15 Oct 22

Nagaland

President flags off MeghalayaNagaland direct train service

DIMAPUR, OCT 14

(NPN): President Drou padi Murmu flagged off the first train service linking Meghalaya with Nagaland via Assam. She flagged off the inaugural run of the ex isting Guwahati-LumdingGuwahati Express, which had been extended up to Shokhuvi in Nagaland in one end and up to Men dipathar in Meghalaya on the other.

Murmu launched the train service virtually from Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati in presence of Assam and Nagaland governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Assam chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natu ral Gas Rameswar Teli and a host of ministers from Assam and other dignitaries, including Northeast Fron tier Railway (NFR) general manager Anshul Gupta.

Speaking on the oc casion, the President said she was pleased to inaugu

Reminder for removal of cables from electric poles

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Power department has issued final reminder to all cable TV operators, mo bile operators and telecom operators to remove cables obstructing and hampering the progress of work in shift ing of existing 11KV lines and LT distribution network to the newly constructed trunk lines in and around Dimapur town.

Dimapur electrical di vision executive engineer Y Akito Sema has informed that no further notice would be served and any cables found obstructing the work progress would be cut/re moved without warning.

NH-2 travel advisory

DIMAPUR, OCT 14

(NPN): Sub-Divisional Offi cer (C) Wokha has informed that National Highway-2 (Wokha-Mokokchung road) would remain closed from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 16, 2022 to allow clear ance of major mudslide caused by incessant rain and consequent road blockade at Wokha village location 80+300Km to 80+400Km in Wokha district.

All medium/light vehicles on MokokchungWokha-Kohima route have been advised to use Ali chen-Mangmetong-Doyang Reservoir-Wokha “O” Point route during the period.

rate the train service and thanked Union Minister for Railways, Communica tions and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and his entire team for their sincere efforts in further augment ing rail connectivity in the Northeast.

This is the first direct passenger train service con necting Meghalaya and Nagaland and will boost the interstate connectivity, fulfilling a long-pending de mand of the people of both

the States. Mendipathar is the only railway station in Meghalaya having passen ger train operations, while Shokhuvi is the second rail way station in Nagaland to get train connectivity after a gap of more than 100 years.

The first direct passenger train connecting Nagaland with Arunachal Pradesh was started on August 26 this year by NFR.

The extended service of Guwahati-Lumding up to Shokhuvi would be the second passenger train con

necting Shokhuvi. This was stated in a press release by NFR chief public relations officer Sabyasachi De.

He said foundation stone of a modern cargocum-coaching terminal at Agthori station would facili tate traders with regular sup ply of perishable and white goods for the North-eastern region. The terminal would have world class standards facilities and infrastructure like parcel office, labour rest room, circulating area and enough space for inward and outward movement of trucks, he added.

According to De, the commencement of train service and foundation for the cargo terminal was a ma jor step towards improving connectivity and facilitat ing development of all the North-eastern States. These would lead to easy move ment of passengers and material throughout India and bring more employment opportunities for the people of the region, he claimed.

Compensation to victims of Shopping Arcade incident

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): State government has announced to provide compensation of Rs.4 lakh each to the next of the kin of two individuals who were killed on October 12, 2022 when two eucalyptus trees fell on them at Naga Shopping Arcade (Super Market), Dimapur.

A statement from NS DMA home department stated that compensation from State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) would be pro vided as soon as possible af ter following due procedure.

NSDMA also in formed that Rs.12,700 each has been provided to the two seriously injured persons as per the norms of assistance of Ministry of Home Af fairs from SDRF. The two deceased persons have been identified as Holika (33) and Vijay (45) while two seri ously injured persons were Moksodul Haq and Khetoli.

Four more persons, who also suffered minor in juries, were discharged after receiving first aid at District Hospital, NSDMA stated.

State to spend `69 cr annually as premium for CMHIS

Correspondent

KOHIMA, OCT 14 (NPN): State government would spend Rs. 69 crore as pre mium annually for Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS), out of which Rs. 16 crore was re leased on Friday.

Finance commissioner Sentiyanger disclosed dur ing a press conference post launch of CMHIS at civil secretariat here. According to CMHIS portal, altogether 46,006 households, 61 State government employees and 45,945 pensioners had been covered till 7 pm on Friday

under the scheme, besides 2,33,328 were covered by Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

Planning & Coordina tion, Land Revenue and Par liamentary Affairs minister Neiba Kronu said CMHIS was meant to provide free and cashless treatment for

various ailments to all citi zens of the State.

He said the beneficiary families (general category) would get a health cover age of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum on a family floater basis similar to AB-PMJAY, while the sum assured for the State government em ployees would be Rs 20 lakh

Skipped polls, expect call from EC

NEW DELHI, OCT 14

(PTI): Missed out voting in elections? The Election Commission may soon reach out to you with a plea to cast your precious vote in the next round of elections.

Chief Election Com missioner Rajiv Kumar Fri day said it had reached out to the industry, departments and organisations with more than 500 employees to ap point nodal officers to create awareness among the nonvoting employees.

“After the voting, these nodal officers will try and persuade these non-voting employees. We will try to

reach out to them and say ‘please try next time’. That is a kind of awareness that we will start,” Kumar said at a press conference here.

He said EC was focus ing its energies trying to address the issue of urban apathy towards the poll pro cess.

Kumar said four met ropolitan cities were among the 7-8 districts that had witnessed the least voting in the 2019 general elections.

“We are focusing on urban apathy very, very se riously,” CEC said, adding that the CEOs and DEOs have been asked to focus on polling booths that have

witnessed lowest polling percentage in each constitu ency.

Kumar said district electoral officers have been asked to personally visit such booths, find out rea sons for lower turnout and address the difficulties faced by the people.

He said the Commis sion has three broad objec tives – to hold free and fair, inclusive, accessible and inducement-free elections.

The CEC said the Commis sion would also reach out to colleges and universities to increase their participation in the poll process.

per family per annum on a family floater basis.

Further, he mentioned that any additional expenses incurred by the government employees beyond the in sured amount would be reimbursed on a case-to-case basis by the State govern ment on the recommenda tion of State Medical Board.

Noting that applying for medical reimbursements often involved a long pro cedure and releasing the amount took time, Kronu claimed that CMHIS would be very helpful to get free health services and appealed

Chief Minister’s health insurance scheme launched in Nagaland

government was pursuing various financing resources including National Health Mission, World Bank , JICA etc to improve the state’s hospital facilities.

Rio appealed to all the beneficiaries to get enrolled through online enrolment portal including also for all hospitals to immediately enrolled so they could also be able to provide services immediately.

Correspondent

KOHIMA, OCT 14 (NPN):

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan

Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

Chief Minister’s Health In surance Scheme (AB PMJAY CMHIS), which seeks to provide free health insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh per family per year, was launched by state chief minister Neiphiu Rio here Thursday.

The chief minister launched the scheme at CM’s State Banquet Hall, CMRC, Kohima, as special guest and National Health Authority (NHA) CEO Dr. RS Sharma, who attended the programme virtually as guest of honour.

Speaking at the launch, Rio said that the scheme covering the entire popula tion of the State would expand the coverage of insurance benefits, over and above those being covered under Prime Minister’s Ay ushman Bharat scheme.

Rio described CMHIS as state-specific welfare scheme that would enable people of the state to get insurance of better access to health services under the scheme. He said that the scheme would provide an assured coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh for almost every illness requiring hospitalization. The scheme will be available

throughout a wide network of nearly 28000 Ayushman Bharat empanelled hospitals across the country, he said.

Rio also said govern ment servants and pension ers will get coverage of up to Rs. 20 lakh per family and also have access to nearly 1500 Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) empanelled hospitals.

He expressed the hope that the scheme will prevent many families driven to pov erty or suffer extreme hard ship after spending money on medical treatment.

He said that it was also an opportunity for the pri vate hospitals in the state to treat patients and get as sured payments.

“This is the first time that they are getting an op portunity to get empanelled and treat patients not only from the general population but also from among govern ment servants who are as of now going for treatment outside the state,” Rio said.

He also said that all government hospitals in the state will also get empanel ment to provide in-patient treatment under the scheme and the revenue earned from the scheme can be used by the hospitals for improv ing the delivery of health services in their respec tive facilities. He said the

Delivering keynote ad dress, state chief secretary, J Alam said that the Oriental Insurance Company Limited would be the insurance part ner. He said the government has already signed the agree ment with the company.

Alam expressed hope that the state would be able to provide equitable, afford able and quality healthcare services to the people of the State. Further, he stated that CMHIS can only be a success if all the stakehold ers, including the district administration, hospitals both public and private in the State, insurance partner and the people implement ing the scheme work hand in hand to bring the benefit to all the citizens in the State.

NHA CEO Dr. R. S. Sharma, in his live address from Delhi, stated that with the launch of CMHIS, Na galand would become the second state in North-east to have universal health coverage.

State health minis ter, S Pangnyu Phom, in formed that there were two schemes being implemented in the State covering spe cific population segmentsAB PM-JAY scheme for the pre-identified deprived categories and Medical Re imbursement Scheme (MR Scheme) for the government employees and their depen dent family members.

Himachal polls on Nov 12; Gujarat dates not announced

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on Novem ber 12, the Election Com mission said on Friday, but did not announce the poll schedule for Gujarat citing past precedents.

Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the count ing of votes for Himachal Pradesh polls will take place on December 8 and elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure maximum participation of voters in the “festival of democracy”.

However, the Com mission refrained from an nouncing the poll schedule for the Gujarat assembly which has a tenure till Feb ruary 18, 2023.

“The Election Com mission goes by convention in announcing poll sched ules. It has decided to go by the convention which was last followed,” Kumar told reporters when asked about keeping the announcement for Gujarat in abeyance.

Kumar asserted that polls in one state will not af fect elections in the other as “there is a gap of 40 days” in the qualifying dates of

the state assemblies of Him achal Pradesh and Gujarat.

The term of the Himachal Pradesh assembly ends on January 8, 2023.

However, it is still possible to hold Gujarat elections in the NovemberDecember period so that the votes could be counted on the same day as was the case in 2017.

Some opposition lead ers pointed out that an nouncing Gujarat elections later could allow the incum bent government to roll out more welfare schemes before the model code of conduct kicks in.

In 2017, EC had an nounced elections to Him achal on October 12 and to Gujarat on October 25.

According to poll schedule for Himachal on Friday, the notification for election will be issued on October 17 and the last date for filing of nominations will be October 25.

The scrutiny of nomi nations will be held on Oc tober 27 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be October 29.

Kumar said the polls will be held on November 12 and the counting of votes will be held on December 8.

DIMA PUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has denied a New Indian Express report on October 13, 2022 alleging that chief minister Neiphiu Rio was interrogated by Enforcement Directorate (ED) for several hours at a military facility at Ranga pahar in connection with a “non-existent High Court”.

In a statement, CMO termed as “fake” the news by one Amit Mukherjee, circulating through various media and social media platforms.

CMO also clarified that the chief minister was never called by ED in connection

with any matter connected with High Court. Further the communiqué termed it as “unfortunate that such false and baseless allegations were being made without verification, primarily to cause loss and injury to the reputation of the chief minister”.

CMO said action in ac cordance with law was being initiated against those con cerned and responsible for “reckless dissemination” of the fake news. The depart ment concerned would clar ify other aspects of the news item, the release added.

RPP not surprised: Meanwhile, Rising People’s

Party (RPP) said it was not surprised at Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogat ing chief minister Neiphiu Rio for six hours.

In a statement, RPP also said the interrogation would not be the last as it expected more grilling of the chief minister in the days to come.

Despite Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) denying the news and terming it fake, RPP pointed out that there was no smoke without fire. And quoting newspaper reports that the army had declined to comment, RPP asserted that this meant that

something was fishy.

CMO says ED interrogation of Rio fake; Not surprised says RPP Coordination meet for Hornbill Festival on Oct 17

Secondly, the par ty recalled that several months back ED had in terrogated five close con fidantes of Rio in connec tion with case no. ECIR/ GWZO/09/2020/488, one of whom was the personal assistant to CM. Thus, it was only natural that the chief minister himself would be interrogated, it added.

While the question in everyone’s mind was whether ED would pursue the matter to its logical con clusion or not, RPP asserted that it was amply clear that the chief minister could not escape the net cast by ED.

It said the chief minister was now a prisoner of BJP, which would have intense ramifications for the State.

The party said ED was also vigorously chas ing 10 NDPP MLAs, while speculation was rife that the Central agency had built up cases of corruption against them. Citing sources, RPP said these 10 MLAs might strike a bargain with BJP to join the party. Similarly, given the aggressive pursu ance of the case by ED, RPP said Rio too joining BJP could not be ruled out either.

It stated that NDPP was in a precarious position and there was absolutely

nothing the party could do anything about it.

Imchen joins issue: Former minister Imkong L. Imchen, who was among 21 NPF members who joined NDPP, opined that since NDPP is a registered politi cal party, it has every right to file FIR against sources responsible for spreading the news.

Therefore, he said since NDPP has declared that it was putting all legal instruments to place to ap prehend the culprit respon sible under the law, who or what is stopping NDPP from filing the FIR?

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): In view of the up coming 23nd Edition of Hornbill Festival 2022 and to deliberate on the prepa rations, the state tourism department has convened a coordination meeting on October 17, 2022 at 11 a.m. in the conference hall of the directorate of tourism, Kohima.

In a notification, Tour ism director Keduosieu Metha has, therefore, re quested two representa tives/members from each tribal hoho to attend the meeting.

Neiba Kronu along with officials addressing the media. (NP)

Neiphiu Rio, Pangnyu Phom and others at the launching programme.

President Droupadi Murmu speaking at the inaugural programme held in Guwahati, Friday. (NFR)

Lemsachenlok society commemorates ‘Int’l Wildlife Week’

DIMAPUR: Commemo rating “International Wild life Week & World Migra tory Bird Day”, Lemsa chenlok Society, Longleng in collaboration with Kal pavriksh & ICCA Consor tium, South Asia organised a programme at Fazl Ali College (FAC) conference hall, jointly hosted by FAC on the theme, “dim the lights for birds at night” on October 13, with SDO (C) Mokokchung, Sentilong Ozukum as special guest.

In his speech, Senti long Ozukum stated that tribal ecology was cen tered on the forest and they complemented each other, he however, stated that people have broken the ecological equilibrium in modern times.

“Nagas are known for our hospitality towards guests, so we must treat mi gratory birds with the same

level of respect and honour that we treat our guests,” he stated.

Good Earth Environ mental Arnhem, Dr. Taej Mundkur, who joined the programme virtually, ex plained the ecological ben efits of migratory birds and that birds have played an

important role in cultures around the world.

Lemsachenlok asso ciate director, Dr. Lima elaborated that Nagaland fell under the Indo-Burma belt where flora and fauna were in abundance.

In this regard, he stat ed that Nagaland could

IIIDEM organises virtual trg for police officers

DIMAPUR: International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (III DEM) under the Election Commission of India (ECI) organised a virtual training programme for police offi cers with regard to the forth coming general election to the legislative assembly of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura on Friday.

In a press release, of fice of the chief electoral officer (CEO) Nagaland stated that the police of ficers will act as State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs)/ resource person for down the line training in their respective states.

Some of the topics

1

Police officers attending the virtual training programme on Friday.

covered in t he training included—assessment of Central Armed Police Forc es (CAPF) requirement and state police deployment, categorisation of polling booths and vulnerability as sessment, security arrange ments for pre-poll, polling day and post poll period.

Death

Lord gave and the Lord has taken it away, blessed be the name of the Lord” -

Your life was a Blessing, your memory a Treasure, you are loved beyond Words and missed beyond Measure.

We are comforted knowing that Almighty God has you in His arms. You are forever remembered in our hearts.

Altogether 20 police officers including IGP (Range) Nagaland, Kohima Limasunep; DIG (HQR), Kohima Joseph Hesso; commissioner of police Di mapur Rothihu Tetseo; SPs, DCPs and other officer s from Nagaland attended the training programme.

promote responsible na ture-based tourism through initiatives and support from the government.

Aosanen, VCC Chu chuyimlang Temsumoa, VCC Chuchuyimpang and Likok, VCC Yaongyim chen also highlighted the role of communities to wards giving safe passage to migratory species.

They stated that al though headhunting was a bygone ethos, hunting of birds and animals for liveli hood and survival was un fortunately still prevalent in many parts of the state.

They urged upon oth er villages to work together in sensitising the people to create a corridor for wild life species and to change their mindsets.

Senior scientist WII, Dr. Suresh spoke on restor ing landscape for migra tory birds; Kalpavriksh- co

ordinator, ICCA Consor tium, South Asia Neema Pathak Broome spoke on “towards collaborative vi sion” while chief wild life warden, Vedpal Singh spoke virtually on signifi cance of collaboration towards creating corridor for migratory birds.

AKM & PSC presi dent also spoke on role of students towards con ducive environment and expressed interest to work with Lemsachenlok in bio diversity conservation ini tiatives and AlijoCademia (Morung Education).

