29 Nov 2021

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 355

DIMAPUR, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

India set 284-run target for NZ after declaring at 234/7

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SPORTS, PAGE 12

States asked to step up surveillance, testing

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): In view of the possible threat that Omicron variant of concern- can pose to the country, the Centre advised states and UTs to immediately focus on intensive containment, active surveillance, increased vaccination coverage as well as enforcement of Covid appropriate behavior.

Apart from rigorous surveillance of international passengers and enhanced testing, the health ministry has also directed states to monitor hotspots and send positive samples for genome sequencing. The move came soon after Prime Minister chaired a high-level review meeting on Saturday and asked officials at the Centre to proactively engage with states. Immediately after the meeting, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to all chief secretaries and administrators of states and UTs listing a series of measures in detail that need to be implemented immediately.

“As a proactive step, Government has already placed countries where this VoC has been found in the category of ‘At-Risk’ countries for additional follow up measures of international

State records nil Covid cases, death D I M A P U R , N OV 2 8 (NPN): Nagaland on Sunday recorded zero Covid-19 positive cases and nil deaths.

The total caseload and death toll remained unchanged at 32100 and 696 (including 16 non-Covid deaths) respectively.

Meanwhile, India reported as many as 8,774 new Covid cases and 621 deaths in the last 24 hours, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday. With Sunday’s numbers, the cumulative total reached 3,45,72,523 and the death toll climbed to 4,68,554.

With over 30 mutations, Omicron variant may evade vax immunity: AIIMS chief

travellers coming into India from these countries,” Bhushan said in the letter sent to states on Saturday.

Centre suggested the imperative that all international travellers travelling from and transiting through these countries which are part of the “at risk” country category in the revised guidelines for international arrivals are subjected to rigorous screening and testing.

The contacts of these international travellers are also to be closely tracked and tested as per health ministry guidelines.

In his letter to states, Bhushan pointed out that there is already a reporting mechanism for obtaining past travel details of passengers coming through international flights which should be reviewed.

(Cont’d on p-8)

Covid pandemic not over yet, warns PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday warned that the coronavirus pandemic was not over yet.

Addressing the 83rd episode of his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme Sunday, Modi also urged people to remain vigilant and adopt all possible precautions to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. “Never forget that corona has not gone yet. It is our responsibility to take all precautions,” PM said during the address.

Modi’s warning comes at a time when the world is grappling with the emergence of the deadly ‘Omicron’ variant, which was first reported in South Africa.

The new Covid variant Omicron has at least 30 mutations in the spike protein which gives it the potential to bypass immunity provided by vaccines, warned AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria on Sunday.

The new variant, first found in South Africa, has already triggered global alarm with several countries announcing renewed travel restrictions to prevent a potentially deadly outbreak.

Talking to PTI, the AIIMS chief said that multiple mutations in the spike region could offset the efficacy of vaccines.

"The new variant of coronavirus reportedly has got more than 30 mutations at the spike protein region and therefore has the potential of developing immunoescape mechanisms.

As most vaccines (work by) forming antibodies against the spike protein, so many mutations at the spike protein region may lead to a decreased efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines," Dr Guleria said.

The presence of spike protein facilitates a virus'

entry into the host cell and is responsible for making it transmissible and causing infection.

Dr Guleria said that India will have to critically evaluate its available vaccines in case the virus is found to resist them.

The future course of action will depend on what more data on its transmissibility, virulence and immunoescpae shows, he said.

So far, the new variant, also known as B.1.1.529, has not been detected in India.

Dr Guleria emphasised the need to be very vigilant and having aggressive surveillance both for international travellers and in the region where there is a sudden increase in the number of cases.

"Also, we must ask everyone to religiously follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and not let their guards down. Also, it has to be ensured that people get both the doses of vaccine and those who have not yet taken the jab are encouraged to come forward to take it," he said.

Travel curbs aimed at COVID variant tighten across the world INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 9

Nagaland pushes for off-road tourism; generate `100 cr revenue KOHIMA, NOV 28 (PTI): Sturgis, a city in South Dakota, USA, has inspired the Nagaland government to use the state’s rugged terrain and bad roads to its advantage and turn them into an off-roading business model which, officials said, has the potential to generate an annual revenue of Rs 100 crore once it hits the roads.

Turning its disadvantage of rugged terrain into an opportunity, the state government has devised a plan to promote off-roading, an activity which entails driving or riding a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.

“We want to make Nagaland the off-road capital of the world. Sturgis, a city in the USA, generates a revenue of USD 800 million and sustains the livelihoods of 10,000 people through a 10-day motorcycle festival.

“We are going to do a similar thing here. We have good roads for off-roading and need virtually no investment in terms of infrastructure. All we need is to

File photo of an offroading crew drive to Longwa (Outlook traveller)

build capacities in villages.

Once it’s operational, it has the potential to generate Rs 100 crore revenue annually,” said I Kitto Zhimomi, commissioner and secretary Tourism, on the sidelines of the International Tourism Mart being held in Kohima.

While the concept is in the works with a tie-up with Google to chart out the routes that can be used and with Wander Beyond Boundaries curating the circuits, a group of 10 people participated in a 10-day offroading expedition in the interiors of the state in September.

“The off-roading trip of 10 people had them spend around Rs 20 lakh for the experience. We have to target

homesteads in villages, raise funds for clean toilets and clean linens, that’s it. We don’t want volumes, we want the niche traveller to visit and experience off-roading,” said Zhimomi, who has also brought out a coffee book on his concept. He also said that the idea is to have around 10 such circuits each for 13 of its districts.

Nagaland, which is currently hosting the 9th edition of the International Tourism Mart, being organised by the Ministry of Tourism, saw over 1.12 lakh tourists during the Hornbill Festival in 2016. As many as 2.82 lakh travellers, including 3,015 foreigners, visited the state during the event in 2019.

NPCC welcomes nod to SARFAESI Diplomats discuss tourism potential at roundtable meet Act, questions implementation Correspondent

D I M A P U R , N OV 2 8 sembly that the Act would responsibility so that it is not (NPN): Nagaland Pradesh infringe on Article 371 (A). repeated in future.

C o n g r e s s C o m m i t t e e He alleged that this advice On the problems faced (NPCC) said it appreciated caused delay against the bill by borrowers and lenders the UDA government for from being passed. prior to SARFAESI Act, finally coming to its senses Therie also held the ad- Therie said that there was after 19 years by adopting vice note for being respon- serious trust deficit between the resolution on SARFAE- sible for the loss of growth lenders and beneficiaries, esSI Act 2002 in the recent of economy for nearly two pecially Nagaland’s citizens assembly session but added decades. He also said this and the main problem being that ensuring implementa- also caused the economy to PMRY loanees’ failure to tion of the Act with eco- suffer on account of denial repay. nomic growth as the objec- of loans for development, He also mentioned tive would be an uphill task. thereby stagnating growth that the fault lay with the Stating this in a press and revenue generation.

Industry department in release, NPCC president In addition, the delay choosing borrowers withK Therie emphasised that had led to industrial growth out considering their skill understanding the Act grinding to halt and block- and commitment and refrom both the lenders and ing creation of employment lying on photo copies of borrower’s point of view opportunities. projects reports without unwas important. He also He said that mislead- derstanding the Strengths, called for censure on the ing the Assembly is a serious Weaknesses, Opportunities Law department for having offence and demanded that and Threats (SWOT).

(Cont’d on p-8) D I M A P U R , N OV 2 8 “wrongly advised” the As- the government should fix (NPN): Western Sumi Kukami Hoho (WSKH) on Sunday reiterated its stand, announced on November 22, extending unflinching DIMAPUR, NOV 28 (NPN): In view of dirty look along the roads and paths, should support to Akato Chophi the Statehood Day on December 1 and the also be removed, he ordered. Sinha directed Hornbill Festival, a mass social work has the DCs to urgently call a meeting of all relled-NSCN (R).

In a press note, WSKH been planned on November 30 from 6 a.m. evant departments, CSOs, ULBs, colonies, media cell said that the hoho to 12 noon in all district and sub-divisional wards, GBs etc, for planning out the mass “reaffirmed and stand on the headquarters with the involvement of all the social work.

Further, in view of the festive season, decision made on Novem- government employees and public.

In a circular issued by principal secre- he suggested steps to ensure facelift of all ber 22 at Hoito Village.” It further said that the hoho tary (home) Abhijit Sinha, the aim of the government buildings and to put decorative “welcome any individual or social work was to make the wards and colo- lights by November 30. He also appealed organization for clarification nies free from any kind of waste/rubble/ public/CSOs to co-operate and provide assisacross the table in the office muck/foliage overgrowth, etc. The debris, tance to help carry out the mass social work of WSKH regarding confu- building materials and other wastes, which successfully and also for carrying out beauticould be creating public nuisance or giving a fication of their houses/colonies/wards, etc. sion of the matter.”

WSKH reaffirms Nov 22 stand

KOHIMA, NOV 28 (NPN): A roundtable discussion was held for visiting diplomats from Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam on Day-2 of the ongoing International Tourism Mart at Kisama on Sunday afternoon.

Union tourism secretary Arvind Singh, who acted as the moderator of the session, thanked the diplomats for being part of the programme. He urged them to share their suggestions for boosting the tourism sector in the Northeast.

Initiating the discussion, Malaysian high commissioner Hidayat-Bin-Abdul-Hamid remarked that this was his first visit to the region, and that it had turned out to be surprisingly

Diplomats from S.East Asian countries and other participants during the roundtable meeting. (NP)

pleasant and an eye opener.

He observed that there was a vast potential for growth of tourism industry in the region. He disclosed that although his native country Malaysia, had made headways in some areas, there was still a lot to be done.

Sharing his observations on Nagaland, Hamid

said there were a lot of similarities with his country and that the two could cooperate in many areas.

He mentioned that Nagas celebrating Hornbill Festival and use of the bird’s feathers were common with the Malaysians who also had similar practices with the iconic bird. Apart from

that, he said there were also similarities in musical instruments, while dances were almost quite identical.

At the prodding of the moderator, adviser to chief minister, Abu Metha, shared the highlights and main attractions of the event to the guests.

(Cont’d on p-8)

State-wide mass social work on Nov 30 Revised guidelines for Intl arrivals Winter Parl session to be stormy;

This is it!

"That was you belting old numbers at Hornbill 2006.

Back then you were a VVIP man."

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NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (AGENCIES): International passengers must submit 14 days’ travel history and upload negative Covid test results, the government said on Sunday.

Travellers from countries deemed “at-risk” will also undergo a mandatory 7-day home quarantine if they test negative for the virus, the Health Ministry said in revised travel guidelines

for international passengers in view of ‘Omicron’ - a new variant of Covid that has been classified as a variant of concern by the WHO. Passengers will have to submit a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal and include travel history for the past two weeks. They will also be required to upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test (Cont’d on p-8)

Road works should not be obstructed: CPO panel on 2-lane road D I M A P U R , N OV 2 8 (NPN): Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO) committee on 2-lane road has expressed concern that the road work under Package-II was slow, reportedly due to hindrances by locals at several locations.

In this regard, the committee convenor Vaprumu Demo and member secretary Wepe Mekrisuh urged respective village/town authorities and administration to sincerely address the issue at the earliest and enable the contractor to speed up

work so that the project was completed within the stipulated time. Any kind of road obstruction should not be allowed by local authorities, they said.

While expressing gratitude to deputy commissioner Phek for initiating joint inspection to review progress of work on ChakhabamaZunheboto and Phek-Pfutsero roads on November 25 and 26 respectively along with EAC Chetheba, EAC Sekruzu, SDO (C) Phek, SDO (C) Pfutsero, representatives of NHIDCL (Cho-

zuba sector), GM Shivalaya, Madhucon, KKB, CPO Committee, CRPO, CCPO, Pfutsero-Phek Youth Front and village/town authorities concerned, the committee noted that Shivalaya had successfully completed the portion in Package-I within time. Though some work remained, this was expected to be completed soon, it said.

Under Package-III (Madhucon portion), they said some surface cutting work was still left and black topping was yet to be done.

They urged Madhucon Proj-

ects Ltd to initiate the pending work by utilising the work season.

They further expressed concern that contract between Shivalaya and the government will expire on May 31, 2022, while insisting that the requisite clearance for work in obstructed area (specially in PackageII) should be given latest by December 31, 2021 failing which, they feared that the contractor might abandon those obstructed portion.

According to the committee, the work was almost

complete from Phek to Pfutsero with little remaining work at few locations. They appreciated Madhucon Projects Ltd and KKB for having completed the project in time. Referring to the concern expressed by public, specially by PP Youth Front, over the quality of black topping done by Madhucon and KKB on Phek-Pfutsero road, they said no one was expecting that black topping would sink, develop crack or pill out just a few months after completion of the work.

(Cont’d on p-8)

Oppn warns disruption if not heard

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (AGENCIES): The winter session of Parliament, which is likely to commence from November 29 to December 23, is set to witness uproar over a wide range of issues, including withdrawal of farm laws, Assembly polls in five states etc.

Amid speculation that the government may go ahead with the repeal of farm laws without a discussion, Opposition sources warned that such a move would lead to confrontation.

They would demand discussion during the meetings of Business Advisory Committees of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Monday morning.

Opposition leaders also have expressed apprehensions over the government’s intent and asked whether they would bring back the laws after upcoming Assembly elections, pointing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the laws were good and only a small section is against it. Indicating that farmers’

issues will dominate the session, Opposition parties also amplified farmers’ demand for legislative backing for Minimum Support Price during an all-party meeting called by the government, which Modi did not attend.

The leaders also highlighted issues ranging from price rise, fuel price hike, extending tenure of CBI and ED Directors and Covid-19 management, among others.

The Opposition will also gherao the government over China’s “intrusion” into the country and situation in Jammu and Kashmir while the Union government will attack the leadership of the grand old party over the “confession” in Tewari’s book regarding 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Congress will target the Modi government over Rafale deal, while the BJP will counterattack with French media Medipart’s report and question Congress leadership on who took the Rs 65 crore commission for 36 Rafale jets during 2007 to 2012.

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JCC celebrates 25th years of existence

SJU holds webinar on literary hermeneutics

Japhü Christan college choir during the flag hoisting at the 25th anniversary celebration of Japfü Christian College on November 27, 2021.

DIMAPUR: Japfü Christian College (JCC), Kohima celebrated its 25th anniversary on November 27, at JCC campus (outdoor) with Dr. Kethoser Aniu Kevichüsa as the speaker.

According to DIPR report, JCC was established in the year 1996 and was affiliated to Nagaland University.

Hüsazü Epao as pioneer principal of the college and was sponsored by JBCC.

Speaking at the programme, Dr. Kevichüsa said, a college is a place of teaching universal knowledge which helps in developing intellectual virtues and in learning process. “It also helps in developing health, self-control, mental skills and to grow spiritually”, he added.

Earlier, a dedicatory prayer was offered by reverends under JBCC led by Rev. Ketsozeho Sale while jubilee

State handloom expo to be held in Dmu DIMAPUR: The Nagaland Handloom & Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. Dimapur, will be organizing state handloom expo from December 7 to 20, at Urban Haat, Dimapur.

In a press release, managing director, Zakabo V Rotokha informed that the expo will be sponsored by the office of the development commissioner (Handloom), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, New Delhi.

Interested co-operative societies, NGOs, apex societies, SHGs, etc. may apply to the project cell, NHHDC Ltd, Half Nagarjan, Dimapur, along with a copy of passport size photograph & detailed address, mobile number, Bank A/C No with IFSC code of the participants with the application on or before December 4, 2021 during office hours.

Selection will be done on the basis of quality and quantity of the products brought by the participants.

All stalls shall be provided free of cost. Lumpsum daily allowances shall be provided to all exhibitors/stalls.

flag hoisting was led by alumnus asst. commandant CRPF, Videkho Keyie.

Short speeches were also delivered by the pioneer principal Hüsazü Epao, KVC chairman Balie Kere, Board of Management (BOM) chairman, Dr. Akho Yhokha and JCC principal, Dr. Visakhonü Hibo. President alumni JCC, Khaikho Khiamniungan, also delivered greetings during the programme.

DIMAPUR: As part of national lecture series in “Inter-disciplinary/ Trans-discursive Critical Thinking”, the second lecture on the topic “What is Literary Hermeneutics?” was conducted on November 27 organised by the department of English, St. Joseph University, Dimapur.

Special lecture was delivered by professor of English, Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Joseph Dorairaj. His presentation was divided into three parts: in the first part of his presentation, he talked on “Hermeneutics: Etymology, Definition and Development”, on the second part of his presentation he talked about six majors Hermeneuticians (Schleiermacher, Dilthey, E. D. Hirsch Jr., Heidegger, Gadamer and Ricoeur), their contribution to “Hermeneutics” and their theories. In the

last part of his presentation, he dwelt on “Literary Hermeneutics” where he focused on six important points i.e pre-understanding (fore-structures of knowledge/prejudice/ presupposition), hermeneutic circle, intentionalists vs anti-intentionalists, the reading process, understanding a text via dialogical encounter and understanding a text as an ongoing process.

The session was organized by Dr. Selvin Vedmanickam, Krelo Vincenza and Pakinzinliu C Salikyu of the department of English, St. Joseph University. The session was successfully conducted by the MA-3rd semester students.

The webinar witnessed active participation from the attendees with an intensive quest i o n / a n swe r s e s s i o n moderated by professor of English, St. Joseph University, Dr. Selvin Vedamanickam.

DIMAPUR: Nagaland Directorate Ministerial Service Association (NDMSA) held its 3rd biennial conference-cumgeneral meeting on November 27, at capital convention centre, Kohima.

According to DIPR report, NDMSA president David Jemu, in his presidential address encouraged everyone to rededicate themselves to be more diligent, dutiful and sincere towards entrusted responsibilities, wherever one is placed as public servant. He said that ministerial officials are the backbone and the pillars of departments, offices cannot run without ministerial services.

Henceforth, he urged the members to give importance in work culture and deal in a polite and vibrant way at workplace and public discourse as perfect example to follow suit.

He reminded all the members to be responsible towards the association and carried forward, as every single mem-

ber is the solely responsible for sustenance of association even in the days to come. He also put forward and reminded the competent authority of government to kindly listen and consider the request and requirements without further delay as pleaded repeatedly from the pay structures to promotional zone.

NDMSA general secretary, Keheipeu Sephe, in his brief report highlighted that the association came into existence on July 30,1975, where the cadre members of the association comprise of the directorates LDAs, UDAs, asst. superintendents, superintendents and registrar’s totaling about 1480 members from 62 directorates offices in Nagaland. As of now, there are 470 posts of UDAs and 681 posts of LDAs. He mentioned that during the first meeting of the present executive which was held on February 20, 2020, it was decided to pursue the previous long pending issues of admin-

Participants along with the panel of judges.

the first prize; Miss. Bideno M Enny claimed the Second; Mr. Yanpothung Z Shitiri bagged the third prize and received a cash prize of five thousand, three thousand, one thousand and a certificate.

The panels of judges were Miss. Thungjano Ovung assistant professor Mt. Tiyi College Wokha, Mr. Abenthung

Kikon (Press) and Mr. John Makhabo Director incharge NYKS Nagaland.

Winners from every district will participate in the state level competition which will be held at Kohima on 16 of December 2021, and later the state winner will represent at the National level as informed by Director incharge NYKS Nagaland.

istrative officer (AO) post and reduction of qualifying years of promotion as priority, which were quashed from cabinet cell and for which the association met the concerned officials several times and is expected that there will be a positive outcome within a short period of time.

He further stated that the association had meeting on March 10, 2021 and deliberated on the issue related to the registrar post occupation by non-ministerial staff outside the parent department on deputation, where the executives assured them to uphold the service rules of 2006, without over ruling in any case, as such practice will deprive promotional zone drastically.

In this connection, the latest correspondence was made on November 1, 2021.

NDMSA, advisor Botovi Sema, in his brief report pointed that the association will be celebrating the Golden Jubilee soon but the achievement is

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A view of the Catholic Church constructed in 51 years in Kidima which is to be dedicated on December 5, 2021.

DIMAPUR: St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the first established by Jesuits Mission amongst North East India on November 22, 1970 was constructed five times.

The new church building would be inaugurated by the pioneer missionary Rev. Father Raymond D’Souza SJ, who is also the director

village, who enrolled in the Naga national service on the June 1, 1992.

