4 Oct 22

Nagaland

Dimapur Rly Stn. to be world class by 2024 EC gears up to hold Assembly polls in Tripura, Nagaland & Meghalaya

DI MAPUR, OCT 3 (NPN): As part of the plan by Indian Railways to revamp several railway stations across India into world-class stations, North east Frontier Railways (NFR) has also included Dimapur Railway station to be part of the redevelop ment plan.

On Monday, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaish naw also announced that as many as 200 railway stations across the country will get a facelift with mod ern amenities.

“The government has prepared a master plan to revamp 200 railway sta tions. Overhead spaces will be created on the stations which will have world-class facilities including waiting lounges and food courts, besides amusement facili ties for children,” the min ister said at the foundation

DoSE advisory to schools to prevent child lifting

DIMAPUR, OCT 3 (NPN): Following reports of several cases of child lifting across the state, the Directorate of School Edu cation (DoSE) has issued di rectives to all schools (both government & private) for strict adherence. In a noti fication, principal director Thavaseelan K said schools should make one teacher in-charge of one section/ class to control access of un known persons to students and to check authenticity of every person who meets students in schools. At tendance taken at the first period should be verified by all subject teachers during the subsequent periods.

If any student is found bunking classes, school authorities/teach ers should confirm from parents whether the stu dents are absent in actual or missing. While schools have been asked to create regular awareness to stu dents, teachers and parents in co-ordination with Police department, DoSE also said that students should be given awareness about preventing the case of kidnappings via movie clips/plays/paint ing or other competitions/ awareness campaigns etc.

HOLIDAY NOTICE

Offices of Nagaland

stone laying ceremony for a coach maintenance factory at the Aurangabad railway station in Maharashtra.

In this regard, NFR additional general manager Rahul Gautam visited Di mapur station to inspect the area and hold meeting with officials.

Talking to media per sons at Dimapur railway station VIP lounge, Gau tam said the purpose of his visit was to discuss about the upcoming plan regarding the location, land requirement etc. He said the target has been set to transform Dimapur station into a world-class station by December 2024.

When asked about the land requirement, Gautam said NFR has engaged a consultant firm to prepare the master plan. “Once the consultant gives the report, then everything will get settled,” he said.

Though the target has

been set to complete the project by December 2024, Gautam said it would de pend on the final report to be prepared and submitted by the consultant.

He said the key feature was to have an airport-like world class station where arrivals and departures would be streamlined in separate areas unlike the present situation where entry and exit points are located at the same area.

For revenue genera tion, he said the railways also plan to create commer

cial spaces, where public can utilize the facilities like multiplexes etc. as in normal shopping areas, and not only for travelling pur poses. However, he said the consultant will also study the commercial viability of the station.

Nevertheless, Gau tam said the objective of railways to have a worldclass station is to meet the demand of the public in the long run.

When asked about the cost for the project, Gautam said only after a detail plan is prepared the estimated cost can made known. He, however, said that since Government of India has earmarked to make Dimapur a worldclass station, whatever be the cost, it would not be an issue.

When asked about the issue of land encroach ment, Gautam wished not to comment since the is

ANCSU serves one-month deadline on state govt to address issues

DIMAPUR, OCT 3 (NPN):

All Nagaland College Stu dents’ Union (ANCSU), has served one-month deadline on the government to ad dress several issues raised by it such as-- shortage of teachers, scholarship and boundary fencing and reallocation of land at Kohima Science Collge, Jotsoma.

Shortage of teachers: ANCSU in a representa tion signed by its president Toito D Chishi and general secretary Tenyesinlo Bukh said it was amazed with the lackadaisical attitude of the Higher Education department in addressing

shortage of teachers in gov ernment colleges. ANCSU said the introduction of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and New Education Policy (NEP) resulted in requirement of more teach ing faculty. However, it said despite government colleges having regular teachers and 160 contractual teachers, there was still a requirement of over 250 teachers for 15 government colleges.

It pointed out that the state government is aware about several issues on teachers and therefore asked the Higher Education department and the state

government to address the issue of contractual teach ers within one month. It has also demanded that the government put an end to random contractual engage ments, except on exigency.

Further, the union asked the government to create necessary post/recruitment without further delay so as to address the shortage of teachers which has been di rectly affecting the students.

Salary: ANCUS also highlighted the issue of non-payment of salary to some contractual teachers since the past four months.

sue was in the court and subjudiced.

He disclosed that there were around 22 cases pending before the court related with encroachment.

“Railways have got the documents. The matter is subjudiced and it is in the court. The court will de cide whose land it belongs to,”Gautam said.

“Once the world-class station is made, it will be a great contribution for the people of Nagaland. It is everybody’s responsibility to make sure that the sta tion becomes world-class,” Gautam said.

When asked about extension of trains intro duced for Dimapur to other parts of Assam, Gautam said trains cannot be re stricted to one particular area. Since railways have limited budget, he said railways have to operate trains to cover large part of the country.

AGARTALA/KOHI MA/DIMAPUR, OCT 3 (IANS/NPN): The Elec tion Commission of India has started preparations for holding the Assembly elec tions in three North Eastern states-- Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya.

The elections to Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland are expected to be held in February next year after the Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

An election official in Agartala on Monday said that the EC has sent around 5,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), by 15 big contenarised trucks.

“In presence of the representatives of the politi cal parties, we have stored these EVMs here with ad equate security measures.

The EVMs would soon be provided to all the subdivisions,” the official told IANS.

The official said that the National level Master Trainers (NLMT) appoint ed by the Election Commis sion last week have given training to all the eight Dis trict Magistrates and Addi tional District Magistrates on every important matters for the proper management of the election.

In Nagaland, resource persons from the Election Commission and the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, recently con ducted a two-day training programme for the Deputy

Commissioners and District Election Officers to equip the district level officials with knowledge and skill for the elections.

Nagaland Chief Elec toral Officer V. Shashank Shekhar in his address em phasised the important role played by the district elec toral machinery headed by the Deputy Commissioners and District Election Offi cers in the overall conduct and management of the entire electoral process.

Meanwhile, an official from the Election depart ment informed Nagaland Post that the State has al ready received 3300 ballot units, 3400 control units and 3600 VVPATs.

The CEO’s office has conducted trainings for of ficials, the official said.

Training of district level officials on conduct of assembly polls would also be held in Meghalaya.

ANATG rejects HPC, seeks CM’s intervention

Correspondent

KOHIMA, OCT 3 (NPN):

Aggrieved teachers of All Nagaland Adhoc Teach ers Group (ANATG) 2015 batch addressed a represen tation to the chief minister Nagaland Monday rejecting the setting up of a HighPowered Committee (HPC) proposed by the commis sioner and secretary, SE & SCERT during a meeting between the two parties on September 30.

In the representation, ANATG said that only the intervention of the CM would bring about a solu tion to the impasse with department of School Edu cation (DoSE) over the

Members of ANATG-2015 batch at a makeshift protest site on the eight day in Kohima, Monday. (NP) regularisation issue.

ANATG mentioned that they began their agita tion, starting with a silent sit-in protest from Septem

ber 26 and later the indefi nite hunger strike.

The representation was signed by 14 units rep resenting all the districts

of the State and also in formed that the agitation would continue until their demand for regularisation was fulfilled.

Several members have been in service for over a decade and deemed as injustice the failure of the DoSE in not regularising their services. ANATG said their service had been utilised when the depart ment was in need to fill up empty posts. One female member said many of them had come to Kohima to participate in the agitation and that those from the farflung districts were facing untold hardships as they had no place to stay.

Appointment on compassionate grounds ‘not a right: Supreme CourtStaf f Reporter

Flights disrupted due to waterlogging at Dimapur airport

DIMAPUR, OCT 3

(NPN): Heavy downpour on Monday,resulted in wa terlogging on the runway at Dimapur airport which led to delay or diversion or even cancellation of flights. According to AAI officials, Air India flight AI 709 (Kolkata to Di mapur) and Alliance air flight 91735 from Shillong were cancelled due to bad weather condition.

However, Delhi-Di mapur IndiGo flight, was diverted to Guwahati but later landed at Dimapur around 6.45 p.m. only after the runway was cleared.

Though the Airport director could not be con tacted, an official said that waterlogging has been a regular feature during heavy rainfall as the run way was situated at a low-

clogged drains surround ing the airport.

On Monday, the wa terlogging was cleared af ter the clogged drains were cleared with the help of an excavator, the official said.

It has also become a primary safety concern for pilots to land in such conditions as it would lead to overrunning/skidding off the runway.

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (PTI):

Appointment on compassion ate grounds is a concession, not a right and the object of granting such employment is to enable the affected family to tide over a sudden crisis, the Supreme Court has said.

lying area. In addition to this, the official said most of the drainages in and around the area pass through airport. One of the main reasons for wa terlogging was the issue of

Even as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had red-flagged such issues with the state government and district authorities on several occasions, the offi cial lamented that the mat ter remains to be ignored.

The top court last week set aside the judgement of a division bench of the Kerala High Court, which confirmed the verdict of a single judge directing the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd and others to consider the case of a woman for appointment on compassionate grounds.

A bench of Justices M

R Shah and Krishna Murari noted that the father of the woman was employed with Fertilisers and Chemicals Tra vancore Ltd and died while on duty in April 1995. At the time of his death, it was noted, his wife was serving and therefore not eligible for appointment on compassionate grounds.

“After a period of 24 years from the death of the employee, the respondent shall not be entitled to the appointment on compassion ate ground,” the bench said. According to the law laid down by the top court on ap pointment on compassionate

grounds, equal opportunity for all government vacancies should be provided to all aspirants as mandated under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

Article 14 deals with equality before law and Ar ticle 16 with equality of op portunity in matters of public employment. “However, ap pointment on compassionate ground offered to a dependent of a dead employee is an exception to the said norms. The compassionate ground is a concession and not a right,” the bench said in its judgement delivered on September 30.

Indian smartphone users have to wait till 2024 for 5G

NEW DELHI, OCT 3

(IANS):

As India rolls out 5G with showcasing some early use cases with tel cos setting some aggres sive deadlines, millions of smartphone users will only enjoy the super-fast Internet in 2024 amid infrastruc ture limitations, limited use cases and low 5G handset penetration, industry ex perts said on Monday.

India is home to more than 500 million smart phone users and over 100 million users with 5G-ready smartphones wish to up grade to a 5G subscription in 2023, according to a latest Ericsson report. However,

there are multiple challenges ahead for telecom service providers to meet the tough roll-out deadlines.

“In the ory, there are use cases out there which really warrant and demand 5G: enterprise solutions, private networks, IoT, logistics. But it could take a year or more for those applications to really take off,” Prasanto K. Roy, a leading technology and pub lic policy expert, told IANS.

Telcos will focus on converting existing higherARPU (average revenue per user) individual customers to 5G, which really limits how much more they can charge for 5G especially in

a competitive space. In the top four metros, consumers should be able to experience 5G in early October (accord ing to Airtel) to late October (according to Reliance Jio), with Airtel planning to take 5G to eight cities this month.

There are no 5G roll out plans from VodafoneIdea yet. According to Roy, infrastructure limitations and limited use cases and revenue also pose great challenges for telcos and smartphone players.

“To really leverage 5G bandwidth and latency, tow ers are to be connected by fi bre. Only a third of them are ‘fiberised’ so I would expect

5G service to be reserved for large cities until the fiber gets to twice that number of towers,” he explained. The Ericsson study, how ever, claimed that the Indian smartphone users are willing to pay a 45% premium for a plan bundled with novel experiences, which could be a delight for Internet service providers ready with 5G.

According to Neil Shah, vice president of Re search at Counterpoint, in terms of population cover age, for all operators, India should reach the current blanket 4G coverage by the end of 2024 , way sooner than the 4G or 3G era.

Svante Paabo wins Nobel prize in medicine

derthals and Denisovans. The Swedish scientist pro vided key insights into our immune system and what makes us unique compared with our extinct cousins.

Paabo, director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, is the son of Sune Bergstrom, who won the Nobel prize in medicine in 1982.

“Paabo and his team also surprisingly found that gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sa piens, demonstrating that they had

POSHAN employees withdraw agitation

DIMAPUR, OCT 3 (NPN): Employees under POSHAN Abhiyan have decided to withdraw the boycott of all POSHAN activities. While informing this, district coordinators of Dimapur, Longleng, Wokha, Kiphire, Kohima, Tuensang, Mokokchung, Mon, Phek and Peren also retracted the September 14, 2022 representation to the chief secretary.

The coordinators fur ther clarified that the funds were not released from the Central government and not Social Welfare department as previously assumed.

Staff Reporter

STOCKHOLM, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): Svante Paa bo was on Monday awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his extraordi nary discovery which proved modern humans share DNA with extinct relatives Nean

Waterlogged runway at Dimapur airport on Monday.

Rahul Gautam (NP)

Svante Paabo

CRIMHSC inaugurated at Kohima village

NEWS IN BRIEF

ANGTF executive meeting: All Nagaland Gradu ate Teachers Forum has convened an executive body meeting on October 6, 11 am, at CANSSEA office Kohima to discuss seniority list of graduate teach ers 2022, down gradation of graduate teachers’ pay structure, denial of MACP and ongoing court case. In in this regard, ANGTF has asked all the district & unit conveners of the forum to attend the meet ing. For more details one may contact 9436215297 or 9436650749.

YAKK general meeting: Yelatu Assümi Kughuko Küqhakulu has convened a general meeting on Oc tober 5, 9:30 am at the residence of Hokishe Assümi. GPRN/NSCN to conduct revival crusade: Council of Nagaland Churches (CNC), GPRN/NSCN will be conducting a three-day “national revival crusade” from October 7-9 at CHQ church, Naga Unification camp, Khehoyi. The organising committee has in vited members of GPRN/NSCN from the civil set up and Naga army to attend the programme.

NDPP Dimapur unit greets: NDPP Dimapur region office has extended Durga Puja greetings to members of the Hindu community in Dimapur and across the world. NDPP Dimapur region expressed hope that the festival will be celebrated in peace, love and prosperity.

DIMAPUR: The inaugu ration programme of Carl Rogers Institute of Mental Health and School Coun selling (CRIMHSC) was held at its building, opposite Don Bosco College, P Khel, Kohima village on Monday.

The institute was inaugu rated by former director, SCERT, T Sekhose.

According to a DIPR report, the institute was

founded with the primary objective to promote mental health and school coun selling with non-directive approach to counselling as propounded by Carl Rogers.

The institute will provide training on spe cific skills in psychotherapy, methods and techniques of counselling and activities related to mental health for teachers, students and

parents.

It will also conduct programmes including— group therapy, individual therapy, career talk, family and marriage therapy, cou ples therapy, child counsel ling, addiction counselling, etc.

One may reach out at crimhsc.22@gmail.com or contact Instagram handle at crimhsc_official.

KMC informs public on draft E-roll

DIMAPUR: Adminis trator and electoral reg istration officer (ERO), Kohima Municipal Coun cil (KMC), T. Lanusenla Longkumer has informed the public within Kohi ma municipality that the house-to-house enumera tion for preparation of E-roll for KMC 2022 was completed on September 24 and the draft E-roll will be published on October 4.

The administrator in formed that publication of electoral roll in draft will be issued to all wards for reference and the period

for claims and objections regarding the inclusion of name, objection to the inclusion of name, or ob jection to particulars in any entry (correction) is opened from October 5-21.

KMC has also in formed that documents required for form 3 (inclu sion of name) are passport with a photocopy of any document like Aadhaar, identity card, PAN card, birth certificate, EPIC, driving license, etc.

Any document is re quired for form 4 (objec tion to the entry of name)

First Death a nniversary

Loving Memory of Late t akum Longkumer

and for form 5 (objection to particulars entered in draft roll/ correction) re cent passport size photo can be submitted if photo is wrong and a photo copy of any document is required if name/age/ father’s/husband’s name is wrongly entered. Public has been requested to indi cate ward no. and part no. (polling station) clearly.

Each ward has been divided into different parts (polling stations) and the enumerators have been as signed for each part with a copy of draft E-roll.

