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For business, mail at: md.easterntoday@gmail.com GOOD NEWS The Eastern Today in Khonsa For Your Copy: HAKHUN DIAGONISTICS Bank Colony, Khonsa Contact :

Vol. 1

Issue 125

Price -

Dibrugarh, Wednesday, October 7, 2015

5.00

08730849369/ 08471896580/ 03736-222269

Pages- 12

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Elements of uncertainty Truck entry into surface in Arunachal politics Delhi adds enormous air pollution: CSE ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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Laluk area in Lakhimpur district and a H.S. 2nd year student of Sonapur Higher Secondary School, who died in the hospital last night. According to the information found the youth sustained serious injury while he was knocked by an Inova car, going from North Lakhimpur, near his home on the way to a shop. Then he was admitted to NLCH in the wake of the accident, but he could not survive and breathed his last at 7:00 pm. The dead body was then not handed over to

the family and kept at morgue for postmortem. On Tuesday the sweeper of the hospital burnt the garbage near the morgue while cleaning as per recommendation by the Hospital Superintendent and then the dead body got burnt by this fire. Arriving at the hospital the family members of the youth saw the dead body burning.

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body Karbi Farmers Association organized a motorcycle rally from Diphu to Manja (small shanty town 16 kilometers from Diphu) and submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Assam through the Block Development Officer of Lumbajung development block, urging the Governor’s intervention to check unbridled corruption committed by non entrusted departments of KAAC like land revenue.

The farmers' body resented ir-

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have been reported too often in this town due to increase in the number of drug addicts of whom the local police lock up is filled up.

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Political unrest targeting various institutions controlled

by Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council has cropped up all of a sudden in Karbi Anglong Autonomous district.

After graft charges were made against Agriculture and Veterinary department by United Farmers' Committee (UFC) yesterday in a press conference at Diphu, another farmers'

Contd. on Page 3

regularities in preparing voters' list where names of genuine indigenous people have been deleted, massive abnormality in Khadi and Village Industries Board has also featured in the memo submitted to the Governor. The memo expressed grave concern over the issue of land patta (periodic lease) to non indigenous people which is unconstitutional in a 6th scheduled autonomous area.

Contd. on Page 4

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State bank of India, Kharsang branch's hoarding cum welcome board to help the commuters locate the bank

incidents occur, the public and conscientious society must condemn such incidents and initiate an inquiry at village level apart from police investigation to apprehend the culprit. The theft cases

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Sushanta Roy Diphu, Oct 6

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was stolen last week by some miscreants. The bank manager, Mr. Rana Pratap Das expressed displeasure over the theft. He questioned the security arrangements at the bank.

He added that in future if such

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Political unrest in Karbi Anglong

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Bank authorities concerned over lack of security ET Correspondent Kharsang, Oct 6

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Sonia and Rahul as the duo is no longer in the good books of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and also Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee President Padi Richo’.

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Contd. on Page 4

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Due to alleged irresponsibility of the North Lakhimpur Civil Hospital Authority, a death body of a youth was burnt at morgue while it was caught by fire to-day. The incident created sensation and public made hue and cry condemning the irresponsible behavior of the hospital authority. The dead body was of a youth named Deva Borah (20), an inhabitant of Sonapur of

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Although, former Khonsa (east) MLA Wanglam Sawin and Kanubari MLA Gabriel D. Wangsu left for New Delhi with much confidence today to

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ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Oct 6

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Dead body caught fire at Hospital morgue

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seek an appointment with none other than Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and in all probability All India Congress Committee Vice President Rahul Gandhi, party sources said that ‘it will be hard for both the former MLAs to meet

that Delhi cannot fight its pollution battle without addressing the enormous pollution contributed by the trucks crossing its borders daily. The delay in building the two expressways has cost the city dear in terms of pollution. But given the coming winter and the increase in pollution, we need to find urgent options.

While immediate steps are needed to complete the two expressways –western and eastern – directed by the Supreme Court over a decade ago, it is possible to take

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A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Oct 6

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Kharsang displeased over CPI protest bad Airtel 'net' services against price hike ○

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AGP leader joins Saffron brigade

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13 held for abducting villagers, beating cops in Chhattisgarh As many as 13 people of a village were arrested for allegedly abducting seven persons from a neighbouring village and attacking police per-

Developments in the past few months, however, have shown that India's attention remains squarely focused on the Indian Ocean. Since February this

1.6 per cent slide in subsidies of GDP The Modi Government said that the Finance Ministry has achieved, over the past one year, re-

REGION

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS

sonnel in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, police said on Monday. The incident happened last night, when the residents of Hardijhariya village kidnapped seven persons of adjoining Chhirwani village and later beat up four policemen who had gone to rescue the abducted persons

year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius, making it clear the Indian Ocean littorals remained India's top priority, New Delhi has actively nurtured relationships with its maritime neighbours.

structuring of the expenditure side of the budget: Outgo towards major subsidies is down to 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 from 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2012-13.

India's 'Look West' Maritime Diplomacy

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ET Correspondent Margherita, Oct 6

Margherita constituency MLA Mr Pradyut Bordoloi have been putting in efforts to preserve the legacy of the

many an unsung hero of our country some of whom are on the verge of being forgotten.

Mr Pradyut Bordoloi who represents Margherita constituency told The Eastern Today that through his efforts many statues, parks were built such

as Choa Lung Chukapha Gate (Patkai Gate) at 5 Mile Udaipur, Bhanu Bhakta Acharya Statue at 4 Mile Udaipur, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Statue at Ledo, Contd. on Page 3

Indian economy to grow on the higher side of 7.5 per cent: Economics Affairs Secy New Delhi, Oct 6

India will grow at a rate faster than 7.5 per cent, said Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secretary, at a press conference in Delhi on Monday. Black money disclosure has been revised upwards from Rs. 3770 crore to Rs. 4147 crore, said Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary.

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ECONOMIC POSITIVITY Ø Black money disclosure has been revised upwards from Rs. 3770 crore to Rs. 4147 crore. Ø India has sent 1,600 requests for information for black money investigations to other countries this year.

ØThe total direct tax collections until September has gone up by 12 per cent, compared to the corresponding period last year, and indirect tax collection until August by 36 per cent. ØIndia will grow at a rate faster than 7.5 per cent.

Deputy Commissioner’s Office. They shouted slogans against the government to control price hike and to strengthen public distribution system. They demanded to terminate the Land Acquisition Ordinance. Nikhil Bharat Krikhak Sabha, Contd. on Page 4

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Margherita MLA to built Veer Birsa Munda's life-size statue

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Children take part at the Fancy Dress Competition organized at Demow Book Festival of AJYCP in Demow. Pic - UB Photos

In a major embarrassment and threat at the same time, several important websites, including the official website of

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ET Correspondent Guwahati, Oct 6

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The Lakhimpur district unit of Communist Party of India(CPI) showed anguished on price hike against State and Central Government yesterday in the district. The party organized a large rally through the North Lakhimpur town to the

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Govt websites including that of Assam Police hacked

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ET Correspondents, Lakhimpur, Oct. 6

MP Ramen Deka's 'beef' remark criticised ET Correspondent Golaghat, Oct 6

Assam BJP MP Ramen Deka has recently commented before the media that when beef is thrown into temples no Muslim intellectual raises a voice. Ramen Deka's statement was condemned and criticised

by Brihottor Muslim Somaz, Golaghat District Committee.

The organisation in a press release warned the BJP leader not try to destroy the communal harmony of Assam which has been prevailing since ages.

Assam is the land of ShankarAzaan which signifies unity and harmony of Hindu and Muslim communities in the state. Brihottor Muslim Somaz appealed to the BJP leader and his party to do development politics instead of doing politics of what to eat or not. They also demanded a clarification from state BJP regarding Ramen Deka's statement.

cmyk

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Contd. on Page 4

4G has become a household name in most metro cities. If a person resides in a city, the usual question asked is "Does your city have 4G service?"

How dependent and obsessed users of Internet have become

Vodafone, Airtel, Aircel and Bsnl running parallely but over the last couple of months, the quality of service has turn from bad to worse. The main reason behind this is said to be absence of an authority to hold them responsible for their sheer negligence with regard to taking care of the customers' needs.

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nowadays? People can miss their meals but if the network is disrupted even for a day, people yell at the administration for its negligence to ensure good services. Apparently, today's world can't be run without internet services, right from ticket booking to banking services. One of the few towns that have access to internet is Kharsang with

Lomhom Tangha Kharsang, Oct 6

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At a time when the political countdown starts for the commencement of the State Assembly Election in 2016, Asom Gana Parisad (AGP),

the chief regional political party of the state, is seen losing its base at grassroots level.

It has already affected the organizational strength of

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ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Oct 6

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cmyk

The New Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released here today its new report and survey on truck entry into Delhi that adds enormous pollution to Delhi’s air. This challenges the data reported by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Speaking to the media on this occasion, CSE director general Sunita Narain said: “Without the right numbers and more varied strategies, official action to control

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tively contained for some time. But now, things appear to have blown the lid off as there are many versions to this political turmoil inside the Congress party doing the rounds.

Contd. on Page 3

Wanglam Sawin and Gabriel D. Wangsu’s fate sealed!

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truck pollution has remained and will remain weak and ineffective.” CSE has welcomed the Supreme Court intervention in response to the application filed by the Amicus Curiae Harish Salve who, based on the CSE findings and the recommendations of the Environment Pollution (Prevent and Control) Authority, has sought immediate measures to control truck pollution before winter pollution sets in.

Said Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director and head of its air pollution control campaign: “This study has become necessary as it is clear

ET Correspondent New Delhi, Oct 6

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The recent revelations that have surfaced vis-a-vis current Arunachal Pradesh political scenario force the observers to

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Longding, Oct 6: A Myanmarese millitant belonging to the NSCN (R) was killed during a sudden attack by NSCN (K) cadres at Chating village in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh this morning. Villagers said that the incident took place at around 10 this morning when a heavily armed 8 to 9 member group of NSCN (K) millitants launched a sudden attack upon a 5 member group of NSCN (R) millitant who were taking shelter in a village hut. The identity of the slain millitant is not known but sources said that he is a Myanmarese national. The NSCN (K) also 'apprehended' another NSCN (R) millitant who is a resident of Mehua basti in Longding district and reportedly took him to their base in Myanmar. The 3 other NSCN (R) cadres managed to flee. Chating is the last bordering village with Mon district in Nagaland. (Correspondent)

look back in the recent past when on several occasions unsubstantiated reports of political instability at the ruling Arunachal Congress government threatened to rock the state. Apparently, all those reports were quashed and effec-

ET Correspondent Itanagar, Oct 6

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1 Myanmarese millitant killed in factional fight

Recent revelations blow the lid off political turmoil inside Arunachal Cong

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Sonari, Oct 6: Police last night arrested a youth from Luckily village under Charaipung police station in upper Assam’s Sivasagar district for allegedly maintaining ‘links’ with Ulfa (I).

Sources said that the a police team led by Kandarpa Chamua, SDPO, Charaideo which led the village late last night arrested Rupjyoti Gogoi, son of Liladhar Gogoi for his alleged links with the outfit. Police said that the youth have been working for Ulfa cadre Pradip Gogoi for quite some time now, however, his family denied the allegations.

(Correspondent)

Sawin and Wangsu interacting with the media. ET Photo

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Ulfa linkman arrested

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ET CAPSULES

Leader of opposition, Tamiyo Taga said to the media that this is nothing but a match fixing orchestrated by the Chief Minister Nabam Tuki along with the Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia. Taga said the Speaker has failed to adhere to the guidelines as a Speaker while stating that ‘he should have met the MLAs who have reportedly resigned in person and asked their reasons for leaving their posts as MLA, ‘but he just accepted the resignation letters approved already by the CM’. He said as a result of this political rift within the Congress party ‘the State is suffering and the Chief Minister is unable to run the Government’.

Taga said this dissidence inside the party will be greater and many resignations will follow because these resignation letters are in the pockets of the Chief Minister. Taga said that these two MLAs had resigned under duress. In fact according to the confession of the MLAs who have reportedly resigned, they said they were forced to resign by the Chief Minister.

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Contd. on Page 3

BJP says it’s a match fixing

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In the fast changing political scenario in Arunachal Pradesh politics, four ministers have been dropped by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki late this evening.

Reacting to the political turmoil in the State where two Congress MLAs have reportedly resigned from MLA posts, the lone opposition party, the BJP has said that ‘this is nothing but a match fixing’.

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ET Correspondent Itanagar, Oct 6

ET Correspondent Itanagar, Oct 6

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4 ministers dropped from Tuki's cabinet

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STOP PRESS

PAGE 2

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

Dadri case an internal matter, no need to take it to UN, says Owaisi

Four gravely injured after drunken men open fire on public New Delhi, Oct. 6: A group of drunken men opened fire on the public, injuring four including a twelve year old girl, after they were pelted with stones for creating a commotion in their inebriated state, in Krishna Nagar last night. The situation got out of hand after the angry public resorted to stone-pelting at the intoxicated who then fired six to seven rounds on the people. A local dealer shop was destroyed in the ensuing violence along with several vehicles. The four people who have been injured were reportedly in a serious condition and the Police are combing through the CCTV footage to identify the men who opened fire, who are still at large. (ANI)

INS Astradharini commissioned into Indian Navy New Delhi, Oct. 6 : The Indian Navy today commissioned Indian Naval Ship (INS) Astradharini.

The vessel will be used to carry out technical trials of underwater weapons and systems developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a Naval Systems laboratory of DRDO. Astradharini is a replacement vessel of the e r s t w h i l e Astravahini.Earlier last month, the Indian Navy had also commissioned INS Kochi, the largest India-made warship.INS Kochi is the Indian Navy's second warship with multi-function surveillance and threat alert radar. (ANI)

ANI Hyderabad, Oct. 6 : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday lashed out at Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare and Urban Development Minister Azam Khan over his assertion that he would take up the Dadri lynching case to the United Nations, saying it is the country’s internal matter. “This matter is an

You have to take care of your health, and at last you realise the importance of diet and exercise. However, today you may wish to eat something new, or try some different cuisine. Go out with some old friends whom you have been neglecting of late.

AASU members and supporters protest demanding immediate repair of dilapidated NH. Pic - Nekib Ahmed

Uproar in the media for deliberate assault over journalists Kolkata, Oct 6: The Bidhannagar police on Monday arrested three persons on charges of beating up journalists in Bidhannagar on the day of the civic poll. Two of the accused,Bittu Das and Asish Ghosh, are residents of Patipukur area of Lake Town whilst the third one, Gopal Rauth, is from Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas. They were remanded in police custody till 9 October after being produced in the Bidhannagar Court on Monday. Journalists from Kolkata and districts took out a protest rallies today from Kolkata Press Club to Dorina Crossing to condemn the attack on 24 media persons during the civic poll on Saturday. Around 500 reporters from electronic and print media assembled near Press Club around 2.30 p.m. Some senior journalists delivered speech and expressed their concern over the brutal attack on journalists and the lack of action by the police to nab the culprits.Reporters from small newspapers of the districts also came to join the protest march. "We have not seen this kind of attacks on media persons in a series on the same day. This is the first time it has happened in West Bengal and it surpassed all record of attack on the media and the police inaction makes clear the government's motive," said a senior journalist. It was decided that a memorandum will be submitted to the President of India, Prime Minister, Press Council of India and chief secretary of West Bengal, demanding strong action against the attack on media persons. Mr Anindya Sengupta, general secretary of the Press Club, said that if any political party thinks that it would try to terrorise media for its wrongful gain then that is their childish thought. "All journalists are united to protect their rights," he said. (Agencies)

which entered 53rd day today.New demarcation of boundary for the southern plains, more rights and representation for the Indianorigin Madhesi people are the major demands of the agitating groups. Madheshi leaders had earlier criticised Nepali media reports that claim that border restrictions have been eased at key trading points along the Nepal-

India border to allow Indian-licensed trucks to enter Nepal.However, Indian Consulate General in Nepal, Anju Ranjan, has said that India has not issued any blockade at the border and added it has been done by the local Madhesi people, who were pressing for incorporation of their demands in the newly adopted Constitution. (ANI)

PM Modi should implement anti-cow slaughter laws in India, says Ramdev Haridwar, Oct. 6 : Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should implement anti-cow slaughter laws across the nation, just like Uttar Pradesh."If Uttar Pradesh Government can implement anti-cow slaughter laws then I think Prime Minister Modi should think about implementing it in the nation. With this, all the dirty politics that is being played over the issue of beef will stop," said Ramdev here.Targeting Prime Minister Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh

ebrate the 61st Wildlife Week by Aaranyak, Laukhowa-Burhasapori wildlife authorities and Laukhowa-Burhasapori Conservation Society. The campaign which began on October 1st continued till October 3rd with awareness activities carried out

among school children of the area. The children and teachers participated in audio visual presentations on rhino conservation in addition to a special quiz competition. “This is only the first phase. Aaranyak is gearing up to carry out many more such aware-

Islamabad, Oct 6: Pakistan's army has dismissed the Taliban's claim that a man shown being hanged by the militants in a propaganda video was an intelligence official. Army spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Bajwa in a statement last night said the man hanged by the militants was neither a soldier nor an intelligence official. In the video footage released on Sunday, the militants were shown hanging a man who identified himself as belonging to a Pakistan army unit and said he worked as a spy.The army said that the executed

ness campaigns in other schools of the LaukhuwaBurhasapori area and invole local communities in rhino conservation,” said Jayanta Kumar Pathak, Environmental Education and Capacity Building Division, Aaranyak.

BJP protests against alleged corruption at Lahowal block A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Oct 6: Hundreds of members of BJP today laid siege to the Lahowal block development office in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district in protest of alleged large scale anomalies in implementation of various centrally sponsored schemes. The protestors were led by BJP leaders Ranjeet Konwar, Paramananda Konwar, President, Lahowal block of BJP and President of Phukonarkhat GP, Hemoprava Borthakur and Teros Gowala. A police team led by Nikunj Barman, the Officer-in-charge of Lahowal police station rushed to the office and blocked the protestors from entering the premises by locking the main entrance. The protestors shouted slogans against Prithibi Majhi,

Congress MLA, Lahowal LAC, Sailen Gohain, the Block Development Officer, Lahowal Development Block and the Account Officer, Lahowal Development Block and alleged that these people

are involved in corruption due to which the benefits of several welfare schemes initiated by the Centre are not reaching the actual beneficiaries. “Moreover, the BDO and the accounts officer behave very

Yadav had earlier said that those who spoke against 'pink revolution' should ban beef exports as they were now in power and alleged that they wanted to disturb the 'secular' ethos of the country by raising such issues.A blame game has erupted between Bharatiya Janata Party and ruling Samajwadi Party in the state over the killing of 50-yearold Mohammad Akhlaq, who was lynched to death in Dadri's Bishada village over rumours that he had stored beef at his residence.Cow slaughter is banned in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)

Pakistan army dismisses Taliban's claim of killing its spy

Conservation street play at Laukhowa ET Correspondent Laukhowa, Oct 6: Street plays were staged at many places in LaukhuwaBurhasapori area alongwith documentary film screenings to drive in interest and educate people on rhino conservation.

