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Vol. II

CURFEW IMPOSED IN PARTS OF MANIPUR'S IMPHAL EAST DISTRIC

Issue 150

Dibrugarh, Monday, December 19, 2016

What Donald Trump Doesn't Know About Black People

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World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has called for an immediate action to curb further elephant deaths in Assam. Four days after the Indian Railways instructed its officials to reduce train speeds to 30 km per hour when crossing elephant corridors, a train engine killed three more elephants including a calf, yesterday. The incident occurred at about 5 am between Kampur and Jamunamukh stations near Nagaon in Assam. This is the seventh elephant death on the railway tracks of Assam this month. Just about two weeks ago, three elephants, including two pregnant elephants and a juvenile, were killed at Hojai in the Nagaon district of Assam on 4 December. A day later, another elephant died after being hit by a train in Goalpara district.

The continuing apathy of various authorities towards this increasing death toll of elephants is hard to fathom.

This alarming rise in the number of elephant deaths in the state should be a wake-up call for the Indian Railways, the Forest Department and the District Administration in the state, requiring immediate action to put an end to this continuous horror, now playing out in Assam at a regular pace. The Assam government, Northeast Frontier Railways-Indian Railways, Project Elephant, and District Administrations

ET CAPSULES

Joint efforts including patrolling to monitor elephant movement near railway tracks Regular coordination meetings need to be held among the relevant stakeholders Speed limitations need to be put in places where railway tracks move through wildlife habitats.

People prepare to bury a female elephant and two foetuses, who according to the forest officials were killed after being hit by a train in the Hojai district of Assam. (Reuters File Photo)

need to make a concerted effort to immediately stop the tragic deaths.

force them to cross railway tracks where they end up getting hit by trains.

According to the WTI publication, Right of PassageElephant Corridors of India, 41% of elephant corridors are in north-east India and 25% of the elephant corridors in Assam have railway lines passing through them. As elephants search for food and water, they roam over a large extent of area through villages and towns, crossing railway lines and farms. Linear infrastructure development near and in corridors that elephants use to move from one forest area to another,

There are 27 identified elephant corridors under the Northeast Frontier Railway.

However, elephant herds are also found to be now crossing railway tracks which are not earmarked as vulnerable. In light of this, a fresh assessment needs to be done to identify new vulnerable railway sections and an early warning system needs to be put into place immediately to reduce these casualties.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-India) has been working in Assam for the last

15 years for the conservation of elephants and its habitat.

Based on this experience, WWF India has the following recommendations for the government that should be put in place immediately: 1.The Railways, Forest Department, State Governments and District Administration need to take up joint efforts including patrolling to monitor elephant movement near railway tracks.

2. Regular coordination meetings need to be held among the relevant stakeholders and a system needs to be put in place wherein near-real time information can be fed into the

ATLÉTICO DE KOLKATA LIFTS ISL FOR THE 2ND TIME

Huge cache of arms and ammunition seized from rebel camp

He added, "Acting on a tip-off, we launched the operation at Ram Lakshman Hills in Karbi Anglong from 10 pm on Friday.

After the operation, we found a militants' camp in a dense jungle in the hills and recovered the arms and ammunition.

The militants who took shelter in the camp managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

However, our operation is on."

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A senior forest officer in Kaziranga said militants and poachers often take shelter in the Karbi Hills.

train movement system to warn locomotive drivers of probable elephant crossings.

3. Speed limitations need to be put in places where railway tracks move through wildlife habitats. Most importantly, locomotive drivers need to strictly adhere to speed limitations when passing through stretches where elephants cross railway tracks.

Strict action needs to be taken in case these rules are not followed.

4. There needs to be a focussed and continuous awareness programme for railway staff in wildlife areas about the ‘right of passage’ of wildlife in such areas.

Student body found in Assam Agriculture University; Murder not ruled out ET Correspondent Jorhat, Dec 18

ET Bureau Diphu, 18 Nov: Police found a huge cache of arms and ammunition, along with parts of a rhino horn, from a militants' camp in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on Saturday.

Jakhalabandha police station OC Deben Borah said, "We found two AK56 rifles, one .303 rifle, two silencers, four grenades, ammunition and parts of a rhino horn from a militant's camp in the Ram-Lakshman hills of Karbi Anglong district on Saturday. However, no one was killed or arrested in the operation."

There needs to be a focussed and continuous awareness programme for railway staff in wildlife areas about the ‘right of passage’ of wildlife in such areas.

Atlético de Kolkata beat Kerala Blasters FC 4-3 on penalties in front of more than 54,000 fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday to win the final of the Hero Indian Super League for a second time. The match ended 1-1 in normal time courtesy of a Mohammed Rafi goal in the 37th minute for Kerala and a Henrique Sereno goal in the 44th minute for ATK. Jewel Raja hit the winning penalty for Jose Molina’s men after Cedric Hengbart missed for Kerala to set up a 4-3 shootout win for Kolkata.

Govt to appoint 13,000 teachers early next year A Staff Reporter Guwahati, 18 Dec

Assam government today said over 13,000 teachers will be appointed at schools and colleges to fill the vacancies across the state during early next year.

At a function to hand-over appointment letters to 73 teachers for higher secondary school, Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa

Sarma said that more than 13,000 posts of teachers will be filled up in the next few months.

"In January, we will appoint 11,000 teachers in primary schools. For appointment in the next phase, we are talking with the Centre for relaxation of norms for 27,000 teachers," Sarma said.

He said that 1,287 subject teachers will be given appointment letters within next two months.

"There are many posts lying vacant in colleges also. We will fill 229 posts of lecturers within next one month," he said.

Talking about the higher secondary schools, he said 700 such institutions do not have any principals at this moment.

"All these higher secondary schools are being run by incharge principals. We will appoint full-time principals in all these schools next month," the Minister said

A first year Ph.D student of Assam Agriculture University was found dead in a pond in the campus of Assam Agriculture University on Sunday morning.

The deceased student was identified as Pramod Amantran Awakale, hailing from Maharashtra. The student, who resides in AAU hostel, was missing for the last three days."He has been missing for the last three days," Said Ranjit Houd PRO of AAU. "As the exams are running in AAU, student used to study in other students’ room, so we thought that Pramod has been studying with his peers," added Ranjit Houd. The deceased’s roommate said that Promad was last seen on 16 December night."He went outside after dinner that night and never returned. I tried calling him but could not connect to him, the next day I informed the authorities and they filed an FIR at Litchubari outpost," said Pramod’s roommate. On the other hand, police officials are not ruling out a murder. "It could be a case of murder as the pond where his dead body was found is not deep enough to drown him," said a police official of Litchubari Thana."We can only come to arrive at some conclusions after the postmortem report" added the Superintendent of Police. It should be mentioned that this year two more students’ dead bodies were found in mysterious manner, one was Trishav Bordoloi, a student of class ten of Donbosco High School, who was found dead in car park in of an apartment situated in Dohabora Chuk and other was Pragyan Jyoti Sharma, a first year student of Jorhat College whose body was found in Rajmao Pukhuri. Jorhat police is unable to solve these cases.

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Conglomerate of local tribal organizations express serious concern over influx of people without valid ILP into Bordumsa Sub Division Demands strict implementation of ILP Laxman Sharma Bordumsa, Dec 18

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Army Adventure Cup starts with thrilling performances

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“Immediate action needed to curb further elephant deaths in Assam” ET Bureau Nagaon, Dec 18

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“Large number of illegal influx of outsiders without having legal sanctity in the form of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Bordumsa Sub Division and their alleged involvement in various antisocial activities is becoming a matter of grave concern,” remarked senior office bearers of conglomerate of local organizations including Tangsa Development Society (TDS), Singpho Development Society (SDS), Singpho Youth Organizations(SYO), Mahila Mandal Bordumsa and All Bordumsa Singpho Students Union (ABSSU) after submitting a joint memorandum to the ADC Bordumsa recently to this effect.

According to the aggrieved body, the unchecked influx of the outsiders into Bordumsa in Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh in the form of contractual workers, shopkeepers, rag pickers, vegetable vendor and petty contractors is posing threat to the very existence of the indigenous tribe of the land.

“The increase in influx of people without valid ILP is boosting the crime graph in the area as it was evident after

many anti-social activities involving outsiders surfaced several times earlier,” the memorandum added.

The conglomerate of local tribal organizations had urged the administration several times earlier to initiate steps to this effect and strictly implement the ILP verification drive in order to check antisocial activities including kidnapping, rape, murder and theft can be checked in the area.

The tribal body of the locality through a memorandum to the competent authority urged to ensure that every vehicle entering into Arunachal is recorded pen and paper besides installing CC TV cameras in the border Police Check Gate.

The memorandum also lays emphasis on intensive and regular checking of ILP across the Sub Division in order to verify the legal status of the doubtful faces before engaging anyone migrating from other neighbouring states. Awareness among the people including the businessmen on various fronts in particular must be created officially by way of wide circular to this effect to realize the end effectively.

Meanwhile, in order to curb the menace of drug addiction and wide circulation and consumption of opium in the area, the body urged the

administration to launch intensive drive against the addicts and peddlers in various forms who promote the deadly trade to satiate their vested belly at the cost of sociocultural unrest.

Meanwhile, when contacted about the status on the issues alleged and steps initiated to this effect, Mika Nyori the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Bordumsa told that the matter has been taken seriously and the administration is geared up to check and validate ILP issues and anyone found legally defaulting the existing provisions of the law would be treated accordingly.

According to Mr Nyori CC TV cameras have already been installed in the check Gate to crack upon the menace as and when required and help tracking and identifying the criminals.

Despite technical issues centering round the absolute implementation of the ILP system in a border place like Bordumsa, he would initiate steps to check the alleged migration of people whose illegal concentration in the tribal belt might result in law and order situation besides perpetrating anti-social activities.

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DIBRUGARH, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18

P2 Aries Your natural warmth is enhanced by a new sense of self-confidence, Aries.

Group activities and social events might bring you into touch with people who prove to be valuable business contacts. Whatever goals you've attempted to reach may finally show signs of materializing, possibly through the efforts of others who believe in you. This should be a very fortunate and enjoyable day for you. Make the most of it!

Taurus Today you might pinch yourself to see if what you're experiencing is real, Taurus.

Success and good fortune are coming thick and fast, with only minor setbacks and irritations to complicate matters.

Business, money, and career success are likely to be at an all-time high, although you might find yourself feeling a little fearful of what comes next. Don't worry about that.

Go with the flow.

Gemini Career and financial success might have paved the way for you to fulfill some of your fondest dreams, Gemini. Perhaps you've wanted to return to college and get an advanced degree, take a trip around the world, or try writing and publishing. Whatever it is, your schedule should be freer and more flexible than ever, so this is the time to go for it. Start planning today!

Akhil Gogoi to be out of jail on Monday ET Correspondent Golaghat , Dec18: After long 68 days of imprisonment, Krishok Mukti Sangram Samiti Supremo, Akhil Gogoi finally will be freed from jail on Monday. Akhil Gogoi was presently at District Jail in Golaghat. A few days back he got bail in two cases of Golaghat and Bokakhat. But another bail plea was pending at Gauhati High Court.

Akhil Gogoi

Finally on Friday his bail petition was accepted by the Gauhati High Court and thus the way opened for Akhil Gogoi to come out from jail. But Akhil will never stop protesting against relevant issues of the state and its people. After coming out of the jail Akhil Gogoi will launch a series of protests against the Hindu Bangladeshi

settlement issue and several such other issues. It was stated in a press meet held today in Golaghat by KMSS General Secretary Vasco De Saikia. He also expressed happiness over Akhil's release from prison and said that this time Akhil and the KMSS will launch a series of protests which will be started from Golaghat.

Leo Just about every department of life should be going very well for you now, Leo. Business, finances, and partnerships are likely on their way to success, while personal relationships of all kinds, particularly romantic ones, should also be more rewarding.

You might be thinking of expanding your horizons through new enterprises or study. Don't be shy - go for it.

Virgo

Libra It's likely that your personal and creative horizons are expanding, Libra. Your or another's artistic enterprises might pay off big today.

You could be introduced to people who prove to be valuable contacts as well as new friends.

Your love relationships are going well. Your new feeling of enthusiasm and self-confidence certainly doesn't hurt!

Nirupoma Borgohain lighting candle on the opening ceremony of 13th Duliajan National Book Fair 2016 at Duliajan Bihutoli on 18 Dec 2016.Pix Surajit Gogoi,Duliajan

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Scorpio A huge get-together of some kind could take place today either at your home or the home of someone close to you, Scorpio. It's possible this may turn into more than just a fun party.

You might become involved in conversations with people who become valuable business or social contacts. Expect to have a wonderful time no matter what you do today.

Sagittarius Expect many advantageous changes to take place in your community, Sagittarius. New businesses could open their doors, interesting neighbors could move in, or some necessary repairs could finally get done. You might spend a lot of time in the car or on the phone and spreading the news. An exciting proposition may come to you or someone close to you through a letter, email, or phone call.

Capricorn You've probably had few periods when business and finance have gone well for you, Capricorn. Now this trend seems to be coming to a head. Today you might start or close some type of agreement that will make a big difference to your finances. Your money situation should not only improve but also stabilize at a level higher than it's ever been. As long as you're diligent, this growth should continue.

Aquarius You tend to be practical and businesslike by nature, Aquarius, but the tremendous growth you've experienced may increase your desire to be as sensible and efficient as possible in order to continue this trend. You're feeling upbeat and positive. You're likely to continue to feel this way.

The only downside is that you're probably going to be working very hard. You will like the results, though, so go for it.

Pisces You probably think of yourself as a curious intellectual, Pisces, but a recent expansion in career and finance has brought out talents for business and money that you didn't know you had. This has been a time not only of success and good fortune but also of learning more about yourself. Don't fall back on old fears or underestimate yourself. You're capable of accomplishing more than you know.

Bikul Bikash Gogoi Naharkatia, Dec 18 : The G/149 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) conducted a cleaning drive on Sunday under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Drive) in the Deomali under Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh.The cleaning drive started from Deomali public taxi stand to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru bazar of Deomali.

personnel,A.D.C Bopai Puroik, C.B.Rai Officer-in-Charge Deomali and Chand Veer Singh Assistant Commander C.R.P.F G/ 149 battalion and local participants. The spontaneous and voluntary participation of locals was appreciated by the commandant himself.

The cleaning drive was take with a view of a clean India and its importance and benefits in our routine life and also a small step to create The drive was under- awareness amongst taken by CRPF people.

Thefts on the rise in Golaghat : Series of thefts leave people nervous

Cancer Now that you feel more secure regarding your business and financial situations, Cancer, you might be looking for ways to feed your spiritual and metaphysical interests. Your intuitive and psychic abilities should be operating at a very high level, causing you to experience some vivid dreams and visions and receive the insights that come from them. Books and lectures might prove especially enlightening.

Whatever you're working on at the moment, Virgo, whether business related, personal projects, or volunteer work, it's likely to bring you increased satisfaction on many levels. You're enjoying what you do, making a difference, and meeting new friends. Your health continues to glow. You may feel as if nothing can stop you. Watch out for minor upsets, but nothing that will burst your bubble.

CRPF conducts Cleaning Drive at Deomali

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ET Correspondent Golaghat , Dec18: For the past couple of days incidents of thefts seem to be rising in Golaghat. On Saturday evening a motorcycle was stolen from the heart of Golaghat town.

After that in the late night thieves targeted a pharmacy. The thieves stormed into the pharmacy named ' Labonya Medical ' in the town and looted medicine and cash from the pharmacy. The incident came to light today in the morn-

ing when the proprietor came to open his pharmacy. Remarkably the pharmacy ' Labonya Medical ' is located just a few metres away from Golaghat Sadar Police Station.

People are now raising questions about the effectiveness and slowness of police’s action. Meanwhile the police started investigation into the case with no breakthrough made though.

All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad remembers "Shakespeare of Bhojpuri" Bhikari Thakur on his birth anniversary Mithun Baruah Margherita, Dec 18: Padmashree and Shakespeare of Bhojpuri language, Bhikari Thakur’s Birth Anniversary was today held at Margherita Hindi High School. The programme was organised by All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad Tinsukia District Committee in collaboration with All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad Margherita Regional Committee. Bhikari Thakur was an Indian playwright, lyricist, actor, folk dancer, folk singer and social activist in Bhojpuri language popularly known as the "Shakespeare of Bhojpuri". The programme began with plantation of saplings

by Senior Citizen of Margherita Ramlal Sah,Retired Headmasters of Margherita School Dhruva Pandey and Satnarayan Prasad, which was followed by

lightning of lamp in homage of Padmashree Bhikari Thakur by Ramashankar Koiri Vice-President of All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad Central Committee, Rajendra Rai President of All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad Tinsukia District Committee.

Among other high profile at-

tendees were Devendra Pandey Social Worker of Margherita,Ramprasad Dubey Manager of Canara Bank Tinsukia,Buddhinath Prajapati President of Nyay Mancha, Jadu Banshi Upadhaya General Secretary of Nyay Mancha.

