December 20, 2020

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 18

DIMAPUR, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020 Pages 12 ` 5.00

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sports, Page 12

COVAX lines up 2 billion doses international, Page 9

After UK, South Africa H&FW deptt alarmed at risk of community transmission identifies new Covid strain

Covid-19 guidance note DURING FESTIVE SEASON

COVID-19 STATUS AS ON december 19, 2020

Dimapur

128

ACTIVE CASES Symptomatic Death MiRecovunder Critical-ICU Death gratInvestiMod- Se- With- With On ered ed Mild gation erate vere out Oxy- VentiOxygen gen lator 19 5 3 0 0 1 6087 46 0 72

Kiphire

14

0

0

0

0

0

0

24

1

0

0

39

Kohima

276

5

4

0

0

0

0

3355

21

0

27

3687

Longleng

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9

0

0

9

18

Mokokchung

35

4

1

1

0

0

0

116

1

0

6

164

District

Asymptomatic

Total Cases

6362

Mon

13

0

0

0

0

0

0

579

2

0

9

603

Peren

19

0

0

0

0

0

0

479

0

0

0

498

Phek

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

44

0

0

0

45

Tuensang

9

0

0

0

0

0

0

234

1

0

0

244

Wokha

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

35

1

0

3

39

Zunheboto

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

139

0

0

3

142

Total

495

28

10

4

0

0

1

11101

73

0

129

11841

*10 deaths not due to Covid-19 *0 deaths under investigation

pointed out that December/

H&FW department returnees, H&FW said that

Further, people seeking

tives of district administration and Municipal Council was held on December 16.

The meeting resolved to appeal to public to avoid mobile carolling in groups, processions, picnics, partying and various forms of mass entertainment events.

It also advised deferment or postponement of conferences, jubilees, convocations scheduled during the festive season.

Public were also advised to follow all SOPs at weddings and staggered devotional services to minimize overcrowding. Further it also advised against organising Christmas and New Year community feasts but in unavoidable, then guests should be served take-away packages and to follow social distancing at all times.

(See Infographics)

H&FW says, COVID-19 winter month was very cru- further pointed out that the the situation has become admission to COVID-19 in containing the spread weekly percentage of traced more critical as the “traced hospitals have also increased appropriate behaviours cial of infection. However, it contacts or cases from the contacts were cases from the by 50% from the previous week, signifying increase in not being followed said that the State was “wit- community had “increased community”.

COVID tally 11841

DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): State Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) department has raised alarm that the “State was at risk of widespread community transmission” due to unlimited commercial events and parties and avoidable social gatherings.

In its weekly COVID19 report, the department

nessing events and social gatherings on an alarming scale”, where COVID-19 appropriate behaviours were not being followed.

It also expressed concern that “high asymptomatic cases” in the state could mean that there were undetected “silent super-spreaders” and cases will manifest only weeks after the event in high-risk people.

from 1% in the first week of July to 83% this week”.

While pointing out that 50% of all traced contacts or cases from the community were in the age group of 21-40 years, the department maintained that uncontrolled spread among this age group was increasing risk in the higher age groups.

Unlike earlier days, where most cases were from the

“The situation is more alarming unlike earlier days when cases were mostly confined within the quarantine centres,” the department stated. As the weekly sample positivity rate also continued to remain “one of the highest in the country at 10%”, the Health department said this indicated that there were “undetected cases in the population”.

moderate, severe and critical cases and undetected transmission in the community, the department said.

It may be recalled that Health & Family Welfare Principal Director, Dr. Vizolie Z. Suokhrie informed that a consultative meeting between the H&FW department and various church organisations, civil society organisations, representa-

Nagaland COVID-19 tally mounted to 11841 on Saturday after nine new cases were reported-- 8 in Kohima and 1 in Mokokchung. Further, the distribution across various categories include 4641 cases from the armed forces/police, 1829 returnees, 4807 traced contacts and 564 frontline workers.

causing surge in cases

JOHANNESBURG, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): South Africa has identified a new variant of the coronavirus that is driving a second wave of infections, the Health minister said on Friday, days after Britain said it had also found a new variant of the virus boosting cases.

“We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus - currently termed 501.V2 Variant - has been identified by our genomics scientists here in South Africa,” Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize tweeted.

“The evidence that has been collated, therefore, strongly suggests that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,” Mkhize added.

A resurgence in cases in South Africa saw the government tighten restrictions on society this week.

The World Health Organization said on Friday it was in touch with the South African researchers who

identified the new variant.

The global body added there was no indication there were changes in the way the new strain of the virus was behaving.

“We are working with them with our SARS-COV-2 Virus evolution working group. They are growing the virus in the country and they’re working with researchers to determine any changes in the behaviour of the virus itself in terms of transmission,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said.

South African health authorities said the new variant seemed to spread faster than the previous iteration, but that it was too early to tell its severity and whether current vaccines would work against it. “In the UK they have also identified a new variant ... there are quite a few similarities between the two lineages ... there are also a similar number of mutations” said Prof Tulio de Oliviera, a member of government’s genomics consortium in a televised briefing.

NDPP welcomes Rio, India’s COVID-19 tally crosses 1 crore Farmers to decide next course of action in 2-3 days Zelaing’s statement NEW DELHI, DEC 19 declined to 1.45 per cent. the total caseload, the data NEW DELHI, DEC 19 demands are met. “We are farmers, which was opposed suming that the farmers’ agion Naga pol issue (PTI): India Saturday India reported its first stated. “The declining ac- (PTI): Farmer unions pro- ready for a long haul. We are by the Centre, which said tation against the three farm DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has welcomed and appreciated the joint statement issued by the state chief minister Neiphiu Rio and leader of the opposition TR Zeliang “endorsing” the resolutions adopted on October 15, 2020 at the consultative meeting organized by the government of Nagaland at the State Banquet Hall in Kohima and September 14, 2020 by the Political Affairs Mission (PAM) of the NPF. The ruling NDPP through its media & communication committee said that at this crucial juncture of the Naga political issue it was imperative that all stakeholders stood united.

It said that the chief minister and the leader of opposition deciding to leave aside political differences in the interest of the Naga (Cont’d on p-8)

crossed the sombre milestone of one crore COVID19 cases, adding 10 lakh infections in nearly a month, even as the virus spread slowed and recoveries surged to over 95.50 lakh, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s COVID19 case tally had surpassed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, and 40 lakh on September 5.

It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, and surpassed 90 lakh on November 20.

The health ministry’s data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed the total number of cases mounted to 1,00,04,599, and the death toll to 1,45,136 with the virus claiming 347 more lives in a span of 24 hours.

However, the COVID-19 case fatality rate has further

COVID-19 case 323 days ago on January 30 in Kerala, while the first death was reported on March 10 in Karnataka. The worst affected states and UTs with highest number of COVID19 cases are Maharashtra (18,88,767), Karnataka (9,07,123), Andhra Pradesh (8,77,806), Tamil Nadu (8,04,650), Kerala (6 93,865), Delhi (6,14,775) and Uttar Pradesh (5,72,196).

A total of 1,45,136 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 48,574 from Maharashtra, followed by 11,989 from Karnataka, 11,954 from Tamil Nadu, 10,219 from Delhi, 9,277 from West Bengal, 8,154 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,070 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,170 from Punjab and 4,220 from Gujarat, as per the health ministry data.

There are 3,08,751 active cases in the country which constitute 3.08 per cent of

tive cases have ensured that the active cases per million population in India are amongst the lowest in the world,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Just 10 states/UTs have contributed 73.58 per cent of the new cases. Kerala reported 5,456 cases in the last 24 hours. West Bengal 2,239, while Maharashtra 1,960, the ministry said.

As much as “78.96 per cent of the 347 case fatalities that have been reported in the past 24 hours are from ten States/UTs. Maharashtra has reported the maximum new daily deaths with 75 deaths. West Bengal also saw a fatality count of 42,” the ministry said.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a cumulative 16,00,90,514 coronavirus samples have been tested up to 19th December, 11,71,868 of them on Friday.

testing against the three agri laws on Saturday said they will decide their next course of action in the next two-three days, after the Supreme Court earlier this week pointed out it was thinking of setting up an “impartial and independent” panel of agriculture experts and peasants’ unions to resolve the deadlock.

Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka said discussions among unions are currently underway to decide their strategy, adding that they are also seeking legal opinion on the matter.

“Our meetings are being held for the next course of action. We are hopeful that in the next two-three days, we will have clarity on whether we should be part of a committee as suggested by the court,” Kakka told PTI. Another leader Balbir Singh said farmers will not call off their protests until their

‘There may not be a second peak of COVID-19 in India’

here for our rights. We are in the process to decide our stand following the court’s order,” he also said. Thousands of farmers have been staying put at several Delhi border points for the last 23 days, demanding a repeal of the new agri laws.

Meanwhile, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) Saturday claimed that 33 farmers participating in the ongoing protests have so far died since November 26 due to accidents, illness and cold weather conditions. According to AIKS, ‘Homage Day’ will be observed in different parts of the country on Sunday to pay tributes to those farmers who lost their lives.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had acknowledged the right of farmers to non-violent protests and mooted the idea of putting on hold the contentious farm laws to enable negotiations with the agitating

the agriculturists would not come forward for the talks then. The apex court, which made it clear that the issue of farmers’ protest and the right of others to move freely would be dealt on priority at the moment and not the validity of the laws, also said it was thinking of setting up an “impartial and independent” panel of agriculture experts and farmer unions to resolve the impasse.

Stir not affiliated to any political party: Farmers group All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee on Saturday wrote letters addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar where it asserted the ongoing farmers’ protests are not affiliated to any political party.

In separate letters in Hindi to Modi and Tomar, the AIKSCC said that the government is wrong in as-

laws is being engineered by opposition parties. It comes a day after the prime minister accused the opposition parties of misleading farmers over the three farm laws.

“The truth is that the farmers’ agitation has forced political parties to change their views and your (PM’s) claim that political parties fuelled it (protest) is wrong,” AIKSCC, which is one of around 40 unions protesting at several Delhi border points, said in its letter to the prime minister. In the letter, AIKSCC said, “Any demand of any protesting farmer union and group is not affiliated to an political party.”

In the open letter to the agriculture minister, the farmer union alleged discrepancies in the three farm laws. AIKSCC alleged that the minister was diverting the main issues of farmers from discussion.

Niki Sumi elected as president of NSCN (K)

NSCN (I-M) pulls up KOHIMA, DEC 19 (NPN): cadre for unauthorized Apropos news item ‘Cabinet NEW DELHI, DEC 19 likely cases were 16 times the peak will not be as high. due to the 501 new variant. put on hold appointments for (PTI): Healthcare experts confirmed cases. By that “I don’t think the exposure Two of them have been ‘peace march’ have said that there may not factor, India would have is enough to say that we described, one in south of D I M A P U R , D E C 1 9 ing, Starson proposed the Corrigendum

NSSB’, the sixth para should read as “NU to take steps to conduct odd semester examination from January 18” and not as published.

(Correspondent)

This is it!

“With COVID-19 pandemic, I fear SOPs will mean no mega feasts and for us no mega leftovers.”

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be a second peak of COVID19 in the country, and even if it occurs, it is unlikely to be as strong as the first one.

Noted virologist Dr Shahid Jameel said India’s curve for daily cases is on a downward slope since a peak in mid-September.

“At this time, we are getting about 25,500 cases daily compared to over 93,000 cases per day in mid-September. I believe the worst is over. But there will be small peaks in the future just as we witnessed in late November,” he said.

“I don’t think there would be a second peak as we have gone through the festive season (Dussehra to Diwali) and a state election without a significant jump. What is the reason for this? If we go by the second national serosurvey,

160 million cases now,” he told PTI. It is possible that by now there are over 300-400 million infections in the country, Jameel said.

“By that token, we are seeing large parts of the population getting protected and breaking transmission of the virus,” he said.

“Unexposed and susceptible people will continue to get infected. If immunity lasts a year or less, then we may have small peaks at regular intervals for the next few years. Good vaccine coverage will control this effectively,” he said.

When asked about a possible second peak of COVID-19, noted clinical scientist Dr Gagandeep Kang opined the transmission will not be as rapid as was seen the first time and

have herd immunity and won’t need to worry about it again, but I think it is enough to ensure that we will have some level of protection so that the transmission will not be as rapid as was seen the first time and the peak will also be not as high,” she said.

Dr KK Agarwal, an eminent cardiologist, said there is still 30-40 percent population in India which has not been infected by COVID-19.

He said India, Argentina and Poland are the three countries among the 15 nations having the highest number of COVID cases that are not showing a second peak.

“By all probability, India may not have a second peak, and if the second peak comes, it will only come

England and one in South Africa,” Agarwal told PTI. However, if there is a second wave, he said, then it would be a new variant of the virus which will mean more cases but lesser mortality and the second peak will help in building herd immunity.

Asked if the worst was over for India, Dr Samiran Panda, the Head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, said the epidemiological curve has come down for some states, while there is a fluctuation for others.

“In more states, we have seen effective control while in some of the states we need to be mindful and watchful. The state scenarios are different from each other,” Panda told PTI.

(NPN): As the post of president remained vacant following its former president Nyemlang Konyak joining the NSCN (R) on September 26, 2020, the breakaway faction of NSCN (K) held a plenary meeting on December 18, 2020 and elected “gen. (retd)” Niki Sumi as its president.

In a press release, the group’s deputy kilonser of MIP, Nikato Pilot Sumi, stated that the plenary meeting of the council of kilonsers and all high ranking officers of the “People army of Nagaland (PAN)” was chaired by general secretary/ato kilonser Starson Lamkang Naga.

It said that the meeting was necessitated due to the vacancy for the position of president. At the meet-

name of Niki for the post of president and seconded by kilonser Y. Asang.

“After due deliberations as per the laid down provisions in the Yehzabo, the house unanimously elected General (rtd) Niki Sumi as the President of NSCN/GPRN,” the release stated.

Meanwhile, according to Imphal Times report, quoting highly placed sources, said that Niki Sumi was likely to join the peace process.

The report, published on December 19, stated that a high level Indian army team had received Niki Sumi at the IndoMyanmar border in Phek district, and was likely to proceed to New Delhi to hold talks with the Government of India.

DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): NSCN (I-M) has said that one VS Mashungmi-- bonafied NSCN (I-M) cadre, who had recently carried out a “socalled Peace March” carrying both the national flags of India and Nagalim, had done so without taking the authority into confidence.

Asserting that such a one man operation with sensitive political implication was not authorized by NSCN, the NSCN (I-M) stated “his daring venture, no matter how patriotic it may appear in the eyes of the beholder amount to violation of disciplinary code of conduct.”

NSCN (I-M) said that security implication was taken in to account to abort the peacemarch midway. Further, Mashungmi has been debriefed to establish the idea behind his peace march, it added.

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2

state

UBC Kohima associate pastor, Visato Yhoshü giving the Christmas message on Saturday. (NP)

ings, also lauded party leaders for giving opportunity to the youngsters to be part of the elected representatives of the people. NDPP secretar y general Abu Metha in a short speech said this year had been a challenging one as it came in a different way bringing everything to grinding halt. He also hoped the coming year would be a better one and called on all party people to move forward with new hopes and challenges. Programme was chaired by NDPP central women organisation secretary, W Nginyeih Konyak while NDPP advisor Neiba Ndang invoked God’s blessings. Special presentations were made

by MAK Quintet, Mengu & Virie and Veto & Band.

(Correspondent) BJP Nagaland minority morcha: BJP Nagaland minority morcha celebrated pre-Christmas at the conference hall of Hotel Silhouette on December 18, coinciding with the national minorities’

day. A press release by BJP Nagaland minority morcha VP and media convenor, Ajay Sethi stated that, state general secretary & incharge of minority morcha BJP Nagaland, Khevishe Sema exhorted the community leaders to remain united in their efforts for the welfare of the minority communities.

He extended Christmas greetings & prayed that the Prince of Peace would bring peace to Nagaland for all the tribes and communities. He promised to be a medium for the minorities’ voice to be heard in the right echelons of power.

State treasurer & president of Gujarati community, Mahesh Kotecha reiterated the principle of Modi’s “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Viswas” and promised to work towards an ideal society in Nagaland without any discrimination. State president minority morcha BJP Nagaland, Deep Kumar stressed upon the minori-

ties to avail the opportunities and schemes being promulgated by the BJP govt nationally & PDA govt in the state. Non-Naga communities & Bengali Samaj president, K. K. Paul highlighted the issues of the minorities, while greeting for the forthcoming Christmas. Representatives of Bihari, Bhojpuri, Brahmin, Gorkha, Jain, Kerala, Maithili, Manipuri, Marwari Samaj also spoke.

Celebrations were chaired by Ajay Sethi, while vande mataram was sung by Anita Roy Chowdhury, state secretary, minority morcha BJP Nagaland with her team of Arijit Sharma, state executive of minority morcha and Kalpana Dutta, mandal president of minority morcha.

Sethi expressed gratitude to all the community leaders, BJP members and sponsor Rajesh Sethi, co-convenor economic cell of BJP Nagaland. This is the first time that any organisation has celebrated national minorities’ day in Nagaland.

K Y M C

A press release by Dimapur Gorkha Union stated that along with a courtesy visit after taking of office by new chairman, festive greetings were also exchanged.

Meanwhile, DC appreciated the union’s reaf-

firmation as a civil society on its commitment to support all social and welfare causes pertaining to Dimapur.

Further, the welfare of the community in general was deliberated with the deputy commissioner .