This was organsied to cel-

should ask for imposing the President’s rule in Uttar Pradesh,” he added. Owaisi further said the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre and the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh have failed to curb the Sangha Pariwar outfits, who are involved in such incidents. “But that doesn’t mean that the Samajwadi Party should take this matter to the United Nations,” he added.

ASTRO FOR YOU

Protesting Madhesi parties to hold talks with Nepal Govt. today Kathmandu, Oct. 6: The Madhesi parties, who have been protesting against the newly-promulgated Constitution, have agreed to hold talks with the Government on Tuesday to find end the impasse and find a resolution to the conflict.More than 40 people have died in the agitations launched by the Madhesis and Tharu ethnic groups in southern plains,

internal matter of the nation….. This is a fight against the Samajwadi Party and other governments who have failed to fulfil their constitutional duties. The government’s constitutional duty is to protect an individual irrespective of his religion,” Owaisi told the media here. “I want to ask Mulayam Singh Yadav if he backs the statement of Azam Khan. If he backs him, then he

rudely with us. If we make some queries they bluntly say us to go to Modi”, Konwar said. The protestors also came down heavily on Majhi saying that ‘he is a seasonal flower’ which blooms during the election season only.

man was an Afghan national who was kidnapped for ransom and killed when his family failed to pay the money demanded by the militants.In the video, a militant said that it was in retaliation of the government's move to resume execution of convicts. Pakistan lifted selfimposed moratorium on death penalty after militants attacked a school in Peshawar in December and killed 150 people, mostly children. About 240 convicts have been executed in Pakistan since December. (Agencies)

Don’t drag us in Dadri lynching case, says RSS ANI New Delhi, Oct. 6 : The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS) has said that it should not be dragged into the Dadri lynching case and added that the people responsible for the crime should be punished. In an interview to an English daily, RSS's All India Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya said that the incident could have happened because of fringe elements. He said it is an isolated incident and should be seen in isolation. Vaidya said one should wait till a proper inquiry is conducted instead of levelling allegations. Vaidya's remarks came on the backdrop of allegations by some quarters that the RSS was behind the incident.

50-year-old Akhlaq was lynched by a mob for allegedly storing beef at his residence in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, last week. (ANI)

You have a very pleasant day ahead. Though you are, by nature, restless and excitable you will be very steady and focused in whatever you do today. Later you will desire to enjoy the company of your friends and will call them over to chat and gossip with them. The evening will provide you lots of fun and laughter.

You should be ending the day on a happy, contented note.

You will spend your day fulfilling the demands made upon you by your family members and colleagues. You will need to devote time to matters at home.

Pay attention to the needs of your relatives for they will be helpful to you in the near future.

You can improve your finances with you mental capabilities. Ganesha says that you will get success in both private life and career. You will be entrusted many tasks and responsibilities. Yet by evening, you will spend time in your pursuits.

Financial gains in shares and stocks are indicated. If you are an investor, your investments will yield substantial profits. Long-standing debts are also likely to be cleared, and pending dues will be settled. Expenses for the purposes of entertainment are a possibility.

Family affairs will predominate today. They will even control your thoughts to the exclusion of everything else. Things will look up on the business front.

You may spend time relaxing in the evening. A trip to a place of worship is on the cards.

You shall pay more attention to your family and family issues. You will want to renovate and change the interior of your house or go in for purchasing new gadgets and décor for the home. You will spend time today with your family members.

You nearly emerge as a superhero today, as you have the knack of balancing home and work just perfectly. Intellectual discussions and brainstorming with peers would provide food for thought today. You may look forward to merrymaking and soiree with family and friends in the evening.

Tough times do not last, but tough people do, remember this fact and move ahead in life. Try to make the complicated life simpler by your optimistic approach. Speak up when it is required and don’t get bogged down by unnecessary pressure.

Often, sentiments take over your mind. Making you impractical, at times, this tendency proves to be harmful for you. Don’t show it on your face as others may take advantage of your weakness. If you don’t control your emotions, it may become an obstacle in your path to success. Be strong and give a tough fight to those who want to go ahead of you.

You will be able to strike a balance between the emotional and rational side of your personality. You will find pleasure in your work and may successfully mix your personal life into your professional life. Financially, there are no major issues, but negligible matters may keep your mind occupied.

There is a thick chance that your day will be profitable on the monetary front.

Money may pour in from business or even through overseas investments.

Your knack for good public relations and networking will work to your benefit and good deals will come from far and unexpected sources as well. Reap the benefits and make the most of your contacts.

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

6-10-15 (TUESDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti(Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-15 A.M-Hindi Language Lesson 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 Hindi 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 8-25 P.M-Ghazal,Artist-Pankaj Udhas 9-30 P.M-Serial Novel Reading-"Mouno Ooth Mukhor Hriday".

Author-Yese Dorje Thongsi Sd-/H.O.P

PAGE 3

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

APWWS Aalo Unit conducts inspection spree on private schools Aalo, Oct 6 : The APWWS, Aalo unit of West Siang Women Wing comprising Marbom Bagra President, Roge Ado Ete Vice President APWWS, Hoksum Ori Gen. Secretary, Gedam Taso Lollen, Ige Lollen Jini, Kirpi Padu, Geyi Rike, Moji Bagra JJB Member, Gumli Lollen and Gumge Ngomdir was on a first phase of inspection spree to various private school of Aalo township up to Kamba from 29th to 6th Oct. They inspected Karpu Kendra Vidyalaya, St. Thomas, Kidzee, St. Xavier, St. Mary , Rising Sun, Sipu Puyi, Tagore Mount, Gyan Sagar, SFS College, St. Paul , Siyom Valley School Pessing, 100 bedded Girls schools, Public Sun City School Kamba, Adi Ato Topo English, Parents Hope English , KPE Christ the King

ET Correspondent Shillong, Oct 6: People with Disabilities (PWD) in Meghalaya are apparently neglected by the government as three per cent job reservation has not been fulfilled. Feeling aggrieved by this act of neglect on the part of the government, the PWDs under the banner of the Khasi Disabilities Association (KDA) has threatened to launch surprise agitation in the coming days in the city.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, KDA President Mr. Starwin Kharjana said that as per the RTI finding, it was found that there were only around 15 PWDs who secured government job out of 32 thousand since the PWD Act came into

Public and Siyom Valley Schools. While giving a consolidated report of the 12 days long inspection report to the West Siang DDSE, the

team stressed on proper sanitation, security fencing, proper classrooms, separate toilets for boys and girls and proper verification of ante-

cedents of teaching and non teaching staffs. Second phase of verification works will take place from last week of October.DIPRO

DTF stresses on launching Mission Indradanush-II in high risk areas Aalo, Oct 6: In its efforts to launch Mission Indradanush-II in the most effective way, the District Task Force meeting was held under the Chairmanship T. Talom ADC in the office chamber of DC Aalo today.

Exhorting the medical department and key partners to launch the programme on war footing, Talom emphasized on team work at

various levels. All administrative officers, PRIs and GBs in the district will be instructed to give all logistic support to implement the programme in letter and spirit. The West Siang DMO Dr. Marbom Basar disclosed that the programme is basically aimed at full immunization of left out and dropped out children in the district.

Children attaining 0-2

years will be immunized in four rounds starting from 7th October to 13th January 2016. He sought the cooperation of all administration, PRIs, GBs and key partners to render all possible help.

In his key note address Dr. K. Ori, DFWO disclosed that though the programme has been going on for the last 30 years, only 65% of chil-

dren could be immunized so far which is quite below the target set by the Govt. of India.

Efforts will be made to cover high risk and slum areas to contain vulnerability. Yomto Lollen DPM disclosed that all pregnant mothers will also administered TT injections along with vaccination to the children.

(DIPRO)

Apex Court stays one month Umkhrah demolition case ET Correspondent Shillong, Oct 6: The Supreme Court of India had stayed one month on the illegal buildings demolition case along the Umkhrah river in Shillong city.

The stay order of the Apex Court had given great relief to the affected residents which is a victory of sorts for them. The stay order passed by the apex court had given relieve to the affected residents who have been fighting this case

against the MUDA for many years on claim of their ownership right.

Sources informed here on Wednesday that the Apex Court has extended the stay upto to one month but allowed the Meghalaya Urban Develoment Auhority (MUDA) to file again the petition.

“We have to fight again the case. Now we are preparing to go ahead to file again the petition”, said official from MUDA.

The stay order of the apex court is another blow for MUDA which has been fighting for a long time for this case.

It may be mentioned here that as many as 30 affected residents approached the Apex Court challenging the order of the Meghalaya High Court to dismantle illegal buildings along the Umkhrah river’s bank.

On September 10, the High Court passed an or-

der directing the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to go ahead and demolish illegal buildings erected along the bank of the river within five days.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had on January 29 this year, directed the state government to identify and remove all unauthorized structures along the banks of the Wah Umkhrah and Umshyrpi Rivers.

Govt websites including 2 officers to attend conference on human that of Assam Police hacked tagline – ‘Security is just trafficking an illusion’. With no other Contd. from Page 1

ET Correspondent Sivasagar, Oct 6: Two police officers from Sivasagar Ashim Borah, Sub-inspector of police and Loknath Basumatary, Asst Sub-inspector of police are going to attend a National Conference on

Human Trafficking on October 7 at Convention hall, the Ashok in New Delhi. They have received awards from the State Government for their service as part of 'Operation Smile'’ in tracing out missing children.

Powerful IED recovered ET Correspondent Guwahati, Oct 6: In a major scare for the Assam police, a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recovered by security forces at Chaygaon in Assam's

Kamrup district today.

Acting on a tip-off, security forces recovered the bomb at Goroimari area form a house. Police has meanwhile arrested one Abdul Malek in connection with the IED.

Police seize brown sugar worth Rs 8 lakhs ET Correspondent Nagaon, Oct 6: In an important breakthrough for the Assam police, the Nagaon police has succeeded to seize at least eight grams of brown sugar worth Rs 8 lakh from the residence of Saiyab Ali at Juria. Police said Ali and his associates have been running a drugs racket in the area for a long time. Ali,

Aggrieved PWDs in Meghalaya threaten to launch surprise agitation

however, managed to flee. “The drugs were packed in small plastic tubes. There is a name printed on these packets as Bombay Pepsi.

We suspect Ali has procured the brown sugar from a racket based in Mizoram,” a police source said Ali has previous records of supplying phensidyl cough syrup to Bangladesh too.

the Assam police has been hacked, by a alleged Pakistan based hacker.

The hacker has hacked into several government websites and tried to deface them by pasting a Pakistani flag with the

option left, the police website has been removed from the Url with a message –‘Connection timeout’ According to Assam police sources, the CID cyber cell has already began an investigation into the matter.

Margherita MLA to built Veer Birsa Munda's life-size statue Contd. from Page 1

Dr Bhupen Hazarika Park at Ketetong, Veer Birsa Munda Public Hall at Philobari Tea Estate, the statues of the unsung heroes who constructed the famous Stillwell Road. Now, Mr Bordoloi intends to pay tributes to an Adivashi freedom fighter, an unsung hero who represented the most downtrodden people of the country who has not been properly given recognition 'Veer Birsa Munda'.

The statue of Veer Birsa Munda has been built at Congress Bhawan, Margherita which has been made of bronze silicon and high intensity fibre with a height of 14 and half feet and this would be the first life size statue of Veer Birsa Munda in the entire North Eastern region and will be unveiled on 15 November 2015, said Mr Pradyut Bordoloi. When asked

about speculations that the statue of Veer Birsa Munda is meant to attract Tea Tribe and Adivashi voters of Margherita region, Mr Pradyut Bordoloi said, "We have built statues of many great people of our country other than Veer Birsa Munda who fought against the British raj and was hanged till death at Ranchi Jail in the year 1900. Why nobody else has given importance to him and when I thought of paying a tribute to him, rumours have been doing the rounds." Everyone knows that the first tea planter of Assam was Maniram Dewan but actually 'Ningrula' a Singpho community man who before Maniram Dewan planted tea in Assam.

When asked about the upcoming 2016 Assembly Elections of Assam Mr Pradyut Bordoloi said that battle lines are being drawn and the people of Assam know it well.

force in 1995. “Comparing with the number of PWDs in the State, the number of those getting government jobs is dismal”, said Mr. Kharjana who are hearing impaired. Lamenting the failure of the state government to implement the act in full spirit, Mr. Kharjana said, “The government had provided 3 per cent job reservation for PWDs but this is only in paper without any action”.

According to him, there are a number of PWDs who are qualified under different categories of government jobs be it teaching, clerical work and many others. “In 2011 the District Selection Committee (DCS) of the East Khasi Hills district had appointed 330

people and only 3 PWDs were appointed”, said Mr.Kharjana adding that as per the job reservation policy, the PWDs not less than 10 should be appointed. He also informed that the State government seemed to pay no heed to the problems of the PWDs and what's worse is that whenever the PWDs seeks financial assistance under any scheme they are harassed. Recently, one disabled teacher who taught in a lower primary school at Mawlaiteng at Sohiong area under East Khasi Hills was harassed by the local people and an women organisation. “They lodged complaint to the Sub-Divisional School Education Officer (SDESO) against this disabled teacher that she can-

not teach the student as she had leg impairment”, said Mr Kharjana. In fact, the state government had issued an order on January 25, 2012 that PWDs are eligible to teach in educational institutions, he said. Another case of humiliation for PWDs happened at Khliehriat Block in Jaintia Hills where one low vision impaired got contract work as Multipurpose Rehabilitation Workers (MRW) but was dismissed by the District Social Welfare Officer Joyshree Shabong after joining for many months.

The KDA had strongly objected to this act of the government official and demanded her immediate transfer.

4 ministers dropped from Tuki's cabinet Contd. from Page 1

Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee President Padi Richo while confirming the news said that the minister are agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, veteri-

nary and dairy development minister Chowna Mein, panchayat and cooperative minister Kumar Wai, minister of parliamentary affairs, women and child development, social justice, TCL minister Wangling Lowangdong and food and

civil supplies, geology and mining, WRD minister Kamlung Mossang. The decision was taken a crucial meeting of the government and party was held in the state capital late this evening. Sources said that the minister have been dropped as they were

suspected to be a part of a dissident group and are found openly campaigning against Tuki. Richo, however, declined to make any comment as to why the ministers were dropped. "It is the sole prerogative of the CM. He will answer", he said.

Elements of uncertainty surface in Arunachal politics Contd. from Page 1

Their letter to the Assembly Speaker clarifying their resignation states, “Following an invitation for a dinner party on 16th September 2015, the prevailing political issue was discussed by a group of around 17 MLAs with the Chief

Minister Nabam Tuki at his official residence.

Soon after an ‘irrevocable’ resignation letter signed by each of the MLAs were collected and handed over to the Chief Minister. The letter announcing resignation from the membership of the Legislative Assembly contained that in case of any betrayal and failure

to support any person other than the present CLP leader and Chief Minister Nabam Tuki the letter would be submitted to the Speaker to get it approved and thus lose our membership of the Legislative Assembly. Remarkably, we were directed not to mention date on the letter, which were mere photocopies of one single let-

ter, excepting our signature”. Wangsu and Sawin, stated that “all these were done against our consent or free will and above all against the democratic spirit. Such resignation would be a sheer betrayal of the mandate and faith of the people whom we represent, and thus would be a mockery of democracy”.

Recent revelations blow the lid off political turmoil inside Arunachal Cong Contd. from Page 1 Reliable sources have revealed that each of the 18 MLAs under the leadership of Bamang Felix who is the parliamentary secretary of IPR and Education have demanded Rs. 10 Crore from the Chief Minister, ‘otherwise they will resign, merge with other political party or form another party’. The sources said these MLAs have no problem with the Chief Minister however the root cause is, they want more share, either money or

minister posts. Most of the frustrated MLAs who have served their constituencies many terms as Congress MLAs were denied ministerial berth until today. Another sources said that CM Tuki has managed to give Rs. 6 Crore to some MLAs and to others he has promised that he will accommodate them in either ministerial berths or parliamentary secretary seats.

The other version said that Kalikho Pul, the expelled Congress MLA is the main leader and since his expulsion episode, he had instigated the chance of getting more MLAs

under him to topple the Chief Minister as an act of challenge. During April this year, while his expulsion news was in the headlines, there were BJP MLAs who visited his house to take his view if he can join BJP. Another version said that Chowna Mein Minister of Agriculture, Horticulture, Pema Khandu Minister of Tourism and Kumar Waii Minister of Panchayat and Cooperatives are eyeing the Chief Minister post and flexing their muscles to garner the support of other MLAs to topple CM Nabam Tuki.

While BJP State President Tai Tagak said that there is so much of law and order deterioration in the State, even as the Congress party is spending its time nursing the rift. In a joint statement, Wangsu and Sawin said that “It would be a breach of trust and disloyalty to the people who had given us the mandate to represent them by resigning from the Assembly only to appease or show our support to an individual."

The MLAs whose resignations were accepted are Wanglam Sawin, MLA 55-Khonsa East and Gabriel Denwang Wangsu, MLA 58-Kanubari.

Wanglam Sawin and Gabriel D. Wangsu’s fate sealed!

Contd. from Page 1 “The resignation of both the MLA’s has been accepted by the Speaker Nabam Rebia.

Therefore, they are no longer MLAs now. I do not think they will be able to meet the AICC Chief Sonia Gandhi or Rahul

Gandhi”, party sources said.

Sawin today claimed in an interaction with the media at the Arunachal circuit house in Mohanbari, Dibrugarh that MP Ninong Ering will facilitate their meeting with the two topmost Congress leaders.

“We have not done anything wrong. 18 MLAs have re-

signed, why two of us have been made the scapegoats?”

Wangsu said. Both the MLAs reiterated that they have submitted their withdrawal letters addressed to the Speaker on Oct 1, but so far there has been no communication from the Speaker. It is interesting to note that Rebia, while speak-

ing exclusively with this correspondent on Monday had stated that he had not received any withdrawal letters from the two MLAs. Speaking to ‘The Eastern Today’, from New Delhi, Sawin said that they will seek an appointment with the AICC Chief tomorrow.

