6th jan 2016

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ASSENG/2015/64205

Vol. 1

Issue 212

Leadership - The Key to Human Productivity

Dibrugarh, Wednesday, January 6, 2016

While mentioning that this matter is sub judice and is being heard in the Guwahati High Court, the Chief Minister said that this decision by the Governor was taken without taking him and his council of Ministers into confidence.

The Chief Minister aired his grievances to the Prime Min-

Expect Pakistan's support in Pathankot attack probe: NIA

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ET CAPSULES Major fire in Guwahati Guwahati, Jan 5: A major fire broke out at Tarun Ram Phukan road in Fancy Bazaar in Guwahati on Tuesday.

Many fire tenders have been rushed to the spot to douse the inferno.

The fire started due to a LGP cylinder blast at a building in Kamala Market.

The fire spread across a large area within a short span, locals said.

Efforts are on to control the fire till the time of filing of this report. The exact damage from the fire will be known only after it is controlled. (Staff Reporter) Leopard terrorizes Students’ in campus Golaghat, Jan 5: The students of Residential Girls Polytechnique at Pulibor in Golaghat are spending sleepless night because for the last four days a Leopard is roaming in the campus premises of Residential Girls Polytechnique.

It is to be known that in last year the students of the institution complained regarding the wild herbs and shrubs growing within the premises of building.

Many a times Snakes entered through broken roofs of the building. This time the institute has been terrorized by a Leopard.

Even in its neighboring areas Kendriya Vidyalaya, CRPF officers mess are suffering from the same terror.

The Students of Polytechnic have complained regarding the matter. But yet the concerned authorities have not taken any fruitful steps. (Correspondent)

Doomdooma road inaugurated Doomdooma , Jan 5 : A reconstructed Nehru Road was today inaugurated by Doomdooma Town Committee President Dulu Aarandhara .

From the downtown Gandhi Murti up to Kaliapani Tinali which is 480 metre long was reconstructed

by Doomdooma Town Committee. For the reconstruction of the road Rs 65 lakh was spent.

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In the inaugural function local MLA Dilip Moran and the Town Committee vice President was present. (Correspondent)

NABAM TUKI COMPLAINTS The decision by the Governor was taken without taking him and his council of Ministers into confidence.

Governor’s conduct was in violation of the principles of Co-operative Federalism.

Tuki during his meeting with Prime Minister Modi

ister on the conduct of the Governor since his assumption of office and his tacit role in fuelling dissidence within the ruling Congress Party in the state.

In the comprehensive report submitted to the Prime Minister on the Governor’s anti-

development activities, the Chief Minister also told Modi that the Governor’s conduct was in violation of the principles of Co-operative Federalism as espoused by the Prime Minister after the NDA came into power.

Tuki also told the Prime Minister about the apprehensions

Modi assured Tuki that he would examine the report against the Governor and take appropriate decisions pertaining to the same.

and confusions created by the Governor in the minds of the public.

The Prime Minister assured Tuki that he would examine the report against the Governor and take appropriate decisions pertaining to the same.

While discussing the developmental issues, the Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister for expediting the following important projects/issues in the state; 1. Establishment of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, 2. Early Establishment of Disaster Response Force ( DRF) Battalion in the State, 3. Establishment of High Court in the State, 4. East West Industrial Corridor for Border Areas.

The Chief Minister apprised the PM that despite repeated requests from the State Government; the Centre is yet to depute a Central Team for inspecting the damages due to floods and natural calamities. The Prime Minister assured that a team will be deputed soon to visit the state for the same.

Arunachal Political Crisis The Gauhati High Court today stayed the disqualification of 14 dissident Congress MLAs from Arunachal Pradeshassembly by Speaker Nabam Rebia during the state's political crisis in December.

Justice B K Sharma, hearing a writ petition stayed the speaker's order disqualifying the MLAs on December 15 and issued notice to the respondents.

He fixed January 7 as the next date of hearing.

The writ was filed by dissident Congress MLAs Pema Khandu and 13 of his colleagues, who were disqualified

by Rebia under 10th Schedule of Constitution.

They contended that the order of disqualification was passed by the speaker in violation of natural justice without giving them an opportunity of hearing.

A political crisis was triggered in Arunachal Pradesh in December with 21 of the 47 Congress MLAs in the 60member house, along with 11 BJP and two Independent MLAs, extending support to dissident Congress leader

CRPF jawans deployed as guard in private events, a cause of worry in Tinsukia

Tuki requests PM to expedite projects important to Arunachal

HC stays disqualification 14 dissident Cong MLAs of Arunachal PTI Guwahati, Dec 5

Kalikho Pul.

the decision(s) of the December 16 session.

Pul was elected the 'chief minister' in a session, advanced

by Governor J P Rajkhowa to December 16 from January 14, and held in makeshift premises.

Rebia had then filed a petition challenging the governor's notification of December 9 advancing the assembly session and also the notification issued

by Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thondok revoking the suspension of 14 MLAs. The writ petition had also challenged the order of the Deputy Speaker for holding of the session at a new place and

Justice Hrishikesh Roy after hearing the case on December 17 had issued notice and in the interim kept in abeyance the impugned decisions of the assembly passed in the session on December 16 and had fixed the case for hearing on February 1.

A batch of Interlocutory Applications has also been filed in the high court by Deputy Speaker and some MLAs to vacate or modify the court's earlier order of keeping the assembly's December 16 proceedings in abeyance.

CRPF personal stand in guard infront of the gate. Pic - Rishu Kalantri.

Spl Correspondent Tinsukia, Jan 4 At a day when news of commando's and jawans martyrdom at Panthankot airbase in Punjab in a bid to protect the country from enemies brought tears into the eyes of all Indians, pictures of CRPF jawans and police personnel standing as guards outside a private event in Tinsukia on the same

Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) condemns in strongest terms the news item appeared in the local media citing that the Congress is using the undergrounds in Tirap and Changlang Districts. The news item has no iota of truth. It is baseless and out of the context and lack of basic facts. The allegations as per the news item is nothing but cheap politics played by the Minister of State for

APCC REPLIED BACK A news report published in several media alleged that Congress Legislator from the Tuki camp approached Ulfa and the NSCN-K in Tirap and Changlang and requested them to use their influence and persuade 12 Congress MLAs from the two districts to return to the

party fold.

APCC condemns the news report and term it as baseless.

APCC blames Rijiju and hold him responsible for the mushrooming of militants groups in the Northeast.

Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to bring unrest and to create division in the Northeast particularly Arunachal for his political mileage.

Congress has never indulged in all these cheap politics like the BJP. Since Rijiju became minister in the BJP Govt. the entire Northeast is in chaos and he failed to contain the law and order problem. Why and who formed this United Liberation Front of West South East Asia (ULFWSEA)? Rijiju is responsible for this. Mushrooming of

day took many with shock and surprise. This disheartening scene came from outside Manav Kalyan Puja Bhawan at Manav Kalyan Road where a social organization, named, Akhil Bhartiya Marwari Mahila Sanmelan had organized an entertainment event basically meant for fund raising titled "Aapno Gaon" with tickets ranging from Rs 100 to

Rs 400 for public gathering.

For a district where CRPF has been deployed to assist police in counter insurgency operation because the area being an extremist hot-bed including recent declaration as Maoists infested zone is not only a major set back for armed forced including CRPF, Contd. on Page 4

BJP demands immediate probe over the non-maintenance of quality control David Mayum Imphal, Jan 5

BJP Manipur Pradesh President, Thounaojam Chaoba today demanded immediate probe over the non-maintenance of quality control to the construction of Khwairambandh Ima Keithel.

Speaking to reporters, while inspecting the damage portion of Ima Keithel at around 2.00 pm today, the BJP Manipur Pradesh, Contd. on Page 4

APCC condemns the news report alleging militants support to the Nabam Tuki camp A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Jan 5

Pages- 12

Price hike in Toyota, Skoda, Tata Motors

Tuki meets PM Modi, apprises him on the Governor’s role in fueling dissidence Chief Minister Nabam Tuki called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi today at the latter’s 7 Race Course Road Residence and submitted a detailed report on the recent political developments in the wake of the unilateral and unconstitutional orders of the Governor to pre-pone the Assembly Session.

5.00

How The Govt. Handled The Pathankot Attack Showed Its 'Confusion And Under-Preparedness'

Page 8

ET Bureau New Delhi, Jan 5

Price -

militants groups in the Northeast happened after Rijiju was sworn as MoS for Home.

The political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh is created by him for his selfish and excessive misuse of power to crush the people elected Govt. in the State.

BJP and its high command are involving in this crisis rather they squarely blame the Congress as an eyewash. This is the evil design and intolerance practice of BJP that is going on in every non-BJP ruled State in India.

BJP Manipur Pradesh President, Thounaojam Chaoba talking with ima at Imphal market.

Mumbai schoolboy slams 1000 runs, breaks all-time cricket record ANI Mumbai

Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanavde created history as he became the first cricketer in the world to score 1000 runs in one innings.

Pranav, who was playing for KC Gandhi School, smashed 127 boundaries and 59 sixes to reach his unbeaten knock of 1009 on the second day of the two-day match against Arya

Gurukul School.

The 15-year-old's brilliant performance helped his side to declare their innings on world record of 1465, while the opposition side were bundled out for 31 yesterday.

Extending their tribute to Dhanavde, the Maharashtra government has announced to look after the education and coaching expenses of the schoolboy.

Indo-Bangla border grimes with ant-national activities: Singh assures to tackle problems of the border area Partha Sarathi Chakraborty Dhubri, Jan 5

The Indo-Bangladesh border of Dhubri district has been facing anti - national activities and the visit of Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given the cherished hope to solve the prolonged border problem.

The surveillance visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with high level officials was organised by the Simanta Chetona Mancha of Purbattor Dhubri on Monday at Golokganja International Border area of Dhubri district.

The major issues of the

Indo-Bangladesh border are infiltration, cattle smuggling, human trafficking and fake currency etc. The Simanta Chetona Mancha, Purbattor of Dhubri district has been trying their best to arouse the bordering people how to protect themselves from anti-national activities.

During the monsoon the anti-national elements loaded cattles and smuggling goods in the boats and smuggled into Bangladesh in a large number.

In the winter season, the tributary stream is dried up and converted in a barren land be-

tween Ghieumary and Bangladesh which has open the illegal activities without any interference of BSF Jawans. Bangladeshis infiltrate in to Indiaan territory throw Ghieumari border in huge number but at the same time the BSF Jawans who patrol along the border failed to contain Bangladeshis infiltrators.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the disputed areas.

Addressing a public rally at Bishkhowa M.E school near Indo-Bangla Border, Singh

urged the people to vote for the BJP led government to fulfill their prolonged requirements.

He thanked the security forces for protecting the border of India nation from anti- national activities.

Assamease film actor Pranjal Saikia, BJP national Secretary Ram Madhab, Mahendra Singh, BJP National secretary and Party incharge of Assam and other senior officials attended of BJP attended the meeting. Various organizations submitted their memorandum to the Home Minister for safety and security of the border.

A BSF officer greets Uninon Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his Indo-Bangla Border visit. Pic - UB Photos

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Dalam Studio Near parking stand Khonsa

PAGE 2

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Haflong to observe road safety week from January 10 ET Correspondent, Haflong, January 5: To observe January 10 to 16 as road safety week in Haflong, a meeting in this regard was called by the motor vehicle branch in presence of Dima Hasao deputy commissioner Amarendra Barua on 3 January last.

The theme of the observance for this year is 'Road Safety- Time for

Tapan Deka remembered ET Correspondent Doomdooma, Jan 5 : The sixth death anniversary Tapan Deka , a social worker and former secretary of Doomdooma Branch Sahitya Sabha was observed at Sahitya Sabha Bhawan here today.

Garlands were offered on his photo by the present Sahitya Sabha president Arjun Baruah .

Senior citizen Niren Barua lit the earthen lamp.

Later a meeting was held to commemorate Deka under the presidentship of Arjun Baruah .

The work and deeds of Deka were explained in the meeting by Dharmkanta Gogoi , Devanan Choudhry and Jitumani Nath .

Nityanand Das , Secretary of Doomdooma Sahitya Sabha anchored the whole programme.

Action' as briefed by the motor vehicle in charge and magistrate M J Thaosen. Presiding over the action plan for the week long observance Thaosen said that apart from the regular activities like every year this year some new activities have also been incorporated.

A rally from cultural institute hall to council rotary and back is to be

organised by the traffic branch in association with the motor vehicle branch, auto-rickshaw association and the auto drivers on the 10 January next. Next day a free eye check up for the auto drivers will be held at the cultural institute hall. As a part of the observance, training on road safety will be imparted to the teachers and students of various schools at

Haflong.

During the week an enforcement drive will be held and strong vigil to check drunken driving by using breath analyser is to be done. The PWD road was instructed to construct speed breaker at various points within the town area so as to keep the speed limited by the drivers. It was also decided in the meeting that

in order to spread awareness among the public regarding road safety a street play is also likely to be organised during the observance.

The meeting was attended by Joint Director Health Services, Dima Hasao DIPRO, Inspector of Schools, PWD Engineer Road Div, Traffic in-charge and other officials.

APS students’ thrilled to see Science exhibition on running train Bijoy S. Handique Jorhat, Jan 5: The students of Army Public School (APS), Jorhat had visited Science express on Climatic action special train at Mariani railway junction on both the days on January 4and 5 2016. Students from Class VIII to XI were taken out to take the taste of the unique train totally on climatic change, informed Shankar Zee-senior Geography teacher from APS. Students were very happy and was thrilled to learn about various environmental issues concerning over the planets.

The students were made aware of the necessity to preserve and conserve the natural resources for the future. “The visit was quite enriching for the students as they realized how a small step towards conserving a natural re-

sources could make a huge difference,’’ said Purbali Sharma, Senior Botany teacher of APS. Manas Protim Borah another senior teacher of APS said that joy of science lab in the rail was superb as it provide learning environment where children from classe V onwards can perform experiments on their own. Their inherent curiosities was nurtured through fun field and engaging activity, experiments and inter active models in physics, chemistry, biology, electronics, mathematics, climate change etc. The activities are designed to create an interest in sciences and also developed the understanding of scientific concepts.

Other senior teacher Mala Baruah and Geetarthi Bora said that

this coach fosters the understanding of science of climate change by giving insight in the climate as a system, the greenhouse gas effect and underline reasons of climate change as the key message of the coaches clearly highlighting the current change in the climate is due to human activities.

It will also bring an impact on climate change as the train explains why India should be concern about climate change.

Raise of temperature, monsoon variation, sea level raise are predicted to affect vital sectors like water, agriculture, forest and bio-diversity and human health which is very clearly symbolized through real pictures, models etc.

Few students from the XI standard of Science stream like Ved Bijoy Neog, Bobita Baruah,

Udesh Nath and Rahul Saikia after experiencing their trip said that climate change can be combated through mitigation and adaptation. Adaptation will be by the common people from children today to adult in future, while government policies, development, investment and science and technology is important in combating the climate change and through this 16 coaches climate change exhibition on rails which is stopping at 64 stoppages throughout the country will really bring an impact from North to South and from East to West, the organizer of the Science Express really need from students like us. The four member group really thank themselves and the Principal of the school Madam Hye and their guides to make them see this unique train.

Preparation for Republic Irani to lay new KV building Day at Haflong ET Correspondent Haflong, January 5: As the Republic Day just a few days away, preparations for the celebration of R-Day have started in the district of DimaHasao. Amarendra Baruah, Dima Hasao Deputy Commissioner held a general meeting with all departments and members of various organisations involved in organising the function on Tuesday at his

conference hall.

Addressing the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner Barua said that Republic Day should be celebrated with peace and harmony like every year. Later the programme of the function was read out by Assistant Commissioner M J Thaosen.

Like every year the programme will be held at N L Daulagupu Sports com-

plex at Haflong. And the day will begin with launching of Probhat Pheri early morning. Discussions were done regarding transportation, cultural programme, security, food, water, sitting arrangements. Fruits will be distributed among patients in the hospital.

The meeting ended with the vote of thanks by Assistant Commissioner Deepak Jidung. (DIPRO)

ET Correspondent Golaghat , Jan 5: A Foundation stone laying ceremony will be held in Golaghat January 6 . The Foundation stone of the new building of Kendriya Vidyalaya ,Golaghat will be laid by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Zubin Irani .

In the ceremony Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs and State BJP President Sarbananda

Sonowal, Kaliabor MP Gaurav Gogoi , Commissioner of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Santosh Kumar Mall will be present along with Smriti Zubin Irani .

The Kendriya Vidyalaya ,Golaghat was established at Pulibor in 2007 and the sanctioned new building will be at Selengi which is located at a distance of 2 Km from the district headquarters.

Yearlong Jubilee celebration of Panigaon Model HS School concludes ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Jan . 5: “Nature is the best teacher of man. The students of today, along with us are becoming away from nature accepting the luxuries gifted by the developed technology. But they should endeavor to come back to nature to expand their knowledge"- appealed Kishor Kumar Sarmah, Student and youth fraternity in the open session of the Concluding Ceremony of the Golden Jubilee Festival of Panigaon Model Higher Secondary school in Lakhimpur. Participating as the Appointed Speaker

FASHION TIME...

in the program the Chief Scientist of the Regional Agriculture and Research Center, Lakhimpur elaborated the curse and bless of the information technology which haunts and helps the student and the youth at present. "We should not accuse only the students and the youth for their delinquency, as each and every one of them has much potential of his own" he stated.

Meanwhile, the Open Session which began with a chorus chaired by Kinaram Gogoi, President of the Celebration Committee. The open

session was inaugurated

by Paresh Baruah, former Principal of the School.

Baruah emphasised dynamism of the school and explained the achievements during the last fifty years. Utpal Dutta, MLA of Lakhimpur , who was also invited as Chief guest. He later appealed the students to be aware politically for the sake of the nation.

On the other hand, ExMLA Ghana Buragohain, social activist Uday Sankar Hajarika were present in the meeting as Invited Guests. Both of them delivered inspiring lecture addressing the stu-

dents and the gathering of the meeting. Hemanta Saikia, the Principal of the school and the Secretary of the Celebration Committee anchored the program and delivered the welcome address.

Phani Baruah, the former teacher of the school and Rtd Principal of Namrup HS School released the souvenir 'Sonali Shaich' . Acting President Ananta Madhab Borah offered the Vote of Thanks.

