12 july

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Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 216

DIMAPUR, MONDAY, JULY 12, 2021 Pages 8 ` 4.00

‘We need help’: Haiti’s leader requests US troops

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INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 7

R-factor in NE, Kerala worrisome

Will move Centre if Assam’s cow protection bill RAPID SURGE IN COVID R-NUMBER FROM JUNE-END HINTS AT FRESH SPURT affects us: Conrad 1.0

7.50% 5.00%

0.5

2.50%

0.0

0.00%

-2.50%

Progression of R value

1.5

Growth rate of active cases

NEW DELHI, JUL 11 (PTI/AGENCIES): Giving rise to fresh worries about the COVID-19 pandemic rearing its head again, the R-factor, which indicates the speed at which the infection is spreading in the country, has risen recently leading to a sluggish pace in the decline of active cases while Kerala and North East states have emerged as regions of concern. The R-number, or the effective transmission rate, has rapidly increased for the first time since the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, leaving medical professionals in worry. The transmissibility rate that was steadily dropping until the last week of June has seen a sudden spike between June 20 and July 7 as the country witnesses massive crowds at multiple tourist and religious places. This is despite the nationwide tally of new cases remaining low, revealed an analysis by researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. The R-factor has increased slightly to 0.88 in June-end after being at its lowest-ever value of 0.78 from mid-May till late last month, it showed. Sitabhra Sinha, who led the team of researchers, said the ‘R’ for India is still below one, so the number of active cases is decreasing at a much slower rate. The same trend of slowing

-5.00%

1March 2021

1Jan 2021

down in the rate of decline in active cases is also seen in many states. What is R-Number The R number is a way of rating coronavirus or any transmissible disease’s ability to spread. It is the number of people that one infected person will pass on a virus to, on average. In case the R-value is higher than one, then the number of cases keeps increasing. However, if it is lower the disease will eventually stop spreading, because not enough new people are being infected to sustain the outbreak. “India’s R has increased a bit to 0.88 from June-end after being at the lowest ever value of 0.78 (since the pandemic began in March last year) from mid-May till late last month,” Sinha said. This means, every 100 infected people on average pass on the infection to 88 other individuals. If R is lesser than 1, it means the number of newly infected people is lower than the

1May 2021

1July 2021

number of infected people in the preceding period which means the disease incidence is going down, the lead researcher said. “The smaller the value of R is, the faster the disease is on decline. Conversely, if R is greater than 1, the number of infected people is increasing in each round -- technically, this is what we call the epidemic phase. The bigger the number is than 1, the faster the rate of spreading of the disease in the population,” Sinha added. “Kerala showed a brief spike in cases and its R continues to hover close to 1. The North East region is of great concern. Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and possibly Tripura are showing a rise in the number of cases,” Sinha pointed out. Of the top 10 states that recorded the highest positivity rates in India between 23 June and 7 July, seven were from the Northeast, with Sikkim registering the highest figures. When the second wave of the CO-

VID-19 infection was at its peak, the overall R-value in the country was estimated to be 1.37 between March 9 to April 21. It declined to 1.18 between April 24 to May 1 and then to 1.10 between April 29 to May 7, according to the analysis. Between May 9 and 11, the R-value was estimated to be around 0.98. It then to 0.82 from May 14 to May 30. The R-value was 0.78 from May 15 to June 26 and 0.88 from June 20 to July 7. In Kerala, the R-value is estimated to be around 1.10. As for the North Eastern states, the R for Manipur is 1.07, Meghalaya 0.92, Tripura 1.15, Mizoram 0.86, Arunachal Pradesh 1.14, Sikkim 0.88, Assam 0.86. R i s i n g C OV I D - 1 9 cases in Kerala, coupled with the recent outbreak of the Zika virus, is a matter of concern for the health authorities as the southern state battles to bring down daily new infections. Earlier this month, Manindra Agarwal, a scientist of a government panel tasked with modelling of COVID-19 cases, said the third wave of coronavirus could hit the peak between October-November if Covid appropriate behaviour is not followed, but may see half the daily cases recorded during the second surge. Agarwal also said the third wave could spread faster if any new virulent variant emerges.