Bank authorities concerned over lack of security Contd. from Page 1

The NGO's and other civil societies do not seem to be sensitive towards such groups of people, there should be awareness campaigns in this connection from time to time.

The main reason a person indulging in drug peddling could not be appre-

hended is lack of proper evidences in terms of possession of the contraband in the right quantities liable for prosecution as per the NPDS Act. The nature and character of the young generation are also questionable these days, they seem to be not aware of the negative impact it has on society.

Their behaviour isn't convincing to their parents, their way of life too hostile and detrimental. Instead of competing towards academic excellence, they indulge in drugs and other psychotropic substances. The gutkas are taken openly in the classrooms and spit all over the walls of the

classrooms are ample proof of that. There seems to be problems every where and the parents and elders have no way to control their wards. Youth counselling and rehabilitation centres are a must in this district to curb the deteriorating and wayward inclination of the teenagers.

Kharsang displeased over bad Airtel 'net' services Contd. from Page 1

The Kharsang Circle Unemployed Youth Association (KCUYA) has served an ultimatum to the Airtel authority responsible for Kharsang circle to rectify the bad services within one week and urged the Airtel administrator to provide 4G services here, since the locality is well connected.

The number of subscribers has reached beyond limits and that is why the net service is below par, the union alleged. The DA

should pressurize the Airtel company to install 4G services since due to lack of or bad internet network often online application submission for jobs are missed out, KCUYA added. Nowadays, it is a known fact that people are required to furnish requisite testimonials online to procure much needed services.

The companies have legal and moral obligations to serve well the communities otherwise fines are often imposed on them through appropriate laws under Information Tech-

nology Act by the district administration. The denizens have rued the fact that the world is excelling and moving ahead whereas the Changlang district in spite of having congenial atmosphere does not have strong administrators or local leaders who can take up matters related to public grievances rampant in the district. KCUYA is of the opinion that there should be a strong body to bring about awareness among the public against the economic exploitation taking place here. Often, the poor and marginalized

denizens have to bear the brunt of corruption on all fronts. Even the government bureaucrats are known not to implement the schemes that are meant for the upliftment of poor and marginalized peoples in the country. Their entitlement never reach the targeted peoples or communities. In view of the above, many a conscientious denizen and organisations like KCUYA have called for positive change in Kharsang in terms of strong leadership and corruption free society.

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

Maharaja Agrasen's 5140th birth anniversary to be celebrated Spl Correspondent Tinsukia, Oct 6: Under the aegis of Agarwal Seva Samity, Maharaja Agrasen's 5140th birth anniversary will be celebrated at Agrasen Bhawan at Makum road in Tinsukia town.

On this auspicious occasion a colourful procession will be taken out at 11:00 in the morning from Manav Kalyan Puja Bhawan covering all major points of the town.

Thereafter at 3:00 in the afternoon community flag hoisting will take place followed by offering of prayers at 3:30.

A lot number of competitions including show your talent, mehendi designing, fancy dress and group dance are lined up for the evening. For any information regarding the programme Surender Agarwal can be contacted at 9435035337.

Nagaon based journalists’ biennial conference held Nityananda Pattanayak Nagaon, Oct 6: Biennial conference of Nagaon town based journalists, both print and electronic media, was held here at Nagaon Press Club with a two-day long programme on 3rd and 4th October last. In the open meeting held on 4th October last a new executive committee was formed for a two-year term with Sri Sailen Saikia and Palashpratim Hazarika as President and General Secretary re-

spectively. Sri Jadab Saikia, Asim Bhowel were elected as vicepresidents, Bedabrata Raja, Bhaskar Saikia as Asstt. Secretaries and Ajit Kumar Saikia as Treasurer were elected. Sri Bhaskar Medhi, Safiqur Rahman and Gopal Roy were elected uncontested as Magazine Secretary, Publicity Secretary and Office Secretary respectively.

The Press Club on the first day of its session felicitated fourteen eminent

personalities – Sri Tilak Chandra Majumdar, Pradip Saikia, Gyanada Bora, Gopal Pradhan, Dr. Naren Kalita, Upendra Barkataki, Dr. Khargeswar Bhuyan, Prabhat Bora, Dr. Riazuddin Ahmed, Guna M a h a n t a , Saujanyamayee Bhattacharya, Jajna Bezbarua and Khagamai Bora – of the town. The souvenir of the club “Patrika” edited by Chandanjyoti Bora was released on the occasion.

A massive protest rally was taken out in Sivasagar under the banner of ‘Joutha Sangrammi Mancha’ in protest of the Centre’s decision to grant citizenship to illegal Hindu migrants.

Pic - Neelam Kakoty Mazumdar

Truck loaded with cows seized at Makum Exposure tour carries more marks Driver tried to run over constable who tried to stop the truck Rishu Kalantri Tinsukia, Oct 6: In yet another suspected cow smuggling case, Makum police seized a truck (bearing No. As 23 AC 3699) loaded with 12 cows. Shockingly, when the constable tried to stop the truck the driver rammed the truck into the constable attempting to flee but was stopped by army on NH 37 passing through Makum, some hundreds of metre ahead. The constable, somehow saved his

life and filed an FIR with Makum police station.

According to sources, the truck driver had cattle permit on the basis of which Makum police was preparing to release the truck. However, the sources claimed that as per law a 12wheeler truck can carry only 8 cows, if it had cattle permit.

There was something amiss, alleged sources.

Talking to The Eastern Today correspondent over phone, Superintendent of Tinsukia

police Mugdha Jyoti Mahanto said that the process of verification is underway. The truck will be allowed to go only if everything is proper as per law, Mahanto assured.

He added that a constable has filed a complaint against the truck driver for attempting to run over him when he tried to stop the truck. Accordingly, a case has been registered and investigations are on, he added.

It is worth mentioning that

there have been many cow smuggling cases detected in Tinsukia previously. However, the smugglers are still at large and when police get their hands on the driver and handyman of the truck they act as a courier service. Sources claim that all such cows illegally transported in trucks are later smuggled to Bangladesh through porous borders as helped by a nexus between smugglers and the 'someone' in the system.

Sivasagar gaonburha convention held Nazira, Oct 6: The convention of the Gaonburhas of the Sivasagar district comprising of 6 revenue circles was held at the Muslim Cultural Club of Nazira wherein most of the heads of departments of the district were present. The convention was basically a platform for all the Gaonburhas to raise their issues. Organised by district administration Sivasagar, the convention was smoothly conducted by Jayanta Mout, sub divisional information and public relation officer, Nazira. In his welcome speech, Syed Md Jahid Chisti, SDO Civil, Nazira, mentioned the importance of such conventions in maintaining a good administrative relationship with those of the grassroots level. The purpose of the

Contd. from Page 1

convention was explained

by Palash Garphalia, ADC revenue, Sivasagar.

Virendra Mittal, the DC Sivassgar, laid emphasis on channelising proper education, health, nutrition, and other social reforms at the village level through

Gaonburhas. He termed the Gaonburhas as the leaders of the grassroots level and advised them to be aware of the changing scenario of the society so that the good can be adopted easily.

Bibekananda Das, SP

products to marketing facilities at the national level”, said Mr. Sobhapandit. He said that the ICC will be going to villages to be selected by the government to interact with the farmers to take them to have direct contact with the buyers in the national market and even abroad. “The government will identify those villages and areas where we can meet farmers how to make direct contact with the buyers outside the state and the country”, said Mr. Sobhapandit.

He said that the people need to have awareness on marketing facilities to enable them to promote their horticultural products in a productive and

neurship is built from within, Meghalaya will be become rich state”, he said. Earlier, speaking at the function, Parliamentary secretary Mr. Robinus Syngkon said that the higher altitudes of Khasi and Jaintia hills in Meghalaya provide conducive ecosystem to grow vegetables, fruits.

He said that the public private partnership (PPP) and private sector investment in food processing is a key ingredient that will help the state to capitalise on the latent potential of horticulture.The one day conclave was attended by many entrepreneurs from across the State besides government officials.

Indian economy to grow on the higher side of 7.5 per cent: Economics Affairs Secy Contd. from Page 1

Mr. Adhia said, “India has sent 1,600 requests for information for black money investigations to other countries this year.”

Addressing the media on the government's economic progress since the Union Budget, he added that the rate cuts by the RBI will improve the housing and other economic sectors.

But, Mr. Das also said that the government won't ask PSU banks what to do on passing on RBI's rate cuts

Bijoy Shankar Handique Jorhat, Oct 6: Exposure tour for 975 students from 13 districts from across Assam assembled at the Jorhat Kachari Maidan ground here this evening, under Gyanjyoti scheme. The three days program was inaugurated

by Dr. Kamal Mallav Buzarbaruah, Vice Chancellor of Assam Agricultural University who attended the programme as a chief guest.

Dr. Buzarbaruah welcoming the bright, talent the future citizens of tomorrow the students to this great stage saying they were the lucky of the luckiest who have been

chosen to take part and to see the leading institutes, research institutes , Agriculture university, wildlife sanctuary, planetarium, Air Force station historical monuments etc., at this hour when you are in school today.

Buzarbaruah said exposure tour carries more mark than the book. He further added learning through exposure tour will remain ever in the brain like the computer hard disk works for the computer.

Apart from exposure visit to historical monuments, institute etc. a unique programme has been organized for first time this year, informed Jorhat DC

Solanki Vishal Basant.

The DC said that this time the students will be taken to watch two Hindi movies PK and Bajranggi Bhaijan as both the movies has a very fruitful review at its end. The DC said two movies will be screened in two different cinema halls of the city and this time participants from different district will learn and see more.

On the other hand, the closing ceremony will be held on the third day with programs starting from three to nine at this venue which will be followed by a colorful cultural night, informed organizer from the office of the administration here.

Truck entry into Delhi adds enormous air pollution: CSE Sivasagar graced the occasion and appealed to the Gaonburhas to help them in police administration by sharing timely information and relevant data in hours of need. The SDO Civil Sonari, Naranarayan Nath, pinpointed on prohibition

of liquor and other intoxicating substances at the tea garden areas. The SDO Civil emphasised on strengthening tea garden community on all socio economic matters through the Gaonburhas.

(SDIPRO)

Meghalaya and ICC to sign MoU for Supreme Court extends deadline for publishing marketing horticultural products ET Correspondent will be acting as link to sustainable manner.

NRC draft Shillong, Oct 6: The take farmers and their “If the sense of entrepreMeghalaya government and the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the latter to act as link with the farmers for marketing their horticultural products of the State. Speaking to this correspondent in the sidelines of the North East Food Processing Conclave here in Shillong, ICC regional director Mr. Ishantor Sobhapandit said that Meghalaya is very rich in horticulture like pineapple, ginger, turmeric, banana, orange but marketing facilities is meagre and the farmers do not get lucrative offers.

“We will soon sign the MoU with the government of Meghalaya where we

than book, says Dr Buzarbaruah

to borrowers as they're autonomous. The government, he said, is looking to review the various current interest subsidies to aid transmission of the RBI's rate cuts. Finance Secretary Ratan Watal said that the government is on course to achieve the fiscal deficit target outlined in the Budget. Mr. Watal mentioned that India’s macroeconomic fundamentals are strong, and that the 7 Pay Commission’s recommendations, which come into effect from January 1, 2016, will not impact the

fiscal deficit. The total direct tax collections until September has gone up by 12 per cent, compared to the corresponding period last year, and indirect tax collection until August by 36 per cent, said Mr. Adhia. “Higher tax collections show improving demand in the economy,” he stated. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian remarked that revenue estimates used to be “over-optimistic” earlier, but are realistic this year. (Agencies)

ET Correspondent Guwahati, Oct 6: The Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice N Fali Nariman today extended the deadline for publishing the draft of National Register of Citizenship (NRC) and also for publishing the final

NRC till January 1 and March 1, 2016 respectively. Previously the time frame was October 31 for publishing the draft copy and January 1 for the final report. The court action came after state’s NRC coordinator Prateek Hazela sought more time for competing the task.

AGP leader joins Saffron brigade Contd. from Page 1

the party in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district before the forthcoming election. In such circumstances, the leaders of the party should initiate strong and effective activities in order to strengthen the party for the sake of the security of regional politics and nationalistic ideology. On the contrary, some of the leaders are seen adopting advantages of opportunism quitting the party to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) barely exposing greed for power. As a result, the people who follow the regional politics are confused thinking over the future of the party. It is seen that some central as well as district leaders have weaken the party denouncing alleged complaint against their colleague.

Raising such a complaint on Monday, Hari Prasad Dihingia, the candidate of Lakhimpur Parliamentary Constituency for AGP of

the last parliamentary election quitted the party and joined with the saffron brigade in a formal joining programme held at Basudev Kalyan Trust of North Lakhimpur at the presence of Union minister of State, Sarbananda Sonowal. “The blood of regional nationalism is not following in the veins of AGP leaders now. They worship it in broad daylight and confederate with corrupted congress leaders at the darkness of night”Dihingia alleged. He added that due to this reason, he experienced defeat in last Parliamentary election as AGP candidate. More than 250 AGP workers joined with the BJP along with him and it rocked the party affecting its intense politics. It is worth mentioning that Dihigia could not influence the voters of the constituency at the last Parliamentary election. Yet his departure has affected the organizational strength of the constituency to a great extent.

additional steps in the short term to reduce pollution load from trucks before this winter. Delhi has now got the dubious distinction of being the most polluted city in India and perhaps even the world. This is putting a huge health burden on its

people.” Delhi’s own vehicles are responsible for 62 per cent of the particulate load from the transport sector and 68 per cent of the NOx load. The total number of light and heavy trucks that enter Delhi spew close to 30 per cent of the total particulate load and 22 per cent of the total nitrogen oxide load from the trans-

port sector. “This is clearly a massive loading of toxic pollution. Without any restraint on the movement of these trucks, Delhi’s battle against toxic pollution cannot be won. Though light goods vehicles are 49 per cent of all commercial vehicles, the relative contribution of heavy trucks is much higher,” said Narain.

Dead body caught fire at Hospital morgue Contd. from Page 1

Meanwhile a host of students of the school also arrived at the hospital premises being known about

his death. The news of the burning incident of the body spread at instant and the students and public present their rose hue and cry against the hospital author-

ity condemning its alleged irresponsibility. However, it cooled down after a while and the body was handed over to the family after the postmortem was done.

Political unrest in Karbi Anglong Contd. from Page 1

The memo also mentioned that massive destruction of reserve forest is continuing along with encroachment of land in bordering areas with Nagaland and Meghalaya; they also alleged that illegal settlers from neighbouring Nagaon district are encroaching forest land of Karbi Anglong district.

To add owes to the ruling Congress thousands of BJP activists staged a demonstration before the Rongkhang Block Development Office in West Karbi Anglong district yesterday demanding CBI probe to unearth enormous corruption committed by the ruling

Congress in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. The BJP submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Assam PB Acharya demanding immediate dissolution of the KAAC and eliminate dynastic politics of ruling Congress. Several BJP activists based in Diphu on condition of anonymity told this correspondent that soon they will file separate Public Interest Litigation cases against top bureaucrats and those in public office and alleged involvement in siphoning off thousand crores of public money from various government departments since the last 15 years. Amid all these developments 11 ward commissioners of Diphu Town Committee out of

the 12 (total strength) called for a no-confidence motion against the incumbent Chairman Mohonsing Tisso. An official letter to this effect duly signed by the 11 commissioners was given to the Secretary of the concerned department for bringing the motion in the session of the DTC. “Chairman Mohonsing Tisso has failed on all fronts and we have lost confidence on his competency, the motion will have to be accepted to honour the democratic system of our country,” Pradip Teron commissioner of ward no 8 said.

If the motion is allowed to carried be out in the session under all probability the Congress will lose the DTC.

CPI protest against price hike Contd. from Page 1

Khet Mazdoors, Niman Shramik Sangha under the banner of CPI participated in the protest rally. Addressing

the rally in front of the DC office, Shubheswar Phukan, District Secretary of the CPI delivered a lecture against the Neo-Liberalization Policy sponsored by the Central Government.

He said that the Central Government policies have benefited and satisfied the corporate sector but affected the greater interest of working class of the country.

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

Bihar polls: Amit Shah, Gadkari to address rallies today New Delhi, Oct 6: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari will be addressing several rallies in poll bound Bihar today. Shah will first be addressing a public meeting at Baijnathpur High school ground in Rosera, after which he will be addressing a party workers meet.

Shah will then fly to Bhagalpur to address a rally at Bazaar Samiti

complex then he will be addressing a public meeting at Pragati maidan Pirpainit. Gadkari will also be addressing several public rallies in Nabinagar, Aurangabad and Nokha near Rohtas.

Gadkari will then address public meets at Dinara, Rohtas and Jagdispur in Bhojpur. Elections in Bihar will begin from October 12. They will be held in five phases. The results will be declared on November 8. (ANI)

Nation's Father becomes the victim this time Patna, Oct 6: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi here in Bihar's capital was damaged by some "antisocial elements", triggering a protest by locals who demanded the administration take stern action, police said on Tuesday.

"A white marble statue of Gandhiji was damaged... it appears to be an act of anti-social elements. Police have begun an investigation into the incident," police official Ashok Pandey said here.(Agencies)

BJP in panic without 'neta, niti and niyat' in Bihar: Nitish New Delhi, Oct 6: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in panic without leader, policy and intention in Bihar. "BJP in panic-without neta, niti & niyat in Bihar & facing defeat they're brazenly attempting to communalize & mask it with Modi's rhetorics," he tweeted. Nitish, who will today address rallies in Bhagalpur, Navada and Gaya, had earlier countered the allegation of 'jungle raj' and highlighted the figures

of National Crime Record Bureau in the BJP-ruled states. The Bihar Chief Minister, who is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the grand alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress forms the next government in the state, has joined hands with his adversary RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for the state assembly polls. Elections for the 243-member Bihar Assembly will be held in five phases between October 12 and November 5. The counting of votes will take place on November 8. (ANI)

Awareness programmes conducted on Child abuse and child labor

Gangtok, Oct 6: With a mission to reach out to every child, the Hephzibah Awareness Ministry of Ghurpisey, Namchi recently conducted a chain of awareness programmes on child sexual abuse and other similar topics in south district schools.

The NGO conducted programmes in 10 government schools targeting primary and secondary level students. This series of awareness programmes started on July 24 from Mickhola junior high school and continued for over two months before culminating on October 3 at Maniram secondary school. The programmes were also at-

tended by guardians and teachers along with students of respective schools while in some places panchayats and ASHAs also supported the awareness programme. The Hephzibah Awareness Ministry prepared materials for workshop which was conducted for students aged between five and 12 years. The workshop also imparted the students with safety tips. During the workshop, the POCSO Act was also explained to senior students and participants by the resource persons from Hephzibah Awareness Ministry.