Aroti Kalita student of the school performed a Borgeet with kid artist Rakhi Medhi while

LET’S PREPARE FOR BIHU

Youth collect hay from the near by paddy field to erect Bhelaghar for the ensuing Magh or Bhogali Bihu in Dhakuakhana. Pic - UB Photos

Dimpy Borah performed creative dance in the program. Prior to the open Session, Mahendra Sarmah, the founder Head Master of Panigaon ME School Inaugurated the colorful Cultural Procession at 10am. In the evening at 6pm, a colorful cultural night, which was inaugurated by dramatist Ghana Hajarika in which several ethnic cultural elements were displayed and different artist and the students of the school performed cultural items. The yearlong program concluded with the event.

Corrigendum In the news title ' Registration of Arunachal CM Health Insurance Card in Diyun' published under the section ET capsule on 5th January 2016 Dr. Mrinal is addressed as the Chief Medical Officer. He is the Medical Officer Incharge and not a Chief Medical Officer.

The inadvertent error is deeply regretted.

The four finalists from Guwahati audition for Fbb Femina Miss India 2016 posing for a group photograph in Guwahati. Pic - UB Photos

ASTRO FOR YOU Do something really exciting today - perhaps you could put on your trekking boots and explore unknown territories.

People will stand charmed by your high spirits. There will be stressful moments, but things will look up later in the day. Take some time off if things get too hectic for you.

Your love for performing arts may make you take up lessons in classical music or traditional dance. And much to your delight, your sweetheart will treat you to a surprise candlelit dinner.

Your way of talk today will be such that it can cause misunderstanding. In a fit of emotion, you will take a hasty decision. You will regret the same in future, but you will also get a chance to rectify the same.

It is likely that the day is going to be very hectic for you in terms of work and business. You may be engaged in official conversations and dealings. Also, don't be surprised to find yourself in meetings as you attempt to take stock of your business situation.

Students may focus on upcoming examinations and will learn to balance study and leisure time, in equal measure. It is a good day to buy real estate. Overall, a day to lie low and let your mind run free in its pursuit of pleasure.

Today is the day when you seem to agree with everything that people say, without striking even a note of criticism. It's just one of those days when you are amazed by all things around you. Such an elastic approach will enable you to be reasonable in your views and sensible in your ways.

It may have been on the cards for long and finally, you may end up buying a state-of-the-art motor vehicle or a palatial house of your dreams today. In addition, your generous mood may also egg you on to buy an expensive gift for your life partner. If you do not let the generosity burn a hole through your pocket, you may have an overall satisfying day.

Round and round they tumble, the wheels of life, smoothly gliding into a routine. You may spend your day in discontent due to the rut of regular activities. Sadly, there is little hope or adventure.

You are beaming with optimism and positive energy. Such strong vibes will penetrate through the day and maintain the energy level right till the end. Not everyone is blessed with such spirit, so will certainly have an upper hand at work, be it your profession or business.

You may fall in love today! If single, romance colours your day with a rainbow. If married, you may enjoy a quiet but romantic evening with your spouse.

Today you will feel like sharing you innermost feelings with those that you are close to. You will find yourself communicating better and this will result in attracting intellectual people towards you. You will get an opportunity to work with very educated and well established people. This will result in personal progress at work,

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

6-1-16 (WEDNESDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-50 A.M-Naam 6-30 A.M-Bidyarthir Anusthan 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 Assamese Film Songs) 12-05 P.M-Surar Satsori 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-Karpumpuli 7-35 P.M-Ujjwal Bhabishyat 8-00 P.M-Parikrama 8-15 P.M-Talk In English 10-00 P.M-Classical Music Sd-/H.O.P

PAGE 3

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Relief distributed to CM Nabam Tuki wishes Si-Donyi festival fire victims in Banskota Itanagar, Jan 5: Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has conveyed his best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Si-Donyi, the most important festival of the Tagin community.

On the eve of the festival, Tuki on behalf of the state government wished a joyous celebration of the festival, one of the most

colourful festivals of the state that signifies the varied and rich cultural heritage of the state's indigenous communities.

"I join my Tagin brothers and sisters on this joyous occasion and am optimistic that the festival would foster peace and communal harmony in the state as it always has," Tuk said in a message here this evening.

He further expressed belief that the celebration would strengthen the bond with the rich indigenous traditions and modernity.

"Our festivals are our identity and a strong link with our roots," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister called upon the people to remain alert and follow

Nabam Tuki

stipulated guidelines to thwart any untoward incident in case of natural calamities like the recent earthquake that emanated from Manipur causing loss of lives and properties.

He expressed grief and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members who lost their dear and near ones in the recent calamity.

(DIPRO)

Massive traffic awareness campaign launched Relief distributed to fire victims in Banskota.

Pasighat, Jan 5: In a fire accident on Saturday 2nd January, three rented rooms of Dana Ratan in Banskota area were burnt. In the unfortunate accident all the belongings of the tenants

Health care meeting in Tawang Itanagar, Jan 5: A meeting to take stock of health care situation was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner, Tawang Sri.Duly kamduk today. In the meeting , DC Tawang asked the DMO to ensure the stay of ANMs and GNMs at their place of posting and to conduct regular monitoring and supervisory visits. He also sought for timely reporting of their activities. Further he enquired about the Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) which are to be conducted every month at villages. Reiterating on the important role of ASHAs and anganwadi workers at grassroot level, he asked the DMO and CDPOS to mobilize them from time to time and to keep a check on their work. DIPRO.

were reduced into ashes.

Local MLA Kaling Moyong immediately responded and according to his direction, Obit Tamuk (Mandal President) along

with Ward-5 municipal councilor Kaling Doruk distributed utensils, blankets and other necessities to the three victim families on the next day (Jan-3), on behalf of MLA Moyong.

Governor extends Si Donyi Festival Greetings Itanagar, Jan 5:The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Shri JP Rajkhowa has extended warm greetings to the people of the State on the auspicious occasion of Si Donyi, the most important festival of the Tagin Community.

In his message, the Governor said that ‘Si’ signifies the earth and ‘Donyi’ is the sun.

Since time immemorial, these natural elements play a vital role in the day-to-day life of the people. It is believed that existence of human being and all living things on earth, their health,

development and evolution depend on it. Thus, the celebration symbolizes the prayers to the Almighty for wellbeing of all. He wished that the tradition, which has been handed down the generations, will invoke blessing of Almighty Gods and Goddesses.

On this joyous occasion, I offer my prayers to Almighty Si Donyi to protect all from diseases and natural calamities and also for their blessings for peace, progress, communal harmony and good harvest, the Governor further said in his message.

(DIPRO)

District Level Committee meeting held Changlanh, Jan 5: In order to accelerate the activities of “Jal Kranti Abhiyan” in Changlang district, the Deputy Commissioner, Changlang convened the District Level Committee meeting h e r e i n h i s O ff i c e Chamber, today.

Addressing the meeting the Deputy Commissioner deliberately explained the guidelines of the abhiyan and expressed the need

of selecting two Jal Gram among the water-stress villages in the district on priority basis.

The committee Chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, after threadbare discussion selected Old Dukpey village under Manmao C D Block and Neotan village under Miao-Khagam CD Block as Jal gram and decided to speed up the activities under the Abhiyan. (DIPRO)

Congress refutes news item, blames Rijiju for allegedly playing cheap politics A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Dec 5: Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has condemned in strongest terms the news item which appeared in the local media citing that the Congress is using the undergrounds in Tirap and Changlang Districts.

“The news item has no iota of truth. It is baseless and out of the context and lack of basic facts.

The allegations as per the news item is nothing but cheap politics played by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to bring unrest and

to create division in the Northeast particularly Arunachal for his political mileage”, a press release issued by Padi Richo, President, Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee stated.

Congress has never indulged in all these cheap politics like the BJP. Since Rijiju became minister in the BJP Govt., the entire Northeast is in chaos and he failed to contain the law and order problem, the statement added. Why and Who formed this United Liberation Front of West South East Asia (ULFWSEA)? Rijiju is

responsible for this.

Mushrooming of militants groups in the Northeast happened after Rijiju was sworn as MoS for Home. The political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh is created by him for his selfish and excessive misuse of power to crush the people elected Govt. in the State. BJP and its high command are involving in this crisis rather they squarely blame the Congress as an eyewash. This is the evil design and intolerance practice of BJP that is going on in every non-BJP ruled State in India, the statement further stated.

Stolen bike recovered at Tangla Shajid Khan Tangla , Jan 5: A team of Assam Police of Kalaigaon Police station led by Sub-Inspector Dhiren Borah recovered a stolen bike from Tangla town on January 3 last.The bike was stolen from Kalaigaon weekly market area on December

13. The owner of the stolen bike is Tapan Das, a resident of village Bhehguri. The police said that the stolen bike bearing registration number AS-13B 5591 was recovered on Sunday evening and two bike lifters were also arrested from Tangla.

They have been identified as Dhanjyoti Deka , son of Gajen Deka, and Rajkumar Barman, son of Nripen Barman.

Kalaigaon police have registered a case 239/15 under IPC 379 and forwarded the bike lifters to Udalguri district Jail.

Pasighat, Jan 5: With in- NCC volunteers. The main creasing road accidents in market area was full of trafPasighat Township becom- fic police and NCC (Boys & ing a major cause of con- Girls) volunteers of DEM cern. and East IGJ Always obey traffic rules: DC Siang Higher adSecministration has now started ondary schools guiding the a special awareness cam- commuters about the traffic paign among masses about rules. the traffic rules and road safety. Deputy Commissioner Delivering the inaugural adIsha Khosla formally dress, Deputy Commissioner launched a four-day long Isha Khosla appreciated the Traffic Awareness Campaign role of officers, police peron yesterday on Jan-4 amidst sonnel and NCC volunteers. the PMC Chief Councilor She appealed public to supDenong Tamuk, MEO port this campaign and to (PMC) Deepak Shinde, DTO make Pasighat an accident (Tpt) Chakfa Wangsu, OC free city. Khosla giving 'Stop, Traffic ABS Ahmed and Look and Proceed' mantra,

Massive traffic awareness campaign launched. stated that "The massive exercise aims at inculcating awareness and interest among young residents so that they take all care to fol-

Army to Organize Recruitment Rally at Daporijo Aalo, Jan 5 : In its effort to provide an excellent employment opportunity for the youths of this remote state, a special recruitment rally for enrolment into Army is tentatively scheduled to be organized at Daporijo in the last week of February

2016 and exact date of the rally will be intimated later on.

A sincere endeavor will be to provide necessary assistances to the youths of remote areas to facilitate them to get maximum advantage of this golden opportunity. 1-JAK

LI (SHER-E-KASHMIR) is planning to conduct a Pre-Recruitment Coaching Camp for the potentials youth at the ALG. The joint effort will enhance image of the Army and civil administration among local populace. (DIPRO)

low rules and regulations when they attain adulthood and become a responsible citizen," adding that it was important for the children to

learn traffic rules as they would be driving vehicles on roads in future and young age was the best time to imbibe good things. (DIPRO)

DC bans carrying of weapons and firearms under section 144 CrPC A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Dec 5: Apprehending that there might be breach of peace and tranquilty in the areas under the Itanagar capital complex area, Mige Kamki, Deputy Commissioner cum district magistrate of Itanagar capital complex in exercise of powers conferred under section 144 CrPC has banned carrying of weapons

like dao, knife, firearms, sticks, lathis, etc by the people or in their vehicles which may lead to law and order situation. The DC has also instructed all the executive magistrates of the respective jurisdictions to take necessary action with the help of OCs of the Police Station of their jurisdiction to maintain law and order.

Pasighatians observed 19th death anniversary of Bakin Pertin Pasighat, Jan 5: 19th death anniversary of visionary leader Late Bakin Pertin was observed in his Mirbuk residence with great enthusiasm today. More than 100 people gathered for the solemn occasion, offered floral tribute and had a condolence prayer in the memory of the great leader. KEK President Tokbom Perme remembered contributions of Bakin Pertin for development of society, state and the nation while Onyok Pertin presented life history. Among others, Tatdo Borang, Dr. Dangi Perme, Oling Ratan, Advocate Tonning Pertin, Todol Petin, Tokmem Pertin Loyi and Orin Ratan also spoke on the occasion.

Late Bakin Pertin is known as philosopher, thinker, visionary person and "Political Guru" of many renowned leaders of Arunachal Pradesh.

Born on 1st May, 1942 in Damro village (Presently Upper Siang) was permanently settled at Mirbuk village, Pasighat in the year 1997. Pertin completed his middle standard education in English Missionary School, Sadiya in 1949 and admitted in Pasighat Govt.

High School in 1954.

Pertin studied at St. Edmund's College in Shillong and Delhi College in Delhi. Pertin began his political activism during his student years.

In 1959 the All NEFA Students Union (later re-

In 1974 he became the general secretary of the Bogum Bokang Kebang (the highest tribal authority of the Adi people). In 1975 he became the vicepresident of the Siang Zilla Parishad.

named as the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union) was founded, with Pertin as its general secretary. He worked at the news division of All India Radio between 1964 and 1969.

He was a member of Damro Gram Panchayat, Maryiang Anchal Samiti and Siang Zilla Parishad.

The 1977 general election was the first time the newly created Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh was able to elect two members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament).

Pertin contested the election as an independent candidate for the Arunachal East constituency and won the seat.

After being elected to the Lok Sabha, Pertin founded the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA)

and became the president of the new party. He tried to win back in 1980 general election but lost the Arunachal East Lok Sabha seat.

He tried to win back the Arunachal East Lok Sabha seat in the 1984 election. He also contested the 1984 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, as PPA candidate in the Meriyang-Mebo constituency and won.

In 1990, Pertin contested two seats in the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election as a Janata Dal candidate. Mariyang-Geku (ST) and Pasighat East (ST) but lost in both constituencies. Pertin died in 1996 at the age of 53.

Rare reptile ‘Keko’ rescued , one held ET Correspondent Mangaldai, Jan 5: Jawans of 37 Battalion of Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) with its head quarter here on Monday has saved a rare and endangered species of reptile 'Tokay Gecko' (Gekko Gecko) commonly known as "Keko" Snake and managed to nab one from Pathar Nala Chowk near Khaira Grant in Baska district at 2 pm. According to the information received late here the rare reptile which reportedly has a strong demand in the international smuggling market in recent time due to some superstitions was about to take away from the area in a vehicle to sell it in the smuggling market when acting on a tip off jawans of the battalion intercepted Mahindra Balero vehicle

bearing registration number AS 01 U 2977 and rescued the animal from the possession of the passenger of the vehicle who was later identified as Deben Chetri son of Ganesh Bahadur Chetri of village Pandey Basti, Bholajhar under Goreswar Police Station in Baska district.

The SSB jawans also seized the vehicle.a used by the arrested smuggler.

The smuggler has been identified as one Deben Chetri son of Ganesh Bahadur Chetri of village Pandey Basti, Bholajhar under Goreswar Police Station in Baska district.

The arrested smuggler confessed before the SSB that he was planning to sell it to an international racket of smugglers at the price of around Rs. 18 lakhs.

The SSB meanwhile has

The rare reptile ‘Keko’ along with the arrested SSB personel. handed over the arrested smuggler and the recovered reptile to the forest office at Rajagarh,Udalguri along

Indo-Bhutan border. The wildlife activists in Udalguri and Mangaldai have appreciated the initiative of the troops of the

SSB in making prompt arrest of the smuggler and the subsequent recovery of the highly endangered reptile.

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Symposium held at Three-day certificate course on Wildlife th th – 7 Research Techniques from Jan 5 Panigaon High School ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Jan. 5: "Knowledge has limitation of its own. So knowledge is not the answer of all human problems. Only intuition helps man to discover himself a superb dimension and then he can analyze him virtually," said Purandar Baruah in a symposium held at Panigaon Model Higher Secondary school on the auspicious occasion of the concluding ceremony of the year long Golden Jubilee festival of the school.

Participating as the Chief discussing Person of the topic 'Roll and contribution of present education in the upliftment of knowledge and intuition of the students', the scholar of the eastern Philosophy elaborated the knowledge and intuition, the present education system, its contribution with detailed explanation for the benefit of the students and the common people. he said that inorance leads us to destruction every day. To wipe out the darkness of ignorance knowledge is required and the knowledge should be transformed to intuition.

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Jan 5: Wildlife research, a subject which was fairly unknown even a few years ago, is now fast becoming one of great interest for the younger generation, who seek alternative careers as wildlife researchers and conservationists.

A speaker during the Symposium held at Panigaon High School.

the Principal of Panigaon Om Prakash Dinodia College. Inaugurating the symposium he arose several questions related to the topic and expected resolution of them from the discussing persons.

Lakhi Borah, the ex-student of the school and the Head Master of Indira Gandhi High School also rendered an thought provoking lecture on the topic. The event was anchored by Bibekananda Nath, the Secretary of the Academic Sub Committee anchored the program where in Kid artists Khumani Baruah and Choynika Borah performed creative dance and Santoshi Das sang song. On the other hand, prior to the program, the It is to be noted the sym- Guardian Conference posium was chaired by commenced from 10am Rosheswar Bhuyan, the and a discussion was founder Vice Principal of held on the topic 'Rethe School and inaugu- sponsibilities and duties rated by Dr Suresh Dutta, of students, guardian and

teachers in the education system at present'.

The program was chaired

by Umesh Borah, the President of the School Management and the Development Committee. Dr Biman Chetia, the Principal of North Lakhimpur College (Autonomous) inaugurated the the symposium in which Nabin Chandra Dutta, the Former Principal of Lakhimpur DIET delivered an informative lecture as Appointed Speaker. Geetacharya Khirod Borah took part in the program as an invited guest. It is note worthy that the school premises has been filling with a festive environment on the occasion of the festival. Ex-students, former teachers and the well wishers along with the local people thronged the venue with much enthusiasm on the occasion.

Satgari Govt. MV school gears up for centenary celebrations Shajid Khan Tangla, Jan 5: Satgari Govt. M.V School an educational institution, which celebrates and respects diversity in all its hues, and endeavours to touch the pinnacles of excellence, will rejoice to celebrate its 100 years of glorious existence.

Preparation is currently under way to celebrate the historic moment with a three-day extravaganza on January 16, 17 and 18.

Established in 1907 during the pre-independence times the school located at Tangla has always been the backbone of education in earlier Darrang district and presently Udalguri district and its surrounding areas. The colourful cel-

ebration will take off on January 16 with the unfurling of 100 school flags by the school teachers, ex-teachers, alumni and officials of the Centenary Organising Committee. The celebration will culminate on January 18 with an open session, scheduled to be attended by Ramen Deka, Member of Parliament, Mangaldai Lok Shabha, Santius Kujur, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, research scholar Ismail Hussain, Kamali Basumatari, MLA, Paneri LAC, Khampa Borgayari, Deputy Speaker, BTC, Jagadish Sarkar, EM, BTC, Bonjar Daimari EM, BTC and others. The three-day festivity is

packed with serious brainstorming sessions, rich display of culture, science exhibition etc.