The release stated that he served the Naga nation with unwavering patriotism until his demise. It also said that his name shall be recorded in the pages of the Naga history and he shall be remembered for all time to come for his selfless contributions to the Naga national cause.

The Longvibu of the Naga Army has bestowed upon him posthumously the

no way near. Therefore, he requested all the members to be responsible in their respective departments for the betterment of the coming generation. He further requested the members not to depend on office bearers only but to take equal responsibility and jointly work to achieve the demand they have put forward to the government.

A new team of office bearers for the tenure 2021-2023 was inducted with I. Lanusanen Jamir, superintendent PHQ, as president and Sendang Cho, UDA Labour Commission, as vice - president.

T h e p r o g r a m m e wa s chaired by vice - president NDMSA, Vilavotuo Vincent Sote.

Supong Meren, department of taxes gave a brief report representing Dimapur unit, NDMSA, while treasurer report was presented by NDMSA treasurer Abel Tsopoe and vote of thanks was delivered

by NDSMA general secretary, Keheipeu Sephe.

of Eden Gardens Children Home, Khuzama and to be blessed by Bishop of Kohima, Most Rev Dr. James Thoppil, December 5 under the theme “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”.

Highlights of the programme will be litany of the saints, reading of the words

of God, Eucharist celebration, blessing of the St Francis Xavier relic followed by special number presentation by choir.

The organising committee request all the wellwishers and Catholic members of Kidima to join in the joyful holy ceremony occasion.

NEWS IN BRIEF Mas social work in Kohima on Nov 30: In pursuance to the directive of the Government of Nagaland and in view of the celebration of “Statehood Day” on December 1 and the Hornbill Festival, Deputy Commissioner Kohima, Gregory Thejawelie, NCS has informed that a mass social work will be conducted on November 30 from 6 am onwards in Kohima district with the involvement of all state government employees, the ward/ colony/village functionaries and the general public.

All wards, colonies, villages under Kohima district have been asked to ensure that their respective wards, colonies, villages are free from any kind of waste, rubble, muck, foliage overgrowth, etc. The general public have been informed to remove any kind or construction material, debris, waste, off-road vehicles along the road immediately. Failure to do so by the respective owners shall result in removal of all such materials/ vehicles at the expense of the owner. All government buildings in Kohima district have also been asked to put up decorative lights on them by November 30. The general public, churches and business establishments are requested to ensure beautification and putting up of decorative lights by November 30, 2021.

DC Kohima informs HoDs: Deputy Commissioner Kohima, Gregory Thejawelie, NCS has informed all HoDs to collect the invitation cards/car passes for the 59th Statehood Day celebration from the establishment branch, office of the Deputy Commissioner Kohima w.e.f. November 29 during office hours.

PWC Dmu conducts various programmes DIMAPUR: The IQAC and department of political science, Pranabananda Women’s College, Dimapur on November 27, organized a state level seminar on “Intellectual Property Rights” for the staff and the student’s community.

Resource person of the seminar was project coordinator, Access to Justice, Nagaland, advocate Limasenla Longkumer.

Longkumer enlightened the participants regarding the importance of IPR for safe-guarding the intellectual investments of the stakeholders. She also stressed the importance of Geographical Indication especially for a state like Nagaland, which is rich in agricultural practices and its unique traditional attires. Around 150 students and faculty members attended the said programme.

Meanwhile, PWCD IQAC and department of education, organised a talk on “Love and Forgiveness”.

Resource person Limasenla Longkumer speaking at the programme.

The resource person was co-ordinator, Brahma Kumaris Rajyoga Meditation Center Kohima, sister Rupa. She highlighted on the importance of self-love and inculcation of positive thoughts to live in peace and harmony.

NSCN/GPRN, CAO Sumi Region mourn DIMAPUR: The Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN) and GPRN Central Administrative Officer Sumi Region have expressed its grief over the untimely demise of ‘major’ Hoishe H Zhimo, Army No. AB-11420 of the General Headquarters (GHq), Naga Army, who passed away on November 28, after a prolonged illness.

In a condolence message, NSCN/GPRN through its MIP stated that late Hoishe H Zhimo hails from Suruhoto

5 times Catholic Church constructed in Kidima in 51 years to be dedicated

NDMSA holds 3rd biennial conference

NYKS organises extempore speech in Wokha

DIMAPUR: Nehuru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) has organised extempore speech competition on November 27 on the topic “Patriotism and Nation Building” in Wokha. Altogether, six participants from various blocks of Wokha district participated in the programme.

In the competion, Esther Maithie was adjudged

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

rank of ‘Lt col’ on November 28, 2021 in recognition of his service to the Naga nation.

NSCN/GPRN conveyed its deep condolences to the bereaved family members and prayed that the Almighty God comfort his family members during this time of grief. It further prayed for the departed soul to rest in eternal peace.

GPRN CAO Sumi Region: GPRN Central Administrative Officer (CAO) Sumi Region in a condolence message stated that late Hoishe H

Zhimo during his service held the responsibility in various capacities and worked tirelessly sacrificing what he had. During his last assignment as PRO at Zunheboto town, he actively executed his duty with full of dedication and contributed a lot toward the upliftment of the Sumi Region in particular and Naga Nation in general, it added. Sumi Region conveyed its deepest condolences to the bereaved family and relatives, and prayed for the departed soul rest in eternal peace.

A cleanliness drive/social work was conducted on November 27 along the National Highway 29 starting from Chümoukedima Town till Purana Bazaar. Leaders of various wards, villages along the highway as well as the Chamber of Commerce Chümoukedima Town, East Dimapur Business Association, youth/student organisations and the general public actively participated in large numbers in picking up litter on the streets and also removing the sand scattered on the highway making the social work a grand success and the highway much cleaner. (DPRO)

Rotary Club Mkg organises health camp at Akuluto town DIMAPUR: The Rotary Club of Mokokchung organized a health camp at Akuluto town on November 27 in collaboration with Indian Red Cross Society, Mokokchung district branch and personnel from medical department. The camp was held at PHC Akuluto with the support of the medical officer and his staff and also with the active participation of the administration led by the additional deputy commissioner Akuluto, Imsenperong Wati. 9 doctors from Mokokchung along with an optometric assistant catered to around 300 patients under various departments like gynae, pediatrics, eye, dental and general medicine. Face masks were also distributed free of cost to all who were present.

1st Death anniversary

LovingLy RemembeRing LATe PAULAmDing HAU

12/02/1982 – 29/11/2020 It has been a year since you left us, living a life without you has been difficult.

We still yearn for your presence, but is comforted by the fact that someday we all shall meet again. In loving memories, You shall continue to stay with us, Forevermore.

- Loving wife, children and family members dp-5715/21

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nagalandpost.com Poll Q . : Should covid-19 protocols be strictly adhered to in view of new virus OMICRON? 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Rengmas celebrate Ngada festival across Nagaland Himb while benediction was said by RBCK associate pastor Senenle Apon followed by Ngada feast.

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Tesophenyu Group Ngada celebration-cumbadminton tourney

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A

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Yes. No. Can’t Say.

C

81% 16% 3%

NEXT POLL

Q: Does holding Offline

examination under NU have majority support?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST NOVEMBER 29

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Hazy sunshine

28 14

Aizawl

Partly sunny and nice

25 12

Guwahati Nice with sun and some clouds 28 14 Imphal

Partly sunny and nice

25

Itanagar

Partly sunny and nice

25 13

Shillong

Mostly sunny

20

Kohima

Mostly sunny and nice

21 10

Dimapur

Mostly sunny and pleasant

26 13

Mkg

Mostly sunny and nice

24 10

Tuensang Mostly sunny and cooler Wokha

Mostly sunny and nice

Zunheboto Mostly sunny

16

9 6

6

21 13 20

8

Particpants in traditional attires during the celebration of Ngada festival.

Cultural troupe during the Ngada celebration in Kohima on Saturday.

DIMAPUR: The Tseminyu Lojvü along with the rest of the Rengmas of Nagaland & Assam and Tesophenyu Group celebrated Ngada festival.

On November 28.

A conglomerate of 7 villages namely Tseminyu, T. Zisunyu, Tseminyu South, Ngvüphen, Phenda and Gukhanyu, led by the chairmen of the villages took to Ngada procession from Tseminyu village to Tseminyu Old Town and culminated at Tseminyu New Town.

continually promoting and protecting the identity and welfare of the community in line with the organisation’s motto, “identity and welfare”.

He encouraged the youths to look beyond white-collar government job towards entrepreneurship and self-employment.

During the function, a certification of recognition was also presented to writer, Joseph S Thong in recognition of his contributions in the field of Naga and Rengma vernacular

A short programme was held before the Ngada procession. Ngada greetings was delivered by Vice President Rengma Hoho, M.S. Khing.

The significance of Ngada was shared by Pfukase Nsu and the programme was blessed by pastor Tseminyu Village Baptist Church Sonilo Tep.

nual general session-cumNgada celebration 2021 (mini-hornbill festival) at Naga solidarity park, Kohima on Saturday.

In his presidential address, RPOK president, Khinyi Woch encouraged the gathering to foster good relationship with neighbours and friends being residents of the state RPOK general session capital.

While reflecting on & Ngada celebration the achievements of the R e n g m a P u b l i c organisation over the past Organisation Kohima few years, he urged the (RPOK) organised its an- gathering to strive towards

literature.

Ngada greetings was delivered by commissioner & secretary to the government of Nagaland, Kenilo Apon while K. Gwanilo Himb shared the meaning, significance and Ngada practices to the gathering.

Meanwhile, Tesophenyu cultural troupe Kohima made a cultural presentation during the programme while Kenny Semp presented the secretary’s report and treasurer’s report was delivered by Senchuya Kath.

A new team of office bearers for the tenure (2021-24) was also dedicated by RBCK associate pastor Ahyulo Kemp under the presidentship of K. Gwanilo Himb.

E a r l i e r, t h e p r o gramme chaired by RPOK vice-president, Yhunchilo Khing, invocation was said

by Rengma Baptist Church Kohima associate pastor, Lechito Tep and welcome address was delivered by vice president, Kegwanyo Tep. Words of gratitude was proposed by Esron

T h e Te s o p h e n y u Group celebrated the Ngada festival which was organized by Tesophenyu Group Badminton Club at the residence of Ar. Jwenga Seb. On the occasion, Alikha Kath and G.K. Rengma highlighted on the significance of Rengma Ngada festival in which both the speakers impressed upon the gathering to inculcate the good virtues of instilling a forgiving and thankful heart amongst the members.

Aaron Tep invoked God’s blessings while Jonah Tep said grace for the Ngada feast. Earlier, the progamme was chaired by Kenneth Woch.

The club comprises of more than 50 members.

Ar. Jwenga who hosted the festival extended Ngada greetings and wished the members a fruitful and prosperous life ahead.

Badminton tournament was also organized to celebrate the occasion.

MoS for defence visits family of late State BJP minority morcha holds executive meeting Capt N Kenguruse, MVC in Kohima

Ajay Bhatt meeting the family family of late Capt N Kenguruse on Sunday.

DIMAPUR: Minister of State for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt visited the family of Kargil War Hero, late Capt N Kenguruse, MVC at his home in Kohima during the second day of his visit to Nagaland on November 28.

According to

PRO defence, captain Neikezhakuo Kenguruse was born on July 15, 1974 and hailed from Nerhema village of Kohima district.

Capt Kenguruse was commissioned into the army service corps of Indian Army on December 12, 1998. His family would

fondly call him ‘Neibu’.

The release stated that late Capt N Kenguruse sacrificed his life for the nation at the age of 25 years. He was awarded the nation’s second highest gallantry award, “Maha Vir Chakra” for his raw courage, indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice in Operation Vijay. Capt Kenguruse is the first recipient of Maha Vir Chakra from Army Service Corps (ASC).

During the visit to the family members of capt Kenguruse, the minister conveyed his gratitude, felicitated and reassured the family members of support.

The minister was earlier briefed by the senior military leaders on the first day of the visit wherein he also interacted with the troops and commended them for their professionalism and high morale.

DIMAPUR: Minority Morcha BJP Nagaland organised its second State Executive Meeting under the leadership of the president Deep Kumar at Rotary Club, Dimapur on November 28 organized by state vice-president & convenor Brij Kishore Rai, while Naresh Sethi was the coconvenor.

A press release from Minority Morcha BJP Nagaland, State VP & media convenor, Ajay Sethi stated that State’s secretary-cumminority Morcha incharge and Dimapur District president, Zaveyi Kezo and Tokuho Suhoi Neho, respectively were the special invitees.

In his presidential address, Deep Kumar welcomed all the delegates & invitees and appreciated their whole-hearted support for all the programs of the party. He also apprised the members about his visit to Delhi for the BJP Minority Morcha National Executive

State BJP Minority Morcha officials and others after the executive metting on Sunday.

Meeting recently, besides recommending the State media convenors’ visit to Delhi to attend BJP’s National media convenors meet in December.

General secretary, Roshan Kumar Tamang apprised the gathering about the 80 activities of the morcha for the last six months.

Kohima district’s 16 activities report was presented by its general secretary Sahid Hussain, followed by Dimapur District’s 55 activities report by its president Prakash Chhetri. Mon district report was presented by its president Johny Rai.

It may be noted that the Morcha members have been actively assisting the public in general during Covid-19 in particular, besides observing various days and festivals.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP’s Dimapur District president, Suhoi expressed his gratitude to the state BJP for his recent appointment and assured the Morcha of his availability for all its activities. Special invitee Kezo appreciated the members of the morcha for their exemplary activities and assured his full support as a bridge between the State BJP &

Phase-2 news LBE seniors hold 45th Kma-Dmu annual gathering india@75 awareness on HIV and TB

(L-R) Lotha Baptist Church Borlengri choir presenting a special number. Jacob Yanthan speaking at the programme. (NP) Staff Reporter D I M A P U R , N OV 2 8 (NPN): Lotha Baptist Ekhümkho -churches (LBE) seniors held its 45th Kohima-Dimapur yearly gathering programme. The two-day gathering which was held under the theme “With faith will begin” culminated here Sunday, at United Baptist Church, near district jail, Dimapur.

The culmination programme was carried out on the theme “Serve the Lord with humility” (Phil 2:35), wherein the devotional programme was chaired

by Borlengri Lotha Baptist K Y M C

Church, pastor reverend Arhonthung Odyuo.

Speaker of the programme, joint director, department of agriculture, Jacob Yanthan asserted on how the church need to change their thoughts to go further in life, in development and in soul winning. He said that to reach to a changing culture, the church needs to change, but not the message, he clarified. He re-embraced on how far they have come celebrating life and will continue to.

Yanthan reminded the congregation to remember the pioneers who started

the gathering with a purpose and objective and encouraged them to uplift the responsibility bestowed upon them. He also focused on the advancement of technology, its merits and demerits. In this, the speaker encouraged all to take advantage and not to let the technology take advantage of them. He further encouraged the youths to be responsible and uphold what the elders have planted.

At the programme, words of God’s message was delivered by reverend RP Murry, special song was presented by Lotha

Baptist Church Borlengri choir, Kohima Lotha Baptist Church and scripture reading by pastor Bichamo Yanthan.

The newly inducted committee members were also blessed by pastor reverend Zanao Mozhüi and for 2022 gathering prayer was proposed by associate pastor reverend Zubemo Ezung.

Churches under Kohima-Dimapur Yingsüng Lotha Baptist Ekhümkho Eramo Khümshüm includes Kohima Lotha Baptist Church, Medziphema Lotha Baptist Church, Kokidolong Lotha Baptist

Church, Peren Lotha Baptist Church, Jalukie Lotha Baptist Church, Siethekema Lotha Baptist Church, Chumukedima Lotha Baptist Church, Sovima Lotha Baptist Church, Razaphe Lotha Baptist Church, Diphupar ‘B’ Lotha Baptist Church, Siethekebasa Lotha Baptist Church, Diphupar Lotha Baptist Church, Purana Bazar Lotha Baptist Church, Ekhyoyan Lotha Baptist Church, Khushiabill Lotha Baptist Church, Dimapur Lotha Baptist Church, UBC district jail Lotha Baptist Church, Senjum Lotha Baptist Church and Borlengri Lotha Baptist Church.

DIMAPUR: The phase II of New India@75 awareness on HIV, TB and blood donation campaign was carried out in six schools and six colleges under Kohima district.

According to DIPR report, the awareness campaign concluded at Modern College, Kohima on November 26, with resource persons DTO Kohima, Dr. Akaba Jamir, deputy director NSACS & president VBDAK, Ainato Yeptho, and DAPCU DPO, Sentimongla Tzudir.

The second phase online competition will be conducted on the theme HIV, blood donation and TB for the participating schools and colleges. The competition will be conducted at school level on the categories of ‘paint your thought’ (mask painting/face painting) and ‘voice your thought’ (spoken word competition) and at college level on the categories of ‘film your thought’ (video competition) and ‘publicise your thought’ (poster making competition). Last date for submission of entries to the respective headmasters/ principals of the schools and colleges will be November 30 2021. The programme is being organised by the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society under the aegis of National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of HFW, GoI and Kohima district.

the Morcha. Kezo exhorted the members to enrol all the minorities in the electoral roll and assist BJP Dimapur District president in every way to ensure majority votes in the party’s kitty.

State vice-president of the Morcha, Ajay Sethi, read out three resolutions in appreciation of the prime minister Narendra Modi for his timely repeal of the recent three farm laws in the interest of the country, besides extending his personal invitation to the leader of the catholic Church Pope Francis to visit India at the earliest.

A resolution was also adopted by the house regarding recommendation of one of the morcha members to be recommended by state BJP president to be considered as National Executive of BJP Minority Morcha.

State vice-president Ravindarjit S. Panesar and State executive member Naresh Sethi seconded the resolution followed by whole house.

Vote of thanks was offered by convenor Brij Kishore Rai, which was followed by National Anthem led by State secretary Anita Roychowdhury.

Longleng and Tsg conduct eVIN district level refresher training

DIMAPUR: Longleng and Tuensang district have conducted district level electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) refresher training for cold chain handlers, DEO and VCCM training.

Chief medical office Longleng conducted the training on November 27, at CMO conference hall.

A press release from the CMO office stated that chief medical officer (CMO) Longleng, Dr. Obangjungla delivered the opening remarks and introduction to the participants.

Resource person UNDP project officer, Rajesh Monsang reoriented the health workers on strengthening universal immunization programme, UIP schedules, session sites, mobilization, UIP recording and reporting and eVIN registers and record keeping. He also spoke on the importance of cold chain managements, arrangement of ICE packs in deep freezer and correct usage of cold box and vaccine carrier, vaccine logistics management, demonstration of eVIN AE app., order management and TL/asset management and field issues in eVIN and COWIN implementation.

The training was attended by all the cold chain

handlers (CCH), DEO and VCCM and staffs from CMO office.

Tuensang: Tuensang district conducted a district level refresher training on eVIN, on November 25, at Navin hotel Tuensang.

A press release from DMO (NHM) Tuensang Apheang stated that the training was organised for the Cold Chain Handler, DEO and VCCM for strengthening and improvement of vaccine supply chain management in the district.

The resource person for the training was UNDP project officer, R. Khartu Mongsong, who trained the health workers on cold chain equipments, vaccine sensitivities, vaccine arrangement in ILR, arrangement of ICE packs in deep freezer and correct usage of a cold box. Overall scope and roll out plan, transition: updated terms and labels, to perform stock edit or previously known as stockcount, create a new indent for DVS or CCP, to fulfil an indent received by store, performing net utilization transaction, recording an open vial receipt transaction and recording an open vial issue transaction.

Altogether, 33 persons have participated in the training programme.

K Y M C

4

NORTHEAST

Tripura civic polls: BJP steamrollers TMC

AGARTALA/KOLKATA, NOV 28 (PTI): Tripura’s ruling BJP pulverised Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and the Left on Sunday, capturing with surprising ease the Agartala Municipal Corporation and 13 other civic bodies where it now has 329 of the 334 seats.

Contesting its first civic polls after it stormed to power in the northeastern state in 2018, the saffron party steamrollered a feeble challenge from the opposition after a vitriol-filled campaign marked by communal tension, clashes and court battles that forced the Supreme Court to intervene and order peaceful polls.

