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ASSENG/2015/64205

Vol. 1

Issue 194

Northeast Asia, Trust and the NAPCI

Dibrugarh, Saturday, December 19, 2015

Govt. dares Kejriwal to reveal name of his source in CBI

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(Governor) who was supposed to safeguard the state and Constitution," Tuki told ANI here. "How can they leave the party like that, they didn't fear to leave the party. I have written personal letter and asked if there is any personal grievances. I appeal to all of them to come back and work together," he added.

Tuki further added that the action of the Governor was not justified and legal. "Therefore, the union government should take a decision to recall the present governor and replace with a new

Tarun Gogoi responds to BJP criticism over his Delhi protest A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Dec 18

Launching an all out attack on the BJP, which has criticised his demonstration in front of Parliament at New Delhi, .Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said, "when rallying for the rights of people of the North East in the premises of the Parliament House appears to be a farce to a BJP leader, then he should clarify what one should do to impress upon the Centre to concede to the long pending demands that shape the fortune of the people

Nabam Tuki

Contd. on Page 3

Parliament proceedings mired District level media by deepening Arunachal crisis workshop ANI New Delhi, Dec. 18

The deepening political crisis in Arunchal Pradesh on Friday rocked both houses of Parliament, with Congress members staging a walkout during zero hour on the issue in the Lok Sabha, and forcing repeated adjournments in the Rajya Sabha. As soon as the Lower House began proceed-

Honour for Dr Nagen Saikia ET Correspondent Dibrugarh, Dec 18

The executive council of the Dibrugarh University in its 327th meeting held on Sept 28, 2015 has proposed to confer D.Litt honoris causa to Dr Nagen Saikia in recognition of his invaluable scholarly contribution in the fields of academics, literature and public life at the XV convocation of Dibrugarh University on January, 2, 2016 at Dibrugarh University.

ings, Congress MPs raised the Arunachal issue and trooped into the well and shouted slogans against Governor J.P. Rajkhowa. Congress members continued their protest and shouted slogans despite Speaker Sumitra Mahajan saying several times that the opposition should follow procedures and give notice as per established norms. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and

ANI Itanagar, Dec. 18

ET CAPSULES

Jumbo terror Golaghat, Dec 18: Golaghat district seems to be getting no respite from elephant terror especially in the areas of Murphulani, Thoramukh, Falongani and Rungajan, etc. Today, another herd of 35 plus elephants was seen on a rampage in the Rungajan region at around 10 am.

However, the Forest Department has not reportedly taken necessary step and as such the action and drama still continues. (Correspondent)

3 injured in road mishap

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Golaghat, Dec 18: Three persons were reported injured when a truck after losing control fell down a ditch and the engine caught fire late night yesterday. As per reports, a truck bearing number NL02G 4711 was running at high speed when it lost control at Moinapara turning on its way to Jorhat. Thereafter, it fell down a ditch and the engine caught fire. After some time, Police arrived at the spot and doused the fire using sand. In the incident, three persons got injured namely Tarun Bora, Dhonmoni Rabha and Ranjit Baruah who were taken to KK Civil Hospital. (Correspondent)

party leader Mallikarjun Kharge also trooped into the well later. The opposition said the Speaker was showing no "mercy" towards them, and thus, they had decided to stage a walkout from the House in protest. In the Rajya Sabha, Congress members, amid pandemonium, forced repeated adjournments on the Arunachal issue.

Contd. on Page 3

Arunachal Governor expresses surprise over HC stay order Arunachal Pradesh Governor J.P. Rajkhowa on Friday expressed surprise over the Gauhati High Court's stay order on the advancing the date of the assembly session from January 14 to December 16 by him. A Single Judge Bench of the high court had issued a stay order on Thursday. The high court also keep in abeyance the assembly proceedings, including removal of Speaker Nabam Rebia by a resolution of 33 MLAs and asking for maintaining status quo ante.

Earlier, the Speaker had filed a petition challenging the no-

ET Correspondent Tezpur, Dec 18

A one-day district level media workshop was organised today by National Health Mission, Sonitpur at the conference hall of the office of the joint director of health services, Sonitpur. The event chaired by Joint Director Health, Sonitpur was attended by media persons for better understanding of the health related programmes of National Health Mission. Shikha Borthakur, State public relations officer, state BCC expert NHM, Assam addressed the media persons and explained the behavioural approach. She

elaborated on the concept of BCC (Behavior Change Communication) approach in the wide perspective. Experts attending the programme explained the different schemes of health department. Sangeeta Das, District media expert, NHM, Sonitpur stressed that media should highlight the positive side of the programmes carried out by the health department thereby passing good message to the common masses. "Because the public reacts very promptly if anything is published in the media." She said adding as media plays a crucial role for the development of the society, before reporting any event it should get investigated.

Governor condoles demise of Chetry ET Bureau Itanagar, Dec 18

J.P. Rajkhowa tification issued by the Governor on advancing the state assembly session. The next hearing will be held on February 1.

The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh JP Rajkhowa has condoled the demise of Karka Bahadur Chetry, a serious patient who was on transit, lost his life on the road due to blockade in the Itanagar-

Nahralagun road caused by some miscreants. Condemning the incident which took place due to lawlessness caused by large number of miscreants, in spite of prohibiting orders in force under section 144 CrPC, Contd. on Page 3

Job mela cum trainee selection rally Laxman Sharma Namsai, Dec 18

A job mela cum skill development awareness and trainee selection rally was organized by the Industries Department here at Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh in association with the District Administration. The rally registered 325 unemployed youth/job seekers with 10 Vocational Training Providers attending the event from different parts of the country.

RK Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Namsai was the chief

Pages- 12

50% growth aim by SBI General Insurance this fiscal

Arunachal experiencing constitutional crisis for the first time in its history: Nabam Tuki Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki on Friday said that the state is experiencing a constitutional crisis in its history for first time, and squarely blamed Governor J.P. Rajkhowa for it.

"What was happening was unfortunate. We didn't expect that such thing will happen in Arunachal Pradesh. First time in the history of AP that this situation was created by the highest office of the state from whom we expect a lot of things. Situation was created by the highest office of state

5.00

Female Foeticide In India: A harsh reality

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ANI Itanagar, Dec. 18

Price -

Attendants at the job mela cum skill development awareness and trainee selection rally held at Namsai.

guest on the inaugural function while Vijay Laxmi Pandit, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Arunachal University of Studies, Namsai was the guest of honour. The welcome address of the inaugural session was delivered by BR Dey, ADI Namsai and briefed about the purpose of organizing the event to the gathering. Meanwhile addressing the gathering, RK Sharma, DC Namsai in his speech appealed to the youth to avail Contd. on Page 3

of the region." Reacting to a reported news item that appeared in a section of media where a BJP leader termed the demonstration by the CM and other Congress MPs and exMPs a travesty, Mr Gogoi said even after repeated requests and submission of memoranda when the Centre did not pay any heed to the demands of the state they had to resort to a demonstration. He, moreover, termed the statement of the BJP as ridiculous and said that the statement has Contd. on Page 4

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi

Anup Chetia granted bail in two TADA cases, to continue to remain in jail A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Dec 18

ULFA general secretary' Anup Chetia was granted bail by a court in two Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act or TADA cases, but will remain in jail as some other cases against him are pending. Special judge Alokesh Bhattacharya allowed Chetia, alias Golap Baruah, to go on bail by submitting a bail bond of Rs. five lakh and security of the same amount. The plea was made for Chetia's bail for facilitating his trial and for him to participate in the ongo-

ing peace process. Additional Public Prosecutor said the Assam government had no objection to Chetia being granted bail. He will, however, not walk out as there are a number of cases against him. Another TADA case related to the ULFA leader would be heard tomorrow followed by an Indian Penal Court (IPC) case the day after. Chetia had in his first interaction with the media earlier this month said that he was for peace talks between ULFA and the Centre. Following his extradition by Bangladesh on November 11, Chetia was ar-

rested by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Delhi in connection with a murder incident at Golaghat in Assam.

Chetia was in Bangladesh jail since his arrest by that country's police in 1997 on charges of cross-border intrusion, carrying fake passports and illegally keeping foreign currencies. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had said that the state government has all along been pursuing with the Centre for repatriation of Chetia and now since he has been repatriated he should be associated with the ongoing peace talks.

Congress feels the heat of tea tribes, road blocked in protest Rishu Kalantri Tinsukia, Dec 18

Months before the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling party Congress witnessed political heat in Tinsukia after tea tribes maha sabha, a crucial chunk of voters as far as Tinsukia vidhan sabha seat is concerned, protested against the ruling party alleging scam vis-à-vis grant of scholarship.

The protesters blocked road at Bahadur charali for several hours alleging that right and deserving students were not getting scholarship due to the scam. The protesters burned effigies of tea tribes welfare minister Etwa Munda and local congress MLA Rajendra Prasad Singh. They argued that though local MLA is not from the tea tribe community he has been included in the selection board from Tinsukia and de-

manded his removal from the board. It is important to mention that tea tribe members are an important chunk of voters in Tinsukia vidhan sabha seat.

Against the backdrop of the defeat of Congress tea tribe leader and ex-union minister from Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency in the recent elections, this protest by the members of tea tribes seems to be a danger signal for the ruling party.

Gogoi ready for 4th term as Assam CM, says Himanta’s defection to BJP will help Cong A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Dec 18

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said he is ready to be chief minister for a fourth consecutive time. He also said the defection of former health and education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to the BJP will help the Congress win next year’s assembly elections. “Yes, I am ready to be chief minister for a fourth time,” he asserted at a media briefing here. His statement comes after he dismissed speculation that his son and Lok Sabha member Gaurav

Gogoi would be projected as the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate saying the latter did not have the experience for the post. He said his onetime blueeyed boy Sarma’s defection to the BJP would help the Congress win the elections to the 126-member assembly expected to be held in MarchApril next year. After having resigned as state education and health minister in July last year, Sarma quit the Congress and joined the BJP in August this year. “Himanta is a homebreaker. He tried to break our (Congress’s) home and now he

will break BJP’s home,” Gogoi said. According to him, Sarma was, at one point of time, willing to be deputy chief minister under him.

“Later, he started saying he should be made chief minister instead of me,” he said.

Asked if the Congress would have a pre-poll alliance in the state, he the party planned to fight the elections alone. On speculation about discussions between the Congress and regional party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP),

Awareness meeting on Bangladeshi Leopard captured infiltration issue held Shambhu Boro Tezpur, Dec 18

“The illegal Bangladeshi infiltration issue faced by the North-Eastern region over the years is leading the indigenous people of the region into becoming a minority section.

The ongoing NRC up-gradation process will provide citizenship to the illegal Bangladeshis.” This was observed by one noted lawyer, Supreme Court of India, Upamanyu Hazarika at an awareness meeting organized by “Probojon Birudhi Mancha, Asom” on the burning topic of Bangladeshi infiltration problem at Sahitya Sabha Bhawan here today.

Representing the Assam chapter of the anti-infiltration platform, Upamanyu Hazarika who has been fighting for the issue through the Supreme Court of India for the last many years addressing a huge gathering further pointed out that the then Central Home Minister Jai Prakash Agarwala admitted in the Parliament on July 14, 2004 that till 2001 there were fifty lakh infiltrators in Assam against the 2.61 crore population which means twenty percent of the population are illegal foreigners.

“However, as per the report published in the white paper of the state government of Assam in October 2012 within 1985 to 2012, only 2482 for-

eigners were extradited.

Against this backdrop, it can be said that government is giving importance to the issue, but it is a matter of fact that the process is quite slow in detecting Bangladeshis for which 5.8 No. clause of the Assam Accord is allegedly violated by the government. In this clause it was clearly mentioned that foreigners coming after 1971, March 25 to Assam as per law the process of detection, deletion and expelling will be on.” He observed and added that even after the elapse of the 30 years of the Assam accord, no any notable action was seen in this regard, rather through the ongoing NRC up-gradation process the

Contd. on Page 4

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Dec 18

government is going to provide citizenship to the illegal foreigners posing a serious threat to the very existence of indigenous people of the region. Expressing strong resentment over the shrewdness of every government on the issue the noted lawyer further stated that providing advantage to the foreigners to occupy grazing lands, reserved forests and tribal belt blocks government is giving walkover to the Bangladeshis to avail Indian citizenship.

“Mentionable thing is that from December 3, 2004 an individual can avail

A leopard, which had strayed into human habitat from nearby hills at Maligaon in Guwahati, was captured using a tranquiliser after several hour long attempts on Friday.

The leopard had injured three persons and also sustained minor injuries after panic-stricken people tried to scare it away by throwing stones at it. The animal was first spotted inside the NF Railway head office at Maligaon this morning. An officer of RPF was injured by the leopard. Later the leopard attacked other two persons.

Contd. on Page 4

Contd. on Page 4

The captured lepoard

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Dalam Studio Near parking stand Khonsa

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DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

First digital library of Assam unveiled at DGC MLA’s picture vandalised Sushanta Roy Diphu, Dec 18: The first Digital Library of Assam and the 3rd in northeast India was formally opened at Diphu Government College by acclaimed litterateur and prolific writer Dr. Rongbong Terang today.

Similar type of library exists in three universities of north-eastern states i.e. Aizawl, Itanagar and Shillong.

After overcoming numerous hurdles and impediments, incumbent Principal of the College Dr. Nirob Kumar Sharma established it by converting the old fashioned classical manual

library into a Digital Central Library which is fully automated and mechanized as far as issue, return and search of books are concerned.

The various facilities incorporated in the said Digital Library are Digital Card issued to students or teachers or staff members for issuing books; the Digital Card helps the entry of the person through a server operated gate, before entry into the book shelves and information kiosk is provided near the server operated entry gate; this information kiosk helps in searching out the availability of a

particular book in the shelf. The availability of a book has to be issued in a self check-in and check-out counter with the help of Digital Card.

The return process is also done by placing the book on the table of the counter which does not require the Digital Card.

If any one does not know the self check-in and check-out process then it can be done through Computerized Issue Section operated by the Library Assistant. If any book is taken for 20 seconds the duration of locking can be adjusted as per choice. Database of all the library books

A snapshot from the cultural programme at Rangpur festival at Sivasagar. Pic Firuz Ahmed

DYFI’s 12th state convention begins today Tapas Samaddar Rangia, Dec 18: The 12th state convention of Democratic Youth Federation of India, i.e., DYFI started with a scheduled 3-day programme at Rangia Haradutta Biradutta Bhawan today. The programme started with the hoisting of flag by Loknath Adhikary, state president of the federation. Pay homage to martyrs is started by Avay Mukherjee General Secretary of the central committee. The inaugural function was presided by Loknath Adhikary. Ex central president MA Beby, Ex MLA Ananta Deka, Avay

Mukherjee Nayan Bhuyan GS state committee were special guests at the inaugural function. Seminar, cultural procession, delegate session, open session and cultural programme will be organised in connection with the convention. 300 delegates from the entire state participated in the convention. In their speeches, Ananta Deka and Avay Mukherjee criticized the present BJP led NDA government and also the erstwhile Congress led UPA government. They urged strengthening the youth movement of the country through the biggest

youth organization of the country DYFI. Mr. Mukherjee requested the delegates to come closer to the common people and serve them. He also appealed spreading the slogan 'Education for all and job for all'. “India is a secular country which was declared in 1950 but today some political and non political parties like BJP, RSS, Biswa Hindu Parishad are trying to divide the youth of the country in the name of religion,” he added. According to him, in India, all are equal irrespective of religion, caste and creed.

has been created by replacing the old conventional catalogue and card keeping system. Meanwhile, the library URL which would be accessible through the College website is still in the works. In a sense the information about books in the Diphu Govt. College Library can be accessed from anywhere in the world. The project is funded by the Director of Higher Education, Govt. of Assam. Thousands of new features can be expanded and put upon this foundation as and when those requirements are felt necessary with the mobilization of new fund. The

noble undertaking of Dr. N.K. Sarma has been highly appreciated by all sections of the people of this backward district of Assam. Among various higher academic organizations of Assam, Diphu Government College is in the forefront right now. Dr. Nirab Kumar Sarma takes the credit of introducing Biometric Punching Machine, Smart Class, Video Conferencing, CCTV Camera Installation at vital positions etc. The Digital Library of Diphu Government College is totally based on KOHA software and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology.

NDFB-S cadre arrested

LOST

ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Dec 18: Security forces belonging to police and army in a joint operation apprehended a NDFB-S cadre from Takampur area under Kachugaon police station today in Kokrajhar district.

Based on a secret information about the presence of militants, security forces conducted an operation and managed to apprehend a cadre of NDFB-S from Takampur. The cadre was identified as Nadip Narzary @ Daniel Narzary of No.1 Takampur. He was involved with extortion, kidnapping, recruiting of new cadres and nefarious activities in the area. A pistol (factory made), two live ammunition and grenade was recovered from him.

I have lost my CBSE(X) marksheet under Roll No 3130008 year 2011 and CBSE(XII) marksheet under Roll No – 3623121 M.G. SL NO – 0669405 YEAR 2013 Aanchal Sureka Dibrugarh 9435033502

Five infants die Kolkata,Dec18:Five infants died in the state- run Malda Medical College and Hospital here, an official said today.The infants, aged 2 days to 14 days, died on Thursday mainly due to low birth weight and septicaemia, Medical Superintendent-cum Vice Principal, Amit Dawn, told reporters here.On Wednesday, two infants with low birth weight had died, he said. (Agencies)

Rijiju's visit to Congress moves adjournment Kiren Nagaland cancelled motion in both Houses Kohima, December 18: DRC, Delhi, the Union

New Delhi, Dec. 18: The Congress on Friday moved an adjournment motion notice in both houses of the Parliament.

The Congress moved the adjournment motion in the Rajya Sabha over the Arunachal Pradesh issue. The Congress has been accusing the BJP of trying to engineer defections in the state. The BJP contends that a leadership tussle is on within the Congress, leading to grievances among its legislators. On Wednesday, hours after government sealed the assembly building, 21 rebel Congress lawmakers and 11 lawmakers of the BJP met at a community hall.

The deputy speaker presided over the meeting and 'impeached' the Speaker. The assembly convened at a hotel and

a 'no-trust motion' was passed against the state government. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his 26 supporting

Congress lawmakers, later elected another dissident Congressman, Kalikho Pul, as the new chief minister

The scheduled visit Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju to Nagaland to inaugurate 14th IRB headquarters at Kiphire has been cancelled due to unavoidable official engagement. According to

Minister was set to arrive in Nagaland at Dimapur Airport and from there flown to Kiphire by MHA Chopper on December 18 for the inauguration of the 14th IRB HQs at Kiphire. (Agencies)

Vandalised picture of MLA Sushanta Borgohain.

