C M Y K
www.morungexpress.com
ThursDAY • MAY 18 • 2017
DIMAPUR • Vol. XII • Issue 134• 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
P o W e R
Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere ‘Trump asked Comey to end investigating NSA Advisor’
Kohima | May 17
DIMAPUR, MAY 17 (MExN): The Senior Superintendent of Police, Kohima has informed that vehicles travelling from Dimapur to Kohima will be diverted from Peducha towards 10 mile, Tsiesema; and vehicles travelling from Kohima to Dimapur will be diverted from Zubza CRPF camp above Shalom Bible Seminary to Kiruphema. The SP also asked vehicles travelling from Kohima to take the road towards Kohima Science College, Jotsoma to Khonoma, Mezoma, Sechuma and Kiruphema. This is necessary in order to repair the highway between Kohima and Dimapur, he stated.
Dimapur RTA notifies edu institutes DIMAPUR, MAY 17 (MExN): Detecting many educational institution's buses & LMVs ferrying students which have been evading tax for more than a decade or are without proper documents, the RTA Dimapur today directed such institutions to renew/register/reassign vehicle documents on or before June 8. “Henceforth, Educational Institution vehicles will not be exempted from routine vehicle checking. Defaulters will be penalized/ detained as per the Motor vehicle Act,” it further cautioned.
Members of the newly former Democratic Progressive Party which was launched in Dimapur today.
DIMAPUR, MAY 17 (MExN): A new political party called the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed today in Chumukedima, Dimapur, and held its first general body meeting. The party is led by Chingwang Konyak as President. A press release from the DPP stated that the party was formed in response to the “feelings of the masses, who strongly desire for formation of a new political organisation.” During today’s meeting the house unanimously resolved to strengthen the peace process and contribute towards realization of early, honorable and wholesome resolution of the Naga political problem. The DPP asserted that it will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to mobilize public opinion and support that is aimed at achieving early political solution and the realization of genuine peace, real unity and collective brotherhood. The party further stated that it would make all out efforts for strengthening of democratic principles at all levels of society and oppose corruption, violence and injustice. “The DPP will stand for transparency, strive for respect of human rights and dignity, protect freedom of speech and expression, work for upliftment of weaker and marginalized sections of society, uphold gender equality and endeavor to protect our rich cultural heritage,” it added. It also affirmed to combat social evils and work towards a society that recognizes merit, promotes innovation, supports creativity and allows art to flourish. “The party and all its or-
gans will continuously strive for emergence of the people’s voice, the realization of the people’s aspirations and will reflect the desire and will of the masses. The party will be regional in spirit, national in outlook and act in accordance with global issues and concerns that include protection of the environment and responsible actions towards climate change,” it said. It informed that the newly formed party has opened its doors for all those who “aspire to work for the people and are willing to make efforts towards resolution of the political conflict and contribute towards bringing early and honorable political solution in the greater interest of all sections of society.” Today’s meeting was chaired by DPP President, Chingwang Konyak, and attended by all CEB members. The meeting decided to begin the process of enrolment at the earliest after establishment of a fully working secretariat at the Central Headquarters of the Party, which will be situated at Chumukedima, Dimapur, Nagaland. Sources meanwhile informed that the party plans to approach the Election Commission of India soon for its registration, after which another launch of the party will be held. The party is led by President, Chingwang Konyak; Vice Presidents, Nuzota Swuro, Dr. Chumben Murry, K. Sukhalu, Dr. Sukhato and Menuovilie; Secretary General, Abu Metha; Treasurer, Dr. John Murry; and General Secretaries, Rusemtong Longkumer, Benjamin Lorin, and Pausi Zeliang.
PAGE 12
Complexities and contradictions of news reporting in Nagaland Morung Express News
Kohima SP informs on road diversion
Arsenal take top-four race to last day of season
PAGE 02
Democratic Progressive Party formed in Nagaland
T R u T H
— Albert Einstein
Bayavü Area Panchayat pleads to repair colony’s main road
PAGE 09
o F
A workshop on the ‘Complexities and contradictions of News reporting’, organised by the Department of Information & Public Relations (IPR), Government of Nagaland was held on May 17 at the Capital Convention Centre, Kohima. The resource persons for the workshop were Pradip Phanjoubam, Founder of Imphal Free Press, who spoke on Basics of News Reporting; Dr. Aküm Longchari, Editor, The Morung Express who spoke on Reflections on Media in Nagaland and Dzüvinuo Theünuo, Joint Director, DIPR, who spoke on the dynamics of Government public relations. Dzüvinuo Theünuo emphasised on the role of government public relations, its functions, elements and processes. Stating that the media in Nagaland has grown in numbers as well as strength, Limawati Ao, Director IPR asserted that the press in Nagaland is feared today by people in power. Ao also impressed on the importance of a free press in a democratic state. Pradip Phanjoubam, Editor of Imphal Free Press spoke on investigative journalism, paid news and journalist's integrity. Providing
the basic skills of writing reports, Pradip stated that the power of the press is derived from its simplicity, where every citizen can relate to. While discussing on the emergence of problems in journalism today such as paid news, he pointed out the complexities of the press in the North East states. Journalists here, he stated, are often poorly paid and most media houses lack manpower. Further, he stated that election reporting, like any other beat, requires an in
it is essential for the IPR not to have a one way process of information but also to have a two way process where they have to include information from the grassroots and take it to the policy makers. The standing point of the media practitioners was also raised where he said, “Depending on where your standing point is, that will define your news and we see that every day in our newspapers. That is at the heart of the complexities and contradic-
DIPR conducts workshop for Nagaland media depth study of the electoral policies by the reporter before reporting. With media practitioners engaging with power every day, Dr. Longchari meanwhile stated the importance of getting to the heart of power which touches many aspects of society, and questioned if journalists in Nagaland are using the media for positive social change or using media for substantiating the status quo. “If we say media has a role in social change then we have to confront the system. We have to get to the root of it,” said Dr. Longchari. He also pointed out that
tions.” “We say that we want change but we are ignoring the very people who need to be empowered. Are we not contradicting our purpose with our actions? This is the bare reality. At the heart of our work is the question of power,” he said. Dr. Longchari further viewed that Naga journalists need an ideology, a conceptual reasoning, and that every media house must have an internal dialogue and assessment. “The media in Nagaland has grown in form but we are yet to grow in substance. In the substance, we have to really push our-
selves.” Urging the reporters to start focusing on the peripheries of the state which will compel the people in power to initiate development in the neglected areas, he concluded by saying that “where the influence of the Newspapers are, is the area where you will see some semblance of development. Where the newspapers have some influence, the government is compelled out of necessity to initiate some semblance of development. But in the areas where the newspapers don’t have influence are the areas where the State ends.” During the workshop, the participants from the various media houses internally assessed the complexities and contradictions faced by reporters in Nagaland. The threats to the media discussed included pressure from government agencies, security forces, political parties, groups and other organisations. Meanwhile, the participants also dwelt on the weaknesses of the media in Nagaland. These included poor investigative journalism/inaccurate reports, lack of specialization and manpower, lack of professionalism, dependence on press releases, Poor salaries/incentives/no promotional scope/pension benefits, and the lack of motivation and discipline.
From waste to wealth through processing Our Correspondent Kohima | May 17
Horticultural crops like fruits and vegetables are highly perishable and their losses are estimated at 35-40% due to improper Post Harvest Management (PHM) practices which amounts to a loss estimated at Rs. 40,000 crores per year as per the 11th Finance
Commission report. “This is not only loss of produce of crores of rupees but also wastage of labour, energy and inputs involved in production,” said the annual administrative report 2016-17 of Nagaland state’s horticulture department. With a view to prevent wastage and turn them into riches, the department had established a small scale Fruit
Processing Unit at Nukshiyim village under Mokokchung district in 2016 where production of processed products like pineapple squash, passion fruit squash etc has already started and hit the market. The report stated that the unit is run by the Sendenlar Self Help Group who were also imparted training on the various processes involved in the
production of squash and other processed products besides providing them with processing equipments and chemical preservatives. “We do hope to inspire many such SHGs and entrepreneurs to come forward and enter into the foray of food processing for a strong and economically sound society,” the report added.
ACAUT Nagaland clarifies stand on taxation NLC questions recruitment in Social Welfare Department
DIMAPUR, MAY 17 (MExN): The Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland today issued a clarification on the “misconception” that the ACAUT Nagaland had “endorsed the reduction of the employee salary Tax which the NSCN (IM) has purportedly reduced from 24% to 12%.” The ACAUT said that “un-
der no circumstances had it endorsed the reduction nor does it endorse any form of taxation by any NFGs and that it is still resolute and firm in the people’s demand for One Government One Tax.” The previous press release, it stated, had only welcomed the decision of the collective leadership of NSCN (IM) to
scrap the ‘syndicate’ and ‘dealership’ system. It meanwhile said the ACAUT cannot relax the One Government One Tax stand and affirmed that “it is still the directive of the ACAUT that no businesses/government servants or any individual shall pay any form of tax to any Naga Factional Groups (NFGs) till
the people’s aspirations are fulfilled.” “Any illegal payment of tax to the factions by government employees would still attract cases being registered against the officials. Once again, the ACAUT Nagaland appeals to all the NFGs to work toward One Government One Tax,” the ACAUT added.
2018 election a challenge to every person: NPCC
C M Y K
DIMAPUR, MAY 17 (MExN): President of the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), K Therie today stated that the 2018 assembly election in the state is a challenge to every person in Nagaland. In a press note, he stated: “It is either we change or perish together like fools under the corrupt governance. They have already looted public funds for the last 15 years. Now they are divided and are struggling for power to further corrupt. We cannot expect anything more than bribery and looting of public development funds from power mongers. Whatever they may say, their deeds in 15 years’ rule have proven that they are shameless corrupt persons.” Therie informed that he recently travelled to a few districts covering Wokha, Zunheboto, Mokokchung, Longleng and Mon with Dr. K. Jayakumar, Sec-
retary, AICC I/c of NE States. “The roads which used to take one hour in the past now need 3 hours. Roads between Zunheboto and Mokockchung and roads between Mon and Tizit are terrible. There is no road worth calling a road,” he lamented. The present government, he stated, is responsible for “changing Nagas from honesty to dishonesty.” “They have changed life style from hardworking system to commission agent and extortion. From unknown sources of income, people have acquired land and high buildings are rising. All these have happened during just 15 years of NPF-BJP Government,” he alleged. He went on to state that “corruption began from the top politicians to bureaucrats down to the lowest grades, and VCCs and VDBs are forced to sign blank cheques.”
The NPCC President said that people in the villages have lost hope of development and that the government would deliver welfare schemes. “They also have lost hope, that after election, they will ever get opportunity to meet the elected representatives, not to speak of taking care of their welfare.” He pointed out that “MGNREGA funds are not heard of anymore except for asking them to sign blank cheques. Monthly Civil supplies such as rice, wheat, sugar and Kerosene oil don't reach the villages. School buildings don't have doors and windows. Hospitals and dispensaries are without employees. There is neither medicine in the dispensaries and hospitals nor the machineries to diagnose. School teachers are short in almost all Village schools. Backdoor appointments, CAG report and failure to solve the political
problem are all forgotten.” The people don't complain any more, he lamented and stated that people just don’t believe that the government can ever deliver or solve the problems. Stating that there is “complete political polarisation in the state,” the NPCC President said that the people have also lost hope in NPF and BJP “seeing the divided house of NPF-BJP Govt.” “They will be gunning for each other with their amassed wealth. The vote bank will be divided into three sections,” he claimed. Therie further stated that the challengesfacingthepeopleinthis coming election are to stop deep rooted corruption, to stop RSSBJP from persecuting the Christian faith and to provide clean and God-fearinggovernmentandgovernance.“Evennon-Christiansare telling our society that the choice is ofconscienceovermoney-power,” he claimed.
DIMAPUR: MAY 17 (MExN): The Nagaland Congress (NLC) today questioned the nature of recruitment and appointment in the Nagaland State Social Welfare Department. A press note from the NLC released data which revealed that as of November 2, 2016, 78% of total employees in the department were done through “direct appointment, questionable departmental exam, contractual appointment, adhoc appointment and on deputation.” “So called departmental exam is simply superficial exam conducted just to appoint Minister’s/Parliamentary Secretary’s candidates. So is the case with contractual, adhoc appointment & deputation,” the NLC alleged. The party further stated that 93% of total contractual appointments were made during 2011-2016 and only 7% were prior to the year 2011. It meanwhile revealed data acquired through RTI furnished by the Directorate of Social Welfare, Nagaland. As per the data, the statistics of recruitment at the directorate and the various districts are as follows: • In the Directorate, only 11% of total Regularized Employees were appoint-
ed through NPSC & Combine Exam; 89% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Kohima District, only 13% through NPSC & Combine Exam: 87% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Dimapur District, only 14% through NPSC; 86% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Mokokchung District, 25% through NPSC & Combine Exam; 75% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Wokha District, 28% through NPSC & Combine Exam; 72% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Zunheboto District, only 22% through NPSC & Combine Exam; 78% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Phek District, only 15% through NPSC & Combine Exam; 85% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Peren District, only 29% through NPSC & Combine Exam; 71% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Tuensang District, 25% through NPSC; 75%
through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Mon District, only 28% through NPSC & Combine Exam; 72% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Kiphire District, only 21% through NPSC; 79% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. • In Longleng District, only 21% through NPSC; 79% through doubtful and questionable appointment process. Based on this, the NLC claimed that “appointment has become the monopoly of concerned Minister/Parliamentary Secretary, whether or not there is sanctioned post, whether or not recruitment process is adhered to and whether or not candidates are qualified and deserving.” These are very serious problems and conscious public must react responsibly, it said. The NLC meanwhile affirmed to continue bringing out “extreme cases of backdoor/questionable appointment in several other departments;” and asked the public to extend cooperation and support for preventive as well as curative measures.
2
thursday 18•05•2017
NAGALAND
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Bayavü Area Panchayat pleads to repair colony’s main road Kohima, may 17 (mExN): Bayavü Area Panchayat (BAP) has lamented the “inability” of the department concerned to repair the “most important stretch” of the colony’s main road, while also appreciating the road maintenance works (black topping) recently undertaken in some parts of the colony. A press release from Khinyi Woch, Chairman and Kechangulie Kense, GenMassive traffic jams occurred throughout the day on May 17 following mudslides at the Peducha-Zubza stretch of NH29 towards Kohima Town. The mudl- eral Secretary of BAP stated sides not only affected vehicular movement but also stalled earth cutting works for the ongoing Dimapur-Kohima 4-lane project. The road jams at the that the particular stretch stretch continued till late into the evening. Travellers further lamented that absence of traffic personnel at the site aggravated the situation. Meanwhile, of road which runs through youth volunteers assisted in the traffic management. (Citizen Journalist Photo) the entire colony serves as a
Dimapur Police launches ‘Medical First Responder Team’
Limasunep Jamir, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Dimapur flags off the ‘Medical First Responder Team’ at the Commissioner of Police, Dimapur office on May 15.
Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): Dimapur Police has launched its squad of ‘Medical First Responder Team’ comprising an ambulance and two motorcycles. Functioning under the Dimapur Traffic Police and on duty round the clock, the Medical First Responder Team will be stationed at both Zone-I and Zone-II Traffic Control and respond to vehicle accident cases, informed a press release from Additional Deputy Commissioner of Po-
lice/PRO, Dimapur. A team of 12 personnel from the Dimapur Traffic Police and Homeguards underwent training at the Central Training Institute, Toluvi on application of first aid and pre-hospital treatments for the same. During the launch on May 15, P. Sendongmeren, NPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) emphasized that the first hour following a traumatic injury also known as the “Golden Hour” is the most
crucial period, and prompt medical treatment can prevent death. Limasunep Jamir, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Dimapur flagged off the squad following a brief programme and demonstration at the office of the Commissioner of Police, Dimapur on May 15. Contact Dimapur Traffic Control- I @ +91 7085055038 or Traffic Control –II @ +91 7085055039 for any vehicular accident emergencies.
CPO commemorates Naga Plebiscite Day pfutsEro, may 17 (mExN): Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO) organised a public function at BTC Complex, T. Chikri, Pfutsero to commemorate the 66th Naga Plebiscite Day on May 16. Six signatories of the plebiscite from Kikrüma village attended the function besides members of the community from all walks of life, informed a press release
from Kekhwengulo Lea, President, CPO. The function started with observing one minute silence in honour of all those who had sacrificed their lives in the line of Naga freedom struggle. Rev. Dr. VK Nuh was the main speaker; he presented a life-witness account on how and why the Plebiscite was signed and updated the participants on latest status.
This, the release said, was an eye opener for many young people attending the event. The main features of the function were expositions and narration of witness accounts on execution of the Plebiscite and also sequential life accounts of its impact on the Naga society as a whole with particular reference to the Chakhesang community, the release said.
One day workshop held for librarians
Kohima, may 17 (mExN): A one day workshop on ‘Identifying quality indicators in library and information services at higher education institutions’ was held today in the conference hall of the Directorate of Higher Education. Addressing a gathering of librarians from several institutions of higher education, Kuholi Chishi, Director of Higher Education stated, “Library is the heart of any institution but very often, a forgotten aspect in an institution.” Maintaining that “librarians work very hard to ensure that we are able to get the right books and cater to the needs of the students and the teachers as well,” she said, “while we are very busy with the transaction of knowledge and the teaching-learning process that takes place in the classroom, we often forget how important this place is for the students as well as the teachers.” In this regard, she pointed out that teachers particularly think libraries are for students who are very poor
to afford books for themselves. Dwelling further on the significance of library, she said the workshop was conducted to ensure the quality aspect in library management and library transaction. “NAAC emphasizes so much on quality in terms of library performance,” she added and called upon the librarians to participate enthusiastically. Session Chair for the inaugural, Menuokholie Kire, Joint Director of Higher Education noted that currently a little more importance is being given to classrooms but emphasized that a time will come when the importance will shift to libraries. Resource person for the workshop, Dr. T. Temjen, Deputy Librarian, Nagaland University, Lumami highlighted that quality, in the context of a higher education institution, is multidimensional wherein the functioning of a library can be said to manifest one such dimension. Pointing out that library is the fulcrum of support for the
entire range of academic activities in an educational campus, he stressed on the importance of improving the quality of library and information services. He further deliberated on the topics such as woes of a librarian, management of library and information services, services provided to users, extent of the use of services, best practices in library and information services, collection and services, use of information and communication technology in libraries among others. Lendina, Librarian of Fazl Ali College, Mokokchung was the chair for the first session, while Dr. Sashilemla, Librarian, SCTE Kohima chaired the second session. Atula B. Aier, OSD (SLQAC), Higher Education gave the concluding remarks. The one-day workshop was organised by the State Level Quality Assurance Cell (SLQAC), Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Department of Higher Education.
ans or foreigners, tend to visit the State Museum as well as our NBCC office. Hence, the Bayavü Panchayat had been relentlessly pursuing the maintenance and repair of this road with the competent authority,” it stated. In light of the above, the Bayavü Area Panchayat has urged the competent authority to take cognizance of the importance of the particular stretch of road and repair the same in the larger interest of the general public of Kohima Town and the colony in particular.