Bible is entrenched with messages on conser vation: Nuklu Phom

Speaking on “Re deeming Eden”, Lemsa chenlok team leader, Y. Nuklu Phom stressed on how people should adhere to the teachings of the sacred books (scriptures).

He underscored how sacred teachings, especially the Bible was entrenched with conservation mes sages from the first book of Genesis.

Nuklu stated that the ecosystem has been mis used by humanity, because of which, nature had come so heavily upon the people today.

“If some individuals and communities do not come forward to create an improved environment, it is a sin as it is considered as social sin (CosmoEcologi cal Sin)”, he stated.

Earlier, Watsü Mung dang president, S. Arenla Longkumer delivered a solidarity message and FAC P. Temsu briefed on the way forward. More than 20 participants from villages under Longleng and Mokokchung districts attended the programme.

INTACH organises bamboo workshop

DIMAPUR: INTACH Nagaland Chapter in collaboration with Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA) organised a bamboo mat weaving workshop for school children under the INTACH initiative “learn a craft” on Friday.

In a press release, INTACH Nagaland Chapter stated that during a short pro gramme, NBDA, Dr. Tolto Metha spoke on bamboo tagged Green Gold and its diversi fication, various usages and applications.

The programme was presided by INTACH state convener Sentila T. Yanger while vote of thanks was proposed by

co-convener Nagaland Chapter, Mefutiba Longkumer.

The bamboo workshop was conducted by resource person Amenla, an expert bam boo weaving artisan.

Altogether, 75 students from Christina Memorial Higher Secondary School, Cha ris High Academy, Delhi Public School, Christian Higher Secondary School and Bethesda Higher Secondary participated in the workshop.

The students and teachers were also given a tour of the bamboo centre by NBDA, Kevin Solo.

NEWS IN BRIEF

NFHRCC meeting on Oct 16: Nagaland Foothill Road Co-ordination Committee (NFHRCC) has convened an emergency meeting on October 16, 3 pm, at Kher Mahal base office, Dimapur. In this re gard, NFHRCC has asked all the members to attend the meeting.

DC Wokha informs on relief assistance: Deputy commissioner & Wokha District Disaster Manage ment Authority chairman, Ajit Kumar Ranjan has informed that relief assistance for beneficiaries under SDRF has been sanctioned by the government (20182020). List of beneficiaries has been uploaded on www.wokha.nic.in.

In this regard, beneficiaries are requested to collect relief assistance from the disaster cell of DC office Wokha, 11 am-3 pm, by furnishing copy of Aadhaar card/other government issued ID card along with one passport sized photo.

Lions club to celebrate ‘Diwali Mela’: Lions club Dimapur has informed that the club will be celebrating “Diwali Mela” on October 16 at Lions Centre Mid land with state BJP president Temjen Imna Along as special guest. In this regard, Lions club has informed likeminded people to contribute towards the mela, which is a flagship project to raise funds. At present, Lions Health Centre provides free treatment, free health camps and social services among other projects for the welfare of people.

DC Chümou informs public

DIMAPUR: The deputy commissioner (DC) Chü moukedima Abhinav Shi vam has informed that pay ment of property compen sation in respect of Kiyevi village from chainage km 152.225 to km 156.810 has been made.

In this regard, the DC has directed all property owners to vacate their prop erties to enable execution of 2-lane road with hard shoul der of Peren-Dimapur sec tion of National Highway 129A. DC said the public notice has been issued to inform all concerned land

owners, other governmen tal, non-governmental agen cies whose lands and other properties/plantations have been acquired under Section 9(2) of the Nagaland Land Requisition and Acquisition Act to vacate /remove any standing structures on the compensated area from the date of issue of this notice, so that execution of work could commence smoothly. Therefore, DC has asked all to strictly comply and extend full cooperation to the executing team for the smooth implementation of the 2-lane road.

Acknowledgement

On this day, we lost a husband and father.

is absent in our lives yet he is everywhere, in the songs he loved, In the hills he had journeyed and in the warm sunshine he had basked in, He was to us, the most loving father and husband, the most dutiful son and brother, We remember his sacrifices to let us have the very best, Teaching us the value of honesty, hardwork and integrity, We miss him, O Lord, but we take comfort in the thought that he has found peace in your loving arms.

We,

RemembeRing

Ruokuozhalie Suokhrie

father,

“So

Through this column, we convey our profound gratitude and appreciation to everyone from far and near who stood by us with loving care in time of sorrow and grief and supporting us financially, materially, emotionally, physically and with unceasing prayer during the prolonged illness and untimely demise of my dear husband and our father, grandfather and brother. We are so much comforted by your unconditional support and felt deeply indebted. Though we are unable to repay you, it is our sincere prayer that our faithful Almighty God bless upon each of you abundantly the good deeds you have shown towards us.

would like to convey our special thanks to our brother-in-law

us through thick and thin.

individual, doctors

be

secret.

Father,

Loving

SDO (C) Mokokchung, Sentilong Ozukum speaking at the programme.

WEATHER FORECAST

15

Mhathung advises Lotha students to safeguard their tradition

At the programme, greeting note was deliv ered by Lotha Eleo Ek hung, Dimapur, chairperson Thechano M Kikon and Lotha Youth Organisation Dimapur (LYOD) president Nzanbemo Humtsoe, invo cation was offered by Bor lengri Lotha Baptist Church pastor, Rev. Arhonthung Odyuo and welcome address was delivered by organising committee, co-convenor Wobenthung Humtsoe.

Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Advisor of Horti culture & Border Affairs, Mhathung Yanthan on Fri day, advised students of the Lotha community to safeguard their identity and tradition.

Speaking as special guest at the two-day golden jubilee celebration of the Dimapur Lotha Students’ Union (DLSU) at Dima pur Government College auditorium on the theme, “envisioning radiant poster ity”, Mhathung exhorted the youth to be proud of their identity, culture and tradition.

While unfurling the

DLSU flag, the advisor re membered the pioneers who contributed towards the union and described jubilee as a time to remember the pioneers, their visions and deeds which he said, should be passed on to the next generation.

Stressing on the theme, he stated that DLSU must envision that God will bless them and the community to go forward. He also spoke on the importance of speaking one’s own language and that people should not forget their roots since it defined who they were and where they belonged.

Challenging the mem bers and students of the community, the advisor

urged upon them to learn to respect one another, love each other and stand as one for the community in order to progress. He also encour aged them to be ambassa dors by living and practicing what the community was known for, which is “the land of plenty”.

Mhathung also advised the student community to make the best use of their time by preparing to choose their path in a direction that will define their future.

“There is no short cut to success, one needs to work hard, be committed, dedicat ed and inculcate knowledge and wisdom for learning is a continuous process”, he stated.

Highlights of the pro gramme included song by jubilee choir, pioneers of Lotha community, HSLC and HSSLC merit students of the community were felicitated.

The programme was chiared by Kaka Lotha and Mhabemo Kithan.

Later, vote of thanks was delivered by DLSU magazine secretary Julli C Yanthan and benedic tion was offered by Senjum Baptist Church, Roland T Ngullie.

The celebration will culminate on October 15, with deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton as chief guest in the morning session and advisor of Information Technology, Science & Tech nology, NRE, Mmhonlumo Kikon as special guest in the evening session.

SEFTI Dimapur organises convocation programme

DIMAPUR: State En vironment and Forestry Training Institute (SEFTI) Dimapur, organised a con vocation of the 42nd batch of forest guard training at SEFTI, Signal Bosti, Dimapur on October 11.

In a press release, SEFTI Dimapur stated that a total of 25 forest guards of Nagaland Forest department successfully completed the six-month long training programme.

Speaking as chief guest at the programme, Principal Chief Conser vator of Forests & Head

of Forest Force (PCCF & HoFF) Dharmendra Prakash encouraged the trainees to implement what they had learned in the training at the field.

He advised them to adopt schools in their places of posting to dis seminate forestry activities to students and reminded them that they were “the foot soldiers of the depart ment”.

Dharmendra Prakash exhorted the trainees that they knew more about what was going at ground level more than the officers

and that they should always find opportunities to help create good image of the department.

At the programme, SEFTI director, M Shakiba Yimchunger delivered the annual convocation ad dress and congratulated the trainees while speech on behalf of trainees was de livered by Imlong Chang, from Intanki National Park.

Later, vote of thanks was proposed by range officer, Medziphema, Flor ence Sangtam and former faculty of the institute.

FSSAI certifies FBO units under Mokokchung zone 23rd World Sight Day observed in Dimapur

DIMAPUR: Under the initia tive of Food Safety & Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) and department of Health & Family Welfare(H&FW), Nagaland, vari ous food safety activities/audits were conducted by MS Certifica tion Services LTD, Kolkata, an FS SAI empanelled agency and Food Safety wing, Mokokchung zone.

In a press release, District Programme Management Unit (DPMU) Mokokchung informed that during the activities, 58 Food Business Operators (FBOs) includ ing Self-Help Groups (SHGs) were trained and certified on Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC).

A total of 20 restaurants and cafes were audited for hygiene rating, out of which, six achieved “excellent” and 14 achieved “very good” ratings.

A total of five high risk units such as bakery and hotel were ac cessed out of which two received

A+ and three received ‘B’ rating. One fruit and vegetable mar ket in Mokokchung was also certi fied as clean fruit and vegetable market while Clark Theological College (CTC) and Fazl Ali Col lege (FAC) Mokokchung were certified as models for “Eat Right Campus.”

The 23 Assam Rifles Mokok chung Mandir was audited and certified under Blissful & Hygienic Offering to God (BHOG); two residential schools, one in Mokok chung and another in Zunheboto are under the process of certifica tion as models under “Eat Right School.”

Food Safety designated of ficer, C. Merenlemba informed that Food Safety Mokokchung Zone comprises of Mokokchung, Zunheboto, Tuensang and Long leng districts.

He also added that the up coming cycle will cover the re maining districts under the zone.

ASHAs, CHOs oriented on oral health in Phek

DIMAPUR: National Oral Health Programme (NOHP) Phek conducted a training on “orientation of oral health and managing dental emergencies” for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and community health officers (CHOs) under Phek Sadar on Friday, in the Dr. Wethselo T. Mero Memorial hall of District Hospital (DH) Phek.

In a press release, NHM Phek, district media officer (DMO), Kutolu Nakro stat ed that during the programme, resource person, DH Phek senior dental surgeon Dr. Nichukholie Vupru highlighted the importance of oral health and its influ ence on other parts of the body.

Basic oral health care methods and healthy food habits were also deliberated and awareness on prevention of common oral health problems was discussed.

Managing of dental emergencies at grassroots level by the health workers was emphasised while the role played by healthcare workers in providing first level services of early detection, screen ing and management of common dental diseases including dental emergencies was impressed upon the members in the training.

Peren, Kiphire TOs inform pensioners

DIMAPUR: Kiphire treasury officer (TO) K. Khehoto has informed that physical verification for pensioners under TO Kiphire will be conduct ed from November 9-11.

TO informed that the first phase of veri fication will be held on November 10 & 11 (Kip hire) at TO Kiphire while second phase will be held on November 9 (Pungro) at ADC office Pungro, at office hours.

DIMAPUR: National Pro gramme for Control of Blindness& Visual Impair ment (NPCBVI) Dimapur organised the 23rd “World Sight Day” with Bridge Programme Certificate in Community Health for Nurses (BPCCHN) stu dents, School of Nursing, District Hospital Dimapur on the theme “love your eyes”.

In a press release, Dis trict Programme Manage ment Unit (DPMU) Dima pur stated that during the programme, District Hos pital, senior specialist Dr. Asonla Aying informed that the event was being initiated under NPCBVI with an aim to enhance public awareness on eye health.

She sensitised the par ticipants on the six tips to ensure better eye care—reg ular eye check-up, be aware of all related eye diseases,

wear goggles to protect the eye from UV rays, take regular break from screen and minimise screen time, regularly monitor blood pressure and blood sugar and maintain healthy life style.

Elementary level competition held in Kohima

DIMAPUR: District Mis sion Authority, Samagra Shiksha Kohima conducted a district level quiz competi tion on the topic “science, mathematics & technol ogy” in the conference hall of the DEO on October 12.

Altogether, 14 students from seven government schools studying in class VII and VIII under Kohima & Tseminyu participated in the quiz competition.

Rs. 2000 respectively, along with certificates while the participants received cer tificates.

Dr. Asonla stated that following these six simple tips would immensely help protect the eyes and pre vent many eye diseases.

She also added that the eyes were not only the mirror of the heart but

also the whole body as the eyes were the first organs to manifest many systemic diseases.

In this regard, she urged upon the aspiring stu dents to spread the aware ness on eye care and the importance of regular eye check-up wherever they may work in the future.

In commemoration of the event, over 150 eye screenings for refractive er ror have been conducted at District Hospital Eye OPD.

DIMAPUR: Under the ae gis of the National Health Mission (NHM), office of the chief medical of ficer (CMO) along with District Health Society (DHS) Kohima and state officials of Health & Fam ily Welfare (H&FW) de partment organised the launching programme of Surakshit Matritva Aash wasan (SUMAN) scheme at Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) Seikhazou on October 11.

In a press release, of fice of the CMO Kohima stated that NHM mission director, Dr. Thorhüsie Kat iry said SUMAN in context to zero preventable services for mother and child should have the maximal outcome.

He stated that health care provider should be prompt in performing his/ her duties with sincerity as the initiative focuses on as sured delivery of maternal and new born healthcare services encompassing wid er access to free and quality services, zero tolerance for denial of services, assured management of complica tion, etc.

At the programme, brief introduction on SUMAN was presented by DPO RMNCHA+N, Dr. Rupert Peseyie, who informed that SUMAN was an initiative by the centre, for zero prevent able maternal and new born death.

Dr. Rupert informed

that the programme pro vides affordable and quality healthcare solution to preg nant women and newborns who receive zero expenses access up to six months after delivery.

Naga Mothers Asso ciation (NMA), joint sec retary, Sawmi Leyri stated that central schemes were not always conducive.

In this regard, she urged upon the depart ment to be proactive in monitoring and supervis ing as SUMAN scheme should directly benefit beneficiaries.

The programme was chaired by CMO Dr. Tum chobeni while deputy CMO Dr. Imchatoshi proposed vote of thanks.

Pensioners have been directed to bring personal PPO book; re newed pensioner ID card and photocopy of Aad haar card.

Meanwhile, trea sury officer Peren N. Matsungshiba Aier in formed pensioners draw ing pension from TO Peren that the annual physical verification will be conducted from Octo ber 18 to 20.

In this regard, all concerned pensioners have been requested to come in person with a photocopy of Aadhaar Card at the time of veri fication on October 18 (Jalukie, Athibung & Ngwalwa Circle; Octo ber 19 (Tening Circle) and October 20 (Peren Circle).

Winners of the com petition include—Anand of GMS Meriema (first); Eshe Yomei of GMS Dak lane (second) and Mhasin einuo of GMS Merhülietsa (third).

The winners were awarded with a cash prize of Rs.5000, Rs. 3000 and

Quiz masters for the programme were TOTS Chiephobozou Trisha Tha pa and TOTS Chiephobo zou Vibeizolie while panel of judges included project assistant Neivikhono and IE coordinator DMA SS Kohima Cecilia and project assistant Ruokuoneinuo was the time keeper.

Earlier, the programme was chaired by DMA Sa magra Shiksha Kohima as sistant coordinator Thong senlo, DEO Kohima Emilo Patton delivered welcome address and project assis tant Peteneilhou proposed vote of thanks.

Deputy chief minister and BLP leader, Y. Patton called on

national president, JP Nadda and discussed about

affairs at New Delhi on Friday. (Dy

media

The jubilee choir performing at the programme. (Inset) Mhathung Yanthan. (NP)

PCCF & HoFF Dharmendra Prakash along with SEFTI functionaries and forest guards at the programme.

Dr. Asonla Aying speaking at the programme on October 13.

Touched at being called daughter of Assam: Murmu

GUWAHATI, OCT 14

(PTI): President Droupadi Murmu Friday said that she was touched at the gesture of Assam Chief Minister Hi manta Biswa Sarma calling her a ‘daughter of the state’ and made her feel at home.

Murmu lauded the As sam government for its vari ous developmental projects, specially for tea workers and for women empowerment.

The Centre is also con tributing its bit by boosting infrastructure, connectivity and all other sectors, she said after launching and laying foundation stones for vari ous central and state govern ment projects on the virtual mode at a programme here.

“I must thank the chief minister for calling me a ‘daughter of the state’ at the civic reception last night. It has touched my heart. The welcome I have received here has made me feel at home and I will return soon,” the President said on the con cluding day of her two-day maiden trip to Assam after assuming office.

The state government had hosted a civic recep tion in honour of Murmu on Thursday evening dur ing which Chief Minister

Himanta Biswa Sarma had dwelt on how tea garden workers from various parts of the country, including Odisha, had settled in As sam and made it their home.

Through this connec tion the president was like a daughter of the state, he had said welcoming her to Assam.

