C M Y K
www.morungexpress.com
wednesdAY • MArch 30 • 2016
DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 86 • 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
P o W e R
o F
T R u T H
No liberal man would impute a charge of unsteadiness to another for having changed his opinion — Cicero EgyptAir hijack ends with passengers freed unharmed & suspect arrested
Longest Bailey bridge in Nagaland inaugurated
PAGe 09
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
PAGe 05
have a beef with ruling party
A view of the Doyang Bridge construction site near Governor’s Camp at liphanyan village on March 29.
Morung Express news nor’s Camp at Liphanyan village on March 29, inDimapur | March 29 formed that the bridge is CITIZEN UMBRELLA MANUFACTURER LTD. Work to bridge the Doyang taking shape without any H.O.: 147, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata-7 Ph. No. 033-2268-1396, 2271-2152 River is going on smoothly major hindrances. It was Fax : (033) 2271-2151 E-mail : citizenkolkata@gmail.com with around 60 percent of a joint inspection exercise the bridge constructed. of the NFHRCC and the The Morung Express The Nagaland Foothill PWD (R&B) with the team Road Coordination Com- meeting officials of the Poll QuEsTion mittee (NFHRCC), which construction firm – M/S Vote on www.morungexpress.com visited the construction Pukhato & Sons, which has sMs your answer to 9862574165 site adjacent to Gover- taken up the project. CITIZEN UMBRELLA
Yes
no
others
CMO clarify on cost of CM’s residence DIMAPUR, MARCH 29 (MExN): The Chief Ministers Office (CMO) today issued a clarification over the content of a news article appearing in The Morung Express. The news article was based on the responses to a weekly poll conducted by this newspaper on whether the Nagaland government is serious about austerity measures. The clarification relates to a quote from a participant in the poll, who stated that the cost of construction of the CM’s residential complex has crossed Rs 400 crore. The Media Cell, CMO office clarified that till date, an amount of Rs 56.83 crore has been sanctioned and 90% of the works completed. It also informed that for the second and finishing phase, an amount of Rs 31.09 crore is being processed for government approval, and once the amount is sanctioned, the entire Complex is expected to be completed this year. Full text on page 5
SC admits petition against eight Nagaland Cong MLAs
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DIMAPUR, MARCH 29 (MExN): The Supreme Court today admitted the writ petition filed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for disqualification of 8 former Congress MLAs from Nagaland who joined the NPF in November 2015. This was informed by the President of the NPCC, K Therie in a press note today. He informed that the petition was tagged along with the ongoing case of 3 former NCP MLAs who had joined the BJP in 2014. The AICC was represented by Senior Advocate and former Foreign Minister, Salman Khurshid; and Advocate Arvind Kumar Gupta.
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Doyang Bridge 60 percent complete Unable to sell cattle, farmers
Mom and dad believe it is not good to scream and shout in front of us, so this how they argue.
Is Public Silence and Public Indifference encouraging the continuation of corruption in Nagaland State government?
NBA: Problems mount for Chicago after Atlanta defeat
Workers are in the midst of laying the deck of the 2-lane RCC beam bridge, which will span 120m on completion. With a projected completion time of 33 months construction began in December 2014. The estimated total cost of the project was set at a little over Rs. 24 crores, 50 percent of which
has already been released by the Nagaland government. The Doyang Bridge will complete the ongoing Nagaland Foothills Road project as one uninterrupted route linking Mon directly with Dimapur without having to take a detour via the roads of Assam.
NGPTA accuses Education Dept of “depriving primary students”
DIMAPUR, MARCH 29 (MExN): The Nagaland State Department of School Education has come under more pressure with the Nagaland Government Primary Teachers’ Association (NGPTA) accusing the department of “depriving primary students.” A press note from the NGPTA President, Heikieleung Zeliang said that the Nagaland State Government needs to “roll up its sleeves, tighten their belt and put to practice what they have been preaching...” It stated that the School Education Department has been in the lime light “endlessly for more of negative criticism than positivity.” Most of the
problems in the department, the NGPTA claimed “are its own creation.” “And what irony that even before getting to solutions, problems will crop up again. No point in only harping on transparency, honesty, sincerity, justice, development etc,” it stated. The NGPTA lamented that Government teachers “are always at the receiving end for all the wrong reasons.” It claimed that Government schools teachers “are the most qualified,” and reasoned that they are “selected and appointed only after due interviews, except for bogus, proxy teachers and the like.” It also expressed concern at Government Schools not receiv-
ing their text books on time. The NGPTA informed that for this year, primary schools are yet to receive the books. “And the first quarterly may well be over by the time the text books reach the schools. Now, the question here is, can ‘assurances’ be taught to our Primary School Children?,” it questioned. It then expressed frustration that government school teachers are “expected to perform miracles,” while the schools at the primary level are being “deprived one way or the other.” Asking for more than mere assurances, the NGPTA stated: “Let us not ask our children to eat their food, when their plates are empty.”
