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ASSENG/2015/64205

Vol. 1

Issue 252

NORTH EAST INDIA'S LAND ROUTES: A BRIDGE TO THE EAST

Dibrugarh, Thursday, February 18, 2016

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Successful conclusion of South Asian Games Supreme Court orders status quo in Arunachal as the Centre recommends to end PR to allow Pul’s Govt to come in proves that peace has returned in Assam: Gogoi ANI New Delhi, Feb 17

The Supreme Court had earlier questioned Governor J.P. Rajkhowa’s use of his “constitutional discretion” to advance the sixth session of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly by over a month, asking whether it was backed by sound constitutional principles or based on a mere whim.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Modi Government to maintain status quo in Arunachal, within hours of the Cabinet recommending revocation of the President Rule in the state to allow a new government to come in.

The top court bench, comprising Justices J.S. Khehar, Dipak Misra, Madan B. Lokur, PC Ghose and N V Ramana, directed the central government to maintain status quo in the state till it went through the House papers relating to disqualification of 14 MLAs by the Speaker Nabam Rebia.

The apex court has asked the Secretary General of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly and the Guwahati High Court to furnish records on disqualification of the MLAs by Thursday.

ET CAPSULES Two traders abducted Dhubri, Feb 17: Two traders were abducted by the Garo hills based militants. Wahidur Zaman and Ilias Hussain of South Salmara-Mancachar district were the two traders. Both the traders were abducted from a bus of Baghmara from Ampati of South-West Garo Hills of Meghalaya, a police source said.

(Correspondent)

The apex court has asked the Secretary General of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly and the Guwahati High Court to furnish records on disqualification of the MLAs by Thursday.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to restrain Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa from swearing in a new state government.

Congress dissident Kalikho Pul approached the governor claiming he had

support of 31 legislators — 19 Congress, 11 BJP and two independent MLAs — to be Arunachal Pradesh’s new Chief Minister on Monday.

Earlier today, the Union Cabinet recommended re-

AASU staged road blockade Dhubri, Feb 17: Hundreds of South Salmara and Mancachar District of AASU unit staged blockade on 27 kms Hatsinghimara-Mancachar road in a protest against the deplorable and dilapidated condition of the road which become completely non-motorable by vehicles due to unwanted pot holes.

The student body of Assam demanded immediate construction of road. (Correspondent)

The apex court bench’s questions pertained to the order issued by Rajkhowa on December 9, 2015 to advance the Assembly session without consulting Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his Council of Ministers under Article 174 (1) of the Constitution.

Fireworks light the sky at the closing ceremony of the 12th South Asian Games yesterday at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium Sarusajai in Guwahati. Pic - UB Photos A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb 17

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the successful conduct of the 12th South Asian Games 2016 has amply proved that peace has returned to the State.

In a statement here today, Chief Minister Gogoi said the Games that concluded yesterday passed off peacefully without any incident is a pointer to the fact that peace has returned to the State.

Gogoi said the 12 edition of SAG co-hosted by Assam and

Meghalaya is the most successfully staged ever in terms of participation and number of disciplines. “For the smooth conduct of the prestigious international event, I would like to thank the people of Assam and Meghalaya, officials of Government of Assam and Government of India, the Indian Olympic Association, the different sports organisations, the players and delegates, the volunteers and the media,” he added.

The Chief Minister said the Games have proved that Assam has the best infrastructure in

place built during the 33rd National Games, to host major national and international sports events.

Gogoi said, the Games have also established the fact that Government of Assam has the wherewithal to host international events successfully and that, too, in a short span of time. “The way the infrastructure has been readied for the Games in a short time shows that our Government is competent and capable to conduct any major events,” Contd. on Page 4

Kanhaiya Kumar, journalists attacked by lawyers in court area: SC seeks report Arunachal BJYM burn effigy of Rahul Gandhi

HSLC and AHM Examination from 18 Feb Guwahati, Feb 17: The High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Assam High Madrassa (AHM) examination 2016 will commence fromFebruary 18.

Over four lakh students will appear in the two examinations that will conclude on March 9.

The examinations will begin with the theory papers and the practical examinations will be held on March 8 and 9.

Secretary of the Secondary Board of Education, Assam, said the examinations will be held in 845 centres across the state.

(Staff Reporter)

vocation of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh. This led the Congress to move the Supreme Court seeking an order that no new government formation be permitted and status quo maintained.

Advancing the session from its scheduled date of January 14, 2016 to December 16, 2015 in order to remove Speaker Nebam Rebia triggered the entire political crisis leading to the imposition of President’s Rule on January 26.

A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 17

JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar being taken to Patiala House court in New Delhi. Pic - Virender Singh Gosain/HT PTI New Delhi, Feb 17

In another day of extraordinary events, JNU students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and some journalists were attacked in a court complex here by rowdy lawyers in brazen defiance of the orders of the Supreme Court, which was forced to step in.

Despite instructions by the apex court to ensure security at the Patiala House Court, where violent men in black robes had attacked journalists

on Monday, Delhi Police failed to prevent the attack on Kumar, accused of sedition, was brought for remand proceedings. On Monday too, journalists were attacked by such elements.

The Arunachal unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) joined in the nationwide protest against alleged “anti-national activities” inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi on February 9 last.

The Arunachal Yuva Morcha burnt down the effigy of Rahul Gandhi vice president AICC for his pro statement towards Kanhaiya Kumar, saying that Rahul’s solidarity in favour of Kanhaiya is against the national identity.

The Supreme Court had earlier in the day directed Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi to ensure proper and adequate security at the court complex and also asked the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court to be present there.

The BJYM alleged that Kanhaiya led an anti-national protest rally inside the university campus and even hired Pro-Pakistan youth from Jammu and Kashmir who were misguided by separatist.

Contd. on Page 6

Contd. on Page 3

Model village adopted by AGP rules out entering Member of Parliament, into alliance with any Ering in Namsai District national political parties 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 during his recent visit to Namsai District.

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Addressing a gathering attended by District heads of various government departments, Panchayat leaders, Gaon Burhas, NGOs and public of the village, Ering urged the gathering to devote for the

cause of holistic development of the village considered for the purpose.

Meawhile, he call upon 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 and reduced disparities, access to rights and entitlement and wider social mobilization.

Contd. on Page 3

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb 17

In a new political development ahead of the Assam assembly election slated to be held in April this year, the AGP has ruled out any alliance with any national political parties, and have said that it will contest on its own.

The decision was taken today at a party meeting held at the party headquarter at Ambari in Guwahati, where party workers from different parts of the state came to express their opinion.

"The party workers expressed different opinions, and some were for an alliance with the BJP and some were against for any alliance, and the final decision

is that there will be no alliance with any party," said AGP president Atul Bora.

However the BJP maintained that if the regional party wants an alliance, its doors will always be open.

BJP state president and Union minister of state for youth affairs and sports Sarbananda Sonowal said the alliance is necessary to defeat AIUDF and Congress.

BJP's election management committee convener and former Congress minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The ball is in AGP's court. AGP had given us a list of seats it wants for itself. Our national leadership has communicated to AGP a list of seats we want to share. If AGP agrees to our list, the alliance is final."

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ET Correspondent Namsai, Feb 17

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

PAGE 2

ASTRO FOR YOU Aries You are feeling very excited and are all geared up to do what you want. Put all that energy to productive use. This is the time to work and not to make plans as today you can accomplish very difficult tasks. So work now, you can indulge in your parties later.

Taurus There is a strong possibility that you will achieve an important milestone today.

Emotional well-being is important for physical health. You may spend your evening in the company of like-minded people to indulge in some healthy discussions and musings.

Gemini Unlike the last few days, today will be hectic and demanding. You will need to attend a few social get-togethers and functions. Socializing with friends and relatives is on the cards. However, you need to be careful about your health. Expenses on medicines are indicated.

Cancer You will be day-dreaming about your sweetheart. And as the day ends, the dream may come true. In the afternoon, you will handle certain perilous situations with great tact. At work, you will be a live wire and others will be surprised to see your enthusiasm.

Leo You might have some problem with your spouse’s bossy attitude. The best thing would be for you to try and sort out the individual differences with your partner.

On the work front, the day will be satisfying, as you continue to mystify your opponents with your wits. So chin up and be glad.

Virgo Good luck will put you up against some friendly ghosts from some bygone era.

The afternoon brings with it some wonderful marriage prospects and you will consider them with an open mind. Be extra careful when making decisions regarding advanced education.

Libra You will find a progressive and lenient side to yourself later in the day. This will enable you to achieve phenomenal career growth, and make you virtually indispensable in office.

Scorpio A fair-weather day today. Fair winds will help you fare well. You can hazard to expect astonishing financial gains in business dealings today. Academic learning curve will be exponential today. In spite of all, you will remain sensitive and understanding.

Sagittarius Put your feet up and relax. Your concentration might just waver because of some minor issues. But don’t worry. Your comic side will mesmerise the opposite sex today.

Capricorn If you do something, you put your heart and soul into it. Such dedication gets you the best. You tend to exert your energies though, so you will need to learn the art of delegation. It will not only take load off your shoulders but also enhance the quality of final output.

Aquarius You may be the unlucky recipient of your bosses’ wrath. To your disappointment, your colleagues may support you only half-heartedly.

Pisces Good times are coming your way, and this could be in the form of a promotion or a pay hike. You will devote time equally between your work and family, taking a little time off to take them out on a leisure trip.

PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz) Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights 18-2-16 (THURSDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-30 A.M-School Broadcast 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali (Assamese Modern Songs) 8-30 A.M-North East News Bulletin in English 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M- Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 12-30 P.M-Gharjeuti Women's Programme) 1-10 P.M-Sponsored Programme: Asha 2-30 P.M-Western Music 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 6-15 P.M-Lakhimi (Rural Women Programme) 7-15 P.M-Yuvavani (Youth Programme) 8-00 P.M-Gyanmalini (Sponsored programme of Dibrugarh University Distance Education) 10.00 P.M-Classical Music Sd-/H.O.P

BJP-AGP tie-up made everyone in dilemma A Staff Reporter Naharkatia, Feb 17: While a section of senior BJP leaders including state president Sarbananda Sonowal are still looking for a tie-up with the AGP to defeat the Congress, another section has opposed to the idea. A similar situation also prevails in the AGP and the party yet to decide whether to really clinch a deal with the saffron party or not. It may be mentioned that on monday, the BJP state office at Hengerabari witnessed protest demonstrations against a possible alliance staged by party workers from Naharkatia, Nagaon and some other constituencies.

Where few BJP workers alleged that the AGP has no hold in 120 Naharkatia con-

a single rally in Naharkatia and regarding qualification of the AGP candidate, Naren Sonowal said that “qualification does not matter when the question of serving the people comes”.

BJP-AGP tie-up made everyone in dilemma stituency and the AGP candidates are not so far educated and is only gaining popularity through power of money, which has evoke wide protest among the AGP workers of Naharkatia.

In a press meet held on

VHGA members protested against CM of Assam ET Correspondent Golaghat, Feb 17: Village Health Guide Association of Golaghat District Committee today protested near Deputy Commissioner Office for long hours in lieu of their demand. President Dipali Chutia and Secretary Kamala Buragohain has demanded to release the arrear as well as current salary of the cadres under VHGA and regu-

Sepoy Mutiny War memorial inaugurated in Golaghat ET Correspondent Golaghat, Feb 17: India's first war against the British rule The Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 has been remarkable for people of Assam in General and Golaghat as particular as the flames of the mutiny on 29 August in the North Eastern region first started at Nogora in Golaghat for which the place is recognized as a Veerbhumi (land of the brave).

Today with a day long program PWD Minister of the State, Ajanta Neog inaugurated the Sepoy Mutiny Memorial War Monument and remembered the great warriors of the time to contribute in the freedom struggle.

The memorial was built from MLA fund with a sum of rupees five lakhs. The program was attended by many officials including Dr Ajit Baruah, Ghanshyam Barohi etc. Local people appreciated the work as it was their longing demand which was fulfilled after a long time.

larize the services of cadres. The members also raised slogans against CM Tarun Gogoi.

Different copies of memorandum has been sent to different departments including Chief Minister of Assam, Health Minister of the State and the Secretary through Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat.

tuesday at Naharkatia AGP office which was attended

by AGP district president, Bivash Dowarah, advisor of Naharkatia AGP committee, Kukhombar Tarai Gogoi, Naharkatia AGP candidate, Naren Sonowal and other party workers protested against the com-

ments passed by few B.J.P workers and said that its AGP who has planted the tree of growth in Assam.

They also said that AGP has succeeded in organising mass public rally in Naharkatia and questioned the B.J.P that why they have not succeeded in organising

They also said that B.J.P has realised that they can never form a government in Assam of its own so they are now trying to make alliance with other political parties.

It won’t be a road of roses for B.J.P in forming government of its own and the alliance between this two parties may become a boomerang for them and which make the winning road more clear for congress, this is what seemed at the press meet.

Rangia stage in Dharna by NKDDC ET Correspondent Rangia, Feb 17: The North Kamrup District Demand committee staged in dharna at Rangia SDO civil office on Wednesday demanding creation of North Kamrup district with Rangia as headquarter. Hundreds of participant from all walks of life i.e. political, nonpolitical party, student and

youth organisations, students from different educational institutions participated in the protest program.

The committee also submitted memorandum to Chief Minister through the SDO civil in support of their demand. Ananta Deka the Ex-MLA, Khagen singh Lahkar, Arup Lahkar Deben

Sarma, Narendra Sarma, Toufikar Rahman, Krishna Lahkar and other leading citizen spoke on the creation of new North Kamrup District. According to them the committee will start continuous agitation unless the state Government creates the new district before the notification of ensuing assembly poll of 2016.

Congress likely to change party candidate in Bokajan ET Correspondent Bokajan, Feb 17: With the state heading for the most interesting electoral battle, the Congress party of Assam which has won three consecutive elections is in a fix and likely to change its party candidate in 17 Bokajan LA constituency owing to the recent Jana Jagaran Sabha that turned into a flop show in Bokajan with a very sparse audience gather to witness the public figure, Mr. Klengdun Ingti early this month.

It needs to be mentioned here that APCC had organized this Jana Jagaran Sabha in all the 126 constituencies over the state to

consolidate its credence amongst the people ahead the state assembly elections.

Sources in the party said that the high command is reviewing the candidature of Mr. Klengdun Ingti and later he was failed to gain the confidence of his peoples which was straight way evident in the Jana Jagaran Sabha held at Sarhiajan LP school playground.

Sources in the party further added that high command thinks that APCC would consider the candidature of Mr. Klengdun Ingti by the fact that he is the sitting MLA and the son of MP

Biren Sing Ingti -a veteran congress leader of the state.

Sources in the Karbi Anglong District Congress Committee said that the candidate would be selected in accordance with the members of Congress dominated KAAC. Party workers hints a possible rivalry and speculations are rife that there might be a poll understanding between KAAC and BJP as a delegation led by the CEM Tuliram Ronghang accompanied by five other EMs and some leaders of Karbi outfit KLNLF met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence in New Delhi, last month.

Ronghang through a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanded scrapping of Clause 8 of BLT Accord with Government of India and of Assam.

The CEM also reiterated the claim of a separate state comprising of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao district of Assam, granting direct central funding to KAAC and handing over all resources of the hill district under the command of KAAC. The CEM also pressed for the long stranded settlement with KLNLF and implementation of MoU and MoS for a peaceful and permanent solution.

Operation Sadbhavana successully constructed two toilets ET Correspondent Sivasagar, Feb 17: As a p a r t o f O P E R AT I O N SADBHAVANA, Army Camp under the Dao Division has successfully accomplished the construction of two toilets block at Government Higher Secondary School, Moran Hat in Sivsagar District on 17 Feb 2016, said one army official.

The official also further added that, the project aims to provide a healtly and hygienic environment to the students in the school premises. The

Operation Sadbhavana successully constructed two toilets project was conceptualized based on a request from School authority to establish such facilities.

The completion of this project will be helpful in keeping a healthy and hygienic environment and

will reassure them of the unflinching support of the Indian Army and Indian Government.

One arrested for sexually abusing to a minor

It this what is called development where school children have to cross such bamboo bridge to reach their school everyday in Sadiya in upper Assam's Tinsukia district. Pic - Arjun Mishra.

ET Correspondent Diphu, Feb 17: One Rudraman Nayar (57) alias Tiger Nayar of Maisam Nath village located within Baithalangso police station of Weast Karbi Anglong district was arrested by local police yesterday on the charge of molestation and attempted to rape on 13 years daughter of

Basudev Nath of the same village.

grasp and informed her father who was nearby.

According to police Rudraman Nayar entered the house of Basudev Nath on the pretext of seeking beetle nut knowing well that the girl was alone in the house, he suddenly grabbed and striped her but somehow the girl broke from Nayar’s

According to source when Basudev reached home the villain decamped in his bike. On the basis of a complain police arrested Rudraman Nayar at night and has booked under section 3549(A)/ 448 and other various section under the Protec-

tion of children against sexual offence. The victim was given medical aid and the arrested man has been remanded to judicial custody in Hamren jail. People of the village has alleged that Rudraman is involved in many crimes like stealing domestic dog, acting as pimp of prostitute and other antisocial acts.

