January 14th, 2016

Page 1

C M Y K

www.morungexpress.com

thursDAY • JAnuArY 14 • 2016

DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 12 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

P o W e R

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees Pathankot attack: Pakistan arrests JeM activists, seals offices PAGE 08

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

Plans formulated to facilitate mineral-based industries in state

Vote on www.morungexpress.com sMs your answer to 9862574165 Will 2016 be the year of the great Change in Nagaland? Why? others

Two new frog species found in Madagascar

C M Y K

loNDoN, JANUARY 13 (IANS): A team of European scientists has discovered two new species of very elusive frogs that live in the rainforests of Tsaratanana Massif, the highest mountain in Madagascar. “Those mountains are home to a high level of native species and are very rarely visited by researchers seeing as there are no roads and barely any paths that lead to the base,” said one of the study authors David Vieites, scientist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid (MNCN-CSIC), Spain. In spite of this, the team of scientists from Germany and Spain ventured into these remote rainforests and as a result of the expedition the biologists found a number of species including two new species of frogs -- Rombophryne ornata and Rombophryne tany. “Both species live on the forest floor among the fallen leaves and are difficult to spot,” Vieites noted. Rombophryne ornata, which received its name owing to its colour and decorative features, can be told apart from other frogs of the same genus by the reddish colour it presents. It has a black mark between each eye as well as on its back, and it also presents spines located over its eye sockets. The species Rombophryne tany has brownish colour, and also has the tendency to spend time on the ground. This species also presents spines over each eye, the researchers said. Discovering this species “is another example of the great diversity of animals in tropical areas that have yet to be described before many of these areas disappear as a result of the deforestation suffered by tropical regions - especially Madagascar,” the researcher said. The findings were detailed in the journal ‘Herpetelogica.

LeBron to the rescue as Cavs edge Mavs PAGE 12

2015 was deadly year ‘Youth of the NE have for journalists in India a great responsibility’

The Morung Express Poll QuEsTion

no

T R u T H

—Khalil Gibran

PAGE 02

i am going to donate 90 lakh from my pocket?? oi i never said that!!

Yes

o F

union Minister for Youth Affairs & sports, sarbananda sonowal being felicitated at the 31st langpangkong students’ Conference (lKM) General Conference cum sports Meet at Tuli town at Mokokchung on Wednesday, January 13. (Morung Photo)

Morung Express news Tuli | January 13

Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal today said that the youths of the North East region have a great responsibility on their shoulders in the nation building process and added that the Government of India is keen on skill as well as personality development of the younger generation. Speaking as the Chief Guest on the second day of the ongoing 31st General Conference cum Sports Meet of the Langpangkong Students’ Union (LKM) at Tuli town, the Union Minister highlighted some of the flagship programmes initiated by the Prime Minister. “Digital India, Skill India and Make in India, the flagship

schemes initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the greatest turnaround in history of India,” claimed Sonowal. He also highlighted the National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP) launched by the government in 2014. He said that the NYLP, which is a central sector scheme, has been designed in tune with the promises made to the people. He said that the scheme has five programme components namely: Neighbourhood Youth Parliament (NYP), Youth for Development Programme (YDP), National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC), and National Youth Development Fund (NYDF). “The purpose and objective of the scheme is to develop leadership qualities in the youth to realize their full po-

tential, to motivate the youths to strive for excellence in their respective fields, to bring them to the forefront of the development process and to harness the immense youth energy for nation building,” said the Union Minister. In this connection, Sonowal urged the youths to organize youth parliaments in Nagaland so that development and other issues can be tackled from the grassroot or village level. While quoting Swami Vivekananda, Sonowal said that ‘all power is within you. You (youths) can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak. Stand up and express the divinity within you’. In this regard, Sonowal said that youths represent the most dynamic segment of the population and are the future of the

nation. “India is one of the youngest nations in the world and is expected to have a very favorable demographic profile in the time to come,” he said. While stating that Indian youth in the age group 15-29 constitute 27.5 percent of the population, Sonowal said that this demographic dividend offers a great opportunity and the challenge before the nation to develop and empower its youth population as a productive work force. Also encouraging the young people to take up sports seriously, Sonowal maintained that “sports is a way of life, apart from being just a medium of fun, also imparts life skills that come in handy throughout the journey of life.” “It (sports) is a way of bringing everyone together towards a common goal. We must respect this level of union. We must use sports as a channel to bring about unanimous approach towards national pride and loyalty,” he said. A host of dignitaries from the Nagaland State Government, including Parliamentary Secretary for Industries & Commerce, Amenba Yaden also attended the programme. The function was chaired by former NSF President, Tongpang Ozukum; while LKM President, Taliyanger Jamir delivered the presidential address. More than 2000 delegates from nineteen villages under Langpangkong range are participating in the four day conference which commenced on Tuesday evening. The programme will conclude on Thursday, January 15 with Parliamentary Secretary for Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, S Chuba Longkumer as the guest of honor. The conference is being held on the theme ‘Resilient foundation’.

