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SaturDaY • julY 09 • 2016
DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 187 • 12 PAGes • 5
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Unpaid for seven months, NACP TI workers protest DIMAPUR, JULY 8 (MExN): In protest against non-payment of salaries, employees under National AIDS Control Programme’s (NACP) Targeted Intervention (TI) project are agitating since July 1, 2016. The employees have been wearing black ribbons to “signify that the HIV/ AIDS program in the state is dead,” a press release issued by a forum of the aggrieved employees informed. This is their first phase of agitation, which was launched following the failure of the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS) to respond on the issue. The forum said it had submitted a representation addressed to the Chairman of NSACS on June 21, 2016 through email (NSACS email) requesting release of their salaries for seven months from December 2015 to June 2016 before June 30. The representation was forwarded with appended signatures from 495 employees from all the eleven districts where TI project under NACP is being implemented. However, the concerned authorities chose not to reciprocate, the forum stated. Highlighting their grievances, the forum lamented that the non-release of salaries has led to untold misery of the employees, whereby they are forced to “beg and borrow to sustain their livelihood.” This has also greatly decreased the commitment level of the TI employees while some of the most efficient and trained staffs have resigned from the office, it added. The forum cautioned that the employees under NACP TI project would continue to wear the black ribbon for the next ten days, after which the forum will launch its 2nd phase of agitation.
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Kohima: Improper address hampers delivery services
SC to hear disqualification case on July 18: NPCC says DIMAPUR, JULY 8 (MExN): The NPCC today said that the Supreme Court of India is slated to hear the case involving the disqualification of 8 erstwhile Congress MLAs from Nagaland on July 18. The case was heard by a bench headed by Justice Anil L Dave and L Nageshwara Rao today (July 8) where the defendants’ plea for shifting the matter to the Guwahati High Court was rejected, NPCC President K Therie maintained in a press statement. Since the Speaker of Nagaland had delivered his judgment based on Guwahati High Court, the bench replied that even if the matter is sent back there, it would simply revert back again to the apex court, it added. Sr. Advocate Salman Khurshid, who represented the petitioner (NPCC) said that “this is exactly what I have been pleading,” NPCC said. “It would be nothing more than a waste of time.” The case pertains to a special leave petition in the Supreme Court filed by the NPCC in February challenging NLA Speaker’s rejection of the disqualification petition against eight Congress MLAs.
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A cultural troupe perform a traditional dance during the celebration of Tuluni, a post harvest festival of the Sumi community at NER Agri Expose site, Dimapur on Friday. The celebration was organized by the Highway Area Sumi Public Organization. (Photo: Manen Aier) (Related stories on page 2)
Army can’t use excessive force in NE likely to have Disturbed Areas: Supreme Court its own new airline
NEw DELhI, JULY 8 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Friday said the army cannot use excessive force in its counter-insurgency operations in areas declared disturbed under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. The court held that criminal courts do have the jurisdiction to look into cases of alleged excesses by the armed forces in areas declared disturbed. A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, however, reserved its verdict on the question of ordering a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into more than 1,500 cases of allegedly staged shootouts in Manipur. The ruling is a setback to the Cen-
tre and the army which had argued that the Army Act gives immunity to armed forces personnel from being prosecuted by criminal courts. The court verdict came on a petition by the associations of the families of the people who were allegedly killed by the armed forces in Manipur since 1978. The petitioner associations had sought an SIT probe into 1528 such killings. The court, taking note of the submission by the National Human Rights Commission that it was a toothless body, sought the government’s response as to whether it was bound by the recommendations that the rights body makes. The court said that it will examine the issue.
DIMAPUR, JULY 8 (MExN): A brand new airline based out of Guwahati and connecting all capitals of the North East states is likely to be introduced very soon. According to a report on the Business Insider India, this is for the first time that the Indian government has decided to launch a subsidiary to provide connectivity within the Northeastern part of the country, many areas of which lose out on potential tourism revenue because of lesser air connectivity. The to-be launched airlines will be a subsidiary of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd, and would most likely start its operations with a fleet of 6 fixed-wing planes and 5 helicopters. The planned subsidiary will have an equity base of Rs 150 crore, with 51% of its shares owned by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd while the North Eastern Council (NEC) will own the rest 49%. “It was during a meeting of all state chief ministers from the North East and Department of North Eastern Region minister Jitendra Singh that the decision to start this airline was taken,” the Business Insider India reported. “A proposal has come to the aviation ministry and has also been sent to NEC for approval,” the report quoted a government official as saying.