(Agencies)

PAGE 5

REGION

Shillong to soon have its own water policy to eradicate exploitation Shillong, Oct 6: The much needed regulation to terminate the exploitation of ground water is soon to come to terms as the State Government would shortly announce the proposed water policy. Speaking to the media on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Water Resources, Rowell Lyngdoh, asserted that it will not take much time before the Government announces the water policy.

The water policy would stress on periodical reassessment of the ground water potential on scientific lines taking into consideration the quality of the water available and the economic viability of

its extraction. According to the minister, the State legislators and members

of the Autonomous District Councils were asked to give their suggestion

on the draft water policy and many of them have come forward to offer

their suggestion. The Government had, earlier, put the draft of the water policy in the public domain inviting views and suggestions that received response from several individuals and groups. Lyngdoh mentioned that the State Government will have to form several committees for effective implementation of the water policy post its adoption. The proposed draft document adds that over exploitation of ground water should be avoided especially near the brackish/ polluted water bodies to prevent ingress of salt/ polluted water into sweet water aquifers.

The draft document also

13 held for abducting villagers, beating cops in Chhattisgarh Raigarh, Oct 6: As many as 13 people of a village were arrested for allegedly abducting seven persons from a neighbouring village and attacking police personnel in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, police said on Monday. The incident happened last night, when the residents of Hardijhariya village kidnapped seven persons of adjoining Chhirwani village and later beat up four policemen who had gone to rescue the ab-

ducted persons, Raigarh Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Shukla said. Preliminary investigation revealed that the residents of Hardijhariya were facing electricity crisis for past few months. They suspected that people from Chhirwani village were involved in interrupting power supply to their village by cutting transmission wires. Perturbed over the incidents, the villagers of Hardijhariya allegedly abducted seven people of

Chhirwani last night while they were returning from a market. On getting information about the kidnapping, a police team headed by sub-inspector Ashwani Diwan along with some people of Chhirwani went to rescue the abducted villagers, the SP said. However, the abductors refused to release the villagers and attacked those who had come to rescue them leaving 14 people injured, including four policemen. The kidnappers

World Bank's recommendation fails to attract Centre Jamshedpur, Oct 6: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Monday said BJP government in Jharkhand has failed to attract investment during its last eight months of rule even as the World Bank ranked the mineralrich state third in 'Ease of Doing Business for Make In India' programme. Not a single Memorandum of Understanding regarding new investment was signed during the last eight months of the Raghuvar Das regime, JMM chief spokesman Kunal Sarangi said. "This is a major failure of the

state government as the World Bank has recently ranked Jharkhand third in 'Ease of doing business for Make in India'," Sarangi, an MLA, told the media. The reason behind this is the state does not have land for prospective investors, he said, adding a 'land bank' is urgently required. "Even existing industrial units are facing difficulty to get government nod for expansion plans due to land problem," Sarangi said.

The Das government had to shelve a mega steel plant project in Manoharpur in West

Singhbhum for the same reason, the JMM leader said. Besides, Reliance had withdrawn its proposal to invest in mega power plant for want of land, he claimed. The condition of national highways is also very poor and agriculture land in and around the highways are getting damaged owing to the dust coming from those highways, he said. Sarangi said JMM would launch a movement if the highways are not repaired before the Durga Puja, as promised by the government. (Agencies)

also damaged three vehicles, including one belonging to police, and seven motorcycles, he said. Later, additional police force was sent to the place and the abducted persons were rescued.

Thirteen villagers of Hardijhariya were rounded up in this connection, he said. They were booked under IPC section 354 (kidnapping), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 147 (rioting), 186 (obstructing

public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upwards) and others, he said. They all were produced in a local court today which sent them to 14-day judicial custody, the SP said, adding that further probe was on. (Agencies)

Santa Saha murder case takes new turn as both sons get arrested Agartala, Oct 06, 2015 : CID have arrested both sons for alleged involvement in the murder of their mother Santa Saha. On Monday evening Deepjoy Saha( Suman) elder son and Bitonjoy Saha ( Sagar) younger son was arrested. On August 17 Santa Saha was murdered in type IV quarter no 30 at Shymalibazaar.The deceased husband Deepak Saha is assistant engineer of MT branch,state police. Unknown miscreants murdered Santa Saha with sharp cutting weapons with deep cut marks on chest and neck. During the incident neither the husband and both sons were present in the quarter. Police failing to find any clue handed over the case to CID. After 48 days of investigation CID arrested both sons of the deceased for alleged involvement with the murder.Police sources said Santa Saha was murdered by miscreants hired by both son. After arrest Deepjoy was kept at West Agartala police station and Bitonjoy at East Agartala police station lock up. (Agencies)

SC to hear teachers' appointment case on Oct 9 Agartala, Oct 6: The Apex court of the country will hear the 10,323 teachers' appointment case on October 9 next.

The Tripura government has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the High Court of Tripura, in which HC has cancelled the appointment of 10,323 teachers including

post-graduate, graduate and under-graduate teachers. Earlier, Supreme Court admitted the special leave petition (SLP) and stayed Tripura High Court's order for framing a new employment policy within two months and gave relief to 10,323 sacked government teachers. A division bench of the Tripura

High Court, comprising Chief Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Swapan Chandra Das, in its judgment May 7, 2014 terminated the jobs of 10,323 government school teachers citing discrimination and irregularities. The high court also asked the state government to put in place a fresh recruitment process by De-

cember 2014 and frame a new employment policy within two months. Tripura's Left Front government recruited 1,100 post-graduate and 4,617 graduate teachers in 2010 and 4,606 under-graduate teachers in December 2013. The high court, after hearing the state government and the complainants, passed the or-

der on a batch of 58 petitions filed by those who had failed to secure jobs as government teachers.It may be recalled here that Tripura government recently, regularized all the graduate and post graduate teachers as the government is committed to regularizing them after five years of service.

(Agencies)

Future uncertain, so why do we need schools??

Imphal, Oct 6: The efforts to re-open schools and other educational institutions in the district which have been closed for the past month suffered a setback as a group of students in uniform held sit-in-protests at the gates of several schools and informed others to terminate their classes

halfway. Following the JAC's decision to allow schools to resume their classes sometime last week, certain section of the people particularly from the students community raised reservation but not in an organised form. These objections culminated today as several schools particularly in New Lamka area

witnessed students holding sit-in-protests in front of their respective school gates. The protest then spread to other areas as the students reportedly told several other schools, that had started classes, to shut down midway. In some localities, village authorities and women folk were on the lookout for those try-

ing to disrupt classes while school authorities asked parents to individually drop their children. Nevertheless the protesting students managed to close many of the prominent schools within the proper township. However, schools located in and around Tuibuong areas are said to have effectively resumed

their classes without any interference. Later in the day, the protesting students gathered at the JAC office here to air their point of view and asserted that they will continue the protest until the JAC takes steps to revitalise the people's movement, which they felt was fading and losing its momentum. (Agencies)

dwells on the need to regularly monitor the quality of surface and ground water. The draft also states that adequate safe drinking water facilities should be provided to the entire population both in urban and rural areas. The draft document further states that management of water resources for diverse uses should incorporate a participatory approach by involving not only the various governmental agencies but also the users and other stakeholders. The State Government had roped in German International Cooperation (GIZ) to formulate the water policy.

(Agencies)

Intl Older Person Day observed at Longleng Aizawl, Oct 6: The International Older Person Day was celebrated at Longleng on October 1 at EBRC hall Longleng. The program was chaired by CDPO Longleng, Y Tauhong Phom with Deputy Commissioner Longleng, Y Denngan Avennoho Phom as the chief guest. In his speech, the DC said that old is gold and encouraged the older people to be an asset in the society and make the world a better place to live in. The highlights of the programme included scripture reading and special song presented by Youth Longleng Town Baptist Church. The voice of senior citizen was delivered

by Rev. L. Baushan Phom.

The programme was attended by more than 200 older persons, administrative officers and other officials of the District Hq. (Agencies)

After violence, Siliguri re-polling peaceful Siliguri, Oct 6: Re-polling for the three-tier rural polls under the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad (SMP) at two polling stations Samarnagar Primary School and the Terai Indian Planters' Association (TIPA) office - under the Matigara block was peaceful on Monday. According to the administration, 84.3% votes were cast at the polling station at Samarnagar, while 73.75% polling was recorded at the TIPA office. While 637 of the 755 voters exercised their franchise at the school, 458 of the 621 voters cast their votes at TIPA. Re-polling was held in these two stations after the CPI-M demanded the same as the Electronic Voting Machine had been allegedly damaged amid violence allegedly perpetrated by the ruling party on Election Day on Saturday.

The party had alleged that a party panchayat samity (PS) candidate was attacked by ruling party activists during the polling. The opposition parties had demanded re-polling at TIPA after the EVMs were damaged there and police arrested Congress PS candidate Biplab Dutta, who was allegedly attacked by Trinamul candidate Rajkumar Thapa and his associates. The re-poll was held in the presence of a good number of police personnel.

The queues were not long in the morning, with most of the voters there being women. As she stood in the queue, Jayanti Saha said she came to know of the re-polling late on Sunday night.

"We came to know that repolling would be held here today through the public address system that was done after 9 pm. I came to know that some disturbances occurred during the polls on Saturday, though I had cast my votes then too," Saha said. (Agencies)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

PAGE 6

Christian priest attacked by armed men in Bangladesh Dhaka, Oct 6: A Christian priest in Bangladesh has survived an attempt on his life by three suspected Islamists who attacked him in his house after pretending to want to learn about Christianity, days after two foreigners were killed by armed men in attacks claimed by ISIS terror group.52-year-old Luke Sarker, the pastor of Faith Bible Church, suffered injuries when three men yesterday attacked him with a knife and tried to slit his throat at his home in the northwestern district of Pabna, police said.The attackers aged 25-30 had entered the pastor's house pretending to be enthusiastic learner of Christianity.The assailants fled the scene leaving behind their motorbike as people in the neighbourhood rushed when Sarker, also a homeopath practitioner, screamed for help.Police said the attackers are yet

PM Modi arrives in B'luru to push 'Digital India' and talk technology Bengaluru, Oct. 6(ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived today to visit the Bosch facility where he will discuss the role of technology and innovation in manufacturing for his 'Digital India' initiative, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Merkel arrived here last night at the Kempegowda International Airport where she was welcomed by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Both leaders will head to a business forum with German and Indian representatives jointly organised by NASSCOM and the Fraunhofer Institute, where they will deliver speeches.They will also visit the innovation and vocational training centre of German company Robert Bosch GmbH.Finally, the German Chancellor and the Indian Prime Minister will participate in a working lunch with highranking business leaders from India and Germany.Merkel had earlier praised Prime Modi's 'Digital India' initiative, saying that India's experience in digitization will help Germany and that there is great room for further projects. (ANI)

to be identified but suspect they could be members of a fundamentalist group."We have launched an investigation. Until now it appears to be part of an effort to create political unrest," special superintendent of police's

criminal investigation department Shahriar Rahman Kajol told PTI.The motorbike left by the attackers outside the house was carrying a registration number having a fake address, Kajol said.Sarker had joined as

a pastor of a local church three months ago and used to depend on the meager donation of the church and his homeopathy practice.The attack on the pastor came a week after an Italian and a Japanese were killed in

the country facing violence by hard-line Islamic groups.A Japanese businessman Hosi Koniyo was gunned down on October 3 in northwestern Rangpur five days after an Italian aid official Cesare Tavella was

Patna, Oct. 6 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger son Tejaswi on Tuesday claimed that there is no dispute with regard to his age and said that the Election Commission was aware of it."There is no dispute. Whatever is there on the voters list, we need to fill that in the affidavit, what is wrong in that? My brother's voters list has the wrong image.

But that is not our fault.

We have already filed an online complaint regarding that," he said.When asked to comment on the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) assertion seeking a clarification in this regard, Tejaswi said that he was not answerable to them."Who is the BJP to question me? The Election Commission will ask about it and we have taken all the necessary steps," he added.He also took the opportunity to criticise the BJP for not having an agenda for the Bihar Assembly polls."The BJP has no agenda and now their

New Delhi, Oct. 6 : The death toll of Indian pilgrims killed in the Haj stampede in Mecca rose to 74, according to the latest list released by the Saudi A r a b i a Government."Saudi Arabia has released a further list. The Indian toll is now 74," said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in a tweet.Consulate General India of Jeddah also said that it would facilitate the visit of the relatives of missing pilgrims to the Mossaim mortuary to confirm the details of the deceased pilgrims as the Saudi Authorities had announced only names and the nationalities

hub. There is tremendous potential in IndiaGermany economic relationship. We are working hard to create conducive conditions for business," Prime Minister Modi said addressing the Indo-German summit.He added that in last 15 months the gov-

business."We need to provide a huge push to manufacturing, that's why we launched 'Make In India'," he added.Pushing his initiative, he further said that it makes strong business sense to be in India, and even better sense to 'Make in India'. (ANI)

Varanasi clashes: Curfew lifted, schools, colleges to remain closed Varanasi, Oct. 6 : Curfew was lifted here from all areas after tension gripped the state as several protesters took to streets over the Ganesha idol immersion and clashes broke out between police and agitating

saints.The curfew had been imposed in Kotwali, Dashashwamedh, Chowk and Luxa areas after the violent protests.According to reports, despite the curfew being lifted, prohibitory orders under section 144 will

be enforced and schools and colleges will remain close today.Earlier, the police had resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protesters, who had set several vehicles on fire including a police jeep. (ANI)

their job, they are trying to wash their hands off their responsibilities by blaming others. If they cannot take responsibilities, they must leave the state as there are others who can take care efficiently," Balyan added.

Azam Khan had earlier said that he would take the issue of rampant communal violence in India to the United Nations and also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop those who are spreading violence and communalism across the country. (ANI)

If Kashmir can be raised at UN, why not the murder of an innocent man, asks Azam Khan New Delhi, Oct. 6 : Justifying his decision to take the Dadri lynching case to the United Nations, Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare and Urban Development Minister Azam Khan said on Monday that if India can raise the issue of Kashmir in the UN, why not about the murder of an innocent man."We can't stay isolated

from the world. They discuss the Kashmir issue at the UN but try to hide the news of the murder of an innocent man. I am not answerable to anyone," Khan told the media here.Hitting out at the Centre, Khan added that state government was helpless when the government was trying to ignite issue on the name of

the 'pink revolution'. "What can we do when the Prime Minister is openly permitting the RSS to set fire to the nation? Was Babri the doing of the state government? It fell even after the decision was stayed by the Supreme Court and the High Court. Dadri is not about the death of a man but the rise of a new ideology," Khan

Indian software will revolutionize the world's hardware: PM Modi Liberalised FDI to enhance foreign Bengaluru, Oct. 6 : citizens."We are on the ernment has worked investments, says PM Modi Boosting his 'Make in In- path of making India a hard to make India a fadia' pitch, Prime Minister global manufacturing vorable place to set up Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that never before was India so well prepared to absorb talent, technology & investment from outside and that the nation is on the threshold of a big IT revolution, where technology will be leveraged to meet the aspirations of 1.25 billion

ment Minister Azam Khan had earlier said that he would take the issue of rampant communal violence in India to the United Nations and also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop those who are spreading violence and communalism across the country.The leaders of various political parties have urged Prime Minister Modi to break his silence on the case.Two main accused in the case, Shivam and Vishal, were arrested on Saturday, raising the total number of accused in the case to eight.Fiftyyear-old Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched and his son Danish (22) was beaten up for allegedly eating and storing beef on September 28. (ANI)

Azam Khan leaving no stone unturned to destroy U.P: Sanjeev Balyan

Haj stampede: Death toll of Indians reaches 74

of the deceased in the Stampede.About 40 names were announced by the authorities, where in the names were not complete, however, there were names that matched

Noida, Oct.6 : The family members of Mohammad Akhlaq, who was beaten to death in Dadri's Bishada village over rumours that he had stored beef at his residence, today demanded justice and urged all politicians not to politicise the issue."I never expected something like this, we were brought up in this village and everything was done with unity," Akhlaq's son Mohammed Sartaz told ANI. "I want to request all the political leaders not to politicise the issue. I appeal to the people to maintain the unity of the nation. All the problems that will come, we all should face them together," he added.Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare and Urban Develop-

killed in the capital Dhaka sparking an international uproar.The fatal attacks on the two foreigners were claimed by Islamic State group though it was refuted by Bangladesh's government, which tended to blame the Opposition for trying to destabilise the country."We do not have any proof if the three incidents were inter-related but the situation suggests that all these attacks were part of an orchestrated campaign to create instability in Bangladesh as none of the victims had any enmity to anyone," a senior officer at police headquarters in Dhaka said.The attacks have prompted Bangladesh to enforce an apparently unprecedented security vigil particularly in Dhaka Gulshan diplomatic zone and up market areas where the foreigners live. (Agencies) New Delhi, Oct. 6 : Minister of state for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan on Tuesday slammed Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare and Urban Development Minister Azam Khan saying that the latter was single handedly destroying his state, and was responsible for all the rampant evil in U.P."Azam Khan is the most powerful leader in U.P and the problem is that he is the root of all wrongdoing. He is the one who releases criminals from prisons, protect them and then later complains about them too," Balyan told ANI here.Reacting on the allegations that the the list of missing Indians, Bharatiya Janata Party the Consulate general re- (BJP) was at the helm of port added. Saudi au- the Dadri lynching case, thorities have put the total Balyan asserted it was death toll from the stam- unimaginable that a BJP pede at 769 and the injury worker could be behind toll at 934. (ANI) it."Since the SP can't do

Tejaswi downplays age controversy, says not answerable to BJP

real hidden agenda is coming out and they are desperate to apply those. Amit Shah's only job is to instigate the people and spread rumors. The BJP knows that their position in the state is poor because of which their ministers are coming from the Centre and campaigning in Bihar," he said.According to the affidavits filed by Lalu's sons, his younger son Tejaswi is 26 years while Tej Pratap, the elder son, is 25 years. Tej Pratap and Tejaswi are contesting the polls from Yadavdominated Mahua and Raghopur seats respectively. (ANI)

Dadri case: Victim's family demands justice, calls for unity

Bengaluru, Oct.6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the sentiment of private investment has turned positive in the recent years and that's why the government has liberalised the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regime in order to enhance the flow of foreign investments."The senti-

ment of private investment and inflow of foreign investment has turned positive. To enhance the flow of foreign investments we have liberalized the FDI regime," said Prime Minister Modi at the Indo-German Summit 'Digitising Tomorrow' organised by Fraunhofer India and NASSCOM."We are

aware that domestic financial resources are not sufficient to meet our needs, therefore we need the flow of foreign investments. We are keen to build futuristic infrastructure. We are setting up an India Investment and Infrastructure Fund of Rs 20,000 crores (2.57 billion Euros) from our own resources," he added. (ANI)

said.Training guns on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Khan said that they, including Prime Minister Modi should just go ahead and declare their intention of creating a 'Hindu nation' and then tell what role the Muslims will play.

