4th jan 2016

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ASSENG/2015/64205

Vol. 1

After Modi's Visit to Pakistan: Beyond Hugs and Handshakes

Issue 210

Dibrugarh, Monday, January 4, 2016

Pathankot: NSG Lt. Col martyred, jawan injured in combing ops

Page 9

Page 10

Page 6

ANI New Delhi, Jan 3

"Due to active intelligence inputs and advance information, and quick action taken by the security forces, especially the Air Force, we were able to ensure that there is no damage to the assets of the Air Force, and therefore, the apparent main aim of the terrorists stands defeated."

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi on Sunday said the apparent main aim of the terrorists, who attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, stands defeated due to active intelligence inputs and advance information, and quick action taken by the security forces.

Elaborating on the outcome of the anti-terrorist operation, he said four terrorists had been neutralised last evening, while two more were being engaged by the security forces at the base.

Mehrishi said the combing operation to bring the situation under control is still on.

ET CAPSULES

15 injured in Road mishap Rangia, Jan 3: At least 15 passengers were injured - 2 of them were serious - following a road accident near Puthimari under Rangia sub division on Sunday. Most of the injured were admitted to Kamalpur Model Hospital and later shifted to GMCH. According to the police a group of 40 passengers from Guwahati were going to Bagamati near Goreswar in Bagsa district for picnic in a bus (No. AS 01 CC 1198 Monalisa) when the bus met with the accident. (Correspondent)

Green drive Doomdooma , Dec 3 : On the first day of the new year a non governmental organization (NGO ) " Puberun" planted trees on the sides of the National High Way 37 at Dhadum Pathar , Dangri , nearly 10 km north from here . The volunteers of the NGO participated in this green drive . Polluted agricultural lands of the locality were also cleaned by them .(Correspondent)

4 injured in head on collision

cmyk

Two Pulsar bike collide head on as four travelling in both the bikes were seriously injured near Dhekiajuli petrol pump last night under Cinnamora police station.

Both the Pulsar bikes coming from opposite side collide each other as both the riders disagree to give way to each other as both were nearly above 80km speed after a big sound all the four scattered on the Na-Ali road which was taken granted by one and all to be dead and was rushed to Jorhat Medical College hospital where two were referred to Assam Medical college hospital in Dibrugarh and other two were sent to Guwahati Medical College hospital for treatment.

(Staff Reporter)

Security forces take position during the Pathankot attack by terrorists.

"We are hopeful that they will also be neutralised by (this) evening," he added.

Contd. on Page 4

Pages- 12

1.12 lakh tonnes of seized pulses offloaded by Govt. in retail market

Pathankot attack: Terrorists aim stands defeated, says Home Secretary

"There was no further firing, but it was not certain whether there were other terrorists (apart from the two being engaged) or not. The firing stopped last night, therefore, we were not sure if all terrorists were killed or not. And when combing started in the morning, we did find at least two more terrorists," Mehrishi said.

5.00

Is Kerala's Decision To Close Down Bars A Good Idea? Let's Not Drink To That Just Yet

Page 8

"Due to active intelligence inputs and advance information, and quick action taken by the security forces, especially the Air Force, we were able to ensure that there is no damage to the assets of the Air Force, and therefore, the apparent main aim of the terrorists stands defeated," said Mehrishi.

Price -

The Centre will not allow any subversive activities by insurgents in Assam and will take strong steps to prevent them, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said "The present government will not allow any subversive activities of insurgent groups.

Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night.

Contd. on Page 4

Contd. on Page 3

Lt Col Niranjan

"The prevent this, the government will take any type of action," Singh said. "At the same time, if insurgents want to come to the mainstream, the government will always welcome them.

"But there will be no compromise on sovereignty, economic development and social status of India," Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Assam, said.

Contd. on Page 4

ET Correspondent Roing, Jan 3

Five members, including a minor girl, died on the spot and four others received injuries when their vehicle met with a tragic road accident near Tiwari village, about 21 km from Roing, district headquarters of Lowar Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. According to officer in-charge, Roing Police Station, S M Singha, the Innova vehicle carrying nine people, including the driver coming from Mayudia rolled down from the road and fell into 70-80 metre deep gorge near Tiwari Vlillage last evening. Five persons, including the 7-year-old minor girl were killed on the spot. They were identified as Rajiv Bharali, Biman Phukan, his wife Moni Phukan and their minor girl Ankita. Another person was identified as Sashanka Saikia, a businessman. Rajiv Bharali was the general secretary of Dibrugarh District Congress Committee while,

Rajiv Mehrishi Union Home Secretary

Confident that all terrorists will be killed, says Rajnath A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Jan 3

How brave Lt. Col. Niranjan of NSG was martyred

Five killed, 4 injured in tragic road accident in Arunachal

Pathankot, Jan 3

An NSG commando was killed in mopping up operations against terrorists at an IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab.

Security forces during the rescue of the dead bodies and the Innova car. Pic - Pranjal Bhuyan.

3dead, five injured at KNP road mishap ET Correspondent Jorhat, Jan 3

One person dead and seven persons injured when a eight member picnic party travelling in a Xilo vehicle bearing registration number (AS 03 M7025 )turned turtle and skid off into the way side lowland and roll upside down for over five times beside the NH 37 near Iora point at Kohora within

Congress gears up for rally Porous Indo-Banladesh border to against Rajkhowa, Rijiju and Pul be sealed by 2016, says Rajnath A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3

The Arunachal People’s Rally is set to start tomorrow at Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Naharlagun from 9 am onwards. The sole convener of the rally who is the Congress MLA Pani Taram from 21 Koloriang Constituency has been alleged by pressure groups that he is gathering volunteers from in and around the corner of the state to show the strength of the indigenous people of the state voicing over

the recall of Arunachal Governor J.P. Rajkhowa. Besides, the rally will call for immediate resignation of union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju and arrest of MLA from Anjaw Kalikho Pul, who was the former health minister of the state. People including the learned ones have expressed different opinions over the rally, some have said it’s ‘Tuki People’s Rally’ and other ‘Congress People’s Rally. The Congress party in the mean time has geared up for the rally as an indirect showdown their

strength to the BJP on the day where the Gauhati High Court will give its ruling over the Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia impeachment case. It may be noted that Arunachal people have been divided into two groups, ‘Nabam Tuki team versus Kalikho Pul team’.

Through media reports and social media messages, it have been clearly shown that pressure groups have thrown in their best possible means to campaigning their own leaders to gain personal benefit in different kind.

JAC condemns organization of people’s rally against Governor, Rijiju and Pul A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3

The Jan Andholan Committee (JAC) has condemned the people’s rally which will be held on Monday and its demands for recall of Governor JP Rajkhowa, resignation of MoS Kiren Rijiju and arrest of former minister Kalikho Pul stating that present chief minister Nabam Tuki’s government is out of frustration organizing the rally that too when court is about to give verdict.

Addressing the media here at

Arunachal Press Club Chairman JAC Tame Phassang expressed surprise as to how a minority party can call people’s rally which is nothing but an attempt to create fear psychosis and to divert the present situation of the state government. Stating that Tuki government is doing nothing for the welfare of state and developmental activities Tame added “Government duty is to give development to every districts and village of the state but the government is busy in siphoning of funds which is

meant for the public”. While alleging that more than Rs. 200 crores is about to be sanctioned to the PHED & Water Supply Minister Takam Pario and Parliamentary secretary for Sports & Youths Affairs Likha Saya from the PDS and STS fund which is a long pending and court subjudice bill, Tame appealed before Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi to do his own independent duty by not allowing to release of funds or Contd. on Page 3

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Jan 3

Despite a ban over irregular coal mining imposed by the Supreme Court, Karbi Anglong have fallen prey to the rampant opencast coal mining operations on various unlicensed blocks in the district. In the Bokajan sub-division itself, coal is being illegally mined at Koilajan within the Jurisdiction of Eastern Forest Range,

Contd. on Page 3

Gogoi criticises Rajnath for not taking state Govt. into confidence

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi termed Union Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to IndoBangla international border without taking the State Government into confidence as unfortunate and violation to the spirit of cooperative federalism.

Rajnath Singh received by BSF personnel during his Indo-Bangla border visit. Pic - UB Photo

Unchecked open cast illegal mining of coal still prevalent in Karbi Anglong ET Correspondent Bokajan, Jan 3

Three persons died while five others seriously injured.

The dead were- Sahil Ahmed (22) died on the spot, while Hunmoni Dutta (22) and Tokbi Choudhury (20) died on the way to GMC.

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Jan 3

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday visited Karimganj sector of the India-Bangladesh border in Assam and said the porous border will be sealed in 2016.

The home minister, who arrived in Assam on Sunday on a two-day visit, said inspected the Stemerghat Border Out Posts (BOP) in Karimganj district. He said the porous border should have been sealed long time ago.

Contd. on Page 3

Kaziranga National Park under Kohora Police station here today.

Bokajan. It is also mined in an opencast and unchecked manner at Koilamati and Upper Deopani under the jurisdiction of Silonijan NE Range. Noteworthy that, the coal mafia here has obtained permission from the Geology and Mining Department, Assam, for carrying 100 ton of confisticated coal through auction.

In a statement here on Sunday, Gogoi said, “We welcome Union Home Minister’s border visit; however not taking Assam Government’s Contd. on Page 3

Leopard trapped at Mariani ET Correspondent Jorhat, Jan 3

A male adult leopard who was terrorizing inside the Hunuwal tea Estate area for last 10 to 15 days for which workers of the tea Estate could not even celebrate the Christmas and New year in a field free manner which the locals pressurized the Forest department to lay a cage to trapped the leopard since 29th of December, but on the 13th day morning the leopard was caged which had brought great relief to the people along with the staff and workers as they could

not work freely in some sections of tea garden.

On the other hand Mariani which is the house of several endangered species in the Gibbon wild Life sanctuary is always famous for man-animal conflict with leopard, elephants and monkeys on the rage in the Mariani Circle.

The trapped leopard was admitted at the Rescue and Rehabilitation centre of Kaziranga National Park who will be treated and later will be released in KNP, informed Mariani Range officer

IGP SN Singh assures to checked Illegal arms in State Brahmaputra Mahotsav 2016 Gets ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Dec 3

Law and Order IGP SN Singh has eyeing firm actions against uses of illegal arms in the state said that all district SPs have been instructed to take stern step and control illegal activities.

Singh has made his maiden visit on Saturday in Kokrajhar, just after a day of unwanted incident occurred that claimed a surrender NDFB in the district. Singh also hold meeting with high police official and army at Circuit House and took

stock of the situation in the district.

‘Police administration was working to the welfare of the citizens and maintaining peace and tranquility in the state.Illegal arms issue is a serious concern for the state as sometime common public have to face hardships with unwanted incidents in the state due to uses of illegal arms. All district police heads have been instruct to take strong step against illegal arms and license arms used in the state.Uses of illegal arms would be check and illegal activities would be crack down in the state’, Singh said.

He has termed the yesterday’s incident in Kokrajhar,was unfortunate and minor incident that held within surrender NDFB camp.The situation in the region was under normal and district police administration has taken stern measures into it,Singh added.

‘Operations against militant outfits in the state has been intensified and and several hardcore cadre as well leaders were killed in the encounter with security forces.The strength of the NDFB(S) has now becoming weak as security forces have been conducting operations’,Singh said.

Contd. on Page 3

Underway at Tezpur University Shambhu Boro Tezpur, Jan 3

The 31st Inter-University Youth Festival of Eastern India zone named as “Brahmaputra Mahotsava 2016”, was inaugurated at Tezpur University today amid high enthusiasm. Prof. Furqan Qamar, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) hoisted the AIU Flag while Prof. Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri, Vice Chancellor

of Tezpur University hoisted the TU Flag. This was followed by a colourful cultural procession from the Community Hall to the Bishnuprasad Rabha Auditorium of the University.

The inaugural function held in the Bishnuprasad Rabha Auditorium was attended by a host of prominent personalities of the region.

Contd. on Page 3

Folklorist and former President of Asom Sahitya Sabha Prof. Birendranath Dutta being felicitated on the occasion. Pic - UB Photo.

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Dalam Studio Near parking stand Khonsa

PAGE 2

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

CS inspects ongoing work of NH 52 stretch

Arunachal Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi during his visit. ET Photo A Staff Reporter Naharlagun, Jan 3: Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi on Saturday night inspected the maintenance and repairing work of NH 52 stretch from G-Extension Road to Barapani Bridge Naharlagun carried out under the Periodical Renewal or Improved Riding Quality Program (IRQP). The programme is recycled once in every 4/5 years besides regular maintenance work and was launched with a view to create perceptible impact on the road users.

The Chief Secretary was accompanied by Secretary Finance Daulat Havaldar, EE (Highways) Naharlagun Division Nani Tath, SE

(Highways) Duggum Ete, AE (Highways) Naharlagun Division Debia Takam, AE (Highways) Itanagar division Nangbia Tedi, JEs (Highways) Tabom Doyom, P.P Verma, Toko Tebi & Toko Budh along with the Contractor Tagru Taha.

Under the IRQP, a total span of 17.5 km of road will be repaired and maintained out of which 13km falls in township areas of Nirjuli, Naharlagun & Itanagar. The road was last repaired and maintained and given facelift in the year 2010. It was during this year that the PWD (Highways) for the first time carried out repairing work of the road with the high grade automated

heavier machines.

The CS physically inspected the roads to have firsthand knowledge of the working condition and to cheer up the contracting agencies and Highway Engineers. Maintenance ensures that the road remains serviceable throughout its design life. But during rainy season water flows across the road and causes damages to it. Hence proper drainage facility is also required in both sides of roads to maintain the road. Considering the volume of traffic, the riding quality of road has to be improved, said Negi. He directed the officers from Highways and the Contractor to complete

the works in the stipulated time frame.

He appreciated the effort of the contracting agency and highway engineer at the pace the work is being carried out in the township.

The CS directed the officers from Highways to carry out maintenance of the road every three years.

He even directed the officials present to begin similar work immediately in roads leading to Zoo Road as the roads connects to tourist centers and is of great importance to state.

This road connects tourist centers and hence it should be traffic friendly and accident free, the CS said.

While briefing about the

NRL provides financial assistance to school ET Correspondent Golaghat, Dec 3: Numaligarh Refinery Limited(NRL) has recently provided financial Assistance and computer to one of the

oldest school of Golaghat.

The officers of NRL have provided financial assistance of 4.94 lakhs to Government Bezbaruah High School and later they donated a com-

Ijajul Haque ready for big title

Day of Simplicity observed in Furkating Junior College

ET Correspondent Golaghat, Dec 3: Ijajul Haque recent achiever of Junior Mr Assam title in All Assam Body Building Championship will going to take part in Mr India title in Chennai from January 7.

Ijajul will represent Golaghat Big Brother Gym is now ready for big title. The owner of Gym and Vice president of District Body Building Association Taj Ahmed said " Ijajul has all potential and we are hoping for the best in this New Year."

ET Correspondent Golaghat, Jan. 3: Furkating Junior College, Golaghat observed the Day of Simplicity on Saturday. The 55th birthday of Upen Rabha Hakasam educationist, professor of Assames Department at Guwahati University was

puter. Of the mentioned amount 1.65 lakhs have already been given.

Later, NRL has donated a computer to Golaghat District Journalist Association .

celebrated as a Day of Simplicity at Furkating Junior College.

The event was organised

by Furkating Junior College in association with Dago Rongchang Research Committee where a discussion session was held.

In the session the Princi-

Foundation stone of Dr Bhupen Hazarika memorial cultural building laid at Bokajan

Tribute paid to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika during the foundation laying ceremony.

Pic - Rupjyoti Mahanta ET Correspondent Bokajan, Jan 3: The Karbi Anglong district unit of 'Asom Sanskritik Mahasabha' laid the foundation stone of a 50 feet long Dr Bhupen Hazarika memorial cultural building here this morning.

Hazarika, as known to all, was a multifaceted personality and famously referred to as the uncrowned king of North Eastern India's cultural world. His songs are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood based on the themes of communal amity, justice and empathy. He had also been conferred with many prestigious awards from Padmashri to Padmabhusan, Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and National

Film Award for best music direction etc. The event kick-started with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp followed by floral tribute being paid at the memorial statue of the music maestro.

Manoranjan Sen, President, 'Bokakhat Sanskritik Mahasabha', presided over the meeting and spoke on the life of Dr Hazarika and his role in uniting the peoples with the tune of his music. He also remembered Dr Hazarika's untiring efforts and contributions towards music and cultural developments of the state.

The foundation pillar was laid in the presence of many dignitaries including Arun Hazarika, Rtd Joint Director, Department of Economics & Statistics, Nagaland,

noted music composerNalinibala Hazarika, singerPankaj Jyoti Baruah and Lunseng Ao, noted artist Bipin Chandra Hazarika, Narendra Nath Hazarika, Dibyadhar Shyam, Secretary, Karbi Anglong district 'Sanskritik Mahasabha', social worker Dulal Dutta, among others. Addressing the gathering, Arun Hazarika highlighted the life and works of the legendary singer and said that it was difficult to scale this great doyen of music who was a time in himself. In the programme, a noted businessman with base in neighbouring Nagaland Md Firoz Alam Khan, announced complete financial assistance at setting up the memorial building.

The Principal Dilip Bora along with GDJA President Apurba Ballabh Goswami and General Secretary Rohit Gogoi have expressed their gratitude to NRL.

pal of Jorhat College Dr Debabrat Sharma and Associate Professor of JB College, Jorhat Dr Jyotirekha Saikia delivered their speech. Renowned scientist Dr Padmeswar Gogoi and veteran music composer Babul Nag were felicitated in the programme.

periodic maintenance to CS, AE Debia Takam informed that the contracting agency/highway engineer is involving more heavy equipments and specialist skills to maintain and improve the road surface. He told that the Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) used for surfacing the road will be of 60 mm and that of Bituminous Concrete 40 mm.

State has to have its own Quality Control Laboratory to ensure and check the percentage of DBM mixing and in absence of this laboratory, experts from NERIST is carrying out the quality checking.

He even informed that it is due to the high intensity of vehicular traffic movement during the day time, repairing work of road cannot be carried out and hence during night time the pace of work is being slowed down. He even requested the CS to provide and deploy extra police force in the working site to control and allow the free flow of vehicular movement.

Similar visit by CS Ramesh Negi along with PWD Minister Gojen Gadi, Parliamentary Secretary PWD Alo Libang and Chief Estate Officer Talo Potom will be carried out in working site Naharlagun on Sunday night.

22nd CRU National Conference ET Correspondent Jorhat, Jan 3: The 22nd CRU (Centre of Medical Sales Representative Union) national conference will be kicked off at the Sri Sri Pitambor Dev Goswami Auditorium from January 4th to 6th which is to be followed by a cultural rally, open session in presence of Dr. Alok Kumar Banerjee, General secretary of the Federation of Medical Representative Association of India, Amrit Gupta, Dr. Amiyo Sharma, Dr. Hiteswar Saikia will be present and prominent physicians from the country were also present during the conference.

Governor expresses sympathy to fire accident victims Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3: The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Shri JP Rajkhowa has expressed his deep sympathy to the people of Lazu village, about 42 km from Khonsa, who have lost their houses in the devastating fire accident.