Japan-Asia youth exchange Seminar on climate change & sustainable prog reaches Nagaland development underway at NU, Lumami Kohima, may 17 (mExN): The orientation on Japan-Asia youth exchange programme in science (Sakura exchange programme in Science), an initiative of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and organized by RMSA Nagaland, will take place on May 18, 3:00 pm at DUDA Guest House conference hall, Kohima. Neposo Theluo, Secretary, Department of School Education, Government of Nagaland will grace the occasion as the chief guest. Keynote address will be given by Limawabang Aier, State Mission Director, RMSA, while speech on benefit of Sakura team will be delivered by Medosalie, supervisor for Sakura Exchange Programme & PGT, RGHSS Kohima. Sakura Exchange Programme is an initiative of JST to enhance exchange between the youth of Japan and rest of Asia. “These youth will play a crucial role in the future fields of science and technology through close collaboration of industry-
academia-government by facilitating short term visit of competent Asian youth to Japan,” a concept note received here stated. Under the science high school programme, the JST invites outstanding high school students for a week and provides them opportunities to see the most advanced scientific technology of Japan and meet outstanding scientists. Four students and one supervisor from Nagaland have been nominated to participate in the programme. They will leave for Delhi from Dimapur on May 19 this year and thereafter, will embark for Japan on May 21 along with other students and officials from other states under the guidance of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). The team will return to Delhi on May 27 and back to Dimapur on May 28. The expenditures incurred to and fro Nagaland-Delhi will be borne by RMSA Nagaland and other expenses will be borne through JST.
Prof. NS Jamir, acting Vice Chancellor of NU (second from right) releasing the seminar abstract book at the national seminar on ‘Climate Change and Sustainable development: with special focus on North East India’ at Nagaland University, Lumami on May 17. Morung Express News Mokokchung | May 17
A national seminar on ‘Climate Change and Sustainable development: with special focus on North East India’ got underway at Nagaland University, Lumami today. Organized by the Nagaland University Teachers Association (NUTA), the two-day seminar is supported by Nagaland University. Dr. Lanusashi Longkumer, President NUTA, while delivering the concept note, said no country is immune to climate change and that the developing countries were more vulnerable to it. The
north eastern region of India, he added, is also affected by climate change with erratic and unpredictable weather conditions, floods, droughts especially in parts of Assam. With the most sensitive climatic agriculture system, the less explored and less known region is highly prone to climate change, he stated. Dr. Lanusashi further mentioned that the seminar is an opportunity for academicians and experts to deliberate on the challenges of climate change and sustainable development of the region. The inaugural programme of the seminar also saw the presence of
Padma Shree Jadav Payeng, the forest man of India. Payeng shared his experiences and how he grew up to be known as the forest man of India. Prof. NS Jamir, acting Vice Chancellor of NU, released the seminar abstract book and spoke on the relevance of the seminar topic in the present scenario. Padma Shree Jadav Payeng and Prof. NS Jamir, acting Vice Chancellor of NU, planted tress after the inaugural session. The seminar will have five technical sessions with more than fifty participants, including invited lecturers and oral presenters from across the country.
'Nagas should talk on folklore, other aspects of oral tradition' NEw DElhi, may 17 (mExN): The Naga Scholar Association (NSA) hosted a book release cum discussion on ‘A Girl Swallowed by a Tree: Lotha Naga Tales Retold’ by Nzanmongi Jasmine Patton on May 12 at School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. Dr. Zuchamo Yanthan, NSA President, welcomed the audience with an epigrammatic comment that the book ‘Lotha Naga Tales Retold’ reflects once cherished and pristine Nagas’ way of life and fosters a greater sense of appreciation and encourages imagination of “our” distant past, informed a
press release from the Association. Dr. Veio Pou from Department of English, Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, who chaired the book launch, said Nagas should engage in discussion, dialogue, and talk on folklore and other aspects of oral tradition to help recognize and value the importance of their tradition and culture. The stories are not just to tell and retell for amusement and entertainment but mirror the way of life of the Naga people, he stated. The author of the book, Nzanmongi, Assistant Professor at Gargi College, University of Delhi,
Human-animal conflict mitigation campaign Participants of the workshop seen with the Director of Higher Education (3rd from L), resource person (2nd from L) and other officials of Higher Education.
lifeline for not only the colony residents, but is also an alternative road connecting Kohima Town, Secretariat, and High School area. However, the road is in a very dilapidated and deplorable condition and its repair is long overdue, it added. The Panchayat further highlighted the long felt need for proper road at Bayavü in the interest of not only the residents of the colony, but in view of some important offices being located there. “Many people coming from outside to Kohima, be it Indi-
moN, may 17 (mExN): Mon Forest Division organized human-animal conflict mitigation awareness campaign at Naginimora in Mon district. Village council members from 35 villages in and around Tizit and Naginimora areas, public leaders, church leaders, district administration and Forest Department staff participated in the event. Chief Guest Meyipokyim (IFS), Chairman, Nagaland Pollution Control Board in his speech highlighted the scenario of human-animal conflicts occurring in different parts of the country and how the problem can be mitigated by reducing the interface between men and animals. He also emphasized on the intricate relationship between human and wildlife by citing an example that without honey bees, humankind will be diminished from this planet within a span of 50 years, according to a press release from Divisional Forest Officer, Mon Division. Chief Wildlife Warden, Nagaland, SP Triparthi (IFS), in his keynote address presented the various facets of human-animal conflict across the State and called upon the people to work together to mitigate the problems. Resource persons during the awareness campaign were Beizo Soukhrie, Dimapur Division and Obed Bohovi Swu, Nagaland Zoological Park, Dimapur, who spoke on various issues of human-animal conflicts and mitigating strategies in the State. The DFO Mon exhorted the participants that wildlife and forests need to be preserved by all the stakeholders for future generation. The village councils which are a self-governing institution at the grassroots level, he added, have pivotal role to play in the efforts of preserving the rich forests & wildlife in order to mitigate this undesirable interface in the future.
recounted her craving in bringing the sundry collection of Lotha Naga stories, and said the narratives are not hers but community’s stories. The tiny stories in Lotha Naga Tales Retold, she said, are not just mere stories but a history, culture, identity and origin of the Lotha Nagas. Her challenge in the book lies in bringing diverse collection of narratives, thereby projecting multiplicity of wide-ranging Naga narrations. The audience participated in a discussion on Naga oral tradition and its various aspects, the importance and functions
of oral narratives, and various other aspects of oral literature in perspectives. The launching of the book, the release said, has encouraged the young Naga scholars to think and stimulated a sense of belongingness, oneness and appreciation of their past history. The discussion also challenged the Naga scholars to connect, engage and write the untold stories of “our” past history before they become extinct, it added. The long discourse ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. Lungthuiyang Riamei, Joint Secretary, NSA.
Achievements of DMC in last 2 ½ years
A fleet of medium sized tipper trucks, dustbins and heavy machineries procured under Swachh Bharat Mission was recently launched by DC Dimapur at DMC office premises. (Morung Photo) Morung Express News Dimapur | May 17
The Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) which was established on August 28, 1954 earlier known as Dimapur Town Committee has undertaken numerous developmental works during the last two and half years. Such high rate of developmental activities within a short duration to be followed by wide public appreciation was never witnessed in the history of DMC. Various Dimapur based NGOs, colonies and wards in Dimapur had profusely lauded the works of DMC under the leadership of DMC Administrator, H. Atokhe Aye who took
over the office on September 2014. Many organizations have placed on record their appreciation to the DMC and its staff for positively looking into the affairs of the Municipality. The Morung Express approached the office of Executive Engineer DMC to get developmental records of the Municipal during the last two and a half years. A gist of some notable developmental activities undertaken by the DMC under Atokhe was furnished (See Box). There were also several improvements and constructions of footpaths, boundary walls and numerous instances of regular drainage clearing exercises. Additionally, during the period, one excavator and one Dumper Truck was acquired by
the DMC with its own revenue. Besides these completed projects, the DMC is also currently undertaking a host of developmental works in the Municipal area. Atokhe demitted DMC office on May 17, 2017 and handed over the charge to incoming Administrator, Moa Sangtam. List of Developmental Works • Road construction/improvement/sand-gravelling, land filling: 33 locations • Construction of RCC Box and Hume Pipe Culverts: 14 locations • Construction of drains and cover slabs: 27 locations
thursday 18•05•2017
NORTH-EAST 3
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Rs 5k for over-speeding in Kaziranga Agri-research institute approved in Assam Cyclonic storm in AP: 1 killed, 100 homeless New Delhi, May 17 (PTi): Any vehicle found over-speeding inside the Kaziranga National Park will have to pay an environment compensation of Rs 5,000 besides challan under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, the National Green Tribunal today said. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar passed the order after the director of the park, who was present before it, informed it that four animals have died since January this year despite installation of sensor-
operated automated traffic barriers to prevent these deaths. "Every vehicle which is challaned for over-speeding will have to pay an environment compensation of Rs 5,000 per accident over and above the challan as prescribed under the MV Act," the bench said. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by environmentalist Rohit Choudhury opposing the expansion of NH-37 which passes from Jakhalabandha to Bokakhat through the Kaziranga Park.
New Delhi, May 17 (iaNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the setting up of an agriculture research institute in Assam, to help spur growth in north eastern states. Briefing media on the Cabinet decisions, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the government had plans to bring a green revolution in the north-east region and the new Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Assam would "play a crucial role in bringing a second
green revolution" in the country. "Development of the northeastern states has been a priority for the Modi government and the new institute will play a crucial role in driving growth in the region," Goyal said. The institute would be set up at a cost of Rs 155 crore, Goyal said. The IARI-Assam will be the third such institute after those in New Delhi and Ranchi. It will have student capacity of 67 for MSc and 106 for PhD in agricultural sciences programmes.
iTaNagar, May 17 (PTi): Cyclonic storm accompanied by rain left a trail of destruction in Arunachal Pradesh, killing a person, rendering 100 people homeless and damaging houses. One Khonil Gogoi of New
Mohong area in Namsai district died on the spot when a building collapsed on him on Monday evening during the storm, an official report said today. The storm also damaged 180 houses completely and several others partially
besides uprooting many trees, snapping power supply lines and damaging cattle sheds and granaries. CM Pema Khandu has ordered release of working funds to the affected areas to carry out relief and restoration works.
NOTICE
Whereas application under succession act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate of Late Bhim Bahadur Thapa has been filed by Mrs. Tentila Ao (Wife) R/o. H/No. 49(B), Sec-A, Aoyimti Village, Dimapur to draw his: Family Pension benefit, SBI Saving A/C. No.: 10433122853, who expired on 08/12/2016 Notice is hereby given that any person having interests in the Administration of the estate of the said deceased may if she/he so desire appear in this court on or before the said day of 2nd June 2017 Given under the hand and seal of the court on this 1st day of May 2017 Principal District & Session Judge Dimapur: Nagaland
IMMANUEL COLLEGE LENGRIJAN, DIMAPUR-797 112, P. B. No. 253.
WWW.immanuelcollege.in | E-mail: immanuelcollege797112gmail.com
NAAC Accredited B+
ADMISSION OPEN
Class -11(Arts & Science) & B.A. / B.Sc. 1st Semester
GREENWOOD SCHOOL KUDA VILLAGE: DIMAPUR
VACANCY
Applications are invited for the following post: 1. M.Sc. (Mathematics) – 1 post. * Preferably B.Ed. Salary – 21,000/- plus p.m. Application can be sent to gwskuda10@gmail.com. There will be written test and class demonstration on 23rd May 2017 at 9 a.m. Kindly come with all relevant documents. * Admissions for Class 11 closes on 20th May 2017 For details contact: +919862956932/ +919436266591 Director
P.G FOR GIRLS
With inverter facility Opp. Green Park Junction 5th Mile Model Village Near the highway For details contact: 7085936912
LOST NOTICE I, Mr. Asomong Yimchunger, am applying for a duplicate copy of my Class X Admit Card, as I have lost it. Name : Asomong Yimchunger F/name: Yotsulam Yimchunger Roll No : 171903193 Year : 2017
Courses offered:
1. B.A.
: Honours in English, Education, History, Political Science. (Elective - History, Political Science, Education, Economics) 2. B.Sc. : Honours in Botany & Zoology (Elective - Chemistry, Botany and Zoology) 3. Class-11(Arts) : English, History, Political Science, Education, Economics, Computer Science & Informatics Practices. 4. Class-11(Science) : English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Computer Science & Informatics Practices. New session for Cl-XI, B.A.& B.Sc.1st Semester will commence from 1st June 2017 and not from 25th May as published earlier. Results of HSSLC Exam 2017 : 2nd Div Class Appeared Passed 1st Div Class-12 (Arts) 67 64 15 40 Class-12 (Sc) 46 39 10 27
CLASS STARTS FOR B.A. 1ST SEMESTER
Principal # 03862 -248275 (off) / 9436004791(M)
Mountain View Christian College, Kohima AFFILIATED TO NAGALAND UNIVERSITY Near BSF Camp. Below ATI Office: Kohima ARTS AND COMMERCE Contact No: 0370-2280071/9856974717 Admission Install(quarterly) 5500 3000 6500 3100 6800 200
Hostel Monthly fee
‘C’ Khel,4th Mile Diphupar, Dimapur : Nagaland E-mail : jnacprincipal@gmail.com
Hostels for Boys & Girls (Limited Seats)
- 3500
ON 31ST MAY, 2017. ADMISSION GOING ON FOR B.A. 1ST SEMESTER 2017.
APPRECIATION
ADMISSION NOTICE
Classes 11&12 B.A (Gen) B.A (Hons)
J.N. AIER COLLEGE
3rd Div 09 02
The Council of Middle Colony, East Dimapur, Purana Bazar, sincerely acknowledge and Appreciate Shri. Tokheho Yepthomi MLA 3 Dmr 111 (Former Hon'ble Minister PHED) for constructing Drains and Black topping our Colony Roads, which has fulfilled our long felt desire The Council wishes and pray that the Almighty God continue to grant him wisdom and long Life, while looking forward for more initiatives in the days to come. May God develop your purposes too. Further, the Council conveys its heartiest Congratulations to all the successful candidates of the Colony in the recently declared HSLC and HSSLC Exams- 2017, and wishes them great success in their future endeavours “With God everything is possible” Make it yours and success is SURE. (LAKHI MECH), Gen. Secy, Council of Middle Colony (Er. Y. HOKHUVI AYE), Chairman, Council of Middle Colony East Dimapur: Purana Bazar
SUBJECTS OFFERED :
FEW SEATS AVAILABLE
HONOURS : ENGLISH, EDUCATION, SOCIOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCE
GENERAL : ENGLISH, ELECTIVE ENGLISH, EDUCATION, SOCIOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCE, HISTORY
HOSTEL ATTACHED FOR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS Contact: 9856554744, 7005255141
PATKAI CHRISTIAN COLLEGE (Autonomous) Chümoukedima – Seithekema B.P.O. Patkai – 797 103 Dimapur – Nagaland patkaicollege.edu.in
ADMISSION 2017-18 First Come First Serve
NAAC Re-Accreditation: A Grade A College with Potential for Excellence
Why study at Patkai
Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) Experienced Faculty Quality academic interaction Quality classrooms for teaching-learning pedagogy Quality supportive facilities - modernised library, language lab, computer lab, music lab, equipped seminar/conference hall with AC facility and upgraded labs for science, and auditorium. Generator facility for classroom, Lab and Hostel DDU KAUSHAL COURSE Free wi-fi Campus Campus with solar lighting. Swimming Pool, Indoor Stadium with Multi Gym and International Standard Football Ground size facility available CHOICE-BASED CREDIT SYSTEM (CBCS) AT UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL
Postgraduate
PROGRAMMES OFFERED
M. A. English
Eligibility-50% for General category and 45% for ST/SC/OBC in English Honours. Non-English Honours students whose minimum aggregate percentage in English paper is 55 may also apply for admission to M.A. in English. Admission to such applicants may be granted against vacancy in the sanctioned number of seats. M. Sc. Environmental Science
Eligibility-55% for General category and 50% for ST/SC/OBC in any Science Subject
The new educational policy, at par with international standards, is geared toward bringing equity, efficiency and academic excellence with special M. Sc. Geology emphasis on innovation and improvement in curriculum design, a Eligibility-55% for General category and 50% for ST/SC/OBC in Geology paradigm shift in learning and teaching pedagogy, and revamped Honours examination and grading patterns. This system is described as“learner- Non-Geology Honours students with Geology as elective papers at undergraduate level may also apply for admission to M.Sc. Geology. centric” with a “cafeteria approach” allowing students to choose course Admission to such applicants will be based on written test to be conducted by from a wide range of disciplines: intra-disciplinary as well as inter- the Department of Geology. disciplinary, depending on the student’s interest in the subject(s) and career choice. In other words, the system offers opportunities to explore Higher Sec. School additional avenues of learning for holistic development while pursuing 11 Arts - 45% aggregate specialisation in the chosen subject of studies. Keeping in view of the 11 Science- 45% aggregate and 50% each in Maths and Science overall benefits that would accrue to the students, Patkai is implementing 11 Commerce- 45% aggregate and qualified marks in Maths the new UGC recommended system with committed enthusiasm and confidence.
Awards & Recognitions
Undergraduate B. A. (Economics, Education, English, History, Philosophy, Political Science) B. Sc. (Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Zoology, Computer Science) B. Com. (Accountancy) B. C. A. Eligibility for admission to UG programmes 1. Minimum of 40 % in HSSLC 2. Minimum requirement for honours admission a) 45% marks in the concerned subject in the HSSLC is required for honours admission in Education, Economics, History, Philosophy, Commerce, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics b) 50% in Political Science for honours admission in Political Science c) 55% in English for honours admission in English d) 45 % in Biology for honours admission in Botany and Zoology e) 45% in Science for honours admission in Geology and Computer Science f) Applicants opting for Physics and Computer Science honours must have cleared Mathematics. g) BCA 40% in HSSLC
Add On Course
N. C. C. Army Wing/Air Wing
Diploma and Certificate Courses PGDCA/ DCA/ DIT/CIT/Software Development/ Web Designing/Retail Management & IT/Music/Applied Electronics and Computer Hardwares/Counselling.
The 1st Autonomous College in North East. 1st NAAC accredited college in Nagaland with grade A The only College in Nagaland with CPE status from UGC Recognised by UGC under 2(f) & 12B of UGC Act Affiliated to the Nagaland University For detail log on to www.patkaicollege.edu.in
4
ThursdAY 18•05•2017
business
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Jio puts Mukesh Ambani on top of Forbes’ Global Game Changers NEW yoRk, May 17 (IaNs): Forbes magazine has named Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani as the topmost among its “Global Game Changers” who are transforming their industries and changing the lives of billions around the world. Ambani features at the top of the Forbes’ second annual Global Game Changers’ list of 25 “intrepid business leaders unsatisfied with the status quo” who are “transforming their industries and changing the lives of billions of people around the globe.” The American magazine referred to the Ambani-led Reliance Jio mobile network’s efforts to spread internet penetration in India. “Oil and gas tycoon entered the country’s telecom market with a bang, offering fast internet at dirt-cheap prices. Gained 100 million customers in six months and set off a wave of consolidation in the market,” Forbes said. “While plenty of corporate functionaries make headlines for successful turnarounds or record profits, we sought to identify true movers and shakers who are determining the course of the future for more than just their own shareholders or employees,” it said. The list includes home appliances company Dyson’s founder James Dyson, US investment management company BlackRock co-founder Larry Fink, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, social media platform Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel and Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing founder Cheng Wei.
NBFCs cash in on Indian lenders’ bad loan pain NEW DELHI, May 17 (REutERs): Indian banks’ struggles with bad loans over the past three years have opened an opportunity to ramp up lending for socalled non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), which are not as strictly regulated as banks. With their share of total credit rising, new players and new investors have piled into the NBFC market. The latest such player is Incred. Backed by Deutsche Bank’s former co-CEO Anshu Jain, it lends to individuals and smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) including start-ups. Saurabh Jhalaria, who heads Incred’s SME divi-
sion, says the company aims to disburse $234 million in new credit by next March. As much as 60 percent would be lent to SMEs, he said. “There is great demand for credit from small entrepreneurs, but supply is very limited,” Jhalaria told Reuters, referring to the reluctance to lend among state banks. Public sector lenders led by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, which as a group account for two third of banking assets, are saddled with bulk of India’s $150 billion in stressed loans. Criminal investigations into some loan defaults have made bankers extremely cautious of ex-
tending new credit. The process of approving loans has become lengthier and requires lots of paperwork. Banks are also reluctant to lend without matching collateral. In some cases, they even demand collateral twice the value of the loan. As a result, bank credit to industry shrank by 1.9 percent in the fiscal year that ended in March. In contrast, NBFCs have posted double-digit rates of lending growth. A study by research firm Crisil shows NBFCs have doubled their market share in SME loans and wholesale finance in the past five years. The Indian unit of rating agency Standard and Poor’s expects their
World Telecom Day: BSNL offers unlimited Data
share in overall loans to rise by 3 percentage points to nearly 18 percent over the next two years. Since its launch in February, Incred has lent nearly $16 million to 1,000 borrowers. It offers loans to SMEs of up to 100 million rupees ($1.56 million) and charges interest of between 13-19 percent. While the loans are costlier than those offered by banks, which charge around 12 percent on average, they are processed more quickly and require little paperwork. “Our target is ambitious but achievable,” said Jhalaria. “There is a demand that is not being met by banks. We are filling in that gap.”
