January 13, 2021 by Nagaland Post

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 37

DIMAPUR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

NE, Bengaluru share points after 1-1 draw

sports, Page 12

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Trump declares emergency in Washington DC international, Page 9

looks to cut troops deployed SC stays implementation of 3 farm laws onArmy internal security duty in NE region Farmers reject SC panel; say members are ‘pro-govt’

Forms 4-member committee to resolve impasse

NEW DELHI, JAN 12 (PTI): Supreme Cour t Tuesday stayed the implementation of controversial new farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a 4-member committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said that it will pass an order to this effect. The top court stayed the implementation of the three laws -- the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- against which several petitions have been filed challenging their constitutional validity. The bench which read

PHE department postpones exam DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has decided to postpone the LDA-cumComputer Assistant exam which was scheduled to be held on January 13. In a letter to CE (S&WSSO), principal secretary MK Mero said that as instructed by the PHE minister, the proposed exam under PHED has been postponed until further notice. It may be mentioned that the Naga Students’ Federation demanded to ban the proposed departmental exams for recruitment to various Group C posts under PHED scheduled on January 13. NSF asserted that it could not allow the proposed exam to take place as it was convinced that the proposed exam undermined the very principle of meritocracy which it had been staunchly advocating for the last many years. The federation warned that it would be compelled to take actions in conformity with the democratic principles in order to ensure that aspirations of the youth and student community of the State was upheld. It therefore urged all aspiring candidates to cooperate and abstain from the proposed exam.

This is it!

“To fight future wildfires, our government is prepari n g DPR f o r a 2-lane road upto here.” K Y M C

Farmer supporters take part in the ongoing agitation against at Singhu border in Delhi, Tuesday. (PTI)

out four names of members of the committee said that it will look into the farmers’ grievances on the issue. The four names of members include Bhupinder Singh Mann, President of Bhartiya Kisan Union; Anil Ghanwat, President of Shetkeri Sangthana, Maharashtra; Pramod Kumar Joshi, director for South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute, and agriculture economist Ashok Gulati. During the hearing, the top court sought the cooperation of the protesting farmers and made it clear that no power can prevent it from setting up a committee to resolve the impasse over the controversial farm

laws. The observation of the bench asking protesting farmers’ unions to cooperate assumes significance in view of reports that they would not go to any apex court-appointed panel for resolution of the dispute and wanted the laws to be repealed. Before pronouncing the order, the Supreme Court bench commenced the hearing and asked the farmers’ unions to cooperate and go before the committee to be appointed by it to resolve the dispute. “We are concerned about protecting the lives and property of citizens of India and we want to solve the problem,” said the (Cont’d on p-8) bench.

Protesting farmer unions Tuesday made it clear that they will not call off their agitation until the three farm laws are repealed, while raising doubts over the neutrality of the fourmember panel set up by the Supreme Court to resolve the deadlock over. While the farm unions welcomed the top court’s order to stay the implementation of agri laws, they asserted they will not appear before the committee as, according to them, its members were “pro-government”. “We don’t accept this committee, all the members in this committee have been pro-government and these members have been justifying the laws,” said Punjab farmers’ unions, declaring that they would amp up their protests across the country. Addressing a press conference at Singhu Border here, farmer leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal said that farmers never demanded the Supreme Court form a committee to resolve the

CSOs seek revocation of leasing DMC tax collection to pvt parties DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Civil society organisations (CSOs) based out of the town have petitioned Urban & Municipal Affairs department to revoke the leasing of Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) tax collection to private parties without any further delay. In a representation to the adviser for Urban & Municipal Affairs department “against the lease system for collection of tax by DMC”, Dimapur Urban Council Chairmen Federation (DUCCF) president Tsenthungo Nyamo, GB Union Dimapur Sadar president MY Ngullie, Naga Women Hoho Dimapur (NWHD) general secretary Elis Swu and Dimapur Naga Students’ Union (DNSU) president Sedevilie Angami reiterated their opposition to leasing out of DMC toll

tax collection to private parties. They recalled that a joint press release was issued by 10 organisations of Dimapur on June 10, 2017 against leasing out of DMC toll tax collection to any private party/middleman. An ultimatum by Public Action Committee (PAC) under the aegis of Naga Council Dimapur was also served to the department earlier to revoke the controversial leasing of tax collection by the council. They said this was done after extensive survey by the Public Action Committee, which found that the lease system introduced by Urban & Municipal Affairs department was one of the main factors that encouraged illegal collection of money at check gates and inside the city. However, they lamented

that the department has turned deaf ears to the cry of general public. The representation noted that various reasons had been cited by the CSOs pertaining to the drawbacks of leasing toll tax collection to private parties. It pointed out that ACAUT Nagaland had also exposed the racket in lease contract by lessees since 2012. As such, the organisations said the leasing of tax collection has resulted in unauthorised hikes in prices of various commodities. The organizations reminded the adviser that Dimapur had seen visible development and maintenance of roads, drainage, designated dustbins, culverts and overall improvement in sanitation when collection of toll tax was done by DMC itself. (Cont’d on p-8)

impasse, alleging the Central government is behind this development. “The members of the SC-appointed committee are not dependable as they have been writing on how agri laws are pro-farmer. We will continue our agitation,” Rajewal told the presser after a meeting of 32 farmer unions from Punjab. “We are against any committee on principle. It is the government’s way to distract attention from the protest,” he said, adding that farmers will go ahead with their proposed January 26 “Kisan Parade” that will be moved into the national capital. AIKSCC said in a statement, “It is clear that the court is being misguided by various forces even in its constitution of a committee. These are people who are known for their support to the 3 Acts and have actively advocated for the same.” On Wednesday, Sankyukt Kisan Morcha, which represents around 40 unions, will hold a meeting to discuss the next course of action.

and resistance began during British rule and entered the second phase under the government of India which continued for six decades till the FA was signed. M I P, s a i d N a g a people’s political struggle “against foreign occupation, went through a very important phase in history” that began with resistance against the British-led force which launched an expedition into Naga territory in 1832 under the command of Captain Jenkins and Captain Pemberton. MIP said Nagas resolutely refused to submit to the British rule which provoked the colonial power to set of more military expeditions against Nagas. It said Naga continued to struggle against the British against all odds till finally, Nagas under NNC leader A.Z. Phizo, declared Naga independence from British

rule on August 14,1947. According to MIP” the real conflict” started when Nagas refused to join the Indian union when invited in 1950. MIP said Nagas asserted their political independence on January 24,1950 when NNC informed the government of India, the UN and countries that had their embassies in Delhi, that “Nagas do not accept the Indian constitution.” Furthermore, MIP said NNC conducted Naga Voluntary Plebiscite on May 16,1951 where 99.9% voted in favour of “sovereign Naga state”. After this, it said NNC delegation met with then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on March 11,1952 to convey the “will of the Naga people for an independent Naga state, as expressed through the plebiscite”. MIP said the government

ceasefire process with the surrender of its top leadership, making the state violence-free again. He added that there is no violence in Mizoram, only one or two groups are involved in Manipur, and most of Assam is quiet. This is not the first time that the Army chief has spoken about withdrawing troops from the Northeast. In January 2020, while interacting with a small group of journalists, he said the region was going through a transitional phase and the Army had drawn up a plan to increasingly withdraw troops deployed there for counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations. He had then said two battalions of troops, or around 2,000 soldiers, have already been withdrawn from the North East and the same could be replicated in Kashmir in the future given that the long-term focus of the Army remains conventional war-fighting, as against the short-term and immediate goals of being involved in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

General M.M. Naravane

Army has already pulled out one of its brigades from NE. Plans to move out another one or two in the near future have not yet reached a level where we can contemplate moving troops out of the UT of J&K,” he said. He added that the security situation in the NorthEast has improved. Now, concerns remain only in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh. In Nagaland, the Army chief said he hopes the NSCN (Khaplang), which was not part of the ceasefire agreement, will rejoin the

COVID: States receive first SC advises Nagaland Lokayukta to resign consignments of vaccine NEW DELHI, JAN 12 (AGEN- of impropriety and unjustified DIMAPUR/NEW DELHI, JAN 12 (NPN/ AGENCIES): Ahead of vaccination drive, states across India received the first consignments of the COVID vaccine on Tuesday. About 54,72,000 doses were received by various States and by January 14, 100% doses will be received. Assam received the first consignment of over 2 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’, and Guwahati airport has been made a nodal hub for its distribution across the seven states in the region. Over the next few days, more boxes of the life-saving drug are expected at the Guwahati airport from where they will be taken to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura via road or air, including flights, choppers and small cargo planes depending on the weather conditions. The Health ministry said that in addition to ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’, four more vaccines are currently in the country’s pipeline. 1.1 crore ‘Covishield’ and 55 lakh ‘Covaxin’ vaccines have been procured at a cost of Rs 200 and Rs 206 per dose, respectively, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. Meanwhile, Centre hinted that for now, the COVID vaccine recipients will not have the option to choose from the two vaccines recently approved for restricted emergency use in India.

FA signed to end ‘Indo-Naga’ conflict: NSCN (I-M) DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Highlighting Framework Agreement, NSCN(I-M) through its MIP reiterated that the signing of the FA between NSCN(I-M) and the government of India on August 3,2015, MIP complete six decades of the “Indo-Naga political struggle”. While stating that the struggle that began with the British rule was “ a different matter,” MIP made it clear that the FA was about Naga people’s resistance against the government of India that lasted for six decades. MIP said the FA was signed as both NSCN and the government of India agreed to “end the violent confrontation one and for all and to usher in comprehensive progress in consonance with the genius of the Naga people.” It said the genesis of the Naga political assertion

New Delhi, Jan 12 (Agencies): The Army is planning to gradually reduce the number of troops deployed for internal security duties in the North East, but is not contemplating moving soldiers out of Jammu and Kashmir because of the prevailing terror situation in the Union Territory, Army chief General M.M. Naravane said Tuesday. Addressing the media ahead of Army Day on 15 January, General Naravane said that while terror continues unabated in Jammu & Kashmir, the security situation in the North East has improved manifold. As a result, the Army has already pulled out one of its brigades from the region and now plans to move out another one or two in the near future, reports The Print. With this, the Army will be able to concentrate on its primary duty of conventional war fighting, he said. “As far as internal security duties are concerned, terror continues unabated in J&K, although the situation in the hinterland has improved somewhat. We

of India under Nehru, was not ready to listen to Nagas’ point of assertion of their political rights. Hencefor th , MIP said the struggle of Nagas against British rule became “Indo-Naga political struggle, as Nehru was determined to use military force to suppress Naga people’s resistance” when thousands of “Indian troops” were sent “ to Nagalim beginning from 1954 onwards.” According to MIP, the FA became “historic and crucially important as it was signed under the direct supervision of the prime minister of India Mr Narendra Modi, in the presence of top dignitaries of the GoI”, telecast live and witnessed worldwide. It said every single word was “well crafted to reflect the historical and political rights of the Naga people.”

CIES): Nagaland Lokayukta Uma Nath Singh, the state’s anticorruption ombudsman, was on Monday advised by the Supreme Court to step down from his position given the spate of controversies the former high court chief justice has been embroiled in. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, SC gave him a week to consider resigning from the post. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde suggested to the Lokayukta’s lawyer that it was better to give up the post rather than demeaning himself and the offices that he has held in his career. “When there is no dignity in continuing, why go through all this and insist to continue at any cost?” the bench asked the former judge’s lawyer Vikas Singh, as it referred to the petition filed by the Nagaland government demanding that the Lokayukta be stripped of all his powers. The state government has sought removal of the Lokayukta, alleging various acts

Gov extends Poang Lüm greetings DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Nagaland governor R.N. Ravi extended Poang Lüm greetings to the people of Nagaland specially the Chang community. In his message, Ravi said the festival marks the traditional celebrations of self-sufficiency by the Chang community and heralds the beginning of cultivation process and seeks blessings for a bountiful harvest. Let this significant festival advocates unity and friendship, the governor said adding that the festival aims at passing down the spiritual and cultural richness of the beautiful traditions of Changs to the posterity. Ravi further urged all to follow the Covid19 protocols during the celebration. He further wished the community happiness, good health and prosperity.

personal demands by him. Its petition contended that the Lokayukta has continued to work online from Delhi even though the chief secretary did not approve of this. Representing Nagaland in the court, its advocate general KN Balagopal submitted on Monday that the former judge’s assumption of office as Lokayukta had itself flouted the law because he did not discontinue his arbitration work despite it being an office of profit. Balagopal also produced records of cases pending before the Lokayukta. The Lokayukta’s lawyer, on his part, responded that it was because of the outbreak of Covid-19 that Singh had insisted on doing his work from Delhi But this argument failed to cut any ice with the bench, which included justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. “We don’t agree with you at all...”. The case was adjourned for a week to give the Lokayukta time to ponder over his willingness to call it quits.

Nagaland COVID tally 11997 COVID-19 STATUS AS ON january 12, 2021 ACTIVE CASES Symptomatic AsympCritical-ICU District tomMod- Se- With- With On Mild atic erate vere out Oxy- VentiOxygen gen lator Dimapur 51 10 2 0 0 0 1 Kiphire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kohima 28 0 1 0 0 1 0 Longleng 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mokokchung 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 Mon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Peren 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Phek 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tuensang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wokha

Zunheboto Total

0 86

0 12

0 4

0 1

0 0

0 1

Death MiRecovunder Total Death gratered InvestiCases ed gation 6249 40 3643 9 168 592 502 47 243

55 1 21 0 3 2 0 0 1

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

139 0 11667 84

0 1

74 0 37 9 6 9 0 0 0

6443 41 3730 19 184 604 504 47 244

3 142 140 11997

*10 deaths not due to Covid-19 *1 deaths under investigation

DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Nagaland COVID19 tally Tuesday inched towards the 12,000 mark after 10 new cases were reported-6 in Dimapur and 2 each in Kohima and Mokokchung, taking the tally to 11997. Further, the distribution across various categories include 4659 cases from

the armed forces/police, 1846 returnees, 4921 traced contacts and 571 frontline workers. PTI: India recorded 12,584 new cases of coronavirus, the lowest in around seven months, taking the country’s COVID-19 caseload to 1,04,79,179, the Health Ministry said. K Y M C

DPDB meeting focuses on road connectivity in Zbto

K. T. Sukhalu chairing the DPDB meeting held at district headquarter Zunheboto on January 12. (DIPR)

DIMAPUR: District planning and development board (DPDB) meeting at Zunheboto for the month of January focused mainly on connectivity of roads to district headquarter. According to DIPR report, the meeting was held on January 12 at DC’s conference hall under the chairmanship of advisor, School Education and chairman DPDB, K T. Sükhalu. The new board members were introduced and review of the previous meeting minutes was given by deputy commissioner, Peter Lichamo. The main agenda discussed was on the construction of two lane road by Mathucan company, to which, they were pre-informed to present the details on issues like the progress till date, worksmanship, stipulated time for the completion of the project, etc. The company through their representative informed that, so far 43 per-

cent of the project have been completed and earmarked the completion of the project by March 12, 2022 and also assured that the quality of the ongoing works was as per the specifications of the guidelines and nothing shall be compromised. In regard to town roads (city plan), chairman firmly reminded that, with the complete compensation to every household in the town area, construction of the roads in the town should speed up comprehensively and should be completed at the earliest. NHIDCL and PWD presented the details on the ongoing activities at Zunheboto district under their jurisdictions. Board also agreed to approach the government to allocate some funds under EE discretion for maintenance of PWD roads at the district. Earlier, Dr M. Nukshisanla Jamir mentioned

news in Brief DC & DEO Kohima informs: DC and district election officer (DEO) Kohima, Mohammed Ali Shihab A has informed that in connection with the final publication of photo electoral roll pertaining to special summary revision as the qualifying date, a meeting will be held on January 15, 9:30 a.m at the conference hall office of DC Kohima. Copies of final roll both hard and soft copies will be handed over to the representatives of recognised political parties during the meeting, the DC informed all concerned to attend the meeting positively. SP Kohima informs: Superintendent of Police, Kohima, Manoj Kumar has informed that to facilitate smooth flow of traffic in Kohima, the following traffic regulations for heavy vehicles will be enforced with immediate effect till further order; Entry of heavy vehicles into Kohima will be restricted from Khuzama Police Check gate from 8 a.m to 8 p.m; Entry of heavy vehicles coming towards Kohima from Dimapur will be restricted from Chapru from 7 a.m to 5 p.m; Entry of heavy vehicles into Kohima town will be restricted from by-pass traffic police booth from 8 a.m to 6 p.m; Heavy vehicles will be restricted to ply in Kohima town from 8 a.m to 6 p.m. ABRY scheme for employees: Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) has been launched by government of India for employees having aadhar and is joining EPF membership for the first time. The scheme has been implemented from October 1, 2020 and designed for companies, industrial bodies, firms and even NGOs/societies and employees working in such companies, firms and societies and are enrolled with effect from October 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. For further details and assistance, one may contact EPFO special state office Dimapur through email at sso.dimapur@epfindia.gov.in NCSU convenes meeting: Nagaland Contractors and Suppliers Union (NCSU) has convened a meeting for 4 lane share holders on January 16 at the union’s office, PWD junction, Kohima. All concerned members are to reach the office by 8 a.m and then proceed to Jharnapani to hold meeting at the president’s camp. AG (A&E) Kohima change of website link: Office of the principal accountant general (A&E) Nagaland, Kohima has informed that it has changed its office website link “https://agaenagaland@cag. gov.in” to “https://cag.gov.in/ae/nagaland/en”. All the interested persons have been requested to use the link for accessing the principal accountant general (A&E) Nagaland, Kohima website. NSCN (R) greets on Poang Lum festival: NSCN/ GPRN (Reformation) has conveyed warm greetings to the Chang Nagas on the occasion of the Poang Lum, a post harvest festival. NSCN (R) through its MIP wished that the festival bring about good tidings and prosperity to Chang Nagas, to continue to be frontrunner in every aspect and be an inspiration to other Nagas. Kohima DPDB meeting: Kohima district planning & development board (DPDB) first monthly meeting will be held on 15th January 15, 10 a.m at DPDB’s conference hall. All DPDB members have been requested to attend the meeting positively. Agendas if any from the members may be submitted to the secretary DPDB well ahead of the meeting day. K Y M C

that, intensified pulse immunisation for 0-5 years has been postponed till further direction from the central government. She also informed that there was no COVID positive cases at Zunheboto district as of now. Zunheboto district too successfully conducted the mock drill for COVID19 vaccination on January 8, she concluded. While appreciating the HoDs, advisor specifically requested the local officers from the Sumi community to be more sincere towards their jobs at the district, and all HoDs to take responsibilities while performing their official duties so as to leave a legacy of developmental works performed during their stay at the district. DC informed that work allocation for the upcoming Republic Day celebration shall remain as same as the previous year.

state DNSU appeals for proper ATM services DIMAPUR: Dimapur Naga Students’ Union (DNSU) has appealed the banks in Dimapur to provide proper ATM services at the earliest for the convenience of the general public. In a press release, DNSU media cell stated that, it had received complaints from several sections of society, whereby it had an overall survey of ATM booths in and around Dimapur. Dismayed that majority of ATM booths were either out of service or out of cash, the DNSU stated that ATM with availability of cash had a queue of more than 20-30 persons at the time. Maintaining that students were at the receiving end since academic admissions was going on, the DNSU further said that students were subject to unnecessary physical and mental harassment on accessing ATM service. DNSU noted that it was the bounden duty of the banks to provide quality service to its customers since ATM service charges were being levied. Keeping in view of the pandemic outbreak, DNSU also noted that random queues outside the functioning ATMs without maintaining social distancing protocol was a total breach of SOP laid down by the government. DNSU further pointed out that most ATMs do not meet the requirements of standard operating procedures of the concerned banks.

