April 8, 2021

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 121

DIMAPUR, THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

Real rattle Liverpool; Man City pip Dortmund sports, Page 12

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Cab defers decision on RIIN, new appointments Nod for separate HC; defers decision on NIDA demand Correspondent

KOHIMA, APR 7 (NPN): State cabinet has decided to hold wider consultations with various apex tribal bodies over demand to implement the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).

According to sources, the cabinet will then issue a notification on RIIN after consultations. This was decided at a cabinet meeting held at the State Civil Secretariat here Wednesday where various other issues were also discussed.

It may be noted that the Joint Committee for Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) on February 2 urged upon chief minister Neiphiu Rio for passing a legislation to make RIIN an Act during the last assembly session.

The demand also drew wide support from various apex tribal bodies and civil society

organizations. Following a crucial consultative meeting with apex tribal bodies and CSOs on March 12, JCPI said it had decided to make public representation to the State government to demand immediate action on the Banuo Commission’s report and pass an ordinance within March 31 to implement RIIN, with December 1, 1963 as cut-off date and year. Peace rallies were also held in several districts to press upon the state government to implement RIIN. With the expiry of the deadline and asserting that the demand was “non-negotiable”, JCPI called upon all tribal apex hohos to attend a consultative meeting for the next course of action. JCPI was yet to inform about the venue, date and time of the meeting.

S h i f t i n g o f D C ’s office: The cabinet also decided, that a team of ministers would meet with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) over shifting of DC office from Dimapur to new complex at Chümuokedima.

Various CSOs of Dimapur have opposed the shifting of

the DC’s office to the new complex at Chümoukdima.

NIDA demand deferred: The cabinet also deferred any decision over the demand of Nagaland In-service Doctors’ Association (NIDA) for enhancing retirement age of government doctors from 60 to 65. The cabinet deferred a decision as it was holding consultation with the Naga Students Federation (NSF) as per the earlier cabinet decision. The state cabinet has therefore, decided to take a call only after consultation was concluded.

Ban of appointments: On the issue on ban of fresh appointments, the cabinet decided to collect data within two weeks from various departments about the essential posts that needed to be filled up. After the process was completed, the cabinet decided to take up the issue again for further discussion.

Proposal for separate HC approved: The cabinet also approved the proposal of having separate High Court in the State.

Sources said the State

government would take up the matter with Government of India in this regard New courses in polytechnics: The cabinet meeting approved change of courses in government polytechnics in Mon, Wokha and Peren. Though mining,

electrical and electronics engineering courses were approved earlier, due to less number of students enrolling for these courses, it was proposed that the existing courses be replaced with new ones that were in de(Cont’d on p-8) mand.

No refugees from Myanmar so far: Rio Directed officials to deal with refugees, if any, with human feelings- CM

N

agaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday informed that there has been no report of any movement of refugees from Myanmar entering Nagaland following the military Neiphiu Rio (NP) coup in February 1, 2021.

He however said that the respective heads of the districts bordering Myanmar have been directed to deal with the refugees with “human feelings” and on humanitarian grounds, in case any of them cross over the border to seek refuge.

Speaking to a section of the media after a cabinet meeting held here at the Civil Secretariat, Rio said the government had also discussed about the Myanmar issue.

He admitted that some people crossed the international border for medical purposes, purchase of essential commodities and wedding, etc, stating that they were allowed to enter and then were sent back accordingly.

H&FW PD assures NITI-A CEO visits Aspirational District Kiphire to release salary Emphasising on the need to effectively utilise Rs. 5 cr sanctioned of MOs by April funds to improve the life Correspondent

KOHIMA, APR 7 (NPN): Health & family welfare (H&FW) principal director Dr Kevichusa Medikhru has assured to release the pending salary of medical officers (MOs) appointed last year by the department within this month.

During an informal interaction with media persons here on Wednesday, Dr. Medikhru admitted to some lapses that led to the delay in releasing the salary of the 94 recruits for the past four months.

H e a l t h & Fa m i ly Welfare principal director however said the issue was now under process and their salary would be released within April once the issue was sorted out.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that the new recruits are undergoing immense hardships following non-release of their salary for the past four months.

With the second wave of COVID-19 now being witnessed in many States across the country, which also has the potential of overwhelming health care systems, some of these medical practitioners were even apprehensive of discharging their duties without being getting paid.

This is it!

“Bapparey. Imagine we’ll still be in election till April 29 when other states finished on April 6.”

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to appoint science & math teachers

Correspondent

KIPHIRE, APR 7 (NPN): Niti Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant Wednesday sanctioned Rs. 5 crore for appointment of science and maths teachers in Kiphire district. Niti Aayog CEO, accompanied by Aspirational Districts programme director Soumitra Mandal, arrived Tuesday on a two-day visit to the state, visited Kiphire district to review the implementation of ‘Aspirational District’ programme on Wednesday.

Addressing the gathering at DC’s conference hall, Kiphire town, Kant lauded the progress made by Kiphire aspirational district, which jumped to No.2 after remaining in 111th spot out of 112 districts in ranking.

“We were of the feeling that Kiphire will find it very difficult to improve because the district was not feeding data, however, from being 111 out of 112 districts to come 2nd in health and nutrition and 1st in basic infrastructure in January and February showed the district is mov-

Amitabh Kant being welcomed at Kiphire on Wednesday. (NP)

ing forward after a gap of two years,” Niti Aayog CEO remarked. Asserting that Kiphire has done very well, Kant expressed hope that Kiphire would become No.1 in the ‘Aspirational District’ programme.

Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the district, Kant appreciated the district officers for working hard despite difficult circumstances, terrain and location. He said that providing correct data was very important as it was only way to measure the improvement in developmental activities.

Pointing out that Kiphire started doing well due to putting out data, CEO stated that indicators pertaining to child health has shown progress while percentage of underweight children and low birth rate has reduced by 1-3%.

As per the indicator, he said there has been sharp increase in percentage of pregnant women regularly taking supplementary nutrition under ICDS programme. He stated that the district should maintain delivery track record of the beneficiaries, which was one of the main pointers of nutrition.

Expressing concern over the lack of adequate doctors, nurses and teachers in Kiphire, CEO questioned what was the use of having building, equipment and school if there were no doctors, nurses and teachers. He said the government must ensure that they were posted in Kiphire.

In this regard, Kant said he has requested chief minister, chief secretary home minister to give priority to Kiphire in health and education sectors.

Myanmar forces attack Kalay town

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of the citizens, Kant asked officers to prepare good projects because Aayog would release money only when the projects were well prepared. He assured that NITI Aayog would help in preparing good projects for Kiphire.

Sharing some of his observations, he expressed concern that district has only 56% Anganwadi centre with their own building. He also said that specialised service at District Hospital Kiphire was still at 25% against the norms. Kant said that until and unless health and nutrition improved Kiphire would not be able to rise.

Other area of concern, he said was poor learning outcome as all six indicators relating to learning outcome were below 50% mark due to absence of teachers in Kiphire. He hoped that NITI Aayog would release the money if the department provided teachers to Kiphire.

Expressing satisfaction at the way the district had made progress in certain areas, Kant said he was very happy to have come all the way from Delhi to see the progress of the programme. (Cont’d on p-8)

international, Page 9

1.15 lakh daily Covid cases in India, biggest rise so far NEW DELHI, APR 7 (PTI): The number of new coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high since the outbreak of the pandemic with over 1.15 lakh new infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, pushing the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,28,01,785, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The single-day rise in coronavirus cases breached the 1-lakh mark for the second time in three days. A total of 1,15,736 infections were reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 1,66,177 with 630 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,17,92,135, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.30 per cent, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, 25,14, 39,598 samples have been tested up to April 6 with 12,08, 339 samples being tested on Tuesday.

deaths even with a low case fatality rate of 1.4% (it is 1.3% as per Health Ministry) because the total number of deaths is a product of infections and fatality rates.

And please remember, each number is a person,” Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan told DH. Since the beginning of March, there has been a fivefold increase in average daily deaths in the six weeks as the growth in the Covid-19 pandemic approached the second peak in April. In the week of February 24-March 2, there were on average 111 Covid-19 deaths daily.

The number jumped to 529 deaths in the week of March 31-April 6. On the basis of the seven-day average, the peak of the second wave touched the first wave on Wednesday with more than 93,000 cases on an average for the past seven days.

Two of the last seven days saw reporting of more than 1 lakh new Covid-19 cases and a new grim record was set in the last 24 hours with the reporting of 1,15,736 fresh cases. While the bulk of the cases and deaths were from Maharashtra, with nearly 10,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.

“Any assumption that the current surge is linked

to low case fatality is a misconception. The health infrastructure in many places will face a stiff challenge in the next few weeks due to the pace at which the test positivity rate is skyrocketing. When there is a huge rise in demand for oxygen, ICUs and high dependency care the fatality rate will rise exponentially,” commented Oommen John, a public health researcher at the George Institute for Global Health, Delhi.

The lessons that doctors had learnt in the past year may have helped so far in keeping the toll on the lower side. But with the pandemic spreading to smaller towns where the health

DIMAPUR, APR 7 (NPN): Nagaland on Wednesday recorded 11 new COVID-19 positive cases-- 6 in Kohima and 5 in Dimapur, taking the total caseload to 12376.

Meanwhile, a total of 102451 (75331 1st dose & 27120 2nd dose) beneficiaries have availed the vaccine till date.

Centre hands over ambulances to states Spl. Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APR 7 (NPN): Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, General (Retd.) VK Singh flagged off 90 basic care ambulances procured by NHIDCL to the States/ Union Territories in New Delhi on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), ambulances were handed over to state governments and UT administrations of Andaman-Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, J&K, Ladakh, Manipur,

Gadkari flagging off the ambulances in Delhi, Wednesday. (PIB)

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.

As per road accident statistics, 415 deaths per day occur in India and about 40% lives could be saved if immediate and basic medical treatment received dur-

ing Golden hour period.

Ambulances with basic life-saving support system play a crucial role in stabilizing the critically injured person. The ministry stated that the cost of one ambulance was Rs. 20.70 lakh + GST.

SKH urges CM to settle Peren-Dimapur border issue DIMAPUR, APR 7 (NPN): Sumi Kukami Hoho (SKH) has urged the state chief minister Neiphiu Rio to settle the border issue between Peren district and Dimapur district at the earliest as possible to avoid misunderstanding.

In a statement, SKH president H. Kashito Yepthomi and general secretary S Vikato Yepthomi said the hoho made this appeal when they met chief minister Neiphiu Rio at his official residence on April 6, 2021.

The signatories stated that the Sumi Hoho (SH) and SKH have “not involve on this conflict because this is not the tribal issue”, adding that SH had, therefore, is-

India stares at over 1,000 daily Covid deaths in coming weeks NEW DELHI, APR 7 (AGENCIES): The subdued mortality seen in the second wave of Covid-19 epidemic so far notwithstanding, India may be staring at more than 1,000 daily deaths in the coming weeks as an astounding number of new cases piles up every day, Deccan Herald (DH) report stated.

Even with a low fatality rate of 1.3% and 90,000 to 100,000 plus new cases every day– this was the trend in the past week – India may soon be dealing with 1,000 plus Covid-19 deaths daily. “If you let the disease spread in an unleashed way, you are looking at a huge number of infections and

11 new COVID-19 cases reported in State

care infrastructure is below par, the experts are keeping their fingers crossed.

“There is no evidence that case fatality rates are lower at this time but it may seem that way because doctors are better prepared this time and some people may have been vaccinated at least for one dose,” said Ramanan Laxminarayanan from the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in Washington DC. “Real-time monitoring of caseloads and health systems capacity will help plan and augment the capacity. This is critical to avoid preventable deaths due to Covid-19,” added John.

sued condemnation on behalf of all Sumis.

SKH said it also submitted the “hereditary practice and usages of the Sumi customary” to the chief minister and the commissioner Nagaland.

According to the hoho, it also requested the chief minister to allow appointment of Kukami (GBs) under deputy commissioner level since going to commissioner’s office in Kohima involved more time and expenditure.

Further, SKH appealed to the chief minister to give some few months to avail UIN number for Arms license holders who could not renew their license because of COVID-19 pandemic.

DSSU against shifting DC office DIMAPUR, APR 7 (NPN): Expressing strong opposition to the state government’s proposed move to shift the office of the deputy commissioner (DC) Dimapur, the Dimapur Sümi Student’s Union (DSSU) cautioned that it would not hesitate to initiate democratic agitations against the proposed move.

DSSU president Vitopu Ayemi and general secretary Vitoka N Rochill, described “utterly ridiculous” the move to shift the present DC office and questioned the “logic behind shifting the office of urban town DC to a rural village.”

The union maintained that the current location was “strategically located” and

convenient for the general public of Dimapur. It also said that the move would have negative impact on the day to day lives of citizens.

It said that shifting DC office would “greatly affect” the student community at large as most of the schools/ colleges were within Dimapur town. DSSU has instead urged the government to consider the suggestion of creating two administrative heads (Urban & Rural DC).

DSSU also supported the demand made by Dimapur civil society organisations to revoke the use of the word “Head Quarter: Chumukedima” in the official letter head of the DC Dimapur.

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state

HSLC exam commences across state

amid the surge of coronavirus cases in the country and with fears of infection among students, parents and teachers.

In Dimapur, a total number of 7411 students appeared the exam out of which 3556 were boys and 3853 were girls from 38 provisional centres.

In the state, a total of 23, 612 candidates appeared for the exam from 133 provisional examination centres and four subcentres and 742 candidates appeared for HSLC compartmental examination Students appearing for HSLC exam in one of the centres in Dimapur. (NP) 2021 from 41 examinations Staff Reporter (NPN): The Nagaland Leaving Centre (HSLC) centres. The HSLC exam Board of School Education examinations 2021 com- will conclude on April 21, D I M A P U R , A P R 7 (NBSE) Higher Secondary menced on Wednesday 2021.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

news in Brief NCYM convention on April 23-25: Nagaland Catholic Youth Movement (NCYM) has informed that its 9th convention will be held from April 23-25 at St. Xavier’s Church, Zhavame (St. Ignatius Parish, Razeba) under the theme “loving my faith and living my faith” with Nagaland legislative assembly, commissioner and secretary Dr. P.J. Antony as speaker and special guest.

DC Dimapur convenes meeting: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dimapur, Rajesh Soundararajan has informed all concerned that a joint meeting of district task force for COVID-19 and district task force for COVID-19 vaccination will be held at DC’s conference hall on April 9 from 10:30 a.m. All the members have been requested to attend the meeting positively.

EVC general meet: Eralibill Village Council (EVC) has convened a general public meeting on April 10, 8:30 a.m. at EVC hall. All members have been requested to attend the meeting.

DBWU golden jubilee: Dimapur Baptist Women Union (DBWU) will be celebrating its 50th year jubilee on April 16, 10 a.m. at Dimapur Ao Baptist Arogo (DABA) on the theme “deeper immersion.” Women folk have been requested to continually pray for the success of the programme and to attend programme.

GBsUD informs: GBs Union Dimapur (GBsUD) has informed all GB to submit individual government appointment order to the higher authority. In a press release, GBsUD has requested all tribe-wise office bearers to initiate collection of individual government appointment order and GB union membership fee for 2021 on or before April 10, 2021. It also informed that the union office will remain open till April 10, 2021, till 2 p.m.

DC Zunheboto convenes DPDB meeting: Deputy commissioner (DC) Zunheboto Peter Lichamo has informed that the monthly DPDB meeting for the month of April will be held on April 15, 11 a.m. in DC’s conference hall. All the members have been requested to attend the meeting.

Clarification: Apropos the news item, “DDPODU election” published on April 7, the Dimapur District Pick up Van Owners and Drivers’ Union (DDPODU) has clarified that it had asked the intending candidates to contact its EC and not as published.

State Institute of RD bid farewell to outgoing officer DIMAPUR: Farewell programme for retiring director, State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD), Limasenla Jamir was held at SIRD auditorium, Kohima on April 7. Limasenla Jamir retired from service after having served for 19 years.

According to DIPR report, advisor SIRD, fire & emergency services and relief &rehabilitation, Pohwang Konyak thanked the outgoing director for her service and dedication.

He said that it was an achievement to retire in good health and requested her to render services to the department even after her retirement.

Commissioner & secretary, rural development, Neposo Theluo described the outgoing director as a humble and efficient officer who was ever ready to render her service whenever required. He remarked that under her leadership, many infrastructure works were carried out and helped in

Outgoing director, SIRD, Limasenla Jamir with other officials during the farewell programme on Wednesday. (DIPR)

implementing innovative schemes, conducting researches and trainings.

Neposo mentioned that Nagaland SIRD was one of the best in the North East and that it was because of the efforts and right initiatives put in by the outgoing director.

Incoming additional director & HoD, SIRD,

Vesato said that the outgoing director was one of the most decorated and successful directors of SIRD and congratulated her for 19 years of illustrious leadership.

He stated that she took on the role of a mother and improvised significant training programmes and conducted quality re-

searches for target groups.

