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ASSENG/2015/64205
Vol. 1
Issue 249
ERING URGES VILLAGERS TO DEVOTE FOR HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF VILLAGE Page 3
ET CAPSULES 2 NDFB (S) cadres gunned down by Security forces Guwahati, Feb. 14: In a major breakthrough for the security forces, two NDFB(S) cadre, wanted in connection with the massacre of Adivasis, were on Sunday killed in an encounter with a joint team of Assam Police and Army. Based on specific intelligence, personnel of the Assam police and Army launched an operation in Oxiguri village in Chirang district early today, Inspector General of Police, BTAD, L R Bishnoi said. "Two hardcore NDFB(S) militants were killed in the encounter," he said. The militants were identified as Nodia and Sanjeev Basumatary. The senior police officers said two pistols and two handmade grenades were recovered from.
Free medical camp and youth guidance program Diyun, Feb 14 : Free medical camp , Youth guidance lecture on awareness to join Indian Army and other facilities are being organised on 16 Feb 2016 (Tuesday) at Innao Higher Sec School by Chowkham Army Camp. Registration for Recruitment rally and ESM are also being conducted at Army Camp Namsai and M a h a d e v p u r .
Mp east arunachal extends support to fire victims Tezu, Feb 14: Member of Parliament Shri. Ninnong Ering visited the fire accident site in the Tezu market area and donated Rs. One Lac as a measure of relief to the fire victims of 5th February fire accident at Tezu market on 13th February last. He was accompanied by Lohit Deputy Commissioner Tamiyo Tatak. A major fire accident took place in the early morning hours on 5th February last in Tezu market area where 23 shops with goods were gutted down into ashes. The MP assuring the victims of relief, promised to provide Rs. 10 lac as a relief measure to the fire victims from MPLAD.(DIPRO)
India today managed just one gold, two silver and a bronze in taekwondo at the 12th South Asian Games here today. Purva Dixit beat Nepal's Y K Chaulagain in the women's 49kg category to win the solitary yellow metal in taekwondo, where Afghanistan led the medals tally.
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Gajendra Parihar went down to Afghanistan's Mahmood Haidari in the men's 58kg final to settle for the silver at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical
AMGURI BJP MEMBERS PROTEST FOR AGP-BJP ALLIANCE IN GUWAHATI Page 4
ET Bureau New Delhi, Feb 14 Nabam Tuki, ousted Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, today accused the Centre of conspiring to install a government comprising dissident Congress MLAs and BJP by revoking President's rule in the state and said any such move will be "completely unconstitutional". It will be in violation of law as the matter is already before the Supreme Court, he contended and warned of political instability and law and order problems in Arunachal Pradesh if a "khichdi" government is formed in the state. "I have come to know that
Tuki reportedly has the support of 26 MLAs in the 60member Assembly.
"The MLAs are lodged in two hotels in Itanagar and they are waiting to meet the Governor to stake claim to form the government under the leadership of Kalikho Pul," Tuki told PTI. Tuki, the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, said if the dissidents and BJP MLAs form a government it would be completely unconstitutional and against the law as the Supreme Court is still hearing a case regarding the imposition of President's rule in the state and dismissal of his govern-
Nabam Tuki ment.
The former Chief Minister accused Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, of conspiring with the dissident Congress MLAs.
The revolt by Congress dissidents led by Kalikho Pul led to a political crisis in the state that finally led to imposition of President's rule on January 26.
"He (Rijiju) is the person doing everything. He has sponsored the MLAs, providing security to them and destabilising my government. He had succeeded in it.
All 21 dissident MLAs had been camping in New Delhi for
Contd. on Page 3
ANSU condemned Joram Tadir death Nellie Manpoong Itanagar, Feb. 14
The All Nyishi Students' Union (ANSU) today vehemently condemned the action of the railway authority for the death of Joram Tadir of Joram village under Lower Subansiri district. Alleging that the railway authorities did not take any measure to save the life of late
Tadir despite a co-passenger intimidating them that Tadir had fallen of the train, the ANSU claimed that it was the negligence of the railway authority and held them responsible for the death of Tadir. The ANSU demanded that the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh constitute an enquiry committee to find out the facts behind the death of late
India only economy not affected by global economic crisis: PM PTI New Delhi, Feb 14
India is the only economy which has not been affected by the global economic crisis which has hit the world, primarily due to the policies being implemented by the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today. "Everyone is saying this... the World Bank, the IMF. The world is going through an economic crisis, but it is India alone that is progressing at a rapid pace. This is a unique situation when the whole world is slipping and India is growing," Modi said at a function organised to mark the 140th birth anniversary of social reformer Dayanand Saraswati. "People across the world are saying that the steps taken by the government (have led to) India becoming the fastest
Sciences on the outskirts of the city here. India's bagged the second silver of the day in men's 74kg as Manu George lost to another Afghan M Sharif Muradi in the final. In women's 57kg, India claimed a bronze with S Ramchiary sharing the podium with G Sandamali of Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, India returned empty handed in men's over 87kg. So far, India have two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in taekwondo, which will conclude tomorrow with four more disciplines.
Tadir and also called upon the railway authority to ensure safety and security of Arunachal Pradesh passengers in Assam. The union also demanded that the governor and railway authority identify and arrest the culprit behind the death of late Tadir within 15 days time, failing which, it would resort to its own course of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi growing economy among the larger economies of the world," he said. "One thing can free us from our problems, from poverty, from lack of education and that is development," Contd. on Page 4
action to meet with the demands. Late Tadir was a BSc final year student of Dolphin (PG) College of Science and Agriculture, Chandigarh, Punjab. He was on a train bound to Naharlagun when an accident occurred at Mazbat, Darrang district in Assam on February 12 at around midnight.
CoSAAP welcomes Governer JP Rajkhowa’s move A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 14
The Confederation of Service Associations of Arunachal Pradesh (CoSAAP) has welcomed the instruction of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh J P Rajkhowa for payment of all salaries and medical reimbursement and travelling allowances bills for state government employees within March this year. The CoSAAP, through a communiqué, on behalf of the entire state government employees extended its gratitude to the governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Additionally, the association called attention to the meeting held on February 5 last at Raj Bhavan by the governor, where it was decided that a committee would be
5.00
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a long time after revolting against the Tuki government. They were joined by 11 BJP MLAs and two independents.
all dissident MLAs and BJP MLAs were taken to Arunachal Pradesh through a chartered plane first to Assam and then in helicopters to Itanagar.
Price -
ANIL AGARWAL TO INVEST IN FIRST MADE IN INDIA LCD
Centre conspiring to install 'khichdi' govt in Arunachal: Tuki
India win one gold in taekwondo AGENCIES Shillong, Feb 14
Dibrugarh, Monday, February 15, 2016
constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary (Home) to look into the various demands of CoSAAP. The CoSAAP lamented that till date, the details of the meetings have not been circulated and the order for constitution of the committee has not been issued, and requested that the minutes of the meeting be issued and a committee be constituted immediately. Further, the committee urged the examination of all pending demands of state government employees which have not been addressed years together. The CoSAAP also clarified that the demand for withdrawal of NOC in matters of promotion and Contd. on Page 3
Pages- 12 RSS DEFENDS GOVT., CALLS FOR CONDEMNING ANTI-INDIA ACTIVITIES AT JNU Page 6
CM Gogoi request Arun Jaitely for restoration of Special category status to Assam A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb. 14
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi requested Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for restoration of Special Category Status to Assam and augmentation of Central Assistance to State Plan during the formulation of the Union Budget 2016-17. In a letter to the Union Finance Minister today, Chief Minister Gogoi pleaded with Jaitley for restoration of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and releasing of pending CST compensation due to the State. Gogoi urged Jaitley to earmark appropriate Budget provision to enable the State to get royalty on crude oil, VAT and other taxes on the actual market price and not on the basis of heavily discounted sale
Tarun Gogoi price. Besides restoration of the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007, Gogoi urged Jaitley to
incorporate a special package for promotion and development of the MSME sector. Contd. on Page 4
Assam CM announces Rs 20 crore to project Shravan A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb. 14
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced Rs 20crore to project Shravan launched by Prerana for a deaf-free Assam. Speaking as chief guest at a function organised by Prerana at Srimanta Sankaradeva Auditorium at Panjabari today, Chief Minister Gogoi said that the project for hearing impaired children would go a long way in making the State deaf-free. “Like Operation Smile launched successfully for cleft-free Assam, project Shravan would also bring about a deaf-free State in the
days ahead,” he said. Lauding the philanthropic activities of Prerana, a charitable organisation formed by wives of retired and serving IAS officers, Gogoi said reaching out to the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised segments of the society and making their lives better is a most wonderful way of expressing our love, care and affection for them. “Each and every individual must strive forward to extend a helping hand to the disadvantaged and marginalised sections and make them feel special by spreading love, care and affection. And what better occasion
it could be as it coincides with Valentine’s Day today,” he said. Gogoi said that the State Government has been striving relentlessly for ensuring welfare of the poor and downtrodden sections of the society. “Serving the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society has been our motto. Our Government has giving top priority for ameliorating their socio-economic condition since day one,” he added.
Contd. on Page 4
CPI(ML) flays government for failing to nab Kaul murderers Spl Correspondent. Tinsukia, Feb 14
In an attempt to offer a third alternative to the people of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh district, CPI-ML Tinsukia district organized a convention at a school at Panitola in Tinsukia district on Sunday. A total of around 2000 persons are believed to have participated in the convention. Subhas Sen, working committe member of CPI-ML state standing committe said, it's high time that there shall be a third alternative against
Congress mis - rule and corruption and BJP's corporate communalism and betrayal. We are that third alternative, he said. Sen added that during the convention we have reiterated our demand to arrest all the murderer's of Gangaram Kaul named in the FIR. In last over two and a half years since CBI has taken over the case, CBI team has come down eight times but are unable to draw a conclusion which is pathetic, he said. If the murderer's are not arrested before the assembly elections we shall intensify our
agitation, Sen added. It is learnt that CPI-ML took out are rally till Panitola police out post, around 2 kms from the meeting venue. It is important to mention that the FIR lodged by CPI-ML names congress MLA Raju Sahu also. As the protest sounds get louder in the area it will be a reason to worry for the ruling Congress party. However, as per sources a team of CBI officers are in Tinsukia to carry on their investigations. Sources suggest a deeper conspiracy behind the murder of Gangaram Kaul.
Mos Rijiju graces shapawng yawng manau poi fest of the singphos Indrajit Tingwa Bordumsa, Feb 14
Today on the third day of the on going Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi, the ethno cultural festival of the Singpho community Union Minister of State Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and East Arunachal MP Ninong Ering attended as the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively. Both the dignitaries dressed in complete traditional Singpho attires participated in the Kumrum Manau,the dance of get together and unity. The chief guest also opened the exhibition stall where art, crafts, artefacts and antiques of the tribe were on display. Later a meeting was also
conducted where both the guests spoke. In his address, Rijiju wished the entire Singpho community on the occasion of Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi festival and was appreciative of the fact that large number of youths were seen partaking in the festivities. He said,' In the past I only heard about the Singphos and their festival but today after personally witnessing I can feel the beauty of the festival and can term it as one of the most colourful festival of the region'. He further said that the festival can be designed to attract tourists and take it to the level of a tourism festival. While replying to a memorandum submitted by the celebration where one of the points was declaration of Shapawng Yawng
Manau Poi as a tourist festival the minister said that he can guarantee that if all the stakeholders worked together
than in a few years time the target could be achieved. However, he assured to look into the matter and on the other points sub-
mitted in the memorandum. The Guest of Honour Ninong Ering also spoke and extended his best wishes to the Singphos on the festive occasion. He also appealed the youths in particular to take the responsibility of carrying forward the rich culture and heritage. Both the high profile guests and other dignitaries were also offered Ninggun Shingnoi, a customary gesture of honour by offering food and drinks arranged in a traditional way in a basket. A community feast were also served to the visitors. The festival which commenced on 12 February will conclude tomorrow. Delegates from Myanmar and other states of North East In-
dia are participating in the festival. Delegations of the Kachins from Myanmar, the Kukis who are considered long lost brothers of the Singpho tribe from Manipur, Karbis from Karbi Anglong district of Assam and Lishus (Yobins) from Vijaynagar,the easternmost corner of Arunachal Pradesh have been actively partaking in the festivities. Two rounds of traditional dances around the Manau Shadungs were performed during the day. Duting the cultural night song and dance items were presented by various cultural troupes. Fashion show and Mr. and Miss Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi 2016 were the crowd pullers of the night.
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Dalam Studio Near parking stand Khonsa
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
PAGE 2
ASTRO FOR YOU Aries Hats off to you, says Ganesha, for the way you will deal with relationships today. You are also up to something secretive today. But be careful about getting caught in something where you have to dole out money. Otherwise, it's fun and cheer all the way. Taurus Overall, it will be a good day to relax and enjoy good health, says Ganesha. However, there is a catch: you will need to be vigilant when it comes to money matters as there is a looming threat of swindling or mismanaging. An evening of merry-making will subdue your love for delicacies and good food. Gemini You will be able to divide your attention between personal and professional life. Workplace will become pretty exciting during the afternoon. By evening, you will get plenty of opportunities to shower your affection on your loved ones, says Ganesha. Cancer Today, you may have to pay a lot of attention to educational and intellectual activities, predicts Ganesha. There may be novel business proposals and job offers in the afternoon. The opposite sex will be attracted to you like iron pins are attracted to a magnet. However, you are likely to be loyal to the one you love. Leo Rise and shine! There is a very bright chance that today will be one of those super energetic and enthusiastic days. Ganesha predicts you will have a great time socialising with neighbours, friends and relatives. Also, you may end up spending a small fortune in trying to please your sweetheart. Since it is such a good day for social occasions, indulge in it. Also, delay the start of any new project or work today, advises Ganesha. Virgo Ganesha foresees a strong probability that you will keep your feet firmly planted on the ground in the face of adversity. The afternoon sun may bring some good returns or much awaited results for you. Love and affection will bring tranquillity in your family life. There is a distinct possibility of new relationships developing later in the day, says Ganesha. Libra Ganesha forecasts mostly superficial and thin-skinned issues as the likely cause of your unease and nervousness today. Matters relating to government rules and regulations will be on the table today at your workplace. But evening promises a lighter fare; your fine taste in arts shall receive applause from all quarters. Scorpio There are chances that you may easily get irritated and infuriated today, predicts Ganesha. Keep a lid on your anger or it may lead to irreconcilable differences. Avoid confrontations and unnecessary complications at work as well. You will spend a lot of time in finding out solutions to pending problems. Sagittarius You may turn to your family for love and happiness today, predicts Ganesha. But your soul searching will come at a high material cost. In the evening, you may encounter a thrilling love prospect with who you might indulge in some adventurous activity. It might be the beginning of a platonic love affair, says Ganesha. Capricorn Work pressure may take a toll on you today, but you will overcome all impediments and excel in whatever work you undertake, says Ganesha. Support and motivation await you at home as family members will be exceedingly tolerant of your actions and endeavours. Aquarius Wake up! Things are moving quickly and you want to keep pace. Today, your ideas find a place in the sun, and you will bask in all the attention you garner. You need to decide quickly about certain matters, but leave the big decisions for now, says Ganesha. Pisces You are likely to be sweating today at work, and it is neither the weather nor an ill-fitting suit that is the cause, says Ganesha. You will try your best to get your views across, and the post-afternoon lunch siesta is probably the best time to hammer your point home because that is when your boss will have all the energy to argue against. However, conserve some of your energy for an action-filled evening with your heartthrob. You know what all work and no play can do to a man.
PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz)
Gogoi accuses AIUDF for mutual understanding with BJP A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb. 14: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi accused AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal of being hand in glove with the BJP by deciding to field candidates in constituencies where they have no chances of winning with the motive of defeating the Congress candidates. In a statement here today, Chief Minister Gogoi said that AIUDF by deciding to contest at least 60 seats in the coming Assembly elec-
tions has entered into a tacit understanding with the BJP to defeat the Congress candidates by engineering a split in votes and ensuring the victory of the saffron party. “By deciding to field candidates in at least 60 constituencies where they have no chances of winning, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal has entered into a political game plan with the BJP, like it did in the last Parliamentary elections, to defeat the Con-
15-2-16 (MONDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-15 A.M-Classical Music 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Highlights of 12th South Asian Games 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-00 A.M- Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 9-20 P.M- Seuji Chora (Children Programme) 12-05 P.M-Surar Satsori (Request Songs Programme) 1-10 P.M-Gharjeuti 1-50 P.M-Adhunik Geet 3-10 P.M-Selfie From North East 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-Chah Sramikar Asor 7-45 P.M- Juye Pora Son 9-30 P.M-Feature Sd-/H.O.P
gress candidates,” he added. Gogoi said the people would see through their game plan to grab power by relegating their ideo-
Warm felicitation to Bidyananda Barkakoty in Golaghat ET Correspondent Golaghat, Feb 14: The newly appointed Vice Chairman of Tea Board of India Bidyananda Barkakoty was given warm felicitation in Golaghat by United Chambers of Commerce Golaghat . A special felicitation programme was organised at the office of the United Chambers of Commerce on February 12 where Bidyananda Barkakoty was felicitated . In the
felicitation programme United Chambers of Commerce President Apurba Ballav Goswami said that it is a proud moment for Golaghat and its people that Barkakoty had been elected and appointed in such a higher post. He added now people of Golaghat and Assam have lots of expectation from him. The programme was conducted by the General Secretary of UCC Dip
Grassroot BJP workers protest against alliance between BJP and AGP ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Feb. 14: Grassroot level workers of Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) demonstrated massive protest against the suggested alliance of the party with Asom Gana Parishad(AGP) at Panigaon Chariali in Lakhimpur today. They staged a 'onehour dharna' showing zero tolerance against the issue. "We've taken comprehensively hostile stand against the alliance which state leaders of the party is going to realise at present. If the State Committee compel us to admit the alliance, we, the
grassroot-level workers will be abstained from casting our vote resigning from the party"-expressed they in a press release. Almost three hundred party workers of six GP Committees under Telahi Mandal, two of Lakhimpur Mandal, all Booth Committees along with Mahila Marcha, Yuva Marcha, Kissan Marcha, Anusuchita Jati Marcha, Janajati Marcha were present in the program. It is noteworthy that around 5000 party workers will stage 'Dharna' at Panigaon Chariali on February 16 against the mentioned 'alliance'.
