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ASSENG/2015/64205

Vol. 1

Issue 219

Green Consumerism in India

Dibrugarh, Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Indian Oil to spend Rs 4,000 crore on Paradip refinery

Page 9

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Tirap District Congress Committee defends Minister Tirong Aboh Tirap District Congress Committee (DCC) appealed H. Ngandam, T. Wangham and all the other concern leaders to

end the game of allegations, instead collectively plead for the release of the abducted youth without any harm, through negotiation with the concern militant outfit. The committee through a press release stated that false allegation

and defamation from the side of the dissident MLAs at this stage is very disturbing and sad affair for any leader of any stature.

“It is absurd on the part of those MLAs to suspect the in-

volvement of our Honorable Minister, Tirong Aboh in a kidnap case”, DCC stated. DCC wants to make it clear that Aboh is innocent and he is even ready to go for polygraph test to prove his innocence as demanded by the two dissident

MLAs. Hence it is useless to drag this allegation game; instead we should form a joint peace committee and negotiate with the NSCN for the release of the capture youth on humanitarian ground, stated DCC.

Genuine PDS contractors cry out BRO chief engineer inspects loud over 700 crore pending bills road construction at Roing A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 12

The All Arunachal Pradesh PDS Transporter’s Welfare Association has today claimed that the State Govt. is yet to pay a pending amount of Rs. 700 Crores of rupees (payment) to the PDS genuine contractors.

Association’s Chairman Bengia Bado said that the payment which is to be made by the State Govt. to those contractors who transport PDS items to interior places has been pending taking into account since 2004 - 2016.

Bado also warned other agencies and organizations who claimed in press statement over the same issue.

ET CAPSULES

Enquiry ordered in officer death Golaghat, Jan 12: An inquiry has been ordered to the killing of Vinod Phangsu, Officer in Charge of Barpathar Police Station in Golaghat District.

The police officer was killed in Chungajan on Sunday night by a suspected car lifting gang.

Vinod Phangsu along with his team were inside his Bolero when the attack took place . The attack was said to be from the front side but bullets were found in the back of the body of the officer which was mysterious.

Even allegations were raised against the police having involved in the incident. A probe has been ordered. The Sub Divisional Police Officer of Dhansiri Sub Division D Baruah will investigate the whole matter said Additional SP of Golaghat Numal Mahato. The SDPO's investigation report will clear all the confusion. (Correspondent)

One died in road mishap Tinsukia, Jan 12. One person died in a road accident on Monday late night after the motorcycle he was travelling was hit by a coal - laden truck bearing registration no AS 01 BC 8541 at National highway 37 at laipuli, around 10 km from Tinsukia police station.

The deceased person has been identified as Satyen Neog.

According to sources, deceased Satyen Neog a resident of Laipuli was travelling to his home when a coal laden truck travelling towards dibrugarh hit him from behind as a result he died on spot. The driver and handyman flew the spot leaving behind the truck, added sources.

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Interestingly 24 hours after the accident police is unaware about of whereabouts of the driver and handyman and even don't know the owner of the truck but about re making tall claims that coal is legal.

Sources have questioned the claim by police. (Correspondent)

Bado said he don’t want any interference from anybody who are not genuine contractors. According to Bado there are many individuals including those who are in political party who talked about this PDS contractor’s payment and ‘complicated it to a point where they have lodged a complaint to the Governor’.

He also commented on the unresponsiveness of the Governor who hasn’t given them opportunity to meet him to address their grievances.

Bado who himself is the contractor (transporter) said he will boycott the transportation of PDS items to interior places sooner. “If our pending bills are not made until today then how you expect us

to work or transport the goods (PDS items) from the stock to the last distributor.”

Bado also appeals the political parties in the State to distance themselves from this genuine issue. “We are real contractors. We have transported those PDS goods for so many years despite the fact that our payment is made later after the work. Whoever comes in power, we don’t care but we want our payment to be made at the earliest, otherwise we will boycott completely,” the chairman said.

It may be noted that the PDS scam case of Arunachal has gone to the Supreme Court and the matter is under sub- judice.

BRO chief stressed the importance of ongoing maintenance efforts on Roing-Hunli-Anini road including snow clearance efforts at Mayudia

A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 12 U.C Mehta, Chief Engineer, Project Udayak during his whirl wind tour from 06-07 January on various strategic roads under construction in Roing, Lower Dibang Valley District Arunachal Pradesh has emphasized on the timely completion of river gaps at Chimari and Injupani on Roing Koronu Paya road. He has laid out the road map for uninterrupted road stretch from Roing to Tezu.

He also explained the efforts put

in for early completion of Deopani Bridge, which is major bottle neck of Roing-Hunli-Anini road axis.

Presently the foundation works on pier P2 is under progress and super structure works are likely to commence prior to closing of this financial year. He stressed the importance of ongoing maintenance efforts on Roing-Hunli-Anini road including snow clearance efforts at Mayudia pass portion .He expressed satisfaction over the road widening works being carried out by 62 RCC/752 BRTF from Meka-Roing to Km 16 of RoingHunli road.

48-hr AKRSU bandh from January 18 over ST status delay ET Bureau Guwahati, Jan 12

The All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU) has called a 48-hour statewide strike from January 18, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.

The strike has been called in protest against not-granting of ST status by the Centre to six communities, including Koch Rajbongshis, in the state. Modi is expected to visit the state on January 19. He will address a youth conclave here.

"If the BJP-led central gov-

5.00

A 'Fauji' Child Shares Just What It's Like To Grow Up With A Father In The Army

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ET Bureau Khonsa, Jan 12

Price -

ernment fails to grant ST status within January, we will go for an intense agitation programme," said AKRSU president Biswajit Roy.

area of Chirang district.

AKRSU had earlier threatened that it would go all out against BJP in the run-up to the assembly polls if the Centre failed to grant ST status within January.

Last month, the royal family members of the Koch Rajbongshi community warned the BJP government at the Centre of serious electoral consequences if six communities were not granted ST status before the 2016 assembly election.

"We are still hoping that the Centre will take some positive steps in granting ST status within this month. We are waiting for the Centre's decision," the students' union leader added.

On Monday, some AKRSU activists tried to block train movement in the Basugaon

However, police were successful in dispersing the crowd.

The scion of the erstwhile Darrang Koch kingdom, Pranab Narayan Deb, had said that protracted delay in granting ST status has not only angered the six communities, but also created doubts in people's mind about keep-

ing the promise made by the Prime Minister ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The six communities demanding ST status are Tai Ahoms, Koch Rajbongshis, Moran, Motok, Sootea and adivasis (the descendants of tea garden workers settled by British in the state from Chotanagpur plateau in mid 19thcentury).

The six communities are currently in OBC category.

The Hitesh Barman faction of AKRSU said the Centre has disheartened them after the bill for ST status for six communities was not placed in the recent Parliament session.

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Need 'interfaith' dialogue to eliminate misunderstandings: Vice President Ansari Page 6

Retired Police Officer blames SP of Golaghat for the death of OC, Binod Phangsu ET Correspondent Jorhat, Jan 12

Retired Assam Police Inspector Dimbeswar Bhuyan blames the SP of Gologhat District for the death of Officer Incharge of Barpathar Police Station, Binod Phangsu. It is because of the misleading advises of the senior that the OC has lost his life, blamed Dimbeswar Bhuyan, who served at the Barpathar Police Station for five years.

“Superintend of Polices are meant to be action oriented and not to remain inside AC rooms and dictate and force juniors to follow their commands. If they are informed of the where-

abouts of the militants they should take full police force depending upon the type of militants or criminals and should be well acquaintance with the geographical location of the area”, the retired Police officer stated.

SP level officers usually stay away from militants as they clearly know that they use sophisticated arms and ammunition such as AK 47, AK56, whereas a police uses pistol with 6 rounds of ammunition and 3.3 or SLRs which are no match in a fight with militants or criminals.

Inspector Bhuyan who served as an officer under present IGP S.N Singh and

R.N Singh when both were the then SPs of district headquarters said that in those time they used to lead us when we go for an operation and we follow them but nowadays the SPs does little job and command more as in the case of this present incidence.

He hold SP of Golaghat, PP Singh responsible for the OC death for giving him charge of OC at the Barpathar Police Station in spite of knowing clearly that he is young. Barpathar Police Station is meant for experienced persons not brave as the police station lies hyper sensitive area, adjacent to Karbi Anglong and Nagaland, Bhuyan added.

Directorate of higher education asks Assam colleges to submit Naac status without delay ET Bureau Guwahati, Jan 12

The state directorate of higher education has asked all colleges in Assam to submit their Naac status without any further delay.

With the March 31 deadline for obtaining the status report from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (Naac) nearing, sources said many colleges might be deprived of UGC funds, which is important to develop college infrastructure and campuses.

"We have asked colleges to furnish details about Naac accreditation at the earliest. At this moment, it is difficult to tell the accreditation status of all the colleges," said P Jidung, director (higher education), Assam.

The directorate has written to principals of the colleges, who have not yet applied for NAAC accreditation, to apply for the same at the earliest and submit the reports to the directorate by the end of January.

After the Rashtrita Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan came into force to expedite de-

velopment work of higher educational institutions, Naac accreditation has become essential for colleges. "The accreditation is necessary to ensure quality education and enhance performance of the colleges.

We want all colleges to initiate the process of getting accreditation," said an official of the education department.

About 60% colleges affiliated to Gauhati University have got Naac accreditation till date. Officials in Dibrugarh University said that about 75% affiliated colleges have received their accreditation.

'IS suicide bomber' kills 10 in Istanbul Sultanahmet district Turkey, Jan 12

A suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) group has killed 10 people, at least nine of them German tourists, in a suicide bomb attack in the Turkish city of Istanbul, officials say.

They say the Syrian national carried out the attack in the Sultanahmet district, near the famous Blue Mosque.

Fifteen people were wounded, many of them also

German.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was the "top target for all terrorist groups in the region".

His country, he added, was "fighting against all of them equally".

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu telephoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel to tell her that most of the dead were German, Mr Davutoglu vowed to find and punish those linked to the bomber and pledged to continue the fight against IS mili-

tants.

Turkey's Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus said: "It has been identified that the suicide bomber is Syrian and his connections are being investigated."

The suspect was said to have been born in 1988 and was identified from body parts.

Mr Kurtulmus said the suspect was not on Turkey's militant watch-list and was believed to have recently crossed into Turkey from Syria.

Contd. on Page 6

Buddhist Monpas welcomes arrival black-necked cranes arrives at Arunachal Pradesh’s Zemithang Tawang, Jan 12

When Lham Tsering photographed two black-necked cranes on December last year at Zemithang area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district, the sighting was more than a religious significance attached to the graceful bird.

mas who are opposing the proposed 780 MW Nyamjang Chhu hydro-electric project, the arrival of black-necked crane this season is an "incontrovertible" evidence that the site where the dam has been planned is a wintering habitat for the birds.

The Buddhist Monpa tribe in the state welcomed the arrival of the black-necked crane as harbinger of good fortune. They reveres the bird as an embodiment of the sixth Dalai Lama (Gyalwa Tsangyang Gyatso) who himself a Monpa and hailed from Tawang.

A short 3-km stretch of the Nyamjang Chhu river between Brokenthang and Zemithang, also the proposed site of the hydropower project, is one of the two wintering sites of the black-necked crane in India.

The birds started arriving at the stretch from mid-December last year.

However, for Buddhist la-

"Villagers and members of

Buddhist lamas who are opposing the proposed 780 MW Nyamjang Chhu hydroelectric project, the arrival of blacknecked crane this season is an "incontrovertible" evidence that the site where the dam has been planned is a wintering habitat for the birds.

A black neck crane- photo for representation purpose.

our organisation have sighted and even photographed black-necked cranes this winter. The arrival of black-necked cranes on the spot where the hydropower project is proposed again proves the spot is indeed the wintering ground for the birds. These birds have immense cultural, religious and ecological significance for our people," Buddhist lama and Save Mon Region Federation (SMRF) general secretary Lobsang Gyatso said.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has identified the stretch as an Important Bird Area (IBA).

Contd. on Page 3

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Dalam Studio Near parking stand Khonsa

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DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Final electoral roll of Darrang election published ET Correspondent Mangaldai, Jan 12: The final electoral roll for the year 2016 for Darrang election district consisting of four legislative assembly constituencies namely 65 Kalaigaon, 66 Sipajhar, 67 Mangaldai (SC) and 68 Dalgaon in Darrang district has been published on Monday. A total number of

709481 electorates have been included in the final electoral roll of which 367110 are male and 342371 are female. In 65 Kalaigaon LAC, the number of electorates are 154193 of which 79542 are male and 74651 are female. Similarly 66 Sipajhar LAC has recorded a total of 158210 electorates of which 82998

are male and 75212 are female. 67 Mangaldai (SC) LAC has recorded the highest number of electorates in the district with a total of 200065 electorates while the number of male electorates are 103140 and 96925 are female. The religious minority community dominated 68 Dalgaon LAC has registered a total of 197013

MAJI GHAR IS READY

electorates of which 101430 are male and 95583 are female. The Election branch of the office of the Deputy Commissioner Darrang informing it to media said that any interested person may inspect the final electoral roll in the office of the concerned Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) during the working hours.

1 NDFB(S) apprehended in Kachugaon ET Correspondent Rangia, Jan 12: Based on specific information, Army and Kokrajhar Police launched a joint operation on Monday at general area of village Islampur, in Kachugaon. During the search operation, one NDFB(S) terrorist was apprehended who was identified as Willbe Rabha Rhasong. The terrorist had been part of Bidai and Batha group of NDFB(S).

During an joint operation one NDFB(S) terrorist was apprehended who was identified as Willbe Rabha @ Rhasong with one AK-56 rifle, 58 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and two magazines were recovered Islampur, in Kachugaon. Pic - UB Photos

Cop died in Office ET Correspondent Golaghat, 12 Jan : Golaghat police is in utter grief by losing one of its brave cop Vinod Phangsu two days back and trying to overcome but another cop died today while on duty makes the entire police force shocked . Sub inspector Upendra Nath Baruah (58) who was posted in the Border Wing in the office of the Superintendent of Police Golaghat suddenly fell unconscious in his office.

He was taken to the local hospital in a critical condition where he breathed his last. Upendra Nath Barua'h sudden demise shocked his colleagues and his death is mourned by the police force.

Youths prepare maji ghar in Tezpur da parbatia. Pic - Saurav Bor Katak

Programme held in memory of Gakul Sonowal

He was a 40th batch cadre of NDFB(S) trained in Myanmar and was actively involved in various cases of extortion, recruiting and training of NDFB(S) cadres. He was also involved in the Adivasi carnage in Dec 2014. One AK-56 rifle, 58 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and two magazines were recovered from the apprehended terrorist.

ET Correspondent Doomdooma, Jan 12: A program was organized recently in the memory of Gakul Sonowal who has passed away at his own residence at Dangari on December 5 at the age of 93.

“It is pertinent to mention that due to the unrelenting pressure exerted by the Security Forces, the cadres of NDFB(S) left after the near decimation of the group, have been lying low but they are on constant look out to regroup, but this has been made impossible due to the high momentum of operations by the SF’s”.

The program was organized on the day of his adya saradha . Gakul Sonowal was a retired teacher, social worker , scholar of SonowalKachari culture and an associate of Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha .

Aimanu Sonowal Deori

As many as 80 active members,leaders from various party and organisations which included BJP, AIUDF, ABSU, AKRSU joined in Congress party at a programme held at

ET Correspondent Rangia Jan 12: Paresh Pathak famous businessman of Rangia passed away on Monday night after prolongs illness. He was 81. Mr. Pathak who was the resident of Rangia town ward no.5 established linkage in terms of business between undi-

ET Correspondent Tezpur, Jan 12: Commemorating the cultural icon Rup Kownor Jyoti Prashad Agarwala silpi divas has been celebrated across the state over the years.

In a bid to make the day observed on January 17, a grand success by paying rich tribute to the cultural icon, the frontline NonGovernment cultural organization here “Asom Reparatory” is organizing a special function named as “Silpi Samaruh” a mega interaction cum get together programme among the old and new artists of the Sonitpur district at district library here.

View of Central Silpi Divas by AASU at Laipuli of Tinsukia district. Pic - UB Photos

activist, outlining the programme, said that the day’s function will begin with tribute to the “Rup Kwonor” at 9.30 Which One of the organizers Pulak will be followed by the get Kumar Deka, noted cultural together among the old and

Ranendra Bhawan in the presence of APCC leaders in Kokrajhar today.

Congress party leaders including APCC spokesmen Apurba Bhattacharya,Mehodi Alom Borah,Ashok Borgoyary, president of Kokrajhar district Congress committee have welcome newly joined members with traditional Phulam Gamocha.

Bhattacharya,APCC spokesman attending the

from the site, informed senior KNP officials here.

KNP officials said that the sounds of gun shots were heard on Sunday night but due to heavy fog and cold weather the security personnel could not reach or locate the exact place from where the sounds have came but instead they

vided Kamrup and Darrang district. He left behind three sons and three daughters.

Ghanashyam Kalita MLA and Ananta Deka ex MLA Rangia condoled the death of pathak. All the shops and business establishment remain close for his demise.

Hundreds rendered homeless by hailstorm new artist, cultural activists of the district, cultural programme presented by the invited artists, felicitation to two selected renowned artists of the district. In the evening special

meeting said that the ruling Congress party has been gained its mass based among citizens in the state.The party would put own candidates in all seats of the council region and winning in large numbers of seats are sure as publics are coming forward to the ruling party, he said.

‘There is no any posibility of pre-poll alliance with any parties in the region and party will contest in all seats in the

ensuing election’, Bhattacharya said.

He also claimed that Congress party is forming the state government for fourth consecutive term as his party is winning in majority seats as citizens and common publics are supporting whole heartedly.He said the state government was working to the welfare of the common peoples as the government has been emphasizing social development and integra-

Rhino poached in Kaziranga, the first for the year 2016 ET Correspondent Jorhat, Jan 12: Poacher on Sunday opened their score book after scoring one point in the first ten days of the year 2016, as greedy poacher killed a female rhino, took of its horn even cut portions of its skin took of nails from the leg as five empty cartridges of AK 47 were recovered

Pramod Sonowal , retired teacher and a scholar of Sonowal Kachhari culture , lit the ceremonial earthen lamp and offered floral tribute before the portrait of Gakul Sonowal .

A souvenir titled " Gakul

Banar Herowa Bahir Sur " was also released on the occasion by a former Principal of Saikhowa H.S. School , Santanu Das Hazowari .