Murmu praised the state government’s initiatives for the tea garden workers’ development as she laid the foundation stones for 100 model secondary schools in tea garden areas through the virtual mode at the programme. The president said she met some workers from different tea gardens

earlier in the day and ex pressed satisfaction over the government’s measures for strengthening education at the grassroots level.

A society that respects its women is considered a civilised one, she said ap preciating the initiatives for women empowerment and mentioned the 3000 model Angwandai Centres whose foundation she laid as a step in that direction.

Murmu said that the projects which she launched or laid the foundation for will boost Assam’s image not just at the national level but also globally. “Infrastructure is the basis of development. Assam is at the center of ‘Act

Conrad unveils freedom fighters’ statues

tion of the different cultures that we have but it’s more of a reminder and more of a mechanism for us to ensure that the younger generation does not forget who they are and be proud of our roots but at the same time respect other cultures,” he said.

The Chief Minister further said that preserving the culture is an important aspect that needs to be given due weightage.

East Policy’ of the central government and it has been putting thrust on improving the infrastructure of the state,” she said.

Murmu stressed on the importance of connectivity for development in all sec tors and said the road and railway projects she initiated during the visit will boost it.

At the programme the president flagged off virtu ally the extended run of a Guwahati-Lumding train to Shokhuvi (Nagaland) and Mendipathar (Meghalaya), making it the first direct passenger train service con necting the two north east ern states.

She also inaugurated the rail-fed petroleum stor age depot of Indian Oil Corporation at Moinarbond in Silchar, besides two high way projects and modern cargo-cum-coaching termi nal at Agthori, about 16.5 km away.

The president had inau gurated and laid foundation for various central and state projects through the virtual mode at a programme at IIT Guwahati on Thursday. She also attended a civic recep tion called in her honour by the state government later in

ally IPFT lawmaker resigns

AGARTALA, OCT 14 (PTI): IPFT lawmaker Dhananjoy Tripura resigned from the Tripura Assembly on Friday, months before the state poll citing ‘personal reasons’. IPFT is an ally of the ruling NDA in the north eastern state, where poll is due by March next year.

the evening.

She visited and paid obeisance at the Shaktipeeth, Kamakhya temple, here on Friday morning.

President Droupadi Murmu prays at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday offered prayers at the famous Ka makhya Temple, one of 51 Shakti Peethas, atop Ni lachal Hills in Guwahati on the last day of her two-day visit to Assam.

She was accompanied by Governor Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other dig nitaries. “The President and her daughter paid obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum and performed ‘parikrama’ of the temple.

“She offered puja and performed rituals. As the President has several pro grammes during the day, there was no time for interac tion with her,” a priest at the Shakti Peetha told reporters.

Earlier this year, Mur mu had offered prayer at the temple during her visit to the city while campaigning for the presidential election.

Meghalaya HC Chief Justice stresses on mobility in Shillong

Correspondent

SHILLONG, OCT 14:

With agonizing and ever in creasing traffic snarls in the state capital having thrown normal life helter skelter, the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, Justice Sanjib Banerjee has stressed on prioritizing mobility in this mountainous state capital of Meghalaya.

Inaugurating a sym posia series on ‘Improving Mobility in Shillong’, orga nized by the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong on Friday, Justice Banerjee stressed on the importance of making mobility in the capital city a priority. Stating that Shillong is one of the most beautiful hill stations that he had visited, he un derscored, “There is urgent need to build basic facilities, good infrastructure and en sure that Shillong continues to develop at par with other cities of the world”.

Meghalaya Chief Sec retary, Donald Philips Wah lang, who was also present, in his speech stressed on the importance of mobility for development and pointed out that mobility problems

are an issue of major con cern due to the unavailabil ity of a good road network, which often results in highto severe-grade congestion.

“Traffic violations, wrongful parking, lack of parking space and burgeon ing number of cars are add ing to the problem,” Wah lang said and stressed on the need for innovative planning to resolve the issue.

The chief justice thanked the judiciary for taking a keen interest in sorting out the issue with the help from IIM Shillong.

Director, IIM Shillong, DP Goyal, expressed his happiness that steps towards resolving the issue were be ing taken by IIM Shillong.

“It is only right that the

process of collaboration to resolve social issues is taken in an educational institu tion,” he observed. In-depth discussions were held on aspects of the blue prints, which were presented by all the concerned department heads of the government of Meghalaya. During the symposium, it was also de cided that the IIM Shillong and various departments of the Meghalaya government would work together to create ideas for improving mobility in Shillong. The second symposium in this regard is scheduled to be held on October 19, during which all the major stakeholders are expected to participate, an IIM spokes person said.

Mnp CM to reward hill villages preserving forests

Correspondent

Correspondent

SHILLONG, OCT 14:

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma unveiled life-size statues of the three freedom fighters from Meghalaya, U Tirot Sing, U Kiang Nang bah and Pa Togan Neng minza at the State Central Library premises here on Friday.

Besides unveiling the statues of the three freedom fighters, the Chief Minister inaugurated the two days’ Tri Hills Ensemble, show casing the arts and culture, heritage, tradition, music, attires and cuisines of the indigenous Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities.

Addressing the gather ing at the U Soso Tham Au ditorium during the inaugu ral function, chief minister Sangma observed that the

current year is “very sig nificant” as India celebrates 75th anniversary of freedom and Meghalaya celebrates its 50th anniversary of State hood.

“It is in the right ear nest that we are having a cultural program of this kind for two days, to not just celebrate our culture, but also to recognize the fact that we have touched 50 years as a state and have also touched 75 years as an independent country,” he said adding that such programs help recollect and remind the people of their “great history”.

Sangma also under scored that everyone, espe cially the younger genera tion need to be educated and made aware of their culture and roots. “These two days are not just simply a celebra

“We would like to give financial support to the six villages that have been awarded today so that they can continue the good work that they are doing and we will ensure that this kind of reward and recognition is done annually because it encourages other villages,” he said.

Sangma also mooted the idea of using technology and creating database so that information about the history, culture and tradition can be accessed.

“While we are ensuring that we preserve our culture and tradition and pass it on to the younger generation it is also important to see how we could use this in order to enrich the experience of the different tourists who come into our State which would then become a USP for the State,” he emphasized.

Speaker Ratan Chakraborty said Tripura accompanied by Tipra Mo tha chief Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma met him and submitted the res ignation letter citing “per sonal reasons”. “Since he (Tripura) quit as per the law and procedure, I ac cepted his resignation let ter”, Chakraborty said.

Tripura represents Rai ma Valley in Dhalai district.

IPFT’s strength has reduced from eight to six after Tripura’s resignation.

Earlier, party legislator Brishaketu Debbarma was declared disqualified by the speaker and had joined Tipra Motha, a regional po litical force. Another IPFT MLA Mevar Kumar Jama tia, who was denied cabinet berth in the Manik Saha ministry, was seen meeting Pradyot Kishore Debbarma at the Royal Palace here on Friday. Debbarma is the scion of the erstwhile royal family.

IMPHAL, OCT 14: Ma nipur chief minister N Bi ren Singh on Friday an nounced rewards for 13 villages in Churachandpur district bordering Myanmar for properly maintaining the forest cover and for not cul tivating poppy. Singh made the announcement during his speech after inaugurat ing Chivu – Chandrakirti Memorial Park at Tonjang village of district bordering Myanmar.

He also laid the foun dation stone of Manipur Southern Cultural Centre at Behiang, another border village. The centre is said to be constructed at a project cost Rs six crore. He said the government wanted to develop Behiang as an in ternational business hub like Moreh town and bring development there.

Singh highlighted sev eral other developmental works which the state gov ernment took up in Singhat sub-division of the district.

“There should be equal development,” the chief minister said adding that “there are no small or big communities, we are all hu mans and should live togeth er.” He said that though the incumbent government was taking Manipur forward it was affected for around two

years by COVID. However, the government was working harder for the past six or so months to make up for the delay, he added.

The chief minister ap preciated residents of the border villages for maintain ing the forest areas, saying that he was against mass deforestation for poppy cul tivation and not against small clearances for the food cultivation process.

The chief minister an nounced rewards for the 13 villages of the area for properly maintaining the for

est cover and for prohibiting poppy cultivation in their area. Rajya Sabha MP Ma haraj Leishemba Sanajaoba expressed his happiness to the people of the area for preserving and protecting the artifacts erected in the park for such a long time.

Earlier, in his speech, local MLA Chinlunthang ac knowledged before the chief minister that there was no poppy cultivation in the area.

Tipaimukh MLA Ngursan glur Sanate elaborated on the need for everyone in the state to learn Manipuri.

He said, “If we want to bring unity in the state, we have to learn Manipuri, ” and encouraged people, especially those in the hills to learn the language.

The inscribed stone at Chivu was erected dur ing the reign of Maharaj Chandrakirti (1850 -1886 CE) in the year 1872 CE to commemorate the Lushai Expedition. A large stone slab with a pair of engraved footprints of Maharaj Chan drakirti and General Nathan is lying in front of the in scribed stone.

ITANAGAR, OCT 14 (PTI): The Arunachal Pradesh government has appointed three new of ficials of the state public service commission, re placing those who were suspended in connection with an assistant engineer exam paper leak case.

Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB) secretary D Ver

ma has been given the additional charge as the secretary of the state PSC, according to a govern ment notification issued on Thursday evening.

Balijan additional deputy commissioner Tasso Gambo has been appointed as the joint sec retary and controller of examination of the com mission.

Roing extra assistant commissioner Rakesh Ta cho is now the deputy secretary of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APSSC), the notification said.

The government had on Wednesday suspended APSSC secretary Jayanta Kumar Ray and joint sec retary Suraj Gurung in con nection with the assistant

engineer (civil) examina tion paper leak case.

The development came after a meeting regarding the reforma tion of the APPSC was held among Chief Min ister Pema Khandu, and representatives of the All Arunachal Pradesh Stu dents’ Union and All Nyi shi Students’ Union.

The government had

earlier suspended APPSC deputy secretary and dep uty controller of examina tions Taket Jerang after he was arrested in connection with the case.

The scam came to light after a candidate on August 29 lodged a com plaint with the Itanagar Police Station, suspecting that the assistant engineer (Civil) examination paper

was leaked. The test was held on August 26 and 27. Notably, more than 400 candidates appeared in the examination.

So far, the police have arrested ten people in connection with the case including, several govern ment officials.

The state government has already recommended for CBI probe into the case.

GANGTOK, OCT 14

(PTI): Sikkim Chief Min ister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday said his govern ment was working on a new disaster risk reduction framework with other Hi malayan states to deal with natural calamities.

The mountain states have their own perils and hazards, which are very different from the plains, and the frequent occurrence of landslides was a peren nial phenomenon affecting the livelihood, transport, communication and other aspects of the locals, he said.

“The state government is continuously working together with all the Hi

malayan states and other stakeholders to establish a new disaster risk reduction framework for the region in order to deal with natural disasters,” Tamang said, addressing a conclave here.

Sikkim alone incurs huge losses every year due to landslides, which can not be avoided, as the state

is located in the Himala yan mountain range, the CM said. Earlier this week, heavy rain triggered mul tiple landslides in Sikkim, snapping road connectivity between Gangtok and West Bengal, officials said.

Tamang said the loss of forest cover weakens nature’s ability to withstand extreme weather conditions, and all stakeholders should collectively work to protect the ecosystem, and invest more on environmental and climate resilience. The Sik kim government has taken necessary steps to protect the environment by imple menting various policies, the chief minister added.

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): The Union govern ment has upgraded the se curity cover of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to the top category of Z-plus after a recent review, officials said on Friday.

Sarma, 53, has been enjoying a Z category cover provided by the Central Re serve Police Force (CRPF) VIP security unit for his travel in the north eastern states till now. After a recent security review, the CRPF has been directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to upgrade his se curity to the top category of Z-plus on an all-India basis, the officials said.

President Droupadi Murmu with Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. (PTI)

Manipur CM N Biren Singh inaugurating Chivu – Chandrakirti Memorial Park in a village at Indo-Myanmar border on Friday.

S tatues of U Tirot Sing, U Kiang Nangbah and Pa Togan Sangma at U Soso Tham Auditorium.

Justice Sanjib Banerjee

Flood situation in Assam remains grim

ger level at Nematighat in Jorhat district and Tezpur, the bulletin said.

Altogether 283 villages under 24 revenue circles have reported flooding.

Reports of damage to roads and other infrastruc ture have been received from Bishwanath, Bon gaigaon, and Dhemaji.

Erosion has been re ported from Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Dhemaji, Di brugarh, Dhubri, Moriga on, and Tinsukia.

The Regional Me teorological Centre, Gu wahati, has forecast fairly widespread to scattered and isolated rainfall in several districts till Saturday.

Assam:Over500peoplerendered homelessbyBrahmaputraerosion

Shillong gets it first five-star

Correspondent

SHILLONG, OCT 14: Hotel Taj Vivanta Megha laya, Shillong, the first ever five-star hotel was inaugu rated on Friday by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma although the property is unlikely to open for guests before next year.

People load their belongings on a boat to shift to a safer place from a waterlogged area after rains, in Morigaon district, Friday. (PTI)

GUWAHATI, OCT 14

previous day.

Over 500 people in Assam’s Morigaon dis trict were rendered home less due to heavy erosion by the Brahmaputra river, officials said on Friday.

(PTI):

The flood situation in Assam continued to re main grim on Friday with heavy rain inundating more areas, an official bulletin said.

Several areas of the state and neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh received heavy rainfall with the flood waters inundating 11 dis tricts as against nine on the

The affected districts are Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Gola ghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, Majuli, Nagaon, and Tinsukia, according to the bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

The northeastern state is currently experiencing the

third wave of flood due to heavy rain since Monday.

However, the popula tion impacted by the natural calamity has declined to 41,287 as against 50,839 on Thursday with Lakhimpur district being the worst af fected with over 26,000 people reeling under the deluge.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the dan

BJP brought development to Tripura, other parties unleashed violence: CM

AGARTALA, OCT 14

(PTI): Asserting that the BJP-led government in Tri pura has ushered in many development initiatives since 2018, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday urged people to cast their votes in favour of the BJP in Assembly polls next year “as all other par ties have a long history of political violence”.

Saha, addressing a rally after inaugurat ing BJP’s Unakoti dis trict office at Kailashahar, claimed that people of the state have only “witnessed killings and attacks” dur ing the 35 years of CPI(M) rule.

“You should also not forget the days of horror during the rule of the Con gress-led coalition govern ment in the state, and the waves of terror that the TMC has unleashed in neighbouring West Ben gal,” the CM stated.

BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee, par ty in-charge of Tripura, Mahesh Sharma, and the party’s general secre tary (Assam and Tripura, Phanindra Nath Sarma, were among those present at the event.

“The only option for people is the BJP, guided by leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and JP

Two Arunachal youths missing from near China border

GUWAHATI, OCT 14 (AGENCIES): Two Arunachal Pradesh youth have not re turned home after setting out in search of medicinal plants at a place near the State’s border with China, reports The Hindu.

Bateilum Tikro and Bay ingso Manyu had left for Cha glagam in Anjaw district on August 19 but members of their families lodged a missing com plaint on October 9 at the local police station. The two are from Goiliang town in the district.

The relatives said they lodged the complaint after searches for the duo went in vain. The search was concen trated in the direction where locals had last spotted the two on August 24.

“We sought the help of the police as we suspect they may have crossed over to China inadvertently,” a member of the missing Tikro’s family said.

The families also appealed to the Centre, the State govern ment and the Army to help them trace the duo.

Anjaw Superintendent of Police Rike Kamsi said the police received a report stating the boys had been missing since going to a border area for col lecting herbs. The complaint was registered on October 9.

“We will submit a report to the State government after examining the witnesses, family members and the villagers living near the border. It is common for the locals to explore forests in search of medicinal herbs,” he said.

Mr. Kamsi said the boys could be taking shelter some where within the Indian terri tory near the border. “It takes up to 12 days to reach the site from Goiliang on foot,” he added.

In January, Miram Taron, a youth from the State’s Upper Siang district, had inadvertently crossed over to China while going out in search of medici nal plants in a forest near the border.

Nadda. The saffron party, which doesn’t believe in terror, has been working for the betterment of the state and its people since it came to power in 2018. All others have a long history of political violence,” Saha maintained.

Slamming the TMC for its “terror tactics” in Bengal, the chief minister alleged that at least 100 BJP party leaders and workers were killed in the state, while thousands oth ers were driven out.

“The TMC, after top pling the Communist re gime in Bengal, adopted the same terror tactics to rule the state,” he said.

The river swallowed about 3 km area, includ ing cropland, roads and houses around Murkata village, they said.

Around 80 domestic animals were killed, and the century-old Durga temple of the village was also swallowed by the river, they added. The homeless people are at present living on a road side in Mayong area of

the Morigaon district, and in Chandrapur area in the neighbouring Kamrup Metro district. They have been provided with tar paulins and other relief materials, officials said.

The Water Resourc es Department is working to arrest the erosion, but the situation is yet to be brought under control, they said.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, a habitat of the famed one-horned rhinoceros, was also un der threat by the unabated erosion, forest officials said.

