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ASSENG/2015/64205
Vol. 1
Issue 175
The India-Nepal Crisis
Dibrugarh, Monday, November 30, 2015
2 dead in rail mishap Lakhimpur, Nov 29: A rail accident accident took place at Upper Pahumara around 7.10 pm this evening as the Murkongselek Dekar Gaon Intercity Express hit a tractor as it was crossing an unmanned level crossing. The tractor was badly damaged due to the impact of the collision. One passenger of the tractor died on the spot while another who had sustained serious injuries succumbed at North Lakhimpur Civil Hospital. A vast portion of the railway track was also damaged due to the accident. The dead were identified as Ranjan Pawe (37) and Horen Taid. (Correspondent)
Fire mishap: 14 Assam Rifles save two Changlang, Nov 29: A major fire incident was averted by the timely intervention of the 14 Assam Rifles jawans in Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh. Early Friday morning, at around 9 am, the thatched roof house occupied by a widow and her 11 year old son caught fire and sent thick engulfing flames into the air. A Quick Reaction Team from 14 Assam Rifles swiftly leaped into action and in 20 minutes doused the thick flames with fire extinguishers and water bowsers. The incident which was sparked by a lit (diya) lamp, incurred no loss to the family, barring a few charred clothes and nil injury was reported. The family and the civic population lauded the efforts of the battalion and once again 14 Assam Rifles reinstated their core belief of ‘Friends of the Hill People’. (Correspondent)
Bhushan steps up attack on AAP's 'mahajokepal'
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Fury ends Klitschko’s nine-year reign Melbourne, Nov 29: British boxer Tyson Fury has defeated Wladimir Klitschko to end the Ukrainian’s nine-year reign as heavyweight champion on Sunday in Germany. Fury claimed the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight titles by unanimous points decision in Dusseldorf. The judges scored the fight 115-112, 115112, 116-111 in favour of the Britain. Reflecting on the triumph, an emotional Fury said that it was hard to come to foreign countries and get a decision and described the win as a dream come true. Fury improved his record to 25 wins with 18 knockouts and handed Klitschko his first defeat in 11 years. (ANI)
Nepal police release 13 SSB jawans Kishanganj, Nov 29: The Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) have released the 13 Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) jawans who were detained earlier today along the IndoNepal border near Bihar's Kishanganj district. The SSB jawans, who were chasing diesel smugglers, crossed the border by mistake. The villagers detained them and handed them over to the Nepal Police. Initially, two SSB jawans were detained following which 11 others crossed the border to see the condition but they were also taken into custody by the NepalAPF, SSB Inspector General (Operations), Deepak Kumar, told ANI. (ANI)
OPERATION WHITE : EPISODE – II ET EXCLUSIVE Ripunjoy Das Dibrugarh, Nov 29
The FCI Depot at Deomali. Pic - Teson Abo
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that his statement on Hindi-speaking people has been twisted and wrongly interpreted to give it a different colour by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav. In a statement here today, Chief Minister Gogoi said his comments on Hindi-speaking people has been twisted out of context and given a different
colour altogether by the Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and other BJP leaders to fulfil their own vested political interests. “I have never uttered anything against the Hindi speaking people. My statement has been twisted out of context by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and other BJP leaders to give it a different colour. In fact, what I said was, the State unit of BJP has become a Hindi-centric party wholly dominated by Hindi speaking leaders,” he said. Gogoi said that he has been all along safeguarding the
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Union Urban Development Affairs Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the NDA Government wants to bring in the GST (goods and services tax) Bill with a broad consensus rather than with majority."The Prime Minister had also hold talks with the Congress president and former
interests of the Hindi-speaking people in the State during the past 14 years of his Government. The Chief Minister said that his Government would soon constitute a Development Council for Hindi-speaking people so that they forge ahead on the path of growth and development. “Assam is the only State having Development Councils for minority communities, including the Hindispeaking people,” he added. The Chief Minister said that he has been heading the Rashtrabhasa Prachar Samiti
Institution of Engineers (India) Assam State Centre organizes meeting in association with Startup, Assam ET Correspondent Guwahati, Nov 29
A startup meet was organized by Institution of Engineers (India) Assam State Centre in association with Startup Assam on this noble theme at the auditorium of Institution of Engineers (India), Pan Bazaar. The event was organized as the monthly Startup Saturday Guwahati Talks meetup, which
the Startup Assam team has been organizing since May 2015. The event was presided over by Dr. Arup Kr. Misra, Director of Institution of Engineers (India) and was inaugurated by Mr. Amitabh Barooa, Director of Barooa Infotech. Gaurav Gogoi, Founder of Farm2Food Foundation and Member of Parliament, emphasized on building
PM Modi leaves for Paris Climate Conference ANI New Delhi, Nov 29
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday left for France where he will take part in the Paris Summit on Climate Change along with 150 heads of nations. During his two-day visit, the Prime Minister will speak at the Leaders Event in which he is expected to touch upon issues pertaining to global warming and assert India's commitment to reduce its carbon footprint. Prime Minister Modi is also likely to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the summit. The two-week long summit
is being seen as a key event aimed at addressing the climate change challenge. An international agreement on climate change focussed on curbing the emission of greenhouse gases is expected to come out of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. One of the important challenges looming over mankind in recent times is to keep the average global temperature rise below 2° Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Prime Minister Modi has always taken a strong stand on climate issues. He has time and again urged the leading nations in the world to take steps to curb emissions in order to give clean environment to the future generations.
Govt. wants GST to be passed with consensus: Venkaiah Naidu ANI Vizag (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 29
“As a section of the corrupted FCI personnel have decided to connive with the contractor in his illegal business, the contractor apart from taking care of all their needs, even pays the house rent of these employees”
My statement on Hindi-speaking people has been twisted and wrongly interpreted : Gogoi ET Correspondent Guwahati, Nov 29
prime minister Manmohan Singh ji and requested them to extend cooperation. We want the bill to be passed with a broad consensus rather than majority. I appeal to all parties to extend support and I am optimistic that the bill will be passed in this session of Parliament," Naidu told the media here. He expressed hope that the GST Bill would be through in
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Finance Ministry to make Gold scheme attractive
‘Operation White’ kicks up a storm in Deomali ‘Operation White’ started by ‘The Eastern Today’ to expose the ongoing large scale Public Distribution System – PDS scam in Arunachal Pradesh has kicked up a storm in Deomali in Tirap district. By launching the operation, the publication has been able to expose with facts and figures as to how a Haryana based greedy and highly corrupted contractor with assistance from a section of government officials Contd. on Page 4
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How Two Students Are Doing Their Bit To Conserve The 'Finite Resources On A Finite Earth' Page 8
ET CAPSULES
Price -
the current session of the Parliament itself so that it can be sent to different states and the GST can be rolled out in the coming financial year. "It will reduce corruption considerably, it will also reduce paper work and will also enhance theGDP of the country by 2-2.5 percent," he said. Contd. on Page 4
up an entrepreneurship culture in Assam. He shared his experiences with Farm2Food Foundation. Mr. Debojit Chaliha, Director of Karangani Tea shared about potential of Tea Industry, how small tea growers can change the economy and he also said that there is a growing demand for handmade tea. Contd. on Page 4
and taking steps to promote Hindi language, besides taking part in Hindi literary meets. “In my entire political career spanning several decades during which I was the AICC incharge for Bihar and UP, I have been all along working for the interests of all sections of people, including the Hindispeaking people. Espousing the cause of Assam and its people has always been uppermost in my mind,” he said. Contd. on Page 4
Thousands of members of Dibrugarh Zila Karmachari Parishad DZKP backed by several other organizations will lay siege to the Dibrugarh deputy commissioner office, here on Tuesday demanding early settlement of their various pending demands and also to protest the police atrocities upon its members at Dispur Last Gate during its last agitation. DZKP is the district unit
Jiko Linggi Roing, Nov 29
Agriculture mechanization technologies and practices in the rest of the country have crossed many milestones, sped past multiple goal posts. However, agriculture mechanization policies followed in the state of Arunachal Pradesh are still rigid, deeply centralized and caught in a time warp. The agriculture technology market has various innovative technologies in terms of pre-har-
vest, post-harvest, tilling, weeding, planting, irrigation equipment; which have immense capabilities to reduce drudgery, improve efficiency manifold, while enhancing agriculture production and productivity. Sadly, the agriculture mechanization policy of the state is still reeling under poverty-like lack of refreshing new ideas, systemic leakages and extreme rigidity. Further, it is compounded by plague of idleness, lack of clarity, stagnation and is rotting underneath due to ‘chalta hai attitude’ in terms
PTI London, Nov 29
A mother-of-two from Britain, who is known as Mrs Terror, has revealed that she wants to become ISIS' first female suicide bomber, saying “I know what I’m doing, paradise has a price”. Sally Jones, alias Mrs Terror, is a Muslim convert and her terrorist husband
of the Sadou Asom Karmachari Parishad SAKP which has been fighting for the settlement of various problems of government employees across the state. “We have always tried to solve the problems with the government through talks and discussions, however, it seems that the state government is not interested in holding discussions and believes in using force to stop our agitation.
Contd. on Page 4
PTI New Delhi, Nov
State-run BSNL is working to provide wi-fi services at more airports managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). "We approached AAI Chairman three months back for providing wi-fi services. He actively responded to it. Contd. on Page 10
Contd. on Page 3
Backing Gogoi's statement that the Governor has allegedly converted his office into an annex of BJP office, Kejriwal took to Twitter and wrote, “Many CMs complaining of unconstitutional interference by Governors to favour BJP. Is this coop federalism?”
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who has urged President Pranab Mukherjee for his immediate intervention for replacement of acting state Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, has found an advocate in his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal.
Contd. on Page 3
Govt. should try to bring suitable amendments in Section 377: CPI ANI New Delhi, Nov. 29
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Sunday asked the NDA Government to initiate the process of bringing suitable amendments to Section 377, which was de-
clared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. "Arun Jaitley is a senior minister in the government and if he has such a view, he must initiate the process with his own government to take up the issue with judiciary at appro-
was recently in a US drone strike. Jones, who uses the name Umm Hussain, empathise with a Chechnya female bomber who killed herself and 27 Russian special forces soldiers in 2000. She was the first of the Chechen 'Black Widows', according to the MailOnline. Jones praised the Chechen bomber as a 'martyr' in a social media post. ISIS
is yet to use a woman to carry out suicide bombing, but has been revealed that it is planning to use them for suicide missions. Jones is currently based in Raqqa - the ISIS stronghold. According to the MailOnline report, the ISIS plan came to light after an Egyptian woman was offered a large amount of money to “go to your husband in heaven”.
Lost pistol recovered
ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Nov 29
The incident of lost pistol in Lakhimpur finally comes to a conclusion with the recovery of the pistol itself. According to reports, workers of Lakhimpur
Municipal Board had found an abandoned bag in the morning hours near a wall of the Assam State Transport Corporation Office which was being constructed. Contd. on Page 4
BSNL to expand wi-fi services to more AAI-run airports Mumbai, Nov 29
of direction and way forward in agriculture. It is also being degraded by frustration enforced by tremendous centralization of ‘decision making’ pertaining to granting of agriculture subsidies. The present subsidies offered for agriculture mechanization by the state are highly rigid and inflexible, limited to only certain products like the ‘Mahindra tractors’ or the same old Rice Hullers, Water Pumps.
Arvind Kejriwal backs Tarun Gogoi's claim over Guv favouring BJP, suspects 'coop federalism'
British mom wants to become ISIS' first female suicide bomber
DZKP to lay siege to DC office in support of its pending demands on Dec. 1 A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Nov 29
More freedom to farmers – key to effective agriculture mechanization
FACILITATING WI-FI AT AIRPORTS BSNL is working to provide wi-fi services at more airports managed by the Airports Authority of India. AAI has agreed to allow BSNL services and circulated information to all airports managed by them for allowing BSNL services.
The AAI also has partnership with Tata Teleservices for wi-fi services at some airports. BSNL has plans to set up 2,500 wi-fi centres across India by end of this financial year.
priate level in order to bring suitable amendments and ask judiciary to make suitable observations," Raja told ANI here. Contd. on Page 3
TMB leaves drain garbage on roadside, angers residents Rishu Kalantri Tinsukia, Nov 29
At a time when central government is pushing hard on Swachh Bharat Mission, shock and anger prevailed at Manav Kalyan road at the heart of Tinsukia town after Tinsukia municipal workers left drain garbage on roadside for over 3 days. The stretch of road in ward no. 6 of Tinsukia Municipal board houses a school, marriage hall, Brahmakumari and scores of residences. Speaking on the issue, a resident of Manav Kalyan Road said that it is a good thing that Tinsukia municipal board cleaned the drains but that does not mean they will leave behind all the mud, silt and garbage taken out of the drain on the roadside. One-third of the road is covered by this dirt from the drain, he added. Pawan, a student of Tinsukia English Academy said that it is pathetic to see drain dirt lying on the road, that too, just opposite the school. It raises serious health concerns, added Pawan and said on the one hand our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focussing on clean India through Swatch Bharat Mission and on the other hand local authorities seem to be least bothered which is a sad state of affairs. Is this how we are going to keep our country clean and compete with the world? Asked Pawan. It is also worth mentioning that once there is a flood like situation, every now and then certain groups of people hit the streets with ‘Jhadus’ in the name of Swachh Bharat Mission and by the evening their photographs would do the rounds on social media like facebook and whats app. This is the time however for such groups of people and organizations to come forward and show the strength of Swachh Bharat Mission.
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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Suspected ISI agents produced before Bankshall Court
Budding entrepreneur centric awareness session
Kolkata, Nov 29: Two suspected ISI agents, Akhtar Khan and his brother Zafar Khan, who were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police earlier this month, were produced before the Bankshall Court here on Sunday. Akhtar's lawyer, Fazal Ahmed Khan, had on November 15 said that his cli-
Sushanta Roy Diphu, Nov 29: A host of extraordinarily erudite people attended an hour long awareness session to encourage the budding entrepreneurs of Karbi Anglong at Diphu circuit house yesterday. The district administration fixed an interaction on the subject ‘entrepreneurship development’ and it was attended by Dr. Marison B. Curotato, MD of MBC Sa Madrid Spain, Dr. Athiqul H. Laskar, Global Communication Consultant and skill
ent was an Indian citizen and that he has been living in India for many years. According to reports, Akhtar was in Pakistan for over 20 years and returned to India in 2008. Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) had yesterday arrested an individual over suspicion of him being an ISI agent from Meerut's Cantonment Station. (ANI)
Jayalalithaa urges PM Modi to take action on release of arrested fishermen
Chennai, Nov. 29 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate action on the release of eight Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. In her letter, she has the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of External Affairs to take up the matter with the Sri Lankan authorities in a concrete decisive manner, and to secure immediate release of 37 fishermen and 55 boats including eight fishermen and two fishing boats apprehended today.
She has also requested Prime Minister Modi to proactively initiate set of actions that will bring permanent solution to the issue. The Sri Lankan Navy had detained eight Indian fishermen and seized two boats near Palk Strait in the early hours of morning today. Jayalalithaa had on Thursday written a letter to Prime Minister Modi and drew his attention towards recurrent arrests of fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. She had said that 50 boats continue to be in Sri Lankan custody for several months now.
trainer. He is a retired US Army officer and former NATO Commander who served in Holland sector and has trotted across nearly 150 nations. Present among the resource persons were Dr. Murchiko Asimazo, associated professor of Gamaguchi University of Japan and professors from Calcutta University and universities of south India and Imphal. The resource persons pointed out plenty of extraordinary sources wherefrom one can generate earnings; they spoke
about the global demand for various materials which can be produced locally and which have large domestic and international market. Dr. Rajmoni Sing, Professor of Commerce Manipur University, Imphal pointed out from where working loans can be obtained on easy terms and condition. Meanwhile, Professor CS Rajkumar of Anamalai University advised the budding entrepreneurs to begin from micro level utilizing the locally available resources.
Useless, non deserving people returning awards: BJP Hyderabad, Nov. 29 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday said the people who are useless and non-deserving are returning their awards. "They are all useless people. They don't deserve the award and it's good that they have returned it," Swamy told ANI here. As many as 40 prominent writers had announced their returning of the award in protest against the 'rising intolerance in India"' under the present NDA Government. The first to return the award was Uday Prakash, a Hindi writer, on September 4, 2015 in protest at the murder of M. M. Kalburgi, a Kannada Sahitya Akademi award winner. Following Prakash, promi-
Cauliflower, potatoes, onions cut stomach cancer risk London, Nov 29 (ANI): You may want to start eating large amounts of white vegetables as scientists have found that they keep stomach cancer risk at bay. The study, undertaken by Chinese scientists at Zhejiang University, found eating cauliflower, potatoes and onions reduces the chance of contracting stomach cancer but that beer, spirits, salt and preserved foods increased a person’s risk of the cancer, The Independent reported. Former nurse weaves princess wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy Stomach cancer kills around 13 people every day in Britain and has just a 15 per cent 10 year survival rate. Cabbage, kale and celery were also found to be preventives against the disease. All of the vegetables are thought to contain vitamin C, commonly found in potatoes, which acts as an antioxidant against cellular stress in the stomach. Eating around 50g of the vitamin every day brought the risk of developing the disease down by eight per cent.Scientists estimated for every 100g of fruit eaten daily the risk of cancer decreased by an average of five per cent.
Sharif's statement and said that dialogue with Islamabad was pointless unless it gives up terrorism. Sharif had reportedly said that his government is willing to hold dialogue with India without preconditions. He said this during his meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Fort Angelo in Maltese capital Valletta on Friday. Sharif also reportedly said that dialogue with India was key to sustainable peace in the region.