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

PAGE 3

PWC seeks consensus on Naga issue Kohima, Feb 17: A 19member Parliamentary Working Committee (PWC) on Naga political issue of Nagaland Assembly has been camping in New Delhi to seek the support of national political parties for early solution of the vexed problem.

The delegation, led by Chief Minister TR Zeliang and Speaker Chotisuh Sazo, called on BJP President Amit Shah and JD (U) President Sharad Yadav yesterday, a government statement said here last evening.

While Shah has given an assurance to meet their demands, Yadav expressed his party's support even for a

Northeast Film Festival in Itanagar begins

Itanagar, Feb 17: The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, JP Rajkhowa inaugurated the maiden Northeast Film festival at Itanagar on 17th February 2016. First Lady of the State, Rita Rajkhowa, Film Director and Composer, Aribam Syam Sharma, Internationally Acclaimed Filmmaker, Jahnu Barua and one of popular Film Assamese Actresses, Ms Zerifa Wahid along with film producers, directors and artists were present on the While Shah has given an assurance to meet their demands,Yadav expressed his party's support even for a occasion. constitutional amendment.

In his inaugural address, constitutional amendment, delegation is expected to the Governor lauded the if required, for a peaceful meet other national leaders effort of the State Governsolution to the Naga politi- for a consensus, it said. ment, the department of Information and Public cal issue, it said. The PWC (Agencies) Relations and Film Federation of Arunachal for taking initiative in organising the first Pan North East Film Festival in Arunachal Pradesh. He added that while the State Government is encouraging film making, it should Rs. 10,000/- each medical check-up at take initiative in proSangay Lhaden Sports 3. 3rd Men & Women : also viding places for exhibitRs. 5,000/- each Academy, Sports Complex Chimpu, Itanagar 4. 4th to 10th Position ing the produce such as cinema halls and multifrom 0900 hrs onwards (Men & Women) : plexes. It should also help Rs. 1000/- each on 21st Feb’2016. in marketing the film produced.

A press release from the Directorate of The route of Mini MaraSport informed that the thon Race shall be from The Governor, who has winners with seven con- Govt. Secondary School, seen five Arunachalee solation awards will be Chimpu to Indira Gandhi films, including ‘Sonam, felicitated with cash in- Park, Itanagar. All the Itanagar Ziro Point, adcentives which are as fol- participants are to report vised the film fraternity of at 5.30 AM on 22nd the State to look for sublows: Feb’2016 positively at ject within the State and 1. 1st Men & Women : starting point i.e. Govt.

Secondary School, Rs. 15,000/- each 2. 2nd Men & Women : Chimpu.

Mini Marathon on Arunachal Day A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 17: As a part of Celebration of Statehood Day and Arunachal Festival2016, the Directorate of Sports in collaboration with Administration of Capital Complex will conduct a Mini Marathon Race with the Motto “Run for Peace & Harmony” on 22nd Feb’2016.

The Directorate has requested interested participants to come for

Arunachal BJYM burn effigy of Rahul Gandhi

BJYM burn effigies of Rahul and Kanhaiya Contd. from Page 1

The state BJYM condemned the misuse of such a highly dignified educational campus like JNU and also condemned all political parties and there leaders across the country that are against the arrest of

Kanhaiya.

place to grow.

Burning the effigy of JNUSU president Kanhaiya, the state BJYM demanded capital punishment/exemplary punishment to Kanhaiya Kumar under the National Security Act so that such anti-national activities do not have

State BJP leaders, including state vice presidents Techi Necha, Kenyir Ringu and Nani Lajie, and state general secretary Mahila Morcha Bengia Yayang and her team also participated in the protest.

Contd. from Page 1 He insisted to convert Jona1 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.

R K Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Namsai 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 carried out at the earliest. He also emphasized 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.

It may be added for the sake of readers that the goal of Sansad adarsh Gram Yojana is to develop three Adarsh Grams (Model Village) by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) would be selected and developed by 2024.

The scheme envisages integrated development of the selected village across multiple areas such as agriculture, health, education, sanitation, environment, livelihoods, etc.

Far beyond mere infrastructure development, SAANJHI aims at instilling certain values, such as people’s participation, Antyodaya, gender equality, dignity of women, social justice, spirit of community service, cleanliness, eco-friendliness, maintaining ecological balance, peace and harmony, mutual cooperation, self-reli-

ance, local self-government, transparency and accountability in public life, etc. in the villages and their people so that they get transformed into models for others. It gives focus to community participation. Social mobilization of village community can trigger a chain of other development activities in the village. For instance, reducing risk behaviors like alcoholism, smoking, substance abuse (drugs/tobacco/gutka etc.) among all age groups of population.

Strengthening of local democracy through strong and transparent Gram Panchayats and active Gram Sabhas and facilitating good governance is also an important objective of the Yojana.

Women participation in the decision-making process would also be encouraged. Ensuring universal access to education facilities, adult literacy, and e-literacy are also its important goals. In addition to this the Scheme also pays at-

Director in-charge, IPR, Shri Obang Tayeng also briefed on the contribution of the State Government and Department in film producing sector.

Arunachal Pradesh, JP Rajkhowa along with Assamese Actresses, Ms Zerifa Wahid at the festival.

Region, so that messages of the State and Northeast are carried outside. It will help in sharing each others’ culture and also provide opportunity for the people in the film world and others, opportunities to showcase their creativity and generate employment. He called upon the economically sound people to assist film makers in film making financially.

While congratulation Shri Moji Riba and Shri Sange Dorjee Thongdok, for their works, the Governor said that there is no substitute to hard work, perseverance, dedication and intellectual honesty.

The Governor suggested

for organising the biennial festival in different parts of the State so that the people of the State feel it and be part of the festival.

He also suggested for organising film festival amongst different North Eastern States on rotation basis.

In his address, Jahnu Barua advised the Film fraternity of the region to go for quality films and not just copy Hollywood or Hindi commercial films. While stating that cinema is a powerful tool for development, Barua urged them to be responsible and be proud of their creation and work with passion.

Barua appealed to the

State Government to understand cinema and help the film makers.

Speaking on the occasion, Film Director and Composer from Manipur, Aribam Syam Sharma said that North East film festivals help in expressing the mongoloids feature and culture.

Secretary Art & Culture Dani Salu hopes that the festival will be a springboard for the film makers to showcase their creativity.

Festival Director Moji Riba informed that 75 films will be screened in the four-day festival.

President, Film Federation of Arunachal, Chopa Cheda, who himself is a

There have been eight entries in the feature film segment, nine entries in the Debut segment and 20 entries in the documentary segment concerning issues of the region. Of the 27 entries in the short film segment, only 22 will be screened.

There are 12 awards to be given away in the finale.

The best film (short), best documentary, and best debut feature film has a cash prize of Rs 2 lakhs each along with trophies while others would be awarded trophies.

Around 50 film makers from the eight states of the region, celebrated film makers Meghana Gulzar will be attending the film festival. Regional talents from Manipur, Kaiku and Soma Laishram will also attend the festival. (PRO to Governor)

Ali- Aye-Ligang celebrated with pomp and gaiety to preserve age-old culture

Oyan, Feb 17: Ali- AyeLigang was celebrated with great pomp and gaiety at the Ba-Bu Oiram Bori Dirbi Lotta, Oyan today and people from all walks of life participated to make the festival a grand success. AliAye-Ligang is celebrated on the first Wednesday of Fagun month (between January and February) every year and is associated with agro-based rites and rituals.

Greeting the people on the auspicious occasion, East Siang Deputy Commissioner Isha Khosla paid homage to Babu Oiram Bori, pioneer of Mishing art and culture and said, “AliAye-Ligang” is one of the most colourful and socioreligious festivals of Mishing community, with age-old culture and traditional value and enthusiasm. Such festivals bring all the sections of society together irrespective of caste,

Model village adopted by Member of Parliament, Ering in Namsai District K Sarmah and SDAO also spoke on the occasion for the effective realization of the end.

Film Producer in his welcome address highlighted on the first edition of North East Film Festival in the State. He opined that presence of world acclaimed producers and director will benefit the film makers of the State.

tention to providing infrastructure in schools like toilets, libraries, and supporting smart schools.

Apart from education, these villages will have quality health care. The outcomes will include 100 per cent immunization, 100 per cent institutional delivery, reduced IMR, MMR, reduction in malnutrition among children etc. To create vibrant and harmonious society within the village activities like honoring village elders, folk art festivals, having a village song etc. will be promoted. Personal development through sports, regular physical exercise, balanced nutrition, personal hygiene is another unique aspect of the Scheme. Adoption and adaptation of technology and introduction of innovations are critical to this programme. This will include use of space application and remote sensing for planning, mobile based technology for monitoring, agriculture technology for increasing productivity etc.

creed and religion and promote peace and harmony”.

“It is our moral duty to preserve and promote our distinct and rich cultural heritage,” Khosla, the Chief Guest said. She also appealed all to preserve the rich and fascinating cultural heritage for the posterity.

Further added that “we should be open to modernization but at the same time, we should ensure that our cultural heritage doesn’t get annihilated in the process”.

She also urged the people to maintain cordial relationship with other communities to uphold the feelings of unity and integrity stating that culture cannot create boundary.

The Deputy Commissioner advised to think smart and to transform the area smarter by maintaining cleanliness for better and

East Siang Deputy Commissioner Isha Khosla paid homage to Babu Oiram Bori, pioneer of Mishing art and culture healthy living. She appreciated Daaying Pao and Jitendra Pait President and General Secretary respectively and their associate committee members too for their tireless efforts in passing good message to the so-

ciety about the festival in true spirit with sacred feelings. Before concluding her speech, khosla prayed the almighty for bumper harvest, peace, prosperity and good health on the occasion.

Among prominent personalities, Ruksin ADC T Pada, Ex-MP Nyodek Yonggam, Ex-MLA Yadav Apang and Ex-ZPM Padeswar Bori were present on the occasion. (DIPRO)

APPTF urges Governor to fulfill demands A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 17: The Arunachal Pradesh Public Transport Federation (APPTF) called a press conference today to draw the attention of Governor J P Rajkhowa and urged him to fulfill its six-point charter of demands.

The demands included immediate functioning of ISBT at Lekhi Village, creation of parking space near secretariat and Banderdawa, closure of APST sumo service, shifting of APST Bus depot from Naharlagun to ISBT.

to immediately open the newly constructed Inter State Bus Terminus and Truck Terminus to minimize traffic congestion in the capital complex there has been no response from the government till date.

Appreciating the capital administration for constructing a parking space near PCCF office, he also suggested for such a space near the secretariat and also near Banderdawa check gate, reasoning that the gate acts as the connecting corridor to the rest Speaking to reporters, of the country.

APPTF chief advisor, Takar Goi informed that Meanwhile, the organidespite repeated pleas to zation also criticized the the former government Itanagar Municipal

Council for levying parking tax in the Capital Complex. “There is no transparency in levying parking tax in the Capital Complex. Hundreds of commercial vehicles drivers are charged RS 200 to 300 a day to park their vehicles within the Capital Complex, which is not genuine as commercial vehicles have already paid their taxes for a year”, claimed APPTF president Dobing Sonam.

We are not against the development or collection of parking tax by the IMC but it should have a proper system.

“How can vehicle owners repeatedly be charged taxes in differ-

ent parking areas if they have to visit more than one place in a single day” questioned Sonam, while appealing to the authority to take appropriate measures.

The AAPPTF also urged the concern authority to put an end to the sumo service run by APST in some places like Roing and Gensi, arguing that the introduction of APST sumo services have heavily affected private sumo services. “The owners and drivers engaged in sumo service business are mostly unemployed youths and are having a hard time to provide for their families”, he added.

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

PAGE 4 Guwahati all sets for Vibrant North East A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb 17: Preparations are being made for the three day long Vibrant North East program beginning tomorrow in Guwahati in Assam. The event is being jointly organized by Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development and ASSOCHAM in association with DoNER ministry.

Union Food Processing Industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal will inaugurate the event.

Adviser RNUD of Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development said that 500 young farmers will be given orientation course.

The event is set to serve as a powerful platform for the developmental projects and initiatives.

Seminars, business meet and exhibitions will be organized during the event. Rural banking, Make in North East and Horticulture and food processing among others will be the key areas of Vibrant North East.

Gogoi says large turnout at Rahul’s ‘padayatra’ is a good sign for Congress A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb 17: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the manner in which the visit of Vice President, AICC, Rahul Gandhi to Assam evoked spontaneity and enthusiasm among the people, clearly indicates that the wind is blowing in favour of the Congress.

Chief Minister Gogoi today said the large turnout of people in the public meetings and padayatra of AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi at Gohpur, Bihpuria, Titabor and Sivasagar is a clear sign that the wind is blowing in favour of the Congress in the run-up to the Assembly elections.

Fed up with the false pre-poll promises of the Modi Government to usher in acche din and u-turns on major issues concerning the State, the people have rallied behind the Congress knowing that ‘it is the most secular, pro-poor and development oriented party’. “Forget acche din and u-turns on major issues concerning the State, the Modi Government has squeezed the flow of funds by withdrawing the Special Category status, changing the funding

pattern of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and flood management programme, suspending North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy, reducing MNREGA, IAY and other pro-poor schemes funds,” he said.

Gogoi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken u-turns on all important issues like pushing back foreigners, on Subansiri dam and land swap deal with Bangladesh, thus bringing its policy of double standards to the fore. “The people of Assam have realised that they were hoodwinked into believing that the Prime Minister would do something for them but left them in the lurch. This policy of double standards will go against the BJP in the Assembly polls,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the BJP knowing it is on a sticky wicket have entered into alliance with BPF, tacit understanding with AIUDF and inching towards political parties like the AGP to cobble up an alliance to defeat the Congress. “The BJP is nervous and shaky and is trying

ALI AYE LIGANG FESTIVAL

to cobble an alliance to defeat the Congress. But the people will rally behind the Congress as it had ushered in development during the past 15 years and give them a fitting reply,” he said.

The three-time Chief Minister said the people of the State would vote for his party because of the development work carried out by his Government in the past 15 years.

"The Congress came to power in 2001 when the State was passing through the worst period in its history.

Law and order had collapsed with development activities coming to a grinding halt.

Government employees had to wait for months for their salaries. My Government had to spend its first term putting the State back on the rails.

Now employees receive salaries on time and people move around fearlessly even late at night," Gogoi said.

Gogoi reiterated that the Congress will fight the polls alone and would not enter into pre-poll alliance with any party. "We will contest the polls alone. The Congress will get a majority and form the government on its own," he said.

Mirik Lake to be cleaned, fishes to be auctioned

Missing girls performing a Gumrag Dance on the occasion of Ali Aye Ligang festival at Dibrugarh.

Pic - UB Photos

Successful conclusion of South Asian Games proves that peace has returned in Assam: Gogoi Contd. from Page 1

he said, adding that it has silenced the critics once again who had strong reservations whether Assam could host such a mega sports extravaganza.

Gogoi said it is a matter drainage system for the of great satisfaction that houses to keep the Mirik Lake clean as most of the the players and delegates drain water and sewage from the nearby households falls in the lake.

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is all set to auction the fishes in the waterbody

Darjeeling, Feb 17: As part of the cleaning operations of Mirik Lake, a popular tourist destination in north Bengal, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is all set to auction the fishes in the water body after emptying it.

The auction will be done by

the GTA Fishery department. The auction is likely to take place from Monday onwards, GTA Fishery Department in charge Jyoti Rai said, The GTA tourism department will be starting the process of cleaning the lake as soon as we start getting the fishes out from Mirik Lake and so we have

planned to auction it. The fishes like silver carp, grass carp, buduna etc. are found in the lake. There are small fishes in the lake also and we plan to distribute them to the fishermen, he said.

The GTA has already started a Sewage Treatment Plant project for the sewage and

The first phase is being done at an estimated cost of Rupees 37 crore, includes setting up of three sewage treatment plant and a better drainage and sewage system for the surrounding houses near the lake. About 35 percent work of the first phase has already finished, GTA Assistant Engineer Nayan Rai said.

The second phase will also start soon at a cost of about Rupees 25 crore. The second phase includes cleaning of the Lake and beautification of the Mirik Lake area.

It is hoped that once these projects of the GTA are completed it will give a boost to the tourism industry, he said. (Agencies)

CPM retains Tripura assembly seat for fourth successive time Agartala, Feb 17: Tripura’s ruling CPI-M on Tuesday claimed victory by retaining a huge margin of the Amarpur assembly seat where voting took place in a by-poll on Saturday. The BJP thrashed out the main

opposition Congress to take the second spot.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the dominant partner of the ruling Left Front, won Amarpur assembly seat for the fourth consecutive time. “CPI-M

candidate Parimal Debnath defeated his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival Ranjit Das by 10,597 votes. The CPI-M secured 20,355 votes, the BJP got 9,758 votes while Congress’ Chanchal Dey secured only 1,231 votes, main-

taining fourth position,” Additional chief electoral officer Debashish Modak told. The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, Pabitra Mohon Jamatia bagged 1,623 votes. (Agencies)

Students Protest against BJP in Dibrugarh. Pic - Manoj Pandey

alike have exuded happiness at the arrangements being made for them in terms of security, food, accommodation, transportation and other logistic support. “The players and delegates I had come across by and large expressed their happiness at the manner arrangements have been made for them during the Games. The fond

memories they carry with them would give a big fillip not only to sports but also development initiatives undertaken by the State Government for infrastructure development of Guwahati in the past 15 years,” he added.