Committee public Accounts Team Visits Golaghat
Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights
Tarun Gogoi
logical differences to the backburner. “If AIUDF is for uniting Muslims to consolidate minority votes, the BJP is also propagating the Hindutva agenda of RSS and uniting Hindus. Both the parties have the same kind of strategy to polarize the electorate on religious lines. AIUDF and BJP are two sides of the same coin,” Gogoi said. The Chief Minister reiterated that the Congress is well poised to fight the Assembly polls in April alone.
ET Correspondent Golaghat , Feb 14: A five member team of Committee on Public Accounts of Assam Legislative Assembly visited Golaghat and conducted account survey in the district . The five member team was led by Kaliabor MLA Keshav Mahanta. The other members were Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan, Bijni MLA Kamal Singh Narzary, Lumding MLA Swapan Kar and Lakhimpur MLA Utpal Dutta . On Saturday the team conducted accounts survey on different schemes of nine government departments in
Golaghat . Today the Committee on Public Accounts checked the expenditure in implementing of various schemes and conducted field surveys of different projects like Golaghat Stadium, Sati Sadhani Cultural project, Bypass road , Newly inaugurated steel bridge over Dhansiri river and Arsenic Mitigation Project of PHE department in Padumoni and Kakodunga . The team was accompanied by Golaghat DC, CEO of Golaghat Zilla Parishad , Project Director of DRDA and other official of district administration .
Kalita where officials of North Eastern Tea Association were also present. After receiving felicitation the new Vice Chairman of Tea Board of India stated that he will perform his duty with full dedication and responsibility. He had made some plans to develop and to maintain the tea sector of Assam world famous. He added that major portion of tea produced in Upper Assam districts and hence his focus will be
on creative and concrete development for high quality production of tea in the region and he will raise a demand to the central government for recognising tea as the National Drink of India. Bidyananda Barkakoty thanked United Chambers of Commerce Golaghat for felicitating him and said that such honour gave him inspiration to work for the greater interest for the society.
Nirod Choudhury remembered in Doomdooma ET Correspondent Doomdooma, Feb 14: Rich tributes were paid to renowned journalist, writer of Doomdooma Nirod Choudhury on his 16th death anniversary . On the occasion, Doomdooma Sakha Sahitya Sabha (DSSS) organized a special programme chaired by DSSS President Arjun Baruah. The programme began with the garlanding of the portrait of late Choudhury and lighting of an earthen lamp addressing the gathering as the appointed speaker, Deepak Ranjan Baruah , head of the Assamese department of Doomdooma college recalled the contributions of Nirod Choudhury towards Assamese literature and journalism. Social activist Govinda Phukan and poet Mousmi Patowari also spoke on the occasion. DSSS secretary Nityananda Das offered the vote of thanks at the end.
Lack of reaction in media reports worry local press Sushanta Roy Diphu February 14: Diphu town, the official headquarter of Karbi Anglong autonomous district probably known for two reasons, it is the nerve centre of Assam’s largest district with an area of 10436 square kilometres and for its numerous small news papers; which although may not be orthodox or typical news paper but crusading temperament is a common feature among the small news papers published from Diphu. “Although we may not be credited to be anti establishment but in time we have hardly compromised with the authority in the matter of corruption which goes against public interest” Sanju Bora, acclaimed journalist of Assam and chief editor of Sambad Pratidinor said. “The cause of concern for the local media today is lack of response from the authority against published news, specially the Karbi Anglong autonomous Council, which controls maximum (30) government developmental departments and most of the government fund
as well. Corruption and irregularity under the administration of the council has always remained the stumbling block on the path of development since the inception of the autonomous body in 1952 and the legacy is continuing only the dynamics of sleaze has either become more methodical of more rudimentary. Our ground of apprehension is the jaded attitude of the ruling clique who hardly bothers about a scam unearthed with all supportive evidence by local media. In recent time number of local news papers have uncovered hundreds of corruption which has been committed in departments like PHE, Health and NRHM. DRDA, Blocks, PWD, Veterinary, Fishery etc. but has failed to invite any reaction in most of the issues. The attitude of the authority has accomplished something in one matter, the corrupt officials and those at the helm of affair have been encouraged and buoyant to perpetrate twofold vice. I have observed that once the of-
ficers overcome the trepidation of the media depiction they generally talk about their relation with the public representative in chair, even they get the pluck to call our leaders with names they like better” Said a senior journalist of Diphu on condition of ambiguity. It may be mentioned here that at a time when the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council is performing an unprincipled roll of ignoring the basic ethics of parliamentary government the performance of the opposition political parties and pressure groups with few exceptions are also not very encouraging, generally they end up in media conferences and token strikes, taking care not to disturb the fragile equilibrium of the covert bread and butter relation. “Coexistence of crooked bureaucrat and ruling faction has upset the symmetry between the executives and the legislators, if the hasps collapse the ruling faction will be hard-bitten, in such a situation local media will not be a suitable refuge for them” commented another senior journalist.
Re-election to CEM NCHAC on February 16
Villagers discover an ancient well at Nisangram village in Goalpara district of Assam. Villagers suspected that the well was constructed on 8th Century. Pic - UB Photos
ET Correspondent Haflong Feb 14 : In prompt pursuance of letter No. GSA.46/ 2015/181 dt 13/02 2016 received from the Joint Secretary to the Governor, Assam, Raj Bhawan, Guwahti, whereas the Hon'ble Governor of Assam directed that the election of new Chief Executive Member (CEM) and Executive Committee be taken up in accordance of with provi-
sions under Rule 20 as provided in Rule 21(!) (@) Chairman, North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council is pleased is pleased to fix the date on 16.02.16 for the election of new Chief Executive Member (CEM) under the aforesaid Rules. The session will be held at 11.00 AM in the Council Assembly Hall, Haflong, notified by the Secretary, N C Hills Autonomous Council,
Haflong Sri M. Kemprai. Therefore it is notified that at any time before noon on 15.02.16, any Member of the NCHIls Autonomous Council may nominate another Member for election of Chief Executive Member (CEM) by delivering or causing to be delivered to the under signed in the manner stated below a nomination signed by himself as a proposer and a third
member as seconder. The nomination paper (which may be in plain paper) should state the name of the member nominated and proposer must verify to the effect that he has ascertained that such member is willing to serve as Chief Executive Member (CEM), if elected. The nomination paper will have to be delivered to the undersigned in person by the candi-
date himself, his seconder or proposer. It is to be mentioned here that after the notrust motion against the then CEM Sri Niranjan Hojai on February 11, Sri Debojeet Thaosen was elected as the CEM of NCHAC on February 13 but following the Governor's communication the election was made null and void said M Kemprai, Secretary, N C Hills Autonomous Council, Haflong.
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
PAGE 3
Ering urges villagers to devote for Blood donation on Valentine’s Day holistic development of village Namsai, Feb 14 : Arunachal east MP Ninong Ering has adopted Jona-1 village Panchayat under Lathao circle in Namsai district to make it a Model Village under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. Addressing a gathering attended by District heads of various government departments, Panchayat leaders , Gaon Burhas, NGOs and public of the village on Saturday Ering urged them to devote for holistic development of the village. He requested all the stake holders to take steps as envisaged in the guide line for substantial improvement of the standard of living and quality of life of the villagers through providing them improved basic amenities, higher productivity, enhanced human development, better livelihood
Nellie Manpoong Itanagar, Feb 14 : As many as 43 youths came forward to donate blood at RKM Hospital here today at the initiative of Arunachal Vivekanada Yuva Shakti (AVYS)’s ‘Save Life Mission’. Initiated by AVYS founder Ramesh Jeke to mark Valentine’s Day initiative, the camp, a collaboration of Arunachal Pradesh AIDS Control Society (APACS) led by
Ering urges villagers to devote for holistic development of village
and reduced disparities, access to rights and entitlement and wider social mobilization. He insisted to convert Jona-1 as a real Model Village which could be replicated by all other villages of the area. He also appealed to improve the literacy rate of the village. Namsai DC R K Sharma
gave a brief narration of the aim and objective of the scheme and directed all concerned departments to conduct survey of the village so that a master plan for convergence of all government sponsored schemes and mobilization of local NGOs and public could be done at the earliest. He
emphasised on preparation of a realistic and perfect Village Development Plan involving all the stake holders. Namsai Zila Parishad Chairperson Chow Kyasing Mounglang, ZPM Chow Mahajini Chowpoo, DVO Dr K Sarmah and SDAO also spoke on the occasion.
In an agriculturally dominated state like Assam the very slow pace of progress in Agriculture sector is a matter of very much concern to all". Referring an example of gross misuse of central fund by the congress led state government he pointed out the state govt has failed to pro-
vide information regarding where about of an amount of Rs 276 lakh released against Centrally sponsored Integrated Dairy Development Programme since 2004-05. Moreover the state government also kept hidden the investigation report of the Criminal Investigation Department in this connection. Citing another example of the negligence of the State Government, the visiting Minister alleged that the Secretary and Director General of Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Indian Council of Agricultural Research vide a letter on January 27 last had requested the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to waive an amount of 16,67,200.00 being the value and the land revenue of 10 bighas, two kathas and two lechas at village Nagaon under Dakhin Rani Mouza of Palashbari Revenue Circle for setting up of the National Research Center on Pig under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, but the State Government is yet to waive it. He also ex-
pressed his deep concern over the matter that a Krishi Vikash Kendra (KVK) is functioning from a rented house in Darrang district as the state government could not offer the required plot of land for the KVK. The Agriculture Minister also alleged that till January 29 last, the state government could not submit the utilization certificate for an amount of Rs. 560.00 lakhs already released by the National Fishery Development Board for construction of Fish Markets and hatcheries and for training of the Fish farmers of Assam. He also said that the government of Assam has failed to utilize the fund already released by the Government of India for organic cultivation, Dairy Vikash Yojana, Soil Health Card Management and Bamboo Mission. "The Mother and Son has been ruing the country while Father and Son has damaged a lot to Assam" opined the Agriculture Minister without directly naming any one. However much
PTI Kolkata, Feb 14 : Trinomool Congress MP Mukul Roy, who had been stripped of all party posts last year, was today made the party's all-India vice president by its supremo Mamata Banerjee ahead of the assembly election in the state. Mukul Roy has been made all-India vice president of the party, TMC Secretary
After an FIR for rioting and damaging property was filed in this regard in the evening, at least seven persons, claimed to be associated with the right-wing organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), were detained, police said. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) B U Jadeja, 8 to 10 persons threw stones in the open parking lot of Hyatt Regency Hotel on Ashram Road, where Shahrukh's vehicle was parked, this morning and fled from the spot. "As per the complaint lodged by the Security
Officer of the hotel, 8 to 10 persons came on bikes and threw stones on cars parked in the open parking lot early this morning. Due to the stone pelting, windscreen of Shahrukh Khan's car got damaged," said Jadeja. "We have learnt that Shahrukh Khan was not there in the hotel when incident took place. Some of his crew members, who have come here for shooting, were staying in the hotel. Shahrukh landed in the city this afternoon for the shoot," he added. The shooting is taking place in Bhuj.
“Blood donation is an act of expressing our human values to the society. We don’t lose anything by donating blood but give
life to someone in need”, said Pala, who arrived here after conducting such camps in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim and Nagaland. Valentine’s Day is an occasion to show our kindness and love of altruistic act of blood donation to serve the humanity. I thank the AVYS and RKMH for making us a part of the initiative”, she added.
General Partha Chatterjee told PTI. Roy said he has received a letter informing him about the appointment. "I will perform all my duties and responsibilities whatever my party supremo Mamata Banerjee asks me to do," Roy told PTI.
"My aim will be to ensure that the party wins the upcoming assembly election with more than 250 seats and we defeat the enemies of Bengal -- Congress, CPI(M) and BJP," the Rajya Sabha member said. Roy had lost all his party posts following his question-
ing by the CBI in February last year in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. However, he met Banerjee, also West Bengal Chief Minister, in December in Delhi and at her residence here on January 1. Thereafter, he was seen with Banerjee at various party programmes.
Governor extends Railway union ‘Tamla Du’ greetings
Agencies New Delhi, Feb 14 : A majority of railwaymen are in favour of going ahead with the proposed indefinite strike from April 11 to press for the fulfilment of their demands, a railway union claimed today. All-India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) General Secretary S Gopal Mishra said the railwaymen would serve strike notice to the respective General Managers of all zones and production units on March 11 for an indefinite strike from 6 AM on April 11 in case the government does not meet the demands of the employees. AIRF is demanding a review of the new pension scheme and 7th Pay Commission recommendations,
besides filling up of large number of vacant posts in the railways. On 7th pay panel reports, Mishra said, "The minimum wage should be increased from Rs 18,000 per month to Rs 26,000." AIRF had conducted a secret ballot for its members to decide the future course of action on February 11-12 all over the country in 17 zones and seven production units. "There were more than nine lakh railwaymen who had cast their ballots, out of which 95 per cent favoured giving a strike call. Only five per cent were not in favour of a strike and they wanted more negotiation with the management," Mishra said.
Two groups clash during idol immersion Darbhanga, Feb 14 : Two groups of people today clashed during an idol immersion procession in Biraul area of the district, forcing police to fire in the air to disperse them to bring situation under control, a senior official said. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) A K Satyarthi said the groups pelted stones at each other in Ghagjari village when they were going for immersion
of idol of goddess Saraswati, and police had to fire in the air to control the situation. The SSP and and District Magistrate Balamurgan D were camping at the site. Satyarthi said two or three persons sustained minor injuries in the incident. Additional forces have been deployed to nab the miscreants numbering around 30 to 40.
Shahrukh Khan's car damaged by VHP workers in Gujarat PTI Ahmedabad, Feb 14 : Shouting slogans against Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, VHP members threw stones at a parking lot of a luxury hotel here early today damaging his car in continuing protests against the shooting of his upcoming film "Raees" in Gujarat over his earlier remarks on "intolerance". The film's crew members are staying in the hotel but the 50-year-old actor was not there at the time of the incident as he arrived here only this afternoon.
Swamiji and AVYS adviser Pradeep Kumar supervised to ensure everything was in place while Don Bosco College BA final year student Ganga Dasi while donating blood said: “I want to save life by donating blood.”
Mukul Roy made TMC's all India vice-president
Union Minister charged the State Government of siphoning off crores threatens strike of Central fund on April 11 Mangaldai, Feb 14: The Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh has expressed very much concern over the very slow pace of development of the centrally sponsored agriculture based projects including Dairy and Fishery in the state. Addressing a press conference at the circuit house here this evening , he said "the Ministry of Agriculture of Government of India is making an effort to make a cordial relation between the Union Government and the State Governments to expedite the pace of development, progress and the welfare of the farmers living in the rural areas, but the state government of Assam is not extending its cooperation.
Deputy Director (blood transmission) Dr Nabam Budh, RKMH secretary Swami Prathamananada, was conducted by RKMH pathologist Dr Passang Sona, Dr Budh, nurse Rikta Bhattacharjee, para medicos, CDC-ChaiQMS BB, NACO’s NE project NE coordinator Shillong-based Dr Anita Pala assisted by 45 young male and female AVYS volunteers.
Meanwhile, a video showing unidentified persons throwing stones inside the hotel also surfaced on social media platforms. In the video, they can be seen shouting slogans against Shahrukh and fleeing on bikes after throwing stones. Gujarat unit of VHP claimed responsibility for the incident. The outfit's State spokesperson Raju Patel said the detained persons are associated with VHP and threw stones on Shahrukh's car as part of their ongoing protests against the actor.
Around 20-30 VHP activists had last week handed over a memorandum to Bhuj district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film. They protested outside the district Collector s office pressing for the same demand and shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters. In November last year, Shahrukh sparked a debate when he said during an interview that there was "extreme intolerance" in India. However, the actor retracted his
A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 14 : The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Shri JP Rajkhowa has extended his sincere greetings to the people of the State on the auspicious occasion of ‘Tamla Du’. , I extend my Arunachal Pradesh. He offered prayers that the festivity would continue to facilitate in preservation of the deeply rooted indigenous beliefs and cultural ethos of the Mishmi brethren. In his festival message, the Governor said that during
the Tamladu festival, the Digaru Mishmis offer prayers to the God of Water and God of Earth to save their villages from natural calamities. They also worship their Almighty Lord Jebmalu during Tamladu festival to pray for the welfare of the domestic animals, human beings and the newly planted crops. In the same spirit let us all join hands to protect our natural environment, the rich flora and fauna of the State and Mother Earth thereby. I am
confident that as a historic tribal community, which has been in harmony with nature over centuries, the Mishmis will continue the ideal tradition of maintaining the equilibrium with man and nature, the Governor held. May our prayers evoke the blessings of Almighty Lord Jebmalu and protect all of us from natural calamities and usher-in peace, progress, prosperity and happiness in the State, the Governor wished.
Centre conspiring to install 'khichdi' govt in Arunachal: Tuki Contd. from Page 1
"Now the central government is conspiring to form a government," he said. Tuki said if a "Khichdi (potpourri) government is formed, it will not last long as there would be law and order problems and political instability". "Such a government will not last. I have come to know that after
forming the government, they would recommend mid-term poll," he said. Assembly election in Arunachal Pradesh was held along with the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Congress party, which had 47 MLAs in the 60member assembly, suffered a jolt when 21 of its lawmakers rebelled. Eleven BJP MLAs and two independents backed the rebels in the
bid to upstage the government. Later, 14 rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker. The Supreme Court, which is considering pleas against imposition of President's rule in Arunachal Pradesh, is hearing petitions seeking examination of constitutional schemes on the scope of discretionary powers of the Governor.
CoSAAP welcomes Governer JP Rajkhowa’s move Contd. from Page 1
retirement is irrespective of APST and NonAPST employees and the authorities should not discriminate or divide employees on those lines, except for those employees who have encroached or destroyed government land and properties. It also requested the
governor to grant adhoc bonus to non-gazetted state government employees for the year 2015-16, with an appeal to the employees’ fraternity to improve their official duties with full dedication, sincerity and without partiality to improve work culture. Meanwhile, the All India State Government Employees’ Federation is
organizing series of peaceful dharna at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi from February 8 to 19 against negative approaches of recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission and anti-employee policies of the Central Government. The dharna for North East states, including Arunachal Pradesh is scheduled on February 18 next.