It may be mentioned that in the year 2019, SIRD secured the third position in the category of “overall performance in respect to training programmes,” under ministry of rural development, government of India.

Under her dynamic leadership, despite limited

manpower, the department also accelerated activities in the district headquarters by creating infrastructure assets for the use of rural and general public.

Outgoing director, Limasenla Jamir thanked the Almighty and her family for all the support. She also challenged the officers and staff to make the depart-

ment known as “a center of excellence with expert trainers”.

She thanked her officers and staff for the love and support received during her service and also thanked the higher authorities for allowing her to run the department with minimal interference.

The programme was presided over by joint director, SIRD, Imlimenla Longkumer; invocation was offered by senior lecturer, Dr. Juthsutho Phoni; special number was presented by staff of SIRD and vote of thanks by senior lecturer, Dr. Kedise Pucho. Short speeches were also delivered by ETC principal Tuensang, Dr. W. Phola Konyak and SAU director Imtitoshi I. Jamir.

The programme was also attended by a host of senior government officials.

It may be mentioned that Limasenla Jamir joined service as EAC in 1986, was deputed to ATI and joined SIRD in September 2002.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Born : 12/02/1973 Died : 25.03.2021

We, the family and relatives of Late Liden Pongen, Aliba (Employee of Police Wireless) who expired on 25.03.2021 after a short illness would like to profoundly thank one and all who stood by us during his brief illness and accompanying him to his native village for his final rest. We deeply thank you all for your physical support, financial, kinds and prayers throughout.

May the Almighty grand you blessing for your concern care and understanding ever.

Loving Wife, Children and Relatives

DP-1856

2

Provide uninterrupted power supply: LSU to power deptt DIMAPUR: Lotha Students Union (LSU) has appealed to the power department to ensure uninterrupted power supply in Wokha in view of ongoing HSLC/HSSLC examinations.

Noting that regular power cuts would have adverse affect to the students’ community, the union president Ashanthung Humtsoe and general secretary

Pithungo Shitio warned of action against the department in the event of failing to respond to their demand.

It appealed to the department to understand the gravity of the situation as thousands of candidates would be appearing for their anticipated examination.

Further, LSU cautioned the department that

mere excuses such as power outages and load shedding should not be tolerated anymore neither would pacify the students’ community at this juncture.

Meanwhile, LSU also appealed to the telecom service providers to provide better network services as students need to communicate and use internet for their exam queries as half of their academic session

was conducted through online classes due to pandemic. The union warned of “severe consequences” and urged the “telecom service providers not to provide an opportunity for the student community to retaliate against their poor services.”

Further, LSU extended its best wishes to all the HSLC & HSSLC candidates.

ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS

N Likok Jamir 1918 - 08/04/2010

On this day we remember both of you; for the kindness taught, the humility imbibed and the love you both shared for each other. It was always destined for you both to be together on the same day though decade apart. Words are just not enough to express our deepest feelings and the memories shared will remain forever.

You have been the most ideal parents and grandparents for all of us and we remember you both in each and every moment of our lives.

DP-1852

Akoinla 1931 - 08/04/2020

With love from Family Members DP-1842

K Y M C

K Y M C

nagalandpost.com Poll Q . : Will lowering of vaccination age prevent further spread of COVID-19?

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

A B C

Konyak community celebrate Aoleang festival

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A

B

Yes. No. Can’t Say.

C

60% 40% 0%

Next poll

Q: W i l l i m p o s i t i o n o f

severe restrictions help to check the second COVID wave?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST April 8

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Mostly sunny and hot

37 23

Mostly sunny

31 16

Guwahati A passing morning shower

32 19

Hazy sunshine

31 12

Aizawl Imphal

Itanagar Heavy showers in the morning 26 19 Shillong

Hazy sunshine

22 13

Kohima

A morning t-shower in spots

24 15

Dimapur Showers around in the morning 31 12 Mkg

A stray afternoon t-storm

Tuensang Cooler with a thundershower Wokha

Rain and drizzle in the a.m.

Zunheboto Couple of thunderstorms

26 15 18 11 25 18 23 13

3

State

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Members of the Konyak community during the Aoleang celebration in Bangalore.

DIMAPUR: Members of the Konyak community in Dimapur and Bangalore celebrated Aoleang festival with pomp and gaiety.

Bangalore: Members of Konyak community residing in Bangalore celebrated Aoleang Monyü on April 6 with geologist Achan as special guest and officials from NSUB and ENSUB. According to a press release, Significance of Aoleang festival was shared by Atok Konyak, who

shared about the importance of culture values.

NSUB president Zakietou Noudi and ENSUB president Apong Quinker stressed on unity among the Nagas residing in Bangalore.

They also shared how Naga task force was able to carry out a commendable job along with the cooperation from Naga organisations living in Bangalore.

Earlier, the programme was hosted by Theanglih P Konyak,

A. Nyemnyei Konyak speaking at the Aoleang celebration.

invocation prayer was said by Nokwang Konyak and acknowledgement by Agin Konyak.

Words of thankful were presented by Ms. T Theanglih Konyak. Benediction was pronounced by Ms. Pongmai Konyak, followed by sumptuous Aoleang meal.

Dimapur: Konyak Union Chümoukedima (KUC) celebrated the Aoleang festival on April 3 at Chümoukedima with former minister and Develop-

ment Authority of Nagaland (DAN) chairman, A Nyemnyei Konyak as special guest.

A press release by KUC stated that the programme was chaired by Honshen and Mine Konyak, KBBC pastor Rev. S Yoko said the invocation, KUC president W. Lemwang delivered welcome note followed by a special song from Konyak Students’ Union Chümoukedima.

Meanwhile, Chen Area & Mon Area presented a cul-

tural troupe dance and vote of thanks was delivered by Konyak Union Chümoukedima advisor Y. Wangyim and benediction by KBBC women pastor Atoi.

Short speech was also delivered by Longme development officer MDTC Nagaland Khadi & village industries board, Dimapur & tribal president Chümoukedima.

The programme was attended by thousands of people in and around Chümoukedima.

NSCN (R) mourns demise of Rev. Mankup Konyak DIMAPUR: NSCN (R) president Y. Wangtin Naga, and the rank and file of the group have expressed grief over the demise of Rev. Mankup Konyak on April 7.

In a condolence message, Wangtin stated that Rev. Mankup Konyak worked tirelessly to spread the Gospel in both India and Myanmar border and “was responsible for bringing back many lost sheep” into “Christ teachings.”

He described the reverend as a dedicated and a selfless religious leader who was a “living legend,” and that many songs dedicated in his name were composed and sung in the corners and borders of India and Myanmar.

“His demise has left a huge void which has caused an irreparable loss to the Konyaks in particular and Nagas in general”, he stated.

Stating that the legacy he had left behind would remain a big footprint for the new generation to follow, NSCN (R) prayed that his soul would rest in peace and that the Almighty would grant solace to his family members and friends.

April 3 fire: NDPP team visits Totok Chinga village DIMAPUR: NDPP party members led by its president Chingwang Konyak visited Totok Chingha village on April 4 where 13 houses were gutted and at least six houses were damaged by the fire on April 3 last.

The team took stock of the situation and interacted with the victims and handed over financial relief.

Chingwang was accompanied

by Mon region president S Khoiwang State chief minister Neiphiu Rio handed over a hearse vehicle to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) Wangsa and Mankhao Konyak OSD Members of Mokokchung District Task Force (DTF) held a meeting on administration Nagaland which was purchased from the chief minister’s relief fund at chief minister’s residential to chief minister, who was also the of COVID-19 vaccine at the office chamber of Mokokchung deputy commissioner NDPP candidate of 46 A/C. (DC). (DIPR) complex on Wednesday. (DIPR)

Fire destroys two houses in Longleng

KGOU holds 30th annual general session DIMAPUR: Konyak Gazetted Officers’ Union (KGOU) held its 30th annual general session on April 7 at Mon town with commissioner and secretary, department of fisheries and aquatic resources, W. Honje Konyak as special guest.

A press release by KGOU general secretary, W Moba Konyak stated while speaking at the session, W. Honje Konyak emphasised on the use of Konyak dialect at programmes of Konyak organisations in order to preserve and promote the richness and the originality of their language.

He apprised the members that being one among the very few officers in the Konyak community also implied a position of regard as well as a huge responsibility to uplift many who were underprivileged.

Konyak union president Howing Konyak asserted that the services of Konyak officers were required not just

within Mon district but in different parts of the state.

Meanwhile, KGOU president Wango Langsym felicitated W. Honje Konyak on being the first commissioner and secretary among Konyak administrative officers.

KGOU felicitated Anden Konyak for being inducted into the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Dr. Yingngam Wangnaolim for her outstanding achievement in medical post graduation from Kerala university of health sciences in 2020. The union also congratulated and welcomed the new members of the union and wished them a bright and illustrious career ahead.

Earlier, KBBB executive secretary, Rev. M Chemyuh Konyak dedicated and blessed the new office bearers led by Er. Chinglang Konyak as president for the tenure, 2021-2023.

Medical camp for old age and pensioners in Phek

Beneficiaries, organisers and Phek battalion at the medical camp. (DIPR)

DIMAPUR: Free medical camp for old aged and pensioners on the theme “Op Sadbhavana” was conducted on April 7 at Phek town local ground.

The Medical camp was sponsored and conducted by 22nd Bais Bahadur Assam Rifles, Phek battalion and organised by Phek District Pensioners’ Association (PDPA).

According to DIPR K Y M C

report, the programme was led by PDPA president Yeveyi Sapuh while the medical team comprised of captain Abdul Sharma, MBBS/RMO, 22nd AR Phek, Dr. SiveshVarshan; medicine specialist Dr. Ngupelo Koza; MO, Dr. Victoris Seb; skin specialist, Dr. Neikhrielie Khro and SDO (C) Phek Samuel Thyug.

The camp was con-

ducted to cater to the need of the old citizens by providing proper health information and nutrition.

Medicines and other amenities were also provided to the beneficiaries.

Earlier, vote of thanks was delivered by PDPA president Yeveyi Sapuh.

A total number of 290 citizens were registered at the camp.

Correspondent LONGLENG, APR 7 (NPN): At least two houses were destroyed and three persons suffered burn injuries in a fire that took place at Yongnyah Chingong village under Longleng district on Tuesday at around 11:30 p.m.

According to sources, the houses which were of wooden structure were occupied by a joint family who were asleep when the incident took place.

Sources also informed that the houses were reduced to ashes which in-

cluded cash and livestock however no loss of life was reported apart from partial burn injuries on three occupants.

Hundreds of villagers assisted in stopping the fire from spreading to surrounding houses however some of the houses sustained partial damage by the blaze.

Cause of the fire could not be ascertained.

As per the report, properties worth Rs. 1015 lakhs (approx) were lost in the fire.

Meanwhile, 23 Assam Rifles ‘D’ company

SDPDB meeting held in Pughoboto

DIMAPUR: Pughoboto Sub-division Planning and Development Board (SDPDB) meeting was conducted under the chairmanship of SDPDB chairman Y. Vikheho Swu MLA at DB court hall, Pughoboto on April 7.

According to DIPR, the house decided to take up with the authority for posting immediately, the schools running without head master and assistant head master under Pughoboto sub-division.

The house deliberated on minority scholarship for class 1 to 10, which would be applied online. Responding to the deplorable condition road between Kash-

anyu to Pughoboto, SDO Akumyanger informed the house that it would see the matter after the completion of some works in the area.

The House also discussed on renovating offices.

In her presentation, SDEO Grace Ashom informed that all together there were 32 schools, 303 teachers and 1213 students as per the latest data in the sub-division.

Area education officer highlighted the duties, power and functioning of schools.

Meanwhile, veterinary department was entrusted with the PowerPoint presentation for the next meeting.

GPRN/NSCN mourns member’s demise DIMAPUR: GPRN/NSCN has expressed grief over the demise of deputy kilonser, Hetozu Zhimomi, son of late Akiye Sumi of Sukhato village, Sumi region, who passed away on April 3.

In a condolence message, GPRN/NSCN MIP said late Hetozu was a true asset known not only for his dedication to his services but was also a compassionate and noble man who believed in the cause and aspiration of a “Naga nation”.

In his demise, GPRN/NSCN said it has lost one of its active and spirited comrades.

Further, GPRN/NSCN has conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members.

The blazing inferno which reduced the houses to ashes. (NP)

Longleng visited the village administered first aid to tion, police, NGOs of the and provided immediate the injured. district and well wishers relief to the victims and District administra- also visited the village.

DC Kohima bans dumping of materials DIMAPUR: Deputy Commissioner (DC), Kohima, Gregory Thejawelie has informed that dumping or off-loading of construction materials on public roads has been banned with immediate effect.

The order was issued taking note of the random dumping of construction materials on the road causing blockage of drainages and waterways, creating traffic congestions, affecting pedestrian movement and causing general pollution to the air and environment.

DC has directed owners of any such materials dumped on the road to remove the same at the earliest and informed that in exigent cases where off-loading of such materials were inevitable, concerned individuals have been directed to ensure off-loading and removal of such materials strictly between 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

DC further informed that failure in doing so would entail necessary penal action as per relevant provisions of law.

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northeast

Farewell to 3 CRPF jawans from NE Inspector Dilip Kr Das, Constables Bablu Rabha & Sambhu Roy were killed in Maoist attack

Sarbananda Sonowal pays tribute to CRPF Jawan Bablu Rabha, who was killed in the recent gun-battle with Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh, at Damra in Goalpara. (PTI)

Correspondent Shillong, Apr 7: The cash-starved Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) on Wednesday was forced to purchase “costly power” from the open market to avoid load shedding in the wake of public criticism over the frequent load shedding in the State.

Following the power purchase, the MeECL has lifted the load shedding from Thursday.

The Meghalaya Power Generation Corporation Limited (MeGPCL) has fallen to the lowest, average of 35-40 MW for want of water due to the due to the lean season as most of its hydel projects are dependent on rainfall.

“Our internal Meghalaya Power Generation Corporation Limited generation has fallen to the lowest, average of 35-40 MW for want of water. But because of extreme crisis, we ramped up the average generation to 87.54 MW,” MeCL Chairman Cum Managing Director, Arunkumar Kembhavi said.

Arunachal Pradesh CM flags off Trans-Arunachal Drive 2021

Itanagar, Apr 7 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday flagged off the Trans Arunachal Drive 2021 which will cover a distance of 2,500 km in the state.

Intending to promote and create awareness around the state, the road trip started from Namsai in the eastern part of the state and will end in Tawang in the west.

“We are glad to commence the Trans Arunachal Drive an initiative to bring the tourism industry back to its foot after the unprecedented 2020 and invite tourists to a COVID free Arunachal Pradesh,” Khandu said after flagging off the event.

“We hope to provide a memorable experience to the members as they discover the boundless cultural steams in a giant patch of unexplored green on the country’s map. The entire state is a perfect ground for adventure sports and has emerged as the favourite driving destination of the Northeast region of India,” he said.

“With travellers joining us from different states

The event was flagged off by Pema Khandu at Namsai district.

of the country, we have ensured strict measures to guarantee a healthy and safe stay,” Khandu said and congratulated the Tourism department for such innovative projects.

The event was flagged off by Khandu at Namsai district in presence of Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Tourism Minister Nakap Nalo, Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao besides a host of legislators and officials.

The 15-day expedition will traverse from the high altitudes of the Himalayas cutting across the entire length of the state to the subtropical forests. Through

the drive, the enthusiasts would witness a confluence of the country’s first sun rays, pristine scenery, an array of flora and fauna, beautiful monasteries, along with tribal culture and tradition.

The Trans-Arunachal Highway, also called NH 13, is a two-lane highway project extending from Tawang in the western part of the state to Kanubari in the east covering 1,559 km.

The highway will connect the district headquarters and other important places and help greatly in reducing the isolation of the people of the state.

GUWAHATI/AGARTALA, APR 7 (IANS): Hundreds of people from Assam and Tripura on Tuesday bid farewell three of their bravehearts -- Inspector Dilip Kumar Das, Constables Bablu Rabha and Sambhu Roy, who were among the 22 security personnel martyred in Sunday’s Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh.

Das hailed from Sarupeta in Barpeta district, Rabha from Damra Patpara near Dudhnoi in Goalpara district while Roy was a

resident of north Tripura district. All three martyrs belong to Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) unit’s 210 battalion.

The CRPF officials along with local administrations and other state security forces on Tuesday offered full force honours during the last rites of the three paramilitary bravehearts in their respective native villages.

In gloomy ceremonies, the CRPF paid homage to

Tripura CM Biplab Deb tests positive for COVID-19

Assam woman writer held for sedition Cong demands CCTV feed from strong rooms for candidates for questioning martyrs’ on Facebook

Agartala, Apr 7 (PTI): Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19 and has selfisolated at home, he said in a tweet.

“I have been tested positive for Covid-19. I have isolated myself at home as per the advice of doctors. I request everyone to please follow all the covid appropriate behaviour and stay safe,” he tweeted.

Health officer of West Tripura district Dr Sangeeta Chakraborty said Deb’s samples were collected on Wednesday and a rapid antigen test showed he had the infection.

