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ASSENG/2015/64205
PAGE 12
Vol. II
Issue II
YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE MISTAKES TO LEARN: DHONI TELLS HIS TEAM
Dibrugarh, Monday, June 20, 2016 ISHRAT MISSING PAPERS PANEL SET UP NOT TO IMPLICATE ANYONE: RAJNATH
Two NDFB-S link men arrested Kokrajhar,June 19: Security forces belonging to Police and Army apprehended two linkmen of National Democratic Front of Boroland-Songbijit faction (NDFB-S) from Bashbari and Nijarapara village early this morning in Kokrajhar district. Getting specific information about presence of the link men,a joint team of police and army conducted a search operation which led apprehension of two linkimen from Bashbari and Nijarapara under Bishmuri police outpost in Kokrajhar district on Sunday. They were identified as Mwikhwm Narzary and Dwimalu Basumatary. A Revolber,a pistol,three live rounds,a hand grenade and two mobile handsets were recovered from their possesion.They were involved with money extortion collection, recruiting new cadres and supporting logistic support to the banned NDFB (S) o r g a n i s a t i o n . (Correspondent)
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Major success of SFs in Dibrugarh as 5 militants arrested in 3 days, arms, ammo, radio, explosives etc recovered A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, June 19
GOVERNMENT TO DRAFT A FRESH ILP RELATED BILL IN CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND TRIBAL BODIES: MANIPUR DY CM
Army begins Court of Inquiry into Arunachal infantry unit ‘unrest’ ET Bureau Dibrugarh, June 19
The army authorities has ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the reasons behind the ‘unrest’ in an infantry battalion of the Army which is stationed in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh last month. Sources said the inquiry panel was headed by a Brigadier rank officer and included two Colonels who are commanding units in the same area. These officers – Brig S K Chawla, Commander 2 Mountain Artillery Brigade, Col P K Singh, CO 502 ASC Battalion based in Mohanbari in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district and Col Lakshman Singh, CO 11 Grenadiers – are
The 4 arrested militants and (inset) the recoveries. Pic - UB Photos
Liberation Army (GNLA) cadre self styled private Saltiush N Marak alias Chem (21) were arrested and several arms and ammunition were recovered from their possession. “We have recovered three 9 mm pistols, six magazines, 40 rounds of 9 mm live ammunition two BFDX BF 860 Chinese wireless radio set from their possession,’’ Bir
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3 hardcore Ulfa (I), 1 GNLA militant arrested in Dibrugarh Security forces stationed in Dibrugarh tasted back to back success with the arrest of four hardcore militants last from Chetiapathar village under Chabua police station in the district. Earlier on June 16, an Ulfa (I) militant, Mamon Gogoi alias Biplob Asom (27), was arrested from a hideout at Betoni Chariali under Khowang police station in the district. He hails from nearby Dulia Lahowal village. The security forces also managed to avert a major tragedy with the arrest of Mamon who later revealed before the security forces during interrogation that he was instructed to trigger blasts at the BJP's Dibrugarh office and at a busy location opposite to the Dibrugarh sadar police station. During the joint operation conducted with personnel from Dibrugarh police, 19 Jat Regiment of the army and 171 Bn of CRPF on Saturday night at 11 pm self styled Sergeant Ritupon Borah alias Irfan Asom alias August (23), self styled Sergeant Dipon Moran alias Prithiraj Asom (25), self styled Corporal Nakul Rabha alias Bishal Asom (18 ) from ULFA (I) and one Garo National
5.00
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Price -
Bikram Gogoi, SP, Dibrugarh told reporters during a press conference held at SP office here today. He said that they have got an information from their source and under DSP (HQ) and launched the operation jointly with army and CRPF and arrested four of them from Chetiapathar jungle where they were hiding.
that they were making transit halt at Chetiapathar village on their way to Arakan camp (1st Brigade) in Myanmar from Tura in Meghalaya on the order of their Deputy Commander in Chief Sergeant Major Dristi Rajkhowa and were waiting for their guide to take them to Myanmar,’’ the SP said.
“During preliminary interrogation cadres confessed
Contd. on Page 4
For representational purpose investigating the incidents pertaining to May 11 when a confrontation took place between some army personnel of 8 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles
(8 JAK RIF) and officers of the unit. The sources said that Army Rule 180, Contd. on Page 4
Incessant rain wreaks flood havoc at Laluk in Lakhimpur District ET Correspondent Lakhimpur; June 19
Due to incessant rain ongoing in Lakhimpur District as well as the neighbouring State of Arunachal Pradesh, the flood level of the rivers of Lakhimpur has been increasing to danger level. Especially, river Gabharu and Bagali is wreaking havoc in Laluk area since Saturday. The over flown
waters of the river Gabharu has already inundated at least seven villages under Uttar Laluk Gaon Panchayat. These are Dhekiajuli Khristan village, Tarajuli, Tarajuli Banua, Garh Mur, Sonapur, Phukhuriporia, Poitapar Panika Gaon etc. The seed beds of the farmers, fisheries of the fish cultivators along with the Kharif farmings are badly affected by the flood. It is to be noted that two culverts
of the Jariguri and Dhekiajuli Connecting Road were washed away by flood of the river last year and it remained unrepaired for the year. Recent flood affected these two parts of the road through erosion. On the other hand, River Bagali also created erosion several villages located by the river. Pilkhana Hurmutty Kathani, Bogari, Parbatipur were badly affected by the erosion of the river.
Free admission for Arunachal can fulfil country's power requirement: Chief Minister Kalikho Pul differently-able children With over 140 hydro-power projects allotted to various PSUs and private power companies in Arunachal Pradesh, newly appointed Chief Minister Kalikho Pul says the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having an electrified India can be fulfilled if all the allocated power projects in the northeastern border state are completed on time. Arunachal Pradesh had the potential to fulfil the entire country's requirement for power, Pul told IANS in an interview.
He blamed "differences" among various ministries over clearance to a power project as the reason behind either stalling or slowing its commissioning during the last couple of years. The 46-year old leader, who took over as chief of the small state with just 1.25 million population in February, said he feels the Central Government should set up a single window clearance system for companies participating in hydro power projects in Arunachal Pradesh. "The upcoming hydro power projects in Arunachal Pradesh
can fulfil Prime Minister Modi's dream of having a electrified India. However, there is a difference in ideas between the various central ministries, which stall or slow the work on a project's commissioning. There needs to be a single window clearance. There needs to be a push. There needs to be unanimity," Pul told IANS. Besides, Pul said the Government should also increase the time period for loan pay back by private developers from 10 years to at least 25-30 years. Contd. on Page 3
in govt. institutes in Assam A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19
The Assam Government on Sunday announced free admission for differently-able children in government institutes. This was announced by the Assam government today at a press conference by Assam education and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. According to the announcement the initiative will be implemented from this year itself.
will benefit students from ninth standard to university level, adding that no income certificate of parents will be required to get fee waiver. Sarma also said that the state government is taking step to give regular appointment to 38,000 TET (Teachers Eligibility Test) qualified teachers in Lower Primary schools. The Education department of the state government will upload appointment letter of these posts in education department and other government websites on June 27.
He said that this initiative
Contd. on Page 4
Poachers manage to kill 12 rhinos in just five months at KNP proved their existence that they are still poachers and killing another put the toll to 12. Meanwhile several nature lovers still blame KNP officials for this kind of incidents. If everything goes off well in the right direction, very soon the nexus between poachers and authorities will come into light, said sources.
Bijoy Handique Jorhat, June 19
The greedy poachers again managed to kill adult female rhino last night and took away her horn leaving the dead rhino. The poachers’ toll raises upto 12 till filing this report, informed Subasish Das, the Divisional Forest Officer of Kaziranga National Park (KNP) here today.
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After hearing gunshots last night and after extensive search operation, the carcass of the female adult rhino was
recovered near Amkatoni Forest Camp under Bagori range at around11.30 a.m. today,
said officials here. The carcass was recovered from the southernmost part of
the Bagori Range along the bank of river Brahmaputra when poachers killed and
It is relevant to know that two rhinos in a week have been killed by poachers when the Forest Minister of Assam Pramila Rani Brahma was on a whirlwind tour to Kaziranga.
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IANS New Delhi, June 19
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
PAGE 2 ASTRO FOR YOU Aries Do something really exciting today - perhaps you could put on your trekking boots and explore unknown territories. You need to keep busy but not to go overboard. In group activities today, everybody will focus their attention on you. Taurus Your enthusiasm will be as contagious as your smile today. People will stand charmed by your high spirits. There will be stressful moments, but things will look up later in the day. Take some time off if things get too hectic for you. Gemini Today, you are likely to be rather emotional and sentimental. Your love for performing arts may make you take up lessons in classical music or traditional dance. And much to your delight, your sweetheart will treat you to a surprise candlelit dinner. Cancer Your way of talk today will be such that it can cause misunderstanding. In a fit of emotion, you will take a hasty decision. You will regret the same in future, but you will also get a chance to rectify the same. Do not take a any ad hoc or temporary decision but a firm decision. Leo Talk of being busy! It seems like today; you shall take the cake, and perhaps, be the icing on it as well. It is likely that the day is going to be very hectic for you in terms of work and business. You may be engaged in official conversations and dealings. Also, don't be surprised to find yourself in meetings as you attempt to take stock of your business situation. After such a long and tiring day, it is only normal for you to unwind later in the evening with your sweetheart. Virgo You will spend most of today in the company of family and friends.. Students may focus on upcoming examinations and will learn to balance study and leisure time, in equal measure. It is a good day to buy real estate. Overall, a day to live low and let your mind run free in its pursuit of pleasure. Libra Today is the day when you seem to agree with everything that people say, without striking even a note of criticism. It's just one of those days when you are amazed by all things around you. Such an elastic approach will enable you to be reasonable in your views and sensible in your ways. Scorpio It may have been on the cards for long and finally, you may end up buying a state-of-the-art motor vehicle or a palatial house of your dreams today. In addition, your generous mood may also egg you on to buy an expensive gift for your life partner. If you do not let the generosity burn a hole through your pocket, you may have an overall satisfying day. Sagittarius Round and round they tumble, the wheels of life, smoothly gliding into a routine. You may spend your day in discontent due to the rut of regular activities. Sadly, there is little hope or adventure that might make this day worthwhile for you. There will be glimpses of excitement in the evening but on the whole, it will be nothing to write home about. Capricorn You are beaming with optimism and positive energy. Such strong vibes will penetrate through the day and maintain the energy level right till the end. Not everyone is blessed with such spirit, so will certainly have an upper hand at work, be it your profession or business. You will enjoy a smooth, peaceful and beautiful married life with your spouse. Aquarius You may fall in love today! If single, romance colours your day with a rainbow. If married, you may enjoy a quiet but romantic evening with your spouse. If nothing else, it's a good time to pour over your photo albums and float in nostalgia. Pisces Today you will feel like sharing you innermost feelings with those that you are close to. You will find yourself communicating better and this will result in attracting intellectual people towards you. You will get an opportunity to work with very educated and well established people. This will result in personal progress at work.
PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz) Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights 20-6-16 (SUNDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-30 A.M-Bidyarthir Anusthan 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali (Assamese Modern Songs) 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M- Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 12-30 P.M-Hindi Film Songs 1-50 P.M-Adhunik Geet 2-30 P.M-Western Music 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 6-15 P.M-Ganya Raijor Anusthan (Rural Programme) 7-15 P.M-Yuvavani (Youth Programme) 7-45 P.M-Daakpakhili 8-00 P.M-Ekalabya (Sponsored Programme of K.K Handique State Open University) 9-30P.M-Radio Serial in Hindi-"Marudhar Ke Phool" Sd-/H.O.P
Free veterinary camp held ET Correspondent Sonari, 19 June : A free veterinary camp was held on 18 June at Kanubari Balijan village under the aegis of Pragoti Socio-Economic Development Society. The camp got off to a start with an awareness meeting which was attended by Dr. Bubul Gogoi and Dr. Pranabjyoti Bora of Sonari Sub-divisional Veterinary hospital as resource person. In their speech the doctors spoke about various diseases in which domestic animals may suffer during the summer season and there probable solutions. Thereafter free vaccines were given to over three hundred domestic
animals of the farmers of the locality. The camp was attended by Rabijit Baruah, president and Mrinal Phukan, Secretary of Pragoti Socio- Economic
Development Society along with all its members. Sanjib Gogoi and Dulal Baruah also extended their helping hand in holding the camp.
Autonomous council felicitates 240 Assam Governor Mising students of Dhemaji for exceptional result writes CM Sonowal regarding observation over education sector A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19: P.B Acharya, Hon’ble Governor of Assam has written to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal regarding his concern over the performance of Government schools. It is said that last year, for the first time, the Governor had invited the rank holders of HSLC, HSSLC and 12 Standard of CBSC Examinations for felicitation at Raj Bhawan, Guwahati, informed in a press release issued from the administration. This year also he had invited such rank holders at Raj Bhawan, Guwahati on 16th and 17th June. The Governor’s observations were that, (I) Rank holders are almost all from Private Schools. (II) No Government school has
achieved excellence. (III) The achievers are only from a few districts. (IV) There are hardly any tribal student achievers. The Governor wrote that these issues should be the major cause of concern and need to be addressed promptly. Considering that circumstances in mind, the Governor had thought that a White Paper should be brought out concerning last three year’s budget allotment to the educational sector and comparing the results of the Government Schools with that of Private Schools in the State. And also the proposed action to improve the quality of educational atmosphere in the government schools should be included in their corrective steps for future. It added that there is urgent necessity to seriously overhaul the system and give voluntary support.
CM Sonowal to attend International Yoga Day at Majuli on June 21st ET Correspondent Jorhat, June 19: On June 21st,
as Majuli islanders to witness International Yoga Day in presence of renown International Yoga expert Ravi Shankar, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam Finance Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sharma along with several other cabinet ministers likely to attend the centrally organized International Yoga Day in befitting manner at the bank of river Doria at the Doria field in Majuli sub-division, under Jorhat district near here. The Jorhat district administration keeping no stone untouched to take necessary steps to celebrate the yoga day. On the other hand the islanders
gearing up to welcome the Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who is coming home after a long days of taking charge as the 9th Chief minister of Assam, who was elected from 99 Majuli LAC. Preparation is under full swing with elaborate security arrangement. Strict entry and exit points are kept on high alert. “Sarbananda Sonowal will step into the island after a long time of taking charge as the Chief Minister and will be meeting his people for the first time on June 21st next. It will be a great ceremony of welcoming the Chief Minister to his second home”, said Manoj Bora, AGP spokesperson who is also a local resident of Majuli.
ET Correspondent Dhemaji, June 19: Executive councilor, of MAC (Mising Autonomous council) today felicitated 240 students of the community who brought good result in recently declared Higher Secondary and High School
result under Sissiborgaon Circle. Joygeswar Kutum and Johan Doley both Executive Councilor distributed cash of rupees 2000 and 2500 along with bundle of book packets at two different
programme organised at Kulajan College and Sissitongani College under the Circle of Dhemaji district today. They appealed for better result in their higher education and work for development of the community.
Jorhat administration to have Complain Box very soon says Hitendra Nath Goswami
ET Correspondent Jorhat, June 18: “In all 14 government departments under the Government of Assam, a Complain Box will be hanged for complaining grievances to in the district of Jorhat very soon”, said Hitendra Nath Goswami, the newly elected BJP MLA from 98 Jorhat LAC here today.
Hitendra Nath Goswami was felicitated by the Diganta Burahgohain, president of Jorhat Press club and who is also the news editor of Assamese daily ‘Dainik Janambhumi’. Mr Goswami, to follow his words of commitment made before the election hours to the people of Jorhat. Firstly the new BJP MLA to serve the people of Jorhat with a corruption free administration, develop-
Jorhat MLA Goswami (middle) during the press meet. Pic- Nekib Ahmed ment, proper drinking water and safe living with no gundaraj activities etc. He said within the next two to three months his assembly constituency will set to work together with the people of Jorhat for development and will abolish corruption in war footing
manner. “For corruption, it will be a zero tolerance issue and since during the previous government’s rule several crore of scam has come to light and many government officials might have to go to jail which would not be anything strange”, Hitendra Nath Goswami added.
Irate mob beats headmaster Cleanliness for molesting with his students drive held at ET Correspondent Margherita, June 19: Tension prevails today at Margherita region when a headmaster was beaten black and blue by irate mob on charges of molestation to the students of Lekhajan LP School.
Education Block from the last few days have been alleged of molesting his school students of Class 4 and 5 where the students today confessed before the media persons that the headmaster used to touch there body regularly.
According to sources Kharka Bahadur Lama, headmaster of Lekhajan LP School under Margherita
Today more than 500 irate villagers of the school area organised a public meeting where headmaster Kharka
Bahadur Lama confessed before the villagers that he actually did that and apologize for his mistake. This made the irate mob anger and Kharka Bahadur Lama was beaten black and blue by them. In the meantime, Margherita police went to the spot and took the headmaster to Margherita Police Station.
Golaghat
ET Correspondent Golaghat, June 19: Under the banner of Golaghat Agarwal Yuva Sabha a cleanliness drive was taken out in Golaghat Goushala in which many members and local people of the soci-
ety participated. The program began at 10 am and members were seen working hard in the hot and humid weather. They brought the things in order and even managed food for the cows residing there.
Aucto Creation to celebrate World Music Day at Guwahati A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19: In sync with celebrations around the world, Aucto Creation, a Guwahati-based Event and Production House, will organize the 10th edition of “In Rhythm with the World” the annual ‘World Music Day’ celebration by Aucto Creation. The event will be held on 21st June at the GMCH Auditorium premises. The announcement was made at the Guwahati Press Club today by Rajib Kalita, Founder of Aucto Creation. Also present on the occasion were Rajib Phukon, Cultural Communicator of Aucto Creation and senior musician Pankaj Sharmah. Rajib Kalita says: “Aucto Creation conceived to introduce ‘World Music Day’ (WMD) celebrations for the first time in North East region in 2007. We felt that a global celebration like this will help bring together
music lovers and make them aware about the World Music Day Celebration, Aucto Creation has also organized a run-up gig for the event on 18th and 19th of June. Performers like Swadhyay, Bumble Foot and Bonjyotsna will engage with the audience in this gig and invite them for the World Music Day celebration. various artistes from vivid genres of music and create a new sense of belonging and bonding across the music fraternity. And it did… Due to the immense support from a number of senior artistes and all our patrons, over the years, this WMD celebration, has also offered a platform for upcoming talents of this region, to showcase their latent musical inclinations and hone their talents for the national and international music arena.” “10 years is a long journey;
while there were innumerable challenges faced to continue with the same momentum year after year, the support from our patrons and pressure to keep delivering better and promoting quality musicians from our region kept us going. Today, as we look back, we cannot but profusely thank our patrons and members for helping us sail through those hard times. It is a proud moment to be sharing our ‘decade-long’ journey with you all”, he added. To engage with the city’s
From its very inception Aucto Creation is committed towards promoting and spreading a very positive vibe for a healthy environment for music. In the last nine years it has been meticulously presenting finely tuned musical agendas to mark and celebrate the WMD. Throughout the years, the event has been an active platform for the convergence of various musical genres; be it traditional, folk, classical, blues, jazz, neo, rock, pop, funk etc, on
one platform; so that artistes can connect with and understand each other for the betterment of music as a whole. The consistency of this event in all these years has been possible with the intense support from the musicians locally, nationally and internationally, and certainly by the presence of eminent personalities from various fields. Aucto Creation’s WMD celebration in Guwahati witnesses various musicians/artists coming together under one roof to celebrate music in its purest form. Aucto Creation has an aweinspiring portfolio, with numerous successful musical events of its own; production of many mega serials and films; collaborations with several art, culture and musical festivals; management and coordination of several big banner events, and set designing and execution of various TV shows and programmes.