The Governor expressed hope that all assistance will be extended by the State Government to the people for their rehabilitation. He also expressed his concerns about the women and

children during the winter season.

The Governor urged upon the people to rise to the occasion and help the people in need.

Learning the immediate assistance provided by the District Administration and Assam Rifles, the Governor conveyed his appreciation and hope that they will continue the good work, till the people are settled properly including rebuilding of the houses. He also appeals to the affected people to take precautions from their side to avoid such tragedy in future.

SURNAME CHANGE In the court of first class judicial magistrate, Tezu in Lohit district AP. I Bijay Pul son of Late Smti Sonal Pul aged about 18 years and a permanent resident of Lopkrong village P.O Hawai P.S Khupa Anjaw district have change my surname to Lap and henceforth I should be known as Bijay Lap instead of Bijay Pul due to the fact that my biological father was Sochat Lap which was never disclosed my late mother. Owing to her long separation from him out of misunderstanding between them, she didn’t reveal my father surname until her last breathe and I was known by my mother title. After I realized the fact, I decided to write my title as Lap instead of Pul for rest of my life for official convenient.

Accordingly at every place I shall be addressed and known as Bijay Lap in place of Bijay Pul.

PICNIC TIME

People enjoy picnic at in a sandbar of the Buridehing river at Jokai Khamtighat in Dibrugarh. Pic - UB Photo

ASTRO FOR YOU Confidence and independence create the perfect beginnings for a successful gathering of neighbors, with munchies and good wishes for the new year. Something special that you recorded along with a few pictures that others brought to show off brings lots of laughter and fun times to the scene. Snacks and chatter reign all afternoon and then all depart for home.

You may have a hard time being clearheaded but you keep moving through your day. Patience seems to be with you today-learning what or why people do the things they do gives you an understanding about your own humanness. You love people and enjoy having plenty of people around you.

You may find yourself spending a bit of time this morning in transferring files or updating your calendar for this new year. You may decide to post a couple of notes to yourself so you can feel more organized and prepared for the week ahead.

A friend may come to you with personal problems this afternoon. You are able to get to the bottom of the story and help him or her discover a truth. You are most persuasive and convincing with others and today there are opportunities toward good communication.

With everyone together today, you might find the lightweight person to send up to the attic in order to check some sound or a place from which a water leak may be occurring. One family member may have offered to help with a winter garden and you are elated.

Healing comes from destroying the roots of a disturbance. You may be advising or counseling someone this afternoon but this will end with positive results. You may enjoy getting away from routine chores later so that you can visit with a friend.

It may take several people, working together, to understand the workings of some new technical equipment today. A friend could be giving you expert advice-ask. Everything points to your taking the initiative.

Lots of positive things are happening at this time. This morning you get a good start on some writing project. Poetry, short stories, whatever the case, you seem to have enough material to pull from in order to put some fun books together.

Some of your favorite times are when you can hang out with friends and enjoy the day. You may have prepared for a feast or others have arranged a feast. Whatever the case, a gathering on this special day is a special treat.

A study of future possibilities for your professional status may find you studying the many opportunities to improve, adapt, grow and achieve.

Plans you may have made some time ago may be in the completion stages.

Communicating feelings accurately and staying factual will help in solving some rather trivial issues this evening.

You may have had some vision or feeling about some old thing around the house and decide to check out its worth. It may not be the worth that is important but the owner. You will have fun doing a bit of research and some of your searching could be over the internet.

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

4-1-16 (MONDAY) 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- Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 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-Drama 8-30 P.M-Talk in Assamese 9-30 P.M-Mandakini Sd-/H.O.P

PAGE 3

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

Grass root leaders from PPA, NCP joined INC

Chief Minister Nabam Tuki congratulated Lhakpa Tsering A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3: Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has congratulated Lhakpa Tsering for winning the 17th Raid-de-Himalaya, a rare feat achieved by any individual from the state. Commending the achievement, CM said that Tsering has set an example for the youths to emulate.

His repeated attempts which finally bored fruits is testimony to the hardwork required to reach the top, CM viewed. While praising Tsering, Tuki said that he has already become a role model for the youth. He pinned high hopes that Tsering would bring more laurels to the state and make all proud with his success stories.

Nabam Tuki assess the losses incurred by the villagers and submit the report soon A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3: Expressing deep concern over the fire mishap at Lazu village near Myanmar border on 31st December that reduced 38 dwelling houses to ashes, Chief Minister Nabam Tuki directed Tirap district administration to assess the losses incurred by the villagers and submit the report soon for releasing the relief.

However, taking strong note of repeated fire mishaps, the CM appealed to the masses to take precautionary measures as this being dry season such incidents could often occur because of negligence.

The CM also directed all the DC to create mass awareness to take preventive measures to prevent such mishaps.

Indian terrorist camps still exist in B'desh: Tripura CM Agartala, Jan. 3 (ANI): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has claimed that Indian terrorist camps still exist in Bangladesh.

Sarkar though praised the Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh Government for its action against terrorism, which has helped curb insurgency in Tripura.

"We know that in our neighbouring Bangladesh, there are still 16 to 19 camps of Indian militants. However, the present government in Bangladesh does not encourage the Indian militants in their territory. Rather they are taking steps so that the militants are compelled to leave their territory," he said.

He added that the Indian militants were taking advantage of the absence of the Bangladesh Security Forces in the remote areas adjoining the border, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Track (CHT).

Sarkar said, "We cannot claim that we are successful in totally uprooting militancy from our state because still within our state there are few hideouts. Sometimes due to pressure of the Bangladesh security forces, the militants

temporarily shift from their camps but again return as the security forces move away. This hide and seek activities are going on and we are aware of it."

The Chief Minister, who was addressing police officials during the inauguration of the 2016 Police Week celebration at the Police Parade Ground here today, said terrorist activities are growing throughout the globe and targeting many nations, adding that the latest was in Paris.

A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3 : One NCP leader Thaji Gichik Kiogi from 20-Tali constituency and seven ASM (anchal samiti member), from PPA joined INC today in a small function held at Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) office, Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Itanagar. Their joining letter was accepted by the APCC President Padi

NCP and PPA members at Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee after joining the Congress.

ARTIAF submits memorandum to Arunachal CS demanding suspension of engineers A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 3 : Arunachal RTI Activist Forum (ARTIAF) has submitted a memorandum to the state Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi demanding suspension of engineer Nabam Tado, executive engineer Sunil Degio and Assistant engineer and junior engineer serving under PD department for their alleged involvement in misappropriation of public funds amounting to Rs. 200 lakh which was meant for infrastructure development of 50 bedded girls hostel and play ground under the centrally sponsored Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS),

Bana under East Kameng District. Talking to media person at Arunachal Press Club, general secretary ARTIAF, S. D. Loda said that as per the demands put by forum with State Information Commission (SIC) to investigate the case after going through it, the SIC found that the project was not completed on time and corrective measures such as utilization of entire amount were not taken for which it was sanctioned. Examination of SIC also said that “The project of girls hostel have not been found completed despite of receiving huge fund amounting of Rs. 1.96 crore and UC found to be submitted to the nodal

department having shown the project as completed which amounts criminal misconduct by public servant and due to non availability of fund project have not been achieved which it should be,” added Loda. Stating that for the speedy judgment of the whole episode we request CS to hand over the case immediately to the district and session court ARTIAF also said that it is also evident that all above mentioned engineer were involved in the misappropriation because now the work is in full swing that too with the agreement PWD by engineers to complete the construction within 2nd March 2016.

3dead, five injured at KNP road mishap Contd. from Page 1

After giving first aid at Bokakhat PHE all five were rushed to Jorhat Medical College Hospital and stated to be in critical stage.

The injured are- Rahul kalita (19), Nabajyoti Borah (20), Abdul Choudhury (22), Kabeli Choudhury (20) and Chintu Dutta (20). They were on the way for picnic to KazirangaKohora but the accident occurred to 2Km ahead of their

venue of the picnic. All hails from rajamaidam area from the heart of Jorhat city Meanwhile a total of nine including the driver was travelling in the Xilo as the driver Rafiq Ali who was at all not injured as the vehicle skid off the Nh37 for over five times.

JAC condemns organization of people’s rally against Governor, Rijiju and Pul Contd. from Page 1

"They are now trying to spread in India. Still in else JAC will resort to our state, there are youth strong democratic movewho are misled to- ment against CS and entire wards terrorism and government’s official mawe have to be vigilant towards that. But at the same time, we know that these terrorist groups cannot disrupt peace, development Contd. from Page 1 and unity in our state and for which the security forces have to inMember of Parliament, crease their vigil," he Ramprasad Sharma and noted cultural and literary personaladded.

chinery. State BJP Vice President Tayek Goi also came heavily on the demands for resignation of MoS (Home Affairs) Kiren Rijiju. “Rijiju is regularly visiting the state

and releasing funds but instead of appreciating him congress government is labeling wild allegations against him and demanding his resignation”, Tayek said.

Brahmaputra Mahotsav 2016 Gets Underway at Tezpur University

Sarkar inspected the parade and distributed medals among the police personnel for their commendable service.

He also gave away the medals to the children of the police personnel who secured remarkable results in the board examinations.

ity Prof. Birendranath Dutta attended as the Guests of Honour. Pro Vice Chancellor of Tezpur University Prof.

Amarjyoti Choudhury delivered the welcome address with a clarion call to all youths to be part of nation building process through their talents. Prof.

Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri laid stress on the very objectives of such a mega festival and called upon the participants to take this opportunity to share and exchange their feelings and ex-

periences. In his address, Prof.

Furqan Qamar focused on national integrity and giving opportunities to talents as the chief goals of the festival. Prof.

Birendranath Dutta said about the message and importance of the river Brahmaputra that binds three countries and a number of cultures while Ramprasad Sarma called India as the 'youngest country' in the world with its 70% population under 40 years of age which symbolizes the strength of the country. Prof. Ranjan Ray who participated as the Observer of the festival, appealed to the youths to follow the path of cultural idols like Dr. Bhupen Hazarika who effectively and boldly spread the message of

universal brotherhood throughout the world through his musical compositions. Dr. Samson David, Joint Secretaryof AIU, said that the tremendous energy that lies with the youths will only strengthen the national fabric of unity their talents are properly realized. Organized under the aegis of the Association of Indian Universities and with support from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, the 'Brahmaputra Mahotsav 2016' is going to witness a gathering of over eight hundred students from 26 universities of Eastern India who will participate in various cultural and literary events spreading over five days.

FESTIVAL AND PICNIC

lighted the very credentials of the party and the ideologies to the new members during the short speech. The seven ASM from PPA include Langpu Tagong ASM147 Keba, Nikbia Talom ASM 143 Nikbia Raha, Tami Tame ASM 152 Hania, Jedang Takup ASM- 150 Hai Machi, Sorrang Yai ASM 148 Tdeung, Sorang Jaha ASM 145 Zara and Hake Yapak ASM 142 Niobia.

Five killed, 4 injured in tragic road accident in Arunachal Contd. from Page 1

Biman Phukan and his wife were teachers of Moran Higher Secondary School. The injured per-

sons Ishan Bharali, Ishan Aditya Bharali, sons of Rajiv all aged between 1014 years and driver Dulen Kochari received severe injuries and were referred to a private nursing home

in Dibrugarh in Assam, the OC informed. The passengers were returning from Mayudia to Moran in Sivasagar district, Assam after enjoying a picnic there, he informed.

Gogoi criticises Rajnath for not taking state Govt. into confidence is ignored like this”.

Contd. from Page 1

representative along with him in spite of its (State Government’s) request is a violation to the spirit of cooperative federalism and NDA Government’s much vaunted rhetoric of Team India”. Gogoi said that State Government has important role in safeguarding border and hence Assam Government should have taken into confidence for making the border visit more meaningful, adding that Gogoi said, “Never before in my long political career State Government

Gogoi moreover said that the action of the Union Home Minister is tantamount to negating the constitutional provisions where law and order is a State Subject.

Gogoi also stated that request has also been made from the State Government to accommodate Inspector General(SB) HC Nath as a State Government representative.

However, the request was turned down citing space constraint as the reason. However, in addition to the name of 13 persons mentioned in the manifest, Himanta Biswa Sharma and Mahendra

Singh were accommodated for the border visit.

Gogoi said, “Taking political leader ignoring Government officials to solve a problem where State’s interest is involved will not go down well which also exposes partisan attitude of none other than the Union Home Minister”.

Chief Minister Gogoi also said, “Everybody knows law and order is a state subject and Assam Government is extending full cooperation to the Central Security Agency in guarding the international border along with checking infiltration”.

Porous Indo-Banladesh border to be sealed by 2016, says Rajnath Contd. from Page 1

Singh was accompanied by union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbananda Sonowal, who hails from Assam, some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and a delegation of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), including its chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya, president Dipank Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi during the visit to the border.

In August last year, Singh participated at a seminar organised by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) in New Delhi on implementation of the Assam Accord and

assured the AASU leaders he would make a visit to the India-Bangladesh border with their delegation.

The union minister is likely to address a public rally at Karimganj on Sunday before returning to Guwahati. He is scheduled to meet prominent intellectuals of the state at the Brahmaputra State Guest House in Guwahati in the evening.

On Monday, Singh will visit Dhubri sector of the India-Bangladesh border with the AASU delegation to take stock of the situation. He is scheduled to address a public rally in the district before returning to New Delhi.

"The minister had ex-

pressed his desire for a joint visit of the international border during a seminar organised by us in New Delhi last year.

Today, he has come to visit. We have showed him the open international border in Karimganj district. The union home minister has assured that the border would be sealed within this year," said AASU president Dipank Nath.

"The home minister has also informed us that the issues which have affected the sealing of the border in Karimganj district since November last year, have been taken up with Bangladesh government and sorted out amicably," Dipank Nath said, expressing happiness over the development

Unchecked open cast illegal mining of coal still prevalent in Karbi Anglong Contd. from Page 1

Picnic parties assemble for picnic and a Kite Festival organised on the banks of Dhansiri in Golaghat. Pic - Amit Nagori

Richo after they have declared that they have abandoned their former party by tendering a resignation letter and the same was accepted.

APCC President Padi Richo, APCC rank and files, Congress MLAs and others witnessed the function. It was organized by the Block Congress Committee from 20 Tali constituency Kurung Kumey district.

APCC President high-

The order provided Transit Pass over the illegal mined coal besides providing sort of legitimacy for collection and supply of illegally mined coal throughout the district. “An active organized coal syndicate has been operating on the low grade soft coal of Karbi Anglong. The illegal mined soft coal is supplied to the coal market at Jogigopha, Bongaigoan where it is later mixed with the hard coal to increase its volume. It may be also said that, unlike the traditional way of underground mining, the coal mafia here has moved to open cast mining to ex-

tract greater proportion of coal. They have also engaged JCBs and Excavators to accelerate the mining process. Unless heavy penalties in terms of confiscation of equipments, vehicles and premises used for illegal mining and imprisonment etc are imposed and cases are dealt with priority, illegal mining would continue.”a forest official said. Even after continued media exposure on large scale mining of coal from the unlicensed sources, neither the forest department nor the competent authority of Mines and Minerals have taken any step regarding the illegal mining which have become a widespread phenomenon in the district. The collieries are also generally located in

the hilly terrain of the district and are reported to be controlled by the various terror groups active in the region. Some members of militant groups having their foothold strong in the district are alleged to be involved in this lucrative illegal coal mining business. The wider cause of concern is the role of police in the illicit coal business. Every day, trucks loaded with illegal coal pass through the police check gates set up along the National Highway 36 & 39, without being detained. The district administration and the policing machinery are alleged to have a knitted alliance with the organized coal mafia gang and have been providing felicitations to the illegal trade.

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

Keshav Saikia conferred Late Mahendranath Hazarika award ET Correspondent Golaghat, Dec 3: Golaghat District Sahitya Sabha today organised a day long programme in the memory of Late Mahendranath Hazarika Education and Literature Contribution Award Ceremony at Sayyed Abdul Malik Bhawan in Golaghat. A meeting was held on the occasion which was pre-

sided by Suren Gayan .

Among other intellectuals on the dais Keshav Saikia , Samiran Bordoloi , Punaram Baruah and Dr Kutubuddin Ahmed where also present . The award was conferred to Keshav Saikia which included Seleng Appreciation letter and books. Many people were present in the ceremony.

Book on Children to be release ET Correspondent Golaghat, Dec 3: A book released ceremony will be held at the Head office of Golaghat District Journalist Association on January 10.

An upcoming writer, poet and a teacher at Gelabil High school Barpathar in Golaghat. Dilip Kumar Sharma's book entitled

"Children and their Relations" will be launched January 10.

The book will be published by Golaghat District Journalist Association.

Noted educationist and film producer Dinesh Gogoi will release the book at Golaghat District Journalist Association office premises.

Concluding ceremony of Panigaon Model HS School begins in full swing ET Correspondent Lakhimpur; Jan 3: The Concluding Ceremony of the yearlong Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Panigaon Model Higher Secondary School of Lakhimpur began today with a three day long program with full gaiety and fervor. Being established in 1966 in the southern part of the district, the school has carried out an epoch-making roll in illuminating the light education not only in the district but also in the State.

Today the day was dedicated for the ex-students. The program began with the unfurling of the schools flag by Hemanta Saikia, the Principal cum Secretary of the Celebration Committee.

The event was administered by internationally famous scientist and innovator Uddhav Bhorali. Cordial interaction among the ex-students commenced as per agenda which was anchored

by Joint Secretary Krishna Das and Dwijen Borah.

Founder Principal Paresh Borah lit the earthen lamp.

These events were inaugurated by Manik Sarmah, the retired Research Officer of Guwahati Veterinery College and chaired by Dr Jiten Bhuyan, Assistant Director of the Veterinary Department of the State. Both of them are the ex-students of the school.

Meanwhile, ex-teachers and the at present teachers of the school were warmly felicitated by the ex-students in the event. On the other hand, cordial interaction(Satirtha Sanmilan) was anchored by ex-student cum journalist Kumud Baruah in the association with Ranjit Kakoti, the ex student. Several exstudents expressed their feelings and experience in the programme. The Open session commenced from 2pm

All BTC Modern song competition from January Bathou Mahasabha observed Shajid Khan Tangla, Jan 3: All BTC Modern song competition is being organized by Khagrabari Sports Association of Udalguri Khagrabari Janta High School playground with a four-day programme from January 6 to January 9. A total of

twenty competitors,five from each of the BTAD districts,will take part in the competition.The competitors can also sing modern songs of various languages. A team of experts will judge and select three of twenty competitors as winner and first and second runners-up.

from February 6 to 9

Confident that all terrorists will be killed, says Rajnath Contd. from Page 1

After visiting the international border along Bangladesh in Karimganj with Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the Home Minister said the fencing of the remaining portion of the border will be completed by December 2015.

Singh further said the riverine border will also be secured completely as illegal immigration takes place

through the rivers in Assam.

Besides, he said the Central government will initiate some special steps to develop the Barak Valley.

Talking about road communication, Singh said the Central government is giving emphasis on development of road infrastructure in North East.

"The Centre has sanctioned Rs 92,000 crore for developing this region's road communication and the work is being carried out with high priority," he added.