ASTRO FOR YOU Today will be an industrious day. The stars foretell that you may visit a historical place, or perhaps a museum. However, you may need to pay a little attention to your health. If such is the case, it would be better to take the evening off for yourself. There is a strong possibility of receptivity and sensitivity in your love life. On the down side, your negativity may lead to mediocre results. You are a fire-fighter when it comes to others’ problems, but can forget digging a well for your own home. There is a likelihood of some household disturbance cropping up today. Your family members could make a lot of demands from you. You may feel angry because of your inability to meet all their needs and wants. Unexpected expenses are also indicated. You need to control your spending. When the going gets tough, it’s better to go with the flow. But you belong to a school of thought that believes that in such troubled times, it’s better to stay out of water altogether. Since it is not your day today, you are likely to postpone all important decisions and work.
nent writers including Nayantara Sahgal, Ashok Vajpeyi and women veteran writers Krishna Sobti and Shashi Deshpande had also returned their awards. Meanwhile, author and founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival, Vikram
Sampath has also resigned as the director of the festival after criticism from writers who called him 'rightwing' for opposing the trend of litterateurs returning their awards to protest against growing intolerance in the country. (ANI)
The trader in you comes to the fore today. With an impeccable eye for recognising profitable avenues, you will quickly spot opportunities that arise from buying goods at cheaper prices, and selling them off at a rate that leaves you with a lump sum profit. Start with small transactions, and treat each transaction with care before you plunge into bigger ventures, like the Bull-n-Bear tussle of the stock markets. There is a strong indication that you will dabble in writing or performing arts, and emerge with excellent results. Since these are your passions, you may cultivate hobbies in these fields, if they are not already your profession. Enjoy the power you have over people today as you grip them with sweet words, swinging to your whims. Your family is the cornerstone of your success. And today is no different. Your auspicious day starts from your home, and you manage to carry this luck everywhere you go with the same tempo and gusto. Your smile enables you to keep winning people to your side.
JD (U) welcomes Pak PM’s willingness for dialogue New Delhi, Nov. 29 (ANI): The Janata Dal (United) on Sunday welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's statement that Pakistan is ready to hold dialogues with India without any preconditions, and urged the government to take the matters forward in this regard. “If such a proposal has come from Pakistan then we should welcome it. We should take the talks forward so that there can be peace between India and Pakistan,” JD (U) leader K. C. Tyagi told ANI. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday rejected
Two wild elephant fighting with each and other at balipara ghogra near tezpur. Pic - Saurav Borkatak
The day today is riddled with minor, nagging ailments. Adopt a two-pronged strategy. One – change your lifestyle, and two – visit your doctor for regular examinations. Take care of your health. Today, you will most certainly put your heart and soul into your work. But it is rather unlikely that you will get the returns in proportion to the efforts you put in. Yet, at the end of the day, you will be more than satisfied that you have got the chance to display your innate talents. New projects and partnership will keep you busy today. If a meeting is scheduled, you may be praised vociferously for your ability to make the right decision at the right time. You may also bag rewards for the commendable efforts you’d put in the past. Today is an auspicious day, particularly for astrologers, healers, spiritual guides and gurus. One will think twice before challenging you today. Greed is not a word in your dictionary, and today, you are even more inspired to work for humanity.
View of Industrial visit of Reliance College JR Golaghat. Pic - Amit Nagori
List of hospitals in Dibrugarh with contact details & phone numbers, Assam Aditya Diagnostics & Hospitals Bordoloi Avenue, Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2302219, 2302225
G M Hospital
Shrishti Hospital & Research Centre Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone: 0373 - 2300024, 2302099
AMC Road, Jalan Nagar Dibrugarh - 786 005
Archana Trauma & Orthopaedics Hospital
Brahmaputra Diagnostics & Hospital
Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone: 0373 - 2302100, 2302099
Near Indian AirLines City Office Paltan Bazar Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2303476
Assam Medical College
Marwari Arogya Bhawan Hospital Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2302872, 2302051
Aastha Hospital Graham Bazar, A.T. Road Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2322547
Sanjivani Diagnostic & Hospital Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2303448, 2303458, 2301904
Sankardev Hospital Mancotta Road, Chowkidinghee Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2327717, 2327715, 2326960
Jalan Nagar, Dibrugarh - 786 002 List of Phones numbers: Emergency Room : 0373 - 2300627 Labour Room: 0373 - 2300022 Drug Deaddiction Centre: 0373 - 2302952 Community Medicine: 0373 - 2302994 RIA Centre: 0373 - 2302093
Dr. Pawan Bajaj's Skin Clinic Paltan Bazar, Opposite Aditya Hospital Dibrugarh
Dr Damani's Nursing Home Near Circuit House, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2300928, 2302873
You can probably count your chickens before they hatch today, for it is likely that every nest-egg you expect to mint money will. A good day to trade in the stock markets as well, as long as you keep in mind that the horns of a rampaging Bull market can be every bit as deadly as the paws of a lumbering Bear market.
PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz) Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights
30-11-15 (MONRDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-15 A.M-Classical Music 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali (Assamese Modern Song) 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M- Radio Report on Last Day of Dibrugarh Book Fair 12-05 P.M-Ramdhenu (Request Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 1-10 P.M-Troops Programme 2-30 P.M-Western Music Programme 3-45 P.M-Programme in Miju Mishmi 4-05 P.M-Programme in Khamti 4-25 P.M-Programme in Wancho 4-45 P.M-News for Arunachal Pradesh 5-00 P.M-Programme in Idu 5-20 P.M-Programme in Tangsa 5-40 P.M-Programme in Nocte 7-15 P.M-Yuvavani (Youth Programme) 7-45 P.M-Sponsored Programme-"Ei Poth Hoise Bikashor" 8-00 P.M-Ekalabya 9-30 P.M- Mandakini 10-00 P.M-Classical Music Sd-/H.O.P
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30
PAGE 3
Search at Arunachal’s WW-II crash site yields human remains
Wakro achieves milestone in fight against opium addiction
ET Bureau Itanagar, Nov 29: US Defence Prisoners of War Accounting Agency (DPPA) in search of Flight B-24 J nicknamed ‘Hot As Hell’ that went missing with eight crew members on board in November 1944 during World War-II spent a month in Upper Siang’s Mariyang area has recovered live ammunitions, a 50 caliber gun (damaged) and few human remains including tooth and skull. The team camped at the crash site during the expedition and left Mariyang on November 8 for the US with human remains for forensic analysis. Sub Inspector Tsering Wangdi who accompanied the DPPA recovery team in his report submitted to Superintendent of Police Yingkiong, informed that on October 2, members of the US team under the command of Capt. David Gooch, Marine Corp Unit DPPA of USA set off from Mariyang to the crash site. After three days of trekking in rough terrain, the DPPA personnel reached the crash site from where they started the process of slow and painstaking recovery process. The US team was accompanied by Balom Pertin, Tapir Darrang and Kalom Megu (UDC) of
ADC office, Mariyang along with SI Wangdi. It is assumed that more than 400 US personnel lost their lives while flying over the corridor known as hump while on supply mission during the IInd World War. B-24J took off from Kunming, China for a routine flight to Chabua near Dibrugarh Assam but the plane never reached its destination and later, the crews were declared dead on November 20, 1944. The flight B-24 J was assigned to the 14th Air Force, 308th Bombardment Group and its prime target was to destabilize Japanese naval bases and army movements in the South Asia including North East India. The US has engaged in recovery missions across the world to bring back its war dead but efforts in Arunachal hit a roadblock after the UPA government put a stop to it in 2009, reasoning that the territory was sensitive due to “strategic, internal political, ecological and anthropological reasons”. However, Modi led NDA government recently allowed the US search operation team to resume its recovery mission while shrugging off the Chinese concerns.
Wakro, Nov 29: The Wakro unit of the Cultural and Literary Society of Mishmis (CALSOM) alongwith I-Care won their first battle in the fight against opium addiction. Twenty three addicts were admitted to the Treatment cum Rehabilitation Centre (TCRC) at Chongkham run by the Arunachal Pali Vidyapith Society on the 15th November. Dakto Riba, EAC had flagged off the first batch of opium addicts who had expressed willingness to undergo the de addiction program. The EAC had appealed to one
the same successfully. Three had dropped out while much to the satisfaction of the organizers twenty people completed the de addiction course. Members of community accorded a warm welcome to the strong team of twenty who exhibited spirited willingness to come back to and lead a healthier life free from addiction. Dr B M Mishra, IAS, secretary to the govt of Arunachal Pradesh in his message conveyed that it is a matter of great happiness that de addiction and rehabilitation work against
over a decade to ensure complete victory. Dr Mishra who earlier as the DC Lohit had prepared a Road Map for Control, Monitoring, Awareness, De addiction and Alternative Livelihood Development to Tackle Opium Cultivation and Menace of Drug Addiction in Lohit District, expressed strong hope that under dynamic young leaders who remain dedicated to social cause the beautiful Mishmi land will get rid of this menace one day. Members of the community were touched and greatly encouraged to know of the contin-
and all to come forward in the fight against the prevalent social evil. He appealed to the addicts to undergo the de addiction program with determination and complete
opium menace is going on zealously under active cooperation from CALSOM. He opined that the effort is essential and the tempo against this needs to sustain
ued care and concern of the officer. Sosot Dellang expressed gratitude on behalf of all the addicts who had undergone the de addiction course. He
Renovation of CC road faces hurdle, 1 held for violence ET Bureau Itanagar, Nov 29: Once again proving how difficult it is to execute development project in the Capital Complex, on Friday night, anti-social elements destroyed newly constructed CC pavement road and beat up the sub-contractors as well as labourers at GExtension, Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. According to police source, the incident took place around 11.30 pm. A local resident of the area along with large group of people attacked the persons engaged in construction of CC road. Three members of construction agency received grievous injury.
“Around 11 pm, two labourers working in a scrap shop near the construction site were picked up by police patrolling team which led to the destruction of the road, said a source. On suspicion that their man had been beaten up by police because of complaints from workers constructing CC- road work, the owner of shop came with his goons and brutally assaulted those working at the site. “He even threatened to kill us. He stopped the work and warned us not to construct the road further, failing which he threatened to attack us again,” said one of the victims. Further the victim added, “We
regularly face such kind of incidents but last night, it went too far. Most of the public are not being cooperative to the ongoing CC road work at Naharlagun. We are working under the atmosphere of intimidation. It is difficult to work under such circumstance.” Assistant Engineer Yumlam Tach who was present when the incident happened, tried hard to pacify the assaulters but they did not relent and went on a rampage. An FIR was lodged against the attackers and police have managed to arrest the main culprit. The incident raises serious question mark over the attitude of the people of capital complex. Often,
citizens complain about bad road but when government is trying to improve road condition, citizens themselves have become the biggest stumbling block, said an official. Now, the big question is who will repair the CC road damaged last night as it is unfair to expect the contractor or the PWD to repair it. The district administration should ensure that goons who damaged the road should be made to repair it or else keep them behind the bar for the longest possible time, to set an example so that others dare not emulate such destructive work.
shared his experiences and encouraged other addicts not to be scared by the withdrawal syndrome and encouraged others to fearlessly go ahead in getting rid of the addiction. Khuti Mitti assured all present that under no circumstance he would fall prey to addiction ever again. He also appealed to all the participants of the first batch to stay strong and remain free from drug addiction. He informed that the De addiction and Rehabilitation Centre in Chongkham rendered good service and support. Chow Thanin Mansai, Secretary, APV Society, Chow Tewa Manpoong, senior counselor and Chow Jet Gogoi Program Co ordinator of the TCRC reportedly went beyond the call of duty to help the needy. To a great applause by all Asuiso Minin not only
pledged to stay away from addiction but assured the organizers that he and his friends will volunteer to participate in the future awareness campaigns and de addiction movement. Rajesh Mam, Sombao Mining, Bagyalum Thalai, , Fabilum Thalai, Nerusai Tai, Atun Pul, Karengso Marai, Komitso Sisong, Bakheso Rangmang, Pekulum Mining, Bimlumai Halai, Gawesi Chikro, Akenso Mining, Sorem Longling, Sokia Mining, Noromso Ngadong, Basemso Mining and Jitemso Mining joined Asuiso in the pledge to support the movement. Somodang Tawsik, former Secretary of CALSOM thanked Er Lupalum Kri, CE, PH&WS for mobilizing support to the movement. Soleng Rangmang, Chairman of CALSOM,
Wakro block appreciated Er Bafrengso Pul, AE, Electrical, for his contribution. Er Sophreng Hakung joined members of the community in thanking the Guwahati based Nezone Pipes and Structures for sponsoring the de addiction and rehab program. The organizers and beneficiaries lauded Somodang Tawsik for relentlessly pursuing social good and fighting opium menace braving all hardships and public criticism. People also appreciated ICare chief Ajitso Ama, Soleng Rangmang and Er Sophreng Hakung for teaming up and taking forward the very challenging task of fight against opium and drug addiction. Somodang and all the organizers conveyed their commitment to carry forward this movement and informed to the delight of all that more will be done.
More freedom to farmers – key to effective agriculture mechanization Contd. from Page 1
Whereas, the agriculture technology market has various models of tractors like New Holland, John Deree, Tafe offering better features at the same cost range. Also in the current model of granting agriculture mechanization subsidy, there is no elbow room for procuring advanced, improved pre and post harvest tractor operated equipment that are available in the market like the Pneumatic Seed Drill, Multi-crop Thresher, Maize thresher-
cum-Sheller, Potato Planter etc. Instead, the current subsidy model on agriculture mechanization encourages exploitation of a farmer at the hands of the private operators by way of incentivizing private monopoly when comes to procurement of advance mechanization like tractor. The present policy also severely constrains a farmer by limiting his choice of farm mechanization, thus, compounding and cascading the grievances of a farmer, who sweat, tear and toil on his
patch of land to ensure food on the plate, for the state and the country as well. Therefore, the need of the hour is to upgrade and infuse life into the present agriculture mechanization policy of the state. The state government needs to decentralize the ‘decision and procurement processes’ of agriculture mechanization to the respective nodal agencies in the districts. The state government should limit itself to the granting of agriculture mechanization subsidy through respective district
nodal agencies; while dismantling the current model of centralized outsourcing of mechanization process to a private commercial entity based in the state capital, (reference letter no.: Agri/ Dev-62/2013-14, (P) Dated Itanagar 8th May’2015). The dismantling and decentralization of current subsidy model for agriculture mechanization will also automatically lead to enough space for a farmer to tinker with their own choice of agriculture technologies that the market has to offer.
Govt. should try to bring suitable amendments in Section 377: CPI Contd. from Page 1
"There is a campaign in the country to protect the interests of all sections and no law should be criminalised for that matter. So now, it is for the Supreme Court to take note of these issues and moreover how
the government is going to take up with the Supreme Court or judiciary," he added. Speaking at the Times Lit Fest yesterday, Jaitley had said that the Supreme Court should not have reversed the Delhi High Court order decriminalizing consensual sex among homosexuals.
"When you have millions of people involved in this (homosexuality) you can't nudge them off. The Supreme Court's 2014 verdict banning gay sex is not in accordance with the evolving legal jurisprudence and the court needs to reconsider it," Jaitley said. In December 2013, the
Supreme Court had overturned the Delhi High Court's July 2009 judgement, which had declared Section 377 as unconstitutional. The apex court had stated that amending or revoking Section 377 should be a matter left to the Parliament and not the judiciary.
Arvind Kejriwal backs Tarun Gogoi's claim over Guv favouring BJP, suspects 'coop federalism' Contd. from Page 1
Kejriwal-led Delhi government has been at loggerheads with the state Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over several issues. In a letter to the President yesterday, Gogoi alleged the continuance of Acharya as in-charge Governor of Assam would cause immense difficulty in functioning of parliamen-
tary democracy and create fissures in the state's secular ethos. "We had welcomed Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya to our State as we presumed that being a high Constitutional functionary, he would conduct himself fairly, cautiously and circumspectly," he said. "However, I am pained to say that ever since assuming office, the Governor of Assam through his
actions has steadily lowered the prestige of the institution of the Governor," the Chief Minister asserted. Gogoi alleged that Acharya has been "making no distinction between his constitutional functioning as Governor of a State and his political and ideological instincts which are evidently linked to the ruling party at the Centre, the BJP, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh".
Much-awaited `Bajirao Mastani` victory song `Malhari` launched New Delhi, Nov 29 (ANI): After ‘Gajanana’, ‘Deewani Mastani’ and ‘Pinga’, the fourth song ‘Malhari’ from the Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus ‘Bajirao Mastani’ has been launched. The main lead of the film, Ranveer Singh, who was in Bhopal to launch the muchawaited victory song as the region is of great significance to the warrior’s story, was thronged by fans as he arrived in the city. The makers thought Bhopal to be the ideal place to launch this track as Bajirao won one of his biggest wars
here. The Battle of Bhopal is one of the biggest battles of the 18th century, which resulted in Maratha victory, mainly through the swift tactics of Maratha Peshwa Bajirao. Dressed in blue dhoti pant, printed shirt and blue jacket, Ranveer performed to ‘Malhari’ amidst crazy fans cheering for him at the venue. The song, which is shot on an extensive scale, is sung by Vishal Dadlani and choreographed by Ganesh Acharya and signifies victory and celebration. In the
period drama, the 'Malhari' track comes after a crucial victory that Bajirao and his soldiers celebrate. Earlier, an excited Ranveer had took to social media to share a teaser of the song, writing, “So I'm in Bhopal readying 2 rage at the #MalhariLaunch ..Meanwhile y'all good folks can nibble on this little teaser!” Apart from Ranveer, ‘Bajirao Mastani,’ which is slated to be released on December 18, also stars Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.