1.6 Lakh taxpayers under scrutiny Paytm to become payments bank from May 23 DELHI, May 17 erations on May 23, 2017,” it Paytm, which will in turn for partial account declarations NEW transfer the wallet balance (ptI): The Company will said in a public notice.
NEW DELHI, May 17 (ptI): The Income Tax Department has identified 5.68 lakh new cases for verification, including 1.58 lakh taxpayers who made partial declaration of accounts in the past. After demonetisation on November 8 last year, the tax department is flushed with information from various sources, including statement of financial transactions (SFT) filed by banks. “The Income Tax Department has also identified 3.71 lakh new accounts relating to 1.58 lakh taxpayers who made partial declaration of accounts/ amounts in their earlier responses. In addition to the earlier 18 lakh cases, 5.68 lakh new cases have been identified for e-verification process,” the I-T department said. The tax department is conducting an analysis in conjuction with previously available/analysed data. Such incremental data analysis has already led to identification of new cases for everification, he said. The department has used big data analytics for comparison of deposits made after the November 8 decision to scrap high value banknotes with information in its database to identify taxpayers whose cash transactions do not appear to be in line with the tax-paying profile. Under ‘Operation Clean Money’ launched by the I-T department on January 31, the department has sent SMS and e-mails to 17.92 lakh people who
have made suspicious deposits of Rs. 5 lakh and above between November 10 and December 30. Of these, 9.72 lakh persons have responded on sources of the cash deposits. The department has decided to close the verification in cases where there was justifiable explanation of source of cash. “The taxpayers have provided response for 13.33 lakh accounts involving cash deposits of around Rs. 2.89 lakh crore. The online responses have been assessees and no further action will be taken in cases of satisfactory explanation,” the Income Tax Department said. The department initiated the second phase of the ‘Operation Clean Money’ on April 14, under which more than 60,000 persons, including 1,300 high risk persons, have been identified for investigation into claims of excessive cash sales during the demonetisation period. More than 6,000 transactions of high value property purchase and 6,600 cases of outward remittances shall be subjected to detailed investigations under the Operation Clean Money II. Under this, detailed investigations would be conducted on businesses like petrol pumps, traders and property purchasers claiming cash sales as the source of cash deposits which have been found to be excessive compared to their past profile or industry norms during the note ban period.
leisure
CROSSWORD # 3946
SUDOKU
transfer its wallet business, which has over 218 million mobile wallet users, to the newly incorporated PPBL. After months of delay, Paytm is now all set to commence its payments bank operations from May 23, having received the final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “...Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has received the final licence from the RBI and would commence its op-
Answer Number # 3942
to the consumer’s bank account once such details are shared. Such communication will have to be made before May 23. In case the wallet has been inactive with no activity in the last six months, the transfer to PPBL will only happen once the consumer gives specific consent. Payments banks can accept deposits from individuals and small businesses up to Rs 1 lakh per account.
Google Doodle marks ‘world’s first computer’ NEW DELHI, May 17 (IaNs): Google on Wednesday marked the discovery of Antikythera Mechanism - believed to be the world’s first computer - 115 years ago. In 1902, Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais sifted through some artifacts from a shipwreck at Antikythera. The wrecked Roman cargo ship was discovered two years earlier, but Stais was the first to notice an intriguing bit of bronze among the treasures. It looked like it might be a gear or wheel. That corroded chunk of metal turned out to be part of the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient analog astronomical computer which tracked planetary positions, predicted lunar and solar eclipses, and even signalled the next Olympic Games.
“Today’s Doodle illustrates how a rusty remnant can open up a skyful of knowledge and inspiration,” Google said. The mechanism was initially dated around 85 BC, but recent studies suggest it may be even older (circa 150 BC). The crank-powered device was way ahead of its time -- its components are as intricate as those of some 18th-century clocks. Computer models based on 3D tomography have revealed more than 30 sophisticated gears, housed in a wooden and bronze case the size of a shoebox. Historians continue to ponder the Antikythera Mechanism’s purpose and inner workings, and visitors to the National Archaeological Museum of Greece marvel at its delicate complexity. std code: 03862
DiMaPUR ACROSS 1. Sleighs 6. Colored part of an eye 10. Mongrels 14. Reasonable judgment 15. A noble gas 16. Death notice 17. Less friendly 18. Information 19. Style 20. Unalike 22. Use a beeper 23. Wise men 24. Jubilant 26. Arab chieftain 30. Explosive 31. To make a fool of (archaic) 32. A few 33. Hello 35. Washing machine cycle 39. An ancient Greek philosopher 41. Flaxseed 43. S S S S 44. Scream 46. Chocolate cookie 47. Alien Life Form 49. Japanese apricot 50. Standard 51. Edict 54. Egg-shaped 56. Makes a mistake 57. Fastidious 63. Dwarf buffalo 64. Diva’s solo 65. Chip dip 66. Loyal (archaic) 67. Plunder 68. Sound from a nest 69. Sounds of disapproval 70. Feudal worker 71. A loud sleeping sound DOWN 1. Skidded 2. Hubs 3. Auspices 4. Perishes
Simple Rules - Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.
Game Number # 3943
The company will transfer its wallet business, which has over 218 million mobile wallet users, to the newly incorporated entity -PPBL under the payments bank licence awarded to a resident Indian, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of One97 Communications that owns Paytm. After May 23, the Paytm wallet will move to PPBL. In case consumers do not wish for that, they have to inform
5. A firm open-weave fabric 6. Affront 7. Anagram of “Irately” 8. Greek letter 9. Caught 10. Similitude 11. Submarine 12. Chain of hills 13. Horse 21. Applied mathematics (British) 25. Forsaken 26. Being 27. Cow sounds 28. Rapscallions 29. Practices 34. Assuage 36. Roman emperor 37. Clairvoyant 38. Biblical kingdom 40. Small island 42. Of a pelvic bone 45. Feeling 48. Pertaining to women 51. Gave out 52. Sea eagles 53. Frog sound 55. Craves 58. God of love 59. A field of grass 60. Margarine 61. End ___ 62. Satisfy
Answer to Crossword 3945
Absent Adorn AwkwArd bACkwArd Child Clumsy dAiry dAlly dirge floAt gAuChe goose hiAtus hulA lAdle lAxAtive mistress niCk orChid pithy plAte
R
regret ride roustAbout sAid sheep shorts slAve spACe spoke spoon stAve tArry tAut terse thAt thief toAdy trAy wound young
D
MuMbaI, May 17 (IaNs): The key Indian indices again surged to new highs on Wednesday as a strong rupee and healthy buying in metal and automobile stocks buoyed investors’ sentiments. The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) provisionally closed at a new high of 9,518.35 points -- up 6.10 points or 0.06 per cent. The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 30,616.53 points, provisionally closed at 30,658.77 points (at 3.30 p.m.) -- up 76.17 points or 0.25 per cent, from its previous close at 30,582.60 points.
Cabinet nods for 10 atomic reactors NEW DELHI, May 17 (IaNs): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) for nuclear power generation. “The cabinet has approved to install 10 indigenously built PWHRs,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Goyal, who is Union Power and Coal Minister, said the new PWHRs will generate 7,000 MW power. At present India generates 6,780 MW from nuclear power.
Airtel to offer 100% more data NEW DELHI, May 17 (IaNs): Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced new plans for its home broadband users, offering up to 100 per cent more high-speed data benefits within the same monthly rentals. “Our new plans are aimed at putting India onto the digital super highway and complement our superfast broadband offerings like ‘VFiber’,” said Hemanth Kumar Guruswamy, CEO - Homes, Bharti Airtel (India). Airtel’s refreshed broadband plans are designed for ‘V-Fiber’ superfast broadband. The Rs.899 plan in Delhi now offers 60 GB high speed data compared to 30 GB earlier, while the Rs 1,099 plan will now offer 90 GB of high speed data compared to 50 GB earlier. The Rs 1,299 plan now offers 125 GB compared to 75 GB and the Rs 1,499 plan offers 160 GB compared to 100 GB, it added.
Samsung sells over 10 mn Galaxy S8 sEouL, May 17 (IaNs): Samsung Electronics has sold over 10 million of its Galaxy S8 and S8 plus smartphones in less than a month. Samsung S, the first device of the smartphone series, had taken seven months to achieve the same numbers. South Korean Chosun Ilbo daily published the figures citing sources from Samsung, who refused to confirm or deny the figures to EFE news on Wednesday. The new models of the Galaxy S series went on sale on April 21 in South Korea, Canada and the US and subsequently in other markets, including Europe, and will be launched in China on Thursday. According to analysts, given its current success, the S8 could end up surpassing the 50 million units its predecessor - the Galaxy S7 - sold. TaHaMZaM
std code: 03871
(formerly senapati)
232224
emergency
229529 229474
mh hospital
227930 231081
fire brigade
2222952
faith hospital
228846
naga hospital
2222916
shamrock hospital
228254
oking hospital
2243339
Zion hospital
231864 224117 227337
bethel nursing home
2224202
northeast shuttles
08974997923
police Control room
228400
Police Traffic Control
232106
east police station
227607
west police station
232181
Cihsr (referral hospital)
242555 242533
dimapur hospital
police station fire brigade
north ps south ps
Officer-in-Charge 8575045520
229366 242441 225212
Chiephobozou ps 8575045506 Officer-in-Charge 8575045516 tseminyu ps
8575045507
Officer-in-Charge 8575045517 khuzama ps
8575045505
Officer-in-Charge 8575045515
nikos hospital and research Centre
232032, 231031
kezocha ps
nagaland multispecialty health & research Centre
248302, 09856006026
women Cell
248722 /248288, 9615945510
C
8575045508
Officer-in-Charge 8575045518
Airport indian Airlines
R
8575045502
Zubza ps
131/228404
A
8575045501
Officer-in-Charge 8575045510
railway
E
std code: 0370
kohimA ps/oCs Contact numbers
Apollo hospital info Centre 230695/ 9402435652
S
222246 222491
KOHiMa
224041 248011
eden medical Centre
O
Sensex, Nifty hit fresh highs
Civil hospital
Chumukedima fire brigade 282777
W
DIMapuR, May 17 (MExN): The public sector telecom company BSNL today celebrated the World Telecommunication and Information Society day by introducing a promotional offer of 3 days unlimited Data for its prepaid mobile user. Under the theme, “Big Data for Big Impact,” BSNL has decided to provide truly unlimited Data for 3 days to existing/new customers of STV333 from May 17 to 19, informed the company Assistant General Manager (Mktg) in a press note. The STV 333 i.e. “Triple ACE” offer gives unlimited Data with 3GB data/ day as fair usage policy (FUP) for 90 days .
H
8575045549
Officer-in-Charge 8575045538 8575045509
Officer-in-Charge 8575045519 Control room
8575045500 (Emergency No. – 100)
FiRE STaTiONS
kohimA south: 0370-2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC) kohimA north: 7085924114 (O) dimApur: 03862-232201/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC) ChumukedimA: 7085982102 (O) 8732810051 (OC) wokhA: 03860-242215/101 (O) 8974322879 (OC) mokokChung: 0369-2226225/ 101 (O) 8415830232 (OC) phek: 8414853765 (O) 8413822476(OC) Zunheboto: 03867-280304/ 101 (O) 9436422730 (OC) tuensAng: 8414853766 (O) 9856163601 (OC) mon: 03869-251222/ 101 (O) 9862130954 (OC) kiphire: 8414853767 (O) 9436261577 (OC) peren: 7085189932 (O) 9856311205 (OC) longleng: 7085924113 (O) 9862414264 (OC) we4 women helpline 08822911011 WOMEN helpline 181 CHiLD welfAre Committee Toll free No. 1098 childline
MOKOKCHUNG
std code: 0369
police station 1 police station 2 police station kobulong police station tuli police station Changtongya police station mangkolemba Civil hospital
9485232688 9485232689 9485232690 9485232693 9485232694 9485232695 2226216
woodland nursing home
2226263
hotel metsüpen (tourist lodge) 2226373/ 2229343
CURRENCY NOTES buy (rs) sell (rs)
us dollars sterling pound hong kong dollar Australian dollar singapore dollar Canadian dollar Japanese yen euro thai baht korean won uAe dirham (Aed) Chinese yuan
62.66 80.71 7.79 46.29 44.75 45.83 54.86 69.18 1.76 0.0542 16.51 8.8
65.48 84.62 8.67 48.57 46.93 48.07 57.94 72.53 1.96 0.0604 18.39 9.81
thursday 18•05•2017
NAGALAND
Agri dept distributes power tillers Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): The Department of Agriculture Nagaland distributed farm machinery power tillers to 38 progressive farmers of the State for free on Tuesday at a power tiller distribution programme under Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanisation 201617 at Central store Dimapur with Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Y.M. Yollow Konyak as the chief guest. Agriculture is the most important economic activity for a State like Nagaland which has been practising farming for time immemorial; however each time there is economic blockade in Assam, Nagas start to panic because we are mostly dependent on their resource which es-
tablishes the lackadaisical attitude of Naga people, Yollow opined while addressing the farmers and Agriculture department officials present. Government of India can bring in various schemes and initiative for farmers but if they are not availed, than we should change according to the convenience of local farmers and study on the convenience and technical problems faced by the farming community, the Parliamentary Secretary stated and added that with the advancement in technology, the practice of farming has changed and local farmers too have to advance accordingly. Yollow further persuaded the farmers and the department to work to-
Kezoma Village asks PHED for consultative meeting Kohima, may 17 (mExN): The Kezoma Village Council has asked the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) to hold a consultative meeting with the village to make an “agreement amendment” prior to the inauguration of the Kohima water supply project “in order to avoid hindrances by the future generation”. The Council in a press release informed that it had along with Mima Village unanimously made a consensus agreement with the state PHED on February 15, 2010 to bring Zarü (Dzüü) River water supply to Kohima. The signatories of the agreement with the PHED were: Neisakuo Mekro, Chairman Kezoma Village Council; Dusaho, Hd. GB Kezoma; Tsopi Rulu, Chairman Mima Village Council; and Vipfetso Shünyü, Hd. GB Mima. Expressing concern that the PHED department has been constructing the pumping mission and pipeline connection works and publishing on local dailies by acknowledging Mima Village as the "sole owner" of the Zarü (Dzüü) River, the Kezoma Village Council contended, “When the agreement was been made to that far and if things goes on that way, it may bring dissatisfaction on the side of both the villages.” Arguing that it had together with Mima Village Council and the concern Department made the agreement, the Council expressed trust that the department will not deprive them of their share of credit.
MEx FILE DoSE informs DEOs Kohima, may 17 (mExN): The Directorate of School Education has notified all concern District Education Officers, Nagaland to select and depute 14 Headmasters each from their concern districts to attend the 2-day School Leadership Development Programme organized by SCERT, Nagaland which is scheduled to be held on May 24 and 25 at SIEMAT, SCERT Kohima. The participants are requested to repost to the training venue by 9:00 am on May 24 for registration.
NLA Secretary informs Kohima, may 17 (mExN): The Commissioner & Secretary, Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat, N. Benjamin Newmai has informed with reference to the Advertisement NO:AS/ESTT/4/2014Pt/1204, Dated February 28, 2017 that the written examination for the post of Assistant Legal Officer, Legal Assistant, Assistant Transport Officer & Sound Assistant will be held on May 19, at NPSC Exam Hall at 10:00 am.
MEEtIngs & AppoIntMEnts
gether and uphold the ageold practise of agriculture which is the main source of income for the State. He also suggested the department that in case of natural calamities the department should take responsibility in providing relief to the farmers. Also observing the scenario of agriculture in the State, Yollow stated that he would assign respective District Agriculture Officers’ (DAO) to monitor diligent farmers and award them. In this regard, the Parliamentary Secretary asked DAO’s to map out necessary agri link road without practising bias for the progress of productive farming in the State. Agriculture Department Joint Director Helie Rupreo remarked that
State falls short of agriculture produce despite the reported 70% of Nagas being farmers. Nagas are into farming for self requirement and therefore we need to contemplate on venturing into marketing, viewed Rupreo. “The State’s agriculture system cannot be compared to other States and we should focus on marketing not only locally but globally,” he added. Farming has its convenient time and for that reason we need machineries, the Joint Director stated and added that it was for this reason the department under the Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanisation 2016-17 is providing free power tillers to farmers. Maintaining that the machines provided are ex-
pensive, he persuaded the farmers to make use of it productively and be self employed by imparting education to their community as well. Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, a 66-year old beneficiary who has been into farming for about 50 years accounted that farmers do not have ways to market their products and requested the department to initiate agri link roads for better feasibility of the farmers. Deputy Director Central Store Olem Jamir in his vote of thanks remarked that farmers are the responsibility of the agriculture department and informed that the maintenance cost of the power tillers provided will be borne by the department.
Provide smooth supply of power, NVCO Tseminyu Unit appeals TsEmiNyu, may 17 (mExN): The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers' Organization Tseminyu Unit (NVCOTU) has appealed the power department to deliver justice and provide smooth supply of power to the subdivision without any hiccups. In a press release, the NVCO Tseminyu Unit accused the power department Wokha division of meting out “step motherly treatment” to the people of Tseminyu Sub Division and questioned whether the department is “judiciously executing its duties”. The NVCO Tseminyu also reminded of the April 24 press statement wherein it had served a 10-day ultimatum to the State Power Department demanding immediate restoration of the damaged feeder transformer, transfer and posting of JE (Power) Tseminyu Sub Division and installation of 1MVA transformer for Tseminyu Town. While informing that the feeder transformer broke down on April 9, the unit alleged that the department did not even bother to lift the damaged transformer even after a lapse of 8 days though several appeals were made from different quarters. Narrating the sequence of events that fol-
lowed, the NVCO Tseminyu Unit stated that it arranged a vehicle on its own expenditure to carry the damaged transformer to central store Dimapur on the 9th day. To the utter surprise of the organization, the transformer was not unloaded making the vehicle to hold for a day for reasons “best known to the department”, it stated and added that the NVCOTU was left with no other option but to incur the extra expenditure. Consequently, the department restored the feeder transformer on May 3 which broke down two days later. Following this, the department again turned a “deaf ear” for 10 days. On the 11th day, the department responded and loaded the transformer down to central store Dimapur, it claimed. Insisting that electricity is one of the basic amenities of day to day modern life, the NVCO Tseminyu Unit questioned as to why the department is not serious towards the demands and appeals made by the people. “Are the NVCOTU in particular and the public in general the second class citizens where the department can do anything according to its whims and fancies keeping aside the genuine appeals and demands?” it added.