APO, NTC condole demise of Krurovi Peseyie

DIMAPUR: Angami Public Organization (APO) and Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) have expressed shock at the demise of Krurovi Peseyie on January 11 at Dimapur. APO: Angami Public Organization (APO) in a condolence message by president, Dr. Kepelhusie Terhüja and secretary info and publicity Neithono Sothu stated that, late Peseyie served the Naga people in various organisations as APO president, Naga Hoho speaker, member of advisory board APO, and president of Naga Club at the time of his demise. APO also described late Peseyie as a visionary, eloquent speaker and an upright leader, where the vacuum created will never be filled

by another. APO further conveyed condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul to rest in peace. NTC: Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) in a condolence note by president, Toniho Yepthomi and general secretary, Nribemo Ngullie described late Krurovi who was a former member advisor of NTC as a sincere, active, dedicated person possessing elderly character committed towards the welfare of the society. NTC stated that his demise was a loss to the Nagas as a whole and has created a void in the society. NTC further conveyed utmost sympathy and deepest condolences to the bereaved family and pray that the departed soul rest in peace.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Puanglum 2021-cum-mini hornbill held in Tuensang DIMAPUR: Puanglumcum-mini hornbill festival 2021 was held at Loyem Memorial Ground, Tuensang organised by Chang Khulei Setshang (Chang Tribal Council), with DC Tuensang Kumar Ramnikant as fest patron and president Khiamiungan Tribal Council, M. Thangou as tribal guest. According to DIPR report, the theme of the celebration “Qui Qui” means highly exalted and heralding of the Puanglum festivity was proclaimed by S. Chingmak 2nd GB P/ Khel Tuensang village. Speaking on the occasion, DC said that the festival was a good opportunity for fostering brotherhood between the neighbours and within the community. He stated that Tuensang district was like a mother from where other districts were being bifurcated and thus should act like a leader in every field with good values. Forget and forgive should be the theme while celebrating the festival, he added. M. Thangou in his short speech said that Chang and Khiamniungan were like brothers since time immemorial and encouraged the younger gen-

Fest patron Kumar Ramnikant riding on a happung (traditional karting) during the festival at Tuensang town. (DIPR)

eration to abstain from abusive substances and head towards a progressive society. SP Tuensang, Bharat Lakshman Markad encouraged the people not to be lazy and to have a commitment. President CKS, Nungsang Lemba encouraged the gathering to have attitude of forgiveness, peace and cooperative nature with the neighbours so that the district will grow as a progressive society.

Welcome address was given by P. Ngamen convenor planning committee. The CKS awarded its first Chang Puanglum Qui Qui award to Neiphiu Rio, the chief minister of Nagaland in recognition of his vision in promoting Naga culture & tradition through Hornbill Festival. CKS also awarded its Qui Qui award to Kumar Ramnikant for rendering public service of highest quality and for earnestly

striving towards containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the district. Khaimniungan Tribal Council was also awarded for the achievement in upgrading Noklak as a district and fulfilling the aspirations of the Khiamniungan community. Planning community Puanglum also awarded the Qui Qui award to Chang Khulei Setshang for rendering able leadership to the Chang community.

AGBCN 13th annual general conference concludes

DIMAPUR: Two-day 13th annual general conference of Association of Gorkha Baptist Churches Nagaland (AGBCN) under the theme “triumph over difficulties (Deuteronomy 20:4)” was held from January 9 to 10 at its mission centre Singrijan, Dimapur. A press release by the organisers stated that, the conference was hosted by seven Nepali/Gorkha Baptist churches comprising of NBC Chümoukedima, NBF Razaphe, GBC Kikhruruzha, GBC Lotovi, GBC Niuland, GBC Singrijan, GBC Zuheshe & GBC Yeveto, wherein academic dean, Servanthood Bible College Dimapur Obed Rai was the worship speaker. With more than 80 delegates due to COVID-19 restrictions, 42 out of 50 affiliated Gorkha churches took part in the conference. On the opening day, executive secretary, K Santabir Rai, AGBCN unfurled the association’s flag followed by hoisting of respective church flags.

the devotion and prayer services, the conference was marked by bidding farewell to outgoing leaders of different department under AGBCN. Earlier, AGBCN staff & council lauded the efforts of eight churches together in hosting the conference which saw around 100 delegates from 42 affiliated Worship speaker at the conference. Nepali and Gorkha Baptist Angami president, the tenure 2021-2023 was churches and fellowships DABCC, Rev. K.N. Kele also conducted. Besides across Nagaland. shared greetings, while council chairman, AGBCN, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Tek Gurung shared greetings on the last service. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.... Meanwhile, a business they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them”. Revelation 14:13 session was also held including reports of various departments including the church & mission, women, youth, resource & development and pastors’ fellowship, presented by respective secretaries and chairman. Obed Rai shared on the importance on maintaining the spirit of brotherhood and to extend help to each other in times of need. Selection of new AGBCN board members for

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

LATE VEPHUTALU KHAMO 1950 – 31.12.2020 Through this column, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who stood by us at the sudden demise of our beloved mother. We are immensely grateful for your presence, your prayers, comforting words, cash and kinds. Though we are unable to thank you all individually, we do pray that our eternal God abundantly bless each one of you. Loving children, in-laws and grand children K-60

10TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF LATE P. INAHO SWU

February 11, 1969 – December 27, 2020 The bereaved family of Late Kewepe Kazhie, S/o Pfükrunyi Kazhie, would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to every individual, neighbours, friends, relatives, churches and different organisations who stood by us physically, financially and prayer support throughout his prolonged illness till his last breath. Your sincere contribution made our loss more bearable. We would like to extend our gratefulness in particular to: 1. Dr. Caleb Harris, nurses, Medical students, NCF, NEIGRIHMS, Shillong 2. Dr. Keduovino Keditsu, nurses, Putuonuo Nursing Home, Kohima 3. Doctors and nurses, Bethel Hospital, Kohima 4. Honourable Minister, Shri Neiba Kronu 5. Zuketsa Government High School 6. Pfutsero Town Baptist Church 7. Kuzhami Chakhesang Baptist Church, Kohima 8. Zuketsa Area Public Organisation 9. Leshemi Sub Society, Pfütsero 10. PWD Colony We deeply regret and apologize for our inability to mention all the name individually. May the Almighty God bless you abundantly for your gracious deeds. Loving Wife, Children, Parent, Family Members and Relatives K-61

Born in : 1939 – Died on : 01/01/2021 The bereaved family of Late Viheto Aye would like to express and convey our sincere gratitude to all individuals, well wishers, neighbours, relatives, churches and associations who stood by us in prayers physically, materially, ﬁnancially and morally during his brief illness and demise on 01/01/2021. We convey our special thanks to: 1. G. Kaito Aye, Hon'ble Minister Agriculture & Co-operation 2. Khekaho T. Aye, Senior Treasurer Accounting Ofﬁcer 3. Zakato S. Aye, Kiyeshe/Sukhai 4. Nguvihe B/Church, Dimapur 5. Kiyeshe/Sukhai Welfare, Dimapur 6. Naharbari Village, Dimapur 7. U.B.C, Satakha 8. S.T.B.C, Satakha 9. S.B.A.K. Ayizuto, Satakha 10. Hukheto T. Aye, Kiyeshe/Sukhai 11. Phukato T. Aye, Kiyeshe/Sukhai 12. Ex. B.S.F Pension Union, Satakha 13. Kiyeshe/Sukhai Welfare, Satakha 14. Kiyeshe/Sukhai B/Church SBAK, Nito Mount 15. Kiyeshe/Sukhai B/Church SBAK, Ayizuto 16. Kiyeshe/Sukhai Students' Union 17. Old Ground Satakha Town. We deeply regret our inability to mention each and every individual's name, yet it is our sincere prayer that Almighty God bless you all abundantly. Loving Family Members DP-201

(10.04.1941 to 13.01.2011) “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7 Oh! its been 10 years since you left us, but your presence is still being felt because your nature is unforgettable. The love that you posses in your heart, your desire for everyone to live in harmony and unity both physically and spiritually still keeps us going. We remember you telling us never to weaken our faith in life and that you may not live long with us and that a time will come where one may be able to gather around, be with friends and family or be able to go to places of worship. And oh! How relevant it is to us with the present situation makes us ponder if you were cautioning us about this. We always remember your words, your love, your gentleness, your tolerance in our hearts. You are deeply missed. Loving Wife, Son, Daughter-in-law, Grandchildren & Relatives. K-36 K Y M C

nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Does US president Donald Trump deserve to be impeached? 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

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STF holds meeting on COVID-19 vaccine

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Yes. No. Can’t Say.

69% 29% 2%

Next poll

Q: Is the desi anti-COVID

vaccine- Covaxin- safe enough for people despite controversies?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST January 13

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Hazy sun

27 12

Hazy sun

22 9

Aizawl

Guwahati Mostly sunny Imphal

Hazy sun

25 11 24 6

Itanagar A couple of morning showers 23 12 Shillong Mostly sunny Kohima

Sunny to partly cloudy

Dimapur Hazy sun Mkg

17 4 20 6 25 11

Mostly sunny and not as warm 21 8

Tuensang Mostly sunny and cooler

16 4

Partly sunny

20 10

Zunheboto Mostly sunny

19 6

Wokha

State

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Amardeep Singh Bhatia addressing at the second sitting of STF on January 12 at Kohima. (DIPR)

DIMAPUR: State Task Force (STF) held its second meeting on COVID-19 vaccine, under the chairmanship of principal secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, at the directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Kohima on January 12. According to DIPR repor t, chairman STF stated that the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination was scheduled from January 16, for which all preparations were on track. He informed that the vaccination in Nagaland will be in phase wise

and urged all the concerned departments to actively participate in the vaccination drive and also to disseminate clear instructions in all the districts. He also said that for the vaccination of prioritized beneficiaries in the initial first phase of COVID-19 vaccination (including health care workers of the state government, central government and armed force) 26500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were being supplied by the M/s Serum Institute of India to Nagaland. Meeting deliber-

ated on the roll out of the vaccine in the first phase and the role of all stakeholders in the state-wide campaign in this regard. It also discussed COVID19 vaccination state preparedness districts wise and also the specific roles of all departments’, faith based organisations and also the role of directorate of Information and Public Relations for appropriate awareness and IEC activities. Dr. Ritu Thurr SIO presented power point on operational guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination.

AGOK dedicatory prog for refurbished conference hall

DIMAPUR: Angami Gazetted Officers Krotho (AGOK) organised a dedicatory programme for the newly refurbished conference hall of the APO building at Kohima on January 12. According to DIPR report, AGOK advisor Daso Paphino stressed on the history of the construction of the APO building which initially started in 2006 and was completed in 2009. He mentioned that with contribution from every source the building could be completed on time. He apprised on the importance of a community building and how it signi- Rev. Vicavor Krose at the dedicatory programme of the newly fies and reflects the image refurbished conference hall of APO building. (DIPR)

of a tribe and appealed to the people to conserve and utilize it resourcefully. Vice president of Angami Public Organization, K.T Vilie Theünuo stated that without AGOK, APO stands feeble. He also appreciated the AGOK for working and contributing selflessly for the betterment of the Angamis in general. Earlier, director ABCCTK, Rev. Vicavor Krose offered the dedicatory prayer of the newly refurbished conference hall. President APO as well as chairperson of the programme, Dr. Kedozeto Punyii highlighted on the renovation works and the expenditures incurred during the construction of the conference hall.

Ex-servicemen rally held in Dimapur

DIMAPUR: 164 Inf Bn (TA) NAGA organised an ex-servicemen rally for veterans of NAGA Regiment hailing from Nagaland and Manipur on January 11 at Rangapahar Military Station. According to PRO (Def) Kohima, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita, AVSM, SM, VSM, Col of the KUMAON and NAGA Regt, GOC Spear Corps, the serving officers and soldiers of NAGA and KUMAON Regt and a large number of ex-servicemen, Veer Naris and their dependents attended the rally. During the rally, facilities like, updation of ex-servicemen contributory health scheme (ECHS) and canteen smart card, medical and dental checkup were extended. Attendees were also informed about skill development programme

Jalukie Battalion conducts medical camp DIMAPUR: Jalukie Battalion of Assam Rifles conducted a medical camp at Jalukieram on January 5. According to PRO HQ IGAR (N), troops provided medical assistance to a total of 57 villagers. Battalion also helped the local populace in restoring the roads in Peren town on January 5. The stretch of road in front of All Saints Higher Secondary School was maintained by the combined efforts of security forces and the locals. Meanwhile, the battalion also conducted COVID19 campaign at Huenambe village, on January 8. The campaign focused on COVID-19 cases and villagers were urged to use masks and sanitisers. They were informed about symptoms of COVID-19 and measures to be adhered to avoid the infection. Basic medical check up of the people was also conducted and were also informed about the upcoming nation vide vaccination programme. A total of 30 villagers attended the event.

Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita being felicitated at the ex-servicemen rally held on January 11.

of state government and The aim of the event process of recruitment of was to reach out to the exwards in Indian Army/ servicemen and Veer Naris Territorial Army. of NAGA Regiment for

addressing their grievances, update them on entitlement, benefits and adjustment of pension anomalies.

Chessore Area Public Forum holds general session in Chessore

S. Keoshu Sangphur speaking as chief guest during the general session of CAPF on January 8.

DIMAPUR: Chessore Area Public Forum (CAPF) under the theme, “Unity in progress” held a general session on January 8, with S Keoshu Sangphur as chief guest. A press release by CAPF stated that, Sangphur in his speech expressed gratitude for unity and vision of the organisation and the people of the area. He also appreciated

the way of living and standard, even though the area was underdeveloped. Head GB Chessore Village Council, Throngkiuba and GB president (Chessore Area GB’s Federation) Hollen exhorted about the sincerity, cooperation and development of the area. Advocate notary public Tuensang L. Chuba and advisor of the CAPF assured the people

to extend a helping hand for the area in all possible ways. Chessore Town GB’s Union and Chessore Village Council presented songs. Earlier, programme was chaired by vice president K. Keoshu, invocation by Chessore Town Baptist Church (CTBC) pastor Tokimong and Chessore Village Cultural Club presented cultural dance.

Training to empower youth held at SBI-RSETI ‘National Youth Day’ programme held at NU Lumami

DIMAPUR: Training to empower the youth on livelihood was organised at SBIRural Self Employment Training Institute (SBI-RSETI), Jalukie, Peren as part of SBI Gram Seva programme implemented in five adopted villages under Chümoukedima sub-division, Dimapur. A press release by PRO, AIDA Don Bosco, Lawrence Guria, the 10-day long training for 26 participants from four adopted villages of Urra, Bade, Khriezephe and Diezephe began on January 11. The selected candidates would undergo training on pig rearing and management for small scale farmers. During the training, director, SBIRSETI, Novin Basumatary welcomed the two AIDA staff, convergence officer,

Imnayangla Jamir and livelihood officer, Maongkar T. Changkiri and 26 trainees to the institute. An introductory session and theory classes on piggery management was also held. It may be noted that the youths would be trained as part of the celebration of National Youth Day 2021 and more trainings would be organised as per needs for the adopted villages. Programme is implemented by ANMA Integrated Development Association (AIDA), the development wing of Salesians of Don Bosco, Dimapur province. The integrated rural development programme aims at digitalization of villages, promotion of quality education for rural students, improvement of primary health services, etc.

