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Vol. 1

Issue 109

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Dibrugarh, Monday, September 21, 2015 ○ ○ ○ ○

ET Correspondent Ziro, Sep 20: The historic Peace Accord between the Nyishi and the Apatani tribes was signed today on the occasion of the Nyishi-Apatani Summit 2015 at Ziro. The accord was meant to further bridge the gap of social tension between these two tribes.

The unfortunate incident that occurred on June 15, 2013 at Hapoli, Ziro leading to the death of Kapu Tajam on June 18, 2013 followed by tense situation at Hapoli on June 19, 2013 ignited unabated communal tension between these two tribes in Ziro and other parts of Lower Subansiri district in which these two tribes inhabit.

The social thinkers under the aegis of Nyishi Elite Society which is the apex body of the Nyishi community and the Apatani Cultural and Literary Society which represents the Apatani community initiated the peace process christened Contd. on Page 3 ○

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The forum named United People’s Front (UPF), will contest at least 30 seats in the

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CM Tuki while addressing people at the Summit ○

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CSWO threatens to file criminal case against UCIL on uranium mining in Meghalaya Police nab

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Thansen Wangchadong Memorial Football Tournament 2015 Khonsa Nehru Stadium

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Contd. on Page 4 ○

the organization. Arabinda Rajkhowa, former Chairman of ULFA, today addressed a press conference at Jagiroad after it was alleged that BJP led Central government was quite apathetic to the demand raised by the pro talk ULFA. Setting a November 30 dead-

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line, the former Chairman ULFA said that if the central government does not evolve a well accepted policy to solve the insurgency problems of Assam, the pro talk group of ULFA may take up an alternative path leaving aside the peace talk process. ○

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ET Correspondent Golaghat, Sep 20: The Excise Department in Golaghat has been continually conducting search and raids at illicit countrymade liquor hubs in the village and tea garden areas since the last 2-3 months.

The Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat Md. Anarul Haque

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Contd. on Page 3 ○

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Massive drive against illicit liquor

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exposing us to the gas within.

Uranium airborne dust can be carried thousands of kilometres away”, said the CSWO president. Uranium mining will have huge health impact and the Khasi Hils Autonomous Ditsrict Council (KHADC) should not allow the exploration as this mining of Uranium is not to be allowed at all. “This is a concern for the future generations as we do not want them to go

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had taken an initiative to make rural areas especially tea garden areas free from illicit liquor. He took several measures to create awareness among the labourers and ordered concerned authorities to take action in this connection.

As part of this initiative, the Excise Department on the

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ence of DDSE Obuk Panor, DMO Dr. Mandip Perme, DSO Nada Apa, host of teach○

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ers and their students who cheered the event supporting participants from their ○

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respective schools.

Contd. on Page 4 ○

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The mini marathon race was flagged off by the Zila Parishad Chairperson, East Siang Kaling Dai in the presence of DDSE Obuk Panor, DMO Dr. Mandip Perme, DSO Nada Apa

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first week of September launched a massive drive against illicit liquor and raided several places at tea gardens and seized hundreds of litres of countrymade liquor and other materials. The Dept. has registered 12 cases under Assam Excise Act and arrested 5 persons.

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Bihar polls 2015: Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM releases second list Admitting differences with the BJP over seat sharing, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi`s HAM party on Sunday released its second list of

Swachh Bharat: a scheme or a pipe dream?

In what could be a wakeup call for the Centre to fix weaknesses in the Swach Bharat initiative, nearly 71% respondents

REGION

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS

in an online poll conducted by a social media group feel cleanliness in their cities and towns has not improved much in the past one year and want a greater municipal-citizen connect.

fiscal to 1.5 per cent from 1.1 per cent of GDP earlier. According to the global financial services major, the positive impact of lower commodity prices are likely to be offset by a slowing export volumes due to weak global demand and the continued gradual recovery in the economy.

seven candidates for the Bihar elections. Former MP Lovely Anand features in the list.

"There are some differences with the BJP over three seats but we hope it will be sorted out," Manjhi told mediapersons.

Manjhi had earlier announced the first list of 13 candidates.

Stanchart readjusts FY16 CAD forecast to 1.5% from 1.1% of GDP Lower commodity prices are unlikely to narrow India's current account deficit, Standard Chartered has said, while revising its CAD forecast for the

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ment of Rs.146 crore with direct employment of about 700 persons. The HPC constituted under the Industrial & Investment Policy of Assam, 2014 discussed the status of the projects that were already granted Mega Status and also the status of applications in the pipeline. The HPC felt that suspension of registration under the NEIIPP Policy has affected the investment scenario in the State very adContd. on Page 4 ○

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Bangladesh as long as fencing issue is unresolved”, Kharshanlor said adding that fencing should take place from zero line and not from 150 yards from inside’s India territory”.The CCIB demands that there should be proper demarcation of the boundary with Bangladesh on the Meghalaya sector of the international border before undertaking fencing along the zero line.

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from 150 yards inside the zero line, CCIB member GH Kharshanlor said.He said that they have been maintaining since the beginning that the boundary fencing should be from the zero line since the villagers residing along the border would lose their large chunks of their agricultural land if the fencing is erected 150 yards inside the zero line.“We can not accept the land swap deal of India and

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tion of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF), Synjuk Seng Samla Shnong (SSSS), Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF), Federal Council of War Mihngi-War Jaintia, headmen and representatives of villages along the border.In the meeting held at Dawki, CCIB took a decision to urge the government of India that the boundary fencing should be erected from zero line and not

ET Correspondent Shillong, Sep 20: The Co-ordination Committee of International Border (CCIB) in Meghalaya reiterated its demand to fence the IndoBangladesh border from zero line and rejected the land swap deal arrived at between the two countries as long as fencing issue is unresolved.The CCIB is a conglomerate of organisations like Khasi Students' Union (KSU), Federa-

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CCIB rejects Indo-Bangladesh land swap deal, demands fencing from zero line

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vestment of Rs.177.67 crore.

The firm is expected to generate 800 numbers of job opportunities. The meeting cleared the proposal of M/s Ecotech Papers for a kraft paper manufacturing unit at Kamalpur in Kamrup district with an investment of Rs.140.19 crore and a direct employment generation of 147 persons. It also gave the go-ahead to a proposal of M/s North East Nutrients Pvt. Limited for setting up a unit for manufacturing of biscuits at Ramhari village in Darrang district with an invest-

Legendry Assamese singer Jayanta Hazarika's birth anniversary celebrated

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ET Corespondent Guwahati, Sep 20: A meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) for Mega Projects held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at his official residence granted Status of Mega Projects to some proposals. The HPC cleared the proposal of M/s Ajanta Pharma Ltd. for setting up a pharmaceuticals (allopathic medicine) manufacturing unit at village Kokjhar, Chaygaon, Palasbari in Kamrup district with an in-

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Maksam Tayeng Pasighat, Sep 20: In an effort to create greater awareness about drugs and its ill effects among the youths, especially among the school going students, a mini marathon race was organized this morning by SSA District Mission East Siang District, department of education in coordination with District Medical Office and District Sports Office.

The mini marathon race was flagged off by the Zila Parishad Chairperson, East Siang Kaling Dai in the pres-

Diyun, Sep 20: A 20 feet Buddha Statue is going to unveiled on 30th September at the heart of Diyun Town that has the majority Buddhist population.

The preparation for the grand programme is in full swing that is expected to be witnessed by dignitaries and devotees in thousands. Donation and contribution from the general public and well to do people are already pouring in. The local MLA cum Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Nikh Kamin, Ex-MLA CC Singpho are also expected to be in the chief guests' list along with hundreds of local Buddhist guests from across Arunachal Pradesh. The statue at the heart of Diyun town market is being built with the help of Mahabodhi Society of India and shall shine brightly as the symbol of Chakma Buddhist Tradition.

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mining in the State and also in tribal areas by the central government,” said Ms Kharshiing. She said that uranium mining is the most hazardous form of extractive activity related to mining and calls on the traditional institutions to not allow such greed driven moves. “Would they want to see their children suffer from cancer of all forms?

They should gather the village people to create awareness on the dangers of uranium mining. Opening the earth means

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Anti drug awareness campaign held Meeting of HPC for mega through a marathon race projects held under Tarun Five minutes of enjoyment will destroy your entire life: DC Gogoi's chairmanship

Diyun gears up for Anikaja (Giving Life) cum Buddha Rupa inauguration

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criminal case against them for trying to kill the people of the State knowingly. People in these areas and in the State as a whole, should be told and made aware of the danger of Uranium mining and its waste which will cause rise in cancer”, CSWO president said.

CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing said that lives of people would be endangered if uranium mining is allowed and their organization will not allow this to happen. “The CSWO opposes any uranium

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ET Correspondent Shillong, Sep 19: The Civil Society of Women Organisation (CSWO) of Meghalaya has strongly objected to the move of the UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Ltd) to open up mining of uranium project in KyllengPyndengsohiong-Mawthabah area of the West Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya and even threatened to file criminal case.“If UCIL pursues to put pressure on mining and discreetly mines, we shall file a

Margherita, Sep 20: Margherita Police nabbed three persons when they were caught in a compromising position on 19th September Saturday night at Margherita Railway Station quarter number 7/29-D. Among the three nabbed, two were women and one man by the name Pintu Basfor who is a resident of Margherita. Margherita Police have registered a case numbered 255/15 under the sections of Immoral Trafficking (Prohibition) Act. (Correspondent)

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three for immoral trafficking

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Dalim Phukan Morigaon, Sep 20: The protalk faction of ULFA threatened to take up an alternative path if the ongoing peace talk process between Central government and the pro talk ULFA fails to solve the basic problems of Assam raised by

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stitution of friendship system called Manyw.

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The communities vowed Today is the beginning of a new era of peaceful co-existence and to strive to revive the age old social harmony. Let this message go out to the world and let other communi- traditions of inter-dependence ties learn that if there is will there will be peace. through established social in-

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Party, Sonowal Kachari Jatiya Parishad, United People’s Front, Tiwa, All Assam Tribal Sangha and United Bodo Peoples Organisation.

“Coming on one arena was imperative for us so that the small political forces are not marginalised in the politics of numbers. Assam still needs a strong regional alternative, in the absence of which, we have decided to make a foray,” said Hagrama Mohilary, while talking to media persons.

Pro-talk ULFA threaten to take up violence again

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ET CAPSULES

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The accord with eight resolutions was signed by Bengia Tulom, president of Nyishi Elite Society (NES) and Dr Hage Loder, president of Tani Supum Dukum (TSD) with witnesses signing from both the communities.

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On June 15 2013 Kapu Tajam was attacked by unknown assailants near the Ziro Higher Secondary School and was succumbed to fatal injuries on June 18, 2013.

assembly election, and claimed that the forum will win atleast 25 assembly seats.

The decision was taken in a political convention on ‘Equal rights and democracy’ held at the Pragjyoti ITA Centre, Machkhowa on Saturday, which was presided over by Bodoland People’s Front chief Hagrama Mohilary. The UPF will represent the Hills State Demand Council, Bodoland People’s Front, Sanmilita Ganashakti Assam, Rabha Hasong Jauth Sangram Samity, Jimosaya People’s

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cultural organisation Swaranjali will celebrate popular singer Jayanta Hazarika’s birth anniversary in association with the State Directorate of Cultural Affairs, at Rabindra Bhawan here on September 20 with a colourful cultural programme. The organisation has been celebrating the occasion for the past five years.

Several veteran and young artistes of the State will pay

ET Correspondent Guwahati, Sep 20: Legendry Assamese singer Jayanta Hazarika was fondly remembered on his birth anniversary today, and the occasion was celebrated under the aegis of Susandhan near the bust of the singer at Chandmari this morning. A number of singers regaled the audience by rendering evergreen numbers of the maestro. Leading Socio○

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musical tributes to Jayanta Hazarika. Several other programmes, including felicitation of eminent artistes, have been lined up for the occasion.

The cultural programme is scheduled to begin at 6.30 pm. In keeping with the occasion, a prize money competition based on Jayanta Hazarika’s songs was organised today at the same venue. ○

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I-T department to use email for issuing notices New Delhi, Sep 20: In welcome news for taxpayers, the IT department has decided to launch a new system of issuing email notices to which an assessee can respond electronically, obviating the need for a physical interface with the taxman which often led to complaints about harassment. The Central Board of D i r e c t Ta x e s , t h e a p e x policy-making body of the IT department, is working on a strategy to create the

required processes and capacity in this regard. "We have been thinking how can we make life easier for taxpayers especially for those who are in the middle and the slightly higher tax bracket. So, now we are thinking of allowing that when a notice is issued in an assessment or scrutiny case, the taxpayer can send the department an e-re sponse.

Contd. on Page 4

Making It Easier The IT department has decided to launch a new system of issuing email notices to which an assessee can respond electronically, obviating the need for a physical interface with the taxman which often led to complaints about harassment.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy-making body of the IT department, is working on a strategy to create the required processes and capacity in this regard If a taxpayer provides the department with a bonafide email address in his Income Tax Return (ITR), the Board will be able to send him an e-notice and not a paper document dispatched through post for which he usually has to travel and meet the Assessing Officer (AO)

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ET Correspondent Guwahati, Sep 20: In a new political development, which could change the course and equation of the 2016 Assam Assembly elections slated to be held early next year, 9 organisations representing various indigenous and tribal communities of Assam joined hands to form a political alternative for the coming Assembly elections in Assam.

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The communal tension aroused on the unfortunate death of a youth, Kapu Tajam ends today with the initiation of the historic summit.

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A new era of peaceful co-existence

Pages- 12

Eyeing upcoming Assam assembly elections, 9 organisations join hands to form United People’s Front

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Nyishi and Apatani tribes sign Peace Accord

5.00

Every Thursday & Sunday

PAGE 2

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

4 year old kills 12 year boy Kabul denies of involvement in Pakistan attack Sushanta Roy Diphu, Sep 20: Sensation rippled through village Alutram under Manja police station, around 18 kilometers from Diphu when a child of 4.5 years (name withheld), son of Muhammad Nabamia killed his elder brother Bubul Islam with a sharp weapon. According to reports, the incident took place at the resident of Muhammad Nabamia during noon hours. Both the brothers were engaged in a game of mock battle when all of a sudden the sulking child moodily hit his elder brother with the sharp carving knife used for chopping areca nut; the blow struck Bubul Islam in the décolletage slitting the

breathing cord instantly.

The naive child hardly could comprehend the damage done who tried his best to rouse his playmate imagining that Bubul was just acting to scare him.

When Babul did not get up the weeping child called his parents who immediately took Babul to Manja primary health centre where he was declared brought dead. Later based on the information provided by grief stricken Muhammad Nabamia, Manja police produced the child in the court (juvenile) of Naba Kumar Deka Barua, at Diphu who after hearing the case from the government prosecutor placed the custody of the child to the parents. “Under various

Nominal number of 493 PWDs benefited from MGNREGA in Meghalaya Shillong Sept 19: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act had been able to provide employment to only 493 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) during two years of 201415. A total of 323,006 PWDs in the State were given disability certificates so far, as per the official report released and the number of beneficiaries from this scheme is nominal compared to the number of registered PWDs. According to official report, out of 362438 beneficiaries during 2014, there were 257 disabled persons who had benefited from this scheme while in 2015, from 473237 beneficiaries, 236 disabled persons managed to get employed. The report also shown that PWDs were also provided the centrally housing scheme- Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) and IGNDPS schemes. A total of 196 PWDs were provided with IAY scheme during 2013-14 and 60 only during 2014-15. The selected for the IGNDPS scheme showed increase

Doomdooma celebrates Biswakarma Puja ET Correspondent Doomdooma, Sep 19: Biswakarma Puja was celebrated in and around Doomdooma and obeisance paid to the divine architect.

The tea township was geared up for celebrating the holy occasion in a splendid manner. The Beesakopie tea factory, Doomdooma and Hansara auto stand, BaghjanDighaltarang bus stand, Doomdooma taxi stand, garages, bike showrooms, Atul and Hera cycle stores, hardware shops and many other business establishments celebrated the puja.

Many pandals were beautifully decorated and illuminated which delighted the revelers. The major highlight on the occasion was a cultural programme at Doomdooma-Hansara auto stand. Meanwhile security has been tightened to maintain law and order and traffic police have been deployed for smooth running of vehicles keeping in view the tragic death of a local youth in an accident on Old AT Road near Majumdar book stall opposite Shaligram petrol pump.

Meanwhile the abandoned idols of Ganesha and Biswakarma on the side of NH 37 have become a matter of concern among conscientious denizens with regard to whether organisations would come forward to immerse these idols.

from 1430 in 2013-14 to 1501 in 2014-15. As far as government jobs are concerned, the report mentioned that there was no Special Employment Exchange (SEE) in the State for the disabled persons except physically Handicapped Cell set up at Divisional Employment Exchange, in Shillong. The report said that as many as 503 persons with disabilities have been registered with the Physically Handicapped Cell as on December 2013 and 387 upto 31st December 2014.

Among them, 247 are males while 140 are females. Five PWDs were appointed as Resource Teachers in District of East Garo Hills, West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills under SSA while 50 PWDs were appointed I different department of the State government.

The official report also indicated that there were 97 PWDs during 2013-14 and 2014-15, who had been able to stand on their own feet by setting up employment ventures.

The State government had given 3 percent job reservation for PWDs in government jobs.

“Steps have been taken up with the concerned d e p a r tments to make public transport and public places, buildings accessible to PWDs”, said the report.

provisions of the juvenile Act the case will proceed but right now the child will remain with his parents,” Magistrate Deka Barua said. Bizarrely enough throughout the court proceedings the green child gave the impression of being bright and breezy oblivious of all earthly complexities of human life.