Not a single opposition candidate could win from any ward of the 51-member Agartala Municipal Corporation all of which went to the BJP. The saffron party’s domination was so complete that it secured all the wards in the 15-member Khowai Municipal Council, 17-seat Belonia Municipal Council, 15-member Kumarghat Municipal Council and ninemember Sabroom Nagar Panchayat, state election

A election staff member opens an EVM to count votes for the municipal corporation elections, in Agartala, Sunday. (PTI)

commission officials said.

The par ty made a clean sweep in the 25-ward Dharmanagar Municipal Council, 15-seat Teliamura Municipal Council and 13-member Amarpur Nagar Panchayat, they said.

Sonamura Nagar Panchayat and Melaghar Nagar Panchayat will be without opposition with the BJP having won all the 13 seats each. It also bagged the 11-member Jirania Nagar Panchayat.

The party secured 12 seats of Ambassa Municipal Council, while the TMC and the CPI-M won

one seat each and another went to an independent candidate. The BJP also won 16 seats of Kailashahar Municipal Council and the CPI(M) got one.

In Panisagar Nagar Panchayat, the BJP emerged victorious in 12 seats and the CPI (M) bagged one.

The BJP had won seven wards of Khowai Municipal Council, one of Dharmanagar Municipality, two of Melaghar Municipal Council and 10 of Jirania uncontested. It had also won without a contest the civic bodies of Ranirbazar, Bishal Ganj,

Mohanpur, Kamalpur, Udaipur and Shantirbazar, which together account for 92 wards. With the resounding victory, BJP has in its kitty 329 of the state’s 324 wards of urban civic bodies, the CPI-M, which ruled Tripura with an iron fist for decades, three, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and Independent (one each).

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, in the line of opposition fire over communal violence in the state, dubbed the victory as “historic” and said people of Tripura gave a “sothik jawab” (the right answer) to those opposed to the BJP. “Those who tried to malign Tripura should see....people from majority and minority communities have together voted in favour of development under Narendra Modi ji,” Deb said, smiling broadly as BJP supporters gathered on the streets of Agartala, distributing sweets and dancing to drum beats. There was jubilitation in the BJP camp in neighbouring West Bengal where the TMC had bested it in the assembly elections

a few months ago. “Heartiest congratulations to @ BJP4Tripura & Hon’ble CM @BjpBiplab for registering landslide victory in Agartala Corporation & all other Nagar Panchayats and Municipalities. We are grateful to the people of Tripura for wiping out the corrupt & fascist Tolamool party of Bengal,” said Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in West Bengal on Twitter.

BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted: “BJP has swept Tripura local body polls. Spare a thought for the entire opposition, new kids on the block and sponsored media, which finally figured Tripura’s existence after BJP came to power in the State. All conspiracies, fake narrative about religious tension etc bites dust.” The TMC brass, however, put up a brave face despite the crushing defeat.

Taking to Twitter, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the performance was “exceptional” for his party, which had negligible presence in Tripura.

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Tripura BJP ally NPP demands repeal of CAA prefer good at NDA as well as all-party meetings governance: PM NEW DELHI, NOV 28 NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): Lauding the BJP’s big win in the Tripura local body polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday the people of the state have given a clear message that they prefer politics of good governance.

These blessings give us greater strength to work for the welfare of each and every people in Tripura, Modi tweeted.

“I would like to applaud the @BJP4Tripura Karyakartas who worked tirelessly on the ground and served people. Under the leadership of Shri Biplab Deb Ji, the State Government has been at the forefront of many initiatives, which the people have duly blessed,” he said.

The ruling BJP on Sunday swept the civic body elections in Tripura, having won all the seats of the 51-member Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and clinching several other urban local bodies.

The opposition TMC and CPI(M) failed to open their accounts in the AMC.

(AGENCIES): The BJP’s ally National People’s Party leader Agatha Sangma on Sunday demanded the repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) at a meeting of constituents of the ruling NDA as well as at the all-party meeting convened ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.

Sangma, the MP from Tura in Meghalaya, urged the government that as it has repealed farm laws keeping in mind the sentiments of the people, the CAA should also be repealed.

Sangma made the demand at the all-party meeting called by the government as well as at a meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal.

“Since the farm laws have been repealed and this was done primarily keeping in mind the sentiments of the people, therefore, I requested the government to repeal the CAA keeping in mind the same sort of sentiments of the people from the Northeast,” she told PTI

Agatha Sangma after the NDA meeting here.

There was no response from the government but it has taken detail notes of the demands made by the floor leaders of all parties, Sangma said. When asked whether other parties from the Northeast which are part of NDA also share the same sentiments, she said, “I made this demand on behalf of my party and people from the Northeast. I know a few others who also share the same view.”

The CAA, which facilitates granting of Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, was passed by Parliament in 2019 and had led to protests in different parts of the country.

Himanta warns of spread of new variant Gunmen attack house of brother of aspiring candidate in Mnp

GUWAHATI, NOV 28 (AGENCIES): The Centre has given a slew of instructions to the state governments on ‘omicron’, the newest Covid-19 Variant detected in South Africa and Hong Kong even as it has not occurred in India as yet, reports The Sentinel Assam.. Giving details of this variant, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “This variant is much stronger than the delta variant.

And it spreads too fast. It augurs well that we remain alert about this variant. One precaution is that everyone should take the vaccine doses. No scientist is on record saying that current vaccines cannot prevent the occurrence of the newest variant. As of now, the vaccine is the only weapon for us to fight this variant.”

Addressing the me-

dia here today, the Chief Minister said, “As of now, 2.10 crore people took the first vaccine dose in the state. Even now, three lakh people are still to take the first dose in Assam. From November 29, we will start a massive drive with around one lakh government employees. In this week, other official works will be on the backburner. The vaccination drive will conclude on December 5.

“These officials will go door-to-door with the voter list as the base document in the 28,205 polling booths in the state. They will mark ticks in the voter list against those who have taken vaccines. They will hand over their report to the government on December 5. Simultaneously, vaccination of the second dose will go on. Around 1.15

crore people have taken the second dose in the state. We hope to complete the second dose by March 2022.”

Citing the report of the National Family Health Survey-V, the Chief Minister said, “Assam made tremendous progress in many parameters in the health and social sectors. The infant mortality rate in the state is much below the national level. The institutional delivery in Assam is 74 per cent against the national average of 51 per cent. It is the direct outcome of our 16-yearlong health reforms. We are spending six per cent of the GDP on health and social sectors. It is something to reckon with.

“Now, we need to keep up with this trend. We are bound to improve further to maintain the rising graph, “he added.

M’laya TMC legislators to meet Mamata Correspondent SHILLONG, NOV 28: Twelve Congress legislators in Meghalaya who merged with the All India Trinamool Congress on Sunday left for Kolkata, where they are scheduled to meet West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC Chairperson, Mamata Banerjee.

The 12 legislators led by former Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma are expected to meet Mamata on Monday after they joined the TMC on Thursday.

“We are going to have further detailed discussion on the future of the party in our state,” Charles Pyngrope, who was among the Congress legislators, who joined the TMC, said.

During the meeting with Banerjee, TMC’s Meghalaya state party President would also be elected or nominated. It’s being speculated that former Assembly Speaker, Pyngrope is the frontrunner for the post. “I am willing to adjust to any post allotted by his new party,” Pyngrope said.

TMC ministers Manas Ranjan Bhuiya

and Moloy Ghatak had met the 12 Congress legislators on Thursday and handed the party flag to Sangma.

On Friday, Sangma was unanimously elected as the parliamentary party leader of the newly formed TM, Meghalaya at a meeting attended by all the new entrants to the AITC at his residence here.George B Lyngdoh was elected as the opposition chief whip and Shangpliang as secretary, with the AITC having now become the principal opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh has still not taken any decision on the merger of the 12 rebel Congress legislator. All the 12 legislators have personally met the Speaker at his office and handed over their letter to merge with the TMC. The Speaker is consulting legal experts to give his decision. If he gives the nod for the merger, the TMC would be the main opposition party in the 60-member Assembly reducing the Congress to just five in the House.

Correspondent IMPHAL, NOV 28: Amid rising electioneering of aspirant candidates in the pollbound Manipur, unidentified gunmen fired several rounds at the house of an active worker of an aspirant candidate in Imphal East district around 11pm at the house of Lourembam Ranjit Singh at Yairipok Yambem under Andro police station of Imphal East district.

Police who conducted a spot inquiry early today morning following a complaint lodged by Ranjit recovered as many as 11 empty cases of AK ammunition. There were no reports of human casualty in the firing incident reported.

Ranjit is the elder brother of Lourembam Sanjoy Singh who is campaigning to contest from Andro

Assembly constituency.

He has been in the news frequently in the recent time as his election campaigns were marred by violent disturbances allegedly by one of his rival intending candidates.

Talking to reporters, Ranjit alleged that the gun attack at his house was a part of ongoing series of attacks on the active workers of his brother by his rivals.

He alleged that the instances of threatening with guns shots to the workers of his younger brother increased in the last few days.

He alleged that before opening fire, the miscreants called him out. But, he was not at home at the time and his wife did not respond due to fear. On the other hand, womenfolk of the Yairipok Yambem village today staged a sit-in-protest in the

Large stash of heroin, Yaba tablets seized in Assam; 4 held S I L C H A R , N OV 2 8 (IANS): In a major haul, the Border Security Force (BSF) and Assam Police have seized huge quantities of synthetic drugs and heroin, valued at Rs 17.19 crore, in the state’s Karimganj district and arrested four drug peddlers, officials said on Sunday.

A BSF spokesman said that acting on intelligence inputs, troopers of the 134 Battalion, along with police personnel, on Saturday night searched the house premises of Samsun Noor at Purba Balia village under Nilam Bazar police station and seized 26 packets containing 2,59,200 Yaba tablets valued at Rs 12.96 crore.

Noor was arrested and one vehicle seized seized.

In another operation in the same district, the BSF and the police recovered 45 small cases containing 605 gms of heroin valued at Rs 4.23 crore at Ratabari areas on Saturday. Three drug peddlers were arrested and one more vehicle seized.

Officials suspect that the drugs were smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar.

Methamphetamine tablets, also commonly known as ‘Yaba’ or ‘Party tablets’ or ‘WY’ (World is Yours), is a synthetic drug, and is misused as a high-dosage drug among the people specially youths in Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, besides India.

Black rice production in Assam now NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI, NOV 28 (IANS): Black rice is well suited for Assam soils and weather conditions, carrying a huge opportunity for its commercial production.

The World Bank-funded Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation project (APART), has begun production of new black rice varieties from different states of India.

The crop is expected to be harvested within the next week from the project wherein the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has embarked on this ambitious collaboration with the Government of Assam under the APART, IRRI said in a release.

Amongst the many va-

Black Rice ( File photo) rieties available, black rice properties, characteristics, has seen increasing market and climatic preferences. demand in different parts “In this Sali season of the country due to its (rice grown in winters), high nutritional value. India IRRI - under APART being a predominantly rice provided 60 kg of Maniproducing nation, has a puri black rice, 30 kg of plethora of varieties, each Kalamalifula and 22 kg having different nutritional of Kalavati amongst a few

selected farmers of Goalpara district in Assam. The Manipuri black rice variety is introduced from Manipur whereas other two black rice varieties namely Kalamalifula and Kalavati were introduced from Odisha,” the release said.

The seeds of these varieties were sown on a total area of 17.6 bighas of land, comprising Manipuri black rice in 10 bigha, Kalavati in 3.6 bigha and Kalamalifula in 4.0 bigha as demonstration plots.

These demonstrations are aimed to link the farmers with the buyers for higher returns and to make available good quality seed for future use. “With the current demand for black rice due to its high nutri-

tional value and health benefits, IRRI under APART aims at increasing areas with black rice production in the coming days,” the release said.

“IRRI has also introduced the crop cafeteria of the premium quality rice (PQR) varieties along with the indigenous rice varieties for comparative analysis, evaluation and selection.

The purpose of the crop cafeteria is to provide an opportunity to the farmers and extension functionaries to select the best performing varieties of their preference for further adoption on their fields,” said Dr Kanwar Singh, resident coordinator & Senior Associate Scientist II at the IRRI.

Womenfolk of Yairipok Yambem staging a protest against gun attack at a house on Sunday. village to register a strong denouncement of the gun violence incident.

The womenfolk demanded police to arrest the perpetrators at the earliest and bring them to justice under the law, while asserting that they were living a life of anxiety due to frequent gun violence incidents in the area. “Book the culprits, allow us to live peacefully,” a woman leader told reporters. Andro is one of the As-

sembly constituencies in the valley districts of the state where poll-related violence were reported frequently in the last few months, in as electioneering of the aspiring candidates of the upcoming elections to the state Assembly built up.

A violent clash among the workers and supporters of two aspiring candidates in the assembly constituency had left several injured as several rounds of shots were

fired amid the clash. In the backdrop of the recent series of violent pre-poll clashes, the state government had ordered licensed gun owners to deposit their guns to the nearest police station.

The Election Commission of India is yet to announce the poll schedule.

However, the 60-seat state Assembly will go to poll by the early part of next year, most probably by FebruaryMarch.

Evict non-Manipuri with no ILP pass: JCILPS to landlords

Correspondent

IMPHAL, NOV 28: Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) on Sunday asked landlords not to rent to non-Manipuris possessing no inner line permit (ILP). The landlords were also asked to evict nonManipuris tenants with no valid ILP passes on or before December 5, while threatening that they will be banned from giving their houses for if they allow non-Manipuri tenants with no ILP pass to stay in their rented houses.

The JCILPS issued the warning in the backdrop of detection of a large number of non-Manipuris staying in

the state without mandatory ILP passes during its ongoing drive to check non-Manipuris possessing no ILP passes. The committee has been conducting the drive since November 17 last. After they picked up around 50 non-Manipuris with no ILP passes or non-renewal of the passes staying at rented houses, the JCILPS detected more non-Manipuris possessing no ILP passes and invalid passes during a drive at Wahengbam Leikai in the heart of the capital city.

Talking to reporters, JCILPS convenor BK Moirangcha said that most of the non-Manipuris verified today were found possessing

no ILP passes and nonrenewal of the passes even after their permitted period ended. He alleged that even after two years since the introduction of the Inner Line Permit System in the state, the same was yet to be effectively implemented by the pertinent authorities of the state government.

He alleged that the regulation currently in force in the state was not effective enough to protect the indigenous people of the state.

The convener claimed that non-Manipuris in large numbers were entering the state via the Imphal-Dimapur road even without the ILP pass.

Huge cache of arms and ammunition seized in Manipur, three arrested

IMPHAL, NOV 28 (PTI): An RPG launcher and shell, an M-16, under barrel grenade launcher, and various AK variants were among a huge cache of arms and ammunition seized in Manipur’s Imphal East district on Sunday, police said.

A United National Liberation Front militant and two others were arrested for allegedly concealing the weapons inside a 500-litre water tank buried underneath a cowshed, a police officer said.

Acting on a tip-off, police commandos conducted a door-to-door search in Huikap Awang

Leikai Chonga Loukol in Andro police station area in the afternoon, when one person suspiciously tried to run away on seeing the law enforcers, he said.

The police personnel chased the man and nabbed him.

He turned out to be a 43-year-old United National Liberation Front (UNLF) insurgent identified as L Prafullo Singh, the officer said.

Based on information provided by him, a 500-litre plastic water tank buried underneath a cowshed was dug out and a large quantity of arms and ammunition was found in it,

he said.

Thirteen AK-56 rifles, a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher and shell, one AK-81 rifle with three magazines, an AK-86 rifle with three magazines, one M-16 rifle with a magazine, one M-16 A-4 under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) with a magazine, 200 cartridges of 7.62x39 mm calibre and 10 cartridges of 5.56 mm calibre were seized, the officer said.

Two other persons, identified as L Kumar Singh and W Tompok Singh, were also arrested for allegedly helping the militant in concealing the weapons, he added.

5

NATIONAL

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Trinamool agrees to Parl unity Kisan mahapanchayat calls for BJP’s defeat but draws boundaries with Cong TIKAIT SAYS PM MODI WAS SUPPORTER OF MSP LAW WHEN HE WAS CM

MUMBAI, NOV 28 (PTI): The kisan mahapanchayat organised here on Sunday called for the defeat of BJP in all the upcoming assembly elections and vowed to continue the fight for a law guaranteeing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and other demands including the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment bill and the arrest of Union minister Ajay Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Addressing the mahapanchayat or mega conclave of farmers held under the banner of Samyukta Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM) at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on the eve of the beginning of the Parliament session, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a supporter of the MSP when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and wanted a nationwide law to ensure that farmers’ interests were guaranteed.

Tikait accused the Modi government of run-

Rakesh Tikait (PTI)

ning away from a debate over the issue.

“The Centre should bring a law to guarantee MSP to farmers. There are several issues related to the agriculture and labour sectors that need attention and we will travel all over the country to highlight them,” he said.

Tikait also demanded that financial aid be given to the kin of farmers who died in the year-long protest against the Centre’s three agri marketing laws.

The mahapanchayat, held on the occasion of the death anniversary of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, hailed the farmers’

victory over the Centre withdrawing the three farm laws and vowed to fight for remaining demands, a press release said.

Peasants, workers, agricultural labourers, women, youth and students of all religions and castes from all over Maharashtra attended this conclave, it said.

“The mahapanchayat celebrated the historic victory over the BJP-RSS government of the yearlong farmers’ struggle in getting the farm laws repealed, and also declared its determination to fight for the remaining demands.

These include a Central

Congress failed to keep promises; people don’t trust AAP: Sukhbir Badal

CHANDIGARH, NOV 28 (PTI): There is a strong anti-incumbency against the ruling Congress for “reneging” on its polls promises while people do not “trust” AAP, claimed SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, adding that both parties will be “wiped out” in the Punjab Assembly elections.

The 59-year-old leader also accused Chief Minister Charanjit Singh of indulging in a “drama” by trying to project himself as a “aam aadmi” (common man) and alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants to become the CM of Punjab. The Shiromani Akali Dal president said people of Punjab know that it is only his party that delivered on its promises.

He claimed that the progress of the state remained stalled in the past four-and-half-year rule of the Congress.

“There is a strong antiincumbency against the Congress. People are fed up with this government,” Badal told PTI referring to his visits to several Assembly constituencies.

The graph of the Congress has “drastically” gone down, claimed Badal.

Sukhbir Badal

“There has been no chief minister for nearly five years. The Congress just defrauded people and played with their emotions,” said Badal, adding that the ruling party “reneged” on its poll promises, including complete debt waiver for farmers.

People did not think that they will be “defrauded”, said Badal as he added that former chief minister Amarinder Singh had taken a “false oath” of the “Gutka Sahib” (a religious text) before the 2017 Assembly elections and made tall promises.

Taking on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Badal claimed that people of Punjab do not “trust” it and asked the party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal

Govt wants healthy discussion in Parliament: Rajnath Singh NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (IANS): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday -- at a meeting between the government and the floor leaders of political parties ahead of the Winter Session, said the government wants healthy discussion in Parliament. In his opening address, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi talked about the upcoming session of the Parliament commencing on Monday.

Joshi said: “The government is always ready to discuss on the floor of the House any issue as permitted under Rules of Procedure.” He also requested all parties to extend cooperation for the smooth functioning of the House.

Addressing the meeting, after listening to the leaders of all parties attending, Defence Minister Singh pointed out that the discussion had been very healthy and that important issues had been flagged.

He noted that the parties had expressed the need for more discussion in Parliament with regard to which, he said that the government also wants healthy

discussion in Parliament.

Joshi informed the floor leaders of all political parties that the session will provide a total of 19 sittings spread over a period of 25 days.

“During the ensuing winter session tentatively 37 items, which Includes 36 Bills and 1 financial item have been identified for being taken up during the winter session,” Joshi said.

Three Bills replacing ordinances namely -the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 promulgated during the inter-session period are required to be enacted as Acts of Parliament within a period of six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament.

Rajnath Singh, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Joshi participated in the meeting. Ministers of state of parliamentary affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and AV. Muraleedharan also attended the meeting.

to first implement in Delhi the promises he is making in Punjab.

“His only dream is that he wants to become the CM of Punjab,” said Badal, while pointing to an AAP banner, which says “ik mauka Kejriwal nu” (one chance to Kejriwal).

He alleged that Kejriwal had always “backed down” from what he had promised.

Badal asked if he had given Rs 100 to a woman in the national capital as the SAD leader was questioning his promise of Rs 1,000 per month for women of the state.