Gracy Bonia, one of the winners of Miss Saraswati Sundari Barpeta Town 2016 contest organized by UC, Barpeta on the occasion of Saraswati Puja in Barpeta. Pic - UB Photos
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
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Amguri BJP members protest for AGP-BJP alliance in Guwahati A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb. 14: With barely few months left for Assam to go to assembly election, dissension within BJP is coming out in the open. About two hundred BJP members from Amguri constituency staged protest in front of the election office of saffron party's at Ulubari on Sunday. The BJP members were disgruntled following speculations that the Amguri assembly seat in Sivasagar district might be handed to AGP's candidate. They demanded BJP should not sacrifice Amguri seat to AGP, claiming that saffron party since 2011 assem-
ever, rubbished the demonstration saying that such protest is not going to affect BJP's prospect. State BJP leaders said nothing has been officially declared on seat sharing with AGP.
Trinamool BJP activists from Hajo, Bongaigaon staged demonstration against issue of AGP-BJP alliance at Ulubari BJP office in Guwahati. Pic -UB Photos
bly election has been able to consolidate in the constituency. The protestors were against BJP's alliance
with AGP in upcoming Assam assembly election. They were also seen shouting slogans against Himanta Biswa Sarma. The Amguri seat is cur-
rently represented by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Anjan Dutta. BJP state leaders, how-
The BJP election office also witnessed similar protest on Sunday when BJP members were disgruntled of speculation that the Bongaigaon constituency might be handed to AGP’s candidate Phani Bhusan Choudhury. They also demand not to sacrifice Bongaigaon seat to AGP. However, the former BJP president Siddhartha Bhattacharya denied any list of candidates announced by BJP yet.
Talent and skills from north- Assam CM announces east on display at ‘North East Rs 20 crore to project Shravan Destination 2016’ ANI New Delhi, Feb. 14 : The second day of the ‘North East Destination 2016’ being held at the Pragati Maidan here witnessed talent and skills from the north-east region. North-east students from the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) showcased the emerging designs from the north-east region during the event, which has been organised by the DoNER Ministry. Ethnic, authentic handicrafts and traditional apparel was highlighted during the event besides
the exquisite designs and trends of the north-east region. At the cultural event, folk fusion and crossover music from the region were also presented. Guru Rewben Mashangva, an accomplished band from northeast, also performed at the event, which also witnessed performances from other highly accomplished bands such as Mayukh Hazarika, Purple Fusion and Rida and The Musical Folks. “Culturally, India is so very diverse. Each state
has its own beauty and uniqueness. I am very happy that the programme is very successful. We are all here from all over India” said Maldi Rawat, one of the organizers.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Nareshwar Sinha, Director, Ideal Charity, a UK based NGO for impaired children, said it has been a wonderful experience to Puppa Chatterjee, a visi- work in partnership with tor, said the government Prerana and NRHM, must promote such Assam to bring smiles on handicrafts in the coun- the faces of impaired try. children of Assam. The festival is aimed at “Serving children with attracting a combination disabilities is something of tourist and potential that goes straight to my investors, besides bridg- heart. I hope the project ing the gap between the with the blessings of the rest of India and the Chief Minister can be north-east region. replicated throughout the State in the coming days,” he said.
India only economy not affected by global economic crisis: PM Contd. from Page 1
Modi said, while referring to his government's socio-economic programmes like Mudra and Skill Development. "Over two crore people have benefitted through MUDRA Yojana and over Rs one lakh crore has been disbursed to them. Financial support has been given to people and we have faith in them," Modi said. Noting that 60 per cent
of India's population was below 35 years of age, he said India was the "youngest nation in the world. "The government's focus is on how to convert the power of the youth which can used for development of the nation. Therefore, we not only launched a skill development programme for the youth but also created a new ministry, with its own budget and a set of officers to take the programme forward," the Prime Minister said.
Contd. from Page 1
By 2030, when the population of many countries will grow old and when they require work force, India can power these nations with skilled and technically qualified manpower, he said. "Apart from having certificates in their hands, our youth must be skilled," he said and exhorted the youth to "pick up any one idea and work on it...let India's strength at the world stage increase through that idea you pick.
Dr. Sinha said the expensive hearing aids provided by his organisation free of cost has been individualised catering to the specific needs of the hearing impaired children. “With the hearing aid that adapts to sounds at different frequencies the disability in children goes low and low. Now the hard work is to assimilate the sounds with speech therapy,” he added. Earlier, in her welcome address, President, Prerana, Suman Pipersenia said Shravan is the first major project taken up by the
organisation in association with NRHM, Assam and Ideal Charity. Pipersenia said Prerana with the help of Social Welfare Department and NRHM, Assam identified 160 children afflicted with hearing problem. “Out of the 160, 40 children were discharged after minor treatment. The rest went through advanced procedure of treatment at Mohendra Mohan Civil Hospital and were restored hearing through hearing aids provided by Ideal Charity, a UK based charitable organisation run by Dr. Nareshwar Sinha,” she said. An audio-visual presentation was made on the project Shravan. Later Chief Minister Gogoi and his wife Dolly Gogoi distributed hearing aids to some impaired children of Kamrup (Metro). It may be mentioned that project Shravan has been taken up on a pilot basis in Kamrup, Nalbari and Nagaon districts. The function was attended, among others, by Chief Secretary, VK Pipersenia, Additional Chief Secretary to CM, MGVK Bhanu and Managing Director, NRHM, Assam, Dr. P. Ashok Babu.
Senior journalist of Lakhimpur Surajit Bhuyan joins in BJP ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Feb. 14: Senior journalist of Lakhimpur District, Surajit Bhuyan joined in the Bhartiya Janata Party(BJP) today in a program held in the Basudev Kalyan Trust of the district. Surajit Bhuyan was the President of North Lakhimpur Press Club and Lakhimpur District Journalist Association as well as the member of the All India Working Journalist Federation. He led several forums of journalists during a long period of twenty five years in the field of journalism. He resigned from these portfolios yesterday and today kicked of a new progress in life. It is to be noted that a Women Conclave covering the Lakhimpur Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) was organised at the Conference Hall of the Basudev Kalyan Trust and the former journalist joined the party in this program. The Leaders of the State Committe of Mahila
gan with good numbers of Govt employees viz :2(two) learned Asstt Professors Shri Ngamwang Lowang (Moktowa village) and Shri Gankhu Sumnyan (Dadam village), Dr. Sompha Sumpa (Dadam village), Dr. Matwang Ago (Moktowa village), Police Inspector Tangse Tekwa (Moktowa village), Sub-inspector both from Moktowa Shri Wangjan Lowang and Wanglat lowang, Dr. Runcha Thinra (Humroy), BM Chalit Thinra (Bera), JE Wangbom Lowang (Laho), Arunachal Talent Search Quiz Winner Ngamtu Kamhua and many brilliant students are coming up to make a Dadam Area pride. While welcoming to the newly joined ESDA members_ the MLA suggested that youth of Dadam Area must utilize their positive energy avoiding all kind of anti elements like addict with Opium & Drugs and unlawful activities stating that students of
MLA graces "ESDA'' annual Conference Dadam Area must study hard in their respective subject matters / profession as there is nothing impossible for the hard works. He appreciated the ESDA for making a platform for poor students by awarding a merit scholarship certificate with cash which is really commendable job since last few years and for rendered relief items to the fire victims of Moktowa_Huakan, Humroy and Dadam villages. In his introductory address
Asstt Prof Ngamwang Lowang GWRC Deomali appealed students of Dadam Area to give attentions and more important in educational sector instead of early marriage and easy earning stating that parents shouldn’t encourage their children for child labour and earn money before completion of their studies adding that parents are the first teacher of their children. The nocte modern dance performed by Miss Phangwat Kamhua and her
company to mark the programme more colourful. Apart from merit scholarship awards some important personalities from Dadam Area were also felicitated by ESDA _ First Asstt Professor Ngamwang Lowang, Astt Prof Gankhu Sumnyan, Medical Officer Dr. Matwang Ago and Arunachal Talent Search Quiz winner Ngamtu Atoa. Scholarship achievers :_ Shri Longche Atoa of Moktowa village secured 1st Division in AISSCE
Marcha, Lakhimpur District body of BJP conveyed him warm welcome and felicitation to the party. After joining he delivered a lecture addressing the gathering of the program. "I set my foot on the first pillar of democracy from the forth in order to take part in the policy making machinery of the Nation. Now I want to work for the people through this field"-said he in his speech. On the other hand, the open session of the Women Conclave was chaired by Kusum Hajarika, the President of Lakhimpur District Mahila Marcha. Lakhimpur Dist. BJP
Secretary Raju Bardalai, Vice President Bishnu Deury, Vice Presidents of State Mahila Marcha Reba Sarmah, General Secretary Niyati Dey, Tresurer Rashmi Rekha Borah, Telahi Mandal BJP President Kusha Sarmah etc. delivered speech in the program. All of them appealed the gathering to work for root out the corrupted Congress Government of the State in the forth coming Assembly Election. They slammed the State Government alleging massive misappropriation of funds and leading the state towards the ashtray through nonideological politics.
CM Gogoi request Arun Jaitely for restoration of Special category status to Assam Contd. from Page 1
complete delinking of 12 schemes including block grants which received budgetary support from the Centre till 2014-15 and less availability of funds from the divisible pool meant for all Sixth Schedule Areas following cut in Central assistance.
The Chief Minister requested the Finance Minister for a special package for the flood victims and embankment protection works, besides special packages for development councils and for development of areas adjoinFor infrastructure deing the Assam- velopment, Gogoi Nagaland border. urged Jaitley for special packages for strengthGogoi also urged ening NHs passing Jaitley for special pack- through Assam conages for protection of necting Mizoram, one-horned rhinos, for Manipur and Tripura, a establishment of skill special package for Indevelopment centres in land Water Transport all the 219 development Development, a special blocks and special as- programme for imsistance for provement of Guwahati modernisation and Airport as multi-modal upgradation of state po- international aviation lice. hub, inclusion of The Chief Minister Golaghat, Silchar, also raised the issues of Jorhat, Tezpur, Tinsukia, Barpeta and Bongaigaon under Smart Cities project, besides a special package for development of
MLA graces "ESDA'' annual Conference Gawang Sumpa Khonsa, Feb 14 : The Elite Society of Dadam Area {ESDA} Annual Conference-cum-Membership Drive along with merit scholarship award function was held at Officers Badminton Club, Khonsa on 13th February,2016 in which 56-Khonsa West MLA Tirong Aboh graced the occasion as Chief Guest amidst huge gathering. Addressing the huge gathering MLA Tirong Aboh said that initially ESDA was formed in the year 2007 consisting of 8(eight) members only but now there is more than hundred members adding that ESDA is a registered apolitical NGO. The MLA urged the members of ESDA to abide by laws as framed under ESDA stating that Dadam Area was one of the most backward areas in Tirap District in particular and Arunachal Pradesh a whole in the field of Education and Govt Job but now the change has be-
Senior journalist Surajit Bhuyan
2014-15, Shri Khunkam Nokbi of Moktowa village Class-XII (Sceience), Shri Wangngu Lowang, of Moktowa village, Shri Mophang Sumnyan, of Huakan village secured 1st Dvn BA final 2014-15 and Jewang Sumnyan 2nd Position in BA, Miss Chaban Kamhua 1st Positon, first MA Mowang Kamhua of Dadam village and Shri Mariat Ruttum 2nd Position BA of Laho village.
Shri Wangngoe Hakhun, President ESDA, Shri Tirang Sumnyan, Finance Secreatry, Shri Timah Sumnyan, V/President, Wangtong Ago, Editor ESDA also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, the merit scholarship certificate with cash award to the students of Dadam Area was given away by HMLA Tirong Aboh followed by Vote of thanks by Asst Secy ESDA Wangto Hakhun and programme concluded with a lunch.
Guwahati city’s infrastructure that include drinking water supply, sanitation, mass transit and flood protection. Gogoi sought special schemes for sericulture and weaver cluster development and special packages for tea tribes and ex-tea tribes as well as small tea growers of the State. The Chief Minister urged the Union Finance Minister to declare flood and erosion as a national problem with adequate budgetary provision, besides change in funding pattern of flood management programme and setting up of Brahmaputra Valley River Basin Authority. Gogoi also pleaded with Jaitley for adequate funds for plugging vulnerable areas with fencing along the IndoBangladesh border.
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
BJP workers stop train in protest against Ojha's murder
BJP state vice-president Ojha was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Arra Arra, Feb. 14: Protesting against the murder of party's state vice-president Visheshwar Ojha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Sunday morning stopped Rajendra NagarLokManya Tilak Terminus express here. "The Nitish Government has failed on all fronts to check the rise of the gundaraj in the state. The people have fed-up of the present regime. We condemn the motive of the present government of killing the leaders of BJP. We would intensify
our protest across the state," said a local leader. Earlier, BJP state vicepresident Ojha was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Arra. He was shot dead while returning from a wedding. Ojha had been named in police cases on various charges including murder and had contested the Bihar elections unsuccessfully last year. Two other people were injured in the attack. This shooting comes 12 hours after BJP leader Kedarnath Singh was shot dead in Chappra. (ANI)
Ojha murder: Two accused arrested Patna, Feb. 14: Two people have been arrested in connection with the killing of Bihar BJP vice president Visheshwar Ojha. One accused, identified as Harendra Singh, alias, Bhua Singh, was arrested on Saturday. Meanwhile, the BJP has called bandh in Shahabad region in protest against killing. Ojha was shot dead at Sonbarsa village under
Shahpur police station of Bhojpur on Friday evening when he was returning from a wedding. Some unidentified assailants fired at him and fled the scene, in which Ojha's driver and a man also got injured. Ojha was the second BJP leader to have been killed in the past 12 hours. This morning another local BJP leader Kedar Singh was shot dead in Chhapra, headquarters of the Saran district. (ANI)
Rape, kidnapping: Arrest warrant issued against RJD MLA
An arrest warrant has been issued against Rajballabh Yadav
Patna, Feb. 14: An arrest warrant has been issued against Rajballabh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislator from the Nawada assembly constituency, in connection with rape and abduction of a minor girl. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police, Patna Range, Shalin Kumar said the victim identified the MLA, who hails from Nalanda district. Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in this connection, and have launched a manhunt to nab the MLA. The Bihar Police had on Saturday said that preliminary investigations indicated that the kidnapping and rape charges levelled by a minor girl against Yadav appeared to be true. Speaking to , the DIG said the victim has indentified the perpetrator and the place, where
the heinous act was committed. "The girl registered a case on February 9. The investigation so far indicated that the allegations are true. We are investigation the matter. The victim's statement has been recorded. She has recognized the house in which the incident took place. She also recognised the person," he said. The girl has alleged that a woman took her to the accused on pretext of taking her to a birthday. "She said that she would take to a birthday party. Then she took me to the fifth floor of a building. A man entered the room and misbehaved with me," she said. The victim said that the women, who accompanied her, also took money from the accused. The DIG of the area has issued orders to arrest the RJD MLA and initiated probe into the matter. (ANI)
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REGION 2nd lot of Netaji files to be released in Feb Kolkata, Feb 14: The second tranche of 25 secret files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is likely to be declassified this month, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma has said."We are going to release 25 secret files every month. We are ready with the files that are going to be released this month," Sharma said when asked about declassification of the Netaji files. The government had earlier said National Ar-
chives of India (NAI) would release digital copies of declassified files on Bose every month. As many as hundred secret files were made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Netaji's 119th birth anniversary on January 23. The next set of files are likely to be made public on February 23. "A set of 25 files on Netaji may be released on February 23. It is also expected that the files
will be released on 23rd of every month afterwards," a source said. The files, released last month, comprised over 16,600 pages of historic documents, ranging from those of the British Raj to as late as 2007, an official had said. NAI also opened a dedicated website to store all the declassified files related to Bose. In October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met the family members of Netaji and
announced that the government would declassify the files relating to the leader whose disappearance 70 years ago remains a mystery.