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 13 (MExN): A report from the media watchdog website ‘The Hoot’ has observed that 2015 was a year when journalists in India were at their most vulnerable. The report stated that deaths of journalists and writers, attacks against media houses and threats against the media were at an all time high in 2015. It reported that there were 10 deaths (8 journalists and 2 writers) in the previous year. It further revealed that there were 30 instances of attacks on the media, 3 arrests of media persons, and 27 threats against journalists. The deadly year for writers and journalists began with senior communist leader, rationalist and writer Govind Pansare being shot at by two persons on February 16, 2015. He succumbed to injuries five days later. The report further cited that on June 8, Shajahanpur based journalist Jagendra Singh died of burn injuries eight days after he alleged in a video that he was set on fire by a group of police and supporters of UP Minister for Dairy Development, Ram Murti Verma. On June 12, Kanpur based journalist Deepak Mishra was shot by unidentified persons, after he wrote a series of articles on gambling dens in a small newspaper Dainik Mera Sach. On June 22, Sandeep Kothari, a journalist from Jabalpur was killed after he was allegedly kidnapped and set

on fire. He had written against illegal mining mafia and was being pressurised to withdraw a case he had filed on this topic, the report said. The next month, on July 5, Akshay Singh, a reporter for the Aaj Tak channel died under mysterious circumstances; minutes after interviewing the father of a student whose body was found near a railway track in Ujjain district of MP. On August 8, Raja Chatruvedi, a journalist in UP was shot dead outside his house by unidentified persons. On the same day, Sanjay Pathak, a stringer with a local newspaper in UP was killed by two persons. On September 30, freelance journalist, Ajay Vidrohi was shot dead in Sitamarhi days before the Bihar state elections were to be held. On October 10, Hemant Yadav, a journalist with a local news channel was shot dead by motorcycle borne gunmen in Chandauli district of UP. Further, on October 27, Mithilesh Pandey, a reporter with Dainik Jargan was shot dead in his house in Khastha village in Gaya district of Bihar. These figures, the report said are based on incidents reported in the press and “should be treated as conservative estimates.” It may be noted that figures on attacks against journalists collected by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2015 are not available as of yet.

NE state capitals to be linked nPcB: coal mining ops a source by rail by 2020: MoS Railways of water pollution in nagaland

AgARtAlA, JANUARY 13 (PtI): Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha today said the capitals of all northeastern states would be connected by rail by 2020 and Agartala would be brought onto the map of broad gauge network by March. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accorded priority to the development of the northeastern region and taking the rails to hilly areas is a major challenge for us,” he added. “The capitals of the Northeastern states would be connected by rails by 2020 and this capital city (Agartala) would be

on the country’s broad gauge railway map by March this year,” the Minister said here. Sinha today received the first broad gauge trial train here in the presence of state PWD Minister Badal Chowdhury and Transport Minister Manik Dey. He said the construction of 15 km-long railway track to connect Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh “is a top priority”. The project is funded by the Government of India for connecting Tripura and West Bengal via Bangladesh, he said. The process of acquiring land in Bangladesh was com-

plete and in India, it would start soon, he said adding a 3.7 km-long railway track on Indian side would be a viaduct (through an elevated corridor) to reduce the cost of acquisition of land. Laying of railway line from Agartala to Sabroom in South Tripura district bordering Bangladesh would be completed by 2018, he said. To a question, the Union Minister said Tripura’s demands for setting up a railway division and a railway recruitment board here are genuine but decision on it cannot be taken in a hurry.

Release Backward Region Grant Fund

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 13 (MExN): The Nagaland State VDB Association (NSVDBA) on behalf of the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) benefiting Districts has appealed to the Nagaland State Chief Minister to release the Backward Region Grant Fund for the year 2014-15 by January 2016. A press note from the association said that the Ministry of Panchayati raj had released the payment of central assistance under BRGF to the state of Nagaland for the year 2014-15 from August 21, 2014 meant for the development of the most developmentally backward areas in Nagaland. It however lamented that the amount meant for development of poor villages has not been released till date.