“We have collected samples for reconfirmation through an RT-PCR test,” she added.

Two m e m b e r s o f Deb’s family had tested positive for the disease in August last year.

GUWAHATI, APR 7 (IANS): The Assam police have arrested Guwahati based writer Sikha Sarma for allegedly making controversial comments against Martyrs on social media, police said on Wednesday.

G u w a h a t i Po l i c e Commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta said that the 48-year-old Assamese writer was arrested on Tuesday on various charges including sedition for her alleged Facebook post on security forces after 22 security personnel were killed in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh on Sunday.

“Seeking judicial custody, Sarma would be produced in court soon,” Gupta told IANS over phone.

Sarma was arrested following an FIR lodged by two lawyers -- Umi Deka Bar uah and Kangkana Goswami. Another police official said that she was summoned by the Dispur

the gallant para-military personnel on behalf of the nation as hundreds of villagers, elected leaders, senior administrative officials, high force personnel, family members and friends bid tearful adieu to the bravehearts of Assam and Tripura.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his Tripura counterpart Biplab Kumar Deb condoling the killing said that the nation salutes the supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts who were

martyred while fighting the Maoists in Chhattisgarh.

With these three victims, there are eight paramilitary force personnel from the northeast region to be martyred in terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh during the past five months.

On March 25, militants killed CRPF sub-inspector Manga Ram Deb Barma from Tripura at Parimpora in Srinagar. On December 23 last year, CRPF jawan Mrityunjoy Chetia from Sissiborgaon village in Assam’s Dhemaji district was martyred in a grenade attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir.

On December 1, Border Security Force (BSF) subinspector Paotinsat Guite from Kangpokpi district in Manipur was martyred in unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

On November 13, Indian Army havildar Hardhan Chandra Roy from Dhubri district in Assam was martyred in unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in J&K.

MeCL to purchase power from open markets

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Sikha Sarma

police and after being questioned for some time she was arrested on charges of sedition, violation of the Information Technology Act and under other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the police Sarma had allegedly written on Facebook: “Salaried professionals who die in the line of duty cannot be termed martyrs. Going by that logic, electricity department workers who die of electrocution should also be labelled martyrs.

Do not make people sentimental, media.”

G uwahati , A pr 7 (PTI): The Congress on Wednesday demanded that CCTV feed from strong rooms across Assam be made available to candidates, the state Congress chief said.

Assam Congress president Ripun Bora has written a letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade seeking access to CCTV feeds from strong rooms, where Electronic Voting Machines are kept, to make the process more transparent.

The Congress also accused the Election Commission of acting “as per instructions of the BJP”.

“After the second phase of the assembly polls, when many issues relating

On Monday in another post on her Facebook page, Sarma said: “Isn’t it a crime to harass me by giving the wrong interpretation of my post? Will they come under the law for the false slander against me?”

Talking to the media, Assam Pradesh Congress President Ripun Bora said the law will take its own course as police have arrested Sarma, but some people have threatened to gang rape her and police should also take action against them.

Three bravehearts of Assam and Tripura belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) unit’s 210 battalion -- Inspector Dilip Kumar Das, Constables Bablu Rabha and Sambhu Roy -- were among the 22 security personnel martyred in Sunday’s Maoist attack Aizawl, Apr 7 (PTI): At least eight more people, inin Chhattisgarh. cluding two children, tested positive for novel coronavirus in Mizoram, pushing the tally to 4,508, an official said 2016, the BJP had won 60 on Wednesday.

The northeastern state seats, the AGP 14 seats and the then alliance partner now has 50 active cases, while 4,447 people have reBPF 12 seats.

The BPF, this time, covered from the disease.

A total of 11 people is part of the opposition have died due to the contaCongress-led ‘Mahajoot’. gion so far, he said.

Meanwhile, Sonowal The state has teston Wednesday visited the ed 2,56,181 samples for residences of two CRPF COVID-19, including 1,149 personnel -- Inspector Dilip on Tuesday, the official Kumar Das and Constable said.

Babul Rabha - who were At least 57,408 people killed by Naxals in Chhat- have been administered the tisgarh last week, to express first dose of vaccine, of solidarity with the bereaved which 18,044 beneficiaries families. have received the second Das and Rabha hailed shot, the health department from Assam. said.

has happened due to the relentless development work carried out by our government in the last five years,” he said.

Voting in Assam was held on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

Sonowal said a large number of people participated in the election process and this reflects that people has reaffirmed their faith in India’s inclusive democracy.

“I am grateful to the people of Assam for their wholehearted support to the BJP-led alliance,” he said.

He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, Union ministers, and all BJP leaders and workers who have helped in the entire election process.

A total of over 73 per cent people have participated in the first phase of polling in Assam, over 73 per in the second phase and about 79 per cent in the third phase.

The BJP fought the elections along with the AGP and the UPPL. In

Mizoram pig deaths: Preliminary test indicates ASF AIZAWL, APR 7 (PTI): A preliminary test indicated African Swine Fever (ASF) as the main cause behind the unusual pig deaths in a Mizoram village, an official said on Wednesday.

Since March 21, at least 125 pigs have died at Lungsen village, about 39 km from Lunglei town, in the southern part of the state near the Bangladesh border.

Samples from the dead pigs were tested at the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry in Selesih near Aizawl on Monday as a part of the preliminary investigation, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department Joint Director (Livestock Health) Dr Lalhmingthanga told PTI. “African Swine Fever is highly suspected to be the main cause of the deaths as revealed in the preliminary test,” he said.

Tissue and blood samples were sent to the National Institute of High

Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD) in Bhopal on Wednesday for a confirmatory test, he said.

According to Lalhmingthanga, samples of dead pigs were earlier tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and all of them tested negative for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Classical Swine Flu (CSF), the two pig diseases common to Mizoram.

He said that the infected pigs at Lungsen village have developed symptoms like loss of appetite, lethargy, fever, bluish discolouration on the abdomen and vomiting, which were indicative of ASF. The first pig death was reported at Lungsen on March 21, he said.

Since then at least 125 pigs have died in the village, he added.

Measures are being taken in ac-

cordance with the ASF Prevention and Containment National Action Plan, the official said.

Lalhmingthanga said that the state government on Tuesday declared the entire Lunglei district as a controlled or surveillance zone in order to contain and prevent the outbreak.

Earlier, Lungsen village was declared as an ‘infected area’ under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Disease in Animal Act, 2009 with effect from April 1 and the movement of pigs in and outside the village was prohibited for two months, he said.

A five-member investigation team headed by the Department’s Deputy Director, Dr Zohmingthangi, is currently camping at the village.

Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Dr K Beichhua will also visit Lungsen on Thursday to take stock of the situation.

to EVMs had surfaced, the EC had assured us that no such incident would happen in the third phase.

But we are getting reports of people detecting EVMs being transported in private vehicles even during the third phase of polls yesterday.

“We thought EC would learn from its mistakes, but

Talking about the poll prospects, the state Congress chief said the opposition’s Grand Alliance will win over 100 seats out of 126 as per “independent” surveys done by some agencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had on April 2 sought an inquiry by the Election Commission after a row erupted over a polling team in Assam being found carrying an EVM in the vehicle belonging to the wife of a BJP candidate.

Taking cognizance of the controversy, the poll panel had suspended the presiding officer of the polling station, where the EVM was ballotted, and three other officials on April 2.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND Mizoram logs 8 fresh COVID- PERSONNEL & ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS DEPARTMENT (PERSONNEL ‘B’ BRANCH) 19 cases

BJP-led alliance will return to power in Assam: Sonowal

G uwahati , A pr 7 (PTI): A day after the assembly elections in Assam came to an end, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday exuded confidence that the BJP-led alliance will return to power in the state with an enhanced mandate.

He said the threephase polling was by and large peaceful and it reflected that his government was successful in restoring peace in Assam after decades of insurgency and violence.

“We will return to power with more seats. This

Ripun Bora

we were wrong. It proves that EC functions as per the instructions of the BJP. It is not neutral,” Bora told a press conference here.

The poll body should clarify under what circumstances the EVMs were being transported by election officials without security personnel at several places while voting was underway, Bora said.

“Today, we’ve written a letter to the CEO seeking link of CCTV surveillance of the strong rooms for the candidates,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.Bora also expressed unhappiness over “inaction” by the EC on the complaints filed by the Congress and other opposition parties against the BJP.

DC-332

CIRCULAR

Dated: Kohima, the 07th April, 2021

NO.PAR-B/7/2007 NPSC : : Applications are invited from serving officers under the State Government holding analogous post or immediate lower pay level for filling up of the post of Controller of Examinations on deputation in the Nagaland Public Service Commission in Pay Level - 16 (79,900-1,93,700) per month and all other allowances as admissible under the rules in force in Nagaland.

Eligibility criteria are as follows: a) Post graduate in any discipline having adequate experience in conducting examinations. b) Must already be serving in Pay Level - 16 (79,900-1,93,700) per month or at least 5 years in the Pay Level - 15 (67,300-1,89,300) per month. c) Candidate with higher scale will be given pay protection. d) The period of deputation shall be for 03 (three) years. e) All application should be recommended by the respective Controlling Officers of the Department. f) The Application may be addressed to Principal Secretary, Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department, Nagaland Civil Secretariat, Kohima.

The last date of receiving applications will be 06-05-2021.

DC-331

Sd/(J. ALAM) IAS Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Nagaland Issued by DIPR

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national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Vaze accuses Deshmukh, Parab of extortion COVID-19 vaccination at public,

MUMBAI, APR 7 (AGENCIES): In another explosive development in the Antilia bomb scare case, suspended Mumbai Police assistant inspector Sachin Vaze has written a letter to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), accusing Maharashtra ministers Anil Deshmukh and Anil Parab of extortion, reports India Today.

In his handwritten letter, Sachin Vaze has claimed that NCP chief Sharad Pawar was against his reinstatement into Mumbai Police in 2020 and wanted it to be revoked.

To this, then Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh allegedly told Sachin Vaze that if he pays Deshmukh Rs 2 crore, he will convince Sharad Pawar to allow Sachin Vaze back into the force.

“The home minister told me that he will convince Pawar saheb and for that purpose, he asked me to pay Rs 2,00,00,000. I had expressed my inability to pay such an amount. On this the home minister asked me to pay it in a later course,” Sachin Vaze wrote.

S a c h i n Va z e h a s claimed that Anil Deshmukh had called him to the Sahy-

(L-R) Anil Parab, Sachin Vaze and Anil Deshmukh

adri Guest House in October 2020 and asked him to collect money from 1,650 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

“I refused saying it was not within the scope of my capability,” Sachin Vaze claimed.

According to Sachin Vaze, Anil Deshmukh made the same demand again in January 2021 when the two met at Deshmukh’s official bungalow. Vaze has claimed the minister’s PA Kundan was also present at the meeting as the home minister asked the Mumbai Police officer to collect Rs 3-3.5 lakh from each of the 1,650 bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

Sachin Vaze has also claimed that Maharashtra Transport Minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab had

asked him to extort money for him.

The suspended police officer has alleged that Anil Parab met him in July-August 2020 and asked him to extract Rs 50 crore from the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), which was facing an inquiry. “In JulyAugust 2020, I was called

by Minister Anil Parab at his official bungalow...At the meeting, Parab asked me to look into the complaint under preliminary inquiry and bring the trustees of the SBUT to him for negotiations about the inquiry.

He also insisted to initiate primary talks to get Rs 50 crores from SBUT in order to close the said enquiry. I had expressed my inability to do any such thing as I do not know anybody from SBUT and also I did not

have any control over the inquiry,” Sachin Vaze has told NIA. In the letter to the NIA, Vaze has claimed that Anil Parab also called him once again in January 2021 and asked him to look into an inquiry against some contractors listed in the BMC and collect Rs 2 crore each from them.

“He told me to collect at least Rs 2 crores from 50 such contractors.

An inquiry was on in this matter based on an anonymous complaint. The Crime Intelligence Unit inquiry against the contractors had not yielded any result,” Vaze wrote.

Additionally, Sachin Vaze has also claimed that he had told then Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh about the extortion demands made by Anil Deshmukh and Anil Parab.

Param Bir Singh reportedly told him to not act on the demands. “...I met the Police Commissioner (Param Bir Singh) and told him that I expressed my apprehension about this...I told him that I would be embroiled in a false controversy in the near future. The CP encour-

aged me and categorically instructed me not to involve myself in any such illegal collection of money from anyone and for anyone.”

Sachin Vaze’s letter corroborates some of the claims made by Mumbai Police officer Param Bir Singh in his March 20th letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in which he alleged that Anil Deshmukh had asked police officers, including Sachin Vaze, to collect Rs 100 crore each month from bars and restaurants.

Meanwhile, a Mumbai court on Wednesday extended the NIA custody of suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze till April 9 in the case of an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the death of businessman Mansukh Hiren.

Sachin Vaze was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 13.

The court also allowed the CBI to question Vaze in connection with its preliminary enquiry into the allegations of corruption levelled by senior police officer Param Bir Singh against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

private workplaces from Apr 11

NEW DELHI, APR 7 (PTI): The government will allow COVID-19 vaccination at public and private workplaces having about 100 eligible beneficiaries from April 11 across states and Union territories.

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to the chief secretaries said a substantial proportion of the population aged 45 years and above is in the organised sector of the economy and is involved in formal occupation in offices (government and private) or manufacturing and services.

“In order to increase the access of vaccine to these populations, COVID19 vaccination sessions may be organised at work places (both public & private) which are having about 100 eligible and willing beneficiaries by tagging these work places with an existing COVID vaccination centre,” Bhushan said in the letter.

He said the states can initiate due consultations with private/public sector employers and management to prepare for launch of workplace vaccination.

“Such work place vaccination centres may be

launched across states/ Union territories from April 11, 2021,” he said.

The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to make adequate preparations and issued guidelines in this regard. According to the guidelines, only employees aged 45 years or more will be eligible for vaccination at work place and no outsiders including eligible family members will be allowed for vaccination.

One of the senior staff of the organisation will be assigned to work as nodal officer to coordinate with district health authorities/ private COVID vaccination centres (CVCs) and support vaccination activities.

The beneficiaries will be required to register in CoWIN portal prior to vaccina-

tion and CVC nodal officer will ensure registration of all targeted beneficiaries and facility of on-the-spot registration will also be available but only to employees of the workplace, the guidelines said. For optimal utilisation of resources, vaccination sessions will be planned at workplace CVC once at least 50 beneficiaries get registered for vaccination.

“The schedule of vaccination sessions can be made up to 15 days in advance and intimated to the workplaces so that maximum attendance is ensured on the day of vaccination. In most of the workplaces vaccination schedules may, however, be completed in less than 15 days,” the Centre told states and union territories in the guidelines.

TMC leaders swindled all central EC issues notice to Mamata Every Indian deserves safe life: aid for Bengal, says Yogi Adityanath over minority vote appeal Rahul on COVID-19 vaccine access

Yogi Adityanath

PM says exams are not last chance to prove yourself

New Apr 7 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking on “Pariksha par Charcha” on Wednesday said that “Exams are not the last chance to prove yourself ”, but it is an opportunity to take your first steps towards your dreams.

“Parents, relatives and teachers make a big deal of small exams. Exams are not the last chance to prove yourself, but it is an opportunity to take your first steps towards your dreams,” he said.

“We become conscious more than necessary and start over-thinking. I think this is not the end. Life is very long, this is just a small halt. We should not create pressure.”

“Liking and disliking things are part of human nature. But we have to learn to distribute our abilities equally. Distribute your time to each subject equally” he said to the students.

“You knew of exams.

They did not come suddenly.

It means you are not scared of exams but of something else. But such atmosphere has been created around

you that exams are everything. Sometimes schools, parents, relatives create an atmosphere that you have to undergo a big event, a huge crisis,” he said.

The PM also responded to questions about how the food habits of children can be changed and how parents can help children to eat healthy food rather than junk food, and how to sharpen their memories. PM interacted with students, parents and teachers regarding the upcoming Board exams virtually and shared tips on how to deal with academic stress. The CBSE has announced to conduct Class 10 and 12 Board Exams 2021 from May 4.

‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ is an event where the Prime Minister responds to questions related to examination stress and related areas posed by students in his uniquely engaging style in a live programme. The first edition of the PM’s interaction programme with school and college students ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0’ was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018.

The UP CM also wondered why Banerjee gets miffed at hearing ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans. “Those who had spoken against Lord Ram had faced debacles.

Similar fate awaits her,” Adityanath added.

He claimed that Trinamool Congress “goons” had killed 130 saffron party workers in West Bengal.

“After we come to power here, these goons will be dealt with as per law,” he said.

The BJP leader also said Darjeeling has the potential to become a worldfamous tourist destination.

“Darjeeling will be made number one in tourism in the world if the BJP is voted to power, and it can be developed as a hub of health and wellness centres,” he added.

Mamata Banerjee (PTI)

She had also dialled Governor Jagdeep Dhankar from Nandigram, alleging that there is a complete breakdown of law and order.

