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ASSENG/2015/64205
Vol. 1
Issue 257
PAKISTAN'S SCHOOLS AT WAR
Price -
Dibrugarh, Tuesday, February 23, 2016
THE REAL REASON WHY OVER 4000 WORKERS FROM HONDA ARE PROTESTING FOR THE PAST 5 DAYS Page 9
FIRE BROKE OUT IN OIL INDIA’S WELL IN NAHARKATIA Page 8
5.00
Page 4
We can set the clock back, SC to Congress PTI New Delhi, Feb 22
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass an interim order on a fervent plea of Congress against “illegal” swearing-in of its rebel leader Kalikho Pul-led government in Arunachal Pradesh, saying it can “set the clock back” if the Governor’s actions are found unconstitutional. “Don’t mix up too many things. If you mix up to much, then it would be difficult to compartmentalize. I think you (lawyers) all know that we can put things back...have you not read that passage of S.R. Bommai judgement,” the apex court said when senior lawyer F.S. Nariman sought an interim order by referring to subsequent developments in the crisis-hit state where Mr. Pul was
sworn in as Chief Minister late on Friday night.
SUPREME COURT TO CONGRESS
The bench, which reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions dealing with discretionary powers of the Governor to summon or advance the assembly sessions, said it had the powers to undo the damage.
“I think you (lawyers) all know that we can put things back...have you not read that passage of S.R. Bommai judgement,” “If we agree with you, we can set the clock back. Let them do whatever they want to,”
“We can’t get into all this. We should not do this, but this court has the power to set things right. This court has done this before. If we agree with you, we can set the clock back. Let them do whatever they want to,” a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice J.S. Khehar said. It said the verdict in this case will not only have its effect in Arunachal Pradesh but its going to affect every state. “The verdict is going to affect every state. This will set prece-
“The verdict is going to affect every state. This will set precedence,”
The Bench said the verdict in this case will not only have its effect in Arunachal Pradesh but it’s going to affect every state
dence,” the bench said. The bench, however, segregated two other sets of petition
“Everything will go if it did not agree with the contentions of Governor and rebel MLAs, and if it agrees, then everything will be as it is”
which were filed against the subsequent promulgation of President’s Rule in the state and its revocation thereafter
which led to the formation of a new government. Contd. on Page 5
SC agrees to examine swearing-in of Kalikho Pul as Arunachal CM ANI New Delhi, Feb 22
The Supreme Court on Monday decided to hear and examine the swearing-in of Kalikho Pul as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. A constitution bench, headed by Justice Jagjit Singh Khehar, will hear a fresh plea filed by former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki and former speaker Nabam Rebia. Both Tuki and Rebia moved the apex court, questioning the abrupt swearing-in of Pul as the Chief Minister on Friday night. The apex court decided to hear and examine the appointment of Pul as the new Chief Minister after senior counsel Fali Nariman and Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before the Constitution bench.
Pages- 12 CONSPIRACY TO BREAK INDIA APART NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED IN PARL.: SHIV SENA Page 6
Series of ‘dharnas’ and rallies of BJP in Eastern Arunachal from Feb 23 A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 22
Arunachal state BJP is joining a nationwide “JAN SWABHIMAN ABHIYAN” across the state in Arunachal Pradesh under which BJP workers will stage dharna, hold seminars, rallies, submit memorandum to Deputy Commissioners in the District HQs and organize constructive programmes across the country for strengthening the Unity,
Integrity and Security of India, informed a press release from the BJP unit. The decision was taken in an emergency meeting held today at State BJP HQ, Itanagar attended by the Organization In-charge for the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, Prasant Arora. The ‘JAN SWABHIMAN ABHIYAN’ will commence in the Eastern Arunachal Pradesh from February 23-27 and from 27 Feb – 3rd March in the western part of the state. Contd. on Page 5
APCC President accuses BJP of stopping the growth of Christianity in Arunachal through RSS and VHP A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 22
loyal state.
Despite a severe Modi wave which blew across the nation ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP failed to make any significant inroads in Arunachal Pradesh which always remained a Congress
“Now, in order to harass the people of the state for not voting for the BJP and in order to stop the fast growth of Christianity across the state, Contd. on Page 5
New Arunachal CM sets agendas Giving a clarion call to adopt zero tolerance towards Basic Essential Services which has been categorised in six broad sectors like Health, Education, Power, water supply, effective policing and Investment & revenue generation, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul who chaired a series of high level meetingswith top officials of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh including Chief Secretary and DGP here soon after assuming office, said that the state government would leave no stone unturned to achieve the targeted milestones in these sectors. Contd. on Page 5
ET CAPSULES
Arunachal media houses not to entertain government news, ads Itanagar, Feb 22: Expressing displeasure over non-release of four-year long pending advertisement bills, the media houses inArunachal Pradesh have threatened not to entertain government news and advertisement till they are cleared by February 29. The decision was taken in an emergency meeting held on Sunday at Arunachal Press Club attended by representatives of different media associations like Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists and Arunachal Electronic Media Association and newspaper owners.
1 dead in Duliajan road mishap
cmyk
Duliajan, Feb 22: One person Dipankar Borah of Tairaigaon, near here, died on the spot while his pillion rider Jeet Borah sustained serious injuries during an accident which occurred at Pipe dolong area of Duliajan today. The accident took place when the motor cycle bearing Regn. No. AS 06 H 4562 which Borah was riding clashed head on with a truck which reportedly lost control and clashed with the two wheeler. Jeet Borah was rushed to the AMCH in a serious condition for better treatment. An investigation is on. (Correspondent)
WILL THE CM DELIVER? Recruitment of more than 2000 police personnel Women police station in all district head quarters Placement of sufficient subject teachers in all colleges/ schools Monthly disbursement of stipends to students Regular release of salaries to contractual employees like NHM/SSA etc. Appointments to group C and D to be done in respective districts itself. Merit and seniority criteria for promotion in Government Job.
CM Pul in a high level meeting with the Chief Secretary and DGP
Nonstop direct flight to introduce from Dibrugarh A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Feb 22
Indigo Airlines, a leading carrier of the country operating with Airbus 320 aircraft, is planning to introduce a nonstop direct flight from Dibrugarh to New Delhi to cater to the needs of the ever-increasing number of passengers to and from this premier urban centre of eastern India. Although, the source in the
airline divulging this information did not specify the time frame for introduction of this flight, it is gathered that the flight will be introduced in the second half of the current calendar year. This flight will be the third in a row from Dibrugarh by Indigo Airlines. It may be mentioned here that Indigo Airlines is already operating a non-stop direct flight from New Delhi to Dibrugarh, which halts at Guwahati in the return journey.
Meanwhile, air passengers using Dibrugarh airport have appealed to the airlines to introduce morning and evening flights from here for the convenience of business and corporate travellers and also patients and students, which will save a valuable day for everyone, as the same otherwise have to be spent in travel. Contd. on Page 5
ISIS effigy burned at Tinsukia
(All India Rank - IIT) JEE-Main
(GENERAL CATEGORY)
ASHMITA MAZUMDAR (GENERAL CATEGORY)
Assam CEE Medical
SAURAV SHAKTI BORAH KAUSHIK R. HAZARIKA SAURAV JYOTI BORAH DEEPANKAR D. BHARALI BHANUJYA SAIKIA
Few JEE-Main QUALIFIERS
AYANJYOTI DUTTA KARANJEET GOHAIN (T.MARK:182) (T.MARK:176)
KUNAL ROY (T.MARK:162)
SAURAV S.BORAH (T.MARK:169)
PINGLE NATH (T.MARK:117)
SAGAR RAKSHIT (T.MARK:115)
Total JEE-Main Qualifiers : 55 Nons.
NITUPAN DIHINGIA (T.MARK:161)
SHRYA BORUAH (T.MARK:143)
ANMUN CHETRY (T.MARK:134)
AMLAN JYOTI DUTTA PORITUSH BAILUNG SHUBHAM DUTTA (T.MARK:124) (T.MARK:87) (T.MARK:127)
KAUSHIK HAZARIKA (T.MARK:118)
SANDEEP SONOWAL (T.MARK:82)
NEIGRIHMS Rank - 8th Assam CEE Med. SR-51
Activists of All Assam Hindu Students Union burnt effigies of Islamic militant organization named ISIS here on Monday.
It is a serious matter how the youths of our country are being lured by terrorists to join ISIS. A major plot has been
NEIGRIHMS
Few STAR PERFORMERS IN MEDICAL Total Selection in Medical, 2015 : 12 Nons.
Rishu Kalantri Tinsukia, Feb 22
In the media statement, the organizing general secretary of the central committe of the union, Lalan Shania called it the right time for people of all religion to unite against ISIS.
(All India Rank - JEE Main)
NAMRATA CHAKRABORTY
UPASANA BORKOTOKY (ASSAM CEE Med. SR-181 Sikkim Manipal Medical: 21)
SAURAV S. BORAH ANSHUMAN GOGOI (Assam CEE Med. SR-125) (Assam CEE Medical State Rank-608)
AAHSU burnt effigies of ISIS in Tinsukia. Pic - ET Photo designed against the country and we all need to remain alert. Sahani questioned the Is-
lamic statehood talks of ISIS saying muslims are the worst suffere in the areas controlled by ISIS.
DIBRUGARH OFFICE : Amolapatty, A. T. Road, Near Natya Mandir, Dibrugarh-1, Assam JORHAT CENTRE : Baruah Chariali, Near UBI Bank Building, 2nd Floor, Jorhat-1, Assam
Phone : 0373- 2320231, 9435031699, 8811003000 cmyk
A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 22
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
PAGE 2
ASTRO FOR YOU Aries Your ability to let go things will reflect in your personal as well as your professional life. Today could be a significant day for you, and you should not to forget your special abilities. Make good use of them so that others too can benefit. Taurus You will be very sensitive about the image you project socially and professionally. Today, you will remain decent, dignified and focused in all that you do. Do not be too eager to please others. Focus on your own interests and concerns. Gemini Today, your emotions will cloud your ability to reason. You may try to find a refuge in devotional and spiritual activities. A visit to a couple of religious places may help you restore your peace of mind. A laid-back mindset will work wonders for you today. Cancer Your social prestige will go up. People will praise your personality traits and try to emulate you. You will be a role model, too. This will be highly profitable day for you. Leo It is an important day for you. Everyone in the office will accept your capabilities and will praise you. You may incur expenses on entertainment and luxuries. Your financial difficulties will now be solved. It is better to have an eye on long term gains. Virgo Opening up to your beloved about your whims and fancies as well as your goals shall be the key today. Your intimate relations should be built on trust and mutual compatibility. Your energy levels will hit the sky. Make the most of this spurt by finishing in leftover mundane chores. Libra You will be getting good news from abroad, which will make you happy. Those of you who are searching for jobs will get good news coming your way. You should not expect too much or you would feel dejected and disappointed when it is not met. Scorpio You might find your spirit sagging as worries cloud your thinking. Small things might probably bother you in a big way. Do not let them bog you down as life is all about mind over matter. As the day progresses, things will begin to look up. Sagittarius Determined and dedicated, that’s what you are when it comes to work. Well, this may even find you amidst heaps of files and loads of work. No wonder you become a workaholic. You are likely to enjoy during the latter half of the day. Have a funfilled evening! Capricorn Your interests are guarded by the Almighty, so don’t worry about them. Not that you are not ambitious, but you are satisfied with what you have and gained. You have set some realistic goals for yourself and you are making sincere efforts to achieve them. You are a simple person and you like your life to be uncomplicated. Aquarius Today, you will wish there were two of you! You are deluged with pending work, and even doubling up efforts will not seem enough. You may even cancel your movie date, deciding to deal with your sweetheart’s tantrums later. Pisces Bright prospects will greet whatever new ventures you decide to focus on today. It is a good time to implement your plans. Apart from short-term monetary gains, you may also find yourself pursuing activities which bring you intangible rewards, like goodwill for example.
CM Tarun Gogoi launched new look web portal tarungogoi.in A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb 22: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today launched the new look web portal tarungogoi.in - more accessible, more informative and more lively - at the conference room of his official Koinadhara residence in the city. Launching the newly designed web portal with innovative features, Chief Minister Gogoi hoped that it would bring the Chief Minister’s Office closer to the people. “Here exists a platform for the people to air their grievances and get them resolved. People can now directly interact with me and provide feedback on any problems faced by them,” he said. The Chief Minister pointed out that the new look web portal would make the Government more transparent, accountable and responsive one. “I appeal to all sections of people to apprise me about the problems being
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi having a close look at the newly designed CM’s web portal through a tablet at his official Koinadhara residence in Guwahati. Pic - UB Photos faced by them. Valuable information gained through interactions with the people will serve as a guiding light in governance,” he added. MP Gaurav Gogoi, Commissioner & Secretary IT, Mukesh C. Sahu and Man-
“As per the MNREGA norms these employees should get their salary based on the expenditure of funds, at the beginning of our engagement we were honoured with the remuneration of Rs. 3000/ - which was later increased to Rs. 4500/-. However, it is a matter of regret that the then Deputy commissioner of Sonitpur District remained away from financial sanction against every project, following which most of the developmental activities remained undone and the dedicated employees could not avail their remu-
Inter School Exhibition cum Competition going to held at Golaghat
PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz)
ET Correspndent Golaghat, Feb 22: An Inter School Science Exhibition cum- Competition at district level is going to be held on 9th April at the Campus premise of Reliance Junior College from 8 am onwards in Golaghat. Reliance Junior College is going play the main role in the event as this was their initiative.
Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights 23-2-16 (TUESDAY) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha 6-15 A.M-Classical Music (Flute Recital) 6-50 A.M-Tokari Geet 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M-Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 10-55 A.M-Live Broadcast of the address by the Honorable President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee to both the houses of Parliament 12-30 P.M-Geetimanjari 1-10 P.M- Troops Programme 2-00 P.M-Sponsored Programme-"Jaga Grahak Jaagaa" 2-30 P.M-Western Music Programme 3-45 P.M-Programme in Mizumishimi 4-05 P.M-Programme in Khamti 4-25 P.M-Programme in Wancho 5-00 P.M-Programme in Idu 5-20 P.M-Programme in Tangsa 5-40 P.M-Programme in Nocte 7-15 P.M-Chah Sramikor Asor 8-00 P.M-Bigyan Jeuti 9-30 P.M-Sahitya Kanan Sd-/H.O.P
“Interested Institution can send any two Models or
Spl Correspondent Tinsukia, Feb 22: A 'Mashal’ rally was taken out by Sadou Asom Muttack Yuva Sanmelan in support of their demand of status of Scheduled Tribe in the area here on saturday evening. A large number of members of the organization came out on the roads and took out a large torch light procession. They were shouting slogans in support of their demand. They also warned to intensify agitation.
aging Director, AMTRON Dinesh S. Pegu were present on the occasion. The new look website has been made mobile friendly and has the ability to dynamically change its display on any device vis-a-vis
desktop and tablet. tarungogoi.in web portal has more than 60 innovative features that include live web streaming and social media integration like facebook, twitter, google hangout.
MNREGA employee union’s concern over not releasing their remuneration for the last twenty months ET Correspondent Tezpur, Feb 22: The Sonitpur District committee of MNREGA employee union has expressed their total dissatisfaction over not releasing their remuneration for the last a couple of years by the government. Secretary of Sonitpur District MNREGA Karmachari Unnayan Parishad Gautam Koch alleging government’s indifferent attitude towards them said that there are altogether 332 employees including Accredited Engineer, Account Assistant and Computer Assistant working in different Development blocks and panchayats.
Mashal rally taken out in Tinsukia
Project dealing with Science. Each group should comprise of two or three members and students of classes 9, 10 or 11 are eligible to take part in the same. The winners shall be awarded a cash prize of five, three and two thousand as first, second and third prize. For Further details one may contact Dr. Amrendra Nath Dutta, Shikha Nath Neog and Shreema Khound” said college authority.
neration. On the otherhand though at present though the financial status is good for not releasing the fund from the Panchayat and rural Development (PNRD) we have been deprived off our remuneration.” He alleged adding amidst such a tough financial condition these panchayat employees have been working with sincerity for the sake of implementation of developmental works under various blocks and panchayats. Highlighting the pathetic condition of the MNREGA employees for
not getting remuneration for the last a couple of years Gautam Koch further said that for working round the clock to fulfill target of IAY house, one computer operator of Behali Block Bijit Biswa Bora, fell ill, who is presently under treatment in GMCH. “We urge the department concerned to bear the expenditures of treatment of the employee and release the pending remuneration of our employees without further delay; otherwise we will be bound to launch a vigorous movement.” He maintained.
Street play on 'Election and Voters Rights' staged at Bokajan in East Karbi Anglong. ET Correspondent Bokajan, Feb 22: Ahead the state assembly elections, a street play was staged today at Balipathar locality under 17 Bokajan LA constituency aimed at creating awareness amongst the public about elections and voter rights. The awareness campaign was organised as part of 'Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation' (SVEEP), conducted under the aegis of the Election Commission. The campaign is also aimed at urging voters not to fall prey to alcohol offers, cash or any other enticements from the candidates. Besides the voting rights, the artists also gave wider coverage to spread awareness about the use of 'None Of The Above'(NOTA) option amongst the people in the upcoming assembly polls across the state. The drama troupe would also stage plays at different locations within the Bokajan LA constituency and reach out to as many voters as possible.
506th birth anniversary of Mahabir Chilarai celebrated in Dhemaji
Twenty five years old youth killed by mother. ET Correspondent Tezpur, Feb 22 : Sensation prevails at Beseria Kataki Chuburi area near here under Bebejia Police outpost following an untoward incident of death of a twenty five years old boy after alleged physical attack by his own mother today in the morning. Sources said that the boy reportedly known as Pamkaj nath was demanding a motor cycle for the last few days. However, it was not a feasible
for his parents as the poor family survived with a small vegetable business. In the meantime, for the issue the boy today got infuriated upon his mother for her refusal and rushed her with an axe to attack in retaliation to it she too hit him severely resulting in siviour head injury. However, though the youth was rushed to TMC he succumbed to his head injury at the hospital. Mother of the youth Kalpana Devi was arrested by police being accused of the incident.
506th birth anniversary of Mahabir Chilarai celebrated in Dhemaji ET Correspondent Dhemaji, Feb 22: Every year the birth anniversary of Mahabir Chilarai, the great warrior and legend is celebrated as Bir Chilarai Divas with great honour. Today Chilarai Diwas was observed in Assam -Arunachal Border at Maduripathar un-
der Dhemaji district with a great cultural procession and with different cultural attires along with the slogan of Bir Chilarai. The cultural procession was followed by a general meeting where several issues were point out. Looking towards the forth coming
MLA election the AAKRASU Vice-President, Niranjan Rai talking to the correspondent said that if their demands are not fulfilled before the election then a lesson will be taught by the community to both the party of BJP and Congress.
Advt.