The association said that on February 24, 2015, “certain amount meant for payment to the beneficiaries of Urban Local Bodies had been released by the Government of Nagaland.” “Whereas, even after a lapse of more than a year, the fund which is meant for poor villagers is still kept pending without asserting any reason, as a matter of fact, the beneficiaries of the above district have been deprived of their legitimate shares,” it lamented. The association stated that the state government’s nonpayment of sanctioned amounts on time meant for development and various welfare schemes for common people in the villages of Nagaland, has made the various ministries at the cen-

tre unable to accord further sanction. It said that this is affecting the developmental activities in the entire state of Nagaland. It informed that a delegation of the Nagaland State VDB Association met the Chief Minister on October 19, 2015 and had apprised him on the issue. The Chief Minister had reportedly given assurance to release the said amount by November 2015. It however lamented that the assurance has not materialized till date. As such, it appealed to the concerned authority to release the BRGF amount for the year 2014-15, so as to enable the villagers to proceed with various developmental projects which have already been earmarked.

our Correspondent Kohima | January 13

The Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB) in a report has expressed concern at coal mining operations in Nagaland being a major source of water pollution. Coal mining, being an environmentally unfriendly activity has attracted attention from the stand point of environmental impacts and their mitigation, the report titled ‘Study of coal mining areas in Nagaland and its impact on environment,’ said. Mining, it stated affects all components of environment and the impacts are permanent/temporary, beneficial/harmful, repairable /irreparable, and reversible/ irreversible. The NPCB particularly pointed to the carry-over of the suspended solids in the drainage system of the mines. In some of the coal mines, acidic water is also found in the underground aquifers. In addition, waste water from coal preparation plants and mines are other sources of water pollution, it stated. The report said that in Nagaland coal mining is done mostly in the hills except for some low lying areas bordering Assam. The excavated soil and coal residue in this terrain are left exposed and during rain, leaching takes place and the water containing SO2 gets into the streams thereby making the water acidic, affecting aquatic life and making the water unhealthy for consumption. The Acid Mine Drainage

(AMD), the NPCB explained, is a form of metal-rich water produced from the chemical reaction between water and rocks containing sulphur-bearing minerals. The runoff formed is usually acidic and frequently comes from areas where ore or coal mining activities

stated. The NPCB said that water pollution from mine waste rock and tailing may need to be managed for decades, if not centuries, after closure. In addition, the NPCB stated that ground-water pollution can also occur both directly and indirectly as a result of surface mining. Direct degradation can occur to ground water situated downhill or down gradient from surface mine, by flow of contaminated drainage from the mine during mining and after reclamation. Indirect degradation of ground water could result from blasting, which causes a temporary shaking of the rock and results in new rock fractures near working areas of the mine, the report stated. It warned that blasting can also cause old pre-existing rock fractures to become more open or permeable, by loosening mineral debris or cement in these fractures; this could affect nearly vertical leakage of ponded mine drainage from nearby abandoned deep mines to underlying aquifers. The NPCB report cautioned of the varying effects that these sediments have on aquatic wildlife. High sediment levels can kill fish directly, bury sprawling beds, reduce light transmission, alter temperature gradients, filling pools, spread stream flows over wider, shallower areas, and reduce production of aquatic organisms used as food by other species. These changes, it lamented, have destroyed the habitat of valued species, and could enhance habitat for less-desirable species.

Study of coal mining areas in Nagaland and its impact on environment- Part III have exposed rocks containing pyrite, a sulphur-bearing mineral. This toxic water leaks out of abandoned mines contaminating groundwater, streams, soil, plants, animals and humans. The NCPB warned that these heavy metals are linked to serious health problems including an increase in birth defects. Coal mining also consumes, diverts and dangerously pollutes local water supplies. It pollutes fresh water through the dumping and leaking of toxic waste. “This contaminate rivers, streams, underground water and soil, threatening the lives of animals and humans,” the report stated adding that even after a mine is closed, the impact of pollution still continues. The high –risk period for water contamination from coal mines occurs in the post-mining phase, when water pumping and treatment of the closed or abandoned mines are left to flood. It may take years or decades for a new water cycle to re-establish at the mine site, and by the time AMD occurs, the mine operators and regulators are often no longer monitoring, it


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
January 14th, 2016 by The Morung Express - Issuu