A meeting was held thereafter, which was presided by Rajendra Rai President of All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad Tinsukia District Committee. In his opening speech Rajendra Rai said Padmashree Bhikari Thakur’s contribution to Bhojpuri language is lofty and unparalleled”.

Remembering the life history and contribution of Padmashree Bhikari Thakur towards Bhojpuri language Rajendra Rai said, “His literary creations including dramas and songs continue to be appreciated and performed even today. No wonder Thakur, the greatest flag bearer of Bhojpuri language and culture”. Subsequently a singing competition was held, which was followed by a quiz competition for school children. A cultural dance competition was also held in the evening.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

P3 Khonsa MLA urges for inter-community harmony

SWACCH BHARAT MISSION BY CRPF, DEOMALI

G/149 Bn CRPF of Deomali, Tirap organised a mass Swacch Bharat Mission to clean at Deomali today.

Army Adventure Cup starts with thrilling performances

ET Bureau Khonsa, 18 Dec: On the eve of birth Anniversary of HZ Muhammad (S) Milad-unNabi MLA Wanglam Sawin visited Khonsa Town Mosque on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion MLA Wanglam Sawin Praised about the Indian System which is very good example for the rest of the world “unity in diversity” of our Country. He requested the Community Leaders present

with flag off of Northern Command Team by Cdr 103 Infantry Brigade. On the first day of the daring competition ‘A’ Team of Northern, Central and South-Western Com-

mands displayed a very exciting and enthusiastic performance.

The triathlon event comprises of 12Km Cycling, 10Km Running and 12Km

of White Water Rafting in the exhilarating rapids of Siang River. The biennial event conducted in serene and salubrious climes of Yingkiong has brought the city into limelight.

District Health Society of Khonsa conducts mobile medical unit camps at Dadam and Kolam ET Bureau Khonsa, 18 Dec: The District Health Society Khonsa Tirap Conducted a Mobile Medical Unit Camp at Upper Kolam village on 17thDecember where 55Khonsa East MLA Wanglam Sawin and Tirap DC Ravi Jha, IAS inspected the Mobile Medical Unit Camp which was set up at newly upgraded Govt. Secondary School,Upper Kolam village. A total no.of 260 patients from Upper Kolam and Lower Kolam villages were benefited during the MMU camp out of which 54 weredental cases, 62 children were vaccinated and 4 ANC under the supervision of DMO,Tirap District.

Earlier while interacting with the students community at Kolam HMLA Wanglam Sawin urged the students to chanalize their youthful energy in proper direction by avoiding indulging in unlawful and unproductive activities as students are the future nation’s builder and later the MLA distributed

sports materials like :- Badminton sets, Football sets with Jersey for two teams, Volley Ball sets and Carom Board set in presence of Tirap DC, DDSE. The Headmaster of Govt. Secondary School, Kolam appreciated local MLA Sawin, for his generosity. MMU at Dadam was conducted on 16th December,2016 where total 63

patients including 22 children were benefited. The medical team led by District Medical Officer Dr. Neeba Lowang was accompanied

by Medicine Soecialist-1, Dental Surgeon – 1, GNM 1, Pharmacist -1, Ayush doctor -1, Health Assistant -2 and Programme Manager, NHM.

3 JSY payment were given away by Dr. N. Lowang, DMO, Tirap free pickups and drop backs were also given to emergency and severe suffering patients. The Chief of Dadam village Wanggo Lowang appreciated District Health Society for their services to the poor patients of Dadam and its nearby villages.

addressing the public HMLA urged for Inter- Community harmony and to create a sense of brotherhood among our self, these shall be instrumental in creating a better environment for our coming generation, MLA Stressed importance of education in Human Life.

During his interaction with committee member of Khonsa masjid Md. Jallunddin Talukdar and

Md. Niaz (secretary) , Khonsa Masjid appraised him with the graveness faced by them due to widening of Highway, further community leaders praised about the various developmental activities initiated by MLA W.Sawin and extended their support in his Dynamic Leadership . While addressing the grievances MLA W. Sawin assured support from his end for any good cause.

Eastern Naga National Government condemns allegation made against its President ET Bureau Imphal, 18 Dec: The Eastern Naga National government (ENNG), in retaliation to the news published in the leading dailies of the eastern region on 13th Dec, about the alleged raid at the residence of ENNG President by the Jairampur PS of Arunachal Pradesh Police assisted by the Meghelaya police, termed the whole incident

ET Bureau Yingkiong, 18 Dec: The excitement in the Siang Valley is on the rise with thrilling start of Army Adventure Challenge Cup 2016. The event started

during the occasion to guide the youths of the community in the right direction , Spreading the true message of HZ Muhammad (S) Milad-un- Nabi i.e. humanity, Love and Compassion for others. He further urged the youths of the community to Chehalis in the right Direction and not to get involve with any type of negative activities, w hich may spoil the name of the entire community. While

as a hoax and politically motivated.

ENNG in an official press communiqué says that the incident was a desperate attempt to tarnish the political and public image of the newly formed organization.

ENNG alleged that the operation headed by OC, Umeshan C, of the Jairampur P. S. and officer B. Tangzang of the changlang police were

made to defame them.

A joint team of the special cell of East Khasi Hills and Arunachal Pradesh police on 13 December raided the rented house of a leader of the Eastern Naga National Government allegedly a Naga militant group at Lumdingsoh in Motinagar.

Police said there was an extortion case against the ENNG in Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh. The

outfit demanded money from Valecha, a Mumbaibased road construction company. A police team from Arunachal Pradesh visited Shillong and along with their counterparts raided the rented the house of the leader identified as Tosham Musang, who was absconding. Police seized a number of incriminating documents, mobile phones and laptops.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

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Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal takes up cudgels for Madhupur Satra ET Bureau Guwahati,18 Dec: Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday said he will initiate talks with the West Bengalgovernment about better preservation and conservation of Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar, which he was visiting on Saturday. The satra is one of the most revered Vaishnavite sites for Sankari followers.

Considered Srimanta Sankaradeva's final resting place, the satra has for decades been encroached upon. The satra is home to precious artefacts - manuscripts, items dating back 400 years, articles belonging to Sankaradeva, among others.

deputy commissioner of Cooch Behar to finalize a plot of land for the construction of a gate at the satra depicting the tenets of Vaishnavite and Sankari philosophy. He also took stock of the security situation in and around the satra, and asked the SP of Cooch Behar to provide adequate security in the peripheral areas.

CM Sarbananda Sonowal "We will talk to the Bengal government about addressing the issue of encroachment. We will take up the matter with the higher authorities of the government.

We are striving to speed up modalities within a month to free Madhupur of encroachers," Sonowal said.

A nun found dead at Assam Buddha Vihar ET Bureau Guwahati, Dec 18: A Buddhist priestess was found dead in her room at the Assam Buddha Vihar in north Guwahati on Saturday morning.

"We suspect a stab injury.

She lived on the top floor of the building. No one was allowed near her quarters. She was quite active in social work," said a source.

CS Lama (73) was found dead by the caretaker at 7:30 am. Lama had sustained injuries in her abdomen. Police have questioned few people in the area. The body has been sent for autopsy.

Lama established the Assam Buddha Vihar two decades ago. Originally from Bhutan, she came to Darjeeling for her education. Later, she moved to Assam with her husband.

PVM: Government helping suspected infiltrators

With Sonowal at the helm, a group of high-ranking ministers, MLAs and officers visited the Madhupur Satra and met the ailing satradharikar about the various problems faced by the satra.

Sonowal also met the

Representative Image

"We demand a CBI probe into the corruption of government officials and others who have enabled encroachment of government and public land in Sipajhar," Hazarika said.

Local farmers are being prevented from going to the fertile riverine areas to feed their cattle, he added.

The people living in the riverine areas of Sipajhar, however, claim they trace their settlement in the area back to 1978. PVM, on the other hand, claims the settlement began only from 1992-1993.

On December 21, locals of the area, members of PVM and activists of the Dakhin Paschim Gowal Santha and Sangrami Satirtha Sanmilan had

vowed to organize a satyagraha on the 77,420 bighas of land they believed suspected illegal immigrants have "spread their tentacles" on.

While schools, health centres and anganwadi kendras have come up in the riverine areas under Sipajhar revenue circle, PVM demanded a probe into release of government funds for suspected illegal immigrants.

"The land belongs to the indigenous people. We have been forced to take this stand as the government continues to breach the laws in favour of encroachers," said Satya Rajbongshi of the Dakhin Paschim Gowal Santha.

"Settlement of a large number of people of dubious nationality has deprived the locals from making a livelihood out of the grazing reserves, used for grazing of cattle.

Moreover, the indigenous people are facing harassment and threats from the encroachers," said Akash Kalita, publicity convener of the organization.

Sonowal asked the officials from the state cultural affairs to initiate a plan to build toilets, kitchen and a guest home. Besides asking for better infrastructure, he asked the DC of Cooch Behar for five bighas of land by the highways for the construction of an Assam House.

The Great North Eastern Run held in Guwahati today. This was the first edition of ‘The Great North Eastern Run-Guwahati City Half Marathon’ organized by a city based running group-Guwahati. The race started at the Khanapara ground and went through the heart of the city. Competitions were conducted in three categories-21.1 kms (Half Marathon), 10 kms (Challenge) and 5 kms (Fun Run).

Digital battle Second edition of Judima festival against epilepsy attended by Ministers of State at Haflong ET Correspondent Haflong, Dec 18: Minister of State (I) for Panchayat and Rural Development, Naba Kumar Doley inaugurated the second edition of Judima festival held at Dibarai field in Haflong today in presence of Minister of state for Railways Rajen Gohain who attended the programme as the guest of honour.

The day’s programme started in a traditional way with chanting of Dimasa prayers by the Dimasa priest after the felicitation of guests followed by welcome speech by the president of the organising committee.

Representative Image ET Bureau Guwahati, 18 Dec: Rajlakshmi Borthakur, an Assamese entrepreneur based in Bengaluru who invented an epilepsy-detection device, said on Saturday that her firm will be working with the state government to help manage epilepsy.

T Jay, digital gloves which predict epilepsy attacks and allow remote monitoring of patients, had won Borthakur the Innovate for Digital India challenge last year.

ET Bureau Guwahati,18 Dec: Senior Supreme Court advocate and Prabajan Virodhi Manch (PVM) convener Upamanyu Hazarika has demanded a CBI probe into government facilities provided to suspected illegal immigrants in the riverine areas of Sipajhar in lower Assam's Darrang district.

GREAT NORTH EASTERN RUN

The first step towards managing epilepsy in the state was the inauguration of TerraBlue XT Telemedicine platform, a system through which epileptic patients and their families can avail treatment and counselling via

teleconference with prominent neurosurgeons and experts from different parts of the country. Director of Social Welfare Meenakshi Sundaram launched the platform, which will be placed at the Guwahati Bio Tech Park.

Borthakur, CEO and founder of TerraBlue XT, said the launch of the platform was the first step in a pilot project in Assam.

"We will be working with TerraBlue XT to help establish a proper business model. The onus as of now is focussed on creating awareness on epilepsy," said Vinod Seshan CEO of Guwahati BioTech Park and deputy commissioner, Kamrup.

Chief Executive Member of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council Debolal Gorlosa while delivering his speech spoke about the objective of organising such programme. Judima which is a local traditional brew of the dimasas holds a very important role in every traditional step of the community from child birth till death. It has been the effort of the organisers to promote community tourism so that local people are mostly benefitted by outsiders getting opportunities to have a glimpse into the traditional life of the people here. The main objective of the programme is not only to promote Judima but also to highlight all the age old traditional culture of the Dimasa community.

Member of Legislative As-

sembly B B Hagjer conveyed regret from the Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal for his inability to attend today’s programme due to unavoidable circumstances and read out the Chief Minister’s message to the audience.

MLA Hagjer specifically spoke about how naturally rich and beautiful the district is with full tourism potential and it has been the endeavour of the current leaders to promote Dima Hasao as one of the prominent tourist destination of the country.

Minister of State Rajen Gohain spoke on the occasion and conveyed his best wishes to the organisers and extends his support to create better services to facilitate tourists while their visit to this district. He stressed on how culture and tradition can be taken a chance to promote tourism so as to improvise the state and raise economy of the place. He also announced an amount of ten lakhs from his MP scheme towards development of the place and shared how hospitality can enhance the in-flow of tourists. He is also hopeful for better railway services for the people of Dima Hasao and has plans soon he said.

Chief Guest of the programme Naba Kumar Doley Minister of State (I) for P&RD etc congratulated the organisers and conveyed his happiness for the opportunity to be part of the programme. He said that the

Dimasa Judima is one of the best traditional brews in the region and involves in a very integral way in every sphere traditions of the dimasas. He looks forward to seeing Haflong the only hills station of Assam as the major tourist destination of the country.

Felicitation of the achievers from Dima Hasao who had created a niche for themselves in national and international arena was done as a part of the programme.

These achievers are the youth icons of Dima Hasao and an inspiration for the people were felicitate the chief guest and guest of honour and other distinguish guests present today.

Few icons that were present at today’s programme are Subimal Bhattacharya who is a globally recognized defence and cyber security analyst based out of New Delhi India, Rewati Chetry, a finalist in Miss India pageant who has been crowned Miss Asia at the World Miss University 2016 pageant, held in Beijing, Pranab Langthasa who is a body builder and won several medals in international contest at Toronto, Italy etc., footballer Baoringdao Bodo who is a member in U-19 Indian national team is winning accolades in his field and in 2016 IFA Shield where playing for AIFF U19s, he was adjudged the best player of the tournament, Jayashree Naiding who is the first Indian Forest Service officer

among the dimasas, Sujoylal Thaosen who is the first Indian Police service officer among the dimasas, Thairingdao Langthasa who achieved rank in the recent Assam HSLC examination and national shooter Rashmi Thaosen who won several medals nationally, Major Debes Hojai who is the first army officer to have achieved the rank.

The inauguration programme also saw various traditional dances presented by various tribes and non tribes of the district and the main attraction was a performance by a group as large as 100 dimasa traditional dancers and drummers ‘khram’ with the traditional flute ‘muri’. Various books were launched as a part of the event viz a souvenir, a catalogue on Dimasa textile design named ‘Rih dima rikhu bumin ni phandar’, a book on traditional Dimasa folksongs and music ‘khoajeb’.

Members of Assam Legislative Assembly Rupok Sharma from Nagaon, Shila Aditya Deb from Hojai, Dr Numol Momin from Bokajan and BB Hagjer from Haflong also attended the programme. Others who were present on stage were NCHAC Chairperson Ranu Lagthasa, executive members of NCHAC and Dima Hasao Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police, Principal secretaries. Other officials from various departments also attended the programme.

Rastrabha Vidyalaya Students interacts with Central Energy Minister through Video Conference Shambhu Boro Tezpur, Dec, 18: Based on this initiative of the Government of India under “Energy Conservation Act-2001” asking and encouraging schools to form energy Club, an energy Club was formed in Rastrabhasha Vidyalaya located at the heart of the Tezpur town in Sonitpur District on June 15, 2015.

Since its inception the club of the school has been carrying out certain special activities to conserve energy, and as a feedback a total of of students from the school were selected to take part to interact with the Nation’s Energy Minister Pius Goel through Video Conferencing recently in Guwahati. It is to be stated here that among the four-

teen schools in the country, Rastrabhasa Vidyalaya of Tezpur is the only school in Assam to take part in this special event. Taking part in the event the students of the school brought glory to the school as well as to the

state by attracting the Union Energy Minister through various queries on different global warming issues and natural degradation, rapid weather changes etc. on December 14 last.

The student’s group of the school led by Headmaster of the school Bijay Kandulana and Asstt.

Teachers Durgamoyee Bora and Nibedita Barua comprised Sikandar Rai, Rubi Khatun, Nikita Rai, Priya

Kumari Misra, Rani Sah, Anish Kumar, Saruj Thakur, Samanand Sah and Rhitik Ranjan Singh asked a lot of questions to the Central Energy Minister. One notable question was the one asked by Nikita Rai of Class IX,

which captivated the minister.

“Can government consider a ban on manufacturing and selling of energy inefficient product?” asked Nikita Rai of Class IX to the Central Energy Minister. The Minister accordingly gave adequate answers to the students.

The video conferencing programme held under the aegis of chief electrical inspector-cum- adviser, Assam & CEO, Assam state designated agency Nurul Huda at the office of the NIC, Secretariat, government of Assam, Dispur was also participated by Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Bihar, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman Nikubar, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

REST OF

Curfew imposed in parts of Manipur's Imphal East distric PTI Imphal, 18 Dec: Curfew was imposed in certain parts of Imphal East district of Manipur on Sunday in view of continued violence in the region following Friday's triple blasts.

hardship in supply of essential items+ since November 1 after United Naga Council (UNC) imposed an indefinite economic blockade on the two national highways that serve as lifeline for the state.

The curfew comes into force from Sunday noon and covers Porompat and Sawombung subdivisions of Imphal East district and will continue till further directions, an order issued by the district magistrate said.