Kabul, Sep 20: Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has strongly denied Pakistan`s claim that the attack on the latter`s air force base was planned and coordinated from Afghanistan."The government of Afghanistan strongly rejects reports alleging that the

Peshawar attack was planned and controlled from Afghanistan," Khaama press late Saturday quoted Ghani as saying. The Afghan government, in a statement, dismissed the reports terming it baseless and reiterated Kabul`s stance that the country would never

be allowed to be used against other nations."Afghanistan feels the pain and agony inflicted by terrorism and offers condolence to the victims of the terrorist attack," the statement said, adding terrorism is the enemy of the humanity and never recognizes

Dr.Bawaris Nursing Home Jeevan Jyoti Nursing Home Category: General Hospital Category: General Hospital Hospital Address: Parvathiya Road Hospital Address: Parbatia,Opp Hindi Girls High School-786125, Assam Tinsukia-786125, Assam Pin Code :786125 Pin Code :786125 Phone Number :(0374)2339756 Phone Number :0374-2336319 Fax :0374-2335334 Fax :0374-2350131

Pinewood Hospital Category: General Hospital Hospital Address: Subothoni Road Moniam Dewan Nagra-786125 Pin Code :786125 Phone Number :0374-2300730 Fax :0374-2339730

Help-Line APST BUS SERVICE Ph: 0360-2212338, 0360-2351490 NIGHT SERVICES Name of Routes Departure Distance(km) Bus Fare 1) Itanagar- Shillong ( Daily service) 5:00 pm 510 460/2) Itanagar-Nyapin(Mon, Thu, Sat) 2:00 pm 325 400/3) Itanagar- Aalo (Daily service) 2:30 pm 325 350/4) Itanagar-Daporijo (Daily service from Nlg)12:00 noon 432 470/5) Itanagar - Yingkiong (Alternate day) 01.00 pm 436 550/6) Itanagar - Seppa (Alternate day) 12:00 noon 385 420/7) Itanagar - Khonsa (Sun, mon, wed, thur) 1:00 pm 677 620/8) Itanagar - Namsai (Daily service) 1:00 pm 655 580/9) Itanagar - Koloriang (Alternate day) 2.30 pm 334 400/DAY SERVICE 10) Itanagar - Guwahati (Daily service) 6.00 am 395 350/11) Itanagar - Pasighat (Daily service) 6.00 am 270 250/12) Itanagar - Tirbin (Mon, thu & sat) 5.30 am 328 330/13) Itanagar - Bomdila (Daily except Fri) 6.00 am 346 320/14) Itanagar - Aalo (Daily service) 5.30 am 325 350/15) Itanagar - Sagalee (Sun, Tues & Thur ) 7.30 am 121 135/16) Itanagar - Pakke Kessang (Mon, Wed & Fri)7.00 am 160 200/17) Itanagar-Mengio (sun, tue &Thur) 6.00 am 198 230/18)Itanagar-Kimin/ H-Camp (Daily except Sat)12.00 noon 94 80/19) Itanagar-Gerukhamukh (Daily except Fri)12.00 noon 134 120/20) Itanagar- Balijan (Daily except Sun) 12.30 pm 105 105/21) Itanagar - Sonajuly (Daily except Sun) 01.00 pm 70 80/22) Itanagar - Jote (Daily except Sun) 07.00 am & 01.00 pm 22 30/23) Itanagar- Lakhimpur (Daily Service) 3.30 pm 64 70/-

Bordoloi Avenue, Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2302219, 2302225

G M Hospital

Shrishti Hospital & Research Centre Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone: 0373 - 2300024, 2302099

AMC Road, Jalan Nagar Dibrugarh - 786 005

Archana Trauma & Orthopaedics Hospital

Brahmaputra Diagnostics & Hospital

Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone: 0373 - 2302100, 2302099

Near Indian AirLines City Office Paltan Bazar Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2303476

Assam Medical College

Marwari Arogya Bhawan Hospital Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2302872, 2302051

Graham Bazar, A.T. Road Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2322547

Jalan Nagar, Dibrugarh - 786 002 List of Phones numbers: Emergency Room : 0373 - 2300627 Labour Room: 0373 - 2300022 Drug Deaddiction Centre: 0373 - 2302952 Community Medicine: 0373 - 2302994 RIA Centre: 0373 - 2302093

Sanjivani Diagnostic & Hospital

Dr. Pawan Bajaj's Skin Clinic

Aastha Hospital

Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2303448, 2303458, 2301904

Sankardev Hospital Mancotta Road, Chowkidinghee Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2327717, 2327715, 2326960

You will feel like going for a little excursion to some place today. It could be to some historical place that you have not visited before. However, in keeping with your responsibility of being a family-man, you should pay heed to the needs of your loved ones. So a trip to the nearest park would be more desirable.

You are likely to have differences with your parents in the early hours of the day. However, do not quarrel or confront them. Do not retaliate in any way.

Act decent and discreet. Respect their views, wishes and sentiments. Be careful. You may have health problems later in the day. If your health does deteriorate, do not take things casually. Don’t think twice. Go consult a medical specialist without delay.

You need to beach your emotions and concentrate only on your work. Your day will be spent in meeting the demands of your family members. You will attend important meetings, be they personal or professional, in the afternoon.

The conversion of your romance into marriage is on the cards. But you will not have mind in the career or business and you lack enthusiasm in the same.

So do not take up any new work, but finish off pending work.

You will need to curb down on your aggressive nature today. You will face a lot of situations today where you may lose your temper owing to minor issues and will later feel depressed. Calm and peace is required to progress in life, along with courage. Even if your personal life starts out today on a tense note, by evening things will be back to normal.

From a tedious, weary morning, the day will gradually turn out to be very thrilling in the evening. In the afternoon, though, you may hit a roadblock, and you will feel stressed out. However, all that stress will melt away in the evening in the company of your near and dear ones.

Life is a stage, and we are all characters in the play, so better put up a good show! Pay close attention to the image and emotions that you depict today, as you spruce up your outward show. Work-wise, you will be on to something new, a new business tactic perhaps to help you succeed. For those on the lookout for employment, the day promises to be lined up with interviews. On the personal front, try spending time with your better half, much to his/her delight.

It’s time to live your dreams. You may just land up in your dream house or drive in a plush car, you once dreamt of. Evening time is spared for family and loved ones. You may even go shopping to buy object de art for your new cosy corner.

Activities like aerobics and gymnastics are likely to take your energy level higher. You may experience a transition period during the noon. An average day at work is in store for you. Try to balance your family and work, without neglecting any one of it.

Never judge a book by its cover. Same applies to human beings, also. And, you are one of them. At first, you may not be able to impress the other person with your looks, but once you display your communication power, you win him over. You are blessed with an art, the art to convince others. Try to maintain a calm head over your shoulders.

Today, you will pay attention to the smallest and the simplest things of life.

You will learn to appreciate the beauty of life and imperfections of people, while showering your love upon your near and dear ones. People around you will surely be pleased with your amicable approach.

You are blessed with exceptional grasping power today, and will be able to easily imbibe whatever you see or hear today. You will also be able to speed through your routine tasks. You will be able to concentrate on the tasks you have taken up. Your enhanced sensitivity today could see that special someone’s words enter straight into your heart and cause you to fall head-over-heels in love with them.

PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz)

List of hospitals in Dibrugarh with contact details & phone numbers, Assam Aditya Diagnostics & Hospitals

stan Air Force base in Peshawar was planned from Afghanistan. The attack claimed 42 lives. A group of 13 Pakistani Taliban guerrillas stormed the air force base and killed at least 29 people of the Pakistan Air Force and army, including an army captain. (Agencies)

ASTRO FOR YOU

List Of Phone Numbers Of Nursing Homes Tinsukia City Hospital & Research Centre Category: General Hospital Hospital Address: Gnb Road Near Bujhuri-786125, Assam Pin Code :786125, Phone Number :0374-2333349, Fax :0374-2350026/2339974

good or bad. The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan must work jointly to eliminate terrorism from the region and Islamabad must fight all terrorist groups without distinction, the statement added. Pakistani military officials had claimed that Friday`s attack on Paki-

Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights

21-9-15 (SUNDAY) 5-35 A.M6-10 A.M6-15 A.M7-15 A.M7-30 A.M8-35 A.M9-05 A.M12-05 P.M1-10 P.M2-30 P.M3-45 P.M4-05 P.M4-25 P.M4-45 P.M5-00 P.M5-20 P.M5-40 P.M7-15 P.M-

Paltan Bazar, Opposite Aditya Hospital Dibrugarh

Dr Damani's Nursing Home Near Circuit House, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2300928, 2302873

8-00 P.M9-30 P.M10-00 P.M-

Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) Classical Music Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) Geetanjali (Assamese Modern Song) Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) Ramdhenu (Request Programme of Hindi Fim Songs) Troops Programme Western Music Programme Programme in Miju Mishmi Programme in Khamti Programme in Wancho News for Arunachal Pradesh Programme in Idu Programme in Tangsa Programme in Nocte Yuvavani (Youth Programme)-"Prerona" (A Live Phone-in Programme on Skill Development).Subject-Ecology and Environmental Science , Expert-Dr Bibhab Kr. Talukdar Ekalabya Discussion in English Classical Music Sd-/H.O.P

PAGE 3

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Manipur Cong MLA Assam Chief secy CSWO threatens to file criminal case against UCIL on uranium mining in Meghalaya hits out at JAC visits Dibrugarh

ET Correspondent Imphal, Sep 20: Braving a boiling situation over the controversial bills, a Congress MLA in Manipur demanded stern action against the Joint Action Committee leaders accusing them of fomenting trouble in the north eastern state. Speaking at a function in a remote area on Sunday Congress MLA from Naoriya Pakhanglapak RK Anand said that the protest was misdirected which kept Churachandpur on the boil. He said that the JAC leaders should be put behind bars. He further lambasted the Mizoram and Nagaland governments alleging unwanted and unexpected interference. On the other hand, simmering protest refuses to die down in Manipur even a month after the orgy of violence kept Churachandpur on the boil. Various women protesters took out protest rallies on Sunday in different areas in the restive hills district a day after more than 1 lakh protesters formed 15 km long human chain raising their demands. These include immediate withdrawal of the three controversial bills apart from action against the policemen who killed nine protesters.

A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Sep 20: The Chief Secretary of Assam, Vinod Pipersenia along with upper Assam Commissioner, Anurag Goel and Deputy Commissioner MS Manivannan had a district level meeting with all departmental heads in DC Conference hall at Dibrugarh here today. Pipersenia instructed all Circle Officers to take immediate measures to free all drains in Dibrugarh from encroachment within 30 days so that no artificial flood situation has not repeated in the town. He also instructed the planning department for a joint survey and to prepare a road map to improve drainage system in the town. Later, he also insisted on timely completion of all schemes. The team also visited BCPL and Bogibeel projects and had meetings with the project officials. Later a meeting of Unified Command held in Dinjan Army Head Quarter in presence of Chief Secretary, DGPs of Assam and neighboring states, DCs, SPs. About six persons died in the recent floods in Dibrugarh.

Take in India’ concept was highly promoted under UPA regime: Prasad New Delhi, Sept. 20 (ANI): Union Communication and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday hit back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the ‘Take in India’ concept was highly promoted under the former UPA regime.

Prasad highlighted the scams, which took place during the former UPA re-

gime, to justify his stand.

“Rahul Gandhi I want to say that ‘Take in India’ was highly promoted under your regime. 2G scam, Commonwealth (Games) scam and coal scam are all examples of ‘Take in India’. That’s why you always remember ‘Take in India’. Our government believes in the development of the nation and that is ‘Make in India’,” Prasad told a press conference here.

Prasad said the Congress

Party has insulted the farmers by giving land to Robert Vadra at cheaper rates.

“Sonia and Rahul Gandhi should first answer on the ‘Vadra Model of Development’ in Haryana and Rajasthan when Congress was in power, under which farmers’ land were bought at cheaper rates and sold at a very expensive rate,” Prasad said.

“In Haryana in the last decade, 37 SEZs (Special

Economic Zones) were formed but only six became operational. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should answer where did the land allocated for SEZs go? This only shows that Congress has insulted the farmers the most,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier alleged that the BJPled NDA is least concerned about the welfare of the farmers as they believe in ‘Take in India’. (ANI)

Three Maoists killed in encounter with security forces in Odisha Odisha, Sept 20 (ANI): The security forces gunned down three Maoists in an encounter in Odisha’s Malkangiri district.

The encounter took place in Bhejaguda forest of Mathili area where a team of the Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) were conducting the combing operation.

Senior Maoist leader Sunadhar, one of the most wanted ultras of Chhattisgarh, was among those killed in the encounter yesterday.

“Three Maoist cadres were killed. One body has been identified as Sunadhar, who was working as Divisional Committee Member (DCM) in Darbha division area. We are yet to identify the other two

cadres,” said Malkangiri Superintendent of Police M i t r a b h a n u Mohapatra.

Sunadhar was a key member of a unit which had planned and executed an attack on the convoy of Congress leaders in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh two years back. He was carrying the bounty of Rs. 5, 00,000 in Odisha

and Rs. 8,00,000 in Chhattisgarh.

He was allegedly also involved in the killing of 14 security personnel in Chhattisgarh in 2014.

The police also recovered arms and ammunition, a pistol, some sharp weapons, walkie-talkie sets, Maoist uniforms and several other materials including literature from the site. (ANI)

Will not allow any ‘anti-people policy’ by Modi Government: RJD New Delhi, Sept.20 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) leader Manoj Jha on Sunday said that the rollback of Land Acquisition Ordinance

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is a victory for the farmers and the common man, adding that his party would not allow any anti-people policy to

be implemented.

“This is a histori c moment as Congress as well as some of the allies of the NDA were opposed to the idea of Narendra Modi, who wanted to bring major amendments to the Land Bill. In fact, he brought four Ordinances. Apart from this victory of common people and farm-

ers of this country, I think we should take a vow that we will not allow any anti-people policy by this government,” Jha told ANI here.

On the absence of RJD chief Lalu P r a s a d Ya d a v a n d Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s Champaran rally yesterday, he said, “For

us it was not an issue.

The issue was that we made sure that our alliance present in the rally conveyed that we are here to safeguard the interest of the poor, backwards and the weaker sections.

This message has alarmed the opposition and that’s why they are using an alibi to hide their discomfiture.”(ANI)

President Mukherjee Ekta Yatra’ not flop, will greets Armenia on eve of hold more rallies across their Independence Day Gujarat: Hardik Patel New Delhi, Sept 20 (ANI): President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday extended his greetings and felicitations to the government and people of the Republic of Armenia on the eve of their Independence Day. “On behalf of the Government and the people of India and on my own behalf, I have the pleasure to convey warm greetings and felicitations to you and to the Government and people of Armenia on the occasion of your Independence Day,” President Mukherjee said in his message to the President of Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. We, in India, are delighted to witness the progress and development achieved by the people of Armenia in the last two and half decades. We wish them further success in their chosen path of development. India remains committed to work with the people of Armenia to further deepen our traditional and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship,” he added. President Mukherjee further said, “Please accept my best wishes for your good health and personal well-being as well as for the progress and prosperity of the friendly people of the Republic of Armenia.” (ANI)

Surat, Sept. 20 (ANI): Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel on Sunday downplayed reports that his ‘Ekta Yatra’ was a flop and said that he was planning to hold more rallies across Gujarat. “Our rally has not been a flop. If it was so then so many people would not have turned up. We recently did a road show and 40,000 people came to attend it. We have support from everyone. It is the police, which is crossing its limits and troubling people. The government is misusing its powers,” Patel told ANI. “We will announce about the rallies tomorrow. We will hold rallies in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Junagadh, Bhavnagar and Mehsana,” he added. The Gujarat Government yesterday suspended mobile internet services across the state following Hardik’s detention. The police stated that mobile internet services were banned to check the law and order situation and to curb the rumours. Patel along with 78 supporters were taken to the police headquarters here yesterday for trying to take out the 'Ekta Yatra' without prior permission. (ANI)

Contd. from Page 1 extinct”, she added. According to her, in May 2008 the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has estimated that it can extract about 3,75,000 tonnes of high grade uranium ore from Domasiat in West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. So if the ore is high grade uranium ore then radiation is high. The CSWO has highlighted the irony that the UCIL is providing road, health care and schools in

these areas, which is actually the duty of the government. “It is an irony that the Government cannot make roads, cannot provide health care and schools in these areas and intentionally leaves the rural areas under developed so that companies can come to exploit the tribal people by providing the assistance”, she alleged.

Earlier, the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) Umdohlun Circle strongly condemned opportunists for misleading the people of the region relating

to the two lane road through N o n g s t o i n - Wa h k a j i Mawthabah which is about 68 km under the SARDP-NE scheme Ministry of Transports & Highway constructed not for the benefit of the people but for making the transportation of uranium easier.“We strongly condemn the central government for misleading the people in the name of development," Shemphang Nonglang President KSU Umdohlun Circle said in a statement issued here adding

that this two lane road is another way to make the transportation of uranium easier which will result in the destruction of the people of the region.He also said that if the government really thinks about the welfare and development of the people the two lane road should not end only till Mawthabah but should have stretched into villages like Phlangmawprah, Umsaw, Nongummer and others where people still have to walk for hours and where there is no uranium.

Nyishi and Apatani tribes sign Peace Accord First, Second, and Third Ziro Dialogues on July 12, July 27 and September 28, 2013 respectively at different venues of Lower Subansiri district.

During these three rounds of Ziro Dialogues, the social leaders of both communities had fruitful discussions cov-

ering all the issues of common interest and realized the necessity of maintaining peaceful co-existence, mutual trust and confidence for posterity of both the communities as it were since time immemorial.

In the accord signed, both the

communities resolved to maintain the age old relations prevalent since time immemorial. The communities vowed to strive to revive the age old traditions of inter-dependence through established social institution of friendship system called

Manyw.

Both communities have agreed to activate more social and communal harmony, confidence building measures by encouraging intertribe marriage on mutual consent, cultural and social exchange programmes.

People don’t take ‘fake leader’ Rahul Gandhi seriously: BJP New Delhi, Sept. 20 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the people of this country do not take Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi, who is a ‘fake leader’ seriously.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao hit back at Gandhi for his unwarranted criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Congress’ ‘Kisan Mazdoor Samman’ rally at the Ramlila Ground here.

“Rahul Gandhi throughout the 10 years was fak-

ing in India. Rahul is a fake leader and also a fake Gandhi. Before commenting against a popular programme (Mann ki Baat) initiated by the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi must stop faking,” Narasimha Rao told ANI. “The whole country has rejected his whole family,” he added while responding to Gandhi’s remark that the BJP-led NDA Government was deceiving the farming community.

The BJP leader alleged that the Gandhi family is

least bothered about the farmers.

“They are a family of property dealers. Rahul Gandhi is a land grabber.

Rahul has no relations with the farmers. He can’t tell the difference between paddy and wheat. It’s a big joke. People don’t take Rahul Gandhi seriously,” he added.

Narasimha Rao further said the entire nation, including the farmers and poor, are completely disgrantled by the politics of corruption, nepotism and land grabbing that has been pursued by the

Congress in many states and also at the Centre.

Addressing the ‘Kisan Mazdoor Samman’ rally earlier, Gandhi launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Modi and alleged that the BJP-led NDA was more concerned about the corporates and not the farmers.

Former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi also spoke at the rally, which was attended by many senior Congress leaders. (ANI)

Declassification of files: Netaji’s family hopes PM Modi will take some action Pune, Sept. 20 (ANI): Expressing his delight over the invitaion received from the PMO, legendary freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s nephew Ardhendu Bose on Sunday expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would now initiate some action with regard to the declassification of Netaji’s files.