ASTRO FOR YOU You’re finally impressed by the yogis. A degree course in Art of Living? You may even fulfill a desire to begin lessons in music or dance, or something that has interested you since long. A good, good day, and it smells of sweet success.

Armed with ingenuity and lateral thinking, you are all set to take on today with practised ease. The toughest of problems will crumble like a house of cards before your intellect. A promotion or salary hike is also likely today. Money lenders and brokers will have a profitable day.

Today, you are likely to remain transparent in all your dealings. You can be optimistic about your chances of success if you choose to propose to that special someone. The day will bring more pleasure than pain.

You will spend your day reflecting on your past and thinking what went wrong.

But keep in mind that your mistakes won’t lead to the end of the world, unless you are a nuclear scientist. So get your act together, and stop brooding over your mistakes.

On some days, the sun doesn’t seem to have risen from the east, and neither does it seem you have gotten up on the right side of the bed. You start your day in a tensed atmosphere in the morning, caused by some annoyance on the part of one of your family members. But the day is not as bad as it seems. Your mood will change for the better as the day progresses, thanks to your attempt to keep yourself busy. Expect the day’s initial distress to turn into an evening of ecstasy.

You will be cool as a cucumber today. Nothing that happens will unsettle that composure. Your loved ones will stand tall and strong behind you, and inspire you to overcome obstacles. Your work will reflect dedication. Go ahead and ask for work that is intellectually taxing.

Your instincts are at their peak today. Generally, this means a lot of good, but for you, it may also mean having to put up with the trouble of small things bothering you in a big way. So, it becomes highly important for you to remain balanced and focused. Do so and you may produce wonderful results at work, and also look forward to raking in the money from various sources.

Investing in real estate could yield maximum profits today. An unusual gain from speculative trade is also on the cards. But you may need to spend time in the waiting room, before a more profitable opportunity comes by. You may just reinvent yourself to a happier self and savour every moment of life.

The winds of fortune will usher in your dreams and make them come true. Be careful not to go overboard with your foresightedness, lest they be marked delusions. You must realise that the only thing permanent is change, and hence, you must overcome any disappointment with strong will and determination.

It’s going to be a day of pleasant surprises. You will try your level best to help people around you, and will find it exceedingly frustrating when the results won’t be as expected. In fact, this may even dampen your spirit and shake your self-confidence. But try and transform your weaknesses into strengths — it will help you develop a more positive approach to life.

You will come out top in whatever you choose to do, and success will smell honeysuckle sweet! Naturally, recognition and rewards await you. Take your friends to that trendy café; you needn’t wait for a reason to party.

You need to concentrate more on your personal life, and seriously think about the changes you need to make. You are guided more by your heart in these matters. However, there is nothing to worry about, as this is a golden period for you. Today should be a progressive day that will bring a lot of positive changes in your life.

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

Image for representational purposes only.

lawmakers boycotted the proceedings, terming them 'illegal and unconstitutional'. 33 of the 60-member House, including 20 dissident

of the state. The Congress also moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on Petroleum price and excise duty. (ANI)

19-12-15 (SATURDAY) Kiren Rijiju

Sports All Assam Chess DID winner, sports personality Championship begins felicitated

Sushanta Roy Diphu, Dec 18: The week long All Assam Chess Championship began yesterday at Diphu Club. The tournament is organized by Karbi Anglong Chess Association, a statutory body of All Assam Chess Association. Executive Member of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Rupsing Teron inaugurated the tournament in the presence of Deputy Commissioner Mukul Gogoi and

Jaganath Gogoi Demow, Dec 18: Some unidentified miscreants vandalised the picture of MLA cum parliamentary secretary of home department, Sushanta Borgohain at Demow Sariali last night. In this connection, the general secretary of Demow town mondal youth congress Nabapallab Boruah informed to media that this type of incidents have taken place many time in Demow area under Demow police station.

But the police has not been able to arrest anyone till now.

Superintendent of Police Debojit Doloi. Altogether, 84 participants including previous champions and runners up are taking part in the tournament. Before the quarter final round, the contest will be played on a round robin league basis. As of today, all the contestants are in the race. According to the organizers, the league contest will continue up to the 5th round before entering the quarter final stage.

ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Dec 18: Sports fraternity and Kokrajhar district sports Association (KDSA) felicitated Dance India Dance (DID) winner Proneeta Swargiary, World School Athletic championship winner Laimwn Narzary and former Asian football captain Pradip Brahma at a programme

held in Kokrajhar today.

On the occasion of inaugural session of 21st senior women football championship,2015 for north east zone here at KDSA ground in Kokrajhar, BTC executive member for sports and youth welfare department Doneswar Goyary felicitated Swargiary, Saradha Prasad Paul, secretary of KDSA and Maguram

Balary, sports organiser felicitated Laimwn in the presence of huge public gathering. Swargiary thanked all public who voted her to win DID dancing competition in October last. Pradip Brahma was captain Asian football team in 1980 and Laimwn Narzary won gold medal in the world school Athletic Championship held in China on July last.

6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha 6-15 A.M-Classical Music 6-50 A.M-Lokageet 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto 8-35 A.M-Surar Satsori 9-05 A.M-Antara 12-15P.M-Teachers' Broadcast 12-30P.M-Hindi Film Songs 2-00 P.M-Sponsored Programme-"Jaga Grahak Jaagaa" 2-30 P.M-Western Music Programme 3-30 P.M-Mishing Geet 4-05 P.M-Programme in Khamti 4-25 P.M-Programme in Wancho 5-00 P.M-Programme in Idu 5-20 P.M-Programme in Tangsa 5-40 P.M-Programme in Nocte 7-15 P.M-Yuvavani 7-45 P.M-Daakpakhili 8-00 P.M-Ekalabya (Sponsored Prog. of K.K.H.S.O.U) 8-30 P.M-Geetor Shorai 9-16 P.M-Barerahaniya 9-30 P.M-Radio Serial Sd-/H.O.P

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DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

Manipur brothers earning handsome profits from vegetable farming Imphal, Dec. 18 : Ta k h e l m a y u m Leibakmacha and Takhelmayum Ibomcha Singh of Pukhao Laipham Makha Leikai village in Manipur are successful vegetable farmers reaping handsome profits. Agriculture is the dominant occupation of people of Manipur and is the main source of their livelihood.

In 2001, the duo started vegetable farming at their half an acre of land. Later, they took 2.5 acres of bar-

ren land on lease after the rise in demand of vegetables. They grow tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal and many other vegetables and generate an average income of Rs. 7 to Rs.8 lakhs per annum. Leibakmacha and Ibomcha also provide jobs to locals during the peak-farming season. “By next year, we are planning to do only organic farming and we will produce more varieties of vegetables because we feel

that if we do only organic farming then we will get more benefit and our marketing will also be good.

So by next year we will produce more varieties of vegetables,” said Takhelmayum Ibomcha Singh, progressive farmer The brothers use imported seeds to get better yield and look forward to avail various schemes and latest technologies to develop their farm. “I want to tell the youth to take up this kind of work. Instead

of going here and there, in case, if there is any empty space or plot then one should take up this kind of work and should make an income for their livelihood,” said Ta k h e l m a y u m Leibakmacha, Farmer Agriculture plays an important role in Manipur's economy. Such inspirational efforts will go a long way in motivating youth to undertake new ventures to become selfreliant. (ANI)

Omar Abdullah Says Practice Of Misusing Raj Bhavans Has Not Ended Srinagar, Dec 18: Amid uproar over political developments in Arunachal Pradesh, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said the practice of "misusing Raj Bhavans" to overthrow elected governments has not ended in the country. "I thought the practice of misusing Raj Bhavans to overthrow legitimately elected governments was a thing of the past, sadly

not!" Mr Abdullah wrote on twitter. He was referring to bizarre turn of events in Arunachal Pradesh, where opposition BJP and rebel Congress legislators yesterday got together in a local hotel to "vote out" Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and to "elect" a rebel Congress legislator in his place. Mr Abdullah, who is working president of the National Conference, said

Jammu and Kashmir paid a very high price for the "machinations" of the Governor in 1984 and expressed hope that Arunachal Pradesh does not face similar fall out of the present developments. "J&K has paid a very high price for the machinations of the Governor in 1984. Let's hope developments in Arunachal don't have similar fallout," he added. National Confer-

ence president and the then chief minister Farooq Abdullah was dismissed from office by then Governor Jagmohan on July 2, 1984 following a defection in his own party led by his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah. Mr Shah went on to become the chief minister with the help of National Conference rebels and Congress.(Agencies)

National Herald case: Sonia, Mother Teresa likely be declared saint Rahul to appear before next year, Pope recognises second miracle court on Saturday New Delhi, Dec 18: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi will appear before a court in Delhi on Saturday in connection with the National

priation of funds in acquiring ownership of now-defunct daily National Herald. The Congress president, meanwhile, confirmed that she would appear before the

nounced that it was temporarily suspending operations. Before its closure, the paper was being run by Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The trial

Sonia Gandhi along with Rahul Gandhi are slated to appear in court regarding the National Herald case Herald case.According to reports, the Congress is open to avail all legal remedies and options.

The mother-son duo was summoned by a trial court on the charges of cheating in the National Herald case, on a criminal complaint lodged by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy for alleged cheating and misappro-

court.Interacting with the media, she said, "Naturally". The National Herald newspaper was closely associated with India`s freedom struggle and the Indian National Congress till 2008. In January 2008, discussions about its closure began. On 1 April 2008, the paper`s editorial an-

court then issued summons to the two leaders among others in June 2014, but they approached the Delhi High Court seeking a stay. On Monday this week, the high court refused to stay the summons, and asked all of the accused to appear for a hearing on December 19.

Concern over radicalisation of youths through social media, says Rajnath Singh Agencies Rann of Katch, Dec 18: Serious concern was expressed on Friday over radicalisation of youths through social media and other online forums during a highlevel meeting of country's top police brass which was attended by Prime Minister Nadrendra Modi.After the inauguration, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the activities of dreaded terrorist group ISIS have been witnessed in India and their

is concern over radicalisation of youths through social media and other online forums. Singh also said the ISIS has been trying to enhance its foothold in I ndia's neighbourhood -- in Bangladesh and Afghanistan. "It is a fact that the ISIS activities have increased globally and India is not isolated from it. Besides, there are problems of radicalisation of youths through social media and other online forums," he said and

sought concerted efforts to tackle the problem.

He was speaking at the annual three-day conference of Directors General of Police and Inspectors General of Police being organised by the Intelligence Bureau.

Referring to Punjab, the Home Minister said external forces were trying to revive the secessionist demand of Khalistan by trying to manipulate people's sentiment. "But I am sure that people of Punjab will give befitting reply to such evil design," he said.

Arunachal experiencing constitutional crisis for the first time in its history: Nabam Tuki Contd. from Page 1

governor who can work for the better interest of the state and who can protect the Constitution of India," he added. On Wednesday, Tuki had written to Prime Minister Modi and President Mukherjee, seeking their intervention in ongo-

ing political crisis in the state. In his letters, Tuki informed them of the "unilateral decision taken by Governor J.P. Rajkhowa to summon the Assembly session without consulting the democratically-elected government.

The Arunachal Pradesh

Cabinet on Monday had endorsed the opinions of Advocate General and other legal experts on the constitutionality of the December 12 order of State Governor J.P. Rajkhowa to prepone the assembly session from January 14 next to December 16.

Job mela cum trainee selection rally Contd. from Page 1

themselves of the opportunity made available under CM’s flagship programme to create 1 lakh skilled manpower during the 12th fifth year

plan. He also asked the youth to be sincere and devoted during the course of training to gather maximum skill out of it. Speaking almost in the same vein, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, the Pro VC asked to cre-

ate more avenues in Agriculture, Horticulture and veterinary sectors to the passed out students of the university while encouraging entrepreneurship.

The entire show was accomplished successfully.

Kolkata, Dec 18: Pope Francis has recognised a second miracle attributed to the late Mother Teresa, clearing the path for the beloved nun to be elevated to sainthood next year, the archbishop of Kolkata said Friday. Mother Teresa, celebrated for her work with the poor in the Indian city, is expected to be canonised on September 4 as part of the pope's Jubilee year of mercy, according to the Catholic newspaper Avvenire in Rome. Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D`Souza said the Vatican has recognised that Mother Teresa cured a Brazilian man suffering from multiple brain tumours in 2008.

"I was informed by Rome that Pope Francis has recognised a second miracle to Mother Teresa," D`Souza told AFP in Kolkata. A panel of experts, convened three days ago by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, attributed the miraculous healing to Mother Teresa, Avvenire`s Vatican expert Stefania Falasca reported on Thursday. Teresa, who was born to Albanian parents in what is now

Skopje in Macedonia, was known across the world for her charity work. She died in 1997 at the age of 87. Nicknamed the "Saint of the Gutters", she dedicated her life to the poor, the sick and the dying in the slums of Kolkata, one of India`s biggest cities, founding the Missionaries of Charity order of nuns there. She won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Also Read: Mother Teresa to be made saint of Roman Catholic Church She was beatified by then pope John Paul II in a fast-tracked process in 2003, in a ceremony attended by some 300,000 pilgrims. Beatification is a first step towards sainthood.

Her missionary order in Kolkata - formerly known as Calcutta said it was "thrilled" and grateful to the pope.

Sunita Kumar, a missionary spokeswoman who worked closely with Mother Teresa, said the late nun was an extraordinary woman who believed hard work was the best way to serve God. "She of course read the Bible but her main understanding was to serve the poor," Kumar told

the NDTV network.

"Look at the work she did, not a day`s holiday, not a day`s rest." "I am absolutely delighted that it happens in my lifetime," she also told AFP.Her canonisation in Rome is expected to again draw large crowds for what will likely be one of the highlights of the special Jubilee year. In 2002, the Vatican officially recognised a miracle she was said to have carried out after her death, namely the 1998 healing of a Bengali tribal woman, Monika Besra, who was suffering from an abdominal tumour. The commission found Besra, diagnosed with tuberculosis and a cancerous tumour, got well after prayers by the Missionaries of Charity. The traditional canonisation procedure requires at least two miracles. For all the reverence with which her name and memory are treated, M o t h e r Teresa was not without her critics. She has been accused of trying to foist Catholicism on the vulnerable, with Australian feminist and academic Germaine Greer calling her a

All-party meet breaks Rajya Sabha logjam, but no 'truce' yet on GST Bill New Delhi, Dec 18: The Centre on Friday partially succeeded in breaking the logjam in Rajya Sabha after an all-party meet convened by Chairman Hamid Ansari ended on a positive note, but the GST Bill will not be taken up in the current session, a minister said."The meeting was positive but the response of the main opposition party was not

favourable," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters after the meeting. "There was no consensus on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, but other legislation related to the poor and ST/SCs will be taken up for discussion and passing," he added.

Amid continuous disruption in the Rajya Sabha,

Ansari had called an allparty meeting on Friday afternoon to break the logjam. The house is facing disruptions on several issues, blocking the passage of key legislation, including the GST Bill. Only three business days are left in the winter session of parliament and the government is pushing hard to pass some bills.

Parliament proceedings mired by deepening Arunachal crisis Contd. from Page 1

Members belonging to the AIADMK, TMC and the Left parties supported the Congress' demand for the recall of the Governor.

The House witnessed three adjournments during the pre-lunch session. As soon as the House took up Zero Hour mentions, Congress members trooped into the well in support of their demand; they also raised slogans against the Centre and the Governor.

As noisy scenes continued, Deputy Chairman Prof. P J Kurien adjourned the House for 20 minutes

till noon. The situation was no different when the House resumed and again it was adjourned till 2.30P.M. Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammed Hamid Ansari admitted substantive motions moved by opposition parties to discuss the political developments in Arunachal Pradesh. Announcing this during Zero Hour, the Deputy Chairman said, only the time has to be fixed for a discussion on the motions.

Meanwhile, Chairman Hamid Ansari held an all-party meeting this afternoon in an attempt to break the logjam. The House is fac-

ing disruptions on several issues, which have blocked the passage of key legislations, including the GST Bill. Only three business days are left in the winter session and government is pushing hard to pass some of the Bills. The Chairman has reportedly asked for similar powers as the Lok Sabha Speaker to take tough action against unruly MPs. It is understood that he may also call for changes in rules in this regard.

Ansari's decision came after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

File picture of Mother Teresa

"religious imperialist". One her most vocal detractors was the British-born author Christopher Hitchens. In a 1994 documentary called "Hell`s Angel," he accused her of being a political opportunist who failed those in her care and contributed to the misery of the poor with her strident opposition to contraception and abortion. Questions have also been raised over the Missionaries of Charity`s finances, as well as conditions

in the order`s hospices where there has been resistance to introducing modern hygiene methods. A series of her letters published in 2007 also caused some consternation among admirers as it became clear that she had suffered crises of faith for most of her life. She was granted Indian citizenship in 1951 and received a state funeral after her death. Her grave in the order`s headquarters has since become a pilgrimage site.

Governor condoles demise of Chetry Contd. from Page 1

the Governor wished and prayed that no family in the future should go through the agony and distress as the

family members of Late Chetry have gone through. The Governor, while conveying his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved f a m i l y, prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

Assam CM handed memo regarding eviction of street vendors ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Dec 18: Though the street vendors of Assam earn their livelihood on the foot paths, they have to suffer a lot with different problems regularly erupting in case of procuring their fundamental needs. Especially, they are frequently evicted by the administration. It is noteworthy that according to a survey report, at least ten lakh people out of the total population of the

entire state live by street vending as their occupation. It provides a means to tackle the unemployment problem.

But they are neither treated well enough by the existing administrative system nor do they get their due justice.