"What about Justice Katju, several industrialists and journalists who have

openly declared that they consume beef, why are they not being punished too?

Will only poor Muslims be targeted now?" Khan said.Khan has been facing flak from various parties for his decision to take the Dadri lynching case to the UN. Mostly from religious leader like Yogi Adiytanath and Sakshi Maharaj. (ANI)

Uber says Brisbane attack could be part of 'coordinated assault' on its drivers Sydney, Oct. 6 (ANI): Ride sharing company Uber has expressed concern over the recent attack in Brisbane, the latest in a string of violent incidents, could be part of a coordinated assault on its drivers. According media a group of men set upon the two drivers as they sat in their cars at Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley and River Terrace in Kangaroo Point.Both drivers were punched and their cars damaged. One of them had his mobile phone stolen.Queensland Police said the men had also targeted another motorist who did not work for Uber. Uber said it was "very concerned" about the attacks, adding that the safety of its drivers and passengers was a priority. (ANI)

Uproar in J-K Assembly over beef ban, rehabilitation of flood victims Srinagar, Oct. 6 : There was uproar in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly yet again on Tuesday as the Congress and Na-

tional Conference MLAs raised slogans over the issue of beef ban and rehabilitation of flood victims.The oppo-

sition MLAs alleged that the ruling PDP Government has failed to provide relief to the families affected by the devastat-

ing floods. The state assembly was adjourned yesterday following ruckus by the opposition legislators on the same

issues.Speaker Kavinder Gupta adjourned the House twice yesterday as the opposition members did not relent. (ANI)

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

PAGE 7

NEIGHBOURS

Myanmar president pledges Muslim groups sue Myanmar president, to continue peace process alleging Rohingya 'genocide' - See more at: with armed groups

Yangon, Oct. 6 : Myanmar President U Thein Sein pledged today to carry on domestic peace process with those armed groups who are in readiness to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA).In his regular monthly radio speech to the nation, U Thein Sein, however, reiterated that door will be open to the remaining armed groups, who are not yet ready to sign the NCA, to join the peace process later.Myanmar government and some ethnic armed groups agreed on Sunday to set Oct. 15 for the formal signing of the NCA in Nay

Pyi Taw.During talks between the government's Union Peace Making Work Committee (UPWC) and eight armed groups out of 15 invited by the government for attendance at the Myanmar Peace Center in Yangon in the weekend, seven implied their willingness to sign the NCA as advance signatories.The seven armed groups are Kayin National Union (KNU), Kayin National Liberated Army(KNLA)-Peace Council, Pa-O Nationalities Liberation Organization (PNLO), All Burma Students' Democratic Front

(ABSDF), Chin National Front (CNF), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA).Speaking of the upcoming general election, U Thein Sein stressed that the election is an important turning point for the country's transition to democracy.He urged acceptance broadmindedly of the result yielded from the polling as people's genuine desire.To be participated by 91 political parties and more than 300 independents, the 2015 general election has been set to take place on Nov. 8. (Agencies)

Karunanidhi slams Sirisena on domestic process Colombo, Oct 6: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said that said that President Maithripala Srisana's assertion that the Government would only allow a domestic and not a hybrid inquiry on the war was a clear proof that Sri Lanka never bothered to abide by any rules."Countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom

that moved the resolution and countries like India that supported it should realise the real face of Sri Lanka," he said.He urged the Union government to move a private member resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) seeking an international inquiry into the alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan Army in the last phase of the civil warAlleging that Sri Lanka's

stand on the issue was against human rights, Karunanidhi said that India should take up the issue with other countries and arrange an international inquiry with their support."A resolution by India for an international inquiry will fulfil the long pending demand of the Tamils across the world. It will also provide India an opportunity to correct itself," he said. (Agencies)

New York, Oct 6 : A coalition of Muslim groups has filed suit in New York against Myanmar President Thein Sein and other government officials for alleged crimes against the Rohingya minority, which they say amount to genocide.The suit comes a month ahead of critical elections, seen as a test of the nation's nascent democracy.A spokesman for the president dismissed the civil suit yesterday. "Myanmar is not a vassal to America. There's no reason why Myanmar would go and face the lawsuit of a federal court in America," he said.The complaint, filed Thursday, asks United States Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman to issue summonses to Sein, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and other officials under the US Alien Tort Statute, which has been used in the past by foreign citizens seeking damages from human rights violations committed outside the United States. The suit al-

leges the Rohingya "are primary targets of hate crimes and discrimination amounting to genocide fueled by extremist nationalist Buddhist monks and Thein Sein government.""Since 1962, the Burman Buddhist su-

premacist government of Myanmar has ruled with an exclusionary, authoritarian ideology," it says, adding that Rohingyas are excluded from obtaining citizenship in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and are "brutally

U.S. warns against 'egregious' restrictions in contested South China Seas Washington, Oct 6 : Some countries appear to view freedom of the seas as "up for grabs" in the South China Sea, imposing superfluous warnings and restrictions that threaten stability, a U.S. Navy commander said today in comments apparently aimed at China.Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a strongly worded address in Australia the United States re-

mained "as committed as ever" to protect freedom of navigation through the region."It's my sense that some nations view freedom of the seas as up for grabs, as something that can be taken down and redefined by domestic law or by reinterpreting international law," Swift told a maritime conference in Sydney."Some nations continue to impose superfluous warnings and restrictions on freedom of the

seas in their exclusive economic zones and claim territorial water rights that are inconsistent with (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). This trend is particularly egregious in contested waters."China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have over-

9 fuel tankers enter Nepal Kathmandu, Oct 6: Nine fuel tankers, six from Kakadvitta and three from Rupaidiya border points, entered Nepal on Monday night.Nepal Oil Corporation Mechi Chief Kamlesh Aryal informed that six tankers entered at around 10 pm last night after they received fuel at Siliguri Terminal Depot of Indian Oil Corporatin in New Jalpaiguri. Aryal informed that 52 kiloliters of diesel, 32 kiloliters of petrol and 20 kiloliters of aviation fuel

entered via these tankers.Over 35 tankers are waiting for fuel at the depot. IOC Siliguri Chief JP Singh informed that those tankers will be loaded and sent to Nepal. "Twenty tankers have already been loaded. We are planning to load the remaining tankers too and send them to Nepal today itself," said Singh.Likewise, three diesel carrying tankers and two gas bullets entered through the Rupaidiya border in Nepalgunj last night.

No vehicles have entered this morning though.Our correspondent at Biratnagar Binod Bhandari informed that four tankers were stopped at Jogbani border despite being cleared by customs of the Indian side on Monday night. The tankers have returned to India after they were denied entry into Nepal. One LPG bullet and nine trucks loaded with raw materials for factories have entered from the point this morning. (Agencies)

Suspect attempted to traffic Lankans to Europe

Colombo,Oct 6: Sanjay Kumar, the key operative of the racket that attempted to traffic Sri Lankan Tamil refugees from Munambam in Kochi, India, had earlier attempted to take people to Europe on board a fishing vessel from Thiruvananthapuram.Official sources said Sanjay, said to be a resident of Chennai, was wanted in a cheating case registered at a police station in coastal Thiruvananthapurm two years ago."This was verified during an investigation into whether the racket had earlier trafficked people through the Kerala coast,"

said a senior police official.The sleuths, however, are yet to confirm the identity of Sanjay. "We have been unable to validate whether these two persons are the same as in both cases, the addresses given were different and found to be fake," the official added.According to police, Veeramani, one of the agents arrested along with the Sri Lankan nationals, was the only point of contact between the refugees and Sanjay."We have now sought the help of Tamil Nadu Q branch to trace these persons, said to be residing near the Chennai

Port," said T.R. Raju, Circle Inspector of police, Njarakkal. During interrogation, Veramani said he had received just Indian Rs.50,000 as commission from Sanjay, of which Indian Rs.15,000 was advanced towards purchasing the fishing vessel here.The three persons arrested along with Veeramani received a brokerage of Rs.2,000 each for arranging the fishing vessel.Meanwhile, the police suspect that Sanjay could have received payments from more persons, who would be boarding the boat from different points.(Agencies)

persecuted because of their faith and ethnicity."This treatment has led large numbers to flee the country, causing a regional migrant crisis.The plaintiffs include the Burma Task Force, a coalition of 19 Muslim

lapping claims.Japan and China also have conflicting claims in the East China Sea.The United States has called for a halt to China's artificial island building in the area. China says it has irrefutable sovereignty over the sea and no hostile intent.China has also accused the United States of militarizing the South China Sea by staging patrols and joint military drills.The United States and China have blamed each other for dangerous moves during several recent incidents involving their aircraft and ships."Put simply, we will continue to exercise freedom of the seas for all nations, because we know from painful past experience, to shirk this responsibility and obligation, puts much more at risk than any one nation's maritime interests," Swift said.China last month said it was "extremely concerned" about a suggestion by a top U.S. commander that U.S. ships and aircraft should challenge China's claims in the South China Sea by patrolling close to artificial islands it has built.

(Agencies)

groups, and a member of the Rohingya community who fled Myanmar for the United States.They claim in the suit they and relatives "were subjected to genocide, torture, arbitrary detention, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the officials."Gurpatwant Pannun, a lawyer whose firm filed the complaint, said the summonses have yet to be delivered. Once they are, Pannun said, the president will have 21 days to respond.Pannun told media they believe Sein should be declared responsible for genocide."Once it is declared genocide, it becomes (the responsibility of) the US administration to prosecute those who are responsible for genocide because there is a convention that the US has signed," Pannun added.

Myanmar, which emerged in 2011 from half a century of military rule, is due to hold highly anticipated elections next month.

(Agencies)

2 put on remand in Hoshio murder case Dhaka, Oct 6: A Rangpur court has granted a tenday remand to two suspects in the Japanese national Hoshi Kunio murder case.Judge Abu Taleb made the order on Tuesday in reply to a ten-day remand plea of police, Rangpur ADC Jainal Abedin told the Dhaka Tribune.The two accused are local BNP leader Habibunnabi Khan Shohel's brother Rashidunnabi Khan Biplob and businessman Humayun Kabir Hira who was trade partner of Hoshi.On Saturday, some unidentified miscreants gunned down Japanese national Hoshi Kunio, 65, in Kownia of Rangpur district.Local police have been looking into the murder and they have yet to make any significant progress in solving the murder mystery. (Agencies)

Pakistan's MQM chief Altaf Hussain gets bail extension

3 Al-Qaeda members arrested in Pakistan

Karachi, Oct. 6: Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has got another unprecedented extension in bail in a money laundering case after he was interviewed for about four hours

by British investigators at the Southwark police station here.According to The Nation, the decision of the police quashed all rumours floating around that Altaf Hussain either would be charged or set free. Other expectations were that he will get another extension of bail, which turned out to be correct.The MQM said in a statement that bail has been extended till February 16, 2016. The police only confirmed news of bail being granted, and said Hussain has been instructed to appear before the police once again.According to police sources, three officers of the Specialist Operation Unit interviewed the MQM chief, who had legal matters fully explained to him before the interview. All three police officers were the same who had conducted detailed interrogations earlier.The MQM chief met with one of his lawyers and an interpreter during a consultative meeting.Four MQM leaders - Nadeem Nusrat, Muhammad Anwar,

Lahore, Oct 6: Three members of Al-Qaeda 'finance team in Punjab province' have been arrested from a house in Raiwind, located a few kilometres from Lahore residence of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. A team of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab government in collaboration with an intelligence agency on Monday raided a house in Raiwind and arrested three members of AlQaeda, says an official of CTD. The Al-Qaeda members have been identified as Tariq Aziz, Abdul Ghaffar and Mehar Hamid Ali. According to the CTD, cash, weapons and hate literature have been recovered from their custody. The CTD said the suspects were involved in collecting finances for AlQaeda besides facilitating terrorists to carry out their activities in the province. A case has been registered against them under Anti-Terrorism Act. (Agencies)

Barrister Saif and Dr. FarooqSattar - were accompanied with Altaf Hussain when he left his Edgware residence to Southward.The MQM supremo was first arrested on June 3, 2014 during the course of a money laundering investigation initiated in July 2013 by the London Metropolitan Police, prompting thousands of people in Karachi to stage a sit-in calling for his release.He was then shifted to Wellington Hospital over health concerns and underwent angiography and other tests. Having been discharged from the hospital, Hussain was taken to the Southwark police sta-

tion where he was questioned for nine hours.He was released on bail four days after his arrest in 2014, and granted four bail extensions.It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistani authorities arrested three suspects in connection with the murder earlier in 2015.

Mohsin Ali was arrested along with another accused, Khalid Shamim, by the Frontier Corps in Balochistan about three months ago.Meanwhile, a spokesman of the MQM unequivocally denied any involvement of their party chief in m o n e y laundering.Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Hussain has challenged the Lahore High

Court (LHC) decision restricting the broadcast of his images and speeches.

The appeal was filed by Hussain's lawyer Asma Jahangir in the Supreme Court on Monday.In another development on Monday, Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani rejected the resignations of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) senators.He said the MQM senators submitted their resignations in protest and they cannot be accepted without accurate verification.Lawmakers of the MQM on August 12 had submitted their resignations in the National Assembly, Senate and Provincial Assemblies. (ANI)

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DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

India's 'Look West' Maritime Diplomacy Worrying increase Indian rhino poaching Kaziranga National Park (NP) in Assam, India holds about 71% of the world's wild population of the greater one-horned rhino. It was therefore a shock to conservationists when they learned that in 2007 about 20 animals were poached, a four-fold increase compared with the previous six years' annual average. The reasons for this surge, which included the hasty choice in the change of top officials in Kaziranga, many vacancies in frontline staff who are needed to oversee the protection regime of Kaziranga day and night, and a shortage of funds for intelligence gathering. In Orang NP there was heavy poaching in 2008. New poachers entered the Park and the under-staffed frontline forest guards were not equipped to fight them. In contrast, there were no rhinos poached in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in either 2007 or 2008. This was because of a very close relationship between its staff and the local villagers.

This month again a rhino was killed by poachers who also engaged in an exchange of fire with patrolling forest guards at Kaziranga National Park in Assam .but the poachers could not be apprehended. Later, during searches, forest guards found a carcass of an adult male rhino with two bullet injuries but with its horn intact. Over the past month there has been extensive poaching in and around the Kaziranga National Park in Assam state. Assam police say that rebels are becoming increasingly involved in rhino poaching in the state, where the greater-one horned rhinos are being killed using AK-47 assault rifles.

Also according to data of the Assam environment and the state forest department, the highest number of 41 rhinos had been poached in 2013 while 2002 and 2004 recorded the lowest poaching-five rhinos each year. Last year, poachers killed 22 rhinos, of which 21 were killed in Kaziranga National Park and one in Pabitora wildlife sanctuary. Moreover in damage control mode, Munda said that in 2000, there were only 120 anti-poaching camps which was increased to 154 in 2005 and 174 in 2014, and further said that the government of Assam also amended the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and enhanced penalties and also empowered the forest staff to use firearms in 2010. And also if we look at the past history of rhino poaching in Kaziranga from the records available since 1965, we find that the highest number of rhinos poached was 48 in the year 1992, while during 1985 and 1986, 45 rhinos were poached in each year

Food Security soon to be made a national compulsory Mizoram, Manipur to Implement Food Security Act Soon As passed by the Indian Parliament, Government has notified the National Food Security Act with the objective to provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity. The Act provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population. The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children. Besides meal to pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after the child birth, such women will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000. Children upto 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional standards. In case of nonsupply of entitled foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive food security allowance. The Act also contains provisions for setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at the district and state levels.

Separate provisions have also been made in the Act for ensuring transparency and accountability.

Recently the Mizoram government declared that it will implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from November while its Manipur counterpart would do so likely in January 2016. With more sops, the Left Front government in Tripura has introduced the NFSA of 2013 from September 1. The other north-eastern states, including Assam, have not yet announced the time for implementation of the NFSA. The Mizoram government has decided to implement the NFSA from November. Necessary arrangement for making available rice to those excluded from the scheme would be made through the Public Distribution System (PDS). 706,296 people out of around 11 lakh population of Mizoram would be provided rice at subsidised rate under NFSA while the remaining households would be able to buy eight kg rice per month at the rate of Rs.15 per kg. In Imphal the state government would begin NFSA implementation from January next. Work on computerization of data and digitization of ration cards are in advance stage for the implementation of the food security Act. From September 1, the Mizoram government is providing rice at the rate of Rs.2 per kg instead of Rs.3 per kg, as stipulated in the Act. According to the NFSA, only priority households and extremely poor families are entitled to subsidized food grain. However, we have decided to continue TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System) to all 969,000 ration card holders comprising priority and non-priority households. The non-priority households would not get any subsidy on food grain. An additional annual expenditure of Rs.16.73 crore would be borne by the state exchequer to provide food grain subsidy for priority households. It should also be noted that Tripura is the first state in the whole eastern and north-eastern region of India to implement the NFSA. According to a central government report, the NFSA has been implemented by 13 states and two union territories so far. NFSA is the ladder by which one can achieve a proper and hygienic lifestyle.

Recent developments show that India's attention is very much on the Indian Ocean.

Abhijit Singh India's maritime diplomacy is most often associated with its naval outreach to East Asia. With an increase in naval ship visits to South East Asia in recent years, and attendant media speculation over New Delhi's supposed Pacific ambitions, the impression has been created that East Asia remains the ultimate destination of the Indian Navy's diplomatic endeavours. By contrast, New Delhi's nautical diplomacy in the Indian Ocean has seemed relatively modest. Despite its considerable contribution to sea-lanes security and counterpiracy operations off the coast of Somalia, in the popular imagination, the Indian Navy's security efforts in the Indian Ocean region have remained confined to the level of constabulary and benign presence.

Developments in the past few months, however, have shown that India's attention remains squarely focused on the Indian Ocean. Since February this year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius, making it clear the Indian Ocean littorals remained India's top priority, New Delhi has actively nurtured relationships with its maritime neighbours. Having improved the texture of its diplomatic ties, India has also sought to undertake joint developmental projects and strengthen a maritime security trilateral with Sri Lanka and Maldives through the inclusion of Seychelles.

New Delhi's maritime diplomatic efforts haven't remained limited to the cultivation of political relationships.