The Souvenir was published by Sonowal's family . The programme which was held at Sonowal's residence at Dangari , was chaired by the former chief executive member of the Sonowal Kachhari Autonomous Council , Milan Sonowal and was addressed by journalists Arjun Baruah , Manoj Dutta , former prin-

Silpi Samaruh organized in Tezpur Business passes way

cultural function by the artists of the district.

The artists and the common citizens of the district are requested to extend their cooperation to make the event a grand success.

Congress party welcomes new members Kokrajhar, Jan 12: With few four months left to the assembly election of the state, the ruling Congress party has gained its mass supports and organised party awareness meeting in the BTAD region.

Bharali , Late Sonowal's daughter declared that an educational and cultural research centre would be set up at his residence soon to fulfill her father's wish , while addressing the meeting . She also sought public cooperation in this regard.

started patrolling, but ultimately it was only this morning that the body of the female rhino was recovered from the area near Shitolmari camp under Bagori range in KNP with marks of gunshot of AK 47 with its horn missing.

Forest officials further said that the poachers were suspected to have entered the

park from the western side through water ways which was not visible due to heavy fogs since Saturday night towards the interior areas towards the river bank of west Kaziranga National Park (KNP) In 2015, 17 rhinos were killed by poachers with its horns, nail, skin, tail taken away by the poachers.

tion in the state.

Asho Borgoyary, president of the Kokrajhar district Congress party said that his party has gained strong mass based in Kokrajhar as well in the BTAD region that is why winning in large number seats is cent percent clear.He said that several hundred new members from various party and organisations are contacting to join party in the region,he added.

Public rally over Martyr’s Memorial A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Jan 12: A public rally supporting the early completion of Martyr’s Memorial at Dighalipukhuri is going to be held on January 13, 2016 (Wednesday) at the northern bank of the historic pond. Initiated by All Assam ESM Welfare Association, the rally is scheduled to start at 11.45 am. The organizers have appealed to the citizens of Guwahati to join the mission to complete the monument at the earliest.

ET Correspondent Diphu January 12: Around 400 persons have been rendered homeless after hailstorm of cyclonic nature lashed through Dolamara- Malasi area of Duarbagori region on Saturday last. Maximum houses of three interior villages have been razed to ground by the impact of the twister.

Five school buildings and

one Catholic Church has been flattened by the wind five persons sustained injury; Tuliram Ronghang, Chief Executive Member of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council visited the area yesterday and extended immediate relief to the victims.

Half of the affected families have returned to their village while others are still residing in relief camps.

cipal of Dangari HS School , Gopal Roy Choudhry and several others .

The speakers explained various lesser known aspects of the life and works of Gakul Sonowal .

The programme was also graced by former MLA of Sadia Legislative Assembly constituency , Bolin Chetia , Assistant Director of Guwahati Doordarahan Kendra , Deben Chandra Basumatari and veteran journalist Dhiren Deka .

HSDC declares candidate’s list ET Correspondent Diphu January 12: The Hills State Democratic Council (HSDC) a Diphu based regional political party has declared its list of candidate for the forth coming Assam Assembly election yesterday.

Party spokes person Chandra Kanta Terang informed the press that old hand of CPI(ML) and three time MP Dr. Jayanta Rongpi will contest from Diphu while his close associate and ex. Chief Executive Member of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Chomong Kro will fight from Howraghat, Jagat Sing Engti will contest from Bokajan and Holiram Terang will fight for the Baithalangso seat. Chandra Kanta Terang informed that the name of candidate for the lone seat of Haflong ( Dima Hasao district) will be declared later.

PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz) Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights

13-1-16 (WEDNESDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-50 A.M-Naam 6-30 A.M-Bidyarthir Anusthan 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali (Assamese Modern Song) 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M- Antara (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 12-05 P.M-Surar Satsori 2-30 P.M-Western Music Programme 3-45 P.M-Programme in Miju Mishmi 4-05 P.M-Programme in Khamti 4-25 P.M-Programme in Wancho 4-45 P.M-News for Arunachal Pradesh 5-00 P.M-Programme in Idu 5-20 P.M-Programme in Tangsa 5-40 P.M-Programme in Nocte 7-15 P.M-Karpumpuli 7-35 P.M-Ujjwal Bhabishyat 8-00 P.M-Parikrama 8-15 P.M-Talk In English 10-00 P.M-Classical Music Sd-/H.O.P

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DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Arunachal celebrates National Youth Day ET Bureau Itanagar, Jan 12: The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Arunachal Pradesh today celebrated Rashtriya Yuva Diwas (National Youth Day and 154th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda) on the theme “Youth for Development, Skill and Harmony” held at the state party Head quarter, Itanagar here today.

addressing on the occasion gave the brief about the importance of National Youth Day, which is celebrated on January 12 every year, on the birth day of renowned Saint of Modern India and an inspirer of national consciousness, a Yogi inspiring Poet and Ambassador to the thoughtful message of Divinity, Universal Peace and brotherhood across the

awakening and reconstruction.

The Philosophies, teachings and ideas of the Swami Vivekananda are the great cultural and traditional assets of India. Youths are the most important part of the country who leads the country ahead, that’s why youths are to be inspired first by the ideas and ideals of the

Mini Marathon in Itanagar to create patriotic mood ET Bureau Itanagar, Jan 12: Alongwith rest of the country, Ministry of Defence Government of India organizing a “MINI MARATHON” covering 5 KM distance in Arunachal Pradesh State Capital Itanagar on the eve of the Republic Day

on 24th January’2016 (Sunday), with an aim of creating a patriotic mood across the nation.

In Arunachal Pradesh the Border Roads Organization (BRO) has been entrusted to conduct the event. In this regards a meeting was held on 23rd

Dec’2015last, in the office Chamber of Commissioner (GA) and chalked out programme to conduct the Mini Marathon, which would be flagged off from the IG Park, Itanagar( Tennis Ground)via NH Road towards Ganga, H-Sector, Niti – Vihar road (Abo-

Tani Colony), Kingcup School road, Bank – Tinali and back to IG Park (Tennis Ground). The participants have to report venue at 7 AM for registration, flag off ceremony will be held at 8 AM. To ensure active voluntary participation of gen-

eral public including youths, children, NCC/ Scouts college students, from Govt. and Private schools, in order to create patriotic mood across the nation. The BRO has requested to the state Government for coordination to organize the mega events in a befitting manner.

Preparation on to conduct Siang Aarti Mahotsav-2016 The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Arunachal Pradesh today celebrated Rashtriya Yuva Diwas (National Youth Day and 154th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda)

National Youth Day programme begun with floral tributes and garlanding to the portrait of Swami Vivekananda by the host of the state office bearers, Party workers and Members of Mahila Morcha and Yuva Morcha, hosts of senior leaders in an impressive presence.

Prominent Party leaders present on the occasion were State President, Tai Tagak; State Vice President, Techi Necha, Tayek Goi, Smti. Kenyir Ringu, State General Secretary, Dominic Tadar and Shri B.R. Wage, State Secretaries Hinium Tachu, Tadar Kama, former State President, Tapen Siga (ExMLA), State Presidents Yuva Morcha, Dugh Saha and Yuva team, State President, Mahila Morcha, Smti.

Padmeswari Jamoh, ExMP, Tapir Gao, and ExCM, Gegong Apang among many others.

State President, Tai Tagak

world over.

The State President said “we reap what we sow” and “we are the creator of your own destiny” and said the road to the good is the roughest and steepest in the universe and we are what how we works while applauded party’s Youth wing (BJYM) state unit for organizing programme on this auspicious occasion in these recent years as one of its important event has maintained that Swami Vivekananda or Narendranath Dutta, or simply Naren, as he was called in his pre-monastic days was born to Vishwanath Dutta and Bhuvaneshwari Devi on 12th January 1863 at present day Kolkata during the Maha Sankranti festival.

He called upon the youths to learn about and conquer self awakening their inner nature and learn about the life and contributions of Swamiji towards national

Swami Vivekananda. So, the National Youth Day is started celebrating every year to encourage and inspire the youths of the country. Schools and colleges are delightfully adorned to enthusiastically celebrate the event.

He said the Government of India had declared to observe the National Youth Day in the year 1984 to commemorate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, maker of the modern India on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda on 12th of January every year to complete the aim of making better future of the country by motivating the youths through the way of life and ideas of the Swami Vivekananda in order to inspire all the youths of country towards the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda and his ideals. Since then (1985) National Youth Day is celebrated all over the country.

Pasighat, Jan 12: Preparations are afoot to conduct 'Sarvajanik Siang Aarti Mahotsav-2016' at Komolighat on the bank of mighty Siang on account of Makar Sankaranti, which is due on January 14 and 15 this year.

The organizers this time has reduced the scheduled of the four-day programme to only two days due to fund crunch as no financial aid has been received from any government or private head.

This is the second time river festival organized by ‘Siang

Aarti Mohatsav Celebration Committee’ led by Pasighat Municipal Councilor, Makpak Peyang in active collaboration of Bogong Banggo Yameng Kebang and few local organizations.

A reception committee has also been constituted with East Siang Deputy Commissioner as chairman and JC Langsing as convener for smooth conduct of the festival.

The inaugural day programme includes holly bath at Komolighat portion of Siang river early morn-

ing which is to be followed by mass prayer (Aarti puja) for peace and communal harmony. There will be a musical programme on the concluding day.

The Siang Aarti volunteers has cleaned up the riverbank at Komolighat and working day and night and given a new looks the festival side. Children Park on riverbank, trees and bed of mighty Siang wear a festive look with construction of pandal and decorated tent houses (Aarti mandaps) meant for different commu-

two-day festive celebration.

The committee is also conducting essay writing on Siang river and its ecological importance and drawing competitions among school children, which is supervised by Pasighat DDSE. The organizers demanded the local administration to make elaborate security arrangement in the area and ensure peaceful conduct of the celebration. They also appealed to all sections of the society irrespective of their caste, creed and religious affiliation to join the festival.

AIDP Screening Camp Held At Namsai Namsai, Jan 12: A day-long Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) Screening Camp was held at the Town Club Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh on Monday

by Artificial Limb Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) which is a Government of India undertaking under Department of Disability Affairs of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The programme was supported by local NGO, Socio-Economic Welfare Association (SEWA) and Mrinaljyoti Rehabilitation Centre ,Duliajan (Assam).

About 128 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) from all over the district were screened. The fresh screening and registration were done online.

A Medical Board was also set up for assistance and necessary certification of the registered and screened persons. The

main purpose of the screening camp was to identify persons with or more than 40% disabilities to avail aids and assistance which will be supplied free of cost by ALIMCO. The aids and assistance are to be supplied through the partner NGOs in the next couple of months. Mandatory certificates required for availing the aids and assistance under ADIP Scheme (Assistance to Disabled Persons) were 1) 40% disability certificate,2) Income Certificate of Rd.15,000.00 per month and 3) Residential or ID Proof.

Under ADIP Scheme Tricycle,Wheelchair,Crutches , Smartphone for low vision, Hearing Aid (BTE),smart cane, CP Chair,Braile Slate, Braile Kit, Rollater and MSIED Kits are provided to the needy PADs as per Mr.Rajesh Das of ALIMCO, Guwahati.

The programme was supported by local NGO, Socio-Economic Welfare Association (SEWA) and Mrinaljyoti Rehabilitation Centre ,Duliajan (Assam)

Army man and ABKYW organizes get together International programme on National Youth Day Shooter felicitated A Staff Reporter I t a n a g a r, Jan 12:Army man and International Shooter, Winner of Gold Medalist in Common Wealth Games - 2006 and Silver Medalist in Asian Games - 2014, Shri Pemba Tamang of Rupa was felicit a t e d b y A l l We s t Kameng

nities or religious groups.

The organizers informed that people of different communities of the state and neighbouring Assam have been invited to perform Aarti puja on Siang river bed for peace and communal harmony. They are optimistic that the Siang river basin at Pasighat will become a place for exchanging ideas and feelings among the people of different religious communities.

Besides Aarti puja, amusement rafting, arrow shooting Angling and river cruising are the main items of the

Gorkha Meritorious Students at here in S i n c h u n g i n We s t Kameng Arunachal pradesh. Attended by Director of Sports a n d Yo u t h A f f a i r s Shri D.K Dinglow as a Chief Guest and Senior Public leader Shri S.N Sarai as a Guest of Honor and Many youths participated like senior Adi youth Nalong Mize, Tobom Dai, AAPSU senior member, Maklek Pertin, Various distinguished Asst. Director Textile & Handicraft, Pasighat and Anang Tayeng, Ex-ASM of Bodak Village Guest of the locality N e p a l i S a n s k r i t i on this "PRIDE and Suraksha Samity in a B E A U T I F U L M O - Maksam Tayeng While receiving a gift the Adi youths to be nior member, Maklek c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h MENT." Pasighat, Jan 12: hamper from senior more unified in all Pertin, Asst. Director Along with rest of the ABKYW members, front. She also ex- Textile & Handicraft, nation, the Adi Baane Yalem Taga Burang ex- pressed gratitude over Pasighat and Anang Kebang Youth Wing pressed her immense felicitating both the la- Tayeng, Ex-ASM of (ABKYW) and its se- pleasure for arranging dies on World Bodak Village besides nior members organized such a youth Daughter ’s Day and others, said organiser a get together cum uni- programme on National given assurance to orga- Mongol Yomso who fication of Adi youths Youth Day cum World nize such programme have taken up all the pain on National Youth Day Daughter’s Day. She on next year’s National to arrange the day. Many cum World Daughter’s said that, such get to- Youth Day from her and youths including girls atDay today at bank of gether kind of picnick- Burang’s side. Though tended the programme River Siang near Bodak ing programme to pave ABKYW President prominently led by ElizaVillage which was at- more ways for unifica- Aling Pingam and Sec- beth Ratan, a budding tended by Adi Baane tion of Adi youths is a retary Er. Toi Modi singer among Adi girls Kebang Women Wing new beginning led and couldn’t make them- who sang the popular East Siang President organized by senior Adi selves available for the song like “Duma peka no Yalem Taga Burang as youth like Mongol day, the programme was api midir em, aralo gesup Chief Guest, while Osi Yomso and more youths successful by the pres- sudola” of hit Adi Film Yosung Boring, Coun- need to attend it whole ence of many youths ‘Aying Apong” directed cilor Ward-7, Pasighat heartedly. Councilor participated like senior & produced by film Gold Medalist in Common Wealth Games - 2006 and Municipal Council as Osi Yosung Boring also Adi youth Nalong Mize, maker & script writer Silver Medalist in Asian Games - 2014, Shri Pemba Tamang of Rupa was felicitated Guest of honour. rued the same and urged Tobom Dai, AAPSU se- Darbom Tayeng.

Buddhist Monpas welcomes arrival black-necked cranes arrives at Arunachal Pradesh’s Zemithang Contd. from Page 1

Villagers have for the last eight years been photographically documenting the birds on the stretch.

The globally-threatened species is included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Buddhist lamas

under SMRF banner had filed a case in 2012 before the National Green Tribunal against the environmental clearance given to the project. One of SMRF's contentions was the project developers allegedly did not disclose during environmental clearance that the site of the project was located right on the wintering ground of black-necked cranes.

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

MNF Demands Dissolution Preparation on for biggest harvest festival of Chakma Autonomous District Council ET Bureau Kamalanagar, Jan 12: Mizo National Front (MNF) demanded immediate dissolution of Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) for alleged corruption and misrule. In this regard the leaders representing the party met Lt. General (Rtd) Nirabhay Sharma, the Governor of Mizoram when he visited today here at Kamalanagar.

Along with MNF the District Mizo National Youth Front has also demanded the dissolution of the same and has made extensive campaigning in the entire town exposing various and serious corruption committed by the existing authority of CADC, stated a press release from Durjya Dhan Chakma representing MNF. The press release also questioned the governing authority of CADC as to why several projects are left unexecuted in spite of sanctioning huge amount of money. MNF has listed some of the

projects which according to them involve corruption: (1) Longpuighat to Kukrduleye Road-Rs. 1152.45 Lakhs, (2) SMBT of Road from Bajeisora road to Barapansury Road via Helipad -Rs.199.41 Lakh (3) SMBT of Road from Udalthana road to New Secretariat BuildingRs.182.69 Lakhs, (4) Improvement of road infrastructure within Kamalanagar TownRs.318.89 Lakhs, (5) Modernization of Kamalanagar Town Project: (i) Construction of Retaining Wall-Rs.385.16 Lakhs,

Lakhs (iv) Widening / Improvement / Black Topping of approach road to New Secretariat-Rs.57.04 Lakhs, (V) Embankment of Tuichawng river Bank within Kamalanagar town area for control of flood and soil erosion-Rs.193.49 Lakhs, (vi) Construction of BUG Bridge over river Jagnagash SoraRs.117.83 Lakhs, (vii) Construction of BUG Bridge over river Samuksury-Rs.119.49 Lakhs, (viii) Construction of Slab Culvert- Type-I, II, III & IV-Rs.40.68 Lakhs, (ix) Construction of RCC Drainage systemRs.61.45 Lakhs,

(ii) Widening/ improvement / Black Topping of Town Road-Rs.857.21 Lakhs,

(x) Construction of Garbage Bin-Rs.7.21 Lakhs

(iii) Widening / Improvement / Black Topping of road from Udalthana-II to Nalbanya-Rs.56.12

(xi) Construction of Garbage dumping ground including waste management plant-Rs.16.28 Lakhs.

Shambhu Boro Tezpur, Jan 12: With the rest of the state the people here in Tezpur and it’s periphery areas have been seen busy preparation for celebrating the harvest festival Magh Bihu.

People, particularly the youngsters are see busy in giving finishing touch to the meji or the Bhela ghar erected at various places including at open paddy field with much enthusiasm and enjoyment, arranging feasts and bonfires, preparation for the traditional Assamese games such as tekeli bhonga (pot-breaking) and various competitions while women particularly in the rural area have already become busy in making cakes of rice with various names such as Shunga Pitha, Til Pitha and laru. It is to be mentioned here that like in other places of the region, there s no any tradition of organizing games like koni juj (egg fighting), moh juj (buffalo) fighting, kukura juj (cock fighting) and other traditional sports in Sonitpur district.