Last year the "Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act-2014" was implemented making eviction of street vendors illegal. However, Satyam Sewa Somity of

Lakhimpur (Khudra Byavasayee Santha) alleged that the Municipal Boards of Assam and the Police Administration have evicted the street vendors violating the afore-mentioned Act. The organisation demanded the Chief Minister of Assam to check these eviction drives. A delegation of Satyam Sewa Somity represented by President Raju Singha, Secretary Chandan Chakraborty along with Dipanjal

Sonowal and Shambhu Singha, the President and the Secretary of the Lakhimpur District body of Hindu Yuba Parishad, recently called on the CM and submitted a memorandum with regard to this. Besides, the organisation raised fifteen problems of Lakhimpur demanding their solution from the CM. These were regarding the allotment of a piece of land and a room to each of the street vendors where they can ad-

Harassed SDO evokes sharp public reaction N. Patnaik Nagaon, Dec 18: In a surprise raid, the Nagaon Electricity subdivision led by its subdivisional officer Pinku Dekaraja detected recently about fifty cases of power theft in Nagaon town and realized approximately rupees thirty lakhs from the defaulters. During the raid it was found that a number of doc-

tors, engineers, one nursing home, a number of established restaurants and business establishments were engaged in power theft for a long time. However, after the raid and subsequent imposition of fine, some persons instead of appreciating the stand taken by the SDO took a detrimental stand and alleged that Dekaraja had up-

loaded an offending message in the social media against the Power Minister and dragged him into the controversy ‘unnecessarily’ while lodging an FIR with the police owing to which Nagaon police took him into custody. However, under pressure from the public and ASEB employees, police re-

leased him on personal bond. In the meantime the suspension order served on Dekaraja for posting offending remark on the Minister was revoked. The whole incident of arrest, suspension and harassment of an honest and upright officer has evoked sharp reaction here among the people.

Tarun Gogoi responds to BJP criticism over his Delhi protest Contd. from Page 1

exposed the so called love that the BJP has for the people of Assam. The Chief Minister also stated that he, along with other MPs, staged a demonstration to press for the seven-point charter of demands viz restoration of Special Category Status, revive NEIIPP, restoration of earlier funding patterns, ST status to six communities, restoration of backward region grant fund, grant for flood and erosion mitigation and payment of oil royalty. Mr Gogoi also said that the life line of people of Assam to a great extent is associated with these de-

mands and he had to resort to demonstration in the National Capital for the interests of Assam and its people. Giving a backgrounder of the demands, the Chief Minister said taking into cognizance the special geographical and economic characteristics of Assam, the National Development Council has accorded special Category Status to Assam in 1969 and entitled it (Assam) to Special Economic incentives. However, the BJPled NDA government has withdrawn the status to Assam, thereby serving a blow to the equitable and balanced development of the State, he lamented. As a result of the withdrawal

of Special Category Status, the state is deprived of extra funds that could have been used to developmental activities and generating employment avenues and it had incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore approximately for withdrawal of special category status, Mr Gogoi pointed out. Unfortunately, the NDA Minister representing Assam and other MPs did not seem to be interested in pursuing the matter with the Centre and put the matter at the back burner, the CM quipped. "This lackadaisical attitude of BJP exposes the counterfeit love that it has for the people of Assam," Mr Gogoi said,

adding, "When we took up the matter at the national landscape to expose the shoddy treatment meted out to the people of North East, the BJP leader has termed it as farce, thereby exposing its indifferent attitude and showing that it is interested in mudslinging politics and not the solution of the problem of the people of Assam." Mr Gogoi informed that after the demonstration, he even met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impress upon him to fulfill the seven point demands of the people and asked, "Will it also be termed as farce as it was done in the case of demonstration in the National Capital?"

Awareness meeting on Bangladeshi infiltration issue held Contd. from Page 1

citizenship if his or her parents are Indian citizen.

Earlier one could have availed the citizenship by birth. However, the ongoing NRC up gradation procession is going to provide citizenship to the people who were born on the soil of the region.” He

said adding in clause 10 of Assam Accord it is mentioned that based on the tribal belt block and government land encroachment act encroachers would have to be evicted with strong hand. “But it is not happening.” He said. Replying to the queries regarding the stand on the burning infiltration issue he further said that the anti-infiltra-

tion platform has urged the government to amend the citizenship act and its Clause 3 so that an individual whose parents are legal Indian citizens.

“We urge the government to detect and expel illegal Bangladeshis by amending the Clause No. 5.8 of Assam accord, to free every government land, forest land and grazing from encroach-

ment by the Bangladeshis, to investigate the fake document

by High level agencies like CBI submitted in NRC up-gradation process by the Bangladeshis for establishing themselves as legal Indian citizen, and to reserve land of Assam and government jobs only for the indigenous people.” He said.

Leopard captured Contd. from Page 1

Police and forest department officials reached the spot and tranquilised the big cat after several hours. Guwahati has a number of wildlife spe-

cies including several highly endangered ones in the forest areas in its outskirts and the hills within the city. Several leopards including cubs have been killed in the city in the past two decades. The 216-sq km

large Guwahati has nearly 26.42 sq km area marked as reserved forests, which have been vastly encroached upon, according to information received from the forest department. In addition to encroachment

of hill areas within the city, there have been rampant illegal earth cutting and tree-felling in and around the city despite a number of laws being in force to prevent these illegal activities.

Gogoi ready for 4th term as Assam CM, says Himanta’s defection to BJP will help Cong Contd. from Page 1

he conceded that talks were going on. “But it is for them (AGP) to decide.

I have neither said yes nor no,” he said. Gogoi, who on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a series of demands,

including release of funds due from the Centre and continuation of special category status for Assam, said he also complained about Governor P.B. Acharya. “I told the prime minister that the governor is interfering in the state’s affairs,” he said. Acharya, who is the Nagaland governor, has

been given additional charge of Assam till the appointment of a fulltime governor. “It has been one year and no governor has been appointed yet,” Gogoi said.

The Assam chief minister also commented on the controversy created

by Arunachal Pradesh Governor JP Rajkhowa

by calling an assembly session earlier than scheduled without consulting Chief Minister Nabam Tuki or the council of ministers. “They (the BJP) are using governors as political agents.

They failed in Assam and now they are trying this in Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.

minister their business in the North Lakhimpur town, the beginning of the construction of Lakhimpur Medical College, the revitalisation of North Lakhimpur Civil Hospital and district health services, prevention of flood and erosion of Ranganadi and Subansiri etc. It came to be known that the CM instructed the Lakhimpur DC to take necessary steps to resolve the problems.

Noted Writer Arun Sharma being presented with the ‘AJANPIR AWARD’ for the year 2014-15 at Sivasagar Natya Mandir today.

Pic - Firuz Ahmed.

At least six suspected militants killed in PAF airstrike in Tirah valley Karachi, Dec. 18 : Airstrikes by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday killed at least six suspected militants in the Rajgal area of

Khyber Agency's Tirah Valley close to the PakAfghan border. According to the Dawn, a security source said that PAF jets struck hideouts of the

militants in Tirah valley.

Several terrorists were also injured in the air strikes, the source added.

Khyber Agency and North Waziristan are among

Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rampant with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants. (ANI)

Indo-Nepal border blockade creating huge economic crisis: Wagle Neelapu Shanti New Delhi, Dec. 18: In a recently held conference here, former member of National Planning Commission of Nepal, Swarnim Wagle, expressed concern over the grieving impact of economic blockade due to Madheshi agitation since past four months in the Himalayan nation. “The direct hit was of course medicines, food, and fuel.

People have been suffering a lot. All the industries have been shut down, people have been laid off,” said, Wagle, Former

member of National Planning Commission of Nepal, addressing a conference titled ‘Trade and Employment challenges: in South Asia'. Since the Madhesi protest began in September this year, businesses are struggling to stay open, with only 30 percent of Nepal's industries operational. “Everything is running under half capacity. Hospitals, restaurants, and the public transportation have been facing difficulties and yet in parallel we are giving rise to this sort of this underground

economy which should be hard to tame later on and it already imposing rule of law it is challenge for poor country like Nepal and when we have given monster been given rise to as a result of this blockade, it’s deeply unfortunate what is happening,” Wagle said. Due to the ongoing crisis, thousands of cargo trucks stalled at the Indian border, Nepalese gas stations have received only 15 percent of regular fuel supplies which is making survival difficult. “The earth-

quake which is the biggest natural disaster over 80 years in Nepal the blockade is probably having an economic impact that is greater than that the earthquake posed. All the industries are shut down now.

There is severe shortage of fuel, essential medicines and food,” said Wagle.

Nepal relies on India for majority of its imports.

Due to the recent crisis Nepal’s daily life has been crippled and so far negotiations between the leaders have failed to solve the ongoing crisis. (ANI)

Ancient human ancestors may have lived until dawn of civilisation Washington D.C, Dec 18 : A thigh bone found in China suggests that an ancient species of human, thought to be long extinct, may have lived among our modern cousins. The 14,000 year old bone found among the remains of China's enigmatic 'Red Deer Cave people' has been shown to have features that resemble those of some of the most ancient

members of the human genus, (Homo), despite its young age. The findings result from a detailed study of the partial femur, which had lain unstudied for more than a quarter of a century in a museum in southeastern Yunnan, following its excavation along with other fossilised remains from Maludong ('Red Deer Cave') in 1989.

The investigators found

that the thigh bone matched those from species like Homo habilis and early Homo erectus that lived more than 1.5 million years ago but are cautious about its identity. Its young age suggests the possibility that primitive-looking humans could have survived until very late in the evolution, but the researchers need to be careful as it is just one bone, said Professor Ji Xueping

from the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (YICRA, China). The new find hints at the possibility a pre-modern species may have overlapped in time with modern humans on mainland East Asia, but the case needs to be built up slowly with more bone discoveries, researcher Darren Curnoe said.

The study is published today in the journal PLOS ONE. (ANI)

CCI to come out with changes in regulations to ease M and A process: CCI Chairman New Delhi, Dec 18 : The fair-trade regulator, Competition Commission of India (CCI) will soon come out with changes in regulations to ease the process of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), CCI chairman, Ashok Chawla said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today. “We are actively and quickly reviewing regulations, we have called for comments from some of the law firms which have been filing with us and I think before this year ends, which is in the next few days and 2016 starts, we will make further changes on things which have been bothering companies in terms of authorized signatories, invalidation of notices, which has become a matter of concern,” said Chawla while inaugurating 4th National Summit on Mergers and Acquisitions organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). “The idea is to make the regulation and process as user-friendly as possible,” said Chawla.

“These are minor nuts and bolts issues but they are very important from the point of view of the stakeholders.”

“So we are taking a look at

these and we will be in a position to finalise the changes whatever they are before the end of the month,” he added.

Expressing concerns over time taken in approval of cases due to rise in number of filings and dearth of professionals, Chawla said, “We want that majority of cases which are simple should be cleared expeditiously, so there will be in 2016 a clear southward direction in terms of time taken in which cases are approved.” “The discipline is that we should clear it in 30 working days, but if you take the total time taken without taking into account clock stop and others, average time taken is about 5060 days, which according to the Commission is on a higher side, we want to reduce it and try and bring back majority of the cases to within actually 30 days,” said the CCI chief. He also advised the industry and corporate, particularly the multinational corporations (MNCs) to use the route of e-filing which was recently started to facilitate industry’s interaction with the Commission. Talking about the M and A regime that has operated during the course of past 4.5 years, Chawla informed that CCI

had approved 322 cases out of the total 355 cases that have come up during June 2011 and December 2015 and the balance are in the pipeline. He said that in less than even one percent of the 355 cases, the CCI felt the need to go into detailed scrutiny of the proposal. He also said that number of filings have been going up steadily as from 45 in 2013 it had almost doubled to 88 in 2014 and in 2015, till a few days ago it was 117 already. This year, October saw the highest number of filings, which were 21. He said that almost 98 percent of cases are relatively simpler cases of routine consolidation, sale of shares, intra-group restructuring and others and it needs to be encouraged so that industry and its various sectors reach a scale and size, which are optimum from the economic efficiency point of view. “So basically the increase is a proxy for improved business climate and the need for consolidation, it will also help in an important way in the overall march towards greater competitiveness of the economy which is extremely important for ‘Make in India,’ programme and policy which the govern-

ment is pursuing,” said Chawla. He also said that M and A is a process which is inevitable, is relevant for corporate, which is encouraged from the policy point of view and it should not be seen as a tax-saving or tax-evading instrument. “It is the need of the hour and that is the approach which we in the Commission have been trying to follow.”

On the penalty regime, Chawla said, “There has to be a certain amount of proportionality in terms of penalty that are imposed and the Commission has in recent past been trying to look at that proportionality quite effectively and genuinely but otherwise, practices which fall foul of competition particularly cartel activity need to be curbed with a reasonably heavy hand, more not because of that company but to serve as a signal to others to prevent them from doing what they might be tempted to do.” “We need enforcement which changes behavior and we also actively pursue advocacy, so the idea is that corporate are apprised of the fact that there is this law which is fairly robust, it can aggressive and therefore, better to prevent anything happening then it be cured later,” further said the CCI chairman. (ANI)

Eastern Command chief pays tribute to martyrs at Vijay Smarak Kolkata, Dec.18 : As part of Vijay Diwas 2015, commemorating the victory of Indian Forces and Mukti Bahini over Pakistani forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, a memorial service for martyrs of 1971 War was held at Vijay Smarak, Fort William, Kolkata, on 16 December 2015.Vijay Diwas celebrations at Fort William, Eastern Command assume a special significance as Mukti Jodhas and Indian war veterans who fought shoulder to shoulder reunite to celebrate this momentous occasion in history.This year 30 Mukti Jodhas attended the solemn occasion led by HE Md Qamrul Islam, Food Minister, Bangladesh. The Mukti Jodhas have been coming to attend the an-

nual celebrations for the last nine years.On the occasion, Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army that was responsible for conduct of operations in Bangladesh along with the Mukti Bahini, laid a Wreath at the Vijay Smarak.Wreaths were also laid by veterans, members of the Bangladeshi delegation and by representatives of the three services.The gathering of uniformed personnel, veterans, civilians, school children and NCC cadets observed two minutes silence to pay homage to the martyrs of the 1971 war.Similar ceremonies were held in various parts of the country commemorating 'Vijay Diwas'. (ANI)

Bihar MLA says she has received Rs 1 cr extortion threat

Bihar MLA says she has received Rs 1 cr extortion threat from outlawed Maoists

Patna, Dec 18: An Independent MLA in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district today registered a complaint with the police that she has got an Rs one-crore extortion threat from outlawed Maoists. Independent MLA from Bochaha (reserved seat) Baby Kumari in her complaint with Mithanpura Police cited an SMS sent to her. The Officer Incharge of Mithanpura police station Kiran Kumar said an FIR has been registered in this connection. Kumari in

her written complaint said that the Maoists had sent an SMS to her demanding Rs one crore extortion money failing which she would be killed. The OC said the police were looking into the matter. Kumari, a first-time legislator, had emerged as giant killer in the recently concluded Bihar election by defeating former minister and nine term JD(U) MLA Ramai Ram from Bochha (reserved, SC) seat in Muzaffarpur district. (Agencies)

31 typhus deaths in Mizoram in 4 yrs Aizawl, Dec 18: At least 31 people died in Mizoram since 2012 due to scrub typhus infected through bites by ticks, according to the record of the state health department. The record said that 715 people were found to be bitten by scrub typhus carrying ticks across the state during the period of four years. The highest num-

ber of scrub typhus infection was detected in 2012 with 252 infections and also the highest number of deaths at 16 in the same year, the health department record said .Of the 31 people who died due to the virus, 24 people were from Aizawl district followed by south Mizoram's Lunglei district at four deaths.

(Agencies)

Jharkhand CM asks MLAs to launch campaign against liquor Ranchi, Dec 18 : Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today asked all MLAs to launch an awareness campaign against liquor in their respective constituencies.

Das made the appeal in the state Assembly while replying to ruling BJP MLA Radhakrishna Kishore's query whether the govern-

ment has any plans to impose a total ban on liquor.The CM said the government has already stated that it will give RS one lakh each to liq u o r - f r e e villages.Women were doing commendable work by their periodic awareness campaigns against alcohol in villages, Das said.

(Agencies)

PAGE 5

REGION

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

Three-day international Buddhism seminar begins in Agartala Agartala,Dec 18:A three-day international seminar on the Buddhist heritage of rhw northeastern region began today.The seminar aims at reviving the role of heritage and cultural linkages in order to forge sub-regional synergies for growth and all round development between south Asia and southeast Asia.The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), in collaboration with Shillong-based Asian Confluence and Tripura based Dhamma Dipa Foundation organised this seminar, where ministers, parlia-

mentarians, heads of spiritual organisations, scholars, writers, policymakers, diplomats, entrepreneurs and members of the civil society from various countries participated.Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar inaugurated the seminar.IBC secretary general Ven. Lama Lobzang said: "The aim of the seminar is to discuss, debate and create a way forward for reviving the role of heritage and cultural linkages in order to forge sub-regional synergies for growth and all-round development.""India's

International Buddhism seminar begins in Agartala

'act east policy' has gained further importance and revived hopes of ending the land-locked isolation of the northeast region and opening the region to the larger South

Asian arena."The concept note of the seminar said the level and quality of bilateral and sub-regional cooperation amongst India, Bangladesh, Bhutan,

The Naga Peace Accord: Manipur Connections Imphal, Dec 18:A framework agreement was signed between the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-IsakMuivah [NSCN(IM)] and the Government of India on August 3, 2015.

The leadership of NSCN(IM) has shown flexibility and realism in terms of its willingness to alter goals from complete sovereignty and Greater Nagalim to acceptance of the constitutional framework, albeit with a provision for the grant of greater autonomy to the Naga inhabited areas outside of Nagaland through the establishment of autonomous district councils.1 The response to the accord has

been guarded in that no celebration has been observed in Nagaland.

However, the Nagas in Manipur have welcomed the peace accord.The Government of India had signed a ceasefire agreement with NSCN(IM) on July 25, 1997, which came into effect on August 1, 1997. The ceasefire in Nagaland had political implications in Manipur, particularly to the insurgency in that state. The demand of Greater Nagaland by the NSCN(IM) had created a political storm in the region particularly in the states of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

On June 14, 2001, the Union government had

decided to extend the ceasefire with the NSCN(IM) 'without territorial limits' to all Nagadominated areas in the North East. This decision was perceived as threatening the territorial integrity of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, by the people of these states. This resulted in widespread violent protests against this ceasefire extension, especially in the Meiteidominated areas of Manipur on 18 June 2001 and following days in which 18 people lost their lives. This day is now remembered as the 'Great Uprising Day'.

Faced with violent protests in Manipur, the

Union government, on July 27, 2001, reverted to the original ceasefire ground rules with the NSCN(IM).2The people of Manipur feared that the Government of India may accede to the NSCN(IM) demand of 'Greater Nagalim', which would result in the redrawing of the interstate boundary, with the Naga-dominated districts going to Nagaland.