“We are extremely happy that the Prime Minister has agreed to meet us. We have been requesting the PMO to seriously look into the matter of declassification of files on Subhash Bose. It’s obvious that the Prime Minister will now take some action hopefully,” Ardhendu Bose told ANI. “There are many files

lying in Russia…..England, may be in United States, Japan and China, which are of great significance.

This will encourage the Indian Government to request the governments of these nations to declassify the files on Bose,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi today said he was glad that the family members of

Subhash Chandra Bose would meet him at his official 7, Race Course Road (RCR) residence here in October.

Earlier, the family members of Subhash Chandra Bose had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of declassification of files related to the late freedom fighter. (ANI)

Muslim village council in UP bans jeans, mobile phones for girls Muzaffarnagar, Sept. 20 (ANI): A Muslim village council in Uttar Pradesh has issued a diktat that bans girls from using mobile phones and wearing jeans and t-shirts.

The ban has been implemented in more than 10 villages of Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur districts.

“The kind of clothes that unmarried girls in our community wear, for example netted or if they are semi-clothed, this is not decent according to the rules of Islam. We live in villages, it might be allowed in cities but it is not allowed in villages and our village council, our organisation has totally banned it,” said Mohammad Irfan, the president of the council.

These village councils, which comprise of rich, upper-caste, elderly men wearing long white tunics, have governed the northern countryside, exerting social control through patriarchal diktats that not only clash

with a country moving towards more liberal attitudes, but also challenge the law of the land.

Acting as de-facto courts for millions of Indians, the councils or ‘Khap Panchayats’, settle disputes on everything from land and cattle to matrimony and murder, helping maintain social order in a country where access to justice can be difficult for the poor and uneducated.

The families failing to comply with the orders of the village council are first ‘counseled’ and if they still continue to flout

rules then they are boycotted.

The 17-member council then takes a final call on the fate of those who do not follow their diktat.

The villagers reason that providing mobile phones to unmarried girls may increase crimes against women.

“We don’t think it is good for unmarried girls to use mobile phones. God forbid, if they talk to someone (men), it results in increase of crimes and mischief, so we have banned it. In fact, I think only the married men, the responsible men should

carry mobile phones,” said Mohammad Akbar, a villager.

Akbar suggested the mobiles should be provided to married men who can handle the gadget “with responsibility”.

Meanwhile, the village council has also banned the custom of dowry and stressed on compulsory education for children.

However, the councils are coming under growing scrutiny because of their brutal forms of punishment, prompting some women rights activists to label them the ‘Taliban of India’. (ANI)

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Teej Utsav organised at Nepal Shiv Mandir Margherita ET Correspondent Margherita, Sep 20: Purvanchal Gorkha Mahila Samity, Margherita Regional Committee and ANSS organized "Teej Utsav" at Nepali Shiv Mandir, Margherita on 16th September, 2015. The festival is celebrated to worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and to seek longevity of husbands by their wives. The day long programme began with lightning of earthen lamps at 10 am. At 11 am, the stage for the celebrations was inaugurated followed by cultural programmes inaugurated, general meeting of the Gorkha Community people. In the evening at 6 pm, prize distribution to the art competition participants was held. The Teej Utsav organizing committee president Shiblal Shrestha, secretary Jun Pradhan and Junu Chetry thanked all the people who were present at the event.

Veer Birochan Chutia Memorial Meet held ET Correspondent Golaghat, Sep 20: One of the brave soldiers of the Ahom Dynasty Veer Birochan Chutia who was the last station head of Sokialting of Jamuguri in Golaghat is ironically still not immortalised in the pages of history. He was a true patriot who refused to obey the British rulers and thus murdered by the British army in Rangpur. Now the local people have come for-

ward to pay tribute to the martyr and to commemorate his sacrifice. Today, a public meeting was held at Jamuguri Public Hall where social activists from Guwahati including Motiur Rahman, senior journalists Radhika Ballav Goswami and Apurba Ballav Goswami, poet Ashok Das, educationist and filmmaker Dinesh Gogoi along with several other distinguished

guests were present and paid tribute to the forgotten hero and commemorated his sacrifice. A book on Veer Birochan Chutia' s life and work was unveiled in the meeting. As the great warrior's name is missing from the pages of history books, journalist and social activist Amrit Ballav Goswami came forward to collect data and eventually compiled this book.

AJYCP protest meet at Margherita ET Correspondent Margherita, Sep 20: Assam Jatiyotabadi Yuba Chaatra Parishad, Margherita Regional Committee today at 11:00 am organised a protest meet in connection with the recent Union Home Ministry notification regularizing the entry and stay of minority migrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Sanjib Ulup, Vice President of AJYCP, Tinsukia District Committee, Kanchan Bora, General Secretary of AJYCP, Margherita Regional Committee and more than AJYCP 50 activists took part in the protest meet. The protest meet covered various Margherita areas such as Shyam Talkies Hall, Segunabari Tiniali, Margherita Bazaar and

Ledo. Sanjib Ulup said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi Led BJP Government at the Centre has revealed its true

character which was hidden before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP Government at the Centre wants to create

"riots and turmoil" in Assam by pushing the minority migrants to Assam only, added Sanjib Ulup. Kanchan

Bora reminded that VK Singh Union Minister of State for External Affairs recently at Guwahati said that only Assam has to take the burden of housing the minorities. He condemned this move and appealed to all the people of Assam irrespective of religion, caste, creed, language to unite and oppose the Union Home Ministry notification regarding the stay and entry of minority migrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi led BJP Government at the Centre does not take back the notification than in the upcoming 2016 Assembly Elections of Assam, the BJP shall pay the ultimate price, said Kanchan Bora.

Assam CM says, national Assam Chief secy interests are his top priority visits Dibrugarh to discuss flood

ET Correspondent Guwahati, Sep 20: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said he has been discharging his duties keeping national interests over and above everything else and never undermined national interests while performing his duties. Reacting to a reported statement of Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on his (Gogoi’s) humanitarian gesture to Paresh Baruah to visit his ailing mother at his native place as ‘undermining national interests’, Gogoi said, “I know my national interests and I just gave an option to facilitate an ailing mother’s reunion

with her son, by keeping national interest on the top”. “I have all along been fighting the anti-national forces and I have succeeded to a great extent in containing these forces. National interest all along has been a priority and utmost importance to me, I don’t want anybody’s advice on it,”

Gogoi added. Gogoi however, clarified that he had made a statement that if Paresh Baruah wanted to visit his ailing mother, Government might consider it on humanitarian ground and his gesture should not be construed as a ‘safe passage’ to Paresh Baruah.

A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Sep 20: The Chief Secretary of Assam, Vinod Pipersenia along with upper Assam Commissioner, Anurag Goel and Deputy Commissioner MS Manivannan had a district level meeting with all departmental heads in DC Conference hall at Dibrugarh.

Pipersenia instructed all Circle Officers to take immediate measures to free all drains in Dibrugarh from encroachment within 30 days so that no artificial flood situation occurs in the town. He also instructed the planning department for a joint survey and to prepare a road map to improve drainage system in the town.

Later, he also insisted on timely completion of all schemes. The team also visited BCPL and Bogibeel projects and had meetings with the project officials.

Later a meeting of Unified Command was held in Dinjan Army Headquarters in the presence of Chief Secretary, DGPs of Assam and neighboring states, DCs, SPs. About six persons died in the recent floods in Dibrugarh.

Anti drug awareness campaign held through a marathon race Contd. from Page 1

The race started from Centurion town market, Gandhi Chawak and while touching Pasihgat-MeboMaryang tri-junction along NH-52 at Raneghat, returned to the starting point covering a 16 km distance (to and fro). The event witnessed an overwhelming response from students so much so that the management had to register participants exceeding the limit and even denied registration to many interested candidates some of who were even crying for missing the chance.

While sharing about the event which is a first of its kind, DDSE Obuk Panor told this corre-

spondent that, even they hadn’t expected to get such overwhelming response from the students. And so was the view of Onya Padung DTO Scout who was looking after the affairs of management.

Speaking on the occasion, DC Pasighat Isha Khosla said that, she was very happy to see the overwhelming participation of the students. She advised the students to keep themselves from using drugs which is a sure poison that leads the user nowhere and kills them.

“5 minutes enjoyment will kill your entire life, so don’t even try to have a taste of it even if your friends/school mates (addicted) happen to introduce you the

drugs saying, it is enjoyable. You are the future of the society, state and the nation, so be a good student to set a good trend for even your younger generation by becoming a good officer or leader”, added Khosla who handed over the prizes to the winning students.

ZPC Kaling Dai in his earlier deliberation had appreciated the noble initiative of education department and had also advised the students not to use drugs and keep themselves away from such social menace. DDSE Obuk Panor who was seen personally pushing for making the event successful, said that, it’s a beginning and he will try his best to organize many more

such events through which a good message against drugs could reach out to the students.

The winners in the boys' category included 1st Tarung Tatak from UPS Paglek, 2nd Takeng Ketan from GHSSDEM and 3rd Tokiram Megu from GSS Mirku. In the girls' category, the 1st prize was won by Olak Moyong from GSS Mirku, 2nd Aroty Tadeng from UPS Jarku and 3rd Salma Khatun from Kendriya Vidyalaya. As prizes, the winners were given Hero Ranger Bicycles along with trophies and certificates. There were 7 consolation prizes in both the categories.

When asked about what they understood from

the event and their possible messages to their student friends, 1st from boys Tarung Tatak and 2nd from girls Aroty Tadeng with a bit of nervousness said that, they will try to pass on the messages across to their student friends not to use drugs.

More than two thousand students from different schools around the township cheered the event while 180 participated in the race, added the management.

Incidentally, a girl collapsed after reaching the returning point at the venue who was rushed to hospital immediately by the medical team led by DMO Perme in an ambulance which was kept/parked ready for such eventuality.

Eyeing upcoming Assam assembly elections, 9 organisations join hands to form United People’s Front Contd. from Page 1

Mohilary also claimed that in 2016, no political party can form the government in Assam without the support of the UPF. Asking the Union and the State governments to start a fruitful peace process with the organisations engaged in armed struggle, Mohilary added that in the line of the recent Naga peace accord, steps should be initiated to start a peace process with the ULFA(I), NDFB, KPLT, etc. The convention resolved to pressurise the Government for such an

initiative. A 12-member executive committee of the UPF has been formed with Hagrama Mohilary as the president, Dr Jayanta Rongpi as the working president, Biswajit Daimary as the vice president, Ranauj Pegu as the general secretary, Kampa Borgoyari as the spokesperson, and Bhupen Pegu, Jatson Dey and Tankeswar Rabha as secretaries among others. In its resolution, the convention also supported the demand of ST status to the six communities without hampering the interests of the exist-

ing ST people. The convention also demanded proper decentralisation of powers to the autonomous councils of the State, making operational the Mising, Rabha Hasong and Tiwa Autonomous councils by amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and also making operational the Sonowal Kachari, Thengal and Deuri autonomous councils. “We are open for negotiations on the other seats where tribal votes are a deciding factor,” said Aditya Khaklari, chief convener of the convention.

Meeting of HPC for mega projects held under Tarun Gogoi's chairmanship Contd. from Page 1

versely. The Committee expressed its concern on the setback to the investment in the State due to the decision of the NDA Government at the Centre. During discussion, it was also felt that most of the industrial units are

coming up in both Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup (Rural) districts. The committee felt that the industrial units should spread over to other parts of the State.

Chief Minister Gogoi suggested that the units set up away from Guwahati would be considered for more ben-

efits/incentives as compared to the units coming up in Kamrup districts. The meeting was attended by Minister for Industries & Commerce, Basanta Das, Additional Chief Secretaries, R.T.Jindal, Subhash Das, K.V. Eapen, Davinder Kumar and other senior officials.

I-T department to use email for issuing notices Contd. from Page 1

"We are trying to resolve some security issues in this regard now after which it could be implemented," CBDT Chairperson Anita Kapur told PTI in an interview. Explaining the procedure, Kapur said if a taxpayer provides the department with a bonafide email address in his Income Tax Return (ITR), the Board will be able to send him an e-notice and not a paper document dispatched through post for which he usually has to travel and meet the Assessing Officer (AO). "The taxpayer can respond through the email and if we have some more queries we give you another notice by the electronic medium so that both the AO and the taxpayer remain in an e-environment and, may be, during the final hearing when the AO wants to close the matter, the taxpayer can come once to the tax office," the CBDT chief said. She said the purpose of introducing the system was to reduce the inter-

face between the taxpayer and the AO. "The taxpayer can send documents over email, scan them, upload them and it's over," she added. It (scrutiny session) should be over and should not go beyond that. This is the way we are trying to address the issues of compliance and limiting the interface between the taxman and the taxpayer. This will be a sea change in our tax administration," Kapur said. Tax experts say the initiative will also ensure privacy of a taxpayers' communication with his AO and the tax department. The CBDT chief said she was aware of instances where the taxpayers complained about the AO raising numerous queries upon meeting the assessees despite their earlier order sheets having mention of only a few queries.

"This (sending emails) is one way of giving both the taxpayer and the AO a good opportunity to solve their things without any problem. It has also been mentioned in our earlier instruc-

tions to the field that the questionnaire sent to the taxpayer in scrutiny cases should be focused and specific so that the person knows what is he being enquired about. "We are trying to do this for a mediumlevel taxpayer and others," Kapur said, adding she hopes this would bring down taxpayers' complaints. The CBDT chief said the number of cases landing for scrutiny had gone down over the years following introduction of technology in the administration of taxes. "The overall percentage of cases brought under scrutiny across the country in a financial year is less than one per cent. The entire system is handled electronically and there is no human intervention. I can assure taxpayers that there is no personal role of a tax official in deciding who can be scrutinised or who cannot be," she said. Kapur added that as part of measures to further check instances of harassment of taxpayers, the CBDT has recently asked its field

Rally for separate Bodoland state ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Sep 20: Lakhs of people from different organisations thronged the grand mass gathering organised by All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) to demand separate Bodoland state on Sunday at Kajalgaon Rural Stadium ground in Chirang district. People from all walks of life participated and shouted slogans like "Divide Assam 50/50", "No Bodoland

No Rest", "We want Bodoland", "We want justice", "Bodoland is our birthright" carrying banners, placards demanding early creation of Bodoland state carving out of existing Assam.

The gathering expressed their demand for separate Bodoland state to realise good governance, people's administration in the region. Promod Boro, president of the ABSU said that the government

should take stern steps to create smaller states across the country.

Speakers from P Nirub Reddy from Telangana, Manish Tamang, Gorkhaland, James Hanse, leader from JACAS, UG Brahma, ex MP, Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary, ex MP attended the gathering and stressed on pressing centre for the early creation of smaller states in the country.

PAGE 5

REGION

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Bihar polls 2015: Jitan Two Bangladeshi nationals among three militant Ram Manjhi's HAM arrested in Tripura releases second list Patna, Sep 20: Admitting differences with the BJP over seat sharing, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi`s HAM party on Sunday released its second list of seven candidates for the Bihar elections. Former MP Lovely Anand features in the list. "There are some differences with the BJP over three seats but we hope it will be sorted out," Manjhi told mediapersons.

Manjhi had earlier announced the first list of 13 candidates. In the second list, Lovely Anand, former MP and wife of jailed leader Anand Mohan, will contest from Sheohar, Salim Ali from Bela Ganj, Nutan Paswan from Masaurih, Mukesh Kumar from Sherghati, Jeba Khatoon from Jokihat, Naresh Shah from Sheikhpura and Manju Devi from Sinheshswar. Manjhi said he will request Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah to field

Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh to connect with people on Facebook Raipur, Sep 20: After sharing his views with people of Chhattisgarh through radio, Chief MinisterRaman Singh has now decided to communicate with them on Facebook as well. According to officials, the CM will answer the queries of people every month on the popular social networking site. "Raman Singh will be the first Chief Minister in the country, who will have a live question and answer session with common people," the officials said. The first such programme will be held on September 26 between 11 am and 12 pm and people can communicate with him using hashtags #Facebook Q&A and #RamanConnects, they said. While the topic of conversation would be different every month, this month's question and answer session would revolve around skill development. Officials said an appeal has been made to people to send their suggestions on the topic till September 26. (Agencies)

Minor killed in road accident Shillong, Sep 20: A minor girl was killed when a truck knocked her down at Mawryngkneng on Saturday. According to police, at around 10.15 am on Saturday, the truck (NL-020687) driven by K. Samarjeet Sinha (28s) knocked down the minor girl Lusiana Sohtun (9s) .

The girl died on the spot.

(Agencies)

Leadership seminar held Imphal, Sep 20: A twoday Men Leadership Seminar on the theme 'Missionary leader' for Longmai area, organised by the Men Department of Rongmei Naga Baptist Association (RNBA) was initiated today at 3 Baptist Churches in Longmai. Secretary of RNBA Relief and Development Dimguang Long Ruangmei, consultant of Bible International Latoungam Ruangmei and secretary of Men Department, RNBA Reverend M Aringmei presented their papers at the s e m i n a r.

The programme is being attended by over 150 delegates. (Agencies)

Agartala, Sep 20: Three militants of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) group, including two Bangladeshis, were arrested in Tripura.

Two militants of the NLFT, who had entered India from Bangladesh, were arrested from Kanchanpur in North Tripura on Saturday afternoon. Based on the information provided by them during interrogation, one more was arrested last night

from Sutarmura in Sepahijal, around 260 km from there.

"The Bangladeshi militants have been identified as Kanendra Tripura and Binduram Tripura, the residents of Old Jupui under Bagaichiri Police Station under Rangamati in the Chittagong Hill Tracks while the third is an Indian Rajesh Debbarma," said Milan Chandra Datta, the inspector of West Agartala Police Station. "On suspect, two

youths were nabbed in Kanchanpur area. And during search, Bangladesh currency, SIM card and subscription book of the militants was found in their possession. Later, they confessed of being NLFT cadres and had crossed to take new cadres for training along with their Indian counterpart here." Datta added. Those arrested are being further interrogated by the police. (ANI)

Medical negligence kills Med student rebel JD (U) legislator Poonam Devi from Digha constituency in Patna. "The BJP has promised to give party symbol to five HAM candidates but it has not happened yet," a senior

HAM leader said after the BJP released its second list of candidates on Saturday.

Manjhi`s Hindustan Awami Morcha is a part of the BJPled NDA coalition in Bihar.

(Agencies)

Kolkata, Sep 20: Two doctors have been suspended at the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH) for alleged medical negligence in the treatment of a medical student leading to his death.