Based on only the night before which is called "Uruka" (28th of Pooh) and the day of Mokor Sankranti the people of the Sonitpur district have been celebrating the festival since time immemorial. Marking the tradition the people here are also all set to celebrate festival. Bhela ghar are ready

in the paddy fields of Villages attached with the Tezpur town including Majgaon, Ketekibari, Dewrigaon, Da-Porbatia, Bam-Parbatia, Beseria, Dekargaon, Depota, Milonpur, Holeswar, Bihagur, Johamari, Borgaon, Thelamara, Bandarmari-Khelmati, Ghoramari etc. The makeshift huts, known as meji, commonly made by the public collecting bamboo, leaves and thatch still reflects the unity and harmony among the people.

Moreover, the fishing out in various public fisheries and beels and common feasting on the day of ‘Uruka’ reflect the rural livelihood of the Assamese people and other ethnic communities living in this belt.

Meanwhile the second most celebrated Bihu festival also known as Bhogali Bihu or the festival of food and sport is going to be celebrated with much pomp and gaiety here at Bejorchuburi-Da-Parbatgia area in Tezpur by the people of the locality marking the celebration of golden jubilee year as the people of the area this time have attained glorious fifty years of celebration of the festival which has already started with unfurling of flag, tribute paying, installation of laikhuta, inauguration of office, unfurling of fifty flags by the senior citizens of the area, presentation of Bihu Dance by the Baligaon

People buying Pitha , Narikol Laddoo'(coconut balls) and other Bihu items at a Bhogali Mela in Guwahati. Pic - UB Photos Yubak Sangha etc. on December 20 last. Outlining the programme, organizers of the programme stated that on January 13 there will be art competition in two categories (A and B group) among the students of class I to V and Class VI to X at 10 Am in the morning and it will be followed by competition on preparation of Pitha (cake) and

other recipe among and inauguration of Bihu Ghar in the evening.

On January 14 the day’s programme will start with prayer programme in the morning at around 4 Am. It will be followed by extempore speech at 10 Am, interaction programme at 11 Am etc.

on January 15 appraisal of Kirtana at Bihu Ghar will be held at 9 Am which will be followed by exhibition of Bihu Ghar, offering of Bihu Ghar to the agnidevata (god of fire) with agnisewa, prize distribution and open session etc. The open session will be graced by Guna Baruah and Jatin Bora respectively as chief guest and the appointed speaker.

On the last day that is

Congress leader urges Tea tribe IIP plunges to over 4-year low people to vote for Congress at (-) 3.2% in November

The meeting was attended by Ex-Minister of state Jaman Singh Brahma,Rajya Sabha MP Santius Kujur, Bhergaon Block Congress President Khagen Boro,Tangla Block Congress President Manmohan Das and others.

ET Correspondent Tangla, Jan 12: Congress tea cell, Assam Pradesh Tea and Ex-Tea Mazdoor Congress Committee had formed its new committee in Udalguri here today at a general meeting .

MP Santius Kujur, Bhergaon Block Congress President Khagen Boro,Tangla Block Congress President Manmohan Das and others.

The meeting was attended by almost 300 people of tea tribe community.

for the Congress in the coming Assembly election. They said that Congress have been providing the Tea tribe community with many welfare schemes and thereby helping their community.

The meeting was attended by Ex-Minister of state Jaman Singh Brahma,Rajya Sabha

Speaking on the occasion the Congress leaders urged the tea tribe community to vote

The leaders also said that BPF would have a hard time in the three assembly constituencies of Udalguri dis-

trict namely Udalguri, Mazbat and Paneri. In the new District committee Sanjit Tanti was made the President while Simon Nag was made the Secretary, Bimon Mahato was made the General Secretary. The meeting came to an end with the vote of thanks offered by Santius Kujur Rajya Sabha MP of state.

PTI New Delhi, Jan 12 Dashing hopes of recovery, industrial production contracted by 3.2 per cent in November -- the lowest level in over four years -due to poor performance of manufacturing sector and a sharp decline in capital goods output.

This is the worst performance since October 2011 when IIP had contracted by 4.7 per cent.

The Index of Industrial Production (IPP) measuring factory output, grew at 5.2 per cent in November, 2014, as per the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today.

The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, contracted by 4.4 per cent as against a growth of 4.7 per cent in the same month last year.

The industrial production growth in October was slightly revised upwards to 9.9 per cent from provisional estimates of 9.8 per cent released last month.

Seventeen out of 22 industry groups in the manufacturing segment showed negative growth during November 2015 compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

Capital goods output, which is a barometer of investment, contracted by 24.4 per cent in November 2015 compared to a growth of 7 per cent in same month of previous year.

The electricity sector, which constitutes about 10 per cent of the index, also

New Delhi, Jan 12: Union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal could be BJP's face for the Assam assembly elections.

Sonowal, who joined BJP shortly before the 2014 elections after having spent most of his political career as a prominent

member of the Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), is the frontrunner for the party's chief ministerial candidate, according to BJP sources. Unlike in Bihar, where the party had many contending leaders and hence it went into the elections without a chief

ministerial face to avoid infighting, BJP does not have the problem of projecting a face in Assam, sources said.

The assembly polls in the state are slated within the next three months along with West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and

Vivekananda Kendra Vidayala , Sadiya celebrated National Youth Day in connection with Swami Vivekananda 153rd birth anniversary. by chief guests , Budhikanta Mishra , Head Of the Department , History , Jatin Gogoi , Subject Teacher ,English , Sadiya Govt Higher Secondary School and the welcome speech delivered by Gautam Kouri , Principal , VKV ,

Sadiya .

Both of the guests spoke about the ideology of Swami Vivekanada and the importance of the ideology among the youth in this contemporary period. After concluding the rally started

Overall consumer goods production grew at 1.3 per cent in November 2015 against contraction of 1.6 per cent in same month of 2014. .

a cultural programme at the premises of VKV , Sadiya and the cultural programme was inaugrated by Manoj Sarma Vice Principal , The programme was started with various competition including a Skit, dance competition

etc and ended up prize distribution where attended as a guest Horogubindo Kakoti , and delivered speech on Man Making and nation building and coperation of the parents behalf of the nation building in this contemporary society .

Puducherry and BJP's biggest hopes among the five election-bound states lie in Assam. The party is hoping to take on the incumbent Congress government led

by CM Tarun Gogoi, with the target of ousting him and forming the party's first government in the state.

27 Died of Drug Abuse Across Mizoram in 2015 PTI Mizoram, Jan 12: At least 27 people including three women, died in Mizoram due to drug abuse in 2015, according to the record maintained by the state excise and narcotics department.

Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalya ,Sadiya . Five hundred students participated in the rally with parents, well wishers, gyan byan . The rally ended at Sadiya government Higher Secondary School .The rally ended with the closing speech

The mining sector output grew by 2.3 per cent in November 2015 against 4 per cent growth in the same month a year ago.

Sarbananda Sonowal a frontrunner as BJP’s CM face for Assam polls

National Youth day observed in Sadiya

ET Correspondent Sadiya ,Jan 12 : Vivekananda Kendra Vidayala , Sadiya celebrated National Youth Day in connection with Swami Vivekananda 153rd birth anniversary . A cultural rally was organized at 8 am from

showed dismal performance as it grew by meagre 0.7 per cent in November 2015 compared to 10 per cent growth in same month a year ago.

Of the 27 deaths, nine died due to heroin addiction, four due to abuse of spasmo proxyvon and parvon spas, while 19 died due to consumption of a mixture of different kinds of intoxicating drugs, the record said. At least 1,342 people including 141 women have died in the state due to drugs in the state since 1984, when the first drug-related death was reported, it said.

Except for the initial six years, till 1989 when heroinrelated deaths were high, more and more people died due to spasmo proxivon, a

clinical painkiller drug widely abused by the youth in Mizoram.

Out of the 1,342 deaths since 1984 till last year, 1,164 died due to abuse of spasmo proxyvon and parvon spas, while heroin claimed 109 lives, the report said.

State excise and narcotics department officials said there has been considerable increase in heroin trafficking through the porous Mizoram-Myanmar border during the last two years and the cost of heroin in the local market had come down over the years. The state shares a 404 km long international border with Myanmar and the infamous Golden Triangle makes Mizoram vulnerable to drug trafficking, the officials added.

PAGE 5

REGION

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Delhi, Dhaka to ink deal for 100 MW power to Bangladesh Agartala, Jan 12: India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), both state-run companies, will soon sign an agreement to supply 100 MW of electricity to Bangladesh, Tripura's Power Minister Manik Dey said. "Transmission lines are ready to supply 100 MW of power to Bangladesh at any moment.

However, the supply would start after an agreement between NVVN and BPDB," Dey told reporters after returning from Bangladesh capital Dhaka."In Dhaka, several meetings were held to finalise the power tariff.

It was decided that the electricity would be supplied to Bangladesh at a price of Rs.5.5 per unit."

With eye on Assembly polls, BJP affects changes in WB Kolkata, Jan 12: With an eye on assembly polls, BJP West Bengal unit has thoroughly revamped its party organisation inducting new faces for the top posts to place itself as a credible opposition."We have revamped the organisation with an eye on 2016 assembly polls. We have chalked out a plan to achieve our goal. The people are with us and it was proved in recent law violation programmes across the state," West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who assumed the post, last month, said.

Within weeks of taking over, Ghosh, a RSS pracharak, cracked the whip and removed several office bearers and district presidents.

The change appears to have infused a new lease of energy with BJP cadres hitting the streets in various parts of the state as part of lawv i o l a t i o n programme.According to party insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity, Ghosh has full support of RSS and has thrown its full strength behind him after placing its men in key positions.Actress-turnedpolitician Rupa Ganguly, who reportedly shared a strained relationship with for former BJP state president Rahul Sinha, was made the chief of state BJP women's wing.With the new leadership cracking the whip, several top leaders of state BJP like general secretary Ashim Sarkar, media convenor Ritesh Tiwari have lost their berths.

Others to go includes the party's youth wing president Amitava Roy and several former bureaucrats who joined BJP before the 2014 general election did not find any berth in the state unit.

Although Tiwari retained his post seat as secretary, Roy was made a new one.

The changes were made in the backdrop of growing dissent in the rank and file over outsiders, who had joined the party in Bengal after 2014 being given important positions at the expense of old-timers.After a good show in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when it garnered about 18 percent vote share. BJP appears to have lost its steam in Bengal politics within a year due to lack of leadership, infighting and its alleged understanding with the ruling Trinamool Congress. (Agencies)

central government has no objection," Dey added.

The Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) and the Power Generation Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), both governmentrun companies, set up the 47-km transmission lines on their sides for electricity supply from the Palatana power plant in Tripura.

Delhi, Dhaka to ink deal for 100 MW power to Bangladesh Dey - accompanied by officials of the external affairs ministry, power ministry, Central Electricity Authority, and NVVN - went to Dhaka on Friday and held a series of meetings there with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Minister of State for Power Nasrul Hamid and

officials."During the meeting, the Bangladesh prime minister was very keen to get more power from India as the country needs 8,000 MW of electricity to meet its energy crisis."The Tripura government is also ready to provide more power to Bangladesh if the

"Earlier, the supply of 100 MW of power to Bangladesh was supposed to start from December 16, 2015 to keep in mind the Vijay Diwas celebration.

But the transmission lines were not ready and the plan could not materialise," the minister said.The 100 MW of power will be in addition to the 500 MW Bangladesh is already receiving from

India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), both state-run companies, will soon sign an agreement to supply 100 MW of electricity to Bangladesh, Tripura's Power Minister Manik Dey West Bengal.During his June 6-7 Dhaka visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed power supply from Tripura with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

Modi had declared that India would eventually enhance the power supply to Bangladesh to 1,100 MW.Tripura Chief Minister

Manik Sarkar, who a few years ago initiated the move to supply 100 MW of power to Bangladesh, had said that after a new 101 MW gasbased power project at Monarchak (10 km from the Bangladesh border) is completed, at least 200 MW of power would be surplus in Tripura. (Agencies)

Fishermen blame poachers for destroying Manipur's fauna other officials are facing an uphill task in protecting the avian and other fauna in the area due to a number of reasons.The national park is said to be run on a shoestring budget. The cashstrapped wildlife wing of the state forest department does not even have funds to fence off areas rich in fauna or construct a drain etc.

Imphal ,Jan 12:As nature lovers in the region appealed to local fishermen not to use poison to kill fish and migratory birds in the Loktak lake, those eking out a living by fishing in the freshwater lake denied any wrongdoing.

They instead blamed hardcore poachers and those belonging to rich families for trapping or shooting avian fauna and other wildlife in the area.The fishermen also denied that they polluted the largest freshwater body in the north-east region and pointed out that 30 streams carried rubbish into it.

Fishermen blame poachers for destroying Manipur's fauna

"A wrong impression has been created that fishermen kill migratory birds by using poison or snaring them.

For generations, this lake has been a source of livelihood for us. Since the times of our forefathers, we have done nothing to harm nature," fisherman Lukhoi said.

said," People from rich families often come to the lake with licensed guns and shoot birds. There is nobody to restrain them." He said he retrieved two dead migratory birds from the lake on Monday, which was handed over to wildlife officials on Tuesday.

Another fisherman Ahanjao

On Monday, birdwatcher

Elangbam Sarat rescued a migratory duck from a bird hunter by paying him Rs.200. It will be sent to the zoological garden in Imphal.

habit the 40 square km Keibul Lamjao national park, a part of the Loktak lake, since there were only 204 such animals left in the wild.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday assured that the Centre will extend all help to protect the brow antlered deer that in-

The minister for forest, environment and climate change visited the national park on January 9. Meanwhile, wildlife staff and

The Loktak Development Authority burnt most of the shacks belonging to fishermen on the floating biomass in the Loktak lake, but over 300 huts have come up again. Asked to explain the sale of live and dead birds in villages on the fringes of the national park, a wildlife official said: "We have a skeletal and unarmed wildlife staff at the national park. "Hardcore poachers and bird hunters are armed and do not care about wildlife guards. Likewise, sale of bush meat in all hill districts cannot be stopped as it will be against tribal food habits." (Agencies)

NEHU staff dies in road mishap Shillong ,Jan 12: An early morning trip to Mylliem undertaken by three persons including NEHU Deputy Registrar Jaya Bhattacharjee, to have a glimpse of the frost on Monday turned fatal as the car in which they were travelling, collided with another vehicle near Anjalee Petrol Pump, here killing the NEHU official who was driving her vehicle and injuring two others.The accident took place at 6.50 am on Monday when the trio was returning from Mylliem after experiencing the winter frost, police said.

The car (Hyundai i-10, ML05 M 4223) carrying the three occupants including Jaya collided with a Mahindra Maxx tourist vehicle (ML05E 8728) coming from the opposite direction resulting in the tragic incident.

According to police, three occupants of the Mahindra Maxx, who were injured, including the driver Shabor Nongkhlaw (26) were taken to Civil Hospital for treatment.According to eye witnesses, Jaya, Deputy Registrar (Finance), NEHU, was gasping for breath when she was taken to the hospital and subsequently passed away at 7:43 am.The 43year-old, who was also a part time news anchor in Doordarshan Kendar Shillong and All India Radio, was promoted to Assistant Registrar of NEHU's post in 2011.The other occupants of the car, a cousin and a friend of Jaya, are being treated for their injuries at a city based hospital.

Subrata Chaudhury(57), a lecturer in the Kiang Nangbah Government College, Jowai and

Body of Jaya Bhattacharjee (inset) being brought out from Shillong Civil Hospital

S h y a m n a n d a Bhattacharjee (59), an official of the North Eastern Council (NEC) were trav-

elling with Jaya. Jaya's body was taken to Ferndale Rapsang Complex opposite Secretariat

and cremation will take place on Tuesday. Her relatives informed that the post mortem report will reveal some details about her death although the doctors mentioned that she had suffered internal hemorrhage.Her brother suspected that the other vehicle must have taken a short cut while her sister moaned her loss. "When I found her she was no more," she said. The trio moved out at around 4:30 in the morning to catch a glimpse of blanket of frost covering Mylliem during morning hours.SK Srivastava, NEHU Vice Chancellor, said that her death brought about a huge loss to the NEHU fraternity and terming her as "the finest officer in the University" stating that a condolence meeting will be held at the University on Tuesday.Meanwhile, Police are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.

Short film festival to mark Vivekananda's birth anniversary

Swami Vivekananda Kolkata ,Jan 12: As the nation celebrates the 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda tuesday, a one-day short film festival is taking place in the city to pay homage to the monk.Six short films, aimed at children and teenagers, were being shown in the film festival 'Applied Vivekananda' at ICCR auditorium since last evening, Abhijit Dasgupta said on behalf of the organisers Sukriti Foundation.

The films of 2-10 minutes duration and split into teens and above teen segments have fictional tales of winning over adversities and disseminate Vivekananda's preachings among the public.

"We have Chaiwala Publisher (Harsh Singh), Food First (A C Manoharan), Street Artist (Sanjit Datta), Cleanliness (Anjan Paul), Boatsmen (Satanjib Gupta) in the two categories," Dasgupta said.Swami Atmapriyanandaji Maharaj, Vice-Chancellor of

Ramakrishna Vivekananda University, said Vivekananda's teachings have become more and more relevant in the present age.He had always been up against the subjugation of women, which had been rampant since the days of Mahabharat till the present, the VC said.

V Srinivas, CEO of Lead Rsearcher of Illumine Knowledge Resources, Padmashree recipient and founder of Vivekananda Girijana Kalayna Kendra Dr H Sudarshan, eminent doctor Dr Kunal Sarkar and others would discuss "How relevant is Vivekananda today' after the screening here.

Dasgupta recalled, "At a business school, students threw a Swamiji booklet and walked away from a class as they believed Swamiji was nothing more than a monk. That prompted us to initiate audio-visual projects aimed at the younger generation on behalf of Sukriti." (Agencies)

Firm seeks Rs.1 crore from Bihar for killed engineers Patna, Jan 12 : A private company engaged in road construction in Bihar has demanded Rs.1 crore as compensation from the state government for the families of two engineers killed allegedly for not paying extortion money to a notorious gang.Two engineers of Gurgaon-based construction company BSC-C&C Joint Venture Ltd., engaged in road making in Bihar, were shot dead in Darbhanga district last month.

Over two weeks after two of its engineers were killed, the company has written to a top official of Bihar's road construction department, demanding compensation to instil confidence among engineers, skilled and nonskilled workers engaged in other construction projects in the state, the company's official said on Tuesday.

The company officials have informed the state government that engineers and contractors were reluctant to carry on work on some other projects despite security being provided by the Bihar authorities.

Earlier, the company also requested for adequate security for its employees

engaged in road construction in view of fear among them following the killing of the two engineers.According to police, the two engineers - Brajesh Kumar and Mukesh Kumar -- were killed on December 26 by two motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly for not paying extortion money.