Responding to her allegation, Election Commission had written a point-by-point reply to the Chief Minister.

The letter by Umesh Sinha, Election Commission of India, referring to her hand-written letter citing alleged going-on at polling station No. 7 Boyal Maktab Primary School, Nandigram Assembly Constituency, said, the EC said that allegations made against Border Security Force (BSF) jawans deployed at polling stations in Nandigram were “not correct”.

US envoy for climate Kerry calls on Modi

Rahul Gandhi

riors in this battle against the pandemic. I salute their commitment, bravery and dedication to protecting their fellow citizens. I also thank their families for their incredible sacrifice to the greater good,” he said.

“As citizens we need to do our part to control this virus the best we can, so mask up & follow all COVID safety protocols,” he also said in his post on World Health Day.

VISITING CONSULTANT

Dr. Deva Kumar Borgohain, MCH Neurosurgery (AIIMS) Consultant Neurosurgeon, EXCELCARE HOSPITAL, PASCHIM BORAGOAN, NH: 37, Guwahati, Assam will be available for consultation on 10th APRIL 2021 from 1:00 P.M onwards.

He is specialized in all neurological conditions.

For further details and appointments, Kindly call the Reception at 03862-248288 / 296600 DP-1839

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at a meeting in New Delhi, Wednesday. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, APR 7 (PTI): US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and discussed issues relating to climate, including a forthcoming summit of 40 world leaders.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the discussions focussed on the climate leaders’ summit as well as issues in the context of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the UN Framework Con-

vention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Kerry is currently on a visit to India.

“US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry @ClimateEnvoy called on PM @narendramodi. Discussions centred on forthcoming Climate Leaders’ Summit as well as climate issues in the context of the @COP26 to the @ UNFCCC which is to be held later this year,” Bagchi said in a tweet.

Kerry held separate meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Environment Minister

Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday with a focus on issues relating to global climate action.

Following the meetings, Kerry, in a tweet, described India as a “vital partner in our fight against the climate crisis. We must raise ambition together, or we will fail together”.

Climate change has been a major area of focus for US President Joe Biden.

After taking charge as the president, Biden, on January 20, announced the return of the United States to the Paris climate accord.

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states, the workers get a daily wage of Rs 350 and have land rights, while it is not even Rs 200 in West Bengal. The BJP is committed towards the welfare of the workers and the Gorkha community that resides in the area,” he said.

What is required for West Bengal is a ‘double engine government’ which will work in tandem with the Centre where the BJPled NDA is in power, Adityanath said.

“Benefits of central schemes have not reached the people. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has played with their lives and livelihoods,” he said, adding that the elections in the state are not only for the change of the government but also for creating ‘sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal).

NEW DELHI, APR 7 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday batted for COVID-19 vaccine for all, saying every Indian “deserves the chance to a safe life”.

The health ministry on Tuesday said the vaccine needs to be given to those who need it and not those who want it. The COVID-19 vaccine is currently available to all Indians above the age of 45 years.

“It’s ridiculous to debate needs and wants. Every Indian deserves the chance to a safe life,” Gandhi said on Twitter, using the hashtag “#CovidVaccine”.

He later shared a video of a person being beaten up by police in Indore for alleged violation of COVID-19 norms.

“Such type of shameful, inhuman behaviour in the name of enforcing Corona guidelines is unacceptable to the country.

Where should the public go when policemen who are supposed to protect people commit such atrocities,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Gandhi also lauded the health warriors on World Health Day and shared a picture of his with them on Instagram.

“Our healthcare workers are our war-

DP-1841

KOLKATA, APR 7 (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday flayed the ruling TMC in West Bengal, alleging that its leaders swindled whatever central aid was extended to the state, from “funds to ration supplies”.

Addressing two election rallies at Mal assembly constituency in Jalpaiguri district and Kurseong in Darjeeling, the senior BJP leader also said his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee has deprived the state of the Centre’s development schemes.

“She has neglected West Bengal for the last 10 years and by not being a part of several central welfare schemes, Mamata has denied the state of its share of benefits.

“Whatever assistance the Centre provided to Bengal, from funds to ration supplies, was swindled by TMC leaders. After the BJP comes to power in the state, each paisa will be recovered and spent on development works,” he asserted.

Adityanath accused the Mamata Banerjee government of neglecting tea garden workers.

“In other tea growing

KO L K ATA , A P R 7 (AGENCIES): The Election Commission on Wednesday issued a notice to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her remarks calling for consolidation of minority votes.

The Commission said that it has found her speech violating the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the model code of conduct.

The EC notice stated that Banerjee made an appeal to voters along communal lines while campaigning in Hooghly.

Without naming Indian Secular Front’s Abbas Siddiqui at a rally in Hooghly’s Tarakeswar, Banerjee had said, “I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands, don’t divide the minority votes after listening to the devil (Shaitaan) who had taken money from the BJP.” The EC has asked Banerjee to respond to the notice within the next 48 hours, failing which it will take a decision without further reference to her.

Banerjee had a run-in with the Commission earlier when she alleged poll rigging during the second phase of the assembly elections.

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OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post Vol. XXxI NO. 121 Dimapur, THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

I

Variant doubles risk

t has been over two months since COVID-19 vaccination drives begun across India. The first group included healthcare and frontline workers.

The second group to receive COVID-19 vaccine are persons over 60 years of age as of January 1, 2022 and persons between 45 and 59 years with comorbid conditions. The country on April 4, breached the 100,000 daily caseload mark for the first time since the pandemic began and became the second country after the US to report 100,000 new cases in a single day.

More than half of those were confirmed in Maharashtra. As India grapples to stop the virus, a new double mutant strain of SARS CoV2 virus has been detected.

According to the union health ministry the new mutant virus is in addition to other UK, South African and Brazilian variants of the virus already circulating in 18 states of the country. The new virus strain having two mutations, is highly infectious and has a potential to skip the immunity developed either by natural infection or vaccines. The development emerges as a cause of serious worry for government, as a second wave of the covid-19 pandemic is looming large in the country which has already vaccinated over 50 million people against the disease mostly to frontline workers and people above the age of 60.To meet the rising threat, the government of India has made those above 45 eligible for vaccination. However the union health ministry has denied that the rise in cases was linked to the mutations. Virologist Shahid Jameel explained that a “double mutation in key areas of the virus’s spike protein may increase these risks and allow the virus to escape the immune system”. The spike protein is the part of the virus that it uses to penetrate human cells.

A large majority of people across the world are even doubting the safety and workability of the COVID-19 vaccines being ambitiously used right now. The question being asked is, will the vaccines be effective in fighting the new strains and will the vaccine ensure future safety? Since viruses, much like other pathogens are known to mutate, most vaccines developed after prolonged clinical research are known to work against all variants in a good manner. Some vaccines, such as the flu vaccines also require annual updation to tackle any changes in the influenza virus. From what is being seen presently, the new variants have the tendency to invade the body more easily, pass through some immune receptors, meaning that they may be able to block some antibody response. From a general perspective, vaccines are usually developed to take care of any mutations or vaccine and therefore, are predominantly, safe for use. According to Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS Delhi, variants and mutations may dim down efficacy rates, but they will not hinder the vaccines from working totally. Vaccines being currently used have been designed to lower down transmission, severity risk. Whether or not vaccinated people could catch COVID-19 again is still under study and this will only be known once enough data is available. However, the government has advised those above 60 and from 49 upwards with comorbidities to vaccinate in order to reduce the risk.

DailyDevotion Why We Lack Understanding He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. —Mark 9:9

As the disciples were commanded, you should also say nothing until the Son of Man has risen in you— until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you truly understand what He taught while here on earth. When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before. In fact, you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to deal with them.

Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life.

Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12).

We must have a oneness with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him. Do we really know anything about the indwelling of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His Word is becoming understandable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we don’t have His Spirit. And our own unyielding and headstrong opinions will effectively prevent God from revealing anything to us. But our insensible thinking will end immediately once His resurrection life has its way with us. “…tell no one….” But so many people do tell what they saw on the Mount of Transfiguration— their mountaintop experience. They have seen a vision and they testify to it, but there is no connection between what they say and how they live. Their lives don’t add up because the Son of Man has not yet risen in them. How long will it be before His resurrection life is formed and evident in you and in me?

Quotes

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. ~ Mother Teresa

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Post-mortem

Indian Agriculture: Maladies and Remedies A more holistic and pragmatic approach needs to be adopted by the policy makers to make Indian agriculture sector more competitive and profitable.

Since Independence agriculture sector has remained the main source of national income and occupation in India. In 1947, 72 per cent of the total working population was engaged in agricultural sector, but still a majority of India’s poor (some 770 million people or about 70 per cent) inhabit the rural areas.

Though due to the high growth rates of the industrial and services sectors, the share of agricultural share in India’s economy has progressively declined to less than 15%, yet its importance in India’s economic and social development can’t be denied.

On road to self-sufficiency The Green revolution of 1960s witnessed a drastic increase in total agricultural production, particularly wheat and rice.

The second phase of the Green revolution further boosted it in 1980s, which was accelerated further by the liberalisation policy of the late 1990s.

However, the results of the Green revolution were not uniform over the entire country. It particularly resulted in enhanced

cultivation and production of wheat and rice in the northern states, and other cash crops such as cotton and onion in the western and southern states. But it neglected the cultivation of pulses and other cereals.

Though, India is considered to be a global agricultural powerhouse, yet the sector suffers from serious maladies. According a World Bank report of 2010, India is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices, and has the world’s largest cattle herd (buffaloes), as well as the largest area under wheat, rice and cotton. It is the second largest producer of rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, farmed fish, sheep & goat meat, fruit, vegetables and tea. But in spite of this the Indian farmer remains poor, though he contributes a lot to the economy.

As per experts’ opinion the factors which contribute to the poor performance of the Indian agricultural sector are multi-dimensional, such as: poor access to reliable and timely market information to the farmers, absence of supply and demand forecasting, poorly structured and inefficient supply chains, inadequate cold storage facilities and shortage of proper food processing units, large intermediation between the farmers and the consumers, besides regional disparities are some of the major causes of the losses for the

farmers.

The WB report lists that one of the biggest issues facing the agricultural sector in India is low yield: India’s farm yield is 30-50% lower than that of developed nations. Average farm size, poor infrastructure, low use of farm technologies and better farming techniques, decrease in soil fertility due to over fertilisation and sustained pesticide use, are leading contributors to low agricultural productivity.

Thus, measures to increase productivity will need increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.

The sharp rise in foodgrain production during India’s Green revolution of the 1970s enabled the country to achieve selfsufficiency in food-grains and stave off the threat of famine. Agricultural intensification in the 1970s to 1980s saw an increased demand for rural labour that raised rural wages and, together with declining food prices, reduced rural poverty. However agricultural growth in the 1990s and 2000s slowed down, averaging about 3.5% per annum, and cereal yields have increased by only 1.4% per annum in the 2000s. The slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern. India’s rice yields

Visualising tech education of the future

P

roject 2061 was a long-term project initiated in 1985 to reform education in science, technology and math. The name was inspired by Comet Halley, which happened to be in the earth’s vicinity in 1985.

It is said that the project director often joked that it would take that long (76 years) to turn the massive ship of education around because of the tremendous inertia in the system.

Fast forward to 2021.

We know the writing on the wall — technology is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, organisations that are thriving are the ones quickest to adapt and so on. But here is the question — has our tech education kept pace with this change? Are we preparing Gen Z to shape this future, responsibly?

We need to hit refresh on our tech education, now. Here are three areas which need a refresh.

First, disciplines of the future. Standalone engineering departments are steeped in history. Civil engineering is among the oldest formal engineering disciplines and reflects the start of construction of roads, bridges and cities.

Mechanical and chemical engineering emerged in their current form around the Industrial Revolution.

Computer engineering came later. The next century is being defined by the advent of new technologies. The car of yesteryears was primarily a mechanical device, but the car of the future will be electric, autonomous and connected.

The future of education will be interdisciplinary. The siloed degrees of the past need to give way to interdisciplinary programmes. For example, robotics and cyber-physical systems will shape the factories of the future.

Future health care will be at the intersection of biosciences, computing

and engineering. It is time for us to embrace cuttingedge interdisciplinary programmes in mainstream education.

Why is this important? This brings us to the second area — solving grand challenges.

We are faced with perceptible grand challenges every day — unclean air, cyber insecurity, global pandemics and more.

These challenges affect the world at large and are even more pertinent to India. The raison d’être of engineers has been to create solutions for people.

However, engineers identify themselves not by solutions, but by narrow disciplinary toolkits which risk irrelevance over time.

What if ever y researcher and student identified themselves less with a discipline (“I am an X engineer”) and more with a problem? For example — “I am working on affordable and clean energy access for every person” or “I am working on making our cyberspace safe”.

What if each of the 1.2 million engineers graduating every year in India took on a real problem for industry or society?

That mindset to solve problems, supported by a multidisciplinary education combining advanced technology with its estranged cousins — humanities, design and business — can catalyse the emergence of solutions. The ancient Takshashila University, which was home to some of the greatest Indian scholars such as Panini, Charaka and Chanakya, was multidisciplinary.

What kind of students would lead this change?

And that is the third area of focus — identifying future tech leaders.

We need tech leaders who are not only intellectually strong, but also passionate, creative, entrepreneurial and socially conscious. However, if our higher education

are one-third of China’s and about half of those in Vietnam and Indonesia.

The same is true for most other agricultural commodities.

Reforming the sector What we need is a pragmatic, realistic and holistic approach to be adopted by the policy makers to address the maladies faced by the Indian agriculturists. Besides resolving the regional disparities in crop patterns, the government also needs to promote cultivation and change in eating habits of the populace. One route to this could be propagating the inclusion of millets and other high nutritious cereals, in the eating habits of the populace. This besides increasing theearning potential of the farmers in the drought prone or less irrigated areas will also result in making better use of the cultivable area across the country.

Further action in this regard could be taken by the government by supporting and collaborating with international institutions like International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which are engaged in popularising the cultivation and use of highly nutritious crops like millet and sorghum.

Icrisat, as per its mandate strives to be the change catalystthrough a partner-

ship approach to help rural communities develop their own solutions and engages with them to bring the vision to reality. Its inclusive approach ensures participation of women and youth, a must in finding sustainable and profitable solutions, besides contributing to several of the UN SDGs. As Icrisat’s research area focuses on the drylands, it has an extra specialisation on crops that survive in these harsh climates, such as Chickpea and Groundnut, besides nutri-cereals like Sorghum, Pearl millet and Finger millet. Most of these crops besides being highly nutritious are also good for the planet as they have a low water footprint, lowers the carbon footprint, are good for the soils, use fewer chemicals, etc. Further they are good for the small farmer as they survive in the harshest climates, have multiple uses, have potential to significantly increase yield and cater to an untapped usage and demand.

Last month, the UN General Assembly unanimously declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the resolution for which was sponsored by India. PM Modi while endorsing this announcement expressed gratitude to all the nations, which initiated and co-sponsored this resolution. In a tweet, he said

that India is honoured to be at the forefront of popularising Millets, whose consumption furthers nutrition, food security and welfare of farmers.

Both the cultivation and usage of these cereals and grain legumes could be achieved by focused efforts initially to popularise these smart foods to bring them into mainstream food habits. The strategy adopted to achieve this should involve and ensure that small farmers and rural communities benefit by receiving onfarm support, connecting farmers to value chains, linking smart food with health activities on the ground, and advocacy for policy support, research and development.

Policy makers will thus need to initiate and accomplish policy actions and public programmes to shift the agricultural sector away from the existing policy and institutional regime that appears to be no longer viable and build a solid foundation for a much more productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector in the country. In addition, we’ll have to promote increased cultivation of those crops, which besides being nutritious and profitable are also able to counter the environmental challenges.

Asad Mirza Email: asad.mirza.nd@ gmail.com

Leading edge technique to boost electric vehicle battery performance

institutions anchor disproportionately on testoriented intelligence, our team of researchers from the energy source of electric vehicles. high school students will Indian Institute of Technology, In the RES integrated smart grid, learn to view their selfGuwahati, has developed an the availability of solar and wind energy worth through the same lens. Tech universities of advanced technique that can precisely es- is intermittent. Hence, an energy storage the future need to have timate one of the most important battery system such as a battery is required to holistic selections to signal internal states known as the SOC (state store the energy when available and use it that they value not only of charge). SOC reflects the remaining later when needed. In smart-grid, batterintellectual quotient, but capacity of the battery, i.e., how much ies can be used for peak shaving, voltage are also interested in what more charge can be withdrawn from the regulation and frequency regulation by storing or feeding energy. In micro-grids, drives a student, what the battery before it gets fully discharged.

The knowledge of remaining capac- intermittent RES is integrated with the student has built, what ity helps to optimize the battery’s capac- battery so that it can store energy in offthe student wants to solve. ity utilization, prevent overcharging and This will have a great im- undercharging of the battery, increases peak hours and supply energy in peak pact on adolescent life by its lifespan, reduces cost, and ensures the hours or during the unavailability of renewable energy. It can also assist in some replacing pressure with safety of the battery and its surroundings. emergencies. In all these applications, the more purpose and joy.