DIMAPUR: A programme to mark “National Youth Day” was organised at Nagaland University, Lumami on January 12. A press release by PRO, Nagaland University stated that a lecture was delivered by vice-chancellor prof. Pardeshi Lal where he delineated the life story of Swami Vivekananda and how in a short life span of 39 years, went on to inspire the nation by his deeds. He also talked about the totipotency inherent in every child and was of the view that ecosystem played an important role in the development of the child. Prof. Pardeshi Lal further exhorted the youth the emulate Swami Vivekananda for the cause of nation-building. Earlier, the programme was chaired by PRO, Peter Ki. Around 30 employees and students attended the lecture. Prof. P. Lal delivering a lecture during the programme held on January 12.

KBPF organises ‘Pray for Kohima’ programme

Prayer leaders praying at one of the strategic location within Kohima town on January 12.

DIMAPUR: Prayer programme under the theme “Pray for Kohima” was organised by Kohima Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship (KBPF) on January 12, where prayers K Y M C

were conducted at strategic junctions within Kohima city. A press release by the organisers stated that, prayers were held at High School

Junction, Razhü Point Junction, Old MLA Junction and P.R Hill Junction. Prayer leaders were pastors Rev. Velavoyi, Dr. Ruokuovilie Sachü, Temjem Sempo and Dr Mosa Tsang at different junctions. President of the KBPF, Dr. Kevichalie Metha thanked all the pastors, the NBCC team led by Rev. Dr. Zelhou Keyho and all the believers who joined the programme. President wished all the citizens of Kohima a blessed happy New Year and further thanked all the COVID-19 warriors including the administrations, police personnel, media, Kohima Municipal Council and various departments in the state for tirelessly rendering their invaluable services with an assurance to uphold them through prayers at all time. K Y M C

northeast

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Guwahati researchers find new Modi, Shah to launch Assam poll campaign IITclues to how and why stars die

Guwahati, Jan 12 (IANS): As the ruling BJP kicks off its Assembly poll campaign in Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other central leaders would hold a series of election rallies in the northeastern state next week, BJP leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday. BJP National President J.P. Nadda, who left here on Tuesday for Delhi, addressed a public gathering in southern Assamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Silchar on Monday and claimed that the saffron party has been winning all the elections in the country from Jammu & Kashmir to Telangana, and it would return to power in Assam once again with 100plus seats in the upcoming state Assembly polls. Sarma, who is the convener of the BJP-led alliance of regional parties -- North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) - said that Prime Minister Modi is likely to visit Assam on January 23 and Home Minister Shah is also likely to address two public rallies at Kokrajhar and Nalbari on January 24. The Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Nadda holds meetings with Assam BJP leaders on assembly polls

BJP National President JP Nadda and his wife offer prayers at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Tuesday. (PTI) detailed programme is yet to be finalised. Nadda who was on two-day Assam visit held meetings with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Sarma, state BJP President Ranjeet Kumar Dass and other senior leaders in Guwahati on Monday and Tuesday and discussed the strategies for the Assembly polls likely to be held in April-May. Accompanied by his wife Mallika Nadda, the BJP President on Tuesday visited the famous Kamakhya Devalaya in Guwahati on Tuesday and prayed at the famed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Shakti Peethaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

atop the picturesque Nilachal hills in Assamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main city. The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls along with West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In the last Assembly polls in 2016, the BJP defeated the Congress and formed the government in Assam for the first time winning 60 seats after forging an alliance with the Bodoland Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Front (BPF) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), who won 14 and 12 seats, respectively. The ruling alliance also has the support of an independent MLA.

BJP president J P Nadda held a series of meetings with senior party leaders of Assam on the upcoming assembly election, the saffron partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state unit Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on Tuesday. Discussions were held on wide-ranging issues related to the polls, including the strengthening of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organisational structure, he told reporters here. Nadda conducted three meetings with the members of the core committee, election committee and other office-bearers of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state unit till late Monday night, Dass said. He said that Naddaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit will inspire the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grassroot-level workers before the assembly elections due in March-April. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I, on behalf of all party workers, express my gratefulness to him for his valuable guidance which will motivate all members to work hard during the polls,â&#x20AC;? he said. The meetings were

Manipur and Meghalaya ban import of poultry Correspondent IMPHAL, Jan 12: Manipur and Meghalaya gover nments have banned import of poultry and its products in view of the spread of Avian Influenza in some states of the country, official sources said Tuesday. An order banning 2nd runner-up Avinam Manger from Sikkim speaks at the valedictory function of the National Youth Parliament Festival-2021, in the Central Hall of Parliament poultry products from other states was issued yesterday House in New Delhi, Tuesday. (PTI) (Monday) by commissioner of veterinary and animal husbandry service of the Manipur government. In Meghalaya, a notification issued by Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, G.H.P.Raju stated that in view of outbreak of the Avian influenza (Bird Flu) in some parts of the country, State Governor is pleased to impose ban on import of poultry birds, eggs and unprocessed poultry meat into the State through the western border of Assam in order to prevent the spread of the avian flu to the State with immediate effect. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma held a meeting on Tuesday Village women prepare traditional â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;teel pithasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and other items for Magh Bihu, to discuss Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preparedness and action plan. in Nagaon district of Assam, Tuesday. (PTI)

Women bodiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demand re-trial of multi-crore drug case Memorandums submitted to MPs, Speaker Correspondent IMPHAL, Jan 12: Women based civil society organisations on Tuesday requested two MPs of Manipur and Speaker of state Assembly to urge the state government for re-investigation and retrial of the infamous 2018 multi-crore drug haul case. As many as 26 women bodies have been pressing the state government to appeal to the higher court against the verdict of the special ND&PS court, Manipur that acquitted the alleged kingpin. The special ND&PS court Manipur, in its verdict passed on December 17 last had acquitted former Chandel ADC chairman Lukhosei Zou and six others who were arrested with narcotic drugs worth over Rs 27 crore in the international market. While acquitting Zou and six others, the court convicted two persons, including a 19 year-old driver of Lukhosei and sentenced them to 15 years imprisonK Y M C

ment. Denouncing the verdict of the court, the 26 women bodies recently requested state Governor and chief minister to go to higher court against the verdict of the special ND&PS court Manipur by submitting memorandums on January 8 last. Dissatisfied over chief ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s refusal to meet with them and talk about the matter, the women bodies knocked on the door of the Congress party, urging the opposition party to join the chorus to press the government to re-investigate the case. Furthering their campaign, the women bodies today submitted memorandums to two MPs- Leishemba Sanajoaba of Rajya Sabha and RK Ranjan of Lok Sabha â&#x20AC;&#x201C; highlighting the demand they had put before the state government. They also submitted a similar memorandum to the Speaker of Manipur Legislative Assembly Y Khemchand today. After submitting the memorandums, leaders of the women bodies announced that they will continue to air their demand for

re-investigation and re-trail of the case to ministers and MLAs too in the coming days. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue to meet ministers and MLAs too in the coming days and air their demand as a part of democratic movement to justice,â&#x20AC;? Nupi Samaj president Nganbi Devi who led todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign said. She said that no one was satisfied with the verdict of the court. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do you believe the 19-year-old driver of Zou was the owner of the huge quantity of drugs that too arrested from his masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quarter,â&#x20AC;? she asked. There would be something behind convicting and sentencing the two, including the young driver, as the owner of the drugs worth over Rs 27 crore. They were made scapegoat, she added. Government must appeal to the higher court with a prayer for re-investigation and re-trial of the case to find out the real owner of the drug, the president demanded. If the incumbent government was sincere enough to make the state free from narcotic drug, the chief minister should not delay

in appealing to the higher court, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the women bodies, to continue pressing the government is our firm stand and we will continue to submit memorandums to the ministers and MLAs in the coming days,â&#x20AC;? she announced. If their demand was unheeded despite the democratic movement, they will be compelled to launch other forms of agitations, she warned. The woman leader also questioned the reason behind the chief ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delay in giving appointment for meeting with them. Mention may be made that chief minister N Biren Singh had refused to have a meeting with a delegation of women bodies who went to submit a memorandum containing their demand. Officials of the CMO had asked the delegation to obtain prior appointment if they wanted to meet with the chief minister. She expressed strong denouncement with the attitude of the chief minister and stressed the need on the part of the chief minister to clarify the stand of the government on the demand of the women bodies.

attended by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, senior minister and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, the BJPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Assam in-charge Baijayant J Panda and others. The NEDA is the NDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version in the northeast. Nadda had officially launched the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign for the assembly polls in the state by addressing the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Vijay Sankalpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rally at Silchar on Monday. He arrived in Guwahati on Monday night and held party meetings. He did not have any public engagement. Nadda, along with Sonowal and Sarma, offered tributes to Swami Vivekananda on the occasion of his birth anniversary on Tuesday. Accompanied by Dass and Panda, the BJP president also visited the Kamakhya Temple to offer prayers, before leaving for New Delhi.

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, claim to have found important clues to understand the death of massive stars and have also revealed the problems with the existing models. The research in collaboration with Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich, Germany, and Northwestern University, USA, has also been published in international journal Physical Review Letters (PRL). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Supernovae -- the super explosions at the time of death of large massive stars -- are considered to be the cradle of birth for new stars and synthesis of the

heavy elements in nature. At the end of their life, the stars, especially massive ones, collapse resulting in an immense shock wave that causes the star to explode, briefly outshining any other star in its host galaxy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The study of supernovae and the particles they release helps us understand the universe because almost all matter that makes up the universe is a result of these massive explosions. However, the mechanism of these super explosions is not yet completely solved and has remained one of the enigmas of nature,â&#x20AC;? said Sovan Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Guwahati.

According to the team, the solutions to the toughest challenges to the core collapse mechanism of the huge supernovae come from the tiniest subatomic particles called neutrinos. â&#x20AC;&#x153;During the core collapse supernova explosion, neutrinos are created in several particle processes. Due to their neutral nature and extremely weak interaction with stellar matter the neutrinos escape the dying star and carry 99% energy of the collapsing star. Thus the tiny neutrinos are the only messenger bringing information from the deepest interiors of the star. Neutrinos on the other hand have their own complexities,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This information is very crucial for the reason that in the extremely dense supernovae core neutrinos interact with other neutrinos and may interchange flavors. This conversion may happen rapidly (in nanosecond time scale) and flavor interchange can affect the supernovae process as the different flavors are emitted with different angular distribution.

Over 2L COVID vax arrives Guwahati for NE

GUWAHATI, JAN 12 (AGENCIES): Assam has received the first consignment of over 2 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, and the airport in Guwahati has been made a nodal hub for its distribution across the seven states in the region. Twenty boxes, each containing 12,000 doses of Covishield, were received in Guwahati today. Of these 17 are meant for Assam while

the remaining three, containing 36,000 doses, will be sent to Meghalaya. The North Easter n states will be getting both Covishield and Covaxin vaccines, government sources said. Over the next few days, more boxes of the lifesaving drug are expected at the Guwahati airport from where they will be taken to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura via road or

Good ! s w e N

air, including flights, choppers and small cargo planes depending on the weather conditions. However, the biggest challenge ahead of the January 16 mega vaccination drive is to ensure the temperature-sensitive doses can be stored safely before they are dispatched to remote and inaccessible pockets of northeast India. For this, a part of Guwahati airportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s domestic

terminal has been turned into a nodal hub for receipt, storage and supply of the vaccine. Three cold storage facilities, of 10,000-tonne capacity each, have been readied at the Guwahati airport, from where each state can schedule the delivery of its consignment. Assam has three-layer cold chain storage ready of the exercise, government sources told NDTV.

For Parcel Loaders and Aggregators N. F. Railway has launched Customer-friendly Scheme

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NORTHEAST FRONTIER RAILWAY K Y M C

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

to visit TN for ‘Jallikattu’ to lend ‘Dynastic politics biggest enemy of democracy’ Rahul ‘moral’ support to farmers protest

Narendra Modi addresses the final function of the second NYP Festival via video conferencing, in New Delhi. (PTI)

(in politics) the fortunes of those who have been winning elections on the basis of surnames are dwindling. But in politics, this disease of dynastic politics is not completely finished.” They, he said in a reference to these dynasties, are also a very big reason behind political and social corruption in the country. Though people have now been supporting honesty and performance, and the legacy of “corruption” of those in dynastic politics have become a burden for them, but the “disease of dynastic politics” has not been fully eradicated, the

prime minister said. “There are still people whose conduct, ideas and goals are all aimed at saving their family politics and their families in politics. Dynastic politics gives rise to a new form of dictatorship in democracy and burdens the country with incompetence. Dynastic politics only strengthens the sentiment of ‘me and my family’ instead of ‘nation first’,” he said. Modi, however, added that things have changed from a time when people associated politics with “violence, corruption and loot” and thought it cannot change. A youngster joining

1st batch of Covishield vials reaches Delhi storage facility

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahadra) Amit Sharma said, “We have deployed the personnel at the storage area of the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital.” From RGSSH, the vaccine will be transported in a special vehicle under heavy security to the vaccination centres. The Delhi government has identified 89 sites in the national capital, including government and private hospitals, for the first phase of the immunisation drive meant for about three lakh healthcare workers. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Sadarjung Hospital, LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, Apollo Hospitals and Max Hospital will be among the vaccination centres here.

Referring to dynastic politics, he said this can be changed through awareness and the young generation joining politics. His government has been organising and promoting youth-related events, including holding mock parliament, to prepare the young generation in this regard, Modi said. The speeches of three national winners of the festival were also broadcast during the event in the central hall of Parliament. Lauding them, Modi said he would tweet links to their speech and also those of other participants in the final round. In his address, he also paid rich tributes to Swami Vivekananda, whose birth anniversary fell on Tuesday, and said his ideals have inspired people, including during the freedom struggle, of every generation and asked youngster to follow them. Vivekananda’s views on nationalism and nationbuilding and his teaching regarding serving the people and serving the world continue to inspire us, he said.

C h e nna i , J a n 1 2 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would visit Tamil Nadu on January 14, the Pongal day and witness a bull taming event, ‘Jallikattu,’ the party’s state president K S Alagiri said here on Tuesday. Gandhi would lend his moral support to farmers protesting against the new farm laws across the country by witnessing the sport at Avaniapuram in Madurai district, he told reporters here. “The bull is a symbol of farmers and part of their lives,” the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president said. His visit is to “honour the farmers and the valorous Tamil culture on the day of harvest festival and he will not engage in election campaign on that day,” he said. Assembly elections are due during April-May in the state. “The general public should gather in large numbers for the event.”

Billing Gandhi’s event as ‘Rahulin Tamil Vanakkam,’ he said it was also intended to dislodge the ‘inept’ AIADMK regime, ‘subservient’ to the Centre. Only Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his party the AIADMK supported the Central government’s three farm laws and no other political party favoured it, he claimed. Gandhi is scheduled to arrive at Madurai by 11 am on Pongal day and would be spending about four hours in the temple town. Though there are no other scheduled events like interaction with farmers, such programmes might take place if the leader so desired, Alagiri said. Gandhi also has no plans to visit the alliance party DMK’s president M K Stalin or other leaders, he said. During his visit to western Tamil Nadu, likely towards the month end, Gandhi could meet allies,

he said adding his party senior leader had a plan to campaign extensively in Tamil Nadu. Priyanka Gandhi would also be invited to the state in the run up to the polls, he said. To a question, he mocked at the AIADMK alliance in Tamil Nadu and alleged the partners in the ruling party led combine could not even agree upon the Chief Ministerial candidate. The BJP, after maintaining for some time that NDA would announce the CM candidate said on Monday that the AIADMK, the ‘major’ partner would decide it. The TNCC chief said his party stood behind DMK chief M K Stalin and he is the CM candidate of the alliance. Harmony prevailed in the DMK camp and it was absent in the AIADMK combine, he claimed ruling out scope for discord between Congress and DMK in seat sharing for the Assembly polls.

Prepared for the long haul on LoC & LAC: Army Chief

The first batch of Covishield vaccine reaches central storage facility at Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty hospital in New Delhi, Tuesday. (PTI)

The vaccination rollout is expected to be kicked off from the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital On January 16 with a simple ceremony in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain, sources said. India’s drugs regulator has approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country. Covishield vaccine doses will be initially shipped to 60 consignee points from where those would be distributed to various vaccination centres across India, official sources said.