How brave Lt. Col. Niranjan of NSG was martyred Defence sources said Niranjan, a resident of Kerala, was killed while trying to retrieve the grenade from the body of a dead terrorist.

through the air force base on Sunday morning claiming the life of an NSG commando, as three other security men succumbed to injuries in a hospital after Saturday's terror attack taking the toll of Indian security personnel to seven

“Pained to know about demise of Lt. Col. Niranjan of NSG, nation salutes his sacrifice,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.

A fresh grenade blast ripped

Meanwhile, the joint combing operation was still underway, a police official said, adding that the NIA had taken over the probe into the terror incident.

Contd. from Page 1

Organisers perform rituals during the foundation pillar installation programme. Pic - Shajid Khan Shajid Khan Tangla, Jan 3: The silver jubilee session of Udalguri district ‘Bathou Mahasabha’ is going to be held at Harisinga from February 6 to 9, 2016. The Harisinga Bathaou Anchalik has taken the initiative to organise this big religious event of the Bodo culture. The venue of the event is fixed at Sonaisri Fwthar, Harisinga. The four days will be marked by various cultural,religious programmes, along with exhibition of sericulture,agriculture,culture of bodo community would be held.Harisinga Bathaou Mahasabha Anchalik has

taken the initiative to organise the event.The foundation pillar of the silver jubilee programme of the Bathou Mahasabha was instilled on December 13 last at Sonaisri Fwthar, Harisinga in Udalguri district. The pillar was laid by Founder of Udalguri Bathaou Mahasabha 'Alongbor Babru Bahan Swargiary' in presence of large gathering of people.Talking to this correspondent one of the volunteer Hemanta Daimari said that it is the biggest cultural abd religious festival of the Bathaou community who are devotees of Hindu God Lord Shiva.

Pathankot attack: Terrorists aim stands defeated, says Home Secretary Contd. from Page 1

Mehrishi, who was addressing a joint press conference with Air Marshal Anil Khosla, Director General, Air Operations, Air Headquarters, said six Air Force personnel and one National Security Guard (NSG) man was killed in the operation, while eight Air Force and 12 NSG personnel received injuries.

Paying homage to the brave hearts, Air Marshal Khosla said these lives were not lost in vain and their sacrifice really helped us in saving the situation and not allowing the terrorists in their design.

Divulging detail of the operation, Air Marshal Khosla said, "An advance warning was given and all the airfields in the area

was put on alert, especially Pathankot area...Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Western Command himself went to the airfield and supervised all the operations." "The coordination was done by all the security agencies - Air Force, NSG, Army and the Punjab Police - and all aerial assets were put into place for air surveillance.

All these efforts paid dividends and whatever inputs came they were investigated. At 3.30 in the morning yesterday (Saturday), while investigating one of the inputs, fire was opened by terrorists on one of the patrols - that is the first engagement took place," he added.

Air Marshal Khosla said the security forces coordinated very well and didn't let the terrorists go towards the technical area where all important, highvalue assets and aerial

platforms were kept.

"These terrorists were contained, operation continued and by Saturday evening, four of them were neutralised. The airfield could not be declared fully sanitised till the each and every place is checked, and ascertained that there is no anti-national element is present there," he added.

Air Marshal Khosla further said the operation slowed down in the night, adding that the areas were cordoned and terrorists were not allowed to move anywhere.

"In the morning, when the bodies of the terrorists were being recovered, the fire was noticed again. It was realised that there were two more and the operations are continuing to neutralise these two also.

The operations are at the

mature stage, but the confirmation we gave was only once we physically see the bodies of the terrorists," he added.

Air Marshal Khosla lauded the coordination between all the agencies during the operation.

"The coordination between all the agencies was very good and pro-active stance helped us in averting a much bigger and a major damage of calamity," Air Marshal Khosla said.

"In Pathankot airbase, the combing operation is still going on. During the search operation, a blast was reported from inside in which a Lt. Col. of the Indian Army lost his life and five commandos were injured who are being treated. The total number of martyrs during the operation has reached seven so far," he added. (ANI)

and it was chaired by Thagiram Bhuyan, the President of the Alumni Association and inaugurated by Gobin Borah, the Principal of Lakhimpur DIET. Former teacher Phani Baruah participated as the Appointed Speaker while Dr. Anil Saikia, the Rtd. Principal of Moran College, the researcher of folk culture was present as the Chief Guest. Dr. Kiran Hajarika, the ex-student cum the Principal of Tengakhat College took part in the meeting as a Special Guest. On the other hand, Rukma Gohainbaruah, the Principal of Lakhimpur PGT College released the souvenir 'Satirtha'. Ex-student Ananta Dutta, Scientist of BASF Chemical Company, Sanghai, China inaugurated the Sonali Kalyan Nyash- a trust for the poor student constituted by the ex-students. A colourful cultural night was held from

6pm with the lighting of earthen lamp by Music ex-

pert Bhabananda Baruah.

Film actress cum ex-student

Jaya Saikia Duwarah inaugurated the cultural night.

10 assam battalion ncc group camp starts at dhsk college A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Jan 3: 10 Assam Battalion Camp has started from 2nd January at DHSK College, Dibrugarh.

The Group Camp is attended by about 500 NCC Cadets. Colonel Ghuman has informed that the objectives of this camp is to enhance personality development and leadership quality as well as to provide sufficient training to the cadet at arms operation.

Mr.Ghuman has also informed that cadets will be selected from this camping event to participate in Republic Day parade. The college authority has newly renovated the DHSK Boys Hostel to provide better lodging facility of the participating cadets. Cadets at-

NCC Cadets take a group photograph with Brigadier Sanjiv Manchanda and other officials. ET Photo tending the camp begin their day with physical training and end this day with evening cultural programme. Training of the cadets are being done un-

der the supervision of 10 Assam Battalion officers. A parade ground has also been prepared at the open field situated at the back of the college premises.

Group Commander SanjivManchand, who was here to supervise the camp, has expressed his deep satisfaction at the successful launch of this event.

Without language, literature and culture no any nation can prosper ABSU, Khaneswar Boro, Social worker , Dhekiajuli area, Dr. Birendra Kumar Nath among others.

Bodo girls in traditional attire perform a dance during the conference. Pic Shambhu Boro.

Shambhu Boro Tezpur, Jan 3 : Giving a clarion call to the people of the Boro Society to devote themselves for the development of language, literature, culture and heritage noted litterateur, Vice President of Boro Sahitya Sabha, Biseswar Basumatary said that without language, literature and culture no any nation can prosper as a nation without language, literature and culture is like a human being without back bone. The noted Boro litterateur who was addressing a mammoth gathering at the open session of the 42nd Annual conference of the Tezpur District Bodo Sahitya Sabha that came to end today here at Gormara-Shantipur Rangjali Play ground a remote rural area along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border falling under the Dhekiajuli PS in Sonitpur District speaking on how the BSS has been getting involved in an untiring struggle for the development of the Boro nation since it’s inception further said that Now the language has attained a position of

pride with the opening of the Post-Graduate Courses in Bodo language and literature in the University of Gauhati in 1996 and in Bodoland University, Kokrajhar. “Moreover, under the aegis of the commission for Scientific and Technical terminology, HRD Ministry, the Govt. of India, the Bodo Sahitya Sabha is preparing more than forty thousand scientific and technical terms in Bodo language. Further, it is promised, the Sahitya Academy would accord "Bhasa Sonman"(respect for language) to the Bodo language and literature as an initial token of full-fledged recognition to it. Furthermore, the Govt. of India, in principle, has recognized the necessity of inclusion of the Bodo language and literature in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Moreover the Bodo Sahitya Sabha has to its credit a large number of books on prose, poetry, drama, short story, novel, biography, travelogue, children's literature & criticism.” He said adding till date amidst many chal-

lenges Bodos have been able to present good show in various field including language, culture, literature etc. “But it is not focused in a proper manner for even the media is also to blamed as we have noticed that in many cases media plays a discriminatory role in highlighting the good thing happened in the Bodo society.”

He alleged. Moreover, expressing serious concern over the matter of worst condition of a large number of Bodo people scattered in various places of the world including in Nepal he said that bowing to the unwanted dire consequences and assimilation many Bodos have been diverted to Assamese nation accepting their culture and which has posed a serious threat to the very existence of the Boro Community.

The open session held under the aegis of the president of the Tezpur District Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Liladhar Boro was attended by secretary, BSS, Prasanta Boro, Adviser, ABSU, Khwngkhra Swargyary, general Secretary, Sonitpur

Prior to it in the morning President of the District Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Liladhar Boro, unfurled the flag of the Bodo literary body at 8 Am. Which was followed by unveiling of Bodo Sahitya Sabha’s tomb

by Vice President, TDBSS, Amrit Machi Daimary, at 8.30 Am, homage to the martyrs at 9 Am started by vice president of the district committee BSS, Kabiram Brahma. At 10 Am a felicitation programme was held being chaired by Dr. Tulan Muchahari, Prof. LOKD, College. The souvenir edited by the reception committee and the annual mouthpiece of the district committee Bodo Sahitya Sabha (Sonitpuri) were released by parliamentary secretary, Forest and environment, Habul Chakrabarty at 11.30 Am. Earlier on January 2 evening a delegate meeting was held wherein the old committee was dissolved and after a threadbare debate on various issues a new district committee was formed taking noted social worker Paduram Boro as president and Madan Basumatary as general secretary. Besides this some important resolution including opposing of Boro Kochari Development council that was declared by the state chief minister, Tarun Gogoi on 1st January for the Bodos living outside BTAD was unanimously taken.

PAGE 5

REGION

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

Nagaland CM asks XCountry's first yacht project at Howrah people to work for a peaceful 2016

Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang

Dimapur ,Jan 3:Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang has called upon the people of the state to collectively work for a peaceful and progressive year and look forward to positive changes and harmony within the society."2016 be a year charts out our dreams into a reality of long lasting peace in the land of Nagas," Zeliang said in his New Year message here last night.

Nagas should continue to maintain harmony and tranquillity among themselves and with

neighbours while remembering that peace was essential for the state to progress and be on par with the rest of the world, he said.Zeliang called upon various NGOs, tribal Hohos, organisations and common people to contribute in maintaining peace in the state and continue to work towards bringing the Naga Political Groups together.The Chief Minister urged the people to be environmentally conscious and work towards keeping Nagaland Green by 2020. (Agencies)

State BJP gets new president

( From left) some of the candidates contesting from Shillong parliamentary constituency - CPI's Richard D. Shabong, BJP candidate Shibun Lyngdoh Shillong, Jan 3: In a major shake-up just two years ahead of the next Assembly polls, BJP leader from East Jaintia Hills Shibun Lyngdoh was appointed as the new president of the party in place of Khlur S. Lyngdoh.Lyngdoh had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls for the Shillong seat. However, he came first in the urban constituencies of North Shillong (5165 votes) West Shillong (6591) South Shillong (10534) and Pynthorumkhrah(6984).Though he came fourth after the sitting MP Vincent Pala, Independent candidate PBM Basaiawmoit and UDP's Paul Lyngdoh, the BJP leader secured 15. 48 per cent vote share.Hailing from Khliehriat, Lyndoh had also unsuccessfully contested the election to JHADC from Rymbai in 1994 as an Independent candidate.In a statement issued here on Saturday, Ranjit Mazumdar, the BJP co-coordinator for Meghalaya and Mizoram said that while Lyngdoh was unanimously elected as the state president of the party, Edmund Sangma was elected as the National Council Member from Tura.

Maheish Girri, National Secretary and MP from Delhi conducted the election while, Nalin S. Kohli, national spokesperson, BJP and in charge Meghalaya, H. S. Syemlieh State Election Officer were also present.All the state council members, state office bearers, district presidents have attended the meeting.Sources said that though the outgoing party president Khlur S. Lyngdoh was offered the post of National Executive Member from Khasi-Jaintia Hills, he is yet to accept the offer.

When contacted, the 47year-old new BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh said that the next move will be to form the full executive committee by holding discussion with the state party leaders.Asked about the changes in the new Executive Committee, Lyngdoh said that he would like to work with both the new and old members.

Kolkata, Jan 3: India's first urban yacht marina project, along with a residential area, will come up in Howrah on the banks of the Hooghly river. A marina is a sheltered harbor area where private yachts and boats can be parked on the water with fuel lines, fresh water supplies and shore power for the boats."Marina Grand is an urban yacht marina project on the banks of Hooghly river on Howrah side, very close to the main city centre of Kolkata. It will also have residential area connected to the Marina. Such integrated

India's first urban yacht marina project will come up in Howrah

project is the first so far," Marina Infra Projects managing director Samir Prasad said.The project

report is being finalised and the project will be launched in mid-2016. The company has already pro-

cured land for it; he said.The project is in two parts - the marina and a 6 lakh sq ft of residential development along with a highly privileged yacht club. Prasad said the marina project, including the real estate development, will cost around Rs 250 crore. There will be berthing capability of upto 50 yachts and some inventory may cost about Rs 100 crore. Asked whether the project can run into hurdles after the one at Goa got into rough weather, Prasad said, "This project, being on Hooghly River, does not

Paswan takes swipe at Lalu over law New Delhi, Jan 3: As a virtual war of words broke out between JD(U) and RJD in the wake of murders of engineers in Bihar, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan , Jan 3 took a jibe at his one-time ally Lalu Prasad saying what can be more "ridiculous" than the latter talking about law and order. Paswan also reiterated that the alliance between RJD and JD(U) will "not last long" and the coalition government in the state, led by Nitish Kumar, will not complete its full term.The recent murders of three engineers have led to an verbal dual between the alliance partners with leaders of the two parties attacking each other. In a bid to fish in troubled waters, Paswan, who had in past allied with RJD, trained his guns on Prasad. "What can be more ridiculous than Lalu Prasad telling Nitish what is law and order all about.

What right the RJD chief

has to advise on the issue of law and order. All that is happening today is happening due to him. "He planted the seeds of this during 15-year-long rule of RJD, which flourished during the 10-year-rule of Nitish Kumar and is giving the fruits till date," Paswan said. The Union Minister claimed the Nitish Kumar government in the state will not last more than two years. "Now the evidence of what I had said is coming. It's Lalu ruling while the crown is on Nitish (Nitish Ke Sar Pe Taaj Hai, Lalu Ka Raaj Hai).

Nitish Kumar is helpless.

Lalu is repeatedly reminding him in his way that his party RJD has got more numbers than JD(U) in the Assembly polls. "This government will not complete the full five year tenure. But the downfall of Bihar will accelerated during this two or two and half beyond which the government cannot last," Paswan said.

The RJD chief's comment on law and order in the wake of killing of two engineers of a road construction company at Darbhanga on Saturday has provided ammunition

kaar' (hailing words) which they should end and take strong measures to rein in crime causing disturbance to people."

JD(U) too reacted sharply, with former minister

Paswan also reiterated that the alliance between RJD and JD(U) will "not last long" and the coalition government in the state, led by Nitish Kumar

to opposition BJP to attack the Nitish Kumar government. After Prasad's apparent snub, senior RJD leader Raghubansh Prasad Singh expressed concern over the rise in crime, and said, "JD(U) people are in the habit of hearing 'jay

Shyam Rajak saying Kumar had shown his merit in pulling Bihar out of dark days and hence he needed no lesson from anybody. "Even a child can give advice," he said apparently reacting to Singh's comments. (Agencies)

Jharkhand govt framing small industry policy : Das Shedpur,Jan 3: To promote small scale industries in Jharkhand, the government is framing a small scale industry policy, Chief Minister Raghubar Das said."We are expected to give a concrete shape to the policy in a month's time," Das told a press conference here adding Jharkhand has abundant mineral resources and the mining-based policy would help to set up value-added plants as small scale industries generate maximum employment opportunities.

The government's aim is to ensure development of industry, agriculture,

IT and tourism sectors and it has taken initiatives in this regard. He said," We want to make mineral-rich Jharkhand a hub for sectors across," the chief minister said claiming that the state has enough potential for the growth of automobile and energy sectors.So far the state has attracted investment of Rs 58,000 crore and work on projects worth Rs 32,000 crore would begin soon, including the Rs 1050 crore project in the food processing sector.Industrial development estates in Jharkhand such as Ranchi and Bokaro In-

dustrial Area Development Authority have attracted Rs 1000 crore online for allotment of 200 acres for the projects in the state, he said.About investment

by Adani group in the power sector in Latehar district, Das said the coal block has already been allotted and the construction of the power plant was on. He said the construction work on the Rs 9000 crore HazaribaghBaharagora expressway was on and Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari would lay the foundation of the Baharagora part in East

Singhbhum district later this month. Referring to the coal town of Jharia, which is beset with the problem of underground fire, Das said a new town would be developed in one and half year's time.He also announced that the state government would make arrangements for poor families for "Bharat and Jharkhand Darshan" trip at its cost. Under it families, who have never ventured out of their village nor experienced travelling in trains, would be taken for the Darshan in 2016. (Agencies)

"We will call a meeting to select the team", he said.

Lyngdoh asserted that he would make efforts to revamp the party and add new members and units.

(Agencies)

Elderly woman killed; JTYO protest Dimapur, Jan 3: Shops and business establishments including vehicular movement in Jalukie town came to a halt for several hours when protestors clamped a total shutdown after the badly mauled dead body of an elderly woman from Mpai village was discovered Saturday.According to reports, the victim suffered deep cuts on the head and probably succumbed to injuries early Saturday morning. Sources suspect that miscreants had gone to the house of the victim to commit robbery Sunday night and had hacked her on the head. The victim, sources said, used to sell locally

fermented beans to earn a living.Meanwhile, Jalukie Town Youth Organization expressed strong condemnation over the horrific murder of Akiam, of Old Market Colony Jalukie town.

JTYO president Ireu Zeliang said such incidents were rare and could not be tolerated under any circumstances. It further appealed to the district administration and the police to immediately arrest the culprit and take appropriate measures to prevent such cases in the future.

Further, JTYO also offered its deepest condolence to the bereaved family.

(Agencies)

fall under Coastal Regulation Zone, so it is not proper to compare it with the Goa project."He said there have been presentations before both the state government and the Centre (Shipping Ministry) and they have shown keen interest.At least two other marina projects are pro-

posed on government land in Mumbai -- on Victoria docks of JNPT and at Alibag. Tender for Alibag marina has been floated but bidders have complained about the location being considered, Prasad said. Marina Infra is one of the bidders for the project. (Agencies)

India's first urban yacht marina project, along with a residential area, will come up in Howrah on the banks of the Hooghly river. Marina Grand is an urban yacht marina project on the banks of Hooghly River on Howrah side, very close to the main city centre of Kolkata

Sibal to represent state in ad case Kolkata, Jan 3: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal would represent Bengal government in the Supreme Court in the case of publishing chief minister Mamata Banerjee's photographs in government advertisements.In May, the Supreme Court had directed that only photographs of the Prime Minister, President and Chief Justice of India would be permitted in government p u b l i c i t y material.However, Bengal along with three other non-BJP governed states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Assam appealed against the verdict urging that the order be revoked. Following this, the Supreme Court decided to reconsider the verdict and the next hearing is scheduled this month.Ahead of the polls, the state government considers it essential to lift the ban so that Miss Banerjee's photographs can be used in advertisements

publicising the various achievements.An official said that the state government would put up two main arguments.