In April this year, the Indian Navy scored one of its biggest diplomatic successes when it evacuated over 4000 Indians and 900 foreign nationals from war?torn Yemen. Operation Rahat was seen as a credible illustration of the India's maritime peacekeeping and benign potential, more so because it

was conducted amid an active conflict, amidst an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

The most significant dimension of India's Indian Ocean diplomacy, however, has been the outreach to Arab Gulf states, where the Indian Navy has embarked on program of sustained capacity building and security collaboration. Earlier this month, four Indian Naval ships - Trishul, Tabar, Deepak and Delhi - departed on a month-long deployment to the Arabian Gulf.

After a three-day stopover at Dubai (UAE) the ships branched out into two groups.

INS Delhi and INS Trishul proceeded to Al-Jubail (Saudi Arabia) and Doha (Qatar) where they engaged in coordinated drills with host navies.

Meanwhile, INS Tabar and INS Deepak reached Doha after a brief visit to Kuwait, whereupon the combined contingent of four ships proceeded to Muscat for a final stop-over before returning to Mumbai.

It is a little known fact that the Indian Navy's Western outreach predates its diplomatic turn to the East. Since 2008, the Indian Navy has been partnering regional maritime forces in anti-piracy duties, providing critical support and training to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) navies.

Through defence cooperation memorandums and joint committees on defence cooperation, it has substantially enhanced its operational synergy with Arab Gulf navies - many of them members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), an initiative pioneered by the Indian Navy.

The naval engagement with Oman has been most notable. While India and Oman entered into a "strategic partnership" in 2008, naval cooperation has been on since 1993 in the form of a biennial exercise, Naseem Al-Bahr. India has provided naval training and hydrographic support to Oman, while Omani ships

have been regular visitors at Indian ports. More significantly, Oman has played a key role in sustaining India's security efforts in the Gulf of Aden by offering berthing and replenishment facilities to Indian naval ships, and hosting a crucial Indian listening post in the Western Indian Ocean.

With a new super-port project at Duqm nearing completion, Oman is poised to transform the maritime geopolitics of the Arabian Sea. An appreciation of its strategic potential has led New Delhi to cultivate stronger maritime ties with Muscat.

Importantly for India, the ongoing engagement with Arab navies hasn't been to the exclusion of a maritime relationship with Iran. A week prior to the ongoing tour of GCC countries, two Indian naval ships, Betwa and Beas, visited Bandar-e-Abbas. The Iranian Navy, which has long suffered from a "siege" mindset in the Arabian Gulf, is in the throes of a radical psychological transformation.

Having acquired critical warfighting capabilities, it has been gaining the confidence of a regional maritime power.

Emboldened by their county's

recent nuclear deal with the West, the Iranian naval leadership has also been on the look-out for new partners to support its naval agenda of establishing control over the Western approaches to the Arabian Gulf. India offers the most potential for such a partnership.

For maritime watchers, India's Arabian Gulf maritime strategy seems driven by two essential considerations. The waterways of the Northern Indian Ocean are among the most important in the world, facilitating the export of large volumes of goods, oil and natural gas. India is a principal beneficiary of the trade and energy flows through the West Asian littorals. The Middle East is also home to nearly 7 million Indians, whose remittances contribute significantly to India's economy. The sheer weight of market interaction and commercial exchanges with the Arab Gulf region amplifies its political significant, creating an urgent need for a greater Indian naval presence in the region.

Influence in the IOR The more determinative factor is the preservation of

India's strategic stakes in the Indian Ocean. With China continuing to make military inroads, the past few years have witnessed a shrinking of Indian geopolitical influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Reports of a new Chinese naval base in Djibouti, growing submarine visits, and a spurt in Beijing's maritime military activities in the Western Indian Ocean have created concern among India's security establishment. The nature of the recent submarine forays by the People's Liberation Army Navy suggests an aspiration for a standing security presence in the IOR. For the Indian Navy, therefore, interaction with Gulf navies is a strategic measure aimed at retaining Indian influence in the IOR. India's "Look West" diplomacy, however, is not all about Indian interests. The tour by Indian naval ships to the region came only a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Abu Dhabi, the first by an Indian premier in 30 years. As India and the UAE announced a strategic partnership, many of the themes reflected upon in their joint statement were an expression of India's

solidarity with the UAE (and more broadly Arab Gulf states).

Prominent among these were human security, counter-terrorism, and regional defence. But the GCC's central concern still remains the security of energy shipments through regional chokepoints. With political tensions heightening the vulnerability of the Gulf's vital waterways, the joint statement affirmed India's commitment to strengthening maritime security in the Northern Indian Ocean.

The Indian Navy's burgeoning ties with Arab Gulf navies demonstrate the utility of maritime power as a foreign policy tool. New Delhi's Indian Ocean diplomacy has shown that the political role of sea power remains as important as its wartime uses. While "hardpower" projection remains effective, the modern exercise of "soft power" through "hardware" has no credible substitute. Through its Arabian Gulf initiatives, the Indian Navy has positioned itself as a reliable and supportive partner, forged lasting relationships, and helped shape the Indian Ocean's strategic environment.

More importantly, the Indian Navy has successfully created a durable template of maritime relations in the Western Indian Ocean. Its reassuring presence has validated India's capacity to protect Indian and regional interests, and provided evidence of a productive and dynamic maritime vision. In many ways, India's "Look-West" maritime diplomacy has been critical in rebalancing the Indian Ocean's emerging strategic narrative from "political contestation" to "collaborative development."

Abhijit Singh is a research scholar at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and looks at Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean. He is co-author of the book Indian Ocean Challenges - A Quest for Cooperative Solutions.

The psychology behind anti ChakmaHajong voices in Arunachal Pradesh Anonymous The anti Chakma-Hajong voices in Arunachal Pradesh, especially in the wake of the September 17 Supreme Court verdict to grant citizenship to the eligible Chakma-Hajong within three months, are so strong that they smack of and are laced with sheer hatred. It can almost be guaranteed that a lot of those who are raising anti Chakma-Hajong voices would not flinch or even bat an eyelid in admitting that they actually do hate ChakmaHajong. Hence, it would hardly matter to the perennial haters of Chakma-Hajong whether you reason with them or that India's apex court gives a judgement in favour of Chakma-Hajong or that you tell them they might not have much of a logical justification for their aggressive protests; they would continue to hate; they need not be given a reason to hate Chakma-Hajong; they would find a thousand

reasons by themselves.

It would however be difficult to pinpoint how the seed of hatred got sown in the first place. Incidentally, the anti Chakma-Hajong voices are mainly being raised by the younger generation of Arunachal Pradesh being led from the front by All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union or AAPSU. But it has become clear that anti Chakma-Hajong voices are fuelled by hatred and that this hatred has only become magnified due to reasons which can be justifiably analysed in the context of the present times.

The proponents of anti Chakma-Hajong have always believed that they are superior to Chakma-Hajong by virtue of the outsider cum refugee tag which the former have always endeavoured to impose on the latter although more than fifty years have passed since Chakma-Hajong have settled in erstwhile North East

Frontier Agency (NEFA) now Arunachal Pradesh in accordance with agreed stipulations in the context of when this fateful decision was taken. On the other hand, although discriminated as well as deprived, Chakma-Hajong (especially Chakma) were characteristically proud and refused to be submissive which many a time must have been infuriating for their detractors. However, ChakmaHajong always tried to fight back in a manner which was largely and at best can be described as being reactive.

Thus, continued an endless tug of war between imposition of dominance and the resultant fight back. This in fact represented a skewed as well as imbalanced situation and it continued like that for decades and which the proponents of anti Chakma-Hajong have always sought at all cost and with all intents and purposes to firmly establish.

Now, after years of blood

and sweat on the part of Chakma-Hajong, the Supreme Court verdict in favour of Chakma-Hajong has come about which by the way stands to rectify the cursed imbalance in ChakmaHajong equation vis-a-vis the proponents of anti ChakmaHajong. However, the anti Chakma-Hajong voices are adamant and desire to continue to maintain the status quo.

And, they have their own reasons to want to maintain the status quo. One of the reasons is that Chakma-Hajong have, given their circumstances, had to work triple the harder only to make ends meet and these hardships which they have had to face and endure have made them more resourceful and better equipped as human resource which in turn has bred insecurity among the anti Chakma-Hajong forces. They in fact feel threatened by the thought of having to compete

with Chakma-Hajong on an equal footing.

The anti ChakmaHajong forces would perhaps not have felt so insecure or threatened had they been able to make as rapid strides as Chakma-Hajong who despite discrimination and depravation continued to toil hard just for survival. Owing to their self-inflicted shortcomings and deficiencies, the proponents of anti Chakma-hajong unjustifiably want to continue to remain and feel superior to Chakma-Hajong against the basic laws of humanity.

While it's hardly possible that the Chakma-Hajong be resettled anew supposedly outside of Arunachal Pradesh, it is such a surprise and unreasonable that the anti Chakma-Hajong forces like to keep mum as long as Chakma-Hajong continue to be unnaturally discriminated and deprived even as the former are purportedly allowed to continue to feel su-

perior to the latter against the backdrop of the demand that if the Chakma-Hajong are to ever realise their long due rights, it be elsewhere and not within Arunachal Pradesh.

Ultimately, the anti Chakma-Hajong forces are to blame for most of the unsavoury and nasty things that have come to pass as they have always resisted and opposed a resolution to the vexed Chakma-Hajong issue by means of which they have sought to serve their vested interests even though it meant running away from the truth.

But, as so much time has passed, it has now posed serious questions not only on the anti Chakma-Hajong forces but also on India as a nation.

After all, at the end of the day, justice must be served for personal as well as greater peace.

(This write-up has been sent to us by an anonymous writer. The views expressed are solely his/her personal views)

Is AAPSU aware of Supreme Court rules?

Sir, The All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) is visibly fuming over the Supreme Court verdict to grant citizenship to eligible Chakma-Hajong in Arunachal Pradesh and has become active in terms of interacting with the media. Whenever AAPSU speaks with the media, it says it will file a review petition against the SC verdict. According to Supreme Court rules, the aggrieved parties on the ruling of the Supreme Court on any apparent error can file a review petition. However, the SC judgment nowhere mentions AAPSU as a party in the case filed by the petitioner, the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh (CCRCHAP) in 2007. Now it has become clear that AAPSU can't file review petition against the SC verdict.

Moreover, history is witness how much trouble ChakmaHajong have faced since they settled in erstwhile North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) now Arunachal Pradesh.

The Supreme Court judgement is totally in favour of the

Chakma-Hajong. Now, they are looking forward to ending their misery peacefully without any form of violence.

Yours etc.

Nanda Priya Bodh Gaya

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

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

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Will You Stop Eating Meat To Save The Environment?

Oishimaya Sen Nag What do you think is the most important factor leading to environmental degradation? Most of you will talk about greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles, mining, damming, expansion of human habitation and all the other stuff which we have grown up learning.

True, these factors all contribute heavily towards environmental degradation.

However, I have some hardhitting facts for you.

If any of you have watched the 'Cowspiracy' documentary, produced by our favourite Titanic star Leonardo di Caprio, then you will understand what facts I am talking about. Do you know that 51% of all greenhouse gas emissions are produced by human bred livestock and their byproducts? 65% of human-related nitrous oxide emissions (which has a global warming potential 296 times more that carbon-dioxide) is contributed by the livestock industry. 150 billion gallons of methane are produced per day by cows and methane is a dangerous gas with 86 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide?

Shocked? Here are some more facts for you.

Today, large parts of our country and the world are suffering from severe shortage of fresh water. 21% of diseases in India are related to consumption of contami-

nated water. Worldwide, around 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and by 2025, twothird of the global population may suffer from severe water shortage. Wondering what is the major cause behind such disturbing figures? Then you need to know that in countries like the US, 5% of fresh water is consumed by private homes, and 55% is used for animal agriculture. 1/5th of the global water consumption is for the purpose of animal husbandry. 500 dead zones have been created around the world by nitrogen emissions from the livestock industry. 1/3rd of the world's land has been desertified with livestock as the primary driving force, and the US produces 130 times more animal waste than human waste. I would suggest you visit the Amazon right now, if it is part of your bucket list of destinations, because the Amazon maybe completely lost in the matter of a decade and that too due to expansion of the livestock industry!

After going through these and many more shocking facts revealed by 'Cowspiracy', I thought what have these facts got to do with India? India's consumption of meat is much lower that that of the US. In fact, in 2007, the UN FAO declared that Indians have the lowest meat consumption in the world. So,

that should mean that India's animal agriculture industry is underdeveloped, right? However, facts and figures suggest just the contrary. For the past few months, there have been a lot of controversies in India regarding the beef ban.

However, did you know that India is the world's largest exporter of beef? 2.4 million tonnes of beef and veal was exported by India in 2015! The country is responsible for 23.5 % of global beef exports!

'An India Where Bigots Go ScotFree Doesn't Appeal To My Soul': The Shame Of Dadri Somesh Katyayan "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Atticus, a lawyer, instructs his child on the virtues of not harming an innocuous songbird, a symbol of innocence. This novel (To Kill A Mockingbird) by Harper Lee is also an allusion to the prejudices prevalent in the society. Why this finds an immediate resonance with my sentiments is not particularly difficult to surmise. The latest incident that took place in Dadri has left me bereaved, bereft of any little hopes that I had from our people, our Nation and from humanity It was like any other night in Bisara village when a mob lynched Mohammad Akhlaq and his family following rumours of beef consumption. Akhlaq was brutally murdered, his son critically injured and family scarred for life. Allegedly some announcements were made prior to this incident at the local temple regarding cow slaughter.

This 'understandably' incited the mob. Does this incident appear to be a dĂŠjĂ vu? Well, to me it does. One that now occurs so often, that it has become ingrained in my psychologically disturbed self. To a few this might appear as yet another occasional rant, to some an overtly emotional indulgence in an incident of least significance.

Our administration admira-

bly swung into action. The meat, without delay, was dispatched to ascertain whether it was mutton or beef. The jury is now out to determine the culpability of Akhlaq's family. If they were indeed consuming beef then the punishment meted out to them seems to be one of natural consequence. It would absolve the mob of their sins of killing a poor farmer, for their intentions in all likelihood were noble.

Mahapanchayats would be organised to mobilize public opinion against the injustice inflicted upon the holy crusaders. The long lost, 'oppressed' voices would once again find sympathy. 'Hurt sentiments' would finally find solace in this peaceful retribution.

The likes of Akhlaq's family and the few sympathisers with an 'alternate opinion' would be deemed anti-national. This landscape, wiped off naysayers and cleansed with riots and rituals, would once again be purged off all ungodliness. There would be a revolution, total revolution.

But hold on. Is not food one's personal choice?

Well, not anymore. Especially when it calls for divine intervention to protect the dwindling interests of our bovine. And with ardent proponents of our 'Indian' culture hanging around, our freedom seems to be a by-product of never ending diktats. It was after all my childish credu-

lity that led me into believing that my food preferences had little to do with my religion. And I pronounce myself equally guilty of being in search for the religion of my choice. These have already been unequivocally thrust upon us by the messengers of God. Now, what if by some 'remotest' possibility, Akhlaq's family did not consume beef? Isn't the answer as simple as the incident itself? They happened to be victims of an unfortunate sequence of events. Committees would be formed, clarion calls would be given and unity rallies would be hosted.

Stringent action as always would be taken and the perpetrators of the crime brought to justice. We would perhaps take pity, stand in solidarity, light some candles and finally forget about the incident by the end of October.

Am I not sounding pessimistic? After all, is this not the emergence of a new India? An India free of diversities. My mother used to narrate to me the stories of the freedom struggle, read out to me the speech delivered by Pt. Nehru and fill me in with the visions of the founding fathers of our Nation. Their India, however, had sounded markedly different. Maybe I am unable to recollect my childhood memories or maybe our idea of India has indeed changed. This India somehow doesn't seem appealing to my soul, definitely not when an engineer with the Indian Air Force is left grieving for his murdered father while the bigots go scot-free beating drums of culture and patriotism.

Today nothing seems to be truer than these words of Faiz: "Ye daagh daagh ujaalaa, ye shab gazida sehar, Vo intezaar tha jiska, ye vo sehar to nahin." (This leprous daybreak, dawn night's fangs have mangled, this is not that long-looked-for break of day)

So, you must be wondering how come a country that holds cows as sacred gets the crown of being the largest beef exporter in the world? That is because India's beef industry is based on the meat of water buffaloes instead of cows and the meat from water buffalo is classified as beef by the USDA. India has a buffalo population of around 115 million! Also, there are reports of sneak exports of cow meat with buffalo meat from India.

So, the next question is, when Brazil (the world's second largest beef exporter) has lost 600000 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest, with 70% contribution from the cattle ranching industry towards deforestation, what is the situation in India (the world's largest beef exporter)?

Reports suggest that 63.4% of greenhouse gas emissions in India are due to the livestock industry. It has the largest livestock-related

methane emissions the world. The relation between grazing and deforestation is known to us since a long time. To my surprise, I found that there is very little data regarding the Indian livestock industry and its impact on forested lands. If India is the largest exporter of beef in the world, there needs to be enough land for the cattle for beef to graze in. One report suggested that 100 million cattle units graze in India's forested lands as

against the capacity of 30 million. One thing is for sure; the Indian livestock industry is definitely having a large impact on our water resources. The meat industry consumes almost 10-50 times more water than crop production. In 2007, the Indian meat industry produced 3.5 million tonnes of waste water which is 100 times more waste water than what is produced by the sugarcane industry and 150 times more than that produced by the fertilizer manufacturing industries.

Improper channelization of livestock waste in India has also led to soil and water toxicity.

Forests for growing fodder has led to intense deforestation and loss of wild species.

So, what do you think will be the future of our race?

According to reports, India produces 11 million tons of maize of which 5 tonnes are used as poultry feed. Worldwide, 82% children go unfed in countries where food is produced to feed livestock, and the livestock is fed to Western countries.

According to a US estimate1.5 acres of land can produce 37,000 plant-based food while the same area of land can produce only 375 pounds of meat. So, it can be well understood that if Indians shift to a meatbased food habit and continue exporting beef at the rate it is doing presently, the situation of food short-

age in our country would be far worse than what is now.

Not just food shortage, we will be drinking polluted water and breathing polluted air. More and more people will go hungry as the growth of fodder for livestock will compete with the growth of grains for human consumption. Our forests will suffer the fate of the Amazon, and our wildlife species will be lost forever. In the end, we will be left with barren lands, droughts, floods and famines.

After years of exploiting the planet's resources for meat production, the Western countries are now decreasing their consumption of meat. Veganism and vegetarianism are now gaining popularity in the US. On the other hand, with the influence of globalization on young Indians, more and more of them are shifting towards a meat-based diet. That is indeed a sad state of affairs.