Mamata's multi-pronged strategy to win poll battle
Mercury slips on snow in Shimla
Kolkata, Feb13: Even as the opposition Left Front and the Congress go through a labyrinth of procedures in their bid to cobble up a possible alliance for the assembly polls later this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has steamed ahead with a clear-cut three-pronged strategy to charm the voters. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief has been showering goodies aplenty on various sections of the people to drive home her development agenda, wooing the minorities who comprise a sizable part of the population and scouting for potential allies to widen her base. While populism has always been an integral part of her polity, Banerjee has been raining sops by inaugurating a plethora of projects across the state, announcing distribution of foodgrain at Rs.2 a kg and doling out scholarships to girls, bicycles and shoes to students and loans to the jobless youth for self employment. Among the several schemes she has been tom-toming is her pet Kanyashree project - a cash-transfer programme for the education of girls
which has even been recognised by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - and the Sabooj Sathi scheme un-
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
asserts the sops showered will play a large role in influencing the voters. "The Trinamool's base is the rural population and
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee der which four million government school students are entitled to get bicycles. In January, she came out with Khadya Sathi (food programme), under which nearly 80 million beneficiaries will be entitled to wheat and rice at Rs.2 per kg, and a Rs.154 crore scheme for providing shoes to students in Classes 1 to 4. In her frequent public meets, Banerjee has also been claiming that her government has provided jobs to over 6.8 million youths across the state. While the opposition has been targeting Banerjee over the "dismal" industrial scenario and agrarian distress, political analysts Anil Kumar Jana
it will not look into why there is lack of industry or ponder much over agrarian distress so long as they get foodgrain at Rs.2 or their children draw benefits under the Kanyashree or the Sabooj Sathi," Jana said. "Banerjee has of late been ensuring the smooth implementation of central schemes, thereby sending out a signal that it was her government that is doling out benefits when in fact it is using only the central funds," Jana opined. Often accused by the opposition of indulging in appeasement politics, Banerjee has been reaching out to influential minority leaders of the likes of Siddiqullah
Chowdhury of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and Toha Siddiqui, the peerzada of Furfura Sharif, a prominent shrine for Bengali Muslims. Muslims comprise 27 percent of the state's population. While Chowdhury has announced that his party would align with the Trinamool for the assembly polls, Banerjee got a further shot in the arm by inducting former state minister and one-time frontline Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah into the party fold. "Even as the Congress and the Left Front drag their feet on the alliance issue, Banerjee has been making the right moves in consolidating the support of minorities. Besides wooing prominent Muslim leaders and clerics, her bid to reach out to the likes of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has further strengthened her secular credentials," political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said. Amid the countrywide debate over growing intolerance, Banerjee also
scored some brownie points on the secular front by hosting Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali in the city. Despite vowing to never return to India after his concert was cancelled in Maharashtra following threats by the Shiv Sena last October, the legendary singer was elated and expressed gratitude to Banerjee after his performance in the city on January 12. Cultivating new allies in areas of the state where her party is comparatively weak, Banerjee has roped in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha ideologue and legislator Harka Bahadur Chhetri, who has broken ranks with his parent party and formed the Jana Andolan Party political platform. The Kalimpong MLA is all set to align with the Trinamool, which is also assured of support from eight other breakaway central committee members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). The GJM's split could stand the Trinamool in good stead in Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas of northern Bengal, even if the Left and the Congress succeed in forming an alliance.(Agencies)
Northeast's first 'smart village' along Indo-Bhutan border Kohima, Feb 14: The plant is maintained by the village development committee and villagers pay a nominal amount of Rs 120 per month for maintenance, Talukdar says. "Earlier, we were spending more than Rs 300 on medicines due to illness caused by waterborne diseases and so making a payment of only Rs 120 to lead a disease-free life was more than welcome," says Choudhury. Following the establishment of the water treat-
ment plant, the next step was to set up toilets as most households practised open defecation. "The target was to set up hundred toilets within a year and the task was not easy, particularly during the monsoon but we did manage to complete it at a cost of Rs 16,000 each," Project Coordinator Surajit Dutta says. The highlight of the project was, however, providing solar power to homes as well as for street lightning, literally bringing a ray of light for
the villagers, he says. Solar Home kits were provided to hundred households and the Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited helped with technical assistance is setting up these panels. The Solar Home kits consist of a battery, solar panel, transformer, three LED lights and one fan. Another key area which the project has emphasised on is skill development with several training programmes conducted for weaving,
cutting and tailoring along with basic computer courses where ideas were discussed with trainees to maximise their skills and turn it into revenue streams, Dutta says. A yarn bank has also been set up in the village which will be managed by the Village Women Committee with an initial deposit of 40 kg of yarn made by NTF while subsequently the Committee will run the bank on a sustainable model. A warping drum has also been provided to the com-
mittee as the weavers had to travel earlier to distance places to get their yarn warped. Several health camps were conducted during the year with free cataract operations being also carried out along with legal and financial awareness camps. "We have completed within a year what we had dreamt of and turned Barsimaluguri into a smart village with its residents committed to bring in more improvement in the future," Talukdar adds.(Agencies)
Now aptitude test for disbanded ANVC cadres Shillong, Feb 14: With the State government set to release the one time financial package of Rs 1.5 lakh each to ANVC and ANVC-B cadres directly to their bank accounts, the State government will engage counsellors to understand their aptitude for various jobs. "The counsellors to be appointed by the Social Welfare department are
meant to provide assistance to the disbanded members of the militant groups to guide them on their preference of jobs," a Home department official said. The government has already asked the cadres to provide bank account numbers for disbursement of money. According to the official, the money to be disbursed to the accounts
of the cadres will have to be purely used for the ventures they will undertake in due course of time as per the guidance of the State government. The plan of the State government is to ensure viable livelihood opportunities and skill development for the cadres so that they can sustain themselves. According to the government, there are sev-
eral schemes with the State government which can fulfill the aspirations of the cadres who desire to carry out productive work. As far as the pending monthly stipend of Rs 3,500 per cadre is concerned, the amount will be used for the boarding expenditure of the cadres when the counselling takes place. The official added that
the cadres cannot waste the money which be deposited in their accounts as there will be proper monitoring of the jobs and tasks they undertake with the help of the government. Initially, the State government will have to disburse the financial package worth crores of rupees which will be subsequently reimbursed by the Centre.(Agencies)
While two commissions of inquiry had concluded that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945, a third probe panel, headed by Justice MK Mukherjee, had contested it and suggested that Bose was alive after that.(Agencies)
Shimla, Feb. 14: Mercury dipped in Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, by 12 degrees after it received fresh bout of snow early on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, the snowfall continued in the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh since early morning. During the past 24 hours, the minimum temperature has dipped with the almost entire region recording sub-zero temperature. As cold wave conditions gripped the entire region, it has become hard for people to perform daily chores. People were seen lighting bonfires to keep themselves warm. According to the local weather department the cold conditions will continue for a couple of days. (ANI)
Inauguration of housing units deferred Shillong, Feb 14: The State government has postponed the date for inauguration of 160 units of the Nongmynsong housing complex to February 29. Sources on Saturday said the date for the inauguration has been changed since the minister in charge is unwell. The government had earlier fixed February 14 as the inauguration date as it wanted to present the housing units as a 'gift of love' to the people of the State on Valentine's Day. Following the inauguration, construction would begin for the remaining 90 units which would be set for completion by December, 2016. The project has gone through several ups and downs with Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL) initially assigned the work and later abandoning it. The State government reacted by terminating its agreement with HPL and tasking MUDA with the responsibility of completing the housing units under JNNURM in Nongmynsong on its own.(Agencies)
NPCC asks Nagaland govt to take austerity measure Kohima, Feb 14: The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed concern over the poor financial condition of the state and advised the government to take austerity measures. A NPCC statement issued last evening alleged that the state government was unableh to pay salaries, maintain PDS, ICDS, old age pension and other national flagship schemes among other deficiencies. Despite this, the legislators travelled all over the world at the cost of tax payers money, it said and asked the government to take austerity measures to stabilize the financial condition of the state.(Agencies)
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
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RSS defends govt., calls for condemning anti-India activities at JNU 'Visionless' AAP deserves New Delhi, Feb. 14: Expressing grave concern over the anti-India protests against 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya on Sunday said it was extremely unfortunate that some politicians were 'condoning' the incident instead of demanding strict action. "The Left-led demonstration at JNU campus in support of a convicted
terrorist with anti-India slogans on placards is a matter of grave concern. With the exchequer's money, the students are getting involved in antiIndia activity and even some teachers are supporting it," Vaidya told . The RSS ideologue's remark came hours after the Congress alleged that the government was hellbent on branding anyone against them as 'anti-national' and said that the entire JNU was being attacked instead of initiating action over a handful
Kejriwal presents oneyear report card, waives off pending water bills New Delhi, Feb. 14: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who completed one year in power today with the slogan ' pehla saal bemisaal', said that his government would waive off the pending water bills till November. "Water bills are in complete disarray. Pending water bills till November 30 will be waived off. Pending water bills exemption will be based on property tax category where A and B category would be exempted 25 percent of their water bills, C category would be exempted 50 percent, D category would be exempted 75 percent and E,F,G,H category would be totally exempted from their dues," Kejriwal said. Reiterating his government's commitment to the 'aam aadmi' of Delhi, Kejriwal said it is our responsibility to be accountable. Kejriwal also lauded the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for a commendable work. "The DJB witnessed a profit of Rs. 176 crore. We will
make Delhi the first city where tap water will be worth drinking," he added. Kejriwal further said that his government slashed electricity prices soon after coming to power. "We were hopeful that irregularities by discom companies will come into view after the CAG audit. We are hopeful to win this case in the SC and electricity prices will further come down after CAG audit," he added. Expressing his delight on completing one year in office, Kejriwal earlier said the bonding between the AAP and national capital is 'deep and everlasting'. "Last year, on this day, Delhi fell in love with AAP. This bonding is deep n everlasting," Kejriwal said in a tweet. The AAP formed the government on February 14, 2015, following the landmark victory in the Delhi Assembly polls, grabbing 67 of the total 70 seats. Kejriwal took as the Chief Minister exactly a year after he resigned after 49 days in power. (ANI)
Congress questions monoplisation of patriotism by BJP, RSS
Congress leader Manish Tewari New Delhi, Feb. 14: The Congress Party on Sunday questioned the patriotism of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS), saying that none of their prominent leaders gave their life for the country, fighting extremism or terrorism in the country since its independence. "Not A single Prominent Jan Sangh/RSS/BJP leader fell martyr, fighting terrorism/extremism in India since 47&yet claim monoply over patriotism?" Congress leader Manish Tewari said in a tweet. The development comes after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi yesterday accused the NDA government of "suppressing" students' voice as he visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with them, a day after the arrest of its students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.
Gandhi, who yesterday accused the Modi government of "bullying" the institution, in a scathing attack said "most anti-national are people, who are suppressing the voice of students in this institution". The president of JNU students union was arrested over an event at the JNU campus against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, sparking massive outrage among students and criticism from non-BJP parties which dubbed it as an "Emergency-like" situation. Invoking Adolf Hitler, Gandhi said that suppressing voice by the Nazi ruler left Germany in rubbles. "We do not have problem if RSS and BJP want to express their opinion. We just want to tell them if they will listen to us, they will be convinced by us... they are simply crushing voices," Gandhi said. Congress vice president's visit was opposed by members of ABVP, who waved black flags when he spoke. Taking note of it, he said, "People who showed black flags on my face, I feel proud that in my country they have the right to show black flags." (ANI)
voice. The fundamentalists, who occupy the highest seats in this government, want to use every opportunity available to shut JNU and convert it into a 'shishu mandir'," Congress leader Manish Tewari told.
Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya
of students over the Afzal Guru event in the campus. "The JNU incident once again demonstrates the
intrinsic fascism of the RSS, BJP and the ABVP. These people feel that the only voice in the public discourse should be their
Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi on Sunday dispelled rumour that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been asked to take over the JNU row probe. Bassi said that his men are
competent enough to investigate each and every case which they register. Reports earlier suggested that the Delhi Police top brass was keen on transferring the case to the Special Cell or the National Investigation Agency since "links between the JNU students and terrorist Afzal Guru" need to be probed. A status report on the JNU case has already been submitted to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. (ANI)
JNU protests had Hafiz Saeed's support, says Rajnath Singh Allahabad, Feb. 14: Reiterating that anti-national activities would not be tolerated nor the guilty spared, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhon Sunday said the anti-nationalprotests in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus had the backing of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed. "I also want to make it clear that the JNU incident has the support of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed. We should also under-
stand this reality that Hafiz Saeed has supported this incident and it is extremely unfortunate," he told the media here. Singh further said that his government would not pardon all those who have raised slogans against the nation's integrity. "I have given all the necessary directions to officials to punish the offenders and not to harass the innocents," he added. When asked to comment
on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's visit to varsity, Singh said that nobody should try and take a political mileage out of this unfortunate incident. "Whatever happened in the JNU is extremely unfortunate. I appeal to every organisation in the country to speak in one voice if they find any anti-national activity taking place in their surroundings," he added. The Home Minister told the CPI (M), CPI and JD
(U) members, who met him yesterday seeking the releasing of JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, that the court would decide whether further action should be taken against those students arrested. Kanhaiya was arrested on Friday on sedition charges over a protest organized in the JNU campus on February 9 against the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. (ANI)
'Help next generation evolve to an even better India': Vadra on JNU row New Delhi, Feb. 14: Asserting that the current state of unrest at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was a worrisome indication for the future of the youth and the country, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra on Sunday said that agitations will continue if the Centre loses focus on student's education. "Suicide and agitation will increase, if the simple focus is not on education to build their future, in this competitive world. We need peace and compassion in our society not hatred ?JNU? ?#?Rohith? !!," Vadra said in his Facebook post. "Mentors with their influence and leaders with authority to direct and change unconditionally,
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala have a responsibility to help the next generation evolve to an even better India," he added. Earlier , the Congress came out all guns blazing on the Centre, saying that the entire JNU was being attacked instead of initiating action over a handful of students over the Afzal Guru event in the campus. "The question is simple. Why is the Modi Govern-
ment hell-bent on locking up and demolishing a great institution which is an accumulation of liberal thought process and democracy? If 10, 20 people have raised antiIndia sentiments then Congress condemns it. But why brand the entire JNU as anti-national and convert it into a police chavni?" Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told . Meanwhile, Delhi Police
Commissioner B.S. Bassi today dispelled rumour that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been asked to take over the JNU row probe. Bassi said that his men are competent enough to investigate each and every case which they register. Bassi, however, said that the Delhi Police is duty bound to inform the NIA. Reports earlier suggested that the Delhi Police top brass was keen on transferring the case to the Special Cell or the National Investigation Agency since "links between the JNU students and terrorist Afzal Guru" need to be probed. A status report on the JNU case has already been submitted to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. (ANI)
'big zero': BJP
Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay New Delhi, Feb. 14: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday alleged the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government has no vision and said that they deserve a 'big zero' for failing to fulfill the promises made to the people. Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay, who was commenting on the AAP Government completing its one-year in office, said that they have 'deceived' the people of Delhi. "There is a big question mark on this government's motive and its plans. The people have witnessed their style of working in the last one year.There is no vision, no experience, no
planning or mechanism to deliver something. They have not fulfilled even one poll promise, which they had made," Upadhyay told here. "They are indulging in petty politics and the people of Delhi would not forgive them. The manner in which this government is functioning, we give them a 'big zero' from our end," he said. The AAP formed the government on February 14, 2015, following the landmark victory in theDelhi Assembly polls, grabbing 67 of the total 70 seats. Kejriwal took as the Chief Minister exactly a year after he resigned after 49 days in power. (ANI)
Modi to attend Swami Dayanand Saraswati Janmotsav
Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati
New Delhi, Feb. 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend an event to mark the 192nd birth anniversary of Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati being organised at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday. More than 50,000 students and teachers from 800 educational institutions run by the DAV Group and around 15,000 Arya Samaj mem-
bers are expected to attend the event. The event is being organised by the DAV Management Committee in association with Arya Pradeshik Pratinidhi Sabha and Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Haryana, in an effort to acknowledge Swami Dayanand Saraswati's contribution in introducing the concept of spiritual and value-based education. (ANI)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar launches Acharya Abhinavagupta millennium year celebrations New Delhi, Feb.14: Spiritual guru and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar launched the millennium year celebrations of Acharya Abhinavagupta at the Vigyan Bhawan here this afternoon. The launch was done in the presence of Union Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Dr. Jitender Singh, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Haryana Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar and member of British Parliament Bob Blackman. Swami Parmatmanand Saraswati, the convenor of the Hindu Dharm Acharya Sabha, was also present on the occasion. The Jammu Kashmir Study Centre and Art of Living Foundation, in collaboration with several other supporting organisations, are organising the millennium year celebrations of Acharya Abhinavagupta throughout India. For this purpose, a pan-India Millennium Ceremony Committee has been formed, which will be presided over by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation. Acharya Abhinavagupta from
Kashmir was one of the world's greatest philosophers and literary critics. He was also a mystic and aesthetician par excellence, who exercised a strong influence on the Indian culture. He is to South Asia what Plato or Aristotle were to western civilization. The versatility of this genius was such that his works are even today being researched in over fifty countries worldwide. Best known as the proponent of Kashmir Shaivism, Acharya Abhinavagupta also authored many books on tantra and theatre. His commentary on Bharat Muni's Natyashastra forms an essential part of the Indian discourse on poetry, drama, dance and music. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Navjivan Rastogi, former head of Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages at the Lucknow University, said Acharya Abhinavagupta was an encyclopedia himself. He studied at least 250 manuscripts of ancient books and Vedas and presented them in a simplified format to the common man. His 'Tantralok', for example, is a complete encyclopedia on tantra, Dr Rastogi said. Dr Rastogi has himself authored
many books on Acharya Abhinavagupta's works. A thousand years ago, Acharya Abhinavagupta was a revolutionary who created systems that were above caste, creed, sex and religion. First know yourself, only then you can know anyone else and become one with God, he taught. What is termed 'Kashmiriyat' - the Sufi tradition - also emanates from the teachings of Abhinavagupta, Dr. Rastogi said. He has given us so much, now the question is how much can we can give him, Dr Rastogi said. Swami Paramatmanandji said the Indian society has always been a knowledge seeker. "Knowledge and education have had a place of honour in India since ancient times. Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of wisdom that our ancestors left for us. We have to revive and retrieve the ancient wisdom of our forefathers, he said. Only then can we place Bharat Mata on the top of the world again," he added. Kiren Rijiju said the world looks to India to continue to enlighten the path of the global society. "I've seen many influential/ moneyed people across the
world come to India in search of true happiness," he said. We have given great messages to the world, but have now forgotten the path our great gurus showed to us. That is the reason of our problems today," he said. Dr. Jitender Singh said that Acharya Abhinavagupta's teaching are such a necessity for the contemporary society that by celebrating the millennium year in his memory, we're not doing him a favour but rather doing ourselves a favour. In the context of Kashmir, Dr. Jitender Singh said that Kashmir has recently come out of a long nightmare. After the Kashmiri Pandits were pushed out of the Valley, the people who were left behind have suffered a great loss too - which they will realize pretty soon. The value system in the Valley is taking a hit now because the youth used to imbibe values that emanated from the composite culture that is referred to as 'Kashmiriyat'. Bob Blackwill, member of the British Parliament, made an impassioned speech at the function. Speaking at the occasion, he
said "India is the place of happiness and I'm very happy to be here today". He thanked the million strong Indian diaspora for their immense contribution to the United Kingdom. He took the occasion to announce his support for a permanent seat for India in the United Nations. Sri Sri Ravishankar ji, while addressing the 2000-odd gathering at Vigyan Bhawan, said, "Indian thought has always been: Let knowledge come to us from all directions. Lord Shiva has been the connecting force throughout India since ancient times."
clude the study of Acharya Abhinavagupta. "Oriental thought was based on the principle - first you experience and then you believe. That is why science and spirituality never had a conflict in the orient," Sri Sri Ravishankar said. One of Abhinavagupta's writings is known as Pratyabhigya. Explaining the wonderful concept of 'pratyabhigya', he said the word stands for 'identifying' and not attaining. Knowledge has always had a very important place in the Indian society, he said.