Unfortunately, such a vital parameter can- precise estimation of SOC plays a vital This brings us to the not be directly measured by any sensor. role in their efficient operation. final point — whose re- We can only infer SOC by using the availResearchersdivided the problem sponsibility is it to execute able measured quantities such as battery into two parts. The first was to derive this? terminal voltage and current. However, the mathematical model of the lithiumBuilding high quality the highly non-linear characteristic of ion battery, which can closely exhibit its universities was once seen the lithium-ion battery makes it difficult dynamic characteristics. Then, using a as the prerogative of either to estimate the SOC accurately. Hence, few advanced system control and maththe government or a few se- a well-developed estimation algorithm is ematical concepts such as sliding mode lect philanthropists. Open crucial, which can ensure precise, reliable, theory, they have tried to estimate the architecture has shown and cost-effective SOC estimation, says battery’s internal states precisely. The a way for diverse people IIT, Guwahati statement. proposed technique shows the highly roIn recent years, lithium-ion batteries bust characteristics and works accurately anywhere to be able to contribute to a mission. This are widely recognized in various applica- even in the presence of various external idea is making its way into tions due to their low carbon emission, disturbances such as sensor inaccuracy, how greenfield universities high energy density, low self-discharge temperature variation, etc. Compared are being set up in India rate, and low maintenance cost. Apart to the existing techniques, the proposed and existing institutions from the various day-to-day small devices technique not only increases the accuracy such as cell phones, laptops, etc., they but also reduces the computational time are evolving. have been also widely used in various and hence needs a cost-effective microA wide variety of other important applications such as people can make mean- electric vehicles, Renewable Energy controller chip for its implementation/ ingful contributions to Sources (RES) integrated smart grids, commercialization. the mission — scientists micro grids, etc.

The research team consists of Professor Somanath Majhi, Dr. Sisir and educators can help The emission of greenhouse gases students imbibe a research in burning fossil fuel in the combustion Kumar Nayak, Associate Professor, and mindset early on, industry engine has made the transportation sec- Gautam Sethia, Research Scholar.

All of them are associated with the can provide relevant prob- tor the highest contributor in increasing lems to work on, entrepre- air pollution. The greenhouse gases are Department of Electronics and Electrineurs can show students known to be heat-trapping and thus cause cal Engineering, IIT Guwahati. They how to make solutions global warming. Electric vehicles (EVs) have published their research findings viable, existing premier are becoming the most suitable alterna- in IEEE Transactions on Circuit and institutions can share in- tives to conventional fossil fuel-based System-I journal.

(India Science Wire) tellectual strength with vehicles. The battery acts as the prime new-age institutions, philanthropists globally can contribute funds towards the mission.

It is said that the best way to predict the future is to invent it. We need all Sir, hands on deck to invent It is indeed very discouraging to see that the telecom service providers have been the future we want to wake mooching off the money of the common public infront of our own eyes with little up to, without waiting to no signs of providing any improvements. The network connectivity in Dimapur for the next sighting of has gone from bad to worse over the past couple of months.

Comet Halley to get our In places like 5th mile, the minute the electricity goes off, the network goes act together. too. Forget about making calls and using whatsapp or infact, the internet. Even sms doesn’t get delivered at the right time! Therefore, I would like to earnestly request Neeraj Aggarwal and all the responsible authorities to check into this matter without further delay and Pallavi Jain see to it that the network connectivity is restored to its full glory.

(The views expressed Akum Ao, Dimapur are personal) Reader’s note: Articles or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.

A

Reader’s Post Poor network connectivity

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national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Vardhan tears into Maha govt, terms Shah assures rapid industrialisation in Singur allegations of vax shortage ‘baseless’

SINGUR (WB), APR 7 (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a colourful road show here on Wednesday, once a hot spot of the anti-land acquisition movement, and promised rapid industrialisation of the area if BJP is voted to power.

The symbolism of the home minister holding a road show in Singur, three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally there and alleged the “obstructionist mindset” of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee deprived West Bengal of industries and jobs, was clear--the BJP wants to corner her over the state’s dwindling industrial base and alleged job loss.

Lustily cheered by crowds, Shah stood atop a decorated vehicle with BJP candidate for the Singur seat Rabindranath Bhattacharya, who recently joined the saffron party after leaving the Trinamool Congress, and smilingly waved at people standing by the roadside and

Amit Shah during a road show in support of BJP candidates Babul Supriyo, Payel Sarkar and Sravanti Chatterjee. (PTI)

on terraces and balconies.

Speaking to reporters during the show, Shah said Singur, which has been shunned by industry since the 2006 agitation, will be developed by the next BJP government in the state.

“We will develop the area by setting up industries and a Rs 500 crore intervention fund has been announced for potatoes, for which the area is known, in our Sankalp Patra (manifesto),” he said.

Shah said, after winning the elections, the BJP government will ensure that

small, medium and large industries are set up in Singur, situated beside the national highway connecting Kolkata and New Delhi.

“We will pursue politics of development, dialogue and cooperation, instead of confrontation,” he said.

He said he welcomed TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for invoking Hindu Gods and Goddesses, and for reciting Chandi Path (hymns to Goddess Durga) at public meetings, but quipped it was “too late for her”.

“The BJP will win Ben-

gal elections with more than 200 seats in the kitty,” he said. West Bengal has 294 assembly seats.

Banerjee, often accused

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders of minority appeasement, has been regularly chanting hymns and asserting her Hindu identity to keep the majority community in good humour.

The road show meandered through the roads of Singur town for nearly an hour from Dulepara more to Singur police station, as colourful posters, BJP flags and green and saffron balloons dotted route.

Chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and slogans demanding industrialisation and jobs pervaded the air as the procession crawled through streets. Donning a saffron coloured turban, the 89year-old Bhattacharya, a four-time TMC MLA from Singur before he left the party on being denied a ticket, waved at the crowd standing alongside Shah.

Bhattacharya’s induction and nomination had caused a lot of resentment among BJP old timers in Singur.

Shah is scheduled to hold three more road shows in the state, including one in Kolkata, on Wednesday.

Referring to the Singur movement of 2006-08 that forced Tata Motors to move out its proposed small car Nano’s mother production unit from there, Modi had told an election meeting that the TMC used the place for political purpose and then left the people to fend for themselves.

Singur, a small town in Hooghly district, has an old connection between Banerjee and Modi.

The scene of an aggressive movement led by Banerjee against forcible land acquisition by the then Left Front government for the ‘Nano’ project, Singur, along with Nandigram, had catapulted the street fighter TMC leader to power in West Bengal in 2011.

NEW DELHI, APR 7 (AGENCIES): In a strongly-worded statement, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Wednesday responded to the Maharashtra government request to the Centre to send in additional stocks of Covid-19 vaccine.

Vardhan alleged that the move an attempt to cover Maharashtra’s “failure” and to spread panic among people by demanding vaccination of all without inoculating enough of eligible beneficiaries.

“Vaccine supplies are being monitored on a realtime basis, and State governments are being apprised regularly about it. Allegations of vaccine shortage are utterly baseless,” he said.

Maharashtra on Wednesday said that the state was running short of Covid vaccines, especially in urban centres, and urged the Centre to send in additional stocks. The state said it had 13 lakh doses of

Harsh Vardhan

Covaxin and Covishield in stock, which according to its estimates will be exhausted in three days. The health minister also reacted to the demands of political leaders including Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal’s request to open up vaccination to everyone above the age of 18.

“Nonetheless, it bears repeating that the primary aim of vaccination is to reduce mortality among the most vulnerable people, and enable the society to beat the pandemic,” he said.

“So long as the supply

of vaccines remains limited, there is no option but to prioritize. This is also the established practice around the world, and is well known to all State governments,” he added.

Further listing out vaccination statistics amongst frontline workers in Delhi and Maharashtra, Vardhan said, “Doesn’t it seem evident that these states are trying to divert attention from their poor vaccination efforts by just continuously shifting the goal-posts? Politicizing such a public health issue is a damning indictment of certain political leaders who should know better.”.

“I would like to humbly state that it would be better if the state government focusses its energies on ramping up their health infrastructure rather than on petty politicking,” Vardhan said while flagging “disproportionately higher number of deaths in the last 2-3 weeks” in the state.

Wearing mask compulsory even while Punjab CM Amarinder orders ban on political gatherings driving alone during pandemic, says HC leaders, violators to be booked under DMA & Epidemics Act

“The wearing of a mask is like a ‘suraksha kavach’ for preventing the spread of COVID-19,” the court said, noting that a mask protects the person wearing it and also those exposed to him or her.

The wearing of a face mask was “one measure which saved millions of lives” during the pandemic, it pointed out.

The court further noted in its verdict that upon the outbreak of the pandemic, globally as well as nationally, scientists, researchers, international organizations and governments emphasised the importance of wearing facial masks to control the spread of the disease.

“In the absence of a complete definitive cure, the world continues to wrestle with the pandemic. The challenge of the pandemic was enormous at the outbreak of the same and even with the introduction of a few vaccines, the emphasis

continues to be laid on wearing face masks. The wearing of masks is necessary irrespective of whether a person is vaccinated or not,” it said.

The lawyers, in their pleas, had contended that the District Magistrates who were vested with the powers to impose fines could not have sub-delegated the powers to others.

Disagreeing with the contention, Justice Singh said that the definition of ‘authorised persons’ being inclusive and expansive in nature, District Magistrates were also vested with powers to further authorise any officers to issue challans.

“The list of officers, who were authorised is broad and in the opinion of this court it has to be interpreted expansively and not restrictively....The challans have been issued by duly authorised officers. The prayer for quashing of the challans is thus not sustainable,” the court said.

CHANDIGARH, APR 7 (AGENCIES): As Covid cases continue to remain high in the state, Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday ordered a total ban on political gatherings till April 30 and said that violators, including political leaders, will be booked under the DMA and Epidemics Act. The chief minister also announced extension of night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, which hitherto was imposed in 12 districts, to the entire state and reduced the number of attendees at funeral/cremations/weddings to 50 people indoors and 100 for outdoors.

Wearing of masks has been made mandatory for all government employees while in office.

These restrictions, coupled with the ones imposed earlier, which include closure of schools and educational institutions, shall remain effective till April 30.

However, there was some respite for shop owners in Malls, as the Chief Minister allowed entry of 10 people per shop at any given time, as against the earlier order of not allowing more than 100 people in a mall at one time. This would imply that 200 people will be allowed in a Mall with 20 shops at any given time.

A m a r i n d e r, i n h i s weekly review of the Covid situation, expressed concern at the high positivity and mortality rates in the state.

He said it was matter of concern that over 85 per cent

Capt Amarinder Singh

of cases in Punjab are of the UK strain, which is more contagious and virulent.

He said he had no option but to go in for stricter measures to further control the ongoing surge, even though the number of positive cases had somewhat stabilised in the last few days due to curbs imposed earlier.

He said he had been

forced to order a ban on political gatherings, as his pleas to all political parties to refrain from organising such events had been ignored, despite the fact that the Congress had unilaterally announced its decision of not holding any rallies or public meetings last month.

Expressing surprise at the behaviour of certain political leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, and SAD’s Sukhbir Badal, who had been attending political rallies without following safety protocols, the chief minister said such irresponsible conduct doesn’t behove them.

He ordered the police and the districts administrations to register cases against the political leaders, organizers and participants

of political gatherings under DMA and Epidemics Act, besides booking the owners of the tent houses, who provide the infrastructure for such gatherings. He said even the venue owners, who would provide space for such events, will not be spared and they too would be booked and their venues sealed for three months.

He said that no social, cultural or sports gatherings and related functions will be allowed till April 30. In-person public dealing shall be restricted in all Government offices and online and virtual modes for grievance redressal shall be encouraged, he said while adding that all government employees will need to compulsorily wear a mask while attending office.

BJP, RSS must stop spreading hate: Digvijaya

BHOPAL, APR 7 (IANS): Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, on Wednesday, accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of spreading hatred among different religious communities. He said India can become a ‘vishwa guru’ (world leader) only with love and harmony and not hatred.

The senior Congress leader in a series of tweets

on Wednesday said, “Why is the BJP and Sangh Parivar miffed with me because I follow true Sanatani Hindu traditions. Stop selling religion, stop spreading hatred through religion and creating discord among people of different religions. Stop asking for votes on the basis of religion.

Spread unity instead of creating rift.”

He also said that Sanatan Dharma is so inclusive that it considers the whole

world as its family.

Referring to Mahatma Gandhi, the former MP Chief Minister said, “Why did Nathuram Godse shoot Gandhi? Because Gandhi was a true devout Hindu and respected all religions.

Following the principles of truth, love, harmony and non-violence, he launched several satyagraha movements against hatred and violence. The last words he said after he was shot at were ‘Hey Ram’.

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NEW DELHI, APR 7 (PTI): Wearing a mask while driving alone in a private vehicle is compulsory as it is a public place in the context of COVID-19, the Delhi High Court held on Wednesday and described face covering as a ‘suraksha kavach’ or protective shield against the spread of the infection.

Justice Prathiba M Singh refused to interfere with the Delhi government’s decision to impose challans for not wearing a mask while driving a private car alone, saying a vehicle even if occupied by one person would constitute a public place. “There are several possibilities in which while sitting alone in the car one could be exposed to the outside world. Thus, it cannot be said that merely because the person is travelling alone in a car, the car would not be a public place.

“Wearing of a mask therein would be compulsory in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the court said. Masks are necessary irrespective of whether a person is vaccinated or not, it added. Justice Singh’s ruling and observations came while dismissing four petitions by lawyers who challenged the imposition of ‘challans’ for not wearing a mask while driving alone in a private vehicle.

SC to hear on April 9 plea of Mukhtar Ansari’s wife for his protection in UP

The Supreme Court will hear on Friday the plea of the wife of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari seeking directions to the Uttar Pradesh authorities to ensure that her husband’s life is “protected” in the state besides being accorded fair trial in cases against him.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy, as per the apex court’s website, would hear on April 9 the plea of Afshan Ansari, who has also expressed apprehension about possible attempts to eliminate her spouse in Uttar Pradesh. The plea in the apex court has alleged that there is a “genuine, persistent and grave threat” to Ansari’s life in Uttar Pradesh and there are “very high chances” that he will be eliminated if adequate protection or safeguards towards his life are not directed by the apex court.

The plea said several attempts had been made on his life in the past by political rivals.

It sought direction that transit of her husband from one jail to another as also to the court be video-graphed at all times and be carried out in the presence of officers of central police force such as CRPF.

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at Agra, for change of drivers.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, held a late-night meeting with senior officials to monitor the transfer of the accused which was done under full media glare.

The transfer of Ansari to the UP jail, meanwhile, is being touted as a major victory for the Yogi Adityanath government which has embarked on ‘Mission Mukhtar’ when it began a crackdown in May 2020 against Ansari and his gang.

According to the UP police, Ansari faces 52 cases in the state and elsewhere, and 15 of them are at the trial stage.

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The police have, till now, arrested 96 criminals and seized, freed, or demolished property worth Rs 192 crore linked to the BSP MLA and his associates.

Ansari is also the prime accused in the 2005 murder of BJP legislator Krishnanand Rai. Seventy-two arms licenses linked to him and his accomplices had been suspended and an extortion racket that fed crores of ruPolice personnel brought back gangster-turned-politician pees yearly to Ansari and his Mukhtar Ansari at Banda jail from Punjab. (PTI) associates was busted.

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BANDA/NEW DELHI, APR 7 (IANS/PTI): After an arduous journey of more than 14 and a half hours, mafia don and BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari was brought to Banda jail on Wednesday morning.

The convoy bringing Mukhtar reached Banda around 4.30 a.m. and the ambulance carrying the don and three vehicles with senior police officials entered the jail premises.

Vehicles belong to media houses that had been tailing the convoy were stopped at a distance from the jail.

The high voltage drama in bringing Ansari from Ropar in Punjab to Banda in Uttar Pradesh finally ended with the safe shifting of the don to Uttar Pradesh.

Immediately after he was brought to Banda jail, a team of four doctors medically examined him and he was then shifted to the barrack.

Official sources said that the panel of four doctors has been asked to remain on call by the Banda jail.

Earlier, the convoy bringing the don from Punjab was briefly stopped on Tuesday evening at Jewar for refueling and then again

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Mukhtar brought to Banda jail after 14-hour journey

business/state

Crossword

Su doku

KAKURO

the pandemic with over 1.15 lakh new infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, pushing the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,28,01,785, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. Additionally, market remained cautious ahead of FOMC meeting minutes to get more cues on monetary policy. The rupee may trade in the range of 73.70 to 74.75 in next couple of sessions, Mukadam noted.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 92.28.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.53 per cent up at USD 63.07 per barrel.

