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DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 169 • 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
Prayer is the spirit speaking truth to Truth Record 65.3 million people displaced, often face barriers – UNHCR reveals
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
Our Correspondent Kohima | June 20
campaigned for decades for a separate time zone for the region. “Slowly they are becoming aware of the rest of the world, and when they realise they have literally been kept in the dark, of course they feel alienated.” Bahrua grew up on a tea plantation in Assam state, where work started at 6:00 am to make the most of the daylight. Some of Assam’s plantations still operate on their own time -known locally as “tea garden time” and a hangover from the days of British rule. But Bahrua says most have switched to IST, meaning the backbreaking work of picking tea begins when the sun is nearing its hottest. Akhil Ranjan Dutta, a politics professor at Guwahati University in Assam, says he only became aware of the problem when he moved from the countryside to the
state capital for his studies. “In the village we used to go to bed at seven in the evening and rise at two or three in the morning,” he said. “Then I came to college and I couldn’t change my habits. My friends would all laugh at me... You can’t have a same time zone for a country like India which is so vast. This has to change.” The mainland United States, excluding Pacific territories and Alaska, observes four different time zones; mainland Australia has three and Russia has nine -- although China uses just one. But previous proposals to set up separate time zones in India have fallen on deaf ears. In 2006 India’s planning commission said having two time zones would lead to substantial energy savings in a country that frequently suffers power outages, but the central government rejected the plan. When scientists from the
Mokokchung | June 20
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Stranded truck stalls traffic at NH 29
DIMAPUR, JUne 20 (Mexn):A marooned truck resulted in a 2-hour long traffic jam early this morning near Zubza. According to Kohima police, the truck got stuck in mud in a stretch of the landslide prone zone of NH 29 towards Kohima. It led to a massive traffic jam stalling vehicular movement, including some 200 military vehicles which were enroute Manipur. The jam lasted for about two hours before the truck was finally freed from the sludge by earth excavators, the police informed.
Role of church in providing a platform to highlight issues of child rights and the pressing need for a mechanism for effective enforcement of child protection measures in Nagaland was underscored by speakers at a sensitization programme on child rights held in Kohima. “Children have their rights but it is not enforced or honoured, therefore it is required to have a mechanism for protection of the child rights,” Deputy Commissioner, Kohima Rovilatuo Mor stated at the programme which was organized by the District Child Protection Unit, Kohima at the Zonal Council Hall. His remark comes in the backdrop of the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl minor who was reportedly working as a domestic help by a 68-year-old sexagenarian in Mokokchung. Mor pointed out it is the bounden duty of the society and particularly the church forum to give proper projection and highlight on child rights and place them in the right perspective. “Children are future of the society and the nation and if we cherish to have better society, strong nation we require to produce upright, refine, healthy and vibrant children,” the DC stated. In this, he called upon the civil societies and intellectuals to come forward and ensure safety and place children in the right perfective for a brighter and prosperous future. The DC also cited four basis rights of children- Right to survival of the child, right to protection, right to participation and right to development. While lamenting over the reported incidences of rape of minor, ill treatment to children of down trodden and child labour which exist in the form of domestic
workers, Mor pointed out that the Village Level Child Protection Committee (VLCPC) has been formed in all villages of Kohima district for effective enforcement of child protection measures. He noted that the same committee is also required in the ward and colony level as well. Z. Nyusietho Nyuthe, Director, State Child Protection Society, Nagaland said the objective of the state child protection society is to provide safe and secure environment for overall development of children in need of care and protection. He also stated that child protection society at the state level, district and village level contributes a lot to well being of children in difficult circumstances. Touching on Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), Nyuthe also felt that since the church play a vital role in the Naga society, it would do good if the scheme were also discussed at the church platform. Resource persons at the sensitization programme include Vibazonuo Kire, member secretary CWC & President Kekhrie Foundation and Visevonuo member JJB and Principal Kohima Law College. It may be recalled that the Government of Nagaland signed a MoU with the Ministry of Women & Child Development on October 8, 2009 and consequently the State Child Protection Society Nagaland came into existence on March 2010. The ICPS brings together multiple existing child protection schemes of the Ministry under one comprehensive umbrella and integrate additional interventions for protecting children and preventing harm. ICPS is a centrally sponsored scheme aims at building a protective environment for children in difficult circumstances, as well as other vulnerable children through government- civil society partnership. ICPS aims to not only create an environment for protection for all children but also recognizes that some children, who are in very difficult circumstances, need special attention and support. There is also a Childline 24-hour toll free telephone helpline-1098.