At a time when the state capital of Nagaland is intently contending to figure in the list of India’s ambitious project on Smart Cities, the urban dwellers of Kohima does not even have a proper address system. This challenge of improper address system or the lack of a proper formal address is also stifling the uptake of electronic commerce in the Nagaland capital. In the wake of ‘online shopping’, the use of courier and delivery services such as India Post, Blue Dart, and DTDC etc has increased manifold. While the use of mobile phones may have reduced correspondence to a large extent, parcel delivery has increased 3-4 folds as per the record of the Kohima Head Post Office. However, the lack of clear residential markings by local authorities is making it difficult for courier services to locating residential units to deliver parcels, forcing the recipients to pick up goods from the courier service office itself. Speed Post Manager of Kohima Head Post Office, Kekhriezetuo Solo expressed concern on the random house numbering in several pockets of Kohima. He observed that some citizens have 2-3 house numbers including those given by their respective department (citing the instance of a government quarter number), colony or the number provided as per the Census. “Citizens themselves are confused with their house number,” he pointed out. While house numbering
are not done serially, he said there is further confusion in the case a new building crop up in between two existing houses. “In such cases, the post man will not be able to locate the house of the addressee”,he maintained. Communication wise, he felt that Nagas do not know how to use their postal addresses. In addition to the lack of systematic house numbering, he said the addressees are still very ignorant, and urged upon using landmarks, which, he said is very essential. “We need landmarks,” he emphasized. He cited the instance of a person whose address simply read the person’s name, followed by “Blue Dart, Kohima.” The recipient in this particular context was apparently of the understanding that his article would come through Blue Dart Courier whereas the dispatcher had chosen the service of India Post to dispatch the parcel. Postmaster of Kohima Head Post Office, Kekhrieletso Kelio substantiated by stating that many people also provide fake contact numbers which further hamper the process of delivery. On lack of awareness amongst citizens in providing proper addresses, R.M
Patel, Director Postal Services, Nagaland who took charge a couple of months back, proposed that awareness programmes can be conducted by the department in this connection. Administrator of Kohima Municipal Council (KMC), Kovi Meyase while expressing concern on the absence of uniformity in house numbering, also pointed fault to the various number of lanes and localities that have names, but not known in officially capacity. Towards this end, he suggested that the government should officially give recognition to such names and places. He felt that a policy or a formula should be worked out at the highest level while also pointing to the lack of basic social needs and issues in many areas. It is also learnt that house mapping and other data collections for water, electricity, number of household, educational institute & health facilities, was previously undertaken by an agency called SIPMIU (State Investment Program Management Implementing Unit), a cell under Urban Development, and financially aided by ADB. The outcome of this project could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report.
ACAUT Nagaland urges SVC to NSCN (R) questions GoI’s dual policy towards the Nagas investigate siphoning of SK Oil DIMAPUR, JULY 8 (MExN): Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT), Nagaland has demanded that the State Vigilance Commission (SVC) take suo moto cognizance of the fuel adulteration case and investigate the connection between the fuel adulteration kingpins and the Food and Civil Supplies (F&CS) Department since the core issue involves siphoning off of SK OIL. “The 6 fuel adulteration units, as jointly busted by the Dimapur police, the district administration and the ACAUT on June 27 should have grabbed the immediate attention of the SVC. It will be extreme dereliction of duty if the Commission, instead of taking up the case suo moto should wait for the complainants, in this case the ACAUT, to file FIR before it,” Media Cell ACAUT stated on Friday. Alleging that the past record of the SVC in solving cases has been nothing short of discouraging, ACAUT cited a few instances. In 2014, when ACAUT detected anomalies in procedures of the Excise Department with 30 lakh worth of seized IMFL missing, the SVC only recommended suspension of a few constables and lower ranked officers to cover-up the case of such magnitude by making the lower cadres scapegoats in order to “protect the top fishes in the Excise Department.” In 2015, ACAUT filed a complaint regarding the backdoor appointment of 36 BDOs. However, it alleged that the “sons and daughters of top bureaucrats and politicians inserted as BDOs probably stopped the Commission from pursuing the issue.”
Again, in the earlier part of 2016, ACAUT said it filed a case regarding the misappropriation of Rs 402 crore in the F&CS department as per the CAG Report. The complaint also mentioned specific cases of siphoning of PDS items yet the case seems to have met its dead end without even starting, it alleged. Taking these instances into account, ACAUT stressed that if one has to go by precedence, and knowing that the “under par Commission is not known to have solved high profile cases/issues involving powerful politicians and bigwig bureaucrats,” and the issue of “fuel adulteration” being precisely this, then the outcome and handling of the case by the SVC seem obvious. “Therefore, the question which begets the Naga public is, shouldn’t the SVC be declared defunct and powerless department? Therefore, scrapped in the interest of the public on the grounds of it becoming a liability to the state finance and wasting public money? It so far appears to be serving only as a decorative arm for the state.” Stating that the criminal aspect of the case is already under investigation by the Dimapur police, ACAUT said the SVC should aid the investigation by probing “why” several lakh litres of SK Oil meant for the poor people should be diverted into the adulteration business with the knowledge of the F&CS department. “If the SVC cannot take up this case for whatever reasons, the staff and members should honorably resign instead of bringing this body into disrepute time and again,” ACAUT has advised.