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
PAGE 3
Body of 24-years-old drowned boy recovered ET Correspondent Namsai, June 19: The body of the youth, drowned in the Nao-Dihing River on the evening of June 14, was fished out from the river on June 16 last. The 24-year-old Chow Pomseng Khamhoo son of Chow Chisen Khamhoo drowned in the Nao-Dihing River on June 14 evening when his group of friends invited him from his home to join them for get together party at the Nao-Dihing bridge, OC Mahadevpur Police Station Inspector Takir Zirdo said. The body of the 24-year-old youth was retrieved by the NDRF team with help from swimmers from the local area from the river at about 5 PM on June 16 last, he added. Inspector Zirdo informed that on the evening of June 14 when the body of youth was spotted floating in the river, the local youths of the
area was put into the rescue operation but due to bad light it was suspended. The operation was again carried out from early morning of June 15 with help and involvement of local people from Mahadevpur and Namsai and some good
Sonowal condoles the death of Assam CRPF jawan A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal expressed condolences on the untimely death of ApurbaDeka, a CRPF jawan who was killed in Jharkhand. In a statement here on Sunday evening, Sonowal said, “The death of ApurbaDeka is great loss to our society. I am
particularly saddened by his sudden death who till the last minute of his killing rendered his services valiantly. I express my profound condolences and deepest sympathy for the bereaved family members”. It may be mentioned that ApurbaDeka hailed from Maloibari village in Sonapur in the newly curved out East Kamrup District.
Arunachal can fulfil country's power requirement: Chief Minister Kalikho Pul Contd. from Page 1 "Currently private developers have been given time of 10 years to repay the loan. But the duration has to be increased to 30 years, as a hydro project takes time for completion and functioning. At least 25-30 years should be given. Only then will they be able to carry out their work," said Pul. According to the union Power Ministry, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh has so far been allotted about 140 hydropower projects with total installed capacity (IC) of 41,500 MW that is to be developed on various rivers, rivulets and nalas in seven major river basins. Most of the projects, whose commissioning got delayed either due to delay in forest or river board clearance, if completed on time can provide power supply to a large chunk of India, which the other sources of power generation such as thermal and solar has not been able to do till now. Pul said that before starting giant hydro power projects in Arunachal Pradesh, there was need to start minor projects of 1,000-2,000 MW capacity, which would help the people
to appreciate how power projects can change their lives, thereby giving way for bigger projects. A mega dam is being constructed across the river Siang, a tributary of the river Brahmaputra, and upon completion, the dam reservoir will hold 10 billion cubic metres of water. The hydro power project at Siang is touted to generate between 10,000 and 12,000 MW, making it the largest hydroelectric dam in the Indian subcontinent. Emphasising that China was using its hydropower potential very efficiently, Pul said the various hurdles for project clearance need to be done away with. China's 22,000-megawatt, $25 billion Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest hydroelectric plant as far as generating capacity is concerned. Expressing unhappiness at India's role in setting up power projects in foreign countries, Pul said: "There have been instances when the Indian Government has set up power projects in foreign countries but not in Indian states. This is why those countries are becoming rich, and not us. It's a shame for us."
swimmers using the Water Resource Department boat and Army rubber boat but again due to bad light and rising water level due to rain, the operation was stopped. The NDRF team was also called in for the search operation on June 16
and after two days of searching; finally the body of the youth was fished out by NDRF with help from the local people on June 16 last. After completing all the medico-legal formalities, the body was handed over
to his legal heirs for last rites, informed Zirdo. A case in this connection has been registered at police station Mahadevpur and inquest proceedings initiated under Mahadevpur PS Case No 15/2016 and 323/306/ 34 IPC, he further added. Inspector Takir Zirdo along with Sub-Inspectors A.N.Singh, D.Mossang and T.Haging are supervising and investigating the case. Based on the complaint filed by the parent of the youth, the team of Police Officers led by Inspector Takir Zirdo have also arrested all the 7 (seven) friends of Khamhoo on suspicion ground and for further inquiry on the investigation. Earlier, the team of Police Officer had arrested Subhas the man running the Dhaba along NH 52 on context of his involvement in the scuffle with the deceased youth.
Centre will soon launch DDUGJY scheme in Arunachal Itanagar, Jun 19 (PTI) The Centre will soon launch the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Power Minister Piyush goyal has said. Goyal gave this assurance to state Power Minister T N Thongdok when the latter requested him to sanction the scheme during the twoday conference of Power, Mines and NRE Ministers of States and Union Territories at Panaji in Goa on June 16 and 17 last. Thongdok told the Union Minister that bids have already been invited based on assurance from the Centre, an official communique informed here today. Responding to a request from Thongdok for setting up a coal base thermal plant at Kharsang, the Union min-
ister directed the Secretary, Coal & Power to assist Arunachal Pradesh government in setting up of the thermal plant.
He also agreed to sanction smart meters in all households and also agreed to supply LED bulbs at subsidised rate.
Goyal also agreed to provide additional power requirement based on the demand and as requested by the state government.
Responding to the Union Minister's advice, Thongdok said that Arunachal Pradesh would soon launch campaign against power theft and the strong action would be taken against the persons involved in such illegal activities.
The minister further assured Thongdok that the issue of imposing ban on development of small hydro power projects by the Ministry of Environment & Forest would be taken up with the ministry. Responding to another request, Goyal assured to sanction Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) for towns having less than 5,000 population and advised him to submit proposals immediately.
The flagship schemes launched by the present NDA govt. are very important for all: MLA ET Correspondent Tezu, June 19: Maximum flagship schemes launched by the present NDA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during last two years are for the rural and poor people as well as for unemployed youths, said Dr. Mahesh Chai, MLA, Tezu. He was speaking as chief guest during a “Special Outreach Programme” organized by Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP), Govt. of India, Ministry of I & B, Tezu unit at Tafragam village of Lohit District of Arunachal Pradesh yesterday. The main objective of the programme was to inform the people about the schemes launched by the present NDA govt. during last two years, it is learnt that the present Central Government under the lead-
ership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was completed two years on 26th May, last. The MLA also advocated the slogan given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas” and said that the PM has started many social security schemes like PMJDY, PMJSY, PMJJBY, APY, MUDRA Yojana etc. and also requested to the Bank authority to organize such outreach programme and should reach door to door to inform the rural people about social security schemes. Speaking about Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, Dr. Chai categorically said that in our society particular in Arunachal Pradesh there are no such case to see about the female foeticide and infanticide but we have to honour, educate
and protect the every girl for betterment of society and country as a whole. He however appealed to the officers of implementing agencies of various flagship schemes that when anyone comes before you to know about the scheme you have to politely elaborate and educate that they may easily get benefit from the scheme. The MLA appreciated the DFP, Tezu unit for organising such programme and requested to organize more such programmes at other villages too. Earlier, speaking as guest of honour Danish Ashraf, Deputy Commissioner, Lohit district briefed the gathering about ongoing flagship schemes and appealed that the schemes like PMJSY and PMJJBY is very important for everyone
to secure their life insurance after depositing annually a small amount Rs. 12/- and RS. 330/- till 50 and 70 years respectively. Speaking about “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” the DC said that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a mind set-up that where you throw your garbage and how clean your surroundings and village. Dr. S. Chai Pul, DMO briefed the gathering about Mission Indradhanush, JSSK and JSY, Shri B. K Dutta, Chief Manager, SBI Tezu educated the gathering about social security schemes, Smti Oyam Jamoh, Supervisor, ICDS Tezu expressed their view about Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme and Sukanya Samridhi Yojana, Shri A. Gamre, ADO Incharge, Tezu spoke about Fasal Bima Yojana and PM
Krishi Sinchai Yojana, and Shri S. N. Singh, APO, DRDA, Tezu briefed the gathering about PM Aawas Yojana. Smti Haweli Kri, ZPM, Tezu, Shri D. Tayang, HGB Tafragam, Shri Mihir Kumar Jha, FPO, Tezu and Shri S. K. Deori, FPO, Nampong also spoke during the programme. About 500 people including PRI members, Officers, Youths, Villagers etc. participated in the programme. The member of Bapu Welfare Society actively participated and supported the programme for grand success. Artists from Song & Drama Division, Guwahati entertained the participants through song, dance and theme based drama to mark the day long event.
He also informed the union minister that the state is targeting to provide electricity to every households by 2018. Earlier, Thongdok requested Goyal to authorise the state government through the PCCF for forest and environment clearance of small hydro power projects, the communique added.
Governor expresses concern over Aalo’s fire accident A Staff Reporter Itanagar, June 19: The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh JP Rajkhowa has expressed his deep concern on the devastating fire accidents, particularly in the District Headquarters, where large number of dwellings and commercial buildings are destroyed. Expressing his sympathy to the aggrieved persons who have lost their properties in the Puak Gumin fire Accident in Aalo, West Siang District, the Governor said that the people themselves have to be more cautious against fire mishap and take precautionary measures. The Governor advised that the District administration and youth must put in a joint effort to create more awareness against fire accidents and other disasters. Necessary advisory must also be issued. The Governor also expressed his disapproval on damage of fire tender and alleged assault on firemen as reported in the media.
United public forum set July 15 as deadline to free government land from illegal Bangladeshi immigrants ET Correspondent Mangaldai , June 19 : An united forum of eighteen nonpolitical public bodies including " Prabrajon Birodhi Mancha , Asom", "Sangrami SathirthaSanmilan, Darrang" , "Dakhsin Mangaldai Gowala Santha" and " Jatiya Nagarik Mancha, Darrang" etc has demanded the remove all illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the government PGR , VGR land measuring more than 77,000 bighas located at villages namely Phuhuratoli , Dholpur , Kuruwa , Kholihoi , Baznapathar under Sipajhar revenue circle of Darrang district before July 15 next . Ad-
dressing media at Mangaldai Press Club on Saturday afternoon , Rameswar Sarma and Mukut Saikia conveners of the united forum made this appeal to the government and at the same time announced to undertake series of democratic agitations if government fail to fulfill their demand within the stipulated time frame. Earlier Upamanyu Hazarika , senior advocate of the Apex court and the chief convener of " Prabrajon Birodhi Mancha, Asom" in his address to media strongly criticized the government of maintaining a soft corner for the illegal Bangladshi immigrants encroaching these
PGR , VGR land even after officially recognizing them as encroachers. In connection with the ongoing process of the Case (No. 1/15) filed at the Mangaldai court under Assam Land Grabbing Act in February , 2015 by "Sangrami SathirthaSanmilan, Darrang" and "Dakhsin Mangaldai Gowala Santha" , he reiterated that the case was filed on the basis of the official information of illegal land grabbing but surprisingly the Public Prosecutor did not appear before court on not a single date out of the total 19 fixed dates of hearing till June 18. He further pointed out that
there was no need of filing court cases in such matter and the authority can easily evacuate these encroachers exercising the power conferred on section 165 of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation , 1886 and the Deputy Commissioner may take the evacuated land under his own management and also can allow farming by local indigenous farmers for a period he thinks fit . But the government has been playing the role of double standard , in one hand they have confessed illegal encroachment in PGR land and other hand they spending public money for implementation of government schemes like
construction of 32 school buildings , health centres and recently distribution of power lines and release of fund under 14th Finance Commission , he added. He charged the former Congress led state government of rehabilitating illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in PGR , VGR land during their last 15 years tenure and urged the present BJP led government to prove their integrity towards the indigenous people of Assam who brought them into power this time. The press conference was also addressed by Ramesh Ch Barua of "Sangrami SathirthaSanmilan, Darrang" and Kobad Ali "of Dakhsin
Mangaldai Gowala Santha" , the two complainants of the case. It may be mentioned here that besides filing of case the local public bodies have been consistently pursuing the issue through mass signature campaign, protest rallies , memorandum to the Prime Minister , Union Home Minister and the Governor and citizens meet among others and a public meeting held in District Sahitya Sabha Bhawan on June 5 last formed an united forum with the representatives of eighteen public bodies to carry forward the movement against illegal encroachers of public land.
Let's stand with Refugees Ranjan K Baruah Only a person who has to flee his or her native place without choice could tell us the pain. If someone migrate to other places with their choice then that is different but many had to flee without any fault of theirs. A word that comes to our mind related to this is refugee. It's sad to know that every minute eight people leave everything behind to
escape war, persecution or terror and there are several types of forcibly displaced persons around the world. An unprecedented 59.5 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 20 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless people who have been de-
nied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. When we talk of refugees we should not misunderstand with some other words. Some of the terms and words related to or similar to refugees been defined by international agencies like United Nations. A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to "a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion", according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many
refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters. Developing countries host four-fifths of the world's refugees. The 48 Least Developed Countries provide asylum to 2.3 million refugees. Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country. Stateless persons do not have a rec-
ognized nationality and do not belong to any country. Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification - a citizenship certificate - can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment. Returnees are former refugees who return to their own countries or regions of origin after time in exile. Returnees need continuous support and reintegration assistance to ensure that they can rebuild their lives at home. Refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its
1967 Protocol help protect them. The 1951 Convention contains a number of rights and also highlights the obligations of refugees towards their host country. The rights contained in the 1951 Convention includes the right to work, right to housing, right to education, right to public relief and assistance, right to freedom of religion, right to access the courts, right to freedom of movement within the territory, right to be issued identity and travel documents, etc. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also
known as the UN Refugee Agency, was established on 14 December 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people. World Refugee Day is held every year on June 20
since 2001. This day is observed with different activities around the world including in India. On 4 December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 55/76 decided that, from 2001, 20 June would be celebrated as World Refugee Day. In this resolution, the General Assembly noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Let's stand with refugee and try and help them in achieving their rights. (With inputs from UNHCR and published on the occasion of World Refugee Day and feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com)
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
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Assam CM takes stock of Journos raise voice for group life & health insurance coverage Ambubachi Mela preparations A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19: Understanding the endless difficulties and financial limitations faced by the media persons, voices have been raised for a group life & health insurance coverage for the media employees including working & freelance journalists engaged with various media outlets of the city. The members of Guwahati Press Club emphasize on a participatory group insurance scheme where the beneficiary-employees, owners of media houses and the State government can contribute equally. Need not to mention that most of the media employees based in the virtual capital of northeast India have no life & health insurance coverage. In regards to the health insurance coverage the statistics may go up to 80% (out of around 5000 media employees) who do not possess the facilities.
present days becomes very expensive where the media employees often face hardship to undergo necessary treatments. The benefits, provided by the ESI hospitals, have much more limitations. So the financial constrains always prevent them from taking due medical attention, which finally deteriorates their heath conditions. A raw statistics indicate that 60% of Guwahati based media employees do not have any individual or group life insurance coverage. Hence the death of a media employee, where he/she is the sole earner, always brings distressed news for the family. It may be mentioned that a group insurance policy as defined by the IRDA’s group insurance guidelines can provide advantages of standardized coverage and very competitive premium rates. The policy will be issued in the name of a group and if
one leaves the group he/she might entitle the continued coverage under an individual policy. The proposed group insurance, to be operated by any recognized agency, would be open for everyone who wants to join the process. A beneficiary (media employee) will have to deposit his/her contribution directly to the agency, where as the owner/proprietors of both print & electronic media houses would pay according to the number of their beneficiary employees. The third part of the contribution would be provided by the government under its welfare scheme. The ultimate modalities of the group life & health insurance and also the assigned agency may be finalized with the consent of beneficiaries. Relevant feedbacks are welcome and can be submitted at the office of Guwahati Press Club on working days.
Moreover, the health care in
3 hardcore Ulfa (I), 1 GNLA militant arrested in Dibrugarh Contd. from Page 1
He added that on June 15, the militants boarded a winger from a hideout in West Garo Hills in Meghalaya to Guwahati and then reached Chetiapathar village on June 17 and were hiding there. During interrogation they revealed that they don’t know the purpose why they were going to the Arakan camp. “To earn expertise and for training purpose they were heading towards Arakan camp in Myanmar,’’ Gogoi said.
The SP further stated that ULFA (I) is having a serious shortage in manpower as well as finance because many of them had either being eliminated, arrested or surrendered and returned home. “Extortion has come down in Dibrugarh district for past many years and the place is quite peaceful compared to many other places,’’ he added. The arrest of five hardcore militants by the security forces in Dibrugarh within a span of just three days is seen as a major success for the security
forces. What is more important is the fact that the security forces had been able to recover arms, ammunition, explosives, modern radio sets etc during these counter insurgency operations. "These arrests will surely demoralise many more who might be on the anvil of joining the outfits", a source said. It might be mentioned that the ULFA (I) had warned the BJP of dire Consequence before the last state assembly election after the saffron party have given ticket to Bhaskar Sarma from Margherita.
Army begins Court of Inquiry into Arunachal infantry unit ‘unrest’ Contd. from Page 1
which pertains to military reputation of a person, has been invoked for several jawans and officers of the unit who are to be examined by the inquiry, which is taking place at Headquarters of 2 Mountain Division in Dinjan. “Among the officers who are to be examined are the then officiating Commanding Officer of the battalion, the Regimental Medical Officer and several other officers”, sources said. The actual commanding officer of the unit was away on leave
when the alleged fracas took place and he was urgently recalled to take over command, the sources added. The Army had termed the unrest in the unit as an “emotional response” by a few jawans after a jawan died of a heart attack following a route march. The jawan had earlier complained of some unease but had been medically examined and found fit. The sources said the genesis of the indiscipline shown by some jawans – who raised slogans besides allegedly manhandling officers – lay in the events
of preceding days when some jawans had been caught in an out of bounds area. The inquiry is expected to look into the circumstances leading up to the fateful day in detail in order to find out if there was any laxity on the part of anyone. The army establishment had taken the issue ‘very seriously’ as the area where the unit is stationed shares international boundary with China. As a large number of witnesses are to be examined by the CoI, its completion is expected to take time.
