of 2015 – the deep crisis of climate change that requires decisions that go very far and necessarily upset the comfortable assumptions of the existing global order,” Paul noted.

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 85 percent is so radical a goal that no one even wants to think about it, much less create policy around it, said Paul. And creating a fair, stable and just global economic order under the Sustainable Development Goals appears also nearly impossible in a global economy that is stumbling seriously and creating ever-greater inequality. Will the world’s oligarchs concede power and revenues? he asked.

Does all this mean that the U.N.’s aspirational summit meetings in 2015 are useless or downright negative? Not necessarily. “To know that we cannot expect a miracle is perhaps a valuable adjustment of our unreasonable expectations and a way to think more realistically about what can and cannot be accomplished,” Paul said. “Above all, it is a reminder that the world’s states are acting, as usual, irresponsibly. And that we need a world that functions far better if we are to survive the threats and challenges of the twenty-first century.”

Healthcare challenges to new govt in Delhi Musings froM ChiCago dr. Munish Kumar Raizada also responsible for executing several public health programs.

At the national level, government of India spends a measly 4 % of its budget on health. Given that, Delhi’s 10 % looks healthier, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Given Delhi’s burgeoning population, large clusters of slums (50 lakh population), the healthcare system remains over whelmed. Visit any hospital in Delhi and you will see lack of resources, overcrowding, and lack of cleanliness. Poor political will,bureaucratic apathy and inertia have contributed to the sorry state of affairs. Many of the rural healthcare facilities are dysfunctional and aburden on the state exchequer because of the gross under- utilization.

Delhi’s crumbling health care system needs overhaul and some out of the box ideas. While, increasing budgetary spending on health will definitely help, there could be several other ways to meet the need. Affordable primary healthcare access is a major challenge for poor and middle class people in Delhi. 300 odd allopathic dispensaries and 9 Primary Urban Health Centers (PUHCs) are clear-

ly inadequate to meet the demand.

There is an immediate need to broadenprimary health access points. Rather than opening up more dispensaries (thus, opening more avenues for leakage, corruption and inefficiency), we should look at alternative solutions.

The existing government dispensaries can act as poly-clinics wherecredentialed private doctors can be allowed to come and provide healthcare at the affordable pre-determined prices or they can be reimbursed by the government on the basis of volume of patients seen. Similarly, it may be prudent to open up large numbers of government-approved primary level clinics owned/maintained and operated by independent healthcare providers. The patients can avail the health care from such avenues and the government would reimburse the bills to the doctors.

The concept of electronic record keeping and biometrics-a common usage in western world- is non –existent in Delhi health system. An investment on this front will bring down the costs in long term and bring traction in the system.

Unfortunately, the governmental systems in India are known for poor quality of services, sluggish pace, an attitude of indifference and inefficiency. Random checks by health ministerand officials and improved oversight will surely bring more efficiency in the system.

Increasing bed capacity in Delhi hospitals is badly needed. Can we re-examinethe existing infrastructure and add more beds rather than necessarily opening up new hospitals? The private medical sector is an important asset for Indian healthcare delivery system. Delhi health ministry should have a collaborative approach towards private sector which will result in better coordination, and less malpractice. If the government acts as a facilitator, there will be an incentive for private medical sector to expand bringing down costs and better services. Similarly, since AAP claims to be a doer and believes in beefing up systems, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one area, where a pro-active health minister can bring in a lot of money. Delhi can also be developed as a hub of medical tourism. If we reflect upon why Thailand took over us in this field, answers would be apparent!

Last but not the least; increased focus on preventive aspect of healthcare will yield better result. More spending on maternal and child health (MCH) and senior citizens is needed.

In a recent survey done by Arcadis, a Dutch design group, on most sustainable cities, Delhi comes at poor 49th out of a list of 50. The parameters like health indices, income equality, amount of green space, level of sanitation, business environment and GDP were taken into consideration into this survey. Frankfurt and London occupy the top two spots, Chicago standing at 19th position. The road to a better Delhi is not easy, but an integrated approach will alleviate some of the problems.

The author is a practicing Neonatologist in Chicago. Email: Pedia333@gmail.com Twitter@DrMunishRaizada

ducation is a must for everyone. Without education people are like an empty glass. In 1950,the British government established an education system but after independence the real effort for education in India started. Even after so many years of independence, women in India continue to suffer socially as well as economically at different levels and in different forms. One of the most horrific of violences against women in different parts of Indiahas been the branding of them as witches.

Scores of women are regularly killed on charges of witchcraft across the country. This largely happens in states like Assam, Bihar, Jharkand and West Bengal annually.

Women, mostly widows, are beatenandoften paraded in the village and sometimes forced to eat excrete. According to a recent report by NGO Association for Social and Human Activities, between 2001 and 2008, 452 women were killed in Jharkhand’s economically backward classes, and a low literacy rate of 53.6% and 38.9% for women have led to prevalence of superstition and violence against women.Women have been the victims of violence all through the ages in all societies, cultures, regions and religious communities of the world. The doors of educational, economic, social, political, and cultural opportunities were gradually closed for them. The birth of the son is an occa-

sion to rejoice and that of a girl of grief.Women’spersonal freedom in respect of movement, dress, diet, marriage came to be dominated by man. As time progressed several ills began to creep up in the society.Violence against women further increased when young girls began to be forced to serve as the Devdasis in the temples, which encouraged prostitution in the religious life. Girls began to be married off at a young age and in certain communities the newborn girls are killed by the parents themselves.

Women are perceived as the weaker sex and dependent on man. If she is uneducated, unskilled and economically dependent, she seldom has any choice but to bear all the atrocities heaped on her.

According to the report of the National Committee on Women’s Education (1959), it cannot be denied that the general picture of the education of women was the most unsatisfactory and women received practically no formal instruction whatever, except for the little domestic instruction that was available to the daughter of the upper class families.The education system of India, like many other social institutions has long been discriminatory towards the women. It was believed that women should aspire to become good wives and mothers, not intellectuals, doctors, lawyers etc. Women used to wash clothes, cared and served meals. They were forbidden to speak in public. However, the proportion of women students have increased steadily and mostly in the last decade. The society needs to be sensitized to the fact that women are not meant to be treated as a doormat or a punching bag.

The government also took the responsibility to promote education for women in general. In the year 1870, training colleges for women were opened to train the girls to become a teacher in girl’s school. As a result of these efforts, great progress was made in girl’s education in the last few years. Though women have made much educational advancement in recent years, they still have a long way to go before their historic educational disadvantages areeradicated.

Today, the education system for women has improved a lot which hasa largeimpact on the health and economic future of young women, which in turn improves the prospect of the entire community.Education of women is more important because I believe that if you educate a man you educate an individual but if you educate a woman you educate a family. The mother is the first teacher of a child and when the mother iseducated, the child gets the best education for life.As we all know the saying that behind every successful man there is a woman.We can make our country a developed and prosperous nation if both men and women work together towards the nation’s progress.Women’s education is a mustfor the family, society and country. Therefore, we should educate the women and work together as a team then only we can develop our nation.So let us help them, guide them, support them, trust them and believe them but never destroy them (Padega India tabhitohbadega).

As the U.S President Barack Obama mentioned in his speech during his visit to India that if countries wanted to develop effectively, they must educate and empower their daughter as much as their sons. “degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a naaC accredited UGC recognised Commerce and arts College.

For feedback or comments please email: admin@tetsocollege.org”.

Readers may please note that, the contents of the articles published on this page do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

8

Dimapur

NATIONAL

Wednesday 25 February 2015

The Morung Express

Land bill introduced amid protests

New Delhi, February 24 (ageNcies): The government Tuesday introduced the land acquisition amendment bill in the Lok Sabha amid an uproar by the opposition.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 will replace an ordinance which had been promulgated by the NDA government Dec 30, 2014.

The opposition parties, led by the Congress, vociferously opposed the bill on the floor of the house. The Congress staged a walkout.

Introducing the bill, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh said: "I have received objections of the members but this can be discussed when the bill is taken into consideration."

Leading the opposition, Congress Leader of the House Mallikarjun Kharge said: "This is not right that despite opposition it (NDA government) introduced the bill. It did not send the bill either to the standing committee or select committees. This attitude of the government of bulldozing bills is not right."

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said his party opposed the bill.

"This is the most anti-farmer and anti-poor legislation possible. In one stroke, it (government) has added a part in which four-five different kind of projects...It has taken away the social impact assessment clause."

"This will be a great help to corporates who want to

Oppositions, activists slam 'anti-farmer' Land Bill

Indian social activist Medha Patkar, extreme left, speaks to anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, centre in white dress, and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, right, during a protest against the government’s proposed move to ease rules for acquiring land to facilitate infrastructure projects in New Delhi on Tuesday, February 24. (AP Photo)

grab the land of poor farmers," Roy said.

Biju Janata Dal MP B. Mehtab said that his party was opposed to two changes in the original act -- doing away with the consent clause and the scaling down of social impact assessment.