25th

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KPC condoles: Kohima Press Club has expressed grief at the demise of Rovi Seyie, father of KPC vice president Asa Seyie, who passed away on October 1. In a condolence message, KPC late Rovi was the first Christian convert from Mengujuma village and first pastor of the village. “In his demise, we have lost a loving father, an uncle, a grandfather, a visionary teacher, a Christian pioneer, and a powerhouse of knowledge and wisdom”, KPC stated. Members of KPC conveyed condolences to its vice president and family and prayed that the Almighty would grant them solace.

Phiro, Totsu village councils prohibit hunting

DIMAPUR: Phiro Village Council and Totsu Village Council has appealed to the public that hunting un der their jurisdictions was strictly prohibited.

In a joint press re lease, Phiro Village Council chairman, Yanpemo Tungu and Totsu Village Council Chairman Mhabemo Ennio warned that anyone found violating the notice would be penalised with a fine of Rs. 20,000, all the items will be ceased and stern action would be initiated wherein, the councils will not claim responsibilities.

The village council chairmen stated that Mt. Totsu was under Phiro Vil lage and there was no such

place called “dispute” area among Phiro village, Totsu village and Rumesinyu vil lage.

They also stated that there was “a clear boundary demarcation” and therefore no person would be al lowed to claim the area as “dispute.”

Further, the council chairmen appealed to the public to cooperate with the notice in order to avoid any untoward incident.

NFHRCC appeals contractors to speed up road work

DIMAPUR: In view of the onset of the dry sea son, Nagaland Foot Hill Road Coordination Com mittee (NFHRCC) has appealed to the contrac tors of the ongoing motor able road construction to ensure that all allocated works are completed at the earliest without com promising the quality of works.

NFHRCC convenor Supu Jamir, co-convenor Hokiye Yepthomi, asst.

general secretary Chenit hung Humtsoe and sec retary W. Lemba Chang also appealed to the re spective village councils, as resolved during the last meeting of stakeholders, to extend fullest coop eration to the contractors and the concerned depart ments till the completion of the works, in the greater interest of the people.

The committee also acknowledged the chief minister, advisor Roads &

Bridges and R&B depart ment for the releasing the running bills for ongoing works.

Further, Nagaland Foot Hill Road Co ordination Committee (NFHRCC) lauded Young Naga Action Commit tee on Foothills Road for showing their maturity and serving an ultimatum on the concerned depart ment pertaining to release running bills to contractors based on performance.

One of the speakers addressing the inaugural programme on Monday. (DIPR)

As a part of skill development programme, GHS Yaongyimchen Longleng conducted a workshop on “do it yourself (DIY)”. The workshop was aimed at inculcating the spirit of entrepreneurship among students. Altogether, 40 students participated in the workshop, with Kentick Phom, Nasen Moung and Sangtemkokla Phom as resource persons.

Pro Bono Club of Kohima Law College (KLC) organised a state-level quiz competition on September 30 where participants from City Law College Dimapur, Kohima Law College and Mokokchung Law College participated.

WEATHER FORECAST

OCTOBER 4

MSME schemes should not go wasted, says APC

AAA team visits

Patkai Christian College

DIMAPUR: Members of the Academic and Administra tive Audit (AAA) compris ing of additional director, Higher Education, Dr. Lily Sema as convenor; princi pal, Dimapur Government College (DGC), Dr. Sanjay Sharma and deputy direc tor, Dr. Medongoi Rhakho as members visited Patkai Christian College (Autono mous) on September 30.

In a press release, PCC stated the team called for collaborative efforts from the college administration, teach ers and students in making the institute set standards of quality education in the state.

WSBAK children conference to begin today at Chekiye Village

DIMAPUR: Agriculture Production Commission er (APC) Nagaland, Y Kikheto Sema on Monday, stated that there were sev eral schemes and projects under the Ministry of Mi cro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

In this regard, he stressed that Naga entre preneurs should avail the schemes and not let them go wasted.

According to a DIPR report, APC while ad dressing the meeting with Agri and Allied officials

with regard to a workshop scheduled to be held on October 7, stated that the workshop is being organ ised especially for availing MSME schemes.

He said the work shop would be conducted by MSME officials and successful entrepreneurs where a platform would be provided to “genuine Naga entrepreneurs”.

Kikheto also in formed that since last year, the chief minister desired to organise a workshop for entrepreneurs.

In this regard, he said that a proposal was sent to the ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enter prises, New Delhi.

At the meeting, work distribution was assigned to the concerned depart ments to arrange logistics for smooth conduct of the workshop.

Mo, MSME joint sec retary, Mercy Epao and Agriculture Production Commissioner Nagaland will be addressing the in augural session, followed by technical sessions.

During their visit, the team inspected facilities of the college and identified core areas of development that required more focus.

Prior to the inspection, the team also interacted with principal, IQAC coordinator, HoDs of all departments, faculty, staff and student executive members.

Later, the team advised PCC to be prepared for NAAC assessment.

They also stressed on co ordination between different core heads of the academic and administration and ad vised them that only team work could bring in required development and grade for the college.

NEISSR launches clean India campaign, skill programme

imp ortance of National Service Scheme and its core purpose.

He encouraged the students by stating that one should not just be a kick starter but an active participant.

The programme was chaired by MSW 1st se mester Juli Zhimomi and invocatory was offered by BSW 1st semester Savirhu Domeh.

Later, vote of thanks was proposed by Student Council North East In stitute of Social Sciences and Research president, Irangsa Cerai, followed by planting of saplings, beautification and cleanli ness drive at the institute campus.

counsellor, Shalom, Vin cent Anthony Neikha also spoke on organisation communication and kinds of communication skills required specifically when working in rehabilitation centre.

On the issue of unem ployment in the state, Fr. Dr. C. P. Anto suggested that a possible solution for more employment in the state would be proper planning, collaboration with higher educational institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and that the youth be re-calibrated and trained in order to be empowered with employ ability skills.

Correspondent

CHEKIYE VILLAGE (CHÜMOUKEDIMA), OCT 3 (NPN): Prepa rations are underway at Chekiye Village Baptist Church for the 11th West ern Sümi Baptist Akuku hou Küqhakulu (WSBAK) children conference, which will be held from October

4 - 6. The conference will be held on the theme “Chil dren of the Light” and the three-day programme is expected to draw a record participation of children from various churches in Western Sumi area.

WSBAK execu tive secretary, Rev. Dr. Phughoto Sema, DoCEM

secretary, WSBAK Jesse. K. Yeptho and office as sistant, WSBAK Dr. N. Vivi Achumi will be the speakers at the three-day conference which will also feature a traditional cul tural extravaganza. All spaces and halls for the conference have been given traditional touches.

DIMAPUR: North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR) launched “Clean India Campaign”, organised by IQAC cell, NEISSR in col laboration with National Service Scheme (NSS) NEISSR on the motto “not me but you” at Peace Centre, Chümoukedima

on Monday.

In a press release, NEISSR desk statd that chief guest of the pro gramme, Development Association of Nagaland (DAN) director, Fr. Sajan Joseph, stated that every one who was a part of NSS were entering into the new era of service with

responsibilities.

He highlighted that clean India was not a oneday activity but was a habit everyone must inculcate in their everyday lives.

In the welcome note, NEISSR principal Dr. Fr. C.P Anto, who is also director of Peace Chan nel emphasised on the

Phek division organises

Hi Seva’ programme

Meanwhile, on Octo ber 1, NEISSR a launched “skill me programme”, wherein, special guest, ACID director, Rev. Sr. Pramila Lobo stressed on the need for social workers to develop their communi cation skills as they dealt with humans and their problems.

Resource persons, as sistant professor NEISSR, Stephen Gangmei and

Mega job fair in Dimapur from Oct 28

DIMAPUR: Dimapur district administration in collaboration with Emporium Training & Con sultancy Pvt. Ltd will be organis ing a mega job fair on October 28, at district agriculture office LRC colony (Notun Bosti) Dimapur.

In this regard, officials from Emporium Training & Consul tancy Pvt. Ltd, District Skill Committee (DSC) and district administration held a consultative meeting in the conference hall of the deputy commissioner (DC) on Monday.

At the programme, vice principal Fr. Law rence Khing emphasised on acquiring and develop ing basic life skills.

As an action plan, the institute “Skill Me” department decided to develop various employ ability skills on Saturdays to develop holistic devel opment of students of Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of So cial Work respectively

7th Youth-TEA underway at New Jalukie

DIMAPUR: Public Health Engineering De partment (PHED), Phek division conducted a pro gramme to commemorate the “Swachhata Hi Seva” campaign on the theme “visual cleanliness”.

According to a DIPR report, gram sabha meet ing on Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF+) ele ments and Swachhata Hi Seva was conducted in all four blocks—Phek, Cho zuba, Meluri and Pfütsero under Phek district.

The participants in

cluded swachhagrahis and Water & Sanitation (WATSANs) from every village also known as foot soldiers of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Following the cam paign, a variety of ac tivities were carried out in every village under Phek district led by Swachha grahis and WATSANs.

Some of the activities included cleaning gar bage sites, public places like Anganwadi centre, Panchayat Hall, village approach road and wa

ter bodies, plantation of trees at water sources, wall painting, poster cam paign, create awareness on the ill effects of SingleUse Plastics (SUPs) and organising gram sabha at village level.

Resolutions were also passed for the ban on SUPs.

The programme was organised with an aim to generate greater com munity participation and reinforce the concept of “sanitation as everyone’s business”.

According to a DIPR report, several industry partners and organisations such as Jio World Centre. (Mumbai), ITC Hotels Division (Pan India), The Oberoi Hotels (Mumbai), Courtyard Marriott (Shillong), Apeejay Surendra Group (Pan India), Deltin Group-Deltin Cruises & Casino (Pan India) and The St. Regis by Marriott (Mumbai) will be participating in the mega job fair.

Unemployed youth from the state who have qualified class 10 and above (graduates highly preferred) are eligible to register for the mega job fair online or offline at the venue.

Interested candidates have been asked to carry resume, Aad har card, PAN card and passport size colour photographs. Online registration may be done through WhatsApp at 8730899943.

DIMAPUR: The 7th Youth-TEA (Youth-Talent Exhibition Activities) of Rongmei Baptist Youth Fellowship, RBCAN on the theme “Excellence” -2 Corinthians 8:7 got un derway at Elohim Rong mei Baptist Church, New Jalukie with Jalukie Val ley Youth Organisation (JVYO) president, Ma sangum Hiekha as special guest on Monday.

In a press release, YTEA Committee stated

that Masangum Hiekha encouraged the youth to be excellent not only at games and sports but in every good aspect in life. He stated that selfcontrol should be the first and foremost quality that Christian youth should possess and encouraged them to work silently as unto the Lord even without getting praise and recog nition from the people as they will receive their reward in Heaven.

At the programme, ERBC associate pastor Aguipou Pamei offered in vocation, YTEA convenor Hugiak Gonmei highlight ed the aims and objectives of YTEA, a special music was presented by RBYF choir and traditional fire making was presented by BYF, ERBC while cultural dance was performed by BYF, RBCBC Dimapur and BYF Jalukie Town.

The inaugural func tion ended with an oath

taking led by YTEA member Ningchuilung and benediction was of fered by RBC Mhainamtsi pastor Gaimunrei.

The 7th YTEA is a three-day event organised by Rongmei Baptist Youth Fellowship, the youth de partment of Rongmei Bap tist Church Association Nagaland (RBCAN), with an aim to enhance God’s given talents and abilities.

The programme will culminate

With the ongoing Puja festival and people swarming the markets, Dimapur on Monday witnessed heavy traffic jam in almost all parts of the city. Heavy rainfall also resulted in inundation in various parts of the city, which led to traffic jams. (NP)

APC Y Kikheto Sema addressing the meeting on Monday. (DPRO Dimapur)

The conference premises brightly decorated for the 11th WSBAK children conference. (NP)

Students of NEISSR participating in the cleanliness drive on Monday

Special guest along with committee members, Church leaders and participants on Monday

Officers and staff of the department along with WATSANs, swachhagrahis and others.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Eco club of GMS Sangtamtilla conducted a cleanliness drive on Monday, at the school premises. During the cleanliness drive which was headed by club in-charge, Tsapila Sangtam, students were also taught to make organic fertiliser after which the team planted various fruit saplings.

Manipur women oppose lifting dry law

liquor in the Northeastern state.

Manipur Cabinet last month decided to partially lift the three-decade-old ban on brewing, consumption and sale of liquor to boost the state’s revenue as well as minimise health hazards caused by the consumption of illicit alcohol.

Women’s bodies and pressure groups such as Coalition Against Drug and Alcohol (CADA) de manded revocation of the Cabinet decision.

Meghalaya ranks second in JJM implementation

SHILLONG, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): Meghalaya bagged the second place in the Jal Jeevan Mission’s functionality assessment (JJM) at a function held in the Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi yesterday.

According to NE Live, President of India Droupadi Murmu present ed the award to Renikton Lyngd oh Tongkhar, the State’s Public Health En gineering Minister.

Hindus, Muslims come together in celebrating Durga Puja in Assam

GUWAHATI, OCT 3 (IANS): In a pleasent dis play of communal har mony between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Assam’s Sivasagar town, a Durga Puja Pandal is erected sharing boundary with a mosque.

Correspondent

IMPHAL, OCT 3: Wom

en’s bodies and pressure groups in Manipur on Mon day threatened to launch agitations demanding that the state government to withdraw its decision to legalize liquor in the state.

All Manipur Wom en’s Social Reformation and Development Samaj (Nupi Samaj) insisted that the state government must declare its stand –whether the decision will be rolled back on not – on or before October 10.

As a part of the se ries, womenfolk of Mayang Langjing area in Imphal

West district staged dem onstration in their locality under the aegis of the Nupi Samaj on Monday.

Talking to reporters at the protest site, advi sor of the Nupi Samaj K Indu Devi pressed the state government to declare its clear stand on whether the decision will be revoked or not by October 10.

If it fails, Nupi Samaj along with the local wom en’s bodies (Meira Paibis) will intensify the protest, she said.

‘As no heed to our demand despite the demo cratic form of protest, we are preparing to launch intense forms of agitations

Brig. Mishra to be sworn-in as Meghalaya Governor today

Correspondent

SHILLONG, OCT 3: Arunachal Pradesh Gover nor Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retired) would be sworn in as Governor of Meghalaya on Monday after predeces sor Satya Pal Malik retired on Monday, a Raj Bhavan official said.

Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court Sanjeeb Banerjee will ad minister the oath of office to the Governor at Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan at 4.30 p.m, the official said.

In an order, President Droupadi Murmu, has giv en the additional charge of the Meghalaya Raj Bhawan to Arunachal Pradesh Gov ernor Brig. Mishra, until regular arrangements are made. Malik (76) has served as the Governor of Bihar in September 30, 2017. He was then sent to Jammu and Kashmir in August 2018 and Goa in October 2019 before being transferred to Meghalaya in August 2020.

He was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

when Article 370 was with drawn and the state was divided into two Union Territories. UP-born Malik had hit the media headlines on several occasions with his remarks against the Nar endra Modi-led government on farmers’ agitation.

He had also claimed that during his tenure as Jammu and Kashmir Gov ernor, he was offered Rs 300 crore bribe for clearing two files, one belonging to Ambani and another to an RSS-affiliated man who was a minister in the previous Mehbooba Mufti-led PDPBJP coalition government and claimed to be very close to the prime minister.

from October 10,’ Indu said.

She said that the then state government declared Manipur a dry state by enacting the Manipur Li quor Prohibition Act in 1991 after a massive public movement.

She alleged that the Act was rendered toothless due to the incompetency of the consecutive govern ments and it was shame ful decision to repeal the Act when the government unable to enforce the Act effectively.

Earlier, according to PTI, the chief minister said that the Manipur govern ment would publish a white paper on the legalisation of

“Considering the de mand of CADA and other organisations, the govern ment is preparing a blue print or white paper which would spell out the do’s and don’ts of selling and brewing liquor,” he had told reporters.

The government would not take any deci sion haphazardly, Singh had said.

A massive public movement had led the state government to enact pro hibition through the Ma nipur Liquor Prohibition Act 1991, which was later amended in 2002.

However, despite the ban, liquor consumption could not be effectively controlled and alcohol re mained widely available.

The Department of Drinking Water and Sani tation, Ministry of Jal Shakti commemorated Swachh Bharat Diwas (SBD) at Vigyan Bhawan yesterday, where President Droupadi Murmu, con ferred on the exemplary works done by States and Union Territories.