No. 9884 Yesterday’s solution No. 9883

No. 4503

Yesterday’s solution No. 4502

No. 3527 Yesterday’s solution No. 3526

NEW DELHI, Apr 7 (PTI): Finance Ministry on Wednesday said banks and financial institutions have sanctioned Rs.14.96 lakh crore to over 28.68 crore beneficiaries in the last six years.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8, 2015 to promote entrepreneurship.

Ministry of Finance is committed to provide financial inclusiveness and support to the marginalized and hitherto socio-economically neglected classes. “Financial needs of all stakeholders ranging from the budding entrepreneurs to the hard-working farmers has also been catered to through various initiatives. A key initiative towards this is PMMY, which has given wings to the dreams and aspirations of millions, along with a feeling of self-worth and independence,” Finance Ministry said in a statement. It further said

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NITI-A CEO visits...

that 4.20 crore PMMY loans were sanctioned in 2020-21, and Rs.2.66 lakh crore was allocated in 2020-21 as on March 19, 2021. The average ticket size of the loans is about Rs.52,000, it said.

Under PMMY collateral free loans of up to Rs.10 Lakh are extended by Member Lending Institutions viz Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Small Finance Banks (SFBs), Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) etc.

The loans are given for income generating activities in manufacturing, trading and services sectors and for activities allied to agriculture.

The scheme was launched to encourage small businesses, and banks were asked provide collateral-free loans up to Rs.10 lakh under three categories -- Shishu (up to Rs.50,000), Kishore (between Rs.50,000 and Rs.5 lakh) and Tarun ( Rs.10 lakh).

Cab defers decision on RIIN...

(From p-1) Hence, the cabinet meeting approved introduction of civil engineering, architect and interior designing courses to replace the existing three courses approved earlier. Sources said that civil engineering would be introduced at Aboi Polytechnic in Mon, architecture and interior designing would be introduced in Wokha and Peren polytechnics respectively.

Decision on medical lodge in Shillong deferred: The cabinet deferred the matter of shifting the location of medical lodge for patients from Nagaland seeking treatment at NEIGRIHMS in Shillong.

Sources said the State

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government had bought a plot of land in Mawdiangdiang locality of Shillong for Naga patients going for treatment at NEIGRIHMS. But a proposal for change of location of the proposed lodge had come from the Government of Meghalaya. The matter was discussed but the matter was deferred.

(From p-1) Assuring fullest support and cooperation to the people of Kiphire in its development, CEO he said Aayog would extend support in every possible way to make Kiphire No 1 district in India.

However, he said that it would require a lot of collective effort from the state government, district administration and officers.

Amitabh Kant also took to twitter and said he was “Delighted to visit Kiphire in Nagaland- one of the remotest #AspirationalDistrict of our country. It was 111 out of 112 Dts in ranking & has now jumped to No 2. The local team has worked tirelessly to improve outcomes across sectors. My compliments to DC & all frontline workers.”

Earlier, CEO along with his entourage visited District Hospital Kiphire, GMS Kiphire village, Anganwadi Centre Kiphire and ITI Kiphire.

The programme at DC’s conference hall was chaired by deputy commissioner (DC) Kiphire T.Wati Aier while welcome address was delivered by EAC, Moasunep K Jingru.

The team was accompanied principal director school education Shanavas C and other state officials.

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at 74.47 against the American currency, registering a fall of 105 paise over its previous closing of 73.42.

“The Indian Rupee depreciated amid concern over rising COVID-19 cases in India and lockdown restriction in some states. Furthermore, Reserve bank of India kept its repo rate unchanged for the 5th consecutive policy meeting and maintained accommodative stance,” said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Further, the central bank said recent surge in coronavir us cases adds uncertainty to economic growth recovery. The number of new coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high since the outbreak of

New Delhi, Apr 7 (Agencies): India's largest luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz has posted a strong growth of 34 percent in the first quarter of this year, which it believes has set things nicely for a strong rebound in sales in calendar year 2021. The company had posted a 43 percent decline in sales in 2020 at 7,893 units on account of Covid-19 impact, Business Today reported.

In the first three months of this year, the company has so far managed to sell 3,193 units against 2,386 units last year. The company said the growth is largely on the back of stronger than expected demand for its volume models like the C and E class sedans and GLC, GLE and GLS SUVs. Besides, it has also received encouraging response to its newly launched entry level sedan A Class limousine.

"The Q1 2021 sales momentum combined with the growing availability of volume models, will create a strong base for further recovery in coming quarters," said Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.

Banks sanction Rs 15 lakh crore under Mudra Yojana

ing property,” it said.

It emphasised that tax officers raise huge demands from businesses with no accountability. The bench said tax officers raise huge demands after assessment and cited that if Rs 10,000 crore has been reduced to Rs 1,000 crore by the appellate tribunal or the top court, it must reflect in the assessment of the tax officer.

The bench stressed that law needs to be structured and the tax authorities have to abide by the mandate of law. After the parties concluded their arguments, the bench reserved the verdict.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court in January this year dismissed the plea seeking quashing of the provisional attachment under Section 83.

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Residential Plot of Land available for sale at Seithekima Basa, near Faith in Action Healing Prayer Center.

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3. Land with RCC building: – to be negotiated.

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Mumbai, Apr 7 (PTI): The rupee tanked 105 paise to close at 74.47 (provisional) against the US currency on Wednesday amid concerns over surging COVID19 cases in the country.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India maintained status quo on policy rates for the fifth time in a row. The central bank kept its key policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent, but warned that the recent surge in COVID-19 infections has created uncertainty over economic growth recovery.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.52 against the greenback and traded in the range of 73.52 to 74.50 during the day.

The rupee finally ended

Mercedes posts 34% sales growth in Q1

ted before the bench that power of attachment under Section 83 is draconian.

According to this section, during the pendency of tax proceedings, the department can attach any property (including bank accounts and accounts receivable), as provisional attachment.

The tax officers use it as a measure to guarantee the satisfaction of a later judgement by the courts.

The bench observed that a balance has to be maintained between protecting the interests of revenue and protecting genuine businesses. “The country needs to come out of this tax culture that all businesses are fraudulent... even when Rs 12 crore tax has been paid, just because some tax is still due, you cannot start attach-

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Rupee plummets 105 paise to close at 74.47 against US dollar

Ne w D elh i , A p r 7 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the taxman cannot see all businesses as fraudulent, as it made sharp observations against the manner in which Goods and Services Tax was implemented by tax authorities.

A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah said: “The Parliament had intended the GST to be a citizen-friendly tax structure... the purpose of the Act is lost in the manner in which it is enforced in our country.”

The observations were made during the hearing of a plea challenging powers of provisional attachment under the Himachal Pradesh GST Act, filed by Radha Krishna Industries, represented by senior advocate Puneet Bali and advocate Surjeet Bhadu. The bench noted that tax authorities cannot go on attaching assets and it cannot be a preemptive strike as it termed provisional attachment draconian.

The company submit-

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or G-SAP 1.0 wherein RBI committed to open market purchase of government securities.

In April-June, it is committed to buy Rs 1 lakh crore bonds, with first debt purchases starting from April 15.

RBI had bought Rs 3 lakh crore of bonds in the last fiscal (2020-21) and planned similar or more spending in the financial year April 2021 to March 2022.

"We are now better prepared to meet the challenges posed by this resurgence in infections" he added.

While retaining its GDP growth outlook for FY22 at 10.5 per cent after a 7.5 per cent contraction in 2020-21, RBI revised the outlook for inflation, with

sectors of the economy," he said.

The Reserve Bank will of course continue to do whatever it takes to preserve financial stability and to insulate domestic financial markets from global spillovers and the consequent volatility, Das added.

To provide additional liquidity to states, RBI has decided to accept the recommendations of an Advisory Committee constituted by it to review the Ways and Means Advance (WMA) limits for State Governments/UTs and other related issues.

Accordingly, it has been decided to enhance the aggregate WMA limit of states and UTs to Rs 47,010 crore, an increase of about 46 per cent from the current limit of Rs 32,225 crore which was fixed in February 2016.

"Further, it has also been decided to continue the enhanced interim WMA limit of Rs 51,560 crore granted by RBI due to the pandemic for a further period of six months i.e. up to September 30, 2021," he said.

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the impact of COVID-19 on the economy while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward."

Just as the economy started to recover after being pummelled by the pandemic and the lockdowns, India is witnessing a record jump in COVID-19 infections, threatening the nascent recovery.

"The recent surge in infections has, however, imparted greater uncertainty to the outlook and needs to be closely watched, especially as localised and regional lockdowns could dampen the recent improvement in demand conditions and delay the return of normalcy," he said.

The Gover nor announced a second market Gsec acquisition programme

price rise seen at 5 per cent in the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. It is projected to rise to 5.2 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal.

Das reiterated that the banking system liquidity will continue to remain in surplus even after meeting all requirements of the financial market segments and productive sectors of the economy.

An accommodative stance implies a rate cut in the future if the need arises to support the economy.

This is the fifth time in a row that MPC has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged. RBI had last revised its policy rate on May 22, 2020, in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting interest rates to a historic low.

He assured that RBI is committed to ensuring ample system liquidity in consonance with the accommodative stance of MPC. "When I say ample liquidity, I mean a level of liquidity that would keep the system in surplus even after meeting the requirements of all financial market segments and the productive

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Mumbai, Apr 7 (PTI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday kept key interest rates unchanged at record lows while pledging to buy Rs 1 lakh crore of government bonds this quarter to cap borrowing costs in a bid to support an economy facing a resurgence of the pandemic.

In the first monetary policy of the 2021-22 fiscal, the central bank stuck to its accommodative stance as long as necessary, amid concerns of rising infections that could derail the nascent economic recovery.

RBI's key lending rate, the repo rate, which was cut by a total of 115 basis points last year to soften the blow from the pandemic, will stay at 4 per cent while the reverse repo rate or the central bank's borrowing rate will be unchanged at 3.35 per cent.

Governor Shaktikanta Das said the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously "to continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary to sustain growth on a durable basis and continue to mitigate

GST should be citizen-friendly, provisional attachment draconian: SC

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RBI holds interest rates amid COVID surge

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

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8

Myanmar forces attack Kalay town

YANGON, APR 7 (AP): Security forces on Wednesday stormed a town in northwestern Myanmar where some residents had used homemade hunting rifles to resist the military’s February seizure of power, killing at least seven civilians and injuring many others, local news reports said.

The online news site Khonumthung Burmese said the attack on Kalay began before dawn. Videos on the site included what appeared to be sounds of rifle fire, high-caliber weapons and grenade explosions.

Posts on social media said rocket-propelled grenades were used in the attack, but provided no evidence.

The news site said that in addition to the seven fatalities, many people were wounded and arrested in the town, also known as Kalemyo. Over half the town’s population are members of the Chin ethnic minority.

Security forces have killed at least 581 protesters and bystanders in their crackdown on protests against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San

Anti-coup protesters prepare to fire their homemade air rifles during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors casualties and arrests.

Nearly all of the protests have been nonviolent, but as police and soldiers have increased their use of lethal force, some participants have armed themselves with homemade weapons such as gasoline bombs for self-defense.

In Kalay, some residents

9

international

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

took up simple but deadly homemade hunting rifles.

Myanmar Now, another online news site, reported Tuesday that protesters in Kalay had set up neighborhood strongholds and inflicted casualties on the security forces.

It said that on March 28, when the army sought to attack Kalay, protesters in the town and nearby villages put up fierce resistance. The attack took

place a day after the junta’s forces killed more than 110 people around the country, the highest single-day death toll since the coup.

The report said protesters “more than held their own. Four of them died that night, but so did an equal number of the enemy, including an officer or two. The protesters also managed to wound 17 of their heavily armed attackers.”

Iran indicts 10 over Ukrainian plane crash TEHRAN, APR 7 (IANS): Iran has indicted 10 officials for their involvement in the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran last year.

“The necessary conclusions will be drawn in court,” Xinhua news agency quoted military prosecutor for Tehran Province Gholamabbas Torki as saying on Tuesday.

Last month, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) published its final report on the Ukrainian passenger plane’s crash, identifying a “mistake” by the air defence operator as the cause of the incident.

“The plane was identified as a hostile target by the operator of an air defecse system stationed around Tehran, and two missiles were fired at it,” the CAO said in the preface of its 285-page report.

The Ukrainian aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was shot down on January 8, 2020 shortly after taking off from Tehran by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps with two missiles, killing all 176 people on board.

Indonesia landslides death toll rises to 126; dozens missing LEMBATA (INDONESIA), APR 7 (AP): The death toll from mudslides in eastern Indonesia has risen to 126 with scores still missing, officials said Wednesday, as rain continued to pound the region and hamper the search.

East Flores district on Adonara island suffered the highest losses with 67 bodies recovered so far and six missing. Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills early on Sunday, catching people at sleep.

Some were swept away by flash floods after overnight rains caused rivers to burst their banks.

On nearby Lembata island, the downpour triggered by Tropical Cyclone Seroja sent solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November to crash down on more than a dozen villages, killing at least 28 and leaving 44 unaccounted for, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents dug through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes searching for those buried. On Tuesday,

Indonesian rescuers recover the body of a woman after a wall of mud slammed onto houses from a hillside in Ponorogo district, East Java.

relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull out a mud-caked body, place it on a bamboo stretcher and take it away for burial.

In all, landslides and flooding have killed at least 126 across several islands in Indonesia as well as 27 people in neighboring East Timor. Thousands of homes have been damaged and thousands of people displaced by the weather, which is expected to continue until at least Friday as the storm moves south toward Australia.

Rescue efforts were being hampered by the rains and the remoteness of the area, where roads and bridges were damaged in many places.

Rescue personnel with excavators and tons of food and medicine were being deployed from Makassar city on Sulawesi island, but were hindered by a lack of sea transportation.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Doni Monardo called on the private sector to support relief efforts.

Pak FM Qureshi, Russia’s Lavrov Turkey sentences dozens to life terms for 2016 failed coup discuss defence, counter-terrorism

Sergey Lavrov and Mahmood Quereshi

ISLAMABAD, APR 7 (PTI): Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday agreed to further promote bilateral cooperation in the field of

economy, trade, security, including counter-terrorism and defence. Lavrov, the first Russian foreign minister to visit Pakistan since 2012, and Qureshi held delegationlevel talks with Qureshi to review the bilateral relation-

ship as well as the situation in war-torn Afghanistan.

“During our talks we considered ideas to further promote #EconomicDiplomacy and discussed progress in the area of energy cooperation including the PakistanStream Gas Pipeline project.

We reviewed our cooperation in the field of security including counter-terrorism and defence,” Qureshi said in a series of tweets after the meeting.

He said the two sides agreed on the need to promote greater people-to-people contact through greater collaboration across a diversity of fields, including education.

ANKARA, APR 7 (AP): A Turkish court sentenced dozens of people, including former soldiers attached to the presidential guard regiment, to life imprisonment on Wednesday over their involvement in the 2016 failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

A total of 497 defendants had been on trial since 2017 for attempting to seize the military headquarters in Ankara, occupying the headquarters of the state broadcaster TRT, and of forcing a television broadcaster to read out a statement on behalf of the coup-plotters.

The massive trial was

Riot police officers stand at the entrance of a courthouse during the trial of 475 defendants in Sincan, Ankara.

one of hundreds of trials against suspected members of a network led by USbased cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the failed

attempt. Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, denies the accusation.

The court in the outskirts of Ankara sentenced 32 defendants to life, in-

cluding six who received aggravated life terms without the possibility of parole, Anadolu reported.

Among those sentenced to the aggravated life term is a former lieutenant colonel who forced the anchorwoman to read the statement, a former colonel accused of giving the order for the takeover of the TRT building and a former major who led a team that attempted to take over the military headquarters, the agency said.

The court also sentenced one person to 61 years in prison while 106 defendants received terms ranging from six to 16 years. Other defendants were either acquitted or were not given prison

terms, Anadolu said.

On July 15, 2016, factions within the Turkish military used tanks, warplanes and helicopters in an attempt to overthrow Erdogan.

Fighter jets bombed parliament and other spots in Turkey’s capital. Heeding a call by the president, thousands took to the streets to stop the coup.

A total of 251 people were killed and around 2,200 others were wounded. Around 35 alleged coup plotters were also killed.

The government has designated Gulen’s network a terrorist group, another claim he denies. He lives in the United States.

(AP)

Taiwan will fight ‘to the very last day’ if China attacks Kim says N. Korea facing its ‘worst-ever situation’ TAIPEI, APR 7 (AP): Taiwan’s foreign minister on Wednesday said the island will defend itself “to the very last day” if attacked

by China. Joseph Wu said China’s attempts at conciliation while engaging in military intimidation are sending “mixed signals” to the island’s residents.

Joseph Wu China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be won Wu noted China flew 10 over peacefully or by force. warplanes into Taiwan’s air

defense identification zone on Monday and deployed an aircraft carrier group for exercises near Taiwan.