DIMAPUR, JULY 8 (MExN): Following the killing of four of its cadres by the 16 Assam Rifles (AR) at Kethi village under Tirap district, the NSCN (R) on Friday questioned the Government of India’s “dual policy towards the Naga people wherein on the one hand they talk about peace and resolving the issue through negotiation and on the other hand engage in killing the Nagas through her forces and scuttle the Naga voice.” The AR had claimed that
one of their columns during an operation “neutralized” four cadres during a gunfight, which ensued after the NSCN (R) cadres fired at them. While condemning the killing of its four cadres, the NSCN (R) in a MIP release countered the AR claim. Clarifying that two of the deceased were civilians, the MIP stated that the other two had recently joined them from NSCN (K) in the quest for peace after the latter abrogated the ceasefire.
It alleged that the AR cordoned off the NSCN (R) camp in the wee hours and captured the four alive. The MIP accused the AR for committing atrocities before they were killed. Asking the AR to “stop cooking stories of always being fired upon by national workers and killing them during their retaliatory action,” the NSCN (R) said the whole world cannot be fooled since it already knows the tactics the AR apply to cover up their actions.
It stated that the AR through this act has proved that it wants “to suppress the Naga people through brutal force in spite of all our good will and efforts to understand each other’s political situation.” Meanwhile, the collective leadership of NSCN (R) condoled the death of its cadres from Arunachal Unit with prayer for the departed souls and for strength to the bereaved families during this hour of grief.
Recommendations to reduce disaster risk Our Correspondent Kohima | July 8
A number of recommendations and suggestions have emerged after brainstorming sessions on different issues concerning disaster risk reduction at the two-day interactive workshop on “Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the context of Climate Change” which concluded on Friday at Capital Convention Centre, Kohima. Thematic group-1: The topic “Opportunities for community centred strategies in Nagaland” recommended formation of Village Disaster Management Agency (VDMA) in all villages on the ground across Nagaland state. It suggested that 4% of VDB funds should be set aside for disaster management and DRR. It also called for awareness creation, building risk profile of the community, identification of risk hotspots, community risk management planning and participatory community risk assessment. Thematic group-2: The topic “Towards urban risk re-
duction in Nagaland” underlined earthquake, landslide, fire, high-speed wind, cloudbursts, and accidents as hazards in urban areas in Nagaland. The vulnerable group includes poor, sick people, children below five years, old people, person with disabilities and unpreparedness. It recommended strict implementation of building byelaws. This group also suggested setting up of urban disaster management cells, proper disposal of waste, need for continued capacity building. Thematic group-3: The topic “Data/information and knowledge information on DRR” suggested that apart from nodal department- soil & water conservation, other departments like forest, rural development, land resources, agriculture, ICAR, planning and coordination, GIS cell and geology & mining must also be incorporated. It suggested that department of soil and water conservation should collect data and give it to NSDMA for further
analysis and dissemination of the data. Thematic group-4: The topic “Emergency mass disaster response strategy and Standard Operation Procedure(SOP) for departments and agencies vis-à-vis DRR” stressed on the need to build better response capabilities by improving the victims’ reaction to disaster. It called for awareness creation through church platform. It recommended introduction of a chapter on DRR Post Trauma awareness in school syllabus. Other recommendations include: ear-marking safe zones, blood- profiling in the district, inter department SOPs to be streamlined, integrated risk assessment plans and risk mapping be drafted by multi agencies, field assessments to be made first to devise local response plans. Nagaland Chief Secretary, Pankaj Kumar in his closing remarks said the government has taken note of the various suggestions and inputs that emerged from this workshop and would see that disaster
preparedness is done in a better way. Also stating that community involvement is essential, he stressed on the need to sit and interact with them. Sushil Ramola from IMI and Amba Jamir (SDFN) highlighted the reflections of workshop recommendations and ways forward. Later in the evening, as a follow up to the discussions held during the workshop, Chief Minister TR Zeliang held another discussion at his residence with the participants and stakeholders attending the workshop. A press statement from Media Cell, CMO said the discussions centered on the need to take forward issues of risk financing and insurance. While an appropriate model needs to be worked out to cover all the villages in the State, it was decided that with the support of the State Government and involvement of NECTAR and Micro Finance Academy, a small pilot project could be taken up which could be up scaled further to include other areas.