State health department officials said a fivemember probe committee formed by the hospital found faults in the treatment of the seriously injured final-year medical student of the college Ritesh Jaiswal by the two

doctors. Jaiswal had died at the hospital on September 14 after which a committee was formed to investigate allegations of medical negligence. Jaiswal had suffered serious head injuries in a road accident. The report said the accused doctors did not follow the standard medical guidelines in treating the patient who had a clot in the brain and needed an immediate CT scan which was not done. (Agencies)

Churachandpur denizens form human chain to protest Bills Imphal, Sep 20: Tens of thousands of tribal women today formed a 12-kms long human chain in protest against the three 'anti-tribal' Bills, two days after they had held a historic torch rally as part of the peoples movement that has overwhelmed the district since the Bills were passed by the State Assembly on August 31.

The extraordinary protest wherein women draped in black clothes linked their hands to drive home the several demands raised by the JAC. It took about five hours for the organisers to actually form the human chain. The massive formation began at the border vil-

lage of Kangvai and concluded at the district hospital, where the bodies of nine 'tribal martyrs' who were killed during the violence that was triggered by the Bills, are still kept. Braving an afternoon sho-wer and walking for miles, the women protesters also signed a public declaration that 'out rightly rejected the three Bills passed by a special session of the Manipur Assembly on August 31, 2015,' and also dubbed them as an infringement on the rights and interest of the tribal people in Manipur.

The JAC formed to spearhead the peoples movement against the anti-tribal Bills,

with womenfolk at the forefront of its agitation, has been demanding a complete repeal of 'the anti-tribal' Bills or annulling them within the ADCs jurisdiction. They have also at the same time claimed that nothing less than a separate administration will meet the tribal's desire for self-determination over their land. Today's human-chain was also part of the week-long agitation it announced on Mon- day as it seeks to protect the interest and rights of the tribal people. Speaking on the rationale behind the formation of a massive humanchain, the JAC convenor H Mang-chinkhup said it is

aimed at telling the Government and the world that "we are against the three Bills that have been passed by the State Government, and that we want them repealed immediately". Signatures collected from the protesters today will be used as evidence before the Governments both at the State and the Centre that the tribal people disapprove the three Bills Manipur Assembly had passed on August 31, he claimed. The JAC expected to receive not less than ten thou- sand signatures from today's protest event. With the Bills now triggering a united contest from the

Organic haat inaugurated at Uttarey Gangtok, Sep 20: For the first time in Sikkim, a 'haat' (market) for marketing of organic produces was started today at Uttarey under ManeybungDentam constituencies. Area MLA cum minister N.K. Subba inaugurated the haat which has been opened to encourage the marketing of organic products of the region and also to facilitate the local farming community. The necessity of haat bazaar had long been felt by the local people of Uttarey. The area falls under the remote part of the constituency and the people have to depend on either Dentam or Geyzing bazar for the daily essentials. The newly established haat bazar is expected to fulfill the interest of the local people. After inauguration the haat bazaar, the minister said the pending demands of the people for the establishment of haat has been fulfilled and expressed his hopes for the success of the initiative taken. Subba said the local farming community can gain a lot as they can market their products at the haat. He informed that the State government has been working for

establishment of local haat in every part ofthe State for the marketing of organic products. The minister expressed that the newly established haats will fulfill the local interests in days to come. Talking about other developmental schemes, Subba informed that an artificial lake will be constructed at Uttarey to upgrade the tourism industry in the con-

stituency. He said that the DPR related to the project has been submitted to concerned department and the project will start soon. He further informed that the construction of international road connecting Nepal with the constituency will also be a reality soon. "The constituency (ManeybungDentam) holds immense scope in tourism sector and

the participation of people for proper management of tourism industry is very important," said the minister, urging the people to be part of the mission. Panchayat member Jangmu Sherpa expressed that the initiative will be profitable for the people and the farmers of the constituency. The haat will run every Friday.

(Agencies)

Gorkha National Symposium, a windowdressing by GJMM: Opposition Darjeeling, Sep 20: Following the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's program in Kalimpong in associated with Lecha and other tribal groups of the hills, GJMM has initiated two days Gorkha National Symposium, specifically making its clear stand on the Tribal status for 10 hills communities. Meanwhile, oppositions of the hills have reacted on the 2 days seminar being held at Bhanu Bhawan in Darjeeling. Pratap Khati, general secretary of ABGL, severely commented as such programs are window- dressing by GJMM in the eyes of people. GJMM was never honest on the issues of the hills.

If they are really honest, such program would have held in Delhi not in Darjeeling. The issue is related to Central government, therefore, the program should have included Tribal minister, central ministers and expertise on the issues. The issue we have already raised in 2005, now GJMM is following our path, alleged Mr. MJ Subba, GNLF Darjeeling branch con-

vener. CPRM spokesperson Mr. Govind Chettri said, in relation to Tribal status for 10 communities of the hills, there is confusion whether tribal status for Gorkha community or in the region where Gorkhas residing in majority. It is also important to specify clearly that the tribal status is only for Darjeeling hills or all India as a whole. There is a constitutional provision for Tribal status set by the Central government. Meanwhile, to include all these 10 Gorkhas communities in Schedule Tribe status, amendment of constitution is required, which is depends on the Will of Government. Constitutionally it is difficult and complex issue. If it is successful, it is positive for all but it will not solve the main issue of Gorkhas. Chettri also alleged that the GJMM is not sincere on the Gorkhaland issue, GJMM is diverting from its main issue, while Gorkha community is being divided by the so called tribal development boards. (agencies)

Contraband bottles seized in Tripura

tribal public and organisations alike, there has been an outcry particularly in Churachandpur against the elected representatives but the call for their resignation which continues to echoes until this day appears to have fallen on deaf ears. The JAC had already declared a public boycott on them after their initial plea for their resignation was not heeded to, but the call for resignation continues unabated as the mass protest movement which is now into the third week appears to be growing stronger by the day in the district. (Agencies)

KSU knocks on Delhi door for NEHU VC Shillong, Sep 20: The KSU functionaries both in the state and Delhi have petitioned the President of India to speed up the appointment of NEHU Vice Chancellor. The KSU also said that a local person should take the leadership of this educational institution. A delegation of the students' body met Union Minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju in Delhi in this regard. In the letter addressed to the President of India, Kynpham Kharlyngdoh, KSU Secretary Education Cell and Simon Duncan Kharsohtun, President of KSU's Delhi unit said that NEHU is without a permanent Vice Chancellor for the past two and a half years. (agencies)

Agartala, Sep 20: In an anti-narcotic drive, the Border Security Force (BSF) seized more than 21,400 bottles of Bangladesh bound smuggled cough syrup in Tripura. The bottles of phensedyl syrup were seized from four vehicles by the BSF's intelligence branch along with Customs from Mahishkhala area in the outskirts of Agartala. "On the basis of specific information, we along with BSF of Gakulnagar G-branch went on an operation in Mahishkhala area near the bypass road of Agartala. There we have intercepted four vehicles containing phensydyl cartoons. After opening the cartoons, we have found total 21,400 bottles of phensedyls in these vehicles," said Swapan Kumar Debnath, Superintendent of Anti-Smuggling Wing of Agartala Custom's Division. According to the Customs official, though phensedyl is an Indian cough syrup but it is a lucrative smuggle item to Bangladesh, where liquor consumption is ban and it is used as substitute to liquor especial by the youth. "We are trying to prevent this so that this type of medicine should not go to Bangladesh as the youth of Bangladesh are using it mainly as a drug as it contains codeine. We want to improve relations between India and Bangladesh and the youth should not be destroyed by using this in Bangladesh," said Debnath. (ANI)

Govt takes measure to check jute imports

Kolkata, Sep 20: The Centre has initiated non-tariff intervention to curb unabated jute imports, specially from Bangladesh. According to a recent notice issued by the office of the Jute Commissioner, registration of the importers stands cancelled and the traders to whom the importers sell the imported jute/jute products and the end-users will have to re-register their units in a given format. Adding further, the notice said that the importer has to apply for an "NOC" in a given format to the office of the Jute Commissioner for every consignment. Last July, the import from Bangladesh jumped by 213 per cent in volume and 274 per cent in value over the corresponding month of 2014. Sources in the jute industry said that the Jute Commissioner's office has just revived the Jute and Jute Textile Control order of year 2000. "The commissioner's office has revived the old order and implementing it. But, it will have some positive impact on checking imports," the sources said. It has been found that imported jute products are making inroads for government procurement at the cost of domestic jute industry. In the recent past government has introduced marking system to put a check in rise of jute products imports. Under the SAARC treaty, there is zero duty on import of jute goods from Bangladesh, thereby creating a non level playing field between jute manufacturers of India and Bangladesh. (Agencies)

YMC launches official website Kohima, Sep 20: Yemhi Memorial College (YMC) has launched its official Website (http:// yemhimemorialcollege.com) and Skill Development courses here Saturday at YMC conference hall.

Speaking at the launching programme, YMC principal Makhan Chetia said website was a necessity to be introduced because through such technology, information of the college and various circulars could be published and can be learnt.

Emphasizing on the need and importance of skill development course, Chetia said since present generation has become more attached to technologies, colleges need to upgrade towards skill development

courses. He also said with the growth of technology, skilled people were in much demand today. He maintained that education alone cannot fulfill the need for a skilled job. He also added that through skill development courses students could face the technology era with confidence. Chairman of Managing Board YMC, Joshua Sumi said skill development programs should be made compulsory in all institutions, as it moulds and shapes the students and give confidence to face the outside world.

He said Nagas should try to step together with technological changes that are taking place along with the rest of the world. Citing the problems faced by the students

outside the state as "one's problem", he suggested that students should come out of the comfort zone of wishing to live in cities like its home. He also expressed hope that through skill development courses students would learn to live and adapt to city life positively.

The programme was chaired by assistant professor sociology Dr. Vitokali, invocation offered by assistant professor political science Zailo, welcome address was delivered by assistant professor English Amongla Imsong and special number was presented

by EU YMC followed by launching of website and skill development courses.

(Agencies)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

BJP backs Mahesh Sharma, says `wild binging` should be avoided New Delhi, Sep 20: Backing Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma's remark against night outs, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday said that wild binging is unacceptable for both women and men as the Indian culture suggests people to be early risers."What Mahesh Sharma is saying correctly is that there is a difference between modernisation and westernisation. This whole idea of night out for women

is against the culture, but even for men it is against our culture," Swamy told media.

"Our culture says you should wake up at 4 am in the morning. If you are going to have a night out, how can you wake up at 4 am?" he asked. Blaming the media for twisting Sharma's words, Swamy said that he has been right.

"Westernisation has not made the society in America or Europe happy. In fact, they all are coming here to

our swamy jis' ashrams to learn how to be happy," he said. Swamy further added, "We should have a simpler life rather than these binges of wildness during weekends. We should modernise but we should not westernize."Sharma sparked off a controversy by saying that girls' wanting a night out is unacceptable in India. He later justified himself by blaming the media for distorting his statement. (ANI)

Delhi Govt. to turn 55 dispensaries into 'Fever & Dengue' clinics New Delhi, Sep20: In order to tackle the rising number of dengue cases in the national capital, the Delhi Government has ordered to convert 55 government-run dispensaries into Fever and Dengue Clinics. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has directed these clinics to remain functional from 7 am to 9 pm on all the days, including Sundays and holidays, till further orders. He said that the staff at these clinics will be deputed in double shifts so

that check-ups of people coming here with fever and suspected dengue complaints are done without any delay. The clinics are located in those areas which are most affected.

Meanwhile, the Centre yesterday issued a fresh advisory to the Delhi government urging it to intensify measures to check the breeding of mosquitoes.

The note came after experts warned of the situation worsening following fresh showers in the city. The

Health Ministry has also directed all hospitals under the Centre not to deny treatment to any patient suffering from fever or anyone who show dengue-like symptoms. It has asked hospitals to increase their bed strength to accommodate more patients. Over 2,000 people have tested positive for the vector-borne disease in the national capital so far. At least 21 people have lost their lives in the disease. (ANI)

PAGE 6

New way proposed to help map 3D cosmos Washington D.C, Sep 20: A team of researchers have proposed a new way to chart the cosmos in 3-D.If only calculating the distance between Earth and far-off galaxies was as easy as pulling out the old measuring tape. Now, UBC researchers are proposing a new way to calculate distances in the cosmos using mysterious bursts of energy.

In the study, researchers proposed a new way to calculate cosmological distances using the bursts of energy also known as fast radio bursts. The method allows researchers to position distant galaxies in three dimensions and map out the cosmos.Researcher Kiyoshi Masui said that they've introduced the idea of using these new phenomena to study cosmological objects in the universe, adding that they believe they'll be able to use these flashes to put together a picture of how galaxies are spread through space.Some unknown astrophysical phenomenon is causing these bursts of energy that appear as a short flash of radio waves. While

only 10 fast radio bursts have ever been recorded, scientists believe there could be thousands of them a day.As these fast radio bursts travel toward Earth, they spread out and arrive at different times based on their wavelengths. The researchers propose using the delay between the arrival times of different frequencies to map the cos-

mos. The amount of spread in the signal that arrives on Earth gives scientists a sense of how many electrons, and by extension how much material including stars, gas and dark matter, are in between Earth and the source of the burst.Canada's CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment) radio telescope could offer the

Women Promoted in Australian PM's 'Extensive' Cabinet Reshuffle

Land grabbers should not speak about land acquisition: BJP

New Delhi, Sep 20 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today alleged that the Congress Party is responsible for the pitiable condition of the farmers in the country and said that it was insulting the farming community with its move to organise a 'Kisan Mazdoor

Samman Rally'.BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra dubbed the grand old party as 'land grabbers'."Rahul Gandhi today speaks about the farmers and Land Acquisition. We should remind him of the fact that those who are land grabbers of farmers should not speak

about Land Acquisition," Patra told media. "Today Rahul Gandhi and the Congress is talking of a 'Kisan Samman Rally'. Did the Congress Party think of the farmers and the agriculturalists all these 65 years in rule? Had the Congress Party given an iota of thought towards the welfare of the farmers of India, then the conditions of the farmers of this country would not have been this pitiable," he added. Patra further said the Congress vice-president grabbed 65 acres of poor farmers land in his parliamentary constituency Amethi. The Congress Party will organize a 'Kisan Mazdoor Samman Rally' today at the Ramlila Ground to honour farmers and party workers for forcing the NDA Government to withdraw its land ordinance. (ANI)

India wants good relations with all neighbours: Rajnath Vrindavan (Mathura), Sep 20: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India wants a cordial relationship with all its neighbours."Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say that we should have good relations with all our neighbours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also believes in the same," he said.Addressing a BJP workers' meeting at Vrindavan town in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, he expressed confidence that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would form the government in Bihar. He added that the BJP's next mission after Bihar would be Uttar Pradesh.The former BJP president lauded the efforts of his party workers for the NDA's victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls."Nobody would have ever imagined that there

would be a party that could form a non-Congress government at the Centre. But you (party workers) have changed the political landscape of India by ensuring that the BJP forms a government at the Centre by securing an absolute majority," he said.Hailing the functioning of the government, Singh

told the party workers that they could proudly say that the nation was doing well on all fronts under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He asked his party men to ensure that the government's popularity does not remain confined to India but transcends all boundaries. (ANI)

President Mukherjee greets Malta on eve of their Independence Day New Delhi, Sep 20: President Pranab Mukherjee today extended his greetings and felicitations to the government and people of the Republic of Malta on the eve of their Independence Day."On behalf of the Government and the people of India and on my own behalf, I extend to you and to the friendly people of Malta my heartiest felicitations on the occasion of your Independence Day," he said in his message to President of the Republic of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. President Mukherjee further said India and Malta have always shared warm and friendly relations."I am confident that in the coming years, the relationship between our two countries will be further strengthened for the mutual benefit of our peoples," President Mukherjee said."I take this opportunity to convey my best wishes for your personal health and well being and for the continued progress and prosperity of the friendly people of Malta," he added. (ANI)

first set of regular data from fast radio bursts.This method could be an efficient way to build a threedimensional image of the cosmos. The tool could also be used to map the distribution of material in the universe and inform our understanding of how it evolved.The study appears in the journal Physical Review Letters. (ANI)

Canberra,Sep 20: New Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Australia's first female defence minister today as he filled more key posts with women in a "very extensive" cabinet reshuffle, days after ousting Tony Abbott in a party coup. Turnbull, a 60year-old multimillionaire former banker and businessman who holds socially moderate views within the conservative Liberal Party,

US, China engaged in talks on urgent cyber security deal London, Sep 20 : The US and China are having urgent negotiations on a cyber security deal and may announce an agreement in Washington during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit.According to The Guardian, the initial agreement, however, was likely to fall short of offering any protection against most of the attacks including spying and the widespread poaching of intellectual property.The agreement could address cyber attacks on power stations, cellphone networks and hospitals, according to unidentified officials.US President Barack Obama had earlier urged for an international framework to protect the internet from being "weaponised" as a tool of national aggression. (ANI)

increased the number of women in cabinet from two to five.The sweeping changes also saw some key Abbott allies from the party's right wing left out of cabinet in favour of younger and more moderate candidates.Some Abbott allies stepped aside or refused portfolios, with the resignation of Treasurer (finance minister) Joe Hockey from parliament the biggest surprise.Social Services

Minister Scott Morrison replaced Hockey as treasurer, despite voting for Abbott in the Monday night contest for the Liberal Party leadership that Turnbull won 5444."Today I'm announcing a 21st century government and a ministry (cabinet) for the future," Turnbull told a press conference in Canberra, describing the changes as "very extensive".Senator Marise Payne, who had held the

human services portfolio, was given the defence ministry.Michaela Cash was appointed Minister for Employment and Women, while Kelly O'Dwyer assumed the assistant treasurer and small business portfolios.Julie Bishop remained as foreign minister and Sussan Ley as health and sports minister.Arthur Sinodinos, who served as chief of staff to former PM John Howard, became cabinet secretary as Turnbull stressed the need for consultative leadership in contrast to Abbott's centralised decision-making processes.Turnbull supporter Attorney-General George Brandis was appointed Senate leader but lost the arts portfolio to another backer of the new PM, Mitch Fifield, who was also given communications.Turnbull has made economic policy a key tenet of his new administration, promising to speak honestly about the country's challenges as it transitions from mining-led growth following an unprecedented resources investment boom. (Agencies)

Declassification of files: Netaji's family hopes PM Modi will take some action Pune, Sep 20: Expressing his delight over the invitaion received from the PMO, legendary freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's nephew Ardhendu Bose on Sunday expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would now initiate some action with regard to the declassification of Netaji's files."We are extremely happy that the Prime Minister has agreed to meet us.