S H I L LO N G, J U L 1 1 (AGENCIES): Assam’s proposed Cow Protection Bill, which aims to stop transportation or use the state for transporting cattle, has now posed a problem for its Christian-majority neighbouring states. Beef is popular in Christian-majority states like Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. Cattle from different parts of the country reaches the states through Assam. While Christian-majority states like Nagaland and Mizoram are yet to react to the proposed bill, Meghalaya has said they would seek the Centre’s intervention if Assam’s Cow Protection Bill hampers the people and economy of Meghalaya. Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma said if there is an issue that will hamper the people and the economy of Meghalaya, then the matter would be taken up not only with the Assam government but the Centre as well. He said all steps would be taken to ensure that the transit of the cattle meant for Meghalaya should not be hampered because of the law that’s being passed by Assam. “But we have not seen the copy of the law what it says, we will need to examine what the terms and conditions are and how they plan to do it,” Sangma said.

State logs 78 fresh Covid cases; over 6L vaxed ANPSA unit clarifies

DIMAPUR, JUL 11 (NPN): Nagaland on Sunday reported 78 fresh Covid-19 positive cases while no deaths were reported during the day. Of the fresh cases, 40 were reported from Kohima, Dimapur-11, seven in Kiphire, five each in Mokokchung and Zunheboto, three each in Phek and Wokha, two in Longleng and one each in Mon and Peren taking the total caseload to 25976. With nil fatalities, the death toll remained unchanged at 507 (including 14 non-Covid deaths but with Covid positivity). Meanwhile, a total of 604782 persons have been inoculated against Covid-19. According to the Health department, 513022 persons have received the first dose and 91760 second dose. Those who received the first dose include--

This is it!

“How will I face my friends now that you’re not made a minister? And how will you serve the people?.” K Y M C

COVID-19 STATUS AS ON jUly 11, 2021

District

Dimapur Kiphire Kohima Longleng Mokokchung Mon Peren Phek Tuensang Wokha Zunheboto Total

Asymptom- Mild atic 195 23 229 9 194 37 20 28 21 26 28 810

27 5 41 4 14 0 0 0 0 0 4 95

ACTIVE CASES Symptomatic SEVERE Moderate ICU On On (without OxyOxyventilagen gen tor) 11 2 7 1 2 0 3 12 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 29 19 7

RecovDeath ered

ICU (On ventilator 6 11444 314 0 152 7 5 7338 84 0 137 0 0 1219 33 0 961 8 0 698 1 0 364 17 0 812 7 0 205 9 0 445 13 11 23775 493

Non Covid Deaths MiTotal with gratCases Covid 19 ed Positivity 10 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 14

509 1 117 11 43 15 6 2 3 8 8 723

12521 190 7829 163 1510 1027 726 416 842 250 502 25976

*14 deathshealth not due to care Covid-19workers *0 deaths under investigation 15851 active cases declined to

(HCWs), 60311 frontline workers (FLWs), 164249 45 years and above and 272611 18-44 years age group. The second dose include-- 11137 HCWs, 31617 FLWs and 133 18-4 years age group. PTI: Wi t h 4 1 , 5 0 6 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 3,08,37,222, while the