Wokha Commercial Vehicles not to pay tax to NPGs ACVA Wokha celebrates 3rd Foundation Day WoKha, may 17 (mExN): The All Commercial Vehicle Association (ACVA) Wokha celebrated its 3rd Foundation Day today on the theme “Each endeavoring, all achieving” at the Lotha Tribal Council Hall. During the celebrations, the house unanimously resolved that it will stick strongly to its earlier slogan of “One Government One Tax”, a press release informed. “As a sign of solidarity the vehicles also conducted a rally from the public ground till IOC fuel station to Essar fuel station and gathered at the public ground,” the association informed. The house also passed four new resolutions wherein it stated that no Wokha bound Commercial vehicle driver or owner would pay tax to any of the Naga Political Groups
(NPG)/factions. “If any Wokha bound Commercial vehicle driver or owner is found paying tax to any of the NPG/ factions the same person shall be held fully responsible for all the commercial vehicles of the entire Wokha district,” the resolution stated. “In case of intimidation/ harassment meted to any of the office bearers, members or Vehicle of the ACVA Wokha district relating to taxation from any NPGs/ factions or individuals, the person/s concerned will be held totally responsible for the action,” it added. The resolution also warned ACVA drivers/owners from indulging in transporting of alcohol/ drugs or engaging in rash driving. “Anyone violating this order will be doing at their own risk and for which the association will not be held responsible,” the ACVA stated adding that it would rather give full support to the law enforcing
agencies. In this regard, surprise checking will be conducted on commercial vehicles whenever the situation demands and stern action will be initiated against defaulters, the association cautioned. The resolution further warned individuals to desist from collecting any form of tax or extortion from any of the ACVA vehicles. “If any person is found to be collecting any form of tax or extort from any of the ACVA vehicles the same shall be realized from the concerned extortionist and in case, if the concerned cannot be found the same amount shall be realized from the concerned family members/ parents,” the association warned. Meanwhile, a new team of office bearers was also elected on the occasion. The new team will be led by Y. Bankathung Lotha as President and C. Renbi Ngullie as General Secretary.
Nagaland signs 99-yr lease agreement for Hindi Institute Mokokchung DC informs applicants Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): The Central Institute of Hindi (CIH) Dimapur Centre held a convocation programme for Hindi teachers in service training course Praveen and Vishesh Gahan on May 15 at the institute premises in Half Nagarjan, Dimapur. Neposo Theluo, Secretary, School Education, Government of Nagaland, was the chief guest while Pollem Tep, Addl Director, DoSE was the guest of honour. According to a press release from the Regional Director of CIH Dr Bharat Singh Pamar, a 99-year agreement was signed during the programme between the Government of Nagaland and the Government of India allotting land to the Central Institute of Hindi, Agra by the Government of Nagaland. “It signifies that a great step has been taken for the development of Hindi language in the State,” the
to collect admit cards, calling letters
moKoKchuNg, may 17 (Dipr): Deputy Commissioner Mokokchung, Sushil Kumar Patel has informed all the applicants for the posts of LDA cum Computer Assistant/ Bench Assistant/Steno/DBs/House Keeper and Driver to collect their admit card and calling letter on all working days till May 25 from the DC’s office. Applicants have been informed to collect their Admit cards and Calling letters from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Applicants have also been informed to collect their admit card and calling letter on payment of Rs. 180 for LDA/Steno/Bench Asstt and Rs. 50 for DBs/House Keeper and Driver.
Kachari Hari condemns AR raids release stated and contended that besides Nagaland, the remaining North Eastern states will also be “benefitted” through the institute. It further informed that the DoSE made an appeal to the Di-
rector of Central Institute of Hindi, Agra, Prof Nand Kishore Pandey to approach the Central Government for speedy building construction so that a large number of untrained Hindi teachers could be trained.
Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): The Kachari Hari (Community) of Purana Bazaar ‘B’ has condemned in the “strongest terms” the searches carried out by troops of 32 Assam Rifles on the residences of Pastor of Sumi Baptist Church, Purana Bazaar ‘B’ and Kilonser, Toivi Aye, Steering Committee Member of NSCN (IM) on May 13 at Purana Bazaar ‘B’. “At a time when ceasefire is in force and peace is prevailing, the despicable act of the AR troops in intruding into homes
at forbidden hours as early as 3 am has created fear psychosis and caused negative psychological impact on the innocent children and families not only of the two homes but their surroundings too,” the Kachari Hari stated in a press release. Informing that Aye was taken into custody by the 32 AR and later forwarded to police custody even as no incriminating documents were found in his residence, the Kachari Hari demanded his “unconditional release”.
Trinity School Kohima awards HSLC topper PDLSA conducts essay competition Kohima, may 17 (mExN): Trinity School, Kohima, held a Felicitation Programme for HSLC 2017 Batch on May 13 at the School Auditorium during which it awarded school topper Tonpha Luklem, who secured the Top 19th (a) Position in the HSLC Examination 2017, with a Meritorious Certificate and cash of Rs. 20,000. The School achieved 100%
percent with all the 29 students successfully passing out. All the passed out students were felicitated and presented with a memento each, a press release informed. Two alumni of the School, Roseline Pojar (HSSLC Arts Top 4) and Azhove Tetso (HSSLC Science Top 3) were also felicitated on the occasion.
The programme also witnessed the formation of Trinity School Alumni Association (TSAA). A short briefing was given by the Headmaster, Matthew Tsathong, while, Kezhano, Supervisor, officially declared the Association’s first ever Office Bearers. The association will be led by Kesino Thorie as President and Mudosii Swuro as General Secretary.
Assam Rifles conducts medical camp
34th RTA Conference The Rengma Theological Association is set to hold its 34th Conference at Dimapur Rengma Baptist Church from May 19 to 21 under the Theme "The truth will set you free (John 8:32)" as a part of its support to the Clean Election Campaign started by NBCC. A press release from the RTA informing this invited all its members to attend the conference.
Litsami Planning Board Litsami Local Planning Board has convened a meeting with regard to the 6th Triennial General Conference SBAK, Aizuto on May 20, 9:00 am at Litsami Church compound. All the local planning board members are requested to attend the meeting without fail.
Nagaland Chief Minister, Dr Shürhozelie Liezietsu, accompanied by MP Rajya Sabha, KG Kenye called on Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism and Cultural Ministry, Dr. Mahesh Sharma and raised the issue of shortage of accommodation facilities for tourists in the State and considering the growing global popularity of the annual Hornbill Festival and the increasing number of tourists every year to the State, asked the Union Minister to assist the State to which the latter, acknowledging the points and necessities stated by the Chief Minister, assured all assistance as requested to make Nagaland a tourist destination throughout the year and not only during Hornbill Festival.
pErEN, may 17 (mExN): The 36 Assam Rifles conducted a Medical Camp at Ntu village, Peren District on May 16. During the conduct of the event, a team of Assam Rifles medical staff provided treatment and medicines to a total of 45 locals of Ntu and
neighbouring villages, a defence release informed. In addition, locals were also educated upon importance of vaccination, health & hygiene and common first aid methods, the release added.
NSUA informs students, parents Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): The Naga Students’ Union Allahabad has in a press release offered its services to Naga students and parents seeking help for admission at the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS) which will begin from July 4 onwards and to all Naga students seeking admissions in and around Allahabad. For any help or query, one may contact its President Rhontsuthung L. Odyuo @ 7071002460 or General Secretary Tangit Longkumer @ 7379929684.
PDLSA team with participants of the essay competition.
pErEN, may 17 (mExN): Peren District Legal Services Authority (PDLSA) conducted essay competition on the topic “Right to Education” at Government High School Athibung on May 17. Out of the many participants, Seigoulen Haokip bagged the first position while Rosita Kujur and Phaleneichong secured second and third positions respectively. As part of the legal awareness program, Somet C Chang, Chief Judicial Magistrate Peren highlighted the need for legal awareness especially among the young students and also encouraged the participants to be vigilant about their rights and responsibilities towards their
duties. Advocate Asumbe, PDLSA Retainer Lawyer cum member Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) Peren spoke on the juvenile justice system and the importance of education as a compulsory right for the young participants. Italang, Government Pleader, spoke on the functions and duties of the District legal service authority, para legal volunteers and the means to avail free legal aid. The programme concluded with vote of thanks by Robert, teaching staff of the Athibung Government High School and Hangsing, Para Legal Volunteer Athibung town.
6
Thursday 18•05 •2017
IN FOCUS
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
The Power of Truth
The Morung Express volume Xii issue 134 By Aheli moitra
‘Eastern Nagaland is not a waste bin’
I
f you pile the east up with rotting infrastructure, does that still count as ‘Act East’ Policy? The Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU) is a body that monitors the welfare and development of the college students’ (higher education) community in the eastern districts of Nagaland State, namely, Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire and Longleng. In March this year, it launched an initiative to tour all the government colleges in the eastern districts to learn of their educational and infrastructural status. Their report revealed, along with photographic evidence, that the four colleges in the eastern region– Sao Chang College, Tuensang; Yingli College, Longleng; Wangkhao College, Mon; and Zisaji Presidency College, Kiphire—are all in various stages of break down. Two colleges were operating without a principal (later placed but found absent from duty). One college was conducting classes in a hut and though it had a new college building (built without water or electricity connection), there was no bus to ply students to it! Another college building was found on the brink of collapse. Earlier this week, the ENCSU reiterated some of the findings—whole departments are being run by just one teacher in some of the colleges. Moreover, teaching staff is not regular in their attendance at the colleges. Syllabus is, thus, not always completed and examinations become a futile exercise. The students’ welfare body has now demanded that either the government remedy the situation or face protests next semester onwards. The Government of Nagaland has responded with its usual line of blaming the situation on bureaucratic and financial hurdles. Agitated, the ENCSU stated, “Eastern Nagaland is not a waste bin for the Government of Nagaland.” The ENCSU has done a commendable job by highlighting the condition of higher education in the eastern areas thereby underlining how Kohima’s discrimination of the region continues. Many Nagaland State Government employees, whether teachers, doctors or otherwise, consider a job in the eastern districts as “punishment posting” and inevitably it is the eastern districts that face the brunt of any bureaucratic and financial hurdle that the government undergoes. This is the discrimination that eastern Nagaland’s civil society organizations have been hinting at. The recently declared HSLC (Class X) and HSSLC (Class XII) results further exemplify the point. Government schools from the eastern districts showed abysmal results for much the same reasons—lack of teachers and infrastructure. Healthcare meets a similar fate. 21 villages of Chessore area in Tuensang district reported in the end of April how its only primary healthcare facility is being run from the doctors’ quarters and medical staff remains unavailable. Given the condition of roads, people are further cut off from living a long, healthy and productive life. As we inch closer towards the 54th year of Nagaland being a State, we are yet to see if these are deliberate attempts to undermine the people or is it a mega failure of the Act East Policy? Thoughts may be sent to moitramail@yahoo.com
lEfT WING |
Gaither Stewart Countercurrents.org
Left Liberals & Counter-History
I
read a Facebook post by an American Liberal comparing the refusal of the French Far-Leftist Jean-Luc Melanchon to choose between Emmanuel Macron and the rightist Marine Le Pen as President of France to the Left’s rejection of the German Social Democrats on the eve of WWI, resulting, ultimately, in the emergence of Naziism. He cited other similar cases where Communists of the 1920s and 1930s who refused to distinguish between the far right and those “insufficiently to the left”, ie. Social Democrats, thus paving the way for the fascist right and the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. He cites also the case of Fausto Bertinotti in Italy who withdrew his support for the centerleft government of Romano Prodi and paved the road for the disastrous return to power in Rome of Silvio Berlusconi. This indeed sad history is compared to the choice (nonchoice) between Clinton and Trump. And thus the nightmare of Trump in the White House. I jettison such reasoning. There are many counter arguments. For example: it was not the fault of German Communists that Social Democrats, liberal and no less imperialist than the Right, supported the ultimately enthusiastic German role in World War I, in the aftermath of which Hitler, “the greatest evil of the century”, emerged. Nor did Communists dictate the Versailles treaties at war’s end that impoverished a barely defeated Germany, Europe’s major power. An imperialist Germany, yes, but no more than imperialist though then disintegrating British empire … and a sissified France living beyond its means on the backs of its poor and exploited colonies worldwide. I believe that in the minds of many remains the greatest doubt of what evil they personally have contributed to doing to America in the election of Trump: especially in the minds of those who voted for Trump; in the minds of those who voted for Clinton; and in the minds of those who didn’t vote or perhaps never vote. I belong to the last category. Anti-political? No! I simply don’t want either. Anarchy? Somewhat, yes. So what remains for those Americans who wanted neither candidate? First of all, there remains the outstanding accusation against the national committees of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Both are guilty in equal measure. But that is neither by now here nor there. The problem is at the base of the superstructure. CAPITALISM. Lenin repeats: What is to be done? The answer to his question today must be: The base must go. As Eric Schechter so succinctly publicizes with his placards and his writing: Capitalism is cruel. However, the thinking person adds: Ipso facto, capitalism itself must go onto the trash pile of history. Not only anarchists warn that the crash of this financial-economic-political system is near. Therefore the thinking person must intuit that the system must be overturned. Was Germany not utterly destroyed after the Nazi experiment? Italy devastated? Today America stands in line. Trump may be the last chance for the “great American revolution” that has never been.
C O M M E N T A R Y
Matt Eaton Asia Times
Bare essentials: Canadian raises profile of Burmese combat sport
“I see lethwei doing for Myanmar what muay Thai has done for Thailand,” says 25-year-old Dave Leduc
Bigmouth strikes again
MMA the real winner in a bout that had little to do with honor Pedro Chan
A
N
ext month, Dave Leduc will step inside a ring in Tokyo to do something few combat sports professionals around the world are prepared to do. “The Nomad,” as he is known to a growing legion of loyal fans, will face Thai-based American fighter Cyrus Washington in the traditional Burmese form of full contact, bare-knuckle fighting called lethwei that attracts purists of the unarmed combat sports world. Canadian expatriate Dave Leduc (left) in action. Next month, Dave Leduc will step inside a ring in Tokyo to do something few combat sports professionals around the world are prepared to do. “The Nomad,” as he is known to a growing legion of loyal fans, will face Thai-based American fighter Cyrus Washington in the traditional Burmese form of full contact, bare-knuckle fighting called lethwei that attracts purists of the unarmed combat sports world. Lethwei differentiates itself from other martial arts around the region such as muay Thai from Thailand or kun Khmer from Cambodia, simply by its raw nature – and its lack of gloves, headgear and other protective equipment. As the bouts begin, opponents, with their fists wrapped in nothing but cloth, go at it until one person is either knocked out cold or unable to continue fighting. Its brutality, and the fact that headbutts are encouraged, hark back to ancient times, but the sport of lethwei, like Myanmar itself, is experiencing a resurgence. “This is a new era of striking sports,” the 25-year-old Leduc said ahead of his championship bout, which will be part of the Lethwei in Japan 4: Frontier card at the Tokyo Dome City on June 16. “The sport is already transcending borders and Japan is just the beginning.” While there are moves to modernize the image of lethwei, with the inclusion of a points system, judges and even ring girls, Leduc remains a traditionalist.
Earlier this year he turned down an opportunity to participate in the first World Lethwei Championship (WLC) event in Yangon simply for this reason. WLC 1 saw local greats Tun Tun Min and Too Too go up against top international fighters Nicholas Carter and Eddie Farrell, but included a few (just a few) rules to attract a wider audience. “The whole selling point of lethwei is a no points system and the only way to win is via knockout,” Leduc says. “In my opinion if you use a points system, it becomes like muay Thai or submission wrestling. In lethwei you shoot for the KO. A lot of Burmese people want to keep the traditional style. I want to do my part to keep that alive.” So just how does a seemingly normal, successful business owner from Canada wind up in Southeast Asia fighting bare-knuckle Burmese boxing? It’s a radically different life from the one he was living just a few years ago. Leduc has been a long-time student of martial arts, studying sanshou and jeet kune do under sifu Patrick Marcil. In 2013, he made a trip to Thailand, landing at Tiger Muay Thai, where he took a last-minute fight and won. That led to several more, including a notorious Bangkok prison fight in 2014 where he secured a rare win. “It was really controversial. I was up against a drug dealer who had a 10-year sentence. We were inside the courtyard of the actual prison, which does not happen anymore,” says Leduc. Back at home in Quebec, Leduc was the manager of a club and owned his own limousine company, but in 2016 he decided to sell up and make the permanent move to Thailand. “It was the best thing I’ve ever done,” he says. “I met the woman of my dreams and it’s the first time in my life I have been able to live and breathe my passion.” Preparation for fighting lethwei is as unique as the sport itself. “We have this drill called the warrior cry or scream of the warrior, where
Asia Times
great philosopher once said that everybody has a plan. Until they get punched in the face. The world was left to wonder whether Wei Lei had ever heard these words. The self-proclaimed tai chi master’s own plan was to defeat selfproclaimed mixed martial artist Xu Xiaodong in a bout at the start of the month. It lasted all of 10 or so seconds and the bloody state of Wei’s mush by its end showed exactly where that plan went. In the weeks since, the internet has been ablaze across China, fueled by a “traditional martial arts versus modern combat” debate that is, in reality, a nonsense. This fight was a piece of sideshow freakery, staged between two shameless self-promoters in an effort to further their personal causes. It was little wonder former pro wrestling star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson didn’t appear from nowhere and hand Xu a can of his patented Whoop-Ass – or a chair – such was the distance between what the world watched and anything remotely resembling real sport. That it was hijacked in some quarters by a misguided sense of nationalism speaks volumes about the collective outrage the world seems to exist in these days. Seems we all just have to get angry, each day, about something. Xu has continued to beat his own drum like a teenager locked in his bedroom, calling out any “traditional” martial artists. The powers that be in China acted like any wise parent. They just turned out the light. And so Xu has been sealed off from the world, with his Weibo and WeChat accounts cut. But what’s great for fight fans about all this is that it took one of China’s real sporting stars to put it all into perspective. “Even though Xu Xiaodong is not a really professional MMA artist, that fight has really helped to spread MMA to those people who re-
we find a corner in the gym, get on our knees and scream as loud as we can. It looks a little crazy, but it works,” says Leduc. “You want to let the demons out, but you want to let them back in. You need to be an on-demand crazy animal in this sport.” Leduc, like the International Lethwei Federation, has big ambitions for the sport. Events are planned for New Zea-
ally don’t know about the sport,” said Wang Guan. “They now start to talk about it, learn about it and they start to learn about which is the biggest organization, which the UFC is.” Mixed martial arts is here to stay – as the rest of the world can attest – but it’s been struggling to make an impact across the mainland. Until now. Wang (aka The Dongbei Tiger) and Li “The Leech” Jingliang are now steeling themselves for battle at next month’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card in Singapore. The biggest game in the business returns to Asia on June 17 and the fact that there are two Chinese fighters on the card tells you all you need to know about the Las Vegas-based UFC’s future plans. Chinese fighters have of course long been a staple of Asian heavyweights such as the Singapore-based ONE Championship, but the UFC had been slow on the uptake. Not anymore. The 31-year-old Wang is reportedly a major talent – he carved his way through what was once known as the Shanghai-based Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF) to win its featherweight crown and carries a 151-1 record into his match-up against American Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Cacerea (12-10). Meanwhile, Li (12-4) is on a twofight winning streak and has signed a four-fight deal as he looks to climb the UFC’s welterweight rankings. He should, by rites, be too good for American-Canadian Jonathan “The French Spider” Meunier (8-1). These guys are where the real action is. And they both know it, judged by the confidence they have in their ability – and role they have to play in the sport further down the road. “In China I have had a pretty huge career, big events, big TV numbers,” said Wang. “So I am bringing MMA fans, but also the public who like to watch my fights. I will bring my fan base to the UFC. “MMA in China is just building, it’s growing. It still needs some time as it doesn’t have much history behind it.” land later this year and fighters from as far afield as France and Canada are being recruited to test their mettle against Asia’s best. “I have so much vision for this sport. I see lethwei doing for Myanmar what muay Thai has done for Thailand,” says Leduc. Matt Eaton is managing editor of The Fight Nation
World lags behind on Clean Energy Goals stephen leahy
I
Inter Press Service
t may be the 21st century but more than three billion people still use fire for cooking and heating. Of those, one billion people have no access to electricity despite a global effort launched at the 2011 Vienna Energy Forum to bring electricity to everyone on the planet. “We are not on track to meet our goal of universal access by 2030, which is also the Sustainable Development Goal for energy,” said Rachel Kyte, CEO for Sustainable Energy for All and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General. “We must all go further, faster—together,” Kyte told more than 1500 delegates and government ministers at the 2017 version of the biannual Vienna Energy Forum this week, organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Kyte reminded everyone that the 2015 Sustainable Development Goal for energy (SDG 7) was a unanimous promise to bring decarbonized, decentralized energy to everyone and that this would transform the world bringing “clean air, new jobs, warm schools, clean buses, pumped water and better yields of nutritious food”. Moreover, to prevent catastrophic climate change the world committed to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 under the 2015 Paris Agreement, she said. “Why are we not moving more quickly?” At the current pace in 2030 there
will still be one person in ten without electricity, according to the Global Tracking Framework 2017 report. Most of those people will be in Africa. In Chad, Niger, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo only one person in ten currently has access and this is falling as populations increase, said Elisa Portale , an energy economist at the World Bank who presented the report’s findings. Although renewable energy like solar and wind gets a great deal of press and attention, the world is failing to meet the SDG target of decarbonizing 36 percent the global energy system and will only get to 21 percent by 2030. Currently it is about 18 percent since renewables include hydropower and biomass. A few countries managed to increase their renewable share by 1 percent per year but some others like Canada and Brazil are actually going backwards, she said. Decarbonizing electricity is going much faster than decarbonizing energy for heating and for transportation, which is seen to be more challenging. Improvements in energy efficiency are also far behind. Investment in energy efficiency needs to increase by a factor of 3 to 6 from the current 250 billion dollars a year in order to reach the 2030 objective, the report concluded. The biggest failure the Global Tracking Framework revealed was that
the current number of people still using traditional, solid fuels to cook increased slightly since 2011 to 3.04 billion. Those fuels are responsible for deadly levels of indoor air pollution that shorten the lives of tens of millions and kill four million, mainly children, every year according to the World Health Organization. This seems to be a low priority and by 2030 only 72 percent of the world will be using clean cooking fuels, said Portale. In other words, 2.5 billion people – mostly in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa – will still be burning wood, charcoal or dung to cook their foods. Clean cooking is not a priority for most governments although Indonesia is doing quite well, said Vivien Foster, Global Lead for Energy Economics, Markets & Institutions, The World Bank. “Indoor air pollution has a bigger health impact than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined,” Foster told IPS. One reason clean cooking is a low priority is that men are largely the decisions makers in governments and at the household level and they often are not involved in cooking. Environmental health issues generally get far less attention from governments she said. “Sadly, it’s often mobile phones before toilets,” Foster said. However, the situation in India is dramatically different. Green energy – decarbonized, de-
WRITE-WING
centralized energy — is no longer expensive or difficult. It is also the most suitable form of energy for developing nations because both access and benefits can come very quickly, said Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Energy. Access to clean liquid propane gas (LPG) for cooking has increased 33 percent in the last three years, which is about 190 million homes. In the last year alone 20 million of the poorest of the poor received LPG for free, Goyal told IPS. Although millions have no connection to electricity, Goyal said it was his personal belief this will no longer be the case by 2019, three years before India’s 2022 target. “Prime Minister Modi is completely committed to universal access,” he said. “He grew up poor. He knows what it is like to not have electrical power.” India is adding 160 gigawatt (GW) of wind and solar by 2022 and it may beat that target too as the cost of solar and wind are well below coal, the country’s main source of energy. The US currently has just over 100 (GW) in total. One GW can power 100 million LED lightbulbs used in homes. On the energy efficiency front, India is also closing in on a target of replacing all of its lighting with LEDs, saving tens of millions in energy costs and reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 80 million tonnes annually. “We are doing this even if no one else is. We have a big role to play in the fight against climate change,” Goyal said.