“Has he given Rs 100 to a woman in Delhi? First, he should give 300 units of free power in Delhi where he gives only 200 units,” he said. Kejriwal had promised up to 300 units of free power in Punjab if his party came to power.

He also claimed that teachers in Delhi were working on contractual basis and asked Kejriwal to show any person who was regularised in the past 10 years.

Kejriwal on Saturday had promised temporary teachers in Mohali to regularise their jobs.

law to guarantee the MSP and procurement, withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill, removal from the Cabinet and arrest of Union minister Ajay Mishra for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, repeal of the four Labour Codes, an end to selling off the country through privatisation etc.

“It will also fight for getting the prices of diesel, petrol, and cooking gas halved. Other demands included doubling the days of work and wages under MNREGA and extending this scheme to urban areas,” the release said. The mahapanchayat called for the defeat of BJP in all the upcoming assembly elections and local body polls in Maharashtra, the release said.

SKM leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Darshan Pal, Hannan Mollah to name a few, addressed the gathering. Yogendra Yadav, Medha Patkar, Yudhvir Singh, Tajinder Singh Virk, Atul Kumar Anjaan, Rajaram Singh and others also

spoke.

The ‘Shaheed Kalash Yatra’ of the farmer victims of Lakhimpur Kheri, which kicked off from Pune on October 27 and traversed over 30 districts in Maharashtra, visited the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Chaitya Bhoomi of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Mumbai, the memorial to Shaheed Babu Genu and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on November 27, the release said.

On Sunday, this yatra visited Hutatma Chowk, which commemorates 106 martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement in the 1950s, and the ashes of the martyrs were immersed in the Arabian Sea off the Gateway of India in a special programme, said Ashok Dhawale of the Samyukta Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM). Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government’s decision to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers.

‘Centre should learn from its mistakes in previous COVID waves’ RAIPUR, NOV 28 (PTI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said the central government should learn lessons from the “mistakes” it committed during the first and second waves of COVID-19 and impose restrictions on travel from the countries that have been impacted by the new variant of the virus.

He was talking to reporters at Swami Vivekanand Airport here on his return to Chhattisgarh from Pune in Maharashtra, where he received ‘Mahatma Phule Samata Puraskar’ during an event held earlier in the day.

Replying to a query about imposing a ban on travel from the countries where Omicron, the new variant of coronavirus, has been found, Baghel said, “The country would not have suffered had the restrictions been imposed during the first (wave) time. Then ‘Namaste Trump’ was going on and they (BJP) were busy in toppling the government in Madhya Pradesh. The entire country had to suffer due to that.”

He was referring to the event held in Ahmedabad in February last year, wherein the then President of the USA Donald Trump along

with Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in a road show and later addressed a gathering.

“Now (when there is risk of a third wave), it (Centre) should learn lessons from the mistakes it committed during the first and second waves and restrict travel from those countries where a new variant of infection is being reported.

International travel should be properly controlled and screening of people coming to India from such countries should be done,” he added.

Before going to Pune on Saturday evening, Baghel, who has been made senior observer by the Congress for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled next year, attended his party’s rally in Mahoba in the northern state in which Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present.

When asked about Congress’s poll prospects in UP, Baghel said, “Three major public meetings of Priyanka ji were held recently in UP. There is enthusiasm among people and they want change. Priyanka ji is being seen as a ray of hope and Congress’s graph is rising there.”

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (AGENCIES): The Trinamool Congress -- expanding rapidly at the cost of the Congress – Sunday assured that it will remain a part of the united opposition, allaying concerns of a rift ahead of the coming winter session of parliament. But senior party leader Derek O’ Brien made one thing clear -- that its equation with the Congress was not the same as other parties.

Maintaining that “common issues that will unite the opposition”, O’Brien, the Trinamool’s Parliamentary Party leader in Rajya Sabha, said: “I also must point out that there is a distinction between the RJD, DMK, RJD and the CPM-- they are all electoral allies of the Congress. The NCP-Shiv Sena and JMM run a government with the Congress”.

“The Congress is not our electoral ally nor are we running a government with them. That’s the difference,” he added.

The Trinamool, once an ally of the UPA, had walked out of the coalition in 2012 over diesel price hike

and retail reform, reducing the government to a minority. Till 2014, the government had survived on outside support of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.

Over the last months, the Trinamool has been racing towards the political space occupied by the Congress, absorbing a number of disgruntled leaders of the party on the way.

Last week, it became the principal opposition party in Meghalaya as12 Congress MLAs, led by Mukul Sangma, joined up.

Today, it declared itself the main opposition in Tripura, saying it won a bigger vote share than the CPM, which ruled the state earlier.

Aided by election strategist Prashant Kishor, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee is laying elaborate groundwork for the 2023 polls in Goa and Tripura.

Over the last week, she also gained foothold in Haryana and neighbouring Bihar with induction of key leaders from the Congress and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United.

The Cong ress has

maintained calm, barring an outburst or two from Adhir Chowdhury, its leader on the Lok Sabha, who called Ms Banerjee a “Trojan horse of the BJP”.

The Congress’s leader in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge quickly moved in for damage control, saying they were trying their best to work with Trinamool and rally the opposition.

“Whatever the outside political scenario, but inside we should be united to redress the grievances of the common people,” Mr Kharge told NDTV. It was Mamata Banerjee who ripped off the band aid last week, declaring that meetings with Sonia Gandhi every time she came to Delhi were “not mandatory”.

“The Congress has done nothing to fight the BJP in the last seven years.

It is the TMC that put up a battle against the BJP. We have never talked of stitching an opposition alliance without the Congress. But the Congress has to realise that its big brother attitude will no longer be accepted,” Kunal Ghosh, said.

Maha having an ‘absentee and accidental’ CM: Javadekar

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (IANS): On completion of two years of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar on Sunday said that for the first time, the state is experiencing an ‘absentee and accidental’ Chief Minister.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Javadekar said: “Corruption and criminalisation of politics is the hallmark of the MVA government. Several ministers, Members of Parliament and MLAs are being enquired for corruption... it is not only ‘Mafia Vasooli Agadhi’ but also a ‘Maha Vishwasghati Aghadi’,” Javadekar said.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Javadekar said: “He (Thackeray) rarely visits his Mantralaya office... and for the first time, Maharashtra is experiencing an ‘absentee’ and ‘accidental’ chief minister.” “Income Tax raids at NCP minister’s (place) have revealed ‘benami’ property of Rs 1,000 crore. Another NCP Minister has been arrested for assaulting a common man. Third NCP minister has purchased land parcels from terrorist of 26/11 terror attacks at a throwaway price.

The fourth Minister is charged with giving lucrative contracts to his son-in-law which had to be finally cancelled,” he said.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that this government has looted Maharashtra and betrayed the voters.

“He (Thackeray) is charged with nondisclosure of income and assets in election affidavits. His PA built a bungalow in violation of CRZ rules. After charges were made, he demolished his bungalow himself.

Another minister of Shiv Sena built a resort in violation of CRZ rules and instead of

Prakash Javadekar

demolishing it is important that he has sold it,” former union minister said. He also slammed the MVA government over the law and order situation in the state.

Without taking any name, Javadekar said: “The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) chief of Mumbai is charged with planting of bomb and friend’s murder. Another four police personnel have been arrested and are behind the bars in this case. Mumbai Police commissioner charged ruling dispensation of extortion to a huge extent who was also absconding for nine months. This is the low point of governance in Maharashtra.”

Javadekar claimed that “all this is happening because this government was formed with sheer hunger for power keeping aside all morals and betraying the voters and people’s mandate”.

“Shiv Sena fought the elections as an alliance partner of BJP. The NCP and the Congress who sought votes to defeat Shiv Sena joined hands with them because of this hunger for power. It is the worst opportunist, corrupt and non-functional government Maharashtra has even seen,” he added.

Sisodia names Delhi govt schools RSS is not military organisation, it’s a group with family atmosphere: Bhagwat transformed, asks Punjab for similar list G WA L I O R , N OV 2 8 (PTI): Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said the Sangh is not a military organisation, but a group with a family atmosphere.

“Sangh is not an allIndia music school. Martial arts programmes do take place (in it), but Sangh is neither an all India gym nor a martial arts club.

Sometimes, the Sangh is described as a paramilitary (force). But Sangh is not a military organisation,” he said.

Sangh is a group with a family atmosphere, the RSS chief added.

He was speaking here at the closing event of the four-day Ghosh Shivir (musical band camp) of the Sangh’s Madhya Bharat Pranth. Noted Sarod player Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and others attended the valedictory function.

“Western countries consider music as entertainment. It is played for a thrill there. But in India, music is meant to soothe the soul. It is an art that calms down the mind,” he added.

The RSS chief also said that even though India was celebrating the 75th anniversary of Independence, the country needs to make up for the loss caused by the mismanagement and loot, and this work rests with society.

“We attained Independence on August 15, 1947, but the struggle for it began in 1857”, he added.

“A thought prevailed that we had lost to a foreign power at our home and efforts were launched to straighten up things. A continuous political and social correction work took place and we attained freedom,” Bhagwat said.

He said more efforts were needed to build the country.

“The mismanagement and loot that inflicted losses need at least 10-12 years to be repaired,” he added.

He said the change brought in by politicians, government and the police lasts for some time if it is not backed by society.

Bhagwat underlined the need to build a valuebased society if the fortunes of the country need to be

changed.

“The Sangh is doing this work which needs the faith of the society,” he added.

Bhagwat reached Gwalior on Friday midnight to address the ghosh shivir that had begun on Thursday.

The musical band camp concluded at Saraswati Shishu Mandir (school) located on the Shivpuri Link Road, a senior RSS Madhya Bharat functionary said.

More than 500 instrumentalists drawn from 31 districts of RSS’ Madhya Pradesh Bharat Pranth (including Gwalior and Bhopal divisions) took part in the camp.

Last week, Bhagwat had attended ‘Ghosh Pradarshan’, a programme on demonstrating musical instruments by band members in Chhattisgarh.

RSS functionary Vinay Dixit said the RSS was formed in 1925 while its musical branch came up in 1927. He added that musical bands, especially drums, are used in shakhas during drills.

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday released a list of 250 schools which have been transformed by the AAP government in five years and urged Punjab to do the same to compare reforms and developments in schools by both the governments.

Sisodia said Punjab Education Minister Pargat Singh had alleged that no work was done by the Delhi

government to improve the education system and challenged to see 250 schools where the government has brought in reforms.

“So today, I am releasing a list of 250 Delhi government schools which have undergone transformation, in last five years. I call upon the Punjab education minister to release a list of their 250 government schools which have undergone improvement,” he said at a press conference here.

“I hope that by the evening today (Sunday), the Punjab education minister will release the list. We both, with the media, can visit schools in Delhi and Punjab, and get the reality check. The public will then decide which government has done better,” he said.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s Education Minister, said that his government has done remarkable development in government schools.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION NAGALAND : KOHIMA

NO. NO.DTE/ESTT-NP-13/2017

Dated, Kohima the, 27th Nov, 2021

CORRIGENDUM In supersession of this Department’s Notification NO. NO.DTE/ESTTNP-13/2017 dated 26th Nov, 2021, the 3 (three) Multi Tasking Staff (MTS) Posts against the newly established Government Polytechnic at Peren, Doyang Wokha and Aboi, Mon mentioned at Serial No.17, shall be filled up by the candidates of indigenous inhabitants of the respective District as per P&AR Office Memorandum No.AR-3/GEN-174/2007 (Pt), Dated, 26th October 2017, and not as indicated in the earlier advertisement dated 27th Nov, 2021.

Further, the eligibility criteria for the post of Lecturer in Electronics & Electrical stated at Serial No. 8, shall be BE/B.Tech in Electronics & Electrical Engg/Electrical & Electronics Engg.

(Er. M. Nakro) Additional Director & HoD dc-1263/21

6

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post VOL. XXXI NO. 355 DIMAPUR, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

I

Unsound politics

f there was any misgiving behind formation of the opposition-less legislative assembly to birth the all-party government, titled as ‘United Democratic Alliance (UDA)’ in September this year, it was seen in action by the media persons and visitors at the recently concluded 9th session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly. It was the second time in the history of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) that members from both aisles formed an opposition-less democracy. The first was in 2015 when the eight opposition Congress legislators joined the NPF-led NDA-III coalition government. It was also deemed to be in the interest of Naga political issue.

The UDA, comprising of ruling Progressive Democratic Alliance(PDA) coalition- NDPP, BJP and Independent, shed their pretence of being one of the pillars of democracy- where the coming together was an alibi. Of course, the coming together may have to do with Naga political issue since regional parties in the state have unfailingly claimed to be championing the cause of peaceful solution; but in the two cases, that is just part of the story. Merely discussing any matter cannot be anything else but only fulfilling the formalities. In a true democracy, there is not only enlightened discussion but debate so that the decisions or performances or non-performances of the party in power is exposed. This is a requirement of democracy- keeping a check on the government. There were some serious issues such as Lokayukta (Amendment no 2) Bill and money bills which were introduced to the house for passage etc. The nascent Rising People’s Party(RRP) has criticised the all-party government for not doing justice in passing the bills without thorough discussion. Even prior to passage of the bills, the issue of excess teachers in the Department of School Education(DoSE) should have brought the house down since it comes not too long after a huge scam was detected in 2004 involving teachers’ appointment. Even as the house was in session, the local media was highlighting worrisome developments within some Naga factions, as stakeholders of the Naga political issue. Since the UDA constituents claim that it was formed for Naga political issue; it should have been important enough for discussion. Also, among the most highlighted issue was the home department notification for nomination for constitution of advisory councils to UBLs. Civil Society Organisations and ward council members opposed the proposed nomination of candidates for the advisory councils to the ULBs. Perhaps, the house could have discussed the matter as it has aroused much public interest and concern so as to highlight what the people’s highest decision making body felt. Earlier, the government had gone some distance in agreeing to enact the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) but took the longer route of consultations after consultations and forming of committee after committee. This issue should have been properly discussed in the house so that the elected representatives enlightened each other about the issue since the government had initially indicated its willingness to enact a bill.

The house could have also discussed its proposal for minor relaxation to the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act 1989, which is a hot topic including the double taxation issue by government agencies in Dimapur. All these are being ignored as political party leaders in Nagaland suffer from delusion that giving top priority to Naga political issue absolves them from responsibility of governance. It is clear that, people are paying the price for devaluation of elections for the past decades.

DailyDevotion The Riches of the Destitute

…being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24 The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves.

We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are “rich,” particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was “beyond” us and places it “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises up to “the above,” and we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns (see John 3:5).

Quotes

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. ~ Bruce Lee

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

India joins world for super growth on high debt

I

ndia joins the world aiming for a super growth on a high debt and infra push for an economic panacea.

India’s heavy investment over Rs 233.08 lakh crore investment in infrastructure, of which the Rs 10500 crore Jewar airport in adjacent to Delhi in UP, is officially expected to give a major boost to the economy.

India is not alone the entire world is trying to do that. The result is hyper growth in world debt to $ 226 trillion. In its 2021 Fiscal Monitor report, the IMF said India’s debt increased from 68.9 per cent of its GDP in 2016 to 89.6 per cent in 2020. It is projected to jump to 90.6 per cent in 2021 and then decline to 88.8 per cent in 2022, to gradually reach 85.2 per cent in 2026. In a year India’s external debt alone increased by $ 11.6 billion.

Jewar has accelerated a process of development in UP with an eye on UP elections. It may make this part of the National Capital Region one of the most crowded places inviting large number of migrants that may stress the local

resources. Still the hopes have been raised and it is certain that cash flow in the region would increase for now.

The withdrawal of the three farm bills have raised aspirations but also rivets eyes to the continuing farm unrest, which the officials say is no more warranted.

But severe crash in the stock market has added to a new concern.

The nation hopes to fly on expectations. Similar airport projects, high altitude Himalayan development, large tree felling and acquisition of farm lands across have ecological concerns. But a nation striving hard to come out of corona pandemic is certainly looking for a fast development course so that there is cash flow.

The government expanded the ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)’ to 7,400 projects. According to Department of Industry and internal Trade, 217 projects worth Rs. 1.10 lakh crore (US$ 15.09 billion) were completed as of 2020.

Through the NIP, the government invested US$ 1.4 trillion in infrastructure de-

velopment as of July 2021.

A major aspect of this development is infrastructure. It looks good but it is also true that more the investment is made in infrastructure, the nations cost to delivery increases and in the long run unless there is an overall growth in activities – from industry to agriculture – the benefits become expensive to afford.

The IMF says that constraints on financing are particularly severe for poorer countries.

Shivaji Noting that in 2020, fiscal policy proved its worth, says IMF director for fiscal affairs Vitor Gasper, the increase in public debt, in 2020, was fully justified by the need to respond to COVID-19 and its economic, social, and financial consequences. But the increase is expected to be one-off, he said. So how to bring down the debt has to be concern.

In its 2021 Fiscal Monitor report, the IMF said India’s debt increased from 68.9 per cent of its GDP in 2016 to 89.6 per cent in 2020. It is projected to jump to 90.6 per cent in 2021 and then decline to 88.8 per cent

in 2022, to gradually reach 85.2 per cent in 2026.

After that it is projected to stabilise at about 97 per cent of GDP. These debt dynamics are driven by a strong contribution from nominal GDP growth, accompanied by a much more gradual reduction in the primary deficit, he said.

This is a matter of long term concern. It is indicative of a difficult situation continuing for some time.

In its report, the IMF said risks Sarkar to the fiscal outlook are elevated. This calls for India to review its policies. Let us not forget 2007—08 global meltdown that followed an unsustainable financial behaviour.

The results would be high inflationary tendencies that would add to the costs further and create an unstable global economy leading more conflicts and further costs.

India’s inflation has risen to 12.5 percent. It is adding to a number of costs, As prices rise wages too would are rising and a cycle of inflation may continue.

It is also being seen in

a regime of high taxations and high penalties on cars and car uses across the country. The silliest is the clampdown on outside state registered vehicles in Bihar, and HSRP plates. These are ignored as small issues but these small things are making lives of people difficult.

User charges are being recklessly increased. At some private railways stations parking charges are going through the roof. Ostensibly nobody can be blamed as ‘the prices are rising’ but that needs a holistic review.

The IMF projects growth at 9.5 percent in FY2021-22 and 8.5 percent in FY2022-23. Headline inflation sees elevated price pressures. The contraction in economic activity, lower revenue, and pandemicrelated support measures are estimated to have led to a widening of the fiscal deficit to 8.6 and 12.8 percent of GDP in FY2020-21 for the central and state governments, respectively.

It notes that fiscal policy continues to support the economy. But the IMF is concerned that despite policy support, bank credit growth has remained sub-

dued, while large corporates have benefited from easier conditions in capital markets. Net inflows and improvement in the current account have supported an increase in foreign exchange reserves. The current account balance is projected to remain in deficit as oil prices rise.

The overall toned down IMF report indicates not an easy situation in the coming years.

The concern of the Nrendra Modi government is high. It wants to take the economy to a new level through high cost push projects in the hope that there is relief and the government could take credit for solving a difficult situation. It would well to review the situation once again though it may not be easy in a country where people want to have fast solutions.

Steering the country is not easy. It is true that international organisations are cautious while performing government feels that their efforts are being tried to be stymied. India hopes that Modi’s efforts belie IMF and infra push takes the country to the targeted growth.

Post-mortem Security goes beyond deterrence of uniform Social Media impacts a teenager’s mental health

W

henever there is mention of a threat to national security, people think of our defence forces in their glorious battle dress -- protecting the country on our borders against external attacks and winning the war for us. Security has for long been an issue of war and peace and all countries, big or small, maintained an army and sought alliances to defend themselves against their known enemies.

In the days of Cold War, the two superpowers tried to outdo each other militarily and their race for superiority in the use of missiles produced the ultimate deterrence - the system termed as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) built by the US. Even as the open warfare was kept in check, there were attempts to cause ideological subversion and foment armed insurgency to weaken the adversary. It is, however, the rise of the phenomenon of ‘covert’ offensives witnessed in the postCold War period - after the success of the anti-Soviet armed campaign in Afghanistan had resulted in the dismemberment of USSR ending the Cold War - that brought in the era of ‘asymmetric’ warfare.