The functionality assessment of tap con nections was conduct ed by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, through Hindustan Thompson Pvt. Ltd in rural areas of all states and UTs.

This year, It was given under functional assess ment under the 60% cover age category.

The Puja is organ ised by a local club called Nabajuvak Durgatsav Samiti, which turns 62 this year. It was earlier celebrated somewhere else in the town, but with a space crunch there around 30 years ago, the organis ers had to shift the Puja venue to the Thana Road area of the town where the pandal is next to the old local Beparipatty Masjid.

“The club members first tried to get space in a local park, but that could not happen. When they decided to shift it here, then district administra tion feared disturbance to communal harmony in the area,” the President of the Masjid Committee, Faridul Islam told IANS.

He added: “That time, my father used to be the president of the masjid committee. He, along with other people, approached the administration and

Rodent attacks on paddy cultivation in Mizoram

AIZAWL, OCT 3 (PTI):

Flowering of a bamboo species in Mizoram has led to rodent attacks and more than 572 hectares of paddy in nine of its 11 districts are affected by it, a senior offi cial of the state agriculture department said.

The infestation was reported in 114 villages and a number of farmers have been affected by it, the department director James Lalsiamliana said on Monday.

The state reported an increase in rodent popula tion from about August due to the flowering of ‘Rawnal’ (Dendrocalamus) bamboo species. It is be lieved to be a preliminary sign of ‘Thingtam’ or flowering of ‘Bambusa Tulda’ bamboo (Rawthang in local parlance) species due in 2025.

Mizoram, which has a mainly agrarian economy and rice is the staple diet of its people, experienced a famine-like situation due to ‘Mautam” or flowering of Melocanna Baccifera in 2007.

Over6,000Myanmareserefugee childrenstudyinginMizoramschools

AIZAWL, OCT 3 (IANS):

Over 6,000 children of Myanmarese refugees, who have taken shelter in Mizoram since March last year following the military coup there, are enrolled in government and private schools across the state, officials said.

Mizoram Education Department officials said that of the 6,195 Myanma rese children, 5,221 were enrolled in government schools, 184 in governmentaided institutes and 790 in private schools up to Class 10 across the state.

The Education De partment referring to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act-2009), has earlier asked all the dis trict and sub-divisional edu cation officers that children aged between 6 and 14 years belonging to disadvantaged communities have the right to be admitted to schools in a class appropriate to his/her age for completing elementary education.

Some Myanmar par liamentarians and parents earlier requested Mizoram

problems” of the Myanma rese children and the state government then issued the notification about enrol ment of the Myanmar child refugees.

The children do not face any language problem with the textbooks and oth er materials of Mizoram’s academic syllabus as most of them belong to the Chin community who share the same ancestry and culture as the Mizos of Mizoram and also speak the Mizo language.

Recently, the Mizoram University and the Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA), a non-government organisa tion, decided to introduce diploma courses in Burmese language and communica tion skills at the central var sity. As per official records,

majority of around 30,400 Myanmar refugees includ ing 11,798 children and 10,047 women are sheltered in Mizoram in over 156 camps in all the 11 districts while a large number of them took shelter in the relatives’ houses, commu nity, centres, rented houses, government buildings and shelter houses set up by various NGOs including the Young Mizo Association, one of the largest NGOs in northeast India.

The Mizoram govern ment has provided tempo rary identity cards to the refugees for identification purposes to differentiate the holder from Indian citizens and the ID card is not valid for availing the government’s scheme and outside Mizoram.

“The intensity of ro dent attacks varies from 0.5 to 10 per cent in the rodent hit areas of Mizoram now. However, all paddy fields in Mualthuam North in Lun glei district and Tuirum village in Mamit district on the Tripura border have been completely destroyed by rats, “ Lalsiamliana told PTI.

In Karlui-I village in Lawngtlai district border ing Myanmar, crops on one acre out of 1.5-acre jhum land have been de stroyed by the rats, he said.

Mamit and Lunglei

districts are the worst af fected. Rodent attacks on crops were reported in 255.7 hectares of paddy in 19 villages of Mamit district and in another 198 hectares of paddy field in 28 villages of Lunglei dis trict, the official said.

The government has undertaken “massive ef forts” to control the rat population by providing rodenticide to the farmers and training them on mass poisoning of rats since August, Lalsiamliana said.

Seventy per cent of the people in Mizoram are de

pendent on agriculture and mainly practice jhum or shifting cultivation, which gives poor yield.

With the efforts of the government jhum farming is being steadily replaced with horticulture or longter m plantation like betel nuts, grapes and pineapple.

‘Thingtam’, which oc curs in 48 years cycle, had last taken place in the state in 1977.

Famine caused by rodent attacks played an important role in the po litical history of the state.

The two-decade-long in surgency from 1966 spear headed by the erstwhile underground Mizo Na tional Front (MNF) leader Laldenga, who later be came the chief minister, was trigerred allegedly by the Centre’s negligence towards the plight of the Mizos caused by ‘Mautam’ famine.

The MNF had signed a historic Mizoram peace accord with the Centre in 1986 and Mizoram became the 23rd state of the coun try in 1987.

urged to conduct the Dur ga Puja here only with an assurance of not disturbing the harmony between the two communities.”

The celebration of Durga Puja which be gan by sharing the same boundary wall with the Masjid has been running in a very friendly envi ronment with the active cooperation of the Muslim community as well.

When namaz is of fered in the mosque, the loudspeakers in the Puja pandal are switched off.

Sanjay Pareekh, one of the organisers of the

Puja said: “We have tre mendous support from the Muslim community. They actively take part in carry ing Durga idols, and offer support during visarjan.”

Both the silver and golden jubilees of this Durga Puja were cele brated with enthusiasm from Mulsim community members as well, informed Pareekh.

Locals residing in the area expressed that the festivities would become grander and more beauti ful with the bond of broth erhood becoming stronger in the coming times.

M’laya CM lays foundation stone for medical college

SHILLONG, OCT 3 (PTI): Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday laid the founda tion stone for P A Sangma International Medical Col lege and Hospital in Ri-Bhoi district.

He said it was befitting that the foundation stone was laid at the University of Science and Technol ogy, Meghalaya (USTM) in a year when India is celebrating its 75th anniver sary of Independence and Meghalaya is observing its 50th year of statehood. The

year also marks the 75th birth anniversary of the CM’s father P A Sangma, after whom the upcoming hospital has been named. The first private medical college in the state will follow standards second to none, the CM said. He said his father was instrumental in establishing USTM and naming the medical college after him was a tribute to the late leader. The chief minister said the biggest investment a government or a society can make is in human capital.

He said institutes must play an important role in research and innovation.

“The biggest innovations and ideas have come from students of schools and col leges. While many institutes have lost track of this impor tant factor, USTM still gives a lot of impetus in research and innovation,” he said.

Womenfolk stage protest against government decision to legalize liquor in Manipur at Mayanglangjing in Imphal West on Monday.

A Durga puja pandal next to a masjid in Sivasagar, Assam.

The infestation is believed to be linked to the upcoming ‘Thingtam’. (HT/Representative image)

Representation image

B.D. Mishra

Conrad K Sangma

IAF inducts indigenously-built LCH

JODHPUR, OCT 3 (PTI): The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday inducted the first fleet of indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), which has been developed primarily for mountain warfare after a requirement for it was felt during the Kargil war in 1999.

Developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the 5.8-tonne twin-engine gunship chopper is armed with air-to-air missiles, 20 mm turret guns, rocket systems and other weapons.

The fleet comprising four helicopters was inducted into the IAF at a ceremony at the Jodhpur Air Force Station in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and other senior military officials.

The defence minister named the helicopter as “Prachand” (fierce) and said the platform, capable of operating in day and

night, will add significant edge to the IAF’s combat capabilities as it can hit enemy targets with precision.

Singh, who also flew a sortie on the LCH, said it can operate in all possible conditions, and is among one of the best globally in its class. The helicopter, with its wide range of missiles and other weapons, can hit enemy infantry, tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions, military officials said.

In his address, Singh

described induction of the indigenously-built LCH into the IAF as a “momentous occasion” for India’s defence production.

“The IAF has been playing an important role in protecting India’s sovereignty and I am confident that its overall capability will enhance further following induction of LCH,” Singh said in his address.

“We have been focusing on boosting the country’s defence production following certain developments....

Anish Dayal takes charge as ITBP DG

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (PTI): Senior IPS officer

Anish Dayal Singh on Monday took charge as the new director general (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police that guards the 3,488km Line of Actual Control with China.

The 1988-batch officer of Manipur cadre was handed over the ceremonial baton by his batchmate S L Thaosen who has been holding the additional charge of the about the 90,000-personnel-strong mountain-warfare trained force since August after Sanjay Arora was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner.

Before taking charge at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force headquarter at Lodhi Road, Singh was accorded a guard of honour following which senior officers gave him

a presentation on the operations and deployment of the force. Singh, who belongs to the Manipur cadre, is the 32nd DG of the ITBP and has been serving as a special director in the Intelligence Bureau where he handled several sensitive assignments.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the prime

minister had on October 1 issued the order for the appointment of Singh who has service till December 2024.

Thaosen, through the same order, was appointed as the new CRPF DG. The Madhya Pradesh cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer has been serving as the SSB DG with the additional charge of ITBP.

security of the country has been our foremost priority and it will remain so,” he said. The defence minister also complimented the IAF for reposing confidence in indigenously developed platforms.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said the capabilities of LCH is on a par with the helicopters of its class globally.

The helicopters were given a traditional watercanon salute that followed a multi-religious prayer ceremony.

The need for developing a light combat helicopter for mountain warfare was felt during the Kargil War in 1999.

“Subsequently, the IAF and HAL began exploring the possibility of developing the platform with a capacity to carry an adequate weapon load, sufficient fuel and still be capable of operating in the higher reaches of the Himalayan ranges,” said an official.

By mid 2010, the prototype of LCH

completed a major flight test and it was deemed to have fulfilled the desired parameters.

In February 2020, the LCH was declared ready for production.

In March, the Prime Minister Narendra Modiled Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the procurement of 15 indigenously developed Limited Series Production (LSP) LCH at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore.

The defence ministry had said 10 helicopters would be for the IAF and five will be for the Indian Army. The induction of the chopper comes at a time India and China are locked in a military stand-off in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The LCH has similarities with Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv. It has a number of stealth features, armouredprotection systems, night attack capability and crashworthy landing gear for better survivability, officials said.

IAF aircraft scramble after bomb threat in Iranian passenger flight

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (IANS): Indian securities authorities were on alert following a bomb threat on board an Iranian passenger flight when it was approaching Delhi.

Sources said that IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance.

Intimation was received of a bomb scare on an airline bearing Iranian registration, when it was transiting through Indian airspace.

“IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance. The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur and then, at Chandigarh. However, the pilot declared his unwillingness to divert to either of the two airports,” said a source.

Sources claimed that after a while, intimation was received from Tehran to disregard the bomb scare, following which,

the aircraft continued its journey towards its final destination.

All actions were taken by IAF as per the laid down procedure, jointly with Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The aircraft was under close radar surveillance by the Air Force throughout the Indian airspace, said a source.

The Mahan Air flight was in Indian airspace when the airline received

the bomb threat.

As per a flight tracking website Flightradar, the plane was on its way from Tehran in Iran to Guangzhou in China. The flight continued its journey to China after clearance from the authorities.

A call regarding the bomb threat on the flight was received at around 9:20 a.m. on Monday and the nature of the threat was still unclear. Sources said that following the call of bomb threat, the authorities at the Delhi airport.

‘Operation Lotus defeated in Punjab,’ Mann after trust vote win

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab won the trust vote in the assembly on Monday, even as the Congress members staged a walkout. “Operation Lotus defeated in Punjab,” said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after the Punjab Assembly “unanimously” passed the motion moved by him, NDTV reported.

The assembly had taken up discussion on the motion, with the AAP MLAs hitting out at the BJP over “Operation Lotus” - an alleged attempt to topple the six-month-old government. The party had earlier claimed that at least 10 of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of ₹ 25 crore to each of them in a bid to topple the Mann

Bharat Jodo yatra: Rahul delivers speech amid heavy rain

MYSURU, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): Braving heavy rain, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday delivered a speech in Karnataka’s Mysuru braving and launched an attack on the state government.

He was addressing the public after ending the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s foot march for the day, HT reported.

The video is now going viral on social media platforms.

“Heat, storm or cold can’t stop this yatra. This

Amit Shah arrives in Jammu on 3-day visit to J&K

JAMMU, OCT 3 (IANS):

Union Home Minister Amit Shah landed in Jammu on Monday on a 3-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

He is accompanied by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and senior officers of the MHA. Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Arun Mehta and other senior civil and police officers received the home minister at the technical area of Jammu airport.

Senior local BJP leaders, Ravinder Raina, Nirmal Singh and others were also present.

Shah is staying at the Raj Bhavan for the night. Officials said he will pay obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on Tuesday morning and from there he will fly to Rajouri district of Jammu division, where he is scheduled to address a public rally.

BJP sources said the home minister is likely to announce reservations for the Pahari community of

as

river-like yatra will carry on from Kanyakumari to Kashmir; in this river, you will not see things like hate or violence.

There will only be love and brotherhood as this is India’s history and DNA,” Gandhi said.

Several Congress leaders including Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala praised Gandhi for his speech.

“On the evening of Gandhi Jayanti, undeterred by a downpour in Mysuru, @ RahulGandhi electrified

a sea of people. It was an unequivocal declaration.

No force can stop the #BharatJodoYatra from uniting India against hate, from speaking up against unemployment and price rise,” Ramesh tweeted.

The former Congress president shared a video clip from the speech on Twitter and said, “No one can stop us from uniting India. No one can stop us from raising the voice of India. No one can stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra from going from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.”

The yatra, which started on September 7 from Kanyakumari, entered the BJP-ruled state for the first time after covering Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It will cover a 511km stretch in Karnataka over 21 days.

Congress’ interim president Sonia Gandhi is also expected to join the foot march on October 6.

The march will cover 12 states in five months seeking to flag economic disparities, social polarisation and political centralisation.

government under the alleged operation.

After a discussion on the trust vote, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan put

The members of the Congress party walked out as soon as the discussion began, They were demanding that the Speaker should give them time to speak and raise issues during the Zero Hour.

91 AAP MLAs supported the motion while one of the three SAD MLAs who was present in the House and a lone BSP MLA did not oppose the motion. “So, 93 MLAs have supported the motion and none is against it. Thus, the motion is unanimously passed,” the Speaker said.

The BJP members have been boycotting the session as they accuse

the AAP government of violating the Constitution by bringing the confidence motion in the assembly.

The Congress had also questioned the AAP’s government’s move of bringing the confidence motion while stating that no rule in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha has allowed the ruling party to bring such a motion.

The session was convened after the governor on Sunday gave his nod to summon the House on September 27 after days of contention between the Raj Bhavan and AAP government over holding a session of the Assembly.

it to vote. He asked MLAs to raise hands who were in support, and then asked those who were against the motion of confidence.

the recruitment of

various Departments.

days from the date of publication of advertisement

last date for receiving the application form

eligibility criteria

www.nitnagaland.ac.in

other details,

Employment

institute

Rajnath Singh prepares for a sortie in the newly-inducted indigenously built LCH, Monday. (PTI)

The Mahan Air flight on its way from Tehran in Iran to Guangzhou in China (File)

Bhagwant Mann speaks during the ongoing session of Punjab Legislative Assembly, in Chandigarh, Monday. (PTI)

Anish Dayal Singh (L) takes charge from his predecessor SL Thaosen, Monday. (PTI)

Nagaland

A friendly warning

India’s growing defence exports

four indigenous ‘Swathi’ counter-battery radars.

Rashtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale literally punc tured the inflated claims of the Modi govern ment about India’s 13.5% growth in the April to June quarter of this year. This meant that the country whooshed into top place as the world’s fastestgrowing large economy and, incidentally, replacing Great Britain as the world’s fifth-biggest economy. Hosabale may not have actually meant to spoil the party for Modi but had only cited statistics to issue a note of caution against overconfidence. In a webinar organised on the occasion of the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Sashtri on October 2, organised by Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a Sangh affiliate. Hosabale concerns over rising income inequality, unemployment and poverty in India, referring to them as “demon-like challenges” which have to be ended. Hosabale said that in the last 75 years, India has made remarkable achieve ments in many fields, but poverty, unemployment rate and income inequality still remain a challenge like “demons” and it is very important to end them. Hosabale said Indians ought to be sad that 20 crore people are below the poverty line. On the economy, he said 23 crore people are earning less than Rs 375 per day and chose to call poverty as a demonlike challenge against the country. Hosabale said it was important that this poverty demon be put to death. He cited statistics from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) that there are four crore unemployed people in the country, 2.2 crore in rural areas and 1.8 crore in urban areas. Managing Direc tor CMEI Mahesh Vyas disclosed to a new agency that urban unemployment rate is usually higher at about 8 per cent than the rural unemployment rate, which is usually around 7 per cent. He said that in the month of August the urban unemployment rate shot up to 9.6 per cent and rural unemployment rate also increased to 7.7 per cent. Like the rest of the world, India has also been hit by two events- Covid 19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The last two years have changed the world as it grappled with two black swan events, namely the impact of Covid 19 pandemic and the Russia invasion of Ukraine. These two events had globally impacted the econ omy. Inflation plays a major role in the growth of an economy. While leading economies of US (inflation rate of 8.5%) and Europe (UK 10.1%) face inflation of never seen before levels, India (6.71%) has to a large extent been successful in keeping it under check. This is no mean feat considering the high import bill of crude in the country. There have been consistent and steady steps by the RBI in ensur ing this remains in check. While Europe struggles with energy crisis, small but sure steps by prime minister Narendra Modi, such as maintain healthy ties with Russian diplomatically conducive, ensures that India can tap on Russian crude whenever the need arises. The Indian economy is in facing some unprecedented challenges. A protracted war in Europe has introduced new strains even before the impact of Covid-19 has fully waned. Together, these two significantly weaken the backbone of the world economy, impacting both the advanced and emerging markets. Contemporaneously, the Indian economy is also impacted.

DailyDevotion

The Place of Ministry

He said to them, “This kind [of unclean spirit] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” —Mark 9:29

“His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ ” (Mark 9:28). The answer lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “This kind can come out by nothing but” concentrating on Him, and then doubling and redoubling that concentration on Him. We can remain powerless forever, as the disciples were in this situation, by trying to do God’s work without concentrating on His power, and by following instead the ideas that we draw from our own nature. We actually slander and dishonor God by our very eagerness to serve Him without know ing Him.

When you are brought face to face with a difficult situation and nothing happens externally, you can still know that freedom and release will be given because of your continued concentration on Jesus Christ. Your duty in service and ministry is to see that there is nothing be tween Jesus and yourself. Is there anything between you and Jesus even now? If there is, you must get through it, not by ignoring it as an irritation, or by going up and over it, but by facing it and getting through it into the presence of Jesus Christ. Then that very problem itself, and all that you have been through in connection with it, will glorify Jesus Christ in a way that you will never know until you see Him face to face.

We must be able to “mount up with wings like ea gles” (Isaiah 40:31), but we must also know how to come down. The power of the saint lies in the coming down and in the living that is done in the valley. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philip pians 4:13) and what he was referring to were mostly humiliating things. And yet it is in our power to refuse to be humiliated and to say, “No, thank you, I much prefer to be on the mountaintop with God.” Can I face things as they actually are in the light of the reality of Jesus Christ, or do things as they really are destroy my faith in Him, and put me into a panic?

Quotes

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own

India’s defence exports to various countries have increased manifold in recent years, the latest deal is to export Indian rocket launchers to Armenia.

According to re ports, India would supply the ‘Pinaka’ multi-rocket launcher system, which can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds to Armenia besides anti-tank missiles and a variety of ammunition as part of a package agree ment. The complete details of these armaments have not yet been disclosed. Pinaka saw service during the Kargil War, where it was successful in neutralising enemy posi tions on the mountaintops.

While the deal’s value has not been disclosed, the report claims armament worth $250 million or INR 2,000 crores would be sold over the next few months. The deal was signed earlier this month and supplies are to be fast-tracked.

It is not the first time that Armenia has received weapons equipment from India. In 2020, India tri umphed over Russia and Poland in a $40 million defence agreement with Armenia providing it with

This disclosure comes days after India called on the “aggressor side” in fresh fighting along the ArmeniaAzerbaijan border to “im mediately cease hostilities” without directly naming Azerbaijan. Latest fighting erupted between the two sides on September 13.

India’s defence exports

Meanwhile, it seems the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict has helped India to boost its arms exports. According to reports India recently announced figures for the highest-ever defence export growth that swelled by a staggering 334% over the last five years.

In fact India is chasing an even higher target. In 2020, the Modi government had set a target of Rs 35,000 crore ($ 5 billion) export in aerospace, and defence goods and services in the next five years. This is part of the turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore ($ 25 billion) in defence manufacturing by 2025 that the government is aiming to achieve. India’s defence exports touched a record Rs 13,000 crore in 2021-22, “eight times” of what it was

around five years ago.

Besides the strategic importance of the deal with Armenia, the export order is a boost for the indigenous defence industry with the Indian government keen to increase the value of Indian arms exports.

India had also signed a contract with the Philippines in January 2022 for the sale of BrahMos missiles. Cur rently, India exports defence equipment to 75 countries and these include weapon simulators, tear gas launcher, torpedo loading mechanism, alarm monitoring & control, night vision monocular & binocular, light-weight tor pedo & fire control systems, armoured protection vehicle, weapons locating radar, high-frequency radio, coastal surveillance radar among others.

Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

The issue of the con clave of Nagorno-Karabakh has always been the bone of contention between Ar menia and Azerbaijan ever since the two countries be came independent republics, after gaining independence from the erstwhile USSR.

The disputed region of

Nagorno-Karabakh lies in Azerbaijan and is inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians.

The conflict escalated into a full-scale war in the early 1990s which later trans formed into a low-intensity conflict until four-day esca lation in April 2016 and then into another full-scale war in 2020. A ceasefire signed in 1994 in Bishkek was fol lowed by two decades of relative stability, which sig nificantly deteriorated along with Azerbaijan’s increasing frustration with the status quo, at odds with Armenia’s efforts to cement it.

Azerbaijan, for one, has received backing from its traditional allies and sup porters, Turkey and Israel.

During the 2020 skirmish between the two combatants, Baku turned the tide in its favour by overwhelmingly deploying Turkish Bayraktar and Israeli kamikaze drones.

While Armenia has often turned to Russia for support, Moscow’s preoc cupation with the on-going war against Ukraine has resulted in not a very sup portive response, this time.

In the face of rising hostilities and little military aid, the defence deal with

Post-mortem

Solution before election is a myth

As per the formal media statement made by the co-chairman of UDA of core committee Shri Azo Neinu in a live debate show that was tele cast on a Northeast live channel dated 20th sept at 8 pm on LIVE show made a three big revelation on a national media that was broadcasted and communicated through English medium. Firstly, that NSCM IM and NNPGs both agreed to give up violence and agreed to talk through mutual dialogue though this news was published in a dailies but this was made formal in a national media at the live debate show.

Secondly, he made another big statement that Shri Amit Shah Home Min ister, GoI said that he is willing to grant anything to the Nagas. Thirdly, the biggest statement and breaking news that the solution is expected before the election and more strikingly surprising was that solution is possible and expected before the Christmas. Now hear ing such as this kind of statement on a national media left the people like me numb and dump whether to jump off the cliff or to thrashed the television into pieces cause such kind of statement is just another promise of fool paradise that doesn’t exist.

Election for solution or so lution for election has become a trend for a political parties to fit their political narratives to pass out the test of election and the past history had revealed how this promises has led the parties to achieve a success in election at the expense of those political narrative solution for a political mileage.

Let me give a contrasting statement why such bombastic statement are looks sweet as honey but taste as sour as vinegar, This election for solution is a prey on the sentiment of the Nagas in fulfilling the political aspira tion of winning the election and Naga public are always made a bait in the tussle of politics. It is a human nature to believe in a fool paradise as like that of the promises of Ache din that never comes but lost somewhere in outer space and the Naga public would keep believing the same in Naga solution whenever this promise

of solution resurfaced up during election. It is appreciable for the stakeholders to come to mutual consensus to an understanding of the necessity of mutual talks in resolving the long conflicts but his tory have seen how the breakaway and split-away are being played by the factions over the years. the ten dency of the Nagas to breakaway if other negotiating teams fail to accept the statement or proposal is as quick as spark of meteorite as and as quick as of the speed of the light, so how far this current promise of mutual understanding that was agreed upon would goes to solving the conflict will be writ ten down in history.

Now for the second state ment that Shri Amit Shah agree to grant anything to the Nagas even constitution and flag to ac commodate to a higher level that Naga constitution aka Yehzabo will be incorporated into the constitution of India and Naga flag will be given for civil usage beyond cultural usages exception of statutory office seems promis ing. But for those who understand the Naga context in totality and how politicization are done by manipulating the aspirations of the Nagas both by the Naga na tional worker and politicians over the years as a their own means of juicing milk for their fatty butter to fetch their table of feast at the expense of Naga aspiration would be sceptical to give into such promises until the competency inclusive in the constitution are be ing agreed upon with the consent of the Naga public.

Besides the Naga demand for constitution and flag especially vigorously pursued by the NSCM (IM), though the actual demand of ‘Nagas is Sovereignty’ for which the young revolutionaries of the time as Lt.Isak Chishi Swu, Th. Muivah, late Khaplang formed NSCN in 1980 for Naga Indepen dence. But over the course of times seems deviated from its ideology and sovereignty somewhere goes missing though sovereignty or integration are not pursued as aggressively as the constitution or flag. But first let me first press on integration; it is a wish of the Nagas beyond artificial boundar ies of states that the Integration

of all contiguous areas of the Nagas be brought under one umbrella. Now here if HM Amit Shah truly said as per Azo’s state ment that, he is ready to grant anything to the Nagas exception of the constitution and flag under certain conditions then does he agree upon the integration of all contiguous Naga area of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and willing to talk with the Govt of Myanmar on the issue of integra tion ? PM Narendra Modi in his election campaign had promised to the people of Manipur that there is no point in Naga Accord that was agreed on compromising Manipur territorial integrity and that Manipur territorial integrity will not be affected and will be pro tected. At the same time Defence minister Rajnath Singh has given an assurance to the stakeholders states of north eastern states that no territorial integration will be affected on any of the North Eastern states by Naga Accord also the GoI had promised that all stakeholders will be consulted on the matter of integration.

The state of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur have been totally against the question of the integration, leav ing aside Myanmar. There were number of agitations and protests in states like Manipur, where the legislative assembly was even set on fire against the integration. Now even if this statement is accepted and GoI under PM Modi or Home minister Amit shah agree to the proposal of Greater Nagaland it would lead to another long scuffle between the stakeholders to come to a settle ment. As per Azo Neinu’s remarks on Home minister, does it also mean that HM Amit Shah agree to other contentious demand like Pan Naga Hoho? If it means he is ready to grant anything to Nagas, the Pan Naga hoho which had been another bone of conflicting interest between the negotiating parties of IM and NNPGs? Will NNPGs accept Pan Naga Hoho? Even if both come to a mutual understanding and agreement to a conclusive position it would take uncertain dates and cannot be settled within just a month un less every stakeholder involved is

India may prove to be a shot in the arm for a beleaguered Armenia.

Azerbaijan-TurkeyPakistan relationship India’s military assis tance for Armenia comes against the backdrop of its regional rival’s bon homie with Azerbaijan.

Pakistan has consistently backed Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and has refused to establish diplomatic ties and legally recognise Armenia as an independent state.

Azerbai jan is seen by many as part of an emerging axis with Turkey and Pakistan. It has used Turkish drones to fight war against Armenia, and is also in talks with Pakistan to buy the JF-17 fighter aircraft.

In 2017, Turkey, Azer baijan, and Pakistan had signed a Trilateral Ministers Agreement that established security cooperation, and built upon previous bilateral military aid arrangements.

These three countries also conducted a joint exercise named ‘Three Brothers’ last year. The rise of Azerbaijan with increased Turkey-Paki stan military cooperation is a direct warning to India. Azerbaijan has acqui red

many deadly weapons by increasing friendship with Turkey and Pakistan in the name of Islam. Indian fears that other countries may also go along this route in the name of Islamic countries are not unfounded.

However, in spite of these developments, an inter esting fact is that India has stronger economic ties with Azerbaijan than with Arme nia. Indian company ONGC has also invested heavily in Azerbaijan’s gas sector. The Indian bilateral trade with Azerbaijan in 2019 stood at $1093 million, while with Armenia it was only $48 million in 2020. Broadly this latest defence deal will place India as one of the emerging global powers with rising defence exports capability.

In addition it will also allow it to play a significant role in the central Asian republics and regionally, both.

Asad Mirza is a political commentator based in New Delhi. He was also associated with BBC Urdu Service and Khaleej Times of Dubai. He writes on Indian Mus lims, educational, inter national affairs, interfaith and current affairs.

engaged in rapid talks every day for a definite month. Otherwise, it is next to impossible if talks follow the same trend of the past discussions done under separate consultations and meetings and so the promises that solution is coming before election is like fooling a child with a sweet to stop crying. This is a political strategy to quell the hue cry of the Nagas yearning for peace with a promise of solution.

Thirdly solution coming be fore Christmas is an unacceptable statement that can only be proven wrong by the actual result. Even if both NSCM (IM), NNPGs, all states STAKEHOLDER’S, CSOs and all factions involved in the Naga issue, the agreed competen cies will have to be put in public domain. They will need to go through the test of the Naga pub lic by undergoing extensive scru tiny, opinion, debates, protest, agitation and public referendum of for and against. This would be needed for the final settlement and that all this would be settled down within just a couple month resting the 75 years of Indo-Naga conflicts when the Naga people still doesn’t know what is under discussion for their future. When the talk had just resumed with new emissary and new strategies and in all this the promise of solution before Christmas is just beyond possible acceptance for those who had been fooled for many years that Naga issue is just about to be concluded. For many Christmas promises it would be just a LIE only be proven TRUTH through Deed of Action. Naga issue would be settled and would definitely be settled one day by the grace of Almighty God but all these promises of settlement that Solution is coming before election and dirtiest lie is promise before Christmas, Naga public should awake and should not become a scapegoat of all this political narrative. Election before solu tion is a myth, so many lives has passed hearing the story of it. One day it would find a place in mythological stories.

Hokato Awomi, Activist & Asst. Prof, Dimapur, (hokatosumi@gmail.com)

is ‘World Animal Day’

of animals.

Recovering key spe cies for ecosystem restoration

World Animal Day is observed on 4th October worldwide to create aware ness among people regard ing animals’ basic rights and its welfare standards.

This day is a reminder for all of us not just to love and care for pets in our homes but to appreciate and respect all wild ani mals, endangered species and those threatened by environmental devastation or lack of protection.

Therefore, on this day let us show kindness and compassion to our voiceless animals and spread some awareness about their basic rights and its welfare stan dards. Animals are asset to our society, they do have feelings and emotions just as human being, therefore it is the responsibility of every human being to love, care and protects our animals and prevents cruelty in all forms of abuses such as beating/hitting, forcing ani mals to struggle and work in extreme weather condi

tions, inhumane slaughter, etc.

Animals have as much of rights to live as we human beings do and we owe them much for our work, food, milk, eggs, companionship and all the joy and love they render to us. The least we can do for them is to provide them with their basic rights.

Some of the basic rights of animals are as follows:

1. Animals should be housed in safe and com fortable shed. 2. Sufficient floor space with the free

dom of movement without overcrowding, obstruction to fear.