The Chief Minister, however, pointed out that

he had received complaints from some sports organisers that the Organising Committee, 12th South Asian Games headed by Sarbananda Sonowal did not take them into confidence while making preparations for the Games. “If the complaints are genuine, then it is very unfortunate,” he added.

Six organizations staged out protest

Spl Correspondent Tinsukia, Feb 17: Altogether six organizations took out the protest outside the office of the deputy commissioner for one and half hours at noon today demanding

inclusion of their communities name in scheduled tribe list before assembly election in the state.

These include All Moran Students Union, Sadou

Muttack Yuva Chatra Sanmelan, All Tai Ahom Students Union, Chutia Yuva Sanmelan Asom, All Kooch Rajbansi Students Union and All Tea Tribes Students Union.

The organizations sent a memorandum to the prime minister through the Deputy Commissioner and given a copy to union home minister, chief minister among others.

BJP backing Congress faction to stop loot, save democracy, says Arunachal BJP chief Itanagar, Feb 17: The BJP was supporting the dissident group of Congress legislators in Arunachal Pradesh in forming a government with the basic intention of safeguarding democracy and stopping loot of precious funds meant for development in the strategically located backward state, Tai Tagak, president of the BJP’s Arunachal unit said on Wednesday. “We do not have any intention of forming the government.

We have only eleven MLAs. But, being a responsible opposition party, it is our earnest duty to stop people from looting funds that are so precious and are meant for implementation of various development projects in the state,” Tagak told.

The BJP was supporting the dissident group of Congress legislators in Arunachal Pradesh in forming a government with the basic intention of safeguarding democracy and stopping loot of precious funds meant for development in the strategically located backward state, Tai Tagak, president of the BJP’s Arunachal unit said on Wednesday.

“We do not have any intention of forming the government. We have only eleven MLAs. But, being a responsible oppo-

sition party, it is our earnest duty to stop people from looting funds that are so precious and are meant for implementation of various development projects in the state,” Tagak told The Indian Express over the telephone from Itanagar.

AFSPA in Arunachal Pradesh due to state govt's failure to curb militancy: BJPTuki feels he is halfway throughBJP wants govt to take up stapled visa issue with ChinaArunachal BJP urges central party to take up incursion issueBJP alleges Congress of deleting,adding names of votersArunachal unit of BJP launches satyagrahaAFSPA in Arunachal Pradesh due to state govt's failure to curb militancy: BJPTuki feels he is halfway throughBJP wants govt to take up stapled visa issue with ChinaArunachal BJP urges central party to take up incursion issueBJP alleges Congress of deleting,adding names of votersArunachal unit of BJP launches satyagrahaAFSPA in Arunachal Pradesh due to state govt's failure to curb militancy: BJPTuki feels he is halfway throughBJP wants govt to take up stapled visa issue with ChinaArunachal BJP urges central party to take up incursion issueBJP al-

leges Congress of deleting,adding names of votersArunachal unit of BJP launches satyagraha Tagak alleged that there were many complaints of mismanagement, misappropriation and diversion of development funds in Arunachal Pradesh in the recent few years.

“There has been massive swindling of funds. The High Court is already seized of the matter,” he said.

Denying allegations leveled by the Congress party that the BJP was behind the on-going political instability and dismissal of the Nabam Tuki government, the state BJP president said the Congress government had remained instable since its formation in 2014.

“The Congress had won 47 of the 60 seats in the 2014 assembly elections.

But despite that comfortable majority, chief minister Nabam Tuki could not keep his flock together. He kept dropping and inducting ministers every now and then, trying to satisfy different people at different times.

Was it the BJP that asked him to drop and induct ministers so frequently?”

Tagak asked.

Tagak said this frequent reshuffle of the Congress ministry not only weakened the Congress but

also seriously hampered governance and development in the state. “The people have been deprived of benefits of development because ministers were more busy ensuring they did not get dropped at the whims and fancies of the chief minister.

Central funds were either not utilized or misappropriated. There are several cases that require highlevel inquiry,” the state BJP chief said.

Tagak however was not confident that the new government to be headed by dissident Congress leader Kalikho Pul would last long.

“They continue to be Congress, and we can only give them outside support. It is up to them to provide a better government,” he said.

Tagak also reminded that though the Congress dissidents were up in arms against Nabam Tuki, it were the BJP legislators who took the final steps in paving the way for dismissing the Tuki government.

“It was our BJP legislature party that had moved an impeachment motion against Speaker Nabam Rebia and a no-confidence against Nabam Tuki. The dissident Congress MLAs and the two Independent MLAs supported these,” he said.

(Agencies)

PAGE 5

REGION

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

Mirik Lake to be cleaned, fishes to be auctioned BJP acting irresponsibly over JNU furore: Hegde Darjeeling, Feb 17: As part of the cleaning operations of Mirik Lake, a popular tourist destination in north Bengal, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is all set to auction the fishes in the waterbody after emptying it.

The auction, likely to take place from Monday onwards, will be done by the GTA Fishery department. GTA Fishery Department in charge Jyoti Rai said, The GTA tourism department will be Retired Supreme Court judge N. Santosh Hegde Bengaluru, Feb. 17: Retired Supreme Court judge N. Santosh Hegde on Wednesday targeted the Centre for not acting in a responsible manner in connection with the JNU row, and added that he was deeply saddened to see JNU students stooping to the level of raising anti-national slogans and terming it as freedom of speech. ""I am saddened by the fact that every incident in the country is now taking a political colour. There was an attack on professors and journalists, what is the BJP doing? Is this the way democracy is run by the government, by the people in power? I have no good word to say as to what happened in JNU," Hegde told ANI. "They (students) said Pakistan Zindabad. They also said that until India is destroyed, we will not

keep quiet. What sort of slogans are these? Is it the slogan of an Indian who believes in democracy and makes statements like this? I was very very saddened. I never expected JNU students to come to this level and justify it by saying it's a part of freedom of speech," he added.

Hegde further stated that every institution is losing its moral value, adding that political parties have exposed themselves in this incident. "They supported what happened in JNU.they are only encouraging what happened in the JNU. The Tis Hazari matter indicates the thinking of the ruling party. All the political parties are indulging in a game which will be very dangerous for the country," he said. (ANI)

CPM retains Tripura assembly seat for fourth successive time Agartala, Feb 17: Tripura's ruling CPI-M on Tuesday retained by a huge margin the Amarpur assembly seat where voting took place in a bypoll on Saturday.

The BJP edged out the main opposition Congress to take the second spot.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the dominant partner of the ruling Left Front, won from Amarpur for the fourth consecutive time. "CPI-M candidate

Parimal Debnath defeated his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival Ranjit Das by 10,597 votes. The CPI-M secured 20,355 votes, the BJP got 9,758 votes while Congress' Chanchal Dey bagged only 1,231 votes, securing fourth position," Additional chief electoral officer Debashish Modak told. The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, Pabitra Mohon Jamatia bagged 1,623 votes.

(Agencies)

Talks with HNLC: Dorphang for unilateral ceasefire Shillong, Feb 17: Former chairman of proscribed HNLC Julius Dorphang, while welcoming the state government's initiative to hold talks with outfit, has favoured declaration of a unilateral ceasefire.

Speaking to newsmen here on Tuesday, Dorphang, who represents Mawhati in the State Assembly, said, "It is good that the State Government is showing interest to start dialogue and such kind of opportunity comes once in lifetime".

Urging his former colleagues to grab this opportunity, he said, "Time has come to initiate dialogue." "It depends on them (militants) whether they want to surrender and sit for talks or continue armed struggle," he said. It may be mentioned here that the rebel-turnedpolitician had in the past expressed his willingness to play the role of a negotiator with the pro-

scribed HNLC if the State Government wants it and the outfit abjures violence.

GNLA peace offer: Meanwhile, the peace committee comprising Church leaders and several Garo Hills pressure groups recently discussed the proscribed GNLA's peace offer, our Tura correspondent adds.

During the meeting, the peace committee unanimously welcomed GNLA's peace offer and decided to urge the State government to respond positively by appointing an interlocutor and initiate dialogue with the outfit at the earliest.

The committee while appealing to the GNLA to be sincere also urged other militant groups to come forward and join the peace process.

The committee also decided to meet Chief Minister Mukul Sangma in this connection.

(Agencies)

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is all set to auction the fishes in the waterbody

starting the process of cleaning the lake soon so we must start getting the

fishes out from Mirik Lake and so we have planned to auction it.

There are fishes in the lake like the silver carp, grass carp, buduna ... We plan to auction the fishes from Monday onwards and it depends on how many days it will go on according to the number of fishes caught, Rai said.

There are small fishes in the lake also and we plan to distribute them to the fishermen, he said. The GTA has already started a Sewage Treatment Plant project for the sewage and drainage system for the houses near the lake which is also part of

keeping the Mirik Lake clean as most of the drain water and sewage from the nearby households falls in the lake.

The first phase, being done at an estimated cost of Rupees 37 crore, includes setting up a three sewage treatment plant and a better drainage and sewage system for the surrounding houses near the lake.

GTA Assistant Engineer Nayan Rai said, About 35 percent work of the first

'Fake nationalists' must stop 'anti-national virus' from spreading across nation: JD (U) Patna, Feb. 17: Accusing the BJP-led NDA Government of shielding separatists and taking action against innocent people like JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, the Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday asked the ruling dispensation to ensure that the 'anti-national virus' is stopped from spreading in the country.

"The Central Government should have taken action on February 9 when the incident had taken place. This virus would not have spread had the government taken immediate action

on the people raising anti-national slogans," JD (U) leader Ajay Alok told . "They (the government) gave ample amount of time to the separatists and the traitors. They (anti-national elements) went to Jadavpur, now they will go to Karnataka and Mumbai. This is a virus and it has to be stopped from spreading. The Central Government does not want to take strict action. The government is just doing a formality by shielding the separatists and taking action against innocent people like Kanhaiya," he added.

Continuing his tirade

JD (U) leader Ajay Alok against the government for not initiating action against the real culprit, theJD (U) leader further said the 'fake nationalism' of the ruling BJP now stands exposed before the nation. "The video footages do not show Kanhaiya raising anti-

national slogans rather he was checking the ID cards of the people who were raising slogans.

You have not arrested the person, who was actually raising anti-national slogans just because he was a PDP supporter and you want to make a govern-

ment in Kashmir," said Alok.

"These so-called nationalists should be ashamed.

Their fake nationalism is getting revealed before the nation," he added. In a report submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs on its crackdown on a group of protesting JNU students on February 9, the Delhi Police yesterday said that Democratic Students Union (DSU) activists led by Umar Khalid raised anti-national slogans on that day. The Delhi Police in its report also stated that JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar didn't join them.

(ANI)

South Garo Hills police successfully rescued three kidnapped Assam traders identified as Batchu Jain has been running a grocery shop in Adokgre for a long time. He left Adokgre en route to Dhupdhara in Assam at around 5:30 PM travelling on a private vehicle along with other passengers when the kidnappers, numbering 3-4, stopped them at an isolated spot, 30 meters inside Assam territory.

The trader who runs a grocery store in Adokgre village of North Garo Hills was abducted by suspected Garo militants

Tura, Feb 17: An Assam-based trader has been abducted by suspected Garo militants, even as South Garo Hills police on Tuesday successfully rescued three kidnapped Assam traders following a brief gun battle near a remote village called Radigre on Tuesday morning.

The trader who runs a grocery store in Adokgre village of North Garo Hills was abducted by suspected Garo mili-

tants while on his way home in the AssamGaro Hills border on Monday evening. The abduction has led to a massive security operation along the inter-state border as police from both states and the army fan out to flush out the ultras from the area. The abduction has also prompted traders from Adokgre to shut shop on Tuesday as a mark of protest against the incident.

The middle aged trader,

The armed men sought out Jain and after identifying him took him away in a waiting car back into the Garo Hills sector.

The banned GNLA is the prime suspect in the abduction of trader Jain as the group had recently served several demand notes on traders and businessmen in the Kharkutta-Adokgre region. Victim Batchu Jain is believed to have been one of the recipients of the militants tax demand.

At the same time, police

do not rule out the involvement of petty armed gangs known to operate in the area using pseudo names of militant groups.

Meanwhile, South Garo Hills police have successfully rescued three Assam based traders following a brief gun battle near a remote village called Radigre on Tuesday morning. The three Assam traders hailing from Mankachar town in Dhubri district were abducted by militants reportedly belonging to a splinter group of the A'chik Matgrik Elite Force (AMEF) on Friday last when they went to sell their wares at the weekly market of Emangre village, not far from Radigre.

The main AMEF outfit's leaders had surrendered to authorities in December last, but failed to reign in most of their cadres who went on to form splinter armed or-

ganizations with the weapons in their possession.

Based on information that the kidnappers were camping in Radigre village with their victims, SWAT commandos from the district force launched a counter-insurgency operation in the area on Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, at approximately 8:15 AM, police teams laying in ambush spotted four armed men coming down to Radigre village along with the three captives to have food.

On seeing the police team the militants reacted immediately opening fire indiscriminately. The police teams also retaliated and forced the militants to flee into the jungles leaving behind the three captive traders who were rescued by the security forces unharmed.

(Agencies)

Red Road case: Mohammed Sohrab seeks anticipatory bail Kolkata, Feb 17: Former MLA Mohammed Sohrab, whose son Sambia was arrested in a hit-and-run case in which an airman was killed during Republic Day parade rehearsal, on Wednesday moved an anticipatory bail prayer before a city court.

Subhra Ghosh, Chief Judge at the City Sessions Court, adjourned the hearing on Sohrab's plea till February 24 on a request by the prosecution counsel. The prosecution lawyer submitted that the investigating

officer was holding a Test Identification (TI) parade and as such case diary was not available.

Sambia Sohrab has been charged under sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 212 (harbouring an offender) and 427 (mischief) of IPC for the death of IAF Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud.

Mohammed Sohrab, said to be a TMC member and a former RJD MLA, and his elder son Ambia have been absconding since the date of incident on Janu-

Former MLA Mohammed Sohrab, whose son Sambia was arrested in a hit-and-run case

ary 13 and police have launched a search for the duo in and outside the

state.

TMC has denied any connection with Sohrab

or his sons. Sambia and his two friends Shahnawaz Khan alias Sonu and Johnny were arrested in connection with the case.

A warrant of arrest has been issued against Sohrab by a city court on a plea by Kolkata Police, which is investigating the matter.

Gaud was mowed down by a speeding Audi SUV at around 6.30 AM on January 13 on Red Road outside Fort William, the Eastern Command headquarter, following which the occupants fled the spot.(Agencies)

phase has already finished. Work of the second phase, which will be done at a cost of about Rupees 25 crore, will also start soon.

The second phase includes cleaning of the Lake and beautification of the Mirik Lake area, he said. Mirik Lake is one of the popular tourist destinations in the hills and once these projects of the GTA are completed it is hoped that it will give a boost to the tourism industry.(Agencies)

PWC seeks consensus on Naga issue Kohima, Feb 17: A 19member Parliamentary Working Committee (PWC) on Naga political issue of Nagaland Assembly has been camping in New Delhi to seek the support of national political parties for early solution of the vexed problem.

The delegation, led by Chief Minister TR Zeliang and Speaker Chotisuh Sazo, called on BJP President Amit Shah and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav yesterday, a government statement said here last evening.

While Shah has given an assurance to meet their demands, Yadav expressed his party's support even for a constitutional amendment, if required, for a peaceful solution to the Naga political issue, it said.

The PWC delegation is expected to meet other national leaders for a consensus, it said. (Agencies)

MP: BJP rode moderate face of Vajpayee for Maihar Bhopal, Feb 17 : Madhya Pradesh BJP had cashed in on its ailing leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee's image by putting up his big hoardings to wrest from Congress the crucial Maihar assembly seat in the bypoll, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was confined to small displays.

Vajpayee's larger than life size hoardings across the town said those who are dutybound or are worthy of taking up responsibility never fear a victory or a defeat" (kya haar main, kya jeet main, kinchit nahin baybheet main, kartavya path par jo bhi mile, yah bhi sahi vah bhi sahi).

The BJP election managers gave pre-eminence to Vajpayee in this caste-ridden constituency having more than 35,000 Brahmin voters given that it had been a forte of this Hindu upper caste since last 18 years.

Brahmin candidates Congress' Vrandavan Badgeya, BJP's Motilal Tiwari and Narayan Tripathi (who defected to BJP from Congress) have won this seat in MP's Satna district in elections since 1998. So was the case this time around too. BJP candidate Tripathi again won the Maihar by-poll by defeating his nearest Congress rival Manish Patel by a margin of 28,281 votes. The results were declared after counting .

With this, Tripathi has created a record of sorts by winning this seat thrice from three different political parties -SP, Congress and BJP. This constituency had been a bastion of Congress which had won it eight times in the past. Janata Party, an Independent, Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party (SP) had won it once each in the past.

The February 13 by-poll was necessitated in Maihar as the sitting Congress MLA Tripathi resigned from his party and his post and joined the BJP. Of the 2,27,803 voters, 72 per cent had exercised their franchise in the by-elections.