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.
thursday 18•05•2017
PERSPECTIVE
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
7
It’s Good to Be the Tatmadaw Formerly a global pariah, the Burmese military now enjoys a growing embrace by the West and public support at home Ben Dunant The Diplomat
B
urmese moviegoers were given a special treat this year for the long weekend preceding Armed Forces Day. On Friday, March 24, one of the most lavishly produced Burmese films to date — a battlefield epic called Pyidaungsu Thitsar (“Union Loyalty”) — was released in cinemas. Audiences were invited to revel in the heroism of the military, known in Burmese as the Tatmadaw, as they wage grim, mudsplattered campaigns in the mountainous borderlands. In this harsh terrain, ethnic minorities continue to take up arms against the Union government in spite of a peace process, launched in 2011, that has attracted Western funding and support. Such cinematic offerings are not unusual, courtesy of an informal Tatmadaw arts budget enabled by the military’s control of a decisive chunk of the economy of Myanmar, the Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma. Each year on Armed Forces Day, March 27, TV and cinema schedules are given over to fresh portrayals of military daring. Meanwhile, in the real world, the commander-inchief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is cutting a confident figure. On April 22, at the invitation of the German military, he embarked on a “goodwill” visit to Germany, with his wife and senior officers at his side. En route, the senior general stopped in Austria, where he was received with an honor guard and dined with the Austrian military chief. The institution Ming Aung Hlaing helms developed under Japanese mentorship during World War II. It dominated Burmese politics and society for a duration and to an extent rare among even the most ruthless military dictatorships. Following a coup by General Ne Win in 1962, the Tatmadaw hollowed out all rival institutions — from the judiciary to the school system — developed during British rule or in the fragile years of multi-party democracy following independence in 1948. Its human rights record is among the worst in the world: the use of rape as a weapon of war and the mass recruitment of child soldiers have been documented at length. In 2011, the Tatmadaw began a carefully managed liberalization, which resulted in an overwhelming victory for the longstanding opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in an internationally celebrated election in 2015. The party — led by, and now synonymous with, Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Aung San — repeated its landslide win from the 1990 election, whose results were dismissed by the military government, opening the door to a new 20-year chapter in repression. The euphoria after the 2015 election was palpable: Burmese from across the fractured social spectrum felt their country was being restored to them. The grueling work ahead, to rebuild Myanmar’s degraded institutions and foster a semblance of public trust in government, was momentarily brushed aside — as was the lack of any discernible NLD policy, beyond a broad, undeniably resonant messages of “change.” The Statesman Abroad In his early 60s, Min Aung Hlaing is among the younger members of Myanmar’s governing class, now split between the elected government, helmed by 71-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, and the military. The latter controls the ministries of home, defense, and border affairs, and takes a quarter of all seats in parliament.
Myanmar's General Min Aung Hlaing takes part in a parade to mark the 72nd Armed Forces Day in the capital of Naypyitaw (March 27, 2017).
Suu Kyi, disallowed from holding the presidency, holds the prime ministerial position of state counselor. The actual president, long-time Suu Kyi confidante Htin Kyaw, aged 70, was caricatured as a “puppet president” at the time of his inauguration in March last year. But even this overshot the terms of his role: giving speeches at second tier national events and making the foreign trips that Suu Kyi is too busy to make herself. Meanwhile, the military maintains its “guiding role” in the nation’s politics, and full sovereignty over its own affairs, as stipulated in the 2008 Constitution, pushed through in a referendum held in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone and slammed internationally as fraudulent. This has proved to be a millstone around Myanmar’s democratic development. Although the military’s proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), was humiliatingly defeated in the 2015 polls, the power of the military still descends into every corner of society, since the police and the entire local government apparatus remain under the home affairs ministry. Its grip was felt keenly when the government was formed in March last year. The military put forward Myint Swe as vice president — a choice the NLD was unable to veto. The retired lieutenant general and former intelligence chief is notorious for heading a brutal crackdown on democracy activists after the monk-led protests of 2007, known as the Saffron Revolution. Myanmar ’s previous military rulers were marked by their international isolation — enjoying warmer relations with Pyongyang than with Washington — and could be parochially minded in the extreme. Min Aung Hlaing, however, has been able to burnish his image as a Burmese statesman abroad, hobnobbing with EU military chiefs. U.S. and EU policymakers acknowledge that the Tatmadaw is the most powerful institution in the country — and keeper of the keys to further democratization, through constitutional amendments that it can singlehandedly veto. Therefore, the logic goes, the Tatmadaw should be engaged in a similar way to its former civilian proxies in the USDP government of President Thein Sein, whose term ran 2011-16. After 2012, the more sweeping sanctions began to be lifted and Western nations started re-opening embassies in the country. Enhanced relations with civilian authorities and the provision of aid and technical assistance helped realize Myanmar’s first credible election in a generation, in 2015. Might not a similar charm offensive persuade the military to drop their old authoritarian habits? Hearts and Minds cautious and limited so far, the policy of direct engagement could transform the legitimacy the Tatmadaw enjoys, internationally as well as domestically. Yet the dividends in terms of more “professional” conduct, adherence to global humanitarian norms, and acceptance of greater civilian oversight, are uncertain at best. In a speech before the
assembled brass of the European Union Military Committee in November last year, Min Aung Hlaing put on a less than encouraging performance. He praised Myanmar’s constitution, specifically for the balance it sets between military and civilian authorities in frontline governance. At the event in Brussels, he doubled down on the stance that the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, resident in Rakhine State by the Bangladesh border, were “not included” in Myanmar’s multiethnic yet strictly bounded national community: a designation that renders most Rohingya stateless, in breach of international law. The senior general then left for Italy, where he toured the premises of the ARIS and Leonardo companies, purveyors of armored vehicles and fighter jets. Myanmar is still subject to an arms embargo from the EU and the United States; the former’s was renewed at the end of April. For “lethal” assistance, Myanmar is turning to sellers such as Israel, with whom they signed a defense deal in late 2015, and Pakistan, with whom they are negotiating to license-build JF-17 fighter jets. The Tatmadaw is moving away from 20 years of overreliance on China, which supplied jets that routinely incinerated their Burmese pilots. Britain, meanwhile, has been leading the Western advance on the hearts and minds of the Tatmadaw. Starting in early 2014, the U.K. Defense Academy has run two-week courses for Tatmadaw officers in Myanmar, with sessions on humanitarian law, the recruitment of child soldiers, and “democratic control of the armed forces.” Senior Tatmadaw officers have since been flown over to join the annual intake of the Defense Academy in Oxfordshire, where, outside of workshops on human rights in conflict, participants are taken on trips to Warwick Castle or are at leisure to enjoy the academy’s heated outdoor swimming pool and 18hole golf course. The latter is likely to go down well: the spread of army bases across the far corners of Myanmar has gone handin-hand with the construction of golf courses. But while EU military chiefs have been putting on banquets for Myanmar’s senior generals, the United States has stayed shy of wooing the Tatmadaw directly — although not for want of desire from some corners of the American military establishment. In a June 2012 meeting of Asian defense chiefs, then-U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the American government’s interest in pursuing a military-tomilitary relationship with the Tatmadaw, reviving ties that had been ditched with the imposition of U.S. sanctions in the 1990s. Certain U.S. domestic legal hurdles have cooled this pursuit — for instance, the onerous reporting requirements contained in the National Defense Authorization Act — and an influential collection of congressmen with friendly links to the exiled Burmese democracy movement remain apprehensive. But as Myanmar
continues to slide down the global human rights agenda, the path could be cleared — depending on the abrupt whims of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Following a direct request from Suu Kyi during her trip to Washington DC in September last year, the remaining U.S. economic sanctions were lifted in recognition of “substantial advances to promote democracy.” Only sanctions targeted at alleged drug kingpins and the arms embargo remained in place. Yet U.S. engagement with the Tatmadaw has not moved beyond a handful of training workshops on professional conduct and visits by mid- to high-ranking officers. Burmese soldiers have not been invited to the United States’ flagship educational initiative aimed at the militaries of friendly nations, the International Military Education and Training program. In lieu of more direct ties, the United States has made some efforts to draw the Tatmadaw into its broader security alliance in Southeast Asia. In 2013, Myanmar participated for the first time, as an observer, in the U.S.-led Cobra Gold military exercise in Thailand, featuring the forces of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, among other nations. In December last year, U.S. Army Pacific organized a disaster preparedness workshop in Myanmar under the Lower Mekong Initiative. The motive underlying the greater part of this regional alliance building is a desire to counter China. Veteran Myanmar scholar David Steinberg told the Yangon-based Irrawaddy news outlet last year that American policy in the Asia Pacific “has been a constant for about 150 years: to prevent the rise of any hegemonic power in the region.” Civilian Aid As 10,000 saluting soldiers marched up and down the parade ground of Myanmar’s capital city Naypyidaw, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing laid out the priorities of the Tatmadaw — and therefore, of the Myanmar nation — in his annual Armed Forces Day address. Chief among them was military modernization: equipping Myanmar for “21st century modern warfare,” with all the smart hardware and imported technical expertise that this requires. Addressing European military chiefs in Brussels in November, he spoke of his dream of building a “standard army” — namely, overhauling a bloated structure hobbled by obsolete equipment and high desertion rates. Increased tutoring from the West in professional conduct aligns well with this dream, as does better access to the international arms market. Advanced weapons systems may be expensive, but the NLD has yet to challenge the Tatmadaw’s outsized haul of the nation’s finances. In March this year, the NLD government passed its first annual budget, whose contents were enough to sober anyone still searching for signs of a radical agenda. At almost 14 percent (up from last year), the defense budget amounts to more than the health and education budgets combined — sectors where
ambitious reform plans continue to stumble from lack of investment, breeding the prospect of further generations lost to lives of low-paid labor and preventable illness. For the Tatmadaw, another cause for cheer over the last year has been the cooperation received from a long-time adversary. Since military members of parliament accused the NLD of “democratic bullying” over the creation of her state counselor position in April last year, Aung San Suu Kyi has chosen to play nice with her former jailers. As the Tatmadaw stepped up offenses in far northern Myanmar against the Kachin Independence Army in the latter half of last year, Suu Kyi remained silent, infuriating members of the Kachin public who had largely voted for her party in 2015. More alarming is the manner in which the state media, whose officers report up to the president — and therefore to Suu Kyi — via an NLD-installed information minister, has provided crucial cover for the Tatmadaw in its recent “clearance operations” in northern Rakhine State by running a propaganda campaign reminiscent of the days of full military rule. After militants claiming to represent the persecuted Rohingya mounted deadly raids on police posts near the Bangladesh border in October last year, the Myanmar army sealed off the border townships in a months-long hunt for perpetrators. Save for a handful of dubious guided tours, aid workers and foreign journalists have largely been barred. More than 70,000 Rohingya fled into Bangladesh, telling of reprisal killings and gang rape by the Tatmadaw. Meanwhile, state-run papers met a mounting body of evidence from human rights groups and international media with flat denials. In one move, the state counselor’s official Facebook account posted a banner reading “fake rape.” However, on this one issue, Suu Kyi is not privileging relations with the military over the Burmese public, or expending any of her political capital as a popular icon. Quite the opposite: on the Rohingya, and on the “threat” they pose to Myanmar’s sovereignty as presumed illegal settlers, the military and the wider public find themselves blissfully aligned. Myanmar’s military rulers have demonized the Rohingya over decades, stoking anti-immigrant hatred with roots in the British colonial era, when hundreds of thousands migrated from India to Burma across an open border. Although colonial records suggest many Rohingya are descended from 19th century economic migrants from Bengal, Muslims of eclectic origins have lived along the Rakhine coast for most of the last millennium. Today, the Islamic culture of the Rohingya is cast as incompatible with Buddhist-majority Myanmar, their allegedly higher birth rates a demographic threat, and Rohingya men a danger to Buddhist women; a wave of antiRohingya violence in 2012 was sparked by a rape accusation. Since 2012, a monk-led Buddhist nationalist movement has warned against a possible “Islamization” of Myanmar, and spread hatred on social media. Even from the perspective of ethnic minority communities such as the Kachin and Shan, who have also suffered under decades of Tatmadaw brutality and an exclusionary state structure, the Rohingya remain definitively outside of the national community. They are widely labeled “Bengalis,” to impute foreign origins. Even the more progressive domestic news outlets in Myanmar, known for their opposition to
military rule, refuse to call them “Rohingya.” A campaign against the Rohingya is therefore the most patriotic of fights. Since the army sweep began in northern Rakhine State, a surge of support for the Tatmadaw has been visible on social media, in particular Facebook — one of the very few, albeit skewed, proxies of public opinion in Myanmar at a time of surging internet access. A Skyful of Lies There have been growing international demands for an independent inquiry into alleged military atrocities in Rakhine State. On March 24, the United Nations Human Rights Council elected to send a “fact-finding mission” to Myanmar. The foreign ministry, which Suu Kyi controls, promptly rejected the proposed mission, saying it would “do more to inflame, rather than resolve the issues at this time.” The brutal counterinsurgency campaign in Rakhine State, and the cultivating of public support, has become a shared endeavor between the military and civilian branches of government — and a site of trust building between the two. In an April interview with the Reuters news agency, the NLD-appointed information minister said the October attacks on police posts were “like 9/11 in America.” Abetted by crude propaganda from state media organs — which at one point ran travel features on the bucolic delights of northern Rakhine State, with its gentle streams and verdant rice fields — the recent crisis has also cemented distrust among the Burmese public toward international media for its focus on the plight of the Rohingya. Regular targets of opprobrium are outlets, such as the BBC and Voice of America, that were once prized by Burmese dissidents during the days of blanket media censorship. The generals spent decades denouncing these agencies as the “Skyful of Lies”; now a civilian government made up of former dissidents seems to have taken up the baton, and brought the public along with them. Meanwhile, kitsch trappings of military authoritarianism are still seen across the country: bright red signboards exhort citizens to be resolute against internal and external “destructive elements.” The continuation of Myanmar’s intrusive surveillance apparatus — in the form of Special Branch, a plainclothes police bureau that answers to the military via the Home Affairs Ministry — is seldom talked about. Special Branch officers routinely trail political activists and trample freely over the private lives of ordinary citizens. Min Aung Hlaing has said that any loosening of the Tatmadaw armlock would not be countenanced until “internal peace” is achieved — passing the onus onto Suu Kyi to negotiate an end to more than 60 years of civil war with ethnic minority groups. Peace within the term of the current government is a very tall prospect. In November last year, an alliance of ethnicbased armies launched coordinated attacks on a string of towns by the Chinese border. While everything else is in flux, the position of the Tatmadaw in national affairs appears more stable than ever. Snug in its constitutional bunker, it can reap the fruits of improved foreign relations, a cooperative civilian government, solid public support for their crackdown on the Rohingya, and the increased revenue that comes with a rapidly growing economy. The taciturn senior general can afford a brief, complacent smile. Ben Dunant is a freelance journalist and analyst based in Myanmar.
Can a reformation really happen in Nagaland today?