An official of the BSCC&C Joint Venture Ltd. said a man named Mukesh Pathak, who works as a shooterfor gangster Santosh Jha, has been demanding a "levy" from the company since August.The official said Pathak called several times between December 16 and 20.A police probe indicated involvement of Santosh Jha's gang. He is currently lodged in the Gaya Central Jail.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed, led by Special Task Force Superintendent of Police Shivdeep Lande.Jha's sister Munni Devi and her husband Sanjay Lal Dev were on last Saturday arrested in connection with the killing of the two engineers.

During police interrogation, Munni Devi has reportedly confessed her involvement in the killings.

(Agencies)

Communal forces donning 'shroud of secularism' at work in Malda: Govt.

Ranchi, Jan. 12 : Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said that communal forces donning the 'shroud of secularism' were at work in Malda attempting to degrade the environment of prosperity' in the nation."I believe

that there is an All India Communal Syndicate, which has donned the shroud of secularism and is trying to degrade the environment of prosperity in the country," Naqvi told media.

"Whatever has happened in Malda and what is hap-

pening in Purnia, clearly indicates that few forces are working to disturb the communal harmony of this country," he added.

Naqvi also said that the government was committed to neutralise these attempts and added that the nation can develop only after harmony sustains in

the country."The forces mustn't be successful in these attempts; this is our commitment as well as the nation's," he added.Meanwhile, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation is set to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Union Home Minister Rajnath

Singh at 4:30 p.m. today to apprise them of the law and order situation in the state.

This comes after the BJP delegation was turned away from Malda railway station.The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress of backing the per-

petrators, adding that the violence in Malda was not a communal incident but a planned attack.The TMC has, however, accused the BJP of spreading communal venom ahead of the state assembly polls this year.On January 3, a mob set the Kaliachak police station

and several vehicles on fire in protest against a hate speech by a rightwing leader.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the violence was nothing more than a localised problem and claimed that the state government was taking appropriate action. (ANI)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Pathankot attack: No reason to 'mistrust' Pakistan, says Govt.

Noida, Jan 12: Taking a passive stand, the Indian government on Tuesday expressed confidence that Pakistan will come through in the investigations in the Pathankot attack and said that Islamabad should be given more time to take concrete action.

"Pakistan government has assured that they will be taking swift action in the Pathankot attack probe. I think we should give them more time. Moreover, there is no reason to doubt Pakistan's assurance," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.

However, the Congress has slammed the Centre for not bringing Pakistan's role in the Pathankot attack onto the international arena strongly enough. "I feel like we have not reacted enough...we should have reacted more seriously.

What we should have done was bring Pakistan's behaviour to the international community's attention," Congress leader P.C. Chacko told ANI. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lashed out at the Congress for critiquing the Centre over India's current policy with Pakistan and said that the government was quite capable of handling national security matter and added that the grand old party should refrain from becoming 'experts' on the issue.

"Be it Congress or anyone, they don't need to become an expert and international commentators when it comes to national security.

Our hands which holds the responsibility of national security is firm and experienced. We know how to fight those who try to hurt the country," Naqvi told.

(ANI)

SC stays Centre's notification lifting ban on 'Jallikattu' New Delhi, Jan.12: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Central Government's notification, which permitted the controversial bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu' in Tamil Nadu.

The apex court has also issued notice to Centre, Tamil Nadu and other states where 'Jallikattu' is played. The decision in this regard was pronounced by an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur.

The Centre's notification lifting ban on b Jallikattu during the festival of

Pongal in Tamil Nadu was challenged in the Supreme Court on Monday.

The petitions were filed by Animal Welfare Board of India, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and a Bangalore-based NGO. The four-year old ban on holding of Jallikattu was lifted on January 8 by the Centre in Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions.

PETA had last week criticised the Central Government's decision to permit events like 'Jallikattu' and bull races in Tamil Nadu. (ANI)

PAGE 6

Need 'interfaith' dialogue to eliminate misunderstandings: Vice President Ansari Malappuram, Jan. 12: Praising India for its diversity, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Tuesday stressed on the need for 'interfaith' dialogue to remove misunderstanding and promotes empathy and understanding and said that tolerance alone is not a strong foundation for building an inclusive and pluralistic society. Speaking at the inauguration of the Interfaith Conference at Malappuram, Kerala, Ansari said that both the law and the public life in India, promote and en-

dorse religious tolerance."If we truly want to have a society at peace with itself, we need to move from merely tolerating each other's mere presence to acceptance and understanding. Swami Vivekananda said that we "must not only tolerate other religions, but positively embrace them, as truth is the basis of all religions." Tolerance is a virtue. It is freedom from bigotry," he said.

Asserting that interfaith dialogue was crucial for developing understand-

Vice President Hamid Ansari

ing, the Vice President added that the purpose of interfaith dialogue is to increase the understand-

"If we truly want to have a society at peace with itself, we need to move from merely tolerating each other's mere presence to acceptance and understanding. Swami Vivekananda said that we "must not only tolerate other religions, but positively embrace them, as truth is the basis of all religions."

ing and respect for other religious systems and institutions. "To promote real understanding, inter-

Bijnor incident: Women activists NIA not satisfied with demand strict laws to protect old, sick Salwinder's response: MHA official New Delhi, Jan 12: Expressing shock over the horrific video of a woman thrashing her elderly mother-in-law in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district, the women activists on Tuesday demanded that a law should be made to protect the old and sick in this country. Advocate and women rights activist Abha Singh said it is necessary to amendment Section 498 A as it protects only the daughter-in-law.

"I think the time has come where the Parliament needs to sit down and make a law which would protect the old and sick in this country. What is necessary is amendment in 498 A because it only protects the daughter-in-law. Of late, the cases against senior citizens is increasing, they are being beaten, tortured

Advocate and women rights activist Abha Singh by their own children. A separate law needs to be made which will protect the aged and the old people," Singh said. "It is a very shocking and a very saddening video that has gone viral that a daughter-in-law is beating up her motherin-law, who is old and sick, in such a brutal manner," she added.

Former National Commission for Women (NCW) member Shamina Shafiq

said it is a crazy scenario, adding that law is made to protect women not to misuse them. "I feel ashamed that a woman is brutalising another woman. I think women should understand that law has been made to give them that extra support and to help them but that doesn't mean that it should be misused. I think we should look at the matter from a larger aspect. We should introspect where the

society is heading to," Shafiq said She insisted that these incidents need to be taken very seriously.

Former NCW chief Mamata Sharma echoed similar statements, saying that women should not misuse the laws which are made to protect them. The incident took place in Bijnor district where a 70-year-old lady was thrashed, beaten up and strangled by her daughter-in-law. The incident was reportedly captured on CCTV camera by her husband, who had warned his wife for her behaviour several times earlier. The accused Sangeeta Jain has been arrested after a case under Section 307 of the IPC was filed against her.

(ANI)

Cong accuses Centre of not putting 'enough' pressure on Pak: Pathankot attack New Delhi, Jan 12: The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre for not bringing Pakistan's role in the Pathankot attack onto the international arena strongly enough and lashed out at former Pakistan president General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf over his assertion that India was 'overreacting' to the terror strike on the Pathankot air base.

"I feel like we have not reacted enough...we should have reacted more seriously. What we should have done was bring

Pakistan's behaviour to the international community's attention," Congress leader P.C. Chacko told .

Not sparing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for keeping the opposition blind to the proceedings with Pakistan over Pathankot, Chacko said that the Centre was not making the situation transparent, which would affect the ongoing investigation. "The biggest mistake by the Modi Government was not taking the opposition into consideration. They should have

J-K Budget Session won't commence from Jan. 18, says Kavinder Gupta Srinagar, Jan 12: Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta has said that the Budget Session called by the previous government stands cancelled as of now, and added that a decision in this regard would be made only after discussion with the new Chief Minister.

"I don't think Budget Session will commence on schedule. Any decision on the Session will be taken only after discussion with new Chief Minister's swearing-in ceremony.

I don't think it is possible to have Assembly session from January 18," Gupta said "After the death of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, the situation has been tense. We will form the government very

soon. Even if there is a delay by a day or two, there will not be any problem," he added.

Uncertainty over budget session of the Legislature, which had been called by previous Government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed from January 18, has ended with cancellation of the session.

The new budget session will now be called by the next Government after it assumes the office. According to the provisional calendar issued by the Assembly Secretariat, there would be a 52-daylong Budget session with 36 sittings.

Chief Minister Sayeed was scheduled to reply to debate on Motion of Thanks to Governor's Address on January 21.

(ANI)

religious and interfaith dialogue has to be more than mere words or talk.

It must include human in-

teraction and relationships. It should be about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allows them to live and cooperate with each other in spite of their differences. It has to be a cooperative and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions, at both the individual and institutional level," he said. During the function, the Vice President also laid the foundation stone of the Straightpath International School campus. (ANI)

on the part of the Indian government," he said.

Talking about Musharraf's statement which he made in an interview to a Pakistani news channel, Chacko said that India must not take the former president's reaction 'lightly'.

Pakistan president General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf

shared the information with us. They have not made things transparent which is why Pakistan has failed to act on the evidence and this is a failure

"It is not up to Musharraf or anyone from Pakistan to decide how India will react to the issue. India's most important airbase was attacked by a group of terrorists.

Fact remains that it was a

major attack on one of India's defence establishments and it was with the help of the Pakistan and we don't need evidence of their involvement. In that kind of situation, India has every right to protest," he said, adding that Musharraf's reaction showed Pakistan's attitude that they were not taking the Pathankot attack seriously.

Earlier, Musharraf called on India to not 'overreact' to the terror strike on the Pathankot IAF base, saying that both nations were

Starving residents of Syria break down after receiving first aid Washington, Jan 12: The first aid shipment from abroad has reached the besieged Syrian city of Madaya which brought tears to the starving residents of the city.

Around 65 trucks loaded with aid supplies entered Madaya and two other besieged towns of Foua and Kefraya in which four trucks carried food and blankets and rest were loaded with medicine and other supplies, reported the CNN. Shocking images of starving residents of the rebel held city under siege by Syrian regime forces and their allies since July have drawn international attention.

The situation was so dire that a doctor had nothing

victims of extremism.

"Terrorism is prevalent in both India and Pakistan.

We are also victims of the same so we should not over react to what happened in Pathankot. Yes, of course we want to control such incidents, but one should get hyper over such incidents," Musharraf said.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Pakistan has rejected the evidence provided by India in the Pathankot attack and has denied the credibility of the proofs. (ANI)

to give his patients except sugar or salt water.

The convoy came from the U.N. World Food Programme, International Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent which had been positioned at the outskirts of the city. It was set to de-

liver enough aid to sustain 40,000 people for a month.

Although, Madaya is less than 50 kilometers from the capital city of Damascus, the cost of food has crippled the city.

(ANI)

Singh had been summoned by the NIA on Friday to appear before it for detailed interrogation. The

London, Jan 12: At least 51 people have been killed in a series of attacks by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Baghdad and the nearby towns in Iraq.

Two bomb blasts in eastern town of Muqdadiya killed 23 people and wounded another 51, se-

"The NIA teams have continued to question SP Salwinder Singh's friend Rajesh Verma as well as his cook Madan Gopal in Punjab. Madan Gopal will be called for questioning at the NIAheadquarters in Delhi and the date of his questioning will be intimated in due course," it added. Seven security personnel died in the attack of the IAF base in Pathankot, located 250 km from Chandigarh, by terrorists suspected from Pakistan. (ANI)

Amritsar, Jan, 12 : Gautam Bambawale, who has been appointed theIndian High Commissioner to Pakistan, on Tuesday said that he would make all efforts to strengthen the relations between the two Asian neighbours. "My work is that of an ambassador of India to Pakistan.

the earliest. So, I am going to cross over and reach there.

We want to improve the relationship between Indian and Pakistan. We want to strengthen our relationship between Indian and Pakistan and that will be my effort while I am posted there," Bambawale said.

"The instruction given to me was to reach Pakistan at

The Foreign Secretary-level talks appear to be unlikely this week with India taking the stand thatPakistan has to act on the leads given to it about the terror attack on the Pathankot air base. (ANI)

curity and sources said.

medical

Another blast in a southeastern Baghdad suburb killed seven more while earlier in the day three people were killed when a car bomb went off near a restaurant in Baquba, 65km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks saying that it had targeted "rejectionists", its derogatory term for Shia Muslims, and added that "worse was to come".

(ANI)

Three kids killed, 25 injured in school bus accident in Punjab Gurdaspur, Jan 12: At least three children were killed and 25 others severely wounded when a school bus fell into a ditch inFatehgarh Churian village of Punjab's

Home Ministry in a statement yesterday said that Salwinder's jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal have also been questioned and would be called again for questioning, if needed.

Going to Pak with message of friendship: Bambawale

At least 51 people killed in series of attacks by ISIS in Iraq

Gunmen detonated suicide vests inside a shopping complex in Baghdad on Monday and a car bomb exploded nearby killing at least 18 people and injuring 40 others.

The first aid shipment from abroad has reached the besieged Syrian city of Madaya

New Delhi, Jan. 12: National Investigative Agency (NIA) is not satisfied with Gurdapur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh's responses following extensive interrogation, said an official of Ministry of Home Affairs. The interrogation of the top cop is likely to conclude on Tuesday, the official added. Singh reached the NIA office for the second consecutive day today for questioning in connection with the Pathankot terror attack. The NIA had yesterday questioned the top cop at its headquarters in New Delhi.

Gurdaspur district this morning. Rescue officials said that all injured students were admitted to a nearby hospital post the accident and given first aid. (ANI)

The two governments are in touch with each other, we will have to wait and see what would be the next step," he added when asked about the Foreign Secretarylevel talks.

'IS suicide bomber' kills 10 in Istanbul Sultanahmet district Contd. from Page 1 Eyewitness Murat Manaz said: "It was a suicide bomb. I went there and saw it and came back to the hotel. There was chaos. Everybody was running somewhere.

"Policemen did not see this coming. They were distressed but at the same time they were trying to evacuate the area because they said there was a possibility that a second bomb could go off."

The authorities are investigating the type of explosive used, the governor's office said.

Mrs Merkel had earlier expressed "serious concern" about the casualties, saying a German tourist group had been affected.

She added: "Today Istanbul was hit; Paris has been hit, Tunisia has been hit, Ankara has been hit before. International terrorism is once again showing its cruel and inhuman face today."

Germany's foreign ministry has urged German tourists in Istanbul to avoid large crowds and tourist attractions and warned that further violent clashes and "terrorist attacks" were expected across Turkey.

Norway's foreign ministry said a Norwegian man was receiving treatment in hospital.

Turkey last year took a more active role against IS in Syria, carrying out air strikes and allowing US warplanes to use its Incirlik base for missions.

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

PAGE 7

NEIGHBOURS

Pakistan suggests four points to help achieve Afghan peace Beijing asserts right Islamabad, Jan 12: Pakistan told the opening session of the quadrilateral group that no precondition should be attached for peace talks with Taliban.

"It is important that no preconditions are attached to the reconciliation process, as it will create difficulties in bringing Taliban to the negotiating table," Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said, as he penned down four elements essential in the reconciliation process with Afghanistan.

Top officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States meet in Islamabad to finalise a roadmap for resurrecting a stalled peace process in Afghanistan.The delegations were led by Pakistan's Secretary for Foreign Affairs Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hakmet Khalil Karzai, US

Pakistan told the opening session of the quadrilateral group that no precondition should be attached for peace talks with Taliban.

Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson and China's Special Envoy for Afghanistan Deng Xijun."The primary objective of the reconciliation process is to create conditions to bring the Taliban groups to the negotiation table and offer them incentives that can persuade them to move away from using violence as a tool for pursuing political goals,"

Myanmar's Suu Kyi calls for all insurgents to take part in talks

National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi talks to Shwe Mann (not pictured), speaker of Myanmar's Union Parliament.

Yangon, Jan 12:More of Myanmar's ethnic minority rebel groups should be brought into peace talks and the effort to end conflict should not divide groups that are involved in negotiations and those that have shunned the process, Aung San Suu Kyi said today. Hundreds of representatives of guerrilla groups, the military and members of parliament, gathered in the capital, Naypyitaw, for the second stage of talks aimed at ending insurgencies that have plagued the country for decades.

The outgoing semicivilian government of President Thein Sein signed what it called a nationwide ceasefire agreement in October, but seven of 15 rebel groups invited to participate declined to sign, including some of the most powerful. Other groups were not invited to take part or showed little interest in the process.Since the signing, fighting has erupted between the military and groups that did not sign the ceasefire and groups that did not take part in the negotiations, as well as between groups that signed and others that did not, further complicating the already daunting task of reaching sustainable peace."We need to work for all the ethnic armed groups to participate in the NCA," Suu Kyi said referring to the nationwide ceasefire agreement."It is important not to have conflicts between the ethnic armed groups which have signed the NCA and the

groups which are still not involved in the agreement."Ethnic minority guerrillas have been fighting the central government for greater autonomy and rights since shortly after the country gained independence from Britain in 1948.

The military, which still wields huge influence under a constitution it drafted in 2008, has long portrayed itself as the sole power holding the ethnically diverse country together and it is widely seen as loath to give ground on minority demands for autonomy under a federal system. Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) swept a November election, said in an Independence Day speech last week that the peace process would be the first priority of her new government, which is due to take power in March.But she and the NLD have said little publicly about how they intend to push the process forward.Groups that chose not to sign the ceasefire have been invited to attend the latest talks, which could lay the groundwork for further negotiations once the NLD takes power.Several of the insurgent groups are hoping that Suu Kyi's standing and mandate will help her in bridging differences with the military.

"We have high expectations for Aung San Suu Kyi and her government to negotiate with the army chief - without the military's involvement it will be impossible to end the fighting across the country," said Saw Thamein Tun, a leader of the Karen National Union.

The gathering in Naypyitaw was also attended by President Thein Sein and the powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing. The appearance of the two alongside Suu Kyi reflected what has been a smooth transfer of power.Myanmar's generals ran the country for 49 years, until 2011, when a hybrid civilian-military government was installed.(Agencies)

PM to address nation in evening Dhaka, Jan 12: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address the nation today evening. The premier will deliver the address marking two-year completion of her government; PM's Deputy Press Secretary Ashraful Alam Khokan told media .He said the prime minister will talk about the success of her government, present political scenario and militancy issues of the country while addressing the people of the

nation.