The government's decision to clamp the curfew follows the shutting down of mobile internet services+ in

The blockade was imposed following the state government's ann o u n c e m e n t offormation of seven new districts+ , four of which have been formally inaugurated.

Imphal West district to halt spreading of rumours

through social networking sites.

The landlocked state has been experiencing severe

Tension in the state heightened after suspected militants contin-

Day and "Christmas Day" as Good Governance Day were perhaps adopted without much thought and sensitivity and infringed upon the Christian Calendared Days observed over the years.

They said these declaration hurt the beliefs, sentiments, sensitivity and peace of mind of the peace loving Christian community. They said these declarations amounted to "total disregard, neglect, discrimination and denial of our fundamental constitutional rights to religious practices" The signatories also pointed out that the Christian community understood that A.B Vajpayee was born on Christmas Day and appreciated the nation paying homage to him on his birthday during his lifetime.

However, declaring it as the Government's "Good Governance Day" by knowing fully well that it happened to be Christmas Day, has hurt the minds and sentiments of the Christians of the state and the country.

The memorandum maintained that such decisions would cause distrust, disharmony, disturbance of tranquillity, serenity and peaceful unity in diversity of the Nation.

They also reminded that different Church denominations and organizations

throughout the country have objected the decision.

It was stated that some north east state governments have voiced their objections and the BJP of Meghalaya has been observing the Good Governance Day on December 23, 2016. They said Mizoram government has also announced that it would not observe Good Governance Day on Christmas Day. The team while maintaining that Nagaland should have been the first state to raise its objection, however, said even now it was not too late to raise state government's objection.

It may be mentioned that NBCC on December 3 questioned the decision of the Centre to observe "Good Governance Day" on December 25.

On Friday, the Diocese of Kohima opposed 'Good Governance Day' date, saying the choice of the day, December 25, was a blatant disrespect for Christian sentiments. .

State's lone Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio had also urged the prime minister to set alternate date for 'Good Governance'.

Also, opposing the declaration, NPCC said the move of BJP was a downright insult to all Christians particularly for the state of Nagaland.

Mizoram, 18 Dec: Days before Christmas, the Mizoram government signed a ceasefire agreement with a militant outfit to facilitate people of the Christian-dominated state to celebrate the carnival and New Year under undisturbed ambience, an official said on Saturday.

The Mizoram government has been holding peace talks with Manipur-based terror outfit Hmar People's Convention-Democratic (HPC-D) to find a solution of the outfit's demand for an autonomous council.

The third round of talks between the Mizoram government and the HPCD held in Aizawl on Friday in which the outfit members deposited three AK47 rifles, one INSAS rifle, four point 9 mm pistols, 17 magazines of different arms and 74 rounds of ammunition. These arms and ammunition were earlier snatched by the terror outfit from the Mizoram police.

The six-member HPC-D team was led by the group's working chairman L. T. Hmar and the outfit's leaders from Manipur and Mizoram while the government delegation was headed by additional secretary (home department) Lalbiakzama.

"We have signed a temporary ceasefire agreement with the militant outfit to

make easy people of the state to celebrate Christmas and New Year under a peaceful environment.

The third rounds of talks were held under friendly atmosphere," Lalbiakzama said, adding that both sides agreed to resume the fourth round of talks by mid-February next year.

The first round of peace talks between the Mizoram government and the HPCD was held on August 10 and the second round on October 5-6. Lalbiakzama said that issues discussed in the talks included more autonomy and power to Sinlung Hill Development Council, which was functioning since 1994 in the northeastern part of the state neighbouring Manipur where a large number of tribals belonging to Hmar tribes are living.

HPC-D Aleader L. T. Hmar after the meeting, said : "The demand for Hmar autonomous district council was no longer included in the talks." The Manipur based militant outfit of the Hmar tribals has been triggering intermittent violent activities in Mizoram since 1994 demanding a separate autonomous district council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution by carving out areas adjoining southern Manipur, northern Mizoram and southern

The attack was followed by triple bomb blasts at Nagaram area in Imphal West district allegedly by Manipur Naga People's Front on Friday.

In another incident, suspected militants overpowered a small outpost of Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) at Nungkao area on Saturday in Tamenglong district and fled with nine service weapons.

Assam.

The negotiations between the state government and the HPC-D reached an impasse in 2013 on the issue of extension of the period of suspension of operations. A six-month ceasefire between the Mizoram government and the militant outfit expired on July 31, 2013. The state government held inconclusive talks with the outfit on August 14, 2013, to extend the period of ceasefire.

After the talks broke down over suspension of operations against the terror group, a host of leaders of the outfit were arrested.

On March 28, 2015, the HPC-D guerillas ambushed a legislator's convoy near Zokhawthlang village in north Mizoram, leaving three policemen dead and six others seriously wounded.

Mizoram is the first and only state in India which received Rs 182.45 crore from the central government in 2000-01 as "Peace Bonus" for keeping peace after decades of insurgency. As Mizo National Front's founder leader Laldenga, a former Indian Army official, became Chief Minister in 1986 after his group took to mainstream politics, peace and law and order returned to the Christian-majority Mizoram. -IANS

Nagaland Issues India's First Online Poker License Nagaland, 18 Dec: Nagaland State has become the first gambling jurisdiction in the country to award a license to an online poker operator. According to several reports, the Nagaland State Lotteries office awarded an online skill games license to M/s K365 Web Assets Pvt Ltd, which operates online poker and rummy portal Khelo365.com. For the moment, K365's license only covers its poker operations, which include No Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha games.

It may be recalled that the Nagaland State Governor had signed the Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act 2016 in April this year, becoming the first Indian state to formally authorize online games of skill for stakes.

A report in calvinayre.com informed that Nagaland be-

gan issuing Letters of Intent to would-be skill game licensees in August, with the first LOI going to Club Empire Tech Pvt Ltd. Nagaland has since issued a further 10 LOIs to different companies but K365 was first to get its paperwork past the government inspectors.

K365 Managing Director, Vinod Manoharan, was quoted by the report as stating that Nagaland's licensing regime "will end the debate on the legality of online poker once and for all, and will enable this industry to boom."

It added that the Nagaland license permits K365 to accept customers from all states or union territories that have exempted games of skill from their list of prohibited gambling activities.

Nagaland licensees are required to declare that they don't "have any interest whatsoever, directly or indirectly, with any company or activity, whether in India or not, which engages in or operates 'games of chance' or 'gambling'."

Another report by Josh Wood from onlinepokerreport.com

quoted Manoharan as stating he sees the license as transformational for online poker in India. "We are happy that the Nagaland government has finally issued the license to regulate online skill games. We are proud to be the first company to have procured the license and to have submitted all our documents to a regulatory authority. The license issued by the Nagaland government will end the debate on the legality of online poker once and for all, and will enable this industry to boom," he was quoted as saying.

The first online gaming license (paywall) awarded in India was issued by the state of Sikkim, for online lottery, back in November 2014. Since then, there have been several Indian court rulings pertaining to the status of poker. The most important of these was a ruling by the Indian Su-

preme Court in August of 2015.

The ruling was expected to provide a clear authority for the legality of online Rummy, and by association, online poker. Instead, the court avoided the issue (paywall), saying that the original case did not actually refer to playing Rummy for money.

Despite the lack of precision regarding online poker, the arguments heard by the court convinced the Indian poker industry that in any future case, the Court would rule that online poker was a game of skill. And it would therefore exempt from the legal definition of gambling.

The case was sufficient to give Nagaland the confidence that its Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act, 2016 would stand up to any challenge under federal law.

The Nagaland license al-

MHA Team Visits Bru Refugee Camp in Tripura to Discuss Early Repatriation

ued their violent attacks on Manipur Police and other state forces in the last few days that left three policemen dead and 14 others injured last Thursday.

Nagaland CM Urged Not Mizoram, HPC-D to Hold Good Governance Sign Christmas Truce Day on Dec 25 ET Bureau Nagaland, 18 Dec: fter the spark was lit by Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in opposing the NDA government's annual programme of 'National Good Governance', Church leaders along with tribal hohos, NGOs and concerned citizens of Kohima, Saturday submitted a representation to the Nagaland chief minister against holding "National Good Governance Day" on December 25, Christmas Day and demanded that it could be held on any other day.

In a joint press statement, Z. Lohe, advisor & convenor NTC; Dr. SI Tushi, president Nagaland Senior Citizens Association and Dr. Vinito Chishi, president Sumi Hoho Kohima informed they had met the chief minister and submitted the memorandum on the matter as cited above.

The signatories appealed to the state government to raise objection against observance of Good Governance Day on Christmas Day and urged it to appeal the centre to observe Good Governance Day on any day other than the Christmas Day. They pointed out that the Constitution of India provides 'freedom of religion' but the declaration by the government to hold "Good Friday" as Judges' Day, "Fathers' Day" as Yoga

P5

NORTHEAST

lows operators to offer online poker in most of India. A Nagaland license does not restrict operators to the local population of 2.3 million. The law allows licensed operators to provide their services to all "states or union territories where games of skill are permitted." The jurisdictions from which operators cannot accept players must have a specific law against allowing games of skill, since the Supreme Court position means that no federal gambling law would apply. The current Indian gambling law dates back to 1867. A state commission is currently reviewing how it can be amended to bring it up to date. Nagaland operators can not only provide services throughout India, but also market them in any territories where games of skill have been exempted from the definition of gambling. -Agencies

ANI Mizoram, 18 Dec: Expressing concern over the early repatriation of the Brus Refugees, which was more likely to start

by November, is still on hold in the northern Tripura District. MHA officials have been frequently visiting the camps to take stock of the situation, especially pertaining to demands made by the Brus for early repatriation to their home state of Mizoram.

Recently, a high-level team led by the Special Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs (Internal Security), M. K. Singla, visited the camps in North Tripura district to discuss their early repatriation.

"We have been putting our efforts and the Centre is trying hard in every possible way to help them. I feel great to meet the Bru refugees, who have been staying in the camps for 19 years, and we have taken note of the issues they are facing. We will take every possible measure to fulfill their demands and the centre is in full support of us," said M. K. Singla, Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Singla also visited two evacuee camps at Ashapara and Naisingpara. He, along with other officials of North Tripura and security officials, also held a meeting with the leaders of Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF). He further interacted with the inmates of the camps, discussed their is-

sues and explained to them about the facilities they will get after repatriation.

Meanwhile, the inmates were seen holding placards demanding birth certificates to the new-born babies, caste certificate and Adhar card, written agreements, allotment of land to each family, updating inmates' list as well as deployment of central security forces in villages of Mizoram where they shall be repatriated.

"There have been lots of demands put by the inmates but it depends on how these are handled, whether they can be worked out or not. An auction takes place every year and whoever gets it have the right to cultivate. So it is nothing new and it has been an old tradition in Mizoram on how agriculture land is used.

Apart from that, there are several other demands like establishing schools and we are soon going to sort it out," Singla said.

Earlier in November, the process of identification of displaced Brus was started. It is to be noted that about 35,000 Bru/Reang from neighbouring Mizoram took shelter in six evacuee camps in Kanchanpur subdivision of North Tripura district in a phased manner since 1997 following ethnic clashes with Mizos over land dispute.

Such an effort on part of the Centre is expected to solve their issues and fulfill their legitimate demands.

UNC Condemns Church Attacks Manipur, 18 Dec: The United Naga Council (UNC) has condemned the attack on the Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC) Centre Church and a Tangkhul Church in Imphal.

It also ridiculed the Manipur Government for not arresting those behind the attacks. The UNC argued that UNC leaders were arrested for carrying out a democratic movement "but the Manipur Government could tolerate mob attacking churches right under its nose."

According to the UNC, the mob was attacking the churches using communal language but the Manipur Government did nothing to contain the violence. The Naga body

also expressed 'wonder' as to how there could be serial bomb attacks in a high security zone like Fairyland, Imphal.

"There is no doubt that the Manipur Government allowed the miscreants to attack the residents," the Council accused, further leveling allegations that the Manipur Government was collaborating with the mob who attacked the churches and those behind the bomb blasts. The Council also questioned the role of the Government of India accusing the latter of remaining mute. (NNN)

Prostitution Racket in Guest House Owned by Meghalaya Home Minister's Wife Meghalaya, 18 Dec: An employee of a guest house owned by the wife of Meghalaya Home Minister H D R Lyngdoh was arrested along with another woman on charge of trafficking and forcing a minor into prostitution, police said. The minor was rescued after she managed to escape from the guest house, they said.

"We have arrested an employee of the guest house owned by the wife of home minister on trafficking charges," SP (City) Vivek Syiem told media. The employee identified as 37-yearold Usha Debarma and her

27-year-old accomplice Momoni Pardon were arrested and charged with kidnapping and trafficking.

The victim first came to Shillong after she was employed as a maid. The woman befriended the minor and then her into prostitution, Syiem said.

Till September this year, over 80 cases had been registered under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 and 34 cases of Kidnapping & Abduction of children under sections Section 363, 364, 364A and 366 of the IPC. (PTI)

EDITORIAL

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

Today's quote You yourself, as much as any“body in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

– Gautam Buddha

US and Russia must work together to end crisis The primary reason for whatever is happening in Aleppo, in fact all of Syria, is of course the bitter battle between the Syrian Government, rebel forces and the various terrorist organisations, to capture the ancient city. But much of the chaos is also because of a proxy battle of supremacy between the US and Russia. Both the powers have been entangled in a dirty conflict ever since the Syrian war began four years ago. And neither of them is willing to back off — with the US and the West supporting the rebels as they do not want to be a “natural ally” against Damascus’s ‘extremism’; and Russia along with Iran strongly backing the Bashar al-Assad Government in Syria because they feel that there's no better alternative. The problem between the US and Russia is that neither of them wants to give an impression that the other is getting credit for the establishment of peace in the war-torn city. This is why there have been several ceasefires, sometimes from this end and at times from that end. So, on the one hand, there's a battle between the Assad Government, the rebel groups and the terrorists; on the other, there's the conflict between the US and Russia for supremacy. In all this hullabaloo, both the US and Russia have, perhaps, forgotten that their shared responsibility is to not allow humanitarian tragedies to happen. The Syrian calamities have resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives. The entire equation sums up to chaos — the sufferers of which are civilians. The battle in Aleppo is a humanitarian disaster and there cannot be any justification to it. More than 100,000 people have fled the rebel enclave in Aleppo to Government-held areas and thousands of rebels have surrendered. But thousands of civilians remain trapped. The immediate focus for all — the US, Russia and the Syrian Government — must be to bring an end to this crisis sooner than later. A senior United Nations’s official called the bombing of the last parts of Aleppo a “war crime”. Regardless of whether the two powers want the Assad regime to continue or not, their primary duty is to ensure an end to the civilian tragedy.

On the other hand, even as the Syrian Government, led by Bashar al-Assad, is preparing for a victory sooner or later, it is inconceivable that there will be an end to the offensive, as is being predicted. Certainly, the Syrian Government has reached a position where it has virtually driven away the Free Syrian Army; its forces have also captured almost 85 per cent of the eastern part of Aleppo that was held by rebels back in 2012. But the question asked by many, legitimately is: Has the battle ended? The Aleppo win is symbolic for the Assad regime, but there are other areas controlled by terrorist organisations like the Islamic State, al Qaeda et al, where virtually, the diktat of the Assad regime does not exist.

Rebels may have lost the battle in Aleppo, but they are strong in other areas. It’ll be long, very long, before peace returns to Syria.

Dress code in temples absurd It is unfortunate that the controversy over the dress code at the Sree Padmanabha temple in Kerala refuses to go away, and the latest position is the affirmation of a retrograde practice. The Kerala High Court has rejected an order of the executive officer of the temple, issued last month, which allowed women wearing churidars to enter the temple. The officer had taken the decision after the court had told him to take an appropriate decision on the dress code after consultations. The order was in force for two days. But the liberalisation of the dress code triggered protests from some conservative elements and petitions in the court. The court has now ruled that women should wear the customary women’s dress of a saree, a mundu or a skirt inside the temple. The officer’s decision had been supported by the government. But the temple management committee and some other orthodox elements were opposed to it.

The conventional restrictions on dress do not make sense in these times in temples or in other places. Certain rules about dress came into being in some temples on the basis of the attire worn by men and women decades or centuries ago in the places where they are located. There cannot be any sanctity attached to them and they are not part of any religious code or practice.

When the dress habits of people change, temples should also accommodate them and revise their norms accordingly. Strictly speaking, even skirts and blouses are not Kerala’s traditional dress but they are allowed inside the temple. The objection to churidars is therefore unreasonable and unjustifiable. Women can go inside the temple wearing a dhoti over the churidar. This is absurd because the churidar, which is taboo, does not go away when a dhoti is worn over it. Does only the appearance matter?

Many temples have such rigid customs and practices relating to dress, entry of women or some other sections, priesthood etc. They need to be revised or dropped.

Clean and decent dress of any style should pass muster in any temple. Many people wrongly think that sticking to old customs, however odd and against the spirit of the times they are, is to be authentically and genuinely religious. But the strength of a tradition lies in its openness and adaptability. It should be noted that another major temple in Kerala, the Guruvayoor temple, has allowed churidars to be worn and the Supreme Court has supported the decision. Hinduism is wide and inclusive enough to tolerate all varieties of dresses, styles and forms of worship.

