Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXXII No. 28
DIMAPUR, TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2022 Pages 12 ` 5.00
Biden reaffirms US support to Ukraine
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INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 9
Census unlikely anytime soon
NEW DELHI, JAN 3 (PTI): The decennial census, supposed to be held in 2020-21 but postponed due to the Covid pandemic, will not be held anytime soon. Centre has directed States not to alter the boundaries of the districts and other civil and police units till June 2022 -- a mandatory requirement three months prior to the country's biggest enumeration exercise. With the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic looming large, Union Home Ministry officials said so far, no decision has been taken on when to conduct the census and then update the National Population Register (NPR). The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India has conveyed to the states that the central government has put a ban on the alteration of boundaries of districts, sub-divisions, taluks, police stations, etc. till June 2022, an official from the Home Ministry said. Ban on alteration of
States directed not to alter boundaries of dists and other civil & police units till June 2022
boundaries of administrative and police units, at least three months prior, is mandatory for conducting the census operations. Since the boundaries of the administrative and police units have been freezed till June 2022, there is no question of launching the census operations before October, the official said. The central government had first ordered freezing of the boundaries of the administrative units from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Subsequently, after the outbreak of the pandemic, it was extended till December 31, 2020. The ban on alteration of the administrative boundaries was again extended till December 31, 2021 and now till June 30, 2022.
2nd Test: South Africa restrict India to 202
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The total number of districts in the country in 2011, when the last census was conducted, was around 640. India now has about 100 more districts. The number of statutory towns stands at 4,657 -- up from 4,041 in 2011 and the number of census towns is 5,050 -- up from 3,892 in 2011. However, the number of villages has gone down from 6,40,934 in 2011 to 6,39,083 now. The housing listing phase of the Census and the exercise to update the NPR were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the earlier schedule, the census would have its reference
date as March 1, 2021 and the snow-bound Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it would have been October 1, 2020. In March 2020, when the Covid lockdown was announced, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India was all set for the first phase of the census and updation of the NPR that was scheduled to begin from April 1, 2020. Even though some state governments opposed the NPR update, all offered full support to the census exercise. While the census exercise was estimated to cost Rs 8,700 crore, the Union Cabinet had approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for the NPR exercise. The census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India. With a history of more than 130 years, this reliable, time tested exercise has been bringing out a veritable wealth of statistics every 10 years.
SPORTS, PAGE 12
OSU dismayed at PM’s silence on December 4 & 5 killings
WYH supports Shamator district demand DIMAPUR, JAN 3 (NPN): Western Yimkhiung Hoho (WYH) has appealed to the state government for the early declaration of Shamator ADC Hq to a full-fledged district. WYH said this was for the upliftment and overall development and also for administrative convenience of the Shamator sub-division and the entire administrative circle that comes under the proposed Shamator district. WYH pointed out that Yimkhiung tribe, an indigenous tribe of Nagaland, was the only tribe devoid of a district and the community deserved to have a district of its own in tandem with other recognized tribes of Nagaland “after asserting the genuine land demarcation claim of the parties.” The hoho lauded the decision of the chief minister and the cabinet for declaring Shamator district “in principle” towards the Yimkhiung tribe.
DIMAPUR, JAN 3 (NPN): Oting Students’ Union (OSU) has expressed dismay at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the killing of 14 innocent Konyak civilians on December 4 and 5, 2021. W h i l e c o nv e y i n g condolences to bereaved families of the 12 killed in stampede at Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu & Kashmir on behalf of the Oting victims’ family members, the union asked why the Prime Minister was so adamant or reluctant to issue a simple sympathy and condolence message when 14 innocent Konyak youth were massacred. In a press release, OSU president Keatwang Konyak wondered whether India was not a secular State and whether Konyaks were not Indian citizens in the eyes of Modi. OSU said few words of solace from the Prime Minister’s mouth would have comforted them a lot.
Referring to Indian Army’s court of inquiry team’s visit to ground zero Yatong on December 29, 2021 and Tizit on the subsequent day, OSU said when the victims’ families were hoping for justice and placed all hopes on the ongoing investigation, they were shocked at the locals being tagged as non-cooperative. The union asserted that no official intimation was given to OSU except a request by superintendent of police (SP) Mon seeking permission for the army enquiry team’s visit to ground zero only. Accordingly, OSU said the Konyak civil society organisations (CSOs) had granted permission in spite of their “non-cooperation” against the Indian armed forces in order to pave the way for the inquiry team to visit the site and find the actual truth, on condition that they should visit without arms or uniform. OSU said the people of Oting had
State launches Covid vax for 15-18 age group ACAUT calls for united approach to tackle issues and appealed to all eligible registered beneficiaries to come forward and take the vaccine, a DPRO report stated. He congratulated the health workers and frontline workers of Dimapur district for achieving more than the targeted figure– 120% first dose and 96% second dose – of Covid vaccination.
(Cont’d on p-8)
PTI adds: As India Pangnyu Phom giving away the certificate to the first launched a COVID-19 vacbeneficiary in Dimapur. (DPRO) DIMAPUR, JAN 3 (NPN): Along with rest of the country, Covid-19 vaccination drive for 15 to 18 years age group began in Nagaland on Monday. Health & family welfare (H&FW) minister Pangnyu
Phom officially launched the campaign at District Hospital, Dimapur (DHD). Speaking on the occasion, he said the State had received 1,43,000 doses of vaccines, which would be distributed to all the districts,
cination drive for the 15-18 age group on Monday, over 40 lakh children received their first dose with many of the beneficiaries and their parents saying they feel a sense of relief, especially in the backdrop of the fresh rise in cases.
DIMAPUR, JAN 3 (NPN): ACAUT Nagaland has made a clarion call on all Nagas to let the New Year 2022 be a harbinger for Nagaland “to stomp our feet together and declare- enough is enough of everything that is rotting in Nagaland”. ACAUT through its convenor Tia Longchar, Coconvenor Simon Kelio and secretary Hetoi Chishi reminded public that expediting Naga political settlement was one of its key resolution at the ACAUT public rally
This is it!
the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) Dr NK Arora, who has been very closely involved with the rollout of vaccines from the very onset. “Look at whatever the variants have been genome sequenced... We got our first virus right in the first week of December. So, last week, nationally overall, 12% of the variants identified were Omicron and the week gone by in the previous week, it has increased to 28%. So, it is rapidly increasing as a proportion of all Covid
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weapons that is being monitored by “an effeminate Cease Fire Group.” It said the horrendous Oting massacre was a symptom of a “dysfunctional state where animal life has more rights than human life.” ACAUT slammed AFSPA as a tool for enabling military occupation and which has led to extra judicial killings, random unaccounted rapes, unwarranted arrest and excesses. (Full text on p-6)
State logs 4 fresh Covid-19 cases DIMAPUR, JAN 3 (NPN): Nagaland on Monday recorded four fresh Covid-19 positive cases while no deaths were reported during the day. Of the fresh cases, three were from Dimapur and one in Kohima, taking the total caseload to 32206. Meanwhile, India has so far reported 1,700 Omicron cases, with Maharashtra reporting the most number of infections at 510. The country also saw a 22% in new COVID-19 cases.
Satya Pal Malik (File)
NEW DELHI, JAN 3 (AGENCIES): Union Home Minister Amit Shah meant no disrespect to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik clarified Monday afternoon to NDTV hours after a videothat shows him making contradictory remarks- went viral, and the opposition parties latched on to his comments. Malik has been a vehement critic of the BJP over
farmers’ issues. On Monday, a video that shows him talking about his recent meeting with Modi was widely shared on social media. “When I recently went to meet the Prime Minister over the farmers’ issues, I picked up a fight within five minutes... I told him 500 people have died... He asked‘Have they died for me?’” “I told him yes, since you are the king. Anyway, I ended up having a fight with him. He told me to meet Amit Shah and so I did,” he is heard saying in the clip. Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted the video with scathing comments: “Meghalaya’s Governor Sri Satya Pal Malik is on record saying PM was ‘arrogant’ on the issue of Farmers & HM Amit Shah called the PM as ‘mad’. (Cont’d on p-8)
CMC Church Pfütsero destroyed in fire Correspondent
"Anticipating a third wave prices have shot up. That's market sentiment you know."
infections in the country... I must also say something more important and that is that around the major metro cities, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and particularly Delhi, it is over 75% of all the isolates now,” said Dr Arora. “India is clearly in the third wave. The whole wave seems to be driven by a new variant and today it is Omicron,” Dr NK Arora said, adding this is supported by evidence from the last fourfive days that saw “galloping increase in the number of cases”. (Cont’d on p-8)
for solution but added that instead should resign en masse if they were committed to solution so as to pave way for the Centre to take the final call. It also reminded that by August 2022, the cease fire signed with NSCN(IM) will be 25 years old and as the longest ever running cease fire in the world, merits jubilation and analysis. However, ACAUT said for the public, cease fires have only led to multiplication of factions with unaccounted
(Cont’d on p-8)
After criticizing Modi, Meghalaya Gov clarifies
3rd wave on, 75% cases in metros are Omicron: Covid Task Force chief NEW DELHI, JAN 3 (AGENCIES): A large chunk of Omicron cases in India as the country faces a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported from big cities, the head of the country's vaccine task force told NDTV on Monday, adding the third wave of the pandemic is very much here. Large cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata have a combined 75% share of infections of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant Omicron, said chairman of
on October 31,2013 and also reaffirmed at public rally on August 26,2017. ACAUT also reminded that contrary to views of Naga CSOs which had demanded solution before election in 2018, the BJP incharge of North East Ram Madhav declared “Election for Solution” in order to justify holding of assembly elections. ACAUT also lauded the coming together of all legislators under United Democratic Alliance (UDA)
complied with the request with utmost respect in spite of the pain that had been inflicted upon them. However, OSU said they came to learn that the investigation team had reportedly refused to talk or listen to other witnesses available at ground zero. The union said the team only interacted and recorded the statement of BJP Mon district president Nyawang Konyak and Lenwang Konyak, CHM, on December 29, 2021. Demands clarification: Refuting a news filed by Press Trust of India (PTI) on December 30, 2021 that the locals had refused to cooperate with the inquiry team, OSU termed it as totally fictitious distorting the truth. OSU said such “malicious venom” was nothing but a bid to make the aspirations of victims’ family members for a justice a distant dream.
KOHIMA, JAN 3 (NPN): In an unfortunate incident, Chakhesang Mission Centre Church (CMCC), T Chikri Pfütsero in Phek district was destroyed in fire in the wee hours of Monday reportedly due to a short circuit. CMCC member Vevosayi Tetseo informed Nagaland Post that the fire broke out around 3 a.m. and since the church was mostly built of pine trees, nothing could be saved.
Absence of emergency fire services made the situation worse as the inferno could not be contained during this dry season. It has been learnt that a fire emergency services station funded by North Eastern Council (NEC) was under construction and is nearing completion. T h o u g h t h e ex a c t loss could not be assessed, Charred roof trusses of Chakhesang Mission Centre Church. sources said it would be no He said the church ofHe said the church was less than Rs 1.8 crore. There was no report of fice was also gutted and no established in 1980 and the office document could be building was constructed any human casualty till the filing of this report. retrieved. and dedicated in 2011. K Y M C