Missionary rev lano CGBU for a permanent ban on riverbed mining longchar is no more Morung Express News
Yes, they look very relaxed... Probably it may help control their anger over bad governance.
National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore studied the problem in 2007 they concluded separate time zones would cause chaos, advocating instead a 30-minute advancement of IST. But one glimmer of hope is offered by the new state government of Assam, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Himanta Biswa Sarma, a senior minister who is credited with winning the state for the BJP, said local lawmakers planned to take the matter up with the central government in Delhi. “They should allow the northeast a separate time zone, because it is becoming an economic waste,” he told AFP in Guwahati. “Many people think that this will actually be the beginning of some secessionist movement... there are many counter-arguments. But I believe that India has evolved. We are not in that society now.”
PAGe 12
church should raise issues of child rights Need a mechanism for effective enforcement of child protection measures: DC Kohima
A view of part of Duncan Basti, Dimapur overlooking DABA Church few minutes after the sun set. Indian Standard Time (IST) makes little sense in North East. By the time the working day begins in this part of the region on the longest day of the year, the sun is already high in the sky and the heat is nearing its peak - because clocks across India are set to the same hour. (Photo by Imti Longchar)
T R u T H
Cavaliers are 2016 NBA Champs
PAGE 02
north east wants its own time zone
Tea garden time
o F
— Philip James Bailey
Nominations open for National Bravery Awards for Children 2016
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GUWAHATI, JUne 20 (AFP): By the time the working day begins in North East India on the longest day of the year, the sun is already high in the sky and the heat is nearing its peak -- because clocks across the vast country are set to the same hour. India has just one time zone for its 1.2 billion people, spread from points further east than Bangladesh to the western Arabian Sea. The entire country’s time is aligned to that of a town in Uttar Pradesh, which sits near the longitude line closest to centre of the country. The policy was introduced when the nation gained its independence from Britain, but in the northeast government ministers now say Indian Standard Time (IST) makes little sense. Their region is closer to Dhaka, which is 30 minutes ahead, than Delhi. It shares borders with China, Myanmar and Bhutan as well as Bangladesh. Around the summer solstice, the sun rises at 4:15 am in the far northeast -- a good 90 minutes before dawn breaks on India’s west coast -- and sets at just 6:15 pm. Campaigners say that has held back the development of the region, home to some of India’s poorest states, hitting productivity and adding billions to the cost of lighting homes and offices. “Definitely there is a loss of energy, a loss of workable hours,” says Arup Kumar Datta, a writer in the northeastern state of Assam who has campaigned on the issue. “A person is fresher (in the morning), but by the time you go to office at 10 o’clock you have lost that energy.” Worse, campaigner Jahnu Barua believes a policy that was intended to unite a newly-independent India has actually exacerbated the sense of alienation in the northeast, a tribal-dominated region battling myriad separatist insurgencies. “People are not fools,” said Bahrua, a northeasterner who has
P o W e R
Renowned Christian missionary Rev Lano Longchar breathed his last today at Dr Imkongliba Memorial District Hospital (IMDH), Mokokchung at around 11am. He was 81. Rev Longchar, who was admitted to the hospital at around 10 am, died of symptoms caused by old age, doctors at the hospital said. Born Lanokaba, Rev. Lano Longchar was the eighth of twelve siblings in the family of Longdangluen and Medangnaro. He was born on June 15, 1935 at Longkhum village, Mokokchung. He did his early schooling at his native village till Class 2 and continued his studies at Mokokchung, Kohima and Shillong. He did his theological studies at Calcutta Bible College, UBS Yeotmal, Haggai Institute for Evangelism, Singapore and at Baptist Theological College of New South Wales, Australia. Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM) commissioned him as Missionary-at-Large on July 19, 1987 at Longkhum Baptist Church and was ordained by ABAM at the same church three years later on September 23, 1990. He was an active youth worker during his earlier days and served numerous organizations in various capacities. He also taught at several schools and served several Christian organizations including the International Evangelistic Fellowship and the Haggai Institute of International Evangelism. Also a prolific writer, Rev Longchar served as the editor of several Christian periodicals and magazines and also authored at least 5 books and compiled 6 Christian hymn books. As a missionary, he had travelled widely and had preached the Gospel in at least four foreign countries, 12 states in India and to 15 tribes in Nagaland. During his youth, Lanokaba was a Naga nationalist and was actively
Rev Lano Longchar (Photo/Imcha Jamir)
Funeral service at Indoor Stadium, ISC Mokokchung The funeral service of Rev Lano Longchar will be held at the Indoor Stadium, Imkongmeren Sports Complex at 10am Tuesday. His mortal remains will then be taken to the Mokokchung Town Baptist Church for final rites before being laid to rest at his native Longkhum Village. involved in the Naga national movement. He served as president of Naga Youth Movement and as Accountant General and Foreign Corresponding Officer of the Federal Government of Nagaland. He was arrested thrice by Indian authorities and imprisoned in 5 jails in Mokokchung, Kohima, Jorhat, Nawgaon and Shillong. It was on March 15, 1956 while he was serving term at Shillong jail that he committed himself to serve God for the rest of his life. Late Rev Lano Longchar leaves behind his wife, five children and fourteen grandchildren.