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI/IANS): Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane on Tuesday said he was hopeful that India and China will be able to reach an agreement to resolve the eastern Ladakh standoff but at the same time asserted that Indian troops will maintain a high state of combat readiness to deal with any eventuality. Addressing a press conference ahead of the Army Day, Gen Naravane said the operational preparedness of the Indian armed forces has been of very high level and they will continue to hold onto their ground. “We are prepared to hold our ground as long it takes to achieve our national goals and objectives,” he said. Talking about increasing security challenges at the

Gen. M Mukund Naravane. (PTI)

Line of Actual Control, the Chief of Army Staff said a need was felt about “rebalancing” of troops along the northern borders, adding “that is what we have put in place now.” The Chief of Army staff said he was hopeful that India and China will be able to reach an agreement for disengagement and deescalation based on an approach of mutual and equal

security. “I am confident of finding a solution to the issue on the basis of mutual and equal security,” he said. Gen Naravane said there was no reduction in deployment of troops by both India and China in eastern Ladakh. The Chief of Army Staff said Indian troops are maintaining high level of alertness all along the Line of Actual Control and not just Ladakh. Nearly 50,000 troops of the Indian Army are currently deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero temperatures as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded concrete outcome to resolve the standoff. China has also de-

ployed an equal number of troops, according to officials. Last month, India and China held another round of diplomatic talks under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs. The eighth and last round of military talks between the two sides had taken place on November 6 during which both sides broadly discussed disengagement of troops from specific friction points. India has all along been maintaining that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the mountainous region. Following the sixth round of military talks, the two sides had announced a slew of de-

cisions including not to send more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any actions that may further complicate matters. This round was held with a specific agenda of exploring ways to implement a five-point agreement reached between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a meeting in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) conclave. The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

Goa minister urges CM to drop plans for IIT at Shel-Melaulim

Panaji, Jan 12 (PTI): Bowing to public sentiments, Goa Health Minister and BJP MLA Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to drop the proposal for an IIT campus at ShelMelaulim and said he will not allow the construction of the same. Speaking to reporters, the MLA from Valpoi in Sattari said he has written to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant urging him to drop

the proposal and withdraw police cases lodged against locals who had staged an agitation at ShelMelaulim in last week. At least 12 policemen and several villagers were injured when both the groups had clashed with each other in the forest area near Shel-Melaulim village in Sattari taluka last week. “The IIT campus was planned in the village as a part of the development plan for the constituency.

However, locals have been opposing it vehemently. If locals don’t want it, I feel the state government should not go ahead with the project,” Rane said. The situation in ShelMelaulim worsened after police entered the village and assaulted locals, he said. “I have asked the chief minister to take action against police officers who assaulted women during the protest,” he said.

Rane vowed that he will not allow the IIT campus to be set up anywhere in his constituency. “The chief minister can set up the campus anywhere in the state, but we don’t want it in our constituency,” the minister said. Rane said he has been working under the guidance of BJP national leader Amit Shah and local leaders including Pramod Sawant and party state unit president Sadanand Tanavade.

(Affiliated to Nagaland University, Recognized by the Govt. of Nagaland and Accredited by NAAC with B++ Grade) A.G. COLONY, KOHIMA: 797001, NAGALAND

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DC-31

Advt. No. MCC/Adm/2017/10

VACANT POST Applications are invited for the following post:

12th January 2021

Department

Post

Specialisation

Geology

Assistant Professor

Micropalaeontology, Petrology, Remote Sensing (GIS)

• • • • • • K-67

Candidates should have a minimum of 55% Marks in Master’s Degree, and NET or Ph.D. Candidates in service should apply through proper channel. Interested candidates may forward their applications, duly signed, to the Principal or moccollege@yahoo.in., with resume, self-attested documents and two recent passport photographs. Applications should reach the Office of the Principal on or before 15th January 2021. Only the short listed candidates will be called for interview. No TA/DA will be given for candidates called for interview. For query: +919612605656, +918119069906 Principal

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER

PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT NAGALAND : KOHIMA

NO.CE/PHE/EST-ADVRT/DRB/2019-2020

Dated Kohima, the 12th Jan, 2021

PRESS RELEASE In compliance to the Government letter NO. PHE-1/EST/128/2020, dated the 12th January 2021, the proposed Departmental Examination for the post of LDA-cum-Computer Assistant (PHED) to be held on the 13th of January 2021 is hereby postponed until further order. The inconvenience is regretted.

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New Delhi/PUNE, Jan 12 (PTI): The first batch of Covishield vaccine vials reached Delhi’s central storage facility at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (RGSSH) Tuesday afternoon, officials said. RGSSH Medical Director B L Sherwal said around 2.50 lakh doses of the Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine were delivered to the hospital. A SpiceJet flight carrying the vials landed at the Delhi airport around 10 am on Tuesday, four days ahead of the launch of a nationwide drive against the coronavirus. Thereafter, the Delhi Police formed a “green corridor” to safely transport the vaccine to the hospital, the Delhi government’s largest COVID-19 facility. “The truck carrying the vaccine arrived at the hospital around 3:10 pm,” a source said. A special cold storage facility has been created at RGSSH to store the vials. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Rajeev Ranjan said adequate security arrangements have been made at the storage site, and PCR vans will also cover them in their patrolling plans.

politics was seen as someone who has gone astray, he said. People are now so aware that they stand with honest people in politics and give them a chance, he said, asserting that honesty and performance have become “first essential requirements of today’s politics”. This has happened due to pressure created by the awareness in the country, he said, before noting that some changes are still required and highlighting dynastic politics as the “biggest enemy” of democracy. “The biggest enemy of democracy still exists and that is dynastic politics. Dynastic politics is such a challenge before the country that has to be rooted out,” he said. Exhorting youngsters to join politics in his virtual address, the prime minister said the “poison of dynastic politics” will continue to weaken democracy unless they enter it. The nation’s politics like any other sector needs them and their new thoughts, energy, ideas and dreams a lot, he said.

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(N. THSATHRICHEM SANGTAM) Chief Engineer, WSSO & Sanitation, PHED, Nagaland, Kohima.

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New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday blasted dynastic politics as the “biggest enemy” of democracy and said it gives rise to a new form of “dictatorship” and burdens the country with “incompetence”. Addressing the valedictory function of the second National Youth Parliament Festival, Modi launched an all out attack on dynastic parties, saying those who rise due to their dynasties have no respect and fear of law as they believe if their previous generations were not accounted for corruption, none can touch them as well. “They see such examples in their own families. So they have neither respect nor fear of law,” he said, asking youngsters to join politics as this is “necessary” to save it. Though he did not name any party but he has in the past often hit out at opposition parties, including the Congress, for being run by families. He said, “It is true that

OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post Vol. XXxI NO. 37 Dimapur, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Another flu threat

ven as coronavirus continues to pose serious threat on human lives, the outbreak of bird flu (Avian flue) confirmed in nine states- Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh- so far, has posed another serious challenge. The government of India has sounded an alert nationwide to take proactive precautions against the virus. Avian flu is caused by the highly pathogenic(capable of causing disease) avian influenza virus-H5N1. Though no outbreak has been reported in Nagaland, yet it is important that all poultry products including eggs should be avoided till the outbreak has been contained. It is believed that most cases of avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces. Under the crowded conditions of intensive poultry rearing, however, some variants of the H5 and H7 ‘subtypes’, ultimately derived from wild birds, can evolve into “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza” (HPAI) viruses, which can cause massive mortality in poultry. However, if some are not shaken by the scare, they have to take precautions by cooking all poultry and poultry products (including eggs) thoroughly before eating. Influenza viruses such as H5N2, H7N2, and H5N1 are destroyed by adequate heat, as are other food-borne pathogens. Being voracious consumers of meat product, people must learn to follow proper food preparation and handling practices. (This means that chicken should be cooked until it reaches a temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit, throughout each piece of chicken.) Raw poultry always should be handled hygienically because it can be associated with many infections, including salmonella. Therefore, all utensils and surfaces (including hands) that come in contact with raw poultry should be cleaned carefully with water and soap immediately afterwards. Since monitoring in the region has not been up to the standard required, it is advisable to stay off poultry products including other birds till threat is over. Other means of transmission are also possible, such as the virus becoming aerosolized and landing on exposed surfaces of the mouth, nose, or eyes, or being inhaled into the lungs.Since the influenza A viruses have the potential to change and gain the ability to spread easily between people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person transmission is important. The reported symptoms of avian influenza in humans have ranged from typical influenza-like symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye infections (conjunctivitis), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications. There is no evidence that any human cases of avian influenza have been acquired by eating poultry products. There are numerous different strains of avian influenza; most circulate in wild birds, but only in some young waterbirds are infection rates sometimes high. These viruses are benign, and at worst cause only mild disease. These “Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza” (LPAI) viruses also have only mild effects on poultry. The main carrier of the virus is migratory birds including poultry. Due to large number of import of livestock including fishes, it is the responsibility of the state health authorities to take stock of the requirement of remaining alert. So much money is spent each year on so many schemes but what is needed is not so much money but little money for the basics that go a long way in prevention of diseases.

DailyDevotion Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (1)

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34 Our Solitude with Him. Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We don’t even recognize the envy, laziness, or pride within us when we see it. But Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look inwardly with courage? We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we will never say, “Oh, I’m so unworthy.” We will understand that this goes without saying. But as long as there is any doubt that we are unworthy, God will continue to close us in until He gets us alone. Whenever there is any element of pride or conceit remaining, Jesus can’t teach us anything. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear.

Quotes

Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why. ~ Bernard Baruch

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Post-mortem

Pandemic is an opportunity to reimagine schools T he government can use the pandemic to better its own schools. First, by improving the infrastructure and making the schools more welcoming. Clean toilets, drinking water, library, a tinkering lab, and a playground will help. Second, by making learning fun. The critique of school as an institution has developed and grown in the past half a century. Education theorist Everett Reimer wrote School is Dead in the 1960s. Danger School, a classic published by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s group in the late 1970s, captured through scathing cartoons the harm which schools inflict on our children. Most schools are caged jails, where an alien curriculum designed by some “experts” is thrust down a child’s gullet. Today, many schools are gargantuan corporate enterprises with thousands of children on their rolls, and for all practical purposes they are run like factories, or better still like mini-armies. The website of a private school in Lucknow boasts of 56,000 students, for instance. But progressive thinkers have always envisioned “free schools” for children. The great Russian novelist,

Leo Tolstoy, founded a school for the children of poor peasants at his home, Yasnaya Polyana, without any strict schedule, homework or physical punishment. Maria Montessori was the first Italian woman to become a doctor; she went on to work out the “stages of development” in children which became the basis for her educational philosophy, which too emphasised children’s freedom and choice. Tagore’s critique of rote learning is articulated in the classic tale The Parrot’s Training (Totaakahini). A small progressive school in Japan run by a visionary principal has been immortalised in the best-selling Tottochan. Perhaps, the longest lasting libertarian school in the world is Summerhill. It was founded in 1921, a hundred years ago in England, by A S Neill with the belief that school should be made to fit the child rather than the other way round. Usually, government schools hit headlines for all the wrong reasons — a wall caves in, a roof collapses, or children fall sick after a mid-day meal. But the AAP government in Delhi vowed to make government schools better than private ones. They

achieved this success by improving infrastructure (no stinky toilets), giving dignity to teachers, constituting school management committees and by involving many good NGOs for innovating learning methods. In 2015, there were only 17,000 classrooms. In just three years, AAP added another 8,000 classrooms; 11,000 more classes are under construction. Once completed there will be 36,000 classrooms. In India, schools have always been deeply segregated. The 1966 Kothari Education Commission’s recommendation for a common school system was never implemented. Today, which school a child goes to depends on her socio-economic status. The pandemic has furthered and exacerbated this divide. COVID-19 hit parents economically. Many were unable to pay school fees. Some removed their children from private schools and put them in government schools. But the government is trying hard to withdraw from public schools, or hand over their precious land and managements to private organisations. Why is the government going headlong with this privatisation? Doesn’t it know

5 years of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

ndia is an agrarian Country and any losses to the livelihood of farmers due to weather vagaries during the crop cycle, makes it almost impossible for farmers to protect their crops against unforeseen natural calamities . In such circumstances, it is necessary to provide a comprehensive risk mitigation solution in the form of insurance to protect the farming community from the impact of these events. The Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana (PMFBY) was approved on 13 January 2016 in accordance with the One Nation - One Scheme, giving high priority to protect farmers from crop losses and improve the shortcomings in the existing crop insurance schemes. In April 2016, the scheme was launched under the leadership of the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, with the objective of providing speedy payment of claims to farmers. Thesemodifications made in the scheme were farmer friendly with features such as uniform minimum premiums rates, transparency, widespread use of technologyfor claims assessment and ease of enrollment with a robust grievance redressal system. The Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana is being constantly modified by the Govt of India, keeping farmer interest in mind and giving flexibility to the States. Enrollment under the scheme is now voluntary for all farmers and in order to establish a continuous communication with the farmers,the Insurance Companies have been allocated longer tenure of three years.Extensive communication and awareness level at block level has been carried out in order to increase coverage and an amount of 0.5% of the grosspremium has been earmarked by the insurance companies. The sum insured has been made equal to the crop production value, thereby ensuring adequate payment of crop losses to the farmers in line with the loss impact. Additionally, the States / UTs have been given the option to choose addon risk covers. To encourage increased participation , the Government of India has increased the subsidy to 90:10 for North Eastern States from the earlier pattern of 50:50.. Considering the challenge ofconnecting crores of farmers and extensive span of 1.7 lacbank branchesand 44 thousand CSCs (public service centers) ,the National Crop Insurance Portal has been developed and is being integrated with land records of the States . The National Crop Insurance app is enabling easy enrollment for farmers right from their doorstep. Since 2017, the implementation of mandatory Aadhar based verification brought in more transparency in the scheme and farmers received claims directly into to their bank accounts. This revolutionary initiative has helped

removing fake beneficiaries and helped in time bound claims settlements. The farmers have received more than five times the claim amount, against premium of Rs 16,000 crore till Kharif 2019, the farmers have received claims worth Rs 86,000 crore , for eg for every Rs. 100 the farmers paid as premium, they have received Rs. 537 as claims. The Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojanais supportingfarmers in making them self-sufficient by giving timely compensation to them in the event of crop loss. During this 5 year journey, 29 crore farmers’ applications have been insured withmore than 5.5 crore farmers enrolling in the scheme on year on year basis. Over 90,000crore have been paid to the farmers as claims under this scheme. As against the previous crop insurance scheme, the insurance amount has increased from Rs 15,100 per hectare to Rs 40,700 per hectare. The share of non-loaneefarmers enrolling havealso increased from 6% (prePMFBY) to 37% in 2019-20. Farmers were supported during the three-month lockdown period due to the COVID-19 epidemic by distribution of claims ofoverRs 8741 crore directly in the bank accounts of over 70 lakh farmers. Losses occurring due to add on cover provisions either due to Locust attack in Rajasthan or mid-season calamities in Karnataka & Tamil Nadu and post-harvest impact in Maharashtra were also paid to the farmers The PMFBY portal supports 10 regional languages, and enables the farmers to directly enroll in the scheme. Farmers can track their application status, premium amount and the status of their claim. The National Crop Insurance App, available on Android phones, enables farmers to track the status of their application and report crop loss within 72 hours of occurrence of any event as listed in the PMFBY guidelines. The scheme has also integrated modern technological methods such as smart sampling and remote sensing to settle claims in an efficient manner. OurGovernment is committed to better implementation of this scheme in the coming future, with special focus on transparency of claims, farmer awareness, timely redressal of grievancesandquick disposal of claims with extensive usage of Technology. This schemeworks as a risk mitigation tool in the loss of crops in the event of a natural disaster, so I would urge all farmers to join this scheme in large numbers even though the scheme is voluntary for all non-loanee farmers .To be associated with this scheme means to be self-reliant in times of crisis and our dream is also to make every farmerfully self-reliant. Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister

that in America, England, Japan and Finland — the most advanced countries — the best schools are government schools? The digital divide between the rich and poor has also widened. The poor do not have access to mobiles, laptops and internet connectivity. In such a scenario, one can try and conceive of neighbourhood learning spaces. The pandemic forced millions of adults to work from home. Many people realised that an office is not needed to do productive work. In the process, some have realised the boring nature of routine office and factory jobs and, simultaneously, discovered their own potential. Many have left busy, polluted cities, and returned to small towns and villages. We must strive for more neighborhood learning spaces as we reimagine the school. Large housing societies already have community halls. Smaller ones can easily allocate a dedicated space, where adults can share their skills and experiences with young ones. Every housing society should have an “activities centre”, where children can make and do things.