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SANSAD MARG: A road that leads nowhere?

In Parliament earlier this week, BJP veteran LK Advani lost his temper and expressed his anguish at the repeated disruption of the Winter Session.

At one level, it was a cry from the heart of a long-term and distinguished parliamentarian who remembered a more civilised discourse in Sansad Bhawan. However, there was a certain irony to the lament.

In some senses, the current crisis of Parliament began in 2004, when the BJP old guard, Advani among them, responded to the defeat in the Lok Sabha election churlishly.

There was a sense that Manmohan Singh was not a ‘proper’ Prime Minister and was leading an interloper regime. The BJP leadership at the time also seemed to believe the (first) UPA Government would fall quickly.

This led to attempts at filibustering, calls to ‘boycott’ individual Ministers and frequent walkouts. All of it only allowed the UPA Government to continue unhindered with no qualitative opposition around.

The consequences of this short-sighted BJP strategy — not limited to the Houses of Parliament — were seen in the

result of the 2009 election.

Cooperation between the Government and the Opposition, now led by another generation in the BJP, was better and more meaningful during the second UPA rule. As the line went, the Opposition had its say and the Treasury had its way. Yet, as the Manmohan Singh Government was engulfed in scandals and controversies, the mood hardened.

When the Anna Hazare movement brought crowds to the streets, the Opposition in Parliament seemed obliged to mirror, match and complete with the throng. The Government was equally obstinate, and this ended up in a race to the bottom.

Session after session was ruined with little work being done. Arun Jaitley, as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, presented a defence of disruption at a legitimate parliamentary tactic — an assessment that has come back to haunt him as Minister for Finance.

Since small-mindedness is a cross-party attribute in Indian politics, the Congress in opposition has been as cussed.

Especially in the Rajya Sabha, where the Government is in a minority, the Congress and congenitally volatile parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party have combined to make normal functioning impossible. It could be argued, of course, that even without the history of 2004-14, given the political threat that Narendra Modi poses to established political players in New Delhi and to the Nehru-Gandhi family in particular, the Congress would anyway have played spoiler in the House.

From May Ashok 2014 itself, to have expected any reasonable cooperation from it, was foolhardy.

What is the solution, if there is any at all? Frankly, Parliament does not function (or non-function) and does not disrupt itself in isolation. It reflects a contemporary trend in democracy, not limited to India, where there is no peacetime and all politics is permanent war. In a traditional setting, the heat and dust of an election would lead to the quiet deal-making of parliamentary procedure and the calm of governance for at least two years

before the next election cycle kicked in. These days, that luxury is just not available.

We live in an age of politics as event management and drama. Politicians have a fishbowl existence and are under constant scrutiny of media and social media, under pressure to perform, almost as actors, pushed to respond in a particular manner, whether by a journalist thrusting a microphone or an outraged supporter on Twitter demanding an immediate addressing of some new slight, imagMalik ined or otherwise.

This is a 24/7 phenomenon in politics today, and Parliament has become just another medium, just another platform for it. Lok Sabha or television studio or WhatsApp: There is no difference any longer. Politicians will perform for their audience.

It is often suggested that the live telecast of parliamentary proceedings, far from informing public debate on policy decisionmaking, has pushed MPs to act or speak in a manner that sends the appropriate message to a mass audi-

ence outside, and always keeps the viewer in his or her drawing room in mind. Just as television has negated the gap between a ‘hall meeting’ and a ‘public meeting’ — between a politician addressing 100 lawyers or professors in a room and addressing a crowd of 200,000 in a rambunctious political rally, live telecast has ensured there is no distinction between what a politician says inside the House or outside.

This could have worked to make politicians more honest.

Unfortunately it has caused them to be less measured.

Television and live telecast cannot be wished away in a democracy. Indeed, neither are they the only ones to blame.

Politicians who disrupt the House and then rush out to the army of cameras, are not forced to vandalise parliamentary decorum and protocol — they are doing it willingly.

Having said that, such precedents should have us treading carefully in the direction of televising committee meetings of Parliament.

Committee meetings have become what Parliament itself was meant to be — the location to soberly discuss legis-

lation and policy changes, negotiate positions and arrive at a compromise in the best traditions of democracy. Since Parliament either doesn’t function or since MPs are too busy with grandstanding, this task has devolved on committees.

Not that the proceedings of committees are sacrosanct either. While confidentiality is supposed to be maintained by participating MPs, committee members often brief friendly journalists after the meetings, plant news stories, and so on.

If television cameras are allowed into committee meetings, this process will become formalised and participating MPs will say only that which is ‘politically correct’. In the committee room itself, they will begin addressing the equivalent of public meetings.

The real business of negotiating legislation will recede further and further into some inner chamber, where select senior leaders of major parties will meet and hammer out details. This will leave committee members to provide a rubber stamp and for Parliament itself to provide a rubber stamp on a rubber stamp.

Meanwhile, on Sansad Marg, the circus can continue.

Some more factors in the demonetisation chaos The US Federal Reserve rate hike of 0.25 per cent is likely to have an impact on the Indian economy, with increased outflow of foreign portfolio and institutional investors. It may also lead in the course of time to a rise in rates in India.

The Reserve Bank of India kept it stagnant in its monetary policy some days ago, as it wanted to observe the US Fed move.

The outflow of foreign portfolio investment has already topped Rs10,700 crore in November in anticipation of the US rate hike. This is the worst ever data available since 2002.

It has triggered a sell-off in stocks of companies with high FII holdings.

It reflects a strengthening US economy that is likely to make the emerging markets vulnerable to volatile capital outflows, international rating agency, Moody’s says.

The US economy, Moody’s observes, should continue to expand through 2018, and emerging markets exporters will benefit if US growth translates into higher import demand.

In other words, India may see a rise in outflows, but as

the US economy improves, India can expect some rise in exports provided the Donald Trump regime allows such imports.

However, a signal from the US Fed will ultimately lead to subsequent rate hikes. A series of hikes in interest rates in the US over a period of time will raise the borrowing cost for carry trade (borrow from US and invest in India), and thereby reduce their risk-adjusted return in India.

On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of India has embarked on cutting interest rates, and has cut repo rates twice by 25 basis points each. A cut in India and a hike in US further reduce their risk-adjusted return.

Shivaji Experts also say that this may make US bonds more lucrative.

So, would it give another shock after demonetisation? It is not necessary but there are apprehensions that, if the US economy improves and the Fed announces two more rate hikes in the next 12 months, the moves can impact investments in India. Some of the promised foreign investments

may either be delayed or not come. Some may be revised downwards.

It is too early to predict its impact on the overall growth projections. It has led the rupee prone to more shocks. The rupee weakened by 43 paise against the dollar as gained against global currencies. It may slip further as demonetisation has made the economy shaky. Besides, foreign fund outflows also kept pressure on the rupee.

This makes imports, particularly petroleum crude, expensive. It may have an inflationary pressure on the economy as hike in petroleum prices would lead to higher transportation costs.

It may have a impact Sarkar minor also on the c o u n t r y ’s forex reserves particularly, as there is a thaw in exports amid global uncertainties.

Exports were also hit owing to a cash crunch, says Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia.

But despite the problem, exports are expected to reach $280 billion by March, 2017, as against $261.13 billion in 2015-16, though some fall in

HUMILITY AS A CORPORATE VALUE Pramod Pathak These are chaotic times.

Times of excessive self-love in which the selfie cult has brought vulgar narcissism to the public domain, with social media contributing to the rise of Facebook and Whatsapp tribe, which is so obsessed with self-recognition that it breaks the norms of basic decency. But in such torrid times comes like a whiff of fresh air — the news that several corporate houses have enlisted humility as a key behavioural trait in their performance management system.

There is no doubt that humility has always been a core human value rated as a virtue since times immemorial. That, in fact, was the difference between Rama and Ravana. According to many, it was this lack of humility that became the undoing of Duryodhana in the Mahabharata war. From Buddha to Gandhi, all great personalities displayed humility in their behaviour. But in the corporate scheme of things, humility seems to be a late entrant.

Given the fact that corporate life is more about dashing and flashing behaviour and those young management graduates in blue and black suits often blow their own trumpets. In fact, it was a sign of self-confi-

dence to brag about one’s abilities and achievements, sometimes magnified manifold. And it did work in a corporate culture where the popular belief was that nice guys finish second. Nice girls, even more so, if researchers from Tel Aviv University and University of Haifa in Israel are to be believed.

Researchers from these universities have found that dominant, assertive women, who clearly express their expectations and do not retreat from their demands, are compensated better than their more accommodating female peers.

In fact, the researchers got similar findings with regard to their study on dominant men versus more conciliatory counterparts.

Thus, in a culture where being nice is an undesirable value, the rise of humility is certainly a welcome change. Particularly, when blowing one’s own trumpet has become a norm in the modern-day corporate culture. The performance management system of some of the big companies is now considering humility as an important input, a success factor in high performance behaviour chart.

The Primal Group has taken the lead in rediscovering the virtues of humility, and gradually, there may be many more who would

recognise the worth of unassuming performers. In the management jargon, the trait humility would be placed in the group of soft skills, or basket of attributes, which are getting recognised these days as important for effective performance.

One reason seems to be the changing paradigm of business where customers are no longer the beneficiaries but the cause of business. Another reason is the cut throat competition that demands collaborative teamwork in which humility is certainly a great cementing force. Moreover, humble employees are usually liked by customers and help in relationship marketing that has become so crucial these days.

Talking about humility as a virtue, however, one needs to remember that great leaders always practised this. Power made them more humble. Abraham Lincoln to Lal Bahadur Shastri, they all owed their mass appeal to their humble nature. In fact, this is why Lord asked Lakshmana to stand by the feet of a dying Ravana to take some lessons. The Hindu religion has always portrayed devas as humble and the asuras as haughty. It is this haughtiness of the asuras, their ahankara that has proved their undoing. The corporate trend then is in the right direction.

target is likely.

The US rate hike and industrial production data for October 2016 — the last point before demonetisation — released on December 9, showed that overall industrial output contracted by 1.9 per cent. The fall over September was steeper at 6.3 per cent. The index (IIP) has grown by minus 0.3 per cent this year so far (April-October), compared to a corresponding 4.8 per cent growth last year. This shows how weak industrial activity was even without demonetisation.

Growth in consumer goods, although positive at 1.2 per cent in the year so far, was weaker than the last year. And capital goods output growth was minus 22 per cent in the period (minus 26 per cent in October) relative to a decent nine per cent growth in AprilOctober 2015.

Production actually dropped in April-October across mining (minus 0.2 percent against 2.2 per cent last year) and manufacturing (minus one per cent as against five per cent growth in April-October 2015), with only the electricity segment showing positive: 4.6 per cent growth.

Demonetisation may hurt

demand, with consumer goods being the worst affected. Cement sale volumes halved in November. Developers are pruning overall costs, including staff, to economise on cash and sustain bottom lines.

Ripple effects will be felt in steel and other inputs as well.

Automobile sales in November were 5.48 per cent lower — the slide is expected to accelerate in coming months as sagging retail sales feed back to manufacturers who may even cut output in next round.

Consumer goods’ firms, whose sales volumes either fell or grew feebly in September quarter, will also get impacted.

The credit growth fall by over Rs65,000 crore (November 11 to 25) indicates weak demand and production. The total fall may exceed one lakh crore rupees. The impact of demonetisation on industry may be indicated from the December data, which arrives in February 2017.

The Government is treading on a difficult path. The dailywagers, including MGNREGA labourers, are either facing job losses or severe cash crunch.

The migrants are returning home. The cash crunch is hitting industry, farm sector,mandis, vegetable, onion

and potato prices. It has also caused sharp rise in wheat prices as the market sees production fall.

The fall in retail inflation indicates that the consumer is unable to make purchases.

Even credit-card servers are collapsing owing to excessive load. Steps are needed to check rise in prices as the market comes out of shock may be by mid-January in the wake of interest rates hike by US Fed Reserve and oil price hike.

The Government has to carve out the Union Budget carefully to maintain its popular support, create demand and jobs. It should resist the temptation of increasing rail fares or reduce so-called Rs21,391 crore ‘subsidies’. Another white paper on rail accounting processes of two decades, should also be considered.

People are expecting a cut in income tax rates, doing away with tax deduction at source on bank deposits, decision on floor deposit rate of nine per cent and other necessary real reforms for ease of business and job growth. Tax reforms are needed to win popular support. The Government is faced with challenges.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

Manipur blockade: The Congress and BJP must stop shadow boxing In Manipur, economic blockades have become a part and parcel of daily life.

The latest one started on November 1 with the United Naga Council (UNC) enforcing a blockade on the highways to protest against Congress Kumkum chief mini s t e r Okram Ibobi Singh’s move to upgrade Sadar Hills (under a new name, Kangpokpi) and Jiribam to full-fledged districts.

movement of trucks on National Highways 2 and 37 — lifelines that pass through Naga villages — or along the 100-km Imphalo r e h Dasgupta M Road on the Trans Asian Highway No 1. The prices of commodities have gone through the roof.

Recently, the state government announced the formation of five new districts other than Jiribam and Kangpokpi: Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. The UNC, which claims to represent Naga interests, is vehemently opposed to the creation of the Sadar Hills district out of the Senapati district, with a substantial Naga population.

The creation of new districts has been a subject of ethnic strife in Manipur since 1971, when it was first proposed.

With elections round the corner, the blockade is not just a simple blockade anymore.

Both the ruling Congress and the BJP, which is eyeing for the state, are trying to exploit the impasse politically.

The shutdown gathered more steam after the state government arrested UNC president Gaidon Kamei and information secretary Stephen Lamkang, who have been remanded in custody till December 22. Faced with demands for their release for ending the blockade, chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, however, told a national daily, “The law will take its own course.”

Ibobi Singh, who has been in power since 2002, told a national daily: “The UNC does not respond to our invitations to hold talks on the stand-off and other issues. So we requested Home Minister Rajnath Singh to resolve the crisis by convening a tripartite meeting.” However, his government had backed out of a meeting with the Centre and the UNC on November 15.

Home Ministry officials met representatives of the UNC as planned but failed to break the

Since the start of the blockade, there has been no normal

Union human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar, who is the partyin-charge of elections in Manipur, last week charged the Congress government in Manipur for not resolving the blockade issue in the State.

impasse.

The CM has also accused Union home minister Rajnath Singh of double standards, alleging that he has not at all conveyed to state BJP leaders to give the CM concrete proposals on the UNC economic blockade.

“Who is behind the UNC is an open secret,” said Ibobi Singh, indicating the support of NSCN-IM. “NSCN I-M is in ceasefire with Government of India and though intervention from MHA is very much needed to call-off the economic blockade”.

For the BJP, the unrest works to its favour; they are hoping that the public would get disillusioned with the Congress government and vote for ‘development’.

Some, however, feel that the new districts will work in the favour of the Congress in the elections: “The timing [of new districts] is important. The budget for new districts and development work will have to be incorporated in FY 201718,” a senior journalist wrote in an editors’ forum on Facebook.

“There is every possibility that the people who will be benefited (read: majority) with the new born district will surely like to see the Congress in power for another term to ensure implementation of the notification (new district) without any hindrance”.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

OP-ED

P7

What Donald Trump Doesn't Know About Black People MICHAEL ERIC DYSONDE In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Kanye West appeared on live TV during a celebrity fund-raiser for victims of the disaster and said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." This wasn't based on intimate knowledge of Mr. Bush's racial views, but rather on his treatment of black people in a time of crisis.

Donald J. Trump, who met with Mr. West this past week to discuss "multicultural issues," according to the rapper, hasn't been in charge yet to steer black Americans through a crisis. But we have seen enough of his views and behaviors to hazard a guess at how he thinks.

It may be that Mr. Trump's views reveal something just as devastating as not caring for black people: not knowing us.

Mr. Trump is not alone in this deliberate ignorance, as postelection calls on the left to forget about identity politics have shown. If there is a dirty secret in American life, it is this: The real unifying force in our national cultural and political life, beyond skirmishes over ideology, is white identity masked as universal, neutral and, therefore, quintessentially American.

The greatest purveyors of identity politics today, and for the bulk of our country's history, have been white citizens.

There is a cost to ignorance and the hate that can grow from it. In his eulogy

for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in 2015 by Dylann S. Roof, President Obama spoke of the proud history of Reverend Pinckney's church and community. He noted that we couldn't know what the killer understood of the community or the lives he was taking, but he did know hate. Mr. Roof was found guilty of that Charleston massacre on Thursday, his violent acts a reminder - not one we needed - of the price ignorance and hate can exact.

"I would be a president for all of the people, AfricanAmericans, the inner cities," President-elect Trump declared during the second presidential debate. "Devastating what's happening to our inner cities," he lamented. "You go into the inner cities and - you see it's 45 percent poverty. AfricanAmericans now 45 percent poverty in the inner cities."

Mr. Trump's views on black people, poverty and cities were quickly challenged as myopic and ill informed. But the administration he is building is emblematic of his ignorance.