We have been requesting

the PMO to seriously look into the matter of declassification of files on Subhash Bose. It's obvious that the Prime Minister will now take some action hopefully," Ardhendu Bose told media."There are many files lying in Russia,England, may be in United States, Japan and China, which are of great significance. This will encourage the Indian Government to request the governments of these nations to declassify the files on

Bose," he added. Prime Minister Modi today said he was glad that the family members of Subhash Chandra Bose would meet him at his official 7, Race Course Road (RCR) residence here in October.Earlier, the family members of Subhash Chandra Bose had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of declassification of files related to the late freedom fighter. (ANI)

Naidu leaves for Singapore to plan Andhra's new capital Chennai, Sep. 20: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu left for Singapore on Sunday to discuss the details and plans of the new capital Amravati."I am visiting Singapore to plan our new capital Amravati. The Singapore Government agencies have prepared master-plan details. Now, we are requesting them to participate in the construction and promotions of capital Amravati," Naidu told the media here."After that meet-

ing, we will get clarity as how Singapore Government is going to help us and how they are going to participate," he added. Naidu also said that the foundation laying function of Amravati will take place on October 22."After that we will start the construction activities of the government buildings and at the same time the commercial activities like tourism and entertainment will also be taken up in a big way," he added. According to reports, the Andhra

Pradesh Chief Minister is accompanied by state's Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Municipal

Farmers' suicide: Telangana Govt. hikes ex-gratia from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh Hyderabad, Sept, 20 (ANI): The Telangana Government on Saturday announced a relief package of Rs. 6 lakh to the kin of farmers who had committed suicide, increasing it from Rs. 1.5 lakh that was fixed by the then combined Andhra Pradesh Government in June 2004.The state cabinet, which had met yesterday, reviewed the situation arising from the spate of farmers' suicides and decided to enhance the ex-gratia. Besides Rs 5 lakh, the government will provide Rs 1 lakh to clear the crop loans obtained from the banks, as one time settlement.The Telangana Government has paid ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh each to families of 141 farmers who had committed suicide during the last 15 months. (ANI)

Shutdown observed across Kashmir valley over Sopore killing Srinagar, Sep 20: A complete shutdown is being observed today across the Kashmir valley against the killing of a three- year-old child and his father in Sopore town of Baramulla District. All roads were seen empty and the shops remained closed. Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani on yesterday had called for a complete shutdown today.The victim Bashir Ahmed Bhat, who had quit militancy after serving a prison term, was attacked near his residence in Sagipora. Sources reported that Bhat and his three-year-old son were injured after unidentified militants struck at his residence.Both were rushed to hospital, but Bhat succumbed to his injuries on the way, while his three-year-old son died this afternoon. (ANI)

Polls suggest Tsipras may squeak home in Greece election London, Sep 20: Polls have suggested that Greece's Syriza leader Alexis Tsiprasmight squeak home in today's snap election as the exhausted Greeks fear fresh turmoil ahead.According to The Guardian, polls show the race to be extremely close as it is impossible to predict anything.The ballot, the third this year, has drawn little publicity and even less enthusiasm, but it is poised to play a decisive role in a country whose battle against bankruptcy has assumed epic dimensions in recent years.A flurry of polls released late on Friday, the last before ballot boxes open at 7 am on Sunday, revealed Syriza to be narrowly ahead after late gains by Tsipras. (ANI) Administration Minister P. Narayana, Communications Advisor Parakala Prabhakar and senior officials. (ANI)

PAGE 7

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

NEIGHBOURS Rajnath Singh to visit forward New govt agenda takes centre stage areas along Pak, China borders

New Delhi, Sep 20: Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a three-day visit to forward areas along the borders with Pakistan and China, including Chumar in eastern Ladakh which saw a fortnight-long stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops a year ago. During his visit to the forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir, he will inaugurate a new officers' mess at the camp of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force in Samba and may also go to posts in the sector which has often witnessed firing from

across the border. Singh will then visit border posts in Chumar in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops had eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in subzero temperatures in September 2014. It will be followed by a visit to the police memorial in Hot Spring and ITBP posts in Thakung and Chushul, official sources said. Following a flag meeting at Spanggur Gap, both the forces had decided to de-escalate the standoff by pulling back troops in the Himalayan plateau after a fortnight last

¢ Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a three-day visit to forward areas along the borders with Pakistan and China, including Chumar ¢ During his visit to the forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir, he will inaugurate a new officers' mess at the camp of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force in Samba ¢ The Home Minister will review the situation along the Sino-Indian border and interact with troops of ITBP, which guards the border.

He is also expected to chair a meeting with local administration and Border Roads Organisation about the development activities being carried out in the forward areas

Bangladesh detectives arrest 17 people from doping gangs

year. The Home Minister will review the situation along the Sino-Indian border and interact with troops of ITBP, which guards the border. He is also expected to chair a meeting with local administration and Border Roads Organisation about the development activities being carried out in the forward areas. Indian and Chinese troops recently had a faceoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the same area where

150 students ill in China after breathing in smoke at drill

Dhaka, Sept. 20 : Detectives in Bangladesh have claimed to arrest 17 people involved in doping gangs, Oggan Party and Malam Party, from different areas of Dhaka.According to the Daily Star, Dhaka Metropolitan Police said that tablets and other instruments had been seized. (ANI)

China launches 20 micro satellites using new carrier rocket Beijing, Sep 20: China today successfully placed 20 micro satellites into space using its latest carrier rocket powered by pollution-free fuels, boosting the Communist giant's competitiveness in the global satellite launch sector, state media reported.

The rocket, Long March-6, was launched from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China's Shanxi Province which carried 20 micro-satellites into the space for space tests.The new 29.3 metres high rocket, fuelled by liquid propellant made of liquid oxygen and kerosene, is China's first carrier rocket that uses fuel which is free of toxicity and pollution, Gao Xinhui, an official at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said."Using such propellant can cut costs by a great margin," GAO said.

Zhang Weidong, designer-in-chief at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said the new rocket also "reformed the way carrier rockets are tested and launched in China."(Agencies)

Kathmandu, Sep 20: Nepali Congress General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula said on Saturday that major parties could lead the government on a rotational basis until full implementation of the new constitution .In an interview with the Post, Sitaula said at least parties united for constitutution promulgation must remain in the next government in case it is not possible to form a 'national unity government'.

Sitaula, however, stressed for a unity government saying that only such government will manage the problems that would come while People's Liberation Army implementing the new conhad pitched camps in April stitution. "If there is a unity 2013 that had led to a three- government, we can hold week-long stalemate. Ac- three elections--- local, fedcording to officials in the eral and central Parliament-know of developments, the in next three years," said Chinese troops had built a Sitaula. According to temporary hut in Burtse, Sitaula, NC has not held disnorth of Ladakh, which was cussions on the new leaddemolished by ITBP and ership of the government. army jawans on September However, CPN-UML lead12. The Home Minister's ers have been claiming that visit was earlier cancelled there has been an informal twice - first due to inclem- understanding that their ent weather and then due party chairman KP Oli will to a key BJP meeting on then be next prime minister Bihar last week. (Agencies) after statute promulgation.

Asked whether Oli will lead the new government, Sitaula said he cannot confirm without formal discussions within his party. Chief Whip of CPN-UML Agni Kharel, a close confident of Oli, said a national unity

government is required for effective implementation of the new constitution. He claimed that UML will take leadership of the government after promulgation of the statute.The main opposition party UCPN (Maoist) has not said anything about the formation of a new government. The party has nevertheless mentioned that it could join the government if there is 'agreement on social and economic transformations'.Along with the prime Minister, there will be elections for President, Vice-president, CA Chairman and Vice-chairman. The three major parties are likely

to seek a package deal on them. The issue of powersharing will take centre stage after the promulgation of the new constitution today. However, formation of a new government has been pushed back with the Parliament session adjourned on Saturday. As per the new constitution, election of a new prime minister should be done within seven days of its promulgation if Parliament session is running.

With Prime Minister Sushil Koirala leaving for New York to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on September 23,

the new government formation process will begin once he returns.The UML, second largest party in the CA and coalition partner of the incumbent government, has started its efforts to lead the next government. Before Koirala was elected the prime minister in February 2014, the NC had pledged its support to UML for the government to be formed after the constitution promulgation. While signing the 16point agreement in June, major parties had informally agreed to form an allparty government under the UML. (Agencies)

Nepal to Adopt Its First Full Democratic Charter

Beijing, Sep 20: More than 150 students fell ill in northwest China after breathing in smoke from a mock air defense evacuation drill, state media reported today.

Smoke was used to make Friday's drill at Yifu Experimental Middle School in Gansu province more realistic, but the volume generated was too large. It said Friday's drill was jointly organized by the school and Tianshui city's Civil Air Defense Office. The Gansu Daily reported that more than 150 students had been

treated, with complaints including coughing, vomiting, fever and bleeding in the digestive tract. It said 142 were still under observation Saturday and nine were in serious condition.

Calls to the school and authorities in Tianshui rang unanswered Sunday. Cities across China, including Beijing and Shanghai, sounded air raid alarms Saturday as part of an annual education day to raise awareness of national defense. It was unclear if the drill was part of that or si-

rens and gatherings across the country Friday to commemorate the 84th anniversary of the 1931 "Mukden Incident" that led to the Japanese occupation of China's northeast and eventually the brutal invasion and conquest of much of the country.China has been increasingly drawing attention to Japan's wartime aggression as it seeks to stir up nationalism and highlight its role fighting Japan during World War II, which it feels has not been sufficiently recognized by the West.(Agencies)

Northern fishermen to stage protest against India Colombo, Sep 20: Fishermen in the North have rejected a proposal to meet Indian fishermen to discuss a solution to the fishing issue and have decided to stage a protest on Wednesday against India. The Indian Government had called for talks between Sri Lankan and Tamil Nadu fishermen to discuss the fishermen issue. However Northern fishermen's associations have said they have no faith in reaching a solution by having talks with Indian fishermen so they have rejected the proposal.

Vi n a y a g a m o o r t h i Sahathevan, Consultant Fishermen Society Kilinochchi said that over

40 associations had met in the north over the weekend and discussed the fishermen issue. He said that Northern fishermen have decided to stage a protest against a proposal by India to allow Indian fishermen to legally catch fish in Sri Lankan waters. Sahathevan noted that following recent talks held in New Delhi between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a large number of Indian fishermen have been seen poaching in Sri Lankan waters. He said that Northern fishermen continue to suffer as a result of Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan wa-

ters and so they have now decided to stage a protest to draw attention to their concerns. Sahathevan said that Northern fishermen are willing to discuss the issue with Indian fishermen only if the Indian Government and Sri Lankan Government take part in the talks. He said that past experiences had shown that direct talks between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen associations without Government participation have failed to produce results. As a result he said the Northern fishermen will not agree for such talks and will announce their next step during the protest on Wednesday.

(Agencies)

Kathmandu, Sep 20 : Nepal will adopt its first full democratic charter on Sunday, a historic step for a nation that has seen war, a palace massacre and devastating earthquakes since a campaign to create a modern state began more than 65 years ago.President Ram Baran Yadav will formally promulgate the constitution intended to unite the country but it has already exacerbated divisions in some places with 40 people killed in protests against it in recent weeks.Nepal's powerful neighbors, India and China, are keen to see stability and to limit each other's influence in the poor Himalayan country sandwiched between them."The constitution that will be promulgated is the outcome of many years of struggle by the Nepali people," Prateek Pradhan, media adviser to the prime minister, told media."It addresses the aspirations and demands of all sections of Nepali society in an inclusive and representative manner. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is

extremely happy to have reached this moment." The earthquakes that killed more than 9,000 people this year galvanized politicians, who had squabbled for seven years to finish the charter.It creates seven states in a secular, federal system, but is opposed by some groups who wanted to re-establish Nepal as a Hindu nation, and

others who feel it is unfavorable to people in the plains, near India.Demonstrations in the lowlands in recent weeks were met with a tough response from Kathmandu, which ordered in the army after protesters attacked and killed police. More than 40 protesters and police died. The unrest troubles

China vows support for Pakistan's fight against terrorism Beijing, Sep 20: China today condemned the brazen Taliban attack on a Pakistani air force camp near Peshawar that killed 42 people, including 29 security personnel, and vowed to support Pakistan's fight against terrorism. "We condemn the attack which caused severe losses of lives, and we express our condolences to the families of the victims," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei. Hong said China supports Pakistan's efforts to crackdown on terrorism, and believes the Pakistani government and armed forces are capable of maintaining their national security and stability. At least 42 people, including 29 security personnel and 13 terrorists of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed in the attack on the Badaber air base on Friday. Another 29 people were wounded in the attack when a group of 13 militants wearing explosives-laden jackets and armed with rocket-propelled

grenades and automatic rifles stormed the base. The air base, however, was not functional and was mostly used as a residential place for air force employees. TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was to avenge Pakistani military bombardment of mosques and the killing of civilians in the country's northern tribal regions. Pakistan is carrying out military operations in its remote tribal areas where militants of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) are believed to have a stronghold.

The ETIM is waging a violent separatist movement in China's Xinjiang. The Pakistan air force has been playing a major role in the fight against militants since June 2014, when the army launched an operation to flush out militants from the region to end the bloody decade-long Islamist insurgency. Peshawar has often been targeted by militants. Last December more than 150 people, mostly children, were killed by Taliban gunmen in an attack on an army-run school. (Agencies)

India, which has called for dialog. China welcomed the new constitution saying that as a "friendly neighbor" it hoped for increased stability and growth.The government says an imperfect document is better than nothing, and the constitution can be amended to reflect the aspirations of dissenting groups. (Agencies)

Two cops injured in al Qaeda-linked suicide bombing in Karachi Karachi, Sep 20: Two police officers have been injured in a suicide bombing in Pakistan's Malir's Rifa-i-Aam Society today during a raid conducted by the police and other law enforcement agencies in Karachi. According to the Dawn, the suspect Farhan alias 'Pehlwan' was believed to be in hiding in Kehkashan Society where a raid was being conducted by a team comprising the police and other law enforcement agencies headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Malir Rao Anwar. The injured policemen have been admitted to a private hospital for treatment. Farhan is suspected of targeted killing of police officers and Rangers personnel.The weapon used by the suspect has been sent to the forensics lab for further investigation. (ANI)

PAGE 8

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Swachh Bharat: a scheme or a pipe dream?

How Do Indians Feel About Narendra Modi's Handling of Foreign Policy?

71% Online Poll Say Swach Bharat a Flop in Cities

In general, Indians are pleased about their prime minister's handling of the country's international affairs.

In what could be a wake-up call for the Centre to fix weaknesses in the Swach Bharat initiative, nearly 71% respondents in an online poll conducted by a social media group feel cleanliness in their cities and towns has not improved much in the past one year and want a greater municipal-citizen connect. The online poll on "local circles", which has over 3 lakh participants, provides a strong feedback that municipalities need a big technology and skill upgrade and need to improve actual delivery of sanitation services at the ground level. Involving citizens in the cleanliness drives as well as in advocacy will also help, the poll indicates. The poll has brought to light the big gap in capacity of municipal bodies, which are primarily responsible for collection, transportation and treatment of both solid and liquid waste in urban areas. According to the poll, 94% respondents felt municipal bodies need a major upgrade in skills, processes, equipment system and leadership as well. Some 96% felt municipal and city leaders should connect with citizens for the success of Swachh Bharat mission. The findings of such surveys will help in planning the next course of action. According to latest government data, 1.42 lakh tonnes of solid waste was generated per day in urban areas in July and only 15.33% of it was processed, indicating how under-equipped municipal bodies are to handle the mammoth task. They also face a problem in terms of lack of a dedicated municipal cadre that can bring qualified economists, public policy graduates, environmentalists and engineers into city administrations.

While one of the key components of the mission in urban areas to create more public toilet facilities, over three-fourth of respondents in the online poll said the availability of toilets has not increased in the one year.

More than 70% of the respondents also pointed out how local municipalities are not seriously engaged in the scheme and driving the "cleanliness/ civic sense" initiatives on the ground. Considering that cities are competing with each other to get the Smart City tag, 88% of the respondents said that municipal bodies that implement Swach Bharat mission effectively should be considered as the key parameter for this scheme.

Finally, we have to consider the state of our villages where 70 per cent of India lives. Can we talk of Swach Bharat, ignoring what happens in our villages where poverty is the greatest polluter? Can any scheme of cleaning up our villages be viable if, for example, we do not provide village children access to high-quality schools? Doesn't education, including vocational education, provide the greatest resource for alleviating poverty? Thus, to think of Swach Bharat as an achievable objective would be a folly unless equal emphasis is laid on several other objectives such as high-quality universal education. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serious about Swach Bharat, he must provide leadership in converting what is a slogan into a viable multifaceted programme, no matter how difficult or challenging it is going to be.

Global Innovation Index India Ranks 81 Among 141 Countries India ranked 81 out of 141 countries on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015, well behind middle income countries such as Brazil, China and South Africa. But, in the Central and Southern Asia region, it retains its top stop in the regional ranking, followed

by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka. Globally, Switzerland, followed by the United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands and the US are ranked as the most innovative countries in the world.

The GII 2015, released few days ago is calculated on the basis of how a country fares on seven key parameters - institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs. According to the report, top scoring middle income economies, such as China, Brazil and India are closing the gap with the developed world on innovation quality, in large part fuelled by an improvement in the quality of higher education institutions.

India, along with China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Jordan, Kenya and Uganda, is part of a group of countries that are outperforming their economic peers, with India being one of the eight economies that can be signalled as innovation achievers outperforming their peers on overall score.

Despite falling five positions in the overall rankings since 2014, India, along with 10 other developing countries, is now categorised as innovation outperformers. The "relative fall in India's overall ranking this year is due to availability of old data upto 2103-14 period, and it does not truly reflect the performance of the economy in last one year as per the director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The report says India's strength lies in knowledge diffusion (ranked 34th), research & development (44th), general infrastructure (43rd) and investment (42nd). On innovation quality, it ranks 3rd among middle income countries, behind Brazil. The report notes that this year, the country has made substantial improvements in patents filed. But despite its notable achievements, the report contends that "India still needs to implement substantial reforms in its innovation policy to further improve its innovation performance." The country has consistently "performed poorly during the past four years in political stability, ease of starting a business, tertiary inbound mobility and environmental performance" it adds.