SRS Group organizes1st Mega Miss Assam organize 1st audition participants at Dibrugarh. Pic - UB Photos
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Golaghat District Journalist Association golden jubilee celebrations conclude ET Correspondent Golaghat, Nov 29: The two day long Golden Jubilee Celebrations programme of Golaghat District Journalist Association today came to a conclusion. Today, an open session was held at the Amateur Theatre So-
ciety which was presided by Radhika Vallabh Goswami while the meeting was inaugurated by Dinesh Gogoi. Meanwhile, the 'Hem Chandra Baruah' award for excellence in reporting was presented to veteran journalist, editor of Saptahik
Dhansiri Apurba Baruah. The award was presented to him by Jayanta Baruah of Sadin Pratidin Group. The award comprise of one Gamosa, cheleng chadar, a memento and a cheque of ten thousand rupees. After that, a souvenir entitled ‘Sonali’
was unveiled by educationist and film producer Dinesh Gogoi. While in the open session, a remarkable speech on the topic 'Media in the ancient point of view and present state of media' was delivered by noted educationist, principal of
Sivasagar Commerce College Dr Soumarjyoti Mahanta. The family members of the founders of Golaghat District Journalist Association were also felicitated in the programme. The programme was coordinated by Rohit Gogoi.
Charaideo Prahari released in Sonari
ET Correspondent Sonari, Nov 29: The first issue of Charaideo
Prahari, a fortnightly published from Sonari was released today during a
function held at the PWD Inspection Bunglow premises. The fortnightly is
published by ‘Procestha’, a socio-economic, education and cultural organization of Sonari. At the outset the purpose of the meeting was outlined by Abhijit Bhuyan, the chief editor of the publication. The meeting was presided over by Moni Gogoi, subject teacher of PKB Girls HS School. Ranjit Buragohain, the BDO of Sonari development block, Nalini Aideo, Member, Sivasagar Zila Parishad, Mritunjoy Das, President, Sonari Press Club and Dwipen Kumar Baruah, President of ‘Palosh Natya Gosthi’ and leading citizen of
Mahmora spoke on the occasion. Releasing the issue, Rana Mohan Baruah, noted dramatist expressed hope that the publication will be able to fulfill its commitment towards the rural people by reporting on issues related to the rural areas. Chakrapani Patiri and Rajib Katoky, lecturers of Sonari College, Dipak Kumar Kalita and Dimbeswar Konwar, Utpal Phukon, magician Pradip Chetia Phukon, social worker Swapan Kar, Tulshi Changmai and Khagen Khanikar and writer Kalpana Baruah also spoke on the occasion.
Post doctoral researcher visits Golaghat tant information regarding science and technology." It came to be known that Dr Ankita is one of the students of the first batch of Reliance College Junior and also first Doctorate. A felicitation program was presided by Dr TN Hazarika while the purpose of the program was read out by Priyanka Saikia Das. Dr Ankita was felicitated in accordance with Assomiya culture. Other Professors including Tankeshwar Pathak, Upen Pathak, Robin Khound, Lakhyajit Dworah and Hemant Bora gave speeches. A large number of students along with faculty members were present on the occasion.
ET Correspondent Golaghat, Nov 29: Recently, a post doctoral researcher from South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Dr Ankita Hazarika visited Reliance College Junior and had an interactive session with students. Dr Ankita Hazarika said, "In Korea, people give more importance to work rather than religion. There people respect elders and teachers are still given the status of God which is declining among youngsters in our country nowadays. In Korea they have more working days and there is no Bandh culture like in our country. She gave impor-
Institution of Engineers (India) Assam DZKP to lay siege to State Centre organizes meeting in DC office in support association with Startup, Assam Contd. from Page 1
Neelam Dutta of Pabhoi Greens shared his experience, whereas Mr. Nalin Kr. Mohan, Retd. Chief Scientist of Horticulture Research Station, Assam Agricultural Universitytalked about options available with Seeds of Jack Fruits and Juggery as an Industry. Eminent Inventor Milan Jyoti Das showed some of his inventions, like Poultry Incubator, Grain Treading Machines etc.
Manash Chaliha of Organic Majuli embraced how Startup Assam helped him build proper networking to work on his venture. He was happy to announce that Organic Majuli is supplying organic vegetables to two of Central Government Canteens. Dr. Madan Gopal Barthakur , Research Scientist of Guwahati Biotech Park showed different facilities available at the Biotech Park for students and avenues for startups to explore. The
event was attended by delegates from the local investor community, start-ups, entrepreneurs and industry veterans with a line-up of speakers with profound background. How technology and Agri Sector together can bring a change to the economy of North East? How startups can take up different problem statements and excite the entrepreneurship culture of the entire region? These were some of the key takeaways from yesterday evening.
Govt. wants GST to be passed with consensus: Venkaiah Naidu Contd. from Page 1
"In the last month, there was a broad consensus. The Lok Sabha had approved it. The Rajya Sabha referred it to the Select Committee. The Select Committee has completed its study and referred it back to the Parliament,' he added. The government on Saturday expressed confidence over the ending of the impasse over the GST Bill and said that the meeting between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress top brass had been a positive one, indicating that the bill could be thrashed out in the next round of discussions in the Parliament. "The Prime Minister himself rung up Sonia ji and Manmohan ji requesting them to come over for a discussion on various issues regarding the Parliament and to seek their cooperation. It was a good meeting, I was present there myself and there had been a free
exchange of views on all matters. The discussion was more on the GST Bill which was initially brought by the UPA Government," Venkaiah Naidu told ANI. In a move intended to break the deadlock over the bill, the Prime Minister had yesterday invitedCongress president Sonia Gandhi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh over tea, highlighting the need for consensual approach in the smooth functioning of the Parliament.
of its pending demands on Dec. 1
Contd. from Page 1
Therefore, we have decided to show our strength through the demanonstration on Tuesday”, Dilip Singh, general secretary of DZKP said. The two hour long agitation will start from 11 am and the schools and teachers who are having their exams are exempted from the agitation, Singh added. Apart from its members, the SAKP is also fighting for the cause of the NHM, SSA, DRDA and municipal employees who have been continuing with their service for several months without any pay, Bashab Chandra Kalita, President, SAKP and Nagen Das, general secretary, SAKP said through a statement. It might be mentioned that in order to discuss the pending issues raised by the SAKP and DZKP, a high level meeting chaired by Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister of Assam was held at Dispur on July 21 this year. The chief secretary of the state, two additional chief secretaries, senior officials from the revenue,
health, education, etc departments were present during the meeting. Several decisions for the welfare of the employees were also taken during the meeting. However, till date the decisions are yet to be implemented, Singh said. “For the last three years several rounds of discussions were held on the free medical service for employees and pension. The government during the July 21 meeting while agreeing on both the issues also stated that the blue print for implementation of the welfare measures will be completed by Aug. 15, but till date it is kept pending”, Singh said. SAKP has been demanding that till the government regularize the posts of muster roll employees they should been paid as per the fourth grade salary slabs. Moreover, even after the instructions from the CM to the finance department, the concerning authorities are not doing anything on release of 27 months arrears. Singh has appealed to all the employees of the government departments to come out and support their agitation on Tuesday.
Singer Priyanka Bharali inaugurating Winter Mela cum Mongolian Food Festival in Guwahati. Pic - UB Photos.
‘Operation White’ kicks up a storm in Deomali Contd. from Page 1
has started a ‘lootraj’ in the state by diverting truck loads of PDS rice meant for the beneficiaries of Longding district to the open market in Deomali. Further investigations into the scam conducted by this correspondent brought to light that the Food Corporation of India – FCI too is hand in glove with the contractor. “As a section of the corrupted FCI personnel have decided to connive with the contractor in his illegal business, the contractor apart from taking care of all their needs, even pays the house rent of these employees”, sources said. There are four employees of FCI posted at the FCI depot at Deomali which stores the PDS items meant for two Arunachal districts – Tirap and Longding. In addition to the four employees, the Tirap district administration has appointed two casual employees as
night 'chowkidaars' as the depot does not have its own security personnel. When this correspondent asked one of the employees of the depot as to why they do not report the matter to the higher authorities when truck loads of PDS rice are directly diverted to the open market, the employee said that the matter does not come under their jurisdiction. “After the truck goes out of our depot, we do not have any legal authority to monitor or see where the truck is going. It is not our job”, the employee said. On the other hand, the government officials including those from the Deomali sub divisional administration and food and civil supplies department remain totally ignorant towards the issue. The sources further said that everybody from top-down gets a share of the massive illegal profits made by the contractor. However, due to the exposé of ‘The Eastern Today’ the food and civil supplies department has
now promised to initiate action against the erring contractor. When contacted by this correspondent, the food and civil supplies inspector posted at Deomali said that after the matter was exposed by ‘The Eastern Today’, he had written to his higher authority in Khonsa. “As the news became public today, I called up my superior officer in Khonsa and later followed it up with a written official communication”, he said. It is now to be seen whether the food and civil supplies department ‘genuinely’ conducts any inquiry into the matter or that the inquiry actually turns into a mere eye wash, just to tide over the storm kicked up by ‘Operation White’ launched by ‘The Eastern Today’. Whether the government department conducts any inquiry or not, ‘The Eastern Today’ assures its readers and well wishers that our ‘war’ on corruption will continue. (To be continued)
My statement on Hindi-speaking people has been twisted and wrongly interpreted : Gogoi Contd. from Page 1
Gogoi said that his Council of Ministers comprises representatives from different communities, including Hindi-speaking people. “My Council of Ministers consists of representatives from different communities, including Hindi-speaking people. Even my Parliamentary Secretary is a Hindi-speaking person. Unlike the BJP party dominated by Hindi-speaking leaders whose writ runs on our spineless local BJP leaders who more often remain mute for their petty interests, our Hindi-speaking leaders in the Congress party only advice us on important issues but in no way
diktat terms,” he added. Gogoi accused BJP's national functionaries of trying to impose Hindi pronunciations, while referring to Assamese. "BJP's Assam incharge Mahendra Singh has referred to Srimanta Sankardeva (Vaishnavite saint) as Baba Sankardeo, which is totally unacceptable. All these leaders do not even know how to pronounce Assamese names. They call former BJP state president Sidhartha Bhattacharya as Sidharth, present president Sarbananda Sonowal as Sonwal and Himanta Biswa Sarma as Hemant Biswa Karma. Actually the problem lies with these BJP leaders is that they do not understand the local
sentiments and issues.” The Chief Minister said the BJP national functionaries are making a beeline to the State to woo the voters with promises galore but have put important issues on the backburner. “If they really love Assam the BJP-led Government would not have deprived Assam and other North Eastern States by withdrawing the Special Category status, suspension of North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy, slashing of Central funds, besides going back on its election promises of sending back all the Bangladeshis and containing price rise if it assumed power at the Centre,” he quipped.
Lost pistol recovered Contd. from Page 1
They at once informed about it to the police wherefrom the police recovered the .22 pistol. Meanwhile, the news of the recovery of the pistol created sensation in the entire district. However, it fizzled out after one Dingia Tabin from Wage Tiniali, Nirjuli of
Arunachal Pradesh claimed the pistol after he had come across the pistol recovery news through electronic media. The claimant who is a physician by profession informed the police that his bag contained an amount of Rs 50,000 along with the pistol and it was looted by some unidentified man around seven in the morning
while he was shopping at Harmutty, in Lakhimpur-Arunachal border area. He added that the culprit used 'Bandar-Kekowa ' – a poisonous herb which causes irritation when it comes in touch with human skin, to loot him. He produced the licence of the pistol that was issued in England. Police later handed over the pistol to him.
Naga-Japanese Reconciliation Summit Kohima, Nov 29: Church leaders from Japan and Nagaland held a two-day Japan- Naga Christian Reconciliation and Revival Summit at Khedi Baptist Church Kohima Saturday, for seeking forgiveness in order to heal the hurts, hatreds ,anxieties and humiliation spanning 70 years between the Japanese and Nagas during the 2nd World War. It was a heart touching moment when representatives from both sides confessed to the wrongs and sought forgiveness from each other so as to heal the pain, anxieties and hatred caused during the 2nd World War in order to bring reconciliation and healing, in God's name On behalf of the Nagas, two survivors of the war , Khietso Pieny端 and Zhavise Vihienuo stressed on both sides to ask forgiveness and forgive one another. Khietso admitted that both Nagas and
Japanese had killed each other and so both should ask forgiveness from and also forgive one another in the name of Jesus Christ. Another Naga elder Zhavise Vihienuo said that many Nagas were killed by the Japanese soldiers during the war and likewise, Nagas had also killed Japanese soldiers. He felt that Nagas should have gone and asked the Japanese people for forgiveness much earlier . Vihienuo, on behalf of the Naga elders and on behalf of the WW-II Naga veterans, sought forgiveness in God's name from
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the Japanese people in Christian love and unity to testify to the world, the way of God's Kingdom of peace. Senior Pastor of Shinshiro Church, Aichi (Japan) Rev.Jun Takimoto apologised to Nagas for the problems and pain caused during the battle of Kohima at the height of the Japanese invasion and expressed repentance for taking so long to "come and reconcile with the Nagas". Earlier, NBCC general secretary Rev.Dr.Z.Keyho, speaking on behalf of the church, maintained, that Japanese and Nagas were
not enemies, neither then or now. He said though "the war was not fought between us," however, Naga soil, particularly Kohima, became the battlefield. He said it was a war of abuse, unkindness, high-handedness and a war of murder and hatred. Keyho said though there were pleasant stories of how Nagas befriended and helped the Japanese; yet there were also unpleasant stories as well. He said the war ended and Japanese soldiers went back in fewer numbers and also carried with them regrets and hurts and also left behind hardship for Nagas. He said for 70 years both Nagas and Japanese lived with guilt but "today, we want to bury that guilt, with love and forgiveness, at the feet of the Cross of Jesus Christ" adding, that the church should boldly play its role in bringing healing. (Agencies)
Snapshots from the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Golaghat District Journalists' Association.
The Brothers Bihari - book charts journeys of Nitish, Lalu
New Delhi, Nov 29: Few political allies are as unlike each other as RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who recently took oath for the fifth time as the state's chief minister. "The Brothers Bihari", a book written by seasoned political journalist Sankarshan Thakur and published by Harper Collins, cast light on the life journeys of the two most formidable Bihar leaders. They fell out at their first taste of power and remained implacable enemies for near
two decades before their quest for political survival in the face of a rampaging Narendra Modi-led BJP onslaught forced them together. Thakur charts the political journeys of the two leaders, looks at the state with his sympathetic but dispassionate eyes and his gaze at times is so discomforting that you are left a little frightened at the future that awaits the impoverished state as two men with almost nothing common in their templates for governance get to rule it together. At a time when the two
backward satraps have registered a famous victory over the BJP and energised the opposition ranks, the book should be a recommended read for anyone keen on not only knowing what makes these two contrasting figures tick but also understanding Bihar, a state of wants and deprivations but which has often given a new direction to the national polity. The tome is not really a fresh piece of work but brings together Thakur's, himself a Bihari, earlier works on the two leaders but vastly changed circumstances in the state heightens its significance. The author also seeks to answer the most asked question for much of the Lok Sabha election campaign in 2014 as to what made Kumar break off his over 17 years ties with the saffron parivar and risk almost everything he earned in between. BJP may have accused him of betrayal and that he was driven by some grand prime ministe-
rial ambition but Thakur puts it down to his deep aversion to Modi, a man who, according to Kumar, creates fear in the mind of countrymen and with whom there can be no compromise. Kumar, 64, emerges as a hero in the book, a politician wedded to certain principles and to whom power is not an end in itself but a means to governance. Somebody who may make certain compromises for a larger goal but will remain his own man. He joined hands with the BJP in 1996 after his first two years of struggle against Lalu Prasad's misrule came to nought but ensured that the saffron party's Hindutva agenda never cast its shadow on their alliance in the state. That he never allowed Modi to campaign there as long as BJP was with him is a pointer to this. Thakur may not say so in as many words but leaves little doubt over who the villain is, if you will. (Agencies)
Two Naxals killed, CRPF jawan injured in Chhattisgarh Raipur, Nov 29: Two Naxals were killed and as many women cadres arrested after a gun-battle with security forces, while a CRPF jawan was on Saturday injured in a pressure bomb blast in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh. Two rebels were gunned down by security forces in restive Abhujmad area of Narayanpur district last night, IG (Bastar Range) SRP Kalluri told PTI over phone. The gunfight be-
tween a joint team of Special Task Force and District Reserve Group, and a group of insurgents took place in jungles of Tumnar under Dhanora police station limits, around 230 km from Raipur, he said. The security forces were on a cordon and search operation ahead of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week (December 28) when they came under Naxal fire. PLGA is the military wing of CPI (Maoist).
