September 17th, 2016

Page 1

C M Y K

www.morungexpress.com

SaturDaY • September 17 • 2016

DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 256 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

P o W e R

o F

Our homeland is the whole world. Our law is liberty. We have but one thought, revolution in our hearts

Petrol price up by 58 paise per litre, diesel down by 31 paise Armed miscreants vandalise shop Morung Express News One shop was vandalised by armed miscreants in Dimapur today. The incident occurred at around 5:00 pm. As per the police, two unidentified armed men entered a shop at NL Road and escaped after threatening the attendants and vandalising the shop. While the motive could not be ascertained, police suspect it could be extortionrelated. The miscreants smashed the glass counter and fired shots. There was no report of any casualty. Stating that investigation was on, the police said that bullet mark was found on the shop wall and an empty shell of a small calibre weapon was found.

Dr ES Gopal, INSA Honorary Scientist and Former Director, National Physical Laboratory today delivered a lecture on ‘Leap Year, Global Warming and Biopesticides’ with the MSc students of Kohima Science College, Jotsoma. He spoke of extreme climate fluctuations brought about by global warming and stressed on the need to address this issue with urgency. The lecture was organized by the Nagaland Science & Technology, Kohima (NASTEC). Dr. E S Gopal started the lecture with a brief overview of the history of the earth, mass extinction and emergence of new species, evolution of human societies from the earliest human civilizations till the industrial revolution. “The standard of living has enormously improved but that came with a price. Earlier no one was worried about the price, but now we have started to worry,” said Dr. Gopal referring global warming as the price humanity has to pay. Providing statistics on the presence of carbon dioxide on the earth, Dr. Gopal noted that carbon dioxide has sharply increased in the recent years, which accounts to much more than any time in the history of the world. Dr. Gopal also mentioned the contributory factors for the increase of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere,

Congress loses Arunachal again as CM, MLAs defect

C M Y K

ITANAgAR, SEPTEMBER 16 (IANS): In a dramatic development, the Congress lost its government in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday when Chief Minister Pema Khandu along with 42 MLAs defected to the Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Two independents, supporting the Khandu-led Congress government, also joined the PPA -- a member of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a recently formed anti-Congress alliance led by the BJP. Khandu told reporters that he had informed Speaker Wangki Lowang that “we are merging the Congress with the PPA”. The merger was decided at a Congress Legislature Party meeting held on Friday morning. PPA chairperson Kameng Ringu said the Congress MLAs joining his party was something waiting to happen. “It is a homecoming after a temporary exile,” Ringu told IANS after the dramatic political development. “Of the 46 MLAs supporting the government, 43 Congress MLAs including the Chief Minister and two Independents have joined the PPA,” he said. Pasang Dorjee Sona, a confidant of Chief Minister Khandu, told IANS: “There will be no swearing ceremony since it was only a change of party affiliation.” Asked if the PPA would also rope in the BJP in the new government, Sona said: “It is up to them (BJP) to decide whether to be part of the PPA government.” The Congress has 44 legislators in the house of 60. The only Congress MLA who has not defected is former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

Inter stunned by Beer-Sheva, United beaten by Feyenoord

Mayangnokcha Govt Hr Sec School celebrates Platinum Jubilee PAGE 02

Morung Express News Kohima | September 16

DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 16 (MExN): All the passengers of helicopter service originating from Dimapur Airport and other helipads in Nagaland state are informed that the use or carriage of Samsung Galaxy Note and mobile phone on board is strictly prohibited. NST General Manager O Elhibemo Yanthan in a circular informed that this measure is taken as per the Security Guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India. All passengers are requested to cooperate.