India's poor performance on the ease of doing business is well recorded. The country ranks 142 on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business. The revised rankings are likely to be released later this month, which will shed light on the progress made by the country on improving the ease of doing business over the past year. On the innovation sub-indices, the country performs poorly on institutions (ranked 104th) and infrastructure (87th), with the report noting that its position has deteriorated in human capital and research (103rd), market sophistication (72nd), business sophistication (116th) and creative outputs (95th).

Ankit Panda

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been one of the more dynamic Indian prime ministers when it comes to foreign policy, having visited over 20 countries in his 16 months in office so far.

Modi's efforts have paid off, it seems. New public opinion data released by Pew Research shows that Indians overwhelmingly approve of Modi's approach to foreign policy. The foreign policy results are somewhat unsurprising given that Pew finds that a whopping 87 percent of Indians surveyed expressed a favorable opinion toward the prime minister who came to power last May with the strongest mandate for any Indian prime minister in nearly 30 years.

Specifically on foreign policy, 91 percent of Indians surveyed expressed confidence in Modi's handling of India's affairs on the world stage. The prime minister's tendency to travel widely and frequently, meeting with foreign dignitaries visibly and transparently, has paid dividends it seems. On relations with the United States, China,

and Russia, more Indians approve than disapprove of the prime minister's handling of relations. The reaction to Modi's handling of relations with the United States is particularly positive: 66 percent of respondents approve while just 13 percent disapprove.

Another telling figure is that while in 2014 just 48 percent of Indians had confidence in U.S. President Barack Obama "to do the

right thing regarding world affairs," the new data from 2015 shows that now 74 percent do. Over the past year, Modi and Obama have visited each other's countries, possibly leading to the up-tick in perceptions of the latter in India. In general, Indians are more optimistic about a range of world leaders propensity to "do the right thing," including Japan's Shinzo Abe (36 percent), Russia's Vladimir

Putin (36 percent), and even China's Xi Jinping (29 percent). Additionally, the Pew data shows that Xi, Abe, and Putin don't command the same sort of name recognition India that Obama does (17 percent of Indians have no opinion of Obama while the numbers for Putin, Abe, and Xi are 49, 47, and 42 percent respectively).

While more Indians approve than not of Modi's

handling of relations with China and Russia, the data reveals more polarization regarding relations with these countries than the United States. For example, 30 percent of respondents disapprove of Modi's approach to China while just 39 percent approve. (The numbers are 29 and 37 percent for Russia, respectively.)

India's rival and neighbor to the west, Pakistan, is the one area where Indian public opinion shows some trepidation about Modi's approach. Indians overwhelmingly cite Pakistan as the biggest threat facing India (86 percent), following by the Naxalites (82 percent) and then Lashkar-e-Taiba (74 percent), an anti-India militant outfit based out of Pakistan. China comes in fourth with 67 percent of respondents describing it as a serious threat. When it comes to approval of Modi's approach, more respondents disapproved than approved 50 percent to 25 percent. The prime minister's decision to cancel foreign secretary-level talks and, more recently, the national security ad-

viser talks has shown his willingness to stand his ground against Pakistan, even when it comes to diplomacy. This hasn't translated into popularity, even among members of the BJP, the prime minister's own party.

On Pakistan, a particularly interesting statistic caught my eye. Pew saw it fit to ask Indians if they thought U.S. policy in South Asia favored India or Pakistan, and, by a ratio of nearly four-to-one, respondents said they thought the U.S. favored India. This will be music to the ears of many in Washington as, for years, despite U.S. interest in closer strategic cooperation with India, New Delhi resented Washington's ongoing alliance with Pakistan. In recent years, the U.S.-Pakistan alliance has started to fray, not the least due to the 2011 fracas concerning a covert U.S. raid against Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. That Indians now see U.S. policy in their favor instead of Islamabad's is just one more factor abetting a longer-term U.S.-India alignment in South Asia.

Obama: Cyber Theft 'an Act of Aggression' but US and China Can Develop Norms The White House recently suggested that Washington and Beijing could lead the world in developing norms for cyberspace.

Graham Webster U.S. President Barack Obama told a group of business leaders Wednesday that he considers a "government or its proxies engaging directly in industrial espionage and stealing trade secrets, stealing proprietary information from companies" to be "an act of aggression that has to stop." And he told executives the government can best assist businesses if they can go to Chinese counterparts with evidence.

In an answer that covered several cybersecurity issues, Obama also called for the United States and China to cooperatively build a "framework that is analogous to what we've done with nuclear power." Obama went as far as to suggest that the two countries could lead the world in developing norms for cyberspace. "If we and the

Chinese are able to coalesce around a process for negotiations, then I think we can bring a lot of other countries along."

Obama's dual message underlines a problem with the term "cybersecurity." It encompasses numerous diverse issues, some of which are areas of confrontation and "aggression," and some of which might be areas for strategic cooperation and dialogue.

Confronting China on Commercial Spying Ever since Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for their "shirtsleeves summit" in California in June 2013, the U.S. government has sought Chinese government engagement on the issue of computer-enabled theft of commercial secrets. The two governments established a working group on cybersecurity issues that produced little progress, and the

U.S. government in May 2014 indicted five People's Liberation Army (PLA) members for alleged commercial spying.

The indictments, largely symbolic since the accused hackers are almost sure to never see the inside of a U.S. courtroom, gave the U.S. government the opportunity to lay out detailed evidence of alleged thefts, including specific targets and beneficiaries.

The drive to show evidence continued this year. In April 2015, Obama signed an executive order paving the way to issue sanctions against those engaging in "significant malicious cyber-enabled activities," and last month reports emerged that the U.S. government was considering sanctions against Chinese individuals or companies for computerassisted commercial theft.

Obama yesterday alluded to White House frustration with the Chinese government's lack of response when confronted with U.S. objections.

"Typically," Obama said, "we are not effective with the Chinese unless we are able to present fact and evidence of a problem. Otherwise they'll just stonewall and slow-walk issues. So if we're seeing problems in terms of the competitive environment there, in terms of protecting your IP‌ you've got to let us know and let us be your advocates."

While numerous commentators have called for the U.S. government to take a tougher line on cybersecurity, the Obama administration has in reality been carefully escalating its pressure on the Chinese government on the issue of computer-enabled theft, as well as traditional industrial espionage.

The threat of sanctions, which would entail releasing significant evidence of hacking and could be embarrassing for Xi during his visit next week, might have contributed to the reported "substantial agreement" between U.S. and Chinese negotiators during last week's quiet visit

by Politburo member Meng Jianzhu to Washington.

A Common Interest in Strategic Stability The other half of Obama's answer about cybersecurity and China addressed less immediate but potentially devastating risks to international security. If governments and non-state actors can disrupt computer systems for life-sustaining infrastructure or military systems crucial to the global strategic balance, the risk of largescale devastation and conflict is very real.

Obama's call for China and

the United States to consider an unspecified "framework" came with the comment that "we don't want to see the Internet weaponized" by countries going on the offensive.

There are real possibilities for the United States and China to develop norms and procedures to mitigate the risk of strategic crisis, just as the nuclear powers of the world make efforts to establish deterrence.

In the coming months and years, leaders, bureaucrats, and analysts should be careful not to conflate commercial theft, an area where Obama talks tough ("we are prepared to take some countervailing actions to get their attention") with strategic dialogue, an area where everyone understands there is a common interest in stability and arrangements that could prevent or wind down a future crisis.

Heights of joblessness

Sir, As per a recent news report it came to light that Uttar Pradesh government reportedly sought applications for 368 posts of peon in the state secretariat in Lucknow. In a surprise response, over 23 lakh applicants sent in their resumes for the post.

Out of these 23 lakh applicants, over 1.5 lakh are B Tech, BSc and BCom graduates, 25 thousand are Masters in Science, Commerce and Arts. 255 PhDs are also in the queue for a job as peon in the secretariat.

The advertisement released by the government had only two criteria; a) Applicant should be have passed 5th standard and b) Applicant must know how to ride a bicycle.

The recruitment to the posts was opened after a gap of 12 years. The selections were scheduled to be made through interviews. Given the huge number of candidates, officials said that it would take four years to interview all the 23 lakh candidates. Analysis of these applications suggest that only 53,000 applicants have passed standard 5.

Many applicants were approached by several media agencies who admitted that they had no job and it was better for them to be a peon than an unemployed graduate or a PhD. The population of Uttar Pradesh is 21.5 crore. Going by the logic of numbers, every 93rd person in the State applied for the post which carries with it a salary of Rs.20,000, along with the perks of a government job. Burgeoning unemployment is flagged as a menace. Unemployment rate in India has increased. It is 2% in rural areas and 3% in urban India. The unemployment rate per 1,000 popu-

lation is at 27, while it was 25 two years ago. As on January 1, 2010, the number of unemployed was 9.8 million. By January 1, 2012, it has increased to 10.8 million.

In rural areas, the unemployment rate for both male and female is almost at the same level, 2%. But, in, urban areas, women are more unemployed than men.

The rate is 5% for women and 2% for men.

Yours etc.

Jahnabi Pachani 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, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

OP-ED

When It Comes To Climate Change, This Is A Lesson Indian Govt. Needs To Learn Fast And Now Divya Sharma When we talk about climate change, it is important that we must understand that not only will long term policies pave the way out of this difficult situation, but short term goals are equally important. At this year's Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF) at COP21 in Paris, those drafts will become a major hit which will contain a long-term vision with a short-term goal and India needs to prove itself this time that it is thinking for some real, achievable targets. India is one of those countries which is vulnerable to climate change and is already witnessing the effects of global warming. Scorching heat with dangerous heat waves, floods and famines in different regions, fast melting of the Himalayan belt causing landslides and increase in water levels in the low line areas, are to name a few. Climate change has come up as the biggest threat to the health of the people. Those who are less fortunate are paying high price for climate change, many times with the lives of their dear ones and sometimes they too get defeated by it.

Achievable Targets India is in definite need of some achievable targets long term and short goals both are needed at this point of time. Everyone knows that it is with some small steps that we cover long journeys.

Short term goals are required especially to put a stop on air pollution as India's biggest and busiest cities are now topping the

list of most polluted cities, which is surely not a good sign. Some stronger steps are needed in this area like promoting the use of bicycle and use more of public transport as and when required. Also, there could be a check on the purchase of two-wheelers and fourwheelers. Industries must be checked and warned time to time regarding their emissions, and legal steps must be taken against them if they try to ignore the call.

Like our five year plans, there is a need for drafting a separate five-year plan for environment protection which must include some stronger measures that will be used to fight against climate change.

Our environment laws need a serious check too.

They must be reviewed after every five years and modified according to the present situation. Here in India, people are most of the time seen taking environment laws for granted and are used to by-passing them. Scientists have already warned the world that if the present speed of gas emissions is not stopped timely, the results will be disastrous and the temperature will be seen at its new high. Currently, India in the month of September is going through a scorching heat like it is felt in the months of May or June! The highest temperature recorded in the month of September is 40 degree Celsius which has broken all time records!

The G7 countries support a long-term emissions phase out, but the biggest countries have not taken a clear stance. Though the good news is that slowly

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and steadily the biggest and the most developed countries like U.S. and Germany are giving out some positive signs and statements in support of zero emissions and a carbonfree world. ndia must learn from other smaller countries how they are fighting climate change and cutting their dependency on carbon in order to achieve the ambitious zero emissions target. Recently, Masdar city of UAE was in the news because it has developed a fully clean energy powered city making good use of solar power.

India must study what measures it must have used regarding this and it's not a difficult thing for India because it is one of those countries which gets maximum sunlight round the year, almost in every season. It's sad that in spite of having such a good and stronger source of energy, its speed has been slow in adopting and promoting clean energy.

Importance Of Paris Talks This Year The world is eyeing on COP21, to be held this year in Paris, as there are some crucial decisions expected to be taken by the world leaders towards climate change and they will be showing their stand in support of zero emission policies. Still many big, giant countries are to show what is their call on the present climate change crisis and how much ready they are to fight with this global issue. Countries like Canada and New Zealand have boldly shown their full support towards zero emissions which is a big achievement. The recent statement of US President Mr.Obama has given a new hope to millions of green dreams. He said, "We refuse to surrender, the hope of a clean energy future to those who fear it and fight it." People of the countries are now expecting a clean power plan which could save their

health and future.

Paris talks this year will determine the position of the world and its true commitment to achieve energy independence from fossil fuels, freedom from carbon pollution. It is more important for India because it is going through a vulnerable phase right now. As quoted

by Deutsche Bank, "Investment in Solar power in India could surpass investment in coal within the next five years."

This is the reason why Prime Minister Modi calls Solar energy the ultimate solution for India's energy needs and there could be no better global platform than COP21 to let the world know about India's green commitments and to convince its own countrymen that the solutions are on their way. India being one of the highest emitters will have to cut its dependency on carbon and fossils in order to achieve its financial and environmental prosperity.

The Simple Yet Innovative Way Suicide Rates Are Being Reduced In These Villages Jitendra A World Health Organization (WHO) case study carried out in two Tamil Nadu villages shows the link between limited access to pesticides and the reduction in the number of suicides.

A WHO report based on the study says that the suicide rate in these two villages reduced after pesticides were kept in storerooms instead of individual houses. Pesticides are easily available in rural households where farmers use these poisonous chemicals to kill weeds and control pests A Notable Case The study was conducted in Kandamangalam and Kurungud, about five hours from Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai. In this area, the villagers' main source of income comes from cultivating flowers such as jasmine and firecracker. Farmers spray pesticides on the flowers every fortnight to ensure a bumper produce.

WHO started the study in 2010, and after a year, both the suicide rate as well as the attempt to suicide rate declined from 33 to 5 per 100,000 due to the limited availability of pesticides.

To prevent suicides, a central storage facility was constructed in these two villages where farmers were told to keep their pesticides.

Now, every family has its own wooden locker for storage. Farmers have access to storage boxes between 7am and 7pm daily. Two locals guard the building and maintain a register to keep a record of the boxes used.

Realising that the plan succeeded, villagers welcomed the intervention. The study reports a participant as saying: "Two months back, I consumed alcohol, went home and fought with my

wife. I became upset and wanted to consume pesticide. I was searching for it, but after some time, my wife reminded me that I won't find it at home, as it is kept in the central storage facility. I am alive today because of this facility."

Preventing Suicides The WHO report states that suicide is preventable and urges communities to adopt comprehensive and multi-sectoral prevention strategies, including restricting the access to suicide means.

According to the health agency, India has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world. In rural regions, poisoning accounts for four in 10 suicides due to swallowing of pesticides. The suicide rate is high in villages as the country has a large agriculture sector and 60 per cent of its population depends on farming for earning livelihood.

"This leads to many Indian farmers keeping their pesticide supply within easy access, for example by storing it in the family home. Pesticide ingestion is one of the most common methods of suicide globally," the study says.

Among Indian states, Tamil Nadu reports one of the highest rates of suicide.

In 2012, the rate of deaths resulting from suicide in the state stood at 24.9 per 100,000, higher than that year's estimated global average of 11.4 per 100,000.

WHO states that 75 percent of all global suicides occur in low and middle-income countries. Out of this, the contribution of South-East Asia alone is 40 percent.

Global Scenario An estimated 804,000 suicides were reported worldwide in 2012. Globally, suicide accounts for 50 percent of all violent deaths in men and 71 percent in women.

Suicide was the second leading cause of death among the age group of 1529.

Suicide rates are highest in people aged 70 or above for both men and women in almost all regions of the world. However, in some countries, suicide rates are highest among the youth.

Ingestion of pesticides, hanging and use of firearms are among the most common methods of suicide worldwide, but many other methods are also used, often varying according to local conditions.

An Aspirant Questions: Are Civil Servants Today Glorified Clerks Or Real Life Heroes?

Arati Nair As an aspiring civil servant, I have attended quite a few 'orientation sessions' with eminent speakers gushing with fervour about the IAS being the pinnacle of glory, a panacea for those who dream to serve the society. For an average middle-class Indian, the lure of a stable government job is too hard to resist; more so if the job proffers a load of perks and immense power. Perhaps the passion to pursue a career in the civil services is premised more on the elevated societal status it offers amidst commoners, than the drive to serve the country. That's usually the case in small town India, where the sheen of a lucrative corporate job pales in comparison to the 'collector' title.

However, the atmosphere of coaching classes that guide aspirants for the UPSC examination is quite different.

I remember a candid conversation with a few classmates (first-timers) about the true motivation of joining the services. The reasons ranged from the truly heart-touching- "I work part-time delivering newspapers. There are many lesser fortunate ones in my neighbourhood who have become full-time rag-pickers instead. I am a hero in their midst and can do much more if I become part of the services. Perhaps offer them education?"- to the bizarrely naive- "What's more heady than being an IPS officer, travelling in an AC car with a peg of the

most expensive scotch in hand?"

One may also wish to delve into the psyche of serving officers to analyse the spectrum of varying motives amongst them; their actions while on duty could offer an interesting insight.

An Army of Black Sheep Rishi Raj Singh IPS has had a hard time traversing the long winding political minefield in Kerala. Almost emulating those filmy super cops, his tough act against CD piracy, road safety, power theft and now a reluctance to salute the state home minister have all endeared him to the masses. For the general populace, he's a rare ray of hope, defying stereotypes and fighting corruption, devoid of all sycophancy for the ruling politicians.

While the executive is embroiled in a systemic hierarchical power struggle, the common man celebrates even symbolic flashes of bravado.

Singh belongs to that dwindling breed of Indian civil servants whose temerity and determination, while discharging their duty, restores our faith in the prized bureaucracy.

In Uttar Pradesh, Amitabh Thakur, another IPS officer facing fire for filing a case against the Samajwadi Party supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who threatened him, opines that the biggest obvious hurdle before officers who want to expose graft or corruption is the service rules. In an interview, he admitted that with the RTI Act in operation and a law to protect

whistleblowers on the anvil, the situation demands that service rules be modified to allow government servants to interact through an open medium regarding the illegal acts and orders of senior officers and ministers.

The list of officers like him who exposed the powerful political class for corruption, crony capitalism, misappropriation and pilfering of public funds is endless.

Ashok Khemka, Durga Shakti Nagpal and D.K. Ravihave all faced flak for challenging their political bosses. The sheer disruption of Mr. Khemka's life would give most civil services aspirants the chills, with a staggering number of 45 transfers in a career spanning 23 years, roughly two transfers per annum.

While many like him are bounced about from one inconsequential department to the next, some have even paid with their lives.

Like Narendra Kumar.

A CBI probe failed to establish the nexus between the mining mafia and the death of Mr. Kumar, who was brutally crushed under a tractor. What the state can do to safeguard the latest brand of proactive officers from such 'mishaps' remains to be seen.

Our Bureaucracy in Turmoil The myriad ills that plague our civil services have largely remained unchanged over the years.