Responding to the opposition charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said: "Minority cannot dictate over the majority. We are not bulldozing."

"It (opposition) does not want to discuss. In June 2013, 32 state governments made a representation that the act makes development impossible," he said.

Naidu said: "If anybody has any objection, then they have to discuss. We are with the farmers."

Civil society activists, led

by Anna Hazare, protested over the issue at Jantar Mantar here, a little distance away from parliament.

Modi firm, asks MPs to defend the bill Amid stiff opposition to government's move to amend land acquisition Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made it clear that there was no going back. The BJP was, at the same time, preparing for discussions with NDA partners to make the legislation more "effective" and

"farmer-friendly".

At the meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party here, Modi said the bill will benefit farmers and that the amendments brought by his government were based on suggestions and demands made by Congress-ruled states and their chief ministers. He asked party MPs to "bust the myths" propagated by Opposition parties on it, sources said quoting the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday asked his party MPs to aggressively defend the land acquisition bill, saying it was pro-farmer, sources said.

According to sources,

the prime minister said at the parliamentary party meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party Tuesday morning that the bill will work in favour of farmers and asked parliamentarians to "bust the myths" being promoted by opposition parties.

"The prime minister said the bill is pro-poor and pro-farmer. He allayed the apprehensions that the poor will suffer due to this bill," a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.

"He also said the amendments are in line with what was suggested

by Congress ruled states and government should not be on a backfoot on it," the leader said.

New Delhi, February 24 (iaNs): The NDA government came in for strident criticism over the land acquisition bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joining Gandhian activist Anna Hazare in slamming the legislation as "anti-farmer" and demanding its withdrawal.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed a ruckus as opposition members demanded a discussion on the bill, leading to suspension of business of the house.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha amid an uproar by the opposition.

Once passed, it will replace the land ordinance promulgated by the NDA government Dec 30, 2014.

At the Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal joined anti-corruption activist Hazare in his agitation against the bill, saying he will not allow the central government to forcibly take land away from anyone in the national capital under the land acquisition law.

Addressing a crowd of protestors, Kejriwal said: "We will use all our force to ensure that land is not taken away forcibly from anyone in Delhi."

He noted that land is a subject that comes under the purview of the central government but his government would still make all the necessary efforts to protect the poor.

Hazare, who led an anti-corruption movement against the previous UPA government, has termed the bill as "undemocratic" and demanded its withdrawal. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, speaking in Patna, hit out against the bill and termed it against the interests of farmers.

"We are opposed to the bill and there is no question of supporting it," he said.

He said his party along with other likeminded parties would not allow the bill to be passed in parliament without a proper

discussion, and accused the Narendra Modi-led government of working against the interests of farmers to benefit industrialists.

In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition alleged that the government was trying to bypass parliament on the bill, while the government denied it.

"We have given a notice. The whole country is agitated against the ordinance, there are protests going on in Delhi," said Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal.

Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien urged the members to discuss the matter when the measure comes to the house. "Ordinance has to be replaced by bill. When the bill comes, you can discuss."

Congress Deputy Leader Anand Sharma alleged the government was trying to bypass parliament through an ordinance.

"We can't accept that the government will govern through ordinances overriding the legislative scrutiny of parliament," he said. Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, said it was unfair to say the government was bypassing parliament.

"No law can bypass the house. My friend should remember 636 ordinances have come and 80% of them came when Anand Sharma's party was in government," he said. As Kurien appeared ready to let the members speak on the issue, Jaitley maintained that the discussion should be held only when the bill comes to the house but the chair said there was no harm in members expressing their views.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien and Communist Party of India leader D. Raja attacked the government on the bill.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that the government is intending to call joint sittings of both houses to pass the bill but his party would oppose the bill "on the floor of the house".

Bhagwat's Mother Teresa comments kick up storm Mufti Sayeed to be sworn in J&K CM March 1 Time PM walked the talk on religious freedom - Christian leaders New Delhi, February 24 (iaNs): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comments on Mother Teresa kicked up a furore as political parties and Christian groups Tuesday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi show that he meant every word of his assurance last week that he would not tolerate inciting of religious hatred.

From Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who said Mother Teresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Bharat Ratna, was a "noble soul" and should be spared, to the Congress party and Christian organisations, including the Missionaries of Charity founded

by Mother Teresa, all termed Bhagwat's comments "uninformed" and "unfortunate".

A week after Modi spoke out strongly on religious freedom, saying "My government will not allow any religious group to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly.

Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions", there was a chorus of demands from all quarters that the prime minister show that he meant what he said.

"I worked wid Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hriday ashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Pl spare her," Kejriwal tweeted.

Bhagwat said in Rajasthan Monday that Mother Teresa's service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity.

The Congress raised the issue in the Lok Sabha but the government refused to respond.

The Missionaries of Charity described Bhagwat as "uninformed" in the light of his conversion remarks. The Diocese of Calcutta too termed the comments "unfortunate".

"His (Bhagwat) comments reflect how misinformed he is. In Missionaries of Charity, there is no place for conversion. His comments are unfortunate," Teresa's close associate and Missionaries of Charity spokesperson Sunita Kumar told IANS in Kolkata.

Sunita Kumar said the Missionaries of Charity will not press for an apology from Bhagwat.

The Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said the Christian community was in a state of shock over Bhagwat's comment and that it was time Modi walked the talk on his assurance on not tolerating inciting of religious hatred. Delhi Catholic Archdiocese spokesperson Father Savarimuthu Sankar criticised Bhagwat for being "ill-informed" and "narrow-minded".

"This incident is an oppor-

Sweeper stitches woman after delivery in Odisha

bhubaNeswar, February 24 (iaNs): A sweeper in a government-run hospital in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district carried out stitching on a woman, following her delivery after a doctor left the operation theatre.

According to a report received by the chief district medical officer (CDMO), it has been found that the doctor left the operation theatre in a hurry after conducting the caesarean delivery and the sweeper had to carry out the post-delivery stitching on the woman. The incident took place last Friday at a community health centre in Kujang, Jagatsinghpur. It sparked public outrage, prompting the health administration to carry out an inquiry.

"We have assigned a medical officer to conduct an inquiry after getting complaint from relatives of the patient about the negligence of duty. The officer has to give the report in writing," CDMO Binod Behari Mohapatra told IANS. Obstetrics and gynaecology surgeon Pramod Kumar Nayak left the operation theatre to attend upon another patient, leaving the highly skilled stitching job for the sweeper, said the report.

Mohapatra said action would be taken against the doctor and the sweeper if the final report finds them to be guilty. He said the woman was safe.

Health Director C.R. Nayak said he has not received any report yet and district health officials are inquiring the matter. Jagatsinghpur MP Kulamani Samal, who is a doctor by profession, said the allegations that the sweeper carried out the stitching work was true.

"I visited the hospital after coming to know about it. I also inquired about the patient and hospital staff members. The allegations are true. This is indeed an unfortunate occurrence," he said

tunity for the prime minister to show he meant those words and walk the talk. You said you would not tolerate, then show it by taking strict action against Bhagwat and reign him in," he said.

The Indian Christian Voice (ICV) termed Bhagwat's remarks an insult to all those who work for the poor and urged the prime minister to strongly condemn it. ICV president Abraham Mathai urged the RSS to first serve and care for lepers, AIDS victims and the poor before making comments that are in "extremely bad taste".

The Goa unit of the Congress said Bhagwat's statement only confirmed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was the B-team of the Sangh Parivar and was systematically polarising India on religious lines.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condemned Bhagwat's remarks, saying it reflects the "perverted mind of someone having prejudiced mindset".

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Sambit Patra declined to comment on Bhagwat's statement. "I would not be commenting on this," Patra told IANS. The Congress demanded that the prime minister "unequivocally" condemn Bhagwat's remarks.

Jammu, February 24 (iaNs): Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will be sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir March 1, a top source said here Tuesday.

"Yes, decks have been cleared for Mufti Sahib to be sworn in as the chief minister of the state March 1," a source told IANS. "If all goes on schedule, the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chief minister for the full six year term will take over March 1," the source said.

Top sources in the PDP told IANS that the swearing in ceremony will be held at the Zorawar Singh memorial auditorium of Jammu University.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti will meet BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi Tuesday to give a formal shape to the common minimum programme (CMP) agreed upon between the PDP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Mufti Sahib will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week. He will request the prime min-

ister to attend the swearing in ceremony of the PDP-BJP coalition government," the source added.

The names of senior PDP leaders doing the rounds for cabinet ministers posts are Abdul Rehman Veeri, Naeem Akhtar, Haseeb Drabu, Zulfiqar Choudhary, Abdul Haq Khan and Altaf Bukhari.

Those likely to be sworn in as BJP cabinet ministers are Nirmal Singh as deputy chief minister, Bali Baghat, Sham Choudhary, Kavinder Gupta, Choudhary Lal Singh and Abdul Gani Kohli.