The first justification is that in a federal system, the chief minister is the administrative head of a state so it is contradictory to allow the Prime Minister's photograph but ban the photograph of the chief minister.The second argument is that there are certain schemes that are essentially Bengalcentric wherein the Centre has no contribution. So it would be unfortunate if the photograph of the chief minister is absent in the advertisements publicising those schemes. "What's wrong if the political party in power carries the chief minister's photograph in government advertisements focusing on the achievements of the government if the same privilege is enjoyed by the Union government?" questioned an official. (Agencies)

Minor girl raped; 12-hr Bhandari bandh on Jan 4 Dimapur, Jan 3: A 9year old girl was allegedly raped by two persons on Saturday morning under Bhandari jurisdiction.In protest against the incident, Lotha Lower Range Public Organization (LLRPO) Bhandari has called for a 12-hour bandh on January 4 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., LLRPO general secretary, R Kemerio Yanthan informed in a press release.He said soon after hearing the news, local youths were alerted and conducted a search around the area where the incident took place and apprehended two suspected persons. However, administration and police rushed to the spot and took custody of the apprehended persons and was later sent to Bhandari police station for interrogation and medical examination, LLRPO stated.

However,

LLRPO said that the medical examination could not be carried out due to non-availability of equipments at the community health centre, Bhandari.

In this regard, the medical tests would be carried out at Wokha civil hospital, LLRPO added.Meanwhile, the organization has expressed sympathy to the victim and condemned the heinous act committed on the innocent minor girl."A total bandh has been called to express solidarity with the victim and family and protest against the barbaric actions of the persons involved", Yanthan stated.Meanwhile, Lotha Lower Range Public Organization has appealed to all passenger vehicles/ travelers plying through Bhandari to cooperate during the proposed bandh. (Agencies)

14 idols stolen from Vaishali mutt

Protest against Jaish-e-Mohammed in Delhi. Pic - UB Photos

Kolkata, Jan 3: Fourteen ashtadhatu idols of Hindu deities were stolen from Baligaon mutt of Vaishali in the wee hours of Friday. The incident comes at a time when the Bihar government has given go-ahead to a plan to fence temple and mutts to prevent idol thefts, which saw a spurt over the past two months.

The 14

ashtadhatu statues are valued at over Rs 1.5 crore. Police said the incident took place around 3 am on January 1 at a mutt at Imadpur village in Baligaon police station area. The statues are said to be 200 years old and are of high antique value. The mutt is not registered with Bihar Rajya Dharmik Nyas Parishad. (Agencies)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

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Pathankot: NSG Lt. Col martyred, jawan injured in combing ops Pathankot, Jan. 3 : Lt Colonel Niranjan E. Kumar succumbed to his injuries today and another National Security Guard (NSG) jawan has been injured in the combing operation that is currently underway at the Pathankot Air Force Base.The NGS officer was gravely injured when he accidently set of an explosive device that was strapped to the

body of a slain terrorist.The injured jawan has been rushed to the hospital for treatment.Meanwhile, a loud explosion has been heard from the operation and reports are emerging of fresh gunfire from the Base.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe in the attack and has reportedly sought assistance from the Punjab

Three Maharashtrian students abducted by Maoists in Chhattisgarh Raipur, Jan. 3 : Three Maharashtrian students, who were on a on a cycle tour in order to spread message of peace in the Naxal-hit areas, have been abducted by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.The students, who began their rally from Pune to Malkangiri of Odisha, have been identified as Adarsh Patil, Bilash Valake and Shrikrishna Shewale.

The Chhattisgarh Police has not confirmed any report

of their abduction.The Bijapur Superintendent of Police, however, said that he received information about their abduction from his Gadchiroli counterpart.Based on the information provided by the Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police, the Bijapur Police is investigating the matter and making all attempts to locate the missing students.The Maoists are said to be India's greatest internal security threat. (ANI)

RSS Leader Defends PM Modi's Lunch Meeting With Nawaz Sharif

The statement by the senior RSS functionary defending PM Modi's decision to visit the neighbouring country came on a day when Pakistani terrorists attacked IAF base in Pathankot.

Indore, Jan 3: RSS' joint general secretary Dattatraya Hosbole said in Indore today that his organization didn't think that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a mistake in lunching at the residence of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore last month. The statement by the senior RSS functionary defending PM Modi's decision to visit the neighbouring country came on a day when Pakistani terrorists attacked IAF base in Pathankot."Why shouldn't Modi eat with Nawaz Sharif? We don't oppose this. We believe the whole world is one family and it's our duty that we behave well with others. This is India's religion, this religion should be followed," Mr Hosbole said speaking to reporters at Vishwa Sangh Shivir in Indore."The National Security Adviser of India is capable of dealing with the issue of terrorism. We have full confidence that he would deal with the issue in the right way," the RSS leader added. Mr Hosbole further said "one has to use various means such as persuasion-purchase-punishexploitation of division

('saam-daam-dandbhed') as per the circumstances. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee undertook bus journey to Lahore but the Kargil war too was fought during his tenure."The RSS leader also praised PM Modi for getting Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to attend Gangaaarati in Varanasi during his visit to India.

"The heads of all the prominent countries visit other countries to develop diplomatic ties.

But the Prime Minister of India, an RSS volunteer that he is also got the Prime Minister of another country to perform Ganga-aarati in India," Mr Hosbole said.To a question on Nepal, he said RSS wanted good relations with that country."Nepalis live in India in large numbers.

But in the last five months (during the political logjam in that country which has strained the bilateral ties), no Nepali has been harmed in India. Nor have the Indians living in Nepal come to any harm.

Nepal is witnessing a political strife such as every country witnesses," he said. (Agencies)

"Why shouldn't Modi eat with Nawaz Sharif? We don't oppose this.

We believe the whole world is one family and it's our duty that we behave well with others. This is India's religion, this religion should be followed," Mr Hosbole said

NSG Lt. Col martyred, jawan injured in combing ops

Police and the Central Intelligence Bureau.So far, the death toll of the martyred in the Pathankot Air Force Base attack has risen to seven.A Garud commando and two Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel succumbed to their injuries in the hospital last night. Eight DSC jawans and a Garud commando have been injured in the attack. (ANI)

Lt Colonel Niranjan E. Kumar succumbed to his injuries today and another National Security Guard (NSG) jawan has been injured in the combing operation that is currently underway at the Pathankot Air Force Base

New files dismiss claims of Netaji's presence in China London, Jan. 3 : A new set of documents, which have been released by a UK-based website set up to chart the last days of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, has dismissed the claims that he may have been spotted in China years after his death in a plane crash.The website - www.bosefiles.info reproduced a telegram from the Indian Embassy in Beijing contradicting claims in India about the nationalist leader being in the Chinese capital in 1952.In 1955, long after Netaji was reported dead as a result of a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945, S.M. Goswami, an ardent

admirer of Bose, published a pamphlet in India with the heading 'Netaji Mystery Revealed'.It carried a picture of Chinese officials with a Mongolian trade delegation said to have been taken in 1952.

Goswami pointed out one of the persons in the photograph to be Bose.Appearing as a witness before the 1956 Netaji Inquiry Committee, he presented the photo as evidence of Bose being alive, and contrary to reports of his death in 1945.The committee sent the exhibit to the Indian Embassy in Beijing for identification.

The diplomatic mission forwarded it to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.Following a response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the embassy cabled India's Ministry of External Affairs: "Concerning alleged photograph of Subhas Chandra Bose: We showed this to Foreign Office who have informed us that the photograph is of Lee Ke Hung, Medical Superintendent of PUMC (Peking University Medical College)."Ashis Ray, the London-based journalist who has set up the website, said: "The telegram exposes one of

countless attempts over 70 years to spread disinformation about Subhas Bose."On December 7, bosefiles.info exposed claims about Bose having escaped to the Soviet Union in 1945.It posted two diplomatic notes from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent in 1992 and 1995 respectively and a public statement by the then Russian Ambassador in India in 1996, which unanimously confirmed there was no information in the Soviet or KGB archives about Bose entering the Soviet Union in or after 1945.

(ANI)

Mexico mayor slain a day after taking office Mexico ,Jan 3 :The mayor of a city south of Mexico's capital was shot to death yesterday, less than a day after taking office, officials said.Gunmen opened fire on Mayor Gisela Mota at her house in the city of Temixco, said the government of Morelos state, where Temixco is located. Two presumed assailants were killed and three others detained following a pursuit, said Morelos security commissioner Jesus Alberto Capella. He said the suspects fired on federal police and soldiers from a vehicle.On his Twitter account, Morelos Gov. Graco Ramirez attributed Mota's killing to organized crime, without cit-

Forensic investigators gather outside residence of slain mayor

ing a particular drug cartel or gang. Cartels seeking to control communities and towns have often targeted local officials and mayors in Mexico.Mota's leftist Democratic Revolution Party released a statement describing her as "a strong and brave woman who on taking office as

mayor, declared that her fight against crime would be frontal and direct."Mota, who had been a federal congresswoman, was sworn into office on New Year's Day. She was killed the following day.Morelos Gov. Ramirez vowed there "would be no impunity" in her killing and

promised that state officials would not cede to what he described as a "challenge from criminals."Federal and state forces are deployed in Cuernavaca and municipalities near the Guerrero state border in what is called operation "Delta."Capella did not provide more details about the attack on Mota, but said that when the suspects were detained, authorities found a 9-millimeter gun, an Uzi, ski masks and an SUV with Mexico State license plates.Morelos Attorney General Javier Perez Duron said the detained suspects have been tied to other crimes, but declined to provide more details. (Agencies)

PM Modi for greater scientific cooperation between state, central institutions

MinisterNarendra Modi Mysuru, Jan. 3 : Calling for greater scientific cooperation between the state and central institutions, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi today said that his government would strive to make scientific activities and research easier in the country.Speaking at the inauguration of 103rd Indian Science Congress in Mysuru, the Prime Minister said the government would increase the level of resources for science and deploy them in accordance with strategic priorities."We will make it easier to do science and research in India.I am encouraging greater scientific collaboration between the central and state institutions and

agencies. We will try to increase the level of resources for science and deploy them in accordance with our strategic priorities," he said.He said that the government would launch 'start-up India' programme to encourage innovation and enterprise.Highlighting the impact that the digital India campaign has had on the nation, Prime Minister Modi said, "Our digital networks are expanding the quality and reach of public services and social benefits for the poor."He also said good governance is the key to integrate science and technology activities in the nation."For me, good governance is not just about policy and deci-

sion-making, transparency and accountability.

As we increase the level of our ambition for our people, we will also have to increase the scale of our efforts," he said."Innovation must not be just the goal of our science. Innovation must also drive the scientific process .And we are once again turning towards scientists and innovators to realize our goals of human welfare and economic development," he added. Emphasising that innovation is the key for combating climate change, the Prime Minister further said that clean energy technology must be made available to all."Innovation is important not just for combating climate change, but also for climate justice. We need research and innovation to make clean energy technology available, accessible and affordable for all," he

said."We have to develop climate resilient agriculture. We must understand impact of climate change on our bio-diversity, oceans and glaciers. We need innovation to make renewable energy much cheaper, more reliable and easier to connect to transmission grids," he added.He urged the scientific community to develop better scientific tools to improve city planning with sensitivity to local ecology and heritage.Prime Minister Modi said the impact of science will be the strongest when scientists keep five Es: economy, environment, energy, empathy and equity in mind.The Prime Minister also lauded the University of Mysore for maintaining high standards of education."Some of the tallest leaders of India have passed through the doors of this respected institution," he said. (ANI)

Speaking at the inauguration of 103rd Indian Science Congress in Mysuru, the Prime Minister said the government would increase the level of resources for science and deploy them in accordance with strategic priorities.

Govt. must take opposition into confidence: JD (U) on GST Bill

Govt. must take opposition into confidence: JD (U) on GST Bill

New Delhi, Jan. 3 : The Janata Dal (United) todaysaid that the BJPled NDA Government should take the opposition into confidence and resolve all contention issues through discussion for smooth passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in Parliament.JD (U) leader K.C. Tyagi, who was reacting to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's assertion that the government is hopeful of passage of the GST Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament, said the ruling dispensation should take all the parties into confidence for the same."90 percent of the parties are in support of the GST Bill. If there is some disagreement on one or two issue, it should be resolved through discussion. The GST Bill should be passed by tak-

ing everyone into confidence," Tyagi told ANI here. Jaitley yesterday exuded confidence that the government would pass the landmark GST Bill in the next session as numbers in the Rajya Sabha will tilt in its favour."Halfway through the next session, the numbers in the Upper House will also change. I am reasonably optimistic as far as the next session is concerned that we will be able to push it (GST Bill)," Jaitley said, as the strength of parliamentarians belonging to the Congress and its allies would start to diminish.The new tax regime should have been introduced much earlier, said Jaitley. The government had announced a target date of April 2016 for the rollout of the GST regime, but is now eyeing a start in the middle of fiscal year 2016-17. (ANI)

12 injured in road mishap Jamui, Jan 3: At least 12 passengers were injured today in a collision between two buses on Sikandara-Nawada road here, a police officer said.The mishap occurred this morning as two private buses collided with each other near

Gharsanda Road crossing at Sikndara leaving at least 12 injured, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI) Ashok Singh said.The injured persons have been admitted to a Primary Health Centre (PHC), he said.

(Agencies)

President Condemns Terror Attack on Pathankot Air Base New Delhi ,Jan 3: President Pranab Mukherjee condemned the terrorist attack at an Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Punjab's P a t h a n k o t town."Strongly condemn the terrorist attack on Air Force Base in Pathankot in Punjab," the President said in a tweet.

President Mukherjee expressed his condolences to the families of Indian soldiers who lost their lives and applauded the

security forces for their befitting response to the attack. "Heartfelt condolences to the grieving families of our brave soldiers who lost their lives in the attack.

Compliments to our jawans for their valour and courage while fighting terrorists," he said in another tweet.He said the security forces should remain vigilant against any threat to the peace and security of the nation. (Agencies)

J-K CM Mufti critical but stable: AIIMS New Delhi, Jan. 3: The condition of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed continues to be critical but stable, according to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)On 24th December, the 79 year-old leader was airlifted to AIIMS in the national capital from Srinagar after he complained of ex-

haustion. An AIIMS spokesperson said that the Chief Minister, who has a history of fever and neck pain, was diagnosed as having decreased blood counts, pneumonia and sepsis.Meanwhile, State Governor NN Vohra visited him at the hospital and enquired about the health of the Chief Minister. (ANI)

Rajnath Singh to Visit Assam for 2 Days New Delhi,Jan 3: Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a two-day tour to Assam beginning today during which he will visit some forward areas along IndoBangladesh border.Mr Singh will visit Karimganj and attend a public meeting at Ramakrishna Nagar.The Home Minister

will also hold a meeting with some prominent persons of Assam in Guwahati today evening.During the visit, Mr Singh will visit Sonahat border out post (BoP) in Dhubri on Monday and attend a public meeting at Bishkhowa. He will also visit Silpagram at Panjabari in Guwahati. (Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

NEIGHBOURS

Heavy smog alert for Beijing,seceral Chinese cities

Smog alert for Beijing Beijing ,Jan 3: China renewed its yellow alert today for pollution in several cities and provinces including the capital Beijing - a city of over 22 million population asking people to stay indoors and take precautions.

Smog will persist in China from Sunday to Monday morning, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said as it renewed its yellow alert for several cities and provinces. On Saturday night, it issued orange alert which is only next to red for some cities. China has a four-tier colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Sichuan will

experience smog from Sunday to Monday morning, the NMC said. Smog will be particularly heavy in parts of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Liaoning. The public have been warned to take protective measures when engaging in outdoor activities and those who suffer from respiratory diseases are advised to stay indoors, it said. In Beijing the levels of PM2.5, the smallest and

deadliest form of airborne particulate matter, touched 300 yesterday, regarded very harmful for citizens.

Beijing had a sunny morning today. The centre for the first time sounded red alert for smog on December 7 for the first time leading to host of measures including shutting down schools and regulating traffic with odd and even numbers. It repeated it two weeks later as the smog levels worsened. (Agencies)

China renewed its yellow alert today for pollution in several cities and provinces including the capital Beijing - a city of over 22 million population - asking people to stay indoors and take precautions

Jaishankar 'quizzed' on Nepal crisis Kathmandu, Jan 3: Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was grilled during a meeting of India's Standing Committee of Parliament on External Affairs for the Indian government's failure to anticipate the crisis in Nepal.Jaishankar on December 29 was asked searching questions for more than two hours by senior members of the committee who wanted to know

why India failed to anticipate the crisis in Nepal which has taken a toll on ties. He was also asked about his personal trip to Kathmandu on September 18, which was described as too late to prevent the promulgation of the constitution which triggered the internal crisis between the government and the protesting Madhesi parties.

Lawmakers also expressed

PAGE 7

their serious concern about a petroleum agreement between Nepal and China and rumours that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli would make his first trip to Beijing instead of Delhi. "India did not have its eye on the ball and was caught by surprise with the developments in Nepal," the Hindu quoted a lawmaker as saying in the meeting. (Agencies)

Indian political parties demand release of fishermen in Lanka Colombo, Jan 3:With 84 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and 10 from Karaikal languishing in Sri Lankan prisons, Indian political parties are demanding their immediate release. Pattali Makkal Katchi leader S Ramadoss alleged that Sri Lankan navy personnel were forcefully taking the fishermen from Indian waters and charging them falsely for trespassing into Sri Lanka's territorial waters.In a statement, Ramadoss said 29 fishermen from Akkaraipettai in Nagapattinam district were fishing near Point Calimere when the Sri Lankan navy attacked and apprehended them."Incidents of the Sri Lankan navy falsely framing Indian fishermen and of the Sri Lankan navy infiltrating Indian waters have increased. Apprehending innocent fishermen and remanding them in custody for nearly 3 months in prison are human rights violations and is a very dangerous trend followed by Sri Lanka," he charged.

Ramadoss said that when the territorial borderline is

very narrow, it is not right to detain fishermen for trespassing. Hence, a long lasting solution has to be sought."The centre should ensure that both countries arrive at an amicable agreement to engage in fishing activities. Efforts should be taken to immediately release the detained fishermen and their boats," he said.Tamil Manila Congress president G K Vasan also urged the central government to ensure the release of the fishermen before the Pongal festival.Meanwhile, a Trincomalee court on Friday remanded 29 Nagapattinam fishermen held on December 30 in judicial custody till January 11. They have been lodged in the Trincomalee prison.In 2015, the Sri Lankan navy apprehended 466 fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in 27 cases. Fishermen activist U Arulanandam of the Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen said "a lasting solution will be to advise the fishermen of Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai and Nagapattinam to take up

With 84 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and 10 from Karaikal languishing in Sri Lankan prisons, Indian political parties are demanding their immediate release, deep sea fishing by providing the necessary equipment. Developing the Mukkaiyur fishing harbour in Ramanathapuram will be of great help," he said.Even though parties in Tamil Nadu have been claiming that fishermen are being taken forcibly by the Sri Lankan navy, the naval website has been posting documents of the coordinates of the Indian fishermen held by them. The re-

Taiwan could introduce workers from Myanmar by June: report Taipei, Jan. 3: Taiwan is planning to bring in workers from Myanmar on a trial basis in the first half of the year, Foreign Minister David Lin has confirmed.Lin was cited as saying that Southeast Asia has been the focus of Taipei's diplomatic initiatives in the past year, and it set up a representative office in Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, in December.Myanmar's government also set up the Myanmar Trade Office in Taipei in June 2015, and the next step, Lin said, could be to introduce workers from that country into Taiwan.Responding to speculation that Taiwan's

electronics companies will be allowed to hire workers from Myanmar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said separately that the introduction of such workers will be conducted on a trial basis and not be confined initially to a specific industry.Specific regulations, it said, will be drafted by the Ministry of Labor (MOL).Most of Taiwan's foreign laborers come from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and most domestic helpers come from Indonesia .But threats

by Indonesia's government to stop sending domestic helpers to Taiwan by 2017 has led to efforts to diver-

sify sources of foreign workers.Myanmar's government is willing to allow its workers to come to Taiwan, and the caliber and culture of that country's workers seem to be a good fit for Taiwan's needs, the MOFA has said.Other potential new sources of migrant workers, according to the Commercial Times report, are Sri Lanka and Laos. The Ministry of Labor denied a report on Dec. 3 that Taiwan was to introduce some 150 workers from Myanmar by the end of 2015, saying that the two sides had yet to decide on a time frame for the move.