(Agencies)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

PAGE 6

Kanhaiya Kumar, 'We don't want any outside interference': JNU journalists attacked by lawyers in court area: SC seeks report Contd. from Page 1

All that was of no consequence as the rowdy lawyers punched and kicked Kumar, who was escorted by a posse of policemen from the vehicle to court. A medical examination later revealed that he had suffered abrasions on the face and both the legs.

Even as the violence was being perpetrated in the court complex, senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Indira Jaising and Prashant Bhushan informed the top court that a tense situation was building up at the Patiala House where a group of lawyers and others were resorting to violence.

Acting swiftly, the apex court appointed a team of six senior members of the bar to proceed to the Patiala

House to report on the situation. The team comprised Sibal, Rajeev Dhawan, Dushyant Dave, A D N Rao, Ajit K Sinha and Haren Rawal.

The lawyers team rushed to Patiala House under heavy police escort and had to wade through an angry mob of lawyers who showered abuses on them. They reached the Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen's court just as the proceedings had wound up but they talked to Kumar.

Lovleen had remanded Kumar to judicial custody till March 2 but the accused had to spend three more hours in the court room as the belligerent lawyers laid siege outside. Late in the evening, he was taken to Tihar jail where he will be lodged under heavy security.

India calls for 'careful planning' for UN peacekeeping operations New Delhi, Feb. 17: India has stressed on the need for careful planning and consultative dialogue between United Nation Security Council members and the troop contributing countries while formulating the mandate of UN Peace Keeping Operations.

Speaking at the meeting of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Commission, C-34, India's permanent representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin said, planning and dialogue will go a long way in promoting safety and security of the peacekeepers.

He said that all member States where Peace Keep-

ing Operations are deployed must ensure that in cases of attacks on the peacekeepers there is an effective process to prosecute, punish and penalise the perpetrators of the attacks.

Asserting that India is one of the most active contributors in the Peace Keeping Operations Akbaruddin strongly condemned recent cases of sexual exploitation and abuse which have surfaced in some of the UN Peace Keeping Operations and said that India has a zero tolerance policy on such cases as well as across the UN. (ANI)

Lucknow golf club caddies detained in rape-murder case

Police have detained two caddies of Lucknow Golf Club in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl

Lucknow, Feb. 17: Police have detained two caddies of Lucknow Golf Club in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the rape and murder of a 17-yearold girl whose body was found in the vicinity of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's residence on Monday.

The girl, a student of Class XII, had gone missing soon after she had left home for her school on February 10. Lucknow SSP Rajesh Kumar Pandey said the two caddies- Samuel and Nasir were named by the two rickshaw-pullers, whom the police had arrested on Monday.

The two claimed they learnt about the girl's body lying in the thickets from Samuel and Nasir and only went there Thursday to collect anything they could find on her. The two stole the blazer and a mobile phone, both of which were recovered from Satguru's wife in Barabanki district, the SSP said.

He said the four of them often assembled at secluded spots to consume heroin. SSP said that if Samuel and Nasir were aware of the girl's body but did not inform the police, they come under suspicion. (ANI)

New Delhi, Feb. 17: Amid outcry over the arrest of JNU students ' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy, the varsity on Wednesday said that they do not want any 'outside interference' as they are capable of solving internal matters on their own.

JNU vice chancellor Jagadish Kumar, refrained from commenting on whether the police action in this regard was right, but said that the cops must get ample time to study the evidence and come out

with recommendations.

"It is for the police to decide. Let them look at the available evidence and come out with recommendations. Let them get free space to work on this," Kumar said during a press conference. Another JNU faculty echoing similar sentiments said that the varsity does not need any outside interference.

"We appeal to all the parties to leave the internal matters with us. We can solve this matter internally," said another.

Kumar was arrested last

February 22. Earlier, hearing the matter the apex court condemned Monday's attack on journalists in the Patiala House Court complex in connection with the JNU row.

JNU vice chancellor Jagadish Kumar

week for holding an event in the varsity campus during which anti-India slogans were allegedly

raised.

The Supreme Court will hear the JNU row and Patiala House violence on

'Vande mataram' during court proceedings lands lawyer in trouble New Delhi, Feb. 17: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sent a lawyer out of the court room for raising patriotic slogans during the hearing of the recent Patiala House Court scuffle case. Agitated by the ongoing events at Jawaharlal Nehru University, lawyer Rajiv Yadav shouted "Vande mataram" during the hearing. He was taken out of the court room by the security officials. Later, he submitted an unconditional apology before the Su-

preme Court bench for his actions.

Talking to reporters, Yadav said that he was not ashamed of his behavior. "No I am not ashamed. When terrorists are being discussed here, will it not boil the blood of youths," he said. When asked if he was proud of what he did in the court, he said, "Yes." He, however, added that he should not have done it inside the court. Expressing disappointment

over the incident, the judges asked, "'Is this what happens in top court'?Don't do such things. People have faith in this institution".

The Supreme Court has even directed the Delhi Police to make appropriate security arrangements to ensure smooth proceedings at the Patiala House court, where Kanhaiya Kumar is going to be produced today.

The apex court also said that only lawyers concerned with the JNUSU

President Kanhaiya Kumar case will be present in the court room for hearing today.

Meanwhile, senior advocate and social activist Prashant Bhushan earlier said that Kanhaiya Kumar is "a fine student leader who has been falsely implicated."

Kumar was arrested from JNU last week on charges of sedition for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during an event at the varsity.

(ANI)

Whatever has happened is condemnable and not appreciated, the court said, adding that the issue of security in the court premises has to be looked into. The apex court also directed Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi to ensure adequate security to the JNU students'

union president.

In an interim order on a petition relating to the JNU row, the court said there will be restricted entry of people in the court room during the proceedings relating to the remand of Kanhaiya whose extended police custody of two days is expiring today.

The court said, only five journalists, five lawyers, two students and two faculty members of the university, along with one investigating officer besides two family members of the accused would be allowed.

(ANI)

Case filed against Rahul Gandhi in Allahabad Allahabad, Feb. 17: A case has been registered against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in a district court inAllahabad for his remark on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) incident.

The PIL filed in the court states that Gandhi took antinational stand by voicing his support for the JNU students. The matter will be taken up for hearing on March 1.

Condemning the attack on journalists outside the Patiala House Court premises in the national capital on Monday, the Congress vice-president on Tuesday alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh (RSS) was trying to crush the opinion of the people. He said that the Congress Party would not accept it and would fight this out.

"The RSS backed people are being appointed as vicechancellors in the universities and the voices of the students are being gagged.

They are suppressing the voice of the Indian students whether in Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and in all the universities across the country. We will not accept this, we will fight against this," Gandhi told the media on the sidelines of his public rally in Sivasagar, Assam. (ANI)

U.S. Ambassador promotes Aamir Khan likely U.S.-India space engagement to be ambassador New Delhi, Feb.17: "The United States and India have a long and successful history of space cooperation. Auspicious would be a good way to describe the cooperation between India and the United States on space science." Ambassador Richard R. Verma said these words almost a year NASA and the Indian Space ago, and they still hold true Organisation (ISRO) as he looks to welcome a Research will convene the third face-tonumber of key visitors this face meeting of the ISRONASA Mars Working Group month who will lead several engagements to enhance the already impressive U.S.-India space relationship.

States and India have a long and successful history of "Space has captured the space cooperation, beginimaginations of people for ning in 1963 when India thousands of years, and it first launched a U.S.-manucontinues to offer a limitless factured sounding rocket frontier for scientists to from Thumba to study study and explore. As we Earth's magnetic equator. In push forward to tackle chal- the 1970s, India and NASA lenges on Earth, we should conducted the Satellite Inremember the importance structional Television Exof space research and explo- periment (SITE). ration to drive innovation and technology develop- SITE involved deployment ment for the benefit of all of televisions in over 2,400 people - from satellite navi- villages across India to regation and smart cities, to ceive educational programs water purification technol- via satellite. This was fology and medical imaging," lowed by the establishment said Richard R. Verma of the Indian National Sat"Space also inspires young ellite (INSAT) system in the minds and sparks passions, 1980s. The first four INSAT encouraging students to satellites were built by U.S. study science, technology, industry, and three of them engineering, and math were put into orbit by U.S. (STEM) - skillsets that launch vehicles. launch high-tech careers and stimulate entrepreneur- This early relationship has ship. Space, as part of the subsequently developed in global commons, is a pre- to a robust partnership excious frontier that will allow emplified by numerous scifor the continued advance- entific exchanges, diament of mankind. It is an logues, and joint projects. area in which international This month, several notable cooperation is not only im- visits and exchanges will portant, it has become a ne- propel our relationship forcessity," he added. ward.

As President Barak Obama said "what was once a global competition has long since become a global collaboration." The United

First, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director, Dr. Charles Elachi, and his team will speak with students in Delhi about Earth and space exploration

on February 17. JPL is working with India to jointly develop a synthetic aperture radar satellite that will allow scientists to study natural disasters and global environmental changes.

NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will convene the third face-to-face meeting of the ISRO-NASA Mars Working Group in Bengaluru on February 2225.

The working group coordinates observations and science analysis between NASA and ISRO's Mars spacecraft - including India's Mars Orbiter Mission and NASA's MAVEN which arrived at Mars within days of each other in September 2014 - and explores potential cooperation on future missions to Mars.

NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Dava Newman will travel to ISRO to open this event and hold discussions with ISRO counterparts.

discuss the long-term sustainability and security of the outer space environment. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Frank Rose will lead our delegation to this annual event. We anticipate that NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams will be in Delhi February 25-26 for engagements with students and space policy thinkers. She intends to share her impressive experiences from her many spacewalks and inspire students to continue in their STEM pursuits. Her engagement with the space community would also serve to bolster U.S.-India engagement in space.

The Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) will host the second annual Kalpana Chawla Space Policy Dialogue February 24-26. The dialogue is named in honor of NASA Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-American woman in space, who perNASA Planetary Science ished in the Columbia Division Director, Dr. Space Shuttle tragedy.

James Green, will lead the U.S. delegation in technical ORF holds this annual diadiscussions related to Mars logue to create a global platfindings and collaboration. form to exchange views on The Federation of Indian the civil, security, and comChambers of Commerce mercial aspects of outer and Industry, with the sup- space and honor Ms. port of India's Ministry of Chawla's legacy of bravery External Affairs, is organiz- and exploration. ing a National Conference The event will host a series on Export Controls in of space policy discussions Bengaluru February 22-23. on government, commerThe event is expected to cial, and civil society issues, bring together major busi- and includes speakers from ness entities and relevant more than five countries. government officials from Ambassador Verma, Assisaround the world that tant Secretary Frank Rose, handle aerospace, defense, and NASA's Dr. Dava and dual-use items and Newman and Dr. James technologies.

Green will speak at this event. The upcoming events The U.S.-India Space Secu- will serve to celebrate our rity Dialogue on February joint successes in space and 24 in Delhi will bring to- move us forward to greater gether our governments to heights together. (ANI)

for Maha Govt.'s 'Jalyukta Shivar'

Mumbai, Feb. 17: Bollywood star Aamir Khan is likely to be the brand ambassador of 'Jalyukt Shivar' project, an initiative by Maharashtra Government to make the state drought-free.

The move by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government to get the star on board to partner for one of its flagship schemes, comes less than three months after actor found himself in the middle of an 'intolerance debate'.

According to reports, Khan and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are expected to make a joint announcement of the initiative at the government guesthouse on Wednesday. Earlier, following the actor's controversial comments on the issue of intolerance, the BJP government ended his contract as the brand ambassador for the 'Incredible India' campaign. (ANI)

SC to hear petition on Rahul Gandhi defamation case today New Delhi, Feb. 17: The Supreme Court will hear Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi's petition today, urging it to reject a case of defamation against him over his recent statement on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is going on in a lower court in Mumbai.

Earlier, the Congress vice-president accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the RSS of trying to create disruption in plural but harmonious social fabric in Assam.

"Today, any youth contesting the ideals of the RSS is branded an anti-national. What is this RSS? Does it have exclusive licence to serve the country? Are they not the people who had pumped three bullets into the chest of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation," Rahul said. (ANI)

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

PAGE 7

NEIGHBOURS

US jets fly over South Korea in show of force 100 aid trucks to enter besieged Syrian areas

Seoul, Feb 17: At least four US F-22 stealth fighters flew over South Korea's airspace on Wednesday in an apparent show of force toward North Korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. The nuclear-capable US fighter jets flew low over Osan Air Base near Seoul around noon, Xinhua reported.

The F-22 stealth fighters, which made a sortie from an airbase in Japan, were escorted by four South Korean F-15K fighters and four US F-16 fighters. Two of them were set

to return back to the airbase in Japan while the remaining were reportedly scheduled to stay at the Osan Air Base for the time being.

F-22 fighter, which has a stealth function of escaping radar detection, is capable of carrying nuclear missiles and bombs. Its operational range reaches as far as 2,177 km. The F-22s deployed at a US airbase in Japan can fly to the Korean peninsula in about two hours. The fly-over came in the wake of

Four days after North Korea's nuclear detonation last month, the US military sent a longrange B-52 bomber, capable of delivering nuclear bombs, over South Korea's airspace from the US air base in Guam.

At least four US F-22 stealth fighters flew over South Korea's airspace on Wednesday

Pyongyang's launch on February 7 of a longrange rocket, which North Korea claimed was a peaceful space programme but Seoul

and Washington denounced it as a prohibited test of ballistic missile technology followed by the fourth nuclear test on January 6.

The B-52 bomber can infiltrate at the highest altitude of 55,000 feet, or 16.8 km, carrying 35 conventional bombs and 12 cruise missiles. It can deliver air-to-ground nuclear missiles with a range of 200 km and air-

launched cruise missiles with a range of 2,5003,000 km.

In addition, the US recently dispatched a nuclear-powered submarine to the Korean peninsula. The USS John C. Stennis, a US nuclearpowered aircraft carrier, will reportedly be mobilised to South Korea during this year's joint annual war games between Seoul and Washington that will kick off on March 7 and run through April 30.

(Agencies)

China opposes deployment of THAAD in South Korea Seoul, Feb 17: China unequivocally opposes the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), an advanced US missile defence system, in South Korea, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said on Tuesday.

Zhang said this on the sidelines of the seventh high-level strategic dialogue between the foreign affairs ministries of China and South Korea, Xinhua reported. Zhang said the current situation on the Korean peninsula

US stealth jets flying over S Korea amid N Korea Osan Air Base, Feb 17: Four US F-22 stealth fighters are flying over South Korea amid growing tensions following North Korea's rocket launch.

The high-tech planes capable of sneaking past radar undetected were seen flying near a U.S. air base near Seoul on Wednesday.

Pyongyang will likely view the arrivals of the planes as a threat as they are a clear show of force against the country.

The United States often sends powerful and sophisticated warplanes to South Korea in times of tension with North Korea.

Last month, the United States sent a powerful nuclear-capable B-52 bomber to South Korea following North Korea's fourth nuclear test. (Agencies)

At least 15 civilians dead in Syria coalition air raids: Monitor Beirut, Feb 17: At least 15 civilians were killed in US-led coalition air strikes on Tuesday on a town in northeast Syria held by the Islamic State jihadist group, a monitor said.

"At least 15 civilians were killed and 20 wounded in coalition air strikes on AlShadadi" in the northeastern province of Hasakeh controlled by IS, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that the death toll was likely to rise. (Agencies)

Karachi University evacuated following bomb threat Karachi, Feb.17: The University of Karachiwas evacuated on Wednesday after it was reported that three bombs had been placed at different sites in the campus.

Students and faculty were gripped with fear and panic during evacuation as news of the bombs spread, reports. Meanwhile, the bomb disposal squad and a heavy contingent of police personnel has reached the university campus to search for the bombs. (ANI)

was both extremely complicated and extremely sensitive.

China has always steadfastly sticked to the denuclearisation of the peninsula and tried to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, always having been committed to solving the issue through dialogue and negotiation.

China supports efforts at the UN Security Council to agree on a new and forceful resolution as soon as possible, he said.

"Sanctions are not an end in themselves," Zhang

said. "We still would have to find a fundamental solution through dialogue and talks." He said China was seriously concerned over the intention of Washington and Seoul to hold talks on deploying THAAD in South Korea.

Pyongyang launched a satellite-carrying rocket, which Seoul sees as a cover for a long-range ballistic missile, on February 7, after conducting its fourth nuclear test on January 6. The US and South Korea said they

China unequivocally opposes the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD)

have decided to discuss the deployment of THAAD. As one of the most advanced missile defence systems in the

world, THAAD can intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inside or just outside the atmosphere during their final

phase of flight.

Zhang said the deployment of such a system would exacerbate regional tensions and seriously harm China's strategic security interests as well as the security interests of other countries in the region.

China clearly opposes the deployment of THAAD in South Korea, he said. "We are hoping that the related parties would seriously consider the concerns of China and be prudent with what they do," he said. (Agencies)

Uganda's challengers: The candidates hoping to unseat Museveni Kampala, Feb 17: Seven candidates are challenging Uganda`s incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, 71, in Thursday`s election, hoping to end his threedecade rule. Museveni and Kizza Besigye, 59, were once close. They fought together in the bush war to overthrow Milton Obote, during which Besigye served as Museveni`s trusted personal physician.

Later, Besigye married Museveni`s former girlfriend, but the two men eventually became political foes when Besigye broke ranks with the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to make a bid for the presidency in 2001. This year is his fourth attempt to unseat Museveni with his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, his best performance so far being the 37 percent he

won in 2006. Spurious accusations of treason and rape, frequent arrests and detentions, regular tear-gassings -- both of him and his supporters -beatings and harassment have not put Besigye off.