"Kashmiri people came down south hundreds of years ago. The people of Coorg, in Karnataka, are originally from Kashmir. You will find Shiv temples from Kashmir to Kerala. So, if anything joins the people of India from Kashmir till Kanyakumari, it is the Shaiv sidhaant (the path shown by Lord Shiva)," he said. It is sad that Acharya Abhinavagupta who made this possible finds no mention in the school books today, he said, virtually demanding that school curriculum should in-
He appealed to the people at large to join the Acharya Abhinavagupta millennium celebrations so that his knowledge and teachings can reach every nook and corner of India. "Violence can be combated only by wisdom, and not by violence. This message must be propagated in this millennium year," he said. Haryana Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar also participated in the celebrations and promised support of his government and party in the year-long celebrations. (ANI)
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NEIGHBOURS
'No info on Indians fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq. Baghdad, Feb 14: Hundreds of militants from around the world, including from Pakistan, are fighting alongside the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq, according to top military commanders of the war-torn Arab country who said they had no information of Indians being among them. "Militants from several countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and central Asia are fighting in Iraq," said Sheikh Meesam Zaidi, a senior commander of Al-Abbas Brigade, which is part of para-military force
Hashd al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces. When asked about presence of Indians in ISIS ranks in Iraq, the commander whose forces are battling terrorists in areas like Salahuddin, Anbar, Baiji said that they have "no such information". Responding to a similar question, another top Hashd commander also that they have no knowledge of presence of Indians on Iraqi soil. "We have no information about their (Indians) presence in Iraq," Kareem al-Noree, advi-
Dentist with links to Al Qaeda, Safoora attackers arrested in Karachi: police Karachi, Feb 14: A dentist allegedly linked to militant group Al Qaeda as well as Safoora Goth accused Saad Aziz was arrested after an encounter early Sunday night, Preedy police station officials said. Preedy police booked suspect Dr Usman in two cases pertaining to attacking police and possession of illegal weapons. Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) head Raja Umer Khattab said Dr Usman was familiar with Saad Aziz, the main accused in the Safoora Goth massacre, but played no direct role in the attack.
Khattab said Dr Usman is an Al Qaeda facilitator with links to Al Qaeda Punjab representatives Haris, who has been arrested, and Ali Rehman, who is still at large. At least 43 people were killed and 13 others wounded in a barbaric attack on members of the Ismaili community in Karachi's Safoora Goth area on May 14, 2015. Six gunmen entered a bus carrying 60 people and executed 43 passengers at close-range, according to Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam Haider Jamali.(Agencies)
Pak says rigging reports won't be tolerated in PTI's intra-party elections Lahore, Feb.14: Pakistan's Election Commission meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Tasneem Noorani, at Chairman's Secretariat has said that any irregularity or 'rigging' would not be tolerated in the intra-party elections. The Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf's Election Commission has taken an exception to irregularities in the party membership campaign, including fake membership by workers and leaders by using a number of mobile SIMs. Noorani said the commission was receiving complaints that people were using up to five SIMs on one identity card to create five votes, reports .
He added that the commission was preparing a list of voters and would verify independently in the light of the Election Commission of Pakistan's voters' list. He futher said the new members' verification would also be made through different ways, including direct calls andthose numbers found switched off continuously would be blocked. Noorani said the commission had decided that those found guilty of making fake members would facing punishments, including ineligibility to contest the intra-party election, refusal of party ticket for elections or termination of party membership. (ANI)
Bangladesh an 'unflinching proponent' of Palestinian just causes: Mahmoud Abbas Dhaka, Feb. 14: Expressing his gratitude to Bangladesh for their continued support, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called Dhaka an 'unflinching proponent' of just causes in his nation. The Palestinian President said this during a short stopover at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on his way to Japan. Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Mahmood Aliwelcomed him at the airport, reports. President Abbas briefed the Foreign Minister on the updates of the Israeli
atrocities on the Palestinian people as well as the longstanding impasse on the peace process. Abbas also expressed sincere thanks for offering opportunities of higher studies for a good number of students as well as training of armed force members of Palestine in Bangladesh. The Foreign Minister extended an invitation to the Palestinian President and asked him to pay a bilateral visit to Bangladesh to witness the enormous goodwill of the people of the two countries. (ANI)
Hundreds of militants from around the world, including from Pakistan, are fighting alongside the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq
sor to Hashd's Badr Bridge chief Hadi alAmri, told a group of visiting Indian journalists.
According to earlier media reports, some Indians were killed in Syria fighting alongside the ISIS.
However, there was no report of Indians joining the battle in Iraq. Zaidi, whose brigade has lost 50 personnel, said that it was impossible for one country to stop the ISIS and the world should unite to fight against the dreaded terrorist group. "ISIS is a brutal terrorist group and it's a threat to the world. We are not fighting (against them) just to save our country, we are fighting to save the world," Zaidi told reporters. Hashd al-Shaabi is a state-sponsored umbrella
organisation composed of several armed groups formed in 2014 to fight against the ISIS. Noree said ISIS has nothing to do with Islam and the outfit just wants to establish its control over the region. "They don't believe in Islam. They are opportunist who care only for their interests," he added. ISIS is an al-Qaeda splinter group which has captured a large part of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.(Agencies)
Zika outbreak: Colombian women told to delay pregnancy for two years Bogota, Feb. 14: The Colombian Government has called on women to delay pregnancy for six to eight months because of theZika virus outbreak. According to the Colombian National Institute of Health, the outbreak has affected 26,542 people and 5,013 pregnant women. The Zika virus is transmitted through sex and by mosquitoes in the daytime. It can survive in semen for more than 60 days after infection. It does not cause serious
complications in adults, but is suspected of leading to severe brain defects and microcephaly cases in newborn children. According to official statements, Colombia is believed to have up to 6,000 cases of the virus just in 2016. World researchers are still struggling to develop a vaccine or treatment as the Zika virus has run amuck. Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys
through a monitoring network of sylvatic yellow fever. It was subsequently identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) of Zika virus disease is not clear, but is likely to be a few days. The symptoms are similar to other arbovirus infections such
as dengue, and include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, and headache. These symptoms are usually mild and last for 2-7 days. Mosquitoes and their breeding sites pose a significant risk factor for Zika virus infection. Prevention and control relies on reducing mosquitoes through source reduction (removal and modification of breeding sites) and reducing contact between mosquitoes and people. (ANI)
Disappointed at India's reaction to F-16 deal: Pak Islamabad ,Feb 14: Pakistan on Sunday said it is "surprised and disappointed" at India's reaction over the US' decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, arguing that India is "the largest importer" of defence equipment and its arsenal stock is "much larger". Pakistan reiterated the Obama Administration's justification that the acquisition would enhance the country's precision strike capability to combat terrorism. "We are surprised and disappointed at the Indian Government's reaction. Their (India's) army and arsenal stock is much larger and they are the largest importer of defence equipment," the Foreign Office said in a
Verma to the South Block and during the 45-minute meeting told him about India's concerns over US military aid to Pakistan which New Delhi believes goes into anti-India activities.
F-16 fighter jets statement in response to media queries. "As regards F-16 sale, Pakistan and the United States closely cooperate in countering terrorism. US spokesperson clearly announced that the sale is to enhance precision strike capability," it added. Pakistan's reaction comes
a day after India summoned US Ambassador Richard Verma to convey its "displeasure and disappointment" over Obama Administration's decision to sell eight nuclear-capable F-16 fighter jets worth nearly $700 million to Pakistan. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned
According to sources, such military aids will embolden Pakistan. India on Saturday disagreed with the US rationale that such arms transfers help Pakistan in combating terrorism. "The record of the last many years in this regard speaks for itself," the Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement. The proposal is likely to face stiff resistance in the Republicancontrolled Congress. (Agencies)
Korea took 70% of workers' wages at joint economic zone Seoul, Feb 14: South Korea on Sunday defended its decision to abruptly pull out of an inter-Korean industrial zone, claiming 70 per cent of wages for North Korean workers were for years used to fund Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development. Seoul on Wednesday announced it would withdraw from the Kaesong industrial complex where South Korean firms operated factories that employed North Korean workers -to punish Pyongyang for its latest nuclear and missile tests staged in violation of UN resolutions. "Any foreign currency earned in North Korea is transferred to the Workers' Party, where the money is used to develop nuclear weapons or missiles, or to purchase
luxury goods," unification minister Hong YongPyo said in a televised interview. "About 70 per cent of the US dollars paid in wages are taken by the government, while the workers are only given tickets to buy food and other essential items, as well as some local currency," he said. The zone, which sits 10 kilometres north of the tense border, was officially shuttered Thursday after Pyongyang expelled all South Korean managers and placed the complex under military control. The shock shutdown of the complex -a major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation since its opening in 2004 -sharply escalated tensions and caused massive damage to the 124 Seoul firms operating there. Seoul firms over the years
Pak SC to hear Sharif family's petition against wealth tax
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Islamabad. Feb. 14: Pakistan Supreme Court will on February 18 take up the hearing of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif family's petitions against valuation of wealth tax on their shares in various companies. The two-judge bench, consisting of Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Faisal Arab will take up the petitions filed by Sharif. The petitioners maintained that for four years, their wealth tax was assessed disproportionate to the market value of their stocks. Malik Tariq Aziz, an advocate appearing on behalf of the Sharif family, as saying that he has been fighting this case for almost a decade. Members of the Sharif
family had challenged Rule 8 (2) (c) (1) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1963, in 2007, but the case was not taken up during the era of former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Aziz while describing the background of this case said that Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were directed by the Lahore tax commissioner to pay more than Rs. 10 million as wealth tax on the value of their business shares for financial years. The petition stated that the valuation of their shares in 15 industries belonging to the family and others was repugnant to the Wealth Tax Act because it was calculated in excess of their face value and the market price. (ANI)
Student's death sparks protest, Dhaka- Chittagong highway blocked
Traffic movement on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway was at a standstill since morning Dhaka, Feb.14 : Traffic movement on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway was at a standstill since morning as hundreds of college students blocked the highway in Daudkandi upazila of Comilla protesting against the death of a fellow colleague in a road crash. Mahmuda Akhter, 17, a class XI student of Hasanpur Shahid Nazrul Government Degree College, died on the spot as she was
crushed under a truck in front of the college on Saturday, said Abdul Awal, officer-in-charge of Daudkandi Highway Police Station. Around a 12-kilometre tailback has been created on both sides of the highway due to the blockade, reports The Daily Star. The protesting students were demanding the arrest and punishment of the truck driver, who fled the scene immediately after the crash. (ANI)
Ten insurgents killed in Balochistan by paramilitary troops
South Korea on Sunday defended its decision to abruptly pull out of an inter-Korean industrial zone
have paid wages worth $560 million -including $120 million over last year alone -to the North's state authorities supervising 53,000 workers at the complex. Seoul was aware of the problem of wages being siphoned off but had maintained the project re-
gardless due to its status as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, Hong said. "But the project continued to siphon off so much money (to the North's regime) and the concerns we had about the complex remained unsolved," he added.(Agencies)
Quetta, Feb.14: At least ten insurgents have been killed and 12 others arrested in an operation byparamilitary troops in Balochistan. The incident occurred in Sangan area of Kahlu district, some 180 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital Quetta, reports. The frontier corps had launched an operation against insurgents of the Baloch Liberation Army in Sangan area since Friday and was gradually closed on Saturday
evening, killing 10 insurgents and destroying three training camps. The Provincial Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said 12 insurgents were also arrested, adding that a local leader of the Baloch Liberation Army was among the dead. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least developed and most sparsely populated province, has been wrecked for decades by a insurgency that was revived in 2004. (ANI)
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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
Unexplained Deaths: 'Fake Encounters' in Manipur
Campus Politics JNU Student Arrest
source: university.careers360 Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest evoked strong reactions from JNU students and teachers, past and present, and Opposition parties even as the RSS's students wing ABVP "thanked" police for arresting the "anti-nationals". The arrest of Kumar, a member of the CPI's students wing AISF, was made a day after BJP MP from East Delhi, Maheish Girri, registered a complaint with police. The controversy began earlier this week when a few students pasted posters across campus inviting people to gather for a protest march against the "judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhatt" and in solidarity with the "struggle of Kashmiri people for their democratic right to self determination". Members of the BJP-backed student body, ABVP, objected to the event and wrote to the Vice Chancellor that such activities should not take place on the campus of an educational institution. This prompted the university administration to order that the march be cancelled as they "feared" that it might "disrupt" peace on campus. Still, the organisers went ahead with the event but instead of a protest they held a cultural programme, and an art and photo exhibition on the issue of Afzal
Guru's hanging. As the storm at the Jawaharlal Nehru University intensified overnight with protesters locking horns with the government over the arrest of students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges, some voices have called for an end to the subversive politics of "fringe elements" while cautioning that 'ending of politics in campuses' is not practicable or even a desirable solution. Also as per reports it reveals that till 2008 when the OBC reservation was implemented, JNU had a system where cities were categorised according to their development. Students from backward districts used to enjoy some leniency, making their number considerably large. However, with the implementation of OBC quota, the earlier system was put to an end. This led to increasing number of students from urban centres like Delhi University getting entry. These students had wider exposure and were usually uninterested in politics. They were not easily swayed and indoctrinated. And since then left parties have felt threatened. And with the BJP coming to power at Centre and the ABVP asserting itself with more vigour and winning a seat in central panel (joint secretary of JNU is from ABVP) after the gap of some 14 years, left parties had more reasons to worry. Left politics still holds its ground. The charm of reformative politics that challenges status quo and talks of equality and as a result attracts a number of young students from places like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which suffer from deep socio-cultural fissures.
Bihar killings 'Jungle raj' returns in Bihar BJP's Bihar vice-president and prominent Bhojpur leader Visheshwar Ojha, 53, was shot dead at Sonbarsha village in Ara. The incident took place when Ojha had just entered his car after meeting a relative at a marketplace when the assailants, who had their faces covered, fired at him. More than a dozen bullets from sophisticated weapons were fired at Ojha. He died on his way to the hospital. Ojha had unsuccessfully contested the 2015 Bihar assembly polls against RJD nominee and former MP Shivanand Tiwari's son Rahul Tiwari from Shahpur constituency. Many are calling it a "political killing", moreover the BJP threatened to launch statewide protests if Ojha's killers were not arrested within 72 hours. It seems that 'jungle raj' had returned to Bihar as political killings had increased under the Grand Alliance government. Many people also feels that it might be a case of personal rivalry. Sources also said Ojha had a known rivalry with one Shivajit Mishra, who reportedly campaigned for the RJD. Those who knew him said Ojha used to have an image of a "muscleman" and had faced more than a dozen criminal cases. But they added that this was more than a decade ago, and he had been acquitted in most cases. He now aspired to become a legislator and was given a BJP ticket in place of siting MLA Munni Devi. Now can (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar tell us if jungle raj has returned to Bihar? Have we not come to the Bihar of 1990? Enemy of Nitish are of the strong opinion that he should stop the drama of crime review through video conferencing. Nothing has changed on the ground. Moreover, earlier in the same day, another BJP leader identified as Kedar Singh was killed in Chhapra district. Police have arrested two people in connection with the case. Earlier this month, LJP leader Brijnathi Singh was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Patna. Again one anotherBJP worker Kedarnath Singh was shot dead in Taraiyya area of Saran district. It also seems that the ongoing spate of killings in Bihar since the start of the month claimed a high-profile victims. The chronological killings of many elite class people of Bihar brings in a reminder when earlier in 2011 BJP MLA Rajkishore Keshri was killed by some unknown miscreants. The killing of many high profile politicians in a state like Bihar has once again proved that terror and 'gundaraj' still prevails in this state of India. It seems no amount of development made by 'Modi Magic' can wipe away the terror from Bihar and make it a peaceful state.