In the 1960s, England had a lot of community colleges. Here, anyone who had any skill could offer a course. And anyone who wanted to learn a skill or subject could join in. No degrees were required. The courses were wide-ranging, from haiku, Chinese art, limerick writing, pottery to bicycle repairs! We need to reimagine schools – as places for community learning. Schools have a very narrow vision of a teacher — someone with a B Ed degree. How about envisioning tens of thousands of retired professionals as teachers? They will bring years of practical experience to learning. The government can use the pandemic to better its own schools. First, by improving the infrastructure and making the schools more welcoming. Clean toilets, drinking water, library, a tinkering lab, and a playground will help. Second, by making learning fun. Instead of segregating children by age they can have classes with mixed age groups. The children can also learn at their own pace. Third, locate the champions — the “heroes” within the government system — and use them as effective resource people. Without any cash

incentives, simply by bringing innovators to the fore, many teachers will feel motivated. Fourth, by inviting established NGOs to help bring in best practices from all over. During the pandemic, 1.5 million people logged into archive.org every day. It is the largest repository of books with 28 million books for free downloads. We need to build such a free archive for Indian languages. The recent announcement that the government will buy bulk subscriptions of scientific journals so that everyone can access them is a step in the right direction. We n e e d s c h o o l s where children with different backgrounds — class, caste, religions, abilities — can study together and learn to care and empathise. In David Horsburgh’s Neel Bagh School in Kolar, Karnataka, children could learn at their own pace. They could study Class V Telugu, Class III English and Class VII math all at the same time. They learnt to work with people with different skills and abilities. They also learnt cooperation, group work, compassion, human dignity and plurality of opinions. Arvind Gupta (Toymaker and educator)

Environmental challenge posed by cigarette butt litter

ellulose acetatebased cigarette filter is considered the world’s most littered form of plastic. With close to 4.5 trillion butts polluting the global environment, this form of litter accounts for close to 26,454 tonnes of waste generated annually in India. Though one of the neglected waste streams, Oceans Conservancy, an inter national advocacy group, categorized cigarette butts as second among the top three articles collected during beach clean-ups globally. Numerous studies document filters as becoming accumulated masses of potentially toxic waste, posing physical harm to land and marine life when ingested and potentially polluting groundwater near landfills not containing leachate. A recent study by the Indian Institute of Toxicology suggests that cigarette butts under ambient conditions showed only 37.8% degradation in two years, noting it may pollute long after disposal. The study also went on to suggest the “recycling of cellulose acetate after recovery from the cigarette butts” as one of the immediate solutions to the problem until further data is generated. “Concerned” with the manner of disposal of cigarette/bidi butts in India, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Central Pollution Control Board to lay down guidelines for the disposal of cigarette butts, in the interest of the environment, within three months. Falling under the category of post-consumer waste, cigarette litter could easily be categorized as a public nuisance, especially for those that have fewer resources to clean it. While ignorance has been a convenient veil, clean-up and disposal costs of such waste need to be borne by the polluter. Litter clean-up costs have risen steadily around major cities in the world, leading to action against this form of pollution. San Francisco estimated that clearing up tobacco

waste costs $22 million annually, while the United Kingdom estimated the cost as close to 140 million pounds annually to clean up burnt cigarette butts. Recently, France ordered the tobacco industry to take voluntary action to help curb cigarette butts from littering the streets and contaminating water, or face mandatory legislation. Further, the European Union issued a directive for reduction of impact of plastic products on environment by including cigarette butts under Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) and proposing incentives to develop less-polluting alternatives. The Government of India recently proposed draft rules for EPR, which would make a manufacturer responsible for managing post-consumer plastic waste. There is definitely more than one reason for cigarette litter to be covered under the EPR scheme to make producers responsible and assign accountability. This would also be consistent with article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Treaty that India signed in 2004. This may also mean that the final user will end up paying marginally more for the product and indirectly

supporting environmental clean-up. Last-mile collection may be the most challenging part of managing this stream. India could take cue from countries such as Japan who have set up dedicated smoking zones in public/private spaces so that butt waste can be collected and managed effectively from designated places. The Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, combined with a slew of steps by states to curb single-use plastics, has definitely seen a political consensus in India. A steady increase in tobacco consumption is bound to exacerbate the litter associated with it. Vo l u n t a r y p r o d u c t stewardship leading to EPR will certainly have a profound impact on increasing stakeholder awareness on this form of litter. The inclusion of cigarette butt litter under Plastic EPR will create more resources to deal with this form of waste. NGT, flagging off a pertinent issue, provides the government with a certain opportunity not only to improve its stand on cigarette butt litter but also allay concerns related to its waste management. Kaushik Chandrasekhar and Suneel Pandey (The views expressed are personal)

Reader’s Post

Sir,

On a positive note

Last year had been a year filled with tension, worry and fear over the coronavirus, where many people died across the globe. Many are still recovering from the virus infection and it is indeed sad because there is nothing that anyone can do to ease their worry. 2020 had been such a dark year where every aspect of life came to a grinding halt and it was only towards the end of the year, that businesses starting picking up. Finally, the vaccine has made its appearance and people will soon get the much awaited protection from the COVID-19, although many people are filled with doubts as to whether to take the vaccine shot or not. All in all, the year at least started on a positive note as it has truly eased the heavy tension in the minds of people. Life is slowly picking up and hopefully everything should fall in place eventually. Sorenbeni Ngully, Agri Colony, Kohima 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.

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Centre must repeal farm laws or it will Centre seeks injunction on R-Day tractor rally cost BJP-JJP in Hry: section of JJP MLAs

Farmers on their tractor march towards Delhi, to join the main agitation against the Center’s farm laws, in Amritsar, Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): With temperatures falling, an orange alert was issued by the India Meteorological Department on Tuesday for the northern plains with a forecast of a cold wave for the next four days. A similar alert has been sounded for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with a forecast of heavy rains. The IMD said that the minimum temperature over the north Indian plains is likely to be below normal during this period. “Due to the prevalence of dry north/northwesterly winds, the minimum temperature is very likely to be below normal over most parts of northwest India during next 4-5 days which are very likely to cause cold day/severe cold day conditions at some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during next three days. “Cold wave/severe cold wave conditions at some parts are also very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and in isolated parts over Uttar Pradesh, north Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan during next three days,” the IMD said. Ground frost is also very likely in isolated pockets over south Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and north Rajasthan during the

next two days. The IMD said that dense to very dense fog conditions at isolated places are very likely over northwest India during the next 4-5 days. It has issued an orange colour coded alert for Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh from January 13 to 16. It has also sounded an orange alert for Rajasthan for January 13. The IMD has four colour codes signifying the intensity of weather events. While an orange alert is an indication to be prepared for likely extreme conditions, red is a warning to take action to protect life and property from extremely bad weather. Green indicates normal conditions and yellow is for keeping a watch for a deterioration in the weather. Due to a cyclonic circulation over the Comorin area, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall, with isolated heavy falls and moderate thunderstorms and lightning are very likely over Tamil Nadu Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep during next 2-3 days, the IMD said. There will be a significant decrease in rainfall activity over these regions thereafter. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on January 12 and 13, the IMD added.

assembly polls

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): The Election Commission on Tuesday discussed with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla the availability and requirement of central security forces for the upcoming assembly elections in five states/Union territory. The meeting held at Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters here, was “primarily to discuss requirement vis-à-vis availability of central armed police forces (CAPFs), and related matters, for the upcoming Assembly Elections to the States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry,” a brief EC statement said. The terms of the legislative assemblies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are coming to an end on different dates in May and June this year. The assembly elections are likely to take place sometime in April-May. Keeping in mind social distancing norms due to coronavirus pandemic, the Commission could increase the number of polling stations in these states to restrict the number of voters per polling station.

Khattar, deputy Dushyant meet Shah

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Dushyant

High alert in Uttarakhand for bird flu Dehradun, Jan 12 (PTI): A high alert has been sounded across Uttarakhand with the samples of two dead crows testing positive for bird flu in the state Samples of two dead crows sent to a lab in Bhopal tested positive for avian influenza on Monday, forest officials here confirmed. With the confirmation of bird flu in Uttarakhand a high alert has been sounded across the state, State Animal Husbandry Minister Rekha Arya said. Officials have been asked to remain vigilant and keep a tab on import of chicken and eggs from neighbouring states like Har yana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, she said. “However, so far bird flu has been confirmed only in wild birds in Uttarakhand. The poultry sector is by far free from the

virus,” Arya said. “Still all precautions are being taken. People have been asked not to touch a dead bird and report the death to the authorities concerned,” she said. Forest personnel engaged in collecting samples of dead birds or burying their carcasses have been asked not to do it without wearing PPE kits, the minister said. Nearly 300 birds mostly crows have been found dead in different parts of Uttarakhand including Dehradun, Rishikesh and

Kotdwar over the past few days. While a majority of the carcasses have been safely buried, some of them have been sent for testing to the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease in Bhopal and Indian Veterinary Research Institute Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. State level and district level committees were also set up on Tuesday to check the spread of avian influenza as per the guidelines and SOPs issued by the Centre, Animal Husbandry Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram said.

Chautala will hold a meeting with all his party’s MLAs at a farm house here. “I have nothing to do with the JJP (meeting)… not going to Delhi… the sentiment in Haryana is against the three farm laws and it will cost the ruling BJP-JJP alliance heavily in the coming days,” JJP MLA Ram Kumar Gautam said. The meeting being organised by Chautala is being seen as an attempt to keep his flock of MLAs in the alliance as the farmers’ agitation dominates the political narrative in Haryana. Last week Khattar could not address a farmers’ rally in his Karnal constituency after farmers ransacked the venue. In a similar in-

Swami Vivekananda’s 158th birth anniv celebrated in WB Ko l k ata , Ja n 1 2 (PTI): Swami Vivekananda’s 158th birth anniversary was celebrated on Tuesday across West Bengal with political leaders and people making a beeline at his ancestral house here to pay tributes to him. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and par ty leader Suvendu Adhikari garlanded the statue of Swami Vivekananda at his north Kolkata residence. Trinamool Con-

gress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and state minister Sashi Panja also paid floral tributes to him, whose birth anniversary is celebrated as National Youth Day. Months before the assembly elections, both the BJP and the TMC are involved in a political oneupmanship over claims on Bengal’s culture and heritage. A towering spiritual philosopher, Vivekananda, was born in 1863 in Kolkata and is credited for popularising the Vedantic ideas.

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farmers protesting at Delhi borders. The apex court stayed the implementation of the contentious new farm laws till further orders and constituted a four-member committee to make recommendations to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.

Ram Kumar Gautam

cident a few weeks back, protesting farmers dug up a helipad in Chautala’s constituency, Hisar. Moreover, Independent MLA Somveer Sangwan has already withdrawn support from the government. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana and Punjab, have been protesting at several border points of Delhi since November 28 last year, demanding a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for their crops. Farmers are protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The three farm laws, enacted in September last year, have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

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law and order situation,” the application said. It further said “it is submitted that the said proposed march/protest seeks to disrupt and disturb such celebrations which is bound to create a serious law and order situation and will cause an embarrassment to the nation.” The application came up for consideration when the top court was hearing on a batch of pleas including those challenging the validity of these farm laws, those supporting these legislations and those raising the issue of

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): The Centre should repeal the three farm laws or it will cost the ruling BJP-JJP alliance in Haryana “heavily”, a section of JJP MLAs said on Tuesday, hours before their party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah here. Chautala and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar are scheduled to meet Shah in the national capital, and they will be accompanied by BJP state president O P Dhankar. The BJP, which won 40 seats in the 90-member Haryana assembly in the 2019 polls, formed government with the support of 10 Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) MLAs and several Independents. The Centre should rollback these laws as farmers of Haryana, Punjab and the country are up in arms against the legislations, JJP MLA Jogi Ram Sihag told PTI. “We will request Dushyant ji to convey our feelings to Amit Shah ji,” he said. Before meeting Shah,

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sue notice returnable on January 18,” said the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. The application said it has come to the knowledge of security agencies that a small group of protesting individuals or organisations have planned to carry out a tractor march on Republic Day. “It is submitted that the proposed march is slated to disturb and disrupt the august celebrations of nation on Republic Day and would be bound to create a massive

Chautala on Tuesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in the backdrop of the ongoing protests by farmers against the new agri laws. The meeting came within hours after the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three controversial farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders. Khattar and Chautala along with the state presidents of BJP, the JJP and state cabinet ministers met the home minister, here at North Block. Before meeting Shah, Chautala met MLAs of his party Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) here at a farm house, in which a section of them said it would cost the ruling alliance heavily if the laws are not repealed. Khattar had to cancel a public meeting in Karnal on Sunday after the site was ransacked by the protesting farmers. A section of MLAs belonging to JJP, headed by Chautala, is believed to have been facing pressure from the agitating farmers.

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New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear the Centre’s application seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor or trolley march or any other kind of protest which seeks to disrupt the gathering and celebrations of the Republic Day on January 26. The Centre, in an application filed through Delhi Police, has said that any proposed march or protest which seeks to disrupt and disturb the Republic Day celebrations will cause an “embarrassment to the nation”. It said the right to protest can never include “maligning the nation globally” and requested the top court to restrain anyone from conducting any protest march either in the form of tractor march, trolley march, vehicle march or any other mode by entering into the National Capital Region Territory of Delhi. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde issued notice on the application and said that it be served upon the farmers’ unions, which are protesting against the new farm laws. “Taken on board. Is-

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Bharti Airtel gets approvals SC stays implementation of 3 farm laws Piyush reviews Bengaluru for 100% FDI in subsidiaries suburban service project

Bengaluru, Jan 12 (IANS): Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday reviewed the status of the Bengaluru suburban service project in a virtual meeting from New Delhi, an official said. “Reviewing the project status, Goyal said the suburban rail service should be built keeping in view the growing needs of Bengaluru and should be based on Make in India policy to boost the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ mission,” a South Western Railway official told IANS here. The Union Cabinet had on October 21, 2020 approved the 148 km suburban rail project, which has been pending over the years, to provide an efficient commuting network to the tech city of 1.3 crore denizens. The project to be completed by 2026 is estimated to cost Rs 15,767 crore, which is being shared by the Indian Railways and the

Piyush Goyal

Karnataka government on equity and debt basis. “The Railways will contribute 20 per cent of the equity and guarantee external borrowing up to 60 per cent of the project cost, while the state government will share the remaining 20 per cent equity,” the official said. The project will have four corridors, connecting Bengaluru with Devanahalli near the international airport (41.4 km and 15 stations), Baiyappanahalli with Chikkabanavara (25 km and 14 stations), Kengeri with

Whitefield (35.52 km and 14 stations) and Heelalige with Rajanakunte (46.24 km and 19 stations). The state government had on November 12, 2020 decided to borrow Rs 7,438 crore through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as part of its share for the project. Officials of the Railway Board and the state government participated in the virtual meet held through video conferencing. The dedicated project is being implemented by the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd (KRIDE), a joint venture firm set up by the Railways and the state government, to provide a safe, accessible and comfortable mode of public transport. “The project will ease vehicular traffic congestion across the city, enhance rural-urban connectivity and provide a cleaner mobility solution to lakhs of commuters,” noted the official.

M u mbai , J a n 1 2 (IANS): Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said that it has received required regulatory approvals for 100 per cent foreign direct investment in its downstream companies. In a regulatory filing, the company said that it is initiating the process to revise its foreign investment limit, as notified to its depositories, to 100 per cent with immediate effect. “Further to our inti-

(From p-1) ing support to the agitat- Republic Day on January In the proceedings, ing farmers, the top court 26. conducted through video asked attorney general K K In the application, the conferencing, it reiterated Venugopal about it. Centre has said that it has that the apex court has Venugopal told the come to the knowledge of powers to suspend the leg- bench that ‘Khalistanis’ the security agencies that islation in order to solve the have infiltrated into the a small group of protesting problem. ongoing farmers’ protest to individuals or organisaThe bench said those which the bench asked him tions have planned to carry who “genuinely want reso- to file an affidavit in this out a tractor march on the lution, will go to the com- regard. The top law officer Republic Day. mittee” on farm laws. said that he will do so by On Monday, the apex “This is not politics. Wednesday. court had pulled up the There is a difference beThe top court also is- Centre for its handling of tween politics and judiciary sued notice on a separate the farmers’ protest against and you will have to co- application filed by the the new farm laws saying it operate”, it said to farmer Centre through Delhi po- is “extremely disappointed” unions. lice seeking an injunction with the way negotiations When the bench was against the proposed trac- between them were going informed that an applica- tor or trolley march or any and it will constitute a commation dated January 21, tion has been filed before other kind of protest which mittee headed by a former 2020, we wish to inform it alleging that a banned seeks to disrupt the gather- Chief Justice of India to you that in compliance of organisation is extending and celebrations of the resolve the impasse. the FDi approval dated January 20, 2020 granted to the Company by the Department of Telecommunications, the company Taking this issue into account and has received approvals for (From p-1) But after temporarily suspending the seeing the lackadaisical attitude of the deits relevant downstream collections by lessees for a few months, it partment, the organizations cautioned the investments,” it said. adviser that if the department continues to Shares of Bharti Air- was re-introduced again, they added. The organisations said it found no show no sign of concern over the cries of tel on the BSE closed at Rs 565.75 per share on Tues- justified reason for the Dimapur Municipal general public in Dimapur, this would only day, higher by Rs 18.65, Council to follow lease system for collec- lead to another unnecessary upheaval, for or 3.41 per cent, from its tion of tax when it has more than 300 work- which the department would be held solely ing employees under its establishment. responsible. previous close.

CSOs seek revocation of leasing DMC tax...

India’s industrial production Petrol, diesel prices hold even as crude remains strong contracts 1.9% in November

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Mumbai, Jan 12 (PTI): The rupee recouped early losses and provisionally closed 15 paise higher at 73.25 against the US dollar on Tuesday, supported by weakness in the dollar index and recovery in domestic equities. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened weak at 73.42, but recovered lost ground and finished 15 paise higher

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Rupee settles 15 paise higher at 73.25 against USD

and Rs 85.68 per litre, respectively. Petrol and diesel prices had increased on two successive days last Wednesday and Thursday taking gasoline to record high levels in Delhi while keeping its prices very close to record high levels in other metro cities. The rise came amid rising crude oil prices. Currently, Brent crude price is

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Frank India said: “The contraction in IIP for November is not surprising as the other high frequency economic indicators were also showing a moderation in growth.” She noted that a lot of economic revival seen in the previous few months had been because of pent-up demand and festive demand, hence the growth momentum was expected to moderate. New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS): Retail fuel prices across the four metro cities remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive day on over its last close. During the trading ses- Tuesday. sion, the domestic unit witnessed an intraAccordingly, in the day high of 73.24 and a low of 73.44. national capital, petrol was On Monday, the rupee had closed at sold at the record high of Rs 73.40 against the American currency. 84.20 per litre, reached on Meanwhile, the dollar index, which Thursday (January 7). gauges the greenback’s strength against a In Mumbai, Chennai basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 per cent and Kolkata, the fuel was to 90.38. priced at Rs 90.83, Rs 86.96

in Delhi, petrol price has breached the highest level in the national capital after October 4, 2018, when the rate had risen to Rs 84 a litre.