LOST I have lost my Marksheet on 15.01.2016 on the way in between Namphai -II and Miao road of Shri Khulthak Mossang, son of Shri Thekam Mossang, village Nayang, District Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh. I had lodged an FIR against the lost at Miao police station to corroboarte the same on 21st January 2016 with his roll number bearing 3111870. The reference no. of the FIR is No.Miao/ps-44/15-16 of dated 21.01.2016
Greenwood Tea Estate launches Swachh Bharat Abhiyan A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Feb 22: An awareness programme under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched on 17th February at the Greenwood Tea Estate, registered office of Assam Company India Limited in the Line no.5 of its West Division. The programme was led by Mrs. R. Jajodia, owner of Assam Company India Limited, accompanied by other Senior Officials of the
company, as a part of Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. The participants of the awareness programme were Tea Workers, Mpothers Club members and children. The Lady Owner had also delivered a valuable speech to the gathering and asked to maintain hygiene among the family of workers. Moreover, Mrs. Jajodia
also called on all the spouses of Company’s Executive to joins hand together to achieve the goal. Addressing the garden workers of Assam Co. India Ltd., Jajodia stated that the intention of the programme was to improve the sanitation in the living areas of the garden workers as well as to lend support to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan programme of the Government of India.
Burglars looted cash and valuable items worth several lakhs ET Correspondent Mangaldai Feb 22 : Burglars on Sunday night looted cash , gold ornaments and other valuables worth several lakhs of rupees from the residence of a prominent businessman of Kharupetia town in Darrang district . According to police taking the opportunity of the absence of the businessman namely Gajraj Patni and his entire family who had been away from Kharupetia for a tour to places of pilgrimage impor-
tance outside the state , the burglars broke into their residence at Balchand Surana road of ward no 1 of the township . The actual value of the looted items are yet to be ascertained however as per the telephonic information of the owner , it will be in excess of couple of lakhs . The police has registered a case in Kharupetia Police Station and has started investigation , but no arrest could be made till filing of this report.
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
PAGE 3 BJP urges new CM, Kalikho Pul to investigate financial mismanagement A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 22: In an emergency party meeting held at State BJP HQ, Itanagar today February 22, 2016 attended by the Organization In-charge for the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, Shri Prasant Arora, the party hails the govt. of India’s decision of lifting President’s Rule ahead of 30th Statehood Day of the state, so that people of the state could celebrate their important occasion with open atmosphere, happy and hearty in the state. The party in a communiqué sent to the media observed that the BJP has played important helping role when the state and its people have been suffering from the brunt of unending political turmoil and uncertainties looming over the state for long time because of factional rivalries in the previous state Congress government and was getting deepening further. As a result of which life and security of common men became worse, in the state already facing with rampant financial mismanagements and corrupt practices. The party also expects that the new government under the CM, Kalikho Pul will take necessary steps for investigations into the rampant financial mismanagement, measures to check corrupt practices in the state and streamline rusting system of development administration in order to restore financial health of the state and development activities in its proper track, it urges upon the new government.
Dr. Nirmali Taba, NCP MLA contestant from Yachuli joins the BJP A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Feb 22: Dr. Nirmali Taba who contested from 16th Yachuli (ST) Assembly constituency as NCP Nominee in the last Assembly Elections and lost by margin of just 70 votes has formally joined the BJP party with her thousands of workers and supporters in a function here today in presence of BJP organisation in Charge for the states of Arunachal and Nagaland, Prasant Arora. State President, Tai Tagak, while welcoming her joining into the party expresses that her joining into the party is adding another feather in the party, and would bring long way to strengthening it. Dominic Tadar, state General secretary extents votes of thank for her joining into the party. Dr. Nirmali, a retired ENT Specialist Doctor and a senior leader from Lower Subansiri District expressed her faith and confident of the policy and ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party and she has assured to work selflessly to strengthening party organization and try her level best to learn every vital organization method in the party in the state, a communiqué from the BJP informed. Among others present were at the function were State Office Bearers - Vice presidents Techi Necha, Mrs. Kenyir Ringu, and Nani Lejie, General secretary, Shri Dominic Tadar, Chief Spokesperson, R.K. Khrimey, State Presidents of Mahila Morcha, Mrs. Padmeswari Jamoh. State President, Yuva Morcha, Dugh Saha, State President, ST Morcha, Tadar Akap, State President, Kisan Morcha, National Secretary, BJYM, Doni Nich and host of the state leaders and party workers.
A coalition govt. that doesn’t have a name runs in Arunachal, without opposition What will happen if your enemy becomes your friend? For which purposes your enemy becomes your friend? Will the relationship last? Who will benefit more? Who will take credit? And who will have the last laugh? Pynshisha Nylla Itanagar, Feb 22: No one knows what Government we can name in Arunachal where Government is neither BJP nor Congress but it is mixed, and it is another Government similar to that of the Nagaland Government in the recent past, which had no MLAs in the opposition.
Arunachal at present. We are not accepting him as the CLP leader and all that supported him are majority disqualified MLAs. Right now the matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court. Anything can happen in the coming days,” said a Congress member from the Congress Party office in Itanagar.
“Kalikho Pul is an expelled member of the Congress so he cannot claim that it is a Congress Govt. that runs in
Incumbent Chief Minister Kalikho Pul couldn't name his Govt. when asked, and reiterated that it is a Con-
gress Govt. shutting out the truth that is a coalition govt. that took the support of the BJP. Pul has right now 19 MLAs whose 13 of them including him are attracted under the ‘anti-defection law’ of the tenth schedule of the constitution, is pending before the Supreme Court. The no-name govt. in alliance with the opposition BJP was formed a few hours after the President’s Rule was lifted on 18th February, 2016.
to contain,’ said the CM. In an interaction today with the media, Pul pronounced his commitment to do anything for the benefit of the society. He said, “I’m available 24/7, you can stop me anytime, anywhere and ask anything. I am the chowkidar of the system, of the governance, of the Govt. funds, of the safety of the life of the public.” He said his main priority is to contain corruption, ‘though it will take time to clean the system but I will try my best
The West Siang Deputy Commissioner Shri Pige Ligu, who attended the function as Chief released Pamphlets and exhorted the society carry forward the task to spread the message water crisis, global warming and maintenance of ecological balance. The Guest
Besides, the CM said, “I didn't become a leader to celebrate but to work for the interest of the State and not for the interest of my relatives. You will witness drastic change in the Capital within one year.” He said he has asked the department concerned to release all
Tuki, Pul said, “All the ongoing projects, flagship programmes for the people will continue.” The main flagship programme which was highly acknowledged by other States in the country, started by Tuki, is the CM Universal Health Insurance Schemes. Recently, there were reports that this scheme has been kept in abeyance owing to political fight within the ruling Congress govt.
Nyishi Elite Society castigates District Administration evacuated 15 stranded persons from Dibang River Chief Minister Pul A Staff Reporter Nyirubjolli, Feb 22: The president of Nyishi Elite Society (NES) in a statement today castigated the incumbent Chief Minister Kalikho Pul for allegedly targeting senior members and well-wishers of a particular community in government services. NES president Bengia Tolum alleged that during the President Rule, Pul in connivance with Governor J P Rajkhowa slashed the charter of duties of senior Nyishi bureaucrats, resulting in massive bureaucratic reshuffle to sideline the Nyishis and well-wishers of the Nyishi community. During the period of President Rule, Tolum said that Pul managed to get a gubernatorial notification vide OM No. GOV-AP/2015 dated 10th February 2016 on downgrading functional (or) out of turn appointments with an ill intent to target a particular community in the state government departments, especially, works departments since decades. Resultantly, he alleged that functional AEs of a particular community, engineer Tamchi Shyam, Tam Tadam and Harang Sonam were
downgraded vide order No. SECTT/PHE-63/2016 dated 15th February 2016. “It is unpleasant to hear from the coteries of Pul that these maiden actions are just a tip of the iceberg; divulging massive action plan against a particular community in the days to come”, he added and demanded that the 10th February 2016 notification be rescinded forthwith and status quo be strictly maintained and that all the “vindictive orders” issued during President Rule effecting downgrading, transfer and posting should be withdrawn. He opined that the transfers/ postings were not affected under normal circumstances but to terrorize the employees and well-wishers of a particular community by telephonic persuasion even in the night by Pul before swearing in and by deputing his sycophants to force the authorities to issue order based on a note from the Governor’s Secretariat even before formal approval in the file. “I have been a witness to the change of guard in the state from P K Thungon to Nabam Tuki in November 2011. Such a vindictive action targeting a particular
community on communal lines was seen never before”, he said and further claimed that, “the wild plan of shifting the state capital has emerged under the present leadership for the sake of a CM chair”. “Our disgruntled boys are harvested as human tools to file FIR, PIL, false vigilance case, lead delegations and voice against senior executive members of NES and to defame NES-ANSU in the print and social media”, Tolum said and charged at Pul for allegedly targeting and terrorizing a particular community. Tolum went on to advise Pul to carry on the legacy of his predecessors and said that “Pul should not misconstrue that he enjoys the support of our community by pocketing few tens of politicians, few thousands of purchased sycophants and negligible employees of the community in his side which does not constitute even 0.01 percent out of lakhs of strong Nyishi population of the state spread-up in six districts of the state”. The latest takeover of leadership on February 20 last from Tuki as a follow-up of the PR imposed on January 26, targeting senior mem-
bers of a particular community with a handful of flatterers of the same community is totally unprecedented and uncalled for, Tolum reiterated and said that this has proved beyond doubt, the venomous communal viral audio clippings of Pul that was spread in social media and instant messaging applications on 13 December, 2015. He also alleged MoS Home Kiren Rijiju of orchestrating the entire episode and said that he owes an explanation to the Nyishis who loved him and sent him to Delhi. “We may also come up with social audit as to who were beneficiaries and who sacrificed for the Nyishis in an appropriate forum”, Tolum added. He asserted that the movement is poised to be stupendous and tedious with heightened intensity to protect the image of the community on the viral audio issue involving Pul to protect the community members, especially employees and businessman, who have been victims of step motherly, vindictive and repressive action on communal lines from the present leadership after the Nyokum Yullo 2016.
Wangcha Rajkumar Govt college celebrates annual college day at Deomali Khonsa, Feb 22: The 15th Annual College Day Celebration 2015-16 of Wangcha Rajkumar Government College, Deomali Tirap District begun on 22nd Fenruary,2016 with an inaugural Function held at General Ground, Deomali amidst huge gathering. Addressing a huge gathering of young minds, teachings faculties and staff of the WRG College, Chief Guest Shri B. Puriok, SDO Deomali advised the students to be constructive citizens so that they may be able to help in building their Society and the Nation adding that students are the nation builders.
15th Annual College Day Celebration of Wangcha Rajkumar Government College at Khonsa.
Guest of Honour T. Jerang, EE(Power) Deomali spoke on the importance of hard work and discipline in achieving the dreams as young minds of the society. Earlier in his welcome ad-
dress Dr. A.K. Mishra, Principal in charge highlighted the achievements of the college and credited the same to the tireless and hard work of students and dedication of teaching faculties.
The College has a track record of producing University Toppers every year. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Teniang Lokho, General Secretary WRGCSU, Deomali.
PKS Conducts Awareness Campaign on Global Warming and Plantation Drive Aalo, Feb 22 : PEDONG KENBO SOCIETY headed by its Chairman Shri Taken Pakam Lobom led by Er. Kenge Pakam Lobom, Secretary has conducted ornamental and riskless tree plantation at General Hospital on 21st Feb last.
The new CM rules out that the State has no lack of money but ‘there is lack of prioritization’, he said.
pending amounts, including contractor’s pending bill, scholarship of the students, travelling allowances, dearness allowances of the Govt. employees, etc. The CM revealed that he didn't sleep or eat properly for the past few days, soon after being sworn in as the Chief Minister owing to intensive meeting conducted with the police department, finance and planning department. When asked about the CM flagship programmes initiated by former CM Nabam
of Honour Smti ZPM Higam Loyi Ango appreciated the venture of Pedong Kenbo Society and exhorted them to keep up the good works of the society. She also distributed volley ball to the youths of the village. Shri Nyali Ete, DFO gave Power-point presentation on the importance of aforestation and maintenance of flora and fauna to maintain ecological balance, Shri Yompe Ado stressed on use of insecticides and pesticides on agriculture and Dr. Linya Lollen, Superintend General Hospital spelt out in
Awareness Campaign on Global Warming and Plantation Drive at Aalo. detail on water and air pollution and diseases related to it. Sri Taken Pakam Lobom Chairman of the Society expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all dignitaries and resource persons and disclosed that he has been in-
volved in these social activities 1948. Er. Kenge Pakam Lobom Seretary and Kardar Pakam Lobom said that the society is deeply involved in the camping on deforestation, global warming and maintenance of flora and fauna, elephant task, hornbill beaks and tiger teeth should
be displayed artificially instead of hunting the animals for such purposes. Prize distribution for essay and drawing competition on above theme were distributed to the Students of Biru Village and other schools by the Chief Guest on the occasion. (DIPRO)
Roing, Feb 22: Lower Dibang Valley District Administration evacuated 15 stranded persons from the midst of Dibang River with the help of the Indian Air Force Helicopter MI-17 today. 10 employees of the Navayug Engineering Company working in the Dibang River Bridge construction site along with the 5 villagers got stranded in the middle of the River Water near Bomjir Village due to sudden rise of the Dibang
River in both sides caused by torrential rainfall. On getting the information early this morning, the District Administration sought the help from the govt and got requisitioned of the Indian Air Force Helicopter for the immediate lifting of the stranded persons. It was informed that due to sudden rise of the Dibang River, many earth cutting machineries of the Navayug
Engineering Company including AMW, Dumper and Crane have got stuck in the river water. It is also informed that the Bomjir and Nizam Ghat linking the Dambuk SubDivision to the District Headquarter, Roing have closed down due to increase in river water as a result of which surface communication to Dambuk is cut off from all sides.
Disaster Management meeting at Tezu
Disaster Management meeting at Tezu Tezu, Feb 22: A coordination meeting in connection with Disaster Management Contingencies Plan was convened by Deputy Commissioner Shri. Tamiyo Tatak at the Conference Hall of the Deputy Commissioner here, today. Superintendent of Police Ved Prakash Surya, Officiating Commander of 48th BRTF Ajay Chikhale, other representatives from 82 Mountain Brigade, 25th and 9th ITBP, Heads of Offices, NGOs and civil society organizations, PRI members were present in the meeting. We have all gathered here to chalk a systematic and planned action plan where the civilian and police administration and military and paramilitary forces could combine into one force and fight natural disasters like fire, flash flood earthquake etc. in the district, he said. He asked all the departments to provide logistics available with them so that the resources could be mobilized during the hour of need, he said. He shared an idea to bring out
a booklet where all the contact numbers of the persons of the department concerned will be available whom the victims or onlookers can contact to and inform about the disaster. This kind of systematic and proper arrangement will help in minimizing the loss and further damages, he said. A team of trained personnel along with required equipments and men power will stand prepared to fight any natural calamity which is/are beyond human control, he said talking about the importance of the meeting. Out main aim should be to reach out to the area of calamity at the shortage time possible and avoid or prevent the calamity, he said. To bring out a systematic arrangement and avoid chaos during disaster by disaster response team, SP Surya suggested for formation of a Standard Operating Procedure where mock drills will be conducted at regular intervals and with all the stake holders. Mr. Chikhale from 48th BRTF told the house that their Force
is mainly based on development of infrastructure so availability of resources in terms of man power and equipments depends upon the kind of construction and requirement of works. As of now, since some serious constructions are going in and around Tezu, we have men power and resources but these are not static and are mobile, he told. Representatives from 82 Mtn Brigade, 25th ITBP and 9th ITBP informed about their available resources like Fire Tenders, Water Tankers, Doctor with Ambulance and medicos, fog lamps etc. They said that their men and material are always ready and prepared to help in any kind of disaster. However, they expressed their dissatisfaction over the poor mobile connectivity which may hampers in delay of passing of information. They have requested the Deputy Communication to intervene for the improvement of telecommunication in their areas of establishments.
Forest official burns seized Wildlife meat from open market Spl Correspondent Pasighat, Feb 22: In an effort to crack down on the open selling of wildlife meat in the market, the forest officials of Pasighat Range seized some kilos of wildlife meat on last Friday which was burnt today at range office premises in the presence of various forest officials led by Tabang Jamoh, DFO, T. MIbang, ACF and others. Taking cognizance of the wildlife meant being sold in open market, J. Geyi Range Officer, Pasighat Range with the instruction of Divisional Forest Officer, Pasighat Forest Division laid an strategy to arrest the wildlife meat sellers by sending plain clothes staff. As planned, some kilos of wildlife meat was seized from the new vegetable market (Sabji Mandhi) near Airfield, but the seller/s couldn’t be identified and arrested as no one took ownership of the meat, said
sources from the forest officials while burning the seized meat this morning. However, the forest officials have tightened their belts to come heavily on the offenders and plans are being streamlined to check the illegalities. Meanwhile, it is a matter of serious enquiry as to where from these wildlife meats are being brought to sell in the
open market as incidents of such offences has been reported to be growing up once again. If not restricted at this time, the trend would lead to killing of more wildlife as demands for wild meat is always in the market which will definitely decrease the wildlife population, be it in the un-protected and protected areas like D. Ering Wildlife Sanctuary.
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
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Fire broke out in Oil India’s well in Naharkatia
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ET Correspondent Naharkatia, Feb 22: A major fire broke out in 193 no. Gethupather on Monday around 2:30 p.m in Oil India Limited operational area of Duliajan. According to sources due to the negligence of OIL India authority the fire may broke out from the said Oil field. Sources said that there was no casualty reported but still people of the area are in panic. The fire personnels of Naharkatai and Duliajan immediately swung into action and brought the fire under control.
Local MLA Prasanta Phukan laying the foundation stone of Ashok patha in Dibrugarh on Monday. Pic - ET Photo
The company has hundreds of wells scattered over thousands of square km in its operational areas. Many of these wells have been closed down and surveillance in these areas is almost nil due
ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Feb. 22: Security forces today captured four militant cadres including a hardcore cadre of Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) in three different places in Lower Assam’s Kokrajhar and Baksa district on Monday. Fire broke out in 193 No. Gethupather Oil India Limited area in Duliajan. to which few anti-social elements were active on those areas. The people of that area bring out condense which is used as substitute of petrol, these ant-social elements take huge risk of their lives and
also people of nearby areas while stealing condense from those fields. Sources said that the reason of today's fire is still unknown and become a mystery but few feels that it may be because of stealing of
condense. According to local residents this type of incidents are common over here but still after knowing everything the Oil India authority remain silent.
Jivan Silpi award to 506th birth anniversary of Mahabir Chilarai artist Benu Misra observed as Chilarai Divas in Assam
Ramen Kalita NALBARI,Feb 22 : Prominent artist Benu Misra was conferred Jivan Silpi Award for 2016 in a function held at Nalbari Art School premises on the occasion of the first death anniversary of renowned artist,sculpture Jivan Silpi Adya Sarma here today.The award consist of a cash of Rs 10,000,a momentous,a citation among others is instituted by the Nalbari Art School from this year.Receiving the award Misra lamented that the state
Government has failed to give due recognition to the artist Adya Sarma.He called upon the Government to take step to upgrade the Nalbari Art School founded by late Adya Sarma as a full-fledged art college.Misra stated that while the state like Bihar have five to six art colleges the state has not a single full-fledged college so far.The award giving function presided over by Pabin Sarma,president of Nalbari Art College was addressed among others by Ramani Barman,former Min-
ister of Education,Jnanendra Barkakati,a senior artist and Rajlaxmi Misra,wife of Benu Misra .The meeting conducted by Sailendra Prasad Sarma ,Secretary of Nalbari Art School.In the evening earthen lamps were lighted at the Adya Sarma udyan of Nalbari town.The Nalbari district unit of AASU also organized a special programme under the name and style Rang-Bhabana at Gurdon Field at evening to commemorate the death anniversary of the legendary artist.