BELHE, MARCH 29 (REUTERS): A ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in India’s richest state is threatening to push millions of farmers into penury, deepening distress in the countryside and fanning resentment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party. Slaughter of cows, considered sacred in Hinduism, has historically been banned in most states but was rarely enforced in India, the world’s largest exporter of beef. But over the past year, states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), such as Maharashtra, have broadened the ban to include other types of cattle, like bulls and bullocks. Minority groups, including around 180 million Muslims, have expressed concern over the implications. The impact of the beef ban has been significant. Prices of cattle have fallen across the country, India’s meat exports fell 13 percent in the April-December period and rival beef supplier Brazil is gaining from India’s loss. It has also left millions of farmers, already reeling from bad harvests due to back-to-back droughts and unseasonal rains, struggling to sell animals they can no longer feed or water. “I wonder what the government wants - our survival or the cattle’s?” said farmer Revaji Choudhary, standing next to a pair of bulls he has been trying to sell for weeks in a cattle market in Maharashtra. Traditionally, farmers have sold cattle in a drought year to butch-
ers, mostly Muslims, and bought new ones when their earnings rise after monsoon showers. That cycle has been broken and could leave farmers with little money to buy seeds or fertiliser ahead of the next sowing season, starting in June. TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN? Their predicament is causing concern within the BJP, which has been trying to bolster its credentials in the countryside, where most of India’s 1.3 billion people live. Rural distress contributed to an embarrassing defeat for the party last year in a state election, and more state polls are due over the coming year. Maharashtra BJP legislator Bhimrao Dhonde said the government’s priority should be to support farmers, and they should be allowed to sell their cattle to whomever they want. “It is time to withdraw the ban,” Dhonde told reporters. Madhu Chavan, a spokesman for the BJP in Maharashtra, said Dhonde’s view did not reflect that of the party. “The party thinks the ban is necessary,” he said, adding that more money would be made available to alleviate the effects of drought if needed. MILLIONS OF COWS Maharashtra, home to India’s financial hub Mumbai, has been particularly badly hit by drought. In one district the government imposed rules that prevent assembly of more than five people around a water tanker or borewell to prevent riots.
Cows and buffalos need 70 litres of water per day. Many farmers are simply abandoning their cattle. The state has opened hundreds of temporary shelters to house around 250,000 heads of cattle until their owners are ready to take them back, but experts say at least another 4 million animals need to be looked after in Maharashtra. Groups such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) that had promised to build shelters said they, too, were short on cash and the government should do more. Laxmi Narayan Chandak, head of the Maharashtra unit of VHP’s cow protection committee, said his organisation has been able to start only one facility that holds 150 cattle. “Nearly 700,000 cows and bulls ... will starve to death or will be smuggled to slaughter houses. We have to save them,” said Chandak. He added that only pure Indian breeds “that are worthy of worship” should be sheltered. Every Monday, hundreds of farmers like Choudhary travel to a weekly cattle market in Belhe village, around 200 km (124 miles) east of Mumbai, but with so few people buying, it is more in hope than expectation. Cattle prices in the state have fallen 40 percent to 60 percent. Choudhary, who earns around 200,000 rupees ($3,000) in a good monsoon year, paid 40,000 rupees for his pair of bulls a year ago, and is willing to sell them for 20,000 rupees now. He still cannot find a buyer.
Police informs on registration of foreigners GPrn/nscn President gets support
DIMAPUR, MARCH 29 (MExN): The Commissioner of Police Dimapur has informed hoteliers and educational institutes on registration of foreigners. A press note from the office of the Dimapur Police Commissioner informed that a central database of foreign tourist and foreign students in India is maintained to monitor their movement and stay in India. For this purpose, a software Module- ‘C Form Module’ has been developed to facilitate on-line filling of the particulars of foreigner nationals. Hotels, guest houses, lodges, resorts, hospitals etc are required to create an ID through http://indianfrro.gov.in/frro/ FormC to enter the foreigners’ data. It is statutory obligation to intimate the office of the Foreigners Registration Officer of all arrival and stay of Foreigner in the premises. In the same lines, ‘S Form Module’ has been developed to facilitate on-line fill-
ing of the particulars of foreign students by educational institute where foreigners are enrolled as students / research scholars. The institutes are required to create an ID through http://indianfrro.gov.in/ fsis. A unique ID for the foreign students is generated after the on-line filling of the particulars. The press note cautioned that noncompliance attracts liability under the Foreigners Act 1946 against such establishments & Institutes. It further informed that a representative may be deputed to understand the procedures to the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Dimapur cum Foreigners Registration Office or log into http://indianfrro.gov. in/frro/FormCor http://indianfrro.gov.in/ fsis for creating the user ID. For more information, the concerned institutions have been requested to call +91 7085055044 or in this image released to the media, Ato Kilonser n Kitovi Zhimomi is seen with several e-mail to fro-nadpr@nic.in . GPRn/nsCn leaders.