The only African-American member of his designated cabinet is Ben Carson, who was tapped for Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Carson was a beloved American icon, a man who endured a hardscrabble childhood in Detroit to become a famous physician. But his turn to right-wing petulance, with a

Donald J. Trump attended a service at the Great Faith Ministries International church in Detroit in September. bow to kooky comparisons of Obamacare to slavery, considerably soiled his reputation. If his story was once emblematic of beating the odds to become a success, he is now a different kind of symbol - of how little Mr. Trump knows, or cares, about African-Americans.

Similarly, his pick of Senator Jeff Sessions as his attorney general - a man who according to testimony before Congress once joked that the only problem with the K.K.K. was the group's drug use, deemed a white lawyer with black clients a race traitor and dismissed civil rights groups as "unAmerican" - proves Mr. Trump cares little for the interests of the AfricanAmerican citizens he will serve in the Oval Office.

During his presidential campaign Mr. Trump tweeted out a grossly inac-

curate image from a nonexistent "Crime Statistics Bureau" that suggested that the bulk of white people are killed by black people - a belief that white bigots have long parroted as the reason for their racist revenge.

Mr. Trump argued that "African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape they've ever been in before. Ever, ever, ever." President Obama drolly declared, "I mean, he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow."

Mr. Obama's retort underscores a troubling truth: Mr. Trump's vast ignorance of black life leads him to exaggerate the perils confronting black Americans in all the wrong ways. He overlooks the nation's vicious history of racism to proclaim that this is the worst racial epoch ever. It is a conve-

nient ruse to make the period under President Obama a foil to his heroic rescue of black people through his magical political powers.

The road ahead is not easy, primarily because Mr. Trump's ignorance about race, his critical lack of nuance and learning about it, exists among liberals and the white left, too.

From the start of his 2016 presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders was prickly about race, uncomfortable with an outspoken, demanding blackness, resistant to letting go of his preference for discussing class over race. He made efforts to improve the way he spoke about the realities of racial discrimination. But Mr. Sanders seemed to remain at heart a man of the people, especially if those people were the white working class.

Since the election, Mr. Sanders has sounded an increasingly familiar theme among liberals that they should "go beyond identity politics." He warned that "to think of diversity purely in racial and gender terms is not sufficient," and that we need candidates "to be fighters for the working class and stand up to the corporate powers who have so much power over our economic lives."

In a recent speech in California, Mr. Sanders said that it is "very easy for many Americans to say, I hate racism, I hate homophobia, I hate sexism," but that "it is a little bit harder for people in the middle or upper middle class to say, maybe we do have to deal with the greed of Wall Street."

This is a nifty bit of historical revisionism. For the longest time there was little

consideration for diversity, even among liberal elites, much less the white middle and working classes. It seems more than a little reactionary to blame the loss of the election on a brand of identity politics that even liberals were slow to embrace.

Attention to diversity and identity does not undercut our nation's embrace of democratic ideals; it strengthens them. The black struggle for freedom has ensured that other groups could follow along in the wake of our demand for equality. When the 1964 civil rights bill was in doubt in Congress, white opponents of the bill thought they could sink it by attaching the issue of gender, hoping to appeal to the sexism of those who might otherwise be cajoled to offer their support. Instead, the bill passed, and paved the way for both black rights and those of women.

What's good for black people is good for the nation.

When it comes to the white working class, however, that is almost impossible to see.

The interests of the white working class have often been used by white political elites to stave off challenges to inequality and discrimination by black folk and other minority groups.

In the middle of the 20th century, labor unions curtailed opportunity for black workers by protecting the race-based interests of the white working and middle

class. In the late 1960s, Richard M. Nixon even supported a version of affirmative action because he deemed it useful to break unions by accusing them of racial exclusion. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan appealed to disaffected white Democrats who resented being forced to share a small measure of the gains they had accumulated through bigotry and often official discrimination.

Now we hear again the cry that the neglected white working class is the future of American progressive politics. The tragedy is that much of the professed concern about the white working class is a cover for the interests of white elites who evoke working-class solidarity to combat racial, sexual and gender progress.

Identity has always been at the heart of American culture. We must confront a truth that we have assiduously avoided: The most protected, cherished and nurtured identity of all has been white identity. After all, the needs of the black and brown working classes, which are not exclusively urban, are, again, even in progressive quarters, all but forgotten.

Mr. Trump, and to a degree, the liberals and progressives who advocate a vision of America that spurns identity politics, make one thing clear: The real unifying force in American political life is whiteness, no matter its party, gender, region or, at times, even its class.

The Tent Cities of San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO - Cali- people "experiencing fornia may be the new capi- homelessness" - that's the tal of American liberalism, preferred term - formerly but evslept in seerybody clusion. w h o "We also Adam McCauley likes the had one indisound of vidual purthat ought to consider the chase and give away fate of three recent San Fran- $15,000 worth of camping cisco ballot initiatives. tents," Mr. Kositsky told The first, Proposition Q, me. "Other organizations aimed to eliminate homeless were giving them out as people's unsightly tent well, and now we've got 80 camps by banning sidewalk encampments in the city." tents and empowering the The individual in question police to confiscate them turned out to be a graphic with 24 hours notice so long designer named Shaun as occupants were offered Osburn who told me that, beds in shelters. San Fran- with help from a former taxi cisco has only 1,203 emer- driver named Tara Spalty, he gency adult shelter beds, gave away more than 350 for a homeless population tents. of 6,700, but a second ini- There are now tents on sidetiative, Proposition J, prom- walks above which people ised to ease that shortfall by pay $4,500 a month for oneearmarking $50 million a year bedroom apartments. The from a small sales-tax in- construction this year of a crease, proposed in a third "Super Bowl City" for footinitiative, Proposition K. ball fans in downtown San In an exquisite illustration of Francisco in advance of the California's core political big game sent even more neurosis - the tension be- homeless people looking tween our attachment to the for new turf. Some formed pretty view and our desire an immense village of colto care for the least among orful domes between a us without personal incon- food-truck court where my venience, even as our popu- daughters like the triple-balation and economy explode con hamburgers and a veg- we San Franciscans voted etarian grocery co-op that yes on Q and J, and no on sells tofu in bulk.

K. The people spoke, in This camp reportedly had other words, and we said, 350 residents at one point, "Get rid of those filthy tents including a slumlord and set aside heaps of (tentlord?) who rented his money to make sure it's spare tents for a few bucks done in a compassionate a week. Conventional wisway so I don't have to feel dom holds that such places guilty, but don't squeeze me are populated by drug adfor a dime." dicts and the mentally ill, Similar contradictions were and elements of that camp on display this month, after supported this, from piles of the Ghost Ship warehouse garbage to apparent meth fire in Oakland killed 36 heads toiling over piles of people. We lamented the disassembled bicycles. deaths, but it was easier to There was something so criticize the warehouse sane, however, about the owner and operator than tidy rows into which all face the desperation that these tents were arranged drove so many to live there. that it brought to mind a Continue reading the main national-park campground. story This resonance was not lost Advertisement on the tent dwellers. CrysContinue reading the main tal Erickson, a 36-year-old story who had been homeless for San Francisco's homeless three years, told me, ruepopulation, it bears men- fully, "We call it the urban tioning, increased less than camping experience."

7 percent over the last 10 Nearby, on Seventh Street, years. Tent camps are noth- another group built wooden ing new. According to Jeff shanties along a narrow Kositsky, the director of strip of concrete between a San Francisco's Department street that clogs with rushof Homelessness and Sup- hour traffic and a railway portive Housing, what has that roars with commuter changed is their visibility. trains in the shadow of a Tech-boom construction sprawling new biotech cenhas filled empty lots where ter. Germaine Spann, a mem-

ber of this crew, told me that he scavenged materials from the Dumpsters at the immense luxury-condo construction site that loomed overhead. He scaled his boxlike home for legal parking spaces, built it on wheels for easy relocation, installed a lockable door and a glass window, and painted a sign that said: "Box City 7th Street. They may look like boxes to you, but to us they are home."

"They're ships," said Jason Albertson, a member of the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team.

"Everybody's building a lifeboat and living in it."

Similar outbreaks of ad hoc shelter appeared elsewhere around California and, indeed, all over the West Coast and even Hawaii. In Los Angeles, where the total homeless population grew 11 percent from 2015 to 2016 - to an astonishing 28,464 people - the number of makeshift dwellings grew 85 percent. In San Diego, the homeless population declined while those in handmade shelters grew 69 percent. Sacramento was so overwhelmed by tent dwellers that the city is contemplating creating a "safe ground" zone, while Santa Barbara has designated "safe parking" lots for people who occupy vehicles.

Activists soon gathered signatures for ballot initiatives like Proposition HHH in Los Angeles, which aimed to create a $1.2 billion bond for new supportive and affordable housing as

well as facilities, and Measure A in Santa Clara County, which authorized a $950 million bond for affordable housing.

In San Francisco, a city government hotline that typically got two or three daily complaints about homeless encampments - 898 total for the year 2013, for example started getting more than 50 a day, 6,982 by mid-May. Public outcry included disbelief that our wealthy progressive city allows people to suffer so; assertions that our homeless come from elsewhere because of the warm weather and San Francisco's generous public services; and the notorious "Tech Bro" letter of Feb. 15, addressed to the mayor and police chief by an entrepreneur named Justin Keller. Mr. Keller announced that he had been living in San Francisco "for over three years," declared homelessness "the worst it has ever been," and shrugged off culpability as an agent of gentrification.

"The reality is, we live in a free-market society," he wrote. "The wealthy working people have earned their right to live in the city." To support his case that city officials ought to do something, Mr. Keller added the argument that won him a starring role as the face of technology-industry heartlessness: "I shouldn't have to see the pain, struggle and despair of homeless people to and from my way to work every day."

Mr. Kositsky, the city official, did not entirely dis-

agree. "It's important not to demonize people who complain, who want their kids safe and don't want to step on needles and feces and be kept up all night by loud music," he told me.

Patrick Kennedy, a developer, proposed solving the problem with micro-apartments that look like shipping containers (fabrication to be outsourced to China, of course), stacked into supportive communities, and rented to the city at $1,000 a month. Meanwhile, with the financial backing of wealthy investors, Supervisor Mark Farrell, a moderate who represents affluent neighborhoods, placed Proposition Q on the ballot.

Mr. Keller seems like a smart fellow. He has doubtless learned by now that homelessness is decidedly not the worst it has ever been in San Francisco and also that it ranks up there with sunshine among California's defining phenomena. As The San Francisco Chronicle reported in October, the South of Market district favored by tech firms like Mr. Keller's has been a gathering place for the homeless since at least 1872, when an observer noted the concentration of "blanket men" who seemed to be mostly "runaway sailors," "old soldiers" and "bankrupt German scene painters." The city's homeless population peaked at 8,640 in 2002.

Californian outrage over homelessness is likewise evergreen, as documented by the journalist Caleb Pershan, who found examples that ranged from a 1986 Chronicle columnist's comment that "the annual homeless crisis came to San Francisco early this year" to a 2001 article mocking Mayor Willie Brown's belated acknowledgment that homelessness harmed the city's image - "stunning the many merchants and residents who have been sounding that theme since the beginning of the mayor's first term six years ago."

Mr. Keller is less an outlier rube, in other words, than a genuine Californian, struggling to reconcile the Golden State of our shared dreams with unsettling evidence. Grumblings that our homeless come from elsewhere for services express

that denial by insisting that we are too compassionate not inadequately so - and therefore bear no responsibility for losers who wash up on our sidewalks. It is not immaterial that newcomers really do keep showing up in droves, in California, and that people who got here yesterday have a long history of feeling unnerved by those who arrived 10 minutes ago. Dust Bowl migrants, for example, were so resented that legislators passed a 1937 "anti-Okie" law a that criminalized the bringing of "any indigent person" into California.

San Francisco city statistics, meanwhile, suggest that most of our homeless are as Californian as anyone with a roof over their heads.

A one-night census of the homeless in January 2015 found that 71 percent had lived here at the time they became homeless, and half of those had lived in San Francisco for 10 or more years.

I recently heard a tech-industry veteran - a friend, born on the East Coast suggest that proposals to build low-income housing here were misguided because of the high cost of California real estate. A more efficient alternative, he explained, would be to construct homeless shelters somewhere cheap, like Nevada. Aside from the unpleasant specter of the police forcing desperate mothers and children onto buses bound for desert concentration camps (and how long would you have to be homeless to get exiled?), my friend's remark helped me see what lurks beneath Mr. Keller's contention that wealthy people have a right to be here because they "got an education, work hard, and earned it."

Americans have been coming to California to make it big for so long - on wagons bound for the Gold Rush, via Route 66 for 1950s aerospace jobs - that a tacit understanding flourishes in certain quarters by which California is less a homeland full of locals like anywhere else than a reality show with a self-deportation approach to voting contestants off the island. As soon as you can't pay the bills, and regardless of whether your great-grandparents were born here, you're expected

to get lost, or at least move to Seattle.

Discussion of causes, along with the noise about weather and drug addiction, typically includes Ronald Reagan's evisceration of federal funding for subsidized housing and public mental health hospitals.

Conventional homeless shelters get blamed, too, because of their tendency to separate romantic partners and forbid both pets and the storage of belongings - such that a few nights indoors might cost a person love, companionship and all their survival gear.

Frigid New York City, however, has more homeless per capita than San Francisco or Los Angeles, while only 7 percent of Los Angeles homeless arrived less than a year ago, fewer than the 8.5 percent of all Los Angeles County residents to have done so, suggesting that sunshine is no more of an inducement to the destitute than to anyone else.

National surveys also find that 20 percent to 25 percent of the homeless have serious mental health problems and an estimated 26 percent abuse drugs. San Francisco has also pioneered a new model of homeless shelter, known as a Navigation Center, that invites entire encampments - pets included - to come in from the cold together.

The economic factors that correlate most strongly with homelessness, furthermore, according to research published in 2001 by the Public Policy Institute of California, are precisely those that bedevil every aspect of California life: extreme income inequality combined with upward-spiraling housing costs. For decades, even as employment booms have led to population booms, California voters - myself among them - have fought to freeze the good life in amber by resisting increases in housing density and mass transit.

Between 2012 and 2015, for example, the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View gained 17,921 jobs but only 779 units of housing. A report by the McKinsey Global Institute recently ranked California 49th out of the 50 states in per capita housing units. With income gains going mostly to the elite,

rents skyrocket, the middle class competes for the cheapest places on the market, and the very poorest end up on the street.

Viewed in this light, sidewalk tents are merely a rational response to an incoherent society.

Californians came together for public works in the mid20th century - freeways, public housing, the finest public schools and universities in the nation. Caring for the least among us, however, has never been a hallmark of California liberalism, and our most notable innovations of the past 50 years have been more about environmental conservation, tolerance and technology - sustainable agriculture, gay marriage, Snapchat - than formation of mutual aid societies, except for communes and cults that end with industrialscale marijuana cultivation or mass suicide. The technology industry takes this to a millennial extreme by celebrating the moral neutrality enshrined in Google's corporate motto, "Don't Be Evil."

On the upside, our political leaders - Gov. Jerry Brown chief among them - see with clarity that our only defensible path forward involves the end of Nimby resistance to change and the mass construction of denser housing and public transit guided by enlightened city planning to create a more livable and sustainable future. Voters all over California did pass big bond measures in support of new housing for the homeless, and Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, recently made a $10 million gift meant to eliminate family homelessness in San Francisco. Facebook has likewise announced plans to create 1,500 units of housing near its Menlo Park headquarters - a colossal political breakthrough, in our stunted moral climate with 15 percent designated affordable and $20 million dedicated to the development of still more affordable housing and tenants' rights services.

In the meantime, San Francisco city employees can start giving all those tent dwellers 24 hours notice to clear out, backed by offers of, well, pretty much nothing at all.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

NATION P8 Army Pays Tributes to 3 Soldiers Technical snag disrupts Delhi Metro services on Killed in Pampore Attack

PTI Srinagar, Dec 18 : Army on Sunday paid floral tributes to the three soldiers killed in a militant attack on an army convoy at Pampore on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

"In a solemn ceremony at Badami Bagh Cantonment here, many senior officials from security agencies including Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF, BSF and SSB, joined General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, Lt Gen J S Sandhu and all ranks in paying homage to the martyrs on behalf of a proud nation," an army official said.

Many officials from the civil administration, including Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmed Khan were also present on the occasion.

Three soldiers were yesterday killed, while two others jawans were injured in the attack at a place crowded with civilians in Pampore of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Martyr Naik (Gnr) Ratheesh C (35) had joined army in 2001 and hailed from Kotolipram, Kannur district in Kerala and is survived by

Blue Line

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) : Services on Delhi Metros Blue Line were disrupted in the morning hours today due to a technical snag that restricted the speed of the trains.

"There was a little delay in services on Line-3 today between 9.15 to 11.15 AM

due to Track Circuit drop (signaling issue which resulted due to minor rail fracture) between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank stations on Up line (line going from Noida/Vaishali towards Dwarka)," a DMRC official said.