On the occasion of “National Minorities Rights Day”, National People’s Party (NPP) Nagaland, carried out charity drive for deprived and physically challenged people living on streets at Dimapur Railway Station and DMC office on December 18. Officials of NPP was led by president, Dr. Andrew Ahoto Sema. (NPP Nagaland state IPR & media cell)

LATE ZAPRAVEYI SWURO

It’s been a year since you left us for your heavenly home. We miss and love you in our own special way.

Loving wife, son and loved ones.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2nd DEATH ANNIVERSARY

You had touched countless lives in your lifetime, and even after your death, you live through your good deeds. We miss you always! You are alive though our prayers & wishes, you had left this world years ago, but your memories are still fresh in our minds.

Loving Wife, Children & Grand Children

MISAMO LOTHA

25th DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BELOVED FATHER LT. K. JOSEPH KIBA

C. MUCHEMBA SANGTAM (JOLIBA)

DP-5662

D.O.B : 01.05.1932 – D.O.D : 12.11.2020 "I lived happily and died joyfully" We the bereaved family members of Late C. Muchemba Sangtam would like to extend our deep and sincere gratitude to all individuals and well wishers who stood by us physically, emotionally, financially and prayer support for our beloved father who passed away on 12-11-2020.

Especially, we extend our thanks to: 1. Sangtam Baptist Church, TSG. Town 2. G.B Union TSG Town 3. Lirise Union, TSG. Town 4. Bazar 'A' Union TSG Town 5. Sangtam Union TSG Town “Blessed are the people who mourn for others.

May God bless you all.”

From: Beloved - Wife, Children, Grand Children & Relatives.

(20.12.1995 – 20.12.2020)

Your life was a blessing Your memory a treasure...

You are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure...

Loving Wife, Children, Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren and In-Laws

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DP-5674

news in Brief H&FW deptt informs: Principal director H&FW, Dr. Vizolie Z. Suokhrie has informed that declaration of result for the selected candidates (merit wise) and waiting list (merit wise) to undergo DMLT course at Para Medical Training Institute (PMTI) Kohima can be downloaded at the department’s website nagahealth.nagaland. gov.in and PMTI office notice board.

NSCN (I-M) Angami region informs: NSCN (I-M) Angami region has informed that a new CAO (caretaker) for Angami region, Khoselie Nagi has been appointed. All concerned have been informed to contact him for all purposes at 6909871968.

DIMAPUR: Dimapur Gorkha Union (DGU) called upon deputy commissioner (DC), Dimapur Rajesh Soundararajan on December 17, led by new DGU chairman, Sasank Ghatraj along with office bearer.

1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY

K-2027

gas was resolutely declared by the Naga people and known by the entire world, the Naga National Council (Parent Body) stated that “this is our future in the precious and mighty name of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world.” While wishing people to celebrate a safe and sound Christmas season, the Naga National Council also stated that NNC stands for the whole and all Naga people for peaceful solution of the Naga political problem.

Naga National Council (Parent Body) in the precious name of Lord Jesus Christ wished a joyful and peaceful Christmas and a rejuvenated and prosperous New Year.

DGU office bearers with DC Dimapur, Rajesh Soundararajan on December 17.

20-12-2019

NNC (P-B) extends Christmas greetings DIMAPUR: Naga National Council (Parent Body) acting president, Yilow Humtsoe on behalf of the NNC has extended Christmas and New Year greetings to all the Naga people in the homeland, abroad and the “people who live amongst us in our land.”

In a greetings note, the acting president said that Naga National Council has taken the occasion to reiterate the Naga people’s sovereign stand of 1929 memorandum submitted to the British government and consequently the 1935 Act called Naga Hills Excluded Area passed by the House of Lords (United Kingdom Parliament).

Naga National Council (Parent Body) stated that the declaration of Naga independence on August 14, 1947 was acknowledged by the United Nations Organisation (UNO), and the plebiscite conducted on May 16, 1951 (referendum) declared 99.9% voted in favour of Naga independence. While these sovereign rights of the Na-

DIMAPUR: Introductory programme in honour of advisor to chief minister for Technical Education (TE) and Election departments (ED), Medo Yhokha was held at the directorate of Technical Education on December 8.

According to DIPR report, Medo Yhokha asserted that the subject matter of technical education dealt with the career of the youths and hence the future of the state, whereby the career of the future generation should not be compromised under any circumstance. He also stressed on the importance of skills development of the youth referring to the government of India policy “Skill India.” Commissioner & secretary of Higher & Technical Education, Imjung M Panger highlighted the position of staff and officers, while also stressing on streamlining the department in order to place things in the right perspective to reduce the problems faced by the department.

Deputy director, Er. Khrieketoulie Rupreo gave a powerpoint presentation on the main activities of the department and also highlighted priority works which needed immediate attention. Earlier, programme started with invocation by Tiakaba Amer, project director, directorate of Technical Education and vote of thanks was delivered by Nungsangmenla Imchen, ex-officio director, Technical Education.

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DIMAPUR: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the BJP Nagaland minority morcha celebrated pre-Christmas on December 19 and 18 respectively.

NDPP: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) celebrated pre-Christmas at banquet hall, state guest house, old CM’s bungalow here, Saturday.

Union Baptist Church, Kohima, associate pastor Visato Yhoshü, delivered the Christmas message during the celebration with the topic, “God is with us.”

Yhoshü said Christmas was not just a time for celebrations but also to be reminded of “our” ultimate need for forgiveness in the birth of Jesus Christ and His presence in “our” lives. NDPP president Chingwang Konyak extended Christmas greetings and wishes for prosperous New Year. Nagaland Legislative Assembly speaker, Sharingain Longkumer, while extending Christmas greet-

Lighting of the lamp with Khevishe Sema along with others at the programme held on December 18.

Dimapur Gorkha Union members call on DC Dimapur

TE &ED holds introductory programme

DP-5652

Political parties celebrate pre-Christmas

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

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K Y M C

State

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Is it right for political parties in using farmers stir against the Modi govt?

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

B

A Yes. B No. C Can’t Say.

Rio inaugurates new Education for all round development: Patton village council building

C

46% 52% 2%

Next poll

Q: Will people be willing

to not hold festival gatherings due to COVID-19?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST December 20

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Hazy sunshine

24 9

Aizawl

Pleasant with plenty of sun

23 6

Guwahati Plenty of sun

25 10

Plenty of sun

24 5

Itanagar Sunny and nice

24 10

Shillong

Hazy sunshine

17 3

Kohima

Plenty of sun

20 5

Imphal

Dimapur Hazy sun Mkg

24 9

Sunny and comfortable

Tuensang Plenty of sun Wokha

Sunny

22 6 17 3 20 9

Zunheboto Plenty of sun

20 4

Neiphiu Rio and others during the inauguration of the new village council building of Seiyhama village under Kohima district on December 19.

DIMAPUR: Nagaland’s chief minister Neiphiu Rio inaugurated the new village council building of Seiyhama village under Kohima district on Saturday.

A press release by the organisers stated that, Rio in his speech called upon the villagers to maintain and uphold the spirit of oneness to stay connected to various schemes and developmental packages.

Rio maintained that the construction of the new building has been possible through the prevailing unity and cooperation amongst the villagers. He

also hoped that the new building would strengthen the bond of unity and usher in fair judgment on various matters.

Touching on the role of village councils in the state, he stressed on the need to continue to uphold and strengthen the customary laws and its conduct in delivering justice. He urged the people of Nagaland to ponder on the present election system in the village council set up in the state. Rio suggested the usage of search committee for electing village council leaders on consensus and

not through election to avert division and discord amongst the villagers.

Rio also advocated the same system for tribal hohos and village development board as well.

Vibeiletuo Kets, president NDPP 11th Northern Angami-II A/C also spoke on the occasion.

S e i y h a m a Vi l l a ge Council chairman Rheituolie Metha chaired the function, while Seiyhama GB, Thekruneio Thevo gave the construction report. Vote of thanks was proposed

by Seiyhama head GB Neitsolie Sopfünuo.

DIMAPUR: State deputy chief minister of Home, Road & Bridges, Y. Patton said that education was not merely for donning a degree and getting a job in government sector but was for all round development of a person. He also added that being an educated person should not be merely for personal sustenance but to be an asset for the upliftment of the society.

According to DIPR report, Patton said this in his address as special guest during the golden jubilee celebration of New Riphyim Students’ Union ((NRSU) as the special guest held at New Riphyim village, under the theme “Resilience to excellence” on December 19. Encouraging the students’ to achieve their goal in life, Patton said the main focus for a student was to pursue academic career with dedication and hard work as there was no short cut to success and no substitute to hard work.

Patton encouraged the students to start with strong determination, distinct aims and objective to become a contributory member of the society. While congratulating and acknowledging all the past and the present leaders of NRSU, he further added that in consonance with the vision and objectives of the pioneers,

Farewell programmes for retiring officials

Temjen Imna Along with Imjung M Panger and other officials at the farewell Dr. Narendra Tiwary during programme on December 18. (DIPR) his farewell speech.

DIMAPUR: Directorate of Higher Education & Technical Education and Mount Olive College Kohima (MOCK) held farewell programmes for respective retiring officials on December 18 and 15.

H&TE Kohima: The combined farewell programme of both directorate of Higher Education & Technical Education was held on December 18, in honour of commissioner & secretary H & TE, Imjung M Panger at the conference hall of Technical Educa-

tion.

According to DIPR report, minister of Higher Education & Tribal Affairs, Temjen Imna Along congratulated the outgoing commissioner & secretary after his illustrious career as bureaucrat, where he had given good governance and appreciated his simplicity and truthfulness.

Adviser to chief minister for Technical Education & Election, Medo Yhokha also shared some of the good qualities about Imjung M Panger and en-

couraged the members to emulate such qualities in one’s service career.

Imjung M Panger in his speech, expressed that it had been a privilege to be in the government service and serve the public, wherein the government provides the best service conditions.

He encouraged the members to renew one’s pledge to serve the public. His successful completion of service career was due to constant moral support and prayers from family members and cooperation

from his subordinates and officers while serving under different capacities, he added.

Director of Higher Education, Dr. Apeni Lotha, joint director Technical Education, Er. Vipulhou Lhoungu, and deputy secretary H&TE, Warren Holohon Yepthomi spoke on behalf of Higher Education, Technical Education and administrative office respectively.

Representatives from Geology & Mining and NPG board also partici-

pated. Programme was chaired by joint secretary and ex-officio director Technical Education Nungsangmenla Imchen, invocation by joint director HE, Rokono Peseyie and vote of thanks by joint director HE, Menoukholie Kire.

MOCK: Mount Olive College Kohima (MOCK) organised a farewell programme for retiring principal, Dr. Narendra Tiwary at college auditorium on December 15, chaired by vice principal Lovitoli Zhimomi.

A press release by MOCK librarian, Abel Jakhalu stated that, Tokheni Sema, chair person, governing body, MOCK thanked the principal for his dedication towards the college and wished him a contented and joyous retired life.

Dr. Narendra Tiwary in his farewell speech thanked the faculty and staff for their co-operation during his 22 years as principal, expressed great honour to have been part of a prestigious college and the good memories.

Programme concluded with college anthem and blessings by Sumi Baptist Church, Kohima, associate pastor Khekavi Yeptho.

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Y. Patton addressing during the NRSU golden jubilee celebration held on December 19. (DIPR)

the union has immensely contributed not only to the students’ community but to the society as a whole since its inception.

He also stated that, with the world becoming a global village it was observed that the present younger generation was passing through very trying and disturbing time with information technology advancement, whereby he urged the students’ community in particular to make right use of these modern gadgets beneficially rather than to ruin one’s future. As an encouragement, Patton assured to award a cash amount of 10 lakhs and 5 lakhs to anyone clearing IAS/IPS, EAC/ NPS respectively from New Riphyim Village.

On the golden jubilee celebration, Patton said jubilee in itself was a milestone achievement and reminded of the sacrifices and hardships rendered by the pioneers and under whose leadership and guidance the union has attained 50 glorious years. On the issue of any kind of development activities or road infrastructure, Patton said there should not be any land owner issue or obstruction as it would only hamper developmental works, wherein he appealed the concerned to extend support and cooperation. Earlier, Patton unveiled the jubilee memorial monolith.

G u e s t o f h o n o u r, Mhonrao Odyuo (retd) PA to DC, the first president of NRSU while recollecting

the union’s foundation 50 years back expressed happiness to be part of the auspicious occasion. Sr. SDEO (retd) Thungrhomo Odyuo speaking on the theme challenged the students to pursue their academic career with perseverance and sincerity withstanding any kind of difficulties in order to achieve their goals in life. President Lotha Students’ Union, Ashanthung Humtsoe congratulated the NRSU for successfully completing of 50 years.

Chairman of New Riphyim Council, Nyimtsemo Odyuo thanked Y. Patton for being a part of the celebration. President NRSU, Adeno Odyuo in the presidential address welcomed the gathering and thanked all for their presence.

District advisory youth programme held in Kohima

ADC Kohima, Lithrongla Tongpi Rutsa along with John Makhabo and other members on December 19. (DIPR)

DIMAPUR: A meeting of the district advisory youth programme (DAYP) was held at the DC’s conference hall, Kohima on December 19.

According to DIPR report, chairing the meeting, ADC Kohima, Lithrongla Tongpi Rutsa lauded the NYK for their activities towards promoting and building the youth clubs of the district. She also appreciated the services rendered by the NYK volunteers in assisting the district administration in the management and distribution of relief materials to the stranded people who have

been directly affected during the lockdown period.

District youth coordinator Nehr u Yuva Kendra (NYK) Kohima, John Makhabo said that the activities carried out under NYK were mostly of capacity building with some sports activities to encourage the youth club and to channelize their potential towards nation building. He highlighted the activities and achievements made during the year 2019-2020.

Cumulative report of activities conducted by NYKS field functionaries, NYVs and youth clubs

members for prevention and mitigation of COVID19 as on October 13, 2020, were also highlighted by the district youth co-ordinator.

He informed that activities on popularising, educating and motivating families for making face mask at home and training of youth leaders and volunteers on 04 modules were also conducted through social media platforms besides other activities. He also presented the NYK Sangathan core programmes annual action plan 20202021 to the advisory board members for approval and suggestions.

HCHSS Dimapur inaugurates new building

Johnny Ruangmei inaugurating the new higher secondary building at Dimapur on Saturday. (NP)

Staff Reporter DIMAPUR DEC 19 (NPN): Holy Cross Higher Secondary School (HCHSS) inaugurated its new Higher Secondary building on Saturday.

The inauguration was initiated by president, Catholic Association of Nagaland and HoD, NSDMA, Johnny RuK Y M C

angmei while unveiling of plaque was carried out by provincial supervisor, Silchar province, Rev. Sr. M Lucious BS. Addressing the gathering, Johnny Ruangmei stated that a building indicated the eminent feature of every culture and he cited the example of Egyptians constructing the pyramids for a specific

reason. He hoped that the newly constructed and inaugurated school building would serve the students and teachers vastly.

He shared about advancement of technology especially in the field of education and urged teachers to be well equipped with technology.

Bishop of Kohima, Most Rev. Dr. James Thop-

pil in his short address stated that Catholic churches were under the service of Nagas and that they were ever ready to provide the best with humble expenses at every nook and corner of the state.

Further delivering a short speech, chairman, H o ly C r o s s, Rev. Fr. Thomas Panamthanam informed the gathering that the new building consisted of 24 class rooms, two staff rooms and one office.

He added that the new building was completed with a cost of Rs. 3 crores.

Earlier, programme was chaired by Amongla and invocation by Rev. Dr. James.

Welcome speech was delivered by principal, Holy Cross, Rev. Fr. Philip Yanpvuthung and a welcome song by students of Class 12, while vote of thanks was proposed by Khanmungla Raleng and Christmas song by Henry Tungoe.

Kihoto Theological College (KTC) Yakor conducted social work on Yakor-Panso life line link road from NH 202 to its college below approximately 3 KM by filling up pot holes and clearing up the jungle. The social work was led by principal, Wongtokiu (Ato) and students. (DIPR) K Y M C

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TAC election results: BJP wins 34 out of 36 seats

BJP leaders and supporters celebrate their victory during counting day of TAC polls in Nagaon. (PTI) GUWAHATI, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put up a stellar performance in the Tiwa Autonomous Council (TAC) elections, as it swept off the polls by securing 34 out of 36 seats.

While the other two seats were won by the Congress party and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), reports The Sentinel Assam.

It is a continuous win for BJP after the Bodoland Territory Elections (BTC).

The Congress party yet again faced a setback. After the results were out, the BJP

workers were seen celebrating their victory outside the counting centres.

TAC elections were held on December 17, 2020.

A total of 3, 08, 409 voters sealed the fate of the 124 candidates who contested the elections. The counting of votes started from 8 AM onwards today. In the light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, tight security and pandemic protocols were followed by the officials today. Elections for 36 council constituencies in parts of Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai and Kamrup

(M) districts had begun at 7:30 am and ended at 4:30 pm in as many as 410 polling stations on December 17.

An estimated 65% voter turnout was recorded in the election for the TAC on Thursday. 75% voting was recorded in 19 constituencies of Morigaon district till 4:30 pm, while 67.57% in 10 constituencies of Nagaon, 74% in lone Kaki constituency in Hojai and 47.26% voting were recorded in six constituencies of Kamrup (M) district till 4:30 pm.

Around 67.57% polling was recorded in 10 constituencies of Nagaon district.