According to the organizers, the preparations have been going since months back. The threeday festivity will include host of buzzing activities like Alumni Meet, Cultural programmes, rallies, drawing competition and many other events. On January 18 a cultural night programme will be organized were popular singers Dwipen Baruah and Vreegu Kashyap will enthrall the audience. A group of comedians namely 'Maheswar Nath and his team from Mangaldai will also entertain the audience.

BURNING PROTEST

In view of the growing demand for training on the subject, the Department of Zoology of the University of Science and Technology (USTM) in collaboration with Aaranyak, is organizing a three-day certificate

course on Wildlife Research Techniques from 5th – 7th January, 2016.

It is worth mentioning that USTM and Aaranyak signed a MoU in 2015, to promote research and conservation through building capacity of young students and get engaged in applied research in the field of biodiversity conservation. Speaking in the inaugural session this morning, Prof. P.C. Bhattacharjee, retired Head of the Deptt. of Zoology, Gauhati University, appreciated the efforts of Aaranyak and USTM to

bring such certificate course for the benefit of students and researchers. The Chairman of USTM Mr. M. Haque also mentioned that over 100 applicants applied for this training for which 30 seats were available.

This shows demand for such training in the region.

Dr. Bibhab Talukdar, Secretary General and CEO of Aaranyak emphasized the rich biodiversity in the region and young students and researchers could do research and conservation work in the region with ut-

Mukhya Mantrir Sunali Saisab Prakalpa launched in Dibrugarh

A huge number of applicants were received, out of which 30 participants from all over India viz Pondicherry, West Bengal, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Delhi, were selected to attend the course. The training provides intensive training on wildlife research techniques including tiger, co-predator and prey monitoring, birds identification, arboreal spe-

cies identification and survey techniques, field survey of herpetofauna and aquatic fauna, handling of GPS, camera trapping, preparation of educational materials for conservation, wildlife photography techniques, etc.

The training which is residential has been organized inside the USTM campus at 9 Mile, bordering Meghalaya and Guwahati.

In view of the huge response and rush of the participants, the organizers are planning to organize a second batch of training, shortly.

Child protection programme initiated in Kokrajhar ET Correspondent Kokrajhar, Jan 5: It is a shock and resented breeze among citizens of Assam that every year, at least 50 persons including children have been trafficked from various

districts of Lower Assam, which has been becoming a sensitive issue for the society as children are also not spared from trafficking in today’s hi-tech era in the state of Assam.

CRPF jawans deployed as guard in private events, a cause of worry in Tinsukia Contd. from Page 1

Children taking out a rally â•œMukhya Mantrir Sunali Saisab Prakalpaâ• Surakshit Sishu- Surakshit Axom at Dibrugarh. Pic - UB Photos A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Jan.5: Dibrugarh Deputy Commissioner M.S Manivannan today launched the ‘Mukhya Mantrir Sunali Saisab Prakalpa’ in Dibrugarh at District Library. In his inaugural speech, Manivannan has

made emphasis on child rights, protection of children as responsibilities of the society and government as well. He also gave importance on ban of child labor and child trafficking. It is worth mentioning that the main aims and objectives of this program is to secure

child’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation through convergent efforts of various government departments in close collaboration with the civil society organizations.

The main slogan of this program is ‘Surakshit Sishu, Suraxit Axom’.

BJP demands immediate probe over the non-maintenance of quality control Contd. from Page 1

Chaoba further demanded to constitute an inquiry committee to probe over the issue or handed over of the investigation to independent central agency like CBI. Chaoba further demanded to demolish the present Khwairamband Keithel building and construct new one by maintaining proper quality. He also urged the state government to provide immediate allocation for the vendor ladies at some places before any unwanted crisis occur.

The state BJP President said that the matter will also be put up to the notice of the central leadership.

On the other hand Keithel Phambi Apunba Lup and Manipur Keithel Nupi also demanded CBI or NIA probe over the crum-

bling of the major pillars of the Ima Keithel as the incident had proved that quality has not been maintain to the construction of the two Ima keithel.

President of the Keithel Phambi Apunba Lup Mema while speaking to reporters also demanded to constitute inquiry commission against the authority of the Simplex Company which had constructed the two Ima Keithel.

She further questioned the reason on why the Chief Minister did not come out to talk with the vendor ladies.

Interestingly, of the three Khwairamband Ima Keithel, the two which had been affected by yesterday’s tremor was constructed by the Simplex Company while the other which is not affected by the tremor was constructed by the state PWD department.

On the other side the Works Minister Kh. Ratan today clarified that state PWD had no hands to the construction of the two Khwairamband keithel which was severely damage in yesterday’s tremor. Speaking to media persons at his office chamber today afternoon, Works Minister Ratan said that the entire construction work of the two Khwairamband Kethel has been done by National Building Construction Company Limited (NBSS) after it has been handed over to them by the Central Government authority.

Ratan said that the matter about the non maintenance of quality control to the construction of the Khwairamband keithel has been put to the notice of the Cabinet Secretary of the central government.

Promising cricket scorer Anupam Das found dead

AJYCP, Tinsukia activists burn the effigy of CM Tarun Gogoi as a mark of protest for not arresting the murderers of Dipjyoti Gogoi, a AJYCP activist. Pic - Arjun Mishra

most devotion. He said Aaranyak and USTM shall jointly conduct such training from time to time.

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, Jan 5: Young and promising cricket scorer Anupam Das (30) was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his Santipur residence in Guwahati on Monday.

Injury marks were seen in his body, eyewitnesses said. Police detained one woman in connection with the case.

He was associated with the Assam Cricket Association and was a BCCI

panel scorer.

The president, secretary and members of the Veteran Cricket Association of Assam and the entire cricketing fraternity of the State condoled the sudden demise of the talented scorer.

army and police and bringing down the morale of the personnel and jawan deployed, but the fact that the crime graph of the district, particularly, Tinsukia town being continuously on rise on the backdrop of lesser police personnel such incidents have become a cause of worry for the common man.

Speaking to Superintendent of Tinsukia police Mugdha Jyoti Mahanto over the issue it is learnt that only if there is threat from extremists or criminals or chances of breach of tranquility security may be provided to such events. However, providing security to such small events on request by the organizers citing security concerns causes lot of difficulty to the police administration which is battling crime and terror, both, with already paucity of security personnel, admitted Mahanto.

In a civil society it is for everyone to judge whether threat from extremists or criminals or chances of breach of tranquility looms large on such small event like "Aapno Gaon" with a gathering of merely a couple of thousands persists out-rightly or not, particularly, on the matter of fact that neither the event is surrounded by controversy nor celebri-

ties are thronging the event which may trigger out-pour of fans creating law and order concerns.

Allegations have poured in that calling armed security personnel has become a fashion is a bid to showcase power and connections and is not justified. This twoday event started on January 2 a decision to extend has been extended for one-day. Since Sunday, pictures of half a dozen armed CRPF personnel alongwith a couple of policeman sitting outside the venue has sent wrong message in the masses as well as lowering the morale of the forces because this is not what the CRPF jawans, in particular, have been trained for.

Such misuse of jawans who lay their life for country would send wrong signals in the masses and youths might choose not to join the forces if this is what they have to do.

Intellectuals say that it’s high time such socalled social organizations must realize their duty and role and should pay and hire bouncers instead of calling armed security forces on standby as guards at the cost of common man security at large and tax payer's money. Just as organizers, disc owners in other big cities and towns do, added intellectuals.

PAGE 5

REGION

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Agitation threat over tea garden dues - TMC MP KD Singh's Alchemist defaults on pay Darjeeling, Jan 5: The trade union of tea estate workers affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said labourers of three hill gardens owned by Trinamul Rajya Sabha member K.D. Singh hadn't been paid for two months and threatened to launch an agitation if the issue was not resolved at a meeting on January 14.The Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union said the three estates of the Alchemist Group in the hills had dues worth over Rs 5.

54 crore. On January 14, the assistant labour commissioner's office is scheduled to hold a meeting between the management and the Morcha union to discuss the non-payment of wages.Suraj Subba, the general secretary of the Morcha union, said: "Alchemist Group, whose

Country needs PM with six-inch brain: JD-U's Bihar leader Patna, Jan 5 : In the wake of the Pathankot terror attack, Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United on Monday took a dig at Narendra Modi, saying the country needed a prime minister with a six-inch brain rather than a 56-inch chest."Our country does not need a prime minister with a 56-inch chest; what we need is a PM with six-inch brain," JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.The JD-U leader said the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot town of Punjab had shocked and saddened the people across the country.

Neeraj said Modi had become an "item boy" of foreign policy."It is difficult to understand Modi's foreign policy. He has become an item boy of foreign policy," he said. Neeraj Kumar, considered close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleged that Modi indulged in sycophancy with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif for 120 minutes during his unscheduled visit to Lahore in December.Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh in January 2014, Modi had talked of 56-inch chest while taking a dig at Mulayam Singh Yadav regarding development of the latter's state. (Agencies)

chairman is Trinamul MP K.D. Singh, has not paid workers wages for the past two months. Rations have not been distributed to the workers for the past eight months and the total dues of the company have touched Rs 5. 54 crores."According to him, the Rs 5.54 crore dues include gratuity, medical bills, rations and fringe benefits like distribution of umbrellas, blankets and scythes.Singh is the chairman emeritus of the Alchemist Group which owns the three hill gardens through Dooteriah & Kalej Valley Tea Estates Private Limited.

The estates are Dooteriah, Peshok and Kalej Valley.

Dooteriah has 1,372 workers, while Kalej Valley and Peshok have 642 and 570 labourers, respectively.

Subba said the union would

Suraj Subba take to the streets if a positive outcome didn't emerge at a meeting convened by the labour department on January 14. "The assistant labour commissioner's office has called a meeting in Darjeeling on January 14 and if no solution is found to the problems in the three gardens on that day, we will

take to the streets. We have noticed that despite our union cooperating with the Darjeeling tea industry, garden owners are not generally reciprocating by providing workers with their benefits. We are now thinking of starting an agitation to demand workers' rights," said Subba.He did not disclose the details of the agitation that the union planned to start if the January 14 meeting failed. "We will announce the agitation on a later date."The hills have 87 tea plantations in total. Tukvar estate, 10km from Darjeeling, is the only garden shut in the hills now.

The management had issued a "suspension of operation" in Tukvar after some workers had allegedly tried to beat up a manager.Sunil Thapa, a central committee member of the

union and a worker of Dooteriah estate, said: "We even met K.D. Singh in Delhi on December 16 but apart from promises, nothing has come from his end. Senior company officials like P.K. Verma (director) and Sujit Bhattacharya (chief executive officer) have not given any concrete answers on paying the workers' dues."Thapa said the management had neither closed the gardens nor was paying wages. "The gardens have not declared a lockout. The management is in the garden and workers continue to discharge their duties but they are not being paid," said Thapa. Verma admitted that the management had not been able to pay wages to the workers."It is true that we have not been able to pay wages for some time now, probably four to five

weeks. We are trying to manage funds and hopefully, we will be able to clear some dues before the January 14 meeting. We will definitely be attending the meeting in Darjeeling," he said.Verma said ever since the company had taken over the three gardens in 2006-07, business had not been good."To be very frank, it was a bad business deal.

Tea bushes of Dooteriah are very old and the production is low. Kalej Valley is doing well but because of losses in Dooteriah, it has always been difficult (to run it).

We are pumping funds from other business (of the group). Nevertheless, we agree that the workers should not suffer and we are trying our best," said Verma. (Agencies)

Rescue and relief work in Manipur Imphal, Jan 5: Rescue and relief work today was on in full swing in quake-hit Manipur even as life limped back to normal with markets opening in the state capital.However, offices and educational institutes remained close in the aftermath of the quake that left seven persons dead and 100 injured.Several buildings in Manipur secretariat and the landmark Ima market in Imphal had developed cracks while some school structures collapsed.The NDRF team from Guwahati, which was engaged in rescue in Tamenglong district and Imphal besides other parts of state, was clearing debris and searching if anyone was still trapped, officials said.

In markets of the state capital, some women vendors refused to move in fearing there will be cracks in the structure but they later sat in the nearby open area.

were in serious condition and admitted to different hospitals in Manipur, including the state-run RIIMS and JNIMS.Rest of the injured were discharged after first aid.The epicenter of the quake, which shook the North-East region at 4:30 am was at Kabui Kjulen, 10 km from Noney sub-division of Manipur's Tamenglong district. (Agencies)

Rescue and relief work in Manipur National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sources said last night,"Damage to a few buildings, residential units and government offices have been reported, including damage to a six-storey

building in Imphal."Most offices in state capital - private and government departments dealing with nonessential services - were closed besides educational institutions. Vehicular movement was stated to be

normal in the state capital.A state cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh on Monday, decided to provide ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the family of deceased.Of the injured 33

Rescue and relief work was in full swing in quake-hit Manipur even as life limped back to normal with markets opening in the state capital

NSCN (K) case on Jan 14 in Delhi Kohima, Jan 5: The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal set up by the Centre will hear the case of NSCN (K) having been declared an unlawful association later this month at Delhi High Court, the state government has said.The registrar of the tribunal has asked NSCN (K) to appear before it through a duly-authorized person on January 14 at 3 PM in Delhi High Court for further proceedings, the release informed here last night.The Centre had set up the tribunal - comprising Justice Najmi Waziri, a judge of Delhi High Court, for adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring NSCN(K) an unlawful association under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The Centre on September 16 last had declared the outfit

as an unlawful organization for a period of five years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention), Act, 1967.NSCN (K) had abrogated the 14-year-old ceasefire with the Centre on March 27 last year and carried out several attacks on security forces within Nagaland and outside, leading to the death of more than 25 personnel since May, 2015.

A split took place within NSCN (K) after the faction led

by SS Khaplang abrogated the 14-year-old truce. That led to the creation of a new faction, NSCN-Reformation, by expelled senior NSCN (K) leaders P Tikhak and Wangtin Naga. The signing of a peace accord in 2015 between the Centre and the NSCN-IM brought a ray of hope for an early resolution to the decades-old Naga political issue. (Agencies)

Jharkhand land bank portal inaugurated Ranchi , Jan 5: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today inaugurated the state's land bank web portal, jharbhoom.Nic.In that would help investors know land-related information.

Das asked officials to complete work connecting to digital mapping to enable information on available land, an official release said here. Stating that setting up of land bank would help in-

vestors get information through district-wise nodal officers, Das said their mobile numbers and email ID would be available on the website. Das also issued directions to make land available through the land bank to those industrialists allotted coal blocks, the release said. He also asked to identify land at the earliest for Food Processing Park, the release said. (Agencies)

Stage set for inauguration of Land Customs Station in Tripura Agartala, Jan 5 : A multifacility Land Custom Station (LCS) and Immigration Centre will be inaugurated at Srimantapur in Sipahijala district bordering Bangladesh.Union Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate the LCS at Srimantapur, about 45 km from the state capital, an official of Tripura Industrial Development Corporation said.Built at a cost of Rs 16

crore on 2.83 acres land bordering Comilla district of the neighbouring country, the LCS is expected to boost the trade between Tripura and Bangladesh, the official said.

"This LCS is almost like an integrated check post having the facilities like weigh bridge, warehouse, computerised immigration system, bank with currency exchange facility among others," according to the official. (Agencies)

Mamata for political HC summons Home Secy on security of Judges filter at Book Fair Kolkata,Jan 5: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the authorities responsible for organising the Kolkata Book Fair, to be selective in matters of granting space to the stalls of political outfits. "See that you (Guild authorities) don't allot stalls to one and all. It will be a disaster if you do so. Book fair is the seat of culture, learning and our heritage. I don't want people (party activists) to rake up any political controversy out of it," Banerjee told the Guild authorities while holding a meeting for the Kolkata Book Fair, scheduled on 26 January.Banerjee's prescription of restricting political activities within the book fair ground stems from bitter experiences over the last three years. "I don't want these people (political activists), moving around with placards to mess up the ambience," the chief minister said.

The Guild's Sudhangshu Shekhar Dey, when asked on this, said that they have been asked to filter the applications for stalls. "We have to be cautious about what kind of books is being released. Political cam-

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

paigning in the garb of controversial book release cannot be allowed,"he added. The government has also asked the Guild to restrict congregation of political supporters and cadres in large number. Last year, the Yuva Morcha of BJP staged demonstration outside the stall of a neighbouring country, which allegedly had on its shelf copies of a map, showing Kashmir as part of Pakistan. The matter was settled with the stall withdrawing such maps.

In 2014, BJP supporters could be seen milling around the fairground sporting Narendra Modi masks and shouting slogans as a part of the party's election campaign, which was projecting Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate, prior to the 2014 general elections.There was also some unrest among members of an outfit, who were protesting against the government's decision to withhold the release of a particular book, written

by a former bureaucrat, which highlighted the sad plight of the Muslims in the present Trinamul Congress government.

With the 2016 Assembly election just a few months away, Banerjee apprehends that political parties, who set up stalls in the fair ground, might use the Book fair as a platform to spread canards against the government and the good work it has been doing.The Guild authorities have been asked to be vigilant as to what political material is being circulated. The mouth piece of CPI (M) and CPI, Ganashakti and Kalantar respectively have been setting up stalls since the time the city had been holding the book fair. Even the ruling party, Trinamul Congress, has a stall operated by its party paper Rs Jaago Bangla. Though Banerjee did not speak out her reservation against any political party, it needs no guessing as to which political outfits are under her radar. She has also asked for the feel of rural life in the book fair premises. For that, the CM wants cow dung cakes to be carted fresh from villages and put on the ground to check dust pollution. (Agencies)

Shillong, Jan 5: The High Court of Meghalaya has summoned the Union Home Secretary for assistance and an early decision regarding protection to be provided to the retired Judges.During the hearing related to the matter on Monday, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice TNK Singh, while referring to the letter written by JPN Singh, Director (NE.I), Union Home Ministry addressed to the central government counsel R Debnath seeking three week's time to take up the issue, pulled up the MHA official for not taking decision in time and wanted the Union Home Secretary to appear before the Court.

Court pointed out that the State Government had already categorized the security cover provided to the Chief Justice and the Judges of the Meghalaya High Court by letter dated December 18 written to Pranab Biswas, Under Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.As per the letter, while Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court is a Z category protectee, the two Judges are Y category protectees.

However, a letter dated December 31, written by JPN Singh, to counsel R Debnath, representing the Union of India by way of instruction and for information to the Court, said that the security of Chief Justice

and other Judges of the High Court of Meghalaya falls under the purview of the Meghalaya Government.He also said that as per standard procedure, Chief Justices and other Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are provided statutory security cover by the respective state police based on threat assessment which is reviewed from time to time.In the letter, he also sought from the High Court adequate time, at least 3 weeks, for filing affidavit on threat perception of Judges of High Court of Meghalaya.The furious High Court, however, said, "We have earlier also noticed the dismal perfor-

mance and indifferent attitude of JPN Singh in various other cases where the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been a party. Director, (NE.I), JPN Singh, instead of solving the issues, seems to be in the habit of not taking any decision on one pretext or other,".