An extraordinary admission highlights a serious problem. Thounaojam Herojit Singh National Crime Records - a police officer from Bureau (NCRB), there Manipur - made an ex- were no encounter deaths traordinary statement to the in India in 2014 and only media recently. He said that two in 2013. In a judgment in 2009 he was ordered by on this issue - the 2014 his superiors to kill Sanjit PUCL v State of Meitei, an unarmed man Maharashtra case - even suspected of being a "mili- the Supreme Court raised tant." Meitei and a pregnant doubts about the accuracy woman, Thokchom of the NCRB figures. A peRabina, were tition curSanhita Ambast r e n t l y both killed in the incident, pending one of many such unlaw- in the Supreme Court alful killings in Manipur over leges that over 1500 civilthe past decades. ians have been extrajudiThese killings provoked cially killed in Manipur great outrage at the time since 1979. And these are they happened, and are just the cases that were eicurrently the subject of a ther reported or docuformal investigation. How- mented. The full number ever, Herojit Singh's state- remains unknown. ments point to a much Under international law, the larger problem: the lack of use of force must be necaccountability for the large essary and proportionate, numbers of "fake encoun- and lethal force may only ter" deaths in Manipur. be used where strictly unThe nomenclature of "fake avoidable in order to proencounters" serves to mask tect life. It is plausible that what these deaths really some of these deaths may are: extra-judicial killings by have been a result of a lawsecurity forces - police, ful and proportionate use paramilitary and the army, of force, but it is clear that in the name of "national se- many were unlawful. In curity," resulting in the any event, the lack of efdeaths of people suspected fective and impartial invesof being "militants," "ter- tigations or prosecutions rorists," other criminal of- means that there is no way fenders, or for political or to know. Civil society other reasons. groups and human rights Statistics regarding num- defenders have called for bers of such killings are accountability. The Indian hard to come by. The In- Supreme Court has repeatdian Ministry of Home Af- edly emphasized the need fairs claims in its most re- to investigate what it called cent report on Northeast "unexplained deaths," and India that there sere 3867 reinforced guidelines that incidents in Manipur be- should be followed by the tween 2007 and 2015, in police and other agencies which 1205 "extremists" involved in investigating and 486 "civilians" were these deaths. killed. According to the In Manipur, however,
these guidelines are rarely followed in practice. In several of the cases that form part of the petition pending before the Supreme Court, for example, no First Information Reports (the start of an investigation) were filed. In cases where investigations are conducted, they are either inadequate or the final reports are kept confidential. For example, the report of the judicial enquiry into the alleged rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama by the Assam Rifles was completed in 2004 but was only made public in 2014. Manipur has been the site of an armed insurgency for decades, and has witnessed deaths, injuries and threats resulting from the often unlawful conduct of armed groups. The existence of the large numbers of "fake encounters" in Manipur is rooted in the implicit belief amongst state officials that such action is necessary to deal with the insurgency. This contributes to the lack of accountability, but the blame also lies with the existing legal structure. For one thing, India's victim and witness protection system is not adequately developed. Existing provisions are piecemeal and rely heavily on police to perform the protection function. This is problematic where the suspected perpetrators themselves are the police. Where the investigation proceeds and there is enough material to prosecute, the law presents
Indian police via Pete Burana / Shutterstock another roadblock. Under several provisions of Indian law, governmental sanction or permission is required before a case can even be registered against security forces. For example, section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act requires permission from the state or central government before any prosecution can be instituted against armed forces personnel acting under the act. Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure contains an equivalent provision with respect to the police. In a best-case scenario, waiting for government permission to prosecute delays the trial. In a worst-case scenario - one that is far more common this permission never arrives. Laws like the Disturbed Areas Act and
Armed Forces Special Powers Act entrench this culture of impunity. "Fake encounters" by their very nature violate the right to life, prohibitions against torture and other ill-treatment, and, where they serve as a substitute for arrest and prosecution, the right to fair trial. The lack of any investigation or prosecution of those responsible breaches the principle of accountability and frustrates the rights of victims to an effective remedy. In his 2012 report on India, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions noted the widespread use of "fake encounters" by security forces and made a series of recommendations to the government. His 2015 follow-up report noted that not one recommendation
was fully implemented. India has an obligation under international human rights law, its Constitution, and the directions of the Supreme Court to end this practice and, at the very least, thoroughly and impartially investigate such cases and prosecute those responsible. The nature of Herojit Singh's statements as well as media interest in the cases he was a part of has resulted in the central government committing to take action on this case. However, this case is the tip of the iceberg insofar as extrajudicial executions in Manipur are concerned. The Indian government must put a stop to the impunity of "fake encounters" and provide accountability for extrajudicial killings. Courtesy: The diplomat
Clear this policy confusion Subir Bhaumik The policy confusion over how to handle Pakistan and Nepal is beginning to impact on India's image in the neighborhood. For a country that aspires to be on the global high table ( UN Security Council) , the inconsistency and flipflop on how we handle our neighborhood is doing huge damage. We need to get over this policy confusion. If this policy confusion persists over China and Myanmar as well, as it seems to be case now, this will have serious implications for Northeast. Just after the attack on Pathankot, I had advocated a three pronged strategy to handle Pakistan I had said it was important to keep the talks going with Nawaz Sharif and develop closer interaction with civil society, trade chambers, education and cultural personalities and facilitate student exchanges to undermine the army's demonisation of India. The second front of action was to bring huge pressure on the US to push Pak army -ISI to stop using terrorists against India .The third front was to revice our
capability for striking back with non-state actors and fight proxy war with proxy war - back to former RAW chief A K Verma's line of 'three blasts in Karachi for one blast in Amritsar or Srinagar'. It now seems NSA Ajit Doval has worked extensively on the second - pres-
, Headley said 26/11 attacks were launched with Jamaatud-Dawa Hafiz Saeed's approval. He said attacks were executed with the help of ISI and the money was given for recce. He said in his confessions, apart from Mumbai , he had recced residence of the Vice President, India Gate and CBI of-
NSA Ajit Doval. Headley is the first one to depose before Indian court from foreign soil. Sources said Headley had initially refused to confess and after which Doval met US officials four months ago. According to the sources Doval put pressure on US to make Headley turn approver.
Source: .kashmirmonitor. surize US to not only push Pakistan on the terror issue but also get David Headley to cough up. A day before 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks convict David Coleman Headley will depose in court, his confession has nailed Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence and Army's role in the attacks. On the basis of National Investigation Agency's interrogation report available with this writer
fice in the national capital. Headley further said that ISI's major Iqbal and Sameer Ali were my handlers. He also said that LeT's Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's handler was ISI brigadier Rivaz and added that ISI chief Shuja Pasha visited Lakhvi after his arrest, post-26/11 terror attacks. It was a major major success for India in 26/11 case after Headley turned approver through efforts of
The sources said that Headley's confession will help India isolate Pakistan completely. But we need a proper strategy to make best use. All this comes just a few days after US President Barack Obama sent a strong message out to Pakistan on terrorist groups operating from its soil and lauded India's efforts to reach out to its neighbour.
He had said, "Pakistan should de-legitimise, disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks on its soil. Both Modi and Sharif are advancing a dialogue on how to confront violent extremism and terrorism across the region. India can be an anchor of stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region." Headley is currently serving 35 years in an American prison after being convicted of being involved in the planning and execution of the Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008 in which 166 persons were killed. My latest book ' Agartala Doctrine' advocates appropriate response in the neighborhood - so if Pakistan behaves , like Bangladesh has under Sheikh Hasina, we must walk the extra mile to befriend them, but if it resorts to Mumbai or Pathankot type attacks, it is time we hit back at military targets inside Pakistan. 'Agartala Doctrine' is based on appropriate response , neither overkill nor complacency . It is opposed to both the American Monroe Doctrine of neighborhood dominance nor the Gujral doctrine of unilateral magnanimity. It has been developed on the basis of Tripura's long
Vision of a Chief - Minister
Source:wikimedia
Sir, Our Chief - Minister in a bid to root deeply his passion in the mundane opulence by his effort to cling to power despite ageing, appears to go all out to gain power yet again for the successive fourth-time. Meanwhile, he brought his son to the politics toeing the line of the Gandhi family. In a bid to strengthen his claim for power, he projects only the bright sides of his achievement during the last 15 year tenure. Now, it is for the people to decide whether his nonachievements outnumber those of the bright ones. It pains us to note that a rat race is on among certain departments - agriculture, rural development, forest, home to name a few as to which can overtake others in corruption. If to-day, a scam is unveiled in a department, tomorrow a scam of a bigger dimension engulfs the other. The latest we may add the one that happens in
the agriculture department in the distribution of the 'Rhino power-tiller to the socalled beneficiaries of the schedule caste who themselves are in the dark about the distribution as telecast in an electronic news channel. Again, in 'Home' department Ms Jayashree Khersa, when she was S.P. in an Assam Police Battalion unlawfully made recovery the Prices of shoes and uniforms of the Jawans from their salary whereas crores of rupees had been sanctioned from the government. In the process, she embezzled amount of Rs. 1.71 crore. Instead of blowing his trumpet, it would do well for the CM to take steps to check corruption.
record of proactive action in the neighborhood . And much as it has space for reciprocating friendship ( a la Tripura's response to Hasina's overtures) by walking the extra mile , it also advocates strong covert action to neutralise security threats on lines of Tripura poilice's sustained transborder offensive against separatist bases in Bangladesh. between 20012004. Translated into action in Pakistan, that would mean we need to engage Nawaz Sharif's government and Pakistan civil society, business chambers , cultural and educational circles. But we need to hugely pressurise the US to get the Pakistan army to turn off the terror tap and finally to recreate India's covert action capabilities . Otherwise Rajnath's 'befitting reply ' to Pathankot will remnain a hollow threat , a poor oft-repeated cliche. Courtesy:nezine ( Subir Bhaumik is a veteran BBC journalist and author of three well acclaimed books on India's Northeast including the "Agartala Doctrine" that has just been published)
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Letters to the editor and articles should be sent to : The Eastern Today Chowkidingee, Near Sankardeva Hospital Mancotta Road, Dibrugarh786003 (Assam) Ph: 0373-2328944 Yours etc : Ashok Bordoloi Web Dibrugarh editor.easterntoday@gmail.com
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Fries, Roasts and Press: For Foodies and Beyond There isn't a great deal Cook shows in India have of entertainment that come of age: stock-still news channels provide us kitchen with decorated with when we specifi- walls and an apparently cally talk about Indian know-all chef cooking English news channels and reciting each step have given u n l e s s to some brand Abhirup Bhunia way s m a r t is so weak in providing news that it people obviously having has to bank upon the gos- culinary awareness exsip shows to earn the ploring places and food transient attention of a belonging there. We have fraction of viewers that a Kunal Vijayakar who they do. However, sym- in his show 'Foodie' pathetic to the pulse of broadcasted in Times the Indians who are ec- Now every Saturday, centrically keen on food, who takes us from each media house has Calicut to Calcutta, dug out at least 30 min- Kashmir to Singapore, utes from the 24 hours of Ahmedabad to Agra and incessant hysterical literally hunts down 'news breaking' that they popular food joints, sado in order to devote it vors them and in his gripentirely to food-shows. ping show sometimes Now that is something cooks for us, at times the media houses do not takes us through a joyride mind entirely counting on into the kitchen of food mainly on the weekends. hubs from the shoddy in-
teriors of the dhaba to the posh kitchens of star hotels like the Trident. Kunal took us to the kitchen of the man who started it all in India, the man who is internationally acclaimed and admired in India, Sanjeev Kapoor. Remember Khana Khazana which completed more than 600 episodes? The award winning show of CNNIBN, 'Secret Kitchen' hosted by Bikramjit Ray has lots to offer too. He has shown us the glimpse of Taj and the chefs there; he has cooked with them and treated our eyes. This man, Bikramjit has had the opportunity to meet up the who's who of the cooking world - he did not deprive us of the spot on Italian flavor for he got an Italian chef to
Sanjeev Kapoor, a leading Indian chef. Source: hoteliermiddleeast cook for him in an episode, he even took the pain of cooking in a Chinese kitchen in a section
English: Why So Funny A Language? Just about how many ty- are 'cool'! Don't believe punctuations every here pos does it take for you to me? Click on your and every there and the blow your top? It takes me neighbor's Orkut profile! spoil sports-the archaic just one. And a repeated Facebook apparently has words could dampen the typo is a 'killuh!'. Punctua- saved the little grace, what whole English learning extion and spelling errors are so ever now left, of the perience! I can understand errors. Grammatical typos book-banishing typo-ed the plight of the non-Enare frustrating. How many for life- youth of the na- glish speaking souls who times have you overheard tion. Ouch! learn it or say, have to learn people exclaim-"He can't Coming back to Grammar it for a better future. The even draft Nazis…Now tiny nuances and the aposa single Shraddha Sankhe this is an trophes sure can be desentence in interest- pressing. Worse, if you've English ing defini- already graduated school without a glitch!". Well, I tion of the term. Copy and still don't speak corhear it. And it takes no pasted directly from Urban rect English-you do not Einstein to conclude that Dictionary-and do not sue even earn sympathy! if E=MC² was put in me for this-it goes like That was about knowing quotes; it would have been thisEnglish. And when it is much correct and easy to "Someone who believes about speaking English-we understand. But who it's their duty to attempt to have some hilarious incicares? Apparently there are correct any grammar and/ dences everyday! The many Grammar Nazis in or spelling mistakes they most famous one that I the world and every little error is a blow below the belt. Alright, that's a liberal exaggeration and I assume you are getting my point. It is often considered very wise of 'readers' to condemn leading newspapers for their typos. And most take much pride in it. But what is condemnable, really, is that they recommend reading Wren and Martin to most. You see the connection? It is much like "I- like- nurseryrhymes-and-MichaelJackson-is-over-the-top." Yes, exactly like this! Readership-leave alone quality readership in most parts of the world is a questionable rhetoric. Most start reading as colImage for representational purpose only. lege students. I particularly take immense pleasure out of digging out Orkut pro- observe. Usually found can always quote is the slip files of most Indians who hanging around chat of the tongue. "The slip of the tongue is claim to put in 'Books? rooms hounding "n00bs" What birds are they?" kind Ahem…so you know it. not the fault of the mind, of information in their And you know it exactly and those who remark are "Books" section. Trust how embarrassing it could very unkind!" me, it is annoying-as a na- be for the one attacked for Rote learn this! The next tion of youth-we have this humble typo! time your sibling pokes fun people who condemn newspapers, take pride in English is a difficult lan- at your slippery mouth tisbanishing books and guage. With a thousands of sue-you got an answer-pat worse, they consider they words, pathetic sense of and ready!
Most ask me if there exists a concept called, "The slip of the finger"! Good lord, if you haven't yet got the joke, I'd rather wait till you get it! On a serious note, the slip of the finger is nothing but an innocent typo. This term was first used in a British talk show. And as you may already know, the British are impeccably humorous. And they never mind poking fun at themselves! Mamata Bannerjee has got a lesson to learn here-in addition to English speaking without gleeking! "There is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip!"-literally meaning plans don't always go the way one in-
Source: livemint tends. And all this in English! Who ever called English the funny language! How come Writers write but Fingers don't fing? And Grocers don't groce and Hammers don't ham? "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence? Think about it!
where some perfectly Chinese dishes were being prepared by his guest who was a Chinese chef.
of Shapawng Yawng. The festival is usually celebrated between 12 /13 to 15 February, though 14 February is often a common day of celebration. Singpho Ethno-Cultural Festival is 29 years old as of 2013. The festival is primarily organised to show the varied and rich culture, customs and exotic flora and fauna of vast Aruanchal Pradesh. At the same time it is also an effort to preserve, protect and promote the age old cultural heritage of this small tribal population. The festival is also an effort to deviate the substance addiction of
the youth to valuable efforts. Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi festival also fosters social relations and social communication which leads to unity among the people. Directly or indirectly the festival makes the Singpho community part of the mainstream population of India as northeast lacks in this area. In such lacking Singphos are themselves a small distinct group among the twenty and more tribal groups that inhabit Arunachal Pradesh. That is one thing but that doesn't make Singphos lesser children, Singphos are known for
their disciplined martial art skills, fierce independence and their lifestyle where nature plays an important role. The Singpho Tribes occupies the banks of Teang and Nao Dehing rivers of Changlang District. A small community but spread abroad in countries likes China, Myanmar and Thailand. They represent a segment of the Burmese tribe Kachin and are called as such. In china they are known as Jingpo. The community has a rich cultural heritage and the festival can become an international festival pro-
brings us lip smacking delights from everywhere. He gets us hands-on information from all the posh restaurants, eateries, cafés and inns. Recipient of handsome responses from the readers, 'Rood Food' is the king when it comes to cooking in print! Graffiti, a Sunday supplement of The Telegraph also allocates a page or two for food! The Sanjeev Kapoors and the Rakesh Sethis have shown the way and the present day celebrity chefs/cook show presenters tend to tread the path, but only after they added some flavor to and garnished the path just like they do on top of some paneer or prawn! Now that's mouthwatering for sure!
Book Review: The Ivory Throne- Chronicles of the House of Travancore Manu S. Pillai restores Sethu Lakshmi Bayi to her rightful place in history in this brilliant debut remarkable for its impeccable research and easy writing, says Jiby J. Kattakayam Book: The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore Author: Manu S. Pillai Publishers: Harper Collins Pages: 694 Rs: 699 History written by winners and men have rarely done justice to the contributions of women, even those women who were born high enough to occupy positions of supreme power. The story of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, themaharani regent of the southern princely state of Travancore, between 1924 and 1931, fits this description on both counts. During her reign, attempts were made to portray her husband, or in royal parlance, her consort, Rama Varma, as the power behind the throne. The coterie around her successor and nephew, Sri Chitra Thirunal, quickly and clinically marginalised the queen and her husband's influence in Travancore. So effective was the purge that few memorials can be found of this pathbreaking queen in Kerala even as schools, colleges, hospitals and cultural institutions honour the memory of
Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi is an annual festival of Singpho tribe held from 12th to 15th Feb of Arunachal Pradesh. Shapawng Yawng festival is also the most important dance festival of Singpho (Jinghpaw) community. Also known as Manau Poi, it is the national festival of the Kachins, a term for Singphos residing in Myanmar. Shapawng Yawng is the forefather of the Singphos. The word 'Poi' means 'Festival' and 'Manau' means 'Dance', thus Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi stands for Dance Festival in honour
We do not dare to forget Padma Lakshmi, when cooking and Indians come together. She has
hosted cook shows based on India that were broadcasted in Nat Geo, although she is best known for her stint as a host in the renowned cooking reality show Top Chef for which she won an Emmy nomination too! Whether its Greg Wallace, the writer for Good Food and Olive Magazine or Padma, the cookbook authoress, we cannot ignore our very own Vir Sanghvi for his popular, in style column called 'Rude Food' in Brunch, that appears every Sunday with Hindustan Times, as a glossy thin magazine. Vir has anecdotes for his readers from every corner of the world: from red wines to rabris, from pizzas to pakoras, from Chinese to Continental, from Indian to Italian, he
vided the youth take keen interest in it along with the involvement of the elite and the elder group. The underlying message of the festival in this way inspires the development of the society and the state. Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi History Singphos believe themselves to be the descendents of Shapawng Yawng who was first born on this earth. He called himself as Singpho. Shapawng Yawng's son, Tingli Yawang wanted to get the blessings of father and the Mathum Matha, the creator of the world. So he organised the first
Chitra Thirunal to this day. In a brilliant debut, Manu S. Pillai has painstakingly pieced a forgotten but immensely significant "interregnum" when Sethu Lakshmi Bayi held court for the then child king, Sri Chitra Thirunal. Pillai restores the queen - who took charge of Travancore at a critical period and successfully steered her family and kingdom through a period of rapid social and political changes that left many other royals floundering to her rightful place in history. He has unearthed a treasure trove of documents from the India Office Archives at the British Library, which, as he concludes, allows for a more dispassionate analysis of the regency as compared to local accounts, through the dispatches of a long line of British residents posted in Travancore. In the first half of the 20th century, Travancore was a battleground of contesting communal interests. The Nairs had wrested for themselves a significant share of government jobs by displacing the Brahmins, but were now resisting a similar attempt by Syrian Christians, Ezhavas and Muslims for upward mobility and an equitable share in the pie. In a significant departure from her predecessors and her successor, Lakshmi Bayi departed from the practice of pitting community against Manau poi as praising of Gods (Bhikan Gundan Poi). Later, the festival came to be known as Shapawang Yawng Manau Poi in the memory of their ancestor Shapawng Tawng. Traditionally, Manau dance originated from the birds while they were feasting. The dance was initiated by the human beings under the leadership of Ma Den Yau. In this festival, ethnic dance was performed to the rhythm of the drumbeats traditionally known as 'Gongs' and 'Thongs'. The festival was solemnized for the first time in Miao, Arunachal Pradesh in 1985. Since then it has been ceremonised on annual basis by the Singphos of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh which is sup-
Source: livemint community, and took a position that favoured equal opportunity for all. This was a landmark progressive measure, but it earned her the enmity of the upper-caste Nair community of the day. Though the focus is on Lakshmi Bayi and the tumultuous years of the regency, the book opens with a wide but colourful sweep of Kerala history. Pillai delves into the arrival of the Portuguese, the decline of the royal families of Calicut and Cochin, the rise of Travancore and the matrilineal tradition to help the lay reader understand the epochal changes that were afoot in Travancore in the early ported by Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi Festival Celebration Committee. The annual congregation strengthens and upholds their unique culture with the participation of the Jingphos residing in different parts of the world. Manau Poi Tradition and Events The festival opens with seeting up of Manau Shadungs which are multicoloured painted Totem Posts erected especially for the occasion. About eleven or eight wooden poles, each about twenty meters high, are erected at the centre of the stage While the post are erected Gidhing Gumdin Manau, the Dance of Unity is performed to proclaim praise,
20th century. Pillai's impeccable research shines through this work, thanks to the detailed footnotes, something you wouldn't find even in Kerala's celebrated historian A. Sreedhara Menon's bestseller A Survey of Kerala History. Pillai's scholarship and his felicity with words have combined to serve two important facets of history writing: making history more accessible and setting the record straight.The Ivory Throne is an exceptional work; the achievement falls into perspective when you realise that Pillai is just 25 years old. Courtesy:dnaindia unity and prosperity. At the end of the dance, Padeng Manau, the 'war winning dance starts', then Shut Manau, the 'celebration dance', Kumran Manau, the 'farewell dance' and so on are performed The Singphos prepare local cuisines, ethnic handlooms and display them on the venue of the festival Exhibition stalls are organised where the community's household items are displayed Rendering folk songs and display of Gongs also form the important activities of the festival Chief Minister, Minister for health and family welfare, MLAs, government officers and guests from other states and foreign attend the festival. Courtesy: targetstudy
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
BUSINESS
Anil Agarwal to invest in first made in India LCD Mumbai, Feb 14: NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal has announced that it will set up India's first LCD manufacturing facility, which will see an investment of $10 billion (about 68,000 crore) in five phases. Agarwal-led firm Twinstar Display Technologies will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra government to set up the facility. The pact will be inked as part of the Make in India week, which commenced in Mumbai. In July last year, the Agarwalled firm had announced an investment of Rs 40,000 crore to set up a LCD panel plant in the country, generating about 50,000 jobs. "Twinstar Display Technologies promoted
NPCI amplifies paid-up capital Mumbai, Feb 14: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has increased its paid-up capital from Rs.100 crore to Rs. 137 crore by broad-basing its stakeholder base of various public and private sector banks. "This is no longer a speculation. The paid-up capital has gone up from Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 137 crore by broad-basing our stakeholder base of our current set of private and public banks," NPCI Chairman M. Balachandran told on the sidelines of the Unified Payment Interface Hackathon organised by NPCI here. Mr.Balachandran also said the RuPay version of credit cards will be rolled either in June or July this year. "By June-July, we will roll out RuPay version of credit cards," he said. Earlier,Mr.Balachandran said the NPCI had an authorised paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crore, shared by 10 banks. (Agencies)
by Volcan Investments will sign a MoU with the Government of Maharashtra to set up India's first LCD Manufacturing Unit, known as Panel FAB. Under the agreement, Twinstar Display Technologies will invest $10 billion over five phases in setting up India's first and one of the world's largest LCD fab units," Twinstar Display said in a statement. Volcan Investments -- the parent company of Twinstar, Vedanta Group and Sterlite Technologies -- will sign an MoU with Government of Maharashtra during the 'Make in India' week, it added. "We have made good of the promise we made to the nation during the Digital India Summit in
MADE IN INDIA LCD ROLLS OUT
The LCD manufacturing facility will see an investment of $10 billion (about 68,000 crore) in five phases.