Sources in the BJP said

Sajad Gani Lone of the People's Conference who announced his support to the BJP is also a hot contender for a ministerial berth in the new state government.

The PDP has 28, the BJP 25 and the People's Conference two seats in the 87-member state legislative assembly.

A simple majority of 44 is needed to stake claim to power in the state. Jammu and Kashmir was put under governor's rule Jan 8 after no single party or group of political parties came forward to stake claim to power.

Defence ministry staffer held over documents' leak, 5 in JC New Delhi, February 24 (iaNs): A defence ministry employee was arrested here Tuesday for his alleged involvement in the leak of documents from the petroleum and other ministries, police said.

Virender Kumar, employed as a casual worker, was arrested for providing a forged identity card along with a paper with an official letterhead to Lalta Prasad, an accused in the petroleum ministry documents leak. He was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal, who remanded him to one day's police custody.

Meanwhile, RIL corporate affairs manager Shailesh Saxena, Jubilant Energy senior executive Subash Chandra, Reliance Anil Dhirubahai Ambani Group (ADAG) deputy general manager (DGM) Rishi Anand, Essar DGM Vinay and Cairns India General Manager K.K. Naik were also presented in court.

The court remanded the corporate officials into judicial custody to March 5. Police said the document was used

by Rajkumar Chaubey to prepare a fake permission for his vehicle to project that it was hired by the government.

However, police said no sensitive

documents were found leaked or stolen from the defence ministry.

Lalta Prasad, 36, and Rakesh Kumar, 30 - both brothers and residents of Delhi -- along with Rajkumar Chaubey, 39, a resident of Ghaziabad, were arrested Feb 17 night, the day the documents leak from the petroleum ministry was unearthed. All three are in judicial custody. Delhi Police have registered two FIRs in connection with the leak of classified documents related to different ministries, including coal, petroleum and natural gas, and power - on February 17 and 20.

India’s tiger success story may be based on shoddy science A file photo Bengal tigress with her cubs in the Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh in December 2009. (Photo: Brian Gratwicke)

loNDoN, February 24 (PTi): India’s claim of a robust revival in its tiger population may have been premature and the result of a flawed research method, a new Oxford-led study suggests.

Flaws in a method commonly used in censuses of tigers and other rare wildlife put the accuracy of such surveys in doubt, researchers said.

A team of scientists from the University of Oxford, Indian Statistical Institute, and Wildlife Conservation Society exposes, for the first time, inherent short-

comings in the ‘index-calibration’ method that means it can produce inaccurate results.

Among recent studies thought to be based on this method is India’s national tiger survey (January 2015) which claimed a surprising but welcome 30 per cent rise in tiger numbers in just four years.

The survey showed that tiger population in the country had risen to 2,226 in 2014, a 30 per cent jump since the last count in 2010.

“Our study shows that indexcalibration models are so fragile

that even a 10 per cent uncertainty in detection rates severely compromises what we can reliably infer from them,” Arjun Gopalaswamy, lead author of the report from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at University of Oxford, said.

“Our empirical test with data from Indian tiger survey efforts proved that such calibrations yield irreproducible and inaccurate results,” said Gopalaswamy.

Index-calibration often relies on measuring animal numbers accurately in a relatively small region using reliable, intensive and expensive methods and then relating this measure to a more easily obtained, inexpensive indicator (such as animal track counts) by means of calibration.

The calibrated-index is then used to extrapolate actual animal numbers over larger regions.

“This study exposes fundamental statistical weaknesses in the sampling, calibration and extrapolations that are at the core of methodology used by the government to estimate India’s numbers, thus undermining their reliability,” said Dr Ullas Karanth, a

co-author from the Wildlife Conservation Society, and a member of India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority.

“We are not at all disputing that tigers numbers have increased in many locations in India in last 8 years, but the method employed to measure this increase is not sufficiently robust or accurate to measure changes at regional and country wide levels,” said Karanth.

To investigate index-calibration the team created a mathematical model describing the approach and then tested its efficiency when different values, representing variations in data, were inputted.

Under most conditions the model was shown to lose its efficiency and power to predict.

The team then tested this mathematical model on a real world example: attempting to derive tiger numbers from fieldwork data.

The index-calibration model was shown to be unreliable again, with any high degree of success shown to be down to chance, rather like being dealt a single incredibly ‘high value’ poker hand,

that could not be replicated.

“Index-calibration relies on the assumption that detection rates of animal evidence are high and unvarying. In reality this is nearly impossible to achieve. Instead, there are many flexible approaches, developed over the past decade by statistical ecologists, which can cut through noisy ‘real world’ data to make accurate predictions,” Gopalaswamy added.

“The findings have wider consequences for several applied sciences where sampling and direct extrapolation is involved, especially when sampling errors are influenced by unknown detection probabilities,” said Professor Mohan Delampady, a co-author from the Indian Statistical Institute.

The team urges conservation practitioners to guard against these sources of error, which could mislead even the best conservation efforts, and suggests a constructive way forward using alternative methods of counting rare animals that avoid the pitfalls of the index-calibration approach.

The research was published in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

InternatIonal

the Morung express

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Dimapur

9

IS militants abduct dozens of Christians in Syria Beirut, FeBruary 24 (aP): Islamic State militants have abducted at least 70 Christians, including women and children, after overrunning a string of villages in northeastern Syria, activists and relatives said Tuesday.

The Sunni extremist group, which follows a radical interpretation of Islam, has repeatedly targeted religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq since seizing control of large swaths of both countries.

Islamic State fighters have ransacked churches, demolished Shiite and Sunni Muslim shrines, and enslaved women of the Yazidi community, a tiny sect IS considers heretical.

The latest assault began before dawn on Monday, when the militants swept through the villages nestled along the banks of Khabur River near the town of Tal Tamr in Hassakeh province. The area is predominantly inhabited by Assyrians, an indigenous Christian people who trace their roots back to the ancient Mesopotamians.

During the raids, the militants took between 70 and 100 Assyrians captive, said Nuri Kino, the head of the activist group A Demand For Action, which

focuses on religious minorities in the Middle East.

He said some 3,000 people managed to flee the onslaught and have sought refuge in the cities of Hassakeh and Qamishli.

Kino said his organization based its information on conversations with villagers who fled the attack and their relatives.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the abductions, but put the number of Christians held by the Islamic State group at 90. The Observatory relies on a network of activists inside Syria.

Both groups said that most of the captives come from the village of Tal Shamiram, located some 85 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the provincial capital of Qamishli.

An Assyrian Christian woman from Tal Shamiram who now lives in Beirut said she has been scrambling to find out what has become of her parents, as well as her brother and his wife and kids.

“Land lines have been cut, their mobiles are closed,” she told The Associated Press. “Have they been slaughtered? Are they still alive? We’re searching for any news.”

Head of UN climate panel steps down amid harassment case

Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Rajendra K. Pachauri. (AP File Photo)

BerLin, FeBruary 24 (aP): The leader of the U.N.’s expert panel on climate change stepped down on Tuesday amid an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment in his native India.

R.K. Pachauri, 75, had chaired the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2002 and accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on its behalf.

The IPCC “needs strong leadership and dedication of time and full attention by the chair in the immediate future, which under the current circumstances I may be unable to provide,” Pachauri wrote in a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

He did not elaborate but pointed to his withdrawal from a meeting in Nairobi this week to attend to what the IPCC called “issues demanding his attention in India.”

Pachauri is being investigated in India after a 29-yearold woman accused him of sexually harassing her while they worked together at the New Delhi lobbying and research organization he heads, The Energy Resources Institute.

Pachauri denies the allegations and has said he is “committed to provide all assistance and cooperation to the authorities.”

The IPCC said vice chairman Ismail El Gizouli will serve as the panel’s acting chairman, and a vote on a new chairperson was already scheduled for October.

Pachauri’s second term as chairman was due to end then, and he had said that he wouldn’t run for a third term.

Pachauri said in his resignation letter that he “would be available for help, support and advice to the entire IPCC in its future work in whatever manner I may be called on to provide.”

“My family visited me last month and returned to Syria. There were clashes but it was normal, nothing exceptional. I feel so helpless, I cannot do anything for them but pray,” she said by telephone, her voice breaking. She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of endangering relatives believed to be held by the militants.

The Islamic State group’s online radio station, al-Bayan, said in a report Tuesday that IS fighters had detained “tens of crusaders” and seized 10 villages around Tal Tamr after clashes with Kurdish militiamen. IS frequently refers to Christians as “crusaders.”

It was not immediately clear what the Islamic State group planned to do with the Assyrians.

The Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria said on its Facebook page that the militants had moved their captives to the village of Umm al-Masamir on Mount Abdulaziz, some 25 kilometers south of Tal Shamiram. That raised fears, the network said, that IS could use the captives as human shields if there is a surge in violence in the area with Kurdish militiamen.