The High Court also ruled that the last order containing the direction for categorization of security cover was passed way back on 10.12.2015, but till date the MHA official has not done the needful.Hence, the High Court directed the Union Home Secretary to remain present in the Court January 7 for assistance and early decision. (Agencies)

KHADC CEM PN Syiem who led the delegation of MDC of the ruling PDF met the Governor V Shanmuganathan in Shillong. Pic - UB Photos

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

PAGE 6

Expect Pakistan's support in Pathankot attack probe: NIA New Delhi, Jan. 5: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said that it expects cooperation from Pakistan for tracing the perpetrators of the Pathankot Air Base attack, saying it was clear that they were from Pakistan on the basis of the calls they made. "We will provide Pakistan with the evidence and we expect cooperation from them.

The terrorists were from Pakistan and it can be said on basis of phone calls that were made," NIA DG Sharad Kumar told. "Three FIRs have

been registered. The first one being for kidnapping the taxi driver, second for kidnapping the SP and the third one for attacking the Air Force station," he added. The NIA team on Tuesday reached the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot to begin its investigation of the three cases lodged in connection with the ongoing terror attack. The NIA had registered three cases at local police stations in Punjab on Monday to probe the 'conspiracy' angle behind the attack.

The first case which was filed under Sections 364,

NIA DG Sharad Kumar

365, 367,368, 397, 398, 419 and 171 of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act, pertains to the abduction of Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The second and the third cases are related to the killing of the Innova taxi

driver and the attack on the air base respectively.

An SP-ranked officer has been made the Chief Investigating Officer of the case. Meanwhile, Pakistan condemned the terrorist attack in Pathankot and said that they were working on the 'leads' provided by India as a sign of their 'commitment'. "We have extended our deepest condolences to the Government and people of India.

In line with Pakistan's commitment to effectively counter and eradicate terrorism, the Government is in touch with

NIA expects cooperation from Pakistan - Says DG Sharad Kumar We will provide Pakistan with the evidence and we expect cooperation from them. The terrorists were from Pakistan and it can be said on basis of phone calls that were made Three FIRs have been registered. The first one being for kidnapping the taxi driver, second for kidnapping the SP and the third one for attacking the Air Force station

the Indian government and is working on the leads provided by it,"

The first case which was filed under Sections 364, 365, 367,368, 397, 398, 419 and 171 of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act, pertains to the abduction of Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh The second and the third cases are related to the killing of the Innova taxi driver and the attack on the air base respectively

Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in statement.

(ANI)

Pathankot attack: Defamation case: Jaitley to record Congress seeks PM his statement in court, says Phoolka Modi's explanation New Delhi, Jan. 5: Sufurther said there are sufNew Delhi, Jan. 5: Asserting that the attack on Pathankot's air base was a sad beginning to the New Year, the Congress Party on Tuesday launched a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked as to what assurances were given to him during his surprise visit to Pakistan last month. "This was not only a terrorist attack and an attack on humanity, but an attack on India. We salute the brave soldiers, who fought and gave a befitting reply to the attackers and some made the supreme sacrifice," said Congress leader Anand Sharma. "This is a sad beginning to the New Year. Mothers lost their sons, daughters were widowed. Our thoughts and prayers are with them," he added.

Questioning the BJP-led NDA Government's

policy towards Pakistan, Sharma said it was high time that the nation stands together in this hour of crisis. "What were the reasons for Prime Minister to make his surprise trip to Lahore? What assurances were given to merit this dramatic gesture?" asked Sharma.

The Congress leader also asked the government to disclose the understanding reached between NSA Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Khan Janjua in Bangkok after the cancellation of talks in August. "Does the Prime Minister believe that Pak establishment, including their Army and ISI are for the dialogue process?. Was Prime Minister Modi suspicious when the Pak NSA was absent in Lahore, during his surprise visit" he asked while seeking a reply from the government. (ANI)

Congress leader Anand Sharma

UK confirms hostages killed in ISIS video were not British spies London, Jan. 5: Following a preliminary assessment, United Kingdom's intelligence agencies have said that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have made false claims that the five hostages murdered in their new video were British spies. Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that the video was a 'desperate' attempt by the ISIS which was now losing ground following the pressure from allied airstrikes.

"I watched a part of [the video] yesterday and I think it is absolutely desperate tactics from an organisation that is clearly now on the back foot. It's losing territory. It lost Ramadi, but what is so clear about it is that they continue to use the most disgusting and repulsive tactics and actions which demonstrate exactly who these people are and I think that's plain for everyone to see," Cameron told LBC radio. Britain's three intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ have been analysing the recent video since its release and concluded that

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have made false claims that the five hostages murdered in their new video were British spies

none of the hostages were working for Britain. However, the agencies did not rule out the possibility that the hostages were working for other allied countries.

Hamoud al Mousa, who describes himself as the founder of the anti-Isis activist group Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered, told the Guardian that he did not know the identity of the victims and asserted that they were not part of the organisation. ISIS recently released a new 11minute propaganda video which included a 'message for David Cameron' which was read by a man in a balaclava who threatens to attack UK. (ANI)

preme Court advocate H.S. Phoolka has said that today's hearing on the defamation case filed

by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders is only for recording the statement of the complainant and his witnesses. "Today Arun Jaitley will record his own statement and the statement of his witnesses. In a criminal case, first the complainant's own statement is recorded then the witnesses which the complainant wants, their statements are recorded.

The other side does not have any right to participate in the proceedings or argue at this stage.

Supreme Court advocate H.S. Phoolka Today's stage is only for recording the statement of Mr. Arun Jaitley and his other witnesses," Phoolka told here.

"Whatever allegations were made, were based on the previous letters, based upon the report of the different committee and internal report. So, this doesn't amount to defa-

mation. And when this allegation was made the BJP itself said that there is nothing new and they are only the old allegation.

So, when a person is only repeating whatever is already in the public domain, that doesn't not amount to defamation Now that has to be brought before the court," he added Phoolka

ficient materials and reports already in the public domain which have not been refuted by Jaitley till now, adding that the has to be brought before the public domain. A Delhi Court will hear the criminal defamation case filed

by Jaitley against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders on Tuesday. The Union Minister has taken Kejriwal and five leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party to court for accusing him of corruption at the Delhi cricket board which he headed for under his 13year stewardship. The case has been filed against five members of AAP namely, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai apart from Kejriwal. (ANI)

US reiterates 'militant havens' need to be flushed out from Pak soil Washington D.C, Jan. 5: In the wake of the deadly ongoing attack at the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot, Punjab, the United States has reiterated their demand that Islamabad must target all militant groups and work more effectively in the closing down of 'safe havens' for terrorists on Pakistan soil. Speaking at a press briefing, State Department Spokesman John Kirby said that the US Government had been clear with Pakistan regarding their intentions against terrorism. "I would note that the Government of Pakistan also publicly and privately condemned this recent attack on the Indian airbase. And we've been clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that it must continue to target all militant groups, and the Government of Pakistan has said publicly and privately that it's not going to discriminate among terrorist groups as part of its counterterrorism operations," Kirby said. Con-

demning the deadly assault on the airbase, he added that the US remained committed to a strong partnership with the Indian Government to combat terrorism and urged all the countries in the region 'to work together to disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks and to bring justice to the perpetrators' of the Pathankot attack. Kirby expressed confidence that Pakistan would live up to the challenge and would provide their complete support to the Indian government in the investigations.

When asked that why US was not taking any action against Pakistan regarding the active militant 'training centres' on their soil, the spokesman assured that America was continuously engaging with Islamabad on the issue and were confident the Pakistan would step up. "We're mindful that there remain some safe havens that we obviously want to see cleared out.

And we continue to engage with the Government of Pakistan to that end. And again, I would point you

back to what the Government of Pakistan itself has said and acknowledged, that it's not going to discriminate among terrorist groups and it will continue to take the fight," Kirby said. Talking about Islamabad targeting terrorist networks like Lashkare-Tayyiba and Jaish-eMohammad who are actively working against India, Kirby said that US expected Pakistan to continuing fighting against the extremist groups. "We want to see the Government of Pakistan continue to press the fight against terrorists, all terrorists, and to - as I said, to meet their own expectations that they're not going to discriminate among groups," he said.

Asserting on the importance of normalising ties between the hostile neighbours, the spokesman said that the US government 'strongly encouraged' India and Pakistan to remain steadfast in their commitment to a more secure and prosperous future for both their countries. "We're encouraged

State Department Spokesman John Kirby

by the Government of Pakistan condemning this attack, and again, the statements that they've made about not discriminating among groups. But this is - as we've said before, this is an issue that as are so many issues between India, Pakistan and we want to see them work out bilaterally," Kirby said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the government was working on leads provided by India relating to an assault by militants on an Indian air force base near the countries' shared border, and that it hoped the planned talks with New Delhi could move forward. (ANI)

Memorial to be built for slain Commando Ambala, Jan. 5: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar met the family of Garud Commando Gursewak Singh who was killed in Pathankot terror attack, promising a job to one member and a memorial for the slain soldier.

Khattar along with Health Minister Anil Vij, who represents Ambala Cantt assembly constituency, reached Gursewak's native Garnala village here this

morning. He expressed his condolence to the bereaved family. The Chief Minister assured Gursewak's father Sucha Singh that a job would be provided to any one member of the family. He also said that a memorial would be set up. Khattar said that Haryana and the entire country were proud of the "supreme sacrifice" by 25-year-old Gursewak. He noted that Gursewak came from a family which has a tradi-

tion of making contribution to the defence forces as his elder brother Hardeep Singh is in the Army while father Sucha Singh too is an ex-serviceman. Khattar assured Gursewak's father that the entire country was with them in this hour of grief. Gursewak had married in November last year. When reporters asked him about Pathankot terror incident, Khattar said that India was all for peace, "but

Court to hear the Jaitley's defamation suit against Kejriwal

there are some elements who are against peace initiatives we make and they keep fomenting trouble". When asked if India should stop having talks with Pakistan in the wake of Pathankot incident, Khattar said that that it was for the Centre to take a call on the matter. At the same time, he added, Pathank o t i n c i d e n t was a serious one and cannot be ignored.

(Agencies)

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley New Delhi, Jan. 5: Patiala House Court on Tuesday is set to hear the criminal defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. The case comes in the wake of the AAP leaders charging the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) with widespread financial irregularity under the tenure of Jaitley as president. The case has been filed against five members of AAP namely, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai apart from Kejriwal. Speaking in Parliament earlier, Jaitley had said that the allega-

tions against him in connection with the DDCA scam were baseless and devoid of truth. "All these allegations are baseless and devoid of truth. For a total sum Rs. 114 crore, we made a stadium with a capacity of taking 42,000 people. Contrary to that, the Congress built the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium spending Rs. 900 crores. No one raised doubts on that expenditure, "he had said in the Lok Sabha. On December 21 Jaitley had filed a criminal defamation complaint against Kejriwal and five other leaders of AAP for allegedly defaming him in the DDCA controversy before a Delhi court which took cognizance on his plea.

(ANI)

Time for Modi to focus on India, says Shiv Sena New Delhi, Jan. 5: Lashing out at the Centre in the wake of the Pathankot terror strike, the Shiv Sena on Tu said it had warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to trust Pakistan and that time has now come for him to focus on India rather than trying to unite the world. The attack has proven that our borders are not safe, India's internal security is in shambles and the only national work being done is giving condolences to the martyred on social networking sites, the Sena said in a hard-hitting editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana. "Seven of our soldiers get martyred in return of a cup of tea with Nawaz Sharif. The incident has proven that our borders are not safe and our internal security is in shambles. With the lives of six terrorists, Pakistan has managed to finish India's self-respect," it said. Further hitting out at the government, the ruling alliance partner said, "The Prime Minister was in Lahore only last week as a guest

of his counterpart Nawaz Sharif. At that time, we had warned him not to trust Pakistan." "See how we have been betrayed on Tuesday. If Pakistan wants to improve relations with India, they should immediately hand over Jaishe-Mohammed's Maulana Masood Azhar to India," it said. The Sena also said that had the Congress been in power on Tuesday, there would have been demands to strike at Pakistan and avenge the deaths of soldiers, but now nothing is being done about the incident. "The only national work being done is condoling the deaths of soldiers on (social networking site) twitter. But why have these soldiers died? PM Modi is trying to unite the world, but time has now come for him to concentrate on India," it said. The Sena also said that if India does not avenge the Pathankot terror attack, then displaying its military and arms and ammunition strength on Republic Day would be futile. (Agencies)

Afghanistan: Siege near Indian consulate ends, all attackers killed London, Jan. 5: Special Forces have killed the group of armed assailants who were targeting the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-iSharif city, bringing an end to the siege which lasted for almost 24 hours. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the raid in which at least one policeman was killed around 11 were injured. Gunfights and explosions rang as commandos were seen sliding down a rope from a helicopter on to the roof of the building from where attackers were firing. "The clearance operation is over and all three armed assailants have been killed. "We are still doing room-to-room searches. The area is absolutely under govern-

ment control," Government spokesman Shir Jan Durrani said. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the statement. The Prime Minister expressed deep appreciation for the exemplary bravery and courage shown by the Afghan National Security Forces in thwarting the terrorist attack and ensuring security and safety of the Indian Consulate and personnel. The attack on the Indian consulate came in the wake of the ongoing attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot, Punjab where seven defence personnel have been martyred. The operation continues as one more terrorist is reportedly alive. (ANI)

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

PAGE 7

NEIGHBOURS

Pakistan, Sri Lanka signed eight MOUs Colombo ,Jan 5:Pakistan and Sri Lanka today signed eight memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in several fields, including trade, defence, security and anti-terrorism."The MOUs will help promote cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in several fields, including trade promotions, culture, healthcare, money laundering and combating terror financing," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said while addressing a ceremony in Colombo. There are vast opportunities for bilateral trade between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

n Pakistan and Sri Lanka today signed eight memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in several fields, including trade, defence, security and anti-terrorism n The MOUs will help promote cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in several fields, including trade promotions, culture, healthcare, money laundering and combating terror financing n There are vast opportunities for bilateral trade between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the quantum of trade will be taken to $1 billion annually n "The two countries have not only agreed to work together in the field of gems and jewelry, but also fields like education, defence, science and technology and health care Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (L) talks with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena

and the quantum of trade will be taken to $1 billion annually," he said. Speaking about the constant efforts of the two countries

to improve bilateral relations, PM Nawaz said, "I reiterated Pakistan's offer to set up cement and sugar plants in Sri Lanka

on mutually agreed terms for the long-term benefit of the Sri Lankan economy.""Pakistan is ready to give Sri Lanka the most favoured nation (MFN) status in trade," PM Nawaz added.Further,

the premier also expressed the need for frequent port calls, participation in military exercises, defence seminars and training of military personnel between the two countries."The two

countries have not only agreed to work together in the field of gems and jewelry, but also fields like education, defence, science and technology and health care," he added. (Agencies)

14 killed, 32 injured China lodges protest with Myanmar in arson attack on after land mine injures one bus in China Beijing, Jan 5 : China future occurrence of a Beijing, Jan 5 : At least 14 people were killed and 32 others injured today when a passenger bus was set ablaze in a suspected arson attack during morning rush hour in northwest China.The Ningxia regional department of public security has launched a manhunt for Ma Yongping, the suspected arsonist behind the incident in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The accident happened at around 7 AM (local time) when the bus went up in flames near a furniture mall in Helan County's Yinchuan city.14 people were killed and 32 others injured in the incident, of-

ficials said. The site was cordoned off and the injured were receiving treatment in hospitals. Such arson attacks have been carried out by disgruntled persons in China in the past. According to police, Ma owns three cars. Police in Ningxia localities were checking for the suspect and the car plate numbers on various road and highway entrances and exits.The bus, which belongs to state-owned Yinchuan Public Transport Co Ltd, was bound for the Yinchuan Railway Station.Pictures on microblog Sina Weibo show the entire bus engulfed by fire and smoke. (Agencies)

Kibria murder: Charge sheet against 32 accepted Dhaka,Jan 5:A Habiganj court has accepted a charge sheet against 32 accused, including former minister Lutfozzaman Babar, in the explosives case filed over the grenade attack that killed former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria. District Session Court Judge Mohammad Atab Ullah accepted the charge sheet today afternoon. Kibria, a technocrat minister during the Awami League-led government's 1996-2001 tenure, and four others

were killed in the grenade attack when he was returning to Dhaka after attending a rally in Habiganj on January 27, 2005.Two cases were lodged in connection with the attack.Thirty-two people including Babar, Sylhet City Corporation's dismissed mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Harkat-ulJihad leader Mufti Hannan are accused in both the cases.Of the accused, 15 are in jail, eight on bail while nine others are on the run.

(Agencies)

Indian fishermen clash with Lankan fishermen Colombo,Jan 5:The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested eight Tamil fishermen from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu following a skirmish in mid-sea with Sri Lankan fishermen.The Tamil fishermen from Akkarapettai in Nagapattinam district were fishing near Mullatheevu when their boat collided with the boat of Sri Lankan fishermen, which sank in the mid sea as a result of the impact.The Sri Lankan fishermen cornered the fishermen from Nagai and with ropes and dragged the fishing boat to Sri Lanka .The Tamil fishermen were handed over to

the Lankan Navy, along with the boat. The Lankan Navy formally arrested the eight Tamil fishermen and took possession of their fishing boats.This incident has created lot of tension in the fishermen hamlets of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. Tamil fishermen are urging the government to secure the release of fellow fishermen and more than 62 fishing boats detained by Lanka.Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalaithaa had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the matter of freeing 84 Tamil fishermen languishing in Lankan jail. (Agencies)

Pakistan condemns attacks on Saudi embassy, consulate in Iran Islamabad, Jan. 5: Pakistan condemned the attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad. It also denounced the threats against Saudi diplomats by some Iranian elements. Pakistan held Iran responsible for ensuring the security protection of the diplomatic missions on its territories in accordance with international

treaties.

In a press statement here this evening, the Pakistani Foreign ministry spokesman Qadhi Khalil Allah said that Pakistan deeply regrets the assaults on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, stressing that the host countries are responsible for providing full protection for diplomatic missions on its territories, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.(Agencies)

said today it had lodged a protest with Myanmar after a land mine injured a Chinese person on their common border, the latest incident of cross-border conflict to strain ties between the neighbours.