There was jubilation and history in the air with ministers and government officials joining officials and various guests from the hospitality industry and other stakeholders to witness the inauguration of the first ever five-star hotel on the 50th year of statehood.

While it reportedly took twenty two years to build one of the seven won ders of the world, the fabled Taj Mahal at Agra in India, to the Crowborough hotel, now rechristened as Taj Vi vanta Meghalaya, goes the dubious distinction of tak ing 36 years for completion.

It may be recalled that it was towards the end of 1987 that the foundation stone of this hotel was laid by Meghalaya’s first Chief

Minister, the late Capt Wil liamson A Sangma, as one of his last public functions before taking his final bow from the political stage of Meghalaya. Work on the Crowborough Hotel, located at Police Bazar, had started in 1987 but was stopped following disputes which led to court cases be tween the Meghalaya gov ernment and contractors.

Moreover, there was opposition from several quarters as the property was opposite the Assembly and many argued it posed a potential security risk to the lawmakers. There were other legal challenges too,

which together stalled the project. During the inau guration photographs of the foundation stone lay ing ceremony transported visitors to a bygone era in which Captain Sangma could be seen laying the foundation under a plain marquee together with other officials.

Calling it a “truly mo mentous occasion in the history of Meghalaya”, the Chief Minister mentioned that the work for the hotel had been going on since 1986 and could be complet ed after 36 years only after a “strong push” was given by the current government.

Manipur cops bust newly formed underground outfit

Correspondent

IMPHAL, OCT 14: Mani pur police on Friday arrested a key leader of a newly formed underground orga nization who was allegedly served monetary demand letters to government institu tions and media houses.

The arrested person was identified as Paikhomba Wahengbam alias Yohenba Mangang (30) of Kumbi Mayai Leikai of Bishnupur district.

The police accused him of being the self-styled fi nance and accountant of the recently formed under ground organization - Co alition for Liberation with Globalization of Kanglei pak (COLIGK).

“The arrest of the key person behind the newly formed underground orga nization at its initial stage is a major achievement of the Manipur poli ce,” Imphal West district SP Ksh Shiva kumar claimed.

While parading the arrested person before the media, the SP said a team of police commandos at tached with the Imphal West district police arrested him during an operation in Kwakeithel area today morning.

The SP said that the state police were investigat ing the formation of a new underground organization called Coalition for Lib eration with Globalization of Kangleipak (COLIGK)

based on inputs.

“We have information that the new organization is serving demand letters and threats to various govern ment institutions, hospitals, press media, etc. in the re cent time,” the SP said.

After analysis of technical intelligence and through human intelligence, the suspect was identified and his whereabouts were zoned in Kwakeithel area of Imphal West district.

The police commandos immediately rushed to the area and conducted a search operation at some suspected houses.

The suspect was arrest ed from a rented house, he

said. On further raid of the rented house, police com mandos recovered 99 let terheads of COLIGK, four demand letters of COLIGK signed by self-styled Yo henba Mangang, finance and account of COLIGK, one each of laptop, ink tank printer, motorcycle (Pleasure brand), i20 car, pen drive and two mobile phones.

A wallet containing one driving license, an ATM card, Rs 6,000 Indian cur rency, 2000 Korean Won, 110 Bangladesh Taka, 700 Myanmar Kyat and 140 Thailand Baht were also seized from his possession, the SP said.

During preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the arrested person was behind the formation of the organization.

He was trying to fur ther the activities of the organization using his name as finance and accountant Yohenba Mangang.

The police also re vealed that he had served monetary demand letters to 40 government-run colleges, directors of RIMS, JNIMS, AYUSH, etc.

He also served similar demand letters to various print, electronic media and admins of various social media pages through posts, the SP alleged.

NORTH

Hotel Taj Vivanta in Shillong.

Nagaland

Having said so

Major shifts in economic policies from social wel fare to pro rich-growth, has seen wealth grow among some corporate houses but which has also come at a high price for the middle and lower income. However, of utmost concern is on the social front, where there is a discernible polarisation in the environment. As the world’s largest democracy, India has all the world’s religions – Hinduism, Islam, Sikh ism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and teh Bahai faith besides animism. There are 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India, each related to a specific occupation. Indian culture is one of the most ancient cultures present in the world. The country is quite diverse and is home to several com munities, each of whom has their own culture and traditions. There are also 705 tribal communities in India whose population is 10.43 crore as per 2011 census. Tribals constitute 8.6% of the total population while 89.97% of them live in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas. For the better part of its 75 years of independence, India has seen the highs and lows of communal harmony. It is acknowledged that social harmony in a country with 130 crore people having diverse religion and culture is not always easy. How ever, since 2014 the narrative has changed to unity in nationalism. The atmosphere of religious intolerance which has seen a sharp rise in the last several years has been a serious cause for concern in the country. India is the beloved home for practitioners of all major religions in the world where Indian culture accepts diversity of faiths and beliefs. Religious harmony and social cohesion are two core elements for progress and development. However, there is growing intoler ance towards diverse religions leading to communal violence and ripples in social harmony. Instances of intolerance- Frequent use of National Security Act (NSA) for ‘cow slaughter’ by some state governments or using the archaic laws. Instead of getting to the cause of communal violence indulged to by a section of right wing elements, India’s archaic sedition law, under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code has been applied to those on the other side of the spec trum. The law is absurdly broad, making it a criminal offense vague and left to the interpretation of those in power. Political parties polarize naive voters in the name of religion while various cultural organisations are misinterpreting and propagating truths to affirm revivalist predispositions. The Indian media has unfor tunately allowed itself to be used to broadcast uncon firmed, sensitive and often biased reports on national television. Debates are polarised and anchorpersons acting as accuser, judge and executioner. It has also impacted freedom of speech-shows of comedians be ing banned by vigilante groups. Ministers themselves spew hate speeches and incite violence but are not made accountable. Amidst all these, Rashtriya Sway amsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said all sections of minorities must stand against communal violence and the society should ensure that such in cidents aren’t repeated. Bhagwat also held meetings with leaders of minority religions and exhorted Hindus to not go looking for a shivling in every mosque. Bhag wat’s message is welcome and assuring but it will only be meaningful if central ministers and leaders heed to his advice.

DailyDevotion

The Key to the Missionary’s Work

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” —Matthew 28:18-19

The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost. We are in clined to look on our Lord as one who assists us in our endeavors for God. Yet our Lord places Himself as the absolute sovereign and supreme Lord over His disci ples. He does not say that the lost will never be saved if we don’t go— He simply says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations….” He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty, teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.” “Then the eleven disciples went…to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them” (Matthew 28:16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him myself. I must take time to worship the One whose name I bear. Jesus says, “Come to Me…”— that is the place to meet Jesus— “all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28)— and how many missionaries are! We completely dismiss these wonderful words of the universal Sovereign of the world, but they are the words of Jesus to His dis ciples meant for here and now.

“Go therefore….” To “go” simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say in this verse, “Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria,” but, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in [all these places].” He takes upon Himself the work of sending us. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)— that is the way to keep going. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.

“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 20:24). That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.

Quotes

Post-mortem

Racism against North East people

Aresident of the North east will be an Indian only if s/he wins the medal, otherwise the insidious people will call him chinky, Chinese-Momos or Corona!!

Recently, Nagaland Minister joked about the benefits of having ‘small eyes’. Minister Temjen Imna along said, “Because I have small eyes, less dirt enters my eyes. Also, I can easily sleep when I am on the stage and some long programme is going on!” Let’s applaud him for his dark comedy! I strongly feel its great vehicle to get a message through. Dark comedy is nothing but errors of society and we need to fix it! “Race is not a biological category but it’s a social category.

“Racism is a system atic ideology, a complex set of beliefs and practices that, on the presumed basis of biology, divides human ity into the ‘higher’ us and a lower ‘them’.

In a nutshell, it is this: one can tell everything im portant about a person, his group, its past and future, by noting the colour of his skin.

The term is also ap plied to political, econom ic, or legal institutions and systems that engage in or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race or otherwise reinforce racial inequalities in wealth and income, education, health care, civil rights, and other areas. According to KM Panikkar, casteism is al legiance to a caste trans formed into politics. Ac

cording to sociologist Kaka Kalelkar, casteism is blind and finite worship of ma jor group, which ignores the propriety, morality and universal fraternity of common norms of justice. The mentality of being brighter in colour, mean ing belonging to a certain class, is deeply ingrained in us. This same mentality is now going so far as to criminalize certain colours and attack them. This has become a matter of con cern not only in India but all over the world

We face colour ha tred and prejudice and somehow still choose to remain silent about it. Why we need fair creams, fair skin treatment? Why we want particular body type? Why can’t we cancel Hate culture against our own people? Instead of clapping and recognising north east Indians only after winning medals let’s love and treat them as a family, as they are indeed! Racism is dangerous for:

• Democracy

• Nationality

• Hinders industrial efficiency

• Disrupts social cohesion

• A hindrance to social mobility • Responsible for moral degradation

• Harm national interest

• Peace • Humanity Provisions against racism in Indian consti tution:

ARTICLE 14 says that no person should be deprived of equality within the territory of India.

ARTICLE 15(1) says that there should be no dis crimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and

ARTICLE 15(3) guar antees to make special provisions for children and women.

ARTICLE 16 ensures the citizens equal opportu nities of employment to both the men and women.

ARTICLE 17 abol ishes the practice of “un touchability” and any person who practices un touchability shall be pun ishable under the law.

ARTICLE 21 protects the citizens from depriva tion of life and personal liberty.

ARTICLE 46 ensures the protection of the weak er sections of the people the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and promotes provisions with special care to meet their economic and educational interests.

ARTICLE 51(A)(e) signifies the duty of every citizen to the feeling of harmony and brotherhood among all the citizens of India and abandon the practices which are de rogatory to the dignity of women. ARTICLE 243D(3) says that onethird (including the num ber of seats reserved for the women of Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribe) of the total number of seats has to be reserved for women

in Panchayat. ARTICLE 243T(3) says that onethird (including the num ber of seats reserved for the women of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe) of the total number of seats in every municipality has to be reserved for women.

ARTICLE 243T(4) provides for the reservation of offices of chairpersons in the municipalities for the scheduled castes, sched uled tribes and women as per the manner provided in the state. The biggest irony against the menace of rac ism is that these rights are available to the Indian citi zens but only against the Indian State! ‘what about the discrimination that is practiced and committed by private individuals??We need to be loud about it!’

Anonymity on social media world: Presently shades of racism and dis crimination are complex and often covert. Public attitudes to anti-racism have improved, as expres sions of racist ideology have become less socially acceptable. Yet, the ano nymity of the Internet has allowed racist stereotypes and inaccurate informa tion to spread online.

At the onset of the pandemic, traffic to hate sites and specific posts against Asians grew by 200% in the U.S.

The use of new tech nologies and artificial intel ligence in security raise the spectre of ‘techno- racism’, as facial recognition pro grammes can misidentify and target racialised com

munities.

Prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory acts, whether subtle or overt, aggravate existing inequali ties in societies. Structural forms of discrimination which include micro-ag gressions and everyday indignities are widespread.

The use of new tech nologies and artificial intel ligence in security raises the threat of techno-rac ism. This is because facial recognition programmes can misidentify and target racialised communities.

A study by The Lancet focussed on the social di mension of the COVID-19 pandemic and the vulner ability of ethnic minorities.

The World Health Or ganization has cautioned on the dangers of profil ing and stigmatising com munities that can lead to fear and the subsequent concealment of cases and delays in detection.

Women and girls also carry a double burden of being exposed to racial and gender-based preju dices. Racial discrimina tion deepens and fuels inequality in our societies. Social fixing against Rac ism - In January 2021 the World Economic Forum launched a coalition of organizations commit ted to improving racial and ethnic justice in the workplace.

The ‘Black Lives Mat ter’ protests gained mo mentum in not only the United States but the whole world. People, as well as many governments across

different countries, came forth against the preva lence of racial discrimina tion worldwide. Through education, particularly the Global Citizenship Education programme, UNESCO works to en sure that schools promote inclusiveness, solidarity, gender equality, the culture of peace and non-violence and respect for others, and provide opportunities for students to reflect and dis cuss these issues and their personal responsibility.

Through the promo tion of tangible and in tangible cultural heritage! UNESCO is committed to preserving cultural diver sity and respect for others; Through projects such as “The Slave Route: Resistance, Liberty, Heri tage”, UNESCO is fighting racism and discrimina tion with the involvement of cities, museums, site managers and itineraries of memory I would like to conclude that A global culture of tolerance, equal ity and anti-discrimination should be built first and foremost in the minds of women and men! We need to adopt value called ac ceptance! we shall practice basic acceptance of “In clusion of each and every existence!” This world will be better place of we accept and love everyone the way they are. Let’s practice ac ceptance.

Yogita JD Karache is a political scientist and research analyst. ykarache55@gmail.com

Centralization of financial powers, office functions need urgent review

The Administrative Training Institute Kohima under the Leadership of the Director General of ATI. Shri R.B. Thong, IAS had initiated the District Training Programs for imparting training on Office procedures and Ac counts rules and procedures to all the Government em ployees in the District offices in the 16 Districts of Naga land. The District Training programme was successfully completed by the month of August, 2022.

As a Resource Person in the ATI’s District Training Program 2022s, I was privi leged to visit almost all the Districts in Nagaland and had valuable interactions with the District Officers and

Staff wherever we went. I had observed that due to cen tralisation of Financial and Office functions to the Heads of Departments because of the Financial Management system in Government on imposing of financial auster ity measures, there is hardly any work and activities in the District level offices.

Therefore, thousands of the Districts Government employees and machineries are lying idle without any functions in the district of fices except Deputy’s offices and a few others.

Therefore, unless the Financial powers and the office functions are better streamlined and delegated to the District offices, opening of District offices will not

Author Norman Vincent Peale penned “The Pow er of Positive Thinking,” which is the title of his book.

Published in 1952, this book is a guide to self-betterment. The book serves as a self-help guide for overcoming the problems that arise in everyday life, with a pri mary emphasis on the idea that one should not get discouraged or give up on anything that has the potential to be accomplished or improved. *In a nutshell, “our life may be better and full of happiness and satisfaction”

Have faith in yourself. Al ways have a good outlook and think positive thoughts. Believe in your own abilities. Create a mental image of yourself becom ing successful and keep it in your head at all times. Never even consider the possibility of failing or questioning the truth. Saying these words multiple times with confidence can help you believe them: I can accomplish all these things because God has forti fied me.

Let go of the negative ideas that are going through your head; this will help you feel better, allow you to focus on the ideal, and make you calmer. Release your anxieties and ha

add much meaning, purpose or function. Therefore, a direct Budget System for the District-level implement ing authorities and proper procedural streamlining are highly needed.

Secondly, the financial Rules such as the Finan cial Cognate Power Rules, NPWD Code, Leave Rules etc are neither up-to-date nor new rules or systems have been introduced befit ting with the present situ ation and context. which become not suitable and applicable nor enforce able to the present days. NPWD Code Rules 1964 was amended in 1997, but only the technical potions, whereas the Accounts part was left out. With regard to

Leave Rules, some offices are found to be still following the 1933 Leave Rules with 1/10 Earned Leave Credit System i.e, 1 day earnest leave earned in the leave Account for 10 days on duty while others are following the Central Revised Rules 1972, 15 days Earned Leave on 1st January and 15 days on 1st July Earned Leave Credit System.

Being under the same Government, a uniform Rule or system must be maintained. Therefore, most of the old rules are not ap plicable nor enforceable in the present context, and are thereby in urgent need of timely updates to add more relevance and practicality, and to be more befitting

or suitable to the present situation. Thirdly, the pres ent Financial Management system in the Government such as validity period for Drawal authority / Drawal limit, Authentication of Drawal authorities or Draw al limit, Financial sanction orders which are actually financial austerity measures for temporary period being used as permanent Rules or procedures for prolonged periods are creating a lot of inconveniences and distort ing the actual Accounting system particularly in the cheque Drawal Department and are consequently put ting the DDOs at serious risks with money becoming insecure and risky. The trend is that of, for fear of the

Power of positive thinking

treds, put an end to emotions of inadequacy and guilt, and bring to mind all of the happy expe riences and ideas you’ve had. Maintain a regular meditation practise and let your thoughts wander freely. Putting everything else out of your mind and con centrating only on the splendour of God.

God is the primary origin of all forms of energy, including atomic energy, electrical energy, and spiritual energy. Every kind of energy originates from the holy being itself.

Always talk to God and thank him for whatever you have, from the resources to the energy. Get out of yourself; the more you concentrate your attention on something that is larger than you, the more energy you will have.

Put an end to the mental and emotional struggles you’ve been having within, since they are a continual drain on your vitality.

Begin every endeavour with a prayer to God, asking for the ability to face challenges front on and make sound decisions.