Another possibility is

that the Islamic State group could use its captives to try to arrange a prisoner swap with the Kurdish and Christian militias it is battling in northeastern Syria. There is a precedent: the extremists have released Kurdish school children as well as Turkish truck drivers and diplomats after holding them for months.

The Islamic State also militants have a long history of killing captives, including foreign journalists, Syrian and Iraqi soldiers as well as Kurdish militiamen.

Most recently, militants in Libya affiliated with the Islamic State group released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

The fighting around Tal Tamr has coincided with heavy clashes between Kurdish militiamen and Islamic State militants about 90 kilometers (55 miles) to the east near the Iraqi border. Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, launched an offensive over the weekend, quickly seizing some 20 villages from the extremists.

The fighting continued through Tuesday, as the YPG has captured another 10 villages, the Observatory said.

In this photo taken Monday, June 23, 2014, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. Islamic State militants have abducted at least 70 Assyrian Christians, including women and children, after overrunning a string of villages in northeastern Syria, two activist groups said Tuesday, February 24. (AP File Photo)

Indonesia says executions won’t be delayed despite mercy pleas Jakarta, FeBruary 24 (reuterS): Indonesia’s president said on Tuesday the planned execution of 11 convicts on death row, most on drugs charges, would not be delayed, warning foreign countries not to intervene in his government’s right to use capital punishment.

President Joko Widodo has denied clemency to the convicts despite repeated pleas from Australia, Brazil and France, who have citizens due to be executed by firing squad.

“The first thing I need to say firmly is that there

shouldn’t be any intervention towards the death penalty because it is our sovereign right to exercise our law,” Widodo told reporters.

He said he took calls from the leaders of France, Brazil and the Netherlands about the death penalty but made no mention of Australia. Two Australians are among the 11 on death row.

The president did not say when the executions would be carried out.

Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-

year gap.

Shortly before Widodo spoke, a court in Jakarta threw out an appeal by the two Australians against Widodo’s rejection of their request for presidential clemency.

“We plan to appeal today’s court decision. We have two weeks to file an appeal,” said Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer for the two men.

“If the law is respected, the execution should be postponed until the legal process is over.”

Australia has been pursuing an eleventh-hour

campaign to save the lives of Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, two members of the so-called Bali Nine group of Australians, convicted in 2005 as the ringleaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.

Other members of the group have been sentenced to long prison terms.

Australia, which has long had rocky relations with its northern neighbour, has said it would consider recalling its ambassador to Indonesia in protest if the executions are carried out.

nificantly affected by the dispute. Australia is a major trading partner of Indonesia, totalling $10.64 billion in bilateral exchanges last year.

Indonesia is Australia’s largest export market for both live cattle and wheat, and a major buyer of its crude petroleum, aluminium and cotton.

Trade between Indonesia and Brazil totalled $4.07 billion last year, according to Bank Indonesia.

Indonesia’s largest trading partner is China with $48 billion between the two countries.

US, S Korea to start military Maldives blasts foreign concern drills amid tension with North over arrest of ex-president

SeouL, FeBruary 24 (reuterS): South Korea and the United States will begin eight weeks of joint military drills starting March 2, military officials said on Tuesday, an annual exercise that typically provokes heightened rhetoric and military threats from North Korea.

North Korea regularly protests the annual exercises, which it says are a rehearsal for war, and has recently stepped up its own air, sea and ground military exercises, amid a period of increased tensions between the rival Koreas.

“The whole course of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle is aimed to occupy the DPRK through preemptive strikes,” said an editorial in the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, referring to the names for the exercises.

DPRK is short for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official title.

Tuesday’s statement by the joint U.S.-South Korean Combined Forc-

es Command said the North Korean army had been informed of the dates and “non-provocative nature” of the exercises.

On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his Korean People’s Army (KPA) commanders to focus on “combat readiness” this year, according to state media.

In 2013, following its third nuclear test, North Korea declared the armistice agreement which ended the 1950-53 war as “invalid” in response to the exercises.

The U.S. responded with longrange nuclear-capable B-2 bomber flights over the Korean peninsular in a show of force it said was designed to show U.S. ability to “conduct long-range, precision strikes quickly and at will”.

Overtures for dialogue by both Koreas in recent months have stalled, with Pyongyang describing inter-Korean relations as “inching close to a catastrophe,” in a separate Rodong Sinmun article.

CoLomBo, FeBruary 24 (aP): The government of the Maldives on Tuesday criticized foreign countries and groups that expressed concern over its recent arrest of an ex-president, saying it will not accept advice on domestic issues.

Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon said the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed was conducted lawfully and he would receive a fair trial.

The United States, India, the United Nations and the European Union were among those who expressed concern over Nasheed’s detention on Sunday for ordering the arrest of a top judge when he was president three years ago.

Nasheed was charged under an anti-terror law, and a court ordered that he be held in detention until the trial ends.

He is accused of ordering

the military to arrest Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed without proper authority, holding him for a lengthy period without a trial or legal counsel, and ignoring a Supreme Court order to release him.

Nasheed’s opposition party says his arrest and prosecution under the terror law are politically motivated.

The government says Nasheed was detained because he might flee, and that the terror law covers an array of actions against the state, not just violent terrorism.

“Those who prefer to issue public statements about an ongoing legal case, or on a domestic political situation, are advised to do a basic factcheck, before bandwagoning on to accusations made by a political party,” Maumoon said

Oil slump threatens easy life of affluent Norwegians Stavanger (norway), FeBruary 24 (aP): Losing his job on a Norwegian oil rig meant more to Kristoffer Sandberg than saying goodbye to a high salary.

It has caused a shift down in lifestyle and expectations, something an increasing number of people in this small oil-rich country are facing.

After a decade of an oil-andgas boom, plunging energy prices are shaking Norwegians out of a Utopian reverie that guaranteed workers lengthy summer vacations, generous health and social benefits, and allowed them to leave work at 4 p.m. and even earlier on Fridays.

Some of the helicopters that transport workers from the southwestern coastal city of Stavanger — the epicenter of the oil industry — to platforms on the North Sea have fallen silent. Already 10,000 workers have been laid off. It’s the start of what economists are predicting will be a long

Brazil and the Netherlands have already withdrawn their ambassadors after Indonesia executed their citizens on drug offences last month.

Brazil took the further step of refusing to allow Indonesia’s new ambassador to take part in a credentials ceremony, prompting the Southeast Asian country to recall him in protest.

Indonesia was also reevaluating the purchase of fighter jets and rocket launchers from Brazil because of the row, its Defence Ministry said.

Trade has yet to be sig-

recession in the energy industry, which accounts for 15 percent of Norway’s economy, more than half of its exports and 80 percent of the state’s income.

The Nordic country is being forced to contemplate a future without the certainties of the past.

“I know that people are envious of these conditions elsewhere in the world. We joke about it sometimes,” says Sandberg, a 24-year-old mechanic.

“But I don’t know how many more people will lose their jobs or how much longer it will be uncertain like this.”

Sandberg is selling his new S-Class Mercedes and moving to Singapore to help oversee the construction of a new giant oil rig, in the hope of retaining even a bit of his old lifestyle. But he’ll have to work longer hours and won’t be rewarded with the four-week breaks for every two weeks of labor enjoyed by offshore workers here.

Sandberg still feels being born in Norway was like winning the lottery but agrees that the regular, annual ratcheting up of wages was unsustainable.

Last year, the state-run oil and gas company Statoil revealed it paid an average annual salary of 1 million kroner ($130,000) to its 23,000 employees.

Knut Sunde, director of industrial policy at the employers’ organization Norsk Industri, says the shake-up for Norwegian workers used to the rewards will be painful, but he welcomes the reality check.

“The average Norwegian has just gotten too much. We have a welfare economy and an expectation from youth, who expect wealth to come down from heaven,” Sunde said. “When we come down to periods like this, it comes down to good old values of working hard and competing. A country like Norway needs to go through that.”

The barrel price of Brent crude, an international variety of oil, has tumbled from a steady three-year average of around $110 to below $60. At that price, more than half the offshore fields being developed along the Norwegian continental shelf are uneconomical.

Rig owners, used to renting their fleets of steel behemoths to eager drillers for more than $400,000 a day, are about to release a glut of speculatively built new models even as the explorers are losing their pioneering spirit. Rigs are idling in west coast ports. More layoffs are expected as companies like Statoil prepare to cut back on spending.

The energy sector’s dominance in the Norwegian economy means its troubles will cast a pall over the wider economy. The layoffs will likely hurt the restaurant and hotel sectors, for example, as fewer business trips are made.

One big positive is that Nor-

way saved up a massive $860 billion from oil exports during the good years to protect it against having to make sharp and traumatic cuts to welfare spending.

By law, the government is not allowed to spend more than four percent of that money annually, and in practice uses up only the interest.

So for those Norwegians left with jobs, there is no imminent end to welfare perks like five weeks of annual paid holiday, the highest sickness benefits in the world and shorter working hours than elsewhere.