China has repeatedly demanded effective action from Myanmar to contain fighting along the border between the Myanmar military and ethnic minority rebels.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the person was injured by a land mine on Sunday but she did not say exactly where the explosion happened."This situation is under further investigation," Hua said at a daily news briefing. "We express serious concern over this.""The Chinese side has already made solemn representations to Myanmar and demanded that Myanmar take effective measures to avoid the

similar situation and prevent the conflict in north Myanmar from endangering the security of Chinese people's lives and property."The Myanmar military has been battling several rebel groups including at least two that operate near Myanmar's border with China, in Myanmar's Shan State and Kachin State.Thousands of Myanmar civilians have sought safety on the Chinese side of the border over the past few years because of the fighting.Hua urged Myanmar to work with China to "safeguard the peace and stability of the China-Myanmar border region".Last March, China was infuriated when five people were killed by stray bombs falling on its territory in Yunnan province during fighting in Myanmar.China and Myanmar share a 2,000 km (1,250 mile) border,

China lodges protest with Myanmar after land mine injures one.

much of it remote and hard to access.Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday the peace process would be the first priority

of her new government that will take power later this year, following a landslide victory in a November election. (Agencies)

China said today it had lodged a protest with Myanmar after a land mine injured a Chinese person on their common border, the latest incident of cross-border conflict to strain ties between the neighbours

Myanmar's death railway museum to educate people about World War II tragedy Yangon, Jan. 5 : The Death Railway Museum, which was built at the site of the Death Railway of the World War II in Myanmar's Mon state and opened on Monday, the country's Independence Day, will play a role in educating people about the tragedy during the War. The museum on a 1.62 hectares of land plot showcases the miserable life of the prisoners of war who died during the construction of the Death Railway.The Death Railway, located in Thanbyuzayat in Mon state, was built by the Japanese invasion army in 1943 to support the Japanese war effort by connecting Yangon (then called Rangoon) to

Bangkok. Its construction was notorious for its reliance on the forced labor from the civilian community in Thailand and Myanmar and allied war prisoners. Thanbyuzayat graveyard is a place where several thousands of victims of the Death Railway were buried.During the World War II, the Japanese invasion army forced more than 120,000 prisoners of war from alien countries and other Southeast Asian nations to build the 280kilometer Death Railway linking Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar and Kanchananburi in Thailand.More than 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of the Death Railway,

or about 38 prisoners of war for every kilometer of the track.With little or no medical care, the prisoners of war succumbed to sickness, mal-nutrition and exhaustion at last.Mikio Kinoshita, a 95year-old Japanese war veteran who was 24 years old when he was on duty at the railway construction site during the World War II, attended the museum opening ceremony along with his family.He recalled that he was a railway engineer and controlled 100 Australians and 200 Myanmar prisoners of war at the site of the Death Railway.He expressed delight over the opening of the museum to commemorate the suffering and loss of

lives caused by the past tragic event.The museum highlights a coalfired C-0522 engine, which was used in the Death Railway and the memorial place where the Death Railway line originated.The museum, which began construction in April last year displays historical photos, sculptures and 3D images of the daily life of the prisoners of war connected with the Death Railway.Recalling the tragedy and taking lessons from it, Chief Minister of Mon state U Ohn Myint wished for a longlasting friendship between Myanmar and Japan and peaceful development for Myanmar.

(Agencies)

Working on 'leads' provided by India to counter terrorism: Pakistan Karachi, Jan. 5 : In the wake of the ongoing attack by assailants on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot, Pakistan said that it is working on the 'latest leads' provided by the Indian Government to 'effectively' counter and eradicate terrorism from the region. The Foreign Office said in a statement that Pakistan remains committed and is in touch with the Indian government. The statement came as sections of the Indian media reported that New Delhi had contacted and shared information with Islamabad about the ongoing attack on the Pathankot IAF Base."We understand the pain of many families

who have lost their dear ones in this tragedy, as Pakistan itself is a major victim of terrorism. We have extended our deepest condolences to the government and people of India," the spokesman said condemning the attack.He added that the two nations needed to remain committed to a 'sustained dialogue process' in the light of the challenge of terrorism.At least seven defence personnel have been killed so far in the deadly attack on the airbase which continued into its third day on Monday and search operations continue to smoke out the remaining terrorist who is reportedly still active.

(ANI)

Khaleda to join Jan 5 BNP rally Dhaka, Jan 5:BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will join party's January 5 rally scheduled to be held at its Nayapaltan headquarter in the capital today. Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, BNP joint secretary general, told the Dhaka Tribune that party chief Khaleda Zia will attend the rally around 2pm.Both the Awami League and the BNP were granted permission on Monday to hold rallies in front of their respective party headquarters in the capital.Dhaka Metropolitan Police gave the parties conditional permission to hold rallies, which came hours af-

ter the approval from Dhaka South City Corporation for the same purpose.The political arch-rivals declared the programmes to celebrate and condemn respectively the hotlydebated January 5, 2014 general elections.

Both the parties sought permission from the DMP on Saturday.On January 5, 2014, the BNP boycotted the national parliamentary elections, refusing to take part in an election under the then incumbent Awami League government and restoration of the caretaker government system.

(Agencies)

Khaleda Zia

100 Pakistanis fled to Syria and Senior doctor shot Iraq to join Islamic State Islamabad, Jan 5:About 100 Pakistanis, including women, have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State since the rise of the dreaded terror group in the Middle East, a minister in the provincial Punjab government said here."Some 100 Pakistanis including women have left the country for Syria and Iraq to join the ISIS since the rise of the militant group in the Middle East," Punjab province Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said."The government is doing its best to stop the recruitment for the ISIS," the minister said, adding that eight activists of the group were arrested from Sialkot district of Punjab and they are still associated with the Jamaat-udDawah. He said the government would not let the

About 100 Pakistanis, including women, have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State ISIS to have their foothold in Pakistan.Earlier, the law enforcement agencies arrested over 40 people, including women, over their alleged linkage to ISIS.The arrests were made during a series of raids by counterterrorism officials to nab the alleged supporters and activists of the Middle

Eastern terrorist group in Pakistan.Rana Sanaullah said top ISIS operatives were among those arrested, including Islamabad chief Amir M a n s o o r, h i s d e p u t y Abdullah Mansoori and chief for Sindh province Umer Kathio. Pakistan has officially denied the presence of ISIS in the

country, but secretly it has been neutralising militants who have either shifted their allegiance from the Taliban to the ISIS or have shown inclination to support the group.Meanwhile, Lahore police arrested three recruiters of ISIS from Sham Nagar.A police source said the law enforcement agencies raided a house in Sham Nagar and arrested Dr Usman Malik, Ahsan Siddique and one unidentified man and recovered hate literature, propaganda material and a laptop.

He said the three 'ISIS members' were recruiting people for Jihad in Syria.They have been shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation. (Agencies)

dead in Pakistan

Islamabad ,Jan 5:Unidentified gunmen today shot dead a senior doctor in front of a hospital where he worked in Pakistan's restive northwest Khyber Pakthunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

Dr Yousuf was on his way to clinic when unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate firing on his car near DHQ Hospital Bannu of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

As a result of firing Yousuf died on the spot.

Police has cordoned off the area and started collecting evidence from the crime scene. Separately, law enforce-

ment agencies arrested three terrorists during raids in Dera Ismail Khan District bordering South Waziristan Agency.

Police spokesman said that all the suspects were hiding in Shaheed Abad, Dera Ismail Khan, to carry out some terrorist activity as all of them were affiliated to a banned outfit. It said that five kilograms of explosive material was also recovered from their possession in the raid. The accused were involved in terror activities and extortion collection, the spokesman added. (Agencies)

PAGE 8

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Leadership - The Key to Human Productivity India beats China on GDP growth in 2015 It may grow 7-7.5% in 2016 Termed as "the bright spot" in a gloomier global economy, India outpaced China as the world's fastest growing economy in 2015 and is expected to clock 7-7.5 percent growth in the New Year provided the reform momentum continues and the business environment improves. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that subdued global economy and moderate private sector investment will continue to pose challenges, while his top priorities for the New Year include rolling out the long-delayed GST, rationalising direct taxes, ensuring further ease of doing business and putting more money for social and physical infrastructure.

While the need for further remains continue to be underlined by the experts as well as the policymakers as a key requirement for India to maintain its growth momentum, World Bank's Chief Economist Kaushik Basu is confident that India can continue to top the charts with fastest growth among all major economies. And expecting India to grow at 7-7.5 percent in 2016 it can be said that India will still be the leader among major economies. Not only in 2015 but we expect India to lead that chart in 2016 as well. It will still remain off the targeted growth rate of 8-10 percent in the foreseeable future unless the reforms momentum shifts to a much faster gear. And going forward, Jaitley will have a tough time in sticking to the fiscal roadmap (3.5 percent of GDP in 2016-17) while taking care of additional outgo towards seventh Pay Commission award and One Rank One Pension (OROP) for retired defence personnel.

Moreover for the current financial year ending in March, the latest estimates peg the GDP growth rate at 7 to 7.5 percent, which will be significantly lower than 8.1 to 8.5 percent predicted by the government in February 2015. Although the year began with lot of promise, growth rate could not pick up as much as expected, mainly because of faltering global economy, decline in exports, deficient rains, and inability of the government to push big-ticket reforms like Goods and Services Tax (GST) and land acquisition law. But India's economic growth still accelerated to 7.4 percent in the July-September quarter, overtaking China as the world's fastest growing major economy, on pick up in manufacturing, mining and services sectors. Multilateral lending agency IMF termed India as a 'bright spot' in otherwise slowing global economy. Also the 1.25% reduction in key interest rate by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2015, coupled with a host of steps taken by the government to improve the ease of doing business, is likely to give a push to the economy. In 2015, the economy has been a beneficiary of a huge meltdown in crude oil prices, giving a great elbow room to the government to keep its finances in shape in a year, which otherwise witnessed subdued domestic demand and quite a sluggish external market. While exports were bruised and kept declining for the entire year, private consumption within the domestic market received a cushion from the falling auto fuel bills.

Unabated Influx of Illegal Migrants Indo-Bangla Border to be Sealed This Year Illegal migration from Assam has been taking place primarily for economic reasons. Bangladesh is the world's most densely populated country with a population density of 969 per square kilometre. The growth rate of population in that country is 2.2 per cent and its population is growing at the rate of 2.8 million per year. Each year nearly one third of Bangladesh gets inundated by floods, displacing 19 million people. 70 million people constituting 60 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. The per capita income in Bangladesh is 170 dollars per year, which is much lower than the per capita income in India. The border between India and Bangladesh is very porous.

In these circumstances, the continued large scale population movement from Bangladesh to India, is inevitable, unless effective measures are taken to counter it. Besides the above considerations, there are other contributory factors facilitating infiltration from Bangladesh. Ethnic, linguistic and religious commonality between the illegal migrants and many people on our side of the border, enables them to find shelter. It makes their detection difficult. Some political parties have been encouraging and even helping illegal migration, with a view to building vote banks.

These immigrants are hard-working and are prepared to work as cheap labour and domestic for lower remuneration, than the local people. This makes them acceptable. Moreover, with corruption being all pervasive, corrupt officials, are bribed to provide help.

Recently, a racket has been busted in Lakhimpur. Four individuals were found to have been providing forged citizenship certificates and other documents to illegal migrants for the last 14 years.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to Assam expressed dissatisfaction over the ongoing works of fencing on the Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri sector of Assam but said that the fencing will, however, be completed by December 2017. During his two-day visit he inspected the Karimganj sector of the International Border and said that the works of sealing the border by barbed fencing would be completed by December this year. It may be mentioned here that there is a 269 kms of International Border between India and Bangladesh in Assam. While most of this is land border, there are some kilometers of riverine borders also. Also according to him the riverine border is one thing through which there has been infiltration from the other side. And have already started a feasibility study on how to seal this riverine border.

Two pilot projects have already been started and after the report of the feasibility study and ascertaining the effectiveness of the two pilot projects and as a result are going to seal the riverine borders too.

Pranjal Bezborah Leadership is related to that part of the manager's responsibility that deals with people.

Leadership is the ability to influence other people, to shape their attitudes and behaviours in such ways that goals are achieved. Gandhiji and Winston Churchill were notable leaders in history.

Increasingly in the future, leadership would become the critical factor determining the manager's overall effectiveness. The reason is that, to remain productive, competitive and successful in an environment which is changing fast on all parameters - political, regulatory, technological, economic and social - organizatio0ns would have to be quick to respond, adapt and innovate. These can happen only through the people; not through other resources like finance, machines or technology. People bring to work all knowledge and their creative potential, but do not necessarily make them available at work.

Whether and how they are applied at work depends on the leadership.

Managers have authority, by virtue of the structure of the organization and the positions they hold. The authority is to issue orders and to use resources, so that goals may be achieved. Leaders do not have any official authority. Gandhiji had no authority. He exercised influenced because the people accepted him as leader.

The leader's power over his followers is personal.

Albert Einstein had said about Gandhiji, "A leader of his people, unsupported by any out-

ward authority; a politician whose success rests simply in the convincing power of his personality; a victorious fighter who has always scorned the use of force; a man of wisdom and humility armed with resolve and inflexible consistency, who has devoted all his strength to the uplifting of people and the betterment of their lot; a man who has confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human being and at all times risen superior‌..

Generations to come will scarce believe that such one as this, ever in flesh and blood, walked upon this earth."

Managers become effective leaders, not because of the authority of their official positions, but because of the power conferred upon them by their followers.

There are people in high positions - managers, kings, ministers etc. against whom the people have revolted.

They have had to leave their positions. They did not have any influence on their followers. They did not have leadership skills.

In our villages and homes, the person listened to, is the one who is seen to be knowledgeable or wise, like the teacher, or the one who may have traveled more. It is the individual who exercises influence, not the official.

The head of the family may have less influence than a much younger person. Leadership is personal and is the result of others accepting his leadership.

In a business organization, a leader's responsibilities are three-fold.

The first is to achieve the task. The job must be done and the energies of the subordinates must be directed towards that end. Employees work for many reasons. The most common reason would be that they would like to grow through what they are doing. Growing has connotations of becoming more proficient in one's chosen

field of activity. They would put in their best when they see possibilities of such growth happening. The leader has to be concerned with this aspect at the work place. This is the second responsibility. The responsibility involves letting people know, why they are doing that they are doing (objectives), how they are doing (feedback), helping them to do better (training or learning opportunity).

The third responsibility is to ensure that the group functions as a cohesive unit, as a team. Non-cohesive groups are driven by suspicion, mistrust, jealously etc., and are not productive optimally.

Lots of energy and effort, of the leader as well as of the others, will be wasted in sorting out problems. In cohesive groups, there would be a lot of interaction between members, discussing work related issues, and sharing experiences, thinking through what is happening, looking for innovation that saves on resources and so on. A good leader makes these happen.

A person comes to the work place as total person with all the responsibilities and cares from his multiple roles (parent, child, sibling, citizen, member of some social activity, etc.). People are complex beings, operating simultaneously on several dimensions.

The issues affecting them are physiological (Stamina, fatigue, alertness, stress), psychological (self image, feelings, complexes). Social (wanting to belong), economic (need for money), power (need for autonomy, dominance). The person's energy and motivation to perform the tasks exist within this complexity. Leaders have to understand these motivations.

Earlier, it was thought that the leader's success depended on his personal traits, like his intelligence, knowledge, enthusiasm. courage,

maturity, honesty, trustworthiness, caring nature, determination to face difficulties and obstacles, and so on. But subsequent studies have shown that the traits of the leaders, did not by themselves explain effectiveness. The willingness of employees to be influenced by the leader, depended on perceptions and understanding of the leader. It is an outcome of the interaction between the two. It is a dynamic situation, in which the complexities of the two individuals as well as others in the group play significant roles.

Peter Drucker has written in his book Management - Task, Responsibilities and Practices, "A great leader is rarely 'warm'. A good many have been 'icy'. He is not often outgoing or affable; he tends to be austere and aloof. He has little 'empathy'; he makes demands. A good many may not have a trace of 'charisma'. But a leader always inspires confidence, always commands respect."

Confidence and respect are given to people, not on the basis of their external appearances or behaviours, but on the basis their characters as inferred from the external behaviours. The inference is the meaning made of what is seen. Issues of communication and perceptions arise. But it is safe to say that inferences will be positive, if one's actions are consistent with one's thoughts and one's utterances. If

any of these is not consistent with any of the other two, it is likely to be noticed and then the person becomes suspect. He is not trusted and he loses his ability to influence. Such consistency between thought, speech and action is integrity. Leaders must have integrity.

The leader is one whom the follower is ready to follow. To inspire confidence and command respect, character is necessary. The leader has to be person who can be approached for guidance, for expressing one's difficulties or just to find solace. Approachability is important. Thus, effective leaders must - mean what they say and know what they say; become available for consultation and advice; become available for support and help at time of difficulty; listen to what is said to them and also to what is not said to them; treat subordinates as worthy individuals; consult subordinates before making changes in their work/ assignments; come across as genuine and authentic; show concern, compassion and forbearance.

They must not - try to bluff; ridicule or insult either the person or his knowledge; hesitate to point out errors or deficiencies of subordinates; carry prejudices, encourage cliques or play favorites; contradict themselves in stating priorities or giving

instructions, panic in difficult situations.

There is a verse in the puranas as follows: Amantram aksharam nasti Na aushadi vanaspati Ayogya purusha nasti Yojaka tatra durlabah This means "there is no word which is not mantra; No plant which does not have medicinal qualities. There is no man who is useless. But an organizer is scarce".

The organizer can mean a leader or a manager.

References: 1.

Balachandran, Raja & Nair, Ethics, Indian Ethos and Management, Shroff Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd.Balachandran, Raja & Nair, Ethics, Indian Ethos and Management, Shroff Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2003.

2.

Khandelwal, Indian Ethos and Values for Managers, Peagati Prakashan, Meerut, 2007.

3.

S h e r l e k a r, Management Value-Oriented Holistic Approach, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai, 1997.