(Agencies)

China rejects Vietnam Showdown on January 5 protest over sea flight test Dhaka ,Jan 3: Political situation of the country is heating up once again ahead of the second anniversary of the much-talked January 5 general elections, as both the ruling Awami League and its arch-rival BNP have announced programmes for that day in the capital.Last year, the BNP announced to hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on January 5 to mark "Democracy Killing Day" but could not do so as its Chairperson Khaleda Zia was allegedly "barred" from

racy Victory Day." Since both the parties announced simultaneous programmes, the authorities rejected both the applications.The BNP yesterday announced that they would hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on January 5, only a day after the party chief said that the incumbent government would have to leave office after holding a free and fair election soon.The Awami League has also announced that they would observe the day but did not specify the

strength enough while the Awami League has consolidated its power at the grassroots level."It is a noncooperation cycle and the cycle will not break soon.

The government is playing cat and mouse game with the opposition. They sometime ease the situation and sometime toughen it for the opposition," Ataur Rahman, a political scientist, told the media."If we look at the comparative political history, we even see a legitimate government wants to stay in power

China has rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea Beijing, Jan 3:China rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China's territory.

Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said that the test flight violated Vietnam's sovereignty, breached mutual understanding and hurt the bilateral relations."Vietnam resolutely protests Chinese above-said action and demand that China immediately stop, not repeat similar actions," he said in a statement.In a response Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the test flight on the newly built airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands was carried out to find out if the new airfield met the standards for civil aviation."Relevant activity falls completely within China's sovereignty," Hua said in a statement. "The

Chinese side will not accept the unfounded accusations from the Vietnamese side."China has become more assertive in pressing its claims to the South China Sea islands, an archipelago rich in natural resources that is the focal point of rival claims by neighboring governments.China has recently piled sand on coral reefs atop of which it built airfields, radar installations and docking facilities. As with most of its policy in the South China Sea, Beijing has remained opaque about its plans for the island

airstrips.Beijing insists its island building works are justified and don't constitute a threat to stability and freedom of navigation. The U.S. and its regional allies have expressed concern that China's robust assertion of its claims has aggravated tensions.Although Vietnam already has an airstrip in the Spratlys, it is just long enough to accommodate slow-moving cargo and surveillance planes. China's airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef is BNP insiders say the party has gained huge popularity after the municipal polls long enough for bombers capable of launching cruise leaving her Gulshan office to programme details or the using force and intimidation. missiles. (Agencies) attend the event.In protest, venue.The DMP authorities On the other hand, when the former premier an- last night said they would sit there is a less-legitimate govnounced countrywide in- today to discuss the ernment, they will not allow definite blockade which matter.After last year's coun- the opposition to be on the claimed more than 100 lives. trywide "violent" movement, field and mobilise the She also stayed in the office the BNP was apparently ab- people."BNP insiders say with some of her colleagues sent in the political arena for they want to stage an event during the three-month-long months, but it got a space on January 5 as the party movement demanding fresh by participating in the mu- has gained huge popularity elections.The Awami League nicipal polls to make a come- in the recent months with also announced rallies at 16 back, political observers the government holding a places of the capital to mark say.They think the situation farcical municipal election January 5 as the "Protection will not be dreadful like last using the state machinery. of Constitution and Democ- year as the BNP has lost its (Agencies)

China rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China's territory

cent detention of 29 fishermen was carried out 7 nautical miles northeast off Kokilai in Trincolmalee, according to the Sri Lankan navy.In 2015, Sri Lankan naval agencies (coast guard & navy) apprehended 466 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in 27 apprehensions.Post Diwali, 94 fishermen, including 10 fishermen from Karaikal, were apprehended and lodged in various

prisons.Four country boat fishermen from Point Calimere were stranded in Mannar coast on November 7. These four are yet to accounted in the count given by the state government.In 2015, 71 boats were detained by Sri Lanka in which 23 are from Rameswaram, 3 from Mandapam, 14 from Pudukottai, 20 from Nagapattinam, 10 from Karaikal and 1 boat from Tuticorin. (Agencies)

Pathankot attack: A bid to avenge Afzal Guru's execution Karachi, Jan. 3 : In a bid to avenge the death of Kashmiri militant Afzal Guru, a group of terrorists attacked the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot yesterday. According to the Dawn, the man who was abducted by four armed men along with two others revealed that the gunmen kept repeating 'You killed Afzal Guru and now we will

take revenge' as they slit the man's throat and left him to die.Guru was hanged in New Delhi's Tihar Jail for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack. The men, who were reportedly carrying assault rifles and grenades as well as a GPS navigation system, had a clear idea about the location of the base.

(ANI)

'No programme for AL, BNP at same venue'

'No programme for AL, BNP at same venue'

Dhaka, Jan 3 : DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah has said Awami League and BNP will not be allowed to hold programmes at the same venue on January 5.He made the statement while talking to the journalists after a programme at the Media Centre in Mintoo Road, Dhaka.Ruling Awami League and its arch-rival BNP have announced programmes an the same venue ahead of the second anniversary of the much-talked January 5 general elections.He said deputy commissioner of Ramna zone and officerin-charge of Shahbagh police station have been asked to submit a report regarding the current scenario of law and order condition in their areas.The DMP commissioner said: "We cannot give permission for any programme or rally that might pose a threat to the security of the public."However, he said

they would decide about the permission of the programmes after getting the report.Replying to a query about change of venue, he said: "If one of the parties decides to hold their programme peacefully in some other place then police don't not have any reason to stop them but if any one tries to conduct any subversive activity, then we will not spare them."We will become tougher."Earlier, police detained five leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami along with Tk1.47 cr from a house in the capital's Banasree area on Saturday evening.Talking about the arrest of five Jamaat leaders, he said: "It is still under trial and I cannot comment on it now. If I do so, then it would be sub-judicial.""But we have not found any authentic source of the money recovered from them. We are investigating into the matter," he added. (Agencies)

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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

After Modi's Visit to Pakistan: Beyond Hugs and Handshakes Attack on air-base Punjab has become a new target area Worst fears of security experts about another terror attack due to incomplete investigations in Dinanagar attack on July 27 last year came true when five terrorists attacked Air Force station in Pathankot.

Six heavily armed terrorists, belonging to Jaish-eMohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba stormed into the Pathankot Air Force Station base killing two army personnel of the surveillance department. Following a five-hour long encounter, 4 militants were reportedly eliminated. However, 2 gunmen are still hiding.

The terror attack follows India-Pakistan peace moves, much as night follows day. This has been the pattern since Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Lahore bus diplomacy.

But for more than three decades, India has not been able to hit the right spot. Forget Delhi, even a super power like the US has not been able to curb Pakistan's activities in Afghanistan and knows well it has to rely on Pakistan's military chief, General Raheel Sharif, to get the Taliban back to the table for talks with the Afghan government. Pakistan has condemned Pathankot terror attack and said it wants to work with India and other countries to fight this menace.

With the terror attack in Pathankot still unfolding, both India and Pakistan issued statements that seemed intended to prevent the escalation of rhetoric. Pakistan condemned the attack, offering "heartfelt condolences", and saying it was committed to "partner with India" to eliminate terrorism in the South Asian region. India, despite strong indications that the attack was carried out by the Jaish-e-Muhammad, reacted cautiously, the Ministry of External Affairs saying - several hours into the attack - that it was still too early to comment. The Jaish-e-Mohammad meaning 'army of the Prophet' - is a Pakistan-based outfit headed by Maulana Masood Azhar, who was one of three terrorists freed by India in exchange for the release of 176 passengers aboard an hijacked Indian Airline flight in 1999. After lying low for a long time, the outfit mounted the early morning attack at the Pathankot base In the recent years there has been a shift in terror activities from Jammu & Kashmir to Punjab, which has become a new target area. The Valley is reasonably under control. Faced with pressure from the security agencies there, the militants are moving towards Punjab. It's also easy for the militants from across the border to get into Punjab through J&K due to adjoining state borders. Another possible reason of targeting Punjab is to revive militancy in the state, the signs of which have already been found.

Traffickers continues in NE Human sold like cattle Assam has become the hotbed of human traffickers from all over the country. Children from the NorthEast, mostly minor girls, are trafficked for being used as domestic helps in metros and are physically abused and sexually exploited as well. Every year, 4,000 children go missing from the state. Recently, the Dispur police rescued a 15-year-old Assamese girl from Haryana. Earlier, the Hatigaon police arrested two men, Md Abdul Rashid and Rafiqul Islam, for selling two girls, hailing from the city's Hatigaon area, in New Delhi. Assam police have arrested 449 persons so far this year in relation to trafficking cases. According to state home department records, during 2012, a total of 2,109 cases of abduction of women were registered in Assam, of which 1,398 were rescued from various places. At least 894 women, mostly in the age group 15-30, were rescued from outside the state. The largest markets for trafficked NE women are metros like Delhi and Mumbai, and states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala and even Arunachal Pradesh. According to official records, 117 Assamese women were rescued in Maharashtra, 173 in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh and 13 in Delhi between January and December 2012. Most of the vulnerable girls were lured with the promise of jobs by trafficking agents. Once trapped in the racket, they are sold to agents of brothels in West Bengal, Mumbai, Goa and Hisar in Haryana. The number of cases is actually more than the registered ones as many trafficking victims get stuck in the flesh trade and are unable to escape. During 2007-11, 17,558 inspections were made by the Assam government; they led to only 58 prosecutions and just nine convictions. In the NE, a total of 26,553 inspections were made, of which 64 prosecutions were completed and just 15 of the accused were convicted.

According to figures of the Ministry of Home Affairs, 48 cases of trafficking from Assam were detected in 2014, while till September last year, 57 cases were registered. In Assam, 1,597 girls were reported missing last year out of which 616 were traced, while the remaining were reported as untraced by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Minor girls from Assam are trafficked into various parts of the country, and Delhi has become a major transit route. The placement agencies have emerged as the main culprits. Though courts have issued strict guidelines that only girls above the age of 18 years can be engaged and the mandatory opening of bank accounts in the name of the girls, these guidelines are openly flouted. Assam Police has rescued 422 victims of human trafficking, mostly minors, and arrested 281 offenders since 2011, according to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), highlighting the magnitude of this problem in the entire northeastern region. For prevention and eradication of trafficking, there is an urgent need for formulating, innovating and educating people to understand, sensitize and raise awareness at all levels, particularly on its adverse effect on human beings.

A reality check following the Indian premier's surprise visit Toquir Hussain and Ishrat Saleem Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised everyone by paying a short visit to his Pakistani counterpart on his birthday on December 25. This was the first visit of an Indian premier to Pakistan in 12 years and has raised high hopes for peace on both sides.

But lest we get carried away, let's do a reality check.

The optics of the two prime ministers warmly hugging each other and later holding hands at the airport ceremonies created an extraordinary feel-good moment, but will this warmth be enough to thaw the ties frozen in time? Due to centuries of shared history, Indians and Pakistanis have always felt some affinity in manners and social protocol. So when they meet, leaders and ordinary people alike, there is enough willing suspension of disbelief to set aside for a fleeting moment what divides them and let the feelings of closeness take over. But this tenuous cultural identity has never been enough to override their differences as nations. For that you need much more than emotion of the moment.

If history is any guide, similar feelings were created when former Indian prime pinister Atal Bihari Vajpayeevisited Lahore on Dosti Bus in 1999, Pakistan's General Musharraf visited Agra in 2001 or Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Delhi in 2014 to attend the swearing in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the initial excitement proved so effervescent as entrenched strategic positions soon reared their heads once the dialogue started in earnest.

It has already happened

with Prime Minister Modi once. After generating hopes for peace with the invitation to his swearing in Modi turned unexpectedly to a hard line approach towards Pakistan not missing any opportunity to claim that Pakistan promoted terrorism and was a nuisance for India. Tensions along the Line of Control and Working Boundary in the disputed territory of Kashmir went up even further.

Pakistan responded to India's hard line by upping the ante. It availed of every opportunity to highlight Kashmir and claimed to have credible evidence that India was involved in terrorist activities on its soil and let it know it had developed tactical nuclear weapons to counter any Indian attack. During their respective visits to Washington earlier this year, both Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif expressed their concern about India's aggressive posturing and Pakistan's inability to devote full attention to Afghanistan's stability in the face of this threat.

Washington had to do something as it felt that India-Pakistan tensions were giving Pakistan an alibi not be fully cooperative in the Afghanistan war. So Washington certainly played a role in getting the India-Pakistan dialogue started. But that was not the only stimulus. Modi's image in the United States, about which he is so concerned, was being tarnished by the growing incidence of intolerance in India attributed to the rise of Hindu nationalism. And in the light of his silence over this, his own intransigence was beginning to

look like hostility towards Pakistan. So he had to change his stance. This was good diplomacy. Now that the dialogue will resume, he may have a chance to shift the blame for any lack of progress on Pakistan's hard line.

But the question still remains: what will come of the talks? The two countries have conflicting expectations of each other and different priorities. Pakistan has long argued that the

Pakistan-based banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

But Pakistan is unwilling to do anything more than it has already done to allay Indian concerns about terrorism by non-state actors.

Pakistan has undertaken security operations against terrorists of all hues under the National Action Plan (NAP) which was devised after the terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014, which killed 150 including

instability within Pakistan and would like to treat this subject in a linked manner in dialogue with India.

Has the Pakistani military been on board so far with this bear hug diplomacy? Of course. The military is not opposed to talks. But that is not the end of the story.

Their role really comes into play when the talks get underway. That is when they will show their hand. This then raises the question if Nawaz Sharif is in a position

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi Kashmir dispute be resolved first, or at least in conjunction with other areas of mutual concern. Regardless of who is in power, India has been and will remain unwilling to offer to Pakistan any concessions on Kashmir, even if it means foregoing the economic dividends of trade with Pakistan and transit trade through Pakistan to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

India instead has remained focused on terrorism, especially since 2008 Mumbai attack which it blamed on

more than 120 children. Although much more work still needs to be done to curb terrorist financing, registration of seminaries and overhauling of school curricula, progress on NAP indicates a serious commitment to tackle a threat that has harmed Pakistan more than anyone else. But Pakistan lacks the political will and the capacity to go after its erstwhile surrogates like LeT. The backlash will be too risky. In addition, Islamabad has its own concerns about India stoking

to give concessions to Modi. He could not give them to President Ghani of Afghanistan. In case of Ghani, of course, the problem is more complicated.

There is no unified position within the unity government in Kabul. So both were not good interlocutors for each other. Can Modi and Nawaz Sharif be good interlocutors? We will have to see.

Familiar obstacles to progress remain.

Yet something is indeed different this time: China.

Would the massive Chinese

investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, linking Pakistan's Gwader Port to China's Xinjiang province make China a stake holder in India Pakistan peace? The corridor is part of the larger Chinese plans to stabilize the region on its periphery and to this end is expected to open avenues of regional trade. But can it realize its potential without peace in the region? And will the United States for its own reasons continues to nudge Pakistan and India towards peace, for the sake of Afghanistan's success if nothing else? Maybe this is what Ghani told Modi when he visited him before coming to Lahore. And this is what the businessmen friends of the two Prime Ministers who are eying the economic prospects in a peaceful and stable Afghanistan are telling them.

In the ultimate analysis, much would depend on whether the two leaders will be able to show not only bold and imaginative leadership but also policies that change destinies of their peoples. Anything less will be the continuation of the same old story.

Drama is good to set the stage for talks. But however exciting and auspicious this start is, this is no indication of how it will all end.

This is very much just another in a series of beginnings for India and Pakistan, though as far as beginnings go, it was a good one.

Touqir Hussain, a former Ambassador and Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, is Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and SAIS Johns Hopkins University, where he is also Senior Pakistan Visiting Fellow. Ishrat Saleem is a journalist based in Islamabad.

An Indian Slum Not Redeveloped, But Transformed A project in Kerala offers some salutary lessons for the rest of India Alen John Any intervention that transform people's lives for the better is a story worth hearing. This is particularly true if the tale has something new to offer - something similar projects could replicate. Karimadom colony, situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the south Indian state of Kerala, is a proud and fitting example of how a slum can and should be transformed. The colony, which was until 2009 in a wretched condition owing to poor housing and drainage, leading to waterlogged dwellings during monsoons, is being transformed into an eco-friendly, hygienic, and dignified abode.

Problems were aplenty before 2009. The colony was situated on a piece of land that was 60 cm below the road surface level. This meant that whenever the nearby sewage-collection pond overflowed, its water

would rush into the colony and its houses. During monsoons, the colony would flood, forcing its residents to move into temporary shelters nearby. While these were not daily issues, the open drain that ran through the middle of the colony was. Apart from infrastructural issues, the colony was also plagued by a strong marijuana racket that operated from within it.

The colony was selected under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and its sub-mission Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP), for upgrading and redevelopment. One hundred and forty of the total 560 households in the colony have already moved into the upgraded houses; construction of the remainder is underway.

If you were to ponder the reasons for the success of the project, you could do worse than start with the socio-political nature of Kerala. Govindan Parayil and T.T. Sreekumar note

that the state has a history of anti-caste struggle supported by all major political parties dating back to the 1930s. Kerala was able to successfully implement land reforms, uprooting landlordism and quashing tenancies as early as the late 1950s.

Since then, it has enjoyed "consensus politics" on development policy, notwithstanding major ideological differences among political parties. Celebrated economists Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze observe that this history has given the state a unique characteristic in which public action and popular demand reinforce one another, a state of affairs not often seen in India. The literate and politically active population is not hesitant to put forward its demands and the political apparatus has a history of listening to them.

Second, the approach adopted by the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD), the implementing agency of the

project, has been instrumental. Architect P.B. Sajan, joint director of COSTFORD, asserts that any slum upgrade should not be seen merely as a rehabilitation project, but as an exercise in transformation. He adds that people need comprehensive, lifechanging solutions that suit their environment, not just better houses. The houses which COSTFORD has been building at Karimadom employ alternate building techniques that make use of materials in their natural form, without altering their texture or color. COSTFORD believes that indigenous architecture and local building materials should be preferred, because they are best suited to the local conditions. Such practices are cost and energy efficient too.