The 10th general elections were held on January 5, 2014 amidst a boycott from the then main opposition BNP.The Awami League has secured absolute majority in the 10th parliament by bagging 232 seats - 105 contested and 127 uncontested. The Jatiya Party became the second largest party in the parliament bagging 33 seats - 13 contested and 20 uncontested. (Agencies)

said Aziz, as he opened the talks.

"It is therefore important that no preconditions are attached to the reconciliation process," he said.

"Proper sequencing is required in the negotiating process," he said, adding that "threat of use of military action against the group will cause hindrances and cannot precede the offer of talks to all groups.""Keeping in

mind the group's sensitive nature of work and acknowledging the importance of positive public messaging, Pakistan should keep Taliban away from media as much as possible," Aziz said.

The advisor said the reconciliation process would have to take into account following fundamentals: One, the process has to be Afghan-led and Afghanowned as an externally imposed settlement is neither desirable nor it would be sustainable. The role of Pakistan, China and the United States was basically to facilitate the process. Two, political reconciliation by nature was a complex process requiring time, patience and sense of accommodation by the concerned parties with a view to arriving at a winwin solution.

He pointed out that the 5th Ministerial Conference of

n Creating conditions to incentivise Taliban to move away from violence n Sequencing actions and measures to pave way for direct talks with Taliban the Heart of Asia in Islamabad last month provided impetus to Pakistan's quest for establishment of a lasting peace in Afghanistan. The meeting on the sidelines of the conference between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ashraf Ghani as well as quadrilateral interaction among Pakistan, Afghanistan, US and China reflected important consensus on the way forward on Afghan peace and reconciliation process, he said.The advisor said Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif visited Afghanistan on 27th of last month and had a useful interaction with the Afghan side for

strengthening the security and counter-terrorism cooperation through intelligence sharing and facilitating the Afghan peace and reconciliation process.

Sartaj Aziz said that terrorism was a major threat to global and regional peace. "Pakistan has suffered huge human and economic losses due to this menace.

But Pakistan's sacrifices in the struggle against terrorism have further strengthened its resolve to address the issue. Pakistan counter-terrorism policy is based on zero tolerance for any terrorist group or outfit," he said.

(Agencies)

Hepatitis survey points to nearly 5 million infected Yangon ,Jan 12:The survey - conducted by the Department of Medical Research, the Central Epidemiological Unit of the Department of Public Health and the Myanmar Liver Foundation - was done between May and November 2015 among men and women aged between 15 and 80, living in 18 townships in nine states and regions and Nay Pyi Taw.The results were announced to the Myanmar Research Congress, which is currently meeting in Yangon.

Daw Aye Aye Lwin, deputy director of the Immunology Research Division at the Department of Medical Research, told participants on January 6 that the survey results would be used to help better target measures to fight the disease.The survey

found that the highest prevalence of HB infection was 12.4 percent in Yangon Region and the lowest was 3.3pc in Magwe Region. HC infection was highest in Mon State at 10.3pc, and lowest in Bago Region and Chin State at 0.32pc. "The high point of hepatitis B infection, 7.36pc, was found in the 30-39 age groups. The highest prevalence of hepatitis C, 7.32pc, was found in the 50-59 age-group."

Of the five main hepatitis viruses, types B and C lead to chronic diseases in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common causes of liver cirrhosis and cancer, also causing approximately 80pc of liver cancer deaths.Despite differences in methodology and

sample size, the overall levels of hepatitis B in the general population, 6.5pc, and the prevalence of hepatitis C, at 2.65, appear to be lower than were found in a study conducted in 2002. "Effective health education and awareness-raising activities leading to prevention measures have helped reduce the risk factor," said Daw Aye Aye Lwin.

Medical Research Department spokesperson Dr Win Maw Tun said the health ministry was

drawing up a program for prevention, awareness and treatment of the disease. The results would help public health officials better organise disease control procedures.The government also plans to start treatment with anti-hepatitis C drugs being provided by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), said Dr Toe Thiri Aung, deputy director of epidemiology in the Department of Public Health. (Agencies)

Nearly 5 million people in Myanmar suffer from a form of hepatitis, health officials say. A nationwide survey conducted last year estimated that about 3.3 million people suffer from hepatitis B and a further 1.3 million live with hepatitis C.

Beijing to end coal usage by 2020 to reduce smog Beijing, Jan 12: China's capital and its adjoining areas will end coal usage by 2020 to reduce the recurring smog in Beijing and improve air quality with a host of measures including replacement of coal-fired stoves with that of electricity and gas. An official of the Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said boosting efforts to cut air pollution in northern China, especially winter smog from the burning of coal, is a mission for this year. An official of the Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said boosting efforts to cut air pollution in northern China, especially winter smog from the burning of coal, is a mission for this year. Among the efforts, Beijing has declared that it will wipe out coal use in its most rural areas by

An official of the Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said boosting efforts to cut air pollution in northern China,

2020. As much as "60 per cent of smog content is caused by coal burning in the starting phase of each smog", Fang Li, an official with Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said. Studies showed that 30 per cent of the pollution comes from automob i l e s . To s t a r t w i t h , Beijing will replace

coal-fired heating stoves with those powered by electricity or gas in 400 villages this year, before taking the campaign to the districts of Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai and Shijingshan by 2017, said Guo Zihua, a municipal rural development official. Beijing's downtown districts of

Dongcheng and Xicheng eliminated coal burning last year, officials said. The capital and other places in northern China experienced several smog alerts in November and December, when peak readings were many times higher than the national safety level.

Burning coal for winter heating has been listed as one of the primary causes of air pollution, Chen Jining minister of environmental protection has said at the annual meeting on environmental protection in Beijing. He said the ministry will do everything to prevent environmental protection from becoming a stumbling block for the country during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20). (Agencies)

Japan and Sri Lanka to hold high level talks this week Colombo, Jan 12: Japan and Sri Lanka will hold high level talks this week including on maritime security, safety and oceanic issues, the Foreign Ministry said.A Sri Lanka-Japan Policy Dialogue at the Senior Official Level between the two Foreign Ministries will be held on 12 January 2016 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.The Policy Dialogue will be chaired by Ranjith Uyangoda, Additional Secretary of the East Asia & Pacific and Pubic Communications Division of the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs.

The Japanese delegation will be led by Kazuya Nashida, Director General of the Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of line Ministries/ Agencies will participate at the Policy Dialogue.The Policy Dialogue provides a framework to consider concrete measures to enhance bilateral and economic cooperation.

Japan and Sri Lanka will hold high level talks this week

The Policy Dialogue was proposed during the Official Visit of Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to Japan from 4-7 October 2015.A Dialogue on

Maritime Security, Safety and Oceanic Issues between Sri Lanka and Japan, hosted by the Ministry of Defence, will also be held on 13 January 2016. (Agencies)

to flights to South China Sea

Beijing asserts right to flights to South China Sea

Beijing, Jan 12:Beijing said it did not need to notify Vietnam about flights to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, after Hanoi complained to a UN aviation body about the controversial trips.Vietnam accused Beijing of threatening regional safety by conducting "unannounced" flights through its airspace to a newly built runway on the Fiery Cross reef, which is claimed by both countries.

China has conducted several flights this year to the airstrip, one of several it has built on ar-

tificial islands is has constructed as its asserts its claim to nearly the entire disputed waterway.

China's foreign ministry said it had not been required to notify Vietnam, as the flights were "state aviation activities". The trips "are not bound by the Convention on International Civil Aviation and relevant regulations of the ICAO, are within sovereign states' independent hands to operate," spokesman Hong Lei told a regular briefing, referring to the UN body. (Agencies)

Satellites dissect Nepal quake Kathmandu ,Jan 12: The deep anatomy of last year's devastating quake in Nepal is revealed in a new analysis by scientists.Satellite data is used to show where and how the rocks ruptured under the country, leading to the loss of more 8,800 lives. The Magnitude 7.8 tremor occurred at a point where the main fault takes a deep dip just south of the high Himalayas.

This "ramp" structure, as the group calls it, probably also plays a key role in building the famous peaks. As tectonic forces drive the Indian subcontinent under Central Asia, rocks ride up the ramp, adding a few millimetres a year to the height of the snow and ice-capped mountains. John Elliott from Oxford University, UK, and colleagues report their assessment of the 25 April quake in the journal Nature Geoscience. They examined images from Europe's Sentinel-1a radar satellite and other spacecraft to map the buckling of the ground.

It was spread across what they term a "hinge point", where the main fault in the region transitions from being relatively horizontal to being sharply angled into the Earth. This geometry has a number of consequences, the scientists say.First, it neatly explains why the surface surrounding the capital Kathmandu rose up by about a metre during the quake, and dropped by roughly 60cm in the more mountainous terrain to the north. And, secondly, it also provides a good model for how the Himalayas gain height over time.The team proposes a cycle of slumping on the occasion of

major quakes and mountain-building in quiescent periods, with the increase in elevation dominating over the long term. The high Himalayas currently gain on average about 4mm per annum.

Last April's tremor occurred in what scientists refer to as a seismic gap - a segment of the fault that has not experienced any significant strain-releasing activity in a long while.The 2015 shock brought relief only to the far eastern sector of this gap, meaning the potential for future large quakes is still present to the west. And there is potential also to the south.The latest analysis demonstrates that the main fault did not rupture all the way to the surface on 25 April. It stopped abruptly some 11km under Kathmandu."There is still half of the fault that's going south of Kathmandu, from a depth of 11km up to the surface - that hasn't yet broken," Dr Elliott told BBC News."Our hypothesis is that the abrupt stop is because the main fault has been damaged and it was held up where it intersected with other, smaller faults. But this will only be temporary.

"These earthquakes tend to happen on the century timescale, but this barrier could be pushed through on a shorter timescale. Of course, our problem is that we are not able to predict when; we can never give a date."The Oxford scientist said that if the remaining portion did break all the way to the surface in one go, it would likely produce a quake of similar magnitude to the 25 April event, but being much shallower could have more damaging effects.

(Agencies)

PAGE 8

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Tripura Power to go to Bangladesh

Green Consumerism in India

At Rs 5.50 Per Unit India and Bangladesh have signed a memorandum of understanding finalising the price of power to be exported from Palatana power station to the neighbouring country at the cost of eight American cent per unit, which is Rs 5.50. According to official sources Indian delegation led by Tripura Power Minister Manik Dey had a meeting with the Bangladesh team led by their Power Minister Nasrul Hamid at Dhaka to finalise the rate and signed the MoU. According to report, initially 100 MW power from the second unit of Palatana will be exported to Bangladesh as decided by the Prime Ministers of both the countries last year. It was scheduled to start the export from December 16, 2015 but got delayed due to dispute over fixation of prices. As per present schedule, the transmission of power will begin from February.

Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) has successfully charged the transmission line of Power Grid Corporation of India on Bangladesh Vijay Diwas (Independence Day) on December 16 last up to Indian part.

Also PGCIL had already completed Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) on the top of the 17.2 km transmission line. PGCIL has erected 20 km of transmission lines in Indian side from Suryamaninagar grid of Tripura while the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) has completed 27 km of transmission line across the border up to Comilla.

Also the highest level of both the countries have finalised the tariff and other transmission protocol as per international norms. Meantime, synchronisation of grid code of India and Bangladesh has also been completed by the technical experts of both the nations. At present India is selling 500 MW power to Bangladesh from Baharampur in West Bengal. Out of this 250 MW is going from government owned projects for which Bangladesh is paying Rs 4.50 cent per unit and rest 250 MW has been sold by private companies which cost Rs 5.50 cent per unit.

Accidents in Northeast Record of Highest Number of Deaths in Northeast According to experts, a number of factors are responsible for the high rates of accident, of which careless driving over difficult terrain continues to reap a deadly toll every year. It has also been said that road accidents in Assam and neighbouring states shoot up during the monsoon and winter period. Such accidents have continued to rise as problems like poor visibility over roads have gone unaddressed. The NCRB report identified trucks and lorries as the biggest causes of road accidents in India. In 2008, at least 25,135 people were killed by such vehicles across the country. Accidents involving two-wheelers was the second biggest threat to road users, as they were involved in the death of 23,552 people.

Cars, both private and government owned, were major factor in road accident deaths. In 2008, 10,222 lives were lost in accidents involving cars. A breakup of various causes of accidental deaths in 2008 in India showed that the 34.5 per cent of those were due to road accidents and rail-road and railway accidents were responsible for 7.6 per cent. In a report, the bureau reveals that rate of accidental deaths per thousand vehicles was quite high in Assam. In 2008, the figure stood at 1.9, whereas it was 0.7 in the case of Gujarat and 0.6 in Goa. During the same year in Assam, 4,262 road accidents took place, and 1,721 people lost their lives. The number was among the highest the State recorded in recent years. In Arunachal Pradesh, the number of deaths per cars that year was more alarming. The rate of accidental deaths per cars stood at 5.7, the highest in the entire country. Sikkim is another State with high road accident deaths. In 2008, the all India percentage share was 37.1, but it hovered at 72.5 in the State. Manipur and Tripura also had rates higher than the all India percentage share. Significantly, Assam is one of the States identified as "high prone areas on the basis of percentage share of deaths due to unnatural causes (rail road and railways accidents)". While the all India share stood at 8.3 per cent, Assam was seventh in the list with 11.7 per cent.

While on the other hand Assam recorded the highest number of deaths in accidents among the northeastern states in 2014 while Meghalaya had the maximum increase of reported traffic accidents in the country, according to a report. The Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2014 report provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed that there were 4,51,757 accidental deaths reported in the country, an increase of 12.8 per cent compared to 2013. In 2013, there were 4,00,517 accidental deaths recorded in the country. The data revealed there were 52 accidental deaths every hour in 2014. While every hour nearly two persons died in "natural calamities", the data revealed that nearly 36 people were killed in "unnatural accidents" every hour in 2014. "Out of 4,51,757 accidental deaths, 3,16,828 and 1,14,728 deaths were due to unnatural causes (70.1 per cent) and other causes (25.4 per cent), respectively, and the remaining 4.5 per cent deaths were due to causes attributable to forces of nature," the report said. Accidental deaths attributable to nature include deaths owing to floods, earthquake, landslides, lightning and epidemic, among others. Deaths owing to unnatural causes included traffic accidents, air crash, drowning, collapse of structure, stampede, and others, while deaths owing to other causes include those caused by consumption of spurious liquor, suffocation and deaths of women during pregnancy, among others.

Pranjal Bezborah In these days of information technology, increased media coverage of environmental problems such as acid rain, green house effect, landdegradation, ozone layer depletion, etc., has enlightened the consumers, manufacturers, non-governmental organizations, local environmentalists and government about the threat posed by the human beings to the environment. In response to the rising demand for eco-friendly products and the attention paid by the consumers towards environmental credentials of companies, the companies started incorporating environmentalism in their policies. Some of the companies adopted environmental-friendly stance proactively in the wake of their social responsibility, while others envisaged the opportunities from the growing environmental awareness to explore new markets.

Consumerism, a movement to protect consumers against dangerous products, unethical pricing practices and deceptive advertising, has increased in the recent years particularly in respect to certain issues and protection of the environment in one of them.

The main issues pursued by the consumer movement fall into three categories, viz., environmental protection, product performance and safety, and information disclosure. Major forces driving the movement, in addition to consumers themselves, are consumer organizations and other interest groups, consumer education and consumer laws. 'Green Consumerism' aims at protecting the consumers against environmentally harmful products and practices. It has increased the interest of consumers in environmental impacts of the products they buy. According to David, green consumerism progresses through four stages beginning with a superficial awareness of green is-

sues (e.g., acid rain) and ending with an acceptance of individual responsibility for the environment and a commitment to buy only green products. Ultimately, the green consumer becomes the green agitator, joining an environmental group to lobby for change.

Thus, the rising consciousness towards the natural environment is a new trait among the consumers that is fast catching up. However, greenness among the consumers is not only difficult to identify because a consumer may not act green in all the circumstances, but also it is difficult to measure since all the consumers are not equally green. Therefore, it becomes imperative to identify the environmental issues and problems that the consumers are aware of as distinguished from those that are not known to them. Such information can be helpful to the marketers in identifying the target consumers and also deciding as to what are the environmental features of a product that need to be highlighted to satisfy a particular consumer segment.

Moreover, marketers as well as non-profit organizations concerned with the promotion of environmental causes can identify the environmental issues and problems that need to be propagated among public. This will enable the governmental and non-governmental agencies promoting environmental ideas to focus their education efforts on those environmental hazards or impacts, which the consumers are not aware of rather than wasting their efforts on those issues that are already popular among the consumers. However, not much work has been done in this direction in our country.

There has been a lot of hype over the environmental issues in our country during the last few years. There have been many agitations to conserve the natural habitats when dams were constructed like the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Not only this, the American Enron power project at Dabhol had to face agitations against the environmental hazards of storing naphtha. Reliance's Jamnagar refinery had to

face similar situations.

Supreme Court judgments on environmental issues, ban on Plastic Bags, implementation of Euro II Norms, also reflect the rising environmentalism in India. The Government of India, recognizing the severity of these problems, has adopted a comprehensive policy to address the environment. India was the first country to insert an amendment into its constitution allowing the state to intervene and to protect public health, forests and wildlife. Besides, the Central Pollution Control Board that was constituted in 1974, a fullfledged Ministry of Environment and Forests was established in 1985 to implement the environmental laws and regulations.

Various laws to protect the natural environment, such as the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Environment Protection Act, 1986 have also been legislated. Even a voluntary environmental labeling scheme viz., ECIMARK has been launched for informing the consumers about the eco-friendliness of the products. As far as the consumers are concerned, though environmentalism may not have hit the Indian consumers directly, the people here are fast adopting an alternative lifestyle by using products like health foods, organic vegetable and fruits, natural textiles, vegetable dyes, herbal cosmetics, handmade stationery, traditional ayurvedic medicines and less polluting fuels. Indian consumers may not always be buying out of environmental concerns, but health, which is a bigger motivating factor as far as purchases of safer food products are concerned.

Health foods are supposed to be devoid of preservatives, chemicals and artificial colours. As far as consumption of fuel, electricity and water is concerned a major role is played by the cost factor.

People generally conserve energy resources to save money than to ameliorate environmental problems and it is also true for the recycling activities undertaken by the households.