Your good thoughts and prayers directed toward God, as well as your confidence in God, will always guide you in the right

direction toward success. Pray, and while you’re doing so, tell God everything and everything that’s on your mind. Have un wavering trust that God is on your side and be grateful for the assistance that you are receiving from him. Pray, imagine, and then make it happen.

Maintain a positive attitude and work to create your own happiness. Always be content with your performance and what you have, and constantly look for the positives in your situation. You are the only ar biter of whether or not you will experience joy in life. Always remind yourself that you should be grateful for what you have.

By wasting your strength and energy on anger and worry, individuals make life more dif ficult for themselves and of everyone around them too. You should not be disturbed, and you should not allow it to be terri fied while you face challenging circumstances. Without rush ing, God manages to get things done, and he ensures that they are done well.

Learn to accept things and not question anything, trust yourself, and believe that you will succeed in anything you set

out to accomplish. Practice hav ing faith and expecting the best from you. Never mistrust your own abilities, no matter what you’re doing. Give it your best and do it with a positive attitude. Believe in yourself and you will achieve your goals.

Inform yourself that worry ing is nothing more than a very poor habit. Worry is a habit that may be broken through the prac tise of faith. Visualize that all of your anxious thoughts are now being removed from your head.

Conquer your fears and have faith that you can do ev erything you set your mind to.

Don’t think on things that have previously made you joyful; instead, approach every chal lenge and obstacle with a smile on your face.

Always keep your faith in God since he is just as real as the rest of your relationships, whether they are with friends, family, or lovers. Talk to God about your problems, and have faith that he will listen, assist you, and show you how to find answers to your questions.

Believe I have confidence in the healing power of god, as well as the medical science and harmony that promotes healing.

thief, keeping huge amounts of money in unbelievable places temporarily without any security.

Therefore, the Budget ary system and the Finan cial Management system in Nagaland Is in dire need of an urgent review; to sys tematize, simplify and make convenient and secure the Government money in the best interest of the public in general. Otherwise, the Government stands at the threat of facing very deeprooted problems in the near future if this trend continues.

Khinyi Woch Resource Person on Accounts subjects ATI District Training Programme 2022 aaron_woch@yahoo.com

Put yourself completely in God’s control and be willing to accept his solution as the only viable option. Get over your anger and let go of your grudges, as quickly as is humanly feasible.

Act in a way that is relaxed and comfortable for you. De velop the ability to remain calm and collected under pressure by training yourself to think less and react less. Be sincere in your interest in other people, since this will give them the impression that they are important to you. You should load your days full of creative and fitness exercise to get the most out of them.

The best way to approach God is with a heart full with faith and an empty mind and heart to give to him. Develop a routine in your life that includes prayer and faith. Discover what it means to have genuine connec tion with God. Have faith that you are making progress toward overcoming your challenge with the help of God. Finally, what I found after reading is that, having faith in god, praying for help with everything, and having confidence in both yourself and god will lead you to success and put you on the correct road.

But he that dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose.

Ishita Patidar

Several nations approaching us for setting up IITs there: Pradhan

NEW DELHI,

14

(PTI): Many developing and developed nations are approaching the Indian gov ernment for setting up IIT campuses there, Union Edu cation Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.

Asserting that the In dian Institutes of Technol ogy (IITs) are earning global recognition, he said these are no longer just Indian Institutes of Technology but have become instruments of transformation.

Addressing the inaugu ral ceremony of the two-day research fair IInvenTiv at IIT-Delhi being collectively organised by 23 IITs, Prad han said, “Many develop ing and developed nations are approaching the Indian government for setting up IIT campuses in their coun tries at their own cost. I feel proud that India’s collective wisdom in experimenting with IITs is earning global

recognition.”

“We have to stop benchmarking IITs based on placement packages. IITs should redefine parameters and benchmark on the num ber of innovations brought in the market, innovations monetised, and the number of job creators created.”

Stressing that technol ogy will drive the next phase of growth and development with Information Technol ogy and communications technology among the front runners, the minister said the world today will invest more vigorously on India. “India’s

talent, digital-first attitude, market size, emerging pur chasing power and growing aspirations is a heady mix to take India forward at an unprecedented speed and scale. Our IITs should seize this opportunity, he added.

Pradhan highlighted that the Covid pandemic has shown us what happens when technology-driven re search commits itself to the service of the human race.

Citing the development of Indian vaccines within a short period to stress that it not only benefitted Indi ans but millions of people around the world, Pradhan told the conference, “It has all been possible because of brilliant minds like yours.”

These are the signs of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, he noted, adding there is a need to encourage the relationship of Academic research and development, new-age technology, the

Import of thermal coal to stop by 2024-25, says Pralhad Joshi

NAGPUR, OCT 14 (PTI):

Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that the country will stop import of thermal coal by 2024-25.

Joshi was speaking at the ‘Mincon 2022’ Mines -Mineral-Metals event here.

The minister expressed his concern that that the country has to import coal despite having adequate domestic resource of the fuel.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that this substitute coal import has to stop. “We are working in that direction and I am assuring you that by 2024-25, the substitute coal that is thermal coal import, we are going to stop it,” he said. Joshi said that the government is taking pro-industry initiatives.

“There was a time,

No breakthrough at India-China diplomatic talk

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): India and China agreed on Friday to hold the next round of militarylevel talks at an early date to resolve the remaining is sues in eastern Ladakh and create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in the bilateral ties, the Min istry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It was the only deci sion taken at a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Co ordination on the IndiaChina Border Affairs as there was no breakthrough to resolve the issues at the key friction points of Dem chok and Depsang.

The MEA said the two sides agreed to con tinue discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues “at the earliest” so as to create con ditions for the restoration of normalcy in the bilateral relations.

“To achieve the ob jective of resolution of remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agree ments and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (17th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date,” the MEA said in a statement.

Though the two sides disengaged from Patrol ling Point 15 (PP-15) last month, there has been no progress on resolving the standoff in the Demchok and Depsang regions.

The MEA said the two sides reviewed the situ ation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas.

when those in power used to think that talking about industry, business and in dustrialists is kind of antipoor. But, our government does not think like that, we think your businesses should run nicely and our policies should be good and the revenue from you will help in serving the poor. This is the firm belief of the govern ment and we think you are working for the country,”

he added. Joshi said that the government has brought major reforms in the mining sector in 2021 and there has been a sea change in less than one-and-a-half years.

The prime minister had said that after agriculture and small industries, min ing is the sector which can provide jobs and develop the economy. Joshi further said that the prime minister has said that India should become developed coun try by 2047. “...today the contribution to GDP from mining sector is around just 0.9 per cent... by 2030 we should try to take it to 2.5 per cent. We will be working and talking with the states on how should be the auction, allocation and what should be the policy, rules and laws for this purpose,” he said.

industry and society, even more, to take research and innovation to the zenith so that no one is left behind.

Pradhan said in the ‘Amrit Kaal’, the 25 years identified by the government till the centenary of India’s Independence, the country would be propelled by inno vations at the grassroot level and it would seek the partici pation of all, especially the rural sector. “IInvenTiv shall be the start of such a revolu tion and emerge as a key forum which will provide solutions to complex global problems,” he stressed.

The fair is being orga nized in commemoration of the 75th year of India’s In dependence in line with the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative. It has brought over 300 representatives from industry, including startups, along with government, and embassy officials, and IIT alumni.

BHUBANESWAR, OCT 14 (IANS): Veteran Con gress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday met Odi sha Congress leaders and sought their support for his candidature in the AICC Presidential election, sched uled to be held on October 17.

Speaking to reporters here, Kharge said he has resigned from Leader of Opposition and filed nomi nations for the AICC Presi dent’s election after receiv ing calls from many of his party leaders.

The Congress leader said he has no other mani festo to contest the election within the party. He will implement the outcomes of the Chintan Shivir held at Udaipur in Rajasthan four months ago. “About 1,000 Congress leaders across the country had participated in the deliberation and the out comes, also called ‘Udaipur Declaration’, is my priority,” he said.

Cong will restore old pension scheme if voted to power in Himachal: Priyanka

SHIMLA, OCT 14 (PTI):

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday promised to restore the old pension scheme for government employees in Himachal Pradesh if the Congress was voted to pow er in the Assembly elections.

The AICC general sec retary made the announce ment while addressing the ‘Parivartan Pratigya Rally’ at Thodo Maidan in Solan district and added that the old scheme was withdrawn by the BJP government at the Centre.

Elections to the Him achal Pradesh Assembly will be held on November 12, the Election Commission of India announced on Friday.

Gandhi said she guar anteed that the decision to restore the old pension scheme and create one lakh jobs would be taken in the first meeting of the new Congress Cabinet.

Two lakh employees in the state have been sit ting on a ‘dharna’ (sit-in) to

demand restoration of the old pension scheme for two months but no government representative met them, she said.

Gandhi also alleged that 63,000 posts were lying vacant in the state but unem ployed youths had not been provided jobs. She promised that five lakh jobs would be provided to unemployed youths in five years and an nounced a monthly allow ance of Rs 1,500 to women to help raise the standard of living.

“This is the time to change, otherwise you will

not get anything in the next five years,” she said.

“If you vote the Con gress to power, Himachal Pradesh will grow.”

Gandhi also hit back at the BJP for claiming that Himachal would buck the trend of changing gov ernments every five years and said the ruling party changed the trend by not making any development.

The Congress leader also addressed the increas ing trend of drug addition in the state and said a policy would be created and deaddiction centres opened in every district. Primary health centres will also be strengthened to provide better health care facilities to people.

Gandhi added that she made her house in Himach al as her grandmother (for mer prime minister Indira Gandhi) wanted to build a house and retire there but was martyred before she could.

‘Will not go back to them till I am alive’: Nitish hits out at BJP

SAMASTIPUR (BIHAR),

OCT 14 (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday declared that he will not realign with the BJP till he is alive, accus ing the former ally of using investigating agencies for targeting political oppo nents like RJD president Lalu Prasad.

Addressing a function in this north Bihar district, where he inaugurated a government engineering college, Kumar charged the current BJP leadership with arrogance and wist fully recalled the era of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

“They lodged a case against Lalu ji, which caused me to sever my ties with him. Nothing came of it. And now when we are together again, they are lodging fresh cases.

You can figure out the style of functioning of these people,” Kumar told the gathering, without mentioning the BJP by name.

Prasad was named in an IRCTC land for hotels scam a few years ago in which his son Tejashwi Yadav, then serving his first tenure as Deputy CM, was also named an accused. This had unsettled Kumar, who sets much store on his reputation for personal pro bity, and led to his return to the NDA.

Vacancy (Dimapur)

minister in the UPA-1 gov ernment.

“So different were the leaders of the same party of the past like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in whose cabinet I had the privilege to work, and LK Advani who was then the Deputy PM. I have fond memories of Murli Manohar Joshi too who honored my request to upgrade my alma mater, the Bihar Engineering Col lege, as a National Insti tute of Technology,” said Kumar.

Kharge seeks support from Odisha Congress leaders

Pralhad Joshi

The RJD president and his family members were recently charge-

sheeted in another land for jobs scam, pertaining to Prasad’s tenure as railway

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Dharmendra Pradhan

Nitish Kumar being welcomed by supporters during the inauguration of Govt Engineering College in Samastipur. (PTI)

Technological transformation has led to good governance: FM

NEW DELHI, OCT 14

(IANS): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has underlined the significance of technology transforma tion, which she said, was the main reason behind ensuring good governance in India.

Speaking on the topic “Technology, Finance and Governance: The Multipli er Effect” at the John Hop kins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, the Finance Minister said, “Good gov ernance in India is being achieved through technol ogy transformation, espe cially in the last two years.”

It has also helped in scaling and integration of micro, small and medium enterprises in India, the Finance Minister said.

She told the gather ing on Thursday that after overcoming initial hesita tion, people in India and

especially in rural areas, adopted technology. In India, Sitharaman said, electricity supply is erratic, however, between 2014 and 2019, the (NDA) Government worked on providing electricity in villages and also to each rural household. Once this was achieved, Sithara man said that the next step was providing optic fibre to all panchayats across the country. Today, she informed 80 per cent of panchayats have optic fi

bre connectivity. The open source network created by the Government had helped small businesses, Sitharaman informed the select gathering of students and faculty members.

She also explained how the open network for digital commerce (ONDC), had helped in transforming trade and commerce and bank account aggregators have changed the dynam ics of digital banking and commerce.

Digital payment in terfaces like UPI are now being accepted in several countries, the Finance Minister said and even tax assessment as well as tax collection is being done online.

“These (UPI interfac es) are public goods and are affordable,” Sitharaman said, while highlighting the technological transforma tion in India.

CMO says ED interrogation of Rio fake; Not surprised says RPP

(From p-1)

He said nobody can stop NDPP from filing the FIR and issuing press statement on public domain to refute the news re port may be okay but not filing FIR only heightens doubts over the NDPP rebuttal. However if NDPP has indeed filed FIR then it was meaningless to not mention it.

Imchen said the office the CM of Nagaland cannot be subjected to “doubt

ful integrity”. He also cited the Congress demand on the Governor to dismiss the chief minister if the latter refused to resign.

Imchen said as per his understand ing and in the given circumstances, the situation was taking an extraordinary turn and so the NDPP should stand up to the occasion and deal with the matter with level headedness as the matter cannot be taken lightly.

NE spice growers attend National Spice Conference

DIMAPUR, OCT 14

(NPN): Spice farmers from Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Na galand attended the first National Spice Conference held at Mumbai on October 6 and 7.

Participants from Na galand were led under the supervision of Prof. Akali Sema and Dr. GraceliYep thomi, Nagaland Univer sity.

Around 290 partici pants attended the pro

gramme including immi nent companies like Everest Spices, ITC, AVA condi ments, Brahmins Group, Swani spices etc attended the conference that was or ganized by World Spice Or ganization with the theme: Food Safe Spices- Getting the basics right.

The event was also or ganized to build a platform for all stakeholders in the supply chain to meet under one roof and discuss various issues pertaining to safety

regulations and sustainable challenges and to provide a linkage between buyers, sell ers and service providers for networking and establishing a direct contact.

FPO leaders from across the country also par ticipated in the conference.

The panelists for different sessions included notable speakers from World Spice Organization, GIZ- India, IDH, South Asia Rain For est Alliance, IISR, Spices Board, Flipkart etc.

State to spend Rs.69

(From p-1)

to all tribal and faithbased organisations and community leaders to cre ate awareness so that the scheme reached the grass roots.

The finance commis sioner said the State govern ment pays around Rs.800 as medical allowance (MA) to all government employees, adding that a conscious policy decision had been now taken to convert half of the MA amount to an insur ance scheme, which would be more than the allowances

the employees received.

He invited the private hospitals to get empanelled as the government had rolled out a scheme whose the package was one of the best available in the country.

He asserted that no one could accuse the State government of favourit ism as the scheme covered every individual, unlike the earlier practice where once a person got enrolled, any empanelled hospital would treat the patient as long as he or she produced CMHIS card. Sentiyanger admitted

Chief Minister’s health insurance scheme launched in Nagaland

(From p-1)

Pangnyu also said that there was a substantial sec tion of the society, which neither belonged to govern ment employee family nor eligible for AB PM-JAY. He said the state government was therefore responsive to those concerns of the people and have come up with the scheme, which was aimed to reduce their financial burden.

He expressed hope that CMHIS would be an im portant stepping stone in achieving positive health and wellbeing and a driver of economic prosperity for the State. For CMHIS (GEN) beneficiary families, sum insured is Rs. 5 lakh per family per annum on a family floater basis, similar to AB PM-JAY.

For CMHIS (EP) ben eficiary families, the sum insured is Rs. 20 lakh per family per annum on a fam ily floater basis. Further, for government employees, any additional expenses beyond the sum insured would be reimbursed on a case-to-case basis by the State Govern ment on recommendation of the State Medical Board.

CMHIS (GEN) ben eficiaries will be entitled to more than 1950 medical and surgical packages across 27 major clinical specialties as well as entitlement to General Ward, similar to AB PM-JAY. CMHIS (EP) beneficiaries will be entitled

similar to that available for Central Government em ployees under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) as well as differen tial room entitlement as per their employee grade.

Earlier at the pro gramme, state Chaplin Ya myap konyak gave invoca tion. On the occasion, the chief minister also released the CMHIS Policy Docu ment, and also launched the CMHIS Beneficiary Registration Portal.

He also handed over the Ayushman – CMHIS Card to the beneficiaries, namely, Yinshom SS Konyak from the General Population Category, Neikholhoulie Belho from the Pensioners Category, and Solo Kent from the Government Em ployees Category. Empan elment Certificates were also handed over to Oking Hospital Kohima, CIHSR Dimapur, Olive Hospital Dimapur, District Hospital Mon and District Hospital, Longleng. Senior officials from various departments, district level officials from the administration and the H&FW department, repre sentatives from Nagaland Pensioners Association, CANSSEA, NCSA, NSSA and other associations; civil societies, Church and faithbased organizations and community leaders as well as ex-parliamentarians and ex-legislators attended the launching programme.

annually as premium for CMHIS

that there was trust deficit earlier because of certain issues, but assured that this time there would be no dis crimination or distinction.