Pranjal Bezborah is a Professor in the Department of Commerce, Dibrugarh University.Can be contacted at pranjalbezborah@yahoo.com

Hapless Fishermen stani government. How can one demarcate one's oceanic boundary, it is for the coastal guards to decide. The fishermen have been left with their lot, while some of them are caught, some escaped. These fishermen have to go to the sea for earning their livelihood. During the UPA regime, the bilateral relation with Sri Lanka was at the nadir, but now the strained relation has been substantially improved. This perennial issue should be raised in international forum and a solution must be hammered out. Our ruling dispensation in the centre should take up the matter with our neighbouring countries diplomatically. If necessary our coast-guards should caution the fishermen not to move beyond a specific mark manned by the coastal guards. The fishermen who are languishing in foreign jails should be brought back before long.

troversy when thousands of Indians have got nationality of most countries around the globe.Adnan Sami earns and pays taxes to our Govt apart from entertaining the masses not just in India but also for a global audience. His Indian citizenship is infact an insult to Pakistan that their talent find themselves more safe on our shores than in that terror breeding country.It is also a befitting reply for those who have been refering our motherland as intolerant Pakistan must be a terror breeding nation with a distort Govt & administration but a large number of its population is innocent. Lets respect this fact as more people die of terrorist acts in Pakistan than in India where blasts are an daily phenomenon. Adnan Sami is now an Indian and let's be proud of this fact and respect his work.

Yours etc.

Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh

Yours etc Shajid Khan Tangla College,Tangla

Adnan Sami granted Citizenship Sir, It appears our coast-guards are in a somnolent mood. The way our fishermen are caught by the Sri Lankan coast guards and those of Pakistan is abominable. Our coast guards are mere mute spectators, helplessly looking at our fishermen being intercepted and jailed by both Sri Lankan and Paki-

Sir, The controversy over Pakistani artist Adnan Sami being granted Indian citizenship by the Govt of India is unwarranted and uncalled. Every country has citizenship laws for nationals of other countries residing on their shores and if those are fulfilled by an nonIndian, I see no reason why there should be an con-

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

Op

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d e How The Govt. Handled The Pathankot Attack Showed Its 'Confusion And Under-Preparedness'

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Last checked, government sources claimed that one of the two terrorists who continued to engage security forces in gunfire while being holed up in the Pathankot airbase had been killed.

Responsibility for the attacks has been claimed by United Jihad Council, a terrorist conglomerate of 13 groups based in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Top government sources said the neutralised terrorist was one of the two who were hiding in a two-storey building, a living accommodation for the security personnel. Still there is no clarity on the exact number of terrorists involved in the attack and whether the terrorist eliminated today was the fifth or the sixth terrorist to be neutralised since Saturday when the terror attack began.

Even on Monday morning, Inspector General of National Security Guards (NSG) Maj Gen Dushant Singh told a press conference here that, "Till now, we have eliminated four terrorists and operation to eliminate two more terrorists, possibly, is in the final stage of conduct".

Lack of accurate information with the government about the number of terrorists and the status of the operations which began in the early hours of Saturday was the target of attack by

the Congress.

Hitting out at the government over the handling of Pathankot terror attack, Congress today said "conflicting" statements on the incident showed "breakdown of institutional mechanism" as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "concentrated" all powers in his hands.

Leading the party's charge, Congress President Sonia Gandhi termed the internal security situation as "serious" and hoped that the Centre was taking all necessary steps to neutralise terror threats.

Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken went hammer and tongs against the government alleging that institutional mechanism stands "demolished" and the government is "in (the) dark".

Maken also criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he had concentrated all power in his hand, which was hurting the security interests of the country. He also demanded to know if the Cabinet Committee on Security had met following the attack in Pathankot.

"The institutional mechanism, which has to respond in such serious situations has been demolished as the Prime Minister has concentrated all powers in his hand. CCS is one of the examples to show the Prime Minister is trying to

do everything from PMO and even concerned ministers are not being kept in the loop," Maken alleged.

As operations against two remaining terrorists at Pathankot air base continued, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said on Sunday that he was unsure if more militants were still holed up. The comments

by Mehrishi came a day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted saying the operation had been completed with the killing of five terrorists. Singh later deleted his tweet.

Reports suggested that despite the abduction of a Punjab police Superintendent, security agencies waited before raising an alarm and alerting the state's security machinery as they were not entirely convinced about the seriousness of the situation.

Terrorists may have entered the campus before an alert was sounded while crucial hours were lost in verifying the Punjab Police SP's claims about his abduction by the attackers, security agencies said.

"We suspect the terrorists must have entered the air base on the morning of January 1 while the alert was sounded a few hours later in the evening," they said.

A few hours were also lost in verifying the inputs provided by Punjab Police SP

Salwinder Singh, who has claimed that he was kidnapped along with two others by the terrorists, the sources added. Sources said that police officers whom the SP had informed about the terrorists initially did not take him seriously, thus leading to some crucial hours being lost.

Security agencies are suspecting there were six terrorists and they were divided into two groups - one of 4 and the other with 2 members. The four in the first group were killed on Saturday while the two members of the second group were fighting till last reports came in. Sources said that the final count of terrorists involved in the attack would be clear following the completion of the operation.

They also, meanwhile, added that the level of training of the Pathankot terrorists seems even better than that of the Mumbai 26/11 attackers. It is clear from the tactics that these terrorists have employed that a professional army had trained them, they said.

The terrorists used all the tactics of professional fighters like conserving firepower, attacking at 3 AM when the level of alertness is at its lowest and going quiet to give the impression that all the attackers had died. All these

tactics are of military precision, the sources said.

With the driver of the Toyota Innova vehicle, Ikadar Singh, having been picked up by the terrorists from a spot near GulpurSamboli, 5km away from the International Border, it is being suspected that they crossed the border near that area. The terrorists had later killed the driver.

The National Investigation Agency, will probe the Pathankot attack.

Meanwhile, heartrending scenes were witnessed on Monday as martyrs of the Pathankot terror attack were given a final farewell with full military honours in the presence of hundreds of people who converged to pay their tributes to the brave-hearts.

Slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' rented the air as the body of Garud commando Gursewak Singh, draped in the tricolour, reached his native Garnala village near Ambala, while the family members of the young Sikh, who was married in November, were inconsolable.

The body of Lt. Colonel E. K. Niranjan, a bomb expert with the National Security Guard who was killed while defusing a grenade at the scene of the terror attack at Pathankot IAF base, was brought to Bengaluru from where it was to be taken to his

hometown Palakkad in Kerala.

Teary-eyed people filed past the body as the martyr's family members sat near it. "He was always interested in the army. I am proud of his sacrifice," Niranjan's father Sivarajan said. He hailed from Palakkad in Kerala and is survived by his wife Dr Radhika and an 18-monthold daughter. He was

Indrajit Borah To bring in sustainable clean public places, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan needs to focus on accountable public administration and social security system In August, 2013, the Gauhati High Court issued notices to some Assam Government agencies including the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (DMDA) in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) jointly filed by two journalists, Nitali Sarmah and Sulakshana Mithi Kachari, on lack of public toilets for women in the city.

The PIL brought out the pathetic public civic amenities in Guwahati but such inadequate facilities have become a reality in most urban heartlands of India even after two decades of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act came into force. The Act, implemented from June, 1993,sought to strengthen decentralisation of power and empower the Urban Local Bodies (ULB).

Today, with a lot of hype around the Central Government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with politicians, executives and corporate honchos often conducting photo sessions by holding brooms in public places, one can't help but reflect on the lack of empowerment of the ULBs. As much as one wants the cleanliness drive to succeed, the thought that whether it will actually achieve its goal can't be wished away. Till now, one has seen a series of Government-sponsored cleanliness drives in different avatars.

All lost their zing finally.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, with two sub-missions - Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), launched last year on Gandhi Jayanti, was pre-

ceded by the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan. Launched in April, 2012, by the UPA II Government at the Centre, the Abhiyan was a restructured version of yet another drive, the Total Sanitation Campaign, started in April, 1999.

Under the 1999 campaign, Rural Sanitation and Solid Waste Management were identified for specific interventions to bring in change.

Nothing much seemed to have changed though. As per Census 2011, the practice of open defecation is still widespread in India as about 70 per cent of rural households and 19 per cent of urban households do not have access to toilets. The recent Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) aims at Urban Solid Waste Management. The urbanisation has increased per capita waste generation rate from 0.44 kg/day in 2001 to 0.5 kg/day in 2011.

This increase was driven by changing lifestyles and rising purchasing power of the urban population.

Since independence, many such campaigns have ended up achieving only numerical targets without achieving the sustainability of those numbers and further maintenance responsibilities. For instance, toilets built without water connection are less likely to have an impact on sanitation practices. As per a 2010 World Bank Report, over Rs. 18,500 crore was spent in the last two decades to build about 70 million toilets in India. But Census 2011 indicated that about 60 per cent of the population still defecate in the open.

Looking at this trend, Iit is likely that the present Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will also go the same way. A Bengaluru-based NGO estimates that about 30 per cent of the Corporate Social Responsibility funds in 201516 have been earmarked for building toilets but will it make a difference on the ground is a question one needs to ponder at this mo-

ment.

What is required for change to take root is systemic change. The need of the hour is to create community ownership of such drives under local civic bodies that are accountable to the public.

Such a modus operandi can sustain good sanitation practices. In another word, it is time to empower the civic bodies like ULBs. Though the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act talked about the need to empower the ULBs, it did not lay down the revenue base for local bodies. What needs to change is the power to determine the revenue base from the State Governments to the ULBs. Since many States have not yet transferred functions, funds and functionaries, one wonders what the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will achieve beyond the hype when the public administrative machinery is not empowered as intended.

Coming back to the question of civic amenities in Guwahati, even though the Swachh Bharat overall ranking of the city is 51 among 476 cities of the country, the picture is still not satisfactory. Again, as per the Census figures of Assam, the percentage of households with proper sanitation facilities changed from 64.6 per cent in 2001 to just 64.9 per cent in 2011 -a dismal figure. It highlights that the Total Sanitation Campaign in the State was far behind its target. Against its own departmental target of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) -- a nodal agency in implementing the campaign, only 78 per cent of BPL households, 44.22 per cent of APL households, 66.47 per cent of IHHL project, 29.86 per cent of Sanitary Complexes and 66.15 per cent of Anganwadi Toilet projects could be covered under the Campaign.

The State though showed an impressive success rate of

the funding for different socio-economic schemes also gets trickled down to the electoral cadres like a feudal hierarchy. In such a scenario, even the best socio-economic development campaign can be a disaster.

In this backdrop, it is imperative to delineate the purview of such a campaign so as to entail the broader administrative process and incorporate historical learning from implementation of different schemes. Otherwise, such campaigns may not recognise the interaction of social, historical and institutional factors which determine economic outcomes. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, without due emphasis on instituting a comprehensive livelihood management system, may therefore, remain a mere sloganeering like "Garibi Hatao"; the poverty alleviation programme without having any recourse to a macro-economically sustainable development process.

The postulation framed as "India's dirtiness cannot be disregarded due to its poverty and many poor societies are cleaner than India" may have a psychic appeal to the burgeoning middle class. But the question is, is the Indian middle class an exception from the attitudinal inheritance from the colonial legacy and caste hegemony? Further, the archetypical picture of grubby streets with mountains of garbage right outside the clean houses in India portrays the wide public-private divide. The colonial legacy further segmented the society which traditionally adhered to their family, community and caste groups without a shared public space. The attitude towards manual labour has been entrenched deeply in the Indian society for a variety of sociocultural reasons. It cannot acknowledge the artisan's hand work as equally dignified in labour as mental work. This, in turn, has also led to lack of professionalism and quality in the performance of manual cleanliness tasks.

By no means, cleanliness campaigns in India can be secluded from poverty given that the poverty ratios is of 21 per cent in urban and 34 per cent in rural India (Planning Commission 2009-10).

Widespread poverty is a historical reality in India. According to the revised methodology of World Bank

last y e a r, the government's response has been found wanting.

It is pertinent for the government to control the itch to gain publicity from every attempt made to improve relations with the neighbouring country.

At the same time, it needs to step up its game when it comes to crucial issues of national security. To start with, enhanced secu-

Indian army soldiers stand guard near the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot. Source: REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta among seven security personnel killed in the terrorist attack there.

In Gurdaspur, Punjab, scores of mourners gathered at the house of Subedar Fateh Singh, 51, a shooter who had won

Look beyond the broom achieving 98.03 per cent in installing toilets in school.

However, under the Campaign, more than 11 lakh households in Assam remained to be covered.

No wonder then, the Evaluation Study on Total Sanitation Campaign, published by the Planning Commission in May, 2013, rated Assam as poor in terms of performance. Importantly, the study pointed at the lack of involvement of civic bodies in the Campaign. It found "no significant role of the block level agencies." The study said, "In 84 per cent of the cases, Gram Panchayats were involved in various degrees; they were implementing agencies only in 39 per cent cases. Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), the lowest level agencies at the village level, existed in 65 per cent of the Gram Panchayats. Their maximum contribution was felt in dealing with the financial aspect like opening bank accounts, collection of tariff for operation and maintenance. But their performance was very poor in the activities like awareness, procurement of construction materials, etc."

It is pertinent to make a constructive historical enquiry while discussing the administrative competency in implementing such social development projects in a State like Assam. The British rulers used a customised version of feudal administrative structure they inherited from the Ahom period for their simple colonial interest of collecting revenue and establishing law and order so as to support the tea and mineral industries. The process of indigenous capital accumulation could not even take off; leave aside consolidation as seen in certain pockets of British India. After independence, a complex inward-looking national economy had been developed under the tutelage of Indian 'state capitalism' ratified by the historical Bombay Plan. As a result, inadequate capital formation along with other national liabilities like an inefficient public sector, unreformed public administration and rampant corruption formed a Central fund dependent 'underdevelopment trap' in the geographically peripheral State. The nexus of vested interest groups misappropriating public money has always been a socio-economically powerful force in the State's politics which safeguards the trap. As collateral to this safeguard, sizable share of

Commonwealth medals.

Singh's daughter Madhu joined the soldiers in carrying the body to the cremation ground.

"What my father has done today, I don't think anything can match it. I am proud of my father," Madhu said.

It is clear from the government's tardy and weak-kneed response that it has been caught

2011, India, with 17.5 per cent of the world's population, have 20.6 per cent share of the world's poorest.

In fact, poverty alleviation should be the most testing cleanliness campaign in the path of humanitarian pursuit for sustainable development.

Presently, the popular narrative seems to be that economic growth rather than the so-called "welfare" schemes can lead to poverty alleviation. Poverty can be tamed by engaging the population in the growth process. But contrary to competing alternatives, social spending should be an integral part of the growth strategy. It should not only cause welfare of the population but also provide employment with positive multiplier effects and expand the domestic market.

Instead of abandoning the pivotal and potential socioeconomic programmes for rural employment, health, education and food security, it is crucial to operationalise an object-oriented implementation mechanism free from the hegemonic nexus of misappropriation of public money. It is much beyond just a matter of trapping the CSR funds. The output growth through large capital can deliver only when an effective social security system is in place. Otherwise, how will GDP growth suffice to meet the developmental goal?

Poverty, social injustice and corruption - the miscellanies to the Indian growth path, have fattened the squalid biological envelope in the civic and physical environment. It will be a fantasy to think of cleaning the biosphere without putting in place an effective civic administration. Photo-ops and hype should not camouflage the need to have administrative reforms which is imperative to the success of any cleanliness drive. It is also important to note that such reforms are required to have proper civic amenities and thereby to protect the rights of every citizen.

Therefore, if Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has to truly succeed, it has to be kept in mind that there cannot be any alternative to an accountable public administration and a social security system.

Indrajit Borah ( Indrajit Borah is a freelance writer based in Delhi. He takes special interest in public policy analysis. He can be reached a t indrajitborah@yahoo.co.in. ) Courtesy:www.nelive.in

on the back foot in the face of the fresh attacks by terrorists who are intent on derailing the talks between the two countries - Indian and Pakistan. Despite a similar attack in Dinanagar, Punjab

rity is required at the border, along with better intelligence gathering. At the same time, it needs to show better preparedness if an attack takes place instead of putting up a sorry show. Courtesy : YKA

From The Ongoing Indian Science Congress: A 'Ring' That Protects Babies And Restores Lakes Jigyasa Watwani A new technology developed by a Mysuru-based firm which protects babies and pregnant women from the ill-effects of contaminated water and also purifies polluted lake water was unveiled at the 103rd session of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) recently.

Prithvi Eco Sciences Pvt Ltd, a biotech research and development company established in 2011, has developed photo-catalyst rings that treat sewage water. The company was formed when Managing Director K Madhusudhan's wife, a gynaecologist at the Bharath Diagnostic Centre on Irwin Road in Mysuru,

set afloat meshed rings in a degraded lake, sit back, and let them work their magic.

A standard 50-60 acre lake requires 40-50 rings for restoration within 24 hours.

The first lake to be purified by the technology was Karanji in Mysuru.

The product was then tested in the Habaada Lake and Hebbal Lake near BEML Ltd in Mysuru's outer ring road.

"I know of farmers near Hebbal who used our product for treating sewage water. Next day itself, they started using the treated sewage water for irrigation purposes," said Madhusudhan while publicising his product at the Pride of India Exhibition at ISC 2016.

K Madhusudhan with his technology Courtesy Prithvi Eco Sciences Pvt Ltd noticed that the number of defective babies in the city were constantly on the rise, as revealed by anomaly scans during pregnancies.

"We started discussions with endocrinologists about the sources and causes of this. We came to the conclusion that water contamination with persistent organic chemicals and carcinogenic combines was responsible.

This is also the cause of a host of illnesses among women such as Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD), apart from thyroid and hyperthyroid," said Madhusudhan.

After consultations with experts, the team came up with a consortium of 120 microbes such as lactobacillus and filamentous fungi that could treat sewage water.

The equipment developed

by Prithvi consists of proprietary nanomaterial coated on a ring, with mesh in between. The new technology just requires one to

Madhusudhan said that lake development authorities in Rajasthan and Nainital, apart from a host of NGOs, had approached the company to sell off its product.

"The advantage of our product is that it requires very little manpower," he said.

Madhusudhan said that his company was also trying to involve industry and the community in restoration of lakes in and around Mysuru.

Prithvi involves corporates by proposing lake restoration projects as part of their respective CSR activities.

For instance, they approached Biocon Ltd, an Indian biopharmaceutical company, for restoration of three lakes in Bengaluru.

"For the community, we introduced water flow regulators in various apartments in Mysuru and requested them to use soaps with lesser phosphate content. This brought down water consumption in these apartment complexes by almost 20 per cent," he said.

Courtesy: Down to Earth

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

BUSINESS

Price hike in Toyota, Skoda, Tata Motors New Delhi, Jan 5: After most of the carmakers having induced customers to buy cars last month with an impending price hike from January, only Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Tata Motors and Skoda have so far increased the prices of their vehicles by up to Rs. 33,000.

Auto makers including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, General Motors India, Renault, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, had all announced that they would increase prices of their vehicles from this month citing rising input costs. When contacted, Toyota Kirloskar Motor confirmed increase in prices of its different models.

The company said its popular multi-purpose vehicle Innova will be costlier by Rs. 14,000 with its price starting at

Rs. 10.86 lakh. Likewise, mid sized sedan Etios Liva will be dearer by Rs. 7,500 with price starting at Rs. 6.18 lakh.