The security personnel also apprehended two women Naxals, who were part of the group, while they were trying to flee deep into the forests, the IG said. With this, the number of Naxals killed in separate encounters in south Bastar this month has reached 18. Meanwhile, a CRPF jawan was injured when he accidentally stepped on a pressure bomb planted by ultras in Sukma district, around 380
Army did not shift firing victims to hospital, says police Shillong, Nov 29: Army authorities have admitted to the Meghlaya police that its personnel had failed to inform the local police immediately of the incident of killing of two persons at Kharkutta on November 25 night , rather they chose to leave the area leaving the victims there. The police team after reaching the spot shifted the victims to the hospital, according to a statement issued by IGP (law and order) GHP Raju, who is also the Public Relations Officer of Meghalaya police, on Saturday regarding the November 25 incident. According to the statement, on November 25 at around 9:30 pm N. Ray, SI, officer in-charge of Kharkutta outpost informed Ramesh Singh, Superintendent of Police, North Garo Hills that at around 8:40 pm he was informed by his driver that he heard a sound of firing from Rajasimla side about 2 kms away from Kharkutta outpost . Ray along with available personnel from the outpost immediately
rushed towards Rajasimla and on reaching Konchikol, saw one Yamaha RX-100 Motorcycle without number plate lying on the road and a few meters away, two unidentified bodies were found lying near the road . He immediately sent the bodies to Kharkutta PHC, where the Medical Officer on duty declared the duo as brought dead. Singh directed Additional SP AT. Sangma, and SI G.M Momin, officer in charge of Mendipathar to proceed to Kharkutta for necessary action. The victims - Elphius Momin (35, teacher), and his friend Sweetbirth D. Marak (30) from Rajasimla were identified by the public of Kharkutta area who started gathering in the Kharkutta outpost in huge numbers. With the available information, an FIR in Mendipathar police station was registered against unknown persons by police. It was only the next day (November 26) at 6 am that the army officers came to Kharkutta outpost and submitted a written FIR wherein they mentioned that
while pursuing some reliable information about GNLA cadres travelling in a motor cycle, they set up a motor vehicle check post near Rajasimla at around 8.15 pm on November 25, and checked two motor cycles. During the course of further checking a third motor cycle with two persons, without lights and without number plate arrived at 8.40 pm and when instructed to stop, they tried to accelerate to escape and at the same time there was a blast and flash. According to the army authorities it appeared to be a gunshot and the army party opened fire on the escaping motorcyclists. As per army authorities the incident happened due to mistaken identity. The two FIRs submitted by parents and relatives of both the victims and FIR filed by the Army have been incorporated and will become part of the same case. Raju said that the magisterial inquiry and police investigation are being pursued at higher levels both by the government and the police. (Agencies)
km from the state capital. The incident occurred this morning when a team of 74th battalion of Central Reserve Police Force was on its way for security duty at Chintalnar weekly market, said district Superintendent of Police D Shrawan. "The jawan suffered minor injuries on his legs when the bomb exploded," the SP said, adding he was rushed to a local hospital where his condition was said to be stable. (Agencies)
Pic - Amit nagori, Golaghat
LPG distribution anomalies : IOC, distributors agree on a slew of corrective measures Imphal, Nov 29: IOC's Guwahati based North East Integrated Sales Office Chief Manager (LPG Operations) Probin Boruah visited Imphal for two days and made a direct assessment of the difficulties encountered by LPG consu-mers in Manipur. Following a series of reports published in The Sangai Express about various difficulties faced by LPG consumers in Manipur such as unavailability of LPG refills even to the minimum requirements in a year, IOC's Imphal based State Level Coordinator SI Singh requested the North East Integrated Sales Office to depute official(s) to collect first hand account of the difficulties faced by LPG con- sumers and distributors in Manipur. In response to the request, Chief Manager Probin Boruah visited Imphal on November 26 and 27. During his stay at Imphal, Probin held a meeting with
People seen waiting near the LPG Gas counter LPG distributors of the State apart from interacting with relevant officials of the State Government. The meeting held with LPG distributors took some key resolutions.The meeting resolved that distributors should ensure transparent booking for refill and proper communication to consumers by displaying exact serial number of delivery of cylinder on daily basis. It agreed to form an internal committee comprising of selected LPG distributors and IOC officials in order to foresee and ensure proper func- tioning of distributors in Manipur as per IOC's
policy guidelines. Distributors as well as IOCL officials present at the meeting were of the view that the Department of Supply and Distribution, Government of Manipur should constitute a task force with representation of IOCL. The team would conduct surprise inspection of installation which are using unauthorised domestic cylinders so as to curb diversion of cylinders and ensure that subsidized refills reached deserving customers. To improve LPG bulk availability at Sekmai LPG bottling plant, LPG trucks should be allowed to un-
load during extended hours and on holidays. The meeting decided that transporters should make their drivers available at the bottling plant for unloading of TTs. The meeting further discussed about obtaining approval from the Petroleum Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) for unloading TTs at Sekmai bottling plant during night.mIt is reported that PESO officials are likely to visit Sekmai bottling plant for a final inspection on December 4. The meeting deliberated at length on the lop-sided distribution pattern witnessed in the State where some privileged/lucky consumers have received more than their annual quota while the vast majority of consumers have got just four/five refills. The distributors and the IOC officials agreed to conduct random checking by a joint as and when LPG refills are distributed. The State requires 2400 MT of
LPG in a month but LPG supply rate never meets the exact requirement on account of poor transportation. How frequent bandhs and blockades have been affecting LPG transportation was also discussed at the meeting. There was bandh for two days in April, 13 days of bandh and blockade in May, blockade for seven days in June, curfew for 15 days in July, highway blockade for 11 days in August, bandh and blockade for six days in October, economic blockade for three days in November and LPG convoy movement was suspended for 16 days due to landslide and broken down bridge in September. Taking due note of the supply shortfalls, the meeting decided to ship in at least 3000 MT of bulk LPG by December. It also discussed about enjoyment of LPG subsidy who do not belong to BPL category and who can afford non-subsidized refills. (Agencies)
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Bhushan steps up attack on AAP's 'mahajokepal' New Delhi, Nov 29 : Stepping up the attack on ruling AAP over the 2015 Delhi Janlokpal Bill, ousted party leader Prashant Bhushan today said that "contrary to the claims" made by the Arvind Kejriwal government, the proposed legislation is "completely" different from its previous 2014 version.The senior Supreme Court lawyer claimed that the 2015 Bill increases the sway of the government in the appointment and removal of the ombdusman and brings under its ambit Union government functionaries, among other "glaring" differences.In the wake of the claims by the Swaraj Abhiyan
leader, AAP hit out at Bhushan and alleged that his attack goes on to prove the "collaboration" between him and BJP.But Bhushan, who was expelled from AAP for "anti-party activities", lashed out at the claim while likening Kejriwal to Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister under the infamous Hitler regime. Bhushan also dared the Delhi chief minister to an open debate on the matter. The Delhi government will table the Bill tomorrow. Releasing a comparative study of the several Lokpal Bills and Acts, including the Delhi Janlokpal Bill 2014, Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, Centre's Lokpal Act
Toddler who fell into borewell in Telangana 'dies'
Medak (Telangana), Nov. 29: The one-yearold boy, who fell into a 30-feet borewell here on Saturday, was declared dead today.The body has been fished out of the borewell after over 20 hours of rescue operation. Medak Superintensent of Police (S.P.) Badugula Sumathi told ANI, "The body was fished out of the borewell about 6 a.m on Sunday and sent to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead."Locals, however, said there were scratch
marks on the body, adding that the boy might have died much earlier.The child fell into the borewell at around 7:00 a.m. when his parents were away on a field for work.A medical team along with an ambulance was rushed to the spot to carry out the rescue operation and administer oxygen into the borewell for the child to breathe.According to reports, the residents blamed the administration for the mishap, alleging that the borewell was left uncovered since long. (ANI)
'Differently-abled people are a source of inspiration': PM Modi New Delhi, Nov. 29: Lauding the courage and determination of the differently-abled people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid emphasis on organ donation. "Last time, I spoke about organ donation, which can save valuable lives. In a way it brings immortality. What could be a bigger donation than this," the Prime Minister reiterated. "Differentlyabled people are a source of inspiration for us. Their determination and
courage are remarkable," he added. Prime Minister Modi highlighted the dedication of Javed Ahmed, who was shot at by terrorists in 1996 in Kashmir and lost the ability to stand on his feet forever. "Javed Ahmed was shot at by terrorists in 1996 in Kashmir, but he survived. However, he lost the ability to stand on his feet forever, but he never lost hope. Javed turned this crisis into compassion and dedicated his life to social service," he said. (ANI)
PM Modi expresses concern over flood situation in TN New Delhi, Nov. 29 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condoled the deaths in Tamil Nadu due to incessant rains, which claimed at least 170 lives so far. Addressing the 14th edition of his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme, the Prime Minister drew the nation's attention towards climate change. "At times there are crisis during the festive season and this is saddening, but I have faith in the strength of Tamil Nadu," he said.He said he had propounded the idea of the SAARC nations coming together and working on disaster preparedness.Prime
Minister Modi said that he got a call from Lakhwinder Singh from Jalandhar, whose question was that how could we control stubble burning."I am happy that Lakhwinder ji follows organic farming and you also understand the problems of farmers. Burning the crop stubble adds to the present crisis of climate change," he said. First solution is that we need to train our farmers and make them aware of the consequences of burning crop stubble. Even the remains of the crops are very valuable. They are an organic fertiliser in themselves," he added. (ANI)
and Team Anna's Janlokpal draft, Bhushan said the Bill cleared by the current Delhi Cabinet was the "worst" of all."What do they (AAP) think? Is this why they have increased publicity budget to over Rs 500
crore? They should think of having a ministry of propaganda. It's as if they have been trained by Joseph Goebbels. The new Bill is completely different from the one tabled in 2014," charged Bhushan. The Delhi gov-
ernment has not officially released copies of either version of the Bill. Rebel AAP MLA Pankaj Pushkar had yesterday made the 2015 Bill public, which he claimed to have got in his capacity as a member of the Delhi Assembly's Business A d v i s o r y Committee.Meanwhile, functionaries in the AAP government, when contacted, refused to comment on the charges made by Bhushan at a press conference at his N o i d a residence.Significantly, the 2015 Bill gives powers to the anti- graft ombdusman to inquire into and investigate allegations of corruption oc-
curring anywhere in the "National Capital Territory of Delhi", thus bringing Union government functionaries under its ambit.The 2014 Bill, released by Bhushan, on the other hand, said that the Lokpal can investigate any matter either suomotu or based on a complaint in respect of public servants.It described public servant as someone who is serving in the connection with the affairs of the Delhi government and any such person whose services are "temporarily placed at the disposal of the Central government, the government of another state, the local authority or any other body." (Agencies)
Nepal Cable TV operators block Indian TV channels Kathmandu, Nov. 29: Nepalese Cable TV operators have blocked all Indian channels "indefinitely" in protest against an unofficial "blockade of goods" into the country.Amid agitating by the Joint Madhesi Front in the Himalayan nation, scores of goods laden trucks are stranded on the India-Nepal border. Madhesis have been protesting over "discriminatory" seven-province
model of new Constitution. Earlier, expressing concern over growing "anti- India" sentiment in Nepal, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae had on Friday said, "We sense that this is being used for certain objective political or otherwise.""We are deeply concerned with the growing anti-India sentiment. Encouraging such a sentiment is equally harmful to both
India and Nepal," he said, while speaking at an event 'Nation Ahead Series' here."There are certain narratives," he said, "There is a section which is encouraging anti-India sentiment as it helps them in some way."Rae said there is a sense of grievances in certain part of Nepal that needs to be addressed. "We have no views on what needs to be done. Our intense desire is that these problems
should be resolved. These are political problems and should be resolved through dialogues and negotiations," Rae added."There is widespread misperception of India's stand on this issue. We have policy vis-Ă -vis Nepal and not in relation to a community. If the potential conflicts are not resolved, it may have consequences. This is important for longer stability in Nepal," he said. (ANI)
Satanic Verses ban: Tewari backs Chidambaram New Delhi, Nov. 29 : Defending former Union Finance Minister of P. Chidambaram, who termed the decision to ban Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi-led the Congress Government in 1989 "wrong", Congress leader Manish Tewari today said his senior party colleague was "correct"."If at all he has acknowledged what had happened 27 years ago was wrong, it should be welcomed in the spirit in which it was said," he
said."We need to liberate ourselves from entire culture of proscribing books, periodical social media, and films," said Tewari. Speaking at Times Lit Fest here on Saturday Chidambaram
had said: "I have no hesitation in saying that the ban on Salman Rushdie's book was wrong.Even 20 years back, I would have said the same thing."He said there was a lot of pressure on
him to ban 'Saada Haq' moview, but he refused to go down that path.Lambasting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over his remarks that "when you have millions of people involved in this (homosexuality) you can't nudge them off", Tewari said Jaitley was shooting breeze primarily to make it look as if Govt is tolerant when they are being accused of intolerance. "If at all the government is serious about samesex relations, all they need to do is remove section 377 from the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he said. (ANI)
Kerala Muslim leader tarnishing image of Islam: BJP New Delhi, Nov. 29: The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) today slammed Kerala Sunni Muslim leader K a n t h a p u r a m Aboobacker Musliyar for his remarks demeaning women and accused him of tarnishing the image of Islam.BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain urged the Muslims to oppose Musliyar's views. "Aboobacker has not studied Islam properly.
Women are treated equally in Islam. The kind of language that he has used is disappointing. The Constitution has given full right to women irrespective of their religion. It is because of people like him that a bad opinion about Islam is formed. Muslims should oppose such statements," he told ANI. Musliyar stirred a controversy with his remark that gender equal-
ity was 'un-Islamic'. He also said that women could never be equal to men as 'they are fit only to deliver children'.He reportedly said that a woman's duty is to rear children and feed her husband.Musliyar also expressed his views on the controversy surrounding segregation of girls and boys in a Muslim-run education institute in Kerala, saying that allowing boys and girls to sit
together in colleges was against Islam.Musliyar had earlier drawn the ire of women right groups after he spoke out against women reservation in local governing bodies. (ANI)
'Climate' summit puts climate protesters under house arrest
New York, Nov. 29: Climate protesters in the French capital have been placed under house arrest ahead of the opening of the 21st Conference of
the Parties (COP21) in Paris following the state of emergency that was declared after the Paris terrorist attacks two week ago. According to
a news channel, green groups have described the move as "an abuse of power" but the French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the activists were suspected of planning violent protests.24 people have been put under house arrest as they have denied respecting the state of emergency and have been violent during demonstrations, Cazeneuve said.Greenpeace International's executive Director Kumi Naidoo said he was "disap-
pointed" that France's political leadership would "choose to enable sporting events, trade exhibitions and other arts and culture events to go ahead, but with such a clamp down on the space for the biggest issue humanity faces", ABC News reported.The climate talks will see 195 countries coming together to try to come to agreement on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020. (ANI)
Farooq Abdullah's remarks to discourage army: JD (U)
New Delhi, Nov. 29: Slamming National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah for his remarks that the Indian security forces would not be able to defend the nation from terrorists, the Janata Dal (United) today said that the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister's statement would discourage the army. "Farooq Abdullah's remark will discourage the Army. Politicians should avoid making such remarks," JD (U) leader
K.C. Tyagi told ANI. Farooq Abdullah has been making series of controversial statements on issues pertaining to border dispute between India and Pakistan.He had yesterday said that the entire Indian security forces would not be able to defend the nation from terrorists while asserting that dialogue between the India and Pakistan is the only way to end violence at the border.Abdullah had earlier courted controversy with his remark that India should give up its conquest of trying to control the PoK as it belonged to Pakistan.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had condemned Abdullah's remark on the PoK and said that it was an insult to India. (ANI)
Boko Haram claims responsibility for Shia procession bombing in Nigeria Nigeria, Nov 29: Boko Haram extremists have claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a procession of hundreds of Shia Muslims and threatened more attacks on opponents of its radical form of Islam. Shia leaders said at least 21 people died in yesterday's attack near Nigeria's northern city of Kano.Posting on social media as the West Africa Province of the Is-
lamic State, Boko Haram published a photograph identifying the bomber as Abu Suleiman alAnsari.Al-qaeda has criticised Boko Haram, its former Nigerian affiliate, for indiscriminately killing fellow Muslims. In March, Boko Haram joined the Islamic State group. Boko Haram's six-year uprising has killed some 20,000 people. (Agencies)
PM Modi calls SAARC nations to join hands for disaster preparedness New Delhi, Nov 29:Stressing on the need of preparedness to deal with disasters in the South Asian region, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi today said he had proposed to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif that all SAARC nations must hold joint exercises for disaster preparedness."After the earthquakes in Nepal, I called Prime Minister
Sharif and suggested him that all SAARC nations must hold joint exercises for disaster preparedness. I am glad that Delhi saw a table talk exercise and a seminar workshop of best practices by all SAARC countries. This is a good beginning," he said. Prime Minister Modi also expressed his concern over the floods in Tamil Nadu. (Agencies)
Nepal Police detain two men over links with Indian smuggler Kathmandu, Nov. 29: Nepal Police have detained two men over their alleged links to an underworld smuggler of India and the Terai u n d e r g r o u n d organisation. The duo was arrested from a busy market today. They are now being treated at the Bir Hospital. ChhoteLal Thakur, one of the arrested people, belongs to Rautahat district. He
had earlier absconded from the clutches of the Nepal Police. The Nepal Police claimed that he belongs to Terai u n d e r g r o u n d organisation and is associated with an underworld smuggler of India.The police have recovered a fully loaded Chinese-made pistol from Thakur. The duo had entered Nepal with the motive of planning a murder. (ANI)