Rather, it is a question of whether future generations will suffer a shift down in living standards. Hilde Opoku of the Green Party says Norwegians are still blind to the coming change.

“It won’t happen overnight, but when we wake up from this oil bubble, we will realize we will never have a fairytale like this again.”

in a statement.

The government “will not take instructions from a foreign government on any issue in governing the country,” she said. “I wish to call upon our international partners to recognize the defining principle of the international system, which is to refrain from acts and signals that could undermine the sovereignty of independent states.”

Nasheed became the country’s first democratically elected president in 2008, ending 30 years of autocratic rule by the foreign minister’s father, Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.

Nasheed resigned in 2012 after weeks of public protests against his order to arrest the judge. He lost the 2013 presidential election to Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s half-brother, Yameen Abdul Gayyoom.

Bombings kill 15 people Baghdad, FeBruary 24 (aP): A series of bombings in Baghdad and near the Iraqi capital killed at least 15 people on Tuesday, officials said.

Iraq sees near-daily attacks, mostly by Sunni insurgents and mainly targeting the country’s Shiite majority and security forces. The attacks often are claimed by the Islamic State group, which seized about a third of the country in a blitz last year, along with a swath of territory in neighboring Syria.

A parked car bomb went off in a commercial area in the town of Mishada, 30 kilometers north of Baghdad, killing at least four civilians and wounding 12, police officials said. In Baghdad’s northwestern Shula neighborhood, a bomb exploded near a restaurant, killing three civilians and wounded eight, they said. Another bomb also killed three civilians and wounded nine in a commercial area in Youssifiyah, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Baghdad.

Two more civilians were killed and seven others were wounded when a bomb struck an outdoor market in Latifiyah, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad.

Another bomb hit a police patrol in Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, killing a police officer and a civilian and wounding five people.

And in Baghdad’s northern Shaab neighborhood, a bomb blast killed one civilian and wounded five. Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.

10

Dimapur

SPORTS

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Harden's triple-double helps Rockets over Wolves

HOUSTON, FebrUary 24 (aP): James Harden had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double this season, leading the Houston Rockets to a 113-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Harden got off to a slow start, missing his first seven shots. He got going late in the first quarter, had 13 points at halftime and was a rebound away from wrapping up his fourth career triple-double entering the fourth.

Houston led by nine at the start of the final period, but Andrew Wiggins led a charge that cut the lead to one point with less than 4 minutes left.

The Rockets took over after that, using a 14-2 run, with five points from Harden, to make it 111-98 with less than a minute to go.

Wiggins scored 30 for the Timberwolves, who lost for the third time in four games.

Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley scored 18 points and Jeff Green added 16 as Memphis held on to beat Los Angeles 90-87 and end the Clippers' fourgame winning streak.

Marc Gasol added 14 points and Zach Randolph had 10 rebounds as the Grizzlies improved to 15-3 since Green joined Houston Rockets' James Harden (13) goes to the basket between Minnesota Timberwolves the team on Jan. 12. They Andrew Wiggins (22) and Ricky Rubio (9) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Mon- won using balanced scoring with no one getting 20 day, February 23, in Houston. (AP Photo)

points.

Chris Paul had 30 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, with Jamal Crawford scoring 15 points off the bench.

In Miami, Luol Deng made 11 of 14 shots and scored 29 points, and Goran Dragic added 23 points and 10 assists as the Heat set a season high for scoring in a 119-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Dwyane Wade scored 18 for the Heat, who stayed in the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. Hassan Whiteside added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Miami, which shot 55 percent.

Hollis Thompson scored 22 points for Philadelphia.

The Chicago Bulls downed the Milwaukee Bucks 87-71 after Tony Snell scored 20 points, and Nikola Mirotic had 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

Pau Gasol added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

In other games, Alexis Ajinca capped a 16-point performance with a goahead layup in the final minute as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Toronto Raptors 100-97, Trey Burke scored 23 points as the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 90-81, the Boston Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns 115-110 and the Brooklyn Nets were 110-82 winners over the Denver Nuggets.

The Morung Express

silver cup T-20 Tourney postponed

KOHima, FebrUary 24 (mexN): The 6th edition of the Silver Cup T-20 Cricket Tournament organized by Youth Department of Nepali Baptist Church Kohima under the theme ‘Peace and Unity Cricket’ has been postponed to March 14.

The tournament has been postponed due some unavoidable circumstances. However, other details about the tournament remain unchanged, a press release received here informed.

All interested teams, clubs and sports associations can collect the registration forms from February 9 from the following shops: Kohima – Sports World, Old Taxi Stand; and Dimapur – Universal Sports.

The last date of submission of forms with entry fee of Rs. 5000 is March 4.

Further details and information can be collected through Organising Convener John Thakuri @ 9774039646 or Organising Secretary @ 9774416162.

Premier League boss opposes WC date change

DOHa, FebrUary 24 (aFP): English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said Tuesday that all major European clubs are "very disappointed" by moves to hold the 2022 World Cup in November-December.

Scudamore was a member of the FIFA

task force that met in Doha to recommend a date for the tournament in Qatar.

"Yeah, very disappointed that's the word, I think, on behalf of the all the European leagues and particularly the European clubs who provide most of the players for this World Cup," said Scudamore.

Alonso crash caused by wind

barcelONa, FebrUary 24 (iaNS): The accident here Sunday which later saw Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso being air-lifted to hospital was not caused by a mechanical failure or driver error but by a gust of "wind", his McLaren Honda team confirmed.

Alonso needed to be taken to a hospital after hitting a wall at 150 kmph during pre-season practice at the Circuit de BarcelonaCatalunya, reports Xinhua.

"The accident was caused by the unpredictable gusts of wind in that part of the circuit and they had also affected other pilots in a similar manner," explained his team Mon-

day, which insisted there had been no mechanical failure in the Spaniard's car.

The team also denied rumours that Alonso had lost consciousness before the crash, saying that the fact he had changed gear

and braked before hitting the wall was "clearly impossible if he had been unconscious at that moment".

Alonso has undergone a series of tests to ensure he has not suffered any internal injuries and McLaren say the results have been "completely normal". He will "remain in hospital in order to recover from the effects of his medication and sedation" and he will leave the hospital when he can "lead a normal life".

"There is no hurry. We don't know if he will be one, two or three days. He will be in as long as needed for the medical team to decide if he can leave," said his representative Luis Garcia Abad.

public discourse

The uncanny bombs

T

he offshoots of NPF’s drama are now becoming murkier as to piercing overhead tank with bullet, leaving an unexploded bomb in a visible area of the compound of a defected MLA in Dimapur and another bomb explosion at the security fencing of similar defector at Kohima on 18th and 21st February, 2015 respectively. Both the attempts appeared to be more of dispatching signals and threat than of sincere attempt to cause harm to anybody. The explosion at Old Ministers’ Hill, Kohima would have caused casualty had not the planters exploded it in the complete absence of any soul.

Whatever may be the intention of the plotter or the plotters, political gaming with violence sans Christian ethic. Better political games can be played without abominable tactics as intimidations, coercions and violence. Players, in this drama, may not be realizing, as they are all being hypnotized in their hallucination over the chair of power, how much damage they have already caused to the name of Jesus Christ particularly in the sight of unbelievers. Indeed, it is a disgrace to Christianity and an embarrassment to fellow Christians in the country. Although I do not know who engineered the schemes and who carried out the firing and the blast of bomb in Dimapur and Kohima, the accusing finger is at NPF despite of public condemnation and counter condemnation by both the contending factions. Better stop introducing such new harmful cultures just for selfish gains.

In the interest of probe, let me provoke those who are interested.

Firstly, is history being repeated? Once upon a time in Nagaland, there was an MLA who was anxious to be surrounded by bevy Police body guards. In those days, an MLA was entitled to only one or maximum two Police personnel. He knew that his security guard would be enhanced only when his life is under threat.

Unfortunately, he became nobody’s target, was

not the enemy of anyone and remained less significant in term of security status with two bodyguards. He, therefore, arranged self ambush during one of his movements. Perhaps the Honourable MLA issued limited shots to his attackers to be fired in the air at the indicated spot at the appointed time. The next day, few local papers carried in headlines that the MLA’s life was attempted but escaped without anyone being hurt. Following, the Home Department had no option but to detail more sepoys for him with an escort gypsy vehicle.

With Police escort, the MLA looked more of a VIP in the eye of his gullible peers. More interesting scene followed..... but not now.

Secondly, is there anyone condemning own act? There is room big enough for both the NPF factions to patronise blame games and tarnish each other’s image. Whereas, the general public are susceptible to be towed away from the truth.

Thirdly, when the said threats were aimed at the betrayals of Kaito/Noke faction, the first impression of such dastardly act is to hold this faction responsible. Yet, the simple mathematic is that it may not necessarily be so or may be, I do not know. Because it is obvious that any security threat that happens to any of the betrayals, the high tendency of suspicion is on this faction. Therefore, any unscrupulous element or the adversary may take advantage in disguise.