Hatchback Liva will cost Rs. 6,000 more at a starting price of Rs. 5.07 lakh. The company said price of its premium sedan Camry has been hiked

by Rs. 31,500 at Rs. 29.11 lakh, while that of sedan Corolla diesel has also been increased by Rs. 29,000 at a starting price of Rs. 14.22 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi). Similarly, a Tata Motors spokesperson confirmed hike in prices of its passenger vehicles by up to Rs. 20,000 without sharing details.

Skoda India said it has increased prices of its vehicles across models from January 1. The base variant of the company's midsized sedan Rapid (petrol) will be costlier by around

End of China's superboom spells soreness Singapore, Jan 5: A decade-old commodity boom came crashing to an end in 2015, hurting energy and mining companies as China's industrial rise and appetite for raw materials slowed. The outlook for 2016 is not much better.

The Thomson Reuters Core Commodity Index fell by a quarter over the year, to hit its lowest level since 2002 in December, as commodities ranging from iron ore to oil took a battering. And there are few bright spots in sight.

"The chances of an optimistic 2016 are bleak," Mark To, head of research at Hong Kong's Wing Fung Financial Group, said. "Slowing economic growth and structural reforms in China might contribute to decreased demand for commodities."

Further interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve will add to the pain, by strengthening the dollar and making many commodities more expensive for international buyers, To said. Among industrial commodities, iron ore prices have tumbled 40 per cent 2015 this year due to global oversupply and shrinking Chinese steel demand,

for a third year of losses, and the rout is seen stretching into 2016. In coal, thermal prices fell almost a third in 2015, hurt by waning Chinese demand and the rise of renewable energy, with Goldman Sachs and the International Energy Agency saying China's coal demand has peaked.

Both iron ore and coal have shed around 80 percent in value since their respective historical peaks in 2011 and 2008.

The downturn has hammered mining majors like BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto and Anglo American, as well as merchants like Asia's Noble Group and Europe's Glencore, forcing them to slash jobs and sell assets. Benchmark oil and natural gas prices have also slumped, down a third this year and two thirds since the rout began in 2014, as ballooning supply met slowing demand.

"Headwinds (are) growing for 2016 oil," Morgan Stanley said this week, citing increases in global supply and a slowdown in demand, reflecting a market consensus that meaningfully higher prices are not expected before late 2016. (Agencies)

Source: s2.reutersmedia.net

Rs. 15,000. It will start at Rs. 7.71 lakh for the petrol base variant. Similarly, the Octavia (petrol) will also be costlier by Rs. 33,000 starting at Rs. 16.07 lakh. (all prices exshowroom Delhi). Officials of other manufacturers said they have not finalised the hike yet.

Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and General Motors had said they would hike prices by up to Rs. 20,000 across their different models. Hyundai Motor India had also stated it would increase prices by up to Rs. 30,000, while Renault, Nissan, Skoda and BMW had said they would increase prices by up to 3 per cent. Mercedes-Benz said it would hike prices by up to 2 per cent. Every year, carmakers announce at the end of November or December their plans to increase prices of their ve-

chasing power offline.

Now after an online purchase, the company has been able to save a lot," he said. He said that this model was also being extended to tea companies.

"We are discussing with the tea companies regarding their purchase of tea from small Bought Leaf factories," he said.

Oberoi said that mjunction had helped Tata Tea buy 10% of their annual procurement of tea from Bought Leaf factories from Dooars and Assam regions. This will be extended to South India also, he said. "We are now looking at construction, logistics and automobiles," Oberoi said. He said that every year, there

Ø Only Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Tata Motors and Skoda have so far increased the prices of their vehicles by up to Rs. 33,000. Ø Auto makers including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, General Motors India, Renault, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, had all announced that they would increase prices of their vehicles from this month citing rising input costs.

Image for representational purpose

Ø Likewise, mid sized sedan Etios Liva will be dearer

by Rs. 7,500 with price starting at Rs. 6.18 lakh. Hatchback Liva will cost Rs. 6,000 more at a starting price of Rs. 5.07 lakh

Ø Toyota Kirloskar Motor confirmed increase in prices of its different models. The company said its popular multi-purpose vehicle Innova will be costlier

by Rs. 14,000 with its price starting at Rs. 10.86 lakh.

Ø Skoda India said it has increased prices of its vehicles across models from January 1. The base variant of the company's midsized sedan Rapid (petrol) will be costlier by around Rs. 15,000.

hicles by January in the next year. Automobile industry observers say the

practice is mostly a tactic to push sales to liquidate stocks after heavy dis-

counting in festive season and before a model year change starts. (Agencies)

Gadgets get smarter at CES San Francisco, Jan 5: From drones, cars and robots to jewellery, appliances and TVs, the new technology on display at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show promises to be smarter and friendlier than ever. The annual tech extravaganza with more than 3,600 exhibitors set to formally start on Wednesday in Las Vegas is likely to see innovation across a range of sectors, from health care to autos, connected homes, virtual reality and gaming. "There are always a couple of winners at CES, and sometimes

roles at the show as usual, with giants such as Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio among contenders in a market rapidly shifting to ultra-high definition. "We are in the sweetest of the sweet spot in the TV market," NPD analyst Stephen Baker told while discussing CES. "Sales of 4K TVs are exploding right now," he said, referring to the popular new high-definition format. Drones are also expected to make a splash at CES, where an Unmanned Systems Marketplace has doubled in size from a year earlier to cover 25,000 square feet (2,300

Nasscom contests disparity pricing for data services

R. Chandrashekhar, Nasscom President.

Source: www.livemint.com

Mumbai, Jan 5: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said that all data tariff plans should ensure unfettered right of choice for the consumer and telecom carriers or their partners should not have a say in what content can be offered at "favourable rate".

The IT industry body, however, said the Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) should have powers to approve differential pricing for data services considered to be in public interest. Nasscom reiterated its opposition to platforms such as Airtel Zero and Free Basics, saying

these violate the principles of net neutrality. Nasscom President R. Chandrashekhar said: "We strongly oppose any model where telecom services providers [TSPs] or their partners have a say or discretion in choosing content that is made available at favourable rates, speed etc." The consultation paper raises issues related to zero-rating tariff models - a practice wherein service providers offer free data to users for select applications and websites. Nasscom has also proposed that a suitable oversight mechanism should be put in a place to check that the TSPs continue to abide by the principles of net neutrality. It has recommended establishing an independent not-for-profit entity with an independent

board, which would own and manage proposed differential pricing programs. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a consultation paper on differential pricing for data services for which the last date for submitting comments is January 7. The consultation paper raises issues related to zero-rating tariff models a practice wherein service providers offer free data to users for select applications and websites.

Nasscom president R. Chandrashekhar said the regulator should have the power to allow differential pricing for certain types/classes of services that are deemed to be in public interest and based on mandatory prior approvals. (Agencies)

Abid Ali Neemuchwala as Wipro CEO Bengaluru, Jan 5: India's third largest IT exporter Wipro Limited announced the appointment of Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala as the Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of the company. The company also appointed the current CEO T.K. Kurien as the Executive Vice Chairman. Both the appointments will be effective from February 1, 2016, the company said in a release. "Over the past five years, Wipro has been transforming into a next generation technology and consulting company with defining differentiators in the market place," said Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro Limited. T.K. Kurien, will

SAIL-Tata Steel's mjunction to look at various verticals Mumbai, Jan 5: mjunction services, an online procurement and sales platform floated jointly by the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel, is now eyeing new verticals to boost revenue. "We are now looking at various other verticals like tea, power, construction, automobiles and logistics to help increase our revenue," mjunction MD and CEO Viresh Oberoi told.

Oberoi said mjunction had facilitated the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) to buy power online to meet its shortfall. "So far, the Distribution Company (DISCOM) was pur-

HIGH JUMP IN CAR PRICES

PAGE 10

has been a 15% to 20% rise in revenue by new services. For getting into more such areas, he said the company had set up an incubation cell to develop ideas. Among financial services, mjunction will also enter online bill discounting business for which it had got the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) approval.

About financials, he said the company had been making profits and the value of transactions done was Rs 45,000 crore in the last fiscal. "We are now looking at a top line growth of 30% year-onyear, out of which 20% will be from new businesses and 10% from old ones", he said. (Agencies)

continue to report to Azim Premji and will remain a Member of the Board until March 31, 2017. "As Executive Vice Chairman, TK will enable Abid by leveraging his deep relationships with customers and chart out a new technology roadmap for Wipro," Mr. Premji added. Wipro had appointed former TCS BPO CEO Abid Ali Neemuchwala as the group president and chief operating officer (COO) of the company effective April 1, 2015. "In his nine months as the Group President and Chief Operating Officer, Abid has effortlessly assimilated into the culture and ethos of Wipro. The new structure will ensure

smooth succession and will build on the solid foundation we have developed to drive superior growth and profitability.

I wish both TK and Abid every success in their new roles," added Mr. Premji. "Abid has demonstrated a deep understanding of technology, business vision, sound judgement, and an innate ability to bring people together. I have no doubt that Abid is the right leader to lead Wipro in its next phase of growth," said T.K. Kurien. "It is a privilege and an honour to be invited to lead Wipro, a company with a rich heritage of technology innovation and unflinching commitment to values. I am convinced that

Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala, Wipro CEO. Source: im.rediff.com

we are well positioned to seize new opportunities in today's marketplace. I look forward to working with the thousands of Wiproites to take our company to greater heights," said Mr. Neemuchwala in a statement. (Agencies)

Source: www.arabnews.com there are the sleepers that turn out to be the cool thing," Gartner analyst Brian Blau told. But Blau said the innovations are "often evolutionary, not revolutionary." Televisions will play starring

square meters). Blau expects the drones on display at the show to be more sophisticated, with easy controls and even applications that let them be operated using smartphones. (Agencies)

FPIs' net inflow slumps to $7.4 bn New Delhi, Jan 5: Overseas investors poured in just about $7.4 billion in the Indian debt markets in 2015, after having pumped in a staggering $26 billion in the preceding year. Foreign funds also stayed away from Indian equities in 2015 and invested just Rs. 17,806 crore ($3.2 billion) in stock markets last year. In comparison, FPIs had been investing around Rs. 1 lakh crore each into equities in the preceeding three years. The decline in inflows has been attributed to a slew of domestic and international factors including concerns of a global slowdown, Chinese equity meltdown and an imminent interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Besides, delay in implementation of major economic reforms in India also dampened investors' sentiments. As per the data available with depositories, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) infused a net amount of Rs. 45,856 crore ($7.4 billion) in the debt markets in 2015 as compared to a record investment of Rs. 1.6 lakh crore ($26 billion) in the previous year. In 2013, FPIs had pulled out

Image for representational purpose around Rs. 51,000 crore ($8 billion). Prior to that, overseas investors had invested about Rs. 35,000 crore, Rs. 42,000 crore and Rs. 46,408 crore in 2012, 2011 and 2010 respectively. The capital poured in by the FPIs is often been called 'hot money' because of its unpredictability, but these overseas entities have still been among the most important drivers of Indian stock markets. Interestingly, most of the inflows witnessed in 2015 into Indian debt market have gone into government securities.

Despite weaker inflows this year, FPIs' cumulative net investments into the debt markets, since being allowed over two decades ago in November 1992, has now reached about Rs. 3 lakh crore.

(Agencies)

Gadkari's call on auto firms Mumbai, Jan 5: Calling upon automakers to develop homegrown technologies to build environment-friendly car engines under the Make in India drive, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari said encouraging such endeavours will help them save on huge royalty costs. "Even today despite more than 90 per cent indigenisation some of our car manufactures have been paying royalties for technology of over Rs.4,000 crore every year. They will not be required to do so if they develop indigenous technologies," Mr. Gadkari told. The automakers should encourage indigenous technologies under

GADKARI's STRATEGY NORMS Ø Gadkari calls upon automakers to develop homegrown technologies to

build environment-friendly car engines under the Make in India drive.

Ø The automakers should encourage indigenous technologies under Make

in India drive, the minister said while stressing that nation is battling with the problem of pollution and this could be their contribution to check it.

Ø Promotion to biofuel could cut on huge crude import bills which is to the

tune of Rs 8 lakh crore per annum, he said.

Ø He added that this would curb the high alarming pollution rate.

Make in India drive, the minister said while stressing that nation is battling with the problem of pollution and this could be their contribution to check it. Citing example of Brazil, he said, "Flex fuel is available for all major brands, whether Volkswagen,

Ford, Toyota, Honda or Hyundai. Flex engine is there. In the same tank you can use petrol and ethanol." "Why can't the automobile manufacturers here get indigenous technologies?" he wondered, asserting that such an initiative would not only reduce pollution

but would help in diversification of agriculture.

"Agriculture economy is facing lots of problems...thousands of our farmers are committing suicide. We will definitely encourage diversification of agriculture towards energy, power and bio-plastics

which in turn would strengthen the hands of poor farmers," he said.

He said ethanol could be manufactured from a wide variety of crop yields right from sugarcane to wheat and rice.

Promotion to biofuel could cut on huge crude import bills which is to the tune of Rs 8 lakh crore per annum, he said and added this would curb pollution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31 had also appealed farmers of Uttar Pradesh to switch to ethanol production in case of surplus sugar production so that they not only earn profit but also contribute to minimise vehicular pollution. (Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

Features

PAGE 11

HORTICULTURE Kongali Bharal -- Granaries of hope The concept of Kongali means of livelihood is Bharal is helping some farming, this is often the farmers in Assam to avoid reality for a large swathe taking debts to meet their of people. Habitually deeveryday needs during the pendent on their granaries annual lean season. Not to put food on the table, it for nothing is one of the is during this time the ruthree Bihus of Assam ral poor ends up borrowcalled Kongali. It comes ing money at high interest every October; a time from local lenders. They when the thus fall crop is in Nayanjyoti Bhuyan into a vithe field, cious meaning, the farmer's gra- cycle, as year after year nary is nearly empty. So they use the money gotKongali, which in ten from selling crops durAssamese literally means ing the harvest period to abject poverty, ends up as pay back the borrowed the most subdued of money with nothing left, Bihus, with hardly any fes- yet again, for the Kongali tivity around it. period.

For someone whose liv- A bout of fresh thinking ing is agriculture-depen- is, however, quietly breakdent, this period of time ing this vicious cycle in can be particularly trying. some parts of rural In the rural belts of Assam. Under the banner Assam, where the main of a non-governmental

Source: nezine.com

organisation, Northeast Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), an effort is on at least in two districts of the State to help people stock enough grains to see through the lean period by setting up a mechanism called Kongali Bharal or a granary for the times of abject poverty.

The man behind the brainwave is Girin Chetia, highly driven by his understanding that the system of borrowing year after year has nearly broken the backbone of Assam's rural poor. "They have very little cultivable land of their own. Add to it poor soil condition, perennial flood and erosion and health problems, and they are left to forever struggle to survive. In the process, they never have sufficient buffer of food which push them to a debt trap, sometimes from generation to generation," states Chetia, the director of NEADS. It was this trap that had historically led to the system of Pike or semibonded workers in the State. The situation worsened when during the British rule in the region, beginning around 1850, a new crop of moneylenders entered the scene.

Remnants of those times can still be seen continuing in some form or the

other.

Chetia says when the volunteers of NEADS had formal and informal meetings with the rural poor to get an insight into the issue, "it emerged that it is during October that the farmers' stock of grains of the last year dries up fully and their other resources get invested in the farming of the current season."

He explains, "This is the time when they lack resources even to survive till the harvesting time. If around this time, there occurs any unforeseen incidents, like an accident or health related emergencies, they find themselves in an even more helpless situation, leading them often to the moneylenders' door. This often manifests as either borrowing in high interest, keeping valuables in pawn or selling the future product (in this case the harvest) at a minimal price." He says, in certain cases, the rate of interest is hundred percent. "All these make them so vulnerable that even when the harvest takes place they can hardly enjoy it."

NEADS realised that the solution lied in micro-financing but it had to be cash-less since the target community was poor who might divert the money for some other necessity.

Since availability of sufficient grain was understood to do the trick, it saw a solution in establishing a common stock of grains for the annual season of crisis. Thus born the concept of Kongali Bharal from where marginal farmers could borrow grain from the common stock with the condition of returning it during the harvest time.

NEADS first established Kongali Bharals for some villages of Pirakota area in Jorhat district in 2006. Already having the experience of organising awareness campaigns on health, education and the rights of the poor in that area, NEADS had the ready advantage of both understanding the reason behind the vicious cycle of poverty that the people suffered from there and the potential ways of breaking it.

It bestowed the responsibility of running these granaries on women self-help groups (SHGs). The organisation mentored these groups for the next two-three years before they could handle the functioning on their own.

"To establish the first Kongali Bharal, we formed a women's group called Nabaratna Samanwaya Samitee to create as well as manage it in Brahman

Source: nezine.com Gaon in Pirakota. The members of nine SHGs of the area came together to establish the granary to help people from the village and nearby areas. As expected, it helped people to come out of the vicious cycle of indebtedness to a large extent," says Anu Gogoi, the secretary of that Samitee.

Encouraged by the initial results, NEADS took the concept to some remote villages in Sadia sub-division of Tinsukia district.

Presently, there are ten Kongali Bharals functioning in Sadia area.

The concept is hinged on an idea long identified as a

FLORICULTURE Rose-Queen of Flowers Rose occupied a unique position almost in all civilization the world has met so far. It symbolises, according to Roman mythology, Venus the god of love and peace. Rose was the medium of conveying the eternal love and appreciating the beauty in the classic masterpiece such as "Rubayat-e-Omarkhayam".

Rose was the favourite flower of many Mughal Badshah like Shahjahan. Its popularity, because of its fragrance and enchanting colours, remains unabated.

It is the most cherished flower all over the world hence, its commercial value apart from its beauty, remains eternal. Therefore, global popularity of rose throws out a very potential entrepreneurial opportunity in a sustainable way.

Step-Wise Cultivation Technique 1. Soil Quality: Sandyloam, red-loam, silty-loam soil will be best suited for rose cultivation. .

2. Soil pH: 5.5 to 6.5 is ideal for rose, because useful soil bacteria that fix the atmospheric nitrogen and solubilises phosphate present in the soil grow well around this range of pH. If the pH falls below 5.5 than it can be amended by applying lime powder @ 100 kg per acre.

3. Salinity: Rose dislikes saline soil as sodium carbonate which is present in the saline soil is harmful to the plants. Necessary soil amendment is required prior to plantation. Generally, soil salinity increases due to poor drainage, particularly in coastal areas and in heavy clay soil areas. Therefore, suitable methods for sub-soil drainage of water along with neutralisation of sodium carbonate are to be adopted.