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industrial production came on the back of a shrink in mining and manufacturing activity. Sector-wise mining and manufacturing output witnessed de-growth of 7.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent, while electricity output grew by 3.5 per cent in November 2020. Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist & National Director, Research at Knight

Chennai and Kolkata, diesel was priced at Rs 74.38, Rs 81.07, 79.72 and Rs 77.97, all unchanged levels since Thursday. At Rs 84.20 a litre

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New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS): India’s industrial production activity decelerated by 1.9 per cent in November 2020 on a year-onyear (YoY) basis, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The factory output in the country had grown at 3.6 per cent in October. The overall decline in

high near the $56-per-barrel mark. Diesel price also was the same for the fourth consecutive day across the metros. In Delhi, Mumbai,

international

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Indonesia retrieves ‘black box’ Trump declares emergency in Washington DC from crashed Sriwijaya Air plane wrote in the letter. “I have determined that the plans and resources previously assigned to the Inauguration are insufficient to establish a safe and secure environment as a direct result of the insurrectionist actions that occurred on January 6. “Based on recent events and intelligence as-

sessments, we must prepare for large groups of trained and armed extremists to come to Washington, D.C,” the Mayor added On Monday, Bowser was joined by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan in urging people to stay away from inaugural events, citing “last week’s

violent insurrection as well as the ongoing and deadly Covid-19 pandemic”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned about plans of ar med protests from January 16 through January 20 at all the 50 state capitols, and from January 17 through January 20 at the US Capitol in Washington D.C.

FBI warns of armed protests

Donald Trump

Washington, Jan 12 (IANS/Reuters): US President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Washington, D.C., through January 24, covering the date of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20. “Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the District of Columbia and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the District’s response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the 59th Presidential Inauguration from January 11 to January 24, 2021,” the Office of the White House Press Secretary said in a statement late Monday. The emergency declaration authorised the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management

Agency to coordinate resources with state and local authorities, and came as Washington braced for heightened possibility of violence in the lead-up to and during Biden’s inauguration. The declaration was in response to a letter sent to Trump on Sunday by Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who had already declared a 15-day public emergency for the capital city shortly after pro-Trump demonstrators stormed the Capitol on January 6. “In light of the attack on the Capitol and intelligence suggesting further violence is likely during the Inaugural period, my administration has re-evaluated our preparedness posture for the Inauguration, including requesting the extension of D.C. National Guard support through January 24, 2021,” Bowser

The FBI has warned of armed protests being planned for Washington and all 50 U.S. state capitals in the run-up to Presidentelect Joe Biden’s January 20 inauguration, a federal law enforcement source said on Monday. Threatened with more violence from outgoing President Donald Trump’s supporters following last Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol, the FBI issued warnings for next weekend that run at least until Inauguration Day, the source said. In other steps to safeguard the U.S. capital, the National Guard was authorized to send up to 15,000 troops to Washington, and tourists were barred from visiting the Washington Monument until Jan. 24. The chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Daniel Hokanson, told reporters he expected about 10,000 troops in Washington by Saturday to help provide security, logistics and com-

munications. He said the number could rise to 15,000 if requested by local authorities. At least one lawmaker asked the Pentagon to do more. Senator Chris Murphy, who said he was sending a letter to the acting secretary of defense on Monday, said it was unclear if the National Guard would be sufficient to protect the nation’s capital and that active-duty troops may be needed also. “I’m not afraid of taking the oath outside,” Biden told reporters in Newark, Delaware, referring to the traditional setting for the swearing-in ceremony on the Capitol grounds. But he said it was critically important that people “who engaged in sedition and threatened people’s lives, defaced public property, caused great damage” be held accountable. Biden’s inaugural committee said on Monday the theme of the Jan. 20 ceremony would be “America United.” Trump, who has

sought unsuccessfully to overturn the Nov. 3 election results with false claims of widespread fraud, said last week he would not attend the ceremony, a decision the president-elect supported. Washington monument closed to tours The Park Service said it would suspend tours of the Washington Monument, an obelisk honoring the country’s first president, due to safety concerns from threats to disrupt the inauguration. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called for the U.S. Interior Department to cancel publicgathering permits through Jan. 24. “This inaugural planning period has to be very different than all the others,” she told reporters on Monday. In a letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf made public on Sunday, Bowser called for a fresh approach to security after what she called last week’s “unprecedented terrorist attack.”

Members of the National Transportation Safety Committee carry a box containing the flight data recorder of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182, Tuesday. (AP/PTI)

JAKARTA, Jan 12 (Reuters): Indonesian authorities have retrieved one of the black boxes from a Sriwijaya Air plane that crashed into the Java Sea at the weekend, a navy spokesman said on Tuesday. The recording device was being transported to Jakarta’s port, spokesman Fajar Tri Rohadi told Reuters. Local television footage had earlier showed a white plastic box holding the device aboard a speed boat. It was not immediately clear if it was the plane’s flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder that had been recovered. Transport Minister

Budi Karya Sumadi and other officials were due to hold a news conference later on Tuesday. The Boeing 737500 plane with 62 people on board plunged into the Java Sea on Saturday, four minutes after taking off from Jakarta’s main airport. Earlier on Tuesday, more human remains were found at the crash site, as well as personal effects such as wallets containing identification cards. Indonesia’s Sriwijaya flew old planes and neglected routes to become No.3 carrier The plane was headed on a domestic flight to Pontianak on Borneo island,

about 740 km (460 miles) from Jakarta, before it disappeared from radar screens. It was the second major air crash in Indonesia since 189 passengers and crew were killed in 2018 when a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX also plunged into the Java Sea soon after taking off from Jakarta. The jet that crashed on Saturday is a largely different design. Once the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has said it expects to be able to read the information in three days.

Pak FM, Afghan US designates Cuba as ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ Guterres to seek second five-year politician discuss term as UN Secretary-General peace process

the President of the Security Council. In accordance with Article 97 of the UN Charter, the appointment of the Secretary General is made by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, which in effect means that any of the five permanent members can veto the nominee. Each Secretary-General has the option of a second term if

Islamabad, Jan 12 (IANS): Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday held talks with leader of Afghanistan’s Hezb-e-Wahdat-e Islami party Karim Khalili in Islamabad on the war-torn country’s peace process. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said that Khalili, a former Vice President, arrived in Pakistan on a three-day visit on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency. Qureshi described the progress in intra-Afghan negotiations currently underway in Qatar to decide a future political roadmap as “good omen”, according to the statement. “It has been Pakistan’s long standing stance that there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict.

Malaysia declares state of emergency Kuala Lumpur, Jan 12 (Agencies): Malaysia’s king declared a nationwide state of emergency for the first time in more than half a century, suspending parliament in a move that allows embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to avoid facing an election until the pandemic is over. The emergency decree gives Muhyiddin’s administration more power to tackle a surge in Covid-19 cases, including over the operations of private hospitals, and may allow the police and military to assist in public health measures. The ringgit and the country’s main stocks index declined after the announcement, which came a day after Muhyiddin imposed a two-week targeted lockdown in most of the country starting Wednesday. Malaysia last saw a nationwide emergency in 1969, when race riots between ethnic Malays and Chinese led to the suspension of parliament for two years. The announcement of the emergency on Tuesday brought back memories of that “very traumatic period,” said Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham Malaysia. “I see this as completely K Y M C

surge in cases, according to Lim Guan Eng, secretarygeneral of the opposition Democratic Action Party, the largest in parliament. He said Muhyiddin’s government had failed to implement effective measures due to “endless politicking for survival.”

An electronic shop worker watches a live broadcast of Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin in Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday. (AP)

unnecessary from a Covid19 perspective,” Welsh said. “It is a political move to hold on to political power.” In a briefing on Tuesday, the prime minister said he may introduce measures like price controls to prevent economic sabotage. An independent committee would be established to advise the king on the duration of the emergency, which was set to expire on Aug. 1 unless the outbreak abates sooner. Elections would be held as soon as an independent committee declares that the pandemic has subsided and it’s safe to hold a vote, Muhyiddin said. “The emergency proclaimed by the Yang diPertuan Agong is not a military coup and curfew will not be enforced,” he said in a national address, referring to the monarch. “I

emphasize that Malaysia is open for business. In facing these challenging times, this period of emergency will give us much needed calm and stability, as well as enable us to focus on economic recovery and regeneration.” Opposition politicians criticized the move, blaming Muhyiddin for failing to contain a surge of Covid-19 cases in recent months and then using the pandemic as an excuse to stay in power. New infections hit a record high last week, and the tally stood at little over 3,300 on Tuesday. The government has forecast daily cases to reach 8,000 by late March or late May, based on a predictive modeling analysis. “ Po l i c y f l i p - f l o p s, double-standards and sheer incompetency” led to the

OFFICE OF THE

EZUNG KHUNGTSUTA HQ WOKHA : NAGALAND

FELICITATION

The Ezung Khungtsuta extends our heartiest congratulations to Mrs. Athel O Lotha on his confirmed as IAS. The Ezung further wishes her good health, wisdom and services in her future endeavours. Sd/Sd/SS Ezung Tsensao Ezung Chairman General Secretary

rorism in the United States poses a far greater threat to Americans than Cuba does. “Secretary Pompeo has self-righteously defended Donald Trump’s worst foreign policy failures, and on his way out the door he seems intent on making things as difficult as possible for his successor,” he said in a statement. President-elect Joe

Biden previously slammed Trump’s policies on Cuba, saying he would “try to reverse the failed Trump policies that inflicted harm on Cubans and their families”. In October, Biden had said that the US needed a new Cuba policy, though it remained unclear how quickly Biden would implement his policy on the island.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

OFFICE OF THE COMMANDANT 15 NAP (IR) MAHILA BATTALION. CHUMUKEDIMA : NAGALAND

No. XV NAP(IR)MBN/RO-62/17-18/3279 Dated Chumukedima the 12th Jan. 2021

To,

No. 1510120 C/N (GD) Bendangmongla Y. Jamir D/o. Smti. Yangertemjen Jamir Village - Kapayong Sector, Mokokchung P.O - Mokokchung P.S - Mokokchung-I Dist - Mokokchung State - Nagaland

CALLING NOTICE

Whereas, you are found absenting from duty since 16/09/2020 without any prior permission/leave from the competent authority till date. And whereas, following three calling notices were issued from this ofﬁce vide (i) No. XV NAP(IR)MBN/RO-62/17-18/2397 Dtd 16/11/2020 (ii) No. XV NAP(IR)MBN/RO-62/17-18/2660 Dtd 02/12/2020 and (iii) No. XV NAP(IR)MBN/RO-62/17-18/2946 Dtd 15/12/2020 directing you to report back for duty but you have failed to do so. Therefore, you are once again directed to report back for duty within 15 (ﬁfteen) days from the date of publication of this notice, failing which ex-parte action will be initiated against you. Commandant, 15th NAP (IR) Mahila Bn Chumukedima, Nagaland DC-30

SVBC 100 YEARS JUBILEE CELEBRATION Sanis Village Baptist Church (SVBC) held its Centenary Jubilee celebration from 8th to 10th January 2021 under the theme "A Century of God's Faithfulness"(Psalm 119:90). The celebration started with the dedication of the Jubilee stone by Rev. Dr. L. Tsanso, Executive Secretary LBCA. Rev. Dr. K Benry Lotha, Senior Pastor KLBC, Rev. Dr. Ezamo Murry former Principal ETC Jorhat and Rev N. Longshithung Kithan were the main speakers during the course of services. Shri Mhathung Yanthan, honourable Advisor, Horticulture and Border Affairs also joined in the celebration on 10th January and exhorted the gathering that Sanis has historical significance in Naga history from the advent of the British to the Naga freedom movement. He believed that with the attainment of 100 years of Christianity Sanis is now a matured village in Christ. At the same time SVBC expresses sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Shri Mhathung Yanthan, Advisor Horticulture and Border Affairs, GON, all the donors, invitees, well-wishers, the jubilee committees and the citizens of Sanis for making the celebration a grand success. The SVBC expresses its regret for not mentioning and thanking everyone in name but pray that the Almighty bless and bestow all grace upon each and everyone. DP-210

11/01/2021

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The office of the Konyak Students’ Union with immense pride and honour felicitate the two class-1 gazetted officers and prominent leaders of Konyak.

K.S ANDEN KONYAK, IAS W.HONJE KONYAK, NCS K.S Anden Konyak, IAS for being conferred as Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He is the first among Konyaks to clear the NPSC in the general list in the year 1989 and second to confer IAS. 2. W. Honje Konyak, NCS for being posted as Commissioner & Secretary, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Government of Nagaland. He is also the first among Konyaks to the post of Commissioner & Secretary. The Konyak Students’ Union would also like to convey hearty congratulations on their promotion and wishes all the success in their future endeavours and responsibilities. Their exemplary achievements and contributions will be cherished and forever remain inspirational for generations. (BUMANG PHAIBA) (PHOE KONYAK) President General Secretary 1.

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Antonio Guterres

they can garner enough support from member states. The term of the next Secretary General will begin on January 1, 2022. Guterres assumed office on January 1, 2017 after a reformed selection process that included a public informal dialogue session in the General Assembly, involving civil society representatives, where each of the 13 candidates presented vision statements, and took questions. Dujarric said the UN chief had informed the Security Council, and the heads of regional groups of his decision, and that it was too early to gauge any reaction from member states at this stage, or speculate about any other potential candidates.

impose certain controls on exports of dual-use items. In addition to Cuba, the State Department currently lists Syria, Iran and North Korea as state sponsors of terrorism. The action by the outgoing administration of Donald Trump has immediately drawn condemnation from Cuba and US Democrats. “We condemn the US announced hypocritical and cynical designation of Cuba as a State sponsoring terrorism. The US political opportunism is recognised by those who are honestly concerned about the scourge of terrorism and its victims,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy blasted the move as a “blatantly politicised designation”. “In fact, domestic ter-

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United Nations, Jan 12 (PTI): UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he will be seeking a second five-year term as chief of the world organisation. President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, had enquired last Friday about Guterres’ intentions regarding a second mandate. “The Secretary-General conveyed to him today that he is available to serve a second term as SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, if that would be the will of the member states,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing on Monday. Dujarric said the Secretary-General also addressed a letter of similar content to

Washington, Jan 12 (IANS): The US has added Cuba to the list of “State Sponsor of Terrorism”, a move to constrain the incoming Joe Biden administration’s efforts to improve relations with Havana. In a statement on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Cuba was designated for “repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbour to terrorists”, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement cited that Cuba harboured several US fugitives from justice and supported According to the statement, the designation would result in sanctions that penalise persons and countries engaging in certain trade with Cuba; restricts US foreign assistance; ban defence exports and sales; and

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Infotainment

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Satriani to release his own sci-fi- Eddie Van Halen to be honoured Kala Utsav national level Joethemed comic book, Crystal Planet with new range of guitars online competition begins W T

Officials with Ghokivi K Awomi at Highland Dawn Media Studio, Tuesday during vocal music classical competition. (NP)

ala Utsav national level online competition on vocal music classical was held Tuesday at Kohima. The competition was slated to be held from January 11 to 22. Ghokivi K Awomi of class 12 from GHSS Zunheboto participated in vocal music classical male category online (live) at Highland Dawn Media Studio near High School Junction. There are 9 categories of competition for both female and male participants. Out of 18 partici-

pants, 12 participants will be performing in the studio at Highland Dawn Media near High School Junction Kohima for six days as per the schedule and the six participants of visual art 2D, 3D and indigenous toys and games venue will be held from January 15 to 16 at RGHSS multipurpose hall. For Nagaland, the vocal music classical was held on January 12 while on January 14 instrumental music classical will be conducted, while music traditional/folk will also be held on January 16 at

different venue. On January 18 instrumental music traditional/folk while be held while on January 20 and 22 dance classical and dance traditional/folk will be held respectively. Teacher mentor of the participant for vocal music classical, programme coordinator and deputy mission director Liyalo Apon, Samagra Shiksha and Medosale Whuorie and Paul, technical coordinator Nagaland for the national level Kala Utsav online competition were also present. (Correspondent)

ith a whopping 17 studio albums under his belt, it's safe to say Joe Satriani has conquered the guitar world. His boundary-pushing lead lines have inspired guitarists the world over for decades, his legacy couldn't be any more concrete. But Satch has never been one to rest on his laurels. Now, the shredder turns his sights to the comic book world – or more accurately, looks to transport his fans to a whole new world: Crystal Planet. Created by Joe Satriani and fellow guitarist Ned Evett and published by Incendium and Heavy Metal Magazine under the new music-focused OPUS imprint, Crystal Planet is “a vivid space odyssey where Satchel Walker, a man out of time, finds himself caught between desperate factions as they battle for resources in the perilous orbit of a dying star. “In a bold and brutal saga of sentient storms and Wingsuit armies, it’s music, and more importantly the power and emotion that music can conjure, which could bring an end to the conflict, restore harmony to the timestream, and reveal Walker’s true place in the universe.” The comic will begin as a five-issue series, with the first print edition of each issue released as a prestige

format limited-edition collectible comic book, featuring cardstock covers, specialty foil treatments, glossy pages, and individual numbering. “Funny how things get their start,” Satriani says. “July 1994 I’m on tour with Deep Purple and I’m warming up with my guitar backstage in a bull’s isolation cell at the Plaza de Toros in Gijón, Spain. Then and there I start writing the opening riff to a song that will become Crystal Planet and a few years later it's the title track for my '98 album release. Fast-forward to 2013, friend and fellow guitarist Ned Evett makes an animated sci-fi video for my song Lies and Truths using artwork from my Joe’s Art 2013 book. We projected that video on a 30-foot screen every night of the Unstoppable Momentum Tour. (Guitar World)

he late Eddie Van Halen will have a new range of nine guitars made in his honour by the company he helped found and name, EVH. The reimagined 5150 series, set to be released in early 2021, comprises guitars that have been designed for speed and comfort, supporting Van Halen’s signature “tapping” technique. They’ll arrive in a bright set of colours, including neon pink, and at a range of prices. In a statement announcing the new guitars, EVH spoke of Van Halen’s influence: “The industry saw record guitar-playing interest in 2020 but also sadly said goodbye to one of the most innovative and influential players of its time. “Eddie Van Halen’s singularly inventive style inspired an entire generation of players. He innovated not only in how he played but what he played and what he played through by creating some of the greatest guitars and amps the world has seen and heard.” The nine guitars have Stratocaster-style basswood bodies with a deeper upper body curve, featuring specifications made by Van Halen himself: bolton quarter-sawn carved maple necks, and a 12- to