Significantly, it is Afghanistan again that became the territory where - after one superpower was vanquished the new global terror of Islamic radicals rooted in faith-based motivation would emerge to challenge the US, the other superpower. Use of terrorism for covert offensives across geographical boundaries helped replace open attacks with ‘proxy wars’ - with India becoming the biggest victim of cross-border terror instigated by Pakistan in Kashmir and elsewhere.

26/11 became India’s 9/11 as Pakistan’s ISI used terrorists to carry out an unprecedented covertly planned attack on Mumbai from the sea front.

This war by stealth has set apart the distinct dimensions of ‘defence’ and ‘security’, calling for new measures to cope up with the advancement of weaponry in one case, and the technology used by terrorists in the other.

The Sino-Pak axis has aggravated the threat of Paksponsored proxy war against India as cross-border terrorism was now sustained by the use of drones - a product of Chinese technology - for surreptitious dropping of arms and ammunition in the Kashmir Valley and drugs in the bordering areas of Punjab.

Emergence of social media as an instrument of combat and use of internet for spreading ‘radicalisation’ and facilitating recruitment of potential terrorists have made the work of the adversary easier and the task of countering it so much more difficult. The threats in the cyber space are in prime

focus of the security strategy in both the US and India. Importance of cyber security was highlighted at the recently-held DGPs’ conference in Lucknow, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was himself present at the entire session for two days. The threat of terrorism has resulted in two new developments - induction of Army in counter-terror operations on our own soil taking the challenge of civil-military cooperation to an entirely different plane, and opening of the ground for para-military forces of the Centre and Army to work together for the security of our borders.

The Army trained in inflicting maximum casualties on the enemy attacking the country had to specially train itself for keeping collateral damages in counter-terror operations to its minimum, and presenting before the population the image of an empathetic force.

Intelligence-based operations help in this and that is why the role of our intelligence infrastructure for the maintenance of internal security has become extremely critical.

Security is protection against covert actions of the unseen enemy and is therefore anchored entirely on timely information on the plan and location of the latter which is precisely what intelligence was.

An entirely new extension of ‘proxy war’ aimed at ‘winning the war by other means’ is the use of civil rights fora to run down a democratically elected government by building narratives for influencing the unsuspecting people against the ruling dispensation. Majoritarianism, authoritarianism and treatment of minorities are ‘issues’ that could be easily built on vague grounds for creating the impression that Constitutional mandate was not being followed by the ruling regime.

Influencing the political outcome through nongovernmental bodies linked to lobbies at home and abroad is a new age phenomenon -- it uses ‘human’ channels that supplemented what was being attempted through ‘technology’ on the internet.

The significance of the recent address of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at the ‘passing out’ function for new IPS officers at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad can be grasped in this context.

He pointed out that civil society was the new frontier of war as it can be manipulated to hurt a nation’s interests. He aptly described it as ‘fourth generation’ warfare -- it certainly represented the finer realms of ‘proxy war’. Those who are to safeguard internal security - and police is often the first responder there - needed to be made fully aware of this challenge that went beyond the

conventional law and order.

The strategy of internal security has to shift in favour of enlarging the intelligence capability of our police organisations. There is strong presence already of armed forces in the border states of India, including the Northeast, and the deterrence of the uniform exists but only to an extent - the enemy agents learn to operate by going round the ‘pickets’.

Visibility of force gave confidence to the law abiding that the state is there to protect them and this could possibly also encourage them to be bold about doing their bit to contribute to national security.

However, it is the success of the adversary in creating an underground network of agents and operators that needs to be thwarted. Efforts of the central intelligence agencies to unearth this hidden danger have to be augmented by the intelligence produced by state and district intelligence machineries in operational cooperation with the former. Technology for improving policing has to be developed on a priority basis and this precisely was the message that Prime Minister Modi gave to the recent conference of DGPs at Lucknow.

In vulnerable border states such as J&K, Punjab, Arunachal, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur, a greater proportion of state police personnel should be seconded to intelligence function.

Even policemen in uniform should be sensitised to take note of activities of fora that are playing ‘politics by proxy’ in collaboration with external lobbies. This should be done without prejudice to legitimate media activity and philanthropic missions, and action should be initiated only where there is a clear violation of the country’s laws.

In essence, the three contemporary features of India’s internal security scenario are the adversary’s attempts to use radicalisation for trapping vulnerable elements into becoming a part of the underground terror network, accentuate the majority-minority divide to feed communal militancy, and float civil society platforms to run down India on issues of governance.

Intellectualised debates have been sponsored on matters ranging from putting a question mark on Indian identity to advocating a place for China in Indo-Pak talks on Kashmir, because of the Chinese claim on the territory of that state.

The challenge on internal security front is to draw in the police as a responder without permitting any scope for politicisation of the same.

By D.C. Pathak (The writer is a former Director of Intelligence Bureau; the views expressed are personal)

M

ost teenagers use social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram these days. It keeps a person connected to friends across the globe and gives them a window into the lives of people they are connected with.

Multiple studies have shown that teenagers who use social media excessively do so because they are either bored, need an escape from their immediate physical environment, are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, are lonely, have few realtime friends or need to feel appreciated and validated.

Using social media in moderation isn’t bad. In fact, it can help boost serotonin and other feel-good chemicals in the brain and can help uplift a person’s mood. Most people take a selfie of themselves and post it on social media, and feel good about themselves when people like their post and comment on it. It becomes a problem when this becomes a habit. Many people feel compelled to post photos of themselves multiple times a day and then keep checking their accounts for the number of likes they have received.

Let’s now go a little deeper and see the signs a person, a parent, or a loved one can look for to differentiate between social media usage and addiction. We can safely say a person is addicted to social media when we can spot some of the following: - If a person is thinking about and talking about social media most of the time.

- If they have formed a ritual of using social media multiple times a day - If they are using social media instead of attending to other important things in their life.

- If they are procrastinating on other important tasks and using social media instead.

- If they get frustrated and throw anger tantrums if they are unable to use social media - If there is a fear of missing out on “life” if they don’t stay connected on social media - If social media usage has affected their studies.

- If they keep checking their social media accounts during conversations.

- If a person avoids social events to be on social media.

- If they lie about the time they spend on social media - If they have not been able to reduce the time they spend on social media.

A few tips for parents The following things parents have found to be effective in teenage social media addiction: - Discuss the teenager’s use of social media in a non-hostile and loving manner.

Keep reminding them that you are coming from a place of concern for their well-being.

- Help them to plan their day and follow the set schedule.

- Set a “no mobile phone” policy at different times of the day/night. No cell phones during meal times, while watching TV, during family time and at bedtime.

- Set tasks that require a person to be busy offline.

- Enroll them in a new hobby.

- Use less of social media yourself to set an example for your teens’.

- Seek help early from a mental health professional.

The use of social media has also resulted in many teenagers globally being subjected to name-calling, harassment, embarrassment, humiliation, stalking, threats and becoming victims of fraud through social media. It has led to a spike in teenage mental health issues and even death.

If a teenager is subjected to any form of online bullying, it can leave a lasting

negative impact that can stay with the individual for years to come. The power of social media, in my opinion, is not fully comprehended by many. In school, a person may be subjected to an incident of bullying or harassment, which is usually restricted to a small group of people.

Negative or derogative comments about a person posted on social media reach a wider and global audience. It is also permanent, and can be seen by all. This can really damage an individual’s self-esteem and level of confidence.

There is also a correlation between excessive social media usage and mental disorders like anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, ADHD, paranoia, delusions, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm. It is very important for users to keep a check on the amount of time they spend on social media.

They need to recognise the signs of social media addiction and take the necessary steps quickly to ensure they do not become addicted to social media.

How Much Time Should Someone Spend On Social Media Studies have found that thirty minutes of social media usage helps give a boost to a person’s mood, while using social media for more than two hours a day can increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms. One needs to strike a balance and use social media tools effectively.

When social media platforms are used responsibly, then they become a source of enjoyment and fulfilment. They can help a person feel good about themselves, help them stay socially connected with friends globally, connect with other like-minded people, share ideas and thoughts, and stay informed of current affairs. They are also made aware of social events and have the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and skills.

What Can You Do If You Are Addicted To Social Media?

There are many effective modalities in psychotherapy that can help young adults break free from the excessive use of social media. Here are some effective tools professionals use to help people: Counselling: Mental health counselling allows a person to explore their inner feelings and emotions in a safe and nonjudgemental environment. It promotes awareness and helps a person come up with alternative options to deal with the situation.

CBT: CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT helps a person to recognise unhelpful thoughts and the errors they are making in their thinking. A trained CBT professional help clients recognise such thoughts and help them to correct the errors they may be making in thinking. This helps to correct the behaviour and results in better moods and feelings.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness is another very effective way to help build awareness and reduce hyperactivity and restlessness.

Mindfulness helps people become more grounded and cantered and recognise their feelings and emotions. Many underlying emotions are allowed to surface and be released.

It is important to connect with a mental health professional who can help in this area and help a person live a fuller and more meaningful life. Social media use and abuse has increased during the pandemic, and many are struggling to reduce time spent on social media. Sometimes it’s not something a person may be able to achieve by themselves. External professional help may be required.

Dr. Vihan Sanyal, Psychotherapist (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

Reader’s note: Articles or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.

7

NATIONAL

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

18 killed as vehicle hits truck in Bengal’s India leading the world in start-ups: Modi Nadia dist; Modi, Shah, Mamata condole

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): Asserting that this is an era of start-ups, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India is leading the world in this field with more than 70 start-ups having crossed the valuation of USD 1 billion.

In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, the prime minister also said that he wants to be in service of people and not be “in power”.

“I am not in power even today and I don’t want to be in power in future also. I only want to be in service; for me this post, this prime ministership, all these things are not at all for power, they are for service,” he said when an Ayushman Bharat beneficiary wished him to remain in power.

Modi said that in the many works of the government, amidst the many schemes of development, things related to human sensitivities always give a different kind of joy.

“With the effor ts of the government, with the schemes of the government, the way a life changed... what is the experience of that changed life?

When we hear this, we too are filled with empathy. It

Narendra Modi

also gives satisfaction to the mind and gives inspiration too to take that scheme to the people,” he said.

Modi spoke with two people who got their treatment done with the help of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which, they said changed their life for the better. The prime minister also cautioned people that coronavirus has not gone yet and “it is the responsibility of all of us to take precautions”.

In his broadcast, Modi said that in any country having a large population of youth, three things -ideas and innovation, passion to take risks and the ‘can do’ spirit-- matter a lot.

When these three things come together, unprecedented results are achieved and miracles happen, he said.

“These days we hear

all around us, start-up, start-up, start-up. It is true that this is the era of startups and it is also true that in the field of start-ups, in a way, India is leading the world,” Modi said.

He noted year after year start-ups are getting record investments and this sector is growing at a fast pace.

“Even in small cities of the country, the reach of start-ups has increased.

Nowadays the word unicorn is much in discussion.

Unicorn is a start-up whose valuation is one billion dollars, around Rs 7,000 crore,” Modi said.

“Till the year 2015, there used to be nine or ten unicorns in the country, you will be very happy to know that now India is flying high in the world of unicorns as well. According to a report, a big change has come this year. In just 10 months, a unicorn is being raised in India every 10 days,” he said.

This is a big thing because the youth of the country achieved this success in the midst of the Covid pandemic, he said.

“Today, there are more than 70 unicorns in India, that is, more than 70 start-ups have crossed

the valuation of USD 1 billion,” Modi said.

Due to the success of start-ups, everyone has noticed them and they are getting support from investors from all over the country and abroad, he said, adding that just a few years ago no one could have imagined this happening.

Indian youth are also contributing to the solution of global problems through start-ups, he noted.

Modi also spoke to a youngster, who has tried to put forward a solution to the problem of pollution by introducing technology by which he managed to reduce emissions of buses by 40 per cent.

In his broadcast, the prime minister also noted that in the month of December, Navy Day and Armed Forces Flag Day are celebrated, and on December 16, it will be the Golden Jubilee year of the victory in the 1971 War. “On all these occasions, I remember our armed forces, our soldiers, especially the brave mothers who gave birth to these warriors,” he said.

Modi also recalled that in the pervious edition of Mann Ki Baat, he had referred to three competi-

tions – one on writing patriotic songs; one on drawing rangolis on events connected with patriotic fervour and the freedom movement and one on scripting lullabies that nurture dreams of a grand India - and hoped that people must have sent in their entries.

Asserting that it is not necessary that bravery should be displayed only on the battlefield, Modi narrated how people of Jalaun in Uttar Pradesh revived the Noon river which was on the verge of extinction.

The people of Jalaun took the initiative to change this situation and formed a committee, he noted.

“Thousands of villagers and local people spontaneously volunteered to join this campaign. The panchayats started working together with the villagers, and today in such a short time, and at a very low cost, the river has come back to life again,” Modi said.

“Apart from the battlefield, this example of bravery shows the determination of our countrymen, and it also tells that if we take a resolve, nothing is impossible and that is why I say - ‘Sabka Prayas’...everyone’s effort,” he added.

KO L K ATA , N OV 2 8 (PTI): At least 18 people were killed during a funeral procession when a vehicle carrying the remains of the deceased rammed into a stationary truck in West Bengal’s Nadia district early on Sunday, a police officer said.

The victims included six women and a child, he said.

Top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have condoled the loss of lives.

A mini truck, carrying over 35 people and the bier, hit another stone-laden truck parked on one side of a state highway in Hanskhali around 3 am, killing 12 on the spot, the officer explained.

Six others succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital or during treatment.

Local people and the police shifted the injured to Shaktinagar General Hospital, where doctors, after examining their condition, referred the critical ones to another medical institution in Krishnanagar.

According to the police officer, low visibility due to

A damaged truck following a road accident at Phulbari area in Nadia district, West Bengal, Sunday, Nov 28, 2021. (PTI)

fog may have led to the accident.

One of those injured said he and others were heading to Nabadwip cremation ground from Chakdah when the accident took place.

The PM, taking to Twitter, said, “Extremely pained by the loss of lives due to a road accident in Nadia, West Bengal. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest.”

Shah, too, prayed for strength and well-being of the grieving families.

“I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in

this. May God give them the strength to bear this grief.

I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” he tweeted.

The CM, on her part, promised to “provide necessary assistance to the families” of the victims.

“Heartbroken to hear about the road accident in Nadia. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured. May God give them the strength to get past this difficult time,” she wrote on the microblogging platform. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar stressed on promotion of road safety measures.

Cooperative model best suited for Chennai rain fury: traffic Bengaluru police deny permission to development of India: : Amit Shah diversions as roads flooded comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show there is a need to increase the number of successful cooperative models (like Amul) and bring them under one umbrella.

He also suggested Amul to work out a similar model for organic farming so as to encourage more farmers to adopt the practice, as fertilisers were causing soil degradation and diseases like cancer.

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recognised cooperative as the best economic model for the country having a population of 130 crore when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

“It is a very difficult job to take development to all and make everyone

participate in the process of development in a country with a population of 130 crore,” Shah said, adding many pundits failed to figure out which economic model will fit the requirements of this country.

“But, 75 years after the country saw many rules, the country’s prime minister (Modi) tested the model and had realised as the then chief minister of Gujarat, that if there is any economic model for an allencompassing, all-inclusive economic development of a country of 130 crore population, then that is only the cooperative,” he said. Shah said he believes the field of cooperation has the capacity to make everyone prosper.

CHENNAI, NOV 28 (PTI): Amid continuing rains, residents of Chennai and suburbs are grappling with inundation with many roads and subways being closed for traffic, while surplus water continued to be released from reservoirs.

Such a scenario has led to traffic diversions at many places and disruptions in the government run bus transport services.

Roads and bylanes in the city and suburban neighbourhoods, including Rajamannar Salai in KK Nagar brimmed with flood water, while subways, including the Madley and Rangarajapuram, were closed for traffic.

Water logging upto one feet was seen in most

locations and road margins, including the arterial GST Road, while water stagnation was about two feet in some parts of areas like Madipakkam and over two feet in locations that fall under suburbs like Peerkankaranai.

The flood waters have brought insects and tadpoles into homes and vacant plots serve as breeding grounds, some residents alleged.

An advisory issued by city police said traffic from Medavakkam to Sholinganallur has been restricted and diverted via the Kamakshi Memorial Hospital route. At Valasaravakkam, traffic was closed at the Thiruvallur Salai point and diverted towards Keshavardhani to reach Arcot Road.

Over 30 pc women from 14 states, UT justify beating by husbands: NFHS and Kashmir (49 per cent), Maharashtra (44 per cent) and West Bengal (42 per cent) were the other states and Union Territory where a large number of women justified men beating their wives.

To a question by the NFHS, “In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife...?”, over 30 per cent women from as many as 14 states and Union Territories said, “yes”.

The survey put forward the probable circumstances under which a husband beats his wife: if he suspects her of being unfaithful; if

she disrespects in-laws; if she argues with him; if she refuses to have sex with him; if she goes out without informing him; if she neglects the house or the children; if she doesn’t cook good food.

The most common reasons given by the respondents to justify beating were neglecting the house or children and showing disrespect to in-laws.

Of the 18 states, women respondents in 13 -- Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Gujarat, Nagaland, Goa, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra, Telangana, Nagaland and West

Bengal -- cited ‘disrespect to in-laws’ as the main reason to justify beating.

The lowest population of women that justified beating by husbands was in Himachal Pradesh (14.8 per cent).

Among men, 81.9 per cent respondents from Karnataka said such behaviour is justified as against 14.2 per cent in Himachal Pradesh.

Ushasree, director of ‘Roshni’, a Hyderabadbased NGO which provides counselling and other services to those in emo-

tional distress, said her organisation has seen a rise in sexual abuse and domestic violence during COVID-19.

“Some men appear to vent their frustration, caused by loss of income and other reasons due to the pandemic, on their family members,” she said.

“There is an increase in the number of calls we received because friction has grown among family members as they stay confined within four walls round-the-clock due to the pandemic,” she said.

Munawar Faruqui’s

in his Twitter statement.

Faruqui claimed that his 12 shows were called off in the last two months because of the threats to the venue and audiences.

The comedian also claimed they have a “censor certificate of the show”, which proves there was “nothing problematic” in the stand-up act. Faruqui, however, found support in actors Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub and Swara Bhasker.

Ayyub urged the comic to not lose hope. “And WE Failed once again as a society…. looking forward to see you back on stage..” he tweeted. Bhasker described the turn of events as “heartbreaking and shameful” and apologised to Faruqui.

“A project of hate & bigotry twill always hate an articulate, rational, educated, charming, talented & funny ‘Other’ who connects beyond identity with a heterogeneous public.. make no mistake Munawwar, Umar Khalid & other such articulate Muslims are a huge threat to Hindutva,”

she wrote on the microblogging site.

“Also.. it’s heartbreaking & shameful how we as a society have allowed bullying and gaslighting to become normalised. I’m sorry Munawwar!” she said in a follow-up tweet.

According to reports, Faruqui had planned a performance ‘Dongri To Nowhere’ on Sunday evening.

The show was organised in Bengaluru by Vishal Dhuria and Siddharth Das of New Delhi-based Curtain Calls Event.

However, various right wing organisations including Sriram Sena and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, had lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru city police Commissioner against the comedian charging him of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by allegedly insulting Hindu Gods.

The inspector of the Ashokanagar police station in the city under whose jurisdiction the Good Shepherd Auditorium falls wrote a letter to the organisers on Saturday to call off the event as the comedian is a controversial figure.

“It is learnt that Munawar Faruqui is a controversial figure..... Many states have banned his comedy shows. It is learnt that a case has been registered against him in the Tukoji police station in Indore of Madhya Pradesh,” the inspector said in his letter.

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NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): Over 30 per cent women from 14 of the 18 states and Union Territories that were surveyed justify men beating their wives under certain circumstances, while lesser percentage of men rationalised such behaviour, according to the recent National Family Health Survey (NHFS).

According to NHFS5, over 75 per cent women justified men beating their wives in three states -- Telangana (84 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (84 per cent) and Karnataka (77 per cent).

Manipur (66 per cent), Kerala (52 per cent), Jammu

BENGALURU, NOV 28 (PTI): The Bengaluru police have denied permission to Munawar Faruqui’s standup comedy show in the city on Sunday amid protest by the Hindu right wing outfits who alleged that the artist had hurt the Hindu sentiments in one of his shows.