W
hen an unresponsive government and its corrupt leaders reach beyond any hope of change or improvement, revolution could happen in the form of violent rebellion by the masses, leading to the overthrow of the government and sudden introduction of new systems. This is so because revolutionists operate on a whole and seek new directions. On the other hand, reformers operate on parts and seek gradual modifications with existing powers to transform society. If reformation is what the Nagas need at this point in time, where are our reformers? If we say we have reformers, to what degree should they arouse people’s hopes or fight for the rights and demands of the suffering masses? Should our reform leaders cooperate or even merge with existing parties, create new parties, or shun parties altogether and keep their position uncompromised? Should they press ahead on a single issue such as electoral reform or on a package of political, social, and economic issues? To be sure, there are no easy answers to these perplexing questions. But to fail to address them, or to do nothing, is worse. We have to, and must, address our unresolved issues, especially when moral principles are violated. In doing so, we may, like the British reformer Charles Grey, fail in our first attempt for reformation and then eventually succeed, or succeed first and then fail like what Woodrow Wilson experienced with his reformation movement in America. But either way, any reformation attempt can bring something positive. Reform leadership by definition implies moral leadership. That means reformers must not follow improper means in trying to achieve their goals. This being the case, those who seek to reform an unresponsive system often face a dilemma: whether or not to compromise some of their principles in order to get what they want. Then, there’s another problem reformers often face: the masses are not always driven by moral principles. Rather than supporting great principles, they look up to ‘powerful men’ with high-sounding titles. That is, they allow themselves to fall under the sway of dominant personalities, who represent all the very things they should oppose in the first place. So then, should reform start from the top down? Perhaps we can think of no better example of a noble-class reformer than that of Alexander II of Russia, the Great Liberator of the peasants. Like most noble reformers, Alexander believed that to reform was to preserve czarist autocracy and Russian nationalism. His view of initiating reform was clearly apparent in his address to the key leaders in his polity: “But, of course, you understand yourselves that the existing order from above cannot remain unchanged. It is better to begin to abolish bondage from above than to wait for the time when it will begin to abolish itself spontaneously from below.” As such, his reform from above was self-serving and thus superficial. No wonder the political, social, and economic situations of the general populace in Russia have not improved much even after more than a century later. The people are to be blamed, too. Even the radical groups within the masses, instead of organizing themselves to oppose the faulty system, are still linked with the government and, to some degree, dependent on it. As freedom-lovers, America has produced many great reformers in nearly four centuries. For example, Neal Dow pushed for Prohibition, Elizabeth C. Stanton for women’s rights, Horace Mann for better schools, W. L. Garrison for emancipation of slaves, Horace Greeley for free homesteads, Martin Luther King for civil rights, to name a few. These reformers were well aware of the political dilemma they faced, but they never gave up until their battles were eventually won. But how did they do it? For example, the abolitionist reformers in the 1840s exploited the rising discontent of the people, perfected group-movement tactics, organized third-party ventures, and even threw their weight into major party politics. And then in the 1850s, they turned to the most audacious of political strategies: the founding of a new political party that would challenge both the old parties and change the old political culture. In the end these abolitionist reformers helped produce the Republican Party on March 20, 1854, which defeated the Democrats and led to putting their own man, Abraham Lincoln, as President. Now, what can we say about Naga reformers and the causes they fight for amongst our people in Nagaland today? No doubt many of our men and women are already involved in some sort of movement(s) for reformation. For example, those in Survival Nagaland want our State government to check the uncontrolled influx of illegal migrants into our homeland, the Naga women want gender justice and a provision for women representation in decision-making bodies, the ENPO/ENSF want fair distribution of public resources and opportunities, the Zeliang Public Organization wants protection of their rights in their own land, the Nagaland Tribes Council wants government to give priority to the rights of Nagaland Nagas, the Teachers’ Union wants payment of their salary on time, the churches and associations want clean elections, the ACAUT wants a corruption-free government. Why is it, then, that none of these reform groups are getting what they want? In my opinion, there are two important missing pieces in their approaches: First, there is a no synergy amongst the various pressure groups, although they are all dealing with their own government. Each group is doing a soloperformance on a single issue. Secondly, none of them has come up with a viable political strategy or a general-interest mechanism to take things beyond simply creating political pressures or making loud noises. Only when a political party, whether old or new, has taken up the agenda of reform can there be a durable base to fall back on. That’s why reform groups must join their minds and efforts together to not only oppose the wrong systems but also to create new ones.
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
thursDAY 18•05•2017
INDIA
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
New era in hills: Mamata after civic poll win
KolKata, May 17 (IaNS): Upbeat after the ruling Trinamool Congress made impressive gains in the civic polls in the West Bengal hills, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said a new era has started in the region after decades. For the first time, the Trinamool managed to break the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's decade-long monopoly over the hills, as the State Election Commission announced the results of the May 14 civic polls. The Trinamool captured the Mirik Notified area and picked up seats in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong municipalities. Elsewhere in the state, the Trinamool virtually wiped out all opposition, by emerging triumphant in the Domkal, Raiganj and Pujali municipalities. The Congress-Left Front alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party were decimated. "Congratulations to Ma Mati Manush for again and again putting their trust in us. We are honoured, privileged and humbled," Banerjee said on Twitter. She hailed the voters of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Mirik for participating in the democratic process. "Special thanks to Mirik for reposing faith in
Mamata Banerjee. (File Photo)
us. We will work sincerely for you. After so many decades we begin a new era in the hills. The hills are smiling," added the Trinamool supremo. Hailing the party's success in the hills, state Sports Minister Arup Biswas claimed that the state government's attempt to establish democracy in the hills has been fulfilled. "Mamata Banerjee has been working for a long time to establish democ-
racy in the hills. Her dream about the hills has been fulfilled today. Her biggest success is the establishment of a democratic environment in the hills for the first time since independence," said Biswas, who was in charge of party's civic poll campaign in the hills. "The result in Mirik is a reflection of Mamata Banerjee's model of development in the hills. The people of Mirik had been
neglected for a long time. There was no development in the region. People have voted for the Trinamool Congress to get the taste of development," he added. How ever, G orkha Janamukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung claimed there was a miscalculation in the counting of votes in Mirik and demanded a recount. " S o m e t h i ng w e nt wrong in Mirik. The counting should have started at 8.30 a.m. but that did not
happen. I have complained about it and demanded a recounting of votes. However, we will keep working to address whatever issues are there," Gurung said. Talking about the GJM's success in Kalimpong and Darjeeling municipalities, Gurung said, "this is a victory of the common people." Congress leader Manoj Chakraborty, however, claimed that the results did not reflect the people's will. "Everybody has seen
on television what all happened on the polling day. There was rampant terrorisation and intimidation of voters and opposition workers. Votes were looted by the Trinamool," he alleged. The Trinamool Congress won four out of the seven Bengal towns that had gone into municipal election last Sunday and created history by taking control of a Mirik Municipality in the hills and becoming the first political mainstream political party from the plains to win an election in the last three decades. Trinamool Congress won Pujali in south 24 parganas, Domkal in Murshidabad, Raiganj in north Dinajpur and Mirik in Darjeeling. In all the four municipalities, Trinamool Congress swept the election results+ . At Pujali, TMC won 12 out of the 16 wards with BJP coming second with only 2 wards. At Domkal, TMC won 20 out of the 21 wards. The opposition of Congress - Left alliance had initially won 3 wards but immediately after the results, two of them - Rafikul Islam of ward 20 and Ashadul Islam of ward 9 joined Trinamool Congress, cutting down their tally to just 1. This was the first ever election for the
Domkal Municipality. Raigani Municipality, that was in control of Congress prior to the election was also swept by the TMC that won 24 out of the 27 wards. At Mirik TMC won 6 out of 9 wards, beating the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha - BJP alliance for the first time for any political party in the plains since 1986. The three other towns in the hills - Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong however remained in control with GJM even as TMC. GJM won 31 out of the 32 seats in Darjeeling and 17 out of 20 wards in Kurseong. At Kalimpong, whose results, came out last among the seven municipalities was also won by the GJM- BJP alliance. The alliance led in 11 out of 23 wards while Harka Bahadur Chhetri led Jan Andolan Party (JAP) won 2 seats and TMC won 2 seats. On the day of the election last Sunday, violence was reported from all the three plains towns that went to vote -Pujali in the south (South 24-Parganas), Domkal in the middle (Murshidabad) and Raiganj in the north (North Dinajpur) -though the four Hills towns that voted for new civic agencies (Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik) were peaceful.
State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury petitioned PM Narendra Modi against alleged rigging of local polls and Left and Congress supporters demonstrated outside the office of the state election commission in Kolkata demanding polls be scrapped all together. The West Bengal Election Commission on Monday ordered a repoll at six booths of three municipalities that took place on Tuesday. Commenting on the results, opposition parties blamed TMC's alleged violence politics the reason behind their crushing defeat. "Everyone has seen how elections had happened this time. It was a farce in the name of election and after the way they rigged the votes, this result was expected," said Congress leader Prakash Upadhyay. CPM youth leader Satarup Ghosh said he was unhappy with the way two Congress - Left alliance leaders at Domkal joined TMC right after the win but also criticized TMC for taking them. "This is disgraceful on part of the two to not to respect the people who have voted for them and change parties right after the win. But how could even TMC take them?" he said.
Cabinet changes law to evict 'SBI ATMs not affected by ransomware' ICJ to decide Jadhav's fate on Thursday squatters from govt houses New DelhI, May 17 (IaNS): The cabinet on Wednesday approved changes in a law that empowers an estate officer to fast track eviction of ministers, members of Parliament and bureaucrats overstaying in government-allotted residences long after they cease to hold official positions. People who overstay in official accommodations take recourse to courts, Minister of State for Coal and Power Piyush Goyal told reporters here. Goyal was announcing the decision to amend the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The minister said such people, including "ministers, MPs and government officers", usually take the benefit of law to make possible their stay after they no longer hold official positions. The proposed amendments aim to fast track their removal and they will have to pay penalties for overstay, he said. "The changes in the law will enable an estate officer to apply summary proceedings for evicting unauthorised occupants from residential accommodations allotted for a fixed tenure or for a period he/she holds office on the basis of an order of allotment on licence basis," according to an official statement. The changes were proposed as non-vacation of such residences usually leads to unavailability of houses for new incumbents. An estate officer, as per the new rules, will not need to follow "elaborate procedures" and can even make an order for the eviction of such persons forthwith following the procedure proposed in the amendments. "If such persons refuse or fail to comply with the said order of eviction, estate officer may evict them from premises and take possession thereof and may, for that purpose, use such force as may be necessary," the statement said.
New DelhI, May 17 (IaNS): Amid reports of several ATMs remaining shut due to a possible virus attack by WannaCry ransomware, the largest public lender of the country State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday said that it has not been affected at all by the malware and all its ATMs were fully functional. "We have not been impacted at all. None of our ATMs have been asked to shut down," SBI Chief Information Officer Mrutyunjay Mahapatra told IANS. SBI has close to 59,000 ATMs out of over two lakh ATMs in the country. Mahapatra said that 80-90 per cent of the old ATMs have already got the security patch, and the remaining are being updated, but none of the ATMs have been shut down as SBI has a secure closed loop network and robust firewalls. "80-90% of the old ATMs have already got the security patch. Wherever remaining, our engineers are updating. We are doing a review, and putting additional security patch if needed," he said. "Ours is a close-looped network, where all servers end to end are ours. We are
dealing with public trust and public money, so we are very careful about it. Our security network is very high and we have very robust firewalls. We run anti-malware quite often," Mahapatra told IANS. The ransomware is said to affect the ATMs which were installed 5-7 years back and are running on the Windows XP software. The newer ATMs which run on Windows 10 are said to be safe from the malware attack. "Roughly our 50%ATMs are running on Windows XP. ATMs installed 5-7 years back have Windows XP, but they are not greatly vulnerable. Malware files are large in size and cannot travel through firewall. However, for Windows XP, new security patch has been updated," he said. Mahapatra claimed that the ransomware attack was aimed at harming the economy but the banking sector has not been affected by it. "Malware attack means they want to bring down the system. Their idea is to bring down the economy. This is more mischief than reality. As the CIO of SBI, to my knowledge no such thing has come to my notice. To my knowl-
edge other banks are also not affected," he said. "There is no need to panic. Taking advantage of this situation, miscreants may send mails to reveal their old password, that should be avoided," he added. ATM manufacturer AGS Transact Technologies, which has an installed base of 60,000 ATMs in the country, said they were working with the partner banks to secure their network and updating of the security patch. "We ensure regular updates of the security patches on the servers to protect all ATMs in our network from such attacks. Additionally, we are working closely with our partner banks to secure their network and eliminate chances of any vulnerability," Mahesh Patel, President and Group Chief Technology Officer, AGS Transact Technologies, told IANS. "The WannaCry attack is a wake-up call for all countries including India, which is at the cusp of digital revolution. It brings to the fore the collective need for Indian companies to be more vigilant and treat cyber-security as one of their highest priorities," he said.
the hague, May 17 (IaNS): The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce on Thursday its verdict on India's appeal seeking revocation of the death sentence awarded by a Pakistani court to alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. In a statement, the court announced that it will "deliver its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures made by India in the Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan), on Thursday" at noon (3.30 p.m. IST) in a public sitting. Judge Ronny Abraham, President of the court, will read the decision, it said. The decision comes after India on Monday sought the court's intervention for an immediate suspension of Jadhav's death sentence, fearing that the Indian national may be executed even before the ICJ decided the case. Indian lawyer Harish Salve alleged that the trial of Jadhav, a former navy officer, was held under "farcical" circumstances in violation of the Vienna Convention. The lawyer told the court that Jadhav was kidnapped in 2016 from Iran where he was pursuing his business after retiring from the Indian Navy, brought to Pakistan and was shown to have been arrested in Balochistan and presented as an alleged Indian spy. His alleged confession admitting he worked for India's external spy agency R&AW and his involvement in terror activities was extracted in
a military custody, Salve said. He urged the court to direct Pakistan to see that Jadhav was not executed and "no action is taken that might prejudice the rights of India or Jadhav with respect to any decision the court may render on the merits of the case". Jadhav was awarded the death sentence by a Pakistani military court last month, a year after he was arrested on espionage charges. Islamabad has rejected 16 Indian requests for consular access to Jadhav, held at an unknown prison in Pakistan. Salve demanded that Pakistan should annul Jadhav's death sentence as he was not even given a chance to defend himself. Pakistan, however, rejected the plea on the ground that India had no right to invoke the jurisdiction of the UN's highest court because the Vienna Convention does not provide for matters relating to spies, terrorists and those who indulge in espionage. Islamabad also asked the court to reject India's plea for provisional measure in the case. India approached the ICJ on May 8, accusing Pakistan of "egregious violations" of the Vienna Convention in the matter of the detention and trial of Jadhav. Denying the charges, Pakistan has maintained that it had requested an Indian assistance in the investigation of Jadhav's alleged "involvement in espionage and terrorist activities in Pakistan."
Citizen engagement drives national cleanliness rankings Alison Saldanha & Ojaswi Rao IANS
If you are happy with your city's cleanliness and want it to be recognised, it might be a good idea to begin by downloading a government mobile phone application. Citizen engagement appears to be driving national cleanliness rankings more than municipal claims and independent verifications, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of 20 cities in the 2017 Swachh Survekshan report released by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). The government evaluated cities' performance on citizen engagement through a mobile application "SwachhataMoUD", -- which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store -- for a maximum of 150 points of the total 600 points for "citizen engagement". Of the 20 cities that IndiaSpend studied, 13 scored 85 points and above in the "Swachhata App" sub-category. Nine of these saw an average rise of 10 ranks over 2016. The seven cities that scored 80 points and below fell 36 ranks behind, on average, the analysis showed. "The Survekshan methodology needs a serious relook as it is rewarding cities with en-
vironmentally unsustainable practices and discouraging cities working towards behaviour change and local solutions," Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, was quoted as saying in the Financial Express. "The methodology used to rank cities appears flawed" due reasons such as to leaning heavily on declarations made by municipalities, mistaking relative outcomes for absolute values and the vulnerability of citizen feedback to manipulation, the Hindustan Times reported on May 7, 2017. The Swachh Survekshan report is an annual exercise by the MoUD to measure the progress of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2014. Unlike in 2016 when the report assessed 73 cities, 434 cities have been assessed this year and ranked on the basis of cleanliness and sanitation. The MoUD modified the scoring pattern for ranking cities on cleanliness this year: It transferred 100 points previously allotted to "municipal documentation" to "citizen engagement". Municipal documentation refers to urban local bod-
ies' (ULBs') assessment of their own infrastructure efforts on collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste, and strategies for open defecationfree towns. Citizen engagement consists of two parts: Online, telephonic and social media surveys, and the use of the Swachhata App for citizens to connect with their ULBs. The app carries 150 points, which accounts for 25 per cent of citizen feedback points (600 points) and holds 7.5 per cent weightage in the overall scoring of 2,000 points. The app, which seeks to connect urban local bodies with citizens to identify and solve local waste management issues, has been downloaded up to one million times, according to data from the Google Play Store. For perspective, India has 367.48 million internet subscribers while its urban population is over 377 million. Citizens can post a complaint of garbage pile-ups and mismanagement by taking a picture and posting it through the app. The app captures the location and forwards it to the concerned city-corporation after which it is assigned to the concerned wardlevel sanitary inspector. Citizens can also check the status of their complaint.
Weightage for the third parameter "direct observation" -on-ground inspection of actual work carried out to improve sanitation and hygiene -- remained unchanged at 500 points. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have emerged as the top two states with most number of clean cities, 12 and 11, respectively, in India's top 50 clean cities. While higher scores on documentation and observation did not necessarily translate to better rankings, Swachhata App and citizen engagement scores seem to be directly correlated to city rankings, an IndiaSpend analysis showed. We analysed the scores and ranks of 20 cities -- the top 10 cities of 2016 and 2017, and those declared as "fastest-moving" with a population of over a million. Tirupati, which did not feature in the 2016 Swachh Survekshan report, was ranked ninth in 2017 after scoring the highest (135/150) in the Swachhata App sub-category. Indore and Bhopal, which hold the first and second ranks, respectively, jumped 24 and 19 spots ahead from 2016, scoring 120 and 130 points on the App. Chandigarh, Rajkot, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Greater Mumbai, which were in the top
10 in 2016, fell nine, 11, 19 and 63 spots behind to 11th, 18th, 29th and 72nd, respectively, in 2017 after scoring 30-80 points in the Swachhata App sub-category. Gangtok, which was ranked eighth in 2016, scored zero on the App and fell to the 50th rank in 2017. Higher scoring in the overall segment of "citizen engagement", including citizen feedback through online surveys, phone surveys and social media, helped the rise of 2017's top four cities -- Indore, Bhopal, Vishakhapatnam and Surat. Indore, while failing to achieve top scores in other parameters, scored over others in the "citizen engagement" parameter to bag the title of the "cleanest city in India". Bhopal ranked second overall, and holds the second-highest score in the Swachhata App (130). The two Madhya Pradesh cities held the 25th and 21st ranks in 2016. Vishakhapatnam showed the highest number of citizens engaging with the ULB -190,000 -- among the cities considered for the study, and rose from fifth to third rank in 2017. The port city scored 90 on the Swachhata App. Of the cities that figured in the list of top 10 cities of 2016,
only half remained in the top 10 in 2017: Chandigarh, Rajkot, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Gangtok and Greater Mumbai dropped below the 10th rank. Better scoring on "municipal documentation" did not lead to improved rankings: Chandigarh scored the highest (883 on 900) among all cities in the study, but dropped nine ranks to 11th in the 2017 report (from second place in 2016). Greater Mumbai, which dropped from 10th to 29th this year, scored 91.5 per cent in this category, above Tirupati (89.9 per cent), now ranked ninth. The overall scores of both Chandigarh and Greater Mumbai had declined -- by 0.85 per cent and 0.07 per cent. High scores on "direct observation" did not yield better results. Mysuru, ranked first in 2016, fell to fifth rank in 2017 despite scoring the third-highest (460 on 500) on this parameter. It scored 0.32 per cent lower than the previous year. Referring to Mysuru, which had also topped the rankings in 2014, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu asserted that it did not imply cleanliness has declined in the city. "The spirit of competition is sought to be promoted through such surveys to help cities know where they stand in
absolute terms and in relation to other cities as well." While the report does not offer explanations for the decline of the top 10 cities in 2016, Indore's efforts in sanitation lauded in the report ranged from segregating waste to using plastic waste for road construction and repair. It also praised the city for drawing "graffiti on walls" to spread awareness and for "composing melodious jingles to encourage mass participation which plays in the garbage collection trucks as they traverse the city". The efforts of Bhopal, Visakhapatnam and Surat mentioned in the report range from converting waste to energy and practising on-site composting to erecting "Asli Tarakki (real progress) hoardings and awareness by Swachhatagrahis". At the fifth spot, Mysuru's sanitation and hygiene endeavours, as described in the 2017 report, are nearly the same as its competitors ranked ahead. While the southern city, unlike the top four, does not track its garbage collection vehicles with global positioning system (GPS) or engage informal waste-pickers (Bhopal does not do this either), the report praises its unique efforts to privatise garbage collection and transportation.
thursdAY 18•05•2017
WORLD
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
‘Trump asked Comey to end investigating NSA Advisor’ WASHINGTON, MAY 17 (REUTERS): US President Donald Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey to end the agency’s investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia, according to a source who has seen a memo written by Comey. The explosive new development on Tuesday followed a week of tumult at the White House after Trump fired Comey and then discussed sensitive national security information about Islamic State with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Comey memo, first reported by the New York Times, caused alarm on Capitol Hill and raised questions about whether Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation. The White House quickly denied the report, saying in a statement it was “not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.” Comey wrote the memo after he met in the Oval Office with Trump, the day after the Republican president fired Flynn on Feb. 14 for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his conversations last year with Russia’s ambassador, Sergei Kislyak. “I hope you can let this go,” Trump told Comey, according to a source familiar with the contents of the memo. The New York Times said that during the Oval Office meeting, Trump condemned a series of government leaks to the news media and said the FBI director should consider prosecuting reporters for publishing classified information. Coming the day after charges that Trump disclosed sensitive information to the Russians last week, the new disclosure further rattled members of Congress. “The memo is powerful evi-
A combination photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump (L), White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (C), and FBI Director James Comey in Washington. (REUTERS File Photo)
dence of obstruction of justice and certainly merits immediate and prompt investigation by an independent special prosecutor,” said Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. Republican and Democratic lawmakers said they wanted to see the memo. Republican U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of a House of Representatives oversight committee, said his committee “is going to get the Comey memo, if it exists. I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready.” In a letter to acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Chaffetz set a deadline of May 24 for the FBI to produce “all memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings referring or relating to any communications between Comey and the President.” Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan backed Chaffetz. “We need to have all the facts, and it is appropriate for the House Oversight Committee to request this memo,” said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong.