But opinion polls have him lagging behind Museveni with at most 32 percent of the vote, insufficient to force a run-off. Another exNRM stalwart, Amama Mbabazi, 67, only aban-

doned the party he helped build after being denied anointment as Museveni`s successor.

The former prime minister and NRM secretarygeneral took the slight badly after years of loyal service, including helping to mastermind the removal of term limits in 2005 that paved the way for Museveni`s continuing rule.

Mbabazi is the most powerful party loyalist to

turn on Museveni and he did so amid grand corruption allegations, which he has denied.

Despite his high profile among Uganda`s political elites, his campaign at the head of the Go Forward party has failed to gain momentum countrywide. Like his fellow leading contenders Museveni and Besigye Mbabazi hails from south-west Uganda.

(Agencies)

'Taliban child soldier recruitment has surged' Afghanistan, Feb 17: Taliban forces in Afghanistan have added scores of children to their ranks since mid-2015 in violation of the international law, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. New Human Rights Watch research shows that the Taliban have been training and deploying children for various

military operations including the production and planting of improvised explosive devices.

In Kunduz province, the Taliban have increasingly used madrasas or Islamic religious schools to provide military training to children between the ages of 13 and 17, many of whom have been deployed in combat, it

said. "The Taliban's apparent strategy to throw increasing numbers of children into battle is as cynical and cruel as it is unlawful," said Patricia Gossman at Human Rights Watch.

"Afghan children should be at school and at home with their parents, not exploited as cannon fodder for the Taliban insur-

gency." Human Rights Watch interviewed relatives of 13 children recruited as Taliban soldiers over the past year, and verified these claims through interviews with civil society activists, political analysts and the UN. Despite Taliban claims that they only enlist fighters who have achieved "mental and physical

maturity" and do not use "boys with no beards" in military operations, some of the children recruited from madrasas in Kunduz, Takhar and Badakhshan provinces are 13 or younger.

The Taliban have previously denied the use of children and adolescents in jihadic operations.

(Agencies)

'China deploys anti-aircraft missiles Pak Punjab police guns down atleast seven on disputed SCS' suspected terrorists Beijing, Feb 17: China has deployed long-range antiaircraft missiles on a disputed South China Sea island also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam, a media report said today, even as US President Barack Obama called for "tangible steps" to settle territorial disputes in the resourcerich region.

Satellite images showed two batteries of eight surface-to- air HQ-9 missile launchers as well as a radar system on Woody Island, part of the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea, as reported. According to the images, a beach on the island was empty on February 3, but the missiles were visible by February 14.

A US official said the imagery showed the HQ-9 air defence system with a range of over 200 kilometres, which would

pose a threat to any civilian or military airplane flying close by, the report said.

It is the same island where a US Navy destroyer sailed close to another contested island a few weeks ago.

Woody Island is part of the Paracels chain, under Chinese control for more than 40 years also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The missiles arrived over the past week.

The move comes as President Obama hosts 10 Asian leaders in California, many of those concerned over China's recent activity in the South China Sea. The US will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and will support the right of all countries to do the same, Obama said yesterday, as he called for "tangible steps" to reduce tensions in the disputed and natural resource-rich South China

Sea. The Pentagon was watching the developments closely, a defence official told the news channel.

"The US continues to call on all claimants to halt land reclamation, construction, and militarisation of features in the South China Sea," the official said.

Lahore, Feb.17: At least seven suspected terrorists has been killed today during a gunfight with police officials in Sharaqpur area of Punjab in Pakistan.

in Sharaqpur and asked them to surrender.

In the past two years, China has built over 3,000 acres of territory atop seven reefs in the area.

There are a total of three runways built on three of the artificial islands, the report said. China has said that it has a historical right to all of the South China Sea. Taiwan and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim land features in these potentially resource-rich international shipping lanes.

(Agencies)

District Officer Counter Terrorism Department Nankana received a tipoff regarding 10 to 12 suspicious men riding on six motorcycles, who were seen travelling towards Sharaqpur for an attack on law enforcement personnel, reports .

Law enforcement personnel intercepted the men near a drain bridge

CTD sources revealed that police recovered 2kg of explosives, primacord, a Kalashnikov, two rifles of 244 bore and three motorcycles from the scene.

Evidence suggested the hands of Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi outfits, added CTD. (ANI)

100 truckloads of aid were to enter five besieged Syrian areas on Wednesday Damascus, Feb 17: As many as 100 truckloads of aid were to enter five besieged Syrian areas on Wednesday, as part of the ongoing efforts to deliver aid to besieged Syrians, a humanitarian worker said.

About 50 trucks were ready to enter the rebelheld towns of Madaya and Zabdani in Damascus, Xinhua quoted the humanitarian worker with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) as saying. Another 35 were set to enter Muadamiyeh,

another rebel-held area in the western countryside of the capital, while 15 others were to be delivered to Kafraya and Foa, both Shia towns besieged by the rebels in Idlib province.

The delivery of aid to the troubled areas were going to take place on periodic basis, in accordance to the needs of each area.

The worker said the media team was going to enter Kafraya and Foa, while a mobile clinic unit was to enter Madaya.

(Agencies)

Oli donates salary to rebuild Kathmandu's Dharahara Kathmandu, Feb 17: Launching a campaign to reconstruct the Dharahara, also known as Bhimsen Tower, one of Kathmandu's landmarks that came crashing down during the devastating quake last April 25, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has announced he would donate one month's salary

Archaeology (DoA) in coordination with Kathmandu Metropolitan City, will reconstruct the 250-foot-tall structure dating to 1832.

The DoA has opened a bank account into which an individual or organisation can donate the amount of money they wish.

According to DoA, the government is preparing

Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli toward the effort.

The prime minister's move on Tuesday is considered an attempt to encourage Nepali citizens to chip in for the rebuilding of the historic monument, Xinhua reported.

"We have to construct our heritage sites on our own. I urge all the Nepali citizens to help in the noble cause," Oli said, adding Dharahara will be reconstructed only with the money of Nepalese citizens.

As per the government's plan, the Department of

to commence the reconstruction of 104 heritage sites, including the Dharahara, from April 24. Of these, 61 will be constructed within a year and the remaining 40 in two years.

A total of 754 historical, cultural and religious monuments in 20 districts were damaged in the quake and its aftershocks.

Among them, 133 have been reduced to rubble, while 621 have sustained varied degrees of damage. (Agencies)

2 Indian warships call at Myanmar port

CTD sources ensured that when the firing stopped, seven men were killed by 'firing of their accomplices'.

Two Indian Navy warships have called at Myanmar's International Terminals Thilawa in Yangon

Nay Pyi Taw, Feb 17: Two Indian Navy warships have called at Myanmar's International Terminals Thilawa in Yangon, an official report said on Wednesday.

The vessels, INS Saryu and INS Bitra, which arrived at the Yangon port on Tuesday, between them carry 174 officers

and crew members, Xinhua reported.

The visit of the two ships, set to stay in Myanmar till Thursday, came after that of an Indian Coast Guard vessel in mid-January.

That ship, designed to carry a Chetak helicopter, was regularly undertaking anti- smuggling, anti-poaching patrol in addition to tasks related to preservation and protection of marine environment and search and rescue at sea.

An Indian Navy ship had previously called at Yangon in May 2015.

(Agencies)

PAGE 8

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

North East India's land routes: A bridge to the East Assam Election 2016 Will it prove to be a game changer?

According to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi , the upcoming Assembly polls 2016 will be a battle between two "generals" - himself and PM Narendra Modi. It seems Modi is BJP's face and general too. And in the same way, Tarun Gogoi has also become the general of the Congress party in Assam.

Both generals will fight each other using their won strategies. But Tarun Gogoi, holds the opinion that Modi is not going to be the Chief Minister. He will only campaign. Indirectly, it shows the state BJP leaders are incapable of facing the Congress general and that the BJP leaders do not have confidence in them.

It seems Gogoi's stand is inspired by that of Nitish Kumar in the run up to Bihar polls when he projected the election as a fight between the native and the outsider and successfully trumped the high-decibel BJP campaign. The Assam CM, however, has no plans of forging a grand alliance, as was formed in Bihar.

He said he prefers a "maha understanding" over a "mahajot". There will be a maha understanding.

Understanding among

all the parties opposed to communal forces‌there will be no seat sharing‌understanding means the aim should be the same, to defeat BJP. Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has made it clear that it would contest the polls, due in April, alone.

Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF is another key player, but Congress fears an alliance with the party would drive Hindu voters to BJP camp.

Sources said the idea would be to go for "seatspecific tactical understanding"- Congress and AIUDF and possibly AGP will field weak candidates in each others' bastions.

Gogoi also admitted that it would be a "tough" election and quickly added, "every election for me is a tough election."

"There is anti-incumbency to an extent, but my development work will override (it)," he said. On whether he would be his party's CM face, he said: "Everyone's face will be there. But I will be the captain," he said.

Gogoi said never before has the country faced so much social disharmony how much India have faced during the reign of Modi since May 2014. Hatred and disharmony, which is visible now, was not there during Vajpayee's time. Both belong to the same ideology. Look at the suicide incident in Hyderabad. A large section of minorities and Dalits do not have confidence in the PM and that is the reason why there have a large number of rise in cases of communal conflicts in India.

Job crisis India's unemployment rate conundrum India has not escaped the youth employment crisis. When the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh advertised 368 government jobs last month, something very strange happened: 2.3 million applications flooded in.

These were not spectacular, life-changing opportunities; most of the jobs were those of "peons" or office boys. Some of the applicants even had doctorates. Unemployment rates for young male graduates in urban areas are particularly high. It feels like the more educated you are in India, the less chance you have of finding a job. Unemployment Rate in India decreased to 4.90 percent in 2013 from 5.20 percent in 2012. Unemployment Rate in India averaged 7.32 percent from 1983 until 2013, reaching an all time high of 9.40 percent in 2009 and a record low of 4.90 percent in 2013.

The labour bureau's report on Youth Employment and Unemployment Scenario 2012-2013 shows the unemployment rate among illiterate youth is lower than educated youth. Ten million Indians with graduate, post-graduate and technical degrees were looking for work, meaning that 15% of all Indians with the highest levels of education were seeking job as of 2011. Kerala had India's highest graduate unemployment rate at over 30 per cent. The data emerges from new Census 2011 numbers. Of the 116 million Indians who were either seeking or available for work, 32 million were illiterate and 84 literate. Among literates, unemployment rates were higher among the better qualified, highest of all among the 7.2 million people with a technical diploma or certificate other than a degree. At all levels of education, unemployment rates were higher in rural than in urban areas.

At every level of education, especially at the higher levels, female unemployment exceeded male unemployment. The 'unemployed' included those who were not currently working but were seeking or available for work, as well as those in marginal employment meaning that they worked for fewer than six months in the year preceding the Census - who were seeking or available for work. Overall, India's unemployment rate grew from 6.8 p.c. in 2001 to 9.6 p.c. in 2011, based on official Census data. Unemployment grew faster for illiterates than for literates. In all, India had just 56 million graduates and post-graduates in 2011 and 12 million with a technical certificate or diploma equivalent to a graduate or post-graduate degree. Half of these with the highest level of education were classified as "main workers", meaning that they worked for at least six months in the year preceding the Census.

The 'Make in India' initiative by the BJP government have bought in some amount of hopes in the mind of educated yet unemployed youths of our society. Job placement firms are expected to start generating new employment opportunities in the next few months. The government hopes to create a 100 million new jobs by 2022.

ing Brahmaputra valley to the South-East Asia and Yunnan province of China.

One of the reasons of not restoring the ancient trade routes through Brahmaputra Valley towards the east was the higher cost of road construction.

The Stilwell Road is believed to have been used by the Ahoms in the century to enPranjal Kumar Phukan 14th ter Assam. Originally called the Ledo Road, North Eastern region with the United States, during the main part of India. The the Second World War, region shares more than spent $137 million on it's as 4,500 kilometers (2,800 mi) to save itself from losing its of international border. Few planes in the North East points emerging from the Frontier while on supply connectivity related missions to Japanese-occupied China. It was named factsare: (i) The North-East after General Joseph Stilwell India was not the closed cor- of the US Army in early ner of the country; it had 1945. In fact, there is a fresh wider trade links. The re- proposal to rebuild the gion was linked up across road. the border through major It may be mentioned that and minor trade routes. (ii) The region con- there were regular routes tinued to have flourishing between Burma and India trade with the neighboring which were used by the traders, colonizers and the Budcountries. (iii) The quantum of dhist Missionaries. D.G.E. illegal border trade now is Hall mentions about one almost the same as that of such road linking Lower the legal trade with its Burma and India via the neighbors; the border trade bank of the Irrawaddy, the potential is really very high. bank of the Chindwin and The Siliguri Corridor is a the Manipur. K.M. Pannikar narrow stretch of land, lo- has mentioned about ancated in the Indian state of other route through these West Bengal, which con- hills to China. There were at nects India's northeastern least three routes connectstates to the rest of India, ing Surma valley with the with the countries of Nepal Manipur Valley and two and Bangladesh lying on ei- connecting the latter with the Kabaw Valley in the ther side of the corridor.

Patkai trade route-that, how- Chindwin river valley in the ever, could not materialize present day Burma. due to various reasons. The tribes inhabiting IndoThat was, perhaps, to fol- Tibet and Indo-Burma borlow the ancient route link- der had trade links with their

neighbors across the border. Some of the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh used to be expert traders. The Monpas, the Sherdukpens, the Boris, the Ramos, the Bokars, the Pailibos continued to have trade links with the Tibetans.

It may be pointed out that two principal trade routes, out of the several important ones in the Siang district, pass through the Bori and the Bokar countries to the Tibetan plateau. The Tibetans used to come down through the Kepung La Pass to the Ashing area of Arunachal Pradesh and further down up to. These trading activities reportedly continued in large scale up to the sixth decade of this country.

Opportunities: The Tetulia Corridor is a proposed 4 to 6 kilometers (2.5 to 3.7 mi) passage that would connect the political subdivision of Chopra in North Dinajpur district to the towns of Jalpaiguri and Mainaguri in Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal, through Tetulia Upazila in Bangladesh. The corridor would reduce the travel distance by about 84 km and facilitate access to Northeast India.

The India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway (TH) project which was initiated at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India, Myanmar and Thailand in December 2003 is a major Initiative to enhance connectivity, trade, investment and tourism by linking the

source:static.panoramio countries. The plan is to build a 1,360 km long MorehMae Sot highway the original alignment of which was to pass through Bagan, but on the suggestion of Myanmar, has been modified to pass through Mandalay now.

India Myanmar Friendship Road, a 150 km road from Tamu to Kalemyo and a 10 km road from Kyigone to Kalemyo have been constructed by the Border Road organization (BRO) of India.

Tiddim Rhi Falam Roadhave been the secondary gates for border trade between India and Myanmar.

Zolkawtar is 225 km from Aizawl, capital of Mizoram.

The Guwahati-Kunming Corridor has huge potentialities which would bring perceptible change in the economy of the North-East.

Covering a distance 2276 kilometers, it starts from

Guwahati in Assam (India) and goes across Nampong in Arunachal Pradesh (India) and Shindbwiyang, Bhamo and Myitkyina in Kachin (Myanmar) linking the Ledo-Burma road junction through Wanding and Yunnanyi to the city of Kunming in (China).

Proposed Road link/ Corridors: " S a m d r u p Jongkhar - Guwahati Shillong - Sylhet - Dhaka Kolkata (906 Kms) " Agartala Akhaura - Chittagong (227 Kms) Threats: The first concern is that in case the Guwahati-Kunming Corridor through the Stilwell Road is opened, then the region will be swamped with cheap Chinese goods. Region has just remained a consumption centre but it has not yet emerged as a productive

one. Thus, the corridor can be taken up only when the economies of the region come up with specific manufacturing products and earn India's brand image across the border by capturing the neighboring markets.

The second concern is that India's North-East shares border with the insurgencyridden North-West Myanmar-a safe haven for the NE insurgent groups in Myanmar.

The third concern is that if the Guwahati-Kunming corridor is materialized for any sub-regional cooperation such as BCIM, Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), SAARC and Greater Mekong Subregion Cooperation (GMS), then drugs and small arms may sneak into the NorthEast in huge quantities jeopardizing the peace and stability of the region.