— Dario Fo

paGe 12

Global Warming: Who will bell the cat? NEDFi announces Rs. 100

Dimapur | September 16

DGCA prohibits Samsung Galaxy Note on-board

T R u T H

Dr ES Gopal, INSA Honorary Scientist and Former Director, National Physical Laboratory speaking in Jotsoma on September 16. (Morung Photo)

green house gases and its effects and how this is disturbing the equilibrium, the delicate balance of nature and ecology. Evidences are already cropping up such as the complete submergence of islands in the Indian Ocean which in turn will have devastating consequences on coastal towns such as Kolkata, Chennai- the impacts of which are already seen during the flooding in recent years after heavy rainfall. In countries such as the US, communities in states like Alaska are relocating due to rising sea levels. In Kohima too, Dr. Gopal mentioned the roads that are heavily affected after rainfall. “When the

big cities are so vulnerable due to rainfall for a few days, imagine what will happen if the water level increases by one metre. If this is happening in advanced countries, imagine what will happen to the poorer countries?” questioned Dr Gopal. Flooding and submergence of land will also have a direct impact on the food security of the countries, he pointed out and termed this is a serious issue because the land used for agriculture will be buried under sea level. When you go from one equilibrium state to another equilibrium state, the transition leads to fluctuation, stated Dr. Gopal adding that in climate change too, the

NSCN (IM) ‘arrests’ 19 year old for making ‘defamatory comment’

Youth released on September 12 after ‘undertaking not to repeat such thoughtless act again’

DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 16 (MExN): The NSCN (IM) today informed that on July 7, it “arrested” a 19 year old youth from Tamenglong district, for allegedly making “defamatory comment” on social media regarding the passing away of the NSCN (IM) Chairman, Isak Chishi Swu. A press statement from the MIP of the NSCN (IM) reproduced the youth’s alleged posting on social media as stating: “ISAK SWU…..I’m so happy that you are death…. See you in hell…Sala Nagaland karne ki kuri dise??? You can’t use your power to reshape Nagaland….Sala chooor ISAK….” It said that the “defamatory comment from such a pervert and diseased mind frame makes manifest of those elements that are held accountable for the miseries, humiliation and tears.” This situation, the NSCN (IM) stated “could have flared up with very serious consequences.” Terming the comment as “intolerable and unpardonable when the

entire nation was grieving for our leader’s last journey,” it stated that “such kind of words is beyond human tolerance.” The NSCN (IM) went on to state that “he deserves the most severe punishment even to the extent of facing a firing squad.” It informed that “NSCN leaders immediately ordered for arrest of the culprit and with the intelligence inputs of Naga Army and under the supervision of Thungbo Brigade Commander he was arrested on 06.07.2016 and taken to custody for thorough interrogation.” The youth was released “on his confession and admittance of mistake committed and thus seeking forgiveness from the NSCN/GPRN in respect of our leader late Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and in honoring his final letter to the Naga people to usher in peace and reconciliation.” “This irresponsible young man’s life was spared and released safely on 12.08.2016 by undertaking not to repeat such thoughtless act again,” the NSCN (IM) added. It appealed to all social media users “to be cautious of what one posts so that irresponsible write ups may not create unwanted situation in the society.”

fluctuations are already evident such as extreme rainfall, flooding, no rainfall, drought, increase of cyclones and hurricanes are all examples of heavy fluctuations. “You have scientific evidences in terms of extreme events. These are precursor of terrible warnings of global warming,” he said. Population growth is a major factor in global warming; however the real problem is energy usage, where population growth has a direct impact on energy usage. Dr. Gopal cited simple problems such as the increased usage of vehicles. “If there is a problem, you can also bring the solution. But the problem is who will bell the cat?” questioned Dr, Gopal viewing that people and countries are not willing to take the responsibility to reduce their carbon footprints and instead blame each other for increase energy usage. And it’s easier said than done because everyone wants to have better standards of living and no one wants to reduce energy usage, he concluded. Dr. Gopal left the students with a set of recommendations for reducing their carbon footprints such as using LED lamps which are much more efficient and consumes less energy, and using public transportation. Towards this, he suggested improvising the public transportation system by following the European model of public transportation.