"To analyse the cause, access to the track was given

twice to the staff which led to minor delay in services during this period. After temporary repair of the rail (to avoid unnecessary delay in services during day time), services on Line 3 are running normal since 11.15 AM. There is no major dislocation to train services," the official said.

Punjab polls: Won’t let sitting MLAs change seats; one ticket per family, says Amarinder Singh Army soldiers examining the scene following a militant attack on Army convoy at Kadalbal Pampore on Jammu-Srinagar National High Way on Saturday. (Image: PTI)

his wife and a son," the official said.

He said 33-year-old Gunner Farate Sourabh Nandkumar of Bhekrai Nagar village in Pune of Maharasthra had donned the uniform in 2004 and is survived by his wife

and twin daughters.

Gunner Shashikant Pandey (24) had four years of service and was on his way to join his unit in the Valley.

Hailing from Zharian area of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand, he is survived

Cyclone relief: TN CM Panneerselvam to meet PM Modi tomorrow New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI): Days after he urged the Centre to grant Rs 1000 Crore for cyclone relief operations in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow to press the demand.

The first Cabinet meeting chaired by Panneerselvam on December 10 had adopted a resolution in which the twin matters of the highest civilian award and a statue for Jayalalithaa figured.

struction.

Panneerselvam will also give a memorandum on several other demands of Tamil Nadu to the Prime Minister, the release said adding he will return to Chennai the same day.

He will also urge the Centre to posthumously confer "Bharat Ratna" on former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and also put up her life size bronze statue in Parliament complex, an official release said here today.

On December 13, a day after the cyclone wrecked havoc in the state, Panneerselvam had urged Modi in a letter to sanction Rs 1,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund to the state for relief, rehabilitation and recon-

After he took over as Chief Minister on December 6, it will be the first visit of Panneerselvam to the PM in Delhi and he is expected to follow up on the previous memorandums submitted to Modi by his predecessor Jayalalithaa.

by his parents, the official said.

The mortal remains of the martyrs would be flown for last rites to their native places where they would be laid to rest with full military

honours, he said.

In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved families of the martyrs and remains committed to their needs and wellbeing, the official said.

Naxal killed in face-off with police in Chhattisgarh Raipur, Dec 18 (PTI) A Naxal was today gunned down in an exchange of fire with security personnel in a dense forest of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said.

The skirmish took place at around 11.05 AM when a joint team of security men from various forces was out on a combing operation in the interiors of Mirtur police station limits, Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI. Acting on inputs about the presence of Maoists in Hakwa and Hallur village areas of Mirtur, a composite squad of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF), Central Reserve Police Force's 199th battalion and district

force, had launched the operation yesterday towards the target area, the ASP said.

Today, when the security personnel were cordoningoff a forested patch near Hakwa village, about 450 kms from here, the Naxalites fired on them leading to a gunbattle between the two sides, he said.

However, the rebels soon escaped from the spot.

During search, the body of a male Naxal clad in 'uniform', a muzzle loading gun and other Maoist-related material were recovered from the spot, he said adding that the identity of the killed rebel was being ascertained.

"The police team is reported to be safe and approaching back their camp," he added.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) : Facing a tough electoral battle in Punjab next year, Congress has decided not to let sitting MLAs in general seats change their assembly segments and strictly apply the “one family, one ticket” formula by not allowing two people from a family to contest. “These two rules are non-negotiable. We have decided that all sitting MLAs in general seats must defend their own segments. They will not get to replace their seats.

“Replacements will be allowed only in case of 34 reserved seats. Also, the decision to allot one ticket per family is final. It will not be bent,” Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh told PTI in an interview. He said the remaining party tickets for Punjab are likely to be finalised by early next week when the party’s Central Election Committee headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi would meet.

The former Punjab Chief Minister said allowing sitting MLAs to shift to other constituencies would send “wrong sig-

nals” to the party workers. “Everyone must go into this battle thinking they are winning,” Amarinder said at a time when many sitting MLAs of Congress, including some senior leaders, want to shift to other constituencies.

Among those are six-time MLA from Sanaur Lal Singh, who wants to shift to Samana, but is unlikely to be obliged. Another MLA demanding a change is Indian Youth Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who is hoping to shift to Muktsar though he represents Gidderbaha in the Punjab assembly. “No changes will be allowed for any general candidates,” Amarinder categorically said.

Singh also said the first list of 61 candidates announced a few days back reflected the sentiment that the MLAs will have to defend their turfs when it comes to general seats.

Former Punjab CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who was seeking to contest from Sunam has been fielded from Lehra, which she currently rep-

resents in the assembly.

Similarly, the “one family, one ticket” rule will apply, said Amarinder.

“The CEC is likely to meet on Tuesday,” he said, as 56 seats are pending declaration.

Punjab assembly has 117 seats. On “one family, one ticket” rule, Amarinder referred to his own family in which his wife and Patiala MLA Preneet Kaur had stepped down in his favour.

Similarly, sitting MLA from Qadian Charanjit Kaur Bajwa has stepped down in favour of her brother-in-law Fateh Jung Bajwa. Guriqbal Kaur Babli, the Nawanshahr MLA has vacated her seat for her son Angad Saini whose name has been announced in the first list.

Also, former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer Amar Singh, who was principal secretary to AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh when he was the state’s chief minister, has been fielded this time from Raikot reserved seat instead of his brother and sitting MLA GS Boparai.

Swaraj promises help in bringing EC seeks ban on body of Indian from Tokyo anonymous contributions above Rs 2,000 to political parties New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI): Seeking to stem the flow of black money in polls, the Election Commission has urged the government to amend laws to ban anonymous contributions of Rs 2,000 and above made to political parties.

ernment, and made part of its compendium on proposed electoral reforms, "anonymous contributions above or equal to the amount of rupees two thousand should be prohibited."

Only yesterday, the government had said that political parties depositing old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in their accounts will be exempt from income tax+ provided the donations taken are below Rs 20,000 per individual and properly documented.

There is no constitutional or statutory prohibition on receipt of anonymous donations by political parties. But there is an "indirect partial ban" on anonymous donations through the requirement of declaration of donations under section 29C of The Representation of Revenue Secretary the People Act, 1951.

Hasmukh Adhia said the government is not tinkBut, such declarations ering with the tax exempare mandated only for tion available to political contributions above Rs parties and they are free 20,000. to deposit old 500 and 1000 rupee notes in their As per the proposed bank accounts. But these amendment, sent by the deposits will, however, Commission to the gov- be subject to the condi-

tion that individual donations taken in cash do not exceed Rs 20,000 and are properly documented with full identity of the donor.

The Commission has also proposed that exemption of Income Tax should only be extended to political parties that contest elections and win seats in Lok Sabha or assembly polls.

Section 13A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 confers tax exemption to political parties for income from house property, income by way of voluntary contributions, income from capital gains and income from other sources.

Only income under the head 'salaries and income from business or profession' are chargeable to tax in the hands of political parties in India.

Recuperating after a kidney transplant at AIIMS here, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj continues to promptly respond to pleas for helping Indians abroad -- this time from a family which is unable to bring back the mortal remains of a member who died in Tokyo.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI): "We will bear all the expenses (to bring back the body) and do this without delay," Swaraj today tweeted from the hospital bed here, a day after the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) sought her help for the family of Gopal Ram who died eight days ago in the Japanese capital.

DCW Chief Swati Maliwal had written to Swaraj seeking intervention afterRadha Debi, wife of Gopal, approachedthe Commission seeking help, saying

the family was unable to bring the body due tofinancial constraints.

The External Affairs Minister is known for her prompt response in addressing problems of distressed Indians abroad, many of whom have approached her through twitter. Even during her hospitalisation, Swaraj, 64, who underwent a kidney transplant on December 10, has continued to respond to requests for help.

48-year-old Gopal Ram, a resident of Ambedkar

Nagar here, had gone to Tokyo in September last year looking for greener pastures. He died of a cardiac arrest in the Japanese capital on December 10.

"The family is severely distressed and needs your kind support.

"As we all aware you have been extremely proactive in resolving such matters. Therefore, I am forwarding the representation along with this letter for your kind perusal.

Hoping for your support in this matter," Maliwal said in a letter to Swaraj

yesterday.

Gopal was working in Tokyo as a cook in a hotel and, according to a family member, he was fired within three months after which he started working in some local shop.

His financial condition was bad because of which he was in distress, he said.

OnDecember 10, the family received a call from a person who worked with Gopal, saying that he has passed

away following a heart attack.

"Since then we have been in touch with Indian Embassy officials in Japan and also have written to the MEA but they have asked us to arrange for several documents and it is becoming extremely difficult for us to arrange things as we are financially not sound.

"We want the government of India to help us bring back the body of my father so that we can perform his last rites," Gopal's son Jatin said.

Will fight with LG to protect people’s interest: Manish Sisodia New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI): Accusing Lt Governor Najeeb Jung of sitting on crucial files relating to major infrastructure projects and schemes, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said the AAP government will not shy away from a ‘fight’ with him if people’s interest is ‘undermined’. In a hard hitting attack, Sisodia also alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office was behind the LG stalling ambitious projects, including

setting up of mohalla clinics across the city.

“We will not allow the LG to undermine people’s interest. If there is a need to request him, we will do so, and if there is also a need to fight with the Lt Governor, we will do the same. Without the PMO’s instruction, the LG cannot create hurdles,” Sisodia told PTI. Recently, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a bitter critic of the PM, had alleged

that IAS officers working in the Delhi government were being ‘threatened’ and ‘provoked’ by PMO and Lt Governor to revolt against him.

“PM is bitter about Delhi because of huge loss (in Delhi Assembly elections).

The PMO is creating hurdles in the working of Delhi government through Lt Governor,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

On August 4 this year, the Delhi High Court had stamped the primacy of the

Lt Governor in the city administration. Kejriwal had challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court.

On December 14, the apex court had observed that the Delhi government should have some powers for it to function properly. It had also listed for final disposal, the appeal of the AAP government against the August 4 Delhi high court verdict.

Sisodia said that Delhi government is “fully confident” that the Supreme Court

judgement will be in their favour and thereafter, “hurdles being created by the Centre” in the functioning of government will stop.

“Government is fully confident that the SC’s order will be in its favour,” he said.

Since coming to power, the AAP dispensation and the LG have been at loggerheads on a range of issues including transfer and posting of bureaucrats and setting up of enquiry

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

BUSINESS P9 4 Tata firms to vote on Government to soft Cyrus Mistry's removal launch malware cleaning as director this week system from December 20

Mumbai, Dec 18: In what could prove to be a crucial week in the ongoing boardroom war between Tata Sons and its ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry, four listed firms of the group will vote on resolutions to remove him as director from their boards.

All eyes will be on the outcome of voting by shareholders of Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL), Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals at their EGMs to be held on December 20-23.

Besides deciding the fate of Mistry, shareholders of three companies- Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals will also vote on similar resolutions moved

by Tata Sons to remove independent director Nusli Wadia from their boards.

Shareholders of IHCL will

1,28,625 shares in the company, as per IHCL's 2015-16 Annual Report.

In Tata Steel, Tata Sons holds 29.75 per cent while the total of promoter and promoter group holding is 31.35 per cent while nonpromoter shareholder LIC holds 13.62 per cent.

vote on removing Mistry as director. Tata Sons holds 28.01 per cent stake in the company.

According to the information available on BSE, as on September 2016, promoter and promoter group to-

gether held 38.65 per cent stake in IHCL. One of the key non-promoter shareholders, LIC, which had abstained in a similar voting in TCS, holds 8.76 per cent.

Tata Sons holds 26.51 per cent stake in Tata Motors, while the overall promoter and promoter group holding is at 33 per cent, while that of LIC is at 5.11 per cent.

Mistry holds 14,500 shares in his individual capacity.

On the other hand, in Tata Chemicals, Tata Sons has 19.35 per cent stake and the total of promoter and promoter group holding is at 30.80 per cent, while that of LIC is 3.33 per cent. Mistry's holding is 16,000 shares.

Government has earmarked Rs 100 crore for setting up of BotNet cleaning centre of India CERT. New Delhi, Dec 18 : Government will kick start operations of a long-awaited malware and botnet cleaning centre with soft launch on December 20, a programme aimed at automatically disinfecting computers and mobiles from viruses and malicious software for free. “Major cybersecurity initiative of Digital India. Soft Launch of BotNet cleaning centre of India CERT from December

20,” Ministry of Electronics and IT, Additional Secretary Ajay Kumar tweeted on Sunday.

Botnet is a network of malicious softwares that can steal information, take control of device function and carry out cyber attacks like Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) that prevent access of websites. Government has earmarked Rs 100 crore for setting up this fa-

cility. The project was expected to be launched in 2014..

When contacted, Kumar said, “From December 20, Indian CERT will start informing internet service providers about infected systems. They will have to synchronise their system to meet the requirement of Botnet and malware cleaning centre. ISPs will then alert their customers about

infection in their PC or mobile and recommend them downloading of software from website of BotNet centre to remove malwares.”.

The software will be available for free from the BotNet centre, he said. The new system will do away need of installing anti-virus software in PC and mobile phones. “We are expecting that from around December 26 complete system will be operational,” Kumar said.

Of the 24 life insurers, only 19 posted profits PM Modi to launch in FY16: IRDAI skill development initiatives tomorrow Mistry on his own holds

NEW DELHI, Dec 18: Of the 24 life insurance companies operating in India, only 19 insurers remained profitable in 2015-16 with the sector's overall profits dipping by 2.57 per cent.

PTI Kanpur, Dec 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil tomorrow a clutch of skill development initiatives aimed at skilling unemployed youth and also lay the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Skills in Kanpur.

"Apart from launching 31 Kaushal Kendras which will serve as skilling centres and target mainly unemployed youth for training purposes, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate an exhibition named Kaushal Mahotsav," a senior official in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said.

"The PM will also lay the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Skills in

cial said.

The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras are stateof-the-art Model Training Centres (MTCs) which the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship intends to establish in every district of the country.

The model training centres envisage to create benchmark institutions that demonstrate aspirational value for competency based skill development training.

Kanpur which will focus on providing industrial training," the official added.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is also set to enter into a strategic partnership with the leather and textiles in-

dustry in Kanpur to place one lakh youth under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

Moreover, the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will also be launched formally, the offi-

They would focus on elements of quality, sustainability and connect with stakeholders in skills delivery process. The centres will transform from a mandate-driven footloose model to a sustainable institutional model.

Embarrassed, upset over handful of employees: Shikha Sharma NEW DELHI, Dec 18 : "Embarrassed and upset" over the conduct of a handful of employees bringing the organisation into disrepute, Axis BankBSE -0.91 % MD and CEO Shikha Sharma today said the bank has hired KPMG to conduct a forensic audit for enhanced due diligence and building more safeguards.

forensic audit for enhanced due diligence and building more safeguards," she said.

Assuring that the fundamentals of the bank is on a "solid footing', Sharma said in a letter to Axis Bank customers that the bank is tracking sudden surge in account activity and have 'proactively identified potentially suspicious accounts".

"We have made every effort to ease the transition by making special arrangements for senior citizens and differently abled people at our branches, using micro-ATMs to deliver cash to BSF personnel, ensuring salary disbursement to government and corporate employees across the length and breadth of our country," Sharma wrote.

"The recent media reports around the conduct of a few of our employees have left me embarrassed and upset.

We have fallen short of your expectations because a handful of people did not follow our fully compliant and robust processes. We have taken the toughest action against such employees and we will do so in every case of divergence from our Code of Conduct.

"I regret that the misdeeds of a few people have eroded

Thanking customers for the support and understanding since the demonetisation initiative, Sharma said it has been a challenging time and the bank has tried its "level best" to make it easier for customers.

Shikha Sharma the hard work of 55,000+ employees, who have been at the front end beyond working hours, displaying extraordinary patience and commitment to their responsibilities," she said in the letter.

The Income Tax Department had last week conducted a raid at an Axis Bank branch in Noida and unearthed Rs 60 crore from the accounts of 20 shell companies.

Sharma said the bank has proactively identified suspicious accounts and has given inputs to regulatory authorities for further investigation.

"I would like to reassure you that the bank has always been committed to the highest standards of operational control and continues to fully cooperate with the authorities. We have been tracking sudden surges in account activity and have proactively identified potentially suspicious accounts.

"This proactive identification has been one of the inputs in investigation by the regulatory authorities, who are visiting some of our branches to seek out information. Further, we have hired KPMG to conduct a

"I assure you that the fundamentals of the bank, built painstakingly over the last 22 years, focused on serving its retail and corporate customers are on a solid footing... We will always safeguard your interests because your trust matters the most. I look forward to your continued confidence in making us a safe, strong bank that is always focused on you," she said in the letter.

During 2015-16, the life insurance industry reported profit after tax at Rs 7,414.97 crore as against Rs 7,611.31 crore for 2014-15, said the annual report by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

The life insurers which re-

ported profit are: AvivaLife, Bajaj Allianz, Birla SunLife, Canara HSBC, DHFL Pramerica, EXIDEBSE 0.60 % Life, HDFC Standard, ICICI Prudential, IDBI Federal, India First, Kotak MahindraBSE -0.47 %, Max Life, PNBBSE -0.87 % MetLife, Sahara India, SBI Life, Shriram Life, Star Union, Tata AIA and LIC of India.