3. Stray or homeless animals are to be provided with shelter and food.

4. Any injured/sick/ diseased animals are to be treated with our love, care, and compassion.

5. Daily adequate wellbalanced diet and clean water to be provided. 6. It is the bounded duty of the owner to provide timely basic health facilities like vaccinations, deworming and regular health check-up

United States of Nagaland (U.S.N)

“U

nited States of Na galand (USN)” – an idea, sounded to some people during his lifetime by Lt. Vizol, former Nagaland Chief Min ister and Rajya Sabha M.P., whose time had not come yet then. In his funeral meeting, this was reiter ated by a retired senior bureaucrat thinker, D.K. Zeliang, IFS, Retd. Principal Conservator of Forests. A similar perspective was mooted in a recent article entitled “Solutions for Naga Questions” by another thinker, Besesayo Kezo, IPS, Retd. DGP. The other day, Rev. Dr. Wati Aier, Convenor, FNR, emphasized that “Nagas should practice our uncontested sovereignty, without seeking it from those who do not have the rights to offer the same”, saying “cooperation is nationalism begun, and nationalism is coopera tion at its best”.

That the Naga political issue is a multidimensional and multi layered complex one is obvious. That piece-meal solution or a final solution at one go is unimaginable is also obvious. Hegel’s conclusion that “History teaches us that his tory teaches us nothing” appears to be relevant for us today. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. As of now, many people feel that any solution could be a panacea.

There is no expiry date, but the long-drawn issue has created many problems over the years for all citi zens and we are blaming one another for all the ills thereof. It is possible that we are yet to offer our best re sponses to this protracted challenge. We all can contribute our best to set our house of Naga fraternity in order (social harmony, unity, etc), be friendly with our neighbours and be expectant of positive and good outcomes from the great democratic nation of India and the neighbouring country of Myanmar. The Almighty is in control of history, not men, and we cannot afford to be desperate or hopeless. Wherever we are placed, let us have a unity of purpose and a meaningful existence, knowing that we have a common destiny ahead of us.

7. Mandatory Health Record Certification for any animal that is to be transported from one place to another.

8. Animals should be treated with respect throughout their lives and provided with even more care during their old ages.

Therefore, on World Animal Day let us all work to change our perspective to promote the basic right and welfare of animals to bring about positive changes in their lives.

Animals are Voiceless They cannot ask for Help They cannot ask for Freedom They cannot ask for Protection We are their Guardians We are their Voices Their lives are in Our Hand So, let us all join hands and make a world a better place for them.

“The greatness Gandhi. of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Dr. Dietho-o, South Corner, A.G Road, Kohima

200 rail stations to get ‘world-class’ facilities

tions. Overhead spaces will be created on the stations which will have world-class facilities including waiting lounges and food courts, besides amusement facilities for children,” the minister said.

Sonia arrives in K’taka to take part in Bharat Jodo Yatra

MYSURU (KARNA

TAKA), OCT 3 (IANS):

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Monday arrived here to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by her son, party leader Rahul Gandhi.

Murmu visits Sabarmati Ashram, pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

Shivakumar said.

He maintained that a two-day break has been taken by Rahul Gandhi as per the requests made by Siddaramaiah in the backdrop of Dasara and Navratri festivities in the state.

The government has prepared a master plan to revamp 200 railway stations, said Ashwini Vaishnaw. (File)

AURANGABAD, OCT 3 (PTI): As many as 200 railway stations across the country will get a facelift with modern amenities, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Aurang abad on Monday. He attended the foun dation stone laying ceremo ny for a coach maintenance factory at the Aurangabad

railway station in Maha rashtra.

“Tendering process for 47 railway stations is com pleted while physical work has started at 32 stations,” he said.

He said the Railways is being transformed.

“The government has prepared a master plan to revamp 200 railway sta

Farmers protest on anniversary of Lakhimpur Kheri incident

Mr Vaishnaw also said that railway stations will act as the “platform” for the sale of regional products.

Speaking on the contri bution of the Marathwada region in Maharashtra in the making of Vande Bharat trains, the minister said, “the country will have 400 ‘Vande Bharat’ trains in the future and 100 of these trains will be manufactured in the coach factory at Latur in Marathwada. The neces sary changes in the factory are already being made”.

Karnataka unit Con gress president D.K. Shi vakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah wel comed Sonia Gandhi at the Mandakalli Airport in Mysuru.

Shivakumar said So nia Gandhi is taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on October 6 in Karnataka.

“She will participate in the padayatra from wher ever it begins on October 6. Former Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge will arrive in the state on October 5 and he will also take part in the padayatra on October 6,”

“We have made al ternate arrangements for Sonia Gandhi in Mysuru. If the weather condition is good in Madikeri she will visit the place, otherwise, she will stay back in My suru,” Shivakumar said.

Asked about the criti cism by the BJP of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Shivakumar said Rahul Gandhi did not stop his speech even amid heavy rains on Sunday.

“Whether it is scorch ing sun or biting cold, we will continue the paday atra for the integrity of the country,” he said.

Cong prez poll guidelines: party officebearers cannot campaign for candidates

NE W DELHI, OCT 3 (PTI): Ahead of its presi dential poll, the Congress on Monday issued a set of guidelines for the election, debarring party office-bear ers from campaigning for candidates.

Those who wish to sup port any candidate will have to first resign from their organisational post, stated the guidelines issued by the Congress’ central election authority.

participate in the campaign process,” it said.

The polling for the Congress presidential elec tion will be held on October 17. The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day.

More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Commit tee (PCC) delegates will vote in the poll.

tion propaganda.

“Controverters of these procedures shall render the candidatures election invalid and make them liable for dis ciplinary action,” the party warned.

It said utmost care must be taken to ensure that there is no mala-fide campaign against any candidate.

AHMEDABAD, OCT 3 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Monday started her maiden visit to Gujarat by visiting the Mahatma Gandhi Ashram at Sabar mati here and described the experience as “indescribable inspiration”.

In the guest book, Pres ident Droupadi Murmu wrote in Hindi that she felt “indescribable reverence and inspiration” and “deep peace” by visiting the Ash ram, which had served as the centre of the freedom struggle for a long time.

This is President Drou padi Murmu’s first visit to Gujarat after becoming the President in July this year.

The President paid flo ral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the Ashram premises. Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupen dra Patel were also present.

President Droupadi Murmu also viewed the archival exhibition depict ing the life of the Father of the Nation and the freedom struggle. She also observed the model of the Sabarmati Ashram Redevelopment Project.

The President visited Mahatma Gandhi’s resi dence, ‘Hridaykunj’ on the Ashram premises. She paid obeisance to his picture and offered a garland made up of spun Khadi thread.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND DIRECTORATE OF SCHOOL EDUCATION KOHIMA: NAGALAND

NOTIFICATION

NO. Ed/EST/A/32/MKG/2022/595 Kohima dated the 3rd October 2022

CHANDIGARH, OCT 3 (IANS): Farmers under the aegis of Kisan Mazdur San garash Committee (KMSC) held protest and rail roko prorgramme at 17 different places in Punjab on Monday to mark the anniversary of Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

It may be noted that eight persons including four farmers had died during a protest in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, 2021.

In Amritsar, farmers also blocked the AmritsarDelhi rail track at Vallah, demanding stern action against the person respon sible for the incident.

Addressing the gath ering, General Secretary, KMSC, Sarwan Singh Pand her alleged “The conspirator of the Lakhimpur Kheri

massacre is still enjoying prime post while the in nocent farmers present at the site of the incident have been sent to jail after reg istration of cases against them.”

Another farmer leader Gurbachan Singh Chaba said the success of the Del hi farmer’s agitation was due to the sacrifice of 750 protesters and Lakhimpur Kheri ‘martyrdom’ was one of the most significant among them.

“Through today’s rail roko agitation we demand that farmers should be re leased and killers of farm ers should be hanged and appropriate action should be taken against those re sponsible for the Lakhmipur Kheri,” said Chaba.

Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are contesting the Congress president election in their personal capacity, the party said, noting that the “dele gates are free to elect any one of them, as per their choice, through ballot paper”.

AICC general secretar ies/In-charges, secretaries, joint secretaries, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, Congress Legis lature Party (CLP) leaders, heads of frontal organisa tions, chiefs of departments, cells and all official spokes persons “shall not campaign for or against contesting candidates”, it said.

“If they wish to support any candidate, they must first resign from their organ isational post, after that they

The Congress asked all PCC presidents to extend courtesy to the candidates during their visits to the re spective states.

The PCC presidents will provide and arrange a meeting hall, chairs and other public announcement equipment for the candidate who wishes to hold the meet ing of PCC delegates, it said.

“However, no such meeting can be called by the PCC president in their per sonal capacity,” it warned.

Organising the meeting is the task of the proposer or the supporters of the contest ing candidates, it pointed out.

During the election, the Congress said, no candidate can use vehicles for bring ing voters nor resort to any “undesired pamphleteering” or any other kind of publica

“The same would bring disgrace to the party. The sensitivity of the election process must be upheld at any cost,” it cautioned.

In a tweet, Tharoor said he welcomes the announce ment by the party’s chief election authority on the organisation’s presidential election.

In another tweet, he said he has resigned as the chief of Professionals’ Con gress.

“For those asking: I have already submitted my letter of resignation as head of @ProfCong to the Con gress President last month,” he said.

In continuation to Advertisement No. Ed/EST/A/32/MKG/2022 Kohima dated 29.04.2022 and in compliance of the Hon’ble Gauhati High court Kohima bench Order dated 03.03.2022 passed in order No. W.p.(c). NO. 127 (K) 2020, for advertisement of 1 (one) Lower Dealing Assistant (L.D.A) post at Sub-Divisional Education Officer, changtongya, Mokokchung, the following information is meant for the candidates who have applied for the same.

1. There will be a Written Examination for a total of 90 Marks (70 Marks Objective, 20 Marks computer Typing) and 10 Marks for Viva Voce.

2. The syllabus for Written Examination shall consist of: -

I. General English 40 Marks

II. General Knowledge 30 Marks

3. date of Examination 22.10.2022

Venue will be notified through Admit Card Time 10 AM to 12 Noon

4. The candidates may download their admit card from https://dosenl. in w.e.f. 19.10.22

5. Henceforth, no separate call letter will be issued to the candidate.

(THAVASEELAN K) IAS pRINcIpAL dIREcTOR

Farmers blocking a rail track during a protest at Vallah in Amritsar district on Monday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

President Droupadi Murmu pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi during a visit to Sabarmati Ashram, in Ahmedabad. (PTI)

Exporters seek GST extension

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): Led by the Federation of Indi an Export Organizations (FIEO), India’s worried exporters have written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting an extension of the previouslygranted exemption from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on export freight, reported ET Infra. They claimed that failure to grant the extension “will com pound their liquidity chal lenges.”

According to Busi ness Standard report, since its introduction in 2018, the government extended the exemption from GST on export freight twice. The most recent extension, which lasted for two years, concluded on September 30, 2022.

If the exemption is not extended for another term, exporters would be required to pay 18 per cent GST on export ocean freight, which will increase the logistical costs for Indian commodi ties on the international market. In an email sent to FM Sitharaman on October 2, FIEO president Dr A Sakthivel informed her of

the effects of withdrawing the exemption. He said in the email that the overseas freight has gone up by 300350 per cent from pre-covid levels and though there is little correction in the freight rate recently, freights are still 200-250 per cent more than at 2019 levels.

He further explained in the email that it is therefore that the payment of GST on such high freight rates will affect the liquidity of the exporters to a large extent particularly as the interest rates have also increased with the recent hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The payment of GST on export freight and sub sequent refund particularly through ITC mechanism comes with a time lag of 2-3 months or so, though refund

through IGST mechanism is faster, he said.

“Such a move will af fect our agriculture exports the most as in many cases of export of fruits and veg etables, the air freight, at times, is much higher than the freight on board (FOB) value of exports. Therefore, exporters would be required to pay a very high GST amount on such freight ad versely impacting the cash flow,” he stated.

International trade, ac cording to the FIEO presi dent, is “entering a very difficult phase as countries are facing high inflation and impending recession affecting the demand”. He said that this has been re vealed by India’s slowing export growth rate between April and August. FIEO

DoSE advisory to schools to prevent child lifting

(From p-1)

Assistance of District Legal Ser vices Authority (DLSA) may be taken to impart awareness to students, parents, teachers and public, it added. Students should be taught to rush and take help from the nearby authorities like driver in bus, principal/teachers in schools, parents, nearby Churches on roads, TTE in Trains etc.

Further, students should be taught to remember at least two emergency phone numbers and two addresses (parents/ favourite teacher) to use in case of any emergency.

It also advised teaching basic selfdefence in all schools. Instances where self-defence is to be used and where one should resist should also be taught.

To conduct mock drill to teach SOP in case a child kidnapping case is reported with different scenarios-- like kidnap ping at railway station, bus or school etc. Techniques like child shouting loud, “Help Help Help” if anyone suspicious approaches child in public can be taught

in mock drills.

Children may be taught of indirect signals which a child can use to communi cate with nearby people to save one from persons who pose as a danger.

Information to be immediately shared with the Police in cases of report of missing children. Child Helpline 1098 should be used immediately in any case of child kidnapping is reported.

It further asked schools to place helpline numbers of local police station/ control room in class rooms and promi nent places within the school premises.

Parents have also been advised to avoid uploading pictures of children in social media as anti-social elements track their activities like school time, sports time etc. and plan kidnapping accord ingly. Identity of “shop owners nearby schools should be verified by the school authorities and police/district admin istration should be informed in case of suspicion. It also asked schools to install CCTVs inside schools and outside school gates.

president pointed out that exporters in India are try ing their best despite the rupee being one of the most resilient currencies in the world. Thus, not providing less competitiveness to our exports as compared to our competitors as most cur rencies have depreciated at a much steeper pace, he added.

Sakthivel claimed that because exporters will pay the same amount and then receive a refund, the GST on export freight is “rev enue neutral.” While re questing the finance minis ter to extend the exemption for a further period to free the exporters from the has sle of securing additional funding, he stated, “This may augment the liquidity of the Government but at the cost of the exporters.

Since the cost of credit for the exporters is much high, an exemption will help the export sector to have better liquidity, which is the need of the hour.

An early decision will be very much appreciated by the exporting community which is passing through a difficult phase and is likely to become further difficult in months to come.”

ANATG rejects HPC, seeks CM’s intervention

(From p-1)

Speaking on behalf of the female members, she said mothers, wives and daughters among them, had to leave their family behind to fight for something which the depart ment should have taken care of without compelling them to take such drastic steps.

She made a fervent ap peal on the CM to intervene through a humanitarian per spective and resolve it at the earliest so that they could return home and also resume their duties for society.

The agitating teachers have shifted to Secretariat junction from NSF Solidar ity Park, where they have put up makeshift camps for the night.

PayU calls off $4.7 bn acquisition of of Indian fintech major BillDesk

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (IANS): In a significant move, PayU (owned by Pro sus) on Monday called off the $4.7 billion acquisition of Indian digital payments provider BillDesk, saying that “certain conditions precedent were not fulfilled” by the deadline.

On August 31, global consumer Internet group Prosus announced that an agreement has been reached between PayU and the shareholders of BillDesk to acquire the fintech platform for $4.7 billion.

The closing of the transaction was subject to the fulfilment of various conditions precedent, in cluding approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

“PayU secured CCI approval on 5 September 2022. However, certain con ditions precedent were not fulfilled by the 30 Septem ber 2022 long stop date, and the agreement has ter minated automatically in accordance with its terms and, accordingly, the pro posed transaction will not be implemented,” the company

said in a statement.

Prosus has been a longterm investor and operator in India, investing close to $6 billion in technology companies in the country since 2005.

Prosus said it “remains committed to the Indian market and growing its ex isting businesses within the region”.

The proposed acquisi tion was to see PayU, the payments and fintech busi ness of Prosus that operates in more than 20 high-growth markets, become one of the leading online payment providers globally by total

payment volume (TPV).

“We have a long and deep relationship with In dia, having supported and partnered with some of its most dynamic entrepreneurs and new tech businesses since 2005. We have in vested close to $6 billion in Indian tech to date, and this deal will see that increase to more than $10 billion,” Bob van Dijk, Group CEO of Prosus, had said in a statement.

BillDesk, founded in 2000, is an Indian success story and one of the leading payment businesses in the country.

Svante Paabo wins Nobel prize...

(From p-1) children together dur ing periods of co-existence,” Anna Wedell, chair of the Nobel Committee said.

Paabo’s work demonstrat ed practical implications during the COVID-19 pan demic when he found that people infected with the vi rus who carry a gene variant inherited from Neanderthals are more at risk of severe ill ness than those who do not.