In the light of above, the two incidents should not be categorized as minor just because no life was lost or no massive damage of property was caused. The concerned authority must try to investigate, find the ground realities and expose those who involved in it followed by booking of the culprit. Should the incidents be a mere ploy with tacit understanding, then the people who condemned the acts would be laughed at by the doers. Whoever it may be, the public should not be taken for a ride.

Z. Lohe

T

iNdebTed To THe public

he people of Nagaland gave their mandate in 2013 General Elections for two reasons: SERVICE and SOLUTION. It was not for any particular person, faction or party alone. Ruling or opposition, all members carry the same collective responsibility of serving the State as well as playing positive roles towards a satisfactory political solution (which we know can never be the end, final or permanent solution, since Naga Political Movement or Is-

sue involves all Nagas and their ancestral homelands wherever they are). Our forefathers and foremothers bequeathed us with a vintage history and a polity of high quality. It is inherited; not earned by us. We are a fortunate and better placed generation.

Our status is unlike many other states or people groups around us. This should not be mishandled nor taken lightly. In the past, some leaders, pragmatic and expedient, tried to take our case to the immediate or personal

advantages, but the solid background and history, the actual bedrock of Naga politics has not changed.

Given the political will and united efforts I hope we shall be able to take it forward, because new and better stars are in the making. The general public also should not forget that all doers or players do make mistakes or misfire in their attempts sometimes, which is unavoidable even in the future. We should all be patient and have a long view, con-

fident and steadfast, rather than become jerky, messy and discordant with instant expectations. As time moves on, we shall be able to know who are for genuine SERVICE and SOLUTION (individuals, factions or parties), and who are not.

In the end, we are all employed by the public and are servants of the public, to whom we owe our indebtedness.

Dr. Dietho-o ‘South Corner’ A.G. Road, Kohima

‘Our endeavour to change leadership is stronger than ever’

I

am releasing this statement in order to wipe out some misconceptions and to filter the misinformation campaign vigorously carried out by certain section in the political landscape of Nagaland.

I herewith copy paste some sections of the rules of procedures and conduct of business in Nagaland Legislative Assembly NLA published by the Assembly Secretariat 2010. This is the vehicle that drives States progress and it is a legal and living document. It fills in the skeleton with soul and blood and this document have a special legal sanctity. The fundamental thesis of this organic document is Article 208 (1) of the constitution of India. This NLA Bible was adopted

on 17 August 1964 and first published by Nagaland Gazette on 30 September 1964.

The 5 February confidence motion was made under XVIII "The Ministry". I quote some restrictions which I presume are relevant to the present context.

To move a confidence or no confidence motion, a member of the Assembly should fulfill 10 restrictions along with the consent of the speaker. As long as a member of the NLA fulfills those 10 restrictions and have the consent of the Speaker, he can move confidence or no confidence motion any day.

(1) The member asking for the motion shall before the commencement of the sitting of the day, leave with the Secretary a

written notice of the motion he proposes to make.

(2) After the consent of the Speaker, the motion shall be taken up within 10 days and not less then 24 hours.

(3) A member who has resigned from the office of minister may, with the consent of the Speaker make a personal statement in explanation of his resignation.

The Constitution of India upto the 95 Ammendment 2009 is absolutely silent on the validity or duration of the confidence motion and the validity/duration of the confidence motion is squarly based on the doctrine of Electoral Democracy where it starts with majority and ends with majority. The 5 February

confidence motion has no validity and the talk of the town of 6 or 12 months time limit is utterly groundless.

People should not try to twist the Constitution of the country and cloud the minds of the leaders and the general public to meet their selfish end. We cannot simply run away nor hide from the claws of the Indian Constitution and we are horrible mortals in the eye of the Constitution.

Our endeavour to change the leadership is stronger than ever and the Constitution have granted sufficient rooms to us to remove the leader of the day legally and democratically.

Shilumar, Chairman NPF Press and Media Cell

Which Way? Anna Hazare’s or Kejriwal’s to change the society

A

Thepfulhouvi Solo

nna Hazare and Kejriwal sat down together cross-legged in Delhi Ramlila Ground with Anna in Gandhi Cap and ordinary snow white cotton Clothes; together they racked up India’s conscience as never before against the culture of Corruption in high places and in the rich Corporate Circles. “Dear Aviba, Is there no Anna Hazare in Nagaland?” enquired Rev. Dr. Ben Wati from London in an email and immediately I replied “Dear Oti, (Elder Brother), Nagas do not know exactly how Ministers earn wealth through Corruptions and so nobody complains in Nagaland”!

My point here however is: Can Corruption in the Land be eliminated with Protests, Dharnas, Demonstrations and preaching alone in the Church? These methods will continue and are necessary, and crowds in thousands and lakhs agitating, complaining and protesting in the City Squares, Maidans or in the Streets, are a modern proper democratic Means of public protests against the Evils in the Society. These are however nowhere nearer sufficient to uproot Corruption in the Society. Corruption is a powerful Spirit and cannot easily be removed except with resolute practically action..

Anna Hazare; by his Fasts, Sit-ins and

Dharnas, brought out into the open the hidden simmering dislike and discontent of a people against Corruption in the Land. But the Society needs something more concrete actions than the Dharnas if it is serious for elimination of Corruption in the land.

The Corruptions and the Inequities in the Land originate mostly from the Seats of Power in the Government, in the Corporate Bodies and in the Company Dealings. The injustices are done with the callous knowledge and intensions of the powerful people in the Organizations for their own Self-Interests than Public Interest. The Public knows very well Beelzebub would not fight Beelzebub otherwise how would Beelzebub stand?

Today, corruption in the land has become so wide spread that the perpetrators not in the least ashamed that they do not consider it Evil any more: If corruption is no longer considered corruption, then what is Corruption?

There can be no solution to corruption without a committed Government. Without legal actions by a strong Government against Corruption, it cannot simply be wished away from the Society. It is heartening there are people like Anna Hazare who chose to remain APOLITICAL. Anna Hazare did not approve of Kejriwal joining Politics -a pure good intention- but Corruption is such an evil strong power that

there is no other stronger power than the Power of Politics to give it a K.O.(know-out) in the 1st Round itself. Forestry Experts sometime recommend Fire to control Forest Fire. To fight Corruption, it is more realistic to create a Political Party with committed principle to fighting Corruption than do Dharnas and Hartals!

Without a strong committed Government there is no way of resolutely removing Corruption from the Land. I do not exactly see beauty in the improvised Gandhi Cap of the AM ADMI PARTY but I admire their RESOLVE, in the cerebral material the white simple Cloth protects the Head from the heat of the land to fight Corruption! It is particularly heartening to see Humility not only in the Leader alone but in the AAM Party. May they set an atomic Chain reaction in all the States in India?

Anna Hazare is not grossly wrong; Governance is not an easy clean job. It has many barbs and sharp edges; a Person making a Path through a thick jungle of thorns and Spiny Plants will get pricked and pierces in his body here and there but there is no other way to eliminate the thorny Weeds than for someone to to cut them down.

Anna Hazare is right once but Kejriwal is right many times, corruption cannot be removed without a sustained political Power.

Kejriwal is more realistic in his perception for

removal of Corruption than Hazare. The Aims of the twain are the same; only their Paths are necessarily different.

The Society needs much more than just the removal of Corruption in the Society: it needs Economic Development, Prosperity and removal of the Poverty. Most important of all is to rein in the ARROGANCE OF THE PRIVILEGED POWERFUL and to replace it with SERVICE, HUMBLENESS and HUMILITY a task Dharnas and Hartals can not efficiently do.

It appears a very difficult political situation has descended on the Nagas and Nagaland recently. The Land seems to have reached a Final Rounds of the political Tournament and the Politicians seem to be running out of their political Ideas. If my cerebral materials serve me well, the Team did not seem to have fared well in the difficult Tournament.

One very sad thing that has happened recently in our land is that Bombs and Fire Arms have been used. Everybody knows the language of Bombs and Fire Arms: They are for putting out Life from Man or for threatening it. AK 47 Rifles and Hand Grenades were made not for killing Rats or Rabid Dogs it the Street, they were made to kill enemy Human Beings ! Now, Who are the human Enemies?

Why have they become Enemies?

Who are the people who hurled the Bombs and fired the Shots?

We suspect the armed Actions were intended for their political Enemies and if that is so, it betrays a very serious Political Bankruptcy in the Political Groups of the Nagas whoever they may be. The Bombs and the Firearm shows the end of Political Ideas. The recent Political Tamasha, the Naga Politicians have shown gives us and indication of headlong foolhardiness culminated in an unprecedented near total support for their enemies they hated! And now Bombs and AK 47 have come!

It is sad and very sorry to think some Leaders have become desperate and has run short of political Ideas. Nagas are running out of their Political Ideas! The Old Wine would get no better even poured into a New Bottle and the old Wine in the Old Bottle appears to have expired!