While this fear probably has been dispelled with the signing of the framework agreement with NSCN(IM), it is important to understand the connections of this accord to Manipur for possible policy interventions. (Agencies)

Gov urges NGOs to work together with 'one goal' Kohima, Dec 18: Nagaland State Governor, PB Acharya today urged NGOs and civil societies to work together with one goal and stay united to bring peace in Nagaland state.Addressing the 38th general conference of the Rengma Students' Union (RSU) here under the theme "Envision, Enlighten and Empower," he said that development has no meaning at all unless there is peace in the state. He also called upon the people of the state to change their mindset and march forward. "We have potentiality to become a great state," he said and at the same time stressed on the need to focus on Education, Electricity and Employment. He said the coming year 2016 is a great challenge and opportunity for the people of the state to build a strong and prosperous Nagaland. He hoped that 2016 would bring in permanent peace in the state.Responding to the memorandum submitted

by RSU for opening of a

Gov urges NGOs to work together with 'one goal'

government college in Tseminyu Sub Division, the Governor assured that he would take the responsibility to get it done. Acharya said he would sit with the School Education Minister and see to it that Government College starts by the next academic year in Tseminyu Sub Division."Students organization is the strongest pillar of the society," he further said and asked them to be a watch dog and a nodal agency for development of the society. Stating that student organizations should be the torch bearer of the society, he called upon them to stand up and check the practice of

proxy teachers in their r e s p e c t i v e areas.Parliamentary Secretary for PWD (Housing) Er Levi Rengma meanwhile said students are the pillar of the society. He called upon the students to acquire knowledge and disseminate the same to the under privileged and poor sections of society. He also challenged the people to maintain integrity and peace. "Peace is a must in our society," he said adding that the society cannot proper without peace.

Naga Students' Federation (NSF) President, Subenthang Kithan noted that RSU is one of the strongest units of the NSF and called upon them to be

more effective and competitive and march towards greater heights. He also urged upon the RSU to work for overall development of the students and the public in general.

Rengma Hoho President, Kenyuseng Tep said "we need change" and asked the RSU to carry the wheel of change. He also stated that Tseminyu Sub Division is the oldest sub division in the state, which require more administrative and block development centres. Earlier, RSU President, Er Meshenlo Kath delivered the presidential address while welcome address was delivered by Chogin Range Students' Union President, Shwenlozii Thongseb. Chaired by Zentilo Tep, the inaugural function was followed by a song competition cum entertainment, glimpses of Chogin range. A talk show on 'Social media impact on our youth,' panel discussion on 'Status of Rengmas in Nagaland,' song competition, Union Assembly will take place on December 18. (Agencies)

Manipur brothers earning handsome profits from vegetable farming Imphal, Dec. 18: Takhelmayum Leibakmacha and Takhelmayum Ibomcha Singh of Pukhao Laipham Makha Leikai village in Manipur are successful vegetable farmers reaping handsome profits.Agriculture is the dominant occupation of people of Manipur and is the main source of their livelihood. In 2001, the duo started vegetable farming at their half an acre of land. Later, they took

2.5 acres of barren land on lease after the rise in demand of vegetables.They grow tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal and many other vegetables and generate an average income of Rs. 7 to Rs.8 lakhs per annum.

Leibakmacha and Ibomcha also provide jobs to locals during the peak-farming season."By next year, we are planning to do only organic farming and we will produce more

varieties of vegetables because we feel that if we do only organic farming then we will get more benefit and our marketing will also be good. So by next year we will produce more varieties of vegetables," said Takhelmayum Ibomcha Singh, progressive farmer.The brothers use imported seeds to get better yield and look forward to avail various schemes and latest technologies to develop their farm."I want to tell the youth to take up

this kind of work. Instead of going here and there, in case, if there is any empty space or plot then one should take up this kind of work and should make an income for their livelihood," said Takhelmayum Leibakmacha, Farmer.Agriculture plays an important role in Manipur's economy. Such inspirational efforts will go a long way in motivating youth to undertake new ventures to become selfreliant. (ANI)

Myanmar and Nepal are key factors for success of critical sectors like natural resource management, disaster management, poverty alleviation, security, and counter terrorism."However, there is considerable 'action deficit' in the region, which inhibits real development and the possibility to exploit win-win synergies," it added.Nepal's minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation Ananda Prasad Pokharel said Buddhist heritage circuit can be developed in south Asia and southeast Asia for better understandings of the

people of the region."The Nepal government is contemplating to build the world's largest statue of lord Buddha and already developed many Buddhist heritage sites in the country," Pokharel told reporters.In India, out of 121.09 crore population (2011 census), Buddhist population is 0.84 crore (0.7 percent of the total population) spread across 19 states.Headquartered in New Delhi, the IBC is a global umbrella Buddhist body founded in 2012 with current memberships of over 320 Buddhist organisations of 39 countries. (Agencies)

Film Forum Manipur protest against monetary demands by militants Imphal, Dec. 18: The movie discussion board of Manipur staged a sitin protest against the frequent monetary demands of a militant outfit, which they stated is inflicting an enormous monetary loss to the movie businessCinemas in

been receiving monetary demands from totally different militant teams. We are protesting against that and we won't pay their demand," stated S. Surjakanta Sharma, Chairman of Film Forum Manipur (FFM).The armed teams have re-

Film Forum Manipur Protest against Monetary Demand

Manipur remained closed for few days in protest against the 'extortion' bids by three bannedunderground organisations. Though the movie-associated actions have resumed, the Film Forum Manipur has condemned the frequent monetary demands by u n d e r g r o u n d outfits.Actors, administrators and producers just lately staged a sit-in at Keishampat to point out their anger."We established Manipur Film discussion board in 2004 and since then we now have

quested to pay an quantity of not lower than Rs 2 Lakhs yearly. Film Forum has appealed to the militants to withdraw their demand."Because of those militant outfits we're very disturbance and we now have stopped doing any movie actions whether or not it might be a music or video album," stated Gokul, Manipuri Actor.The Manipuri movie business has been dealing with a monetary disaster because the banning of Hindi movies that pressured a number of halls to close down. (ANI)

Bihar to conduct speedy trial of idol smugglers Patna, Dec 18: Having made an arrest earlier this month in the theft of a 600 BC Mahavira idol, Bihar police said today it will ask for speedy trial of antique smugglers and thieves."Bihar police headquarters has sent an order to all district superintendents of police (SPs) to conduct speedy trial of antique smugglers and thieves involved in cases of theft of precious idols" a top police official said here.The state police has also directed SPs to prepare dossier of such cases and identify accused involved and arrest them immediately. They have been asked to send information about the theft of antique idols in the last five years in their districts to the police headquarters.The state government has already decided to seek CBI's help in cases of thefts where national or international gangs are suspected to be involved.On December 9, the police had announced the arrest of a "prime suspect" from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh in the case of theft of a 600 BC idol of Mahavira

which was stolen from a temple in Jamui district on November 27.The black stone idol, weighing some 250 kg, was recovered from a field in the same district nine days after it was stolen.Ancient idols of Mahavira, Buddha and Hindu deities have become a soft target of antique smugglers in Bihar as nearly 200 such idols have been stolen in the state in last five years.According to the police data, 30 idols of Hindu deities were stolen in 2011, 62 idols in 2012, and 65 in 2013.

In 2014, about two dozen thefts were reported. This year's figure a about a dozen so far.Many cases of stolen idols have never been reported to the police because of a lack of knowledge of their value in international markets.Most of the stolen idols were of ashtadhatu - an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and other metals - and were valued in crores of rupees in the international market, police officials said.

(Agencies)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

PAGE 6

Govt. dares Kejriwal to reveal name of his source in CBI AAP targets Jaitley New Delhi, Dec. 18: The government on Friday challenged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to reveal the name of his source in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who had informed him that the agency has been asked to target all those opposed to the NDA regime. Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitender Singh pointedly asked Kejriwal to name the CBI officer who gave him this information and

accused him of attempting to place another intelligence body over the CBI. "When he says that a certain officer from the CBI comes and shares the information with him, is this is expected from a chief minister?" he asked.

"Secondly, a CBI officer or any other intelligence officer is not expected to share his responsibilities.

A certain amount of confidentiality is expected.

So, who is this officer, he (Kejriwal) should name him," he added. Singh fur-

Minister of State Jitender Singh

ther reiterated that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the government don't interfere in the working of the CBI. "If Kejriwal and if someone like that is trying to imagine, then he is possibly going through 'hallucination', possibly trying to live in the times of the Congress when the Congress possibly indulged in this kind of interference, but certainly not this government," he added.

Amidst the ongoing controversy relating to the CBI

raid on the Delhi Secretariat, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the investigation agency has been asked by the ruling dispensation to target those who do not fall in line. "A CBI officer told me yesterday that CBI has been asked to target all opposition parties n finish those who don't fall in line," Kejriwal wrote in a tweet.

The Aam Aadmi Party has been firing salvos at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after the CBI raided the Delhi Secretariat. (ANI)

Dec.16 gang rape-case: A new India is emerging with the youth looking Juvenile may walk free forward to face challenges, says President New Delhi, Dec. 18: India out of its oldest civi- drive, they could achieve Ministry of Commerce; on Sunday President Pranab lization. "With over 700 even greater success. Sharad Sharma, CoNew Delhi, Dec. 18: The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to stay the release of December 16 gang rape case juvenile convict and said that the juvenile convict could be released on or before December 20. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had reserved its order on the release of the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape case after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy plead that the juvenile convict should not be released till it is demonstrably assured that he has reformed himself

and was not a menace to the society. The high court, however, appreciated points raised by petitioner.

Earlier, Nirbhaya's mother, took her daughter's real name in public and said people who committed heinous crimes like rape should hang their heads in shame and not the victims or their families. The 23-year-old paramedical student was sexually assaulted on the night of December 16 three years ago and died 13 days later in Singapore.

(ANI)

ISIS planning to use birds as suicide bombers to blow up planes London, Dec. 18: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has posted a document detailing the group's plans to use birds as suicide bombers to blow up jets. ISIS supporter who posted the document online claims a Urea bomb could be strapped to a bird and triggered remotely to cause maximum devastation. The terror document alleged that the

highly dangerous explosive was used to bring down Metrojet Flight 9268 before it crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board earlier this year. He said that the Crusader and Shiite airstrikes are the biggest military obstacle to the soldiers of the caliphate and dealing with it is a big challenge.

(ANI)

Urea bomb could be strapped to a bird and triggered remotely

Country to get eight new world-class highways New Delhi, Dec. 18: The Central Government is planning to build eight more world-class express highways in addition to already announced seven expressways. The new expressways include NagpurMumbai, Jaipur-AjmerAhemadabad, Nagpur-

Hyderabad, PuneHyderabad and Hyderabad-Bangalore.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that all express highways are going to be world class, matching the quality and specifications in advanced nations. (ANI)

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari

Mukherjee said a new India is emerging with the youth looking forward to the future where they are ready to face challenges while hosting a roundtable discussions on 'Technology, Innovation and Education' yesterday at Rashtrapati Bhavan. "A new India is emerging with the youth looking forward to the future, ready to face challenges and truly believing that the world belongs to them," said President Mukherjee. He was speaking after an interactive session when some of the participants presented ideas to re-enforce the positive impact of technology in education. He expressed optimism that a new India will emerge out of the brilliant young minds of India.

They will create a new

universities, 47,000 colleges and other institutions and over 1.4 million schools, India has an enviable educational infrastructure. There is also no lack of talent or capacity," he added. However, as he has been repeatedly emphasizing in every educational congregation, there is need for more educational institutions to be higher up in the world class rankings. He expressed hope that valuable insights at the forum on transforming the education system through technology and innovation would aid India's policymakers and other stakeholders in this regard. The President said that all the participants of the roundtable discussions have innovated new products to create wealth.

With their expertise and

Among the dignitaries who participated in the discussions were Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google Inc.; T V Mohandas Pai,

Founder, iSPIRT; Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, Simplilearn; Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder, PayTm; Rahul

President Pranab Mukherjee Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services, BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman, NASSCOM and Exe. Chairman, Cyient Ltd.; Amitabh Kant, Secretary-DIPP,

Narayan, Tech Lead, Team Indus; Shashank ND, Founder and CEO, Practo and Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises.

(ANI)

Northeast culture showcased at Konark Festival in Odisha Bhubaneswar, Dec. 18: Recently, the 30th edition of the Konark Dance and Music Festival was organised in the backdrop of Konark Temple where artists from across the country showcased the country's diverse culture. Artists from Manipur also enthralled the audience with their dazzling performances. Konark's Sun Temple in Odisha is a well known world heritage site. Various artists showcased a magical parade of India's classical and traditional dance forms. Be it Odissi, Bharathnatyam, Kathak, Manipuri and Satriya, each performance reflected India's diverse culture. "The festival is really nice. I really like Odishi's performanceon

Artists from across the country showcased the country's diverse culture Friday. Manipur is different and I like it very soft," said Maya, Tourist. During the event, artists from Manipur also performed Manipuri classical dance called 'Lai Haraoba'.

They also performed the famous 'Rass Leela' dance which depicts the

eternal love of Radha and Krishna. Later, the artists performed Pung Cholom or Drum dance.

In this dance form, the drummer identifies completely with the intricate rhythms he plays on the drum and expresses it through corresponding

body movements and footwork. "We have performed some of the dances in this program today. We have performed a ritual dance form of Lai haraoba, Dhol chalom and classical dance tanum like south India dance, and then we have also performed Manipuri dance and lastly Rass leela," said Ajit, an artist from Manipur "I feel very good.

While performing Manipuri dance in between the different dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odishi. I feel very good. Audiences are very nice," said another artist Parul Devi. Such festivals not only reflect the country's diverse culture, but help unite people by promoting harmony.

(ANI)

U.S., Cuba to 'resume' regular flights Havana, Dec. 18: Cuba and the United States reached an agreement on Wednesday night that will allow U.S. commercial airlines to begin operating flights to the island for the first time in decades, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussion. The understanding comes on the eve of the first anniversary of the announcement that the two countries would restore diplomatic ties and turn the page on a half-century of animosity, reported the Washington Post. The agreement will allow carriers such as United Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue to fly to Cuba, and is a significant breakthrough that should

greatly simplify travel between the countries.

The agreement was reached in Washington.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the talks said that negotiators from both countries were still working out technical details. But the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because there had not yet been an official announcement, said the basic outlines of the accord were in place.

The deal does not mean that Americans will be able to begin booking travel to Cuba immediately. But it would set in motion the safety inspections and other procedures required by the Federal Aviation Administration when such an

over his blogs raises fresh questions

AAP leader Sanjay Singh New Delhi, Dec. 18: The mudslinging between Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) escalated further on Friday, with the latter saying that they got vague responses over their allegations regarding corrupt activities in the DDCA when Jaitley was its president.

"We raised the issue of corruption that has taken place under the Finance Minister in the DDCA. The BJP is not answering those allegations; rather they are giving vague responses. We want to inform the BJP that we are not interested in all these puns," AAP leader Sanjay Singh told the media here. "We want to ask, that according to the SFIO report, the

allegations levelled against the finance minister, what is your answer to that? We want to know what is your response on the report of the fact is finding allegations of corruption in DDCA? We want to know your response on the allegations made by the committee of two judges which pointed out the irregularities in selection of players on DDCA?" he added.

AAP leader Ashutosh said that 'Finance Minister Jaitley is a master of half truths, masterful lies'.

"Why were contracts given to front companies of DDCA office bearers?

Why was a corporate box given to a company whose director is a relative?" asked AAP leader Ashutosh. (ANI)

Pune teen under ATS radar for alleged ISIS links Pune, Dec. 18: A 16year-old college girl who was allegedly in touch with arrested Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) executive Mohammed Sirajuddin, has been put under surveillance for her suspected links with the Islamic State (IS).

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (AS) identified the girls using technical and human sources. She was assured by ISIS sympathisers that she will get admission in medical college in Syria."We've started deradicalising process," said Assistant Commis-

sioner of Police, Bhanupratap Barge of the Anti-Terrorism Squad. During investigations, the ATS discovered that she was regularly interacting with IS sympathizers on WhatsApp and Twitter and exchanging mails with people in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka, and countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and some in Europe. (ANI)

A 16-year-old college girl arrested for having link with IS

Putin heaps praise on Trump, describes him as 'outstanding' man

Cuba and the United States reached an agreement on Wednesday

agreement is reached.

Experts say it will probably be three to six months before U.S. carriers can begin selling tickets to Cuba. Until then, air service between the two countries will continue via the existing system of charter flights.

Those flights typically charge $500 round-trip for the 45-minute flight between Miami and Havana. Travelers are required to check in three or four hours in advance, pay exorbitant baggage fees and endure various inconveniences. (ANI)

M o s c o w, D e c . 1 8 : President Vladimir Putin on Thursday heaped praise on US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, describing him as a "talented and outstanding man". President Putin said Russia is ready to work with the United States no matter who is elected as the President next year. Putin, in his annual news conference with international reporters in a cavernous hall inside a Moscow

conference centre, said he backed a U.S. plan to prepare a U.N. resolution on Syria even though differences between Moscow and Washington remained. The Russian President said the military operation will continue in Syria until a political process starts.

He asserted that they would remove all restrictions on flights to Egypt once reliable anti-terrorist measures were implemented.