16-inch compound radius fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets. All are powered by direct-mount EVH Wolfgang bridge and neck humbucking pickups. Two Wolfgang Special guitar models and four Wolf WG Standard variants will also be released as part of the 2021 EVH range. The former pair of guitars are similar to the 5150 range, excepting a direct-mount EVH Wolfgang Alnico 2 bridge and neck humbucking pickups. The WG Standard variants are entry-level models, and

will feature a baked maple neck and fingerboard with standard EVH Wolfgang humbuckers. Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65, following a long battle with cancer. Last month, the rock icon’s death certificate was obtained by TMZ, citing his immediate cause of death as a cerebrovascular accident, or a stroke. He also had several underlying causes, including pneumonia, the bone marrow disorder myelodysplastic syndrome and lung cancer. (NME)

Desert geckos glow neon green in the moonlight, scientists discover Among Us was 2020’s most downloaded mobile game

light using skin pigment cells that are filled with guanine crystals. These cells, called iridophores, have previously been linked to color display in geckos and lizards, but this is the first evidence that they also enable geckos to glow in the dark. Web-footed geckos, which live in dry riverbeds and dunes in the Namib desert, measure about 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) in length, according to Animal Diversity Web (ADW), a wildlife database maintained by the Univer-

sity of Michigan's Museum of Zoology. The geckos use their large, webbed feet to burrow through fine sand, and they are mostly active at night, ADW says. In 2018, the study authors had found that chameleons have bones that glow through their skin. That discovery prompted the scientists to look for hidden glows in other reptiles and amphibians, said study coauthor Mark Scherz, a postdoctoral researcher with the Adaptive Genomics Group at Universität Potsdam in

Germany. David Prötzel, lead author on this study and a doctoral candidate at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (ZSM) in Munich, kept P. rangei geckos at home, and got "an incredible surprise" when he shone a UV light on his web-footed geckos and discovered that they glowed neon green, Scherz told Live Science in an email. The researchers then tested 55 P. rangei specimens from ZSM under UV light, finding evidence of fluorescence in adults of both sexes and in juveniles. In other fluorescent amphibians, such as the polka-dot tree frog (Boana punctata), the glow comes from a chemical that circulates through its lymph system. And reptiles such as chameleons and saddleback

toads in the Brachycephalus genus display fluorescent bones through body regions where their skin is very thin. "Actually it turns out quite a few other species, including geckos, have sufficiently transparent skin that their bones' fluorescence can be seen through it under a sufficiently strong UV light," Scherz said. But in the web-footed geckos, the bright neongreen glow came from iridophores. Though iridophores were not previously associated with fluorescence in geckos, they are known to fluoresce in some species of reef fish, according to the study. The web-footed gecko is the first known gecko to possess two types of iridophores: one that fluoresces, and one that doesn't. (Live Science)

n 2020, more mobile users downloaded Among Us than any other game worldwide. Data released by Apptopia ranks the year’s breakout hit at 41 million downloads in the US and 264 million downloads worldwide — beating out games such as PUBG Mobile and Roblox, which both remain in the top 10 highest-grossing games of the year. Despite being released in 2018, Among Us didn’t find popular footing until the last year. The online multiplayer deduction game, in which spaceship crew members work together to complete tasks and root out imposters before they’re murdered, became a hit on Twitch late into quarantine. In November, almost half a billion people played the game, which is available on mobile, the Nintendo

Switch, and PC. A release is also planned for Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. As for the team that made Among Us, InnerSloth is an independent developer

with only four employees. The game has become so popular that the developer actually canned a sequel in order to keep working on the original. (The Verge)

FELICITATION

The Lekromi Village Council is much pleased to congratulate Dr. Kewengulo Kapfo for having conferred the “Certificate of Registration” (Regd No. DM1266) to practice as an Indigenous Herbal Medicinal Doctor by All India Council of Alternative Medical Sciences and Research recognised by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. As a bonafide citizen of Lekromi Village, Dr. Kewengulo Kapfo has the best wishes and blessings of the village as he continues to serve humanity through Zion Hospital Healing Ministry. (Kewete Mero) (Meselhilo Mero) Chairman, Secretary, Lekromi Village Council Lekromi Village Council

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desert gecko from Namibia has brilliant glow-in-thedark markings that shine neon green by the light of the moon. The mechanism that produces its glow has never been seen before in land animals with backbones. Web-footed geckos (Pachydactylus rangei) have translucent skin with large, yellowish markings: stripes on their sides and rings surrounding their eyes. But those markings light up brightly when they absorb the moon's bluer light. Fluorescence — when light is absorbed and then emitted at a longer wavelength — has been found in other reptiles and amphibians, produced by their bones or by chemical secretions in their skin. However, webfooted geckos generate their

Victoria coming HAPPY 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY around to the idea of a Spice Girls return

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Mr. & Mrs. Tongpangsucha Ningsang & Temsusangla Longchar Ava & Apa you are the parents that all the kids hope to have, you are the couple that all the lovers hope to be, and you both are the pillars of support that every family wishes to have. Thank You Ava & Apa for setting an extraordinary example of lifelong love. DP-215

With Love Children, In-laws & Grand Children

Süghüna Baptist Church, Borlengri, celebrated its 25th Silver Jubilee under the theme, "Aküpülü Nepa Pekholo" (2 Cor. 5:7-10) on 10th Jan. 2021. The Executive Secretary of WSBAK, Rev. Dr. Phughoto Sema unveiled the Silver Jubilee monolith and Jubilee Memorial Building and was also the speaker of the morning session. Rev. Dr. Khehovi Shohe, Director, Sumi Baptist Convention released the Jubilee Souvenir and exhorted the congregation in the evening session. Mr. Hewoto I. Jakhalu, Pastor and Mr. Hotovi Shohe, Chairman, Jubilee Planning Board, welcomed and thanked all the well-wishers and dignitaries from various neighbouring churches. Mr. Hotovi Shohe Chairman, Jubilee Planning Board

Mr. Hewoto I. Jakhalu Pastor

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ictoria Beckham is considering a return to the Spice Girls, according to former bandmate Melanie Chisholm. The singer-turnedfashion designer decided to sit out the Spice World – 2019 Tour, but Mel C insists the current quartet hasn't given up on a full band get together. "We're still really close and it's so important to us that she is happy with everything," she told Zane Lowe on the latest episode of Essentials Radio on Apple Music 1. "She (Victoria) was very involved in the creative and everything that we were doing in the show. And I think she really found it difficult. That first night, when the pictures (of the reunion meeting) were beamed all over the world, it was hard for her... I feel for her. "The thing is now, we have come to this point in our lives where we do, we really respect each other. And we never want anyone to do anything they don’t feel comfortable doing. But yeah, we might have to get her hypnotised. I have to say, I feel like she’s coming around. So we’ll keep working on her." (Music News)

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Champion Lopez wants to fight Taylor

London, J a n 1 2 (Agencies): Undisputed world lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez is eyeing a fight with Britain’s Josh Taylor as he plots a step up the divisions. Taylor hopes to add the WBC and WBO lightwelterweight belts to his own IBF and WBA titles by beating Jose Ramirez. Outlining hopes to take on the winner, Lopez, 23, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “They got to make that happen. Absolutely. I would love to do that fight in the UK. “The main guy I do want to win from that fight is Josh Taylor.” Speaking to the boxing podcast hosted by Mike Costello and Steve Bunce, the American added: “It’ll go to show everyone that we talk a lot, but we back it up.” Lopez beat Vasyl Lomachenko by a unanimous points decision in Las Vegas in October to become the undisputed lightweight champion, adding the WBA, WBO and WBC ‘franchise’ titles to his IBF belt. He is the youngest four-belt undisputed champion, with an unbeaten

Lopez was named 2020 fighter of the year alongside Tyson Fury by Ring Magazine.

record of 16 wins from 16 bouts. Taylor, 30, is hoping for a unification fight against Ramirez in 2021 and told BBC Scotland last month he wants to retire in two or three years as a three-weight world champion. Lopez said he is planning two fights this year at 135lb (lightweight) and one at 140 (light-welterweight). He believes a bout with unbeaten compatriot Devin Haney is most likely next as plans to fight Australia’s mandatory

IBF challenger George Kambosos have been scuppered by travel restrictions, and he ruled out fighting Ukrainian Lomachenko again. “We beat him fair and square, we beat him clearly,” said Lopez. “Had this fight been a split decision, then yes, we could talk about something but this turned out to be a unanimous decision for a reason. “We outboxed the boxer, we beat the boxer, now it’s on to bigger and better things.” Lopez believes he will

prove even better when rising up the weights, eventually fighting at welterweight (147lb). “We are resisting my full potential, because we want to make these other fights happen. At 140, you guys will see my full potential. At 147, you will see a lot more,” he said. Meanwhile, Josh Taylor, currently, the IBF and WBA 140 pound champion, the man from Edinburgh has gone on record as saying he aims to be retired by the age of 32 or 33, after maybe six more fights.

Nishchal wins T2 3P trials

Selection trails for Dimapur district for the upcoming late G Rio U-19 inter district tournament on Tuesday.

Isner to skip Aus Open because of Covid-19

Washington, Jan 12 (IANS): American tennis star John Isner has confirmed he will skip the upcoming Australian Open because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Isner, 35, on Monday said he wanted his family to travel together to “make it as much fun as possible on the road”, but added that that would be impossible

this year because of the global pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency. He lost to compatriot Sebastian Korda 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach Open on Monday. The Australian Open is slated to be held from February 8 to 21, three weeks later than scheduled.

sports

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

The grand slam was earlier scheduled to start from January 18, however the schedule was updated last month because of the Covid-19 restrictions. A shortened version of the ATP Cup men’s team tournament will take place in Melbourne from February 1-5 before the Australian Open begins on February 8.

New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS): Haryana’s Nishchal won the T2 women’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) trials, outgunning a field that included Olympic quota holders Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant at the Karni Singh Shooting range in Delhi on Tuesday. Nishchal shot 459.1 to best T1 winner Tejaswini, who had to settle for second place with a score of 458.1. Tejaswini still managed to beat fellow quota holder Anjum Moudgil for a second time in two days. Anjum finished third with an effort of 447.8 in the finals. The day also saw the commencement of the T1 trap trials. Lakshay Sheoran and Rajeshwari Kumari were leading after the first three rounds of Day 1, in the men’s and women’s sections respectively. Aakash Khushwaha and Kirti Gupta were ahead in the junior men’s and women’s sections.

Kohli, Rahane slip in ICC Test rankings

S ydn e y, J a n 1 2 (IANS): India’s Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have each dropped down by a spot to number three and seven respectively while Cheteshwar Pujara has made a jump of two places to occupy the eighth place in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen. Pujara played knocks of 50 and 77 in the drawn third Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Rahane, on the other hand, scored 22 and 4 at the SCG. Kohli, was not part of the India XI as he had returned to India where he welcomed his baby girl with wife Anushka Sharma on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant’s scores of 36 and 97 have also helped him gain 19 places to reach 26th position. Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin too have gained after their fighting knocks, as has Shubman Gill. Prolific Australian batsman Steve Smith has leapfrogged Kohli to second position after scores of 131 and 81 in the Sydney Test. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson sits at the top with 919 rating points, the highest-ever attained by a Black Caps batsman.

Tokyo Olympic president tries to reassure doubting country Tokyo, Jan 12 (AP): The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee tried on Tuesday to reassure the Japanese public that the postponed games will open in just over six months. Two polls in the last few days have shown just over 80% of Japanese people surveyed think the Olympics should be canceled or postponed, or believe they will not take place as COVID-19 cases surge in Japan. In what was billed as a New Year’s address, Mori gave a little pep talk aimed at the July 23 opening of the Olympics. “Spring will always come, morning will surely come even after long nights,” President Yoshiro Mori said. “Believing in that, to give joy and hope to many people, we will do our best until the end.” Organizers and the International Olympic Committee have repeated for months that the delayed Olympics will be able to open during the pandemic. But they have given few specifics and have said detailed plans will be revealed in the spring. It’s an enormous job.

Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori delivers a New Year’s address in Tokyo Tuesday. (Kyodo News via AP)

More than 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from 200 nations and territories will have to enter Japan, along with ten of thousands of other officials, coaches, and judges. No decision has been made public about fans being able to attend venues. It’s also unclear if fans from about will be permitted. Optimism from organizers has been put into question by a state of emergency for Tokyo and surrounding areas declared

last week by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Japan has controlled the virus relatively well, but cases are rising with about 4,000 deaths in Japan attributed to COVID-19. Japan has a population of 126 million. “If I get caught up in my thoughts, or if I flinch, or get a little lost in my mind — it affects everything,” Mori said. “We have to proceed as planned. There is no other way to respond.”

Bahrain to open F1 season; Aus GP postponed

London , J a n 1 2 (Agencies): This year’s Formula 1 season will have a delayed start after the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix were postponed because of Covid-19 restrictions. The races were first and third on the 2021 calendar and the season is now scheduled to begin with the second race, in Bahrain, on March 26-28. Australia and China have strict rules on international arrivals. The Australian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for March 1921, will now take place between November 19-21. A race at Imola in Italy has been added from April 1618 and becomes the second race of the season. “We are pleased to confirm that the number of races planned for the season remains unchanged,” F1 president Stefano Domenicali said. “The global pandemic has not yet allowed life to

Formula One (File/AP)

return to normal, but we showed in 2020 that we can race safely as the first international sport to return and we have the experience and plans in place to deliver on our season.” F1 says discussions over a new date for the Chinese Grand Prix, which was meant to be held from 9-11 April, are ongoing. The third race of the season, scheduled for May 2, is yet to be confirmed but it is expected to be filled by Portugal’s Portimao circuit following its debut

last year. The dates of the Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi events have been moved to accommodate the postponed Australia race. Brazil moves forward one week to 7 November, while the latter two have been pushed back a week to December 5 and 12 respectively. Only 17 of the 22 scheduled F1 races went ahead in 2020 while the 2021 season is due to have a record 23 races. Imola, a historic F1 venue

which held a grand prix for 27 consecutive years from 1980, hosted its first race since 2006 in November last year. “It is great news that we have already been able to agree a rescheduled date for the Australian Grand Prix in November and are continuing to work with our Chinese colleagues to find a solution to race there in 2021 if something changes,” Domenicali added. “Obviously, the virus situation remains fluid, but we have the experience from last season with all our partners and promoters to adapt accordingly and safely in 2021.” Valtteri Bottas won the last Australian Grand Prix in 2019, after the 2020 race was called off only hours before first practice was due to start when a McLaren team member tested positive for coronavirus.

Concern grows over India’s injury list in Australia Indian team complains lack of basic

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI): On Monday, whenever the TV cameras panned towards the Indian dressing room, Ravichandran Ashwin could be seen either standing at the SCG balcony or leaning against the railing. But not for once was he sitting. For the viewers, it might come across as a case of a senior player being tense as the pair of Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara took the Australian attack head on but a tweet from Ashwin’s wife Prithi revealed what it was all about. Ashwin was in severe back pain and couldn’t even sleep the prior night because of it. As India prepare for fourth and final Brisbane Test with the series tied 1-1, the team resembles a minihospital and coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Ajinkya Rahane would be be at their wits’ end to put together a fit eleven after Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Agarwal joined the list of injured cricketers. LIST OF INJURIES Ishant Sharma The senior pacer suffered a left side strain after playing only one match in the IPL in September and after that was ruled out of the Australia series. Ishant got bowling fit before the series but needed more overs under his belt before taking on the rigours of Test cricket. He has just returned to competitive cricket for Delhi with the Syed Mushtaq Ali K Y M C

Hanuma Vihari getting medical attention.