Nagaland may need New Wine in New Bottle.

Will there be any Kejriwal in Nagaland?

If Nagas do not win the Santosh Football Trophy in India, it is sad –this year Mizoram has won the Trophy for the Second successive times; if the Centre would not wipe off the State’s Fund deficit, it is not a calamity; if Nagaland MPs do not get Ministerial Birth in the Centre, it is no wonder but if the Nagas run out of political Ideas!

Woe to Nagaland; Nagas are run out of their political Ideas!

Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

C M Y K

Wednesday

Entertainment

The Morung Express

Sonam and Rhea to launch fashion brand!

25 February 2015

Dimapur

11

Emma Watson puts dating Prince Harry rumours to end

C M Y K

E

mma Watson has put an end to all the rumours surrounding her dating Prince Harry.

The 24-year-old British actress took to Twitter and wrote a firm but sweet message addressed to the "World", saying "WORLD, Remember that little talk we had about not believing everything written in the media?!," including a little heart emoticon in the message, News.com au reported.

The rumours sprung when Woman's Day magazine claimed that 30-yearold royal and the 'Harry Potter' star had been seeing and "getting to know each other quite well" post Watson's split from British rugby player Matthew Janney.

F

ashionista Sonam Kapoor is without a doubt one of the favourite divas of B-Town. Her style tips has got her all the deserved adulation from all and sundry. Well, she is elated and pumped about the fact that she has a ‘Rheson’ to smile as she along with younger sister Rhea are going to launch their new fashion line soon. `Rheson` is the name of the brand that the Kapoor sisters will be launching around September, reportedly. Sonam, apparently is mostly styled by her sister Rhea. 'Dolly Ki Doli' actress took to Twitter to post the news: “My beautiful sister and I are starting a high street fashion brand called #rheson.”

Her brilliant choice of clothes has fetched her appreciation – be it the recent visit to Paris or her debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival almost two years ago. The pretty damsel can pull off anything with sheer panache. Also, daddy Anil Kapoor too shared his proud moment on the micro-blogging site. He tweeted: Another Rheson to make me proud! @sonamakapoor @RheaKapoor

american Horror Story actor ben Woolf dies

B

en Woolf, who acted in American Horror Story, died on Monday after suffering a head injury. Woolf, 34, sustained the injury on Thursday night while crossing a road in Hollywood. The 4fit 4in actor was hit in the head by the mirror of an SUV. He played Infantana in the programme, and Meep in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Woolf was born with pituitary dwarfism, and was a preschool teacher as well as an actor

big b on mission to save cinematic marvels

“We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from all over the world for our beloved Ben. He touched so many hearts in his 34 years.

His memory will live on within each of us and within his work,” Woolf's family said in a statement.

Tributes from fans and colleagues alike were shared on social media, with the show's creator Ryan Murphy describing Woolf as "one of the most inspirational people I've ever met".

Retirement is a rude word: Judi dench

“T

he Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” star Judi Dench has no plans to give up work anytime soon.

The 80-year-old actress said she does not allow the word “old” to be used in her house, reported Daily Telegraph.

“I don’t want any of those old words. I like ‘enthusiastic’ and I like the word ‘cut’ because that means you’ve finished the shot,” she said.

Dench’s latest film “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, is a sequel to 2012’s surprise hit movie.

The film follows a group of British pensioners who move to a retirement hotel in India, rediscovering themselves and love in the process.

“I think that’s what the whole film is about. I don’t want to be told I can’t do something. I’ll just have a go at it and I may make a terrible mess of it but I’d sooner make a mess than not have a go at all.

“I don’t think age matters at all. What matters is your determination not to give up and not to stop learning new things, which I absolutely applaud,” the actress said.

C M Y K

brooklyn beckham set to be released by arsenal

M

egastar Amitabh Bachchan says he feels privileged to be the face of an initiative by The Film Heritage Foundation and working towards saving cinematic marvels from getting lost with time.

"A FUNCTION TO ATTEND THE Film Heritage Foundation...a most sincere effort to archive all the films made through the years... most of our films have got destroyed

or lost, due to no archival interest or work "Congratulations FILM HERITAGE FOUNDATION... and thank you for making me the Brand Ambassador of this work...honoured and privileged," read a post on Big B's official page on social networking site Facebook.

The event was held here Sunday.

The 72-year-old also shared photographs of the

event on his official blog srbachchan.tumblr.com, saying that visuals tell a better story than words.

"Just the visuals tell a deep story…of a day well spent...of being made Ambassador for the Film Heritage Foundation and the Preservation of films," the "Paa" star posted on his blog.

Meanwhile, the screen icon is gearing up for the release of his films "Piku" and "Wazir".

B

rooklyn Beckham has been left disappointed in his attempts to secure an Arsenal scholarship.

Women possess an inner strength that men don't :Iqbal KHan

I

C M Y K

qbal Khan is all for the DNA Ican Marathon, which he says celebrates women power and fitness Running is the easiest form of exercise, all you need to do is invest in a good pair of shoes! Whenever I have to drastically lose weight, running is my weapon. I wake up at 5 am and go to a nearby park to run, because that's the best time.

Also, it is important to run on a natural surface because concrete floors take a toll on the knees. If you are running a long distance, it is important to maintain a uniform speed to keep your stamina intact and the body fluids going.

You need to utilise the maximum strength only in the end.

If you are running for a good cause, 50 per cent of it is taken care of by God. You have to work hard for the remaining fifty per

cent. You need to pratise running at least 15 days before the D-Day. Other wise, it will be a shock to your body.

R u n ning a marathon n e e d s strength and has nothing to do with b o d y type.

Just be-

cause you have a six-pack body doesn't mean you will run fast or last a marathon! If you ask me, Ak-

shay Kumar is somebody who would last the longest in a marathon since his body is naturally built.

The idea of a marathon exclusively for women sends the message lond and clear that they are equal to men. In fact, women possess an inner kind of strength that men don't. I can see that from the way my wife handles everything. What I do, my wife can do, but I cannot do everything that she does! So, I absolutely support DNA ICan Marathon which celebrates women power and fitness. I think it should happen more often.

The 15-year-old is enrolled at the club's Hale End academy and was hoping to be handed a two-year term to continue with the Gunners. However, it is understood the teenager will not be retained next season, ending his tenure with Arsenal.

The news comes as a surprise after Beckham was called up into the club's Under 18 side earlier this month. However, Sportsmail can reveal that Beckham was one of only a few Under 16 and Under 17 players still at the club's Hale End academy that weekend as the rest travelled to the Al Kass youth tournament in Qatar. And many at the club's Hale End academy saw his promotion as more of a case of default rather than merit.

Beckham will remain at the

C M Y K

club, however, until the end of the season. It is unclear whether the teenager will look to find a new club.

Having started later at Arsenal's academy than the majority of other youngsters at Hale End, Beckham was always playing catch up.

Despite the decision not to retain him, Arsenal youth coaches still rate the teenager highly, but feel other players in his right midfield position are more advanced in their development at the club.

They also feel Beckham can still make the professional grade at another club.

His brothers Romeo and Cruz are also enrolled at Hale End. Cruz, 10, is said to be the most promising of the Beckham brothers.

Irrfan's Jurassic World character to be part of an international game

I

rrfan, who is getting rave reviews for his performance in Qissa, has added yet another feather in his cap. The talented actor is now a part of the highly anticipated Jurassic Park franchise game and his onscreen character of Simon Masrani, the dynamic owner of the park in Jurassic World, has been used in the upcoming game.

A source close to Irrfan says, "There will be two versions of the game that has been developed by the team at LEGO and Irrfan's character would be part of both the games. The first being a character game and the

other being a video game.

This is a huge thing as both the games will be launched at an international level."

Commenting on the same Irrfan said, "I am kicked about this development and am looking for-

ward to how well the game would be received." Apart from Jurassic World, the actor will also be seen in Ron Howard's Inferno where Irrfan would be seen sharing the screen with legendary actor Tom Hanks.

C M Y K

Tomorrow maTch

Thu, 26 Feb—03:30 am IST Thu, 26 Feb — 08:50 am IST

AFG vs SCO BAN vs SL

University oval, Dunedin melbourne cricket Ground

Gayle storms to first WCup double-century Rohit's two doublehundreds inspired me, says Gayle

Chris Gayle scores 215 as West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 73 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method

C M Y K

C M Y K

Canberra, February 24 (aFP): Chris Gayle smashed the highest ever individual World Cup score of 215 and his first century in 20 months as the West Indies flattened Zimbabwe on a record-shattering day in Canberra on Tuesday.

The Caribbean entertainers amassed 372 for two after winning the toss and then bowled Zimbabwe out for 289 chasing a revised 363 to win the rain-reduced match by 73 runs at Manuka Oval. Man-of-the-match Gayle, 35, clubbed a record-equalling 16 sixes including three in a row, to cash in after a huge let-off on the first ball he faced and was eventually out off the final ball of the innings.