Third, the women in the colony played an active role in the transformation. They have shown the courage to come out of the domain of the individual to form collectives seeking major changes in their lives. Local women mobilized the resi-

dents against the dominant drug racket for which the colony was infamous. As a result, today, the racket has almost disappeared.

Vanita Suraksha Samiti (Women Safety Committee) and Kudumbashree (an institution of self-help groups) have been dynamic players in the colony. The latter joined hands with COSTFORD and the local urban government to assist in every step of the slum transformation: from creating a list of beneficiaries to resolving disputes concerning the same.

Not everything is good and green at Karimadom.

Waste management remains unattended. The colony does not have an in-house mechanism to treat solid waste. The city municipal corporation currently collects waste from the colony and dumps it elsewhere.

This implies that the colony is a net contributor to the city's garbage dump, which is not environmentally sus-

tainable. The large pond within the colony premises, which collects sewage from parts of the city, is a serious health threat. The Detailed Project Report talks about a system for waste management and initiatives to clean the pond, but these have yet to be implemented.

A lot has been done and more remains. The transformation of Karimadom colony may not be a perfect and comprehensive model for other projects to follow at least not yet. Nevertheless, this transformation story offers worthwhile insights into factors that might contribute to the success of a similar project. This is especially beneficial in an age when time and resources are more valuable than ever, and "what works" is a prized piece of information.

Alen John is a Junior Research Fellow with the Andhra Pradesh State Development Planning Society, Planning Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India. Views expressed are personal.

Gloomy Scenario In Government Hospitals

Sir, Hospitals are where people go for healing, getting cured from diseases. But if the patients end up aggravating their wounds, getting maimed for life, there arises a big question about the efficacy of such hospitals, when such Hospitals happen to be governments ones,

the matter is still more serious. That is what exactly happens in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Mahendra Mohon Choudhury Hospital (MMCH). It is reported in a section of the Press that in GMCH a good number of women after delivering child have been infected with septic. Another report suggests that due to shortage of ICU beds,, number of preventable death is on the rise.

The GMCH being the Premiere government Hospitals of the NE regions many patients, poor and rich alike throng for treatment. Naturally, there is a high demand for ICU beds, shortage of which causes more deaths. In the MMCH Hospitals, five hapless patients undergoing treatment after cataract operation, end up being blind for life. It is reported that the surgeon performing the operation Bindu Singla Goyal and OT attendant Bhanu Roy have been put under suspension till the enquiry is over. Whosoever is found to have done wrong must be given exemplary punishment. Can anyone bring them back their lost vision?

The GMCH's shortage of ICU beds and other loopholes could be plugged by a sincere exertion of the government.

But infecting septic to other fellow patients needs an introspection. The authority should see that such serious lapsation should not recur. We feel that rehospitalization in MMCH is an eyewash. What they need is a lifelong

subsistence allowance so that they donot have to be a parasite on others. Incidentally, the present incumbent at the helm of the Health-ministry miserably fails to live up to the expectation of the people. Instead of taking the bull by the horns, he sends some emissary like Bhanu to diffuse the situation.

Yours etc.

Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh

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

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

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Is Kerala's Decision To Close Down Bars A Good Idea? Let's Not Drink To That Just Yet

When the proposed liquor ban in Kerala became news in 2014, I had hoped for some reprieve from the long, serpentine, orderly queues one witnesses outside government-run alcohol outlets. Despite all the blame foisted on liquorguzzling denizens of the state for increasing criminal and anti-social activities, their calm and patient demeanor in those queues offered a sharp contrast. The loss of such paradoxical, yet hilarious sights would have been my only grouse with the ban.

But wait, the state has not pioneered a landmark prohibition policy as I had ini-

With CM Kejriwal tweeting "Delhi has done it!‌" within a few hours of his ambitious oddeven plan going live in the capital, reports from the rest of the day suggested that Delhiites indeed took the challenge positively. Reports on air quality, as gathered by the Indian Express, suggested that while there were dips in particulate matter readings at a few air monitoring stations in Delhi, it would be too soon to judge if the plan is actually working.

To make sure there is ease of travel, in another interesting measure, the Delhi government has chosen to provide last mile connectivity by running a free electric

tially presumed. It's initial blanket ban was watered down significantly over the months. Closely read along with the apex court's recent approval for the Kerala government's design to shut down bars, except those with a five-star tag, the policy seems a tough balancing act. One with more cons than pros.

What Is The Ban All About?

The prologue of Kerala's bar ban story began last year when Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy refused to renew the licenses of 418 bars in the state citing 'the dearth of required facilities'.

This was followed by a pro-

hibition plan calling for closure of all private bars (713), except those of the five-star category (27). In what was deemed a respite though, the state has allowed bars to continue operating as beer and wine parlors, eschewing the sale of hard liquor (whisky, brandy, rum etc.). After a fruitless legal tussle in the Kerala High Court, bar owners of 3 and 4 star bars moved the Supreme Court for an intervention to curtail the 'discriminatory' liquor plan rolled out by the government. The apex court, however, upheld the High Court order while entrusting the state with all

With riders of these bikes dressed in special uniforms that are easy to identify, "Commuters can benefit from the free scooter service. They will be dropped to their destination by a scooter driver who will not charge them anything," added the official from the government. tric scooters at Secretariat today. He also rode on one of the scooters on the occasion.

Hero Electric has named their initiative 'Free and Clean Ride', hoping to raise awareness on E-Mobility among commuters as

mented public transport with 3000 extra buses.

An app has also been launched by the government for hiring autos but the question of last mile connectivity has still not been completely addressed. The government has also launched a

100 E-Bikes To Give Delhiites Free Rides As They Tackle The Odd-Even Plan

scooter service which will be available during the 15-day trial period of odd-even formula in the national capital.

The government has been provided with 100 such scooters by private electric vehicle manufacturer - Hero Electric, which will be deployed at Metro stations and prominent destinations like Connaught Place and Delhi Secretariat, said a senior government official.

Delhi PWD minister Satyendra Jain today flagged off a fleet of elec-

they say it is way more eco-friendly.

With riders of these bikes dressed in special uniforms that are easy to identify, "Commuters can benefit from the free scooter service. They will be dropped to their destination by a scooter driver who will not charge them anything," added the official from the government.

In view of the large number of private vehicles going off roads due to road rationing as per odd even formula, Delhi government has aug-

helpline number to keep a check on errant auto rickshaw drivers.

The helpline number received 200 complaints on the first day of trial of odd-even formula and 66 auto drivers were challaned, said a senior government official.

So while some commuters complained of the metro being more crowded than usual, the real test, everyone agreed would be on Monday the 4th of January when the office going population comes out. Courtesy: YKA with Inputs by PTI.

powers to "at least contain, if not curtail, consumption of alcohol" at its own discretion.

Why It May Work Different statistics offer varying figures about the annual alcohol consumption in Kerala. Suffice is to say that it has reached meteoric proportions, to the tune of about 14 percent of the annual national consumption, to force the government's hand at last. Every festival or mass celebration is marred by stupendous liquor sales, coupled with worrying ramifications for the youth and working population. Similar to the drug crisis in Punjab, the ready availability of liquor severely affects even adolescents and minors in Kerala who take up drinking on a whim.

The bar ban will hit the lower and middle-income groups the most, as they are the chief patrons of smallscale private bars. For instance, many daily wage earners, turned tipplers, spend a significant share of their pay on liquor, leading to loss of income for their

families. A study indicates that almost 50 percent of the cases of domestic violence registered in the state are a consequence of alcoholism.

The government also

Arati Nair hopes that social drinkers frequenting 5-star haunts would not be driven by a compulsive desire to drink themselves into a stupor.

While the nexus between alcohol and violent behaviour has not been scientifically established yet, the state plans to arrest the total familial and social deterioration through a phased prohibition attempt. In a bid to ensure total prohibition by 2023, it has also laid down guidelines to shut down 10 percent of all retail outlets in the state every year over the next decade. If successful, it could be a worthy precedent for other states like Bihar, which wish to set up a prohibition framework.

The state's programme is backed by civil society, es-

pecially women, as well as religious groups, giving it a boost. The legal sanction granted by the Supreme Court has further bolstered its cause.

Why It May Not Work Wonders Given the failure of noalcohol policies in other Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu in the past, the present plan of Kerala invites a fair amount of skepticism about its viability. With bootlegging and underground sales thriving in states like Gujarat, which already have a liquor ban in place, chances of success for Kerala are bleak, lest it impose a stringent regulatory policy.

The excise department is ill-equipped to check compliance of the new anti-alcohol programme. On an average, range offices have only ten to fifteen officials each with an overall state total of 5000 officers, making it severely lacking to carry out raids, check illegal sales etc. Adding to the department's woes, drug abuse in the state hasspiked

with liquor addicts looking for fresher avenues. As a precursor to the crisis, sale of spurious alcohol, arrack and smuggling of Indianmade foreign liquor from Karnataka and Goa has increased as well.

The feeble attempt to wean away tipplers from hard alcohol began with the promotion of beer and wine parlors in the state. However, of the 800 odd beer and wine bars, more than 500 are on the verge of closure owing to heavy losses incurred over a period of merely six months. Many of these are hard liquor bars given a facelift in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the bar business, with little success.

Even after a hike of 70 percent in beer sales, monetary gains have been meagre for bar owners. Quite a few are pondering the possibility of not renewing their licenses once they lapse.

Of the three major areas of revenue for the government in Kerala, liquor trade and tourism are paramount. Both are interconnected, with the apex court spelling out the exemption granted to five star bars as imperative to sustain the influx of tourists. Nevertheless, the hospitality sector is bound to take a hit at the close down of affordable alcohol counters. Foreign tour operators have already called for cancellations pertaining more to the lack of freedom than easy boozing options.

The bar hotel industry di-

rectly employs 25,000 persons and has had a business of Rs 1,500 crore.In 2013, the industry had contributed Rs 2300 crore to the state exchequer as license fee, excise duty and sales tax.The workers in the sector are faced with an imminent ouster, following the bar ban. This in turn worsens the crisis of joblessness ever-present in Kerala.

Beyond all these, the major drawback of the prohibition plan, which raises suspicions, is the reluctance of the government to order closure of its own state-run alcohol retail outlets. Additionally, traditional liquor or 'toddy' has not been included under the purview of prohibition, which defeats the purpose of the exercise in rural Kerala.

The administration, aloft the high moral ground, appears frivolous in its attempt to curb private bar business while monopolizing retail alcohol sale for the next ten years.

Had it been serious in its attempt to free Kerala from the wet spell, it would have begun the charity at home to set an example.

Without the requisite alternate employment options in place, poor manpower to handle the crisis and an inefficient paradigm to check adulteration, the liquor ban raises more questions than answers. We can only wait with baited breath for a shortening of queues at Bevco outlets over the next decade to gauge its success.

Why I Think Opposition Leaders Of Today Could Learn A Thing Or Two From Minoo Masani If there was one Opposition leader in India who truly believed that there should not be opposition for opposition's sake but constructive issue-based criticism then it was Minocher Rustom Masani, or Minoo Masani as he was better known. Author, freedom fighter, Parliamentarian and a member of the Constituent Assembly, and in short, free India's most eminent Liberal.

Although initially a socialist and a founder of the Socialist faction within the Indian National Congress, he was soon disillusioned with Socialist ideals due to Stalinist excesses in the USSR. In 1947, he articulated the idea of a mixed economy, with three sectors : a small sector of nationalised industries (which would be decided by an independent commission), a larger sector of new public enterprises in areas where what he called 'free enterprise' was unable to venture into, and a third, largest sector of free enterprises. "Such a programme of state plus free enterprise is, in fact, the only practicable programme that the government in India can possibly adopt in the coming years‌it is important that it is done, not sullenly for lack of anything better, but with enthusiasm and drive," he wrote in a paper detailing the idea.

After Independence, his nuanced approach would bring him in direct conflict with Nehru and what he called the latter's zeal to foist the Soviet pattern of state capitalism. His election to the Lok Sabha as an Independent from Ranchi in Bihar in 1957 signalled the beginning of his efforts to implement his thesis of a mixed economy and to combat the statist policies which went under the name of the socialist pattern of society.

Since the only non-socialist alternative to the Congress in the 1950's was the Jan Sangh, with a strong Hindu bias, Masani teamed up with Rajaji and farmers' leader, NG Ranga, to form India's first conservativeliberal party

calledSwatantra Party in 1959.

Throughout the party's short life and even after its demise, Masani never stopped pointing out that state involvement in industry, trade and commerce would result in the neglect of its primary responsibilities of maintaining law and order and the provision of drinking water facilities, primary healthcare, primary education and physical infrastructure.

Nimit Goyal combination: an intellectual with tremendous organising competence. During his tenure as general secretary, the Swatantra Party grew rapidly and in less than ten years emerged, in the 1967 general elections, as the single largest party in the Opposition in the Lok Sabha with a strength of 44

Although initially a socialist and a founder of the Socialist faction within the Indian National Congress, he was soon disillusioned with Socialist ideals due to Stalinist excesses in the USSR.

Minoo Masani Its tone being liberal as well as conservative, the new party reached out to moderate Hindus and nonHindus in ways not available to the Jan Sangh.

Masani was that rare combination of party ideologue and organisation man. He knew precisely what his political outfit's goals were, and set about organising the Party to achieve them. This meant, as he wrote in his autobiography, "good housekeeping and efficient field organisation."

For the first twenty years or more after Independence, the Congress was in a majority not only in Delhi but also in most of the states barring Kerala and West Bengal. This influenced Masani to run a highly centralised party. His objective was Delhi and not the states as the centre of power was in Delhi, which Rajaji had described as "glorified municipalities."

Masani was that rare

members. It led a principled coalition government in Orissa. It was also the officially recognised opposition in the Rajasthan and Gujarat Assemblies and had significant representation in the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu legislative assemblies.

As the party's ideologue, he was clear that the Swatantra Party should eschew non-parliamentary forms of protest like satyagrahas, morchas, bandhs and walkouts in the legislatures. He was largely influential in ensuring that the party did not form fronts in the trade union and student movements. Perhaps it was his insistence on discipline and doing the right thing that led to the party's exit from electoral politics.

In 1971, the so-called 'Indira wave' swept all parties aside including the Swatantra Party. He accepted responsibility for the party's miserable perfor-

mance (he himself failed to retain his seat in the Lok Sabha, for a third term, from Rajkot), and resigned from the post of president and party politics as well, even though he had opposed the alliance with anti-Indira parties in the first place. He wanted to fight an issuebased campaign but agreed to the alliance at the insistence of C. Rajagopalochari.

His was an outstanding performance as a member of the Lok Sabha between 1957 and 1971. He was the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. As leader of the single largest party in the Opposition, he invariably opened the debate on the Finance Bill that follows the introduction of the Union Budget. Many of his speeches in parliament were later published under the title 'Congress Misrule and Swatantra Alternative'.

Masani kept a close watch on the attendance of members of his group and their behaviour. On several occasions, he supported the ruling party but did not hesitate in going against all other groups in the house if any issue warranted such an action. Two instances that come to mind are the 'liberation' of Goa when he opposed India's action on the ground that it was unnecessary and that the whole affair was an effort to ensure the communist Krishna Menon's return to Parliament. The other was the abolition of Privy Purses.

The Swatantra Party in Parliament was alone in opposing the move. The Party held that the abolition of privy purses went against the solemn assurances given

by Sardar Patel as the Home Minister and recorded in 'Instruments of Accession'.

Masani would often quote this verse to encourage his colleagues to treat issues on their merit without being worried about being isolated or being in a hopeless minority: "They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three."

One would expect that some of our MPs, especially those in Opposition would one day take out the book containing his speeches and views from the Parliamentary library and read it, for history has proved Masani's statements and views true.

Minoo Masani, we need someone like you, a combination of an idealist and pragmatist. Minoo Masani, India misses you. Courtesy: youth ki awaaz.

BUSINESS

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

1.12 lakh tonnes of seized pulses offloaded by Govt. in retail market New Delhi, Jan 3: Government has offloaded over 1.12 lakh tonnes of pulses, seized from hoarders, in the retail market to improve availability and tame prices.

The prices have declined from the peak of Rs 200 per kg in October to Rs 160 at present due to various government measures including unearthing of hoarded stock and offloading that in the retail market. Prices of key pulses, especially tur and urad, shot up unabated in the last few months due to a fall in domestic output by 2 million tonnes in 201415 crop year (July-June) because of deficit monsoon.

DECREASING RATES Ø Government has offloaded over 1.12 lakh tonnes of pulses, seized from hoarders, in the retail market to improve availability and tame prices. ØThe prices have declined from the peak of Rs 200 per kg in October to Rs 160 at present due to various government measures including unearthing of hoarded stock and offloading that in the retail market.

Stock of tea industry to be taken by Sitharaman New Delhi, Jan 3: Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce, will visit West Bengal next week, to take stock of the tea industry which is facing a crisis of high costs of production, poor quality and low prices. During her second visit to the state beginning January 4, she will also look into the closure of tea gardens. Her first industry-interface took place in Assam. About 20 tea gardens, majority belonging to one corporate group, are closed in the Dooars and Terai sub-Himalayan regions causing acute distress to the workers. Many deaths have also been reported at some of

these estates. A former Tea Board Chairman also expressed concern at the crisis in the tea industry at the annual general meeting of the apex association of the north Indian tea industry, the Indian Tea Association.

There are some 377 gardens in West Bengal employing 2.6 lakh workers with an output of around 300 million kg and the problems are linked with the ageing tea bushes, poor yields and high labour costs. During her visit in May, 2015 Ms. Sitharaman had said that the problem of closed tea gardens was a 'legacy' of the previous government which will have to be resolved. (Agencies)

ØPrices of key pulses, especially tur and urad, shot up unabated in the last few months due to a fall in domestic output by 2 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) because of deficit monsoon. ØAs per reports received from the state governments, till yesterday, 1,12,545.96 tonne of pulses seized under de-holding operations have been auctioned or offloaded through other

options in the market to increase availability. ØAs per the data, a maximum of 86,709 tonnes of pulses were seized in Maharashtra, of which 81,473 tonnes have been offloaded. ØKarnataka has offloaded 22,421 tonnes of pulses out of the total seized quantity of 25,545 tonnes so far, while Chhattisgarh has released more than 4,138 tonnes.

As per reports received from the state governments, till yesterday, 1,12,545.96 tonne of pulses seized under de-holding operations have been auctioned or offloaded through other options in the market to increase availability. This will help moderate the prices further, an official statement.

"Since imposition of the stockholding limits on pulses by the states, 1,31,029.55 tonnes of pulses have been seized so far. Efforts are being made also by other states to expedite disposal of seized pulses as per the provisions of Essential

Commodities Act," it said.

As many as 14,726 raids were conducted against hoarders of pulses in 14 states and an union territory.

As per the data, a maximum of 86,709 tonnes of pulses were seized in Maharashtra, of which 81,473 tonnes have been offloaded till yesterday. Karnataka has offloaded 22,421 tonnes of pulses out of the total seized quantity of 25,545 tonnes so far, while Chhattisgarh has released more than 4,138 tonnes. Other states are in the process of releasing the seized pulses in the market, it added. (Agencies)

1,000-rupee defective notes to be replaced by RBI Mumbai, Jan 3: Out of 300 million defective banknotes that were printed in one of the printing presses of government-owned Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India, about 100 million of those notes have hit the market leaving the general public in a tizzy.