All eyes were particularly on the Damal constituency where the fight was between current Chief Executive Member of Tiwa Council Paban Manta, a BJP candidate and AGP candidate Niraj Bordoloi.

Another key contest was in the No 18 Charipunia Chabukdhara constituency where the tussle was between Morigaon MLA Rama Kanta Deuri’s son and BJP candidate Madan Deuri and Congress candidate Dulal Deuri. The No 18 Charipunia Chabukdhara constituency is also the home town of Rama Kanta Deuri.

northeast

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

Assam Cong MLA Ajanta NE gateway to India’s connectivity & Neog likely to join BJP ties with South East Asia: FS Shringla

Guwahati, Dec 19 (PTI): The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has removed its MLA Ajanta Neog from an important post of the party’s organisation, two days after she met Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and NorthEast Democratic Alliance convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The move came amid speculations that the fourtime MLA from Golaghat constituency and former state minister may join the BJP. Neog was removed from the post of District Congress Committee President of Golaghat with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the party’s state unit on Friday night. “This has the approval of All India Congress Committee,” the two-line order said without giving any reason for the action.

When contacted, Assam Pradesh Cong ress Committee general secretary (Organisation) Ranjan Bora said the disciplinary action was taken against the legislator for her “antiparty activities over the last few days”. Sources in the Congress and the BJP told PTI that Neog, a powerful leader in Upper Assam, is likely to join the saffron camp on December 26 or 27 during the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the state.

Ajanta Neog

On Thursday, Neog held a closed-door meeting with Sonowal at his official residence in presence of Sarma. The Congress legislator, however, said she had met the chief minister and the senior BJP leader to discuss issues related to her constituency. Speculations are rife that Neog, who was a close confidante of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and part of his cabinet, may join the saffron party after some irregularities were reported in the departments she had held.

Along with her, around 100 Congress workers, including several block presidents of Golaghat constituency, are also likely to cross over to the BJP, the sources said. Another Congress legislator Roseline Tirkey from Sarupathar in Golaghat had gone to a local office of the ruling party in the district in presence of Irrigation Minister Bhabesh Kalita earlier this week, triggering speculations that the MLA might join the BJP.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): India’s North Eastern region is a gateway to the country’s connectivity and relations with South East Asia and can be seen as a link between two fundamental pillars of Indian foreign policy, Neighbourhood First and Act East, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Saturday.

In his address at the inaugural session of the North East Festival via video conference, Shringla said India has a vision for this region that is captured in the 3 Cs -- Connectivity, Commerce, and Cultural Commonalities -- and has been working through a number of concrete initiatives to realise this vision.

“At one level, we work bilaterally with our partners with a full range of diplomatic tools. At another level we work through multilateral and plurilateral initiatives such as BIMSTEC and BBIN or the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal grouping,” he said. States of North Eastern India can be seen as the link between two fundamental pillars of the country’s foreign policy, Neighbourhood First and Act East, Shringla asserted.

“From this perspective, the North East is a gateway and a portal. It binds us with

Harsh Vardhan Shringla

some of our most important neighbours. It also connects us, and our neighbours, to one of the most economically dynamic and politically significant geographies of the world -- the ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at the convocation ceremony at IIT Guwahati in September this year, Shringla said the PM had underlined the importance of the North East in India’s Act East Policy.

In his remarks, Shringla highlighted several connectivity projects India has taken with its neighbours with the North East playing a critical role in them.

Improvements in connectivity between India and Bangladesh have a direct and positive impact on the North East. Accordingly, a lot of work has been done in recent years to enhance connectivity with Bangladesh, he said.

“We have revived five rail links that used to be operational between India and

Bangladesh before 1965. As many of you would have seen, the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh jointly inaugurated the rail link between Haldibari in West Bengal and Chilahati in Bangladesh during the virtual summit held this week,” he said. Historically, rivers have played an important role in connecting the people and business in the region encompassing the North East and the neighbouring countries, Shringla said. “ T h i s r e g i o n wa s served by our common rivers, particularly Brahmaputra and Barak-Surma, which were used extensively for facilitating trade and commerce, and people-to-people contact. Recognising this, considerable efforts have been made in recent years to augment inland waterways connectivity between the North East and Bangladesh,” he said.

Noting that Myanmar has a particularly important geographical location, Shringla said India has therefore accorded high priority to projects that build regional connectivity with Myanmar. “Future plans to enhance connectivity include a four-lane trilateral highway linking India with Thailand via Myanmar, which could see expansion up to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam,” Shringla said.

Mnp police launch Emergency Response System ILP issue: Meghalaya Gov to meet Shah

Manipur CM N Biren Singh inaugurating Emergency Response Support System ERSS of state police in Imphal on Saturday. (NP)

Correspondent IMPHAL, Dec 19: Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Saturday launched the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) of the state police.

With the launch of ERSS, people may now call the emergency phone number 112 to activate ERSS when they require emergency assistance from the police, fire service, health department, etc.

After launching of ERSS in Imphal’s 1st Battalion Manipur Rifles complex, the chief minister said that the ERSS would enable the authority to help people more effectively at the time of emergency.

With the launching of ERSS, problems and difficulties being faced

by the police in responding to emergency calls will be edged, Singh said.

The chief minister further said that the state government was actively considering enhancing manpower and installation of modern equipment at Cyber Crime Police Station and Forensic Science Laboratory of the police department.

The state government was also trying to open police stations at border areas of the state where the government deemed necessary.

According to a senior police officer, ERSS is designed to address distress signals from citizens which are received in the form of voice calls, sms, e-mails, panic SOS requests, web requests, etc.

All these distress signals are sent

to the common number 112. This unified system is envisaged to attend to all emergency requests from citizens in all types of emergency situations which call for immediate assistance.

In other words, ERSS Centre is a sophisticated police control room using computer technology and internet facility for instant communication in real time between the control room and mobile vehicles and quicker intervention to attend to distress calls.

ERSS is the vision of the Union ministry of home affairs for a nationwide unified emergency system with a single emergency number 112 for all kinds of emergencies and distress calls from across the country, the officer maintained.

It mainly consists of three main components viz. Public Safety answering Point (PSAP), Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), District Coordination Centres or District Control Rooms, he said.

To make calls or send distress signals to ERSS, one can dial 112 from mobile phone or landline phone or press power button on the smartphone three times in quick succession to activate panic call.

Long press “S” or “9” key on the feature phone to activate panic call, log on to state ERSS website (mn-erss.in) and place SOS request, E-mail SOS alert to ERSS centre in the state and use 112 India mobile app (available in Google Playstore or Apple Store) to activate a panic call were other options.

CoMSO seeks contempt proceeding against Assam Cong MLA

Correspondent SHILLONG, DEC 19: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisation (CoMSO), a conglomeration of several pressure groups in Meghalaya on Saturday demanded contempt proceedings be initiated against a Congress legislator from Assam for opposing implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the State.

State Governor Satya Pal Malik, meanwhile, flew to the national capital on Saturday to meet Home minister Amit Shah and brief him on the growing demand for implementation of the ILP under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, besides the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Amendment Bill, 2020.

T h e H y n n i ew t r e p Youth Council-led COMSO staged a protest at Motphran area demanding implementation of the ILP and also action against Congress legislator from Assam’s North Karimganj assembly constituency, Kamalakhya Dey Purkay-

NE to emerge as favourite PRINCIPAL DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE DIMAPUR :: NAGALAND tourist place: Jitendra Singh IN THE COURT OF

IN THE COURT OF

DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE WOKHA : NAGALAND

Letter of Admn. 6/2020

Guwahati, Dec 19 (PTI): Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the Northeast will emerge as a favourite tourist and trade destination when the coronavirus pandemic ends and holiday lovers will prefer the region over tourist spots abroad.

Addressing the 8th edition of the ‘North East Festival’ as the chief guest, Singh said the Northeast will take a lead for India to emerge as an economic power with the support of its huge natural and human skill resources.

He said the region will truly work as the “New Engine” of economic growth and it has emerged as an alternative to the European tourist destinations by remaining relatively pandemic-free, when other parts of the world were heavily infested with the virus.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also addressed the event, talked about en-

couraging the youth and fostering learning to use the resources of the Northeast rightfully. His Tripura counterpart Biplab Kumar Deb stressed on the need to promote cuisines of the Northeast to the world.

Singh, the Union Minister of State for Home, hoped that holiday lovers from the next season will definitely prefer the Northeast for its pristine natural beauty over other global tourist destinations.

He said the region will lead the growth story of India, when the rest of the world is looking for economic resurgence through trade in post-pandemic times.

He said the central government recently raised the import duty by 25 per cent on raw bamboo items, which will help the domestic bamboo industries like furniture, handicrafts and ‘Agarbatti’ making in a big way and promote use of bamboo as a building material.

NOTICE (SEC. 278 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT 1925)

Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 has been applied by Smti Oli Rani Basak, W/o Late Bhupati Basak, R/o H.No. 35, West Yard Colony, Dimapur, Nagaland for issuing of Letter of Administration in respect of Late Bhupati Basak for landed property covered by Patta 551, Dag No. 586, Area measuring 0-0-12, Block - 07, Dimapur, Nagaland before this court and whereas 16.01.2021 has been fixed for the hearing on the matter. Notice is hereby given inviting objection if any from the person having interest in the above named application to be furnished on or before the fixed date/or appear in person.

Given under my hand and seal of the Court on 16th Dec, 2020.

Principal District & Sessions Judge Dimapur :: Nagaland DP-5657 IN THE COURT OF

PRINCIPAL DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE KIPHIRE : NAGALAND

NO. PD & SJ.KPE/ Objection Notice-1/2019-20/351 Dated Kpe the 10th Dec. 2020

OBJECTION NOTICE

Whereas ZELA SUMI, wife of Late IGHOTO SUMI of Nitoi Village has applied for issue of Succession Certificate under the Indian Succession Act. 1925 in order to draw/receive the payments of movable/ immovable properties of her husband Late Ighoto Sumi Retired PA to DC and was a regular pensioners, who expired on 18/09/2020.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY 1. Pension Case From the Office of the 2. Any other dues etc.

Treasury, Kiphire Public are hereby asked to file objection/claim if any within 30 (thirty) days from the date of issue of this order. If no objection/ claim is received within the given time, Succession Certificate will be issued in favour of the applicant.

DP-5663

VICTO SEMA (NJS) Principal District & Sessions Judge Kiphire, Nagaland

astha, besides protesting against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Purkayastha had recently submitted a petition to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma urging him to rethink on implementation of the ILP in Meghalaya.

The Assam legislator contended that the ILP if implemented will obstruct normal movement of people from nearby states, as Meghalaya is a major transit State.

However, CoMSO Chairman and President Hynniewtrep Youth Council, Robertjune Kharjahrin demanded during the protest that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly should take action against the Assam Congress legislator.

“The decision to implement the ILP was a unanimous resolution adopted by the 60 legislators of the Meghalaya Assembly and the Congress legislator from Assam going against the collective decision is a case of contempt,”Kharjahrin said.

S/C. NO 113/2020

NOTICE NOTICE INVITING CLAIMS/OBJECTIONS OF OTHER CLAIMANT(S) FOR ISSUE OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE UNDER PART-1 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT 1925.

Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate/pension benefits of Late Liponthung Lotha has been applied by Shri Chandemo Lotha, F/o Lt. Liponthung Lotha, R/o Phiro Village, Wokha, Nagaland for possession of: (i) SBI Bank Account No. 20138643312 (ii) Provident Account No. DEF/DMR/2730, NPRIS No : A-23883, GPF Acc. No - 2730, Other benefits and Gratuities.

Notice is hereby given that any person having interest in the administration of the estate/pension benefits of the said deceased may if she/ he so desire appear in this Court on or before 17.01.2021.

Given under the hand and seal of the Court on this day the 17-12-2020.

District & Sessions Judge Wokha : Nagaland

DP-5659

IN THE COURT OF DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIMAPUR DISTRICT DIMAPUR : NAGALAND

NOTICE NO.M-364/2020/10637-39 Dt. Dimapur the 18/12/2020 Notice is hereby given that M/S J.A. Brothers Proprietor James Akam Vrs Smti. Honily Sema resident of Golaghat Road in the District of Dimapur, Nagaland under Rule 50 & 51 of Assam Land Revenue Regulation 1886 have applied for Mutation of land described in the schedule below:The undersigned under Rule 52 of the said Rules do hereby invites Claims/Objections concerning to the said land if any & should there be any, should submit to this court on or before 1 (one) month from the date of publication in local newspaper.

SCHEDULE OF LAND AND BOUNDARY Name of Patta Holder : M/S J.A. Borthers Proprietor James Akam Block No. : 11 (Eleven), Patta No. : 1103 Dag No. : 434/1256, 435/1257, 433/1258, Area : 00B-01K-08Ls North : Akiu Yamchunger, South : Approach Road East : Khangalung Rongmei, West : T.R Lamrai Sd/- Rajesh Soundararajan, IAS Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur DP-5661

He also termed the opposition of the Assam legislator to the collective decision of the 60 members of the Meghalaya Assembly is “disrespect” to the resolution passed by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

Mounting pressure on the Central government and the State government for immediate implementation of the ILP, COMSO have threatened to boycott the 2023 Assembly elections if their demands were not met.

CoMSO activists also displayed banners like “Amitji Modiji in Meghalaya we need ILP, Meghalaya reject CAA and Yes ILP No CAA” during the protest.

They also burnt effigies of the Prime Minister, the Congress MLA and announced that CoMSO would take out a “torch rally” on December 30 to commemorate the death anniversary of U Kiang Nangbah and again demand for the implementation of the ILP.

OFFICE OF THE OUSHOK VILLAGE COUNCIL LONGLENG-798625, NAGALAND

Motto: “Oneness in Common Goal DECLARATION

Oushok village council do hereby declare as under: 1. That the name Atom Phom, S/o Yonglau Pongba Phom and Longting Phom refers to same and one person only.

Atom Phom Deponent The statement given above are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and nothing immaterial has been made or concealed therein.

(M.SHINGMEI PHOM) (P.CHINGLUNG LONGBAHU PHOM) Chairman VDB Secretary Oushok Village Council Oushok Village Council DP-5673 IN THE COURT OF

PRINCIPAL DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE

MOKOKCHUNG : NAGALAND NOTICE S/C NO. 190/2020 NOTICE INVITING CLAIMS/OBJECTIONS OF OTHER CLAIMANT(S) FOR ISSUE OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE UNDER PART-I OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT 1925.

Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate/pension benefits of Late Yalipokla has been applied by Shri/Smti Takomeren Imsong, S/o Lt.Yalipokla R/O H.No 795, Ungma Village, Mokokchung, Nagaland for possession of : Notice is hereby given that any person having interest in the administration of the estate/pension benefits of the said deceased may if she/he so desire appear in this court on or before the said date of 17.01.2021 Given under the hand and seal of the court on this the 17.12.2020.

Principal District & Sessions Judge Mokokchung : Nagaland MKC-293

IN THE COURT OF

PRINCIPAL DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE MOKOKCHUNG : NAGALAND

NOTICE S/C NO. 198/2020 NOTICE INVITING CLAIMS/OBJECTIONS OF OTHER CLAIMANT(S) FOR ISSUE OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE UNDER PART-I OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT 1925.

Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate/pension benefits of Late Merimongba has been applied by Shri/Smti Yurasangla, W/o Lt.Merimongba, R/O H.No 312, Khensa Village, Mokokchung, Nagaland for possession of : Notice is hereby given that any person having interest in the administration of the estate/pension benefits of the said deceased may if she/he so desire appear in this court on or before the said date of 17.01.2021.

Given under the hand and seal of the court on this the 17.12.2020 Principal District & Sessions Judge Mokokchung : Nagaland MKC-295

5

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

Malegaon case: Pragya skips Mamata will be left alone in TMC: Amit Shah court date for 2nd time this month

Midnapore (WB), Dec 19 (PTI): By the time assembly elections are held in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be left alone in her TMC, a cocky Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted Saturday as a battery of TMC leaders including the redoubtable Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP. Adhikari, the foremost TMC leader with a mass base after Banerjee, shifted allegiance to the BJP, besides nine MLAs, including five of the ruling party, and a Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member in Shah’s presence.

The TMC’s slogan of “Maa, Mati, Manush” (mother, motherland and people) has been reduced to “extortion, corruption and nepotism”, Shah said, and exuded confidence that the BJP will form the next government in the state winning over 200 seats.

West Bengal has a 294member assembly.

“When the people of Bengal are rallying behind the BJP to transform the state why is she worried?

This is just the beginning.

These people are leaving your party voluntarily.

“The way leaders are deserting your party, by the time elections are held, Mamata Banerjee will be left alone in the TMC,” Shah said, taking a swipe at Banerjee.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah waves at his supporters during an election rally ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls 2021, in West Midnapore district, Saturday. (PTI)

“The kind of Tsunami I see today, you would have never imagined,” an elated Shah said as Adhikar nodded in approval.

Shah said leaders and workers of rival political parties were joining the BJP because of the TMC’s “politics of appeasement and nepotism”.

“Good people from the Congress, Trinamool, CPI(M).... all under the leadership of Suvendu Bhai, have joined BJP today to work under the leadership of Narendra Modi Ji,” he said.

Mocking Banerjee’s allegation that the BJP was trying to engineer defec-

tions in her party, Shah wondered whether forming the TMC after quitting the Congress in 1998 was not defection.