Prez Mukherjee to visit Gujarat, Diu for three days New Delhi, Nov. 29: President Pranab Mukherjee will visit Gujarat and Diu from November 30 to December 02, 2015.The President will inaugurate Amul's State-ofart Feed Manufacturing Plant and present Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards to creative children.President is also scheduled to interact with IIMA faculty and students on November 30, 2015.On December 1, 2015, he is scheduled to visit Sabarmati Ashram and inaugurate its Archives and Research Centre. He will address the 62nd Convoca-
tion of Gujarat Vidyapith, visit Somnath Temple and inaugurate a Beach Festival at Diu. The President will visit the Dwarkadhish Temple on December 2, 2015 before returning to Delhi.(ANI)
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NEIGHBOURS
Suu Kyi warns new MPs to be above board Yangon, Nov 29: Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has warned newly minted Members of Parliament she will not tolerate poor discipline or wrongdoing, party members said yesterday, as Myanmar's democracy champion began marshalling her opposition for government amid sky-high expectations.Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party took nearly 80 per cent of contested seats in the Nov 8 election, promising change after decades of corrosive and corrupt army control of the country. But she cannot be president under the junta-scripted Constitu-
President to attend UN conference on climate change Colombo, Nov 29 :President Maithripala Sirisena who participated in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Malta, will leave for France today to attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2015.The conference will be held in Le Bourget, France form 30th of November to 11th of December, 2015. This is the 21st Conference of the Parties, i.e. the annual meeting of all countries which want to take action for the climate.The expected outcome of this year's conference is to come to an international agreement on climate change, applicable to all, to keep global warming below 2째C. (Agencies)
tion. She has vowed to rule from "above the president" - via a proxy who will be selected by the NLD-dominated legislature in the New Year. Observers say the NLD, a party of opposition for 25 years, will struggle to match the soaring hopes of a long-suffering people who crave remedies to the nation's deep economic and social problems. New MPs will also have to learn the nuts and bolts of power and policymaking as well as deliver on the party's change narrative.NLD lawmakers said yesterday that Ms Suu Kyi used a party meeting to call for unity and warn newcom-
Kathmandu, Nov 29:The government is preparing to formally request China to expand the DhulekhelTatopani section of the A r a n i k o Highway.Nepal's main inland trade route with the northern neighbour has been heavily damaged by the April 25 earthquake and trade has not taken place through this route since the disaster.Officials at Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport said they were preparing to a send a proposal in this regard to the Cabinet soon. The government plans to expand this twolane road to four lanes. "Preparations are underway to formally request China for the road expansion," said Bishnu Om
traction deal to Canadian company Niko during her time in office as the prime minister.The charge sheet in the case was submitted by the ACC in May 2008 against Khaleda and 10 others. Later in July, the High Court stayed the case and directed the ACC and the government to explain why the initiation and proceedings of the case should not be declared illegal.Recently this year, the ACC again moved to revive the Niko corruption case and a new High Court bench was assigned to dispose of it.On April 2, a petition was filed seeking the High Court's decision on whether the proceedings would continue in the Niko graft case. (Agencies)
Eight Indian fishermen arrested in the North Colombo, Nov 29:Eight Indian fishermen were arrested in the North while poaching in Sri Lankan waters, the Navy said today.The Navy said that the coast guard arrested the Indians
a prominent party figure. "Any MP who wants to build his or her personal group inside the NLD 'building' will not be accepted," she said. Another new lawmaker said Ms Suu Kyi cautioned
Myanmar's politics. It has 25 per cent of all parliamentary seats gifted to it by a charter that it penned. But so far, it has taken the election result gracefully, pledging to ensure a smooth transition of power. The government will not be formed until next year. The current Parliament is due to sit until at least January. This has raised concerns of political instability, deadlock or mischief-making by losing lawmakers. The NLD won a similar-scale landslide in 1990 polls, only to see the military annul the result and dig in for another two decades. (Agencies)
Nepal to request China to expand Araniko Highway
Niko graft case: Khaleda to appear in court Monday Dhaka, Nov 29:BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is likely to appear before a lower court in the Niko graft case on Monday .Khaleda will appear before Special Judge Court 9 around 11am.The BNP chief's panel lawyer Sanaullah Miah told the media : "Khaleda Zia is respectable towards the law. She will appear before the court tomorrow and seek bail."On June 18 this year, the High Court cleared the way for trying Khaleda Zia in the Niko graft case, by lifting an earlier stay order and rejecting her petition challenging the legality of the case.It also ordered her to surrender before the trial court after she returns from London.On December 9, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the graft case with Tejgaon police station, accusing Khaleda and several others of abusing power to award a gas exploration and ex-
ers to office that poor discipline or conduct will be punished."She doesn't want anyone to build a small building inside the big one," said Ms Thet Thet Khine, an elected NLD MP in Yangon and
the party against "betraying the people", who overwhelmingly shunned the army- backed ruling party at the polls to give the NLD control of both parliamentary houses."She said she will not tolerate any breach of party regulations and she will take action under the law if MPs make a mistake," Mr Tun Myint, elected to the Lower House from Bahan township in Yangon, told media.He said NLD MPs also face a 25 per cent salary cut as a gesture to the nation's poor population. Despite public euphoria at the sweeping election win, the military retains a major stake in
and seized two boats off the Delft islands today.The fishermen were handed over to the Navy and they were brought ashore to Karainagar. Investigations are underway. (Agencies)
Bade, joint secretary at the ministry. "Although we have been requesting the northern neighbour in different meetings, we are now preparing to make a formal request."According to ministry officials, the proposal will be forwarded to the Cabinet once Deputy Prime Minister and Physical Infrastructure Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar completes his planned to trip to Tatopani and Kimathanka border points. A team led by Gachchhdar had visited Rasuwagadhi border point on Friday. The trade route was resumed after remaining closed for six months after the earthquake.Nepal has been requesting the Chinese side to reopen the
Tatopani border point at the earliest so that bilateral trade could be enhanced. The quake has damaged infrastructure on both sides of the border.Another joint secretary at the ministry Rabindra Nath Shrestha said the Chinese assistance for the road expansion was being sought to the utilise Chinese annual aid to Nepal in a single big project. A few months ago, China had announced to increase its in annual aid to Nepal to 800 million yuan (Rs13.4 billion). However, it is still not clear which Chinese aid would be used to for the road upgradation given China has also pledged a huge assistance for post-earthquake reconstruction, ac-
cording to ministry officials. The highway was built 45 years ago with Chinese assistance, due to which Nepal had to face the first Indian embargo in 1970.Despite the current Indian embargo, Nepal has failed to utilize border points with China to import essential goods due to poor road condition on the Nepali side. With the government also planning to
import fuel from China, upgrading the road has been essential, Bade said. "As Shigatse-from where Nepal plans to import Chinese fuel-is nearer from Tatopani, and the KathmanduTatopani route is also shorter than K a t h m a n d u Rasuwagadhi, upgrading the Tatopani route makes sense," said Bade. (Agencies)
India-Nepal row: 13 SSB jawans detained by Nepal police
Kathmandu, Nov29: At least 13 Seema Shasatra Bal (SSB) officer's have been detained by Nepal police today morning. According to reports, the SSB officers were handed over to the Nepal police by some villagers there.Deepak Kumar, SSB IG (Operations) reportedly said, that 13 SSB jawans were detained by the police as still enquiry is on. Report suggests that SSB jawans
were chasing diesel smugglers, after which the villagers detained them and handed them over to the Nepal police. Earlier there were reports that two of the jawans were detained but the number was verified only after Kumar gave his official comment. The incident took place a day after when India and Nepal who are already facing problems in coming to common terms.
Nepalese cable TV operators on Saturday blocked all Indian channels "indefinitely" in protest against an unofficial "blockade of goods" into the country. Since last few days an agitation is carried out by Joint Madhesi Front in the Himalayan nation due tyo which scores of goods laden trucks are stranded on the India-Nepal border.Indian authorities are concerned over the "anti-India" sentiment which seems to be growing in Nepal.Hundreds of protesters had marched to-
ward the Indian Embassy, in Nepal shouting anti-Indian chants and carrying signs in both English and Hindi that admonished India for the blockade. India restricted the flow of transport to the Himalayan region after Nepal adopted a new constitution in September, after which deadly protests erupted in Nepal's southern Terai region and more than 40 died in related violence. Nepal gets 60 percent of all imports and nearly all of its fuel from India. (Agencies)
Indian authorities are concerned over the "anti-India" sentiment which seems to be growing in Nepal
Dialogue only way forward for improving Indo-Pak relations: Ban United Nations, Nov 29: Improved relations between India and Pakistan could create a more conducive environment for the two nations to stem the threat posed by terrorism, UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon has said, asserting that dialogue is the only way for them to resolve the differences. "I am convinced that dialogue is the only way forward for improving relations between Pakistan and India. I have urged leaders of both countries to resolve all differences through talks and have offered my
good offices to that end," Ban said.He noted that he has publicly called on both countries to exercise restraint in dealing with any incidents. Given the significant threat terrorism has become to international peace and security, Ban said an improved environment between India and Pakistan could help both nations to tackle the threat posed by the scourge. "I believe that an improved relationship between India and Pakistan could create a more conducive environment for both countries to stem the threat
posed by terrorism," he said. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his address to the UN General Assembly debate this year, had proposed a four- point peace initiative to which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had responded that Pakistan should address just "one issue" of giving up terrorism. The UN chief said that he is aware of the proposals on resuming talks between the two countries presented by leaders of both countries during the General Debate at the United Nations Headquarters this September.
"Terrorism has become a significant threat to international peace and security and is causing huge losses every day, as evidenced by recent horrific attacks in places such as Lebanon and Paris," he said. "Member States must work together towards curbing and eradicating this menace," he said. He noted that Pakistan has suffered many terrorist attacks for which its people have paid a heavy price and the country's authorities have been making efforts to combat terrorism on its soil. (Agencies)
ACC commissioners are free of chief's control Dhaka, Nov 29: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld a High Court verdict that abolished the provision of making the Anti-
leave-to- appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the development.On November 19, the High Court declared the section 12 (2) of the ACC
Corruption Commission commissioners accountable to its chairman.A four-member bench of Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed a "no-order" today afternoon.Earlier, ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman filed a petition seeking stay on the HC verdict. Bodiuzzaman's lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said his client would file a
Act 2004 invalid as well as illegal, and it abolished the provision of making ACC commissioners accountable to its chairman. The section 12 (2) under the ACC Act 2004 says, "The ACC commissioners shall carry out the duties entrusted to them under the overall supervision and control of the chairman and the commissioners shall be accountable to the chairman". (Agencies)
Pak willing for dialogue with India without preconditions: Nawaz Sharif Valletta (Malta), Nov. 29: Asserting that Islamabad intends to maintain friendly relations with all its neighbours, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly said that his government is willing to hold dialogue with India w i t h o u t preconditions.During his meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Fort Angelo in Maltese capital Valletta on Friday, the Pakistan Prime Minister condemned
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He also expressed sadness over the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, adding that Pakistan itself has been a victim of terrorism.Sharif also reportedly said that dialogue with India was key to sustainable peace in the region. (ANI)
'Not possible for Pakistan to meet SDGs' Islamabad, Nov 29 : It is not possible for Pakistan, which failed to achieve the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an expert has said. Developing countries like Pakistan should identify goals based on their resources and try to meet those, Dawn online quoted National University of Science and Technology (NUST) as saying on Saturday.The MDGs were announced in 2000 and featured eight goals and 40 indicators to achieve, which Pakistan was unable to do, NUST School of Social Sciences and Humanities principal Ashfaque Hasan Khan said in a seminar here."The SDGs has 17 goals and 169 indicators to achieve. We could not achieve the MDGs and its
40 indicators, so how will we be able to achieve the SDGs and its 169 indictors," he said .Pakistan did not have the capacity to measure the indicators. Instead, he proposed that developing countries identify goals depending on their resources, and create the capacity to measure the indicators. The United Nation's eight MDGs - which ranged from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 - formed a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries.The SDGs, officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are United Nation's set of aspiration goals for all the countries in the world with 169 targets. (Agencies)
Pakistan committed to eradicate polio: Nawaz Sharif Islamabad, Nov 29: Pakistan is committed to make the world poliofree, the country's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said. Pakistan has taken actions to save future generations from the crippling disease, Radio Pakistan quoted Sharif as saying while addressing Saturday's Commonwealth Conference's Anti-Polio Drive session in Malta.The country's campaign includes a strategy to have well-informed parents, dedicated network of health
workers, informed and supportive medical fraternity, civil society, religious leadership and media, Sharif said. He said the government's priority was to reach out to each and every child so that no child remains unvaccinated. Sharif expressed satisfaction that Pakistan was able to significantly reduce the number of polio cases. Pakistan looks forward to the support of Commonwealth members in its efforts to eradicate the disease, Sharif said. (Agencies)
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The India-Nepal Crisis Essence of Free Society Pave Way for Protection of Speech The freedom of speech is regarded as the first condition of liberty. It occupies a preferred and important position in the hierarchy of the liberty, it is truly said about the freedom of speech that it is the mother of all other liberties. Freedom of Speech and expression means the right to express one's own convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode. In modern time it is widely accepted that the right to freedom of speech is the essence of free society and it must be safeguarded at all time. The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum. Liberty to express opinions and ideas without hindrance, and especially without fear of punishment plays significant role in the development of that particular society and ultimately for that state. It is one of the most important fundamental liberties guaranteed against state suppression or regulation. Freedom of speech is guaranteed not only by the constitution or statutes of various states but also by various international conventions like Universal Declaration of Human Rights , European convention on Human Rights and fundamental freedoms, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights etc. These declarations expressly talk about protection of freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of speech enjoys special position as far India is concerned. The importance of freedom of expression and speech can be easily understand by the fact that preamble of constitution itself ensures to all citizens inter alia, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. The constitutional significance of the freedom of speech consists in the Preamble of Constitution and is transformed as fundamental and human right in Article 19(1). Whereas America as a leader country as far as protection of freedom of speech and expression is concerned. It provides very wide interpretation of freedom of speech to its citizen. Freedom of speech, of the press, of association, of assembly and petition -- this set of guarantees, protected by the First Amendment, comprises what we refer to as freedom of expression. However, initially there was no provision for protecting freedom of speech in American Constitution, but very soon realizing the importance of freedom of speech it amended its constitution and pave way for protection of speech and expression. Aamir Khan, one of Bollywood's leading men, has reopened a debate about tolerance and free expression in India, prompting a torrent of criticism on social media. The actor made the comments in response to questions about a recent decision by prominent writers to return national awards in protest at what they say is rising intolerance in India. There have been many incidents that have happened in the last few years where people have been bashed for giving their opinions. Everybody has an opinion. Freedom of speech and expression should, therefore, receive generous support from all those who believe in the participation of people in the administration.
Claims of Involvement Attack on Bangladesh Shia Shrine The monitoring service Site said Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack, just as it did for the previous bombing on the biggest Shia shrine in the country. It has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Shia Muslim mosque in Bangladesh, killing a cleric and wounding three other people, the second attack on the country's tiny Shia Muslim community in a month. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has seen a rise in Islamist violence in recent months, with two foreigners, four secular writers and a publisher killed this year. Shias are a minority in Sunni-majority Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people. According to Australia, it had given permission to families of government staff posted in Bangladesh to return home, saying there was a threat to Australian and Western interests in the country. It also said in a travel advice posted on the foreign ministry's website that it planned to withdraw all Australian government-funded volunteers in Bangladesh by Dec. 31. Last month Australia cancelled a cricket tour of Bangladesh although it played a soccer qualifier game in Dhaka on Nov. 17. Tensions have rising in Bangladesh since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched a crackdown on militants, putting several leaders on trial for war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence. About a dozen Christian priests in the north have also received death threats, a week after an Italian doctor working as a missionary was shot and wounded, police. Though Bangladesh's government has rejected Islamic State claims of involvement in the attacks and says local militants are involved. Critics say the government is whipping up a climate of fear to go after its political rivals. Whereas police said they had killed a top militant suspected to have masterminded the Oct. 24 attack on the Shi'ite shrine in Dhaka. ISIL has claimed responsibility for the murder of two foreign nationals in recent months, as well as the grisly killings of several bloggers.