“Yes, we have denied him permission. He will not perform any public show today,” a senior police officer told PTI on condition of anonymity.

Faruqui also shared a statement on social media confirming that his Bengaluru show that had sold “600 plus” tickets was cancelled Sunday in the wake of the “threats to venue vandalism” and said he was “done”. “My name is Munawar Faruqui. And that’s been my time, you guys were (a) wonderful audience. Good bye, I’m done,” he said.

The proceeds from the show were supposed to be donated to late Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar’s charitable organisation.

In the same statement, the 29-year-comic said they initially did not want to reveal that the show was for charity. “Putting me in jail for the joke I never did to cancelling my shows which has nothing problematic in it. This is unfair. This show has gained so much love from people in India irrespective of their religion.

This is unfair (sic)” he added

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GANDHINAGAR, NOV 28 (PTI): The cooperative model is the only model of economic development which will work to achieve an all-encompassing and all-inclusive development of a huge country like India with a population of 130 crore, Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.

Addressing a gathering here after inaugurating a milk powder factory, a poly film manufacturing plant and other projects of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) set up with an investment of Rs 415 crore, Shah said the cooperative model has the capacity to make everyone prosperous, and

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8

ED summons Amazon, Future Group executives

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned senior executives of Amazon India, including its country head Amit Agarwal, and that of the Future group for questioning in a foreign exchange violation probe linked to the disputed deal between the two conglomerates, official sources said on Sunday.

The executives have been summoned along with documents for the coming week under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), they said.

Amazon India head Agarwal, some other senior officials of the company and those of the Future Group have been called, the sources said.

The investigation is being conducted under various sections of the FEMA after the federal agency received a communication from the Commerce Ministry early this year seeking “necessary action”

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

BUSINESS/STATE

against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multibrand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.

The HC had said that the attempt made by the US-based firm to control Future Retail through a conflation of agreements it has with an unlisted unit of the Indian company will be considered as violative of the FEMA and foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.

The executives have been asked to join so that investigation can be taken forward. The agency

has gathered details from the documents submitted by the companies earlier and other sources over the last few months, agency sources said.

An Amazon spokesperson said they were examining the ED summons.

“We are in receipt of summons issued by the ED in connection with the Future Group. As we have just received the summons, we are examining it and will respond within the given time frame,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Kishore Biyaniled Future Group did not respond to the queries over

the development.

Amazon and Future Group have been battling it out in courts after the Kishore Biyani-led group in August last year agreed to sell its assets to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail on a slump sale basis for Rs 24,500 crore.

Amazon is objecting to the sell-off plans, accusing Future Group of breaching its 2019 investment pact. Future Coupons was founded in 2008 and is engaged in the business of marketing and distribution of gift cards, loyalty cards, and other rewards programmes to corporate customers. The US-based company had approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as well as in Indian courts.

Earlier this month, a promoter entity of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) had been asked by the ED to provide documents pertaining to the 2019 deal with Amazon. FRL had noted that

it has not received any direction to provide any document.

The independent directors of FRL have approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI), urging it to revoke the approval it had given to the Amazon-FCPL deal in 2019, alleging the e-commerce major of making false statements before it.

Amazon has also written to the independent directors of FRL, alleging “significant financial irregularities”, and said this warrants a “thorough and independent examination” of relevant facts and related party transactions between FRL and other Future Group entities.

It has also reached out to CCI, requesting it to “act in aid of the binding injunctions operating against FRL, FCPL and the Biyanis, in terms of the EA (emergency arbitrator) Order and the Order on Vacate Application and recall the Observation Letters forthwith”.

Tomato prices may stay high for another 2 months NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (IANS): Prices of staple vegetable tomato are likely to stay elevated for two more months, CRISIL said.

Tomatoes account for 10 per cent of the total vegetable production in India.

“With standing crops damaged by excess rains in Kar nataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, which are key suppliers of tomato during OctoberDecember, supply is down materially,” the rating agency said.

Ground surveys indicate that the situation is so grim in Karnataka that tomatoes are being sent from Maharashtra’s Nashik, it added. “ N o t s u r p r i s i n g ly, prices of tomatoes have increased 142 per cent on-year as on November 25 and are expected to remain elevated for the next 45-50 days till the harvest from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan reach markets across the country beginning January.”

From matchbox to credit card: Things to get costlier from Dec 1 NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (AGENCIES): Amid Indian consumers’ struggle to cope with the inflation, they have to deal with another price rise in the last month of the year. From December, a matchbox would cost Rs. 2 from the current Rs.1, an increase that comes after a gap of 14 years.

The industry body has cited the increase in the price of raw materials and the subsequent rise in production cost as the reason behind the 100% increase in the price of a matchbox.

The number of matchsticks in a box, however, will be more. A Rs.2 matchbox will have 50 sticks, up from 36 in the Rs.1 box. The

increase in price will be effective from December 1.

V S Sethurathinam, secretary of the National Small Matchbox Manufacturers Association, recently told news agency PTI that they have no other option but to increase the maximum retail price of the matchbox due to the jump in the cost of production.

The credit card customers of the SBI will have to pay a significant charge on all Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) purchases.

The SBI has informed its customers that a processing fee of Rs. 99 plus taxes will be levied on all EMI purchase transactions with effect from December 1, 2021.

NPCC welcomes nod to SARFAESI...

(From p-1) He advised the State government officials to apply their wisdom and ensure works are executed on the ground.

Barring a few MLAs who had raised the issue in the Assembly, the NPCC president said largely, legislators have no concern for such issues. “They have no sense of responsibility or accountability...,” he stated.

Diplomats discuss tourism potential at roundtable meet States asked to step up surveillance, testing

KAKURO

adding that there was a highway connecting Thailand to Myanmar and the region. He also announced the possibility of investment in tourism sector of the region. Earlier, during the day, presentations were made by governments of the eight North-eastern States, while sessions on rafting, trekking and road expeditions, major hotel chains and alternative accommodation, potential of fairs & festivals and food & wine tourism in boosting tourism were conducted.

A presentation was also given by IRCTC east zone group general manager Debashish Chandra.

Meanwhile, the foreign delegates visited Kisama war museum and morungs, while cultural programmes were organised by the Union culture ministry and the day ended with a live music and fashion show of the region.

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No. 3756 Yesterday’s solution No. 3755

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(From p-1) In this regard, a meeting was chaired by the Home Secretary on Sunday where the overall global situation in wake of the Omicron virus was comprehensively reviewed.

The Centre stressed the criticality of “scrupulous implementation and rigorous monitoring” of the three-pronged surveillance strategy of screening and testing international travellers & their contacts, routine sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance, and timely sending of RT- PCR positive samples to designated INSACOG genome sequencing laboratories along with enhanced testing and monitoring of COVID-19 hotspots. The government has also decided to sensitise Airport Health Officials (APHOs) and Port Health Officials (PHOs) for strict supervision of testing pro-

tocol at airports and ports.

“Decision on effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passengers service, to be reviewed, as per evolving global scenario. Closer watch on the emerging pandemic situation within the country will be maintained,” an official said.

Bhushan asked states to operationalise adequate testing infrastructure and augment other health facilities to tackle any surge due to this mutated virus. He also said that it has been observed that the overall testing, as well as the proportion of RT-PCR tests, have declined in some states.

“In the absence of sufficient testing, it is extremely difficult to determine the true level of infection spread. States must strengthen the testing infrastructure and strictly implement the testing guidelines,” he said.

Bhushan also stressed on continued monitoring of hotspots, the areas where a recent cluster of positive cases has emerged.

“In, all such ‘hotspots’, saturation testing and sending of positive samples quickly for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG labs must be ensured in collaboration with Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). States should keep a close check on the emerging trend of cases and the positivity in an area and quickly delineate hotspots for effective containment of Covid-19,” he said. The health secretary said states should aim at achieving a positivity rate below 5% while focusing on increasing the number of tests and share of RT-PCR tests to aid in early identification.

Road works should not be obstructed... Revised guidelines (From p-1) In order to rectify or address for Intl arrivals Secondly, due to loose those pending issues withand unsettled soil from Phek to Khomi and even beyond, they pointed out that protective/breast/retaining wall all along the hillside was inevitable to sustain the road and prevent future damage. As this demanded extraordinary measures, they said all the inspection team members agreed to request National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd to consider and provide this provision at the earliest.

During the inspection, they claimed that they had noted few discrepancies due to communication gap and misapprehension from either side of stakeholders.

out further delay, they said the committee would submit a detailed inspection report to authorities concerned for necessary and timely action.

Meanwhile, the committee appealed to local authorities to uphold their constitutional responsibility and ensure that no member/ party was allowed to block/ obstruct ongoing work anywhere or succumb to the force of the obstructionist.

Grievances should be addressed at appropriate levels, but they should not become an obstruction to public welfare, they stressed.

(From p-1) report, which should have been conducted within 72 hours of the journey. A declaration with respect to the authenticity of the Covid test report will also be required, manipulated reports will make the passenger liable for criminal prosecution. The new guidelines will come into effect from December 1, 2021.

These “at-risk” countries, as of November 26, are countries in Europe including The United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Israel.

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litical will because it gave priority to immediate neighbours. He congratulated the Union Ministry of Tourism for organising the mart to boost tourism , which has been badly impacted by the pandemic Speaking on the occasion, deputy chief of mission for Thailand Thirapath Mongkolnavin said the Northeast had the potential to be a global tourist destination. He said Thai embassy officials were frequent visitors to the region and claimed they were interested to know more.

Mongkolnavin claimed that Thailand had “Look West Policy”, which matched with India’s “Look East Policy”, adding that the Northeast was the link between the two countries.

He said there were many areas for potential cooperation between Thailand and the North-eastern region,

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He called for cooperation and urged each State of the region to highlight a part that was unique and organise a collective campaign to promote tourism.

Chau suggested that adventure tourism could be one of the priorities of Indian tourism because of the diversity in landscape. He said the government could also market and brand diverse food, festivals, UNESCO sites and spiritual tourism.

He called for improved flight connectivity and accommodation.

Pointing out that most countries relied mainly on domestic visitors to boost tourism industry, he urged the States to attract international visitors, whose inflow would increase India’s ranking in the global tourism map.

The ambassador acknowledged that the Indian government had strong po-

dp-5706/21

cultural similarities. He mentioned that although Myanmar had a rich cultural heritage and had historically significant sites, the country still required more connectivity.

As Myanmar was the gateway to South East Asia, he said the country was coming up with numerous connectivity projects to would boost the tourism sector.

He opined that more exchange programmes between the two sides would help promote the tourism sector and create more avenues.

On his part, ambassador of Vietnam Pham Sanh Chau observed that the North-eastern States had natural beauty, human resources, culture and hospitality as asserts. He said the region was also very exotic with unspoiled and unexplored destinations.

db-397/21

(From p-1) Joining the discussion, high commissioner of Brunei Alaihuddin Mohd Taha recalled chief minister Neiphiu Rio’s words saying, tourism was all about learning new cultures.

Taha also spoke on similarities between Brunei and Nagaland. He said his country with a small population of 500,000 people depended solely on tourism for their sustenance.

He disclosed that Brunei preserved 75% of its forest for wildlife tourism. He said although basic amenities for accommodation was required, it was important to preserve forests.

In his speech, ambassador of Myanmar Moe Kyaw Aung remarked that his country shared a long border with India, including some North-eastern States.

He said Nagaland and Myanmar shared a lot of

Travel curbs aimed at COVID variant tighten across the world

HONG KONG, NOV 28 (AP): Australian officials were racing Sunday to conduct further tests on passengers arriving from southern Africa who tested positive for COVID-19 to determine if they were carrying the omicron variant as nations around the world tightened controls against the worrying new strain.

Neighbouring New Zealand announced it was restricting travel from nine southern African countries because of the threat posed by the variant, and Japan widened its border controls to include more countries from the region.

Tourist-de pendent Thailand, which only recently began loosening its tight border restrictions to leisure travellers from certain countries, announced a ban of its own on visitors from eight African counties.

Similar restrictions took effect in the business hub of Singapore, which is barring entry and transit to anyone with a recent

A woman and a child wearing face mask to protect from Covid look at a commercial office building in Beijing, Sunday. (AP)

history of travel to seven southern African nations.

The tighter restrictions in the Asia-Pacific region echoed steps rapidly taken by countries around the world to limit the spread of the omicron variant just days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa.

The act first, ask questions later approach reflected growing alarm about the emergence of a potentially more contagious variant nearly two years into a pandemic that has killed more than 5 mil-

9

INTERNATIONAL

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

lion people, upended lives and disrupted economies across the globe.

While much remains to be learned about the new variant, researchers are concerned that it may be more resistant to the protection provided by vaccines and could mean that the pandemic lasts for longer than anticipated.

Cases involving the omicron variant have already been confirmed on multiple continents, with Germany, Italy, Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong all reporting cases in recent

days. The United States’ top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said he would not be surprised if the omicron variant was already in the U.S., too.

“We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility ... it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over,” Fauci said on NBC television.

In Australia, the New South Wales health department said Sunday that urgent genomic testing was being done on samples taken from two passengers who arrived in Sydney from southern Africa the day before and tested positive on arrival.

The department said the travellers were from one of nine African countries that are now required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival in Sydney. The countries are South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi and the Seychelles.

Czech prez swears in oppn leader as new premier PRAGUE, NOV 28 (AP): The Czech president on Sunday swore in Petr Fiala as the country’s new prime minister following last month’s parliamentary election. Milos Zeman, in a wheelchair, was separated from Fiala and the other officials by transparent panels during the ceremony at the presidential chateau in Lany, west of Prague. The president tested positive for coronavirus last week and must isolate.

Zeman wished Fiala “success.” Following the Oct. 8-9 vote, a three-party, liberal-conservative coalition known as Together, composed of the Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democrats and the TOP 09 party, led with a 27.8per cent share of the vote. Together teamed up with a center-left liberal coalition made up of the Pirate Party and STAN — a group of mayors and independent candidates — which came in third place with 15.6per cent of votes.

The new partnership will hold 108 seats in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament, relegating populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his centrist ANO (YES) movement to the opposition.

S Africa slams countries imposing travel bans on fears of Omicron Calls it “kneejerk reaction” JOHANNESBURG, NOV 28 (PTI): South Africa’s top health federation on Sunday slammed the 18 nations which have imposed travel bans on the country on fears of the new potentially highly-transmissible variant of COVID-19, Omicron, saying the world must avoid such “knee-jerk reaction” if it wants “transparency” in the sharing of critical medical data.

The new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529, first detected in South Africa, was on Friday designated as a “Variant of Concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which named it “Omicron”. The decision by 18 countries to ban flights to and from South Africa was premature, as there is still not enough information on how dangerous the variant might be, Angelique Coetzee, Chairman of South African Medical Association (SAMA) said. Coetzee also defended the decision to announce the findings, pointing out that South

Africa should be lauded and not vilified for this. “My suspicion is that because our scientists are very alert and doing a lot of sequencing in the background, maybe those European countries missed it because of the symptoms,” Coetzee told the TV news channel Newzroom Afrika. The UK announced on Thursday that all flights to and from South Africa and five neighbouring countries would be banned from Friday following an announcement that the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 had been detected in South Africa.

Many other European countries followed suit, most of them indicating that only their own citizens would be allowed back, subject to a quarantine period. Many

other countries have now started to severely regulate or ban flights completely from the African nation.

Coetzee said, “The symptoms are not the same as the Delta (variant). It is very similar to the Beta (variant) and you can easily miss the symptoms. I think what happened with us in South Africa as clinicians is the fact that we have merely seen virtually maybe one or two patients per week in the past eight to ten weeks on COVID-related symptoms.

“When we all of a sudden saw young people, especially men, coming in complaining of extreme fatigue, body aches and pains, headaches and a bit of a scratchy throat, we then started to test again and we found them positive.”

USGS: Magnitude-7.5 earthquake Face masks compulsory in UK shops, transport from Tuesday strikes northern Peru on Sunday

Building destroyed in the town of Yurimaguas, after a eight richter scale earthquake hit Peru.

People wear face covering as they travel on the Underground, in London, Sunday, Nov. 28. (AP/PTI)

families,” said Javid, with reference to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of the stricter curbs from Downing Street on Saturday evening.

“This is about protecting the progress we’ve made… But it’s important to react in a proportionate, and also a temporary way, I hope this is something we can remove within weeks,” he said.

In other parts of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern

Ireland – face coverings are already mandatory on public transport and many indoor settings.

The Opposition Labour Party has expressed concern that the new rules don’t go far enough to impose the government’s so-called “Plan B”, which would see work from home directions and vaccine passports for venues.

“If one was to make decisions like that they’d have to be made very, very carefully, we’re not there

yet, we’re nowhere near that,” Javid told Sky News.

The new measures have raised fears over another locked down Christmas but both Johnson and Javid have sought to downplay those worries and insisted the 2021 festive period would be better than 2020. “People should continue with their plans as normal for Christmas, I think it’s going to be a great Christmas,” said Javid.

The Omicron variant, feared to spread faster and partially reduce vaccine protection, was identified in South Africa earlier this week and classed as a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Since then cases have been detected in Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong, and in Europe as well as the two cases in England. Both UK cases have been linked to travel in southern Africa, and targeted testing is planned in the surrounding areas of south and central Eng-

land where the variant was detected. “It’s more vital than ever that people get their jabs, and we get those boosters into arms as fast as possible,” Johnson said on Saturday, as he announced a plan to “boost the booster campaign”.

“We are already planning to do 6 million jabs in England alone over the next three weeks. And now we are looking to go further, so the Health Secretary has asked the JCVI [Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] to consider giving boosters to as wide a group as possible, as well as reducing the gap between your second dose and your booster,” he said.

“We don’t yet exactly know how effective our vaccines will be against Omicron, but we have good reasons for believing they will provide at least some measure of protection. And if you are boosted – your response is likely to be stronger,” he added.

LIMA, NOV 28 (AP): An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck northern Peru early Sunday, damaging some buildings and blocking several roads with rubble.

While the quake was extremely strong, it was relatively deep — measured at 112 kilometers (70 miles) — which usually reduces the possibility of damage and casualties.

The quake occurred at 5:52 a.m. (1052 GMT) and its epicenter was in

the Amazon region, 42 kilometers (26 miles) north northwest of the coastal city of Barranca. It had a magnitude of 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Part of a 16th century church in La Jalca district in the Amazon region collapsed and three people were lightly injured, Mayor Walter Culqui told Peru’s RPP radio.

Falling stones blocked several highways in the Amazonas and Cajamar-

Want to have good relations with all countries: Akhund

India, SL and Study warns China of ‘colossal outbreak’ Netherlands and Australia find Maldives hold omicron variant as curbs spread maritime exercises of COVID-19 if it opens up like US, France

KABUL, NOV 28 (IANS): The acting Prime Minister (PM) of Afghanistan’s caretaker government Mullah Hassan Akhund has said that Afghanistan wants to have good relations with the international community, including the neighbours and regional countries.

“The Islamic Emirate wants to have good relations, economic ties and coexist with all countries. Afghanistan will not interfere in the internal affairs of any country, it is not our policy,” Hassan Akhund said in his address broadcast in the state-run Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) on Saturday night.

In his first address since the Taliban’s takeover on August 15, and the formation of its caretaker government on September 7, Hassan Akhund noted that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against any country and the new administration will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against anyone, Xinhua news agency reported. “No harm has been inflicted to any country from Afghanistan and no one will witness harm from Afghanistan. Now, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is focusing on rebuilding our country,” he said, noting that exerting pressure on Afghanistan will not benefit anyone.

THE HAGUE, NOV 28 (AP): The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus and Australia found two on Sunday as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travellers arriving from southern Africa.

A growing raft of curbs are being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant’s spread, with Israel deciding Sunday to bar entry to foreign nationals in the toughest move so far.

Confirmed or suspected cases of the new variant have already emerged in several European countries, in Israel and in Hong Kong, just days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa. The “act first, ask questions later” approach reflected growing alarm about the emergence of a potentially more contagious variant nearly two years into a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people, upended lives and disrupted economies across the globe.

While much remains to be learned about the new variant, researchers are concerned that it may be more resistant to the protection provided by vaccines and could mean that the pandemic lasts for longer

ca regions in Peru, and the tremor was felt nearly 800 kilometers (500 miles) away in the capital of Lima, where some people rushed out of their homes in alarm.

A church in the Loja municipality in neighbouring Ecuador was also partly damaged.