The other five companies are: Aegon Life Insurance Company Ltd, EdelweissBSE -5.35 % Tokio Life Insurance, Bharti Axa

Life Insurance, Future Generali India Life and Reliance Nippon.

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) alone reported profit after tax at Rs 2,517.85 crore, an increase of 38.06 per cent over Rs 1,823.78 crore for 2014-15.

The report further said the total net profit of non-life insurance industry dropped to Rs 3,238 crore as against Rs 4,639 crore in 2014-15.

All the four public sector insurers reported net profit

during the year 2015-16.

Quoting Swiss Re report, IRDAI said during 2015, the life insurance premium in India (inflation adjusted) increased by 7.8 per cent when global life insurance premium increased by 4 per cent.

The Indian non-life insurance sector witnessed a growth of 8.1 per cent (inflation adjusted) during 2015 whereas the growth in global non-life insurance premium was 3.6 per cent only.

GST rollout may be pushed to July, industry needs time: Experts NEW DELHI, Dec 18 : With "turf issue" over tax payer jurisdiction continuing to clog GST Council deliberations, the Goods and Services Tax rollout could be delayed by a quarter to July 1 as industry would require time to prepare itself, experts said.

The Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in its six meetings so far has taken unanimous decisions on 10 issues while three more -- dual control, list of items in tax bracket and model CGST and IGST laws -- are still pending.

PwC India Executive Director Sumit Lunker said the April 1 rollout deadline seems challenging, as the CGST and IGST laws can be passed only in the Budget Session in early February.

Thereafter, states will have to pass the SGST law in their assemblies.

"After the law is passed, industry would need at least 3-4 months time to be GST ready, especially on the IT infrastructure front. Most IT companies would come out with their patches and updates after the final law is crystallised. July 1 ap-

ber 16, 2017. Hopefully, the earlier we do, the better it is for the new taxation system," Jaitley had said.

As far as the model GST law is concerned, Lunker said, there is no big challenge in passing it as the GST Council has already cleared discussion on 20 chapters and only 7 chapters remain.

pears to be a more feasible date for implementation," he said.

over interpretation of the law and is awaiting clarity from government."

Nangia & Co Director (Indirect Taxation) Rajat Mohan said July 1 looks like the "best case scenario" for GST implementation as by then the industry will also be able to migrate into the new taxation regime.

Jaitley had last week said that certain "turf issues" still remain to be sorted out before GST rollout and the new indirect tax regime can be implemented anytime between April 1 and September 16, 2017.

"GST is a transactional tax and not an income tax.

Transactional tax can start in any part of the financial year and therefore, the range of timing when it has to come into force because of constitutional necessity is April 1, 2017 to Septem-

BMR & Associates LLP Partner Mahesh Jaising said there would be a lot of clockwork needed to meet the April 1 deadline. "The realistic timeline appears July 1. As of today, services sector has some confusion

"While the issue of dual control remains unresolved till date, state governments across the country are keen to implement GST at the earliest. I am hopeful that the GST Council in its December 22-23 meeting will arrive at a consensus on the pending issues," he said.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP Partner Prashant Deshpande said practically April 1 deadline "looks unachievable" because of the short window of time that will be available to the industry after the GST related legislations are passed.

"It will be a big tug of war to implement it from April and my advice to industry is that they should keep themselves prepared to ensure business continuity," he said.

Andhra Pradesh: Senior excise dept official caught in DA case, Rs 7 lakh in new notes seized PTI Vijayawada, Dec 18 : A senior official of Excise and Prohibition Department has been allegedly found in possession of assets worth about Rs five crore and Rs seven lakh in Rs 2,000 notes were also seized from him, Anti-Corruption Bureau sources said on Sunday.

Raids on the properties of Additional Commissioner K Lakshman Bhaskar were conducted at 11 places in AP and Telangana yesterday and today that led to unearthing of huge assets worth about Rs five crore, they said.

lockers in various banks, which could reveal more treasure, they said.

New currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination worth Rs seven lakh was also recovered from the accused.

Several crucial documents

relating to Bhaskar’s properties and his benamis were also seized during the raids, the ACB sources said. The sleuths are yet to open his

He was apprehended and taken to Visakhapatnam as part of investigation of the case, the sources said.

Bhaskar, a native of Ramanapalem area in West Godavari, had worked in various Excise Department in Visakhapatnam. The raids were conducted in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Rajahmundry and his hometown Ramanapalem, they added.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

INTERNATIONAL

P10

Donald Trump says US should let China keep seized underwater drone

14 people died in traffic accident in western Afghanistan

The President-elect engages in another bout of Twitter diplomacy after Washington said Beijing had agreed to return the drone.

Within a couple of hours of Mr Trump's original tweet, China accused the US of "hyping up" the incident and said it was not conducive to a "smooth" resolution of the dispute.

The President-elect wrote on Twitter: "We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!"

His message came after the US military announced it had reached an understanding with Beijing for the return of the underwater glider, which China said it seized to ensure the "safe navigation of passing ships".

Earlier on Saturday Mr Trump used Twitter to criticise China, slamming the move as an "unpresidented (sic) act".

He later corrected the spelling.

Washington said the drone was collecting scientific

On Saturday evening, the Pentagon said that after "direct engagement with Chinese authorities" it had "secured an understanding" that the 10ftlong unmanned glider would be returned.

Tensions have escalated since Mr Trump's shock election victory data in the disputed South China Sea, and was one of two being recovered by a

survey ship, when it was taken by a Chinese warship on Thursday.

The US oceanographic survey ship, USNS Bowditch, was positioned about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, near the Philippines.

When the Chinese warship approached and

seized the drone, the two vessels were 500m apart.

No shots were fired and the Chinese ship left with the drone.

Tensions between the US and China have escalated since Mr Trump's shock election victory, with the President-elect suggesting he is willing to abandon the "One China" policy which guides Washington's position on Taiwan.

Mr Trump caused outrage in Beijing after he took a call from Tsai Ing-wen, the President of democratically self-ruling Taiwan, which China views as a rogue province awaiting unification.

Indonesian military Australia Should Be plane crashes in Republic After Queen Papua, killing 13 Elizabeth: Prime Minister

JAKARTA, Indonesia - An Indonesian military Hercules C-130 transport plane crashed Sunday in bad weather in the easternmost province of Papua, killing all 13 people on board.

The plane was carrying 12 tons of food supplies and cement from Timika to Wamena, a distance of about 200 kilometers (125 miles), when it crashed just minutes before its scheduled landing, said air force chief of staff Agus Supriatna.

The plane was carrying three pilots and 10 other personnel.

Bad weather and low clouds in Wamena, the capital of the mountainous district of Jayawijaya, were believed to be factors in the crash, deputy air force chief of staff Hadiyan Sumintaatmadja told a news conference.

“The tower in Wamena has spotted the plane, but it was not certain that the plane saw the runway,” he said. He did not rule out that the plane hit a mountain.

An investigation is ongoing. He said the aircraft, purchased from Australia where it was first used in the 1980s, had more than 60 hours left until the next routine maintenance.

The plane took off from Timika at 5:35 a.m. and crashed about four minutes before it was scheduled to land in Wamena.

TV footage showed rescuers and locals had reached the wreckage of the plane and brought out all the victims.

It was the third serious air accident in Indonesia in less than a month. On Nov. 24, a Bell 412 EP helicopter from the Indonesian army crashed in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, killing three. A week later, a police plane with 13 people aboard crashed into the sea on the way to the island of Batam, near Singapore.

Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of more than 250 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings.

The military, which suffers from low funding, has also regularly suffered airplane and helicopter crashes.

In July last year, an air force Hercules crashed into a neighborhood of Medan, Indonesia’s third largest city, killing more than 140 people including military personnel, family members traveling with them and people on the ground.

Donald Trump tells Michelle Obama US now has hope MOBILE, Alabama: President-elect Donald Trump+ has insisted that America was full of hope since his election, shrugging off First Lady Michelle Obama's remarks suggesting otherwise.

"We have tremendous hope, and we have tremendous promise and tremendous potential," Trump told a rally in Mobile, Alabama, the final stop on his "thank you" tour.

"We are going to be so successful as a country again.

We are going to be amazing," the 70-year-old Republican billionaire said.

In excerpts of an interview released Friday, Michelle Obama told talkshow host Oprah Winfrey that she had concerns about America's future following the bitterly fought November election

that pitted Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"We feel the difference now," Obama said.

"See, now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. You know? Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept."

Without naming Trump she also referred to how important it is to have "a grownup in the White House who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil, 'Hey, it's going to be okay.'"

Trump promised change of his own.

"You watch. It's going to be so special. Things are going to happen like you haven't seen happen in many, many decades," he insisted.

But the first lady indicated she has been sensing a bleak mood.

KABUL- An Afghan official says that at least 14 Afghans have been killed after a civilian bus hit a fuel tanker on the main highway in western Afghanistan.

Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the provincial governor in Farah prov-

ince, said Sunday that more than 40 others were wounded in the accident.

The bus was on its way from western Herat toward the capital, Kabul, when the accident took place, Mehri said, adding around a dozen of the wounded are in criti-

cal condition.

Traffic accidents are not unusual in Afghanistan; annually hundreds of people die in traffic accidents on highways across the country -- mostly as the result of unpaved roads, high speeds and carelessness while driving.

'Frozen woman' mannequin fools Hudson, New York police US, Dec 18 : A caller described as "upset" called police on Friday morning to report a woman "frozen to death" in a parked car in the city of Hudson.

Officers found a seat-belted figure wearing an oxygen

mask sitting motionless in the passenger seat.

The mannequin's owner said he used it as a medical training aid.

Police said the car was cov-

ered in snow, suggesting it had been left overnight in temperatures of about -13C. The mannequin was extremely realistic, with real clothing, glasses, shoes, teeth and skin blemishes, they added.

Chinese to return seized underwater drone, Trump says US should let them keep it

equality, housing affordability, now Republic too hard for Turnbull. Time for the PM to lead his party, not follow," Shorten tweeted.

He also offered to "work together to deliver an Australian head of state".

Malcolm Turnbull is the 29th Prime Minister of Australia

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has renewed his call for a republic, but only after Queen Elizabeth II's reign, as he outlined a road map for breaking away from the British monarchy.

Turnbull -- a staunch republican who led the cause before a failed referendum in 1999 -- said his support for an Australian head of state stemmed from patriotism.

"The cause of the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) is a cause for Australia," Turnbull said during a keynote address to the ARM on Saturday night.

"We do not diminish or disrespect the patriotism of those who take a different view, but we have no other motive, no other reason than love of country."

The British crown's power in Australia is seen as largely symbolic, and while the Queen is hugely popu-

lar Down Under, the monarchy is viewed by some as an anachronistic colonial relic.

Critics within Turnbull's own conservative Liberal Party earlier in the week said his support for a republic would be damaging to the government.

But Turnbull said there was no appetite among Australians for another referendum during Queen Elizabeth's reign.

"The less party political the republican movement is, the broader its base, the deeper its grassroots, the better positioned it will be when the issue becomes truly salient again," the Australian leader added.

Opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten appeared to criticise Turnbull's lack of action on Twitter following the speech.

"Climate change, marriage

Support for a republic has wavered over the years, with a Fairfax-Nielsen poll in 2014 finding that 51 percent of the 1,400 people surveyed favoured the status quo compared to 42 percent supporting a republic.

Turnbull said question marks about how an Australian head of state would be elected -- directly by the people or via a parliamentary appointment -- had weakened support for a republic during the 1999 referendum.

He called for a two-stage voting process, with a plebiscite to determine the election model first before a referendum to decide on whether Australia should be a republic.

"We need to ensure that the Australian people feel they have chosen the model to be presented," Turnbull said.

"Of course every member of the parliament is elected, but we cannot be blind to the levels of cynicism about politics, parliaments and governments. If anything they are greater today than they were back in 1999."

Oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch that deployed an underwater drone seized by a Chinese Navy warship in international waters in South China Sea. China. Dec 18 : China will return an underwater US drone seized by a naval vessel this week in the South China Sea, both countries said on Saturday, but Beijing complained that Washington had been “hyping up” the incident.

US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to take an aggressive approach in dealing with China over its economic and military policies, jumped on the unusual drone seizure with a pair of provocative tweets, accusing Beijing of stealing the equipment.

The drone, known as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), was taken on Thursday, the first seizure

of its kind in recent memory.

The Pentagon went public with its complaint after the action and said on Saturday it had secured a deal to get the drone back.

“Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

The drone, which the Pentagon said was operating lawfully was collecting data about the salinity, temperature and clarity of the water about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, off the Philippines.

It was seized just as the

USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve it, US officials said.

China’s Defence Ministry said a Chinese naval vessel discovered a piece of “unidentified equipment” and checked it to prevent any navigational safety issues before discovering it was a US drone.

“China decided to return it to the US side in an appropriate manner, and China and the US have all along been in communication about it,” the ministry said on its website.

“During this process, the US side’s unilateral and open hyping up is inappropriate, and is not beneficial to the smooth resolution of this issue. We express regret at this,” it added.

UN Security Council to vote on Aleppo observers The council will meet to decide on the draft resolution, despite resistance from Russia United Nations: The UN Security Council will vote on Sunday on a French proposal to send observers to the flashpoint Syrian city of Aleppo to monitor evacuations and report on the protection of civilians, diplomats said.

The council will meet at 10:00 am (2030 IST) to decide on the draft resolution, despite resistance from Russia, Syria’s ally and a veto-wielding Security Council member. France circulated a draft text late on Friday stating that the council is “alarmed” by the wors-

ening humanitarian crisis in Aleppo and by the fact that “tens of thousands of besieged Aleppo inhabitants” are in need of aid and evacuation.

Thousands of trapped civilians and the last remaining opposition fighters in Aleppo were waiting for evacuations to resume yesterday, a day after the operation was suspended by the Syrian government.

Syrian forces this week moved to assert full control over the east of the city, which had been held by opposition fighters since 2012.

French ambassador Francois Delattre said the international presence prevents Aleppo from turning into another Srebrenica, where thousands of Bosnian men and boys were massacred in 1995 when the town fell to Bosnian Serb forces during the Balkan wars. “Our goal through this resolution is to avoid another Srebrenica in this phase immediately following the military operations,” Delattre told AFP. The draft resolution would request that UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon

quickly redeploy UN humanitarian staff already in Syria to the city “to carry out adequate, neutral monitoring, direct observation and to report on evacuations from besieged parts of Aleppo and protection of civilians inside Aleppo,” according to a copy of the text obtained by AFP. Ban would also ensure the deployment of further staff, according to the draft text, which demands that Syria grant access to the observers. The UN chief would report to the council within five days on whether ac-

cess has been granted by the Syrian government, which has repeatedly blocked UN access during the nearly six-year war.

Evacuations were expected to resume under a new deal that would allow civilians and fighters in other besieged towns to leave, according to rebel officials, but the Damascus government made no announcements.

The draft resolution would seek to ensure the “voluntary, safe and dignified passage of all civil-

ians” from Aleppo and other areas under UN monitoring and coordination, with priority given to the wounded and most vulnerable. It demands the protection of all doctors, medical workers, hospitals and ambulances following reports that Syrian forces had bombed all of the medical facilities in Aleppo. The text specifically mentions the need to protect the border hospitals of Atmeh, Darkoush, Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salamah, where many of the evacuees would be taken.

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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

SPORTS

P11

Rohit Sharma hoping for Junior hockey World successful IPL season next year Cup: India look to sel were present on the occasion.

"So I always look forward to it whenever I get an opportunity. In the last four years, when I was the captain, we have done pretty well and I look forward for another successful season which will be starting next year," said the stylish righthanded batsman.

Mumbai, Dec 18 : Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said he enjoys challenges and responsibilities and is hopeful that the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season will be successful for the franchise.

The Mumbai player, who missed the ongoing fiveTest rubber against England, went through a surgery in London after sustaining a thigh injury during the ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year.

"Firstly, when I was appointed as captain (of MI), it's is a huge honour to lead the side. We all know, their lies so much responsibility.

When the captaincy came along, I was ready and prepared for it and also I feel

Rohit Sharma captaincy is not just done by one person, it takes help of lot of people. I got support of my players, my support staff as well and we cannot forget the support from owners as well, they showed a lot of faith in me, giving me the responsibility, but I always enjoy chal-

lenges and responsibility," said Rohit.

Sharma was speaking after Mumbai Indians, which has collaborated with Diesel, launched a limited edition collection for cricket fans.

MI owner Nita Ambani and Renzo Rosso, Founder, Die-

This is the first global partnership between an IPL team and a global brand.

The two have come together to create an exclusive range of off-field merchandise comprising denims, polos, t-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, shirts and accessories like suspenders and caps, a media release said, adding this edition will be available from Thursday at 11 Diesel stores in the country.