“Paabo’s seminal research gave rise to an entirely new scientific discipline; pale ogenomics. By revealing genetic differences that dis tinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, his discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human,” the Nobel Committee said in its announcement.

The medicine prize kicked off a week of Nobel Prize announcements. It continues Tuesday with the physics prize, with chem istry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the economics award on October 10. The prizes carry a cash award of 10 mil lion Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be hand ed out on December 10.

ANCSU serves one-month deadline on state govt to address issues

(From p-1)

It therefore asked the depart ment and the government to im mediately do the needful since continuance of such unnecessary harassment would eventually impact the teaching atmosphere.

Scholarship: While appreciat ing the government for heeding to its demand to set up the Common Scholarship Nodal Cell, ANCU, however, said that some departments were unwilling to provide scholar ship details in thecommon portal.

It demanded to know the reason for the unwillingness in providing details of the scholarship schemes.

ANCUS reminded that there were around 18 scholarship schemes available under 13 departments and so demanded that the departments provide necessary details to the com mon scholarship portal within one month and failing which, it would be compelled to act in a befitting manner.

Apart from the portal, ANCUS also urged the government to set up a proper cell with responsible officers and staffs in order to ensure trans parent and proper disbursement of various scholarship schemes.

KSCJ land issue: ANCSU also raised the issue of boundary fencing and re-allocation of land at Kohima Science College (Autonomous) Jot soma (KSCJ).

While noting that the state government has taken up certain measures in settling the land issue, it however added that despite as surance and commitment made by the committee set up by the govern ment, the re-allocation of required portion of land and boundary fence construction was yet to see the light of the day.

It said that though the proposal for construction of boundary fence was recommended by the then deputy commissioner Kohima, the Higher Education department and

the state government was adamant in taking up necessary arrange ments.

ANCSU, therefore, cautioned the government to not take the issue lightly but to fulfil its commitment to construct the boundary fence and reallocation of land (occupied) within one month, failing which, would only invite “confrontations.”

ANCSU admitted that these issues require time to be resolved but reminded that these have been brought to the government’s notice on several occasions in the past five years.

The union therefore maintained that there was no genuine reason as to why solving the demands would take more than a month time, after these many years.

ANCSU expressed the hope that the government would take up the issues on priority “to avoid academic recession and educational turbulence.”

Rupee declines by 42 paise to 81.82

MUMBAI, OCT 3 (PTI):

The rupee fell by 42 paise to close at 81.82 against the US dollar on Monday, snap ping its two-session gaining streak as heavy selling in do mestic equities and a spike in crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.

Besides, a stronger greenback against key rivals and weak macro data put pressure on the domestic currency, forex dealers said.

At the interbank for eign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 81.65, fell further to 81.98 against the American cur rency. It finally ended at 81.82, down 42 paise over its previous close. In the previous session, the rupee settled at 81.40 against the greenback. “The rupee weakened against the dollar

on Monday amid weak risk sentiment and as oil import ers picked up dollar expect ing a big rise in crude prices as OPEC+ was considering slashing output to support a recent downturn in prices.

“Meanwhile, domestic equities fell as concerns rose around FPI outflows from equities and weighed on the local unit. In the overseas markets, the dollar index was rebounded while the Euro remained flat,” Sri ram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securi ties, said.

However, the Sterling rebounded after media re ported that Britain gov ernment reversed the plan to cut the highest rate of income tax. The Yen weak ened past 145 per dollar and for the first time since

September 22 when authori ties intervened to prop up the currency, Iyer added.

“Indian rupee depreci ated by 0.51% today on weak domestic markets and surge in crude oil prices. Disap pointing macroeconomic data also weighed on Ru pee,” Anuj Choudhary - Re search Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.

India’s Manufacturing PMI slipped to 55.1 in Sep tember, trailing estimates of 55.80 and previous month’s reading of 56.2.

Ukrainian troops ‘break through Russian lines’

front line since the early weeks of the invasion.

While Kyiv main tained almost complete silence, as it has in the past during major offensives, some officials did describe what they referred to as unconfirmed reports of gains.

Anton Gerashchen ko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry, posted a photo of Ukrainian sol diers posing with their flag draping a golden statue of an angel. He said it was the village of Mikhailivka, around 20 km beyond the previous front.

Brazil’s Lula and Bolsonaro face run-off after surprisingly tight result

- this spells a remarkable comeback.

KYIV/LONDON, OCT 3 (REUTERS/IANS):

Ukrainian forces achieved their biggest breakthrough in the south of the coun try since the war began, bursting through the front and advancing rapidly along the Dnipro River on Monday, threatening sup ply lines for thousands of Russian troops.

Kyiv gave no official confirmation of the gains, but Russian sources ac knowledged that a Ukrai nian tank offensive had advanced dozens of kilo meters along the river’s west bank, recapturing a

number of villages along the way.

The breakthrough mirrors recent Ukrainian successes in the east that have turned the tide in the war against Russia, even as Moscow has tried to raise the stakes by annex ing territory, ordering mo bilisation and threatening nuclear retaliation.

“The information is tense, let’s put it that way, because, yes there were indeed breakthroughs,” Vladimir Saldo, the Rus sian-installed leader in oc cupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson province told

Russian state television.

“There’s a settlement called Dudchany, right along the Dnipro River, and right there, in that region, there was a break through. There are settle ments that are occupied by Ukrainian forces,” he said.

Dudchany is around 30 km (20 miles) south of where the front stood be fore the breakthrough, in dicating one of the fastest advances of the war and by far the most rapid in the south, where Russian forces had been dug into heavily reinforced posi tions along a mainly static

Iran’s supreme leader breaks silence on protests, blames US

DUBAI, OCT 3 (AP):

Iran’s supreme leader Aya tollah Ali Khamenei re sponded publicly on Mon day to the biggest protests in Iran in years, breaking weeks of silence to con demn what he called “riot ing” and accuse the United States and Israel of plan ning the protests.

The unrest, ignited by the death of a young wom an in the custody of Iran’s morality police, is flaring up across the country for a third week despite govern ment efforts to crack down.

On Monday, Iran shuttered its top technol ogy university following an hours-long standoff be tween students and the police, that turned the pres tigious institution into the latest flashpoint of protests and ended with hundreds of young people arrested.

Speaking to a cadre of police students in Teh ran, Khamenei said he was “heartbroken” by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Ami

ni in police custody, calling it a “sad incident”. How ever, he sharply condemned the protests as a foreign plot to destabilise Iran, echoing authorities’ previous com ments. “This rioting was planned,” he told a cadre of police students in Tehran. “These riots and insecuri ties were designed by Amer ica and the Zionist regime, and their employees.”

Meanwhile Sharif University of Technology in Tehran announced that only

doctoral students would be allowed on campus until further notice following hours of turmoil on Sunday evening, when witnesses said antigovernment pro testers clashed with hardline pro-establishment students.

The witnesses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of re prisals, said the police kept hundreds of students holed up on campus and fired rounds of tear gas to dis perse the demonstrations.

Footage of a huge freight train moving spe cialist military equipment associated with a nucleararms wielding division of Russia’s Defence Ministry has been spotted on the move, prompting fears of an escalation in the conflict from President Vladimir Putin’s forces, the media reported.

A series of BPM-97 armoured personnel car riers (APCs) and other military vehicles were seen travelling through central Russia in a clip posted on the Telegram messag ing app by pro-Russian channel Rybar on Sunday, Daily Mail reported.

The APCs are thought to have been up graded with more capable

Imran to launch anti-government long march

ISLAMABAD, OCT 3 (IANS):

After holding over 55 public gatherings and over two dozen confer ences, institutional events; Imran khan is geared up to launch an anti-government long march and protest sit-in choking Pakistan capital Islamabad until his demand of holding early elections is met.

Sources within Im ran Khan’s political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have confirmed that the date for the long march will be announced within the next six days as the party is now holding consultation and engag ing with sources to start preparing for the upcom ing long march. Former Information Minister and senior member of PTI, Fawad Chaudhry said that the nation should start pre paring for the long march as this is the only option left to oust what he termed as “imported government of power.”

girls among 53 killed in Kabul bombings: UN

KABUL, OCT 3 (AFP):

Forty-six girls and young women were among those killed in a suicide bomb ing on an Afghan educa tion centre last week, the UN said Monday as it announced the total death count had risen to 53.

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday next to women at a gen der-segregated study hall

packed with hundreds of students sitting a practice test for university admis sions. The attack happened in a Kabul neighbourhood home to the historically oppressed Shiite Muslim Hazara community, which has been subjected to some of the worst violence in the country’s recent history.

“Our human rights team continues document

Hurricane Ian kills 80 in US

WASHINGTON, OCT 3 (IANS): At least 80 people were killed in the U.S. states of Florida and North Carolina by Hur ricane Ian which made landfall in southwestern Florida as Category 4 last week.

At least 76 people in Florida had died due to Ian, with four other fa talities reported in North Carolina, media outlets said on Sunday.

In Florida’s Lee County alone, the hur ricane contributed to 42 deaths. The county sheriff Carmine Marceno told reporters that the project ed death toll is unknown due to the insurmountable damage the county has seen.

“Those numbers could go up,” he said. “I don’t know. I hope and pray that they don’t.”

More than 1,600 res

cues have been made in Florida since Ian made landfall there on Wednes day afternoon, according to the office of Governor Ron DeSantis.

The storm brought catastrophic storm surges, heavy rains and destruc tive winds, and dangerous flooding to both Florida’s coast and inland areas.

Ian made landfall in South Carolina as Catego ry 1 on Friday afternoon and weakened to a posttropical cyclone that later dissipated across southern Virginia on Saturday.

U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Puerto Rico Monday to survey damage from Hurricane Fiona, which brought heavy rains, cata strophic damage and an island-wide blackout to the U.S. territory last month, before heading to Florida on Wednesday.

ing the crime: verifying facts & establishing reli able data to counter denial & revisionism,” the United Nations assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) tweeted. It raised the death count from 43 to 53, add ing that a further 110 had been wounded.

Afghanistan’s Tali ban authorities, which have often tried to play

down attacks challenging their regime, have said 25 people were killed and 33 others wounded.

No group has so far claimed responsibility, but the jihadist Islamic State group (IS), which consid ers Shiites as heretics, has carried out several deadly attacks in the same area targeting girls, schools and mosques.

turrets, reinforced ambush and mine-proof armour and an air purification system designed to allow its occupants to operate effectively in the face of sustained infantry attacks.

Such advanced mili tary hardware, the likes of which have scarcely been deployed on the frontlines in Ukraine, reportedly belong to the 12th Main Directorate of the Rus sian MoD. This specialist division is dedicated to the storage, maintenance and provision of weapons to the likes of the Strategic Rocket Forces, a Russian military branch that con trols nuclear missiles and forms a key part of Putin’s nuclear programme, Daily Mail reported.

LONDON, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): Brazil’s election is going into a second round in which leftwinger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will face far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.

With almost all the votes counted, Lula had won 48% against Bolso naro’s 43% - a much closer result than opinion polls had suggested, BBC re ported.

But Lula fell short of the more than 50% of valid votes needed to pre vent a run-off. Voters now have four weeks to decide which of the two should lead Brazil.

Winning outright in

the first round was always going to be a tall order for any candidate - the last time it happened was 24 years ago. But President Bolsonaro and Lula had given their supporters hope that they could achieve just that.

Both candidates can and will claim this as a victory, though. Lula has already said that this is a “mere delay” on his way to the presidency.

For the 76-year-old former metal worker - who could not run in the 2018 election because he was in prison after being convict ed on corruption charges which were later annulled

And President Bolso naro, whom opinion polls had shown trailing far behind Lula, will rejoice in the fact that he proved the pollsters wrong, just as he had predicted he would. This is a drama which has been years in the mak ing. The two men are archrivals and spent much of the campaign trading in sults.

In the last TV debate before the vote, President Bolsonaro called Lula a thief, in reference to the corruption charges that put him in jail for 580 days before the conviction was annulled.

Lula, who has al ways maintained that the charges against him were politically motivated, has labelled Mr Bolsonaro a madman.

Not surprisingly, that tension has filtered down into the streets. During the nights before the vote, neighbours here in Rio could be heard shouting “Lula is a thief” and “Out with Bolsonaro” at each other.

5.7 mn Pakistani flood victims to face food crisis: UN

ISLAMABAD, OCT 3 (AP): The United Nations humanitarian agency is warning that about 5.7 mil lion Pakistani flood sur vivors will face a serious food crisis in the next three months, as the death toll from the deluge rose on Monday.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Au thority reported that floods fuelled by abnormally heavy monsoon rains have killed 1,695 people, affected 33 million, damaged more than 2 million homes and displaced hundreds of thou sands now living in tents or makeshift homes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Hu manitarian Affairs in its latest report on Saturday said the current floods are expected to exacerbate food insecurity in Pakistan and said 5.7 million people in flood-affected areas will be facing a food crisis between September and November.

Even before the floods, according to the World Health Organisation, 16 per cent of the population was

A displaced girl carries a bottle of water, which she filled from floodwaters, in a camp, in Sehwan, Pakistan. (Reuters) living in moderate or severe food insecurity.

However, Pakistan’s government insists that there is no immediate wor ry about food supplies, as wheat stocks are enough to last through the next harvest and that the government is importing more.

The UN agency said in a tweet on Monday that the agency and other partners have scaled up their flood response and delivered aid to 1.6 million people direct ly affected by the deluges. OCHA said outbreaks of waterborne and other

OFFICE OF THE KOHIMA NEW CHANGSU UNION FELICITATION

diseases are on the rise in Sindh and southwest ern Baluchistan provinces, where floods have caused the most damage since midJune.

Several countries and UN agencies have sent more than 131 flights carrying aid for survivors, but many are complaining they have ei ther received too little help or are still waiting for it.

The UN humanitar ian agency also said in its Saturday report that rainfall in Baluchistan and Sindh lightened substantially over the past week, as tempera

tures start to decrease ahead of winter.

“Normal conditions are prevailing in most dis tricts of Baluchistan, while in Sindh, the Indus River is flowing normally,” said OCHA.

Overall, it added, in 18 out of 22 districts of Sindh, floodwater levels had re ceded at least 34 per cent, and in some districts up to 78 per cent.

The OCHA report also highlighted the ordeal of flood survivors, saying many continue to live in “unsanitary conditions in temporary shelters, often with limited access to basic services, compounding the risk of a major public health crisis.”

It said pregnant wom en are being treated in tem porary camps when pos sible, and nearly 130,000 pregnant women need ur gent health services.

“Already before the floods, Pakistan had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia, with the situation likely to deteriorate,” it said.

FELICITATION

OFFICE OF THE

NATSUMI TUGHALO CHEKEMI KUQHAKULU

FELICITATION

The Ungma

The Union

and wisdom in exercising their duties for the welfare and upliftment of the people of our society.

The Union wishes them

Russiannuclearmilitary train is seen on the move

Ukrainian troops are filmed ambushing Russian armoured vehicles using anti-tank launchers in Donetsk, leaving at least one of them destroyed.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, reviews a group of armed forces cadets at their graduation ceremony.

Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (AFP)

SJC (A) Jakhama conducts 13th Convergence Fest

Keduolhou Angami offered the invocation prayer, direc tor of the department of Business Administration, K. Zubemo Humtsoe delivered the welcome address, and convenor of the 13th Con vergence Fest, Daveilu Pao gave a brief introduction on ‘Convergence Fest’.

Highlights of the fest included performances and special appearances by renowned artists such as Peleno Zhasa, KL Pamei, Big Dane and Lapla Chang among others.

Sacheen Littlefeather, activist who took stage to decline Marlon Brando’s Oscar, passes away

Sacheen Littlefeather, the activist for Na tive Americans who declined Marlon Brando’s Oscar for ‘The Godfather’ on his behalf at the 1973 Academy Awards, died on Sunday at 75, the Academy of Motion Pictures said.

She had been suffering from breast cancer, reports ‘Variety’.

In June, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences apologised to Littlefeather for her treatment at the Oscars that night.

stereotypical tomahawk chop, individuals who called at me, and I ignored all of them. I continued to walk straight ahead with a couple of armed guards beside me, and I held my head high and was proud to be the first Indigenous woman in the history of the Academy Awards to make that political statement.