Governmental and nongovernmental organiza-

tions have been making efforts to educate consumers about the environmental issues. For instance, The Bhagidari programme has been launched by the government of Delhi to create awareness about environmental issues among the citizens of Delhi under which it initiated campaigns like anti-littering and anti-plastic bag campaign, Eco-care programme (Environment and Sanitation Drive), Keep City Clean Drive, Anti Fire Crackers Campaign, Khelo Holi Naturally Campaign, Clean Yamuna Campaign, etc. Besides, ECOMARK scheme was launched by the government of India in 1991 for the labeling of ecofriendly products, i.e., those products which during their cradle to grave cycle - manufacturing, use, packaging, distribution, consumption, disposal and recycling do not degrade the environment.

In India, rapidly growing population along with increased economic development has placed a strain on the country's infrastructure and the environment. Deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution and land degradation continue to worsen and are hindering economic development in rural India. Rapid industrialization and urbanization in India are also serious concerns. Industrial development has contributed significantly to economic growth in India, however, not without an environmental price. Not only industrial pollution is increasing public health risks, but abatement efforts also consuming a significant portion of India's GDP.

One of the major severe environmental concerns in India is air pollution caused mainly by vehicular emissions and untreated industrial smoke.

Apart from rapid industrialization, urbanization has resulted in the emergence of industrial centers without a corresponding growth in civic amenities and pollution control mechanisms. According to the World Health Organization, the capital city of New Delhi is one of the top ten most polluted cities in the world.

Moreover, much of the nation's water is polluted because of raw sewage and runoff from agricultural pesticides. This is a very extreme problem in India because many of the people bath and get their drinking water from the same rivers they empty their waste into.

Soil erosion and desertification are other problems hurting many of the local farmers in the country. Many areas once covered by dense forests have turned into deserts due to centuries of overgrazing and agriculture production.

Another challenge faced

by India is meeting the energy requirements in a sustainable manner. Currently India is ranked sixth in the amount of greenhouse gases that it puts into the atmosphere because of extensive use of coal as the primary source for energy generation. With a rapidly growing population, the demand for electricity generation is on a rise.

The alternative sources of energy are being explored in the country.

Being endowed with rich water and wind resources, renewable energy sources such as hy-

droelectric power and wind energy are two of India's primary solutions to meet the needed increase in electricity generation and these are being duly promoted by the government. Thus, there are numerous issues and developments that require attention of government, non-governmental organizations and marketers. The consumers as already observed are not equally green. Therefore, there is a need not only to explore whether they are aware of environmental issues and but also to identify the issues they are aware and unaware of. This would help the interested groups to formulate strategies to inform and educate the consumers about the environmental impacts of their actions.

References: 1.

David, R.A. 1989. The Greening of Business, Pitman, London.

2.

Saklani, Alok.

1989. Environment: Can You Afford to Ignore It?, Indian Management, 23 (3):4-6.

3.

S a n d e e p Singh. 2003. Trade Preferences and Growth of Environmental Industry: Issues and Implications for India. Working Paper, TERI. 4.

Tikoo, R. 1998.

Centre Should Promote Eco-friendly Products, www. financial express. com.

Pranjal Bezborah is a Professor in the Department of Commerce, Dibrugarh University. Email id: pranjalbezborah@yahoo.com

Re- enactment of Scenes their status tried their best to evade being focused from the cameramen. But it was a wild goose chase, as they could not succeed in doing so. They took whatever means they could grasp at, that included sitting down beneath the table. They could not afford to counter attack for fear of reprisal from Trinmul big guns. In Assam, we find instances of reenactment of such scenes, on many occasions when police personnel's collect money unlawfully like extortionist from the trucks, the way they flee to evade being focused in the camera makes one laugh in one's sleeves. Sometimes member of the Youth-congress resort to the means of arm-twisting, wrecking havoc on some organizations, or some persons, the Police always maintain a defeaning silence, looking to the other side. Sometimes, Politicians, too, get into scrape and evade the cameramen, lest they should be exposed.

Yours etc.

Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh

Appeal to all picnic lovers

Sir, It so happened in the Alipur Police station of Calcutta, when the station was attacked by the workers of the Trinmul Congress, entire Police force, irrespective of

Sir, As we know from the month of December picnic get started at the onset of New Year. We all know that Picnics are the best way to enjoy and to spend time with family and friends.

It is an event to eat outdoors and a break enjoy the nature and have fun in leisure time. People usually like to go for parks, nearby rivers and other open places and arrange food, tent etc. After having meal people play games, sing

different types of songs etc.

But after the picnic the waste garbage which we throw, we itself should clean it. Moreover those who go to nearby river makes it dirty and as a result causes water pollution and by gathering for a picnic in park or open places make that place dirty even nowadays as people cuts the tree and make picnic spots which can cause global warming, deforestation etc. Also playing music in high volume too can cause noise pollution.

We should go for picnic but we should not throw garbage here and there and neither play music in high volume nor make our surrounding dirty. Keep clean and try to make our surrounding green.

Yours etc.

Bijit Kanoi Class 7, Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya

Best Letter The best letter of the month in the Letter to the Editor section will be awarded an amount of Rs 200. So please keep writing.

Letters to the editor and articles should be sent to : The Eastern Today Chowkidingee, Near Sankardeva Hospital Mancotta Road, Dibrugarh-786003 (Assam) Ph: 0373-2328944 Web : editor.easterntoday@gmail.com

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

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A 'Fauji' Child Shares Just What It's Like To Grow Up With A Father In The Army Nobody is a fan of loose to be just a four-letter talk and I am no excep- word. tion. What boils up every The year began on a drop of blood tragic note in me are for the namisinformed Amrit Mann tion. Waking conversaup to the tions that give birth to mis- news of security personinformed opinions. nel attacking the I recently overheard two Pathankot Air Force staso-called 'educated, tion shattered me. What suited-booted gentlemen' followed were innumerdiscuss the Pathankot able attack theories, highterrorist attacks that level government meetkilled seven of our brave ings, blame-game and soldiers. In a matter-of- questions being raised on fact manner, they dis- the country's security cussed how the slain sol- mesh - things that typidiers' families will get cally happen after an at'mota paisa' (a big tack in our country. amount) as compensa- My father served in the tion.

Indian Army for 32 glori"Hume bhi fauj mein hona ous years. Growing up, I chahiye tha, bhai (We always had my set of should have also been in complaints. He never the army)" - the conver- made to even one of my sation ended with a smirk parent-teacher meet, and a smouldering ciga- never saw me participate rette butt on the floor. in any sports event, never I should have reacted, took me school bookgiven it back to those shopping. I do not have a guys, but I stood there - count of how many of my completely numb. How birthday parties he and what could I possi- missed. Why did it have bly tell those men for to be my mother holding whom the Army seemed my fingers and seeing me

off at the school gate?

Back then, I detested his attitude towards me.

I could never understand why dad spent hours gazing at an already shining uniform laced with glistening medals. I could never understand him staring at every fold of the uniform, trying to look for imperfections and then scolding batman 'bhaiya' (designated Army help for an officer) for not doing his job well.

I could never understand his anger over a microscopic layer of dust on his uniform.

I tried hard to understand what was so different between my school uniform and his Army uniform, but could never really find an answer. For me it was a dark green dress that dad wore to office.

My father had a major share of his postings in field areas. This would mean that we would live in separated families' quarters and not see him for months.

I still remember that win-

ter afternoon, that red sweater, and my father at the door. He was on a month-long break. I was on cloud nine, 30 days of dad not going to work, 30 days of family time, 30 days of not suddenly going to mock drills at odd hours.

Bearing my non-stop rant, dad paused and suddenly asked me what class I was studying in.

With a gulp down my throat and a shock in my

tone I said, 'papa, class 6.'

There was an uneasy calm between the two of us. I was in disbelief to see my inexpressive, yet affectionate father hug me for a long time. That evening we went to eat 'golgappas' and chicken soup on our tiny-puny scooty. Life felt real that evening.

I was in class 7 when the 1999 Kargil operation took place. Though posted in the North-East

during Operation Vijay, he was intensively involved in the intelligence corps.

My mother and I were once again in separated quarters in Ambala cantonment (Haryana). For an entire year, visuals of bodies wrapped in the tricolour being carried in official vehicles, almost on an everyday basis haunted me.

Screams of Army wives who lost their husbands still reverberate in my ear.

Gun-salutes, a blanket of grief and an unspoken shared pain were a major part of our lives.

A year later, when dad came home, he had stories to tell me, stories of his 'fauji experiences'.

Something he had never done before. Maybe I was grown up to understand him, to make sense of his absence.

Episodes of young militants carrying AK-47s' in milk containers, him getting frostbites in Kupwara district, being shot in the arm several times during combing operations - intrigued me. I could see the light in his eyes, the soaring passion which made me realise he wouldn't trade even one of this for all the glitter in the world.

He retired in September 2007. Sitting on the couch he said, "That uniform there, it is my pride and honour, a well-deserved fruit of 2 years of rigorous military training, a commit-

ment to my nation.

Something only I can understand, it was more than a job for me."

I see that passion in every man in uniform. For me disrespect to that uniform is personal.

Yes, I see my father, Late Lt. Col. Niranjan Kumar, in Garud Commando Gursevak Singh, in Subedar Fateh Singh, in every NSG commando, in every soldier.

Yes, it hurts when people casually comment on the free ration, the pension and the socalled perks that Army personnel get. Remember, most of them don't live through their entire life to avail them.

One cannot expect every Indian to forcefully respect the forces, but remember- an officer dying in the line of duty cannot be fodder for a casual conversation - remember he had a family like you, aspirations like you, unluckily life didn't give him another chance.

Courtesy:YKA

Why We Need Much More Than A Scheme J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed To Protect India's Starving Children Passes Away, State's Political Future Unsure Komal Ganotra India represents one of the largest number of malnourished children in the world and performs dismally on all child nutrition indicators. Undernutrition in infants and young children leads to growth failure, lowered resistance to infections, increased rates of morbidity, increased risks to survival, impaired growth and poor school performance. Thus, a lack of proper nutrition during childhood has tangible long-term impacts on the mental and physical development of individuals.

The ages 0-6 lay the foundation for the growth of children into healthy and productive adults. It marks a crucial phase for a child, as 80% of the brain development takes place during this time. An emphasis on proper and effective nutrition in this age is not only important but necessary. This involves a commitment both to the children and the mothers. The inter-generational cycle of under nutrition ensures that an undernourished mother gives birth to an undernourished child, experiencing cumulative growth and development deficits largely irreversible in nature. Ensuring a healthy start for children in this age group requires a multi-dimensional approach centered around nutrition, comprehensive immunisation and medical care, pre and post natal healthcare for mothers while focusing on social development and capacity building.

Recognising the crucial importance of a holistic emphasis on the age group 0-6, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, a centrally sponsored national flagship scheme of the Government of India, aims at addressing health, nutrition and the development needs of young children (0-6 years), pregnant women and nursing mothers.

However, despite gov-

ernment efforts and schemes, the nutrition figures in the country pose a grave concern.

Under the ICDS Scheme, the Anganwadi Centres aims to provide the requisite nutrition, health services and care to children and mothers.

According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, in 201213 while 13,73,349 Anganwadis were sanctioned, 34,617 were still not operational and 33 %

of the children in the country were not covered under the Anganwadis.

This comes to prominence all the more in remote areas. To highlight the gravity of the scenario, we consider the story of Pancho, a 6year-old girl who belongs to the Saharia tribe, living in a village in district Baran, Rajasthan.

Pancho was diagnosed to be severely malnourished. The village is 40 km away from the block headquarter in Shahabad and about 120 km away from district headquarter in Baran. The primitive tribe has been residing in Baran district for years now after being forced to move out of their original habitat, the forests. The abject poverty that the tribe lives in is striking.

Children bear the brunt of the deprivation, and as families struggle for sustenance, providing nutritious food to children is a distant reality.

The village has an Anganwadi which is accessible as well as operational yet there is no visible impact of its services in changing the nutritional status of children like Pancho. The problem lies not only in the irregularity of services and a lack of access but also the ignorance of the parents, who often fail to understand the severity of the condition of the child. It was only when a local

NGO, Prayatna Sanstha, which works in partnership with CRY, noticed Pancho in one of their community visits early last year, did her condition come to light. After being counseled by the NGO, the community collective and Child Protection Committee the parents took to the child to the Malnutrition Treatment Centre (MTC).

While the treatment and special care at the centre lead to improved nutrition status of the child, she fell back into the malnutrition trap after 2-3 months, owing to inadequate nutrition and care at home. It was only after convincing her parents and prolonged treatment at the District Hospital in Baran, that Pancho is on the road to recovery.

The cases of malnutrition in Baran have been reported multiple times in the past yet children like Pancho suffer from nutritional deficits and there is little state inter-

vention. This does raise questions on the nature and outcomes of growth monitoring and the required intervention thereafter.

To reach out to such children effectively, what we need is a well-defined system for management of malnutrition, which would involve the convergence of all stakeholders; not just Anganwadis but the health care centers,

hospitals and MTCs as well. While ICDS is a well-designed programme and we have functional Anganwadis running in most places, bottlenecks in service delivery and community outreach pose a challenge in its proper implementation. The quality of services needs to be improved, with strict emphasis on growth monitoring of children and flagging off possible cases of malnutrition.

With improved service delivery of ICDS, preventive rather than reactive approach to tackle malnutrition, better community outreach, the nutrition status of children in the country will surely witness a significant change. Investing in our children in the age group of 0-6 will translate itself into longterm positive returns, and pave the way for a healthier and happier nation. Courtesy:Youth ki Awaaz

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences Thursday (7th January). He was 79 and suffering from sepsis (an infection gone toxic that can turn fatal) and pneumonia. He was the top leader of the ruling People's Democratic Party in the state, a rival of the National Conference.

His sudden death is likely to have a profound influence on the politics of the troubled state.

Mufti had managed to establish cordial relations with all the stakeholders in the state, allowing him to run the government in a largely smooth manner.

He was known to have good contacts with New Delhi and even the Indian army whose writ runs in the state which remains under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. His daughter Mehbooba Mufti is likely to take charge following the demise of her father. However, the BJP, which is a partner of the PDP, is yet to make known its assent to her ascension.

From Obscure Lawyer To India's Only Muslim Home Minister From an obscure lawyer to becoming the only Muslim Home Minister the country has seen so far, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed carved a niche for himself in national and Jammu and Kashmir politics with the craftiness and unwavering focus of the avid bridge player he was.

In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Sayeed emerged as a rival power centre to the mighty Abdullahs of the NC, always playing his cards close to the chest, while making friends with parties following conflicting ideologies to suit his political agenda.

The high-points in the political journey of Sayeed, who would have turned 80 on January 12, was his being catapulted to the chair of free India's first Muslim Home Minister in 1989 and, years later, becoming the Chief Minister of the restive state for a second time in 2015, heading a coalition with BJP,

which had its first brush with power in the only Muslim-majority state.

The PDP won 28 seats in

Sayeed who took charge of the state on March 1 last year breathed his last this morning after re-

unanimous that Mehbooba shall succeed Mufti Sahib," senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha

the assembly elections whereas the BJP won 25 seats, with their alliance safely crossing the majority mark in the 87-member assembly.

Sayeed's stint in the Home Ministry, at a time when militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya's freedom and let her off only after their demand had been met.

The kidnapping and subsequent release of the militants, according to Sayeed's rivals, projected India as a "soft state" for the first time.

Born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936, Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar. He went on to obtain a law degree and Master's degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.

Sayeed cut his political teeth early, having joined the Democratic National Conference of G M Sadiq in the late 1950s. Sadiq, recognising the potential of the young lawyer, appointed him as the District Convenor of the party.

In 1962, Sayeed was elected to the state assembly from Bijbehara, the seat which he retained five years later. He was appointed a Deputy Minister by Sadiq, who by then had become Chief Minister.

maining on ventilator for the past few days.

He was flown from Srinagar in a special plane on December 24 and admitted to the AIIMS. During hospitalisation his platelets had dropped dangerously, doctors said.

He is the second J&K Chief Minister to die in office, the first one being Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who died on September 8, 1982.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Jammu and Kashmir government has declared a seven-day mourning and holiday today. Flags will be flown at half-mast.

The mortal remains of the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people to pay homage. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village Bijbehera in South Kashmir, about 48 km from Srinagar.

Condoling the death of Sayeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it left a huge void in the nation and that the leader who provided a healing touch would be missed. "What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across the political spectrum," Modi said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be flying to Srinagar to attend Sayeed's funeral.

An Unclear Political Future For Jammu And Kashmir If Mehbooba Mufti takes over, as expected, she will be the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. "As far as PDP is concerned, we are

member Muzaffar Hussain Baig told reporters.

Although no one from the BJP has so far opposed Mehbooba's elevation, a final decision on the issue will be taken by the party high command.

Mehbooba, who has assumed an image of a fiery leader, started her political career in 1996 by joining Congress along with her father. The 56-year-old is also president of the PDP. She won her first Assembly election as a Congress candidate from her home segment of Bijbehara.

The Budget session of the J&K assembly will convene on January 18. This means the BJP will have to make up its mind quickly if it is amenable to Mehbooba Mufti taking over as the next CM. The party had vacillated for a long time earlier when presented with the opportunity to form a government in the state.

A quick decision by the BJP will help the state recover soon from the loss of a wily and able politician who had managed the unthinkable - an alliance with the right-wing BJP in a Muslim majority state.

With insurgency raising its head again in the state, the state government cannot stay in a state of limbo. At the same time, if Mehbooba takes over, the task will be cut out for her - to manage the alliance as well as her father did while working for the development of the state and in the final analysis, work with India and Pakistan to find a solution to the issue of Kashmir's future.

Courtesy:YKA with inputs from PTI

BUSINESS

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Indian Oil to spend Rs 4,000 crore on Paradip refinery Mumbai, Jan 12: Staterun Indian Oil Corp (IOC) aims to invest Rs 4,000 crore in upgrading its newest refinery in the eastern part of the country after the federal government decided to bring forward by four years the introduction of road vehicle fuels which are compliant with Euro VI emission standards to April 2020, a senior company executive said. The 3,00,000 barrels per day refinery, which was commissioned last year, was designed to produce Euro IV and Euro Vcompliant fuels. But the federal government's decision to bring forward the introduction of Euro VI fuels to combat rising pollution in Asia's third-larg-

est economy requires installation of some new units and upgrades of existing ones. The World Health Organisation in 2014 said that 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities were in India, with New Delhi being the worst. IOC needs to add facilities like Isomerisation, Diesel Hydrotreater and a Hydrogen units to produce Euro VI compliant fuels at the Paradip refinery in the eastern state of Odisha, G S Singh, executive director for technical operations at the refinery, told reporters on a plant visit.