He announced that the State government would release Rs 16 crore to the insurance company. He explained that the insurance period was one year and renewal would be automatic, add ing that the card would remain valid as long as the scheme continued and the scheme would continue as long as the State govern ment paid the premium.

He revealed that the State government spent about Rs 25 to 30 crore annu ally on medical reimburse ments, which sometimes went higher. Therefore, he said the government decided to introduce CMHIS by us ing the money and provide universal health coverage, covering the general catego ries as well. On empanel ment of hospitals, principal secretary and development commissioner Amardeep Singh Bhatia said, as per the scheme, empanelment was not mandatory and hospitals

Gold falls Rs 261; silver declines Rs 692

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): Gold price fell by Rs 261 to Rs 51,098 per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday amid a decline in the prices of yellow metal in the international market, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 51,359 per 10 grams. Silver also declined by Rs 692 to Rs 57,477 per kilogram from Rs 58,169 per kg. “The precious metal could continue to be pressured by the rising yields and expensive dollar,” said Dilip Parmar.

were free to come forward and get empanelled.

On the delay in release of State share to insurance company because of which many hospitals did not re ceive payments on time, Bhatia said the government had started a proper mecha nism for timely payment and hoped that the system would be continued.

Health & Family Wel fare (H&FW) secretary Asangla Imti and deputy director Dr Kika Long kumer also attended the press briefing.

WANTED

Nirmala Sitharaman

HC acquits ex-DU prof Saibaba on ‘Maoist links’

Saysprocedural safeguardsare sacrosanct

MUMBAI, OCT 14 (PTI):

than eight years after his arrest, the Bombay High Court on Friday acquitted former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case

of valid sanction

prosecution under the UAPA. Following the HC order, the National Inves tigation Agency -- which had taken over the probe from Maharashtra police -moved the Supreme Court against the acquittal. The SC, however, rejected NIA’s request for immediate stay to the order.

Setting aside the life imprisonment awarded to Saibaba by the trial court, the high court noted that while the fight against ter rorism was important, pro cedural safeguards can not be sacrificed “at the altar of perceived peril to national security.” Saibaba, 52, is likely to be released from Nagpur central jail where he is lodged since his arrest in May 2014 on Saturday, his lawyers said.

The high court’s Nag pur bench of Justices Rohit

Deo and Anil Pansare in its 101-page judgement noted that the sanction to pros ecute the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Preven tion) Act was “bad in law and invalid”.

Saibaba, who is wheel chair-bound due to 90 per cent physical disability, should be released forth with unless his custody was required in any other case, the court said.

Welcoming the ruling, his wife A S Vasantha Ku mari said they had faith that he would be cleared from the case as he was innocent.

The HC also allowed the appeals filed by five other convicts, acquitting them of all charges.

In March 2017, a ses sions court in eastern Maha rashtra’s Gadchiroli district convicted Saibaba and oth

ers including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to `waging war against the country.’

The trial court held Saibaba and others guilty under the stringent UAPA and Indian Penal Code (IPC). The sanction to pros ecute under the UAPA was granted in 2014 against the five accused who had been arrested initially. The sanc tion to prosecute Saibaba was granted in 2015.

The HC pointed out that in 2014 when the trial court took cognisance of the charge-sheet against him and others, there was no sanction to prosecute Saibaba under the UAPA.

The trial court’s pro ceedings were thus “null

Bomb threat: Aeroflot flight from Moscow makes emergency landing at Delhi airport

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): A plane from Mos cow carrying 402 people made an emergency land ing in the national capital on Friday following a bomb threat, according to of ficials.

The Aeroflot aircraft operating flight SU 232 landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here at 2.48 am. The passengers and crew were evacuated safely, they said.

According to the po lice, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) re ceived an e-mail warning of bombs on the flight on Thursday night.

As the flight landed, its 386 passengers and 16 crew members were imme diately evacuated, a senior police official said.

The flight was checked and nothing has been found so far, the official said, adding that the aircraft has been isolated. “On Thurs day around 11 pm, a threat message was received at IGI Control Room social media site regarding bombs planted on board Russian flight no SU-272 arriving at IGI Airport. The flight landed at 2.48 am safely,” one of the officials said.

BSF guns down Pak drone along border in Amritsar

CHANDIGARH, OCT 14 (PTI): Border Security Force troops in Punjab’s Amritsar on Friday shot down a drone that had sneaked into the Indian territory from Pakistan, an official said.

BSF personnel at the Shahpur border outpost fired 17 rounds after they noticed the drone coming from the Pakistani side around 4:30 am, the official said. Illuminating bombs were also used to increase visibility as it was still dark, he said, adding that the drone was shot down im mediately after it entered Indian territory in the area falling near Bhaini Gill vil lage in Amritsar.

During the search that followed, troops recovered a quadcopter (DJI Matrice) weighing four kilograms, a BSF statement said.

It said a wing-rod of the quadcopter was broken and there was a hold-andrelease mechanism.

Full emergency was declared for the landing of the Boeing 777 aircraft that was being operated by Rus sian carrier Aeroflot, the official added.

“The security related protocol was followed by the IGI police. All the pas sengers and their luggage de-boarded after proper checking and frisking. Fur ther, the aircraft has also been thorougly checked and no suspicious item has been found. Further ac tion is underway,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Tanu Sharma said. There have been at least two incidents of al leged bomb threat on flights in the last few weeks.

On October 3, the In dian Air Force had scram

bled its fighter jets after receiving information of a bomb scare on a Chi na-bound Iranian civilian plane that was flying over the Indian airspace. The aircraft did not land in In dia and later landed safely in China.

Earlier, on September 30, a Malaysia-bound flight was delayed over a false bomb alarm after a fight between two passengers onboard the plane at the IGIA. Four passengers allegedly involved in the incident were handed over to the local police.

Among other inci dents, on August 12, 2019, IGIA received a hoax bomb call for Terminal-2 that affected its operations for around 70 minutes.

and void” in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA and hence the judg ment of conviction was li able to be set aside, the high court held.

Terrorism poses an ominous threat to national security and vile and abhor rent acts of terror do evoke collective societal anger and anguish, the judges said.

“While the war against terror must be waged by the State with unwavering resolve, and every legitimate weapon in the armoury must be deployed in the fight against terror, a civil democratic society can ill afford sacrificing the proce dural safeguards legislatively provided, and which is an integral facet of the due pro cess of law, at the altar of perceived peril to national security,” the HC said.

Speaking to PTI, Saib aba’s wife Kumari said, “We had faith that he would be acquitted because he did not do anything wrong. There was no crime and no evi dence. I am thankful to the judiciary and all those who supported us.”

The couple’s daughter is currently pursuing MPhil from Jamia Millia Islamia.

Asked how they coped with his absence in the last eight eight years, Kumari said, “Don’t ask! There was a lot of struggle and patience involved in the last

eight years. It was difficult for Sai also since his health deteriorated and he lost his job.

While Saibaba was a resident of Delhi at the time of his arrest, co-accused Ma hesh Tirki (27) and Pandu Narote (who died while the hearing on his appeal was pending) were locals of Gadchiroli district and were farmers.

Hem Mishra (37) was a student who lived in Almo da district in Uttarakhand, Prashant Sanglikar (59) was a journalist who hailed from Deharadun in Uttarakhand and Vijay Tirki (35) from Chattisgarh was a labourer at the time of arrest.

Only Vijay Tirki had been granted bail in the case.

Activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan termed the HC verdict as “good news”. Saibaba was kept in the ‘Anda Cell’ (high security cell) of the jail de spite being disabled and in poor health, he claimed in a tweet.

The CPI (M) also wel comed the acquittal and de manded immediate release of all “political prisoners.”

“CPI(M) welcomes (the) acquittal of GN Saib aba and expresses solidar ity with him. Many more continue to be persecuted under false charges. Release all political prisoners imme diately,” the party said.

Shah should have spoken about undeclared emergency: Tejashwi

PATNA, OCT 14 (PTI): Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said Union Home Minister Amit Shah should have spoken about “undeclared emergency” in the country that has been imposed by the BJP-led government at the Centre.

He also alleged that the country is witnessing dictatorship in the name of democ racy.

Yadav slammed Shah for his jibes aimed at Lalu Prasad and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of “forgetting JP’s ideology”.

“Whatever Shah had said was sheer bakwas (rub bish).

The BJP has nothing to do with either Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) or his ideologies. People in the saffron party know how to manage an event.

They organised one in Sitab Diara (Sarana) on the birth anniversary of JP and Shah attended it…That’s all,” Yadav told reporters here on Thursday.

The union home minister had visited the socialist leader’s village on October 11 and inaugurated a statue of him on his 120th birth anniver sary. “Shah should have spoken about the undeclared emer gency that has been imposed in the country by the NDA gov ernment at the Centre,” Yadav quipped when asked about the union home minister’s comment during his visit that “disciples of JP have sacrificed his ideology for power and are now sitting in the lap of the Congress”. “The BJP led-government at the Cen tre is a dictatorial government. Where is democracy ?” the RJD leader said.

India proud to be friend and partner in liberation war of Bangladesh: Murmu

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said India is proud to be a friend and partner in the liberation war of Bangladesh and contin ues to share the develop ment journey with it.

She said that liberation of Bangladesh and its rise and prosperity is an inspir ing story for the world com munity.

“Youth of Bangladesh have a past which is full of glory, and a future that is full of promises,” Murmu said, while addressing a youth delegation from Bangla desh, who had called on her at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

President Murmu said India is proud to be a friend and partner in the Lib eration War of Bangladesh and continues to share the development journey with Bangladesh, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.

“It is important for us to preserve this spirit, which continues to inspire the deep friendship between our two countries and our people,” it said. The president said that Bangladesh occupies a very special place in the hearts and minds of every Indian.

“Our countries share deep civilisational links. We share many things between us including art, music and

literature,” Murmu said.

She said that India has always attached the highest priority to its friendship with Bangladesh and we remain committed to realising its full potential. “Our deep cooperation shows the im portance that both countries attach to this relationship,” the president said.

She recalled her recent meetings with Prime Minis ter Sheikh Hasina in Delhi and in London.

The president stated that both India and Bangla desh have a young popula tion. “More than half of India’s population consists of young people and Ban gladesh’s demography is similar to ours, with a large youth population,” Murmu said. She said that as in novators, creators, builders and leaders of the future, the youth of both countries need to engage in cutting-edge areas such as green energy, start ups and technology enabled services in finance,

health and education.

The president noted that while there is already a lot of people to people contact between India and Bangladesh, “we need to do much more.”

In this regard, the youth of both countries can play a leading role, she said.

The president ex pressed hope that the mem bers of the delegation will use this opportunity to gain insights and experiences on various aspects of India, its diversity and the develop ments in areas pertaining to science, technology, arts etc.

She said that just as youth of Bangladesh work hard to build the Sonar Ban gla, they should also work with the same passion and sincerity to usher in a golden era of peace, prosperity and friendship among the people of India and Bangladesh.

Addressing the delega tion members, the president said that they all are future leaders of Bangladesh.

“They are the custo dians of the future of not only Bangladesh but also of the unique relationship of India and Bangladesh,” Murmu said. She expressed confidence that they will play a major role in the years to come in strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

(Er. M. NAKRO) Director

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): India’s nuclear-pow ered submarine INS Arihant on Friday carried out a suc cessful launch of a subma rine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the Bay of Bengal with a “very high accuracy”, the defence ministry said.

It said all operational and technological param eters of the weapon system have been validated, seen as a major milestone to further boost India’s strategic strike capabilities.

“INS Arihant carried out a successful launch of a Submarine Launched Ballis tic Missile (SLBM) on Octo ber 14. The missile was tested to a predetermined range and impacted the target area in the Bay of Bengal with very high accuracy,” the ministry said in a statement. It said “all operational and technologi cal parameters of the weapon system have been validated”.

India’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) programme is a

closely guarded project. INS Arihant was the first boat under the SSBN project that was reportedly followed by another boat, INS Arighat.

In a statement, the de fence ministry said the SSBN programme is a key element of India’s nuclear deterrence capability.

It said a “robust, surviv able and assured retaliatory” capability is in sync with the country’s policy to have ‘cred ible minimum deterrence’ that underpins its ‘no first

use’ commitment.“The suc cessful user training launch of the SLBM by INS Arihant is significant to prove crew competency and validate the SSBN programme, a key ele ment of India’s nuclear deter rence capability,” the defence ministry said.

“A robust, survivable and assured retaliatory ca pability is in keeping with India’s policy to have ‘cred ible minimum deterrence’ that underpins its ‘no first use’ commitment,” it said.

Delhi University professor GN Saibaba with his wife Vasantha Kumari outside the Nagpur Central Jail. (PTI file)

Droupadi Murmu

File

Tejashwi Prasad Yadav

Russia to evacuate from 4 cities as Ukraine advances

KYIV, OCT 14 (AP): Rus sia has promised free ac commodation to residents of Ukraine’s partially oc cupied Kherson region who want to evacuate to Russia, a sign that Ukrainian mili tary gains along the war’s southern front are worrying the Kremlin.

The Moscow-installed leader of Kherson, one of four regions illegally an nexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, asked the Kremlin to or ganise an evacuation from four cities, citing incessant shelling by Ukrainian forces.

Vladimir Saldo, the head of the Moscow-ap pointed regional adminis tration, said a decision was made to evacuate Kherson residents to the Russian re gions of Rostov, Krasnodar and Stavropol, as well as to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

“We, residents of the Kherson region, of course know that Russia doesn’t abandon their own, and Russia always offers a hand,” Saldo said on Thursday. Russia has char acterised the movement

of Ukrainians to Russia or Russian-controlled ter ritory as voluntary, but in many cases those are the only evacuation routes resi dents of the occupied areas can or are allowed to take.

Reports have surfaced that some Ukrainians were forcibly deported to “filtra tion camps” with harsh conditions.

In addition, an Asso ciated Press investigation found that Russian offi cials deported thousands of Ukrainian children - some orphaned, others living with foster families or in institu tions - to be raised as Rus

sian. As Ukrainian forces sustain counteroffensives in the country’s east and south to recapture occupied areas, Russian troops have retreat ed from some areas they overran soon after invading the country in late February.

The Ukrainian gains and an October 8 truck bomb explosion on a prized bridge linking Russia to Crimea have led to domes tic criticism of the Krem lin’s handling of the war and increased pressure on Putin to do more to turn the tide in Russia’s favour.

The evacuation an nouncement came as Ukrai

5 killed, including officer, in N. Carolina shooting: Police

RALEIGH (NORTH CAROLINA), OCT 14

(AP): Five people were killed by a shooter who opened fire along a walking trail in North Carolina’s capital city on Thursday and eluded police for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested, police said.

An off-duty police of ficer was among those killed by the suspect, who police only described as a white, ju venile male. He was arrested around 9:37 pm, authorities said. His identity and age weren’t released.

The gunfire broke out around 5 pm along the Neuse River Greenway in a residential area northeast of downtown, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said.

Officers from numer ous law enforcement agen cies swarmed the area, closing roads and warn ing residents to stay inside while they searched for the shooter.

Among those slain was an off-duty police of ficer, authorities said. Two other people, including another police officer, were taken to hospitals. The of ficer was later released, but the other survivor remained in critical condition.

“Tonight terror has reached our doorstep. The nightmare of every com munity has come to Ra leigh. This is a senseless horrific and infuriating act of violence that has been committed,” Gov.

Roy Cooper told reporters. Authorities didn’t offer any details on a motive, but Baldwin joined Cooper in decrying the violence.

“We must stop this mindless violence in Amer ica, we must address gun violence,” the mayor said. “We have much to do, and tonight we have much to mourn.”

Brooke Medina, who lives in the neighbourhood bordering the greenway, was driving home at around 5:15 pm when she saw about two dozen police cars, both marked and unmarked, race toward the residential area about 9 miles (14 ki lometers) from Raleigh’s downtown. She then saw ambulances speeding the other direction, toward the closest hospital.

She and her husband, who was working from home with their four chil dren, started reaching out to neighbours and realized there was a shelter-in-place order.

The family closed all

of their window blinds, locked the doors and con gregated in an upstairs hall way together, said Medina, who works as a communi cations vice president at a think tank.

The family listened to the police scanner and watched local news before going back downstairs once the danger seemed to have moved further away from their home.

“We’re just going to hunker down for the rest of the night and be very vigi lant. Keep all of our lights on, doors locked,” she said.

She described the neighbourhood known as Hedingham as a sprawling, dense, tree-lined commu nity that’s full of singlefamily homes, duplexes and townhomes that are more moderately priced compared to other parts of the Raleigh area. Medina said she often takes her kids on bike rides along the greenway during the day, but typically brings pepper spray along just in case.

Iraqi parliament elects Abdul Latif Rashid as new Iraqi Prez

BAGHDAD, OCT 14 (IANS): Iraqi lawmakers have elected Abdul Latif Rashid as the new Presi dent of Iraq, marking a crucial step toward form ing a new government for the country, the parliament said.