crore for NE entrepreneurs Our Correspondent Kohima | September 16

The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) today announced that a new scheme ‘Venture Capital’ fund amounting to Rs. 100 crore will be launched by next month for the first generation entrepreneurs of the North East states. This was announced during the Business Meet 2016 here at de Oriental Grand hotel organized by NEDFi Kohima branch and Entrepreneurs Associates (EA) in the presence of DoNER Secretary, Naveen Verma. Addressing the Business Meet, Verma stressed on the need to focus marketing skill in the state of Nagaland. He expressed happiness that the trend of government jobs being the first choice for young people is going down and termed it as a good sign. Assuring to assist the entrepreneurs, he called upon them to decide the nature of business they desire to take up and the area in which they can focus. He also called upon them to know their strength and come forward to access the several schemes and projects that are available. He felt that handloom & handicraft, food processing, fashion designing, music, agriculture are some of areas the entrepreneurs from Nagaland can take up. In the tourism sector, one can also think of starting home stay for tourists, he said. NEDFi CMD, BP Muktieh urged the entrepreneurs from Nagaland to take advantage of “Venture Capital” fund and feel free to come for the scheme. In this, he called upon the entrepreneurs to start working on business plan/strategy. He, however, said

that “if your business plan is not strong, Venture Capital will not help you.” “Business plan has to be very clear” he said adding that the ceiling limit will be Rs. 25 lakh to Rs.5 crore. He informed that the duration of this Venture Capital will be 10 years. However, if required, this can be extended to another 2 years. Muktieh further suggested that a joint venture on food processing unit will be viable in Nagaland. Besides, healthcare is one important area, since most of the patients go outside the state for medical treatment. As industry is lacking in the state, aggregation of services can also be one area the entrepreneurs can take up, he added. Earlier, NEDFi DGM, RE Zeliang highlighted the NDEFi schemes. EA coordinator and CEO Neichute Doulo also addressed the gathering.

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND

*The corpus of the fund will be Rs. 100 crore. Rs. 45 crore from Ministry of DoNER. Rs. 30 crore from NEDFi and remaining Rs. 25 crore from other institutions. *Investment will be done in enterprises, both in early stage and growth stage. *To operationalize the fund, NEDFi Trustee Limited and NEDFi Venture Capital Limited has already been incorporated. *Investment focus of the fund will be in various fields including but not limited for: IT & ITES, food processing, healthcare, tourism, retail, aggregation of services etc. *The fund is targeted to be launched by October 2016.

NPRAAF asks F&CS Dept to address anomalies in PDS

DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 16 (MExN): The Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF) today appealed to the Nagaland Food and Civil Supplies (F&CS) Department to address anomalies in the Public Distribution System. A press note from the NPRAAF said that “much is left to be addressed even after BPL and APL systems are done away.” It alleged that the main stockist of all items of essential commodities is a “non local” who obtains the Power of Attorney (POA) from a Naga and purchases the items from the FCI and stores in his Godown. “Thereafter a commission is paid to the higher ups, following the payment of commissions, the stockist gives away few quantities of rice to the fair price shop and the larger quantities including wheat are distributed to the market stockist at the price of Rs 850 to 950 per bag depending on the market demand,” it claimed. The NPRAAF stated that the department is not adhering to fairness in distribution of the commodities “which violates the rights of the ben-

eficiaries and therefore tantamount to denial of Constitutional Rights of the citizen.” Further the NPRAAF stated that distribution of wheat is “little or nonexistent as there is no beneficiaries of wheat.” “However the RTI response by the department to NPRAAF shows that the hostels/ institution are beneficiaries of the said item, this violation is a criminal offence committed by the concerned and is punishable under the law of the land,” it said. Expressing concern that the Power of Attorney is being misused in the department, the NPRAAF demanded that the POA holder “recompense the mis-utilized commodities,” and the department “initiate legal action against the POA holder.” It also demanded that open tender be floated and the contract of the stockist for AAY be awarded to a competent Naga contractor who is capable to execute the works. It asked that the “nexus of POA holder with some fair price shop and the higher ups in the department should be investigated and the culprit be booked as per the law.” The forum further proposed that