Singh said IOC would commission at the refinery a reformer, and vacuum gas oil

Cabinet to soon regard law to economize workers New Delhi, Jan 12: The Union Cabinet will soon consider a law to combine India's three archaic legislations to make it easier for companies to retrench employees and to raise severance pay. Inter-ministerial consultations on the proposed Industrial Relations Bill were completed, and it would soon be submitted to the Cabinet, senior officials of the Labour Ministry said. In a first, workers affected by retrenchment or factory closure will be re-skilled by employers. A re-skilling fund will be set up, and employers will contribute 30 days' wage of every retrenched worker immediately before the retrenchment. An employer will need to give compensation to a worker laid off for prolonged illness. At present, organisations can lay off workers on the ground of continued ill-health without giving a one-month notice or compensation, both mandatory in other cases under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Bill will club the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment

(Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, into a single code. "The Bill is in the final stage of legal vetting, and it will be sent for the Cabinet's approval very shortly," an official said. Trade unions continue to oppose the proposed law that will allow companies with a staff of 300 to retrench workers without government permission, up from the present requirement of up to 100 workers.

But the compensation for a retrenched worker is proposed to be increased three times to 45 days' pay for every completed year of work, as against 15 days' pay at present. It will also tighten norms for establishing unions as no outsider will be allowed to become office-bearer of a union in the organised sector. The proposed law would put an end to flash strikes as workers in all factories will have to give employers a strike notice of at least two weeks.

Since then, the government has held several rounds of discussions with the unions and industry on the proposed Bill, but the resistance remains. (Agencies)

Domestic car sales hike up 12.87% Bengaluru, Jan 12: Domestic passenger car sales rose 12.87% to 1,72,671 units in December from 1,52,986 units in the same month a year ago. Motorcycle sales declined 5.935 to 7,24,807 units last month from 7,70,519 units a year ago, according to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Total two-wheeler sales in December declined 3.10% to 11,67,633 units as against 12,04,942 units in the same month last year.

Sales of commercial ve-

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hicles were up 11.45% to 56,840 units in December 2015, SIAM said. Vehicle sales across categories registered a marginal decline to 15,02,314 units from 15,04,944 units in December 2014, it added. (Agencies)

hydrotreater this month, and an alkylation unit next month. The 345.55 billionrupee refinery is IOC's most advanced plant that can process the heaviest and dirtiest crude oil available at a cheaper rate. The refinery is expected to run at up to 60% capacity in the current fiscal year to March 31 as some units have yet to come online.

The crude processing capacity could rise to 80% once other new units are commissioned, Singh said.

It will operate at full capacity from the fiscal year 2017/ 18, when its gross refining margins could go up significantly to $12-$14 per barrel, Singh said. He estimated the refinery to account for 20-30% of IOC's overall

IOC STRATEGY State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) aims to invest Rs 4,000 crore in upgrading its newest refinery in the eastern part of the country The 345.55 billion-rupee refinery is IOC's most advanced plant that can process the heaviest and dirtiest crude oil available at a cheaper rate. profit then. India's fuel demand is rising and the International Energy Agency has said the country could become the most important driver of energy demand growth in the world in the

The federal government's decision to bring forward the introduction of Euro VI fuels to combat rising pollution in Asia's third-largest economy requires installation of some new units and upgrades of existing ones.

The refinery is expected to run at up to 60% capacity in the current fiscal year to March 31 as some units have yet to come online.

Image for representational purpose

years to come. Paradip refinery will mainly cater for markets in eastern and southern India, currently fed by fuel sourced from other local refiners and imports.

The refinery was initially ex-

pected to begin operations in 2012, but a host of problems involving supplies from contractors, environmental concerns and natural calamities, delayed the project. (Agencies)

Delta Video Walls at NTAMC would enable clearer view: PGCIL ANI Gurgaon, Jan 12: Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) is among the leading electric utilities that have always equipped their control rooms with the latest equipments.

PGCIL recognised that a display wall would enable its operators at National Transmission Asset Management Centre (NTAMC) to have a much clearer view at any given moment.

Delta's Video wall solution helped NTAMC achieve its visualisation demands ensuring all operations progress effectively and effortlessly. "We found Delta's Display solutions meeting our specifications. Delta installed 5 sets of 70" LED-lit Video wall Delta has given their solutions to us in the past, and our experience in 4x3 configurations with them has been good in terms of reliability and post sales inside the control roomone video wall for each regional load support. We needed timely completion of this project and that dispatch centre (RLDCs) - East, South, West, North and Northeast aspect has been good with Delta." Commented R.P. Sasmal, Director (Operations),PGCIL. The significance of NTAMC is

Image for representational purpose that all the 186 substations across the country are unmanned and have to be monitored from a single location i.e. at NTAMC Manesar. Integration of these substations with the central location is characterised by a foolproof fibre optic communication system; this communication system is also augmented by HD cameras installed at all the substations to capture videos for 24/7 operations. Delta Videowalls installed at NTAMC are used to monitor all these feeds. Delta installed 5 sets of 70" LEDlit Video wall in 4x3 configurations inside the control room- one video wall for each regional load dispatch(RLDCs) - East, South, West, North and

Northeast region. Above each Video wall, there is a 4mm indoor LED display, installed to display alarm situations from across the network so that it gets immediate attention and quick rectification. One Set of 4x3 70" LED-lit Video wall is installed in remote transmission monitoring centre for monitoring operations of North region separately. To make sure all the operators manning the control room are well versed with the technology, training is provided in a conference room equipped with Delta's 70" Full HD Video wall in a 2x2 configuration. Power Grid Corporation Of India Limited (POWERGRID), the Central Transmission Utility (CTU) of the country

Decline in rupee value due to weak Asian markets: Expert ANI Mumbai, Jan. 12: Market expert Sunil Shah on Monday said the strength of rupee depends on Chinese currency Yuan and attributed the decline to weak Asian markets. "Today the Asian markets are weak. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down and so is our market. Though India has emerged as the favourite destination but

still we cannot insulate ourselves from the world movement," Shah told ANI here. "Rupee is now stronger but it all depends on yuan. If yuan weakens than rupee will also go down. So, it all depends on the Chinese currency," he said. The Sensex plunged over 300 points on Monday morning while Nifty fell below the level of 7,500

mark as the Asian markets tumbled with another round of tepid data, adding concerns about China's economy.

The rupee too edged around 67 per US Dollar. The rupee was trading lower by 29 paise at 66.92 against the American currency in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.

Maharashtra to get 174 Wi-Fi hotspots Mumbai, Jan 12: Soon high-speed broadband will be made available in Mumbai through Mumbai Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) as laying of optical fibre cable is underway. Moreover, 174 WiFi hotspots will be installed across Maharashtra, announced Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for communication and information technology, but stops short on net neutrality subject. Prasad said, "MTNL aims to provide high speed broadband to one lakh households in Mumbai. As many as 6,000 surveillance cameras will be installed at 1,800 locations in collaboration with the Mumbai police." About the plans of his ministry for Maharashtra, he added that four lakh con-

nections under the nextgeneration network (NGN) will be made available in the state during the next financial year. This service will be available in Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Kalyan and Nanded in

under Ministry of Power is one amongst the largest Power Transmission utilities in the world. A "Navaratna" Central Public Sector Enterprise, PGCIL, is India's largest Electric Power Transmission Utility. Delta, founded in 1971, is a global leader in power and thermal management solutions. Delta has sales offices, manufacturing facilities and R&D centers worldwide. In 2014, was ranked at the highest A-level of the Climate Performance Leadership Index of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Since 2011, Delta is part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) World Index. Delta Displays, a division of Delta, is a pioneer in developing professional displays for control rooms in surveillance, security, traffic, command and control, utilities, process control, telecom and broadcast applications. Delta offers a wide array of display technologies including: rear projection DLP® video walls with Laser and Next-Gen LED technology, Xtra thin-bezel LCD video walls, and high-resolution indoor/ outdoor LED displays with a powerful and highly flexible Wall management Software suite.

Maharashtra and Goa circle of telecom. NGN is a packet based network which provides voice, data and other media services at high speed. "As many as 174 Wi-Fi hotspots will be installed in 58 cities across state.

A new mobile intelligence network will be set up in Pune, which will facilitate pre-paid mobile service customers," announced the minister.

On India Post and India Post payment bank, Prasad informed that In-

WIFI BENEFITS Ø Soon high-speed broadband will be made available in Mumbai through Mumbai Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) as laying of optical fibre cable is underway. Ø Moreover, 174 Wi-Fi hotspots will be installed across Maharashtra, announced Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for communication and information technology said. Ø Four lakh connections under the next-generation network (NGN) will be made available in the state during the next financial year. Ø On India Post and India Post payment bank, Prasad informed that India Post payment bank would become operational by March 2017 to extend access to formal banking in rural areas.

dia Post payment bank would become operational by March 2017 to extend access to formal banking in rural areas. India post is getting attention from across the world. Already 40 national and international consortia have evinced their interest to partner with the postal department for insurance delivery and other financial products. Speaking on net neutrality, he stopped short on the plans of the government and said, "Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is considering the entire nuances of net neutrality, we have to await their report. Thereafter, the government will take a structured view." He, however, asserted that Internet, being one of the finest creations of human mind, should not remain the monopoly of few. (Agencies)

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PAGE 10

Trading gets cheaper on surplus power generation New Delhi, Jan 12: While the demand for electricity has remained constant, government's aggressive power capacity addition plan and Coal India's adequate coal supply to thermal plants has resulted in surplus power generation. This has resulted in trading of power cheaper, resulting in discoms buying power from the spot market than from generators like NTPC and Damodar Valley Corporation, with which they have long-term contracts. Undoubtedly, the befit is set to pass on to the power consumers. As per The Economic Times report, this was exactly why the entire power offered at the India Energy Exchange on December 29 got sold, as claimed by power min-

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ister Piyush Goyal. The report, quoting a power sector official said that power prices at exchanges have declined about 25% over past three quarters and have been falling further primarily due to lack of demand. During December last year, around 5 billion units were offered for sale. However, only about 3 billion units of power were sold - a gross oversupply of some 2 billion units.

(Agencies)

Govt inflicts grave penalty on traders bringing undeclared goods to Delhi

Source: static.dnaindia.com New Delhi, Jan 12: The Delhi government has come down heavily on traders and transporters who bring undeclared goods to the national capital from other states with over Rs 3.9 crore being realised as penalty in the last month for such activities. As per Department of Trade and Taxes of Delhi government, in December 2015 it detected 783 vehicles which entered the city without declaring beforehand the nature and value of goods being brought by filing the Delhi Sugam-2 (DS-2) form. A penalty of Rs 50,000 each, amounting to a total of about Rs 3.91 crore, was imposed upon the dealer and transporter of the 783 vehicles, the department has said in a statement.

Besides that, in December 2015, more than 10,000 vehicles were checked by the teams of the department and 250 vehicles carrying goods without any supporting documents were detected and consequently detained, said Sajjan Singh Yadav, VAT Commissioner. "Valuation of goods in the detained vehicles was done and penalty as per the law was imposed. The vehicles

were released after realisation of tax and penalty. An amount of Rs two crore has been realised from such vehicles in the last one month only," the official has said in the release. The impounded vehicles were found carrying a variety of goods with majority of them carrying readymade garments, grocery items and electronics.

In the last three months, the department has detained 539 vehicles carrying goods without documents and realised tax and penalty of more than Rs three crore from them, the official said. Besides those, in the last three months, around 1,901 vehicles were detected bringing goods to Delhi without filing the mandatory DS-2 form beforehand. DS-2 forms can be filled online and are used to declare beforehand the kind of goods being brought to the city and the vehicle being used.

"By catching the vehicles bringing undeclared goods to Delhi, the department has foiled the attempts of traders who evade VAT by selling such goods illegally in Delhi," the official said.

(Agencies)

Snapdeal marketing head Srinivas Murthy to begin own venture Chennai, Jan 12: Srinivas Murthy, Senior Vice President of Marketing at e-commerce major Snapdeal, has put in his papers to start his own venture. "The entrepreneurial drive has rubbed off onto me. I'm now moving on to become an entrepreneur myself," Murthy said. He, however, did not disclose details of his new venture.

Murthy added that he will announce his venture in the next few months.

"Srinivas has decided to begin an exciting new journey as an entrepreneur, and while he will surely be missed, I am delighted to see that he is carrying forward the Snapdeal spirit of entrepreneurship," Snapdeal CoFounder and CEO Kunal Bahl said. This is the sec-

ond major exit at Snapdeal after its Head of Strategy Ranjan Kant quit to join online apparel retailer Jabong as its Chief Marketplace Officer. The ecommerce space in the country has been witnessing significant churn at the executive level with players often bringing professionals onboard with varied experience levels.

Snapdeal itself has roped in senior leaders from across the globe. Anand Chandrasekaran, ex-CPO Bharti Airtel, Gaurav Gupta, formerly the India Head of Bay area start-up Scalearc and Bhuvan Gupta, ex-CTO of BSB Portal (JV between BSB and Yahoo Japan) have joined Snapdeal as core members of its technology team in the past one year. Its rival Flipkart has

Srinivas Murthy. Source: i.ndtvimg.com

hired Dan Rawson (from US operations of global rival Amazon) for customer logistics and supply chain ecosystems and Ravi Byakod (a senior Google engineer) as director of engineering-accounting platform. Many of the top executives have also started their own ventures to cash in on the booming e-commerce industry in the country.

(Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

Features

PAGE 11

HORTICULTURE Assam's 'cool' craft A peek at the exquisite sitalpati craft of Goalpara, now in need of a fresh lease of life Dubapara is a small village in Assam's Goalpara district. But its 'smallness' is easily overshadowed by its highly artistic people. The village is home to the exquisite sitalpati weavers. For the initiated, sitalpati (literally,cool mat) is a mat woven from thin reeds that grow on marshy and water-logged areas, a fine skill apparently brought to the belt by the British from neighbouring Bengal which, over the decades, has become a proud addition to the bouquet of the State's crafts.

These mats are a one-ofa-kind variety not only for their excellent motifs, natural texture and the ability to act as a cooler alternative to traditional beddings in summer time, but also because weavers follow an indigenous procedure to make them.An unusual feature is that the colours used in the mats do not have any chemical compositions and are carefully prepared from the seeds of tamarind leaves, hibiscus flowers among other natural things.

Since the beginning, the production of sitalpati has been purely a cottage industry in the district. Generally, men prepare the reed slips while women do the weaving. In Dubapara too, we typically find women engrossed in weaving mats

of varying sizes.

One such weaver is 65year-old Kalpana Dey. Besides making mats, she also makes bags and mobile covers from the mats, an attempt by some weavers to add innovation to the craft to meet

dividual and collective efforts at keeping matmaking alive in this artisan village but also bares open the urgent need to link the weavers to better markets to give a bigger boost to the craft.

We meet 58-year-old

Dr Roli Misra and Parvin Sultana the present-day market demands.

Kalpana says if two women work together the whole day, they can finish weaving a mat in a day for which they are paid Rs. 35 each. It is certainly much less than what they can get if they bypass the middlemen who come to collect their finished products to sell them in the local market.

But they typically don't do so as it is difficult to break the well-oiled linkages of middlemen with the market.

"Mat weaving involves a lot of meticulous work but the profit for the weaver is very little. The middlemen take away most of the profit. I had two bighas of land which I mortgaged with a bank for a loan of Rs. 80,000 for some work but I have not been able to repay it through my job as a mat weaver," she relates her life as a professional mat weaver. Frequent floods destroy the reed plantation too, adding to her woes.

Walking around Dubapara gives a clear picture of the state of the craft today. It brings us close to heart-rending in-

weaver Ranjit Kumar Dey, a National Award winner (2002). Dey has visited countries like Thailand, France, Sri Lanka and England to display his sitalpati art. A winner of the Seal of Excellence by UNESCO in 2004, he has been a part of guru-shishyaparampara scheme (a scheme initiated by the government where the participants are taught the craft) through which he passes the expertise to the younger generation of artisans. Along with son Prasonjit, he runs a reed farm to produce the raw material for the craft.

Though sitalpatis don't fetch much money in the local market, Dey knows they have a demand outside the State. While Bengal also produces sitalpati, the reeds in Assam are softer which helps weavers produce quality better mats.

These positives, however, don't take away Dey's worry about the future of the craft in Goalpara.

"It is a time-taking craft.

One person can't produce more than seven mats in a month. Since their demand is only in

summer, they don't fetch money throughout the year. Also, because a piece costs about Rs.800 in local market, it is usually made as per order so that they have less shelf life. And then, lack of innovation, no governmental thrust on export and to provide the weavers a market for the entire year, are increasingly dissuading youngsters away from taking up the craft as a profession," he says.

The youngsters' waning interest in the craft is leading to shortage of labour. Dey though adds that his son, an engineer by training, is keen to take it up in a commercial way "so that he can set an example for other youths in the area."

Individual initiatives aside, a collective effort to keep the craft going in Dubapara is seen through Goalpara Patishilpli Pratishthan Samabay Samiti Limited, a cooperative society formed in 1952. Govind Nandy, the Samiti secretary, says 150 weaver families are registered with it as members who pay a nominal annual fee. The Samiti owns 56 bighas of land where it grows reeds.

The reeds are equally divided amongst the members who deposit the final products to the sale counter of the Samiti.

After keeping a small amount of profit, it divides the money among the members.

Sridaam Nandy, a weaver, has been benefiting from the Samiti

sale counter. Sridaam says the mats are in high demand during the melas in nearby areas because of their affordability. Also, with many Muslims occupying the chars or low lying areas along the rivers in Goalpara and surrounding areas in the last few years, the popularity of the mats has gone up.

"They like to use it for namaz," he says.

According to Sridaam, Britisher John Graham came to Dubapara in 1950 to operate a sugar mill. After seeing the reeds growing wild, he brought a man from Kolkata who was an expert in mat making. The man taught the skill to the locals, who took it up as a means of livelihood.

The village residents are mostly Kayasthas, a caste not otherwise traditionally known for taking up a craft as a profession.

The reeds that produces the sitalpatis are called M u r t a (clinogynedichotoma),which typically grows in marshy areas and need three to four years to mature.

Murtas have no visible joints, which makes them ideal for pati weaving.

The process begins with washing of Murtas with sodium bicarbonate. After washing, they are first spread out in the open to dry and then divided into equal halves lengthwise with the help of a dao(billhook). The divided halves are subdivided into four splits of equal length and breadth.

Source: nezine.com

The boka (soft inside portion) of the slips are chopped out with the help of a chip (a chopping tool). This process is locally known as aushani (planning). The next step is nawkhani (sizing) in which all the pieces of the splits are sized to equal breadths throughout the whole of their length. A pati is generally woven in twill or chequered patterns with slight variations here and there.