Sania Mirza brings me good luck, says Boris Becker KOLKATA, Dec 18: Former World No 1 tennis player and ex-coach of Serb superstar Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker on Saturday said current top women's doubles player Sania Mirza brings him luck and vice versa.

Becker, who is here for the 25k Kolkata marathon, was asked about his association with the Indian players.

Answering the question, the iconic German said: "I am good friends with all three. In fact the player I see the most is (Sania Mirza) because she is so good and No.1 in doubles so I see her in most tournaments on the final weekend.

"We have this good luck routine and every time we are having lunch and she is with her doubles partner and I am with the team, she is winning the doubles tournament. So Sania insisted on all the important tournaments that we have lunch together because I bring her luck and she brings me luck," the 49-year old re-

vealed.

Becker said this is the reason he is closest with Sania.

"I am closest with her. And with all others I am good friends and we know each other for a very long time," he said.

Becker recently ended his three-year-old successful association with current World No. 2 Novak Djokovic. The 29-year-old Serb won six Grand Slams under Becker's tutelage.

Asked about the split, Becker said, "Any playercoach relationship doesn't last forever. We had three successful years and won many tournaments. It was time to go separate ways. I call him a very good friend and he can always call me when he needs me.

"We both decided there was a time we needed a break. Who knows what will happen in a year or two."

On Djovokic's recent slump in form which has seen Scotman Andy Murray pip him to the numero uno position, Becker said it's a mat-

ter of time before the 12-time Major winner starts winning next year.

"I think it was a novel evolution for Novak. He is not a machine, he is human. He has had his moments and sometimes when you have a long career you need to see the bigger picture. I'm sure he will come back next year and start winning again."

Asked while taking up coaching seriously, was he influenced by anybody, Becker said: "I was running the German junior team for five years after my retirement in (1999) so I had my first hand coaching experience coaching the young German team some of whom made the world top 10.

"Coaching is in a way difficult for a successful player because coaching is not about you but about the player you coach. And if you're a successful player your ego tends to come in between and it's a lot about yourself.

"The number one rule for

coaching is it is not about you but the player you're coaching. I think it takes a little bit of maturity, bit of wisdom and a bit of years on your shoulders to understand it. I think I am a better coach now than I was 10 years ago."

Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner, said every tournament he has played is special.

"I have played over 1,000 matches and each match was always difficult. As I said Wimbledon final is not won only on a Sunday but on those Monday morning when you struggle to go through the first round.

"An Olympic gold is much more memorable now that in 92 than when I was playing because I was between Wimbledon and the US Open. So sometimes you get a bit lost in transition.

Becoming No.1 is the ultimate goal for any sportsman. But it doesn't happen overnight but over 12 months.

repeat history

Lucknow, Dec 18 : The Indian hockey colts won the World Cup in 2001 but failed to make an impact after that.

On Sunday evening, Harjeet Singh & Co. have the chance to win back the title -in front of home fans at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here. And, in their path are the rising giants of European hockey, Belgium, who are in their first final.

Both the sides are unbeaten in the championship, having shown a lot of grit to eke out wins from difficult situations. More so the Belgians, who knocked out Argentina and then brushed aside the six-time champions Germany, both in penalty shoot-outs.

The Indians displayed a never-say-die attitude while overcoming Spain, and then the dangerous Australians after conceding early goals in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.

The come-from-behind wins have shown a new side to this fighting bunch.

They are hungry and do not get rattled after conceding early goals. Add to this a heady mix of talent, and India are looking like the team to beat in the final. The form of linkman Harjeet Singh has added to the cutting edge of the forwards -Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Junior, Armaan Qureshi and Santa

Singh, who have gelled as a unit upfront.

If the forward and midfield has been impressive, the deep defenders, Harmanpreet Singh and Dipsan Tirkey, have also contributed. They have looked assured in their tackling. The only cause of worry has been the inability of Harmanpreet to pull down the rival defence with his drag-flicks. Just three goals so far doesn't reflect the talent of the strong lad.

And now is the perfect time for him to stand up and de-

liver.

The last man in the defence -goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya has simply been superb, displaying a lot of agility, courage and reflexes to deny the opposition. The Belgians have t conceded just three goals in five s matches here. With their senior side having played the final at the Rio Olympics, the Belgian colts are eager to go all the way. They have surprised their rivals with speedy counter attacks. With defence-first being their mantra, they

have provided little space to the opposition in their area.

They also have capable midfielders like Victor Wegnez and Robbert Rubens who provide thrust to their attacks.

In gifted Thomas Verhei jen, Quentin van Lierde, Phil lipe Simar and Henri Raes, the Belgians are blessed with some opportunistic goal-scorers who provide strength to the side. So, with everything to play for, the visitors will like to upset the free-flowing game of the hosts.

Delhi Daredevils release ‘Million Dollar Boy’ Pawan Negi, Imran Tahir Pawan Negi has been released by Delhi Daredevils along with Nathan Coulter-Nile, Akhil Herwadkar, Mahipal Lomror for the upcoming season of IPL.

Jurgen Klopp won’t rush back improving Philippe Coutinho Philippe Coutinho has been on the sidelines since sustaining the injury during the 2-0 win over Sunderland at Anfield last month.

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Philippe, Dec 18 : Influential midfielder Philippe Coutinho was making encouraging progress from an ankle injury but will not be rushed back to boost Liverpool’s Premier League title aspirations, manager Juergen Klopp has said.

The 24-year-old Brazilian, who was initially expected to be out for five to six weeks, has been on the sidelines since sustaining the injury during the 2-0 win

over Sunderland at Anfield last month.

“It would be cool. He is improving a lot,” Klopp told British media when asked if Coutinho could be back for the clash against Manchester City at Anfield on New Year’s Eve. “He is off his crutches since the West Ham United game (on Dec. 11), when we left the stadium he was walking in front without them.”

Coutinho said he has set his

sights on making his return against City.

Klopp, however, insisted the midfielder will not be rushed back into action.

“We will have to see,” the German manager added.

“No idea at the moment. I never rush a player back. I’m the most patient person in Liverpool. I always wait for someone. I can’t rush it.”

In Coutinho’s absence, Liverpool have had mixed

results, having lost at Bournemouth and being held to a home draw by West Ham United before getting back to winning ways at Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

Liverpool, who are second in the league, are nine points behind leaders Chelsea but have a game in hand and face Merseyside rivals Everton at Goodison Park on Monday.

which he went for 84 runs.

“Yes, we have decided to release Pawan Negi. Obviously, the performance was a factor. The cost (Rs 8.5 crore per season) was way bit too much,” a DD official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

But post auction, life has not been a bed of roses for the young left-arm spinner, who only got to play one match for India in Asia Cup against UAE and warmed the benches till the end of the ICC World T20.

Worse, he is not among the top two left-arm spinners in Delhi state side as Manan Sharma and Varun Sood play in Ranji Trophy. Negi was not even selected in Delhi’s eight Ranji games.

There is full possibility that Negi might go unsold during next year’s auction as neither Vijay Hazare Trophy nor Syed Mushtaq Ali Tro-

phy will be happening before the auctions.

Asked about the logic of buying Negi at such an exorbitant price, the source said: “One needs to understand that we needed an Indian all-rounder last year.

The Indian all-rounders were at premium and that’s why Negi’s price shot up.

Also Pune bid for him and that led to a bidding war. It can happen at auctions.”

Some of Delhi’s big budget purchases has been baffling over the years including buying Yuvraj Singh for 16 crore during the 2015 auction. It was a time when Yuvraj was no longer a force to be reckoned with and did not win a single big game for the franchise only to be released next year.

Tahir had a good first season with Daredevils but only five wickets from four games did not do his case

any good.

“Tahir’s performance last year has not been upto the mark. Also the moment we use him, we exhaust an overseas quota. As far as Coulter-Nile (3 wickets in 4 games) is concerned, he also had fitness issues,” he added.

As far as the Indian trio of Herwadkar, Lomror and Suyal are concerned, none of them played a match last year and there is even lesser chance for them to play this year.

The notable names that have been retained are current India internationals Mohammed Shami, Jayant Yadav, Karun Nair along with Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris.

Daredevils will be eyeing a second pacer alongside Shami and could look at Ishant Sharma, who has been released by Rising Pune Supergiants.

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Philippe Coutinho said he has set his sights on making his return against Manchester City. (Source: Reuters)

New Delhi, Dec 18: Pawan Negi, who became a household name for his whopping Rs 8.5 crore (USD 1.25 million) bid, has been released

by Delhi Daredevils along with five other players for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL).

A top source in the Daredevils confirmed that Negi has been released with another star player in South African leg-spinner, Imran Tahir. The other four players released are Australian pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mumbai opener Akhil Herwadkar, former U-19 allrounder Mahipal Lomror and Delhi Ranji team pacer Pawan Suyal.

Negi, who was bought by Daredevils after an intense bidding war with Rising Pune Supergiants, played eight matches with disastrous results of 57 runs and a total of nine overs nin

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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 18

P12 Undefeated Vijender Singh eyes new title next year

KL Rahul plays a shot during his century knock on Day 3 of the fifth Test against England at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. Photo Credit: V. Ganesan

Rahul, Parthiv hit fifties; India 173-1 at lunch on day 3 PTI Chennai , Dec 18 : Openers Lokesh Rahul and Parthiv Patel cracked twin half-centuries to power India to 1731 at lunch on day three of the fifth and final cricket Test against England here today.

At the break, Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara were batting on 89 and 11 respectively with India still 304 runs behind England's first innings total of 477 with 9 wickets remaining.

Resuming their innings at

60-1, India produced a solid batting performance as Rahul and Parthiv complemented each other and completed their well-deserved half-centuries to lay the foundation for a good total.

by Jos Butler at cover after the wicket-keeper batsman tried to repeat a shot which had earned him a boundary earlier in the over.

Pujara then joined Rahul and the duo scored 21 runs While Rahul took 96 balls off 37 balls. to score his fifty, Parthiv achieved the feat in 84 de- Earlier, Rahul made his inliveries as the duo shared a tent clear in the morning 152-run partnership for the when he blasted spinner opening wicket at the MA Liam Dawson for a couple Chidambaram Stadium. of sixes at the long-off and long-on boundary.

It was spinner Moeen Ali, who finally broke the stand The 24-year-old from Banwhen he had Parthiv caught galore soon notched up his

first half-century of the series by taking a couple in the 28th over off Stuart Broad.

He then picked up a boundary off the pacer between the mid-on and midwicket area.

Parthiv also had sent one past the short midwicket area in the first ball off Broad for a four as the duo brought up the team hundred in 175 balls in the 30th over.

The openers continued to deal in boundaries with Rahul smashing Jake Ball through point and then sweeping Ali through

square leg and Parthiv managing to tickle one past the wicketkeeper in Jake's over.

After a few silent overs, Parthiv hit Adil Rashid through the cover for another four in the 37th over, while Rahul reverse swept Ali for another boundary in the next over.

In the 42nd over, the India wicketkeeper batsman lifted Ali over midwicket for a boundary before falling to a similar shot in the fifth ball.

Sevilla up to second, Atletico claim much-needed win MADRID, Spain -- A stunning four-goal blitz in 10 minutes allowed Sevilla to leapfrog Barcelona into second in La Liga on Saturday as Luciano Vietto scored twice in a 4-1 win over Malaga.

Barca, though, can reclaim second when they host Espanyol in Sunday's Catalan derby (1945GMT).

Sevilla killed Malaga off with a series of brilliant firsthalf team moves as Vietto slotted home Steven N'Zonzi's through ball for the opener before being left with the simplest of tasks to double the lead three minutes later from Vitolo's determined run and cross.

response to a query on his schedule for next year after last night's bout.

However, his promoters -Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS) -- were a tad more specific with the company's MD Neerav Tomar detailing the possibilities for 2017.

"We have been discussing that probably Vijender might just go back to UK and fight there or in China or in Dubai. So it's not just gonna be about fighting in India," Tomar said.

"We are next looking for an opportunity to fight in Leicester, there is a high Indian population there.

That's an option potentially next year. We have been debating about the next fight. I think we are going to go for a new title because he has this title. We are going to go for a Commonwealth title or even the inter-continental title. There is a good Russian boxer and there is a good Oriental (Chinese) fighter. That could be in the next couple of months," he explained.

"There is a possibility he

might even challenge for the WBO European title because he is fighting mostly in the UK. So he can qualify for that as well," added a spokesperson of Vijender's British promoters Queensberry Promotions.

Vijender, on the other hand, spoke mostly on what he does best, fighting inside the ring. Happy to have ended his season by successfully defending the title he won here in July, India's first Olympic medallist in boxing dedicated the triumph to the country's soldiers who have lost their lives in the year going by.

"I dedicate this victory to our martyred soldiers. I felt bad when, before the fight, I got to know that three soldiers had been martyred in a terror attack in Kashmir (yesterday). I dedicate this win to all the soldiers who have been martyred this year because it is because of them that this country is there. We are nothing without them. It was depressing to hear that three soldiers died today in a terror attack," he said.

Lee outshines Yap, leads Star to 3rd straight win

Atletico Madrid registered a first win in four games as Saul Niguez's excellent 25yard strike earned a nervy 1-0 victory against Las Palmas.

However, Atletico end the year in sixth after wins for Villarreal and Real Sociedad at Sporting Gijon and Granada respectively maintained their one-point lead over Diego Simeone's men.

Sevilla edge a point ahead of Barca and to within five of league leaders Real Madrid, who are not in league action this weekend as they face Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday.

New Delhi, Dec 18 : The WBO Asia-Pacific title won and defended successfully, Indian boxing star Vijender Singh will now be on the prowl for a new belt and could be challenging for the Commonwealth or the Oriental crown in the next couple of months.

Up against Tanzania's former world champion Francis Cheka in his Super Middleweight title defence clash last night, Vijender took less than 10 minutes to score a knockout win and remain undefeated in his professional career, which is eight fights old now.

Next up for him could be a Commonwealth title fight in Leicester. The Commonwealth Super Middleweight is currently held by British boxer Luke Blackledge, who has 22 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses to show for in his 27fight career so far.

"I don't have any plan for the new year right now.

Fighting in Delhi or fighting abroad, it doesn't make a difference to me. We will think about the next opponent," was the 31-year-old Haryana-lad's nonchalant

The goals continued to flow as Wissam Ben Yedder added a third before Vitolo made it four before half-time.

Sevilla defender Adil Rami got himself needlessly sentoff for two quickfire bookings just after the hour mark and Sandro Ramirez netted a consolation for Malaga with a fine free-kick.

Earlier, Atletico ended what coach Diego Simeone called an "extraordinary year" after reaching the Champions League final in May on a high thanks to Niguez's solitary strike.

"Taking into account where we have come from, we have

ended an extraordinary year," said Simeone.

"I think any fan of Atletico Madrid has to be proud of a fantastic year and we finished it off with a very solid performance."

Niguez also had the best effort of a bright start from the hosts as he volleyed off the inside of the post on 15 minutes.

Atletico's struggles have coincided with Antoine Griezmann's loss of form as the Frenchman, who finished third in the running for the Ballon d'Or this week, was held scoreless for a ninth consecutive

league game.

Las Palmas dominated possession throughout with their neat short-passing but the closest they came to breaking the deadlock before half-time was an outrageous hit from fully 40 yards by centre-back Mauricio Lemos that came back off the crossbar.

The game swung in two moments at either end just two minutes apart at the start of the second-half.

Firstly, Atletico 'keeper Miguel Angel Moya made a vital save from Roque Mesa on his first La Liga start of the season in the absence of

the injured Jan Oblak.

Niguez then pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the Las Palmas area to curl home his first league goal of the season.

Villarreal, fresh from beating Atletico 2-0 on Monday, remain a point ahead of last season's Champions League finalists in fourth as goals from Jonathan dos Santos, Nicola Sansone and Alexandre Pato secured a deserved three points in Gijon.

Real Sociedad are just behind Villarreal on goal difference as second-half goals from Jon Bautista and Juanmi sealed a 2-0 victory away to Granada.

MANILA, Philippines – Paul Lee shone brightest in crunch time as the Star Hotshots proved to be the more composed team down the stretch, downing Rain or Shine, 99-91, to rack up their third straight win in the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

In an emotional encounter that saw Lee face off against his former team for the first time, the "Angas ng Tondo" outshone James Yap, who was also playing against the franchise that he played for 12 seasons for the very first time in his career.

Lee scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a booming three-pointer with two minutes left, while also tallying three rebounds and four assists – the last of which was to an open Aldrech Ramos for the dagger triple with 1:23 left to play.

The Hotshots finished the game on a 15-3 run, anchored on three-pointers

by Lee and Ramos, to improve to 3-2 in the conference and hand the Elasto Painters their second loss against three wins as well.

The two teams are now tied for third place along

with Blackwater and TNT KaTropa.

"It's all credit to the players," said Star Coach Chito Victolero. "They gave their best effort, and they committed to our defense.

Aldrech Ramos was off in

the first three quarters, but he delivered in the fourth, along with Paul and (Marc) Pingris also."

"Third straight win, of course, we build our momentum and it's good for us," he added.

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Editor: Prahlad Hammey

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