BJP Margherita alleges ‘highhandedness’ by Cong MLA Pradyut Bordoloi in distribution of cheques meant for beneficiaries ET Bureau Margherita, Feb 22: As the poll battle intensifies across the state of Assam for the ensuing state assembly elections, allegations of alleged highhandedness by former state minister and Margherita constituency MLA Pradyut Bordoloi has come up from opposition BJP camp in the constituency. Bhim Karmakar, President, Margherita sadar mandal committee and Vice Chairman of Margherita Town Committee alleged that the MLA is using his powers in an ‘unethical’ way to impress upon the voters of the constituency. Poll experts believe that the BJP has a fair chance of winning in the constituency if a proper and strong
candidate is fielded from the constituency. Karmakar, who is a senior party leader and one of the ticket aspirant from the constituency alleged that Bordoloi had forced the CDPO, Margherita to hand over around 400 cheques issued against equal number of beneficiaries to him and his party leaders making wrong and unethical use of his power and position. “The beneficiaries were selected as per criteria by the ward members of the 8 wards of the Margherita Town Committee. However, Bordoloi and his men had taken away all the cheques from the CDPO and now are distributing them through
mandal and booth committees. This is totally illogical and we have demanded that all the cheques should be handed back to the CDPO and it should be distributed to the beneficiaries through their respective ward members only”, Karmakar said. It might be mentioned that proving its strong presence among the urban voters of the constituency, the BJP made a clean sweep during the last civic body polls and bagged all the 8 seats. Karmakar also stated that the party will file a case against the CDPO and will also stage a dharna at the CDPO office on Tuesday alleging that the concerned official failed to discharge his duties.
World Thinking Day observed in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Mangaldai
‘World Thinking Day’ celebrated by the Sttudentss and teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya of the occasion of the birthday of Lord and Lady Baden Powel with various programmes. ET Correspondent Mangaldai Feb 22 : The World Thinking Day has been celebrated by the students and teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Mangadai today on the occasion of the birthday of Lord and Lady Baden Powel with various programmes such as delivering of speeches from selected students about the life and philosophy of Baden Powel couples and their social movement of the Scouts and Guides, garlanding across the portraits of Lord and Lady Powel , lightening of the lamp , all faith prayer , flag break ,
staging of food stalls with food items prepared by the students themselves , painting campaign cleanliness drive and planting of saplings etc. Z. Ansari , i/c Principal of the vidyalaya as the chief guest lit the ceremonial lamp to mark the beginning of the day long programme in presence Sehena Begam , teacher in charge of Scouts and Guides, Manashi Devi , Guide Captain, Guide Master Dr R Ranjan among other teachers. Speaking on the occasion the chief guest recalled the contribution of the Scouts and Guides in nation building and its
founders Lord and Lady Powel and asked the students to follow the ideologies of the two great souls. The students were also addressed by H. Sharan who elaborated on this year's theme of the Thinking Day"Connect India Digitally" and stressed the importance of digital literacy. Earlier on the day students Manashree Kakoti , Rajashree Kashyap and JigyashayKashyap spoke on the significance of observing the World Thinking Day in the morning assembly of the school. The day long observation came to an end with the lowering of the flag.
A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Feb 22: The 506th birth anniversary of Mahabir Chilarai was observed as Chilarai Divas in different parts of Assam on Monday. The All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) held programmes in lower Assam to mark the occasion. Bir Chilarai (1510 – 1571 AD) - was a great general who belonged to the Koch royal dynasty of Assam. By his valour, he played a significant role in expanding the empire of his elder brother, Maharaja Nara Narayan. The Koch dynasty set up their kingdom in the western part of Assam after the fall of Khen dynasty in 1498 AD and Chandan was crowned king of Kamata kingdom. Maharaja Chandan ruled for thirteen years but as he had no sons, after his death Viswa
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi paying tribute to ‘Bir Chilarai’ on the occasion of Bir Chilarai Divas at Guwahati. Pic - UB Photos Singha was enthroned. The reign of Maharaja Viswa Singha marked a glorious episode in the history of
Assam as he was the founder ruler of the Koch royal dynasty, who newly established his kingdom in 1515 AD. He had many sons but only four
Two day National Youth Conclave ends tunity on Retail Management, Community/Social Service, and an Entrepreneur were screened on projector by the respective expert. The experts suggested the youth not only to run after the jobs but also urged them to develop skill in various fields to stand anywhere of their own. A two day closing ceremony of National Youth Conclave. Pic - ET Photo A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Feb 22: A two day National Youth Conclave under Youth-Led Sustainable Development Programmme (YLSDP) on the theme “Career Guidance for a Better Tomorrow” jointly organized by Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development and M.D.K. College in collaboration with Royal Group of Institutions, Guwahati, Assam which started from 21st to 22nd February concluded today here at M.D.K. College, Dibrugarh. Prof. Naren Changmai, President, ACTA inaugurated the programme and Prof. Biren Baruah President, ACTADZ was the Guest of Honour along with scores of dignitaries from various field. On the first day, series of programmes were screened to
the youths by the experts. Addressing the youths, Prof. Dipankar Sarmah, MDKG College screened that National Youth Policy 2014 provides a holistic Vision for the youth of India which is “to empower the youth of the country to achieve their full potential, and through them enable India to find its rightful place in the community of nations”. He urged the youth to create a productive workforce that can make a sustainable contribution to India’s economic development. Rupam Saika, Royal Group of Institutions (RGI), Guwahati presented the effective way of facing personal interview in Govt., private jobs and institutions for higher education. Many other programmes like career oppor-
On the concluding day also, sequence of programmes were presented. Aisharyya Arindam, Tata Consultancy Service (TCS), Mumbai conducted the power point presentation on career prospects in Corporate Sector. Prof. Indrani Sengupta, MDKG College, elaborately explained how to score marks in examination which would benefit the students and youths. Thereafter many other programmes like career opportunities in Beauty & Wellness, Fashion Shows & Modelling, IT Industry and Photography were also screened by the experts of these fields in the event. The event was also marked with the interaction of talented youths of different fields who earned number of feats in the state and national events. The participants of the event were awarded with the Certificate of participation.
AABYF seeks clarification from Himanta towards the Hindu Bengali speaking community.
All Assam Bengali Youth Federation members in the press meet at Dhemaji. ET Correspondent Dhemaji 22 Feb: The comments made by Himanta Biswasarma on 35 Bengali MLA‘s of the State not belonging to Indian origin has created strong resentment among the members of the Bengali community as well as various students unions of the Community. A press meet was organized
4 KLO ultras apprehended
today by the Dhemaji district unit of All Assam Bengali Youth Federation at Silapathar where Dipak Dey, President of the Student Union was present. Stating at the press meet the President came critically on the State and Central government over their negligence and adamant attitude
Dey told the newsmen that Himanta Biswasarma to clear his clarification on the comments made by him within 48 hours. If he would not clear his views then we would stir protest within short span of time. Since time immemorial the Hindu Bengali’s have been a strong force in the political arena of the State. With out the support of the Hindu Bengali Voters no party can achieve majority in Assam. The student body seeks for immediate solution on the D- Voter issues, Food Security, Big Dam and flood and erosion problems of the State.
of them were remarkable. Shukladhwaj, later known as Bir Chilarai, was his third son.
In a joint operation of Assam police and army was conducted at Kalpani area where Binay Barman of Paschim Kalpani of Baksa, a hardcore cadre of KLO was arrested from his house wee hour on Monday. He took military training in 2012 in Bhutan and was involved with various activities’ country made pistol, 31 live ammunition of 5.56 pistol, 24 rounds of 7.62 – rusted, five empty rounds, two bullet heads, two pocket diaries and a mobile handset were recovered room him. A cadre of NDFB (Songbijit faction) and two cadres of Rabha Viper Army were arrested from Kashiabari Tapu village late last night under Gossaigain PS in Kokrajhar district of Assam. They were identified as Rabiram Basumatary(NDFB-S) and Seven Rabha, Shimbu Rabha. One riffle, one pistol, four live bullet recovered from them.
Muslim community to host Bibi Mariam Fatema Mazhaar annual Urus Festival
ET Correspondent Margherita, Feb 22: Bibi Mariam Fatema Mazhaar annual Urus Festival is going to be held on February 25th. Bibi Mariam Fatema Mazhaar is situated at Namdang Colliery which is 4 Km away from Margherita Town. Bibi Mariam Fatema belongs to Syed Dynasty, whose ancestors came from Baluchistan to M.K Line Namdang, Margherita in the year 1882, said Toufik Khan, a social worker of Margherita. “During the annual Urus Festival more than 1 Lakh devotees come from different community of Hindu, Islam, Christian, Jain, and Buddhist. The devotees mainly come from
West Bengal, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Cachar, Guwahati, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Tinsukia and many other places during the annual Urus Festival” said Imran Khan, chief priest of Bibi Mariam. Imran Khan also mentioned that the Bibi Mariam Fatema Mazhaar covers an area of 12 Bighas 12 Lesso of Land where a Madrasa Islamia Misbahul Uloom is setup where more than 50 Students studies English, Hindi, Arabian, Persian, Assamese, Urdu languages and other academic Subjects and also students get education, Fooding and Lodging free of cost.
Rail services disrupted in lower Assam, Adivasi demand ST status ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Feb. 22: Train services along the Northeastern Frontier Railway(NFR) via Fakiragram junction of Lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district was disrupted today for nearly four hours including Rajdhani Express train following rail blockade at Kokrajhar railway station under the banner of the Adivasi National Convention Committee (ANCC), a conglomeration organization of the ceasefire militant outfits demanding early granting of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and settlement of ceasefire militant outfits of the Adivasi community. Over ten thousand Adivasis peoples from various districts of Lower Assam which comprises of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, Dhubri, Bongaigaon thronged at the rail track with banner, festoon and placards to blockade beginning from 8 am and shouted slogans demanding ST status, early settled of ceasefire groups of the community, which was organized by the ANCC, a conglomeration organization of five militant outfits Adivasis which included Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA), Birsa Commando Force (BCF),Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam(ACMA),Santhali tiger Force(STF),Adivasi Peoples’ Army(APA). Several long distance super fast express trains including 12423 down (DN) Rajdhani Express train bound for New Delhi was stranded at New Bongaigaon station of Lower Assam’s Bongaigaon district since morning following blockade, besides several trains were halted at various stations in Lower Assam and some part of West Bengal state. The blockade was later lifted at 12 noon after district administration assured to forward message about demands of the community to the government. The ANCC has strongly ex-
BJP alleges CPI (M) attack on its workers in Tripura Tripura, Feb 22: Ahead of village council election in Tripura, BJP on Sunday alleged its workers were attacked by CPI (M) “goons” with a plan to “eliminate” them but the case is being passed off as “accident” by police. In a statement, BJP said a vehicle carrying its activists from a rally was pelted with stones by CPI (M) “goons”, causing the driver to lose control, resulting in serious injuries to eight persons. “It was a well-thought out plan to create terror among people by eliminating BJP activists in that area to bar the flow of common people coming to the party. Eight activists were seriously injured. “Police turned it into a normal accident case rather than slapping attempt to murder charges as it is playing into the hands of the ruling party,” the statement said. Campaigning is on for village council election to be held on February 24. BJP said this is not for the first time that such an “attack” has occurred. Two years ago, then BJP state party president Sudhindra Dasgupta was attacked by “CPI (M) goons” but no action was taken by the police. (PTI)
pressed resentment over the snail pace of the peace talk and delayed solutions and granting of ST status to the community issues. Durga Hasda, Chairman of Birsa Commando Force termed the governments that are playing dirty politics over delayed the issues of the Adivasis in Assam.He has slammed both government at Dispur and Delhi have no nay intention to give welfare attitude towards community that is why community are depriving getting of constitutional rights in the state. Bishing Munda, secretary of ANCC said, ‘The committee compelled to take railway blockade to put pressure the government for granting ST status to Adivasis of Assam ahead assembly election and early solutions of issue and demands of the ceasefire militant outfits of the community’. The ANCC has also alleged that both state and centre have been politicizing over the issues of the Adivasis since long years. The committee would have compelled to take strong movement if demands are not meet in early manner in coming days. The governments never want change and welfare of the Adivasi community in the state. Community is deprived from getting welfare and development from all fronts of c o n s t i t u t i o n a l rights’,Munda said. Boyel Hembrom, ANCC president and Ambrit Beck, vice president of ANCC and ANLA Commander said, ‘The government has not been any stressed to solve the issue and demands of the Adivasis, that is why the community should have to step to blockade the rail track’. The govt should take bold step while granting ST status to the community, besides holding peace talk to solve militancy issues of the community ahead Assam assembly election. The leaders also warned for vigorous mass agitation against the government if their demand and issues are not meet early solution.
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Series of ‘dharnas’ and rallies of BJP in Eastern Arunachal from Feb 23 Contd. from Page 1 The Abhiyan is going to be launched in the background that certain political forces active in the Jawaharlal Nehru University are giving indulgence to fissiparous forces under the guise of exercise of freedom of expression, the communiqué stated. “Lawful governance is being obstructed again and again”, said BJP. Stating that the
people have came to know about the underlining conspiracy to gain political mileage by the Congress Party and their leftist allies the BJP said that this has exposed their political bankruptcy that they are unnecessarily questioning the decision of the SC regarding attack on the Parliament. Jan Swabhiman Abhiyan is being organized in order to expose their indiscreet statements putting the country to shame, BJP concluded.
APCC President accuses BJP of... Contd. from Page 1
the BJP is adopting all ways which are totally ‘unethical and illogical”, stated Padi Richo, president of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) during an exclusive interview with this correspondent. “Arunachal Pradesh has always remained sensitive for its long international border with China. Therefore, the BJP is trying to bring the state under its umbrella by any means”, Richo added. The APCC President also said that many people might have voted for the BJP during the last parliamentary elections which led to its victory, but many are already realizing their mistake. “This is evident from the results from various states of various elections after 2014, first BJP lost in New
Delhi, then in Bihar, they are even losing in civic body elections, people are already fed up with their communal politics”, he added. It is only because of the BJP and its Sangh Parivar due to which the entire nation has been witnessing the wave of intolerance, he said. “BJP by deploying RSS and VHP has murdered democracy in Arunachal Pradesh and in India”, he added. On initiating disciplinary action against the rebel MLAs, Richo said, after disqualification of the 14 MLAs who are currently with Kalikho Pul, the APCC has served notices to other five MLAs for breach of party discipline. Richo also came down heavily upon the Governor J.P.Rajkhowa for acting as an agent of the BJP and the RSS.
New Arunachal CM sets agendas Contd. from Page 1 While justifying the meaning of zero tolerance, CM said that these critical essential service sectors will be accorded top priority which would include sufficient fund, adequate manpower, proper infrastructure and efficient monitoring at all levels for effective deliverance. This would also include transfer and posting of required officials, suspension and even termination of the erring officials who does not perform in accordance to their assigned duties. CM instructed the DGP to take note that there is no breach of law and order and those found involved in illegal activities arebooked as per the law of the landwithout succumbing to any pressures. He assured full support and cooperation towards the department and ordered for immediate recruitment of 2200 police personnel apart from expediting establishment of women police stations in all the districts with at least 20 women police personnel against each police station. According top priority to education and health sector, the Chief Minister said that he would ensure all the colleges and schools in the state be filled with sufficient subject teachers in a year time. Stipends to the students would be dispensed on monthly basis and there would be regular re-
Spl Correspondent Tinsukia, Feb 22. Makum police on Monday arrested one of the main accused in the state Bank of India Makum branch burglary case. The accused, identifued as Lukuna Mahanta is a resident of Gandhinagar in Makum. It must be noted that criminals had attempted to rob
state bank if India's Makum branch in midDecember. However, the swift action of Makum police station incharge Bhaskar Saikia resulted in the arrest of two persons, namely, Tintu Tasa, Ranu Ali in the case the very next day of the incident.
He announced to create more than 2000 posts of medics, para-medical including specialists and GDMOs in the health department to cater to the need for efficient health delivery system in the state. He also announced to make the already upgraded zonal hospitals at Khonsa, Pasighat, Ziro, Bomdila, Tezu and Aalo functional by providing all the required equipment and medicines with adequate man power in the current year. Citing examples that the infrastructure created by the departments for essential services are not properly maintained while many are non-functional, Pul called upon the department officers to prepare realistic projects which would genuinely benefit the populace.
that the state government would give utmost importance to the PRI and Urban local institutions by releasing grants. He also appreciated the Clean Arunachal campaign initiated by the chief secretary which received massive response from the local denizens. In order to carry forward the momentum and good work, CM announced immediate appointment of “SafaiKarmcharis” on contingency basis with procurement of dumpers and waste lifting machines. In a special reference, the CM also revealed that the state government shall create jobs in service sectors to employ thousands while all the appointments to the group C & D posts for the districts would be done in the districts itself in order to maintain equal representation from the region, community and the district. Our government will ensure equal representation and equal opportunities to all, Pul confidently said.
Underscoring the importance of Power in day to day life, CM pitched for harnessing of power potentials of small rivers and rivulets by developing small hydels with installed capacity of 10-20 KW to supplement the power requirements of remote administrative blocks.
Issuing directives to maintain office decorum and discipline, the Chief Minister asked the Chief Secretary to ensure that no private individual carries government files by hand. Pressure tactics, intimidation or corruption of any form would not be tolerated while the government will ensure your safety and security, CM assertively said.
The CM disclosed
In an another important di-
rective, Pul asked the Chief Secretary to issue orders for shifting all the powers of an officer or officials to link officers or officials whenever the prior is on leave or on tour. “No Government work should be hampered due to leave of any employees whatsoever position he or she holds” he asserted. The employees should give entire powers to the link officer or officials even during Casual leaves, he added. While appreciating the order issued by Governor for cancellation of all officiating or functional appointments and the promotions on ‘out of turn’ basis, CM said that he would continue with the stand of doing away with the favoritism culture. While mentioning on transfer and posting of employees, Pul maintained that transfer and posting should be done in the beginning of the academic year for the convenience of the governance. He also issued directives to all the departments to submit in detail of the ongoing projects, completed projects, physical achievement supported with photographs and video, pending projects lying with the Government of India and such other projects of the state as well centrally sponsored within a weeks’ time. The marathon meeting which started at 3 PM, lasted for 6 long hours and covered myriad subjects of state interest.
Nonstop direct flight to introduce from Dibrugarh Contd. from Page 1
One arrested in SBI dacoity case at Makum
lease of salaries to all categories of staff. Posts of peons and chowkidars (day/night) too would be created and then appointed against all schools and health centres in order to maintain and secure the infrastructure and facilities of the institution.