(ANI)

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

PAGE 7

NEIGHBOURS

Voters want competent candidates, not bribe Dhaka, Dec 18: "In the previous elections, I used to take cigarettes, money from the activists of mayoral and councilor candidates. When a people take bribe, he is compelled to cast vote to that candidate from whom he took bribe and in this way a bad person is got elected," said Shahidul Islam, a voter at ward 9 of Sripur municipality, Gazipur. Shahidul who is a garment worker said he would prefer to vote for a good person instead of taking any kind of facilities from candidate during the municipality election.Another voter Sohel Rana said: "During election, every candidate

1 killed, 15 injured in Habiganj clash Dhaka, Dec 18:A person has been killed and 15 others have been injured during a clash over land property at Noya Pataria village under Baniachong upazila in Habiganj.The deceased is Selim Mia, 22, son of Tenu Mia and a student of Brindabon Government College.Police said there was a long-standing conflict between Tenu Mia and Tara Mia over a piece of land in the village.As a sequel to the enmity, the duo and their supporters attacked each other with lethal weapons on Friday morning, leaving 16 people injured. Selim died while the injured were being taken to Habiganj Sadar Hospital.Later, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Baniachong OC Nirmalendu Chokroborty said they were trying to arrest the culprits. (Agencies)

New Zealand Prime Minister to visit Sri Lanka Colombo,Dec 18:New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is to visit Sri Lanka next year, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today.He said that John Key will be in the country to attend an international conference on democracy.The Prime Minister said that Sri Lanka's foreign service is now strong that it has been able to ensure Sri Lanka's relationship with foreign countries is on solid ground. (Agencies)

Pak FO stresses on holding uninterrupted talks with India Karachi, Dec. 18 : Pakistan's Foreign Office has said that it is important that the country holds uninterrupted and result oriented talks with India.According to the Dawn, India and Pakistan had agreed during Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit last week on resuming the dialogue on contentious issues in their relationship after a break of two years.The spokesperson said that it is important to make sustained efforts to realise the shared vision of the leadership of the two countries of a peaceful and stable South Asia.The spokesperson also talked about Pakistan's facilitation of Afghan dialogue saying that all four countries (Pakistan, US, China and Afghanistan) will be working together to chalk out the way forward. (ANI)

offers money to us. We get Tk200 to Tk500 from each candidate to cast vote in their favour. If we won't take money from candidates, will we die? not at all. This time, I won't take money from any candidate."Many voters echoed the same words. This time, they are not interested to take money from mayoral as well councillor candidates. During a visit to different candidates' office, this correspondent found that supporters were not offering anything to voters which is unusual and considered as a good change. But nobody knows, what will happen in the coming

Voters want competent candidates, not bribe

days.Sri Liton Chandra Bonik, a voter at ward 2, said: "Election means betel leave, cigarette and tea. We used to see crowd of voters and candidates' supporters at sweetmeat shops and eateries during election time. But this election is

exception."Asaduzzaman Khan, a voter at ward 2, told the Dhaka Tribune that the election field was yet to get momentum. No poster has been posted on walls of dwelling houses, shops and educational institutions. Everything was neat and clean.BNP-

backed mayoral candidate Md Shahidullah Shahid said: "I am doing election for the first time. In the previous years, I saw when any candidate went to seek vote, voters wanted money for snacks. But this year, voters are not asking for anything to candidates.

They now want to vote for well-qualified candidate."Awami League mayoral candidate Anisur Rahman said: "I was elected several times. But this year, I am observing some positive changes among voters. They are not interested to take bribe from candidates which had reduced the expense of e l e c t i o n campaign."Mayoral candi-

date of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Abul Kashem said he had observed that voters want changes, not bribe.Independent candidate Ahsan Ullah said: "If voters change their attitudes, election will be free from black money. Honest people will be elected. Ultimately, general people will be benefited from this."Election officer of Sripur upazila said according to election code and conduct, no voter was allowed to take bribe from any candidate. But in the previous years, it happened.

This year, voters were showing unwillingness to take any kind of bribe from candidates which was positive. (Agencies)

KMC to let pvt contractor run City Market Kathmandu, Dec 18: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is planning to issue an operating lease contract to a private firm to run the Old Bus Park-based City Market.Though the KMC authority was initially planning to move its own office to the City Market complex, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament had thwarted its plan, saying that it will put hundreds of people out of business.

The KMC is looking for a office building after its previous office at Bagh

Durbar in Sundhara was severely damaged in the April 25 earthquake. The KMC office is currently based at Rastriya Sabha Griha in Bhrikutimandap.

"After the parliamentary directive, we thought it best to use the City Market as an income-generating source for ourselves," said Dhurba Kafle, the KMC revenue department chief.The City Market, located adjacent to Old Bus Park, was constructed in 2000 by a private developer, Surendra Dahal, under build-operate-transfer

model. As per the terms of the contract, Dahal was to operate the mall for nine years and nine months, paying Rs 650,000 per month as rent to the KMC. But Dahal started defaulting on payments. According to Kafle, Dahal still owes over Rs 20 million to the KMC.After the deal expired, the KMC had renewed it without going into competitive bidding process. The metropolis, however, was forced to scrap the deal with Dahal on November 1, 2014 after the Commission for

the Investigation of Abuse of Authority intervened,KMC then started operating City Market on its own and found that they could earn Rs 1.25 million if they collected rent from individual tenants by themselves."We have learned that City Market generates twice the amount paid by the former contractor to us," Kafle said. "As per the CIAA's directive, we will now go for competitive bidding process for selecting a new contractor.

And this time, we will

negotiate a better term with the contractor."Meanwhile, Dahal has filed cases against KMC at the Supreme Court and the Kathmandu District Court after his contract was cancelled. According to Kafle, KMC will have to wait for the decisions from the courts before starting the process to call tender for operating City Mall. The decision comes after Public Accounts Committee of Parliament thwarted KMC's plan to move its office to City Market. (Agencies)

China says some officials plead poverty to hide corruption Beijing, Dec 18: Some Chinese officials have become expert at pretending to live frugal, exemplary lives while actually being dissolute individuals with often huge hidden wealth, a state-run newspaper said today, warning the government would root them out.Chinese President Xi Jinping has embarked on a massive campaign against deeply ingrained corruption since taking office three years ago, warning, like others before him, that the problem could threaten the Communist Party's grip on power.Thousands of officials have been investigated, many for only small infractions.During the course of the many routine probes into government departments, investigators have started discovering the web of lies some cor-

Chinese President Xi Jinping

ruption suspects use to try and evade punishment, the official Discipline and Supervision Daily said.This includes faking identity cards and pretending to be in favour of fighting corruption when actually the opposite is true, said

the newspaper, which is published by the graft watchdog."As the anticorruption struggle continues to deepen some officials have put on a false facade, hoping to have a safe landing," it said."Their families have millions in cash and

they insist on riding a bike to work. They laud being honest and upright, but then go to clubs and stuff themselves," the newspaper said.Some of the worst cases involve top officials who have made a name for themselves

praising the corruption fight and yet end up being bought down for it, the paper said, such as Zhou Benshun, who was Communist Party boss in the northern province of Hebei until sacked and accused of corruption in July. Zhou liked saying things like "If the whole family is corrupt then the whole family will end up crying", the report said, but those who think they can get away with it will be "destroyed" .Dozens of senior officials have been jailed during Xi's graft crackdown.In the latest case, a former vice governor of the southern province of Jiangxi, Yao Mugen, was jailed for 13 years on Friday for bribery, a court in the southeastern city of Xiamen, where he was tried, said on its official microblog.

(Agencies)

India 'al-Qaeda' chief arrested New Delhi,Dec 18:Police in the Indian capital, Delhi, say they have arrested two key members of the "Indian branch" of alQaeda.They say the arrests are a significant blow to the group's operations in the subcontinent.One of those detained is Muhammad Asif who is a founding member of al-Qaeda in the region, police said.Al-Qaeda set up its South Asian operation just over a year ago, saying it brought together militant groups from across the region.The group has said it was behind the killings of four secular

bloggers in Bangladesh as well as several attacks in Pakistan. Indian authorities said the two arrested men were involved in recruiting young Indians to the group.They said Muhammad Asif, who is from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested from under a flyover in the eastern state of Orissa on his way to meet a contact.Three mobile phones, a laptop and "other incriminating articles" were seized from him, the police said. The arrest of Mr Asif, 41, led to the capture of the second man, who, it is alleged, ran

social media for the alQaeda cell.Delhi police say the arrests will provide crucial leads to uncovering the group's operations within India and in neighbouring

countries.The al-Qaeda chief Ay m a n a l Zawahiri said its regional unit would be good news for Muslims in Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh and the In-

dian states of Assam, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, where they would be rescued from injus tice and oppression.Correspondents say that although alQaeda still has no substantial presence on the ground in India, there is concern that it is trying to reach out to disaffected Muslim youth, especially in Kashmir and Gujarat.

Islamic militant groups operating in India have so far been mostly connected to Kashmiri separatists and have links, tenuous at best, to al-Qaeda via Pakistan-based groups.

(Agencies)

Kerry greets Bhutan on its National Day

John Kerry Thimphu, Dec 18:US Secretary of State John Kerry extended his greetings to Bhutan on its National Day, and praised the Himalayan country's commitment to protecting its natural environment, calling it a gift for future generations.

"Bhutan's commitment to protecting its natural environment is a gift to future generations that we acknowledge with deep gratitude. We also appreciate Bhutan's critical contributions to UN peacekeeping missions around the world," Kerry said. In a statement, Kerry extended his best wishes and congratulated the people of Bhutan as they

celebrated the 108th anniversary of their National Day yesterday. Kerry said the US attaches great importance to warm ties between the people of the two countries and to their shared commitment to address climate change and other global challenges. "As societies with a shared commitment to democracy and the rule of law, the United States and Bhutan are supporting institutions and values that have brought peace and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific region and the world. I look forward to opportunities in the New Year to deepen the cooperation between our countries," Kerry said. (Agencies)

Myanmar opposition, groups build trust in peace process Nay Pyi Taw, Dec 18: Myanmar's election-winning opposition party and eight ceasefire signatory ethnic armed groups have vowed to build mutual trust, understanding and work hand-in-hand in the country's peace process, the media reported today.It was discussed when chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi met leaders of the eight armed groups. Suu Kyi voiced NLD's support for the peace process, telling the armed groups not to worry about her absence in witnessing the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA) signing. Suu Kyi accepted of a proposal by the armed

groups to form a joint committee with the NLD to continue working for the peace process after the party forms a new government in January.The proposal will be forwarded to NLD's central committee for approval, she said.Meanwhile, a finalised draft political dialogue framework between the government and the eight armed groups, approved by the union-level Joint Cease fire Monitoring Committee (JCMC), has been submitted to President U Thein Sein for approval.A union peace conference, led by the president, will be held in January ahead of the first round of formal dialogue planned for January 13.

(Agencies)

Suu Kyi

Beijing Issues Second Red Alert for Smog Beijing ,Dec 18:Beijing today issued its second-ever red alert for smog as a new bout of air pollution is set to hit the city of over 22 million population from tomorrow, days after the Chinese capital issued its first red alert following warnings from meteorologists.Much on the expected line, the Beijing municipal heavy pollution emergency response headquarters issued the red alert the most serious level which will last from 7 am tomorrow to 12 pm Tuesday, limiting vehicles on roads according to odd-even license plate numbers.The regulations also ban fireworks and outdoor barbecue using coal.

Parts of north China will see the worst smog so far this year the National Meteorological Centre said yesterday.The air pollution will be worse than the spell between December 6 and 9, its forecast said. Under this visibility in Beijing and some neighboring regions will be

reduced to less than one kilometres. The density of PM2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers used to measure air quality, in some of the regions will exceed 500 micrograms per cubic metre. The World Health Organisation's recommended maximum is 25 micrograms per cubic metre. Citizens are advised to reduce outdoor activities and kindergartens, primary and middle schools are expected to suspend classes during the alert.Beijing issued its first ever red alert for air pollution on December 7, since the emergency response system was created in October 2013 after the worst period of air pollution this year when PM 2.5 reached the top of the scale at 500.Coal burning and car emissions are some of the major sources of air pollution. In winter, an increase in coal-burning for heating in north China and still weather often exacerbate other forms of pollution and create periods of heavy smog lasting days. (Agencies)

PAGE 8

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

Northeast Asia, Trust and the NAPCI Can Park Geun-hye's Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI) build trust in a tense region?

Inflation on rise Poverty likely to increase Consumer Price Index-based (CPI) inflation for the month of November rose to 5.41 per cent, from 5 per cent in October and the highest in at least a year. Consumer food price inflation, which has a weightage of about 47 per cent in the retail inflation index, spiked to 6.07 per cent in November from a level of 1.13 per cent in November 2014. It was at 5.25 per cent in October. The Reserve Bank of India, which is now only guided by the CPI in its monetary policy decisions, should take notice of this food inflation reading before resorting to further policy rate cuts next year, said economists. Costlier food prices especially onion and pulses also had an impact on the wholesale price index (WPI), which moved up to (-) 1.99 per cent in November from (-) 3.81 per cent in the previous month.

Cost of food in India increased 6.07 percent in November of 2015 over the same month in the previous year. Food Inflation in India averaged 8.81 percent from 2012 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 14.72 percent in November of 2013 and a record low of 2.15 percent in July of 2015. Food Inflation in India is reported by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), India.

India's annual wholesale inflation for September firmed up slightly at (-) 4.54 percent from (-)4.95 percent for the previous month, official data released on Wednesday showed. The annual inflation rate, based on the official wholesale price index (WPI), was ruling at 2.38 percent in September, last year. The slight firmness was attributed to rising prices of onions, pulses, milk, egg, meat and fish, which have continued to hit household budgets. The data furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, revealed a revised rate of the headline inflation for July. The WPI inflation was revised lower to (-) 4.00 percent from (-) 4.05 percent which was reported on August 14, this year. For the last six months, the revised WPI data has been (-)0.95 percent in January, ()2.06 percent in February to (-)2.33 percent in March to (-)2.43 percent in April, (-)2.20 percent in May, (-)2.13 percent in June and (-)4.00 percent in July. The data revealed that among the three major sub-indices of the WPI, the inflation rate for primary articles and manufactured products inched up by 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. The index for fuels and power, meanwhile, slipped by 1.7 percent. The final rate of inflation for the three sub-indices for last month stood at primary articles (-)2.09 percent, manufactured products (-)1.73 percent and fuel and power (-)17.71 percent. However, food inflation in the month under review edged up by 0.69 percent from a decline of 1.13 percent recorded in August and 3.68 percent in the corresponding month of last year.

The pace of contraction of the WPI index eased significantly in November. This was due to all the major sub-indices recording higher inflation (primary food articles, primary non-food articles and manufactured food products) or narrower disinflation (minerals, fuel & power, manufactured non-food products). In the short term, the imminent rate hike by the US Federal Reserve as well as concerns related to the global growth outlook may continue to exert pressure on commodity prices, she said. The impact of the same may, however, be partly offset by a weakening of the Indian rupee relative to the US dollar.

E-Governance Reforming Government through technology E-Governance has the potential to benefit India's citizens exponentially and maximise the return on the government's investment in it. The contradiction in India is that the country is rightly recognised a global leader in the delivery of IT services, but it suffers from very little internal IT development in the country. But eGovernance is not just about improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and government employees. It is also about blending Information and Communications Technology (ICT) with administrative reforms to make government more efficient, drive down costs and increase transparency in how government departments work. If implemented properly, it can be an asset for the un-served and under-served areas in India and help drive new levels of efficiency to government services in India.

Also for better implementation of e-governance, the Government will need to frame laws which will fully incorporate the established as will as emerging technology. Changing technology has changed many pre-established notions; similarly the technology is growing and changing rapidly. It is important, that the Government makes laws which incorporate the current technology and has enough space to incorporate the changing future technology. These IT laws need to be flexible to adjust with the rapidly changing technology. Currently India has only the IT Act, 2000 which is mainly an ECommerce legislation. India has also modified many laws to include electronic technology, however it is not sufficient to cover e-governance completely.

Overall technological awareness in current Judges is very low. The judiciary as a whole needs to be trained in new technology, its benefits and drawbacks and the various usages. The judiciary may alternatively appoint new judges with new judges and setup special Courts to deal with the matters relating to ICT. The Government can also setup special tribunals to deal with matters relating with ICT. Literacy percentage in India is too alarming. The whole world is moving towards e-governance, but India still lacks in the literacy department. The people need to be educated and made e-literate for e-governance to flourish. There are very few e-literate people in India is very low. The Government needs to campaign for e-governance, increase people's awareness towards e-governance. Government can only encourage people to go online if it can make people feel comfortable with e-governance. This can be done through educating the people about the advantages of e-governance over physical governance. This can also be done through raising awareness of the leaders who can motivate the people to go online.

Heajin Kim In contrast to Europe, Asian countries have struggled with what President Park Geun-hye calls the "Asian Paradox."

In other words, Asian countries have fallen short of political and security cooperation despite deep economic integration.

To overcome the paradox, Park proposed the Northeast Asia Peace and C o o p e r a t i o n Initiative(NAPCI) as she took office in 2013. Two years later, it is a good time to review how distinctive NAPCI is, why it has been successful, and what the road ahead will be if it wants to leave a lasting mark in the region. NAPCI's distinctive characteristics help it attract substantial regional and global interest, but it undoubtedly faces challenges down the road.

NAPCI is part of Park's larger trustpolitik policy of replacing conflict and discord in the region with dialogue and cooperation.

By fostering an arena for dialogue and cooperation at multiple levels, NAPCI aspires to build trust in the region over the long term so that peace and prosperity can be sustained. As a multilateral institution, NAPCI has won the support and par-

ticipation of major countries in the region, include the United States, Japan, China, Russia, and Mongolia. At present, North Korea is not participating, but by encouraging it to, NAPCI could eventually help defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Moreover, NAPCI does not aim to replace existing multilateral international institutions, but rather looks for complementary and cooperative relations.

NAPCI is distinct from other regional initiatives such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit in three major ways. First, NAPCI addresses non-traditional soft security issues such as nuclear safety, energy security, the environment, cyberspace, health, drugs, and disaster management. By achieving success in less politically sensitive issues, NAPCI hopes to translate that trust into broader cooperation on hard security issues. Second, the means by which cooperation is to be achieved is different.

NAPCI focuses on cultivating a habit of dialogue and cooperation, and ultimately on building trust, rather than adopting particular norms and rules. Third, NAPCI is designed as a flexible multilateral

framework with co-ownership. That means there is flexibility in its structure and agenda. Any participating country can introduce an issue it perceives to be relevant and significant.

With these factors, NAPCI has been able to move beyond the conceptual stage. First, its flexibility and openness lowers the barrier for participation. Second, NAPCI appears to be non-threatening since the ROK is not attempting to challenge or change regional order.

This attribute allows countries and international institutions to join NAPCI with minimum political risk. Last, but not least is Park's political will to make NAPCI work. She has pushed NAPCI vigorously, giving it momentum for its creation and implementation.

However, the road ahead for NAPCI is not without stumbling blocks. First, cooperation on soft security issues may not automatically expand to cooperation on hard security issues. Soft security issues such as health and disaster management are arguably easier to discuss with fewer political considerations, since they neither pose existential threats nor do they affect the configuration of power significantly. However, when it comes to hard security is-

sues that threaten a state's sovereignty and territory, cooperation becomes harder. And for a region with as much historical baggage as Northeast Asia, it is far more challenging to find a common ground on hard security issues, even if Park succeeds in fostering trust among these countries.

Second, what actual impact NAPCI will have on the region remains an open question. Because the ultimate goal of NAPCI is to build trust rather than to write norms and rules that ultimately resolve issues, in its current conception NAPCI will remain only a first step towards cooperation, not the final destination. Trust certainly advances cooperation, but

trust alone does not and cannot solve problems.