Earthquakes are common in Peru, which falls within the Pacific Ring of Fire where 85% of the planet’s seismic activity takes place.

L O N D O N, N OV 2 8 (PTI): Face coverings will become a compulsory requirement in shops and public transport in England from Tuesday, the UK government said on Sunday as part of the tighter COVID-19 curbs being enforced in response to two cases of the new Omicron variant detected in the country.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the requirement of compulsory PCR tests to be taken by all overseas arrivals into the UK will also be enforced “as soon as possible”.

The minister asserted that he expects all the new measures, being introduced to give scientists more time to analyse the infectiousness and vaccine-resistance levels of Omicron, to be lifted again “within weeks”.

“The reason we’ve set out these measures yesterday is to protect the progress we’ve made so we can all continue to enjoy Christmas with our

View of the hotel in Badhoevedorp near Schiphol Airport, where 61 people who tested positive were isolated. (AP/PTI)

than anticipated. The Dutch public health authority confirmed that 13 people who arrived in the Netherlands on flights from South Africa on Friday have so far tested positive for omicron. They were among 61 people who tested positive for the virus on Friday after arriving on the last two flights to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport before a flight ban was put in place. They were immediately put into isolation, most at a nearby hotel, while sequencing was carried out.

Authorities in Australia said two overseas travelers who arrived in Sydney from Africa became the first in the country to test positive for the omicron variant.

Arrivals from nine African

countries are now required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival.

Israel moved to ban entry by foreigners and mandate quarantine for all Israelis arriving from abroad.

“Restrictions on the country’s borders is not an easy step, but it’s a temporary and necessary step,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Dr. Ran Balicer, head of the government’s advisory panel on COVID-19, told Israel’s Kan public radio that the new measures were necessary for the “fog of war” surrounding the new variant, saying it was “better to act early and strictly” to prevent its spread.

COLOMBO, NOV 28 (PTI): A two-day trilateral maritime drill conducted by the coast guards of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to bolster security in the Indian Ocean, enhance mutual operational capability and exercise interoperability between these three countries culminated in the Maldives on Sunday, the Indian High Commission here said.

The 15th edition of the trilateral engagement termed ‘Dosti’ is conducted biennially, and 2021 marks 30 years since these maritime drills were first introduced.

However, it began primarily as a bilateral engagement, involving only Indian and Maldives Coast Guards. Sri Lanka joined in 2012 to make it a trilateral exercise.

“The two-day exercise under the aegis of Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) is a pioneering effort to collaborate efforts towards the Pillar of Maritime Security”, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement.

The CSC Focused Operations are aimed at streamlining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and enhanced interoperability amongst the three navies.

BEIJING, NOV 28 (PTI): China is expected to continue its much-criticised Zero COVID policy, shutting the country to most of the world as a new study has warned of a “colossal outbreak” with over 6.30 lakh patients per day if it opens up.

According to a report by the Peking University mathematicians, China could face more than 630,000 coronavirus infections a day if it dropped its zero-tolerance approach and followed other countries by lifting travel bans.

“The estimates revealed the real possibility of a colossal outbreak which would almost certainly put an unbearable burden on the medical system,” the report said.

China on Saturday reported 23 new COVID-19 cases, including 20 imported ones as the country appears to have contained a recent spike of infections in Beijing and other cities.

China, where the coronavirus first surfaced in Wuhan in late 2019 before it turned into a pandemic, has so far reported 98,631 cases and 4,636 deaths, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

This included 785 patients still receiving treatment.

On Saturday, Chinese top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan warned that the new and more contagious coronavirus variant Omicron, reported in South Africa causing global alarm, may cause more challenges to the work of preventing and controlling the pandemic as the World Health Organization (WHO) said it carries a large number of mutations.

He said that about 76.8 per cent of China’s population have been vaccinated, laying a good basis for the country to reach the target of 80 per cent vaccination to build herd immunity by year end.

One of China’s major vaccine producers, Sinovac Biotech, told state-run Global Times that the company is paying close attention to Omicron and has tapped into a global partner network to collect and obtain information and samples specific to the mutant virus.

On the new variant, Chinese experts believe there is no need to panic as the large number of mutations does not necessarily indicate high infectivity, and China, with a strict and experienced epidemic prevention and control system, is able to protect domestic residents from the new variant,

a Global Times report said.

As the outbreak turned into a pandemic, China shut itself mostly with flight bans to most of the countries, including India, and did not permit thousands of foreign students, including 23,000 from India, studying in Chinese universities despite scathing criticism.

Earlier, China had no option but to aim for zero infections because the coronavirus was replicating quickly and the global death rate of about 2 per cent was unacceptable, Zhong told state-run CGTN-TV. In a report published in China CDC Weekly by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the four mathematicians from Peking University argued that China was not ready and could not afford to lift entry-exit quarantine measures without more efficient vaccinations or specific treatment. Currently, people arriving from abroad have to undergo a 21-day quarantine in designated hotels.

Using data for August from the US, Britain, Israel, Spain and France, the mathematicians looked at the potential results if China adopted similar pandemic response strategies to those used in the selected countries.

INFOTAINMENT

our heart relies on several factors to remain healthy, from what you eat to how you process stress.

Healthy eating and exercise probably come to mind right away, but there are other things you should also do to help keep your heart in top shape. A key is to get some key numbers -- and then take action.

Start with these key steps.

Check the Big 3 These are blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. You want all of them to be in a heart-healthy range.

1. Blood pressure: Normal: 119/79 or below Prehypertension: 120 to 139 (the first number) and/or 80 to 89 (the second number) Hypertension: more than 140/90 2. Cholesterol: Too much of the “bad” kind or not enough of the “good” type raises your heart risk.

Healthy cholesterol levels depend on your age and gender. Desirable levels for adults are: Total cholesterol: under 200 mg/dL LDL (“bad”): less than 100 mg/dL HDL (“good”): 60 mg/ dL or higher Triglycerides: under 150 mg/dL If your levels are higher than that, you’ll want to talk with your doctor about whether it would help to change what you eat, add more exercise, and possibly also take medication.

3. Blood sugar: A fasting blood sugar test, which is done after you don’t eat or drink anything but water for at least 12 hours, is most commonly used to diagnose type 2 diabetes. If you do

have type 2 diabetes, it raises your risk for heart disease.

A normal fasting blood sugar level is 100 or less.

Prediabetes is a fasting blood sugar of 101 to 125.

A fasting blood sugar of 126 or greater indicates diabetes.

Think Beyond Your Weight It’s true that people who are overweight or obese are more likely to get certain conditions, including heart disease, than other people.

But the numbers on the scale don’t always tell the whole story.

For instance, where your extra pounds are matters. Belly fat is thought to be particularly risky. So your waist circumference is a good thing to check -- and it’s simple. All you need is a tape measure. Men with a waist that measures 40 inches or more, and women with a waist of 35 inches or more, are more likely to get heart disease and type 2 diabetes than those with smaller waists. Plus,

your weight doesn’t say how much of your body is muscle. So athletes may seem like they’re overweight but have a lot of muscle.

But if you’re overweight, chances are, you’ve heard this all before -- and maybe ended up feeling worse for it. For many people, dieting is a frustrating cycle, instead of bringing positive, lasting change.

Too often, it gets wrapped up in ideas about willpower or about being “good” or “bad.” And anything that leaves you feeling ashamed or less-than is definitely not healthy.

So don’t obsess about the number on the scale.

A better starting point may be to check in with your doctor about your health in general, not just your size or shape -- and the best steps to improve it, whether it’s working on fitness, adding more vegetables, cutting back on sugar, or managing a health condition you didn’t know you had. If weight loss ends up being one of the

Valerie wins first ever pet fashion show

Valerie, the winner of the 1st ever Pet Fashion show.

(DPRO)

T

he two day ‘Pet Winter Fest’, first of its kind in Nagaland, initiated and organised by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Dimapur (SPCA) concluded on Sunday, held at the Dimapur Government College Ground.

On the 2nd day, the pet fashion show was the

main attraction where 30 dogs of different breeds, dressed in different costumes participated in the competition, winning the hearts of the audience.

In the fashion show competition, Valerie who was dressed as a Pink Bride was adjudged as the winner while, huge Marcus and dainty Cuddles were placed in the 2nd and 3rd position respectively.

The judges for the show were, Dr Abeny Khuvung, Stephen Lotha and Azungla Imsong. The winners received gift hampers, vouchers and cash prizes.

All the 30 participants also received gift hampers.

It may be mentioned that the festival was organised in aid of a Rescue van and other activities of the SPCA. Other highlights of the program included live music by various Naga artists. (DPRO)

goals you choose, you may not need to lose as much as you think for health benefits.

Move More Experts recommend getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (like a brisk walk) 5 or more days per week. (It’s fine to work up to that gradually, if you’re not active now.) But this tip isn’t just about working out. It’s about making your whole day more active, cutting way back on the time you spend sitting down.

Even if you exercise, and then spend the rest of your day sitting down, you’re missing out. So make sure you break up long periods of sitting. Walk to pour yourself a glass of water, talk with a co-worker, do a simple chore, take a quick stretch -- just keep moving throughout your day.

Address Your Stress Some stress is a good challenge. But if you’re under too much stress for a long time, it can affect your body. Exactly how it affects your heart can vary. Maybe you drink more, smoke, or eat more unhealthy foods when you’re stressed. Or it’s harder to get time to exercise or sleep well. Over time, that all adds up.

You want to take the edge off, in a healthy way.

Taking time to relax, socialize, and do something fun is good medicine. So is therapy, if there are issues that get to you and won’t let go.

Don’t Smoke Tobacco smoke is bad for your heart, along with the rest of your body. It raises your blood pressure and can make blood clots more likely -- and some clots can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Ask your doctor for help with quitting. Also, avoid other people’s smoke.

Brunilda Nazario, MD

Voice Hunt season-IV Nepali Gospel Singing competition 2021 concludes

A

one-day Nepali gospel singing competition Voice Hunt Season-IV organized by Nepali Baptist Church Chumoukedima Youth Ministry concluded on November 28 with 9 finalists performing at the competition. The event was held under the theme “Praise his name”, in aid of Church Mission Field which is an annual event with focus to inspire, enrich and motivate the Christian Gorkha youths under AGBCN both spiritually and musically.

The first prize of the Nepali gospel voice hunt season - IV was bagged by Alika Thapa of Gorkha Baptist Church Thahekhu; second prize by Rachel Sunam of Nepali Baptist Church Kohima; while third was bagged by Jacob Sundas of Nepali

Winner of Nepali gospel singing voice hunt season-IV with Bishnu Chetri.

Baptist Church Chümoukedima.

The programme was graced by North Town Hr. Sec School principal, Bishnu Chetri who in his speech focused on how music plays an im-

portant role in the life of youth and encouraged each participant to glorify Lord with their God given talents. He also encouraged the youths to have dignity of labour.

The Voice Hunt included special performance from its judges Tshering Lama, vocalist of only Gorkha Gospel Band Nagaland ‘The Chronicles Band’.

Sponsor for the event were head GB Chümoukedima Town, Keneisetuo Medoze, Ramita Sunar, Norbu Lama, DGU president Kumar Subba, social worker Bishnu Bhattacharjee, MD North Town Hr Sec School Chümoukedima, Salhoutuonuo Kruse, principal NTHSS, Bishnu Chetri, Er. Azo Khamo l, AGBCN council chairman Robert Aley.

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Tips to Care for Your Heart

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

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Phek District Music and Arts Society launched

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he Phek District Music and Arts Society (PDMAS) was officially launched by director of Chakhesang Mission Society, Rev. Dr. Kowepe Kanuo, on November 25 at Pfutsero.

In a short ceremony with the PDMAS team, Rev. Dr. Kowepe Kanuo said that music has no boundary or language and it does not drive people away but it pulls people together. He also encouraged music fraternity that the time has come to pursue music and arts as a profession rather than just a performance in an event.

He made special emphasis on the importance of music in mission fields.

Earlier in the programme, president Phek District Music and Arts K Y M C

Society, Khrowutso Letro, highlighted the reason for the formation of the society. He said that PDMAS will promote music and arts in the district. The society will work in collaboration with the government entities, churches and other societies to facilitate proper co-ordination in creating a platform for everyone to display talents and skills.

PDMAS is delighted to announce that it will be organizing its first event in collaboration with Nagaland Choral Director Association in the early part of 2022 on choral conducting in Phek district.

PDMAS is led by Khrowutso Letro mas president, Khriesanyoyi Dozo as artist and repertoire director and Wepu Puro as secretary.

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Viktor Axelsen, An Seyoung win men, women’s singles titles

Viktor Axelsen

An Seyoung

Korea's Seyoung picked up her second World Tour title in as many weeks after beating Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in the women's singles final, 2117, 22-20.

The 19-year-old, who is ranked sixth in the world, added to her Indonesia Masters 2021 title which she won last week by defeating Japan's Yamaguchi Akane.

In the women's doubles final, the home favourites for the title - Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu went down to Matsuyama Nami and Shida Chiharu.

The Japanese duo became the second to win

back-to-back titles in Bali when they beat the reigning Olympic champions, 21-19, 21-19 in a closely fought match. Matsuyama and Shida also won the Indonesia Masters 2021 title the previous weekend.

On the other hand, mixed doubles top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai made it a hat-trick of double victories in Bali when they easily clinched victory in their final against Japan's Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa.

T h e To k y o 2 0 2 0 bronze medallists were unable to keep pace with the Thai pair, who led

INNSBRUCK, NOV 28 (PTI/AGENCIES): Not even Novak Djokovic playing back-to-back could help Serbia avoid losing to Germany in the Davis Cup finals group phase.

After Djokovic helped Serbia pull even at 1-1 by beating Jan-Lennard Struff, the world's topranked male player immediately joined Nikola Cacic in doubles.

But German pair Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz showed more mettle in a tight 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 victory to take the decider and the tie victory 2-1.

"It's a great performance to beat the team who have the world No. 1," Germany captain Michael Kohlmann said. "Before the tie, we all thought that we had a good chance. We really believed it and it paid off."

Serbia could still go through to the quarterfinals, which will include two runners-up to go with the six group winners. But Germany can seal its spot as the Group F winner with a victory over Austria, which Serbia has already beaten.

Playing without a public in Innsbruck due to virus restrictions by Austrian authorities, Germany took the lead when Dominik Koepfer downed Filip Krajinovic 7-6, 6-4.

Djokovic defeated Struff 6-2, 6-4 in the Serb's 50th Davis Cup match.

After a short break, he was back out there for the doubles that lasted more than two hours.

"We will have to wait until tomorrow and see (if we advance)," Serbia captain Viktor Troicki said.

Italy-Colombia: Italy became the first team to book its spot in the final eight after it beat Colombia to take two points from Group E, which it also shares with the United States.

Lorenzo Sonego beat Nicolas Mejia 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, and Jannik Sinner followed with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Daniel Elahi Galan, in the matches in Turin.

Russia-Ecuador: Second-ranked Daniil Medvedev helped Russia beat Ecuador, setting up a clash with Spain to decide which will go through as group winner.

Medvedev eased past Emilio Gmez 6-0, 6-2 after breaking his serve five times to give Russia an K Y M C

insurmountable 2-0 lead.

Russia and defending champion Spain have one point in Group A, which is being played in Madrid.

Britain, Australia and Kazakhstan also won their

ties on Saturday.

Britain-France: Britain downed France 2-1 after winning both singles in Innsbruck. Daniel Evans bettered Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-4, while Cameron Norrie beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 7-6.

Rinderknech teamed with Nicolas Mahut to recover the doubles point for France by beating Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-1, 6-4.

Britain and France have one point in Group C. Britain plays the pointless Czech Republic, which already lost to France.

K a z a k h s t a n - S we den: Sweden was one win away from advancing from Group B after Elias Ymer hit nine aces to beat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 7-6 in the first singles against Kazakhstan, played in Madrid.

But brother Mikael Ymer fell to Alexander Bublik in three sets before the Kazakhs clinched the comeback in the doubles.

Kazakhstan can clinch its sixth quarterfinals appearance if it beats Canada, which has already lost to Sweden.

Australia-Hungary: Australia staved off elimination after coming from behind to top Hungary 2-1 in Turin.

Hungary's Zsombor Piros beat John Millman 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, but Alex de Minaur evened it up after outlasting Marton Fucsovics in over three hours, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6.

Australian pair Alex Bolt and John Peers then outlasted Piros and Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

Australia, a 28-time winner, has one point from two ties in Group D. Croatia has one point before playing Hungary, which has zero.

Lewandowski tipped for Ballon d’Or as Messi eyes seventh prize

NEW DELHI. NOV 28 (AGENCIES): Brazilian star Neymar was stretchered off with an ankle injury during Paris SaintGermain’s (PSG) recent Ligue 1 encounter against Saint-Etienne on Sunday.

Despite his injury, PSG ended up sealing a 3-1 win with Lionel Messi bagging a hat-trick of assists.

Neymar’s injury occurred in the last few minutes of the game when a sliding tackle saw his ankle twist beneath the opponent’s leg. The former Barcelona forward was visibly in pain and was taken off in tears.

The extent of the injury is not known yet, with no official statement from the French club.

The match also saw the long-awaited debut of former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who joined PSG during the summer transfer window.

With the win, PSG are currently on top of the Ligue 1 table with 40 points from 15 games. Rennes are in second position with 28 points, followed by Nice in third with 26 points. Lens are in fourth-spot with 25 points.

PARIS, NOV 28 (AFP): Ro b e r t L ewa n d ow s k i threatens to deny Lionel Messi a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or title as the prestigious awards ceremony returns Monday after it was cancelled last year because of the pandemic.

The Bayern Munich and Poland striker pilfered a Bundesliga record 41 goals in just 29 games last season to eclipse the long-standing mark set by the late Gerd Mueller.

Lewandowski, 33, scooped FIFA's prize for best male player of 2020 and has the backing of both coach Julian Nagelsmann and Bayern team-mate Thomas Mueller after a prolific start to the new campaign. "'Lewy' has to win the thing on Monday when you see the way he is playing at the moment," Mueller said of a player who has already scored 25 times in 20 appearances this season. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have combined to win 11 of the past 12 editions of the Ballon d'Or, the lone exception in 2018 when Luka Modric helped

Lionel Messi

Robert Lewandowski

Real Madrid to another Champions League triumph and inspired Croatia to the World Cup final.

"Robert deserves to win it, because in my view he has been more unbelievably consistent than any other player," Nagelsmann said last month in an interview with Munich newspaper Abendzeitung.

While Messi has endured a stop-start begin-

ning to life at Paris SaintGermain, the Argentine bagged 30 league goals in his farewell season at Barcelona and also won the Copa del Rey. Further strengthening his case was a first major international trophy in July, as Argentina beat rivals Brazil to win the Copa America at the Maracana -- ending the country's 28year wait for the title.

Sathiyan Shooting Nationals: Bhavesh WTA remains ‘concerned’ about Manika, lose in mixed claims gold, Vijay finishes 4th Peng Shuai’s ability to speak freely doubles quarters WASHINGTON, NOV 28 (PTI): Steve Simon, the head of the WTA, says he remains “deeply concerned” about the whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai and her ability to “communicate freely, openly and directly” after allegations that a powerful politician forced her to have sex.

Peng, a three-time Olympian and former topranked doubles player, has dropped out of public view after accusing former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual abuse in a November 2 posting on the Chinese internet, which was quickly taken down by Chinese authorities.

“Steve Simon has reached out to Peng Shuai via various communication channels,” the WTA said in a statement on Saturday.

“He has sent her two emails, to which it was clear her responses were influenced by others. He remains deeply concerned that Peng is not free from censorship or coercion and decided not to re-engage via email until he was satisfied her responses were her own, and not those

Peng Shuai

of her censors. The WTA remains concerned about her ability to communicate freely, openly and directly,” the WTA said.

A week ago, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said he had talked with Peng on a video call.

The IOC did not release any transcript and said only that Bach reported she said she was well.

The IOC said in a statement that Peng appeared to be “doing fine” and said she had requested privacy. The IOC did not explain how the call was arranged, although it has worked closely with the Chinese Olympic Committee and government

officials to organise the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, which opens on February 4.

Critics have suggested that Peng would not have called the IOC if she was truly free to speak.