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4,54,118, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll has climbed to 4,08,040 with 895 fresh fatalities. The active cases comprise 1.47 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 97.20 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

on school fee waiver

DIMAPUR, JUL 11 (NPN): Reacting to the ongoing clamour for waiving school fee, All Nagaland Private Schools’ Association (ANPSA) has clarified that as it was organisation of different private schools that were run individually or by bodies with their own rules and regulations, it could not ask them to give concession, other than requesting. Mentioning that the association fully understood and sympathised with the public over the current situation, ANPSA president Dr Andrew Ahoto in a press release said, “We as an organisation are here for one another to help and supplement rather than to draft decrees and accords.” To make matters worse, he said private schools suffered from non-payment of fees by many parents, sometimes up to couple

of years, even as different schools had different fee structures depending on the kinds of facilities and faculty provided. Therefore, Ahoto said critics must know fully-well that it was the sheer discretion of an individual to choose a school according to one’s educational needs and a polished upbringing. He also urged those who blindly criticised private schools to look into facts and make a thorough analysis before making wild assumptions or accusations. Nonetheless, he claimed that the schools were also trying to ease the situation for the affected parents, adding that many were even making various cuts in schools fees and monthly instalments in order to help the parents as well as the students. (Full text on p-4)

SPORTS, PAGE 8

Challenge of bio-diversity in Nagaland Tsüngrochetla Walling

DIMAPUR, JUL 11 (NPN): Decades of wanton plunder of forest in Nagaland has caused immense damage to the ecology and environment and extinction of rare flora and fauna. The loss of verdant forests such as the erstwhile Rangapahar Reserve Sanctuary to constant illegal felling of valuable trees and successive encroachments has reduced the once lush and natural forest from around 21,000 Acres to hardly 300 Acres today. Article 371A that guarantees the ownership of land on the people and not to the government, is an issue that has not facilitated protection and promotion of biodiversity. In the midst of all, there are several communities have come up to promote Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) to respond to the need for sustainability. Success stories of Lemsachenlok in Longleng district, a nature biodiversity group formed by churchman Y. Nuklu Phom is a notable example of persistence against all odds. Phom had won two Awards – the prestigious Whitley Award in May this year for his work for Amur Falcons and earlier India Biodiversity Award in 2018. The other notable success story of conservation has been the The Khonoma Nature Conservation & Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS) which was awarded the prestigious India Biodiver-

Over 200 delta variant cases in Manipur Correspondent

IMPHAL, JUL 11: Amid the surge in Covid-19 cases, Manipur has reported over 200 Delta variant positive cases in the state. Informing that 205 Covid-19 variant (B.1.617.2 strain) have been confirmed till date Integrate Disease Surveillance Programme Manipur Sunday urged the public to use face mask even in family settings. IDSP had confirmed the spread of the Delta variant for the first time when 18 of 20 Nasopharyngeal swabs were tested in a laboratory outside the state on June 18 last. Later, 69 more cases of the variant were detected on July 2 last. Meanwhile, the state recorded 911 fresh positive cases, the second highest single-day spike since the first COVID-19 case was registered in March last year.

Suspended over 22,500 accounts: Twitter in 1st compliance report NEW DELHI, JULy 11 (IANS): Micro-blogging platform Twitter filed its first grievance redressal report as required under India’s new IT norms, wherein the company said that it has suspended 22,564 accounts for “child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity” and “promotion of terrorism”. It also said that it has acted against 133 posts over several reasons including harassment and privacy infringement. The data pertains to the period of May 26, 2021 to June 25, 2021 that included content on Twitter. This includes complaints received from individual users with accom-

panying court orders, it said. “We receive complaints in our Grievance Officer - India channel that relate to account verification, account access, or seeking assistance or information regarding an account or Twitter’s enforcement actions that are not included in

the data below. The majority of complaints received in this channel during this reporting period fell into these categories,” the report said. “In addition to the above data, we processed 56 grievances which were appealing Twitter account suspensions. These were all resolved and the appropriate responses were sent. We overturned 7 of the account suspensions based on the specifics of the situation, but the other accounts remain suspended.” Further, Twitter has also appointed Vinay Prakash as its Resident Grievance Officer (RGO) for the country. The micro-blogging site had

informed the Delhi High Court last week that it will take eight weeks to appoint a resident grievance officer in compliance with the new IT rules. Prakash comes with a public policy background and will work towards easing off the ongoing tensions between Twitter and the IT ministry, which now has a new minister in Ashwini Vaishnaw who made it clear on day one that Twitter has to follow the law of the land. On its portal, Twitter has updated the grievance officer contact information for users in India, naming Prakash as its RGO and providing an email contact ID.