“We are willing to defend ourselves, that’s without any question,” Wu told reporters. “We fill fight a war if we need to fight a war, and if we need to defend ourselves to the very last day, then we will defend ourselves to the very last day. “China does not rec-

ognize Taiwan’s democratically elected government, and leader Xi Jinping has said “unification” between the sides cannot be put off indefinitely. “On the one hand they want to charm the Taiwanese people by sending their condolences, but at the same time they are also sending their military aircraft and military vessels closer to Taiwan aimed at intimidating Taiwan’s peo-

Leaders of Russia and China tighten their grips, grow closer

Iran ship attacked off Yemen

Xi Xingping and Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW, APR 7 (AP): They’re not leaders for life — not technically, at least.

But in political reality, the powerful tenures of China’s Xi Jinping and, as of this week, Russia’s Vladimir Putin are looking as if they will extend much deeper into the 21st century — even as the two superpowers whose destinies they steer gather more clout with each passing year.

What’s more, as they consolidate political control at home, sometimes with harsh measures, they’re

working together more substantively than ever in a growing challenge to the West and the world’s other superpower, the United States, which elects its leader every four years.

This week, Putin signed a law allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036. The 68-year-old Russian president, who has been in power for more than two decades — longer than any other Kremlin leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin — pushed through a constitutional vote last year

allowing him to run again in 2024 when his current six-year term ends. He has overseen a systematic crackdown on dissent.

In China, Xi, who came to power in 2012, has imposed even tighter controls on the already repressive political scene, emerging as one of his nation’s most powerful leaders in the seven decades of Communist Party rule that began with Mao Zedong’s often-brutal regime.

Under Xi, the government has rounded up, imprisoned or silenced intellectuals, legal activists and other voices, cracked down on Hong Kong’s opposition and used security forces to suppress calls for minority rights in Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia.

Xi has sidelined rivals, locked up critics and tightened the party’s control over information. An ongoing crackdown against corruption has won popular support while also keeping potential competitors in line.

DUBAI, APR 7 (AP): An Iranian ship believed to be a base for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen has been attacked, Tehran acknowledged Wednesday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the attack on the MV Saviz, suspected to have been carried out by Israel — though Tehran did not immediately blamed its regional archenemy.

The assault came as Iran and world powers sat down in Vienna for the first talks about the US potentially rejoining the tattered deal aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme, showing events outside the negotiations could derail those efforts. The ship’s long presence in the region, repeatedly criticized by Saudi Arabia, has come as the West and United Nations experts say Iran has provided arms and support to Yemen’s Houthi rebels in that country’s yearslong war. Iran denies arming the Houthis, though components found in the rebels’ weaponry link back to Tehran.

ple,” Wu said at a ministry briefing. “The Chinese are sending very mixed signals to the Taiwanese people and I would characterize that as self-defeating,” Wu said.

The vast improvements in China’s military capabilities and its increasing activity around Taiwan have raised concerns in the U.S., which is legally bound to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself.

SEOUL, APR 7 (AP): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has acknowledged his country was facing the “worst-ever situation” as he addressed thousands of grassroots members of his ruling party during a major political conference in Pyongyang.

Experts say Kim is facing perhaps his toughest moment as he approaches a decade in rule, with

IN THE COURT OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIMAPUR, NAGALAND

No.Rev-1/90-D/

NOTICE

Dt. Dimapur the 2021 Notice is hereby given that Shri/Smti K. Jeliangga Rongmei resident of Dimapur who has applied for issue of mortgage clearance concerning to Patta No. 101 Dag No. 118 measuring an area 00-01-14 located at Block No/ Village 06 Mouza No. which has been mortgage in the SBI Bank/Society.

Claim/Objection concerning to the said land if any & should there be any, should submit to this court on or before 7 (Seven) days from the date of publication in local newspaper.

Sd/Deputy Commissioner Dimapur : Nagaland DP-1851

DECLARATION

Regd. No. 5568/2020

Date 12/03/2020

I, Shri. L. Meren R/o Chümoukedima, Dimapur in the district of Dimapur, Nagaland do hereby solemnly made declaration and affirm on oath before the Notary Public Dimapur vide Regd. No. 5568 dated 12-03-2020 declaring that I shall under no circumstances will be held responsible for any civil or criminal liabilities if charged against my daughter Ms. Sentinaro age about 36 years in connection with her personal or business affairs as it was done without my knowledge and consent. And furthermore, I URGES UPON ANY INDIVIDUAL/ ORGANIZATION/ASSOCIATION ETC. NOT TO ENTERTAIN ANY FORM OF LOAN OR MORTGAGE CHARGE, LIEN AND OR NON MONETARY TRANSACTION WITH MY DAUGHTER MS SENTINARO. And in the event of any transaction with her shall be doing so at his/her own risk and for which I shall under no circumstances will be held responsible since I do not ratify her act in any manner whatsoever.

Declarant L. Meren Chumoukedima DP-1849

North Korea’s coronavirus lockdown unleashing further shock on an economy devastated by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over his nuclear weapons programme.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during an opening speech at a meeting of the Workers’ Party’s cell secretaries on Tuesday.

OFFICE OF THE SOGOTSUMIA THINUO KROTHO CHIECHAMA VILLAGE

FELICITATION

With immense pride and honor, we the Sogotsumia Thinuo Krotho of Chiechama Village extend our heartiest congratulations to Er. Kezhazelhou Theünuo Sogotsu on being promoted to the post of Engineer-in-Chief, NPWD, Government of Nagaland.

The Thinuo Krotho wishes and prays that our Almighty God continue to bless him in his future endeavors.

(Beiu Sogotsu) President Sogotsumia Thinuo Krotho, Chiechama K-726

OFFICE OF THE CHIECHAMA VILLAGE COUNCIL KOHIMA : NAGALAND

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Chiechama Village Council extends hearty congratulations to Mr. Kevilekho Zumvü for securing the Champion, which will be his Seventh Championship and Mr. Seyiekhrietuo Mere the 4th Position in the 18th Nagaland State Chess Championship 2021.

The Council further wish them both success in their future endeavour.

Kevineisa Metha Press Secretary K-724

IN THE COURT OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIMAPUR, NAGALAND

NOTICE

No. Rev-1/90-D/

Dt. Dimapur the 05/04/2021

Notice is hereby given that Shri/Smti Dr. Y. Renbonthung Lotha resident of Dimapur who has applied for issue of mortgage clearance concerning to Patta No. 922, Dag No. 382/1419 measuring an area 1B-0K-0Ls located at Block No/ Village Purana Bazar, Mouza No. 3 which has been mortgage in the SBI Bank/Society.

Claim/Objection concerning to the said land if any & should there be any, should submit to this court on or before 7 (Seven) days from the date of publication in local newspaper.

Deputy Commissioner Dimapur : Nagaland DP-1845

Infotainment

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

gets vaccinated BTS break Psy’s Billboard Hot Android app offering free SonuforSood Covid prevention 100 record with ‘Dynamite’ Netflix may steal your A B WhatsApp data

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ybersecurity researchers said on Wednesday that they have discovered a fake service app on Google Play Store that offers users view Netflix on their smartphones for free, while monitoring their WhatsApp notifications and sending automatic replies to incoming messages.

Named ‘FlixOnline’, the hackers distributed the malware via malicious auto-replies to incoming WhatsApp messages, using payloads received from a remote command and control (C&C) server, according to the team from Check Point Research (CPR).

By replying to incoming WhatsApp messages, this method could enable a hacker to distribute phishing attacks, spread further malware, or spread false information or steal credentials and data from users’

WhatsApp account and conversations, they warned.

“This ‘wormable’ Android malware features innovative and dangerous new techniques for spreading itself, and for manipulating or stealing data from trusted applications such as WhatsApp,” the cybersecurity researchers said.

“It highlights that users should be wary of download links or attachments that they receive via WhatsApp or other messaging apps, even when they appear to come from trusted contacts or messaging groups,” they warned.

A threat actor could perform a wide range of malicious activities like spreading further malware via malicious links, stealing data from users’ WhatsApp accounts and spreading fake or malicious messages to users’ WhatsApp contacts

and groups.

When the application is downloaded from the Play Store and installed, the malware starts a service that requests ‘Overlay’, ‘Battery Optimization Ignore’, and ‘Notification’ permissions.

If these permissions are granted, the malware then has ever ything it needs to start distributing its malicious payloads, and responding to incoming WhatsApp messages with auto-generated replies.

“Theoretically, though these auto-generated replies, a hacker can steal data, cause business interruptions on work related chat groups, and even extortion by sending sensitive data to all the users contacts,” the team noted.

The researchers notified Google about the malicious application and the details of its research and the tech giant quickly removed the application from the Play Store.

Over the course of two months, the FlixOnline app was downloaded approximately 500 times.

“If a user was infected, they should remove the application from their device, and change their passwords,” the researchers said. (IANS)

Tibetan Plateau will warm faster than expected: Study

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he Tibetan Plateau, known as “the roof of the world”, may warm faster than climate models have projected due to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, say researchers.

The team, led by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers, used CMIP5 -- an archive of comprehensive climate models -- in which historical simulations are driven by individual external forcings.

The results showed that human influence is the dominant driver for the observed warming of the Tibetan Plateau (1.23 degrees Celsius over 1961-2005) with the greenhouse gases in particular contributing approximately 1.37 degrees Celsius, which was slightly offset by anthropogenic aerosols.

The plateau will warm faster than previously expected in the future: under a medium carbon emission scenario, it is expected to warm by 2.25 degrees Cel-

tem services, leading to remarkable glacier retreat and geohazard disasters such as landslides, debris flows and glacial lake outbursts, the researchers said.

(IANS)

ctor Sonu Sood on Wednesday took the vaccine for Covid-19 prevention at a hospital in Amritsar, Punjab.

The actor also launched “Sanjeevani: A Shot of Life”, an initiative to encourage people to get vaccinated and raise awareness.

Speaking about the same, Sonu Sood said: “I wanted to start this drive because I feel it is very important to bring that awareness among people who are still thinking whether they should get vaccinated or not.

Family members should push their elder ones, people who are eligible to get vaccinated. It will only help them survive the times we are facing in the near future.”

“We are doing this in many districts and a lot of villages in Punjab and different states.

The awareness is not much and they still have double thoughts whether t h e y should get vaccinated or not.

That’s why I wanted to get vaccinated in front of everyone and send the message across that don’t think twice. We will get a lot of camps done. This is a movement that we are trying to start to increase awareness,” he added.

The initiative is a CSR drive that intends to reach Indian citizens with relevant information about the Covid-19 prevention vaccine. (IANS)

TS have broken yet another record with their smash hit ‘Dynamite’.

This time, the South Korean boyband have surpassed a record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as the longest-charting single by a Korean artist.

‘Dynamite’ is currently spending its 32nd week on the Hot 100, surpassing a 31-week run by Psy in 2013 for ‘Gangnam Style’.

In the same week, ‘Dynamite’ also became longest-running number one on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales Chart, topping the chart for 18 non-consecutive weeks. It surpasses an achievement previously attained by Luis Fonsi’s ‘Despacito’, which topped the chart 17 times.

Prior to their new achieves, BTS also broke a number of other Billboard records, including being the first K-pop group

to ever top the Billboard Hot 100.

Even though ‘Dynamite’ came out last August, the song shows no signs of slowing down. The popular BTS tune has continued chart well on other Billboard charts, including a number six spot on the Global Chart Excl. US and number 13 on the Global 200 chart.

Earlier this week, the group had also released the music video for their latest Japanese single titled ‘Film Out’, which is featured in

both their Japanese compilation album titled ‘BTS, The Best’ and a recentlypremiered Japanese film titled Signal.

In other BTS news, the boyband recently spoke out against anti-Asian racism.

The group also recalled their own experience with racism, which have made them feel “powerless” at times. “We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English.” (NME)

‘Mrs SL’ leaves stage in tears after previous winner snatches crown

B

eauty queen Pushpika De Silva, who won the “Mrs Sri Lanka” 2021 title on Sunday, left the stage in tears after the crown was seized from her.

Soon after De Silva received the crown, Caroline Jurie, who was winner of the title in 2019, seized the crown from Silva claiming she was ineligible for the honour on account of being a “divorcee”.

Jurie walked on stage and told the audience, “There is a rule that you have to be married and not divorced. So, I am taking my first step saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up.”

After that, De Silva walked off stage in tears as Jurie placed the crown on the first runner-up’s head.

The organisers, however, said that De Silva was not a divorcee and apologised to her. National director of Mrs Sri Lanka World, Chandimal Jayasinghe, told the

BBC that the crown would be returned to De Silva.

“It was a disgrace how Caroline Jurie behaved on the stage and the Mrs World organisation has already begun an investigation on the matter,” Jaysinghe said.

De Silva said that she was separated from her husband but they were not divorced.

In a Facebook post, De Silva later said she was being treated for head injuries at the hospital and will take legal action.

In a press conference, De Silva dedicated her title to single mothers. “There are a lot of single mums like me today who are suffering in Sri Lanka. This their kids alone.” crown is dedicated to those women, those The police have questioned both Jurie and Jayassingle mums who are suffering to raise inghe over the incident. (IndianExpress)

sius in the mid-term (20412060).

And at the end of 21st century (2081-2100), which will be 0.24 degrees Celsius and 0.32 degrees Celsius warmer than the uncorrected projections, the plateau will likely warm by 2.99 degrees Celsius, according to the study recently published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

“This implies a greater loss of glacier mass and further increased geohazard risks in the Asian water tower,” said Wenxia Zhang, from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China.

The Tibetan Plateau contains the largest volumes of ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic, feeding water to dozens of major Asian rivers.

However, the rapid warming of the “Water Tower of Asia” has significantly affected regional hydrological cycle and ecosys-

P

harrell Williams is demanding federal authorities investigate the death of his cousin at the hands of police in Virginia last month.

The Neptunes frontman celebrated his 48th bir thday on Monday (April 5), but spent the day attending the funeral of cousin Donovon Lynch, who was shot dead by a cop in Virginia Beach last month.

Lynch, who was 25, was shot and killed in Virginia Beach on March 26 by a police officer amid a series of three separate “chaotic shootings” in the area. Two people including Lynch were killed whilst eight others were injured in another separate event.

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Pharrell, who previously called for “transparency, honesty and justice” from authorities, has now asked federal investigators to get involved in the case.

“Thank you God for my 48th lap around the Sun,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a shot of the funeral programme.

“This one is symbolic and a first because I had to speak at my cousin’s funeral, and was choked up with emotions. Too many unanswered City and State questions. Respectfully, I am calling for a Federal investigation.” He added: “I also humbly ask that you all keep the family in prayer. His name is Donovon Wayne Lynch.”(NME)

DC-324

Pharrell wants federal investigation after his cousin was shot dead by cop

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India beat Olympic champions Argentina 4-3

India beat Olympic champions 4-3 in the first practice match.

Shilanand Lakra was the creator of India’s first goal as his immaculate assist found Nilakanta inside the circle and the striker put the ball past Argentina’s goalkeeper to hand the visitors lead.

India, thereafter, pushed the hosts on the backfoot with persistent attacks.

Argentina replied to India’s aggressive show by securing a penalty corner soon but experienced custodian PR Sreejesh made

a brilliant save to keep the hosts at bay.

Dilpreet Singh then earned India a penalty corner in the 28th minute and Harmanpreet made no mistake to hand his team a 2-0 lead with a powerful strike.

Argentina made a strong comeback in the third quarter as they scored in the 32nd minute via Tolini, who was spot on while converting a penalty corner.

But India were quick

Olympic-bound tennis ace Sania included in TOPS after gap of 4 yrs

Vivo ropes in Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): Indian ten- can apply for a “special ranking” (also nis star Sania Mirza was on Wednesday sometimes known as a “protected rankincluded in the government’s Target Olym- ing”). The special ranking of a player is pic Podium Scheme (TOPS), four years their world ranking after the last tournaafter she opted out of the programme. ment they played and in Sania’s case, Sania was selected in the TOPS during i t wa s the China Open in the 56th meeting of the Mission Olympic October 2017. She Cell here. was ranked world The 34-year-old N o. 9 a t t h a t multiple Grand Slam point. So, Sania winner had opted out currently has a of the scheme when special ranking she was selected last of 9th and has in 2017 because of an already qualiinjury breakdown which had fied for the Tokyo led to a lay-off.

Olympics.

“Yes, Sania has been The special selected in the recent rankings were inTOPS list,” a Sports Autroduced by WTA thority of India source be- cause of the COVIDtold PTI. 19 pandemic. Sania was inSania has already qualactive for two years due to ified for the Tokyo Olympics pregnancy and only made based on her protected ranking her return to the court last before she took a break from the year following the birth game due to pregnancy. Sania is of her son at the seasoncurrently ranked 157th in the opening Hobart Internaworld but as per WTA rules tional WTA event. when a player takes a lay-off She partnered from the game longer than Ukrainian Nadiia six months on account of Kichenok to win the Sania Mirza injuries or pregnancy, they women’s doubles title.

New Delhi, Apr 7 (IANS): Chinese smartp h o n e b r a n d Vivo o n Wednesday announced that it has onboarded Virat Kohli as the company’s brand ambassador.