LEGAL QUESTIONS Legal experts took a dim view of Trump’s comments, as quoted in the memo. “For the president to tell the FBI to end a potential criminal investigation, that’s obstruction of justice,” said Erwin Chereminsky, a constitutional law professor and dean of University of California, Irvine School of Law. “This is what caused President Nixon to resign from office.” But the experts said intent was a critical element of an obstruction of justice charge, and the president’s words could be subject to interpretation and possibly put into the context of other actions, like Comey’s termination. The fact that the president apparently said he “hoped” Comey would end the Flynn investigation rather than more directly ordering it “makes for a weaker but still viable case,” said Christopher Slobogin, a criminal law professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. Flynn’s resignation came hours after it was reported that the Justice Department had warned the White House weeks earlier that Flynn
could be vulnerable to blackmail for contacts with Kislyak before Trump took office on Jan. 20. Kislyak was with Lavrov at the White House when Trump disclosed the sensitive information. A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment on the details of the memo. An emailed fundraising appeal by Trump’s political organization and the Republican National Committee sent out after reports of the Comey memo said Trump was being victimized by an “unelected bureaucracy.” “You already knew the media was out to get us,” it said. “But sadly it’s not just the fake news… There are people within our own unelected bureaucracy that want to sabotage President Trump and our entire ‘America First’ movement.” The new development came as Republican and Democratic lawmakers pressured Trump to give a fuller explanation for why he revealed sensitive intelligence information to Lavrov. The information had been supplied by a U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, the officials said.
WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning freed from prison WASHINGTON, MAY 17 (IANS): Chelsea Manning, the transgender US soldier convicted of espionage for providing national security secrets to Wikileaks, was released from a military prison on Wednesday. Manning, behind one of the largest classified information leaks in US history, left Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas in the morning, Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson told CNN. Manning was convicted in 2013 of stealing 750,000 pages of documents and videos pertaining to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as sensitive State Department cables before leaking them to WikiLeaks. Manning -- earlier known as Bradley Manning -- was sentenced to 35 years in prison on 20 counts, including violations of the Espionage Act. After the 2013 sentenc-
Chelsea Manning is pictured in this 2010 photograph obtained on August 14, 2013. Courtesy US. (REUTERS File Photo)
ing, the ex-intelligence agent changed the name to Chelsea Manning and became a transgender woman. In January, former US President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sentence, thereby giving her an early release date. Amnesty International, which had campaigned for Manning’s release, was quick to applaud the decision. “... We will continue to
call for an independent investigation into the potential human rights violations Manning exposed, and for protections to be put in place to ensure whistleblowers like Chelsea are never again subjected to such appalling treatment,” a statement by Amnesty International said. Last week, Manning tweeted her excitement about her impending re-
lease: “Freedom was only a dream, and hard to imagine. Now it’s here! You kept me alive <3” Manning had to serve her sentence in an all-male military prison despite a request to transfer to a civilian prison, said the report. “For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea. I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world,” she
said in a written statement. Manning remains on active duty status pending the conclusion of her appeals. As such, she may be entitled to military benefits, including healthcare. Manning was one of the first service members to access transgender health care benefits under new policy and the first to be approved for gender reassignment surgery in military prison.
DEPARTMENT OF POSTS: INDIA O/O THE DIRECTOR OF POSTAL SERVICES NAGLAND; KOHIMA-797001
No.A-1/GDS BPM/VACANCY/NL
Dated at Kohima the 16.05.2017
NOTIFICATION This is to inform that the last date for submission of GDS Online Application has been extended up to 05.06.2017 instead of 24.05.2017 for Nagaland Division(North East Circle). This is in continuation to the advertisement published on 27.04.2017. Sd- Director of Postal Services Nagaland, Kohima-797001
‘More than half of world’s deaths KOINONIA PRAYER CENTRE still have no recorded cause’ Tsiese Basa, Kohima: Nagaland LONDON, MAY 17 (REUTERS): More than half of all deaths have no recorded cause, making effective health monitoring and policymaking far more difficult, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. However, improved collection of statistics meant that 27 million of the world’s 56 million estimated deaths in 2015 were registered with a cause compared with only about a third in 2005, the U.N. health agency’s latest global health report said. The WHO said several countries, including China and Turkey, had made “significant strides” in data collection. In Iran, it said, 90% of deaths are now recorded with details of the causes, compared with 5% in 1999. While things have improved significantly in recent years, many countries still do not routinely collect high-quality health data, Marie-Paule Kieny, the WHO’s assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, said in a statement. “If countries don’t know what makes people get sick and die, it’s a lot harder to know what to do about it,” she said. The WHO is working with countries to strengthen health information systems and improve data quality, she said. This year’s WHO report focused on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of internationally agreed targets adopted in 2015 which track issues such as health, climate, sanitation and economic inequality. It found that while maternal and newborn death rates are declining, the 2015 global neonatal mortality rate was 19 per 1,000 live births and the under-five death rate was 43 per 1,000 live births. About 830 women died every day due to complications of pregnancy or childbirth in 2015, it said. It found that an estimated 2.1 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2015, 35% fewer than in 2000.
“……My house shall be called a house of prayers.” Matthew 21:13 MONTHLY REVIVAL PROGRAMME Date: 19th – 21st May 2017
Theme:
“….ABIDE IN MY WORDS, YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES INDEED”
John 8:31
Main speaker
Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo Senior Pastor, Koinonia Baptist Church
Leaders
Rokopra Mekro, Assistant Pastor Menuosielie Üsou, Evangelist
PRAISE AND WORSHIP Special praise Kohima Orphanage Choir
HOST: MRS. RHEIVOLE-Ü KIEWHUO
Come with faith and receive the blessing of Salvation, Deliverance and Healing.
9
Islamic State claims attack on Afghan TV station that killed 17 JALALABAD, MAY 17 (REUTERS): Militant group Islamic State on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a television station in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar that killed a security guard as well as all three attackers and wounded at least 17 people. Islamic State, or Daesh as it is generally known in Afghanistan, has established a stronghold in the province bordering Pakistan, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces. As the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire could be heard from around the building of RTA, Afghani-
stan’s national broadcaster, located close to the governor’s compound in the provincial capital, Jalalabad. “Islamic State fighters are currently carrying out an attack inside the state broadcasting building in the city of Jalalabad,” the movement’s AMAQ newsagency said in a statement on instant messaging service Telegram. The Taliban, which also has a strong presence in the region, denied responsibility. Two of the attackers blew themselves up at the start of the operation but a third engaged security forces in a heavy gunbattle before being killed, said Attaullah Khughyani, a
spokesman for the provincial governor. Nine of the 17 wounded were discharged from a hospital after being treated, he added. Islamic State has recently been hit hard by U.S. air strikes and special forces operations. The head of Islamic State in Afghanistan, Abdul Hassib, was reported this month to have been killed in a joint Afghan-U.S. operation in Nangarhar at the end of April. Islamic State has also claimed responsibility for a series of high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, including one in March on Afghanistan’s largest military hospital.
S Korea’s Moon says “high possibility” of conflict with North as missile crisis builds SEOUL, MAY 17 (REUTERS): South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday there was a “high possibility” of conflict with North Korea, which is pressing ahead with nuclear and missile programmes it says it needs to counter U.S. aggression. The comments came hours after the South, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, said it wanted to reopen a channel of dialogue with North Korea as Moon seeks a two-track policy, involving sanctions and dialogue, to try to rein in its neighbour. North Korea has made no secret of the fact that it is working to develop a nucleartipped missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland and has ignored calls to halt its nuclear and missile programmes, even from China, its lone major ally. It conducted its latest ballistic missile launch, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, on Sunday which it said was a test of its capability to carry a “large-size heavy nuclear warhead”, drawing Security Council condemnation. “The reality is that there is a high pos-
sibility of a military conflict at the NLL (Northern Limit Line) and military demarcation line,” Moon was quoted as saying by the presidential Blue House. He also said the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities seem to have advanced rapidly recently but that the South was ready and capable of striking back should the North attack. Moon won an election last week campaigning on a more moderate approach towards the North and said after taking office that he wants to pursue dialogue as well as pressure. But he has said the North must change its attitude of insisting on pressing ahead with its arms development before dialogue is possible. South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng told reporters the government’s most basic stance is that communication lines between South and North Korea should reopen. “The Unification Ministry has considered options on this internally but nothing has been decided yet,” said Lee.
Government of India Indian Audit and Accounts Department
Office of The Accountant General (A&E), Nagaland: Kohima-797001 Ph. No. 0370-225309, Fax No. 0370-2243117. E-mail: agaenagaiand@cag.gov.in
TENDER NOTICE
1. Sealed quotations are invited for supply of Stationery articles from the registered Stockiest/Suppliers for empanelment for the Financial year 2017-18. 2. Sample of major articles (A4, Register, Note sheet etc.) should be furnished along with tenders. 3. Tenders will be received upto 1.00 P.M. on or before 26/5/2017 the tender should be sent in double sealed cover addressed to the Accountant General (A&E), Nagaland, Kohima. The tender will be opened on 29/05/17 at 3.00 PM and the tenders should be present on the day. 4. The rate should be quoted for delivery at Accountant General (A&E) Office, Kohima. The office reserve the right to reject any tender or item without assigning any reason thereof. No conditional tender will be accepted. 5. All supplies must be made to this office within 3(three) days of receipt of a supply order. The list of articles/stationery items may be collected from the office during office hours. deposit at call (D.A.C) for `500/- in favour of Accountant General (A&E), Nagaland, Kohima duly acceptable by SBI, Lerie Branch, Kohima is to be submitted along with the tender. Selected tenderer, will have to furnish a security deposit of `10,000/- in the form of D.A.C valid up to March'2018 in favour of Accountant General (A&E), Nagaland, Kohima which will be refunded on successful completion of the supply orders issued from this office and state Tax Clearance for the year 2016-17. In case the successful tenderer fails to supply the articles, the security deposit shall be liable to be forfeited. Sd/- Sr. Accounts Officer (Admn)
GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE & STATE NODAL OFFICE EXTENSION REFORMS (ATMA) NAGALAND: KOHIMA
No.AGR/EXT.REF/IDWG-CORR/2016-17
Dated Kohima the 17th May 2017
RESCHEDULING OF ATMA WALK IN INTERVIEW
In continuation to this office letter No. AGR/EXT.REF/IDWG-CORR dated Kohima the 2nd May 2017, this is to inform to all concerned that the Walk in Interview for engagement of Assistant Technology Manager (ATM) under Extension Reforms Scheme, ATMA scheduled on 9th and 10th May 2017 has been rescheduled on 25th and 26th May 2017 against the Date & Time furnished below in the Directorate of Agriculture, Kohima, Nagaland. DAY – I 25/05/2017 (9:00 am onwards) The following Eligible Form Nos/ Roll Nos are as under: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012, 014, 015, 016, 017, 018, 019, 021, 022, 023, 024, 025, 026, 027, 028, 029, 030, 031, 032, 034, 035, 036, 037, 038, 039, 040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, 046, 047, 048, 049, 050, 051, 052, 053, 054, 055, 057, 059, 060, 061, 062, 063, 064, 065, 066, 067, 068, 069, 070, 071, 072, 073, 074, 075, 076, 077, 078, 079, 080, 081, 082, 083, 084, 085, 086, 087, 088, 089, 091, 092, 095, 096, 097, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 127, 129, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151. DAY – II 26/05/2017 (9:00 am onwards) The following Eligible Form Nos/ Roll Nos are as under: 152, 153, 154, 155, 158, 159, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292. NOTE: The candidates are informed to bring the original copy of all relevant documents during Interview, without which the Candidate(s) will not be allowed to appear the Interview. (HELIE RUPREO) Director of Agriculture & SNO (ATMA) Nagaland: Kohima.
10
ThursDAY 18•05•2017
NagalaNd
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
MdlsA organises legal literacy programme Modern College students intern in Bangalore moN, may 17 (mExN): The Mon District Legal Services Authority (MDLSA) organised a legal literacy programme at Hongpoi Village on May 17. The programme was attended by village council members, church leaders and students of Hongphoi and Wangla village, a press release informed. Speaking on Village Council Act and Consumer Rights, Moba Konyak, Panel Lawyer MDLSA apprised on The Nagaland Village and Area Councils Act 1978 and highlighted the powers and duties of the act. According to the Act, the village council shall formulate village development schemes, to supervise proper maintenance of water supply, roads, forests, sanitation, education and other welfare activities. Moba stated that the village council should help various government agen-
MDLSA team with participants of the legal literacy programme at Hongpoi Village on May 17.
cies in carrying out development works in the village and also take development works on its own initiative or request the government. He further said that apart from facilitating financial aid, the village council should also constitute village development board and has the power to do certain Acts; for e.g. in
the event of an epidemic outbreak, the village council can initiate preventive measures. Speaking on child labour and women rights, Mannon, Panel Lawyer MDLSA, said that the constitution not only grants equality to women but also empowers the state to adopt measures of positive
discrimination in favour of women. She added that within the framework of democratic polity- laws, development policies, plan and programme are aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. Mannon further stated that there are constitutional provisions, legal provi-
sions and women’s right for protection under criminal law of India such as compensation to rape victims, special laws for protection of women, marital rights, maintenance rights and women’s right to property and succession under law applicable to Christians. She also highlighted special initiatives for women such as National Commission for women, reservation for women in local selfgovernment, the National Plan of Action for Girl Child (1991-2000) and National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001. Speaking on RTI Act and Arms Act, Dominic Kaiba APP apprised that The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.
DUCCF, Dimapur GBs Exploring synergies between government, Coordination Meeting corporates and community in sanitation
Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): A Joint Co-ordination Meeting of the Dimapur Urban Council Chairmen Federation (DUCCF) and the GB’s Union Dimapur (Sadar) will be held on May 19,
10:00 at Lotha Hoho Ki, DC Court Junction, Dimapur. A press release in this regard from the GBs Union Dimapur has asked all concerned GBs to attend the said meeting with GB waist coat.
Fazl Ali College bids farewell
Kohima, may 17 (mExN): A one day seminar on “Exploring Synergies between Government, Corporates and Community in Sanitation” will take place on May 25 at the Conference Hall of Civil Secretariat, Kohima. This event is being jointly organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), the apex body of
Chambers in India, and the North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA), an initiative of Tata Trusts. The primary objective of the seminar is to make sanitation a ‘citizen’s movement’. It will also serve as a platform for cross-learning from national and state level experiences. The programme agenda also targets bringing together the Corporate,
Government organisations and the Community towards common vision and goals of making Nagaland an Open Defecation Free (ODF) state. To achieve the outlined goals, NEIDA has invited the participation of all organizations and agencies involved in public health and sanitation sector. Registration for the program starts from 9:30 am.
ATMA Akuluto block conducts training, demo Helen Jamir and Allong Tzudir.
moKoKchuNg, may 17 (mExN): A farewell programme was held at Fazl Ali College on May 15 for Helen Jamir, Department of English and Allong Tzudir, Department of Geography, who were recently promoted as Principals at Zisaji Presidency College Kiphire and Govt. College Zunheboto respectively. A press release from Dr. Lanurenla, Media Cell, Fazl Ali College said that both of them served the college for more than 30 years. “They had both been very active members of FACTA (Fazl Ali College Teachers’ Association) and also in different cells and committees as appointed by the
authority.” In their farewell speeches, they thanked their peers who had supported them throughout their career and also recollected many sweet and humorous memories in the growth and development of the college in the span of more than three decades. Short speeches were delivered by representatives of FACTA, English Department, Geography Department and S. Arenla Lkr, Principal of the college. The programme was chaired by K. Hokheto Sumi, Vice-Principal and ended with a special prayer by Dr. Lanurenla, Assistant Professor.
ZuNhEboto, may 17 (mExN): ATMA, Akuluto block, Zunheboto conducted training and demonstrations programmes from May 11 to 13 in the district. Training on the topic “Benefits of Parkia Spp. (Yongchak)” was conducted on May 11 at Akuhaito, where Aolemla BTM told the farmers Yongchak has high nutritional content, medicinal and economic value. “It is a low maintenance tree, can fix nitrogen and helps in soil reclamation in jhum field,” she said. The farmers were further explained on the multipurpose use of the tree and were encouraged to undertake cultivation of the same. Meanwhile, demonstration activities were con-
Hands on demonstration on preparation of detergent powder.
ducted on ‘Preparation of value added products’ and ‘Making of detergent’ on May 12 and 13 respectively. Women trainees from different SHGs were given hands on demonstration on how to prepare various types of pickle and step
wise preparation method of detergent powder. The resource persons were Aolemla and Livika BTM. Altogether, 21 participants from Akuhaito, Khrimtomi and Rotomi villages attended the programmes.
Kohima, may 17 (mExN): Bachelor of Vocation (B. Voc.) students of Modern College, Kohima studying Retail Management & IT are currently doing internship in Bangalore with Foodworld and Health & Glow, a prominent retail house in the Deccan. The internship is for 3 months. A press release from John Besii, VP Admin, Modern College informed that the students departed for Bangalore from Kohima on April 15 with Younus Parvez, Asst. Prof., B.
Voc. accompanying them. Besides on the job training, the students are given Rs. 8000 per month as stipend, it added. “Through this exposure, students will learn the actual operation of the retail world and gain practical experience in the field.” The B. Voc. course is approved by the UGC with an intake capacity of 50 students per batch, the release said, adding the new batch for the course will start from July 1. It was further informed
that B. Voc. is an initiative of Government of India under Narendra Modi to skill the youths of the country and align higher education with the emerging needs of the economy so as to ensure that the graduates of higher education system have adequate knowledge and skills for employment and entrepreneurship. Run in more than 127 colleges and universities across India at present, the course gives more importance to practical education than the customary theoretical education.