That the covetous 'Steel Frame of India' is hamstrung by political patronage has been widely accepted too. The rigid work routine, lacking flexibility in decision making, often leaves many young officers, recruited to the higher services, cynical. A skewed incentive system, which fails to appreciate upright civil servants, but handsomely rewards the corrupt and subservient ones, erodes the morale of honest officers. The Weberian bureaucratic model on which our system is based, provides for career growth through technical excellence in the field of duty.

But, the rising instances of favouritism during promotion and the evident snub to deserving candidates, highlight the festering malaise of discrimination in the services.

But not all instances of misdemeanour stem from

political interventions. The disproportionate assetsstashed away by the IAS couple, Arvind and Tinoo Joshi, are testament to the personal greed and direct involvement of certain civil servants in corruption cases.

Opacity in Appointments For appointment to high offices, the centre handpicks secretaries from a list of eligible candidates, the criteria for which is not available in the public domain. It is therefore assumed, that compliant officers are given plum postings by the government, even though they may have proved their mettle during a long tenure in office. Political acquiescence precedes merit here, or so it seems. More recently, the delay in appointing the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Chief Information Commissioner, the curtailment of service of the former foreign secretary etc. were all perceived as exercises in political overreach. A transparent appointment process can serve to remove such discrepancies.

Remedies at Hand To address the ethical lacunae in the services, an attempt to instil a modicum of integrity at the nascent stage itself was made through an additional paper on 'Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude' in the UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination from 2013. Introduced just two years ago, this paper tests a candidate's moral commitment and understanding of institu-

tional practices through detailed case study questions.

An important first step was the much-touted directive of the Supreme Court to set up Civil Service Boards in each state to insulate civil services from political interference. Sadly, states accounting for 87 percent of the civil servants in India have failed to do so. No follow up action was taken to gauge the compliance of the court order. New ideas such as, greater scope for lateral entry to the services to check complacency among officers, make them more competent and foreign training for bureaucrats, to keep them at par with international standards of service delivery, are being floated in a bid to reinforce the 'steel frame'. A consensus from the politicians is also needed to ensure the smooth implementation of any of such reformatory measures. A facilitating politician can work wonders for a bureaucracy in suspended animation.

So, Is All The Power Struggle Worthwhile?

The journey till the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration is fraught with struggle, hard work and sheer willpower, a ticket to which is cracking one of the toughest exams in the country. To an outsider, the ultimate destination is the training academy, but once you leave the prestigious institute, the rose-tinted spectacles come off. Gone are the dreamy visions of AC cars and spreading

goodwill. Instead, there's paper-pushing and being an obedient pawn in the grand scheme of things. As one of my friends jokingly remarked, "All that ceaseless determination to become a glorified clerk."

However, the flickering hope for aspirants like me is the inspiring tale of officers like Rishi Raj Singh, Durga Shakti Nagpal and Ashok Khemka. These are individuals who refused to bow down or compromise their scruples and lived to tell the tale. They are the real achievers, who've not relinquished their spirit, but donned it as an armour to establish what they set out to do.

Or another silent group, which works relentlessly like clockwork, to usher in change at the grassroot of levels. From Operation Sulaimani to Student Police Cadet Project, they've calmly improved lives, unscrewing the nuts and bolts of a rigid social structure, feeding empty stomachs, nurturing the younger generation and wiping a tear or two from tired eyes that usually go unnoticed. No matter how jaded the circumstances, when a humble IPS officer, P Vijayan wins the Indian Of The Year Award (2014), beating the likes of Salman Khan and Sania Mirza, or when the vindicated bureaucrat, turned whistleblower, Sanjiv Chaturvedi bags this year's Magsaysay Award, we can applaud the victory of grit and determination even in these times of despondence.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

BUSINESS

PAGE 10

Stanchart readjusts FY16 CAD forecast Foreign investors pull out Rs 4,600 Cr from capital to 1.5% from 1.1% of GDP New Delhi, Sep 20: Lower commodity prices are unlikely to narrow India's current account deficit, Standard Chartered has said, while revising its CAD forecast for the fiscal to 1.5 per cent from 1.1 per cent of GDP earlier. According to the global financial services major, the positive impact of lower commodity prices are likely to be offset by a slowing export volumes due to weak glo-

bal demand and the continued gradual recovery in the economy. "We revise our FY16 CAD deficit forecast to 1.5 per cent of GDP from 1.1 per cent, despite lower commodity prices," Standard Chartered said in a research note adding that "weaker external demand and risk appetite to weigh on trade deficit, capital flows". For the first quarter ended June 30, CAD narrowed to 1.2 per cent of

markets in September

GDP at $6.2 billion following contraction in trade deficit and higher earnings from services exports. The global brokerage firm has also revised down its fiscal year 2015-2016 balance-ofpayments (BoP) surplus forecast to $31.7 billion from $48.5 billion to reflect a wider current account deficit and lower capital flows. Standard Chartered expects capital inflows of $64 billion in this financial

Narrower CAD Despite Lower Commodity Prices Lower commodity prices are unlikely to narrow India's current account deficit, Standard Chartered has said, while revising its CAD forecast for the fiscal to 1.5 per cent from 1.1 per cent of GDP earlier According to the global financial services major, the positive impact of lower commodity prices are likely to be offset by a slowing export volumes due to weak global demand and the continued gradual recovery in the economy For the first quarter ended June 30, CAD narrowed to 1.2 per cent of GDP at $6.2 billion following contraction in trade deficit and higher earnings from services exports The global brokerage firm has also revised down its fiscal year 2015-2016 balance-of-payments (BoP) surplus forecast to $31.7 billion from $48.5 billion to reflect a wider current account deficit and lower capital flows Standard Chartered expects capital inflows of $64 billion in this financial year, down from its previous estimate of $75 billion, as "weak risk appetite is likely to keep portfolio inflows sluggish" Portfolio inflows are likely to remain muted this fiscal year as investors are likely to stay away from riskier assets amid the current risk-averse environment

Hotel Leelaventure to sell Goa property for Rs 725 Cr Mumbai, Sep 20: Hotel Leelaventure Ltd has agreed to sell a hotel in Goa to a Malaysian company for Rs 725 crore ($111 million) as the luxury hotels operator strives to cut its debt. Leelaventure will sell the 206-room hotel to a unit of M e t Tu b e S d n B h d but will continue to manage it under a contract, it said in a statement late on Saturday. Leelaventure expects the deal, which it said was the biggest single asset acquisition in India's hospitality sector, to close by end-December. The Goa hotel accounted for 15 per cent of its total income for the last financial year to March 31. (Agencies)

year, down from its previous estimate of $75 billion, as "weak risk appetite is likely to keep portfolio inflows sluggish". Portfolio inflows are likely to remain muted this fiscal year as investors are likely to stay away from riskier assets amid the current riskaverse environment. "We lower our forecast for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows to $5 billion from $30 billion," the report said adding that dur-

ing the first five months of this fiscal year portfolio investors have withdrawn $3 billion from India's equity and debt markets. Portfolio flows accounted for close to 70 per cent of capital inflows to India in fiscal year 2015. However, the composition of inflows is likely to improve in this financial year as more stable FDI flows and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits stay robust, the report added.

(Agencies)

Sun Pharma to sell Ranbaxy's two CNS units to Strides Arcolab for Rs 165 crore

New Delhi, Sep 20: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is selling erstwhile Ranbaxy's two divisions in central nervous system (CNS) segment in India to Strides Arcolab for Rs 165 crore. "Sun Pharma and Strides have entered into a definitive agreement related to erstwhile Ranbaxy's 'Solus' and 'Solus Care' divisions operating in the central nervous system (CNS) segment in India", the company said in a statement. "The agreement involves transfer of these two

marketing divisions, along with employees to Strides for a consideration of Rs 165 crore", it added. Commenting on the development, Sun Pharma CEO India Business Abhay Gandhi said: "The agreement with Strides is part of our strategy to firmly consolidate our CNS business in India." "Post successful completion of Ranbaxy's merger, Sun had an opportunity to assess the entire portfolio of its India Business", he added. "We have evaluated each and every

therapy segment that we are present in and how these businesses can grow going forward. Based on this evaluation, we firmly believe that the potential of Solus and Solus Care divisions can be greatly enhanced with the focus that Strides will put in growing them. The divestment will help these divisions, its customers and the team," Gandhi said. Strides India President (Brands) Subroto Banerjee said, "The acquisition of Solus and Solus Care divisions is of strate-

gic significance to the growth of the company's branded business in India".

"The rich product portfolio and capable teams of these two divisions will help us establish a strong footing in the fast growing CNS market of India," he said, adding the product portfolio of Strides and these divisions will strategically complement each other very well.

"The speciality nature of CNS products makes brand equity and customer relationships, key determinants of success. The Solus and Solus Care divisions readily qualify for both these parameters," Banerjee said.

Sun Pharma said as per IMS July 2015 MAT report, all the products of these two divisions together accounted for approximately Rs 92 crore in sales. The transaction is subject to approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other customary closing conditions while all other terms and conditions of the transaction are kept confidential. Earlier this month Sun Pharma had announced plans to sell a manufacturing facility in Ireland that was owned by Ranbaxyas part of its rationalisation programme post completion of their $4 billion merger. (Agencies)

India to lose British Telecom call centres set up in the country Complaints of poor customer service to blame ET Bureau London, Sep 20: Telecom giant British Telecom has announced plans to shut down its call centres in India to bring them back to Britain following complaints of poor customer service.

The UK's flagship telecom giant, which has used call centres in Delhi

and Bangalore, has said that more than 80% of calls will be answered in the UK by the end of 2016, and that it will go further in years to come.

"Our customers have told us that they would prefer to speak to a contact centre in the UK when they call us," explained John Petter, chief executive of

BT Consumer. "When we launched BT Mobile earlier this year we located customer service in the UK and our customers have valued that. We think doing this for our other products is one way in which we can boost the service that we offer customers. Our offshore partners have provided a

Taking Them Back British Telecom has announced plans to shut down its call centres in India to bring them back to Britain following complaints of poor customer service More than 80% of calls will be answered in the UK by the end of 2016, and that it will go further in years to come When BT Mobile was launched earlier this year customer service was located in the UK and the customers have valued that BT is planning to do the same for their other products and they are hoping to boost the service that they offer in this manner Currently half of BT's customer calls are dealt with at centres in the UK The firm will continue to outsource back-office work and functions that do not involve frontline work of taking customers' calls offshore and those jobs will most likely stay in India Telecom customers have long complained of poor customer service with staff unable to sort out basic problems Nearly half of those surveyed by the organisation said they were irritated by call centres not being based in the UK

good level of service, however we believe that now is the right time to commit more investment to the UK and that this is something customers will appreciate," he said.

Since 2003, the firm, which has more than 10 million customers in the UK, has used call centres in Bangalore and Delhi to supplement its UK operations, according to the 'Guardian'. Currently half of BT's customer calls are dealt with at centres in the UK. The firm will continue to outsource back-office work and functions that do not involve frontline work of taking customers' calls offshore and those jobs will most likely stay in India. BT said it has already created more than 1,000 new UK jobs to meet this commitment,

and plans to create "hundreds of other customer call centre positions in the UK over the next year". The company has 20 contact centres in the UK from Wales and Cornwall to the Midlands and Scotland. Telecom customers have long complained of poor customer service with staff unable to sort out basic problems. BT has said it has also invested in new systems to assist its advisers and improve customer services. Last week the consumer group Which? reported that not being able to ring a call centre based in the UK was the nation s biggest customer service bugbear.

Nearly half of those surveyed by the organisation said they were irritated by call centres not being based in the UK.

New Delhi, Sep 20: Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 4,600 crore from the capital markets since the beginning of this month primarily on account of various global and domestic factors. Outflows are unlikely to continue as the Federal Reserve maintained status quo on interest rate, which may give the Reserve Bank of India some headroom to lower its key lending rate, according to some analysts. The latest pull-out follows a record

net outflow of Rs 17,428 crore from equities last month. That was the highest net outflow by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in a single month since 1997.

The segregated data prior to 1997 was not available.

FPIs have withdrawn a net of Rs 3,560 crore from equities, while they pulled out Rs 1,050 crore from the debt markets during September 1-18, taking the total to Rs 4,610 crore ($695 million), depositories data for this month showed.

Market experts attributed the huge outflows to sustained global risk-off trend along with concerns over economic slowdown in China and currency devaluation by the world's most populated country. Besides, China's weak PMI and lower GDP growth dampened sentiment in India.

Since the beginning of the year, FPIs have made a net investment of Rs 23,961 crore in equities and Rs 37,654 crore in debt markets. (Agencies)

BSE eyes 10 times faster trading speed in few months Hong Kong, Sep 20: Leading stock exchange BSE expects the speed of trade on its platform to rise to 20 micro seconds in the next few months, from 200 micro seconds currently. With trading speed touching 20 micro seconds, the BSE would also become the top three fastest stock exchanges in the world, its Managing Director & CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said. “BSE’s high speed BOLT PLUS system is already the fastest trading platform in the country with a response time of 200 micro seconds for trade executed on it. We will take it to 20 micro seconds in the next few months,” Chauhan told PTI. He is here to attend the global investors’ meetings addressed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Increasing the trading speed to 20 micro seconds will “put the Indian stock market on the global map and the BSE will become one of the top three fastest stock exchanges in the world”, Chauhan said. The high speed or algorithmic trading refers to orders on

bourses that are generated using high-frequency and automated execution logic. In late 2013, the BSE had upgraded its technology platform to BOLT PLUS, which is based on the global giant Deutsche Boerse’s trading architecture. More than 900 brokers with over 1,00,000 branches and millions of retail investors are on the BOLT PLUS system. Global investors are looking at India for

potential growth opportunities and over a period of time, foreign institutional investors have been showing increased interest in the Indian market. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is making efforts to increase retail participation in the Indian stock market — which has given returns of more than 15 per cent compounded rate year after year on a long-term basis. (Agencies)

IIT-M alumnus arrested for cheating 300 depositors of Rs 40 crore through finance firm Chennai, Sep 20: Sleuths of the economic offences wing on Friday arrested the owner of the infamous Subhiksha supermarket chain in Hyderabad for cheating more than 300 depositors of Rs 40 crore through Viswapriya Financial Services Pvt Ltd. Police, who had been hunting for R Subramanian across four states over two months, finally zeroed in on him in Hyderabad after the Madras high court rejected his anticipatory bail petition. Additional director general of police, EOW-CID, Prateep V Philip said, "After immense efforts, we managed sto nab him." He was produced before the TNPID Court in Chennai which remanded him in judicial custody. Subramanian had disappeared from his office in Chinna Neelankarai on August 6 and went underground after the Madras high court dismissed his writ petitions. Police raided his house and

seized four cars, including an Audi, worth Rs 1.5 crore. All his 40 bank accounts were frozen. Investigators said Subramanian, a gold medallist from IIT Madras, passed out from the famous institution in 1987 and from IIM Ahmedabad in 1989. After a short stint with Citibank in Mumbai and Enfield India, he launched Viswapriya Financial Services Pvt Ltd in 1991 with headquarters in Adyar.

Over the years, Subramanian floated 48 other firms, appointing some of his loyal employees as managing directors and directors. "He used novel ways to cheat people and has been evading arrest since 2013 when we registered a case against him," the officer said. Police said more than 4,000 depositors had lost a total of Rs 1200 crore in several of his fraudulent schemes.

"We invite more people to come forward with details of their deposits to retrieve

their money," said Philip.

So far 300 complaints has been received. Investigators said he collected money from the public under various schemes, including fixed deposit schemes and debenture schemes with such titles as prime invest, liquid plus and safety plus. Seven others, including Balasubramani, 55, Ganesan, 45, Augustine, 48, and Ram Mohan, 52, have been arrested so far.

Ram Mohan and Ganesan, a vocalist, were directors of Viswapriya Financial Services Pvt Ltd. Ganesan left the company five years ago.

Eleven civil cases, involving a sum of around Rs 400 crore, are pending against Subramanian. He also faces four criminal cases, including one filed

by Bank of Baroda with CBI. Subramanian founded Subhiksha in 1997 with a total investment of around Rs 1,200 crore. (Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Features

Page 11

ENVIRONMENT 1m-yr-old monkey fossil discovered in underwater cave A team of scientists has recently discovered a species of monkey fossil that has dated to be more than one million years old. The discovery was made after the team recovered a fossil tibia (shin bone) belonging to the species of extinct monkey Antillothrix bernensis from an underwater cave in Altagracia Province, Dominican Republic. The spe-

cies was roughly the size of a small cat, dwelled in trees and lived largely on a diet of fruits and leaves. Researcher Melissa Tallman said that they knew that there is a diverse extinct fauna on the Caribbean Islands, but dating the material has been difficult.

Tallman added that Antillothrix bernensis is one of two species of extinct

primate on Hispaniola. Previously discovered primate material has all been dated to within the last 10,000 years. This new material is morphologically consistent with the previously collected material, but is dated to 1.3 million years ago."

The fossil was embedded in a limestone rock that was dated using the Uraniumseries technique. Tallman, along with Andrea Morrow, '14, used three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to confirm that the fossil tibia did belong to Antillothrix bernensis.

This process helped them reconstruct how the small primate might have moved about in its environment and allowed the comparison of relatively young examples of Antillothrix bones to the newly discovered million-year-old specimens. The research appears in Journal of Human Evolution. (ANI)

NASA sees 1 metre sea level rise ahead NASA has recently revealed that sea levels will rise by a metre over the next 100 to 200 years as satellite images show large sections of Greenland and Antarctica are vanishing at a much faster rate than previously thought. Experts fear a Queensland-sized ice sheet is melting so quickly it will cause massive storm surges capable of decimating Australia's coastal cities within the next century, a report said. Dr. Steve Rintoul from the CSIRO said that if the NASA predictions prove true, Australia could expect more devastating flash floods similar to the one suffered by Brisbane four years ago. He added that as the average sea level rose, so did the risk of destructive storm surges as the frequency and severity of coastal flooding increases and those floods are more serious as the av-

erage sea level rises. Since 1992, the world's oceans have risen by almost 8cm and in some places by as much as 23cm. Most of this extra water has come from melting ice and glaciers.