A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19: Chief
Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today visited the Kamakhya Temple to oversee the preparedness for the forthcoming Ambubachi Mela. The Chief Minister inspected the arrangements made for the pilgrims coming from different parts of India and abroad for the famous Mela at the holy temple. Sonowal asked the officials to ensure all sorts of arrangements in respect of accommodation, drinking water and sanitation for the pilgrims. Sonowal said the State true to its rich tradition of according highest respect for visitors since
ages would keep up the tradition on a constant high by welcoming the thousands of pilgrims during the five-day Ambubachi Mela beginning June 22. The Chief Minister appealed to the people as well as the pilgrims flocking to the temple and its peripheral areas to maintain cleanliness in the true spirit of ‘Swacch Bharat Mission’. Sonowal also asked Director General of Police, Mukesh Sahay to ensure a full-proof security apparatus in and around the Shakti Shrine. Earlier, Chief Minister Sonowal offered puja
and paid obeisance to Goddess Kamakhya for peace, prosperity and amity in the State. Sonowal also visited the camp set up at Sonaram Higher Secondary School playground to oversee the facilities put in place for the pilgrims. Chief Secretary VK Pipersenia, DGP, Mukesh Sahay, Additional Chief Secretary, KV Eapen, Commissioner & Secretary, Home & Political, L. S.Changsan, Secretary, Tourism, RC Jain, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro), Dr. M. Angamathu, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
113th birth anniversary of Rupkunwar Jyoti Prasad Agrawala observed at Doomdooma ET Correspondent Doomdooma, June 19: 113th birth anniversary of Rupkunwar Jyoti Prasad Agrawala was celebrated at Doomdooma in collaboration with Maharaja Agrasen Sewa Smiti. On
the occasion, at the main entrance gate of the tea town near the railway crossing, floral tribute was offered and earthen lamps were lit before the life size statue of Rupkunwar. Navprayas, a social orga-
nization of the locality also paid homage to Agrawala. Veteran journalist, Arjun Barua spoke about his life and literature on behalf of Doomdooma branch Sahitya Sabha on the pious occasion.
Yoga Camp to be held at Golaghat ET Correspondent Golaghat, June 19: On the occasion of Yoga Day Celebration the Maheswari Sabha, Maheswari Mahila Sangathan and Yuva Sangathan of Golaghat are jointly going to organize a Yoga Camp on June 26 at
Maheswari Bhawan premises in Golaghat. The Yoga Camp will be inaugurated by Indra Chand Laddhar, Gauri Shankar Binnani and Geetimoni Savapandit. The organizers have appealed all the members of Maheswari Samaj to take part in the same.
Free admission for differently-able children in govt. institutes in Assam Contd. from Page 1 “We will upload all appointment letters in the government websites and selected candidates can used computerised appointment letters,” said Sarma. The highest number of teachers 2619 was posted in western Assam Dhubri district, bordering district with Bangladesh. “The entire process was video-recorded, and anyone who has doubts can obtain the footage through RTI,” he said. Sarma also said the district from where a candidate applied was taken into consideration when the computerised lottery was conducted. At least 30% of the appointed teachers were
women, as per norms. Sarma said 30,000 posts of teachers are vacant in Assam, but they cannot be filled up as the state does not have enough candidates with a B Ed degree or diploma. “We can, in keeping with our pre-poll promise, appoint the remaining 30,700 TETpassed candidates temporarily working under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan... We are making arrangements so that they can acquire the [B Ed/D Ed] degree through distance learning,” Sarma said. Appointment and regularisation of teachers was one of the saffron party’s election promises. This was the second major step since Sarbananda Sonowal’s BJPled alliance government took charge on May 24.
Jayabati Roy was Commuters dare to travel murdered: Family with taking life risk members ET Correspondent Kokrajhar,June 19: Family members of Jayabati Roy lodged an FIR with police citing that her husband Prafullo Roy had pre-planned her murder yesterday in the name of cylinder blast at Balagaon village under Kokrajhar PS.Police arrested Prafullo Roy late last night and interogation is on. Jayabati Roy,mother of a 5-years-old daughter died yesterday under controversial circumstances at her own home at Balagaon village around 3 pm, creating sensation in the village. Kalyan Chandra Roy, elder brother of Jayabati lodged an FIR with Kokrajhar PS, Registered No.347/16, Under Section (U/S) 120(B)/302/ 201 of IPC which stated that Jayabati's murder was pre-planned by her husband. Her body and
face bore severe injury marks, sources said.He demanded stern punishment should be implemented for culprits,who murdered his wife. He charged that Profullo killed his wife brutally with sharp weapon. ‘It was an act of murdered by Prafullo Roy. Profullo killed his wife pretending cylinder blast,but cylinder did not exploded at the home’, Kalyan said. Police arrested Profullo Roy and continued interrogation since late last night.Police said that even though there was said of cylinder blast,but was opposite situation inside incident as body saw severe injury marks besides little burn marks. ‘Investigation is continued and details would be come out after completion of investigation’, said a senior police officer in Kokrajhar.
ET Correspondent Haflong June 19 : The travelling passengers particularly from Barak Valley and Dima Hasao dare to travel taking life risk while travelling through Silchar Haflong as the condition of road at many locations on Silchar- Haflong portion of NH 54 E remaimed dangerous and pitiable for several months. After the recent tragic road accident on SilcharGuwahati road people of Barak Valley forced to travel by NH 54 E through the district of Dima Hasao despite knowing the poor condition of road. The NH 54 E has become the only means of communication as there has been no railway
communication between Silchar - Guwahati since May 16th. The locations like Durbin tilla, Dimbruchera, Kapurchera, Bormuolkoi, Miyunkro etc. are in precarious condition for quite sometimes, the company engaged for the construction in these stretches are also gaining notoriety for their inability and substandard works, people alleged. The conscious people of Haflong opined that road communications always play a pivotal role for the socio-economic development of the society but here in Dima Hasao, though the people are raising voices for the cause but failed to draw the attention of the author-
ity concerned. They alleged that the concerned authority has turned its blind eye in this genuine and important concern. Meanwhile the people of Dima Hasao and Barak Valley have appreciated the new government in Assam under the leadership of Sri Sarbanada Sonowal who have given Sri Parmal Shulabaidya an important ministerial berth like PWD in his cabinet. They also hoped that this time the plight of Barak Valley as well as Dima Hasao people could be minimised as the PWD Minister Shuklabaidya is known to be a man of words and work.
Animesh Pandit from Meghalaya becomes 7th Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East A Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 19: In front of an audience of approximately 700 spectators from all across the north eastern region, Animesh Pandit from Meghalaya became the 7th Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East 2016 at the ITA Cultural Complex, Machkhowa on Saturday. Besides, Sushanta Rajkumar from Manipur and Colin Jacob Rajan from Assam became the 1st and 2nd runners up respectively. The contestants travelled to Guwahati for almost a week of activities which included grooming and training sessions conducted by Mega Entertainment, followed by rehearsals, leading up to the Grand Finale of the biggest Man Hunt of North East India. The pageant has been supported by Reliance Trends, Radisson Blu, Vodafone U, Axe Signature and State Bank of India.
20-year-old Animesh Pandit is a degree final year student studying Biochemistry in St. Anthony’s College, Shillong. Animesh, who did his schooling from St. Edmund’s School, thanked everyone for the support and said that the title will enable him to live up his dreams. “I am very happy today. My dad is a school teacher and mom is a homemaker based in Shillong. I know they will be proud,” said Animesh. First Runner’s up Sushanta Rajkumar, who hails from Imphal, said that he was happy that his hard work was appreciated by the panel of judges. Sushanta is a B.Tech second year student, studying in Punjab where his father is an IFS officer. Studied in Scotland, Colin Jacob Rajan was the second Runner’s up at the 7th Fair
& Lovely Men Mega Mister North East 2016. “I am very happy that I could come back from the United States, where I was working, and participate in this competition. I thank the panel of judges for all this and most importantly thank Mega Entertainment and Abhijit Singha for the opportunity,” he said. 7th Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East2016 Animesh Pandit has won a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, gifts from pageant sponsors and an opportunity to become a showstopper during North East Fashion Weekend. He has also won travel opportunities to the South East Asian countries with ICSI, professional representation by Mega Entertainment, portfolio shoot by Rahul’s Spectrum, public relations and reputation management consultancy for one year by Life’s Purple.
The three winners will be offered a professional grooming session, which would guide them further on how to carry themselves forward in the professional sphere. Besides, the winners also get the opportunity to walk the ramp in various national and international shows.
The organizers of the event, Mega Entertainment, had shortlisted 44 men, who vied for the coveted title of Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East 2016. The pageant is inspired by Designer/Fashion Choreographer and the powerhouse of fashion & pageant industry Abhijit Singha. Abhijit Singha, Founder of
Mega Entertainment and Managing Director of Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East 2016, spoke during the crowning ceremony, “Through Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East we look for a young and aspiring talent that is fit, intelligent and driven to be a role model using his attributes to make a difference in the society. The Man Hunt will not culminate with mere felicitation of the winners. We also make it a mission to give them an international platform from where their dreams can take flight.” Popular radio jockey of RED FM RJ Nabish hosted this year’s show for the second consecutive time. During the strong competition, the contestants were judged in four segments: traditional wear, Black Suit presentation, Reliance Trends collection and personality interview as they vied for
the coveted title of Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East 2016. Samar Sarkar– 2nd Runner-up Mega Mister North East 2015, Dipankar Buragohain– 1st Runner-up Mega Mister North East 2015 and Mega Mister North East 2015Babul Boro felicitated the winners respectively at the conclusion of the pageant. The judges who sealed the fate of this year’s winner included, Runner Up-Mega Mister North East 2009 and leading fashion designer from Shillong Arif Mukhim, Mega Miss North East 2015Jessica Marbaniang; Runner Up- Mega Miss North East 2013 and author of ‘Dear Bohemian Man’ Subi Taba; marketing consultant and Brand Head at Kingfisher Naved Qureshi; and Entrepreneur and Hotelier Bobby Singh. The pageant organizers
were also judged for a series of sub-awards. Darshan Singh from Manipur was awarded Fair & Lovely Men Mister Magnetic Personality; Colin Jacob Rajan from Assam won the Reliance Trends Mister Trendy title; Henrik Thokchom from Manipur was given the Radisson Blue Mister Hospitality award; Vodafone U Fast Track Entry Winner, which is selected on the basis of highest number of votes received and allows direct entry into the semi-final, was won by Dhwrwm Swargiary from Assam. Besides, 5 contestants who won direct entry into the semi-finals through the Axe Signature Wildcard Entry winners’category were Colin Jacob Rajan, Darshan Singh, Kunal Dutta, Animesh Pandit and Abhishek Mazumder.?
REGION
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
Civil groups vow to protect Manipur's territorial integrity Agencies Imphal, June 19: Following the conclusive stage of the political dialogue between the Centre, NSCN (IM) and the Kuki militant groups' collective regarding the demand for statehood, various civil bodies and ethnic groups on Saturday vowed to safeguard Manipur's territorial integrity. On the occasion of the 15th Great June Uprising, Unity Day, they also made an appeal to defend Manipur against disruptive forces. The day was observed at Kekrupat here to commemorate the 18 protesters who sacrificed their lives on June 18, 2001 in the public uprising against the extension of NSCN (IM)-Centre ceasefire beyond Nagaland. Angry agitators torched the
state assembly building, chief minister's bungalow, offices of various political parties and official residences of various ministers. The large-scale protest continued in the valley districts till the Centre rolled back the limitless ceasefire in July in the same year. Elangbam Johnson, president of the United Committee Manipur, and president of the All Manipur United Clubs' Organization, Y Mani Khuman, said there have been several serious attempts to breach Manipur's unity and territorial integrity. Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, who paid floral tribute to the protesters, said the state government will oppose any move to compromise Manipur's territorial integrity.
Hand Grenade recovered in Thoubal
PTI Imphal, June 19: One hand grenade was recovered by BSF personnel during patrolling near Heirok in Thoubal district on Saturday, police said.
Police said a bomb disposal squad later arrived at the spot and retrieved the grenade and safely detonated at an isolated paddy field. No group has claimed responsibility.
Drug peddler held, contraband worth Rs.4.6 lakh seized
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Government to draft a fresh ILP related bill in consultation with stakeholders and tribal bodies: Manipur Dy CM Agencies Kohima, June 19: After President of India withheld his assent on May 11 to three anti-migrant bills passed by the Manipur Assembly, the Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam on Saturday said that the state government was considering drafting of a fresh ILP related bill in consultation with all stakeholders, particularly agitating JCILPS and tribal bodies protesting the three bills. Talking to reporters after paying floral tribute to the ‘martyrs’ of Great June Uprising in Imphal’s Kekrupat on Saturday, he said “The bills were said to have been withhold. For the time be-
ing, we don’t know the exact reason. So, we now think of preparing a bill which will be acceptable by all,” he said. “If possible we want the Centre to draft the bill or let us draft it strictly following all the mandatory procedures,” he said. Gaikhangam clarified that the bills were not against any particular community, but intended to protect all the indigenous communities residing in Manipur. According to Gaikhangam, Manipuri was minority in the context of Indian population and a legislation, which would able to protect this minority populace, was is a must.
The deputy chief minister said that Manipur population which was less than one percent of India’s total population needed protection. “…an Act that can protect the minority like us (Manipuris) is a must,” he said, adding that India needed to think of how to protect the “microscopic” populace of the country. Three anti-migrant bills passed by the Manipur Assembly which are aimed at regulating the entry and stay of migrants in the state, according to a Delhi based news agency. The President has withheld assent to The Protection of Manipur People Bill-2015 while the
other two bills, The Manipur Land Reform and Land Revenue (Seventh Amendment) Bill-2015 and The Manipur Shops and Establishments (2nd Amendment) Bill-2015 were under examination by experts for reasonable conclusion. In view of the opposition from the tribal groups in the state, the governor did not give his assent to the bills but sent them to the President on September 16, 2015 with the remark: “I reserve the bills for consideration of the President.” On June 7 last, an all-party delegation from Manipur, led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh met Union Home Minister
Government may restart Aadhaar exercise Agencies Shillong, June 19: The State government is contemplating to restart the enrollment for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by issuing a unique biometric-enabled number, called ‘Aadhaar’. Indicating this, an official source on Saturday informed that a meeting will be held on Monday to dis-
cuss all issues pertaining to Aadhaar exercise. Last month, the enrollment exercise for Aadhaar was halted following protests from several quarters. The State Nodal Officer, NPR PW Ingty will attend the Monday’s meeting. “We will have to take a decision probably of getting a
new agency since we cannot delay the exercise any further,” the official source said. It is learnt that around 20 percent of the residents in the East Khasi Hills district have been enrolled for the Aadhar card and now people are coming forward in large numbers to get themselves enrolled.
It may be mentioned here that the senior BJP leader Nalin Kohli had recently said that Assam and Meghalaya were lagging behind in Aadhaar enrolment and the attacked the Chief Ministers of both the states accusing them of denying delivery of subsidy meant for the poorest of the poor directly in their accounts.
Question mark over Education department official’s role Agencies Shillong, June 19: The state education department has come under the scanner for first giving NOC to Kalpataru Academy to get affiliated to Board of Higher Secondary Education, (BHSE) Delhi, a year ago and then withdrawing the same on June 7 this year. It was the Director of School Education and Literacy Ambrose Ch Marak who gave NOC to Kalpataru to
carry on with the affiliation with BHSE in August last year. Later on June 7 this year, Marak withdrew the NOC citing that BHSE is not a recognized board. Debashish Chakraborty, Honourary Secretary of Kalpataru Academy has expressed surprise over the sudden move of the education department to withdraw NOC which according to him has affected the future
of the students. Chakraborty also clarified that the fees charged from the students are not huge and added that it was nominal. He also said that it is not a fact that the syllabus taught at Kalpataru is a mixture of MBoSE and CBSE. More institutions in city have rejected admissions to the students who passed out from Kalpataru. Kalpataru reportedly took Rs 10,000 from each student
for appearing in the examination conducted by BHSE. Sources on Saturday said that many students who were already admitted in some educational institutions in city were asked to discontinue following the de- recognition of the Delhi board. The students said that the concerned authorities including education department should address their concerns as their future is bleak for no fault of theirs.
Rajnath Singh and apprised him about the need for presidential assent to convert three Inner Line Permit System-related bills into acts. The delegation conveyed to the Home Minister the necessity of getting presidential assent to the three bills, which were opposed by tribal groups of the state. The Chief Minister was joined by representatives of BJP, LJD, JD(U), CPI(M), among others. The delegation sought presidential assent to have the three bills converted into acts. The bills have been strongly opposed by tribals.
Meanwhile, deputy chief minister declined to give any comment on the “wanted” tag declaration on the head of former JCILPS convener Kh Ratan, saying the matter was sub judice. High Court of Manipur on June 10 last dismissed a petition filed by Kh Ratan against the “wanted” tag declared on him by Manipur government. The declaration was made after circulation of an image in which he was seen pledging his allegiance to the banned outfit United National Liberation Front in social media. Following the declaration Ratan tendered his resignation as convenor of JCILPS.
AICC yet to fix date on CP Joshi’s visit to Meghalaya Agencies Shillong, June 19: The Congress High Command is yet to fix a date for the visit of the AICC general secretary in-charge Meghalaya CP Joshi to Shillong to discuss the issue of dissidence while the state Congress leaders, Mukul Sangma, DD Lapang, Vincent Pala and Deborah Marak have returned to the state capital after their brief stay in Delhi recently. While the message of Joshi to the state Congress leaders who met him in Delhi was to ensure unity, the Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi had expressed displeasure over the dwindling vote share of the Congress in Meghalaya. However, the core issue of demand for change of leadership by the dissidents is yet to be addressed by the High Command. A Congress legislator said
that the issue of leadership will linger till 2018 before the state goes to polls. The AICC, which is also affected by series of setbacks starting with the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, is undecided as far as a change of leadership in Meghalaya is concerned. While there are other options like cabinet reshuffle in the three-year-old Congress led MUA-II government, the AICC is not inclined to the idea since those who will be affected in the reshuffle will again start the demand for change of leadership. A Congress minister close to the Chief Minister said that it is high time at-least to re-adjust the portfolios among the existing ministers for better performance. Party sources admitted that whether there is change of leadership or not in CLP, it will be a gigantic task for the Congress to ensure the victory of the party in the 2018 polls.