Rashid received 162 votes in the second round of voting, defeating Bar ham Salih who gained 99 votes, while eight votes were considered invalid, according to the media of fice of the parliament on Thursday.

In the first round of voting, none of the 39 presi dential candidates garnered two-thirds of the votes of the total 329 parliament members, but Rashid got 156 votes and Salih came in second with 99 votes, Xin hua news agency reported.

According to the Iraqi constitution, the President-

elect needs to gather at least two-thirds of the votes of the 329 parliament mem bers. Failing that, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will com pete with each other in a second round, and the one receiving the majority of votes will be declared the President of Iraq.

The newly-elected Rashid was later sworn in as the President of Iraq, the fifth President of the country since 2003.

After the parliament

session, Rashid tasked Mo hammed Shia’ al-Sudani with forming a new gov ernment as al-Sudani was nominated by the Coordi nation Framework (CF), the largest parliamentary alliance and an umbrella group of Shia parliamen tary parties.

Al-Sudani, now as the Prime Minister-designate, will have 30 days to form the new government, ac cording to the constitution.

Rashid, 78, is a veter an Kurdish politician born in the city of Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq. He worked as Minister for Water Resources from Sep tember 2003 to December 2010.

He is an active mem ber of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) under the leadership of Jalal Ta labani, who became Presi dent of Iraq in 2005.

nian forces pushed deeper into the Kherson region, albeit at a slower pace than a few weeks ago.

Ukrainian forces re ported retaking 75 set tlements in the region in the last month, Ukraine’s Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories said late on Thursday night.

A similar campaign in eastern Ukraine resulted in 502 settlements in the Kharkiv region, 43 in the Donetsk region and seven in Luhansk region return ing to Ukrainian control, the ministry said.

Putin illegally an nexed Kherson, as well as the neighbouring Zapor izhzhia region and the Do netsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine last month following “referen dums” in the four regions that Kyiv and the West denounced as a sham.

Gen Valeriy Zalu zhny, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, vowed on Friday that his forces would succeed in “getting ours back.”

“No one and nothing will stop us,” Zaluzhny

said in a video message. “We have buried the myth of the invincibility of the Russian army.”

While reiterating calls for local residents to evac uate to Russia, Saldo’s deputy, Kirill Stremousov, also insisted the evacua tion preparations did not mean the Russian-installed officials anticipated Ukrai nian forces taking all of the Kherson region.

“No one’s retreating. ... No one is planning to leave the territory of the Kherson region,” he said.

Early on Friday, Rus sia continued missile strikes on critical infrastructure that started Monday in re taliation for the explosion on the Moscow-funded bridge that links Crimea to the Russian mainland.

In the last 24 hours, at least nine civilians were killed and 15 were wound ed, the Ukrainian presi dent’s office reported Fri day morning. The victims included seven people who died after a missile strike in the city of Mykolaiv, where a residential building was destroyed, the regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, said.

Pak finance minister Ishaq Dar heckled at airport in Washington

WASHINGTON/ISLAM

ABAD, OCT 14 (PTI): Pakistan Finance Minister

Ishaq Dar was heckled by unidentified persons at the Dulles International Airport when he arrived in Washing ton to attend meetings with the global lending institu tions and seek much-needed aid for the cash-strapped and flood-hit country.

In a video that went viral on Twitter on Thurs day, Dar, accompanied by Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Masood Khan and other officials jeered at the airport. In the clips, the hecklers can be heard chanting slogans of “chor chor” directed toward Dar. In one of the videos, a man can be heard shout ing: “You’re a liar. You’re a chor”. In his retort, Dar says: “You’re a liar.” Mani Butt, the presi dent of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party’s Vir ginia chapter — who ac companied Dar — can be seen exchanging profanities with the hecklers, the Dawn newspaper. Dar, 72, recently took over as the finance min ister of Pakistan from his

predecessor Miftah Ismail. He is in the US to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the Interna tional Monetary Fund.

Pakistan will seek new terms from international lenders after devastating floods hit the country.

The death toll from the cataclysmic floods in Pakistan was close to 1,700.

It has also displaced over 33 million people and caused economic damages to the tune of USD 40 billion, fan ning fears that the country

may not be able to meet its debt obligations. This is not the first time Pakistani ministers have been jeered at public places on their trips abroad and even within the country. Last month, Infor mation Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was heckled at a coffee shop in London. Earlier, Minister for Plan ning and Development Ah san Iqbal was harassed by supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Paki stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party at a restaurant.

Liz Truss sacks Kwarteng, appoints Hunt as Treasury chief

LONDON, OCT 14 (PTI):

British Prime Minister Liz Truss has sacked her Chan cellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, in an effort to stem the eco nomic turmoil unleashed by his mini-budget at the end of last month, reports emerging from Downing Street in London said on Friday.

“As I have said many times in the past weeks, fol lowing the status quo was simply not an option. For too long this country has been dogged by low growth rates and high taxationthat must still change if this country is to succeed,” his resignation letter reads.

Earlier, the finance minister cut short his visit to the US for an Internation al Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington to fly back for a meeting with his boss. It had triggered speculation over his job and

possible U-turns on the tax cuts he had tabled in Parlia ment, which had resulted in the pound plummeting against the dollar and the Bank of England stepping in to buy the country’s longterm bonds to shore up the pension funds.

The estimated GBP 45 billion worth of tax cuts without a detailed funding

plan to back it up were seen as disastrous for the UK economy at a time when inflation has already been soaring.

LONDON, OCT 14 (AGENCIES): Former for eign minister Jeremy Hunt has been appointed Brit ain’s finance minister, Prime Minister Liz Truss’s office said on Friday, following Kwasi Kwarteng’s resigna tion from the post after less than six weeks in the job.

A former foreign minister, Hunt has twice been un successful in running for the governing Conservative Party’s leadership, once losing to Boris Johnson and then being knocked out in the first round of voting in a contest which saw Truss

take the prize.

Seen as on the centreright of the party, Hunt en dorsed Truss’s leadership rival, former finance minis ter Rishi Sunak to become prime minister, and is seen by many in the party as a safe pair of hands. Hunt, who has also previously served as health minister and culture minister, becomes Britain’s fourth finance minister in as many months. Truss’s office also said Edward Argar had replaced Chris Philp as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the second most important job in the department.

RESIGNATION AND DECLARATION

the following Office Bearers of the National People’s Party (NPP) from 17-Chizami A/C has resigned from the Party and from our respective positions and joined NDPP along with our supporters to further strengthen the leadership of Mr. K. G. Kenye, Former M.P & Advisor NDPP. We shall stand committed to the Party’s

extend unflinching support to the President Mr. Chingwang Konyak

Mr. Neiphiu Rio, Hon’ble Chief Minister.

Name Designation

Chubutse Naro President, NPP Phek District

Lhimese Tsido General Secretary, NPP Phek District

Dode Nakro President, NPP Youth Wing Phek District

Tewetso Tsüha Vice President, NPP Youth Wing Phek District

Shenezo Dzüdo Vice President, NPP 17- Chizami A/C

Wezotso Wetsa Secretary, NPP 17- Chizami A/C

Küvechüsa Swüro Secretary, NPP 17- Chizami A/C

Ciekrosü D.Vadeo Secretary, NPP 17- Chizami A/C

Welhite-u Lasuh Vice President,

Wing

IN GRATITUDE

Abdul Latif Rashid

A Ukrainian territorial defence deminer takes Russian ammunition left behind near Grakove village, Ukraine.

Screengrab from a footage showing finance minister Ishaq Dar being heckled at the airport in Washington.

JeremyHuntappointedBritain’s nextfinanceminister,replacingKwarteng

Britain’s ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, left and Prime Minister Liz Truss. (AP/PTI)

Law enforcement officers block off Old Milburnie Road during a shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday.

‘Polluting minds of young generation’: SC slams Ekta Kapoor on web series ‘XXX’

matter will be taken up soon.

At this, the bench said: “You are polluting the minds of youngsters.”

Rohatgi, however, submitted that the apex court had earlier granted protection to Kapoor in a similar matter and there is freedom of choice in the country. He further added that content is subscrip tion based.

issued against her for al legedly insulting soldiers and hurting the senti ments of their families in the web series on her OTT platform ALTBalaji.

The bench observed: “We have seen the order and we have our reserva tions.”

Tetso College organises 7th ‘Comfiesta’, ‘Historia Fete’

The Supreme Court on Friday slammed producer Ekta Ka poor over objectionable content in her web series “XXX”.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar said: “Some thing has to be done. You are polluting the minds of the young generation of this country...”

The bench added

that the OTT (Over the Top) content was avail able to all and questioned her counsel as to “what kind of choice are you providing to the people?”

The bench made these observations after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Ka poor, contended a plea was moved before the Patna High Court but chances are slim that the

The bench said it does not appreciate that every time, a plea is moved before the apex court and added that a cost will be imposed for filing such a petition. It asked Rohatgi to convey this to his client and emphasised that the apex court works for those who don’t have voices.

The top court was hearing a plea by Kapoor against the arrest warrants

Rishab Shetty’s ‘Kantara’ becomes highestrated Indian film, beats ‘KGF 2’, ‘RRR’

The apex court has also kept the matter pend ing before it and recom mended a local lawyer should be engaged to in form about the status of hearing in the high court.

A trial court in Bi har’s Begusarai had is sued the warrant on a 2020 complaint lodged by Shambhu Kumar, an exserviceman, who alleged that “XXX” (season-2) featured several objection able scenes in connection with the soldier’s wife.

(IANS)

Queen release rediscovered song featuring Freddie Mercury

Queen released a rediscovered song featuring Freddie Mercury on Thursday, the band’s first new track with the late frontman’s in stantly recognisable vocals to come out in more than eight years.

Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Tay lor first told fans about the existence of “Face It Alone” during an inter view in the summer.

The 7th edition “Comfiesta” of inter-institutional commerce and manage ment, organized by Tetseo College, Dimapur was held at Tetseo College Amphitheater on Friday.

The fiesta was organ ised with the objective to test the mental ability of the students, to deliver positive impact and boost the confidence of the stu dents.

A total of 13 students participated in the fiesta which include events such as “Contrakeenas”, Mo bile Legends, “Dramatise ment”, business talkathon and Comfiesta Got Tal ent.

Delivering the key note address at the formal session, St. Joseph Uni versity, Nagaland vice

chancellor prof. Dr. D Gnanadurai said that now the quality of the students is measured by talent. In this, he encouraged the students to identify their talent, for each student has their own unique talent. He also encouraged the faculties and parents of the students to help them identify their talents.

He urged the students to make positive deci sion of their life, firstly by identifying their talent and make the best use of it. He also appealed to focus on research rather than con fining on one direction.

“Winning and losing is a part of life, sometimes we win and sometimes we fail, but we have to learn, the reason and perform better” he added.

(Staff Reporter)

Historia Fete

Department of His tory, Tetso College orga nized annual “History Festival” on October 12 under the theme ‘Historia Fete: Reimagining the Untold Narratives’. The event was divided into two segments, formal and informal.

The formal session begun with an invoca tion by assistant professor, department of History, Akali Sumi, and sharing on the festival theme by assistant professor, de partment of History, Dr. Eastrose Miachie. In the formal session, students showcased a traditional Angami folktale drama followed by a special mu sical performance and a quiz competition among the students.

The informal session kicked off with a tradition al Sumi Naga traditional dance followed by several fun filled performances and competitions. Per formances included beat boxing, singing and dance by different students of the department. Competi tions included war cry or howling challenge, standup comedy, and pork fat eating. A special perfor mance was given by Tetso alumnus Vinika Yepthomi who is an artiste under the Task Force of Music and Arts (TaFMA), Govern ment of Nagaland.

Various stalls were also set up by students of all three different semes ters of the department. The programme conclud ed with a vote of thanks by Dr. Eastrose Miachieo.

FTII to conduct training on smartphone film making

After

will be conducted offline at the Direc torate of Information & Public Rela tions, Kohima.

Actor-filmmaker

Rishab Shetty’s latest Kannada film ‘Kantara’ has bro ken the record of Yash-starrer ‘KGF 2’ and has come out victorious by becoming the highest-rated Indian film on IMDB.

The film, which released on September 30, is an actionthriller written and directed by Rishabh and produced by Vijay Kiragandur. According to IMDB, the film has a rating of 9.5/10. ‘KGF-2’ has been rated with 8.4 and ‘RRR’ has 8.0.

Set and filmed in Keraadi in coastal Karnataka, the film stars Rishabh as a Kambala champion, who is at logger heads with an upright DRFO officer, Murali (Kishore).

The Hindi-dubbed version of the film will be released on October 14. (IANS)

After hitting the bull’s eye at the box office, Kannada movie ‘Kantara’ is now trending across the country with accolades pouring in from all quarters. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur met the Kantara team Thursday and wished them success.

Taking to social media, Anurag Thakur shared a picture of his meeting with the team of ‘Kantara’. Thakur tweeted:

“I met @hombalefilms team and wished them success for their film #Kantara. Also lis tened to their ideas to make India film hub of the world.”

Several celebrities like Dhanush, Anil Kumble, and Prashanth Neel have expressed their appreciation for the film.

With its pan-India release, Hombale films’ ‘Kantara’ is garnering all-round praise. The film began to spread its charm from the very first day of its release in Kannada and continued its winning streak when it released in Hindi.

Bad Bunny dominates American Music Award nominations

termined by fan votes and will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Nov. 20. The event will be televised live on Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) ABC network.

Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bun ny landed the most nominations for this year’s American Music Awards, leading fellow rapper Drake and pop superstars Beyonce and Taylor Swift on the list of contenders unveiled on Thursday.

Bad Bunny received a total of eight AMA nomi nations and will compete for artist of the year against British singers Adele and Harry Styles and Canadian musician The Weeknd.

Drake, Beyonce and Swift also are in the run ning for artist of the year and received six nomina tions each.

The nominations are based on performances on the Billboard music charts, streaming and album sales, radio play and social media engagement.

Winners will be de

Bad Bunny’s other nods included favorite male pop artist, favorite music video and favorite touring artist. The singer set a record this year for the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist in history. His album “Un Verano Sin Ti” just topped the Billboard charts for a 13th week.

The track was origi nally recorded in the late 1980s during sessions for the band’s chart-topping album “The Miracle” but it did not make it to release.

Queen’s production and archive team found it again when they began working on an upcoming box set reissue of the al bum, due to be released in November.

“We’d kind of for gotten about this track,” Taylor said in a statement. “But there it was, this little gem. It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very pas sionate piece.”

“The Miracle”, Queen’s 13th studio al bum, came out two years before Mercury died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991.

(Reuters)

The Office of the Ao Senso Union Kiphire with immense pride and joy would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Dr. N. Moa Jamir, Sr. Dental Surgeon, District Hospital Kiphire who has received the Commendation Certificate Award from Principal Director. Health and Family Welfare in Recognition of his sincere service beyond the Call of Duty for the year 2021-2022. We witness his sincerity in his duty, working tirelessly for the welfare of general public of Kiphire District.

The Union further wishes and pray to Almighty God to continually bless him in his entire future endeavours.

the successful completion of the first phase of training which was held online, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in collaboration with the de partment of IPR, will begin the second phase of training with the basic course in “Smartphone Film Making” for ST participants residing in Nagaland from October 17 to 21.

The training is being imparted free of cost as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration which

The course director will be prof. Ajmal Jami, who is a reputed profes sional in the field of cinematography, visual content and production and has over 30 years of experience in a diverse range of visual communica tion, including mobile filmmaking. He also served as HoD-Camera at NDTV news channel. The release informed that participants should be

long to Scheduled Tribe and should be 18 years and above. There will be no course fee, however, participants are required to pay Rs. 500/- at the time of registration. Interested candidates may send their details with their ST Certificate to iprnagaland@gmail.com or contact 8861160084.

The last date of submission will be October 16. Certificates will be is sued by FTII upon successful comple tion of the course. No TA and DA will be provided. (DIPR)

President Secretary Lanuchuba Jamir Tsuknungtemjen Jamir

Office Of the AO SeNSO telONgJe Kiphire DiStrict felicitAtiON

Avitoli Yepthomi (B.com 3rd sem) and Zuchumo Yanthan (BBA 1st Sem) presenting special number. (NP)

Students participating in War Cry (Howling) challenge as part of ‘Historia Fete’.

AnuragThakurmeets‘Kantara’team,talks aboutmakingIndia‘filmhuboftheworld’

Anurag Thakur with the team of Hombale films ‘Kantara’

Open badminton tourney underway in Kohima

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Jeüchüghu FC Phor emerged as the champions of the 9th edition of Po chury Black Day Memo rial Cup 2022 by defeating Khumiasü FC 1-0 in the final played at Meluri town on October 14.

The winning goal was scored by Rachitu Jourü.

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): The BCCI on Friday named seasoned pacer Mo hammed Shami as injured Jasprit Bumrah’s replace ment in the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.