NPF Kohima Division clarifies Dimapur, may 17 (mExN): The membership of those who have not renewed their primary and active membership during 2015 stands invalid, the NPF Kohima Division clarified
today. No person, unless in party membership register, has no right to claim as office bearers or bonafide NPF members, the unit president Gonei-u Sirie stated in a press note. In this connection, it
said that there is no reason for accepting any individual or group resigning from the party. All party workers are requested to keep in touch and look out against false propaganda, it added.
BJP encourages party workers to work hard moN, may 17 (mExN): BJP Nagaland President, Visasolie Lhoungu on Tuesday asked the party workers in Mon district to have faith in the BJP’s integrity and promise of rapid development and prosperity and support the party’s efforts. “The people should not be deterred by false accusers and rumour mongers who want to slime the secular image of the party so that they could continue to be corrupt and deny development to the people,” he said at the 5th BJP Mon District Executive Meeting on May 16 at Mon Town. The BJP chief stated that the people should update on what the Prime Minister is doing for the nation and “how much concern the BJP government has for the people of the North East who had been ignored totally by the previous gov-
ernments.” With the State election round the corner, Lhoungu also asked every party worker to work hard and ensure the party’s victory. BJP Mon District President Nyawang Wangsha in his address highlighted the activities of the Mon district party workers since the last meeting and the challenges that lie ahead for the party. He lamented the poor infrastructure of the district and expressed happiness of the presence of State leaders to experience the deplorable conditions and assist the district by addressing the matter to the Central authorities, informed a press release from Jaangsillung Gonmei, General Secretary (Media), BJP Nagaland. Khongwang Konyak, National Council Member spoke in length of the strug-
gles, achievements and aspirations of the party district unit. Cheong Konyak, State Vice President encouraged the party workers to work harder to bring BJP to power in the next State election and get development to the district already besieged by drought of development. Ananta Mishra, Secretary (Org), who recently joined the State Unit highlighted the organizational goals of the party and asked the party workers to complete the directives assigned by the centre within schedule before the visit of the National President Amit Shah. BJP Mon District Executive Members comprising of district office bearers and frontals office bearers of 9 Mandals attended the meeting besides public leaders and party supporters.
public discourse
Need more Govt Higher Secondary Schools in Dimapur K Ahovi Sema
T
GB, Padumpukhuri Village
here is only one Govt. Higher Secondary School in Dimapur city presently. The population of the city is increasing every year and the number of students is highly increasing by leaps and bounds. Hence, Dimapur city needs more Govt. Higher Secondary School for underprivileged Naga students. Presently, the principal and staff of the only Government Higher Secondary School at Half Nagarjan, Dimapur are facing acute problems in admitting the students who have just passed the HSLC Exam. It is well known that 70-80% of vast majority of our Naga people are living on daily bread. The parents are trying to give the best education to their children. But it is very painful to see the parent not being able to send their children to private Higher Secondary School due to the bad shape of their economic status. Because of this reason many parents are trying to get their children admitted to Govt. Higher Secondary School. It has been thoroughly observed that at the Govt. Higher Secondary School at Half Nagarjan Dimapur, the Principal and school authority are totally helpless in admitting the students due to lack of infrastructure and other facilities in the school. As a responsible citizen, I, K. Ahovi Sema, GB Padumpukhuri Dimapur sincerely appeals to Honourable Minister Education Nagaland and concerned MLAs from Dimapur to see the problem and upgrade at least 3 (three) Govt High School to Govt. Higher Secondary School, So that the pains and suffering of the people of Dimapur City can be healed.
The precarious footpaths of Dimapur Jonah Achumi
The state’s premier commercial hub, Dimapur has been expanding in fits and starts with discernable developments taking place wherever the roving eye gazes upon but has also much to expect from the denizens concerned. The growing density of population with the rapid urbanisation is increasing by leaps and bounds. The Dimapur Municipal Council for one and the Urban Development on the other should take up the matter of sidewalks and the footpaths around the town immediately. Forget about good roads, it seems like a distant Utopian wishful thinking around here, even the footpaths and the sidewalks are in the most dilapidated conditions which pose a very high risk of being injured to the unsuspecting pedestrian and one can be maimed, especially the little children and the school going students while walking around the town. Broken drain slabs in many areas of the town needs urgent repairs or replacements. There are also many areas in the town where footpath drain covers are found lacking which are proving to be very risky for the public.Whatever little stretches of paved pathways we have are in dire need of repairs with broken covers, large cracks and gaping holes which are all a pre-prepared out for a readymade death trap or a snare for some serious
injury to the unsuspecting pedestrian. Well if not death, certainly a twisted ankle or breaking a bone or two in your body from these worn-out shoddy footpaths of the state’s most fast growing urban sprawl. Though the town is growing rapidly in terms of high-rise colourful private buildings, glitzy showrooms, latest international eateries, newest models of sleek and sleazy cars and SUVs adding to the town’s ever congestion of the traffic snarls it has miserably failed in terms of providing even the most basic required public utility infrastructures like a proper roadside drainages and footpaths. A month ago I witnessed a young mother walking on a footpath with two of her unwary kids where one of them slipped from the side of an uncovered part of the roadside drain and fell into the gutter injuring the little boy’s shin in which blood was oozing out from the skin in the mudsplattered socks. A year ago too an old man badly injured his foot by a protruding iron rod from one of those slabs and had several stitches. I myself also nearly stepped in the one too many countless cracks and openings and had nearly sprained or wrenched my feet on the shoddy worn out slabs on several occasions. I believe many of you too must have experienced the same if you are someone who gets down from your cars and sometimes walk around the
streets of Dimapur town. The popular stench of the Dimapur perfumes with the mixture of humidity is indeed overbearing. What is of more concern in today’s context is the pitiful condition of the broken slabs on the footpaths and in respect to the sanitation aspect too. But even as the glamorous and the flashy showrooms are appearing on every sides of the roads it is setting a contrasting backdrop for the garbage on the open portion of the roadside drains! Due to the big gaps and holes and unrelenting throwing and dumping of wastes by those nearby residents and traders, a considerable amount of wastes makes its way to these drains around the town which as a result remains chocked and water remain stagnant. During the monsoon season there is drainage flood as a result water finds its way into the streets and into people’s homes which is more hazardous to our health and environment. In fact, roadside drains system must be intended to confiscate water efficiently off the road and make it safe for vehicles and other road users besides preventing structural damage to the road. However, the system here is altogether quite different. It is also to be mentioned that most of the town dwellers or pedestrians normally throw all kinds of wastes in the drains without slabs. Most of the shopkeepers sweep their front portion of their
shops and throw away all the dust and dirts into those drains. As a result, drains without slabs are almost packed with garbage with foul odour emanating from it. Here the roadside drains without slabs are being efficiently utilized for dumping rubbish and many take pleasure in dumping all kinds of garbage in the drains. No matter how best the municipal give its effort, there won’t be any desirable change unless we change our way of life. Most of our drains usually get blocked as the garbage thrown in them lead to overflowing of water on the roadsides. A narrow path for walking or a path especially used for walking and in our modern concept footpaths has become an indispensable part of town and city life too. Of course we can never expect our footpaths in par with highly developed countries when our most basic necessities like good roads are also like crying for the moon. Due to the unplanned arrangements, the new ones and old structural landmarks donning the old town’s landscape have developed on unplanned lines alongside the narrow roads with no scope for any expansion or broadening the existing narrow road. Even the little spaces the pedestrians have to squeeze and shove are all occupied by vendors of all kinds and hues. As a result the Dimapur town remains clustered with no remnants of expan-
sions in the existing sidewalks or footpaths. Its main problem has been that when the Dimapur town was first conceived over centuries ago, perhaps no one had ever visualized that it would one day acquire various distinctions and such important commercial hub and a rising educational centre for the whole state. What has been a shortcoming since the early days are the narrow roads and streets which cannot be widened beyond some limits because solid buildings have been constructed on both sides of the roads. The numerous big upcoming buildings housing trendy outlets with broken slabs infront of their doorsteps with the stench portray quite a contrast of how we live. Often some little roadside tea-hotels and pan-shops have put up their own fine drain covers and slabs by themselves from their own pockets, so surely can the upcoming alluring mega structures around the town. The DMC and the Urban Development despite of their many good works at the same time should use all its resources at hand providing provisional measures to enable people to walk around freely and healthily in a positive atmosphere without the nuisance of some sick smell from those uncovered drains and without the fear of injury from those gaping holes and broken slabs of the town’s footpaths and sidewalks.
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.
Thursday 18•05•2017
EntErtainmEnt
Jimmy to host Kimmel
All About
Miley Cyrus’
T
he Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that Kimmel will return to host the 90th Oscars ceremony. Producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd will also return next year. "Mike and Jennifer produced a beautiful show that was visually stunning. And Jimmy proved, from his opening monologue all the way through a finale we could never have imagined, that he is one our finest hosts in Oscar history," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. The late-night host presided over the ceremony in February that ended with "La La Land" mistakenly being named best picture instead of the actual winning film "Moonlight." Kimmel quipped about the error and his return to the helm. "Hosting the Oscars was a highlight of my career," he said in a statement. "If you think we screwed up the ending this year, wait until you see what we have planned for the 90th anniversary show!" The 90th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 4, 2018 on ABC. Source: CNN
C C M Y K
elebrity couple Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have renewed their wedding vows in a ceremony here amid family members and close friends. The Black Sabbath singer and the 64-yearold television personality decided to renew their vows on Sunday after reports last year that Ozzy had been having an affair with hairstylist Michelle Pugh, reports mirror.co.uk. "This is something Sharon has wanted for some time. She had been talking about the possibility with friends since last year after dealing with their problems," a source told The Sun newspaper. "But when it came to the day itself she wanted to keep things very low-key. They are obviously used to doing everything in the spotlight but made a conscious decision to keep this quiet. It was just an intimate family get-together at the hotel with their children and very nearest and dearest there," the source added. Sharon said in a statement that she had to fall back in love with her husband after he cheated on her. "Thirty-five years with someone is a hell of a long time. And I think I fell out of love with my husband and then fell back again. I forgive. It's going take a long time to trust, but we've been together 36 years, 34 of marriage. I just can't think of my life without him. "I probably, really, just months ago fell back in love because he was trying so hard to be a better person - desperately trying, working with his therapist every day and trying so hard. I just had a new found love. And I respected him because he's seriously trying to be a better person," she added. Source: IANS
Ozzy, Sharon renew
wedding vows
Nightmare
M
iley Cyrus has gone through a number of image transformations over the last few years and it really seems like she has left her controversial 'Bangerz' persona behind. So much so that she is actually seriously embarrassed about her iconic 'Wrecking Ball' video of 2013. The 24-year-old was invited to play 'Marry, Eff, Kill' with her records on the 'Zach Sang Show' this
week. The first set of options was 2008's '7 Things', 2009's 'The Climb' and 2013 number one 'Wrecking Ball'. Needless to say, she wanted to kill her most recent hit. 'That's something you can't take away. Swinging around naked on a wrecking ball lives forever', she says. 'Once you do that in the mass that I did, it's forever. I'm never living that down. I will always be the naked girl on a wrecking ball. No matter how much
I frolic with Emu [her dog], I'm always the naked girl on a wrecking ball. Forever. I licked a sledgehammer! I should have thought how long that was gonna have to follow me around.' In fact, the song brings back such cringey memories that she is actually terrified someone will play it at her funeral; a valid fear given that it is her biggest hit to date. 'That's my worst nightmare is that being played at my funeral', she confessed, admitting that
she hasn't opened up about this humiliation before. 'I don't think I've ever let people know my thoughts of what's keeping me up at night.' However, she did confess to 103.5 KTU KTUphoria in an interview that it is the song she least likes to sing. 'I'll do it but I don't love it', she said. 'It's when you're so stoked on something, you're so happy, and then you have to sing a song that's about a big bummer. And I can never live down that I licked a sledgehammer.' Miley is set to officially bury that scantily-clad, weed-smoking, party girl image forever with the release of her next album. She has already released the first single from the upcoming record, 'Malibu', which is an exploration of her relationship with fiance Liam Hemsworth. Source: Contactmusic
12
Thursday 18•05•2017
SPORTS
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Arsenal take top-four race to last day of season Warriors crush Spurs, lead series 2-0
Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez shoots at goal. (Reuters)
C M
LONDON, May 17 (ReuteRs): The race for the final two tickets to next season's Champions League will go to the wire after Arsenal retained their slim hopes of finishing in the Premier League's top four thanks to a late burst from Alexis Sanchez against Sunderland on Tuesday. Arsenal's 2-0 win meant that Manchester City, 3-1 winners at home against West Bromwich Albion, will still need a point to be absolutely certain of finishing in the top four. Pep Guardiola's City moved back into third spot,
above Liverpool, thanks to goals by Gabriel Jesus, Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure in their final home game of the season. City are in third spot with 75 points, Liverpool have 73 and Arsenal 72. City face Watford away in Sunday's final round of fixtures with Arsenal at home to Everton and Liverpool taking on already-relegated Middlesbrough at Anfield. Arsenal's fourth consecutive victory at least gives them some hope of a 21st successive top-four finish, although matters are not in their own hands.
It could have been even worse for the Gunners on a frustrating night at a sparsely-populated Emirates. Relegated Sunderland were showing some surprising resilience but Sanchez broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute, finishing off a flowing move by converting Mesut Ozil's pass. The Chilean then bundled in a second from Olivier Giroud's cut-back to take his league tally for the season to 23 -- just one goal behind the league's leading scorer Romelu Lukaku. While City need just a
point to guarantee finishing above Arsenal, Arsene Wenger's Gunners could potentially take advantage of any Liverpool jitters. "We made 71 points and were second. We now have 72 and want to go to 75. After that you deal with what happens," Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said, referring to the fact that his side have more points than they managed as runnersup in 2015-16. "We've got in on the final day many times. Sunderland fought and you want that in the Premier League -- that's what you
want from every team." Wenger was again asked about his future. "At the moment let's focus. We have a big game again on Sunday and then an FA Cup final -- let's sort that out first." City took 27 minutes to break down West Brom but then scored twice in two minutes with Jesus first being set up by De Bruyne and then returning the compliment. Toure made the points safe before Pablo Zabaleta, playing his last game at the Etihad after nine years with the club, came on to a huge ovation from the home faithful. City look almost certain to achieve the bare minimum of a top-four place and could only finish below Arsenal if they lost at Watford, Arsenal won and there was a five-goal swing, with Wenger's side scoring more than City on the day. "We are in third position so it's in our hands," Guardiola, who will finish a season trophy-less as manager for the first time, said. "We go to Watford to win the game." Champions Chelsea and runners-up Tottenham Hotspur are England's guaranteed representatives in the Champions League.
Y K
Sumi Chess Championship begins
President, SCAN, Hekugha Yepthomi declaring the championship open in Dimapur on Wednesday. (Morung Photo) Morung Express News Dimapur | May 17
With 20 participants having registered, the Sumi Open Chess Championship 2017 began on Wednesday at Tourist Lodge, Dimapur organized by Sumi Chess Associa-
tion, Nagaland (SCAN). President, SCAN, Hekugha Yepthomi declared the championship open and informed that the game would be played under FIDE norms. There are two categories – Under-17 and open category. The championship will conclude on May 19.
MPL: MFC snatch late draw in thrilling match kOhiMa, May 17 (MexN): Morning Football Club produced a brilliant late comeback by scoring twice in the dying minutes to salvage a 5-5 draw against MRH Sunrisers in the ongoing Morning Premier League here at Kohima Local Ground on May 17. Bokato proved to be the saviour for MFC netting two goals in the 90th and 91st minutes to deny MRH Sunrisers three points. Apart from the last minute switcheroo, Sunrisers dominated the game striking early on in the 12th minute through Keyixe before Chuba doubled the lead in the 23rd minute. Keyixe scored again in the 34rd minute to make it 3-0. MFC’s Shirep then pulled one back in the final minutes of the first half as it ended 3-1. Two minutes into the second half, Sunrisers struck again through Meren to make it 4-1 and
it appeared as though MRH Sunrisers were headed for a big win. However, Hoinoto and Dikwa managed to score for MFC in the 60th and 67th minutes to cut the deficit. In the 86th minute, Tali scored to make it 5-3 and it appeared MRH had all three points safe. But a dazzling display from Bokato in the final minutes of play meant both teams were left to share a point each. With today’s draw, Sunrisers and MFC both remain unchanged on the leaderboard with the former on 7th with 14 points and the latter on 8th with 9 points.
Tomorrow's Match Date: 18-05-2017 Mustang FC vs Morning United FC Time: 6:00 am Venue: Seikhazou Ground
OakLaND, May 17 (aFP): Stephen Curry scored 29 points as the Golden State Warriors thrashed the San Antonio Spurs 136-100 to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference finals series on Tuesday. Curry's points haul included six three-pointers as the Warriors all-round offensive power crushed a San Antonio Spurs line-up missing the injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. Curry also contributed seven assists and seven rebounds to put the Warriors just two wins away from reaching a third consecutive NBA Finals in the bestof-seven series. No fewer than seven Warriors cracked double figures as the home side led from start to finish before their home fans at the Oracle Arena. "I thought in game one we didn't come out with a sense of urgency," said Warriors acting coach Mike Brown, who is standing in for the injured Steve Kerr. "They came out with a sense of urgency tonight from the beginning and they did that for 48 minutes." The Warriors were quickly into their familiar scoring groove, sprinting into a 33-16 lead by the end of the first quarter and never letting up. They led by 28 points -- 72-44 -- by half-time and accelerated still further in the third quarter to lead 106-75. "You always try to build momentum and sustain it, for sure," Curry told reporters. "We had a point of emphasis of starting the game with a lot more energy and focus on the defensive end so that we could just feel a little bit better about ourselves than we did last game in the first quarter." San Antonio's depleted offense was led by Jonathon Simmons with 22 points. Only one other Spurs player made double figures -- Davis Bertans with 13 -- while LaMarcus Aldridge was restricted to just eight points.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, left, drives past San Antonio Spurs’ Dewayne Dedmon (3) and Kyle Anderson (1) during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, Tuesday, May 16, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo)
of his team's obliteration. "It's not what I expected. Disappointed," Popovich said. The blowout capped a miserable few days for San Antonio, who on Sunday had squandered a 25-point third quarter lead before Leonard suffered his ankle injury that left him sidelined on Tuesday. Popovich suggested his team had been unable to mentally cope with the loss of Leonard for Game 2. "The only way I can process is that I don't think they believed. You have to believe. "They didn't start the game with belief. And it showed with the lack of edge, intensity, grunt." Popovich meanwhile was critical of Aldridge for failing to assume the offensive responsibilities in the absence of Leonard. "He's got to score for us. He can't be timid. He can't turn down shots. He has to score. He's got to do it. No doubt about it," Popovich - 'Lack of edge' remarked, declining to exSan Antonio coach plain Aldridge's poor perGregg Popovich gave a typi- formance. cally forthright assessment "I'm not going to psy-
choanalyze him," Popovich said. "He doesn't deserve that." Curry meanwhile had nothing but praise for Warriors youngster McCaw, who filled in for the injured Andre Iguodala with 18 points. "He was amazing," Curry said. "Obviously with Andre (Iguodala) out, it was the next-man-up philosophy. Everybody says it, but when you have a guy like Pat who doesn't really know when his minutes are going to come, he always stays ready. "That was a huge pickup for us, obviously, with Andre out. And he'll probably get a lot more minutes down the stretch of this series, and he hopefully can continue to do the same." Game 3 takes place at San Antonio on Saturday and Brown has already warned the Warriors to expect a response in Texas. "It's going to be a dog fight," Brown said. "We've got to get our guys ready to play a tough Game 3. Because if we don't we could end up losing the game."
Published, Printed and Edited by Dr. Aküm Longchari from House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur at Themba Printers and Morung Publications , 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