Governor calls for better road ILP damage suit: connectivity in North East Verdict to be delayed PTI Imphal, June 19: Atleast 860 tablets, classified as proscribed drugs, have been recovered by troops of 12th Assam Rifles from Khudengthabi check post in Chandel district, neighbouring Myanmar, on
June 16, an AR press statement said on Saturday. The apprehended is learnt to be teenager 19-year old Nengneikin Khongsai and the recovered tablets estimated at Rs 4.60 lakh, the release added.
Pay 31% DA to employees: Tripura HC to Manik govt Agencies Agartala, June 19: Tripura high court on Friday directed the state to pay 31% dearness allowance (DA) to the state government employees in three instalments in six months to bring about parity between central and state government employees. Secretary General of Tripura Government Employees' Federation Shishrendra Saha had filed a petition regarding the disparity in the payment of DA to state government employees. Justice Subhashis Talapatra disposed the petition and ordered that the first installment of the balance be paid next month. The petitioner alleged that as per rules, employees have the right to the same amount of DA as central government employees. He added that while other states were following the norms meticulously, the Tripura government has
failed to ensure the equal payment of DA between January 2009 and August 2011. Saha alleged that when he filed the case, the difference of DA between state and central government employees was only 24% and in the meantime, the Centre had released another 7% DA to its employees. As a result, the difference in DA widened to 31%. Despite repeated demand, the state government did not take any steps to balance the gap. Besides plan allocations, the 13th and 14th Finance Commission made sufficient provision of grants to ensure parity in salaries and allowances of state government employees. Officials said the government has decided to appeal against the judgment as the financial condition of the state is not very strong now.
Agencies Shillong, June 19: Governor V Shanmuganathan on Saturday called for better road connectivity in the North East, a landlocked region which suffers from various connectivity issues.
given due attention. The Governor added that the headquarters of all Northeastern states must be effectively linked in order to boost the tourism potential of the State.
The project was completed in 15 months at an estimated cost of Rs 84 lakh. The construction was jointly undertaken by PWD and Urban Affairs departments.
Addressing a gathering after the inauguration of a CC road at Professors’ Colony, Kharmalki on Saturday, Shanmuganathan said that road connectivity is an important aspect and should be
Meanwhile, local MLA and Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, who was also present on the occasion, thanked the residents of the locality for donating land required for the road project.
Neil Antonio War, local MDC, officials and functionaries of various government departments, members of the Community Welfare Voluntary Group, Kharmalki, village elders and residents were also present on the occasion.
Agencies Shillong, June 19: It’s been three years since the State Government had filed the Rs 31crore damage suit against 14 pro-ILP pressure groups for causing damages to properties, both public and private during the ILP agitations. But the final verdict is likely to be delayed further. Officials dealing with the case informed that the procedure of presenting evidences before the special court will begin from June 23. Now, the charges will also be framed against the pressure groups which have been dragged to the court by the State Government. It is learnt that there are more than 100 witnesses including deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and other
police personnel in the list provided to the Special Court as part of the damage suit. The Meghalaya government had in 2013 filed the damages suit in the special court of Rithelda Rymbai, seeking compensation of over Rs 31.09 crore from the groups for the damages and loss of private property, both individual and community-owned, and government property caused during the ILP agitation. The government termed bandhs, road blockades and office picketing as “unconstitutional and illegal”. Of the 14 pressure groups, only three had attended the hearing regularly. Reacting to a query, official sources said that the Special court has started ex parte proceedings against those pres-
sure groups which have failed to appear before it despite several summons and notices. Initially, 14 pressure groups, including CSWO, came together to sponsor agitations to pressure the Meghalaya government to implement the permit regime under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 to check entry of outsiders into the state. The CSWO later withdrew from the conglomeration on the grounds that it wanted to pursue the demand legally and not through agitations. It may be mentioned that the State government has already dropped as many as 92 cases under the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Act on a fast track mode.
Vote for BJP to end sufferings, says Union min Anant Gangaram Geete Agencies Agartala, June 19: Showering praises on the Modi government, Union minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Anant Gangaram Geete said sufferings of the people of Tripura will not end unless BJP comes to power. Addressing a public rally here on Friday, Geete said innovative action plans had led to exceptional growth in the social sectors and brought happiness for the marginalized sections in the past two years.Over 22 crore zero-bal-
ance accounts have been opened under Prime Minister's Jandhan Yojana and as of now, these accounts have been able to generate transactions of more than Rs 30,000 crore, he said. "Earlier, only Rs 15 out of the sanctioned amount of Rs 100 would reach the beneficiaries because of non-banking transactions and now direct benefit transfer has assured 100% reach," Geete claimed. Criticizing the Manik Sarkarled government of Tripura,
Geete alleged that when the Left Front came to power in 1993, the population was a few lakhs less than it is now but a few thousands were unemployed. Because of nepotism and misrule of the communists, the number of unemployed youths rose to 7.5 lakh against only 37 lakh population. He pointed out that the state government had been bringing money from the Centre and constructing schools, hospitals and market building but could not provide competent teachers, doctors or traders.
Rising water of Brahmajan River damages Kekurijan Boroi Tea estate near Brahamajan Bagan in Gohpur on 19-06-16. Pix by UB Photos
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
PAGE 6
Foreign Secy makes unannounced visit to China on NSG issue
Ishrat missing papers panel set up not to implicate anyone: Rajnath
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
New Delhi, June 19 (PTI): Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar made an unannounced visit to Beijing on June 16-17 to enlist support for India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group which is being opposed by China. Jaishankar's visit came a week ahead of the plenary meeting of the 48-nation atomic trading bloc scheduled to be held in Seoul on June 24 where India's membership is likely to be discussed. "Yes, I can confirm Foreign Secretary visited Beijing on June 16-17 for bilateral consultations with his Chinese counterpart. All major issues, including India's NSG membership, were discussed," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today.
seeking support for its membership of the bloc whose members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. The US has backed India and asked various NSG members to support New Delhi's bid.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar
China has been strongly opposing India's membership at the premier club arguing that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT). Earlier this week, China's official media said India's NSG membership would "jeopardise" China's na-
Europe's Ariane 5 launches two satellites into space Kourou, Jun 19 (AFP) Europe's Ariane 5 rocket launcher successfully sent two telecoms satellites, one for a US-based communications service provider and one for an Indonesian bank, into space. They were launched from Kourou, in French Guiana, at 6:38 PM yesterday, according to launch company Arianespace. It was the third launch of the year, placing into orbit the Echo Star XVIII for satellite service provider Dish Network, and BRIsat for Rakyat Indonesia bank.
Twenty-nine minutes after launch, the satellite Echo Star XVIII entered orbit. The satellite is designed to provide direct broadcasting services for 15 years to the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii for Dish Network. Forty-two minutes after blast off, the satellite BRIsat reached its orbit. It is the first telecommunications satellite dedicated to a financial institution, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which has 53 million customers across the Indonesian archipelago, according to Arianespace.
Chetan Bhagat hits back at AAP, says could be a 'better RBI Guv than others' New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): Hitting back at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for 'suggesting' the Centre to appoint him as the next RBI governor, author Chetan Bhagan on Sunday asserted that he knows economies and monetary policies than the party, adding that they should behave rather than indulging in 'mud-slinging'. "Just on this news. Neither am I interested, nor am in the running for the RBI guv job. Nor do I have a view on NIFT. I would request AAP to behave in a decent manner and not do mudslinging PR like the news in the last tweet," Bhagat said in a series of tweets. However he added that if he had been appointed as the RBI chief, he would be able to do a better job than many others. "Dear AAP, as you mock me, assure u had i ever done (am not) the RBI guv job, would be able to do it better than many others. AAP should tell its lo-IQ spokespersons to think twice before attacking others, though i understand thinking isn't their strong point," he further tweeted. Stressing that even though he loves his job of writing much more than anything, Bhagat asserted that he knew economies and monetary policies better than anyone in AAP ever will. Bhagat fiery reaction comes in the wake of the AAP Saturday attacking the Centre for appointing former crick-
eter Chetan Chauhan as the chairperson of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Mocking the decision to appoint Chauhan, the AAP gave BJP "suggestions" for further appointments. "This is absurd. He (Chauhan) does not know 'F' about fashion and he is the same person who defended Mr. Jaitley. And his appointment has the blessings of Amit Shah and Modi. The AAP would like to suggest that the BJP appoint Chetan Bhagat RBI governor, Anupam Kher chief of ISRO and Eknath Khadse the chief of NIA," party spokesperson Raghav Chadha said in a press briefing. Echoing similar sentiments, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejirwal tweeted saying, "Modi ji ne bhi chun chun ke chamchon ki fauj jama ki h (Modiji has carefully chosen his army of sychophants) - Gajendra Chauhan, Chetan Chauhan, Pahlaj Nihalani, Arnab Goswami, Smriti Irani." Rajan yesterday announced that he would return to the academic world at the end of his term on September 4, 2016, adding he will always be available to serve his country when needed and asserted that his 'successor' would take the nation to new heights. Later, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government respected Rajan's decision and would announce his successor soon. (ANI)
tional interests besides touching a "raw nerve" in Pakistan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had said a week back that members of the NSG "remain divided" on the issue of non-NPT countries joining it and called for "full discussions". India has been reaching out to NSG member countries
membership to countries which were not signatory to NPT. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid.
It is understood that a number of countries including Turkey, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand were not in favour of India's entry into the NSG.
India's access to the NSG, a body that regulates the global trade of nuclear technology, is expected to open up the international market for India's domestic nuclear energy programme.
India had managed to secure support of NSG members Switzerland and Mexico during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to these two countries as part of a five-nation tour. Mexico and Switzerland were known to have strong nuclear proliferation concerns and were not in favour of allowing NSG
India has been campaigning for membership of the bloc for last few years and had formally moved its application on May 12. The NSG had granted an exclusive waiver to India in 2008 to access civil nuclear technology after China reluctantly backed India's case based on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
"Difficult to avoid disclosure under new scheme" New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) The chief of SIT on black money feels it will be "difficult" for those holding untaxed assets to avoid disclosure under the ongoing onetime compliance window opened by the government after the limited success of a similar scheme launched last year for those with tainted money overseas. SIT Chairman Justice (retd) M B Shah said the Income Tax department has "tightened each and every angle" under the current scheme, and hence evading disclosure under this scheme will be "hundred per cent" difficult. "The last such scheme was not successful... rather it was successful to some extent in the sense that attention was drawn prominently that if something is found (at a later stage) they will be subsequently prosecuted...
ment and they will now have to disclose it to them.
SIT Chairman Justice (retd) M B Shah to some extent it had a deterrent effect.
The SIT had last year suggested that market regulator Sebi put in place regulations that will help identify individuals holding P-Notes or offshore derivative instruments (ODIs), and take other steps required to curb black money and tax evasion through the stock market route. P-Notes are used by a large number of foreign investors to park funds in the equity market without disclosing their identity to the Sebi.
"Now, this time it will be difficult (for evaders)," Shah told PTI. He said the issue of P-notes (participatory notes) has also been "controlled" to a large extent and hence it will not be easy for tax evaders to hide their assets and funds from agencies like the Income Tax depart-
Talking about the probe in the 'Panama Papers' issue, the SIT Chairman said investigating agencies are facing "difficulties" in reaching to the bottom of the matter as they are not getting specific account numbers and people named in the list are also "not disclosing" the details to the taxman.
Rogue elephant in Madukkarai forest captured Coimbatore, Jun 19 (PTI) A rogue elephant which had been creating a menace for the last one year in Madukkarai forest range here, killing at least three persons, was tranquilised and captured early today. District Forest Officer in charge Periyasamy said the 'Mission Madukkarai Maharaj' operation to translocate the elephant by tranquilising it officially began yesterday. The elephant, which used to visit Madukkarai area once a week, had not been seen since June 8, the day the Principal
Chief Conservator of Forests,ordered its translocation, bowing to pressure from public, farmers and politicians alike. Periyasamy said four kumkis (trained and tamed elephants) had been brought in from different camps in Tamil Nadu in the last week to take part in the mission. The officials initially faced a problem as the tusker was seen with two other elephants. However it got separated from them and was seen moving around near the military cam-
pus around 2 AM this morning. A tranquiliser shot found its target and the pachyderm became semi-conscious. The three kumkis then made it get into to a truck at around 9 AM, he said. Since the elephant was returning to its normal state, another mild tranquiliser dose was given. Periyasamy said the elephant has been taken to Araliyar in Top Slip area, some 20 km from Pollachi in the district.
Ahmedabad, Jun 19 (PTI) The purpose of setting up an inquiry panel to find the missing files related to the encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan was not to implicate anyone but to recover the documents, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today amid the controversy over the officer conducting the probe having allegedly tutored a witness. "The inquiry committee was set up not to implicate anyone but to find the missing files," he told PTI here, amidst allegations that the NDA government set up the panel to find faults in the previous UPA government. The Home Minister, however, refused to comment on the news report that the inquiry officer, Additional Secretary B K Prasad, tutored one of the key witnesses before taking his statement on the missing files. Asked what will be the next course of action of the government as the panel has submitted its report, Singh said he was yet to go through its contents and will take a view only after talking to all people concerned. In its report, the inquiry
Home Minister Rajnath Singh panel has said that only one missing document of the five related to the Ishrat Jahan case has been found. The documents which continue to be missing were from the period when P Chidambaram was the Home Minister. The inquiry panel, which submitted its report last weeek, has concluded that the papers were "removed knowingly or unknowingly or misplaced" in September, 2009, a period when Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Home Minister. The inquiry panel, however, made no reference to Chidambaram or anyone in
India, UAE to set up parl panel to enhance ties Dubai, Jun 19 (PTI) : India and the UAE will set up an Emirati-Indian parliamentary committee and exchange visits of lawmakers to boost parliamentary ties as part of their growing strategic partnership and unify their visions on various issues, including security and challenges facing the region. A decision was taken in this regard during a meeting between first woman speaker of UAE's Federal National Council (FNC) Amal Abdullah Al-Qubaisi and the Indian ambassador here T P Seetharam yesterday. During the meeting, AlQubaisi stressed the importance of activating parliamentary relations between FNC and Indian parliament by establishing a friendly Emirati-Indian parliamentary committee, and by prompting parliamentary visits between the two sides, state-run WAM news agency reported. Al Qubaisi said it was important that the two countries strengthen relations in all fields and achieve the required communication for parliamentary diplomacy, as well as to unify their visions and positions on various issues as part of their important roles in addressing issues of security and stability and the challenges facing the region.
The two sides stressed the importance of consultation and coordination between FNC and Indian parliament delegations during their participation in the InterParliamentary Union in order to unify positions and views on various issues of interest to both countries and peoples. They also agreed to prepare a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the parliamentary committee, and highlighted existing areas of cooperation in various political, economic, cultural and investment sectors. Al Qubaisi and Seetharam stressed that bilateral relations have reached a higher level of strategic partnership following the momentous visit by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in February to India, the report said. She said India has a deeprooted democracy in the world and serves as a model for a constitution based on democracy, pluralism, and women's political participation. Al Qubaisi also paid tribute to the important role played by the Indian parliament locally and internationally in serving the people of India.
the then UPA government. Based on the statements of 11 serving and retired officers, including the then Home Secretary G K Pillai, the report said the documents went missing between September 18 and 28, 2009. Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged staged encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The Gujarat Police had claimed those killed were LeT terrorists and planned to assassinate the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
PM wishes Rahul on his b'day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wished Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi long and healthy life on his 46th birthday. "Birthday wishes to the Congress VP, Shri Rahul Gandhi. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi said in a tweet this morning. In his response, Gandhi tweeted "Thank you @narendramodi ji for your kind wishes!" Modi also greeted Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on his 68th birthday. "Greetings to the CM of Manipur, Shri Okram Ibobi Singh on his birthday. I pray for his good health and long life," said the Prime Minister in another tweet.
PM Modi thanks the world for enthusiastic response to Intl Yoga Day New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): Ahead of the International Yoga Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday thanked nations across the globe for their enthusiasm and support to celebrate the ancient Indian discipline, adding that Yoga was so much more than just physical exercise and that it helped in achieving a sense of clarity. In a video posted on his Twitter account, the Prime Minister asserted that when he had outlined a vision for an International Yoga Day in September 2014 at the United Nations General Assembly, he never anticipated
the enormous enthusiasm for the occasion from all corners of the world. "This unique occasion brings all of us together to celebrate the invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. Your support and participation last year and once again now, redeems our commitment to nurture and promote this ancient discipline and reaffirm yoga as the manifestation of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakamthe world as one family," he said. Recalling the celebrations last year, the Prime Minister said that he remembered the iconic images from across the world where thousands
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gathered to observe Yoga Day. All the way from the Pacific Islands to Port of Spain, from Vladivostok to Vancouver and from Copenhagen to Cape Town, people participated.
"The reverberations of the discipline found a natural home at the UN Headquarters in New York where the journey began. I was fortunate to celebrate the event along with 30,000 of my fel-
low citizens and foreign guests in New Delhi. As so many of you have already discovered, yoga is much more than physical exercise. It enables us to access a new dimension of our self. Even while providing a holistic approach to preventive health care, yoga helps us to restore balance and furnishes us with a much need sense of clarity," the Prime Minister said. Asserting that India, through yoga, seeks completeness and at the same time a oneness with the worlds, Prime Minister said all everyone across the world are ambassadors of Yoga, taking India's message out to the world.
"I thank you for your commitment and welcome you as sister's and brother of India's family," he added. As many as 10,000 people will be participating in the International Yoga Day celebrations in the national capital on June 21 in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The United Nations General Assembly had declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day on December 11, 2014. Accordingly, the first International Yoga Day celebration was organized at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21 last year. (ANI)
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
Doctors threaten to halt emergency services in Birgunj
NEIGHBOURS
International Yoga Day: China's Suspect in bloggers murders killed in Dhaka Wuxi hosts 3,500 yoga lovers website, Sharif used to recruit and train the ABT men on firearms and information technology.
The doctors said that they would halt emergency services in one dozen private hospitals and also in the Narayani SubRegional Hospital if the arrested doctors were not released within 24 hours, reports the Himalayan Times. A police team deployed from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police earlier on Friday arrested eight practicing doctors from different health facilities of Birgunj on suspicion of using fake academic credentials to obtain professional licences. On Saturday as well, the doctors did not provide any service except the emergency ones in more than one dozen private hospitals demanding early release of the detained doctors. They also closed private clinics and drug stores. (ANI)
In the Eastern China region of Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, the second International Day of Yoga celebrations are being organised by CGI Shanghai from June 18 till June 26, one day each across nine cities, with theme of "Nine cities, Nine Days, Bringing together 9000 Yoga Lovers closer to India"!