“Senior party members are leaving TMC. Mamata didi is accusing the BJP of engineering defections. We are not doing any such thing. But I want to ask her when she quit the Congress to form TMC, wasn’t it defection? This is just the beginning. She will be left alone by the time election arrives,” Shah said.

Lashing out at “dynasty politics” in the TMC, Shah alleged that Banerjee has changed its slogan from

“Maa, Mati, Manush” to “appeasement, family fiefdom and tolabaazi (extortion).”

Heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari joins BJP; 9 MLAs, 1 MP also change sides

West Bengal political heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari along with nine MLAs of different parties and a TMC MP joined the BJP at Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally in Midnapore on Saturday, ending weeks of speculations.

Adhikari resigned from the Trinamool Congress earlier this week, besides giving up his cabinet portfolios in the Mamata

Banerjee government. He has also resigned as an MLA but it is yet to be accepted.

Two-time TMC MP from Bardhaman Purba Lok Sabha constituency Sunil Mondal also joined the BJP. He has been vocal about his differences with the party’s leadership over the last few days.

Among the MLAs who switched over to the BJP are five from the TMC. TMC MLAs Banasri Maity, Silbhdrada Dutta, Biswajit Kundu, Sukra Munda and Saikat Panja took up the saffron flags at the mammoth rally at the College Grounds here.

MLA Dipali Biswas, who had won the Gajole seat in 2016 on a CPI(M) ticket but joined the TMC in 2018, was also inducted into the BJP. She has not resigned as a CPI(M) MLA. Haldia’s CPI(M) MLA Tapasi Mandal, Tamluk’s CPI MLA Ashok Dinda and Congress MLA from Purulia Sudip Mukherjee also joined the BJP at the rally.

For mer TMC MP Dasarth Tirkey also joined the BJP. Several district-level leaders of the TMC, Left and Congress, including former minister Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, also changed sides and joined the BJP.

Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI): BJP’s Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, failed to appear before a special NIA court here on Saturday for the second time this month.

Thakur’s lawyer said that she was admitted to a hospital in Delhi on Friday, due to which she could not make it to the court.

While five accused remained present in the court, judge P R Sitre expressed displeasure over the absence of two others.

The court then directed all the seven accused to appear before it on January 4.

“Thakur has been undergoing treatment at AIIMS Delhi since April. She had gone there for a checkup and had to be admitted there on Friday on the advice of doctors following her medical reports,” her lawyer J P Mishra said.

Besides Thakur, another accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi did not appear in court, citing personal reasons.

As the regular functioning of the court resumed last month after the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the court had directed all the seven accused in the case to remain present before it on December 3. However, most of the accused, including Thakur, skipped the court that day,

Pragya Singh Thakur

citing the pandemic situation.

The court then asked them to appear before it on December 19.

As per the directions, five other accused- Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahikar and Sudhakar Dwiwedi- appeared before it on Saturday.

Thakur had appeared before the court in June last year after it ordered the seven accused to remain present once a week. However, she had sought exemption from appearance on various occasions since then.

Six people were killed and over 100 others injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about

200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The court had framed terror charges against Purohit, Thakur and five other accused in October 2018.

The accused in the case have been charged under Sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

They have also been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153 (a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups), and relevant provisions of the Explosive Substances Act.

Jitan Ram Manjhi blames RJD Sonia holds rapprochement meeting with ‘letter writers’ for 80% of crimes in Bihar

Patna, Dec 19 (IANS): While rising crime in Bihar is an issue for opposition parties, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), an alliance partner in the state’s NDA government, has now blamed the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for it.

HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, in a tweet, blamed RJD’s jailed leaders and supporters for 80 per cent of crimes in the state.

Danish Rizwan, national spokesperson of HAM, said that RJD has

given maximum poll tickets to those having criminal records.

“When you analyse, 60 to 70 per cent people of a particular caste are currently lodged in every jail of Bihar. They are reportedly directing gang members to commit crimes. Basically, they are responsible for spike in crimes in Bihar,” Rizwan said.

“Jitan Ram Manjhi’s tweet has social implications. He has pointed out that if RJD would take initiative and control their

time that Gandhi met Congress leaders in person since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among those who attended the meeting.

“Discussions were held on a positive note at the meeting where leaders talked about how to strengthen the party at all levels. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said we all are one big family and we all should work to strengthen the party. Rahul Gandhi also talked about strengthening the party,” Bansal told reporters after the meeting.

“There is no dissidence in the Congress party and all are committed to working unitedly to energise the party and fight all those forces which are trying to put upend the idea of India, as enshrined in the Constitution and as articulated by the founding fathers of India’s Constitution,” Bansal said.

Congress leader and

2 hurt ED attaches Rs 11.86 cr assets of Farooq Abdullah 4askilled, factory roof

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): The ED on Saturday attached residential and commercial properties worth nearly Rs 12 crore of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah in an ongoing case of alleged money laundering, drawing strong reaction from his party National Conference (NC) which said these properties were “largely ancestral” and he would challenge the action in a court of law.

Among the properties attached is a house on Gupkar Road where the 84-year-old leader has been residing for several decades.

The house is said to have been purchased in the 1970s by his father late Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, the erstwhile state’s chief minister, and is believed to have been inherited by Farooq Abdullah.

The action, which comes hours after the eightphased District Development Council (DDC) election was over, has been taken by the Enforcement Directorate (ED in connection with its probe in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

The central probe

agency issued a provisional order for attachment of the properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against which an appeal could be filed before the adjudicating authority of the PMLA within six month period.

The authority decides on the merit of the attachment and if it okays the ED action, the agency proceeds to confiscate the said asset.

The accused can further appeal against this order of the adjudicating authority before the appellate authority of the PMLA followed by the trial court, high court and the Supreme Court.

His son and former chief minister Omar Abdullah termed the provisional attachment order of properties belonging to his father by the ED as “baseless” and wondered how an ancestral property could be seen as proceeds of “crime”.

In a series of tweets, Omar Abdullah, who is the vice president of the NC, said his father “is in touch with his lawyers and will fight all these baseless charges in the one place that matters - a court of law”.

He said everyone is

presumed to be innocent and is entitled to a fair trial “unlike in the court of the media or the court of BJP managed social media”.

He expressed wonder that the properties attached are largely ancestral dating from the 1970s with the most recent one built before 2003.

“There can be no justification for the seizures because they fail the very basic test of having been acquired as the proceeds of the ‘crime’ being investigated,” he said.

According to the ED statement, “the attached properties include three residential houses -- one at Gupkar Road in Srinagar, another at KatiporaTehsil in Tanmarg and one at Bhatindi in Sunjwan village of Jammu.”

“A commercial building at posh Residency Road in Srinagar has also been attached besides lands at four different places in J&K,” the agency said in a statement.

While the book value of these attached properties is Rs 11.86 crore, their market value is estimated to be about Rs 60-70 crore, officials said.

The 84-year-old NC

patron has been questioned by the ED in this case a number of times, the last being in October at Srinagar.

The attached properties of Abdullah at Gupkar Road and at Residency Road (prime upmarket locations) are on state land that has been obtained on lease, it said.

The house at Bhatindi (Jammu) has been constructed by Abdullah on a “grabbed” forest land of the government, the agency alleged.

The ED alleged Abdullah “misused” his position as the president of the JKCA in the past and made appointments in the sports body so that BCCI sponsored funds could be laundered.

The statement said ED probe has found that “JKCA funds to the tune of more than Rs 45 crore have been siphoned, which includes huge cash withdrawals to the tune of Rs 25 crore, with no corresponding justification”.

It said between 20052011, JKCA received a total Rs 109.78 crore funds from the BCCI for conducting various cricket activities in the erstwhile state.

collapses in Delhi NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): Four labourers, including three women, died and two were injured after the roof of a factory collapsed in west Delhi’s Khayala on Saturday, officials said.

The structure, which was being used as a motorwinding factory, is located at the Vishnu Garden area in Khayala.

The fire department received a call about the incident around 10 am, following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot, Atul Garg, Director of the Delhi Fire Service, said.

“The building was made of iron girders and was overloaded with materials, because of which it caved in and these labourers got crushed when the roof collapsed,” he said.

Six labourers, including three women, were inside the factory when the incident took place, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Subodh Kumar said. They were rescued by a team of officials and were rushed to two nearest hospitals, he added.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot along with Ambika Soni and AK Antony after a meeting in New Delhi. (PTI)

former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said this was the first meeting to discuss ways to strengthen the party and more such meetings would be held.

He said ‘Chintan Shivir’ like those held in the past in Shimla and Panchmarhi would be organised.

The Congress had organised both the Pachmarhi and Shimla ‘Chintan Shivirs’ when the party was in the opposition. While the Pachmarhi Shivir was organised in September 1998

when Gandhi had just taken over the party’s reins, the Shimla Shivir was held later in July 2003.

Another Congress leader Harish Rawat said that every leader spoke about unitedly working towards strengthening the party.

Those attending the meeting from among the letter-writers were Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, deputy leader of the party in the upper House Anand Sharma, former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda

and Prithviraj Chavan, and MPs Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha and Shashi Tharoor.

For mer Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and senior leader P Chidambaram were also part of the meeting, the sources said.

Among Sonia loyalists were A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Ashok Gehlot, Harish Rawat, Ajay Maken, Pawan Bansal and Bhakt Charan Das. Sources said a number of issues were discussed at the meeting, where the ‘letter-writers’ expressed the view that they were neither “dissenters” nor “rebels”.

They said they had only raised issues in the party’s interest to strengthen it, the sources said.

The Congress has already decided to hold elections for the post of Congress president and that process is underway. This followed a stormy Congress Working Committee meeting in August after the letter’s contents became public.

India’s cumulative COVID-19 tests cross 16 crore-mark

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): More than 11 lakh samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking total number of tests conducted so far in the country to over 16 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The ministr y, in a statement, said comprehensive and widespread testing on a sustained basis has resulted in bringing down the positivity rate.

According to the health ministry, 11,71,868 samples were tested in the last 24 hours which has increased India’s total cumulative tests to 16,00,90,514.

The cumulative positivity rate stands at 6.25 per cent as of now and India’s daily testing capacity has been boosted to 15 lakh, it said.

India’s COVID-19 caseload surpassed the somber one crore-mark on Saturday, adding 10 lakh cases in nearly a month, while the total number of recoveries surged to 95.50 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data.

The ministry further said India has reported more daily recoveries than the daily new cases during the past 24 hours.

“The trend of more daily recoveries than the

daily cases has led to a continuous contraction of India’s active caseload which presently stands at 3,08,751 today,” it said.

The health ministry’s data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed that the total number of cases mounted to 1,00,04,599, and the death toll reached 1,45,136 with the virus claiming 347 more lives in a span of 24 hours.

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Jitan Ram Manjhi

leaders and supporters, the crime graph will go downwards,” he said.

Rizwan, without taking the name of Tejashwi Yadav, targeted him for sitting in Delhi and criticising Bihar government over law and order through his tweets.

Shivanand Tiwari, national vice president of RJD, strongly reacted to the statement of Manjhi.

“Manjhi is one of the seniormost leaders as well as former CM of Bihar with a long political career. At this stage of life, he should avoid giving statements like these,” Tiwari said.

“HAM was earlier part of Mahagathbandhan and had a close association with RJD. If Manjhi or his party had problems, why was he associated with RJD then? It is an attempt by the HAM chief to show loyalty to Nitish Kumar,” said Chitranjan Gagan, state RJD spokesperson.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday met a group of leaders, including some who had written to her seeking complete organisational overhaul, where they discussed ways to strengthen the party at all levels and it was decided to hold conclaves similar to Panchmarhi and Shimla to chalk out the way ahead.

The five-hour meeting, which also included some of Sonia Gandhi’s close associates, was significant as it was the first effort by the Congress leadership for a rapprochement with the ‘letter-writers’ who had raised questions over the leadership.

Asserting that there was no dissidence in the Congress, par ty leader Pawan Bansal, a Sonia Gandhi loyalist, said the meeting was held on a positive note and in a congenial atmosphere with all the leaders expressing their views and suggesting ways to make the party stronger.

This was also the first

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6

OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post Vol. XXxI NO. 18 Dimapur, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

Kisans on warpath

W

hen India is facing economic crisis due to the pandemic and the agitation launched by farmers’ union which is over four months; the Modi government continues to dig its heels in rejecting demands from opposition parties to convene the winter session for a brief period to address all issues especially the farmers agitation.

The farmers have been out on the highways on the outskirts of Delhi for over 20 days as they have been prevented from marching to Delhi to pressurise the government in repealing all the three laws. The Modi government has used a kind of carrot-and-stick policy by assuring them to go back as it would look into their demands sympathetically. However at the same time, the BJP leaders have slammed the farmers calling them as Khalistanis, terrorists and sponsored by opposition parties. It is not understood why the BJP-led NDA is shying away from convening parliament when it has a overwhelming majority of 302 seats in the Lok Sabha and along with its allies, the treasury bench occupies 334 seats out of the total strength of 543. Even in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP has overtaken the Congress by having 93 MPs and with allies, the number totals 118 MPs out of the total of 243 seats. With such an overwhelming majority in both houses of parliament, the BJP-led NDA should be open for convening parliament as it can take on the combined opposition without any problem. Even if the farmers’ demands for repeal of the three laws is discussed, the BJP should not fear the outcome. It may be recalled that the bills were pushed through ordinance on June 5,2020, amidst growing concern over the seismic collapse of the economy and the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government promulgated the three ordinances relating to agricultural marketing that represented a fundamental reorientation of the existing regulatory framework. In doing so, the Modi government demonstrated its willingness to use the Covid-19 crisis and the ordinance route to unilaterally push through reforms, without the explicit involvement of the state governments. On September 14, 2020, these ordinances were brought to Parliament as legislative bills for “discussion”, and quickly approved and passed. As opposition parties walked out in protest for not being given time for discussion or have the bills referred to a Parliamentary committee; the government did not care a hoot and had the bills passed. While the Modi government used the current COVID-19 pandemic as a plea to not convene parliament but saw no problem with electioneering in several states. Its ministers and MPs etc campaigned in Bihar and now their sight is on West Bengal for the 2021 assembly election. These mass public rallies are being held during the same pandemic period. With both the Modi government maintaining a rigid stance to not repeal the laws and also the farmers’ union equally determined that they will accept nothing short of repealing of the three laws; the stage is clear for turning it into prestige battle. With more opposition parties backing the farmers, it appears that the farmers’s issue could turn into a national political agenda.

DailyDevotion The Focus Of Our Message

I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

—Matthew 10:34 Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.

If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing.

We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?”

“You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).

There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring…a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.

Quotes

In life, as in chess, forethought wins. ~ Charles Buxton

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

Post-mortem

Can we do twice as many vaccinations as we thought?

D ata suggests significant protection even without a second shot. If studies prove that’s true, it could be a game changer.

It’s been a very good month for Covid-19 vaccines. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration provided an emergency authorization for a vaccine produced by PfizerBioNTech. On Thursday, an advisory committee recommended authorizing a vaccine by Moderna, and the F.D.A. is expected to authorize it soon. These vaccines are a triumph. In large-scale trials with tens of thousands of participants, both demonstrated around 95 percent efficacy in preventing Covid-19 — a stunning number exceeding our best hopes.

Both vaccines are supposed to be administered in two doses, a prime and a booster, 21 days apart for Pfizer and 28 days for Moderna. However, in data provided to the F.D.A., there are clues for a tantalizing possibility: that even a single dose may provide significant levels of protection against the disease.

If that’s shown to be the case, this would be a game changer, allowing us to vaccinate up to twice the number of people and greatly alleviating the suffering not just in the United States, but also in countries where vaccine shortages

“F

may take years to resolve.

But to get there — to test this possibility — we must act fast and must quickly acquire more data.

For both vaccines, the sharp drop in disease in the vaccinated group started about 10 to 14 days after the first dose, before receiving the second. Moderna reported the initial dose to be 92.1 percent efficacious in preventing Covid-19 starting two weeks after the initial shot, when the immune system effects from the vaccine kick in, before the second injection on the 28th day.

That raises the question of whether we should already be administrating only a single dose. But while the data is suggestive, it is also limited; important questions remain, and approval would require high standards and more trials.

First, the science.

While the vaccine trials were designed to evaluate a two-dose regimen, some immunity might be acquired before a second dose is administered. We know, for instance, that a Covid-19 infection appears to yield protection for at least five to seven months. While infections are not vaccinations, and while we need more data on this, it’s plausible that the immunity gained from a vaccination may turn out to be even stronger than what comes from an

Christmas

or unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given”. The first clause speaks of his humanity, the second of his deity.

The government will be upon his shoulder -- he will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

His name will be called wonderful -- and speaks of his person and work.

Counsellor -- His wisdom in government.

Mighty God -- The omnipotent, supreme ruler.

Everlasting Father -- The father of eternity. Eternal himself, he confers eternal life on those who believe in him.

Prince of peace -- The one who will at last bring peace to this troubled world.

His government will be far flung, peaceful, and endless. Sitting upon the throne of David, he will rule with judgement and justice.

When Christ was born, three different group of people searched Christ; the shepherds, the wise man, and the King Herod.

Shepherds -- The first intimation of this unique birth was not given to the religious and worldly leaders in Jerusalem, but to contemplative shepherds in Judian hillsides. Humble men who were faithful at their regular work. When the poor shepherds heard the announcement from the Angels, they answered the call and hurriedly moved to Bethlehem. They firmly believed the word of the Angels.

With their strong and simple faith they moved and found Jesus.