Public organizations like the Dibrugarh Nagarik Sangha, the Eastern Assam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dibrugarh Bar Association etc. have strongly urged the Air India management for operating daily and direct flights in the Kolkata to Dibrugarh and Dibrugarh to Kolkata sectors, instead of clubbing its flights connecting Dimapur and Dibrugarh. Noted tea planter, educationist and sports organizer Prof. Dhirendra Nath Baruah
said, ‘Firstly, it’s a national loss as there is hardly any passenger seen availing a seat either way from Dibrugarh to Dimapur and vice versa in Air India. Secondly, it’s gross inconvenience for passengers of both Dibrugarh and Dimapur airports. “We demand that direct flight should be operate from Dibrugarh and instead of five days in a week daily flight should be operate from Dibrugarh,’’ Baruah said. In another development concerning the railway services in Dibrugarh and adjoining districts, a delegation of the Dibrugarh district committee
of the Assam Rail Passengers’ Association, led by its adviser and former chairman of the Dibrugarh Municipal Board Chandra Kanta Baruah and Vice – President Dayananda Singh of Moranhat, had a meeting with the Divisional Railway Manager of the Tinsukia Division of the NF Railway in the latter’s office recently. “In the meeting the DRM assured us that very soon the Diesel Electric Multiple Unit or DEMU train services is going to be introduced very soon in Tinsukia Division,’’ said Nabajyoti Borkakoty, a member of the delegation. DRM assured the delegation that when rakes for
the same are available and the necessary infrastructure for maintenance of the same have been developed in Tinsukia the DEMU would be introduce. The other members of the delegation were, Arabinda Paul, Prof. Partha Ganguly, Raju Kumar Chetry and Nabajyoti Borkakoty. The DRM also appraised the delegation that a few more long distance trains, including in all probability a superfast train to Mumbai CST will be extended to Dibrugarh and that an additional pit line is being constructed at the station premises for that purpose.
We can set the clock back, 2 Naga filmmakers win at the 'Film, Northeast 2016' Festival SC to Congress
Itanagar,Feb 22:Despite lack of resources, infrastructure and encouragement for Nagaland's filmmakers, there is no dearth of talented ones emerging from the State.This manifested at the 'Film, Northeast 2016' Festival which was held at Itanagar with three filmmakers from Nagaland State honoured with two coveted awards in the competition segment. Noted filmmaker Kivini Shohe's film 'Oh My Soul' won the best documentary film of the Northeast under the segment Our Stories.The film is directed by Shohe and produced by Film Division of India. It explores the oppressive struggle of three men having sex with men (MSM) in Dimapur. It is the first ever documentation of a community haunted by taboo and denial.An award of Rs two lakh and trophy for the film were given away at the colourful awards ceremony held at IG Park on Febru-
tion and Public Relations Department of Arunachal Pradesh in partnership with the Film Federation of Arunachal with the theme 'Saluting talent Nurturing passion.'Around 84 films from the North East region were screened at the four day event. A number of workshops and discussion forums were also held during the festival.
ary 20 evening, the last day of the film festival.In the short film section of the competition- Clapperboard, the film 'Story of a House' which was produced and directed by Sophy Lasuh and Sesino Yoshu won the Best Director award. The film tells the story of the residents of a house who live in India during the day and sleep in Myanmar at night and reveals why. The film walked away with a trophy.
Other films from Nagaland State that competed in different sections of the competition include 'AnisheFlower Maiden' directed by Kivine Shohe, 'The Wake Pp Call' directed by Tiakumzuk Aier, 'Handmade Arts and Crafts in the Misty Mountains' directed by Razousituo Pusa and 'Can you' a short film directed by Bokavi Swu.Among the many categories of competition, 'Ajeyo,' a film from Assam
Filmmaker Kivini Shohe with the Best Documentary film award at the concluding ceremony at IG Park,
and directed by Jahnu Barua won the Best feature film under the Chairoscuro segment with a cash award of Rs five lakh. The film was produced by Shankar Lall Goenka. Meghalaya's Pradip Kurbah directed film 'Ri-Homeland of uncertainty' won the best director, best editor, best actor and best actor in negative role awards.The award of best film (shorts) under the
Clabberboard segment with a cash prize of Rs two lakh and trophy went to Tribenny Rai from Sikkim for her film 'Memory of a heart.' 'Orong' an Assamese film directed by Suraj Kumar Duwarah was awarded the best debut feature film with cash prize of Rs two lakh and trophy in the First cut segment. Film Northeast 2016 was organized by the Informa-
Set to be a biennial event, the festival was conceptualized to create opportunity for filmmakers of the eight states in the North East of India to express their creativity, exchange ideas and indulge in artistic interaction, all the while working together to accelerate the growth of cinema in the region.A four team member from Nagaland led by IPR assistant director Tialemba, filmmakers Kivini Shohe, Tiakumzuk and Anungla Longkumer participated in the 4-day film festival. (Agencies)
Tripura Congress divided over alliance with Left Agartala, Feb 22: Congress leaders in Tripura are sharply divided over a possible alliance the party may forge with the Left parties in West Bengal assembly elections. Tripura Congress president Birajit Sinha and some others say they will abide by any decision of the central leaders but opposition leader Sudip Roy Barman of the Congress and his father and former chief minister Samir
Ranjan Barman are strongly opposed to any alliance with the Left. "We will abide by whatever decision the central leadership takes over the issue," Tripura Pradesh Congress chief Birajit Sinha said on Monday. "The CPI-M (Communist Party of IndiaMarxist) is a policy-less party, it has no principles. People threw it out from power. Now it is again keen to return to power riding on
the shoulder of Congress," Samir Ranjan Barman said. Sudip Roy Barman had sent a note to Congress president Sonia Gandhi arguing against the alliance with the Left in West Bengal, saying it will prove "harmful" to the Congress. "Let us not forget that about 50,000 committed workers and leaders of the Congress were killed mercilessly by the CPI-M during their 34 years rule in
West Bengal," Sudip Roy Barman said. In a note, he said, "The CPI-M had always tried to tarnish the image of Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi and always put Communism higher than patriotism." But another senior Congress leader, Tapas Dey, said that it was due to the wrongdoing of the Barmans that the Congress was dislodged from power in 1993 in Tripura. The rul-
ing CPI-M ridiculed the comments of Congress leaders. "The CPI-M has urged all democratic and secular parties to forge an alliance in West Bengal," CPI-M central committee member Gautam Das said. He accused Tripura Congress leaders of having propped up terrorist outfits in a bid to oust the Left Front government in Tripura in 1988. (Agencies)
Contd. from Page 1
It has now fixed these pleas for hearing after the pronouncement of verdict on petitions dealing with Governor’s discretionary powers in advancing the assembly session and setting the agenda of the House. The bench is hearing a batch of pleas on constitutional powers of Governors. Another senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, appearing for Arunachal Congress leaders, endorsed Mr. Nariman’s view and added that the swearing in of the government led by Pul would create “a new kind of methodology of toppling governments”. Observing that Mr. Pul was a Congress MLA who has been sworn in as the Chief Minister without any communication from the party, he apprehended that soon the House may be dissolved which would ultimate render the pending petitions infructuous. To this, the bench said even if the House is dissolved, “we can still set the things straight if we agree with you. And if we don’t agree with you, things will be as it is.” Both Mr. Nariman and Mr. Sibal contended that how a Governor who is a party in the case can swear in a new Chief Minister who claims to be a Congress party leader without any communication from the party appointing him as the leader.
Mr. Sibal further said that at 6.30 p.m. last Friday, President’s Rule was revoked in the state and at 10 p.m. the new Chief Minister was sworn in and observed that during this period there was no government in the state. “During proclamation, the assembly is in suspended animation and once the proclamation is revoked, a government has to take its place. Here the constitutional provisions were violated as there was no government for 3.30 hours,” he said. The bench, however, said it will take up this matter after it closes the case concerning discretionary power of the Governor. Senior advocate T R Andhyarujina appearing for Governor J P Rajkhowa, while concluding his arguments in the case, said he had acted under his discretionary power to advance the session of the House. He claimed the Governor was assaulted by two ministers of the Nabam Tuki government and abused by the Congress party leaders at his house. “If he has no powers of discretion, then the whole thing falls. If he has the power of discretion, then the sequences follows,” Mr. Andhyarujina said. The bench then said that according to it, tentatively, everything will go if it did not agree with the contentions of Governor and rebel MLAs, and if it agrees, then everything will be as it is.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
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Conspiracy to break India apart needs to be discussed in Parl.: Shiv Sena New Delhi, Feb. 22: Shiv Sena leader Sanjat Raut, who was present at an all-party meeting chaired by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, on Monday said the conspiracy to break India apart needs to be discussed in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament. Talking about the furore over the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) row, Raut told that there were other similar 'burning' issues in the nation that needs to be discussed in the Parliament. "There are many burning issues in this nation besides JNU and there should be a discussion on all of them. The Prime Minister has said that at-
tempts are being made to destabilise his government and we agree with him, but there is conspiracy to tear India apart and there should be a discussion on that," Raut said. Asserting that discussions over the elements responsible behind the JNU standoff will also be held in the Parliament, he added that the issues being raised by the Opposition also needs to be addressed in the matter. Meanwhile, the Centre has said that they have no hesitation in discussion the JNU row in the Parliament. "It's a big country and yes there are several issues. That's what the Parliament is there for, to dis-
Budget Session: Govt. asks Opposition to adopt positive approach
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked the Opposition to adopt a positive approach for the upcoming Budget Session
New Delhi, Feb. 22: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked the Opposition to adopt a positive approach for the upcoming Budget Session. "The Budget Session is very important. The Opposition must adopt a positive approach. Even we are worried on the issues that you are worried. The matters of the JNU and Rohith Vemula are serious and there should be a thorough discussion on them in the Parliament," Naidu said in an all-party meeting held at the Parliament. "Every time people think and hope that this session will be productive, so we need to work towards that. The GST and Real Estate are the two key reform bills which we need to pass. We are ready to discuss all issues," he added. Naidu further stated the government wants a detailed discussion on the JNU row, adding that the people should know what really happened there, what was the cause and what will be the consequence of the act. He also asserted that the government is firmly
committed to uphold the spirit of the Constitution in letter and spirit, adding that they are in favour of discussion on Hyderabad University studentRohith Vemula's suicide and the Jat quota stir. Leaders from various political parties, including Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI (M) politburo member Mohammed Salim besides others are present in the meeting. The Budget Session will begin on February 23. While the first session will continue till March 16, the second session will take place from April 25 to May 13. President Pranab Mukherjee will address the joint session of the Parliament on February 23. The Railway Budget will be presented on February 25 while the Union Budget will be presented on February 29. The government has been critical of the Opposition for blocking the House proceedings and important legislations. (ANI)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjat Raut cuss those issues. Government has no hesitation in discussing JNU or Hyderabad University or any other issues. There are different views on it which needs to be debated," Naidu told the media. Calling on the Opposition to adopt a positive approach for the
upcoming Budget Session, he added that holding discussions should be the protocol in the Parliament instead of disruption. Leaders from various political parties, including Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress leaders Ghulam
puted site. In response, the court said that the issue would be listed before the bench which is already hearing matters regarding the Ram temple-Babri Masjid row. Swamy had earlier claimed that work on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya could start before the end of this year and expressed confidence that the apex court's verdict would pave the way for construction of the temple. (ANI)
"There are many burning issues in this nation besides JNU and there should be a discussion on all of them. The Prime Minister has said that attempts are being made to destabilise his government and we agree with him, but there is conspiracy to tear India apart and there should be a discussion on that,- Says Sanjat Raut
Munak Canal issue: SC sends notice to Centre, Delhi and Haryana governments New Delhi, Feb.22: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and the governments of Delhi and Haryana with regard to what steps all three were taking to restore operations of the strategicallylocated Munak Canal, which supplies water to the national capital. During the hearing of a petition related to the damage of the canal during the ongoing Jat community reservation row, the apex court expressed
its displeasure over the presence of Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra in the court room. The counsel representing the Haryana Government reportedly informed the Supreme Court that water from the Munak Canal would reach Delhu by 5 p.m. this evening. The apex court stricture came even as the army announced that it has taken control of the Munak Canal in Haryana's Sonipat district, and restoired movement of
traffic along the busy National Highway 1 between Delhi and Ambala. The role of the army was lauded and appreciated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Traffic is also being restored on other highways in the violence-hit districts of Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal and Hisar. Meanwhile, police sources said that Jat protestors continued to block roads and railway tracks at some places on Monday.
Efforts were being made to remove them and restore traffic. The eight-day old Jat agitation has left 11 people dead and over 150 injured, said Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (Home) P.K. Dass. Security forces were able to secure the Munak canal, which supplies water to Delhi, in Haryana's Sonipat district on Monday morning. Water supply to Delhi was disrupted at AkbarpurBarota by Jat protesters since Friday night. (ANI)
'Apple encryption issue about victims and justice' Washington, Feb 22: A court order the US government requested to force Apple to unlock an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino shooting rampage is about "the victims and justice," FBI Director James Comey said. In his first public remarks since Apple CEO Tim Cook said he would fight the federal magistrate's order, Comey said the Justice Department's request is simply about gaining access to the locked phone. "We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land," Comey said in a posting that appeared on the lawfareblog.org site late on Sunday. Investigators want to hack into an iPhone belonging to the late Syed Farook, a US citizen who along with his wife Tashfeen Malik went on a shooting rampage in
FBI logo San Bernardino, California that killed 14 people on December 2. Apple claims that cooperating with the FBI probe would undermine overall security for its devices. "The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message," Comey said. "It is about the victims and justice."
According to Comey, the "particular legal issue is actually quite narrow... We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly. The phone may or may not hold important clues. "But we can't look the survivors
in the eye, or ourselves in the mirror, if we don't follow this lead," he wrote. This case highlights the new technology that creates "tension between two values we all treasure: privacy and safety. That tension should not be resolved by corporations that sell stuff for a living. "It also should not be resolved by the FBI, which investigates for a living. It should be resolved by the American people deciding how we want to govern ourselves in a world we have never seen before." Finding "the right place, the right balance, will matter to every American for a very long time" said the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both Apple CEO Tim Cook and Comey have been invited to testify about encryption on Capitol Hill. (Agencies)
JNU row: Accused student cries foul, demands registrar's dismissal
SC to hear Swamy's plea on Ram temple construction tomorrow New Delhi, Feb. 22: The Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear the plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy over the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. This came after Swamy submitted a petition in the apex court, stating that the disputed mosque in Ayodhya could be shifted to some place across river Saryu and the Lord Ram temple be constructed at the dis-
Nabi Azad and Jyotiraditya Scindia, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI (M) politburo member Mohammed Salim besides others were present in the meeting. The Budget Session will begin on February 23. While the first session will continue till March 16, the second session will take place from April 25 to May 13. President Pranab Mukherjee will address the joint session of the Parliament on February 23. The Railway Budget will be presented on February 25 while the Union Budget will be presented on February 29. The government has been critical of the Opposition for blocking the House proceedings and important legislations. (ANI)
Anant Prakash New Delhi, Feb. 22: Anant Prakash, one of the five students accused in the JNU controversy, on Monday demanded vice-chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar to take a 'courageous stand' and ensure
that all charges against them are dropped. Prakash also demanded that registrar professor Bupinder Zutshi should be dismissed with immediate effect while holding him responsible for the conspiracies against
them. "The intention of the government is clear. Target the leaders and end politics in JNU. We want the vice-chancellor to take a courageous stand, get all charges dropped and dismiss the registrar as all the conspiracies have been hatched by the registrar," Prakash told. "I can only say that a political witch hunt is going on. We are being punished because we speak against the government. I am not being seen in the footage. Was it an offence to be in the Sabarmati Dhaba that day? Then I am not the only accused. Around
100 to 150 people were present there... arrest all of them," he added. Five students from the JNU, who were being looked for by the police in connection with making 'anti-national' statements at the campus earlier, surfaced at the varsity last night. The five students- Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash had gone missing from the campus since February 12 after JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in a sedition case. (ANI)
SC declines to entertain plea on Jat agitation
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain the pleaon Jat agitation
New Delhi, Feb.22: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain the pleaon Jat agitation, saying that matters like these should be left for the government to handle. The apex court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which sought its intervention into the law and order breakdown pertaining to the pro-reservation protest being carried out by the members of Jat commu-
nity in Haryana. The court, in its observation, said that it was a case of political gimmickry and the leaders should take stock of the situation and sort it out. Urging the protestors to maintain peace, harmony and brotherhood in the state, the apex court said that such issues not be brought to the court. The members of the Jat community have been protesting for the last eight days demanding reservation in government jobs. (ANI)
Water head at Munak canal properly guarded by army, says Parrikar
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar New Delhi, Feb. 22: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said the army, which has properly guarded the water head of the Munak canal, is helping the local administration. "As per my information, the water head of Munak canal from where the water gets diverted is properly guarded and the army is properly helping the local administration," Parrikar told the media here. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today expressed his delight over the army taking control of the strategic Munak
canal from the Jat quota agitators. "Thank u army, thank u centre for securing munak canal back. Great relief for Delhi. Trying to assess in how much time water wud reach Del n whether any damage done to canal lining. Will keep u updated. Gud news. Army takes control of munak canal gates," Kejriwal tweeted. The Munak canal, which carries 543 million gallons of water per day from the Yamuna to the city, was besieged by Jat protestors demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. (ANI)
Student in us should always be alive: PM Modi Vanarasi, Feb 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the centenary year convocation ceremony of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Monday, urged students to always keep alive the keenness to learn after they pass out. Addressing the convocation ceremony at Varanasi, Modi said many of those who passed out of BHU have contributed to the society in many ways, as doctors, teachers, civil servants. He also congratulated the students who were conferred their degrees. "The student in us should always be alive. We should not allow the student in us to wither away," Modi told the students, amid applause. "Jigyasa (Curiosity) is important. If there is no Jigyasa, there is stagnation
in life," Modi said. He told the students that after they leave the portals of the university campus they will encounter the wide world. But even amid all their work they should keep the student in themselves alive. He also said that the world faces several challenges. "We should think about what role India can play in overcoming these challenges," However, the prime minister steered clear of making any comment on the festering Jawaharlal Nehru University row, in which Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested for sedition and some other students are also to be charged for allegedly shouting antiIndia slogans. (Agencies)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the centenary year convocation ceremony of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Monday
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
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NEIGHBOURS
Indonesia sinks 27 foreign boats to stop illegal fishing Jakarta,Feb 22:Indonesia sank 27 impounded foreign boats on Monday (Feb 22), a minister said, as the world's largest archipelago nation stepped up a campaign against illegal fishing in its waters.The empty vessels from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar were blown up or scuttled at five separate locations across the country, said Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti. The boats had been all caught fishing illegally in the archipelago of more
Bangladesh Cabinet clears proposal to hike judges' salaries Dhaka, Feb.22: TheBangladesh Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to hike the salaries and benefits of members of Bangladesh Judicial ServiceThe Cabinet fixed the monthly salaries of senior district judges at Taka 78,000. The salary hike will be effective from July 1, 2015, while the increased allowances and other benefits will come into effect from July 1 this year, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam was quoted by the Daily Star, as saying at a media briefing.Basic salaries of assistant judges at the entry level have been raised to Taka 30,950 from Taka 16,000, he added.The salaries were increased following the recommendations of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Pay Commission in line with the National Pay and Services Commission, he said. (ANI)
Indian State Ministers meet PM Oli Kathmandu,Feb 22: Indian State Minister for Power, Piyush Goyal, and State Minister for Ayush, Shreepad Yesso Naik have separately met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the residence of the Indian President on Monday.Issues related to bilateral ties, mutual interest and different sectors of cooperation were discussed in the meeting. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa, Home Minister Shakti Basnet, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, PM's political advisor Bishnu Rimal, Nepal's Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyaya and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae among others attended the meet. (Agencies)
Pak Govt. impose indefinite curfew in Mohmand Agency Peshawar, Feb.22 : An indefinite dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed across Mohmand Agency on Monday as security forces stepped up operations in the restive region. Curfew was imposed from 2 a.m. this morning. Residents were asked to stay home indefinitely via loudspeakers before the launching of an operation against the militants. Meanwhile, troops have intensified patrolling across the agency.According to the political administration, the measures have been taken after two separate attacks in the agency which left nine security officials dead. (ANI)
than 17,000 islands. Four Indonesian boats were also sunk after they were caught fishing without proper documentation. "The government is taking stronger and firmer action to enforce regulations to keep our waters safe," Pudjiastuti, a key figure in the campaign against illegal fishing, told journalists.Indonesia has sunk foreign boats on several occasions since the government launched the drive to combat illegal fishing, with President Joko Widodo claim-