Fahim was killed in police custody during a "gunfight" between the men in uniform and his cohorts. Dhaka, June 19 (ANI): The prime suspect in the twin murder case of bloggers Avijit Roy and Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy was killed in a "gunfight" with the detectives in Khilgaon, Dhaka, today. Identified as Shariful alias Sakib alias Sharif alias Saleh alias Arif alias Hadi1, the suspect was a top organiser of banned militant group Ansarullah
Bangla Team (ABT), said Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (media) of DMP. He was a prime suspect in blogger Avijit and Niladri murders as evidence of his presence was found at the crime scenes. The police had also announced Tk five lakh bounty on him, reports the Daily Star. According
to
DMP
Fleeing after hacking a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur, he was caught by the locals and handed over to the police. Over the last three years, suspected militants have attacked and killed university professors, writers, publishers, secular bloggers, gay rights activists, foreigners, policemen and members of religious minorities. (ANI)
India celebrates second International Yoga Day in Pak
Man murdered by inlaws in rare incident of male 'honour killing' in Pak Multan (Pakistan), June 19 (ANI): In latest spate of honour killing, the family members of a woman in Pakistan's Multan city slit the throat of her husband after they disapproved their marriage. This is a rare case in the country where a man has been targeted. Usually it has been the women, who are murdered by their relatives each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as a family honour. As per the police, the murder took place at a marketplace in Burewala, Punjab, on Friday when Muhammad Irshad, 43, was attacked by his father-in-law and two brothers in-law, reports Express Tribune. Irshad was married to Mussarat Bibi, the daughter of a rich local agricultural family, about an year ago. Irshat, who fled the place fearing that his in-laws would kill him, had returned to see his parents when the incident took place. Meanwhile, a manhunt has been launched to find Irshad's in-laws, who remained at large. (ANI)
chronicling the global celebrations of last year's International Day of Yoga from nearly 192 countries in the world was also presented to Wuxi city leadership by the Consul General of India in Shanghai.
The incident occurred a day after the killing of 18year-old Golam Faizullah Fahim claimed to be a member of banned outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir.
Birgunj, June 19 (ANI): The doctors on Sunday warned of halting emergency services in most of the hospitals in in Birgunj, Nepal, if their arrested colleagues were not released at the earliest. Responding to the call ofNepal Medical Association(NMA) Birgunj, the doctors carried out a rally in Birgunj this morning. NMA vice-president Dr Pramod Sarraf submitted a memorandum to Chief District Officer (CDO) Keshav Raj Ghimire demanding early release of the arrested doctors.
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Islamabad, June 19 (ANI): The Indian High Commission in Pakistan on Sunday celebrated the second International Day of Yoga with great fervor. "India celebrates the 2nd International Day of Yoga in Pakistan," tweeted the High Commission of India here. The event was organised in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), said an official statement. About 200 yoga enthusiasts drawn from Diplomatic community, including the Ambassadors from some nations, performed a string of Yoga Asanas to mark this important day.
The materials on positive aspects of Yoga were also handed over to the participants. It is universally accepted that regular practice of Yoga has very positive implications for human health, the statement added. Several other nations across the globe also celebrated International Yoga Day. " Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe! #IDY2016 celebrated with great fervour in all parts of the world today," tweeted Ministry Of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Vikas Swarup yesterday. "Berlin to Beijing, Paris to
Jakarta! Glorious day kicks off #IDY2016 celebrations across the world!," he said. Meanwhile, in India as many as 10,000 people will be participating in the International Yoga Day celebrations in the national capital on June 21 in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The United Nations General Assembly had declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day on December 11, 2014. Accordingly, the first International Yoga Day celebration was organized at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21 last year. (ANI)
Wuxi (China), June 19 (ANI): The Consulate General of India in Shanghai along with Wuxi Municipal People's Government on Sunday organised the second in the nine city celebrations of the second International Day of Yoga in Eastern China Region of Wuxi. The second International Yoga Day celebration was hosted at the iconic Wuxi Hollywood Studios and nearly 3,500 yoga lovers from Wuxi registered and participated in the Yoga celebrations, said an official statement.
In his inaugural address at the event, Wuxi CCPIT chairperson Xu Huijuan welcomed the introduction of yoga culture into Wuxi. She recalled that earlier in March 2016, Wuxi had also hosted the India Culture Week and hoped that yoga, given its large following in Wuxi, had the potential to promote values of harmony and peace between India and China. The Consulate General of India, Shanghai, through local resources also arranged a Chinese speaking
Indian yoga teacher, who conducted the yoga session for the nearly 1,000 practitioners based on the Common Yoga Protocol sent by the Department of AYUSH, Yesterday, it was held in Wenzhou with thousand the statement said. yoga lovers practicing yoga The event was extremely amidst heavy rains. Today, well received by the yoga it was celebrated in Wuxi follower community in and subsequently it will be Wuxi, with leaders from held in Zhenjian, Shanghai, Jiangsu Sports Bureau, Yan Taizhou , Yiwu, Shaoxing, Zhengming, DDG, Vice Yangzhou and Ningbo till Chairman of Wuxi NPC, June 26. Cao Xi Run and Wang Jinjian, Vice Mayor of Wuxi The United Nations General city, all joining in at the in- Assembly had declared June 21 as the International Yoga augural ceremony. Day on December 11, 2014. A special publication (ANI)
Pakistan Finance Minister claims ISI, IB still using 'secret funds' Islamabad, June 19 (ANI): Pakistani Finance MinisterIshaq Dar said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) are the only two departments still using secret service funds. He made this statement at the National Assembly on Saturday while responding to lawmakers' concerns over the grants and expenditures that were laid before the house, reports Dawn.
Dar said that 34 departments were using secret funds when his party took over in 2013. "On Jun 11, 2013, four days after the cabinet took the oath, we abolished the secret service funds of 32 organisations. Only ISI and IB still retain theirs, and a proper mechanism is in place for their audit", he added.
Earlier, the Jamaat-iIslami's Sher Akbar Khan took issue with the government's incessant borrowing and stressed the need to devise policies that would help reduce the country's external debt. Pakistan Peoples Party's Shazia Marri also criticised the amount of interest piling up on Pakistan's debt. (ANI)
Chelsea Clinton blessed with second baby! Melbourne, June 19 (ANI): Chelsea Clinton, who is already a proud mother to daughter Charlotte, turned mommy to a new baby boy. The daughter of US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, announced the arrival of newborn son Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky
late Saturday morning on Twitter, reports News.com.au reports. In a statement, elated Bill and Hillary said, "We are overjoyed to be grandparents again with the arrival of our grandson. We are all over the moon as Chelsea and Marc welcome Charlotte's little brother to the world and grateful for our many
blessings. Chelsea and Aidan are both doing well and enjoying this very special time together." Clinton and her husband Marc Mezvinsky, who tied the knot in August 2010, revealed in December that she was due to give birth to a second child via Twitter, writing "Next summer, Charlotte is going to be a big sister!"
70 militants killed in two separate operations in Afghanistan Kabul, June 19 (ANI): At least 47 Talibani militants were killed while 41 others wounded during an operation in the restive Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in a statement said the operation was conducted in Charchino district by the Special Forces of the Afghan National Army to suppress the insurgency activities of the Taliban militants, reports Khaama Press. However, no details were disclosed regarding the possible casualties of the Afghan armed forces. The operation was conducted in the wake of deadly attacks by Taliban on the Afghan armed forces in Dehrawood district in which at least 10 soldiers died and 12 others went missing following the attack on a check post. In a separate incident, at least 23 ISIS loyalists were killed in an airstrike in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The security officials today said the militants were killed in an airstrike conducted in Achin district which is home to scores of ISIS loyalists, adding that another ISIS militant was wounded during the airstrike. However, it is yet not clear if the raid was conducted by the Afghan Air Force or the US forces in Afghanistan. (ANI)
Pak's National Action Plan as counter-productive as blasphemy law? Militants' treatment case: Islamabad, June 19 (ANI):The recent incidents including the sentencing of 81-year-old optician Abdul Shukoor, under Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law for possession of innocuous Ahmadi literature clearly shows that that governments National Action Plan (NAP) which was passed following the ghastly December 2014 Taliban attack on 132 schoolchildren, has been as counterproductive as its blasphemy law. Pakistan's government unanimously passed a National Action Plan (NAP) so that there would be no room left for extremism in any part of the country following the December 2014 Taliban attack. NAP among its 20 points, outlaws radical literature and funding, calls for restructuring in the FATA region and Balochistan to address regional grievances, and lifts the moratorium on the death sentence for convicted terrorists. But reports suggest that over a year into its execution, NAP has been less effective and
more counter-productive. The Express Tribune in its blog has highlighted such cases where National Action Plan has been least productive.
quoted him as saying.
Optician Shukoor, an Ahmadi Muslim, and his assistant Mazhar Sipra, a Shia Muslim, were sentenced to eight-year imprisonment under both the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act and anti-blasphemy law.
In another such case, a pan-Islamic demagogue Abul Ala Maudoodi had prompted religiously-motivated riots in Lahore in 1953. Islamabad imposed martial law and he was issued the death sentence. But Maudoodi was soon released because of the popular support ultimately.
Their alleged "crime" was the possession of innocuous Ahmadi literature in his store, which according to provincial authorities was seditious and treasonous and thus could incite violence.
He later swayed public opinion to allow former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, to introduce the third constitution in Pakistan's short history and re-establish the "Islamic Republic of Pakistan".
Following the arrest, Robert P George, Chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, condemned the action.
He then became the single most powerful force in materialising General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamisation of Pakistan and subsequent introduction of its infamous anti-blasphemy laws.
".. the country (Pakistan) uses anti-terrorism laws as pretexts for denying peaceful citizens [like Shakoor] the fundamental human right to religious freedom," The Express Tribune
Since then the Pakistan's antiblasphemy laws carry on Zia's legacy.
In another such incident, a mob murdered a Christian couple after being falsely accused of ripping out pages of the Quran in 2014. Same year, a paranoid schizophrenic, sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, was shot and injured by a policeman inside the prison. Adding to another example of such incident, a teenager chopped off his own hand after mistakenly believing he had committed blasphemy this January. Though the cleric responsible for labelling the teenager a blasphemer was arrested, he was released following protest from other clerics. Even the teenager's father has supported the cleric.
agreed to defend a professor accused of blasphemy, few in the region are willing to challenge the laws.
the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Lawyers' Forum, provides free representation to ensure "death for anyone who commits blasphemy."
While no has ever been executed for blasphemy under Pakistan's judiciary, more than 50 individuals have been murdered before their trial was completed.
Ironically, even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law has supported Taseer's killer by deeming the murder a "religious duty."
Ironically, the National Action Plan has propelled, not quashed for what it was introduced in first hand. The case of Salman Taseer's killer is another one. The hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, this February can be explained by the courts capitalising on the mass fear of extremists, not a meaningful shift in Pakistani jurisprudence.
In Pakistan reportedly judicial intervention in blasphemy cases is rare because witness testimony counts as sufficient evidence.
Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman whom Taseer publicly defended of falsely accused in blasphemy, has spent six years on death row, while her family has gone into hiding.
And following the murder of human rights lawyer who
And despite Qadri's execution,
Sadly, while the court system dealt with Qadri, no one has been held accountable for the assassination of Pakistan's Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti. Bhatti was a Roman Catholic and outspoken critic of antiblasphemy laws in the country. For the NAP to fully realise its goal, the citizens should appreciate the concept of a true republic and work together in negating the mob rule. But for it to be fully effective, the governing elites should also look into matter with grave concern and not permit the pendulum of justice to wildly swing, otherwise the result could prove devastating. (ANI)
Ex-president Zardari's close aide Asim denied bail
Karachi, June 19 (ANI): An anti-terrorism court has dismissed the bail plea of former federal minister DrAsim Hussain, who was a close aide of former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari. The court, which yesterday heard a case relating to the treatment of alleged terrorists at his hospital, turned down the bail application of the former minister, who held the portfolio of petroleum and natural resources. Asim has been booked on the Rangers complaint for allegedly treating and harbouring suspected terrorists, militants and gangsters at the North Nazimabad and Clifton branches of his hospital at the behest of some
Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan People's Party leaders, reports Dawn. MQM's mayoral nominee Waseem Akhtar, MPA Rauf Siddiqui, PPP's Abdul Qadir Patel and PakSarzameen Party's Anis Kaimkhani and Usman Moazam have also been named in the FIR against Asim. According to the prosecution, the five suspects of four different parties had allegedly asked Dr Asim to provide medical treatment to "political militants", Lyari gangsters as well as activists of the banned militant outfits after they sustained wounds in shootouts with the police and Rangers. (ANI)
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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
India's Anti-Satellite Weapons Women Combat Pilots In the cockpits of frontline fighter jets
(Photo:Indianews) The Indian Air Force inducted its first batch of women pilots into its fighter squadron. Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawna Kanth are the pilots included in the first batch. The graduation parade, which was held as part of successful completion of the precommissioning training by the flight cadets of various branches of Indian Air Force was a landmark event in the history of IAF, as the first three women pilots were commissioned in the fighter stream of the flying branch. However, the induction is on an "experimental basis." The IAF will study the results of this "experimental basis" induction for five years. The three women will go to Bidar in Karnataka for their stageIII training for a year on Hawk advanced jet trainers, before they get to fly supersonic warplanes. Six female cadets were competing to become fighter pilots after the government, in a landmark move, approved an IAF plan in October to induct them as fighter pilots. However, only three female trainees were selected for the fighter stream.
This is a progressive step in keeping with the aspirations of Indian women and is in line with contemporary trends in armed forces of developed nations. There are around 1,500 women in the Air Force, including 94 pilots and 14 navigators. At the moment, they serve as transport and helicopter pilots in the IAF but are not exposed to direct combat. With today's decision, they have now become eligible for induction in all branches and streams of the IAF. In 2010, women in the Army and the Air Force were allowed full term service by the Delhi High Court, which commented that women officers "deserve better from the government." Last year, women naval officers also scored this milestone, with the High Court saying it would "frown upon any endeavor to block progress of women." Till five years ago, women military officers were entitled only to a limited service span. The Ministry of Defence has also taken up a comprehensive review pertaining to induction of women in Armed Forces both in short service commission and permanent commission (SSC & PC) and once finalised more and more branches would be opened up for women.
High in Trafficking Fastest growing criminal industry Human trafficking can be described as forcing of a person into any kind of exploitation sexual or labor or both, which is human rights violation and the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It is the third largest profitable industry in the world. Child trafficking unlike many other issues is found in both developed and developing nations. Trafficked children are used for prostitution, forced into marriage, illegally adopted, used as cheap or unpaid labour, used for sport and organ harvesting. India which is a source, destination, and transit country for trafficking for many purposes such as commercial sexual exploitation. Majority of the trafficking is within the country but there are also a large number trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. Children are trafficked to Middle Eastern countries for sport such as camel racing. There are no national or regional estimates for the number of children trafficked every year. But 40% of prostitutes are children, and there is a growing demand for young girls in the industry. NGOs estimate that 12,000 - 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from neighbouring states for the sex trade. Thousands of girls are trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal. 200,000 Nepalese girls under 16 years are in prostitution
in India. An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Indian children are smuggled out of the country every year to Saudi Arabia for begging during the Hajj. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have the largest number of people trafficked. Intra state/inter district trafficking is high in Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Delhi and Goa are the major receiver states. Trafficking from north eastern states is high but often over looked. In 2008, 529 girls were trafficked from Assam alone. Though poverty-stricken communities are more likely to face crime, unemployment, and other vices that create a traffickingprone environment, poverty alone does not explain the occurrence of trafficking. Poverty can heighten one's vulnerability to becoming a victim, but even if poverty is eradicated, trafficking will remain a problem as long as the industry is one of low-risk and high profits for the traffickers themselves. This is especially problematic because the traffickers face rapidly increasing demand; both the commercial sex industry and the industry for cheap, dispensable labour are growing around the world. Therefore, governmental and non-governmental initiatives against trafficking should, in addition to implementing poverty alleviation measures, focus on enforcing strict prosecution of the perpetrators of human trafficking.
Does India truly have the ability to target enemy satellites in war? Harsh Vasani
sabotaging the enemy's military operations.
The utility of space as a medium for war has grown exponentially since the days of the Cold War Space Race. The military potential of satellites is manifold: communications, navigation, early-warning systems, reconnaissance, and signal intelligence. Any state that manages to get the upper hand in this frontier can be expected to dominate the outcome of any war. A state with command over spacebased assets can jam enemy satellites or destroy them, and stop the enemy from communicating with troops or accessing vital information about troop movements or incoming missiles. It is in this context that the events in India's neighborhood have caused anxiety and have led to calls for a new space policy aimed at countering the growing might of China's space military program.
Such developments have not gone unnoticed in New Delhi's defense establishment. Security experts and scholars have called for a rethink of India's space policy, augmenting India's ASAT weapons capability. Following China's 2007 ASAT weapons test, the then-chief of army staff of the Indian Army, General Deepak Kapoor, was quoted in a Times of India report saying that China's space program was expanding at an "exponentially rapid" pace in both offensive and defensive capabilities, and that space was becoming the "ultimate military high ground" to dominate in the wars of the future. Then-Integrated Defense Staff Chief Lt. General H S Lidder was also quoted as saying, "with time, we will get sucked into the military race to protect space assets and inevitably there will be a military contest in space. In a lifeand-death scenario, space will provide the advantage."