About 200 million pieces were transferred to the RBI's currency chests, some of which was then loaded in banks' automated teller machines, sources close to the development said. Currency experts said that the checking of notes is done at the press-level and the banking regulator is not involved with checking each and every banknote. An RBI spokes-

person has confirmed the development and said banks have been asked to replace such notes with the central bank, when found.

Banks have also been advised to replace such notes whenever a customer approaches them. The notes are genuine though they are defective, the spokesperson said. There are four printing presses which print and supply banknotes. These are at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, Nasik in Maharashtra, Mysore in Karnataka, and Salboni in West Bengal.

The presses in Devas and Nasik are owned by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL), a wholly owned

company of the Government of India. The printing of the notes in Karnataka and West Bengal are done by the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of RBI. Sources said the defected notes were printed in the Nashik press while Security Paper Mill of Hoshangabad produced the currency note paper.

The security thread was missing in the defective pieces, the sources said.

The 1000-rupee notes which was introduced in October 2000, contain a readable, windowed security thread alternately visible on the obverse with the inscriptions 'Bharat' (in

Hindi), '1000' and 'RBI', but totally embedded on the reverse. As on March 31, 2015, there were 5,612 million Rs 1000 denominated notes in circulation which constitutes 6.7 per cent of the total notes in circulation. In terms of value, Rs 1000 denominated notes constituted 39.3 per cent of the total value of notes in circulation. Notes of denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 together accounted for approximately 85 per cent of the total value of banknotes in circulation at end- March 2015. Notes of Rs 10 and Rs 100 together accounted for 54 per cent of the volume at end- March 2015, RBI data shows.

(Agencies)

Downfall in exports projected to be worst since 1952-53 New Delhi, Jan 3: Merchandise exports this fiscal are projected to fall around (-) 16 per cent over the previous financial year, highlevel sources in the government said. This will be the second worst export performance since independence, according to official data.

Only in 1952-53, exports had fared worse when it shrank (-) 18.7 per cent. In the 68 years since independence, the country's exports have been in the negative growth territory only on 14 other occasions. Shipments during April-November this fiscal had shrunk (-) 18.46 per cent to $174.3 billion from $213.8 billion during the same period in 2014-15. So officials are expecting a minor recovery in the last four months of this financial year that will in turn help reduce the contraction to (-) 16 per cent for 2015-16. In value

terms, exports - with a (-) 16 per cent contraction - will end this fiscal at around $260 billion, the lowest since the shipments broke the $300 billion-mark for the first time - in 2011-12 with $305.96 billion. "We should be ending up with at least 16 per cent less than last fiscal due to factors such as fall in commodity prices and currency devaluation by some countries," a senior official said. Sonal Varma, India economist, Nomura, said the fall in exports is of concern as several employmentintensive sectors are exportoriented. "Since the demand for exports is down, going forward there will be increasing reliance on the domestic demand," she said. Since FY'12, exports have stayed above the $300 billion-mark, though it had fallen by (-) 1.8 per cent in FY'13 to $300.4 billion, then

recovering slightly with a 4.7% growth in 2013-14 to $314.4 billion only to contract in 2014-15 by (-) 1.23 per cent to $310.53 billion.

The best performance in terms of year-on-year growth has been in 2010-11 when exports grew 40.5 per cent to $251.13 billion. The other good years for export growth were 2004-05 (30.8 per cent), 1974-75 (30.1 per cent), 2007-08 (29 per cent) and 1973-74 (25.8 per cent), making the top five. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) - the exporters' apex body - also estimates exports in 2015-16 to end up at around $260265 billion as companies usually manage their inventories well during the yearend festival season and tend to push exports in the last quarter, said Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO, FIEO. However, he said in

ASBA got a new form in place Bengaluru, Jan 3: With a checklist regime kicking in for initial public offerings (IPOs), capital markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has put in place a new form for ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) facility.

ASBA facility has become mandatory for all categories of investors applying for a public issue for making payment from Friday.

The facility allows the bid amount to remain in the applicants account till the time the shares are finally allotted. In a circular, SEBI said that the application form for ASBA would be printed in a booklet form of A4 size paper. Besides, SEBI has prescribed white colour form for Resident Indian, NRIs applying on a non repatriation basis and blue colour form for NRIs, Foreign Venture Capital Investor, Foreign Institutional Investors, their Sub-Accounts (other than sub-accounts which

are foreign corporates or foreign individuals bidding under the QIB Portion), on a repatriation basis. It further said that top of the application form will have a coloured identifier strap incorporating the name of the issuer, ISIN (An International Securities Identification Number) and type of form (Repatriation, Non- Repatriation).

Besides, the main application should have information about eight digit application number, PAN number, bidders depository account details, investor category, among others. A confirmation by the applicant (on behalf of joint bidders) that he/she has read, understood and agrees to such confirmations is also required. The regulator said that application should also highlight about different category of investors (retail, non-institutional and QIBs), number of equity shares (reservation if applicable), percentage of issue available for

allotment, basis of allocation in case of over-subscription, mode of allotment and terms of payment. The new circular will be applicable for all public issues opening on or after January 1, 2016, SEBI said.

The regulator, in August, had made ASBA facility mandatory for all categories of investors applying for a public issue. In order to enhance the points for submission of applications, SEBI had also allowed Registrar and Share Transfer Agents (RTAs) and Depository Participants (DPs) to accept application forms (both physical as well as online) and make bids on the stock exchange platform.

This will be over and above the stock brokers and banks where such facilities are presently available. The number of bank branches with ASBA facility has now increased to about 95,500, from 9,800 when this facility was introduced. (Agencies)

Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO, FIEO.

addition to factors including the weak demand overseas, the fall in commodity prices and the currency volatility, the exports sector was hurt by the delay on the part of the government to release the interest subvention amount as well as the high transaction costs. Mr. Sahai said the country should target $325 billion in the next fiscal, a growth of 23-25 per cent if global fac-

tors help. The government, meanwhile, is working on a slew of measures to prop up export-oriented firms including Special Economic Zones in the coming Union Budget. Separately, the Centre has called a meeting (likely on January eight) of all the State governments for the first time to expedite the notification of a separate foreign trade policy for each state and to push through infrastructure creation measures that can support exports. Official sources said the government also wants the Reserve Bank of India to look into the currency volatility-related issues and take measures to help India's exports as several countries some of them India's competitors and others its markets - had chosen to devalue their currency in the last one year, in turn impacting India's exports. "The idea is

to ensure that our exports are competitive and retain their market share, because once we lose markets it is tough to gain it back," a senior official said. Noting that the main reasons for the fall in exports were decline in prices of raw materials used in petroleum exports (crude oil) and gems & jewellery exports (gold), the Ministry said decline in non-oil and non-gems and jewellery exports during April-November was 9.7% in dollar terms and only 3.7% in rupee terms. "Excluding petroleum and gems & jewellery, India's exports have not declined significantly. When the export figure in rupees is compared with the average negative wholesale price index inflation rate of (-) 3.3%, the fall in exports in real terms is likely to be negligible in volume terms," it observed.

(Agencies)

PAGE 10

'India fastest growing economy despite global slowdown, four droughts' New Delhi, Jan 3: India has emerged as the world's fastest growing economy notwithstanding global demand slowdown and four droughts, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said Friday. In a series of tweets, he said there has been improvement in quality of spending toward capital and agriculture, fiscal consolidation at central and state levels and improvement in indirect tax efficiency. "Despite declining global demand & 4 droughts, (India has emerged as) fastest growing economy," he said in one of the tweets. He also said the commentary on Mid-Year Economic Analysis, presented in Parliament last month, has focused on challenges.

India had outpaced China as the world's fastest growing economy in 2015.

Earlier in the day, Congress slammed the government for failure on economic front. Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said for the whole of 2015-16, GDP growth is not likely to be higher than 7 to 7.3 per-

Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian. cent, which means that it will be the same as, or lower than, in 2014-15. "The economy is stuck in a groove," he said. Referring to the mid-year economic analysis, Chidambaram it has candidly admitted that private investment and exports -- two of the four drivers of demand - are languishing. "The Indian economy is like a car running on two wheels," he added. Chidambaram also said he was not yet prepared to say there has been a fiscal mismanagement but "reading the mid-year economic analysis, there are pointers to serious mistakes in fiscal management". (Agencies)

Slash in jet fuel price, hike in non-subsidised LPG price New Delhi, Jan 3: ATF or jet fuel price was slashed by 10 percent but rates of non-subsidised cooking gas LPG were hiked by Rs 49.5 per cylinder on global trends. Also, rates of non-subsidised kerosene were cut by Rs 1.05 per litre to Rs 43.19 a litre.

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price in Delhi was reduced by Rs 4,428 per kilolitre (kl) or 9.99 percent to Rs 39,892.32 per kl, oil companies announced today. This is the second reduction in a row. Prices were cut by 1.17 percent on December 1. Rates vary at different airports because of differential local sales tax or valueadded tax (VAT). Jet fuel constitutes over 40 percent of an airline's operating costs and the price cut will reduce the financial burden on cashstrapped carriers. No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of price reduction on passenger fares.

Simultaneously, the oil firms raised prices of nonsubsidised LPG, which consumers buy after exhausting their quota of subsidised cooking fuel,

by Rs 49.5 per 14.2-kg bottle. Non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) now

costs Rs 657.50 in Delhi.

This is the third hike in rates in as many months. Nonsubsidised LPG price was last hiked by Rs 61.50 on December 1. Prior to that rates were increased by Rs 27.5 per cylinder on November 1. Non-subsidised or market-priced LPG is one that consumers buy after exhausting their quota of 12 bottles of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates in a year.

Subsidised LPG costs Rs 419.33 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. Also, the price of non-subsidised kerosene, available outside the ration shop, has been hiked to Rs 43194.82 per kl or Rs 43.19 per litre, from Rs 44,246.47 per kl. This is the third reduction in rate in one month. Prior to this, price of non-subsidised or nonPDS kerosene were cut by about 25 paise on December 1 and 50 paise on December 16. Subsidised kerosene currently costs Rs 14.96 a litre in Delhi. The three fuel retailers - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum - revise jet fuel prices, nonsubsidised LPG and nonsubsidised kerosene rates on the first day of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding month.

(Agencies)

50% sales growth recorded by Royal Enfield in 2015 Pune, Jan 3: Royal Enfield has recorded yet another year of stunning growth. The iconic Bullet maker, which is part of Eicher Motors, has registered 50 per cent growth in its total sales at 4.5 lakh units for the calendar year 2015. The super bike maker's volumes continue to grow at a robust pace even as the mass category of motorcycle segment is struggling with falling sales.

Royal Enfield, which sells bikes in 250cc and above segments, registered total domestic sales of 4,44,527 units when compared with 2,96,370 units in 2014, posting a rise of 50 per cent. Exports grew by 33 per cent at 8,285 units. Thus, overall sales in 2015 stood at 4,52,812 units, posting a growth of 50 per cent over total sales

HUGE GROWTH ØExports grew by 33 per cent at 8,285 units. Thus, overall sales in 2015 stood at 4,52,812 units, posting a growth of 50 per cent over total sales in 2014. ØIn view of the growing ØRoyal Enfield has reg- ØRoyal Enfield, which sells bikes istered 50 per cent growth in its total sales at 4.5 lakh units for the calendar year 2015.

in 2014. In view of the growing demand, the company has decided to increase the production capacity to about 48,000 units a month from 45,000 units. The company management is looking to achieve a pro-

in 250cc and above segments, registered total domestic sales of 4,44,527 units when compared with 2,96,370 units in 2014, posting a rise of 50 per cent.

duction capacity of 620,000 units for the calendar year 2016. Its board had given an inprinciple approval for setting up a third plant at its Oragadam manufacturing complex near Chennai, which is ex-

demand, the company has decided to increase the production capacity to about 48,000 units a month from 45,000 units. The company management is looking to achieve a production capacity of 620,000 units for the calendar year 2016.

pected to enhance the production capacity to about 9 lakh units in CY18. Royal Enfield has also planned to unveil two new super bike platforms over the next two years. Even as the company continues to ex-

pand its dealer network, the top 20 cities contribute close to 60 per cent of its bike volumes.

Meanwhile, the company is also expanding its international presence as part of its strategy to become a leading player in the global mid-size super bike market (250cc to 650 cc). It is now aggressively looking at Thailand, which is one of the largest two wheeler markets in the world.

"With a large commuter base, Thailand has enormous potential to upgrade to the next level of motorcycles. Royal Enfield is well poised to fill this gap with its evocative, modern classic motorcycles, and catalyse the shift to midsize motorcycles in the country," according to a company statement.

(Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

Features

Page 11

ENVIRONMENT Northeast Can begin India's 2nd Green Revolution The mountainous northeastern region, which comprises eight states, occupies eight percent of India's land area and is home to four percent of the population, can set off India's second Green Revolution, a top Indian scientist said.

"Powered by adequate resources, skilled manpower, good climate and sufficient water, the northeast region is expected to be a food sufficient area in the near future and India's second Green Revolution is expected to set off from this region," Indian Council of Agricultural Research

(ICAR) director and renowned agricultural scientist S.V. Ngachan told in an interview.

"Besides huge natural, agricultural and mineral resources, there is devoted manpower in the northeastern region. The pollutionfree region has all ingredients to make it self-sufficient in foodgrain," said Ngachan, who is the ICAR head for the northeastern region.

According to Ngachan, the demand-supply gap of foodgrains in the northeastern region had narrowed from 23 percent in

Source: odishanewsinsight.com 2006-07 to 2.3 percent. He said that currently the net agricultural sown area in the northeast is 4.5 million hectares, excluding the small private gardens and orchards.

"The 'jhum' cultivation of the tribals is a major impediment in the northeast.

We, in association with the state governments and po-

Scientists plot Gut Bacteria of 15 Indian Ethnic Tribes

Source: indilens.com As researchers across the globe zoom in on the trillions of micro-organisms thriving inside the human gut to understand their role in health, a group of Indian scientists has, in a pioneering effort, mapped the gut bacteria of 15 ethnic tribes of the country, enabling development of personalised medicines and designer diets to suit changing lifestyles.

Involving 193 healthy individuals from tribes of Assam, Manipur, Sikkim and Telangana, the research published in the December 2015 edition of Nature Scientific Reports also highlights the resemblance of Gut Bacterial Profile (GBP) of these communities with the profiles of the Mongoloid population of Mongolia.

"Till now there was no such report on the GBP of the ethnic tribes of India. With the rapid economic development coupled with modernization of lifestyle, the tribal population of India may eventually undergo alteration in GBP and it is important to know the profile of these microorganisms to prepare necessary strategies for action," Mojibur R. Khan, group leader of the study said.

Charting out the profile will help in unravelling the puzzle of how diet, genes and geography shape GBP and how even minute changes in the milieu of microorganisms have a significant impact on human health. "It will also help us in designing personalized medication and nutritional standards," said Khan, a scientist at Guwahati's Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST).

In addition to IASST, other

collaborators in the Department of Biotechnologyfunded project include Narayan C. Talukdar from Manipur's Institute of Bioresources & Sustainable Development (IBSD) and Rupjyoti Talukdar from Hyderabad's Asian Healthcare Foundation/ Asian Institute of Gastroenterology.

Gut bacteria and the human microbiome are red hot topics right now. In 2015, a major chunk of research was directed on these tiny companions that live inside and on human bodies and as links to obesity, brain and cardiac health emerged, it became clear that they are much more important than previously thought.

Practical applications like faecal transplant (yes poop!) to fight life-threatening diseases became a reality. While some of these microbes like the dry parts of skin, others snuggle up in the warm confines of the mouth or the moist skin folds of underarms. It's a symbiosis: humans offer them residence, they help us live.

But the major chunk of real estate for these bacteria, virus and fungi is the human gut. Your gut feeling is literally defined by about 1,000 bacterial species. And together, they represent 3.3 million unique genes in the gut, which is 150 times more genes than our own genome.

Dietary and environmental influences alter the delicate ecosystem carefully constructed by the teeming bugs and this impacts the normal microbiome. And then a harmless organism can become a disease-causing one under the impaired circum-

stances. Or your overall health may become topsy turvy due to the erosion of a particularly beneficial species.

So, common practices like eating curd (or other probiotics) regularly ensures the gut gets its share of good bacteria to ease digestion.

Khan said that as many as 593 bacterial varieties were detected in the profiles and Sikkim tribes showed a "higher abundance" of probiotic bacterial varieties like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus as they consume more dairy products, including curd. As an offshoot to the GBP mapping, the researchers have launched another study to understand how the GBP can be altered by intake of dairy products and their effect on health.

"When compared with the worldwide data on gut bacteria, the Indian tribal population had more similarity with the Mongoloid population of Mongolia. This means either the genetic similarity or the geographical settings have resulted in the particular food habits (such as fermented foods) and resulting gut bacterial profile," said Khan of IASST's Molecular Biology and Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, Life Science Division.

"Furthermore, most of these tribes prepare traditional rice beer using some herbs, which they consume regularly. This may also have some role in their health benefits as it is included in their custom and rituals. We have taken this as an intense area of research to understand the effect of rice beer on GBP and health," added Khan. Courtesy: Northeasttoday.in

litical leaders, are trying to persuade the tribals to introduce the modified multicropping system instead of the unscientific jhum farming," the agricultural scientist said.

According to the latest satellite-based forest survey of India, the cover in the northeastern region has decreased by 628 sq km, Scientists from James Cook University have discovered two critically endangered species of sea snakes, previously thought to be extinct, off the coast of Western Australia.

It's the first time the snakes have been spotted alive and healthy since disappearing from their only known habitat on Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea more than fifteen years ago.

"This discovery is really exciting, we get another chance to protect these two endemic Western Australian sea snake species," says study lead author Blanche D'Anastasi from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at JCU. "But in order to succeed in protecting them, we will need to monitor populations as well as undertake research into understand-

mainly due to encroachment on forest land, biotic pressure, rotational felling in tea gardens and shifting cultivation. Launched in 2010, Mizoram's Rs.2,873crore flagship farming scheme - New Land Use Policy (NLUP) - aims to benefit over 125,000 tribal families, mostly Jhumias, to solve food scarcity by ing their biology and the threats they face."

The discovery of the critically endangered short nose sea snake was confirmed after a Western Aus-

moving away from jhum cultivation to stable and sustainable farming.

"The NLUP is a unique programme and the Manipur and other state governments in the northeast are trying to introduce similar schemes to take the tribals from jhum cultivation to normal agriculture with technology innovation." "Integrated farming and improved jhuming are also the alternative to ageold Jhum farming," said Ngachan.

"Though global climate change has an effect in the northeast, strong political will, governments' active involvement, farmers' wholehearted participation and use of latest technology in farming, could make the northeast a foodgrain surplus region in the country," he added.

"As the region is a biodiversity hotspot, rising food production and productivity make the effort much easier. However, the animal fodder crisis is a very big concern in the reAustralia's natural icons, Ningaloo Reef," says Ms D'Anastasi.

"What is even more exciting is that they were courting, suggesting that

gion, despite it being rich in animal resources."