After two devastating earthquakes, a blockade on its border presents Nepal with another humanitarian crisis. Hemant Ojha Months after two devastating earthquakes that killed 9000 people, Nepal is now confronted with another humanitarian crisis, this time due to a blockade at a crucial crossing on the border with India, which has halted oil and other essential supplies landlocked Nepal obtains from its giant neighbor. The blockade, which Nepal's government blames on India (New Delhi denies involvement) immediately followed the passage of a new constitution by Nepal on September 19. The Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed its displeasure at Nepal's constitution, a position made clear in a series of statements issued by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in new Delhi. Citing MEA sources, Indian Express even circulated a sevenpoint demand for amendments to the constitution, within days of its promulgation. With the election of nationalistic leader K P Oli as prime minister in Nepal, the rift between Delhi and Kathmandu has widened, and could potentially lead to a massive humanitarian crisis, as shortages of fuel, medicines, and essential supplies become acute across Nepal, with no sign of a reconciliation in sight. But why should India be so unhappy at Nepal's historic moment? During the decade of the Maoist War (1996-2006), Nepal was mired in crisis. India's help as a neighbor was crucial in striking a peace deal in 2004, creating the foundation for a comprehensive peace deal between the Nepalese government and the Maoists. Since then, Nepal has been moving through a process of peaceful transition, making impressive strides in a number of areas: ending monarchy, adopting secularism, promoting social inclusion, and achieving development. On the whole, the agenda of political reform has been, and is being, well handled. There is a sense of readiness for the remaining challenges ahead, and a degree of political contention and civil society watchdogging continues to pressure national leaders to keep the reform process going. If India wants its neighbor to prosper, then why does it treat Nepal as if it still needs to be pushed around, instead of accepting that Nepal is able to move ahead as an independent nation? India in Nepal It is widely understood in India and Nepal that the two countries are more than just neighbors; the relation-
ship is "special." One aspect of this is that the Indian establishment has always viewed Nepal as being within India's larger security envelope in relation to China. Some observers see Nepal as not landlocked but "India-landlocked." On three sides, Nepal borders India, while another neighbor, China, is separated by the Himalayas, including Mount Everest itself. Unsurprisingly, then, India has always held sway over Nepal, but what is noteworthy is that India's influence in Nepali politics has intensified over the past few decades, especially after the advent of multi-party democracy in 1990, when Nepal's monarchy ceded power to party leaders. Indeed, Nepal's relationship with India is strongly tinged by the British colonial era, although Nepal never became a formal colony. But relations in the post-1990 era have shown a consistent trend of increasing and mostly unwarranted Indian interference in Nepal's affairs. Nepalese leaders have been complicit in this interference. In the decade from 1996, Nepal was in the grip of the Maoist War. India helped resolve the conflict by facilitating a 12-point agreement between the Maoist party and the other national political parties in 2004. Included in the package was a roadmap for subsequent political development in Nepal. But this process also established India, for better or worse, as an extraordinarily powerful political player in Nepal. With many and diverse interests, India's increasing involvement in Nepal has become increasingly contentious, although there is no national consensus in Nepal on India's position. What remains clear is that too often the established principles of diplomacy have been ignored by India's envoys and officials. The differences between Delhi and Kathmandu grew more noticeable when Kathmandu began to act on its own. After the constituent assembly election in 2008, when India's direct political engagement in Nepal became unnecessary, the perception emerged among the Nepalese that India was bullying Nepal in order to secure its own interests over hydropower energy, development projects, business, and trade. India continued to tell Nepal what it should and should not do. This led to a cooling of relations between the Indian establishment and Nepali leaders. Tensions then ratcheted up in June, when Nepal's lead-
ers, challenged by the devastating earthquake, decided to expedite the process of promulgating the new constitution, after five years of delay. This was a collective decision by Nepal's major parties, although it was not free from contention within Nepal. This decision to go with the new constitution was a milestone for Nepal, not least because it ended the state of political transition. For years following the peace deal with the Maoist Party in 2006, Nepal only had an interim constitution. The country's leaders were correct in their judgment that an imperfect constitution was better than no constitution at all, but they were unable to predict India's response, which in turn was linked to some of the dissatisfactions within Nepal itself. Nepal's Constitution, India's Discontent After 10 years of post-conflict transition and two constituent assembly elections, Nepal finally adopted a constitution. India's displeasure with this development has both symbolic and strategic dimensions. For one thing, India felt that it was not given due respect when Nepal finally reached its momentous decision. On the day Nepal celebrated the new constitution, India merely took note of it and expressed concerns over tensions in the border regions. India was specifically indicating the ongoing protests by some Madheshis who felt that their concerns were not addressed in the constitution. Nepal's constitution was the product of years of fractious debate. It was not easy for the country's leaders to reconcile the various positions. With more than 100 ethnic groups claiming rights and some even demanding their own provinces under the new federal structure, satisfying everyone was an immensely difficult task. Yet, the constitution was backed by more than 90 percent of the elected Constituent Assembly. The stated reason for India's unhappiness is that Nepal's constitution denies the rights of the Nepalese Madheshis living on India's border, many of whom have close familial ties with Indians. A discontented Madhesh is of course an issue for India after all, unrest in southern Nepal bordering India has the potential to destabilize the Indian side of the border. But India should have addressed these concerns by engaging with the central elected authority of Nepal. Certainly, it is true that some
of the Madheshis' demands were not reasonably addressed at the time the constitution was adopted. The claims of the Madheshi focus on several issues, including the boundaries of the provinces and the provision of citizenship for family members. While these demands are a matter of debate, there are some genuine grievances. The new constitution does not really promise to end the longstanding political and cultural hegemony over the Madheshi people. It is also true that Nepal's political leaders have failed to engage Madheshi communities and broaden ownership of the new constitution. Still, these are all internal issues for Nepal, and a process of constitutional amendment has already begun. What is worrying here is India's backing of the Madheshi movement, and most notably the widespread perception in Nepal that it is behind the economic blockade. Moreover, under Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India has another reason to be unhappy with Nepal. For the Hindu-nationalist (BJP), Nepal's majority Hindu population is an important vehicle through which to expand political clout. Modi himself and his party leaders have invoked religious narratives on several occasions to redefine the NepalIndia relationship. Yet regardless of the country's overwhelming Hindu majority, Nepal's political parties have adopted secularism, clearly delinking the state from any particular religion. Nepal's Internal Failure The geopolitical crisis around the Nepal Constitution arose not simply because India wanted more of a role in Nepal. In making major decisions about the constitution, especially delineating the provinces of the new Nepal, many news reports and intellectuals argue that a Pahade (namely, related to the hill people who dominate Nepal's national politics) hegemonic mentality dominated the
decision, ignoring some of the genuine concerns of the Tharu and Madheshi peoples. The national political parties are dominated by hill Brahmins, followed by Chhetri and Newars, all of whom are of hills origin. The root of the crisis of representation is that these parties have failed to bring members of agitating groups into the national parties, at a time when inclusive governance was particularly critical in post-monarchy Nepal, as multiple communities suddenly became aware of their rights. This failure of the Kathmandu leaders provided a hotbed for agitation in Madhesh, whose people enjoyed the support of the Modi government. More importantly, subnational politics in Terai has also failed to represent Madheshi communities effectively at the national level through electoral politics. Madheshi parties are known for their divisions and conflicts not because of ideological differences but because of their leaders' interest in the repeated games of power in Kathmandu. In the last election, the regional parties bagged many fewer seats that the national parties did. Many of the leaders who were defeated in the last Constituent Assembly election have come together to form alliances to agitate against the national parties that won more than 90 percent of the vote. The Madheshi agitation for rights is only the tip of the iceberg. The more serious issue of exclusion goes unspoken: the Dalits and landless people forced to work as bonded labor of the landed aristocrats in the Terai are not in the Madheshi movement. For this reason, even if the current Madheshi movement succeeds in negotiating power with the central authority in Nepal, it is very likely that Dalits and marginalized groups in-
cluding women in the Madhesh will not receive their rights. If Nepalese politics seeks to ensure proportional representation of disadvantaged groups, then the pressing issue is not just Madheshi inclusion, but more importantly the Dalits of both Madesh and hill origins. After two months of blockade, Nepal has a looming humanitarian crisis. India erred in backing the protesters in Nepal's Madhesh and denouncing the elected government as the ruling "Kathmandu elite." Now the problem has been compounded with the blockade, which pits one group of Nepalese against another. Many Nepalese believe that some of the Madheshis' demands are actually framed in terms of India's strategic interests. The demand for the creation of two states across Nepal Terai is a case in point. If heeded, two Madheshi provinces will run all of 800 kilometers long, but only 20-30 kilometers wide, forming a long strip on the southern plain of the country to India's benefit and Nepal's disadvantage. Particularly given the perception that India and the Madheshis have worked together to impose the blockade, many Nepalese believe that the establishment of two Terai provinces as a threat to Nepal's integrity. With Nepal struggling to recover from its devastating earthquake, India runs the risk of being seen as inhumane if it allows the economic blockade to continue. Nepal's new constitution is an important first step, and Nepali leaders should be able to amend it to address any grievances of local communities, including the Madheshis. India should now step back and give Nepal the space to do that, and stop engaging with discontented groups. Dr. Hemant Ojha is a Research Fellow with School of Social Sciences at UNSW.
Jail - Term And Our Leaders As a neutral observer, we have no words to praise Nitish Kumar for the immaculate image he has been maintaining. But even the tainted track - record of Lalu Prasad Yadav - who had not only been imprisoned in jail but also debarred from contesting any election in the next 6 years for the fodder scam involving crores of rupees that once rocked the nation is not enough. The memory of the people is so volatile that the people of Bihar made no hesitation to cast their votes in favour of the 'Grand - Alliance' only to prevent the BJP from taking the upper hand, ignoring the presence of a corrupted leader of the stature of Lalu Prasad. What is enigmatic to note that Lalu's RJD could get more M.L.As elected to Bihar assembly than those of Nitish Kumar's JD (u). Asif serving jail - term is an added qualification accepted by the people. We find a simile here in Assam, the APCC vice-president Ripun Borah, was also imprisoned in Tihar Jail for the bribery case (he bribed an official of CBI). But after his acquittal, he apSir, The mindset of the voters is inscrutable. The per- pears to be more aggressive and vociferous this time sonality and the educational qualification of most of than what he was in his earlier tenure. Only time will the ministers of Bihar make us raise our eyebrows. say what awaits him, whether the people of Assam
will treat his imprisonment in Tihar Jail as an added qualification or not. We have to accept that a tainted leader in his career can also win election. Yours etc. Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh
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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30
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How Two Students Are Doing Their Bit To Conserve The 'Finite Resources On A Finite Earth' Brototi Roy The Degrowth India Initiative was started in August this year after a series of informal discussions between Arpita and me, two students of Ecological Economics, who along with countless other researchers and activists across the globe accept that in a finite earth with finite resources, infinite monetary and population growth is an impossibility. This Initiative aims to provide a small platform to bring together people who are looking for alternatives to growth for a socially and ecologically just India. In our quest for alternatives to growth we hosted a discussion session on "Alternatives to Growth" with the authors of Churning the Earth-The Making of Global India, Aseem Shrivastava and Ashish Kothari in Delhi last Monday. The reason why I am writing this article is because during the course of this article, both the authors, along with Dr. Rajeshwari Raina, who had co-organized the first symposium on
Degrowth in India last year, had some very interesting stories of successful alternatives to growth that are being practised in different parts of our country, and which I think the youth of today needs to be made aware of. Be it the farmers of Kerala who have voluntarily shunned fertilizer intensive cropping, despite being aware of the lower productivity of organic agriculture, and banned the production of high valued GM pepper due to its harmful effects on the soil health and environment, to Vani Murthy's initiative in Bangalore which has converted several thousand households in the city to composter and rooftop gardeners, encouraging them to stop throwing out their wet waste, India, both in her cities and villages, has numerous examples of such bottoms-up approach which converges with the ideas of alternatives to growth. Local initiatives such as mobilization of people for the protection of the lakes of Bangalore, collective action by the villagers of Medha Lekha in
Maharashtra to be the first village to be granted community forest rights, mobilization of Dalit women in Andhra Pradesh for sustainable farming and other such decentralized approaches for attaining better quality of life and land are examples of how the people of India have a long history of looking after themselves and their environment without any top-down approach being enforced upon them. Yet, despite a plethora of decentralized movements which although do not conform to the formal definition of growth still continue to improve the social and ecological standards of an area, a large section of affluent India is increasingly dissociating itself from environmental well-being and social connections. What the society in general, and the youth in particular need to focus is to learn from these examples to find new ways which allows not just the poor and the vulnerable, but also other species (and the environment in general) to flourish by resisting against destructive development of one section of the society at
the cost of others. One of the key takeaways of the discussion was the need for a proactive youth movement which understands the social and ecological consequences of our greed for a technologically rich, yet culturally and socially degraded life. Dr. Shrivastava also pointed out that our current approach for solving the climate change problem and other environmental issues is to either depend on the international discussions and meets, or to
expect decentralized action by tiny communities, whose lives and livelihoods are threatened. However, we keep forgetting that is a whole set of other levels of governance, such as the municipality, district level and state level governing bodies, who must be involved in these decision making and implementation of alternatives. We also had a long discussion on the significance of the COP21 summit which will be held next week, and both
It's A Big Problem If We Think Secularism Means 'Let's Worship Each Other's Gods' Abdul Muheet Chowdhary In these days of endless hatred and violence based on religion, it is a frequent refrain that the secular character of our society is under threat. However 'secularism' has become a word that has been so abused that it is now seen with cynicism, if not utter disgust. The immediate thoughts that come to mind are 'secularism = minority appeasement/being antiHindu'. The Hindutva right has become quite successful in portraying secularism as criticism of Hindus and defence of Muslims and hence the term has become an abuse (sickular/pseudosecular) for its supporters. General Understanding Of Secularism And Its Problems For those who do not see the term as an abuse and still believe in it as a principle, what does secularism mean? To this, there is no clear answer and there is a multiplicity of perspectives. However, for the most part, the average understanding can be stated as 'respect for all religions'. Thus, a secular person sees themselves as respecting all religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, etc equally. This view is frequently extended to mean that visiting each other's places of worship (gurudwaras, dargahs), participating in each other's festivals (Diwali, Ramzan) or even worshipping each other's gods is being 'secular'. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's recitation of Gita shlokas, Ustad Bismillah Khan's worship of the Ganga, Muslims participating in Ramlila or Hindus organising Iftar parties as all seen as evidence of 'secularism'. In fact, the average person can easily say,"I have friends from all faiths and have no issues going to any religious place hence I
am secular." In so many words this can be summed up as a commonsense understanding of secularism. This view is however not secularism but is actually known as syncretism. According to the Oxford dictionary, syncretism is "the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought". This view comes quite easily to the majority of Hindus as owing to the work of the great 19th century social reformers such as (to name a few) Raja Rammohun Roy, Ramana Maharishi and Swami Vivekananda the modern understanding of Hinduism is largely that "God is one but has many forms." It is thus easy for Hindus to conflate syncretism with secularism and use the former to define the latter. This conflation, while well-meaning and entirely natural given the history and culture of the subcontinent, has nevertheless resulted in a commonsense understanding that is oppressive as well as regressive. In the first place, while the syncretic view is easy for Hindus and does not clash with any of their beliefs, it goes against the basic tenets of the faiths of Muslims and Christians. Islam and Christianity are both monotheistic religions which clearly state that worshipping other gods, actively participating in other festivals and such activities are strict nonos. This leads to a problem - Muslims and Christians end up being judged by the theological yardstick of modern Hinduism in the garb of 'secularism'. Hindus say that they are being secular by going to dargahs, churches, etc but then feel upset and enraged when they see Muslims and Christians not doing
the same or at least being unable to reciprocate in equal measure. They are then labelled as insular, unwilling to integrate, having ghettomentalities, owing allegiance to the Vatican/ Mecca, anti-secular, religion-obsessed and so on. This is an entirely oppressive scenario. Devout Muslims and Christians, in order to prove their 'secularism', have to give up on their core beliefs (as bowing before other gods is forbidden in their faiths) and it is no surprise that a large majority are unable to do so. It is like asking vegetarian Brahmins to eat meat to prove their secularism. Why must one be forced to do something that their faith - for better or for worse - explicitly prohibits? It is a terrible choice and as mentioned earlier stems from a principle that is itself regressive. This principle is that secularism means 'respect for all religions'. In itself it is a fine thing. However, secularism understood solely in this manner means that there is no problem with religion becoming a part of public life i.e politics and governance. It is here that the difficulty arises. As we see day in and day out, mixing religion with politics results in a deadly cocktail that poisons the body politic with communalism. The infusion of religion into politics has been responsible for the very partition of India and post-Independence both India and Pakistan continue to suffer heavily due to religious violence.
There are frequent communal riots, pogroms and massacres in the name of religion. Before elections, the communal frenzy reaches an especially crazed pitch and lives are lost as people kill each other in the name of cows, buffaloes, h a i r c u t s , romance,historical figures and so on. There is no limit to absurdity and any aspect of religion can be and is used politically to polarise communities. Understanding secularism as 'respect for all religions' provides no counter to this deadly phenomenon and instead encourages competitive religiosity by governments and political parties as they seek to woo different castes, sects and religious groups. Instead of restricting the role of religion it ends up amplifying it and is thus a regressive ideal. Need For Redefining Secularism The way out is thus to define 'secularism' as the separation of religion from politics, which is what it means in the West. Religion should be seen as a strictly private affair that should not be brought into politics or governance. Political campaigns and agendas should not involve religious issues and should deal strictly with secular (non-religious) issues. There should be a complete ban on public funding of religious activities. In India, the amount of money spent by the government on religion is staggering. There is a well entrenched statetemple-corporate nexus where public money is
used to offer cheap land or subsidies to religious institutions or business. For example Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living ashram in Bengaluru has been leased to him for free for 99 years by the government of Karnataka, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's university in Madhya Pradesh has been given free land by the MP government and many State governments pay direct salaries to temple priests, organise pujas, subsidise Haj travels, Mansarovar yatras and other forms of 'religious tourism', to give a few examples. This is absolutely unacceptable. In principle, it is wrong for a secular country to spend money to promote religion. Also, given the myriad problems India faces such as poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition etc it seems sheer madness to divert precious public funds towards funding religious activities. The government should instead focus on doing its job and provide public services such as law and order, infrastructure, etc and leave religious activities to the citizens themselves. There is also a cultural aspect here. Presently in India the involvement of religion in public life is not seen as morally wrong and it is common for the people themselves to plead for state assistance for religious activities. This must change and political parties and governments must be asked to stay away from religious issues and instead focus on addressing secular (non-religious) issues of health, education, employment, etc. Only then can the country get over the recurring problem of communalism and become a truly modern and secular nation. The coming generations have an opportunity to undo the wrongs of the past and make a fresh start. Keeping religion out of public life will certainly be one big step down that path.
Kothari and Shrivastava were of the opinion that the only thing this summit will be successfully implying is that we cannot depend on our national leaders alone to solve the dire ecological and social problems challenging the world today. You and I need to come together and work for a society of sufficiency, finding ways to reduce our individual ecological footprints and the footprints of the society as a whole. The Millennium Devel-
opment Goals (MDGs) Report 2015, which was released earlier this year, was the final document, reporting the progress of the MDGs for the last fifteen years. Although, there were a quite a few positive outcomes, one of the biggest challenges that the world, as a whole, faces today is that of conflicts which poses the biggest threat for human development. The report acknowledged that "despite many successes, the poorest and most vulnerable people are being left behind". The obvious question which then arises is that if we are consistent in our economic growth (as measured by our GDP), and yet the poor and the vulnerable are being left out, then who are the benefactors of this growth, and why is it not percolating (as proposed by the trickledown effect theory) to the sections of the society that need it the most? The answer is to this question lies in the fundamental flaw with our definition of economic growth. We measure economic growth in terms of flow of money,
but what is the purpose of this flow is never put in the spotlight. To provide a simple example, the money earned from an increase in the sales of a consumer product, such as toys, adds to the economic growth just as much as the foreign aid received after a natural disaster strikes. The answer to the obvious question in the previous paragraph thus becomes self-evident once you familiarize yourself with the concept of economic growth as it is being currently viewed. A lot of scholars, researchers and activists in the West understood this early on, and in their quest for alternatives to growth, started a movement seeking radical change in an attempt to re-politicize the debate on the socio-ecological transformation, which was named the Degrowth Movement. India too, over the last few years, has seen an increasing number of scholars questioning the growth paradigm, and looking for alternatives to growth for a country with social and environmental justice.