Threats From China's Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Program According to some reports, Beijing conducted its latest anti-satellite missile test in 2013, when it launched its new ASAT (anti-satellite) missile, the Dong Neng-2 or DN-2. A U.S. defense official familiar with military intelligence, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the DN-2 as a "ground-based, high earthorbit attack missile." Further, a report by the Secure World Foundation stated that "while there is no conclusive proof, the available evidence strongly suggests that China's May 2013 launch was the test of the rocket component of a new direct ascent ASAT weapons system derived from a road-mobile ballistic missile." This was not the first time Beijing tested its ASAT program. A more prominent test occurred in January 2007, when the Chinese military launched a KT-1 rocket that successfully destroyed a redundant Chinese Feng Yun 1-C weather satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), approximately 800 kilometers above the Earth. The test left behind approximately 2,500 to 3,000 pieces of dangerous debris in LEO, where reconnaissance and weather satellites and manned space missions are vulnerable to space debris. In May 2013, a Russian satellite was struck and destroyed, reportedly by one such piece of debris. Hazardous space debris aside, the test also confirmed China's capability to attack and destroy enemy satellites in the event of war,
A breakthrough emerged in 2012 when V.K. Saraswat, then the chief of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India's premier defense R&D organization, announced that India has all the building blocks in place to integrate an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in low earth and polar orbits. In an interview, Saraswat suggested that India's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense program could be utilized as an ASAT weapon, along with its Agni series of missiles. This was corroborated by DRDO, which said that the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program can incorporate anti-satellite weapon development. It should also be remembered that with the recent successes of its Mars mission and the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-D5), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) now has the capability to launch satellites weighing in excess of two tons, an important prerequisite for the deployment of any weapons system. And while existing space treaties prohibit placing weapons of mass destruction in space, they do not explicitly prohibit the placing of other types of weapons. For DRDO then, the next goal would likely be to develop orbital weapons, which could remain in space for as long as required while orbiting Earth or the Moon. Does India Really Have an ASAT Weapons Capa-
Image for representational purpose (Photo: cdn2-b.examiner) bility? While the statements by V.K. Saraswat created ripples all over, at home his statements were dismissed by certain scholars as an exaggeration. Questioning India's "purported" capabilities, scholars like Michael Listner and Victoria Samson have pointed out that without conducting a test and demonstrating its ASAT capability explicitly, India will only be seen as a "paper tiger" by the arms control and intelligence community. Listner pointed out that the acknowledgement by Saraswat about India developing and bringing together the basic technologies to create a system that could be used against enemy satellites, and the decision to adapt India's ABM technology for an ASAT role was "doubtless encouraged by the ancillary capability demonstrated by the United States when it adapted its ABM system to deorbit USA 193 in 2008." But should such ancillary capability be taken as a evidence of full ASAT capability? Expressing perplexity over contradictory statements from Indian officials, and their refusal to clear the air about India's ASAT program, Listner states that public statements about India's purported ASAT capability seem to "fit neither an active program to develop an ASAT or an ancillary capability to ballistic missile defense."
New Delhi based think tank, said that "India might do an ASAT test in the next five to 10 years." While these statements are illuminating as to the going-ons in India's academic and scientific circles, actually testing India's purported ASAT capacity is easier said than done. As pointed out by Arvind Kumar, professor of Geopolitics and International Relations at Manipal University, ASAT capabilities require a number of technologies related to space-based sensors, synthetic aperture radars, electronics, a sound navigation system, guidance and control, and global positioning systems. A number of different types of sensors, including infrared sensors, optical sensors, electronicoptical sensors, and magnetic sensors are vital to monitor, detect, and help in sensing the events. Whether India has the ability to acquire or build these technologies is doubtful. The Case for ASAT Weapons Demonstration The questions raised over India's ASAT weapons capacity are doubtless important. Even if New Delhi does have an anti-satellite weapons capability, it will only be acknowledged if it comes out in the open with a successful test. But such a demonstration will come with its own costs. What would be the consequences if New Delhi decided to demonstrate its purported ASAT capability?
However, in 2011, Bharath Gopalaswamy, who was then a researcher in the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, claimed that India's scientific community is open to an ASAT test, if it was done with caution. Rajeswari Rajagopalan, senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a
It should be remembered that along with causing grave insecurity, and possibly a space-weaponization race in the region, such a test will also lead to the creation of hazardous space debris, which could doubtless elicit international opprobrium, and possibly even sanctions. Burgeoning relations with the United States - which even led to the signing of the 2005 In-
dia-US Civil Nuclear Agreement and made India the first country with nuclear weapons which is not a signatory to the NonProliferation Treaty (NPT), but still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce with a nuclear weapons state could end in jeopardy if India unilaterally tests ASAT weapons. Further, at a time when India is looking at the indigenization of its defense industry to cut the costs of importing weapons (India is the world's largest arms importer) and hoping to garner international investments in its defense and manufacturing industry, such a move could stall such developments as investors would see the tests as a sign of aggression and defiance of international norms. Additionally, for India to establish its defense-industrial base, it needs the transfer of technology from technologically advanced nations. If New Delhi decides to go ahead with ASAT tests, it will possibly be looking at sanctions, not tech transfers. It would also also be incongruous with India's own conduct if New Delhi decides to test ASAT weapons. India is a member of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), and has contributed significantly to crafting that organization's mitigation guidelines. A successful test of an ASAT weapon by India and the resulting debris would seriously erode its credibility in this arena. Security analysts and scholars advocating the demonstration of ASAT weapons should not be under any impression that New Delhi will be treated to the same measured response from the international community as Beijing was after 2007. However, a new treaty
Mohot, The Great
Image for representational purpose (Photo: heritageaction.wpengine)
Sir, What is in a name? In India, there was only one 'Mahatma' and now person like him is a Chimera. So, when we find a name, 'Mohot' (Great), it matters pretty little whether the person holding the name can live upto the expectation of his parents or whosoever might give him the name. what this 'Great' Mohot did is only a tip of ice berg. Incidentally, one Mohot C Talukdar, a corrupt forest official of Dhemaji had been caught while accepting bribe. Of course, he is a bright star of the erstwhile congress regime, when there was an undeclared war about the amount of money one can embezzle, keeping himself a strong contender in the rat race. His mentors, particularly the ministers of his department must have trained him like most other officials of the Forest Department about the 'Art' of deforestation of Assam's forest, selling out costly woods including Red Sandal woods acting as accom-
banning space weaponization could inhibit India from demonstrating its ability in the future. After the 2007 test conducted by China, there has been renewed talk of a restrictive treaty banning spaceweaponization. Much like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that forced restrictions on the non-nuclear weapons states of the time (including India), a new restrictive regime on spaceweaponization could foreclose India's options, giving the United States, China, and Russia ASAT-weaponsstate status a la NPT, while keeping India out of the club. This could again lead to discrimination against India in case it decides to conduct a test to display its existing ability. It would also put New Delhi at a serious disadvantage, as it would then only be able to negotiate on such a new treaty as an "outsider" rather than an "insider" with ASAT weapons capability. If India shies away from demonstrating its ASAT weapons capability before a restrictive treaty is enforced, it will be repeating a historic mistake. For policymakers in New Delhi the situation is tricky. There are both pros and cons for demonstrating India's ASAT weapons capability. In this scenario, it is important to look for a middle ground where India can test its ASAT weapons without creating any hazardous atmosphere in outer space due to debris. One possibility would be to test anti-satellite weapons at a low altitude, where the resulting debris would enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up without causing any damage. At a lower altitude, the atmospheric drag results in orbital decay that reduces the altitude of space debris. It eventually enters Earth's atmosphere and usually burns up on re-entry. Yet another way to demonstrate ASAT capability without causing debris would be to do a fly-by test, where the ground-based direct ascent missile will fly by the targeted satellite without destroying it. Lastly, New Delhi could also test its ability to sabotage satellites by jamming satellites using space-based lasers. This method falls under the category of "softkill" methods and does not create debris. Whether a fly-by test or jamming a satellite, both would require technological superiority to conduct the test and also to satisfactorily gauge the results. Whether DRDO and ISRO have such technological capability is not known.
Best Letter The best letter
plice in the export of the woods to of the month in China in a clandestine way. Recovery the Letter to the of more than one crore in his house Editor section along with certain objectionable parawill be awarded phernalia from his residence in an amount of Guwahati is a manifestation about how Rs 200. So corrupt these forest officials are. After full checking of his residence more please keep amount of money is expected to come writing. out to the open. After checking some more money might come to the fore. Letters to the Why only on one D.F.O., simultaneous editor and articles raids should have been conducted throughout Assam, on all the DFO's should be sent to : The Eastern Tohouse. We are happy that from the regime of Tarun Gogoi led government day at least one cat was let out of the bag Chowkidingee, among many. Near Sankardeva
Hospital Mancotta Road, Dibrugarh786001 (Assam) Ph: 0373-2328944 Yours etc. Email : Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh
editor.easterntoday@gmail.com
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Why Women Farmers In Uttarakhand Are Bearing The Brunt Of A Rampant Monkey Menace It is time we redefined what we mean by conservation and what constitutes gender issues. I am in Almora, where a group of anguished women are telling me how their already hard life has become harsher because of marauding monkeys and wild boars. Their stories are heart-rending. One woman tells me how her young daughter was attacked. Another one talks of how she was mauled. She shows me her scars. All talk about how their crops are being devastated. "We get one-third (yield) or even less now."Nothing is left, another says. "We can't sleep at night ‌ wild boars plunder our crops." This comes after backbreaking work to get the food. In the Himalayas, women (there are no men, to speak of, in agriculture in this region) collect large loads of green fodder, carry them on their back up and down pre-
cipitous slopes, all to feed the livestock, not for milk but for manure. The steep mountain terraces are poor in fertility and this is the only way to improve productivity. Now even this is threatened. Their pain is palpable. Their livelihood is being destroyed. One woman tells me with obvious contempt,"The government says it will give us grain under the Food Security Act. We tell them, 'Keep it. Your grain is substandard and poor in nutrition. Protect our land and we will give you double the grain.' Our mandua is nutritious and healthy." I ask them, why they are raising this issue now. After all, they have always lived in this forested region where animal attacks are common. The older women reply, quickly and strenuously, "We have never seen anything like this. The numbers have multiplied many
times." I then say that this is clearly because we have destroyed habitats of monkeys and other wild animals. Forests are being destroyed and so animals are turning to human settlements to find food. It is our fault, I say. "We have not encroached on the forests.
It is the city that has grown and taken over forest habitats," they point out. What surprises me is the next response: "These are not our monkeys. These are aggressive and violent." I probe more. The forest department, it seems, was bringing drugged monkeys from
other places and leaving them in the forested villages. All this was being done at night and people had no information. This does not surprise me. Even in Delhi, where the rich and famous live, when monkeys became a big menace they were 'relocated' to
Oi Mobile Operators, What's With The Call Drops? If you use a mobile phone in Bengaluru, Delhi/ NCR or Mumbai, chances are that you're fed up of the frequent call drops. High chances. Personally, since the last six months or so, I feel that it has been a test of patience for me every single day. And the sad state of affairs is that the telecom operators probably don't even understand how deeply this affects us as consumers. Especially in today's entirely digital world where an average individual spends around 4 hours a day on his/her smartphone. But if you're in Bengaluru, this number could be as high as 7-8 hours a day. You're taking an interview. Boom! Suddenly the call drops and you don't remember where you were. You miss the plot and waste five minutes in re-establishing the context. But what's five minutes of a common man's day to a multi-billion dollar MNC, right ? You're making a call to the customer care of a young e-commerce startup about the delay in the delivery of a projector, you rented from them. You try for about 10 minutes and it's busy. Then you get connected and the call drops. And then again the line's busy. Irritating, right? Replace me with any girl in a molestation/ abuse scenario and this customer care with the emergency helpline and play the situation in your head again. Scary. And we thought the primary use of a mobile phone was to make calls. And the problem worsens in a metro city where almost the entire city runs on start-ups with mobile apps. Everything is happening via internet and not just any, but mobile internet. But when the mobile network itself goes kaput, from where will you get the internet? I have lost count of the number of times a sudden network flip wouldn't let me book an Ola/Uber/Rapido after I have entered the destination. I have lost count of the number of times I type an email on my phone when I'm in an auto-rickshaw/cab/Rapido and as soon as I hit SEND ? Boom! No network. But what's a rant going to achieve. Let's dig deeper and try and under-
Prateek Gupta stand why this happens. How Do Mobile Phones Work? Mobile phones operate using radio waves in the frequency range of 300 MHz to 3000 MHz. Lower bands of the spectrum, such as 900 MHz, are optimal for calling facilities whereas higher bands, such as 1800 MHz and 2300 Mhz, are optimal for data services like 3G or 4G. Rule of thumb is that lower the band, the better is it for call voice quality. Additionally, mobile towers act as boosters which facilitate the smooth and continuous transmission of radio waves. Now, Why Do Calls Drop? As much as I could read on the internet, there are primarily two reasons for call drops: If a company holds too little of the lower bands, the call quality degrades. As the congestion increases i.e. the user to bandwidth ratio, the call drops increase significantly. Now you would think that a company like Airtel will know what to do about it and solve the issue, right? And what's the right thing to do here? Invest more in lower bands if you want to improve the call quality. But no, Airtel invested Rs.~30,000 crores in both, the renewal of existing 900 MHz spectrums and for obtaining newer spectrums in the 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz space in last year's spectrum auction by the government of India. According to Govind Vittal, their Managing Director, that investment practically froze the 20-year roadmap for Airtel. But even after multiple reminders and sanctions from the Telecom Regulatory Authority TRAI regarding call drops since the last 8 months, instead of investing in the lower band spectrums, they're now looking to buy out Aircel's 4G Airwaves in the 2300 MHz for a whopping Rs. 3800 Crore. Now why would you do that if your customers are more frustrated with call drops and 4G adoption is still in nascent stages ? Simple. Who wants to miss the bus? India has 22 telecom circles and Reli-
Image for representational purpose (Photo: thetechmedia)
ance Jio is the only network to have a 4G footprint in all those 22 circles. Airtel has presence only in 15 currently but with this deal it will go upto 18 and close the gap. This is after they purchased Qualcomm's airwaves in 4 circles and acquired Auguere wireless just months ago, all in the 4G spectrum. It really puts into perspective where their priorities lie. Towers play a very critical role in the effective transmission of radio waves therefore, if there is a scarcity in the number of towers, the calls will drop. According to an estimate, India has approximately 550,000 mobile towers, almost 100,000 short of the actual need. Mind you, India has close to 961 million mobile phone subscribers. And the problem worsens in metro cities because the density of users is very high. Incidentally, Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru also top the list in terms of tower shortages. But why is there a shortage in the first place? Telecom companies claim that it's because they face issues in erecting mobile towers due to oppositions from civic authorities and resident associations due to harmful radiations from these towers. This has become the defacto argument of all telecom operators alike since it gives them an easy way out. In
fact, the only thing Airtel has done to address the issue of call drops is to send a mail to all of its customers in July 2015 asking for site suggestions for these towers. What was done after that mail, no one knows! But even if I buy this argument (even though only 10,000 towers have been shut by civic authorities till now) why is then, there a hesitation in sharing the towers ? This is a common practice in a lot of metro cities across the world. Why can't two or more telecom operators come together and have joint or shared towers? Plus it takes a lot fewer towers to transfuse a 900 MHz signal than an 1800 or 2300 MHz which means that the call drop problem can be solved if they really want to. What Can The Customers Do About It? Nothing! Nada! Zilch! That's exactly the point. This is where the biggest problem is. We just don't have an option. All the leading telecom service providers failed the call drop test conducted by the TRAI in December 2015. The benchmark for call drops is 2% in any circle and in reality, it went as high as 23.65% in few circles for a few networks. Imagine that! 1 out of 4 calls every day will get dropped. So essentially, Airtel doesn't need to work on this issue at all
since there is no way I'm switching the network because essentially, all are the same. Equally bad. At the end of the day, I will, at least, give it to the TRAI for doing a stellar job on this issue. After multiple reminders to telecom operators regarding the call drop issue, it passed an amendment in the TRAI regulations on October 16, 2015, that the telecom operator has to compensate Re 1 for every call drop with a cap of 3 call drops/day. This amendment was supposed to be effective January 1, 2016 but the telecom operators have given, for the lack of a better term, a royal "fuck you!" to this TRAI notice and have said that they will only compensate if ordered by the court. TouchĂŠ! Having said that, TRAI could have done more, like allocating more spectrums to telecom operators by taking a stock of underutilised spectrums especially in the defence sector. The bottomline is that the telecom operators don't want to focus on the calling feature of the whole mobile ecosystem at all. Data services like 3G and 4G make more sense financially. After all, watching a video on YouTube in sub-Himalayan ranges is much more jazzy than making an uninterrupted phone call in a metro city! Courtesy: Medium
forested regions on the outskirts of the city. Now people like me can be wildlife enthusiasts without having to deal with animals in their backyard. But it does make me realise just how callous (indeed criminal) our conservation policies are. I summon courage to ask what they want. After all, monkeys are worshipped as descendants of Hanuman. Will they allow killing? First, there is silence. I can feel the tension. Then one woman bursts out,"Yes. These monkeys are not Hanuman but Bali - the evil one." The rest join in. "We want the government to act." This would mean that the Uttarakhand government would have to declare monkey vermin and then undertake culling. Currently, governments struggling to deal with the menace are relocating and sterilising monkeys. This measure is clearly failing.
Sterilisation requires capturing the animal and holding it for three days before sterilising and freeing it. The programme is designed to fail. There are too many animals, capturing is difficult and it is impossible to know which animal has been sterilised. Worse, there is no clear idea of the optimum number that needs to be sterilised, so breeding continues. Primatologists say at least one-third of the population needs to be sterilised to stabilise (not reduce) growth. This is impossible to achieve. What, then, is the solution? It is difficult to say. The Uttarakhand government has recently declared wild boar vermin, but who will kill the animal? In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the monkey has been included in the category. But where are the guns? The forest department is least bothered to help villagers. These villages are
run by women; the men have migrated or are looking for jobs outside agriculture. In one case, the women described how they ganged up and took out sticks to beat the animal that was marauding their field. "It turned on us and we had to take cover." The problem is urgent, real and causing huge damage and pain. It cannot be shrugged off. It needs resolution. This is where it gets complicated. One, the issue concerns largely women. But who will take up this 'gender' issue? It is women who farm the mountain slopes. We have no time for them. Two, the issue concerns how we practise conservation. We want the pleasure of seeing animals in the wild, but without paying the real price of that protection. This is not acceptable. Should not be. Courtesy: Youthkiawaaz
Why a student's performance should not just be about marks in an exam I was in Class VII when CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) was introduced. Before this, the only chance for a student to be known among teachers and nonfriend classmates was to study hard and get good marks. But not everybody can do that. And then came CCE. Now students were assessed differently. If I was good in the dramas that were held as group activities or quizzes or debates, or if I could sing well in the school assembly which was held as a part of class activities, I was considered equally important if not more than those who could mug up everything and get good marks in written exams. I was now discussed in groups and among teachers. I started feeling confident and my grades didn't look bad either. Yes, that's what CCE did for thousands of students. It filled them with
for that. But was it really the fault of CCE? Were pupils more intelligent before the arrival of the CCE? A detailed analysis would give you the answer and it's a no! The annual dropout rate at the primary level has gone down considerably from 2009-10 to 2013-14. These are the active years of CCE. The drop is as much as 4% in a country as populous as ours. Moreover, findings of the government for the years 2011 to 2015 in the case of pass-fail ratio suggest that there has been an increase in the pass percentage in Class X all over the country except twothree states with a minor decrease. So, even after this, why do the HRD Ministry of our country and 18 states want the CCE to go back? Well, here is the reason. At the start of the implementation of CCE, there was a lack of 12 lakh
blame of not appointing enough teachers, what the governments appear to be trying to do is go back to the previous pass/fail system so that all the blame comes back on the student. Their intelligence on the basis of marks is questioned again and their confidence gets shattered once again. As far as the no-detention policy is concerned, there is no system or research which verifies the fact that by detaining a student in the same grade he/ she would perform better the next year. Rather the student might feel guilty and neglected. Then why should we do that? Don't we want a skilled workforce which knows its potential and fields in which it can do its best? Then why do we want to move backwards from the progress we have made? Just a fortnight or so ago, the streets and playgrounds were buzzing with discussions about CGPA.