Colouring of the splits is done with indigenous methods. White (ivory) is obtained by boiling the splits in water. To get different colours, the splits are dipped in bhatar-phen (the juice of the boiled rice), mesh of amrapatafowers (hibicussafdariffa) and tamarind leaves.To get black, the splits packed into bundles are wrapped in the barks of mango trees and kept under mud for about seven days.

Only to get red do the weavers boil the reed splits in water mixed with Mezenta, a kind of chemical dye.

Five qualities of sitalpati are available in Goalpara market. They come in different sizes, such as 7 x 8 feet, 4.1 / 2 x6 feet and 3.1 / 2 x 6 feet.

Sridaam says nearly 200300 Murtas are needed to produce a single pati. But procuring them is not as easy as before. While floods wash away the Murtas many times, the scarcity of land to cultivate the reeds because of increase in population has also affected the craft.

At times, the weavers have to procure Murtas from Dibrugarh in Upper Assam. "But the price of a mat can't be increased in relation to the overheads. The middlemen don't agree to it. In such a scenario, the weavers suffer because they are not directly con-

nected to the market," he points out.

Both Dey and Sridaam echo what Kalpana states to us, "The cost of living has increased over the years; the income from the pati weaving can no longer sustain even the most simple of a lifestyle." In such a scenario, only time will tell what awaits the future of the craft.

( Dr Roli Misra teaches Economics in D.B.S College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Her interest areas are Gender and Migration. Parvin Sultana is working as an Assistant Professor in P B College in Gauripur, Assam. Her research interest includes Muslims in Assam, Development and the Northeast, Gender etc.)

Black rice cultivation- a success story in Assam

Source: giskaablog.files.wordpress.com

Kishore Talukdar A progressive farmer in Assam's Goalpara district is leading a mission to grow black rice in the State A farmer from Assam's Goalpara district has created history of sort by not only successfully cultivating a black rice variety called Oryza Sativa but has also initiated more than 200 othersinto it. This year, the progressive farmer, Upendra Rabha, of the district's Amguripara area, helped grow black rice in 500 bighasof land along with others.

Rabha says, in 2011, Dr Uttam Kumar Baruah, a scientist in the Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Goalpara, gave him seeds of the variety weighing about a kg."I wetted the seeds in water but only

one of the seeds flowered after two days. I was waiting for the remaining seeds to flower for over a week but nothing happened," he recalls.Applying cow dung, he, nevertheless, planted the sole seedling at a corner of his paddy field where he grew rice of Ranjit variety that year.

"The seedling produced 15 panicles from which I harvested 150 gram seed in 2011," says Rabha. His experiment with the seed drew flak from fellow farmers but he remained steadfast.

"In 2012,I harvested 48 kg of paddy from the 150 gram seeds," he says. In 2013, he produced 1600 kg rice from 0.8 hector area.

The quantity only grew.

In 2014,Rabha persuaded 30 farmers of hisvillage to

till the variety. Together, they produced over 1200 quintalsof black rice from 160 kg of seeds in 13.2 hector land. Having felt necessary to extend the area of cultivation, Rabha began to motivate more farmers of his village to take it up. Two hundred of them agreed to till the variety in 500 bighas of land under a Central Government scheme, Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) 2014-15. As many as 50 farmers also came together to constitute Amguripara Black Rice Production Committee to take forward Rabha's mission in an organised manner.This year, the output is 200 tonne from 25 quintals of seeds. Though the perbigha output is 520 kg, the average production of a bigha is 400 kg.

"My sole aim is to expand the cultivated area to 2000 to 3000 bighas to establish the fact that farming could be a profitable venture,"says a proud Rabha.

Rabha and the fellow farmers are already getting the attention of buyers. He says a group of buyers from New Delhi visited his house early this year to buy 100 quintals of black rice. Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma purchased 1.5 quintals in October this year too. "I personally sold 50 kg black rice to the wife of Meghalaya Chief Minster recently,"he adds.

The cultivation of this variety of paddy is optimal in profit. "Earnings from a bigha of black rice is Rs 15,600, compared to Rs 6000 from the sali paddy variety,"points out Manoranjan Das, Agriculture Officer of the Dudhnoi Agriculture SubDivision. To help the farmers achieve optimal production, the Department provided 99 quintals of vermi-compost to them besides compensating the seed value through the agriculture scheme. Goaded by the achievement, the office of sub-divisional Agricultural officer, Dudhnoi christened the name of the black rice variety as Upendra Rice in 2013.

Besides attracting buyers, Rabha is also being noticed for his ability to lead the mission.

Meghalaya's Umiambased Indian Council of Agriculture Research Complex for the NEH Region has recognized him as an outstanding innovative farmer for his contribution to innovative technology pertaining to black rice conservation and production.

Recognising his contribution to the overall society of Assam, GuwahatiNeurological Research Centre has offered a free executive health check-up to Rabha for a year. To boost the farmers' effort, some nationalized banks have also come forward with finances."Both the State Bank of India and Apex Bank offered a loan to 50 farmers in the first stage," says Rabha.

More help is pouring in.

This past December 16, a proposal has been submitted to the state government to allot Rabha a tractor of Rs 7 lakh with 75 percent subsidy under the State Chief Minister's Scheme. Chief of Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council, Tankeshawr Rabha, tells this correspondent, "We will provide him a power tiller now on the basis of his requirement."

Buoyed by the initial success, the office of subdivisional Agricultural officer, Dudhnoi, is now interested in production of an organic variety of the rice because of its demand in the international market. "The present one

is a semi-organic variety.

We want to convert it to a purely organic variety as only that has a huge demand in the international market," says Das, adding, "In foreign countries, per kilogram of the organic black paddy rice is sold at over Rs 500 but the non-organic variety gets only between Rs 250 andRs 300." The Organic Certification Agency will have to accord the organic status of the output before its export begins.

Suitable for porridge, this

mins."

In ancient China, it was apparently reserved for the Emperor and nobles and was out of reach of the commoners.It was therefore branded the "forbidden rice." According to a research report of the Department of Food Science at Louisiana State University, USA, a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants.

These properties are capable of fighting cancer,

Manipur is the highest producer of black rice in the North East.

Looks like, it is going to change in coming times.

Having seen the success of Rabha and fellow villagers, farmers from many districts of Assam are now making a beeline to his house to purchase the seed variety.

( Kishore Talukdar is an independent journalist based in Guwahati. His areas of interest include

Source: agrifarming.com particular rice variety is sticky in nature and can also be used in preparing sweet dishes. Das says, "Besides high concentration of nutrition, the rice contains amino acid, zinc, copper, iron, carotene including important vita-

heart disease.

The paddy is harvested after 110 days of plantation and a fragrance emerges during its flowering. Black rice is indigenous to West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Manipur. Till now,

Development journalism and Environment journalism. He can be contacted at tdrkishore@gmail.com ) Courtesy: Nezine.com

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DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

PAGE 12

Australia romp home by 5 wkts in first ODI vs India AGENCIES Perth, Jan 12 : Riding on a brilliant 242-run partnership between skipper Steven Smith and George Bailey, hosts Australia beat India by five wickets in the first ODI match at the WACA ground here today.

Chasing a mammoth 310, Australia got off to a shaky start as they lost both the openers Aaron Finch (8) and David Warner(5) with just 21 runs on the board.

After the dismissal of both the openers, Smith (149) and Bailey (112) anchored the Australian innings to get close to the Indian score before Bailey was caught at the long-off trying to hit a six.

With the hosts within sniffing distance of a win, the destructive Glen Maxwell

Hastings replaces rested Marsh for second ODI against India ANI Perth, Jan.12 : Australian pacemanJohn Hastings has been drafted into the second ODI squad as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh against India.

The 24-year-old all-rounder has been rested for the second match ahead of the third ODI of the series in Melbourne.

Confirming the news, chief selector Rod Marsh said that Mitchell is an important asset for his side and therefore, they have decided to give him with an extra day to prepare for the Melbourne ODI, Sport24 reported.

Describing Hastings as a ` high-quality replacement', the chief selector insisted that the former had displayed some quality cricket in the decisive ODI against England in Manchester last year.

Australia will play the second ODI of the five-match series against India in Brisbane on Friday.

(8) came to crease but perished cheaply while trying to accelerate.

Mitchell Marsh (12) and Smith looked all set to complete the formalities but the skipper fell with the hosts needing two runs.

James Faulkner (1) joined Marsh to complete the formalities in 49.

2 overs.

For the visitors, left-arm quick Birender Sran impressed in his debut match taking three wickets while star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scalped two wickets.

Earlier, after winning the toss and electing to bat, India rode on opener Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 171 and Test skipper Virat Kohli's 91 to post a competitive 309 for three.

Steven Smith

Lionel Messi Wins Ballon D'Or Trophy for Record Fifth Time AGENCIES Zurich, Jan 12: Lionel Messi deposed eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo to take back his crown as the undisputed king of world football by lifting a record fifth Ballon d'Or on Monday.(Messi Tipped by Wenger to Win Ballon D'Or) Much has changed since, just 12 months ago, a disgruntled Messi, fresh from losing a World Cup final and disillusioned with coach Luis Enrique's regime at Barcelona, sat in stony silence as Ronaldo announced his intention to hunt down the Argentine's then-record four Ballon d'Or haul.(Messi Backed to Win Ballon D'Or) A year on, the roles were reversed, Messi's record now even further beyond Ronaldo's reach in the personal duel between the two men who have taken standards to unseen heights in their domination of the

of his career in 2014 to fire Barca to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies.

Lionel Messi sport during the past decade.

Rarely has there been such little debate over who was the deserving winner. Even in the Spanish capital, unlike in previous years, there was no campaign for Ronaldo in the year he became Real Madrid's alltime leading goalscorer.

In Zurich last year, Messi had even cast doubt on his future at Barcelona. His benching for a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad the most ig-

nominious start to what would turn out to be the second most successful in Barca's 116-year history.

Messi missed an open training session with the club's fans, Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked and club legend Carles Puyol walked.

Enrique would have followed suit had Messi demanded it.

Instead, he used the fuel of the most disappointing year

His partnership with Neymar and Luis Suarez suddenly kicked into gear, between them hitting 137 of Barca's record 180 goals in 2015, making the South American trio one of the most frightening frontlines the game has ever seen.

Even a two-month injury layoff due to knee ligament damage couldn't derail Messi's case as he also scored in the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup finals to take Barca's total trophy haul for the year to five.

There was still disappointment at international level.

Another final defeat - this time on penalties to Chile at the Copa America means Messi has still to deliver a major trophy for La Albiceleste.

Cook recalls successful Proteas upbeat for Wanderers U19 Cricket WC days Test despite Amla's resignation

ANI Dubai, Jan 12 : Ahead of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 in Bangladesh, England skipper Alastair Cook has recalled how his participation in the tournament has helped him in developing into a successful cricketer.

Cook, who played in the 2004 edition of the tournament in Bangladesh, said it was a special feeling to take part in the global event.

"Representing your country at a World Cup is a huge honour and a special occasion for players, coaches and families," he said.

"Getting selected is down to a lot of hard work and sacrifice. An ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a great opportunity for players to test themselves against the best in the world and hopefully create some lasting memories," Cook added.

Echoing similar views, New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, who played in the 1998 tournament in South Africa, admitted that it was a great learning experience.

"I look back at the tournament as a step up from anything I had played in beforehand," said McCullum. "It's an opportunity to test yourself against the world's best and no doubt there will be some

Alastair Cook stars of the future playing this time around too."

McCullum further said his side would closely follow the performance of the young New Zealand cricketers in Bangladesh.

Pakistan ODI skipper Azhar Ali, a frontline batsman who played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2002 as a wrist spinner, said it was an important tournament for any ambitious youngster.

"This tournament is taken seriously by all because it affords an opportunity to throw the young ones in the deep end and assess their future potential," said Azhar Meanwhile, Kevin O'Brien of Ireland, who played against Cook in the 2004 event in Bangladesh, said that it was learning for the individuals as well as for the team.

ANI Johannesburg, Jan.12 : South African coach Russell Domingo believes that change in captaincy has not had too much effect on the team which is looking forward to display an improved performance in the third Test against England.

AB de Villiers took over as the Test skipper for the last two matches after Hashim Amladeclared his resignation from the post following the second Test between the two sides ended in a draw.

Considering the change as

`business as usual` within the team, Domingo said that his side were not required to do too much of adjustment as they had already played under De Villiers in one day format, Sport24 reported.

Domingo further lavished praise on the new skipper, saying that the new responsibility could bring best out of De Villiers and added that he was really excited for the challenge ahead.

Domingo, however, also backed Amla and believes that he had done a great job in helping the squad while

they were in transition.

Talking about the upcoming match, the coach insisted that they would take the experience of their second Test forward.

He called on his side to remain at the top of their game in the upcoming match at the Wanderers.

South Africa are currently trailing 0-1 in the four-match series against England. The two sides will play their last two Tests in Johannesburg (from January 14) and Centurion (from January 22).

Phoenix Cricket coaching enters Final Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Jan 12: Phoenix cricket coaching club, Sivasagar defeated Dibrugarh Cricket Coaching Centre (B) by 87 runs in the second semifinal of the Simang Arnold Phulari Invitation (under-15) Cricket Tournament, organised by Dibrugarh City Cricket Coaching Centre, at Dibrugarh District Sports Association stadium here today.

Opting to bat, Phoenix Cricket Coaching club scored 169 for 4 in stipulated 35 overs. Autri Pratim Borgohain top

scored with 46 off 89 balls, hitting six boundaries and Jarzoo Mili scored off 74

overs. Rishab Nag scored 16 off 58 balls with one boundary.

Under-15 Cricket

For Phoenix Cricket Coaching club, P.C. Agarwal, Sahil Ahmed and Stev Karmakar took two wickets each conceding 13, 0 and 10 runs respectively.

Autri Pratim Borgohain of Phoenix Cricket Coaching club was adjudged man of the match.

balls laced with six boundaries. Minhaz Ahmed contributed 23 off 31 balls with the help of three fours.

S. Sidhratta and Kunal Hazarika took one wickets each for Dibrugarh Cricket coaching centre(B).

In reply, Dibrugarh Cricket Cocahing Centre(B) were bundled out for a paltry 82 in 25.2

Tomorrow, Dibrugarh Cricket Coaching Centre(A) will take on Phoenix cricket coaching club, Sivasagar in the final.

Sania-Martina extend winning streak in Sydney PTI Sydney, Jan 12 : The seemingly unstoppable duo of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis eased past Anastasia Rodionova and Arina Rodionova in the opening round of Sydney International to extend their winning streak to 27 matches here today.

Rohan Bopanna too won his opening round alongside Romanian partner Florin Mergea to enter the quarterfinals of the concurrently held ATP event.

The fourth seeds had to dig deep to beat Denis Istomin and Henri Kontinen 6-7, 6-3, 10-8.

Doubles world number one Sania and Swiss great Martina mauled the Rodionova pairing, representing Australia, 6-2, 63 to reach the quarters.

Sania and Martina began 2016 by winning the Brisbane International last week for their sixth title in a row.

Their 27-match winning run is the longest since Italians Sara

Errani and Roberta Vinci won 25 in a row in 2012. Sara and Roberta had won five titles in a row, at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the French Open and 'sHertogenbosch.

CM's trophy kick-starts in Khonsa

Khonsa, Jan 12: The third constituency level Chief Minister’s football and volleyball trophy for 55 Khonsa East Assembly constituency kick-started at Khonsa Nehru stadium today. While speaking on the occasion ADC N. Wangsu underscored the importance of games and sports and urged the participants to maintain discipline and spirit of true sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

He also said that the state government has reservation for all categories of government jobs under sports quota. Wangsu earlier met the participants and appre-

ciated DSO R. Mihu and Coach Noah Mongku for their effort in organizing the tournament. The ZPM of Khela-Lamsa Sontung Lowang Bangsia in her address asked the youth to utilize their youthful energy towards constructive purposes adding that the CM’s Trophy to be a wonderful platform to show their inherent skills. Earlier in his welcome speech the District Sports Officer R. Mihu while highlighting the basic aims and objectives of the tournament said that the Tirap district has made rapid strides in games and sports. He also added that

in the first Mini Olympic held at Naharlagun last year, Tirap district has shown transcendent performance and was adjudged the second runnersup. Altogether 3 football teams from Lapnan girls’ soccer club, Upper Kolam, Lower Kolam and volleyball teams from Upper and Lower Kolam villages from the 55 Khonsa East Assembly constituencies actively participated in the tournament.

HoDs, public leaders and hundreds of sports lovers attended the inaugural programme. The tournament for 54 Namsang constituency will be held at Deomali in due course.

Holders Gujarat in Group B of Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament PTI Mumbai, Jan 12 : Defending champions Gujarat and former winners Baroda have been placed in different groups for the final stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 championship to be held at two venues here from January 15-20. While 2014-15 winners Gujarat,

who had won the crown in 2012-13 too, are placed in Group B along with Delhi, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, 2013-14 champions Baroda have been drawn in Group A along with hosts Mumbai, Kerala and Vidarbha. The round-robin stage will see four matches per day, with action beginning at 9:00

am and ending at 4:00 pm daily, leading to the summit clash between the top two finishers of the two groups, scheduled at the Wankhede Stadium under lights from 6:30 pm. All Group A games are to be held at the Wankhede Stadium while all Group B matches would be played at the MCA Sharad Pawar

Academy ground at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Vidarbha would take on Baroda in the opening Group A game on January 15 at the Wankhede Stadium, while on the same day Gujarat would clash with Delhi in the Group B opener at the BKC ground. There would be no matches on January 17

and 19. The schedule is: Group A (Wankhede Stadium): Jan 15: Vidarbha v Baroda (9:00 am); Kerala v Mumbai (1:00 pm). Jan 16: Kerala v Baroda (9:00 am); Vidarbha v Mumbai (1:00 pm). Jan 18: Vidarbha v Kerala (9:00 am); Baroda v Mumbai (1.00 pm).

Group B (BKC ground):

Jan 15: Gujarat v Delhi (9:00 am); Jharkhand v UPCA (1:00 pm). Jan 16: Jharkhand v Delhi (9:00 am); Gujarat v UPCA (1:00 pm). Jan 18: Gujarat v Jharkhand (9:00 am); Delhi v UPCA (1:00 pm). Jan 20: Final: Group A winners v Group B winners, Wankhede Stadium (6:30 pm).

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