D

epartment of Busi ness Administra tion, St. Joseph’s College (SJC) (Autono mous) Jakhama success fully organised the 13th Convergence Fest, an annual management fest of the col lege on September 30 under the theme “Limitless Pos sibilities”. Advisor, Urban Development and Munici pal Affairs, Dr. Nikiesalie Nicky Kire graced the oc

casion as guest speaker. Addressing the gathering, guest speaker, Dr. Nicky expressed his happiness to be a part of the event. While sharing his concern of the possibility of managing all the events in a single day, he encouraged the students to come together often, to interact, and to learn from each other by participating in such events.

The advisor also urged

the students to come up in the field of entrepreneurship and all other types of profes sions which would benefit them as well as the state.

He also cautioned students against becoming “SSOs” (simply sitting officers), one who simply sits and does nothing but leads a luxuri ous life at the cost of their parent’s earning.

Earlier, principal, SJC (A), Rev. Fr. Dr. George

Alia Bhatt says her baby ‘relentlessly kicked’ during her acceptance speech

Bollywood star and mum-to-be Alia Bhatt said that her “little one kicked” her “relentlessly” while she was giving an acceptance speech.

Alia was honoured with the Time100 Impact award for her outstanding contribution to cinema. She wore a dusty shimmery cape gown as she accepted the award. While giving her acceptance speech, Alia mentioned her “little one” and said: “I am im mensely proud to be here tonight as a representative of my country. A coun try that has built both me and my career. India as a country has its core value as diversity above anything else and it’s a song I hope to sing all over the world.”

“Lastly, when it comes to making an impact. I hope I continue to do so in whatever way possible but for now, tonight, this

award has genuinely made an impact on me and my little one who has relent lessly kicked me through the speech. Thank you so much, have a good night,” she said. On the acting

Lindsey Buckingham Scraps Tour Due to ‘Health Issues’

front, Alia was last seen on screen in Ayan Mukerji’s ‘Brahmastra Part One: Shiva’. She will next be seen in ‘Heart Of Stone’ and ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’.

Later during the prize distribution ceremony, Tetso College, Dimapur bagged the overall champion of the fest and Sazolie College, Kohima bagged the best disciplined team. The fest concluded with vote of thanks pro nounced by co-convenor, Mughaputo Achumi. Alto gether, 9 different colleges from Kohima and Dimapur districts and 11 departments from SJC (A) participated in various events.

Littlefeather attended an in-person presentation of the apology at the Acad emy Museum on Septem ber 17.

At the Oscars, she was only given 60 seconds to read her speech on Native American rights, and was then escorted off the stage with audience members booing.

“He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” Little feather said to the Acad

emy Awards audience. “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry... and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”

Littlefeather, born Marie Louise Cruz in Sa linas, California, became interested in Native Ameri can issues in college and participated in the 1970 occupation of Alcatraz Island, adopting her name during that time.

After college, she joined SAG and reportedly met Brando, who took an interest in Native Ameri

can issues, through Francis Ford Coppola who like Littlefeather, lived in San Francisco.

In a recent interview, Littlefeather told ‘Variety’ what it was like to attend the Oscars on Brando’s behalf. “It was my first time at the Academy Awards. I made it through my first hurdle, promising Marlon Brando that I would not touch that Oscar. But, as I walked off that stage, I did in the ways of courage, honour, grace, dignity and truthfulness. I did so in the ways of my ancestors and the ways of Indigenous women.

“I was met with the

“At that time in 1973, there was a media blackout on Wounded Knee and against the American In dian Movement that was occupying it. Marlon had called them in advance and asked them to watch the Academy Awards, which they did. “As they saw me, up on stage, refusing that Academy Award for the stereotypes within the film industry, and mentioning Wounded Knee in South Dakota, it would break the media boycott.”

A documentary about her life and activism, “Sa cheen Breaking the Si lence,” was released in 2021.

Move Around a Lot While You Sleep? It Might Be Bad News For Your Heart

Poor sleep quality –including moving around too much or having sleep apnea – may increase the risk for a fu ture heart problem, new research suggests.

That problem is called left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, a precursor to heart failure. But not getting enough sleep did not appear to increase that risk, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Heart failure with pre served ejection fraction (HFpEF) – a type of heart failure that occurs when the left side of the heart muscle stiffens and can’t properly pump blood to the rest of the body – makes up 60% of the 37 million cases of heart failure worldwide.

“But there is no estab lished method to prevent it,” said lead study author Dr. Hidenori Koyama, a professor at Hyogo Medi cal University in Nishi nomiya, Japan. “Our study tells us the potential impor

tance of sleep quality for its prevention.”

Prior research has shown sleep problems, in cluding sleep apnea, are as sociated with an increased rate of heart failure. But little research has exam ined their association with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Researchers analyzed sleep and heart health data for 452 adults, who were an average of 59 years old, over a nearly three-year pe riod. They measured sleep apnea, sleep duration and

how much a person moved while they slept – an indica tor that sleep was restless.

People with moderate to severe sleep apnea, or who moved around a lot at night – but not those who didn’t get enough sleep – were more likely to develop left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Among people with moderate to severe sleep apnea, about 28% later developed left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, com pared with about 11% of those without sleep apnea.

Kim K pays $1.26 mn fine for illegally promoting crypto

Among those who moved around a lot while they slept, 21% later developed the heart condition, com pared with 8% of those who moved less.

A great deal is known about sleep apnea, a com mon sleep disorder, and how to treat it. But less is known about how to ad dress excessive movement during sleep.

“There is a strong pos sibility that body movement during sleep represents a decline in sleep quality, such as a shortage of deep sleep time,” Koyama said.

Sleep quality is inad equately studied, said Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona Col lege of Medicine-Tucson, who was not involved in the new study.

He said poor sleep quality might be caused by stress, pain or other health problems but is an important factor to con sider wh en studying the

relationship between sleep and overall health.

Grandner co-wrote a recent presidential advisory from the American Heart Association that added sleep duration – from seven to nine hours a night for most adults – to its list of key measures for good car diovascular health, known as Life’s Essential 8. Doc tors should routinely ask their patients not just how much they are sleeping, but how well they are sleeping, he said.

“We can’t ignore the effects of poor sleep qual ity, which are separate from sleep duration and sleep disorders,” Grandner said. “What this study shows is that we should start think ing about how to improve sleep across multiple di mensions. Not just getting people to get enough sleep, which is a struggle in itself, but how do we get people to get better sleep quality?”

By Laura Williamson, American Heart Asso ciation News

The Rock And Roll Hall of Famer “sends his deepest apologies to all his fans who were planning to attend and hopes to return to Europe in the future,” reads a state ment on his social channels.

The 73-year-old singer and guitarist was midway through a run of rescheduled U.K. shows, which were origi nally set to take place earlier in the year but were postponed when he and members of his band and crew contracted COVID-19.

Buckingham has had an eventful couple of years. He was sensationally fired from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 ahead of a major tour. Later, he sued the band he had joined in 1975, for an estimated $12 million to $14 million in lost wages — a suit that has since been settled.

The following year, in February 2019, he suffered a heart attack that required triple-bypass surgery as well as the insertion of a breathing tube that temporarily dam aged his vocal cords. Then there was a divorce filing from his wife of 21 years in June of 2021.

is in support of his self-titled seventh studio album from 2021, a re cording which he claims was at the heart of his falling out with his Fleet wood Mac band mates.

As a member of Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham was in ducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. And in 2011, he appeared in Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” coming in at No. 100.

Lars Brandle, Billboard

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian paid $1.26 million fine after she was charged with unlaw fully promoting an illegal crypto investment scheme on Instagram, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Monday.

Kim has also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years. She promoted on social media a crypto asset offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion.

The SEC said that she agreed to settle the charges, pay $1.26 million in pen alties, disgorgement, and interest, and cooperate with the Commiss ion’s ongoing investigation. “This case is a reminder that, when celebri ties or influencers endorse

investment opportunities, including crypto asset secu rities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

“We encourage inves tors to consider an invest ment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals,” Gensler said in a statement. In a series of posts to her Instagram story, Kardashian asked her followers, “Are you guys into crypto??? This is not financial

advice but sharing what my friends just told me about the ethereum max token!” Her followers were

then encouraged to head to the EthereumMax website and “join the E-Max com munity”.

OFFICE OF THE KHENSA SENSOTSÜR MUNGDANG, KHENSA BAPTIST

KHENSA SENSO

OFFICE OF THE NATHA NEW STUDENTS UNION (NNSU) FELICITATION

The

Office

With

Lindsey Buck ingham’s Euro pean tour is ending early, due to “on going health issues.”

Winners of the 13th Convergence Fest and advisor, Dr. Nikiesalie Nicky Kire (inset).

Asia Cup: Indian eves beat Malaysia

SYLHET, OCT 3 (PTI):

Opener Sabbhineni

Meghana (69) batted with authority to record her maiden T20I halfcentury as India defeated Malaysia by 30 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in the raincurtailed Asia Cup match here on Monday.

Replacing vicecaptain Smriti Mandhana at the top, Meghana hit a career-best 69 off 53 deliveries to help India post 181 for 4.

In reply, Malaysia were tottering at 16/2 in 5.2 overs when rain stopped play, far behind the 46-run mark which was the D/L par score when the match was called off. With the win, India moved to the second spot on the points table -- with four points -- behind Pakistan.

Meghana took the Malaysian bowling attack to the sword as she brought up her career-best score in the format after India were asked to bat.

The big-hitting Shafali Verma, who is struggling for form, also pitched in but the teenager

looked scratchy for the most part of her 46-run knock. Meghana made most of the opportunity provided to her as she donned the role of the aggressor from the very first ball.

She milked boundaries every over, hitting the ball all across the ground in the powerplay as India fetched 47/0 in the first six overs.

She was dropped on 14 by skipper Winifred Duraisingam (2/36) in the third over and the right-hander made the

Malaysian’s pay for the error as she raced to fifty with a boundary.

Poor fielding only added to Malaysia’s woes as the Indian women looked on course for a 200-plus score.

However, Duraisingam got the bigwicket of Meghana. The Indian looked to drive only to chip the ball straight into the hands of extra cover, sending the entire Malaysian team into frenzy.

Shafali, who had played the second second

Kohli, Rahul rested for third T20 against South Africa

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): In-form batsmen KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have been given a break ahead of the team’s departure for the T20 World Cup and will not play the third T20 International against South Africa in Indore on Tuesday.

An eight-wicket win in Thiruvananthapuram and a 16-run win in Guwahati gave the Indian team an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series.

According to The Indian Express, the Indian team is scheduled to fly to Brisbane on October 6 and a second-string side captained by Shikhar Dhawan has been named for the three-match ODI series against South Africa

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli (File)

beginning with a game in Lucknow. Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer is likely to play the third T20 International.

In the second T20 International in Guwahati, both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli struck form. Rahul, who has been facing flak for not being more attacking in the shorter format, played

an innings of intent by making 57 in just 28 balls, a knock which included five fours and four sixes. Kohli too looked in good touch on way to 49 off 28. Kohli ended century drought with an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup last month. He also made 63 against Australia in Hyderabad.

fiddle to perfection, smashed a couple of sixes but failed to carry on the momentum once Meghana was out.

Richa Ghosh was elevated to the number three spot and the young wicketkeeper played a fluent 33-run knock, finding the gaps beautifully.

But Shafali struggled to accelerate as Malaysia tightened their bowling and fielding while also triggering a mini-batting collapse.

In the eventful penultimate over, Shafali was bowled by 17-yearold Nur Dania Syuhada (2/9) off the first delivery before the spinner got rid of Kiran Navgire (0) in the next ball.

It would have been three-wicket haul for the teenager had Richa not been dropped at deep midwicket on 31.

Defending 181, spinners Deepti Sharma (1/10) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (1/6) got rid of openers Winifred Duraisingam (0) and Wan Julia (1) before rain stopped play.

Bumrah out of T20 World Cup with back injury: BCCI

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (PTI): India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup due to a back injury, the BCCI announced on Monday.

That Bumrah is ruled out of the big-ticket event due to a stress fracture was first reported by the PTI on September 29.

Bumrah’s absence will certainly affect India’s chances in the marquee event in Australia as the death bowling still remains a grey area.

The BCCI was awaiting medical reports while the pacer did his rehab at the National Cricket Academy but it was a foregone conclusion that he would be out for months.

Kohli thanks Ghy for ‘terrific atmosphere’

GUWAHATI, OCT 3 (PTI): Just as Virat Kohl’s ‘selfless knock’ won the hearts of cricket lovers here on Sunday night, the boisterous crowd that cheered the game drew praise from the ace player too.

Kohli missed a halfcentury by a whisker as he remained unbeaten at 49 with India setting a target of 238 for South Africa.

India went on to win the match by 16 runs and grab the three-match T20 series by winning the first two games.

The capacity crowd of nearly 39,000 at the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Stadium here had the loudest cheers reserved for the former Team India captain.

Praising the massive support, Kohli expressed his gratitude to the crowd on Twitter.

“Great game. Terrific atmosphere. Thank you Guwahati,” the star player wrote, sharing pictures of the game, in a postmidnight Tweet.

Team jersey of Ura Uvie FC launched

DUBAI, OCT 3 (PTI): India will open their campaign in the 2023 women’s T20 World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 12 in Cape Town, according to the fixture announced by the ICC on Monday.

India have been placed in Group 2 along with England, West Indies, Pakistan and qualifiers Ireland in the February 10-26 tournament to be held in South Africa.

India’s second match will also be played in Cape Town against the West Indies on February 15 before they take

SCD organizes first women volleyball tourney

DIMAPUR, OCT 3 (NPN): Skyline Club of Dimapur (SCD) organized the first women volleyball tournament on October 3-4 at Padum Pukhuri, Dimapur. The tourna ment was graced by exparliamentary secretary, S. Chuba Longkumer as guest of honour. Accord ing to SCD president, Apong Aier, the guest of honour in his speech called for organizing more sport ing activities especially for women as they get lesser platform. He congratu lated the club for organiz ing the event noting that sports was one of the most important co-curricular activities.

Earlier, the welcome speech was delivered by club president, Apong Aier. In the opening match, Mystic Volleyball team defeated Punglwa B Youth 21-19. A total of 18 teams participated in the tournament.

on England and Ireland on February 18 and 20 in Gqeberha. Hosts South Africa will take on Sri Lanka in the inaugural match in Cape Town. The final will be held on February 26, also in Cape Town, with a reserve day available on the next day in case of major interruptions in play on the designated date. Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha will host the matches of the tournament with the knockout matches set to be played in Cape Town. Twenty-three matches will be played in the 10-team tournament.

“The BCCI Medical team has ruled out Team India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad. The decision was taken following a detailed assessment and in consultation with the specialists,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.

Bumrah was initially ruled out of the ongoing three-match T20I series against South Africa due to a back injury.

Correspondent

KOHIMA, OCT 3 (NPN): International footballer and president of Nagaland Football Coaches Association, Roko Angami said players should focus more on their game and not their fee as a player’s performance would determine how much they would be paid.

He was speaking as the special guest at the jersey and anthem launch of Ura Uvie FC at L Viluo Fifa ProTurf, Meriema,

here on Monday night.

He pointed out that there was no shortcut to a successful career in football and that the game was more than mere passes, kicks and dribbles.

He said a lot of things go into making a successful footballer and chief among those was discipline, both on and off the field.

He urged the players to abstain from unnecessary celebration after every match and instead get proper sleep, which he said, was the best medicine

for a sportsperson.

Earlier, Roko launched the team jersey while anthem of the team was also released during the event.

The programme was chaired by Viketuno Hiekha and invocation by CYE chairman, CRC Meriema, Seyiekhriezo Kezieo.

A note from the management team was shared by Aneizo Keditsu while Asenuo Metha presented a special number.

Real held by Osasuna; Barca rise to top in La Liga

MADRID, OCT 3 (IANS): Real Madrid surrendered the leadership of La Liga to Barcelona after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna on Sunday evening. Karim Benzema was back in the starting 11, while Andriy Lunin replaced Thibaut Courtois in goal after the Belgian had to drop out with a back injury.