The situation in Asia is more precarious than ever due to a rising China. Historically, rising powers have not been comfortable complying with existing rules; they eventually want to rewrite rules and norms like Germany and Japan did in the mid-20th century.

If China has this ambition and challenges the statusquo, as is in the South China Sea and elsewhere, other NAPCI participants will need to consider how they could and should work with China going forward.

Despite the potential hitches, the significance of NAPCI should not be underestimated. It offers another forum for leaders to

come together and discuss issues in depth. As John Mearsheimer has argued, it is impossible to observe other countries' intentions with certainty because they are not tangible, but more importantly, because current actions do not necessarily indicate future actions. Today's friends can be tomorrow's enemies.

Likewise, leaders come and go and regimes change. However, a culture of dialogue and trust can outlive individual leaders, and while trust takes time to build, NAPCI has the potential to gradually help Asian countries understand each other better and perhaps find common ground for cooperation on both soft and hard security issues.

China, Russia Try to Brave Economic Headwinds Prime Minister Medvedev and Premier Li recommit to closer economic ties, despite lackluster trade numbers for 2015.

Shannon Tiezzi It's been a busy week for Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. After attending the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization heads of government meeting in Zhengzhou, China on Tuesday, Medvedev headed to Wuzhen for the second annual World Internet Conference on Wednesday. Today, Medvedev headed to Beijing to sit down with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (who also hosted the SCO meeting) for the 20th edition of the China-Russia Prime Ministers' Regular Meeting.

It's been a rough year for China-Russia relations, especially on the economic front. Thanks to China's economic slowdown, plunging global oil prices, and Russia's struggles with Western sanctions, bilateral trade over the first six months of 2015

dropped by 30 percent year-on-year. That's despite a 15 percent increase in Russian oil exports to China over the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014 - a clear sign of how decimated oil prices are affecting the trade relationship. Bilateral investment between the two countries has also declined sharply, down by 20 percent year-on-year. In 2011, Medvedev (then Russia's president) and then-Chinese President Hu Jintao set a goal of doing $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2015; financial and economic realities have destroyed any chance of reaching that mark.

As figures from TASS make clear, Russia is far more reliant on China economically than the other way around - China is Russia's largest trading partner, accounting for 11 percent of Russia's total foreign trade in 2014.

Meanwhile, Russia contributed only 2.2 percent of China's foreign trade as Beijing's ninth-largest trading partner last year (and Russia's ranking might drop to 15th by the end of 2015). Russia is particularly dependent on China now, thanks to sanctions from the West that limit Moscow's ability to export energy resources to Europe (and retaliatory sanctions from Russia that make it more reliant on China for food imports).

With that in mind, Moscow is particularly keen to finalize new pipelines that will allow it to export more oil and gas to China. Medvedev made some progress on this front in Beijing. Russian oil giant Rosneft and Sinopec signed a memorandum of understanding on projects in East Siberia. The two firms will conduct "a detailed prefeasibility and concept design study with re-

spect to a potential gas and petroleum chemicals joint venture" in the Yu r u b c h e n o Tokhomskiy gas fields, according to a press release from Rosneft. The MOU is a follow-up of a previous agreement to jointly develop the Russkoye and Yu r u b c h e n o Tokhomskiy fields that was signed in September, coinciding with President Vladimir Putin's visit to China.

In addition, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Gazprom signed an agreement "on the design and construction of the cross-border section of China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline," according toXinhua.

That's another step forward on a $400 billion deal signed in May 2014 that will see Russia provide natural gas from Siberia to Chinese markets.

"The slew of deals

signed between China and Russia is a testimony of a higher level of our relationship, and we are determined to ensure their implementation," Li told Medvedev. Indeed, China and Russia are very much in the "implementation" stage - trying to see through deals that have already been reached despite what Li called "downward pressure on the economy."

In his own speech, Medvedev agreed that the two sides must overcome economic difficulties. "I totally support what Mr Li Keqiang said about the need to react to the current economic environment and to the weakness and volatility of markets," he said.

"We need to find new solutions and directions for cooperation, including in dealing with a number of challenges that our countries and economies are facing."

China and Russia have

struggled for years to make their economic relationship live up to their increasingly close political and military relations (an inversion of the problem China has with many of its other neighbors, such as South Korea).

The lesson of 2015 is that this will not be an easy process, despite optimistic numbers and a slew of new deals coming out of Moscow and Beijing.

Trade relations take time to build, particularly since Sino-Russian trade is currently centered on the infrastructure-heavy energy industry.

But if Medvedev's visit to China is any indication, both sides are serious about the effort. He told People's Dailyin an interview that Russia and China "hope to launch major projects within a few years, which will add tens of billions of dollars to our trade and will make it possible to regain a steady positive trajectory."

Last Straw on the Camel's Back Sir, The mystery of controversy Centering round the Barpeta-Xatra-Visit of the congress Prince Rahul Gandhi has been unveiled at last when the Xatra's Burha Xatria Bashistha Sarma stated that he, along with the members of the Xatra (Bhakat) and the people had been waiting to welcome Rahul Gandhi for four hours. Suddenly, the Chief-minister discovered that Rahul Gandhi along with his army of congress stalwarts and members had been prevented from entering the Borpeta Xatra by the members of the RSS. Incidentally, the Chief-minister who holds the 'Home' portfolio could have brought the situation under control-getting the RSS members arrested on the spot.

But the worthless 'Home' minister remained a mute spectator who subsequently leveled the charge. The Chief-minister's fabricated charge has been corroborated by Anjan Dutta, the President of the APCC and Pradyut Bordoloi, spokesman of the congress. What we want, in a sensitive matter, truth should always prevail. No party, whether BJP or congress should not resort to travesty of truth. In this case, the party which is at fault should seek apology from the people. We take it for granted that when the xatradhikar (Head of the Xatra) himself made the statement, any counter

statement by any member is not acceptable. Political party that is at fault should refrain from playing with the sentiment of the people. By the body language of a particular political party, it transpires that the said episode seems to be like the last straw on the camel's back taking into consideration of the assembly election scheduled in the early part of the next year.

Yours etc.

Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh

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

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

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Female Foeticide In India: A harsh reality India is a vast country. A country which has left behind a number of stigmas and prejudices to move ahead as one nation. A nation with a cultural diversity, one can always find harmonious existence in a number of cities and towns of India. But, in a number of states, villages, cities and

towns, another existence found is that of gender bias.

Gender bias at the time when a child is born, leading to female foeticide and female infanticide.

This problem is not usually found in a number of families belonging to the urban literate class. The problem pertains to the families

having a rural or a traditional background (by traditional I mean those who believed in this act).

Now after 6 decades of Independence India, or rather Indians are not being able to give up their thoughts. The thoughts which make a girls child a bad omen for a family.

We often see a number of incidents in the news reAnshul lated to this issue. Recently, a girl child, barely a few months old, was found in a garbage box. There have been incidents of the foetus lying in farms, floating in rivers, wrapped up in jute bags and left to die. A number of reasons lead to this heinous crime. To quote some, want of a male child to carrying the name of the family forward, lighting the funeral pyre to hoping for a bread earner are a few. The most prevalent these days is the fear of the demand for dowry. This has often been noticed that killing an unborn or just born girl child is better than paying a huge sum as dowry at a later stage. This mentality is specifically found in the rural areas and also in a few metropolitan cities. The states of Bangalore, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal, Rajasthan are among others having a

Proper Waste Management: Need of the hour India is the second most populous country, which has about 16% of the world population and 2.4% of the land area. Rapid industrialization in the last few decades have led to the depletion of precious natural resources in India depletes and pollutes resources continuously. Furthermore, the rapid industrial developments have, also, led to the generation of huge quantities of hazardous wastes, which have further aggravated the environmental problems in the country by depleting and polluting natural resources. Therefore, rational and sustain-

be dead," a scientist at WWF, Dr Sandeep Behera says.

The problem is not restricted to rivers or industrial towns. Waste management is a problem that all of us face. No matter how posh an area might be, miserable waste management can be seen. Public parks and roads

Sahiba Singh are often littered with garbage. The processing of the garbage is also not given much thought. It is thrown in the dumping grounds without following the rules

agement is a challenge as people have started opposing areas being earmarked for waste management; as they cause damage to the environment. A communitycentered scheme involving all would help tackle the problem, he said.

Realising how grim the situation is, the government, NGOs and the local community has been working hard to improve the situation.

India is the first country that has made constitutional provisions for protection and improvement of the environment. In the Directive Principles of State Policy of

high rate of female foeticide cases.

Sex determination is ever increasing in India even though there are strict laws against it. In 1994, the Government of India passed the Pre- conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act with the aim of preventing female foeticide. The implemenTewari tation of this Act was slow. It was later amended and replaced in 2002 by the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act without ever having been properly implemented.

The Act has a central and state level Supervisory Board, an Appropriate Authority, and supporting Advisory Committee. The function of the Supervisory Board is to oversee, monitor, and make amendments to the provisions of the Act. Appropriate Authority provides registration, and conducts the administrative work involved in inspection, investigation, and the penalizing of defaulters. The Advisory Committee provides expert and technical support to the Appropriate Authority.

Contravening the provisions of the Act can lead to

a fine of Rs 10,000 and up to three years imprisonment for a first offence, with greater fines and longer terms of imprisonment for repeat offenders. The Appropriate Authority informs the central or state medical council to take action against medical professionals, leading to suspension or the striking off of practitioners found guilty of contravening the provisions of the Act. Before conducting any prenatal diagnostic procedure, the medical practitioner must obtain a written consent from the pregnant woman in a local language that she understands. Prenatal tests may be performed in various specified circumstances, including risk of chromosomal abnormalities in the case of women over 35, and genetic diseases evident in the family history of the couple. Implementation of the 1994 Act We conducted a study to assess the implementation of the 1994 Act in South Delhi and make recommendations for its improvement.

This involved examining the organizational structure, observing 26 clinics, and distributing a questionnaire to patients. The results showed up serious failures in management and implementation, lack of commit-

Domestic workers have legally been defined as people employed to do the housework or allied activities in any household, hence excluding those involved in cleaning or cooking in offices, shops and other such premises. Since domestic service does not come under the category of an industry, domestic workers are not covered under the labour laws of India. There lay India's first slip-up- it was a shortcut to a destiny of long working hours, less wages and unimaginable forms of harassment for this socalled 'informal sector'.

India has a beautiful history; the land of Mahabharata and Ramayana, Akbar and Gandhi, countless religions, castes and beliefs.

Gandhi aided us in triumphing over the doctrine of untouchability. We have come a long from then but the caste system is still very much the trademark stamp of India today. The first question a stranger asks you wouldn't be your name; rather it would be

your caste.

In 2000, the United

ment and motivation, widespread corruption, and little knowledge in clinics of the provisions of the Act. The presence of individuals outside the medical profession, in particular those involved with human rights, would have helped to prevent fraternity bias - an unwillingness to bring medical colleagues to account.

The survey of patient attitudes showed that only 40% of male patients and 30% of female patients were aware of the prohibition of sex determination.

While 90% purported to agree with the principle of the Act, they nevertheless maintained that a male child was important for the strengthening of the family.

Statically: 1. nearly 10 million female fetuses have been has a family of five to take care of. She wouldn't know

Status of Domestic Helpers in India Nation's Human Rights that she was entitled to a Commission declared do- minimum wage, or that she mestic workers as a form could bring her employer of "Contemporary Sla- to court if harassed. She very". Regardless of that, wouldn't even know she as of statishad it within tics taken in 2008; 90 Sameera Ahmed her to request to million is be treated the estimated official number of better than a mongrel. domestic workers in India Where ignorance, illiteracy 12.6 million of them are and caste inferiority play the children 86% of them are main role in adult domestic girls. And 25% of them worker abuse; the state of were flouting the anti-child affairs of the child domestic labour laws; they were be- workers is miserable.

We have in our fundamenlow 14 years of age.

Presuming a woman, illit- tal rights the right to free erate, unable to qualify for and compulsory education any job merged with a sta- until the age of 14 but evtus of lower caste like an ery day at least three girl albatross around her neck, children are lured to the big

aborted in the country over the past two decades 2. the United Nations has reported that India's female ratio between 0-6 years age group has fallen to 896 females per 1,000 males, the lowest ever in a decade for the world's second most populous nation 3. about three-fourths of the women in the suburban area know about the sex determination test, and female foeticide is favored both in rural and urban areas 4. of the 12 million girls born in India, one million do not see their first birthday 5. seven thousand fewer girls are born in India each day than the global average would suggest Solution, anyone?

It is a deeply ingrained cities under the illusion of working at a big mansion every day; what they actually encounter is 16-18 hours of hard toil, scarcity of food and invariable sexual harassment.

They lose out on their education, their childhood, their innocence and their recreation. Most of them are psychologically affected by the time they grow up.

There was an incident that I haven't felt like sharing for a long time until I sat down to pen this article. It was an year ago. I was at a family friend's house chitchatting. Pounding on the door, a young girl barely 16 came running into the house from the gate. Her story was something I can never forget- She had come to the city to work at a house but had been locked for three years in a room by her employer and his wife and constantly physically and sexually harassed. She was covered with bruises and said she was three months plus pregnant. A little unnerved,

patriarchal attitude to which even the medical profession and the women, who in spite of being the victims, unthinkingly subscribe.

The only long-term solution is to change attitudes.

Conventionally girls are seen as burdens, as huge dowries have to be paid for their weddings and even if they do earn income, it adds only to the capacities of the family into which they marry. It is said that if a girl child is born in a family, it means that the family has been bestowed with a good luck charm and that they must have done a good deed in their previous life.

But then why are people not realising the importance of a girl? Is marriage the only resort of a girl, can't she live life according to her own means?

Can't she for once decide her life? Then why?

Aunty asked her to wait while she called the police. By the time they arrived, she had disappeared. Conveniently, the couple too mysteriously vanished. (Click here to read a similar encounter) Later we learnt that the entire street knew about the girl being held captive; they had heard her screams on countless nights. And not a soul raised a cry.

The apathy of our country and its people.

More than them, it's the middle and upper class who should hang their heads in shame. Despite all the education we get, the mentality of taking advantage of the weak and ignorant has never left our blood. However states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka have taken giant steps forward and recognized domestic workers as a form of labour and introduced minimum wages.

The day our domestic workers will be safe is when they have Unions of their own to serve as their backbone and demonstrate to them that they are as respectable as anybody else no matter what they are or where they come from. We are all one after all.

Reality TV: Can We Relate To Them? able utilization of natural resources and its protection from toxic releases is vital for sustainable socio-economic development.

Hazardous waste management is a new concept for most of the Asian countries including India. The lack of technical and financial resources and the regulatory control for the management of hazardous wastes in the past had led to the unscientific disposal of hazardous wastes in India, which posed serious risks to human, animal and plant life.

Majority of Indian rivers are polluted because of industrial and human waste.

There has been efforts by the state, but they are too little and too late. There has been a sudden increase in the number of deaths of fresh water fishes. The dolphins in the Ganga River have been choking to death in the highly toxic water.

"The dolphin needs as much protection as the tiger. It is a flagship species for the river. If the dolphin is gone tomorrow the river will also

required for its management.

Now the big question is, who is responsible? The state or the public?

Public often complain that the government is responsible for clearing out the mess. On the other hand the government feels the citizens are not doing their bit as they continue littering.

The thing is that there should be a partnership between the two, the state should provide the means and the people should take initiative. People should have separate bio-degradable and non-degradable waste at their homes itself so that waste can be managed easily. In this regard the solid-waste materials should be collected by visiting every household. To avoid pollution, the waste should be directly dumped into the tractors, he said, and suggested involving self-help groups, pourakarmikas, and even outsourcing this work.

Under present circumstances, solid-waste man-

the Constitution, Article 48A of Chapter IV enjoins the state to endeavor for the protection and improvement of the environment and for safeguarding the forest and wild life of the country.

In Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution, one of the fundamental duties of every citizen of India is to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.

Many state governments are providing free recycling and garbage sorting facilities to local communities.

Delhi government has installed many garbage plants and have provided separate dustbins for bio-degradable and non- degradable waste.

NGOs have mobilized people and are working with hospitals to manage and process their waste properly. The waste management can be a success if all of us do our bit for the environment with full cooperation from the government and NGOs.

Recently I was watching MTV and I wondered if all their shows had their share of never-ending tasks, politics, bitching et al. I wonder which channel has not been bitten by the reality bug. And top it with all languages and varieties of the same concept. What keeps reality TV ticking in India or for that matter the world?

From shows like Bigg Boss, Kaun Banega‌ to Sa Re..and Dance India Dance, everybody has something of their interest on air. All the shows sporting celebrities seem to have a racing TRP. Is it because we are sadistic to know that even celebrities aren't spared the 'realities' of life or are we just plain curious? Are these shows as real as we assume them?

From the 'who is who' of Bollywood to the boy-nextdoor, everyone seems to be grabbing a share of time in the idiot box. No one wants to be left behind in this race for instant publicity. Every baccha baccha of the household seems to want to get into one show or the other on the pretext of showcasing their talent.

Ok, so what does the 'stupid common man' gain from all this. Depends on who is watching and what are you really looking for. For some

it could be a giant leap to see a participant going success and publicity. For through difficult times, we others it could be the best relate to it. We relate to their platform to showcase your worries, their pressure to talent and get the leverage succeed and perform. Are needed for success. Stu- we actually sadistic to endents who cry and fret for joy seeing someone else's standing in queues in the pain? Or is it just an escape outside world wouldn't route to forget our own mind spending overnight problems? Or does it make waiting for a small chance it more enjoyable to be able of getting to see aninto a other soul show. I whose d o n ' t pain you Shreya Krishnan b l a m e can relate t h e m . to? An anWho wouldn't want their swer to these depends on piece of fame? From tod- what kind of viewers we are dlers to senile everyone has and how vulnerable we are. something to offer.

The next question which Now, what does a viewer comes to my mind is how gets from these shows. real are these shows? Are What starts as a curiosity we just hyperventilating about the show can turn into over nothing? If the entire a complete addiction. From show was scripted to be in shows like Roadies, where a certain way and in turn get participants are screaming racing TRPs then aren't we at each other in a high cheated? Well this will still pitched voice to shows like remain a mystery unless the Bigg Boss where there is real truth is unveiled. When nothing but tears and more we watch shows where intears. These shows are on mates are 'supposedly' in the air because people like us house for months, we would watch it. We detest them yet wonder how real are these we watch it not waiting to people or the show itself. blink. Who does not face How much editing would these emotions these days? have gone in before the These shows succeed be- viewer sees the final vercause they are cashing on sion? And we assume it is our emotions, desperation for real. and weaknesses. When we There are shows on air of

'reality dance and music' for kids and adults alike. How many cases of suicides have we seen of children post these shows? Does this just simply prove the fact, that these shows are modeled wrongly and are conveying the most condemned message? When a child is getting 'eliminated' from the show, the child cries, the mother cries, the judges cry.