DIMAPUR, JUne 20 (ReUTeRS): The Chakhroma GBs Union (CGBU) today expressed concern at the adverse effects of the sand, gravel and boulder extraction activities using heavy machinery in rivers passing through the Chakhroma Angami traditional villages. The CGBU appreciated the Dimapur DC for banning the use of heavy machinery for extraction of sand gravel and boulder in Dhansiri and Chathe rivers and extension of the ban with effect from June 1 to September 30, 2016. It however urged that the DC’s order be made permanent, instead of being extended only for a few months. A press note from the
CGBU said that there are five “major rivers” that pass through the Chakhroma Angami traditional villages, viz. Dzuza, Dzumha, Khuova, Chathe and Tamoru. It stated that people depend on these rivers for their recourses and their livelihood and sustenance. However, it informed that with the introduction of heavy machinery for extraction activities “to meet the greed of a few individuals,” the riverbeds and the resources therein are being destroyed beyond repair and many villages are being adversely affected. The CGBU pointed out that one of the most glaring immediate effects is that, “due to random excavation of riverbeds, the ground wa-
ter level has receded so much that most ring wells, are now drying up by the months of March and April every year and villagers are now facing acute shortage of water where there was once abundance of water.” It added that many farmers who depend on these rivers for irrigation of their paddy fields are now abandoning their fields because the riverbeds are excavated so deep that farmers are not in a positions to dig irrigation canals deep enough to reach the water level in the river. “The union is deeply disturbed that the source of livelihood of the majority of our people, i.e. agriculture, is being sacrificed and destroyed due to wanton exploitation of our
rivers by a few,” it added. It further lamented at the incidences of children drowning and losing their lives after accidentally falling into the deep pits left uncovered and unmarked by the miners. Stating that rivers are common property as per Naga custom and tradition, the CGBU said it is the responsibility of every village situated near the rivers to ban such illegal activities and to protect the river and its resources within their area. It appealed to all village councils and its members to protect the rivers and resources by banning illegal excavation of riverbeds the same way that illegal hunting and fishing is being banned.
“No Court indication to conduct elections with 33 percent quota” Morung Express News Dimapur | June 20
Parliamentary Secretary for Municipal Affairs, Economics & Statistics, R. Tohanba on Monday maintained that there was a lot of misinterpretation in the media regarding the 33% women reservation in the urban local bodies. “Court verdict is still pending and so far, there is no such indication from the Court that the municipality election has to go for 33 % women reservation,” Tohanba said during the inauguration of road at Jasokie Colony, United North Block, Burma Camp, Dimapur. Without mentioning any name, the Parliamentary Secretary blamed a “particular section of people” who were not cooperating and owing to which election to urban local bodies could not be
held. Tohanba said that the Department has the right to pursue for conduct of elections and if government finds it fit, “it will take own convenient time if election is to be conducted.” He pointed out that the state government lost Rs 59 crore during the 13th Finance Commission, as the funds were not released to the state in the absence of elected members of urban local bodies. Tohanba said that the Department, in spite of such fund shortage, was initiating developmental activities side by side and expressed the hope that problems would be sorted out and peaceful elections is held. He lauded the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) for working hard and being sincere adding, “I am very satis-
fied with the ongoing works of the DMC and appeal the public to extend their cooperation.” He said that the money collected as toll tax was being used for visible development in the town. Tohanba also informed that Kohima would be applying for the third round selection list for Smart Cities. DMC Administrator, H. Atokhe Aye said that the credit for providing basic facilities in the town goes to the government and the public for the support and cooperation towards the DMC. Reiterating about the ban on nonbiodegradable carry bags, Atokhe urged the public to inculcate more civic sense and be environmentally conscious. He said that the road at Jasokie colony was the 16th road constructed by DMC in 18 months. The total area of the road constructed was 494x6=2964 sq.m.