When Fossil Fuel Giants Sponsor A Climate Change Conference, We're In Trouble Folks It is really hard to believe that when the whole world is struggling with the great climate change danger and gearing up for the Paris conference to sit together and brainstorm about how to tackle the growing danger of global warming; there are some big fossil energy giants among many of the sponsors of COP 21 in Paris. They will take part in this very important conference which will actually decide the fate of the world and will set forth the path to reduce fossils and use renewable energy. This news is actually heart-breaking and at the same time puts up a thousand concerns and doubts in the heart of green-lovers that whether our leaders are actually serious about climate change? It is absolutely unacceptable to see some of those big fossil giants becoming a part of the climate change conference. All this will be done in the
protect their people from the growing danger of pollution? Stakes Are High This Time This time, at COP 21, the stakes are really high as the climate change danger has never been so big. The year 2015 has actually been the hottest year on record, and nothing else can describe the danger of global warming more than this statement. But, are our leaders actually serious? In the presence of fossil fuel companies, can we expect a serious strategy to fight climate change? The corporate interest must be kept aside of COP 21 if we want to seriously protect our world from the consequences of global warming. I believe that these companies will actually push the talks into a false direction and will somehow find solutions to support their business which is facing some amount of downfall since the people are aware of the dangers of their products and business in general. Inter-
presence of the problem generators themselves! I believe this is absolutely contradictory to the spirit of COP 21. Why are our leaders silently accepting the presence of these companies if they are really serious about the climate change problem and want to
estingly, ExxonMobil will also be a part of the talks. Recent investigations have revealed that ExxonMobil actually misguided and deceived the public about the dangers of climate change. It knew about the climate change problem since the 1970's but chose to keep
Divya Sharma
this important information hidden from the people. Now you can actually figure out why it is so much important to keep these fossil fuel giants out of the Paris talks. Influence Of The Corporate On Climate Negotiations It must be highlighted that the corporate has always tried to influence climate talks for their own concernand well being, to keep their fossil fuel business going. As it was seen in 2011, in the report released by the Polaris institute when multinational corporations, who were lobbyists, actually infiltrated the United Nations and tried to wrongly influence the climate negotiations. This in itself is such a big reason and fact to tell you why our leaders must do something about this. Corporate sponsorship must be banned from such important climate events because these are actually hindering the progress of the climate talks and dragging it into a whole different direction which has got nothing to do with the climate problem's solution. Hence, in order to have successful and meaningful COP 21 talks, it is important that we must let our government and leaders know that fossil sponsorship and climate negotiations can't actually go together. There, in fact is a need to give out a strong message to the fossil fuel industry that it's high time that they must pack their bags and move towards a renewable vision, especially if they wish to be associate with something like COP 21.
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Finance Ministry to make Gold scheme attractive Cipla explores legal New Delhi, Nov 29: The Finance Ministry will hold a review meeting with banks and RBI representatives to assess the gold monetisation scheme, which has seen a "slow response" since the launch earlier this month, so as to make it more attractive. The meeting, to be chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, is also likely to be attended by RBI Deputy Governor H.R. Khan, an official said. "Banks are now in talks with institutions and
temples to popularise the gold monetisation scheme. The Economic Affairs department will review the progress on December 1," the official added. The scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 5, has received a "slow response", according to the ministry. Out of the 20,000 tonnes of gold worth over Rs 52 lakh crore lying idle with households and institutions, the scheme has been able to garner only 400 gm of physical gold
India included among four nations to sign trade pact
Colombo, Nov 29: Sri Lanka, India, Malta and Mauritius have come together to establish a Commonwealth Trade Finance Facility to boost trade and investment flows, particularly for developing nations of the Commonwealth. The four countries have inked the document, Declaration of Intent, as anchor investors at the ongoing Common-
wealth Summit in Malta The facility, structured as a guarantee fund, will cover risk for providers of trade credit in financial institutions of Commonwealth countries. It seeks to stimulate lending by major banks to smaller banks in member states and reduce risk. The fund, voluntary in nature, hopes to attract start-up capital of $ 20 million. It will provide member countries facing trade challenges with the funds. It is estimated for every dollar invested, the fund will generate $ 20, according to a release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sri Lanka government here. (Agencies)
BS-V and BS-VI norms for 4-wheelers roll out date advanced
till November 18. The scheme is aimed at reducing the country's reliance on the gold imports to meet the domestic demand. The ministry has recently fine-tuned the scheme to get better response from those holding stocks of gold. It has allowed depositors to give their gold directly to the refiner without involving the collection and purity testing centres wherever it is acceptable to the banks. "This will encourage the bulk depositors like HUFs and institutions
to participate in the scheme," the ministry had said. It had already met the representatives of the gems and jewellery industry associations to seek their views on making the monetisation scheme attractive. Following that, the ministry has allowed more than 13,000 BIS licensed jewellers to act as a Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTCs), provided they have a tie-up with BIS's certified refiners. (Agencies)
GOLD BOND SCHEMES While GMS proposes to 'monetize' India's massive stock of physical gold, SGBs intend to convert the investment demand for physical gold into paper demand Proposed Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) is part of government's budget proposal along with Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS)
ever the Minister of Road Transport & Highways is keen that the road transport sector should take a lead role in reducing the harmful effects of emissions on environment and climate change," the statement said. Accordingly, the ministry has decided to implement BS-V norms from April 1, 2019. BSVI norms, which aim at substantial reduction in NOx/4C levels will be implemented from April 1, 2021, it added. This reflects a firm commitment to play a major role in reducing vehicular emissions. Draft norms for two- and threewheeler categories will be notified shortly with advanced timeline similar to the four wheeler category, it added. (Agencies)
Mumbai, Nov 29: The festive season this year, which lasts from October to December, is likely to have seen a sharp 50% jump as nearly 1 lakh temporary jobs may be created in the organised sector, say experts. While India celebrates festivals throughout the year, the last few months are especially heavy, starting with Dussehra and culminating in Diwali, Christmas and the New Year. "This festive season, staffing jobs are set to see the boom by 50% with e-commerce players, brick-and-mortar retailers, consumer durables and FMCG marketers gearing up for an all-out battle to woo consumers," Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) President Rituparna Chakraborty said. Temporary hiring refers to hiring an employee for a period of contract. These workers fulfill all the functions of regular em-
Tehran, Nov 29: Iran is seeking $25 billion in investments from 50 deals involving international oil and gas companies, foreign executives were told as the government outlined new contractual terms. Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh opened a two-day conference in the capital attended by BP, Shell, Total of France, ENI of Italy, Repsol of Spain, OMV from Austria and other majors. All are weighing a return if, as expected, sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme are lifted in early 2016 in line with a July 14 deal between Tehran and six world powers led by the United States. The new Iran Petroleum Contract will replace "buy-back" agreements in which foreign companies were paid a set price for all oil and gas it helped Iran exploit. Iran at that point took over production. The IPC will instead launch joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies being paid a share of the total output, officials said. The Iranian partner in a joint venture must have a majority stake of at least 51%. Zanganeh said con-
Govt hopeful of GST Bill passage New Delhi, Nov 29: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the Congress leadership, the government expressed hope that the GST Bill will be passed in Parliament and implemented soon. "On the GST... We are hopeful, we remain hopeful," minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha said while addressing the annual session of PHD Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully, the GST will be implemented soon, he added. Talking about India's fiscal architecture, Sinha said "when the GST is imple-
mented, it will be the most revolutionary transformation of taxes in India since Independence. That's how a big game changer it is". Modi had invited former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for a tea at his residence where the discussions covered legislations pending before Parliament, particularly the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill. The government needs Parliament approval for the GST Bill in the ongoing winter session to roll out the
If subscribed fully in the first year, SGBs could result in saving of $2 billion on gold imports at current prices
Festive season might have seen sharp jump in temporary jobs
ployees and are useful during a spurt in demand. Chakraborty noted, "Most of the flexi staff will be hired at retail outlets and malls, among others, to manage their front-end sales and customer care, mainly for short periods and not as permanent sustained staff." According to various estimates, about 75,000 to 1 lakh temporary jobs will
be created in the organised sector alone this festive season, she added. According to Rajesh Kumar, CEO, MyHiringClub.com and Jobportal.co.in, this festive season is expected to see 11-14% growth in new job creation. "Compared with last year's festive season, this year would see 2-3% more new jobs. Sales, presales, consumer service,
Iran seeks $25 bn in investments from oil and gas companies
Chennai, Nov 29: The government on recently said it has advanced the date for implementation of the roll out of Bharat Stage (BS) stage V and VI norms for fourwheelers by three years. "Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has issued a draft notification for implementation of BS-V and BS-VI norms for the automobile sector, covering four wheeler category. The ministry has decided to advance date for implementation of the higher level emission standards," an official statement said. According to the roadmap earlier laid down by the Auto Fuel Policy, BS-V norms were to be implemented from April 1, 2022 and BS-VI from April 1, 2024, it added. "How-
options after HC's patent ruling
new indirect tax regime, as planned, from April 1, 2016. Sinha further said the government is trying to reform the tax system to make it more simple and predictable and a step towards that direction is bringing down corporate tax rate to 25 per cent from the present 30 per cent by phasing out exemptions. Sinha said the finance ministry has already heard views of the pharma and auto sectors on the roadmap for phasing out exemptions and invited industry leaders to seek their views on the same. Sinha further said the
sultations with international companies led to the new contracts, which would initially be four years in length, extendible for a further two years. Iran will have between five and seven years to pay back initial sums invested by the foreign companies but production cooperation could go on as long as 25 years, officials said. "The contract models introduced today are not perfect or ideal, but an effective and responsive model for both sides," Zanganeh said, noting that $25 billion of foreign investment would constitute "success". "Like any other human creation it may need amendment and development," he said of the new contract. Iran has the world's fourth largest oil and secondlargest proven gas reserves and its energy industry has been under-developed since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Asked why no US companies were at Saturday's event, Zanganeh said there was no bar on them considering Iran's energy market but American firms were put off because sanctions are still in place. "The atmosphere and climate is ready for the presence of these companies in development of Iran's oil industry but they themselves have problems for being present in Iran," he said. An oil embargo imposed in 2012 by the US and European Union as punishment for Iran's disputed nuclear programme -- it denies ever seeking to develop a bomb - decimated Tehran's energy industry. Iran produces about 2.8 million barrels per day, compared to 4.0 million bpd in 2011, following US and other Western pressure on buyers to steer clear of the country. The nuclear deal, however, has paved the way for new tie-ups and 152 international companies were at the event, organisers said. Despite low crude prices Iran is intent on reclaiming lost market share and has pledged to increase output by 500,000 bpd once sanctions are lifted, independent of OPEC guidance. (Agencies)
industrial production capacity needs to be increased to sustain faster growth over a period of time and for that India needs to create jobs. "We need to grow at 8-9 per cent for decades if we are going to create jobs for young people... And to achieve fast growth to take the USD 2 trillion economy right now to a USD 4, 5 or 10 trillion economy, we need to be able to sustain growth over a long period of time. Sinha further said that the government is not only a "pro-poor" government but it is also a "pro-market" government. "We are pro-poor not because of political compulsion, but out of moral re-
sponsibility," he said. Sinha said through its 'Make in India' initiative, the government is working towards providing jobs to people. "We are going to launch a major initiative around startup called 'Start-up India' so that young people can create jobs in the country," he said. Sinha further said the government is putting in place universal social security scheme and currently 12 crore people are getting LPG subsidy directly into their bank accounts. He further said that public investment is increasing and over the next five years, the government will invest Rs 8.5 lakh crore in railways. (Agencies)
event management and back office professionals are in major demand this season," Kumar said. The logic is festive season brings along consumer spending and businesses need additional manpower. Moreover, e-commerce players and brick-and-mortar retailers see significant rise in sales and in turn, they go for increased hiring mandates. "Festival season brings along consumer spending and the trend over the years has shown a consistent increase in the spending pattern as the disposable income has been rising," Suresh Raina, Managing Partner, Hunt Partners said. According to GlobalHunt MD Sunil Goel, there will be an average growth of 25-30% in overall hiring numbers this festive season wherein IT, ITeS, BPO sectors will account for around 30-35% and FMCG, banking, and medical around 25-30%." (Agencies)
New Delhi, Nov 29: Cipla is exploring all legal options in the wake of the Delhi High Court's ruling that it has infringed Swiss drug major Hoffman-La Roche's patent on lung cancer drug erlotinib hydrochloride sold under Tarceva. "The division Bench of the High Court of Delhi has ruled that Cipla has infringed Roche's patent on erlotinib, a drug used for lung cancer. However, the court has allowed Cipla to continue to sell the product," Cipla said in a statement. The court will also determine the quantum of damages Cipla owes to Roche after the former furnishes accounts, it added. "Cipla will explore all legal options available to it," the company said. A Bench of
justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Mukta Gupta on Friday noted that Cipla's lung cancer medicine, erlocip, is one polymorphic form of the erlotinib hydrochloride compound, which may exist in several forms, and Roche's patent claim is not limited to any one such version. The court, however, did not grant any injunction in favour of Roche by restraining Cipla, saying the patent in favour of the Swiss company will expire in March 2016. (Agencies)
Importing of aircraft for airlines simplified New Delhi, Nov 29: In a move to simplify doing business in India, the aviation ministry has decided to delegate the power to grant initial NOC/ In-principle approval for import or acquisition of aircrafts to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). As per the existing procedure, Scheduled Operators and Regional Scheduled Operators have to seek such approval from the ministry. The delegation of power is being done in order to simplify procedures as compliance of various Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) are regulated by the DGCA. "The ministry has requested Director General of Foreign Trade and Reserve Bank of India to amend their existing noti-
fication and Master Circular respectively in this regard. Accordingly, DGFT vide notification no. 24/ 2015-2020 dated October 9, 2015 and Reserve Bank of India vide its Master Circular no. 30 dated November 26, 2015, have carried out the requisite amendments.DGCA has now been requested to make necessary amendment in the related CAR/ Rules in accordance with it," the ministry said in a statement. After effecting the requisite changes by DGCA, the Scheduled Operators/Regional Scheduled Operators need not approach the Ministry of Civil Aviation for initial NOC/In-principle approval for import/ acquisition of aircraft. (Agencies)
BSNL to expand wi-fi services to more AAI-run airports Contd. from Page 1
AAI has agreed to allow BSNL services and circulated information to all airports managed by them for allowing BSNL services," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam
Shrivastava told. AAI manages 121 airports in the country including 11 international airports. "We have started offering wi-fi services at 4-5 airports including Bhopal, Coimbatore. Depending on commercial feasibility we will expand services at airports," Shrivastava said. The AAI also has
partnership with Tata Teleservices for wi-fi services at some airports. BSNL has plans to set up 2,500 wi-fi centres across India by end of this financial year. This excludes 100 wi-fi spots that it is setting up with Facebook and for Members of Parliament in their constituencies. (Agencies)
TECHNOLOGY MICROSOFT LUMIA 950 XL DUAL SIM KET FEATURES Display 5.70-inch Processor octa-core Front Camera 5-megapixel Resolution 1440x2560 pixels RAM 3GB OS Windows 10 Mobile Storage 32GB Rear Camera 20-megapixel Battery capacity 3340mAh Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM smartphone was launched in October 2015. The phone comes with a 5.70-inch touchsceen display with a resolution of 1440 pixels by 2560 pixels at a PPI of 518 pixels per inch. The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 200GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM packs a 20-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM runs Windows 10 Mobile and is powered by a 3340mAh removable battery. It measures 151.90 x 78.40 x 8.10 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 165.00 grams. The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts two Nano-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, FM, 3G, 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope.
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Features
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ENVIRONMENT The Lady Who Saved The Amur Falcon Ananda Banerjee As you read this, one of nature's greatest spectacles is unfolding in the breathtakingly beautiful North-Eastern state of Nagaland. Thousands of Amur falcons, small birds of prey, are congregating at the Doyang reservoir in Wokha district, having flown thousands of kilometres from Siberia. This is their annual stop at the reservoir; they rest and roost there before flying off to their final destination-South Africa. In total, ornithologists believe, these falcons clock almost 22,000km of flying time in a year. Every year, then, the Doyang reservoir witnesses the single largest congregation of Amur
falcons anywhere in the world. But it wasn't always so. It was in October 2012 that Bano Haralu, now 52, a managing trustee of the Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust, led a small group of conservationists, including colleague Rokohebi Kuotsu, Shashank Dalvi, a research associate at Bengaluru's Centre for Wildlife Studies, and Ramki Sreenivasan of Conservation India, to the Doyang reservoir to check whether large-scale hunting was taking place in the area. "I first heard about the Amur falcons while visiting the Doyang reservoir during a bird
survey trip in the last week of March 2010. But it was finally in October 2012 that Rokohebi and I were able to organize a trip with Ramki and Shashank to the killing fields," says Haralu. What they witnessed that balmy October day shook them to the core. Falcons had been slaughtered en masse, for food and for sale in markets across the state. Nagaland was and still is infamous for hunting, but this was something even the conservationists had not bargained for. She recalls that day. "Everywhere we looked we saw dead falcons-villagers hawking the birds on the roadside. Some were carrying stacks of birds on their shoulders to sell them elsewhere. The homes we visited had heaps of dead falcons. Then there were live ones kept under mosquito nets for the markets. Live birds fetch a better price than dead ones," she explains on phone. Till 2012, it is estimated, 1015% of the Amur falcon population was being hunted each season in Nagaland. Conservationists consider Amur falcons a "keystone" species whose role is very different from that of other birds of prey. These birds are insectivorous and it is estimated that in South Africa
alone, they consume 2.5 billion termites every year. So their role in agriculture and ecology is crucial. Any significant reduction in their numbers, it is feared, may have substantial consequences for South African agriculture, as well as the ecology in their breeding and non-breeding grounds. India is a signatory to the Convention of Migratory Species and must ensure safe passage for all migratory birds. So, without wasting time, Haralu petitioned Neiphiu Rio, then chief minister of Nagaland, and urged him to visit the area. Haralu's perseverance paid off. "Bano was convinced that the killings were completely unacceptable (even by Nagaland standards), and she persuaded a wide range of stakeholdersfrom ministers and senior bureaucrats to key people in the local community who were engaged in hunting. She spoke to other important opinion leaders in the Church and community elders to help spread the message. In a short period, Bano was able to make the people of Nagaland adopt the Amur falcon as a source of 'pride' for the state," says Sreenivasan, a wildlife photographer and cofounder of Conservation India, a Web portal dedi-
Southeast Asia's orchids threatened A thriving and illegal trade in Southeast Asia's threatened and rare orchids is going largely unnoticed in Thailand and across its borders, according to a new report. The study by the wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is based on research by Lancaster University's Dr Jacob Phelps. Conservative trade figures documented during the study suggest that tens of thousands of orchids are illegally traded across Thailand's borders every year, without either domestic harvest permits or Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits, violating range State and international restrictions on wild orchid harvest. Surveys during 2011-2012 in four of the largest wild plant markets in Thailand, including along the country's borders with Myanmar and Lao PDR, recorded 348 species of orchid for sale, representing 13 to 22 percent of the target countries' known orchid flora. The survey even found significant trade of species from the genus Paphiopedilum, all of which are listed in Appendix I of CITES, which bans the international trade of wild-collected specimens. At least 16 percent of the orchid species observed could be classified under some category of threat or were species found
only in small or specific areas. The threat, however, is likely much higher since conservation status assessments have not been conducted for most of the species encountered. Several of the orchids first found in the markets were new to science. 'A Blooming Trade: Illegal trade of ornamental orchids in mainland
Southeast Asia' identified Bangkok's Chatuchak market as a regional centre of botanical trade, hosting a large and unique richness of wild plant species, many of them illegally harvested. "The Chatuchak market has long been notorious as a major hub for the illegal trade in a wide variety of plants and animals -- everything from orchids to tortoises, from ivory to eagles," said Dr
Chris R. Shepherd, Regional Director for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia. "We strongly urge the authorities in Thailand to shut down the illegal trade in this market for good." Report author Dr Phelps said: "The commercial trade of wild-collected ornamental plants in Southeast Asia is part of a global horticultural
trade in beautiful, fragrant and unusual plant species but it has been almost completely overlooked. Despite being among the most protected group of plants in the world, we found clear evidence of an open, illegal trade. It is time to take botanical trade and conservation seriously -alongside efforts to reduce the illegal trades in elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales.