Wise man from the East -- It was the star in the East that somehow made them aware of the birth of the King of kings whom they came to worship. Possibly they were familiar with prophecies concerning the Messiah’s arrival. It seems more probable that, the knowledge was communicated to them supernaturally.

Various scientific explanations have been offered to account for the star. Some say, for instance, that it was a conjunction of planets. But the course of this star was highly irregular; it went before the wise men, leading them from Jerusalem to the house where Jesus was living and then it stopped. Infact, it was so unusual that it can only be accounted for as a miracle.

They were the most intellectual people in the world, but something went wrong.

Forgetting the star that leaded them, they expected the King of the Jews in Herod Palace. They were pre-occupied by their worldly intellectuals, understanding and expectation, that is why they searched Christ in the wrong place. They missed the Lord at the first instance. Like those wise men, today many Christians, miss Christ, because we search in the wrong places, such as parties, picnic, feast and indulging in excess. On the contrary, we actually should be searching for Christ in our heart during solemn and auspicious time.

The King Herod -- When Herod the

infection. The reason we do a second — booster — vaccination is that these later doses help to solidify immune memory, in part by giving extra training to the cells that produce antibodies, a process called affinity maturation. But this process begins with the single dose, and the evidence collected between the time of the first and second doses in tens of thousands of people in the Phase 3 trials suggests that the level of affinity maturation may provide enough protection to meet the standards we have set for vaccine approval during this pandemic even without the second dose.

While we know that the single dose can protect against disease, we don’t yet know how long this immune protection will last, and at what level.

However, there is no rule that says that vaccines must be boosted within weeks of each other. For measles, the booster dose is given years after the first dose. If the booster dose could be given six months or a year after the first dose, while maintaining high efficacy before the second dose, that would allow twice as many people to get vaccinated between now and later next year, accelerating herd immunity — greatly helping to end the crisis phase of the pandemic in the United States.

How would we go about being more sure and getting the proper authorizations? First, we should look at what data we do have. In both trials, a number of people dropped out before getting the second dose. While these are small but non random samples, we could follow up to see what happened to these people. Lack of infection among this smaller group would not be sufficient to give us the green light we need, but a spike of infections would be a reason for caution.

Crucially, though, we should begin immediate single-dose trials, recruiting volunteers from low-risk populations who are first in line for the vaccinations.

For example, among health care workers protective equipment works, rates of infection among this group have fallen sharply and severe disease is much more rare. Younger essential workers without risk factors are less likely to be severely affected if they are exposed since this disease’s impact rises steeply with age. Just as tens of thousands of people volunteered for the earlier vaccine trials, many may well volunteer to test a placebo against a second dose, allowing us to quickly ascertain questions of durability and effectiveness of the single dose.

Is it very risky for

those volunteers? There are scientific reasons to believe that the risk is not that high. For one thing, the initial shot — the prime — is clearly providing some immunity, and even if lowrisk people are exposed to the virus later on, the natural infection in them could act like the booster: bolstering their immune system even further without causing severe, or even mild, disease. The rarity of re-infections from natural infections supports that line of thinking. Second, what we know about the immune system and Phase 1 and 2 data suggests that older people’s immune systems do not respond as strongly to the single dose, which means that we should keep both this trial and the possibility of a single dose reserved for lower-risk groups: healthy people under 65 without significant multiple comorbidities. The key question we’re looking at is the durability of the immunity provided by that dose, whether it wanes over time and by how much.

Immunity is not a switch that gets turned off overnight; we could monitor these volunteers monthly and stop the trial quickly if a significant uptick was detected.

The numbers need not be huge to provide us an answer. The benefit, however, is great. For one thing, we

could double the number of lower-risk groups we could cover, especially essential workers who have suffered so much during this pandemic as they do not have the luxury of working from home. Second, we’d be able to roll out the vaccine much more quickly — now, the United States is planning to hold off half the doses in freezers, delaying vaccination. And a quicker rollout would help us get the pandemic under control much faster.

Even if we found the single dose to be somewhat less efficient than two doses, it’s important to remember that not long ago we would have been thrilled to have a vaccine even less effective than the single-dose numbers we’re seeing now.

If we start examining the effectiveness of a single dose now, and if we find that the data warrants it, we can go forward with it as quickly as possible. The prospect of adding hundreds of millions to those who can be vaccinated immediately in the coming year is not something to be dismissed.

Zeynep Tufekci and Michael Mina (Zeynep Tufekci is an associate p ro f e s s o r U niv e r s i t y o f North Carolina and Michael Mina assistant professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.)

Braving the odds of prohibition

I

King heard that a baby had been born n a Christian state, ourselves as the people down on illegal bars and who was to be King of the Jews, he was a high profile leader were drunk with wine, liquor outlets owned by troubled. Herod assembled the Jewish reliwould struggle with music and enjoyed with the rich, influential pergious leaders to find out where the Christ p owe r d r u n k d u r i n g power drunk. It was a sons and politicians. They was to be born. These priests and scribes Christmas, the youth com- delight that we admire think everything belong promptly quoted and identified Bethle- plaint about the unfulfilled for nobody bothers for to them who enjoys the hem of Judea as the King’s birthplace. promise and commitment Prohibition whatsoever. choicest food and act like King Herod secretly called the wise men made during electioneerThere has been much sea creatures having no to determine what time the star first ap- ing, children rebel against debate about the Nagaland ruler and they drive over peared. This secrecy betrayed his sadistic their parents, broken Liquor Total Prohibition us. There are many illegal motive. The information will be required homes and disloyal par- Act (NLTP), that the liquor joints placing them to achieve his malevolent intention should ents and unloved children, Govt. has acted on paper as food restaurant and he fail to locate the right child. He sent mistresses, playboys, and only and now, found to be ghumty shops in their them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and a street corner gang of impossible to implement trade license, displaying make a careful search for the child. As teenage delinquents. The and enforce it practically mineral water bottles and soon as you find him, report to me, so that youth want and prefer throughout the State as cold drinks and run the I too may go and worship him”. The wise leisure and changed lives. someone runs the business business of sale of liquor men however were shown an epiphany We see it in nightclubs of sale of liquor openly for openly.

What is important by god. They were divinely warned in a where jaded and frus- their basic necessities of dream not to return to the evil king Herod. trated businessmen watch life, including minimum to note is that as average They accordingly returned to their homes the sensual performers of food, clothing, shel- Nagas living standard rose following another route. go through their frenzied ter and water. Like other during the years, and spiriInfact King Herod also wanted to routine, leaving their audi- business, syndicates are tual decadence is upon see the child, but with a different motive. ence empty, frustrated and the main suppliers to the them, and for sure the Not to worship but to kill. For the whole satiated. whole-sellers who then poor did not get poorer. world it was a time for celebrating the first Smart young and sell to the retailers and The second-generation coming of Christ our saviour, but for King adolescents dressed in home business in different politicians and middle levHerod, he wanted to deny the world of their best sit for the ‘night colonies and to the liquor el bureaucrats and desperan ancient prophecy. A prophecy that will cocktail’ in the restaurant joints in the entire stretch ate political party workers usher the world into a new era of peace, where liquor is served. of Kohima Town. There blow up at disco-as if the prosperity and happiness. Like King This is the daily business is no effective checking night is theirs, enjoy with Herod, many Christians in today’s time of those cabins which and search for illegal sale unaccounted cash. Their tend to forget the very essence of Christ- sells liquor openly with- of liquor in the colony. traditions of power withmas. They end up celebrating Christmas out license in the heart Trucks of liquor enter out responsibility invite more gangster sons of rich with wrong motives and make Christmas a of capital town. In a Kohima every day. time of spiritual death rather than spiritual decoratively-set cabin, The State govern- people and politicians as awakening. Of this we may be certain, it was packed mostly by ment agencies and many they break every rule in if we fail to find Christ in this season of youngsters’ and we forget social organizations had the society. joyous faith, we shall have little more than our life affairs and even miserably failed to crack Keduovilie Linyü a synthetic Christmas. What a tragedy to exchange cards, gifts and greetings, but not to know the radiance of stardust! In this troublesome world, during this season as a responsible Christians or good believer, where will you stand for Christ? As good Christians, we need to exhibit and witness to the world. How far we are sincere and faithful enough for Christ? Let us choose ourselves and show to the people that we Sir, are his faithful followers.

With December being the month of festivity, all of us are busy preparing He desires our adoration and worship. Heaven’s “hall of fame” is filled with by means of either baking or shopping or lighting up the houses etc and in this the names of obscure people like the one process, we have also forgotten the very fact that we still have a deadly disease leper who returned to thank God while amongst our midst.

Few days back, I happened to pass by Nyamo Lotha Road and the chaos nine never bothered. It will be filled with the names of people who so touched the that I saw shocked me. People not maintaining social distancing, not wearing heart and mind of God. We religiously mask, restaurants and shops flouting with people etc and an overall mass of seek the hand of God, but we know noth- undisciplined people flouting SOPs was not what I thought I would see.

Yes, all Nagas love Christmas. However, for your own safety and the love ing about seeking the face of God and for your families, do the needful and stay safe. I would also like to request the crying out “I just want you”.

In closing, during this auspicious police personnel on duty around town to wear masks. Some do not wear masks time of joy and spiritual awakening which deliberately which causes streaks of problem one after the other. They are doing group of people do you want to represent? duty round the clock and return back to their families, carrying unaccounted The faith and devotion of the Shepherds viruses apart from the most dreaded Coronavirus. After all, what would you who unwaveringly followed the prophecy, preach when you, yourself do not practice?

In addition, I would also like to encourage the entourage party of the ‘VIP the three wise men who had to be shown an epiphany to led them into the right envoys’ to wear mask too. Corona is not picky and it is not as if only the powerdirection or the evil king Herod with his ful will be exempted. The minute it gets a hold of you, your entire family will malevolent design to deny the world of be in jeopardy.

Therefore, wear mask, wash hands, sanitize and lastly, social distancing Christ our saviour. should be practiced.

Y.L.Jami IAS (Retd.)

Abeni Khuvung, Bor-lengri Kushiabill, Dimapur 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.

Reader’s Post Corona is not picky

7

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

PM-Cares Fund received Rs 203.67 cr Will give befitting reply to aggression: Rajnath from salaries of Armed Forces: Report

Hyderabad, Dec 19 (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India’s handling of the border row with China showed that the country was not weak and could give a befitting reply to any kind of transgression, aggression or unilateral acts.

With the two countries having held several rounds of talks to resolve the issue, Singh said India wants peaceful resolution of disputes, but asserted no harm to its self- respect will be tolerated.

India and China have been locked in an over seven-month standoff at eastern Ladakh.

In his address at the Combined Graduation Parade at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal on the outskirts of the city, Singh also said China’s “attitude reflected that country’s intentions” during the COVID-19 crisis.

“But we have shown that India is not weak. This is new India that will give a befitting reply to any kind of transgression, aggression or any unilateral action,” he said.

India has found the support of many countries,

RSS ideologue M G Vaidya dead at 97

Madhav Govind Vaidya (File)

Nagpur, Dec 19 (PTI): Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue and the organisation’s first spokesperson Madhav Govind Vaidya died here on Saturday after a brief illness, his family said. He was 97.

Vaidya, who had recovered from coronavirus infection, died at a private hospital in Nagpur, his grandson Vishnu Vaidya told PTI. The last rites will be held on Sunday.

Vaidya, who became a volunteer of the RSS almost two decades after the organisation was set up, had seen it all during his eight decade-old association with it: the three bans, isolation, internal conflicts over joining politics, ferment and resurgence, changing power equations with the BJP, and the latter’s storming to power at the Centre in 2014.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviews the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP), at Air Force Academy (AFA) Dundigal in Hyderabad, Saturday. (PTI)

even as it has received accolades, he said.

Po i n t i n g o u t t h a t rounds of talks have been held at the diplomatic and military levels to solve the issue, the Defence Minister said “let me reiterate, we don’t want conflict, but peace.

“But we will not tolerate any harm to the country’s self-respect,” the Defence Minister asserted.

The country was prepared to face any situation, he said.

Referring to the western sector, Singh said Pakistan was indulging in skirmishes on the borders and charged the neighbour with indulging in a “proxy war” using terrorism, despite being defeated by India in four wars.

The armed forces and police were effectively dealing with terrorism, he said.

The country was not only handling terrorism effectively within, but even taking action beyond the borders, he said.

Referring to the air strikes at terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan, he said they demonstrated India’s military strength to the world and the country’s firm intentions against terrorism.

Stressing the need to change the strategies of war according to evolving times, Singh said the country may face challenges not only across the borders and the seas, but also Space and Cyber domains, for which it needs to be prepared.

“So it is necessary that you need to update yourself constantly.

For the future warfare and betterment, it is necessary that there should also be a scholar in you, besides a soldier,” he said.

The Defence Minister asked the newly commissioned officers to keep themselves updated about military strategy and technology and also focus on Artificial Intelligence.

Observing that the government has recently taken several important measures to empower and promote indigenisation in the armed forces, he said, on the one hand,the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has been inducted and operationalised, while, on the other, the fifth-generation multi-role fighter plane Rafale has also been included.

As part of reforms, many steps, including increase in FDI limit in the defence sector, new policy on defence manufacturing and corporatization of ordnance factories were taken, Singh said.

He also said air defence and maritime command are at an advanced stage of consideration.

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): The three armed forces of India – the army, navy and the air force – have contributed Rs 203.67 crore from the salaries of their personnel to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations, or PM Cares, Fund, The Indian Express reported on Friday, citing records accessed under the Right to Information Act. PM-Cares is a fund set up by the Centre with the stated objective of being a “dedicated national fund” to deal with “any kind of emergency or distress situation”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the fund’s chairperson and senior Cabinet members serve as trustees. Ever since its launch on March 27, to provide relief from the countrywide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus, donations began pouring in and haven’t stopped.

The Indian Air Force, in an RTI response dated November 25, said that it contributed a total of Rs

29.18 crore between April and October to the fund.

The donations were made “by IAF personnel”, it said.

Providing a monthly break of its contribution, the Air Force said it donated Rs 25.03 crore in April, Rs 75.24 lakh in May and Rs 1.08 crore in June. In July, the IAF contributed Rs 73.93 lakh, followed by Rs 61.18 lakh in August, Rs 50.27 lakh in September, and Rs 46.70 lakh in the month of October.

The Indian Navy, on the other hand, stated that it contributed Rs 16.77 crore to the PM-Cares Fund between April and October.

Out of this, Rs 12.41 crore was contributed “in respect of officers and sailors”, while the remaining Rs 4.36 crore was donated “in respect of civilian personnel” of the Navy.

The Integrated Headquarters under the Ministry of Defence stated that “contribution made from other heads is not available with the concerned directorate”. The Navy also did not provide a month-wise breakup of these dona-

tions.

The Indian Army did not respond to the newspaper’s RTI application.

However, a tweet posted by the Additional Directorate General of Public Information on May 15 had reportedly revealed that Indian Army personnel have “voluntarily contributed” Rs 157.71 crore in April “towards nation’s fight against Covid-19 to PM CARES fund”.

On March 29, a press release from the Ministry of Defence had stated that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a proposal for the contribution of one day salary by the employees of ministry to the PMCARES Fund.

“It is estimated that around Rs 500 crore will be collectively provided by the Defence Ministry to the fund from various wings, including Army, Navy, Air Force, Defence PSUs and others,” the press release had said, adding that the employee contribution was voluntary and those who want to opt out from the scheme would be exempted.

NSUI’s national Goa Church body urges CM to look into beef shortage Need for expeditious Ruchi COVID-19 vaccination drive in-charge Gupta resigns

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday stressed the need for an expeditious COVID19 vaccination drive to cover the entire target population estimated to be around 30 crore.

Vardhan was speaking while chairing the 22nd meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 through video-conferencing on Saturday.

The meeting comes on a day India’s COVID-19 caseload surpassed the somber one-crore mark.

“India’s COVID 19 p a n d e m i c g r ow t h h a s dropped to 2 per cent and case fatality rate is among the lowest in the world at 1.45 per cent,” Vardhan said.

“India’s Recovery Rate has peaked to 95.46 per cent while the strategy of testing one million samples has decreased the Cumulative Positivity Rate to 6.25 per cent,” he added.

Observing that despite festivals in October and November, no new surge in cases was observed due to comprehensive testing,

Harsh Vardhan (File)

tracking and treatment policy implemented on the ground, Vardhan appealed to people to diligently maintain COVID-appropriate behaviour even at a time when the country is at the cusp of authorizing the first set of vaccines, a Union Health Ministry statement said.

He also expressed the need for an expeditious vaccination drive to cover all the target populations estimated to be around 30 crores, it added.

Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar, Civil Aviation minister Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai also joined Vardhan during the meeting.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): In a major setback to the Congress, the National Students Union of India’s (NSUI) national in-charge Ruchi Gupta resigned from the party on Saturday, accusing party’s General Secretary (Organisation) K. C. Venugopal of delaying the reorganisation of several units and damaging the party. Gupta took to Twitter announcing her resignation from the party.

In the internal national office bearers WhatsApp group, Gupta said: “I have resigned. As you know important organisational changes have remained pending for very long.”

She gave the example of national committee appointment that took one year and three months, while state presidents’ orders remained for months.

She also said that many other state units are waiting for reorganisation to make space for new activists.

She also lauded all the party activists for working during the difficult times of the pandemic.

Panaji, Dec 19 (PTI): The Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP), a wing of Goa Church, has urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to resolve the issue of beef shortage in the state due to stoppage in supplies from neighbouring Karnataka.