Abhishek Singh confidence. But I studied in a private school. Does the same go for government schools as well? The answer might be no! Recently Class IX results showed students failing in large numbers in government schools in Delhi and some other places as well. People and news channels started blaming CCE and the nodetention policy for that
teachers all over the country. Plus the student-teacher ratio in government schools is far worse than you could imagine. And CCE is all about student-teacher interactions and well-versed assessments of individual students. This helps in identifying as well as nurturing their field of interest before they reach the decision-making phase. Probably to avoid the
The student who is now moving to another level was excited. I hope he/she and the coming generations keep discussing CGPAs as it tells them about their true worth. And I also hope that the government pays more attention to appointing teachers rather than derailing the progress made by its citizens. Courtesy: Youthkiawaaz
BUSINESS
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
Price of Micra auto transmission cut upto Rs 54,000 by Nissan Pune, Jun 19: Japanese auto major Nissan slashed the prices of automatic transmission variant of its premium hatchback Micra in India by up to Rs 54,252 on the back of increased parts localisation. The Micra CVT Automatic XL variant which was priced at Rs 6,53,252 will now be available at Rs 5,99,000, a reduction of Rs 54,252. Similarly, the Micra Automatic CVT XV will now cost Rs 6,73,500 as against its earlier price of Rs 7,19,213 lakh, a drop of Rs 45,713 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi). Commenting on the development, Nissan Motor India Managing Director Arun Malhotra said: "As Micra is produced right here in India, we are able to better serve the market in terms of faster, more efficient delivery and improved localization levels. This allows us to pass on
CUT IN PRICE Ø Japanese auto major Nissan slashed the prices of automatic transmission variant of its premium hatchback Micra in India by up to Rs 54,252 on the back of increased parts localisation. ØThe Micra CVT Automatic XL variant which was priced at Rs 6,53,252 will now be available at Rs 5,99,000, a reduction of Rs 54,252. ØSimilarly, the Micra Automatic CVT XV will now cost Rs 6,73,500 as against its earlier price of Rs 7,19,213 lakh, a drop of Rs 45,713 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).
Textile firms annoyed by high cotton prices Coimbatore, Jun 19: The steep hike in cotton prices, by about Rs. 6,000 a candy, in the last few weeks is a matter of concern to the textile industry, for which cotton is the main raw material. According to data obtained from sources in the trade, cotton price (Shankar - 6 variety) is now Rs. 39,600 a candy compared to Rs 34,300 in April and Rs. 34,000 in January this year. Prior to that it has been fairly stable in the Rs 32,000 to Rs. 34, 000 range between January and In January last year, the price was Rs. 32,000 a candy. This has hit the acquisition prices for textile mills that do not have stock of the raw material. The mill gate price is more than Rs. 40,000 a candy. This is an abnormal increase, said C. Varatharajan, president of the South India Spinners' Association. However, sources in the Ministry of Textiles are not worried. "There is sufficient availability of cotton. Both imports and exports are at the expected levels. Prices also de-
pend on market sentiments," said a senior official in the Ministry of Textiles. At its meeting in February, the Cotton Advisory Board estimated imports to be 11 lakh bales and exports to be 70 lakh bales this year. However, according to the textile industry, imports are likely to be more than the estimates as international cotton prices are lower than the Indian prices. Domestic production might also be less than the expected 352 lakh bales. Sources say that prices will come down once the rains start in the cotton cultivating areas. Prices have gone up mainly because of the delay in the arrival of the monsoon and reports that cotton production next season might be lower than in this year. "We have asked the textile mills not to panic. But, the Government should create a stability fund to help mills buy cotton during the peak season," said M. Senthil Kumar, chairman of Southern India Mills' Association. (Agencies)
ØThe company claimed that the Micra CVT gives a mileage of 19.34 kmpl as per ARAI tests. Ø Micra was the first locally produced Nissan model in India with production starting in 2010 at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant in Chennai. ØApart from the Micra, the company sells models, including mid-sized sedan Sunny and SUV Terrano, among others under the Nissan brand while it sells three models GO, GO Plus and redi-GO under the Datsun brand.
will enable HCL to provide services to Lease Plan across 32 countries globally. "In today's challenging business environment, from an ICT perspective, it is crucial to continue to derisk the legacy footprint, while at the same time re-invest into future platforms in order to deliver worldclass experience to our customers. This requires a strong ICT partner to help us on this Transformation Journey" said Phil Parker, Senior Vice President, ICT, Lease Plan. "After going through the comprehensive evaluation process, we have found HCL as the right strategic partner as we believe HCL has the required diverse expertise in various domains to help us realize the vision of Group Competency and accelerate the journey, this ultimately will create a significant business impact for us," he added. "We are pleased to have been selected by Lease Plan and we look forward to collaborate with them to create Group Competency to provide services
Mumbai, Jun 19: The Indian automobile component industry is expecting a growth of up to 12 per cent in the current fiscal on hopes that a better monsoon this year will help boost the demand for automobiles in the country. The auto component industry's turnover in the last fiscal grew by 8.8 per cent to Rs.2.55 lakh crore from Rs.2.34 lakh crore in 201415, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) said. "In the first two months of this fiscal, trends have been positive. With prospects of a good monsoon, we expect the growth during this fiscal to be better than the previous one. We expect to grow in the range of 10-12 per cent this fiscal," ACMA President Arvind Balaji said. Mr. Balaji said that despite a challeng-
across diverse ICT portfolios and platforms over the coming years. We will leverage our delivery centers in Estonia, Ireland, Poland and India to provide services to Lease Plan" said, Sudip Lahiri, Vice President, HCL Technologies. "Innovative companies realize unique valueby creating an agile IT function that drives innovation and growth,adapting their application landscapes to rapidly changing business environments. HCL will utilise its core capabilities to help LeasePlan achieve their business objective," he commented. HCL provides a comprehensive range of custom application development services that enable enterprises to utilise the power of custom applications to support new capabilities and enhance their customer and partner experience. HCL brings over 35 years of experience in managing complex IT application and infrastructure environments, offering a full set of Application Support and Maintenance solutions.
Centre urges Hyundai to set up third plant Pune, Jun 19: Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has told the South Korean automobile major, Hyundai Motor Company, not to hesitate in establishing a new plant anywhere in the country "I do not think there are enough reasons for you (Hyundai) to think more about it (setting up a third factory in India). You (Hyundai) should not delay it. It's time that you set it up and this is a good time for Hyundai to announce this," she said while addressing a gathering at the
'Korea-India Industry and Infrastructure Forum' organised by Indian industry body FICCI and Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency. Hyundai Motor India, which is the country's second largest automobile manufacturer, currently has two plants at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Queried on the details of the issue, Ms.Sitharaman said: "The decision is apparently with the Hyundai leadership and I would only suggest that since they
these benefits to our customers in the form of a revised, even more competitive price for our popular premium hatchback." The company claimed that the Micra CVT gives a mileage of 19.34 kmpl as per ARAI tests. Micra was the first locally produced Nissan model in India with pro-
duction starting in 2010 at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant in Chennai. Apart from the Micra, the company sells models, including mid-sized sedan Sunny and SUV Terrano, among others under the Nissan brand while it sells three models GO, GO Plus and redi-GO under the Datsun brand. (Agencies)
12% growth might be witnessed by auto components industry in FY 17
HCL Technologies partners with Lease Plan on strategic ICT initiative ANI Hague (Netherlands), Jun 19: HCL Technologies (HCL) announced that it has signed a strategic IT partnership contract with Lease Plan, a global fleet management and driver mobility company of Dutch origin. Under the terms of agreement, HCL will create Group Competency in collaboration with Lease Plan Information Services to provide IT solutions in various domains such as core leasing platforms, business intelligence and data warehousing solutions, enterprise IT solutions, and application development & maintenance services. HCL will manage and enhance some of the existing application suites, including core leasing platforms, development and roll-out of global IT programs and operations for Lease Plan. The program is a part of broader ICT strategic initiative by Lease Plan to consolidate, harmonize and standardize IT elements such as Infrastructure, Applications and Data. The scope of the contract
Image for representational purpose. (Photo: s1.cdn.autoevolution)
have two successful plants here, setting up of a third should not be an issue. Moreover this government is looking forward to pushing the Make in India initiative." Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Young Key Koo had said in February that the company was not considering setting up a new manufacturing plant as it had sufficient capacity for the next three years. He said the annual capacity of 6.8 lakh units could be expanded to 7.2 lakh units. (Agencies)
PAGE 10
Charge of tapping phones of politicians denied by Essar
Bengaluru, Jun 19: The Essar group denied charges that it carried out illegal tapping of phones of several Indian VVIPs, including senior politicians, civil servants and corporate czars for years. In a statement, S.S. Khandwawala, HeadSecurity (Intelligence & Vigilance), of the group said lawyer Suren Uppal, who has written to the Prime Minister with purported details of the activity, "has concocted a completely false and baseless story involving us in order to make extortionist demands from us in the name of an ex-employee." Mr. Khandwawala said when Essar refused to accede to "such illegal demands, he is now looking to defame and pressurise us by using the media." The company said it would legally proceed against Mr. Uppal, unless he tenders a public apology and withdraws the allegations. "Essar has never itself conducted or authorised any person, including Mr. Basit Khan, to conduct any phone surveillance," the group said, referring to an ex-employee who was Mr. Uppal's client. Mr. Uppal's letter says his client is Albasit Khan, while Essar refers to him as Basit Khan. Mr. Uppal's letter says his client is Albasit Khan, while Essar refers to him as Basit Khan. Mr. Uppal has in his letter to
Image for representational purpose. (Photo: 2.bp.blogspot) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 1 claimed that between 2001 and 2006, the Essar group allegedly tapped phones of several key Indians including officials in the Prime Minister's Office, corporate czars Mukesh and Anil Ambani, many senior politicians and several senior government officials. Those conversations show the tapped individuals being involved in influencing and manipulating government, police, judiciary etc, he says in the letter. Mr. Uppal had been the lawyer of Mr. Khan, an Essar employee who was involved in the alleged tapping as the head of its se-
curity division. According to Mr. Uppal, the tapping was done from an Essar office in Delhi and another in Mumbai. To prove his claims, he says he has with him handwritten logs of calls with time and date even some key recordings. In his complaint to the PM, Mr. Uppal has given details of 24 conversations, so as to give an idea of the damaging details available with him. He claims phones of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, senior political figures Praful Patel and Ram Naik, the Ambani brothers and several of their key executives were all tapped by the group. (Agencies)
Flipkart's Michael Adani joins Styletag ACMA President Arvind Balaji. (Photo: livemint) ing year, the auto component industry had registered a "satisfactory growth" of 8.8 per cent. Exports grew to Rs.70,900 crore last fiscal from Rs.68,500 crore in 201415. Europe accounted for 36 per cent of the total exports followed by Asia and North America (25 % each). Shipments to Central America and North America in-
creased by 30 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, year-on-year. Key export items included engine parts, transmission parts, brake system, body parts, exhaust systems and turbochargers. Imports grew by 9.3 per cent to Rs.90,600 crore. Asia and Europe contributed to 58.6 % and 30.9 % of the imports, respectively. (Agencies)
World's most expensive luxury train to be introduced in south India from 2017
Expensive luxury train 'Maharaja Express' in southern India (Photo: proirctc.files.wordpress) Panaji, Jun 19: The world's most expensive luxury train 'Maharaja Express' in southern India en-route Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala from the monsoon season next year, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. "There is ample scope for tourism in Goa and (the) Konkan belt. I have asked (the) Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) to introduce world's most expensive luxury train 'Maharaja Express' in southern India covering Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala," he said. He laid the foundation stone for new railway line crossing at Kharepatan in Maharashtra via video conferencing. The minister said plans are to make sure that by next year, 'Maharaja Express' which has won several awards for four consecutive years as the world's best
luxury train should make trips in Goa during the monsoon season. According to Prabhu, this will help to attract high end tourists to Goa. "The travel by this train is very expensive and hence will attract high-end tourist and generate revenue for railway as well as (the) state," Prabhu said, adding the train will help in generating employment and revenue for the state. The Minister further said the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) will have ten more railway stations along the Goa, Konkan, Karnataka and Kerala route for which Rs 150 crore will be spend. "Konkan Railway is not only important for the belt but today it serves as important lifeline to the people of Goa, Konkan, Karnataka and Kerala," Prabhu said. (Agencies)
Styletag.com's new CEO Michael Mehran Adnani. (Photo: post.jagran) ANI Bengaluru, Jun 19: Styletag.com, India's first online women's curated fashion and lifestyle destination has announced the appointment of its new CEO, Michael Mehran Adnani. Michael Adnani will spearhead the company's operations and helm its evolution as it enters into a new phase of growth and expansion. Michael has joined Styletag from Flipkart, where he was the Vice President of the commerce platform and headed the strategic brand alliances for the e-commerce giant. Speaking on the announcement, Sanjay Shroff, founder and managing director, Styletag.com, said, "Styletag has experienced notable and visible growth since inception and, through our conservative and innovative strategies. We have been able to create an enterprise, which has weathered the various weather patterns that have emerged in the ECom landscape." "Styletag now possesses the correct ingredi-
ents for rapid acceleration, expansion and consolidation. We already have an omni-channel presence, which was established two years ago and which has turned profitable. Styletag's private labels have grown to become recognized brands and have established their own set of loyal customers, both online as well as offline. Importantly, Styletag has reached the milestone of being margin positive," he added. "Now, we are looking to further bring in fresh ideas and perspectives as we usher in a new era of expansion and next round of exponential growth. Unlike many other Indian start-ups, Styletag has always been open to the idea of having professional C-Sec executives with requisite expertise in key management positions with a strong belief that a seasoned professional who brings in industry expertise and domain knowledge is the ideal match for its needs," he further said. Explaining his decision to join Styletag, Michael said, "As
the CEO of Styletag, my role is well-defined and comes at a time when the market is ripe with healthy competition. Today, the brand stands as one of the foremost players in the online fashion and lifestyle segment and the Styeltag team has a deep understanding of the nuances of the Indian fashion scene. My job will be to leverage the strengths of the company and turn them into winning strategies to cement Styletag's position as a domain leader." Michael holds over 30 years of work experience in retail and e-commerce, merchandising, management, marketing and sales gained during his earlier association with Flipkart, Sears Holdings, Nextag.com, Overstock.com, GEFS, Inc., Fry's Electronics, CompUSA, Hexagon Computer Systems Inc., and Integrated Decision Systems, Inc. Michael has a great eye for trends and quality and has successfully managed teams, groups and an entire division under his leadership.
25% import duty on wheat extended by Govt to curb cheap inward shipments New Delhi, Jun 19: Government has extended a 25 percent tax on wheat imports, the food minister said, to help curb cheap shipments with domestic stockpiles rising at the world`s second-biggest wheat producer. India in March extended the 25 percent import tax on wheat by three months to June 30. The government has approved a further extension of the import tax, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said in a
tweet, without specifying any timeline. Wheat stocks at stateowned warehouses in India reached more than 40 million tonnes at the start of June. That is at least 12 million tonnes more than the government-set target for wheat inventory by July 1. Despite plentiful wheat stocks at home, some flour millers near port cities in southern parts of the country have been importing the protein-rich variety of the
grain mainly used to make pizzas and pasta. Flour millers find it cheaper to import wheat from countries such as Australia than transporting local wheat from northern and central states, the grain basket of India. Still, India`s wheat imports could surge to a decadehigh in 2016/17, forcing the country to look at cutting import taxes, a leading consumer products company said last week. (Agencies)
DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JUNE 20
Features
PAGE 11
ENVIRONMENT
Cultivating Wildness
Cultivation the wildness (Photo: audubon.) Do you remember in the '60s when grownups didn't like kids having long hair? Some parents even disowned their sons because of their hair-or, as Bruce Springsteen tells it, brought in a barber to shave their head while incapacitated and in bed from a motorcycle accident that was not their fault. Well, now anybody can have long hair, or a beard, and it's no big deal. But the way moms and dads felt
In the wake of the climate negotiations in Warsaw, the consensus appears near universal: the international process is not going to deliver, and it is up to countries and communities to go it on their own. For some, that means taking serious and dramatic steps to reduce emissions. For others, like Bangladesh or the island nations, it means finding a way to survive the consequences of climate change with little help from the international community. For all of us, it means facing a future of weather extremes, crop failures and potential disruption of virtually everything on an unprecedented scale. For advocates of climate geo-engineering, the failure of global agreement is wind in their sails: "More reasons" why drastic measures such as spewing sulphate particles into the stratosphere, or "fertilizing" the ocean with iron filings, or burning and burying billions of tons biomass (as biochar or "bioenergy with carbon capture and storage") should be seriously considered and research should be gloriously funded. Of course the converse argument is that if global agreement on addressing climate change cannot be achieved, how can we possibly expect any global consensus on, or governance of "technomanagement" of the atmosphere where the risks of serious negative consequences, for some people in some places, at least, are so grave? It is why faculty from Johns Hopkins University and American University recently launched a new, Washington DC based "Climate Geoengineering Consortium". The stated goal of the consortium, perhaps laudable, is "to generate space for perspectives from civil society actors and the wider
about long hair back then in the '60s is how a lot of farmers feel about wildness and weeds today. It threatens their masculinity and their sense of belonging to see wildness on their land or lawns. When everything is neat and tidy, you get a sense of control. And that would be mythical control, because one week of not thinking about it and Mother Nature is back in control again, popping out little weeds and
thinking of new ways to provoke your sense of order. What's ironic is that Nature is fundamentally ordered and organized; if you just let things go, she'll takes care of it for you. However, she needs her SPACE. A patch of weeds is like a truck stop on Nature's highway. Consider it an investment in more free time! Why is wildness so essential? Well, that's where Nature is free to do her business, which means creating,
cultivating, and feeding lifethe life we need to survive! It's a home for all sorts of critters. It's a veritable smorgasbord for everyone. Even underground, the fungi, bacteria, and insect life are working hard to create a healthy universe. When left undisturbed (by not tilling or digging), those creatures can really get things done! And when Nature gets things done, we all end up healthier and happier. Recently, while in California, an organization called the Wild Farm Alliance, which is helping farmers embrace their wild side. It's funny, because a lot of farmers enjoy going into the woods and hunting. Love for wildness is in their deepest souls. But somehow, when that gets translated to farm fields-or lawns for that matter-the need to control takes over and outcome the chemicals to "make their lives easier." Here's what's super easy: letting go, surrendering a little bit of space to nature and embracing the wildness that brings diversity and life to everyone and everything. So while you are "cultivating" wildness, you can do all sorts of other things. Like take a nap. Read a book. Go for a walk. Or just simply watch the miracle of Nature doing her magic.