KOHIMA, OCT 14

(NPN): The two-day Fierce Open Badminton Tournament organised by Kohima Town Christian Revival Church Youth Fel lowship (KTCRCYF) in collaboration with Naga land Badminton Associa tion (NBA) got underway at Grand Vista Arena, Mer iema, Kohima on Friday.

Speaking as the guest of honour at the inaugural, advisor of Nagaland Khadi & Village Industries Board,

Gauff, Pegula qualify for 2022 WTA Finals

ST PETERSBURG (USA),

OCT 14 (IANS): The dou bles team of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have qualified for the 2022 WTA Finals, to be held in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Dick ies Arena from October 31 to November 7, the WTA announced on Friday.

Gauff and Pegula are the fifth doubles team to confirm their place in Fort Worth, joining reigning champions Barbora Kre jcikova and Katerina Sinia kova, Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos, Lyud myla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, and Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens.

The team will be the first all-American pairing to contest the WTA Finals since 2015 (Raquel KopsJones and Abigail Spears).

Dr. Neiphrezo Keditsu expressed happiness at the organisers for coming up with the event. While con gratulating all the players he urged them to master the art and be the best they possibly can.

Observing that Nagas had a habit of being jacks of all trade but master of none, he urged the player focus on the discipline they had chosen.

Later he wished the best to the players and the tourney a grand suc cess. Earlier, the inaugural

was compered by general secretary of the event, Ke viphrelie Phewhuo and began with an invocation by KTCRCYF advisor, ThepfulhouzoTsürho.

A special number was presented by Ketounuo Sopfünuo.

A total number of 124 players have registered to take part in the seven cat egories including begin ners, amateur men (singles & doubles), 40+ men’s doubles and open category men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah’s replace ment in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad. Shami has reached Australia and will link up with the squad in Brisbane ahead of the warm-up matches,’ BCCI secretary Jay Shah was quot ed in a press release. That Shami would replace Bum rah in the main squad was reported by PTI last month.

Mohammed Siraj and Shar dul Thakur have been named as backups and will travel to Australia shortly.

Altogether 11 teams participated in this year edition. In individual’s awards: Tarep of Shilloi Sporting Club with 7 goals received the highest scorer award, Tüwusü of Khu miasü FC was named as

Khumiasü FC was named as the best goalkeeper.

The player of the tour nament award was won by Yithachu Thupitor of Jeüchüghu FC Phor.

Earlier, the valedictory programme was graced by Er. Chirhotho Rasutho, joint director, Geology and Min ing as special guest. The programme began with an invocation by Fr. Tomy Kal lurumbel and introductory note by ThsüthoKajiri.

A solidarity note was conveyed by Naga Students’ Federation vice president, Atokiho Sumi.

BCCI could lose Rs 955 cr as Govt tax for hosting 2023 WC

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): The

BCCI could lose around Rs 955 crore (USD 116 million) if the central government sticks to its decision to levy 21.84 percent tax surcharge on ICC’s broadcast revenue from the 2023 ODI World Cup, according to a Board report.

India is to host next year’s 50-over showpiece in October-No vember.

Tax surcharge refers to “an additional charge, fee, or tax that is added to the cost of a good or service beyond the initially quoted price”. A surcharge is often added to an exist ing tax and is not included in the stated price of the good or service.

As per ICC norm, the host na

tion is required to get tax exemption from the government for hosting tournaments organised by the global body.

Since India’s tax rules don’t al low such exemptions, the BCCI has already lost close to Rs 193 crore (USD 23.5 million) as the govern ment didn’t exempt tax surcharge for hosting the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup. The BCCI is still fighting that case in the ICC tribunal.

“The next ICC major men’s event, which is the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, is scheduled to be held in India in the month of October & November in 2023. The BCCI was obligated to deliver a tax exemption or a tax solution to the ICC for this

event, latest by April 2022,” stated the report circulated among state units ahead of the Board’s October 18 AGM in Mumbai.

“This time line was further extended by the ICC Board till 31st May 2022. At the start of this finan cial year, the BCCI had advised the ICC that in line with the tax order for the 2016 event, it was expected that a 10% (excluding surcharges) tax order could be obtained as an interim measure for the 2023 event within the required time frame.

“The ICC has now received a 20% (excluding surcharges) tax or der for its broadcast revenue for the 2023 event from the tax authorities in India.”

family

LATE NIKHEYI ASSUMI,

like to express our heartfelt thanks

GPRN/NSCN of Suhoi Village

the individuals, Govt. bodies and churches

stood and helped us spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially and in kinds

of

beloved

the

Kuposhukulu, Dimapur.

Colony Council

were a crusader, a visionary, an educationist, an author, a lawyer, a singer, an environmentalist and a person

a golden heart.

a Director, you had played a pivotal role to develop the University. Words cannot even begin to express our sorrow. You will be forever remembered and deeply missed.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

It is our prayer that the Almighty bless each and everyone of you abundantly.

"Our pillar of strength Our advisor and our friend

woman of integrity

epitome of patience and love

now rests in eternal peace.

Ackn

Dr.

Guest of honour with the organisers and some players after the inaugural. (NP)

Shami to replace Bumrah for T20 WC Jeüchüghu FC lifts Pochury Black Day Cup

Special guest Er. Chirhotho Rasutho hands over the trophy to the champions.

the best defender; Avijisie Phoji of Khumiasü FC as most promising player and Wietsüsie Phoji also from

Mohammed Shami

India lose to Morocco 0-3; out of U-17 WC

BHUBANESWAR, OCT 14 (PTI): Hosts India con ceded three goals in the second half to suffer a humiliating 0-3 defeat to Morocco in their second Group A match and crash out of the FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup here on Friday.

Debutants Morocco scored through El Madani (50th minute), Yasmine Zouhir (61st) and Cherif Djennah (90+1) to script their maiden win in the tournament.

India, who were also making their debut as au tomatic qualifiers as hosts, had lost to USA 0-8 in the opening match on Tuesday. They take on Brazil in their last group match on Octo ber 17, which will only be of academic interest.

Morroco still re mained in contention for a quarterfinal berth with three points after title con tenders Brazil and USA played out a 1-1 draw in another Group A match here earlier in the day.

Brazil and USA now have four points each after two matches. Morocco, who had lost to Brazil 0-1 on Tuesday, play against USA on October 17.

It was a much im proved Indian side after their humbling 0-8 defeat against USA and they dominated briefly in the early part of the first half which was largely evenlycontested. But the hosts lost the plot in the second half, conceding three goals to lose the match to the African team.

Goalkeeper Melody Keisham, who replaced Anjali Munda after the USA match, had a forget table game as her mistake led to Morocco’s second

goal. In the eight minute of the match, India put pressure on the opposition defence. Nitu Linda col lected the ball in Morocco box and she tried to set up Anita Kumari but a defender cleared the ball. Nothing came out of the Indian corner.

Four minutes later, it was Nitu again who won the ball after pressing her marker but her pass to wards Anita was blocked by a Moroccan player.

After that brief domi

Rudrankksh is world champion in 10m rifle men

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (IANS): Indian shooter

Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil won the gold medal in the individual men’s 10m air rifle at the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Championship 2022 in Cairo, Egypt after pulling off a dramatic 17-15 victory over Italy’s Danilo Dennis Sollazzo in the final. With this victory, the

18-year-old Patil also se cured a quota place for India for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

This is India’s second quota in shooting for the Summer Games after trap shooter Bhowneesh Mendiratta, who had won the first in the men’s trap at the Shotgun World Championships in Osijek, Croatia.

Nagaland Sepaktakraw team to take part in senior national championship

nation by the Indians, Mo rocco were on ascendency and they were unlucky not to have taken the lead with the crossbar saving India in the 18th minute.

Melody failed to col lect the ball cleanly after a Hajar Said attempt. El Madani then sent a cross but two Moroccan players could not connect it but captain Zouhir was there to fire in a powerful shot but only to hit the crossbar.

Another Morocco chance came right at the half-time whistle when

Shaw hits 134 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

RAJKOT, OCT 14 (PTI):

Repeatedly overlooked for the Indian team, Prithvi Shaw made a statement with a blistering 61-ball 134 and powered Mumbai to a 61-run victory over Assam at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Friday.

The blazing knock came close on the heels of the batter expressing his disappointment at not be ing picked in India’s ODI squad for the recent South Africa series at home.

In the Group A match, Mumbai put up an imposing 230 for three after being asked to bat first. Shaw did the bulk of the scoring, striking 13 fours and as many as nine sixes at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

In reply, Assam were bowled out for 169 in 19.3 overs. Tushar Deshpande was the most successful bowler for Mumbai, pick ing up 3/25 while there were two wickets apiece for Shams Mulani, Aman Ha kim Khan and Tanush Ko tian. Rajjakuddin Ahmed top-scored for Assam with 39 off 26 balls and Riyan Parag, who plays for Raj asthan Royals in the IPL, made 28 in 10 deliveries.

Melody again failed to col lect the ball but India sur vived as both the sides were locked 0-0 at half time.

Five minutes into the second half, Naketa han dled the ball inside the Indian box and the referee had no hesitation to point to the dreaded spot and El Madani stepped up to score from the penalty.

Morocco doubled the lead after Melody fumbled while trying to collect a cross from the right and captain Yasmine Zouhir slotted the ball home with a left footer in the 61st min ute. Morocco then added salt to India’s injury as Cherif Djennah outran Indian markers on the left before scoring a clinical goal in the first minute of the added time.

“We fought hard but lost the match. We will try to give our best against Brazil,” said captain Astam Oraon after the match.

“It was a much im proved performance by the team (than the match against USA). But we made mistakes including by the goalkeeper (second goal),” head coach Thomas Dennerby said.

NSF Martyrs’ Trophy: New Market hammer Go Live 9-0

Correspondent

KOHIMA, OCT 14

(NPN): New Market FC registered a huge 9-0 win over Go Live in the NSF Martyrs’ Trophy at IG Sta dium, Kohima on Friday.

Rhitso Mero was the hero of the match as he scored six goals.

He scored the first in the 16th minute. Mero then added five more goals in the 21st, 34th, 36th, 53rd and 90th minutes.

With his exceptional achievement on Friday,

Mero is now the highest scorer with nine goals to his credit. The other goals were scored by Neisede Peseyie, Petevizo Kezieo and Gideon Leo in the 38th, 59th and 83rd min utes respectively.

New Market’s Neis ede Peseyie was adjudged as the man of the match.

In the second match, Bucaneers FC emerged victorious through a tie breaker against Kelhouke vira FC after the match ended 1-1. Bucaneers’ Ra juvikuo Khawakhrie netted

the first goal of the match in the 15th minute which remained as the only goal in the first half.

Later, in the second half, Kelhoukevira’s Amesi scored the equalizer in the 48th minute.

The match headed for the inevitable penalty shootout as the final whis tle was blown. Bucaneers emerged victorious 3-1 in the tie breaker.

The man of the match was awarded to Kel houkevira’s Mhieneizotuo Lhousa.

ISL: 10-man Chennaiyin hold Bengaluru FC 1-1

CHENNAI, OCT 14 (AGENCIES): Chennaiy in FC treated its fans, who returned to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium after over two years, to an entertain ing 1-1 draw against Ben galuru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) here on Friday.

Prasanth Karuthada thkuni scored the equaliser after the home side went behind to an early goal from Roy Krishna. The Marina Machans’ keeper Debjit Majumder was sent off late in the game and Chennaiyin had to be con tent with a point, Sportstar reported.

It was Bengaluru which struck the opening blow inside four minutes and silenced the home crowd. Sivasakthi Naray anan picked up a loose ball on the right, and had the time to measure his cross with the outside of his boot into the six-yard area, where Roy Krishna met with a glancing header as the ball looped over Debjit and into the net.

After a sedate start, Chennaiyin kicked into gear from the 15-minute mark. They cut off the passes between the lines and won the second balls to press forward in attack.

PDFL: Puiteing FC thrash Lekie FC 4-2 to stay unbeaten

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Puiteing FC thrashed Lekie Mtei FC 4-2 to remain unbeaten in the first Peren District Football League (PDFL) organized by Peren District Football Association (PDFA) at Jalukie ‘B’ village ground on Friday.

With this win, Puite ing topped the league table.

Despite the slippery condition due to down pour, both teams put their best but it was Puiteing FC who drew the first blood in the 11th minute through Paolenngam.

Two minutes later, Kawililakbouin made it 2-0.

The first session ended 2-0 in favour of Puiteing FC.

After the breather, re juvenated Lekie Mtei came back stronger and they pulled one back through Haileuyibe Iranggau. Then Hainsiugongbe brought joy to Lekie supporters when he scored the equalizer from a spot kick.

But their joy was short-lived as the captain of Puiteng FC Jangminlen

found the back of the net in the 62nd minute and Paolenngam sealed the deal in the injury added time.

Barak FA, Northern Zeme Sports Association (NZSA) and Native Feath ers also won their respec tive matches.

Barak FA blanked Nsong Area Sports Asso

ciation (NASA) 6-0. The first goal was scored by of Barak captain Kenumdi in the 13th minute. Namd uanbou doubled the score in the 26th minute. Kham jai struck twice in the 66th and 69th minutes. The fifth goal was scored by Ira beubo in the 72nd minute and Kenumdi completed the rout in the 89th minute.

Led by Ilungrai’s two goals, NZSA defeated Prime FC 3-1. Ilungrai scored the goals after Ziep wa opened the account in the 16th minute.

Lamginmang of Prime FC scored the lone goal.

Native Feathers thrashed Benreu FC 5-2. Benreu FC now sat at

the bottom of the table and is yet to win single match.

The first goal for Na tive Feathers was scored by Lungmedau in the 13th minute.

Keyigogong doubled the lead in the 30th min ute. Samlamgumlung of Benreu FC reduced the margin by scoring in the 38th minute.

However, Khiuwang bo of Native Feathers con verted from the spot kick to make it 3-1.

Kethozhapu gave some hope for Benreu FC, when he scored in the 51st minute. But, Keyigogong and Khangkinwi of Na tive Feathers added a goal each in the 70th and 81st minutes respectively to pile misery on the struggling Benreu FC.

Chennaiyin relentlessly peppered Bengaluru’s box with crosses and runs into the box. Prasanth had a shot saved by Gurpreet, Fallou Diagne’s header from a corner missed the goal by a fraction and Petar Sliskovic thundered the crossbar with a volleyed effort.

The pressure paid off in the added minute of the first half when Slis kovic drew the attention of centre-back Sandesh Jhingan by dropping down to receive the ball before superbly turning to play in a through ball into the space vacated by Jhingan. Prasanth made the run on

goal, and set himself up before slotting a finish past Gurpreet.

At the start of the sec ond period, Bengaluru coach Simon Grayson re moved Sivasakthi for mid fielder Jayesh Rane to deal with Chennaiyin’s rampag ing right side. The second half was an even contest with both teams pushing forward in search of a goal to take the lead. Gurpreet remained the busier of the two keepers but the flow of the game was doused for the break in substitutions.

As the game became stretched, in the 82 nd minute, Debjit Majumder brought down Roy Krish na, just outside his own box, to receive a straight red. With Chennaiyin hav ing used up its three sub stitution windows, centre back Vafa Hakhamaneshi donned the keeping gloves.

While Bengaluru tried to make the man advantage count, it was Chennaiyin, which conjured a chance out of nothing in added time. Substitute Kwame Karikari made a run from inside his own half to build the expectations of the watching crowd but his shot went over the bar.

Phek, Niuland win Sepaktakraw titles

Speaking at the clos ing ceremony, Er. Zale said he was amazed to see young budding sportsper sons from all over the state showing their enthusiasm in Sepaktakraw. He de scribed Sepaktakraw as

one of the best-performing disciplines, as the state has been representing India at different International levels. He also congratu lated all winners and the entire team for showing their skills. Observers from Sports Authority of India, Joy Kumar, and others also attended the Catch Young Tournament.

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Nagaland sepak takraw senior team (men & women) Friday left for Kolkata West Bengal to take part in the 32nd Senior

National Championship for Men & Women to be held from October 16 to 20. A brief interaction-cum-send off programme was held at GHSS ground Nagar

jan where Nagaland Sepak Takraw Association officials were present. The five-day event will be held at Jyotir moy Knowledge Park, Te matha Kalikapur, Kolkata.

DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Phek district de feated Wokha in boys sec tion while in girls section Niuland beat Chumouke dima to win the Sepak takraw titles in the 14th inter-district catch them young tournament at IG Stadium in Kohima on October 14. According to DIPR report, advisor

of Youth Resources and Sports, Er. Zale Neikha handed over the prizes to the winners.

Er. Zale Neikha and officials along with participants at the closing session of the ‘Catch them young tournament 2022’ at IG Stadium, Kohima. (DIPR)

Officials

Morocco’s Yasmine Zouhir attempts to score a goal during their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 against India, at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Friday. (PTI)

Rhitso Mero of New Market (green) tries to kick the ball against Go Live on Friday. (NP)

Vafa Hakhamaneshi came in as the replacement for the red-carded Debjit Majumdar. (Focus Sports/ ISL)

Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil