9 July

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 213

DIMAPUR, FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 Pages 8 ` 4.00

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Centre announces Rs 23,123 cr mega Covid response package Spl. Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (NPN): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday approved a new scheme ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response & Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II’ amounting to Rs. 23,123 crore for FY 2021-22.

The scheme aims to accelerate health system preparedness for immediate responsiveness for early prevention, detection and management, with the focus on health infrastructure development including for Paediatric Care and with measurable outcomes.

The phase-II of the package has central sector (CS) and centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) components.

Under the CS components, support would be provided to central hospitals, AIIMS, and other institutions of national importance under DoHFW for repurposing 6,688 beds for COVID management.

(C) Narendra Singh Tomar, (R) Mansukh Mandaviya and (L) Anurag Singh Thakur during the press conference, in New Delhi on Thursday. (PIB)

National centre for disease control (NCDC) would be strengthened by providing genome sequencing machines, besides sanctioning scientific control room, epidemic intelligence services (EIS) and INSACOG secretariat support.

Support would also be provided for implementation of hospital management information system (HMIS) in all the district hospitals of the country.

Presently, it is implemented only in 310 DHs. All district hospitals would implement HMIS through NIC developed E-

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Hospital and CDAC developed E-Shushrutsoftwares.

This would be the biggest impetus for implementation of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) at the DHs. This support includes the support provided to the District Hospitals towards augmentation of the hardware capacity.

Under the CSS components, the efforts are aimed at strengthening district and sub district capacity for an effective and rapid response to the pandemic.

States/UTs would be supported to create paediatric units in all 736 dis-

tricts and also, to establish paediatric centre of excellence (PaediatricCoE) in each State/UT for providing Tele-ICU services, mentoring and technical hand-holding to the District Paediatric units.

Augment 20,000 ICU beds in public healthcare system out of which 20% would be Pediatric ICU beds. Phase-II would be implemented at a total cost of Rs.23,123 crore from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 with central share of the ECRP-II –Rs.15,000 crore and state share of the ECRP-II –Rs.8,123 crore.

Nagaland gets Rs.379.75 cr PDRD grant Spl. Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (NPN): The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance on Wednesday released the fourth monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant of Rs. 9,871 crore for the year 2021-22 to 17 States.

With the release of this instalment, a total amount of Rs. 39,484.00 crore has been released to eligible States as PDRD Grant in the current financial year.

As per the state-wise details of the grant released, Nagaland has received Rs.379.75 crore in July 2021 as fourth instalment and total amount received in 202122 was Rs.1519 crore.

PDRD grants provided to the States under Article 275 of the Constitution are released as per the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission in monthly instalments to meet the gap in Revenue Accounts of the States post devolution.

The Commission has recommended PDRD grants to 17 States during 2021-22.

international, Page 7

Stat govt announces 7-day ‘Unlock-2’ from July 11 to 17  Shopping malls to open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Indoor sports activities with 50 people and outdoor with 100 people allowed  Long-distance trains allowed to stop at Dimapur railway station Correspondent

KOHIMA, JUL 8 (NPN): As the Covid-19 cases decline in the state, the state government has decided to further ease the ongoing Covid-induced lockdown.

A meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) for COVID-19 headed by chief minister Neiphiu Rio Thursday decided to begin ‘Unlock-2’ with further relaxations from July 11 to 17.

In this regard respective district task forces (DTFs) will be issuing revised guidelines in this regard, Before this, ‘Unlock 1’ was initiated in the state for 10 days from July 1.

Interacting with a section of media persons at his

HPC meeting held at CM’s residential complex, Kohima. (DIPR)

official chamber at civil secretariat here, planning & coordination, land revenue and parliamentary affairs minister Neiba Kronu, who is also HPC spokesperson, said the decision was taken after assessing the Covid-19 situation in the State and based on a presentation made by the health & family welfare (H&FW) department.

Acknowledging the response of citizens in coming forward to take Covid vaccines, he said as vaccination was the only weapon to prevent further wave of Covid, the H&FW department has been directed to ramp up the vaccination drive by reaching out to remotest corners of the State. Kronu mentioned that shopping malls would be allowed to open between 6 am and 4 pm, while indoor sports activities would be

allowed with 50 people and outdoor with 100 people. He said restaurants would be allowed to offer take-away service and that curfew would remain in force during the whole week.

Stating that long-distance trains would be allowed stoppage at Dimapur railway station, the minister said travellers would have to produce negative report or immediately go for testing.

But, he announced that, considering the number of positive cases in different districts, inter-district public travel would not be allowed.

COVID-19 negative report has been made mandatory for persons entering the state.

The test should be conducted not before 72 hours of entry.

Kronu also informed that a new SOP was expected to be released soon.

80% new Covid cases from Fuel prices touch historic highs CNTC asks HPC not to make hasty 90 districts, 14 from NE Petrol now cost over decision on resuming train services Spl. Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (NPN): Union Health ministry, which organised a capacity building workshop for media professionals and health correspondents of North Eastern states on the current COVID situation, has disclosed that out of the 80% new cases reported from 90 districts in India, 14 districts were from NE states. “Second wave is not yet over; we should not let our guard down,” the health ministry stated.

The workshop held in partnership with UNICEF discussed the need to bust myths about COVID vaccines and vaccination, and reinforce the importance of COVID appropriate behaviour (CAB).

Media professionals and health correspondents of NE states-- Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura participated in the workshop virtually.

Health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal, in his opening remark, commended media professionals for their sustained efforts in collective fight against COVID-19. Highlighting India’s COVID-19 management strategy, he said that

This is it!

“Where’s our society headed to? One side we’re taxed illegally and the other side, we’re fined legally.”

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there were three important components of the fight against COVID i.e community ownership of CAB, evidence-based reporting and busting myths on COVID and vaccination.

Agarwal also gave a brief snapshot of prevailing Covid situation in the North East. Highlighting specific challenges linked to NE states, he said that the Centre has supported the NE states by following a proactive, pre-emptive, graded approach for fighting the COVID pandemic.

He also shared the details of active cases and the status of vaccination drive in the NE states.

Agarwal acknowledged the media as an important stakeholder in creating an enabling environment for vaccination by busting myths, fears and apprehensions surrounding COVID vaccination, he said urged media persons to create a Jan Andolan (Public Movement) by applauding community warriors as role- models.

The workshop highlighted adverse event following immunization (AEFI), its management, and the best practices while reporting on AEFI. Various queries of the media persons were also addressed during the workshop.

Rs.100 in 10 districts including Kohima

DIMAPUR, JUL 8 (NPN): State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased prices of petrol and diesel for the second consecutive day on Thursday pushing fuel prices to historic highs across the country.

According to a price notification of state-owned OMCs, petrol price was hiked by 35 paise per litre and diesel by 9 paise per litre. With the latest hike, petrol price in the state capital Kohima has breached the Rs.100-per-litre mark.

Petrol now costs Rs 100.07 per litre in Kohima while diesel is retailing at Rs

District

Tsg

Petrol price per litre

Diesel price per litre

Rs.102.24

Rs.94.50

Kiphire

Rs.102.16

Rs.94.47

Noklak

Rs.102.01

Rs.94.40

Mon

Rs.101.81

Rs.94.13

Phek

Rs.101.58

Rs.93.86

Zbto

Rs.101.55

Rs.93.82

Llng

Rs.101.32

Rs.93.76

Mkg

Rs.101.27

Rs.93.62

Wka

Rs.100.72

Rs.93.10

Kma

Rs.100.07

Rs.92.50

Peren

Rs.99.45

Rs.92.04

Dmu

Rs.99.12

91.74

92.50 per litre. Only two districts-- Dimapur and Peren are now left to touch the Rs.100-mark. (See table) Petrol has already crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in 15 states and UTs. The hike on Thursday

is the 37th increase in the price of petrol since May 4. In 37 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 10.16 per litre. During this period, diesel rates have soared by Rs 8.89 a litre in 35 instances of the price rise.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.

OMCs increased fuel prices on Thursday even as the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas saw a change of guard with Hardeep Singh Puri taking over from Dharmendra Pradhan.

Soon after taking charge of the ministry, Puri said he would comment on the issue only after getting a full briefing from the officials.

State records 64 fresh Covid cases DIMAPUR, JUL 8 (NPN): Nagaland on Thursday recorded 64 fresh Covid-19 positive cases pushing the total caseload to 25727. The death toll remained at 505 with no fatalities reported during the day.

Of the fresh cases, 21 were reported from Kohima, Mokokchung-18, Dimapur-12, five in Mon, three in Peren, two in Longleng and one each in Tuensang, Wokha and Zunheboto. The state currently has 1004 active cases and a total of 23501 patients have recovered from the infection till date.

Meanwhile, a total of 585224 beneficiaries have been inoculated against Covid-19, that includes-- 499752 first dose and 85472 second dose.

PTI: India recorded a single-day rise of 45,892 new COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to 3,07,09,557, on Thursday while the death toll climbed to 4,05,028 with 817 new fatalities.

The global death toll from COVID19 eclipsed four million as the crisis increasingly becomes a race between the vaccine and the highly contagious delta variant.

DIMAPUR, JUL 8 (NPN): Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) has cautioned High Powered Committee (HPC) on Covid-19 against rushing to resume rail services as this would pose high risk of inviting a surge of Covid cases in Nagaland, if not properly analysed.

It may be recalled that the state government had requested Railway authorities not to operate passenger trains at Dimapur with effect from May 6, in view of rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 positive cases.

CNTC raised the issue of Covid tests not being done on train passengers disembarking at neighbouring railway stations who then travel to Dimapur by

Core Committee on Naga pol. issue to meet today KOHIMA, JUL 8 (NPN): The first meeting of Core Committee on Naga Political Issue headed by chief minister Neiphiu Rio is scheduled to be in Dimapur on Friday.

Minister Neiba Kronu, who is also the member secretary of the committee, informed media persons though there was no specific agenda for the meeting, some decisions could be taken.

New drug target to treat Covid, fight future pandemic developed WASHINGTON, JUL 8 (PTI): Scientists have identified a novel target for a drug that can treat the SARSCoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, and also help tackle a future coronavirus pandemic. The researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the US noted that scientists should prepare for a possible next coronavirus pandemic.

“God forbid we need this, but we will be ready,” said Karla Satchell, professor of microbiology-immu-

nology at Feinberg School of Medicine.

The team previously mapped the structure of a virus protein called nsp16, which is present in all coronaviruses.

The latest study, published in the journal Science Signaling, provides critical information that could aid drug development against future coronaviruses as well as SARS-CoV-2.

“There is great need for new approaches to drug discovery to combat the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

pandemic and infections from future coronaviruses,” Satchell said.

The idea behind the future drug would be that it works early in the infection.

“If somebody around you gets the coronavirus, you would run to the drugstore to get your medication and take it for three or four days. If you were sick, you wouldn’t get as sick,” Satchell explained. The researchers mapped three new protein structures in three-dimensional views

and discovered a secret identifier in the machinery that helps the virus hide from the immune system.

They found a coronavirus-specific pocket in the protein, nsp16, that binds the virus-genomic fragment held in place by a metal ion.

The fragment is used by the coronavirus as the template for all the viral building blocks.

There is potential to make a drug to fit this unique pocket that would block function of this pro-

tein from the coronavirus, the researchers said.

It would not block the function of a similar protein from human cells that lacks the pocket, they said, adding such a drug would only target the invader protein.

Nsp16 is considered one of the key viral proteins that could be inhibited by drugs to stop the virus shortly after a person gets exposed.

The researchers said that goal is to stop the virus early before people get too sick.

vehicles or even walk on foot, thereby defeating the purpose of lockdown measures It also pointed out that though relaxation of lockdown measures were welcome, a rethink and proper analysis on immediate resumption of rail services when lockdown had been imposed in neighbouring Assam should be carefully studied.

Though effor ts of HPC and district task forces (DTFs) in bringing down the number of covid positive cases was appreciated, CNTC pointed out that delay in initiating lockdown measures and restricting rail services in Nagaland, when elections in Assam and West Bengal were on when

the second wave of Covid19 was raging and devastating the nation’s populace, was one major factor that led to many fatalities in Nagaland.

As per the HPC’s nod for resumption of train services, CNTC wanted to know what appropriate steps were being taken for incoming travellers at the Dimapur railway station? It informed that as per reports, passengers were jumping off from trains before reaching the stations in order to avoid being tested or having to produce RT-PCR or TruNat tests for covid. CNTC said this posed a serious risk to people in Nagaland of which the HPC should be well aware of.

(Cont’d on p-5)

SC says FB has potential to polarise public debate NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (IANS): Supreme Court on Thursday said Facebook has the “power of not simply a hand but a fist, gloved as it may be”, as these platforms employ business models having potential to polarise public debates.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy said: “These platforms are by no means altruistic in character but rather employ business models that can be highly privacy intrusive and have the potential to polarise public debates.

“Facebook has the power of not simply a hand but a fist, gloved as it may be.”

These platforms have become power centres themselves, having the ability to influence vast sections of opinions, it added.

It observed that developments around the world reflect rising concerns across borders. “The concern is whether the liberal debate which these platforms pro-

fess to encourage has itself become a casualty,” it said in its 188-page judgment.

The bench held that for intermediaries to say that they can sidestep this criticism is a fallacy, as they are right in the centre of these debates. “It has to be noted that their platform has also hosted disruptive voices replete with misinformation. These have had a direct impact on vast areas of subject matter which ultimately affect the governance of states,” it observed.

In this modern technological age, it would be too simplistic an intermediary like Facebook to contend that they are merely a platform for exchange of ideas without performing any significant role themselves, it stressed. The bench observed that governments have expressed concern for necessity of greater accountability by these intermediaries which have become big business corporations with influence over millions of people.

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A

B

C

A Yes. B No. C Can’t Say.

86% 13% 1%

Next poll Q: I s t h e G o v e r n m e n t

of India serious about ending the stalemate over Naga political issue??

 Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST July 9

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala A thunderstorm in spots

33 26

Aizawl

Cloudy with afternoon showers 27 21

Guwahati A couple of thunderstorms

33 26

A thunderstorm in spots

30 22

Itanagar A thunderstorm in spots

30 24

Imphal Shillong

A couple of thunderstorms

24 19

Kohima

Mostly cloudy with t-storms

25 20

Dimapur A stray afternoon t-storm

32 25

Thunderstorms, mainly late

27 21

Tuensang A t-storm around in the p.m

21 16

An afternoon thunderstorm

27 21

Mkg Wokha

Zunheboto Mainly cloudy, heavy t-storms 24 19

Vax drives continue in various districts

DIMAPUR: District Hospital Dimapur has informed all its staff that in view of various post COVID-19 complications during the first and second wave of pandemic and to put emphasis on management of post covid sequelae, DHD would be starting post covid clinic every Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Medical OPD. In a press release, MS Dr. Khrielasanuo Metha informed that patients would be assessed by doctors from department of medicine, orthopaedics/PMR and that the specialists would carry out duty on rotation basis.

MS also infor med that investigations would be done if required (PFT, ECHO cardiography, chest X-ray and HRCT).

The release informed responsible doctors to reply to call from patients; to call up discharged patients informing about post Covid clinic; to send all reports to patients through WhatsApp; counseling to dispel any fear and to call the patients for review whenever required.

The duration for follow up would be three to six months and nine to 12 months of discharge, MS informed.

Tseminyu SDPDB discusses vaccination drives: Tseminyu sub-division planning and development board

2 drown in Dhansiri river DIMAPUR: Two youths, a female around 19 years and a 24-year-old male reportedly drowned in the Dhansiri River, Dimapur on Thursday afternoon.

According to police sources, the incident took place when the deceased along with two other fam-

ily members had reportedly gone to the river for swimming at around 3.30 p.m.

The bodies were retrieved by the public at around 5 p.m., police said.

No further details were known till the time of filing this report.

Beneficiaries receiving jabs during the vaccination drive organised by Assam Rifles in Jalukie.

(SDPDB) meeting was held on July 8 at ADC’s conference hall, Tseminyu, under the chairmanship of ADC Tseminyu, Manpai Phom.

According to DIPR, the house deliberated on special awareness and vaccination camps for government employees in the subdivision.

It also recommended forwarding of “Shajuchu welfare society” at Nsunyu to the government for registration.

The house decided to organise a mass social work by all the offices on August 7 where every department would adopt and nurture few of the 100 cherry tree saplings that were recently planted in commemoration

of the 50 years of Tseminyu new town.

For the coming Independence Day celebration, the house decided to await further instructions from the government. Agenda on upgrading of Government High School, Kandinu was discussed to be taken up in the next meeting.

Vaccination drives at Kiphire: Vaccination drives were carried out at various villages under Pungro administrative in Kiphire district on July 7.

The team led by Dr. Sato vaccinated 12 beneficiaries from Kiuro Village at PHC, Likhimro while 64 people got vaccinated at Khonjiri Village.

Another team led Dr

Sato L Hep led a vaccination drive where 27 people from Longkhimong Village and one beneficiary each from Tsurevong Village and Moya Village got vaccinated.

AR conduct programmes on COVID-19: Dimapur battalion Assam Rifles interacted with village elders, chairman and GBs of Dimapur and discussed COVID-19 situation in the district on July 6 and 7 where a total of 86 village elders, chairman and GBs attended the vent.

Kiphire battalion organised medical camp at Tukhinkiu village Kiphire and deliberated on safety protocols of COVID 19 and conducted health check-ups for villagers.

Meanwhile, Kiphire battalion in collaboration with medical staff of PHC Moya village conducted a vaccination drive at Khongjiri village on July 7 where more than 60 residents of Mimi village got their first jab making the total to 66 out of 104 eligible residents.

Jalukie battalion in collaboration with civil authorities conducted mega vaccination drive at Jalukie town on July 7. Altogether, 98 individuals vaccinated and were also provided with other medical help.

KBC holds 47th graduation programme DIMAPUR: Kohima Bible College (KBC) held its 47th graduation programme at the college campus on July 7.

In a press release, KBC informed that a total of 23 students in master of divinity (M. Div) and 36 students in bachelor of theology (B. Th) received their degrees.

Delivering the valedictory message, principal, Rev

Zotuo Kiewhuo encouraged students that as graduates and with degrees, they should present the Gospel to the world.

He advised them to not just be mere believers but to be disciples of God while encouraging them to be soul winners.

The reverend maintained that they should not be religious leaders but spiri-

tual leaders and challenged them to play well as soul winners amid all the circumstances.

He further encouraged them to remain committed to their calling of Jesus Christ.

Earlier, the programme was led by assistant professor of the college, Zhapu while assistant professor, Kavili invoked God’s blessings and read the scripture.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

news in Brief Registration for fit India quiz postponed: Nagaland Board of School Education has informed that the proposed fit India quiz which was scheduled to begin registrations from July 1 has been postponed to August, 2021 tentatively. The revised timeline for each phase would be notified at a later date.

Further, NBSE has requested heads of institutions to visit the boards official portal nbsenl.edu.in as the information on the revised timeline would be notified there.

YTC elects new team: Yimchungrü Tribal Council (YTC) has elected a new team of office bearers led by S Throngso as president and Tsuyihba Yimchunger as general secretary.

NSCN (I-M) appoints UT caretaker CAO: NSCN (I-M) ministry of kilo affairs has appointed steering committee member Yekhuvi Achumi as the new caretaker CAO for UT and has taken charge with effect from July 8. In a press release, UT

CRIME BEAT

SF nab cadres of various factions

DIMAPUR: Security forces in a joint operation with state police apprehended two active cadres of “NSCN (K)” and one cadre of “NNC (NPGN)” at general area Porba village, Phek, on July 4.

According PRO HQ IGAR (N), the team recovered one point 38 revolver, twelve rounds of point 38 revolver live ammunition, two point 32 live ammunition, one AK-47 with magazine and 14 rounds of live ammunition, and one bolero at general area

Doctor felicitated for commendable job in Pungro

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Porba village, Phek.

The apprehended individuals along with recovered items were handed over to

DIMAPUR: Mokokchung police arrested one Ganga Rani Borah (33) from Nagaon, Assam, presently residing at Sangtemla ward Mokokchung on charges of physical abuse on a minor child on July 8.

Mokokchung police PRO informed that a written FIR was received from the centre coordinator, CHILDLINE 1089,

1st DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BELOVED

Born : 29.11.1942 – Died : 04.07.2021 We, the family members of Late Sashimongla (Longpa) convey our heartfelt gratitude to all who stood by us, physically, spiritually and materially during her illness and her demise. It is our sincere prayer that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

Loving relatives MKC-208

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

MKC-207

DIMAPUR: Administration of Pungro sub-division has felicitated Dr. Kedusato Kotso, medical officer (MO) of primary health centre (PHC) Likimro Hydro Electric Project (LHEP), for his commendable job in the assigned duties during vaccination drives and sensitisation programmes on COVID-19 vaccination under Pungro area in Kiphire district.

According to an official bulletin, the Pungro administration stated that the MO was assigned to carry out vaccination and sensitisation drives in Mimi area, where his team visited villages amid bad roads to provide vaccination to eligible beneficiaries.

It was through his initiative the drives were conducted successfully, the administration noted.

In this regard, the administration on behalf of the people of Pungro has appreciated the doctors, nurses and medical department, particularly community health centre (CHC) Pungro for initiating the vaccination drive.

The medical officer was felicitated with cash and citation.

SF and police personnel with the apprehended cadre and seized items

Pfutsero police station for further investigation.

Security forces in a joint operation with police apprehended an “NSCN (IM)” cadre at Jalukie on July 5. PRO said that the joint team recovered onepoint 32mm pistol with a magazine and two rounds of live ammunition near general area old market Jalukie, Peren. The apprehended individual along with recovered items was handed over to Jalukie police station for further investigation.

One arrested in Mkg for alleged abuse

LATE TAKOMEREN LEMTUR (LONGSA)

As part of its yearly outreach ministry, Police Baptist Church Chümoukedima youth department placed dustbins in all newly constructed over bridges starting from Chümoukedima Town to Purana Bazaar, Dimapur on July 7.

secretary Ahuka T Yepthomi has sought for “full cooperation” from hohos, GBs, organisations, associations, Church leaders, student bodies, business establishments and individuals for the “smooth functioning of the administration and peace in society”.

NPGN/NNC (N/A) appoints Lotha region chairman: NPGN/NNC (N/A) has informed that Santsuo Shitiri has been appointed as chairman of Lotha region “in the interest of NPGN/NNC (N/A) under the leadership of its president T Ovung.”

The group has, therefore, appealed to all sections of people under Lotha region “to cooperate with him”.

ICFAI University declares results: ICFAI University has declared the end semester exam results of Undergraduates BBA, BCA, B.COM, BA and postgraduates MBA, MA English and MA political science on July 8.

Died on : 09/07/2020 A year has passed since you left us.

You are gone but not forgotten.

Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure.

You are and will always be in our hearts till the end of time.

We love you dearly and miss you deeply.

Mokokchung that a minor child had been physically abused at Sangtemla ward, Mokokchung.

In this connection, a case was registered with women police station after obtaining cognizance from the court.

The case was booked under section 323 IPC and Section 77 JJ Act and follow-up case investigation is on, PRO informed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT As we grieve the sad demise of our beloved father Late I. LIMA LONGKUMER. Words are not enough to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all well wishers, churches, organisations, councils, fellowships, specially to Dr. Aoakum Kichu, nurses and staff of Eden Hospital Dimapur and Civil Hospital Dimapur, blood bank staff for your unreserved contribution during the prolonged illness.

In return, we have nothing to give you all but it is our prayer that God bless each and everyone of you abundantly.

DP-3139

~Loving Wife, Children, Grandchildren & Relatives.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Loving wife, children, grand-children and in-laws

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

LT. ARAMU TEP

L. TEKANEKEN LONGCHAR

February 7, 1944 to July 2, 2021 It is of immense pleasure to express our heartfelt gratitude to all for the love, unceasing prayers and generous support extended to our family of Late L. Tekaneken Longchar since the time of his illness till the day he passed to glory. We are truly humbled by the countless words of sympathy and encouragement through phone calls, emails, text messages and visits which have brought solace to us in this time of loss and have been a reminder of the lives he had touched during his lifetime.

Special Thank You to Dr. Akumnaro Jamir and the team of Faith Hospital, Dimapur for their outstanding care system. Those difficult days were much bearable because of a wonderful team like you.

Our heartfelt gratefulness to the Dimapur Ao Baptist Arogo, Duncan Council, Longkhum Union Dimapur, Longkhum Baptist Arogo and Longkhum Council for being a mountain of immeasurable support and encouragement to our family.

We deeply regret our failure to mention individually here, but please know that each of your love and support have brought us much comfort during this troubled time and we pray that you accept this acknowledgement as a pure expression of our gratitude and appreciation.

May our Lord bless you with full measure and keep you and your loved ones safe.

“If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.

Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God” Romans 14:8 DP-3140

Beloved Wife, Sons, Daughters, In-laws and Grandchildren

We, the bereaved family members of Lt. Ezanyimo Lotha would like to convey our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to each and every individuals, friends, neighbors, relatives and well wishers to one and all who stood by us emotionally, physically and financially and also upholding us through prayers during prolonged illness up to his last breath. We pray that Almighty God bestow His unseen blessing abundantly upon you all.

(Born : 14.04.1964 – Died : 02.07.2021) We, the bereaved family members of Lt. Aramu Tep would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to each and everyone who supported us emotionally, materially, financially and spiritually throughout the prolonged illness and sad demise of our beloved father on 2nd July 2021.

Our special thanks to :1. Doctors and nurses of Kohimas (Specially:- Dr. C. Wathsutho Nyuthe).

2. Tesophenyu Lorinyu Baptist Church.

3. Tepunyu Group Union Tesophenyu.

4. B.Coy 4th NAP Fellowship Tseminyu.

5. Tesophenyu Fellowship Kohima.

6. DBS Colony Fellowship Kohima.

7. Tep Khel Welfare Lorinyu.

8. Tesophenyu Sporting Club.

9. P.H.C Tesophenyu 10.Keso Welfare Organization Tesophenyu.

We regret our inability to mention individually for all the supports and prayers, our humble prayers to Almighty God to bless you all abundantly.

Loving wife and family members

Loving Wife, Son, Daughters, Family Members & Relatives.

(Born : 11th Aug 1944 – Died : 23rd June 2021)

WC-132

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nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Are people tired of news about the Coronavirus?

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

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northeast/state

Assam mulls Cattle Preservation Bill

G u wa h at i , J u l 8 (PTI): The Assam Cabinet has given its approval for placing a cattle preservation bill in the budget session of the assembly, beginning on July 12, minister and government spokesperson Pijush Hazarika said on Thursday, A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday, decided to repeal the existing “The Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950” and introduce “The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021” in the forthcoming session of the House, Hazarika, the water resources minister, said at a press conference here.

About the proposed bill, Gover nor Jagdish Mukhi had said while addressing the inaugural session of the 15th Assam Legislative Assembly on May 22, “We will adopt a zero- tolerance policy and enforce stringent punishment for offenders.

“The proposed bill envisages the imposition of a complete ban on the

The move is ostensibly aimed at ending illegal cattle smuggling along the IndoBangladesh border in Assam. transport of cattle outside the state.”

The Cabinet also decided to fully bear the litigation cost of government officials in connection with their actions taken for border protection, Hazarika said.

“This is required as most of the litigations and cases are frivolous and instituted in a vindictive manner to demoralise the government employees from taking

a bold stand in discharging duty for protecting the border without fear or worry,” the minister said.

The Cabinet has also approved the inclusion of Gorkhas, residing in the tribal districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, and Udalguri from before 2003, as a “protected class”.

It also gave its nod for including Moran, Matak, Ahom, Chutia, and Gorkha communities who are per-

manently residing in the Sadiya tribal belt in the list of “protected classes of persons”.

The Cabinet also decided to restructure the present manual process of registration of applicants in the employment exchanges of the state by shifting to the digital mode.

The employment portal will be hosted and maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC)

with a provision for linkage with the National Career Service Portal of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The applicants who have already registered and their cards are still valid, will be given the option of entering their previous registration number to retain the date of their initial registration, the spokesperson said.

The Cabinet also approved the provision of rehabilitation grant in respect of houses damaged due to natural calamities to those landless families who are residing on government land for long and are eligible for getting allotment or settlement as per the provisions of the 2019 land policy and if there is no dispute over the possession.

It was also decided to rename the post of “Gaonburhas” as “Gaonpradhan” (village headman) and restrict their upper age limit to 65 years, keeping in view the nature of duties and responsibilities entrusted to them, the minister said.

Rescue ops suspended in M’laya mine Mnp police arrest one for issue Correspondent SHILLONG, JUL 8: The rescue operation for miners trapped in an illegal coal pit at Umpleng in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district has been suspended in the wake of incessant rain that has been further flooding the already inundated and abandoned mine.

Over a week now the expert divers belonging to the Indian Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) had been facing difficulty to dive into the 500 feet flooded coal mine due to heavy rains.

Disaster Management Minister, Kyrmen Shylla has

informed that heavy rains have disrupted the operation and pumping out the water has been difficult.

So far, three bodies have been recovered from the rat-hole into which at least five migrant labourers, four from Assam and one from Tripura had ventured in.

Due to incessant rain, the level of water has risen, which prevents and hampers the diving operations in the mine shaft for retrieval of other dead bodies, Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills district, E. Kharmalki said.

“The Indian Navy based on their request to de-induct the team from the rescue operation, left the

district yesterday along with their diving equipment,” he said.

“Further, considering the onset of the monsoon, the diving teams are required for rescue operations elsewhere in the country,” the Deputy Commissioner pointed out, adding that the services of the NDRF and SDRF have been de-requisitioned with effect from July 7, 2021 evening.

Due to these reasons, the rescue operation has been suspended until further notice, the Kharmalki stated. The National Green Tribunal has banned the unscientific coal mining in Meghalaya, yet illegal cases of mining have been reported time and again.

Arunachal Gov, CM hail Kiren Rijiju on elevation as Cabinet minister

ITANAGAR, JUL 8 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) B D Mishra and Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday congratulated Kiren Rijiju on being elevated as a Cabinet minister, hailing his managerial and administrative acumen.

Rijiju, earlier in the day, took charge as the new law and justice minister.

“This speaks volumes for the competent handling by Rijiju of his ministerial responsibilities and his progressive policies.

His managerial and administrative acumen has deservedly been recognised by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi,” Mishra said in a statement. Rijiju, who represents the Arunachal-West parliamentary constituency, was on Wednesday elevated as a Cabinet minister in a major reshuffle and expansion of the Union Council of Ministers.

Taking to Twitter, Khandu said, “Your elevation to the post of a Union Cabinet Minister brings great joy and pride. My best wishes and hearty congratulations Shri @KirenRijiju Ji on being sworn in today. We eagerly look forward to your tremendous zeal, passion and energy in bringing change.”

NSLSA & GSWS sign MoU to set up senior citizens helpline

DIMAPUR: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) and Good Samaritan Women Society (GSWS) to launch a national helpline number at the NSLSA member secretary office on July 8.

In a press release, NSLSA stated that the MoU was signed by member secretary N Longshithung Ezung and programme manager, senior citizens helpline Neithonuo Liegise.

The main objective of the helpline is to attend to the complaints and grievances of senior citizens.

As per the MoU, the state helplines would receive calls and district/sub-districts administration would act upon the grievances.

The national helpline for senior citizens (NHSC) — elder line (toll free 14567) is mandated to facilitate four different services including information, guidance, emotional support and direct field intervention.

According to the MoU, all the roles and responsibilities would be conveyed to all the district legal services authority (DLSA) and para legal volunteers.

It may be mentioned that the ministry of social justice and empowerment (MoSJE), national institute of social defense (NISD) and Nagaland social welfare department had decided to launch a national helpline with Good Samaritan Women Society as the service provider.

COVID vax for PwDs: Court disposes suo motu case

DIMAPUR: The court of the state commissioner for persons with disabilities (PwDs), which had initiated a suo motu case on June 3, 2021 for priority and preference to PwDs in testing, treatment and vaccination of coronavirus, has disposed of the matter after three respondents filed a joint affidavit on June 29, 2021.

The court observed that the respondents have taken the necessary steps in giving special priority for COVID-19 vaccination to PwDs and inclusion of the unique disability identification (UDID) in K Y M C

the list of prescribed photo ID documents to avail the vaccination. However, the court requested the respondents in the coming days, for any public healthcare situation/ action, wide publication be given to persons with disabilities since COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing and taking into account any such eventualities in the future.

“The rights and privileges of persons with disabilities should not be overlooked or denied whatsoever,” state commissioner for persons with disabilities, Diethono Nakhro, noted in her order.

of fake COVID vax certificates

Correspondent IMPHAL, JUL 8: A government school teacher engaged as CoWIN verifier was arrested in Manipur on the charge of issue of fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

Four individuals who obtained the fake vaccination certificates were vaccinated in the presence of executive magistrate, official sources said on Thursday.

Police in Manipur’s Thoubal district investigating into the alleged provision of fake COVID-19 vaccine certificates to some individuals have arrested Md Rafique Ali son of Md Ahmed Ali of Moijing Lamkhai who is government primary school teacher engaged as CoWIN verifier in the vaccination programme in the district.

The arrested teacher was among the two CoWIN verifiers of the district who were served show-cause notices by the Thoubal DC for allegedly issuing fake vaccination certificates to some individuals in the state.

The other primar y teacher was identified as Md Abdul Wahid.

He was arrested after registering a case against him section 120- A/ 120

B/166/167/168/192/193 /196/197/198/200/269/ 270/271/336/ 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of Thoubal police station.

The police registered the case against him on the receipt of a complaint from the DC of the district.

Before lodging the complaint, the DC served showcause notices to two primary teachers on Tuesday based on a report submitted by the Medical Officer (MO) of the district. In the report of the MO, the two primary teachers were alleged of providing fake vaccination certificates to four individuals without vaccination. The two primary teachers who engaged as CoWIND verifiers submitted their written responses to the show-cause notices on Wednesday.

During a thorough investigation into the written responses, the DC revealed that Md Rafique Ali was assigned the duty of providing vaccination certificates to those who have been administered the vaccine.

He was found guilty of misusing the COWIN application. The other teacher, however, had no connection with the provision of the fake certificates as the mobile app was handled by Md Rafique Ali only.

state

Virtual road show on ‘seeding bioentrepreneurship in Nagaland’ DIMAPUR: Nagaland Tool Room and Training Centre (NTTC) Dimapur, in collaboration with BIRAC Regional Techno-Entrepreneurship Promotion Centre (BRTC), KIIT-TBI, Bhubaneswar, organised a virtual road show on “seeding bio-entrepreneurship in Nagaland” on July 6.

A press release by NTTC informed that head bio-innovation, KIIT-TBI, Dr. Namrata Misra spoke on role of incubators and funding opportunities for innovators and start-ups.

Head technology enabling centre, KIIT-University, Asutosh Nanda stressed on the importance of protecting business assets and how one should go about in protecting intellectual property.

An overview of BRTC activities on creating an innovative ecosystem in East and North East was highlighted by Manager KIIT-TBI, Dr. Rajiv Kangabam.

The event also deliberated on the initiatives of department of biotechnology,

India, which was creating a vibrant ecosystem for innovation to thrive in the country through its public sector biotech interface agency (BIRAC).

The event also talked on how BIRAC programmes could benefit innovators and start-ups to establish their ideas and develop their concepts into market-ready products.

NTTC principal, Petehetuo Miasalhou later highlighted various existing technologies, equipment and facilities available for entrepreneurs, start-ups etc.

The event was aimed at sensitising innovators and start-ups about various funding opportunities available under Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and other gover nment agencies.

Around 60 participants from various agencies including entrepreneurs, innovators, faculties and student community across the state attended the event.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

New snake species gets named after local warrior in Mizoram

KOCHI, JUL 8 (AGENCIES): It was a bright summer morning in March and researchers from Mizoram University were surveying for herpetofaunal (reptiles and amphibians) species in villages not far from the capital city Aizawl.

Though night fell, they continued their survey and spotted a snake on a boulder in a dried-up area of Tuinghaleng river bed.

Further detailed studies revealed that it was a new species of the Stoliczkia genus and only the third species of Stoliczkia from India, reports The Indian Express.

The team named it Stoliczkia vanhnuailianai, in honour of Vanhnuailiana, a famous Mizo warrior. He was one of the most powerful chiefs of the Lushai Hills (now Mizoram) during the mid1800s and led many successful campaigns against rival chiefs in the area.

The snake is about 50 cm in length, non-venomous, and has a dark brown shade above with a few

The snake is about 50 cm in length, non-venomous, and has a dark brown shade above with a few dorsal scale rows bright yellow in colour. (Samuel Lalronunga) dorsal scale rows bright yellow in colour. Though the head scales are uniformly dark brown it has bright pinkish sutures.

“Since some members of the family Xenodermidae exhibit fluorescence under ultraviolet light, we tested this species under a UV light, but it did not exhibit any significant sign of fluorescence. We do not know if the pink colour played an important role as of now,” explains lead author Samuel Lalronunga, from the Systematics and Toxicology Laboratory,

Department of Zoology, Mizoram University. The findings were published today in Zootaxa.

The team gave a common name, ‘Lushai hills dragon snake’ and in the local Mizo language they suggest it be called rulphusin, meaning ‘snake with small scales’.

The team says this is one of the most important discoveries of this century because the last time its sister species Stoliczkia khasiensis was found was more than a century ago in 1904.

NE COVID-19 UPDATE Sikkim reports 222 new COVID-19 cases Gangtok, Jul 8 (PTI): Sikkim reported 222 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and one more death, as per the state Health Department bulletin. East Sikkim district registered the highest 85 new cases, followed by 79 in West Sikkim, 51 in South Sikkim and seven in North Sikkim, it said. There are 2,144 active cases in the state at present, it added. Sikkim has so far reported 21,795 COVID-19 cases. While 19,082 persons have recovered, 257 others migrated to other states. With the latest death, the state’s toll reached 312. The new cases were detected after testing 1,076 samples. The positivity rate was at 20.6 per cent, while the recovery rate rose to 87.5 per cent.

Mizoram reports 548 fresh COVID-19 cases

Aizawl, Jul 8 (PTI): Mizoram logged 548 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day spike in July so far, raising the coronavirus tally to 22,703, a senior official said. The death toll climbed to 101 as two more people succumbed to the virus, he said. The northeastern state now has 3,959 active cases, while 18,643 people have recovered from the disease. The new infections include 88 children and four Border Security Force personnel, the official said. Mizoram has thus far tested 5,13,712 samples for COVID-19, including 3,245 since Wednesday. Meanwhile, State Immunisation Officer Lalzawmi said over 5.5 lakh people have been inoculated in the state till date.

Arunachal logs 404 fresh COVID-19 cases

Itanagar, Jul 8 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh reported 404 fresh cases of COVID-19, raising the tally to 38,283, a senior health department official said on Thursday. The death toll in the frontier state mounted to 184 as three more persons succumbed to the virus, he said. Altogether, 8,00,789 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state, including 5,458 since Wednesday, Jampa said. Meanwhile, State Immunisation Officer Dimong Padung said a total of 6,74,729 people have been vaccinated in Arunachal Pradesh thus far.

Meghalaya records 532 new COVID-19 cases

SHILLONG, JUL 8: Meghalaya on Thursday registered 532 new cases of COVID19, taking the number of active cases up to 4, 391 and four new deaths mounting the death toll up to 890. On the other hand, 366 new recoveries adding the number of recovered cases to 47,963 in the state, which has so far recorded 53, 244 confirmed cases. Director of Health Services (MI), Dr. Aman War said the COVID-19 related deaths recorded were one each in East Khasi Hills district, East Jaintia Hills district, Ri-Bhoi district and West Jaintia Hills district. The East Khasi Hills, which includes state capital Shillong is the most COVID-19 affected district with 1,469 active cases and 651 deaths due to the viral infection, followed by Ri-Bhoi district with 966 active cases, West Jaintia Hills district with 541 active cases and West Garo Hills district with 449 active cases. (Correspondent)

Mangkolemba bodies demand medical facilities DIMAPUR: With nine COVID-19 positive cases re por tedly detected at Mangkolemba under Mokokchung, various bodies of Mangkolemba have expressed apprehension over the lack of “necessary equipments” at the Community Health Centre (CHC), Mangkolemba.

In a press release, Mangkolemba Ao Lanur Telongjem (MALT) president Tiakumzuk, All ward chairman convenor Lanuyanger and Mangkolemba Town Students’ Union (MTSU) president Wapongtoshi said that the recent detection of positive cases had “brought the public of Mangkolemba and nearby villages to a grim situation”.

While stating that the CHC at Mangkolemba was lacking necessary equipments and facilities to combat the virus, the organisations urged upon the responsible authority to intervene and provide necessary facilities.

The organisations have warned that failure to address the problem and fulfil the demand would “lead

to loss of public cooperation.”

Meanwhile, the bodies including MALT, MTSU, Watsü Telongjem, All Ward Chairman, All Ward Gaonbura and Mangkolemba Town Council (MTC) appreciated the health care

workers of CHC for their untiring efforts “despite the lack of proper infrastructure, medical equipments, manpower etc.”

It also appreciated Mangkolemba Baptist Church for its contribution towards the CHC.

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OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post Vol. XXxI NO. 213 Dimapur, FriDAY, JULY 9, 2021

Modi overhauls team

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rime Minister Narendra Modi effected the first and the biggest ever expansion-cum-reshuffle of his second ministry after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when he inducted 36 new faces among 46 sworn-in on July 7 after dropping 12 other senior ministers. The expansion was preceded by a media hype that was meant to overshadow problems that the country faces due to the second deadly coronavirus wave. Also, politically the expansion also relegated the day-to-day slugfest in West Bengal between the BJP and the TMC. Modi needed something to boost up his government’s falling political image especially after the disastrous West Bengal election defeat. After seven consecutive years as prime minister, Modi has certainly got to know India better and should also understand that his Gujarat Model has actually not paid political dividends. Therefore, in his second tenure, Modi has decided to realign his focus and the recent cabinet expansion offers him the opportunity to reorganize his team so that the talents can suit the need of the day. Modi is fond of phrases both Hindi and English which he uses effectively to promote himself and his party. One of Modi’s favourite maxim during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was his promise to bring “minimum government with maximum governance”.

Of course, this phrase did not promise a lean cabinet as the NDA-II(Vajpayee headed NDA-I) had 71 ministers. This time, after the expansion, the number of ministers in the NDA-III has risen to 77. To sound different, the NDA-II in 2014 promised to club some co-related ministries together such as Railways, Highways and Shipping together to take advantage of the synergies. There was some effort to put this into practice but in the end it did not take shape and ultimately this plan was underwhelming. Media had commented on this by quoting an expression attributed to then prime minister P.V.Narasimha Rao as a “change with continuity”. Modi’s recent cabinet expansion contained a mix of talented young leaders (below 60) and who represented various segments of society including professionals. The eclectic mix of professionals include- eight lawyers, four doctors, two former IAS officers, four MBA degree holders and several engineers among the 36 new faces.

Apart from addressing regional and community aspirations, the focus, the purpose appears to be on bringing in highly qualified members and those with experience of administration in states in an effort to reboot the government midway through its term. With a the average age of the new team being 56 (down from 61) with a wide variety of talent and experience, the new Modi team should be able to prove itself.

Reacting to the cabinet overhaul, the Congress said the problem was with the engine (PM) but coaches (ministers) were being changed. The Congress cited soaring fuel prices including LPG that has fueled inflation and how the faulty GST has ruined lakhs of MSME businesses across the nation. The party blamed the engine (PM) for the mess but instead the bogies were being changed. There have been many failures and misses by the Modi-I and Modi-II governments. This is not an exception since it would have been the same, if not, worse under other party governments. The challenge before Modi is to allow his team to function freely within their brief and get rid of the hangover of the Gujarat model that worked on the basis of over centralization of power.

DailyDevotion Will To Be Faithful …choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… —Joshua 24:15 A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will— I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit. When God gives me a vision of truth, there is never a question of what He will do, but only of what I will do. The Lord has been placing in front of each of us some big proposals and plans. The best thing to do is to remember what you did before when you were touched by God. Recall the moment when you were saved, or first recognized Jesus, or realized some truth. It was easy then to yield your allegiance to God. Immediately recall those moments each time the Spirit of God brings some new proposal before you. “…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….” Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God— do not “confer with flesh and blood” about it (Galatians 1:16). With every new proposal, the people around us seem to become more and more isolated, and that is where the tension develops. God allows the opinion of His other saints to matter to you, and yet you become less and less certain that others really understand the step you are taking.

You have no business trying to find out where God is leading— the only thing God will explain to you is Himself.

Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ, “You are witnesses against yourselves…”

(Joshua 24:22). Don’t consult with other Christians, but simply and freely declare before Him, “I will serve You.” Will to be faithful— and give other people credit for being faithful too.

Quotes

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~ Lao Tzu

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FriDAY, JULY 9, 2021

Post-mortem

Digital India – Where Knowledge is Strength A bout three decades ago, in the idyllic locales of Kerala, I was working in the traditional fisheries sector.

In an attempt to enhance returns for fishermen who were getting a mere 20% of the market price of fish, we introduced new technology like fibreglass crafts and outboard motor and even launched beach level auctions. However the greatest challenge which persisted was to open bank accounts for fishermen in order to streamline payments. In those days, it would take us a minimum of ten months to chase physical banks and manage to register a single account holder. Know Your Customer was an alien concept. Cut to 2021, you can walk into a bank branch and open a bank account in moments with eKYC and biometrics. Reducing the waiting time frommonths to minutes, digital transformation has truly enabled a paradigm shift.

Marking six years of the Digital India initiative, the Prime Minister has aptly described this to be India’s techade. Technological advancement and the rapid penetration of internet hasintegrated over one billion citizens across India into a common financial, economic and digital ecosystem. With the cheapest data rates in the world and close to 700 million internet users – every 3 seconds a new Indian user joins the internet. The Union Cabinet has just approved implementation of Bharat-

I

Net through Public Private Partnership in sixteen states with official fibre connectivity to all inhabited villages.

With over a billion plus biometrics, a billion plus mobiles and almost a billion bank accounts, we have built the largest identification system in the world mapping the entire population of India. Till date, 1.29 Billion Aadhar IDs have been generated and 55.97 billion authentications have been carried out. Bridging the gap between the government and citizens has become the bed rock of India’s digitization efforts.

A payment system that connects millions of Indians spanning across the coast of Gujarat to the farmlands of Uttar Pradesh and the mountains of Sikkim, there is tremendous opportunity to make UPI a global and scalable architecture for digital payments. From powering a large corporate to empowering a vegetable seller, India’s stellar success story in facilitating quick, real time mobile payments has left the world awestruck. In June 2021, UPI recorded 2.8 billion transactions worth Rs 5.47 trillion. UPI now has more than double the number of transactions that American Expressdoes globally.

Recently, Google wrote to the US Federal Reserve, applauding the successful implementation of UPI in India, and recommended the Federal Reserve System of USA to drawinspiration from India.

A notable innovation in the Digital India landscape has been the launch of aG2B (Government To Business) Government e-Marketplace. TheGeM portal has successfully leveraged technology to transform the public procurement landscape. So far, the portal has crossed the 19.17 lakh seller registration milestone, about 5 times the number of sellers from last year.Tribal jewelry from Jharkhand, dry fruit from Kashmir, dance lessons from Chennai, textiles from Odisha – the intersection of e-commerce and internet have created a robust ecosystem for Indian products and businesses to thrive in. The internet has been the greatest enabler for millions of Indians to scale their passion and produce into businesses and interact with customers globally.

Two key sectors that have received a massive impetus under the Digital India programme are health and education. These are crucial for improving the overall quality of lives of Indian citizens and describe a holistic growth trajectory.

In the hinterlands of India, goldcoloured beneficiary cards are considered to be life savers for many, doing away with the various pillars and posts that one had to run to for equitable access to healthcare. The Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (PMJAY) is a unique blend of healthcare and technologyand is the most comprehensive cashless, contactless, paperless and digital health

insurance schemes in the world that covers over 500 million citizens in India, equivalent to the population of Europe. PMJAY along with the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) is massively improving end to end healthcare delivery in India,inching towards a system that is totally technology-enabled through data-integration and standardization.An example that truly resounds with this vision for a connected healthcare system, emerges from an aspirational district in western Uttar Pradesh.

Chitrakoot, in spite of its developmental challenges, has wonderfully leveraged common service centres, village level entrepreneurs and ASHA workers to build an effective telemedicine delivery mechanism for all residents of the district.

Under this intervention, patients in remote areas can avail specialist care without having to travel from their homes to hospitals, saving considerable time and money.

Digitisation and internet penetration have contributed phenomenally towards improving learning outcomes for students across India. Primar y schools in Nawada, a remote aspirational district in Bihar are home to SMART classrooms, completely equipped with digital tools and internet connectivity, bringing knowledge from the world to Indian villages.

The model of SMART classrooms and e-learning has been rapidly replicated

Building resilient health systems

n the recently-concluded G-7 meeting, the wealthiest democracies reaffirmed their commitment to end the current pandemic and strengthen future health resilience. The leaders collectively pledged to deliver one billion coronavirus vaccine doses over the course of the next year, leverage global manufacturing capacities, improve early warning systems and fast-track the development time of essential items to 100 days. At a time when the pandemic has increased global health inequity, commitment from the leading democracies on global cooperation and joint expanded efforts is a critical first step. For India, an invitation as a “guest country invitee” is a testament to the value that it can add to these global efforts.

At the same time, on its home turf, how can India build back better against a possible third wave of the pandemic and other health crises?

A year into the pandemic, India has assembled a diverse portfolio of mitigation tools that includes vaccination, testing, tracing, and surveillance.

Notably, for several months preceding the second wave, the country focused distinctly on vaccination. However, the frequency of mutations, and the possibility of vaccine-evading strains have proved to be roadblocks. These concerns aggravate the complexity of inoculating a significant share of the country’s enormous population — achieving herd immunity remains a distant goal.

An integrated strategy that combines testing and tracing with vaccination prioritisation and is informed by an assessment of the potency of existing vaccines against emerging variants is the need of the hour. In the report, “The Road Ahead for Smart Covid-19 Testing and Tracing in India,” experts have outlined the need to incentivise innovations related to testing. To effectively contain the pandemic, affordable, accurate, and scalable diagnostics are vital.

The G-7 countries have leveraged their superior R&D capacities and encouraged innovations. Most have allowed rapid home testing options through lateral flow assays. In Japan, testing kits can be found in vending machines. Such measures lead to Reader’s note: Articles

across states, introducing students from rural areas to a whole new world of learning. During the pandemic, several online learning initiatives deployed by the government – DIKSHA, ePathshala, Swayam played an instrumental role in ensuring continued education for students in the most remote corners of the country.

The transformation of India into a digital society and a knowledge economy has tremendously improved ease of living for citizens.

Universally accessible digital resources like the India Post which is the largest computerized and networked postal system in the world, the AyushSanjivani application, DigiLocker, UMANG app, Tele Law for legal advice, the SVANidhi scheme for street vendors and the launch of 10,000 BPCL CSC points for easy booking of gas cylinders are some of the tools that are maximising governance and minimising government for Indian citizens.

A n o t h e r r evo l u t i o n a r y product of Digital India is the MyGov platform which is the world’s largest interactive digital democracy portal promoting participative governance.

As India moves from being data rich to data intelligent, Machine Learning and AI will find solutions to a vast number of its challenges – water availability, learning outcomes, health improvement and enhanced agriculture productivity.

Going forward, my belief

is that the development of world-class technology products requires critical inputs from data-hungry young entrepreneurs and an AI-enabling policy environment. India should nurture an innovative breed of socially conscious and development orientedproduct managers,AI scientists, product designers and software engineers.

Building inclusive technology solutions is about high volumes with the availability of services at low cost and the convenience of video and voice in vernacular languages.

This requires a full stack design approach keeping in mind the unique attributes of India’s diversity, with special emphasis on the needs of people living in remote parts of the country.

In order to script an unprecedented success story of digital transformation, it is imperative to be fully cognisant of the aspirations and the potential of the population residing in rural and relatively disconnected parts of India. How we enable and empower the spirit of entrepreneurship among them so that they leverage technology capabilities and data to provide solutions for not merely the people of India but the next 5 billion people of the world who will be moving from poverty to middle class, is going to be the cornerstone of the next Digital India techade.

Amitabh Kant Author is CEO, NITI Aayog.

Views expressed are personal.

Run with the hares, hunt with the hounds

intelligent use of a limited work- This will be key to managing force, and hospital, and state health emergencies other than ow that the cabinet re- vaccination provisions? resources. India’s self-testing kit Covid and will breed equity and Run with the Hares. shuffle is over and the and saliva-based rapid antigen accessibility to health systems.

Of all the idioms that are allotment of portfolios test kits (validated, though pendThe G-7’s recent commitused, the one above seems to fit has been done with, the man ing approval) are likely to achieve ment to building early warning on the street is expected to calm the bill now, of our own situasimilar positive outcomes. systems assumes significance givtion. The dictionaries provide its down and get on with life.

Until vaccinations reach en that India’s second wave bared The common man expected meaning: to remain friendly with a critical mass of the popula- the need for tests that can detect a spectacular transformation in both sides; to balance the act; to tion, India should sustain the pathogens early. Along with an the restructure of governance but side with the nearest position to momentum of innovating and integrated mitigation strategy it ended in a damp squib. Many avoid rows; to act duplicitously streamlining various pandemic and optimising laboratory caor hypocritically and so on. pacities, genomic sequencing is who aspired for posts and miniscontainment measures.

The shuffle seems to have tries who had made a beeline to Innovations may come about significant. The exercise provides followed a shrewd policy - that buy kurtas and hurried to Delhi rapidly, but their adoption and a nuanced understanding of the were disappointed. Many others of consolidation of powers; deployment at scale does take genetic blueprint of the virus and were sacked for not towing the sacking those who did not tow time. During a prolonged crisis its likely impact on diagnostics, line or for non-performance. The the line; inducting those for like the current one, optimising therapeutics and vaccines. The miseries of the aspirants beside representation; redistributing available capacity through tech- infrastructure and systems used positions of powers etc., while the people seem to continue. nical expertise support becomes in sequencing should be robust the big man holds absolute And yet what was the need an invaluable resource. As an enough to anticipate existing and power over all . for the reshuffle?

Was it primed early step against the ongoing emerging variants. The system If the shuffle had been in such a way to distract people? pandemic, ICMR had allowed should be calibrated to collect done to stabilize the economy, Was it geared to undo the lack re-purposing and deployment real-time data from epidemiologiof governance or was it intro- check the rise in prices, improve of TrueNat and CBNAAT di- cal and clinical sources, integrate duced to take absolute control healthcare facilities etc.,the agnostic systems (typically used it with data from sequencing and over governance such that there move would have been nice,wise, for tuberculosis), given their distil it into actionable measures is no pusillanimity in the re- and timely. But the powers know widespread availability at the for the public health and policysponsibility, with subservient what is best! district and primary health cen- making quarters.

And yet the man on the The G-7 countries, espe- submission? tre levels. This decision allowed street journeys on, looking for a Was it geared to stem the the optimisation of existing cially UK, Germany and Canrot, to pull up the economy, to silver lining in the clouds. May platforms and augmentation of ada, have harnessed genome stabilize the rise in prices of the days of comfort, security and testing capacity by the addition sequencing technology to their things, to provide healthcare ease dawn on him soon! of 1,062 labs into the Covid-19 advantage. India’s current seArun Kumar Wesley quencing efforts could benefit facilities and to improve the testing network.

On this front, state govern- from an immediate scale-up to ments have received support from meet the threshold set by the NGOs and public health innova- WHO. Ideally, there should be tors in designing appropriate a joint platform to collaborate strategies and solutions. Such and coordinate with national partnerships focus on streamlining and international establishments and expediting existing capaci- and existing global surveillance ties through product and process systems – The Pandemic Preveninnovation. This ranges from in- tion Institute of the Rockefeller troducing point-of-care molecular Foundation, for instance, aims diagnostics to newer generation to unite the global community rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits to stop outbreaks within the first with high sensitivity and speci- 100 days, regardless of the patho- Sir, The new strain of Coronavirus namely, Lambda variant has ficity. In addition to reducing the gen or region of origin.

Robust systems can only been reported to be more aggressive than all the other strains. A test result turnaround time and minimising errors in data entry, thrive with the right mix of in- lot of people in Nagaland have been administered the Covishield these innovations are proficient stitutional and individual mobil- vaccine and there are still plenty more who are yet to take the vacin identifying emerging variants ity, high-level coordination and cines. At this juncture, the people are becoming more indecisive through sequencing. There is also transparency between various on whether to take the vaccines or not and those who have been a thrust on process automation in actors, appreciation of the spirit vaccinated are plagued with a huge question on the effectiveness of laboratories using cloud pathology of innovation, and collective re- the Covishield, what the next step should be after the vaccination and barcoding. These strategic solve. In view of India’s profound and most importantly, is there a plan B to curb the crisis?

There are still hundreds and thousands of people who refuse initiatives have positively impacted diversity, the above recommendaoutcomes by reducing the burden tions are just the starting point for to take the vaccines and with the emergence of this new strain, it would not be long before another panic storm hits the state again. on lab personnel and increasing future pandemic resilience.

A lot of articles on SOPs not being adhered have surfaced but are Deepali Khanna and the efficiency of the screening there any another medical aid prepared if incase this new strain Shibu Vijayan processes. emerges in the state? What about the children? What if the chilDeepali Khanna is Managing DirecSuch optimisation measures should now be scaled to strengthen tor, Asia Regional Office, The Rock- dren get infected? There are hundreds of questions yet very few the response of public health sys- efeller Foundation. Vijayan is Global answers. Therefore, I urge the department to educate the public on all these matters so that all of us will be better equipped for tems. India should also institute TB Technical Director, PATH disease agnostic testing platforms (The article was first published on the coming future.

Akum Ao, Dimapur at the primary healthcare level. Indian Express) or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

free to act against Twitter Cabinet rejig: A phone call led to 11 resignations Centre if it breaches IT rules: Delhi HC

NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (AGENCIES/PTI): Four senior Union ministers — Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ — were among the 11 ministers who resigned on Wednesday ahead of the cabinet reshuffle in the evening.

According to top government sources, all it took was one phone call.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepared to effect his first cabinet reshuffle in this term yesterday, BJP National President JP Nadda sat down with his phone.

As the time for the announcement drew closer, Nadda dialled 11 Union Ministers and asked them to put in their papers, sources told CNN-News18.

PM Modi’s new cabinet was going to be bigger, bolder and younger with some fresh faces - synergy was the keyword.

President Ram Nath Kovind received and accepted the resignations of Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, D V Sadananda Gowda, Santosh Gangwar,

PM begins work with fresh cabinet, interacts with institutions

JP Nadda

Sanjay Dhotre, Debasree Chaudhuri, Rattan Lal Kataria, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Babul Supriyo also resigned.

In all, six Cabinet Ministers, one Minister of State (Independent Charge) and five Ministers of State have resigned. After resigning, some of them changed their social media profile to reflect the change in status with Prasad’s Twitter bio, saying ‘Member of Parliament from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha, Bihar’ and ‘BJP worker’, while Javadekar’s profile stated ‘Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha’.

Health Minister Vardhan, whose handling of the COVID-19 crisis had drawn flak from the opposition parties, resigned from the Union Council of Ministers, official sources said.

My endeavour is to work with all media heads: Anurag Thakur NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (IANS): Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, on Thursday announced that his endeavour will be to work with all the media heads as a team and to take forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission.

Thakur’s remark came soon after he took charge as Information and Broadcasting (I&) Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new-look Union Cabinet.

In an interaction with senior officials of various media units and Prasar Bharati after taking charge, Thakur said: “My endeavour will be to work will all the media heads as a team.”

Soon after assuming charge of office, the four-time BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh and former Minister of State for Finance, Thakur, said Prime Minister Modi has made strenuous efforts to take the nation forward in the last seven years and that as Minister of I&B it will be his responsibility to take that mission forward.

Anurag Thakur (PTI)

Thakur also said that he will make all efforts to deliver on the responsibilities placed on him by the Prime Minister and he looked forward to the cooperation of media in his efforts.

“Modiji has taken the nation forward and I will try to match the confidence the Prime Minister has shown in me. Several people have been in charge of this ministry, and I will take forward the work of the government to the people at large.”

A p a r t f r o m I & B, Thakur, who had been the BCCI chief in the past, has also been allotted the Youth Affairs and Sports portfolio.

New Delhi, Jul 8 (IANS): A day after the reshuffle of the Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started working with the new batch of ministers and initiated the move with Directors of centrally funded technical institutions like IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur and IISc Bangalore.

New Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi, the first time MP from Koderma, was present during the interaction via video conferencing in which Prime Minister lauded the Research and Development work done by these institutions towards meeting the challenges posed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of young innovators towards providing quick technological solutions during the interaction which was joined by more than 100 heads of institutions.

In the meeting, Modi stressed on the need to adapt higher education and

technical education to keep in tune with the changing environment and emerging challenges, adding “this requires the institutions to reinvent and re-evaluate themselves, develop alternative and innovative models in accordance with the present and future needs of the country and society.”

The Prime Minister emphasized that Indian higher educational and technical institutions need to prepare youth for continuous disruptions and changes, keeping in mind the fourth industrial revolution.

Underlined the need to progress towards education models that are flexible, seamless, and able to provide learning opportunities as per the requirements of the learners, the Prime Minister said that access, affordability, equity, and quality should be the core values of such education models.

Prime Minister appreciated the improvement in the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education in the past few years and emphasized that

digitization of higher education can play a big role in increasing GER, and students will have easier access to good quality and affordable education.

Prime Minister also lauded the various initiatives taken by the institutions to increase digitization such as that of online bachelor and master’s degree programmes and added that we need to develop an ecosystem of technological education in Indian languages and translate global journals into regional languages.

Prime minister said that ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ will form the basis of dreams and aspirations of India in the coming 25 years when we celebrate 100 years of Independence.

He added that technological, R&D institutions will play a major role in the upcoming decade, which is also being called as “India’s Techade”.

He further emphasised to focus on developing futuristic solutions in fields of education, healthcare, agriculture, defense, and cyber technologies.

India trashes Pak’s claim of its role in attack near Hafiz Saeed’s residence

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI): India on Thursday strongly trashed as “baseless propaganda” Pakistan’s claim that it was behind a bomb blast near the house of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed in Lahore last month, and asked Islamabad to take “credible and verifiable” action against terrorism emanating from its soil instead.

At a media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asked Pakistan to focus on setting its own house in order in containing terror networks and said that the international community is well aware of that country’s credentials when it comes to terrorism.

He also said that the Pakistani leadership continues to “glorify terrorists like Osama Bin Laden as ‘martyrs’”. “It is not new for Pakistan to engage in baseless propaganda against India. Pakistan would do well to expend the same effort in setting its own house in order and taking credible

and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from its soil and terrorists who have found safe sanctuaries there,” Bagchi said.

Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf told reporters in Islamabad on Sunday that the mastermind of the attack “is an Indian citizen” and he is associated with RAW (Research and Analysis Wing).

“The inter national community is well aware of Pakistan’s credentials when it comes to terrorism. This is acknowledged by none other than its own leadership, which continues to glorify terrorists like Osama Bin Laden as ‘martyrs’,” the MEA spokesperson said.

He was replying to a question on the allegations levelled by the Pakistani NSA. “Through the forensic analysis, electronic equipment, which has been recovered from these terrorists, we have identified the main mastermind and the handlers of this terrorist attack and we have absolutely

no doubt or reservation in informing you that the main mastermind belongs to RAW,” Moeed had said.

Three persons were killed and 24 others injured when a powerful car bomb exploded outside Saeed’s residence at the Board of Revenue (BOR) Housing Society in Johar Town in Lahore on June 23.

The ties between the two countries significantly nosedived after India announced in August 2019 its decision to withdraw the special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories.

Pakistan has been making concerted efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue. India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. India has been maintaining that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.

NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (AGENCIES): The Delhi high court on Thursday said that there is no interim protection for micro-blogging site Twitter and the Centre is free to take any action if it breaches the new information technology (IT) rules in India.

The court has also directed Twitter to file an affidavit, notarised in United States, within 2 weeks regarding appointment of the interim officers, stating that they would take full responsibility of the tasks assigned to them. “It is made clear that since this court has not passed any interim order, this court has granted time

to Respondent No 2 (Twitter Inc) to file affidavit, no protection is granted. It is open to Centre to take action against the Respondent 2 in case of any breach of the Rules”, a bench of Justice Rekha Palli said. Hearing in the matter has been adjourned till July 28.

Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, representing Twitter, told the court that it was not seeking any protection either.

“The consequence (of non-compliance) is that the protection to intermediaries falls off. I’m not seeking any protection”, he said. On July 6, the HC had directed Twitter to inform it by July

8 as to when it will appoint a resident grievance officer (RGO) in compliance with the new IT rules.

The high court had on previous hearings expressed displeasure over Twitter delaying the appointment of grievance redressal officer.

“Twitter prays for two weeks’ time for filing notarised affidavit of competent official of respondent nos 2 (Twitter Inc).

Two weeks time is granted.

Scanned copies to be filed by Tuesday, July 13,” the high court said after Poovayya submitted that he would get notarised affidavit from the US and the same would require some time.

CNTC asks HPC not to make hasty decision on ...

(From p-1) It said even fake negative reports were widely being used by many, CNTC demanded that spot tests should be conducted on all incoming travellers and quarantine at government institutional quarantine centres made mandatory as no SOPs were maintained in home quarantines due to lack of basic facilities.

Stating that HPC would be also well aware that total lockdown has been reimposed in seven districts of Assam due to surge in Covid positive cases, CNTC cautioned that any hasty decision by throw-

All must follow law of land: New IT Min Vaishnaw New Delhi, Jul 8 (IANS): New Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday did not waste any time to make it crystal clear how he wants things to pan out in the ongoing Twitter-Centre face off as he assumed office as the Union Minister for Railways, Communication, Electronics & IT. “Everyone has to follow law of the country,” Vaishnaw said during his first visit to the party headquarters after being made cabinet minister in the Modi government.

When questioned about Twitter not complying to the new IT law, the Minister hinted that everyone have to follow new guidelines.

He thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the opportunity to serve the nation as Union Minister. “There is no words to say thanks to the Prime Minister for giving me such a big opportunity to serve the country,” the Minister said.

ing caution to the winds in this regard, would be catastrophic since whatever was achieved would be lost.

CNTC also reminded that the lesson from the second wave of the Covid-19 should be a lesson against repeating the same mistake in taking hasty decisions and not following covid protocols since experts have predicted of an impending third wave The Council also reminded that much as the responsibility lay with all the public, it was the decision and its implementation that determined the end result.

BJP must thank Sena, NCP for ‘human resource’: Raut Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI): Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday took a swipe at the BJP, saying it should thank the Sena and the NCP for providing it “human resource” to fill cabinet berths in the Narendra Modi-led central government.

Talking to reporters here, Raut pointed out that Kapil Patil and Bharti Pawar, the new central Ministers of State (MoS) for Panchayati Raj and Health, respectively, were earlier with the NCP, while MSME Minister Narayan Rane was earlier a part of the Sena and also the Congress.

Three out of the four Union ministers from Maharashtra sworn in on Wednesday are not from the BJP background.

“Prime Minister Modi must have seen some spark in them to give them important portfolios. The BJP should thank the Shiv Sena and NCP for providing it good human resource for

Sanjay Raut

induction into the Union ministry,” Raut quipped.

T h e S e n a l e a d e r, whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra, also claimed that Narayan Rane’s stature is “bigger” than what has been allocated to him.

“Rane has been a chief minister and held important portfolios in the past. In the MSME ministry, he has the challenge to revive small and medium industries, which have been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to generate employment,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

‘Over 1.83 Cr unutilised Covid vaccine doses with states, pvt hospitals’

DP-3145

drive, the Centre will procure and supply (for free) 75 per cent of the vaccines produced by the manufacturers in the country to the states, the ministry said.

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Through this column, the Lakhuni Union Kohima would like to express our sincere congratulations to Smti. Er. Limanaro, D/o Lt. Chubawati of Lakhuni Village on her being promoted to the post of Engineer-in-Chief (PWD), Govt. of Nagaland. The first among Naga Women to hold the high post. The Union also felicitate Smti. Imlikala, D/o Lt. Bandangmeren on being elevated to the post of Deputy Secretary (NPSC) Nagaland Public Service Commission. The Union wishes both of them the best in all their future endeavours.

(T. Meren Langu) President Lakhuni Union, Kohima K-1148

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FELICITATION With immense pride and honour, the SVSU would like to express our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Throngdiba .S Sangtam, S/o Shri. Setsiba of Singrep Village for securing Topped in the Philosophy Subject in the recently declared UnderGraduate examination result from St. John College Dimapur.

The Union wishes him a great success in future endeavors. The Union also congratulates all the successful candidates in the recently declared examination.

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nation drive, the Centre has been supporting the states by providing them Covid vaccines for free. In the new phase of the universalisation of the Covid vaccination

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NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (PTI): More than 1.83 crore balance and unutilised COVID19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and private hospitals, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. Over 37.93 crore (37,93,56,790) vaccine doses have been provided to the states and Union territories so far and a further 23,80,000 doses are in the pipeline. Of this, the total consumption, including wastages, is 36,09,69,128 doses (according to data available at 8 am on Thursday), the ministry said.

“More than 1.83 crore (1,83,87,662) balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs and private hospitals to be administered,” it added.

The Centre is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid vaccination throughout the country. The new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21.

The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to the states for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain. As part of the nationwide vacci-

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national Fire breaks out in CBI building

Farmers protest against fuel price hike

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI): Farmers agitating against the new agriculture laws on Thursday came together to raise their voices against the recent price hike of petrol, diesel and cooking oil, demanding that the rates be halved with immediate effect.

Called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the twohour-long protest from 10 am to 12 noon, saw farmers in different parts of the country gather on the sides of national and state highways along with their vehicles, in an attempt to draw the government’s attention towards their plight following the fuel price hike.

“Today, farmers protested for two hours against the high fuel prices. We want them to be halved immediately. Protestors brought their motorcycles, cars, tractors and other vehicles and held sit-in protests,” said farmer leader Lakhbir Singh.

He added that the demonstrations were held

Farmers carry LPG cylinders during a protest against fuel price hike at Ghazipur border in New Delhi, Thursday. (PTI)

peacefully. While petrol on Wednesday crossed Rs 100/litre in Delhi and several other cities, diesel is currently priced at Rs 89.59/litre.

Another farmer leader Avtar Singh Mehma said protests were held not just at the Delhi borders where the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws is underway, but across several state and national highways in the country.

“However, it was ensured that the protests did

not block traffic on these roads. Protestors brought their motorcycles, cars, tractors and other vehicles and sat on roadsides.

“Housewives also came out in large numbers to participate in the agitation with empty gas cylinders,” Mehma said.

While it was too soon to zero in on the number of protestors, demonstrations were held at “thousands of places in the country”, he said.

Mehma said his na-

tive district of Ferozabad in Punjab saw protests at 25 different places.

“The government is made by the people, so it is important that it listens to them. The government should take charge of the fuel prices in its own hands instead of leaving it to the corporations,” he said.

As part of the agitation on Thursday, farmers also observed ‘horn baja diwas’ during which they honked their vehicles for five minutes to draw the attention of the government, which, according to them, has not been listening to them despite their continued agitation for over seven months.

“A call was made to all farmers across the country to come out with their tractors and vehicles on main roads and highways across the country and blow horns so that the government takes note of the protest,” Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said.

NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (PTI): A fire broke out in the CBI building at CGO complex in Lodhi Road area on Thursday morning, officials said.

Fire officials said a call about a blaze was received at 11.36 am.

Six fire tenders were r ushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control, a senior fire official said.

The fire had broken out in the transformer and AC plant rooms in the second basement of the building, he said.

The police rushed to the spot after they received a call about the fire, officials said.

A lot of smoke was coming out from the basement of the building. Fire tenders, PCR vans and CAT ambulances reached the spot. No casualty has been reported and the situation is under control, a senior police officer said.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister Sharmila floats political party in Telangana

Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister, YS Sharmila Reddy launches a new political party named YSR Telangana Party, in Hyderabad. (PTI)

Classes will be given reservation on the basis of population. Calling her father YS Rajasekhara Reddy a symbol of the welfare schemes in the country, Sharmila alleged that chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao does not know what welfare is.

“His definition of standing on one’s own feet is making people stand in queues for Covid-19 treatment, for ration cards and everything else,” she said.

Saying that no one in the state is happy in the state except KCR’s family he said “every family in Telangana is having a loan burden, and the state is in debt trap of Rs 4 lakh crore.”

H Y D E R A BA D, J U L 8 (AGENCIES): Marking her foray into active politics, YS Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, launched her political outfit - YSR Telangana Party - in Hyderabad on Thursday.

During the launch, Sharmila declared that welfare, self-reliance and equality will be the new party’s three pillars of agenda.

Addressing a gathering of party activists after unveiling her party flag, Sharmila she said that her party will work to reserve 50% seats in assembly for women.

She also said that people belonging to the Backward

DU Admissions to be Online, UG Reg

by July-end NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (AGENCIES): The muchawaited admissions for the University of Delhi (DU) will continue to take place digitally this year as well.

The varsity started disbursing and accepting forms digitally from last year due to the pandemic, reports news18.com. This year, too with aim of avoiding long queues on campus, the varsity will hold the admission process digitally.

The registrations for postgraduate and PhD courses are expected to begin within 10-days while the registrations for the undergraduate courses will begin

by July end, DU chairperson of admissions, Rajeev Gupta informed news18.com.

He also said that the varsity will continue to hold merit-based admissions this year too. The university was earlier considering allowing CU-CET as one of the many entrance gateways, however, there is no final decision on this yet.

Talks of UP cabinet rejig gain strength Khadse innocent, but BJP wrongfully targeting him: NCP on ED probe

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PRINCIPAL DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE MOKOKCHUNG : NAGALAND

S/C NO. 97/2021

NOTICE NOTICE INVITING CLAIMS/OBJECTIONS OF OTHER CLAIMANT(S) FOR ISSUE OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE UNDER PART-I OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT 1925 Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate/pension benefits of Late SUNGMOLA has been applied by Shri PONGYIM CHANG, H/o Late Sungmola, R/o H.No: 194 Penli Ward. Mokokchung, Nagaland for possession of : 1) GPF, 2) GIS, 3) Gratuity, 4) Leave encashment, 5) Pension etc., 6) Closing of A/c.

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Patil said. The case in which the former BJP strongman from Jalgaon is being questioned has not yielded any proof against him, the NCP leader said.

“The previous inquiries have failed to implicate Khadse. The land in question was purchased legally,” he added.

Patil also alleged that the BJP had systematically sidelined Khadse, an OBC leader. Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Khadse said the ED inquiry was a conspiracy to defame him, and added that it was initiated as he quit the BJP.

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No. 9971 Yesterday’s solution No. 9970

president and state water resources minister Jayant Patil said the manner in which his party (NCP) had gracefully inducted Khadse has unsettled the BJP. “Khadse is innocent and he will be cleared of the charges. But the BJP is wrongfully targeting him,”

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last year.

The NCP currently shares power with the Shiv Sena and the Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

Talking to reporters, NCP’s Maharashtra unit

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Crossword

NCP leader Eknath Khadse reaches Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai, Thursday. (PTI)

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into consideration,” admitted a BJP functionary.

However, the manner in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown the door to veterans like Ravi Shanker Prasad, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, Prakash Javdekar and Harshvardhan, it will now make it easier for Yogi Adityanath to crack the whip.

Moreover, since the majority of the seven new ministers inducted in the

MUMBAI, JUL 8 (PTI): The NCP on Thursday came out in support of its leader Eknath Khadse, who is facing an inquiry by the ED in connection with a Pune land deal case, with the party saying that although he was innocent, the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, was wrongfully targeting him.

Khadse, 68, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with its probe into the money laundering case on Thursday, a day after his son-in-law Girish Chaudhari was arrested by the agency in the case.

Sulking since his unceremonious exit from the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra cabinet in 2016 over the land grab allegations, Khadse had left the BJP to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) helmed by Sharad Pawar

MOKOKCHUNG : NAGALAND

S/C NO. 96/2021

K-1147

Yogi Adityanath

union cabinet are from OBC and Dalit castes, the chief minister can easily replace some ministers form these caste groups in the state.

According to sources close to him, the chief minister would prefer to induct some new faces who have a jest for performance and can further improve the image of the government.

“At present, it appears that Yogi Adityanath is the only one working in the government. He would certainly prefer some more ‘working hands’ who can add vibrancy to the government,” said an official, known for his proximity to the chief minister.

The cabinet reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh has been pending since January and the induction of former bureaucrat-turned-politician, Arvind Kumar Sharma, in the council of ministers has also been long overdue.

Ph: 9774408815/9436001384

LOST NOTICE I, Nuneselhou Shurhiu, am applying for a duplicate copy of HSLC Marksheet - cum- Certificate as I have lost them.

Name : Nuneselhou Shurhiu Father Name : Zasitso Shurhiu D.O.B : 01.03.2000 Roll No : 171821163 Year : 2017 School : St. Joseph's Hr. Sec. School, Chumukedima

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L uc k n o w, J ul 8 (IANS): After the major cabinet reshuffle at the Centre, speculations are once again doing the rounds of a much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in Uttara Pradesh.

According to highly placed sources, the removal of senior ministers at the centre on grounds of nonperformance, has made it easier for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take similar action in Uttar Pradesh.

The chief minister, for some months now, has been wanting to divest some senior ministers of their portfolios.

However, apparently under pressure from the party high command, he was not allowed to do so.

“There are many considerations in keeping a leader in the ministry. There are caste and regional factors that have to be taken

NOTICE NOTICE INVITING CLAIMS/OBJECTIONS OF OTHER CLAIMANT(S) FOR ISSUE OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE UNDER PART-I OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT 1925 Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate/pension benefits of Late B. Chingmak has been applied by Smti YIMSENARO, W/o B. Chingmak, R/o H.No 17(A) Mission Compound, Phangsang Mokokchung, Nagaland for possession of : 1) GPF, 2) GIS, 3) Gratuity, 4) Leave encashment, 5) Pension etc., 6) Closing of A/c.

Notice is hereby given that any person having interest in the administration of the estate/pension benefits of the said deceased may if she/he so desire appear in this Court on or before the said day of 24.07.2021.

Given under the hand and seal of the Court on this the 24.06.2021.

MKC-205

Principal District & Sessions Judge Mokokchung : Nagaland

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7

international

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

has withdrawn nearly all its Trump sues Twitter, Fb, YouTube and Google Britain troops from Afghanistan: Johnson

WASHINGTON, Jul 7 (Agencies): Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday filed lawsuits against Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), Facebook Inc (FB.O), and Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O), as well as their chief executives, alleging they unlawfully silence conservative viewpoints.

The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, allege the California-based social media platforms violated the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Trump is seeking class action status for the lawsuits, meaning he would represent the interests of other users of Twitter, Facebook, and Google’s YouTube who allege they have been unfairly silenced.

He filed three lawsuits making similar allegations — one against Facebook

Donald Trump

and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one against Twitter and its CEO Jack Dorsey, and one against Google and its CEO Sundar Pichai.

“We will achieve a historic victory for American freedom and at the same time, freedom of speech,” Trump said at a news conference at his golf course in

Bedminster, New Jersey.

A Twitter representative declined to comment.

Representatives of Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump lost his social media megaphone this year after the companies said he violated their policies against glorifying vio-

lence. Hundreds of his supporters launched a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 after a Trump speech repeating his false claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, an assertion rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of his own administration.

The lawsuits ask a judge to invalidate Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that has been called the backbone of the internet because it provides websites with protections from liability over content posted by users.

Trump and others who have attacked Section 230 say it has given big internet companies too much legal protection and allowed them to escape responsibility for their actions.

“This complaint is hard to even make sense of,” said Paul Gowder, a

professor of law at Northwestern University.

Trump sought to portray the social media companies as subject to the same First Amendment requirements as government entities when it comes to censorship, but Gowder said nothing in the lawsuits “even comes close to turning social media companies into government actors.”

A federal judge in Florida last week blocked a recently enacted state law that was meant to authorize the state to penalize social media companies when they ban political candidates, with the judge saying the law likely violated free speech rights.

The lawsuit said the bill signed by Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in May was unconstitutional. It would have made Florida the first state to regulate how social media companies moderate online speech.

LONDON, JUL 8 (AGENCIES): Most British soldiers have been pulled out of Afghanistan, ending Britain’s official role in a two-decades long conflict even as the Taliban are gaining ground and amid fears the departure of foreign soldiers could lead to civil war.

“All British troops assigned to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan are now returning home,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament, praising what British forces had achieved while at the same time acknowledging the “perils” facing Afghanistan. “ Fo r o b v i o u s r e a sons, I will not disclose the timetable of our departure, though I can tell the house (parliament) that most of our personnel have already left,” Johnson said. British forces were first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and

Boris Johnson

played a major role in combat operations until 2014. A total of 457 British soldiers were killed in the country.

NATO, of which Britain is a member, said in April that its troops would begin withdrawing in co-ordination with a decision by President Joe Biden to pull U.S. troops out by Sept. 11. read more Violence has raged throughout Afghanistan in the weeks since then.

The United States last week abandoned Bagram air base, the longtime staging ground for U.S. military operations in the country, effectively ending America’s

longest war. The Pentagon says the withdrawal of U.S. forces is 90% complete.

Johnson said he did not underestimate the challenges facing Afghanistan, adding the gover nment would continue to provide development assistance.

“I hope no one will leap to the false conclusion that the withdrawal of our forces somehow means the end of Britain’s commitment to Afghanistan, we are not about to turn away, nor are we under any illusions about the perils of today’s situation and what might lie ahead,” Johnson said.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence said a small number of troops will remain to protect diplomats. Nick Carter, who as Chief of the Defence Staff is the head of the armed forces, said there is the possibility that Afghanistan could be on a path to civil war as American and other foreign troops leave.

Former S. African prez Zuma Fourth Rajapaksa sibling joins Sri Lankan government hands himself over to police

Jacob Zuma

but in a short statement on Wednesday, the Jacob Zuma Foundation said he had “decided to comply”.

His daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, later wrote on Twitter that her father was “en route (to the jail) and he is still in high spirits”.

Zuma was sentenced on June 29 for defying an instruction to give evidence at an inquiry into corruption during his nine years in power. He has testified only once at the inquiry into what

has become known as “state capture” - meaning the siphoning off of state assets.

Businessmen have been accused of conspiring with politicians to influence the decision-making process while he was in office. But Zuma has repeatedly said that he is the victim of a political conspiracy.

Though he was forced out of office by his own party in 2018, the African National Congress (ANC), he retains a loyal body of supporters, especially in his home province of KwaZuluNatal.

On Sunday, crowds formed what they called a human shield outside Zuma’s palatial home in an effort to prevent his arrest.

Similar crowds gathered before he handed himself in on Wednesday.

and plan implementation.

Namal, the elder son of Mahinda, is the Cabinet minister of sports, while Shasheendra the son of Chamal is a state minister.

Nipuna Ranawaka, a government backbencher is the nephew of the big four.

Basil was seen as the livewire and the intellectual pillar in the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration between 2010 and 2015.

A dual citizen of the US and Sri Lanka, Basil headed all key task forces from economic management to environment under the current administration of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Basil, who did not contest the last parliamentary

Basil to enter Parliament.

“Congratulations Hon Basil Rajapaksa for assuming pivotal responsibility and taking over the Finance Ministry, at a critical time for Sri Lanka’s economy. We stand by you in this journey, and commit to supporting the vision of a prosperous

GRATITUDE Basil Rajapaksa

election in August 2020, entered parliament through the national list of elected parliamentarians.

A ruling Sri Lanka PodujanaPeramuna (SLPP or Sri Lanka People’s Front) national list MP resigned this week to make way for

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28

Ousted Swedish PM Stefan Lofven reinstated budget.

Lofven has also previously announced he would resign again should he be reinstated and the proposed budget be voted down.

Should this happen, Sweden’s voters would again face the possibility of a snap election less than a year before the scheduled elections in September 2022.

To avoid such a scenario, Lofven must strike a balancing act to appease the Left Party as well as the Centre Party, whose leader has repeatedly announced she would not support a government that has negotiated with the Left Party.

Meanwhile, NooshiDadgostar, the newly elected leader of the Left Party, has said her party will no longer be “a doormat” to the Social

Democrats.

Lofven’s last crisis began in June when the Left Party proposed a no-confidence vote over fears that the government had plans to let landlords charge market rates for newly-built rental apartments.

As the Left Party did not have the required number of parliamentarians to call for such a vote, antiimmigration party the Sweden Democrats picked up the baton which ultimately led to Lofven and his entire government being ousted.

Lofven, who now has to formally appoint ministers in the new government, said the new government will focus on welfare initiatives, security and policing, and environment and climate.

‘4 suspected killers of haiti prez slain, 2 held’

Biden to host Jordan King on July 19: Wh

STOCKHOLM, JUL 8 (IANS): Just over a week after his resignation as Sweden’s Prime Minister following a vote of no confidence in Parliament (Riksdagen) in June, Stefan Lofven was reinstated on Wednesday.

The leader of the Social Democrats, who has headed a caretaker government since his resignation, was returned to the post with 116 supporting votes in the 349-seat Riksdagen, the Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the Swedish constitution, a qualified majority is not required as long as a majority - a minimum 175 deputies -does not vote against the proposed prime minister. A total of 173 votes were cast against Lofven.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (HAITI), JUL 8 (AP): Haiti’s police chief says four suspected killers of President JovenelMoïse have been fatally shot by police and two others arrested in an apparent hostage-taking situation.

Léon Charles said late Wednesday that three po-

Stefan Lofven

Lofven will now form a new government together with the Green Party that for the last seven years has shared power with the Social Democrats.

Ahead of the voting procedure, Ebba Busch, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats, described yet another such government as a “ticking bomb” as it would have difficulties pushing through a

lice officers held hostage were freed. The killing of Moise early Wednesday, and the wounding of his wife, was sure to bring more chaos to the unstable Caribbean country already beset by gang violence, soaring inflation and protests by opposition supporters who accused Moïse of increasing

authoritarianism.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said the police and military were in control of security.

The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has a history of dictatorship and political upheaval. The streets of Port-au-Prince were empty and quiet.

Isaac Herzog sworn in as Israel’s president

JERUSALEM, JUL 8 (IANS): Former Labor party leader Isaac Herzog has been sworn in as Israel’s new president. Herzog, 60, took his oath on Wednesday before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and became Israel’s 11th president, Xinhua reported.

In his first speech as president, Herzog vowed to serve the entire citizens of Israel.

He said there is a need for a more moderate tone in Israeli politics and to stop the incitement that divides and polarizes Israeli society. “The shared values are more brittle than ever,” he said, adding that hate and K Y M C

incitement lead to “heavy prices” such as “harming our national resilience.”

He called for a greater integration of Arabs in society and to stop street violence and killings in Arab towns.

“My mission, the task of my term, will be to do everything to rebuild hope” for the society, he said.

Herzog replaced Reuven Rivlin who has served as the president for the past seven years. Herzog is a former chairman of the Jewish Agency and the son of Israel’s sixth president Chaim Herzog.

WASHINGTON, JUL 8 (IANS): US President Joe Biden will host King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on July 19, Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said.

“His Majesty’s visit will highlight the enduring and strategic partnership between the United States and Jordan, a key security partner and ally of the US,” Psaki said in a statement on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“It will be an opportunity to discuss the many challenges facing the Middle East and showcase Jordan’s leadership role in promoting peace and stability in the region,” she added.

King Abdullah II will be the first Arab leader to visit the White House since Biden took office. The Biden administration voiced support for his leadership during a royal rift in April.

Sri Lanka,” the party said on its Twitter account.

Only the members of parliament are eligible to become ministers.

The ruling SLPP believes that Basil’s entry as a key political strategist would revive the government’s fortunes amidst the pandemic.

LATE L. YENITO ZHIMO Born : Nov 21, 1953 – Died : June 30, 2021

“In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death”

Proverbs 12:28

We, the family members of Late Mrs. TSOVITALE KOSO wish to sincerely convey our heartfelt gratitude towards our well wishers, individuals, neighbors, especially the Panchayat/Youth Organization (JCYO) and Women Organization of Jail Colony, Kohima, and particularly members of Ministers' Hill Baptist Church (MHBC), Kohima, who selflessly stood by us physically, financially and prayerfully throughout her brief illness till her last breath on 24 June, 2021.

May the good Lord bless you all for your kindness and support.

K-1150

-Loving children, grandchildren, great grandchildren & family members

We, the family of Late L. Yenito Zhimo would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to every individual, families, churches, associations and organizations, who stood by us during his fleeting illness and his demise.

God gives us the comfort in the form of good friends, your sympathy, kindness, thoughts and prayers were felt by us and it shall always remain in our memories.

May His peace be with you!!!

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The family of Late. L. Yenito Zhimo

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Born on : 31/12/1982 – Died on : 30/06/2021

"I have fought a good fight" Born : 15-06-1955 – Died : 24-06-2021

We, the family members of Lt. Likingchem Sangtam, Rt. Teacher Longkhim Town, would like to extend our deepest gratitude to those who stood and supported us financially, materially, physically and spiritually during the illness and sudden demise of our beloved father.

Words are inadequate to thank each and every individually but may the good Lord bless each and everyone of you abundantly.

By Family members DP-3146

We, the family members would like to convey our sincere gratitude to each and every individual, churches, organizations, neighbors and friends who mourned and empathized of our grief at the sad demise of our beloved Late Miss. Meribeni Kikon.

The immense kindness, contributions, support, your valuable time and affections shown to our family in our moment of bereavement will be reckoned for life.

We convey our heartfelt gratitude to: 1. Tsungiki Baptist Church 2. Tsungiki Youth Organization (TYO) 3. Tsungiki Sun Rising Colony 4. Tsungiki Zenka Rentso 1982-1984 5. A1 Sporting Club Tsungiki 6. Dr. Zubonthung Humtsoe and all his staff Wokha Town 7. Dr. Bithungo and his staff Wokha Town 8. Doctors of PHC Chukitong and all the staff 9. PWD Colony Wokha 10. Wokha Tsungiki Ekhung 11. Chukitong Tsungiki Ekhung 12. Mr. Y. Vungthungo Kikon, Principle, Govt. Hr. Sec. School Wokha Town 13. Dr. P. Ngullie Kohima 14. Mr. R. David Ngullie, Managing Director, Bravo School of Music Wokha Town 15. Mr. Benry Odyuo.

We deeply regret our inability to thank each and every individual personally, but we sincerely pray that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

Loving parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws & family members

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CAPE TOWN, JUL 8 (IANS): South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has handed himself in to police to begin serving a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court.

He was admitted to Estcourt Correctional Centre in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

Police had warned that they were prepared to arrest him if he did not hand himself in by midnight.

Zuma, 79, was handed the jail term last week after he failed to attend a corruption inquiry.

The sentencing sparked an unprecedented legal drama in South Africa, which has never seen a former president jailed before.

Zuma had initially refused to hand himself in,

COLOMBO, JUL 8 (PTI): Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest of the four Rajapaksa siblings, was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister on Thursday, marking the further consolidation of political power by the powerful clan in the island nation.

Basil, 70, became the fourth Rajapaksa brother after President Gotabaya, 72, Prime Minister Mahinda,75, and Agricultural Minister Chamal, 78, to enter the Cabinet.

He took the oath before President Gotabaya.

With the entry of Basil in the Cabinet, there are as many as seven family members in the top echelons of the government.

The Finance Ministry until Thursday morning was under Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mahinda has now been given a new portfolio of economic policy

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8

sports

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

Fans face ban at Olympics; England beat Denmark to reach Euro final Tokyo under state of emergency

LONDON, JUL 8 (IANS): Harry Kane scored a 104th minute goal to give England a 2-1 win over Denmark in European Championship semi-finals on Wednesday night and end a 55-year wait for his country to qualify for the final of a major football tournament.

Kane slotted home the rebound after Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel had saved his spot-kick which England earned after Raheem Sterling went down following a slight contact in the Danish penalty area.

It was harsh on Schmeichel, who was magnificent all game, but the result did justice to an England side that totally dominated the second half and extra time of the match, Xinhua reports. The game got off to a high energy start with England looking to impose themselves and pin the Danes back in their own half. A low cross from Harry Kane evaded Raheem Sterling, who then cut inside only to shoot tamely at Schmeichel, before Kane hit a powerful shot well over.

Denmark then began to work themselves into the game with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg challenging Jordan Pickford from outside of the penalty area and the England goalkeeper con-

England face UEFA charges on three incidents after win

England’s Harry Kane scores his side’s second goal from the penalty spot during the Euro 2020 soccer semifinal match against Denmark in London. (AP/PTI)

ceding a corner after a poor clearance. Denmark took control and Mikkel Damsgaard curled a shot wide of the goal as fans at Wembley endured nervous moments.

The Danish forward made no mistake in the 30th minute with a vicious free kick from 25 metres which flashed past Pickford to put Denmark ahead.

It was the first goal England had conceded in the competition, but they levelled in the 39th minute.

BukayoSako collected a pass from Kane and his low cross for Sterling, who moments earlier had seen Schmeichel save from point blank range, was turned into own net by

Simon Kjaer. The second half was also played at a ferocious pace with both sides creating chances in the opening minutes. Harry Maguire was booked for a challenge on Kjaer following a free-kick. He then saw Schmeichel get across to tip away his header from a corner.

At the other end, Pickford got down to deny Dolberg, who then fired another effort straight at the England goalkeeper. England were getting more and more on top, with Schmeichel tipping over a cross from the hard-working Mason Mount and Sterling having a shot blocked from the re-

sulting corner. The Danes, however, always looked as if they could threaten on the break.

The half ended with England controlling the ball in and around the Danish area, but they were unable to find a clear chance against the Danish defence and the game went into extra-time.

Schmeichel was the hero again with a low save from Kane in the 93rd minute and even stopped his 104th minute spot-kick after Sterling went down under a slight contact, but he could do nothing to stop the England captain slotting home the rebound to end a 55-year wait for his country.

Former Real Madrid defender Ramos joins PSG on 2-year deal

Former Masters and US Open champion Cabrera jailed

Sergio Ramos

PARIS, JUL 8 (AGENCIES): Paris St-Germain have signed Sergio Ramos on a two-year deal following the defender’s departure from Real Madrid.

Ramos, 35, left Madrid after 16 years when his contract expired at the end of June.

Spain’s most-capped

player won five La Liga titles and four Champions League medals with Real.

“I am very happy to join Paris St-Germain,” Ramos said. “This is a big change in my life, a new challenge and it’s a day I will never forget.”

PSG chairman and chief executive Nasser Al-

Khelaifi said: “Paris welcomes one of the greatest players of our era.”

Ramos is PSG’s third signing of the summer, after the arrival of Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan and Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Dutch midfielder also joined on a free transfer after leaving Liverpool.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who missed out on last season’s Ligue 1 title to Lille, have also been linked with a move for Italy international goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is a free agent after leaving AC Milan.

Ramos, who was left out of Spain’s Euro 2020 squad, will link up with former Madrid team-mates Angel di Maria and KeylorNavas.

BUENOS AIRES, JUL 8 (AGENCIES): Former Masters and US Open champion Angel Cabrera has been sentenced to two years in prison in his native Argentina for assaulting a former girlfriend.

Cabrera, 51, was convicted in the province of Cordoba for assaulting, threatening and harassing Cecilia Torres Mana, his partner between 2016 and 2018.

Cabrera denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer has said he will appeal.

He began serving his sentence immediately after the verdict.

During the trial Torres Mana, 37, described incidents of violence against her that were confirmed by witnesses. Video from security cameras also showed Cabrera threatening her.

The UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against England on three different incidents which took place during the second semi-final of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. The inquiry includes the incident in which a fan used a laser pointer over Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s face.

The incident took place in the 104th minute when Harry Kane was preparing to take the penalty kick. Schmeichel, whose face was shining due to a green-coloured laser, saved the penalty but Kane scored on rebound to give England a place in the Euro final on Sunday.

The laser incident finds a mention in the press release

by UEFA as a violation under Article 16 (2)(d) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. England has also been charged under Article 16 (2) (g) for disturbance caused by its supporters during the national anthem. Denmark’s national anthem was booed by a section of England fans before the match started.

FINAL MATCH England vs Italy Time: 12: 30 a.m.

July 12 (Monday)

TOKYO, JUL 8 (AP): Fans are likely to be banned from the Tokyo Olympics following a state of emergency on Thursday aimed at containing rising COVID-19 infections in the capital.

The extent of the ban, which comes just two weeks before the pandemicpostponed Olympics open, will be announced later on Thursday by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers.

Fans from aboard were banned several months ago, and these new measures announced by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga could clear venues — indoor and outdoor — of any fans at all. This emergency declaration made for a rude arrival in Japan for IOC President Thomas Bach, who landed in Tokyo on Thursday just hours before the new measures were announced. He is to spend three days in self-isolation at the five-star hotel that lodges IOC members. would go in effect on Monday and last through Aug. 22. This means the Olympics, opening on July 23 and running through Aug. 8, will be held entirely under emergency measures.

The Paralympics open on

Yoshihide Suga

Aug. 24. “Taking into consideration the impact of the delta strain, and in order to prevent the resurgence of infections from spreading across the country, we need to step up virus prevention measures,” Suga said.

Suga, who had long favored fans, hinted at a nofan Olympics in announcing the state of emergency.

“I have already said I won’t hesitate to have no spectators,” he added.

Just two weeks ago, organizers and the IOC allowed venues to be filled to 50% of capacity but crowds not to exceed 10,000. The state of emergency has forced a last-minute turnaround, which was always an option if infections got worse. “ We will have to consider the option of no spectators,” said Olympic Minister Tamayo Maru-

kawa in opening remarks with the IOC and others as they went into meetings to discuss a ban on fans. The main focus of the emergency is a request for bars, restaurants and karaoke parlors serving alcohol to close.

A ban on serving alcohol is a key step to tone down Olympic-related festivities and keep people from drinking and partying.

Tokyo residents are expected to face stay-home requests and watch the games on TV from home.

“How to stop people enjoying the Olympics from going out for drinks is a main issue,” Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said.

The present state of emergency ends Sunday.

Tokyo reported 896 new cases on Thursday, up from 673 a week earlier. It’s the 19th straight day that cases have topped the mark set seven days prior. New cases on Wednesday hit 920, the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13.

The no-fan atmosphere could include the opening ceremony at the $1.4 billion National Stadium, which is traditionally the most watched event during the Olympics.

Federer unsure if he’ll come back to Wimbledon

LONDON, JUL 8 (IANS): Tennis ace Roger Federer, who crashed out of Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday night, is still undecided on retirement and insists on “time to regroup”.

The 39-year-old Swiss lost his men’s singles quarter-final match in Wimbledon to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 and was given a standing ovation by the crowd on the Centre Court. It was also the first time, Federer lost a set to love at Wimbledon.

Federer was asked on his retirement plans.

“It’s a struggle for me.

I knew it was going to be hard, to be honest, but now I need to talk to the team, take time -- not feel rushed by you guys or anybody -take time and work out the decision to take. I hope not, the goal is to play on,” said

Roger Federer

Federer in the post-match press conference.

When asked if the loss was his final match at the Centre Court, the

eight-time Wimbledon champion remained noncommittal.

“I really don’t know. I need to regroup. My goal

was to play another Wimbledon. The initial goal was to play last year. I was able to play this year,” he said.

Federer didn’t talk much on his future after Wimbledon. He is scheduled to take part at Tokyo Olympics and US Open this year.

But he will take a call post after discussion with his team.

“With everything that comes after Wimbledon, we were always going to sit down and talk about it.

Now that Wimbledon is over, I need to take a few days. We’ll take some time tonight, see how I feel, and then we’ll see what I can do to get in better shape and more competitive. I’m happy I made it as far as I did here. Of course, I’d like to play again, but at my age, you’re never sure what’s around the corner,” he said further.

Anurag Thakur takes charge as sports minister Ageless boxer Mary Kom still pulling no punches NEW DELHI, JUL 8 (PTI): Anurag Thakur on Thursday took charge as the country’s 17th sports minister, succeeding Kiren Rijiju and promised to do everything possible to make India a sporting powerhouse.

The 46-year-old former Cricket Board President was given responsibility of sports and youth affairs along with the Information and Broadcasting ministry

after he took oath as a cabinet minister on Wednesday.

He comes into office at a time when the nation’s athletes are in the final stage of their preparations for the Olympic Games from July 23.

“I am grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister who gave me a new responsibility involving youth and sports. It is his belief, his love for sports and his ever-

Anurag Thakur

growing initiative which is taking Indian sports forward,” he told reporters after taking charge.

“Whatever good work that has been done so far under Kiren ji (Rijiju) will continue. I would like to take everyone along and work for betterment of Indian sports,” he said.

Thakur is the first cabinet minister since Mani Shankar Iyer (2006-2008)

to get the sports ministry’s responsibility. He will have a young deputy in Bengal BJP leader NisithPramanik, who at 35, became the youngest minister in the cabinet.

Besides being appointed as minister of state for sports under Thakur, Pramanik has been given the additional responsibility as MoS in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Wimbledon: Barty beats Kerber to reach final LO N D O N, J U L 8 ( Agencies / I A N S ) : Top seed Ashleigh Barty reached her first Wimbledon final with a straight-set win over former champion Angelique Kerber in the first women’s semi-final.

Bar ty, 25, star ted strongly but had to fight off resistance from Kerber before securing a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory.

The Australian will face Belarusian second seed ArynaSabalenka or Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova in Saturday’s final.

The pair, both playing their first SW19 semi-finals, meet later on Thursday.

Whoever it will be, they will face a world number one who has not dropped a set since the

Berrettini beats close mate, runs into Federer conqueror

Ashleigh Barty

opening round.

Barty raised her racquet to her head after sealing victory in a high-quality contest, sharing a warm hug with 2018 champion Kerber at the net before taking the acclaim of the Centre Court crowd.

“This is incredible.

This is as close to a good tennis match I will play.

Angie brought the best out of me and I knew I had to be at my best,” said Barty.

“Now I get the chance on Saturday to live out a total dream.”

Matteo Berrettini

Seventh-seed Matteo Berrettini defeated close friend Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 to enter his first Wimbledon semi-final and set up a clash with Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who scalped Roger Federer in straight sets.

Berrettini is the first man from his country in the Open Era to make it to the last-four stage of the Wimbledon Championships.

“Everything is crazy right now. Thanks to Felix, I think we made a great match and I hope you guys enjoyed it,” Berrettini said in his on-court interview after trumping Canadian Auger-Aliassime, his closest mate, on Wednesday night.

Berrettini converted six of the 14 break-points, hit 12 aces (to 13 by his rival) and won 76 per cent points on first serve. He committed only three double faults as against six by Auger-Aliassime.

MUMBAI, JUL 8 (IANS): Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, India’s most accomplished woman boxer, is gearing up for what probably would be her final tilt at the Olympics.

The 38-year-old from Manipur, who won a bronze medal in the flyweight (51kg) at the 2012 Games in London, where women’s boxing made its Olympic debut, is a six-time World Champion.

She has also bagged a gold medal each in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games and has the Asian Championship gold five times. The 13 gold medals that she has won across all major competitions make her the best woman boxer India has ever produced.

Mary Kom will be gunning for her second Olympic medal in Tokyo. And going by her record so far, she probably has a good chance of achieving the feat.

Born on November 24, 1982, in an impoverished tenant farmer’s family in Kangathei village in Churachandpur district of Manipur, Mary Kom has fought poverty, lack of infrastructure, and societal stereotyping -- that boxing was too macho and injuries would affect their marriage -- on way to success in the ring.

Though she dabbled in

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom

volleyball, football, and athletics during her school days, Mary Kom took up boxing in 1998, inspired by the success of Dingko Singh, who bagged an Asian Games gold for India after 16 years and spawned a culture of boxing in Manipur.

Mary Kom made rapid progress -- moving from state to national level within a few years and bagged her first World Championship gold in 2002, the first Indian woman boxer to do so. She went on to win five

more gold medals in World Championships. What made her success more credible is the fact that she achieved a lot of it after her marriage and the birth of two sons.

Nicknamed ‘Magnificent Mary’, she was honoured by Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, last year and had earlier bagged the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sports prize of India, and the Arjuna Award. She was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2016.

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