In the end, this is all I have to ask you? Can we reduce our dependence on animalbased food products to ensure sustainable development of our country? Can we reduce our cravings for beef, pork, poultry and fish for our well-being? Can we stop beef exports to other countries to solve the food crisis of our people?

Killed By Hindu Mobs, Shamed By The Govt: India Continues To Deprive Minorities Of Justice Aamil Syed In January 1999, Graham Staines, a pastor from Australia and his sons Philip and Timothy, aged eight and ten were burnt alive in the forests of Manoharpur, a sleepy village of tribal Orissa. Their killer was Dara Singh, aided by a group of mindless marauders from the Bajrang Dal. The incident sparked major uproar and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself asked for the guilty to be brought to justice. The conviction was quick and brutal, a death sentence for Dara When the case reached the High Court, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. It seemed that the nation had finally come to its senses about capital punishment. Like Gladys Staines (Graham Staines's wife), who pardoned the killers, perhaps India's judiciary too had recognized that murder is not the answer to murder and that an eye for an eye is not justice.

But, in January 2011, something happened that completely changed the way things were headed.

On the 21st of January 2011, the Supreme Court of India upheld this decision of the High Court. But it was more than just this; it seemed that the Supreme Court of India was announcing another verdict.

It was posthumously sentencing somebody. Only when the judgement came out, did it become clear who"In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity," The Supreme Court stated in a way that Graham Staines was also partly re-

sponsible for the events on that fateful night of January 1999. And as if that weren't enough, the court admonished those who carry out conversions and held that even voluntary conversions were just as bad as the 'use of force', provocation, or incitement to interfere in someone's beliefs, or in other words, to hurt someone's religious sentiments.

Of course, the rest of the country wasn't sleeping and in the face of unprecedented criticism of its statements, the apex court, for the first time in history, expunged its comments.

But by then, the damage was done and it was made clear to the people of the country, and to those who would eventually come to rule them, that the religion of the majority of Indians was not to be disturbed.

Now, in September 2015, we are finally able to see how that story has been taken forward. On 28 September in Dadri, a small village of Uttar Pradesh, a

state still out of the clutches of the Sangh, a mob ransacked the house of a man 'suspected' of consuming beef. The mob, of course, was out for blood and was only satisfied when it killed Mohammad Akhlaq and beat his son, Danish, to within inches of death.

Danish is still in a critical condition at the hospital.

Thankfully, we don't have to worry that our new PM will address this atrocity and call for swift justice like Atal Bihari Vajpayee did in 1999. And luckily for us, this time we won't have to wait for the Supreme court to tell us why Akhlaq was killed or to even surmise about the lesson that he was being taught by the faceless mob from the local Hindu temple. The police have, most efficiently, gathered up the piece of meat that caused the whole ruckus from the refrigerator at Akhlaq's house and have sent it for testing to find out if indeed it was beef.

Soon, the report will be out

and the wonderful people of our country, especially the majority that believes in the sacredness of the cow, will finally know if Mohammad Akhlaq did consume beef or not.

But seriously, whether or not he consumed beef, nobody can say that Akhlaq deserved to die. Then why is the police force probing the meat for even the slightest chance that it is beef, instead of bringing Akhlaq's killers to book?

Do they want to transfer some of the blame on Akhlaq as well? Perhaps they want to say that this might not have happened if Akhlaq hadn't provoked the Hindus by eating the beef in the first place. After all, what's a police that doesn't blame the victim?

Union Minister Mahesh Sharma last described the lynching as an 'accident' and said that no 'communal colour' should be given to it. But this doesn't seem like a case of collateral damage in the war for dharma. It is a direct con-

sequence of the exhortations of influential leaders who direct the mobs and openly call for a massacre on communal lines, and the sooner we accept this fact, the better.

As this slaughter continues to be carried out on increasingly minor pretexts, and as minorities are constantly reminded of their second class status in this great secular democracy, and dissenters are put behind bars or shot in the confines of their homes, Nitesh Noor Mohanty has written a stirring metaphorical piece on Facebook about the proliferation of fanaticism all over India. He said, "there will be many Godhras, discreetly organised, scattered across the map of this nation, planned & executed clinically as an unleashing of intolerance & fanaticism." And it seems like a prophecy of doom. But if we look closely, we will understand that it's not that there 'will be' many Godhras, there already 'are'.

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

BUSINESS

1.6 per cent slide in subsidies of GDP Mumbai, Oct 6: The Modi Government said that the Finance Ministry has achieved, over the past one year, restructuring of the expenditure side of the budget: Outgo towards major subsidies is down to 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 from 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. "While many commentators expressed doubt, we have simultaneously achieved 10 per cent increase in tax devolution to the States, achieved over 30 per cent increase in the Plan capital expenditure, and yet, adhered to the fiscal deficit roadmap in the Budget," Finance Secretary Ratan Watal said, addressing a press conference. Tax collections, however, could see a minor shortfall of 5 per cent within the targeted Rs.14.5 lakh crore, said Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia. Tax collection will fall short by Rs.50,000 crore, he said, but expressed confidence that economic growth will exceed 7.5 per cent, with the fiscal deficit remaining within the budgeted target.

"If no other externality hits us, we are hopeful of achieving the total taxation target with possibility of a minor

Adhia announces upward revision in disclosures of overseas income New Delhi, Oct 6: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has announced an upward revision in the disclosures of overseas income made during the 90-day black money disclosure compliance window under the new black money law. Government has received disclosures worth Rs.4,147 crore which is higher than the previously announced amount of Rs.3,770 crore, he said. He said that while the total number of disclosures made remains 638, as stated last week, the total value of foreign assets brought to book stands at Rs.4,147 crore. The government's total tax receipt from the black money declared during the window will be Rs.2,488.2 crore. (Agencies)

shortfall of around 5-7 per cent within the total budget target of Rs.14.5 lakh crore, mainly because of subdued growth in direct taxes," he said. The revenue collection target for the current fiscal is 16.5 per cent as against 9.9 per cent in the previous financial year, which, Dr. Adhia said, "looks to be ambitious, but the revenue position so far has been satisfactory". Direct tax collec-

tion during April-September was 12 per cent higher than in the corresponding period in the previous year.

Indirect tax collections are 36.5 per cent higher, he said and added that it would be 12.2 per cent after excluding the additional revenue measures by the government during the year. He also said that the tax collections figure can be taken as a positive index of growth

in demand in the economy.

"Macro-fundamentals remain strong… We are now better placed to handle unforeseen external shocks, and to put India firmly on the path of economic recovery and inclusive prosperity," Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said. He said that GDP growth during the current financial year could be expected to exceed 7.5 per

SLIDING SUBDIDIES ¢ Outgo towards major subsidies is down to 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 from 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. ¢ Tax collections, however, could see a minor shortfall of 5 per cent within the targeted Rs.14.5 lakh crore. ¢ Tax collection will fall short by Rs.50,000 crore, but economic growth will exceed 7.5 per cent, with the fiscal deficit remaining within the budgeted target. ¢ The revenue collection target for the current fiscal is 16.5 per cent

as against 9.9 per cent in the previous financial year. ¢ Indirect tax collections are 36.5 per cent higher and it would be

12.2 per cent after excluding the additional revenue measures by the government during the year.

cent. He also said that the interest of small savers, especially of senior citizens and the girl child, will be kept in mind while reviewing the deposit rates for schemes in light of falling bank interest rates. "The interest of small savers, the interest of senior citizens, interest of girl child scheme, all these aspects will be taken into account.

Social security component of small savings schemes is very important and government will keep that in mind," Mr. Das said. The Finance Ministry had last week said it would review the small savings schemes, which includes PPF and post office deposits, in view of the need for the transmission of lower interest rates to the rest of the economy following the cut announced by the Reserve Bank of India. With the rate of interest on small saving deposits, which is administered by the Centre, close to 8.7-9.3 per cent, banks are reluctant to transmit the entire policy rate reduction by the RBI to borrowers.

"We have to see that the savings rate doesn't get impacted," Mr. Watal said.

(Agencies)

PAGE 10

Gas price cut credit negative for upstream firms says Moody's New Delhi, Oct 6: Reduction in gas price in India is credit negative for upstream producers Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India because it will lower their revenues and cash flows, which are already declining from low oil prices, said Moody's. "The gas price reduction will have its greatest effect, in absolute terms, on ONGC. At present sales volumes, we expect ONGC revenues to decline by about $300 million (approximately Rs.2,000 crore of total revenues for fiscal 2015) for the six months between October and March," Moody's said. "We expect

OIL's revenues to decline by about $33 million (approximately Rs.220 crore of total revenues for fiscal 2015) for the same six month period." The Indian government had, on September 30, 2015, reduced

EFFECTS OF LOW GAS PRICE ¢ ONGC revenues are expedcted to decline by about $300 million (approximately Rs.2,000 crore of total revenues for fiscal 2015) for the six months between October and March. ¢ OIL's revenues are expected to decline by about $33 million (approximately Rs.220 crore of total revenues for fiscal 2015) for the same six month period. ¢ The Indian government had, on September 30, 2015, reduced the natural gas price by 18 per cent to $3.82 per mmbtu from $4.66 per mmbtu applicable previously on a gross calorific value basis. ¢ Imports accounted for 36 per cent of the total natural gas consumption in India for fiscal 2015 and 39 per cent for the five months between April and August 2015.

the natural gas price by 18 per cent to $3.82 per mmbtu from $4.66 per mmbtu applicable previously on a gross calorific value basis. Imports accounted for 36 per cent of the total natural gas consumption in India for fiscal 2015 and 39 per cent for the five months between April and August 2015. "Imports will continue to increase as low international gas prices stimulate demand for natural gas and low domestic prices discourage further investments by upstream players to explore and develop new gas reserves.

When oil prices are low, upstream players cannot economically produce from difficult terrains, where costs are substantially higher," Moody's said.

(Agencies)

Sindri fertilizer factory planned Jack Dorsey given a 2nd to be taken over by Adani chance as CEO by Twitter

Ranchi, Oct 6: The Adani Group, which has proposed to set up an urea plant in Jharkhand earlier this year, is planning to take over Sindri fertilizer plant through bidding. A delegation from the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate had taken up the issue during a meeting with representatives of the Jharkhand industry department late last month, sources in the department said. The group had also talked about the infrastructure overhaul plan it is working on for the now defunct facility to fit its purpose, department officials said. "The delegation told us they want to take over the Sindri plant. They have a plan in place for developing the facility if they are given to run it," said deputy industry secretary D P Vidyarthi. "For that to happen, they will have to go

through a bidding process which is to be organized by the Union ministry of che micals and fertilizers," he added. In June this year, the

group signed an MoU with the state government for setting up a urea plant at a net investment worth of Rs 20,000 crore. The conglom-

erate also sealed a deal for investments to the tune of another Rs 30,000 crore in harnessing coal-based substitute natural gas. Sources in the industry department said the bidding process for the facility is set to be opened by the union ministry anytime soon this year.

"The (Adani) group is trying to save time by averting land acquisition process," a source in the department said. The proposed urea plant will need land to the excess of 3,000 acres. Adani group is still in the process of land identification. Though he remained tightlipped on the takeover possibilities, an Adani official said land identification process is underway in the Santhal Pargana. "It is the early stages and nothing has been finalized yet," the official said. . (Agencies)

Pumps should be Gold remain weak on global cues; silver remains up exempted from RCEP with China Coimbatore, Oct 6: Pump and Motor manufacturers here have said that these light items should not be included in the list of goods that can be imported duty free from China under the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership between India and China. V. Lakshminarayanasamy, President of Southern India Engineering Manufacturers' Association, said motors and pumps imported from China now attract 7.5 per cent duty. There are manufacturers here who import motors and sell it in their brand. Electrical motors and pumps from China cost 30 per cent to 40 per cent less than the Indian products. Duty free import of these goods will affect the micro, small and medium-scale enterprises that make these here and hence the Centre should not include it in the agreement. It should impose 20 per cent duty on motors and pumps imported from China, he said. The association had made a representation to the Commerce Ministry at a consultative meeting held in Chennai. (Agencies)

Discounts offered by Jet Airways on international sectors Dehradun, Oct 6: For international passengers Jet Airways has announced a special offer on Economy and Premiere (Business class) fares which are available at up to 30 per cent discounts on base fare, the airline said on Monday. The 6-day special fare offer for sale which started on Monday will continue till October 10, 2015, and tickets sold under this offer are valid for travel from October 5, 2015 onwards on all Jet Airways flights aligned with Etihad Airways and also on Jet Airways direct flights. "These special fares are on offer for travel onboard Jet Airways' operated international flights to destinations in the Gulf, SAARC, ASEAN, Europe, U.S. and Canada regions," Jet Airways said. (Agencies)

Chennai, Oct 6: Tracking a weak overseas trend and slackened demand from jewellers at prevailing levels, gold prices fell by Rs. 210 to Rs. 26,600 per 10 grams at the bullion market. However, silver continued to rally and surged by Rs. 150 to Rs. 35,950 (rpt) Rs. 35,950 per kg on the back of increased offtake by coin makers ahead of Diwali festival. Bullion merchants said weakness in gold overseas after Friday's rally and slowdown in buying activity by jewellers following fall in demand at prevailing levels, mainly dragged down gold prices.

Globally, gold was trading 0.17 per cent down at USD 1,137.50 an ounce in

Singapore but silver rose 0.43 per cent to USD 15.33 an ounce. The precious metal had recorded this year's biggest one-day rise of Rs. 660 on Saturday. An

WEAK GOLD; STRONGER SILVER ¢ Gold prices again fell by Rs. 210 to Rs. 26,600 per 10 grams at the bullion market. ¢ However, silver continued to rally and surged

by Rs. 150 to Rs. 35,950 (rpt) Rs. 35,950 per kg on the back of increased offtake by coin makers ahead of Diwali festival. ¢ Globally, gold was trading 0.17 per cent down at USD 1,137.50 an ounce in Singapore but silver rose 0.43 per cent to USD 15.33 an ounce. ¢ The precious metal had recorded this year's biggest one-day rise of Rs. 660 on Saturday. ¢ In the national capital, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity slumped by Rs 210 each to Rs 26,600 and Rs 26,450 per 10 grams, respectively. ¢ Sovereign, however strengthened by Rs. 100 to Rs. 22,400 per piece of eight grams. ¢ In contrast, silver ready advanced by Rs. 150 to Rs. 35,950 per kg and weekly-based delivery zoomed Rs. 1,185 to Rs. 35,760 per kg on speculative activity.

appreciating rupee against the dollar that made imports cheaper also dampened sentiments, they said.

At the forex market, rupee was trading 30 paise higher at 65.21 (intra-day) against the American currency. In the national capital, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity slumped by Rs 210 each to Rs 26,600 and Rs 26,450 per 10 grams, respectively.

Sovereign, however strengthened by Rs. 100 to Rs. 22,400 per piece of eight grams. In contrast, silver ready advanced by Rs. 150 to Rs. 35,950 per kg and weekly-based delivery zoomed Rs. 1,185 to Rs. 35,760 per kg on speculative activity. Silver coins also strengthened by Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 51,000 for buying and Rs. 52,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

(Agencies)

San Francisco, Oct 6: Twitter is embracing Jack Dorsey as its CEO in hopes that its once-spurned cofounder can hatch a plan to expand the short messaging service's audience and end nearly a decade of financial losses. The hiring revealed on Monday in a regulatory filing ends Twitter's threemonth search for a new leader. It marks Mr. Dorsey's second stint as CEO since he helped start the San Francisco Company more than nine years ago with Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass.

Twitter dumped Mr. Dorsey his first time around, but its board of directors now appears convinced he has the maturity to fix the problems that has caused the company's stock to lose nearly half its value in the past five months. Mr. Dorsey, 38, has already had dress rehearsal for the job, having become Twitter's interim CEO in July after former stand-up comedian and veteran entrepreneur Dick Costolo stepped down amid shareholder discon-

tent. Twitter is believed to have considered its chief revenue officer, Adam Bain, and several other CEO candidates before settling on Mr. Dorsey. Mr. Bain, 42, was named chief operating officer concurrent with CEO announcement. Mr. Dorsey will no longer be Twitter's chairman, but he will continue as CEO of Square Inc., a company he co-founded in 2009, as he prepares that for its initial public offering of stock. In doing so, Twitter's board recanted on a pledge issued in late June when it vowed to pick a

CEO who would be able to make a "full-time commitment" to the company. "We believe Mr. Dorsey has the requisite vision and organizational clout to address some of Twitter's major challenges (i.e., user acquisition, pace of platform improvement, long-term monetization prospects," Sebastian wrote. Mr. Dorsey's biggest challenge at Twitter will be finding a way to make the site easier to navigate and broaden its appeal beyond media junkies, athletes, celebrities and politicians.

(Agencies)

Infibeam gets Sebi's green signal for Rs 450 crore IPO Mumbai, Oct 6: Infibeam, the first pure-play e-commerce company set to be listed on an Indian bourse, has got the green signal from market regulator Sebi for its Rs 450-crore IPO. The company now plans to launch the IPO after consultation with its merchant bankers, including SBI Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, Kotaka Mahindra Capital Co and Elara Capital. Infibeam had filed its draft offer document with Sebi on June 30.Of the total money being raised, Rs 235 crore will be used to set up a data centre, about Rs

37 crore on putting up logistics centres and another Rs 67 crore for purchase of software. The rest of the mop-up will be for general corporate purposes, said Vishal Mehta, MD, Infibeam. "We will launch the IPO in the next few months, after consulting with our merchant bankers," he said. Infibeam's IPO is coming at a time when several of its peers like Flipkart and Snapdeal are raising money from private equity players at skyhigh valuations and burning cash. Infibeam, on the other hand, has diversified

into various related areas where its peers are not present, industry players said. Also with an IPO, the company is preferring to opt for investors' money rather than funds from the private equities and venture capital funds, they said. Established in 2007, around the same time as Flipkart, some of the company's leading sites are infibeam.com and BuildaBazaar.com. It also has a subsidiary which runs a digital entertainment site in which Sony Music has taken a 26% stake. . (Agencies)

Burger Singh raises Rs 2.2 crore from angel funding Mumbai, Oct 6: Tipping Mr Pink, owner and operator of quick service restaurant chain Burger Singh, has raised Rs 2.2 crore from a group of angel investors, to finance its expansion. Burger Singh, the localized version of the western world's quintessential comfort food, burger, currently has four outlets in its hometown Gurgaon. Founded by three childhood pals, Kabirjeett Singh, Rahul Seth and

Nitin Rana, in the winter of 2014, the funds will be used to set up Burger Singh outlets in the Delhi-NCR belt. Indian Angel Network's Ashvin Chadha, IDFC's COO Avtar Monga, Udan Angel Partners and Dheeraj Jain, partner with UK-based hedge fund Redcliffe Capital, among others, have invested in the chain. Startup Buddy Services advised Tipping Mr Pink on the fund-raise. (Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

Features

Page 11

HORTICULTURE Present era is an era of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It is more interactive and can render information as per the need of ultimate users and ensures the possibility for quick information gathering.