This is no different." Interviews with plant harvesters, traders and middlemen identified significant illegal international trade from Lao PDR and Myanmar into Thailand, highlighting demand for wild ornamental plants from local and regional sources. It also revealed complex trade chains involving highly organized middlemen specialized in the orchid and ornamental plant trade. Growing internet based trade and laundering of wild plants via registered commercial greenhouses was observed, as was a medicinal trade in orchids for consumption in Viet Nam and China. The report calls on Thai government agencies, CITES parties, the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network and conservation organizations to formally recognize the phenomenon, and urgently improve monitoring of not only the trade in charismatic animals species, but also of wild plants. The author also argues that the considerable implications of the illegal trade warrant far greater attention from Thailand's CITES management authority for plants, as well as the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Royal Forest Department. Courtesy: Sciencedaily.org
cated to wildlife. In a remarkable turn of events, no killings were reported from Nagaland in the October-November 2013 migratory season. Haralu's conservation journey began in 2009, when she quit her career in television journalism after working with Doordarshan and NDTV for over two decades. "In 20 years of television reporting from the NorthEast, I had the privilege of sharing the stories of its myriad communities. Even while reporting on the bloody insurgencies, the sweeping demographic changes, the neglect in development of infrastructure, the annual scourge of the Brahmaputra floods over the plains of Assam, the numerous incidents of rhino poaching, mowing down of baby elephants by speeding trains‌the beauty of the land always haunted me," she says. "For several years, I had been thinking how I could marry my two loves-journalism and environment." The opportunity came when the forest department approved the Nagaland Wildlife Conservation Project. Haralu got involved in a biodiversity survey and a book project simultaneously. In 2010, she coordinated a guidebook on the birds of Nagaland for the tourism department.
In the last six years, Haralu has spearheaded several conservation initiatives in the state-from bird surveys to mapping biodiversity hot spots and conservation threats. She also works with the government to coordinate a statewide conservation education programme. The Save the Amur Falcon programme provided an opening to interact with the community. Interestingly, Haralu's dialogue with the hunters helped scientists study the falcons' migratory path. "In November 2013, scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India and the United Nations E n v i r o n m e n t Programme, accompanied by state forest department officials, were camped in the Doyang reservoir to satellite-tag the Amur falcons. One evening, I got a call from a worried hunter from
Pangti village. He and his hunter friends were surreptitiously watching the scientists, who were trying their best to capture these falcons using finequality mist nets without any success. The hunter said the scientists were wrong in their method and if they were to catch these birds they must use the local way," says Haralu. So Haralu arranged for a meeting and the hunters successfully netted over 30 birds for the scientists. Eventually, three birds were ringed with satellite tags and released on 7 November 2013. They were named Pangti, Naga and Wokha after three villages around the Doyang reservoir. The satellite tags have provided valuable information about the Amur falcons, including the distance travelled, the route and number of days
taken. Naga and Pangti have completed a second cycle of migration, covering a distance of around 44,000km in two years. Wokha lost its tag in the first year. This year, says Lokeswara Rao Madiraju, principal chief conservator of forests, Nagaland, Naga and Pangti reached Doyang on 29 October. "We have heard of (other) initiatives to protect the Amur falcon. The community in Yongyimsen village in Longleng district, the drive in Niuland under Dimapur district and in faraway Tamenglong in Manipur, which has organized the Amur Falcon Dance Festival. A change has definitely set in; how wide or focused that change is, is not clear but, as Bob Dylan said, the answer is blowing in the wind," says Haralu. Courtesy: Northeasttoday.in
Outcome of fruit fly reproduction affected due to winter season Male fruit flies could find their chances of fathering offspring radically reduced if they are last in the queue to mate with promiscuous females before winter arrives, according to new University of Liverpool research. Usually, when female flies mate with multiple males, the last male fathers most of the offspring, with several other males fathering the rest. However, scientists have found that the outcome of this 'sperm competition' reverses when mating takes place prior to winter hibernation, with only the first male fathering any offspring. In the wild, females of many species can store sperm in their bodies for months before fertilisation takes place, often during periods of environmental stress, such as cold winters. The team, in collaboration with the Universities of Exeter and Vienna, examined the outcome of long term sperm storage in the fruit fly Drosophila pseudoobscura, by simulating the conditions in which females survive over winter. In a controlled experiment, virgin females were mated with two males each, and then stored for up to 120 days at 4°C. The outcome of sperm competition was consistent when sperm was stored for 0, 1 or 30 days, with the second male fathering most of the offspring. However, when females were stored in the cold for 120 days, the second male fathered less than
5% of the offspring. Moreover, when sperm were stored long term the first male fathered almost all offspring, even when carrying a genetic disease that usually reduces their reproductive success. Evolutionary biologist Dr Tom Price, from the University's Institute of Integrative Biology, who led the study said: "While further work is needed to establish exactly why this occurs, we suspect that the female stores sperm from the first male in a storage organ that offers protection against the cold, while subsequent sperm are stored elsewhere and get killed off by the drop in temperature." Long term survival of sperm over cold, hot or dry periods could explain
some of the puzzling variation seen in sperm and sperm storage across the natural world. Dr Price added: "Sperm cells can range in size from 0.0005cm in humans to 5cm in some flies, and females of different species have really diverse ways of storing sperm, but we don't understand why. Existing sperm competition research has focused on short term sperm storage, so may have missed a key process driving the evolution of sperm and sperm stores." Additionally, the observation that promiscuous females become effectively monogamous when winters get cold enough could impact on some pest control strategies. Dr Price explained: "One
of the best methods for controlling serious pest insects is the sterile male technique, which sees laboratory-bred sterile males released to mate with wild females. The problem in promiscuous species, however, is that females can just continue to mate until they find a fertile male, so the technique fails. "Our finding suggests that releasing sterile males just before winter could prevent this, as provided a female mates with a sterile male first then no offspring will be produced the following spring. As males normally don't survive winter, this means the pest population can be dramatically reduced." C o u r t e s y : Sciencedaily.org
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30
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Mount Sinai School registers come-from-behind victory Results
1st Wangnia Pongte Memorial Football Tournament Raushik Baruah Changlang, Nov 28: Mount Sinai School edged past Kantang Circle Football Club (KCFC) 2-1 in a tightly contested game of the 1st Wangnia Pongte Memorial Football Tournament held at Changlang.
With a place in the semifinals on the line both the teams played some great football. The first goal of the match came in the 25th minute when Chammun Khimhun of KCFC put the ball in the back of the net. Mount Sinai School equal-
ized a few minutes later courtesy Donlo’s stunning free kick which sailed into the upper left hand corner of the goal. The match saw the winning goal come in the 65th minute when Pangolin Hangsik burst through the opposition de-
Mount Sinai School defeated Kantang Circle fence to put the ball past Football Club (KCFC) the goalkeeper to seal 2-1 their place in the semi-fiToday’s Match nals. Tomorrow, Changlang football Club Changlang football (A) will take on Club (A) Changlang football Club Vs (B) to determine the final Changlang football semi-finalist. Club (B)
Vardy breaks record as Leicester Cosmo Club trump draw with United Samannoy Sangha Agencies London: Jamie Vardy became the first player to score in 11 consecutive Premier League matches when he gave Leicester City the lead in a 11 draw with Manchester United at the King Power Stadium. Vardy broke the record established by United's Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2003
de Gea. United equalised in first-half stoppage time when Bastian Schweinsteiger powered in a header. The result meant Manchester City, who returned to the top of the table earlier in the day by beating Southampton 3-1, remained there on goal difference ahead of Leicester. Both teams have 29 points from
Premier League:
when he struck in the 24th minute. He timed his run perfectly to go past the visiting defence before firing an angled shot past David
14 matches with United third on 28 points. Arsenal, who play at Norwich City on Sunday, are fourth with 26. Sunderland climbed out
of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Stoke City who had Ryan Shawcross sent off in the second half. Crystal Palace closed the gap on the leaders when they thrashed Newcastle United 5-1 at Selhurst Park after the visitors scored first but ended up back in the relegation zone. Second from bottom Newcastle have 10 points, the same as Bournemouth who staged a dramatic comeback to draw 3-3 with Everton having trailed 2-0. Everton also led 3-2 before Junior Stanislas equalised with a header deep into stoppage time. Despite those heroics Bournemouth have now gone eight games without a win and remain in the bottom three along with Newcastle and Aston Villa who have five points. Villa lost 3-2 at home to Watford after 10 minutes of stoppage time following a long delay to treat visiting goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes who suffered a head injury.
ICC bans Windies spinner Sunil Narine for chucking ANI Dubai: West Indies spin prodigy Sunil Narine has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the International Cricket Council on Sunday found the bowling action to be illegal. In accordance with Article 6.1 of the regulations, Narine's international suspension will also be recognised and en-
forced by all National Cricket Federations within domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction, save that, with the consent of the West Indies Cricket Board, Narine may be able to play in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of the West Indies Cricket Board. The assessment revealed that all variations of his deliveries exceeded
the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations. Narine was reported after the third ODI match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in November. The player can apply for a re-assessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with clause 2.4 of the Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions.
Neymar double as Barca's rampant strikers sink Sociedad Agencies Barcelona: A Neymar double, a spectacular volley from Luis Suarez and a goal for Lionel Messi saw top of the table Barcelona's unstoppable strike force sweep aside Real Sociedad 4-0 in La Liga. Neymar slotted home a Dani Alves cross after 22 minutes and Alves was again the provider for Suarez who acrobatically beat Real keeper Geronimo Rulli before halftime to take his tally to 11 goals in seven games. La Liga's top scorer Neymar took his total to 14 this season as he knocked in a Jeremy Mathieu cross after 53 minutes and in injury time he set up Messi to score from close range. Astonishingly, the trio's latest heroics meant that Messi,
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"Let them sit in Australia and talk about their pitches. Tell them not to waste their time about Indian tracks. Come and play here." India team Director Ravi Shastri
by 22 runs Chandra Dutta Memorial Cricket Tournament Raushik Baruah Dibrugarh, Nov 29: In today’s match of the 1st Chandra Dutta Memorial Cricket tournament organized by Tinsukia District Sports Association, Cosmo Club trumped Samannoy Sangha at the TDSA stadium. Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Cosmo Club put up 190 runs on the board in 30 overs before being bundled out. Abhijit Roy Chaudhury topscored with a whirlwind innings of 79 runs off 35 balls, which was studded with 12 boundaries and 4 massive sixes. He was well supported by Pradip Basfore who contributed 47
runs. For Samannoy Sangha, Anuj Pathak and Pallabjyoti Das, accounted for three and two wickets giving away 43 and 35 runs respectively. Chasing the target, Samannoy Sangha were shot out for 168 runs in 39.2 overs. The Cosmo Club bowlers made life difficult for the opposition batsman with Sushil Prasad claiming 3/32 while Pradip Basfore accounted for two wickets giving away 29 runs. For, Samannoy Sangha Putul Gogoi scored 55 runs off 67 balls while Ashol Ghosh contributed 40 off 73 balls. Tomorrow, Tinsukia Town Club will take on Rudra Club.
Australia edge out New Zealand in thriller Agencies Adelaide: Australia beat New Zealand by three wickets in a nail-biting encounter to win the first ever daynight Test, the third Test of the series at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Australia claimed the three-match Test series 2-0, ending New Zealand's run of seven consecutive series without loss dating back to 2013. Fired by swing specialist Trent Boult, New Zealand mowed through the Australian top order to leave the hosts wobbling at 66-3, still perilously short of their 187-run victory target. Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh drove Australia to within 74 runs of a serieswinning victory at the dinner-break with Australia placed at 113/3. After the dinner break, Boult sent back Voges to further dent the hosts. The Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell took the score forward playing sensibly before Mitchell Marsh threw away his wicket to Santner trying to hit a maximum. The kiwis
added the wickets of Shaun and Nevill towards the end of the run chase to make things difficult for the Aussies under the floodlights. Earlier, Josh Hazlewood finished with career-best figures of 6-70 as New Zealand, who resumed the day on 116-5, were bowled out for 208, adding 92 runs from their last five wickets. Hazlewood struck with the ninth ball of the day to remove BJ Watling for seven, the wicketkeeper edging to Smith in the slips, and the paceman had his fifth victim
Shuttler Sindhu completes Macau Open hat-trick Agencies Macau: Two-time defending champion P V Sindhu completed a hattrick of women's singles title at the $ 120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold after defeating Japan's Minatsu Mitani in the finals, in Macau, on Sunday. Sindhu produced a dominating game to notch up a 21-9, 21-23, 21-14 win against sixth seed Mitani in a women's singles match that lasted an hour and six minutes. World No 12 Indian dished out some
superb strokes and acute angled returns to bamboozle the Japanese, besides making some sound judgements at the baseline to get across Mitani, who
State-of-the-art Badminton stadium soon in Arunachal ET Bureau Itanagar, Nov 29: Arunachal Pradesh will soon have a badminton stadium of international standard. The state-of-art stadium proposed to be constructed at Six Mile near Sango Resort will house eight badminton courts of international standard with all modern facilities, informed Arunachal State Badminton Association
Secretary Bamang Tago. There will be VIP lounge, conference cum meeting room, including for media, administrative office, gymnasium and physiotherapy rooms, cafeteria, and dining room for players, medical rooms, store, snack counter/bars, change room, car parking facilities for 115 cars and accommodation facilities for 100 players, both men (60) and
of the innings when Mark Craig nicked behind for 15. Bracewell and spin-bowling all-rounder Santner built a useful 35-run partnership but Lyon ended it by luring Santner down the pitch and having him stumped for 45. Pace bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh captured his third wicket of the innings when Tim Southee, on 16, miscued a pull with Lyon jogging along the rope to take the catch. Bracewell finished unbeaten on 27, with Hazlewood wrapping up the innings by bowling Boult for five.
women (40) within the stadium. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki accompanied by Capital Complex Deputy Commissioner Mige Kamki, Secretary Sports Dani Salu on Wednesday inspected the proposed site, Tago informed. The state government has already allocated Rs.10 crore in the first phase for construction of the stadium and necessary
formalities like tendering etc. for construction of the stadium are under process, he informed. He hoped the stadium will fulfil all badminton needs of the state. It is worth mentioning here that Arunachal Pradesh lost the opportunity of hosting the national sub-junior championship this year due to lack of proper badminton stadium with required facilities.
struggled to keep the shuttle inside the court. Fifth seed Sindhu dominated the proceedings right from the start as she rode on the errors of Mitani.
Romai Tea estate win Sports Correspondent Dibrugarh, Nov 29: Romai Tea estate defeated Thanai Tea estate 5-4 via tie-breaker in the Arun Jalan Memorial prize money inter-garden running trophy football tournament here at Mokalbari Tea estate playground in Dibrugarh. The match ended goalless at the end of regulation time.
Surjoyadaya Sangha emerge champions Avik Chakraborty Dibrugarh, Nov 29: Surjoyadaya Sangha, Chetia Gaon today emerged champions of the 9th Gold Cup by defeating th Super Star, Makum 2-0 in the 9th Gold Cup organized by Surjoyadaya Sangha Chetia Gaon under the aegis of Chabua Sports Association at Chetia Gaon field. Altogether, eight teams participated in the tournament. Surjoyadaya Sangha opened the account in the 30th minute through Kamchon Langatasa while Indrajit Sonowal scored the second goal for his team in the 63rd minute. Super Star, Makum could not capitalize on a number of their scoring op-
portunities. On the other hand, Surjoyadaya Sangha displayed a brilliant attacking technique in the final match. The ground was crowded with spectators and everybody enjoyed a keenly contested final match. Kamchon Langatasa of Surjoyadaya Sangha was adjudged best player of the tournament while Phanthing Pao was awarded best goalkeeper of the tournament. The winner team was awarded with a winning trophy and a cash prize of Rs 10,000 while the runners-up team was given Rs 5,000 with the runners-up trophy. The referees for the match were Kulen Bora, Sankaswar Phukan, Prabat Chetia and Niren Phukan.
9 Gold Cup
Neymar and Suarez have early goal from the inso far scored 125 goals be- form Antoine Griezmann tween them in all on 29 points. competitions for Griezmann's goal Barca over the La Liga earned a third calendar year. straight league win Barca have 33 points from for Atletico, who have 13 games with Atletico now gone five games in all Madrid, who defeated competitions without conEspanyol 1-0 courtesy an ceding a goal.
The Champion team with the winning trophy . Pic - Sanjib Bordoloi
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