Pakistan: What Stands in CPEC's Way? There are several potential threats to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

When Chinese President Xi when political parties from Jinping unveiled the blue- economically weak prov(Khyber print for the enormous $46 inces billion China-Pakistan Eco- Pakhtunkhwa and nomic Corridor (CPEC) Baluchistan) felt that their project last year, Pakistan province's reservations was understandably about CPEC were not bepleased. The Pakistani ing addressed. This was well degovernm e n t Muhammad Daim Fazil scribed considby the ers the project a game Chief Minister of Khyber changer for its fragile eco- Pukhtunkhwa Pervez nomic structure. This ex- Khattak, who said, "It is hilaration partly stems from not a western route but the country's wobbly eco- merely a road, because it nomic performance in re- has no such infrastructure cent years, which has seen that would improve the it fall short of GDP and condition of neglected other financial targets. The provinces such as KP, project has also elevated Baluchistan and GilgitIslamabad's strategic part- Baltistan." nership with the regional Prime Minister Nawaz superpower. CPEC is Sharif has already twice viewed as a lifeline for Pa- chaired an All Parties Conkistan, yet three potential ference to address provinobstacles could yet derail cial grievances and has this multifaceted project. formed a committee to Provincial Resentment in tackle the issues. Regional Pakistan parties from KPK (TehreekA lack of domestic consen- i-Insaf, Jamat Islami & sus can hinder develop- Awami National Party) and ment in any part of the Baluchistan (Baluchistan world, and CPEC is no ex- National Party-Mengal) ception. When CPEC was have also organized APCs initially introduced, every to discuss the provincial mainstream political party concerns. The debate has supported it, including the become so heated that ruling Pakistan Muslim China has felt it necessary League Nawaz (PMLN-N). to put out a statement urgHowever, the enthusiasm ing parties to overcome turned to deep concern their differences. A spokes-

man from the Chinese embassy in Islamabad said: "Relevant parties should strengthen their communication and coordination on the matter."

Pakistan has a troubling history of ruining big projects through political bickering, and there's fear that CPEC may meet the same fate. The Kalabagh Dam is a prime example.

The Status of GilgitBaltistan Another aspect that needs to be given close consideration is the status of Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan's claim that it has semi-autonomous control over (Azad) Kashmir is probably not wholly convincing to Chinese authorities. A top Pakistani government official (speaking on condition of anonymity) claimed that "China cannot afford to invest billions of dollars on a road that passes through a disputed territory claimed both by India and Pakistan" This is the reason why, some Gilgit government officials contend, Islamabad is now working to give Gilgit-Baltistan constitutional status by making it the country's fifth province.

Giving Gilgit provincial sta-

tus is a bold step. As stated earlier, the region is part of the disputed Jammu & Kashmir territory, and thus India also lays claim to it.

Giving it status would require Pakistan to back off a decades-old stance of plebiscite, and would require a disputed territory resolution through the United Nations. Moreover, there are concerns that India, which also claims Kashmir as its integral territory, could also annex it. This scenario has been well described by renowned strategic analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, who states: "If we begin to absorb it so can India. It legitimizes their absorption of the Valley."

Gilgit-Baltistan is the gateway to Pakistan from China, but there is no proposed hydropower scheme, economic zone, or infrastructure development plan - all of which the region needs. Gilgit-Baltistan is underdeveloped, lacks legal status, and is not getting its fair share of CPEC attention, all of which could lead to numerous problems.

Security Vulnerabilities The security atmosphere inside Pakistan poses numerous difficulties for

CPEC. Starting from Kashgar, the project will pass through GilgitBaltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, followed by Baluchistan. Unlike GilgitBaltistan, the latter two have complex security challenges, owing to years of militancy and the presence of secessionist elements.

The government has decided to install 10,000 army personnel under the command of a major-general, whose primary objective will be to safeguard Chinese engineers and guard the entire trade route.The deployment of army personnel has already begun.

This shows that the civilian and military leaderships - despite differences over foreign policy are on the same page when it comes to this strategically vital project. The rapid pace of construction and initial security measures could allow the Chinese to work with minimal problems, but putting down the insurgency in Baluchistan will be a serious challenge.

Separatists have frequently targeted Chinese workers in Baluchistan, while ruthless assaults on state apparatus continue.

Chinese authorities are also wary of the Uighur

A Futile Exercise

Source: cliparts

Sir, Viewed purely from the commercial perspective, it is a futile attempt on the part of India to stand on the way of the United States of America (USA) in the sale of eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft to Pakistan worth 699 million US dollars. The US state Department, after its approval, the Pentagon's Defence security co-operation Agency notified about the sale. The US appears to maintain a double standard towards its policy in the subcontinent. Our past experience suggests, even though India is eager for peace with its neighbor, Pakistan, since independence has always been maintaining a hostile outlook to destabilize India. Even the startling revelations of David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist and a Lashkar-e-Toiba member are not

enough to drive home about the evil design of Pakistan in hatching the plot of 26/11 to the Americans. Again, knowing it fully about Hafeez Saeed and Zaki-urRehman Lakhvi, the master mind of the attack, Pakistan harbours them. We believe, the most startling revelation of Headley is about Ishrat Jahan, who was an LeT suicide bomber. Meanwhile, many innocent people including a IPS officer were made scapegoat. Perhaps, USA is trying covertly to destabilize the SubContinent by strengthening Pakistan. We understand, to raise a voice against the sale of deadly weapons to Pakistan is simply a futile exercise.

Yours etc Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh

militants' connections with the Afghan Taliban. Islamic militants in China have expanded the extent of their fight against the government in recent years, and the perpetrators are believed to have links with terrorist groups in the northwestern belt of Pakistan. Islamabad doing its best to eliminate anti-China elements from its territory; however, there is a possibility that Uighur and Taliban (TTP) militants may join forces to threaten CPEC. China is undoubtedly aware of these conundrums. Beijing surely considered the persistent security threats and political ailments in Pakistan when deciding on the feasibility of this project. Half a century of cordial relations with Pakistan have given China the confidence to initiate the project. However, given Pakistan's unpredictable nature, China will not be able to relax until the project is completed.

Muhammad Daim Fazil is Lecturer of International Relations and Political Science at University of Gujrat, Sialkot Campus, Pakistan.

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

Letters to the editor and articles should be sent to : The Eastern Today Chowkidingee, Near Sankardeva Hospital Mancotta Road, Dibrugarh786003 (Assam) Ph: 0373-2328944 Web : editor.easterntoday@gmail.com

JOBS & career

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

Seats vacant for NTTs (Nursery Trained Teacher) & PRTs (Primary Trained Teacher).

Name of the post- NTTs (Nursery Trained Teacher) & PRTs (Primary Trained Teacher) Qualification- HS Pass or Any Bachelor Degree.

Last date- 20th feb 2016.

Preferred- Female Candidates.

Desirable- Good English fluency.

Salary- 5,000 - 8,000 (Salary will be commensurate with MERIT and EXPERIENCE. In addition, the person will be entitle to liberal perks which includes Accommodation,Food etc.)

(Freshers are welcome) How to Apply:Candidates can send their Application(CV's) @ sxskrishnai2003@gmail.com or call us 0 77 6030 2596.

Official Website: www.sxskrishnai.com Our Address: St.Xavier's School Krishnai,Goalpara Assam-783126 (Residential School Affiliated To CBSE)

CRPF Recruitment 2016 - Apply Online for 229 Asst Sub Inspector Posts Directorate General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India has published notification for the recruitment of 229 Assistant Sub Inspector (Steno) vacancies. Eligible candidates may apply online from 01-02-2016 to 01-03-2016. Other information like educational qualification, selection process, application fee & how to apply are given below…

CRPF Vacancy Details: Total No. of Posts: 229 Name of the Posts: Assistant Sub Inspector (Steno) 1. General: 78 Posts 2. OBC: 75 Posts 3. SC: 46 Posts 4. ST: 30 Posts Age Limit: Candidates age limit should be between 18 to 25 years as on 01-03-2016.

Relaxation of age will be applicable up to 05 years for SC/ ST and 03 years for OBC candidates & other relaxation details refer the notificaton.

Educational Qualification: Candidates should possess Intermediate (10+2) or equivalent from a Board or University recognised by Central or State Government.

Selection Process: Candidates will be selected based on written examination, PST, skill test, medical examination.

Application Fee: Candidates should pay Rs. 100/- by online mode through net banking, creadit/ debit card/ SNI Challan. Application fee will be exempted to SC, ST, ex servicemen & women candidates.

How to Apply: Eligible candidates may apply online through the website www.crpfindia.com from 01-02-2016 to 01-03-2016.

Instructions to Apply Online: 1. Before applying online candidates should have valid e mail id & contract number.

2. Candidates should scan their photograph & signature.

3. Log on the website www.crpfindia.com.

4. Click on New Registration & read all instructions.

5. Click on Yes Button & Fill all the details.

6. Take a print out of online application for future use.

Important Dates: Starting Date for Apply Online: 01-02-2016.

Last Date for Apply Online: 01-03-2016.

Page 9

IOCL, Digboi Refinery Jr. Engineering Assistant Recruitment Last Date: 26/02/2016.

Applications are invited from Indian Nationals fulfilling the eligibility criteria for the under mentioned posts in the pay scale of Rs 11,900-32,000 at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (Assam Oil Division), Digboi Refinery.

1. Jr. Engg. Asstt-IV (Production) - Chemical No of posts: 8 Educational Qualification: 3 (three) Years regular full time Diploma in Chemical/ Refinery & Petrochemical Engg. or BSc (Math, Physics, Chemistry or Industrial Chemistry) from a Govt. recognized Indian university/Institute.

2. Jr. Engineering Assistant - IV (Power & Utilities) - Mechanical/ Electrical No of posts:4 Educational Qualification: 3 (Three) Years regular full time Diploma in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering from a Govt. recognized Indian university/Institute and possessing Boiler Competency Certificate with class as prescribed by the Boiler Authority of the State.

3. Jr. Engineering Assistant - IV (Instrumentation) - Instrumentation No of posts: 3 Educational Qualification: 3 (Three) Years regular full time Diploma in Instrumentation/ Instrumentation & Electronics / Instrumentation and Control Engineering from a Govt. recognized Indian university/Institute.

4. Jr. Materials Assistant-IV - Mechanical/ Electrical/ Instrumentation No of posts:1 Educational Qualification: 3 (Three) Years regular full time Diploma Engineering.

Age: Minimum 18 years and maximum 26 years as on 01/01/2016 (Relaxable by 5 years for SC/ST candidates and 3 years for OBC candidates for the posts reserved for them).

Scale of pay: Rs.11,900-32,000 Selection Method: Selection would be based on Written Test of 3 hours duration and Skill/ Proficiency/ Physical Test, the later being of 'qualifying nature' only. Every candidate will have to secure a minimum of 40% marks at each stage for qualifying the selection process, relaxable by 5% for candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD against reserved positions.

How to Apply: Typed Applications as per the prescribed format along with the Demand Draft (As applicable) as given with the advertisement , supported by self attested photocopies of all relevant documents (qualification/experience/age/caste/ category etc.) should be sent by Post only to Chief Human Resource Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (AOD), DIGBOI - 786171 so as to reach on or before 26/02/2016.

ASSAM NAVNIRMAN SAMITY recruits Delivery Controller in Guwahati Jan 2016 Name of the Organisation: ASSAM NAVNIRMAN SAMITY Post:: Delivery Controller Job Category: Marketing Job Job Location: Guwahati Job Description: Eligibility-1.Minimum 10th pass. 2.Candidate must have own two-wheeler. Salary-Negotiable+TA/DA Please contact at 8822356832/8721867783 Please send your Resumes to:: navnirmanassam@yahoo.com

Indian Institute Of Technology Guwahati Guwahati - 781 039 Phone : 0361-2583000, Fax : 0361-2690762 Applications in prescribed forms are invited from the Indian Nationals for the following posts at this Institute : Deputy Librarian - 1 post (UR) Pay : PB3 ; `15600 - 39100, AGP = `8000/Essential Qualification & Experience : (1) Master's Degree in Library Science/Information Science/ documentation with at least 55% of the marks or equivalent. (2) 5 years' experience in a responsible position in an academic library. (3) Evidence of innovative library service and organisation of published work and professional commitment, computerization of library.

NB : The point No. 3 above indicates that - the applicant is expected to have a proven record of implementing new ideas in library service and experience of working in IT enabled library of a educational and research organization.

Desired Qualification & Experience : a) M. Phil/ Ph.D. degree in Library science / Information Science/ Documentation/ Archives & Manuscript keeping. b) Experience of working in Computerized Library.

Age : Below 50 years Assistant Workshop Superintendent - 1 post (UR) Pay : PB 3 ; ` 15600-39100/-; Grade Pay = ` 5400/Essential Qualification & Experience : Degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent. 4 years experience in Machine Shop in a responsible capacity covering production, planning, estimating, production control and control of labourers.

Desired Qualification & Experience : Teaching experience in relevant field. Person should have knowledge in handling sophisticated equipments such as CNC machine, FMS set up, EDM, CMM, LASER machine, plasma cutting and welding machine etc. knowledge in various manufacturing related software such as CNC programming, MASTERCAM, Solid edge, Pro-E-package etc.; able to guide practical training of students, conversant with maintenance of equipments and machineries, knowledge in planning and development of laboratories, workshop etc., knowledge of purchase, storage and issue of engineering materials, equipment and accessories.

Age : Below 40 years

Extension Officer, Economic Investigator Jobs in Commissioner of Industries & Commerce, Assam O/o Commissioner of Industries & Commerce, Assam.

Last Date: 24/02/2016.

Applications are invited in the on-line application form given in the departmental website from intending candidates for filling up of the following posts under Commissioner of Industries & Commerce, Assam.

1. Extension Officer (Industries) No of posts: 87 Pay: Rs 5200 to Rs 20200, GP= Rs 3000 Educational Qualification: 3 years Diploma in Specific Engineering branches or MSW or Degree from recognised university with advanced proficiency certificate on Computer Applications/ Industrial Management .

2. Economic Investigator No of posts: 6 Pay: Rs 5200 to Rs 20200, GP= Rs 3000 Educational Qualification: Degree with Economics/ Statistics.

Age: 18 to 38 years.

How to apply: Candidates have to apply on official website www.investinassam.com . The last date of online application is 24-02- 2016 upto 12.00 midnight.

‘The Eastern Today’ has taken an initiative to present Questions & Answers to help the aspirants in their competitive exams (SSC, Banks, Insurance, etc.).

1). Which state has declared its 50 districts as the drought-hit districts, by the recommendation of the natural calamity committee? a) Haryana b) Maharashtra c) Uttar Pradesh d) Madhya Pradesh Answer: c) 202). 2nd World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) was held at _________. a) Bangalore, Karantaka b) Pune, Maharashtra c) Hyderabad, Telangana d) Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh Answer: d) 3).Tata Steel has inaugurated the largest Greenfield Steel Project in India at which of the following states? a) Orissa b) Maharashtra c) Gujarat d) Uttar Pradesh Answer: a) 4). Who is the winner of Indiana FIDE Rating Chess Tournament held at Nagpur? a) S L Narayanan b) Srishti Pandey c) Sriram Jha d) Suri Vaibhav Answer: b) 5).Which of the following has won the 2015 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development? a) UNHCR b) UNODC c) UNICEF d) UNCTAD Answer: a) 6). What is the position of India in Global Gender Gap Report 2015 released

by World Economic Forum (WEF)? a) 112th b) 102nd c) 108th

d) 118th Answer: c) 7).Who is the present Union Minister of State (MoS) for Commerce & Industry of India? a) Anant Geete b) Ravi Shankar Prasad c) Venkaiah Naidu d) Nirmala Sitharaman Answer: d) 8). which country's antidoping agency of has been recently suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)? a) Sri Lanka b) China c) Germany d) Russia Answer: d) 9).Ram Krishna Trivedi, former ________ Governor has passed away recently. a) Uttar Pradesh b) Haryana c) Gujarat d) Punjab Answer: c) 10).What is the headquarters of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)? a) Vienna, Austria b) New York, USA c) Rome, Italy d) Geneva, Switzerland Answer: d) 11). Who has been elected as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)? a) Y C Deveshwar b) A V Girija Kumar c) Kiran Majumdar Shaw d) Harshavardhan Neotia Answer: d) 12). Which of the following bank provides loan of $120 million to fund the 2nd Bangladesh-India Grid Inter connectivity under South Asia SubRegional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Programme?

a) Asian Development Bank (ADB) b) World Bank c) BRICS Bank d) State Bank of India Answer: a) 13).Name the Indian state that signed a sister-state agreement with South Australia to boost export and investment opportunities? a) Kerala b) Rajasthan c) Gujarat d) Punjab Answer: b) 14). Egypt has signed two agreements with _____ to build its first nuclear plant at Dabaa. a) Japan b) US c) Russia d) Germany Answer: c) 15).Resurgent Partnership Summit 2015 was held at ________. a) Kolkata, West Bengal b) Jaipur, Rajasthan c) Mumbai, Maharashtra d) Surat, Gujarat Answer: b) 16). Which of the following has signed a MoU with Infrastructure Leasing (IL) & Financial Services (FS) Limited? a) Indian Postal Department b) Indian Railways c) National Highway Authority of India d) Airports Authority of India Answer: d) 17).17th Asia Pacific Youth Forum was hosted at which city? a) Kozhikode b) Bangalore c) Mysore d) Vijayawada Answer: a) 18).Who is the winner of the 2015 Reporters without Borders Prize?