Indonesia Navy personnel inspect the wrackage of foreign fishing vessels after blowing it up at Batam Sea
ing the practice costs the country's economy billions of dollars annually.Last October,
Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said that she had ordered the sinking
of 106 foreign boats that were fishing illegally in Indonesian waters, reported the Jakarta Post.Ms Susi said then that the sinking of the illegal boats is proof that the government is serious about eradicating illegal fishing and boosting the country's sea security.However, the campaign has caused tensions with other countries in the region. China last year expressed concern after a Chinese boat was blown up. (Agencies)
Indonesia sank 27 impounded foreign boats today minister said, as the world's largest archipelago nation stepped up a campaign against illegal fishing in its waters
Pakistan, India need treaty on innocent people in jails: Daily Islamabad, Feb 22: Pakistan and India must have a treaty to ensure that innocent people do not languish in each other's jails, said a Pakistani daily which noted that civilians are always going to be the victims in the tussle between the two countries. An editorial "The smaller issues" in The Nation on Monday said that the clash between India and Pakistan keeps growing more tentacles and civil-
ians are always going to be the victims. The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) on Saturday arrested 88 Indian fishermen allegedly for fishing in Pakistani waters. "With almost all talks regarding any sort of diplomacy between both countries failing, it is clear that instances like these are not stopping anytime soon," said the daily. The arrests are the third such incident in three months after the
two countries agreed in December 2015 to reinitiate the dialogue process when Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Pakistan. "However, the scheduled talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries were postponed after the Pathankot airbase attack in India last month. In the previous one, Pakistan's marine forces arrested 66 Indian fishermen for allegedly violating the
country's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea," said the editorial. It noted that although it is important to ensure the sanctity of borders, these fishermen are usually very poor and mostly lack the equipment to ensure that they are staying within the borders of their own country. "These fishing boats that lack the technology needed to be certain of their precise location and
accidentally cross boundaries." The daily added: "All that is needed is a treaty that makes sure that innocent people on both sides do not languish in jails for such mistakes, as bigger issues like the actual demarcation of territory around areas like Sir Creek remain irresolvable." "Poor men in jail, for crimes of omission due to a lack of official clarity, do no country any good," it said. (Agencies)
KC re-elected Rastriya Janamorcha chairman Kathmandu,Feb 22: Chitra Bahadur KC has been re-elected the Chairman of the Rastriya Janamorcha by the party's Third National Conference that concluded on Sunday night. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Poverty Alleviation, KC was elected unanimously. Similarly, Rashmi Raj Nepali has been elected the executive chairman, Badre Alam and Durga Poudel as the two vicechairpersons, Janak Raj Sharma the general secretary, Hem Lal Puri the secretary and Om
Bahadur KC the treasurer. The 31 central members who were elected before elected the office-bearers of the party. The national conference has also elected six alternate members, six advisors and a 200-member National Council. Party calls for scrapping federalism Meanwhile, the Rastriya Janamorcha has decided to wage a movement calling for scrapping the federalism, citing federalism has sown the seeds of disintegration and communal discord in the country. The
Chitra Bahadur KC has been re-elected the Chairman of the Rastriya Janamorcha
Third National Conference of the party held in Butwal stated this in its declaration. The conference has also unanimously passed the party
chairman's political proposal that emphasizes on establishing a unitary system of governance with democratic decentralisation and local
self-governance. The party also concluded that the country was passing through a difficult situation and called on all parties to be united to face it. It also demanded scrapping the provision made in the constitution that stipulates that the election constituencies would be formed based on the population and what it called the 'lenient' provision on citizenship. The party also demanded providing voting rights to the migrant Nepalis abroad and creating separate constituencies for the dalits and women, among others. (Agencies)
Beijing raises 'red alert' threshold for air pollution warning
Beijing raises 'red alert' threshold for air pollution warning
Beijing,Feb 22:Beijing is to raise the thresholds for issuing its highest air pollution warnings, two months after acrid smog triggered the city's first ever "red alert". In future, the highest
alert will be issued only when the daily average air quality index (AQI) is forecast to exceed 500 for a day, 300 for two days in a row or 200 for four days, Xinhua reported, citing Beijing's
environmental protection bureau.At present, a red alert is issued when the AQI is forecast to exceed 200, a level the US deems "very unhealthy", for at least three days.Schools were closed and outdoor construction work was suspended when thick smog prompted Beijing to issued its first red alert in December 2015. The new criteria take effect at the end of March and are designed to standardise pollution alerts across Beijing, the neighbouring port city of Tianjin and four cities in
the surrounding Hebei province.Liu Wei, deputy head of the emergency response office at the environmental protection bureau, said the move would in effect tighten the pollution controls for the outlying regions.Pollution is a sensitive topic in China, with thousands of protests sparked every year by concerns about environmental degradation
.Environmental officials admit China is unlikely to meet the air quality standards set by the state until at least 2030.Beijing, one of China's most polluted cities, announced in January it would close 2,500 small highly polluting firms in 2016. It also plans to develop a network ofventilation "corridors" to help disperse smog. (Agencies)
From March, China's capital will bring in new sliding scale for air quality, after issuing its first ever 'red alert' for the city in December
Sri Lankans arrested in Malaysia during nationwide crackdown Colombo,Feb 22:Malaysian authorities have nabbed 971 foreigners including Sri Lankans in a nationwide crackdown that began on Friday midnight. A total of 2,182 foreign nationals were screened in the 12-hour operation, the agency quoted an official at Malaysian Immigration Department. Migrant workers from
Nepal, Indonesia, Burma, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and China were arrested during the raid. The move comes hours after the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced suspension of recruitment of foreigners and deportation of illegal workers. Malaysian Immigration
Department Director General Datuk Sakib Kusmi said they were arrested on different charges like not having identification documents, overstaying and holding unrecognised cards of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.It is learnt that the detainees will be placed at immigration detention centres for investigation and would be
deported to their respective countries. Until Thursday this year, 8,058 illegal migrants were deported to their countries, reports say.The Malaysian authority conducted raid in Cyberjaya, Kuala Terengganu, Bukit Mertajam, Ipoh and Seremban from January 1 to February 19. Malaysia that is home to
Indian fishermen push for urgent talks with Sri Lanka
Indian fishermen push for urgent talks with Sri Lanka
Colombo,Feb 22:The National Fishworkers' Forum (NFF) in India said the fourth round of bilateral talks between fishermen of India and Sri Lanka should be held without any delay.Addressing the media in India, Chairperson of the NFF, M. Elango said Sri Lanka had detained 81 boats of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Puducherry since last February and 27 fishermen have been under the custody of Sri Lankan authorities. "The boats are all beyond repair. Since all these were bought through private loans, the fishermen owners who are of the lower middle class have been pushed to the brink", Elango said.Expressing solidarity with the fishermen who an-
nounced picketing before the Sri Lankan Embassy in Chennai, he pointed out that fishermen have been unhappy as the Union government has failed to find a solution to their problems in the last Elango further added that he would meet the Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and urge her to ensure that the fourth round of bilateral talks between the fishermen of the two countries is held without anymore delay.He would also urge that all the 81 boats that have been detained in this last one year should be released immediately.The NFF has appealed to the Centre to create a separate ministry for fisheries and fisher welfare and a legislation to protect the rights of the fisher and other traditional coastal communities. (Agencies)
Bangladesh police raid Dhaka homes, find at least 20 bombs New Delhi,Feb 22:Bangladesh police seized at least 20 bombs and bomb-making materials and arrested two suspected members of a banned radical Islamist group in a series of weekend raids, an official said Monday.Authorities have been under pressure to crack down on radical groups after attacks on foreigners and minorities last year raised concern about rising extremism in the secular South Asian nation. The deputy inspector general of Dhaka police, Monirul Islam, said police arrested two members of the banned Ansarullah Bangla Team group during raids on at least four homes in the capital and its outskirts. He said some people were seen
fleeing from the houses.The raids yielded information that led officers to another home in the capital where they found 20 "powerful bombs" and bomb-making materials, he said. Most of the bombs were later defused.Islam said the bombs likely belonged to Ansarullah Bangla Team members who used the top floor of the home as an arsenal. However, two other police officers said on condition of anonymity that it was unclear who used the home and who possessed the explosives.Police did not allow reporters to enter the raided homes. Ansarullah Bangla Team is accused of killing several secular bloggers. The government banned the group in 2015. (Agencies)
ATM scam: Foreigner, 3 City Bank officials remanded Dhaka,Feb 22:Dhaka court has granted 6 days of remand to a foreigner and three officials of City Bank for their suspected involvement in the recent ATM card scam.Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mazrahul Islam passed the remand order after Investigating Officer DB Inspector Sohrab Hossain produced the four before the court on Monday afternoon. Detective Branch (DB) of police detained the four from Gulshan area on Sunday night. Of the detainees, the foreigner was identified as "Thomas". The City Bank officials are Moksed Alam Maksud, Rezaul Karim Shahin and Refaz Ahmed Roni.The law enforcers seized a Polish passport from the foreigner's possession. The ID card, also seized from "Thomas", says
that he is a German citizen.According to DB press release, he had stolen the passport and turned into Piotr Szczepan Mazurek from Thomas. During primary interrogation, "Thomas" claimed himself to be a German national. However, police said they are considering "Thomas" as a Polish citizen as he was carrying a Polish passport.Piotr also claimed that an international gang is engaged with the ATM scam. He plotted the scam along with a Bangladeshi expatriate in London, a Bulgarian and a Ukrainian national.According to Bangladesh bank, more than Tk20 lakh have been withdrawn from ATM booths of several private commercial banks in recent weeks with at least 40 forged debit cards. (Agencies)
around 2.1 million migrant workers is expected to have as many illegal migrant workers. In 2011, the Malaysian government had introduced amnesty and opportunity to legalise the illegal status of migrant workers. It had come down heavily upon the migrant workers then also. (Agencies)
Dhaka court has granted 6 days of remand to a foreigner and three officials of City Bank for their suspected involvement in the recent ATM card scam
PAGE 8
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Pakistan's Schools at War Jat reservation stir Rage over reservations is spreading like wildfire
The Jat agitation, that claimed 12 lives, may end soon as the government on Sunday decided to bring a bill for granting OBC status to Jats. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting between Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Jat leaders, National security Advisor, Army Chief and Delhi Police Commissioner. After the meeting, BJP leader Anil Jain, who is in charge of party affairs in Haryana, said the Jat community will get reservation in jobs and a bill will be brought in the next session of the Haryana assembly in this regard. Earlier, the Jat reservation crisis entered the national capital with the Delhi-Bahadurgarh road, next to Nangloi metro station, being blocked by protesters. The Union government has also asked Haryana to ensure that there is no disruption in water supply to the national capital. The Jat quota agitation has crippled Haryana for the second time in less than a year. The latest protest, however, has been more violent. This quota issue goes back to the 1990s. Haryana's chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is not only a first time MLA, he is also a Punjabi khatri. Seven of Haryana's chief ministers so far have been Jats and the former RSS pracharak from Rohtak, hand-picked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to lead the state's BJP government in 2014, is struggling to deal with the Jat agitation that is burning across the state. Jats comprise about 27 percent of Haryana's voters, about one-third of the state's 90 assembly constituencies are dominated by Jats and the two many oppositions parties in the state Congress and INLD are also headed by Jats. Part of the problem is that all political parties have fished in the troubled waters of Jat reservation. The UPA in March 2014 brought the Jats under the central list of so-called other backward classes (OBCs) in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. UPA did so despite the National Commission for Backward Castes (NCBC) expressly submitting a report to the central government on 26 February 2014 stating that the Jat Community had not fulfilled the criteria for inclusion in the Central List of OBCs. As per reports, NCBC found that "Jats were not socially backward", and not "educationally backward". It similarly rejected the claim of "inadequate representation in public employment, finding them adequately represented in armed forces, government services and educational institutions. So far, the Army is out on the streets of Haryana and while it can keep the peace, solving this reservation mess will require a wider political consensus on caste, reservations and the race for downward caste mobility this has sparked off.
Mending fences India, Nepal trying hard to keep relationship alive India and Nepal signed nine agreements during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli. The two sides signed nine agreements including one on utilisation of Indian grant of USD 250 million to Nepal for postearthquake reconstruction and another on improving of road infrastructure in Nepal's Terai region bordering India. Calling finalisation of Constitution a major achievement for Nepal, Modi expressed the hope that all political parties will come together to successfully resolve "remaining" Constitutional issues satisfactorily, taking in considerations aspirations of all sections of the society. The deals are expected to foster improved relations between the two countries, that share open borders, through cultural cooperation, transit between Nepal and Bangladesh through Kakarbitta-Banglabandh corridor, operationalisation of Vishakapatnam port and rail transport to and from Vishakapatnam. Under the MoU on strengthening of road infrastructure, a total of 518 kms of roads will be strengthened in Terai region bordering India. The visit of Oli, the first bilateral visit by a prime minister from the Himalayan nation since 2011 when Baburam Bhattarai visited India, is seen as an effort to mend the bilateral relations between the two nations. As per a pact on transit routes, traffic of goods between Nepal and Bangladesh will be facilitated through the Kakarbhitta (Nepal) and Banglabandha (Bangladesh) corridor. It will also provide for transit facilities for Nepal through the Vishakhapatnam port. A separate pact on rail transport to and from Vishakhapatnam and rail transit facility through Singhabad for Nepal's trade with Bangladesh was inked. The hydropower potential of Nepal, the two countries are working on projects to facilitate generation of 7,000 MW of power and that their quick implementation will result in Nepal's speedy development. The two Prime Ministers also dedicated 400 KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line via "tele- inauguration" from Hyderabad House. India will supply 80 mega watt of power through the line to Nepal now and it will be enhanced to 600 MW in the next two years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly holds the opinion that Nepal's stability was linked to India's security. And in terms of combating terrorism, Modi said that terrorists and criminals will not be allowed to use our open border. In this regard the security agencies of the two countries will intensify cooperation. It seems that Oli's visit was not a recriminatory visit. Infact, this was a forward-looking visit. It was a visit in a cooperative sense. And Modi hopes that all the outstanding issues in the Constitution will be resolved in a timebound manner.
Can the country stop the killing of its students? Around 9 a.m. on Janu- that week. Armed Teachers ary 20, four Taliban-affili- Punjab government then Following the BKU atated gunmen entered announced that educa- tack the KP Home MinBacha Khan University, tional institutes would re- istry announced that it Charsadda in Pakistan's main closed from January would be issuing free gun volatile Khyber- 26 until January 31, ow- licenses for teachers who Pakhtunkhwa (KP) prov- ing to "cold weather and show an "authority letter" ince. By around 12:30 fog." Reports eventually from their institutions. KP p.m., all four of them lay confirmed that security had started firearm traindead in the boys' hostel. threats were the reason ing for provincial teachThey had been gunned behind schools being shut ers after the APS attack. down by local security down all over the coun- Syed Hamid Hussain, a forces, but not before 21 try, resulting in a standoff chemistry professor at people, mostly students between the government BKU protected many stuand staff members, had and the All Pakistan Pri- dents during the attack, been killed. vate Schools Federation before he was killed. This was the second high- (APPSF). The fears was "Professor Hussain's procon- bravery is commendable, f i l e Kunwar Khuldune Shahid firmed but I would never carry a atb y gun myself," Marwat tack on a Pakistani edu- the Taliban, which issued said. "According to procational institute in 13 a videothreating schools vincial regulations, our months. On December all over Pakistan. Schools staff members are free to 16, 2014 the Army Public were eventually reopened get guns for themselves. School in KP's capital last week with beefed-up But I believe it creates city Peshawar was at- security. scenes of panic and gentacked by militants, killing Michael Kugelman, the erates insecurity." 144 people, including 132 senior associate for South Haider agrees that armschoolchildren. The gut- and Southeast Asia at the ing teachers is a bad idea. wrenching scenes from Woodrow Wilson Center, "Simply possessing a the APS attack are be- says securing these tar- weapon doesn't mean lieved to be the defining gets is no easy matter. that one also knows how factor behind Pakistan "You won't necessarily to use it in a fire-fight, uniting to launch the prevent a massacre sim- which is a whole lot difmuch touted National ply by adding more ferent from putting bullets Action Plan (NAP) guards. There were sev- in an inanimate target at against militancy and ex- eral dozen guards at tremism. "Had it not been for our Had it not been for our security security guards everyone would've forgotten APS," guards everyone would've forgotten the BKU Dean of SciAPS," the BKU Dean of Sciences ences Abdus Sattar told Abdus Sattar told The Diplomat. The Diplomat. "There "There were over a hundred fewere over a hundred female students and teachmale students and teachers in the ers in the Admin block and our valiant guard Admin block and our valiant guard Shehzad kept them occuShehzad kept them occupied and pied and diverted the terdiverted the terrorists away from rorists away from the admin section." the admin section." Shehzad Ali, who was guarding the Admin and BKU and while they a range," he says, adding Arts block on January 20, likely averted a more that false bravado can get says he only had seven deadly attack, they people killed. bullets on him that day. weren't able to avert it Haider argues that "There was a lot of fog, altogether," he says. schools need to go which worked both in our "There needs to be a through proper drills, infavor and against us," he combination of interven- stead of randomly arming said while talking to The tions - on the one hand, teachers. "It is much betDiplomat. "While we you want to have more ter, in combination with couldn't see the militants, trusted, well-trained se- conducting drills, to try to they couldn't locate their curity personnel in place. get to safety than - untargets either. But with But on the other hand, less one is trained in limited bullets, and no idea you want to invest in the fieldcraft - to fight it out. about the number of at- technologies that can Weapons on campuses in tackers, I did not have too help prevent attacks - untrained hands can also many choices. Thankfully such as installing motion cause accidents because Allah was with me that sensors at key entry ar- very few people know day." eas." about gun safety," he Since the attack Ali has Security analyst Ejaz says. "As for the case of invested his own money Haider, the editor of na- Dr. Hussain, we only in a bigger gun and a bul- tional-security affairs at have some witness acletproof jacket. Capital TV, concedes counts and it is difficult to BKU Vice Chancellor that guarding all schools judge how effective he Fazlur Raheem Marwat is neither possible, nor was against the terrorists told The Diplomat that needed. "Not all institu- and even whether he the security guards over- tions can be guarded but would still be alive if he came many handicaps to not all institutions will be hadn't chosen to shoot at defend the campus. "We attacked either. A terror- them with his pistol, not have limited resources. ist attack looks for a really a very effective But our guards overcame force-multiplier effect. weapon against assault their limitations to defend APS was a perfect tar- rifles." the lives of students." get because the army Kugelmen also believes Red Alert runs that school," he says. arming teachers is a Following the BKU at- Haider believes the gov- recipe for disaster. "It tack, a red alert was is- ernment needs to draw a sends a troubling messued to educational insti- list of institutions that can sage, and also increases tutions nationwide. While potentially and possibly the possibility of accidents BKU announced on the be attacked. "There's a that could lead to tragday of the attack that it cost but it's not higher edy," he says. would shut down indefi- than the cost of an attack State Failure nitely, schools all over KP going through and claim- Kugelman adds: "The were to close down for ing lives," Haider believes. fact that arming teachers
Image for representational Purpose. source: mg.washingtonpost have the capacity to attack the hard targets. But then again you can also argue that the terrorists can effectively operate with impunity by seemingly attacking these softer targets at will." Haider says since guarding all soft targets is impossible, this is where preemption comes in. "If intelligence and law-enforcement agencies weren't working diligently, there would have been many more attacks than what we saw even with higher number of attacks in the years 2010 to 2012. Since then the number of attacks have actually come down. Of course, measures must be taken to make people aware of their responsibility to report any suspicious activity." Human rights activist and columnist for The Nation Gul Bukhari says physical warfare is no match for psychological indoctrination. "Normalizing the psychology of the infected, or the infected to be, will take decades. The state will need to become clear on its own 'ideology' or lack thereof, of the curricula to be taught in state schools, of the personas to support in the media, of whether to decelerate and dismantle madrassas, etc." War of Narratives On January 20, the BKU students were set to host a poetry recital in the afternoon to commemorate the anniversary of Pashtun nationalist leader Bacha Khan's death. Marwat believes that the fact that the attack was launched on that day Soft Targets The BKU attack marked holds a lot of symbolic a rise in attacks on soft value. targets in Pakistan. Last month a polio office and "Bacha Khan was a probus stop were attacked in ponent of peace," he Quetta and Peshawar re- says. "The attack highlights the war of narrative spectively. Kugelman says the softer that we're traversing. It is targets have always been as important to win this vulnerable. "There is a war as it is to win militarglass half empty/glass ily." half full issue here. On the Haider says that the atone hand, you can argue tack could also develop a that the terrorists are in- gulf between the Pashtun creasingly going after the and the Punjabis. "That's soft targets because they precisely what we saw are weaker and no longer after the attack," he says. is even being discussed and in some cases implemented - is a strong indication that many Pakistanis feel their government has failed to provide them with security, and they have to take matters into their own hands." KP-based Awami National Party (ANP) leader Bushra Gohar says arming teachers highlights the state's failure. "Security is not the teachers' responsibility. A teacher's job is to teach," she says. "The provincial government is abdicating its responsibility of providing adequate security and transferring it to the schools. The schools are being flooded with guns, which has serious psychological and security implications. Schools have become garrisons or sub-jails." "It is outrageous that the Bacha Khan University's vice chancellor was held responsible for the attack. Instead of going after the attackers and closing down terrorists' factories and safe havens, FIRs have been lodged against schools and security responsibilities transferred to teachers. This is a clear violation of the Constitution and contradicts the state's commitment to citizen's security." Gohar continues: "(Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman) Imran Khan wants a judicial inquiry for everything under the sun, but there has been no judicial inquiry over the APS or BKU attacks. The APS victims' parents are asking for it. We are all asking for it."