According to NASA, the Greenland ice sheet has caused the most concern, shedding around 303 gigatons of ice a year over

the past decade. The Antarctic ice sheet has lost an average of 118 gigatons a year. In a bid to prepare the world for this impending doom, NASA has embarked on a new Oceans Melting Greenland mission that will map the entire 1.7 million sq km ice sheet, which is the size of Queensland. (ANI)

Lakhan Teron: Saving the Wild Azam Siddiqui, Videographer and Animal Activist Lakhan Teron, 49, is a grassroot naturalist who hails from the Chakradeo village which lies sandwiched between the only Ramsar site wetland of Assam - Deepor Beel on and a fast vanishing critically forest range called Rani Garbhanga. Teron who has no formal knowledge of ecology is the most valued resource person to the press, media, researchers, filmmakers, students and scholars of a wide ranging field from Botany to Zoology to animal welfare who have been reaching out to him for several years now, not just from northeast India but across the world.

Over the past 26 years, he has become well versed in interpreting animal behavior and has acquired knowledge of the rare medicinal and aromatic plant species in the 43.7 square km forest. A knowledge that he derived not from any college or university but which he inherited from his forefathers and through his passion for conservation observing and learning from the biologists and zoologists who visit this area.

An ordinary farmer, Teron works in the fields to look after his family of five and sustains passion which he funds solely from his earnings as a farmer. He has been instrumental in convincing residents of a number of villages both inside and on the fringes of this forest to stop poaching birds and wild animals.

Teron has been working to the best within his capacity to alert the authorities and NGOs concerned during Elephant herd movement around railway tracks. His vigilant eyes and actions have been able to save many of these gentle giants from being massacred by the steel monsters.

Trekking With Teron It is almost impossible for any wildlife enthusiast to trek through the dense Rani

reserve forest near the Assam capital without Lakhan Teron's guidance.

Teron has been organising day long treks for students and environment enthusiasts inside the forest. He does not charge any money for these treks. Instead it is the joy that he sees in the eyes of these students which is much more rewarding than money, that is what Teron believes.

I did accompany him in several of these treks, the most enchanting being the trek that leads up to the majestic Thiopani falls cradled in the AssamMeghalaya border deep inside the jungles.

Thiopani Falls This trek passes through Sattargaon, Assam's last forest village on the AssamMeghalaya border in the Rani Garbhanga forest.

This odd hamlet of around 40 families holds a unique importance from the wildlife conservation point.

Despite facing regular human animal conflict In the past the villagers of Sattargaon have displayed a model of compassion by their noble actions such as attending to injured elephants from train accidents and acting as a messiah in the absence of forest department or veterinary care. On reaching the village one can also request to share a meal with the villagers, listen to their wild experiences with nature, get to taste fresh brew

Oldest Fossil Sea Turtle Found Scientists at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt have described the world's oldest fossil sea turtle known to date. The fossilized reptile is at least 120 million years old - which makes it about 25 million years older than the previously known oldest specimen. The almost completely preserved skeleton from the Cretaceous, with a length of nearly 2 meters, shows all of the characteristic traits of modern marine turtles. The study was published in the scientific journal PaleoBios. "Santanachelys gaffneyi is the oldest known sea turtle" - this sentence from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is no longer up-to-date. "We described a fossil sea turtle from Colombia that is about 25 million years older," said Dr. Edwin Cadena, a scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation at the Senckenberg Research Institute. Cadena made the unusual discovery together with his colleague from the US, J. Parham of California State University, Fullerton. "The turtle described by us as Desmatochelys padillai sp. originates from

Cretaceous sediments and is at least 120 million years old," says Cadena. Sea turtles descended from terrestrial and freshwater turtles that arose approximately 230 million years ago. During the Cretaceous period, they split into land and sea dwellers. Fossil evidence from this time period is very sparse, however, and the exact time of the split is difficult to verify. "This lends a special importance

to every fossil discovery that can contribute to clarifying the phylogeny of the sea turtles," explains the turtle expert from Columbia. The fossilized turtle shells and bones come from two sites near the community of Villa de Leyva in Colombia. The fossilized remains of the ancient reptiles were discovered and collected by hobby paleontologist Mary Luz Parra and her brothers Juan and Freddy Parra in the year

2007. Since then, they have been stored in the collections of the "Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas" in Villa Leyva and the "University of California Museum of Paleontology." Cadena and his colleague examined the almost complete skeleton, four additional skulls and two partially preserved shells, and they placed the fossils in the turtle group Chelonioidea, based on

various morphological characteristics. Turtles in this group dwell in tropical and subtropical oceans; among their representatives are the modern Hawksbill Turtle and the Green Sea Turtle of turtle soup fame. "Based on the animals' morphology and the sediments they were found in, we are certain that we are indeed dealing with the oldest known fossil sea turtle," adds Cadena in summary. (Agencies)

of rice liquor that is served with love. Several young unemployed youth in this wilderness, after being inspired from Teron have volunteered to become field guides and are doing pretty well.

Field Work with Teron Teron has been working on awareness camps assisting research scholars of Botany and Zoology from premier institutions. Many students from as far as the Delhi University, Canada, Australia and the UK have worked with him. He has been teaching the values of the local medicinal and aromatic plants to college and university students.

Many a times colleges also invite him for interactions.

Teron's love for birding draws bird enthusiasts to him who spend time with him understanding the migratory and exotic birds of this region. In 2011, Teron accompanied and assisted world renowned herpetologist Romulus Whitaker and acclaimed wildlife cinematographer Robin Smith in 2010 for research on snakes and other reptiles. Teron also ensured that all the amphibians and reptiles that were captured for observation were later safely released back to their respective places.

The Community and Teron A critical component of habitat conservation is education with local people living near these natural re-

sources, as well as people who may visit nature reserves or buy items derived from reserves. Unlike some nature reserves in Assam that have been used sustainably by local people for countless generations.

Deepor Beel-Rani Garbhanga forest habitat is considered to be too fragile for even minimal use.

Teron has been quite instrumental in educating the villagers and communities here in finding them alternative economic livelihood opportunities that foster and promote community and cultural pride. Everyone is encouraged to work together to better understand their natural resources and spread pride in them throughout their community .

His commitment towards the environment and sustainable use of the medicinal and aromatic plants of the area has motivated the Assam Forest Department to come up with a model medicinal plantation project right adjacent to his house. Teron says this was an initiative he was very much looking forward to as it involved the local community directly. But the lack of willpower and negligence of the department sadly is robbing this ambitious project of its basic upkeep which is in dire straits now.

Teron has tied up with a friend to supply solar lanterns at a discount and is trying to raise funds for vil-

lage Sattargaon that does not have electricity. Teron says that his priority are those households which have young children, so that these students can study at night.

Livestock farming is a fact of life here and Teron is also trying to popularize the concept of animal welfare and encourage the villagers to accept it through various ways and channels.

For example to pay back for the generosity of the villagers of Sattargaon in assisting a paralysed elephant that had to be euthanized eventually, Teron helped organise a free animal health check up cum vaccination camp in Sattargaon for the livestock and cattle of the community last year with the assistance from veterinarians of JBFGuwahati an animal care organization.

Fighting a Losing Battle The continuing greed of urban development is causing tremendous pressure to the Deepor beel- Rani Garbhanga forests. Deforestation has accelerated by many folds in this area. Massive stone/earth quarrying (both authorized by the Government and illegal ones) are bringing the hills down.

Land grabbing and constructional activities have wiped out the existing elephant corridors. The high speed broad gauge railway line that was constructed dividing the forests and the Deepor Beel have killed over 30 elephants so far.

Municipal solid waste dumping by the authorities has poisoned the aquatic life of Deepor Beel and slowly choking the wetland, migratory birds are less frequenting this wetland, aquatic plants are being forced into extinction, timber, wildlife and medicinal plant smugglers are at work 24×7.

At this rate Deepor Beel is soon going to lose the status of a Ramsar site wetland.

All this and more are reasons which sadden Lakhan Teron as he continues his crusade against all odds.

(Agencies)

Threat haunts Meghalaya's Orchids Meghalaya, which is home to one third of 1,331 orchid species in India, should consider declaring at least 20 forests as "biotype sanctuaries" if it has to protect and conserve the exotic flowering plant species which are facing habitat loss and human exploitation, biologists and orchid experts have pointed out.

Many of the orchid species are present in Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in the Garo Hills, four Wildlife sanctuaries, reserved forests and over 125 sacred groves all over the state. However, there is an urgent need to expand the protected area network as these plants fail to withstand habitat destruction pressures because of their habitat specificity and slow growth. "Areas which have comparatively undisturbed rich forests may be declared as bio-type sanctuaries or bench mark sites to prevent further habitat loss and human exploitation," Dr C S Rao said. He says that there are at least 11 such orchid-rich forests in East Khasi Hills district alone including Upper Shillong,

Mawphlang and Sohra.

Jowai, Jarain, Tuber, Mukhaialong, Narpuh, and Raliang in East and West Jaintia Hills hills districts and Tura peak, Nokrek, Baghmara and Rongrenggre in the Garo Hills were some of such undisturbed areas providing habitat for wild Orchids, he said. Dr Rao, a lecturer in a renowned college here, had also listed the endangered orchid species in his recently published pictorial guide book, which he co-authored with

Dr S K Singh, a scientist at the city-based Botanical Survey of India. Meghalaya Diversity Board secretary D Sathiyan said the forest department of the state had already taken up protection and preservation of some of the endemic species like the carnivorous pitcher plant.

Even as there is no such plan to develop and conserve orchid-rich forests, Sathiyan says the board is likely to take into consideration other diverse life forms in these forests.

(Agencies)

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"We deserved it for the way we played in the first half and the way we were fighting in the second half, but this was a different game to the ones at the Emirates or Anfield.

This was much harder."

Slaven Bilic West Ham Manager

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

RNIASSENG00425/TC

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GHSS defeats Kothin FC, NERCORMP wins Dhoni returns to lead India in Thansen Wangchadong Memorial Football Tournament Khonsa, Nehru Studium ET Correspondent Khonsa, Sep 20: In today's first match of the Thansen Wangchadong memorial football tournament, 2015 GHSS (Govt Higher Secondary School, Khonsa) defeated All Kothin FC 20 at the Nehru Stadium here. In another match played between NERCORMP FC and Old Bunting FC, the former trashed Old Bunting FC 6-0. A. Athikho Luke of NERCORMP FC scored a hat-trick for his team.

Altogether, 29 teams

participated in the tourn a m e n t . Ye s t e r d a y, Demoli FC defeated Dadam FC in a penalty shootout.

The tournament was sponsored by Shri W. Lowangdong, Minister of WCD, Tribal Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment and DoTCL and Family.

T o m o r r o w , Hakhunthung FC will lock horns with Upper Chinkoi; 1 pm while the other match would be played between Bazaar FC and Lower Chinkoi 3 pm.

Today’s Results

Tomorrow’s Matches

GHSS (Govt Higher Secondary School, Khonsa) defeated All Kothin FC 2-0

Hakhunthung FC Vs Upper Chinkoi 1 pm

NERCORMP FC trashed Old Bunting FC 6-0

Bazaar FC Vs Lower Chinkoi 3 pm

T20s, ODIs against South Africa Gurkeerat earns surprise call-up while S. Aravind was picked for the T20 internationals.

The 15-member team for the T20 series

Squad for the first three ODIs Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

Bengaluru, Sept. 20 (ANI): Limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has returned to the international fold after a three-month break as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 home series and first three ODIs against South Africa here on Sunday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, S Aravind.

The Sandeep Patil-led selection committee said that they had not contemplated any change in the captaincy, with Dhoni returning to lead the T20 and ODI squads from October 2. Ace off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been retained for T20 internationals, while Ravindra Jadeja was ignored once again. Mean-

while, uncapped allrounder Gurkeerat Singh was selected for the first three one-day internationals, while S. Aravind was picked for the T20 internationals.

The 72-day Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela bilateral series comprises of three Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and four Tests.

Korea Open : Ajay Jayaram loses final, settles for Silver at Korea Open Super series

Davis Cup: Yuki loses; Czech Republic seal world group spot New Delhi: A profligate Yuki Bhambri missed chances galore in a tame defeat against World number 40 Jiri Vesley as India lost the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against top seeds Czech Republic 1-3, in New Delhi, on Sunday. The Delhi boy's 3-6, 5-7, 2-6 defeat in sweltering heat in the must-win fourth rubber means that India will remain in the Asia'Oceania Group 1 for next year's competition while the top seeds and three-time Champions Czech Republic regained their place in the elite-16 nation World Group. India needed Yuki to win to remain alive in the tie but the 23-yearold today lacked the required fighting spirit despite that the hot and humid conditions were bothering the lefthander. Yuki lost both his matches here over the weekend after playing an excellent tie against New Zealand in July when he won both the matches, including the deciding fifth one that helped India reach the Play-off stage.

The doubles loss for the fancied Leander Paes and Rohan

Bopanna also hurt India's chances in the tie. Since the fate of the two teams was sealed, the two teams decided not to play the dead fifth rubber between Somdev Devvarman and Lukas Rosol.

India were trying to re-enter the World Group for the first time since March 2011 when they had lost to Serbia 1-4 in the first round. After losing the first set, Yuki got five chances to break Vesley in the second but he could convert none. Not being able to convert three chances in the eighth game proved suicidal as one break could have turned the tide under challenging conditions. Vesley dictated the terms in the two hour and 14 minute contest as he played the entire match on Yuki's backhand. And he served strong to wriggle out of a few tough situations. The key to Vesley's success was that he played with lot of control. He committed only three unforced errors in the opening set and was rewarded with his first ever win in live singles rubber in Davis Cup. Vesley played a lot of points

Yuki Bhambri reacts after losing a point on Yuki's backhand to begin with and persisted with the strategy. He also improved his serve as the match wore on and set Yuki up for easy winners. The Indian made a better start than his first match but a flurry of errors pegged him back in the fourth game of the opening set. He lost four straight points to be broken at love and Vesley held the next for a 4-1 cushion. Yuki could not find a way to negate the strategy Vesley adopted. The Indian was in danger of los-

ing serve again in the sixth as Vesley smashed past Yuki for a winner to earn a break chance when he approached the net after picking a halfvolley but could position himself well, leaving the court open. However, he saved it with a forehand winner. The break stayed with Vesley and the tall Czech closed the set in his favour without fuss.

Vesley's unreachable drop shot gave him two set points and he converted first when Yuki made forehand error.

After saving a break point in the very first game of the second set, Yuki had chances to grab a break from Vesley in the second and fourth games but each time Vesley came up with solid serves to stay away from danger. Yuki served the fifth at love and Vesley responded with an equally good game in the next, firing three aces for a 3-3 scoreline.

Under a scorching sun and egged on by thousands of supporters, Yuki got enough chances to break Vesley in the eighth game but all three went abegging. Vesley committed his second doublefaulted at 15-30 to hand Yuki two chances. Yuki had enough space to hit a pass winner but missed on first chance by a big margin. The Czech saved second with solid serve and later a third too. At 5-5 Yuki, Yuki lost his serve, thanks to consecutive backhand errors. The third set was reduced to formality as India lost a brilliant chance to capitalise on home conditions and absence of world number five Tomas Berdych. (Agencies)

Ajay Jayaram seen in action Seoul, Sept. 20 (ANI): Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram had to settle for silver after suffering a straight set defeat against world number one Chen Long in the final of the Korea Open Superseries on Sunday. Jayaram, who displayed a spirited performance throughout the tournament, was beaten 14-21, 13-21 against Long of China in the summit clash that

Chelsea beat Arsenal in scrappy London derby, City shocked by West Ham London: Chelsea ended their slump with a win over Arsenal while seemingly invincible Manchester City lost their 100 per cent record to West Ham United on a day of contrasting fortunes for the Premier League title favourites. Chelsea, who had won one of their opening five league matches, beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in a feisty London derby that saw Arsenal finish with nine men after Gabriel and Santi Cazorla were sent off. Any dreams Arsenal may have had of winning at Chelsea for the first time for four years were ended when Kurt Zouma, 20, who replaced dropped 34-year-old skipper John Terry, headed Chelsea ahead after 53 minutes with his first goal for the club. Eden Hazard then scored his first

of the season to make it 2-0 in stoppage time. City, playing in the day's late game, had a chance to maintain their 11-point lead over the champions, but West Ham had other ideas and ended City's run of five straight wins since the start of the season with their shock win.

Victor Moses fired in a 20metre drive after six minutes and they doubled their lead when Diafra Sakho scrambled home after 31 minutes. City, who were beaten 2-1 at home by Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday, hit back just before halftime when Kevin de Bruyne, who joined City for 55 million pounds ($85.44 million) from Wolfsburg last month, scored his first goal for the club on his first start. Although City laid siege to the

West Ham goal for almost the entire second half and had over 27 goal attempts, West Ham survived for their first away win at City since April 2003. City still top the table with 15 points, with West Ham and Leicester City on 12, and Manchester United and Arsenal on 10.

Chelsea are 13th with seven.

Bilic said: "We deserved it for the way we played in the first half and the way we were fighting in the second half, but this was a different game to the ones at the Emirates or Anfield. This was much harder." City boss Manuel Pellegrini, whose team lost for the second time at home in five days, said, "This is football. You need to score to win.We let in two easy goals and we must be more concentrated. We had so many attempts but did not

score. We were too rushed in the second half but when you go two goals down you play like that." West Ham won 2-1 at the Etihad to become the first team not only to beat City in the league but also to score against them this season and have now won at Arsenal, Liverpool and City in their first six matches. In the day's other games Leicester, who were second at the start of the day, slipped back to third after drawing 2-2 at Stoke City although they preserved their unbeaten record after trailing 2-0 at one stage. West Bromwich Albion beat Aston Villa 10, Bournemouth beat Sunderland 2-0, Watford beat Newcastle United 21 and Swansea drew 0-0 with Everton. (Agencies)

A West Ham and Manchester City player seen in action during a match of Premier League

lasted 40 minutes. Despite leading 4-2 in the second set, Jayaram failed to keep up the momentum as he found the world champion too strong to overcome. The 27year-old Bangalore-based shuttler had reached the semi-finals of Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold and Russian Open Grand Prix earlier this season.

Veteren cricket administator Jagmohan Dalmiya passes away

Kolkata: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was admitted to hospital few days back after he complained of chest pain, passed away at a city hospital this evening following a massive cardiac arrest.

The 75-year-old Dalmiya was admitted to the city’s B M Birla Hospital on Thursday night after which he also underwent a coronary angiography. “Mr. Dalmiya died of internal gastrointestinal bleeding and internal organ failure,” hospital sources said.

Cricket Association of Bengal sources added: “At 6 PM in the evening his condition deteriorated and shortly afterwards he suffered a massive cardiac arrest from which he could not recover.” Dalmiya has not been keeping well for a while now and was not actively taking part in the day-to-day functioning of the BCCI. Dalmiya took over the reins of the BCCI for a second time in March, after a gap of 10 years, when he got a walkover in the elections. But he has been ailing since then, and his health has deteriorated further over the last few weeks. (Agencies)

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