The Karnataka Assembly recently passed a stringent Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020.

In a memorandum submitted to Sawant on December 15, the CSJP urged him to take up the issue with his Karnataka counterpart and request him not

to notify the bill in order to protect the livelihood of hundreds of meat traders in Goa, who are dependent on this trade.

C ow s l a u g h t e r i s banned in the BJP-ruled Goa, but bulls and buffaloes are allowed to be slaughtered at certified abattoirs.

CSJP director Fr Savio Maria Fernandes said that Karnataka passed the anticow slaughter bill that bans the slaughter of bulls and buffaloes in that state, and also prevents their sale and transportation.

“This bill has badly affected the meat traders

Pramod Sawant (File)

in Goa, which are totally dependent on Karnataka for the supply of beef for human consumption,” Fr Fernandes said in the memorandum.

He said that in 2015, the Maharashtra govern-

ment had also passed such bill, because of which Goa was made to depend totally on Karnataka for the beef supply.

“Since agricultural activities are not carried out on a large scale in Goa, the animals needed for supply of beef are not available in the state,” he said.

“The supply of beef or live animals for slaughter blocked by both the neighbouring states has seriously affected the livelihood of hundreds of meat traders, who along with their families depend solely on this trade for their survival,” Fr Fernandes added.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hard sold his government’s reforms spanning from manufacturing to taxation to labour, saying they have changed the world perception about the country from ‘why India’ to ‘why not India’ and went on to quote record foreign investment during the pandemic as a testimony to that.

Speaking at industry association Assocham’s Foundation Week event, Modi also said agriculture reforms brought by his government six months back have started benefiting farmers. The reforms in the last six years have influenced in changing the sentiment of the industry from ‘why India’ to ‘why not India’ in investing.

“There was a situation in the past when investors would question ‘why India’ (for investing in the country). With reforms (of past six years) and their effects, its proposition has changed to ‘why not India’,” he said.

He cited scrapping of 1,500 old and obsolete laws and farming new ones that are in tune with the changing investment order as an example of his government’s outlook.

“Earlier investors cited

Narendra Modi (PTI)

high tax rates to say ‘why India’ but today (corporate) tax rates are so competitive that they say ‘why not India’,” he said.

Previously, a web of regulations and rules were cited by investors to ask why to invest in India but easing compliance burden in the new labour laws have made them say ‘why not India’, he said. Red tape previously made investors say ‘why India’ but a red carpet is now making them say ‘why not India’, he said.

“From a non-existent culture for innovation to a new ecosystem promoting and nurturing startups has given the world confidence to say ‘why not India’.

“Earlier there was so much government interference that investors said ‘why India’. Today the faith

reposed by the government in the private sector and encouragement of foreign investors have made the same people say ‘why not India’,” he said. He stated that new India is pushing towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat (selfreliant India).

The government in September last year cut the headline corporate tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing companies.

In September this year, the Parliament passed the labour reforms bill that among other things exempts companies employing up to 300 workers to seek government permission to lay off workers or close plants - a major demand from industry over the years. Stating that there is a lot of positivity across

the globe on India’s growth and development, Modi said India will play an important role in the global supply chain of vaccines.

Listing recent measures, he said the definition of small businesses has been changed to allow them access to credit while 10 sectors have been given efficiency and production linked incentives. “We have solved liquidity-related issued for MSMEs,” he said.

Also, public sector banks are being strengthened and bond markets deepened. Similarly, Sovereign Wealth Funds and Pension Funds are being tax exempted, REITs and INVITs are being promoted and infrastructure-related assets being monetised, he said.

The Prime Minister said the government’s main focus is on manufacturing and production linked incentives have been given to 10 sectors to boost domestic capabilities and capacity.

He called on the industry to make all efforts to make India self-reliant.

“Reforms have changed global perception from ‘why India’ to ‘why not India’,” he said. “The world trusts the Indian economy. Record FDI and FPI during pandemic testimony of that.”

MKC-294

‘Why India’ to ‘Why Not India’: Modi on his reforms

8

business/state

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

Rabi looks Modi praises Tata Group for Apple puts Wistron on probation promising despite its role in India’s development higher base: MOFS

Bengaluru, Dec 19 (IANS): Apple on Saturday placed Wistron Corporation on probation after finding fault with the company over payment delays in October and November to workers at the Taiwanese contract manufacturer’s Narasapura facility near the Karnataka capital.

T h e d eve l o p m e n t comes one week after violence broke out at the Wistron’s Narasapura facility as a large number of workers went on a rampage last Saturday over issues related to payment of salary.

A Karnataka government report also found lapses in the way Wistron tried to scale up production in the factory.

T h e i nve s t i g a t i o n found that the practices put in place at the plant with regard to payment of wages and overtime work were not in line with the provisions of law.

“Apple employees and independent auditors hired by Apple have been working around the clock

Winstron corporation at Narasapura facility.

to investigate the issues which occurred at Wistron’s Narasapura facility,” Apple said in a statement.

“While these investigations are ongoing, our preliminary findings indicate violations of our Supplier Code of Conduct by failing to implement proper working hour management processes. This led to payment delays for some workers in October and November,” the company said. Apple said Wistron will not receive any new business from Apple before they complete corrective actions, dealing a blow to

its plans to scale up production at the India facility.

“As always, our focus is on making sure everyone in our supply chain is protected and treated with dignity and respect. We are very disappointed and taking immediate steps to address these issues,” Apple said.

“We have placed Wistron on probation and they will not receive any new business from Apple before they complete corrective actions. Apple employees, along with independent auditors, will monitor their progress. Our main objec-

tive is to make sure all the workers are treated with dignity and respect, and fully compensated promptly.”

Wistron on Saturday admitted mistakes and apologised to all workers and also said that it will remove the Vice President who oversees the company’s business in India.

“Since the unfortunate events at our Narasapura facility we have been investigating and have found that some workers were not paid correctly, or on time. We deeply regret this and apologize to all of our workers,” Wistron said.

“This is a new facility and we recognise that we made mistakes as we expanded. Some of the processes we put in place to manage labour agencies and payments need to be strengthened and upgraded,” it added.

The company said that it is “working hard” to ensure all workers are fully compensated immediately.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata at ASSOCHAM Foundation Week, via video link, in New Delhi. (PTI)

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday praised Tata Group for its role in India’s development.

Speaking at the Assocham Foundation Week 2020 event, Modi said in the last 100 years the industry chamber has witnessed ups and downs of India’s development, including the country’s independence struggle.

“Tata Group has played an important role in India’s development,” Modi said after presenting the ‘As-

socham Enterprise of the Century Award’ to Ratan Tata, marking the contribution of the business group in the nation’s progress.

Speaking at the event, Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata thanked Modi for leading the country from front during the difficult time of pandemic and hoped that the industry will now take forward the benefits of his strong leadership.

“Yes there will be periods of discontent, there will be opposition, but there is never any dithering or any ...

running away ... You want a lockdown, you got a lockdown, you showed the country as one that responded to shutting out of power and lights for few minutes, you made that happen.

“It’s not cosmetic, it’s not showmanship, it has put the country together showing we can stand up and marshal our efforts to do what you have set ourselves to do. “It is now our job as industry, to follow this, to show the benefits of this leadership which I am quite confident we will do,” Tata said.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Outlook for the ongoing Rabi season remains encouraging, said Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

In a report, it cited that fertiliser and agrochemical players are also likely to report healthy performances in 2HFY21.

“Farm income was impacted in some states, mainly due to lower yield on account of untimely rains,” the report said.

“Nevertheless, volumes in fertiliser and agrochemical increased strongly on the back of a good monsoon season.” As per the Ministry of Fertiliser, sales in 1HFY21 grew 15 per cent YoY to 34 million mt, driven by 28 per cent and 24 per cent volume growth in DAP and NPKS, respectively.

Similarly, Urea volumes grew 7 per cent YoY. “Industry volumes improved on the back of abovenormal monsoon rainfall for the second consecutive year,” it said.

Govt preparing a budget ‘as Petrol, diesel prices hold for 12 Indian banks pursue UK bankruptcy order against Vijay Mallya never before’: Sitharaman days even as crude rises over $52/b

Su doku

KAKURO

No. 4400 Yesterday’s solution No. 4399

No. 3424 Yesterday’s solution No. 3423

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DP-5609

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83.71 a litre on December 7. But the march has been halted ever since then with no price revision by the OMCs. Global crude prices have risen almost $12 a barrel in last one month to reach over $52 a barrel now.

But even at this level, it is far less than than average crude price of $80.08 a barrel in October 2018 when petrol prices touched highs of Rs 84 a litre in the Capital.

DP-5660(B)

Crossword

endorsed the resolutions adopted by the representatives of the Naga people at the consultative meet.

Further, NDPP has called upon all Nagas to stand united in “our endeavour” to bring about a final settlement to the Naga issue that was honourable and acceptable to the people.

remained unchanged across the country as well.

OMCs have gone on a pause mode at a time when news of successful coronavirus and expectations of big pick up in demand had kept crude on the boil with prices breaching $50 a barrel mark and hitting $52 a barrel mark. Petrol prices were very close to breaching the all time high level of Rs 84 a litre (reached on October 4, 2018) when it touched Rs

DP-5671

(From p-1) people and come together spoke volumes on the commitment of the leadership to usher in a final settlement to the Naga political issue.

NDPP affirmed that the party stood united in its support of “this historic statement” made by the two leaders and fully

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the government is seeking growth-inducing big ideas and inputs derived from introspection by industry, which would be used for creating a ‘budget as never before’.

Speaking at the CII Partnership Summit 2020, Sitharaman said that the next Union Budget will help India emerge as the engine for global growth and economic resurgence.

The minister noted that

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Oil marketing companies continued to hold back any change in retail price of petrol and diesel continuing with their wait and watch stance that has kept the prices of two auto fuels static for past 12 days. Accordingly, there was no change in retail price of auto fuels on Saturday with price of petrol remaining at Rs 83.71 a litre and diesel Rs 73.87 a litre in Delhi. It

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NDPP welcomes Rio, Zelaing’s statement...

Nirmala Sitharaman

health and investment in health would be the top priority for the government in near future. This would entail more funding not only for buildings and infrastructure but also for creating capacities for front line workers such as doctors, technology and skills for use of telemedicine, among others.

The budget would take note of all the inputs received from the health sector to take this forward, she said.

She further said that India was fortunate to have the facility and capacity to not only produce the vaccine but also export the same for humanity’s sake. She invited private participation to help the health sector scale up, by investing in medicinal R&D, biotech, and pharma R&D, among others.

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65-year-old businessman argued that the funds in question involved public money held by state-owned banks in India which precluded them from such a security waiver.

“As a commercial entity, a bank has a right to exercise its commercial wisdom to decide what it wants to do with its security,” noted barrister Marcia Shekerdemian, arguing on behalf of SBI and others.

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Judge Michael Briggs on Friday, both sides deposed retired Indian Supreme Court justices as expert witnesses on Indian law in support of their arguments for and against a bankruptcy order against Mallya in the UK. While the banks argued a right to waive their security over the Indian assets involved in the case in order to recover their debt in the UK, lawyers for the

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London, Dec 19 (PTI): A consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) returned to the High Court in London for a bankruptcy application hearing against liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, as they pursue the recovery of debt from loans paid out to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

At a virtual hearing before Chief Insolvencies and Companies Court (ICC)

LAND FOR SALE

Location : Kushiabill, Near Highway (4.5 Km from Zion Hospital) Area : Any size plot available Price : 170 per sq. ft. * Plots with drainage and approach road Contact : 8787777148 DP-5643(B) 7005227608

LAND FOR SALE

Residential Plot of Land available for sale at Seithekima Basa, boundering by fencing Faith in Action Healing Prayer Center. 12ft. road provided to each plot. Price as below: 1. 14 Bighas - Negotiable.

2. 110 X 140 (15,400 sqft.) - Rs. 145/sq.

Contact No. 9366723347 K-2055

LAND FOR SALE at Naga United Village Bordering Aoyim Village, Dimapur.

1. Dry Land 4 Bighas Rs. 180/- sq. ft. (Any Size) 2) Land 100 X 350 (Any Size) with Modern House - Rs. 1.2 Cr. Negotiable Phone Number : 7005224768 8974463704 DP-5599

DECLARATION I, Mr Samuel Imchen, permanent resident of Salangtem Ward Mokokchung, House No.306, Block IV do hereby declare through an Affidavit dated 05/10/2020 Regd. No 7191-2020 under Notary Public Nagaland that I shall be officially called Mr SAMUEL IMCHEN in all my official documents instead of Mr Samuel. MKC-292

9

international

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

COVAX lines up 2 billion doses

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): Global vaccine partnership COVAX has lined up almost two billion doses of existing and candidate COVID-19 vaccines for use worldwide, including 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine through an agreement between the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, the Serum Institute of India and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

COVAX, the global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level, announced on Friday that it had arrangements in place to access nearly two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates on behalf of 190 participating economies.

This includes delivering at least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses of approved vaccines in 2021 to the 92 low-and middleincome economies. This is fantastic news and a milestone in global health, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General

Switzerland OKs PM Khan says Pak Army is a state Pfizer-BioNTech institution which works under him for emergency and huvaccine manitarian use, the WHO

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

This is a time for taking comfort that the end of the pandemic is in sight, but taking care that we do not let down our guard.

We are all responsible for taking the measures to keep ourselves and each other safe, including during this holiday season. With today’s news the light at the end of the tunnel has grown a little bit brighter, but we are not there yet.

And we will only get there together, he said.

The goal of COVAX is to deliver two billion doses

of safe, effective vaccines that have passed regulatory approval and/or WHO prequalification by the end of 2021. These vaccines will be offered equally to all participating countries, proportional to their populations, initially prioritising healthcare workers and then expanding to cover vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

Further doses will then be made available based on country need, vulnerability and COVID-19 threat. The COVAX Facility will also maintain a buffer of doses

said in a statement.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII), said in the statement that his company has signed for a 100 million doses of Novavax and another 100 million doses of AstraZenecaOxford vaccines with COVAX, with an option of extending it by 900 million doses.

The advance purchase commitments under COVAX initiative is encouraging as it will further bolster our fight and ensure equitable access at the most affordable price from Serum Institute of India, he said.

For the vast majority of these deals, COVAX has guaranteed access to a portion of the first wave of production, followed by volume scales as further supply becomes available.

The deals will enable all participating economies to have access to doses in the first half of 2021, with first deliveries anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2021.

Berlin, Dec 19 (AP): Switzerland has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and German pharmaceutical company BioNTech.

The country’s health agency Swissmedic said in a written statement Saturday that the vaccine had been approved for the small Alpine country after a careful examination by expert teams. The agency did not say when vaccinations in Switzerland would begin.

The approval comes shortly after Britain, Canada, the United States and other countries allowed the use of the vaccine in their respective countries.

The director of Swissmedic said “Thanks to the rolling process and our flexible teams we could quickly decide and fully accommodate the three most important requirements security, efficacy and quality.”

Raimund Bruhin added that, “The safety of the patients is a required condition especially regarding the approval of vaccines.”

File photo of Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan with its Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa. (Twitter)

Islamabad, Dec 19 (PTI): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has asserted that the Army is a state institution which works under him, amidst Opposition’s allegations of the powerful military establishment’s interference in the country’s politics and elections.

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a 11party opposition alliance, has been holding massive rallies since its inception in September to seek Khan’s ouster and press the military to stop interfering in politics.

The PDM has been accus-

ing the Pakistan Army of installing “puppet” Prime Minister Khan through a manipulated election in 2018. The Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy. However, the military has denied meddling in the country’s politics. Khan also denies that the army helped him win the election in 2018.

According to the ‘Lahore Declaration’ signed by the Opposition parties on Monday, the military

establishment had stolen the people’s mandate in the 2018 election and imposed a “hybrid and inefficient” government on the masses.

In an interview to SAMAA TV on Friday, 68year-old Khan rebutted accusations that he does not have any real authority and said that the Pakistan Army is a state institution, which works under him.

O n O p p o s i t i o n’ s claims that the government wouldn’t hold if not for the support from the powerful establishment, the cricketerturned-politician said he is the country’s democratically elected prime minister and so the institutions back him.

The PDM has set a January 31 deadline for Khan to step down or face a long march to Islamabad. The coalition pledged that it will make sure that there is no interference of the institutions of “the establishment and intelligence” in politics and at the same time it will make the security institutions stronger on the professional lines.

Pompeo blames Russia for cyber attack

L o n d o n, D e c 1 9 (AFP): England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty confirmed Saturday that a new coronavirus strain which surfaced in the country could spread faster and called for greater public vigilance to reduce transmission.

Whitty said London had informed the World Health Organization of its findings.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Monday said scientists had identified a “new variant” in the south of England that could be causing infections to spread faster.

Britain has seen rising cases and hospital admissions this month and Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to give a press conference on the virus situation on Saturday afternoon.

The prime minister was reportedly to announce new travel restrictions for London and southeast England in the run-up to Christmas.

“As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East (an expert body advising the government)

now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly,” Whitty said.

“We have alerted the World Health Organization,” he said, but added: ‘There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments although urgent work is underway to confirm this.”

Whitty warned that the new evidence made it “more vital than ever” that the public did all they could to reduce transmission.

On Friday, 28,507 new daily positive tests were reported by the UK government. Cases last week grew 40.9 percent compared to a week earlier.