Sordid tale of A Natural Scavanger
source: media.mnn
Sir, Men's greeds are gradually crossing all the ethical limits. Men's cruelty against animals is not a new phenomenon. But owing to men's vagaries if a benevolent bird said to be natural scavenger becomes extinct, men themselves are to blame. Vultures, that had been serving human beings as a scavenger now fall victims of the cruelty of men. We know that the human beings have become omnivorous. We do not even spare jackals, Panthers, elephants and other wild animals and now vultures. Very often, we come across news about the mass killing of the vultures by poisoning. Such vultures cannot be devoured by men. But some section of the people get devilish pleasure from killing of vultures. Even the nests of the vultures are not spared, rendering the poor benevolent creatures homeless. It is reported that during 2011 to January 2016
more that 70 vultures had been run over by trains. The fact that so far no culprit poisoning the carcass has been caught either by the police or by the forest department saddens the animal-lovers. The rapid denudation of forests by the forest mafias in liaison with the corrupt forest officials also is a cause of concern as many nests of the vultures too, are destroyed. The animal-lovers organization, despite their sincere endeavour cannot do anything. No appropriate step from the government side appears to have been taken allowing the natural Scavangers to get decimated. Through your esteemed daily, we appeal to the concerned authority to take appropriate steps to save this natural scavanger. Yours etc. Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh
Marwat meanwhile urges national unity in confronting a common enemy. Gohar believes the state is still suffering because of former military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's destructive policies. "That's when AK-47s proliferated in the country and our school curricula started teaching hatred and violence. There were guns in the school books then but now the PTI/JI government is making schools arms and ammunition dumps. "The environment created in schools is not conducive for learning. If after allocating huge defense and security budgets, our teachers are held responsible for security and our children have to study in an environment of fear, we need to seriously review our defense and security policies and allocations." "Instead of holding those responsible for security failure accountable, the blame is transferred externally and attention from the criminal negligence and failure is diverted by producing songs. One doesn't expect security agencies to be producing songs but doing its professional job of ensuring security." Bukhari claims it will take decades to turn around the mindset that attacks completely innocent people, including children. "For years I have exhorted the state to focus on the narrative; to squash the nurseries that nurture the terrorists and their narratives, to shut down the takfiri madrasas that engender the hatred that leads to the killings. The state did not pay heed to any of us." Kugelman believes it's hard to make a compelling narrative when children continue to get killed in schools. "For these narratives to be seen as credible, Pakistan will need to take major steps to curb attacks on schools, and more importantly to better secure them. Unfortunately this won't be easy." Courtesy:The Diplomat
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p O
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
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The Real Reason Why Over 4000 Workers From Honda Are Protesting For The Past 5 Days Not covered by the lynch-mob instigating corporate media, 10,000 students, teachers and their supporters including some workers marched on 18th February in Delhi. The same day thousands of people also marched in Guwahati, Patna, Bangalore and so on, firmly asserting the #righttodissent and calling out the bluff on the 'nationalism of scoundrels'. Solidarity across universities primarily and many other spaces have come pouring in. This did not start with #standwithJNU, as slogans of 'JNU toh bahana hain, Rohith Vemula ka mamla dabana hain' were heard prominently in the rallies. Among students in particular, the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula in HCU by the anti-Dalit administrations under influence of the BJP/RSS, and right-wing authoritarian attack on FTII students to completely control freedom of thought and expression on their lines earlier are fresh examples of the series of coordinated attacks on voices calling for a just society, a real azadi. The rise of student struggles in these and other cases like #OccupyUGC and #Pinjratod, and participation of mass of students point to a breed of the fighting spirit which itself is the target of the anti-democratic forces - to not let us think, not let us protest against injustice in society and hence not be political. They even want to divide us among ourselves, like they are doing in the JNU case by wanting to separate supposed 'fringes' from the 'mainstream', for instance tagging some like Umar Khalid as a 'terrorist' and JNUSU President Kanhaiya as a 'traitor' within their bile of anti-nationalism! Students have said that we shall not be divided and pointed to the fact that this is how state power of the 'great Indian nation' operates, by dividing us and making us docile subjects of its rule. And now, this is being also coerced by the RSS goonda vahini in the society with active State support.
This normal repression and undeclared state of emergency has made another kill 5 days back. On 16th February, a brutal crackdown on thousands of Honda workers happened and continues on the Haryana-Rajasthan border. The Joint Police forces of BJP-ruled Haryana and Rajasthan are raiding homes, beating, arresting and hounding anyone who looks like a Honda worker or seen supporting one in the entire districts of Alwar in Rajasthan, and Rewari and Gurgaon in Haryana. For the last 4 days, there was still no trace of hundreds of workers, including 5 workers' leaders who had gone to negotiate with the management on 16 February when a peaceful strike was going on in the factory from 2.30pm. Now 44 workers have supposedly been sent to jail, though no counsel on behalf of workers could be present in Court because of the atmosphere of complete terror. Hundreds of workers among 4000 workers of HONDA have been arrested and/or are missing, 350 received injuries with 50 seriously injured, the entire regionthe DMIC belt in the centre of Modi's #MakeinIndia-has become a police camp and emergency-like terror situation prevails.
Nayan Jyoti
Discipline Of, For And By The Nation This 'disciplining' and silencing of students and other sections through State terror is not for its own sake alone, but also because it is profitable for them to do so. For the farce of Modi's 'development' to work in times of a global economic crisis, they need docile workers - who do not question the owners and 'produce for the nation'. It is here where workers also become 'antinational' when they place as simple a legitimate demand as right to form Union, or even the right to take a piss! To make this a normal state of affairs, the Haryana CM has already announced setting up of more police stations in industrial parks (remember the uncannily similar UGC Guidelines of setting up of police stations in Universities which we got outraged about?).
What Happened In The Honda Factory Five Days Ago? In the morning of 16th February, a supervisor physically attacked and verbally abused a contract worker in the Paint shop in HMSI (Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, Private Limited) for refusal to work overtime. This contract worker was ill because of having continuously worked over-time for last few days, but was still being forced to work over-time that day, and when he protested, the supervisor caught hold of his throat and physically attacked him. This was the normal state of affairs of normal repressive control that the management and government labour department deploys inside the factory and outside but the workers decided to get together to protest that day. Work was stopped and 2000 workers of Shift A, across categories of permanent-contracttrainee-apprentice, sat peacefully inside the factory, while 1000 more of shift B and C gathered at the factory gate. They tried to negotiate with the management on long standing legitimate demands. The company management responded by immediately dismissing 4 workers and suspending 8 workers, and 5 including worker leaders Naresh Kumar and Rajpal were called by the administration supposedly for discussion, company bouncers were called in to beat up workers (just like in Maruti Suzuki in 2012) and the local administration came in with huge contingent of Rajasthan Police. Suddenly, at 7pm, a most brutal Police crackdown happened with-
A file photo of workers at Honda (Photo: youthkiawaaz) out any provocation, when they attacked the workers, chased them, brutally assaulted them and took control of the plant and the area. Hundreds of workers were seriously injured. They were then hounded in their rented accommodations or homes, while the workers absconded in the face of this State and lumpen terror. Phones were unreachable, and the entire Tapukakra area is still under complete police control in a state of undeclared emergency. After this, the Rajasthan Police under Vasundhara Raje's BJP government combined forces with Haryana Police under BJP's Khattar government (directed by the Modi government from the Centre). On 17th February morning, when hundreds of workers started gathering in Dharuhera-since they could not enter Tapukakra-to protest, they were hounded out of autos and buses and immediately arrested by the Haryana Police. 44 arrested workers who were supposedly produced in Tijara Court (no one could appear on their behalf due to the terror situation in Tapukakra) were sent to jail on completely fabricated cases including 'attempt to murder' on the DCP, rioting and looting!
What Led To The Protest On 16th February? For 10-15 days before 16th February, the work pressure had increased tremendously and workers would be forced to work 2-3 shifts of 8 hours at a time. Because around 500 contract workers and the main Union leadership, including Union president Naresh Kumar, were already terminated from their jobs for 'daring to form Union'. On top of this, the Honda management got 500 'bouncers', related to the contractor lobby, who would be given workers clothes and roam around freely threatening workers with 'dire consequences' if they dared to say one word in protest. Frustration and anger was going on among workers since the management, in collusion with
the government, started attacking workers after they put in an application in August 2015 for the Right to Union formation. This was to collectively articulate various reasons, common in the industrial belt, like increasing work pressure and forced work, worsening working conditions, forced difference in work and pay between contract and permanent workers, and repression through bouncers to name a few. This lays bare the real design of the current government in ever-clearer relief that cynical hatred and crushing of anything progressive in society combines to create 'proper conditions' for a ruthless control through repression of the larger mass of those who #MakeinIndia under already horrendous conditions in society.
Ongoing Protests And Connecting The Dots On 19th February, thousands of Honda workers through increasing solidarity among lakhs of workers in Gurgaon, Manesar, Dharuhera, Bawal, Neemrana, Tapukakra primarily on factory-to-factory level and with support of struggling Unions in the region, could finally gather in Gurgaon. A 8000 strong workers march walked 8 km to the Honda HQ on Faridabad road where they now have set up camp. We walked through riot-torn streets due to the Jat reservation issue, against the pro-corporate BJP governments of Haryana and Rajasthan, saying firmly: 'state terror down down', 'Mazdoor virodhi Modi sarkar murdabad', asking as a worker did in the rally, 'are we workers anti-nationals too now'? The sit-in in front of the Honda HQ in Badshahpur, Gurgaon was forced to be discontinued on the morning of 21st February by immense Police pressure. The pretext is the curfew in Gurgaon and Section 144 in the entire state of Haryana over the Jat reservation issue, where
shoot-on-sight orders have been issued and the Army has been called in. With support from workers from Honda Gurgaon, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp and many others, an indefinite dharna will start in front of the Jaipur Labour department from 23rd February, Tuesday from 12 noon. Many are calling today's time an 'undeclared emergency'. We need to remember that when Indira Gandhi got the iron hand law to come in, it was precisely also to crush the series of workers struggles in Faridabad and Kanpur for instance and the 1974 all-India Railway workers strike whose slogan was 'stop the arteries of the Nation'. It was to crush the rise of the militant assertion of the Dalit Panthers, who were fighting pitched battles with the right-wing and state forces in the streets on Bombay. It was to crush the mass movements of peasants, and of all voices of dissent of students in Gujarat and Bihar. And the media, well, when they were asked to kneel, they decided to crawl. If it is any different, then probably it is in the extent of the corporate-state collaboration and the ideology of a virulent Hindutva nationalism directed by the RSS to buttress the same. From attacks on already disposed sections like Dalits and Muslims, to attacks on students from FTII to HCU to JNU, to intensifying attacks on lawyers and intellectuals, and now this brutal crackdown on Honda HMSI workers, goes hand-inhand with the mad frenzy of 'pro-corporate development without people' and 'development without dignity'. We have come rapidly away from a sense of absurdity of 'how can they do this'. They are attacking us in an organized manner, and we must collectivize to fight it out together, and for this we cannot be limited to saving one or the other institution only but join hands with the daily and nightly pain and unrest of the toilers of this land. As they attack us, we must advance this struggle. Courtesy: youthkiawaaz
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‘Mein kamph’ practice in Mizoram State Despite being one of the the Chakmas to leave and of the Principal Act. The most literate states in India, this order could not be clauses read: (a) In case any sub-village or Thlawhbawk Mizoram is drowned in changed. other than the sub-village or alterity against minorities. The latter's struggle for ba- The state government then Thlawhbawk set up by the sic rights have often been served another eviction no- state government under highlighted in courtrooms tice No. K. 23012/2/2013- sub-section (1) is estaband Parliament and through DCLO on 17 December 2015 lished and if the state govrallies in New Delhi's Jantar without assigning any ernment is of the opinion that Mantar. The Chakmas, the ground. The MSU allegedly a situation has arisen delargest minority, are often the threatened the villagers that manding stoppage or clostargets of such discrimina- if they did not leave it would ing of any sub-village or tion and hatred. The recent use force that would be 10 Thlawhbawk or any sort of one being the eviction no- times more severe than what settlement at any place, the tice served on was used on 30 June 2013 to state government may issue Taichawngchhuah village drive the Chakmas from notice for eviction to vacate consisting of 49 families. Sibinesora under the the site or location or place. They are being subjected to Lungsen Village Council of Such sub-section under the gross violation of human Lunglei district. Gauhati amendment allows the rights by the institutional High Court passed a stay Mizoram government the and governmental appara- order and gave the authori- power to evict. As per the tus with the tacit support of ties six weeks to respond. constitutional law, such a the Mizo Students' Union. Instead, yet another eviction power cannot bypass proLife for minorities, especially notice - No. B. 14016/39/ visions of fundamental Chakmas, in Mizoram is one 2015- LAD/VC - was served rights. To our mind such a of struggle and humiliation. on them on 21 January 2016. sub-section arises out of village grouping exercises carThey are often treated as unried wanted, unlaw- By Shyamal Bikash Chakma and Suraj Gogoi o u t b y fully t h e occupying others' land. Such an- Before going into details, a Army in the late 1960s. The tagonistic socio-political re- few facts need to be stated. logic of village grouping is lationships can be traced First, the notice is in direct against Article 21 and it creback to British rule in the conflict with the Gauhati ates a state of exception. Chittagong Hill Tracts High Court stay order. Secwhereby, to suppress the ond, the so-called notice is Interestingly, copies of the revolt against the Raj admin- vague in every detail. It eviction notice were sent to istration and the Chakma states, "As per the 11 different locations and queen's (Kalindi) rule, at the government's verification two were meant for the presibehest of the latter the Mizos from various sources and dent of the Mizo Students' undertook a mass killing of after thinking consciously, Union general headquarters, Chakmas in different vil- since the village is Aizawl, and the president of lages. In the later stage of unauthorised and illegal the Mizo Students' Union history, the advent of Chris- there are possibilities of ac- sub-headquarters, Lunglei. tianity and English educa- tivities against the govern- This fact was highlighted by tion played a role in continu- ment and occurrences of the president of the All Ining such a relationship untoward incidences." Now dia Chakma Students' whereby the Chakmas felt at what are these sources? Union, Dilip Chakma. An the receiving end for reject- How was the consciousness obvious question was why ing both. Such boundaries achieved? Why is it these two designations that Mizos draw are more unauthorised and illegal? were marked in the notice. than evident and are played What are these "activities Although no clarification out in very robust manner. A against the government" was sought, the motive is walk from the Chanmari area and the "untoward inci- loud and clear. to New Market can speak a dences"? Third, available multitude of realities unfold- official records show that Undeniable bypassing of ing in every gaze thrown at the Tuichawngchhuah vil- democratic institutions and you. especially when ap- lagers have been receiving continued harassment of pearances differ or one is a various assistances from the minorities have become the distinct "other". state government since mainstay of everyday poli1977. These include garden tics in Mizoram. It is "mein In one such encounter, the passes, financial assistance kamph" politics on display residents of under the New Land Use where the "other" is targeted and is Tuichawngdorchhuah vil- Policy, a primary school un- repeatedly lage - consisting of 224 per- der the Sarva Shiksha dehumanised in every walk sons belonging to 49 fami- Abhiyan in 2004, and elec- of life. Such an act of eviclies - were asked twice (offi- tricity since 2012. The vil- tion proves that the majorcially) to vacate their homes lagers are also a part of the ity in Mizoram is using without any reason. It was electoral rolls and have ra- the state apparatus in an on 15 November 2015 that tion cards and job cards to unlawful manner against the MSU and the Mizoram avail the benefits of the Pub- the minority of the state. police asked Chakma fami- lic Distribution System and lies of Toijongdor in Lunglei Mahatma Gandhi National As this was written, on district to vacate the village Rural Employment Guaran- the issue of eviction highlighted in this article by 31 December 2015, de- tee Act. a contempt of court and manding that they provide proof that their village was The Mizoram government public litigation is going sanctioned. They provided tries to defend the notifica- on in Gauhati High Court the proof - land passes is- tions under the Lushai Hills against some sub-secsued by the Mizoram gov- District (Village Councils) tions of the Lushai Hills ernment in 1977. But they Amendment Act, 2014 under Village (Amendment Act) were not satisfied and told sub-section (2) of Section 26 2014.
As Nepal's PM Visits India To 'Mend Fences', What's His Real Agenda?