a) Zaina Erhaim b) Maria Menounos c) Erin Andrews d) Katie Couric Answer: a) 19).Satpura Thermal Power Plant is located at ________. a) Maharashtra b) Bihar c) Uttar Pradesh d) Madhya Pradesh Answer: d) 20).What is the capital of Syria? a) Damascus b) Jerusalem c) Amman d) Tehran Answer: a) 21). Which of the following private sector bank has started its operation recently at Dhaka, Bangladesh? a) IDBI b) HDFC c) ICICI d) Axis Answer: d) 22). How much fund has been allotted to Delhi Government from Central Government for Swachh Delhi Abhiyan? a) Rs. 60 crore, 80 lakhs b) Rs. 80 crore, 60 lakhs c) Rs. 70 crore, 90 lakhs d) Rs. 90 crore, 70 lakhs Answer: d) 23).Who has been nominated as the United States Director of the Asian Development Bank by the President Barack Obama? a) Beheruz Sethna b) Swati Dandekar c) Paul Shrivastava d) Jamshed Bharucha Answer: b) 24). Name the Indian who won the 2015 IBSF World Snooker Championship which was held at Hurghada, Egypt? a) Neeraj Kumar b) Pankaj Advani c) Aditya Mehta

d) Brijesh Damani Answer: b) 25).Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile was successfully test fired by India at Abdul Kalam Island or Wheeler Island which was located at __________. a) Maharashtra b) West Bengal c) Orissa d) Gujarat Answer: c) 26). At which of the following state Union Railways Ministry has inaugurated the SilcharLumding broad gauge rail line? a) West Bengal b) Assam c) Maharashtra d) Madhya Pradesh Answer: b) 27).1st edition of World Indology Conference was held at _________. a) New Delhi b) Bangalore c) Mumbai d) Hyderabad Answer: a) 28).1st South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx) 2015 will be hosted at which of the following countries? a) Bangladesh b) Indonesia c) India d) Singapore Answer: c) 29).Which of the following has offering entrepreneur development programme for women in India? a) Amazon b) Walmart c) Flipkart d) eBay Answer: b) 30).Final match of Junior Asia Hockey Cup 2015 was played between_______ and

_______. a) Japan and India b) Pakistan and Japan c) India and South Korea d) India and Pakistan Answer: d) 31). Mahatma Gandhi International Centre (MGIC) was recently inaugurated at which of the following country? a) Nepal b) Sri Lanka c) Bangladesh d) Myanmar Answer: b) 32). Clean UP, Green UP initiative which was featured in Guinness Book of World Records was related to which of the following state government? a) Maharashtra b) Bihar c) Uttar Pradesh d) Gujarat Answer: c) 33).Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has recently constituted a 13 member expert committee on Sanskrit, this committee was head by _______. a) Dr Ramadorai b) Ramesh Bharadwaj c) Ved Prakash d) N Gopalaswami Answer: d) 34). South Asian Football Federation Championships 2016 will be hosted at which of the following countries? a) India b) Pakistan c) Malaysia d) Sri Lanka Answer: a) 35).Who is the Head of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC)? a) Justice AK Mathur b) B N Srikrishna c) Justice Prabha Sridevan d) Justice CS Dharmadhikari

Answer: a) 36).What is the capital of Turkey? a) Damascus b) Tunis c) Ashgabat d) Ankara Answer: d) 37).Who is the 1st player to win the ATP World Tour Finals for 4th Consecutive time? a) Sania Mirza b) Novak Djokovic c) Rafael Nadal d) Roger Federer Answer: b) 38).Harmanpreet Singh is related to which of the following sports? a) Archery b) Kabaddi c) Hockey d) Boxing Answer: c) 39).Which country has won the 8th Men's Junior Asia Hockey Cup which was held at Kuantan, Malaysia? a) Pakistan b) India c) Japan d) Korea Answer: b) 40).Who is the present Union Rural Development Minister of India? a) Chaudhary Birender Singh

b) Najma Heptullah c) Kalraj Mishra d) Ananth Kumar Answer: a) 41). With which country India has recently signed 10 agreements on mutual cooperation? a) Bangladesh b) Indonesia c) Singapore d) Malaysia Answer: c) 42). Who has been elected as the new President of Argentina? a) Ernesto Sanz b) Daniel Scioli c) Gabriela Michetti d) Mauricio Macri Answer: d) 43).Pacific 2015 International Maritime Conference was hosted at ______. a) Australia b) Indonesia c) Japan d) Sri Lanka Answer: a) 44). What is the name of the web portal which was launched by the Urban Development Ministry for small traders? a) e-trade b) e-lala c) e-wala d) e-indwala Answer: b)

DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

BUSINESS

PAGE 10

134% growth in passenger traffic made by AirAsia India Microsoft Lumia 650, New Delhi, Feb 17: Higher capacity deployment coupled with increased frequency on two routes helped budget carrier AirAsia India to make a robust 134 percent growth in passenger traffic as it flew over half-amillion customers in October-December period of 2015. The airline carried a total of 5,08,407 passengers during the period as compared to 2,17,209 passengers flown by AirAsia India in the October-December quarter of calendar year 2014.

"AirAsia India posted load factor of 84 percent in Q4 2015, an increase of one percent with a total of

Tradeplace Pvt Ltd the rest. The airline had commenced operations on June 12, 2014.

AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer, Tony Fernandes. Source: vosizneias 0.51 million passengers carried (during the period)," the airline said in a statement. AirAsia India is a joint venture in which Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd holds 49 percent, Tata Sons Ltd 41 percent and Arun Bhatia of Telestra

AirAsia India operated a total of 6,07,680 seats (capacity) during the three months ending December 2015 as against 2,60,280 seats flown by the carrier in the same period of 2014, it said adding the capacity deployment grew 133 percent during the quarter. According to the airline, it inducted one aircraft in the fleet, which took the total fleet to six Airbus A320s, besides adding Visakhapatnam in the route network during Q4-2015 while frequen-

WITNESSING GROWTH AirAsia India to make a robust 134 percent growth in passenger traffic as it flew over half-a-million customers in October-December period of 2015.

The airline carried a total of 5,08,407 passengers during the period as compared to 2,17,209 passengers flown by AirAsia India in the October-December quarter of calendar year 2014.

AirAsia India posted load factor of 84 percent in Q4 2015, an increase of one percent with a total of 0.51 million passengers carried (during the period).

AirAsia India operated a total of 6,07,680 seats (capacity) during the three months ending December 2015 as against 2,60,280 seats flown by the carrier in the same period of 2014, it said adding the capacity deployment grew 133 percent during the quarter.

The number of flights operated by the carrier also increased to 3,376 in October-December quarter of 2015 as compared to 1,446 flights in the same period of 2014, a growth of 134 percent growth, it said.

cies were increased on the Goa and Guwahati routes from New Delhi. AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes had said that his Indian joint venture airline would add two more planes "shortly and a dozen later" without putting a time line to the induction of these planes.

The number of flights operated by the carrier also increased to 3,376 in October-December quarter of 2015 as compared to 1,446 flights in the same period of 2014, a growth of 134 percent growth, it said. (Agencies)

Services exports flat at Rs 95,600 crore in December: RBI

14th straight month shrink in export, down 13.6% in January to $21 bn

Mumbai, Feb 17: India's international trade in services remained almost flat from a year ago in December 2015 with exports of $14.04 billion (Rs 95,682.6 crore) and imports of $7.19 billion (Rs 48,999.85 crore), says the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. The services exports (or receipts) were at $14.30 billion (nearly Rs 97,454.5 crore) in December 2014 and the services imports (or receipts) were at $7.24 billion (nearly Rs 49,340.6 crore) during the month.

Despite the trade in services remaining flat in December 2015 from a year earlier, the exports and imports in terms of value were the highest from any other months of the current fiscal. In cumulative terms, the services exports were at $117.34 billion (nearly Rs 79,96,72.1 crore) during April-December period of 2015-16 so far.

New Delhi, Feb 17: Exports dipped for the 14th month in a row, down 13.6 percent in January to USD 21 billion due to fall in shipments of petroleum and engineering goods, although trade deficit showed improvement.

Imports shrank 11 percent to USD 28.71 billion last month, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 7.63 billion, lowest in eleven months. In February last year, the deficit was USD 6.85 billion. The deficit would have been lower if gold imports hadn't shot up 85.16 percent last month to USD 2.91 billion. Overseas shipments of petroleum products shrank 35.18 percent to USD 1.95 billion in January, while that of engineering goods declined by 27.6 percent to 4.98 million.

For the first 10 months of

The services imports were at $63.78 billion (nearly Rs 43,46,60.7 crore) during the nine months ended December of this fiscal. Services contribute about 55-60% to India's gross domestic product (GDP) and it receives high foreign inflows in this sector.

(Agencies)

Image for representational purpose only. Source: conceptdraw

the current fiscal, cumulative exports declined by 17.65 percent to USD 217.67 billion, as against USD 264.32 billion in April-January period of 2014-15. As per the data released by the Commerce Ministry, imports dipped by 15.46 percent to USD 324.52 billion for the 10

months, leaving a trade deficit of USD 106.8 billion. The trade gap was USD 119.55 billion in April-January 2014-15.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that going by the trend, "we may end up the fiscal with around USD 260 billion". "Problem of

transfer of shipping bill, delay in release of duty drawback and interest subsidy has seriously affected the liquidity of exporters," it said in a statement. Co-Chairman - CII National Committee on International Trade Policy and Exports Sanjay Budhia said that duty drawback rates should be restored to their original level to compensate for all taxes, duties to boost exports. Oil imports last month were valued at USD 5.02 billion - 39.01 percent lower than the same month last year. Non-oil imports too dipped by 1.4 percent to USD 23.68 billion. The other exporting sectors which recorded negative growth in January include rice (33.46 percent), cashew (24.6 percent), oil meals (77.57 percent), marine products (12.29

percent), leather (12.1 percent) and textiles (6.11 percent). Similarly, the sectors where imports shrank include raw cotton (8 percent), coal & coke (38.36 percent), chemicals (12.87 percent), iron & steel (16.35 percent) and electronic goods (2.22 percent) During AprilJanuary 2015-16, oil imports declined 41.43 percent to USD 73 billion.

Non-oil imports during the period too dipped by 2.95 percent to USD 251.43 billion. "The decline in manufacturing growth and more particularly double digit decline in capital growth manufacturing should be viewed seriously as the same with decline in imports of key raw material does not augur well for future exports as well," FIEO said.

(Agencies)

New luxury property to be launched by DLF Pune, Feb 17: The luxury retail arm of real estate major DLF plans to launch a new luxury property, The Chanakya, and bring in brands such as Longchamp, Hunkemoller, G Star Raw, Juicy Couture, La Perla and Chanel Beauty to its Emporio and Promenade malls this year, a top official said. "It's a very exciting time for retail and we are excited that new brands looking to enter the country are doing it with us," said Dinaz Madhukar, senior vice president at DLF Luxury Retail. She said DLF

Promenade has recorded year on year sales growth of 8%-9% while its footfalls have grown 11%13%. "We are launching many new international brands like DC Shoes, BCBGeneration, and G Star Raw," she said.

While brands like Juicy Couture Chanel beauty have a presence in other malls in India, DLF Emporio will house La Perla and Longchamp's exclusive stores in India.

Brands like Bvlgari and Tumi have their exclusive stores in India at the

Dinaz Madhukar, senior vice president at DLF Luxury Retail.Source: estrade

Emporio in Delhi.

Madhukar said The Chanakya, coming up in Lutyens' Delhi, will offer a mix of bridge to luxury and luxury brands. "We are talking to brands in the

luxury space like Hermes, Valentino, Tom Ford Women, etc. and bridge to luxury brands such as Reiss, Kate Spade, Karen Millen, etc.," she said.

Madhukar said over the past year 25% of the inventory in Promenade has gone through a churn as the company looked at reworking and relocating store formats. "Since, we are 100% leased we have worked with brands Versace and DKNY to give us some of their existing space for brands like Bvlgari and Tumi at The Emporio. As Indian de-

signers worked on expanding their collections we helped designers like Gaurav Gupta and Monisha Jaising move to a larger space," said Madhukar. She said categories like beauty, food and apparel continue to do well in retail. DLF Luxury will continue to encourage popup store formats to enable brands to get temporary platforms. "Brands like Below the belt, Show Shaa, Desi Pop, BVR Luxuries are good examples of the above mentioned format," Madhukar said.

Lumia 650 dual-sim smartphones announced

Image for graphical representation only. Source: fonearena

Pune, Feb 17: Expanding its portfolio in the Lumia phones series, Microsoft has announced the Lumia 650 and Lumia 650 dualSIM smartphones in the market. To be available in selected markets, the phones have been priced at USD 200, as per report, and will run on the company's latest operating system, Windows 10.

The Microsoft Lumia 650 smartphones will come with a 5-inch HD AMOLED ClearBlack display with

1280x720 pixels resolution.

The smartphones will be powered by a 1.3 GHz quadcore Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor paired with 1GB of RAM. As for storage capacity, it will come with internal memory of 16GB that can be expanded up to 200GB via microSD card. Other features of the Microsoft Lumia 650 include an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front facing snapper for clicking selfies. The smartphone will be powered by 2,000 mAh battery. (Agencies)

Supporting local languages by mobiles to be made compulsory by DOT New Delhi, Feb 17: The Department of Telecom (DoT) is likely to come out with regulations in 3-4 months that will make it mandatory for mobile phones to support Hindi and at least one regional language. The move is aimed at making users communicate in local languages and access government services like e-payment through mobile phones.

"Three months down the line, there will be a regulation that will make every mobile phone sold in India mandatory to have English, Hindi and one regional language," a senior DoT official said. The official said that to make Digital India a success, "broadband cannot be limited to Englishspeaking middle and upper

class Indians and it needs to go down to rural areas".

Currently, there are many mobile phones available in the market which supports regional languages. The government is also running a programme called 'Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA)' to impart IT training for digital literacy. The scheme aims to make a person IT literate so that he or she can operate digital devices such as mobile phones, tablets and the like and send and receive emails and search the Internet for information. Besides IT literacy at a higher level, under the scheme, the citizens will be trained to effectively access various e-governance services being offered by the government and other agencies. (Agencies)

Two new 4G phones A5 and A7 unveils by Samsung

7.8% growth likely to be witnessed Gold future falls by Rs 241 on weak global cues

by India GDP in 2016: Nomura New Delhi, Feb 17: India's industrial recovery process is likely to be gradual owing to external headwinds and weak private sector investment, still the country is expected to clock a GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the next fiscal, says a report by Nomura. According to the Japanese financial services firm, the industrial production data suggests that growth momentum, including investment demand, slowed at end-2015, while industrial recovery is expected to be gradual due to external headwinds and weak private sector investment.

"Still, we expect GDP growth to rise to 7.8 percent in 2016-17 from 7.6 percent in 2015-16, led by low commodity prices, improving discretionary demand and a consumption boost from the Seventh Pay Commission," Nomura said. According to the global brokerage firm, the factors that are likely to aid growth momentum include low com-

EXPECTED DEVELOPMENT India's industrial recovery process is likely to be gradual owing to external headwinds and weak private sector investment, still the country is expected to clock a GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the next fiscal.

GDP growth is expected to rise to 7.8 percent in 2016-17 from 7.6 percent in 2015-16, led by low commodity prices, improving discretionary demand and a consumption boost from the Seventh Pay Commission.

According to official figures, industrial production declined for the second month in a row, registering negative growth of 1.3 percent in December, mainly due to drop in manufacturing and capital goods sector.

During April-December period this fiscal, the industrial output grew 3.1 percent compared to 2.6 percent a year ago. modity prices, improving discretionary demand, a consumption boost from the Seventh Pay Commission, pass-through of past rate cuts and the lagged impact of higher public capex in 2015. Moreover, normal monsoons in 2016 should also support the

rural demand, it added.

According to official figures, industrial production declined for the second month in a row, registering negative growth of 1.3 percent in December, mainly due to drop in manufacturing and capital goods sector. During

April-December period this fiscal, the industrial output grew 3.1 percent compared to 2.6 percent a year ago. "The IP data suggest that growth momentum slowed at end2015, likely weighed down by one-off factors (Chennai floods) and rising global uncertainty. In our view, because of rising external headwinds and weak private sector investment, the industrial recovery is likely to be gradual," the report noted.

On RBI's monetary policy stance, the report said that it is likely to deliver a 25 bps repo rate cut in April and stay on hold thereafter. "We expect the RBI to deliver a 25 bps repo rate cut to 6.50 percent in April.

Beyond that, we expect the RBI to stay on hold as we do not expect inflation to undershoot the RBI's 5 percent target for March 2017 and we see upside risks to its medium-term inflation target of 4 percent," Nomura added.

(Agencies)

Chennai, Feb 17: Gold future, recently fell Rs 241 to Rs 28,449 per 10 grams as participants indulged in cutting their bets amid a weak global trend.

Besides, continued profitbooking by speculators at prevailing levels also weighed on gold prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices for delivery in April contracts plunged Rs 241 or 0.84 per cent to Rs 28,449 per 10 grams in business turnover of 267 lots. Also, the metal for delivery in farmonth June declined Rs 207 or 0.72 per cent to Rs

28,720 per 10 grams in just moderate one lot. Analysts attributed decline in gold prices at futures trade to weak trend overseas where it fell for a third day after touching a one-year high last week as the recovery in equities looked set to continue in Asia, eroding demand for the safe-haven. Besides, profit-booking by speculators at prevailing levels kept pressure on the precious metal, they said.

Meanwhile, gold traded 0.4 per cent down at USD 1,204.99 an ounce in Singapore. (Agencies)

Image for representational purpose only. Source: makemytrip

Manu Sharma of Samsung India Electronics and Cine actor Shriya Saran unveils the new Galaxy A5 and A7 series smartphones at a news conference.