Why!? What are we teaching our children? Is it not basic education to teach children to accept failure?

And first of all why call it a failure? Children just ape their surroundings. They are what they see and learn. If a child gets frustrated and is depressed enough to commit suicide, something is inherently wrong with the system. We are encouraging a very unhealthy competition. We should instead teach our children to learn more importantly than winning. I would urge all parents to build the spirit of sportsmanship in children.

Winning and losing is a part of the game. Accept it gracefully. I guess the thing not earned, never belongs to you. Instant celebrity status does shake your ground.

People are not well equipped to handle fame. If the fact that a billion people

are watching you and are fond of you sinks in, it is hard to live away from it. It is probably a deeply grounded yearning to be ever famous.

In recent times there is a show on air which deals with infidelity. If you let the whole nation witness you spying on your partner, where are we headed? If you are indeed doubtful, why not hire a freelance spy instead.

I wonder where the age-old trust-your-partner theory has gone. Is it too clichĂƒÂŠ for our generation to trust? Are love and relationships a thing of the past? I hope not.

On the other hand, shows like Dance India Dance have got India tapping its feet. It is a fresh flavour of real dance and less reality. I wouldn't deny the tear-shedding on the show but the show is entertaining with healthy competition and the participants grooving to nice music. Similarly shows like KBC were something that made everybody glued to television and improving their knowledge too.

On a final note, Reality shows can have a positive impact on our mind if we selectively take in what motivates us and consciously ignore what has a negative message.

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

BUSINESS

50% growth aim by SBI General Insurance this fiscal Kolkata, Dec 18: SBI General Insurance is looking at 50% growth in business during this fiscal. The growth would come from health, motor and personal accident lines of business. In terms of losses during the Chennai floods, the company has so far got 1,000 claims at Rs 120 crore on a gross value basis. "Of this, we have done full settlement for 100 cases while we have done 'on account' settlement for another 100," managing director of the company Bhaskar J Sarma said. He added that by end of December, the company

hoped to settle 80% of the cases relating to Chennai floods. Of the 1,000 flood-related claims received by the company, 372 pertained to motor at a gross value of Rs 3 crore while 600 came from the SME (small and medium enterprises) segment. During 2013-14, SBI General Insurance's GWP (gross written premiums) totalled Rs 1,600 crore and till November 2015, the company's gross written premiums stood at Rs 1,200 crore.

"Last year, we introduced a series of products in the health segment. We have recently filed a travel in-

CEO of Tata Starbucks Avani Davda quits

Ex- CEO of Tata Starbucks Avani Davda.Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Mumbai, Dec 18: Tata Global Beverages Ltd said Avani Davda, chief executive officer of Tata Starbucks, a joint venture of Tata Global Beverages and Starbucks Corp, has resigned to pursue opportunities outside the group.

Ms Davda was the youngest CEO in the Tata Group. "Avani has been instrumental in establishing the Tata Starbucks business and positioning Starbucks as the premier coffee house experience in India," the company said in a regulatory filing.

Starbucks, which opened its first India store in October 2012, has 78 outlets across six cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai,

Pune and Hyderabad. The JV has appointed Sumi Ghosh as CEO effective January 1. Mr Ghosh is an eight-year Starbucks partner and was recently the vice-president of Starbucks Midwestern US. He brings three decades of consumer retail experience, including 10 years in brand management and operational leadership roles. Mr Ghosh will relocate from Chicago to Mumbai early next month. "Average sales per day of Starbucks is higher than the other competitors on account of premium service and differentiated products," Akanksha Tripathi, analyst at BOB Capital Markets said in a recent research note.

(Agencies)

PAN for deals over Rs 2 lakh opposed by jewellers Chennai, Dec 18: A jewellers' federation has opposed the government's decision for mandatory furnishing of PAN details for transactions above Rs 2 lakh. The measure has been introduced to curb the flow of black money into the system and discourage the use of cash transactions for highvalue purchases. The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF), national trade federation of the gems and jewellery sector, said the decision would hurt the industry and prevent people from rural India from purchasing gold ornaments. "This is not practical and will discriminate against 70 per cent rural buyers, including farmers, as they are not under tax net and do not have PAN cards. We urge the government to remove PAN requirement in the jewellery sector and maintain status quo on application of TCS on sale of bullion worth Rs 2 lakh and jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh," GJF chairman Sreedhar GV said in a statement.

"The gems and jewellery sector does not attract black money since there is value addition of 15-20 per cent in developing the products while bullion is the preferred segment for investment by black money holders. Today, people buy jewellery items not only for their daily use but also for essential purposes such as festival and

religious functions, including weddings," he said. Overall, the GJF said the decision on requirement of PAN was not fair and justifiable under law as it tantamount to discrimination against a large number of people who did not have PAN. In India, hardly 8 to 10 per cent of the population had PAN, it said. "The gems and jewellery sector is not a generator of black money. More than 80 per cent of the value of jewellery is raw materials such as gold and silver, which are legitimately imported," said Bachhraj Bamalwa, director, GJF. The jewellery sector will find it difficult to encourage buyers to visit showrooms due to the new restrictions, said Ashok Minawala, director, GJF. "It is a negative step for the industry as it will neutralise benefits arising out of the monetisation scheme, which is positive. As of March 31, 2015, 22.3 crore PAN cards have been issued in India. Will it be justifiable to ask for PAN details of 8990 per cent of the population, which does not have the card?" Mr Minawala asked. Titan, which receives 75 per cent of its revenue from jewellery division, saw its stock falling marginally down to Rs 353.9 in a firm Mumbai market on Thursday. Titan, in a regulatory filing, said cash transactions of individual products amounted to less than 10 per cent of the revenue jewellery division in the recent past.

(Agencies)

surance policy for the domestic market (both group and individual) with the regulator. We are also filing a home and home contents cover with IRDA (Insurance Regulatory Regulatory Authority). This is a simple product where those people owing a home valued at Rs 30- Rs 40 lakh can gets their homes covered by paying an annual premium of Rs 1,000. The whole objective is to attractive non-loanees home owners," Sarma.

Home finance companies normally mandate borrowers to take a house cover that covers damage

EXPECTED GROWTH SBI General Insurance is looking at 50% growth in business during this fiscal.

The growth would come from health, motor and personal accident lines of business. In terms of losses during the Chennai floods, the company has so far got 1,000 claims at Rs 120 crore on a gross value basis.

By end of December, the company hoped to settle 80% of the cases relating to Chennai floods. Of the 1,000 flood-related claims received by the company, 372 pertained to motor at a gross value of Rs 3 crore while 600 came from the SME (small and medium enterprises) segment.

During 2013-14, SBI General Insurance's GWP (gross written premiums) totalled Rs 1,600 crore and till November 2015, the company's gross written premiums stood at Rs 1,200 crore.

to the structure during the loan sanction process. On the possibility of joint ven-

ture partner IAG raising its stake in the venture to 49% from 26% currently,

Sarma said the valuation exercise was currently underway. (Agencies)

Managing Director of SBI General Insurance, Bhaskar J Sarma.

$400m cost slapped on Indian IT

by US visa move: Nasscom New Delhi, Dec 18: A work-visa fee increase the US had imposed in 2010 and which lapsed recently is being revived in another form, putting paid to the IT industry's hopes that its visa costs would finally come down. IT industry body Nasscom issued a strong statement late Thursday , saying Indian technology companies may have to spend $400 million more on visa costs on account of the move.

"We are increasingly seeing a growing protectionist trend from developed countries like US who have been strongly advocating India to have a more liberalized trade and business environment.

This move is contrary to President Obama's stated support for continued openness and ease of access to the US market by Indian service companies and his advocacy of continued openness of the Indian market to US companies," the Nasscom

US President, Barack Obama.Source: upload.wikimedia.org

said. In 2010, the United States had raised the H-1B visa fees by $2,000 per visa application and L-1 visa fees by $2,700 per visa application to fund enhanced costs on securing its border with Mexico. This was applicable to companies that employ 50 or more employees in the US, if more than 50% of the appli-

cants' employees are under the H-1B or L-1 work visa status. The provision was for five years and ended in October 2015.

Now, the higher visa charges will continue as part of the James Zadroga 911Health and Compensation Act, a move to fund the health costs of more than 72,000 known responders and survivors of

911, including more than 33,000 who already have 911-linked illnesses. The programme will last for 75 years, until 2090.The specific visa fee increase provisions are currently for 10 years. Nasscom said imposing an additional H1B and L-1 visa fees was unfair and discriminatory in nature. "The Indian Information Technology (IT) industry should not be repeatedly targeted as a revenue source to fund unrelated programmes," it said, adding that the move would adversely impact competitiveness of India's technology sector. Harish H V, partner in the India leadership team at consultancy firm Grant Thornton, said that if the Act was implemented, the costs would escalate. "Indian IT companies are known for their cost advantage and anything that increases cost, will reduce competitiveness, especially in the onshore area," he said. (Agencies)

Stake in JV to be increased by ERGO with HDFC

Helsinki, Dec 18: German insurer ERGO Insurance Group has decided to increase its stake in its Indian general insurance joint venture with Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) to 49 from 26 per cent. ERGO will buy the additional 23 per cent stake for Rs 1,122 crore. The deal values HDFC ERGO at Rs 4,900

crore. The move comes after laws allowed foreign insurance companies to have maximum 49 per cent stake in Indian ventures.

"Under the shareholders' agreement between HDFC and ERGO, ERGO had the right to increase its shareholding from 26 per cent in HDFC ERGO as and when laws permitted such an increase," HDFC, country's largest mortgage financier, said. The general insurance company will now have to take approvals from the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India, Competition Commission of India and the Foreign Investment Promotion

Board. In August, HDFC's life insurance partner Standard Life proposed to increase its stake from 26 per cent to 35 per cent for Rs 1,750 crore. The deal valued the life insurance company close to Rs 19,500 crore. Under the agreement, ERGO will buy 12,33,57,262 shares of HDFC ERGO at a price of Rs 90.97 per share aggregating to Rs 1,122 crore, HDFC said in a regulatory filing. HDFC ERGO remains a subsidiary of the corporation, HDFC said.

The raise in stake by the German partner in the company is consequent to the Indian government allowing foreign entities to

raise their stake in the domestic private sector insurance joint ventures to up to 49 per cent from earlier limit of 26 per cent.

HDFC ERGO offers general insurance products ranging from motor, health, travel, home, personal accident. Besides, it offers customised services like property, marine and liability insurance in retail space. Recently, a number of foreign players have raised stakes in Indian JVs, including Nippon in Reliance Life Insurance, AXA in Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Bupa in Max BUPA health insurance and Sunlife Financial Inc in Birla Sunlife. (Agencies)

VBS to help SME growth in India Bengaluru, Dec 18: Vodafone Business Services (VBS), the enterprise arm of Vodafone India, unveiled its growth strategy to double its target of the Small & Medium Business segment (SME) in India.

Adopting a three pronged approach focusing on coverage, intelligence and automation, the SME vertical will accordingly double its channel network

by FY 2016-17 to achieve this target. VBS has introduced three SME focused initiatives which include Information and Communications Technology (ICT) cloud-based offerings; six new vertical propositions specific to a industry and Ready Business 2.0, a value proposition empowering SME to overcome their business challenges and take advantage of the future opportunities. Announcing this initiative, Ajay Sehgal, National Head - Small and Medium Enterprises, Vodafone Business Ser-

vices, said, "The SME vertical is the fastest growing business segment for Vodafone Business Services.

Leveraging the advantage of our global expertise and our experience in India, we will support SMEs to enhance their productivity and business efficiencies. We are now moving to a broader and strategic ICT partnership for our SME clients by doubling the target and enhancing our channel with a new twotiered approach and a fresh engagement model. Our eventual aim is to be the preferred partner for both our SME customers and channel partners." VBS aims to enhance its SME reach through its new channel strategy; strengthening the width of coverage with primary Channel Partners and leverage the infrastructure available in the market for extended reach with Advanced Resellers (partners who already have an existing IT relationship with SMEs). In addition, VBS will also empower its existing selected high performing re-

tailers to graduate to working with SME customers for addressing their ICT needs. VBS will launch Six Vertical Propositions for SMEs this financial year.

VBS will leverage its global SME leadership experience, and the understanding of their core business needs to launch the six verticals namely; Ready Construction, Ready Manufacturing, Ready Logistics, Ready Hospitality, Ready Healthcare & Ready Professional Services. To catalyse the growth of Indian businesses, specifically Small and Medium Sized Businesses, VBS has introduced Ready Business 2.0- an integrated technology solutioning approach that uses Vodafone's suite of Total Communications solutions to provide answers to business problems, designed for making businesses more agile towards taking on future challenges.

India's GDP is expected to

touch 8.5 per cent, with the country likely to be a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.

The 'Digital India' revolution provides a great opportunity to promote SME participation in line with the government vision. According to a study undertaken by Department of Science and Technology, there are approximately 4 million Small and Medium Enterprise sector enterprises across various industries, employing 106 million people. SME in India has the potential to increase the share of contribution to GDP from the current 8 per cent to about 15 per cent by the year 2020. The Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) segment is expected to play a significant role in the emergence of the Indian economy. The MSME segment has the potential to emerge as a backbone for this economy and act as an engine for growth, given the right set of support and enabling framework.

(Agencies)

PAGE 10

Jet Airways CEO Cramer Ball quits job Bengaluru, Dec 18: In another top-level reshuffle, Jet Airways, India's second largest airline by market share, announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cramer Ball with effect from February 29, 2016.

The airline said Mr. Ball stepped down to "pursue a new opportunity in Europe for family reasons."

Gaurang Shetty, wholetime director at the airline, will become the acting CEO, the airline said in a statement. Mr. Ball had joined Jet Airways last year after its board had approved his appointment in May 2014.

Italian airline Alitalia announced appointment of Mr. Ball as its CEO beginning March next year.

Mr. Ball will replace Silvano Cassano, who

quit the Rome-based company in September this year. "I am honoured to have been able to play a part in the turnaround of Jet Airways, as it moves towards longterm sustainable profitability. The people at Jet Airways have worked as a team to get this business into shape and I am pleased with the progress that has been made," Mr. Ball said in a statement. This comes at a time when Jet Airways is in the process of implementing its turnaround plan. Abu Dhabibased Etihad Airways has 24 per cent stake in the airline, which posted a net profit of Rs. 83 crore in the second quarter of 2015-16 - the first time company made a profit in the second quarter in eight years. (Agencies)

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cramer Ball who resigned recently.Source: www.indiapost.com

PPP projects worth Rs. 50,000 crore lined up for ports Hyderabad, Dec 18: The Centre has 35 projects worth around Rs. 50,000 crore in the pipeline for investment in the port sector under public-private-partnership (PPP) model. "We already have about 45 running projects, 35 projects are in pipeline with about Rs.50,000 crore investment," Shipping Secre-

tary Rajive Kumar speaking at the International Summit on 'Infrastructure Finance - Bridging the Gap' organised by Assocham. Mr. Kumar said the port sector was not facing issues related to equity and investments as is witnessed in other infrastructure sectors such as power and road.

(Agencies)

Shipping Secretary of India, Rajive Kumar.

Source: www.portwings.in

New Delhi's Khan Market world's 24th most expensive retail location Noida, Dec 18: Cushman & Wakefield's annual report "Main Streets Across the world" shows New Delhi's Khan Market solidifying its global ranking by two places to the world's 24th most expensive retail location globally. The top spot has been retained by New York's Upper 5th Avenue followed by Hong Kong's Causeway Bay on second spot and Avenue de Champs Elysess in Paris completing the top three.

"Despite witnessing no change in the rental values of the location, Khan Market gained in rankings due to marginal changes in the rankings of other countries in the rankings," it said. Within the Indian markets, New Delhi and NCR accounted for the top four most expensive locations with Connaught Place being second, DLF Galeria in Gurgaon being 3rd and South Extension in New Delhi being 4th most expensive. "Contrary to the New Delhi NCR story of growth, established Mumbai retail locations of Linking Road and Colaba Causeway, did not see a very bright year.

Colaba Causeway (India

Ranked 6th) recorded highest rental decline in the last year within India of over 14%, while Linking Road Western Suburbs (India Ranked 5th) stayed afloat with no rental change," said the report. Many other established Mumbai markets including Kemps Corner (-11%), Fort/ Fountain (6%) also saw declining rental trends. "Poor infrastructure and lack of amenities for shoppers and occupiers have been causing these locations to fall out of preference.

Most of these locations are understood to have reached their threshold pricing and are seeing a lack of demand at existing rental values, thereby pushing these locations to recalibrate their rentals downwards," it added. Alternate locations such as Lower Parel, Kurla are preferred due to availability of quality space and growing catchment areas. Vashi and Chembur have in the meantime, seen a rise in rental values of 14.8% and 9.4% respectively, given a paucity of quality space but a rise in population base with adequate disposable income. (Agencies)

Features

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

Page 11

WOMEN’S 6 Amazing Haircuts For Long Hair Lobs and bobs can come and go, but long hair will never go out of style. If you're a long-haired girl and love it, then we have the perfect styles for you.

You can change up your look and give your locks a trendy spin without chopping off the length. We give you the prettiest haircuts for long hair.

1. Rocker Chic Locks Ask your stylist for choppy layers, rather than the regular ones that blend nicely into your hair. These layers should be a bit rough at the end for that bedhead

look. It's such an easy style to maintain, all you need to do is wake up and smoothen it down just a bit.

This haircut works really well on naturally wavy hair - the more texture the better.

2. Major Layers In The Front Heavily layered in the front is a style that works especially well for fine hair and straight textures. You can have minimal layers at the back. By doing this, your hair will look fuller and can frame your face.

Your front layers also help

flatter your face. Start your layers above your cheekbone to soften a square shaped face or strong jawline and below that for an oval or heart shaped face.

3. Tapered Ends For Thick Hair If you have very thick, wavy or curly hair then thinner ends help remove bulk and make your locks more manageable. They also maintain the spiral shape of your curls. Any thick-haired girl will understand the struggle of her hair ballooning up, which is what this style will help

prevent. Also, ask your stylist to texture your hair (they have special scissors for this) to help keep thick hair in check.