Prime Minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli (Photo:youthkiawaaz) Two weeks after India lifted a four and half month 'unofficial blockade' on Nepal, allowing passages to hundreds of cargo trucks and tankers into Nepal from a major border crossing, Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is on a six-day visit to India. Oli, the 64-year-old politico with a sharp tongue and fond of using Nepali proverbs, may be one of many foreign dignitaries visiting New Delhi in recent months (French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations), but back home in
Nepal, the trip carries enormous significance. Over the weekend and thereafter, Nepalis would keenly follow the jaunt, with Nepali media dissecting every gesture and body language of the Nepali leader and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deepak Adhikari
Oli left Nepal on the anniversary of an important day in the country's history. On the 7th day of the Nepali month of Fagun (February 19th of this year), Nepal celebrates Democracy Day. On
this day in 1951, a year before Oli was born, Nepal, aided by India then under Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, got its own independence from the autocratic Rana regime who ruled the country for more than 100 years. On February 19, before heading off to New Delhi, Oli attended a function in Kathmandu to mark Democracy Day. He is to attend another Democracy Day related function at Nepal's embassy in New Delhi.
mands for inclusion and greater representation by Madhesis, who have close cultural, linguistic and marital ties across the border in India. Oli, a leftist politician and one-time ally of India, began courting China as soon as he came to power in October. Nepal struck a deal with China to import petroleum products, ending years of Indian monopoly, although its modalities and details are yet to be worked out.
The official visit of Nepal's Prime Minister, therefore, starts only on February 20th. In Nepal, the visit has been portrayed as one focused on bilateral trade, business investment and support for post-quake reconstruction. But given the strain in relations between the two countries following Nepal's promulgation of a new constitution in September last year, the visit is seen by both sides as an opportunity to mend fences.
He took advantage of India's nervousness regarding Beijing's offers. First, he made it clear that he will visit India only after the lifting of the 'unofficial blockade'. At the same time, he also deployed his spokespersons to talk about the possibility of making Beijing his first port of call. Nepal's prime ministers have traditionally chosen India as their first foreign destination. Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as Prachanda was an exception, but not long after the visit, he had to step down. Sudheer Sharma, the editor in chief of Kantipur, Nepal's most influential newspaper, said Oli employed both 'nationalism card' (raising fears of India's growing interfer-
In reality, New Delhi worked hard to make it happen by hastening the end of the border blockade that crippled life in Nepal, exacerbating already increasing anti-India sentiments. The blockade also bolstered the de-
ence in Nepal's internal matters) and the 'China card', playing each with dexterity. "After he became prime minister, Oli began with the 'nationalism card'. But soon he started to use yet another card-the China card-that he played to the hilt," Sharma told Youth Ki Awaaz. "It seems India's leaders changed their mind after Kathmandu started playing the China card. Oli sent his emissaries on trips to Beijing, giving hints of an imminent major deal with the northern neighbour. Although Nepal and China made some headways, with preparations for agreements coming close, Oli didn't strike the deal and waited for New Delhi to reach out to him." Despite India and China working together, with both countries' businesses booming, Oli was able to exploit the lingering suspicion, said Sharma. "The two countries have worked together on a number of issues. But, the Indian officials are yet to fully grasp Beijing's opaque ways of dealings," he said. "Therefore, despite knowing that China would not displease New Delhi by expanding its influence in Nepal, they were not fully assured.
New Delhi came under pressure from Indian media, think tanks and Western powers who criticized the Indian policyfor pushing Nepal closer to China." Amid all these geopolitical battles, the losers were the Madhesi protesters, who had counted on New Delhi as their trusted ally. Indeed, the Madhesis began their sit-in protest along the border in Birgunj, the major trade route, only days after India stopped sending its cargo trucks citing unrest along the border. The Madhesi Morcha, an alliance of four parties representing the protesters, opposed the country's new constitution that divided Nepal into seven federal states, demanding that the southern flatlands be carved into two states. They also demanded an amendment to the constitution to ensure proportional representation for Madhesis and other minority groups in state intuitions and delineation of electoral constituencies based on population. Despite reservations from the lawmakers of Madhesi Morcha, who boycotted the voting, Nepal's parliament passed an amendment to the new constitution on January 23, a move that addressed
some of the demands. Still, the issue of federal boundaries was to be settled through a commission. A day later, India's external affairs ministry welcomed the move through a statement, calling it "positive developments." By early February, the cargo movements across Raxaul-Birgung resumed. Two days later, the leaders of the Madhesi Morcha, perhaps heartbroken by India's hasty rapprochement, formally called off the sit-in protest. Thus, the longest and economically most damaging political protest in Nepal's recent history ended: it saw the death of 60 people including nine police officers, an Indian citizen and scores of children and women. It was one of the most brutal suppressions of popular protests in Nepal. It also created a huge chasm between Nepal's hill-origin people and the Madhesis. It also showed that New Delhi's decision to use economic embargo as a coercive tool of foreign policy was flawed. "The Indian blockade was meant to intimidate Nepal into amending the constitution or foment unrest in Kathmandu. But the
strategy failed as the blockade led to an unprecedented upsurge in Nepali nationalism,"said Post Bahadur Basnet, a political commentator and former visiting fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a New Delhi think tank. Echoing Sharma of Kantipur newspaper, Basnet said India, in inviting Oli, wanted to "show the closeness of the relationship between the two countries but also acknowledge that Nepal falls under India's sphere of influence." He added: "India did not want to let Oli visit China first. It wants to prove its hegemonic power in South Asia and that Nepal has not slipped out of India's influence. Should India continue to blockade Nepal? It is almost next to impossible." Oli, in his twilight years of his political career, may go to any length to prolong the tenure of his fragile coalition government, according to Basnet. He also thinks that by inviting Nepal's prime minister to visit the country, India was looking for a "course correction." Basnet told Youth Ki Awaaz: "The visit means thaw in bilateral relations, but it will take years for the relation to become normal." Courtesy:youthkiawaaz
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
BUSINESS
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'Aakash tablets is uncomparable with Freedom 251' Flight fares of Chandigarh-Delhi Ahmedabad, Feb 22: It is unfair to compare Datawind's Aakash tablet with Ringing Bells' Freedom 251, Datawind's President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Suneet Singh Tulli said, questioning the authenticity of the latter's cheapest smartphone in the world. Datawind, a company run by Tulli came up with the world's cheapest tablet priced at $49.98 per piece in 2011 -- Rs 2,276 per tablet at the time; a second, upgraded model Aakash 2 was later launched at Rs 2,263. "Aakash was a brand owned by the Indian government and the product was real," he said. Talk-
Rs 1,500 cr to be raised by IDBI Bank by selling stake to LIC New Delhi, Feb 22: State-owned IDBI Bank said it plans to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore by selling stake to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by preferential issuance of shares to the insurer. The board has approved the proposal for preferential issue of capital to Life Insurance Corporation of India, aggregating up to Rs 1,500 crore (inclusive of premium amount) subject to Government of India's approval, IDBI Bank said in a statement. LIC and various other schemes currently hold 7.25 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. Last week, the bank also got board approval for raising up to USD 500 million through tier I bonds. The board has approved issuance of Basel III compliant Additional Tier 1 (AT 1) bonds in offshore markets up to USD 500 million to enhance tier 1 capital of the bank, the bank had said. AT-1 bonds, which qualify as core or equity capital, are one of the means of raising capital by public sector banks that require Rs 1.80 lakh crore by March 2019 to meet global norms on capital adequacy (Basel III). (Agencies)
80% of internet might be constituted by mobile users by 2017 Bhopal, Feb 22: The number of Internet users in India would reach 500 million by 2017, with as many as 400 million of them getting online through mobile phone, a senior official of search engine giant Google has said. "There are 350 million Internet users in India, of which 152 million are mobile users. This number is projected to increase to 500 million in 2017, of which 400 million are going to be mobile users," Ashish Kalsi, strategist, search quality of Google India said. He was speaking at a workshop for journalists organised by Vox Foundation and "powered by Google" here yesterday. "Content is king. What Google does is it gives a level- playing field to all provided the content is sound," he said. Kalsi explained the four things needed for a website to be discovered quickly on Google search - accessibility, value, display and great user experience. The online content creators can also tap the features such as search console, Google trends, Indian language Internet alliance, he said. (Agencies)
ing about Freedom 251, which has ranked up quite a storm in the Indian technology sector recently, Tulli said, even if the company were to buy 10 lakh units of 1GB RAM memory chips, they would get it at a discount of 56%. A 1GB RAM memory chip costs about Rs 370, he said. "When the memory chip promised in the phone (Freedom 251) costs more than the price being offered then there is no way the phone can be made for Rs 251 apiece. It is just a donation," he added. Speaking about Freedom 251 as a potential competitor to Datawind, Tulli said, nearly two crore mobile
touches a whopping Rs 99,000
SMELLING FISHY Datawind, a company run by Tulli came up with the world's cheapest tablet priced at $49.98 per piece in 2011 -- Rs 2,276 per tablet at the time; a second, upgraded model Aakash 2 was later launched at Rs 2,263. Freedom 251 is a potential competitor to Datawind, Tulli said, nearly two crore mobile smartphones are sold in India every month. smartphones are sold in India every month. Even if, as Ringing Bells' claims,
But the Freedom 251, which has ranked up quite a storm in the Indian technology sector recently, even if the company were to buy 10 lakh units of 1GB RAM memory chips, they would get it at a discount of 5-6%. A 1GB RAM memory chip costs about Rs 370.
When the memory chip promised in the phone (Freedom 251) costs more than the price being offered then there is no way the phone can be made for Rs 251 apiece. It is just a donation.
Even if, as Ringing Bells' claims, it received 25 lakh bookings or over a crore inAakash was a brand quiries, it will not be owned by the Indian enough to dent government and the Datawind's market product was real. share in the long run.
it received 25 lakh bookings or over a crore inquiries, it will not be
enough to dent Datawind's market share in the long run. (Agencies)
New Delhi, Feb 22: With normal bus and road routes disrupted by the jat quota stir, airlines are charging doubled and trebled fares from harried people who are thronging the Chandigarh airport to get out of the area. Believe it or not, business class tickets in Jet Airways' Chandigarh-Delhi flight, via Mumbai were selling at Rs 99,140 on Saturday. The normal fares of Jet Airways, Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, which operate daily between Chandigarh and Delhi range between Rs 3,000 and Rs 7,000. In an opportunistic gesture, the airlines are now selling one-
Metros to use Euro VI fuel before 2020: Gadkari New Delhi, Feb 22: Euro VI compliant fuel may be introduced in metros much ahead of the April 1, 2020 deadline, ensuring that Delhi is accorded topmost priority in the rollout plan, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said. The step would help curb vehicular pollution in the national capital and other metros, he said. India has decided to leapfrog directly from Euro IV emission norms for petrol and diesel to Euro VI standards and the oil PSUs will invest Rs 28,750 crore for the transition. "I want to work seriously for Delhi especially with regard to minimising its high pollution levels. We have al-
Road Transport and Highways Minister of India, Nitin Gadkari. Source: hellomumbaionline
ready announced to implement Euro VI emission norms for vehicles from April 1, 2020. Now we are thinking to provide Euro VI compliant fuel in metro cities with top priority to Delhi very soon," said Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari. The gov-
ernment is serious on this front and a high-level meeting will be held soon with participation from Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, he said. "Pollution level is too high in metros and if we could do something for these cities, it would be
much beneficial," the minister said. Asked about the timeline for the roll out of Euro VI, he said it will be "very soon" and a final timeframe will be announced only after the high-level meeting. An inter-ministerial group headed by Gadkari on January 6 had taken the decision to advance the date by four years to April 1, 2020 for implementation of Bharat Stage VI (equivalent to Euro VI norms followed globally) for supply of cleaner auto fuel, by altogether skipping the Euro V grade norms. The decision came at a time when intense debate was going on rising level of pollution, while an innovative odd-even for-
mula was being tried in the National Capital to check vehicular pollution. India currently has Bharat Stage-III, equivalent of Euro-III specifications, across the country and BS-IV in major cities. BS-IV will be supplied in most big cities by April 2016 and all over the country from April 2017. BS-IV fuels contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, while BSV and BS-VI grade fuel will have 10 ppm sulphur. On concerns raised by automakers on BS VI compliant-fuel availability, Gadkari had told them recently not to worry about availability of suitable fuel but focus on developing engines to meet the guidelines. (Agencies)
Rs 100 crore investment on third facility palnned by DataWind in India Bengaluru, Feb 22: Encouraged by the Make in India push, low-cost handset and tablet maker DataWind intends to spend Rs 100 crore on a third manufacturing facility and is in talks with eastern states including West Bengal and Bihar, a top executive said. "We have earmarked Rs 100 crore to set up a third manufacturing unit and are in talks with eastern states including West Bengal and Bihar for the purpose," said DataWind chief executive Suneet Tuli. "We have already deployed funds of Rs 100 crore to set up a unit in Hyderabad, Telangana. This will be operational in 60 to 90 days," he added.
Speaking about the government's initiatives in the previous Budget, he said, correcting the inverted duty structure was an important step to boost handset manufacturing in India. "We are hoping that it extends to laptops and computing devices as well in the upcoming Budget 2016," Tuli said. This will also help potential manufacturers meet the country's increasing requirements which would be spurred by the growing digitalisation. "In 2015, we saw 'doubledigit growth' for both handset and tablet manufacturing due to the favourable duty structure," he pointed out. DataWind's first unit in
Amritsar manufactures one lakh unit per month, and it expects to produce 1.5 lakh unit a month initially in Hyderabad, he said. The Canada-headquartered company employs over 700 people in Amritsar and expects to add 500 jobs in its Hyderabad facility. The company is known for its development of the Aakash tablet computer, which is the world's cheapest tablet at $37.99 (nearly Rs 2,600.80). The Aakash tablet was developed for the Ministry of Human Resource and Development. Several handset makers are expanding manufacturing in the country, including large players like Samsung and Micromax.
DataWind chief executive, Suneet Tuli. Source: thehindubusinessline
Samsung, the country's largest phone seller, which has been manufacturing in India since 2006, has spent more than Rs 500 crore to add capacity at its plant in Noida. Similarly, Micromax Informatics said it will shift its manufacturing from China to India, and
Gionee Elife S8 launched on today Bengaluru, Feb 22: Gionee launched its flagship smartphone, the Elife S8 on February 22 at Mobile World Congress, which is scheduled between February 22 - Feb 25. Gionee Elife S8 smartphone is a slim handset with better camera performance. The phone is also expected to have pressuresensitive display. Pressure-sensitive displays helps a smartphone determine how hard the user is pressing a screen with your finger. This will then allow the operating system to apply different actions depend-
S M A R T LY SMARTPHONE
Dual SIM, Octa core 1.9 GHz processor, ARM Cortex A53 & MediaTek MT6795.
Batter is Lil-Po 3520 mAh, and would be available in black or white colour.
way Chandigarh-Delhi ticket between Rs 20,000 and Rs 53,000. Key trains halting at Chandigarh or starting from Chandigarh have either been diverted or
Image for graphical representation only. Source: techspanda
ing on the pressure level. The expected price of on 91mobiles.com is listed at Rs 24,990.
maker had launched the predecessor Gionee Elife S7 in February 2015, and the smartphone priced at Rs 24,999 had reached The Chinese smartphone India by April. (Agencies)
stand cancelled. The state-run Himachal Road Transport Corp has also suspended bus services to Delhi and Haryana following protests by the Jat community. (Agencies)
Travellers to be welcomed with roses by train hostesses Pune, Feb 22: Imagine being ushered into a train by a hostess who presents you a rose bud as soft music plays in the background. It will soon be a reality, with the Railways deciding to introduce train hostesses on soon to be launched Delhi-Agra Gatiman Express, the first train in India to run at a speed of 160 kmph. Gearing up to launch the
press, catering services in Gatiman Express will also be better. Both Indian and continental cuisine will be served. Passengers will have an assortment of food to choose from. There will be wholewheat upma, mini dosa, Kanjeevaram idli, fresh cut fruits, aloo kulcha with swiss roll, roasted dry fruit and chicken roll. Chicken sausages with Spanish egg
Railway Minister of India, Suresh Prabhu. Source: oneindia Gatiman Express next month, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will announce special features of the first semi-high speed train in the country when he presents the Rail Budget on February 25. The train will have a highpower emergency braking system, automatic fire alarm, GPS-based passenger information system and sliding doors in the coaches. There will also be live TV service as part of infotainment. "We are trying to provide best possible services in Gatiman matching the flight services," said a senior Railway Ministry official. Like flights, there would be hostesses on the train and catering will also match the standard of airliners, he said. According to Railway sources, since the fare will be 25 per cent higher than Shatabdi Ex-
white omelette and date walnut slice cakes will also be served in bone china crockery. The fare for chair car in fully air-conditioned Gatiman Express has been fixed at Rs. 690, while a passenger will be required to spend Rs. 1,365 for travelling Executive Class. In Delhi-Agra Shatabadi Express, the chair car fare is Rs. 540 and Rs. 1,040 for Executive Class. Equipped with a 5,400 HP electric locomotive, the train will have 12 coaches. While Shatabdi takes 120 minutes to cover the 200 km distance, Gatiman Express proposes to complete the journey in 105 minutes. Indian Railway plans to roll out such trains on 9 more routes including KanpurDelhi, Chandigarh-Delhi, Hyderabad-Chennai, Nagpur-Bilaspur, GoaMumbai and NagpurSecunderabad. (Agencies)
Kunal Bahl desires 20 million users to shop on Snapdeal everyday by 2020 than a uni-dimensional focus on GMV alone," he said. The company has already completed the integration of its payments business, Freecharge on the Snapdeal platform.
Mumbai, Feb 22: Moving away from the usual practice of focussing on Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) as a growth parameter, e-commerce major Snapdeal is now aiming to enable 20 million users to transact on its ecosystem daily by 2020.
Capacitive touchscreen, 4. 6" display and 639 PPI (pixel density).
The phone has 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory and external memory expandable upto 64 GB (MicroSD).
make all of its phones in the country by 2018 with costs becoming cheaper. Last week, Noida-based Ringing Bells also launched "the country's most affordable smart phone" priced at Rs 251, which is generating huge interest, but also raising flags following complaints about its pricing. (Agencies)
Image for graphical representation only. Source: jetairwaysflightscheduleblog
At a recent townhall, Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl told his employees that the new mission aims to pivot the entire organisation around the number of users transacting daily on its ecosystem (Snapdeal, coupled with acquired entities like Freecharge). This would be a significant jump from the current one
Snapdeal co-founder and CEO, Kunal Bahl. Source: cloudfront million-plus transacting users registered through Snapdeal's ecosystem. "The new vision of '20 million daily transacting users by the year 2020' focuses on driving the number of regular users on its platforms rather
Snapdeal is fully utilising the value of its marquee investors as it fast implements what has worked in other markets, including in China. Snapdeal's strategy is in line with the global user-centric tech organisations like Facebook (Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger) and Google (Google+, Chrome, Google Office etc), which have multiple platforms for its users serving different use cases. (Agencies)
DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Features
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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE Chocolate: A tasty but healthy Coffee may help undo boozeinduced liver damage treat for your brain ANI If good taste wasn't reason enough for you to go gaga over chocolates, then here is another one. A new study has suggested that indulging in a daily chocolate habit could be all it takes for a better-working brain. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of South Australia, University of Maine and the Luxembourg Institute of Health, found that chocolate consumption improved cognitive performance "irrespective of other dietary habits." Researchers looked at data collected during an earlier study in which residents of Syracuse,
Tasty and healthy chocolates. Source: i.dailymail
New York, were measured for dietary intake and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Participants were also given a series of tests designed to measure cognitive function. They said that more frequent chocolate con-
sumption was significantly associated with better performance on tests, including VisualSpatial Memory and Organization, Working Memory, Scanning and Tracking, Abstract Reasoning, and the MiniMental State Examina-
tion, adding that with the exception of Working Memory, these relations were not attenuated with statistical control for cardiovascular, lifestyle and dietary factors. The study suggested that regular chocolate intake could help "protect against normal age-related cognitive decline." They also note that chocolate has historically been used to "reduce fever, treat childhood diarrhoea, promote strength before sexual conquests, decrease 'female complaints,' increase breastmilk production, encourage sleep and to clean teeth. The study is published in the journal Appetite.