Present era is an era of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It is more interactive and can render information as per the need of ultimate users and ensures the possibility for quick information gathering, processing, transmission, preservation and sharing for social, economical and cultural upliftment. The growth of technologies in the field of communication leads to global spread of knowledge and application which leaves multi-dimensional impact on all spheres of human activity by accelerating the process of information exchange and reducing the cost involved in achieving the ultimate objectives at farmers field.

The information and communication technology can render technical services in agriculture and allied sectors, weather information, market information, global information regarding agriculture, state and central agricultural schemes formed for the welfare of the farmers. In the country like India, the use of information and communication technology is in an ascent stage to help the farmers in taking right decisions at

right time to carry out their farm operations. The effectiveness of any organisation depends upon several factors, out of which effective communication is one of the most important. Presently the dissemination of the agricultural information is mostly depending on information and communication technologies.

In India many problems like inadequate infrastructure are barrier in initiating information and communication technologies in agriculture and other allied sectors. Mostly the farmers in our country are small and marginal and their economic standard is not so strong to afford the cost of information technologies.

Inaccessibility of farmers to information and communication technologies will polarize the knowledge of global society. The information and communication technologies like Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and Wireless in Local-Loop (WLL) are cheaper sources of information infrastructure and this can be a milestone in improving accessibility to new technologies. Now the internet has started to dispatch its services to the farmers through its network, knowledge services and this will help to flow many kinds of agriculture and allied sectors produces from villages to long distances. Internet is emerging as potential tool to access global information and en-

An IT revolution in farming

abling two way communication. In order to exploit the potentiality of Internet, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has formulated Virtual Extension and Research Communication Network (VERCON) to establish within human and institutional elements of agricultural and allied sectors research and extension.

Videoconferencing is very helpful for the farmers of

far-flung areas to interact with researchers, administrators and policy makers.

In order to provide information and communication technologies in the rural areas, several projects have been implemented on pilot basis. The village knowledge centre run by M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Pudducherry represented an experiment in providing information

and knowledge resources to total community on various subjects of education, agriculture, animal husbandry and banking. This project used wireless radio for data and analog voice transmission between semi-urban hub centre and eight village centres. Information and communication technologies have a remarkable impact on agricultural and allied sectors. In order to enlarge the use of technolo-

gies for the rural people we need to design products, services and technologies that can solve the farming related problems and ameliorate local social-economic conditions. The lack of focus on rural areas communication, inefficient market for agricultural products, inability of Government in dealing with the natural resources, management to integrate new technology into their operation

and badly structure approach towards economic reform in information technology sectors are some of the constraints in transfer of technology to the farmers' fields. The potentiality of information technology is extensive and needs to be exploited for more personalized services in agriculture and allied sectors. The access of information and communication technologies to the farming community should be increased by reducing the cost of cultivation.

Information and communication technologies are helpful to (i) Increase the awareness and knowledge of farmers about the new technologies in agriculture and allied sectors. (ii) Increase awareness about the Government programmes and policies. (iii) Increase the agricultural productivity of the farmers. (iv) Increase price realization of farm produce at village level. (v) Improvement in agricultural extension. (vi) Enable community based organisation to promote income generating activities.

Many farmers have developed their own new package and practices and they are proved useful in increasing the agricultural productivity. Most of these technologies remain in local use and are not disseminated globally.

The use of information and communication technologies based measures like video and audio CDs can facilitate the accessibility of these innovations to the farmers who cannot read.

Information and communication technologies have largely been understood as the new kind of media and communication development infrastructure which helps in the dissemination of information across distance. The information and communication technologies infrastructure can improve the cost and quality of extension services as the present extension system is severely affected by limited efficient manpower. Competitiveness in the Indian agriculture and allied sectors can trigger higher productivity, higher income and risk management by inducing effective information technology. In order to find out ways for suitable information technology in agriculture, our research organisations need to set some village knowledge centres. Whenever a new sound technology is developed, it should be supplied to village knowledge centre from where it can be used by the farmers. Significant results of agricultural technologies should be shown to the farmers using new communication technologies like multimedia, video-conferencing and internet in their villages to create awareness.

(Agencies)

An online tea retailer offers Horticultural mission mulls hope for Indian tea industry value-addition of jackfruit

At a time when doubts are being cast on the fate of India's colonial-era tea gardens, an online tea seller based in West Bengal's Siliguri District may finally have the formula for revival of the industry back home.

India is the world's No.2 tea producer but is less exportoriented than other producers thanks to its big home market, and Sri Lanka has been extending its lead as the world's third largest exporter behind China and Kenya.

However, Kaushal Dugar, a former corporate finance analyst in Singapore, chose to tap into the unexplored potential of the industry and founded Teabox- a premium tea brand which vertically integrates sourcing, branding and distribution of tea.

Dugar claims that in the three years since the establishment of Teabox, the start-up has sold more than 30 million tea cups in 90 countries.

"Whole idea was at the end of the day can we create a one stop place where people can access the best tea from

India directly from source, which means directly from plantations through us," said Dugar.

India is known for producing some of world's best varieties of tea considered as good as the wines from France but, its production practices remain antiquated.

Be it the CTC (cut, tear, and curl) or the orthodox tea, India specialises in both forms of production.

Teabox is eventually introducing the industry to technological innovations.

Teabox's major chunk of earnings comes from sales outside India.

In order to reach out to the discerning connoisseurs across the world, Dugar chose to leverage the vast reach of internet.

Teabox stocks over 300 varieties of single estate tea, including its in-house blends, and procures from across India's northeast including from Darjeeling, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura; Nilgiri in the south and even Nepal.

"Being at the source we get tea within a day of produc-

tion. Once you get the tea in our climate control warehouses, where we maintain the temperature, humidity, moisture and the light, so we take the tea through the intensive QC processes.

Within 48 hours they are vacuum packed, they are cleaned of all dust (and) impurities and they are ready to be shipped. The tea which is not shipped is stored in our cold storage," said Dugar.

Dugar understands that tea is a time based product and if not stored properly both the colour and taste can be

diluted.

He says that Teabox stores the tea at minus five degree centigrade, which means tea's fragrance and quality will remain the same for two years.

The industry is also facing challenges from the cafes that have sprung up across the country in the past decade. However, futuristic approach of companies like Teabox should help the industry grow better.

Agricultural expert, Vijay Sardana, says that the Indian tea industry needs to evolve to make an impact in the global market today.

"The biggest challenge in Indian tea industry is lack of innovation. We are growing tea but there are hardly any innovative products which are emerging because today if you see the market in India, the tea industry is facing problem from growing consumption of other beverages like coffee, soft drinks, health beverages (and) traditional varieties of beverages, so there is lot of competition emerging for tea and in order to retain this market leadership they have to do innovation," said Sardana.

Teabox could become a model for Indian entrepreneurs. With regular fundings, Dugar hopes to scale up operations and bolster India's image as a global tea player. (ANI)

Once considered a common mans fruit, jackfruit has now entered into the list of exotic dishes. The largest tree-born fruit is reckoned as a major export-oriented crop too. Taking this into account, the State Horticulture Mission (SHM) is eying to set up two incubatorcum-resource centers in the state aimed at the value addition of jackfruit.

The concept evolved at the two-day workshop on value addition of jackfruit held in Thiruvananthapuram recently, which was attended by farmers, farmer groups and NGOs from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka. SHM director K Prathapan said that the farmers have presented a number of projects regarding value addition of jackfruit being implemented in their states. And we have discussed them and identified four projects, which could be implemented here.

One will be the incubatorcum-resource centre for developing value-added products from jackfruit, which will also handle off-season

fruits and function round the year. Others include processing of jackfruit seeds, ripe and unripe jackfruit bulbs, facilities for training and capacity building and accredited lab facility for quality evaluation.

Given the medicinal importance of jackfruit seeds, it holds high export value if processed properly, SHM director said. “While ripe jackfruit could be used for making jam, squash, jelly and the like, unripe jack-

fruit bulbs are now an ingredient for preparing delicious dishes, he said.

As part of the plan, officials of the SHM and the Agriculture Department will visit the research centre at Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra. Detailed proposals will be submitted to the state government within two weeks, the officials said. Funds for the project will be sourced from Small Farmers Agri Business Consortium and Rashtriya

Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).Meanwhile, agriculture experts have stressed for a more comprehensive project for jackfruit cultivation and harvesting instead of focusing only on value addition alone.

Though a prominent homestead fruit, the state still lacks an organised marketing setup for jackfruit. Most of the produce are going to Tamil Nadu mainly for biscuit industry and raw consumption.“As far as jackfruit is concerned, there is a strong demand in the market but the supply is less.

Hence, promotion of cultivation and timely harvest of jack-fruits appears more important than value addition at present. Due to difficulties in harvesting, jack-fruits are often wasted especially those grown on the premises of offices or institutions.

While preparing the project, the government should also consider ways to ensure effective procurement of jackfruits using the service of State Horticultural Products Development Corporation Limited (Horticorp), said an agriculture expert, who preferred not to be named.

C o u r t e s y : IndiaAgroNet.com

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"Bilal's action has been reported after the third ODI and we are following the procedure with the ICC."

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

Intikhab Alam

RNIASSENG00425/TC

Lapnan FC overcomes Khonsa Village FC 3-1, enters semifinal

PAGE 12

Sanli's brace takes Pune City past Mumbai

Results

Thansen Wangchadong Memorial Football Tournament ET Correspondent Khonsa, Oct 10: Lapnan Football Club defeated Khonsa Village Football Club 3-1 in the fourth quarter final and booked their berth in the semi-finals of the 1st Thansen

Wangchadong Memorial Football Tournament here today at the Nehru stadium in Khonsa. For Khonsa Village FC, Wangja Bangsia opened the scoring by converting a pass from the right

flank in the 13th minute. Lapnan FC equalized the goal in the 20th minute through Tezo Aran who beat his marker in the penalty box. At the end of the post lemon break both the teams

were level at 1-1.

Tiwang Lowang of Lapnan FC turned the match in his team's favour by heading in a goal in the 74th minute when he converted a pinpoint cross. Rajesh Tana of Lapnan FC

then sealed their victory by scoring the third goal in the 90th minute. After the fourth quarter final has been played today, now, four teams are in the fray who would vie for a place in the final.

Lapnan FC defeated Khonsa Village FC 3-1

Today’s Matches

1st Semi Final Deomali FC Vs Bazaar FC

12 pm

A action moment from today’s match and (right) a section of the spectators who turned up to witness the match.

Bilal Asif claims five wickets as Pakistan crush Zimbabwe Agencies Harare: Bilal Asif took five wickets and made a handy contribution with the bat as Pakistan cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe to complete a 21 series win. The 30-yearold off-spinner, in just his second ODI, captured five wickets for 25 runs to help skittle out Zimbabwe for 161 and then contributed 38 runs as an opener. The visitors passed the target for only the loss of three wickets with 96 balls to spare, with Asad Shafiq (38) and Shoaib Malik (34) unbeaten at the Harare Sports Club.

After Zimbabwe's opening pair amassed 89 runs, the hosts lost 10 wickets for just 72 runs. Chamu Chibhabha and Richmond

Mutumbami set a solid foundation before Chibhabha spooned an easy catch back to the bowler. It sparked a quick slide, even though Asif took some time to get into his stride, taking his first wicket in his fifth over but then proceeding to send the home bats-

men back to the pavilion at regular intervals.

Mutumbami was the seventh wicket to fall for a career-best 67 but by then Zimbabwe were already in dire straits as the spinners wrecked havoc. Left-armer Imad Wasim also grabbed three wickets.

Venus takes giant leap in WTA rankings post Wuhan Open triumph ANI Wuhan: Former world number one Venus Williams has climbed 10 places to 14th in the latest WTA tennis rankings following her Wuhan Open win last week. The

35-year-old American clinched her second title of the year after Garbine Muguruza of Spain was forced to retire during the second set of the summit clash. Despite the loss, the Wimbledon finalist

Muguruza climbed three places to a career high ranking of fifth. Meanwhile, Venus' younger sister Serena continues to maintain the top spot following a stellar 2015 campaign.

Crowd trouble mars Cuttack T20I as India lose to SA Agencies Cuttack: South Africa clinched the Twenty20 series with a comfortable sixwicket win over a lacklustre India in the second match, which was marred by shameful and unruly crowd behaviour at the Barabati stadium, in Cuttack. The visitors overhauled a 93run target with 17-balls to spare and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the threematch series. Put in to bat, the hosts faltered against a disciplined South African attack and were bowled out for a paltry 92 in 17.2 overs. The crowd, unable to digest the pathetic batting display, started throwing water bottles onto the ground. This was India's second lowest T20 score after their 74 against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in February 2008. Spectators at the Barabati Stadium contin-

ued to throw bottles during South Africa's chase but could only delay the inevitable as the Proteas cruised to victory. The bowlers made the difference for South Africa, with Albie Morkel bagging three, and Imran Tahir and Chris

It's a boy for Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker!

ANI New York: American tennis champion Andy Roddick and his wife Brooklyn Decker have welcomed their first child together and the couple are now parents to a baby boy.

9th Chongkham Champions Running Trophy Kauhna thereafter came up with a terrific performance and scored goals one after another in the 12th, 13th, 51st, 72nd and 76th minute of the match. In between, Pulu scored another goal in the 56th minute.

Jowlong Singpho scored a goal in the 45th minute while Samong Singpho scored another in the 60th minute.

Vijaling Mannow scored the lone goal for the opponent team in the 55th minute. Pulu was adjudged as the player of the match. Tomorrow, 2nd IRBn will take on All Adivasi FC.

Morris sharing two each.

After a brisk start from openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, India's batting lost the plot post some fine bowling and indecisive running by the batsmen. Dhawan was the first to go after being

trapped leg before by Morris, while Virat Kohli and Rohit soon ran themselves out. Leg-spinner Tahir also swung into action by scalping Suresh Raina as the Men in Blue looked down the barrel at 67 for five.

Morkel, who was drafted into the eleven in place of Marchant de Lange, took care of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Axar Patel as Tahir and Morris kept up the good work. The Faf du Plessis-led side also lost early wickets, as offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin tried his best to defend a low score, but the visitors made it look simple in the end. After the fall of Hashim Amla, Faf and AB de Villers, Jean-Paul Duminy and Farhaan Behardien made sure that Proteas stayed comfortable in the chase. In the end David Miller was with Duminy to seal victory.

Tendulkar-Warne set to launch `all-star` T20 exhibition tour in US

The American fashion model, who even documented her ever-growing belly on Instagram, gave birth to her son in Austin, Texas. The couple are yet to release a statement regarding their son's arrival.

IGGC thrash Chongkham Young Stara 9-1 ET Correspondent Chongkham, Oct 6: Wanggut Kauhna scored as many as 5 goals for Indira Gandhi Govt. College in a match of the 9th Chongkham Champions Running Trophy played today at the Chongkham mini stadium, here. The tournament is being organised by the Chongkham Youth Welfare Association. The Chongkham army camp has been helping the organizers in publicizing the event. The first goal was scored by Acho Pulu in the 7th minute of the match. Wanggut

Agencies Pune: Tuncay Sanli scored twice to guide Pune City FC to a 3-1 victory over Mumbai City FC in their opening game of the Indian Super League Season 2 in Pune. Sanli gave the hosts the lead in the 12th minute before Frederic Piquionne found the equaliser in the 34th. Sanli scored his second in the 56th minute while Israil Gurung's strike in the 68th minute sealed victory for Pune City. The home team put up a clinical performance despite the absence of forward Adrian Mutu. It was largely due to the efforts of Sanli that they cruised home. He gave Pune the lead against run of play with Mumbai's defence was caught napping.

Winder Gurung passed the ball to the back post and Sanli was there to put the header in. Mumbai looked like finding the equaliser in no time but had to wait un-

ANI Washington: Cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne are set to captain opposing teams in a three-match 'all-star' T20 exhibition tour of the United States next month.

The series will comprise of former international stalwarts from others Test playing nations, with the matches to be played in New York (Nov.7), Houston (Nov. 11) and Los Angeles (Nov 14). Warne said that it would be a pretty epic moment when he and Sachin toss the coin in New York to play cricket and make history in America.The list of partici-

pating players is as follows: India - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Ajit Agarkar; Australia - Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Brad Haddin; South Africa - Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald; England - Graeme Swann, Michael Vaughan; West Indies - Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose; Sri Lanka- Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan; PakistanWasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Moin Khan.

til the 34th minute when Ashutosh Mehta came up with a fine cross to Piquionne, who fired the ball into the net. The Nicolas Anelka-led unit was back in the match. The visitors got of plenty of chances to take the lead for the first time in the game but they went begging as both teams went into the break at 1-1. Andre Moritz had a great chance to make it 2-1 for Mumbai early in the second half but his shot went way off the post. For Pune, the Gurung-Sanli combine was at work yet again as the former's crisp cross from the right to Sanli was enough for him to make another header.

Gurung's timely cross brought the third and decisive goal for the hosts; it took a big deflection off Juan Aguilera and looped past the hands of goalkeeper Albino Gomez to the find the net.

Bilal Asif's bowling action comes under review ANI Harare: Pakistan offspinner Bilal Asif, who claimed a five-wicket haul to help his side win the three-match ODI series 21 against Zimbabwe, has been reported with a suspected illegal bowling action on Tuesday. The 30year-old, who made his international debut in the second ODI, returned figures of 5-25 and also contributed 38 runs as an opener in the third ODI in Harare."Bilal's action has been reported after the third ODI and we are following the procedure with the ICC," Intikhab Alam, Pakistan's team manager was quoted as saying.

Asif will be required to undergo a test on his action at an ICC-accredited facility within 14 days.

India suffer 0-2 defeat against Kiwis in first Hockey Test

ANI Nelson: The Indian men's hockey team suffered a 02 defeat against New Zealand in the opening Test of the four-match series on Tuesday in Nelson. New Zealand displayed a spirited performance throughout the game as Nick Haig put the hosts ahead in the fifth minute before Jared Panchia doubled the lead in the second quarter. The Sardar Singh-led side, who registered two convincing wins over New Zealand A before this match, will next face the national hosts team tomorrow at the same venue.

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