4. Undercut Layers For Extra Bounce For super thick hair, layers in the inner sections create extra movement in your hair. It gives it that natural swing when you move. Plus, it makes extra thick hair much more manageable. Your mane will look lush and bouncy on the outside and be manageable and not so thick from underneath, which solves that

Multani mitti, better known as the Fuller's earth is a clay substance that is hugely popular for its healing property against acne and blemishes. It is very rich in magnesium chloride which helps to reduce acne.

Originally used as an absorbent in the wool industry this ingredient is now greatly used in many skin care products. You can use it as a cleanser, toner and most importantly as multani mitti facial packs, which are very popular. It's very pocket friendly and has no side effects either.

Go natural this time to have a glowing skin. Let's have a look on benefits of multani mitti: 1. The reason that multani mitti is so raved about because it removes the dead cells from the skin making space for it to breathe.

2. Multani mitti masks are very effective in making your skin glow as well as improving the texture of the skin. It also makes it radiant by removing acne and blemishes to a great degree.

It is well capable of removing all the impurities from your skin so that your pores are not clogged anymore and thus prepares your face for serum or cream application. In this way the cream gets more absorbed and works more effectively.

3. One of the most popular uses of multani Mitti is for those with oily skin.

Multani mitti with rose water makes an excellent face masks for oily skin.

For dry skin, add milk and

almond paste with it. It improves blood circulation also!!

4. Multani mitti is well known for its oil absorbing property. It's for this reason that it is added in the face packs so widely. It cools down aggravated and irritated skin instantly. It

and leave for ten minutes and then rinse it off. It also acts as a wonderful cleanser which brightens the face immediatety!! However you should always remember that it's not a magic potion so it will notreduce the blemishes overnight. So you have to follow the mask

mitti. Add rose water to make a smooth paste and use it weekly to reduce those ugly marks off your skin.

6. Multani mitti also reduces sun tan and helps to reduce pigmentation. It can also heal your scar marks.

Add some essential oil with multani mitti for your face pack and it will give soft supple skin in no time.

7. As a scrub, multani mitti removes black heads and white heads completely!! Add multani mitti with grinded almonds and glycerine soap and use this mixture to scrub your face.

8. Multani mitti is truly a great skin care ingredient as it helps you tone the skin too. Add one beaten egg and one spoon of curd to one spoon of multani mitti. Mix it well and apply it on the face for 20 minutes to achieve a toned skin.

9. You can reduce scar marks by applying the paste of one spoon of carrot pulp mixed with some multani mitti and 2 spoons of olive oil. 10. Multani mitti can reduce your pimples too.

All you need to do is to grind some neem leaves and mix it with multani mitti to form a fine paste.

Apply it for 10-15 minutes and then wash it with cold water. However you should always remember that multani mitti is highly beneficial for oily skin. If you have very dry or sensitive skin, stay away from it as it can aggravate the situation.

We all pick and choose shoes to match our jeans according to what's right in front when we open our shoe closet! But just styling your jeans with the right pair or shoes and making the best combinations can make your whole look very chic and make you stand out in the crowd - even in your most basic pair of denims! There are some shoes that can really take away from your ultimate goal of looking fabulous and we never want you to go wrong again! Here are our tips on how to style all types of jeans with the right shoes!

1. Skinny Jeans Pretty much everyone has at least one pair of skinny jeans in their cupboard and we wear them too often to count! Styling skinny jeans every day doesn't seem to be a problem, but with slight changes you can totally turn up the beat with these coordinates! Want to accentuate your thighs and hips?

Your choice should be knee high boots! For a casual

look go for sneakers! You will be surprised how cool that appears.

2. Boot Cut Jeans As the name suggests, you can pair any kind of ankle length boots with these kind of jeans and it could be covering the boots too! Go for pumps or wedges to enhance the look because this cut gives you an edge to help you look tall! But make sure that the bottom of your jeans fall at the end of the heels. And please stay away from knee high boots as the jeans will look very "stuffed" inside the boots!

3. Straight Legged Jeans A pair of straight legged jeans can handle nearly any height of heel as well as shoes which have trims on them! Match this with a pair of ballet flats or pointed heels which have a smart buckle or embellishments on them. As this style of jeans appears to be in one single line it can handle some dimension in the

Benefits Of Multani Mitti

Source: beautyhealthtips.in works wonders for acne prone skin. It soothes it and also reduces the redness and the flaming irritation.

It not only reduces the acne but also reduces the appearance of them again. To reduce blemishes use a pack of multani mitti with tomato juice, turmeric and sandalwood powder. Apply

for a time and be patient to have the glowing and blemish free skin.

5. If you have pimple and those pimple marks are bothering you like hell, then this versatile multani mitti is again at your service!! Add neem paste, ground clove powder and camphor with multani

The Ultimate Guide: What Shoes Go Best With Which Jeans! shoes. You can even pair these with loafers for a more androgynous look.

4. Flared Jeans The three kinds of shoes that go well with this '70s style jeans are ankle boots, platform heels or pointed toe pumps! Pumps are really flattering with flared jeans, but make sure that the silhouette of the shoe is long enough to show the tip of the pointed toe. Same with the ankle boots. Platform heels are your go-to shoes when it comes to this type of jeans! A wedge, clogs or an ankle strap these work the best!

5. Calf Length Denims Wedges are the best option when it comes to styling capris and pedal pushers! Such heels add height,

giving you a trendy look!

It's a bit tricky when it comes to styling these with flats, though! Avoid wearing slip-ons as they add no flavour to your outfit, and also make sure the flats you are wearing are not making you look shorter. Thus a wedge is the best idea!

6. Cropped Jeans Best pair of jeans when you want to show off your shoes! Think flat sandals or booties or even strappy heels. These kinds of jeans make your feet look gorgeous! We love the idea of putting together these looks - printed/ flats/ gladiators/ open-toed sandals! Go a little experimental and try pairing this with brogues or sneakers! We love the versatility of this style of jeans!

Source: stylecraze.com problem of too much hair.

5. Mermaid Hair Wild, flowy curls can look feminine and so romantic. For this look, you need round layers all around your head that blend in beautifully. Long

layers are a must to add weight for holding down your curls without making them look heavy. For curly hair, it's advisable to get a dry cut. You know how different your hair looks when wet and when it's dry after

all.

6. The Modern Farrah Fawcett This updated version of the 1970s phenomenon is for full-on sexiness. Round layers at the top coupled with longer layers at the

bottom add a gorgeous shape to your locks while making them look super lush and full-bodied. A center part and brow-skimming bangs on both sides finishes off the effect for an ultra glam do.

Cure Dark Circles Naturally Dark circles also known as "racoon eyes" and are one of the most common skin problems amongst all age groups. In present day, lifestyle for the adults, youngster and teens has become quite stressful. Hectic work, school and college schedule, inadequate sleep, lack of nutritional diet, excessive smoking and drinking alcohol are the major factors of dark circles. Some of them also inherit the problem of dark circles. Whatever the reason may be, dark circles make you look tired, aged and sick. They also hide away the beautiful eyes making them look dull.

Nowadays there are various creams and gels available in the market which helps in reducing the puffiness and dark patches under your eyes.

Many clinical procedures also claim to reduce the dark patches instantly, but many skin experts have always recommended home remedies for dark circles.

Home Remedies For Dark Circles 1. Cucumber: Cucumber is an ancient and widely known home remedy for dark circles.

Even the professional clinics and spa use cucumber to provide an instant cooling effect. It works as an astringent and lighten the dark areas under the eyes. It also increases the blood flow and reduces the puffiness. * Grate a small sized cucumber and extract the juice. * Dip cotton balls into the juice and apply it under the eyes. * Do not rinse it off as the juice would be absorbed by the skin after some time. * You can also keep thin slices of cucumber over your eyes.

2. Raw potato: Potato is known to reduce dark spots, blemishes, tan and pigmentation. It also reduces the puffiness under the eyes. * Grate and extract the juice of a raw potato. * Soak the cotton balls into it and apply it under

your eyes. * You can also keep thin slices of potato over your eyes.

3. Potato and Cucumber: Here is something that you can try by mixing the goodness of both potatos and cucumbers.

What you will need for this: 1. One Potato 2. One Cucumber 3. Little Coconut Oil/Almond Oil How to Prepare: * Peel the potato and cucumber and grate them separately. * Take equal quantities of both and mix well.

How to use this? * Apply on the area around the eyes and leave on for 20-25 minutes. * Rinse with cold water. * Take a little coconut oil on the tips of your fingers and massage on the dark circles in circular motion, first clockwise and then anticlockwise. * Leave this on overnight.

Benefits of this DIY recipe: * Potato, a good bleaching agent is useful for skin that has turned dark or pigmented. * Cucumber is a cooling agent and improves the appearance of the undereye area. * Coconut oil keeps the delicate area around the eyes naturally moisturized and eliminates dark circles, wrinkles and blemishes.

Frequency of Application: Do this every day for a minimum of 2 weeks to start noticing a difference.

Once you achieve the desired results, you can apply this every alternate day.

Source: stylishwalks.com 4. Tomato: Tomatoes contain "lycopene" which is an anti oxidant and hence help for skin lightening. It also keeps wrinkles away. * Make a paste of a small tomato. * To this add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice and mix well.

Apply this under your eyes and keep for 15 minutes 5. Rose water: Rose water is an important ingredient in most of the face packs. It has anti inflammatory properties which help in reducing the puffiness under the eyes. * Dip cotton balls in pure rose water. * Apply it under your eyes for a cooling and refreshing effect. It immediately reduces the puffiness under the eyes.

6. Fenugreek seeds: It contains high amount of vitamin C, potassium and protein which help in lightening the dark patches under the eyes.

Get advice on skin care from Dermatologists at Lybrate for free. Click here. * Soak 2 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) in water and keep it for 3 hours.

Source:lifecelproducts.com

* Grind the seeds to form a smooth paste. * To this add a pinch of turmeric. * Then add 1 teaspoon of raw milk and mix well. * Apply this under your eyes and keep for 15 minutes. * Rinse off with cold water.

7. Orange lentils ( masoor): * Soak 3 teaspoon of masoor dal overnight. * Make a smooth paste of it the next day. * Add 1 teaspoon of tomato paste and lemon juice. * Then add a pinch of turmeric and mix well. * Apply this under your eye and let it dry. * Wash it off with cool water.

8. Mint Leaves: * Crush a few mint leaves in a pestle and mortar. * Apply these leaves under your eyes and keep for 20 minutes.

9. Green tea bags: Green tea is rich in anti oxidants and tannins. It also helps in skin lightening and reducing wrinkles * Boil the tea bags in half a cup of water. * Then keep these tea bags over your eyes for about 15 minutes to get instant relief. * You can also dip cotton balls in boiled tea leaves and apply under your eyes.

10. Healthy routine: * Drink at least 10 glasses of water daily. * Include green leafy vegetables especially which contains vitamin K like Sprouts, broccoli, cabbage etc. * Most importantly sleep for at least 8 hours a day.

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"If you see the situation as of now, we can't do it. If the series has to take place at a later date, then BCCI has to propose it. We have waited enough."

PCB chief Shaharyar Khan

DIBRUGARH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

PAGE 12

Mathews leads Sri Lanka Barekuri FCC bags 3rd place fightback against Kiwis ANI Hamilton: Angelo Mathews produced a perfect blend of aggression and application to lead Sri Lanka to 264 for seven before steady rain forced early stumps on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton on Friday. Put in to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a slow and steady start before kiwi pace spearhead Tim Southee removed both openers Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne. Udara Jayasundera and Dinesh Chandimal then built the innings by adding 71 runs for the third wicket

Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka bats during Day 1 of the second Test in Hamilton.

before the former was run out by some sharp fielding from Mitchell Santner. Chandimal fell three runs short of his third consecutive 50 after scoring two brilliant

half-centuries in Dunedin. Subsequently, captain Mathews found an able ally in left-hander Milinda Siriwardana as the duo consolidated the innings by constructing a

Chelsea fire manager Mourinho after season meltdown

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reacts during the Premier League match

ANI London: Chelsea's embattled manager Jose Mourinho has been sacked after a disastrous campaign till now in the ongoing Premier League season. The Portuguese

manager, who led Chelsea to a Premier League and League Cup double last season, failed to display his magic again as the defending champions currently stand one point

above the relegation zone after nine defeats in 16 games. Confirming the news, Chelsea stated on their website that the club have parted company with Mourinho by mutual consent, adding that it was it in the best interests of both parties to go their separate ways.

Mourinho was previously shown the door by Chelsea in 2007 after a successful three-year stint at the club in which he won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and the FA Cup. Chelsea thanked Mourinho for his immense contribution since he returned as manager in the summer of 2013.

KPSC, Manipur defeat Dibrugarh FCC Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Dec 18: Kacchin Popular Sporting Club, Manipur today beat Dibrugarh Football Coaching Centre 3-0 in the 4th Swargadeo Sarbananda Singh Invitation Prize-money Football Championship organised by All-Assam Muttock Yuba Chatra Sanmilan Central Committee at Janamukh Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium in Tinsukia district.

KTFC, Manipur opened their account through

striker Ganashyam Singh in the 55th minute.

Ganashyam received a pass from the midfield and gave it a clinical finish. The first half of the match remained goalless with both sides trying hard to find the back of the net. KTFC midfielder Tayson Singh scored the second goal for his team in the 68th minute.

Meanwhile, Gopi Singh scored the third goal for his team in the 78th minute.

Saurav Sonowal of Dibrugarh

Football Coaching Centre was shown the red card for foul play. Earlier he was shown yellow by the referee.

Also, Binod Gogoi and Midul Rajbonshi of Dibrugarh Football Coaching Centre were shown the yellow card.

On the other hand, Tayson Singh of KTFC, Manipur got a yellow.

Tomorrow, Janamukh Football Club will play Second Assam Police Battalion, Makum in the first quarterfinal.

vital 138-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, the hosts came back strongly by dismissing three Sri Lankan batsmen in quick succession for five runs. Trent Boult, who had an unproductive opening session, bounced back to grab two wickets before Kane Williamson's direct hit dismissed Rangana Herath.

Mathews and Dushmantha Chameera will resume their innings on their respective scores of 63 and 0. New Zealand are leading the two-match series 1-0 after defeating Sri Lanka by 122 runs in Dunedin.

Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Dec 18: Barekuri Football Coaching Centre beat Belogoni Tea Estate 1-0 in the 3rd/ 4th place playoff match of the 12th Jintu Gogoi Football Tournament, organised by Dao Division of the army in association with Dibrugarh District Sports Association at Chowkidinghee ground here today. Barekuri FCC scored their solitary goal through Shankar Bagh in the 68th minute. Shankar converted a pass from Newson Kom and slotted home.

Tomorrow, Lingerijan Tea Estate, Naharkatiya will face defending champions Tinsukia Railway Divisional Sports Club in the final.

Belogoni TE(Blue) and Barekuri FCC players seen in action at Chowkidinghee on Friday. Pic: ET Photo

South Africa set to celebrate 25 years of readmission into international cricket ANI Johannesburg: Cricket South Africa is set to celebrate 25 years of its readmission into the international cricket next year, after the country' cricket suffered for more than two decades due to its apartheid regime. CSA, rechristened as the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), officially came into force on June 29, 1991, at a meeting held at the Wanderers Club

in Johannesburg and was admitted to the International Cricket Council the following month. Reflecting on the upcoming occasion, CSA President Chris Nenzani said that it was important that they should celebrate this milestone in an appropriate manner, adding that he would like to pay tribute to those people who brought about their unity in cricket in such a harmonious and constructive manner. Mean-

while, CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat commented that they can joyfully reflect on a wonderful first 25 years that is worthy of being celebrated. He added that their performances on the field have lived up to the most optimistic of expectations, insisting that they can be very proud of owning some of the world's greatest players. CSA is planning to honour player achievements and records dating back to re-admission.

Afridi wants to rewrite history with World T20 win over India ANI Karachi: Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has expressed that a challenging draw would motivate his side to lift the coveted World Twenty20 title for the second time and

India in either a traditional one-day World Cup or the newer World Twenty20. India were crowned the T20 champions of the inaugural edition after defeating Pakistan in 2007. Afridi admit-

Windies spinner Badree calls for help to rescue Caribbean cricket ANI Sydney: West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Caribbean government to rescue the sport in the region. Expressing his disappointment at the current plight of the Islanders' stand in the international cricket, Badree said that he was deeply pained to see the once-formidable West Indies team slump at an alarming level. The 34year-old, who will also play in this year's Big Bash league for Brisbane heat, insisted that there was an immediate need to get the

WI spinner Samuel Badree

country's cricket back on track. Besides him, other West Indies star players like Chris

Gayle, Keiron Pollard, Samuel Badree, Darren Sammy, Russell and Dwayne Bravo have opted to play in the money-driven T20 leagues rather than representing their nation.

West Indies suffered another humiliating defeat by an innings and 212 runs against Australia in the first Test of the three-match series in Hobart.

Shahid Afridi in the process break the hoodoo against arch-rival India. Pakistan, the 2009 champions, have been placed along with hosts India, Australia, New Zealand and a yet to be decided qualifier in Group 2 of the Super Ten round of the pinnacle event, which starts from March 8. Pakistan have never beaten

ted they have a tough draw but added that he was hopeful that the challenge would pump-up his team to win the title and beat India on the way. The flamboyant all-rounder insisted that he didn't want to live in history and called on his side to overcome mistakes they make while playing against India in big events.

Suarez's treble inspires Barcelona to seal FIFA Club WC final berth ANI London: Luis Suarez scored a hattrick as Barcelona claimed a comfortable 3-0 win over G u a n g z h o u Evergrande Taobao to seal their place in the final of the FIFA C l u b Wo r l d C u p .

Barcelona, who entered the finals of the tournament for the fourth time, were without the services of star players Neymar and Lionel Messi as they were ruled out of the match due to their respective injuries. Suarez, who seized responsibility for the European

Barcelona's Luis Suarez, left, celebrates after scoring.

champions in the absence of two key players, smashed a goal in the 39th minute of the match to put his side in lead before making it 2-0 in the 50th minute. In the 67th minute of the game, Saurez scored a penalty to complete his treble in the semifinal match.

Despite several efforts, Guangzhou failed to score a lone goal for themselves. Barcelona will now aim to claim their fifth trophy of 2015 when they will take on River Plate in the final on Sunday.

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