The ICAR director said that the northeastern region, comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, accounts for 7.8 percent of the total area under rice cultivation in India while its share in rice production is only 5.9 percent. The average rice productivity of 1.4 tonne per hectare is below the national average of 1.9 tonnes per hectare.

The NE states are largely dependent on Punjab, Haryana and other larger states for foodgrain and essential vegetables. Stressing on the need to increase the area under stable irrigation, the scientist said that only 20% of the total crop are in the NER is now under irrigation against the national average of 45%.

"As vast areas of Assam and land in remaining states are flood prone, crop losses are an annual phe-

nomenon in the region," he pointed out. Ngachan was here to lead a two-day national seminar here on "sustainable hill agriculture in changing climate". Over 200 agricultural scientists from 11 hill states including J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and all eight NE states took part in the seminar that also discussed how to deal with the climate change effect and improved farming modules.

He said that the ICAR has launched the KIRAN (Knowledge Innovation Repository of Agriculture in the Northeast) platform in July 2012 to harness the power of scientific knowledge and technology innovation for strengthening agricultural production systems in the northeast region through dynamic partnership and convergence among the diverse stake holders.

south of the snakes only known habitat on Ashmore Reef.

"We had thought that this species of sea snake was only found on tropical coral

protection. Despite the good news of the find, sea snake numbers have been declining in several marine parks, and scientists are at a loss to explain why.

"Many of the snakes in this study were collected from prawn trawl by-catch surveys, indicating that these species are vulnerable to trawling," says Dr Vimoksalehi Lukoschek from the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

"But the disappearance of sea snakes from Ashmore Reef, could not be attributed to trawling and remains unexplained.

"Clearly we need to identify the key threats to their survival in order to implement effective conservation strategies if we are going to protect these newly discovered coastal populations," Dr Lukoschek says. Courtesy: Sciencedaily.com

Previously thought extinct rare sea snakes, rediscovered tralia Parks and Wildlife Officer, Grant Griffin, sent a photo of a pair of snakes taken on Ningaloo Reef to Ms D'Anastasi for identification.

"We were blown away, these potentially extinct snakes were there in plain sight, living on one of

they are members of a breeding population." The researchers also made another unexpected discovery, uncovering a significant population of the rare leaf scaled sea snake in the lush seagrass beds of Shark Bay. The discovery was made 1700 kilometres

reefs. Finding them in seagrass beds at Shark Bay was a real surprise," says Ms D'Anastasi. Both leaf scaled and short nosed sea snakes are listed as Critically Endangered under Australia's threatened species legislation, which means they have special

C o u r t e s y : Northeasttoday.in

Fish populations at world's second largest freshwater lake A University of Wyoming researcher is studying fish populations -- and their relationship with local fishing communities -- in Africa's largest lake.

Catherine Wagner, a UW assistant professor in the Department of Botany and the UW Biodiversity Institute, is studying interactions between the biodiversity of East Africa's Lake Tanganyika and the human communities that live around the lake. The work is conducted with the support of The Nature Conservancy and with collaborator Peter McIntyre, an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Limnology.

Lake Tanganyika is 418 miles long, almost a mile deep and holds 18 percent of the world's unfrozen surface freshwater.

"Many animals in the lake evolved there and are found nowhere else in the world," Wagner says. "They are endemic to the lake." This holds true for the majority of the lake's more than 300 fish species. Wagner and colleagues are studying two species of endemic sardines, which are the most abundant fish in the lake's open water zone.

"My role in the project is to use genetics to understand spatial patterns within these fish populations," Wagner says. "We take samples from natural populations to see to what extent the lake is composed of single large populations versus very local popu-

lations. Although these fish are the main source of protein for the millions of people living around the lake, we know very little about their movement within this very large fishing area.

Understanding this basic biology is an important step toward ensuring that they can be sustainably managed."

Wagner says one species of sardine spawns in the lake's open water, while another spawns near the shore.

Juveniles of both species live near the shore. Once mature, the fish move to the open water. Sardines are the predominant source of protein for communities that live near the lake. Fishing at night, fishermen use large lift nets, and frequently pull up fish by the thousands in a single draw of the net.

"They (fishermen) take everything, including the Nile perch, which are the predators of the sardines," Wagner says.

"The issue is that these catches have been declining.

There is debate over whether the fish are declining due to overfishing, because the lake is warming, or both.

"Decreased catch rates have led to communities increasingly fishing near shore. In some places, they're catching the sardines as juveniles rather than adults," she says.

"We are interested in what impact this has on the populations, and that we need to study the patterns of movement in juveniles and adults in the lake."

With this information, it may be possible to designate protected areas that are important for juvenile growth. To understand that dynamic, Wagner says researchers have to understand where the juvenile sardines are growing up or maturing, and the degree to which there is local adaptation within these populations.

"If we catch the fish in the north (part of the lake), are they coming from the shore as juveniles in the north, or have they grown up in many different areas of the near-shore zone?" Wagner asks. "We have no idea how much the fish move during their lifetimes, or if they return to spawn where they were born."

Within Mahale Mountains National Park boundaries (the park is located in Tanzania), there is a strictly enforced 'no fishing' policy. Those nearshore areas within the park are being used as baselines to measure fish numbers, to compare with locations outside the park where fishing is allowed, Wagner says.

"One thing that is clear: Just from observing fish while snorkeling, there appears to

be a much higher abundance of fish in no-fishing zones," Wagner says.

The Nature Conservancy, which funds the project called TUUNGANE, is working to understand the impacts of fishing on fish populations in the lake, and working with communities to develop plans that are beneficial for people and for sustainable biodiversity, Wagner says.

The lake's long history Lake Tanganyika not only is the second largest freshwater lake in the world, but it also is the second oldest, dating 9 million to 12 million years old, Wagner says. Only Lake Baikal, in southeastern Siberia just north of the Mongolian border, is older and larger among freshwater lakes.

Both are considered rift lakes, meaning they are located in parts of the Earth that are splitting apart, Wagner says.

Lake Tanganyika is bordered by four countries. Most of the eastern portion of the lake is located in Tanzania; the north bordered by Burundi; the western shore is the Democratic Republic of Congo; and the southern part of the lake crosses into Zambia. In addition to fish, the lake is home to crocodiles, water cobras and hippos. During their sampling this past summer,

Wagner and other researchers were primarily based in Kalya, a village located south of the national park. Julian Junker, a visiting researcher from EAWAG, the Swiss National Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology in Lucerne, Switzerland, says the political history of these countries has, in some places, directly influenced the amount of fishing occurring.

In Burundi, unrest during the last decades drove thousands of people away from the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

When the situation stabilized, returning farmers, in some cases, shifted from farming to fishing.

"In 2003, there were 40,000 fishermen in the area," says Junker, who is assisting Wagner with this lab research.

"In 2011, there were 95,000 fishermen."

Brittany Nordberg, a junior from Cody majoring in wildlife and fisheries biology, also is involved in the lab work. Nordberg works with Wagner's lab as part of the Wyoming Research Scholars Program.

Wagner has worked at Lake Tanganyika since 2003, when she was an undergraduate student at Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Wash.

Courtesy: Sciencedaily.com

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one of the few shining lights in a dismal Windies tour with 94 in the first Hobart Test, was in sight of his fifth Test century before he fell to Lyon.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 4

PAGE 12

Kraigg Brathwaite

Lyon spins Australia into strong Barcelona held to a goalless draw by Espnayol position over Windies not out 35 after winning PTI Sydney : Nathan Lyon the toss. claimed his 100th Test Australia have already rewicket in Australia with tained the Frank Worrell the dismissal of top-scor- Trophy after huge wins in ing opener Kraigg the first two Tests and are Brathwaite late on the chasing a 3-0 series clean opening day of the rain- sweep. hit third Test against the Brathwaite, who along w i t h West Darren Indies Bravo i n SYDNEY TEST has been Sydney on Sunday. Brathwaite the best-performing batshad defied Australia's man in the series for the bowlers and two rain de- struggling visitors, was lays before he gave away deceived by Lyon's extra his wicket late in the day bounce and attempted to steer the ball past slip. to Lyon for 85.

Brathwaite, one of the few But instead he dollied a shining lights in a dismal catch off his glove to Windies tour with 94 in Steve Smith at slip. His the first Hobart Test, was dismissal was quickly folin sight of his fifth Test lowed by the wicket of century before he fell to skipper Jason Holder, who was instinctively Lyon.

It gave the Australia off- caught by Joe Burns at spinner his 100th Test in short leg for one off leftAustralia and 184th scalp arm spinner Steve overall. At the close, after O'Keefe. Brathwaite 75 overs were squeezed in watched four batting partaround two lengthy rain ners come and go as Ausinterruptions, the West tralia used two recognised Indies were 207 for six spinners in Lyon and with Denesh Ramdin on O'Keefe for the first time 23 and Carlos Brathwaite in a home Test for a de-

'National School Games to be held at 4-5 venues annually' PTI New Delhi : The Union Government has decided to organise National School Games in a big way at fourfive venues in the country every year in order to groom talent from a young age.

The objective is to ensure proper promotion and development of various games at the school level with the twin aim of early identification of talent and ensuring physical fitness of children, the Sports Ministry said in a release. For the purpose of efficient organisation of the National School Games, the Department of Sports is joining hands with the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) for conduct of the Games and with the selected state governments for infrastructure.

The ministry said that participation of large number of children in the proposed National School Games from various parts of the country will not only contribute to the objective of sports promotion but also national unity and harmony. A beginning in this regard is being made by supporting these Games in Kerala where they are proposed to be held this month, the ministry said.

A request received in this regard from government of Kerala to be the host of these Games has been accepted, it added.

Nathan Lyon cade.

Shai Hope, recalled for injured opener Rajendra Chandrika, began positively with some crisp drives but fell in the fifth over. Josh Hazlewood got him to prod outside the off-stump and he was snapped up by Peter

Nevill for nine.

Brathwaite put on 91 runs for the second wicket with Darren Bravo before Bravo was out in the third over after lunch for 33.

James Pattinson dug one in and Bravo top-edged to Usman Khawaja at backward square leg. Marlon

FIFA: An overview of one of the richest football bodies

Agencies New Delhi, Dec 3: The FĂŠdĂŠration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is one of the richest sporting federations in the world with 209 national football associations and a reserve fund of $1.52 billion. Set up in 1904 with an aim to promote football across the globe, FIFA is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland and is governed by Swiss law.

The association organises international football tournaments, including the World Cup (men and women), tournament at Olympic Games, and the Confederations Cup. It is

also responsible for disciplining national associations and possesses the power to suspend countries from international competition.

According to estimates, during the financial period 2011-2014 incorporating the Brazil World Cup, FIFA earned $5.72 billion in revenues with a profit of $338 million.

While major part of the revenue is earned from sale of television and marketing rights, its key sponsors include Coca-Cola, Adidas, Sony, Gazprom, Hyundai, Visa and Budweiser.

The organisation has a reserve fund.

FIFA's marketing division employs some 60 professionals from 18 countries, covering a wide range of fields of expertise within the sports business industry.

FIFA was recently hit by a major controversy as its former president Joseph S Blatter was accused of corruption. An investigation found him guilty and on October 8, 2015, the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Independent Ethics Committee of FIFA provisionally banned Blatter from all football activities on a national and international level.

Cameron national, Issa Hayatou was made the interim FIFA president.

As per the rule, FIFA elects or re-elects a president every four years, in the year following the World Cup. While each member has one vote, totaling to 209, a candidate must get 105 votes to win the election.

In order to stand for the election, a candidate must have the support from at least five member associations.

Samuels was run out in a dreadful mid-pitch mixup before the first rain interruption in the afternoon session. Samuels, who has scored a total of 35 runs in five innings in the series, hit towards point and darted off for a run only to stop in the middle of the pitch.

Batting partner Brathwaite had dropped his bat before retreating to his end and Samuels was stranded by Hazlewood's throw to the striker's end. To compound Samuels' woes, rain immediately forced the players from the field and kept them off until tea was taken. Upon resumption Jermaine Blackwood misjudged Lyon's turn and was bowled off-stump for 10 after not offering a shot.

Chandrika injured his groin in the morning warm-up, after leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo hurt his shoulder on the morning of the second Melbourne Test. The West Indies, who are playing in their first Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 15 years, have not won a Test in Australia since 1997.

Sonowal condoles death of shooter in Pathankot PTI New Delhi : Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today offered his condolences on the death of Subedar Major Fateh Singh, a former Commonwealth champion shooter who was martyred during the terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base.

"The nation lost one of its foremost big bore rifle shooter & coach, Subedar Fateh Singh when he was martyred while fighting terrorists," Sonowal tweeted.

"Sub. Singh was a star performer during the 1st Commonwealth Shooting Championship & won 2 gold & 1 silver.I salute Subedar Fateh Singh," he added. Singh had clinched a gold in the Big Bore Rifle Three Position event and a silver in the Big Rifle Prone Position event of the first Commonwealth Shooting Championship held here in 1995. He retired as a Subedar Major from the Dogra regiment in 2009 and joined the Defence Service Corps.

Agencies Barcelona : Barcelona could only manage a goalless draw away to local rivals Espanyol in a tense and physical Catalan derby of La Liga here.

Barcelona will complain that a permissive referee allowed some over-physical play from their neighbours, but the fact is that had they taken their chances on Saturday, they would have won the game comfortably.

Catalan derbies tend to be feisty affairs and this was no different, especially as referee Gonzalez Gonzalez, who just three days earlier had officiated Real Madrid's controversial win at home to Real Sociedad, was prepared to turn a blind eye to some physical play from the home side.

As a result of the play being broken up by a series of fouls, Barca struggled to combine in the middle of the park and their best effort came when Leo Messi hit the crossbar from a free kick with Espanyol keeper, Pau to-

LA LIGA tally stranded. Espanyol were more dedicated to destroying than creating and as a result their only first half chance was following a header from Alvaro Gonzalez from a corner, which Gerard Pique cleared off the line.

The second half began with Luis Suarez wriggling into the Espanyol area but his shot and Neymar's follow up were both blocked and the ball scrambled clear, before

Messi saw another effort blocked five minutes later and Suarez somehow managed to hit the post after a ball over the top of the Espanyol defence soon afterwards.

Suarez took the ball round Pau, but hit the post from a narrow angle as Barcelona controlled the opening minutes of the half.

Neymar tried his luck with an overhead kick which was comfortably saved, but with the clock running out both sides began to run out of steam after their respective league matches on Wednesday.

What adds extra spice to the game is that the two neighbours will meet again twice in the coming 10 days as they go head to head in the last 16 of the Spanish King's Cup knockout competition.

Ranatungas crushed in Sri Lanka Cricket election PTI Colombo : Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga suffered an embarrassing loss along with his brother Nishantha as Thilanga Sumathipala was elected President of the country's Cricket Board here today. Sumathipala, the current deputy speaker of parliament got 88 votes as opposed to his main challenger, Nishantha, who received 56 votes in the Sti Lanka Cricket elections held at the Sports Ministry today amid high security. Special Task Force soldiers were deployed in the vicinity of the ministry premises.

Arjuna, the current Minister of Ports and Shipping and the country's only ODI World Cup-winning captain, was also defeated in his bid to become a vice-President.

He was beaten by 22 votes to Jayantha Dharmadasa who belonged to the Sumathipala camp. Sumathipala thus returned to head SLC for his third term at the top.

Both his previous administrations were dismissed by the government who appointed interim committees to run the SLC. Nishantha Ranatunga was the Secretary of the last elected administration which was also dissolved in March

last year to be replaced with an interim committee.

The International Cricket Council had been pressurising the government to hold democratic elections as early as possible.

The government, after dismissing the previous administration, appointed a probe committee to look into allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

The position of Secretary has also gone to a member of the Sumathipala camp, Mohan de Silva.

Sumathipala and de Silva have worked together in the same positions previously.

Prize Money Badminton at Mangaldai ET Correspondent Mangaldai : Jibon Deka and Renu Deka memorial second Darrang district prize money school badminton championship organized by the Mangaldai Club began at the Gopinath Bordoloi indoor stadium here today. The championship played in two different groups for boys based on their age and open for

girls witnessed a total of 62 young shuttlers across the district as participants . In the inaugural match for girls Akankhya Parashar defeated Debolina Bharati 21-16 and 21-19. On the other hand for boys in the U-16 category Kokil Bhuyan got the better off Hrisikesh Barua 21-7 and 22-20 while in U-13 category Naieem Anjum

crushed Lalindro Boro 214 and 21-2 . Earlier Mithinga Basumatary, physical instructor in JNV, Kalaigaon formally inaugurated the championship in presence of Basanta Deka , Sports Secretary , the Mangldai Club and other invited guests. The final matches of the championship will be played on January 5 next.

PG Classes beat Doomdooma College 11-6 to clinch title Dibrugarh University Inter College Handball Tournament

McCullum backs tainted Amir's inclusion in Pakistan squad ANI Wellington : Brendon McCullum has thrown his support behind Mohammad Amir, saying that the disgraced Pakistan fast bowler should get the ' benefit of the doubt' after being named in the national squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand.

The 23-year-old lefthander received a fiveyear ban from all forms of cricket and served three months in prison for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.

He has been selected in the national squad for the first time since his conviction. However, it is subject to the granting of a visa by the New Zealand authorities.

McCullum said that the International Cricket Council had allowed Amir to make some steps back into international cricket, adding that the convicted spotfixer was a very young man during that time and had gone through a sound rehabilitation programme, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The swashbuckling opener insisted the inclusion of Amir hadn't dominated their team discussions, admitting that they would instead focus their attention on the Pakistan lineup when the tourists arrive in New Zealand.

Considered as one of the most promising talents, Amir had taken 51 wickets in 14 Tests and 25 in 15 one-day internationals before he was handed a five-year ban for bowling deliberate no-balls by pre-arrangement during the

fourth test against England at Lord's in 2010.

Earlier, the tainted bowler was included in the 26-member national fitness camp in Lahore, whose return in the camp saw divided opinions from the national team.

Amir displayed impressive form in domestic matches as well as in the Bangladesh Premier League after ending his five-year ban for spotfixing four months ago.

Pakistan will play threematch ODIs and threematch T20s starting from January 15.

The chapion and runners up team post for a photograph with offical .

Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Jan 3: Post Graduate Classes defeated Doomdooma College 11-6 to clinch the title of the Dibrugarh University Inter College Handball Tournament held at the varsity campus, here, today. Apart from the two finalists, Duliajan College also took

part in the tournament which was played in a league basis. Birinchi Pran Konwar of PG Classes was adjudged as the player of the tournament. Pritam Das, Gautam Das, Monakash Bordoloi, Joydeep Duarah, Dipankar Saikia and Milan Dutta were the referees for the tournament. The open-

ing ceremony was graced Dr. H.S.Atwal, Director of Physical Education and Sports, DU and Pritam Das, general secretary, Dibrugarh District Handball Association. Apart from Dr. Atwal and Das, Miss Lanima Talukdar, Satya Changmai and Sujit Thapa, assistant professors,

Dept. of Physical Education, DU and Gauranga Borah, general secretary, DUPGSU gave away the prizes during the closing ceremony. The programme was anchored

by Binod Chandra Gogoi, assistant prof, Dept. of Physical Education; DU. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Montu Boro.

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