Agarwal-led firm Twinstar Display Technologies will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra government to set up the facility. The pact will be inked as part of the Make in India week, which commenced in Mumbai.
July 2015. We are happy to participate in two of the Government's key initiatives the 'Make in India' campaign as well as 'Net Zero Electronics import by 2020'," Agarwal, who is Chairman of the Vedanta Group, said. The firm will
try to make India a significant export hub of display units with the setting up of Panel FAB, he added. Panel FAB is expected to begin production by 2018, with full production over next 10 years subjected to external environment.
NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal has announced that it will set up India's first LCD manufacturing facility.
Upon completion, the project will provide direct and indirect employment to over 30,000 people, the firm said. It will also contribute 7-10% to Maharashtra s Industrial Gross Domestic Product. The project requires about 300 acres of land and two locations have been shortlisted so far, it added. India's is one of the fastest growing markets for LCD Panel based products such as TV, smartphones, tablets, desktops and Laptops. At present, all LCD panels are imported. By 2020, India's LCD Panel import bill is expected touch USD 10 Billion. Panel FAB will not only significantly reduce this, but also earn foreign exchange through exports. (Agencies)
Plastic cards likely to go out of fashion New Delhi, Feb 14: Very soon, carrying multiple plastic cards may be unnecessary when you go shopping as your mobile phone would be all you need to transact. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and software product thinktank ISpirt are ready for the technical launch of a new Unified Payment Interface, that would allow people to people or P2P transactions from any bank account to another, using a mobile phone app. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who is now an advisor to the NPCI, told that this inter-operable mobile payments system would revolutionise the way P2P payments are made. "Think about it as introducing the equivalent of the roaming facility for mobile phones, for your bank account," Mr Nilekani said, adding that eventually the system would allow mobile to mobile payments (without any bank accounts involved) and payments to an Aadhaar number or a virtual address if people are not comfortable sharing their bank account details. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) project was initiated last February by Reserve
Image for representational purpose. Source: thehindu
Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, and over the past year, the application program interface (API) has been developed that allows payments from any bank account to another. The technical launch of the interface, built on an open source framework, is in Bangalore. Over 500 representatives from startups, banks, and venture capital funds keen on exploring possibilities it throws up for new applications, are likely to attend. "The UPI is a new layer on top of the IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) that has been used by banks for electronic fund transfers for about five years. This will allow seamless, inter-bank connection using a mobile app that can be used to pay merchants as well as
make other 'proximity payments' on an offline basis," said Mr Nilekani, who is the mastermind behind Aadhaar and was the first chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. "There is a very simple API that would provide for both push and pull payments. So I can send money to you or you can send me a request to pay, as merchants may do if I buy something from them. I can approve the request on my phone," Mr Nilekani explained. "This is a big leap from the old system for credentials, where you give your card to the merchant and there is a security risk. In this model, everything happens through your own phone, your credentials are established and pay-
ment is approved," he said, adding that many new phones come with biometric iris or fingerprint scanners so Aadhaar authentication is possible on these devices. "A billion people can use this, it's completely open so it is critical for India's digital independence. We saw in the net neutrality debate that increasingly, you will end up with large players becoming gatekeepers. With an open stack, even a two-person startup in a garage can create a payment product as good as Apple Pay," he stressed. Mr Nilekani expects a billion people to have Aadhaar numbers by this March or April (from 970 million as of now) and said the entry of 21 new banks and the surge in smart phones and bank accounts offers the potential to build all sorts of apps. "The UPI has a level playing field with no gatekeepers. We can use it to fundamentally change the way we do business or improve any government service or process," adding that the UPI could do to P2P transactions what direct benefits transfer has done for government to people transactions. (Agencies)
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Air India Express to start flights to Ras al-Khaimah International Airport ANI Ras al Khaimah, Feb 14: Ras al-Khaimah International Airport has announced that Air India Express, India's leading low cost carrier, will start flights to the northern UAE emirate from March this year. Air India Express will start with four flights per week to Kozhikode (Calicut), starting on March 28, and is looking to expand to a daily service in near future to cater to the growing Indian expatriate community in the Northern Emirates. The WAM news agency quoted Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Airport and Department of Civil Aviation, as saying, "I am delighted to welcome Air India Express to Ras al-Khaimah. There was much need for this connectivity, but we also believe that this route may require more than a daily frequency to satisfy the growing demand. We would therefore urge the authorities to consider the needs of the passengers and in-
Air India Flights. Source: media.newindianexpress crease seat allocations for high demand sectors." He assured Air India Express of full support from RAK Airport. Ras alKhaimah International's CEO, Mohammed Qazi, said, "India has strong ties with Ras al-Khaimah for the business and leisure markets, going both ways. We are confident that the route will be a great success, as the market already exists and is growing. We hope to see Air India Express grow its footprint in the Northern Emirates, both in terms of frequencies and routes. As well as passengers originating in Ras al-Khaimah, the Airport is easily accessible
from Fujairah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Sharjah, and with quick passenger processing, efficient aircraft turnaround, no slot restriction and free car parking, we are the ideal location for low cost airlines to operate from." Ras alKhaimah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. Its name could be taken to mean "Top of the tent" or alternatively "headland of the small hut". It has become a popular base for Indian business with over 6000 companies availing themselves of the emirate's free zones and other operating formats. (ANI)
3 assembly units in Africa to be set up by Ashok Leyland Chennai, Feb 14: Ashok Leyland, second largest truckmaker in the country, is in the process of establishing its assembly units in Africa, South America and South East Asia over the next three to five years, Gopal Mahadevan, Chief Financial Officer, said. "We are looking to set up 2-3 assembly sites in Africa. We are devising East African and West Africa strategies and we have short listed Kenya as a possible market for setting up our first assembly unit," Mr. Mahadevan said. The company expects to invest up to Rs.30 crore in each assembly unit. The company is scouting for a local partner to set up the assembly operations. Cheap labour, tax benefits and savings on logistics cost are primary
drivers for establishing the local assembly units. The local units are likely to assemble buses initially and will start assembling trucks later. The company has been securing strong orders for buses from African nations such as Senegal, Zimbabwe etc. Presently, most of the African markets are dominated by Chinese players. The Hinduja flagship company is confident of maintaining edge over Chinese players with its new truck series and local units. Apart from Africa, Ashok Leyland is setting its eyes on South East Asia and South American markets. The three regions are expected to boost its export volumes over the next 35 years and the company expects the share of exports in revenues to grow
to 25-30 per cent from about 10 per cent now. "The application areas and customer needs in Africa and South America are very similar to India," he added.Meanwhile, in India the company continues to gain market share in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle market segment. It has improved its overall market share to 30.1 per cent in Q3 of this fiscal from 26.7 per cent from a year-ago period. While it claimed to have gained market share in all regions, it continues to dominate the southern market with more than 50 per cent share. In trucks, it has gained 2.8 per cent share to 28.1 per cent, while in buses, the company has improved its share to 47.3 per cent from 37.5 per cent. (Agencies)
Sweden's Saab, Kalyani Innovative Indian Nippon Paint aims to expand join hands to make air ideas to be rewarded in southern market defence systems by Infosys Mumbai, Feb 14: Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, is set to ink a pact with Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL), to jointly manufacture air defence systems. The joint venture between Saab and KSSL, the defence arm of the Kalyani Group, will make and deliver air defence systems to the Indian customers, according to a company statement. The venture will make subsystems and components for shortrange surface-to-air missile system and very shortrange air defence systems. "I am glad to announce our contribution to Make in India through our agreement with KSSL and the Kalyani Group to establish a joint venture company in India for the Air Defence Programmes. The JV is already under preparation within both companies, and will be ready to launch soon," said Gorgen Johansson, head of Saab
AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM TO BE BENEFITTED Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, is set to ink a pact with Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd to jointly manufacture air defence systems The joint venture between Saab and KSSL, the defence arm of the Kalyani Group, will make and deliver air defence systems to the Indian customers The venture will make subsystems and components for shortrange surface-to-air missile system and very short-range air defence systems. The JV is already under preparation within both companies, and will be ready to launch soon.
Business Area Dynamics. Orders of missile parts have already been issued to KSSL and production-readiness reviews have started. Saab and KSSL are already planning for the technology transfer for different packages within the programme. "The joint venture company will combine Saab's knowledge and experience as a developer and supplier of high-technology radar and missile systems, with the engineering excellence and manufacturing capabilities of the Kalyani Group. The joint venture will create a global supplier in the area of ground-based air defence systems based in India," said Amit Kalyani, Executive Director at Kalyani Group. KSSL, a 100 per cent unit of Bharat Forge Ltd., is a part of the Kalyani Group, a conglomerate engaged in forgings for automotive and non-automotive sectors, speciality steels and infrastructure. (Agencies)
Caption: Image for representational purpose. Source: pbs.twimg New Delhi, Feb 14: Infosys, India's second biggest software exporter, has committed Rs.1 crore to reward innovative ideas originating in India as a part of its Infy Maker Awards programme. As part of the award, Infosys will be handing over a prize of Rs.5 lakh to 20 entrepreneurs every year, its Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao said. "Any individual can present the
idea, there will be a jury judging those ideas. If the ideas are interesting and relevant to current problems, then we'll give the award just to recognise and encourage," he said. Not all promising ideas can get noticed by venture capital funds and the attempt from Infosys through the "Infosys Maker Award" is to give a platform to such budding entrepreneurs, he said. (Agencies)
Mumbai, Feb 14: Japanese paint manufacturer Nippon Paint has drawn up a strategy to become a dominant player in the southern market by end 2019, a senior official said. "Our expansion plan includes increasing the production volume, introducing more water-based products, penetrating into Tier-III cities of southern states and rolling out skill training programme for painters," S. Mahesh Anand, President - Decorative Business, Nippon Paint (India) told. Nippon Paint has a facility at Sriperumbudur with capacity to produce 7,000 kilo litre per month. Currently, it operates at 35 per cent of its capacity. The company plans to increase the production to over 50 per cent in the coming months. About 60 per cent of the products are sold in the south and rest are transported to the north and west, he said. "While the paint industry has been
Nippon Paint products. Source: e3626.rackcdn growing at the rate of 10 per cent CAGR per annum over the last three years, we are growing at 16 per cent. So, we are confident of increasing our market share and also the production capacity to 50 per cent," he said. According to him, Nippon Paint occupies the fifth slot in the country in decorative paints. It has three business lines - decorative, industrial and automotive. Decorative division accounts for over 50 per cent of the sales revenue followed by industrial and
automotive divisions, he said. "Painters are the mediators between the manufacturers and end users. So, we are planning to impart skill development programme to turn them into professionals. We will also give them dust-free mechanised sander similar to vacuum cleaner to carry out work faster and in a dust-free environment. Initially, we will train 20 painters and this will be increased to 100 within six months," he said. (Agencies)
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
Features
PAGE 11
ENVIRONMENT 'Howling dialects' vary in wolf species Largest quantitative study of howling, and first to use machine learning, defines different howl types and finds that wolves use these types more or less depending on their species, resembling a howling dialect. Researchers say findings could help conservation efforts and shed light on the earliest evolution of our own use of language. The largest ever study of howling in the 'canid' family of species -which includes wolves, jackals and domestic dogs -- has shown that the various species and subspecies have distinguishing repertoires of howling, or "vocal fingerprints": different types of howls are used with varying regularity depending on the canid species. Researchers used computer algorithms for the first time to analyse howling, distilling over 2,000 different howls into 21 howl types based on pitch and fluctuation, and then matching up patterns of howling. They found that the frequency with which types of howls are used -- from flat to highly modulated
-- corresponded to the species of canid, whether dog or coyote, as well as to the subspecies of wolf. For example, the howling repertoire of the timber wolf is heavy with low, flat howls but doesn't feature the high, looping vocal that is the most frequently used in the range of howls deployed by critically-endangered red wolves. Lead researcher Dr Arik Kershenbaum from the University of Cambridge describes these distinctive howl repertoires as resembling vocal dialects, with each species having its own identifiable use of the various howl types. He says the findings could be used to track and manage wild wolf populations better, and help mitigate conflict with farmers. The origins of language development in humans are mysterious, as the vocalisations of our closest existing biological relatives such as chimpanzees are relatively simple. Kershenbaum and colleagues believe that studying the sounds of other intelligent species that use vocal communication for cooperative behaviour -- such as
wolves and dolphins -may provide clues to the earliest evolution of our own use of language. "Wolves may not be close to us taxonomically, but ecologically their behaviour in a social structure is remarkably close to that of humans. That's why we domesticated dogs -- they are very similar to us," said Kershenbaum, from Cambridge's Department of Zoology. "Understanding the communication of existing social species is essential to uncovering the evolutionary trajectories that led to more complex communication in the past, eventually leading to our own linguistic ability" he said. The research was conducted by a team of scientists from the UK, US, Spain and India, and is published in the journal Behavioural Processes. The researchers made use of howls recorded from both captive and wild animals, from Australia and India, to Europe and the United States, creating a database of 6,000 howls that was whittled down to 2,000 for the study. This
included combing YouTube for domestic dog howls. These were then fed into machine learning algorithms to classify the howls into discrete types. Studies on howling in the past have had to rely on subjective human comparisons by looking at soundwave patterns, but the new algorithms allowed the howl types to be compared objectively, revealing that the various species have characteristically different repertoires of howl type usage. While the howling repertoires of most of the 13 species analysed were very distinct, some bore close similarities to each other that may influence interbreeding and, in at least one case, threaten the survival of a species. Red wolves, hunted to the brink of extinction in the mid-20th century, were the focus of a reintroduction programme instigated by the US government, which has recently been halted due to a lack of success. Part of the problem was red wolves breeding with coyotes, and the resultant hybridisation diluted at-
tempts to maintain this rare wolf species. The researchers found significant overlap between the howling vocabulary of the red wolf and the coyote -- with both favouring highly modulated, whining howls such as the one classed by researchers as 'type three'. "The survival of red wolves in the wild is threatened by interbreeding with coyotes, and we found that the howling behaviour of the two species is very similar. This may be one reason why they are so likely to mate with each other, and perhaps we can take advantage of the subtle differences in howling behaviour we have now discovered to keep the populations apart," said Kershenbaum. Other conservation uses for the new findings may involve refining the use of playbacks to recreate more accurate howling behaviours that imitate territorial markings, thereby encouraging wolf packs to steer clear of farms and livestock. However, we know very little about the meaning of different howl types
Gender imbalance in marine turtle population Rising global temperatures may skew gender imbalance among the marine turtle population, according to new Florida State University research. Florida State University Assistant Professor of Oceanography Mariana Fuentes and a team of Brazilian researchers have been examining Brazilian loggerhead turtles to see how rising temperatures affect that species. The sex of marine hatchlings is influenced by incubating temperatures, and warmer temperatures produce a higher number of female hatchlings. Researchers believe projected increases in temperature will cause a gender imbalance in marine turtle populations and are trying to identify best practices to protect the species.
head turtles. But, scientists were also able to identify nesting beaches in southern Brazil that were producing a higher proportion of male hatchlings -- 47 percent -- which is essential to sustain the population. "It's worrying that you could have an extreme skew in gender one way," Fuentes said. "Any changes in population structure can have real repercussions." Marine Turtle. Source: awesomeocean The research is published in the Journal of "We're concerned we're Fuentes and her team Experimental Marine going to have a femini- were specifically trying Biology and Ecology. zation of marine turtles," to identify beaches that Fuentes said. "This study produce higher numbers The sex of marine turtle came from the need to of male turtles, so they hatchlings is influenced understand the current could get a broader view by temperature, with opsex ratio being produced of areas where imbal- timal hatching temperaat loggerhead nesting ances were already oc- tures falling between 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit grounds to establish curring. to 93.2 degrees Fahrenbaseline parameters as climate change In northern Brazil, an ex- heit. But, temperatures progresses and to iden- ceptionally strong fe- below 85.1 degrees tend tify beaches that produce male bias -- 94 percent -- to yield more male turtles a higher proportion of was observed in all nest- and temperatures above males." ing areas used by logger- that mark typically yield
more female turtles. Scientists examined 25 years' worth of data for 21 nesting beaches throughout coastal Brazil, about 373 miles worth of nesting areas, making it the most comprehensive of its kind. Though Fuentes and her team focused on Brazil, the results are applicable to other regions because all turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination. Fuentes plans to expand the research into Florida in the coming year by examining the gender structure of loggerhead turtles in the Panhandle. She will also be working with conservationists and government officials in Brazil to develop strategies to protect the population and ensure that the imbalance does not negatively affect the species. Courtesy: sciencedaily
Rare bumble bee may be making a comeback Bombus occidentalis used to be the most common bumble bee species in the Pacific Northwest, but in the mid 1990s it became one of the rarest. Now, according to an article in the Journal of Insect Science offers, it may be making a comeback. "The population seems at least to be re-emerging where it hadn't been seen in the last 10 years," said James Strange, one of several co-authors and a researcher at the USDA's Pollinating Insects Re-
Dr. Strange said. "We have a lot of correlation, but we can never get the species without the pathogen. We can't clean this pathogen out."
search Unit at Utah State University. "There is some resilience in the population of Bombus occidentalis. They do seem to be coming back." The Nosema parasite might have been a factor in the bee's decline, but whether it's the sole factor remains an open question. Trying to better understand the impact of Nosema on Bombus occidentalis is difficult because laboratory studies are difficult to do.