nagaland is ne’s upcoming popular destination: survey our Correspondent Kohima | March 29
Though tourism activities in Nagaland are still at its nascent stage, the state has the potential to become of the north-east’s upcoming popular destinations. This was envisaged in the Nagaland Economic Survey 2015-16 brought out by the department of economics & statistics and which was tabled in the recent state assembly session. For promotion of tourism, focus should not only be on development of infrastructural and facilities but also on preservation of culture, conservation of natural resources and traditional habitats, adventure sports and eco-tourism, the Survey suggested. It also noted that over the years with the promotion and upscaling of the activity of the Hornbill Festival in December, it
has become a mega tourism event in the state which not only generated employment but also served to preserve and protect the cultural heritage of the state. The Survey also informed that the inflow of both domestic and foreign tourist to the state has been increasing year by year. In 2014, a total of 58, 507 domestic tourists and 2, 585 foreign tourists visited the state. Maximum tourists visited the state during the Hornbill Festival in December. The Hornbill Festival alone accounts for attracting 95.77 per cent of domestic tourist and 4.23 per cent of foreign tourist. The 16th Annual Hornbill Festival 2015 saw an overwhelming visit of 2, 43, 113 tourists as against 1, 72, 404 during 2014. And while each district prides itself with the availability of tourist spots, the Survey however said many of these spots lack tourist amenities/facilities.
DIMAPUR, MARCH 29 (MExN): Three senior leaders of the GPRN/ NSCN, on behalf of Konyak and Phom national workers, have expressed support to GPRN/NSCN President, General Rtd MB Neokpao Konyak and Ato Kilonser N Kitovi Zhimomi. In a joint statement issued through the MIP of the GPRN/NSCN, Deputy Kilonser Chennyeim Konyak, Deputy Kilonser Khampei Konyak, and Tatar Bauloi Phom stated that “there is no question of GPRN/NSCN Konyak and Phom national workers joining NSCN (IM).” This statement, they stated, was issued “on behalf of more than two hundred and fifty Konyak and Phom civil and military workers attending the annual budget session.”
The three senior leaders said it is “wrong for anyone to run away and claim allegiance of all Konyak and Phom National workers. It is unthinkable for us to follow any leader who abandons his men and shout victory from the opposite camp.” They affirmed that the GPRN/NSCN is a “people’s organization, having sound political vision and practical wisdom to translate the desire and will of the people of Nagaland into reality. We will bestow all respect, faith and trust upon them.” The three leaders claimed that the GPRN/ NSCN Konyak Region and Phom Region are intact, while stating that “Nagaland requires a political future decided and agreed upon by the people of Nagaland themselves. Our children and grand chil-
dren must be saved from suppression and exploitation of a new kind.” They further alleged that General Rtd Kholi Konyak’s recent decision to join the NSCN (IM) was an act for “his own benefit and perhaps for his children.” “It is never in the interest of Konyaks or Phoms or for the Nagas. Our commitment to the Naga struggle is a pledge, a commitment and a sacrifice. It is not a commodity to be purchased or turned into a different colour at will. Leadership is a sacred trust of God upon humans,” they added, while accusing General Rtd Kholi Konyak of having “surrendered this sacred trust…” “Now that the dust has settled down, it is clear to the civil and military workers of Konyak and Phom re-
gion that having absconded from work on health ground, on the morning of 12th March 2016, he signed a document, willfully joining NSCN (IM),” they further alleged. They said that “leaders come and go yet Baba Kholi’s exit shall be the most unceremonious one in recent history and in our hearts. Our loyalty is not to a person, we are for the Naga Nation.” The three leaders stated that the Military and Civil National Workers from Konyak and Phom Region “have always maintained comradeship and brotherhood in our social and political life.” “We respected and cherished Baba Kholi Konyak as a genuine leader having unshakable political stand and fatherly conscience towards his subjects.” They however said that “we were never his personal army at any point of time. We are servants of Naga nation. The value of any man vanishes once a surrender is documented.” On behalf of the Konyak and Phom national workers, the three leaders pledged allegiance to theGPRN/NSCN led by Gen. (Retd.) MB Neokpao, President of GPRN/NSCN. “We look up to him to lead the Naga people with boldness that characterized his military career. He commands our respect and reverence,” they added.