Kohli will be seen spreading awareness and promoting the launch of Vivo’s upcoming products series in the pipeline. The association will include all ‘Above the Line’ and ‘Below the Line’ activities, including the brand’s forthcoming TV campaigns and print, outdoor, social media and events. “We are thrilled to have Virat Kohli on board.

At Vivo, our focus is always on our consumer needs and preferences and we are committed to bringing joy to our consumers’ lives,” Nipun Mar ya, Director-Brand Strategy, Vivo India, said.

Vivo’s customer-centricity is reflected in its future-ready and technologically advanced offerings making them a leader in the Indian market.

Buenos Aires, Apr 7 (PTI): The Indian men’s hockey team made a positive start to its tour of Argentina, beating the reigning Olympic champions 4-3 in the first practice match here.

Nilakanta Sharma (16th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (28th), Rupinder Pal Singh (33rd) and Varun Kumar (47th) were the goal scorers for India late on Tuesday night.

Dragflicker Leandro Tolini (35th, 53rd) and

Maico Casella (41st) scored for the home team.

“It was a very good practice match, intensely fought by both teams. It is always nice to come up with a win against a team like Olympic Champions Argentina as it amplifies our confidence levels,” India coach Graham Reid said of the win.

Both teams were slow to get off the blocks in the first quarter, but it was India who picked up pace in the second quarter.

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

to respond as they won a set piece in the 33rd minute through Jaskaran Singh and this time the seasoned Rupinder was bang on target to give a the tourists a 3-1 lead.

Argentina, however, reduced the margin again with another goal in the 42nd minute through Casella.

Soon after the Argentines earned another penalty corner but young India goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak came to his side’s rescue.

India put up a resolute fight to maintain their lead in the final quarter.

In the 47th minute, Dilpreet earned another penalty corner for India and this time Varun, who has returned to the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury, sent the ball crashing into the Argentina net.

Though Argentina pulled another back in the 53rd minute through Tolini, the visiting team put up a spirited defence to end the game in its favour.

The Indian team is scheduled to play six matches against Argentina during its 16-day tour including the double-header FIH Hockey Pro league matches on April 11 and 12.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni announces animated spy series ‘Captain 7’ New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is set to produce an animated series, titled “Captain 7”.

The first season of the spy series, which is currently in pre-production, will be based on Dhoni, the makers said in a statement.

The seven in the title refers to Dhoni’s jersey number which he donned in many one-day international matches.

The project is a joint venture between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and wife Sakshi Singh Dhoni’s production house Dhoni Entertainment Pvt Ltd and Black White Orange Brands Pvt Ltd. (BWO).

Billed as the country’s first “animated spy universe”, the show will launch with its first season in 2022. The show’s title derives its name from the former cricketer’s number 7 jersey.

“The concept and story is great. It will bring to life my other passions along with cricket,” Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in 2020, said.

Sakshi Singh Dhoni prom-

Russian Olympic champions Silnov, Antyukh banned Lau s ann e , A p r 7 (AP): Russian Olympic champions Andrei Silnov and Natalya Antyukh have each been banned for four years for doping offenses, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Wednesday.

Silnov and Antyukh were both charged last year with using or attempting to use a prohibited substance or method. The charges stemmed from a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into Russian doping in 2016.

Silnov won gold in the high jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Antyukh won the title in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2012 London Games. She also won bronze in the 400 and silver in the 4x400 relay in 2004. They will keep their Olympic medals.

Neither athlete has competed since 2016, but Silnov was the senior vice president of the Russian track federation until June 2019, when he stepped down citing an investigation by the Athletics Integ-

Andrei Silnov rity Unit into his conduct.

CAS did not immediately say when the verdicts were handed down or give details on the cases. They were published in a brief summary of various cases and appeals concerning 12 Russians. Yelena Soboleva, who won a world

T20 World Cup in India going ahead as planned: ICC

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understand how they are managing in the COVID era. “Cricket is being played in a number of countries at the moment and we are learning from all of them.

“We have been talking to others sports bodies about what they are doing, we are in a good shape at the moment but acknowledge that the world is changing at a rapid rate. “We have also got the World Test Championship final coming up in two months’ time, but we are proceeding with both as planned,” he said.

The UAE, which hosted the IPL last year, could be one of the backup venues for the shortest format’s biggest

international event should the situation demand a shift.

During the interaction, he was also asked about the Decision Review System (DRS), of which the contentious Umpire’s Call is a part, something that was dubbed confusing by India captain Virat Kohli during the limited overs engagements against England. Allardice said there was “a good discussion” on DRS during the recent ICC Board Meeting. “DRS was designed to overturn the clear errors.

There has been no wholesale changes in it. “I think more and more when you see a replay, the natural reaction is what can we do…Overrul-

ing a clear error… We have got to a point where we are using technology to get correct decisions but striving for perfection becomes impossible. “We are very comfortable with where we are at the moment,” he said.

Allardice acknowledged the challenges countries are facing in order to host cricket matches and tournaments in terms of maintaining communication with their respective governments. “The vaccination role in different countries might change the dynamics…

They have done an amazing job in the last 10 months in hosting matches.” He also admitted that COVID-19 has

affected the women’s game.

When asked if the pandemic has pushed back women’s cricket just at a time when it was gaining momentum following the roaring success of the last T20 World Cup

in Australia, he said, “Last 3-4 years the momentum we built around international cricket is fantastic. The final (between India and Australia) (at a packed) MCG was a special moment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, the family members of Late Nukshiyanger, would like to thank all friends, relatives and organizations who came forward to help us spiritually, financially and materially at the demise of our beloved.

We regret our inability to thank each and every one individually, but it is our humble prayer that the Almighty bless you abundantly.

Loving Family Members DP-1848

DC-

Natalya Antyukh indoor championship silver medal in 2006, was banned for eight years and hammer thrower Oksana Kondratyeva, who was disqualified from fifth place at the 2013 world championships, was banned for four years.

CAS also reduced the

length of bans for four Russians, including high jumper Ivan Ukhov. His ban was cut from four years to two years, nine months.

The ruling does not reverse an earlier decision in a doping case to strip Ukhov of the 2012 Olympic high jump gold.

5th DEATH ANNIVERSARY LT. MR. HONSHUN TEP 22nd June 1933 – 8th April 2016

Years had passed since you left for your heavenly abode, but memories still afresh in our hearts. You have lived your life in this world, set your footprints which can never be erased. You have left behind memories for us to cherish till we meet again. ~ Loving wife, children and family members K-723

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” John 11: 25-26

Born February 15, 1977 Died March 17, 2021

DP-1843

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): ICC’s interim CEO Geoff Allardice on Wednesday said the body has backup plans in place for the T20 World Cup in India later this year but is currently not entertaining any thoughts of moving it out of the country despite a surge in COVID-19 cases here.

The tour nament is scheduled to be held in October-November in India, which is reporting over one lakh daily cases for the past few days. Amid the COVID surge, the IPL is due to start on Friday in Chennai behind closed doors. “We are certainly proceeding with the event as planned,” Allardice said during a virtual media round-table. “Plan B we have, but we haven’t activated those plans yet. We are working with the BCCI, we do have backup plans that can be activated if the time comes,” he added. Allardice, ICC’s general manager – cricket, was recently made the interim CEO after Manu Sawhney was sent on “leave” after his conduct came under the scanner during an internal investigation by UK-based audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The 53-year-old Australian, who has played domestic cricket in his country, said the ICC is also in touch with other sports bodies to

ised that “Captain 7” will be a show full of “adventure.” “When BWO came to us with the concept of an animation fiction show based on Mahi, we were on board,” she added. The series will mark brandconsulting company BWO’s first foray into content.

Bhavik Vora, Founder and CEO of BWO, said the team is happy to enter a new territory with “Captain 7” which will take forward the legacy of former India skipper.

“Sports is close to our hearts and we are huge Dhoni fansthe perfect formula to create ‘Captain 7’.

This partnership with Dhoni Entertainment Pvt Ltd is truly a dream collaboration and we can’t wait for audiences to see the show,” Vora said.

The vision of the partnership is to create a premium animation show, followed by a new season in the franchise every year.

The content will be distributed across multiple platforms worldwide.

LT. PFULHOUVIÜ TACHÜ 1918 – 2021 (102 yrs) On 3rd April 2021, our dearest Apfü and Apfütsa Lt. Pfulhouviü Tachü has travelled her earthly journey and left for her heavenly abode. She has walked the walk of faith and lived an exemplary life as a woman of God. Through this column, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all the people who stood by us during her illness till departure. Your presence, prayer, love, and kindness are beyond repayable. In our humble prayers, we remember all of you even though we are unable to thank everyone individually.

With Prayers, Loving Son, Daughter, In-Laws & Grandchildren.

K-728 K Y M C

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Mary Kom to lead Indian challenge at Asian Championships

Real rattle Liverpool; Man City pip Dortmund

M C Mary Kom

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): Olympic-bound six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) will spearhead the Indian women’s challenge in the Asian Boxing Championship slated to be held here from May 21 to 31.

Mary Kom is a six-time Asian medallist, including five gold medals. She had opted out of the previous edition of the event in 2019. She recently won a bronze medal at a tournament in Spain, her first competitive outing since qualifying for the Olympics a year ago.

Another prominent name in the team for the continental showpiece is two-time world bronze-winner Lovlina Borgohain (69kg). The Assam boxer is also bound for the Olympic Games.

Simranjit Kaur (60kg)

Curry scores 41 pts as Warriors Vinicius opened the scoring after controlling a brilliant Toni Kroos pass before slotting the ball past London, Apr 7 (Agencies): Stephen Curry scored 41 points as Alisson in goal. the Golden State Warriors beat the New Delhi, Apr 7 by scoring in the 35th after fourth goal, while Liver- Mahrez, who kept the ball Milwaukee Bucks 122-121 to end (Reuters): Real Ma- a Kroos pass again caused pool threatened late on. in play at the far post before their three-match losing streak.

The 33-year-old registered 30 drid’s 20-year-old forward havoc among the visiting Yet the visitors were pulling it back for Kevin De Vinicius Jr delivered on backline but Liverpool unable to find a second Bruyne to clip into the net points in the second half as the Warriors overturned a 10-point deficit the big stage and scored looked more settled after the away goal to take back in the 19th minute. twice as his side punished interval and a scrappy Mo- with them to Anfield next Marco Reus scored the with four minutes remaining, BBC a lackluster Liverpool to hamed Salah strike pulled Wednesday and the game equaliser for the visitors in reported.

The Warriors, who had lost win 3-1 at home in Tues- them back into contention ended with the same score- the 84th minute but Foden day’s Champions League early in the second half. But line as in the 2018 Champi- chipped in with a 90th min- seven of their past eight games, are quarter-final first leg. they failed to build on their ons League final. ute goal to hand his team a 10th in the Western Conference.

“We just needed a win to feel The Brazilian fired the momentum and Vinicius, Another 20-year-old thrilling win and lead going good about ourselves,” Curry said.

13-times European cham- who has a reputation for Phil Foden shined as Man- into the second leg.

The Warriors are just inside pions into the lead in the thrilling play but a lack of chester City grabbed a lastPep Guardiola’s side 27th minute at the Alfredo composure in front of goal, minute winner as they beat would have had hoped for the play-off positions with 24 wins di Stefano stadium after struck again in the 63rd Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in a more convincing victory and 27 losses, with the teams ranked controlling a long diagonal minute, blasting past Liv- their Champions League but after a night when they seventh to 10th in each conference pass from Toni Kroos from erpool keeper Alisson after quarter-final first leg on did not really hit their usual participating in a play-in tournament his own half which took clever combination play Tuesday after Marco Reus heights, they will take a for the final play-off spot at the end the Liverpool defence by between Karim Benzema netted a late equaliser for 27th win in 28 games in of the season.

“We needed this win in the surprise. and Luka Modric. the Germans at The Eti- all competitions and a slim worst way,” Curry added. “It gives Marco Asensio put the Asensio missed a clear had. Early on in the match, advantage into the second you confidence and it should help us hosts further in command chance to grab Madrid’s Foden squared to Riyad leg.

Sumit Nagal crashes out of ATP tournament in Italy New Delhi, Apr 7 (IANS): India’s highestranked singles player Sumit Nagal lost in the opening round of the ATP 250 Sardegna Open to Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-3, 1-6, 3-6 in Cagliari, Italy on Tuesday. Nagal collected 12 ATP points for qualifying into the main round. It was a disappointing outing for the Haryana player after a good show in the two qualifying matches, which saw him enter the main draw full of confidence. The 136thranked Indian had crushed Frenchman Maxime Janvier 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of qualifiers to set up an opening-round clash with the 28-year-old Slovakian Josef Kovalik, ranked 124th on the ATP.

build our identity.”

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 106-96 to return to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Joel Embiid, continuing his return from a knee injury, scored 35 points - making 16 of his 20 shooting attempts.

Boston were booed by their own fans during the third quarter as Philadelphia established a 21point lead.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers claimed a 110-101 win over the Toronto Raptors, while the Los Angeles Clippers beat the

and Pooja Rani (75kg) are the other Tokyo-qualified boxers in the squad.

Kaur had claimed a silver medal in the previous edition of the championship, which was held in Bangkok.

Rani, on the other hand, would be aiming to add a second successive Asian gold to her kitty. She won the top honours in 2019 in the 81kg division.

Rookie Jasmine (57kg), who clinched a gold medal in her maiden international competitive outing last month in Spain, has got the nod ahead of the more experienced Manisha, who was a bronze-winner at the 2019 Asian meet. Jasmine defeated Manisha in the selection trials. Also in the squad is former junior world champion Sakshi.

The Team: Monika (48kg), Mary Kom (51kg), Sakshi (54kg), Jasmine (57kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Pwilao Basumatary (64kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Saweety (81kg), Anupma (+81kg).

beat Bucks Portland Trail Blazers 133-116. The Atlanta Hawks took a 123-107 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Denver Nuggets beat the Detroit Pistons 134-119 and the Memphis Grizzlies secured a 124-112 win against the Miami Heat.

Stephen Curry

FIFA suspends Pakistan Football Federation

Lau s ann e , A p r 7 (IANS): Football’s world governing body FIFA on Wednesday suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect due to third-party interference. It also banned the Chadian Football Association (FTFA) due to government interference.

FIFA issued a statement on its website stating, “The situation was prompted by the recent hostile takeover of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protestors and an

alleged decision by certain individuals to remove the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the PFF led by Haroon Malik and to hand over the leadership of the PFF to Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah.”

The PFF office was attacked on March 27 this year and people inside held hostage by its former president, Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah, and his group.

The world governing body added that a warning letter had been issued before the action was taken.

FIFA said its order would only be revoked if full control of the PFF is given back to Haroon Malik.

“This suspension will only be lifted once FIFA has received confirmation from the normalisation committee of the PFF that PFF’s premises, accounts, administration and communication channels are again under its full control and it can continue to carry out its mandate without further hindrance.”

The Chadian Football Association (FTFA) suspension was prompted by the recent decisions of Chadian government authorities to permanently withdraw the powers delegated to the FTFA, establish a national committee for the temporary management of football and seize control of the FTFA premises.

Dark Covid cloud looms over IPL 2021 With the country reeling under a second wave and a spate of cases hitting hosting centres, the board’s decision to stage a closed-door event in India is under the scanner

MUMBAI, Apr 7 (Agencies): The Indian cricket board (BCCI) and its multiple Indian Premier League (IPL) stakeholders are facing an enormous challenge right now. The league’s 14th edition hasn’t even begun yet and the fraternity is sweat-

ing because of the rising number of Covid cases in the country.

From cricketers to franchise officials, groundsmen, associated staff and consultants, the numbers are adding up by the day across venues, TOI reported. The primary line of conversation right now is: the league is going to begin in two days but given the overall situation, will it continue as scheduled or get shelved?

There’s no way of knowing yet. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday and the stakes, as usual, are extremely high.

Chennai reported 3645 new cases and 15 deaths on Tuesday, with the number of active cases touching 25,000.

Those tracking develop-

ments say, “expect these numbers to rise once polling ends”. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is not letting its guard down, with Chepauk playing host to three teams in the first leg: Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and KKR. Some other venues, Delhi for instance, has already begun taking precautions, even though they begin hosting their share of seven IPL matches only from April 28. The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has decided to shut the stadium from April 10, keep the ground staff inside a bubble, stop employees from using public transport.

It has already finished its first round of vaccination for staff.

Mumbai, meanwhile, is once again the epicentre

of Covid-19’s fury. As much as the BCCI deserves a pat on the back for pulling off the 2020 edition of the IPL by shifting it to the UAE, it has faltered on several fronts this season. On Tuesday, when reports of former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, a Mumbai Indians’ scout and wicketkeeping consultant, testing positive became public, the league was busy debating this one development more than anything else.

“If this can happen to the Mumbai Indians’ camp, then nothing is safe anywhere else. They are always doubly prepared in circumstances like these. Their bio-bubble began on March 1 in Mumbai and ever since, they have been travelling inside it. Like they did in the UAE, they once again booked the entire wing of a five-star resort in Chennai this season too.

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