Madrid took the lead with a stroke of fortune and a dose of controversy in the 42nd minute when Vinicius Jr’s cross went in at the far post. Osasuna players claimed offside as VAR rejected the visitors’ appeals.

Kike Garcia’s secondhalf header gave Osasuna a deserved equalizer but Madrid should have won when they were given a 78th-minute penalty after David Garcia’s push on Benzema, reports Xinhua.

Benzema sent the spot kick against the bar and Osasuna clung on bravely until the end to take a point and end Madrid’s 100 percent start to the season.

Real Betis suffered their second defeat of the season when they lost 1-0 away to Celta Vigo, who took all three points after Gabri Veiga’s excellent ninth-minute shot from outside of area.

Betis’ options were severely reduced after

20 minutes when Luis Felipe was sent off for a professional foul.

Valencia saved a point in the 96th minute after Espanyol keeper Alvaro Fernandez made a huge error to allow Eray Comert’s speculative lob to loop into the net.

Gabriel Paulista’s header had put Valencia ahead, before excellent goals from Joselu and Sergi Darder seemed as if they would give Espanyol only their second win of the campaign.

Real Sociedad won a thrilling and chaotic game 5-3 away to Girona with Alexander Sorloth, Martin Zubimendi, Brais Mendes and Takefusa Kubo scoring for the visitors, who took the lead and then had to come back from behind after Rodrigo Riquelme, Arnau Martinez and Valentin Castellano netted for the home side.

On Saturday, Robert Lewandowski’s goal after 20 minutes was enough to give Barcelona a 1-0 win away to Mallorca, which takes them top of the table.

Mallorca had chances to level through Jaume Costa, Vedat Muriqi and Lee Kang-in, but Barca keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who has now gone 534 minutes without conceding a goal, saw

Cadiz defended stoutly to draw 0-0 at home to Villarreal, with the help of some excellent saves from keeper Jeremias Ledesma.

Cadiz had defender Iza Carcelan sent off in the last minute for a professional foul as Arnaut

Danjuma went through on goal, but Dani Parejo hit the resulting free kick into the defensive wall.

Valladolid won an entertaining game 3-2 win away to Getafe.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring the opener against Osasuna. (Manu Fernandez) Barca cling on for the win. Marcos Llorente and Alvaro Morata gave Atletico Madrid a comfortable 2-0 win away to Sevilla, whose coach Julen Lopetegui is in danger of the sack after his side have taken just five points from a possible 21.

Sergio Leon’s penalty put Valladolid ahead in the 19th minute, before Borja Mayoral (28 minutes) and Damien Sanchez (30 minutes) reacted to put Getafe in front.

Leon’s second of the game made it 2-2 in the 36th minute and Oscar Plano put the visitors ahead with a powerful shot in the 48th minute.

Sabbhineni Meghana of India raises her bat after scoring a fifty. (Asian Cricket Council)

Roko Angami (white jersey) with the management team of Ura Uvie at Kohima on Monday. (NP)

National Games: Sambo, Siva break records

GANDHINAGAR, OCT 3 (PTI): Polevaulter Siva Subramaniam and weightlifter Sambo Lapung shattered national records on way to winning their respective gold medals at the National Games here on Monday.

While Siva from Services soared over 5.31m to break his own national record set four years ago, Sambo, representing Arunachal Pradesh, lifted 198kg to break the Clean and Jerk national mark in 96kg men’s weightlifting.

Egged on by a seizable crowd at the IIT Gandhinagar, Siva Subramaniam first broke the National Games record, set at 5.10m by Vijay Pal Singh back in 1987, by clearing 5.11m.

He then soared over 5.21m and asked for the bar to be raised at 5.31m, with an eye on the national record. He failed on the first try but cleared it the next time.

Arunachal Pradesh’s weightlifting star Lapung broke clean and jerk national record in the 96kg class, lifting 198kg on his way to gold at the Mahatma Mandir Complex here.

Lapung had missed his date with the record in the National Championships in Bhubaneswar earlier this year when the judges ruled

his attempt as a No-Lift. But on Monday, there was no stopping him from regaining the national record from Vikas Thakur (Services).

Services’ Jagdish settled for silver with a total of 331kg, 15kg less than Lapung.

In swimming, SP Likhit earned two gold medals for Services at the Sardar Patel Aquatics Complex in Rajkot. He first won the 200m Breaststroke gold and then swam a leg in the Services 4x100m Medley Relay triumph.

Hrutika Shriram (Maharashtra) claimed her ninth gold medal in the National Games, her first in this edition, when she expectedly won the women’s 3m Springboard Diving contest.

Notching up a tally

of 179.15 points, she promptly dedicated the gold to her coach-husband and two-year-old son.

Kirpal Singh (Punjab) also set a new National Games record en route to his Discus Throw gold. His 59.32m broke a 25-yearold mark set at 58.56 by Shakti Singh.

Gagandeep Singh and Prashant Malik (both Services) took the silver and bronze medals.

The Services men’s rowing team took home all seven gold medals at the course laid on the Sabarmati river front. They added three on Monday through the formidable Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh (Lightweight Double Sculls), the Quadruple Sculls and Coxed Eight teams.

The women’s events saw Madhya Pradesh’s

Indonesia forms independent team to probe football stadium disaster

JAKARTA, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): Indonesia will establish an independent fact-finding team to investigate a deadly football stampede in a stadium in East Java and help find the perpetrators behind the disaster, chief security minister Mahfud MD told a news conference on Monday.

At least 174 people died in a stampede at an Indonesian football match in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters, Sportstar reported.

Hundreds were also hurt in aftermath of home team Arema FC’s loss to bitter rival at the overcrowded stadium late on Saturday.

The crush took place after police tear-gassed fans who invaded the pitch. As panic spread, thousands surged towards Kanjuruhan stadium’s

FIFA says that no ‘crowd control gas’ should be carried or used by stewards or police at matches. (AP)

exits, where many suffocated.

“Together with Fifa and the global football community, all our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, those who have been injured, together with the people of the Republic of Indonesia, the Asian Football Confederation, the Indonesian Football Association, and the

Indonesian Football League, at this difficult time,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.

Spanish football clubs observed a minute’s silence before kick-off in Sunday’s games as a mark of respect. Players also wore black armbands in Sunday’s two Premier League matches, and several clubs offered their condolences to the victims of the disaster.

Vindhya Sankath and Rukmani both climb the podium twice with victories in Lightweight Double Sculls and Quadruple Sculls.

Their teammate Khushpreet Kaur also picked up her second gold in the Quads, having won the Single Sculls on Sunday.

The stellar show by their athletes meant Services continued to dominate the medals tally with 32 gold, 18 silver and as many bronze for a total of 68 medals.

In shooting, Punjab’s Sift Kaur Kamra bagged the women’s 50m Rifle 3 positions crown beating Odisha’s Shriyanka Sarangi. Sift took a 6-0 lead but Shriyanka fought back with some high 10s to make it 15-15 in a race to 16 points.

Spain reigns as Alcaraz tops rankings

PARIS, OCT 3 (AFP):

Spain reigns at the summit of men’s tennis with Carlos Alcaraz holding world number one spot in the ATP rankings released on Monday with compatriot Rafael Nadal moving back up to second.

Nadal, 36, benefited from Casper Ruud’s quarter-final exit in Seoul where he was top seed, to move ahead of the Norwegian.

Novak Djokovic, winner of his third tournament this season in Tel Aviv, stays seventh but scores 250 precious points in the race for the ATP Finals in Turin, his end-of-season goal. The Serb was competing in his first singles tournament in Israel since claiming a seventh Wimbledon crown in July, and can still earn points this week in the Astana ATP tournament.

Eng thrash Pak by 67 runs to clinch T20I series 4-3

LAHORE, OCT 3 (IANS): An unbeaten 78 by Dawid Malan and useful contributions from Ben Duckett (30) and Harry Brook (46 not out) propelled England to a 67-run serieswinning victory against Pakistan in the seventh and final T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday night.

The 4-3 series win will be a big boost for the reigning ODI world champions as they aim for the ICC T20 World Cup trophy later this month in Australia.

Chasing 210 for victory, Pakistan could manage just 142/8 in 20 overs with Chris Woakes wreaking havoc at the top of the order by dismissing skipper Babar Azam (4) and then getting rid of the dangerous Shan Masood (56).

For Pakistan, it was a disappointing finale as they surrendered after having contested the series so resolutely. They missed tall pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi through injury and the ongoing concerns surrounding the fitness of teenage right-arm quick Naseem Shah, who will

be pivotal to their hopes of winning the T20 World Cup. While pacer Haris Rauf, with eight wickets in the series, and veteran opener Mohammad Rizwan (316) and skipper Babar Azam (285) have done remarkably well in the series, the opening duo did not fire in the series decider, being dismissed for 1 and 4 runs respectively.

Babar also dropped two chances in the field and Pakistan won’t be able to afford any sloppy mistakes if they are to claim a second T20 World Cup title in Australia.

England, despite being without regular skipper Jos Buttler who is nursing a calf injury, and charismatic

batters Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, gave a commanding performance under stand-in captain Moeen Ali as the top order gave the tourists a flourishing start.

Dawid Malan (78 not out) found form in the final game of the series and is likely to be a key player at the T20 World Cup, while David Willey, Chris Woakes and Reece Topley have shown they are capable T20I performers.

With Buttler and Livingstone in line to return for the T20 World Cup, England should be considered one of the favourites to win the fourweek event, according to ICC. England now travel to

Australia for a three-match series against the T20 World Cup hosts, before a warmup match against Pakistan at The Gabba on October 17. Their first match at the T20 World Cup comes against Afghanistan in Perth on October 22.

Pakistan, meanwhile, will travel to New Zealand for a tri-series against the Black Caps and Bangladesh, before warm-up matches in Brisbane against England and Afghanistan.

BRIEF SCORES: England 209/3 (Dawid Malan 78 not out, Ben Duckett 30, Harry Brook 46 not out) beat Pakistan 142/8 (Shan Masood 56; Chris Woakes 3/26) by 67 runs.

Both shot a lowly 9.8 in the 16th series before Sift claimed gold with a 10.1 against Shriyanka’s 9.8.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh men and Telangana women became the inaugural winners of the 3x3 Basketball gold medals after scoring victories over Tamil Nadu 21-18 and Kerala 17-13 respectively in the finals in Bhavnagar.

In badminton, Telangana’s joy doubled when their star shuttlers claimed the mixed team gold with a 3-0 victory over Kerala in Surat.

The husband-wife pair of Sumeet Reddy and Sikki Reddy put the team in the lead before former world championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth rallied from a game down to beat the redoubtable HS Prannoy.

Samia Farooqi then made quick work of Gowrikrishna to seal the gold. In the men’s Recurve Archery semifinals, Atanu Das (West Bengal) blanked Tarundeep Rai (Services) 6-0.

Tarundeep had beaten Jharkhand’s Jayanta Talukdar, who had topped the qualification, in a match that could have drained him emotionally.

Atanu Das will meet Gurucharan Besra (Services) in the final.

Patton graces late Bishop memorial volleyball tourney

DIMAPUR, OCT 3 (NPN): The three-day 4th edition of late Bishop Abraham memorial volleyball tournament kicked off on Monday at St. Paul’s Parish Wokha after it was declared open by deputy chief minister, Y. Patton.

According to DIPR report, Patton in his inaugural address lauded the Nagaland Catholic Youth Movement (NCYM) for keeping the momentum and recognizing the good deeds of late Bishop Abraham by organising the tournament.

He said through this tournament, the good works done by late Bishop Abraham during his life

have been remembered and kept afresh.

Patton also recalled late Bishop Abraham, how he spent his entire life in the service of God and his faithful people.

The minister said that late Bishop served the Lord in different capacities all over the country during his lifetime and carried out uncountable activities of soul saving and strengthening the spiritual faith of the people in general and catholic believers in particular.

Patton said the Catholics have established numerous institutions even in the remotest places of Nagaland and had been a pioneer in providing quality education and

contributed much to the overall socio-economic development through their services.

Delivering short speech, principal of St. Xavier College, Jalukie, Rev.Fr. Dr. C. S. Francis appraised the gathering on the life late Bishop Abraham. He challenged the youngsters to take this occasion and live their vocation and let the catholic communities be a blessing for everyone.

At the programme, 16 catholic youth achievers who recently cleared NPSC were felicitated.

Altogether 62 participating teams from 12 districts (32 men & 30 women) are taking part in the tournament.

World TT: Indian women enter knock out stage

CHENGDU (CHINA),

OCT 3 (IANS): The India men’s and women’s teams won their respective ties with Egypt and Kazakhstan, with the women making it to the knock-outs stage of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championship here on Monday.

Despite starting their campaign with a defeat, the Indian women’s team came back strongly to advance to the round of 16 after beating Egypt 3-1. The men’s team had to fight hard before overcoming Kazakhstan 3-2 and on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stage as they top their preliminary Group.

The India women’s team needed to win its tie against Egypt to qualify for the knock-out round. And they started on a good note.

Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medallist and National Champion Sreeja Akula

gave India the perfect start with a 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 111) win over Hana Goda. India No.1, Manika Batra overcame a tough challenge from Dina Meshref for a hard-fought 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 2-11, 11-8) victory that gave India the 2-0 lead.

Divya Chitale lost to Yousra Helmy 3-2 (11-5, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 4-11) as Egypt pulled one back. But Sreeja wrapped up the victory for India and with that a place in the next

ICA elections to be held online

NEW DELHI, OCT 3 (AGENCIES): The elections for the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA) will be held online from October 27 to 29.

According to the election notification issued on September 30, which Sportstar has seen, the e-voting will start at 10 am on October 27 and continue till 2 pm on October 29. The results will be declared at 6 pm on the same day, Sportstar reported.

While the draft electoral roll has already been issued, any objections to the list can be flagged till 3 pm on October 4. Under the supervision of election officer AK Joti, the final electoral list will be published at 3 pm on October 7.

The candidates can file their nominations from October 8 to 11, and the final list of valid candidates will be published on October 17 at 6 pm. However, the nominations can be withdrawn till 5 pm on October 18 and following all the verification, the e-voting will be held for three days. In 2019, Ashok Malhotra was elected as the president

of the ICA. While there was a buzz that Malhotra could contest the elections, seeking another term., but Sportstar understands that Malhotra will not contest for the president’s post. This time, the elections will be for the post of the president, secretary, treasurer and two ICA member representatives.

According to the eligibility criteria, a male candidate should have played at least five Test matches or at least 25 first-class fixtures. For female cricketers, it is a must to feature in at least 10 first-class matches.

According to the BCCI constitution, the ICA needs to nominate three representatives in the BCCI - one male and female member in the apex council and a representative for the IPL Governing Council. There will be elections for all the positions.

Currently, former India internationals Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy are the ICA representatives at the BCCI apex council, while Pragyan Ojha is a member of the IPL Governing Council.

round with a 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6) victory against Dina Meshref.

The result means that the Indian women’s team finished second in Group 5 with five points, behind Germany with six, and ensured passage through to the round of 16.

In the men’s section, the Indian team virtually assured itself a place in the next round with a 3-2 win against Kazakhstan in their third Group 2 tie.

CWG men’s singles

bronze-medallist Sathiyan Gnanasekaran beat Denis Zholudev 3-0 (11-1, 11-9, 11-5) to give India a good start.

However, Harmeet Desai lost 3-0 (11-6, 118, 11-9) to World No.28 Kirill Gerassimenko as Kazakhstan levelled the score 1-1.

Manav Thakkar put the team back ahead with a 3-0 (12-10, 11-1, 11-8) victory over Alan Kurmangaliyev but Kirill Gerassimenko forced a decider after overcoming G Sathiyan 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6).

Harmeet Desai, who won the singles gold in the National Games, sealed the tie in India’s favour with a comfortable 3-0 (1210, 11-9, 11-6) win over Denis Zholudev.

The win ensured that the Indian team remained unbeaten in the preliminary group and topped their group with six points from three matches.

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Subramanian Siva clears a height of 5.31m. (V V Krishnan)

Sambo Lapung achieved in his final clean jerk attempt. (The Hindu)

Sreeja Akula I action. (AP/File)

Deputy chief minister, Y. Patton inaugurating the tournament on Monday.

England players with the trophy after winning the T20 series.