Bumble Bee. Source: images.sciencedaily
"When we try to raise the bees in captivity, they
die, so we can't do a lot show that this is really of experimental work to the thing [killing bees],"
The study's findings raise the question of why the population decline appears to have stopped. Dr. Strange's answer is "evolution." The pathogen's virulence may have simply declined, or some individuals of Bombus occidentalis may have developed resistance to the pathogen. Courtesy: sciencedaily
Howling Wolf. Source: scienceworldreport and what they are actually communicating, says Kershenbaum, because -- as with dolphins, that other highly vocal, smart and social species which he studies -wolves are extremely difficult to study in the wild. "You don't observe natural wolf behaviour in zoos, only in the wild, and you need to know where the animals are when howling before you can really begin to try and discern meanings. But, as with dolphin pods, physically following a wild wolf pack is virtually impossible," explained Kershenbaum. "We are currently working on research in
Yellowstone National Park in the US using multiple recording devices and triangulation technology to try and pick up howl sounds and location. In this way we might be able to tell whether certain calls relate to distance communication or pack warnings, for example," he said. For Kershenbaum, wolves and dolphins show remarkable parallels with each other in social behaviour, intelligence and vocal communication -- all comparisons that extend to humans. "As well as being intelligent and cooperative species, wolves and dol-
phins have remarkably similar vocal characteristics. If you slow a dolphin whistle down about 30 times it sounds just like a wolf howl, something I often do in my lectures," he said. "The presence of complex referential communication in species that must communicate to survive was probably a crucial step in the evolution of language. I think we can shed a lot of light on early evolution of our own use of language by studying the vocalisation of animals that are socially and behavior wise similar to us, if not necessarily taxonomically closely related." Courtesy: sciencedaily
Half of the Amazonian tree species are under threat One in two tree species in the Amazon could be endangered. The Amazon Tree Diversity Network international consortium, which includes the IRD, has just revealed in the Science Advances journal that, according to the predicted deforestation scenarios, 36% to 57% of Amazonian species are at risk of disappearing, i.e.
sembled under the banner of the Amazon Tree Diversity Network. Red alert for 8,700 tree species According to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (UICN) -- the most commonly used to determine the conservation status of any species -- the research team believes that 36% to 57%
Amazonian tree species. Source: static.independent
up to 8,700 species out of the 15,000 estimated during the first inventory of the Amazonian Basin, published two years ago. According to these results, when considered at the scale of the planet, it is feared that 40,000 tropical tree species may be exposed to a risk of extinction and that the proportion of endangered plants on the planet has increased to one fifth. One in two tree species could disappear due to deforestation in the Amazon. This has just been revealed by a vast international study published in the Science Advances journal, involving nearly 160 scientists, including IRD researchers, as-
of Amazonian tree species are threatened with extinction, i.e. up to 8,700 species, including the famous Brazilian walnut, which has significant economic implications for the countries of the region. To date, only a minute part of these species features on the NGO's red list. Some may even disappear before they can be observed and described‌ Should these results be confirmed, the amount of endangered plants on the planet would increase to 22%. Simulating the variation in the population size of each species In 2013, the research team had already pub-
lished the first inventory of Amazonian Basin trees in the Science journal. Through statistical calculation, the total number of species had then been estimated at 15,000 -- compared to the 12,000 identified to date on the planet. This initial inventory also helped assess the distribution area and number of individuals per species. In the new study, the researchers modelled the variation in the population sizes of each species, based on the different deforestation scenarios identified. Destruction of up to one third of the forest by 2050 With the construction of dams and mines, forest fires and droughts increased by climate change, etc., the Amazon forest is facing a wave of threats. Specialists believe that nearly 20% of the forest has disappeared since the 1970s. By 2050, based on the predicted deforestation scenarios, it should shrink by up to another 30%. In the best case scenario, in which protected areas (national parks, indigenous reservations implemented to reinforce the territorial rights of aboriginal people) would contribute to the preservation of the vegetation, the surface area of the forest will still be reduced by 10%. This trend can be observed throughout the inter tropical zone. The new study claims that some 40,000 tropical tree species across the world could be facing the same risk of extinction. Courtesy: sciencedaily
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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
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Without Saina, Indian women face tough task in Asian C'shi PTI Hyderabad, Feb 14 : With star shuttler Saina Nehwal not playing, the Indian women's team have a tough task at hand in the Badminton Asia Team Championships beginning at the Gachibowli stadium here tomorrow. In the absence of Saina, doubles pair of Jwala GuttaAshwini Ponnappa and the young players like PV Sindhu have to steer the team in the competitive team event. The Indian women, who are clubbed with Japan and Singapore in the group, comprises PV Sindhu, Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Maneesha K, Sikki Reddy, PC Thulasi and Arathi Sara Sunil. Saina, currently ranked world number two, ruled herself out for the event as she is still recovering from the foot injury. She had earlier missed the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold
tournament in Lucknow and also the South Asian Games. The young players will have to take charge in the event of Saina not playing in the Badminton Asia tournament, Chief National Coach Pullela Gopichand said. "I think the youngsters will have to take charge. It is also good that we have experience on our side in terms of Jwala being there and Ashwini being there. I am hoping that we do well. As a team, I think everybody is prepared to give their best .Every player has to pull out his match," he said. Indian men's team can take some solace from the absence of top shuttlers like Lin Dan, Chen Long (China) and Malaysia s Lee Chong Wei, but it will not be a cakewalk for them either as they are grouped with the formidable China and Singapore. India s campaign would be spearheaded by its promising young players, including
Saina Nehwal Kidambi Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy. The other men in the team are Parupalli Kashyap, Manu Attri, Sumeeth Reddy, Pranav Jerry Chopra, Akshay Dewalkar, Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty. Though the name of Kashyap, who pulled out of the SAG due to fitness issues, figures in the team, Gopichand had said that he would bet on Srikanth and others. He (Kashyap) is there. But, as far as I am concerned,
De Villiers hails Morris' massive performance in Proteas' serieslevelling win
AB de Villiers ANI Johannesburg, Feb.14 : South Africa skipper AB de Villiers has lavished praise on Chris Morris' brilliant knock during his side's onewicket win against England
in the fourth test. Morris, who scored a careerbest innings of 62 off 38 balls, rescued his side from the jaws of defeat on and leveled the five-match series 22 in Johannesburg on Friday.
Describing Morris' performance as 'massive', De Villiers believes that the knock like that would help in shaping his career, Sport24 reported. The swashbuckling batsman further insisted that the entire team were well aware about Morris' capability, adding that his knock would have surely lifted his level and boosted his confidence. Earlier, Morris was included in both the Test and ODI side against England and he was also named in the 15-man squad for next month's World Twenty20 to be played in India. The two sides will play the final match, a series decider, in Cape Town on Sunday.
Srikanth, Ajay and Prannoy would be my first three bets for singles," Gopichand said. Though China and Japan appear to be strong teams, others like India, Indonesia and Malaysia cannot be underestimated either, he said. "When you walk and say, China, Japan would look like stronger teams. Having said that, countries like Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia are also things which cannot be discounted," Gopichand said The participating teams shall play in two stages. Top two teams from each group qualify for the final stage to be played on knock-out basis. The participating teams will be granted with Olympic points in order to qualify for the upcoming Rio Games in August. Badminton Asia Team Championships also serve as Thomas and Uber Cup Asia Continental Qualifying Round.
Boxing mess may lead to mass exodus: official PTI Shillong, Feb 14 : Bickering in the Indian boxing community may lead to a mass exodus of Olympic medal prospects to the professional circuit as they are "starved" of exposure due to the absence of a national federation, South Asian Games Tournament Director (Boxing) Lenny D'Gama has said. "Our boxers are starved of exposure, the primary reason being the derecognition of the Indian federation by (the world governing body) AIBA. After the World Championships in Doha, we did not have anything," D'Gama, a former referee, told PTI on the sidelines of the Games at
Rao contributed 35 off 40 deliveries. For Lumding, Deep Bora took three for 38. In reply, Lumding scored 174 for loss of four wickets in 27.2 overs. Mrigen Talukdar and Dimbeswar Bora remained unbeaten on 69 and 40 runs respectively. Sushanto Bhattacharjee took three for 19 for New Bongaigaon. Tomorrow, NF Railway Headquarter will play Katihar Division.
ANI Melbourne, Feb.14 : Nathan Lyon claimed a two-wicket haul to help Australia reduce New Zealand to 178-4 at stumps on day three of the first Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sunday. New Zealand are still trailing by 201 runs against Australia with Henry Nicholls unbeaten at 31 and Corey Anderson set to join him on Monday morning, News.com.au reported.
might join the newlylaunched professional boxing body (IBC). They're at the mercy of Indian Boxing Federation. If it happens we'll lose out on all the good boxers. Afterall, the adhoc body's powers are limited." Currently two bodies, the Professional Boxing Organisation of India (PBOI) and the Indian Boxing Council -- are handing out licenses to interested boxers.
Hard for PSL to produce Watson suffers abdominal players like Virat, admits injury ahead of World T20 Waqar Younis ANI Karachi, Feb.14 : Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has warned his country not to hold high expectations from the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), saying that it will take some time to produce players with high calibre like Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Despite having high expectation from the PSL, the 45-year-old insisted that it was not possible for the league to immediately churn out players
of the class of certain players, like the Indian Premier League ( IPL) had produced for their national team. Waqar urged his countrymen to remain patient for at least three to four years before expecting the PSL to turn the youngsters into players matching international standard, the Dawn reported The coach, however, insisted that the players that had been picked for the upcoming Asia Cup and World T20 events should be given chances to play in the PSL.
Lumding Railway Lyon takes two as Aussies reduce Kiwis to 178-4 on day three Division win Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Feb. 14: Lumding Railway Division beat New Bongaigaon Railway Workshop by six wickets in the Inter Divisional Cricket Tournament organized by Tinsukia Railway Divisional Sports Club at TDSA stadium in Tinsukia today. Electing to bat, New Bongaigaon scored 171 for eight in 40 overs. Prasenjit Paul scored 82 off 84 balls while Sankar
the SAI Campus in the North Eastern Hill University on the outskirts of the city here. A 13-member boxing delegation had an exposure trip to the Chinese city of Qian'an where the Zonal Olympic qualifiers are due next month but D'Gama said they need much more than that as none has yet qualified for the Olympics. "I'm fearing that with the frustration creeping in among the boxers they
"But the silver-lining is that AIBA wants to have a new federation and early elections. AIBA wants to scan the candidates and hopefully things would improve. If it does not happen and is prolonged and goes after Olympics, they'll surely join pro boxing," he added. "In this moment of crisis, the SAG will give them some good opportunity and confidence, well aware of the below-par standard here." "I've a good feeling that we should get four in men and two women's Olympic berths. But it's a question mark on how many will make it to the podium in Rio.
Nathan Lyon
Openers Tom Latham and Martin Guptill provided an initial thrust to the Kiwis by sharing an opening-stand of 85 runs. Latham and Guptill scored significant 63 and
45 respectively before being dismissed at the hands of Lyon. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh dismissed skipper Brendon McCullum for mere 10 runs while Kane Williamson (22) was caught behind off a cracking delivery from Josh Hazlewood. Earlier, resuming at yesterday's score of 4636, Australia were bundled out for 562 in their first innings, thanks to Adam Voges (239) and Usman Khawaja (140).
ANI Karachi, Feb.14 : With just one month left to Australia's opening match of the World Twenty20, allrounder Shane Watson has been ruled out of the ongoing inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to an abdominal injury. The 34-year-old suffered the injury while bowling during his side Islamabad United's seven-wicket defeat against Zalmi. Watson was earlier included in the 15-man squad following his brilliant performance in the third and the final T20 against India at the SCG, where he smashed 124 off just 71 balls. Reflecting on his injury, Watson posted a video on the Islamabad United Twitter ac-
Shane Watson count and said that he was heading back home for further medication. "Disappointingly I'm going to have to head home back to Australia to get assessed with the medical people back at Cricket Australia to try and get right for the Twenty20 World Cup," Watson was quoted as saying by
ESPNcricinfo. Islamabad have drafted Azhar Mahmood as Watson's replacement for the remaining matches of the PSL. The T20 pinnacle event is slated to be held in India between March 8 to April 3 and Australia will play the opening match against New Zealand on March 18.
`Disappointed` Van Gaal admits Man U unlikely to make top-four PL finish ANI London, Feb.14 : Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has admitted that it is unlikely for his side to secure a topfour finish in the Premier League following the humiliating defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Sunderland 1-2 at Stadium of Light. The Dutchman said that he had informed his players that it would be really difficult for them to finish in top four, but insisted he still remains hopeful for the same, the Guardian reported. Reflecting on his side's per-
Louis Van Gaal formance, the 64-year-old believes that United didn't manage to deliver their best, adding that they failed to cope up with Sunderland's aggression. The manager, however, refused to accept that he was feeling pressure by his
side's constant dip in form and maintained that he was only focusing on doing his job. Van Gaal said although he was feeling disappointed with United's performance, he added that he was glad to see unity among his players. United are currently fifth in standings and are six points behind Manchester City, which have entered the finals of Champions League. United, which made an early exit from the Champions League, will now lock horns with Arsenal on February 28.
Specialist coach has helped my fitness: Jwala PTI Hyderbad, Fe. 14: Her long-standing demand for a specialist coach fulfilled, India's doubles badminton player Jwala Gutta says she has become physically fitter and mentally stronger heading into the Asia Championship starting in Hyderabad on Monday. Jwala said she and her partner Ashwini Ponnappa currently ranked world number 13 - needed consistent support which they have got with specialist doubles coach Malaysia's Tan Kim Her giving personal attention. "There is a lot of difference.
I think it is pretty evident. I have become fitter now. There is somebody who is keeping a track of the training. He (doubles coach) has focused a lot on me. We needed that kind of a personal attention which I have been talking about for many years now. You can see the difference," she said. Jwala also lauded the support she has got from the Olympic Gold Quest, a notfor-profit company founded by sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone, which has been sponsoring several Indian sportspersons. "Ashwini and me, we are
always close (to the top). It is just that we needed a consistent support which we are getting now. We have a secure support system like the coach is there. OGQ is there behind us. That kind of gives us a relief. You don't have to bother about a lot of things which were bothering us," Jwala said. "That ecosystem has come now, which we needed for six years. I expected that would happen when we won the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Nevertheless, I am enjoying playing badminton. I am enjoying being on court which is more important. I am fo-
Jwala Gutta cused," Jwala said. Jwala said her movement on the court has also improved considerably.
"Technically, I am not bad. What I needed to work on was mainly on fitness and my court coverage. The
coach makes me move around the whole court. I am not just stuck to the front side of the court. I have to still work on my consistency. "There has been a lot of improvement. Physically, when you are fit, mentally you are more alert and confident. I don't have to worry about my movements anymore. I am moving now automatically because I am much lighter now," she said. Jwala said the Badminton Asia Championship starting on Monday would help her prepare for the Olympics. "Olympics is still pretty far.
It will be a kind of preparation for us. We will know where we stand. Last two months, I was just training and working hard on myself. Now, I would know where I stand and then accordingly we work again. So, it's important tournament," she said. The Indian women take on Singapore and Japan in the Badminton Asia championship and Jwala said she and her partners have always done well against the Japanese. "We need to get to the quarterfinals and for that we have to beat the Singapore team for that," she said.
But it would be tough task for the team if India's star shuttler Saina Nehwal, who has already missed the South Asian Games due to fitness issues, is not available for this tournament as well. "Japan are formidable. But, Ashwini and I have always performed well against the Japs. I am not really worried... I am talking about the whole team together. Saina is not playing. She would have been a trump card. So, the team will definitely miss her. I wish she plays for the team," she said.
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