ANI Coffee lovers, your coffee addiction may be balancing your booze habit as a new study has found that drinking your morning and afternoon java may actually help reverse the effects of alcohol. The analysis of previous studies found drinking coffee could diminish the liklihood of developing liver cirrhosis, a disease which kills thousands of people in the UK every year and more than a million people worldwide. The nine studies involved a total of 430,000 participants of which 1,990 had cirrhosis. Eight of the studies found the more coffee a person drank,
A cup of coffee. Source: medicalnewstoday. the lower their risk in developing the disease. Risk was reduced by 22 per cent with one cup of coffee, 43 per cent with two cups, 57 per cent with three cups and 65 per cent with four cups, compared to drinking no coffee at all.
Therapeutics, found stronger links between filter coffee and reduced cirrhosis risk than with boiled coffee, but the reason is not clear. S o u t h a m p t o n University's Oliver Kennedy said that coffee is a complex mixture con-
taining hundreds of chemical compounds and it is unknown which of these is responsible for protecting the liver. Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Langone Medical Center, said that although coffee contains compounds that have antioxidant effects and antiinflammatory properties, drinking a few cups of coffee a day cannot undo the systematic damagethat is the result of being overweight or obese, sedentary, excessive alcohol consumption or drastically mitigate an unhealthy diet. The findings are published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Eye twitching: Causes and tips Alternate uses of nail polish to help calm your eyelid! Have you ever experienced an eye twitching? You may be wondering why that is happening and what causes this perplexing phenomena. An eye twitching is a repetitive, involuntary blinking or spasm of the eyelid muscles, usually the upper lid. Eye twitching is not a serious condition for most people, typically resulting from excessive stress or fatigue, whereas for others, it may be an outcome
of a more serious genetic disorder leading to chronic irritation or visual problems. There are three common types of eye twitch namelyEyelid twitching or myokymia: This affects only the eyelid, either the lower or upper lid (but only one at a time) and is often painless and harmless. It occurs in normal individuals and usually disappears within a short time, but may recur again.
Eye twitching. Source: cdn.phillymag
Eyelid twitching is often linked to lifestyle factors such as - stress, fatigue, caffeine, alcohol intake, smoking. Benign essential blepharospasm: This condition can interfere with your daily life as it starts with excessive blinking of both eyes. Although uncommon, it can be extremely severe where the eyelids stay shut for up to several hours. Researchers believe that benign essential blepharospasm may result from a combination of environmntal and genetic factors. Hemifacial spasm: This condition is quite rare and if it occurs it involves twitches of muscles around the mouth - usually affecting only one side of the face - including the eyelid. According to the Mayo Clinic, hemifacial spasm is typically caused by a small artery that irritates
a facial nerve. Determining the underlying causes and knowing your risk factors can help eliminate or relieve aye twitching. Here are some simple things you can do to cut down your risk: 1. Avoid straining your eyes. 2. If twitching starts while you are working, do not look at your computer, instead close your eyes for some time. 3. Relax your eyelids lightly in a circular motion using your middl fingers. 4. Get adequate sleep. 5. Limit your caffeine intake 6. Stop or moderate your alcohol intake 7. Drink plenty of water 8. Apply a warm compress to your eyes when a spasm occurs 9. See a doctor if twitching persists for more than a week, redness, swelling , or discharge from an eye.
Ingredients that permeate North Eastern cuisine The cuisine of North East India is nothing less than enthralling. The dishes cooked in states like Assam, Nagaland and Manipur are known for their tangy flavors and Arnab unique tastes. The inhabitants of these hilly states however use some particular ingredients to cook such yummy dishes. While culinary traditions can vary from one state to another, some common key ingredients permeate north eastern cuisine. Below listed are the top culinary ingredients used in North East Indian states: Bamboo shoots This is a major ingredient used in cuisine of nearly all North East Indian states. Bamboo shoot has a unique taste and flavor that is utilized in north eastern dishes. The shoots are cut when they are about a foot tall and inside still remains tender. The shoots are peeled and
washed well after which they are cut into small pieces. They can then be dried or dipped in water for fermentation. The shoots are used to cook meat, fish and pickles. Ghosh Some popular bamboo shoot dishes include Naga fish curry, Bamboo shoot eromba and Khorisa maas. Dry fish Fish is cooked in abundance in households of north East Indian states. However, they prefer using different types of dry fish to make a lot of dishes. In Tripura, the people cook dishes with a type of dry fish called Berma. In Manipur, the type of fermented and dry fish used in cuisine is called Ngari. In Meghalaya, the Khasi tribes like using a type of flame burnt fish preparation called tungtap to make various dishes. Rice Rice is the staple food in North East India. How-
Permeating ingredients of Northeast cuisine. Source: nelive
ever, in different states, you will find rice is being cooked in different ways. In Assam, the tribes prefer cooking rice after filling it inside a bamboo stick. The bamboo is roasted over fire which lends a smoky aroma to the cooked rice. In Mizoram, rice is mostly cooked with a lot of vegetables. Certain types of pulaos are also cooked in states like Manipur and Meghalaya. King Chilli
This is said to the spiciest chili in the entire world. Bhoot jolokia, native to states like Nagaland and Assam is now used in cuisines of adjacent North eastern states as well. A bite in this fiery chili can make your nose red and eyes teary for several minutes-whether it is fresh or sun dried! It is used to cook pork, chicken dishes and make pickles. Of course, the chilly needs to be used sparingly in such dishes! Courtesy: nelive
Nail Paints. Source: i.kinja Here are some things you never knew your nail polish can do Picture a nail polish and all you can think about is applying a nice colour on
your nails. But you can use your nail paint in many other ways. Here are some things you never knew you could do with your nail polish:
Prevent costume jewellery from tarnishing: Apply some clear nail paint on your new costume jewellery to prevent it from tarnishing. But don't bother to use this formula if your jewellery is already tarnished.
stockings. Add colour to your accessories: Be it your hair bands, pins, rings or bangles, you can change their colour and decorate them in your own style using a nail polish.
Controls the run in your stockings: Is there a run in your stockings? It will not stop unless you do something about it. Well, apply some clear nail polish all over the run, which will prevent it from tearing any more of your lovely
Paint your keys: Not only will this make your keys look funky, you will also remember which key is for what lock. Seal envelopes: No need to lick your envelopes now. Use some clear nail polish instead and seal them without any hassles.
Beauty benefits of ghee to get rid of hair problems! Tired of trying to control those unmanageable and unruly hair? Good healthy hair in these times of air pollution is hard to come by and with global warming doing its stuff, the scorching heat doesn't exactly help matters. Be it girls or boys, that mane sure is a thing of pride. But, people put their hair through so much - styling, curling, straightening, colouring, etc. - it's evident that this will take its toll. Even with all the pampering and caring you do for your hair, don't forget that many hair products are home to chemicals, which can have adverse effects in the long run. This may have put you in a dilemma, but, were you aware that your kitchen has that one ingredient that can help you get rid of half of your hair problems?
conditioner for your unmanageable mane. Not only does it make your hair shiny, but it also makes them softer and luscious. Simply mix two tablespoons of ghee and one tablespoon of olive oil. Apply it directly on the hair and leave it on for 20 minutes. Rinse it off with a mild shampoo.
That magic secret ingredient is Ghee! No, this is not about eating it, in fact, this is about applying it on your hair. You may not have seen or heard many people use this method, but it's super effective! Want to know how it will help your hair? Read on! 1. Conditioning: Desi ghee is the perfect
2. Removes split ends: Do your split ends frustrate you no end? If you've tried everything from trimming to texturizing to oiling and nothing in the world seems to work, then ghee can be your saviour. Ghee has the power to not only remove your split
A jar of pure ghee. Source: paleoplan ends, but also prevent them! All you have to do is take three tablespoons of ghee and apply it evenly on the split ends. Let it stay for 15 minutes and then comb the hair gently. Later, wash your hair with a mild shampoo and lukewarm water. 3. Hair growth: Is this the answer to your prayers or what? Yes, you read this right! Ghee does promote hair growth, albeit with a little help from other kitchen ingredients. Once you apply ghee on the hair, you'll need to wash it off with either amla or onion juice. Wash your hair normally the next day. This method is ideal to be used
at night before bed. Do this at least twice a month. 4. Dandruff woes: If you have dry hair and dry scalp, then you probably suffer from dandruff issues too. Although, this is something that most people complain about during winter season, ghee is your best friend during these times. All you have to do is massage your scalp with a mixture of lukewarm ghee and almond oil. Leave it on for 15 minutes and wash your hair with rose water to remove the oil from the tresses. Try this twice a month to get rid of dandruff. Get ready for happy, healthy hair!
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Anuja steers Indian eves to 34-run win against Lanka in opening T20 ANI Ranchi, Feb.22 : Anuja Patil scalped a threewicket haul to help India Women thrash Sri Lanka by 34 runs in the opening T20 of the three-match series here at JSCA International Stadium Complex on Monday.
In reply, Sri Lanka were restricted to 96 runs within their allotted 20 overs. Dilani Manodara was the top scorer for the visitors as she made an unbeaten 41 off 44 balls. Patil was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as she dismissed openers Yasoda Mendis and Chamari Atapattu for just eight runs.
Opting to bat first, India posted a target of 131 runs, with Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur contributing 35 and 36 respectively. Patil also provided significant unbeaten 22 in her side's innings.
India Women cricket team
With the win, India have taken a 1-0 lead in the series and they will play their next match against Sri Lanka at same venue on Wednesday.
Nehru Sports Club win balls, slamming three Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Feb. 22: boundaries and three Nehru Sports Club de- sixes. feated Dibrugarh City For DCCCC, Sharban Cricket Baruah Coachpicked p ing Cen- second division cricket u four tre by six runs in wickthe Rajanu Bora second ets for 8 runs in 3 overs division cricket tourna- and Rajababu Shah took ment organized by two for 22 in 3 overs. Dibrugarh District Sports Association at DDSA stadium here today. Put into bat, Nehru boys’ piled up 86 for seven in 12 overs. Amit Paul top scored with 43 off 31
AB de Villiers ANI Johannesburg, Feb.22 : South Africa's swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers has admitted that he is not satisfied with his current T20 record despite playing a major role in his side's two-
match series win against England. De Villiers smashed a brutal knock of 71 off just 29 balls to help South Africa claim a nine-wicket win in the second and the final match at the Wanderers.
CSA lauds Proteas on T20 series win against England ANI Johannesburg, Feb.22 : Cricket South Africa (CSA) has congratulated the Faf du Plessis-led side after they claimed a nine wicket-win in the second T20 to clinch the twomatch series 2-0 against England. Earlier, opener AB de Villiers smashed 71 off just 29 balls while Hashim Amla contributed a bril-
liant unbeaten knock of 69 off 38 balls as the hosts chased down the target of 172 runs to seal the series at the Wanderers. Lavishing praise on the side, CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat said that it was a privilege to watch a top-class allround performance from the team, insisting that they deserve to claim a victory, Sport24 reported.
Lorgat, however, praised the England team for playing excellent cricket throughout the tour and said they are looking forward to meet them again in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20. The T20 pinnacle event is slated to be held from March 8 in India, with the Proteas playing their opening match against England on March 18.
PTI New Delhi, Feb 22 : Young off-spinner Arjun Nair, the Canberra-born son of Indian immigrants, has been included in the New South Wales (NSW) squad for their upcoming Sheffield Shield match against South Australia. The 17-year-old Nair has been turning heads with his abilities to bowl the ‘doosra’ to perfection. It has been learnt that the Blues selectors told Nair on Sunday evening that he had been included in the NSW squad for their clash against the Redbacks at Coffs Harbour starting on Thursday. With an action similar to that of Carribean spinner Sunil Narine, Nair can turn the ball both ways. The deceit with which the ball is delivered has made the NSW selectors take note of this young talent. “Arjun Nair is one you need to look out for, he’s a massive talent,” NSW coach Trent Johnston told Fairfax Media before the start of the season. “I saw him play NSW versus Queensland schoolboys and I said to Freddy [NSW state talent manager David Freedman]: ‘I don’t care what he’s doing, he’s going to be playing in my [NSW] 19s [team]’ For a guy to be able to bowl like that, turn it both ways legally ... I
Arjun Nair would not be surprised if he was here training with the big boys in the next couple of years.” Nair, a Sydney Thunder rookie, made his first-grade debut for Hawkesbury as a 15-year-old. He has enjoyed a good run with both bat and ball in the last one year. Nair starred in the recent under-19 tri-series against New Zealand and Pakistan in Dubai with 10 wickets and an 89-ball century. He returned impressive figures of 9 for 75 from 39.5 overs in a recent Futures League match against ACT and followed it up with 431 from 20.3 overs in a grade match on the weekend. With Nathan Lyon in New Zealand and Stephen O’Keefe recovering from a finger surgery, the Indian origin off-spinner will be on standby for Will Somerville who too is not certain to take to the field due to a finger injury.
Vijender's maiden title bout set for June 11 tentatively PTI New Delhi, Feb 22 : Star Indian boxer Vijender Singh's maiden professional title bout was today tentatively scheduled for June 11 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium here with the event's sanctioning authority -- the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) -promising a "historic and epic" contest. Vijender, who is three fights old in the pro circuit having won all of them via knockouts, will be gunning for either the WBO middleweight or the supermiddleweight title. His opponent will be worked out in the next few weeks. "It is the right time for him to fight for his first title. In fact it is definitely the right time commercially because we think, it would be huge for him to fight in India. Before the June event, he has three fights in the
added. "He (Vijender) has been away from home for a while now so it is good for him too that he can be among his people and the timing is just perfect because the July-August slot does not feature too much boxing in the UK." WBO vice-President John Duggan said his body decided to sanction the bout looking at India's potential to grow as a boxing nation. Vijender Singh UK. First is on March 12 in Liverpool, then he will fight on April 2 and April 30. After a bit of break, he will be fighting for either the WBO middleweight or the super middleweight title," Vijender's UK-based promoters -- Queensberry Promotions' Francis Warren said. "We are going to look at which title is available. It is
not about the belt but finding the right opponent for him. We will make the right decision for him. His progress so far has been exceptional. He has adapted very well and works very hard. Initially the plan was to have his India fight in September but June seems perfect and we might come back again in the next couple of months," he
"Vijender Singh is an eminent boxer, who has achieved so much in the amateur circuit. We think he can qualify to win not just the regional belts but also the world titles," he said. "June 11 is going to be a wonderful event and I am sure it will be a historic, epic event which will also be very exciting," he added. The venue for the bout is
For Nehru Sports Club, Ramananda Das took
two wickets for 23 in 3 overs. Amit Paul, Abhinash Dutta and Nafiz Khan took one wickets each for Nehru. Tomorrow, Jubilee Club will play Evergreen club while in another match Dibrugarh cricket coaching centre will take on Nabyuk Sangha.
Pattinson's strikes put Aussies in charge of second Test against Kiwis
`Unsatisfied` De Villiers keen Indian origin teenager in NSW squad to improve T20 record The 32-year-old, who wanted to work on his T20 internationals runs, believes that his performance against England was the first step in the right direction, Sport24 reported. De Villiers insisted that opening the batting had provided him with a great chance to improve on his T20 record, adding that he wanted to continue to do the same for a long period of time. Although he smashed six fours and six sixes in his match-winning knock, he still believes that he should have scored more as a top-order batsman. The opener made 65 T20 appearances for the Proteas and boasted an average of just 23.49 . South Africa will now head into the three-match series against Australia at home, starting in Durban from March 4.
In reply, DCCCC managed to score 80 for seven in 12 overs. Nahid Ahmed scored 25 off 18 balls, hitting three boundaries while Issba Rahman contrinuted 21 off 23 balls with one six.
likely to be the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which was today inspected by both Warren and Duggan. "It can't get better than the IG Stadium. We expect 15,000 to 20,000 people and it seems to be the ideal stadium for the bout. It is fully equipped to host such a big fight," said Vijender's India promoter -- IOS MD Neerav Tomar, who accompanied Warren and Duggan. Duggan, on his maiden visit to India, also oversaw a conclave for the officials affiliated to the Indian Boxing Council (IBC) -- the recently-formed licensing body for boxers wanting to take the professional plunge. "The conclave has been a huge success. I am very impressed with the people involved and I am sure India can go on to be a very powerful boxing nation," he said.
ANI Melbourne, Feb.22 : James Pattinson snared three wickets as Australia continued to remain dominant on the third day of the second and the final Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday. At stumps, New Zealand had reached 121 for four in their second innings, with retiring skipper Brendon McCullum was the final wicket to fall on the day three. McCullum was dismissed for a final time after contributing 25 runs. He was snared by Josh Hazlewood. The
James Pattinson
hosts are still trailing by 14 runs. Kane Williamson and Corey Anderson were unbeaten at 45 and nine respectively and the duo will resume play on the fourth day, news.com.au reported.
bowlers for Australia. He gave a perfect start to his side by dismissing opener Martin Guptill for a 12-ball duck. Pattinson then broke the partnership between opener Tom Latham and Williamson before taking his final wicket of the day of Henry Nicholls (two). Earlier, Australia posted their first innings score of 505 runs, thanks to opener Joe Burns and skipper Steve Smith for their brilliant 170 and 138 runs respectively.
Australia are currently Meanwhile, Pattinson leading the two-match was the pick of the Test series one-nil.
Chelsea's Fabregas stunned by Man City's line-up in FA Cup defeat
Cesc Fabregas ANI London, Feb.22 : Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has slammed Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini's decision to play kids in a FA Cup clash, saying that he was stunned to see the line-up.
City suffered their biggest ever defeat at the hands of the Guus Hiddink-led side 5-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Fabregas said City's surprising line-up was negative for his side, as it had put more pressure on Chelsea to win the match.
According to the Mirror, Pellegrini decided to field a weakend team against Chelsea because of the club's Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine on Wednesday. Pellegrini defended his decision, saying that he made the selection depending upon the availability of the players, the Guardian reported. The Chilean manager further insisted that things would have been quite different if he had 20 players available. He added that six of his players were injured so he could not take risk of further injuries. With the defeat, City have bowed out of the tournament while Chelsea will play against Everton in the quarter-final clash on March 12.
Shane Warne slammed for being whiny ANI Melbourne, Feb. 22 : Due to one more tucker trial, Shane Warne now wants to be out of 'I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!' and this surely is not being taken well by the viewers. Viewers attacked the 46year-old cricket star for his attitude and pointed to his massive pay cheque, which is believed to be about two million dollars, as a reason to not whinge, reports News.com.au. Warne said it's no longer fun being part of the reality show because it has been the second time after last week's anaconda bite that he has been voted to compete for Sunday's
Shane Warne tucker trial. Warne now feels the show was "supposed to be fun" and that "I don't want to be here anymore. After being copped by the viewers, he, instead of saying a word, competed
with Anthony Callea in the tucker trial. All Warne had to do was act as a navigator for Callea who was lowered down a mine shaft to blindly find tucker stars in 10 critter-filled caverns.
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