4. Climate: Climatic factors controls the growth of rose

plants. Rose usually dislikes humid climate, but can tolerate high temperature.

Further, rose does not bloom in a temperature below 10째 Celsius. Rose plant should receive 8 hours exposure to sun rays. Shady area is not at all suitable for rosary.

5. Land: Up land having proper drainage of excess of sub-soil water. Any robbing roots of plants like coconut or some big trees near the rose field will retard the growth of rose plants as these robbing roots suck the nutrients from the nearby lands.

6. Types Of Cultivars Needed For Commercial Rosary:

purposes; a beginner can start with such roses as they require less cares and technology.

3.

Floribundas are exotic variety roses evolved by crossing hybrid polyantha with Hybrid Teas. Floribundas require high skill and more attention. It is suitable for big ventures for 100 % export.

Floribundas can also be cultivated along with hybrid tea roses in a big way.

4.

Damask rose may be cultivated exclusively for manufacturing rose essence, rose-water and a pan Masala called Gulkand in industrial scale. In India, damask rose is being cultivated extensively in Uttar

Source: nationalgardenmonth.org 1.

Hybrid Tea Roses which are evolved by crossing Tea Roses with perpetuals are suitable for big venture, but not for the beginners or small growers. Hybrid Tea Roses are highly valued in the cut flowers markets all over the world due to attractive size and colours, but their cultivation requires maximum cares, modern technological adoption and skill or expertise. After acquiring the required expertise, one can venture out for hybrid tea roses. It has export potential.

2.

Common commercial roses for decoration

Pradesh and Uttarachanl states.

7. Land Preparation: (I) Time Of Tillage : October to November (II) Depth Of Tillage: 9" tillage by tractor or bullock drawn plough followed by 15 days exposure to sun rays.

(III) Pit Preparation (a) Size: For rose cultivation, pits of size 45 cm X 45 cm X 30 cm are prepared for plantation of rose plantlets. (b) Spacing: 0.75m from pit to pit & 0.75m from row to row in low density cultivation accommodating about 7,000 plants per acre with plant density 1.729/m2. In

case of green house culture, high density plantation will accommodate 28,000 plants per acre having plant density 71m2, ( 1 hactare= 2.471 acres) (c) Refilling of Pits: After exposing to sun rays for 15 days the pits are refilled with soil-manure mixture. Plantlets are planted after a week of refilling the pits.

8. Planting Materials: (I) Bud-Grafted Plantlets: Bud grafted plantlets are usually used as the planting material in rose cultivation. In bud grafting method, wild variety of rose like Rosa gigentia is usually used as root-stock on which buds of exotic varieties are grafted. Such grafted plantlets are available with Nurseries. But, the demerits of such bud grafted plantlets are that (1) the process of bud grafting is very cumbersome and (2) plantlets may not be disease free. Therefore, it is advisable that grafted plantlets should be purchased from renowned Nurserymen.

(II) Seedlings: Raising of seedling from rose seed is possible, the process is very cumbersome and delatory. Seedlings from seeds are raised in case of invention of new varieties on hybridization.

(III) Tissue Culture: Disease free and high yielding rose plantlets are now being produced in large quantities in wide range of varieties by tissue culture method which is a branch of modern biotechnology.

An entrepreneur who wants to start a commercial rosary in a big way must use tissue culture plantlets to maintain quality of produce.

9. Plantation: The planting materials are planted in the prepared pits during evening hours. Before planting, 5 gram of Furadan 3G is to be applied to the

pit for controlling pests.

After plantation, the plantlets as well as the root zone of each plant to be sprayed with systemic fungicide like Bavistin ( 2g in one litre of water) as a prophylactic against fungal diseases.

10. Harvesting: After initial planting in December or January (say), rose starts blooming from March and plant will yield on economic scale for 3 years. (i) Plucking Stage: For commercial purpose, roses are plucked at the bud stage just prior to blooming stage having a stalk of 9" to 12" long as per the preference of the market. (ii) Time of Plucking: Buds must be cut out from the plant by a sharp knife during the evening hours to keep them fresh. (iii) Packaging: Buds with long stalk are made to bundles of 100 as need may be and put in the bamboo baskets which are kept floating on water so that the cut end touch the water.

Flowers are transported to market while covering the baskets with wet linen. .

11. Pests & Diseases Of Rose: * Scale Mites: It is an insect which form small and round red or brown scales on the stt3m near the base and then gradually spread upwardly. The insects live inside the scale and suck the sap of the plant. Scale mite can be prevented by washing the stem with a cotton swab dipped in Malathion, Rogor, Metasystox and applying granular Furadan 3G in the soil. *Red Spider Mites: Very minute insects or mites spin webs on the under side of leaves which can be seen through a magnifying glass. Red mites infest only during dry months. The effected leaves look dull as mite suck sap from leaves.

It is difficult to eradicate red

mites completely. However, insecticide spray with Delcofol, Rogor, Malathion and dusting with Sulphur can control this pest. *Aphids: Four species of aphids which alway.s re-

possible solution of human development by many experts. Even in "Glimpses of World History", the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said that it was the introduction of surplus grain that would lead all the revolutionary changes in the history of human civilisation. In that book, he explained how the early human society, during its transition from huntergatherer mode of livelihood to dependence on production of grains, hugely benefited from their surplus time. This surplus time later provided the human beings an opportunity to observe, re-

flect and innovate. And, this, he said, was the main principle of creating wealth as well as the grease which made the bigger wheels of civilisation march.

It is this path of human development that the dedicated workers of NEADS are helping some rural poor of Assam, albeit in a small manner. ( Nayanjyoti Bhuyan is an independent journalist based in Guwahati.

His focus area is rural reporting, specially, on the rural poor and marginalized sections of the society. ) Courtesy: Nezine.com

which effects the important function like photosynthesis. Effective insecticides are Malathion and Metasystox. Caterpillars: Caterpillars are chewing insects that damage the

avoided. It is also advisable to procure bud grafted plantlets from reliable nurseries only. In this context, tissue culture plantlet is the best substitute for budgrafted plantlets.

Source: heirloomroses.com main in colony and most them look green in colour usually attack rose plants.

They also suck the sap making the plant weak. Effective insecticides against aphids are Nuvacron, Metacid etc. Nicotine sulphate solution is, however, specific in controlling aphids. "Thrips: These are very minute insects which distort the leaves. If not controlled, in time, not a single leaf would be found In normal condition. These insets effect the normal photosynthesis of plant. Effective insecticides are Metacid, Rogor etc. *Mealy-bug: Bug like lazy insects with white woolly incrustation are found on the branches which suck sap from" young stem and leaves. Effective insecticides are Malathion, Rogor, Metacid etc. *Leaf-rolling larva: It is a larva of an insect that first feed on the young leaves and then roll the leaves for its shelter: The effective insecticides are Malathion and Lindane. *Leaf-miner: It is a larva of a moth which infests leaves and make the foliage unslightly by its leqf mining habit. It damages the parenchymatous cell of leaf

leaves, buds, young stems.

Effective Insecticides are Metacid, Malathion, Metasystox. *White ants: White ant which inhabitates beneath the soil is menace to rose plant. In white ant infested areas, soil may be mixed with 10% BHC or Aldrin.

Diseases *Die-back: This is the most dreaded disease of rose caused by unknown etiology. As the name indicates, the stems die back from top down wards and gradually the whole plant. The disease, according to plant pathologists, is due to injury to the roots by fungi or careless root pruning or poor drainage in the root zone or due to shortage of essential food elements. Till now, no medicines are available against die-back. However, one can try the following method to control the disease to some extent.

The effected stem or branch is cut 2-3 inches below the effected part and a cap of fresh cow-dung mixed with Copper Sulphate or Bordeaux paste alone is put over the cut wound.

Any way the prognosis is not very encouraging.

Over watering, particularly in coastal areas, should be

*Black spots: Almost circular black spots on the leaves causing severe defoliation is a common fungal disease of rose. Initially, brown or yellow spots appear on the lower leaves which then turn into black spots. On progress of disease, the effected leaves turn yellow and fall off.

Heavy defoliation due to black spots make the plant weak and prone to die-back.

Black spot disease can be controlled by contact fungicides like Dithane M-45, Blitox, Bordeaux mixture or by systemic fungicides like Bavistin, Calixin etc. *Powdery & Downy Mildews: These are very common fungal disease of rose.

Foliage, young stems and stalk of flower buds of rose are coated with powdery dust or downy masses causing leaves to fall, young shoots to wilt and perish and preventing buds to bloom. The disease starts-with a small white dot and then rapidly proliferate effecting the entire plant.

High temperature difference between day and night triggers the disease, according to some experts. The disease is best controlled by systemic fungicide like Bavistin. Contact fungicide like Dithane M45 may also be tried.

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he felt honoured to receive Army Chief's support and that he was motivated by his appreciation.

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6

PAGE 12

Vijender Singh

Dhoni, Rahane pay tribute to Dhanawade's historic 1009* knock ANI New Delhi : India's limitedovers skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday paid tribute to Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade, saying that it was not a joke to score so many runs.

Speaking on the eve of India's departure for the Australia tour, Dhoni said, "It's not a joke to score so many runs. It is serious business in any conditions and ground keeping in mind the age. It's tremendous, it is important to improve. He must be a very special kid. I would have gotten bored. He's calculating his batting. It is something that is very rare."

Middle order batsman Ajinkya Rahane also heaped praise for Dhanawade, saying that his knock was massive and hoped that he would play for India some day.

"It's a massive feat to do this.

He has started well. 1009

runs take long to say it but to achieve an individual score like this is a big achievement.

I hope he plays with us someday. He should just focus on doing well," he said.

Earlier, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had also praised Dhanawad for becoming the first cricketer in the world to score 1000 runs in one innings.

The master-blaster appreciated the 15-year-old boy for his achievement and called on him to work harder in order to reach new heights.

"Congrats #Pranav Dhanawade on being the first ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!," the 42-year-old global cricket icon tweeted.

Earlier, the Mumbai teenager created history as he smashed 127 boundaries and 59 sixes to reach an unbeaten knock

'Injured' Sharapova withdraws from Brisbane International

Tendulkar hails Dhanawade for breaking all-time cricket record Mahendra Singh Dhoni

of 1009 during his side's KC Gandhi School two-day match against Arya Gurukul School.

Pranav's brilliant performance helped his side to declare the innings on 1465, while the opposition side were bundled out for 31 yesterday.

Extending their tribute to Dhanawade, the Maharashtra Government had announced to look after the education and coaching expenses of the wonderboy.

ANI New Delhi : Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has praised Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade, who became the first cricketer in the world to score 1000 runs in one innings.

The master-blaster appreciated the 15-year-old boy for his achievement and called on him to work harder in order to reach new heights.

"Congrats #Pranav Dhanawade on being the first ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!," the 42-year-old global cricket icon tweeted.

Earlier, Pranav created history as he smashed 127 boundaries and 59 sixes to reach an unbeaten knock of 1009 during his side's KC Gandhi School twoday match against Arya Gurukul School.

Pranav's brilliant performance helped his side to declare the innings on 1465, while the opposition side were bundled out for 31 yesterday.

Extending their tribute to Dhanawade, the Maharashtra Government had announced to look after the education and coaching expenses of the wonderboy.

Maria Sharapova ANI Johannesburg : World number three Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the season's opening Brisbane International tournament due to a left arm injury.

The 28-year-old five-time Grand Slam winner, who got hurt during the practice session, said that she

needed to withdraw as a precaution ahead of the Australian Open.

horns with Ekaterina Makarova, who will now face lucky loser.

Reflecting on her withdrawal, Sharapova said that the Brisbane International was a really special event for her, adding that she was looking forward to play the tournament next year, Sport24 reported.

Sharapova was set to lock

Sharapova, who won the Brisbane International last January and was runner-up at the Australian, missed three months of tournaments due to leg injury after Wimbledon semi-final loss to Serena Williams in early July.

ICC to continue U-19 Army Chief felicitates Vijender WC preparation despite Australia's withdrawal post three-straight pro bout win scheduled," Richardson said.

ANI Dubai : The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that they will continue to prepare for this month's ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh despite the withdrawal of the Australian team from the event, citing security and safety concerns.

Reflecting on the same, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said that although they respect the position of Cricket Australia, they were quite disappointed with the decision.

"The ICC takes its responsibilities around the safety and security of ICC events extremely seriously. And taking into consideration the full and unequivocal support of the Bangladesh government that has been afforded to us at the highest level and through all local security agencies, the advice we have received from our own and independent security experts, and the robust security plan that has been developed, the ICC remains of the view the it is appropriate for event planning to continue as

Sivasagar win by 9 wkts Sports Reporter For CCS, Diki Singh took four Dibrugarh, Dec 5: Cricket for 9 in seven overs. Imran Club of Sivasagar beat Khan and Palav Gogoi shared Dibrugarh city cricket coach- two wickets each by giving ing centre by nine wickets in away 23 and 13 runs respecthe Simang Arnold Phulari In- tively. vitation (unIn reply, Simang Arnold der-15) InterCCS losing District one wicket Phulari Cricket Cricket Tourscored 53 in nament at Dibrugarh District 4 overs. Abdul Salam hit unSports Association Stadium beaten 22 off 12 balls with five here today. Altogether, eight fours to the fence. Anuj Chetia teams participate in the tour- unbeaten at 8 off 5 balls with a nament. lone boundary.

Opting to bat first, DCCCC Yash Mawatwal took one wicket were bundled out for 52 in for DCCCC. 21.2 overs. Yash Mawatwal Tomorrow, Dibrugarh city unbeaten at 21 off 27 balls cricket coaching centre (B) will laced with three boundaries. play Tinsukia Cricket Academy.

Richardson revealed that the ICC's own security team would continue to closely monitor the situation in Bangladesh, including all travel advisories provided by relevant government agencies.

"Security plans associated with an event of this size and stature are always subject to continual review to ensure that they remain appropriate and fit for purpose, and this event is no different.

Describing the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup as `extremely important, Richardson insisted that the ICC, along with the Bangladesh Cricket Board ( BCB), would try their best to successfully deliver this event.

In a meeting here on Tuesday, the Tour and Program Fixtures Committee also discussed various options to

bring more fans to Test matches in the coming season, according to a BCCI release.

During the 2016-17 season India are slated to play a total of 13 Test matches, 10 One-day Internationals and one T20I's against Bangladesh, New Zealand, England and Australia.

The day-night Test fever is catching on and after Australia successfully hosted the first first pink-ball match in the longer format

In an hour-long meeting between the duo, General Suhag also felicitated Vijender for making a brilliant start in his professional boxing career.

Vijender said that he felt honoured to receive Army Chief's support and that he was motivated by his appre-

Vijender Singh ciation.

"It's an honour for me to meet the Army Chief Gen-

ET Correspondent Golaghat, Jan 5: Under the banner of Golaghat Tennis Club 20th North East India Open Tennis Championshiop is going to be organised from 6th January in Tennis Club Pavillion Complex from 9 am. President Anil Kr Buragohain and Secretary Protim Kr Dutta have asked the sports lovers to attend the same.

against New Zealand, CA (Cricket Australia) is also mulling a day-night game against England in the Ashes of 2017-18.

Across the border, Pakistan are also keen on Cricket Australia's DayNight Test offer in December 2016 and has also discussed the possibility of using the pink ball for the final of the domestic tournament Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

eral Dalbir Singh Suhag. He is very fond of boxing. He told me that he is following my career from the days I

Bacher blames `madness` tour to India for Proteas' struggle played a part in the team's current struggle.

Earlier, South Africa had suffered a humiliating 03 defeat in the fourmatch Test series against India.

20th North east open Tennis

BCCI mulls Day-Night cricket in Duleep Trophy PTI Mumbai: Taking a cue from the success of the first Day-Night Test in Adelaide last year, the Tour and Program Fixtures Committee has recommended to the BCCI Technical panel to consider organising the Duleep Trophy matches with pink ball.

ANI New Delhi : Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag has congratulated Indian Boxer Vijender Singh for turning professional and applauded him for winning three consecutive bouts in 2015.

started amateur boxing. I am happy that he is also following my professional bouts. He appreciated my decision for turning professional and winning three consecutive bouts. I would like to thank him for the felicitation and it's a big motivation for me getting honored from the Chief of Army Staff. General Dalbir Singh Suhag also wished me for my next fight scheduled to be held in Liverpool, UK on 13 February 2016.

He is a great man".

Vijender, who is on a two week vacation in India, will be flying back to UK later this week.

Describing the tour against India as a `madness`, the 73-year-old revealed that his players' were not able to fully overcome the defeat, Sport24 reported.

Ali Bacher ANI Johannesburg : Former South Africa skipper Ali

Bacher believes that his side's recently-concluded tour against India has

Bacher, who believes that the Indian pitches were 'outrageous', in-

sisted that his side were now tackling England in a tough series.

The former skipper further said that the current South African Test team could not fill the void left by star players like Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

South Africa are currently trailing 0-1 in the four-match Test series against the visitors following their 241-run defeat in the opening match against England in Durban.

Guptill's fireworks help Kiwis seal ODI series 31 against Lanka ANI Mount Maunganui: Opener Martin Guptill continued his rich vein of form as he smashed a century to help New Zealand clinch the five-match ODI series 3-1 against Sri Lanka after beating the Angelo Mathews-led side by 36 runs in the final match at the Bay Oval on Tuesday.

Opting to bat first, New Zealand posted 294-5 against Sri Lanka, thanks to Guptill for smashing nine boundaries and three sixes in his brilliant knock of 102.

Meanwhile, skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor scored 61 each in his side's innings.

In reply, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 258 despite some resistance by skipper Mathews (95).

Dinesh Chandimal (50) and Milinda Siriwardana (39) were other notable contributions to the visitors.

For the hosts, Matt Henry and Trent Boult bagged five and three wickets respectively while Adam Milne and Mitchell Santner also chipped in with a wicket each.

The two sides will now play two-match Twenty20 series, starting from Thursday.

Rooney named England Player of the Year Agencies London: Wayne Rooney has been named England Player of the Year (POTY) for 2015, retaining the title for the second successive year.

The Football Association (FA) said that the voting has been open over the last few weeks via the England Supporters Club before the deadline passed at midnight on Monday, reports Xinhua.

The England captain became the Three Lions' all-time top

goal scorer with 37 percent of the votes to claim the England POTY for a fourth time.

The Manchester United striker scored five goals in his eight England appearances during 2015, including his recordbreaking penalty against Switzerland which took his overall international tally to 50 to surpass Bobby Charlton's record.

Rooney will be presented with the award ahead of March's fixtures against Germany in Berlin and the Netherlands at the Wembley Stadium here.

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