Human Rights Watch has criticised the IOC for working with China's propaganda department in arranging the talk with Peng. The IOC has previously failed to intervene in other human rights issues clouding the Beijing Winter Olympics, claiming it must be neutral.

“The IOC has vaulted itself from silence about Beijing's abysmal human rights record to active collaboration with Chinese authorities in undermining freedom of speech and disregarding alleged sexual assault,” Yaqui Wang, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said.

The whereabouts of 75-year-old Zhang, the man accused by Peng, has not been reported. He has not spoken publicly about the incident. He stepped down from the powerful seven-member Politburo Standing Committee about three years ago.

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (AGENCIES): The mixed doubles pair of Manika Batra and G Sathiyan suffered a defeat in the quarterfinals of the ongoing World Table Tennis Championships, ANI report stated.

The duo suffered a defeat against Japan's Omokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata. The Japanese duo defeated Manika and Sathiyan 11-5, 11-2, 7-11, 11-9.

Manika along with Archana Kamath also suffered a defeat in the women's doubles quarterfinals.

The pair was defeated

by Sarah De Nutte and Xia Lian Ni of Luxembourg.

The Indian duo was defeated 1-11, 6-11, 8-11.

NEW DELHI, NOV 28 (PTI): Rajasthan’s Bhavesh Shekhawat sealed his first title by winning the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol gold at the ongoing 64th Shooting Nationals, even as Olympic silver-medallist comebackman Vijay Kumar finished fourth here on Sunday.

H a r ya n a ’s A n i s h Bhanwala, who was third in the men’s event, claimed a gold in the junior rapid fire competition, strengthening his state’s firm grip at the top of the medals tally.

In the men’s event though, Bhavesh, a longtime performer in the national circuit and who has also represented India, finally broke through on the day overcoming a quality field.

He was in great form registering as many as three clean series scores of 5 in the eight-series final, to finish with 33 hits out of 40.

The next best, the seasoned Gurpreet Singh of the Army, had one 5-hits

Bhavesh Shekhawat at the ongoing 64th Shooting Nationals.

series to claim the silver with 29, while Anish won bronze with 22 hits.

Vijay, returning to competitive shooting after a gap of five years, bowed out in fourth position while on 17 hits.

Youngsters Vijayveer Sidhu and Ahnad Jawanda finished fifth and sixth respectively.

OFFICE OF THE

DOYANG UNION OF SHENA OLD/N. LONGIDANG VILLAGE NOTICE

In pursuance to the resolution adopted on 23rd Nov 2021 at Doyang River by the members of N. Longidang village and Shena Old village Doyang Union along with the GBs and Village Council Members of both the villages, it is hereby notified for the information of people of neighbouring villages in particular and the people of Wokha district and Zunheboto district in general that hunting, fishing and any other forms of collecting flora and fauna within our jurisdiction are strictly prohibited with immediate effect.

Defaulters of the above resolution shall be penalized as per the prohibited forms of fishing used by them as indicated below: 1. Explosives (Bombs) Rs. 20,000/2. Generator/Battery Rs. 20,000/3. Chemicals and Poison Rs. 20,000/4. Fishing Net (Phashi) Rs. 5,000/5. Contaminating Water Rs. 5,000/6. Diverting Water in large area Rs. 5,000/Kivigho V Muru Benrio Ngullie Chairman Secretary Doyang Union of Shena Old Doyang Union of Shena Old And N.Longidang Village And N.Longidang Village

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Germany stuns Djokovic’s Serbia; Italy advances at Davis Cup

from start to finish in both games to take the victory (21-12, 21-13). The victory was sweet revenge for the Thais who lost to their opponents in the final of the Denmark Open in October.

Puavaranukroh and Taerattanachai pick up their third title of the season, having won the Indonesia Masters last week and the Hylo Open prior to arriving in Bali.

In the men's doubles, the world number one pairing of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo clinched victory on home soil after they defeated Japan's Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo in straight games, 21-14, 21-18.

The Indonesians avenged their defeat in last week's Indonesia Masters final when they narrowly lost to the Japanese pair in a three-game thriller.

This was Gideon and Sukamuljo's third consecutive Indonesian Open title, having won in 2018 and 2019 with no event being held last year.

Neymar stretchered off after ankle injury during Ligue 1 match

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BALI, NOV 28 (IANS): Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and South Korea's An Seyoung clinched the 2021 Indonesia Open men's and women's singles titles, here on Sunday.

Axelsen, who clinched gold at Tokyo 2020 -- was challenged by Singapore's Loh Kean Yew as he extended the match to three games, but in the end, the Dane sealed a 21-12, 9-21, 21-13 victory in 59 minutes.

The 27-year-old got off to a better start, cruising to a relatively easy win in the first game. However, the 24-year-old Loh fired back and won the second game.

The third and deciding game proved to be a closely-contested affair, but the reigning Olympic champion took an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval. Loh tried hard to close the gap but Axelsen held on and wrapped up the match to clinch his second Super 1000 title of the season, having won the Denmark Open in October.

Meanwhile, South

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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021

India set 284-run target for NZ after declaring at 234/7

K A N P U R , N OV 2 8 (IANS) India have set a target of 284 for New Zealand after declaring their second innings at 234/7 in 81 overs in the first Test at the Green Park Stadium on Sunday.

With 13 overs left on day four, India will be looking to have a crack at the touring openers with spinners.

From being 51/5 in 19.4 overs, India were able to prolong the innings and lead thanks to a brilliant recovery show by Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, giving the hosts a chance to secure a victory against New Zealand.

Iyer and Ashwin weathered the havoc caused

by New Zealand pacers by mixing caution with aggression and collecting boundaries, taking their partnership for the sixth wicket past fifty post lunch.

Kyle Jamieson then struck on the second ball of his first over, ending Ashwin’s gritty stay at the crease with a back of a length delivery rolling to the stumps after ricocheting off his front pad. Post Ashwin’s fall, New Zealand kept things tight till Wriddhiman Saha took a four (sweep) and six (slog-sweep) off William Somerville in

Shreyas Iyer in action in India’s second innings in the 1st Test vs New Zealand in Kanpur. the 49th over.

Iyer, who had kept a cautious eye while defending and rotating the strike, stepped out to smash Ajaz Patel for a six down the ground. He then reached his half-century in 109 balls, becoming the first Indian batter to get a century in the first innings and then follow it up with a half-century in second innings on debut.

Iyer continued to impress by hitting two boundaries off Patel as New Zealand’s spinners lacked the penetration to keep the pressure on India. Against

Southee, Iyer stroked the first ball through mid-wicket. But on the next ball, the 64-run stand was brought to an end at the stroke of tea.

Iyer tried to pull Southee but an inner edge off the glove went behind to Blundell, bringing an end to a super knock.

India began the final session with Saha and Patel collecting a boundary each off Jamieson. Southee tried to repeat the Ravindra Jadeja set-up with Patel, only for the left-hander to drive down the ground while Saha glanced him through

fine leg.

The duo showed good application and continued to bat without taking any needless risk, keeping New Zealand frustrated. Saha brought up his sixth Test half-century with a brace through fine leg off William Somerville. Patel then raised the half-century of the partnership with a clean slog over deep mid-wicket off Ajaz Patel.

When declaration was taken, Saha and Patel had put on a stand of 67 runs to take the lead beyond 280.

Earlier, New Zealand

had made inroads through India’s batting, leaving the hosts at 51/5 in 19.4 overs.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal added 18 runs to the overnight score of 14/1, as New Zealand were a little loose.

The tourists corrected themselves quickly as Kyle Jamieson scalped the first wicket of the day in the 12th over, taking out Pujara with a short ball going down leg, which he gloved behind to keeper Tom Blundell.

Initially given not out, New Zealand reviewed the decision which was overturned after replays confirmed the glove edge.

Ajinkya Rahane drove Ajaz Patel through extra cover in the 15th over. But on the next ball, Patel had the last laugh, trapping Rahane plumb in front of the wicket with a quick slider. Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer hit a streaky boundary each until Tim Southee joined the

wicket-taking party.

Southee was rewarded for his nagging spell with a double-wicket maiden in the 20th over. He first enticed Agarwal to come forward, forcing a thick outer edge off his bat to second slip with Tom Latham completing the catch.

Two balls later, Southee trapped Ravindra Jadeja lbw with an inswinger for duck. Jadeja took the review but replays showed the ball crashing into the leg-stump.

But Iyer, Saha, Ashwin and Patel ensured that New Zealand were kept at bay for the rest of the innings on a weary pitch.

Brief Scores: India 345 (Shreyas Iyer 105, Tim Southee 5/69) and 234/7 decl in 81 overs (Shreyas Iyer 65, Wriddhiman Saha 61 not out, Kyle Jamieson 3/40, Tim Southee 3/75) vs New Zealand 296 in 142.3 overs (Tom Latham 95, Axar Patel 5/62).

Shreyas scripts history, becomes 1st Indian to slam ton & half-century on Test debut India batter Shreyas Iyer continued his purple patch on his Test debut against New Zealand on Day 4 of the ongoing series-opener between the two sides in Kanpur on Sunday. Iyer scripted history with the bat as he became the first Indian to score a century and a half-century in his debut Test match.

Jr Hockey World Cup: Argentina, Spain claim last 2 berths into Qfs BHUBANESWAR, NOV 28 (IANS): Former Champion Pakistan came back twice from a goal deficit to level scores but 2013 winners Argentina were too strong on Sunday as they went on to win 4-3 in their preliminary round match in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup. With this win, Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals with two wins from three games in Pool D. Spain too booked their berth to the last-eight stage by thrashing South Korea 9-0 in a Pool C encounter as they finished with six points from two wins, ending second behind the Netherlands, who thrashed the United States 14-0 at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday. These two clashes were the key matches on Sunday as the winners would qualify for the next round and therefore all eyes on the results of these matches.

Pakistan and Argentina needed to win their last group match after losing to Germany in their earlier matches. It was Argentina that got off to a good start as they went into the lead with Bautista Capurro scoring a goal in the 10th minute. Pakistan levelled

score minutes into the second quarter with skipper Abdul Rana scoring off a penalty corner.

A r ge n t i n a s c o r e d within three minutes when Ignacio Nardolillo scored a field goal but the lead was short-lived as Rizwan Ali made it 2-2 in the 28th minute when he converted a penalty stroke. Argentina then scored twice within 12 minutes with Francisco Ruiz and Ignacio Ibarra scoring a field goal each to make it 4-2 for the South Americans. Pakistan pulled one goal back when Aqeel Ahmed scored off a penalty corner. Pakistan created some pressure in the last minutes of the match but could not find the equaliser. Spain had no such worries they dominated Korea with brothers Pepe and Pau Cunill scoring a brace each as did Abajo Ignacio.

Fortuno Guillermo, Eduard de Ignacio-Simo and Rafael Vilallonga scored a goal each as Spain put up a strong display.

In other matches on Sunday, the Netherlands thrashed the United States 14-0 while Germany handed Egypt an 11-0 hiding as both the teams topped their respective Pools with an all-win record.

Paramjeet Kumar becomes first Indian ISL 2021-22: Bengaluru FC play out 1-1 draw with Kerala Blasters para-powerlifter to bag medal at Worlds

Paramjeet Kumar becomes first Indian parapowerlifter to bag medal.

TBILISI (GEORGIA), NOV 28 (IANS): Paramjeet Kumar became the first Indian para-powerlifter to clinch a medal in the World Para Powerlifting Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia on Sunday.

Paramjeet, competing in the 49kg category, lifted 158 kg to grab the Bronze medal while Omar Shami Qarada of Egypt won the gold medal after lifting 174kg. Viatnam’s Van Cong Le won the silver medal with a total of 170kg.

“History created for India in Para @Powerlifting by Paramjit Kumar of Punjab as he wins #bronze at the ongoing World Para Powerlifting Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Paramjit’s 158KG Lift has created history! Cheer for @ParalympicIndia team as the championship continues!” President of the Paralympic Committee of India, Deepa Malik tweeted. “ Pa r m j e e t Ku m a r wins 1st medal (BRONZE) in the men’s up to 49kg cat-

egory at the ongoing World Para-Powerlifting C’ships 2021 Parmjeet’s medalwinning lift was 158kg He is a #KheloIndia Athlete training at @SAI_Gandhinagar Many congratulations,” SAI Media tweeted.

Parmjeet has earlier won a bronze medal in the 49kg category at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia. He is a resident of Haripur Khalsa village, 22 km from Ludhiana, Punjab.

A ten-member Indian Para-powerlifting squad including, Manreet Singh (41 kg, Punjab), Sakina Khatun (45 kg Karnataka), Raj Kumari (55 kg, Delhi), Geeta (67kg, Haryana), and Bhawana Sharma (86 kg, Rajasthan) are competing in’the women’s category while Parmjit Kumar (49 kg, Punjab), Ashok (65 kg, Haryana), Jai Deep (73 kg, Haryana), Sudhir (88 kg, Haryana,) and Sachin Chaudhary (107 kg Uttar Pradesh) are participat’ng in men’s category.

BAMBOLIM (GOA), NOV 28 (IANS): Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC played a 1-1 draw in the 2021-22 Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, Goa on Sunday. In a matter of four minutes, Bengaluru FC forward Ashique Kuruniyan (84’ and 88’ Own Goal) first scored for his team and then for the opposition.

Bengaluru now have four points from three games but Blasters still remain winless.

Bengaluru coach Marco Pezzauioli, on the back of the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Odisha, brought in more creativity with Iman Basafa slotting into midfield while Cleiton Silva returned to lead the line.

Kerala Blasters too had a couple of changes.

Puitea featured alongside Jeakson Singh in a double-pivot role as Alvaro Vazquez replaced Jorge Pereyra Diaz.

Bengaluru remained on top with superior ball possession early on but

Blasters had Jeakson Singh almost create a favourable chance under two minutes itself. Ashique Kuruniyan’s pace kept former teammate Harmanjot Singh Khabra on check with Iman Basafa looking settled in dictating play from the centre of the pitch.

However, it was a battle of tactics with Indian youngsters making for good viewing. Vincy Barretto and Ashique were involved in an intense tussle on the wings. Bengaluru deployed the idea of stretching the game wide with Sunil Chhetri repeatedly threading the ball onto the flanks for Ashique and Udanta bombing down the channels.

On the other side, Sahal Abdul Samad showcased some slick moves to beat Roshan Singh and cross inside the box. But, Ashique was equally adept at defensive duties, clearing off the danger, in the 23rd minute.

T h e r e we r e s o m e clumsy attempts from both sides but neither was able to trouble the opposition

Within four minutes, BFC’s Ashique Kuruniyan from hero to villain as he drew Kerala level with an own goal. goalkeeper too much in the first half.

It was a frantic ten minutes after the change of ends. Cleiton and Udanta combined well to keep Blasters anxious. First the Brazilian shot wide and then lobbed the ball high over the bar. Albino Gomes in fairness, had it covered.

Roles were reversed as Cleiton then found Udanta who blazed the ball wide.

Surprisingly, Sunil Chhetri was substituted at the hour mark, without having any substantial impact on proceedings.

The last ten minutes defined the script of the game. Ashqiue found the

ball on the edge of the box.

After toying with Khabra, he shot on the angle and a spill from Albino Gomes saw the ball go into the net.

Moments later, it was anti-climax. A cross from the left saw Leskovic pip goalwards but Ashique, instead of clearing, shot right into his own net.

Man City beat West Ham 2-1; Man Utd. hold Chelsea F1 legend Sir Frank Williams dead at 79 L O N D O N, N OV 2 8 (AGENCIES): Manchester City held of a spirited fight back from West Ham United to take full three points in a 2-1 win at Etihad Stadium.

Manches¬ter City only led by one un¬til the final minute, before Fernandinho had sauntered on to wrap this up, but they kept the ball and then kept the ball a bit more.

T h e we a t h e r wa s more mischievous than City to begin with. Pep Guardiola went in at halftime owning a one-goal lead, courtesy of Ilkay Gundogan first since the middle of October, yet West Ham made it excep¬tionally hard work.

Guar¬diola barracked his defence, Ruben Dias in particular, as Michail Antonio’s bustling caused significant problems on the break.

They should have scored more but restricted their progressive visitors to a solitary shot – Declan Rice from 30 yards – from the 28th minute until Man¬uel Lanzini’s stoppage-time consolation. That is control.

Manchester City’s Fernandinho (second right) celebrates scoring their side’s second goal.

David Moyes de¬manded and attempted to cajole more intensity to his midfield’s pressing, only for City to gain a stron¬ger hold.

The one-touch sequences returned with more regularity, Raheem Sterling flashing wide when shimmying in from the left, Riyad Mahrez whacking a rebound onto the post and Ben Johnson heroically blocking a Gabriel Jesus shot off the line.

While West Ham were good, the chances did flow for City. Pressure paid in the 33rd minute

and Moyes will know his team switched off.

Joao Cancelo, the most inventive passer in this division on current form, spotted Mahrez peeling away on the right.

Aaron Cresswell seemed too nar¬row and by the time he had approached Mahrez, the Algerian had flashed across goal for Gundogan to do the rest inside the six-yard box.

Cresswell did, how¬ever, save the Hammers later. A courageous clear¬ance, hooked off the line, when Jesus had appeared to double the lead.

A fluid counter, Gundogan slipping Sterling free down the left and his perfect centre beg¬ging to be finished.

Chelsea vs M United

Premier League leaders Chelsea were left frustrated as Manchester United’s conservative game plan earned them a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

With Cristiano Ronaldo benched, United redefined the idea of caution in the first half, taking 21 minutes to touch the ball in the final third and 44 minutes to have a touch in Chelsea’s box, but the hosts struggled

to break them down.

Callum Hudson-Odoi saw an effort well saved by David de Gea, and later in the half the goalkeeper tipped Antonio Rudiger’s long-range shot onto the crossbar, but United stunned Chelsea to take the lead moments after half-time as Jadon Sancho feasted on Jorginho’s mistake to run through on goal unopposed and finish (50) for his first Premier League goal.

But Jorginho had a chance to redeem himself as Aaron Wan-Bissaka kicked the back of Thiago Silva’s leg in the box, allowing the Italian to score from the spot for 1-1 (69).

Chelsea huffed and puffed but could not find a winner - Rudiger blazed over the bar in the 97th minute unmarked at the far post - meaning Michael Carrick remains unbeaten in what could be his final match in charge with the imminent arrival of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager. Man Utd are eighth, while Chelsea stay top, now just a point ahead of Man City.

LO N D O N N OV 2 8 (AGENCIES): Sir Frank Williams, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has died at the age of 79.

The team won the Formula One drivers’ title seven times and the constructors’ championship on nine occasions under Williams’ stewardship.

Their first win came in 1979 when Clay Regazzoni drove to victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Their first first Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships both came the following year.

A road car accident near the Paul Ricard circuit in March 1986 left Sir Frank with a spinal cord injury and wheelchair-bound. Despite this, he continued to lead Williams Racing to greatness and was knighted in 1999.

Williams Racing stated today: ‘It is with great sadness that on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams CBE, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79.

‘After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir

Frank Williams Frank passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family.’

Williams driver George Russell, 23, paid his own tribute on Twitter.

He wrote: ‘Today, we say goodbye to the man who defined our team. Sir Frank was such a genuinely wonderful human being and I’ll always remember the laughs we shared. ‘He was more than a boss, he was a mentor and a friend to everybody who joined the Williams Racing family and so many others.’

Formula One stated: ‘We are filled with the most immense and deep sadness at the passing of Sir Frank Williams. ‘His was a life driven by passion for motorsport; his legacy is immeasurable, and will be

forever part of F1 To know him was an inspiration and privilege He will be deeply, deeply missed.’

Sir Frank started his working life as a mechanic and racing car driver, establishing a team in Formula Two and Formula Three before making the leap to Forumla One in 1969.

He set up Williams Racing in Grove, Oxfordshire, in 1977, where it remains based today.

Working with Patrick Head, they scored a victory in F1 in 1979 when Clay Regazzoni won the British GP at Silverstone.

During the next season, Williams achieved a double victory and clinched the constructors and drivers’ championship titles.

The team was hit by tragedy when the star racer Ayrton Senna crashed at the 1994 San Mario GP. Sadly he later died in hospital.

His wife Virginia died of cancer in 2013 and he is survived by their daughter and two sons. F1 chief Stefano Domenicali stated: ‘This morning Claire Williams called to inform me of the very sad news that her beloved father, Sir Frank Williams had passed away.

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