the terms and condition laid down by the department should ensure that the contract work should not be given to a local contractor who cannot execute the work. The NPRAAF expressed surprise that the contract work is “re-awarded or extended to the same contractor by the department intervally who is not competent to execute the work, simultaneously the contractor also keeps renewing the POA to the same person every 3 years and it illegally continues for over a decade now at the cost of the beneficiaries.” It cautioned that the NPRAAF will undertake democratic agitation any day without further notice as it has given enough time to the Department to rectify the same. Meanwhile the NPRAAF claimed that the Director F&CS had “made a phone call to NPRAAF official on May 20, 2016 saying that, he took the issue raised by NPRAAF ‘personally.’” It however expressed concern that the issue “is still unresolved since there was no clarification/apology from the director as demanded by NPRAAF till today.”

Nagaland govt seeks to streamline mining; opens designated coal depot

Morung Express News Tuli | September 16

In a bid to streamline coal mining activities in the state, Parliamentary Secretary for Geology & Mining, Dr Imtiwapang Aier today inaugurated the Designated Coal Depot, Tuli at ‘10th Mile, NH – 2 Tuli Railway Station’ here today. Parliamentary Secretary for Industries & Commerce, Amenba Yaden was the guest of honour; besides, a host of dignitaries from the Directorate of Geology & Mining, leaders from the neighboring villages of Tuli area and others attended the programme. The Chief Guest, Dr Imtiwapang Aier, while speaking at the programme, said that opening of coal stockyards or depots in the state was a long felt dream of the state government, which

could not be implemented for a long time. However, with the active encouragement of the State Chief Minister, TR Zeliang, who foresaw the economic potential for the people and also the building of congenial relationships with neighboring states and industrialists, the Government Designated Coal Depot, Tuli has been finally inaugurated, said Dr Imtiwapang. While maintaining that the state government has a clear cut coal mining policy which was enacted in 2006 and amended in 2014, the Parliamentary Secretary said that the policy is ‘aimed at mutual benefit’ for the coal miners, the state government and also the people as a whole. He pointed out that the state and the Naga coal miners and contractors

Parliamentary Secretary for Geology and Mining, Dr Imtiwapang Aier, (5th from right) along with other dignitaries after unveiling the plaque of the Designated Coal Depot at Tuli (Mokokchung) on September 16. (Morung Photo)

have been incurring huge losses due to haphazard mining and trading activity where ‘dhalal’ (middlemen) profited the most out of the Naga coal mining activities. In this regard, he expressed hope that with the establishing of the ‘des-

ignated coal depot, Tuli’ which will be run by a recognized company – Nagaland Emerald Enterprises – would benefit stakeholders – the coal mine owners, the villagers, the company etc - in the Tuli area. While saying that the state government is ac-

tively working towards the interest of the coal miners in the state, Dr Imtiwapang disclosed that Nagaland coal is in huge demand in neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Therefore, he urged the people to be conscientious

towards mining of coal in the state and also work hand in hand with the government in exploring the coal market beyond the northeast region. He especially urged landowners, coal mine owners and the villagers to be united and extend their support to the state government so that the coal mining industry can become a sustainable industry in the state. He also disclosed that the state government will be opening similar coal depots at Shingpang (Mon district), Shingtak (Longleng district) and Tsutepela (Mokokchung), which will greatly help the coal mine owners, the villagers and the Naga people as whole in terms of revenue and sustainable mining of the ‘black gold’. Others who spoke at

the programme were parliamentary Secretary for Industry and commerce, Amenba Yaden, Secretary of G&M, Imjung M Panger IAS, representatives from the Nagaland Emerald Enterprises, the Wamaken Village council chairman, Tuli Area Coal Miners’ Association etc. The Designated Coal Depot, Tuli is licensed to Nagaland Emerald Enterprises; the depot is equipped with a ‘weigh bridge’ and abundant space for dumping of coal for transportation. Those who spoke at today’s inaugural programme expressed happiness at the state government for opening the designated coal depot and at the same time urged the government and the licensed company not to let the depot go defunct.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.