Representational image (Photo: ytimg)
Center, NASA (Mike McCracken), the renowned blogger, Joe Romm, and long time (but now retired) Friends of the Earth director, Brent Blackwelder. There were representatives from U.S. Climate Action Network, Greenpeace, Food and Water Watch and various others. Certainly more diverse than some meetings, but even I could not avoid the sensation of being sort of a token. Strikingly absent from the event was the single organization (ETC Group) that has been for years already working to raise awareness of climate geoengineering proposals among civil society via their "Hands Off Mother Earth" campaign, and also via their dogged and successful effort to promote a defacto ban on geoengineering through the Convention on Biodiversity. No other NGO has devoted anywhere near the attention to the issue, and yet oddly they were not behind these closed doors. The opening remarks focused on reconfirming for
A new species of bird has been described in northeastern India and adjacent parts of China by a team of scientists from Sweden, China, the US, India and Russia, led by Professor Per Alstrรถm, Uppsala University and Swedish University of Agricultural Science. The bird has been named the Himalayan Forest Thrush, Zoothera salimalii. The scientific name honours the great Indian ornithologist Dr Sรกlim Ali (18961987), in recognition of his huge contributions to the development of Indian ornithology and nature conservation. The Himalayan Forest Thrush was first discovered when it was realised that what was considered a single species, the Plainbacked Thrush Zoothera mollissima, was in fact two different species in northeastern India. What first caught the attention of the scientists was the fact that the 'Plainbacked Thrushes' in the coniferous and mixed forest had a rather musical song. This was in contrast to individuals found on bare rocky ground above the treeline in the same area, as they had a much harsher, scratchier, more unmusical song. Studies of museum specimens in several countries revealed consistent differences in plumage and structure between birds that could be assigned to either
The bird has been named the Himalayan Forest Thrush, Zoothera salimalii (Photo:cdn)
of these two species. It was confirmed that the species breeding in the forests of the eastern Himalayas had no name. It was suggested that the high-elevation Plain-backed Thrush be called the 'Alpine Thrush' instead, while retaining the scientific name of the 'original' species, Zoothera mollissima, in accordance with international nomenclatural rules. Further analyses of plumage, structure, song, DNA and ecology from throughout the range of the 'Plainbacked Thrush' revealed that a third species was present
in central China. This was already known, but was treated as a subspecies of 'Plain-backed Thrush'. The scientists called it Sichuan Forest Thrush. The song of the Sichuan Forest Thrush was found to be even more musical than the song of the Himalayan Forest Thrush. DNA analyses suggested that these three species have been genetically separated for several million years. Genetic data from three old museum specimens indicated the presence of yet another unnamed species in China. Future studies are
required to confirm this. The Himalayan Forest Thrush is locally common. It has been overlooked until now because of its close similarity in appearance to the Alpine Thrush. New bird species are rarely discovered nowadays. In the last 15 years, approximately five new species have been discovered annually on average, mainly in South America. The Himalayan Forest Thrush is only the fourth new bird species described in India since the country achieved its independence (1947). Courtesy: sciencedaily
Courtesy: huffingtonpost
Geo-engineering: The Sky is not 'Normal'
public, to produce a heightened level of engagement around issues of justice, agency, and inclusion." Perhaps one is too skeptical, but "generating space" for a debate seems a bit vague. This new consortium recently organized a meeting, slated as a "closed door" meeting of civil society representatives. Closed meetings for civil society always make me a little nervous. Especially when the topic is planetary scale interference with the global commons - the life support systems of our planet! The meeting was held in a stark space at Johns Hopkins, with the requisite sleek furnishings and snack plates wrapped securely in sparkling plastic. Nobody in attendance was a shade darker than a bowl of oatmeal, all were dressed in drab, illuminated by glowing computers, tablets and smartphones. Represented were staff from Johns Hopkins and American University, as well as the conservative American Enterprise Institute (Lee Lane), Bipartisan Policy
New species of bird discovered in India, China by international team of scientists
us a sense of desperation, as we face global warming already on track to utter catastrophe. No disagreement there. Plan B of course, being none other than, say, dumping sulphate particles into the stratosphere, pouring iron filings into the ocean, or perhaps charring and burying vast quantities of "biomass". After a brief review of the various technologies proposed and their potential to make things worse rather than better, one member of the audience asked: "If there is no silver lining to any of these approaches, then why are we even holding this conversation?" The organizers and most in the audience giggled, made jokes about adjourning the meeting right off the bat and heading home, and then settled in to discuss what were apparently more realistic questions, such as, "how do we get civil society more engaged in the discussion of geoengineering?" and "what form of governance would be most appropriate?" But hang on! We are being shepherded into be-
lieving that it's too late to seriously consider dropping consideration of geoengineering altogether? We are to assume that "the train has already left the station" and we now are obliged to engage in serious discussions about such outrageous proposals - or else just quietly disengage and accept the consequences. Whose ideas are these anyway? Why are we being railroaded into accepting them as feasible and perhaps even desirable options? Are we somehow required to entertain and engage every nutty technofix idea that someone happens to dream up? If so, there are plenty out there and we could keep busy for all eternity if that is the case, meanwhile diverting our attention from implementing the straightforward, proven, low tech, low risk approaches to saving the planet. (Like halting deforestation, protecting biodiversity, putting a halt to overconsumption, ending the mining, fracking, clear cutting and burning of the planet, and providing real support to those coping with impacts of climate change, for example.) This insistence that we engage in debate over climate geoengineering is part of the process of "normalization" that seems orchestrated - perhaps deliberately - with the intent of habituating people to the whole idea of climate geoengineering as an option. It does in fact seem that we have commenced an out-of-control and ill-considered flight down the slippery slope, with a near dizzying onslaught of events, meetings, reports and debates on the topic where the more fundamental question is avoided and we are invited graciously to step right up and... go get lost in the weeds. In a recent interview,
Vandana Shiva, when asked her opinion on one proposed approach to climate geoengineeringspraying nanoparticles into the stratosphere, responded: "Each of these issues [geoengineering technologies] has a particular aspect that's different but I think those particular aspects are very small compared to the overall damage and the overall irresponsibility. For me the first issue is, how dare you do this. How dare you. That has to be humanity's response. Then the rest of the little things of how nano particles can harm or having too much sulphur in the atmosphere can harm - those are specific details but this is a civilizational issue. And in civilizational issues you don't look at the tiny details as the debate. You have to look at the big picture!"To a very large degree we only assist to "normalize" the issue by focusing on critique of the particular details. What is clear is that climate geoengineering is opening new doors for many career seekers. From scientists with superman complexes, eager to be seen as doing "cutting edge" work with big important global consequence, to various environmental and other NGO careerists seeking grant support, status and a place at the table. Moving forward, it will be necessary to keep our feet on the ground and adroitly steer clear of being led about by our collective nose on this issue. We will have to meticulously examine underlying assumptions when we sit down to discuss climate and geoengineering, and we will need to bolster immunity to the process of "normalization" because there is certainly nothing "normal" about geoengineering Earth's climate! C o u r t e s y : huffingtonpost
Thanamir: the LED Village in Nagaland These LED bulbs has a long lifetime of about 20 years with 8 hrs/day use, very energy efficient (80-90%), ecofriendly (no mercury, 100% recyclable) and can withstand rough conditions
Representational image (Photo: electronicsb2b) Charting a new course in the field of energy efficiency, Thanamir village under Pungro Sub Division became the second complete LED Light lit village in Nagaland. Situated at the base of Mt Saramati, Thanamir is the secong village to become completely lit by LED after the Fakim village, a couple of months ago. Kamdi Hemant Bhaskar, Wildlife Warden. Kiphire Division in a press release said that the villagers pledged to make use of natural light, paint interior white to reduce need for lighting, use energy efficient CFL, LED and solar charged lights instead of tungsten bulb, switch off lights when not in use and spread this message to family, friends and relatives. In order to become a complete LED light village, the villagers gave up every single tungsten bulb for that of a 15 watt LED bulb. The villagers showed their dedication by contributing one third of the cost of the LED bulbs. These LED bulbs has a long lifetime of about 20 years with 8 hrs/ day use, very energy efficient (80-90%), eco-
friendly (no mercury, 100% recyclable) and can withstand rough conditions. They are also workable even during low and fluctuating voltage which is a huge problem in the area. The initiative was taken up by the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with the help of Department of Land Resources and Mumbai based NGO EcoSolutions, Power Department and District Administration. Ahozhe Sumi, District Project Officer, Department of Land Resources, Kiphire officially declared Thanamir as the second complete LED village of Nagaland. He apprised the villagers that their village is a tourist hotspot and becoming a complete LED Light lit village makes it even more admirable and ushers in a move towards a commendable model village. Wenyei Konyak, ADC Pungro, who was also present emphasized on the far reaching advantages of LED light bulbs and to continue initiating certain development activities themselves so they can benefit more. Courtesy: nelive
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Higuain, Messi propel Argentina into Copa America semis London, June 19 (ANI): Gonzalo Higuain scored twice before star striker Lionel Messi produced a masterful display as Argentina stormed into the semi-finals of the Copa America Centenario with a comfortable 4-1 win over Venezuela at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday. Forward Higuain headed Argentina into
reported. It was in the 60th minute when Messi scored the third girl to equal Gabriel Batistuta's 54-goal record and hand his side with a win. He ended the match with a goal and two assists.
an eighth-minute lead before doubling the
score for his side in the 28th minute, goal.com
Although Salomon Rondon provided Venezuela with some hope by opening his side's account in the 70th minute of the match, Argentina
continued to maintain their three-goal lead with Tottenaham's Erik Lamela scoring the fourth goal just one minute later. Meanwhile, Chile have also progressed through to the semi-finals after crushing Mexico 7-0 in their last eight clash. Argentina will now lock horns with USA while Chile will take on Colombia for a place in the finals.
MEA trashes report of Indian crick- Euro 2016: Ronaldo misses eter held in Harare on rape charges penalty in Portugal's goalless According to sources, the MEA has said the reports are completely untrue, adding no cricketer has been found indulged in such incident. However, an Indian national affiliated with one of the sponsors has been arrested in connection with this case, but he has also denied the charges against him and said he is ready for a DNA test to prove his innocence. New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has denied reports of an Indian crick-
Sri Lanka suffers blow ahead of England ODIs as Eranga hospitalised PIT Colombo, June 19: Fast bowler Shaminda Eranga has been hospitalised in England with a heart ailment, Sri Lanka Cricket sources said here on Sunday (June 19). Eranga's hospitalisation takes place just two days ahead of the first ODI in Nottingham. File photo: Sri Lanka bowler Shaminda Eranga His absence will be a blow to Sri Lanka who missed the services of Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera during the Test series. Eranga had been called for a suspect action during the second Test at Chester le street. He was to face a bowling test at the Loughborough University tomorrow (June 19). There was a danger of him being asked to be sidelined in the event of him proving to bend his arm more than the allowed 15 degrees, SLC sources said.
eter arrested by the police for allegedly raping a Zimbabwe woman in Harare and dubbed it to be false.
The claims came after India suffered a two-run defeat in their opening T20 match against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club.
draw against Austria
Johannesburg, June 19 (ANI): Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Portugal settled with a goalless draw against Austria in their Group F clash of the European Championship at Parc des Princes in Paris on Sunday. Skipper Ronaldo, who set a new Portuguese record with his 128th international cap, missed a sitter from eight yards in the 22nd minute before again losing a genuine chance to put his side ahead with a 79thminute penalty. Austria too had a chance to break the deadlock when
striker Martin Harnik nodded midfielder Marcel Sabitzer's whipped cross just wide, Sport24 reported. It was Portugal's second consecutive draw in Euro 2016. They were held to a 1-1 draw against Iceland in their opening match. Meanwhile, Austria, who are languishing at the bottom in group standings, must win their final match in order to avoid a premature exit. Portugal will now take on group leaders Hungary while Austria will play against Iceland in their final group match.
Halle Open final: Alexander Zverev to take on Florian Mayer Halle, June 19 (ANI): German teenager Alexander Zverev, who stunned world number three Roger Federer in the semis, will today face Florian Mayer in the finals of the Gerry Weber Open here. The 19-year-old German yesterday defeated the
Florian Mayer easily edged past Dominic Thiem in the second semifinal played yesterday.
17-time grand slam champion 6-7, 7-5, 3-6 in the match that lasted for over two hours. With the win, Zverev became the first teenager to beat Federer since the current world number three fell to Andy Murray at the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati in 2006. On the other hand,
Another title clash with Thiem was foiled by Florian Mayer, who handed the Austrian a 63, 6-4 loss to set an allGerman final.
Smith allays injury concerns ahead of Proteas clash Melbourne, June 19 (ANI): Ahead of his side's tri-series clash against South Africa, Australian skipper Steve Smith has played down a thigh injury he sustained during his side's four-wicket defeat against hosts West Indies at Warner Park in St Kitts. Smith, who was the last man to leave the nets during a practice session at Kensington Oval, insisted that he could easily manage a minor strain throughout the ODI series. "I understand my body a lot better these days and I can manage these little injuries, the 27-year-old was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. Although the right-hander admitted that he might not be able to play at his absolute best, he considers himself fit enough for the upcoming game. "It's one of those injuries where I might not be able to go at 100 per cent, but I think I'll be right for the game," he added. Australia's top order has al-
ready been hit by an injury with opener David Warner sidelined from the series due to a broken figure. With the setback, Smith arguably remains the key to Australia reaching next week's final.
Australia, who have won two out of four games they have played so far, will have to win their next clash against South Africa on Sunday in order to keep alive their hopes of making into the finals.
Country looking up to you with great expectations: Jitendra Singh tells India's Rio contingent New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): Newly-appointed Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday extended his warm wishes to the Indian contingent heading into this year's summer Olympics Games to be held in the Brazilian seaside city of Rio de Janeiro.
three weeks, but we have made sure that as far as possible, there should be every kind of assistance and operation made available to each of these players depending on his or her requirements. And the ministry would never lack in doing so," he added.
"As an Indian, as a citizen and also currently looking after the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, it gives me an added pleasure to express my good wishes to the larger contingent which is larger than ever before. And we have huge talent going to Rio this time, whether it is in the form of shooter or badminton contingent, discus thrower, gymnasts. I am sure the entire country is looking up to them with great expectations. And the good wishes
The 59-year-old further hopes to see India entering double digit in the medal tally this time. "Last time it was 6 and I hope this time it is double digit," Jitendra said.
Jitendra Singh of 130 crore people of this country are going to accompany them when they will leav for Rio," Jitendra told the media here. He further informed that the ministry had provided this Indian contingent with all the assistance depending upon their requirements. "I have been in this ministry only for the last two to
The Indian Olympic Association is going to send the nation's largest ever delegation i.e. 96 athletes for the upcoming games. The Rio Olympics is slated to take place from August 5 to August 21.
You Don't Have to Make Mistakes to Learn: Dhoni Tells His Team PTI Harare, June 19 : India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hopes the youngsters in the squad learn from their mistakes after a shock loss to Zimbabwe in the opening T20 International here. The young Indian batsmen threw their wickets away at crucial junctures as the visitors ended up losing the game by two runs here on Saturday. Dhoni hopes the fresh faces don't make the same mistakes in the second game here on Monday. "I feel, though we lost the game - it is disappointing it is still a learning curve for the youngsters, provided they are learning out of it,"
said Dhoni. "You have to take it in a serious manner because whenever you will represent the country, whenever they get a chance to be part of the proper Indian team for a consistent period of time, they will feel the pressure. That will be the time when a game like this or a tour like this will really help them ease out that pressure," he said further. The captain himself failed to get his team over the line as India could not get eight runs off the final over with pacer Neville Madziva holding his nerve. He said he should have completed the job but expected a more sensible approach from his
batsmen. "I felt the last ball was brilliant but that is what my job is, so maybe I am the person to finish the job. But at the same time, we kept losing wickets and what happens at that stage is that you are losing wickets and you are giving one dot ball and at the same time, the set batsman is not getting strike. "I felt the batsmen will have to take the responsibility. The reason being, few of them, they were set, they were batting well. When you are chasing targets, you need to take it to the end and then look to play the shots. That was something
ers must make the most of the opportunity. The skipper said he batted at six to give others more time in the middle.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni that was lacking in this game," Dhoni pointed out. The second string squad for the tour was picked in the absence of seniors and Dhoni said the rookie play-
"It is not for me. If I had to bat up, I could easily bat at four for this team. But what is important is for these youngsters to bat at that number because this is an opportunity for them. The only reason I am here is to understand them and at the same time guide them as to what has to be done." He also said international cricket is different to IPL and there is little room for error. "Let's talk about IPL, it doesn't really matter. You
can play your big shots. There is no pressure of result. You say 'okay, in 14 games if you play five or six innings, you will take the team through.' Over here it is slightly different. This is where you have to personally tell them as to 'this could have been done at that point of time.' And also that's how you learn. It is not that you have to commit a mistake to learn." The loss was a rude shock for the team that steamrolled Zimbabwe in the preceding three ODIs. Dhoni said the result proves every international team needs to be respected. "It doesn't matter which
team you are playing. It is a levelling experience. What I mean by that is you need to give a lot of respect to cricket and when you go in to bat or bowl in the field, irrespective of the opposition, you have to be at your best. "You can't play with your reputation or playing eleven that looks good on paper. What is important is how well you play on the field, how well you are executing. It is the cricket that wins you the games, not the teams. I felt we were way off today, both in the bowling and the batting department," he added.
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