Alayong Village Yaongyimchen Village

Nemba Chen

Sanglu Village Guest House New Watch Tower

Mokhoyong Teveli

Old Watch Tower

Bamboo Tunnel

Peyong Malong

River Lassa

Nalung Pelang

Madaksa Yepjen

sity Awards 2021 under the category “Sustainable Use of Biological Resources.” KNCTS had also won the award in 2018. Traditional wildlife hunting is the bane of protection of wildlife in Nagaland: State’s Chief Wildlife Warden, Vedpal Singh told Nagaland Post that traditional practice of hunting wild life remains a big hurdle towards promoting biodiversity. He believes that Wildlife Laws have made hunting illegal to benefit people but it needs to be followed up with community participation. When it was pointed out that hunting was a traditional activity as source of food, Singh said this can be substituted by promoting piggery, poultry etc. M e a n w h i l e, w h e n asked to comment on issues concerning biodiversity in Nagaland, Siddharth Edake, a Fellow and area convenor of the Centre for Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (CBES) at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, said that when the

Nagaland forest department invited TERI to do a state wide survey of CCAs in the state, the team found that Nagaland had 407 CCAs and that almost one third of them were active. It may be mentioned here that many more CCAs may have been established today, as the study was conducted in 2014 to 2015. During this documentation, Siddharth learnt that the major challenge was that the CCAs were not recognised by the central and state government and because of this they had “no financial support or legal recognition”. He said that the people were conserving good patches of land that they could otherwise use for timber purpose as and get joint financial benefits but they had chosen not to and instead conserve the lands. “We prepared a policy to recognise these CCAs and tried to push it so that the government of India recognises them but somehow it did not move forward which was very unfortunate”, he lamented. (Cont’d on p-6)

UPRF c-in-c shot dead; police point to infighting DIPHU, JUL 11 (PTI) Selfstyled commander-in- chief of insurgent group United People’’s Revolutionary Front (UPRF) was killed on Sunday by his colleagues in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, police said. Manggin Kholhou alias Veerappan was killed when an argument broke out among the cadres in Kheng-

pibung area in the remote district, they said. “They had a bitter squabble over some issues and it led to firing at each other. Veerappan was killed in the incident,” a police officer said. The body of the insurgent has been sent for post- mortem at Diphu Medical College and Hospital, he added.

RPP seeks age relaxation for civil service aspirants DIMAPUR, JUL 11 (NPN): Newly floated Rising People’s Party (RPP) has requested the state cabinet consider age relaxation for Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) and Nagaland Staff Selection Board on humanitarian grounds since the exams could not be conducted due to the Covid pandemic. RPP president Joel Naga and general secretary Amai Chingkhu pointed out that the last NPSC exam was conducted in 2019 and examination for NPSC combined civil services exam and combined technical services examination for 2020 was yet to be conducted. While admitting that the Covid-19 pandemic had thrown normal life out of gear, RPP however emphasised that the State government should ensure that no section of people was victimised. For instance, if a candidate had had his last chance of appearance in 2020, then his/her case should be con-

sidered and relaxation in age given whenever NPSC decides to conduct the exams, they pointed out. Recalling that the State government had announced setting up of Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) exactly a year back and formulated the NSSB Regulations, 2020 subsequently, Naga and Chingkhu said they therefore expected the government would desist from conducting departmental exams henceforth. However, they said it had come to their notice that some departments conducted departmental exams in 2020 even after NSSB was set up on the ground that the board was yet to be operational. Hence, they wanted to know if NPSC exams in 2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic, why departmental exams were conducted in the same year. They requested chief secretary to issue a clarification since this was a very serious allegation. K Y M C


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