Source: thehindu

Mumbai, Feb 17: Selfie junkies could not have asked for more. You can click using your palm, get a wide angle and even 'beautify' the photo. Plus, the latest 4G mobile from Samsung is comfortable to hold, provides 25 per cent more battery, fast charging and looks stylish with a combination of glass metal design. It comes at a price, but obviously. Samsung's this year launch are the dual sim Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A5 targetted at the young customers and those on the go. These phones were showcased here on Monday by the firm's Director, Mobile Business Manu Sharma in the company of film star Shriya Saran. Samsung claiming to be having 62 per cent of market share in the 4G-enabled phones hopes to garner more with its range of 18 devices. "The country is poised to become second largest smartphone market in the world and we have 45 per

cent share in this area in the last two decades of presence. With more telecom firms rolling out the 4G network we are hoping to enlarge our space," he said.

The company will be focussing on lots of innovations in the coming year and expects to sail along with the projected 18 per cent growth of the mobile smartphone market in India.

The newly launched devices priced at Rs.33,400 for A7 and Rs.29,400 for A5, are available in gold, black and white colours. Armed with rear and front-end cameras with optical image stabilisation to ensure blurfree photos, the devices are equipped with faster downlink (upto 300 Mbps) and uplink (upto 50 Mbps) speeds with fingerprint sensor technology for secure access.

"I really love them, they are really cool," said Ms. Saran as photographers clicked. Within two days, A7 and A5, will be available on Snapdeal and offline stores too.

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DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

PAGE 11

Mithali guides Indian eves to ODI series win over Lanka vided a solid start to their side as the duo shared an opening stand of 67 runs.

For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari was the pick of the bowlers as she bagged four wickets for 39 runs.

A file photo Harmanpreet Kaur (41).

Openers Smriti

Mandhana (46) and Thirush Kamini (26) pro-

Nadal starts with easy win in Rio Open after registering a comfortable straight sets win over compatriot Pablo Carreno on Wednesday.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion claimed a thumping 6-1, 6-4 win over Carreno in a raininterrupted contest that lasted 80 minutes, Sport24 reported.

Rafael Nadal ANI Johannesburg, Feb.17 : Spanish tennis star

Rafael Nadal has advanced to the second round of the Rio Open

Meanwhile, David Ferrer also reached the second round with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Nicolas Jarry of Chile.

Retiring Pacquiao refuses to rule out Mayweather rematch ANI Johannesburg, Feb.17 : Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, who will retire this year to focus on his political career, has not ruled out the chances of having a rematch with American boxer Floyd Mayweather.

Pacquiao had earlier demanded a rematch against unbeaten Mayweather after suffering his sixth defeat of his career in the 'Fight of the Century' bout in Las Vegas in May. The 37-year-old said that although he had decided to take retirement in April, he hinted that he could make a comeback as he was loving the sport as much as ever.

Talking about his fitness, Pacquiao insisted that he

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DCCC beat Pioneers, Dikom win ?

Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Feb. 17: Dibrugarh Cricket Coaching Centre beat Pioneers Club by 35 runs in the Rajanu Bora B Division Cricket Tournament organised by Dibrugarh District Sports Association at DDSA stadium here today.

Electing to bat, DCCC scored 128 for six in 20 overs.

Priyanshu Mech top scored with 48 off 42 balls, hitting three boundaries and Subham Pandey scored 20 off 47 balls. Upmanyue Saikia contributed 14 off 18 balls with a lone boundary.

Edwin G. Momin took three for 14 in 4 overs for Pioneers Club. Pioneers Club were bundled out for 93 in 15.3 overs. Edwin G. Momin scored 22 off 16 with two boundaries and one maximum. Abhajit Nandi contributed 13.

For DCCC, Albert Borgohain picked up four for 16 in 3.3 overs. Anshuman Hazarika and Rashid Afraid took two wickets each for DCCC. In another match, Dikom Cricket Club defeated Nehru Sports Club by 37 runs. Put into bat, Dikom Cricket Club scored 131 for 8 in 20 overs.

Bhaskar Kashyap scored 33 off 25 balls with four boundaries and Sumit Chetri contributed 22 off 38 balls with three boundaries. Biplab Chakraborty scored 16 off 26 balls.

Manny Pacquiao remained as physically capable as he used to be in the ring a decade ago, Sport24 reported.

The eight-division world champion, who will take retirement after his last fight against Timothy Bradley in April, will then fight for a senate seat in the May elections.

All India Inter-Agri Varsity sport meet PTI Coimbatore, Feb 17 : Over 2,500 students from 62 agricultural universities across the country will display their talent in sprint and games at the 16th All India InterAgricltural Unversities Sports and Games 2016 meet, beginning here from February 22.

Besides, 13 athletic events, there will be seven and five different games in men and women categories respectively during the five-day meet, the host Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) vicechancellor, Dr K Ramasamy, told reporters here today.

Stating that 85 athletes and players, including 37 women, will represent TNAU, which was runners up in the last meet held at Jorhat, in the meet,

Dilani Manodara (43 not out) and Prasadani Weerakkody (37) were the notable scorers for Sri Lanka, which opted to bat first.

The two sides will now play the inconsequential third match at the same venue on Friday.

Ramasamy said that TNAU, which was runner four times, was talking all out efforts to be champions in this meet.

Considering the security of the participants, particularly women, the university will be losed for five days and the players will be accommodated in the hostels, he said.

The event, sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, will have an expense of at least Rs 85 lakh, of which council is providing Rs 50 lakh, he said.

To promote sports in the constituent and affiliated colleges of TNAU, the varsity would select one college for each game, so that that colleges could concentrate on one sport and become number one in that category, Ramasamy said.

According to recent surveys, the boxer is on track to win one of 12 Senate seats in the elections, with his sporting heroics playing a major role for his political popularity.

Pacquiao has won 57 fights and lost only six bouts in his professional career of more than 20 years.

For Nehru Sports Club, Ramananda Das claimed three for 17 in 4 overs and S. Bhowmick took two for 36 in 3 overs.

In reply, NSC were bowled out for 94 in 16.2 overs.

Ramananda Das scored 29 off 25 balls, hitting five boundaries and Yasmin Ali contributed 17 off 11 balls.

For DCC, Ajay Singh picked up four for 22 in 4 overs nad Bhaskar Kashyap took three wickets.

Avik Chakraborty Dibrugarh, Feb. 17: North East Frontier Railway BG construction defeated North East Frontier Railway Headquarter by 42 runs in the second semifinal of the North East Frontier Railway Inter Divisional Cricket tournament organised by Tinsukia Railway Divisional Sports Club at TDSA stadium in Tinsukia today.

Put into bat, NF Railway BG construction scored 244 for 8 in 30 overs. Parag Das top scored with 78 off 53 balls laced with nine fours and three sixes. Chandan

Rawat contributed 67 off 44 balls with eight boundaries and one six.

For NF Railway HQ, Niraj Tiwari picked up three for 27 in 6 overs and Utpal

Medhi took two for 40 in 8 overs.

In reply, NF Railway HQ managed to score 202 for 8 in 30 overs. Niraj Tiwari top scored with 62 off 57 balls with five boundaries

and three maximums and Sibsankar Roy contributed 30 off 21 balls with three boundaries and one six.

Parviz Aziz claimed four for 45 in 6 overs for NF Railway BG construction.

Veteran cricket starts from February 20th ET Correspondent Jorhat, Feb 17: The 8th Veteran Inter-District and Inter-Institution invitational T-20 Cricket Tournament affiliated to Assam Cricket Association (ACA) organized by Veteran Cricket Association of Assam. Jorhat Chapter will be held from 26th to 29th February, 2016 informed Dhrubojit Sabhapandit, the Secretary of the Veteran Cricket Association.

All together 16 teams from the state had confirmed their participation, daily two matches will be played at Jorhat stadium, JDSA ground and also at Gymkhana Club ground right from the opening day February 20th next.

Renowned cricketer from Assam, Pradip Phukan and Badal Thakur will formally inaugurate the

tournament at 10 a.m. at the Jorhat District Sports Association (JDSA) ground in presence of several noted sports persons including Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal along with Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, AAU VC Dr. Kamal Mallav Buzar Baruah, Dr. N. Muralidharan , Director of Tocklai Tea Research Institute and players coming from 16

districts throughout the state, informed by Satya Brat Baruah, the president of the Association.

According to the source , the 16 teams of the state to be played are Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Margherita, Advocate XI High Court, Sivasagar, Balaji, Guwahati, Golaghat, Jorhat, Nazira, Naharkatia, Barpeta, NF Railways, Dibrugarh, ONGC and OIL.

Spieth aims to emulate Federer, Djokovic consistency ANI Johannesburg, Feb.17 : World number one golfer Jordan Spieth has expressed that he aims to take a leaf out of the level of consistency displayed by tennis superstars Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at the top of the game.

The 22-year-old American enjoyed a superb 2015 season which saw him win back-to-back majors at the Masters and US Open. In addition, Spieth finished fourth at the British Open and second at the PGA Championship.

Spieth observed that three of the top-four players always feature in the

Jordan Spieth semi-final matches, pointing out the remarkable consistency by the top-ranked players.

He also praised the top players' relentless drive

for success despite reaching zenith of their game and Spieth identifies that quality as the quintessential ingredient to cement his spot at the pinnacle of world golf this year,

Sport24 reported.

Spieth, who has already won his first tournament this year, will next play in the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Focus is not on Olympics but getting rhythm back: Bhupathi PTI New Delhi, Feb 17 : Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi insists that his consistent presence on the pro circuit should not be considered preparations for the Rio Olympics since all he is trying to get is his rhythm after recovering from a knee injury.

Bhupathi is competing at the Delhi Open, an ATP Challenger circuit event, with country's top singles player Yuki Bhambri. It raised speculation that he may have planned a comeback for the Olympic Games since he had hardly played in the last two years.

The 41-year-old though sought to scotch the speculation and said that if he stops enjoying the game next week, he will stop playing tennis.

"Olympics is not on my

mind at all. I am just enjoying out there. I am feeling healthy. I was injured so I was not playing. I have Protected Ranking now, so I am playing," Bhupathi told PTI in an exclusive interaction.

"As long as I enjoy, I will play. As soon as I stop enjoying, I will stop playing.

If (next week) in Dubai I feel I am not playing well and my body starts hurting, I will stop playing.

Luckily I have the luxury of making my own schedule," he asserted.

A player, who has not been a part of competitive tennis for six months due to injury, can participate in nine tournaments or nine months (whichever is early) with Entry Protection. Protected Ranking (PR) is determined by the player's average ATP rankings position during

Mahesh Bhupathi the first three months of his injury.

The Entry Protection excludes wild cards and entries as a Direct Acceptance with his current position in the ATP Rankings.

Bhupathi may not be eyeing appearance at his sixth Olympics but if he gets good results and improves

his ranking, he can actually stake a claim to be considered for selection in the Indian squad despite not meeting the eligibility criteria.

Bhupathi has not represented the country in Davis Cup since September 2011 and rules require a player to be nominated in the Davis Cup squad at least

thrice in an Olympic cycle (four years), to be eligible for selection.

However, an ITF official told PTI that a National Association can appeal to the ITF Olympic Committee on behalf of a player, who does not meet Davis Cup/Fed Cup eligibility criteria for his inclusion.

Bhupathi said he was not aware about the rules.

"I don't know the rules. But physically I am feeling good which is the most important thing. Next week I am playing in Dubai with (Aisam-ulHaq) Qureshi.

"I am just trying to get my rhythm back. More matches I play, the better I feel. Compared to Chennai Open, I am feeling much better now. Three matches I played in Chennai, two in Bangkok, two in Australia, three in France and now

one here. That's 10 matches. It's more than what I played in the last two years," Bhupathi said.

Asked by what time he expects to get back his top game, Bhupathi said he "can't say."

"I am having fun out there, I want to play as much as I can. Let's see how it goes. I am not at that level (as of now)."

Rohan Bopanna, at present, is India's topranked doubles player at number eight followed by Leander Paes (52), who is eyeing a record seventh Olympics appearance but has been struggling for form.

Bhupathi, who is world No.286 right now, has time till June 6 to improve his ranking since world rankings on that day will be considered for entry into the Rio Games.

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ANI Ranchi, Feb.17 : Skipper Mithali Raj struck a composed half-century as the Indian women's cricket team outplayed Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here at JSCA International Stadium on Wednesday.

In reply to Sri Lanka's 178-9, the hosts chased down the target in just 43.1 overs with six wickets to spare, thanks to Mithali (53 not out) and

North East Frontier Railway BG construction in Final

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DIBRUGARH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18

Page 12

FASCINATING FACTS

The Arrogant Swans In a far away kingdom, there was a river. This river was home to many golden swans.

in your river are impolite and unkind. I begged for shelter but they said that they had purchased the river with golden feathers."

The swans spent most of their time on the banks of the river. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather as a fee for using the lake.

The soldiers of the kingdom would collect the feathers and deposit them in the royal treasury. One day, a homeless bird saw the river. "The water in this river seems so cool and soothing. I will make my home here," thought the bird.

As soon as the bird settled down near the river, the golden swans noticed her. They came shouting. "This river belongs to us. We pay a golden feather to the King to use this river. You cannot live here." "I am homeless, brothers. I too will pay the rent. Please give me shelter," the bird

The King was angry with the arrogant swans for having insulted the homeless bird. He ordered his soldiers to bring the arrogant swans to his court.

In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the King's court. "Do you think the royal treasury depends upon your golden feathers? You cannot decide who lives by the river.

Source: clker pleaded. "How will you pay the rent? You do not have golden feathers," said the swans laughing.

They further added, "Stop dreaming and leave once." The humble bird

LITTLE SCIENTIST

pleaded many times. But the arrogant swans drove the bird away. "I will teach them a lesson!" decided the humiliated bird.

She went to the King and said, "O King! The swans

Leave the river at once or you all will be beheaded!" shouted the King. The swans shivered with fear on hearing the King. They flew away never to return. The bird built her home near the river and lived there happily forever. The bird gave shelter to all other birds in the river.

LAUGH OUT LOUD

Over 10,000 birds a year die from smashing into windows!

A baby is born approximately every 11 seconds in the United States!

Glass is actually a liquid- if you had a glass window, over hundreds of years it would seem like it had melted a little bit!

The letter Z is only used in words more than five letters when two vowels are present.

Water expands 9% when it is frozen!

A normal piece of paper cannot be folded more than 7 times.

The only food that doesn't spoil is honey.

In China, they believe that the longer ones earlobes are, the wealthier they will be.

It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

The average person will spend 4 years of their life on the toilet!

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, was actually afraid of the dark.

CRAFTY CRAFTS How To Make A Yarn Covered Vase You will need: o A clean and dry glass jar. (From your coffee or jam for example.) o White Glue o Wool o Scissors How To Make A Yarn Covered Vase 1.

Cut lengths of wool about the size of your outstretched arm span. (Any longer and it can get a bit tricky to manage.)

2.

Tip the jar upside down and start at the base, which is now at the top.

3.

You need to spread glue all around the outside of the jar for the wool to stick to but we're going to do it in sections of about 3 cm to make it manageable and so it doesn't dry out. So spread glue around the first 3 cm of your jar.

4.

Take a length of wool and start at the bottom of the jar (now at the top), hold the end in place with a gentle push of your finger and wind the rest of the wool round the jar. Experiment to find the easiest way for you. We found that holding the wool still with one hand and rotating the jar with the other worked best for us.

Remember to hold the unglued section of the jar for turning or you'll end up in a sticky mess!

5.

When you get to the end of your wool piece, after 4 or 5 rotations, gently push the strands together to

Source: peaktipis close up any little gaps.

6.

Repeat the process with your next piece of wool starting where your last piece finished.

7.

When you get half way down your jar you'll probably find it easier to turn it back up the right way and continue working from the bottom to the top. That way you'll be able to hold on to the unglued top half easily for turning.

8.

Carry on until you've covered the whole jar and set aside to dry.

WHAT AM I ???

Colour a Flower more drops of food colouring into the water.

3.

Leave the flower overnight, and you'll see the petals change colours. If you leave the flower in the coloured water longer, more colour will fill the petals.

What You Need: o White flowers o Vase of water o Food colouring Instructions: 1.

Put a white carnation or daisy in a vase with 1/2 cup of water.

2.

Mix 10 or

The food colouring travels up through the stem by capillary action and leaks into the flower's petals. If you look closely at the petals you can see the path that the food colour and water travel.

I guess that proves the saying "You are what you eat!"

Readers can send articles, poems, sketches, stories, travel experiences, achievements etc to editor.easterntoday@gmail.com or can post to The Eastern Today.

T.C Borah Building, First Floor, Near to Sankardeva Hospital, Mancotta Road, Chowkidingee.

Dibrugarh, 786001 Assam.

Source: santabanta Sardar joined new job. 1st day he worked till late evening on the computer. Boss was happy and asked what you did till evening.

Sardar: Keyboard alphabets were not in order, so I made it alright.

Tourist: Whose skeleton is that?

Sardar: An old king's skeleton.

Tourist: Who's that smaller skeleton next to it?

Sardar: That was same king's skeleton when he was a child.

FIND YOUR PATH

RIDDLES Q: How do you make a goldfish old?

A: Take away the g!

Q: What is a cheetahs favorite food?

A: Fast food!

Q: What do you call a baby bear with no teeth?

A: A gummy bear!

Q: Where does an elephant pack his luggage?

A: In his trunk!

Q: Which day do fish hate?

A: Fryday!

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