More than 1.98 million people have tested positive in the UK. People in Wales and Northern Ireland are set go into new lockdowns after Christmas.

Johnson has refused to rule out a new lockdown in England, saying Friday: “We’re hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that.”

“But the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks,” he said.

KIYESHE/SUKHAI UNION

pal, Western Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic National Committee, and Communications Director to Congressman Mike Honda.

Bor n in India and raised in California, Patel is a graduate of the University of California-Riverside and

The Kohima Lakhuti Eloe Yanpoe Yanpi Khumshum, with immense pride and happiness congratulates Athel .O Lotha, on her conferment of Indian Administrative Service (I.A.S).

The KLEYYK, is proud of her dedication and sincerity, and prays that God continue to bless her with good health and wisdom as she continues to shoulder higher responsibilities in the service of the people.

Sd/Asali Secretary, KLEYYK

VISWEMA GAZETTED OFFICERS’ KROTHO

FELICITATION

VISWEMA : NAGALAND

The Kiyeshe/Sukhai Union Kohima extend our heartiest congratulations to Smti. G. Kahonili Sema, W/o Khukiye Ayemi on being promoted to Registrar in the Directorate of Technical Education.

The Union further wishes and prays to the Almighty God to grant you sound health, wisdom and success in your future endeavours.

Sd/-OBED KINIMI Chairman K/S Union Kohima

CONGRATULATIONS

The VGOK take pride and honour to extend their heartiest congratulations to Shri. KHRUPI SOTHU, Advisor VGOK, on being appointed to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The VGOK thank him for bringing laurels to Viswemi and prays that God Almighty grant him guidance and wisdom as he continues to render his service to the government of Nagaland and to our Naga people.

Sd /President, VGOK. K-2061

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We, Mr & Mrs. Taliwati would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who stood by us during the unfortunate tragedy of fire on 10th Dec. 2020 at Merhulietsa Colony, Kohima. We would like to make special mention through this column; to our immediate neighbours, Fire Service, Merhulietsa Panchayat, Upper P.R.Hill Panchayat, Churches/Ministries, Officers & staff of Health & Family Welfare Department, All Indian Postal Employees Union Nagaland, Post Office staff Kohima, various unions/societies and individuals those who have donated enormously both financially and physically, and all the well wishers who supported us throughout by praying for us tirelessly.

We are unable to thank each and everyone of you personally, but it is our earnest prayer that our Almighty God bless each and everyone abundantly for your kindness.

GOD BLESS. K-2092

OFFICE OF THE

FELICITATION

Sd/Wobeni Odyuo President, KLEYYK

46th US President on January 21, 2021.

Meanwhile, Neera Tanden has been named as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Two other IndianAmericans were named to head the committees in charge of transition to the new administration e- Arun Majumdar for the Department of Energy and Kiran Ahuja for the Office of Personnel Management.

In addition, 19 IndianAmericans were appointed to the various transition teams and two others, Atul Gawande and Celine Gounder, to the Covid-19 task force.

TOULAZOUMA VILLAGE COUNCIL Regd. GAB-1/com/189/2009

DIMAPUR : NAGALAND

FELICITATION

The Toulazouma Village Council takes immense pride in congratulating Shri. Neposo Theluo and Shri. Wezope Kenye for being inducted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Nagaland Cadre. They being the first from Chakhesang tribe to be inducted into the prestigious service, and they have brought laurels and honor to the community and the tribe.

The Toulazouma Village Council wishes and prays that the Almighty God grant them good health, wisdom and success as they continue to serve and lead the people.

Chairman Toulazouma Village

OFFICE OF THE

KOHIMA, NAGALAND

Sd/- VIKA Secretary K/S Union Kohima

Vedant Patel

late Friday night: “I took the leap with Joe Biden when he announced because I believed in his vision for what this country could be.

“On Day one he and (Vice President-elect) Kamala Harris are gonna get to work to make that vision a reality. So honoured to be part of this team...”

Patel joins a long list of Indian-American tapped to be a part of the BidenHarris administration.

Indian-American Vivek Murthy has been tapped to serve as US Surgeon General, a post the research scientist held between 2014 and 2017. Maju Varghese, who steered election cam-

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OFFICE OF THE

DIMAPUR NKONJAN EZUNG EKHÜNG DIMAPUR : NAGALAND .

FELICITATION

Through this column, the Dimapur Nkonjan Ezung Ekhüng (DNEE ) would like to extend our heartiest congratulations and gratitude to Mr. N. Nchümbemo Ezung, S/o Lt. Mr & Mrs. Njemo Ezung of Longsachüng Village for being promoted from Junior Engineer to Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO, Elect.) through DPC Power Department, Nagaland.

The DNEE further takes immense pride and honour in your achievement and for bringing laurels to the Ekhüng in particular and prays that Almighty God to give you a good health, wisdom and success in all your future endeavours.

Mr. Sacheo Ezung Gen. Secretary, DNEE

Mr. James Ezung Chairman, DNEE

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UK confirms new coronavirus strain spreads more quickly

team has appointed IndianAmerican Vedant Patel as the Assistant President Secretary.

The announcement was made by the BidenHarris transition team on Friday. According to a post on the team’s website, Patel previously served as Regional Communications Director on the Biden-Harris Campaign.

During Biden’s primary campaign, Patel served as the Nevada and Western Primary-States Communications Director.

He had also worked as Communications Director to Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jaya-

OFFICE OF THE

MOPUNGCHUKET SENSO TELONGJEM KOHIMA : NAGALAND

FELICITATION

With immense pride and joy, the Mopungchuket Senso Telongjem Kohima would like to convey our heartiest congratulations to our members for their remarkable achievement.

1. Smti. Jatila Jamir on being inducted into the Indian Police Service (IPS).

2. Smti. Soyimna Aier Koza on being inducted into the Indian Police Service (IPS).

3. Shri. Takatemjen Jamir on being promoted to Joint Director under SCERT. 4. Er. Lobosang Jamir on being promoted to Superintending Engineer (E) under Power Department.

The Union lauds their achievement and wishes them the best in their future endeavours.

Sd/NUNGSANGWAPANG President (MSTK)

Sd/JAMITE JAMIR Secretary (MSTK)

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fully comprehend what is one of the biggest ever cyber-attacks.

In a radio interview with US talk show host Mark Levin on Friday, Mr Pompeo said he believed that Russia had, over a period of months, penetrated several US government agencies and private companies, along with other companies and governments around the world.

He said there was “a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside US government systems”.

Along with the US energy department, federal agencies targeted by what has been described as a sophisticated cyber espionage operation include the Treasury and departments

Dhaka, Dec 19 (IANS): At least 12 people were killed when a train collided into a bus on Saturday morning at a rail crossing in Bangladesh’s Joypurhat district.

Senior police official AKM Alamgir Jahan told reporters that six people were also injured in the accident that took place at about 7 a.m., reports Xinhua news agency.

He said the train bound for Rajshahi city rammed into the passenger bus at the manually-operated crossing.

According to the official, 10 bodies were recovered from the spot.

Eight wounded people were rushed to local hospitals, where two of them succumbed to their injuries, Jahan added.

Shariful Islam, Joypurhat district administration chief, said that the tragic accident took place due to the gatekeeper’s sheer negligence in performing his duty.

“We’ve come to know that the gatekeeper was sleeping at the time of the accident,” he said.

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Mike Pompeo

US investigators looking into the attack were still “unpacking precisely what it is”, and that much of the information would likely remain classified.

He said that Russia was trying to “undermine our way of life”, adding that Russian President “Vladimir Putin remains a real risk”.

Hackers managed to gain access to major organisations by compromising network management software developed by Texasbased IT company SolarWinds. The access could have allowed the hackers to take a high degree of control over the networks of organisations using that software, but appears to have been used to steal data rather than for any disruptive or destructive impact.

It is thought that those behind the operation targeted a narrow set of organisations in an attempt to steal national-security, defence and other related information.

However, while software may have been downloaded, that does not necessarily mean data was taken.

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L o n d o n, D e c 1 9 (Agencies): US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Russia for what is being described as the worst-ever cyber espionage attack on the US government.

“We can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity,” Mr Pompeo said on Friday. According to BBC, he did not provide details about the alleged links to Moscow, and Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.

The hack, targeting software made by US firm SolarWinds, was discovered last week but has been going on for months.

Among the US agencies targeted was the office that manages nuclear weapons. That government organisation, the US energy department, said however that the arsenal’s security had not been compromised.

Several other organisations around the world, including in the UK, are understood to have been targeted by hackers using the same network management software.

Researchers, who have named the hack Sunburst, say it could take years to

12 killed in Biden names Indian-American as Assistant PS the University of Florida. paign, has been named as of homeland security, state, B’desh train- Washington, Dec defence and commerce.

19 (IANS): US PresidentIn response to the ap- the executive director for Mr Pompeo said that bus collision elect Joe Biden’s transition pointment, Patel tweeted Biden’s inauguration as the

Infotainment

10

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

rejects Deepa Mehta’s ‘Funny Boss Meren YouTube channel launched Academy Boy’ for Oscar’s international category

Abu Metha, Theja Meru, Richard Belho, Boss Meren and others during the official launch of Boss Meren YouTube Channel at RCEMPA Jotsoma, Kohima on December 17.

A

dv i s o r t o c h i e f minister of Nagaland, Abu Metha launched the official YouTube Channel of Boss Meren at a function held in Regional Centre of Excellence for Music and Performing Arts, Jotsoma.

Speaking on the occasion, Metha congratulated

Meren and team for coming through 20 years journey in producing and promoting Nagamese music and movies in the State.

He lauded the efforts of Nagamese film/entertainment industry for working silently and unseen to many sections of the society to promote local and

indigenous productions.

He expressed hope that Nagamese entertainment industry would continue to remain persistent despite tremendous challenges like resources, infrastructure and funding.

Remarking that language was a medium of bonding among people, he

Khonoma Green Fest 7.0

emphasised on the need to promote Nagamese.

He therefore suggested having Nagamese literature so that Nagas across Naga homeland, including Myanmar may learn the common language.

Government of Nagaland will continue to support the Naga artists because we want them to be ambassadors of Nagaland to the outside world to tell the positive stories of the State, Metha asserted.

Advisor Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA), Theja Meru expressed excitement to collaborate for the official launch of Boss Meren YouTube Channel and work together.

Founder Chairman Zynorique Initiatives, Richard Belho said that the video was made possible without government funding and through voluntary contribution and subsidised fees of services from camera team to the recording studios, dance choreographers etc in support of Boss Meren and to bridge the gap between Nagamese movies, songs and contemporary dance.

Google blames Gmail, Kohima Cycles4Change Campaign official promo video launched YouTube outage on error ohima Cycles4Change Camin user ID system paign official pro-

G

oogle diagnosed a widespread outage that knocked out major services earlier this week, such as Gmail and YouTube. In October, the company began moving those tools to a new file storage system, and in the process misreported portions of the data, according to a Friday post. That caused several of its services to go down for 47 minutes Monday morning, a rare technical misstep.

On Tuesday, Google’s Gmail service had another disruption. The company attributed this to an issue with data migration.

A

n initiative, that is not affiliated to any organisation or group, but solely voluntary in participation, to pick up plastics/rags/all type of waste materials around Khonoma village and also an invitation to partake in a walk through the beautiful nature enveloping the

village.

The aim was not only to clean and beautify the surroundings but to also revitalise the sense of individual responsibility in keeping the environment clean and green. Merhüma Youth Organization, Khonoma Students' Union and Cloudline Tree-House

D

eepa Mehta’s ‘Funny Boy’, Canada’s official entry for the best international feature has been disqualified from the Academy Awards, instead, it will be submitted for consideration in the best picture and general entry categories.

The movie does not meet the awards eligibility requirements for having too many dialogues in English. The Best international feature is awarded to a movie which is produced outside the United States with predominantly non-English dialogue.

Mehta issued a statement saying she was “surprised” by the Academy’s decision “We were surprised that the film was not able to compete in the Academy’s international feature category, but then were equally surprised and more than thrilled that Telefilm decided to support the submission of the film for best picture and other categories at the Academy Awards,” A replacement film for Canada’s submission in the same category is being considered and will be announced shortly, Telefilm says.

Deepa Mehta directorial is an adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 novel of the same name.

The film centers on the coming of age of Arjie Chelvaratnam, a young Tamil boy in Sri Lanka who is coming to terms with his homosexuality against the backdrop of the increased tensions between Tamil and Sinhalese people before the breakout of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Other than Deepa’s movie, the Academy has disqualified other movies for the same reason, including Portugal’s entry ‘Listen’ this week. The 2021 Oscars are scheduled for April 25, 2021.

(WION)

K

mo video was launched

by Jt. CEO, Kohima Smart City Development Limited, Avelu Ruho in continuation of the India Cycles Challenge which inspires Indian cities to quickly implement cycling friendly initiatives in the wake of COVID-19.

The video was launched with an aim to break stereotype and the common misconception about the impossibilities of cycling in hilly places like Kohima. It seeks to promote cycling as The video will be pre- the Kohima Smart City YouTube channel and other a lifestyle for exercise, health and personalised means of miered and published in Development Ltd. official social media handles. transport which would in turn boost the economy.

voluntarily sponsored the event. Altogether 34 participants volunteered, where areas such as Mowu Badze, Khriesanisa Seyie badze, Khonoma Dzükou point, NSF memorial monolith foundation area in Charabagei and some picnic spots at Dzülerüdi were cleaned.

(Neikolie Yalie)

Aliens calling? Scientists receives first radio signal from exoplanet

A

K Y M C

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UNITY COLLEGE : DIMAPUR FELICITATION

Dr. Orenthung Ovung

Dr. Thungdemo N Yanthan

Dr. Kikruneinuo Sachu

Unity College Students’ Council is happy to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of three of our esteemed faculty for being conferred Doctor of Philosophy in their respective fields.

Dr. Orenthung Ovung from the Department of Science and Humanities, National Institute of Technology, Nagaland.

Dr. Thungdemo N Yanthan from the Department of History, University of Hyderabad, Telangana.

Dr. Kikruneinuo Sachu from the Department of Botany, Nagaland University.

May God guide and bless your future endeavors.

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From Unity College Students’ Council

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n international team of scientists has collected the first possible radio signal from a planet beyond our solar system, emanating from an exoplanet system about 51 light-years away.

Using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a radio telescope in the Netherlands, the researchers uncovered emission bursts from the Tau Bootes starsystem hosting a so-called hot Jupiter, a gaseous giant planet that is very close to its own sun. The team led by researchers from the Cornell University in the US also observed other potential exoplanetary radio-emission candidates in the constellation Cancer and Upsilon Andromedae systems.

However, the study published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics found that only the Tau Bootes exoplanet system exhibited a significant radio signature, a unique potential window on the planet’s magnetic field. If confirmed through followup observations, the researchers said, this radio detection opens up a new window on exoplanets.

(Indian Express)

K Y M C

Liverpool thrash Palace 7-0; go 6 pts clear

L o nd o n , D e c 1 9 (Agencies): Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah both scored twice as Liverpool hit seven past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Firmino, Salah, Takumi Minamino, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson were all on the scoresheet as the champions overwhelmed Roy Hodgson’s side with a stunning away performance.

Liverpool raced into the lead in the third minute as Mane set up Minamino, who coolly found the bottom corner.

And the Senegal international then doubled the advantage in the 35th minute after a superb turn, before Firmino tapped home to round off a brilliant counter-attack on the stroke of half-time.

Captain Henderson curled in a fourth just after the restart before Firmino added his second after good work from Salah.

Salah headed home a sixth with nine minutes

Roberto Firmino scored his first after a deft first-touch from Andy Robertson’s cross.

remaining, before doubling his tally with a brilliant individual effort moments later.

The Egyptian forward rounded off a brilliant team performance, as a scintillating Liverpool ensured they

11

sports

Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

would be top at Christmas for the third consecutive season.

Liverpool last scored seven in a top-flight away game against Derby County back in 1991.

And the side that had been hit for seven at Villa Park in October were back to their brilliant best, creating attack after attack against a sorry Palace side to win away from home in

the league for the first time since September.

Two days after being named Fifa’s men’s coach of the year, Jurgen Klopp gave a rare start to Minamino, dropping Salah to the Premier League’s first ever nineman bench.

And the Japan international soon opened the floodgates, netting his first Premier League goal exactly 12 months after it was announced he would be moving to Anfield.

Mane and Firmino were both on target in a blistering first period, and the Senegal international seemed in the mood to score more, looking furious after being replaced by Salah after 57 minutes.

Henderson rounded off Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cut-back before Brazil international Firmino netted Liverpool’s fifth. And Salah then got among the goals late on, with an opportunistic header and a late curling effort. result manchester City 1-0 Southampton

Ward-12 win Inter-Ward volleyball trophy

The match in progress at State Stadium, Dimapur on Saturday. (NP) Staff Reporter

D I M A P U R , D EC 1 9 (NPN): Ward-12 Dimapur on Saturday emerged as the winner of the first interward and unit volleyball trophy. The three-day long tourney was organized by 2 Dimapur II A/C NDPP youth organization under the theme “Get Together” at State Stadium, Dimapur.

In the final, Ward-12 defeated Ward- 13 to lift the trophy.

Avika of Ward-12 was named as the best striker,

Toshi also from Ward-12 won the best setter award while Khetovi of Ward-13 was named as the player of the tournament.

The three-day long tourney was organized by 2 Dimapur II A/C NDPP youth organization under the theme “Get Together”.