Gayle also eclipsed his previous highest one-day international knock of 153 not out against Zimbabwe in 2003. Records tumbled as Gayle, who also went past 9,000 ODI runs, bettered South African Gary Kirsten's previous highest World Cup score of 188 not out against the UAE in Rawalpindi in 1996.

Only India's Rohit Sharma with 264 and Virender Sehwag (219) have scored more runs than the explosive West Indian left-hander in an ODI innings. Gayle's 372run partnership with Marlon Samuels (133 not out) was also an all-time ODI record.

The 35-year-old Gayle's double-century came off just 138 balls and this innings was his first three-figure score since he made 109 against Sri Lanka at his Sabina Park home ground Kingston in June 2013. "It's been a lot of pressure, the runs haven't been coming and this is the first time ever in my career," said Gayle during the midinnings break.

"So many people wanted me to score runs and the messages kept coming in on Twitter and in the end I am glad to have given them something to actually cheer about," he added after his 22nd century in 226 ODIs. Gayle turned around the West Indies innings with Samuels after the second-ball dismissal of fellow opener Dwayne Smith. Samuels' innings was comparatively more sedate compared to Gayle's whirlwind knock, his 133 not out coming off 156 balls with 11 fours and three sixes.

But it could have all been different had Gayle not survived a very contentious review in his favour off the first ball he faced.

Tinashe Panyangara had a tremendous opening over, bowling Smith second ball and then looking most unlucky not to get Gayle out leg before wicket with his fourth delivery after a review.

Replays showed the ball hitting Gayle's pads and he was initially given not out by umpire Steve Davis, only for Zimbabwe to seek a referral.

The TV umpire ruled umpire's call, adjudicating the ball was going over the stumps, but Gayle looked fortunate to still be at the crease.

"It was scary the first ball, it was like 'come on, you're not serious, you can't be out first ball,'" Gayle said.

Gayle's record-shattering innings came just days after he was inadvertently caught up in an embarrassing Twitter gaffe committed by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron who retweeted a post from a spectator calling for the batsman to be pensioned off.

Gayle's knock was only the fifth double century in all ODIs and the first by a non-Indian, with Sharma having gone past 200 on two occasions. "I am very happy to get this first double hundred and ever since Rohit got two, I have been hounded to get one as well," said Gayle.

Samuels also had a life on 27 when he was put down

by Tendai Chatara at backward point off Sikandar Raza just before drinks and the West Indies were 73 for one.

Gayle was caught by Raza off a no-ball by Panyangara on 121 in the 39th over as things continued to go his way.

But off the last ball of the innings, Gayle was out after he skied a catch to Zimbabwe skipper Elton Chigumbura. In total, he faced 147 balls with 10 fours and 16 sixes.

Zimbabwe never looked like getting near the huge West Indian target, reduced by a rain break to 363 off 48 overs, with Sean Williams top-scoring with 76 off 61 balls and Jason Holder and Jerome Taylor taking three wickets each and Gayle claiming two wickets.

TON COMMANDMENTS!

r Sharma India 264 v Sri Lanka 13 Nov 2014 V Sehwag India 219 v west Indies 8 Dec 2011 c Gayle wI 215 v Zimbabwe 24 Feb 2015 r Sharma India 209 v australia 2 Nov 2013 S Tendulkar India 200* v South africa 24 Feb 2010 c coventry Zim 194* v Bangladesh 16 aug 2009 S anwar Pak 194 v India 21 may 1997 V richards wI 189* v England 31 may 1984 m Guptill NZ 189* v England 2 Jun 2013 S Jayasuriya SL 189 v India 29 oct 2000

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle celebrates after scoring a double century during their Cricket World Cup Pool B match against Zimbabwe in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, February 24. (AP Photo)

Records tumble following Gayle's 215

ODI history batsman with two double hunCanberra, February 24 * The 138-ball knock was the fastest double hundred in ODIs * The Jamaican hit an increddreds to his name which came (IanS): Chris Gayle's majestic ible 16 sixes, equalling Rohit against Australia (209 in 2013) 215 broke several World Cup and * Gayle combined with Maron Samuels (133 not out) to score Sharma and AB de Villiers ODI and Sri Lanka (264 in 2014).

One-Day International (ODI) re372 runs - the highest ODI partrecord and registering a new * Along the way, Gayle passed cords when the West Indies took nership. It bettered the previWorld Cup record for the most 9,000 career runs and scored on Zimbabwe in a Pool B clash at ous best between Sachin Tennumber of sixes in a match his 22nd ODI century. He holds the Manuka Oval here Tuesday. dulkar and Rahul Dravid, who * The 35-year-old became only the the record for the most number put together 331 against New fourth batsman to score an ODI of centuries for any West Indies The following is the list of records Zealand in 1999. The previous double hundred. Sachin Tenplayer. The second best is Brian registered: best World Cup partnership dulkar was the first to score an Lara with 19 * Gayle smashed the highest also involved Dravid, who with unbeaten 200 against South Af- * With the century, Gayle became score of a World Cup match.

Sourav Ganguly, struck 318 runs rica in 2010. The next year, Virenthe only batsman in history with The previous best was South Afagainst Sri Lanka in 1999. These der Sehwag smashed 219 against an ODI double hundred, Twenrican Gary Kirsten's 188 not out are the only three partnerships the Windies. Current India ty20 International century and against the United Arab Emirto have crossed the 300-mark in opener Rohit Sharma is the only Test triple ton ates in 1996

Canberra, February 24 (IanS): West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who smashed the first World Cup double-century on Tuesday, said he wanted to get it ever since India's Rohit Sharma scored two of them in ODIs. T h e 3 5 - y e a r- o l d smashed 16 sixes and 10 fours to score 215 against Zimbabwe in a Pool B game. This became the highest World Cup score, beating the previous best of Gary Kirsten of South Africa, who made 188 against the United Arab Emirates in 1996. "I am very happy to get this first double-hundred and ever since Rohit got two (ODI double-hundreds), I have been hounded to get one as well," Gayle said after his whirlwind innings at the Manuka Oval.

Rohit is the only individual with two double-hundreds to his name, including the highest ODI score of 264 which he scored against Sri Lanka in 2014.

Gayle, who was not been his best of late, said he was under immense pressure to perform and could not quite believe it after scoring the double hundred. "I said 'you can't be serious?'

I just want to thank god for this knock. I was under pressure to score runs and I kept getting messages from Twitter and on my cell phone. I have never felt this kind of pressure but in the end, I am sure I gave them something to talk about," said the southpaw.

The Jamaican said he wanted to build his innings rather than throw his bat around from the word go.

"It was a bit slow at the start, not to mention that it was keeping low. I just tried to take the bull by the horns and hang out there and try and build an innings. After a while I was able to pick a bowler to target and then, in the end, I was out off the last ball," Gayle, who scored his 22nd ODI century, said.

"A lot of time people don't know what you are going through as I had some issues with injuries.

I am also not getting any younger so age is definitely catching up on me," added Gayle, who with Marlon Samuels (133 not out) recorded the highest ODI partnership of 372. "Overall, I am really happy and I just want to try and build on this as much as possible.

Want to build on this momentum and move ahead as we look towards the South Africa game."

C M Y K

C M Y K

PHSS 25th Sports Meet underway C

C

M

M

Y

Y

K

K

C M Y K

Students of Classes I & II performing a drill during the inaugural function of the Patkai Higher Secondary School's 25th Sports Meet on Tuesday. (Photo: Soreipam Jagoi)

ChumukedIma, February 24 (mexn): The 25th edition of Patkai Higher Secondary School’s (PHSS) Sports Meet got underway at the Patkai Christian College ground on Tuesday. Lt. Col. MP Sharma, Second-in-Command, 37 Assam Rifles, Medziphema was the chief guest at

C M

the inaugural function. The chief guest unfurled the school flag and later declared the sports meet open.

The inaugural function saw students of the four houses taking part in March Past. Chingme Rungsung led the oath-taking. Earlier, Vichukho Neikha, Chaplain, PCC said the invoca-

tion, while Vice-Principal, PHSS, Henry K. Shimray, delivered the welcome address. Peace Jagoi chaired the programme. Students of Classes A & B presented a special song while students of Classes I & II also presented a drill.

The meet will conclude on February 27.

Y K

Published, Printed and Edited by Aküm Longchari on behalf of Morung for Indigenous Affairs and JustPeace from House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur at Themba Printers and Telecommunications, Padum Pukhuri Village, Dimapur, Nagaland.

RNI No : NAGENG /2005/15430. House No.4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur 797112, Nagaland. Phone: Dimapur -(03862) 248854, Fax: (03862) 235194, Kohima - (0370) 2291952

For news email: morung@gmail.com and for advertisements and circulation contact: (03862) 248854, Fax-235194 or email : morungad@yahoo.com

PO Reg No. NE/RN-722