Trophy and will be selected against England in Tests. Bhuvneshwar Kumar The white-ball specialist and reserve pacer of the Test team injured his right hamstring during an IPL game and had to undergo an extensive rehabilitation programme which led to him missing the Australia series in full. He has just returned to action with the Mushtaq Ali T20 for UP and will be back in national team for England series. Varun Chakravarthy One of the finds of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Rider’s Varun Chakravarthy was a left-field selection in the Indian T20 team but the old national selection committee with interim chairman Sunil Joshi didn’t know that he was playing

with a serious shoulder injury which ruled him out of his maiden national tour. Rohit Sharma Perhaps the most highprofile left hamstring injury that happened during the IPL. The Mumbai Indians skipper played through pain in the final but was ruled out of the white ball series against Australia. Due to hard quarantine of 14 days in Sydney, Rohit, despite being fit, couldn’t play the first two Tests and was back in action from Sydney where he hit a half-century in the second innings. Mohammed Shami India’s craftiest pace bowler sustained a fractured forearm while trying to fend a short ball from Pat Cummins in the Adelaide Test and was then ruled

out of the remaining three Tests. He is doubtful for the first two Tests against England at home as well. Umesh Yadav The senior India pacer hobbled out of the field during Australia’s second innings with a calf muscle injury and will soon be at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for a rehabilitation programme. There is a chance he might be back for the England series next month. KL Rahul After a decent outing in the white ball leg, KL Rahul sustained a wrist injury while batting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets and was sent back to India to recuperate before the England series. His departure led to India’s

back-up middle-order being next to nil. Ravindra Jadeja India’s premier allrounder received a knock on his left thumb from a short delivery bowled by Mitchell Starc in Sydney and scans revealed dislocation as well as thumb fracture. He will be out for at least a couple of months, ruling him out of the England home series as well. Rishabh Pant The keeper-batsman received a knock in the left elbow from Pat Cummins and couldn’t keep wickets in the second innings in Sydney. However, it was not a fracture and played after popping in a lot of painkillers which provided him initial relief. He will play in Brisbane in the fourth Test. Hanuma Vihari The hero of the Sydney Test, after his epic 161ball vigil, has a serious hamstring injury (grade 2) and will be out of the fourth Test in Brisbane as well as the following series against England. Ravichandran Ashwin The man who has bowled more than 134 overs in the series, most by an Indian bowler, is suffering from back spasms and found it difficult to even sleep or tie his boot laces. With medication and physiotherapy sessions, India will expect their senior-most bowler on the park in Brisbane.

facilities in Brisbane hotel: report

New Delhi, Jan 12 (Agencies): The Indian cricket team, which landed in Brisbane for the fourth and final Test against Australia on Tuesday, was lodged in a hotel that lacked basic facilities prompting an intervention from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, according to multiple reports. The trip to Brisbane was already under the scanner due to Queensland’s strict coronavirus protocols but some exceptions were made for the visiting Indian team. “There was no room service or housekeeping facilities. The gym is very basic and not of international standards and the swimming pool can’t be accessed. This wasn’t what they were promised when they checked in,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, the players were upset with the conditions and not informed that the team hotel would be in a DIY (Do-It-Yourself), which includes cleaning their own room, no room service and ordering food on apps if they wanted something specific. PTI re por ted that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay

Ravi Shastri and members of the team management speak to the fast-bowling group. (AFP via Getty Images)

Shah and CEO Hemang Amin got in touch with their Cricket Australia counterparts after complaints reached them and have been assured that the Indian contingent will be made to feel comfortable from here on. A possible reason behind the absence of hotel staff, as per the Cricinfo report, could be that the Indian squad is to fly out of Brisbane immediately after the Test in order to prepare for the home series against England. Cricket Australia could have agreed to a bare minimum staff to avoid too many people coming in contact in the bio-secure environment. However, access to a swimming pool for the injury-ravaged side is being seen as crucial. India will be playing the fourth Test in the

Queensland capital from January 15 where the surge of Covid-19 cases and a border lockdown with New South Wales has led to a strict hotel quarantine for the Ajinkya Rahane-led team. Asked if the players were being allowed to mingle, the Board source said: “Yes, they have been provided with a team room and are allowed to meet each other inside the hotel.” When asked whether the team had protested with the hotel authorities, the source said: “When the manager enquired about how these things are not being taken care of, all they said was, ‘the rule applies to both Indian and Australian teams. There is no one team that has been subjected to hard quarantine rules.’’ K Y M C

sports

NE, Bengaluru share points after 1-1 draw New Delhi, Jan 12 (Agencies): NorthEast United and Bengaluru FC saw their winless streaks continue as they played out a drab 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Tuesday. Luis Machado (27’) opened the scoring for the Highlanders but Rahul Bheke (49’) cancelled out his goal after the break to help the Blues salvage a point. The result meant Gerard Nus’ side are now winless in seven games, while Bengaluru saw their four-game losing streak end but with a draw. NEUFC and Bengaluru both made three changes each to their eleven. However, the Highlanders were forced to make a late change before the whistle with Lalengmawia replacing the injured Lalrempuia Fanai. Bengaluru started the game strongly and despite dominating possession, they entered the break trailing a goal down against their opponents, who created better chances. Machado put NEUFC ahead with a brilliant strike, after netting a brace against the Blues in the reverse

Luis Machado of NorthEast United FC on his way to score the opening goal. (ISL)

fixture earlier this season. Federico Gallego dispossessed Dimas Delgado and made a run straight at the heart of Bengaluru’s defence before unleashing a shot. Pratik Chaudhari miscued his clearance, allowing Machado to receive the ball at the far post and slot it past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. NEUFC could have doubled their tally soon after the half-hour mark had Suhair VP converted his chance. Rochharzela whipped a cross for the

unmarked striker in the box, but he cushioned his header over the crossbar. The best chance for BFC arrived during injury time. But NEUFC keeper Gurmeet Singh kept his side’s lead intact, denying Cleiton Silva with a crucial save. Bengaluru restored parity soon after the change of ends in a rather fortuitous fashion through a setpiece, after a howler from NEUFC keeper Gurmeet. Dimas played Bheke on the right flank, who cut on his

Sabalenka to face Kudermetova in Abu Dhabi Women’s Tennis final

Aryna Sabalenka

Abu Dhabi, Jan 12 (Agencies): Aryna Sabalenka will face Veronika Kudermetova in the Abu Dhabi Women’s Tennis Open after extending her magnificent career-best winning run with a straight-sets victory over Maria Sakkari. Sabalenka ended 2020 in red hot form and has carried on where she left off at Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre to stand on the brink of claiming a third successive title. The fourth seed from Belarus has now won 14

Veronika Kudermetova

consecutive matches following a commanding 6-3 6-2 success over Sakkari on Tuesday. Sabalenka reached the 13th WTA singles final of her career at the age of only 22, taking just 57 minutes to see the back of ninth seed Sakkari. The world number 10 struck 22 winners, eight of which were aces, and made only eight unforced errors, while winning 83 per cent of points on her first serve and will be one to watch at the Australian Open next month. Kudermetova will

be playing in her maiden WTA singles final following a 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 victory over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. Russian Kudermetova came from a break down in the first set and was behind in the tie-break, but dug deep to edge in front in a battle between two unseeded semi-finalists. The world number 46 broke Kostyuk three times in the second set to secure her spot in the championship match, in which she will have to improve on a first-serve percentage of just 46.5.

weaker foot before launching a shot at goal. Gurmeet made an error while collecting the ball, allowing Bheke to net his first goal of the season. Following the equaliser, neither side was unable to carve out any clear-cut chances as the game turned out scrappy. Bheke, however, had another chance to get on the scoresheet late in the game but couldn’t make the best of it. After BFC won a corner, Dimas’ cross found Bheke in the box, who fired his shot over the bar. Wednesday’s match Odisha Vs Chennaiyin 7:30 PM

STANDINGS Club M W Mumbai City FC 10 8 ATK Mohun Bagan 10 6 Hyderabad FC 10 4 FC Goa 10 4 Jamshedpur FC 10 3 Bengaluru FC 11 3 NorthEast United FC 11 2 Chennaiyin FC 10 2 SC East Bengal 10 2 Kerala Blasters FC 10 2 Odisha FC 10 1

FIDE recognises new AICF’s new office bearers

Che n n a i , J a n 1 2 (IANS): The global chess body FIDE has recognised the new office bearers of All India Chess Federation (AICF) by updating its official page. Last year FIDE had taken down the list of office bearers of AICF following a court order nullifying the latter’s election of office bearers. FIDE had then added a note in the AICF page on its website: “The dispute between two parties remains under review of the competent national organ.” This year the elections for AICF office bearers were held on January 4 and a new team was elected. “Steps are being taken so that the Federation is back on the rails. The Election Officer appointed by the Madras High Court has submitted his report to the court. The signed copy of the election papers was given to us. We have also sent the papers to FIDE, the global chess body to recognise the new team at the helm,” Sanjay K. Chadha, Legal Counsel for Bharat Singh Chauhan who was re-elected as AICF Secretary told IANS.

D 1 2 3 3 4 4 6 5 4 3 3

L 1 2 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 5 6

Points 25 20 15 15 13 13 12 11 10 9 6

Bangkok/ HYDERABA D, Ja n 1 2 ( P T I / Agencies): World champion P V Sindhu suffered a shock defeat on her return to international badminton, losing in three games to Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt in the opening round of YONEX Thailand Open Super 1000 event here on Tuesday. Months after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the international calendar, Sindhu, seeded sixth, returned to action with a 21-16 24-26 13-21 defeat to world no 18 Blichfeldt in a 74-minute battle. In men’s singles, world No. 13 B Sai Praneeth too suffered a straight game loss to Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen on his return to competition. Frontrunner to represent India at the Olympics, Praneeth went down 16-21 10-21 to the world No. 15 Wangcharoen for only his second loss to the Thailand player. Sindhu made a good start, opening up a 6-3 lead and never allowing her opponent to grab the advantage to take the opening game. In the second game, the Indian once again moved

uted 11. Barrett shot 5-for18 from the field, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.

Memphis Grizzlies 101 Cleveland Cavaliers 91

Orlando Magic forward Dwayne Bacon, center, tries to get off a shot between Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), Monday. (AP)

Charlotte Hornets 109 - New York Knicks 88 G o r d o n H ay wa r d scored 28 of his 34 points in the first half and host Charlotte picked up its fourth consecutive victory by defeating New York. D evo n t e ’ G r a h a m added 19 points, P.J. Wash-

ington and Miles Bridges each provided 13 points each and Terry Rozier had 12 points for the Hornets. Rookie guard LaMelo Ball, a 19-year-old who became the youngest player in NBA history to produce a tripledouble two nights earlier, pulled in a game-high 14 rebounds to go with eight

points, seven assists and three steals in a reserve role. Kevin Knox II, coming off the bench, poured in 19 points to lead the Knicks. Elfrid Payton posted 15 points, Austin Rivers had 13, Mitchell Robinson scored 12 and Julius Randle and RJ Barrett both contrib-

Lancer CC, Juggernauts reach WCC QFs

Match in action between Waxen CC and Juggernauts.

D I M A P U R , JAN 1 2 (NPN): Lancer Cricket Club and Jugger nauts reached the quarterfinals of the 25th edition of Winter Cricket Challenge at local ground, Wokha on Tuesday. On the way to quarterfinals, Lancer CC beat Mavericks CC ‘A’ by four wickets and Juggernauts beat Waxen CC by three wickets.

Batting first, after winning the toss, Mavericks CC ‘A’ set 97-run target for Lancer CC. In reply, Lancer CC reached the target in 17 overs for the loss of six wickets. Mhademo Shitiri, who remained not out on 36 (26 balls) was named the man of the match. In the second match of the day, Juggernauts

overhauled the victory target of 105 runs set by Waxen CC in 19.3 overs. Man of the match award in the second match was claimed by Thechamo Odyuo, who took two wickets. Wednesday’s Matches 1st Match - Kohima Lotha Students Union Vs Salix CC 2nd Match - SJC Vs Imperials

IMF youth championship in Dimapur DIMAPUR, JAN 12 (NPN): Three-day days Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) Youth Championship training organised by Nagaland Sport Climbing Association (NSCA) in collaboration with Nagaland Association for Adventure Mountaineering and Education (NAAME) got under way on January 11 at Nagaland Sport Climbing Institute, Dimapur. The championship is organised by IMF North East Zone under the sponsor-

ship of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, government of India. The inaugural programme was chaired by NSCA general secretary, Khrieketoulie Kintso while NSCA president, Akito Ayemi delivered the welcome address and invocation by advisor NSCA, Langshukyu Sangtam. Chief instructor, Marnungden Walling will be observing the event along with four instructors. 26 participants have registered for the training.

Thailand Open: Sindhu, Praneeth out in first round

NBA roundup: Bucks ease past Magic 121-99 Washington, Jan 12 (Reuters): Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 13 of his 22 points in the second half to lift the Bucks to a 121-99 victory over the host Orlando Magic on Monday, Milwaukee’s fifth win in six games. Antetokounmpo, the reigning two-time NBA MVP, started slowly and battled through second-half foul trouble before coming alive in the fourth quarter. Khris Middleton collected 20 points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Portis finished with 20 points off the bench for Milwaukee. Middleton made 9 of 17 shots and Portis went 9 of 13 for the Bucks, who shot 50.5 percent (46 of 91) from the floor. O r l a n d o ’s N i k o l a Vucevic recorded 28 points and 13 rebounds for his third straight double-double and eighth of the season. Aaron Gordon had 21 points and eight assists for the Magic, who have dropped three in a row and five of seven since starting the season with a franchise-best 4-0 record.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and Jonas Valanciunas notched two of his 12 points on a critical put-back with less than two minutes remaining as Memphis rallied to win at Cleveland. Brooks capped his team-high scoring performance on a deep 3-pointer with 36.1 seconds remaining, the final points of a game-sealing 7-0 run for the Grizzlies. The decisive stretch began on Valanciunas’ put-back, which was one of the center’s seven rebounds. The entire Cavaliers starting five scored in double figures, led by Andre Drummond with 19 points. Drummond also grabbed 14 rebounds to continue his streak of recording doubledoubles in each of Cleveland’s 11 games this season. Cedi Osman and Damyean Dotson both scored 14 points.

Sindhu made a good start, opening up a 6-3 lead, but lost momentum eventually. (Twitter/OlympicChannel)

ahead to an 11-8 advantage but the Danish girl came back strongly and turned the tables at 15-14. After a neck-and-neck battle, it was Blichfeldt, who showed better nerves to make a roaring comeback. In the decider, Blichfeldt carried on the momentum of the second game and opened up a sizable 11-6 lead at the break. She kept exerting pressure on the Indian, moving to a 14-8 advantage. Sindhu eventually handed a seven match-point advantage to Blichfeldt after finding the net and then hit wide as the Danish shuttler celebrated. No coaches, managers or other person-

nel are allowed to attend the matches of the Indian players after Saina and HS Prannoy tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Nehwal, Kashyap, HS Prannoy cleared to play

In an interesting twist, it is learnt that Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and HS Prannoy will play their first round matches in the Thailand Open on Wednesday. Sources told TOI, that the organisers informed the Indian management that Saina and Prannoy are cleared and their matches will be held on Wednesday. Earlier, on Tuesday these three players were with-

drawn from the tournament after Saina and Prannoy tested positive and Kashyap being the first contact of Saina. These three players contracted the virus last month during their friend and international shuttler RMV Gurusaidutt’s wedding. They served the quarantine period and on arrival in Bangkok they tested negative in two tests. But in the third round of testing, the rest of which was announced on Tuesday, Saina and Prannoy tested positive while Kashyap was negative. All three were barred from competing in the tournament. But by evening it was learnt that a high level Thai medical committee examined their report and gave a green signal to them. “When you contract the virus and later test negative, the dead protein of the virus will remain in the body and that’s why you may test positive though the virus is dead. The same happened in Saina and Prannoy case. Thankfully, they were cleared without much damage. We are yet to get the details but were told that they would be allowed to play,” said a source in the Indian team.

Paine denies Smith removing Pant’s guard Sydney, Jan 12 (IANS): Australia captain Tim Paine has said that Steve Smith was not removing Rishabh Pant’s batting guard on the fifth day of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and termed the act as one of the innocuous quirks of the premier Aussie batsman. Paine said that Smith was disappointed at the way his act was portrayed. On Monday, the stump vision camera caught the Aussie batsman at the crease trying to wipe off Pant’s batting guard with his shoes. “I have spoken to Steve about this and I know he is really disappointed with the way it has come across,” said Paine said in an impromptu virtual press conference on Tuesday. “If you watch Steve Smith play Test cricket, that is something that he does every single game five or six times a day. He is always standing in the batting crease, shadow batting, as we know he has got those sort of many Steve Smith quirks, so one of them is he is always marking sand. “He (Smith) was cer-

Steve Smith was criticised for standing at the batting crease and scraping the batsman’s guard with his foot. (Twitter)

tainly not changing guard and imagine if he was, then the Indian players would have kicked up a bit of stink (at) that time,” he added. The Australia captain, who himself copped a lot of criticism for his on-field chatter with Ravichandran Ashwin, said that he has watched Smith do that often during the Sheffield Shield games. “That is something I have seen Steve doing many a times in Test matches and Shield games that I have played with him. When he is in the field, he likes to sort of walk up to where he bats

and visualise how he is going to play,” Paine said. “Yesterday saw him play a couple of shots as lefthander as to where he wanted Lyono (Nathan Lyon) to pitch the ball. “There is no way in the world, he was trying to change Rishabh Pant’s guard or anything like that. That is just one of Smithy’s thing that he does… One of his mannerisms, as I said he does a lot, he was marking sand and he wasn’t by any stretch of imagination trying to change guard or do anything like that,” he added.

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