A l t o g e t h e r, e i g h t teams from 2 Dimapur II A/C participated.

Special guest of the tournament, NDPP Dimapur region convenor, senior vice-president Charlie Sekhose spoke on the importance of games and

sports stating that games and sports were an important and essential part as it creates friendships, unity and peace. He encouraged the players to maintain sportsmanship and wished them success in the future endeavour.

The programme chaired by 2 Dimapur A/C youth general secretary Ruokuo John began with an invocation by ABC Church pastor Longshukyu. Vote of thanks was delivered by 2 Dimapur A/C youth general secretary, Ajan Ovung.

Moukoko is youngest Bundesliga goal scorer Salah stuns Liverpool by admitting India rise to 53rd on FIFA women’s rankings

he is open to joining Real or Barca Zurich, Dec 18 (IANS): India moved of America (USA) will see out 2020 at two places to 53rd on the FIFA rankings the top of the global standings with their

Despite Youssoufa Moukoko’s goal, Dortmund suffered their fifth league defeat of the season.

L o nd o n , D e c 1 9 ( Ag e n c i e s ) : B o r u s sia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest player to score in the Bundesliga as his side lost 2-1 to Union Berlin.

The striker, aged 16 years and 28 days, equalised on the hour mark. It beat the previous record set by Florian Wirtz, who scored for Bayer Leverkusen against

Bayern Munich aged 17 years and 34 days in May 2020. Union’s goals were both from set pieces with on-loan Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi and Marvin Friedrich on target.

Dortmund, who sacked Lucien Favre as manager on Sunday in the wake of the 5-1 thrashing by Stuttgart, are fourth in the league.

Moukoko, who was born in

Cameroon but plays for Germany’s Under-20s, became the Bundesliga’s youngest player earlier this season when he made his top-flight debut against Hertha Berlin on 22 November - a day after turning 16. He then became the youngest player to feature in a Champions League match as the German side beat Zenit St Petersburg on 9 December.

L o nd o n, D e c 1 9 ( Ag e n c i e s ) : L ive r pool forward Mohamed Salah has sent shockwaves around the club after refusing to rule out moves to Real Madrid or Barcelona in the future. According to Dailymail, the 28-year-old Egyptian has become a star at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp since joining from Roma in 2017, scoring 108 goals in 172 appearances for the club on his way to claiming the Champions League and Premier League titles.

Those achievements have seen him linked with the Spanish giants, but asked by Spanish outlet AS if he would rule out a move to LaLiga in the future, the former Chelsea forward failed to do so.

‘I think Madrid and Barcelona are two

top clubs,’ he said. ‘Who knows what will happen in the future, but right now I am focused on winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Liverpool again.’

When pressed on his future further, Salah insisted everything was in Liverpool’s hands, adding: ‘That’s a tough question, but right now I can say that everything is in the hands of the club.

‘Of course I want to break records here and, I repeat, all the club records, but everything is in the hands of the club.’

The Egypt international also admitted he was hugely disappointed not to be handed the captain’s armband for the club’s final Champions League group match against Midtjylland earlier this month.

for women’s international football, the sport’s global governing body announced on Friday.

India gained from Belarus’s fall to 56 from 53, which is the biggest drop by ranks. India are tied with South Africa for the spot ahead of Venezuela who rose to 55.

Meanwhile, top ranked United States

highest points total for over six years.

Germany and France remain second and third respectively.

The most significant point-increase (+37) came from Malta, who ascended 16 places thanks in particular to away wins in Georgia (114th) and Israel (68th).

This was the final rankings released this year.

Chess players not aliens: Anand ahead of his biopic

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The movie, whose cast and shooting schedule hasn’t been finalised, will be directed by Bollywood’s director Anand L Rai. (File)

be directed by Bollywood’s director Anand L Rai of Tanu Weds Manu fame.

“I will be very respectful and open because they are the experts. I can never come close to their skill in using a camera. I expect to have 25 per cent of the say in the movie but not more than that. It would be really nice to see how other people relate to it as well.

In the end, I would like to have my story. But I would like it to be entertaining as well,” says Anand while

speaking to The Indian Express from Chennai.

The biopic, he says, should simplify chess and not dumb it down. “Only someone who follows the game at a very high level will look at the board and understand what I am talking about. So how to bring it out… why this position had me shaking in my boots but this position did not,” says the 51-year-old Grandmaster.

Anand is known to be fiercely protective of his

privacy but insists that the movie will open a window to his personal life and debunk the notion that “chess players are from an alien planet”.

“There is a personal side and I know that will be harder because I am generally quite private in the sense. Still, it is nice if you can open up and do that. I think with most public figures and famous people, you only think you know them, in fact you may not know anything about them. For me, chess is a very important thing in my life, but I don’t think about it all the time. So somebody who is seeing me only in chess terms is missing out a lot,” he says.

To strike a chord, there will also be insights into the emotions a chess player goes through. “Concentration, focus, the feeling of being down after a bad game, the feeling of euphoria, the consequences, what

you feel today, what you experience tomorrow and then you feel guilty about it. These are things that are universal, everybody experiences that, so what I get out of a chess game is probably what a doctor gets out of a consultation.

It is that same thing at heart,” he says. Anand can talk about complex chess positions for hours but says he would want the movie to portray the life of a top Grandmaster.

“What you want is to see what appeals to them (moviemaker) and what they think appeals to a broader audience. What I would like is ‘this is how I experienced it’ and ‘if you were seeing through my eyes, this is what it would look like’. I would like it to be authentic and obviously help them in capturing the chess accurately. You know concentration is a struggle.

It is not a thing that you master.

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New Delhi, Dec 19 ( Ag e n c i e s ) : W h a t those intimidating Russian Grandmasters of yesterday or the Gen Next wizards of today couldn’t do to Viswanathan Anand, the announcement of his biopic has done. The fivetime world champion is nervous.

To begin with, he isn’t sure of the opening move — if the pandemic travel restrictions will come in the way of the film unit flying to Spain, his second home during his playing career, and the Philippines, where he learnt his first chess lesson.

He is also bracing for a lot of back-and-forth with the moviemaker when he goes through the script with wife Aruna. He says he has kept an open mind and isn’t sure who will play him.

The movie, whose cast and shooting schedule hasn’t been finalised, will

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020

Aus thrash India for 36; their lowest ever Test score 10 lowest scores ever in Test

(L) Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins (second right), who dismissed Kohli after a fine catch from Cameron Green (centre). (R) None of the Indian batsmen registered double figures as they were shot out for 36. ( DNA webdesk)

Adelaide, Dec 19 (PTI): The Indian cricket team under Virat Kohli faced its worst hour of embarrassment while collapsing to its lowest Test score of 36 as a rampaging Australia cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket victory inside two and half days in the opening Day/Night Test here on Saturday.

There were no demons in the pitch but Josh Hazlewood (5-3-8-5) and Patrick Cummins (10.2-4-21-4) displayed fast bowling of highest quality, the impact of which will be far-reaching with three more Tests to go.

India’s earlier lowest score was 42 at the Lord’s in 1974 against England, known in Indian cricket parlance as the “Summer of 42”. Saturday’s total was also the lowest score in the brief history of D/N Tests and the joint fifth lowest overall.

The easy target of 90 runs was achieved by the home side in only 21 overs without much fuss.

They only lost Matthew Wade (33) and Marnus Labuschagne (6) in pursuit of the easy goal and in the process, opener Joe Burns (51) got a confidence-boosting half century.

The home team collected 30 World Test Championship points from the win, while its skipper Tim Paine was adjudged player of the match for his gritty first innings knock of 73.

India have now lost three successive Tests well inside three days with two being in New Zealand earlier this year.

To make matters worse for the visitors, star pacer Mohammed Shami’s series could well be over due to a wrist injury from a short ball from Pat Cummins, which could potentially be a fracture. Shami could not

continue and the Indian innings was terminated at 36 for 9 in 21.2 overs. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar and the late Ajit Wadekar had long carried the baggage of that English Summer, inarguably one of the worst in the annals of Indian cricket. It will now be replaced by the “Summer of 36”.

Call it irony, but just like Gavaskar then, a modern day great like Virat Kohli will have this bit of avoidable history in his legacy, a day when one could hardly figure out what went wrong.

At one stage, India

were reduced to 26 for 8 and looked like equalling the lowest ever Test score (26 by New Zealand vs England ) but Hanuma Vihari’s boundary helped them evade entry into the dark pages of cricketing history.

The Indian batting was completely exposed by the extra bounce generated

by Australian pacers, who bowled every delivery on the off-middle channel after landing on the seam.

In an inexplicable collapse, India’s much vaunted batsmen fell like nine pins with not a single one able to reach double figures.

Once nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah (2) was out in the first over, Hazlewood and Cummins (10.2-4-21-4), literally decimated the tourists and also caused lasting damage to their pride.

The likes of Mayank Agarwal (9), Cheteshwar Pujara (0) and Ajinkya Rahane (0) were all out in similar fashion.

All the deliveries were almost identical, angled in, which forced the batsmen to jab at them and just bounced a wee bit more. They deviated a shade taking outside edges to Tim Paine behind the stumps. Kohli (4) was dismissed in the manner he used to get out in England back in 2014, trying to drive a delivery on the fifth stump and caught at gully.

To sum it up, the Indian batsmen failed to factor in the pitch suddenly becoming more livelier with extra bounce. The two Australian pacers bowled deliveries that the visiting batsmen had to play and the ultra-defensive mindset that they carried from the first innings didn’t help their cause.

Never has a Test match changed so dramatically in an hour’s play like it did at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The sequence 4, 9, 2, 0, 4, 0, 8, 4, 0, 4, and 1 on the scorecard will rankle the fans but more so this team, for the longest time.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (Agencies): India posted its lowest ever score in a Test match on Saturday, after being confined to a mere 36 runs in Adelaide against Australia. Prior to this, India’s lowest total was 42 against England way back in 1974. Here is a list of the 10 lowest totals in the history of Test cricket: 1. New Zealand - 26 runs vs England in 1955 The record for worst ever performance by a Test team in an innings goes to New Zealand, who managed just 26 runs against England in 1955.

2. South Africa - 30 runs vs England in 1896 Dating back to the colonial era, this match is an example of England’s dominance in the game.

South Africa had a target of 319 runs to chase in the final innings. They were all out for just 30 runs.

3. South Africa - 30 runs vs England in 1924 In this match, England had put up a total of 438 in the first innings. Facing the huge challenge, South Africa were all out for 30 runs in the first innings.

4. South Africa - 35 runs vs England in 1899 South Africa suffered yet another loss at the hands of England when it fell for just 35 runs in the fourth innings of the match while chasing a target of 246 runs.

5. South Africa - 36 runs vs Australia in 1932 This is one of the

poorest matches for South Africa, in which they put a combined total of just 81 runs in two innings, 36 runs in the first and 45 in the second against Australia.

6. Australia – 36 runs vs England in 1902 As hard as it was to face England in the early twentieth century, this was a poor show by Australia ever where they were all out for 36 runs.

7. India – 36 runs vs Australia in 2020 Not many would have thought that after scoring 244 runs and taking a lead of 53 runs in the first innings, Virat Kohli’s men would fall like that in the second innings. 36 runs was all they could muster.

8. Ireland – 38 runs vs England in 2019 The match looked to be going in favour of Ireland as they restricted England 85 runs and in response made 207. But the English bounced back strong in the second innings, scoring 303 runs. Now, Ireland needed just 182 runs to bag the victory. They made 38.

9. New Zealand – 42 runs vs Australia in 1946 The Kiwis could not withstand the pace attack of the Aussies as they lost all wickets at 42 and 54 runs in the two innings respectively.

10. Australia – 42 runs vs England in 1888 Australia were all out for 42 runs in the first innings of this Test match way back in 1988.

NOA to host Mini Olympic next year: Rio Panghal clinches gold; injured D i map u r , D e c 1 9 (NPN): Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Saturday announced that Nagaland Olympic Association (NOA) will be holding Nagaland Mini Olympic in the latter part of 2021.

Rio, who is also the president of NOA said that before the start of Mini Olympic, series of sporting activities will be conducted in the villages, schools and across the districts to select the players for the main mini Olympic.

The chief minister said this while gracing the inaugural function of the golden jubilee celebration of Teichiima Village Youth & Sports Organization (TVYSO) at Teichiima village under Kohima district.

In this regard, he called upon the sports persons to give due attention and participate actively.

Rio also reiterated that there was no dearth of talent among the Naga youth and they can compete with seriousness and dedication.

He, however, reminded them that “Good is

Satish bags silver at Cologne WC

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio and others during the dedication of Teichiima village ground at Teichiima village on December 19.

not good enough” and encouraged them to focus on the factor of “best of the best.”

The chief minister also said that “Country Marathon race” of national and international level will also be conducted by NOA in the state in 2021.

Rio further extended

best wishes to TVYSO for attaining 50 glorious years and at the same time encouraged them to give extra effort to grow further.

Earlier, Thepfuriiya Mere Kesiyie, president NDPP Teichiima unit spoke at the inaugural function while TVYSO president Kedichatuo So-

gotsu delivered presidential address. The function was chaired by organizing committee convenor Er. Lhoubeizo Mere Kesiyie while welcome address was delivered by Teichiima Village Council chairman Lhousakuolie Metha.

TVYSO team captain Pezavituo Mere Kesiyie

Chennaiyin beat FC Goa 2-1 in ISL

Lallianzuala Chhangte of Chennaiyin FC and Seriton Fernandes of FC Goa in action on Saturday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Dec 19 (Agencies): Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa 2-1 in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Saturday at the Fatorda Stadium, Goa. Skipper Rafael Crivellaro scored

one goal and provided an assist for Rahim Ali’s strike as the Marina Machans picked up crucial three points. Jorge Ortiz scored the only goal for the Gaurs.

Crievellaro gave Chen-

naiyin the lead in the 5th minute from a stunning corner which went straight into the goal through the far post. Jorge Ortiz, though, restored parity within four minutes of conceding as his

cracker of a shot from Alexander Romario’s pass went into the goal. Rahim Ali, who came on as a substitute in the second half, scored the winning goal in the 53rd minute with a simple tap in from Crivellaro’s assist.

Both teams got numerous chances to score but were wasteful in front of the goal. Lallianzuala Chhangte alone could have scored a hat-trick but he failed to convert sitters from inside the 6-yard box.

With the win, Chennaiyin are now on same points (8) as FC Goa. The Marina Machans though remain on the eighth position, a place below Goa, on goal difference. It was an easy win for the visitors who should have finished with a bigger goal margin, had it not for their poor finishing.

Sunday’s matches Hyderabad vs Mumbai City 5:00 PM Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal 7:30 PM

administered oath to the participating teams.

Vote of thanks was proposed by Teichiima village GB Thehieu Sogotsu.

The meet will culminate on December 31, with Kevise Sogotsu, president Nagaland Timber Association as the guest of honour.

Start of Aus Open confirmed for February 8 Melbourne, Dec 19 (Reuters): The Australian Open will start on February 8, three weeks later than scheduled, organisers confirmed on Saturday after months of speculation over the first Grand Slam of 2021.

The start date of the main draw of the tournament was originally slated for Jan. 18 and organisers have been locked in drawn-out negotiations with local government over COVID-19 health security measures.

“This will be an historic Australian Open on so many levels,” tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement.

“For the first time in more than 100 years the Australian Open will start in February and we look forward to offering the players what we believe will be one of their best playing experiences in 2021.”

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI): World silver-medallist Amit Panghal (52kg) notched up a gold medal without having to fight his final bout, while veteran Satish Kumar (+91kg) settled for silver after an injury prevented him from competing in his summit clash at the Cologne World Cup in Germany on Saturday.

Panghal was given a walkover by Germany’s Argishti Terteryan.

Satish, who made the final after beating France’s Djamili Dini Moindze in the semifinal last night, had to withdraw against Germany’s Nelvie Tiafack owing to an injury.

Also making the final were Sakshi and Manisha in the women’s 57kg category. The two boxers were scheduled to take on each other in the final late on Saturday night. While Manisha defeated two-time world championship silver medal-winning compatriot Sonia Lather 5-0, Sakshi got the better of Germany’s Ramona Graff 4-1.

H o w e v e r, A s i a n

Amit Panghal

Games bronze winner Pooja Rai settled for a bronze medal after going down to the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn.

Also ending with bronze medals were Mohammed Hussamuddin and Gaurav Solanki in the men’s 57kg category.

Hussamuddin lost

to local hope Hamsat Shadalov. Solanki, on the other hand, was outpunched by Frenchman Samuel Kistohurry.

The event featured boxers from the host country, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland and Ukraine.

Golovkin beats Szeremeta to set middleweight title defence record

Szeremeta came into the fight unbeaten but was knocked down four times by Golovkin.

Lo n d o n, D e c 1 9 (Agencies): Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan knocked down Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta four times en route to a record 21st defence of his IBF world middleweight title.

The 38-year-old dominated the fight to seal a seventh-round technical knockout and surpass Ber-

nard Hopkins for the most successful middleweight defences. Golovkin is now open to a trilogy fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who faces Callum Smith on Saturday.

The fight was held behind closed doors in Hollywood, Florida, and Szeremeta, 31, came into it unbeaten after 21 fights.

B u t t h e Po l e wa s floored in the first, second, fourth and seventh rounds, before the referee stopped the fight at the end of the seventh as Golovkin improved his record to 41-1-1.

This was Golovkin’s first fight in 14 months and his third since suffering his only loss to Alvarez in September 2018.

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